A/N: So, it seems this story is a hit, after all! Unfortunately, some aren't too keen on crossovers, it seems. Death threats and promises of imminent pain aside that, one such guest had this to say:
From: fyi (Guest)
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fyi:oh god...not you...i have been on the look out for ever since i read one of fics. but that's impossible because you fuxking infect all fandoms! you can go ruin all the other fandoms there but not this. please.
From my Frozen fic:
From: Squarekiddo ( u/6123855/ )
Reply URL: . ?rwid=238787896
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No thanks, I was looking for a Naruto/Frozen Crossover, not a Frozen story with an OC named Naruto.
And on another story:
From: Guest
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:My god someone should shoot you for coming up with this s***.
AND ANOTHER:
From: Guest
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:Like the rest of your stories, its so disjointed. You seem incapable of actually writing a story that flows well
You should quit writing and start something a bit different.
THOSE WERE SOME ONE OF THE NICE ONES, JEEZ! And don't use a guest account so I can't reply. CONSIDER THIS THAT REPLY! SHAME! SHAME! Excusing the utter lack of diction, I've since deleted this message, but I'm a little hurt, to be honest. I suppose you can't please everyone these days. I suppose I can only say that if you don't like it, don't read, don't review, and please don't hate? But I don't infect fandoms, do I?
...
...
...
...guys?
I think I'm just going to crawl into a hole for awhile. Don't mind me and my fragile self-esteem...
...
...
...
Alright, sulking over. On a more positive note, I HAVE A NEW JOB! At my local bookstore! Huzzah! And did I mention...THE NEW GOT SOUNDTRACK IS OUT ON ITUNES! BUY IT NOW! SOOOO INSPIRING. Really helped me write this chapter, Witcher or not =D
And another important tidbit, THIS particular chapter is set both before and DURING the events of the Wild Hunt.
So here it is...the next chapter!
Also, you might recognize some characters making a cameo here. 'TIS intentional, I assure you. One more warning: Naruto DOES kill people in this chapter, so if you're not comfortable with that sort of thing, leave now. Though considering who he offs, I don't think you'll mind to much.
"Wha-What're you doing?"
"Killing monsters."
~?
I Love Witchers
I love Witchers.
They're absolutely spectacular! I mean, I've only ever known a handful, and knowing what I know now, I don't understand how I could possibly be compared to them.
I'll admit, the ones I've met are mostly grumps or cheeky dickwaffles, but still!
Most are far nobler than I am.
So in case you're wondering, yes, this is going to become a bit of a recurring theme in my tale. Hate, love, hate, love again. I think its rather appropriate, given what I've been through thus far. Oh, and just because you're reading this, don't assume I'm alive. I could be dead, for all you know; you who are no doubt rifling through my things. I could've died spectacularly-went out in a blaze of a glory, much to the crippling despair of all my beloved fans and womenfolk everywhere.
Or maybe I'm just pulling your leg.
Ha!
Makes you think, doesn't it? If I'm dead, you're essentially robbing my grave, which means you're like to get yourself cursed or killed, because I LOVE my traps. If not, ser thief, then you're in for a world of hurt once I-we now, I suppose-find you. My family doesn't like people sifting through our things.
My kids?
Even less so.
But, dead or alive, I still have a tale to tell and we're getting off the beating track, here. I was telling you why I respect Witchers, so.
You see, once word of my little stunt with the Drowners back in the swamp got round...it made me something of a local hero back in White Orchard. Which was nowhere near Konoha, I was soon dismayed to learn. Or anywhere in the Elemental Nations, actually. Putting THAT shock aside, I soon found myself put up on something of a pedestal by the locals. ESPECIALLY after I gave them their coin back. They were very happy about that. Even offered me room and board in exchange!
What?
Why the long face?
What was I supposed to do?
I was too guilty to keep the money, okay?!
But their case of mistaken identity afforded me a great deal of hospitality...for a time.
(...)
"Three cheers for Master Witcher!"
"Huzzah!"
"Huzzah!"
"HUZZAH!"
...huzzah."
Naruto weakly raised an arm in repose as flagons of ale rose once more in a hearty toast, heedless of the merrymaking around him. Peter and Bert had been right on that account at east. A bit of warmth and a hot meal in his body had done much to restore his strength, if not his spirits. Somehow, he doubted the drink in his hand -free or no- would do anything in that regard anytime soon. Thus far, he hadn't drank a drop. Where he to do so he suspected he'd get utterly soused and land himself in an even bigger predicament than he was already.
At least he'd recovered some of his chakra. That was better than nothing. He'd managed to form a rasengan when no one was looking so there was that, at least. Still mum on the cloak, though.
Better than being stranded without powers at least.
Because Naruto was indeed stranded, not on a different continent as he'd first suspected, but on a different world altogether. His worst suspicions were confirmed when he'd received baffled looks at the mention of shinobi, chakra, and the like. Their own terms proved equally baffling, with all this talk of Temeria, Redania, kings and wars and Nilfgaard. Lot of hate for those guys, whomever they were. Apparently they were the enemy and the village didn't care one wit for 'em. Of course, since he was a Witcher, they believed him to be neutral in such things.
Naruto had long since given up trying to dissuade them otherwise.
It was pointless to explain to the good people of White Orchard that he was in fact a shinobi. Not a Witcher. These folk thought he was a Witcher and he had eyes like a Witcher, so ergo, a Witcher he was. They'd even gifted him with a pair of nasty-looking curved sickles to to, as Elsa the inkeep had put it "make up for those weapons ye lost, master". They were currently resting on the table beside him his mug; because he hadn't a damn clue what to do with them. Nevermind that he'd never trained in swordsmanship a day in his life! He'd have to keep them of course; somehow, he doubted they would take kindly if he tried to sell them.
Which left him quite flummoxed as to what he should do.
