Six Months Later
With a flick of his wrist the knife dug deep into the Grimm's skull. Blood oozed from the wound as the creature let out a shriek before it collapsed, its body evaporating into a black mist.
"These guys just won't let up, eh Kurama?"
"Hmph, they are pitiful compared to your old enemies. At this rate you won't be needing my chakra at all."
"Ah, don't say that. She's still around, I just know it."
There was a dangerous glint in Naruto's eyes as he said that. As much as he tried to forget, he would forever remember the hate and despair that fueled his body for the first few months after his friends' deaths. It reminded him of Sasuke's own path of vengeance, but unlike him, Naruto wasn't the type to go batshit crazy and kill everyone who looked at him wrong. Instead, he had offered his services as a mercenary, accepting any job he could in order to get information about Kaguya and her whereabouts. Didn't matter if it was assassinations or such, he didn't care, as long as it brought him closer to the person who basically ruined his life.
Speaking of which, as soon as Naruto had come to the first village in sight after saying his goodbyes with his little memorial, he had been shocked to find that there were people who were active and walking around, like there wasn't some freaky, super powerful red moon that had all the minds in the world trapped in an illusion. He was even more shocked to find that, upon walking up to the first person that seemed friendly, no one could speak his tongue, nor could he read or understand there's.
Luckily, he had the benefit of a few shadow clones completely solving that problem.
It took him about a month or so to assimilate to things and then, when he did, boy was he in for the shock of his life. Apparently, no one, not even the mountain of books he read (Iruka-sensei would be proud), knew anything about the shinobi, and that he was in some place called Remnant.
And, an even bigger shocker, no one knew nor possessed chakra.
It instantly gave him bad vibes.
"We've been in Remnant for half a year now and there is still no sign of her. With what we've found so far, it's highly unlikely we'll be finding that portal anytime soon to send us home."
"I know that, fuzzball," Naruto snapped, weaving around another Grimm's paw. He was currently fighting a pack of previously twenty Ursa Minor, having already killed five of them. It was still a touchy subject for him, memories of Sasuke's death instantly coming to mind, and he did not want to be reminded of how he ended up Remnant in the first place. After the discovery that he was possibly no longer in what he could only call his 'home dimension', Naruto had almost had a complete break down, and it had taken him months to accept the fact that he was here now, in Remnant, with a genuine possibility of never going back.
He stabbed a kunai into a Grimm's chest. Even now, it still scares him at how his life changed so quickly.
But at least he wasn't alone.
While it had taken a lot of coaxing and convincing by Kurama, eventually, Naruto's guilt became much easier to control. He would also learn to accept that he would have to make do with what he had now, and that it was impossible to reverse what had happened. The only thing Naruto could do, really the only option he had, was to move forward. Maybe build a new life in this new world. Everyone would've wanted him too, and he wouldn't let them down.
One thing was for sure; he would see this through till the very end.
Because Naruto Uzumaki never gave up.
"I'm gonna finish this. Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"
With a burst of his chakra, multiple clones of the blonde shinobi sprung into existence. Each of them had a kunai in hand, while a cruel smile played on their faces. Finding themselves now suddenly outnumbered, the frightened Grimm then took a hesitant step back.
Two Ursa tried to stand firm, however, unlike their other pack members the two instead chose to take a step forward and glare at Naruto with all their might. Primitive growls rumbled in their chests as they refused to back down from the clearly powerful human.
"You made a mistake messing with those kids, you creeps. It's too bad they hired me to deal with you," Naruto growled menacingly. "I just can't let something like that slide, ya know?"
Almost on command the clones then charged at the black beasts, not expecting much resistance as these Ursa Minor were, in reality, simply animals with an extremely heightened sense of blood lust and hatred for humans. Moving quickly, honed from years of hard work and practice, the clones easily dodged the swiping claws and maws of the bear-like Grimm before their knives slashed through the exposed skin and tendons of their targets, with some clones even lopping off limbs such as an arm or a head. Within seconds, nine of the Grimm had been put down, their forms evaporating into a black mist.
Seeing how quickly this monster of a man had killed most of their pack, the remaining Grimm braced themselves for what could only be their deaths.
Naruto, meanwhile, simply grinned.
"So, who's next?"
"Thank you—thank you, young man! Those creatures deserve what was coming to them. Bless the souls of those children, may they finally rest in peace."
Naruto rubbed the back of his head. "It's nothing, gramps. I can't stand it anyway when kids are involved. Hearing something like that makes my blood boil."
