A Maelstrom's Tale
Chapter 22: Similar yet Different
Naruto groaned as he slowly opened his eyes after losing unconscious during the fall "Ughhh…my everything hurts," he then slowly got back up on his feet while still feeling sore all over his body, perhaps he must have instinctively used the power of Determination to coat his body so as to avoid any serious injuries "Man, I wasn't expecting me and Susie were gonna fall in a deep dark hole inside a supply closet into who's knows where. But at least I'm ok for the most part. Speaking of which…where am I?"
Music Start: Deltarune OST; Cliffs
He then took a good look around to see nothing but darkness and seems to be in some sort of underground cavern which gave him a sense of déjà vu in two ways "Okay…considering the fact that I went through something like this twice, it's safe to say I'm no longer inside a supply closet anymore, much less in a school building. Also I don't see Susie anywhere so it's either she woke up first and took off somewhere or we got separated during the fall. Great, looks like I'm gonna have to go look for her and then work on finding a way ou-huh?"
Naruto didn't finish his sentence as he took notice of his sudden change of outfit that he's currently wearing. Instead of his normal clothes he was supposed to be wearing; he's suddenly wearing something that what look to be what a samurai wears during the Edo period as he's looking at his arms, chest and legs which are sporting armor on them while having a short red sleeveless haori over them.
Another thing to notice would be the sheathed sword strapped to his waist via a red sash, Naruto drew the sword from its black scabbard He also took notice he has a weapon with him which appears to be a bona fide reverse blade which surprised him.
"Wow, talk about a wardrobe change. I never thought I would look like a samurai, much less of me carrying a real Sakamoto sword with me. But that's not the only change," Naruto used the blade as a makeshift mirror and saw that his skin color has changed to that of blue and also his blonde hair has changed into pure red hair while still retaining blonde streaks. "Wow, I have red hair. I guess I take after my mother's side now while still retaining some of my blonde hair from my father's side, at least I still have that,"
Returning to sword to its sheath, Naruto decided to move on and find Susie while also searching for a way back. As he followed the stony path before him, Naruto came across noticed a silver star glowing which reminded him of the SAVE Point, so he approached to touch it which caused a message window to appear before him.
(At times, you see it flickering. The light only you can see. By second nature, you reach out, and… SAVE? Yes/No)
Naruto raised his eyebrow at this text as he thought "Huh…no 'I'm filled with DETERMINATION' part in this text? Strange…but it's probably just this. But I am curious about its location as it's just ?. Seems like this place might be too unknown to identify,"
Not wanting to give himself a headache since he just found himself there, Naruto confirmed his SAVE but noted that it didn't overwrite his other SAVE file but rather made a new one. Could it be that he's in yet another timeline? In that case, he definitely needs to find Susie and make sure she's okay in case this timeline is going through a Genocide Run no matter how much they dislike each other.
As he traverses through a long pathway that leads east, Naruto came across what appears to be strange 'wobbly things' that would emit a sound and wiggle every time he walks past them. At the end of the path, there are walls depicting eyes and holes leaking black liquid which creep him out a bit. However, he did notice something though as he could've sworn he saw some sort of black shadow moving really fast away from view. Naruto gets the feeling he wasn't alone like there's someone here watching him. Nonetheless he didn't let that get to him…yet.
Getting back on track, Naruto slides down a gravely slope to a lower area where he comes across a branching path. Naruto went down the south path which leads to a dead-end.
"Looks like it's a dead-end. Guess I'll double back and take the other path," Naruto was about to leave but then noticed something glowing inside a hole. Naruto approached it and a text suddenly popped up
(There's something glowing inside. Take it? Yes/No)
Naruto went with yes and took it which identified to be a Glowshard. Naruto went to check his stats to see this glowshard but he can't seem to find it like it magically disappeared. "Huh…well that was a waste of my time. Guess I'll get back to where I was originally intending to go,"
He went back to the branching path and chose the east path which has a wall depicting two eyes with black liquid leaking underneath. From there, he found more wobbly things. However his SOUL suddenly appears which immediately alerted him that something harmful is about to attack, it was at that moment that the supposedly harmless wobbly things began launching magic bullets at him. Fortunately, Naruto has both training and battle experience to be able to evade the incoming projectiles as he quickly made his way to the other side.
Naruto found another SAVE Point and accessed it to have a text appear to him.
(You bathed your body in the light. A power shines within you, breaking through the darkness. Any pain you may have had melted away… HP fully restored. SAVE? Yes/No)
"There it is again, no 'I'm filled with DETERMINATION' from this text. In fact, now it's mentioning about both light and darkness. What's that all about?" thought Naruto, feeling confused by this but stayed on point nonetheless, he went and confirmed his SAVE then noticed a sign on the wall. He then approached and read it;
In this land, only eyes blinded by darkness can see the way…
Naruto raised an eyebrow at this then looked in front to see a wall depicting three eyes and under them what appeared to be glowing spots.
