I do not own Naruto or Steven Universe as they belong to their rightful owners.
"Believe in Steven!" normal speech
"Believe in Steven!" thought/mind speak
"Believe in Steven!" demon speech
Chapter 29: Reconciliation and A Break-Up
*Near Kumogakure*
Within the rugged mountains within Lightning Country, a team of ninjas from Kumogakure dashed as fast as they could in hopes of getting to their village with the cargo they had discovered.
"How much farther do we have left?" one Kumo Chunin asked with urgency in his voice, "I'm starting to wonder if we should just destroy that thing and tell Raikage-sama about it instead?"
"It shouldn't be too long!" the Kumo Jonin said with hardened determination, "We can't destroy it as who knows what kind on monstrosities will be released from it!"
"We also cannot let something like that gem fall into the hands of another village!" a Kumo kunoichi added as she silently prayed that they made it back home on time, "Even though that gem seems to create that monster every now and then, we may not be fully prepared for whatever could happen if the gem is destroyed!"
A bright light was seen from another Kumo ninja's backpack before a rugged black gem flew out of the backpack and began to glow.
"Dammit!" the Kumo Chunin cursed out as the light soon began to form a multi-armed body, "Not again!"
The body then turned into a large, spider-like monster that almost looked like the upper half of a man's body with his legs and lower body being replaced by a spider's body. Green liquid was dripping from the monster's demonic fangs as the smoking grass below was evidence that the liquid was highly acidic. The face didn't even look human with the seven eyes that it possessed, with one eye dead center in the forehead as the other six surrounded it.
"At least it's not as big as the first time!" the kunoichi said as she drew out a short sword from her hip.
"You said that the last time when we had to fight this monster a second time!" the other Kumo Chunin roared out in slight anger before he was killed when his face was covered in the monster's acidic goo.
The Kumo ninjas quickly scattered as their comrade fell to the ground screaming before he had gone still while the goo ate away at his face.
"Remember," the Kumo Jonin said as he pulled out two kunai knives in each hand, "this thing uses ranged attacks, so get in close and hit that bastard hard!"
The remaining members of the group nodded before having to dodge multiple bolts made out of hardened goo that was fired from the monster before them that was now holding a crossbow in each hand.
One of the Kumo Chunin quickly barreled straight towards the monster before having to dodge a few acidic bolts and then using a chakra-boosted leap to close the distance between him and the beast.
"Swallow Slice!" the ninja roared out as he quickly sliced a couple of the monster's arms off along with some of the beast's long black hair.
His victory was short lived as the monster then shot out sticky silk and trapped him against some of the rocks.
"Hiro!" the kunoichi cried out before she quickly dodged a couple bolts fired at her, with only one of them barely cutting her a few inches above her ankle.
The other Kumo Chunin notice his teammate falling and that her leg was bleeding before he drew his sword and jumped from the left side of the beast.
*thoon!*
The Kumo Chunin suddenly found himself stuck against a mountain side with a crossbow bolt jammed right through his stomach.
"Gah!" the ninja choked out as he felt the small, serrated barbs that were on the bolt that pinned him against the mountain, "It didn't even turn its head when it shot that crossbow!"
Dammit! the Kumo Jonin thought as he quickly dodged as many bolts as he possibly could, With all of those eyes, that monster can detect any ambush from the sides! And the silk it uses is nearly impossible to break, even with the sharpest of blades!
The Kumo Jonin assess the situation around him: he was already down one teammate when the creature's acidic goo had killed him, the two Chunin were stuck with one tangled in the monster's silk while the other was pinned with a crossbow bolt, and the kunoichi was slightly injured, but they weren't sure if it was by a regular bolt, an acidic bolt, or something else that this creature had. It also added that ever since they had beaten it twice, they've been running back to Kumo with what chakra was left after the second fight. It seriously didn't look good for him and his teammates.
Kami help us…
*Konohagakure; Namikaze Mansion*
Amethyst woke up after coming back to the mansion from visiting the injured Konoha ninjas in the hospital.
"Good morning Steven," the purple Gem said as she stretched her arms into the air before she remembered something, "…oh yeah."
Amethyst stepped out of the room and walked down stairs as Kushina was cooking up some breakfast while Minato was reading a book.
