AN: Sorry, but you guys won't get to see the date (Just yet - maybe...)! Because I want to save it for a later date, pun fully intended.
Also, a certain game caught my attention, something that hasn't happened in a while mind you, called "Undertale". Now, I never got aboard that hype train when it came to my stop, and even then i only figured out it's an rpg recently. Before you cry in outrage, I'm trying to get aboard on this train, so don't worry...
Anyways, on with the story! Enjoy!
Chapter Start
-The Path Paved With Good Intentions-
"Ishgar and mage leaders have finally opened up talks of peace, or at least begun negotiating an alliance over the past few days. Citizens of both magical and non-magical origin have expressed protest to the idea of coexisting, and have openly shown such outrage by acting out in violence, ranging from arson to attempted assassinations on both parties leaders.
Prince Harold Fiore issued this statement in response: "We will never have true civilization until we have learned to recognize the rights of others, regardless of whether they're black, white, mage, or non-human. If we cannot now end our differences, at least we can help make the world safer for diversity..."
In other news, there have now been confirmed sightings of dragons fighting other dragons. And with the negotiations of peace with the mages, there is now hope that we can retake the Alakitasia continent.
Well that's it for this week's news, enjoy your weekends. This is channel seven news, June 24th, X399, signing off-"
Ivan rubbed his bleary eyes, glancing around at the city scenery that was a stark contrast to the calm serenity that his own town gave off. The clatter of his backpack, the box that he concealed the frosty crown in, as well as his disheveled appearance all contributed to making him look like a shady character...
Then again, as he glanced around at the few others that were up and out at the crack of, he realized that shady and creepy he may look...
He actually blended into the crowd.
-The Path Paved With Good Intentions-
"Wake up, Naruto-kun~" Anna said, causing Naruto's eyes to flutter open.
"Well I must've died in my sleep, 'cause there's an angel right in front of me..." Naruto mumbled, greeted to the sight of Anna's golden blond hair draped over his bare chest.
"Baka." Anna replied, lightly slapping his chest in annoyance, though the amusement in her face would suggest otherwise.
"Come on... five more minutes." Naruto suggested, the few rays of sunlight that snuck through the room's blinds causing a glint to shine off of Anna's left hand, specifically her ring finger...
A smile came to his face as he used his left pinky to rub his own left ring finger, feeling the plain silver ring that he wore same as his fiancé.
Five years of dating, and he had finally proposed to her a year after she earned her Bachelor's Degree in Mythology.
Breaking the news to their parents, however, was quite the show...
"Narutoooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!"
"Annaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"
Kushina Uzumaki and Jeremiah Heartfilia shook Naruto and Anna by the shoulders as if they were ragdolls, with Naruto's father Minato and Anna's mother Veronica standing off to the side watching their respective spouse berate their child.
"Anna-chan! Help me!" Naruto cried out, comical tears spilling out of his eyes as he was shaken around.
"Screw that! Help meeeeeeeeeeeee!" Anna retorted, in the same situation as Naruto was only with her father.
"You're getting married?!" Kushina and Jeremiah exclaimed.
"And you didn't even bother introducing me to the boy beforehand?!" Jeremiah questioned.
"Don't tell me this is gonna be a shotgun wedding?!" Kushina yelled, causing Jeremiah to turn to her.
"And what is that supposed to mean?!" Jeremiah yelled more than asked, still shaking Anna around.
"Nothing! I'm positive that your daughter is a wonderful girl!" Kushina replied with the same level of loudness as Jeremiah, shaking Naruto in a similar manner to how Jeremiah did to Anna.
"Thank you! I have. No. Doubts that your boy there is a pleasant young gentleman that will take good care of my daughter!" Jeremiah exclaimed.
"I just! Want! Grandkids to spoil, ya know?!"
"What?! Me too! I don't want to rush them into parenthood though!"
"That may be true! But! We're! Not! Getting! Younger!"
"..." Veronica Heartfilia looked as if she was about to speak up and say something, but was stopped when Minato held his hand up to her, shaking his head negatively, an unspoken message passed between the duo...
Their spouses were in the zone. Getting their attention would only bring the wrath of hell upon them rather than their children.
"Ugh..." Naruto groaned, swirls in his eyes as his mother stopped shaking him around for a moment.
"Why..." Anna muttered, her face a comical sickly green color as her father stopped shaking her too...
It lasted for a brief second, before the two parents began to shake their respective children around with renewed vigor.
"NARUTO!"
"ANNA!"
