A/N: Please read this little note, would you kindly? It would mean the world to me!
Well. Just saw Baryon Mode animated. *Whistles* Looks pretty good.
As ever, the Embers rule remains.
If folks don't like this story, POOF! Away it goes.
So by all means, speak up! Every bit of feedback matters here! Truly, it does! That's no joke!
I...dislike begging for feedback, but reviews truly keep me writing. Without them, I lose all inspiration. That's no joke! So by all means, speak up! Call that what you will, but I write for feedback; that, and the joy of chatting with you all. That's the long and short of it, and the reason I started to write here so long ago.
Now onto your questions. Got some heavy ones this time. I do hope you've prepared yourself.
Q: Why is Naruto letting Salem push him around?! Why not just finish her off?!
A: He isn't. If anything he's far stronger.
Furthermore, doesn't want to kill her. He could, and maybe he should, but he promised to save her. And we all know how our boy is when it comes to promises. I feel the need to repeat, that Naruto didn't stop training. Almost directly after Salem challenged him, he put himself through a hellish regiment, one we never saw.
You see, Salem made a mistake, too; just as she had time to train, so did Naruto.
And as we all know? Never. Ever. Give Naruto a training arc.
It tends to end badly for his enemies.
Q: Is this story ending soon?
A: It could. But I don't think it will. We've still got the SPOILER arc to go through, and the SPOILER arc, not the mention bringing SPOILER into SPOILER and their and kids and having RWBY.
But we all know Salem isn't really the big bad now, nor Ozma, technically. We know who started this.
I'll say this, if you think Team Seven are good parents?
Wait till you see 'em as grandparents.
Q: Update Schedule?
A: I'm trying to double up on updates a day, even though they exhaust me. "Wolf" is finished, and as "Killing Monsters" and "All things" are in their final chapter, they'll both be wrapped up next month, epilogue and all. Likewise, "Best Served Cold" is entering its final arc, as is "Remnants of a Shinobi."
See? That's a lot of stories to wrap up.
Technically I could do the same to "Daddy's Little Devil" and "Kiss of Death," but I won't. Ending them at the stage their in would feel cheap.
Q: Will you ever acknowledge the existence Boruto?! Why do you hate it? Why don't you use it in your stories?!
A: *sigh* We've been over this. The story has potential and after a certain SOMEONE forced me to watch everything, there some aspect of it that I respect. Yes. I'll admit it. Unfortunately so much of it is muddied in pointless tripe. I won't say much -wouldn't want to offend anyone!- For instance, the villains are quite dangerous by why can everyone and their mother absorb jutsu? Its absurd! Likewise, Kaguya was originally meant to be one a kind but nooooo we've got Ootsuki popping out of the woodwork now!
To say nothing of what happened to Naruto and Sasuke. Look how they massacred our boys!
Q: Are going to SPOILER and SPOILER with SPOILER? I mean, I feel you could do you justice but I'm just afraid you SPOILER Naruto and after all he's been though, he could really use a SPOILER for all he's done, y'know?
A: Indeed, I am. How could I not?
Once again, I redacted the important bits. Read and see what I mean~!
Q: Oi! Who's pregnant?!
A: ...well, that came out of left field, didn't it? Fine. I'll only say this. Sarada will be born in this story; though I won't say when.
Alright, then! I think I've kept you long enough. Now I need to go haggle with boss and tell him to buzz off.
As ever, I own no references, quotes, themes or memes. Not a wit or one~! They're merely tributes.
Now then! Here! We! GO~!
"Damn you! Where were you a thousand years ago?! You're too late. Far too late! There's nothing you can do!"
"No. Its not too late. Its never too late. I said I'd save you. And I will. Now stay right where you are."
"What are you doing?!"
~?
Reasons to Ascend
This was a fight to change the world.
Heaven and earth rattled as the seas boiled.
Lightning roared. Thunder flashed. Darkness met light.
Above all this chaos rose a singular sound. If one were to listen, they might have heard it while Naruto and Salem crashed; felt it on the breeze as the Grimmlands were rent asunder around them. Perhaps if one strained very hard indeed, they might've even found its source. For you see, it was a sound every human knows, a noise we've all made at least once in our lives.
