A/N - Okay, this chapter took a while to write, but I think it turned out pretty well. A bunch of things happen in this chapter, the most important of which is the Dollet Field Exam, naturally.
Anyways, I've noticed that some of you enjoy this story so far, while others were a bit iffy/meh about it. Hopefully this chapter's better and gives you something to look forward to. It's a pretty long chapter, so I hope you enjoy it!
Not sure what else to say, sooo...have fun reading the chapter and I'll see ya at the bottom! lol
Chapter 2 - Field Exam
It had been a full three months since Naruto's sudden disappearance and Jiraiya was to the point that he wanted to pull his hair out in frustration! The boy he was supposed to be watching after was just...gone! And to make things worse, when he went searching for clues, all he found was a broken seal, the same one he had been working on for years! Knowing his stupid godson, he likely decided to experiment with it and got himself killed or something!
Grumbling as he approached the gates of Konohagakure, he knew that Tsunade was going to tear into him for this. He should have told her immediately that his charge had disappeared. However, he wanted to preserve his image and delayed this meeting for as long as he could. Well, he could have delayed it for longer, but he knew doing so would only make things worse. So, with a resigned sigh, he passed through the gates and proceeded to make his way towards the Hokage Tower, idly noticing that they had finally added Tsunade's likeness to the Hokage Mountain. Heh, that looks good up there.
Moments later, Jiraiya stood just outside Tsunade's office, raising his hand up to knock on the door and announce his presence. However, right before he could rap his knuckles against the door, he froze and slowly lowered his hand. C'mon Jiraiya, get it together. It's not like she's going to kill you for losing him...right? He tried to convince himself, only to start chuckling nervously. Oh Kami I'm fucked.
Letting himself into the office, he looked squarely into his fellow Sannin's eyes and could see death in her eyes. "Um...h-hey there Tsu-hime. How've you been?"
Narrowing her eyes further, Tsunade steepled her fingers in front of her and rested her chin atop of them. "Jiraiya. Where is Naruto?"
"Y-y'see, there's actually a funny story about that…" Jiraiya said nervously. "He's...kinda gone."
"Explain. NOW." Tsunade demanded as she slammed Jiraiya with her killing intent, causing him to shiver in fear. "If he's dead…"
Shaking his head at that immediately, he threw his hands up and waved them in a placating gesture. "He's not dead! At least...I don't think he is. It's hard to be certain of anything. He wasn't taking to my training very well, so...he kinda rummaged through my things and stole my notes on fuinjutsu. I tried to convince him that he wasn't ready for such a thing, but…"
"Jiraiya." Tsunade interrupted, her tone deadly. "The Uzumaki's were geniuses in fuinjutsu. That should have been one of the things you chose to teach him while you were on this training journey. I wouldn't be surprised if he took to fuinjutsu like a fish to water. It's in his blood!"
"Be that as it may, I still didn't feel he was ready for such a thing. Besides, the brat just wouldn't listen to me! He needed to master the basics and he was constantly fighting with me about using the Kyuubi's chakra. I just gave up on the runt and did my own thing!" Jiraiya admitted, though he immediately regretted this as Tsunade's fist impacted with his stomach faster than even he could follow. As he crashed through a number of walls, he curled up on the ground where he had landed and coughed up specks of blood onto the floor. Fuck! She's pissed now.
When Tsunade's shadow fell over him, the white-haired Sannin looked up into her eyes and grimaced. You could practically see the fire in her eyes as she glared down at him. "I trusted you to take Naruto's training seriously Jiraiya. He needed to become strong enough to protect himself from the likes of the Akatsuki and Orochimaru! I'm willing to bet that you felt your time was better spent peeping on girls in the hot springs rather than training him!" she yelled at him as she kicked him hard in the stomach. Afterwards, she grabbed him by his hair and dragged him back to her office where she threw him to the floor. "Now tell me what the hell happened!"
Groaning in agony, Jiraiya slowly rose to his feet and looked into the blonde's eyes. "He...found a seal I had been experimenting with. It wasn't finished, and I was having the hardest time trying to finish the damn thing. I was trying to find a way to visit other worlds. I just couldn't for the life of me figure out how to make the damn thing work. Well...when Naruto disappeared on me...I went to the area where he disappeared and felt residual traces of Naruto's and the Kyuubi's chakra in the area. He was just...gone. When I looked at the ground...I saw my seal laying there on the ground. But the problem is, whatever Naruto did to finish it faded away. It looks like it was a one-time use only type of deal and afterwards, the seal unwound itself, so to speak, back to its initial stage of development. I didn't think it was possible for him to advance so far in fuinjutsu so quickly in order to pull something like this off, but he did. If I could only figure out how he finished my seal, I could probably replicate the seal's effects and reach him, wherever he's disappeared to. However, I honestly don't know what the hell he did, so it could take years for me to figure this damn thing out in order to bring him back."
"I see. So Naruto finished this seal of yours and journeyed to another world? Is that what you're telling me, Jiraiya?" Tsunade questioned, glaring harder at her teammate.
"Yes. Wherever he is, we can only hope that he remains safe from harm. But the big problem here is the fact that without knowing exactly how he finished my seal, I don't know if I can get him back. For all I know, if I tried to follow him after finishing the seal on my own, I might end up in a completely different world than the one he's traveled to. To make things even worse...I don't think the kid's gonna want to come back. With the treatment he got within the village and with how bad things were here for him...I think he's probably happier wherever he's gone to. So even if I do manage to recreate the seal the same way he did...I don't know if he'd even come back with me. And before you say anything...place yourself in his shoes. Would you want to come back to this world knowing all that awaited you was scorn and being hunted by S-rank criminals like Itachi and Kisame?"
"You didn't exactly help with that, Jiraiya. But...you make a good point. Still, I want you to work on that seal. Even if he doesn't want to come back, I just want to know that he's okay. So long as he's safe and happy...that would be enough for me." she admitted before releasing a heavy sigh. "Get out of my sight Jiraiya. I need to gather his friends and give them the news…"
Frowning at this, Jiraiya nodded slowly before he turned and left the room without uttering another word. Once he was gone, Tsunade lowered her head and her body began to shake as she let the tears she had been holding back the entire conversation roll down her cheeks. Damn it Naruto…
Present - Fire Cavern
"Well, we've got five minutes left to deal with this guy. Plenty of time to kick his ass, don't you think, Squall?" Naruto questioned with a grin on his face.
Chuckling softly, the brunette nodded once before he held up his hand and concentrated. Moments later a large block of ice struck Ifrit and caused the GF to scream out from the pain. "No sweat."
Quistis couldn't help but smile as she watched the two of them begin their battle with the mighty GF. Naruto took hold of his dual pistols and fired upon Ifrit, catching his attention so that Squall could strike at him from behind with his gunblade. They were obviously working well together as a team and she couldn't be prouder of the two of them. You're both doing so well. Naruto, you've come a long way since I first met you. And Squall...you're so talented in your own right. As an instructor, this is all I could ever want from the two of you.
The whiskered teenager winced as he was hit by a Fire spell utilized by the large GF. Casting Cure on himself, he returned his attention to Ifrit before shooting a quick glance at Squall. "Keep him busy! I'm gonna try something!"
Nodding his head in understanding, Squall slashed into Ifrit's back, unleashing an explosive shell against him in the process by squeezing the trigger on his gunblade, and was glad that it drew Ifrit's attention to him. Blocking a frontal attack by his enemy's fist, Squall grunted from the effort it took to hold him back. "Naruto! Whatever you're doing, hurry it up!"
"Gotcha! Alright Shiva, let him have it!" he exclaimed as he summoned his junctioned GF, Shiva. Focusing on Shiva, Naruto began to use the power of his mana, the spiritual side of his chakra, to increase the potency of her attack: Diamond Dust. Poor Ifrit took a significant amount of damage from the ice elemental's attack and turned to strike out at her, but Naruto leapt in the way and blocked Ifrit's claws with his pistols, though he ended up getting flung into Shiva and the two of them collapsed to the ground in a heap.
