A Maelstrom's Tale
Chapter 13: Training and Memories
Somewhere in Ebott Forest close to the mountain, we focus on a medium sized clearing where we find Naruto along with Frisk, Nikan, Asriel and Red while Undyne, Alphys, Papyrus and Sans are there for their camping/training trip.
Undyne stepped and stood with her hands on her hips in akimbo then puffed up her chest as she spoke "Alright you little punks, you've signed up for Undyne Ultra Mega Boot Camp to become the best you can possibly be…hope you can survive the experience!"
Naruto quirked an eyebrow in mild confusion "You got the line from a cartoon show and parodied it, didn't you?"
"Um, well…it sounded pretty cool when I heard it," Undyne rubbed the back of her head sheepishly then she snapped back into focus.
"So, what will we be doing?" asked Asriel politely.
"Why else but to put your bodies to the maximum and unleash your potential in magic!"
"But I thought humans can't use magic?" asked Frisk, feeling a bit confused.
"Actually, humans can use magic. They used to do so in the past, but it seems like the usage and knowledge of it deteriorated as time went on and became more reliant on technology. Even so, the potential lays dormant until it is accessed by the Determination," Alphys explained.
"Determination, you mean that power that Frisk, Nikan and I had been using?" asked Naruto curiously.
"It's basically a power that defies fate and capable of warping the very reality for its own purposes. Both humans and monsters possess Determination, however the former contain large amounts of it and the latter do not have sufficient physical matter to take in large amounts and end up melting away,"
"And from the looks of things, you three have already unlocked your potential after what you've gone through when you were in the Underground. That just quickens things a bit, now show me what you punks can do," said Undyne.
The trio hummed softly before Naruto spoke up "Well, I've learned how to use the Determination to boost my physical capabilities and enhanced my bokken whilst using as ammo with the gun," then he channeled his Determination with his left eye glowing with a white fiery aura as he held out his bokken with it being enshrouded in a similar aura.
Frisk spoke next "I can also do the same like Naruto and I learnt how to create shields to protect against attacks too," she held her hands before her to project a circular shield of energy then manipulated it into a dome with her inside of it.
Asriel was the last to speak "Well, I know how to use fire magic and a couple of magic attacks that I created some time ago," he conjured multiple fireballs to float around him and created a Chaos Saber albeit a bit smaller compared to when he was in his Hyperdeath form. Apparently, Asriel can use some of his attacks but were toned down by a lot.
Undyne nodded in understanding "Looks like you three already have a bit of a start, that's good! Now to get you through the necessities then we'll start on learning new magic!" she turned to Red and spoke to her "We'll also continue with your training, I recall that you've yet to summon your guardians,"
Red nodded in affirmation whilst Frisk looked excited and Asriel seemed to be okay with it at least. Naruto was about to say something when the book tethered to his foreman started glowing then hovered into the air whilst extending the chain to open up and flip through the pages before stopping much to the surprise of everyone.
"What's this all about?" asked Undyne.
Alphys hummed in thought "It's like I theorized; the book possesses sentience and chose Naruto to be its owner, given that it's currently tethered to his arm and had refused to let go since then,"
"Then why is it acting so strangely all of a sudden?" Papyrus queried.
"My best guess is that it must have reacted to when Undyne spoke of magic spells and wanted to show him what it contains relating to that,"
Naruto looked through the current page with concentration before speaking "She's right, I'm seeing something called glyphs,"
Frisk blinked in confusion "Glyphs?"
"According to the definition, it says that glyphs are magical symbols that contain arcane energies that serve as embodiments of all living things. These magic seals can be used for many purposes, such as casting elemental magic spells, summoning creatures to assist in combat, materializing weapons from thin air, and even transforming the user into a variety of creatures,"
"That sounds so cool, maybe you can turn into a dragon and stuff like that!" said Asriel with growing excitement.
