A/N - Alrighty, here's another chapter of The New SeeD! I couldn't help myself and just had to write another chapter for this story. I'm kind of addicted to FF8 lately, sooo...yeah. lol.

Anywho, this chapter covers the final events of disc 1. Things get kind of nuts this chapter, but I think the fight scene later in the chapter is pretty good. Hopefully you all agree.

Now, since I dunno what else to say, read on and enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 9 - The Failed Assassination

As Naruto slipped inside the mansion in secret through a window, he couldn't help but think over the plan. Something's going to go wrong. I can just feel it.

Shaking his head to rid himself of such negative thoughts, he stealthily moved throughout the mansion in search of Rinoa. Upon finding her, he knocked out the guards before slipping inside of the room and staring into Rinoa's eyes. Before he could say anything, Rinoa glomped him, hugging him tight. "Thank you. I knew you'd come for me."

The blonde blushed a bit, but nodded and said, "We made a promise to you, Rinoa. You're one of us now, and we're not going to just stand by and watch as you're taken away from us. Being locked away in a cage like this, metaphorically speaking, just isn't right. Now, we should get moving. Hold on tight."

Rinoa yelped in shock when Naruto scooped her into his arms. Before she could say anything, they vanished and reappeared elsewhere, outside of Caraway's Mansion. Feeling a bit nauseous from the sudden ride, she covered her mouth and tried to still her dizzy head. Once she was sure she was fine, she looked into her friend's eyes. "What the hell was that?"

The blonde chuckled a bit and shook his head. "That, my dear, was the Body Flicker Technique. Think of it as a high-speed movement technique that we shinobi use to get from place to place undetected."

"Uh-huh. You could have at least warned me. I nearly threw up all over you!" Rinoa exclaimed frustratedly.

Naruto chuckled a bit and said, "Yes, I could have, but it's way more fun to see people's reactions to me doing that."

Rinoa pouted at him and swatted him in the chest lightly. "Jerk." she said before smiling at him and giggling a bit. After a moment though, she looked around curiously and asked, "Where are the others?"

The blue-eyed shinobi pointed in a seemingly random direction and said, "They're returning to Caraway's Mansion to go over the final details of the plan before splitting into two teams, as per the plan. However, I'm acting as an independent unit in this operation. If Irvine fails, I'll get the job done my way. I'm a shinobi, a professional assassin. Ino-chan and Hinata-chan are professionals as well and, should I fail, the two of them can get the job done in my stead."

The blue-clad woman frowned a moment in thought before looking deep into Naruto's eyes. "Isn't that dangerous? For you to go alone, I mean. Shouldn't someone go with you?"

Naruto simply smiled at her and said, "You wouldn't believe the kinds of foes I've had to fight in the past back in my world. Trust me, no matter how powerful this sorceress may be, I'll get the job done. She won't even see me coming."

Rinoa looked worried, regardless of Naruto's assurance that he would be fine. "Then what about me? Can't I come with you?"

The spiky-haired blonde frowned in thought for a moment before shrugging his shoulders. "If you really want to, I won't stop you. I want you to stay out of sight though when it's time to deal with Edea. I refuse to let you get hurt because I got you involved in such a dangerous mission."

Looking into his eyes, Rinoa put her hands on her hips and leaned over slightly, looking deep into his eyes. "I won't be a burden to you. You'll see! Now let's go! We should get into position and wait for the time to strike, right? Unless you want to explore a bit or something?"

Naruto frowned in thought for a moment before saying, "I'll send a Shadow Clone to wait in position. I want to explore the sewers for a bit and learn my way around the underbelly of this city. You know, just in case we need to make a quick getaway and we're unable to do so above ground."

Rinoa frowned at this and asked, "Do we really have to? The sewers stink!"

Naruto chuckled slightly before walking over to a nearby manhole and opened it up. "You're welcome to hide out up here somewhere if you want. Nobody's going to force you to follow me." he said before dropping down the hole.

The raven-haired woman sighed and shook her head. "I'm not really being given much of a choice here. Stinky sewers or get caught and dragged back to the mansion again. Great choices." she said to herself before she climbed down the ladder into the sewers, making sure to put the manhole back into place as she descended.

Naruto quirked a brow at her and smirked. "I see you decided to follow me. Well, come on, let's get this over with. Never know when this knowledge will be useful to us."

Rinoa sighed and nodded her head somewhat reluctantly. "Joy." she muttered as she began to follow him through the sewers.

Squall

Squall and the others stood outside Caraway's Mansion, staring at the doors for a while as he thought over what they should do next. After a moment, he turned to Hinata and Ino and asked, "What will you two be doing? I assume you'll be joining Naruto?"