So there he sat, nursing a full mug, not entirely sure whether to drink or leave it lay. It was all well and good that they'd given him a place to stay-even if he did have to share it with one of the men who'd nearly fleeced him-but even with a roof over his head and a celebration being thrown in his honor, he had no idea what to do with himself.
As such, he was quite surprised when someone claimed the seat across from him. Naruto was immediately struck by how large the man was-as though someone had carved a mountain from granite and given it human form and tossed in an apron and ugly brown rags for good measure-still, he had sat down. His visage resembled something of a craggy cliff-face, even his flat forehead shared the likeness of one with its bulging brows, stern jaw and narrow, beady eyes.
"So, you got a name...?"
Any expectations Naruto might've had of striking up a conversation withered when he saw his guest's face.
He realized his mistake then.
Those eyes were filled with pure, un-distilled hatred.
"Boris. And you should move on, freak." the words emerged as a deep growl. "You're kind isn't welcome here."
Ah, now this was something he was more than familiar with. There had been no shortage of animosity for him in Konoha-way back in the early days. He'd overcome that to become something more, someone great, an indomitable shinobi who'd triumphed over enemy ninja organizations, madmen and demons to defeat a living goddess. Compared to a lone peasant grumbling at him over misbegotten prejudices? At ignorant idiot who thought he could make a man of himself by picking fights where there were none to be had?
That was about as frightening as Mizuki.
"I'm quite happy here, thank you." Lies, of course, but he wasn't about to give this idiot the satisfaction of seeing his anger. "And I'm afraid the rest of the village doesn't share your opinion."
"Doesn't matter, witch fucker." the aptly-named Boris snarled. "They'll see your true colors soon enough."
"My colors are orange. And I have not fucked a witch." Naruto protested, indignant. "Never even seen one."
"Eyes say different." the smith snarled.
"Whatever you say."
"Oh, yeah? Well I say bugger off."
And now they came to the insults!
Naruto flashed his teeth at the large man. Something about the situation must've brought the inner snark out in him; because the next thing he knew he'd drained his mug to the last drop and stood, matching the brute glare for glare. His hand twitched, aching to sock him in the nose. And why shouldn't he?! What did he owe this man, hmm?!
"See this mug, here?" he waved the now empty mug about in the man's face, "I could "bugger" you with it three ways to Sunday before you could blink. So. Watch. Your. Words."
"Go ahead." Boris challenged. "Prove me right. You lot are nothing bu-
CLUNK!
That was all he managed before someone clobbered him with a mug and left him in an insensate heap on the floor. Surprisingly, it wasn't Naruto. To his disbelief-and amusement-someone else had beaten him to it. He was remarkable if only for being utterly unremarkable, gaunt and thin in plain clothes, a strange bowl-cut to his dark hair and a bushy mustache.
"You're drunk, Boris." he disparaged the man writhing on the deck. "Oi, lads! Take this lout home and let him soak his head."
"You're no hero, Witcher! You can't save anyone!" Boris shouted at their backs as a pair of men dragged him off a slur to his words. "You can't even save yourself! You'll see! YOU'LL ALL SEE!" raving, he thrashed again those holding him but to no avail, with a heave and-a-ho, he was soon flung outside into the muck. He did not return.
"Sorry about him." the newcomer sighed. "He's got a bit of a sore spot for your kind, that one."
Naruto bit back a grimace of his own and reluctantly returned his mug to the table, painfully aware of how close he'd come to slipping. What in blazes was wrong with him? For a moment there, he'd actually wanted to hurt someone. Granted, that someone had been poking and prodding him. The thought shocked him. He'd never
"What's his story?"
"Monster snatched his pregnant wife a ways back." the stranger paused, a rueful look coming over him. "He put up a contract on the beast straight away and sure enough, a Witcher came. But he refused to take on the job-said the pay wasn't enough. We found her body three days later. Boris never got over it. Thinks if the Witcher acted sooner he might still have his lass. Now...
"That's horrible!"
"Aye, such are the times," his rescuer shrugged.
A beat of silence passed between them, in which Naruto grew restless and curious all at once.
"And you are?"
"Ah, my apologies, master. I'm Bram." the interloper introduced himself with a bow. "I heard what you did for Bert and Peter, giving them back their coin and all. That was right generous of ya. C'mon. The lads and I've set up a table in the back. You're more than welcome to it. Ya play Gwent?"
"Gwent?" Naruto blinked as he allowed himself to be led the rear of the inn. "Wait, what's gwen-?" Alas, his remark found only silence in the townsfolk, swallowed up in the chaos. Four men and two women awaited him there, each eyeing him with varying degrees of interest. Thankfully none of them proved outright hostile.
"This here's Samwell." Bram said, introducing a rather portly fellow in grey leathers seemingly intent on polishing off rather large pewter tankard, "The one wearing the brown dress is his lass, Gilly," The young woman smiled pleasantly, "The all in black with the curls is Jon." Unsurprisingly, the man merely grunted. Bram laughed. "Don't let his frown fool you; he's a right friendly chap once you get past all the brooding. The redhead's Ygritte, Jon's wife. Stay on her good side if ya know what's good for ye. And you know Peter...?"
Naruto scowled.
"Yes. We've met."
"Terribly sorry about that mess in the swamp." the young man groveled as the blond slid onto the bench beside him. "Won't happen again."
"See that it doesn't!"
"Alright, enough talkin'! Whose up for a few rounds?"
"I'm...not sure I understand." Naruto said. "What's gwent?"
Jon nearly choked on his own spit!
"Well, ya need a deck, first and-
"Don't have one."
Bram's pals looked at him like he was half-mad.
"Life that hard on the Path for you, Witcher?" Ygritte asked. "To not even have time to play cards?!"
Sam guffawed.
"Unbelievable!"
Naruto simply shrugged.
"Here, I have a spare." Bram handed him a green-looking deck. "Hope you don't mind playing as Scoia'tael."