Naruto accepted his reward with thanks and placed it a pouch. He had seen the job on a travel board as he walked past a rather small and quaint farming village. The village itself was located about forty miles outside of Vale, with Huntsman rarely ever being called in save for the routine visit. Since the village remained mostly undisturbed, other than the occasional crop destructions by the surrounding wild life, the presence of anything more than a few guards were deemed as unnecessary by the kingdom.
Recently though, after the disappearance of several of its inhabitants, did the village suffer a tragedy unlike anything it had seen before.
Five children were reported to have escaped from the local orphanage during the night, reports vague on why they would do so, the only conclusive evidence being that they were troublesome kids. Apparently, they had escaped into the woods and were quickly met by a pack of Ursa Minor. The next morning, one of the children had returned to the village, the child missing an arm. He managed to explain what had happened to his fellow orphans to one of the adults before dying from his wounds.
Being an orphan himself, Naruto could not stand idly by and ignore this without making things right. He had taken the job without hesitation and met with the village chief. The chief was an older man, in his late seventies, and he had been the leader of his village for more than four decades now. At first, he had been skeptical due to Naruto's age and appearance, fueled even more by the fact that Naruto wasn't a Huntsman. Nevertheless, it didn't take long for the blonde to convince him otherwise. Rather than trying to persuade him, since the old man was stubborn as hell, Naruto decided to show off some of his skills, and boy did it work. After demonstrating some of his abilities like the Rasengan and his shadow clones, the chief then trusted him enough that his doubts were put to rest.
"Well, I'm gonna be heading off now. Keep yourselves safe next time!" Naruto said as he turned to leave. He waved his goodbyes to the other villagers and once he was out of earshot, he began to commune with his bijū.
"So, where to now, Kurama?"
"Beats me. Guess you're lost now in the road of life," the fox snickered as his container's former sensei came to mind.
Naruto paused and Kurama noticed his container became quiet for a moment as a sense of nostalgia came over him.
"Uh, sorry, kid. Too soon?"
"A little bit."
Kurama grunted before he crossed his arms and snapped his head to the side.
"W-well, it's about time you get over it, anyway! It's n-not healthy to dwell on the past, you know! So— just move on already, idiot!"
The link was then cut off as Naruto blinked in surprise. Did… did Kurama just…?
Naruto couldn't help himself. His shoulders shaking, Naruto couldn't resist the urge to laugh at the fox's expense. In addition, Kurama's reaction also had the added effect of 'unintentionally' improving the blonde's mood.
"Man, Kurama! What are you, a school girl?"
He didn't get a reply but he could hear the fox mutter a silent 'idiot' in his mindscape.
His spirit's lifted, Naruto let out one last chuckle before he calmed himself. Truly, though, he had no idea where to go next. If he were to be honest with himself, right now he was drifting with his life. Living it day by day as he searched for answers on how to return home. It wasn't bad, but he really wanted to go back as soon as possible. After all, he was the only one left who could free his friends and his world from their prison. Although, if it was indeed impossible for him to return—
He stopped himself there. No, he definitely will find a way back, no matter what.
Nevertheless, if he were to be honest with himself, Remnant, he would admit, was not an entirely bad place to be. Other than the Grimm problem its people had, this world was relatively peaceful at least. Well, as far as he knew. Other than the White Fang, there were no wars, with the last one having ended around eighty years ago. But what did irk him was the discrimination against the faunus, which was eerily similar to the prejudice he and the other jinchūriki faced. Nothing would ever change in that regard, as people would always find ways to hate each other. Seriously, it was like no matter where he went, there would always be those who looked down upon, or feared, what they would call: 'lesser beings'.
'Yet this time, it's not like the faunus have some titanic chakra beast sealed inside them. No, they are feared and treated like animals. Hated and looked down upon for something as simple as their appearance.' As Naruto saw it, it was unacceptable. In fact, the Uchiha and Hyūga clans were admired for their unique genetic traits, while the Inuzuka's were famed for their use of ninken, they themselves having dog-like features.
"I suggest we head to Vale, it's the largest city in the region, and it's been a while since we last visited. Maybe this time you could join that famed Academy everyone in this world seems to fawn over."
Naruto scowled. "Hell no, I ain't going back to school," he snorted. "We can go to Vale, but I am not going to waste my time doing homework and stuff. It was hard enough for me to sit down and relearn everything when we first got here."
"Stop being a stubborn fool. Both of us know that place or the other academies may hold the key to going home. You felt it once— remember?"
Kurama was right. It had been nothing more than a whisper, but Naruto had indeed felt something ancient and powerful during his first visit to Vale. While it paled compared to when one first felt the energy of a tailed beast, what concerned him was how the feeling had been brief. Rather than being overwhelming, it felt more like an abrupt welcoming, like it had sensed his arrival and made itself known before disappearing completely, as after that, the feeling never came back again.