"Is this some sort of an Eye Puzzle?" said Naruto, assuming it to be a puzzle since he needs to do something to get across, it kinda reminds him of the puzzles that he and Frisk had to solve when they first traveled through the Underground so this shouldn't be any different. Naruto checked the puzzle and it seems easy enough as he first started off with the middle eye to activate which caused both two eyes to close and lastly went towards the eye on the far right which closed after activation. Doing this caused a glasslike bridge to appear and fill the gap that he can go across to the other side and continue on his way.
Naruto then comes across another cliff which he immediately slides down at the bottom where he enters an area filled with the puffy mound entities. "Man, just on earth whereis Susie? Surely she shouldn't be that far and has to be around here somewhere,"
Naruto then noticed the shadowy figure from before and it seems to be hiding from him "Hmm…looks like someone's nearby and whoever it is, it's hiding within the weird looking puffy mound things," then he checked them out by blowing on the puffy mound which revealed nothing was there, Naruto did the same with the other that resulted in the same thing, followed by another and he finally came across the last one which he was sure that someone was in there. Naruto stopped before the puffy mound and blew on it to reveal the person which happens to be Susie he finally found while looking a bit on edge and has also undergone a change in appearance.
Susie's skin and hair colors have changed to lavender pink and plum respectively. Her clothes are replaced with a long black vest with purple trims, a sleeveless purple shirt, baggy plum pants, and black boots with golden soles. She also has two black bracelets with yellow spikes on each arm, and a black belt with a large golden heart buckle.
"H-hey! B…back off! Come any closer and I'll…!" She then stopped as she took a closer look to recognize that it was just Naruto who found her "…N…Naruto!? Phew…"
Naruto just stood and watched Susie catching her breath a bit "Wow, looks like I gave her quite the scare judging by how tense she was,"
Finally calm, Susie glared at Naruto "…Hey, don't scare me like that, dumbass! Unless you WANT to get clocked in the face, heh,"
Naruto rolled his eyes as he retorted "Oh please, how was I supposed to know you were gonna hide in there to begin with? And even IF you were to clock me in the face, I would've clocked you right back in retaliation,"
Susie just growled at Naruto from his snarky attitude which irritated her but decided to just forget it for now "Tch, whatever…anyway, enough screwing around. We gotta find a way outta here," she looked around "Ummm…where is 'here' anyway…?"
Naruto shrugged "I don't know. I don't recall there being anything like this in the supply closet. We may not be at school anymore but rather somewhere else entirely,"
Susie then turned to Naruto "It doesn't matter! YOU got us into this mess. YOU get us out!"
Naruto was surprised to hear this then he got angry "Excuse me!? Just how exactly did I get US into this mess? I never knew any of THIS were to happen. You cannot put the blame on me cause I have nothing to do with this!"
Susie scoffed with indifference "I don't care! Your fault, your mess, therefore you fix it. End of story!" Naruto was about to say something else but Susie moved to stand behind Naruto "Lead the way, Naruto!"
Naruto couldn't believe what just happened, Susie's blaming him for something he has nothing to do with and suddenly is the one to fix this mess? The nerve of that girl! Seeing that he doesn't seem to have much of a choice right now, Naruto to move on forward with Susie following him but it wasn't long before he heard a groan of annoyance from Susie
"Oh my god. Nevermind, you walk WAY too slow,"
The current redhead turned to face her in irritation "We barely walked a few feet and you're already complaining about me walking too slow?"
"Yeah. Should've walked fast enough. Doesn't matter, I'm going up ahead," And just like that, Susie took off ahead leaving Naruto behind. Naruto just couldn't believe his luck right now from this situation he find himself in. He just took a deep breath to calm himself and maintain control over his temper which is already rising before following after her. Naruto come across a cliff which he slid down and not long he found Susie who's looking upward at a tall wall with a lone eye.
Naruto approached her which she took notice of his arrival "Hey, Naruto. There's someone up there waving at us. Any idea what they want…?" Naruto raised any eyebrow at this and look up to where she's looking and sure enough, there IS someone up there on top of the wall. However he can't see or tell who or what it is as it's too dark to make out of the silhouette figure.
"No…I can't tell who or what that is. It's too dark to make out, but it kinda looks like they're-," before Naruto could finish his sentence, the silhouette figure raised their hand and out of nowhere, two white spades appeared and was launched towards the duo which they barely dodged in time since they weren't expecting to be attacked without warning.
Music Start: Deltarune OST; The Chase
Susie was clearly rattled as she yelled at Naruto "R-run, Naruto!" she immediately bolted which Naruto did the same while his SOUL became visible from within him.
