A Carrion's Bastard
Chapter One: The Branwen Fox
"…That…was the most pain…I've ever had to deal with…!"
Those were the words of a red-eyed woman with long black hair as she rested in a hospital bed.
"But so worth it, right Raven?"
The one who replied to her was a man with blond hair that had two small strands sticking out from the top and blue eyes. He was dressed in brown cargo pants with a dark brown belt, black shoes, an orange bandana on his left arm, and a brown leather vest over a tan dress shirt with the right sleeve cut off. For armor, he wore a metal spaulder, leather vambrace, and a brown fingerless glove; all on his right arm.
In his arms was a sleeping, wrapped up baby. Their newborn child, Yang Xiao-Long; daughter of Taiyang Xiao-Long and Raven Branwen.
She rolled her eyes. "Taiyang, I bet you wouldn't have lasted two minutes in my place."
The dry tone and expression made the blonde man give an awkward laugh.
Suddenly, the door to the room burst open and a young woman with a fair complexion walked in. She had hair that was naturally colored black-into-red and she was dressed in a white hooded cloak that covered her black corset and combat skirt; both of them having red highlights. Her hood was down, letting her shoulder-length hair free as she took in everything. Once her silver eyes landed on the baby, she let out a joyous squeal and turned to Raven.
"Looks like your whole strength fixation helped out, eh, Blackbird? Or is it Momma Bird now?" the white-cloaked female joked.
"Summer, please just don't…" the bedridden woman said with a small glare. Poking fun at her had always been a bit of a hobby to the silver-eyed woman, and as much as Raven would have enjoyed trading quips with her teammate and friend, now wasn't the time.
"Oh, you know how she is, you and her always were yin and yang, sis. You have said you count on her to balance you," a male voice spoke up. As he spoke, he revealed himself to be a man with black, spiky hair, red eyes, and a tattered red cloak. He wore a gray dress shirt with a long tail, black dress pants, and black dress shoes. For accessories, he had a ring on his right index finger, two other rings on his right ring finger, and a necklace with a crooked cross-shaped pendant.
Raven frowned before she turned to a sheepish Taiyang. "You invited my brother?"
At the accusing tone, the blond winced. "Well…he is Yang's uncle," he defended as he turned to Raven's sibling. "How about you get acquainted with your niece?" Taiyang suggested, to which Qrow backed up with hands raised in denial.
"I'd better not. Perpetually-active, indiscriminate, misfortune-causing Semblance, remember?" he asked rhetorically. "I don't trust myself with a baby. Still…I bet thirty lien she'll be as much of a looker as her mother when she grows up. Let's just hope she doesn't get her dad's concept of humor…"
"Oh? What's wrong with my puns and quips?" the blonde challenged. "Besides, you'll figure it out when you have kids, Qrow!"
"Eh," the male Branwen replied dismissively, pulling out a flask from his coat with a chuckle. "Parenthood's not my style." He never noticed his sister having a knowing smirk as he took a swig of his drink.
"Qrow! You snuck booze into the hospital?!" Taiyang abolished in shock.
"I don't see why you're surprised, Tai," Raven cut in, amused. "He always has at least one flask on him nowadays."
"You're goddamn right I do; hell, I'd even raid the alcohol from this place for a drink." her brother agreed with a small bark of laughter. His comment visibly did nothing positive for Taiyang's mood.
"Booze around the baby?! You, sir, have no soul!" he cried, handing Yang over to a happy Summer.
As the two males started squabbling and Summer cooed over the infant, Raven's thoughts turned elsewhere; fueled by Qrow's comment earlier. 'Parenthood isn't your style, brother? Won't you be surprised...' She looked out the window, a surprisingly soft smile on her face as she mused, 'I wonder how my little nephew is doing…'
"Thank you for having us, Rajah," thanked a woman with stunning red hair and beautiful violet eyes. She was dressed in a green dress over a white blouse and blue open-toed sandals and one of her rust orange fox ears was pierced with a silver pendant in the shape of a swirl.
"It's our pleasure, Kushina," the man replied as he and his wife, Sabor, sat across from her. "You and your son are always welcome into our home."
Sabor looked amused as she added, "Plus, I think our daughter enjoys her playmate."