Naruto turned a page to see artistic symbols as well as their functions and effects, from what he's reading, the glyphs are categorized into two forms; Main and Sub. The Main glyph is often applied to the back or chest while the Sub glyphs are applied to the arms or legs. The Sub Glyphs are meant for offensive attacks and the Main Glyph on the back supportive skills, such as maneuvering spells, transformations, summoning creatures, or temporary boosts.
"True, but it might take a while until I figure it out," said Naruto thoughtfully.
"In that case, we'll move on to something far more interesting. A game of 'Capture the Flag'!" said Undyne excitedly.
"Um, how do we do that?" asked Frisk curiously.
"Papyrus and I will be guarding a flag which you three should try to take from us and carry back to your zone while protecting it from us until the time's up," Papyrus held up said flag albeit having a picture of said skeleton much to Undyne's chagrin.
"I the Great Papyrus eagerly await to test your mettle!" said Papyrus excitedly.
Naruto smiled and brandished his bokken "Alright then, I'm good to go!"
"I-I'll do my best!" said Asriel eagerly.
Frisk nodded in agreement "Me too!"
"Arf Arf!" Nikan called out, not wanting to be left out.
Undyne nodded in approval "Alright then, let's set up the place,"
They set up the arena with Undyne and Papyrus at one end of the clearing with the flag behind them while Naruto along with Frisk, Asriel and Nikan were at the other end of the clearing, waiting for Alphys to give the signal.
Meanwhile, Alphys had set up a laptop from a safe distance and deployed a drone to hover overhead and begin recording "A-Alright everyone, the training begins…now!"
Music Start: Kingdom Hearts 2 OST; Working Together
"Azzy, take point!" Naruto called out as he channeled Determination throughout his body for his next action.
"Right!" Asriel waved his hands to conjure multiple fireballs around himself before launching them towards Undyne and Papyrus.
The aspiring skeletal knight sharply raised his hand to summoned a wall of large bones from the ground to block the fireballs before bringing it down to reveal Undyne having conjured magic spears before launching them at the kids.
"I got this!" Naruto dashed forward at the spears and deflected them skillfully with his bokken without stopping, rapidly drawing closer. Undyne formed a spear and stood at the ready when Naruto suddenly stabbed the bokken into the ground and dragged it along before yanking it out and throwing up a cloud of dust.
"What the?" Undyne was taken aback by the sudden action, having expected Naruto to engage her in close combat when she suddenly heard Asriel's voice call out.
"Shocker Breaker!"
Undyne's eyes widened before grabbing Papyrus and leaping away right as colorful bolts of lightning shot down from above and struck where they once stood, darting about as additional bolts continued to attack. The bolts soon stopped and Undyne looked to see that Frisk had grabbed the flag and was running back to her team's territory to stake it there.
"Oh no you don't!" Undyne placed Papyrus down and lunged at Frisk to stop her but Naruto suddenly appeared before her and clashed against her spear with his enhanced bokken.
"I won't let you!" Naruto pushed back to hold her at bay.
Undyne urgently called out "Papyrus, don't let her get away!"
"At once!" Papyrus waved his hand to create walls of bones to surround Frisk and restrain her movement "Now, may you surrender the flag to me?"
"Um…," Frisk looked rather hesitant to comply when suddenly a blur came out of nowhere and slammed strongly in Papyrus, knocking him down and revealing to be Nikan.
"Arf!" the wolf pup barked, his tail wagging happily.
"Frisk, I'm going to get you out! Shield yourself!" Asriel held his hands close together to form a sphere of magical energy "Star Blazing!" he flung the sphere high into the air as it burst apart to unleash a hailstorm of starshaped projectiles. Frisk quickly protected herself with a Shield of Determination to protect herself as the bones around her shattered to pieces and Papyrus had to use his bones to defend himself.
"Thanks Asriel! Come on, Nikan!" Frisk ran back towards her area with Nikan scampering next to her.
"Dang it, now way I'm gonna let us lose!" Undyne released a burst of strength to shove Naruto aside and dashed towards Frisk to intercept her.
