Broken Faith 12
Pain of Memories.
Disclaimer : I don't own anything, Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto as much as his screwing it up nowadays anyway, Negima belongs to Akamatsu Ken.
AN : I'm really grateful for the slew of reviews telling me the reason why I didn't get much reviews was because I replaced the AN with chapter 10, thus an alert never went out. and of those that realized it anyway, most already reviewed on the AN chapter. so its mainly my fault and I apologize. thanks for bearing with me and please don't feel pressured to review because I was mopey. Being 6000 miles from my family during Christmas does that to me.
Part 3 of 3 of my Christmas Special back to back release. And here it is. My Last release for a while, I hope you liked the 3 chapter combo. cause you wont be getting anything for at least 2 weeks.
It gets rather….um dark at the bottom, i tried not to eh... you know what? Go read it yourself. Hehehehe. Do becareful.
Soundtrack List
Trust You – Yuna Ito
****Broken Faith****
"E-evil Naruto-sensei, *pant pant* a-are you coming on the trip to the beach wtith Negi-sensei and the others for Golden Week?"
Said blonde glanced down at his 'somewhat' student who was currently panting on the ground beside his second student, "I don't know. Not likely though, I have something I need to do."
"Eeeehhh~? Why not?" the pink haired girl questioned while her partner just grunted in agreement, too tired to say anything else.
"If I can finish my project in time then yeah I'll go. If I don't, then I won't, I'd rather not leave Eva-chan and Chachamaru behind while everyone is having fun. Oh, is Tatsumiya-san going as well?" Naruto asked.
"Eh? Mana-chan? Um I think so; but it's free so I think she'd be there. But she doesn't really mix with us." Makie suddenly developed a rather evil grin, "Why are you asking about her? Evil Naruto-sensei has a crush?"
"Eh, little kids like you shouldn't talk about adult things," Naruto replied offhandedly, smirking when the girl started fuming about not being a child.
"Enough, if you have enough strength to rant like that; you can swim another 20 laps"
"Sensei! What about me?"
"You as well, Hime."
"Geeehhh!"
"With another 5kg added to the menu." The blonde added with a smirk.
"Nuuuuuuuu! Evillllll!"
"Uh huh. By the way, if both of you don't want another 5 laps, both of you better start swimming."
****Broken Faith****
On a Southern Island a few days later.
"It's the seaside~~!"
Ayaka sweat dropped as she watched her classmates jump into the water, "Grrr! Wh-why is this happening? My plan to spend time alone with Negi-sensei at the beach is ruined!"
"Ufufufu, if you didn't want this to happen, you shouldn't have boasted to Haruna-chan and Kazumi." She heard from behind her, spinning around she turned to face the Mother of 3-A and her other dorm mate, Natsumi, "Uguu…. Why are you here too Chizuru!"
Elsewhere with Asuna
"Sigh, why did I have to come along too? Something so fancy…" Asuna grumbled.
"Mah mah, you need to relax a bit Asuna-chan, this way you get a break from delivering papers for a while." Her female dorm mate spoke from beside her. "Besides…." Konoka glanced at her homeroom teacher, but left the rest unspoken. Asuna grunted, "Speaking of tired, you've been looking pretty wiped out as well."
"Eh? Um... Ah, look, Negi-sensei wants to talk to you!" her dormmate hurriedly changed the topic.
Asuna looked at where Konoka was glancing and saw her homeroom teacher who was apparently trying to get her attention. "Hmph!" she quickly walked away, mostly because she didn't want them to see she had a smug smile on her lips.
It did a woman's ego good to be chased after all. See if he called her a delicate girl in such a backhanded way again.
'Uuuu…. Asuna-san is still angry after all…' Negi thought dejectedly until a hand ruffled his hair. Looking up his saw his blonde nii san, Chachamaru-san with Chachazero on her head and his magic teacher beside him wearing a cute sundress and a broad brimmed sun hat. "Nii san! Evangeline-san! Chachamaru-san!" he exclaimed in surprise.
"Yo."
"Hmph."
"Negi-sensei." They all greeted him in turn.
"What are you doing here Evangeline-san? I thought you can't leave Mahora Academy?" he asked, not noticing a new bracelet lined with silver runes that Evangeline was currently wearing.
Negi watched in confusion as a light pink dusted the vampire's cheeks and she averted her eyes, "Wh-what? You think someone so powerful like me can be stopped by a simple barrier?" he continued to watch in confusion as Naruto nudged Evangeline with a smug smirk and they quietly argued about something. Or more precisely, Evangeline argued about something while Naruto ignored her complaints with a smirk.
While the two were arguing he dejectedly went to wade into the water and wonder what he was doing wrong when he was suddenly set upon by the paedophi- I mean, students of 3-A that fell into the cute category, excluding Ayaka.
Surrounded by bickering girls that were vying for his attention finally caused Negi's already tired brains to snap, their home room teacher swam away as fast as possible only to accidentally swim straight up into Chizuru's bikini. Jealousy flared, mostly at the busty motherly girl of 3-A causing every other girl there to ram their teacher into marshmallow heaven.
Sitting under some shade not far away was Evangeline, Chachamaru, Chachazero and 3-A's only male student watched as their homeroom teacher was pounced on by boob wielding girls.
"You know, I'm not sure if I want to congratulate that boy for being squashed between so many boobs, or hit him because he doesn't know how to appreciate the enormity of what just happened." The male student commented casually.
"Grrr…. Can you not be so perverted?"
Naruto glanced at her from the corner of his eye, "You know, if you're jealous, I can just throw him up your sundress if you want," He offered the vampire, "Of course, then I'd have to roast him for peeking up my sister's dress."
"You-b-g-ya-wh-huh! I am not jealous!"
"You didn't deny you wanted him to go peek up your sundress though," Naruto replied with a lop sided grin.
"!#%$^!#&^*&"
"My my, who knew that someone elegant like you knew such…obscenities."
"Must not strangle, must not strangle….." Evangeline chanted under her breath, causing Naruto to laugh, ah... poking the tiger was so much fun.
"Say, why aren't you going swimming anyway?" he said while observing a shallow pool nearby where Akako and Chachazero were splashing each other."
Evangeline averted her eyes and mumbled something under her breath, Naruto squinted his eyes at her as he struggled to hear what she was saying, "I can't hear you, can you speak up?"
Evangeline took a deep breath and quietly confessed, "I can't swim, I'm scared of water."
Naruto observed the vampire fidget in her seat with an unsettling expression on his face; turning to Chachamaru he asked the gynoid, "Did you bring any swim wear for Evangeline?"
"Yes, although Master insists it was a waste of my time." Her lip curled slightly as she realized what the blonde's plan was.
