Discliamer: First Chapter
Story Start!
'This is pretty... airy.' Naruto thought as he looked at himself in a mirror, and at the armor Muu had insisted that Naruto start wearing the second he got to camp. He had to admit that with his developing muscles it still looked pretty good on him. Like the others, he was no wearing a golden breast plate with no sleeves to it so that his mostly bare arms could be seen. On his shoulders were a golden shoulder plates. On the left shoulder plate was the winged Fanalis symbol, which was insisted upon by Rohroh that he never stop wearing. On his waist he now wore a golden metal plated battle skirt, yes men could wear battle skirts made of metal, and covering his shins were golden shin protectors that also had knee protectors on them. Moving his toes around, he found that the brown sandles weren't to much different than his old ninja sandles.
Around Naruto's wrists were the Amol Selseira, with the chains wrapped around the forearm for the moment. With the shin protectors covering his legs, he didn't need them there anymore. They actually went pretty well with the armor he wore, and now they would be that much easier to use. To finish the look Naruto picked up a white cloth and tied it around his forehead, and he felt a sense of being complete with the headband on. He had felt that something was missing in his life for awhile now, and now he knew what it was. He was going to have to put a symbol of a white tiger on the cloth, because that would make him look even more badass than he did.
"You look great in that." Muu said as he entered the tent with a young girl about Naruto's age, maybe a few years older. She was somewhere between 13 and 16, but because of how youthful she was it was really hard to tell. She regarded Naruto with a critical eye though, and unlike the others she wasn't wearing the golden armor over her form. She wore a white dress with no sleeves, that ended at mid-thigh. She wore some kind of fishnet stocking around her shins, and over her neck was a golden necklace. Her hair only went down a little passed her shoulders, and her chest was not that well developed just yet. Like Naruot though, she had smaller black markings around her eyes that hadn't fully grown yet.
"So you are the one that will be helping us kill Tundrama. Well I am Morgiana, and it is nice to meet you." Morgiana said as she walked forward to Naruto, and extended her hand in the motion to shake hands with him. Meeting her halfway with a smile, Naruto grasped her hand with his own and the two birefly shook hands before letting go.
"Yeah, I am going to be helping to kill Tundrama. I am really looking forward to doing battle with another dragon though. Titus wasn't at full power, and my partners hadn't been able to truly fight by my side." Naruto said with a slight grin. Yeah, they had supported him by making him more powerful, but they didn't truly fight the dragon themselves. To know that you can fight side by side with your partner made the trust that much greater.
"I hope you decent, because I am coming in anyway." Rohroh said as he entered the tent, before looking over Naruto wearing the armor to see how well it fit him. The already well developing muscles Naruto was getting fit well with the armor, much like all Fanalis did so that was no surprise.
"What brings you here? I thought you would be getting everyone ready for the battle tomorrow." Muu asked his second in command with a raised eyebrow, and naruto was curious about that as well while Morgiana just continued to look at him. The others might not have noticed, but she could sense the amount of magic inside Naruto. It was unreal for a normal Pure-Blooded Fanalis to have anywhere near as much magic as this boy did.
"I came to ask if Naruto knew any weak points on the dragon that we could attack." Rohroh stated, and Naruto nodded happily. Wendy had actually told him all the major weak points on the dragons body, or at least the ones where the natural defences were the weakest.
"Yeah I know them, back at the guild I belong my partner was raiused by a dragon and taught how to kill one. The biggest weak points on a dragon are the stomach, the tail, the spot between the wings, the wings themselves, and between the eyes at the forehead. Then there are smaller weak points at the sides of the jaws, and the eyes." Naruto decribed in a non-chalant way, while Rohroh nodded slowly and tried to memorize every location that could prove to be the most fatal. With three Pure-Blood Fanalis, four Half-Blood Fanalis, and a fully grown dragon Tundrama was going to die during the battle.
They couldn't afford to send any more Fanalis though, since currently the ones going to battle right now... were the only known Fanalis outside of the true dark zone. The Fanalis birth place, where they became their true form.
"How did you kill your dragon opponent?" Morgiana asked out of nowhere, and Naruto scratched his cheek.
"I bounced around, then did this weird aura thing with magic and punched right through it's heart and body. I nearly died though, so I won't be to eager to do that again anytime soon with the amount of strain it put me through." Naruto said awkwardly, before Muu decided to lighten up the mood by putting his hands on both Naruto and Morgiana's shoulders and forcing the two fo them face to face. The two blushed, before they both turned their heads to glare at Muu.
