He never had a chance.

Comparing a paper airplane to a bullhead. That was what the masked boy said. At the time, he didn't believe him. At the time, he thought it was just hollow boasting.

It wasn't.

The first strike shattered the armor.

The second tore the flesh from his bones.

The third reduced his lower body to a bloody smear somewhere higher up on the mountain.

…

Through the pain and tears and despair, he can see a form stalking towards him.

Its skin is of blood and darkness.

Its claws are blades and shadow.

The very presence of the creature dyes the world around it in crimson.

Three eyes glare at him from behind a mask darker than midnight. Four tails trail in its wake, swaying almost lazily in the air.

He tries to say something. To scream, cry, beg for his life.

The only sound to escape his mask is a weak gurgle.

A blooded claw rises. The claw that had torn through aura and steel plating like paper. Death's shadow falls over him, and he cannot help but find it beautiful.

Because in this world… this shitty, messed up, fucked up world where people like him are treated like animals, where death and grimm loom around every corner, and where monsters like this boy and that woman exist…

Just who the hell wants to live in a world like this?

Of Heroes and Monsters

Chapter 2: Of Uzumaki Naruto, part 2

…

It is the standard fare as far as night clubs go. A bouncy and repetitive beat blasts in stereo from eight, giant speakers. Stage lights skip across the walls as patrons and partygoers take to the dance floor, chugging alcohol and spewing cheesy pick-up lines.

Behind the counter, Junior Xiong, a hulking bear of a man, wipes down a cup.

"Yo, Junior."

He appears in a whirlwind of golden embers, a boy covered head to toe in bandages, a single blue eye peeking out from underneath the layering of dressings. His white hair is messy and uncombed, his t-shirt one or two sizes too big. The bandaged boy gives the man a wave, one hand shoved in the pocket of lazy sweatpants and his feet clad in comfy slippers.

Junior takes a moment to look over the boy very obviously a few years too young to be in his club.

"What's with the bandages? Ain't it a bit early to start dressing up for Halloween?"

"A bit. So, trick or treat and maybe I'll think about not shoving my foot up your ass."

"I take it your last excursion didn't go quite as planned." Junior says with a dry expression, placing the cup on a rack. The information broker's words carry a ton of familiarity, as if he already knows how the boy will respond.

Said response consists of grabbing the remote and switching the channel on one of the flat screens behind the counter.

"-when the White-Faced, Gold-Tailed, Demon Fox attacked a civilian transport train, coming into conflict with the White Fang. While there are no reported civilian casualties-"

Junior perks a brow as the screen shows two pictures, one of a forest and a suspended train track with a mountain face looming over it.

The second picture is much the same. Minus a chunk of the train track. And the mountain.

"How'd that happen? I can't imagine the White Fang being able to give you any real trouble."

"Well, you see~ while I was out trick or treating, this weirdo named 'Banesaw' ambushed me and kept trying to sell me stuff but I didn't want to buy anything. Then, he gave me some candy and it turns out the whole time he was just trying to get his medical license. So, I showed him how to do a cranial-ectomy, took the candy and left. Thought about staying in Atlas a bit but there was too much snow and lightning so here I am! Back in good ol' Vale."

It is a random spiel of words that would have anyone else wondering if the bandaged boy is just messing with them or if he had been hit on the head as a child. Repeatedly. Junior only purses his lips. Takes a moment to process the onslaught of words as the boy takes a seat at the counter.

"… So you planning on sharing any of that candy?"

Naruto chuckles, fiddling with some of the bandages on his arm. "If you want, I don't mind trading…"

"How much?"

"Six for two."

"One for one."

"Five for both?"

"Three and I'll give you a warning before the twins sneak up on you."

The teenaged mercenary rolls his eyes(eye), non-too-subtly checking over his shoulder. "Please. I'm not that worried about running into them. They're just always bugging me about my clothes, it's weird… what happened to the good old days when you guys would shit your pants at the sight of me?"