Naruto quickly got up and chased after her with his Determination to enhance his speed and rapidly caught up with her. He reared his bokken back in preparation to strike at her legs and trip her up when something flashed in his eyes which caused him to react strangely, then he suddenly changed tactics and overtook Undyne to block her off as Frisk finally reared their territory and stabbed the flag into the ground then conjoining with Asriel to form an energy shield to block Undyne and Papyrus off akin to a makeshift fortress.
"The game is over; Naruto and his group are the winners!" Alphys declared.
Music End
"Alright, we won!" said Asriel happily.
"Nicely done, just like we had planned," said Naruto in approval catching Nikan in his arms when the wolf pup leapt into his arms to lick his face.
Frisk nodded in response "It was thanks to you Naruto,"
"You truly show the traits of a leader," said Red, having been spectating until now.
Undyne approached them while rubbing the back her head with Papyrus and Alphys in tow "I gotta say, I wasn't expecting you three to win when we hadn't started the real training. Guess it's our fault for not being more serious at the beginning. But this only shows me that your potential is far greater than I thought!"
Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly "Geez, thanks. I'm feeling kinda hungry after all this, let's get some lunch,"
"Me too, I'm starving," Frisk and Asriel were in agreement with the suggestion then everyone started walking towards the camping site.
However, Alphys was rewatching the recording and noticed something odd "That's strange, it looks like Naruto was about to knock Undyne off her feet from behind then decided to block her from up front…I wonder why?"
After a week of training in both physical and magical; Naruto, Asriel, Red and Frisk developed quite well. They could manipulate their Determination much more fluently; Naruto applied the Main Glyph to his back and the Sub Glyphs to his arms then modified them to be invisible to the naked eye when not in use. Frisk became more defensive and developed various forms of energy shields to defend herself and others at various ages, she was also learning healing techniques from Alphys. Asriel was getting better with his original spells and that of his parents' fire spells, placing himself in the position of being a long-range combatant but was taking some lessons from Naruto in the use of his Chaos Sabers. Red was halfway through with her own training as she managed to summon a guardian to fight alongside her but has yet to summon a second which Undyne seeks to rectify.
The group were currently departing from the Ebott Forest and heading back home, but there was something rather awkward going on and everyone were looking at the subject of the matter at hand who was none other than Naruto. The young blonde was walking down the mountain path with an expression on his face that is hard to read, he had been getting this look on his face several times during training and tries to hide it from them much to their growing worry.
No longer wanting to keep being silent, Asriel spoke "Um Naruto, are you doing okay?"
Naruto turned to Asriel with a grin and his eyes closed "I'm okay, Azzy. Just got something on my mind, nothing for you to worry about," he walked further ahead of the group.
Frisk frowned at the sight of this "He's been doing this several times this week, Naruto says he's fine when he really isn't. why doesn't he want to talk to us about it?"
Undyne was thinking the same thing as she recalled what Alphys told her.
"Naruto was about to knock you down from behind when he hesitated and rather chose to defend instead, it's almost as if…he doesn't like attacking even though he's more than capable of doing so," Alphys' voice echoed in her mind.
"And she's right, I paid more attention and noticed that he never makes a move until the enemy moves first. Even when I waited for him to attack, he didn't do so…," thought Undyne.
They soon arrived at Naruto's home to drop him off and Kushina came out to greet them "It's good to see you're back, I hope that your trip went well,"
"Indeed it did, Miss Uzumaki! I, the Great Papyrus has contributed to the growth of these wonderful children!" said Papyrus much to the amusement of the others sans Naruto.
"That's nice to hear, I hope to see you all later,"
Undyne nodded in response "You can count on that, now let's get these two back to their home before the queen starts getting worried,"
"R-Right," Alphys blushed at the passion of her girlfriend.
"Very well, let us be off!" said Papyrus, taking the lead before Undyne eventually does.
"We'll see you at school next week, Naruto," said Red.
