A/N: I was leery updating this today, considering there's the Superbowl over in the states...
Hopefully people see it and enjoy it. If not, that'd make this old man sa.d...
Here we are, updating all the Elden Ring Stuff this month.
If I update every day from now-ouch, my fingers hurt just thinking about it-I should be able to pull it off with three days to spare, meaning I SHOULD be able to update other categories as well this month.
Thanks for sticking with me.
As my fifteen year anniversary on this site draws near, I find myself reflecting on the little things in life. What was once a lazy pastime meant for me and a few friends really grew and evolved over time. There are days when I look back on the last fifteen years here and I wonder if anyone will remember me; if I made an impact, despite never making a single cent on any of these stories. Some days were happier than others, and some stories I enjoyed writing WAY too much; to the point where I'd stay up all night working on them.
And of course, there are times when I look to the future and wonder what will become of things when I'm gone.
Of course, I try not to dwell on the latter overmuch; I'm still alive and still writing. In an ideal world, I'd like to keep doing so for as long as I can. But old age is catching up to me and these days, the world is filled with so much madness and death. The recent earthquake in Turkey/Syria serves as a terrible example. Even before that, so many friends and fellow writers I once knew are gone, now. Will I still be here in twenty years? Ten? Five? Its a chilling thought. But for now, I'm still here, still writing.
As ever, I own no references, quotes, memes or themes. Nope, not me, no sirree! Not a wit or a one. They're merely tributes to those far greater than I.
Once more, this iteration of Naruto is not the one from "Grace". This be a different beast. He's a mystery.
One that will slowly unfold as the story progresses...
Soundtrack for this chapter would be...Lost, by Linkin Park. Really fits the vibe of the story.
"Lost in the past.
Lost in these memories.
Lost in thoughts, all alone. That's what I am. Lost.
~?
Fifth Frenzy
"Did you sleep well?"
There were no finer words to hear come morning; no better way to wake than to find oneself in the arms of your great love. If this was a dream, Naruto didn't want to wake up. He'd gladly sleep forever if it meant holding onto this moment. Here at last it felt like he'd escaped his nightmares-if only for an instant. And he had slept. Like a rock. A deep and dreamless slumber free from both nightmare and memory, wrapped up in the warmth of Hyetta's embrace, free from the cares of the world.
In truth, the jaded jinchuuriki couldn't believe the dawn had come so quickly; because he barely remembered sleeping at all last night.
He remembered other things, however. Deliciously frantic moments in the dark, a balm to soothe the ragged edges of his soul.
Hyetta's body tangled up in his as she cried out his name, legs locking around her waist while she drew him closer...!
Nope, he realized as he took stock of himself. Definitely not a dream. His body was pleasantly sore in familiar places and he could still feel his back healing from where she'd dug her nails into his shoulders. No figment of his imagination could be this real and if it were...? Well, then he truly was lost. She had to be real. This had to be real. It must be. If it wasn't...!
"My lord?"
"Hmm? he blinked, only to find himself staring down into a familiar bosom.
"Lost in your thoughts again, I see." Hyetta hummed. "You seem to have become more introspective since we last met." he looked up to find her smiling. "At least some things haven't changed." she cuddled closer to him as she spoke, spooned up against him for dear life. She held tight, nestling her head against his chest. "I'd almost forgotten how passionate you were...
His eyes were stinging. Huh. That was new. He'd thought the Frenzied Flame burned that out of him. "I missed you, ya know...
"And I you." She kissed his cheek. "Very much." Slick with sweat and spent, she curled against him and laid a hand on his bare, scarred chest. The wound there seemed to pulse with fire; indeed, it was almost warm to the touch. "But I must ask, did the Flame truly inflict such an injury on you?"
He rose upon one elbow. "You can see it?"