"Scoi-wha? You know what? Nevermind. How do we do this?"
"Well, you play like...
Bram went on at great length to explain the rules, much to his dismay. Naruto, having never played a game of cards in his life, found it woefully complicated. How did you win this sort of thing?! When his turn inevitably came he flailed helplessly with the Northern deck he'd been given, throwing down whatever looked good. There was no possible way for him to triumph, right?
Right?
Against all odds, he did just that.
Bran whistled softly.
"Well, I'll be! You beat me, fair and square! Not bad for a beginner."
"My turn." Jon decreed...
...his turn to lose, apparently.
Sam snickered and pulled out his own deck...
...and promptly lost as well.
"You know nothing, Jon Snow." Yrgritte drawled, "Move over."
Somehow he beat her, too.
"What the shit?!"
"Talk about the devil's luck." Bram murmured. "You certainly caught on fast."
"Eh, skill through repetition I suppose."
Naruto wisely neglected to mention that the first round had in fact, been blind luck; he'd just thrown cards down at random! From there he both begun to learn, and somehow remained incredibly lucky Suddenly glad that he hadn't decided to play for coin after all-for coin he no longer had!-he accepted their offer and played on. At some point, someone filled his mug again, and he drank it down it without a second thought. By the next round he'd drained more than three but by then he was enjoying himself far too much to care. Gwent proved itself a very addicting game and it was a good thing he wasn't playing for coin, else when Gilly finally trounced him he would've lost the very clothes off his back.
At length the inn emptied for the night and he bid his new acquaintances farewell until the morn.
"Sleep well, Witcher!" Bram called at his back, bearing an insensate Peter on his shoulder, "And good luck on the Path!"
Naruto waved quietly and set off, following the directions they'd left with him.
Unfortunately he wasn't acquainted with his new surroundings and even in a small village like White Orchard it was easy to loose one's bearings. The description of the cottage where he would be staying resembled nigh but all the others and knocking on the doors earned him no reprieve. At a loss for what else to do and with no one to answer him, he let his feet carry him. He wasn't sure what, but something compelled him to do so, to keep walking. Before long he'd and the the village was little more than a faint series of burning torches in the distance and he was alone with his thoughts once more.
Distantly some small part of him was aware of something watching him. Something large. But whatever prowled the night seemed more wary of him than he was of it and thus, he walked unmolested.
One by one the sounds of the night manifested around him. Crickets chirped restlessly in the brush, fireflies rose to brighten the night like tiny golden suns. In that aspect at least, this world wasn't so different from his. Their sky however, now that was a different matter. So many different stars. So many, and he recognize none of them, none at all.
It hit him, then.
He was well and truly stuck here.
So how the hell was he going to get home?
The answer, quite literally, crashed into him.
"Oomph!" One moment Naruto Uzumaki was gazing up at the wide open sky of an alien world and quietly despairing his fate, the next someone bowled into him head over heels. A flash of white hair and wild eyes filled his vision as he tumbled, then found himself pinned-quite literally-to the grassy earth. A heartbeat later he found himself up staring into wide, emerald green eyes. Ashen tresses framing a gentle, scarred visage tickled his own face, causing his nose to twitch violently. Oh. he froze. No. Nonononononono! Don't you dare...! Too late; the sneeze ripped through him a moment later with a thunderous:
"ACHOO!"
That was all he'd time for before the young woman cried out, planted her hands planted against his chest and sprang away, scrubbing furiously at her face.
Not exactly the best way to introduce oneself to a lady.
"Ugh! Blech! Disgusting!" she wailed! "Why did you do that?!"
"Me?!" Naruto scrambled to his feet, face burning from more than a bit of shame. "You're the one who came crashing out of nowhere! Watch where you're going, ya know!" He found himself presented with the briefest glimpse of her attire, battered white shirt and torn pants -and one hell of a sword on her back!- before those angry green orbs locked onto him like jade daggers. For a fleeting heartbeat he honestly thought she might just draw that sword and attempt to hack him to pieces.
Incredibly, she didn't.
"Wait. You're a...witcher...?" her posture relaxed, if only slightly. Nonplussed, she straightened up, dusting herself off. "How odd. I didn't expect to find one of you out here."
Naruto spun away from her questing gaze, growling softly. "Why does everyone keep calling me that?!"
"...because you are one?" the young lady offered curiously, tilting her head.
"Aaargh! Look, lady," the crippled shinobi paused. "Who the heck're you?"
The ashen-haired girl froze, her lips pursing in a thin line.
"I don't see how that's any of your concern, Witcher."
"Look, I am NOT-
"Oh, no." She stiffened suddenly in the corner of his eye, a look of sheer flitting across her every feature. "You have to run! You can't be here!"
"What are you-gah!"
Something scratched at the back of his senses like a rusty knife, growing more intense with each passing second until he was physically gritting his teeth against it. Pain. It hit him all at once; an angry, blinding eclipse of pain banging about behind his skull, nearly bringing him to his knees. Sweet merciful heaven what was this? It felt like something was trying to rip him apart from the inside out! A blinding flash was his only warning. Then the piercing noise in his skull vanished and reality suddenly tore itself apart, spilling out riders in eerie black armor.
Something that could only be called a portal had opened before him, which would've been all well and good...
...if said riders weren't trying to run him down!
"Away with you, dh'oine!" one of them growled as he vaulted aside! "This is not your affair!"
Affair or not, that didn't stop the horseman from trying to cut him down when he swept past. The clatter of hooves filled his ears a moment later as another tried to emulate his comrade and run him down.
This time he was ready.