"GIVE! US! GRANDKIDS!" Kushina and Jeremiah exclaimed as one.
What was meant to be a formal dinner with both sides of the family to announce their engagement quickly turned into chasing after Kushina and Jeremiah to stop them from enacting their plan to get grandchildren, and ended with Naruto and Anna running from their mother and father respectively when they did get the necessary items to go through with their plan.
"Leaving so soon?" Anna questioned, donning a bathrobe to cover her nude body as she watched Naruto adjust his bowtie.
"I've got a class first thing this morning, but if things go smoothly I should be done for the day just in time for a late lunch." Naruto stated, reaching over and kissing Anna's forehead.
"I'll see you then, Naruto-kun." Anna said, a small smile gracing her face.
"I love you." Naruto responded, never noticing the miniscule flinch from Anna at the statement.
"I love you too..." Anna replied, forcing herself to smile as her fiancé left for work.
...
Anna suddenly collapsed to her knees after she was certain Naruto had gone and was not going to come back in case he forgot anything, her hands supporting her curvy frame and her eyes shut tightly, doing her very best to keep the forming tears from spilling over.
Taking a minute to compose herself, Anna finally stood up and trudged over into the next room, Naruto's study, which consisted of merely a lone desk, two filing cabinets, three bookshelves and a lone window. Each step she took felt heavier than the last as she approached the familiar old leatherbound book that rested on the desk.
She could feel it every time she did this, every time she snuck into this room behind her fiancé's back, every time she translated the chapters she needed or had use for, but more importantly...
She felt it every time her Naruto said he loved her. Oh kami, each and every time was like a stab to her heart - not because she didn't love him, far from it - but because she felt like she was exploiting him, using him for her clan's own benefit...
"Διάλεξη, Χώρος και Χρόνος Χειραγώγηση... Chapter Twenty..." Anna muttered, translating the ancient text aloud. "Space and Time Manipulation..."
-The Path Paved With Good Intentions-
Naruto sighed happily, enjoying the serenity that came with the early morning on campus. It was a part of his morning routine, to enjoy the calmness before-
"Oh Naruto-sensei~!"
Speaking of his morning routine, a smile graced his face as he spun around and came face to face with his former-student-turned-teacher's-assistant, Emma Frost.
Unlike Naruto, Emma's attire had changed since they first met. She had her hair done up in a bun, and wore a simple, yet enticing outfit consisting of a pair of black rectangular glasses, a black button-up sleeveless vest, a light grey skirt that hugged her curves and ended just a little past her ass, a pair of knee-length black-and-grey socks, black high-heels, a white formal collar with a short black tie, and two white barrel cuffs...
It took all of Naruto's willpower not to cast his gaze downward.
"Ah, Emma-san. What have I told you about calling me 'sensei'?" Naruto questioned.
"I'm sorry~... Does this mean I'll be punished~?" Emma retorted, leaning down slightly to allow Naruto a full view of her cleavage, causing the redhead to sigh in annoyance.
In the eyes of the public, she was the campus's official 'Onee-Sama', an elegant, gentle, perfect example of what the university had to offer its students...
But to those who knew her on a personal level, mainly Naruto, Anna and Natasha, knew another side of her, a more vulgar, flirtatious side of her, even going so far as to declare herself Naruto and Anna's future mistress.
She also seemed very intent on having an affair with the redhead professor, especially after she found out that Naruto and Anna were dating.
"The first class should be beginning soon." Naruto said, using his index and middle finger to poke Emma's forehead before continuing on his way, with his now pouting blond teacher's assistant quickly following after him.
-The Path Paved With Good Intentions-
"Fall."
The black haired young man felt an ominous, oppressing aura fill the area. In a matter of milliseconds, the aura became too much to handle, causing him to soon fall to his knees and even then his knees gave out, making him drop unable to support even his own weight.
"W-What i-is t-this...?" he managed to choke out, his voice softer than a whisper and rapidly weakening in resolve.
The entire world around him suddenly turned pitch black, the skies above him, the earth beneath his feet... everything.
Even his other senses matched his sight, blinded by the darkness that was too much for his eyes to bear witness to...
All except for a single sound, the slow, yet clamorous footsteps that grew louder and louder as the unknown creature came closer and closer to him.
A dark chuckle echoed throughout the air as he tried to pull himself off the ground, failing after a few seconds.
"Zeref Dragneel..." the same deep voice called out. "In all of my existence, never before has a mortal been so... daring, to try and mess with life and death, my domains."