Salem laughed as she crashed backward, a mad grin splitting her face.
Her back struck the base of her tower at speed, wedging her against ghastly black rock to trap her within. And yet for all that, Salem's smile didn't waver. Even as looming fractures spread out from her back and scrawled across the granite, still she grinned. Red eyes burned like twin coals in her skull when she looked back the way she'd come.
"Are we having fun yet, Naruto?!"
A flash of gold was her only warning, then he was upon her.
Clenched knuckles barreled into her gut and sent her slamming inside. She struck the ground once, rolled, and sprang to her feet. The moment she did, clenched knuckles filled her vision. Salem didn't even have time to hiss. A flash of pain seared across her face as he obliterated her left eye and an ear besides. Anyone else would have perished on the spot. Her body simply took the blow and traded another with him in kind, raking her fingers across his cheek.
A sharp snarl of pain was her reward, then he struck again with another of those strange spheres of his to smashing her back outside again.
Salem kicked off a rocky outcropping and dove on him. Her staff scythed down, slamming into his neck. An annoyed grunt greeted her. Salem couldn't remember the last time she'd felt this alive. Her dead heart pounded, causing the veins in her face to all but pulse as she mounted him. If this was foreplay, she found she rather liked it.
"Yield!"
Naruto grinned and turned to smoke beneath her. She realized where the original was all too late when a clawed hand closed around her head from behind and ripped her through a wall. Then another now. Another still. Another. He physically dragged her across the tower, grinding her down as he went. She reared up to strike at him and he bashed her into a wall. An elbow came up under her chin. pinning her in turn.
His forehead kissed hers. "Surrender! You're beaten."
The ghost of a smile touched her lips.
"Not yet."
Salem crushed a black sphere into his chest to hurtl him through a window, annihilating everything as he went.
She paused, then, briefly considering the ruined room.
'Unfortunate.' she frowned at the smoldering remnants of the dining room. 'I rather liked that table. I suppose I can always redecorate."
A giant golden hand burst through a window and yanked her outside.
Her scepter whirled out as she landed, becoming a hooked scythe once more. Naruto met her in a streak of light, slipped inside her guard and ripped it away, only for her to do the same unto him a moment later. Even disarmed they found on, arms a wild blur of blows. His elbow slammed into her chest, shattering bone. In recompense for his temerity she drove a heel palm into his chin, snapping his head back. She caught the smile there when he retaliated.
The loser would kneel unto the winner. Just as it should be. Salem knew it would be her.
And why shouldn't she? She believed herself to be his better. If this was his true strength, then it was woefully lacking. He could hit her as hard as he liked, batter her about, rend her to pieces.
They clashed anew and sprang apart, tearing the earth as they skidded away.
Salem wiped a bead of sweat from her brow. "Getting tired, boy?"
In truth, so was she. Immortality did not mean entail endless stamina. She'd nearly reached her limit. But he needn't know that.
"You do realize I'm holding back, right?"
A flicker of concern passed through her black heart. "You lie."
"Nope." he disengaged and stepped back. "From the moment I was born, I was willing to die for my ideals." his eyes hardened. "That's what it means to be a leader. You know, I would've liked to be Hokage someday, but as things are now...I don't think that's in the cards. I've got responsibilities here now, and all."
"Nonsense." her anxiety bridled anew, unable to accept his smile. "You have nothing left. You're spent."
"Is that really what you think?" Naruto tilted his head. "Lemme show you something."
Salem scoffed. "I fail to see the point in-
"Just watch." he held up a hand. "You're gonna love this."
This time, his smile held an edge. Salem wasn't sure she liked it.
Without warning, His body ceased glowing. He slumped a little with a sigh.
"What you see now is my normal state." he rolled his shoulders. "Nothing special, right?"
His eyes flashed gold again, lids flecked by orange. He straightened a little. "This is Sage Mode."
All at once golden light came on again then, burning brighter than ever before. "This is Sage of Six Paths Mode."