When Naruto realized where his head had landed, right between Shiva's breasts, he blushed furiously and quickly rose to his feet before helping Shiva to hers. "S-sorry Shiva-chan."
Giggling a bit, Shiva placed a cold hand against his cheek and stroked his whiskers gently. "No worries Naruto-kun. Might I suggest refocusing on the fight, however?" she suggested before pointing behind him at Ifrit, who was once more battling Squall. "Call me again if you have need of me." she said before placing a light kiss upon Naruto's cheek. Before he could say or do anything in response, Shiva vanished in particles of light.
Sighing softly, Naruto turned back to face Ifrit and channeled his mana once again before unleashing a Blizzard spell on Ifrit, catching him off guard and causing him to collapse to the ground. Walking up to the GF, Naruto frowned at him and said, "You're beaten Ifrit. That's enough."
Grumbling to himself, Ifrit looked into Naruto's eyes for a moment before casting a glance in Squall's direction. "Ugh. To think I was beaten by mere humans." he said disappointedly. "Very well. Call on me when you have need of me." And with that being said, Ifrit vanished in particles of light as well, leaving the victors to stand there and grin at one another before bumping fists.
"Woot! I knew we could do it! And with only seconds to spare too. Talk about cutting it close, huh Squall?" Naruto said excitedly.
Squall simply smirked and nodded his head in agreement. "We do make quite the team."
Quistis chose this point to speak up. "There isn't much time, but let me go over this real quick." Taking a breath, she released it slowly before she continued. "Good, you got yourself a GF. If you junction that GF, you'll be able to use the Elem-J ability. Here's an explanation on Elements."
Although this was pretty much just a recap as well, both Squall and Naruto listened intently, simply for the fact that every little bit of knowledge helped in the long run. When she finished with her explanation, she continued by saying, "There's a lot of Fire elemental monsters here, so junction Blizzard to your Elem-Atk. You'll have an easier time with Fire elemental enemies." And with that, she finished speaking and offered the both of them a warm smile.
"You two did exceptionally well and I'm giving the both of you full marks for this particular test. Congratulations!" she exclaimed joyfully.
"Thanks." Squall said simply. "We should probably get going now though. C'mon."
As Squall began to walk back towards the entrance of the Fire Cavern, Naruto chuckled a bit and shrugged his shoulders. "Well, I guess that's that then. Thanks for coming along with us Quistis-chan." And with that, he walked past Quistis and began to follow after his friend, leaving Quistis to stare at his back.
Naruto… she thought silently before shaking her head to dismiss such thoughts. Chancing one last glance at the pit that Ifrit had emerged from, she shrugged once before hurrying after her students.
For the time being, Quistis had junctioned with Ifrit so that she could stock up on some much-needed magic for later use. She had no plans to permanently junction this particular GF to herself, but it worked for now.
As they made their way out of the Fire Cavern, they made sure to Draw what magic they needed from their enemies, stocking it for later use. Naruto had to admit that he really enjoyed fighting the Bombs, as they were interesting enemies. Plus, it was just fun to beat up on their big, round bodies. What? He's allowed to be a little sadistic towards monsters!
Once they were back outside, Naruto breathed in the fresh air and grinned as he stretched his arms out above his head. "Ahhh, feel that cool breeze? This is great! Though we should probably hurry back to Balamb Garden, huh? Would be nice to just chill for a bit, buuut…" Shrugging his shoulders, Naruto walked ahead of his friends and grinned over his shoulder at them. "I'm looking forward to the field exam. Should be fun!"
Balamb Garden - A short while later
The party of three had roamed the plains and the forest outside of Balamb Garden for a time so Quistis could stock up on some much needed magic. Now, however, they had returned to Balamb Garden and stopped at the entrance, Quistis needing to address the two of them.
"Well done." she complimented with a smile. "Let's see…" Humming in thought, she brought a hand to her face and shook her head. "I thought there was something else I needed to go over with you before you take the SeeD exam…" It was at this moment that it dawned on her and she looked up into their eyes. "Oh yes! Taking care of your GF. This is something you have to watch out for." And with that being said, she began to go into lecture mode once again, informing them of how to handle their GF's and how each of them learns abilities and so on.
Once she had finished with her explanation, she continued by saying, "Now change into your uniforms and assemble at the [1F Lobby]." before she turned and walked off, leaving the duo standing at the entrance.
Looking at his buddy, Naruto shrugged his shoulders and said, "Guess that means it's time to head back to our dorm rooms." Turning, he began walking, following the same path Quistis took. Stopping after a moment, he turned to face Squall and offered him a grin. "Definitely looking forward to the field exam with you Squall. Catch ya later!" he exclaimed before dashing off.
As he entered the interior of Balamb Garden, the excited blonde found the perky brunette, Selphie, once again. She was bouncing up and down excitedly as she waited in the lobby, dressed in her uniform. Walking up to her, Naruto offered her a grin before speaking up. "Hey there! Um...sorry, I never got your name before."
The brunette blinked before rubbing at the back of her neck embarrassedly. "Sorry, can't believe I forgot to introduce myself before. I'm Selphie! Nice to meet you!"
"The name's Naruto. Naruto Uzumaki. Nice to meet you as well Selphie-chan. I see you're just as eager to get this field exam underway as I am. I hope we get to work together. It'd be fun!"
Giggling a bit, Selphie held out her hand to him and smiled brightly. "I'm looking forward to working with you Naruto!"
Shaking her hand, Naruto couldn't help but want to play around a bit as he lifted her hand up and placed a gentle kiss on the back of her hand. When he looked back into her eyes, he could see her blushing up a storm. Smirking at her, he poked her forehead lightly. "We're gonna have a blast." he said before he turned and began walking off once again. "Keep smiling Selphie-chan. You've got a beautiful smile."
As he left, Selphie couldn't help but watch him leave, the blush never leaving her face. Nobody's ever done that before. And he said I have a beautiful smile…
Once he reached his dorm room, which was coincidentally right next to his buddy Zell's room, Naruto frowned as he looked over the uniform he was meant to wear for the field exam. It just didn't feel right wearing something like this as he felt the colors just didn't suit him all that well, but he understood the need and, sighing reluctantly, he got changed into the proper outfit. Afterwards, he went and waited outside of Squall's dorm room so they could walk together to join up with everybody.
When Squall finally exited his room, Naruto looked him over with a grin. "You clean up well Squall. Lookin' good."
Chuckling softly, Squall raised his fist and rapped his knuckles lightly against his best friend's chest. "You don't look too bad yourself, Naruto. Have to admit, I'm looking forward to this. Let's get going." he said before he and his friend began walking off to meet with the others in the 1F Lobby.
As they reached the lobby, they spotted Quistis, dressed in her uniform as well, which Naruto had to admit looked damn good on her. "Squall! Naruto! Over here!" she exclaimed, waving at them to get their attention.
Walking up to her, the duo paid rapt attention to whatever she was going to say, though Naruto couldn't help but fantasize a bit about him and Quistis. Damn she looks good. He thought to himself with a tiny smile playing at his lips.
"I'll be announcing the squad assignments for the exam now. Let's see… You'll be with…" Looking at her notes, she smiled and nodded her head. "Zell Dincht. Quite a lively fellow. Naruto, you're familiar with Mr. Dincht, are you not?"
Nodding his head, the blonde chuckled a bit before he answered. "Yes, Zell's one of my best friends. Poor guy just can't beat me in a game of Triple Triad to save his life. Other than that, he's a cool guy. I'm looking forward to working with him."
"I'm glad to hear it." Quistis said with a smile before Squall interrupted.
