A/N: Read this note, would you kindly?

First, we might be upgrading this story to M based on fan feedback. Again, that depends entirely on you, the readers.

Now then, after a bunch of pestering...I finally got around to seeing Cyberpunk Edgerunners. There ain't a category for it yet, so it'll be in this one.

I also saw *SPOILER* and *SPOILER* happen to poor *SPOILER* not to mention the way *SPOILER* went down swinging.

And after what Adam Smasher did to *SPOILER* out of the bloody blue?!

*takes a deep breath*

Nope, nope, nope, I AIIIIIIIIIIN'T HAVING THAT SHIIIIIT!

So here we are; this is a oneshot; a challenge of sorts issued by many to me over the last few days. We'll see if folks can convince me otherwise.

Once more, we're sticking with the "Embers" rule for this story, and others. If folks don't like this, it won't be continued. Meaning that if the story itself ain't popular? Well, it won't be continued. I'm working two jobs -might need a third soon!- so I barely have time to write; as such, I cannot afford to write something folks don't enjoy. So by all means, speak up! Your voice matters! Make yourself heard! As ever, reviews are the fuel that sustain me. Without them I cannot write a single word. Simple as that. Working nearly all hours of the day keep me absurdly busy, and I can't bring myself to write something folks don't like.

So in lieu of a long-winded rand/explanation, here we go!

As ever, I own no references, quotes, themes or memes! They're merely tributes.

To be clear, we're starting at Episode One here. Just wanted to make that clear to avoid any confusion.

"I get where you're coming from. Really. I do. If my loved ones got hurt, I'd be furious too...

~?

Running to the Edge

Hello ground, old friend.

It was certainly rushing up to meet him like one.

Naruto closed his eyes and coughed up a laugh. By the sage, that was an awful joke.

Under normal circumstances, he might've cringed at it. Shame he was too injured to think straight-or do much of anything, really. He could feel the wind lashing at his face as he fell, hear it howling in his ears with each passing second. Death grew closer. He could feel the reapers scythe at his throat. There was a part of him that just wanted to let go; close his eyes and let the concrete finish what Sasuke had started...

.

..

...he couldn't do it.

"Ohnoyoudon't! You don't get to die on me! Not after all we've been through!"

Even concussed as he was, utterly exhausted and with a gaping hole in his ribs, his mind still possessed instinct. More than that, he still had Kurama. The old fox wasn't the sort to roll over and go quietly into that good night. He kicked in and kicked hard, wrestling control their weary body out from under him and pulling them out of their dead-end plunge. Fitful golden fire flashed across tattered clothes, mending wounds, slowing their bleeding alongside its fall, until...!

Against all odds, he managed to stick the landing; his knees creaked ominously and something howled in his back, but his legs held...for a moment.

Less so his stomach. What little he'd eaten came boiling back out and His body buckled down to a knee.

"Gonna give you the reigns for a bit...m'not feelin so good...

"Hrmph." Kurama assumed direct control seamlessly, and with the swap, Naruto felt the fiery agony in his chest recede to a dull ache. "No-good-ungrateful Uchiha. We spare his life and what does he do? Blows a hole through us, then throws us through a wormhole. Some friend of yours." A golden hand touched their ruined ribs and came away bloody. "Should heal soon enough."

"Hope so...freakin' hurts...feels like someone ribbed my intestines and stomped on 'em...

"Its going to. Now where are we...?"

While he'd ceded control for the time being, he could still see and experience the world around them. He felt cracked pavement beneath his bare feet, the baking heat of the afternoon suns searing down on his shoulders, the faint scent of something he didn't quit recognize tickling his nose...

.

..

...no, wait. He knew that smell. What was it? Like something was burning. Damn thing was right on the tip of his tongue...

They'd landed on a road of some sort. At least he assumed it was one. A sprawling city stretched beyond and before them, looming buildings as far as the eye could see. Strange metal boxes -vehicles?- hurtled by him one after the other, honking their horns. No idea what they were. Those, he ignored. Well, he tried. The voices were another matter.

"What the hell is he?!"