Ino shook her head and said, "Not exactly. We're pretty much professional assassins, as I'm sure you are already aware. Hinata and I will find a good place to hide and wait. When it's time, if Irvine and Naruto-kun somehow fail, we'll strike then. However, we're sure that Naruto-kun can pull this off if Irvine can't."

Squall nodded in understanding before watching as the two kunoichi disappeared. Afterwards, he knocked on the door and waited as a guard led them back to the same room they were in before. Thankfully, Caraway didn't make them wait for long and soon entered the room. However, as he went to speak, he couldn't help but notice three people were missing from the group of SeeDs. "Where are the others? Aren't they here with you?"

The scarred teen shook his head and said, "They're busy with their own mission and will not be joining us for this particular mission. We should be more than enough for this mission you have hired us for."

Caraway frowned for a moment before shrugging it off. "Very well. I assume you all know the plan by now?" Seeing them each nod, he said, "Good. Now, it's time to form the teams. The sniper and the leader of this operation will form the sniper team. The leader's role is vital."

Squall frowned at this and couldn't help but wonder to himself, What does he mean by that?

"If the plan fails for some reason, or the sniper misses, the leader must carry out a direct assault against the sorceress." Looking around at everyone, Caraway's eyes eventually settled on Squall. "This plan was devised carefully because we intend this to be a covert operation. Our ultimate goal is to eliminate the sorceress, and we must achieve this goal at all costs. Even if they somehow uncover our identities." Looking around again, he waited a few moments before asking them, "So, who's going to lead the operation?"

Everyone in the room immediately looked at Squall, and he couldn't help but smirk slightly at that. Looking into Caraway's eyes, he said, "I will."

"Very well. I'll leave the rest up to you." Caraway responded.

Looking around at his friends/teammates, Squall thought, The sniper team is decided. The others must be the gateway team then.

After a few moments more, Squall looked at Caraway again and said, "Irvine and I will make up the sniper team. The gateway team will be Quistis, Selphie, and Zell."

Selphie cheered and pumped her fist into the air. Quistis simply said, "Roger that." and Zell? Zell cheered excitedly and clenched his fists tight. "Let's DO IT!"

The yellow-clad girl looked around at the others for a moment before looking at Squall once again. "So who's gonna be the leader for the gateway team? I know who I'd pick if he was here, but…"

Squall nodded in understanding before glancing at Zell when he started hopping in place, looking incredibly excited as he threw a number of punches and kicks at the air. Sorry, Zell. he thought to himself before turning to face Quistis. "Quistis Trepe, you're in charge of the gateway team."

As Zell slumped over in disappointment, Quistis giggled a bit at his misfortune before looking into Squall's eyes with a smile. "Of course. Leave it to me."

"Ok then. Let's begin." Caraway said before he, Squall, and Irvine left the room.

Looking at her teammates, Quistis walked up to Zell first to get his opinion on the mission. "Thoughts, Zell?"

Zell sighed for a moment before grinning at her. "No matter what, I'm on your team instructor. Let's go kick some ass!"

Giggling at this, Quistis turned her attention to Selphie and, after blushing a bit at the memory of what happened earlier, she asked, "And your thoughts, Selphie? I know you were probably hoping Naruto would join us for this mission…"

Selphie smiled at this and shook her head. "No, it's alright. I understand that his job in this is important. I just hope he'll be careful. And now that I think on it, do you think he managed to do 'you-know-what'?"

Quistis looked from Selphie to the door for a moment before looking back at the brunette. "Of course he did. I'm sure he's waiting for his moment to strike now."

Zell walked over to them and asked, "What are you two talking about?"

Selphie looked at him with a deadpan expression on her face and said, "Figure it out on your own, Zell. What's Naruto realllllly good at?"

The spiky-haired blonde was confused at first before his eyes widened in realization. Before he could shout it out, Selphie stomped on one of his feet and shushed him. "The walls have ears. Naru's our trump card in this mission. If Irvine fails somehow, then Naruto will handle things. Understand?"

Zell nursed his aching foot and nodded quickly in affirmation. "Understood. Shouldn't we get going now though?"

Quistis nodded and, without a word, left the room with her team following shortly afterwards.

Naruto & Rinoa

"Hey, Naruto? I have something you might find useful if you want to kill the sorceress." Rinoa said, getting her companion's attention.

Glancing back at her, Naruto casually killed a Creeps that tried to sneak up behind him before looking at the object Rinoa was holding. "What's that?"

