A/N: EDIT: Flames all over the comments again. Not surprised. T_T
Sorry if this chapter isn't up to my usual standards. I'm a bit stressed out today...alright, very stressed out.
So much for my income check...hardly got any money back this year. That's a spirit breaker, right and proper. I had intended to put that money aside for up-and-coming health stuff, but ach, taxes took their toll this year. Still, better than my sister, who ended up owing a fair bit of money. Me? I got a pittance.
*siiiiigh*
Finished Raiden's second story quest. And all I have to say is...wow.
I also delayed this to give folks a chance to try said quest out. Wouldn't do to spoil things.
As ever, the Embers Rule persists. If folks don't like this...well. I won't continue it. Sorry, but its the sad truth. I don't have a team anymore, meaning I'm writing almost EVERYTHING by myself. At the end of the day, this is a HOBBY for me, one I don't get paid for. To top if off, I'm working two jobs. As such, I haven't the time to write a story no one likes. So by all means, speak up! Raise your voice! Make yourselves heard!
Now for your questions comments and concerns. Seven this time!
Q: Do you know about Makoto's past?
A: Yeah. *SPOILER* Time travel is weird as all hell, but I can get behind it.
Q: Oi! Are you going to do what I think you are with Makoto?
A: That depends. Whaddya think I'm gonna do?
Q: What's your update schedule?
A: Every day except Wednesday. *looks through notes* I've got a lot to work through -and stories to finish- so I've got a few surprise in store.
And yes, I haven't forgotten the "Serving a Schnee" request.
Q: Is this story ending soon?
A: It could, in a sense. One arc is wrapping up, and this could very well be near the conclusion. Suppose that depends on you, the reader(s) if continues into the future or simply ends soon~!
So? What say you?
Q: Don't you DARE skip out on the duel!
A: Perish the thought! And duel? No, no, no. Duels have rules. This?
THIS BE A BRAWL.
Right now, Ei is, quite literally, seeing red. She wants blood. Naruto, on the other hand, insists on not fighting, much less hurting her.
This can only end one way.
Q: Are the others moving?
A: Depends on who you mean, but Naruto and Ei's clash has hardly gone unnoticed.
Q: Why do you like Raiden so much?
A: Because SHE is the reason I got into Genshin at all. Were it not for her character trailer -saw that on Youtube- I'd never have touched it. I remember feeling bad for her at the time, and that made me curious; enough to research Funny how the little things can move you so.
And you know what they say, once you GenshIN you can't GenshOUT. Horrible puns aside, that's the reason I got into Genshin Impact in the first place.
Q: I have a bad feeeeeeeling about this! Someone's gonna kick the bucket.
A: *zips lips*
Alight, I've kept you long enough.
We're finally here; hope you're ready for it!
As ever, I own no references, quotes, themes or memes!
That said! MASSIVE Spoilers for Ei's second quest, and a bit of verbatim on that front. Now, then.
Kudos to Vanitas, too, for the quote~!
Let us begin.
"Oh, Ei...everyone is alone. That doesn't change, whether you're a god or a human. You can never completely understand someone. Most people live and die without even understanding, it is for that very reason that people seek each other out to share the warmth of an emotional bond.
I hope you find someone truly dear to you. Someone to snuggle up to at night, a hand to hold, a heart to have, children to love. One day, I'm sure there will be such a person who loves you, through infinity and beyond. One day. I'm sure of it. So long as you do not close your heart, that moment will come. Open your hear, dear sister, and you will never be lonely, even when you are alone. Just as you were there for me.
You'll find someone, just as I did. I know you will. After all, you're my twin~!"
~Makoto.
A Crying Audience
"Is that a freaking discount Susanoo?!"
In hindsight, perhaps that wasn't the best retort to make when faced with a woman who could annihilate islands with a single sweep of her sword. No, it definitely wasn't. If anything, it was probably the worst thing Naruto could have said. Still, it was the first notion that sprang forth from his mind when he saw Ei transform into that...thing. He couldn't contain himself. Her new form looked so much like Sasuke's technique -even if it wasn't!- that he just had to remark on the fact. It was a great need; a burning desire that could not be denied.
Did it set her off? Undoubtedly.
