Something to Prove
Love at First Sight (N and H Trailer)
Vale's red-light district. The hot seat for most if not all of Vale's criminal activity. Whether it was high level larcenists like Roman Torchwick, the passer-by pickpockets that were a dime-a-dozen, or the less than fortunate souls selling their bodies on the corners. You'd find all types here in the dirty backstreets of Vale. Most of the law turned a blind eye to it's residents. That left the criminals the freedom to go about their business, as usual.
So why was he here, a ripe fifteen year old boy wandering such a district on his own? He had his reasons. Naruto Uzumaki was practically raised by this district. A lifetime of witnessing less-than legal acts taking place on your doorstep on the daily really had an effect on a person. After watching the little man stepped on, used, and abused for most of his life, Naruto was inspired to see change.
This World was corrupt, that's for sure. A time of peace, they always said. He dared them to see the World through his eyes. As a faunus, growing up in the scummiest areas of Vale, things were never easy for the young teen.
That's why he'd be forever grateful for the many wonderful people he'd met with his same ideals. They were a group of faunus, much like the White Fang. Many of their members were originally among the ranks of White Fang, under it's first and predominately kindest leader.
With his resignation from the White Fang, and it's more aggressive approach to it's goals, a small group left to make their own splinter group. Their current headquarters here in Vale is where they found Naruto as a babe, when they were still a small branch of the White Fang. They raised him, trained him, and shared their dreams and ideals with him. They were his most precious people, the ones he'd give his life to protect.
That's what brought him here today, stalking the dark afternoon streets of Vale's red-light district. Keeping to their former leader's plans, not only did they fight for the faunus' rights, they also fought for a World where humans and faunus could stand together as equals.
They would fight to protect those of all races, and backgrounds. The red-light district was their current playground, it was here that Naruto had taken up work as a vigilante, to hone his skills. While he shared the ideals of his friends, he also had his own goal to achieve.
To become the greatest huntsman of his time, nay, of all time. To truly bring peace to Remnant. Like a shiver down his spine, he could feel something disturbing the waters. Something big was coming to Remnant, and he didn't like it one bit. He would train, he would improve, and he would fight to defend his home. That is what he had decided for himself.
His boots clicked against the stone paving of the district's trash-ridden sidewalks. There was a slight wind present, which pushed the edges of his burnt orange leather racing jacket up. His hands were stuffed into the pockets of his black skintight jeans, which were then tucked into a pair of black racing boots. His jacket collar was lined with white fur, highlights of red throughout. A pair of intricate orange headphones wrapped around his neck and were rested upon his chest, slightly overlapping the white undershirt shown through his unzipped jacket.
He was quite the attractive boy for his age, or so he had been told by his peers. His body was hard from his daily training, and fighting. The amount of broken bones and injuries he'd gotten over the years only seemed to harden his body more and more. His skintight clothing quite easily showed the results of his life choices.
His hair was sharp, but flat. It laid over his face nicely, framed by two long bangs, while a thick widows peak brushed the bridge of his nose. There was still the wild strand that seemed to poke out randomly along his head. It may have just been his animalistic side, but his hair always seemed to do whatever it wanted, despite all attempts to groom it.
Blue cerulean eyes gleamed under the glow of the streetlights. They were narrowed, sharp, dangerous looking due to his fox faunus traits. Additionally, he had three whisker like markings on each of his cheeks, as well as two rust red fox ears poking up on the top of his head, constantly twitching as they picked up the ambient noises of the district. His last feature was his sharper than usual canine teeth. They were pretty useful for intimidating people, coupled with his sharp eyes.
There was something strange about it, but wandering the district after sunset had a certain… dark but pleasing atmosphere. The people walking by, as if they were silhouettes, just going about whatever business they had, the dim lighting that almost didn't illuminate the entire road, the electronic music blaring from the open doors of the many clubs littered across the district.
The pumping sound beat against his chest, giving him a euphoric feeling. A smile stretched his lips as he continued his walk. This feeling had become so familiar and somewhat… precious to him. It reminded him of his family, and the work they had put in to keep those that were abandoned by the law safe.
It was during his walk that he saw her. Normally he'd continue on by, not paying much attention to any of the people that he passed by. He knew how to pinpoint a possible threat, years on the streets had given him those kinds of reflexes. It wasn't that she was a threat… it was that she seemed so out of place.