"Where's Rose?" Amethyst asked as she took a seat at the table before the back door opened as Rose and Pearl entered.
"Your form is getting better, Pearl," Rose said with a small smile, "and you're use of some of the jutsus you've demonstrated is going along quite well. I wish I could have given you a better sparring partner than your own holograms."
"It's alright," the pale Gem said with an appreciative smile on her face, "I doubt Garnet would be in the mood for a spar and we can't have you moving around too much considering that Zircon had taken a toll on Steven's and Naruto's bodies."
"I know what you mean, Pearl-chan." Minato said as he placed the book down and messaged the base of his neck, "I feel like I've gone through one of Jiraiya-sensei's more brutal training exercises."
"Hopefully the boys will come back sooner than last time." Kushina said as her arms were still tingling with soreness, "Two months is too long for this kind of injury."
A mystical sound from the yard had alerted everyone outside to find Lion, with Greg and Connie riding on his back, jumping out of one of his portals.
"Greg? Connie?" Pearl asked in shock as she and the others approached the trio, "How did you get here or even summon Lion?"
"I came to them before bringing them here." Lion answered as both of his passengers got off his back, "I had even gotten permission from Connie's parents in exchange for protecting Connie as I would Steven."
"Where is Steven by the way?" Connie asked as she looked around for said person.
"He's still healing and it might be a little while longer." Rose answered with a saddened tone in her voice.
The young girl looked down, disheartened at not seeing her close friend, until Greg placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"I'm sure they'll be back soon." Greg said with a smile while hiding the fact that he hope that this wasn't permanent…again.
The sound of footsteps had alerted everyone towards the entrance of the house as an exhausted Lee appeared before them.
"Forgive the intrusion," the taijutsu specialist said, "but I was working on my punishment when I heard a commotion from inside."
"It's cool Lee," Amethyst said with a smile as she pointed to Greg and Connie, "we just have some visitors."
Lee was about to introduce himself until Connie said, "Hold on for a moment."
At that time, Connie had pulled out a choker with a small amber gem on it and put it on while Greg put a wristband with the same amber gem on it.
"Sorry about that," Connie said with a smile, "we had to put these on so that we can understand you. I'm Connie Maheswaran, a friend of the Gems."
"I'm Greg Universe," Greg said as he rubbed the back of his head, "I'm Steven's father."
"It is an honor to meet Steven's father and close friend!" Lee said with a bow, "Well, I must be on my way as I still need to run laps to regain my youthful form. Farewell, my friends!"
"Wait up!" Amethyst said as she followed the taijutsu expert out of the mansion's yard.
Connie couldn't help but chuckle at Lee's eccentric ways before looking around.
"Where's Garnet?" the young girl asked as Greg was wondering the same.
"Ruby and Sapphire left early this morning." Minato answered with a slight shrug to his shoulders, "Neither of them said what they were going to do…hope they don't get in trouble."
"I'm sure that they're behaving," Greg said with a nervous chuckle as he remembered the time Ruby and Sapphire separated back in Keystone, "…I'm sure Sapphire is keeping Ruby calm."
Rose chuckled a little bit before approaching Greg and said, "How about we go somewhere and talk; I…I have something I want to tell you."
"It has been quite a while since we last talked." Greg said as he motioned to the guitar on his back, "Good thing I brought my guitar."
The others watched Rose and Greg head out while Kushina crossed her arms and tapped her foot a bit.
"I wish we could go out like that, Minato-kun…" the Uzumaki woman said with a pained look on her face.
"Same here," Minato said as a sigh escaped his lips, "but we're supposed to be dead. If word gets out that we are 'alive' then who know what might come after us."
"Yeah…" Kushina said as she did see the logic as they were actually still dead, just only alive through their son's Gem powers.
"I could stay here and keep you company." Connie said with a small smile on her face, "We didn't get to talk much since the last time this happened."
Minato and Kushina nodded as they led the young girl into the house while answering some of her questions while Pearl stood in the yard as it was just her and Lion.
"You are still worried about Naruto and Steven." Lion said knowingly as he sat down on his haunches.