"Don't look down on me!"
Was it worth it? Yuuup.
"I wasn't!" he barked out and blocked again, furiously parrying, a storm of blows in hasty retreat. "Those arms just looks an awful lot like something I've seen before!"
And her new form truly did, in a sense.
Clad in flowing armor, hair freed from its braid, Ei's new form was the very epitome of a storm. He would've called her new form beautiful if it wasn't so damn dangerous. A blazing electro sigil hummed at her back before tapering off into a giant arm on the right, three lesser ones on the left, and...was she standing atop a pair of hands. Alright, that wasn't something he'd not encountered yet but it still felt like a Susanoo ripoff, you know? If Sasuke had been the one ripped into this world instead of him, he was fairly certain his old friend would've had words for Ei; harsh words, angry words.
"Pay attention!" Kurama's shout snapped him back to reality. "One wrong move here and you'll lose your life!"
'I know!'
Ducking a sweep, he twisted himself around to evaded three simultaneous strikes in midair, kicked off a shadow clone in midair, and launched himself at her like a human missile. Unprepared for the sudden aggression on his part, the archon hesitated. Naruto used that moment to closed the distance. He caught her by one of her false arms-and whirled with all his might. She retaliated in kind, driving a heated current through his body. Hot light lit his eyes from within. Muscles strained. Lightning thundered through his body, arcing across clenched teeth. He endured, planted a foot in the dirt, and...!
"ORAH!"
Ei yelped -actually yelped!- as he hurled her over his shoulder and slammed her into the ground. She struck the soil of the Euthymia, bounced once, and righted herself. Naruto didn't give her time to recover; even as she clamored upright, his fist slammed down through the pouring rain at her face. Her eyes widened.
Clenched knuckles passed through empty air as she vanished again.
Frustration etched itself into every line of his face.
"Stop runnin' away, damnit!"
Fresh rain lashed at his face as the storm intensified, forcing him to squint against the stinging dewdrops merely to see. It saved his life; if only because he saw the water burn a vivid violent violet as Ei surged back in at his flank. This time the Electro Archon did not run toward him; running implied normalcy, a feat any average soul could accomplish. No running here.
She absolutely blurred.
He saw her coming -read her intent!- at the last instant, and did the same. Blood flew through the air. A thin slice opened across his left cheek - then they were past one another. Had that connected fully, he would have lost his head. Nevertheless, he pivoted first. Ei was only a heartbeat behind, rounding on him with a noise that had no business coming from a human throat. It almost sounded like she was screaming his name. His sixth sense shrilled a warning and he pulled hard on Kurama's chakra.
Blade met fist, producing a sonorous shockwave...as his hand held.
Ei balked, bearing down on him with all her might, to no avail. "How?! That should've split you in two!"
There was no point in retorting. It would only make her angrier. His fist flickered at her face - this time it found purchase. Blood splashed the dirt as the shogun's head snapped to the side. Naruto cursed himself for the shallow blow. She'd turned her head at the last instant, turning what should've been a knockout punch into a glancing blow. She turned with the blow, driving a palm into his chest. Lightning flashed out, hurtling him to the ground. He kicked off it and launched himself back at her, driving a leg into her side. He heard her ribs creak as he kicked her way.
She caught herself in the air, the clever girl, and glowered down at him.
A thin line of blood ran from her nose where he'd first struck her. She touched a hand to it and lifted it to her face. Her lilac eyes, already glowing, now blazed with inhuman light. A host of different emotions blazed across her face. Shock. Anger. Surprise. And there, looming above them all...fear.
"You dare...?" She flicked blade out, summoning her spectral arms anew. Thunder pealed overhead, streaks of light silhouetting against her resplendent form. "You dare to wound me?!"
Kurama winced. "Gonna get a bit dicey from here. Sure you don't want to use that? Should be safe to do it here...
'Not yet.' Naruto shook his head and settled into a new stance, 'I'm trying to make a point.
"Fine. But if your life's on the line...
'Sure. Step in, then."
"Wound you?" He began to crack his knuckles. "I'm just getting started."
Wait. Why was she blushing? "You...you knave!" even from here, he could see her face aglow, eyes wide with alarm. "I shan't allow it! I will not fall as she did!"