Years of reflexes-honed to a razor's edge-kicked in and he batted the sword aside with the flat of his hand, wincing slightly as a thin rent opened in his palm. Then, in a single fluid movement, he reached up and yanked the horse by the reigns, jerking it to a jarring halt before it could circle around. A flash of burning cold passed through his arm for the briefest moment, leaving his fingers numb, but still he held fast 'till the beast reared back on its hind legs, depositing its rider in a groaning heap, weighed down by the very armor that protected him. Naruto released the reigns and pounced on him, Rasengan in hand-
-and nearly found himself impaled for his reckless assault.
A blade like frigid ice whisked across the blond's right shoulder from his flank, biting through muscle and bone as though they were naught but butter. Had he not turned aside at the last instant he wouldn't have lived to see his legs buckle, to taste blood in his mouth. Incredulous, he turned his gaze to the sword sticking out of him, heard the thunderous laughter of the man who, for all intensive purposes, was about to slay him.
Something snapped inside him, then.
...are you fucking serious? I AIN'T DYING HERE!'
Amidst the blaze of pain, the anger, and the blistering agony, an entire day's worth of frustration and rage boiled over. In that instant sanity abandoned Uzumaki Naruto and a red haze fell over his vision. Ignoring the biting pain in his collarbone he snapped his gaze back to his first victim, the man still pinned beneath him and smashed down against his chest with the spiraling sphere.
Hard.
An almighty and unholy CRUNCH resounded in his ears, but by then his body was already moving of its own accord. With his good hand he reached back and pulled on the blade still embedded in both muscle and bone, yanking his would-be-killer forward from his feet. He didn't even wait for the man to get his sword out, he simply turned-fingers crooked into claws-and seized that eerie skull-helmet in a hand. A small, strangled sound not unlike a whimper issued forth from behind that death rictus of a helmet as its owner found himself hoisted off the ground.
Then Naruto began to squeeze, shimmering digits clenching down around iron and steel.
Say what you will about armor, it doesn't last long under pressure. Certainly not against demonic chakra. Gauntlet fingers clawed at his arm, drawing bloody red furrows in the skin but to no avail. The iron vice upon his skull only drew tighter, buckling the metal with each passing breath. The horseman's struggles became wild and sporadic now, his legs kicking out furiously. One of those boots found the blade still buried in his chest, its iron toe sending a bolt of pain arching down the blond's spine. He only squeezed harder.
"No," a dry rasp echoed behind the helm. "Stop...don't...
"I'm sorry," Naruto cocked his head, snarling as he leered up at him. "What was that? I didn't hear you over the sound of your head bursting."
With a final clench, the warrior's head exploded in a virulent shower of metal bits and gore, spattering his face. He flung what was left of the body into the nearest hunstman, slamming him off his mount with a grunt of pain. Naruto lunged after him with a snarl, pausing only when his knife shattered against the armor. Well, shit. Whipping out one of his hooked sickles, he yanked the man's helmet free and cut his man's throat instead, opening a ghastly red smile from ear to ear.
"Human scum!" a warrior cried!
"Says the man who tried to chop my head off!"
Spurring his horse forward, the leader made to charge-
-and promptly found a sickle buried in his left eye for his valiant efforts.
The injured shinobi lowered his outstretched arm, wincing slightly. Aim was off. In the time that it took for the rider to fall from his horse, however, another warrior was already upon him, sword raised for a cleaving blow. Damn. Naruto found he had just enough time to raise his remaining weapon and pray for a block.
Merely parrying left his arm numb, but somehow, he held on. The next blow presented him with the opening he sought.
Naruto stepped back, rode the overhand strike home and cut the man's legs out from under him in a brutal horizontal cut. The sickle sliced down on the prone warrior, found a gap in the armor at the armpit and tasted blood.
The white-haired girl had already dispatched two of them herself but she was already flagging, favoring her right leg. By the time he'd reached her, she'd slain two more, seeming to flit in and out of sight like an angry white wraith, dealing death wherever she stepped. Perhaps had he been in his right mind, the thought would have given him pause. Alas, his blood was well and truly up for the first time in a long time and enraged as he was, he didn't give it a second thought, for it seemed the Hunt had brought more than just men.
They had beasts as well.
Nasty, brutish and covered in ice-like protusions, the nearest such creature snapped at him when he drew close, no doubt thinking the wounded ninja easy prey.
'That so?!'
A chakra-enhanced kick disabused it of that notion, alongside much of its head.
Only five remained now, and he could feel his strength beginning to wane.
So was the girl.
Running at her pursuers in a tightening circle he flung one of his three remaining shuriken in their direction. The throwing star bounced harmlessly off a brute's armored back and a grunt of annoyance answered, but the warrior glanced at him all the same. Last mistake. The brief distraction cost him most dear; for in the next instant the girl's blade lashed out, splitting him in two and sending the steaming, severed halves toppling to the ground in a shuddering heap. Two steps later, and he was back in the fray.
What followed next would forever be a blur in his mind.
'Gotcha.'
Naruto kicked out and scissored the nearest's legs out from under him, but before he could finish the job an axe buried itself in his hip. Riding an adrenaline high as he was, he barely noticed it all; only to rip the weapon free and fling it back at its owner. Howling in untold fury, he pounced on the unfortunate axe-thrower, driving the sickle home once, twice, three times between the grooves of his back. Leaping from his falling corpse he fell upon the third with a shout, smashing him to the ground for the girl to finish. Rounding upon the last, who was only just now finding his feet, he hooked his fingers around the man's ankle and yanked. The man's leg flew free from his body like wet tissue paper and his body crumpled not long thereafter beside it.
Just like that, it was done.
Slowly-painfully-the blood rage began to fade as he realized the enemy had long departed, having since fled back through the portal. Now even that was gone, replaced by a deafening silence.
There was nothing left to kill.
He'd ended lives without thinking, without remorse, twice in one day. The thought shook him as he returned the sickles to his back. A brief spark of admiration flashed through his mind. Sturdy. They'd lasted longer than his knives. He recalled someone mentioning that a dwarf had made them. He would have to thank this dwarf someday, in person. But that was for later. Now came the guilt. When he laid eyes unfettered by rage upon his handiwork, he nearly vomited outright.