The three adults turned to the two children playing in the other room. The oldest was a little girl of seven, and she shared her parents' dark skin and black hair. She had her mother's orange eyes and tiger ears like her father. The youngest was a little boy of two; though he was almost three. He had a fair complexion while his black hair had red roots visible within it, and his whisker markings stretched on his face as he grinned at his friend. And like his mother, had a fox's ears, only his were black with red tips instead of rust orange in color.
These two were Sienna Khan and Naruto Uzumaki. Sienna's parents were named Naruto's godparents on the night he was born, having been friends with Kushina for many years and naming her the godmother of Sienna.
"How have you been handling raising Naruto on your own?" Sabor continued.
Kushina sighed at the question, picking at her food sadly. "It's been tough, especially with coming up with money to buy baby products; but I've been managing."
"If you ever need help," Rajah began, "you can always come to us, you know."
"I do, but I've gotten some surprising help over the years."
"Oh? From who, may I ask?"
Kushina looked to her child with a somber smile. "…His aunt."
Both Khans frowned faintly at that. "Kushina…" Sabor began.
"I know that his father is Human," the redhead cut her off, "but I never cared about that. You know how I feel about Humans and Faunus, and how they can live together. I…had a moment of weakness the night I conceived Naruto; I'll admit that."
"If you call having drunken sex with a human in Mistral a moment of weakness," Sabor continued. "What were you thinking?"
"I was thinking that I'd been lonely long enough and that I wanted some kind of intimacy," she weakly argued. "I don't regret what I did, because it gave me my son…but I wish his father knew."
"So that he could deny responsibility and his existence?" Rajah argued, taking care not to raise his voice so the children wouldn't hear. "You know how Humans have treated us over the years, Kushina. Why would you want to associate them after everything they've done to our race?"
"Because I'm tired of seeing this world so full of hatred and fear," Kushina fired back, her violet orbs blazing with inner fire. "I'm tired of seeing people – Human and Faunus – killing one another without end and without remorse." She backed down and looked to her son sadly. "My son, my baby boy, is proof that our races don't need to always hate one another; that we can coexist peacefully."
Rajah sighed at that as Sabor reached over and grasped her friend's hand gently. "I understand where you're coming from, Kushina," she began, "but that coexistence won't happen just because of one half-breed child. You can't expect him to carry the weight of the world's hatred on his shoulders…"
"And I don't want him to!" Kushina assured both them and herself. "But…I believe in my son, and I can't fight this feeling that, should he challenge the status quo of the world, he will be strong enough to face it."
"Then what do you plan to do to prepare him for that challenge?" Rajah questioned seriously. "Do you wish to train him when you yourself have been a retired Huntress for years?"
"If I could help him in any way, then I will," she promised her friend; though he knew she was also promising herself.
He hummed thoughtfully, looking to his daughter playfully pouncing on little Naruto, both of them looking happy. "…What is the boy's aunt doing to assist you?"
Kushina blinked at the question. "Uh…she's giving me some lien every month to help pay for childcare products."
"Nothing else…?" he pressed.
"…She promised me that he would have a place in her tribe; with the Branwens."
Both Khans stilled at that. "That tribe of thieves and murderers?" Sabor whispered in shock.
"They steal and kill, yes," Kushina agreed. "But, are they really so different from how Humans treat Faunus and vice versa? At least her tribe is upfront about things like that."
"…And you believe that she will help your son become strong enough to challenge the world?" Rajah questioned firmly, locking eyes with Kushina to see how she felt about it.
He wasn't surprised to see her return his stare as she answered, "Yes, I do. I trust Raven, despite her being a human. She's Naruto's aunt, and I can tell she cares about him."
Rajah kept his stare for a few moments before he closed his eyes with a smirk. "You haven't changed, Kushina. You still stick with what you believe in; damn the consequences or opinions of others."
She gave a proud grin in response. "What did you expect?"
The three adults shared a small laugh at that, returning to their meal as more talk of the future was shared. All the while, their children played in blissful innocence; unaware of how their lives would change when they grew up.
Years went by on Remnant, and a somber feeling was in the air as a group of seven watched a familiar redheaded woman get cremated into ashes.
Within the group were the Khan Family, the Belladonna Family, and the last of the Uzumaki name. The four adults stood back and observed sadly as the two girls comforted the sobbing boy. Sienna, the eldest of the three, held her best friend close to her and let him mourn while Blake, the youngest, rubbed his back; hoping to comfort her friend as best she could.