Smiling the blonde stood up, threw a protesting Evangeline onto his shoulder like a sack of potatoes before she could run away, walking over to Chachamaru he took the bag from her and gave her a small peck on her cheek as thanks before dragging a screaming Evangeline away to change.
Chachamaru stood rooted to the spot, seemingly watching the duo leave. While they had been close together especially whenever she slipped into Naruto's tent, he had never overtly displayed any signs of affection in the open where people could see. And she never expected him to either, she was happy enough that he let her pretend in his tent and never said anything about it, something she was thankful for.
However, right now the gears in her chassis were spinning like crazy at the sudden move, even if it was only a chaste peck on the cheeks, her processors were throwing up gibberish on all her screens, causing the gynoid to overheat before everything shut down with a poof of smoke.
The gynoid fainted standing up.
Not far away a small kitsune sniggered at seeing the poof of smoke and the gynoid's blank eyes.
****Broken Faith****
In a secluded cove a few minutes later, a one piece swimsuit wearing Evangeline ( Either you change yourself in privacy of the changing rooms, or I strip you down and change for you out here in public ) who mulishly refused to go anywhere near the water.
Naruto sighed at the vampire's stubbornness, "Look, either you slowly walk in with me holding your hands, or I just throw you in with or without your consent. Your choice." Under his breath he muttered, "700 year old my ass."
He picked the vampire up in a bridal carry causing the vampire to shriek in panic, "Nooo!"
"It's ok, I won't let you go. Just close your eyes and hold on." He tried to soothe her.
Evangeline screwed her eyes shut and desperately clung to Naruto like a leech. Naruto grunted as her grip on his neck got even tighter as soon as her back touched the water slightly.
"Relax, just relax. I'm not letting go. You don't have to open your eyes. Just feel the water; it won't swallow you if you don't let it."
He stood there with Evangeline in his arms for nearly 10 minutes, muttering quiet words of encouragement into her ear; it took that long for the vampire's tension to finally bleed out, even if the water from the push and pull of the waves barely lapped at her back.
And Naruto never let go, some things weren't meant to be made fun of.
Slowly he lowered her into the water when her grip didn't feel so painful anymore, so that she didn't notice until half her horizontal body was submerged in water, careful not to let any get on her face.
"Feel the water around you, cool, gentle. A source of life that you shouldn't be afraid off. You don't have to open your eyes, but extend your magic, feel the water all around you, enveloping you." Naruto softly cooed to the terrified vampire.
Evangeline never felt more peaceful in her life, something she regretfully admitted she never missed before this, mostly because she never knew this feeling before, or at least couldn't remember them anymore. The feeling of being supported by someone she could truly depend on and didn't have an ulterior motive.
She felt afloat and so light.
Minutes passed as she let the sounds of the waves engulf her and the cool water all around her until she felt a quiet tap on the shoulder. Prying her still shut eyelids she saw a gentle grinning face hovering above her.
Then she realized she was floating in the water, the only support she had was Naruto's hand that was still being gripped tightly in hers so that she didn't float away.
"See, you're not afraid of water anymore."
Evangline averted her eyes with a blush; she had been so childish over something so simple? Or was it simple simply because there was someone to support her? She had done things alone for centuries, the feeling of something so hard; being so easy simply because she had someone to help her was an alien concept to the vampire.
"C'mon, I'll teach you how to swim next."
Evangeline shyly agreed.
****Broken Faith****
He breathed in the beach air, walking on the pier around the water chalets that served as the class's accommodation for tonight.
Wearing nothing but a white flannel shirt that was only half buttoned up and a pair of Bahama shorts he was relaxing from a day full of fun, enjoying the cool evening breeze and savouring the beautiful sun set that painted everything a warm red and orange. Come to think of it, this was probably only his second time at a beach.
Evangeline was already out like a light after a tiring day of learning how to swim while Chachamaru watched over her like a fussy Onee-chan even if she didn't show it. Akako was also napping; last he saw of the lump of fur, she was curled up like a ball around Chachazero on the bed.
Walking along the pier he finally came to an isolated veranda where he saw a figure standing. He assumed she was also enjoying the evening air. Steeling his nerves he walked towards her.
"Hello Namikaze-san." Naruto winced, he had been downgraded from Naruto-san to Namikaze-san.
"Tatsumiya-san. I didn't see you with the others today."
The dark skinned girl who was wearing a silky evening dress smiled slightly, "I found them a little too boisterous. So I was somewhere else with Kaede where it wasn't so loud." Mana said softly.
"You know, the way you talk, I don't find it surprising that the others doubt that you are merely 15 years old." Naruto quipped.
She looked at him with slight amusement, "Some people had to grow up faster than the rest. I'm sure you understand what I mean."
Naruto sobered, "Yeah."
They were silent for a little longer, until a figdeting Naruto felt the need to fill the silence again, "Listen, I'm sorry for being so harsh that day. You were merely curious and asking a perfectly logical question. It was just that the question touched a rather sore spot from my youth, and I took it out on you." He tried to explain as best he could.
Mana didn't reply for a while, "I was a little disappointed in you. Everybody has their own reasons and pasts, I had thought you would be more understanding than most, people like us, we grow up fast, we learn that we can't depend on anyone but ourselves earlier than most and we look out for ourselves. Had they come from any other, I could have cared less, but your words stung a little." Mana admitted while Naruto felt a slight stab of guilt, "Nonetheless, now that I know you weren't being harsh simply because you could, I don't mind anymore. Nonetheless, I'll be honest as well and admit that you were right in that Kaede and I were rather shallow in our approach of you. If you weren't good looking and intriguing we would not have given you another glance."
Naruto shook his head, "That still doesn't excuse me for being an idiot and hurting you," He admitted shamefully. "And I can't blame you for judging based on first impressions. No matter what anyone says, first impressions always leave their marks on the way we act towards others. Your classmate, Naba-san showed that to me very clearly."
"Naba? Chizuru-san?" Mana said, slightly surprised.
Naruto smiled, "Maybe it's because she is so different from us, a normal school girl yet not a normal school girl, that she could see the mistakes that people like us make. Like you, I was harsh on you because of my preconceptions towards you. She took the time to explain to me that you weren't interested in money for money alone. She didn't tell me exactly what you were using it for, but hinted that a likely reason would be that you donated heavily to the orphanage."
"Fufufu, Looks like I underestimated another of my classmates, it looks like what you said about Makie has merit, I'll have to thank Chizuru-san one day. I hope you have a good evening Naruto-san." Mana said softly before stepping away, leaving Naruto alone on the veranda. As she stepped past him he heard her softly whisper, "Tell Makie-san I wished her good luck in obtaining her goals."