Twice now.
He'd slain almost an entire band of men without even realizing it. Worse, he'd enjoyed himself! Oh, maker...
"Are you alright?"
The girl called to him then, distracting him. Her face went white when he turned; when she saw his wounds.
"You've, ah," she swallowed thickly when he didn't seem to notice, "You've got something there. In your...chest."
"Speak for yourself." Naruto wheezed. "You're bleeding, too."
She laughed, touching a hand to her leg. "I suppose I am."
To his disbelief, he joined her, if only for a moment.
Theirs was a laughter borne out of desperation, exhaustion and relief intertwined, knowing that they'd live to see another day. Merely knowing that they'd lived, after coming so close to death...it was therapeutic to say the least. At length, when he could breathe again without fear of choking on his own blood, Naruto finally found his voice.
"Any idea who they were?" he nudged one of the armored corpses warily, "Or why they were after you?"
Just like that, her face closed down.
"I can't say."
"Oh. Well-
"Ciri."
Naruto blinked. "Ha?"
"You wanted to know who I was." the ashen-haired girl crossed her arms before her chest, "That, I can tell. I'm Ciri."
"Naruto."
"A strange name."
"So is yours!" he needled.
...point taken."
A beat of silence passed between them,
"I've never seen someone fight like that, before."
"Like what?" Ah, there was that frown again. "Like a woman?"
"No...I've known some pretty scary women. And none of them ever fought like that."
"Oh." Ciri blinked. "Well, thank you. Do have any bandages, perchance?"
"Eh? Sure, here." He tossed her what little he'd had on him before the mess started. The ashen-haired lass accepted them gratefully, but dithered once more at the sight of his wounds.
"Are you going to be alright?"
"What, this?" Naruto actually found himself laughing when her eyes strayed back to the sword jutting out of his shoulder. "Don't worry about it. I've had waaay worse happen to me." He wisely neglected to mention that he'd all but died once already. Compared to that, this was nothing. It was going to hurt once he pulled it out sure but he wouldn't bleed to death. Hopefully. Probably. Maybe...? With that less than pleasing thought keen in his mind he turned his back and began to bandage his less-than-critical wounds.
"Thank you, Naruto." Ciri said suddenly. "I won't forget this."
It sounded suspiciously like a farewell.
He spun, startled.
"Now wait just a...!"
A flicker of a smile and she was gone. She didn't run off. She simply...
...vanished in a flash of pale light.
Leaving Naruto there, alone, in a field of corpses, with a sword sticking out of his chest.
"Well, shit."
Nervously, he poked at the blade...
...and a spike of pain shot through him, nearly driving him to his knees.
"Ah, fuck." Steeling himself he gripped the blade with both hands and began to count, quietly praying the wound would heal before he bled out. "Thought I was done getting stabbed like this. Okay. Okay." he murmured desperately, trying to psyche himself up for what he knew was coming. "One." he inhaled sharply, "Two." Red eyes squeezed themselves shut, "Threeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeearghmotherfucker!"
To his relief the sword came free with little resistance, only pain. It was a very nice blade, after all. Perhaps he'd keep it.
When he finally stopped hyperventilating he found that the wound did in fact, mend in a few minutes, and he was able to limp back to the village, new weapon in tow.
As fate would have it the fog clouding his senses soon vanished, and he finally found his way with only minimal stumbling. The "home" he'd been given resembled little more than a hovel, built on thatch and would and straw, but it would have to do. With his mind fuzzed over from the ale, he didn't once stop to remember just who he would be sharing said home with. The door swung open loosely at his touch and he stumbled up the steps, wanting nothing more than to cur up on a cot and fall asleep. Hmm...did they even have cots here? Food for thought...
Unfortunately his trials were not yet over, for a familiar, gaunt-looking fellow was waiting up for him behind the door.
Wait a minute.
He recognized that patchy beard. That face.
Which meant he was sharing this house with...
"YOU!"
"Now, now, master Witcher!" Bert raised his hands when he saw the wrath burning in the ninja's eyes, "Lets have bygones be bygones! I mean you no harm!" Naruto found himself sorely tempted to harm the man over the head with the flat of his new weapons but stayed himself at the last moment. Right. He was trying to refrain from violence, lest he have another episode as he'd had in the inn. Damnit why was he so irritated? Ever since he'd crashed in the swamp his head had been spinning and the excess booze was not helping right now. In the end, it took all he had to simply growl:
"Whaddya want?!"
"I know its much ta ask after what I did ta ye," the merchant wrung his palms together, "But I'm afraid I must ask for your favor."
"No."
"Ye haven't even heard me out!"
"Lookie here beard boy," Naruto began slowly, choosing each word with great care, "It is late, I was just in the fight of my life, and I've had entirely too much to drink. Do you understand?" he nudged him aside with a growl, "I am tired. So tired, I feel like I can sleep for a week. Whatever it is can wait until tomorrow morning."
"She might not last till morning!" Bert exclaimed, the words piquing into a shriek.
Naruto blinked.
"She?"
And so it was that he found himself dragged out in the cold night once more, ushered to the edge of the village
The hut couldn't even rightly be called a house, more a shed than anything else.
A small, pale waif of a girl clad in a ragged shirt and breeches awaited them there, her face bruised and blotchy. Someone had clumsily bandaged her head, enough so that, dark hair peeked through the cloth. Her eyes were lidded and open, yet unseeing, brown orbs seeing nothing. If not for the gentle rise and fall of her chest, one might think she was dead already.
"Is she-
"She ain't mine, if that's what yer thinking." Bert piped up at the blond's keen stare. "I've too many mouths to feed as it is. S'ides, she's an elf. I took her and her ma' in a ways back when that mess in the South started."
"An...elf?"
