Chapter Twelve: Clouds Upon Kuo Kuana.
"Engage in combat fully determined to die and you will be alive; wish to survive in the battle and you will surely meet death."
Uesugi Kenshin
{Belladonna Estate: Garden.}
[Four Weeks Ago. 10:30am]
"So, that's when I pretty much decided I'd had enough. I gave this expert killer the tongue lashing of a lifetime. I was crying, he was crying, everyone was crying. Haku may have been my enemy, but he was a good person. That's when I learned for the first time, not everyone who was an enemy shinobi was a bad person." Naruto told Ghira whilst the two sat inside the gazebo, sipping fresh chamomile tea. The blonde lightly cupped the cup with both hands, letting the warm ceramic heat his skin lightly. "I made a vow that day, ya know, another one on top of the one about never running away."
Ghira hums a little bit. "What vow was this one then?"
"To protect those most precious to me, at any cost." The shinobi answered before sipping the tea once more. "Haku, and Zabuza showed me that's the true measure of a bond. To be willing to throw yourself in front of danger, no matter how much it can hurt you. To give your life to protect those you cherish most is to fully understand the concept of the bonds you've shared."
"I can't help myself but smile." Ghira lightly laughed before sipping his tea. "You are but a child, yet you speak as if you've seen the world."
Naruto smiled lightly before finishing his tea. "I've been pretty much everywhere in mine, well…minus Kumo, Mizu, and Iwa. That's an entirely different story though, ya know." The blonde took a moment, and then smiled before getting out a book. "So, I've been reading this one book at night, sometimes I sneak out here."
"I've caught you many times doing so." Ghira laughed before noting the book's cover. "Famous quotes, by historical figures." The man peered at the title further. "A collection of quotes, and poetry."
"Kali said it was something I might like, since I like telling stories of my own." Naruto took a moment, flipping through the pages. "I found this one, it was supposedly by this one king, I think The Last King Of Vale?"
"I'm quite familiar with that quote. Ahem, hang on one moment." The chieftain coughed into his hand before clearing his throat. "Behold me, the last king, of the last age of monarchy. I've sent men to graves with wafts of my hand, I've freed many with the steel of my sword. Yet, I am weary of the world I shall leave, for yet my time draws near again. Who'll look upon my words, a century from now, and kept them true? For my blade is heavy, my shield too crude to lift, and my body weakened."
"Yeah, it almost sounds like he's sad." Naruto rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly before smiling brightly. "Isn't he the one that freed you guys, The Faunus race?"
"That'd be correct. The last kind's advocated for the end of all forms of slavery in the kingdoms." The older man took a moment, rubbing his black beard before nodding his head. "He is the one human no faunus can really fault anything on. He died a hero to my kind."
"I think he died a hero in general." The boy replied before shutting the book, but marking it just before he did. "I want to be like that king."
"I'm afraid that there is no one left to free." Ghira laughed lightly before noting the serious look on Naruto's face. "What is it?"
"Ghira, I'm not aiming to free anyone, I'm just saying I want to one day earn the opportunity to change things. I mean, I want to one day be looked at as a hero. It's why I'm trying to find ways to be useful." Naruto told him before taking a moment to stretch. "Because, at the end of the day, I look at life as something precious…and what right do I have to make someone's worse when I can make it better?"
"It's a noble thing to say, but noble actions often have led to ignoble endings. Naruto, if you ever want to try to become that man, you realize that it means being at the forefront of other's blades." The older man saw the child give brief glimpses into becoming a man. He saw the fire in the azure eyes, the way the blonde shinobi carried himself. "I'm just saying that you don't have to push yourself, I just want you to be happy here."
"I'm happy, but that's the point! I'm happy because I have people who care about my feelings. I'm happy, because the same people took me in whilst they didn't know me at all, ya know!" Naruto excitedly stated before beaming. "If the greatest thing I can do is return someone's kindness by being dedicated to making their life better, then why shouldn't I risk myself?"
"Because you are but a child." Ghira simply stated. "A child should never put themselves in harms way."
"Yeah, well, I'm turning thirteen soon. I'll be a teenager instead of a kid. All I'm saying is, if you think death scares me, it doesn't. I'm not afraid to walk into the face of death, it wouldn't be the first time, ya know. I know for a fact that there might be a day when my number gets called, and I won't come home to the people I call family. Still…" The young shinobi beamed brightly, and it was infectious by just how genuine it was. "If I die, then I would die happily knowing that I was trying to do the right thing."
Blake was coming outside to serve tea to them when she overheard the last bit of the conversation. Having stayed out of eyesight, she heard the boy's declaration to her father. She lightly scoffed at it, thinking it more boasting than anything else. Still, that book he had with him, that used to be her old book that she casted aside in favor of fantasy novels.
"Is that what the world you come from taught you, to not fear the end?" Ghira inquired whilst watching the blonde still smile. Unaware that his daughter was standing there, and it seemed neither was the blonde shinobi. "I still can't get over the fact that they consider children to be soldiers in your world."
"Well, that's the thing, I knew becoming a shinobi meant that someday my number might be called up. I often wonder what'll be like, does it hurt, or is it just falling into a deep sleep? Sometimes, well, I always kind of say to myself that if it's the end at least I can finally see my parents. Gods, you know, sometimes I'm jealous of Blake a little bit. I mean, c'mon, you two are absolutely super parents!" Naruto declared with a beaming smile before laying his back on the wooden half wall of the gazebo. "I guess to answer your question, is of course I am scared to die, but at the same time I resolve to push forward even if it's the end."
Blake just rolls her eyes, more of his boasting. That's all he ever talked about was boasting, boasting, boasting! However, after a brief pause, watching him smile at her father. She felt some jealousy seep into her. Her father has at times been distant to her, letting her journey out on her own. The girl just looked down at her teapot, seeing her reflection in the porcelain.
She had always been a loner. Her father was The Chieftain Of Kuo Kuana for Gods' sake. It already meant that people were intimidated to be around her. Then came Adam, who wasn't dissuaded by her father being The Chieftain. It's why it hurt, in some way, to see him laughing with the stranger that had made their house his home.