"And?" A rare flicker of alarm flashed through Salem's heart, hastily suppressed. "I see no difference. You changed your eyes and started glowing again. What of it?"
"Heh."
There was something off about Naruto's laugh then; it wasn't the chortle of a man who held a simple secret; more than a mere warrior who'd found his second wind. Salem met him glare for glare, refusing to budge in the face of this sudden development. He was bluffing. He must be. How many forms -or modes?!- could a mere mortal have?! He had limits! Just as she did! Surely!
Naruto clenched both fists at his sides, raised his arms, planted his feet, and grit his teeth. "And this!"
Salem felt her eyes bulge. "No! You're bluffing!"
He looked her dead in the eye and growled; the words forcing themselves out in a pained gasp. "Is to go!"
Her sixth sense lit up like a solar flare; for a moment every instinct screamed at her to run, to move, to GET AWAY before...!
Naruto screamed.
"EVEN FURTHER BEYOND!"
A pillar of light pierced the night.
(.0.0.0.)
Menagerie was still burning.
Even as Naruto fought a world away, Sasuke found himself fighting a different battle.
Whatever done would have to wait; brief distractions aside, someone was still bombarding the island.
.
..
...or so he thought.
He cut down another foe and burst out of clearing in a whirl of motion, sword at the ready and fearing the worst. He expected to see a battleship in the bay. Instead he found crazed faunus running to and fro, fending off yet more men in eerie black masks as they fought for their lives. Fires raged in the streets, consuming all before them. His gaze flitted to the smoky sky.
"Sakura!"
She looked up and saw the blaze burning deeper inland. Green eyes flashed with flames as she spread her arms wide; her feet left the ground. A single perfect hand rose toward the smoky sky in silent prayer; to anyone watching it must have looked like just that; as though she were praying to the elements themselves.
And the heavens answered.
With a low rumble of dark thunder, Clouds swept in from on high, coalescing in a matter of moments. White became dark as rain fell down in a focused storm. The very heavens themselves bent to her will, drenching what could've been a deadly blaze and reducing it to so much embers.
Ghira and Tyrian applauded politely, even as they protected a wounded Kali.
Sasuke flicked a glance at the normally chipper girl. She was still clutching her shoulder where she'd been struck by the last blast. Sakura had done the best she could with what little time they had, but they weren't safe here. They needed to move. Even he could see that the poor girl would have a crescent shaped-scar there. Almost like the moon itself..
Knowing their luck, Menagerie just might take it up as their symbol.
"All your fault." his lover grumbled as she descended to the street from on high. back to her feet. "They're never going to believe that I'm normal now...
"Bullshit." A rare curse escaped him as he stalked forward, shepherding young Raven and Qrow before him. "As if they did before."
Sakura scoffed. "Language!"
Oops. Children present. Gotta watch that.
Young Tyrian tilted his head just so. "See? Told you our goddess is the best."
Sasuke glanced at him over one shoulder. "You seem remarkably...calm about all this."
"Meh." the boy shrugged. "Got shot before. My goddess healed me. You learn to expect this sorta thing after awhile...
Raven rolled her eyes. "Still say ours is better...
The scorpion hissed. "Blasphemy!"
"There he is!" A new voice had them whirling. "Slay them! Slay them for the glory of our master!"
Sasuke pivoted as footsteps approached their position. His eyes blazed. A squad of attackers fell, shrieking in the hellfire that was Amaterasu.
"Hmm." Sakura hummed her appreciated as she pulled the children close. "Why don't you use that more often again?"
...why didn't he?
Raven watched with wide eyes. "I want that."
"No." Sasuke granted her a dark glower. "You don't. Sakura. Watch the kids."
When he started forward, she grabbed at his wrist. "Don't lose yourself. Don't do this for revenge."
A blank eye regarded her over his shoulder.
"In certain extreme situations, the law is inadequate." His words chilled her to the bone. "In order to shame it's inadequacy, it is necessary to act outside the law, to pursue natural justice." Revenge? He hadn't thought about revenge in quite some time. This is not about revenge. "Revenge is not a justification, it's an emotional response."
He drew his sword and waded into the madness.