Naruto smiled, Mana it seemed was a rather clumsy girl that gave her answers in a roundabout way; acknowledging his words about chances in her sentence about Makie and Chizuru before asking him to give her regards to Makie. He didn't mind, people like him and Mana usually found it hard to express themselves in words, even apologizing to her like this had been rather humbling.
He stood for a few minutes alone and enjoying the sea breeze when two arms wrapped around his neck from behind in a gentle hug and he felt two large womanly assets being pressed to his broad back, "I was surprised, you really apologized to her. No posturing at all, quite unlike most men I had the misfortune of meeting might add." A gentle voice filled with humour spoke near his ear.
Naruto smiled, "I'm not most men."
"True, but admit it, it was hard wasn't it?" The same humour filled voice said in reply.
Embarassed by the ease in which the owner of the voice had seen through his actions Naruto chuckled sadly, he half expected to turn around and find Akane standing there like she did barely 2 years ago in his mind, "I guess it boils down to pride. Ironic that I just spoke to Asuna about her own pride recently. I guess I'm not used to making mistakes like that, not anymore anyway, so it was hard to humble myself again after being used to being in control of things for so long."
A comfortable silence filled the veranda after his admission but the arms remained around his neck as he felt more weight settle itself on his back, probably the person resting her forehead on his back.
"Why are you helping me with this? No offense meant but we never talked before, so I don't see a reason for you to involve yourself in a petty quarrel, even if most of the class call you their Mothe-" a menacing aura spread from behind him as the arms around his neck tightened. Naruto gulped nervously, 'She even has Akane's signature menacing aura down pat!' before hurriedly changing his words, "Even if the class knows you are very caring."
"Hmm? Maybe I'm just a busybody? Maybe I'm following my own first impressions of you and can't stop avoiding a handsome young man? Who knows?"
Naruto blushed embarrassedly at being called a handsome young man, he knew it of course, but receiving a compliment in such an open manner still embarrassed him.
"Arara, you're blushing, how cute. Nonetheless, I should reward such a handsome young man for being so honest and sincere."
Soft lips brushed against his cheek, "Now if we can just get you to stop hating yourself, you might get a better present than that." The soft arms unwound from around his neck before the weight left and he felt her presence walk away.
"Hmph, so many weird girls but I can't find it in myself to be repulsed about it. Kami, I love you."
He could have sworn he heard a smug 'I know.' floating on the evening breeze.
Once he heard that he decided he probably had too much breeze and decided to walk back to the chalet he was sharing with Akako. Chachamaru had one with Evangeline. When he was nearing the chalets he heard some yelling; 'Bondage girl and Asuna?'
****Broken Faith****
"Honestly, why are you being so stubborn? Especially since you already forgave him, I've known you for so long," Ayaka pulled her the lids of her eyes up, "Ever since you were a silent anti-social brat with weird eyes, the only thing that hasn't changed is your stubbornness."
"Uguu... when I forgive him is my problem isn't it? Would you like it if he called you useless?" Asuna hotly replied. "So what if I let him steam a bit longer? He won't learn if we coddle him like that!" Asuna stomped into the bath, slamming the door in Ayaka's face.
"O-oi! You running away? Negi-sensei was crying you know! Maybe he was wrong, but dragging it out for so long isn't good for either of you!" Ayaka yelled while banging on the door.
She sighed when she got no reply, "Honestly, don't make me the only person trying to help you two."
The blonde walked out onto the pier, taking deep gulps of air to soothe her nerves after her yelling match with her old friend. Resting her elbow on the railing, the blonde heiress buried her face in her hands. "What the hell am I doing... helping my love rival get even closer to Negi-sensei."
"Your being a good person, that's what."
Her head snapped up in surprise, she hadn't expected anybody to be around, much less hear her argument with Asuna before stiffening when she felt someone lean on the railing beside her. Looking to her side, she was surprised to see her only male classmate. Now that she knew there wasn't any threat from a stranger she went back to burying her face in her palms.
"How the hell is it good? Helping Asuna get closer to Negi-sensei like that while I'm suffering on the inside, heck why am I even telling you this? You're nothing but an annoying classmate." Ayaka finished with a strangled laugh.
Said annoying classmate moved. Stepping behind her he hugged her from behind, causing her to stiffen before inexplicably leaning back into the warmth, "Maybe you're suffering. But that isn't my point. From my perspective, there aren't many things more admirable than what you just did. Putting your friends before your own feelings, reminds me of something I heard before; 'I'd rather be an honest fool that does what is right, than a cowardly elite that does what is selfish."
He squeezed the warm body in his arms gently, "It probably doesn't feel good right now, but take comfort in your actions, that you know you did the right thing rather than allow them to continue fighting for your own designs. If nothing else, you have my respect. I don't respect you because you are beautiful. I don't respect you because you are talented. I don't respect you because you are rich. I respect you because of what you just did. And because of that, if you ever need help, don't hesitate to call."
Ayaka scoffed to hide the fact that she was blushing bright enough to match the setting sun at being complimented so openly, "Wh-why would someone like me need the help of a blonde idiot like you?
"The offer still stands bondage girl. I'll be seeing you."
Ayaka snorted again, she hadn't been called that since Kyoto, and strangely enough she missed it. She also noted that it suddenly felt twice as cold as before as a shiver ran down her back at the loss of the warmth that had surrounded her scant seconds ago.
"Heh…. do what is right huh? You say some good things... idiot," she whispered.
Her words were blown away by the wind.
****Broken Faith****
Negi ran as fast as he could while frantically trying to sense and avoid whatever Naruto-nii san was firing at him, chanting under his breath, he fired a quick Albicans Fulguratio only for it to be deflected by a spray of bullets. Negi grumbled, his nii san's Pactio artefact was so unfair sometimes. Ducking under yet another bullet, he invoked the Cantus Bellax under his breath and dashed towards his cloaked nii-san only for the blonde to suddenly spin on the spot, spraying bullets all around him, throwing tiles, cement and dust into the air.
Negi skidded to a stop; introducing his head to a hunk of rock while going at that speed wouldn't be pleasant. Which was exactly what Naruto wanted, aided by his mask's targetting capabilities, he fired through the smokescreen at where Negi had stopped, his shot punching through the debris like wet paper.
A slight yell of pain confirmed his hit.
The automatic targeting reticule that usually hung in mid air in his field of vision, ever since Kyoto, disappeared as he powered down his rifle and lifted the mask to show his face.
Walking through the settling dust he crouched over Negi who happened to be clutching his shoulder while flat on his back, "I didn't put enough power into that shot to hurt, it shouldn't even have pierced your skin so relax, and next time, don't stand still when you have someone trying to give you a third nostril."
