Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Final Fantasy 7. This is a non-profit-based work.
Note: Without saying too much, I just want to explain that the reason I'm not updating as regularly is pretty much just some new medicine I'm on. It's nothing super serious, the side effects are just that I'm extra nauseous and tired all the time in the beginning.
Note for the story: This is a Naruto reincarnated fic, though with a twist. He doesn't have his memories, but instead, he has certain instincts based on things he experienced as a Shinobi, along with dreams for the time being. So, that'll be my explanation as to why he fights/acts the way he does, etc, because of what he instinctively subconsciously remembers about Shinobi.
Important extra note: The timeline is gonna be a bit different, because from what I learned the entire first part of the game only lasts like a week from December 8th to December 14th, at least in the remake of FF7, which is the only one I could get somewhat a timeline of, so with a few changes things are gonna be different in regard to how long certain things take, and how much time passes in between.
If y'all are interested in joining a community of readers and several talented authors, consider joining AizenTheGoat's Discord server.
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-Chapter 1-
Unraveled.
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His glowing blue eyes roamed over the bright city through the window in his quarters as he stood completely still. The gaze was calm yet curious as he gathered his hands behind his back, with the slight reflection in the window panel mirroring his appearance as he looked himself over.
As it was evening, he was just wearing some casual clothes. A long-sleeved black shirt, and a pair of blue pants.
With a deep breath, he relaxed and turned around, figuring it was just about time to leave for his next appointment. Grabbing an ID card from on top of his dresser, he clasped it to the pocket in his pants, the card only revealing the stripe code which carried his clearance level, along with a picture and a name.
Naruto Strife, it read out. The picture revealed a young man with spiky blond locks that framed his face, his practically glowing eyes fixed with a serious look. To finish it off, the corner of the card had the company label.
Shinra Electric Power Company. For almost as long as he could remember, he'd been employed here. Not as a regular office worker, or anything similar for that matter, no… he was a SOLDIER.
Not just any class of SOLDIER, he was one of the few skilled enough to be considered a first-class SOLDIER in the company.
Ever since he was a kid he had dreamt about becoming one and had often preached to his brother and mom about how he'd become the best and bring honor to his family name.
'By becoming the very best, like no one ever was. That'll be my real test, and thus I'll keep training and travel across the land as a SOLDIER.' He thought to himself as he wiped his thumb over his ID card.
Those had been the words he'd spoken to his family about his dreams, well, the words he had used when they were still alive.
It had to have been four or five years ago now that his family died, he had received the tragic news from his superior in the public security forces, Heidegger himself. Ever since he had heard that he had thrown himself more into his duties as a SOLDIER.
He wasn't blind, nor stupid, he was more than aware that Shinra often used less than ethical means that he didn't agree with to achieve their goals, but he had stopped caring. As much as he hated to give in to weakness, he felt like a part of himself had died that day.
The space inside of him felt empty, he had loved his brother dearly. The slightly younger boy had often proclaimed the same thing he had, that he'd become a SOLDIER. A hero like Sephiroth.
Naruto chuckled a bit at the memory, and an image of his brother appeared before his eyes. The look that had been on his face, one of the few times they'd met after he enlisted, specifically the look that had come to the boy's face when he had said he had been somewhat mentored by Sephiroth.
Sephiroth had been a good friend, and he had been as great as the stories made him out to be. He would have never been able to become this strong without that man's help, which also made it hurt so much more knowing that he was gone too and not coming back.
Just like his family.
He clenched his fist tightly whilst shaking his head, trying to clear his mind as he waltzed out of his quarters and down the corridors. His face was a familiar one to many, so employees and troopers alike greeted him with respect as he walked past them.
After getting to the elevator, he pressed the down button and leaned up against the cool metal, sighing as he made his way down to the floor of Weapons Development.
It was no secret that he had spent a lot of time down there for a lot of reasons, mostly because he was one of the primary testers of new equipment. Not in the sense that he was a scientist, but he'd often receive upgrades to both his weapons and armor down there to test them for further analysis.