"Lively? He's just loud. Can't I switch members?" the scarred teen questioned exasperatedly.
The SeeD instructor frowned at Squall and shook her head. "I'm afraid that's not possible." Looking past her two students, Quistis smiled and shouted out, "Over here, Zell!"
All three of them turned and watched Zell for a bit as he threw punches and kicks at the air, almost as if he were shadow boxing, before he performed a series of backflips and landed next to Naruto. Grinning at him, he shouted out, "Naruto! My man! Can't believe we're together for this exam. This is awesome!" Then he turned and saw Squall and his grin faltered slightly. "Whoa! I'm with you!?" he exclaimed before extending his hand for a handshake, which Squall naturally refused.
After Quistis took a moment to explain about Zell's Limit Break, the lively youth looked at Squall for a moment longer before lowering his arm and saying, "You don't get along with Seifer, do you? Heard he whooped you pretty bad this morning."
"We weren't fighting. We were training." Squall replied evenly, though you could tell he was upset by the scowl on his face.
Zell, either not picking up on Squall's unease or completely ignoring it, said, "I bet you he doesn't think so. Look, Seifer's just being a pain in the ass. All you have to do is ignore him."
Squall sighed in aggravation before saying, "That's none of your business."
"None of your business." Quistis said at the same time before giggling a bit. Now that she had their attention on her again, she continued by saying, "Ahem… Excuse me, but…" Shifting awkwardly for a moment, she looked into Squall's eyes before offering him an apologetic smile. "That Seifer you're talking about… He's your squad leader."
"Son-of-a-bitch." Naruto said angrily. "I hate that guy!"
Squall looked even less pleased than Naruto did, while Zell, ever the loud one, shouted out, "SAY WHAT!?" in clear disbelief of their situation.
"It can't be changed." Quistis replied with a frown on her face. Releasing a soft sigh, she glanced around for a moment and shouted out, "Seifer! Are you here?"
Immediately after her shout, Seifer and his goon squad, ahem, the remaining members of the Disciplinary Committee, walked up and stopped next to Naruto. As they approached, Squall looked at them and thought silently to himself, Fujin and Raijin tagging along as usual… Guess that makes up the whole disciplinary committee.
"You're the squad leader. Good luck to you." Quistis said with a polite smile on her face.
"...Instructor. I hate it when people wish me luck." Seifer said, a frown on his face. "Save those words for a bad student that needs them, eh?"
"Ok then." Quistis replied a little uneasily. "Good luck, Seifer." she said somewhat teasingly.
Seifer looked angry for a moment before he swung his arm to the side, nearly hitting Naruto in the process. "Add Instructor Trepe to the list."
What list? People he hates? People he wants to kill? Whatever it is, I don't like the sound of it. Naruto thought as he narrowed his eyes at Seifer. If he tries to hurt Quistis-chan, I'll kill him!
The list…? What is it? Squall thought to himself curiously.
"Well then." Quistis said, ignoring the unnerving declaration from Seifer. "You're all assigned to Squad B. I'll be the instructor in charge. Teamwork is of the utmost importance. Let's get through this exam, everyone!" Here, she offered a smile at Naruto, as she remembered him explaining the whole teamwork thing that was so important in his home village. She knew that he wouldn't have any problem with this exam, but she couldn't help but worry about the others.
Sure enough, Seifer spoke up and derailed the positive emotions train. "Listen up! Teamwork means staying out of my way. It's a Squad B rule. Don't you forget it!"
Naruto scoffed and shook his head in disappointment. "No Seifer, teamwork means working together as a cohesive unit to achieve a goal. The fact that you were put in charge is something I just can't understand. The rest of us can work together fine, but you? You're just like Sasuke. Tch, can't believe we've got a moron leading us."
"What the hell did you say to me you punk?" Seifer questioned angrily as he got in Naruto's face. When Naruto simply glared back at him, the angry blonde teen threw his arm out to the side again and shouted, "Put Naruto Uzumaki on the list as well!"
Zell scowled at Seifer and clenched his fist tight, looking like he was barely restraining himself from attacking the jackass. Quistis just frowned as she watched the situation unfold. Damn it. I was afraid this would happen… she thought to herself disappointedly.
It was at this point that another voice piped up, catching their attention. "Everyone here?" Looking at who said that, they were a little surprised to see Headmaster Cid approaching them. After he stepped up beside Quistis, he turned to face everyone and offered them a small smile. "It's been a while, everyone. How's everyone doing? This exam will involve 13 members from Squads A through D… You will be proceeding to a real battlefield. Obviously, the battles are for real."
Looking around at everyone, he waved his left arm a bit before he continued speaking. "Life and death, victory and defeat, honor and disgrace… Each of these go hand in hand. There's only one way or the other." Leaning forward a bit, he looked around at each of the students one by one before grinning slightly. "How 'bout it? Are you still up for it?" Not waiting for a reply from any of them, he continued his speech. "You will be accompanied by 9 SeeD members. Should you fail, these members shall get the job done. They always do." Shrugging his shoulders, Cid chuckled a bit before saying, "Well, that's one less worry on your mind."
Throwing his arms into the air, he exclaimed, "The pride of Balamb Garden! The elite mercenary force, SeeD! Learn from them, obey their commands and accomplish the mission. Prove yourself worthy of becoming a member of SeeD. Best of luck."
After Cid's speech had finished, the majority of the students left, Seifer and Zell included. Before Squall could walk off to follow them, Cid spoke up, telling him that because they had yet to have a gunblade specialist in SeeD, he was hoping Squall and Seifer would both become full-fledged members. Afterwards, Squall nodded and began to follow after the others, though he glanced over his shoulder at Naruto in consideration for a moment. Shrugging, the brown-haired gunblade user walked off to join the others.
Naruto looked into Cid's eyes for a moment before sighing. "I hope you know Seifer's something of a loose cannon. He doesn't work well with others Headmaster. I know I shouldn't question you, but in this case...it's kind of hard not to."
Cid looked into the blonde's eyes for a moment before frowning at him. "I understand your concerns, Naruto Uzumaki. However, I'd like to try and have faith in those that study here. Even if they are a bit...unruly, as is the case with young Seifer. Regardless, that isn't important at the moment. Before you leave, might I ask how you're doing, Naruto? You've been here for a year now and I've heard nothing but good things about you and your progress here. Of course, after learning about your…'unique' situation, I can't help but be a tad concerned."
Offering the headmaster a smirk, Naruto folded his arms across his chest and shook his head. "No need to worry about me, Headmaster. I'm actually quite enjoying it here in this world. It's...different, to be sure, but I'm having a great time here! And even should the opportunity to return to my world present itself...I won't be taking it. Of that you can be assured Headmaster. There's...really nothing waiting for me back where I'm from. At least nothing apart from scorn, misery, etc. I'm happy here."
Nodding his head in understanding, Cid patted the whiskered youth on the shoulder and smiled kindly at him. "Well I'm glad to hear that. I'm looking forward to having one of your exceptional skills in SeeD, young man. Do take care of yourself out there. And be sure to look after your friends. Now, I've held you up long enough. Get going."
"As you say, Headmaster. Catch ya later!" Naruto exclaimed before following after his teammates.
After he was gone, Cid turned to Quistis and frowned at her. "Instructor Trepe, what isn't he telling me?"
Quistis frowned and rubbed at her arm for a moment as she looked away from the headmaster, unable to face him at the moment. "There's...something that's been troubling him, Headmaster. I...I know he has feelings for me, but I can't return them."
Cid sighed and shook his head. "I see. I hope this won't cause any issues during the exam…"
The instructor quickly shook her head and looked determinedly into the headmaster's eyes. "Don't worry about that! Naruto will not have any problems during this exam. I can promise you that!"
