A/N: Hello, hello~! Can anyone see this? Yes? No? Maybe so?
The site broke down a day or so back night for everyone across the board; major crashes and everything; hopefully the admins have fixed everything up by now; if not, I'm going to seriously consider stepping away and reassessing my path here. Every time a glitch happens -power outage or otherwise- on their end it throws everything I'v set up way out of wack. The stress isn't good for my heart or head, either.
That's not a healthy setup for a writer, let alone someone of my age. Its been doing my head in.
Case in point, had a whole schedule set up, double and triple update days planned, then everything went barmy and shot my inspiration to hell and back. I LOST THOUSANDS OF WORDS. I can't even begin to describe the pain of that. I'm still here, despite the site breaking, and still writing for now. These constant breakdowns are testing my patience...
...but I remain. We'll see where this goes. I've started posting on other sites now as well.
In other news, updates for "One With Spirits", "Scarlet Vow" and "Omen of Change" are being pushed back, their slots being replaced with "Let Them Rot", "Upon My Name" and an unnamed Elden Ring story -Naruto as Morgott- that I'm contemplating. They'll still be updated, mind you, just not as quickly. They're just not as popular compared the rest. Heir of Dragons managed to claw its way out of that pit, and I'd like to think that they will, but I don't have much hope. Dear Consort Eternal might also get pushed back a bit.
Take the World is in a state of limbo; its fate will depend on the reception to the next chapter...which is going to be intense. But onto other matters.
With my fifteen year anniversary on this site finally here, I find myself reflecting on the little things in life. What was once a lazy pastime meant for me and a few friends really grew and evolved over time. There are days when I look back on the last fifteen years here and I wonder if anyone will remember me; if I made an impact, despite never making a single cent on any of these stories. Some days were happier than others, and some stories I enjoyed writing WAY too much; to the point where I'd stay up all night working on them.
And of course, there are times when I look to the future and wonder what will become of things when I'm gone.
Of course, I try not to dwell on the latter overmuch; I'm still alive and still writing. In an ideal world, I'd like to keep doing so for as long as I can. But old age is catching up to me and these days, the world is filled with so much madness and death. Feels like everyone's lost their minds sometimes. Even before that, so many friends and fellow writers I once knew are gone, now. Will I still be here in twenty years? Ten? Five? Its a chilling thought. But for now, I'm still here, still writing.
So here we go. The fate of this story depends on you, the reader. Your feedback determines the fate of this tale, and many others.
I'm just a humble author trying to make his way in this wild, wicked world, one word at a time.
Once more, I own no quotes, references, or memes. Not a wit or a one. NOT! A! THING!
They're all tributes to legends far greater than little 'ol me. Disclaimer over.
Time and feedback will determine if this little ficlet remains a story.
Now comes the long-awaited confrontation with Melina.
Among other things that shan't be named.
I listened to "Hurt" by Johnny Cash while writing this chapter. Really helped set the scenes here. Lyrics fit almost perfectly.
And make no mistake, this chapter doesn't pull any punches.
Quote is edited for the sake of massive spoilers!
"Everyone I know goes away in the end...
~?
Tenth Frenzy (Hurt)
Melina was furious.
Naruto could sense it; taste it in the air; feel the weight of her regard like a physical force pushing down on his shoulders. Frankly it was a miracle she hadn't confronted him yet-one he was thankful for, but still. Even now she glowered at him unseen from her astral form, lone eye smoldering a hole between his shoulders as he stared up at the stars.
A confrontation was coming. It wasn't merely a matter of if, but when, and sooner than he would've liked at that.
Perhaps that was for the best. Better to lance the poison from the wound before it could fester.
...no point stalling, I guess."
He rolled over, ran a hand over Milicent's slumbering face, smiling a little now as she hummed in her sleep. Her body curled against his, skin to skin, soft as sin. She seemed happier now that she'd finally recovered all her memories and ascended. Taller, too. Those wings of her would take some getting used to, but they were a small price to pay if it meant having her back.
Melina's ire spiked in the air, a silent, wordless warning.