Hearing the metal doors open, he grunted and made his way down to his destination. The metal doors opened in front of him, and he walked into a room filled with scientists and troopers alike all surrounding a large out-of-the-ordinary chair in the middle of the room, in which a woman sat.
Naruto cleared his throat to catch the attention of the individual sitting in said chair, as they noticed his arrival. The woman gave a small smirk and lifted her feet off of the poor infantryman that had been used as a footrest on the floor.
"I see that you made it, on time even." She noted and walked up to him.
This was Scarlet, Head of the Weapons Development division in the company. She was a woman in her forties, with platinum blond hair and light-blue eyes, wearing a long red satin dress that had a plunging neckline and a slit on the side with matching high heels.
Naruto dutifully nodded his head and crossed his arms over his chest, "Of course, so what did you need from me?"
Scarlet raised a brow and crossed her own arms under her generously-sized bust, "All business and no fun? How boring, no matter. I have something for you."
The corner of his lips slightly quirked upward, but he decided to not voice his amusement as the woman turned and walked toward a metal cabinet in the corner of the room. Her heels clattered against the metal floor as she pushed a scientist out of her way.
"Open it," She instructed calmly, and the man she had just shoved gulped and pressed his access card against the lock on the wall.
The light strip flickered from red to green as the mechanical locks opened, revealing what was stored inside.
Naruto's blond locks swayed as he walked up beside her to gaze inside, his eyes slightly widening at the sight before him.
What Scarlet had called him for, was indeed what he'd consider a gift. Well, it was for work obviously, but it didn't really matter to him. The object within the cabinet was a set of armor, or rather, a type of suit.
The outfit the mannequin inside was wearing was almost all white with a hood and boots, except the durable fabric on the upper arms and shins was light grey in color.
The armor on top of that were grey armor pieces on the shoulders and shins, along with a white chest piece with red marks. At the right hip, there was a light metal pistol holster supporting a handgun, and to finish it all off there was a white fabric mask with dark red strips at the eyes.
"You really outdid yourself with this one, so what is it exactly?" Naruto questioned as he walked forward and let his fingertips touch the chest piece of the armor.
Scarlet gave a victorious grin and casually strolled up beside him, "As one of the best Shinra has to offer, I figured it was about time you got something more suitable for your fighting style. Those old military uniforms and armor could hardly have been comfortable to fight in for a man of your caliber."
Naruto hummed and turned his head to her, "Yeah you're right about that, it always felt way too heavy and in the way, but I managed."
The smirk on the woman's face intensified as she stood slightly behind him and placed a hand on top of his shoulder, and slightly slit it down to his back, "Which is why we had this developed, from analyzing footage of you in the combat simulator, this seemed most appropriate along with keeping safety precautions top-notch."
He couldn't help but chuckle as he hit his knuckles toward the shoulder pieces, "Looks like it'll be a perfect fit too, no need for checking if the size is right."
The atmosphere around the two started to slowly change as Scarlet stood up closer to his back, her chest slightly pressed against his arm as she dragged her red nails up his forearm, "I think it's safe to say I'm quite familiar with your… excellent physique by now, no?" She all but whispered against his ear.
The hot breath of her mouth against his skin made the small hairs on the back of his neck rise along with the goosebumps on his skin, "You can say that again…" He mouthed in return.
She stepped away from him a second later, "Go, put it on and take it for a spin in the combat simulator. Though I have no doubt it'll be up to your expectations, I was in charge of it myself after all."
"I'll take your word for it," He replied and started to drag his shirt over his head, not caring exactly who was watching him.
As a man that had been in the army, this wasn't even close to an uncomfortable situation to change in. And it wasn't like she hadn't seen it all before, though he did catch the sight of her tongue slightly grazing her upper lip as she watched his muscular back get revealed.
"I'll come by later… to receive a thorough report about its efficiency," She replied back in a smooth tone, though both of them knew that she wasn't talking about the armor.
Far from it.
It didn't take long for him to get into his new set of armor, though he decided against wearing the mask for the time being. He looked himself over in the mirror and was amazed by how light it felt, if he couldn't see the pieces of armor he wouldn't even notice them weighing him down.