He stopped in his place as he looked to the right, watching her closely over his shoulder. She was far enough away that it didn't seem like she noticed him watching. They were in an open area, one of the main parts of the district. It was formed in a circle, lined with less than reputable shops and branching street paths to other points of the district. A ways behind him, through the buildings you could see the main highway which connected the red-light district to other districts of Vale.
She was on the other end of the street from him, across the roundabout. She seemed so… lost in this place. There was an ever present dust of red struck across her nose and cheeks, as if she wasn't used to seeing the kinds of things this district had to offer. She was on high alert, looking all around her at different directions constantly. Her hands were up at her chest, her index fingers poking together almost like a sign saying she was a relatively shy person. Her hair was actually quite beautiful, in his opinion. He always enjoyed girls with long hair more. Hers stretched down to her lower back, while the front was styled like a princess, with two long bangs framing her face and the rest cut just over her eyebrows. The one thing that really stood out about her, almost literally, were the white rabbit ears that poked out from underneath her hairline. 'She's a faunus, huh…?' Naruto had thought to himself.
Her hair wasn't the only beautiful thing about her. Naruto could feel his face heating up slightly as he observed the rest of her body. She was quite well endowed, for seeming to be a girl about his age. Puberty had definitely been kind to her. To the point she would make other, older girls jealous. Her skin looked healthy and soft, well taken care of, like she had come from a well-to-do family. All the more reason to give suspicion as to why she was here exactly. It was milky white, bordering on pale, and the dim street lights only extenuated this fact as she seemed to gleam underneath the one she currently stood by.
Her dress was rather casual though, which to Naruto, was a bit of a shame. Though her hoodie she was sporting was zipped down slightly, while her chest pushed against the fabric, giving him a slight view of her cleavage through her lavender undershirt. That… was definitely okay in his book.
As he continued to observe her, he noticed as an older man wearing a plane tuxedo made his way behind her. His eyes narrowed as he watched the man closely for any funny-business he may have been planning. He leaned his head forward and tilted his fox-like ears toward them. Luckily for him, his faunus traits had heightened some of his senses, mainly his hearing. His ears were particularly sensitive. This was both a blessing, and a curse at times. He ducked behind some buildings into the shadows so as not to be spotted by this newcomer. While the girl seemed oblivious enough, there was something that turned him off about this man.
The girl seemed to be startled as the man greeted her, if her jump and almost completely red face was anything to go by. The little squeak she had made was pretty adorable, too.
"Good afternoon!" the well-dressed man chirped happily, waving to the girl as he walked closer to her. "Are you perhaps… waiting for me?"
"A-ah!" this little rabbit faunus collapsed into herself, pushing her fingers together slightly harder as she tried to find her words. "Um… Are you… Mr. Rumplestilskin?"
The smile that was on the man's face seemed to increase at this. He grabbed the collar of his shirt as he pulled it back, showing scales that reached up along his neckline. 'Another faunus… could this be, a White Fang meeting?' Were Naruto's thoughts on the matter the moment he saw the man's clear traits. "Surprised you, didn't I?" the lizard faunus spoke cheerfully, as if he was pulling a prank. "I could almost pass as human."
The young girl fanned her face with her hand, seemingly relieved at the man's presence. "I… I'm glad I found you…. I was- I was getting worried…" her voice dropped slightly as she looked down at her feet, Naruto almost couldn't hear what she was saying anymore, "… when you were late."
The man held up his hands in front of his face, waving them slightly as if he was trying to placate an upset child, speaking in a soft fatherly tone, "Sorry, sorry! I had some other business to take care of before this, and it went a bit longer than I thought. Well, shall we go?" He held his hand out to the open street beside them, watching her expectantly.
"Ah..." the girl hesitated slightly, looking out at the street as she seemed to contemplate what she would do. After what seemed forever, she finally responded as she gave a curt nod. "Y… yes."
The man clapped, his eyes closing as his smile grew, "Perfect! Follow me please, miss."
They both turned toward the street as they began to make their way. Naruto stepped out of his hiding spot, watching as the girl meekly followed behind, her back hunched and her eyes watching her own feet. It almost annoyed him how much she let her guard down. "Geez… you're way too trusting." He grumbled to himself. In all honesty, it was her own fault whatever happened as she trusted the shady man in front of her. Most would just walk on by and not think anything of it as another young faunus disappeared into the red-light district.
