Hello readers and welcome to my new chapter. Sorry it took so long to update, but I've been busy with other stories. But now I'm back, but I'm not gonna promise that I'll be updating more. I still have other stories to do. So, enjoy.
P.S. I have a Walking Dead fanfic on my profile, if any of you are interested. It's called the The Walking Dead: Rick/Beth Remake.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Final Fantasy XIII.
Chapter 9: The l'cies vs The Akatsuki
Naruto, Lightning, Sazh, Nora, and Fang ended up fighting Itachi while Snow, Hope, Vanille, and Serah fought Kisame. Naruto, Lightning, Fang, and Snow were the melee fighters while Hope, Vanille, Serah, Nora, and Sazh were mainly support and range fighters.
Naruto gritted his teeth as Itachi push him back. This man is tougher than he thought. Even with him, Lightning, and Fang working together, with Sazh firing at afar, they barely graze him so far.
But he's not giving up yet. He charged at Itachi once again, with Itachi blocking Oathkeeper when he try to stab him at the heart. Naruto swung Oblivion right as his legs, but Itachi jump over and kicked Naruto back before backflipping away from him. He barely had time to breathe before did an downward sweep on him, but he swiftly dodge it, as well as the bullets she shot after.
He kicked her away from him and dodge from bullets coming Sazh and Nora, as well as ducking under a thrust from Fang's spear. He quickly did a sweeped under her legs her legs, causing her to land on her back with a grunt before jumping back away from the four.
Naruto growled. If the rumors are trues, Itachi can sense their movements using those eyes of his. It's one of the special abilities his family possesses. Frustration started to kick in his head, but he push it away. No. Now is not the time to let his emotions take over. If he don't have a clear head, he will lose.
"Any ideas blondie?" Sazh asked, reloading his pistols. Naruto look at the terrain around them, wondering what he could use to fight Itachi. Then he look a small cliff, a boulder at the edge of it. Hmmm….
Meanwhile, Snow is fighting one on one wiith Kisame, with Hope, Vanille, and Serah providing support. Snow is letting out several punches and kicks at the shark man, but Kisame is dodging them or blocking each one with either his sword, arms, or legs. Whenever he has a chance to hit Snow with a major attack, either Hope stops him with his boomerang, Vanille pulls his sword away from Snow, or Serah makes him move away with one of her explosive arrows.
He ducked from another hit from Snow before pointing his free hand at Snow and surprisingly, a torrent of water came out of his sleeves and pushed Snow off his feet, making him hit a giant snow from behind him.
Kisame grin. "You're a tough little brat, I give you that. But playtime is over. Now hold still so I can shave off your legs." He took the top bandages off of his sword, showing the shark skin blade. He charge at Snow, dodging the range attacks from the others, putting his full attention on Snow.
"NO!" Serah yelled, running towards Snow. Without thinking about it, she transform her bow into a sword and stand in front of her fiance, right as Kisame's blade came down to strike. Snow and Kisame look at surprise at this, before the latter grin at her.
"Well girly, you're tougher than you look." Kisame complimented, jumping back. Serah help Snow up, who gave her a thankful look.
"Thanks for saving my butt."
"I wasn't about to let him kill my hero." Serah said to Snow, giving him a smile, before the two look at the shark-like fighter. Snow and Serah quickly join the two. "Do any of us have an idea on how to defeat him?"
"I may have one." Hope said, looking at Kisame's sword. "It involves getting rid of that sword."
(With Naruto, Lightning, Fang, Sazh, and Nora)
"Push him back. Don't let him rest for a second." Naruto ordered the group before he, Lightning, and Fang started charging at Itachi once again.
Naruto let out a barrage of kicks and punches at Itachi, with the man dodging and blocking every single one. When he pushed Naruto back, Lightning came and started attacking, forcing him back and not giving him a chance to attack.
He grab her arm and was about to stab her with his knife, but then Fang come between and start sending out stabs of her spear, forcing him to step back and let go of Lightning to dodge each one.
He easily dodge each one of them, but block the last stab with his arm and push it up, giving him an opening to attack. Before he could, Fang use the momentum to flip and when she did, barrages of bullets started attacking him.