"Sir," A voice called out from his left, and Naruto raised a brow and pointed a thumb toward himself, not knowing whether or not it was someone else he was referring to.
A man in a white lab coat nodded his head and pushed his glasses up on his face, "We've also finished making the adjustments to your weapon, calibrations went without a hitch and you'll now be able to support up to five materia at once."
Naruto whistled a bit as he followed the man toward a table, "You people sure work fast, do you even sleep?"
"You know what they say, there is no sleep when you need answers. And it has been an absolute pleasure to work on this for you, it's a beautiful tool for a SOLDIER of your caliber," The man sugarcoated his words as he held out his hand to present the weapon on the table.
'No wonder Scarlet likes it here, these people kiss more ass than Heidegger,' He snorted to himself mentally as he stepped forward.
The weapon was a Triple-Bladed Scythe, the three blades would get smaller from top to bottom, giving the scythe a larger range despite decreasing its lethality slightly. It was painted almost entirely in red, except for the grey wrapping around the handle area and the metal that connected the blades, in which there was a slot for materia.
So along with the materia slot at the base of each blade, there were also two near the bottom of the handle.
"You didn't mess with my materia, did you?" Naruto asked with a deadpan expression.
The man gulped and readjusted his glasses, "Well, Madam Director instructed us to make sure it was all top-notch, so we did switch them out for new and improved ones."
The blond groaned with a small roll of eyes, but picked up his trustworthy weapon and put it onto his back, "Since you did such a good job I'll let it pass, but I won't appreciate the extra time I need to take in the combat simulator to get used to them."
Not waiting around for a response, Naruto retreated back up to Scarlet who had once again retaken her seat on her chair, and lifted her feet up on the trooper on the floor, "I'll be on my way, thanks for the great work."
Scarlet's lip quirked upward as she gave a slow wave of her hand, "You're welcome. Be done with the simulator by midnight, I expect to see you by then."
"Usual spot, I assume?" He asked, to which she nodded soundlessly.
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As he returned to his quarters afterward, he let out a sigh and placed his scythe up against the wall. Taking a seat on the lone bed in the room, he laid down flat, staring up at the ceiling with an empty stare.
Perks like the ones Scarlet provided him almost kept him blind for a while, but he couldn't remain that way. He was an asset to her, probably a science experiment, but he didn't mind much. Compared to the majority, his gear was always beyond top-notch as suggested minutes earlier.
Though, he couldn't help but frown at the state of Midgar. Standing, he lazily placed a hand against his window and stared over the great city. It was truly beautiful up here, a place free of poverty-stricken areas.
However, he could not ignore what lay beneath his feet. He might have a luxurious apartment within the Shinra building, but he could still feel his consciousness linger on the population beneath.
The slums, as many preferred to call them, were the areas where the poor people lived in less than acceptable residences. Many had said they'd do something about them eventually, but nothing ever happened. It didn't take much for him to understand that nothing would probably ever happen.
The general population of sector 0 lived in good neighborhoods, blinded by their surroundings to ever truly understand what was going on.
He had tried to quit once, but it wasn't that simple or easy. He'd repeatedly be spoon-fed words he wanted to hear, but at the end of the day, he always stood like this with a clenched fist against the window panel.
But he was only one man, and while he'd like to take a stand for those people… he was just that, a simple man. He was no politician, hell, most people would probably just consider him muscle for Shinra.
He couldn't quite explain it, but he'd always felt a bit… empty. Not just here, but back in Nibelheim too. Like he lost a piece of himself somewhere along the road, and he felt like he had found it again by becoming a SOLDIER.
Like there was a certain familiarity with being in an army at a young age, despite never having experienced it before. It felt like home, but the feeling quickly vanished once he entered the battles.
Ever since that, and his family's death, he hadn't even been back to Nibelheim. He didn't want to feel the pain that it'd bring him, and he didn't see any point in returning to a place where no one was waiting for him anyway.
His thoughts continued as he slightly started to slumber away. His sleep was dreamless, just darkness all around him.