"Of a sort." she tugged up her blindfold and touched a hand to her blind eyes, allowing him to glimpsed a hint of golden fire within. "It comes and goes," her lips pursed when he made a quizzical noise. "I can see that which has been affected by the Flame." her hands cupped his face, allowing her to press her forehead to his. "I can see you, for instance, but not your features. You burn a lovely shad of gold. I cannot say for certain whether my vision may be returning.
...its fine, now. The scar doesn't hurt" He laid a hand over hers. "She's nice and calm, really."
The Frenzied Flame cooed within him in response, warm and content.
If only he could say the same for his troubled heart.
Hyetta tilted her head. "She?"
He grimaced. "...a few things happened after you died...well, a lotta things. You might wanna get comfortable."
It wasn't hard to find their clothes; they'd already made a crude bed of sorts and laid atop them, the better to avoid rolling in the dirt. Naruto told her his tale of woe as they dressed themselves. Everything. All of it. Every bit. Hyetta listened intently as she dressed herself, and if he watched her while she watched him...well. Neither complained.
For once, he was inordinately grateful for Melina's absence; he didn't dare air this story in her hearing. She wouldn't take kindly to her purpose being subverted. Wherever she was right now it wasn't here, and that was all that mattered. If she heard any of this she'd assail with questions, shout and scream at him, possibly even leave.
Not so Hyetta. She waited until he was finished, then nodded dutifully. "I understand."
"Just like that?!"
"I trust you implicitly. You didn't ask for this another go around, yet here you are. I suppose we have the Flame to thank for that." she quirked a pale brow as he tugged on his armor. "Perhaps you merely brought a piece of it back with you, or mayhap you truly did tame it. Regardless, I owe it my thanks, else we wouldn't have this chance now.
Frenzy chirruped all too happily. "Welcome, Mother!"
Naruto gulped. Hyetta heard him. "What is it?"
...nothing you need worry about."
"Hmm. We'll need to find you something else to wear." she stepped to him and touched his chest, tutting over the state of his battered leather armor. "A true Lord shouldn't wear something like this."
She said those very same words to him many a time before and they both knew it. "You're welcome to try."
"I believe I shall." She drew him into another scorching kiss. "I am with you. Now and forever."
"My friend!" Radahn burst out of his tent with such speed that both of them jolted apart. "You didn't wake me last night! Is everything...alright...?" He paused. Saw the two of them in one another's arms. Tilted his head in confusion, now. It rather reminded him of a giant dog. "Am I interrupting...?"
Heat hit Naruto's cheeks.
"Not at all." Hyetta smiled. "We believed you could use your rest, my lord.
"Oh." Radahn thankfully missed the byplay, bless his simple soul...or so Naruto thought until his gaze strayed to Hyetta's neck and noticed the bite-marks there "Oho~?" A jolly grin split his face. "So you knew one another after all! You sly dog! I should have known!"
Naruto slapped a hand to his forehead. Kurama couldn't help himself any longer. He burst into laughter.
Now it was Hyetta's turn to blush.
"Damnit, Radahn...
(.0.0.0.)
"You trust too easily, Tarnished."
Naruto supposed it was too much to hope Melina would stay absent a while longer.
She made her reappearance some hours later, as they drew nearer to Liurnia, manifesting behind him in a shower of blue light. Radahn made a questioning noise at her sudden arrival and tried to wave her way; only for Hyetta to take him by the arm and tug him along. Bless her for playing the distraction. He knew this was a long time coming.
"Do I now?" he didn't deign to look at her as they walked for fear of giving himself away.
"You do." heard heard her huff. "First the warrior woman, then Radahn, now this blind wench.
His temper flashed, stirring the Flame within. He took a deep breath to quell it. "Her name is Hyetta."
"Hyetta, then." The kindling Maiden conceded with a nod. "My point still stands."
Naruto heaved a sigh. She'd always been stubborn, even in their first time around. "Noticed you didn't mention the big guy."
Her elbow hit his ribs. He took it with a grunt and kept walking.