"You mean before we knew there was a baby-faced, little brat behind that creepy mask? It's no wonder the girls always want to pinch your cheeks."

"This coming from the guy whose name is literally Junior."

Junior places his hands on the counter. Leans against the bar as he gives the boy a scrutinizing look. "You never did cut the most imposing figure... though, the crazy eyes probably helped make up a lot in that regard."

"I don't have crazy eyes."

"Now you don't. Did before."

"No, I didn't."

"Yeah, you did. So, three and a head's up?"

Naruto grumbles. "Fine."

He perks a brow when Junior makes a face, at someone behind him. Pale arms reach over his shoulders and a pair of shapely breasts press against his back.

"Naruto," a breathy voice purrs into his ear. "It's been so long since we've seen each other… you don't call, you don't write… I'm starting to think you've been avoiding me."

"You'd be right," the boy replies in a dry tone. He looks to Junior. "So… five?"

"Five." Junior agrees with a sigh.

Naruto closes his eye to address the owner of the breasts. "I appreciate the assist, I really do, but you're kind of heavy, so could you please get your boobs off my back?"

"Rude."

The arms release him. He turns in his seat to face two girls, one dressed in red, one dressed in white, both with the same soft, white skin, the same green eyes and the same silken, black hair. However, the similarities end there.

One stand haughty and proud, the other shy and demure. The girl in white wears a set of bladed heels, a white flower hanging from her long, black hair. The girl in red wears a set of retracted claws, a pair of red and white feather decorating her shorter tresses.

Naruto looks to the white sister, Melanie Malachite.

"Miltia."

He looks to the red sister, Miltiades Malachite.

"Melanie."

Then, he ducks as a bladed heel flies over his head.

"Every time! How do you manage to get it wrong, Every. Single. Time!?" Melanie huffs. "She's Miltia! I'm Melanie!"

"Come on sis, you know he's doing it on purpose," Miltiades says, taking the seat next to Naruto.

"Aw, you really think I would do that Melanie?"

Naruto ducks again as a claw slashes at his neck.

The white sister frowns, crossing her arms. "Would it kill you to get our names right for once?"

"In my defense, your names are hard to remember," Naruto protests. "Back me up here, Junior."

"Don't drag me into this…"

Melanie gives Naruto a questioning look. "Like, how come you call Junior by his name instead of giving him a stupid nickname like everyone else?"

Naruto ponders for a moment. Less because he actually needs to think about it and more for effect. "I mean… his name's already Junior. Honestly, that's not much better than anything I could come up with."

"I hate you so much."

A slight giggle escapes the girl's lips, one she hides with a huff and a smirk. "You know you're kind of an asshole, right?"

"You two are the ones trying to beat up on an injured person."

Miltia puts a hand on his arm, leaning against him. "Why do you look like a mummy, anyway?"

"Had to prove a point. Burned off the top layer of my skin though."

Melanie wrinkles her nose. "Gross."

"Was totally worth it."

"You need to take care of yourself better," Miltia says. She pokes his cheek. "Every time you come by, you're always covered in bandages."

A shrug. "I do hunt people down and sixty-nine them for a living."

Miltia blushes. Melanie lets out a sound somewhere between a snort and a laugh. She raises an amused brow. "You mean eighty-six?"

"Yeah that. Wait, what'd I say?"

"Never mind, there are more important things to talk about," Miltia says with an expression of utmost seriousness.

"Like what?"

"Like your clothes?!" Melanie answers, tugging at his t-shirt.

"What about them?"

"Everything about them! You look like one of those background characters in a show where everyone can tell they're a background character because the producers didn't even bother to dress them up!"

"What are you talking about?" Naruto asks with a smile that causes his only visible eye to curve into an upside down 'u'.

"I'd say I'm 'dressed up' from head to toe!"

He ducks as both a claw and a bladed heel pass over his head. Popping back up, he leans onto the counter, a satisfied smile hidden under his bandages. "Besides, I go through like three shirts a week. No point in buying anything expensive if it's just going to get cut/burned/torn/exploded to ribbons in like a day."

