FicWad

Two days later

After the incident with Agatha and the now warm welcoming the 17 ghosts of Pieta, and a few others had received everything was calming down. Galatea, Clarice and Miata were informed of three Awakened Beings that were aligned with them. Suffice to say, they were very surprised and worried in the latter’s case, that those Awakened Beings happened to be two Abyssal Ones, one of them being Riful of the fucking West who she had… an encounter with.

All of them were even more surprised to learn that Naruto was even friends with Luciela of the South, as he had met her a few months before he and Flora hooked up and became fast friends. And then there was Elda the Huntress, someone who Naruto often called ‘that one awakened that hangs out with them, like a dog that won’t go away’. That was actually rather amusing. Of course, neither of them were in the city as Naruto had the foresight to realize they would not be able to help themselves with so many potential meals around them, so they were left outside of the city to their own devices, and have remained ever since. Though Naruto did manage to state their hunger by guiding them to a bandit camp to clear out.

That was more than a little disturbing, knowing there were two Abyssal Ones plus two Awakened Ones nearby, but their hunger for innards was curbed for a while thanks to them eating the outlaws who set up camp a little ways away from the city of Rabona.

Now fully healed and with a newly grown arm, Galatea was garbed in her nun attire once more and was standing in front of Father Vincent with her hands clasped in front of her.

“Is your right arm alright now?” The man asked her.

“Yes, it is.” the woman confirmed with a small, but warm smile, “My fellow warriors helped reattach it. It might take a week for me to get used to it again, but it should be as good as before.” Father Vincent smiled warmly at that.

“47… no, Clare seems to be an acquaintance of yours, Father Vincent,” Galatea observed, there had been nothing but familiarity in the man’s voice when he spoke of her, so there was obviously a history between them.

“Yes. Seven years ago she saved this city from a Youma. And she did it again this time… it’s a debt that cannot be repaid anymore.” He was absolutely certain that those warriors, along with the Youma Hunter himself, had come to their aid because of her. Father Vincent then went on to add, “But if there is anything we can do to help, I’ll happily accept.”

Galatea closed her eyes and let out a soft sigh, “I really have to be grateful to my companions…”

“Father Mor is also waiting for your return,” that got Galatea to open her eyes from sheer surprise. “He is troubled because the children coming to church are asking him every day about your whereabouts. He wants you to come back quickly and take care of the children.”

“I see,” Galatea could not keep the amused chuckle from escaping her throat if she tried. “If having someone like me taking care of the children is fine, then I’ll happily accept.” She was more than happy to be with the children again. After her desertion, those children had given her a new purpose.

“So, if you don’t mind me asking, what happened the last time Clare was here?” Galatea asked. Since she never knew the story behind it the woman was curious.

Father Vincent chuckled warmly and went to guide Galatea to sit down on a chair, “I do not mind at all.” After that, the man started to retell how Clare had saved the city.

//

As for Naruto himself, the now unarmoured blond was separate from everyone else and was busy with a little something of his own. With his intent on going towards the West once more, the blond wanted to have some insurance on his own safety. He was really regretting not paying any more attention to Jiraiya’s lectures of Fuinjutsu techniques - he wasn’t an expert or master at the art of seals by any means, but he was adept at its usage.

He had a blank scroll on a table in front of him along with an ink pot and brush. With a tongue sticking out of the corner of his mouth the blond was doing careful, precise strokes with the ink brush.

The Toads of Mount Myobuku were a great help in teaching him, but they were ultimately limited in what they could do here in this world. Mainly because a giant frigging toad appearing out of nowhere in Alphonse would bring all sorts of unwanted attention. Not to mention talking toads, like Fukasaku and Shima would raise a lot of awkward questions. So Naruto had to bring in the smaller ones and keep them hidden away from those who aren’t in the know. At least for now. Unfortunately, thanks to the North basically being a frozen waste, the toads couldn’t stay there for long since the cold didn't agree with them.

Understandable, as it was a climate they aren’t meant for. And he couldn’t stay in Mount Myoboku for too long either… because of Flora being a worry wart. Still, despite those setbacks, the blond did manage to learn quite a bit from them. Fuinjutsu being one such thing; what Naruto was trying to do, was devise an emergency teleportation scroll just so they would have a quick escape in the likelihood something was to go wrong and they needed to get out of dodge ASAP.