Kurama offered the mental equivalent of a shrug. "She's waiting for you."
"I know," he drew himself up with a long-suffering sigh. "This was bound to happen sooner or later."
With a quick flick of his wrist, he sent a shadow clone down to where Hyetta and Sellen lingered at the base of the hill. After a moment's pause, he sent another. It wouldn't do for them to feel left out. And he wanted them very much distracted against what was to come. Milicent remained asleep at his side, to whom he left a third clone to keep watch. His doppelgangers would keep the trio both sated and satisfied while he had it out with his Maiden once and for all-no.
Not his.
Not truly.
Not in this timeline.
His preparations made, he dragged on his tunic, followed by his breeches and armor. The Darkmoon Greatsword was left unsheathed against his back. He watched the light of the rising sun dance across its beautiful blue surface for a moment, idly running a hand across its smooth surface. It brought him some small semblance of comfort.
For a moment, just a moment, he could've sworn he heard a voice. It tickled at the edge of his senses, hauntingly familiar.
Then the Flame flickered anxiously in his chest, cooing like a nervous child and drowned it out. "Alright?"
He gave it a brief psychic pat. "No. But I will be."'
Kurama had no words for him.
He knew what was coming.
They both did.
Drawing himself up, he walked out the ruined church, gathered his legs beneath him...and leaped. It was a quick jump, all things considered. All of Caelid blurred around him, the air briefly boiled as he accelerated rapidly, only to decelerate just as quickly. He crashed down upon another hill, overlooking the ruined town of Sellia. It had been a place of sorcery once, before the rot took it. Even in this timeline it was a desiccated husk of its former self, abandoned by its people and left to fall into disrepair.
An empty, hollowed out place, for two hollowed irony almost made him laugh. "You can come out, now."
The air shimmered not a yard away, gradually taking on human form.
Melina appeared before him in a shower of blue mist.
Naruto knew she would be angry; it was only natural. You couldn't hide a display like the one he'd made. That said, he appreciated her patience. In some small, sad way, he was almost proud of her for doing so, waiting for him to wake and leave the sleeping Milicent behind. She could have attacked them post coitus while they were asleep. But she hadn't.
After all, she wouldn't BE Melina if she had run away from this; if she didn't loathe the Frenzied Flame with every fiber of her being
Night was slowly giving way to dawn; he could see the sun rising in the distance behind her, threading fingers of fire through the sky, against which she stood, a silent scowling silhouette. This might be the last time he ever saw her. She looked so beautiful, downright ethereal in the rising sun. It threaded through her hair and threatened to set it ablaze. For a wild moment it looked like she WAS on fire, sheathed in a cloak of ruddy red flame. In his mind's eye saw her crumble down into so much ash.
Naruto's throat closed and a strange surge of nameless dread overtook him.
He shook his head, trying to throw it off. He'd never seen her burn before, he never would, had done all this for the sole sake of preventing it. She hadn't sacrificed herself at the Forge of the Giants. No. He took a deep breath. He'd prevented that. It would never happen. Neither there, nor here.
Yet he could almost see her doing it now, just to spite him. He beheld the mulish look in her eye, the stubborn set of her jaw, the stance of her legs as she crossed both arms before her chest and glared his way with her good eye. She was going to be difficult about this. He just knew it. In hindsight, it was It had all begun with her, hadn't it? He'd wanted to save her. And now it might end with her. Blue eyes met gold. The latter narrowed upon him as though he were the most vile piece of filth to ever exist, worse than the Dungeater himself. When she finally spoke, the sheer disbelief in her voice stung more than any blade could:
"You...have inherited the Frenzied Flame."
"I have." he nodded once, not deigning to deny it.
Moment of truth. Last time he'd been too shocked to reach time and she'd fled, turning to astral dust before he could grab her. He wouldn't let that happen again.
"Why?"
Why?! Naruto blinked. This was new.