Miltia perks up. "Why don't you just learn the shielding technique we use here in the Kingdoms? Melanie and I could totally teach you."

"Nah, wouldn't work."

"Why not?"

"Reasons."

"Reasons?" Melanie asks, crossing her arms. "What reasons?"

"Reasons more important than looking good while I'm fighting," Naruto replies in a dry tone.

From the looks on their faces, one would think he had just blasphemed against their religion.

"P-plus, I've already got my healing factor so I don't need to bother with anything like that," he tries to explain. "Reinforcement is good enough for me..."

No good. He can see it in their eyes, both sisters preparing to launch into what is surely to be an hour-long discourse on the intricacies and importance of one's fashion in battle. There is only one way for him to escape. A single route to not being serenaded in a hundred and one reasons why slippers are not considered appropriate footwear for anywhere outside the house.

"I-I mean look at Junior! He basically wears the exact same thing all his henchmen do minus the jacket!"

With no shame whatsoever, Naruto throws his business partner under the bus.

"Why you little-!"

There is a moment as the red and white twins look to their boss, their eyes cold. Merciless. Judging. As one, they pass their verdict.

""Junior is not an impressive man.""

"I sign your paychecks."

""Whatever.""

Naruto chuckles to himself with a smirk under his bandages.

"Alright you two, clear out." Junior scowls. "The brat and I have business to attend to. You both can flirt with him some other time."

They both roll their eyes, almost in perfect synch. Miltia hops off the barstool. Turns to Naruto with a hint of worry in her expression. "Make sure to get some rest. Maybe come by and visit us sometime when it's not just to see Junior?"

"Long as you don't mind me being dressed like this."

"Yeah, you annoying idiot," Melanie says, kicking his leg with the non-bladed part of her shoe. "Maybe I can let it slide if you decide you want to keep dressing like a potato, but if you go and die before getting our names right at least once, I will like, never forgive you."

"Hai hai~, bye Melanie, Miltia," he waves them goodbye, making sure to address each twin by the other's name.

""Jerk.""

Under the counter, hidden by a trick door and behind a multitude of locks and bolts, the two of them enter a musty box of a room illuminated by a single, hanging, light fixture. Coffin-sized metal drawers line the walls. The smell of rotting flesh and dried blood hang in the air.

"Geez, Junior. You ever clean this place?"

"I tried. The smell doesn't come out."

One of the metal doors open with a clang. The steel bed rattles as Junior pulls it out. Naruto fishes a roll of paper out of his pocket.

"Might want to look away," he suggests, unfurling the scroll over the bed.

On the paper is an intricate seal, shapes and letters and symbols scribbled onto its surface in a reddish-black ink. A flicker of his aura causes the ink to glow a soft yellow. A small explosion of smoke releases its contents.

It falls with a wet splat.

"Oh- fucking hell! What did you do to him?!"

"I have the mask if you need more proof."

"No…" Junior pushes the steel bed back into the wall. Resists the urge to gag as he slams the door shut. "I know you well enough by now… if you say it's him, it's him. What else do you halve for me?"

Junior hands Naruto a suitcase. Naruto fishes another roll of paper out from his pocket.

"The SDC are developing weapons under the table," he explains, holding out his arm. "Whole reason 'this' happened was because the White Fang Lieutenant got his hands on one of their super-prototypes."

"The Schnee… they're making weapons now?"

"Not only that…" he tosses the scroll to the information broker. "I think I know who commissioned it. Kumogakure. It was an armor with a rather… unique design. I can't imagine that sort of thing coming out of anywhere but the Hidden Cloud."

"You have it with you?"

"Course not. Turned it into scrap metal. I kept a few pieces of it though."

Naruto holds out his hand. Flicks his fingers. A shard of pure white dust materializes in his hand, the crystal almost appearing to glow in the dimly lit room.