"We can talk about this depressing stuff tomorrow, but tonight we enjoy a feast in the hopes to bring good luck for tomorrows hunt!" Muu said as Naruto and the only female Pure-Blood Fanalis got off of each other, and resisted the tempation to punch Muu in the gut for that one. Rohroh sighed and left the tent to go inform the others that they were going to have a feast. When the group of now three walked out of the tent, they were met with the Fanalis around the campfire.
"Looking good runt." Yaqut said with a light teasing tone as he cooked a boar over the fire slowly, and the smell of well cooked meat hit everyone's noses when the wind blew the smoke towards them. Naruto shivered at the smell, since Wendy never really let him eat meat around her. She ate meat too, but she prefered veggies because she didn't like to hurt animals to get the meat like Naruto did. She prefered to buy her meat like a normal person, while he prefered to kill the animals himself.
"Looking old cook." Naruto said back with confidence, and Yaqut whistled at the speed that comeback came. Most people took a moment or two to make good comebacks, but that one was immediate. He was going to like hunting with this kid, that was for sure.
"He doesn't look right just yet... Oh I know!" Razol said with a grin as he went back into her tent, and didn't come out right away. Naruto raised an eyeborw at that, but he didn't know if that was normal for her or not so let it slide.
"What was that about?" Naruto questioned, and Myron stepped forward and started to hand everyone a water skin. Naruto raised the edge to his nose and took a whiff, before learning that there was something really sweet inside. Once everyone had a drink, Muu stepped in front of the fiure and looked at everyone with a confident look. Razol had come back out of her tent with her drink in hand, and a hand behind her back.
"Listen up everyone! Tomorrow we will go to war with our ultimate prey! A prey that stands head above all other prey! The noble dragon will fall to us tomorrow, the ultimate hunters will take on the ultimate prey! Tomorrow we will fight to kill the one that calls herself Tundrama! So everyone, let us show the world why we are to be respected!" Muu shouted, before everyone took a large breath until all their lungs were filled the the brim with air. Before they all let loose their most powerful Battle Cries, cries that shook their air as the fire Muu was standing in front of shot up high into the sky in responce to their roars.
Rocks lifted up from the ground and floated into the air, while cracks appeared on the ground and the clouds in the sky grew darker. The moon vanished behind the clouds, and if not for the fire their would have been no more light. Once they stopped 'crying' the changes everywhere stopped and the rocks in the air fell back to the ground.
'That was pretty fun. This guy is a pretty good leader.' Naruto thought with a grin as he raised the drink to his lips like everyone else, and the sweet nector was like drinking heaven. It was better than anything he had ever had before, even ramen! The fruit that produced this must have bee the tastiest damn thing to ever exist, and these people were geniuses to drink it like this.
"Now onto even better news, as you all know today we recieved a new brother! A brother that will join us on his first hunt tomorrow, and truly become a member of the tribe! Naruto and Morgiana please come up here!" Muu shouted with excitement, and both of the young Fanalis stepped forward next to Muu, and he put his hands on both of their heads. Naruto wondered what he was doing, before Muu spoke up again. "As you all know, this will also be Morgiana's first hunt with the tribe, which means that tomorrow both Morgiana and Naruto will bath in the blood of their prey!" Muu shouted much to the approval of the members of the tribe around them, and Naruto could feel their excitement rising when Razol stepped forward with her hand holding a golden box in front of her.
"Here they are Muu-sama." Razol said with a ceremonial bow, and when she opened the box the two younger Fanalis saw a golden dagger on top of red silk. Muu picked up the dagger, before he took Naruto and Morgiana's hands and cut them across the palms in one slice. Neither of them so much as flicnhed from the shallow cut, and they bleed freely from the right hands.
"With this bloody dagger, I hereby declare Morgiana and Naruto to now be adults in the eyes of the Fanalis! May your kills be swift, and your enemies be powerful!" Muu yelled as he swung the dagger at the fire, and the blood on the dagger was tossed into the fire. The fire turned from orange-red to blood red and changed shape to the form of two red beasts for a second, before becoming normal fire again. With that done, they were surprised when the wounds healed up immediantly for some reason.
"Now lets get drunk!" Razol shouted out, and Yaqut lifted the finished boar above his head before he tossed it into the air. Everyone besides Naruto and Morgiana jumped up into the air and grabbed a piece of the boar, while Naruto chuckled lightly and looked at Morgiana.
"This seems like fun, want to join in?" Naruto said as he offered a hand to her when the others started to dance and eat at the same time. Each of them singing their own tunes, that somehow blended in together well. Morgiana looked at naruto for a second, before a soft smile came to her face as she took his hand with a small blush on her face and the two of the started to dance next to the fire together.