This human stranger from another world supposedly. Yet, he said he was jealous of her a little bit. It was a weird feeling, because besides the unrelated ire she felt for him, something in her felt horrible for feeling that way. Because, in the blonde's eyes, she saw anything but true happiness in them. He smiled, but it was fake almost, it wasn't her place to point it out.
Why should she, he was nobody to her.
"Because it's not about the ending, it's about the journey." The shinobi finished after a brief pause. "I want to take a journey that has me helping people, not just faunuskind, but humankind as well. Because, whilst there isn't really anyone supposed to be in chains anymore, I learned a long time ago that you can be chained by hatred…and resentment.'
That caught her attention.
"Chained by hatred?" Ghira questioned, not ignorant of the meaning, but rather curious to the boy's example.
"That's the way Sasuke was. His brother, Itachi, killed their entire clan all because he wanted power. Sasuke, for the longest time, wanted to become a shinobi to defeat him in revenge. Through that hatred, Sasuke only led himself down a darker path, and hopefully…my sacrifice saved him from it." Naruto took a deep breath before sighing, and rubbing his arm. "I know I can't ever be a stand in for his family, nor anyone could, but isn't it sometimes better to just…let go?"
"If someone hurt my wife, and daughter, I'd kill them." Ghira stated plainly before sighing. "I do see what you mean, because after that's set and one…I'm back to being alone."
"That's my point. Sasuke's alone, not because he wants to be, but feels that has to be." The shinobi replied whilst looking at his teacup. "In a way, I understand him more than he could ever realize."
"Both of you are orphans. Both of you grew up around each other, fought together- "He noted the blush on the blonde's face, and then chuckled lightly. "Naruto, are you by chance…"
"Oh no-no-no! I am not gay, I…" Naruto rubbed the back of his head nervously. "I loved Sasuke, like a brother would one another. It's kind of weird though, the day we were getting assigned teams someone accidentally bumped me from behind, and we sort of kissed…it was disgusting to me."
Ghira laughed boisterously at that, smacking the table lightly. "It's rather funny to see you balk at that tale, than balk at a Razor Fin trying to eat you alive." The Chieftain stated before gaining a more impassive look on his face. "Anyway, before we go off on another tangent, continue about Nami."
Blake took a moment, and then she started moving forward. Sighing to herself, she walked steadily. "Dad…Naruto, I've brought some more tea." She said whilst placing the tray at the table. "What are you two talking about?"
"Oh, just hearing him tell me a story of his home." Her father said whilst refilling his cup from the pot, and filling Naruto's up. "You're more than welcome to sit with us."
Blake took a deep breath, and sighed before sitting down. "Okay, so what story was he telling?"
"I think you were elaborating more on this place called Nami?" Ghira questioned Naruto, who nodded his head. "Okay, do you want to hear it from the start, or where we're at dear?"
"I'd…like to hear it from the start." Blake hesitantly told her father, still feeling uncomfortable around the blonde stranger. "After all, starting in the middle of the story leaves out a lot of details."
"Heh, well, okay then!" Naruto excitedly roused himself toward starting the story again. "I'm gonna warn ya, it's a little sad, ya know."
"No…I don't know." Blake groans a little bit.
"Okay, so I was being sent on a mission with my team, Team Seven, and it was supposed to be a C-Rank mission…"
{Kuo Kuana Eastern Wall.}
[Present Day, Three Days After Crash. 8:00pm]
"For what is service without sacrifice? That is the hard question we must all ask ourselves when we join The White Fang. It is not unlike any other military, not unlike being a Kingdom Hunter. Each person we are gathered here today knew the risks, and chose duty." Sienna mournfully, but stoically stated to the crowd of gathered people at the wall. "For beyond this wall has always been death, death in the form of wildlife and Grimm. There is no rhyme, or reason, for death. It always was, and will still be, a part of what it means to live. These five chose to live on the edge, and sadly, perhaps a mighty gust of fate tipped them over the edge."
Ghira, Blake, Kali, Cloud, and the host of guards at Belladonna Estate were amongst the mourners in the crowd. Besides them were similar looking women, with the only difference being their eye color. Twins perhaps, one couldn't say. Both were blessed with different faunus features. They were openly sobbing at the picture of the woman wielding a katana with golden yellow eyes.
Kali was doing her best to keep it together. Whether she felt like Naruto was a son to her, or not, he was an amazing boy. The two had become, at the very least, close friends before he joined The White Fang. Ghira was all the same, and his face was scrunching up every so often. Still, he remained stoic, much like Cloud did next to him. Dressed in full guard gear, Cloud's straight sword hung on his back, tapping with everyone other gust of wind against the armor he wore.
The guards were a mix of stoicism, or crying. Though they didn't interact with Naruto too much, they came to view him as sort of a friend as well. It was compounded tragedy that he died so young, so full of life, that it made everyone reflect on how they lived theirs.
A golden-haired girl, with shiny blue eyes was looking at the picture of a golden-haired and eyed squirrel faunus. She was trying to calm herself, though tears spilled out everyone so often. It didn't anyone was there morning the rabbit faunus, or the tiger faunus pictured there. Still, Ghira could see even amongst The Black Cats, there was a sense of depression over them.
The cloudy skies compounded the day in general, with thunder rumbling off on the horizon. Another storm was brewing, and coming. September storms often were lighter compared to summer storms, but it marked a turning point for the weather in Kuo Kuana. Soon, everything would become more disjointed, with colorful flowers becoming baleful.
Autumn was coming, and with it, soon so would the colder weather of winter.
"Today is September twentieth, year seventy-five after the great war. Aurum Smith, Ferrous Hilt, Luna Crest, Kihana Mellivora, and Naruto Uzumaki. Without their bodies we cannot commit them to the burning, but we can set alight these beacons for their souls to find." Sienna looked over at the small paper lanterns. She nodded her head, watching as the assigned troops ignited their ignition source, and watched as they began to float upwards. "May they find peace amongst the stars."
"May they find peace amongst the stars."
