A/N: EDIT: Well, that's not a lot of feedback. T_T
I'm a man of my word.
As stated, if this makes it to 100 reviews, I'll update it again. If not...well, I haven't the heart to continue something folks don't like.
It seems folks aren't much fond of this request story. I'm all tapped out.
No more requests for awhile, please! RWBY or otherwise!
This is a little shard from my "Fragments of Remnant"plot bin made into a story.
Thad said, I'm working like a madman to update Breath of Fresh Air to update, Elden Ring, and Game of Thrones. On that note, Forgotten Son, Claws of a Lion, Foxfire, and Dance of the Dread are shaping up to be long chapters; to say nothing of Demon of Ashford.
With my fifteen year anniversary on this site finally here, I find myself reflecting on the little things in life. What was once a lazy pastime meant for me and a few friends really grew and evolved over time. There are days when I look back on the last fifteen years here and I wonder if anyone will remember me; if I made an impact, despite never making a single cent on any of these stories. Some days were happier than others, and some stories I enjoyed writing WAY too much; to the point where I'd stay up all night working on them.
And of course, there are times when I look to the future and wonder what will become of things when I'm gone.
Of course, I try not to dwell on the latter overmuch; I'm still alive and still writing. In an ideal world, I'd like to keep doing so for as long as I can. But old age is catching up to me and these days, the world is filled with so much madness and death. Even before that, so many friends and fellow writers I once knew are gone, now. Will I still be here in twenty years? Ten? Five? Its a chilling thought. But for now, I'm still here, still writing.
As always Time and feedback will determine if this becomes a story.
In other words...its up to YOU, the reader. Do let me know~!
As a side note, this is before RWBY landed in Ever After.
Timeline ought to be obvious, but I'll let you guess~!
Story title is inspired by the RWBY song, the Edge.
"A curious cat stumbled upon a wayward warrior with one arm.
Sounds like the beginning of a grand adventure, no?
You'd be right. IT IS.
~A Traveler.
At the Edge
A stranger had come to the Ever After.
This one was particularly strange as strangers went.
The Curious Cat certainly found him so. Downright enigmatic, really.
After all, this was the first human he'd ever seen. Blue eyes, blond hair, whiskered cheeks, a battered and bruised body wrapped up in the tattered rags of an orange-black jumpsuit; he was a mystery through and through, this one. Although he'd spoken little since they'd met, each word wrung from him was a prize...
"Aren't you going to say anything else?"
"..."
"This journey will go much faster if you we fill it with conversation."
"..."
"Have you lost your ability to speak?"
Blue eyes snapped into scarlet. "You're making me angry, cat."
"Aha!" said Cat danced away before his guest could think to make a grab for him again. "He speaks! I'm sorry, that was rude of me. I'm sure you can, its just, I've never seen anyone or anything quite like you. What did you say you were again?"
...human."
"And what," he hopped over a stray log as they walked, "Is a human?"
The whiskered warrior made an irritable noise "Someone you're starting to annoy...
For you see, as they traveled together, he was beginning to piece together the puzzle that comprised this "human."
The man had been blasted into to the Ever After by some sort of explosion. He'd arrived broken, back bowed by guilt, missing his right arm, and a bit of himself besides. With but a bit of prodding he told his tale and with it the source of his grief.
What a sad story it was. He'd fought and killed his best friend. Deliberately or accidentally, he couldn't be certain, only that he had. Lost his right arm for it, too.
A pity. Hopefully he'd be able to grow it back. Could humans do that?
Truly he was such a sad sight; one couldn't help but take pity on him. He certainly had when they'd first met. This long-haired blond already had the beginnings of stubble forming on his jawline; which suggested he had been here months, yet he acted as if everything in this acre were new to him. Had he truly sat in one place for so long? Curiouser and curiouser. There was another explanation for it of course, unpleasant as it was. On a whim he voiced it.
"You said you landed in a grove filled with clocks, correct?"