And it had come from the direction of Beacon.
Naruto sighed.
"Let's just get to Vale first, okay?"
Being the prodigy that she was, it was easy to forget that Ruby Rose was still just a 15-year old girl. Within her year, possibly even in her entire school, she was easily its most promising student, with most of her classmates either flocking to her for advice or pouring her with admiration. It was almost too much sometimes, she would admit, but she would take it all in stride and keep a smile on her face.
After all, her family was pretty much set to become Huntsman. Of course, while it had been her life's dream to become a Huntsman, it helped a lot that her family's history would the profession helped inspire her to follow the same path. Her father and mother had been one, and her uncle was one too. In addition, her older sister would be enrolling in, what she thought, was the best Huntsman school in the world, and she'd be dead straight to follow her in the future.
Fortunately, it seemed that luck would be on her side.
In a quiet street located at the heart of Vale's business district, looks of fear and shock were directed towards five figures as they casually strolled into one of the stores. As ordered, rather than walking together as a group, the four of the men flanked a rather attractive young man who stood at the forefront with a smug and confident look on his face. Unlike his accomplices, a set of slanted, dark green eyes glinted with poise, and it was obvious he wore some makeup as black eyeliner traced the man's visible left eye, while his long bangs covered his right eye. As befitting of someone who thought highly of himself, the man was dressed like he had just finished with an important business function, his red-lined white suit and black pants and shoes looking as sleek and fresh like it was recently purchased. To further accentuate his already gentlemanly facade, the man also wore a small grey scarf, black gloves with buckles sleeves, and a small bowler hat with a small feather tucked into its red band that sat atop his bright orange hair.
Looking at the collection of Dust crystals on offer in a glass case, Roman pulled out the cigar that hung on his mouth.
"Do you have any idea how hard it is to find a Dust shop this late," Roman spoke rather calmly. One of his accomplices then pulled out a gun and aimed it at the aged shopkeeper.
The old man had his hands up, frightened. "Please, just take my Lien and leave."
Roman chuckled. "Calm down, we're not here for your money." He turned to his subordinates, the look on his face commanding. "Grab the dust."
Without a word, the group of four went to work.
"Crystals," one of them commanded. He pointed down to the crystals in the glass case before his finger moved up to the shopkeeper. "Move it, old man."
Meanwhile, with her attention drawn to the magazine she was reading along with the music blaring from her headphones, a girl with black hair and silver eyes failed to notice the commotion around her. Despite what other people think, the girl was known for having her own distinct sense of style reminiscent of a certain fairy tale, as the girl wore a red hooded cloak that was fastened to her shoulder by cross-shaped pins. Underneath her cloak was a thick, long-sleeved black blouse with a black waist cincher with red lacing up the front. Accompanying the girl's blouse was a black skirt with red trim, with her personal emblem appearing as a large, silver brooch pinned to a black belt that slung around her hips, with the belt also carrying a pouch and some ammunition. A pair of thick, black stockings and black, red-trimmed combat boots with red soles and laces finished her look, and if one were to describe her appearance, many would say that she had the opposite silhouette of Little Red Riding Hood, a view that was similarly shared with others.
Further adding to that was the fact that Ruby was also very cute.
Since today had been one of her off days, she had decided that a visit to Vale would be a nice change of pace, since things could get bland and repetitive sometimes on Patch. When she arrived at the city, her first stop was at a local Dust store named 'From Dust Till Dawn', the same shop she was currently browsing at.
Spotting Ruby reading at the back along the magazine and comics section, one of Roman's accomplices unsheathed a sword and pointed it at the teen. "Alright kid, put your hands where I can see 'em."
Receiving no reaction, the man grit his teeth. "Hey! I said hands in the air! You want me to rough you up some, huh little girl?" He forcefully pulled on Ruby's shoulder to turn her around.
"Huh?"
The man pointed to his ears, signalling her headphones. Following what he meant, Ruby then took off the accessory.
"Yes?"
"I said, put your hands in the air, before we dispose of you permanently."
Ruby turned her head to the side. "Are you, robbing this store?"
"What does it look like?"
"Oh."
Back with Roman, he was calmly relaxing in the store, leaning over a glass counter as he pondered over his little 'group's' recent activities. Cinder had been especially quiet as of late — the last contact they had being when she had ordered Roman to start collecting Dust for their operation. The request had been strange, but after learning of what it entailed for their future and the massive effect it would have on the people of Vale, he gladly undertook the task.
Besides, it wasn't everyday he was in on an operation this big.
Roman smiled dangerously. And the best part was, not even a single person outside of them had a clue.