"You seem to have quite a lot of faith in the boy. I'm glad. I'm looking forward to hearing good things about your students, Instructor Trepe. Now, go on and join your squad. I'll be waiting." Cid said before he turned and walked off.
As he left, Quistis frowned to herself as she began walking as if on auto-pilot. Naruto...what am I supposed to do?
Moments later
The team of five were in a car, riding on their way to the city of Balamb. Naruto was silent as he contemplated their current mission. Zell, on the other hand, was having a hard time sitting still and turned to Squall. "Yo, Squall. Show me your gunblade, will ya?"
"..." Squall didn't say anything in response, opting to just ignore the bundle of energy sitting beside him.
"C'mon, man!" Zell insisted, though all he was serving to do was annoy Squall further.
"..." Once more, Squall remained silent.
Zell held his hands up as if in prayer and bowed his head to Squall. "Just a peek!"
"..." was Zell's only response.
Grumbling to himself, Zell leaned back in the seat and grumbled out, "Tch, fine…" Sighing, he muttered out, "Yeah, yeah…" Looking at Squall again, he shouted out, "Why you bein' so selfish!? Scrooooge!"
"..." Once more, silence was all Zell got in return from the ever stoic Squall.
"Say somethin', will ya!? W-What's on your mind?"
"...Nothing." Squall and Quistis said at the same time before Quistis began to giggle. The mere fact that she was able to read him so well was disturbing to Squall on a personal level.
"..." Zell was silent, unable to truly formulate any words at the moment. After a few brief moments, Zell stood up and began to bounce around, shadow boxing once again.
"Stop that… It's annoying." Seifer said grumpily. Turning to look into Zell's eyes, he smirked before saying, "...Chicken-wuss."
Zell snarled and threw up his fist as he looked into Seifer's eyes. "...WHAT DID YOU CALL ME!?" Meanwhile, all Seifer did was chuckle to himself at getting such a rise out of Zell.
Sighing to himself, Naruto could only shake his head in disappointment. "You shouldn't let him get to you so bad Zell."
Before Zell could reply, Quistis stood up and shouted out, "Knock it off!" When Zell finally sat down again with a huff, the beautiful instructor sat back down and shook her head.
Leaning back in his own seat from between Quistis and Seifer, Naruto closed his eyes and resumed thinking about the mission, wondering just what they would be doing. No matter what we end up having to do, Seifer's going to be a problem. Zell's quick temper won't help things either if Seifer continues to antagonize him. Squall and I shouldn't have any real problems, but ya never know.
Naruto's thoughts were interrupted when he saw Squall look towards Quistis before speaking up. "...Instructor… Who was that girl in the infirmary this morning?" he questioned.
Naruto's eyes widened fractionally at that question before he turned to face Quistis, hoping she might have some kind of answer for them.
"Was someone there? I didn't notice anybody." she replied as she brought a hand to her chin and rubbed it in thought for a moment. "Is there a problem?"
Frowning at this, Naruto looked down at his hands that were resting in his lap and shook his head. Weird. There was definitely a girl there this morning. How did Quistis-chan not see her on the way in?
"No...not really…" Squall replied a bit uncertainly. Looking at Naruto, the scarred teen frowned as he realized Naruto was wondering the same thing. Just who was that girl? He wondered silently to himself.
Seifer began to chuckle a bit before saying, "This is great…I have Chicken-wuss and a guy who just reached puberty in my squad…"
At hearing this, Zell began to quiver in anger again while Quistis brought a hand to her face, sighing dramatically. Naruto, however, looked at Seifer for a moment before shaking his head. Yep, this mission's going to be a clusterfuck. I can see it now…
Balamb - Moments later
Upon arriving in the city of Balamb, the driver of the car went to the docks before coming to a stop, letting the passengers depart the vehicle. Seifer exited first, followed by Naruto and then Squall. As Squall walked up behind Seifer, he chanced a glance at the boat they were to be taking to their destination. "So that's the vessel…?"
"Ain't no turning back now." Seifer said as he looked around. Turning to face Squall, he asked, "Huh? You scared, too?"
"Scared? Why would any of us be scared, Seifer?" Naruto questioned with a sigh. "Let's just get on the boat and get this over with."
Before Seifer could reply, a member of the Garden Staff shouted at them, getting their attention. "Hey! You guys are the last! Hurry up and get in!"
Seifer turned away and said to his teammates, "Don't disappoint me now."
At this point, Quistis got out of the car and stood behind Squall before saying, "Come on, move it!" And with that, everyone rushed over to get on the boat, though Squall paused for a moment and, seeing this, the beautiful instructor turned and shouted at him, "Hurry, Squall!" Without needing any further convincing, Squall rushed forward and climbed aboard the ship, Naruto following him onboard immediately afterwards.
Elemental Nations - Same time
To say that the Akatsuki were frustrated would be something of an understatement. It didn't take long for Zetsu to reveal to the one calling himself 'Madara' Uchiha that Naruto Uzumaki, and the Kyuubi by extension, had been lost to them after his sudden disappearance during his training trip with Jiraiya of the Sannin.
'Madara' had to tell the man calling himself Pain and his longtime friend, the blue-haired and beautiful Konan, that the Kyuubi jinchuriki was lost to them because Jiraiya was a dumbshit that couldn't be bothered to keep a closer eye on his charge. This definitely set their plans back and they each pondered how in the hell they were going to get the Kyuubi jinchuriki back from wherever the hell he ended up.
Now, here he was, hiding in the shadows of the room while the members of Akatsuki discussed the situation regarding Naruto Uzumaki and what to do about him. And some of their comments were seriously not helping to improve 'Madara's' mood.
"So, what the fuck do we do now?" Hidan asked. "Without that shitty runt, the plan to capture all the bijuu's pretty much shot to hell, now isn't it?"
Itachi sighed and shook his head. "Do we have any idea what exactly happened to Naruto Uzumaki?" he questioned, hoping that there would be some kind of clue as to where he disappeared to.
Pain's eyes narrowed and he shook his head. "All that we know is an unknown seal was used by the Kyuubi jinchuriki and after that...he just vanished. It's possible that he's no longer of this world."
"Leader, what do we do now? This puts a bit of a wrench in our plans." Sasori questioned in his gravelly tone of voice.
Casting a glance around the room, even to the hidden 'Madara' Uchiha, Pain shook his head. "For now, we continue with the plan. We capture the remaining jinchuriki and then, after we have them, then we'll worry about how to get the Kyuubi. For now, continue with what you've been doing and don't worry yourselves over the missing jinchuriki. Dismissed."
One by one, the images of the Akatsuki members disappeared. Once they were gone, 'Madara' couldn't help but sigh in aggravation. Damn you. When I get my hands on you, I'm going to make you suffer, you rotten child of Namikaze!
Gaia - On the boat
Zell and Quistis were standing at attention as a young woman entered the room they were waiting in. Naruto, on the other hand, was seated with his eyes closed, trying to relax himself as the boat sailed along. He didn't want to stress out over the coming exam, but at the same time he couldn't shake this feeling that things were going to get bad very quickly.
The young woman that entered, a person named Xu, said, "Hi, Quistis." in greeting to the instructor for Squad B.
Motioning with her hand towards the four members of Squad B, Quistis said, "Well, these are the members of Squad B."
Squall took this moment to rise and looked towards Xu. Zell, however, offered a wave and a smile. "Nice to meet ya!"
Naruto chuckled a bit and looked at the pretty woman standing there. "Nice to meet you ma'am."
"Pleased to meet you…" Squall said politely.
Nodding her head in greeting to each of them, she soon turned her attention to the squad leader. "Seifer, how many times has it been now?"
Seifer shrugged his shoulders in a casual dismissal of her inquiry. "Oh, I just love these exams…"
Sighing softly, Xu turned to face the members of Squad B before taking in a breath and exhaling it slowly. "I'll explain the current situation and the mission. Be seated!" she exclaimed as she walked to the other end of the room, standing near Zell and Seifer, so she could begin her explanation.