"No. This is not revenge...this is punishment."
Then he waded into the madness.
He dove into a pack of -what where they? Marauders? Pirates?- and cut them down. They fought with zealous fervor to the last man. There was no honor or glory in this; where he walked, enemies fell. A single flick of his fingers or a stroke of the sword, it all ended the same...until He stumbled into a figure in the smoke and whirled.
A red blade flashed in the gloom. He recognized it.
"Duncan. Report."
The wiry swordsman granted him a nod and lowered his blade. Whatever their relationship might be, he knew better than to kneel in the middle of a warzone. He casually caught a blade with the back of his sheathe. Aura sparked as he kicked his attacker down. Wilt and Blush descended and the poor bastard recoiled, clutching at their ruined arm.
"They hit without warning." steely eyes met his. "We suspect they came in on the last freighter. Are the others...?"
"They're fine." he cast a weather glanced back to the mainland. "Kali was hit by some debris."
It was the wrong thing to say; for Duncan's already tense face became murderous.
"She's like a daughter to me. The invaders will die screaming."
Good man. You didn't mess with kids.
His pointed gained, Sasuke stormed back into the front. His blade cut three down before he finally managed to take one alive. He caught a spindly fellow by the throat and tore off their mask. He didn't recognize their face; it was that of a balding man, his face twisted by scars. No surprise there. These were strangers to him. Perhaps it was too much to hope for.
"Where's your leader!" A fist tightened around their windpipe. "Who do you serve?!"
"Not you, deceiver?!" His victim only laughed at him. "We serve the Light! He who is the true god! The new order! GLORY BE TO HIM!"
A giant purple hand closed around him, rendering his rant muffled gibberish. It squeezed once and the man spoke no more.
Sasuke cast aside the pulpy mass and walked on. He had an island to purge.
Beneath his feet, Menagerie shook once more, nearly unbalancing him.
It was the straw that broke the camel's back. Or was it the hawk?
Cheeky bastard wanted to show off, did he?!
Damn Naruto. Damn his followers.
"ENOUGH!"
Susanoo erupted into life around the Last Uchiha, a great violet giant to tower over the island twice over. Cries went up from below; from both ally and enemy alike, but only for a moment. His blade swept out, annihilating a mountain. What remained of it crashed into the sea. The sheer savagery of this feat, no, the very of this dark giant shocked everyone into silence.
"Enemies of Menagerie! Cease your attack at once!" His voice called down. "Lay down your weapons now; or die screaming!"
Even from here, he heard the clatter of steel striking the dirt.
Sasuke smiled. "That's more like it...
(.0.0.0.)
"What are you?!"
Salem staggered back, flinging up an arm to protect her face.
Even then she felt the skin of her arm smolder from the sheer heat he was emitting.
In a rush of heat and noise, Naruto's body abandoned that gentle golden glow. No, perhaps that wasn't the right word. It was still there. It just became something else. Saffron steam wafted from his shoulders, merging with the air to burn a bright red. Those strange whisker marks on his cheeks deepened, becoming black furrows that flowed up around his eyes. And his eyes. By the gods, his eyes! They burned brighter than ever before now, losing their cross-shaped pupils in favor of a singular vertical pupil only regain that strange slit across it once more.
As she looked on those eerie black marks pushed yet further, wrapping around the back of his head.
Even his hair wasn't unaffected. It seemed to glow, golden tufts -were those ears?- jutting from those tawny blond locks. Nine tails of pure crimson light swayed behind him, swaying in a forlorn breeze. And yet for all that, there wasn't so much as an ounce of hatred behind them. This energy was calm. Tranquil. Utterly at peace.
He turned to face her, the very pinnacle of serenity.
"I'm sorry that took so much longer than the others." his very words echoed when he spoke, as though another were speaking through him-no, in unison with him. "Kurama and I haven't had much occasion to practice this one. This is what we call Baryon mode."
"Baryon...?"
Salem stepped back. Once. Twice. Thrice.
She looked down upon her legs, aghast at their betrayal.
