Hunting Shinobi
Written By: SilentAnonymity
Dedicated to RoosterTeeth and Writebox (SC)
Chapter 1: A Flash of Green
Chapter dedicated to my friend who first introduced me to RWBY, Writebox
This is my first crossover. Oh goodness, why?!
So I should really be working on STS (Slaves to Substance) and the last chapter of BLTYO (Beautiful, Lethal, Ten Years Old). Also, I have units (homework) to work on and lesson plans to make. So why am I sitting on my bed with my laptop at 11:54 pm writing this? I have no idea- er, I do and it has to do with browsing on fandom wikis and discovering something. I had a muse and it wouldn't go away. I'm pretty sure it's because I'm a crazy fangirl that I keep finding references to Naruto in RWBY- well, they're not really references, but my brain connects the two together anyway.
Anyway, you know you have to write a crossover when the page for your favourite character (Blake, in my case) has a link to the Naruto wiki in it. Seriously. It's a somewhat canonical reference that's on the RWBY wiki and it redirects to the Naruto wiki. Tell me you would take it as a sign to write something.
Also, RWBY is the first time I've ever fangirled over a female character. Yes, it was over Blake.
This is written in first person. I don't usually write in first, but my muse wouldn't write in third person like I normally would…
Also, after the interrogation, Bee-ru will revert back to being Vale, unless I need to specify the language they are speaking in.
Writebox can be found here: Writebox. tumblr. com
Please enjoy!
The blast from the explosion sent us flying. Distantly I heard one of the others, Yang perhaps. Tumbling across the ground I waited for my momentum to slow enough to stop and right myself before brushing dirt from my clothing and readjusting my bow. The others got up similarly, Weiss commenting on how the dirt had ruined one of the finer patterns on her dress. For a moment, the forest around us looked unfamiliar, though we credited the change to our fall and headed east. The longer we walked, the more apparent it became that we were no longer in the Emerald Forest.
The air was stiflingly hot, much hotter than it was in Vale, even in the summer. The forest was too quiet, the usual sounds of woodland creatures were muted and even the occasional, distant roar of an Ursa was absent. There was a growing sense of unease and contrary to our original hopes that we would find familiarity after our disorientation, we found an ominous forest looming over us instead. Senses up and alert, we moved into a safer formation, slowly attempting to find an exit. Then it hit us.
The tang of blood hung thinly in the air.
The trees around us bore signs of abuse. A battle had ended not long ago. Yang made a small movement closer to Ruby and Weiss' grip tightened on her rapier. We passed a tree with scratch and burn marks; a strange weapon, reminiscent of a throwing knife protruded from its side, almost like in…
Something was coming.
Over-sensitive instinct sent Ruby flying to meet our visitor, scythe fully extended before we could even make out the indiscernible words that the man was shouting at us- or that he was a man and not a Monster.
One hand and a little sliding was all it took for the masked man to stop Ruby's scythe. Behind us appeared other masked people, there were only four.
Hunters?
Then why were they attacking us? Was it Ruby's charge?
Though their initial contact might not have been that of an enemy, apparently Ruby's attack was all it took for them to feel the need to retaliate. Their blades flashed- the same throwing knives from earlier. A fight was not favourable in these conditions, we didn't know where we were or the strength of our enemies, and we needed answers.
Those could come later, after our lives were no longer in danger.
"We're not your enemies!" Yang.
The man moved to speak again, his entire face was obscured by the porcelain in front of it, eerie, animalistic, red, swirling patterns painted on next to rust shaded stains that looked like they would never wash off. They looked reminiscent of the armour on the Monsters of Grimm, though more menacing and even more unnervingly human. A sudden suspicion raised worry in my mind. Were they related to Torchwick? Or Junior perhaps? Or were they a new threat?
There was also a pang of familiarity in the red swirls, but I pushed the thought away to examine later.
What he wanted to say though, we never heard. In a flash of yellow, red, black, and white, our weapons were out, our captors no longer behind us as we dashed around them.
I was surprised they could match our speed.
They appeared surprised, if only for the slight shift in their stances, though I had to commend them, it was not every day you met people like them- those who didn't underestimate their enemies. It was refreshing, but it didn't make it easier to defeat them.