"De-demo, it still hurts nii san... why do I have to fight you as well as Evangeline and Chachamaru-san anyway?" Negi whined to his brother figure.
Naruto chuckled, "You needed more battlefield experience fighting different opponents Chibi, and I happened to be around when Evangeline asked for one. Besides I get to practice with my Pactio, so it's all good for both of us eh?"
The taller one sat beside the panting Negi, "Besides, fighting me with my Pactio gives you a non mage opponent, which means no barriers, but also faster, ranged and doesn't need any time to chant and still be able to deliver a lot of damage. Fighting Evangeline and her Dolls gives you practice against multiple opponents, melee, or otherwise. But you're getting stronger Chibi; yesterday you only lasted 5 seconds against Eva and 10 against me. Today you went 12 with Eva and 20 against me."
"Heheheh, I'm getting there Nii san. I'm getting there slowly, but I'm getting there."
"Yeah, but don't let it get to your head, Chibi. Training hard to get there is one thing, but you're pushing yourself too hard. Some of the girls in class are starting to get worried about you. Speaking of class, I'm going to get ready. You should too."
Negi sweat dropped, "Ready for class? The only thing you do in class is sleep!"
"Yeah, I needed a new pillow; I finished using all this year's textbooks already. I was thinking about getting next year's. I heard their thicker and more water resistant. Don't know why but all my textbooks keep getting wet for some reason." He heard the offhanded and genuinely puzzled reply.
Negi couldn't find it in himself to explain why.
****Broken Faith*****
Naruto walked out of the library in Evangeline's resort, "Eva-chan, I need to ask you som-"
He stopped in order to watch in fascination as he found a group of his classmates moving sneakily along the Main staircase that connected all the facilities inside the tower; they were apparently following the voices that came from Eva's bedroom.
Wondering how in the world they got in, he decided to follow them quietly.
As they stopped short of the one that led into her bedroom, Naruto peeked over their heads to where he could feel Evangeline sitting on her bed with Negi, trying to persuade the boy to let her drink more blood. Something the rest were misunderstanding, judging by the radiant blushes he could see even in the dark.
Standing right behind Setsuna he said just one word. "Boo."
"Kyaaaaah!" all 5 girls started shrieking.
"Who's there?"Evangeline demanded. Naruto walked out from behind the staircase with an amused smirk, followed by 6 blushing, panting girls.
"What the hell are all of you doing in here without permission?"
Asuna was pushed forward, automatically designated as the spokeswoman albeit involuntarily, going by the betrayed looks she was shooting the other innocently whistling 5 girls, composing herself she tried to reply, "W-we uh, were worried about Negi-sensei looking so tired in class. So we…uh… tried to follow him here to see what he was doing, then we…uh heard that…uh" Asuna blushed again, as did the girls behind her, "um…weird conversation?" she finished lamely.
Evangeline blushed when she realized what the red head was implying, "Wh-what do you think I was doing, the bouya was paying me in blood in return for teaching him! I wasn't doing anything else, his blood just replenishes my magic! What do you think I was doing?"
Then Evangeline noticed the smirking blonde who had been leaning on the wall casually while enjoying the show, "And you! What are you doing in here?"
He waved his hand, "It's nothing, I just wanted to talk to you in private, but I'm sure it can wait until you explained everything to the girls." He finished with a sly smile. Evangeline gnashed her teeth, knowing it was mostly because he enjoyed watching all of them get embarrassed, humiliated and flustered.
A few minutes later after everyone else had understood that Evangeline wasn't doing anything perverted and where they were, Evangeline sat back on the bed and looked at the blonde who was looking bored at the minimal amount of humiliation. "So? You said you needed something from me?"
Naruto replied, "Yeah, I needed a list all your skills and the exact amount of effort you put into each spell so that the seals don't interfere in their casting if you go out after I properly recalibrate the variables in our project. Last time it worked so you could go out, but I didn't have time to mess with the parts that lifted your power limiters so you were still as weak as a normal 10 year old."
"Huh? Doesn't the seal just create a blanket limiter? Why all my spells?"
"No, no, not just spells, skills, like your super strength, natural flight abilities etc etc, whoever made this seal was pretty insane. To cast this you need to know the exact skill set of the person you are sealing. An oversimplified way of explaining it would be that it doesn't just blanket everything like most generic barriers do, more like all your known abilities individually. It makes it insanely hard to release the seal because most people would just assume it's a blanket seal like you just did when one would actually need individual keys to unlock each skill before you can entirely release the whole thing." In contrast to his earlier boredom, Naruto was literally jumping in place in excitement.
"But there's a downside, say you create an absolutely new skill that doesn't resemble ANY of your skill set at the time of the ceremony, the seal won't apply to it. For example say the Dios Chucos I saw you use recently. If you create a lightning spear variant, it would be similar enough that the seal would just apply the same limits to the new skill, but if you do something new, like say; create a fire spell that explodes, that has no similarity at all to any of your previous spells, you would be a 10 year old walking around with a pyrotechnic fetish although you still won't regain your super strength because I don't think there is a replacement for something like that. That's what makes this such an effective but ironic barrier especially against people who are already so powerful and prideful that they see no reason to create new spells. But one that anyone who understands irony and has a lot of creativity and cunningness can dispel."
He stopped, as if just realizing something, "I assume that the Thousand Master was exactly someone with those traits?" he asked with a sweat drop.
Evangeline couldn't decide whether to laugh at the manic glint that she noticed usually came alight in Naruto's eyes while he was messing about with seals or his jutsus or scream at herself for overlooking such a simple loophole or bang her head at the irony Nagi had left for her. Stupid prankster, even now 15 years later he couldn't resist pranking her.
Then again the schematics weren't complete when she was looking at it, so she just decided to laugh.
Naruto sat down beside the laughing vampire, shuffling a sheaf of papers in his hand, "It isn't that easy though. It's a 9 layer barrier to be exact, that's why it was named 'Scholar's Hell' I suppose. The first is a matrix that powers the whole thing, the second is the one that stops you from leaving, and the third is a standard failsafe blanket limiter. I disabled the third and fourth by overriding them with the runes in the bracelet, the fourth one is a companion seal matrix that defines all your abilities. The fourth and the remaining 5 were the ones I didn't have time to touch."
Naruto scratched his head, "They basically have an identical layout that defines the primary power limits in implements, like the first layer reduces 20%, the second layer 20% and so on. But the seals used as the level increases, gets exponentially difficult to override. Best case scenario, if I were to override the whole thing, which by the way would take more than a few months to crack, you would have to start wearing a suit of armour whenever you want to leave the Academy and have access to all your powers at the same time, at least until I can find a more viable method"
By the time he had finished explaining, Evangeline felt like she had lost whatever strength she had left and was leaning into his side. Having a seal that didn't sound possible to completely break explained to her and add to that a tiring training session where she hadn't been able to drink any blood yet caused the small vampire to feel inexplicably tired and dejected.