"Our client for this mission is the Dollet Dukedom Parliament. A request for SeeD was made 18 hours ago." Stepping aside so they could view the monitor, she continued with her explanation. "Dollet has been under attack by the G-Army since about 72 hours ago. 49 hours into the battle, Dollet abandoned their position in the inner city. Currently, they have retreated into the nearby mountains and are reorganizing their troops. That's the current status."
Taking a breath once more, Xu continued on. "Now onto the mission objective. According to our reports, the G-Army is mopping up the Dollet troops in the mountain region. We're to make a landing at Lapin Beach. We're to eliminate the remaining G-Army within the city and liberate it A.S.A.P. Afterwards, SeeD members will intercept any G-Army forces trying to make their way into the city from the mountain region."
Now that she had finished explaining and the monitor went back to what it was originally displaying, Seifer decided to voice a question. "So, what are WE supposed to do?"
Xu looked at Seifer for a moment before staring forward once again. "SeeD candidates are to eliminate the G-Army inside the city."
Zell pumped his fist and exclaimed excitedly, "Sounds important!"
"Sounds boring." Seifer said dismissively. "So what you're saying is, we do all the little, dirty work…"
Naruto sighed and shook his head in disappointment. Truly, what else could be expected from Seifer at this point?
"..." Xu was silent, unsure about what exactly she could say to Seifer. It was frustrating trying to deal with that man, but… "Oh, it hardly needs to be said, but… The order to withdraw takes priority. Do not forget." she said, deciding to ignore Seifer's statement.
After a few more moments, Xu spoke up once again. "We're almost there. We anticipate a battle as soon as we disembark. Just be prepared. That's all. Any questions, talk to Quistis."
Naruto watched as Xu left the room before shaking his head. Yep, with a mission like this, shit's bound to get ugly and fast. Knowing my rotten luck, things are going to get especially nasty for Squad B.
Squall was silent as he thought about the mission and his teammates. Looking at Naruto first, he said, "So, thoughts?"
Looking into his friend's eyes, Naruto shrugged his shoulders before looking up at the ceiling. "Well, the mission sounds simple enough, sure. But there's always a chance things could turn ugly and there's no telling just what our enemies will throw at us. I recommend that we act with caution and support each other as a unit as we clear the city. We should take down as many of them as we're able to before the order to withdraw comes."
Nodding his head in understanding of this, Squall said, "Sounds like a plan to me." Turning to Quistis at this point, he looked at her uncertainly for a moment before sighing.
"What is it, Squall?" she questioned curiously.
"It's nothing." Squall said.
"We'll be there soon. Be ready for anything, Squall." she said before turning her attention to Naruto, who appeared to be lost in thought once again. Naruto...we really need to talk after this is all over.
Looking at Seifer, Squall decided to strike up a conversation with him next. Before he could say anything, however, Seifer piped up. "Listen up. Our goal for this mission is to mop up all the Galbadian soldiers still left in Dollet. All you boys have to do is take orders from me, the captain."
Deciding to just leave that and Seifer alone, he turned his attention to Zell next. Zell chuckled nervously for a moment before he spoke up. "My first real battle...I'm gettin' pretty nervous."
"Better not piss in your pants." Seifer mocked mercilessly.
"Hah!? You talkin' to me?" Zell questioned angrily.
"Heh heh…" Seifer chuckled, finding amusement in the fact that he could so easily get a rise out of Zell.
"...Bastard." Zell muttered as he leaned back in the seat.
Naruto sighed and shook his head. "You've really gotta learn to just ignore Seifer, Zell. He's not worth getting riled up about."
"Ok, enough talk." Quistis said, getting everyone's attention. "We'll be landing pretty soon. Get ready."
"Roger." Zell said.
"Gotcha." Naruto said with a grin on his face.
"Alright." said Squall.
"Yeah, yeah…" Seifer muttered, though it was easy to see he didn't really care much for their current mission. "Well then, Squall. Go see what's going on outside."
"..." Squall was silent for a time before, "...Ok." he said simply after a while as he stood to his feet.
"Good. Because it's MY order." Seifer said arrogantly.
After Squall went topside, Naruto leaned back in his seat again and closed his eyes. "Might wanna hold on to something. I think we're in for a bit of a bumpy ride." he said with a grin.
Sure enough, their boat soon crashed into a wall, sailing over the top of it, before they came to a stop at the beach where they were meant to land. After rushing out of the ship, the group turned to regard Quistis who stood on the edge of the boat, staring down at them. "Ok, you are to secure the [Central Square]! Be sure to equip your GF before you head into battle!"
Grinning, Naruto nodded once at her before turning around, looking to Seifer for his orders. "Let's move out." Seifer said simply before rushing off.
Looking at his teammates, Zell and Squall, Naruto nodded once at them as well before he took off after Seifer. Zell junctioned Ifrit to himself before nodding at Squall, the two of them rushing off after Seifer and Naruto immediately afterwards.
Nobody in the group stopped to talk to anyone, deciding it was best to focus on the mission and doing what they could to help the people of Dollet. As they prepared to enter the city proper, two Galbadian Soldiers rushed forward and began to attack them.
Naruto, realizing Zell could probably use some magic to beef himself up a bit, was prepared to shout out that they should stall so he could draw some, but Seifer was quick with the order to slay their enemies as quickly as possible. So, somewhat reluctantly, Naruto helped put an end to the soldiers.
It wasn't a hard battle, and the soldiers had some good spells to draw and use from them, and Zell did manage to stockpile some Fire, Thunder, Blizzard, and Cure spells from them, so it wasn't a total waste.
After the battle ended with the deaths of their foes, Seifer began leading the charge once again. Glancing behind them at the three that rushed up the stairs, they watched as they took their positions before being waved off to continue with their mission. With a shrug, Squall, Naruto, and Zell rushed off after their squad leader.
As they were rushing down a street, Seifer paused and looked up at the walkway above where two more Galbadian Soldiers were waiting. When they leapt down to attack them, Naruto brought up his sword, easily deflecting the attack aimed at him. This created an opening that the whiskered blonde gladly took as he punched the man in the gut, knocking the wind out of him.
Squall, on the other hand, took advantage of an opening given to him and slashed through his enemy's stomach, unloading a shell in the process, causing his opponent to grunt from the pain he felt. However, he refused to go down without a fight and, pushing through his pain, attempted to attack Squall, only for each of his attacks to be parried and blocked by Squall's gunblade.
Zell took advantage of the situation to draw more magic from their enemies, while Seifer just stood by watching his teammates fight. Naruto and Squall had things handled quite efficiently, so he wasn't worried. No, it was more along the lines that he was just bored of this whole, bothersome situation.
After dealing some killing blows, Naruto and Squall fist bumped one another before they continued following Seifer. After a bit, Seifer stopped by a car and turned to face his team. "The [Central Square] is up ahead." he said before turning around to face their destination. "Hey! All you Galbadian cowards out there! Come out'n show your faces! Don't leave me hangin' now!"
As Seifer rushed off to confront their enemies, Zell sighed and shook his head in disbelief. "...What an idiot." he muttered before the three of them set off after their squad leader. Wouldn't look good on their resumes if they left Seifer to die, even if he kind of brought it on himself.
Rushing into the Central Square, they were a little surprised when only one Galbadian Soldier rushed forward to confront them. Seifer, taking the initiative, met his charge and began a duel of sorts with the enemy. Naruto was content to just sit back and watch as Seifer handled this grunt, as he wasn't a true threat to any of them, even though it made him feel a bit sick inside to admit to himself that Seifer was, indeed, a skilled fighter.
Once the Galbadian Soldier was dead, Squall said, "There may be more…" before he and Zell began to look around the area. Naruto, on the other hand, stayed near Seifer, as it was better to stick together than to go off by oneself.