They parried our attacks with apparent ease and fought well under pressure. Whoever they were, they had been trained for combat- even more reason to suspect their affiliation with the enemy. It was slightly disappointing to think that they…
Flames suddenly appeared and I thought that it was Weiss' attack, however, a closer look revealed the flames to have emitted from one of our attackers' mouths.
The men flashed through hand symbols and the air was filled with slicing wind, chunks of earth, rivulets of water- we were astonished, but we compensated for the momentary distraction, we had our own attacks, after all.
Gunfire issued from the barrels of our weapons, also surprising the anonymous attackers. Yang managed to hit one of them quite hard in the face, one with a mask shaped like a crow, shattering it.
We were shocked at the age of the boy.
No older than ten, the skill of a murderer. Eyes terrifyingly red. He looked at Ruby and she crumpled to the floor, unconscious.
The battle that then ensued was a mess of colours, heat, ice, and the heavy scent of gunpowder.
When the fray had subsided, I found myself staring around at the three other girls. Weiss had been knocked unconscious, tied expertly at the feet of a woman wearing a mask resembling a rabbit. Ruby was restrained in a similar manner. Yang had a knife to her throat and a firm arm around her, but she fell after another glance from the boy was shot her way. I, too, had a menacing death threat at my throat.
With a kick, I attempted to disarm the boy holding the knife to me, but a copy of him appeared in front of me. I could not tear my gaze away from the swirling shapes in his eyes.
I awoke to find myself without my weapons and restrained in a stone-walled, windowless room with a steel door.
I tried to analyse what had occurred. We were clearly fighting some unknown force that was far out of the control of Junior or even Torchwick, but now they had us separated and confined. Furthermore, their abilities far exceeded that of a hunter or huntresses. I couldn't assume them to be demons yet…
The door opened with a loud clank and another masked man entered and made a broad gesture to follow him.
Reluctantly, I left the room.
I walked down the dimly lit corridors, bound and followed the strange man. Idly, I wondered where the others were, in the most probable situation, they were restrained like I.
I was brought to a dark room, lit only by the small wax candle in the centre of the bare table that stood stark against the emptiness of the room. Firmly, though not roughly, I was seated in one of the chairs. The masked man disappeared and I was left to sit in silence, eyes roving the room for any sort of usable weapon, an exit of any sort. There were none but the candle in front of me, the chair perhaps, though with hands bound as well as mine, using it would not be easy…
The door opened and a man entered. He had deep scars that ran the length of his face. A smooth bandanna with a metal plate was tied around his head. Unlike the masked figures from earlier, he was not wearing an off white cloak, but a knee length black trench cloak. The head?
When the man spoke, his voice was deep, clipped, the words unrecognizable. A foreigner?
No, we were the foreigners, though why would the enemy speak to us in such a manner?
I looked incomprehensibly at the man and spoke in a quiet, but firm tone.
"I don't understand."
The man looked perplexed for a moment, then he spoke again, in a slower more enunciated voice.
Vaguely I remembered the language. At the back of my mind, the connection between the language and the actions and the identities of these people clicked, but the thought was ludicrous and I pushed it away. Then, my knowledge of a language that I had studied while researching Asian countries came to mind. Japanese.
"If you don't cooperate, we can do this interrogation in a less humane way…"
From the practiced tones, I could glean the gist of the sentence. Something about interrogation and violence, meaning they wanted cooperation of some sort.
In slow, unpracticed, but understandable syllables, I sounded out my response.
"What do you want with us?"
"The question is, what do you want with us? Which elemental village sent you?"
Elemental?
"Vale." I didn't see the harm in mentioning which country we were from considering it was possible we were still in Vale and there weren't that many villages to choose from. If they really wanted any harm, they could easily find us.
"Your weapons are strange. Where did you get the plans for them?"
There was a difference between revealing the obvious and revealing enough for the enemy to gauge your abilities.
"Vale."
"This 'Bee-ru' (beh-ruu, Vale) you speak of, what is it?"
"It's a place. The name of where we are now."
"You are not in 'Bee-ru.'"
"Where are we?"
"I do the asking."
Eventually, the language barrier and my reluctance to answer caused the interrogation to come to an abrupt stop.
"From what I know, they could be from different worlds, even if I put them to the blade, her apparent knowledge of the language would prevent her from telling us any more information."
"I suggest bringing Inoichi in then."
"Inoichi?"
"He's young, but talented. You don't question your abilities either and you, yourself are quite young."