He swiftly darted from side to side, avoiding the literal shower of white spades launched in his direction instinctively dodging the spade attacks from above. He reached the end where Susie was waiting, she beckoned him by pointing at the sloped cliffside as their best way to escape
"Naruto, down here!" Susie immediately slide down the cliff which Naruto followed suit and like before, his SOUL reacted again as more spade attacks was firing at him from both sides as he came across those wobbly things. He couldn't tell if those attacks are coming from the darkness itself or those wobbly things are firing at him.
"Scutum!" Naruto outstretched his hands on both sides and a pair of magic glyphs appeared which then conjured two knight shields that hovered at both sides and blocked the incoming projectiles, allowing him move breathing room and slide down more safely. Soon enough he reached the end of the cliff after entering the light that was shining in front of him.
Music End
Getting up after reaching the end of the cliff, Naruto looked to see a path to the east which he follows and finds Susie looking into the far distance.
Susie sees him coming towards her "Oh, you're not dead. Sweet," Naruto quirked an eyebrow at this, not knowing whether to view her comment as a compliment or an insult. But then he decided to ignore it since there are more important things to focus on right now "So…got any idea what the heck this place is?"
He looked ahead what appears to be a kingdom and a castle from afar but other than that, it's surprising to see all this down here "No, I'm afraid I don't have the slightest clue of what this place is,"
"…Yeah, me neither. Wonder if there's anyone in that building up there…?"
"Then why don't we go there and find out? I mean somebody has to be around here. If there is someone that's living down here, maybe they might know an exit that will take us back home," Naruto went on ahead to enter this strange kingdom with Susie following after him. Naruto sees a SAVE Point in the middle of the clearing which he went to access
(In front of you, a castle looms beneath the empty town. A black geyser emerges from it, piercing endlessly into the sky. The power of this place shines within you. SAVE? Yes/No?)
After Naruto press yes to save where he's at, he gets a name from this place through his save file. "Huh…so this place is called Castle Town huh? At least we now know where we are at the moment,"
"Hey, what are you doing?" Susie asked Naruto from behind, wondering why he suddenly stopped and was staring off into space.
"Uh nothing, I'm just…taking up the view of this place." Naruto knew Susie couldn't see what he was really doing and she can't see the SAVE Points which can only be visible to those with SOULs of Determination.
Susie just stared at him and just waved it off without a care "Whatever…," she just doesn't care since her only concern is to leave this strange place.
Naruto already did what he needed to do and simply head on towards the castle with Susie following with him.
As they arrived at the castle, Susie looked at the building "A castle…? Why the hell is there a castle inside a supply closet…?"
Naruto shrugged said "I'm in the same boat as you, still trying to figure out where we ended up at,"
"Welcome, heroes…!" suddenly both Naruto and Susie heard a female voice out of nowhere which placed them on edge.
"Who's there!?" Susie demanded.
"Do not be alarmed…I am not your enemy. Please come forward, both of you…,"
Both Naruto and Susie did as the voice asked by stepping forward until they stood in front of what appears to be a delta rune emblem in the middle and in front are the castle doors. However what got them focused mostly is the mysterious hooded figure waiting for them who then spoke to them
"Welcome. I am the Princess of this kingdom…The Kingdom of Darkness. Naruto, Susie…there is a LEGEND in this land. A LEGEND that one day, two HEROES of LIGHT will arrive, and fulfil the ancient prophecy, foretold by time and space. Please, Heroes…listen to my tale…"
Naruto wasn't sure about what's going on especially since he has so many questions. First being, how does this stranger know our names? Second, why did this hooded figure called both him and Susie heroes? Third, what does this stranger mean about this place being called the kingdom of darkness and she calling herself the princess of this kingdom? Lastly, what legend is she talking about? He's obviously confused about the whole thing and a bit unsure whether to trust this unknown person or not.
After weighing his options, he decided to listen to this prophecy of hers out of curiosity and also attain the necessary information "Alright…we'll listen to this tale of yours,"
Of course, Susie objected the idea "Hold on a second, I didn't agree to this. Why should I listen to this weirdo?"
"Because Susie, I'm a bit curious about this 'Legend' of hers. Plus I wanna know why she called us heroes that involves this prophecy. Not to mention she somehow knows our names when we've never been here and met her. You can't tell me you're not at least bit curious?"
"I'm not interested in hearing some nonsense from this weirdo. I'm more interested in finding a way out like we're supposed to do," Susie scoffed
"Susie…we don't know where we are and we don't know where to go. How can we possibly find an exit if we don't know where we ended up in? It's best we just hear the stranger out. Maybe it might involve an exit somewhere but we won't know unless we hear her out first,"
Susie wanted to refuse but couldn't since Naruto had a good point which grated on her nerves that she agreed with him. After a few minutes, Susie groaned "Ughh! Fine. I'll listen if it means getting us out of here faster,"
Naruto just sighed at this as to why she's gotta make this difficult for him then he turned towards the hooded figure "Alright, please tell us about this prophecy of yours,"
The hooded stranger nodded in affirmation "Very well then…,"
Music Start: Deltarune OST; The Legend
Once upon a time, a LEGEND was whispered among shadows.