Naruto smiled a bit and bade them farewell "Yeah, catch you later,"
Kushina noticed the look on her son's face and waited until the others were gone then they went inside "Sochi-kun, is there something wrong? Are you alright?" Nikan pawed at his master's leg in concern, never having seen him like this and frankly isn't liking it in the least.
"Mom, I'm fine. There's nothing to worry about," Naruto spoke without turning to face her.
"Are you sure? You don't look very happy like you usually do,"
"I'm sure, just need some rest and I'll be back to normal," Naruto assured her before going upstairs with a worried Nikan following after and Kushina wasn't convinced at all.
"I haven't seen him like this since…that day,"
That night, Naruto had a dream; He found himself in the front yard of his home where he saw a man with spiky blonde hair standing ahead with his back turned to him before turning around to face him. A smile appeared on Naruto's face as he knew who this man was.
The man smiled fondly at Naruto "Hey there son, how's it going?"
"Great as always now that you're here, dad," said Naruto happily.
Naruto's father; Minato Namikaze tousled Naruto's hair playfully "Glad to hear that, have you been training like always?"
"Every day after school!"
"How about you show me then? If it's good enough, I might just teach you a new technique,"
"Just wait right here, I'll go and get my bokken!" Naruto excitedly ran up to his room and soon returned with his bokken in hand "Okay dad, I'm back with my…huh?" he saw that his father was nowhere to be seen in the front yard.
"Dad, where are you?" he strode forward and began looking around, not noticing that the house behind him was crumbling away into nothingness and darkness was spreading out "Dad? Dad!"
Panic began setting it, Naruto ran about and frantically looked for his father "Dad! Dad, where are you!" the darkness had completely engulfed his surroundings and all he could hear are the echoes of his voice reverberating all over "Dad!"
He suddenly stopped as he noticed that he had been stepping on something wet and his hands felt like they were soaked, he raised them only to see them covered in something horrifying…crimson red blood.
"Ah…Ah...AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Naruto shot up from his bed, breathing heavily with sweat dripping down his forehead. He fearfully raised his hands to see that they were still bandaged with no traces of blood in sight. Taking a few calming breaths, Naruto flopped his head back onto the pillow and stared at the ceiling with a frown on his face. This wasn't the first time he's been having that nightmare; he felt an unwanted memory beginning to surface and quickly shook his head to keep it away before trying another attempt for a peaceful sleep.
The next morning at the dining table, Kushina doesn't need any more convincing that there's something seriously bothering her son given that there were bags underneath his eyelids which told her that he didn't sleep well last night. Said person was currently forcing himself to eat breakfast and refusing to look back at his mother whom he knew was about to query him any moment from now which she did.
"Please Naruto, tell me what's wrong? It obviously bothering you greatly to the point that you aren't getting any sleep," Kushina insisted.
"…it's just some stress which has been building up these days. I'll do some training in the mountains to work it off then I'll be right as rain," Naruto picked up his dirty dishes and went to wash them at the kitchen sink.
"And if that isn't the case?" asked Kushina, her next action depending on his response.
"Then I'll tell you everything…I promise,"
The redheaded mother stood there silently, watching Naruto wash the dishes before letting out a sigh of exasperation "…fine, only because you promised,"
Naruto turned to smile at her a bit "Thanks mom, sorry for making you so worried about me,"
Kushina embraced her son warmly "Don't be silly, it's my job as a mother to worry about you,"
Nodding affirmation, Naruto went up the stairs to his room to pick up his bokken before heading down to the garage to pick up his bike with Nikan hopping into the basket which he had installed for the wolf pup to ride in for the meantime. The duo finally arrived at his usual training area where he set down his bag and went on to do his usual session of Shadow Fighting with an opponent albeit in defense and evasion. As the training went on, Naruto's mind began to wander.
"Why have I been getting these nightmares nowadays, what could have caused them? Could it have been when I went on that training trip with Undyne and the others and had those spars with them?" thought Naruto as he continued to train "It's been making me think of dad more often than before as well as…that day.