He tilted his head. "She...?"
"Raaargh!"
Countless strikes cut down at him, rending heaven and earth alike. Anyone else would have perished on the spot. He barreled through them to drive her back. She gasped and parried, not at all accustomed to being on the defense. Once, twice, thrice. Again and again they lashed out at another, heedless of their wounds.
Saffron danced with violet, sweeping strokes of magenta light warring with golden wind in this lifeless realm.
An unstoppable force met an immovable object.
When Ei struck with her giant weapon he defended himself without thinking; bringing his other palm up against the flat of her blade, diverting it at the last instant to slam harmlessly past into the ground. Overbalanced at the last, she sought to course-correct as any warrior would. Mistakes were made. Even as those four arms of hers swept down on him to defend, claws of golden chakra reared up from his back to catch them, entangle them, hold them fast. From there, he stomped down on her sword, driving it deeper into the plane of her mind, nearly to the hilt. Then he stepped in, driving his forehead against hers.
The sound rang like a gong across the eternal plane.
Ei stumbled back, bleeding from her forehead, warding the Musou Isshin before her to fend him off.
Naruto pressed the attack, trying to ignore the ire in her eyes. Sloppy. Too sloppy. She wasn't always like this. Had her skills dulled in isolation. Or maybe he'd stunned her? Didn't matter. He nudged aside the first strike, slapped aside the second, took a glancing hit to his left side and waded in to seize her by the shoulders. Her eyes widened as she realized what he intended; for what little good it did her. He smashed his knee into her stomach and folded against him with a pained cry.
"Give up." he growled. "There's no point in this!"
Feral triumph shone in her eyes and she vanished in his grasp, turning to so much light. It was his only warning.
Her blade burst from his back, erupting out of his chest. He hadn't even seen her move. Didn't even feel pain at first. He stumbled and she drove the blade deeper all but skewering him on its glistening edge. She twisted the sword in his wound, tearing grunt of pain from him, the first he'd made since they'd begun. He glared back at her, regretful red meeting vicious violet.
"You restrain yourself." Ei's voice was a naked hiss in his ear, lips brushing the back of his head. "Foolishness. You should not have held back."
"Naruto!"
'I'm...fine! Let me handle this! Don't kill her!'
His hands closed around the blade, preventing her from pulling away, and by extension worsening his wound. Even then it was a near thing. His fingers stung, quivering with the forcing of locking her blade in place. Blood bubbled up in his grasp as something poured into him. Still he held fast. Not enough. This wouldn't end him. He wouldn't let it. Ah, crap. World was going black and white on him. She'd hit a lung, hadn't she? Now this was all kinds of familiar...
"Well, damn." a thin line of blood ran down his chin. "You really went for the kill there, didn'tcha? Will killing me...really make you happy?"
"It will." Something flickered in her gaze. "Slaying you will silence the doubts in my heart once and for all."
Poor girl. She really believed that, didn't she?
...I really pity you, ya know?" he coughed, swooning a bit. "At least the Oni girl made sense." Sandaled feet planted themselves, strengthening his stance. "If I can save a corrupted creature like Chiyo," grit teeth clenched around a cough, "Then I can...and willl...save you!" Even if it hurt! "Definitely!" Even if it killed him! "Just you wait...!"
She made a tiny gasp and recoiled. "Why did you say that name?"
"Eh...?"
"Her name!" Ei's blade twisted in his chest. "How do you know that Oni's name?!"
"Oni?" What was she on about? Even now, he had enough strength to scowl. "I saved her! Just today!"
"Chiyo? No. Lies. She's gone!" Her face settled into a cold mask moments later, scowling at him. "Irrelevant words. I will not fall for your silver tongue twice."
He slumped. "No, you probably won't. Lucky for me, I wasn't lying."
She stilled against him. "What."
His head snapped back in a golden arc, bloodying her nose. Ei cried out, but he didn't -couldn't!- turn to see her. Just as well. She couldn't see the anger in his eyes; nor the lack of restraint. He slammed an elbow back into her ribs and they creaked. Cracked, now. Fractured. Once. Twice. Thrice. On the fourth blow she finally succumbed to the pain and lost hold of her sword altogether, freeing him. The moment she did, he whirled and dropped to a knee, in doing so evading a torrent of absolute death that whistled through the space he'd just occupied.