It was a LEGEND of HOPE.
It was a LEGEND of DREAMS.
It was a LEGEND of LIGHT.
It was a LEGEND of DARK.
This is the legend of DELTA RUNE.
For millennia, LIGHT and DARK have lived in balance, bringing peace to the WORLD.
But if this harmony were to shatter… A terrible calamity would occur.
The sky will run black with terror and the land will crack with fear.
Then, her heart pounding…The EARTH will draw her final breath.
Only then, shining with hope…Three HEROES appear at WORLDS' edge.
A HUMAN, A MONSTER, And a PRINCESS FROM THE DARK.
Only they can seal the fountains and banish the ANGEL'S HEAVEN.
Only then will balance be restored, and the WORLD saved from destruction.
Today, the FOUNTAIN OF DARKNESS-
The geyser that gives this land form-
Stands tall at the center of the kingdom.
But recently, another fountain has appeared on the horizon…And with it, the balance of LIGHT and DARK begins to shift…
After the stranger finishes her tale, Naruto found himself at a loss. To him, this prophecy sounds very similar to the story between humans and monsters but this version is between light and dark. Let's not forget about her speaking of the Delta Rune which he and his friends are aware of the emblem but hearing about its legend is quite…interesting. Naruto silently glances at Susie wondering what she thinks though he can't tell what she's thinking with her hair covering her eyes but something tells him she probably doesn't believe it which is unbelievable yet understandable but Naruto didn't sense any lies so…what the mysterious hooded figure told is the truth.
Naruto snapped back into focus as the stranger spoke softly in a pleading tone "Naruto, Susie…thank you for listening to my long tale. I deeply believe you two are the HEROES of the LEGEND. That despite whatever enemies you may face…You two have the COURAGE to SAVE THE WORLD. DELTA WARRIORS! Please, won't you accept your destiny…?"
Naruto wasn't sure what to do about this situation because this is A LOT to take in after what they've heard and the fact that him and Susie are the heroes destined to save this world. Naruto was in thought about this as he'd rather find a way out of here but hearing about this story, he can't find it in himself to simply turn a blind eye plus this isn't the first time he's done it since back in the underground and when he went to the Genocide Timeline and helped correct things there.
After making up his mind, Naruto was about to answer the stranger's request, however Susie beat him to it with her own answer "Uhhh…Nah,"
Of course, Naruto expected this kind of response from her but the stranger did not though as she was taken aback by this "W…what?"
Susie explains her reason "Me? Some kind of hero or something…? You've got the wrong person. I'm not into something so lame. If it's a hero you're looking for, it's this nerd over here," she points her thumb at Naruto who stared at her unimpressed.
The stranger looked a bit frantic as she tried to convince her to think otherwise "B-but Susie, without you, the…The world will…,"
However Susie doesn't seem to care "So what? If the world gets destroyed…It's none of my damn business. Might even be kind of fun, honestly."
"…," The hooded figure didn't say a word since she was just in shock that Susie would refuse her destiny to become a hero this world but instead willing to let it get destroyed. She wasn't sure how to respond to this situation.
Naruto honestly wasn't all that surprised that Susie would refuse as he knew she was anything BUT a hero which is an understatement, but the fact she would let this place get destroyed without a care while finding it fun to see it happen is just what he expected out of a bully like Susie.
Speaking of which, Susie turned to Naruto as she said "Anyway, Naruto…If YOU wanna play pretend with this weirdo…Stick around. I'M going to find a way out of here." After saying her peace, she was about to walk away out of here to go find an exit while Naruto just watches her leave without a care.
The stranger however attempts to stop Susie from walking away by calling her out "Susie…Wait!"
Just then, they all heard a laugh and out of nowhere, the stranger was then blown away by explosion from the arrival of a spade-like monster who's riding a bicycle with a motor attached to it which fire is coming out of it making it look like a motorcycle that crashed into the hooded figure, sending her flying.
Music Start: Deltarune OST; Lancer
The spade monster spoke "Ho ho ho! The heroes are already running away…And they didn't even know I was here. My dad's gonna make me Son of the Month!"
Susie turned to the spade monster and demanded "Who the heck are you!?"
The spade monster grinned as he introduced himself "I'm…!" Then he spins around in his bike "The bad guy. You CLOWNS want to seal our DARK FOUNTAIN, huh!? And - STILL picturing you guys as CLOWNS - Save the world from ETERNAL DARKNESS, huh!?"
