Broken Faith 7
Disclaimer: I don't own anything, Naruto is owned by Masashi Kishimoto and Mahou Negima Sensei is owned by Akamatsu Ken.
Author's Note : Some concerns about an OOC Asuna. The way I see it, Asuna is a strong girl yes, but she's still a middle school girl and so are the rest of 3-A. Do you know why I think she didn't break down in canon at this point? Because even though she's afraid, she knows she's the only thing keeping Negi going. Even if he knows more about the situation then she does, he's still a 10 year old, she can't get comfort from him, and if he sees her break down as well, everything goes down the drain. Get it? In the manga, Akamatsu draws as if they're all cyborgs that use pure willpower and awesomeness as fuel and lack the ability to feel fear like normal humans.
That's what I'm doing. I've giving them those feelings, those fears, the fragility in humanity, that not even a transdimensional super ninja is invincible. Oh and let me be blunt, most of the entire fic will probably be Naruto-centric, I don't think I'm good enough to focus on development outside of Naruto's circle and I'm too lazy to write a lot of stuff from the manga.
Sountrack List
Gundam Seed OST – Meteor
Akatsuki no Kuruma – FictionJunction Yuuka
Cherry Blossoms and Tears
*****Broken Faith****
"Fu fu fu fu, let's begin Setsuna-sempai, Konoka-sama. I'm going to make both of you mine."
Setsuna's eyebrow twitched. She already had enough problems with her classmates assuming she and Konoka-sama had that kind of relationship, she didn't need another girl jumping in and making the situation worse. She felt Konoka pull on her sleeve and hide behind her, even if Konoka wasn't aware of what was going on, Setsuna knew that her oujou-sama could feel the tension.
And where was Negi and Naruto? The last bit of communication she received was just before she lost concentration when the Goth girl challenged her when Naruto just reached Negi, Nodoka and Asuna. They were late. And she didn't know if she could protect the passer bys here from the hostile Goth if a fight broke out.
Things weren't looking good.
Konoka observed the western styled girl that had a threatening smile on her face from behind Setsuna; she assumed this was Tsukuyomi, one of the people Naruto had warned her about. To be completely honest, she was afraid, this was supposed to be a normal day, but here was one of the people who had kidnapped her. Her hand trembled slightly.
Setsuna felt the trembling and placed her hand over Konoka's soothingly and tried to display as much confidence as she could. Even if she didn't feel it herself, "Don't worry Konoka ojou-sama, no matter what happens I'll protect you." before giving her a sincere smile.
"Se…Se-chan…"
Unfortunately that touching moment was interrupted, "Sakurazaki-san is cool isn't she, Ayaka?"
A black wig wearing Iincho just agreed wholeheartedly.
Setsuna stared at the crowd, "Eh? Eeeh?"
Both of them had just noticed the humongous crowd that had gathered to watch the 'show'.
Including their classmates.
Before Setsuna could say anything a black haired Iincho who was crying anime tears had grabbed her hand, "Sakurazaki-san! I'm moved by your love for Konoka-san! I'll lend you my strength!"
"I told you it's just a mistake Iincho~" Setsuna who was also crying anime tears at the ridiculous situation tried to knock some sense into her idiot classmates.
She was ignored and could only watch as Iincho started challenging her kouhai, "Ho ho ho! You there! Don't you have any reinforcements? We, Sakurazaki-san's classmates will help protect her love!"
"Gah! Tsukuyomi-san! This people are not involved, don't hurt them!"
"Ahahaha, Setsuna-sempai, you have very good friends. Very well my little pets wont hurt them. Too much. Hyakkiyakou!"
A bunch of little cute demonic looking things poofed out of a flurry of ofuda that Tsukuyomi had thrown in to the air.
Setsuna made a grim face and drew her nodachi one handed and a spare wakizashi she had procured after their last exchange. She had learnt from her mistake but whether or not it worked, remained to be seen.
Stepping in front of Konoka to shield her from the oncoming demons, she prepared the blades in a ready pose. Slashing in a wide arc, the first wave of demons faltered at the fierce expression on her face. Most chose to target others, these ran out of her range and Setsuna despaired. She couldn't leave Konoka's side, already she was being overwhelmed by the little demons as many more ran pass her to attack the crowd.
Soon screams rang out around the clearing as the demons started scratching, biting, flipping up skirts and pulling off clothes. Setsuna sweat dropped even as she cut down a few demons; apparently the summons had similar perverted tastes to Tsukuyomi.
Said girl just watched happily as chaos spread around her, the screams of pain and fear sent pleasurable shivers down her back, content to wait for Setsuna's attack until she felt someone approach her, "Arara, Newcomer-san. Chigusa-san was looking for you, you know. Naughty boy, running away and not doing your job."
Fate who had just arrived from his earlier fight just looked impassively at the surroundings, "That is nothing, I was tracking another member of Springfield-san's class that is very strong." A weird expression appeared on the usually impassive boy's face, "He got away from me, I expect him to appear here soon."
"He won't get away this time."
Tsukuyomi just gave a small "Ufufufu, so even someone can get away from the great Fate-sama," behind her gloved hand.
Then the girl turned unusually serious, "What will you do if Chigusa-san achieves her goal? He won't be happy if Negi dies."
"She won't, I fully expect Negi and his friends to succeed. Worst case scenario, logic dictates that we will stop her ourselves since her goals contradict His. Our mission here was solely to judge if Springfield's offspring poses a threat since the Thousand Master won't be able to stop us himself."