"I doubt this thing came from the Schnee dust mines," he says, turning it over. "It's too pure. Lightning dust like this doesn't occur naturally in the Kingdoms."

"Could be imported. Shipped over from the Land of Lightning and refined in the SDC factories."

"Probably was. But the whole thing's about the size of your head. I doubt that much dust ends up in someone's hands without some backroom trading going on."

Junior takes the shard. "It'd fetch a pretty penny on the black market, that's for sure..."

"Think you can find me a buyer?"

"I'll see what I can do," Junior says, tucking the shard into his pocket. A heavy sigh. "So… the SDC are developing weapons. That's one… hell of a one to start off on."

"Something wrong?"

He shakes his head. Another sigh. Junior looks up, his eyes focused on something far beyond that metal wall. "Last great war was only eighteen years ago and here we are, already on the brink of another…"

For a moment, Naruto says nothing. He shifts and looks to the side. "I mean, isn't that a good thing? War just means more work for us in the underground, right?"

Junior balls a hand into a fist, knocking it against one of the metal doors with a sharp rattle. Less out of anger and more just to vent.

"Not when there's no one left to work for... How much do you know about the previous great wars?"

"Uh… that… there were… three of them?"

There is a moment as Junior wonders if the boy is asking him or telling him. Deciding that it is more than likely the former instead of the later, he sighs and shakes his head. "Never mind. This… really isn't the time or the place to talk about that sort of thing. You said there was something else, right?"

"Nothing as concrete as the first, but yeah I've got another. Less concrete than the others. Does the word 'Biju' mean anything to you?"

Junior rolls the word around his mouth. Perks a brow. "'Tailed Beast'… no, what's that?"

"Didn't think so… ah~…" Naruto tilts his head back and sighs. Ponders how to condense a giant, long-ass monologue into less than twenty words. A shrug. "Well, let's avoid any expositions for now. Besides, you can probably connect the dots better than me."

"I think someone's pulling the strings behind the White Fang. Could be Kumo. Might be someone else. I don't know."

Junior takes a moment to process the bandaged boy's words.

"You think this 'someone' is the one who caused the White Fang's change in leadership five years ago?"

"I don't know about that… but I do think they're behind the White Fang's recent activities. I noticed something weird while I was tracking down the Lieutenant. It's changed. Over the past few months, their movements have become distinctly more militaristic. Right now, they're raiding dust transports, weapons supplies, munitions warehouses with almost five or six times the frequency. And that's on top of their usual shtick. I'm guessing to keep people from noticing how they're hoarding weapons and dust."

"That doesn't mean there's someone giving them orders from behind a curtain. They could just be planning a large scale operation."

Naruto shakes his head. "In a fight, you don't go all in against a stronger opponent unless you think you can finish it. The moment they establish themselves as a real threat, the Kingdoms will crush them without hesitation. I'm sure the only reason the Councils haven't given the go-ahead-"

"-is because if they did, it'd make the White Fang martyrs while embarrassing themselves on the international stage," Junior finishes for him.

Naruto nods.

The man strokes his beard, pacing about the room. "It'd be in the White Fang's best interest to lay low and just keep doing what they've been doing. Anymore and even other faunus will begin to denounce them. So the only reason they would change tactics-"

"-is because they think they actually have a shot at crippling one of the Kingdoms."

Junior stops. He furrows his brow, sinking deep into thought. "They couldn't do it alone. And you think the Hidden Cloud is behind them?"

"That'd be my first guess."

"Even though you said they're already doing business with the Schnee?"

"They are shinobi, after all. Backstabbing really shouldn't be a surprise. Playing both sides is exactly the sort of thing you'd expect from them."

"You're not wrong, but…" Junior shakes his head. "I don't think it's the Great Village Hidden in the Clouds. I think our mysterious benefactor is someone else entirely."

"Oh, why's that?"

Junior motions towards the door. They leave the room, returning to the stairs leading back up to the bar. Instead of up, they go down, descending into an ice box for storing drinks.