"Radahn I grant, is unlikely to betray you." he risked a glance out the corner of his eye to find her staring that the fallen general's broad. back. "He was every the virtuous sort-even before the disaster in Caelid diminished him. It pleases me to see that he survived, weakened though he is. The Lands Between are greater for his survival.
He quirked a brow her way. "You know him?"
The rare ghost of a smile touched her scarred visage. "I know of him. There is a difference. That sentimental oaf...
Yup. Definitely knew him. Come to think of it, he'd never asked after her past, had he? In his first go around he hadn't wanted to pry; rather, he'd never thought to. There had never been the need and by the time there was, it was already too late. Now he found himself curious. Did he dare?
.
..
...no. He'd hold his tongue for now. He still wasn't certain if this was his Melina, or a complete stranger. Prying now might only damage their fledgling friendship. He couldn't risk it.
"You are headed to Liurnia, yes?"
"Hmmm?" he blinked, drawn from his ruined reverie by Melina's abrupt inquiry. "We are, yeah."
"Good." she nodded a little, pleased by his truthfulness. "The Knights of the Lakes are an honorable lot. As is their queen. Take care not to bed her, would you?"
Oho, she was sniping at him now? A rare laugh burst from him. There it was. Contrary to popular belief Melina had a sense of humor, you just had to jab her a bit before she started to jab back.
"I won't." he said instead. "No need to worry about that."
"You say that now," Her brow furrowed in offence, "But the Lady Rennala is a woman of unparalleled beauty. You may find yourself tempted."
"That would be...unlikely." He'd pitied Rennala in his first life...right until he drove a sword through her heart and freed her from that madness. "Besides, I prefer my woman a little shorter." He winked her way and mimed a motion, trying to rile her up. "Preferably around my height." Melina's face went red as a rose, a sight so painfully familiar that he felt his throat close all over again. He coughed to clear it. "Also somewhat sane...
Her brow furrowed.
"..."
C'mon." he muttered, his mood ruined by her silence. "We have a long journey ahead.
"Worry not," came her reply. "I shall follow at a distance."
...see that you do."
Melina took a deep breath to steel herself.
Naruto sighed in return. "There's something more, isn't there."
"I admit, I've been testing you."
No, no, no. Not this. Not now. He had neither the time nor the patience for it. "If this is about the Roundtable Hold, it can wait. I wanna check on something."
Her good eye widened. "How did you know-
"I'm not as dense as you think. His peace said he, nudged past her.
Melina tutted softly and watching him walk away all too quickly. "Strange as ever, I see."
Her feet paused, nearly catching an upturned root. She walked around it and dithered for a moment. Strange as ever? Why had she said that...? For a moment there, their banter had felt terribly familiar. Almost as if it were commonplace, an everyday occurrence...? She touched a hand to her head. Felt pain in her face now and laid a hand against her cheek. It came away red. Melina frowned at it. Gasped a little now when she saw the cause.
Her nose was bleeding.
(.0.0.0.)
Liurnia was...not as Naruto knew it.
He remembered a watery land beset by the aftermath of a terrible flood; its gate town sunk down into the ground, building degraded by years of decay. A realm infested by mad albinaurics and crazed crayfish, to say nothing of the other abominations lurking in the swamps. He had found Diallos morning his dead squire here, then later encountered Rya before finally bumbling into Boggart. It was here that he gave Thops a key to the academy, unknowing that the man would die there. Here that he helped Sellen put Rennala out of her misery, only to return and find her made a monster beyond his understanding.
They had been his friends. Good friends-loyal friends. They didn't deserve those awful ends.
Just thinking of them threatened to engulf him in bad memories.
But when looked at Liurnia now...
This...this was not that broken-down-town he'd hated so. Certainly not the dead one he knew. Perhaps it had been once upon a time, but now it was a bastion; more a fortress really; so much so that was nigh impossible to tell where the town ended and the fort began. He could see fields being tilled by farmers, stables for horses, even an inn past the gate checkpoint.