He turned slightly in his involuntary sleep, feeling slight discomfort, he started to sweat slightly as he heard the sound of birds. Scowling in his sleep, he pushed his pillow onto the floor as the volume of the birds increased.
A gasp emitted from his lips as a bright flash of blue took over the darkness, bright and dark blue flashes of lightning striking toward him, the noise of what had sounded like birds ringing so loudly in his ears that he could swear they were bleeding.
A sense of phantom pain went out through his shoulder, and his eyes snapped open.
He sat up quickly and rubbed his eyes, his hand subconsciously reaching up toward the place he'd felt the pain but found nothing out of the ordinary. Breathing heavily, he calmed himself down and looked up toward the clock.
Only an hour had passed since he had slumbered away… though he wondered to himself what the sound had been, and why it seemed familiar.
"I should sleep more," He sighed to himself, and got off his bed and into the bathroom, taking some cold water to splash over his face until he took notice of something sticking to the bathroom mirror.
Raising a brow, he reached his hand and took down a sticky note that read the simple words 'reactor 1?' confused at the question mark, he leaned halfway out of the bathroom and stared out over the city, eyes widening at the display of flames that were rapidly spreading.
He rapidly switched his gaze between the note and the fires, before he curled the note together. Throwing away any suspicion to who had laid the note, for now, he tossed the curled together piece of paper into the toilet and flushed before he stormed out of the room.
Grabbing his scythe and putting it on its spot on his back, he raced down the corridors. Rapidly slapping the keycard against the elevator, he slammed his fist against the metal before backing up.
He groaned as he turned around on his feet and stormed through the door to the emergency staircase, not even thinking twice about it before vaulting over the railing.
His apartment was only a few floors up in a secluded area, so the drop-down to the main floor was harmless as he landed in a crouched-down position with a soft grunt.
Speeding out of the door, he pushed his way through corporate workers and infantrymen staring up at a screen where live footage of the burning reactor was playing.
"What's going on?" He asked, as one of the men wearing a suit turned around with a sad and shaken expression.
He stammered a bit and pointed up toward the screen, "Mako Reactor 1 was just attacked, it had to be AVALANCHE! Those monsters have been so persistent lately, it couldn't have been anyone else."
Naruto raised a brow before he backed up, he had of course heard of Avalanche before plenty. And hunted his fair share of the eco-terrorists, but never had he witnessed such an attack before.
Making his way over to a Security Officer, Naruto tapped his helmet, "Report."
The Officer turned his head about to ask whoever it was to step away, but then he noticed who exactly it was. Quickly clearing his throat he nodded his head, "Sir, the reactor was attacked and presumably bombed by the eco-terrorist group AVALANCHE. Our troops are on the trail of one of the assumed assailants, he's making his way around the station."
Naruto nodded his head and started to jog backward, "Good, surround him and don't let him get away. I'm going there myself, keep me updated." He called out, not waiting for a response before he rushed toward the garage.
He wasn't sure why exactly he had just gotten a note that said 'reactor 1' but he was more than sure that it was linked to the bombing, though he couldn't help but wonder why no one had called for him yet.
If he had to guess, he'd just assume that they'd respond with 'sending a first-class SOLDIER to such a scene is a waste' which he could somewhat understand, but he still wanted to see what was going on.
Also because as much as he tried to, he couldn't get that note out of his head. How it had gotten there, who it was from, and most importantly… what exactly they wanted him to find.
Wasting no time picking his ride, he took one of the military bikes, hearing the engine roar to life as the tires screeched against the ground beneath him he practically flew past several shocked troopers at high speeds. Keeping his eyes glued to the road ahead of him, he pulled down the mask and hood over his face, taking mental note of how breathable the material was as he raced in between vehicles on the road.
The closer and closer he got, the bigger the pillars of smoke would become. The wind flew through his armor as he hit the brakes.
The tires would squeal against the asphalt beneath again as the bike came to a stop, as a huge chunk of concrete fell down on the road in front of him from a bridge above, 'Close call.' He mentally mused and got off the bike.