"There's an old saying anyone who was alive for the Third Great War would know. 'The Fifth Great War won't be between the Great Villages and the Kingdoms or humans and faunus. It'll be aliens versus the grimm'. Because there won't be any humans left to fight in it."

Junior takes a bottle from the shelf. "Here, hold this."

"Would a Fourth Great War really be that bad?" Naruto asks, taking the bottle in his other hand.

"A lot of people think of the Third Great War as just picking back up where the Second left off. The War to End All Wars, they called it. Didn't live through it myself, but apparently the only reason the fighting stopped is because humanity was on the brink of being overrun by the grimm. And people thought a Third Great War would push it over that brink."

"Humanity's worst enemy has always been itself…" the boy mutters to himself, making his way over to a table. He puts the bottle and suitcase on the top, digging a roll of paper and a bottle of ink out of his pocket.

Junior looks at the paper and ink with a worried grimace. "You really got to do that here?"

A shrug. "If you want to be conspicuous. It'd be troublesome for you if the wrong person saw me coming out from behind the bar with a suitcase full of money, wouldn't it?"

The man grunts, turning his attention back to the labels on the bottles. "Where'd you learn that witchcraft anyway?"

"Hm~, let's see. When I was younger and not quite as badass, there was this creepy, old toad who kidnapped me and tried to infect me with his pervy-ness, but then I transformed into a girl and seduced him into teaching me his pervy arts. Then, after I learned everything I learned everything I wanted to know, along with some things I'd rather have not, I kicked his ass to the curb and ran away."

"There are so many things wrong with that story I'm not even going to try," Junior deadpans, taking another bottle from a shelf. He perks a brow. "What were those things you learned that you'd 'rather have not'?"

"Oh just…" Naruto glances away. He scratches at his bandages. Unbeknownst to him, a red shadow flickers over his eye. "… Stuff."

The word is said almost less as an answer and more as a sigh. For a moment, the bandaged-over boy says nothing and does nothing, his gaze fixed pointedly on a nondescript corner of the room.

Junior looks to his younger companion.

"Stuff?"

In an instant, the shadow vanishes. "Yeah. Stuff."

"What kind of stuff."

"Er, you know… pervy stuff," Naruto twirls an ink brush in his hand. "Yeah. Like, for one, I can see under combat skirts."

That earns a furrowed brow from the information broker. "What. How? They're literally designed to prevent up-skirt shots."

"To be honest, I don't really know how it works either," he shrugs. "Apparently the latest in anti-up-skirt tech is no match for pervy ninja magic. However that works."

Junior pauses a moment to consider the boy's words.

"Does what mean whenever Melanie lifts her leg to try and kick you…?"

"Yup," Naruto confirms the man's suspicions in a casual tone as his brush dances over the paper. Slowly but surely an intricate array of shapes and symbols takes form on the parchment. "It's surprising. With how much those two are always nagging me about my clothes, you'd think they'd both be the type to dress up from head to toe, but it's surprisingly plain under there."

"Perverted brat."

"Oi. I deny that statement. Both parts of it."

The specially treated ink dries almost instantly. Placing the second bottle onto the table, Junior looks over the paper and wrinkles his nose. "Is that blood?"

"Mixed with ink, yeah. Helps it synch with my aura better." The brush vanishes with only a flick of his wrist. Naruto tilts his head, looking over the seal. "Hm. Hope I made this stroke right."

"And what happens if you didn't?"

He touches a finger to the ink. "Bunch of things could happen. Could be a dud, could summon some freaky-ass outer god from another dimension, could explode. Who knows? Was really annoying the last time that happened."

"Wait, what was that second one-"

"One way to find out!"

The seal flashes to life. A golden light fills the room. It makes a hum like a hundred buzzling flies before the glow recedes and the seal falls silent.

Naruto looks to the man huddled in the corner.

"You know, it's actually impossible for a seal to malfunction that catastrophically. That was a joke."

"Fuck off…" Junior grumbles, slowly rising and making sure to keep his distance from the scroll. "That can't actually happen, right?"