"I-I... m-my brother..." Zeref mumbled.
"Though I suppose, being the first to ever dare to defy me, I should justly reward you..."
Even if he could not see it, he could feel the magical fire spark and cackle right next to him...
Green flames, if his basic magic manipulation classes taught him correctly, those were the flames that he was feeling partially singe his skin...
Then it engulfed him. The searing pain was enough to give strength back to his vocal cords, as his shrill cries of agony became louder than the fire's cackling.
"With this, you will serve as an example of the consequences of messing with life and death. You will not die, but so long as you value life, death will follow you."
Zeref managed to crack his eyes open by a small fraction, his vision filled with the sight of green flames, pitch black surroundings...
And a lone blue eye that held a sadistic glee, the illumination of the green flames dancing around in the orb.
"Perhaps one day, you will find a way to lift my punishment yourself, for I will show no pity. But until then...
Suffer. Mujun no Noroi(Contradictory Curse)."
-The Path Paved With Good Intentions-
The day quickly went on, with the last students of his final class walking out the doors.
"Finally..." Naruto sighed, stretching his back as Emma visibly relaxed.
"That's one year finished. Hello two months of rest..." Emma began, sauntering over to Naruto and wrapping her arms around him, taking extra care to press her buxom into the redhead's back. "-and relaxation~"
"Emma-san..." Naruto said in almost a whining tone, causing said platinum blond haired woman to retract her arms with a pout that despite not seeing, he could feel.
"I know, I know... you're in a relationship, all sex between you and I - including threesomes - must be with the consent of Anna-chan beforehand."
"Yeah... wait, NO!"
"So we can have sex without her consent?"
"NO!"
-The Path Paved With Good Intentions-
"Stop them!"
"They're heading for the - gah!"
"Professor Bonnibel!"
A pale-skinned young woman with hazel brown eyes and chocolate brown hair perked up. She stood at 5'9", donning a white lab coat on top of white shorts and a yellow t-shirt, as well as white socks, pink sneakers, and a pair of rectangular glasses.
The reason for such a reaction was a few feet from her, in the form of one of her assistants that suddenly and abruptly barged in, huffing and puffing from slight overexertion and a panicked expression on his face.
"Limoncello? What's wrong?" Bonnibel questioned.
"It's-!" "*BANG*!" Whatever her assistant was about to say was never finished as a bullet pierced through his skull, splattering his blood and brains onto the door that he held open.
Bonnibel tried to scream, to vocalize any sort of verbal reaction, but the shock of seeing her co-worker, her subordinate, her protégé killed so suddenly was overpowering such reaction.
She was numb. She was numb to the rattle of gunfire that followed after, to the five men that barged into her laboratory, armed with assault rifles, to the gunfire that they discharged to make all the other scientists alert to their presence...
"Bonnibel Kaugummi?" one of the men called out, snapping her out of her shock.
"I-I..." Bonnibel stammered, freezing up when the man pointed his firearm at her head.
"Are you Bonnibel Kaugummi. Yes or no?" the man repeated.
"Y-Yes?!" Bonnibel exclaimed, closing her eyes and waiting for the sweet embrace of death...
Only to find no such feeling.
"You have a choice here, Bonnibel Kaugummi." the man said, lowering his rifle slightly so it was not aimed at her skull.
"W-What?" Bonnibel questioned, reopening her eyes and releasing a mental sight of relief.
"We know that there is a certain item in possession of this lab, L1-CH." the man stated. "And you have the chance to save the lives of those who are left alive, if you give us your full cooperation..."
-The Path Paved With Good Intentions-
Ivan collapsed against the wall of a nearby building, teetering back and forth on the verge of awake and asleep, every single fiber of his body aching from his trek.
Six years. That's how long he's been on this quest. And quite frankly, he was sick of it - carrying the crown around like it was some type of bomb that would go off at any second.
He missed his home village, he missed his nice warm bed, he missed his lovely wife Catherine and their son Roland...
His vision suddenly became blurred, reminding him of the reason why he chose to drop against this wall in the first place.
...
"Excuse me, sir...?" a new voice chimed in, Ivan's sluggish state being mentally invigorated with a second wind as he caught sight of the person that called out to him.
"Four blue eyes..." Ivan muttered, catching the bluish glint that the man's glasses gave off.
"Are you alright?" Naruto questioned, tilting his head slightly in confusion.
"Yes..." Ivan replied, a wide grin etched on his face. "I'm just fine now."
Chapter End