What was this presence? She couldn't feel anything from him anymore. As if he'd ascended. Become a-NO! She shook her head furiously. He wasn't a god. He couldn't be a god. That was nonsense! Artifice! The gods were gone! Dead. He was not their avatar. She knew this in her heart. And yet. When she looked at him. When she saw him...! He seemed to loom over her, despite retaining his height. She felt small before him. Tiny. A mere mote of dust before the eyes of a power she could no longer comprehend.
It was as if the Gods themselves were standing there.
'I'm going to die.' irrational fear overpowered common sense. 'He's going to kill me!"
"Its a bit of a risk, you see." heedless of her fear, a glowing finger rose, spitting crimsons parks as he tapped it against Naruto's temple. "Once upon a time, using this form would've used up all my chakra and killed me in a few minutes. Or Kurama." his lips pursed, eyes briefly closing as he squinted. "Furry bastard never was terribly clear on that."
Salem drew her scepter close, not liking the sound of those words. "Would...have?"
"Yuh-huh." His grin was almost boyish when he nodded, utterly at contrast with his new appearance. "I was in Vale for awhile. What do you think I did with all that time you gave me?"
A bead of sweat ran down her brow. "No."
"Really, I'm grateful to you." he spread his arms, as though to embrace the forlorn sky and shattered moon above. " When a man thinks he has nothing to lose, he trains. And trains. Then trains some more. I never would have figured this out if not for you."
Salem's fingernails bit into her palms, drawing black blood across her pale skin. "No, no!"
"When Kurama first told me about this form, I was skeptical." he laughed at her, actually laughed, as if they were just discussing the weather. "I didn't dare use it for more than a few seconds at most, and never with my chakra. You see, Sage Mode draws from the natural energy around me." the bemused blond held up a hand, thrumming with vermilion light. "This world has so much more of it than mine. It replenishes me faster than I can lose it, allowing me to use my chakra and keep Kurama going. He only needs to kickstart the process."
"No, no, no!" she slammed a fist backward, obliterating a vast swathe of land with one hand. "I refuse to believe you planned for all of this!"
"Sorry, but I did. And wouldn't you know it?" his grin grew, not in fear or terror, but peace. "This world...there's so natural energy of it here. More in these "Grimmlands" of yours than anywhere else. You could even say there's magic in the air." a spark snarled between his teeth. "So long as I draw on that, on what we've spent the last few months storing up, I can safely use this form for a little bit."
His hand rose, five finger splayed.
"Five minutes, Salem." it fell, and the sheer act of doing so kicked up the wind. "You should be proud of yourself. I've never shown anyone this form before. And I'll never use it again."
Salem swept forth a vast swathe of spellfire to defend herself. "Why tell me this?!"
"Because I'm trying to make a point." Naruto took a step forward, causing the ground to simmer where he walked. "I don't need this form to beat you." Two steps now. "But I will use it to save you." he advanced upon her steadily, ignorant of her fear. "I have the power to do that in this form." His hand came up again, fingers crooked into a claw. "Watch closely now. Don't blink. Or you'll miss it."
Salem flung a sea of raging blue fire at him. "More nonsense!"
A hand settled on her shoulder. "Hard way it is, then."
She didn't even see him move.
Nine blows smashed Salem up down, down and sideways. Nine tails stuck her from impossible angles to leave her sprawled on the ground. She thrashed upright, only to realize she was missing her legs -when had she lost them?!- and even as she realized that, an awful keening sound filled the air.
Then the Rasenshuriken smashed her down into the earth, shredding her to pierces.
Pain!
Agony in her every cell, fire in her being! It hurt! Hurt, hurt, hurt! She arched her back as wounds healed in dark light, just as they always did, but slowly. Far too slowly. They burned. Regenerating took a physical act of will on her part. Why? The curse had always been quick to restore before. Was it her fear? Or was this new form to blame? She didn't know. And it frightened her.
'When was the last time I felt fear...?'
Wasted and gasping for air, she tried to crawl her way out of the crater he'd left her in.
Naruto was waiting for her at the edge. He stood there before her, red shroud shimmering around him, eyes blazing
"Its over, Salem! I have the high ground!"