It had been seven years since that night, and nine-year-old Naruto felt like cursing the world for its cruelty. His mother, the brightest light in his life, was gone; left to drift away into nothing more than bittersweet memories. He felt numb, lost, unsure. It was almost like his sense of purpose had been erased with her death.
He was given some of his mother's ashes in the form of a gemstone that had been melted and reshaped with the ashes mixed into its core. The gem was a deep blue-green and was held by a durable cord that looked like string. The rest of her ashes were carried off towards the sea, lifted by the breeze and cradled into the horizon as the sun set on Menagerie.
And that was where Naruto remained; on the cliff he sent her ashes from. That was where she saw him after being told by the Khans. She sighed softly and moved over to him, stopping beside him as he sat on the cliff with his legs hugged to his chest.
"…"
He said nothing to her regarding her intrusion. He was too lost in his somber numbness to care.
"She was a wonderful person," the woman spoke up. "I'm sure she was just as wonderful a mother to you, Naruto."
His dull violet orbs looked up to the crimson ones of the ravenette woman covered by a thick black cloak. He faintly had the distinction of seeing her before, but he wasn't sure.
The woman put a hand on his shoulder, "Your mother wanted me to look after you if she ever passed away," she continued, turning her gaze from him to the horizon. "I won't be able to for a few years, though. I'll be busy doing things that will demand a large portion of my time."
He just looked at her in silence, letting the sea breeze brush against his face and hair.
"…If you think you can wait that long, then I'll see you in a few years. If you can't, tell me now."
"…Will you help me get stronger?" he asked softly.
"Why do you think strength is so important?" she fired back in an instant, as if she expected the question.
"Because I…" he started before falling short. He looked back towards his home, to the citizens going about their lives and getting through another day. "…I want to be strong enough to protect others."
"Even those who were cruel to you for your mixed blood?" she pressed. "Those who looked down on you in disgust and insulted both you and your mother?"
He frowned at that, slowly shaking his head.
"Then who do you want to protect?"
He locked his eyes with hers once more, and she was pleased to see a small spark in them once more. "I want to protect those who cared for me. I want to protect Uncle Rajah and Aunt Sabor. I want to protect Uncle Ghira and Aunt Kali." He dropped his gaze as his tone softened. "…And I want to protect Sienna and Blake."
"Would you risk your life for them?" the woman queried, her tone firm. "Would you be willing to sacrifice your existence if it meant keeping them safe?"
He looked back up to her, and that earlier spark had become a flame. "Yes."
She slowly smirked at him, and he saw the pride in her eyes; a look his mother had for him throughout his life. "Good. Then I expect to find you here, ready and waiting, when I come back. Five years, Naruto; I'll be back after five years."
He nodded before the question that was never asked sprang out of his mouth. "How do you know me and my mother, anyway?"
Raven chuckled at the question, reaching out to ruffle his hair affectionately. "Why wouldn't I know the names of my nephew and his mother?" was her response before a red-black portal appeared behind her. Giving him one last smirk, she walked through the portal and disappeared.
Left alone on the cliff, Naruto gave one last look to the sea before he rushed over to the Khan residence. Rajah was the one who answered the knock at their door, opening it to the sight of Naruto bowing to him on their porch.
"Uncle Rajah…please train me," he declared. "I need to get stronger."
The man looked down to his surrogate nephew, watching as he raised his head and showed a determination he hadn't seen in the boy's eyes before. "Very well," he agreed. "But, I won't go easy on you. Just as I push my daughter, I will push you beyond that so that you will keep her safe."
"I promise I will," Naruto replied.
"Good. We start now."
Five years passed by almost in a blink to Naruto, and in that short time he had become a teenager well on his way to becoming a man. The fourteen-year-old had informed the Khans and the Belladonnas that he would be leaving with his aunt soon, and the adults had wished him the best of luck.
Blake had taken the news rather hard, having formed a sibling bond with Naruto and viewing him as her elder brother. She cared for him greatly, and he cared for her all the same. Hearing he was leaving spurned her into doing the same, heading out with her friend Adam Taurus to be recruited into the White Fang.
The group of activists was an odd subject for Naruto. He believed that they were right in demanding equality for Faunus, but he wasn't sure how they were going to go through with it once his Uncle Ghira stepped down as High Leader.
His closest friend, and someone he greatly admired, was supported and rumored to becoming the next High Leader. He just hoped that she would succeed in changing things.