The crowd solemnly echoed before Sienna nodded her head. She raised her hand up. "This concludes our mourning ceremony, please, if you wish to continue to mourn do so. All White Fang personnel please return to your assigned postings." The newly minted leader of The White Fang stated before watching as her troops dispersed.
Ghira took a deep breath, biting his tongue as she walked over to him. "Yes, High Leader Khan?"
She could get used to hearing that, but that wasn't her goal. "I am sorry for your loss. If it's any comfort, Naruto was an amazing young soldier." She watched as Kali sent a glare her way, followed by Cloud. "I understand that there may be some ill feelings about this. However, there is other pressing issues, and sadly, they need to be discussed amongst me and Ghira in private." Sienna told them before watching as Ghira took another deep breath.
"What is it, Sienna?" He questioned.
"All I can tell you is not here, because I don't wish to cause a panic." She started before looking toward Kali. "I will not keep him for long."
"Please don't…" Kali sighed before looking down at Blake, who was standing there stoically. She was clutching a book in her hands. "C'mon, let's go home."
Cloud took a deep breath before beginning his escorting of Kali and Blake back home with the rest of the guard. Meanwhile Ghira stood there in front of Sienna Khan. He crosses his arms, a scowl never leaving his face, and a bitter resentment formed in his gaze.
"He was more than a good soldier." The chieftain stated before watching Sienna raised her hand up. "What?"
"Ghira, I'm not here to argue, because we're staring down the barrel of a threat that comes marching from the east." Sienna stopped him before looking down the road. "I'm going to The City Hall. There, Atlas, Saber, and the others will be gathered. I plan on sending another recon in three days to confirm the direction of it."
"Direction of what?" Ghira questioned her.
"City Hall…" Sienna hoarsely said before walking down the road.
{Kuo Kuana City Hall}
[One Hour Later.]
"Everyone here is aware of Black Cat Four's tragic falling. However, we've got confirmation that there is indeed a large horde in the wastes. They were moving north prior to the falling of Black Cat Four. Now, however, we've reason to believe that they've shifted direction to the west." Sienna walked over to a projector, using her scroll to display pictures of a sandstorm. "That isn't a sandstorm, that is the march of around eight hundred Grimm."
"Eight hundred…"
"Such a horde…"
"Gods above."
The room was filled with murmurs of the high-ranking members of Kuo Kuana. Ghira himself was staring at the photo. He took a moment and then spoke. "The largest horde to previously batter our walls was only two hundred Grimm. This dwarfs that attack." He solemnly figured whilst looking at the next picture as it was brought up. "I see that it's full of jackal Grimm, not exactly a bad thing, they can't climb over the wall."
"Though the horde is mostly jackal Grimm, I see shrikes." Atlas stated before looking over toward the bottom of the horde. "If I'm not wrong, those are spike-tails. "
"You are not wrong, those spike-tails are the very same ones that took down Black Cat Four. What's worse, Deathstalkers and Deathworms have been spotted in the rank though further video surveillance on the recordings made by Black Cats One, Two, and Three. Still, this would be a threat that we could repel with the walls." Sienna told Atlas before taking a deep breath. "It would be doable, but sadly, this isn't what makes this horde so dangerous."
"What could be more dangerous than a horde of eight hundred Grimm?" Saber questions whilst flabbergasted. "I mean, give me a general call up of all other villages, and maybe I can scrounge together a repelling force. Still, that's eight hundred Grimm, some of which are definitely Alpha caliber."
"They're being led." Sienna started making the room turn to her. "There isn't a bunch of Alphas that decided to horde together, there is only one. This Grimm is…frighteningly real. I cannot begin to detail you the amount of times we tried to reason with what we were seeing." She clicked on her scroll, and all at once the room erupted with gasps and shocked screams.
Ghira himself felt the color drain from his face.
"That's…the…" Saber gulped down. "Girtablilu, it's a myth!"
"It's very much real." Sienna confirmed the fears of the room. "This monster of a Grimm was last seen spewing a purple mist so vile that even Grimm were dying from it. Our analyst has been up over the last three days, doing measurements of the proportions of this monster."
Atlas asked the question no one else wanted. "How big is this thing, this Girtablilu?" He inquired whilst watching everyone turn to Sienna.
"Last estimates put this thing at a height of twenty meters. It's width is much larger, at thirty meters. As you can see here, this thing also has wings, which are too thin for it fly, but as you can see in the video, it uses those wings to push that mist forward it spews. It's entire body is armored, and those two stingers on the back are at least twenty-five meters in length." Sienna disclosed this monster to the gathered room, watching as some people got up to pace the room. Trying to calm themselves. "We've got two weeks at most to prepare for this, possibly sooner if the shrikes are commanded to push forward."
"Two weeks to prepare for that thing! That thing is taller than the wall itself!" Cried out Saber who slammed his fists on the table. "You knew about this for how long?!"
"Officially I've only known about the true scope of this horde for three days. We've been monitoring a gathering for the last month or so. Nothing could've prepared us for this. It turns out that a mercenary camp was found around this area where Black Cat Five went dark. I'm thinking that when they were blasting for underground dust deposits, they struck something." Sienna Khan took a deep breath, and brought up a photo of an old text with pictures on it. "This is here is a book from over two hundred years ago. Written by a freed faunus slave named Caspian. In it, he detailed The Legendary Grimm."
'Legendary…Grimm?" Atlas questions as he folded his hands on the table. "Wait, isn't that Caspian's Grimm Bestiary?"
"It is indeed the same author, but Caspian was also a famed explorer for Vale. In it, he detailed his journey through all of Remnant. Notably, he is also the author of the Girtablilu story, but that wasn't all either. However, let us not lose focus. This account details an ancient battle between an entire kingdom and an army of Grimm. This army was led by what Caspian calls a Primeval Grimm; a Grimm ancient enough that they can be found even on old ruins of The Old World." Sienna continued whilst flipping the pictures, and showing the bright painted yellow figures doing battle with the large creature. "It's abilities match those as transcribed."