"It's an Odine bangle. I found it after being locked up in that room. It's supposed to suppress the sorceress' powers. But its effects are still unknown, so I don't think they planned to use it for the mission." she explained as she looked at the item in her hands. "But...if it will help you eliminate the sorceress, I'd like you to have it."

"Odine, huh? Interesting. That might actually be of some use." Naruto said with a grin as he accepted the item from his friend. "I can definitely find a use for this if I have to take that crazy lady head on for some reason."

Rinoa pumped her fist into the air and grinned at him. "Awesome! I'm looking forward to seeing you in action, Naruto! Don't let me down, okay?"

Naruto chuckled and said, "No problem. That sorceress won't know what hit her!"

The two of them laughed a bit before Rinoa remembered something. "Umm...can we leave the sewers now? I can't tolerate that smell anymore."

Sweatdropping at this, Naruto looked around and shrugged. "I'll be done soon. At least I found something useful down here." he said, holding up a magazine titled Weapons Monthly - May Edition. "With this, we can hopefully upgrade some of our weapons a bit more."

"That's nice. Now can we go?" Rinoa asked impatiently.

"Yeah, yeah. Follow me, and stay close. There should be an exit coming up sometime soonish. I think so, anyways." Naruto said before he continued leading them through the sewers.

Squall

"If you need me to, I can make a full-on charge and buy you the time you need to make the shot." Squall suggested as he looked at the cowboy beside him.

Irvine shook his head and said, "That won't be necessary. I'll get the job done, you'll see."

After a moment, Quistis and her team walked past, following after the general as he led them to where they needed to go. Squall and Irvine soon followed, with Irvine asking, "So, is it true that SeeDs aren't supposed to question their mission?"

Squall took some time to think on it before looking at Irvine. "While that may be true, there are times where it's best to think over your given orders and try to decide whether it's really a mission you want to undertake. If you know it's wrong, or you have a concern regarding the mission itself, it makes sense to question the mission and talk to those in charge about your concerns. But, there are times like now where even if you question the mission, you aren't really given much of a choice but to go through with it. Something just feels off about this whole thing, but I can't quite place my finger on it."

Irvine nodded in understanding as he and Squall continued following the others. "I hear ya. The life of a SeeD can't be an easy one, that's for sure."

Squall nodded in agreement and quietly thought to himself, That's quite the understatement.

After a moment, Irvine looked at Squall again and asked, "So, if the person you were supposed to kill is pure evil, you'd be more fired up to go through with it, huh?"

Once more, Squall let a frown cross his face as he paused to look Irvine in the eye. "There's no 'pure' evil. It's all a matter of perspective. Right and wrong are things that are judged by the people. To some, this sorceress may be pure evil, I suppose. But to us? We don't know her, and we don't know what she's capable of. She may be a kind person, or she could be a manipulative bitch that enjoys ruining people's lives. There's no way for us to know that, and so I have no opinion on her or this mission. All that matters right now is the mission, and that mission dictates that we assassinate her before she can harm anyone."

Irvine quirked a brow and said, "Didn't expect you to be so passionate. I get what you're saying though. I'm not sure how to feel about this, but I know that I'll do whatever it takes to get the job done and make sure we all get out of here safely after it's done."

Squall let a small smile stretch his face and nodded in thanks. "Glad to hear it. Just be careful." And with that being said, the two of them went and caught up to the gateway team.

Upon reaching them, Squall made sure that each of them understood the plan in full, listening as they recounted their mission and what to do. Afterwards, he approached Caraway and listened as the man said, "The gateway team will wait inside the gate until 20:00. You can enter through this door. Remember, the sorceress will pass through the gateway at exactly 20:00. In that instant, lower the gates using the control console located on the top floor and trap her inside the gateway." And with that being said, Caraway turned and began walking off again while Quistis and the other members of the gateway team entered through the door, leaving Squall and Irvine outside.

Once they were out of sight, Squall and Irvine went after Caraway. As they followed him, Irvine spoke up again. "You said something about this just didn't feel right to you, right? I think I'm feeling it too. It's making me a little nervous, actually."

The scarred teen looked at Irvine for a moment as they continued to walk. "If it helps, I trust in you and your ability to pull this off. But if we fail, and our shinobi friends fail, then we'll just have to take the fight directly to her. I doubt it'll be an easy fight, but I have faith that we can pull this off and make this a successful mission."

Irvine simply nodded in acceptance of this before they caught up to the general. Looking at them, he said, "You two will wait here."

Taking their positions, Squall looked towards the Presidential Residence with a frown. "General, why has the sorceress decided to have such an extravagant parade?"