Tsukuyomi did another genteel lady's small laugh impersonation, "And the fact that you found someone that interests you has no bearing whatsoever on our goals right?"
Fate didn't bother to grace her with a reply.
"Ah…. If I'm not mistaken I think that you're 'friend' just arrived." Fate perked up and watched the person that had interested him so finally arrive.
****Broken Faith****
Ayaka was busy fending off the little ankle biting things as she and her classmates were gradually being overrun by the little things. In front of her Sakurazaki-san was busy fighting the majority of the little things that resembled traditional Japanese Youkais. She at least, was doing the best by far compared to the rest of her classmates present.
Behind her, Yue and Natsumi were being attacked by more Tsukumogami and a few Hitodamas, Whenever the Hitodamas made contact with their skin, it left slight burns but luckily they weren't hot enough to cause any real damage.
Haruna, despite her Juubei cosplay had little to no idea how to use her sword as seen by her recklessly swinging the bokuto.
Among all of them, she seemed to be only that had any real martial arts experience and was able to stand her ground, but even so she was faltering, there were too many little demons to fight properly with just her hands.
At the same time, her mind was so busy struggling to comprehend how CG could even cause pain and focusing on throwing a chochinobake that was trying to strip her kimono over her shoulder at the same time that she barely heard managed to recognize the distressed voice of Haruna trying to warn her about a kappa running at her from behind, "Iincho! There's a big Kappa behind you!"
'Ayaka Yukihiro Ryuu Aijuu jutsu : Seichuka'and fluidy stepped into the Dai Kappa's guard before using its own weight against it and flipping it around like a Ferries wheel before landing headfirst on the floor.
Because she was preoccupied with the Kappa the blonde zaibatsu heiress turned around slightly too late to see a large and heavy looking Maneki Neki Tsukumogami about to squash her from above. Her eyes widened and her body froze as time seemed to stop for her, not that she expected to be able to do anything anyway; it was twice as large as her. She silently admitted in the silence of her soul that a death from being squashed by a statue was not the way she wanted to go. She wanted to go, surrounded by friends and family on her bed in the family mansion in Worcestershire. Friends and family that hopefully included two certain red heads and a blonde man. One was her first crush and best friend, and the last? The first person to not be intimidated by her family's money and influence. Although it was debatable whether he even knew about them.
*Maneki Neko's are usually made of wood or porcelain, imagine how heavy of the size of the one in canon would be.*
Play Gundam Seed OST - Meteor
Ayaka frowned, in her moment of death, she expected that the last thing she would hear before passing on would be her beloved Negi's voice, so why the heck was she hearing the blonde idiot's voice instead. What in the world was wrong with her?
"Yare yare, be careful bondage girl, I can't always be there to save your ass."
There that voice was again. Even when she was going to die, her imagination's representation of Naruto was calling her 'bondage girl'.
In the side of her eye she noticed a flash of royal purple and gold fittings before her eyes widened for another reason. The blonde really was here.
'Asura Ryuu : Kaimon, Dai Ichi no Michi.'
A simple Iaijutsu sword slash from the hip with a simultaneous burst of power from opening the First of Eight Gates cut the descending Maneki Neko in half causing two halves to land on either side of Ayaka as opposed to on her.
Ayaka could only stare.
The blonde was decked out full royal purple and gold O-yoroi, four katanas strapped across his back, while another four at the hip, two on each side. The helmet's two large prongs circled a reverse maple leaf datemono and added another feet to his already intimidating height, his long blonde hair which was braided into 9 ponytails flailed in the wind.
His posture straight and proud as he stared eye to eye with the impassive boy watching him from the bridge.
Everyone in the crowd clapped and hooted at the new arrival, while whispers about an enactment of Gojo Bridge was bandied around the crowd. Well among anyone who wasn't being attacked anyway.
"Negi, go help Setsuna, I'll deal with the newcomer. Bondage girl, you get back, it's not safe here."
"Hai, Naruto-nii san!"
The voice of Negi-sensei was enough to snap Ayaka out of her daze but before she could do anything she was pushed back by the rushing crowd. The blonde dashed forward, faster than anyone wearing that much armor had any right to, throwing away the handle of a broken katana he drew two more from his hip in a back handed grip, skidding between Haruna and Natsumi, he spun with the momentum in a whirlwind of blades, cutting the small demons into pieces before fluidly stopping and throwing both katanas in the air and pulling another 10 kunai from under his armor and launching all of them at the demons harassing the rest of the classmates present.
As he spied the impassive boy that had started to move towards him from the corner of his eye, he stopped long enough only to bark a short order, "All of you! Get away from here, it's not safe!" before dashing towards his advancing target again, leaving a blushing Chizuru, Yue and Kazumi on the ground half naked.
Right before he reached the boy he leapt in air and grabbed the earlier two katanas and brought them both down for an overhead strike.
'Asura Ryuu : Kaimon, Sandaime no Michi!' he roared as his blades clashed with a stone sword his opponent had materialized from somewhere, the only proof his attack had any effect whatsoever was the crater that had formed underneath the boy's feet as the force from the attack was blocked.
Before Fate had time to react, the blonde had let go of the two breaking katanas before dropping into a crouch and pushed up, slashing the distracted Fate with another katana. Fate leaned back to avoid the upward slash and snapped a kick into Naruto's jaw before both of them leapt backwards for a lull in the fighting as the crowd 'oooh and aaah'ed at the flashy sword play.
"May I know your name?"
Underneath the kabuto, Naruto sweated, his body as tense as a drawn bow, "Naruto. Namikaze Naruto, seat 32 of 3-A, and you?"