Ghira took a deep breath, and began to speak. "Yay, I look upon this stone wall. This foul beast, with foul miasma for breath, and thin wings to spread it's poison. It's twin tails, scorpion in nature, filled with venomous hatred. A child, if one could call such a thing a child, of The Dark God. A Primeval Grimm, perhaps the one and only of it's kind. May this creature forever be entombed in whatever depth it rests, and Gods willing, may it be slain by The Ancient Ones who did battle with it." The room turned to him as he quoted Caspian's book precisely before taking a deep breath. "For this beast, as depicted, is of abnormal intellect. Cruel, callous, and calculating. It seeks only to reek death, to reap souls, and to banish all of creation under it's mighty legs. For no spear, nor sword, can pierce it's hide. Gods pray for me, that I never should be so unfortunate enough to run across the foul being known as The Girtablilu. For this towering monstrosity, and all of it's wretched glory, would not lay waste to just me, but any kingdom upon it's path."
"That was…harrowing Ghira, where did you learn that?" Sienna questioned him whilst crossing her arms.
"I used to read Caspian's stories as a child. I thought some of them were made up, but apparently, the explorer knew much more of the world than it ever gave credit to him for. Tell me, Sienna, what is the current timeline we're looking at? I know you said two weeks, but perhaps do we have longer?" He implored her whilst watching the tiger faunus sigh. "Gods be with all of us then." The chieftain got up from his seat. "Saber, I want a general call up, every abled body, man or woman."
"Yes sir." Saber saluted before getting up from his seat. "I assume that we'll have a plan?"
"Yes…survive the coming storm."
{The Barren Wastes.}
[Around The Same Time.]
Woosh!
Bang!
BOOM!
The engine of the jury-rigged monstrosity flew it across the air once more after going up a large dune. Emergency chutes opening from the winds, and gliding across the desert sky with ease. Turning those chutes required a great deal of strength by both Aurum, and Naruto working both sides. They had started this yesterday, using what they could, they made a monstrosity that was somehow working!
Still, the tension was solid in the air. With Naruto having been told some very uncomfortable truths. It upset him slightly, but he figured as much. There was always strings attached to things, nothing was ever free. The shinobi took a deep breath before leaning on the metal side.
"Okay, well that should keep us in the air for a minute!" Aurum stated before looking over toward Kihana and Luna, with the former still getting medical treatment. "How is Kihana holding up?"
"I can't use my semblance anymore unless I risk putting myself in critical condition as well. We need to get to Kuo Kuana as soon as possible, She's got a week, at most." Luna stated before taking a deep breath, whilst looking over at Naruto. "How are you holding up?"
"Fantastic," The young tween grumbles before crossing his arms. "How else am I supposed to be, when I found out a couple nights ago that I joined an organization that sees me as nothing more than a tool. Thought they were better than that, but apparently, I'm an idiot."
"Naruto, it's really- "
"Shut the hell up, Aurum." Naruto growled whilst glaring at the golden eye man. "I thought I was joining something that wanted because I could make a difference. I joined because I wanted to make a difference, and instead, I'm a damn weapon?! So, none of the friendliness anyone showed me was real, just to keep me around and be happy-jolly?"
Aurum was guilt ridden as he looked at the young boy. "Look, man, it's not like that. Well…not with me, I mean at first, yeah, but…"
"But, what? Oh, I get it, because I saved you? Why is it that even in this world that I have to throw myself into the fire before people can just look at me! Huh, tell me what the hell I did wrong?! You lied to me, you took my feelings, and you threw them out of the damn window! Why, damn it, why?!" Naruto screamed at the soldier, who watched as the shinobi took deep breaths, his eyes turning red. "I actually felt like I was starting to become a part of something like before! You're no different than the way others have looked at me all of my life! Yet, you sit there, and spew out a rhetoric about being discriminated against!"
"Is that how you really feel?" Aurum asked, almost deadpanning, but slightly saddened by the way Naruto glared at him. "That we're no different from the humans?"
"The way I see it, no, because look how you did me. What did I ever do besides be nice, and go out of my way to be friendly? If it was honest, straightforward, we need you because of your power I wouldn't be so much upset as I would be disappointed! At least be honest with me, ya know, I deserve that!" The shinobi growled as he took a moment to breathe before taking a moment to think to himself out loud. "Don't I?"
"Something tells me you're still coping with what you are." The mechanic observed as Naruto looked down at the metal floor of the makeshift monstrosity, they had both made. "How did you find out?"
"After almost committing high treason unknowingly. I got tricked into stealing a scroll with a bunch of my village's techniques in it." Naruto crossed his arms, looking away before sighing. "Iruka sensei, my teacher, he saved me…and then I saved him. It was the first time, ever since I was born, that someone ever wanted to call me a part of the village besides Old Man Hokage, Teuchi, and Ayame."
"Have you even told Ghira, and them about this?"
'Of course not! Why would you care?" Naruto blurted out.
"Because, idiot, it's our job to protect faunuskind. From all threats, and sadly, that could even mean you now…" Aurum shot back before slowly realizing why. "You were afraid?"
"Nah, really, what ever gave you that impression?! I'm not from this world, I fell from the friggin sky, ya know! I woke up being cared for, with people actually being nice to me without condition. So, I did what any kid would do, they modified their story just a little so that way they'd be accepted!" The young shinobi continued whilst starting to pace a small area, sitting atop the makeshift little metal covering they made for Kihana. "At one point I almost tried summoning some help."
"Okay, why didn't you, you could've gotten home?"
"Or I could've gotten them stuck here with me!" Naruto nearly shouted in reply before sighing. "That's the thing, and the thing I've always done, I've always put others before myself. So, the one time I got selfish and wanted to feel apart of a family I tried to make it to where I was too useful to be thrown away!"
Aurum notes as the blonde child said the last part, tears had formed in his eyes slightly. He hears on, letting Naruto get his side of the story out. "Shinobi don't cry, Naruto. You outta be more like this, Naruto! Hey, Naruto, why can't be like Sasuke?! Hey, Naruto, aren't you going to get any more training?! Wow, your team really took down a Tailed Beast!" Naruto slammed his fist against the side of the makeshift aircraft they were flying in.
"Why are saying all of this to us, why not Ghira and them?"