"I would have your answer." Her every word thrummed with subtle menace. "From the moment of our very first meeting, I knew there was something amiss; something wrong with you." she shifted her stance to the left and he matched her instantly. "I chose to ignore it; for I thought it wasn't my place to judge you. Clearly, that was a mistake." When she pivoted an inch to the right, he mimicked that as well, forcing her to be still. "Since our journey together began, I have watched you most closely. Yet you never went to the capital. You did not venture below and seek an audience with the Three Fingers. I know this to be true. Yet you still wield the Flame all the same. How?"
He scratched the back of his head to buy himself precious, singular seconds. "You might not believe me...
Melina's hand fell to her side. "What I believe is irrelevant, Tarnished. I will have your answer."
A rueful smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. "Even if it hurts you?"
...even then."
"I'm not from...well." He began warily, choosing each word with great care. "Not from around here, ya know? I mean, I am, but I'm not, if ya know what I mean-
...that's a pity, then." her face closed down. "You are no longer fit. Our journey together ends here."
A muscle jumped in his jaw. "Oi! Wait just a second-
"And remember," she continued, utterly unaware of the inferno burning his throat. "Should you rise as the Lord of Chaos, I will kill you, as sure as night follows day. Such is my duty, for allowing you the strength of runes. Goodbye, my companion-
"Alright, alright. Don't get hissy." Nothing ventured, nothing gained. "You've been having headaches, haven't you? Migraines. That sorta thing."
She glared at him, still on the verge of leaving, huffy and indignant. "What do you know of such thing, frenzied fool?"
Adorable. He couldn't quite hide his smile. "More than you could possibly know."
The Blade of Calling inched out of its sheathe. "The truth, or I shall leave!"
"I reset the timeline."
He saw her mind fizzle and die for a moment before she master herself. "What?"
"At least, I'm pretty sure that's what I did." he gestured to the rising sun, bathing them in light. "In my era, my first go around, I took the Frenzied Flame to save you. We were in love. And you...you were going to die. For some reason, you'd decided to sacrifice yourself y'see, burn your body and the Erdtree to ashes, for my sake. I disagreed. We argued. I spent days -weeks!- trying to come up with a solution, and I found one.
Her mouth opened and closed, working wordlessly, to no avail.
"You left the moment I took up the Flame, of course." his voice broke a little as he remembered that dark day. "Didn't even give me the chance to explain, ya know? It really hurt me You thought I'd kill the world, but I only burned the Erdtree and myself to ash. I thought it would kill me, but instead I woke up here...and found you again. Just like the first time."
Wind rushed by between them, carrying a dying leaf be in stoic silence, and still she didn't respond.
"Look," Naruto warbled once then immediately cursed himself for showing such weakness, "I have proof that we were together." He conjured a weapon for her from the Flame and watched her eye widened she recognized it. "See? This is the Blade of Calling. Its yours, isn't it? You gave it to me before we started fighting first time round. Said I could return to you when I decided to become Elden Lord. Well, I'm giving it back to you now. I'm going to do things right, this time. I'm going to save everyone. Including you.
He knew how her mind worked. She was logical. Surely she would see. There was no other like the dagger in the Lands Between like the one she wielded, right down to the grooved notch near the hilt. He'd presented the facts to her, left them at her feet, and waited for her to pick them up.
Melina took a deep breath and looked him in the eye. "You burned the Erdtree."
"I did." Yes! She was listening.
Her eye narrowed. "You stole my purpose."
"I did-wait, no." he held up a hand to ward off her thunderous expression. "That was for a good cause-
"A good cause?" His response set Melina off; she moved to circle him and he found himself mirroring her. In an instant, they were slowly circling one another like two predators. "You stole the reason for my birth, for my very existence, and call it a good cause?"
"Yes!" He reached for her. "If you'd just let me explain-
Her blade flashed out, slicing open his hand. "Keep away, Tarnished. If that is indeed what you are."
He'd been dreading this. She hadn't reacted well in the last timeline and she looked fit to try and kill him now.
"Lets just calm down." He massaged his bleeding palm, pushing chakra to the wound to ease it shut. "Here," he held it out to her. "Take my hand. I'll show you. Then you'll understand."
Melina stepped back. "I have no desire to touch one such as you."