"Eh," Susie simply shrugged her shoulders
The spade monster continued "Don't try to deny it…! We both know you'll go EAST! It's your only way home! But, I, LANCER, won't let you go there! And I've got a flawless two step plan to ensure it. Step one. I thrash you. Step two. You lose!" The now named Lancer finished explaining his plan to the duo.
"What's with this guy?" thought Naruto confusedly
Susie began to smile "Hmm. Nice plan, kid,"
"R-really…?" Lancer wasn't expecting to be complimented by his supposed enemies.
Susie then grinned with her fangs being visible which made Naruto know what she could possibly be thinking right now "Yeah, actually…Mind if we use your plan on you instead?" a savage expression appeared on her face as well as an axe appearing in her hands which surprised Naruto but he snapped back into focus and unsheathed his Sakabato in preparation for their battle against Lancer.
Music Change: Deltarune OST; Rude Buster
[Lancer busts in!]
Suddenly, Naruto felt the familiar sensation of something flowing through his mind as if asking 'What will you do?'
[FIGHT] [ACT] [ITEM] [SPARE] [DEFEND]
These choices are mostly familiar albeit with new additions such as an empty vertical gauge with the word TP 0% above them.
"Okay, I don't know exactly how things in this world works but I just need to make this guy back off," thought Naruto, he glanced to see Susie look at the axe in her hands with growing interest "But I seriously doubt she feels the same way,"
"I don't know how I got an axe but, like…that's cool," said Susie with a wide grin, then she glanced at the weapon in Naruto's hand "But that's a weird looking katana you have there, like why's the sharp edge on the wrong side?"
"It's not a katana but a Sakabato or in English term the Reverse Sword, and it suits me just fine,"
Susie shrugged "Eh whatever, looks like a katana to me,"
Lancer suddenly spoke up "Halt clowns! This bike is fueled by victory!" he excitedly picks a target to attack which turned out to be Naruto as he honks his bike horn before zooming towards him whilst performing a wheelie. Naruto darted out of the way to avoid a collision but then he notices that the TP Gauge had gone up a bit by 5%.
"Seems like dodging attacks at the last minute fills up the TP gauge but I still don't know what use it has," Naruto chose to ACT and used Check to find out more about Lancer.
*Lancer – ATK: 7 DEF: 1
Not to call a spade a spade, but he's a spade
Not old enough to ride a motorcycle, so he set his bike on fire]
"Now that I think about it…it looks more like he simply taped a bottle rocket to the rear wheel," thought Naruto "All that aside, I'm gonna have to-,"
Without any warning, Susie suddenly rushed forward and swung her axe which struck Lancer, surprising Naruto.
"Susie, pull back on your attacks," Naruto called out.
"Why should I? he's an enemy and trying to thrash us, it's only right that I do the same," Susie retorted.
At that point, Lancer has recovered from the attack "Oh! You make my feelings do wheelies! Sweet wheelys," once again he does a wheelie attack but with Susie as his target this time, she quickly jumped out of the way, barely avoiding getting hit. Then she retaliated with a swing of her axe, striking him again when she saw the opportunity to attack the bike-riding boy "Did you not realize I can mask my self-esteem levels?"
[Lancer revs viciously]
Naruto frowned at what's going on "With Susie ignoring me and doing whatever she wants, SHE's more of a threat to everyone else instead of the other way around. I guess the best option is this…,"
He went to ACT and chose WARNING to quite literally warn Lancer about Susie's tendency to attack which made him more wary of her, that was proven to be true when she attacked with her axe but he was able to dodge it. This made Susie glare at Naruto for what he did which he chose to ignore.
"So, what are you guys doing after this?" asked Lancer curiously.
"None of your business!" Susie snapped at him.
Lancer prepped his bike and made Naruto his target once again with a wheelie attack, Naruto evaded the incoming attack with a swift sidestep but Lancer wasn't done yet as he rode vertically up a wall and launched spade-shaped projectiles towards him, this made Naruto realize that Lancer was the one who attacked them earlier back at the cliffs.
Instinctively utilizing the Gale Form, Naruto gripped the Sakabato with both hands and swiftly deflected the incoming spade-shaped projectiles which seemed to have built up a bit more of the TP Gauge by 12%.
Once again, Naruto gave a warning to Lancer who laughs at the idea that he would need his help! Susie attacks with her axe only to miss due to Lancer dodging her in spite of him supposedly not taking Naruto's words seriously.
Susie glared at Naruto menacingly "Stop. Helping. Him!"
"Stop attacking with the intent to take him out then I'll do so," Naruto responded.
"Are you braindead or something? did you not hear that he's trying to thrash us?"
"I certainly did but I seriously doubt that he'll be able to do so. What makes you think that he can?"
Before Susie can reply, Lancer interrupted them "Hohoho! I'm the bad guy!" he launched another wheelie attack at Susie which she jumped out of the way then he switched targets to Naruto who used ENDEAVOR to seemingly phase right through him like a ghost to evade which actually surprised the spade-themed boy.