"Some reason you decided to stick with me instead of following those numbskulls?" Seifer questioned irritatedly.
The blonde sighed and shook his head. He could see Squall and Zell fighting another Galbadian Soldier nearby, but he wasn't worried about them, so long as they stuck together and fought their foe as a team. "Despite the fact that you are strong Seifer, it's best to stick together. You're our squad leader and it would look bad on us and yourself if you were caught off guard by an enemy soldier."
"Tch, whatever. Just don't slow me down, Naruto." Seifer said before turning to watch the fight.
"Yeah, yeah." Naruto said, waving his hand dismissively as he waited for the fight to finish so they could continue with their mission.
Once the fight was finished, Squall turned to face Zell and said, "I think that's all of them." And with that, both he and Zell returned to Seifer and waited for further orders.
"Well then, we're on standby 'til the enemy comes." Seifer said before walking past Naruto and shrugging. "Standby… How boring…"
After a little while, they heard some noise before they looked to Seifer. Squall said, "Sounds like it's starting."
Seifer turned to face Squall and grinned. "Bring it on." When the stray dog that was wandering around began to tug on Seifer's leg, he yelled down at it, "Get outta here!" before kicking it, sending it tumbling away before it stood up and whimpered a bit. "Scram!"
"Damn it, Seifer! It's just a dog begging for some food or something. No need to abuse the poor thing." Naruto griped before walking over to the dog and petting it gently atop the head. "You okay little fella?"
Seifer, meanwhile, rushed to the other side of the fountain and swung his gunblade around as he shouted, "Hey! Galbadian Soldiers! What are you waiting for!? Come show me what you got!"
For quite a while, nothing of interest happened besides Naruto keeping the dog company. After a period of silence, Squall looked at Seifer, who kept tapping his gunblade against his shoulder, and said, "...Nothing."
Seifer soon said, "Still keeping us waiting…?" After a brief period of contemplation, Seifer swung his gunblade around and shouted out, "That's it…! I can't take it anymore! What is this, some kind of dog training!?"
It was at this point that the dog walked off and began to howl. "Uh-oh." Naruto muttered before the group quickly hid. They watched as a whole troop of Galbadian Soldiers rushed by, heaving past the building that had the word, "Ristorante" in bold, red letters above the door.
Once they were gone and they were sure the coast was clear, they stepped out from where they were hiding. Squall quietly said, "It's the enemy…"
"Where the hell they goin'?" Zell questioned a bit unsurely. As Seifer rushed past them a short distance, they each looked up in the distance at the top of the nearby mountain. "Hey? What is that up there?" Zell queried.
Seifer pointed his gunblade in the same direction the soldiers had traveled. "Our next destination."
Naruto sighed and brought a hand to his head, shaking it in mild disbelief. Yep, I knew that was coming.
Zell rushed up to Seifer and shouted, "But that's against orders!"
Without turning to face the spiky-headed blonde, Seifer questioned, "Weren't you just saying how bored you were?"
Seeing that he couldn't talk sense into Seifer, the squad leader, Zell turned to Squall. "Squall!"
Taking a few steps away from Zell and looking away from him, Squall said, "I stand by the captain's decision."
When Zell turned to his final teammate, he was practically pleading with him using his eyes and arm gestures only. Shaking his head, Naruto said, "Seifer's the squad leader. Whatever he decides, I'll follow his orders."
Seifer quirked a brow at this as he turned to face Naruto and Squall. "...Captain's decision?" Stepping up to Squall, he placed a hand on his shoulder and said, "You want to wreak some havoc too, don't you?"
Angrily brushing his rival's hand off, Squall turned to face him with a stern expression on his face. "It's a good opportunity to test out my training. Thanks to you, I feel like I can take on anyone. Even if they do fight dirty, like you."
Naruto sighed and shook his head once again. "I swear, you two are going to be the death of me at this rate."
Seifer chuckled a bit before staring down the path they had come from. "You'll thank me when the time comes."
Zell, unable to take it anymore, walked up to the three of them and said, "What the hell...I thought you guys didn't get along? You're like, all buddy-buddy now." Stepping past Squall and Naruto, Zell sighed and shook his head. "Listen. This ain't no ordinary battle." Taking another few steps, he turned to face his teammates. "It's an exam, an important one. I'm tellin' ya, we have to stick to orders."
The blonde squad captain turned to Zell and scoffed. "Then you stay here. I don't need any boy scouts."
Zell began shaking angrily as he glared into Seifer's eyes. "What was that!?"
Squall turned to his tattooed teammate and shook his head. "Don't take him seriously, Zell." Turning to Seifer, he said, "Seifer, if we're gonna go, let's hurry."
Seifer nodded once before saying, "The enemy is headed for the [facility]. We, Squad B, are to secure the summit. Move out!"
"Alright." Squall and Naruto said simply while Zell continued to quiver with rage.
"Tch… Fine." Zell grumbled out, not at all happy that he was outvoted in this situation. And with that, the group of four rushed off in pursuit of their enemies. As they ran along the bridge, they got into a bunch of fights with Galbadian Soldiers, but they weren't a big threat to the team of four.
As they made their way up the slope of the mountain and up some stairs, they paused as a Dollet Soldier crawled onto the path. Looking up at them, the panicked soldier shouted out, "Ahhh! W-W-Who are you!?"
Squall, in an effort to calm the wounded soldier, said, "Don't worry. We're SeeD candidates. We've been dispatched by Garden."
"So what's going on up there?" Seifer questioned curiously. In fact, this was a question that each of them were wondering and they were hoping this soldier from Dollet would be able to provide them with some much needed answers.
"The Galbadian soldiers have entered the [Communication Tower]. On top of that...that place has always been a nesting ground for monsters. If you're going up there, be caref…" he said before he was suddenly grabbed and pulled into the bushes. "H-Help!"
Squall, Zell, and Naruto each rushed forward to fight and subdue the beast that had grabbed hold of him, an Anacondaur. It was a large snake-like monster and it was definitely a bit tougher than the soldiers they had been fighting so far.
Seifer, rushing up, took the first shot at the beast, slashing at it a couple of times before he jumped away from it when it attempted to retaliate. Faster than they could have anticipated, the Anacondaur slithered up to Squall and bit into his arm with its fangs, causing him to scream out in pain from the attack.
Naruto, upon seeing this, took hold of his dual pistols and began firing into the snake's back, causing it to recoil before turning its attention on to him. Seeing as he now had its attention, the whiskered blonde smirked devilishly as he used his Draw ability to cast Fire on the Anacondaur, causing it to shriek out in pain.
Zell tried to rush in and attack the giant snake, only to have its tail whack him and send him tumbling down the stairs a short distance. When he got to his feet and looked at their enemy, he scowled and shouted, "Damn it! I'll make you pay for that ya rotten snake!"
Squall, seeing an opening, took advantage of it and casted Blizzard on it, dealing massive damage to the Anacondaur. For a finishing blow, Seifer rushed up and cut its head off with his gunblade, revelling in the fact that he was the one to finish it off.
Once the battle was finished, they sheathed their weapons and looked down at the rescued Dollet Soldier. "Monsters, huh?" Squall questioned.
"That sucks." Zell said, summing up their situation quite well.
"More fun for us. Come on…." Seifer said before he rushed off.
"...Fun? Pu-lease…" Zell grumbled out.
Chuckling, Naruto looked at his dear friend and shook his head. "C'mon, you have to admit that all this fighting's pretty darn fun. Plus, I don't feel so guilty about killing the monsters as I do about ending the life of another human being. So this is definitely the better option in my book." he said before he and his friends took off after Seifer.
Upon reaching the top of the cliff, they noticed some Galbadian Soldiers down below at the entrance to the Communication Tower and quickly lowered themselves to the ground to spy on their enemies.