Caraway turned to face the Residence as well and said, "She wants to cement her place in Galbadia Garden, as she has chosen that as her base."

So that's why Galbadia Garden wants her out… Squall thought to himself, realizing now just how serious this was for them.

"It's starting." Caraway said suddenly, breaking Squall out of his musings. "I'm returning to my residence. Good luck." And with that, the general left them and began making his way back home.

Something still doesn't feel right about this whole thing… Squall thought to himself as he waited with Irvine.

Gateway Team

As they waited patiently for the parade to reach them, Zell decided to ask a question that was driving him nuts. "So, Instructor, just what are you planning to do about Naruto?"

Blushing slightly, Quistis turned around to face him and said, "I don't see how that's any of your business, Zell. But if you must know, I'm planning to talk with him after this mission. I...I've decided that I want to see if we can build some form of relationship together. I'm still not too comfortable with the idea of s-sharing him, but…"

Selphie turned to face her and smirked. "Just admit it. You like him too and want to be with him, regardless of the circumstances. Just remember, his first time belongs to me!"

Zell, hearing this, covered his ears and looked at Selphie with disgust. "Ugh! I do NOT need to hear about that kind of thing! Keep that kind of talk to yourselves, please."

"Oh, grow up Zell!" Selphie exclaimed. "But if you're really that immature, we'll keep quiet about that kind of thing. Seriously though," looking at Quistis again, Selphie said, "You do like him, right?"

Quistis sighed and nodded her head. "I do. I'd like to see if these feelings blossom into something more substantial. If...if they don't, I'd like to at least remain his friend. I hate seeing him hurt."

"Agreed. I want Naru to be happy! He deserves it after all he's apparently been through." Selphie declared.

Zell simply shrugged as he listened to the two of them talk about Naruto this and Naruto that. With a sigh, he peered out the window at the ground below and mouthed to himself, "It's starting."

Squall

"Here she comes." Irvine said, looking at Squall for a moment before returning his gaze to the podium up above. "Think Naruto's found a good spot to ambush her by now?"

Squall nodded his head and said, "Most likely. Unless he got distracted by something, in which case I certainly hope he hurries up and gets in position."

"Agreed. Still though, this sorceress is pretty hot, don't you think? It's a shame we have to kill her."

Squall sighed at this and shook his head. "Whatever you say. Let's try to focus on the mission and not how 'hot' she looks."

Irvine simply chuckled a bit, but didn't say another word. Instead, he and Squall listened as the sorceress Edea began to speak. "Lowlifes, every one of you. Shameless, filthy wretches. Oh how you celebrate my ascension with such joy. You're hailing the very one whom you have condemned for generations. Have you no shame? Whatever hapened to the evil, ruthless sorceress from your fantasies? The cold-blooded tyrant that slaughtered countless men and women and destroyed a great many nations? Where is she now? I'll tell you. She stands before your very eyes to become your new ruler." she said before cackling madly. Once she had calmed down, she looked out at the crowd and said, "A new era has just begun."

President Deling, who had been standing beside her, turned to her and questioned, "E-Edea, are you alright?"

Before he could say anything more, Edea thrust her hand into Deling's chest and used her magic abilities to set him ablaze. As the life left him, Edea looked out at the crowd of imbeciles down below. "This is reality. No one can help you. Now sit back and enjoy the show." And with that said, Edea tossed President Deling behind her like he was a sack of garbage.

Turning back to the masses down below, who were still mindlessly cheering for her, despite what she had just done to the president. "Rest assured, you fools. Your time will come. This is only the beginning." Smirking at them, she said, "Let us start a new reign of terror. I will let you live a new fantasy beyond your imagination." And with that, Edea turned and walked off, returning from the place in which she came.

Alone once again, Edea smirked to herself and said, "Let us end this ceremony with a sacrifice." Snapping her fingers, Edea used her magic to bring to life two statues that had been attached to the gateway. The creatures, known as Iguions, rushed through the streets towards Edea before they seemed to smell something quite...enticing. Turning, they ran off in a seemingly random direction, leaving Squall and Irvine baffled as to what was going on this time.

"Um, what the hell do we do now? We can't just let those things run amok. They're going to kill someone!" Irvine shouted as he watched the Iguions turn a corner and run off.

Squall shook his head and glanced in the direction the monsters had run off to. "We've got a mission to focus on. Besides, I'm pretty certain they're going to run into Naruto and, if she's with him, Rinoa. They can handle those things on their own, trust me."

Irvine frowned at this and looked in the direction Squall was before returning his gaze to the sniper team leader. "If you're absolutely sure about this, I'll believe you. I may not know the guy very well, but I can tell he's strong. You're right, we need to focus on the mission."