Naruto waited for a while, expecting to hear a response, when he didn't get it, he peeked down and saw the dejected pose. Sighing he twisted around and picked the vampire up and plonked her on his lap, "It'll be alright. Even if it won't be anytime soon, you know it isn't impossible to completely leave this place in the future."
"Ye-yeah, I guess. I was just hoping it would be soon." The vampire leaned back, "I'm a bit tired, can I have some of your blood? I didn't get any from Negi because of all those girls interrupting us." she asked in a small voice.
Naruto smirked, "What did I say you had to do if you wanted blood from me?"
Evangeline rolled her eyes even though she knew the blonde wouldn't see it, "Can I please have some of your blood Onii-san?" she asked in an exaggeratedly cute accent.
Once she was done drinking, she thought about something, "I keep seeing you messing about with my seal, what about your problem? I mean you started all this because of that right?" a short flash of... something Evangeline couldnt identify flashed across Naruto's face but it was gone before she could make anything of it.
Naruto pondered the question for a while, "You know how a door lock works right?"
Evangeline knitted her eyebrows in confusion at the non-sequitur, "Yeah? What about it?"
"A lock has a lot of tumblers, the key that fits that particular lock has grooves that correspond to each tumbler right?"
"Yeeaah?" Evangeline drawled out, still not getting it.
"Basically, every few years the wards are updated and integrated for efficiency. Your seal was the last one to be included; so we can consider it as the first tumbler. I need to crack this, then another 23 seals before I can get to mine." Seeing her concerned face, he waved it off, "Don't worry about it; it's like dominoes, once I get the first one cracked, I can circumvent the rest easily since the integration caused all of them to be in related in one way or another. Once I get there, I can finally see what the heck is wrong. Then I start to do something about it." He said with firm resolve.
Evangeline laughed softly at his confidence before they heard a voice floating down the stairs talking about "Juice."
Evangeline's eyes went wide, "Hey! Don't touch that! That juice isn't for minors!" she quickly scrambled up the stairs leaving a smiling Naruto behind as he followed her at a slower pace.
****Broken Faith****
That night, Naruto and Evangeline sat at the top of the tower with his back to the tallest spire in the resort, Akako resting on her customary spot on his shoulder, sipping some of Evangeline's juice in a traditional sake dish, while moon watching. Even if the full moon was fake, it still cast a very beautiful light on his surroundings that gave everything a mystical and peaceful atmosphere.
Below him he could still hear the sounds of Negi's training, causing him to smile in remembrance of when he used to sneak out and train at night as well.
"You not going to stop him from training himself to death?" he asked his drinking companion.
"Hmph, let him do what he wants, it's not like I'm his keeper." Evangeline replied, but Naruto noticed a small blush on her face as she watched the boy.
"Heeeh…. So you're the kind that likes honest pure hardworking boys eh?" Naruto leered at her.
"Bu-Wha? N-no!" It's the sake! It's the Sake!"
"Riiiight," Naruto drawled out with an amused smile. "The sake also made you conveniently forget that you can control this place perfectly right?"
"Huh?"
"Forget as in, forget to tell Negi that you don't exactly need to suck his blood to replenish your magic~" Naruto said in a sing song tone.
Evangeline felt embarrassment heat her cheeks at being caught so easily, and tried to protest, but no matter what she said, it couldn't erase the knowing smirk from the taller blonde's face. Desperately trying to change the topic to avoid the oncoming teasing, the small vampire looked around, "Look, Asuna is down there!"
Naruto perked up, "Oh? What's she doing up so late?"
Naruto watched the two of them talk before kneeling down on some magic array, while unnoticed to him, Eva had quietly slipped away, hoping that she'd get away before Naruto remembered to tease her again.
"What's that their doing, Eva? Some sort of ceremony?" he looked behind him only to find an empty roof.
"Where'd that vampire go?" he asked no one in particular, "Eh, whatever."
The blonde leaped down from the roof, curious about what Asuna and Negi were doing.
"Asuna? Chibi?" he got no reaction from the two stationary teenagers, "Oi? Are you two alright? You're scaring me."
"Kinpatsu-sama!" Naruto's head swivelled around, looking for the source of the voice and found the rodent standing by his feet.
Gesturing at the two motionless teenagers, "What's up with these two? They alright?"
Chamo nodded, "This is a memory transferring magic circle. Aniki wanted to show Asune-nee san the reason why he tries so hard."
A manic glint appeared in Naruto's eyes, magic like this always fascinated him and finding ways to emulate the spells gave him even more pleasure. Some spells like the 'Dios Chucos' he had referred to in his conversation with Evangeline earlier, were somewhat easier to reproduce. Simple manipulation of chakra before adding an element.
The only difference was the magnitude of the spell, but that was easily solved. Mostly by overpowering the shit out of the jutsu. Crude but effective. Especially since he didn't have many Jutsus with an Area of Effect in his arsenal.
He still remembered Eva's disbelieving eyes when he shot a modified 'Dios Chucos' right back at her after seeing it once.
Magic like the one before him though, presented a bigger challenge. Using the physical as a medium, the spell somehow connected the mental selves of the casters. He assumed the magical array acted as a stabilizer. Since everybody's mind worked in different ways, the array would probably provide a neutral ground where personal signals were translated into whatever it used as the common language so that two very different minds could connect.
But if he could modify the array for other things…. a universal adaptor so to speak…. hehehe…..
Chamo sweat dropped seeing the suddenly perversely giggling blonde who happened to be inspecting the array and almost salivating. "Wa-wait! Don't touch either of them!"
A flash of light signified Chamo's warning was too late as Naruto's unconscious body slumped to the floor. "Oh damn, Aniki isn't going to be happy."
A few minutes earlier
Evangeline stealthily left the roof, and was about to go to bed, hoping that the male blonde forgot everything by tomorrow when she noticed a dark shadow peeking out at Asuna and Negi from behind the stair case. Wondering what was so interesting, it was just a late night rendezvous between two teenagers right? She sneaked up behind Nodoka and peeked over the girl's shoulder, "Hoh? That's Mind Synchro Magic."
Nodoka squeaked in fright. "Eeek, E-e-vangeline-san?"
Evangeline gave her a spare look, "Hmm? Oh, you're the girl with the consciousness reading artefact isn't it? Perfect timing, bring it out, we can see what the bouya is showing Asuna that way."