"No!" He heard her howl. "Give it back! Give her back to me!"
Blade still jutting from his shoulder, Naruto smashed two open palm into her exposed torso.
Bloody hands blazed with cerulean light.
"Double Rasengan."
Ei screamed. He couldn't see her face from this angle, but he heard her cry all the same as she hurtled away. It was an awful, sharp sound, the wail a child might make at having their favorite toy taken away. She hurtled into one of of the many crimson arches dotting the Plane of Euthymia. It splintered against her back, then crumbled completely; unyielding eternity finally giving way before sheer momentum. She had all of a moment to look up - to realize what was happening. Then it came crashing down on her, burying her beneath shards of crimson.
Naruto slumped forward, unable to conceal a petty flash of pride. "Heh. Serves you right, stubborn girl...
"Get the sword out while you can, fool!"
Easier said than done; the blade was sharp and Ei had buried it deep, nearly taking his shoulder with it. It wasn't a simple matter of could he, but should he. Before his heart could falter he reached out with his chakra and gripped the old, worn hilt. One quick breath to steady himself. The rubble was already beginning to stir. He exhaled. Inhaled. And then?
Then he pulled.
Someone screamed. He wasn't sure if it was him or Kurama. Both, perhaps? Tearing himself off the Musou Isshin took more than a physical force of will; pulling it out felt like he was cutting into his very soul. He was certain he blacked out for a second; because reality snapped back and he found his hand gripping Ei's precious heirloom, his body hunched inward on itself as he gasped for air.
He could feel the flesh of his chest bubbling, twisting, healing quickly, but the pain remained. He beat it back, taking in short, tiny gasps as he healed.
'Too close...gotta take this seriously...
With a groan, he straightened. Baleful blue eyes fixed on the beautiful blade now locked within his grasp, still coated with his lifeblood and Kurama's chakra, so close to taking his life. Ei liked her swords, did she? Fine. He'd break it and be done with this. See how well she fared without her weapon of choice. He could sense no small amount of power in this sword; maybe if he snapped it, he'd weaken her and put an end to this once and for all. Clenched fingers tightened around cold steel.
"Wait!"
Had he heard a voice just now?
"Please, don't!" a soft voice cried. "Not yet." a spectral hand reached down over his shoulder, gripping his wrist. "I can't help if you break my blade!"
Naruto rounded on them. Blinked. Scrubbed at his eyes.
Ei? No. Not her. Not the Shogun, either. She couldn't be here. Then who...?
She looked so much alike her yet softer, kinder, not a warrior, but a goddess all the same. And yet her appearance was so akin to Ei that it rattled him. Had he died after all? Was this near brush with death playing on his mind? He wasn't sure; didn't know, didn't think he wanted to know.
"So," they hummed, "We meet again.
Naruto rolled over, hissing softly as his healing skin protested. "Am I dead...?"
"Not quite." The woman who was-and-was-not Ei smiled down at him indulgently. It looked good on her; was it just him, or was her voice a little stronger, now? "You came rather close, though." as he looked down she sat beside his quivering form. "I admit, I was worried for a moment." a pale hand -he could see through it!- ghosted across his forehead, instilling a sudden surge of strength within him. "But I knew you'd pull through."
"Pull through?! I almost died!"
"Yes, that last bit wasn't accounted for." full lips pursed in a small scowl. "Ei's always been so stubborn. Honestly, I didn't think she'd go so far as to stab you, but, well, it worked out in the end, no?" she tilted her head to regard her, dark hair concealing her left eye. "When Ei stabbed my blade into your chest, I received quite the windfall of energy." pale hands steepled before him, real enough to touch. "You stabilized that tiny fragment of consciousness I left behind in the Mussou Ishin.
"Again?" Kurama made a noise of confusion in the back of his had. "Now wait just a minute...
Naruto mirrored it.
"My, my. You've forgotten, haven't you?" Their savior raised a palm, concealing a dainty smile behind her hand. "I'm sure this must be terribly confusing for you."
It was! She was acting like she knew him; as if they were old friends. How? He'd never met her before!"