"Aye an elf." the man blinked. "Don't you know what an elf is?"
"...of course." Naruto hesitated, "You just surprised me."
"She's not even ten winters yet," Bert continued plaintively, not hearing him. "Less so when her ma' passed last week. I canna' afford ta feed her before, but this..." he grimaced and averted his gaze, unable to look upon her and her wounds any longer. "Someone beat them. Cracked 'er skull and raped 'er mother bloody. I don't know who did it, but she nae doesn't deserve to be like this. Now she's a' dyin' and the herbalist says there's nothing we can do. You can heal her, can't ye? You Witchers have potions and all that?"
The blond cringed aside.
"I'm not much of a healer...
"Please master, you hafta do something!"
Naruto's cringe deepened; because he wasn't rightly sure if he could.
Sakura's fumbling attempts to teach him anything resembling medical jutsu had been consistent in only one accord; each had been a spectacular failure. Perhaps it had something to do with his temperment. Regardless of the fact, any attempts of his to heal always ended badly on his part. And that had been on fish! He daren't resort to such a thing on a human girl. Whatever potions the man was on about, he didn't know them...wait. It stood to reason that if he could transfer chakra into a seal, couldn't he do that to a human? Kurama's chakra wasn't the same corrosive, hate-filled mess it had once been.
"You can't save anyone." Boris's words rose in his ear, mocking him. "You can't even save yourself!"
That was when he hit upon it.
An idea.
A horrible, mad idea, that might have something to do with him being a bit drunk and weak from blood loss, but one that just might work. What had he to lose for trying? If it failed he could always claim the girl was too far gone...
And if not...?
"You said you can't afford to feed her." Gathering himself up, he addressed the anxious peasant. "What'll you do if she heals?"
"As I said, I canna' afford to feed the wee lass. I'd have to turn her out. But not like this...
In that instant, he made a snap decision.
"She comes with me, then."
Bert paused.
"Aye, master." he agreed, head bobbing. "That's yer right. Reckon she'd have a better life with ye, anyway, being an elf and all."
"Excuse me?"
"Didn't mean anything by it!"
Naruto decided to ignore that remark, lest he say or do something he might regret.
"Got an idea. Might not like it. She might die."
"Ah, I won't say a word, Master Witcher!" Bert swore. "Swear on me mum's grave!"
"Then lock the door."
So he did.
Naruto waited until they were alone.
"Shit." he swore beneath his breath, suddenly hesitant. "Shit, shit, shit. What the hell am I doing?" Hesitant, he ran an eye over the battered girl, and an ember of pity ignited in his chest. Who could so such a thing to a child? A little girl, for crying out loud! And yet what he was about to do could prove far worse. After all, he'd never even remotely attempted such a thing before.
'Screw it. Here goes nothing...
Gently, carefully, he laid his hands on her stomach. His chakra, ever elusive, resisted him at first, fighting him as he dug deeper, searching for that spark-
-until the world went white.
(...)
Naruto wasn't quite sure when he blacked out, only that he did.
By the time he came to, his mouth had gone bone dry and his head was pounding like the drums of a great hunt out for his blood. Numb fingers flattered against the floor and pushed upright, cringing as blood rushed back to his limbs, suggesting he'd been locked in this half-sprawled position for a good while.
Slowly, he peeled himself off the floor, wondering what he was doing here. His last memory was of-
He raised his gaze and froze.
The elf was awake.
She sat-perched more like-on the bed, still somewhat pale but healthy. Almost alarmingly so. There was not so much a hint of a bruise on her face or her arms for that matter, and she'd unwound the dressings to reveal a curtain of dark tresses that looked as though they were in a good need of a washing.
But somehow, someway, she was alive.
"Um...hello."
She didn't reply.
The entire time she didn't move a muscle, observing him with wide, red eyes. Wait. Red eyes? That wasn't right. He'd glimpsed them before and they'd been a dark hazel. Not the cat-like slits that were staring back at him as if he were some fffffffffffffuuuuuck. His thought ended in an angry expletive as he realized what had happened. Those were Kurama's eyes-now his-and hers as well. The same. A horrid sinking feeling rose in the pit of his stomach swallowing all his relief and turn it to ash in his mouth.
'What have I done?'
They were the same.
"Do you understand me?" he asked after a long moment.
She blinked back at him with those eerie red eyes.
"Yes, vatt'ghern." her voice was the softest thing he'd ever heard, though that might be from lack of use. "I...thank you."
...what?"
"Witcher." she clarified. "That is what you are."
"I am not-you know what? Nevermind. You got a name, kid?"
...Arwen. My mother is dead, isn't she?" She was far too solemn for her age and it broke his heart in a way that his enemies never could.
"Yes."
The elf girl's glassy eyes watered slightly and she wasn't entirely able to repress a shiver.
"When?"
"Last week."
Arwen tucked her knees into her chest and for a moment, she looked even smaller than she truly was. Feeling as though his heart might burst through his chest, Naruto scraped himself off the floor and stood. Arwen did not resist when he moved to sit beside her. She didn't even whimper. Didn't even look at him.
"I hate to ask this...but do you know who-
"He was large and stank of ale and metal." Arwen mumbled into her arms. "I remember nothing else."
'Boris?' Naruto bristled, not trusting himself to speak. 'Thoughts for later.'
"You were dying." he explained, seeking to distract her. "I saved you. Do you understand that?"
She nodded.
"You...it was dark, for a long time. Something pulled me back. You did that. Why?"
"I...I honestly don't know." he confessed, scratching the back of his head in nervous anxiety. "Wasn't even sure it would work. You survived, at any rate. By the way, you should probably look in a mirror, sometime. Just so you don't frighten yourself, ya know?"
"Why?"
"Well, you're eyes are kinda...red."
"I like red." she said, her voice still numb. "This does not perturb me."
"Well, I guess since you don't have anywhere to go...
...come with me."