"Agh!"
Roman ignored the body flying past him. He sighed. Just great. And everything was going so swimmingly, too. He looked to one of his men who ran up to him before nudging his head.
On command, his henchman nodded before pulling out a rather plain-looking handgun.
"You're gonna get it now, kid!"
"Oh yeah? Try me!"
Activating her Semblance, Ruby felt the rush of her Aura flow through her before the teen shot off like a bullet, kicking her target in the chest. The force of the hit sent the man tumbling in the air before he crashed through the window of the store and into the middle of the street.
"That's what you get, jerk!" Ruby said as she pulled out her weapon. Crescent Rose sprung to life as the weapon began to unfold from its inactive state, forming into an extremely large and highly customized scythe.
Ruby smiled as she hoisted the oversized scythe onto her shoulders. To others, Crescent Rose may have looked heavy, the weapon easily standing taller than its wielder, but it did little to deter Ruby from twirling it around her body with expert ease despite her smaller stature.
While she was by no means a scythe master, she had her Uncle Qrow to attest to that, she was still no slouch when it came to her favorite weapon.
Seeing how this little girl manhandled one of his men, Roman curled his lip in disdain. He was definitely not amused. How could these thugs lose to a kid? For goodness sake, this was what he got after paying good money for them?
"Okay… get her."
Sensing their boss' displeasure, the rest of the thugs quickly rushed outside to subdue the girl who had put a dent in their plans. Their weapons drawn, three were armed with swords while the last one, the same one who had crashed into the street, held an automatic machine gun.
One of the sword-wielding thugs attempted to cut into Ruby, but she easily dodged the strike as she dug the blade of her scythe into the ground before pushing against her weapon, allowing her to lift her body above her opponent's reach. As she gained momentum, Ruby began to twirl in the air and performed two full body spins before smacking her foot against the thug's face, knocking him out.
As Ruby sent the man flying, she then did another twirl before she flipped and landed on the ground with her weapon behind her. Seeing two more thugs rush to her, she put her finger on the trigger on Crescent Rose's handle and fired.
"Ugh!" The force of the shot sent Ruby and Crescent Rose into a frenzy, she and her weapon spinning before Crescent Rose smashed itself into one of the thugs, sending him into a wall.
Undeterred by how quickly Ruby made short work of his comrade, the other thug continued to try to strike down the little red girl, but Ruby simply brought the blunt end of Crescent Rose down upon the poor criminal. The man could only gasp as he suddenly found himself lying on the ground, his body pinned by something heavy, and his vision fading after being smacked hard by the oversized scythe in the abdomen.
"That takes care of them," Ruby said, failing to notice that the last of Roman's thugs had managed to sneak behind her. He brought his machine gun up, ready to unload onto the unsuspecting girl.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you."
The thug then felt a fist smash into his face.
"Huh?" Ruby blinked, turning to look at the sound. Instead of what she thought was a Huntsman; she saw a tall, blonde-haired teen roughly a few years older than her stand above the downed criminal.
"And that takes care of him." Naruto grinned, amused at his own joke. "You okay, little lady?"
"U-um, yeah." Ruby blushed. She wasn't used to people calling her that.
While the two teens relished in their victory, Roman could only look at his accomplices, rolling his eyes in annoyance. Seriously? That just happened? He could feel a headache coming on. "You guys were worth every cent. Truly, you were," he finally said, sarcasm laced in his tone. Roman took the cigar out of his mouth and blew one last puff of smoke.
"Well, Red, I think we can all say it's been an eventful evening. And as much as I'd love to stick around, I'm afraid this…" he brought his cane up and aimed it at Ruby. "Is where we part ways."
"Look out!"
Naruto dashed to push Ruby out of the way. Having sensed the danger beforehand, they both narrowly avoided Roman's explosive as it blew up the section of the street where Ruby had been standing. With his eyes widening slightly, Roman was surprised at the speed the blonde had displayed.
'He's fast, must be his Semblance, but no time to think about that now.' Roman thought as he made his getaway.
Picking themselves up from the ground, Naruto and Ruby's eyes returned to the spot where they had seen Roman. Shocked to find he was no longer there, their eyes quickly darted around as they tried to find the slippery criminal.
"There!" Naruto cried, his finger pointing at the man who was now three-fourths up a ladder along the side of a building nearby. The sounds of sirens could be heard in the background, the two of them figuring that the police were on their way. A bit late, he would admit.
"You okay if I go after him?" Ruby asked the old shopkeeper, who had stepped outside to witness the commotion. The old man could only mutter a frightened "Yes" before Ruby took off, Naruto in tow.