And there looming over it all, the academy of Raya Lucaria. That at least, remained unchanged.
"Home again!" Radahn inhaled deeply, breathing in the misty morning air. "It seems my Redmanes have been busy in my absence. Come!" he bounded down the hill and beckoned. "We're due a warm welcome and a bit of stew besides. My family will be delighted to meet the man who slew Godrick."
Naruto nearly tripped over his own two feet. "Family?"
"Why, yes." The weakened general preened. "My wife and our children. They will be glad to meet thee."
"Another variation he hadn't accounted for. Just what was he walking into here? "Mind if I ask about them? Just a little"
"Not at all!" He puffed up like any proud parent would. "My wife Priscilla is the light of my life, to say nothing of our children. The eldest just became a knight herself."
Priscilla? He didn't know that name. No, nevermind that! "How many kids do you have?!"
"Only three." the redhead chortled. A fourth is well on the way!
"How splendid!" Hyetta perked up on his arm, warming to the subject. "You simply must tell us their names!"
"I'd be more than happy to-
"There you are, you big bastard!" a familiar voice brayed!" Took you long enough!"
Naruto's head snapped to the right. A giant crayfish lumbered their way, bearing a man upon its back.
"My apologies, Boggart!" Radahn was all smiles in the face of this new arrival. "But we return triumphant! Godrick is dead!
"Boggart?!
It really was him, iron mask and all. Strange to see him wearing armor...
"Eh?" the former blackguard reared back atop his less-than-noble steed and squinted at him. "What this, then? You seem familiar. We met before?"
Naruto grit his teeth until he felt something pop in his jaw. The pain centered him. The memories...less so. The past tore at him, sharp and poignant as ever:
Boggart dying on a chair, just outside Leyndell, defiled by the Dung Eater.
"Kill me, mate. Please. I can't live like this. Make it stop...
"I'm sorry." he shook hi head choked out the word. "It seems I was mistaken."
"S'fine." the man shrugged. "I've met a lotta blokes in my day. Mighta met you somewhere along the line. Wanna talk about it over drinks?"
...maybe later."
Naruto muttered an affirmative and stumbled away. Radahn bade a quick farewell to Boggart and jogged head of them, looking rather subdued himself. Not once did he look back at the two of them, nor did he dare to pry at his violent reaction. Good. He didn't think he could stand for any questions right now. At the moment it took all his will and focus just to put one foot in front of the other now, just to walk forward and pretend he hadn't left a dear friend behind.
Hyetta followed and touched a hand to his arm. "He may yet remember...
"Its best he doesn't." he whispered back. "You know why."
Her lips parted to reply, closed now as she began to recall that painful scene. She had been there, too. Stood by and watched as he tore the Dung Eater limb from limb.
...that monster may not exist in this world." bless her kind, kind heart, she saw his pain and still tried to soothe him.
"If he does, he'll die again." Over and over. As many times as it took to make his death finally stick.
Her hand dug into his arm. "It was not your fault, my lord. You did not release him."
A growl built in his throat. "That's no excuse and you know it. Lets go...
He kept walking, eye fixed on the academy high above.
Time to visit the Queen.
A/N: Poor Naruto.
Hope you enjoyed this chapter!
Really need to hear from you on this; should this stay M-rated or not?
Once more, we're sticking with the "Embers" rule for this particular story, and others.
If folks don't like this, it won't be continued. Meaning that if the story itself ain't popular? Well...it won't continue! I'm working two jobs -might need a third soon!- so I barely have time to write; as such, I cannot afford to write something folks don't enjoy. So by all means, speak up! Your voice matters! Make yourself heard! As ever, reviews are the fuel that sustain me. Without them I cannot write a single word. Simple as that. Working nearly all hours of the day keep me absurdly busy, and I can't bring myself to write something folks don't like.