Soon enough, a soldier rushed out of the tower and shouted out, "The generator is up and running!"
The soldier on the left replied with, "No problem with the boosters!"
"...the hell they doing?" Seifer wondered aloud.
"I don't have a clue." Naruto muttered in response as they continued to listen in.
"Cable disconnection confirmed! Beginning exchange process!"
"Roger." The soldiers just continued to chat with one another about whatever it was they were doing, not one of them realizing that they were being watched.
"Repairs…?" Squall wondered as they rose to their feet, having watched the Galbadian Soldiers run into the Communication Tower once more.
"Who cares." Seifer said disinterestedly. "This must be your first real battle. You scared?"
Squall took a step forward and shook his head uncertainly. "...I don't know." he admitted. "I try not to think about it."
"That's a good way to go about it, Squall. If you let yourself be bogged down by unnecessary thoughts or worry too much about what may happen or even stop to think about the families that these people might have, you'll only falter and become more of a liability than anything. I'm used to shit like this personally. Yes, ending other people's lives isn't easy, but in situations like this or in war? You gotta do what you gotta do." Naruto said as he gave an awkward smile.
"Heh, that was surprisingly deep for you, Naruto." Zell said good-naturedly.
Seifer chose this moment to speak up. "I love battles. I fear nothing. The way I look at it, as long as you make it out of a battle alive, you're one step closer to fulfilling your dream."
Naruto quirked a brow at this, but before he could say anything, Squall beat him to the punch. "What!? Your dream?"
Seifer looked into Squall's eyes and quirked a brow in curiosity. "You have one too, don't you?"
Squall turned away and folded his arms across his chest. "...Sorry, but I'm gonna pass on that subject."
Zell stepped up to Squall and grinned at him. "Yo! Let me in on it, too!"
"Mind your own business." Seifer said as he glared into Zell's eyes.
"Frickin' hell…" Zell grumbled out as he punched the air near Seifer's head, the squad captain leaning out of the way of a few punches that strayed a bit too close.
Folding his arms across his chest, Seifer smirked at Zell and said, "What's the matter, Zell? Swatting flies?"
As Seifer walked off, Zell turned around and knelt down, punching at the ground in frustration. "Damn you…!"
Naruto was about to say something to try and calm him down, but a shout from a familiar voice caught his attention. "There you are!"
Looking around for a moment, their eyes soon landed on the familiar face of Selphie, who almost tumbled down the cliff towards them, had it not been for Naruto quickly catching her as she began to fall. Smirking at her when she began to blush, the whiskered teen set her on her feet and smiled at her. "Heya Selphie, what brings you here?"
Selphie brushed herself off before looking between the three of them. "Are you...Squad B?" When Squall stood up and nodded, she looked him over curiously for a moment before brightening up. "Wait a minute… You're the guy who showed me around, right!? And of course I remember you too, Naruto." she said, smiling at her newest friend. Looking back at Squall, she said, "Thanks! I don't get so lost anymore." Then, as if remembering something, she said, "Oh yeah. I haven't told you my name yet. I'm...a messenger. Name's Selphie, from Squad A. The squad captain's Seifer, right? Where is he?"
Squall and Naruto both pointed down below as Seifer went running up to the doors of the Communication Tower. When she turned to look at him, Seifer called out to them. "One of these days, I'm gonna tell ya 'bout my ROMANTIC dream!" before he entered the tower.
Looking back at the other members of Squad B, Selphie sighed before saying, "This sure is tough…" Turning, she shouted out, "Captain! Wait up…!" before leaping off the edge of the cliff to quickly reach the ground below. The three males of Squad B couldn't help but sigh to themselves as they watched her bounce around a bit down there. "What are you waiting for!? Come on! Come on!"
Naruto chuckled a bit before he began leading the way down the path, refusing to take Selphie's little shortcut. Squall and Zell followed after him. They got into a few more battles with Galbadian Soldiers and Elite Soldiers, which Zell drew Scan magic from, before they reached Selphie.
"What took you so long? It would've been much quicker if you'd just jumped." she said indignantly.
"...Much quicker? Pu-lease…" Zell groaned out. "...You wouldn't normally jump off a cliff, OK!? Ain't that right, Squall?"
"...Yeah, I guess so. You wouldn't normally jump that." Squall admitted.
"Hmm...I don't know…" Selphie said before the sound of Naruto's laughter caught her attention. Looking at him, she frowned as she waited for him to explain what was so funny.
Chuckling again, Naruto shook his head and offered Selphie a smile. "Hey, we're being judged based on our conduct as well right? Better to do things the proper way than go taking risky shortcuts like that. But it's okay. You're still cute." he said.
Selphie blushed again before looking away from him, a cute pout on her face, even if they couldn't see it. "Don't tease me like that Naruto. It's not nice." Sighing softly, she turned back to face the group of boys. "Well, anyway. Well, let's get goin'. Has everyone equipped a GF? You haven't forgotten… Have you…?"
"We're good Selphie-chan. No worries here." Naruto replied before he stepped up to the doors of the Communication Tower. Looking up, he had to admit that the tower was quite large.
"So this is the [Communication Tower]...?" Zell questioned as he, too, looked up at the massive structure.
"Sure is big…" Selphie said.
It was at this point that a couple of Galbadian Soldiers came running out, screaming in fear. Seifer appeared in the doorway moments afterwards swinging his gunblade about wildly. When the enemies were out of sight, he scoffed and said, "Cowards."
Selphie, seeing her chance to deliver her message, stepped up to Seifer while shouting, "HEEEY!" When Seifer just walked back into the tower, she pouted and looked to the other members of Squad B. "The captain's getting away!"
Squall led the group into the Communication Tower and, when they didn't see Seifer anywhere, he asked, "...Did he go up?"
Selphie entered the tower at that moment and looked around while shouting out, "Heeey! Squad B captain!"
"He's not going to answer you. Seifer's a stubborn one and it's likely he's doing something stupid right now. We'd best go after him." Naruto said with a heavy sigh before stepping onto the lift.
Squall and the others followed him onto the lift, the scarred teen saying, "I think we can take this lift up…"
Selphie piped up at this point, asking, "Wanna go up?"
And with that, Squall hit the switch to take them up, Selphie shouting out in excitement. "This lift is pretty cool!"
"Be careful, you don't want to fall." Zell chastised.
"Like I'm really going to." Selphie complained somewhat childishly.
Topside, a Galbadian Soldier was talking to an Elite Soldier. "Major Biggs!" the regular Galbadian Soldier shouted, attempting to get his superior officer's attention. "There has been a report of a monster-shaped shadow on top of the tower." When Biggs ignored him in favor of what he was doing, the Galbadian Soldier shouted at him once more. "Major Biggs!"
"Be quiet! I'm busy!" the Major exclaimed angrily. "This goes like this...and… Geez, what's with these crappy old tools? And...and… Why do I have to make all the repairs!? AHHH!"
The Galbadian Soldier, whose name was Wedge, walked a few steps past Biggs and turned to face him once again. "Sir, I'll check around while the repairs are being done."
As Wedge walked off, Major Biggs continued to fiddle around with the sparking machine. "Let's see… Hmmm… Put this here...and…" As Biggs finished with his repairs, Squall and the others finally arrived at the top and began to look around in bewilderment as the structure began to shake badly before what looked like a satellite dish sprung up in the center of the tower.
When it was all over, Squall turned to Biggs and shouted out, "What do you think you're doing!?"
Turning around to face the newcomers, Biggs scowled at them. "Huhhhh? Likewise, MISTER! What do you think you're doing!?" It was at this point that something seemed to click in the Major's mind. "H-HEY! What happened to all the soldiers down below!? WEDGE! Take care of these twerps!" When nothing happened, Biggs looked around unsurely. "W...Wedge?" Looking around for a bit longer, he chuckled somewhat nervously. "I...ah… Well...ah...I seem to be done here, so I'll just be on my…" As he began shuffling past the party, Seifer appeared on the lift and swung his gunblade, knocking something out of Biggs' hands.