She pushed herself to her feet with a groan. He really did, the cheeky fool. But it availed him naught. He couldn't stop her. She wouldn't let him! She'd come too far, lost too much to stop now. Fury frothed its way to the surface in her heart, smothering her earlier anticipation in anger. She would show him. Prove her superiority, once and for all. Then he would kneel to her; as he was meant to.
Her head snapped up snarled. "You underestimate my power!"
Naruto shook his head. "Don't try it!"
She lunged with a yowl.
A crimson hand closed around her throat, broke her neck, and threw her back down into the crater as one might a piece of trash. It didn't kill her. But it did paralyze her; breaking her body long enough that she needed time -a few scant seconds!- to heal. Too long. In the time it took her curse to attend her, Naruto slid down into the crater and pressed the attack.
"I'm sorry, Salem." he almost sounded contrite. "Really, I am. I didn't want to hurt you like this."
"You wretch!" she flung a torrent of ice at him.
"Don't be rude." he slapped her spell aside and tore her in half, forcing her to heal once again. "I have things to protect. People I love dearly." He stomped down on her wrist, breaking it off as it rose. "I promised Maria I would come back alive. "I'm sure you were the same once." a glowing hand reached down, cupping her face. "You had things to fight for too, didn't you? When was the last time you loved anyone? When did you think of your children?"
Her eyes burned. Surprising. It seemed she could still cry. Even like this.
"Damn you!" she flung a fistful of dirt at him from where she lay. "Where were you a thousand years ago?! Don't you see?! You're too late. Far too late!"
"No." her tormentor shook his head. "Its not too late. Its never too late. I said I'd save you." he reached down for her again. "And I will. Even if it kills me."
Black tears ran down her face. She refused to look at him.
"Why can't you just understand...?!"
"I do understand." there was sadness and sorrow in his words now as he tugged her upright. "More than you could possibly know." she stiffened as he pulled her into his arms. "I know what its like to hurt, to be alone, to just want it all to end. That's why I'm doing...this!"
In a flash, he pulled back to arms length and moved.
His fist stabbed into her chest, pushed past her heart, found her soul and squeezed.
Salem tried to speak, tried to shout, tried to scream. Something. Anything. All she managed was a wordless gasp.
If his jutsu had hurt before, then this was hell unending. She lost all control of her body; her arms would not obey her, her legs refused to move, even her magic failed her. Yet for all that horror her mind remained intact, terribly, painfully clear. She felt every second of pain as he went to work, became terribly intimately aware of him warring with the curse -the darkness!- that coated her soul. He grabbed it, seized it, molded it, even as it fought him tooth and nail.
"Stop...!" Salem gasped. "It hurts...!"
Naruto didn't look at her. He kept his gaze fixed on her chest, on the soul in his grasp. She could see it, the very spark of her life flickering in her peripheral vision.
Here at last Salem understood her folly. Her body could not die. Yes, this much was true. But her soul! Oh, her soul! What was he doing to her soul?! She could feel his chakra inside her, writhing and twisting as it sought something; what, she knew not, only that it pushed deeper inside her with each passing moment.
And her soul cried out.
Did the god's curse extend that far? What would happen if he destroyed her immortal shell? Would she be a wandering wraith left to live out the rest of days in madness; unable to interact with the world until the end of time? Or would she simply cease to exist? Such would not be life or death. Simply...hell.
Unbidden, familiar words drifted back to her.
"You must learn the importance of life and death, Salem. Only then may you rest."
So had the gods spoken to her long ago.
Rest? There would be no rest! It wasn't fair! Why must she suffer so?! She'd lived a deathless existence for so long that she'd ceased to fear the concept of it...until now. Now the fear, the terror, the mind numbing horror; all of it came crashing back at once. This was death! The void yawned before her to swallow her whole. She gazed into the abyss and the abyss stared back. It gazed at her with those slitted red eyes and squeezed her soul until she wept. She couldn't breathe. Shadows crept in at the corners of her mind's eye.
So dark. So cold...
'No!' a tiny voice wailed in her heart, one long forgotten. 'I don't want to die!'