Squall nodded once and said, "Now we wait. I certainly hope everything goes according to plan…"

Gateway team

"Looks like it's starting, guys. I hope the others are in position by now." Zell said as he watched the proceedings down below.

Selphie and Quistis both frowned as they peered outside. "I'm more concerned by those creatures Edea brought to life. Who do you think they went after?"

Quistis narrowed her eyes and said, "Most likely Naruto and Rinoa. Those creatures are likely attracted to their scents for some reason or another, I'm not sure. Either way, they're a threat that needs to be neutralized."

Zell looked at her and asked, "So, what do you want to do Leader? Do we give chase and hope we can deal with them before 20:00?"

The female blonde shook her head and said, "No. We leave the extermination of those beasts to Naruto. He can win against creatures such as that. With Rinoa as backup, it should be no problem."

Selphie nodded and pumped her fist into the air. "Yep yep! Naru-Naru will crush those things, no sweat! We need to focus on our job and do the thingy when it hits 20:00."

Quistis sighed and palmed her face. I swear, she's got way too much energy.

Sniper Team

Squall was stunned as he watched the parade float pass by. Seifer. Seifer was alive and on the float with the sorceress! He looked as if he belonged there, and he still had that annoying smirk on his face as he waved his gunblade about in the air.

"Seifer. Have you joined forces with the sorceress Edea? What could have inspired you to do such a thing?" Squall questioned to himself, not expecting any kind of answer from anyone.

"You know that guy or something? He looked pretty cocky." Irvine said, sounding genuinely curious.

Squall nodded once in the affirmative. "He's from Garden as well. He failed the SeeD exams numerous times, just as he failed the one held not too long ago. He's always been an asshole, but I never expected him to join up with such a dangerous enemy. I knew something about this mission felt off, and now I know what it is. If...if he chooses to protect her, even knowing what she is, I may have to fight him. I really hope it doesn't come to that."

"Same here. If he interferes, I may miss my shot. Can't have that happening." Irvine said as he tipped his hat downwards to cover his eyes. "This whole thing still feels wrong to me. Not entirely sure why, though."

Squall could only nod in agreement as he and Irvine went to find a better position so they'd have a clear shot when the time came to assassinate the sorceress.

Naruto

Naruto and Rinoa had been well on their way to find a good place to ambush the sorceress from when two creatures rushed up and blocked their path. Frowning at this, Naruto drew his sword and looked calmly at the beasts. "Not sure what these things are, but they're in the way. Let's take 'em down Rinoa-chan!"

Rinoa nodded determinedly and immediately used her Draw ability, finding an oddity in the magic they could draw from these beasts. Pulling on it, she was surprised to find that she had extracted a GF from them called Carbuncle. Deciding to focus on that later, she attacked with her blaster edge.

Her blonde companion summoned forth a number of shadow clones before disappearing and then reappearing behind the first of the Iguions. Turning back to face the beast, he smiled in satisfaction as numerous cuts appeared along the creature's body, spraying blood from the wounds. Afterwards, he twirled his sword around and grinned sadistically. "Should've never picked a fight with us, you lousy beasts." he said before he began to focus hard, positioning his sword him front of him as he began to call upon something big.

Meanwhile, Rinoa rolled to the side to dodge an attack by the other Iguion before she casted a Blizzara spell on it, causing it to recoil in pain. It didn't appear to be a devastating attack, meaning its weakness wasn't ice. However, it did enough to distract the beast and she shot her Valkyrie weapon at it again, watching as it cut into the beast before returning to her. Glancing towards Naruto for a brief moment, she saw what he was doing and smiled in relief. Thank goodness. Whatever he's about to summon, it'll surely affect the tide of this battle.

After a short while, Naruto summoned forth Shiva and smiled at her as she called upon her power and used the attack known as Diamond Dust. Watching her attack in action, he was pleased to see the Iguion he was fighting collapse dead to the ground while the other one was clearly on its last legs. Turning to it, he put his sword away before drawing his twin pistols and opened fire on the beast, nailing it numerous times all over its body while the last two bullets pierced its skull.

When the beast collapsed dead to the ground, Naruto slipped away his pistols and shot a grin at Shiva. "Thank you for the assist, Shiva-chan. I appreciate it."

Shiva smiled at him and floated down to him, walking up and kissing him on the cheek, leaving a cold, yet pleasurable sensation on his cheek. "Anytime Naruto. You should really call for me more often. We never get to play together."