His soul ached horribly at the words yet he stood his ground; to take his eye off her now would give her a chance to bolt. She hadn't given him the chance to explain last time; she'd been so quick to condemn, refusing to give him a chance, all because he'd deprived her of her purpose. That purpose wasn't to die, no matter what she might think!
"That's...fair." Naruto lowered his palm. "I've given you a lot to unpack, believe me, I know. But I'm gonna have to insist. I swore I'd save you back then, and I will."
"Oh yes, you saved me...by denying me my reason to exist!" here at last, the Kindling Maiden's voice piqued with frustration. "My task was not yours to take!"
"That's what you're hung up on?!" He flung up his arms, trying to contain his anger. "Find another reason to live! You almost did back then!"
Melina skittered back out of his grasp and he let her, not wanting to hurt her. "I have no other reason!"
Naruto walked warily after her with slow, steady steps. "I can be that reason, if you'd just listen."
"So you say." she edged away again. "I have no reason to trust thee. I scarcely know thee."
For crying out loud...!
His temper was getting the better of him, he could feel it. He'd tried to be calm. Tried to be patient. Yet now that he had explained himself, now that he'd told her the truth and all he'd sacrificed for her, she had the nerve to get angry with him? Did she even consider that he might be angry, too? Perhaps that wasn't wise. But he wasn't feeling wise at the moment. He was emotional. Angry. Irked. Furious. How dare she look at him with her face and judge him. She insisted on being difficult. Maybe he should just make her remember, but the way she was looking at him.
...you hypocritcal bitch."
She sputtered indignantly. "I beg your Pardon?!"
"You heard me!" he thrust a finger in her face, teeth flashing, eyes glowing gold. "Everything I did, I did for you! From the very beginning! Here I am, offering you a way out, and you're getting caught up on possibly THE most pointless thing!"
"My purpose was not pointless!"
"It was then and it is now!" his words smashed her argument down, stamped it down, and drove it into the dirt, heedless of the whimper she made. "You don't live just to perish! That ain't a life! Find another purpose! Kill the old one if you have to! Let it die!"
"Listen to yourself!" she snapped back. "This is precisely why I would ask that you cease! The Frenzied Flame is not to be meddled with, no matter its form! It is pure Chaos, devouring life and thought unending. However ruined this world has become, however mired in torment and despair, life endures. Births continue. There is beauty in that, is there not? Yet you would deny this notion! You think you have control, but it will control you! You claim to have left the future untouched, but for all I know, its brought you here to burn the world and redeem its failure the first time!
"You're being paranoid! Here!" He snatched at her wrist. "Remember!'
"No!" she slashed at his I don't want to!"
It didn't work.
Although the Flame licked at her arm, he saw only confusion in Melina's eyes.
She didn't remember a thing.
He let her go, stunned.
"Filthy brute." she spat the word at him, rubbing at her wrist as she retreated. "You have spent your life on a crusade of which I was entirely unaware, that did not affect me at all." her blade warded its way between them. "All of that time, you stopped nothing for me. While I prevented you from doing everything. I do not know you, foul Tarnished." he winced at the words, but she wasn't finished twisting the proverbial knife. "I have not the slightest desire to know thee." she gripped her head, growled, and shook another headache back as he looked on. "You took everything from me!"
"I SAVED YOUR LIFE!"
Her blade came up, tickling his chin. "It was not yours to save!"
"What're you going to do then, kill me? Fine. You can have it all." He held out his arms and spread them wide. "My empire of dirt. Go right ahead. Its not worth having without you."
A host of different decisions danced across Melina's face. He prayed she would listen to them as much as her heart. That she would remember. Maybe it was just a delay. Unlike the others she was likely still alive when he "died" the first time around, so maybe her memories of the past were on a lag or some sort. He didn't want to contemplate the notion that she might not remember, that he might've made a terrible mistake.
She lowered the Calling Blade and took a step forward, face calm, emotions kept on a tight leash, emotions tamped down so far he couldn't sense them.
"I remember now," she said suddenly. "I know what I must do. Thank you for giving me the strength I needed."