"Because I'm afraid!" Naruto screamed with pain in his voice, his eyes shrunk slightly. "I'm terrified of being treated no different than I was when I was younger! Aurum, don't you even know what it's like to wake up every single day and feel like you'll never be one of the very people you swore to protect?! At least you guys have each other, have an entire nation. Me, and eight others, probably only the very thing inside of us that can even relate to us remotely." He then looked off to the side dejectedly. "Then you have me, who's tailed beast absolutely hates his guts."
Naruto then realizes something, looking toward the golden eye man. "You're making me talk…"
"Not exactly," Aurum laughs under his breath. "I do this trick with my daughter to, children it seems no matter what are all the same. You open yourselves up when presented with a means of letting it out. My question is, because you always talk about Ghira and them being nice to you, why would open up to us, me especially?"
"Because, Aurum," Naruto sighs as he looked him dead in the eye. "We're probably gonna die anyway. I just wanna go out fighting, and with a clear head. I love them, I really do, but the more I think about it…the more I made myself try to realize them as family versus what they actually are to me..." A brief pause filled the air. "My dearest friends…"
"And you feel guilty because Kali, and Ghira want to view you as more than that?" Aurum half-questioned and half realized out loud. "If you only wanted them to view you as a friend…then why…"
"Because, Aurum, I never had someone willing to give me direction as a person. Yeah, sure, I had people teach me the techniques I know, but I seldom ever had anyone who taught me to be a person. I understand core concepts, innocence, honesty, evil, and cruelty. I know that honesty is right, and that caring for someone is righteous. Still, it was Kali who got me into reading, and with it…" Naruto smiled softly whilst looking up into the sky a little bit. "I finally found a focus that I lacked as a younger kid, which is why I value Kali as a mother figure to me…but…as an actual mother. I don't know if I can, or ever will, be willing to let anyone that close to me because I never had that."
"I guess the entire psyche profile we had on you is almost completely misunderstood. Sienna Khan figured that you were seeking to be an actual Belladonna." Aurum admitted to him, and sighed before taking a deep breath. "Naruto, since you're being open with me, I'll be open with you. I, when I first heard about you, imagined some sort of freak who just wanted to please everyone and basically was a self-made slave towards the need of acceptance."
Naruto rubbed his shoulder a little bit at that, feeling slightly dejected. "I always wanted acceptance, that's probably why I wanted to be the leader of my village. However, the longer I've thought about it, the more I realize that I wanted to be Hokage for all the wrong reasons." He took a deep breath before smiling brightly. "Now, here in this world, I have a chance to find myself."
"I'm sorry that you were classified as a weapon."
Both turned to see Kihana struggling slightly up. "I usually don't say this, but I am sorry." She apologized to him whilst Luna came out of the little enclosure as well. "I'm not doing so hot, so I figured that I'll get some sunup here."
A pregnant pause followed the four whilst Naruto looked off into the distance, and sighed. "So, what happens if we get back, knowing what you all know about me?" The blonde shinobi asked them all.
Luna smirks before lightly punching his shoulder. "I'm sorry, I was asleep through most of the conversation, Kihana?"
The redhead just sighs before lightly smiling. "I didn't hear anything, besides…odds are I'll be ground ready." She violently coughed after saying that a trail of blood was leaving her lips. "On a real note, though, boy. We are duty bound to tell Sienna about this development. She already sees you as a weapon due to your power, throw in the supposed demon you're a prison for…and there's only two options going forward for her to you."
"And those are?"
"You don't wanna know, honestly." Kihana started weakly before laying on the side. "We're falling…"
Luna looked at the makeshift glide, and saw the chutes fluttering weaker. "I guess this thing requires a leapfrog again, but hey, we might actually have an issue. We did a check on her humps, and the water might be compromised by that purple mist that Naruto says the beast breathed out. I notice a tang when I drink it, not enough to poison us, but…the water is foul." The white-haired rabbit faunus took a moment to show them a small tear in her hump. "If we don't get fresh water, I suspect that we might be slowly adding up to a severe dose of toxins."
"Damn it," Naruto cursed whilst crossing his arms. "Anyway, like I told Aurum, please let me get you all back safely before you guys decide what to do with me." He gained a dark expression across his face before reaching under his collar, pulling a tube out. "My water tastes fine, to me at least if anyone needs a drink."
"Look at this kid, despite everything, he's still willing to help us." Kihana expressed with a weak smile on her face as Aurum shifted uncomfortably, and Luna looking downcast, but she just grimaced as she felt her internal wounds ache her. She noted the fear in the boy's eyes. "Which is why…I'm not saying a damn thing, and Aurum I'll cut your fucking tongue out if you think about saying anything to her." She grimaced whilst holding her side. "She already suspects something different about him, no need to add fuel to her thoughts."
"Sienna…seemed nice when she was talking to me." Naruto offhandedly commented whilst looking away.
Aurum scoffs a little bit before crossing his arms. "Sienna Khan genuinely does care for the betterment of faunuskind. However, all good intentions pave the road to disaster. She wants faunuskind to stand equal to humanity, even if humanity doesn't want to. Only real way to get that to happen, in her head, is that we have to make them feel our pain." The bushy tail wrapped around his waist. "Sienna isn't evil because of that view, but what is evil the means in which she is willing to use to acquire her equity."
"Equity?" Naruto questioned whilst crossing his arms. "I know what equality is, but what the heck is equity?"
"Okay, imagine you have a box. Well, that box is able to let up and over a fence to watch a Huntsman match. Well, the much shorter faunus kid has no box, so you give him one. That's equality, he now has a box, but he still is a disadvantage of not being able to see the game…so you help him get another box so that he can see the match. That's equity." Aurum simplified for Naruto, who nodded his head through it. "Got it?"
"I think, sort of, but still…" Naruto bit his inner cheek. "You can't gain anything by forcing someone to bend their will, but at the same time…you can't keep taking it either."
"Hey, Naruto, earlier you said something about summoning allies." Luna changed the subject for them all whilst looking at him. "Why are you so concerned with them being stuck here, I mean, we can always use another one you."
She tried to keep as lighthearted as possible, only he got slightly nervous and rubbed the back of his neck.