"Still, that's alright." she climbed to her feet, tugging him up with her. "I can wait a little longer."
Naruto looked past her -no, through her. "...please tell me you're not a ghost."
The spirit tittered a little. "Would it bother you if I was?"
Very much so, yes!
Silence stretched between them.
"No," Ei's look-a-like said at last, "I am not a ghost. Think of me as a remnant. A wraith. A piece of what once was." she raised a hand, and he was alarmed to find that it looked almost solid now. "I had thought to simply fade away, but it seems fate has other plans...is your chakra still that powerful? Even after all these centuries?"
"Wait." he coughed, wincing a little as his wound finished mending. "Who are...?"
"I'm sorry, Naruto." She shook her head slowly, sadly, setting her long hair swaying behind him. "Truly. I am. If I had known this would happen, I never would've called you in the first place." sorrow writ across her every features. "I need you to hold on, just a little longer."
High above, the clouds darkened as the rubble around Ei began to rise.
"It isn't time yet." the stranger's hands came up, cupping his whiskered cheeks. She leaned in, forehead kissing his. "Please." her lips did the same, brushing against his cheek with infinite care. "Save my sister." she drew back, leaving him with the faint taste of sake and cherry blossoms. "She isn't ready. I sent you to this era to rescue her from herself...
Recognition hit him. "Makoto...?"
"Ah." She graced him with a watery smile. "You finally said my name again." a hand rose, touching her cheek. A lone tear rolled down her chin. "After all these years; I've waited to hear that, wanted it so badly...
Realization broke like the dawn.
He couldn't remember anything else. Only a fleeting flash of memory, born of blood and stormy clouds.
A dying girl in his arms. The ruin of a burning city. Mumbled words. And then...darkness.
"I have always been with you." She stepped in and laid her hands against his chest. "Ever since that day. I will always be with you." her eyes looked up, holding his. "Now finish what you started. Save her. Pull her off the awful path she's set herself on, and bring Inazuma into the future."
"Give it back!"
He pivoted to find Ei rising out of the debris. Although her left arm hung loosely at her side, and he right eye was swollen shut, her strength remained undiminished. Even then, for all her wounds, she scarcely seemed to notice them. Her glowing eyes fixed on him -no, on the blade in his grasp. Panic burned bright in her eyes, high and wild, like a terrified child.
And he understood.
She didn't see her sister's spirit; rather, in her frenzy, she was unable to.
"Go." a nudge sent him stumbling forward; when he looked back. Makoto was nowhere to be seen.
Naruto considered the Mussou Isshin in his hands. Even now it pulsed happily in his grip. He could no sooner bring himself to let go of it than he could stop breathing. He'd never wielded a sword before. Makoto was a poor hand with a blade likewise...wait, how did he know that? Nevertheless, an invisible hand guided him into a stance he'd never taken before. He stood his ground.
...come and get it."
His gaze met hers. She wasn't angry anymore; she'd gone well past that. Her stance full of holes, mistakes she never would have made in a rational state. He could have struck then; could've smashed another Rasengan into her stomach and ended this in an instant. But doing so now would mean maiming her, possibly killing her, even. He couldn't bear to do that; if only because he knew full well how fragile her body was here. No more lethal moves. Not yet. Not unless he had no other choice.
Ei obliged him.
Not one to be outdone, she swept him aside with one of her arms and flowed into another stance. Bringing her giant blade to bear, well over her head. The movement was well telegraphed, almost predictably so. Even then the sheer speed behind it startled him.
His every instinct screamed alongside Kurama. "Dodge!"
He snapped out of the way; even then the sheer shockwave nearly floored him. A wave of pure force rushed past. It rent the plane of Euthymia, carving a cold canyon of death into her mindscape. Smoke and dust burst into the air and for a moment the storm fell silent, slain by her monumental power.
Ei burst through it, catching him flatfooted, ready run him clean through.
(.0.0.0.)
Makoto closed her eyes and exhaled.
Violet eyes flashed.
"You will not."
(.0.0.0.)
She missed.
How?! How did she miss?!'