He had no choice but to jump to dodge the attack, giving out an opening for Naruto. The blonde haired boy jumped up and using the wind to increase his speed, he came at Itachi with his fist pulled back.
"Take this!" With that statement, Naruto punch Itachi and sent him flying at the boulder. But instead of Itachi breaking through it, he was trapped in it. Naruto landed on the ground with both hands and one knee before looking up at Itachi.
"Now, just one more thing to do." Naruto said to himself. He flick his head backward, causing a powerful gust of wind to the boulder and making it fall down, with Itachi in it. The boulder landed with a large crash.
(With Snow, Hope, Vanille, and Serah)
Snow ran at Kisame, sending out barrages of punches. The shark-like man block them easily with his swords, before knocking him down on the ground with the bandage part of his sword.
"It would take a lot more to beat me kid." Kisame said before lifting his sword up. He was surprised, however, when Vanille's rod attach onto his blade. "What the-?"
"Vanille, pull! Serah, attack!" Hope commanded. Vanille started pulling while Hope launch his boomerang and Serah launch several arrows. Kisame curse before letting go of his sword to dodge the attacks. "Snow, attack!"
The self proclaimed hero quickly got up before running at Kisame and sending out barrages of punches. Kisame block the punches fairly easily, his strength matching Snow's, before Vanille launch her rod again and latch onto one of his arms.
That gave Snow a chance to land one hard punch at Kisame, sending the shark man flying into a boulder.
Snow breathed heavily as the group gather around one another. "You think there down for good?" Sazh asked, breaking the tense silence around them.
"Unlikely." Lightning said. "Those two are very powerful criminals. It might take a lot more."
Sazh grimace. "Does good news or positive feedbacks ever come out of that mouth?"
"If it has, only Serah could've possibly seen it." Naruto joked, but he's still serious. "Let approach them carefully. Be on your guard and prepare to fight if they aren't down."
Everyone nodded. All of them approach the down figures carefully, weapons at the ready. When they got close, several crows started flying out of the craters they formed, startling the group.
"You l'cies are stronger than we have imagine." Itachi voiced sprung out, making everyone tense. "We greatly underestimated you. No matter. The next time, you will face our true selves. And we are far stronger than you can imagine."
With that, all the crows disappear into the shadows. Everyone was a tense for a few more seconds before relaxing. "Well, shit." Sazh bluntly stated. "First PSICOM, then fal'cie, now a powerful group after us? Man, life was simpler back then."
"Well simple isn't as fun." Snow said cockily. "Don't worry. We'll be ready next time they come back."
"Did you not hear him?" Lightning said to Snow. "They said they are far stronger than we can imagine. We can't get so cocky like you're being."
"Come on Lightning, bad guys always tend to brag."
Naruto snorted. "Like you're one to talk." Naruto stated. "But Lightning is right. We can't afford to get cocky. Life traveling around taught me that much." That, and Naruto can here from Itachi's tone that isn't arrogance talking.
The Uchihas are known well in Cocoon. Most of them are in the top ranks in the PSICOM force, and Itachi easily killed all of them. That would take some serious skills.
And let's not forget about Kisame either. One of the seven top swordsman in cocoon, with his blade being unique among most weapons. His ability to control water, along with his natural strength, makes him dangerous as well.
"Do we know how many of these guys are there?" Serah asked, a bit intimidated. Kisame was hard to beat, and if that wasn't his true strength, who knows how strong he really is.
"I don't know." Naruto told her. "My guess, maybe a dozen, more or less. If we're lucky. And each one is very powerful." That didn't lift the mood up at all.
"So what are we going to do now?" Hope asked the adults, mainly Naruto, Lightning, and Snow. Those three are the main leaders of the small group.
Naruto look up at Eden. "For now, we find a place to hide." Naruto told them all. "We're gonna be exhausted doing all of this walking, running, and fighting, so finding somewhere to hide will give us a longer needed rest."
"We can go to Palumpolum." Everyone turn to Nora when she spoke. "It's nearby, and Hope and I know the shortcuts there, with Hope knowing more of them than I do." Hope nodded to his mom's statement.
Lightning nodded. "So we go to Palumpolum then."