Naruto prepared to use a magic glyph to disable Lancer when said person actually called out to him and Susie.
"Wait! Wait a second! My bike's running out of fuel...!" Lancer looked to see that the flames at his rear wheel is dying down "Alright, you punka-roos! You had the luck of the draw this time, but...Next time, the losers will be YOU! Hahaha! Bye, losers! I gotta get home before dinner!" then he rode away before the duo could say anything
Music End
[You Won! Earned 0 XP and 35 D$]
"I don't know what D$ is but I can assume that it's this world's currency," thought Naruto while sheathing the Sakabato.
The hooded stranger reappeared after being knocked away by Lancer's sudden appearance and checked on Naruto and Susie with concern in her voice.
"Are you two okay?" asked the stranger worriedly "Um, allow me to introduce myself properly. I am…,"
"Oh jeez, can you takeoff that hood already? I can hardly hear you under there," Susie complained.
"U-Ummmm, alright…,"
The stranger took off her hood and the rest of her cloak to reveal herself to them. She's wearing a pointed green hat covers her horns, concealing her entire face in shadow. She wears a pair of round glasses, a long pink scarf wrapped around her neck, and a long green coat with a black heart in the center. To Naruto, she looks adorable which he couldn't stop admiring her though he doesn't know why.
"Whoa, is that her true self? She's so cute but I can't tell if that's what she looks like due to her entire face is shrouded in shadows but I'm not complaining, I think she looks nice as that," said Naruto mentally.
He snapped back to attention as the stranger introduces herself with a bright smile "Hello everyone. I'm Ralsei. Naruto, Susie…It's ever so wonderful to meet you! I'm certain we're going to become great friends and-,"
Susie interrupted her rather rudely "Best way to leave is East, right?"
Ralsei nodded in affirmation "Yes! That's where we'll…,"
"Got it," Susie turned around and began to walk away "See ya at school, Naruto," And with that, Susie left with Ralsei and Naruto watching her go.
Naruto sighed "I'll never understand what goes on in that head of hers," he's not gonna bother stopping her as it's too bothersome for it.
He then hear Ralsei speaking up "Umm…I suppose it's just the two of us, then…" She walks up to Naruto with a sad smile "Naruto, I'm a PRINCESS, but…I, um currently don't have any subjects. I've been waiting alone here…Um…My whole life for you two to arrive," Naruto felt bad for her as she's been living here all alone with nobody to talk to. She then smiles brightly at Naruto "So…I'm really happy to meet you. I hope we can be good friends, Naruto,"
Naruto smiles as he replied "I'm looking forward to us being friends too. You can count on me to keep you company,"
Ralsei smiles, nodding in appreciation "Let's try to find Susie, she must be to the southeast," She then walks behind Naruto as she said "You can lead the way, Naruto!"
"Sure, just let me know if I'm going the right way,"
With Naruto now having Ralsei as his new companion, he left the castle and went back to Castle Town where the SAVE Point waited for him to access again.
(Ralsei, the lonely princess, is now your ally. The power of fluffy girls shines within you. SAVE? Yes/No)
Naruto just raised an eyebrow at that weird text he received "Ok…that's just weird but I'm just gonna ignore that and move on," He confirmed his SAVE and moved on as he and Ralsei went the other path Susie must've gone.
As the two walks through an open area, Naruto sees a practice dummy that closely resembles Ralsei.
Said person spoke up eagerly "Oh, Naruto! It's the training dummy I made! Now seems like a great chance to prepare for the enemy. Would you like me to teach you how to fight?"
Naruto already knows how to fight and everything else so it's really not necessary but he took a moment to think about it, figuring that it could help him learn something that he wasn't aware of. Plus, the new battle mechanics is quite different from what he's used to so he decided to accept Ralsei's offer.
"Sure, I don't mind if you teach me." Said Naruto with a smile.
Hearing his response made Ralsei beam with happiness "Ok! Get ready, Naruto!"
The tutorial battle began with Naruto unsheathing his Sakabato and taking a combat stance with his SOUL making itself visible, Ralsei stood at the ready and Naruto noticed that her scarf seemed to be moving as if it's alive and figured that be how she fights before refocusing himself.
Music Change: Deltarune OST; Rude Buster
"See that HEART, Naruto? That's your SOUL, the culmination of your being! Within it holds your WILL…your COMPASSION…and the FATE of the world," Ralsei explains about how his SOUL works.
Naruto was already aware of this info due to his DETERMINATION enabling him to possess the power to SAVE and RESET his timeline so this makes sense but he didn't know his SOUL now affects this Dark World which means this worlds fate is on his hands. Naruto snaps focus to Ralsei as she continues her explanation
"If it gets hit, you and your friends will lose HP. If everyone's HP reaches 0, we'll lose the battle," Naruto mentally winced at this information since he didn't know about this new battle feature for his SOUL.
