Naruto/Ruby (Maybe White Rose), Sasuke/Yang (Maybe Bumblebee)
A shining sun, prideful and headstrong, but with a heart of gold.
A moon dipped in the shadows, lost in hatred but longing for kinship.
They were always at odds, the Light and the Shadow, yet a bond of trust, unbreakable, linked them. The Light, unwavering in its resolve, never let go of the Shadow, even in the midst of their countless battles.
The Shadow bent to the light and, in its time of need, helped the Light when everything was most dire. The world was saved, but their end was nigh, but they finally understood one another.
With their energy spent, they fell into an eternal sleep. Only legends were told of their bravery, but even these stories faded until no one remembered…
The heroes of light and shadows, their actions of bravery and sacrifice, were lost to time, only remembered by a scarce few who chronicled their tales and passed it down through the generations.
"That's so sad…" A young child, a girl of pure heart and open eyes, shimmered sadly at the tale. Her gradient black hair shifted red the further it left the roots and fluttered in the cold, night air that filtered through the room. She shivered and pulled her blanket tight, tugging it once to free it from its confines beneath a second figure.
"Yeah, heroes should never be forgotten!" A child two cycles older cried foul, laying beside her sister. Her long, blazing blonde hair shone through the night like a beacon as she denounced the injustice of the story told.
A chuckle left the storyteller's lips. She softly smiled, a gentle, silver light emanating from her eyes. "Ruby, Yang… This story is a fairy tale my mother told me when I was your age, but it holds an inevitable truth that we all must accept… Time marches forward. No matter how great your deeds are, eventually, they will be lost, and we will all be forgotten."
"But that sucks!" Yang pouted as Ruby sulked at their mother's tale. "Heroes who saved the world should never be forgotten! I don't care if this is a stupid fairy tale! That should never happen!"
"Alas, it happens, no matter how right you are." Summer closed the book she was reading, setting it on the nightstand between her daughter's beds; her eyes glistened with joy. "It's just a fairy tale meant to teach a lesson… But you want to know a secret?"
"Secret?" Ruby's sullen mood picked up, looking up expectantly as even her older sister paid closer attention.
"Yes, a secret, little rose." Summer lightly giggled with eyes shining brightly. "A secret my mother once shared with me… In every fairy tale, a nugget of truth lies within each story. So these two heroes once existed, and through this story, their legends continues on, looking to inspire future generations."
"Really! Awesome!" Yang jittered excitedly in bed. "I wanna save the world just like they did!"
"Now, that is a tall task." Summer slyly smirked, amused at Yang's statement. "It will take a lot of work to do it… But I know you can do it. Both of you."
"Really?" Ruby's eyes beamed, filled with hope and wonder.
"I know it." Summer softly combed her hand through her daughter's hands.
"You two will change the world just like they did all those years ago."
"Ruby!"
"Huh?" Silver eyes flickered wide as a teenage girl who possessed gradient black hair with red highlights at the tip snapped up, glancing around and taking in her environment.
A ruined city filled with dilapidated buildings and parking garages was all she could see. She was perched on a cement railing, Crescent Rose in its rifle form clutched in hand, pointed into the streets below. Right… She and her team were still in the ruins of Mountain Glenn with their professor…
She glanced above where Professor Oobleck sat, slumped against the wall, eyes closed. Yet somehow, she didn't think he was asleep…
"Did ya fall asleep there, Rubes?" The boisterous voice of her sister boomed, slapping her on the back as she moved away from the bonfire and stood next to her, gazing down at the city they spent the day hunting Grimm within. Ruby sent a sharp glare toward Yang, who simply smiled back at her, unfazed by her stare. "I get it! Today has been a tiring day! I'm still worn out myself, so I can't blame ya for nodding off."
"She's about to go on guard, Yang. She's the last person who should be falling asleep. " Weiss glowered, shooting a glare at her teammate and huffing as she sat down on the sleeping bag she had just finished setting up.
"Come on! It's not that bad! We're all tired." Yang scowled briefly before flashing a brilliant smile back at the ice princess. "I've already seen you nod off several times while setting up your bed, so don't act like you're not!"
"I didn't say I wasn't," Weiss exhaled, her features softening briefly before she steeled her expression. "The difference is I didn't volunteer to take the first watch. It's a bad look when our leader can't live up to her word. …If you're too tired to go now, one of us can take the first shift. We're in this together, alright?"