Like before with Naruto, all the dance setps came out of instinct alone as the two of them fell into perfect sync with each other. Rohroh glanced in their direction, before taking a large bite of his boar leg with a feral grin. As expected, with the two of them so close in age they naturally felt a deep connection. It was only natural for them as hunters to naturally form their own pack, and if anything romantic came from their natural connection remained to be seen. It was an instinctual need to form their own group, a close knit group that they could use to hunt more effectivally than with the large group.
He and Muu were in a group together, Razol and Yaqut were together in a group, while Myron kind of wondered between the two groups of her own free will. Muu was the leader of the tribe, while he and Myron usually fought over the second in command position. He didn't like the smart types like her, while she thought his blood lusting ways for battle were to much. She thought that he was 'quick to anger' and 'aggressive', well if people weren't so stupid he would have to get angry every time he get somebody that wasn't of their race.
"I can't wait until tomorrow, just the thought of fighting another dragon so soon has my blood so heated!" Naruto said with a feral grin on his face, and Morgiana smiled at him as he dripped her so low to the ground that her skull was a single centimeter from touching the dirt. How he managed not to smack her head on the ground was a miracle in it's own right.
"What was fighting a dragon like?" Morgiana asked curiously, and she pulled herself close to Naruto before they span around together. Naruto thought about it for a second, and even though the others were drinking their brains out they listened into the conversation between the new adults of the tribe.
"It was the single most amazing fight I have ever been in, and I nearly died multiple times. I my best friends wasn't a healer, I would have been dead. The fight was that awesome." Naruto said with closed eyes, and a dreamy grin spreading across his face. Morgiana nodded her head slowly, not having been in a fight that would leave her in the condition that Naruto must have been in.
"So almost dying is awesome?" Morgiana asked, and while Naruto twirled her into the air hje decided to answer once he caught her and put her back on the ground.
"No, a fight that leaves you almost dead is awesome. Dying sucks." Naruto said in a deadpan tone. Dying and almost dying duringa fight were two different things, one had honor and the other didn't. If you died in a fight while standing up, you were a badass, but if you died of age and sickness you just made your family and friends sadder to have to watch you struggle to live. Sometimes a sudden death, but better than a long and painful death, not just for yourselves but for everyone around you that loves you.
"Wise words, dying does suck!" Muu said with a drunk blush on his face before he fell backwards. Everyone laughed at him besides Rohroh who ran over to their leader and checked to see if he was alright, but once that was done and Muu was proven to be fine even Rohroh laughed with them.
"Hey Morgiana, what was the toughest thing you have ever killed?" Naruto asked with a tilted head when the dancing between them came to a stop, and they went over to get what was left of the boar after the people with the bigger appetites have had their fill. Morgiana twitched when he asked that, and with a blush she looked away from him.
"I haven't killed anything, because until now I wasn't allowed on the hunts." Morgiana came clean, expecting Naruto to look down on her for being a killing virgin. Naruto wrapped an arm around her shoulders, before he grinned at her.
"That is pretty cool, because now you get to say your first kill was a dragon after tomorrow." Naruto told her in a soothing voice, without even trying, that calmed her and made her blush deeper. She pushed him away from her slightly, before she looked away from him. Meeting somebody her age that was so nice was so... wait, this was actually the first time she had ever even met so,mebody her age. This was completely new grounds for her!
"What was your first kill?" Morgiana asked to turn the subject away from her, and Naruto thought about it for a moment. Now that he thought about it, he didn't really know what the first thing he killed was. Then it came to his head when he remembered the first time he had been eaten.
"The first thing I had killed had been a giant snake, the things was freaking HUGE! It had swallowed me whole, and I ended up having to kill it from the inside out." Naruto said with a shiver when he remmebered the feeling of the snake guts on his skin. He had been eaten a few times since then, and that first snake would always be the most worst time he had been eaten. He was surprised he could ever eat anything against after having seen the insides of multiple animals.
"You were eaten?" Rohroh asked from a sm,all distance away, and Naruto shivered and raiseds his hand with three fingers pointing up.
"Three times in my life, and it will most likely not be the last time." Naruto stated as if it were a fact, and those around him laughed it up at his expense. He was laughing as well in a good natured way, because even he could admit that it sounded pretty funny. It wasn't fun, but it was funny.
He was so pumped up for tomorrow though, that even if he wanted to be mad he couldn't be.
It was Tiger verse Dragon again, of course he should be excited.
He was made for these kind of fights.
Chapter End.
This chapyter represented the calm before the storm in a way, and adding a tribal element to the Fanalis to make them seem more like a tribe of hunters. A way to deepen his bonds with them, and the armor was just because the armor is pretty awesome. That and to give him a more regal look to match with the tiger image. Before anyone complain about the battle skirt. Tons of Greek and Romans wore metal skirts to battle. They were great warriors, so the armor is based of of their armor. That is literally what the Fanalis wear. I had nothing to do with that.
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