Once Roman had made it to the roof, he only had a few seconds to make it to the other side before the two teens had managed to catch up to him.
"Hey, get back here!" Naruto shouted as he pulled out a kunai. Roman stopped, his back turned to them. He began muttering in a hushed voice.
"You guys are persistent. Annoyingly so." He frowned.
"Yeah, well, I don't give up easy," Naruto snapped back.
"Indeed," was Roman's own reply before a Bullhead burst into view, having flown up from Roman's side of the building.
As the side door to the VTOL opened, Roman jumped into the plane and quickly climbed in.
"End of the line, kids!" Roman cried with a cool smirk on his face. Digging into his pocket, he then pulled out a red crystal before tossing it back to the rooftop and aiming at it with his cane.
As the crystal scrambled along their feet, both Ruby and Naruto realized what Roman had in store for them.
"Oh, shi—" Naruto said before he saw a flash of yellow appear in front of him.
His shot hitting the mark, Roman felt pleased with himself when he saw an explosion engulf the rooftop. Knowing that that was the end of them, and that there was no way that those two could've survived the blast from point blank range, Roman was about to take a seat before he scowled when he saw the smoke began to clear out.
Instead of a display of scrambled weapons and gore, in its place Roman saw another blonde-haired figure who had shielded the teens from the explosion with some sort of protective energy shield. The figure had been a strikingly beautiful middle-aged woman who, despite her age, had a very curvaceous and youthful figure. Light-blonde hair was tied back in a bun with a curl hanging down the right side of her face. The woman wore a white, long-sleeved pleated top with a wide keyhole neckline that exposed some of her cleavage and a black, high-waisted pencil skirt with bronze buttons and black-brown stockings. A black cape hung on her shoulders — the inside of it being purple, and the cut of the cape stylized in a way that the tail end finished in flames and arrows, with a row of diamond-shaped bronze beads on the back. Above the line of beads appeared an emblem of a tiara, which looked to be a personal symbol.
Bright green eyes that matched her earrings and the pendant on her collar stared calmly at the Bullhead as Glynda adjusted her glasses. To her relief, she had arrived just in time to prevent what most likely would've been a fiery end to these children. Opting not to waste another second, Glynda brought her hand back before swiping it across her body, unleashing flashes of purple light that struck the hovering VTOL.
"Ah!" Roman cried as he was quickly losing his balance aboard the plane. That blonde-haired witch was going to make this plane crash! Roman growled as he forced his way through the cockpit.
Upon seeing the pilot, Roman was slightly surprised to see the person who had been piloting the Bullhead. Speak of the devil and she'll appear, right? He pushed those thoughts aside for now.
"We've got a Huntress!" Roman had to shout above the various beeps and blaring sounds warning the pilot that the Bullhead couldn't take much more punishment. Handing the VTOL's control lever over to him, the pilot then hastily stood and made her way to the opening on the side of the plane.
Back with Glynda, she then used her Dust to form a miniature storm cloud that began to hail shards of ice at the Bullhead. Her eyes narrowed, however, when she saw a shadowed figure appear where Roman had stood. Her face was obscured, but Glynda could make out a fiery red dress in the darkness.
'Who could that be…?' Glyda thought before she had to shield herself from what was a blast of fire. Sparks flew across her shield with some of it landing on the ground around her.
Seeing the area she was standing on suddenly start to light up, Glynda realized that she only had a split second to react. With no other choice, Glynda was forced onto the defensive as she quickly jumped out of the way and barely avoided what was a miniature explosion. Whoever she was, Glynda could tell her opponent was powerful, no doubt about that.
Having been standing in the background this whole time, Naruto's fists tightened as he grit his teeth. Clearly, he could see, that Roman and his new companion were going to get away. Seeing no other choice, his hands moved into a familiar hand-sign.
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"
As he summoned his clones, each of them coming into existence in a puff of smoke, Naruto immediately grabbed one of the clones legs with the others following suit.
"Alright guys! Grab a hold of that thing and don't let go!" Naruto ordered as he began to twirl his clone around, his legs now dangling in front of him. As more of his copies joined him, the clones then began to form a chain as they linked themselves together, acting as rope in order to stop the Bullhead from flying off.
When they were ready, the clones then grabbed onto the wing of the Bullhead, holding it in place.
Seeing the spectacle before them, all those who were present couldn't help but widen their eyes in astonishment. This boy… could make copies of himself? Not only that, but they looked to be corporeal. But that wasn't the most shocking thing. Instead, they were surprised at the sheer number of clones the blonde had made. Right now, the boy had about twenty or so of them under his command, almost like a small army, and when he had summoned them he didn't even appear fazed. And what was that shout? Did he have to use a command in order to use his Semblance? So many questions, but one thing was for sure, this boy's potential was limitless. What kind of overpowered ability is that where one person had the potential to possibly create an entire army?