"It exploding or it summoning a god from another dimension?"

"Yes! Both! Either or!

"… So what were you saying about the Great Wars earlier? If people thought a Third War would 'push it over that brink', how come we aren't just, like, up to our eyes in grimm?"

"Don't change the subject! Can you actually do that shit?!"

"Relaaax~," Naruto waves his hand, putting the suitcase atop the piece of paper. With a puff of smoke, it disappears without a trace. "Sure seals can be used to make paper bombs but someone's only summoned a god, like… twice before. It was the same god anyway, no big deal."

Junior brings a hand to his head, tries to rub away a growing migraine. He fails. Taking a half-empty bottle from the shelf, he pops off the cap and downs the rest of the bottle, attempting to drown the headache before it gets worse.

"You know I'm a normal person, right?" he asks, tossing the empty bottle into a bin and grabbing another. "Like, I can't blow away a mountain or shoot lasers from my eyes. Summoning a god is kind of a really big deal to people like me."

"Hey, I can't shoot lasers from my eyes either… can't all be freakin Uchiha… anyway, what were you saying about the Third Great War? Why didn't the grimm overrun everyone?"

"Because of the Fourth Hokage."

Naruto starts to roll the paper back up. He pauses upon hearing the answer to his own question. A moment passes before he finishes rolling up the paper and shoves it into his pocket, taking a bottle from the table. "Minato Namikaze. The Yellow Flash. Hero of the Third Great War."

"You know about him?"

"You could say that. So what about him? I'm guessing there's a reason they call him the Hero of the Third Great War."

Junior nods as they return to the stairs going back up to the bar. "His team and a team of huntsmen from Vale are largely credited with bringing an end to the Third War. Mainly him. If you ever looked up the word 'hero', his face is probably one of the first things you'd see. That's how much people praised him for his efforts in bringing peace back to Remnant."

A sour chuckle comes from behind him. Junior turns to find Naruto stopped with a hand shoved in his pocket, his head bowed and his only visible eye closed.

"And let me guess. Our 'great hero' died but left his hopes and dreams for a better future in everyone's hands… and they did jack shit with it. Or worse, they went ahead and did the exact opposite of what he thought they would."

It is obvious enough from the tone of his voice alone. One eye is closed and the other hidden beneath bandages, but Junior is sure that at this very moment, both the boy's pupils are wreathed in a burning, spiteful crimson.

"… That's the gist of it," Junior nods, looking to the younger male with a somewhat concerned look. It's been a while since the last time he saw this side of the usually carefree and flippant boy's personality peek out. "The Fourth brought an end to the fighting but died before people could really start to reconcile. By the end of that year, any sort of restoration efforts had slowed to a stop. Past grudges, old wounds that never healed. If anything, these past fifteen years they've just festered."

"Whelp, go figure!" Naruto lifts his head with a shrug, stepping past him with his eye still kept in a squint. "People are shit. What else is new? So we're on the verge of a Fourth Great War. Don't see how that rules out Kumo as being behind the White Fang's recent changes."

"Because the Hidden Cloud was one of the first nations to answer when the Fourth called for peace. They may be one of the more power-hungry of the Great Shinobi Villages, but they aren't warmongers. I doubt they would be the ones to want to break the peace that they were so eager to sign off on."

"Then, who do you think it is?"

"… A couple weeks ago, there was a woman looking for you."

Naruto stops before the exit. Opens an eye and perks a brow, the color of his iris a cold and ashen blue. "What's that have to do with anything?"

"You said it was a fairly recent change, right?" Junior asks. "If I'm remembering right, her exact words were… 'I finally have my army, I have my pawns. I don't need any more foot soldiers. What I'm looking for is an ace'."

"Hm… she hot?"

"… What."

"Is she hot? You know, did you drool over her boobs the whole time? Give me a number here, one to ten."

Junior gives the teenaged boy a flat stare. "Really? That's your first question. Not, 'who is she' or 'why is she doing this' or even 'what did you tell her' or 'how could she do such a thing'. Just, 'she hot'?"