"I thought I'd find you here, Naruto," a female voice spoke from behind him.
'Speaking of which,' he mused as he looked over his shoulder, catching the familiar orange eyes of Sienna Khan. She moved over to his side, settling down next to him as they sat on a cliffside that looked over Menagerie, looking to the setting sun on the ocean horizon.
They were silent for a few moments, and he appreciated it with what had happened over the past couple of weeks. Finally, she spoke again, "The cliff where Aunt Kushina's ashes got spread...You only come here to think or when something's bothering you. What's wrong?"
"…I awakened my Semblance during training today," he answered after a momentary pause.
"That's great," she praised, pleased to hear it. "It'll prepare you for the future if you can control it."
"Yeah… Sure…"
She frowned at his distant tone, reaching up to pinch his ear and make him face her. "Alright, Uzumaki. Either you tell me what the hell is bothering you, or I beat it out of you." She smirked at him with a gleam in her eye. "And you know I will."
He didn't show any pain or discomfort from her grasp on his ear, locking eyes with her and letting her see the doubt he held in his violet eyes. "…You said that…the world is corrupt and evil, right?"
"I said that about Humans, mostly," she clarified. "Why?"
"And you want to challenge that corruption?" he continued, ignoring her question.
Her orange eyes narrowed at him dodging her question, but she still answered, "Yes. I want Humans to respect us Faunus, even if it means they must fear us. Humans are corrupt, arrogant, and foolish. That's why, when Ghira hands over control of the White Fang to me, I'll start battling those corrupt fools."
That confirmed the rumors of her taking over, at least.
"…And you really want me to help you?" he asked softly.
Her own gaze softened at his tone, letting go of his ear to cup his whiskered cheek. "I want you at my side, Naruto," the confided to him. "You've become strong thanks to my father and Lord Ghira, and I'll need that strength for the future."
He moved away from her, turning back to the ocean and missing the brief flash of hurt in her eyes. "Sienna… I want to help you fight this corruption, believe me…"
"Then why does it sound like you won't?" she fired back, the hurt she felt fueling her anger.
"But, how can I help you fight a corrupt world," he began, turning to her with a frown in his bloody crimson eyes as bubbling red Aura coated his right hand, giving off a feeling of miasma, "when I'm corruption?"
Her eyes were wide as she stared at the corrosive power her best friend held in his grasp, absently noting how his whiskered cheeks had widened and gave him a feral visage. The very air around the energy distorted before the bubbling Aura was recalled and Naruto's eyes returned to their natural violet color. She saw him turn away from her, looking almost ashamed with himself.
"I can't help you fix this world when my power can only destroy, Sienna… I can't protect… I can only corrupt…"
"Idiot," she shot back sternly, making him flinch and look back at her. "You think this news changes things? You think that this power you have is a curse?" She moved into his personal space, poking his chest roughly with her clawed finger. "Well, then let me tell you something, Uzumaki; it changes nothing! Your power can help us destroy the barriers that hold us back! You can break apart the defenses Humans throw up, help us charge through, and get us closer to equality! I don't want to hear that self-doubting shit from you ever again; am I clear?!"
The intensity in her eyes, the fierceness in her tone, and the raw authority her stance held made his heart race. Without thinking – without any warning or care – he leaned in and captured her lips with his own, catching her by surprise before her dominant nature took over and she commanded the flow of the kiss. She gripped his shirt and pulled him closer to her, nibbling his lower lip as her tongue easily dominated his own.
When they finally pulled away, he breathlessly replied, "Crystal…"
She smirked at him, pecking him on the lips once more. "Good," she said simply, leaning against him as her heartbeat fell in synch with his. "…You said that you're leaving with some Human tribe, right?"
He winced at her tone. "…She said she was my aunt, and that she could help me get even stronger. If I'm going to be at your side, then I'll need all the training I can get."
"I understand that. Just promise me something; and I know how you are about promises." When he nodded, she continued, "I want you to promise that you'll come back to me stronger than anyone else; that you'll return not as a boy, but a man."
His eyes brimmed with determination, one so raw that it made her heart race. "I promise," he pledged before he caught sight of a familiar portal appearing behind Sienna. She pulled away from him just in time for a familiar red-eyed woman to walk out.
"Good, you made it," she greeted.
"I was about to say the same thing," he fired back, earning a smirk from her.