"Where'd he come from?!"

"No idea, choom! Gun 'em down!"

Someone opened fire on Kurama as another strange metal box raced by. Rounds peppered his glowing body. They stung; like a horde of angry bees. He would've ignored them. Kurama had never been the sort. In a fit of pique he flitted a golden arm outward. Blood spattered is face. He watched one of those strange metal boxes flip, hit another, and cause a domino effect. He had half a mind to ignore that too, until he heard the screams.

.

..

...damnit."

What he saw the fire and flames, the awful wreck he'd just caused a few yards away...

"Kurama!"

"I see it, I see it. Don't get your soul in a twist."

Weary legs carried him forward at a jog. In a matter a moments he'd broken into a full-on-sprint. He could see someone struggling in the wreckage, hanging upside down in one of those metal boxes -cars!- and thrashing for dear life. Bloody hell. It was just a kid. He didn't seem to be hurt, not by the way he was thrashing about, but what in blazes was he shouting...?

"Mom?" he hollered the word at the top of his lungs. "Mom! Damnit, wake up! Stupid seatbelt! Lemme go!"

A woman lay sprawled out on the tarmac only a yard away, covered in blood.

He reached her a heartbeat later.

"Ouch, this really doesn't look good." he knelt and touched a hand to her bloodied gold jacket. His mind began to whirl as he took in her injuries. "Lacerated lungs. Broken ribs and collarbone with a cracked skull, an' mangled legs besides. Hmm. No stamina either. Amazed she's not dead." The kind of spirit that must take, to cling to life even in such a sorry state. He could fix this. Yeah, definitely. "Right, right, I got this." Didn't he? Just the thought of failure had him babbling. "Move over Kurama, I just need a few seconds and she'll be right as rain...

"We're low on chakra and you're barely holding together as is. This isn't a good idea."

"Its always a good idea to save a life!

"You'll knock yourself out!"

"Don't care!" He grit his teeth and wrested back control. "Doing it anyway!"

Golden hands flitted out. One alighted on the woman's head, another between her breasts. She wasn't breathing. Mouth-to-mouth it was. No time to be embarrassed. Had to keep her heart beating. Sakura had taught him some basic first aid on that front. It was enough. He just needed to keep her alive long enough for his chakra to to the rest.

"What're you doing?!" the boy shouted behind him. "We need to get her to a doc-

Naruto whipped around and glared bloody red daggers at him. "You want yer mom to live or not?!"

The punk stopped wrestling with his fraying seatbelt. It gave with a snap and he finally fell out the car. It did nothing to stop his anger. "Of course I want her to live!"

Kurama reared over him as he snarled back. "Then shaddap and lemme do my damn job!"

"S-Sure, whatever you say...

"Shhh...

Grumbling to himself, Naruto went back to work. He felt life stir in the woman's chest, a flicker in the dark. Golden hands wrapped around it, coaxing it back into a flame. Bone popped. Limbs realigned. Her wounds began to close. His head began to ache, but he pushed the pain aside and continued his bloody work. A moment passed. A minute now. More. He could hear his own heart hammering in his ears, pulse pounding, demanding that he stop, that he pull back himself from the edge before it was too late...!

Naruto ran to the edge and leaped clean over it with a mad grin.

And just like that, the woman jerked upright with a gasp, coughing and sputtering. Not fully healed, not by a long shot with those scratches and cuts on her arm, but she wasn't at risk of being roadkill anymore. She'd at least be able to bandage those injuries of hers. Maybe. Hopefully. If her luck held.

He saw the fear in her eyes. Confusion. Terror.

"I've got you." he caught her as she flailed at him in a moment of panic. "You're alright. I saved ya."

"Save me...?" She rounded on him, hiccuping, quivering in his arms. "I...I was dead...!

"Almost." he nodded. "I pulled ya back from the edge. You got a name?"

"G...Gloria." She rasped, still not quite comprehending it all. "Gloria Martinez." Her eyes widened a moment later. "David! My son!? Where's is he...?!"