Ei couldn't comprehend it; one moment she'd had a clean shot; the next, Naruto pivoted and the back of her blade -her own weapon!- struck her across the head and sent her sprawling. Her entire body locked up for an awful moment, muscles gone stiff as she lay their in the dirt. The Shogun shouldn't be able to affect her here. This wasn't her doing.
If so, then who?!
Another giant spectral blade conjured out of pure ether and swept down.
There was no escape. Not this time.
He caught it.
"What?!"
"You've been holding back. I get that. But so have I."
Equal. He was equal to her. If she hadn't reclaimed her Gnosis, that blow would've been the end of her. But she'd nearly killed him just now, too.
It rankled, it burned. Oh, the gall of it all. "What...are you?!"
"You don't seem to understand." For a moment it almost seemed that another was speaking through him, utilizing him as a mouthpiece. "The Shogun has a right to exist. Just as you do. These people, this world, everyone and everything in it, has a will of their own. And that's why...
He took a stance.
"I'm going to knock some sense into you!"
Rage frothed at the forefront of her mind, hot and angry, sweeping all before it. Her blade. He had her blade. Her sister's blade! Curse him! Sword stealer! She'd have his head for this! She struck out again and again and again, weaving a web of violet lightning before her and blast him he somehow managed to parry each one, despite never having wielded a sword in his life.
"Give up!" she howled over a peal of thunder! "I wish to be left alone!"
The tip of her weapon tickled the underside of her chin. Her body locked up, eyes wide, unable to move.
"You're not the first to tell me that." steely red eyes burned back at her within his golden face. "You should give up...on me giving up!"
It was too much. She'd thought she had snapped before. She'd been wrong. A scream tore out of her as she flashed away and reappeared on his flank. No use. This time he was ready for her; parrying her giant blade with the Mussou Isshin as if he'd been born to it. Their weapons crossed and she struck down, bending him backward with the force of her blow. Again and again and again, she rained down death, only to find each strike swept aside, lethal blows diverted at the last.
...then die, Naruto!" at some point, she must've started shouting at him, cursing him, damning him, for her throat burned like a thousand fires. "Die, die, die! Perish! Take everything with you! Never make me feel this wretched way ever again!"
He stepped into her guard, taking one hand from her sister's blade. Clenched knuckles swept up into her chin.
It was a powerful uppercut, some distant part of her mused; her head snapped back and her body followed, hurling away into the air. She steadied herself and remained there, hovering, unwilling to face him on the earth where she remained vulnerable. Honestly, she half-expected him to surge up after he.
He didn't, only glaring up at her.
"Why?!" I have the power to pulverize oceans, to turn day into night!" She called down the lightning, deafened him with thunder, failing to find purchase anew. "Why won't you fall!"
She lashed out into the fog and struck only smoke.
"Why won't you die?!"
"Behind this smile there is more than flesh," The smog swept away as he climbed to his feet and thumbed a line of blood away from his nose. "Beneath this smile there is an ideal. And ideals are bulletproof." The Mussou Isshin sang in his hand as he raised his borrowed blade toward her."Now come down here, stop using that ridiculous form, and quit wasting everyone's time. Lets talk this out like adults, eh?"
Every muscle in her body clenched. "I will NEVER-
A golden meteor struck her from on high. When had he gotten above her-ground. Her face kissed the ashen soil of Euthymia in a way no self-respecting Archon deserved. Even as she tried to rise a knee crunched down on her back, slamming into her spine. Pain lanced through her shoulders, but she refused to yield.
No. Nay! Never!
"Don't you see?" she grit her teeth, fighting against him. "Determination...love...hatred...all of these will be degraded and distorted by the incessant flow of time." somehow, she managed to get an arm out from under her body and cut out at him with her nails. "Only rules shall remain constant for eternity."
"Rules? Order?" She froze, arm still extended as Musou Isshin kissed the back of her neck. "I don't believe that for a second! And you don't either, do you? Stop lying to yourself! You're miserable in here!
"You...Infuriating...arrogant...simpleton!" her palm slapped out against the dirt. "Read the room, why don't you?! Give up! I wish to be left alone! Just die!"
"No."
Abruptly, he stepped off her.
Ei wasn't prepared for it; proved a second slow in rolling to her feet.