"Even it's a hundred-foot-tall toad with a bad attitude?" Naruto questioned with chuckle. "Cause, that's Chief Toad in a nutshell."
"I'm sorry, what?"
{Newly Discovered Oasis.}
[Two Hours Later.]
Stars have taken over the skies above them now. It was a miracle, really, that Aurum managed to pilot their monstrosity toward this oasis. Naruto was the first out of the makeshift aircraft before feeling thin grass on his palms.
He looked around, scanning the area with azure eyes as Luna covered him from atop with her rifle. Aurum was on the mounted gun, pointing it out toward the desert, relying on his faunus eyes to scan the darkness ahead. Kihana, meanwhile, was listening as she shuddered slightly from the pain in her side.
"All clear!" Naruto shouted out as he grabbed the humps tossed over to him. "I'll be quick about it!"
He ran over toward the water, sliding in some mud whilst he threw purifying tablets into each water storage hump. He shoved them under water, letting the filter keep solid masses out. His clones each held one under, with fifteen pounds of water each taking about five minutes to fill up.
That's when he heard the growl, and looked off to the side just as a large beast came charging from the water. Naruto's azure eyes widened as he jumped back. Forming a hand seal just as the reptilian beast's massive jaws clamp down on him. In an exchange of high speed, one of the humps, his own, was changed with him. The freshly gotten goods spilled out as the beast chumped down, destroying it. Naruto growled out with anger as he readied his weapon.
He failed to notice one of those beast swimming toward him from the deeper water of the oasis. However, when it leapt up to capture him, its webbed hands reached out and threatened to ensnare him. A loud bang rang out!
BANG!
Red, he saw red, when the blood the beasts sprayed out from it's head from the high caliber round impacting it. These weren't Grimm, whatever they were, these animals! Naruto took a moment to step back as the beast came into better view. It had the head of a crocodile, but it lacked hind legs, and had catlike front paws that it dragged itself with.
It hissed at him, raising a barbed tail out of the water before trying to spear him. Naruto blocked it with the wakizashi form of his weapon, Hiruzen, whilst using the scabbard to block a third beast's tail. Luna shot another round off, this time it impacted the first's tail, sheering it off and making it scream out in pain.
"What are these things, ya know?!" Naruto screamed out in bewilderment whilst dodging a fourth leaping out at him from the darkness as his clones retreated with the humps. "I'm outta here, cover me!"
Luna loaded another round, shooting the fourth beast in the head as it tried to get Naruto with a stinger. It seemingly grazed his shoulder, but luckily, didn't puncture him. Naruto leapt up, and Aurum fired off the engine as it blasted them toward a dune in the darkness.
After they took flight, Luna lowered herself down into the main area of the makeshift airboat.
The blonde shinobi was breathing hard, his wound already closing up. "What were those things, they weren't Grimm?!" Naruto almost screamed out, feeling his heart race. "Damn it, that was scary, they just came out of nowhere!"
"Mud Dreki, they must've been nesting in the waters of that Oasis. I guess, now, we'll call it Dreki Oasis, sheesh." Aurum looked at the wound on Naruto's shoulder as it finished healing. "They usually don't attack so viciously, must've been recently skirmished by some Grimm I Think."
"You think, crap I think it got some venom in me!"
"Alright, settle down, their not really venomous. Those barbs are probably used for hunting any sort of water born frogs, or unfortunate desert creature coming in from the sands for a drink." Aurum looked at the wound closer, despite it just appearing as a red blemish on Naruto's skin. "Nah, no poison, but their presence is good…it means the water's fresh and not poisonous."
Kihana was already drinking greedily from her hump, sucking down the fresh oasis water. "Whew, and here I was wanting some Dreki tea." She took a moment to look at Luna who was also drinking greedily, and then using some water to start some MREs for them to eat. "Look, our sniper and medic is also a chef for us."
Luna rolls her eyes, "keep it up, and I'm getting you the meatloaf one. They suck." The sniper started before finishing Kihana's MRE. "Here, fresh pork tenderloin…and I use fresh as liberally as possible."
"Meh, I'm too hungry to refuse." The badger faunus sighed before she looked over at Aurum who was preparing his MRE along with Naruto's. "So, this is the Oasis we found the other day. Means we've already traveled two hundred something miles…not too bad."
"If we keep this up, we'll be at Kuo Kuana in about five days." Aurum stated, and finished prepping his meal along with Naruto's. "You're going to immediately need surgery."
"No crap, goldilocks." She leaned on her side whilst weakly shoving food into her mouth, swallowing before speaking again. "So, Naruto, you said something about a giant toad with a bad attitude?"
"Oh, yeah, that's Chief Toad. His name though is Gamabunta." Naruto rubbed the back of his head before grabbing a spoonful of pasta and putting it in his mouth. "Yuck, what the heck is this?"
"That's alfredo," Aurum stated whilst eating a burrito. "I heard it's good."
"Yeah, no, they were lying…trade?" Naruto offered up.
"Nope."
"Damn it, oh well, gotta do what ya gotta do, ya know!" Naruto took a moment and smiled. "So, we're not done about the whole using me as a weapon thing, ya know."
"I know kid, but just please trust us to have your back." Aurum implored lightly before stretching. "No matter what, I promise, our lips are sealed until you want to reveal it yourself."
"Are you just saying that because Kihana threatened to cut your tongue out?" The shinobi inquired slyly.
"Pfft, not really, my daughter thinks I'm annoying. I'm pretty sure Kihana would be doing her a huge solid." The mechanic joked whilst looking over at the badger faunus. "Right, Kihana?"
Kihana was slightly shaking, with her head leaning back.
"Kihana?" Naruto noted foam rising from her mouth. "Kihana!"
"She is having seizure! Naruto grab me that leather glove!" Luna shouted, and grabbed it out of the air as Naruto tossed it over to her. She opened Kihana's mouth, shoving it in there to keep her from biting her own tongue off. "Damn it, this isn't good…I have to use my semblanc-ack!"
No sooner had she begun using her semblance, Luna's right side near her spleen lit up in pain. She reached over, raising Kihana's armor and shirt, revealing a massive dark bruise over where her spleen was. Naruto and Aurum looked at one another, both unable to understand clearly what it meant.