Naruto blushed a bit as he rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry Shiva-chan. I'll try to remember to call you more often. For now though, we need to find a good place to ambush and assassinate a certain sorceress. I'll try to call on you later, okay?"

"Of course, Naruto-kun. Take care of yourself, okay?" Shiva said before she left, leaving some snow to fall to the ground where she had been standing. Once she was gone, he turned to face Rinoa and saw her looking at him in a funny way. "Yes?"

"You seem awfully close to your GF. What would the others think, hm?"

Naruto chuckled softly and shook his head. "Dunno. I know Shiva likes to flirt, but she's a very sweet woman and we get along well. I truly appreciate her company." he admitted with a shrug. "Anyways, we need to get moving. We've wasted enough time here."

Rinoa nodded and quickly rushed over to him so she wouldn't get left behind. Following after him, she glanced at him for a moment before looking forward again. You're interesting, Naruto.

Sniper Team

Squall and Irvine slipped around the Presidential Residence, finding a large stack of boxes that conveniently led up to where the sorceress had been a short while ago. Upon reaching that level, the two of them looked at the deceased president and shook their heads. "I'm not sure whether I should feel sorry for him, pity him, or if I should say he deserved it." Squall admitted.

Irvine shook his head. "Best not to think on it too much. Besides, we need to get to the clock tower and prepare to take the shot."

The scarred teen nodded once to signify he understood before he and Irvine went inside the residence, finding a hatch that led into the clock tower. Once inside, they spotted the sniper rifle easily enough and, when Squall handed it over to Irvine, he said, "It's in your hands now, Irvine Kinneas. Good luck."

Irvine took the sniper rifle somewhat hesitantly, which struck Squall as odd. Without a word, the cowboy walked around the circular room and the device in the center before sitting down against a round object. Seeing this peculiar behavior, the gunblade specialist frowned and wondered to himself, Why'd he get all quiet? Something's not right about this…

Taking a seat himself, Squall realized that it was too quiet in this room. Can't hear anything in here. I wonder what's going on with the parade? Then there's Seifer. I can't believe he's alive, but what the hell is he doing with the sorceress?! I wonder how Rinoa will take the news? But more than that, will I have to go through Seifer to get to the sorceress? Will I be able to strike him down if need be? I may not get along with him, but…

Irvine broke Squall out of his thoughts and asked, "So, what's the deal with you and that Seifer guy? Why's he with the sorceress?"

Squall looked at Irvine before looking away with a deep frown on his face. "Seifer...I guess you could say we were rivals. We both were in Garden together, training to become SeeDs. He was the head of the disciplinary committee, and he was always such an asshole. He failed to become a SeeD, and it burned him up inside. Actually, he's the one that gave me this scar on my face." he said as he reached up and brushed his fingers lightly along his scar. "To be perfectly honest with you, I hate him."

"As for why he's with the sorceress, I couldn't begin to tell you. But if he gets in the way, I may have to kill him. Right now, he's our enemy and should be treated as a potential threat to our wellbeing. Still, if you can pull off this shot, we won't need to deal with him. Try not to miss, okay?"

Irvine closed his eyes and shook his head, clearly feeling nervous about this. I don't think you understand, Squall. I...I don't know if I can do it.

Looking at Irvine and noticing his peculiar behavior, Squall frowned and shook his head. Wonderful. He's starting to panic. Naruto, we may need to rely on you after all.

Thinking over his options, Squall placed a hand gently upon Irvine's shoulder and shook him a bit. "Hey, it's alright. Calm down and breathe. In. Out. In. Out. We believe in you and your abilities, Irvine. You'll be okay."

Irvine could feel tears welling up in his eyes and shook his head. "I...I don't think I can do it. I always choke like this when it really counts! I'm...I'm sorry, but I just can't!"

Squall sighed and closed his eyes for a moment as he thought through their options. "It's okay. Just try to relax. If you can't do it, then you can't do it. There's still plan B and, if that were to fail, there's always plan C. If Naruto fails for some reason, and the kunoichis are unable to pull it off, then we're going to need to make a frontal assault and take the fight directly to Seifer and the sorceress."

Irvine wiped away the tears in his eyes and said, "I'm...I'm sorry."

The gunblade wielder shook his head and offered a very small smile to Irvine. "It's okay. Just relax and wait. We'll figure something out."

Gateway Team

Zell, who was keeping watch of the parade down below, soon called out to Quistis, "Instructor, now!"

Quistis nodded and quickly flipped the switch. They could hear the gates closing below them, and breathed a sigh of relief that they acted in time to stop Edea's float and effectively trapped her.

Selphie peered out the window and looked around curiously. "Where do you think Naruto is? Is he in position to strike, do you think?"