"Yikes, so if I go down in battle then my allies go down with me? Best I keep that info in mind for future battles and NOT let that happen," thought Naruto, definitely keeping this in mind for the future.
"So, please take care to avoid the enemy's attack. Ready? Let's try dodging!" said Ralsei, having finished explaining the basics and starting off her tutorial with dodging.
Naruto stood ready as the dummy was firing white magic bullets at him, he swiftly stepped from side to side and at times deflect them with his sword without getting hit.
Ralsei was surprised and awed to see his skills at dodging and also deflecting attacks with his sword "Great job, Naruto! You're a natural! Anyhow, after the enemy attacks, it's our turn, Naruto! First, I'll teach you how to FIGHT. Though FIGHTing is unnecessary in this world…There's no harm in a thorough lesson! Let's try FIGHTing!"
Naruto already knows how to fight but he'll humor her by listening to her tutorial lessons, he could tell that she had been looking forward to this moment for a long time. He took a stance and prepared his Sakabato, then he rushed forward and slashed at the dummy which took 75 damage.
"W-wow, Naruto! That was an amazing attack! Have you done this before or something…?"
"I suppose you could say something like that, plus my sword is designed in such a way that I can attack at my full strength without having to worry about seriously injuring anyone," said Naruto, showing Ralsei how the sharp edge is rather at the back of the sword instead of where it's supposed to be.
Anyways, Ralsei continues "Ok, next let's try DEFENDING. Simply DEFEND and the enemy's attack will hurt you less…Not only that, but you'll also gather TP!" Naruto perked up at Ralsei speaking about the TP Gauge that he'll finally find out what it's meant for. He heard Ralsei whispering to him "Watch the big orange bar on the left! I'll explain it next!" Naruto nodded to her as he awaits her directions.
"Let's try DEFENDing!" said Ralsei as she watches him get to work. Naruto took a defensive stance by holding the Sakabato with one hand and raising his free hand in front of himself to form a circular Shield of Determination before himself as a form of protection "Great job, Naruto! Now that you've gathered TP - How about spending that TP on one of my SPELLS? Because you hit the enemy enough, it got TIRED. Now, if I use my PACIFY spell on it…It'll fall asleep, and we'll win peacefully! Let's try SPELLS!"
Naruto was intrigued by this new battle mechanic. It has a spell option? Before he does anything, he went to check his MAGIC button and he sees a selection of spells he's used previously. "Interesting, I have a variety of spells I've used before during my previous fights or learn from my grimoire. Definitely will come in handy later in case I get into tough situations,"
Anyways he focused back on his lessons, concentrating on Ralsei and selecting the MAGIC option which shows the Pacify spell which he selected and chose the dummy as the target before confirming his choice then Ralsei waved her hand cast her spell which appears as sparkles falling onto the dummy.
"Great, Naruto! We would have won the battle by now! Now I have just a little more to teach you! ACTing! Through this, even the most violent enemies…Can be defeated through various ACTs of kindness! Naruto, though it's just a dummy, why not give it a HUG? Let's ACT!"
Naruto with a deadpan expression just silently looks at Ralsei while thinking "Seriously? I swear, this is EXACTLY like with Toriel's tutorial back in the Underground when she asked both me and Frisk to interact with a dummy by hugging it. Like, what's with hugging dummies nowadays?"
Nonetheless, he'll do it just to move on. Naruto went to ACT and sees the hug option. However, he does see another option which is to hug Ralsei. Now Naruto was interested in that option, wanting to select that it but he had to hold himself back from actually hugging Ralsei instead. Naruto silently shook his head and calmed himself.
"No, bad Naruto. I won't be tempted by hugging Ralsei…even if it's a very tantalizing option. I don't want to make her feel uncomfortable if I were to do it," thought Naruto as he decided to go hug the dummy albeit with great reluctance.
Ralsei smiled at this "Aww, that's great, Naruto! Each enemy has different ACTs that satisfy them. When an enemy is satisfied, its name turns YELLOW. When that happens, you can defeat it by SPARING it! If we SPARE all the enemies we meet, we'll never have to FIGHT! Let's SPARE!" Naruto got back to his position and went to the SPARE button which he sees a rainbow dummy name which he selected it, hence sparing the dummy "Great job, Naruto! That'd be the end in a real battle! I'm really happy I had the chance to teach you, Naruto!" Naruto and Ralsei finish the tutorial battle which they won 0 EXP and 1 D$.