A shrug. Naruto tilts his head, digging a finger into his ear. "I'd say, off the top of my head, I can think of… six things I care more about than someone trying to destroy the civilized world as we know it. I wonder if it's a crazy, hot chick. Those are things five and six, by the way. If it's a crazy chick and if she's hot."

"You know you're a bit of a sociopath, right?"

"I like to think I'm relatively well adjusted, all things considered. Now, how hot we talking here? Five? Six?"

"… I'd say a solid eight."

They exit out from the door behind the counter. Naruto follows behind Junior, putting his bottle on a nearby rack. Their return draws no attention beyond a small measure of curiosity about the bandages wrapping him head to toe, and even that lasts for only a brief glance.

"Well, if you feel like looking into it, she left a contact." Junior motions towards a person in the crowd. A man in a bowler cap with windswept, orange hair and way, way, too much eyeliner.

"That guy has orange hair… it's like a pumpkin..."

"So…" the information broker grabs a cup, his eyes curious and his tone somewhat hesitant. "Minato Namikaze? That's a surprise. I'd figure you would have butchered his name and called him the 'Yellow Flasher' or something like that."

"… Damn, that would've been good," Naruto grumbles. He fiddles with the bandages around his cheeks. "I mean, if you guys know about him even here in the Kingdoms, of course everyone in Soshima would know about him. I doubt there's anyone without at least some idea of his story… even if it doesn't have the happiest ending."

"That's one way of putting it," Junior scoffs, pouring himself a drink. "Losing his wife and their unborn child all in one night? It's no wonder he gave his life to at least make sure his home stayed safe."

"Yeah…" the white-haired boy's gaze goes unfocused. His hand comes to rest on his stomach. Something between a scoff and a laugh slips out from under his bandages, and he says in a voice almost too quiet to hear. "Kid was lucky…"

"What?"

"Hm?" his hand flinches away from his stomach, hovers around his side for a moment as though not sure what it is supposed to be doing before it decides to come up and scratch his cheek. "Oh, I was just thinking. I wonder what his kid's name was. Considering the rumors I've heard about the Fourth's naming sense…"

"Oh yeah," Junior chuckles. "You ever hear what he named his semblance?"

"Pft, who hasn't heard of 'Avatar: Howling, Thundering, Tempest, War God of Valor'."

"Is that the whole name? Heh, it might have had a stupid name but it really was the kind of thing you'd only see once in a generation. Kind of wish I got the chance to see it when he was alive. I heard the thing was as big as a mountain."

"A small mountain," the bandaged boy corrects. A twinkle enters his eye and childish excitement begins to creep into his voice. "The thing was still suuuper powerful, though! A lot of people think it's a creation or a summoning-type, but it was actually a projection-type, you know? It was one of the few projection semblances to ever reach EX-class."

"I have no idea what any of those words you just said mean," Junior shakes his head with a smile. "Gotta say, I'll never understand the fascination you have for semblances. What, making an explosive with some paper and ink is no big deal but some random power everyone's born with is?"

"It is a big deal! A semblance is a reflection of who you are, a piece of you as a person. And everyone has one! Sure, flying brick powers are kind of boring, but there are tons of cool and interesting semblances out there!"

"Flying brick?"

"You know, like a flying brick," Naruto counts off on his fingers. "Super strength, super speed, super toughness, flying. That kind of thing."

Junior regards the boy with an amused smirk. "Isn't that basically you?"

"Yeah, but I do all of that stuff without a semblance!" he boasts, puffing out his chest. He hops onto the bar, sitting cross-legged on the counter with his arms in his lap. "Like, a while ago I fought this lady who could control things with hers? Just think like telekinesis ramped up to eleven. Man, that thing was sooo~ strong! It was really cool to watch too, the way she could gather up random pieces of rocks on the ground into spears or just summon a giant storm of dust and debris to dump on me with only a wave of her arm. I think she's a huntress or something. It's just too bad. With a semblance like that she probably has a giant stick up her ass."