But for a reason unknown to him, whenever he tried to apply the ink for the fuinjutsu in question or even think about it he would get a headache. It would start off dull at first; it was nothing more than a minor annoyance, but the more he tried to do it the more noticeable it became.

Naruto let out an irritated sigh and finished the what he was doing before nursing his temple. He had no idea what was going on with him, but it was annoying. It was the damnedest thing too; with the other seals, he was completely fine! But, with this one, he was getting a damnable headache!

He stopped massaging his head and stared at the ground with a thoughtful frown. Was this the reason why he suddenly found himself stuck here? Why he couldn’t recall anything that had happened to him that got him here in this world in the first place?

Deciding that a small break for himself was in order, Naruto made a single Shadow Clone and turned to address him after the poof of smoke dispersed into the air. “You know what you need to do.”

The clone nodded, “Yeah. Just leave it to me Boss.” the real Naruto stepped out of the way as the clone took over. While the clone did that the Original went to lie down on the bed and take a break. Maybe resting a bit will ease his headache, who knows.

Nevertheless, he needed to get a teleportation scroll ready. Since the city of Rabona is being used as their base of operations, then it was imperative that the girls have the option to get out of trouble. It would help both them and him. A ‘get out of trouble’ card, so to speak. But, unfortunately, he is no seal master. Not like his father or master had been. It would take a bit to get a seal out of the testing phase, but it was doable.

That was when both Narutos’ heard someone knocking on his door.

“Who is it?” The original called out.

“It’s Cynthia,” the door opened and the woman in question peeked her head in, “is everything okay? You’ve been in here for a while.”

Naruto sat up on his bed with a tired groan, “Everything’s fine. I’m just taking a little break right now-” his clone cleared his throat purposely from the table, “-while my clone works on a seal I’ve been trying to make.” he added as if he wasn’t interrupted.

“Oh?” Interested the former Number 14 opened the door a little bit more and stepped into the room with a curious look on her pretty face. “What does it do?” She asked. He never went into a lot of detail on Fuinjutsu’ as it’s called back where he came from, but what he did say someone who is proficient in the arts would be able to do almost anything.

Even summoning and binding gods, a story that he had told Flora who still didn't believe it to this day.

“It’s meant to be a teleportation seal.” The blond replied.

“I… have no idea what that means,” Cynthia told him with a flat look on her face.

“Hmm...well...in simple terms, it lets someone get from place to place in an instant.”

Cynthia’s eyes grew wide at that. Was that even possible?!

“Unfortunately, every time I try to get it down I get this annoying headache.” Naruto continued with a very exasperated growl, “I don’t even know why I get it! But I’m beginning to think it has something to do with me ending up here seven years ago.”

“I see…” Cynthia gave a thoughtful frown at that. Then she went over and sat down on the edge of his bed and gave Naruto a comforting smile, “Well don’t strain yourself okay? Neither of us wants Flora to go crazy again because you hurt yourself.”

Naruto chuckled nervously at that. “Very true…” he trailed off, as his thoughts went back to Pieta where Flora almost Awakened several times when she thought he had been killed.

“So, out of curiosity, do you have any news on Riful, Elda, and Luciela?” Cynthia asked; that was one of the reasons why she came here actually. Miria wanted an update on the Awakened Ones that are lurking outside of Rabona.

“...Actually, I don’t.” Naruto admitted with realization. He looked at the girl with a smile and said, “Gimme a moment.”

Naruto quickly made another clone and manually dispelled him. The Uzumaki waited for a short moment and perked up when he got the memories of a clone. The memories he received over the past two days made him blush and grow a little hard in his trousers, because not only did he now know of Agatha joining up with the two Abyssals and Elda, he now remembers his clone ploughing the fields...as it were.

“...Well?” Cynthia prompted.

“Uh…” Naruto quickly cleared his throat, “...well, the Awakened Being that was terrorising the city of Rabona has joined up with them. The bandits that were kept locked up in case she was to join up were more than enough to state her hunger. And for the past two days, the clone I sent to watch over them was… fucking three of them.”

Cynthia blinked once. Twice. Thrice. Before she started giggling like a little school girl. “Oh-ho my~! It seems your clone is taking the initiative.”