"Fate. Fate Averruncus….. I look forward to making your acquaintance."
Naruto gave a small laugh and pulled off his kabuto before throwing it to the side, the thing was heavy even though it was merely a prop he had appropriated from a costume store. "It's good to meet you too. I'm sorry bout leaving you so early last time, I had some pressing engagements."
"I know, but I expected you to come here soon after you revealed that you knew about the attack."
"I see…. Me and my big mouth huh?" Naruto gave a lopsided grin before his face turned grim again. "Would you mind if I went and helped my friends?"
The reply he received was a side slash from a charging Fate; he blocked it with the katana in his arm before kicking Fate back, "I didn't think so, very well. Let's dance."
Unlike last time where he was defensive, Naruto charged, simultaneously throwing the katana in his hand at Fate and drawing another two katanas, one clashed with the stone sword while Naruto pivoted and slashed again under Fate's guard, only to be blocked by another stone sword before Fate flicked his left hand to lock both of Naruto's katana's together while his free sword moved in a swift thrust. Leaning slightly to his left he inwardly grimaced as it wasn't enough and Naruto only suffered a thin cut to his cheek, nonetheless, he was standing and he had the upper hand in position, letting go of his sword like Naruto had did, it dematerialized before he landed a jaw shattering back hand from the thrust position. Naruto rocketed backwards and skidded for a bit from the force of the blow before dashing back in, and they started clashing blades again.
A frown appeared on Naruto's face as opposed to Fate's blank one as the blonde silently mused. The white haired boy was a far greater swordsman then he was as he failed to block a downwards slash that cleaved off his kata yoroi, on the other hand, every slash that he landed seemed be deflected or lessened by some sort of barrier. Bare punches caused the same effect. Deciding that he was going to lose if it kept up, he changed his rhythm and twisted his sword to score a thin slash on Fate's side before ducking a slash. Naruto launched from his crouched position in an attempt to mule kick Fate only for his feet to be caught by the boy.
Using the momentum from the kick, Fate slammed Naruto on the ground again and again before throwing the blonde away before Naruto could kick free with his free leg. Landing on the other side of the bridge he coughed some blood before he felt something bump into his back.
Naruto grinned, this was the change he needed. "On three?"
"On three."
"Three!"
Both him and Setsuna jumped before both of their feet met in mid air and they both kicked off and rocketed towards their respective opponents, aided by the extra speed he threw two katanas he had in his hands and pulled his last one out along with a kunai in his left hand and swiftly slashed Fate before discarding his weapons again, grasping Fate's forearms in mid air and forcing them apart, he twisted his body and kicked Fate with both feet in the face.
The boy was obviously disoriented by the kick and the sudden shift from sword fighting to close quarter melee combat and didn't have time to stop Naruto's combo.
Fate flew back only to be halted by the grip on his left arm before it pulled him back into another fist to the face, shaking of his daze he tried to punch back only for Naruto to twist the arm in his grip and block the punch using Fate's own hand before slipping his body underneath the arm he was holding, 'Let's see if that stupid barrier of yours stops this,' and jerked it completely out its socket in what looked like a modified judo move.
Naruto gave an evil grin that Fate couldn't see as he heard a slight gasp from behind him. 'FINALLY. Something that actually works, now I'd love to see you keep that blank face while I break you bit by bit.'
Taking advantage of the pain Fate was showing, he fluidly continued his barrage at the off balance Fate. Slipping from his position so that he was standing behind Fate, the blonde lodged another hand at the elbow joint and pulled violently with his other hand.
Judging by the strangled choke, he had probably dislocated Fate's elbow, maybe even broke something as a bonus, completely making Fate's entire left arm useless before he slipped one foot between Fate's legs and flipped Fate over like he had seen Ayaka do barely minutes ago, unfortunately Fate halted his fall by planting his healthy hand on the ground and reversed his momentum into a kick to Naruto's chin.
Naruto flew and landed on his back, his breathing ragged before clenching his jaw and struggled to get back in his feet. He didn't have the chakra to keep up his current abilities and was getting dangerously weak.
A shout from somewhere above, distracted him and he looked up to see Negi and Konoka surrounded by the Monkey Lady, her two puppets and what looked like a summoned demon pointing a bow at the two of them. Inwardly he cursed, what in Kami's name made Negi lead Konoka into a dead end. Not just any dead end, a 30 foot drop dead end.
He glanced around before yelling out, "SETSUNA! ABOVE!" Setsuna immediately kicked Tsukuyomi away from her before she glanced at where Naruto was pointing; fear suddenly filled her face before she took the chance to look back at Naruto.
Naruto looked back at where Fate was charging at him and did some light speed calculations before turning back to Setsuna, a silent and instant conversation passed between two warriors before Setsuna's face firmed with resolve and nodded before sprinting towards Naruto, ignoring the fuming Tsukuyomi, leaping at him Naruto grasped her outstretched arm, spun around and rocketed Setsuna towards Negi and Konoka.
He could only hope she got there in time as he was stabbed through the stomach from behind by a very pissed Fate.
****Broken Faith****
Negi and Konoka panted as they ran up the stairs of a traditional castle. Well Konoka panted, Negi didn't need to breath at the moment. They barged through a shoji only to find the Monkey lady had cornered them in the upper most room. Negi inwardly panicked as the lady ranted about her superior tactics, quickly glancing around he pulled Konoka down from a magic blast as the duo ran towards their only escape, a window leading out to the balcony.
"Boom!" the window where they had just escaped from was widened from another blast of magic, "Hurry Konoka! Climb the steps, we need to get away!"