That wasn't Naruto though. He swore his duty to protect the people out here, no matter the circumstances. He almost felt compelled to, in a way. He wasn't sure if it was this beautiful flower that he had felt the desire to protect, or the way the man had smirked out of her sight as she followed behind him. Either way, he wasn't going to let anything happen to her. Not on his watch.
"Ah, well..." his hands went behind his head as he made his way over to the street they just turned down, sighing exasperatedly for the first time that night, "not like I had any other plans."
xx
"I was surprised when you suddenly contacted me!" the man continued to speak while they made their way down the back streets of the district, which at this time of night were mostly devoid of people. The man went on excitedly, as if he didn't have a care in the World whether anyone heard him or not. "It isn't every day the White Fang gets direct contacts from a young girl such as yourself!"
Naruto was following far enough behind him as not to raise suspicion or be noticed, jumping from dim alleyway to dumpster for cover. While being a longtime resident of this district and through his harsh training, he had gotten quite good at the stealth game. Generally, if he didn't want to be found, he wouldn't be. Something of this magnitude was pretty simple for him.
The girl was still meekly following the boisterous man in front of her, keeping her head down the entire time. She rarely spoke, only a few words in response to his questions. "I…"
The man waved his hand over his shoulder, as if sensing her hesitation to answer he gave her a cheerful reply, "It's okay! It's okay! You don't have to tell me why, many of us have our own reasons for why we join the Fang. As long as you have the ability, and the want for change, we'll welcome you. Sorry I had to bring you all the way out here to this nasty district. Our operations are generally… looked down upon as of late. So this was the safest place for us to meet. Were you scared?" he turned over his shoulder to look at her with a comforting smile, while continuing his walk forward.
She didn't look up at him, but was able to speak this time, "It… it's okay. I understand." Was all that he was able to get out of her.
He seemed disappointed that she didn't speak more, before turning his head back in front of him. They cut off into an alleyway, the girl hurriedly trying to catch up with him as she had fallen slightly behind. "You're from Menagerie right? I think that's what your email said."
She nodded, not like the man could see however. "Y… yes, my family… comes from Menagerie. My… younger sister actually… she left to j-join the White Fang. That's why..."
"You came to find her, huh?" the man spoke solemnly, as if he had heard a hundred similar stories. "That's pretty noble of you."
A blush stretched over the girls face again as she took in the White Fang recruiter's kind words. A small smile seemed to form on her face, one that made Naruto's poor heart skip a beat. "T… Thank you."
'Dammit, why is this naive little girl so cute...' He cursed himself and his stupid taste in meek, long haired girls, pinching his right arm to keep himself focused.
The alleyway opened up to another dark, unlit street that was built at an angle. There was one streetlight at the end of the street where the main road was, and surrounding them were tall stone buildings and some garages. The man stopped in the middle of the road on the slope. The faunus girl stopped suddenly as well, making another adorable squeaking noise as she almost bumped into him. She looked around, seemingly confused as to why they stopped here.
Sensing her confusion, the man decided to answer her unasked question. "I have some friends coming around to pick us up and bring us to the base of operations here." The girl nodded at his believable explanation. The recruiter held up his arm as he stared at his watch. "They should be here any moment now..."
As if on queue, an unmarked van pulled around on the main street at the top of the slope, before it carefully backed into the side street. It pulled up close to the two, a large sliding door at the back of the van. The girl tentatively took a step forward, as she finally began to feel slightly anxious about her current situation. "W… what is this?"
The door to the van slid open quickly, a man popping out from inside the near empty back. He had a wild and dangerous grin on his face as he couched at the end of the van, one hand still held up on the door. He was dressed similarly to the Fang recruiter, though his blazer was unbuttoned. He leaned forward closer to the girl as he spoke in an excited tone, "hello, new girl!"
There was one obvious defining feature of this man that put both Naruto, and this faunus girl on edge. The newly revealed man was human. Very clearly, human.
"W… what…?" The girl spoke in fear before stepping away from the van. She eventually bumped into something, the "recruiter" she had been following all night. Making another high-pitched squeak, she turned to look at him, but was never given the chance.