"Thanks for the concern, Weiss, but I can make it. I just got lost in thought… I remembered a story mom used to tell when Yang and I were young." Ruby meekly smiled at her teammate, who showed concern in her unique way. She still had moments like this, but she was opening up more and more by the day…
If only Blake could open up a little more. She was so closed off to everyone on their team…
"What story?" Blake's attention perked up as she sat up from her sleeping back, setting down a book she had brought along for when they had a break. "Must have been relevant to our current situation for you to zone out like that."
Ruby sheepishly smiled and rubbed the back of her head. Of course, Blake would show interest when she mentioned something about a story. She loved to read more than she did. Ruby couldn't recall a moment in her spare time when she didn't have a book in hand!
"No, not really," Ruby shook her head. "It has nothing to do with any of this. It was just an old tale about two heroes, one of light and the other of the shadows, who finally understood one another and stood together to save the world."
"Oh, that one…" Yang longingly recalled the story, grimacing, recalling that was the last story Summer had told them before she… Disappeared. However, she put on a strong front and smiled for Ruby. "I mean, it does have some relevance. We're still trying to figure out and understand each other… It isn't as grandiose of a purpose as saving the world , but maybe for someone, someday… We can save their world if we put aside all our differences."
"Sounds like a lame story…" Weiss muttered before blanching from the sharp glare Yang threw in her direction. "Well, I guess a story about two heroes who save the world isn't the worst story I've heard of… Many stories have similar concepts."
"A hero of shadows, huh?" Blake's bow curled. Yang had a point. There was some relevance to their situation… She was born of the shadows… And yet… Blake shed a sliver of a smile toward her partner and her sister. "I might ask one day to hear that story. Sounds interesting."
"It's a good one… Though, I doubt I could tell it as well as Mom could!" Ruby sheepishly laughed.
"Well, that's not fair at all, Rubes! Summer was amazing at everything!" Yang sincerely chirped, albeit with a little less enthusiasm than her norm. Whenever she thought about…
Stumbling where she stood, Yang's eyes shifted as she regained her balance a few feet away from Ruby. The dust around them started to fill the air. The rubble of concrete around them looked like it was shivering. What felt like a rumble shook through her. Her head darted around, glancing at Ruby, who took her post, looking through her scope. "Anything Rubes? Cause I feel something!"
"An earthquake?" Oobleck bounced up, feigning sleep while listening to their girls chat, and jumped down alongside his students. Ingesting the situation from a quick examination, he frowned as the rumbling deepened and noticed the very structure they stood on, shifting and swaying. Cracks forming within the concrete. This zone was no longer safe to rest.
"Ruby, Yang! Step away from the ledge! We need to get to level ground post-haste!" Oobleck hastily ordered, recognizing the danger of the situation and taking charge. An earthquake was dangerous enough… An earthquake while surrounded by Grimm was extraordinarily dangerous.
"Right!" Ruby and Yang simultaneously responded, the two sisters moving to retreat from the edge of the parking garage and return to the rest of the unit. Unaware of the cracking ground beneath their feet.
The round cracked at Ruby's feet, knocking her and her sister off balance. Yang was stouter than she was and robust enough to stay on her feet. Ruby cursed her frailer frame as she tripped and slid on the concrete. But the concrete she collided with wasn't as solid as it used to be…
It shattered and gave way to the shadows of the ruins beneath her. And she fell… Beneath what she felt where the streets were previously, in the disrepaired subway stations beneath the city. And she kept falling, the rubble of the subways collapsing around her. Her fall seemed infinite, even as she heard all her friends and sister call out her name.
"Ruby!"
Wake up, my heroes. The world requires your aid once more. Arise again and take up your mantles like the Sun and the Moon.
"Ugh, who do you think you are? I was finally at rest…"
"Better yet, what the heck is going on? What's going on? Everything feels so… Different."
"Would you be quiet… Your voice is too loud…"
"Make me, bastard!"
My heroes, this world is in need of your presence again. A new threat is on the horizon, one you should have faced years ago and one this world is unprepared for. It is already struggling against the shadows that constrain it. The heroes of this time need thy aid, champions of Sun and Moon.
"Mah, what are you talking about? Make sense, would ya?! We're already in this void of nothingness! Mind explained what the heck is going on!"
"Furthermore, what do you mean by a new threat arriving? And that it happens to be one that we should have faced? How do you know any of this?"
I… Was shown the future by our creator… The blacksmith who created our universe, you could say.
"So why isn't she the one telling us all this? Doesn't make too much sense, ya know?"
I am her emissary and speak on her behalf… But I will be honest; there is a selfish reason I wished to tell you personally. …This is my world… One I failed to defend already. I do not wish to see it consumed by darkness or by the parasites from the stars.
"One that you failed to defend? …Doesn't seem like it to me! You are still giving everything you have from beyond the grave."