Zell gave her a thumbs up and said, "No worries! My buddy's gonna pull this off, no sweat! Though I have to wonder, why hasn't Irvine taken the shot yet?"

Quistis frowned and shook her head. "It's possible that, despite all his bravado, he's choked and is unable to pull the trigger. He may be a superb shot, but it's certainly possible that he's afraid to pull the trigger."

Zell looked at her in disbelief and shouted, "The hell?! If that's the case, why send him with us at all?!"

The ex-instructor shook her head and said, "It's only a theory. We won't know the truth until we've reunited with him and Squall. For now though, we need to find a place to keep an eye on Sorceress Edea and be ready to strike if need be."

Selphie nodded in agreement before the three of them began to climb down the ladder. Upon reaching ground level, they peered outside by opening the door slightly and saw Edea was looking in their direction. Sweating just slightly, they prepared for a fight, only to see Naruto slipping into position.

Making sure not to give him away, Quistis stepped out into the open, as they had obviously been found out, and looked defiantly into the woman's eyes. "Sorceress Edea! As per our orders, you are to be put to death! Prepare yourself."

Edea smirked at her and said, "Such bravado. You're awfully full of yourself, aren't you? Tell me, that assassin attempting to sneak up on me, what is he to you? Perhaps you wouldn't mind if I annihilated him right now?"

Hearing this, their eyes widened in horror when Edea used her magic to grab Naruto before he could make the killing blow and threw him hard into the nearby wall with such force it created a human-shaped dent in the building. However, when he burst into a cloud of smoke, Edea's eyes widened and she began to look around for her would-be assassin.

After a brief moment, Edea's eyes widened further as she looked down at her stomach only to see blood trickling down her front and slowly making its way downwards. Glancing behind her, she saw Naruto with a cold, calculated look on his face as he removed his sword from her body.

Before he could make the finishing strike, Seifer was upon him, swinging his gunblade towards him. Jumping backwards, Naruto was shocked as an explosive blast hit him right in the chest, causing him to cough in pain as the Kyuubi went about trying to heal the damage to his chest.

"How dare you?! I always knew you were trash, but to attack Sorceress Edea like that?! I'm going to enjoy this very, very much." Seifer said as he prepared for a fight against Naruto.

Before Seifer could attack Naruto again, he was forced to dodge and attack from his fellow gunblade wielder, though the blast from Squall's blade sent him stumbling backwards, clutching at his face as the blast had gone off right in his face. "Your fight's with me, Seifer. It's time to settle things between us."

Earlier with the Sniper Team

Squall glanced around as the clock tower rose until they were high above the Presidential Residence with a very clear view of Sorceress Edea's float and the sorceress herself.

Looking at Irvine, Squall was tempted to berate him and make him take the shot somehow, but soon scrapped that idea and said, "Stay here if you want, Irvine Kinneas. I'm moving in. Time to take the fight right to Edea." And with that being said, Squall quickly made his way down to ground level before rushing towards the float, preparing himself mentally for the fight that was about to come.

Frowning at this, Irvine did what he could to build up his courage before smacking his cheeks a couple of times. "Come on Irvine, you can do this! Just...just one shot!" Before he could take the shot, however, he saw Naruto appear behind Edea with his sword through her stomach. Eyes widening, he soon found himself smiling. "Damn, he's a badass." he said before chuckling a bit. Afterwards, he moved to follow Squall, determined to see this fight through to the end.

Present

Seifer looked at Squall and a sly smirk spread across his face. "Well, well. So this is how it turned out in the end. I suppose this was a long time coming. For daring to threaten Lady Edea, I will end your miserable life."

Squall frowned and asked, "So you've become the sorceress' lapdog? Is that really what you want?"

Seifer chuckled and shook his head. "I prefer to be called her knight. This has always been my dream. Now, prepare yourself Squall! It's time I prove myself your superior!" he exclaimed before casting Fira, attempting to get the battle started off right.

Squall rolled away to avoid the spell before returning his attention to Seifer, only to see his gunblade inches from his face. Quickly raising his own gunblade to block it, he took the opportunity to fire a blast in Seifer's face once again, causing him to reel back with his hands covering his face as he screamed in agony.

Taking advantage of the opening given to him, Squall leapt forward and slashed Seifer's chest diagonally, leaving a deep gash in his opponent's body.

"You rotten bastard!" Seifer yelled angrily as he lowered his hands and prepared to continue the fight.

Squall let a small smirk cross his face as he said, "I learned from you, Seifer. Playing fair will only get me killed."