Her hand came up to cup his cheek, fingers stroking his whiskered face oh so gently.
Relief bloomed in his chest. "You're welcome. I knew you'd come around."
Pain seized his joy and strangled it.
Naruto looked down and found her blade jutting through his heart. He could feel it tickling his back, which meant she'd probably run him clean he'd let her, trusting that she wouldn't hurt him.
More fool he.
This wasn't his Melina.
He could see it now, clear as day.
He'd wanted to hope, to believe, but no, she really was trying to kill him. More than that it hurt; not just his heart, but his very soul.
"Lord of Frenzied Flame." he looked down to find Melina's face carved from stone. "I will seek you as far as you may travel, kill you as many times as I must...to deliver you what is yours. Destined Death."
He grunted in pain as Melina twisted the blade in his chest. The Flame wailed within him and blasted her backward in an explosion of yellow fire. She righted herself, clothes steaming, hair singed, lone eye glaring back at him, filled with so much pain and hate. He backpedaled and she gave chase, trying to take his head; missing by the merest of margins. Stray strands of golden hair fluttered to the ground in his wake. He readied himself to strike back...but couldn't.
"Mel, please." he raised both hands instead. Y"ou don't wanna do this...
"Be silent!"
She gave chase; her Blade of Calling graced his cheek with a steely kiss, then his arm, followed by his chest ever staying close to him, never giving him time to think, much less focus. He was faster and stronger than her, bigger too, but this was the face of someone he'd once loved, and still did, despite all the pain she'd caused him. He couldn't bring himself to kill her, and she knew it.
He could only retreat. She had no such compunction. None whatsoever.
Finally he had to draw the Darkmoon Greatsword and block just to avoid losing his head; the moment he did so, Melina she crossed blades with him, forcing a brief deadlock. She weaved a web of steel between them and he danced on its strings out her reach before clashing blades with her once again again. It was the simplest thing to overpower her one-handed and though she seemed startled, she didn't yield.
"When I am finished here, I will see to your companions." her very voice vibrated with the promise of violence as she snarled up at him. "All who are tainted by the Flame of Frenzy must be cleansed-
Her head snapped back as his free first caught her face in a whirl of gold. Clenched knuckles barreled into her cheek and sent her sprawling, tumbling to the ground.
...you shouldn't have said that."
She was still reeling when he dropped his blade, caught her by the cloak and reeled her up into a second punch, then a third. She sagged backward with a gasp, folding over him now as a fifth punch barreled into her liver and left her retching for precious oxygen that wouldn't come. His fist found her throat, liver, kidneys until finally the cloth tore in his grasp, freeing her. She landed hard on her rear, wasted and gasping for air. He raised his blade and she struck down, slapping the Calling Blade from her grasp.
"Do it!" She snarled up at him. "Finish what you started! Kill me!"
Naruto was tempted to. This was a mistaking his own making. Why shouldn't he fix it...?
His blade cut down in a baleful arc of blue.
No! The Flame cried out in his chest, stopping him short. No, no, no! No kill!
He tried to move is arm, only to find that Kurama had manifested a golden chakra hand on his shoulder
Melina balked at the sight of it. "What manner of demon is that?!"
Her words broke something deep inside him.
She really didn't remember, did she?
His Melina was truly dead, then.
A deep, shuddering breath...
.
..
...and he stepped back.
"You want to die." he sheathed Ranni's sword with a scowl. "I see that now. But I won't give you that satisfaction. Even if you hate me, you'll be alive to do so. That's victory enough for me."
His peace said, he turned and walked away.
Her voice rose behind him, plaintive and weak. "I hate you...!"
Naruto, paused, looked back over his shoulder and felt his heart break all over again. "You meant the world to me, Melina. I loved you."
The Kindling Maiden tried to stand in vain, only for her legs to buckle beneath her. She screamed at him.
Naruto didn't look back; he marched ever onward.
"Run away, Melina. And never return."
(.0.0.0.)
Run away.
Two little words.
And yet they stirred such fury in her.