"And after we rest up, we go back on our mission to save cocoon." Snow said, making Lightning roll her eyes while Serah giggle.
Naruto look on the amulet on his wrist before closing his eyes. He can't stay with them any longer. The akatsuki are already trying to target him. What if more of them came, and possibly try to kill his friend?
If any of them die because of him, he might not handle the guilt.
He sighed. When they got close enough to Palumpolum, he will split ways with the group. To make sure the akatsuki go after him, like his mom and dad did for him.
"All right, let's go." Naruto said to all of them and the group started walking once again.
(Later on)
The group been walking, fighting a couple of PSICOM hit squads here and there, until they stopped for another break. Lightning and Naruto are on watch, as usual, while the rest sat down and rest up. "So Palumpolum is your home, am I correct Nora? Hope?" Naruto asked the two as he watch for any monsters, machines, or PSICOM.
"Yeah, we do." Nora answered his question.
"Do you think your husband will let all of us in? Even with our brands?" Naruto asked her. They can't risk a hotel without anybody seeing their brands. If one see it, it will freak everyone out.
Nora nodded. "He wouldn't call the PSICOM on us just because of the l'cie. When he sees that you guys aren't monsters, like people say, he won't hesitate to give us refuge." Hope frown. He's not looking forward to seeing his father again.
"Great." Lightning spoke up as she look at the area with cross arms. "When we get there, you and Hope can stay there. The both of you won't have to keep traveling with us."
"A-Actually." Lightning, Naruto, Nora, and the others look at Hope when he spoke. "I want to stay with you guys while my mom stays at home."
That surprise the others. "Why Hope?" Nora asked him softly.
The boy is nervous from the attention he's getting, but still spoke. "It just, I'm a l'cie. Like you guys." Hope began. "I can't hide the mark from the PSICOM forever. If mom and I stay together with dad, and the PSICOM discover me there, I might endanger them both." To be honest, he doesn't care that much for his dad, but he wouldn't forgive himself if his mother got hurt or killed because of him. He barely handle her supposed death at the Hanging Edge.
"If I go with you guys, it will keep both me and my mom safe." Hope continued. "Also, I want to be with you guys. I wa- no. I need to get stronger." Everyone was silent for a moment at Hope's word.
"Are you sure about this Hope?" Lightning asked him. "If we go our separate paths on Palumpolum, there may be a chance that you can have a peaceful life with your family. With us, it'll be fight after fight. We won't know what direction we're going."
Hope took a deep breath. "I know." Snow said to her. "But I need to get stronger." He want to become like Naruto and Lightning. Have the strength and leadership they do.
Naruto turn to Nora. "Are you okay with your boy coming with us?" Nora bit her lip. She doesn't want her son, her baby boy, continuing to be on the run like this. But it will just put Hope at risk if he stays at one place.
Nora gave the group of pleading look. "Just make sure you watch over for him, please." Naruto, Serah, Snow, Sazh, and Vanille nodded to her plea.
'Don't worry. Your boy won't be harmed while we're around." Snow said in confidence.
Vanille is in agreement on that and plop down beside Hope. "We're a team. And teams watch out for one another." Hope blush a little as Vanille grab his hand.
"Don't worry. We'll watch him as we travel around, trying to find out what our focuses are." Sazh told her. "And after that, blondie can change us back once we're crystals."
"I feel so love." Naruto responded with an eye roll. "But in all seriousness, yeah. We'll watch over him. And possibly teach him a few tricks.
All the while, Lightning was silent and turn away from the group. Hope look at the woman in concern. "Lightning?" Hope called out hesitantly.
"Call me Light." She said, shocking Serah, Snow, and Naruto. "Come on. We got enough rest already." With that, she started walking on ahead, with the others getting up and following her.
"Well congratulation Hope." Snow told the boy with a grin. "You manage to get pass her wall."
"Her wall?" Hope asked in confusion.
Snow explained. "There's only two others that she allows to call her Light. Serah and Naruto. The fact that she letting you do that shows that you're getting close to her."
That surprise Hope. He didn't think that Lightning would let him be close to her. But perhaps he was wrong.