“Yeah… seems so…” Naruto deadpanned with a twitching eye, knowing full well Elda and Luciela aren’t going to let him live this down. Suffice to say he was not looking forward to going back to them. Speaking of them he’s going to need to send another clone over there since the one watching them is running low on chakra at the moment.

Then Cynthia stood up and stretched her arms above her head with a satisfied groan. Her butt raising as she did so, it effectively caught Naruto’s attention. What can he say? She has a nice ass and that leotard under that tunic of hers really brought it out.

“So, are you still going West?” She asked prompting Naruto to quickly tear his eyes away from her posterior and up at her. Thankfully she didn't notice him admiring her nice ass. And if she did, the woman didn't show she knew.

“Yeah. It’s where Raki was last seen going to, after all.” He replied with a nod; then Naruto exhaled and crossed his arms with a small frown. “And from what I got back from my clone, Riful and Luciela want to go back there too. The former is rather… concerned that ‘Doof’ will wander off and look for her since she’s been gone for a while. Luciela’s going back because there’s strength in Numbers. Elda’s likely to come along, unless she splits like she normally does. As for Agatha… the Awakened One I tossed out of here… there’s the possibility of her coming along herself. I don’t know for sure though.” Naruto shrugged at that as he wasn’t really worried about Agatha herself, if she was to step out of line then the girls would put her down quicker than she would be able to react. He then looked up at Cynthia with an inquisitive look on his face and asked, “So, what about Clare? I know she is still looking for Raki since he was last seen heading West is she going to go over there?”

“It’s a very high possibility,” Cynthia answered with a nod. “And knowing Captain Miria, she’ll want someone to watch over her to make sure she doesn’t do something reckless. If that does come to pass, I’m volunteering to watch her. And knowing Yuma, she’ll want to come along too.”

“...And knowing Flora, she’ll want to come with as well.” Naruto added with a thoughtful tone.

“Mostly for your sake.” Cynthia piped in, as she turned to give him a pointed look. “Remember when she thought you were dead?”

“Yeah…” Naruto couldn’t help but wince at that. Clare said she had to pull her back from the brink of Awakening at least three to four times, before passing out. She still has that strand of red in her hair as an ever constant reminder.

“Jean is likely to go as well. That woman is loyal to Clare to a fault.” The clone at the table added. “And if Helen’s going to go somewhere then you can bet Deneve’s going to follow. They don’t go anywhere alone. The rest… they’re probably going to stay here and hide from the Organization and be the city’s first line of defence against any other youma or Awakened Being that have the stones to attack it.”

“That’s a good point.” The original said with a slow nod. “The Organization still thinks there are no other survivors from the War in the North. If Miria’s smart, she’ll use that to her advantage.” Then he turned to address the clone and asked, “Are you good to work on that for now?”

“Yeah. I’m not getting any headaches.” The clone raised his free hand and waved the original away. “I’ll see what I can do with this. Go talk to the others or… whatever.”

“Alright,” Naruto and Cynthia both walked out of the room. As much as he wanted to take a rest, the blond knew that a single mistake in a seal can have very terrible consequences. Any mistake, be it a miswriting, or a sudden jerk from being surprised would render the seal itself useless and would have to be redone from scratch.

So such leaving the clone to himself would be the smartest and wisest, thing to do. Not long after Naruto and Cynthia left the premises, the former made a new clone who immediately went to take over the one watching Luciela, Riful, Elda and Agatha. As much as Naruto considered Luciela, and Elda to a lesser degree, as friends they are still Awakened Ones so he was going on the side of caution.

Cynthia didn't question it as she had gotten to the way he works.

//

Several minutes later Naruto in the local tavern, and was sitting at a table chatting with Miria. Many of the other women were there as well, but quite a few of them were not on the premises. Clare and Jean were two of them. It didn't take long for Miria to ask what Naruto was going to do next.

And, so, he told her the truth.

She exhaled and closed her eyes, “I am not surprised. You are adamant on helping Clare find that boy.” Miria opened her eyes again and gave him a look, “Are you going alone, or are you taking someone with you?”

“I won’t be going alone. Riful and Luciela are going to head back there because they’ve been gone for too long. And if she hasn’t split yet, Elda is probably coming along too. Not too sure about Agatha though.” Naruto’s eyes darted to his girlfriend who was standing nearby and was clearly listening in on the conversation, “Flora is most likely going to be tagging along.”