They avoided another blast but soon they had nowhere else to run to. Behind them was a 30 foot drop and in front of them was a demon with an arrow unerringly pointed at them. Negi stepped in front of Konoka as if to shield her and clenched his teeth.
This was bad. This was very bad.
The Monkey Lady laughed evilly before declaring, "Setsuna Sakurazaki and the blonde fool! Stop interfering if you don't want your oujou-sama hurt. Can't you see this arrow pointed at her?"
Konoka was scared. She was very scared, but she could see Negi was even more scared then her, judging by his clenched jaw and shaking hands but wouldn't back down. Placing one hand on his shoulder she tried to calm him down so that they could think their way out of this mess easier while secretly gathering her magic, for? Anything really.
Negi's closed fist trembled in impotent anger when he heard Konoka speak, "its ok Negi, Se-chan said she'd definitely protect me no matter what, she'll definitely come to save us."
Unfortunately before she could say or do anything else, a strong wind blew at that very moment and the two of them stumbled on the edge of the roof causing the demon to release his readied arrow, "WAAA, you idiot demon! What did you shoot for? We're going to be in big trouble if the Ojou-sama dies!"
Negi clenched his teeth as time slowed and Konoka froze in her steps at her impending death. Throwing himself in front of the arrow failed as it just pierced the construct's body, spinning around to shout "Konoka!" with a worried tone, Negi could only helplessly watch as the arrow sped towards Konoka's heart.
Only to be blocked by Setsuna's shoulder who had miraculously shown up with a fierce look on her face.
****Broken Faith****
Years later if anyone asked Konoka what she felt at the time, she would say that she wasn't worried that she was falling to her death along with Setsuna, her first friend.
All she could think at the time was that she was praying for everything Naruto had told her to be true, that she was praying against all hope that she had successfully created a spark of flame that night in Kyoto and it wasn't all just a dream, that all she wanted was to heal her first friend's wound.
Everyone else could only watch the slow train wreck as two girls fell off a castle's roof. Everything after that was a complete blur when a flash of light caused everyone to avert their eyes and most of them couldn't believe their eyes to see a girl floating over water, radiating light like some Goddess had decided to come down to earth and grace everyone with her presence as the arrow wound in the girl in front of her slowly sizzled and closed like a miracle.
Everyone watching clapped as the samurai, that had arrived earlier, and was now dripping some really convincing red paint walked over to the two stunned girls and bowed and waved to them, "Thank you everyone for enjoying our production in Cinema Town, please come again and don't forget to tell your friends and family and throw your litter in the trash cans available at every corner!"
The crowd clapped and walked away loudly discussing the amazing CG and actors.
****Broken Faith****
"Tch, damn it, we missed our chance. But that was a very eye opening experience, we got to see that Oujou-sama's power first hand. Very impressive. Now I know the plan will work for sure. We'll retreat for now." She turned around, her kimono flapping in the wind and walked passed a disappointed Tsukuyomi and a blank Fate, before doing a double take and turned around to an cock an eyebrow at very battered Fate. "What happened to you, Newcomer?"
Since no one around truly knew who he was other then Tsukuyomi, only she noticed the slight twitch of his face. The equivalent to a frown from any other person.
Flashback
Fate almost grinned in satisfaction as he finally felt his sword stab into the blonde's gut, but everything else was driven out of his mind when the blonde pivoted, wrenching the sword of his hand, slamming an elbow into his face before throwing him over the shoulder, while he was struggling to get up, he absently noticed that he was right in the middle of all the katana's the blonde had thrown earlier.
He started to move forward again when something suddenly kicked him airborne from underneath before a lot of somethings started punching his limp airborne body, when he reached the peak of his upward momentum, something grasped both his arms and he felt a foot step on the back of his head and twist so that he was falling face first, before him and that something dropped down to earth like a meteor. As he was falling he absently noted that all the katana's that were previously strewn about the floor were no longer there but he had currently more pressing matters. Like the impending floor.
Naturally introducing his face to the floor in that manner wasn't very pleasant.
In fact, before he felt that something step off the back of his head, he heard a slight mutter,
"2-0. See you next time Chibi."
Surprisingly the Chibi comment hurt a lot more than the 2-0 did.
End Flashback
"Nothing, that blonde was an unexpectedly good fighter. We would do well to be careful of him next time."
"Hah, we've contracted an army of demons, that blonde is no worry, in fact, if the demon from the other day shows up, it will lose as well. Let's go, we have a castle raid to plan."
"Very well."
****Broken Faith****
"Hahaha…. That was a very big mess. Luckily no one found out about magic, eh Setsuna?"
"Ye…yes….Naruto-sama?"
'Sama tte!'
"Guh? What's with the sudden honorific's, wait why are you shaking? Oi? You're scaring me, Konoka already healed you right? Is something still wrong? You got more wounds in that fight?"
Naruto and Setsuna were in a back alley waiting for Konoka to finish changing, Naruto had already ditched and burned his blood soaked armor while Setsuna only had to change the robes.
Currently she was helping him bandage the wound in his gut, when the current conversation happened out of Konoka's earshot. Or at least she thought so.
"N-no…." Setsuna suddenly knelt in a dogeza front of Naruto, who was leaning against an alley wall, "I owe you a debt of blood and honor, you allowed me to keep my promise to her and reach Konoka-ojou sama in time to prevent grievous injury at the cost of your own health. Ask of me anything so that I can repay this debt of honor."
Naruto kept quiet and stared intensely at the kneeling Setsuna. Acting carefree and dismissing the act would only insult her warrior's honour as well as imply that the help he imparted was insignificant, meaning that he thought Konoka was insignificant.