"People don't die when they are killed, Ei." Naruto stormed forward and she knew at once that she wouldn't be able to stop him, not in time. "They die when they're forgotten! Your sister isn't dead! Chiyo?" a growl tore out of him. "She ain't dead, either! Ya don't wanna listen to me?" his fist sparked with violet light. "You refuse to believe m?" words warped into a growl. "Then I'll make you believe! Now get up! Face me!"
Ei stumbled upright and brought her arms to bear, gasping for air. "You...you will not...!
Naruto blurred.
"CLENCH YOUR TEETH!"
Golden knuckles thundered into her face.
Ground. Pain. Ground again. Her body twisted itself inward, spectral arms shattering, strength failing her at the last. She wasn't sure how far she flew, or skidded across the ground, or any such thing. Eventually, the pain subsided enough for her to right herself. To open her eyes. To blink.
And in blinking, see.
She soon wished she hadn't; for in that fleeting moment, she saw her sister standing behind him.
Behind that blond bastard.
No. Impossible. It couldn't be. "Makoto...?"
Naruto pulled up short. "Wha-you can see her now, too?!"
"Oh, Ei. Look what's become of you." pale hands cupped her cheeks. "Poor thing. You're a mess. But you can finally hear me now, see me at last...
How long had she wished to hear those words? To see her twin again? To touch her? Hold her close? Ei did not break. To break meant she wasn't already broken. She had been shattered long ago, the fractured pieces of her heart never fully healed. Now her lower lip quivered. Her eyes watered, even as she squeezed them shut, trying to fend off the sudden rush of feeling. No use. It swarmed over her defenses, oozed through the cracks of her thoughts and corrupted her utterly
"This...this isn't real." she shook her head. "You can't be here. This is a trick! An illusion of trick-ow!"
Pain flared in her cheek as the "spirit" pinched her face, tugging her cheek.
"Real enough for you, sister?" Makoto scowled. "Or shall I spank you?"
Vibrant violet eyes flew wide open, balking at her twin.
"How are you here...?"
Makoto merely smiled. "I'm afraid its something of a long story."
A faint warbling sound escaped Ei's trembling lips, like the little girl she wasn't. Why? Why now? It wasn't fair. She'd been gone so long; she couldn't just pop back into her life like this; couldn't make her feel all these things. But she had and she did, and oh gods, she couldn't...!
Naruto swore softly. "Is she gonna...?"
Raiden Ei hung her head.
She wept.
A/N: Duel wraps up next chapter. Welcome back, Makoto. Or should I say, a piece of her?
Did you really think I'd just cast her away like that? Nope~! So much potential, there's now way I'm wasting it.
In case it isn't obvious, its HEAVILY implied that she's the one who originally brought Naruto to Teyvat with her dying gasp, then flung him into the future to help Ei; the sudden temporal shift of which in turn messed with his memories. Ei never met him until he came barging into her palace.
And now? Now, Makoto may well be coming back.
There we are.
Things are heating up, and then some!
As ever, the Embers Rule persists. So? Should this continue? Or fall into oblivion? Hell, it might even be ending soon. That depends on you, the reader.
By all means, speak up! Make yourselves heard!
So in the Immortal Words of Atlas...
...Review...Would You Kindly?
And enjoy the Previews!
As ever:
SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS!
PLOT DETAILS AHOY!
YE BE WARNED!
Read at your own risk!
As ever, these are from the far flung future...or are they~?!
(Previews!)
The moment he stepped out, Mei dove on him.
"Well, that was resolved quite nicely, don't you think?"
Naruto scowled over the shogun's, trapped as he was. "Yae, I will bite you!"
"Promises, promises!"
"Who the hell is Kitsune Saiguu?"
"Purify you? Nah. I wanna save ya."
"YOU!"
Naruto blinked.
Sara stomped forward, babe cradled in her arms. "YOOOUUU!"
"Oh, right." he blinked. "The kid. That was Mei. Not Me. Take it up with the shogun."
"You're addressing Lady Shogun by her name?!"
"Why wouldn't I?"
Huh. Apparently she was a cuddler when she slept. Who knew?
"Did you sleep well?"
How the hell was I supposed to sleep?! For cryin' out loud...
R&R~!