"Heh, you're right about that." Seifer said before he clashed blades with Squall once again, the both of them refusing to back down as they continued their deadly dance.

Meanwhile, as Naruto took the moment to recover, he watched as Hinata and Ino descended upon Edea, throwing a number of kunai at her, which only bounced off the barrier she had created. Landing on either side of her, they attempted to break through her barrier, only to scowl as they found out that it was impossible.

Leaping away from the sorceress and landing on either side of Naruto, Ino asked him, "Any ideas, Naruto-kun? You did wound her, so we know she's not invincible."

Naruto shook his head and looked calmly into Edea's eyes. "Honestly? I think I'm going to need to break out some of my seals. Fuinjutsu can do pretty much anything, including getting rid of that pesky barrier of hers. Problem is, she won't give me the time I need to prepare a seal. Think you can hold her off?"

Hinata smirked at this and said, "Of course we can! We've improved quite a lot since you've been gone."

Grinning at her, Naruto said, "I know you have. Just keep her off of me for a little while and I'll have something whipped up in a jiffy. Good luck, and don't get killed. Got it?"

Ino smiled at his concern before she and Hinata moved in to keep the sorceress distracted.

While the two of them did that, Quistis and the other members of the gateway team hurried over to him and looked at what he was doing. "Is this another one of your seals, Naruto?" she questioned.

Nodding his head, Naruto concentrated hard as he began working on said seal without speaking a word. When Selphie went to ask him something, Zell hushed her and said, "Just watch. Don't disturb him. The smallest mistake can have pretty severe consequences."

Selphie nodded in understanding as she watched her boyfriend work on another masterpiece. Once he had finished, Naruto stood up and walked calmly towards Edea. The sorceress, upon seeing this, turned towards him and aimed one of her powerful magic spells at him, only for him to hold up the seal he had just created and seemingly absorbed her spell. Eyes widening at this, Edea was caught further off guard as he shot her own spell back at her. She figured that her barrier would hold strong against it, but as soon as her spell hit it, her barrier shattered and she was forced to leap out of the way.

Upon recovering, Edea narrowed her eyes at Naruto and decided that he was the biggest threat to her at the moment. When Hinata and Ino moved in to attack, she raised one of her hands and blasted them back with another powerful spell. Then, she turned her attention to Naruto and began to focus hard on what would be one of her most powerful spells used to date.

It was at this point that Squall hurried up beside his friend, having just defeated Seifer, and said, "I'm here, Naruto. What do you need me to do?"

Naruto said, "We need to prevent her from casting whatever spell she's got in store for us. Let's make a two-pronged assault and hit her from two directions at once."

Squall nodded in understanding before he slipped around behind the distracted sorceress and, upon receiving Naruto's signal, rushed in, attempting to strike Edea from behind. However, she used a partial barrier to block his attack before smirking at Naruto and unleashing a powerful ice spell on him.

Naruto, upon seeing this, pulled out one of his premade seals and summoned forth a powerful cyclone that clashed with Edea's spell before they both fizzled and disappeared. Something happened though that caught Naruto off guard. Edea had turned to face Squall and sent numerous spears of ice flying at him.

Eyes widening in horror, Naruto did a quick Replacement Technique, swapping places with Squall and taking the hit himself. They pierced him in numerous locations, such as his left shoulder, right knee, through his chest, etc. Wincing in pain, he fought to stay on his feet, but soon collapsed to his knees and spit out a large glob of blood. "D-Damn you…" he said as the spears of ice disappeared, leaving Naruto to collapse forward as he lost consciousness.

Immediately upon seeing this, Selphie leapt onto the float and charged Edea, fury blazing in her eyes. However, she was soon stopped by Squall, who was looking around at all the enemies that had appeared. "Stop Selphie. Naruto will be okay. He has to be. Right now, we need to lay down our arms. We can't escape this."

Selphie scowled and looked into Edea's eyes, her own eyes blazing with an intense hatred for the woman before her. "We can't just let her get away with what she's done!"

Quistis placed a hand upon Selphie's shoulder and shook her head. "We won't. But there's nothing we can do right now. I'm sorry."

The yellow-clad girl began to cry, her tears pouring down her cheeks as she did. "N-Naruto...will be okay, right? I don't want to lose him!"

The blonde ex-instructor nodded as she looked at Naruto with a deep frown on her face. "We'll see soon enough, I'm sure."

A/N - And that's the chapter! I've got a little surprise in store for next chapter, but until then, you're stuck waiting. :P Mwahahahahahaa! lol.

Anyways, not much to say this time. I dunno what I'll work on next, buuut...hopefully you're looking forward to it. Ciao!