'Did a simple bomb do this much damage? That shouldn't be possible…' He mused. He was no scientist, but it seemed highly unlikely unless they brought an explosive bigger than what four people could carry while fighting.
Pushing the bike to the side, he started climbing over the debris on the ground with ease. Carefully making his way under the rest of the bridge without letting anything else fall down on top of him, he started running toward a nearby ladder.
Quickly climbing up to a nearby roof to use it as a vantage point, he gazed out over the city to find any form of clue.
Which he quickly found. Several military vehicles, cars and trucks alike, were racing toward a spot near the rails.
If he had to guess, that Security Officer had gotten the word out and they were working to circle around the supposed bomber of the reactor. Wasting no further time wondering, Naruto started to run across the roofs, leaping from one to another to spare himself time.
Trying to find side and main roads with the bike would've been too difficult, there was no saying how bad the damages were elsewhere. Being at the top, he could at least improvise and overcome any obstacle with relative ease.
Yet another perk of being in SOLDIER, the Mako-enhanced abilities provided were nothing to scoff at.
Reaching the building and looking over the rail tracks, Naruto smirked beneath his mask as he saw the trucks surrounding an individual carrying a broadsword. The infantrymen with their assault rifles pointed at him, forming a circle to keep him from escaping without bullets.
"Got you," Naruto mounted out as he was about to climb down, but as the horn of a train sounded through the area, he watched with amazement as the blue-wearing assailant leaped down onto one of the wagons.
Naruto was filled with a great sense of surprise at the agility the person was displaying, he was definitely not a weakling and probably also why the infantrymen and security officers had been having trouble. At least he assumed so since he wasn't cuffed yet.
'Oh no you don't,' Naruto thought to himself, with a small smirk. He probably shouldn't take pleasure in this, but he rarely got the opportunity to feel that real rush of battle that a strong challenger could provide him.
So he jogged backward as he watched the train descend into the tunnels, and ran full speed toward the edge of the building before he, with the final step, leaped through the air. The wind howled by his ears as he fell down past several flabbergasted troopers, and landed with a loud metallic thud on one of the last wagons.
The train traveled into the dark tunnels as he watched the silhouette of the man in front of him turn around, there was no denying that he had already been spotted.
He couldn't quite make out the appearance of whoever he was probably gonna fight, the lack of light made anything but the outline of the person close to not visible at all, but he could see enough. And even if he couldn't, he had fought in worse situations than this, so he was confident in his ability.
"I have to ask, will you come quietly?" Naruto shouted out, the noise of the train almost making it inaudible.
The guy gave a small snort as he took the broadsword up and rested it on his shoulder, "Can't do that."
The blond gave a small sigh, "Figured as much," He mumbled out to himself, though there was something off.
At the moment the guy had spoken, a sense of familiarity washed over him. Though he couldn't quite pinpoint where he had heard this voice before, it felt like he had heard the voice somewhere before.
'No matter, I can worry about that later.' Naruto thought to himself as he reached down to his right and grabbed the handgun and pulled it from its holster.
He'd normally fight with his trustworthy scythe as it was more comfortable, but given the situation, he'd open the battle in a more… well, he'd call it a civil manner but opening fire against a potential terrorist wasn't exactly civil either.
The body language of his opponent revealed some shock as he pointed the gun in his direction, taking calm steps forward on the moving train as he rapidly pulled the trigger, pistol jerking backward as the small blasts from the projectiles echoed throughout the tunnel.
With a swift motion, the man in front of him brought down the broadsword in front of him, using the broad side to deflect all the incoming bullets as he raced forward in his direction.
'Not bad,' Naruto commented to himself as he quickly holstered the pistol again, reaching his right hand up to grab the hilt of his scythe, spinning under a quick slash from the man's broadsword.
Freeing the scythe, Naruto twirled on his feet with a rapid series of slashes, sparks flying all over the wagon as the two large weapons rapidly connected in the dark tunnels.
As they came into a blade lock, Naruto glanced slightly over the sharp edge of the broadsword to see familiar glowing eyes on his opponent.
"So, you're a SOLDIER? Or rather were, considering we're fighting." He commented loudly enough for him to hear.