"Eeeh…. De-de-demo, something so personal. We can't do that."
"I see…. Don't regret it when we attend Negi's wedding with Asuna in the future. You will have to sit at one side crying, only tissue papers to accompany you at night. All because you let Asuna get ahead of you, because you didn't read his mind tonight." The vampire egged the shy girl on with a sly grin.
"Eeh... So-something li-like that won't happen just because we didn't read his mind!" Nodoka tried to argue back.
"Heh? Are you sure? Don't you know knowing the past of the boy you like will you the advantage? You want to let Asuna who is already ahead of you in the race for the bouya's heart win because you were too shy?"
"Uguuu…. O-ok…. Ju-just this once."
'Hehehe, jack pot.'
Together the three of them, including Chachazero, prepared to watch Negi's past appear on the pages of the book, but a shout of "W-wait! Don't touch either of them!" distracted them.
Evangeline looked up to see what happened and face palmed, the idiot blonde had gone an interfered with the magic, now they would probably see his past uninvited as well. She couldn't let that happen, it was a right that belonged only to him, her hand was about to slam the book close but the temptation of knowing Negi's past was too hard to resist.
'It's alright, if I see any hint of Naruto's past come on the book, I'll stop them from watching. That idiot owes me for this.' The vampire reasoned with herself, and settled back down to watch the show.
"E-evangeline-san… are you sure we don't have to check on Naruto-san? He looks like he fainted."
"Pah, that idiot won't die so easily. Nothing will happen, now be quiet and let me concentrate."
****Broken Faith****
Asuna faded into sight, standing in quaint streets buried under snow. But strangely enough there was no change in temperature and the snow had no effect on her. The girl opened her eyes, "Wh-where is this?"
A disembodied voice that sounded like Negi answered her question, 'This is where I lived 6 years ago, a small village.'
Before anything else could be said a cloak was suddenly draped over her, shocking the girl. Spinning around she saw a blushing Naruto with his eyes averted from her as he scratched the back of his head in embarrassment, "Wh-why are you here?"
Naruto sweat dropped, "Accident, serves me right for touching things without knowing what they really are."
The voice interrupted them, 'Niisan! How did you manage to get clothes in here? No one managed to do it before.'
The fact that she had been naked slowly penetrated Asuna's brain, "Kyaaa!" she drew the cloak tightly around her, "Wh-what? You mean you were going to leave me naked?"
'Err… well, you would have been, it's a technical thing, but I still don't know how Naruto-nii san brought clothes in!'
"I didn't, this is a meld of our minds. In other words, mind over matter, I assumed I could will any clothes I want in here as long as my will is more powerful than the host's since I had a similar experience before, and voila, clothes. Didn't you know that?" Naruto curiously asked.
'Errr…. I don't think any one bothered to try; they just figured it was something unavoidable… ahahaha…' the voice sheepishly replied.
Before anything else could be said they were interrupted by a Chibi version of Negi. Well Chibi-er, "Nee-san, what does 'Never see him again,' mean?"
Both Asuna and Naruto focused on the unfolding scene while Akako snuck over and curiously sniffed the Chibi version of Negi, lifting a paw she swiped it at Chibi Negi, only for her paw to pass completely through.
Asuna wondered where why the blonde looked so familiar. When it dawned, she chanced a glance back at Naruto, to see him uncharacteristically pale and a tic along his jaw line. Naruto clenched his fists so tightly he nearly drew blood when he realized a blonde mirror image of Akane stood before him, but he gritted his teeth to keep quiet, willing himself to listen to the story and stay in place rather than run at the mirage. The twin tailed girl lifted one hand to grip his, softly squeezing, telling him know wordlessly that she understood.
Naruto nodded in thanks before they both turned back to watch the conversation.
"Did Father move somewhere far away?"
The blonde girl smiled sadly, "Yes… I suppose that's what Death is in a way."
Chibi Negi brightened, "So then if I get in trouble, Father will fly back and help like Superman?"
The blonde girl smiled tightly to hide a troubled expression, how was one supposed to explain Death to a 4 year old? "Uh….um, yeah you could say that."
"You really are dumb aren't you!" a new voice interrupted Chibi Negi and his Onee-san.
Everyone turned to face the newcomer, a small really cute girl the same height as Chibi Negi, even the mirages, "Arara, Anya-chan, good afternoon." Negi's Onee-san greeted the newcomer cheerfully.
Akako padded over to the newcomer, for some reason the tiny fox was really interested in the small children, then again, Naruto attributed it to the fact that Akako had yet to meet any children, hence the interest.
"Humph, no one can meet the dead, you're the Thousand Master's kid and you don't even know that?"
"Th-that's not true! Father will come rescue me if I'm in trouble!" Chibi Negi argued back.
Back with the memory travellers, Asuna's grip on Naruto's hand tightened, causing Naruto to smile despite himself when he saw the expression of longing on Asuna's face. She was probably holding herself back from glomping the cute little girl, "Wh-who's that cute little girl?"
'She's my childhood friend, Anya Concolova. She's one year older than me.' the voice answered in a tone filled with nostalgia.
They watched as the small girl gave Chibi Negi a practice wand before the scenery blurred into a different memory where they watched Chibi Negi get ridiculed by an old timer Wizard in a pub.
Then the scene blurred a third time where they watched Negi practice spells over and over again alone after his sister left to Magic school, not giving up even after hours passed. They watched him colour with crayons, and purposely get in to trouble to entice his Father to come rescue him.
Asuna buried her face in Naruto's chest, it was all she could do to stop her tears, it was so touching but so sad at the same time. Naruto just ran his hand up and down her back to soothe her, his inscrutable face hid everything he was thinking, but the piercing gaze that never left Chibi Negi's determined face told stories. It was a face he recognized, a face of someone desperately trying to achieve something, to get recognition from someone.
When the scene changed again, a troubled expression appeared on Naruto's face. Squeezing the hand in his, he left Asuna's side and walked over to where images of demons that were attacking Negi's village melted out of the ground. Kneeling down he studied some arrays on the ground that the demon made with a very intense look on his face, only partially watching the Thousand Master's arrival from the periphery of his vision.
Once the demons were defeated, the scene suddenly skipped from the burning village to a hill overlooking the village where Chibi Negi received his Father's staff, shortly after that the scene didn't blur but Asuna and Negi's presence disappeared.
Leaving him alone with someone who was presumably the Thousand Master on a breezy hill.
Naruto cocked his head at the sudden change in the cloaked figure's presence, "I see…. a phantom remnant of the real Thousand Master that saved Negi that day as well as a block on some things that you couldn't afford to allow Negi to remember. He left you here to give me a message I suppose?"