Luna took a deep breath, feeling Kihana calm down. "So, this isn't great news. Apparently, she's becoming septic. Slowly, thanks to her aura, but she's not going to last the five days…" the medic took a minute to stop her semblance. "Naruto, I need you to please help me."
Naruto crawled over to her, holding his hand out. "I'll do my best to withstand it, but do what you can to keep her alive." The blonde felt the white-haired faunus grab his hand. "I can take it, at least some of it, so c'mon ya know."
Aurum watched as the faint glow of Luna's aura slowly entered Naruto. Almost immediately, the kid doubled over in pain as color began to return to Kihana's face. Aurum wanted to offer to take his place, but he knew that the boy's healing factor would keep from any true lethal damage taking place.
No boy should be doing this, Sienna had made a terrible judgement call by allowing him in. Slowly, he saw a trail of blood leave Naruto's mouth as Luna finished using her semblance to heal Kihana a little bit in exchange in doing some damage to herself and Naruto.
Kihana was passed out on the floor, with Luna rolling her back in as Naruto lifted his shirt up. Aurum saw the large bruise forming exactly where Kihana's had been on his back. Weak, and wobbly, the blonde Jinchuuriki took a moment to lurch over the side and vomit out his meal.
"I think I'm gonna go nap, wake me…when…" Naruto's eyes rolled back before he passed out on the floor. Luna, who just gotten Kihana into the shade crawled over to him, began to drag him in there as well. She heard him mumble, and breathed hard for a moment. "Pervy Sage…please…give me my wallet back…"
Sighing, Luna looked over at Aurum. "I regret joining this crew if the rest of them view Naruto as weapon. Never have I met someone who willing puts themselves into pain just to give others comfort." She shook her head, and covered him with the blanket they had found in their scavenging prior to taking a off a few days ago. "Is there anything he can do to get out?"
"He has to officially be released by a tribunal before his time." Aurum stated before crossing his arms, "unfortunately, Sienna Khan is on said tribunal, along with Fjall."
"Who is Fjall?"
"Only the biggest bootlicker in Sienna's group. She says jump, he asks how high, even Bjorn doesn't like him." The mechanic hissed whilst looking forward, past the starry night sky. "Naruto was tricked into this, because he thought he was getting asked to do good things, and now…now he probably hates our guts."
"If he hated us, I have feeling he'd just leave us out here." Luna offered up before sighing, rubbing her arm. "Who am I kidding, this kid even if he hated us would still be in the trenches with us."
"Loyalty, I guess that's his best quality." Aurum then rubbed his chin before sighing. "That and the brazen acts of kindness to his own detriment."
"Hopefully, when we make it back, everything just goes away. I mean, we are not actually going to tell Sienna about him…right?" Luna inquired.
"No, I would never betray him like that." Aurum assured her before smiling softly. "I guess that means I'm putting in retirement soon, because this isn't The White Fang, when I joined…we didn't do this."
"All my parents ever talked about was the good things The White Fang could do…but never talked about what they were becoming." Luna said lowly before taking moment. "When we get back, Aurum, what is the first thing you're going to do?"
"I'm gonna hug my daughter, and cry."
{Belladonna Estate.}
[Around The Same Time.]
Cloud Honeysuckle of all people was currently sitting at a table, a lonely table. He was drinking aware a bottle of wine. His eyes puffy from sobbing, whilst he was supposed to be relieved of duty for the day, he still chose to come to The Belladonna Estate to mourn the loss of Naruto Uzumaki.
"Doesn't make any sense anymore, it really doesn't." He muttered under his breath before taking another swig of the nearly empty bottle he had bought on the way here. "I grow attached to someone, and they end up kicking the bucket on me…and the only question is why?"
Ghira was standing behind him, listening to him. He sighs before walking forward, and sitting in front of the younger man. "Cloud, are you on duty right now?" he asked calmly.
"No sir." The guard briefly replied before finishing the wine bottle. "I'm just here, trying to make sense of it all."
"It never makes sense." Ghira stated before reaching, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I forgive you, for the outbursts, and the cursing toward me. I forgive you, because it is the right thing, we are all in mourning."
"Do you forgive yourself?" Cloud bluntly asked.
"I…don't ever think I can, Cloud." Ghira honestly admitted before looking down to the side. "Kali is beside herself, she's asleep, having cried herself to it's embrace. I'm unable to sleep, because I keep thinking I'll here Naruto trying to…trying to sneak out of his room to the garden. I caught him some nights, just…looking at the plants and fireflies at night." The older man shook his head, and sighed. "He always said that fireflies were something liked, even back in his village. Always talking to each other, literally being the light of someone's life."
"That kid could be the densest bonehead in the world sometimes, and then there's times I had to take a doubletake. Naruto always embodied passion, there was nothing he ever did half measured. It was all or nothing, and it was glorious to see him actually take the time to think of his words before saying them. Could've grown up to be a damned good poet." Cloud took a deep breath, and shuddered lightly. "Could've grown up to be anything he wanted, and there was little he couldn't become. The kid may not have been great at books, but he was getting there. He told me that our culture, our books, interested him more than his own world's. In fact, I caught him writing in a journal."
"Journal…I didn't know he had a journal." The Belladonna patriarch was surprised by the news. "I…looked through his room for things, and never found it."
"Ah, yeah, he had it in a scroll…equipment scrolls I think." Cloud lifted the bottle and peered into it, seeing a very limited amount left. "To the Gods his words go then, may they delight in all of their meaning, and may they too mourn like us mere mortals."
"You're drunk." Ghira sighed before watching the man finish the little bit left. "Cloud, please, get some rest."
"I'm gonna head to garden first. Those primroses that you planted for him need some tidying." Cloud stumbled lightly before hiccupping a little bit, and turned to Ghira giving him a sad smile. "You loved him, didn't you?"
"Like a son." Ghira answered before lightly crying. "I'm proud of him, if he fought to the bitter end, I'm proud of him."
"So am I, Chief Ghira, so am I.' Cloud stated before walking downstairs slowly, slightly stumbling toward the kitchen. He heard the door close, and sighed before quickly following behind whoever was outside now.