"Little punk's fine." he beamed and jerked a thumb over his shoulder where the baffled boy lay, even now dragging himself there way. "He's only got a few scratches." the pain in his skull intensified and he slumped a little despite his efforts. But I'm gonna need you to do me a favor, miss Gloria."

She squinted up at him, trembling a little in his grasp, probably terrified of him in all his golden glory. "What...?"

"Catch me, would you kindly?" his eyes began to droop. "M'about to pass out here...

"Wait, wait, wait!" She fumbled to hold him up as he slumped in her grasp. "Who are you?! I didn't even get your name!"

Name? Right, those were a thing. He should probably answer her 'an all...shit, he was bleeding again. His wound had opened back up without Kurama's keeping it closed. Which meant he was probably bleeding all over the nice lady he'd just gone through all the trouble to save. She really should bandage those wounds on her arms. He didn't fancy of the idea of his blood mingling with hers...might be...side effects...

"I swear, its always you and redheads...

Right, right, miss Gloria asked his name, hadn't she?

Getting hard to think. He'd really lost too much blood and chakra. "M'name's Naruto...sleepy time now...talk later...oooh...pretty colors...

He pitched forward and landed faceifrst into her bosom. Gloria caught him; said something he couldn't hear...

Kurama heaved an aggravated sigh. "Sleep well, idiot."

Naruto blacked out with a bleary smile.

His troubles had only just begun.

A/N: If it isn't obvious, yes, that's Naruto from the end of Shippuden flung from his world...with both arms intact.

No implants for him. Why in blazes would he need them? No sir, its time for a RAMPAGE.

Once again! This may very well be a oneshot! It'll take a lot to sway me on that.

Well? Whaddya think? Should this be a story? I await your feedback.

So in the Immortal Words of Atlas...

...Review, Would You Kindly?

And because its a habit!

POTENTIAL PREVIEWS.

If this story makes it off the ground.

If not...well. Suppose it depends on you.

EDIT: Added some more content now that I know who Sasha is in Edgerunners. She's easy enough to find, just delayed her mission this time around. Hope you enjoy~!

(Preview)

"Cyberpsycho? Nah, the kid doesn't have any chrome in or on him. Doesn't make him any less crazy though...


Gloria rubbed her right arm. Damn thing wouldn't stop tingling for some reason...


...which one am I speaking to right now? Naruto? Or Kurama?"

"Does it matter? Naruto doesn't enjoy slaughtering his enemies. I, on the other hand...


David squinted at him. "What's your deal, old man?"

Naruto recoiled. "Old?! I'm maybe two years older than you, tops!"


"Its your life, David. Do what you want with it. Just...make it a life worth living."


"There's someone I'd like you to meet."


Maine shook his head.

...that's hell you're walking into, kid."

"Good." The "kid" paused. A blue eye peeked over his shoulder. "Won't feel bad tearing this place down, then."


"Oi, Rebecca! Get off the kid."

"Nope!" she leaned over Naruto's shoulder, all but draping herself over him to kiss his cheek. "Mwah! I call dibs!"


"I won't die." he patted her head, fingers running through her hair. "And I won't let you die. That's a promise. So don't worry, alright? Everything's gonna be okay."

She hiccuped. Sobbed, really. A lone tear ran down her cheek. "Liar...

"Hey now, I never go back on my word."


"We're having a moment here!"


"Live free or die hard. I can get behind that. I say take it a step further...

...if this city is rotten, then there's only one thing to be done...

...PULL IT UP BY THE ROOTS."


"Heard about you from Maine. I'm Sasha." She offered her hand. "Nice to meet you. Got a job you might be interested in...


"Adam Smasher, was it?" he stepped over the corpses, uncaring of the blood, and lifted his chin to glare up at the machine man. "Not a bad name. Gives me an idea. Wanna hear it?"

The lumbering titan growled down at him. "And who the hell are you supposed to be, meatsack?"

Blue eyes boiled seven shades of searing scarlet, snapping into furious slits.

No. No freakin' way. He wasn't gonna...

.

..

...he was gonna.

"NARUTO SMASH!"


R&R~!