Naruto sighed; he really hated being formal sometimes. "Raise your head, Setsuna Sakurazaki." Stiffening at the formal tone, Setsuna moved into a seiza but her posture was still submissive to the blonde, "Are you ready to sacrifice anything to repay that debt of blood and honor?"
Setsuna stiffened, her honor demanded that she repay the debt and agree, even if he asked for sexual favors or her loyalty. It wasn't backed by any legal forums, but her honor had dictated her life thus far, and she didn't intend on abandoning it now. The fact that she knew the blond was honourable was an added plus, and she didn't think he would ask for something too extreme, but the risk was there, nonetheless she took the chance and decided to trust in the blonde's honor so she answered his question in the affirmative.
Naruto nodded as though thinking about something before he did something unexpected.
He gave her a thumbs up and a lopsided grin, "Then Setsuna Sakurazaki hear my decision, in return for blood and honor owed, I ask for your hand in friendship."
Setsuna stared.
Naruto kept on smiling.
She stared some more.
He started sweating.
She kept on staring.
His smile faltered, "I-is something wrong?"
She finally broke the stare and blushed with averted eyes, "It-it's nothing, I was ju-just thinking you are an honourable person."
Naruto scrunched his eyebrows at the unexpectedly shy and soft tone.
"I accept your terms," she thrust out her hand at Naruto, "I, Setsuna Sakurazaki am proud to call you my friend."
Naruto smiled and grasped her hand in a handshake. "Anyway, we'll be fine here, just need to rest for a bit, why don't you go see why Konoka is taking so long to change so we can hurry and join Negi and the rest."
He watched her hurry away to another building before he smirked and gave the plank beside him a soft kick.
A small "Kyaa~" was heard and Konoka stumbled out from behind. She pouted at the smirking blonde before speaking, "Mou~ Naruto you meanie."
The blonde just smirked.
Konoka gave up and sat beside the blonde, handing him a bottle of water before she tried to tease him again, "Looks like someone has an admirer~"
Naruto sipped the water and stared blankly at the girl, "Who?"
Konoka just sighed, why were boys so dense? "You of course! Didn't you see Setsuna blushing!"
Naruto's blank face stayed and Konoka waited for a few moments before realization finally dawned on the blonde's face. She smirked at her victory until she heard him tease her back, "Why? You jealous?"
Konoka kept her face carefully blank and timed her reply, "Oh, I don't mind and a threesome sounds like fun."
Water went down the wrong way.
****Broken Faith****
Asuna sat there, drinking tea with Nodoka and Negi, but she couldn't help but fidget and glance at the horizon every few minutes whenever Negi or Nodoka didn't notice. 'Whats taking Naruto so long? I mean, Setsuna, Konoka and Naruto.'
When a few silhouettes appeared in the horizon, her heart missed a few beats as she leapt up along with Negi and Nodoka. Together they ran towards the figures, confident was their three friends.
'Funny, why are there 6, not three silhouettes?'
When the mist cleared, she gaped; standing there was Setsuna, Konoka, Naruto, Yuecchi, Kazumi, and Paru.
"Why are they here?" she demanded a heated whisper from Setsuna and Naruto, although Asakura heard the whisper.
Setsuna sweat dropped, "Asakura-san had some sort of GPS locator stuck on Konoka. They met up with us halfway here and insisted on following us no matter what."
"Hehehe, you're 100 years too fast to escape me so easily," Kazumi said.
Naruto quirked an eyebrow at her and she immediately shut up. She knew very well that the only reason she was allowed to come along was because of the others. Otherwise Naruto would've done something and left her unconscious body in an alley. Her body shivered again at the thought of methods that might be used to make her faint. It still didn't know what to feel around the blonde.
"Do you think this is some sort of game? Negi almost died you know." Negi, who happened to be piggybacking Asuna cried anime tears.
Behind them, the four girls who were unaware of magic were cheerfully chatting, "Uuooo, It has quite the atmosphere doesn't it? Let's go everybody!" Haruna loudly shouted cheerfully.
Asuna finally noticed the girls running towards the entrance, "Urk! Baka! That place is enemy headquarters! It's dangerous!"
"Th-there's someone coming out," Negi said.
When they finally saw exactly what was coming out, their jaws dropped.
A whole line of priestess uniform wearing women were lined up, together they all chanted, "Welcome back Konoka ojou-sama~"
Konoka blushed embarrassedly while behind her Asuna and Negi stared confusedly. Weren't these people the enemy?
Asuna turned towards the person who would know most about Konoka's background, Setsuna, "Sa-sakurazaki-san! What is all this?
Setsuna answered sheepishly "Um… well basically this is the Kansai Magical Association Headquarters….as well as Konoka-ojou sama's personal home…." Setsuna trailed off with a blush.
Naruto leaned against a pillar with a vacant expression that said he didn't care either way as he looked at the trees lining the path with something resembling nostalgia burning deep inside his chest. He hadn't seen this many Sakura trees in a while. Not since then.
Something no one noticed.
"Why didn't you say so earlier Sakurazaki-san?"
The reason for her earlier blush became apparent when she replied, "I made a mistake of judgement, I assumed that it would be dangerous for Konoka-ojou sama to come near the main house because an eastern mage was attacking us along with a Shinmei Ryuu swordswoman. If I knew the main branch weren't hostile we could have avoided the Cinema Town fiasco entirely and just stayed together before heading here directly." she blushed again, "A-anyway, if we enter the main house… I mean main headquarters; we should be safe from any attacks."