In the shadows, Cinder smirked. The blonde had definitely caught her interest.
She would like to hear about this, as well. Maybe Cinder could convert him over to their side, where he would be an extremely valuable commodity.
"Roman, we're leaving. I've seen enough," Cinder said as she put her arms out to her sides. She took a moment to concentrate her energy before releasing it into one single, extremely powerful blast of flames.
"Watch out!" the clones closest to the Bullhead shouted before popping out of existence, struck by Cinder's attack. With nothing left to hold on to, the rest of the clones then began to fall to the street below as Naruto was forced to let go lest he be pulled along with them.
Feelings his clones' memories return to him, Naruto and the other two were then forced to move out of the way when Cinder summoned another set of explosions to try to finish them off.
"Damn it," Naruto cursed, looking up to see the Bullhead fly away. If he could, he would send a Rasenshuriken to blow their ass to smithereens. Unfortunately, that would be a really, really bad idea, and be more trouble than its worth.
Besides, it wasn't everyday in Remnant when someone just casually threw around nukes like it was out of fashion.
"I hope you realize that both of your actions tonight will not be taken lightly, young man, young lady," Glynda said as she paced around the room, looking disapprovingly at both Naruto and Ruby.
"Psst, hey. Name's Naruto Uzumaki. Nice to meet ya," Naruto whispered as he blocked one side of his mouth, the side where Glynda had walked past. Ruby giggled at his antics.
"And mine's Ruby, Ruby Rose," Ruby said, doing the exact same thing as Naruto.
Seeing what they were doing, Glynda smacked Naruto and Ruby on the head with her riding crop. A lump formed on the spot where they had been hit as both began nursing the bump comically. "As I was saying, you put yourselves and others in great danger."
"But they started it!"
Naruto felt another sense of nostalgia hit him. This lady was just like Baa-chan, even boobs and all, but sadly his surrogate mother was a league above this woman when it came to sexiness.
Not that that was a bad thing. Lady Tsunade, after all, was sexy as hell.
"If it were up to me, then you would be sent home, with a pat on the back," Ruby beamed brightly. "And a slap on the wrist." She flinched when the riding crop almost struck her again. Man was that thing evil.
"But, there is someone her who would like to meet you," Glynda finished. She was now standing in front of the doorway. She stepped out of the way as another figure walked into the room, carrying a plate of cookies and a mug.
"Ruby Rose, Naruto Uzumaki."
A man, who also looked to be middle-aged, appeared before them as he leaned over the table to look at them closely. In contrast to Glynda, who had a seemingly perpetual stern expression on her face at all times, this man had an air of mystery about him. On his head lay a bed of tousled, silver hair and brown eyes. He had a light complexion and sharp facial features, and interestingly he also had noticeable black eyebrows, as if the man had dyed his hair in the past and was a natural ravenette. The man wore a pair of shaded glass spectacles and a small, purple, cross-shaped pin hung on the cowl around his neck, while his outfit mainly consisted of an unzipped black suit over a buttoned vest and green shirt. Black trouser shoes and long dark-green pants finished his appearance. In addition, the man seemed to sport a cane, but as he walked in both Naruto and Ruby noticed that he didn't have any visible issues with mobility, figuring then that it might just be an accessory.
Ozpin took a good long look of both of them closely. "You," he addressed Ruby. "Have silver eyes," he observed, before he switched over to Naruto. "And you, have marks that look like whiskers, like a fox. Maybe even one with nine tails? "
The last part had come like a whisper, almost otherworldly actually, and Naruto wasn't sure if it had come out of this man's mouth. Either way, Naruto had picked it up quite easily and simply narrowed his eyes, not showing much more of a reaction. If he did, then that would be very bad news, and possibly confirm whatever he, or whoever was watching, was thinking. Did this guy know?
"Umm—?"
"So," Ozpin interrupted. "Where did you learn to do this?" Ozpin asked, head nudging to the screen Glynda was holding. Videos of the fight from earlier replayed on the screen.
"Uh… S-Signal Academy."
"Taught by a Huntsman called Jiraiya."
Ozpin raised an eyebrow. Jiraiya? Never heard of that name before.
"And who is Jiraiya? Pardon me for asking, but I've never heard of him before."
"He's my godfather." Naruto was prepared for questions like this. "But he died when I was fifteen. He thought me everything that I knew."
"I see, and where did he train?"
"He learned most of his skills outside the Kingdoms. He never went to a formal Academy, was mainly self taught and apprenticed by some old Huntsman who he never told me his name."