She wanted a life! She wanted her children back! She wanted...!
Something burned in her soul, scalding her flesh.
Golden light burst for her chest to sweep across her body, burning impossibly bright. Naruto jerked back with a start as it scalded him, forcing him to release her or be swept up in the vortex. Salem scarcely felt her skull kiss the ground. Her soul snapped back as she curled inward with a gasp; chest hitching for air that wouldn't come. Still his chakra pushed at her. It felt pleasant now, almost warm, a steady and constant heat suffusing the very core of her being. She didn't notice it. Her mind was too focused on death.
And then.
Quite suddenly.
Air flooded her lungs.
"I don't want to die...I don't want to die...
.
..
...
Wait.
Her voice...?!
Naruto swore somewhere above her. "Damn...
Salem rolled over with a groan, scarcely able to understand what had transpired. Was she dead? No. She could still feel her magic, roiling through her veins stronger than ever. Her heart hammered heavily in her chest, fit to burst from stress. These were not the things felt by a dead woman.
Only then did she see her reflection in a nearby Grimm pool.
"What have you done to me?!" Salem touched a hand to her face. "What madness is this?!
Gone was her pallid skin, the pulsing veins nowhere to be seen. Aqua blue eyes gazed back at her from a healthy human face framed by lovely golden hair. A small, tentative smile touched her face. Salem blinked at the stranger. The stranger blinked back. Mirrored her movements. Confusion warred with anger. Had the curse been broken? How?! This could not be. It must not be. And yet it it was. Her curse was broken. Wasn't it? She'd been purged. Cleansed. Gone was her Grimm form. And yet for all that she still felt connected to them; their confusion, their anger, their fear...was she truly free?
"Well?" A hand settled on her shoulder, startling her horribly. "How do you feel?
Salem rounded on Naruto where she lay, lips trembling, eyes watery.
There could only be one response for this.
She thrust a finger at him.
...take responsibility!"
A/N: Time will tell if Salem is truly "cured"...
As ever, the Embers rule remains.
If folks don't like this story, POOF! Away it goes.
So by all means, speak up! Every bit of feedback matters here! Truly, it does! That's no joke!
Now then, before anyone complains, Baryon Mode isn't something Naruto can spam. Nor does he intend to. Make no mistake, if he overuses it, he will die. He was willing to risk it this once to prove a point to Salem; to save her, but he's hardly going to go flinging that kind around.
On that note, I had to cut the Kakashi bit until next chapter. Funny as it was, it didn't fit the tone of this particular chapter.
As ever, reviews/feedback keep me writing them. Without them, I lose all hope, creativity and imagination.
So...in the Immortal Words of Atlas...
...Review...Would You Kindly!
SPOILER! SPOILER! SPOILER!
PLOT DETAILS AHOY!
YE BE WARNED!
(POTENTIAL PREVIEWS. Be sure and vote for what you want to see~!)
Maria's brow shot into her hair. "What the hell is this?"
"Hey! You told me to come back alive. I did."
"Yes, but what. Is. This."
As Salem dwelt on her ange, the glimpse of her true self vanished, corruption taking hold once more.
"Blasted body! Obey!" A cry tore itself from her lips and her appearance snapped back again.
"Right, that's going to be a problem...
Mavis fluttered down to land on Naruto's shoulder. "Caw!"
"I hear you. Women are weird."
...I want a baby."
"LET THERE BE WAR! LET THERE BE BLOODSHED! SO LET IT BE!"
...would you marry me, someday?"
Kakashi nearly spat out his coffee. "Willow, no. You're a child."
She didn't stomp like one. She simply crossed her arms. "I won't be forever."
Kakashi's head slammed into his desk. Once. Twice. Thrice. Nope. Not dreaming. Damn it all.
Young Willow quirked a brow. "Are you done?"
Nothing happens in Vacuo. Nobody cares about Vacuo.
Now her people knelt before their new ruler.
Oh, how little they knew.
How little indeed.
"You're a villain alright, but not a super one."
"What's the difference?"
They grinned.
"Presentation."
STAY TUNED! R&R! =D