"You shouldn't trust so easily." the man said in a dark tone that didn't suit his earlier attitude at all. He then jabbed a baton against her back before pushing a button on the side. The taser sparked, shocking the poor faunus girl to her very core. She went rigid as a shout of pain was forced from her mouth, drool dripping slightly from the corners, before her body went limp and she fell forward unconscious. The man put away his stun baton at his hip before he leaned forward to grab the girl's unconscious body before roughly throwing her into the back of the van next to the other well dressed gangster.
The second, younger one clicked his tongue as he watched her, "What a shame, she's so pretty. Faunus are getting more and more naive these days, huh? Throw around the White Fang and they'll do whatever you say."
The original recruiter scoffed, his earlier demeanor completely forgotten. He pulled his collar aside as he began peeling away the fake scales that ran up his neck, showing he was indeed human as well. "Lucky for us, the boss was smart enough to make that fake contact email for the White Fang. Girls like this have just been rolling in by the dozen."
The younger gangster stuck his tongue out, showing his stud piercing, "And we get first pick at the cute ones. Man, I love this job. Come on, let's get back quickly! I wanna test the new 'merchandise'!"
"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming," the original said lazily as he jumped into the back of the van. "Unlucky for you, little girl. There was no one around to hear you scream." With that, the door shut tightly before the van steadily took off.
Naruto stepped his way out of the alley he was hiding in, the one streetlight slowly illuminating his body, before it finally revealed the smirk that currently graced his wild features. His eyes narrowed, as if he was an animal on the hunt. "There was someone though..." He reached into his front pocket, pulling out a set of keys. Pressing one of the buttons, it beeped, before he waited in the alley for a moment. Head lights showed at the far end of the side street, the sound of an engine purring as a lone motorcycle without a rider made it's way up to him, before popping the stand on it's own and settling down next to him.
Naruto looked upon his sport bike with fondness. It was mostly orange, his favorite color, with the accents being black. He walked up right next to the bike as he affectionately rubbed the handlebar. "Hiya, Sunset. Did you miss me, baby?"
The engine hummed, as if to say; "Yes, I did!". Naruto chuckled before reaching around to the black leather pouch on the side, unzipping it and pulling out a racing helmet. It was black, with an orange tinted visor. He placed it over his head before reaching into the pouch again to pull out some black leather fingerless gloves which he slipped over his hands.
He hopped up onto the bike before kicking the stand back in place. He leaned forward, revving the engine. "We're going to have some fun tonight, Sunset." He spoke to the bike as if it were his child, before taking off around the corner in the direction the van had left. "Let's go!"
xx
To say she was terrified was an understatement. Never before had she been put in such a situation. Currently, she was bound and drugged, laid against the floor of what she assumed was the management level of this club they had brought her too. This was where she found herself after she had woken up from her shock.
The room was wide, and right in front of her was a wall made entirely of glass which looked out over the entire club. To the end was a large desk littered with what seemed to be paperwork, some books, and a laptop. Behind the laptop sat a man in a ridiculously expensive looking tuxedo, sitting on an equally expensive looking leather chair. He was currently leaning against his fist, his arm rested against the desk, as he looked the quivering faunus girl over with what could only be described as the creepiest grin she had ever seen.
"You're right, you did get a cute one this time." The obvious boss of the men that kidnapped her spoke praisingly, which the goons took happily. "You really should be more careful missy. The World is filled with people like us, looking to take advantage of those a little too naive to look after themselves." The girl's eyes widened as he lifted up her weapon, two ornate lion heads with open, roaring mouths. He had lifted them by the chain that held them together, letting them dangle slightly. Before, she had brought them with her in a bag that was slung over her shoulder. "I am quite interested in how these work. It's a shame, you won't be able to use them anymore. Pretty soon, you'll be sold off to some faunus hating human at top price, either as a pet… or maybe to skin you alive. I make it a point not to judge my customer's interests. Bad for business, you see."
The girl winced as the man described what would now happen to her. She closed her eyes as they began to water, tears threatening to leak down her cheeks.
"Hey, boss!" the younger gangster that was inside the van stepped forward with an excited tone, "we found her. That means we get first crack right!? I mean, we have to make sure the product is good!"
The boss sighed at his subordinates childish nature, before waving his free hand, tossing the girl's forgotten weapons aside. "Fine, fine. Sample as you please."
The goon's face lit up with excitement again, rubbing his hands together as he walked closer to the terrified faunus girl, still tied and curled up on the office floor. "Well, please take care of me, girly!"