Together all of them walked in, following the long cherry tree lined main path, surrounded by chattering priestess and falling sakura blossoms. It was altogether a very beautiful scene like something from a shoujo manga. Especially since there were only two males as far as anyone could tell.
Then Asuna noticed something and scrunched her eyebrows in confusion, 'Why is Sakurazaki-san walking so close to Naruto?'
Ignoring the question, she hurried to catch up with everyone.
****Broken Faith****
Negi looked around in awe, completely ignorant of the whispered conversation between Asuna who sat beside him and Konoka. Together all eight of them nervously waited for the Kansai Magic Association Leader, which apparently turned out to be Konoka's father. 'Wait, eight? There's an empty cushion at the very back of the group. Where's Naruto nii-san?'
He spun around looking for his self appointed big brother before nudging Asuna.
"Naruto's missing, Kagurazaka-san, do you think something happened?" Asuna made a concerned face and was about to reply when they were interrupted by the raising of the bamboo blinds in front of them.
A lean elder man with a rather gaunt face walked out, dressed in the trappings of a Japanese priest.
"Welcome, Asuna-kun, Konoka's classmates and homeroom teacher, Negi." He intoned. His voice was soft but firm.
Asuna blushed, "Tastefully wonderful…" causing the rest of the girls to gape in shock, "Geh? You're tastes are weird!" all the girls simultaneously declared from behind Asuna.
Negi ignored all of them and pushed his concern for his blonde student aside for the moment before speaking in a respectful manner, "From the East's leader, Mahora Academy's Dean, Konoe Konoemon, to the West's leader, please accept this letter."
"Ahaha, I've received the letter," he replied in an equally formal manner, It was a tough job wasn't it?"
Negi sheepishly laughed, "N-no…ahaha…"
Eishun glanced at the letters for a bit before sweat dropping at the first page although the interesting request his Father-in-law made at the bottom of the page had him quirking his eyebrow, looking back at the expectant faces in front of him he spoke, "Ma ma, no need to be so formal anymore. This is fine, in appreciation of eastern leader's will, the west will officially open negotiations with the east the end the discord between us. Please tell him that Negi."
Haruna whispered to Kazumi, "Discord? Yakuza fighting over territory?"
Kazumi shrugged then sweat dropped, "I really doubt it, he looks like one good hit will make him faint, and Konoemon-sama is so old that if he bent over to pick up a bat, he would probably slip a disk."
Both the men in question sneezed.
Konoemon sneezed on his current Go partner. Eishun just sneezed.
Eishun rubbed his nose a bit before continuing sheepishly, "Excuse me, anyway, you have to descend the mountain before you can leave, but the sun is already setting. I insist that you and your friends stay the night. We'll prepare a banquet and roo-" "Yatta! Lucky!" Eishun laughed at the girls' exuberance, "Anyway, we'll prepare rooms a well for all of you tonight."
However Negi had to put a damper on the girl's celebrations, "Umm... I'm sorry but we're all in the middle of a school trip, we can't stay for long."
"That's alright; we'll prepare substitutions so no one notices that you are missing."
Negi smiled in resignation, "Very well, but at the moment we have one person missing, have you seen him?"
The girls and Asuna all started whispering about the missing member when the most unlikely source replied, "Ah…. Naruto-san said he was uncomfortable in formal settings. He is waiting outside the hall at the moment." Setsuna said.
Asuna frowned a bit, why had the blonde chosen to tell Setsuna instead of her, no, instead of both of them? And since when was HE bothered about something insignificant like that? Something was up. But she ignored the slight weight settling at the bottom of her stomach when Negi started talking to her about something. At least they knew he was safe.
****Broken Faith****
A sweat drop ran down her face as she looked at her partying friends before she looked at her cup's contents suspiciously, "Th-this…isn't alcohol right?" Konoka answered Asuna's comment, "No no, its not alcohol, ahaha…"
Opposite her and Konoka, Setsuna and Negi was approached by Eishun, "Setsuna," his soft voice rang out, Setsuna stiffened before adopting a kneeling position to show respect for her faction's leader, "Th-this is, for the leader to speak to someone lowly like me..."
"Hahaha… don't be so formal... you were always like that. Ever since you were young" he added with a mutter, "Anyway, I wanted to thank you for guarding Konoka so faithfully for these past two years. It must have been hard, fulfilling my selfish request,"
Setsuna shook her head and gave a sincere smile, "You don't have to thank me, Konoe-sama, it was my pleasure to do it, and in fact I should be thanking you for giving me the chance to do something I always wanted." She grimaced, "But today…I nearly failed, it was only thanks to Naruto-san that I didn't and Konoka-ojou sama's power was awakened because she needed to heal someone like me."
"It's alright, sooner or later it would've been inevitable, rather than expressing regret, you should be happy, she forcefully awakened her powers because she wanted to heal you, her treasured friend. Besides that, it seems that the Botched Pactio she tried to make with Negi had hastened the process anyway. But where is this Naruto-san?"
Konoka had learnt to be discreet in this huge place. Growing up, she had always been a rather curious child. Thus it was that she realised something fishy was going on in her abnormally large house.
Her parents and the people around them were reluctant to let her out and have friends like the princesses in the books always done.
Her friends were always monitored from the shadows.
The household members always hushed each other when she came near. Her parents didn't appear to work, their retainers seemed to be able to afford everything easily even though they had no apparent source of income despite living in what seemed like a Shinto Shrine. They didn't even have visitors like the other shrines she had seen and she always wondered about that.