He remembered it all too clearly, his father was an agent and known to be one of the very best with 100% success rate in every mission which made Naruto very proud of him but not to the point of being arrogant. That day, Naruto left school and rushed home as he knew that his dad would be coming. When he arrived home, he found Kakashi and Jiraiya comforting a tearful Kushina and there was no sign of Minato which filled him with dread. Both Kakashi and Jiraiya were hesitant to tell him what happened until Naruto practically screamed at them to tell him where his father was…Jiraiya sadly revealed that Minato had been Killed in Action during a mission.
Naruto felt numb and that a part of himself broke, he stumbled out of the house while ignoring the calls from the others as he ran into the city with the weather turning stormy as if reacting to his current state of distress. It was also that day, he did something that traumatized him to the point of become a partial Shut-In and refusing to go to school as well as being unable to attack but rather defend.
He leaned his back against a tree whilst gritting his teeth in growing frustration towards himself and his hands shook whenever he thought to attack, he felt hollow inside like he had lost a major part of who he is. He thought he was getting over what happened ever since he and Frisk helped the Monsters leave Mt. Ebott, but it seems that he was fooling himself. Naruto feels great confidence in others but can't say the same for himself, it could be why he didn't even try to defend himself when Susie had pinned him to the lockers back at school.
"At this rate, how will I be able to protect my loved ones and uphold my dad's teachings? That is if I'm still worthy of them or anything at all," thought Naruto in self-loathing, Nikan whined softly at the sight of his master and went to comfort him.
Suddenly, a black void appeared from out of nowhere much to the shock of both Naruto and Nikan which stepped away in caution but it was for naught as black tendrils of energy shot out of the void and wrapped around Naruto's limbs and proceeded to pull him towards it.
"What the, what's going on here?!" Naruto struggled against his bonds.
"Arf Arf!" Nikan lunged at the tendrils with intent to bite them and help but to no avail as he was smacked away and looked to see his master be pulled into the void with it disappearing soon after much to the wolf pup's horror.
Whining softly, Nikan sniffed around to try and pick up Naruto's scent but wasn't finding which only made him even more anxious. Seeing that there's nothing to do more on his own, Nikan hastily made his way back to the house to alert his master's mom as well as everyone else in hopes that they would find a way to locate Naruto and get him back.
The wolf pup left the area, not sticking around long enough to see a mysterious figure emerged from behind a tree with a thoughtful look on their face.
"This will be interesting, let's see how he fares in a timeline where he'll be forced to take action against someone who shows no mercy. This will definitely make things interesting that for sure,"
This is Hussbek online with the latest chapter, Naruto and co have gone on the scheduled training trip with Undyne intending to train the kids in the use of magic and combat. The mysterious handbook attached to Naruto soon reveals itself to be an ancient grimoire containing magic unknown to many as well as information which many would strive in all their years to obtain. However, something occurred during a spar which caused a sudden change in mood for Naruto as he began to feel rather stressed for reasons concealed from his friends although Kushina seems to have certain suspicions about the origin.
Certain clues have revealed his reason for never attacking and the stress is building up greatly. Naruto goes to his usual training ground to work things out only t be further frustrated at himself. Now a void suddenly appears and pulls him inside to places unknown to anyone except for the mysterious figure who appears to be the instigator. Just where is Naruto going and how will he survive with his current emotional state.
I decided to have Naruto learn magic via the Glyph System from the Castlevania series to see how it will affect the story as it goes. I've given you guys some ideas about why Naruto hardly ever attacks and why he bandaged his hands due to an occurrence in the past but know that he didn't kill anyone, more will be revealed in this arc and how he will interact with the monsters in this one. I'm also closing the poll and the results are in;
Apparently, you guys wish for Ralsei to be a female in this story and it's locked in once I get to the Deltarune Arc. Next story for update is Sky Fox so be sure to look forward to it. Till then, read and review like always.
This is Hussbek from Ghana.
Signing out and staying alive