Her eyes closed tighter as she awaited her fate, her heart beating faster and faster as she continued to think about what was going to happen to her now. If not for her weakness, if not for her lack of confidence, she maybe could have gotten out of here, or not been caught in the first place, but now… 'No, please...' her mind raced. 'Somebody… Somebody please! Save me!'
Her eyes widened and knocked the tears from her eyes which plopped softly onto the floor as the sound of a loud engine revving was brought to her attention. The gangsters seemed to notice it too, as they all looked at the same direction she did, at the wall facing the district streets they could see through the window of the office.
"What the hell…?" the club was a large rectangular shape. The entrance was on the right side, which led straight to some seating in front of a bar and kitchen setup. On the left side was the dance floor, which had a large LED flooring that was constantly changing colors, a DJ podium, and a large tinted window at the top of the vaulted ceilings which faced out toward the main streets. The revving noises seemed like they were coming from right behind the window…
Suddenly, the revving came again, before the window shattered outwards, an orange bike flying right into the club. "WHAT?!" The boss jumped up from his seat, slamming his hands onto the desk as he watched the bike soar into his club. The other goons were just as surprised, as all of them ran up to their window to watch the events fold out before them. The faunus girl was able to sit up slightly, as she watched from behind them, the man that would be her savior.
The bike reached the end of it's flight as it landed back down onto the dance floor, the rider performing a quick doughnut before stopping the bike with it's side facing the management office. The rider looked up at the large tinted window, before putting two fingers over his biker helmet and pointing up at it, as if he could see the people behind the blackened glass, saying he was coming for them.
The civilians that were currently partaking of the club scattered after the rider had broken through the window, running quickly for the exit, leaving behind the DJ and the bodyguards. The goons all stretched out in a circle around the rider, various weapons at the ready.
"Get him already!" The bosses voice sounded out through the speaker system as he commanded his men from the safety of his office. Naruto scoffed from his spot on his bike, looking around him at the gathered thugs. Just your average hired muscle… for someone like him, this wouldn't even break a sweat.
The goons in the back using ranged weaponry, at their leader's orders, raised their weapons and opened fire. Naruto popped a wheelie on his bike as he revved his engine again, the bullets all bouncing safely off of Sunrise's armor plating. The front tire found ground again, before the bike took off in the direction of the gangsters. Many scattered, but Naruto narrowed his eyes and hunched forward as he found his target. One of the thugs in the back with an assault rifle, backed himself against the wall in fear as he wasn't able to get out of the way in time.
Naruto popped the front tire of his bike off the ground again as it bashed the head of the thug between the tire and the wall, effectively knocking him out immediately. Naruto bounced off with some quick movement and turned the bike around, facing the gathered thugs once again. He sped forward toward a group of three riflemen before he drifted around them, knocking them away as he ran into them. He spun around into the center of the group again, stopping this time as he turned his head around to look at them.
The ones carrying bats and the like charged him, hoping that close range weaponry would have better luck. They were mistaken. Naruto jumped up out of his seat, doing a back-flip as his hands held onto the seat of the bike. As soon as the goons got close, Naruto spun himself around using his hands, kicking his feet out as he clipped the four men that had charged him in the face, forcing them to drop their weapons and knocking them away.
Naruto sat himself back onto his bike, revving the engine again before taking off to another group of thugs positioned in front of the bar. They faltered slightly as the watched the bike make their way towards them. As Naruto picked up momentum, he suddenly jumped from his seat, pressing a button that was on the end of his right handlebar, kicking his feet back into the spoiler which popped up from the force. This activated a mechanism inside of the bike which began to split it into four parts. The parts followed Naruto as he front-flipped toward the thugs, clinging to his limbs as they flew through the air. The bike formed around both of his hands and feet, condensing into large gauntlets and boots around them.
The gauntlets were bulky and entirely metal. The glove part which covered his hands were black, and they extended out into sharp claws that covered each of his fingers, clicking lightly with every movement he made. There was a large circular part around his wrists which consisted of the orange parts of Sunrise. There were small holes all around the device, set at certain distances from each other.
The boots weren't as bulky, but definitely stood out. They stretched above his ankle, and looked like pretty standard metal boots. There were joints that allowed him to roll his ankle, and hooked onto the inside of his feet were wheels which stretched just past his feet, acting like rollerblades in a way.