"A Huntsman who had never attended an Academy? Is that even possible?" Glynda asked, almost dubious to the blonde's claims. Ozpin put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.
"While it is exceedingly rare, yes, there are cases when this happens. Normally, going through a formal education and then attending one of the Academies is the best and most common way of becoming a Huntsman. However, there are special cases when people whom, rather than attending formal schooling, choose instead to be apprenticed to an active Huntsman and learn their skills from them. While unorthodox, there is nothing that takes away from the fact that those who choose this path are still eligible to become full-fledged Huntsman like you and me."
Glynda nodded her head. "I see, then I'm sorry for doubting you, Mr Uzumaki."
Naruto waved it off. "Nah, it's fine. I'm not surprised people would think the same as you do."
"But why were you taught by your godfather, what happened to your parents?" Ozpin questioned further.
A pained look came across Naruto's face. "I… I don't want to talk about that," Naruto said, looking away. Ozpin took that as the sign not to question further.
He closed his eyes. "I apologize, my boy. I did not mean to bring up bad memories."
Once again, Naruto shook his head, but this time he smiled. "It's okay, I'm at peace with it. I know they're in a better place, and I know that they love me. That's all I need."
Neither of them asked anything further from the blonde. In fact, a small smile came on Ruby, Glynda, and Ozpin's faces. This boy, the way he had answered Ozpin's question was enough. Enough that it gave them an insight as to who really was Naruto Uzumaki. An enigma, that's what, but also the type of person who doesn't let the tragedies of his life hold him down. Even if the world was against him, Naruto was someone who would forge ahead without looking back.
"I'm glad you think that way, Mr Uzumaki," Ozpin said, patting his shoulder as he moved on to Ruby. "Now, you, Miss Rose. Signal Academy thought you how to handle one of the most dangerous weapons ever designed?"
"Well, one teacher in particular."
"I see," Ozpin said, setting down his plate of cookies. Both Naruto and Ruby could smell the sweet aroma of freshly baked goods as they salivated and looked at the treats hungrily.
Ruby took one, followed by Naruto. Soon, they were competing with each other as to who would have the most while protecting their own.
"It's just that I've only seen one other scythe wielder of that skill before," Ozpin interjected. "A dusty old crow?"
"Oh! Dashmauncle," Ruby replied, mouth full of cookies. Ozpin couldn't quite understand.
She swallowed the treats and wiped her mouth. "Sorry, haha. That's my Uncle Qrow! He was a teacher at Signal, and I was complete garbage before he took me under his wing. And now, I'm just awesome!" Ruby grinned.
Ozpin smiled. "And so I've noticed. So tell me, what is an adorable girl such as yourself doing at a school that is designed to train warriors?" he asked, taking a seat across from her.
"Well," Ruby had a firm look in her eyes. "I want to be a Huntress," she replied determinedly.
"So you want to slay monsters?"
"Yeah! I only have two more years of training left at Signal, and then I'm going to apply to Beacon! You see, my sister's starting there this year, and she's trying to become a Huntress, and I'm trying to become a Huntress 'cause I wanna help people. My parents always taught us to help others, so I thought, 'Hey, I might as well make a career out of it'. I mean the police are all right, but Huntsman and Huntresses-are-just-somuchmoreromanticandexciting,cool,andreally,gosh, you know?!" Ruby said breathlessly, her words jumbling up, especially as she grew more excited and hyperactive. Glynda and Naruto looked at her with a concerned expression.
Ozpin though, simply remained smiling.
"Do you know who I am?" he finally asked.
Ruby nodded her head. "You're Prof. Ozpin. The Headmaster of Beacon." That seemed to make Ozpin more amused.
"Hello," he said.
"Nice to meet you," Ruby replied.
Ozpin leaned forward. "You want to come to my school?" He had a fake scowl on his face.
"More than anything!"
"And what about you, Naruto?" Ozpin asked, looking at the blonde expectantly.
"Now's your chance, kid."
"I know, I know, geez."
Naruto noticed that Ruby had an extremely cute look on her face as he pondered over it, as if she was internally begging for him to come. Her eyes were big and bright, and she had her hands cupped together as if she were praying, pleading to whatever god was listening to make him come to Beacon. Naruto blushed. She really wanted him to join her that much, huh? And geez, those puppy eyes were dangerous! Especially coming from a cute girl like Ruby. You could even classify them as a weapon. Feeling like now he now had no other choice, the blonde sighed before shrugging his shoulders.
"I wouldn't mind."
Ozpin looked at Glynda, who simply rolled her eyes and turned her head away with an "Hmph".