Aaaand there we go. As ever, reviews keep me alive. Without them, I cannot write. So...in the Immortal Words of Atlas...
...Review...Would You Kindly? T_T
Here have your previews, wild though they are.
As ever:
WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!
READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!
SPOILERS AHEAD!
(Previews)
"I bid you welcome to our home."
Naruto managed a dry nod.
Calm. Be calm...
Caelid was both better and worse than he expected it to be.
"What the actual hell."
He vaguely remembered there being dragons here, but this...was not one of those dragon. Nope. Not at all. He certainly didn't remember one talking!
"Right, then. I'll just leave you to it-
"Wait!"
Gotcha. He paused, smiling in the shadows, feigning ignorance. "Hmmm? What is it? I've got a castle to conquer."
"P-Perhaps I shall deign to allow your assistance." the wyrm raised a wrecked wing and considered him with her good eye, tattered tail twitching painfully behind her. "As you can clearly see, I've landed myself in a bit of a bind after that tussle with Ekzykes. If I lay here to rest, the rot will surely overtake me as it has others." When he didn't answer she barreled on. "I must return to Lady Ranni and make my report, but I cannot do so in this form. Might you spare a few runes?
...Ranni? Color him interested. Still, he wasn't about to let her off that easily. Not after the tongue lashing she'd given him a minute ago.
"You seemed just fine earlier." he thumbed his chin. "I believe the words, I need no mortal aid were used."
The dragonling made a pitiful noise akin to a squeak, but didn't speak.
Naruto's grin grew. "Say please, and I might consider it."
She whimpered. "Please, I beg of thee! Heeelp~!"
"Good girl." He laid a golden hand on her head. "You gotta name?"
"...Adula."
A flash of red hair shifted in his peripherals. It didn't belong to Radahn.
Couldn't be Ranni, not when she was holding sway over that puppet body. Which meant it could only be one of three people...none of whom he wanted to meet right now.
It also presented another, unlikely possibility. This could be someone new. Someone...different.
"Nope." Naruto shook his head and kept walking. "Not dealing with whoever that is."
"Do you see now how fruitless this is?!" they spun with a flourish, driving their weapon deep into his unprotected chest. "The future will not change! Now die! Die and-
Clenched fingers closed hand closed around their wrist, around the blade even now impaling him. Blue eyes snapped open, smoldering with golden flame.
He gripped them by the arm and dragged them in to whisper. A single word caressed their ears.
"GOTCHA~!"
Her good eye narrowed. "Pray tell, where did you get acquire that blade?"
"Wouldn't you like to know?"
On a whim, he touched the bloody medallion beneath his chest. There was something he needed to be certain of.
Another way to confirm his theory.
"I'll be right back...
She yelped and jolted as he slapped her flank. Rounded on him now, clutching her hindquarters. "What was that for?!"
"Told you not to dwell on bad thoughts."
"Good sir, I must protest!"
"Chaos?" he rasped the word. "No, this ain't a flame of chaos any longer. This is purification."
His victim died screaming.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
"No reason. Regrets. Maybe a few. But don't worry."
The sword sang in his grasp. A headless body hit the floor.
The last thing they saw was his smiling face. "You won't have to worry about anything at all; not anymore...
EDIT: Hey, you made it!
Once more, we're sticking with the "Embers" rule for this story, and others. If folks don't like this, it won't be continued. Meaning that if the story itself ain't popular? Well, it won't be continued. I'm working two jobs -might need a third soon!- so I barely have time to write; as such, I cannot afford to write something folks don't enjoy. So by all means, speak up! Your voice matters! Make yourself heard! As ever, reviews are the fuel that sustain me. Without them I cannot write a single word. Simple as that. Working nearly all hours of the day keep me absurdly busy, and I can't bring myself to write something folks don't like.
Looking forward to chatting with you all~! Have a great day~!
R&R~!