"Sorry to crash the party." Seifer said with a grin.
"Ah...AHH...AHHHHH! Are you CRAZY!" Biggs shouted angrily.
"Just shut UP!" Seifer shouted. And with that, the battle with Major Biggs was on.
Seeing as how Biggs had the Esuna spell available, Naruto, Squall, and Zell focused on drawing and stocking up on as many uses of that spell as they could. Selphie, meanwhile, was focused on distraction detail, trying to keep Biggs busy so the others could stockpile their magic as needed.
After one particularly nasty hit to the side of his head by Selphie's nunchakus, Wedge finally reappeared at Biggs' side and greeted him almost casually before he took notice of the situation and shouted out in surprise.
Cursing at their rotten luck, the three males of Squad B continued drawing Esuna magic from Biggs while Selphie did her best to distract the both of them. When Wedge turned his attention on to her and prepared to attack with his sword, Naruto charged forward and slashed at him with his sword to get his attention off of her. "Selphie-chan! You okay?!"
Nodding slowly, Selphie thanked him for his help before they resumed fighting Biggs and Wedge while Squall and Zell stocked up on magic. By the time they had finished, Naruto allowed them to step forward while he continued stocking up on Esuna spells. It helped that Wedge had the Cure spell available, so they were able to heal their wounds and keep on trucking along.
After a while, as they were preparing to deal the finishing blow to Biggs, as he was the bigger threat between the two, a sudden tornado struck the tower, sending Major Biggs and Wedge flying. Shortly afterwards, a great monster known as Elvoret descended and began to attack. Naruto, sensing something odd, used his Draw ability to get a feel for what kind of magic the Elvoret had. It didn't take him long to lock onto the signature of a GF and he used his Draw ability to pull the GF Siren from the enemy. Looking at Selphie, Naruto nodded to himself. I'll have her junction Siren in a bit. This enemy demands our full focus right now.
Elvoret also had the Double spell available to use, so Naruto first used that spell on himself and then began casting Cure twice in a row to heal each of his party members. Afterwards, he, Squall, and Zell continued to stock up on Double spells for later usage. Selphie was, once again, trying to keep the enemy boss distracted, but with how powerful it was, that was a bit hard to do.
Once again, when it looked as if Selphie was in trouble, Naruto dashed to her, lifted her into his arms, and dodged around the enemy's attacks before jumping back to his teammates, setting Selphie back on her feet and offering her a grin. "I'll take over the distraction detail now. You be careful, okay?" he requested before dashing up to the Elvoret and attacking it with his sword in an effort to keep it busy.
As he fought it, Naruto was caught off guard when it used an attack called Storm Breath to deal heavy damage to each of them, sending Naruto crashing along the ground on his back. "Ungh. Okay...that hurt." he muttered as he pushed himself to his feet.
After a brief while, Squall and Zell nodded at Naruto to show that they had stocked as many Double spells as they could, allowing him to resume doing so while they attacked the boss. Selphie looked at Naruto for a moment before she, too, charged forward, slamming her nunchakus into the beast's body to deal what damage she could.
After dealing a decent amount of damage to the boss, it used Storm Breath once again and caused them a lot of pain. Groaning again, Naruto glared at the boss before casting Cure on himself and his allies.
Squall, irked by this damned beast, tried to use Fire on it, but it didn't do much of anything to the beast. Sighing at this, figuring that it was probably resistant to magic, he charged forward and swung his gunblade, clipping its wing in the process. Zell, not one to be outdone, charged forth and threw a series of punches and kicks at the Elvoret, dealing as much damage as he could with his attacks.
Naruto, once he had stocked up on Double spells, drew his dual pistols and opened fire on the beast, grounding it after dealing enough damage to its wings. Once it was down on the ground, he prepared to go in for the killing blow, only for it to use Storm Breath one more time, sending him tumbling backwards, almost to the edge of the tower. Looking at his friends and teammates, he struggled back to his feet and shook his head to clear it of the cobwebs dusting it. "Okay, that's it!" he exclaimed before performing the hand seal for the Shadow Clone Technique.
When three copies of Naruto appeared, the others stared in shock at what he had just done. However, when he told them to focus on the fight, they nodded as one and resumed their assault on the Elvoret. Naruto's clones each formed a Rasengan and leapt at the downed beast, slamming their swirling balls of chakra into the beast in four different places. When it finally died moments later, he breathed out a sigh of relief and turned to face his friends. "Well...that was something." he said with a chuckle.
Before anything else could be said, Naruto walked over to Selphie and gave her the GF he had drawn from the Elvoret. "Here Selphie-chan, junction Siren to yourself and you should be good to go."
"Thanks Naruto!" she exclaimed before giving him a hug. Afterwards, she junctioned the GF to herself and smiled at the others. "We kicked butt!"
Now that the battle was finished and things had calmed down, Selphie hopped over a hole and stopped right behind Seifer. "Squad B captain?" she questioned, trying to get his attention. "S'cuse me! I have new orders!" When the squad captain turned to face her, she relayed the new orders to him. "All SeeD members and SeeD candidates are to withdraw at 1900 hours. Assemble at the [shore]!"
Seifer looked at her angrily and shouted, "Withdraw!? There are still enemies around!"
"I know, but I'm just a messenger." Selphie explained, trying to assuage his anger at her, even if only slightly.
"An order to withdraw takes priority. I don't want to miss the vessel." Squall said, looking into Seifer's eyes.
"What time d'you say?" Seifer questioned, sounding a bit unsure.
"Like I said…! All SeeD members and SeeD candidates are to withdraw at 1900 hours. Assemble at the [shore]!" Selphie exclaimed once again, trying to make her message heard loud and clear.
"1900 hours… We only have 30 minutes!" Seifer shouted in shock. "You got 30 minutes to get down to the [shore]! Better run!" he exclaimed before turning and running off.
"Heeey! Wait for us!" Selphie exclaimed in shock.
Zell rushed up to Selphie's side and grumbled in anger. "Who the hell does he think he is!?"
"Why don't you ask him." Squall said before looking at Naruto. "You alright?"
Nodding slowly, Naruto looked towards the shore and shook his head. "Half an hour to get back to the ships. That should be plenty of time...so long as we don't run into any serious opposition."
"Naruto...I think you might have just jinxed us." Zell said sadly.
Chuckling a bit, the whiskered blonde shook his head. "Trust me, with my luck, something was bound to happen anyways."
Squall turned to face the lift and shook his head. "Let's go." he commanded, and with that they hopped on the lift and started going down.
Back up on top of the tower, Major Biggs, who wasn't quite dead yet, crawled over to the device that had been knocked out of his hand earlier and pressed a few buttons, muttering to himself that those twerps were the enemy and he wanted whatever he had just done to destroy them.
Once outside, they took a few steps away from the tower before hearing something up above them. Looking up, they were surprised to see a gigantic, spider-like mechanical beast crawling on the tower. When it dropped down behind them, they grimaced before turning to fight off the monstrous machine. "See? Told you my luck sucked." Naruto said simply as they got ready to fight the damned thing.
A/N - And that's the chapter! Yep, I cut it off as they're getting ready to fight the X-ATM092. I wanted to give you guys something to look forward to in the next chapter. 'Cause you know that with Naruto there, it's bound to be an interesting fight. I just hope I make it a good one.
Anyways, I do hope you enjoyed the chapter. I'm rather tired and I'm frustrated with my damn family, so I'm just gonna end this Author's Note here. Lemme know if you liked the chapter in the reviews or via PM's or whatever. It's cool with me! lol