She nodded slowly and reached for him.
A small hand wrapped itself around his own.
...I think I would like that, Witcher."
Not sure how much time I spent in White Orchard afterwards.
Coulda been weeks.
Months?
Years?
Time gets funny in a world without watches; the days and nights blended together until i finally lost track of them altogether. I learned to use my new weapons well enough not to cut myself with them. You could say I'd gotten rather handy with it. My little stunt with Arwen earned me a fair bit of distrust in the beginning, but when it became apparent I wasn't about to do it again, or even accepting payment for any of the occasional old monster, so-called heroic deeds, they became downright cheery. Except Boris. He remained every bit the ass I had first pegged him for after our first meeting.
The bastard even managed to turn a few to his way of thinking, pox on him. In the end, I wasn't able to prove my first suspicions, so I didn't voice them. What? What's with the look? Even I know better than to up and KILL someone without proof that they're a dickbag! Give me some credit at least!
I DID rough him up a bit, though.
I traveled a bit after, but Velen didn't much suit me, so back to the Orchard I came.
When war finally broke out, I stayed. Wasn't anywhere for me to go, at that point, ya know?
I knew it couldn't last.
When the Nilfgaardian's first came to White Orchard and demanded the village's allegiance I tanned their hides and them running back to their garrison with their tails between their legs-without their armor. When they came back a second time with a few of their friends, I devised a more inventive punishment. Ever had an Arrow to the Knee? Turns out Arwen's a mean little thing when it comes to archery. Who would have guessed it, eh? Didn't have to teach her a thing!
Now, the third time, heh, that was the charm for us.
Did you know alcohol is flammable? Those Nilfgaardians certainly didn't. Funny how a barrel full of booze and a few bees can send even the most hardened men shrieking like a bunch of little girls. That worked for a while. Then came the traps, boobied and otherwise, until they finally gave up on us altogether. Suppose they thought a single village just wasn't worth it.
And for a time, everything was downright peaceful afterward.
Until the day finally came when two Wolves rode into to White Orchard.
(We Now Enter into the Events of Wild Hunt...)
"Oh, a thousand thank-you's master witchers! Always knew yours was an honorable guild!"
Bram all but threw himself at the feet of his rescuers, blubbering like a madman. Geralt didn't blame him. If they'd been a few second slower the man would've been a meal for that Griffin. When the merchant asked if they wanted coin he kindly turned him down. Probably didn't have that much on him anyway, not after the beast ravaged his goods. The man's gratitude was to be expected. They'd just saved his life after all, and as a bonus, he got to keep what little coin he had.
Geralt wasn't expecting the smile that followed.
"Ah, you're like our Witcher!" Bram declared. "Good on you!"
"What?" Vesemir blinked. "Another Witcher?"
The merchant laughed.
"Aye, Naruto! Been with a us a few years, he has." he drew closer and whispers conspiratorially, "Don't tell anyone, but he's actually a right friendly chap. Cheap, too! Does all sorts of work and doesn't ask for a copper! Helped us defend White Orchard from the Black Ones. Sent em packin' with their tails 'tween their legs! He's the reason they don't own us in these parts!"
Geralt and Vesemir exchanged a glance. A witcher doing something like this was unheard of...
"Tells us more."
"Why?" the merchant suddenly turned hostile. "Want something with him?"
Geralt frowned. "What if we do?"
"Them Black Ones have been after him since the war started." Bram snapped, "And for what? He's a right good man and if you're here to hurt him then I say be off with you!"
...not at all. just happy to meet another brother on the Path." Vesemir soothed, arranging his fingers into the sing of Axii. "Not many of us left these days."
"Oh." Bram blinked, his suspicions vanishing. "I can take ye to him, if ya like."
Geralt restrained a smile.
"By all means."
In the end they escorted the now-compliant Bram into White Orchard itself.
Someone had gone to great lengths to fortify the tiny village within Geralt decided; erecting a massive walls and barred gates were one thing, but whomever had been in charge of the fortifications had clearly prepared themselves for a siege of epic proportions. Arranged on either side were more than a dozen archers, great iron pots that could be tipped over a moments notice, and pivoting palisades, the purpose of which baffled him so much that he actually felt something resembling curiosity.
"Open the gate!" Bram hallooed up at the guard.
The iron-shod door swung open to expose a pair of guards, and a small training yard beyond. But what shocked him was the armor of these so-called "patriots" and their guards, for nearly every grown man wore it with pride. It almost resembled Nilfgaard armor but no, someone had gone to great pangs to strip it of the golden flame and replaced it with Temerian colors. If they were thus armed and armored then it was no wonder that Nilfgaard had failed to capture this village.
Huh...kinda fitting, really.
Vesemir arched an eyebrow.
"Someone's armed them well."
"Looks like it."
Careless of their conversation, Bram led them on a winding path past the barracks and fields.
"I'll stock up on provisions." Vesemir announced as they passed the inn, "Care to go investigate our friend, Geralt? He might know about Yenefer.
The White Wolf grunted.
"Ha! I'll take that as a yes."
He saw him in the yard not a minute later.
Distinguishable if only for his flaming flaxen hair and small armory on his back, the "Witcher" stood out straight away. As they drew closer, Geralt realized why. It wasn't just his strange choice of weapon-though the odd pair of curved sickles certainly were remarkable-that stood out, it was the way he carried himself. It wasn't just those odd, blue-black leathers he wore. It was something more. His eyes were different. Ruby red slits like he'd never seen replaced of the traditional amberish gold. Must've been a different mutation. More striking still was the young elven girl that trailed after him, clad in light green armor of her own.
Even from here Geralt could see her eyes.
The eyes of a Witcher.
Geralt's blood went cold.
"Left, Peter, left!" the blond was verbally drilling a young man as they came within earshot. "You'll never beat the Nilfgaardians like that! Remember the last raid?! You want to end up like Bert?!"