“Damn right I am,” the woman in question said in a tone that brokered no argument.

“I have no complains there,” He chuckled. It would be like old times before she had been sent to Pieta. Then he looked around “So, where’s Clare and Jean? They’re not here.”

“Neither are Natalie, Lily, Zelda, Eva, Lucia and Wendy,” Queenie added, pulling out a chair and taking a seat next to Miria, “Last I saw Clare and Jean they were heading towards the western battlements. Natalie, Lily, Zelda, Eva, Lucia and Wendy, on the other hand, are at the market, buying things.”

Well, that explained where they are. They had their yoki suppressed to the point he was having trouble finding them unless he was to use Sage Mode. At least they’re not causing trouble; in fact, the girls mingling with the locals was a good thing since it would get the civilians used to their presence here. “In that case, we should go find Clare and Jean.”

“We should,” Agreed Miria, “Despite hiding her feels well Clare is getting a little restless.” She was going to let the hothead go to the West if only to let the woman clear her regrets. Raki’s been on her mind since they separated all those years ago and she was still so adamant on finding him again.

Not to mention, them going against the Organization will eventually involve the Abyssal Ones too. Miria wasn’t too sure about Luciela and Riful, but she won’t deny the inevitability of having to fight them too. But for the moment they were on their side. Which is all well and good.

It would be a very brutal fight, and she cannot guarantee their lives. It would most likely be their last battle. At the very least, Miria wanted to make sure everyone had as little regrets as possible in this world before it gets to that point.

//

A little while later, Clare and Jean were on the Western battlement overlooking the landscape. The eyebrowless woman glanced at her comrade from the corner of her eye for a moment, before she looked ahead.

“You want to look for him, don’t you.” It wasn’t a question; it was a statement and Jean knew that Clare knew that.

The woman beside her didn't answer right away. “...I do. I said it before in Alphonse: I always intended to head South. Now that I know where Raki went, I can follow the trail there before it gets cold any further.” The woman replied. She just had to convince Miria to let her go.

“If you’re going to look for him then I’m going with you.” Despite the fact almost a decade had gone by, Jean still believed her life belonged to Clare. While it has exasperated the former Number 47, she had plenty of time to get used to it. Clare still thought it was irritating, but at the same time, she was more than glad to have a friend like Jean having her back.

“You don’t have to, you know…” Clare said with an irritable huff, but then, the corners of her lips curved upwards a slight tinge, “...but thanks.” She really meant that and from the smile, she saw on tugging on Jean’s lips, Clare knew the former Number 9 knows it too.

“What are friends for?”

Clare and Jean stared at the landscape in front of them in wonderful silence. Neither women knew how long they were standing there for but it felt like hours had passed. Eventually, however, the silence was broken when the two women heard the sounds of many feet touching stone behind them. Both women partially turned around to see everyone there behind them. Including Naruto.

Miria looked Clare dead in the eyes and asked her one simple question, “So, do you still want to go to the West, Clare?”

Clare and Jean briefly exchanged looks before looking back at the sandy-brunette. The former took a deep breath, “Miria, I-”

Before she would say anything more, the woman in question interrupted her. “You should go and clear up any lingering attachments in your heart,” Miria told her with a neutral look on her face. While Clare and Jean were surprised at how Miria was letting her go without protest, no one behind the brunette was surprised since they knew Naruto and Flora were going over there too.

“You’re… letting me go?” Clare asked, with doubt showing in her voice and on her face.

Miria nodded with confirmation and said, “When we left the North, you said you had two objectives; one of them was finding Raki and I assume the second objective is vengeance for the many souls that have already perished. If you continue to be weighed down by those desires you won’t be able to move forward.” While Clare contemplated on her words Miria then turned to address the others, “And it’s not just Clare. The same goes for all of you. Our fight against the Organization will inevitably involve the Creatures of the Abyss. It will be an incredibly difficult battle and will most likely be our last one. Before then, if you have anything to take care of, you’d better settle it now.”

Everyone looked at her with wide-eyed surprise. While they knew she was letting Clare go to the West, they had no idea she was willing to let them go do whatever they want.