"A huntress, huh… You ever think of becoming one of them? A huntsman, I mean."

"A huntsman?" Naruto asks. His entire upper body tilts to the side. "Can't say that I have. Why?"

"I was just thinking," Junior says, swirling his drink. "You're always complaining about finding work, no doubt because you always piss off your clients the second you open your mouth."

Naruto opens his mouth to retort. He pauses. Shrugs and motions for Junior to continue.

"So why not just get a stable job? Go to somewhere like, say, Beacon Academy. Become a certified huntsman. It's not like you're not strong enough."

"Well, there are lots of reasons why I can't just do that." The bandaged boy roll-flips upwards and back, spinning through the air only once before landing in a seated position atop one of the bar stools. He leans onto the bar. Begins to count on his fingers. "I just don't think I'd fit in, I hear they don't serve ramen at those places and honestly, I think hunters are kind of lame compared to shinobi and –oh yeah!"

"I'm an S-rank criminal in the Bingo Book with a kill order in two Kingdoms, three of the Five Great Villages and who knows how many of the lesser villages. I'd probably get a warmer reception from the grimm."

Junior perks a brow. "You do know that fake identities are a thing, don't you? And don't you ninja-types have some trick to literally transform yourselves to look like anything you want?"

"Screw that. Don't wanna."

"You can be really childish sometimes, you know that?"

"Hey, even someone like me gets to be childish from time to time." Naruto hops to his feet. Shoves his hands into his pockets. "Besides, all of that stuff is just superficial. I may as well put some makeup on to hide my whiskers and dye my hair for all the good it'd do me. The second I let my aura out or had to fight seriously, the instructors would figure out who I am."

"Sort of Ozpin, the Great and Terrible himself, descending from Beacon on high to invite to attend his school, the only way I'm getting into one of those schools is in a body bag."

He looks to a certain head of orange hair in the crowd.

"Anyway, I've got to see a guy about a thing. It's been… well, it's been something. I'll see you around, Junior."

"Yeah, yeah, try not to get yourself killed."

"Sure, sure."

He waves the information broker goodbye and takes his leave. A pulse of aura shreds the bandages covering his form. They fall away to reveal perfectly healed and healthy skin, free from and sort of scars or blemishes aside from the three, whisker-like markings across both his cheeks. In short order, he summons his mask, brushes his hair back, and fits the mask to his face in one smooth motion, an invisible weight lifting from his shoulders at the feel of the bone-like material against his skin.

'Hm…? When did I become so used to it, I wonder…'

"Oh my, who would have thought the infamous White-Faced, Gold-Tailed, Demon Fox was such an adorable, young boy underneath that scary, scary mask. Your fans will be elated."

Naruto glances at the source of the patronizing drawl. Orange hair. Bowler cap. Way too much eyeliner. The contact meets him halfway, wearing a fashionable white blazer and toting a plain-looking, black cane.

"I don't have any fans."

"You'd be surprised," Green eyes roam over him, from head to toe and back up, looking at him like a fine-cut piece of meat. The man smiles, hums in satisfaction and tucks his cane under his arm, extending a hand.

"Roman Torchwick."

"… Uzumaki." Naruto takes the offered hand after a moment of hesitation.

"Now I hear you are looking for work… perhaps I can be of assistance?"

AN: Apologies for the late release. I'll generally try to update on Sundays unless something happens, like it did this week. I had planned to do a double release, but this chapter is the only one I got to finish… and I didn't particularly enjoy writing it so I understand if it doesn't quite stand up to the previous one. Feel free to have at it. It's one of those 'I want to write A-scene and I want to write B-scene but if I don't write this, it won't make any scene how we got from A to B'.

Will try and aim for the double release next week. There's a poll on my profile on whether or not people would like me to post progress on the chapter/s on my profile info. If enough people vote, I'll try to update some sort of 'progress meter' daily.