"No, sir!"
"And don't call me sir!"
"Oi, Naruto!" Bram called. "You've a pair of Witchers here to see ye!"
"Naruto" for it seemed that was indeed the Witcher's name, bade Peter farewell and turned his head as Geralt approached. The elven girl shrank back at the sight of him, hiding herself behind the much-taller blond.
"Greetings."
Naruto blinked.
"Do I know you?"
"Could ask you the same thing." Geralt replied, restraining a scowl. "Folk say you're a Witcher."
"Do I look like a Witcher to you?" the man posited.
"Have you looked in a mirror?"
"Hey, the eyes aren't my fault." the blond insisted. "They're stuck like this, for some reason. Blame the damn portal."
Geralt nodded in kindred understanding. He HATED portals and they were indeed the bane of man's existence. Still, he couldn't help his own curiosity. For what he'd been told of this one, he'd taken to rallying the locals to defend themselves against the invaders. That wasn't something Witchers normally did unless a great deal of coin was involved. Judging by the tyke following him, he'd even taken on something of an apprentice, and a girl at that! That she shared the same eerie, red eyes wasn't lost on the Witcher, either. No, Geralt decided, he wanted answers, and he would have them, one way or another...
"What's with the kid?"
The girl stiffened and muttered something in Elder Speech.
Naruto's gentle red eyes turned to ice.
"None of your damn business."
"See, I think it is my damn business." Geralt argued, eyes flashing. "Especially if you've rediscovered the Trial of the Grasses."
Naruto gave him a blank look.
"Arwen's the best damn archer I've ever seen since I landed here." he said slowly, "Once hit a ghoul in the eye from fifty yards and a basilisk at twice that. Instant kills. She can pick off Black Ones before they even get close enough to see her. She fights at a distance and we both like it that way. Keeps her out of trouble. The close combat? All me."
"Explain the medallion, then."
"Eh?" A scarred hand rose, idly fingering the polished metal around his neck. "This? Someone from Velen carved it for me as thanks for saving her from a pack of ghouls. Why? What school did you think I was from?"
"Dunno. School of the Fox, maybe? Never heard of that one before."
"School of the Fox?" Naruto posited, considering. "Huh. Has a nice ring to it! Look, you were searching for someone, right? Don't deny it, I get around. A lady with black hair? I might have seen-
That was all he managed before an angry peasant had the gall to club him on the head from behind.
"Begone, freak!"
A dark shadow flashed across the young man's face, gone in an instant. Geralt might've thought he'd imagined it altogether were not for the slight twitch in the blond's face, those blazing, burning red eyes. So when Naruto finally straightened, a small smile plastered to his dirty, whiskered cheeks, the Wolf knew at once that they'd erred spectacularly. Given the glaring distrust and scorn he'd been subjected to during his time on the Path, he wasn't exactly inclined to intervene.
"Feeling brave today, Boris?" Naruto turned, addressing the growing gaggle of men. "See you've brought some friends this time."
"One of you Witcher's was enough!" the smith growled. "We don't want another!"
"Funny. See, your sister seemed to like me just fine last-
"Shut your trap, freak!"
Naruto's smile grew imperceptibly.
"So...really brave? As brave as you were when you raped that elven woman?"
Geralt frowned at the strange question, but Boris took the bait, swallowed it whole.
"Aye, I-HOW DID YOU KNOW ABOUT THAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!"
Arwen's bow was free from her back in an instant, two arrows knocked and fired with blinding speed, near simultaneous. Boris and his knees never stood a chance. In the time that it took the large man to squawk she'd loosed a third, sinking a slender shaft into the man's groin. The squawking warped into shrieking, screaming when a fourth pierced the hand cupping it. She looked as if she were about to fire a fifth into his throat, but a look from Naruto and she returned the bow returned to her quaking shoulders.
"For my mother." she declared furiously.
Geralt arched an eyebrow.
Nice shot.
Of course, that was when Boris's friends stopped being stunned and started getting angry instead.
"You'll pay for that, freak!" one of the smith's friends cried. "You and yours!"
"Pay? I've got no money! You'll have to-
Geralt saw a hand cock back to throw, opened his mouth to warn against it-
*WHAM!*
A piece of rotten fruit thudded home into the ninja's palm in the next instant, nimbly caught before it could splatter across his face. The rod was not. It struck the retired shinobi dead in the back of the noggin, snapping his head back with an audible crack. Even then he didn't move, didn't so much as stumble a single step. When next he turned his gaze upon the mob, his eyes seemed to glow like red hot pokers inside his skull. A hand rose to one of the curved sickles at his back, unlimbering the lengthy weapon with quiet menace.
"I hope you're happy."
"Oh." The culprit blinked, backpedaling, perhaps finally realizing the gravity of his error. "Oh. I...ah...fuck. Mistakes were made."
Naruto growled.
"And they were yours. Oi, Geralt, was it? Care to help me knock some heads together?"
For a moment, the Witcher honestly considered against it. Then he shrugged.
...why not?"
"Wonderful! Dibs on the ugly one!"
"They're all ugly."
"Exactly!"
Then they flew at them!
A/N: And there you have it! My first stab at a crossover with the Witcher series! I do hope you liked it! Pairings and suggestions are welcome a plenty! And YES, Naruto clearly isn't a witcher, but the incident with his eyes will have most folk thinking he is. Consider it something of a running gag. What'll happen next? Will our knuckle-headed ninja make it home? Will he even want to?
So in the Immortal Words of Atlas...
...Review, Would You Kindly?
And of course, enjoy the preview of an oncoming chapter!
(Preview)
For a long moment, Geralt couldn't find his voice.
"You saw who...? WHEN?!"
Naruto blanched.
"Now, to be fair, I didn't know you were looking for HER, too...
That was all he got out before the White Wolf thumped his head so hard he saw STARS.
R&R~! =D