Now that she had their undivided attention Miria continued where she left off and did not beat around the bush. “I cannot guarantee that this is a fight you will come back from. So as much as possible I want you all to seriously think about what we’re doing and go into it with no regrets. If you have second thoughts and change your mind, I won’t hold it against you. If you find a way to survive out there that is probably what everyone who fell in the North would have wanted. But I want you to move in groups of two or more. Where ever you go, there must be at least two of you. If you obey that rule you can go wherever you want.”

“What about Naruto?” Eva asked. Everyone blinked at that and looked at her.

Naruto gave the one-armed warrior a questioning look. “Uh… what about me?”

“I’m just wondering if that rule happens to apply to you too, is all,” Eva answered with a shrug. “Thanks to you, the Organization is still not aware we’re still alive so they are going to be more focused on you instead of us.”

“Well…” Pausing for a moment to gather his thoughts, Naruto scratched under his chin. “I think it applies to me too. I’m heading West since I’m still helping Clare find Raki. Luciela and Riful want to go back there because that ‘Doof’ guy’s been by himself for too long. So unless Agatha, Elda, Riful, and Luciela have gone their separate ways by now I would be killing two birds with one stone.”

“Well, that settles that then,” Miria said with an approving smile. “I’m going to be waiting here for you all. When the time comes, I will go forward alone if I must.”

“Well, in that case, I think I’ll take a trip, as well,” Helen announced putting her hands behind her head and drawing everyone’s attention to her. “It’d be pretty boring just hanging around waiting for Clare and you to come back. And now that I think about it, I haven’t seen my hometown once since I left it.” She glanced to her best friend and lowered her arms to her side, “How about it Deneve? Your town is pretty close to mine, isn’t it?”

“I have no interest in that place. But if you’re going, then I’ll go with you.”

“What about all of you?” Miria asked, looking to the rest of their group.

Eva shrugged, “I’m staying here. Just in case any other awakened ones try to get inside and eat people.”

Lucia crossed her arms, “I can’t remember where my home was. There’s nothing for me there anyway, so I’m going to be staying here and hold the fort.”

“Wherever Naruto goes, I’m going,” Flora stated.

Natalie let out a heavy sigh, “My home was beyond Pieta. There’s nothing for me there anymore, so I’m staying here too.”

“I don’t have a home anymore, so I’m fine,” Cynthia said with a small smile, showing she didn't mind she no longer had a place to call home.

“Though my town was still standing last I heard, I don’t consider it my home ever since a youma ate my family,” Jean said.

“My home was in the North. So I’m going to be holding the fort here just in case a youma or Awakened One tries to get inside.” Zelda said with a shrug.

“I’m staying here,” Julianna said.

“It’s too dangerous for me to get near my home. It’s close to the Organization’s Headquarters.” Queenie said with a shrug.

“My town is a small village near the Organization headquarters. It’ll be too dangerous for me to go there anyway.” Yuma said with a sigh. She really wanted to visit the place too but knew better than to try her luck.

“I don’t really have any memories of my home town, so I’ll be staying with you, Captain.” Tabitha finished.

“I see…” Miria looked at everyone for a moment and nodded to herself, “Alright, then, in that case, Yuma and Cynthia, you go with Clare, Jean, Naruto and Flora to the West. Everyone else will hunker down here.”

“Understood,” Cynthia answered with a respectful nod.

“What?! But, Miria I can go with just Jean!” Clare protested.

“I know you can. But you have a tendency to get out of control, so if you have two or more warriors with you, whatever the situation, then you will probably act more rationally.”

Seeing as Clare was about to protest some more Naruto took that opportunity to remind her of something she may have forgotten. “Clare, while you and Jean are strong in your own right, don’t forget Riful and Luciela are now wanting to go back to the West. Even though Luciela is my friend, she still is an Awakened Being and there is still a very good chance she will try and kill you. It’ll be safer if you had more people with you on the off chance they do try and do that.”

“Not to mention Agatha and Elda are with them.” Flora piped in; while they would be able to take care of Elda and Agatha by themselves, fighting two Abyssal Ones together along with Agatha and Elda would be a damn nightmare!

“But I…” Clare closed her eyes and exhaled, “...alright.”

Miria sent Naruto a thankful smile and addressed the ones who are going to be leaving the city, “Alright. Then I just have one more thing to say: be careful in all that you do. Avoid all contact with Awakened Beings and other warriors so you don’t get dragged into needless fights. I will wait here and pray for your safety.”