"Confident, are we? We'll see how you feel after I'm through with you." She stepped to the side to let him go through the portal first, waiting patiently as her nephew gave one last embrace to the Tigress Faunus.
He approached the portal and gave Sienna one last smile before stepping through it. Raven was about to follow before the Khan spoke up. "You'd better make him stronger, Human. I could care less if you're his aunt of some random stranger. I could feel the strength you hold."
"And your point is…?" Raven asked in a dull tone, not even looking over her shoulder to regard Sienna.
This made her bristle, for it showed that Raven didn't even view her as a threat. "That you'd better keep your word to him, Huntsmen Slayer."
That made Raven look back to her, a coy smirk on the Huntress's face. "You'll just have to be patient then, won't you?" she fired back before leaving the future High Leader of the White Fang alone on the cliffside.
Stepping out of her closing portal, Raven saw her new charge being inspected by Vernal. Vernal looked up from her inspection and asked, "This your nephew, Boss?"
"Yes, he is. I'll be personally training him for the next few years," the woman answered, surprising Naruto.
"Wait, years?" he repeated. "How long do you expect this to take?"
"How long were you expecting before you got results?" Raven fired back, sending Vernal away for the moment.
"I wasn't counting on being away for years," he answered with a frown.
"Tough shit, kid. The world doesn't move to your schedule; it runs its own timeframe. Now, there are many things I need to instruct you in; how to fight being the least important of them at the present time."
He tilted his head in confusion, raising a brow at her words. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means that there are many things in Remnant that you need to understand; things that overshadow all of the petty squabbles and past wars throughout history," she explained, leading him inside of her tent. She had him take a seat, setting a pot of water over a fire to boil for tea.
"…Seriously?" he asked in disbelief. "It's that big of a deal?" Her answer was to simply stare at him without expression, not showing any form of joking around or deceit. "What the hell could be so important?"
"The source of the Grimm, how magic is real, and how some shadow group is planning Remnant's future," she answered, knowing she had his attention. "Before I get any deeper, what do you know of the Tale of Two Brothers?"
Long into the night, Raven had informed her nephew about the religious beliefs of Remnant; specifically, the Gods of Light and Darkness and how they created the Grimm and Humanity, and the Four Maidens given magic by a wise Sage.
By the time she was done with those stories, it had gotten late and Raven offered Naruto a cot inside her tent, which he accepted gratefully. Currently, she was leaning against one of the many wooden posts that formed a wall around her tribe's encampment. She was staring at the ground, her gaze unfocused as she thought of the life she had left behind.
She thought of her ex-husband and the daughter she barely knew before leaving. A small ache echoed in her heart as she remembered the night she left and how she would never truly be there for Yang. A large part of her was grateful that Summer had been there for Taiyang, knowing how her old teammate had deep feelings for her ex.
She chuckled hollowly at how both daughters of Taiyang would never really know their mothers. Yang would never know her because she left, and little Ruby wouldn't know Summer because she died on a mission for Ozpin.
That last thought made her frown, memories and feelings of distrust for the secretive man bubbling back up to the surface. She was both grateful and angry at Ozpin for showing her team the truth of the world and for instilling some power into herself and Qrow.
Looking back towards her tent, she idly wondered if her brother's son would inherit some of the magic Ozpin had given the drunkard. She hummed thoughtfully before dismissing it. If Naruto ever gained some sort of magic, then more power to him. Either way, Raven had made a promise to Kushina and she was going to keep it.
She had to make sure her family was taken care of, after all. Yang, while remaining ignorant under Taiyang and Qrow's care, would be safe under their watch. Naruto was now her responsibility, for she knew Qrow wouldn't step up; not when he was still Ozpin's lapdog.
She was broken from her thoughts when she saw a glow from above cover the encampment. Looking up, her eyes widened at the sight of a small meteor soaring over the camp before crashing into the woods a fair distance away. She turned to another part of the camp, sharing a look with Vernal before the two women headed towards the impact zone.
Upon arrival, they saw a hunk of rock and superheated metal resting within a crater, the ground charred black and still smoking from the impact. Raven's eyes gleamed at their find, a smirk forming on her face as she sent Vernal to gather more tribesmen.
"Well now," she began, imagining the possibilities presented through her by this stroke of good fortune, "this changes a few things…Your son seems to be luckier than you, brother. Let's hope he stays this lucky."