With another snort, the guy pushed back to get some distance between them, "So what if I was, you're still going down here."
Naruto couldn't help but be amused by the blunt tone as he was forced to lean sideways to dodge a slash that'd have cut his head clean off, using the slight opening he whirled the triple-bladed scythe upward from the left which was dodged.
While he'd normally move faster than this, it wasn't exactly normal to fight on top of a train. Any dash or flip could be a fatal mistake if the tracks suddenly turned left or right, and the thing was moving at high speeds. One solid kick could send you flying to the lifestream and back.
Not to mention they were both wielding large weapons, one wrong move and it could be stuck in the wall or ceiling, which didn't even take into account the lack of space beneath to move around on.
It was like fighting on a plank or bridge, there was only back and forth to move.
Feeling a rush of excitement, Naruto readied himself for another offensive attempt by his attacker. Bringing up the scythe, he angled it sideways and let the broadsword's blade get captured in between two of his scythe's three blades.
The perk of wielding an untraditional weapon was situations like this. Grinning, he dragged the handle of his weapon upward, forcing the scythe's blades to push the broadsword down at an awkward angle that left him open.
He could hear the small gasp of surprise from the supposed ex-SOLDIER in front of him, as he afterward twirled around on his feet and sent a kick toward his chest that sent him sliding a couple of feet back on the wagon's roof.
Seeing his chance to do either a lethal or disabling attack, Naruto readied his scythe… however, everything seemed to change at the moment the train went under some of the tunnel's lamps.
The formerly dark space lacking any form of light suddenly illuminated, showing off the face of the person in front of him.
The face, hair, eyes, everything he saw suddenly made his blood run cold in his veins.
A pain in his chest spread throughout his entire being, how could it not, he had woken up to see almost the same face every day.
"Cloud? Is that… Really you?" Naruto asked out loud. Seeing the boy's confused expression upon hearing his name, Naruto was about to say something when the loud rustling of one of the wagon's doors opening caught his attention.
Seeing the face of a large man peek up from the side of the train, Naruto took a half step back and mouthed, "What the hell?" Before the man raised an arm… which had a freaking gun attached to it.
"Merc, get your head down!" The man shouted in a gruff voice, to which Cloud quickly did and laid down flat on top of the wagon.
The large man let out a large shout as the gun spun around, and soon the entire tunnel was filled with a salvo of bullets threatening to rip him apart.
Using the scythe to block a few of the bullets, he felt a few fly past and collide with his chest armor. Naruto groaned in frustration as he was forced to leap backward and off the train, watching it disappear into the distance as he rolled over the tracks.
Hitting his fist on the ground, he placed the scythe back onto his back and cursed out loud, "Damn it!"
Looking back and forth for any following or passing train, Naruto quickly pulled his hood down and dragged the mask off. The look of pure shock was still on his face as he contemplated over and over again what he had just seen.
Once his heartbeat calmed down, and he heard the sound of bikes nearing his position, he clenched his fist with a trembling lip as he tossed the mask into the dirt.
Stepping to the side, Naruto leaned up against the tunnel wall and slid down to the ground. Questions bounced back and forth in his head as he grasped his blond locks tightly.
Yeah, there was no doubt about it. Either he was in a simulation, or was unknowingly being pumped full of hallucinogens. Cause of course his dead brother wouldn't just come back from the dead, right? Or worse, was he some kinda zombie being controlled?
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So that's the end of chapter 1, I hope you liked it. I want to quickly extend my thanks to AizenTheGoat for reading through this and helping me out with the plot and the like. Honestly not sure how well received this will be compared to my other stories, since I've never written a crossover with a game before.
I just all of a sudden wanted to write an FF7 story after I finished playing through the remake, honestly, the best game I've ever played and the story got me hooked already in the first chapter of the game.
So what do you guys think is gonna happen next? Loads of roads to go from here.
And what is your opinion on Final Fantasy 7? I personally love this game, definitely my favorite now that I think about it.
Oh, and who do you think put the note there for Naruto to find it? Really curious about your theories especially on this part.