(Hours Later)
The group made it to a bridge, getting closer to Palumpolum. As they got closer, thought about when to leave the group. He can't just disappear from them, he knows that. They would just keep looking for him. He'll need to tell them when it's time.
The group of l'cies, plus the mother, made it to a bridge. When they walk, Hope tripped on the bridge in slight exhaustion. "Hope!" Nora and Vanille called out in concern as the others stop. The two of them helped the boy up before the mother speaks. "Are you okay?"
"Y-Yeah." Hope said to her. "Just got a little clumsy, that's all." As the boy started regaining his balance, Naruto look around the area and bridge. Well, better now than ever.
Naruto whistle, catching everyone's attention. "Okay guys. I just want to let you know that….this is my stopping point."
That confused some of the people, and cause a feeling of dread to come into Serah and Lightning. "What do you mean by that Naruto?" Serah asked him.
Naruto close his eyes and took a deep breath, knowing that his news isn't gonna be accepted well. "I'm leaving the group. Right here, right now."
"What?" Was the response the from most of them. He can see that all of them are genuinely shock at his answer. "B-But why?" Serah asked, tears already forming. Naruto found it hard to look at Serah when he saw her in that state.
"Naruto, are you hearing yourself right now?!" Snow said angrily. "You already left one time! Why are you leaving again, after you came back?!"
"It's for your protection." Naruto told them all. "I know we're already dealing with PSICOM, machines, and other kinds of enemies, but the akatsuki are a different story. More skilled than most of us. Being on my own will keep you guys safe."
Sazh and Fang grimaced. The two of them don't like it, but they understand why he's doing this. Those two akatsuki they face were strong, and that's not even there full people. None of them know if they could take them on in a fair battle.
Lightning look down on the floor, her hair hiding her eyes while Snow grip his fist tightly. Vanille and Hope still look shock while Nora have a frown on her face.
Naruto smile sadly as he turn around and started walking away. "I'll see you guys again, after I deal with this amulet situations. But right now, I can't be with you."
Naruto turn around when he heard running and let out an 'oomph' when Serah collided with him, hugging him fiercely. "No!" Serah sobbed, tears flowing down her eyes. "No, no, no! We just got you back and you're not leaving us again!" She isn't gonna let her brother figure disappear again. Not after all the searching they've been through.
Naruto heart clench as Serah cried, but he isn't budging. "Serah, I need to go. I'm endangering you guys more than you already are by staying here."
"Don't go. Please." Hope pleaded with him. "W-We can become stronger. Get to the level those guys are on. Just stay."
"I agree with Hope." Vanille said, supporting her friend. "Stay with us. We already danger right now. You leaving isn't gonna change anything."
"But it will keep the akatsuki focus on me instead of you guys." Naruto said firmly, latching Serah off of him. He flinch when he saw her tear stained face, with some tears still flowing, but he's stubborn. "I'm going. That's final."
"No!" Naruto snap his head to Lightning, who is glaring at him. He also notice her mark glowing. "Do you know how difficult it was, without you?!" She shouted at him. She groan in pain as the mark started getting brighter. "Me, Serah, Snow, we've all search for your for years! Trying to find any clue to where you're at!"
Lightning groan and got on her knees as the glow intensifies. "You are not leaving me again! After I got you back!" Lightning shouted before a red light surrounded her. Everyone stood back as a circle form around Lightning.
The girl himself jump back as the circle got brighter before it faded, showing a large knight like creature in front of them. "This cannot back happening." Lightning said in disbelief.
Hope step in back, startled at what has happened. The knight raise his sword up and Hope took more step backs before falling on his butt.
"Hope!"
"Look out!"
Hope close his eyes as the sword swung down at him, but then open it when he didn't felt any open. That's when he saw that Lightning and Naruto is blocking the thing.
The two of them gritted their teeth before they both pushed the eidolon back. "So, this is your eidolon fight." Naruto told her while Lightning groan.
When on earth did she got drag into this magic mumbo-jumbo shit?
And that's the end. I hope you all liked this chapter, especially the last part. It was hard to form it up in writing, as well as the fight with the Akatsuki. I hope you all enjoyed it. Review, favorite, and follow and I will see you guys later.