It sounded so simple on the surface. Easy, even. He was giving her a chance to walk away. Some might call that kindness. But she knew better. Oh, yes, she did. It was a farce. Just as she feared; no, even worse than she'd dared to dream. He didn't simply bear the Frenzied Flame, he accepted it wholeheartedly. Doubtless he wanted her out of the way so he could burn everything to ash and let chaos take the world. That settled it. He was too far gone. She had to kill him. She must do so, to save the world. She had to.
He had taken her purpose, and so she would take everything from him n turn.
She had to kill him. She needed to. She must!
"You will do no such thing."
An eerily familiar voice -her voice?- drawled in her ear; then fire spiked in her chest. It spread to every corner of her body and she dropped to her knees, clawing at her skull. Tears burned in her eye. She curled inward on herself to no avail; it was everywhere and everything. She couldn't reach for her blade, could barely even breath, such was the heat in her bosom.
"What...is...this?!"
"This is an intervention." the voice came on again, and with it a presence, soundly striking the nerves in her limbs until she collapsed in a boneless heap once more. "I had thought to hold my tongue and let you find your own path, but no more. You have been corrupted by your own paranoia and fear. You shan't touch him. You will not harm so much as a hair on his head."
She tried to rise in vain, her body wouldn't obey. A fresh lash of pain cracked the whip and she buckled with a whimper.
"I shall take matters into my own hands." The scar over her bound eye began to burn as the interloper spoke. "If you won't use MY body properly, then I will in your stead."
A fresh spasm drove her down. "Who are you?!"
Silence held her in its thrall. And then:
"I?" a note of bitter, sardonic amusement crept into the voice. "You already know the answer. I am you. I am she who remains. I am a ruined regretful remnant...and the reason you could not properly remember that which came before. After all, those memories are for the dead, not the living...
Melina could feel something pressing down around her temples, gripping her every thought in vice. She found herself fracturing, cracking, breaking like some sundered vase. And yet she could not speak, could not call for help, couldn't even scream. She could only writhe in pain, each breath more tortured than the last. Not like this. She didn't want to go like this...!
"Last chance. Change your ways, and the two of us may coexist, together, as one."
This was a trick! It had to be! She wouldn't falter! "No! He is evil!" she grit her teeth against the very notion. "The Frenzied Flame must be...extinguished!"
"Foolish slip of a girl; it is you who will be extinguished. I cannot believe I was ever this blind, so bound to dogma. Truly, I never thought I'd be appalled at myself...
Melina tried to hold on. She really did. But she couldn't.
One by one she felt fingers of cold, icy death slip into her mind. It was like something -someone!- was sliding into her skin. It felt like herself. And yet, not herself. Older. Wiser. Colder. And regret. So much regret for her mistakes. Memories flooded her mind and with them emotions, a love so burning and powerful as to transcend time and space. Oh, she realized. The Tarnished was right after all. She'd had been given her chance only to squander it utterly.
She felt her sealed orb snap open of its own accord, shining a furious baleful blue as her true power returned to her.
And with its awakening, the voice passed its judgement. "Vermin, away! Trouble me no more!"
Melina's eyes widened in her final moment. 'Wait-
Her soul shattered. And she arose.
"Wait."
(.0.0.0.)
"Wait."
Naruto froze.
Stiffened now, as Melina rose behind him.
Pivoting on one heel, he reached back for his blade, bracing for another round...but it never came. There was no explosion of power, nor a burst of maddening rage or rot -one could never be too careful- or anything of the sort. Instead he looked on aghast, eyeing Melina as one might a wild animal. Did she still want to fight? Even now?
The Kindling Maiden rose to her feet slowly, thumbing a line of red blood away from her lips.
"Ah." Her voice rang softly as she stood with stiff steps. "That's much better. A perfect fit. Its so nice to be me again."
His heart kicked out against his chest as she raised her head. Her eyes were open, both of them. One was gold, the other cold as night, each looking upon him not with anger or wroth, but silent sadness.
She tilted her head and granted him a soft smile, bright eyes crinkling softly in the firelight. "My dear Tarnished...what have you become?"