Naruto landed with his feet sideways and angled, letting his wheels grind against the smooth flooring of the club as he got closer and closer to the group of thugs. He slid right in front of the middle thug of the three, before quickly turning on his heel and using his momentum to slam his foot into the mans chest, sending him flying backwards into the seating area, breaking the expensive looking tables and booths.
As the thug to his right tried to charge him, he brought his gauntlet covered hand up in an uppercut, catching the man underneath the chin and sending him soaring upwards. Before the thug could get very far, Naruto grabbed him by the ankle and turned, roughly pulling the man back down into the last thug, smashing them into each other straight into the floor, cracking it in the process.
"What are you idiots doing? Kill him!" The voice of the boss shouted over the speakers. 'Don't worry, I'm coming for you next.' Naruto thought threateningly, grinning at the big glass window through his helmet.
His moment was ruined as a thug had gotten behind him in his blind spot, bringing his metal bat down against Naruto's covered head. There was a loud clang that sounded throughout the now silent club. Naruto had lurched forward, still for a moment as his head rang from being smacked so hard from behind.
The thug grinned triumphantly as the first to finally hit this intruder. His excitement was short lived however as Naruto slowly stood back up to his full height of 6'0". "That hurt, you bastard..." Naruto spoke threateningly in a low voice. The thug made a sound of fear as he tried backing away from Naruto. He was too late, as Naruto suddenly spun around on his heel, his coat billowing behind him from the movement.
Naruto reached out and grabbed the man's head with his clawed hand, gripping tightly and bringing the man who was now completely limp up off of his feet. Steam sprayed out from the holes on the device around his wrist, before the glove began to vibrate violently. The thug screamed in agony as his brain was rattled from the harsh vibrations. Blood slowly trickled out of the thug's ears.
Naruto dropped the now unconscious thug to the floor, his bat making a clattering sound as it dropped with him. The sound echoed throughout the club again, bringing Naruto's attention to how quiet the club was. He glared up at the DJ podium where the DJ had stopped playing music and was instead watching the fight go down in fear. He cowered as he could feel Naruto glaring at him through the helmet.
"Don't stop the music now! The party's just getting started!" Naruto reeled his foot back before kicking the bat at his feet with as much force as he could, sending the object soaring toward the podium. It bashed against the equipment, sending sparks flying before it amazingly started up again, lights blaring and harsh techno music playing again. Naruto sighed happily as the euphoric feeling he had from earlier came back.
Naruto turned back to the remainder of the thugs. There was only a handful left, and they'd barely touched him so far. Sometimes this job was just way too easy.
"That's enough!" Naruto turned to his left, grinning slightly as his target finally showed himself. The big boss stood in front of his two top thugs, the ones that had taken the young faunus girl earlier. The taller, older one that posed as the recruiter was currently holding a combat knife placed against her neck, her hands still tied behind her back.
There was an awkward silence as Naruto and the big boss stared each other down. The faunus girl looked out at Naruto pleadingly, tears still fresh on the edges of her eyes. Naruto would have given her a comforting look if not for the helmet he was currently wearing.
"You came for this girl, right?" The boss asked, pointing his thumb behind him at the rabbit girl. Naruto nodded at his question. "Here's the deal. We give you the girl, you let us go on our merry way, everyone is happy. Sound like a good deal to you?"
"Hm..." Naruto hummed to himself as he tilted his head up, placing his hand under the chin of his helmet as if he was taking a thinking pose. After about a minute of this, he looked back down at the big boss, a mischievous grin stretching across his face. "Here's my counter offer."
Naruto crouched down as if he was going to charge ahead. The boss reeled back in fear. He began to turn to his henchmen. If he was going down, at least he'd take the stupid faunus girl with him. "Do i-" he began to say, but was cut off from another voice at the end of the club.
"Accelerate. 10 miles per hour." Naruto spoke in a low voice, just loud enough for them to hear over the music. Just as he finished, he suddenly took off, a blur to the untrained eye, namely this particular group of no-name thugs.
The girl's eyes widened as she watched the boy. She'd had some training by her family to someday be a huntsman before she set out to join the White Fang to look for her younger sister, so she could notice the activation of one's semblance at least. However, she had never seen one quite like this. They boy had just… almost disappeared, nothing left behind but an orange blur. 'Fast..!' Was all she was able to think before the rider was suddenly in front of her.