"I just miss them both so much," Pearl said as she suddenly saw the grass more interesting than anything else, "and I'm also afraid that this might be permanent this time…I know that Naruto will reform once he has recovered, but Steven…"
"I too worry for him." Lion said as he looked at the Namikaze Estate, "I had been traveling on my own after I had left Rose when she had raised me for a while. I spent years trying to get back to my father, but I was somehow getting distracted by whatever had crossed my path with the most recent was that dangerous pillow before I had met Steven."
A chuckle soon escaped the beast's throat as he then said, "You need to place more faith in Steven as he can be very stubborn without even knowing or meaning to; he'll come back to us."
Pearl smiled a bit as she felt her spirits being lifted as she gently ran a hand down Lion's back.
"Thank you," Pearl said as she continued petting the pink summon, "Taiyo-Oji."
*Hokage's Office*
Tsunade was working on some of the papers that had piled on her desk. Even with the Civilian Council being disbanded and the massive decrease in paperwork, it was never enough as the Hokage still had one person on her mind.
"Naruto…" Tsunade said as she stopped and leaned back on her chair in contemplating thought, "…I'm so sorry."
A knock was heard before the door opened up to reveal Shizune.
"You have a couple of visitor, Hokage-sama." Shizune said before Ruby and Sapphire entered and stood before the Godaime.
"Ruby, Sapphire?" Tsunade asked in slight surprise, "What bring you here?"
"We came here to talk to you about Naruto," Sapphire answered as Ruby walked over and brought out a couple of chairs, "especially about what you made our two little boys do."
Tsunade cringed a bit while the two small Gems sat on the chairs before she said, "I truly am sorry about what I had done to both Naruto and Steven…It's just that…"
The Godaime let out a sigh as she then said, "I thought that when you said that Zircon was unstable, I had thought that you were meaning that he was just out of control and was just directionless due to the amount of energy that was overloading his body. Never in my life had I thought there would be someone like him; I had seen people like him and faced them as well, but Zircon was at a different level: He just fights for the sake of it and doesn't even care about killing anyone."
"You need to understand that fusion is more about the relationship between the Gems involved." Ruby said with a slight growl as Sapphire placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "It is the ultimate bond given form, much like how Garnet is the ultimate form of mine and Sapphire's love for each other; Sure we have moments where we disagree and have conflicting ideas, but we still love each other to accept and appreciate our flaws. What this was…it was just…just…perverted!"
Seeing the visible cringe on Tsunade's face, Sapphire then spoke up as she said, "That's not the only reason you did this, was it?"
Ruby saw how the Godaime looked like a kicked dog as the blonde before them then said, "You're right…It wasn't just about helping get Zircon under control, but it was just that Naruto wasn't the Naruto I knew!"
Letting out a sigh, Tsunade then said, "I've always knew Naruto to be the most stubborn person out there, and when I heard that he wouldn't try and control Zircon after one incident…it was as if I heard him say "I quit" and that is something that I would never hear from that boy! I wanted Naruto back to the way he was…I thought that by helping him and Steven gain control over Zircon, it would give Naruto that same stubborn confidence that I had known him for."
"But that's the thing," Sapphire then said sadly, "even with my ability to see into the future, I can never predict what will happen since Naruto had entered our lives! I've seen good things, bad things, and even things that I would have never dreamed of. Even now, I'm seeing different routes that breaks off into different, more complex routes: Pearl possibly dying, a possible rewrite, and even Naruto having to give up his life just for the sake of ours!"
Seeing the stream of tears falling from the blue Gem's face, Tsunade watched Ruby gently push some of Sapphire's hair, revealing her single blue eye, and wiped some of the tears away.
"We have NO IDEA of what will happen to our grandson!" Sapphire unceremoniously shouted out, "We fear for our little boys because no one could ever predict of what both Steven and Naruto can do! Losing them now would be too much for us!"
Tsunade remained silent as Sapphire was now sobbing into Ruby's shoulder while said Gem gently rubbed her lover's back and cooed sweet, comforting words into her ears.
What have I done? Tsunade thought as she kept quiet as the two Gems before her needed a moment, I let my selfish desire to have Naruto back to the way he was hurt those that care for him as much as I do.
After calming down, Sapphire rubbed her eye and said, "Forgive me as that was…unprofessional of me."
"No, forgive me." Tsunade said with an apologetic tone, "I'm that one that did this, you were just stressed out by MY actions; I was being selfish! I see just how much you both love Naruto and I truly am sorry about what I had done…I know I don't deserve it at the moment, but I hope that you and the others can forgive me for what I had done in time."