"You are astute for someone that cannot use magic." The figure replied.
"It's not that I'm astute, my own father left something similar in me." Naruto gave a wry smile, before continuing, "What triggered this? Since Asuna and Negi aren't here anymore, I suppose this event will only happen under a set of certain circumstances? And why not tell Negi himself rather than me? A literal stranger that you do not know whether or not you can trust."
He could tell the figure was shaking his head, "I do not know if I can trust you, but Negi does, that is enough for me. If the person that he brought in here to view his memories of that night was someone he trusted fully and had the potential…to…to…"
The phantom seemed to struggle with something before giving up, "I'm sorry, My creator's magic stops me from saying it… but it is safe to say if those conditions were fulfilled, this event would come to pass. Take care of him, because I couldn't. He and his mother are my biggest failure as well as my greatest success, but if he continues on this path he stands to lose everything. That is where I failed. Please, stranger."
Naruto gazed at the phantom for the longest second; he could see slight tears of desperation running down the phantom's cheek.
He held out his hand and they shook hands. The phantom had a smile full of hope and gratitude.
The scene blurred again.
****Broken Faith****
Play Trust You – Yuna Ito
Eva glanced around her, somehow from two people and one doll watching the memories; it had grown to become a party of 6 sobbing girls, one gynoid, one vampire and one doll.
She doubted any of them noticed but for a split second Naruto wasn't in the picture while Asuna and Negi moved forward.
Sighing, she would ask him later and allowed the others to continue watching, enthralled as Negi outlined what happened till now.
The book went blank, everyone expected the trio to wake up when suddenly the book vibrated and became warmer before a new picture started.
A flash of blonde hair whose owner was asleep shortly being stabbed from behind.
hana ha kaze ni yureodoru youni
ame ha daichi wo uroosu youni
kono sekai ha yorisoiai ikiteru noni
Everyone gasped and Evangeline suddenly realized why the blonde had the habit of tying people that approached him while he was asleep.
naze hito ha kizutsukeau no
naze wakare ha otozureru no
Another set appeared, this time the blonde was alone, sitting on a swing in the shadow of a tree, people spit on him as he stood alone. The picture changed again. Periodically the blonde was beaten by people, but he laid there on the ground with a stoic face as he took it like it was something he was used to.
Dazed Evangeline felt like she was forgetting something even as she watched the train wreck unfurl in the pages of a book.
The description of the picture said he was 12, the subsequent discovery of a Demon Lord sealed inside him and finally being qualified as an adult.
itami kanjitemo mada tsunagaru kara
shiniteru yo mata aeru to
I'm waiting for your love
Setsuna and Konoka paled as they remembered the words they had heard in an alley barely months ago, although Konoka was mostly pretending to be unconscious at the time, 'In short, I'm not exactly a demon, but it gets technical enough that it doesn't matter, so for all intents and purposes I am a half demon,' and the red flames Naruto seemed to be able to use. That's what he meant….
Joining team 7, the first person to acknowledge him and his pink haired crush that beat him daily and their adventure in Wave as well as the Chuunin exams. His never ending efforts in trying to make friends with the two of them and gain the pink haired one's love. In the end he gained the respect of his male classmate but the pink haired one never changed in her attitude towards the blonde.
Chachamaru suddenly developed a potent dislike of that particular shade of pink. In fact, she made a reminder to shoot anything with that colour with extreme prejudice.
His male teammate's defection and the battle to bring the black haired boy back. The extreme betrayal he felt at the abandonment of the person he thought was his first friend. His promise to the pink haired girl. His training trip. His first proper conversation with a titanic fox in what looked like a sewer, which degraded into a fight anyway at the end.
sekai no hate wo dare ga mita no
tabi no owari wo dare ga tsugeru no
ima ha kotae ga mienakute nagai yoru demo
shinjita michi wo susunde hoshii
sono saki ni hikari ga matsu kara
At 13 years old, the blonde and his demon had finally learned to tolerate each other and a non violent pact was finally achieved with the Demon Lord. The Demon Lord would train him in exchange for access to his senses, to feel sunlight and the breeze again, even if it was only by proxy. Then they watched short flashes of his training trip with both a white haired man and the Demon Lord.
15 years old brought him back to his village where he finally succeeded in partially releasing the Demon Lord much to its surprise and their relationship growing to the point where the Demon Lord finally trusted him enough to show him her humanoid form. That one shocked everybody. It was a red haired version of the blonde in Negi's memories and highly resembled a matured Asuna.
Evangeline's breath hitched as Naruto's words replayed in her mind, I knew someone like you once. Feared and hated just because she was a demon.
Like you she was sealed but unlike you she spent 15 years in darkness, unable to even feel the sunlight, to feel the autumn breeze that she loved, her only companion was me.
The picture changed again, it showed the battles he had, another attempt to save someone who didn't want to be saved. Another battle to save a seemingly dead red headed boy with a weird kanji on his forehead. And most importantly a battle with someone with orange hair and the same weird eyes Naruto sometimes showed, the confession from a pale eyed girl and Naruto going berserk, literally exploding into a more primal version of the form he had used in Kyoto, except without chains. His words to the man who was more than a man before all the dead were miraculously revived. Konoha's journey to recovery began while Naruto trained.
The Demon Lord's sudden 'confession' in a field filled with Sakura trees.
That one caused all the girls to awww. Beating the man they liked into submission. Akane became their new role model.
War broke out while Naruto trained on a huge island with an equally huge tanned man carrying multiple swords. No one could see what he was doing other than meditating in one spot, but he was suddenly wreathed in yellow flames with the same magatama necklace Evangeline saw in Kyoto.
His argument with another big black skinned man. His resolve in going towards the frontlines to help. His charge towards the frontlines where he fought valiantly, killing pale white skinned men and zombie looking men at the age of 16. When it seemed like he was winning, a man with a masked spiral appeared, holding a knife to an older version of the black haired boy's neck.
His subsequent capture.
In his soulscape, as his physical body was laid on an altar with red energy flowing out of his prone body in some weird ceremony, the two of them dying in each other's arms, where he proposed to her in their last moments. The field was filled with dying Sakura trees as the sky above them darkened.
kimi ga oshietekureta uta ha
ima mo kono kokoro no mannaka
ano yasashii koe to tomoni hiibiteiru
afureru kimochi no shizuku ga
atatakaku hoho tsutau
tsuyoku naru ne shinjiteru yo tsunagatteru to
I'm always by your side
The description page was empty except for a few words that were printed right in the centre.