Huh? But I failed… I couldn't even keep my promise to my daughters…"
"Maybe so… But you are here. As much as I hate to agree with this idiot, it doesn't seem like you have stopped protecting what you consider precious."
"Hehe… Seems like all the time around me has rubbed off on you."
"...Shut up. I haven't agreed to this."
"I have! So unless you just want to stay in this void all by yourself…"
"... Fine."
My heroes… Thank you. You don't know how much this means to me. My family has kept your story alive for all these years… To hear you wish to return and help save the world…
"Think nothing of it, my fair lady! The moment you said people were in trouble, I was all in! All I wanted was to know what the heck was going on!"
You are genuinely benevolent, just like the legends my family has passed down of you for ages… Your story is far from finished. It is time to write the next chapter. Go forth and tell a new tale worthy of being told.
"Ah! Why is it still dark?! Where are we?"
"Naruto, could you shut up for a second?" Sasuke muttered as his right eye shifted crimson, his Sharingan activated as his Rinnegan combed the darkness around them. His vision in the dark wasn't the greatest, but with a flicker of flames that he spewed onto the ground beneath him, he recognized the features around them. "Train tracks? We must be in an underground tunnel… Curious."
"Aren't trains rare?" Naruto scowled as the flames weakly flickered, allowing them to look around at the dimly lit concrete tunnels they were within. "Wait, she did say this world requires our presence… Could this be far off in the future?"
Sasuke grunted, not bothering to respond. He knew Naruto understood what they were told. He was just looking for verification... or wanted him to speak. …He did not want to.
"Oiy, say something, ya bastard!" Naruto glowered at the lack of response from Sasuke, who simply took in their surroundings.
Sasuke simply turned and met Naruto's gaze with a glare. The blonde glowered further, turning from him. He understood what that look meant…
"Yeah, yeah, yeah… I was asking for confirmation, ya jerk!" Naruto crossed his arms over his chest and huffed. A moment after further silence, he exhaled pitifully before running his hand through his hair. "Well, I guess we should follow the path until we find people or the way out."
Sasuke grunted in agreement, already walking forward, enjoying Naruto cursing and following after him. It was the only logical conclusion. In theory, they could tunnel their way out themselves… But that could cause more harm than good to those around them. He glowered at that thought. And he cared? …Dammit…
It didn't take long, but the structure around them opened up. They looked like ruins. Something happened here. Whatever that was, people were still here, meaning answers could be found. They weren't too far. He could see light in the distance and feel their presence. Great, they could learn something about where and when they were. Possibly discover something about the darkness that threatened this world… Or maybe even these parasites…
"Hm?" Sasuke stopped, taking in their surroundings. His eyes shifted, paying attention to the dust motes before glowering and returning to Naruto. He was more elementally inclined than he was. That seemed to be one of his gifts. "You feel that?"
"Yeah. We're about to have an earthquake." Naruto scanned the ruins, glancing above them, glowering in that direction. "What is with this negativity I feel?"
"Negativity?" Sasuke frowned. Naruto could sense negative energy? Was this another gift he had from the sage? Or was this something else?
"Yeah. It's something Kurama allows me to feel… And it's everywhere. I don't know what is causing it either. Can't get a firm grasp of the feeling, even when using natural chakra." Naruto affirmed Sasuke's thoughts, and the Uchiha noticed his friend's eyes fade to their normal cerulean.
He would have pressed further, but as he had predicted, a rumble echoed around them. It started softly at first, but quickly they glanced at one another as the ground shook the concrete confides they were trapped within. This was a powerful quake. It wasn't a threat to them…
"Ya think this has something to do with us waking up?" Naruto squinted, quickly stepping out of the way of rubble collapsing around them, light beginning to shine from above. "Shit, this is bad! Let's make sure no one gets hurt from this."
Sasuke simply grunted in agreement, gazing into the distance, and in a split second, he was gone. Naruto glowered. "Stupid show off… I can't teleport like that… Huh?"
Snapping his head to the light peeking from the collapsing ground above, he swore he heard someone screaming… His eyes fell upon a figure falling through the light and into the shadows from above—a girl roughly his age with what looked like a friend leaping after her into the void he was previously trapped in.
Without hesitation, he acted, and a golden aura burned around him.
"Gotcha!" Naruto snatched the small frame from below before moving to her friend, who leapt after her. He grabbed her as well before flying to where he felt the presence of others up above in the light. Setting the two down, he brightly smiled at the girls as their friends and an older man quickly rushed to their side. "There ya go!"
"Now, let's get you all somewhere safe!"
R & R.