Being a curious child, she had learnt to be discreet so she could try to solve the puzzle that was her family.
So she learnt how to hide her presence early on and eavesdropped on conversations around the compound. Although she admitted up till recently her efforts only had a small degree of success because they were always very careful around her. It wasn't until she asked Naruto that the puzzle finally fell into place. She hadn't confronted her friends even though she was enthusiastic because she had faith in them. Besides, what was a few days compared to 14 years?
And so Konoka who was using those hard earned skills listened in and silently disagreed with her father. Naruto had given her some basic magic books he had apparently been studying himself and she had awakened her power that night. And for that, both her and Se-chan were still in his debt even if they didn't know it. If he hadn't done it, she may not have awakened it in time to save her first friend.
There was a reason she talked about threesomes after all.
Although watching the usually stoic blonde choke was rather fun.
Setsuna focused for a bit, extending her senses for a few moments before her presence felt the blonde's, "He is outside, he said that he prefers to dine in less formal environments so I have already taken the liberty to ask for a portion of the meal to be brought to him."
"I see….this Naruto, he is a complicated person it seems. What is he like?" Eishun inquired.
Setsuna seemed to think for awhile, never moving from her position, "He…is honourable and just. So much so that even after only meeting him for only 2 days I can already tell that much. To people who don't know him, he displays a distant and slightly cold demeanour, but I'm led to believe it's because of something that had happened to him in the past that he does not give his trust easily."
Eishun observed the swordswoman's attitude while she spoke of the boy. He trusted her judgment as one of the best swordswomen he had under his authority even though she was still learning and she was as straightforward as they came. Nonetheless, there was something more, judging from the blush that was slowly spreading across her face but it did not let it concern him, but it did amuse him to know that someone had managed to dent the fierce swordswoman's armor.
Someone aside from Konoka anyway.
A soft smile took root on her face, "Earlier today, he allowed himself to get stabbed from behind so that he could help me reach Konoka-sama in time, after that, I deemed myself in debt to him, I asked whether I could do anything in return to repay that debt."
Oh? This seemed interesting, it was a known phrase, 'To see what someone's character is truly like, give him power,' and the results of this would determine whether he fulfilled his Father-in-law's request or not.
"He didn't ask me for anything material or even important. All he wanted was my hand in friendship when he had complete authority over my person."
He could see why Setsuna was blushing now, she was probably attracted by the innate honor this Naruto had shown. True Samurai that still lived in honor in today's era was rather rare.
Negi stared in awe at the story that Setsuna spun, he hadn't known something like had happened and it solidified the blonde he had taken to calling his Nii-san's position in his mind.
"I see….. I look forward to meeting your friend, Setsuna." Eishun turned around and started to leave.
****Broken Faith****
Asuna quietly stepped out of the dining hall while no one noticed and softly slid the shoji close behind her. Travelling down the moonlit corridor, noises of celebration obscuring her footsteps.
She had wanted to talk to the blonde for a while, they hadn't spoken since her earlier breakdown this morning. Every time she had been around him after that, he had been distant towards everybody, most likely because Haruna and gang was there.
Plus, she wanted to thank him for saving Konoka and ask him about Setsuna's debt.
Konoka hadn't been the only one eavesdropping, once Asuna had noticed her best friend make this vaguely focused expression with one ear turned towards where her father appeared to have a conversation with Negi and Setsuna, she had joined in the fun.
Only to be rather….impressed at Naruto's actions.
Play Akatsuki no Kuruma by FictionJunction Yuuka
Walking out of a side entrance, she wandered around a lawn decorated with many sakura trees.
It wasn't hard to find him; she heard the haunting melody of a flute and immediately knew where to go.
Kazesasou kokage ni utsubusete naiteru
Mi mo shiranu watashi wo watashi ga miteita
She found him sitting in the junction of broad Sakura tree's branch, playing his flute again.
She waited for him to finish while she savoured the melody.
When he stopped, he looked down at her, she wasn't surprised, he always seemed to know where everyone was, before stretching his hand out to her. It seemed like he wanted her to join him on the branch. Slightly unsure, she looked up to stare deep in his eyes. The obscure pain in them made her curious and strengthened her resolve and she let him pull her up to sit beside him, legs hanging from the branch.
Like they always said, 'T'was curiosity that killed the cat.' Asuna wished she remembered the phrase before joining him on the tree.
Yuku hito no shirabe wo kanaderu GITAARA
Konu hito no nageki ni hoshi ha ochite
They sat there silently as she fretted, Asuna didn't know how to start a conversation because of the weird mood the blonde seemed to be in. But she didn't have to. The blonde started it himself.
"I proposed to my wife underneath a Sakura tree in a field like this. Full of Sakura trees as the Sakura petals fell around us."
Asuna's heart froze as confusion reigned. Married? How? He was 15!
He made a sad smile, "She passed on before we could get married but in my heart I always think of her as my wife."
Asuna eyes widened, even through the confusion, she mourned on his behalf.
Yukanaide, donna ni sakende mo
ORENJI no hanabira shizuka ni yureru dake
"Do you want to see her picture?" There was something Asuna couldn't identify in his eyes. It wasn't sadness, or regret, or grief.
It was apprehension.
At what?
She understood why when she saw the picture. Her eyes widened. She was looking at herself. An older her. A very happy her. A younger Naruto with a very wide smile, had his arms wrapped around her waist and his chin on her shoulder. Confusion reigned once again until realization dawned.
This wasn't her; it was someone that looked like her.
Asuna furiously wiped the angry tears that escaped her eyes. All this time she had been lied to.