Naruto, using the momentum of his movement, brought his hand out in a closed fist straight into the stomach of the thug currently holding the faunus girl at knife-point. The man groaned in pain as all the air left him, knife forgotten and dropped to the floor. The man was sent backwards into the stairwell that led up to the management office, cracking his back and head against the corners of the stairs, knocking him out instantly.
The other thug, the younger wild one from before, turned to his side, his eyes the size of dinner plates as he watched his friend so easily beaten. It wasn't but a second before Naruto was upon him as well. The clawed hand gripped onto his arm, pulling him closer toward the unknown rider. Naruto brought his knee up into the man's groin as hard as he could, dropping the man instantly to the floor as his hands went to hold his crushed jewels.
"That's for having twisted thoughts about a teenage girl, you sick perv." Naruto spoke threateningly, looking down at the thug with a disgusted look. He turned his head, taking on a much softer tone as he regarded the faunus girl. "Are you okay?" he asked her.
The girl, unable to speak for some time yet again, looked down at her feet, her poor heart racing. She choked on her words, finding it increasingly hard to speak to her savior. She was finally able to squeak out a, "y… yes." She soon elaborated as she saw his reaction to her vague answer. "I… I think they drugged me earlier. I… felt like… I couldn't move."
Naruto hummed, that wasn't unnatural. They must have done that after they found her weapons. With a lot of people in Remnant knowing how to fight these days, it wasn't uncommon for those that dealt in human trafficking to drug their victims. "But that feeling is gone now?" He asked as he cut her bindings finally. The girl nodded her answer as she rubbed her sore wrists.
Naruto let out a sigh of relief, feeling glad he was there to witness the whole thing. Oum only knows what would of happened to her if he wasn't there. He'd give her the whole fatherly, 'you need to be more careful out here on your own', speech, but from the state she seemed to be in she really didn't need to hear that right now.
Naruto looked behind him as he watched the big boss and what survived of his thugs trying to run for the exit. No, there was a much more effective therapy. He leaned down to pick up her discarded weapons next to the poor thug still gripping his crotch, before holding them out to her by the chain connecting them. "I think you deserve a little payback." He said, pointing behind him at the fleeing boss with his thumb.
The girl's eyes widened slightly, looking at her precious weapons being offered to her. She looked between them, then at the man running away whom had just tried to sell her to Oum knows where. A heated look came across her face, before she reached out for her weapons and took them from Naruto. "Yes..." She said again, slipping the ornate lion heads over her hands. She unhooked them from their chain, dropping down into a low stance.
The eyes on the lions glowed, before they began cycling though different colors. They finally landed on a light blue, before the sounds of a mechanism turning from inside the lion gauntlets filled Naruto's ears. Suddenly, two blades made of pure ice stretched out of the lions' mouths, fog from the sudden change in temperature dancing around the blades.
Naruto couldn't help the whistle that escaped his lips as he gazed upon the beautiful weapons. 'They store dust, huh? There were multiple colors too. Wonder what else these babies can do.'
The girl suddenly charged forward, quickly making her way toward the boss and his remaining goons. They all turned as they heard her coming, the boss falling flat onto his rear as his eyes widened in fear. He held his hand up in front of his face, as if that was going to protect him from her wrath.
"Oh Oum, please, don't! Save me!" but unlike his victim, help never came for him.
Naruto grinned as he watched the spectacle fold out in front of him. "Cute, and deadly. Now that's my kinda woman!" he chuckled to himself, quite enjoying watching the girl's beautiful ice blades make short work of the gangsters.
Xx
The two faunus were outside and a fair distance away from the club now. Naruto had rounded up the rest of the gangsters and tied them up in the main office building, before he used the laptop to send encrypted files of the gang's criminal activities to the local authorities. As much as they ignored the needs of the red-light district, there was no way they could ignore that.
The girl had meekly followed him, much like she did with the fake-faunus man earlier. "This should be fine." Feeling this was a good enough spot, Naruto pressed a button on the inside of his gauntlets before they folded off of his person with his boots and formed back into his small sport bike in front of them, held up by the kickstand.
The rabbit faunus was amazed at this. Not ever had she seen such an intricate weapon, and she had seen many. No one she knew had a vehicle that became a weapon, or vice versa. It made her wonder even more, what kind of person was her savior?