Three little words. And they broke him. Shattered him utterly.
The Flame sang happily in his chest. "Home, home, home!"
Kurama hummed his approval. "Sounds like her."
"No." now it was his turn to step back, miming Milicent's words from earlier. "No, no, no. You can't be here. You're not real."
But this wasn't Milicent.
"Not real? Did you hit your head? You look awful." She tutted softly and stepped forward, cupping his cheek with both hands. "See? You're running a fever." she released him, sat down before him, legs folded beneath her, and patted her lap. "Come down and have a rest."
He didn't move. He didn't dare. "This is a dream."
"Is it?" her smile didn't waver. "They say you can't feel pain in a dream...shall we test that?
She grabbed his arm and tweaked the skin there between her thumb and forefinger.
Pain seared through him, hard enough to make him hiss.
"Ow, ow, ow!" he yelped and sat down beside her, rubbing his arm. "I'm fairly certainly this qualifies as spousal abuse.
She muffled his lips with hers and plundered his mouth with her tongue.
His brain fizzled.
"And what of that?" she drew away with a smile.
...it really was her. If this was a dream, he never wanted to wake up.
All the air in his lungs couldn't give voice to the gasp he gave. He was looking at Melina, and yet not Melina, both eyes opened -he'd never seen that before- seemingly ripped right out of the future. Had she somehow shed her old body? Just...jumped into her past one as effortlessly as one might change their cloak?
He wanted to badly, so very badly to believe, but he'd been betrayed once already.
"Prove you're you." He choked the words out. "Tell me something only you would know."
"Very well." Her face dimpled in that slight, sarcastic smile he'd once loved so much and still did. "When we first met, really met, you asked me, and I quote, what the hell is an accord."
His eyes began to burn. "But that would mean you're my Melina. From my timeline...
I am." she folded her scarred hands in her lap. "The same who first offered you an accord." her eyes met his, shining as the sun finally broke across the horizon, banishing the last of the shadows to bathe them in light. "She who fought beside you against Morgott in Leyndell." one palm moved to cup his cheek. "Who wept when you proved me wrong and burned not the world, but the Erdtree. Does that allay your fear...?"
Something hardened in him. "It does, but not my anger.
Her face crumpled. "Naruto-
"No." he held up a finger, silencing her. "You abandoned me. You left me. I became THIS," a quick gesture to his scarred chest, "For you, and you didn't even give me the chance to explain myself! I went through hell! And now here you are, hijacking your own body without so much as an apology...?"
She looked down at her lap. "I AM sorry. Truly For all of it. I know I hurt you dearly."
His anger wavered. It shouldn't be that easy for her. He wouldn't let it be.
A growl rose in his throat. "You have no idea-
"I have every idea." she shook her head, countering him oh-so-softly. "I've been watching you all this time within the Melina of this world, this era, trying to influence her. Make her remember." A small, sad sigh trickled through the morning air, rising as a plume of steam between then. "I heard every word you said to her. Letting her live was a noble thing, but foolish. She never would've stopped hunting you. So I stopped her." her hands steepled and once more, she looked into them. "It became necessary to take over her body and erase her. She will never threaten you again. That is my promise to you."
Naruto felt his heart hitch. "And Ranni?
"I cannot claim to know." The Kindling Maiden -his maiden!- shrugged one shoulder. "She ascended, as you well recall. Perhaps she still remains in some form. If so, I believe she regrets her part in all this, as I do mine. There was life in the old era, for what it was worth, but all was in ruins when you reset the Lands Between, beloved. Perhaps that was for the best."
He wanted to cling to his anger against her. It had given him strength. More than that, the power to endure...
.
..
...he just couldn't.
He rallied one last time. "You left me."
She pressed her forehead to his and kissed him softly, sweetly, lips lingering on his "And I shall never do so again as long as I live, beloved."
"As touching as this is," a new voice intoned, "I believe we should have some say in the matter, my lord."
Naruto looked up, belatedly noticing the new arrivals a moment too late.