"Don't blame yourself, you are an intrinsically good person, there was no way you would have been able to stand by and watch as everyone died fighting to protect you and Bee. I knew the risks, I chose to help you, because that's what a wife does isn't it?" she smiled softly, "We help our husbands….. I helped because I love you Naruto…" She drew a shuddering breath, "Take this as my last gift…." A glowing orb appeared on her palm before it was thrust into his chest, "Don't forget….I love…."
Naruto never heard the last word as her eyes closed for the last time.
I love you, I trust you
kimi no tame ni nagasu namida ga
I love you, I trust you
ai wo oshietekureta donna ni kimi ga michi ni mayottemo
soba ni iru yo
I love you, I trust you
kimi no kodoku wo wakete hoshii
I love you, I trust you
hikari demo yami demo
I love you, I trust you
kanashimi demo yorokobi demo
I love you, I trust you
kimi no subete wo mamoritai
They watched as Naruto cried over the Demon's Lord body before following her into the darkness. The next page was entirely black before Naruto awakened, brought back to life by a blonde woman in exchange for her own life.
Naruto changed, no longer bright cheerful. Instead he became forceful, brutal and utterly ruthless as he trained with a disturbing ferocity before hunting the black haired boy down like a wolf to a sheep. When he finally caught up to the raven haired boy, Naruto literally dismantled him down piece by piece before pulling out his left eye, squashing it to a pulp in front of the other eye so that the image was imprinted forever in Sasuke's mind with his Sharingan before gouging out the remaining eye anyway.
Evangeline felt a shiver crawl down her spine as she tried to swallow a lump in her throat. They were nothing more than an illustration on a book, heck they weren't even aimed at her, but she could feel it. The coldness in the depths of his eyes was comparable to the coldest spell she could cast, harder than any sapphire as he broke his opponent, body, mind and spirit with extreme prejudice. 'You may be 700 years old and some super powerful evil mage that is able to kill me in your fully released state, but make no mistake, I'm no posturing heroic idiot, I grew up an assassin of the shadows and given a reason; I WILL decimate you before you have that chance.'
If she had any lingering doubts about his ability to back up his words, they vanished like snow in a summer's heat wave. She was disturbed, because it wasn't anger in his eyes, it was pure resolve, a fact, not a promise.
Naruto dragged whatever remained of the body back to Konoha before impaling it right in the middle of Konoha. Body being the operative word since it was still arguably breathing until two hours after impalement. No one dared to pull it down, mostly because the blonde remained there and watched at the body until it stopped breathing with a terrifying intensity. Of course, the fact that whoever tried to protest anyway joined the raven haired body on a stone spike might have been a tiny factor in their decision making process. They stopped trying after the first 11 stopped twitching on their respective spikes. Funnily enough, all 11 looked like they were mere civilians. Rich ones, but still civilians.
Everyone shuddered at smile on the blonde's face as he impaled them.
With that done, he trained again with single minded intensity that was dreadful to watch before hunting down his second target. The man with the spiral mask.
Their final battle.
His masked team leader stabbing him in the back with a lightning covered hand while he was weak.
The last page was of a raining sky that was slowly being engulfed by a tree.
Setsuna and Konoka choked. He hadn't been exiled. He had been executed. Setsuna suddenly realized something. She glanced at everybody who had been present at the fight between Naruto and Fate and saw that they had come to the same conclusion as well. Evangeline noticed the glance and the unspoken question. She reluctantly nodded. And the comments Naruto and Fate had made about Death not taking him thousands of years ago and him still being alive suddenly made horrifying sense.
I love you, I trust you
kimi no kodoku wo wakete hoshii
I love you, I trust you
hikari demo yami demo
I love you, I trust you
kanashimi demo yorokobi demo
I love you, I trust you
kimi no subete wo mamoritai
donna ni kimi ga machi ni mayottemo
soba ni iru yo futari dakara shinjiaeru no
Hanasanaide
****Broken Faith****
hana ha kaze ni yureodoru youni - Flowers dance in the wind,
ame ha daichi wo uroosu youni - rain moistens the Earth…
kono sekai ha yorisoiai ikiteru noni - If everyone in this world want to live together,
naze hito ha kizutsukeau no - why do they hurt each other?
naze wakare ha otozureru no - Why do they separate?
itami kanjitemo mada tsunagaru kara - Even if you feel pain…we're tied together,
shiniteru yo mata aeru to - I believe we'll meet one again.
I'm waiting for your love - I'm waiting for your love.
sekai no hate wo dare ga mita no - Who has seen the world's end?
tabi no owari wo dare ga tsugeru no - Who informed us of the Journey's End?
ima ha kotae ga mienakute nagai yoru demo - I can't see the answer now, but even in long nights,
shinjita michi wo susunde hoshii - I hope you'll continue on the path you believe in
sono saki ni hikari ga matsu kara - because a light is waiting for you.
kimi ga oshietekureta uta ha – The song that you've taught me
ima mo kono kokoro no mannaka – Still lies within my heart
ano yasashii koe to tomoni hiibiteiru - Together with you, that tender voice resounds in my heart.
afureru kimochi no shizuku ga - The fragment of my overflowing emotions
atatakaku hoho tsutau - streak down my warm cheeks.
tsuyoku naru ne shinjiteru yo tsunagatteru to - I've become strong right? I believe, we're tied together.
I'm always by your side
I love you, I trust you
kimi no tame ni nagasu namida ga – for you I shed these tears
I love you, I trust you
ai wo oshietekureta donna ni kimi ga michi ni mayottemo – you taught me what love is, even if you got lost on the way.
soba ni iru yo – I'll be with you.
I love you, I trust you
kimi no kodoku wo wakete hoshii – I hope you'll share your loneliness with me
I love you, I trust you
hikari demo yami demo – Be it Light or Dark
I love you, I trust you
kanashimi demo yorokobi demo – Be it sadness or happiness
I love you, I trust you
kimi no subete wo mamoritai – I want to protect your everything
donna ni kimi ga machi ni mayottemo - Even if you get lost on your way
soba ni iru yo futari dakara shinjiaeru no - I'll be with you because we trust each other…
hanasanaide – Don't let go.
AN : Naruto isnt literally cracking the seals, to put it in modern terms, it's more like his making custom firmware to nullify their effects and working his way through them. Like say the seal puts a + 1 limit on Evangeline, the runes he made adds a - 1 the equation, causing the grand total to be 0. In the case of the other 23 seals, he is only finding a way through the maze so to speak, he has to bypass all of them before he can customize his own seal. Only the casters of the seal have the official password to truly dispel the seal.
Oh and the little gory part near the bottom? Yes that was actually one of the main reasons I decided to make this M, and it was something I planned on doing since before I published this story. I hope those people who complain about this fic not being Dark enough is satisfied.
*Sniff sniff* smell that? i can smell someone crying as they read this.