The rider leaned up against his bike, his hands moving up to his helmet. The girl couldn't help the slight gasp that came upon finally seeing her saviors face. Naruto pulled off the helmet as his hair fell out and famed his face once again, more wild patches sticking out from his helmet head. He shook his head lightly, allowing the cool air to dance across his slightly sweaty face.
The girl could only blush and look on in wonderment at the man's attractive features. Her heart fluttered slightly at seeing that her savior was around the same age as her, and was so… attractive. She wasn't usually one to have these kinds of thoughts, but there was something about his rugged and wild appearance that attracted her to him immediately. There was also… those. "You're a faunus?" She spoke out, finally without stuttering, as she said this unconsciously.
"Huh?" Naruto let out intelligently, before bringing one of his hands up to his fox ears, stroking them gently in his fingers. "Wait, what are these!?" Naruto began to panic slightly as he continued to feel up his ears, like he never realized they were there. "I am a faunus! Why didn't anyone ever tell me?!" The panic continued for a short time, before he calmed down suddenly and chuckled, showing that everything was just a joke.
The girl, who had been slightly shocked at Naruto's reaction, upon realizing he was joking, joined him and let out a slight giggle of her own, bringing one of her hands up to her face to hide the smile that graced her soft lips.
A gentle look came upon Naruto's face as he reached out to pull the girl's hand away, surprising her slightly. "I finally got you to smile. You shouldn't hide it, it's pretty..." he had said unconsciously, not even realizing himself what he had just said.
It took a moment for the girl to even process, before she backed up slightly as her face became completely red and her shy demeanor came back ten fold. "A… ah! Um..." Her brain seemed to melt as she wasn't quite sure what she should do in this situation. Trying to calm herself down while Naruto patiently waited, she began to fan her face with her hand, hoping to make her bright red blush disappear. "Um… I..." She looked up at him, her eyes twinkling slightly in the moonlight as they watered again, only making her look more and more beautiful. "T-thank you. I mean, for saving me… if… if it w-wasn't for you then..."
A grin split Naruto's face as he reached out again to ruffle her hair slightly, much to her chagrin. "Don't mention it! I'd never leave someone to a fate like that. Ah! I haven't introduced myself have I…?" He said as if he just realized this fact. He stood up straight, off of his bike, as the girl realized just how tall he was. Naruto pointed his thumb back into his chest as his usual cheeky grin still remained, "A lot of people call me Rider! I'm currently a vigilante that works around in this district, which is why I ended up saving you. But, my ultimate goal is to join a combat school, and become the greatest huntsman in history! That's me, Naruto Uzumaki! Believe it!"
The faunus girl looked up at Naruto in amazement. Where most would find Naruto to be obnoxious with his shouting, or brash, or annoying at his claims of becoming the best in history, there was just something about him that she couldn't place… It was his bright demeanor, his overall attitude, how cheerful he was while being in a place riddled with crime… possibly seeing things like what happened to her on a daily basis and still being able to smile so happily. It all made her feel… safe, and warm. Like… he could become the greatest. It was from this feeling, that she realized… he was someone she could follow… anywhere. Someone she'd be glad to walk alongside… forever.
Was this what they called… love at first sight?
After his introductions, Naruto looked at the rabbit girl expectantly. Getting nothing, he prodded her lightly as he leaned his face closer, "And, what's your name?" He hummed as he waited patiently.
The girl looked up in surprise as she was brought out of her thinking, a blush covering her entire face again from how close he had suddenly gotten. She stepped back slightly to create some distance as she could feel her self becoming faint, not that he had noticed thankfully. "Ah! U...um… My name..?" Her brain was moving a mile a minute, on the verge of shutting down. She cursed her timid nature, not even letting her introduce herself to her savior.
She swallowed her fear, holding her hands on either side of her chest as she gathered her courage. She looked back up at him with a determined look at her face. He was leaned back against his bike again, his head tilted as he observed her, making a humming noise as he saw her so serious about just an introduction.
"Hinata." She was finally able to get out.
"My name is… Hinata Scarlatina."
xx
This was just a little project I felt like working on that suddenly popped into my brain one night. I'm excited to hear what you all think of it so far. Not much was really explained I know, but I mainly just wanted to have a general introduction of our two main characters, Naruto and Hinata. More on why they're here now and what's lead up to this point will be explained in the next chapter. Please let me know if you'd like to see more!
I look forward to hearing from you all!