...I did."
"Time passes quickly there. It might explain our disheveled appearance."
"I noticed." the blond grumbled. "My hair's too damn long and I'm growing a beard.
"Indeed." he retorted. "I daresay if you wore armor, it would have been quite rusted by now...
A grunt was his sole response.
There it was again, the wall between them. He'd spoken precious little since they met and as such, the Curious Cat had come to see that his traveling companion was wounded in another sense. A malady of the mind, as it were. Poor thing. It made him want to take him to the Tree all the more. This human was broken. So terribly twisted up inside by what he'd done, what he'd failed to do, that it was eating him alive.
But they'd made a promise, he and this human. A pact that bound them. He trusted him to keep it, if nothing else:
"There's a way out? Good. Show me the way, and I'll take you with me when I leave."
"Lovely!"
It was a good deal. Simple, yet complex, as most deals were.
Leaving implied traveling, which meant he needed a guide.
The Cat was all too happy to serve as such; his role here was a fulfilling one, but after a time it grew terribly boring doing the same thing over and over again.
But the outside world! He knew next to nothing of this land called "Remnant" and was eager to see it. He could endure the sullen anger of his guest for the sake of that goal. What he could not tolerate however, was this infernal silence. Because he! Had! questions! So very many questions! He couldn't contain himself and began badgering the blond as he led him across another field.
"Are all humans like you?"
"No."
"Are there more of you where you're from?"
"Yes."
"You must be quite strong to survive such a wound. Are you?"
"Yes."
"And are most humans like you?"
"No."
He tried one last time. "Are you going to keep doing that?"
"Maybe."
"No more one-word answers from you!" he swatted the blond's leg with a paw, drawing an angry hiss from him. "If I'm going to lead you to the tree, and you are making that very difficult good sir, then the least you can do is humor me on our journey."
"..."
The Curious Cat tilted his head. "Surely a few words aren't too much to ask?"
...fine." here at last, a tiny bit of light finally came back to those dull, tired blue eyes. "What do you want to know?"
Excellent. He might be able to save this young man yet. "Your name would be a good start."
The man complied with a reluctant, gravelly grunt. "...Naruto."
"Well, then, Naruto!" he bounded away, briefly balancing on his tail before righting himself once more. "Allow me to ask another question before we move onto the next acre."
"Hurry up and ask." the blond crossed both arms, mangled and otherwise, before his burnt chest. "We're losing daylight."
"Very well." Sitting on his paws, the Cat regarded him. "Who are you?"
Naruto looked away from him...
.
..
...nothing? No response? He'd expected anger. A shout, at the very least. Some form of protest.
Instead, the blond sagged, right down to his shoulders. He ran a hand through his hair and something bleak blazed through his eye. Not panic -it was much too soon for that sort of thing- but anxiety all the same. His was the look of someone who had just confronted a terribly uncomfortable question and not liked the answers he found.
No, no, no. Not at all.
"I...don't know anymore." he confessed, breathing the words out on a sigh. "I thought I did...and then I killed my best friend. If I couldn't honor my promise to her, if couldn't save him..then what good am I?" weary blue eyes turned on him, hollow and tired. "What good am I, what good is a shinobi, who can't keep his word?"
Oh, dear. This one was more broken than he'd thought. Doubt was a terrible poison. It seeped right into your soul.
That settled it. This human needed to be brought to the Tree. The sooner, the better.
But before that, Naruto needed an answer.
"A curious question indeed," He patted a paw against the ground. "Lets answer your question with another question. Do you think yourself incapable of keeping your word?"
Naruto glared at him. "How should I know?! I already broke it once. Whose to say I won't do it again, by accident or otherwise?"
"Or you might be perfectly fine." he posited in return. "Everyone makes mistakes, you know."
"Not me." Naruto shook his head and started walking unsteadily down the road once more. "I shouldn't have done that. I shouldn't be here...
The Curious Cat watched him for a moment, flicked his tail once, then darted after him.