"Well okay," Ozpin said, smiling the whole time, charmed by the boundless energy and cheerfulness of one Ruby Rose. Naruto, nonetheless, had a huge grin grow on his face as he gave her a thumbs up.
It surely was going to be an interesting year at Beacon.
Cinder stepped into the barren wasteland of her Lady's domain. Looking around, the familiar backdrop of a rocky terrain with enormous purple crystals sprouting from the ground was now a common sight for her, having grown used to this land due to her frequent visits. Her gaze moving up, she wasn't surprised to find that the sky was still stained a deep red, as it had always been, and that around her Grimm continued to spawn from various pools of a viscous, tar-like substance on the ground.
"Cinder, what news do you bring?" a dark voice came as Cinder instantly went on her knee.
"My Lady, I bring news to you that I have found someone who could potentially aid us in our mission," Cinder said, not daring to look at her Lady lest she be allowed to.
The woman in question stepped forward. Like a corpse, Salem's skin's was of a deathly pallor, covered with tortuous, deep red and purple veins that ran up her arms and face. When one saw her hair, unlike Cinder's, Salem's could only be described as being as white as snow, with her hair tied into a bun with six offshoots from which various ornaments are suspended. The sclera of Salem's eyes were jet black and her irises glowed red, while on her face, a black diamond-shaped marking lay in the center of her forehead. In contrast to her complexion, the woman wore a very long black robe with red designs resembling eyes, with a ring resembling some sort of insect resting on her right index finger.
"Tell me, who is this person?" Salem asked, intrigued as to how one person had managed to catch Cinder's utmost interest. He must be one special individual indeed.
"I was not able to catch his name, but I was able to witness his abilities," Cinder explained, still looking down. "He was a blonde man with whisker marks on his face, however, what I found to be useful was that the man had the ability to replicate himself tenfold, with the possibility that he is able to do this on a much greater scale. In addition, the clones acted as if they were living beings, able to interact with their surroundings and act as foot soldiers."
"Interesting, and what else did you notice about this man?" Salem further pressed.
Cinder then remembered the strange phrase he heard the blonde mutter before his clones came to life.
"He also said something, I believe it was 'Kage Bunshin no Jutsu'."
That brought a reaction from her Lady.
"Cinder, you will not speak of this to anyone else, understand?" Salem instructed, harshly.
Cinder nodded her head, hiding her surprise well. "Of course, my Lady. And my Lady, will you inform—?"
"No, he doesn't need to know yet. This is a matter that we will be dealing with ourselves."
Author's Note: (18 April 2017)
First off you guys, you are all amazing! You have no idea how much your support means to me, and how it keeps my drive going to finish this! 27 reviews for the first chapter and 120 favorites and 191 alerts. Not only that, but the reviews were well written and informative for me! The response has been breathtaking and I cannot thank you enough.
A lot of people were asking about character power level in the reviews. For the sake of this fic, I will not be answering most of those questions as of yet as some of them are important for future parts of the story. I won't name which ones, but there's a reason why I did those things in the beginning, you'll only have to stay tuned for a few more chapters before I reveal why.
What I will reveal, though, is that Naruto is indeed powerful, especially being in the RWBY world. Although I will not make him god-like.
I apologize if my writing was off for some people. Sorry for disappointing anyone, but even now and until the end I will try to get better as I go. I normally edit my stuff on my own, but if you guys think I need a beta reader, then leave me a comment and I'll try to look into it as soon as possible.
I also apologize for releasing this later than what most of you expected. I planned to release this about a week or so earlier but Chapter 3 has been one hell of a write, basically comprising content for TWO chapters in one. Also, I procrastinate a lot, and I like to take my time with this and do what I want without stressing myself too much. That is the way I do things, unfortunately, and it helps keeps me interested and doesn't burn me out. As promised, I've already begun on Chapter 4 which will hopefully be finished within two weeks.
Also, the poll on my profile has been taken down. For those who wanted to know or who didn't know, the top 3 choices were Blake, Ruby, and Pyrrha for the pairing, all in that order. Not that it will do much, as I mentioned before the pairings have already been set and I only wanted to know your opinions.
Finally, thanks again for all your support, and please remember to leave your thoughts and opinions in a review or PM me directly. I am happy to answer any of your questions as long as it doesn't reveal too much. If there's more stuff for me to mention, or if people have any other queries, then I will update this Author's Note within the next few days.
Have a good night everybody!
AN2: (19 April 2017)
So I re-uploaded the chapter since there were some errors that I forgot to fix. To be fair as well, it was late at night here where I live so I just uploaded the chapter without going through it. I added a description of Ruby's appearance which isn't too much, but otherwise there have been no changes.