Music End
Ralsei happily claps her hands, seeing how everything went smoothly for her first ever tutorial guidance "Oh, that was fun! You're a wonderful student, Naruto! …and, er, in case you ever need a refresher, I…Here!" she shyly presents a small handbook to Naruto "I wrote a Manual for you and Susie! You can check it out by opening the menu and use it in your ITEMS,"
Naruto took the Manual which disappeared from his hands but he could sense that he could call it back by mentally accessing the ITEMS option in his mind which is different from the Boxes which he would access through his phone thanks to Alphys "Well, I aim to please and thanks for the manual. I'll be sure to check it out later," Ralsei nodded to him as he can take his time if he wants.
Now that Naruto knows what he needs to know and learns what the TP Gauge is for, Naruto decided it's time to go look for Susie. He was preparing to move on when he noticed that Ralsei seemed to be feeling down and was wondering why, he saw that she would look at the training dummy then the path ahead of them a few times then he realized what was going on.
"I see, Ralsei was really looking forward to tutoring both Susie and I but she left without any consideration and I'm pretty sure she's worried about her. Seriously, that girl doesn't know how to be tactful," Naruto thought of a way to cheer her up and recalled something in particular "This is me wanting to cheer her up, not that I'm finally getting to satisfy my curiosity or anything like that,"
"…!?" Ralsei suddenly found herself wrapped in an embrace from Naruto which surprised her "N-Naruto?"
"I saw that you were feeling down and I wanted to cheer you up. And to be honest, I prefer hugging you over the practice dummy version of yourself," Naruto explained while still hugging her.
"W-Well…," Ralsei wanted to say something but no words came out of her mouth as her cheeks tinged pink from being embraced by a male, she had been alone all this time and so being hugged like this…it felt really nice, she could hear his heart beating and it gave her a sense of comfort "…th-thank you, Naruto…,"
Naruto smiled in response "You're very welcome, Ralsei-chan," he let go of Ralsei with the princess feeling a bit disappointed, wanting to be hugged for a little while longer "Let's get a move on,"
"Okay…,"
Naruto along with Ralsei head on towards the path which leads to a gigantic black double door with ornate gold patterns on the sides and a Delta Rune symbol at the center which is currently open.
"Oh my! The Great Door has been opened?! No wonder Lancer was able to come through…Naruto, once we pass through this door…Our adventure will really begin. A journey foretold exactly by the prophecy…But, Naruto, I believe YOUR choices are important, too. This world is full of all kinds of people. In the end, how we treat them makes all the difference. So, let's try our best to get by without FIGHTing. If we can manage to do that…I believe this tale may have a happy ending. Otherwise, I fear that…you may not…find the result favorable," Ralsei realizes how much she was asking of Naruto "…Oh, I'm sorry! Is that too much to ask?" she's afraid she's pushing her luck.
Naruto just smiled as he calmed her down "It's alright Ralsei, I can handle it. Wouldn't be the first time I been through this kind of situation so this would be a cinch as long as you stick with me, we'll get through this together,"
Ralsei didn't know what else to say other and smiled at him "Naruto, I knew you were a hero the moment I saw you. Let's try our best, alright?"
Naruto nods to her as the two enter through the Great Doors with Naruto going first and Ralsei following but not before closing the doors which signals the beginning of their journey while looking for Susie.
This is Hussbek online with the latest chapter, Naruto woke up to find himself in an unknown place while noticing his change in appearance and realized that Susie was nowhere to be seen so he went to look for the school bully and eventually found her while noting that she has also changed in appearance. The duo barely went far when they were suddenly attacked by an unknown person, forcing them to run until they found themselves in a castle town with a strange flowing pillar of darkness rising towards the black sky.
Venturing inside, Naruto and Susie met who apparently knew them and had been expecting their arrival due to a prophecy which spoke of them saving the Dark World and restoring the balance between light and darkness. Naruto was interested to know but Susie completely disregarded everything and simply wanted to return to her own world. That was when they were interrupted and then attacked by a spade-themed stranger called Lancer. Things were a bit tricky due to Naruto trying to keep Susie from seriously hurting Lancer due to his past experience in the Underground until Lancer himself retreated from the fight.
Afterwards the stranger introduced herself as Ralsei the Princess of Darkness but again Susie left without saying much, leaving Naruto with Ralsei. Naruto agreed to help Ralsei set things right but they would need to find Susie and get her to join them in order to do so. After a brief tutorial on combat in the Dark World as well as raising Ralsei's spirit, the current duo ventured through the great door to begin their journey.
Well, it goes without saying that Naruto will be the one taking on the protagonist role instead of Kris and be taking a different approach on things and yes Ralsei is female in this one in accordance to the poll I made a while back. Also, there will be a few twists here and there so be sure to look forward to it. For those who want a reference for how Naruto would appear while in the Dark World, check out Naruto (Samurai) render 2 [Ultimate Ninja Blazing] by Maxiuchiha22 on DeviantArt. Be sure to read and review like always this year.
This is Hussbek from Ghana.
Signing out and staying alive.