Flashbacks to when they first met, his actions, the softness and the hint of grief that was always followed whenever he held her in his arms, the way he acted differently to her compared to the rest of class was explained by this one picture.
"I know you think that I'm replacing her with you, but you're wrong," his voice uncharacteristically soft rang out.
"I showed you that picture, so I can finally leave the past where it belongs."
Te no hira no kioku haruka
Tokoshie no sayonara tsuma hiku
There were no words she could say. Her throat seemed be stuck. She had no idea whether she was feeling, hurt, anger, relief. Or whether she was feeling at all.
She was snapped out of it when a hand cupped her face, and thumb gently caressed the tear tracks falling down her left cheek.
"I'm not asking for anything. I just wanted a clean slate between us. I realised this morning that if anything were to start between us, I didn't want the relationship between us, be it friendship or anything more, to be tainted by my memories of her. You don't deserve that."
He was being completely honest. She could see it in his red rimmed eyes. Blue jewels alit with flames in the dark and framed by the falling Sakura blossoms.
It didn't stop the hurt or the tears.
Aa kanashimi ni somaranai shirosa de
ORENJI no hanabira yureteta natsu no kage ni
Asuna slapped him. "That was for leading me on."
Then she kissed him straight on. "That was for being honest with me."
She jumped off the branch and ran away, furiously wiping the tears that wouldn't stop.
Naruto watched her go. There probably wouldn't be any romance between them anymore. He had fucked up badly, but he owed it to her.
The risk that he lost everything by telling her was always there but she didn't deserve him hiding his past from her like an ever looming mountain of expectations she couldn't climb because she didn't even know it was there but could feel it every minute for the rest of her life.
Giving a strangled laugh, he brought the discarded flute back to his lips and started playing again.
Omoide wo yakitsukushite susumu daichi ni
Natsukashiku me fuite yuku mono ga aru no
Akatsuki no kuruma wo miokutte
ORENJI no hanabira yureteru ima mo dokoka
Itsuka mita yasurakana yoake wo
Mou ichido te ni suru made
Kesanaide tomoshibi
Kuruma ha mawaru yo
****Broken Faith****
Author's Notes
The reverse Maple leaf crest is the crest of the Minamoto clan while Minamoto Yoshitsune's helmet is famous for two very large prongs. Royal purple and gold fittings are the colors of Minamoto Yoshitsune in Warriors Orochi 2.
Let me explain. In this fic, Chigusa is more than paranoid at the moment, hence she has contracted more vicious demons compared to canon, and hence why they actually DO hurt when they attacked at Cinema town.
**Akatsuki no Kuruma**Red Dawn's Chariot**
Kazesasou kokage ni utsubusete naiteru - Shaded by the trees, calling out to the wind, I'm lying face-down crying
Mi mo shiranu watashi wo watashi ga miteita – When I look at myself, I see someone I don't recognize
Yuku hito no shirabe wo kanaderu GITAARA – On this guitar I'm playing the melody of someone who's passed on
Konu hito no nageki ni hoshi ha ochite - A star falls in the grief of someone who'll never be seen again
Yukanaide, donna ni sakende mo - Please don't go, no matter how much you scream,
ORENJI no hanabira shizuka ni yureru dake - all it will do is quietly stir these orange petals
Te no hira no kioku haruka - I send the memories in my palm far away
Tokoshie no sayonara tsuma hiku - An eternal farewell as I keep strumming
Aa kanashimi ni somaranai shirosa de - In the pure white unstained by sorrow,
ORENJI no hanabira yureteta natsu no kage ni - the orange petals stirred in a summer shadow
Omoide wo yakitsukushite susumu daichi ni - Branded into my memories, on the ever-turning earth,
Natsukashiku me fuite yuku mono ga aru no - there is something sprouting in remembrance
Akatsuki no kuruma wo miokutte- Sending off the dawn's carriage
ORENJI no hanabira yureteru ima mo dokoka - Those orange petals are stirring somewhere even now
Itsuka mita yasurakana yoake wo - The peaceful daybreak I once saw
Mou ichido te ni suru made - Until it is placed in my hands once more
Kesanaide tomoshibi - please don't let the light go out
Kuruma ha mawaru yo - The wheels are turning
****Broken Faith****
'Ayaka Yukihiro Ryuu Aijuu jutsu : Seichuka' – Ayaka Yukihiro Style : Aikido Jujitsu combo : Flower in the Snow
'Asura Ryuu : Kaimon, Dai Ichi no Michi.' – Asura style : Gate of opening, First Path
'Asura Ryuu : Kaimon, Sandaime no Michi.' - Asura style : Gate of opening, Third Path
Hyakkiyakou – Parade of one hundred demons
Chochinobake – Haunted paper lantern youkai (Tsukumogami class)
Hitodama – will of the wisp ghosts
Bokuto – wooden sword
Maneki Neko – welcoming cat, usually made from wood or porcelain.
Datemono — Helmet crest (generic term).
Kata Yoroi – Shoulder armour
O-Yoroi – Great Armour, traditional Armour worn by higher ranked Samurai. Google it for more information.
Did you enjoy the cliffhanger? Feels like a kick to the ball sack doesnt it? Heck, i WROTE this thing, and it STILL felt like a kick to the nads when i proof read the thing.
Author's Note 2 : Oh btw? half of this chapter was prewrote, one of the inspiring ones that i did ahead of time. I'll give you one hint. i'm proud of this chapter. i'm even prouder then the chapters i already wrote for the Mahora Festival. it was what started me on writing this fic.