Seeing the lone tear on the Godaime's face, the two Gems smiled a bit as Sapphire then said, "Of course, you are one of our grandson's precious people."
"But don't do ANYTHING LIKE THIS AGAIN!" Ruby roared out as a burst of heat erupted from her before she and Sapphire left.
Tsunade let out a sigh before getting up to open a window in order to let some of the heat escape.
She knew she was on the right track of having them forgive…she just needed more time and effort.
*Park*
At one of Konoha's parks, Rose was sitting under a tree while Greg was next to her plucking the strings of his guitar in a random rhythm.
"It's been really nice to be with you again, Greg." Rose said as she and Greg both had small smiles on their faces.
"Yeah…" Greg said distantly as something was on his mind and he also knew that something was on the woman's mind as well.
It was silent for an uncomfortable moment before the two both said, "I have something to tell you."
The two chuckled a bit before it got quiet again as Greg said, "You first."
Rose nodded with a saddened look as she said, "After the first Zircon Incident, I've been thinking about something while I was waiting for when I was needed by our son again."
Leaves sadly drifted through the wind as Rose continued, "Gems can live very long lives…much longer than any human as I have witness so much in my life on Earth and I have seen some of the humans I have befriended die before me, be it through battle, illness, or even just age. Steven will live longer as he is my son, but…"
Rose's eyes began to shine with tears as she then said, "I want you to move on, Greg. You won't live long enough for us to be together again like old times and I've seen how much you're hurting whenever you think about me; I know it hurts, but I still love you so much that I can't stand to see you in pain."
It was silent again before Greg let out a chuckle, confusing the Gem next to him.
"Guess great minds do think alike." Greg said as he stopped strumming his guitar, "I was thinking on the same lines.
Looking at the sky, the man continued, "With everything that we had found out after the first Zircon Incident, I was thinking "I'm married to my own son!" and while I still love you, I had been feeling uncomfortable at times whenever I think of you. I knew that I wouldn't live long enough to meet you again or even feel comfortable for us to go on our regular dates should you ever come back. I'm hurting too, but I think I should go see other people now."
It was Rose's turn to chuckle a bit as she knew Greg was thinking the same line as her before she moved to lay on the ground with her head resting on her now former husband's lap.
"Could you sing that song for me," Rose asked with a gentle smile on her face, "just once last time?"
"Sure." Greg said as he began to strum his guitar and began to sing…
I know I'm not that tall.
I know I'm not that smart.
But let me drive my van into your heart.
Let me drive my van into your heart.
I know I'm not that rich.
I'm trying to get my start.
So let me drive my van into your heart.
Let me drive my van into your heart.
Unaware of the duo, they were being watched by Kurenai, Sakura, Ino, and Hinata from a distance.
"He's got a really good voice." Sakura said as she continued to listen.
"Steven did say that his father was a musician." Ino noted as she remembered talking to the boy during the boat ride from Beach City, "Didn't know Greg was this good."
Kurenai remained silent as she did have to admit that even though Greg wasn't much when you see him, he was kind of charming in his own way.
Hinata was also quiet as she was still thinking about how she had lost Naruto, but not due to Pearl, but due to her own shyness.
I hope that I do find that right person for me… Hinata thought as she and the others listened to Greg singing…
And if we look out of place,
Well, baby, that's okay.
I'll drive us into outer space.
Where we can't hear what people say.
I know I don't have a plan.
I'm working on that part.
At least, I have a van.
So let me drive my van into your heart.
Let me drive my van into your heart.
Let me drive my van into your heart.
Let me drive my van into your heart.
Let me drive my van into your heart.
The song ended as the last note echoed beautifully through the wind while both groups had smiles on their faces.
"Thank you Greg." Rose said as she gently ran a hand on Greg's rugged check, "I will always love you."
"Same here Rose." Greg said as he honestly felt better than he had in a while, "I will always remember you."
The two continued to look towards the sky in hopes of a wonderful future ahead.
I know this chapter isn't as long as usual, but I was just kind of stuck with thinking on how to get this one to go properly. That and juggling with my job does make writing a bit difficult.
Anyway, don't forget to rate and review!
Ja ne.