"Worry not~! We'll have you out of here soon enough."
This was an entity standing at the precipice; a knife's edge, uncertain of which way he wished to fall. He'd seen the like before. Sooner or later he would have to choose. Once he left this place would he go left, or right? Or perhaps he would choose the middle path and continue the balancing act? It was a terrible thing, balancing between Light and Darkness. Those who walked that path broke more often than not; fell apart from the strain of it all. He was curious to see what would happen; what the human would become. Oh yes, most curious indeed.
But letting him fall apart? Oh, no. No, no, no. The Curious Cat simply couldn't allow that to happen.
After all, if this young man lost his mind then who would take him to the human world.
No matter. He'd dealt with broken things before. He'd keep this one together.
There was another matter to consider as well. If portals into the Ever After were opening all over the place, who know what -or who!- might wind up here? Just thinking about it made him even more curious! Phenomena aside, it promised to be an interesting journey. Who knew what awaited them on the road ahead? Who knew where said road might lead them? Who knew what they might yet encounter? Certainly not him! There was an odd beauty in not knowing. After all...
Madness was catching.
A/N: And scene.
Hope you enjoyed it.
Soooo? Should this be a story? Once again! This is an AU.
This story's going to have emotional moments, humor, drama, and chaos incarnate. You've been warned.
And a proper pairing of course. Wouldn't do to o leave Naruto out in the cold.
Curious Cat gets his happy ending, someone who actually keeps his word. and ALL HELL is about to break loose...with a twist.
Hopefully someone, somewhere, enjoyed this. I just don't know anymore these days. Its terribly hard to tell...
So...in the Immortal Words of Atlas...Review...Would You Kindly? Let me know what you think!
Have some previews. They'll come to life if this ever becomes a story.
Hope you enjoy 'e~!
(Previews!)
The Blacksmith laughed; it was a faint, musical sound. "You're certainly new. I don't think I've seen anyone quite like you before...
"...?"
"I'm sorry, does this form frighten you?" the metal woman granted him a small, motherly smile and laid her hammer down on the anvil. "I could take on another one, if you prefer...
A rush of heat and flame had Naruto looking away.
...is that better?
Someone else fell into the Ever After soon thereafter.
"My, my!" a paw poked and prodded the prone, burnt body. "You humans are just cropping up all over the place, aren't you? You're the third one this month after Naruto. Wherever did you come from-yeow!" those words became a yelp as a hand grabbed his tail. "Ouch! That's actually quite painful! Would you mind releasing me?!" They did not; in fact they tightened their grip and dragged him closer. "Naruto! Help, help! I think she's going to eat me!"
This close, he got a glimpse at the battered, burnt girl. Who was she? So many questions.
She was barely breathing, the poor thing. And those burns! "Where...am I...?"
The Cat blanched. Oh, dear. She couldn't die here. Dying would be so very boring. "Naruto! Quickly, please!"
"Don't rush me, ya damn cat, I'm coming...this one better not attack me...
"Who am I?"
"I...don't know?" The girl palmed her face, her voice growing higher, eyes wider with each passing moment. "I don't know. I don't know! WHO AM I?! Why can't I remember anything?!
Naruto knelt beside her. She latched onto him.
And bawled like a baby.
"Why is there a cat sitting on your shoulders?"
Naruto tilted his head. "Why isn't there one on yours?"
He growled at the Jabberwalker as it grappled with him. "You think you can eat me, bitch? I'll eat you! KURAMA!"
It screamed. "No!
"Yes."
"Its not death, its rebirth. The tree could help you. Restore you. Fix what's broken inside. You could have your arm back. You could be whole again. Leave your pain behind."
Naruto laid a hand on the bark..."will I still be me?"
The Cat frowned. "I supposed that depends."
Naruto tilted his head toward him. "On?"
"On what you define as...well, you."
...so this is Remnant."
"Fascinating! I didn't think it would be so...big!"
R&R~!