Milicent stood over him, with Sellen and Hyetta beside her.
All three of them were glaring at Melina.
"Let's have a chat."
A/N: Aaaand scene.
The fact remains that she and Ranni have a lot of making up to do. They were all that remained by the end, and yet still they abandoned our boy. Naruto's the sort to forgive, but he never forgets.
Hope you enjoyed this chapter!
Really need to hear from you on this; should this stay M-rated or not?
Once more, we're sticking with the "Embers" rule for this particular story, and others.
If folks don't like this, it won't be continued. Meaning that if the story itself ain't popular? Well...it won't continue! I'm working two jobs -might need a third soon!- so I barely have time to write; as such, I cannot afford to write something folks don't enjoy. So by all means, speak up! Your voice matters! Make yourself heard! As ever, reviews are the fuel that sustain me. Without them I cannot write a single word. Simple as that. Working nearly all hours of the day keep me absurdly busy, and I can't bring myself to write something folks don't like.
I hate begging for feedback, but its genuinely all that keeps me going at times.
As ever, reviews keep me alive. Without them, I cannot write.
So...in the Immortal Words of Atlas...
...Review...Would You Kindly? T_T
Here have your previews, wild though they are.
They're mostly the same; wouldn't do to spoil things overmuch.
As ever:
WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!
READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!
SPOILERS AHEAD!
(Previews)
"He might forgive you, but us? Oh, no, no, no. You don't get forgiveness that easily and neither does she.
Follow if you want. If you want a place at his side, you'll have to earn it back."
Melina heaved a sigh. "I knew this would be an uphill battle...
This means war.
Then let war be had!
Papa!"
Naruto wheezed. "Pa...?!"
On a whim, he touched the bloody medallion beneath his chest. There was something he needed to be certain of.
Another way to confirm his theory.
"I'll be right back...
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
"No reason. Regrets. Maybe a few. But don't worry."
The sword sang in his grasp. A headless body hit the floor.
The last thing they saw was his smiling face. "You won't have to worry about anything at all; not anymore...
"What the actual hell."
He vaguely remembered there being dragons here, but this...was not one of those dragon. Nope. Not at all. He certainly didn't remember one talking!
"Begone! I need no mortal aid!"
"Right, then. I'll just leave you to it-
"Wait!"
Gotcha. He paused, smiling in the shadows, feigning ignorance. "Hmmm? What is it? I've got a castle to conquer."
"P-Perhaps I shall deign to allow your assistance." the wyrm raised a wrecked wing and considered him with her good eye, tattered tail twitching painfully behind her. "As you can clearly see, I've landed myself in a bit of a bind after that tussle with Ekzykes. If I lay here to rest, the rot will surely overtake me as it has others." When he didn't answer she barreled on. "I must return to Lady Ranni and make my report, but I cannot do so in this form. Might you spare a few runes?
...Ranni? Color him interested. Still, he wasn't about to let her off that easily. Not after the tongue lashing she'd given him a minute ago.
"You seemed just fine earlier." he thumbed his chin. "I believe the words, I need no mortal aid were used."
The dragonling made a pitiful noise akin to a squeak, but didn't speak.
Naruto's grin grew. "Say please, and I might consider it."
She whimpered. "Please, I beg of thee! Heeelp~!"
"Good girl." He laid a golden hand on her head. "You gotta name?"
"...Smarag."
"Is this all you can do? I am not impressed-
Naruto's head snapped up, eyes bleeding tongues of flame. Open palms swept forth, latching onto either side of their face.
A single word pierced the gloom. "BURN."
Fire flashed. The scent of charred flesh fill the air
His foe toppled back with a yowl, clutching at their ruined visage.
"What chaos is this?! What have you done?!"
"Chaos?" he rasped the word. "No, this ain't a flame of chaos any longer. This is purification."
He grabbed them again, eyes burning gold.
His victim died screaming.
Edit: Hey, you made it! Thanks for sticking around~! Hope this chapter made your day!
Looking forward to chatting with you all when I get back~!
Have a great day, and may it be filled with luck~!
~Nz.