He opened the door, and walked outside whilst closing it lightly.
Blake Belladonna was sitting outside in her father's garden.
The shattered moon hanging high above the night sky. Painting the dark blue sky with silvery light. She took a moment to wipe her irritated eyes, sniffling lightly as she rubbed errant tears away. Her lip quivered before she took out a book, one that they both had begun reading. "The Girl Who Fell Through The World" a story that Naruto felt a very personal connection to.
Biting her lip, she slowly opened the book. Sighing, shuddering even before just closing it again. Taking a deep breath, she talked to the air in front of her. "How do you bury someone with nothing to bury? I…" She stopped herself just shaking her head, and sighing. "What's the point of trying to talk to you, you're not here, you can't hear me."
Unbeknownst to her, Cloud had followed her out of the house, and was standing off to the side. listening to her. He himself had puffy red eyes, and bloodied knuckles from where he had punched the wall of the garden so many times when breaking down. He took deep breaths, listening to his charge let out her own pain.
"I never understood why you attached yourself to my parents so quickly. How you…you just seemed to be always smiling despite the things you talked about. You made my mother smile, my dad smile, and yeah…even I smiled at your antics. You were always so loud, boisterous, full of…of…light. Yeah, that's the only way I can describe you, really…a living personification of light. A star pretending to be a boy, the sun made human." Blake continued before holding her book tight. She smiled whilst feeling fresh tears leak out of her eyes. "I'd wish you could hear this, but you can't…you're gone…you're dead. There's no second chances, there's no future, there's only you and the desert winds."
The cat faunus took a moment to adjust herself in the gazebo. Looking out at where the tiles were still cracked in some places. Forever a reminder of where he had fallen. "For the longest time, for a while, I thought you were some sort of villain…and yet you only ever showed kindness to us all. I never openly told you, but you were an amazing cook…ya know." She tried his catchphrase before starting to sob. "Adam tells me I need to be strong, that this'll pass like all loss does. Naruto…I…I just wished that I could tell you that I'm so sorry for the way I treated you when we first met, if I could do it all over again, knowing what you'd been to us…I'd…I'd been nicer…I…miss your stupid laugh." The girl found levity in that comment and continued. "That stupid smile, those stupid catchphrases, and pranks you pulled on some people around the house. Mom got on you about it, but when you were gone, she'd laugh…I'd laugh."
Blake looked at her book, and then smiled sadly at it. "I don't know what character you fit the most, honestly. You were like The Rusted Knight, but you were also like Alyx. A combination of the two, I suppose. Still, I…don't know what death is like, do we all just go to The Ever After? Is it even a place?" The girl brushed her hand over the book before sighing. "I wish you could talk to me, because I know under all the goofiness was someone who thought deeply about things, who never missed a detail on how someone felt…and I can only say thank you for everything." The girl stood up before walking out of the gazebo and then around toward a small flower which had begun to grow.
She slowly, but surely dug up the dirt with her hands, and then placed the small storybook in the small hole. "We planted this in your memory, hopefully this gets to you on…on the other side." Blake broke down as she sat on her knees, sobbing whilst her tears impacted on the flowers they had planted.
Primroses, yellow in color, some blue, some even a mix of yellow and blue.
Blake jerked up when she heard someone, and turned to see Cloud walking over to her. Sitting next to her, looking at the flowers, the man looked like he had been crying. "What a beautiful way to remember someone, Lady Belladonna." He stated before patting the dirt. "Do you mind if I sit and mourn with you?"
"I don't mind it all Cloud, you and he became close friends despite how you began." Blake chuckled lightly despite her sadness. "I can remember you screaming about your ankle."
"Heh, well, someone has to remember Naruto Uzumaki's little nickname. Gods, that pose he did was so horrible, and awkward." The guard laughed a little before getting out his scroll, and playing a song on it. It was much more somber, almost soft, and it had a female singer on it. "This was kind of his favorite guilty pleasure song."
"I know who that is, that is Aqua Hikaru." The youngest Belladonna realized before smiling. "I never pegged him as someone who was into anything but rock or metal."
"Hey, he did like that stuff, but he loved pop too. He was a basket full of weird, nice-weird though." Cloud started before sighing, and looking down. "I'm sorry for the other day, about me and your father…"
"It's fine, we were all hurt." She forgives him before taking a deep breath. "Cloud, do you ever get the feeling that somewhere, deep inside of you, you know someone's still out there?"
"All the time, I never really told you my story, haven't I?" Cloud asked her.
"No, you haven't…" Blake took a moment to look at him, and then smiled despite the tear stains on her cheek. "I…was a horrible person for not hearing Naruto's story earlier- "
"You weren't horrible, none of that. You're a kid, you make mistakes, you grow from those mistakes. A lot of people put undue pressure on kids nowadays, expecting to grow up or own up to matters on feelings to which they barely understand themselves." Cloud chided her briefly before sighing, and smiling. "So…my story is a bit of a sad story."
Blake smiles lightly before looking at the makeshift remembrance for Naruto. "If he heard it, I want to hear it too."
"Okay, so…back when I was younger, I was smitten on this one girl named Tifa…"
End Of Chapter.
Trivia.
This chapter marks the first time we are revealed Cloud's last name.
Caspian doesn't follow color naming rule since he existed prior to use.
Primeval Grimm are meant to be the basis for each almost all other Grimm designed after.
The reason Naruto doesn't summon any toads is revealed in this chapter, a call back to a previous chapter where he barely stopped himself from doing so.
The Girtablilu by size is almost as tall as Gamabunta, but wider.
Preview (since I'm taking longer, might as well tease you.)
Naruto dodged to right as a bone spear impacted near him. He growled out as the massive insectoid Grimm chittered. He knew that if this continued on, and if Aurum couldn't do what he needed to do, they were dead! With that in mind, the Jinchuuriki found himself slowly gathering his anger inside of him, and growling.
His azure eyes becoming a blazing crimson as more of the insectoid Grimm came just over the dune.
"It's all, or nothing, and I'm not letting you hurt my them!"