"Hai, Hokage-sama."
I awoke again in the empty room. My mind bore the strange sensation that it had been intruded, though even if it had; there was no need to worry too much. I knew almost nothing exclusively important…not unless it was about him.
Again, the door opened. Another masked man entered, this time, he wore no cloak and his uniform was displayed for all to see.
Sleeveless black shirt covered by a grey flak jacket. Metal arm guards, long black pants, and sandals. A swirling flame tattoo on his left bicep. On his back was a tanto, strapped tightly with worn leather. On his face was the ever-present animal mask and above it, a shock of red hair.
The red hair and red swirls.
This time, the man spoke to me again in a clipped tone. "Come."
I followed.
This time, I was led to a high, circular room. Outside, I was told to wait as the man stood at attention and the door was opened.
When I entered, a quick glance told me it was an office or study of some sort, books and scrolls piled high on the walls and brushes and ink on the wooden table. A man with a hat and a pipe stood behind it and in front of the desk were three bedraggled girls.
"Blake!"
"Hello."
"Who are these people? What are they doing?"
"They have Crescent Rose!"
The man cleared his throat and the girls fell silent.
He addressed me specifically.
"I believe you are the only one who has enough knowledge of the language to understand what I will be saying, so I ask that you please translate it for your companions."
I nodded my understanding.
"Wait. You know what they're saying?!"
I held up a hand to silence her.
"After extensive attempts to communicate with you, we have discovered that you are indeed no longer in the place you call Vale."
"We're not in Vale." I said in English. There was no outburst like I had expected, only silence as they waited for the man to continue.
"It appears that you had been transported to our world via a rip caused by some sort of space-time jutsu. Meaning, we do not have a method for you to return to your parallel dimension."
I attempted to process the information, instead, I asked, "What's this jutsu?"
"The specific technique is not known, though, if your question was simply about what a jutsu was, then in simple terms, it's a manifestation of our chakra as an attack, technique, or protective ability. Perhaps comparable to what you have dubbed your aura."
"I see."
I briefly explained the situation to the others. It was confirmed; they had discovered a method to read our minds and knew of aura and Monsters.
"Who are you? Where are we?"
"You are in a world, where there are 5 elemental countries, each independent of themselves. Among them are villages of shinobi, those who protect the people and bring income to the village. Shinobi are similar to those you call hunters and huntresses, though there is no equivalent to the Monsters you fight. I am the Hokage, the one in charge of this village, the Village Hidden in the Leaves, specifically."
Shinobi. Then that means my earlier thoughts weren't as insane as I had deemed them as. A sudden rush of excitement filled me, though I clamped down on it quickly.
"What are you going to do?" I asked.
"Question is, what are you going to do?"
I had no response so the man continued.
"I believe that you would want to return to your universe and continue on your journeys to be huntresses, but we do not have a method to do so, however, I am willing to help you, if you do something beneficial for our country."
"Which is?"
"For the duration of time in which we attempt to find a solution for you problem, you join our ranks and serve our country. You will live as a temporary citizen of our village and will live by our rules and train to become shinobi. Or you decline and you find your own method of returning, however, it will be outside the village at that point."
I pondered the idea and discussed it with the others.
"What?! Is he crazy?!"
"What choice do we have? We have to get back!"
"What if they're trying to trick us and they're working with the enemy?"
"They can't be. Think about it. They don't need Dust to work and they look like they've never even seen a gun before."
"I still don't trust them."
"How about this, we agree to help them, but don't do anything too rash until we make sure they're not going to hurt us or Vale."
With that decided, the girls went on with telling me to ask the man questions.
"Where are our weapons?"
"What are they going to do now?"
After a pattern of discussion and talking to the man, we finally had an idea of what was going to happen. Throughout the exchange, the man's patience didn't seem to waver. Once or twice, he smiled politely and offered advice in friendly tones.
We were going to be granted temporary stay and be integrated into the village. We would be attending an academy to learn how to be shinobi and later, we would go on missions.
"I understand that you are from another time stream, but shinobi are cautious. I will be assigning guards to you."
With a nod, three figures flickered into the room. They were wearing the uniform of the masked people, but they weren't wearing their masks. Were all shinobi dressed like that? Also, only three people?
Just then, the door burst open and a flash of green with a booming voice entered.
No, they clearly did not all dress in that manner.
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