AN: So I'm stuck between doing Naruto x Pyrrha or Naruto x Neo… And I don't like multiple pairings… It makes things get messy…

I've watched Vol. 5… Not RT's greatest moment. They stood there like ducks half the fight… Ugh. Pluz Oscar was able to… Oops, spoilers.

Right now I'll just make Naruto know a bunch of girls and you can decide later.

A nice song that might fit with the theme I'm trying to get at in this story might be Lifelight, the Super Smash Ultimate Theme. It's pretty upbeat, and the 'Colors weave into a spire of flame' as well as references to a distant past and flames… Well, you'll see.

Also I just went back to watch Episode 1 and realized an inconsistency for my story. The tattoo Cinder gained after stealing Amber's powers was already on her back, thus making my timeline null… I was hoping that, since Ozpin acted like Amber's preservation wasn't going to last long, that she hasn't been in that state for too long either. Oh well, this is a fanfiction… Another mistake I made, was Pyrrha sitting on a train. Anima (the continent of Mistral) and Sanus (the continent of Vale) are separated by water, which wouldn't make sense for a train to cross that… Pretend it was a boat? Please?

One last thing! I just finished both Volume 5 and World of Remnant, and realized there may be a few inconsistencies between those and the lore I have planned for this story… So I'll either start editing mine or change it completely, or a mix of the two. I'll start working on that… The lore will come out next chapter. Maybe I'll take a look at the manga, too. I can't find Volume 6 though, any tips?

Aaaaand that's the longest Author's Note I've written so far. I try to keep em brief, not this time it seems.

..

Naruto frowned as he walked down the street, somewhere in the commercial district. At least, he thinks that's where he is, what with the stores and everything.

. After he bid his farewell to Kurama, he delved into his mindscape in hopes of finding the seal Kurama mentioned, but ended with nothing to show for his efforts. And by the time he exited his meditating state, it was noon and Amber and the gray-wearing man had left. Qrow, was it?

Thus Naruto had headed back to the city, and upon doing so, realized he had no place to sleep.

Groaning, Naruto ran a hand through his hair, which was now free from the hitai-ate he usually wore. He didn't feel much remorse for stealing his new clothes, given how the clerk glared at him upon his entrance, but to stay under someone else's roof for a night was different.

Idly, he noted the stares he received, as well as the glares. Sure, he was a little scuffed up from their earlier fight, but he didn't look that bad, right?

'Which reminds me... ' Naruto thought, rubbing his chin as he continued walking aimlessly. 'They all had weapons… kinda. Do metal legs count…?'

Before his thoughts could get too off track, he resumed his thought process. 'And since I don't have chakra anymore, maybe I should get a weapon until I master this new… energy. Maybe I can replicate the Rasengan.'

Nodding to himself with a grin, Naruto stuffed his hands back in his pockets, taking his stomach rumbling as a sign to start looking for food. Then again he, he didn't have money…

Naruto waved this off and resumed his stroll. However, this peace didn't last long.

"PANCAKES!"

Raising an eyebrow, Naruto tilted his head backwards to gaze into the window of a restaurant he just passed.

Inside, an orange haired girl was sitting at a stool, fork and knife in her hands. She was dressed in a pink skirt and white top with a small heart in the fabric, an unzipped black jacket with pink accents and a red underside over it. She was the one who had shouted, judging by the fervor with which she awaited the food, pancakes.

The boy that sat beside her had black hair tied in a ponytail, a streak of magenta running just next to his left eye. He wore a green, long-sleeved tailcoat with black straps accented with gold, and white pants below it.

(Basically the clothes they wear in the beginning)

"Nora, calm down." the boy said. "It's very late, it's only normal that they don't have pancakes on hand right now."

The newly identified Nora pouted. "What do you mean, Ren? They should always serve pancakes! Never underestimate the awesomest food ever!"

Ren sighed, deciding it best not to argue with his hyperactive friend, choosing instead to look outside the window, raising an eyebrow as he saw Naruto.

They stared at each other for a good minute, before Naruto shrugged awkwardly, moving to the door and entering, sitting down next to Ren.

"..." The two sat in silence as Nora took no notice of the newcomer.

"So…" Naruto started, wanting to make conversation. "You're friend… likes pancakes?"

Ren opened his mouth to answer, but was drowned out as Nora enthusiastically agreed, her head popping up in front of the black-haired teen's.

"Yeah, totally! Pancakes are awesome, who doesn't like them?" Nora exclaimed, her eyes gleaming. "And all that syrup…"

Naruto sweatdropped as Ren calmly moved Nora's head from in front of him, before nodding in confirmation to the blond's question.

"So, what're you doing here in Vale?" Ren asked, noting his combat-oriented clothes. "Are you here to attend Beacon?"

Naruto nodded. "Yeah. I'm guessing you are too?"

Ren smiled and nodded as well. "Yes. My name is Lie Ren, and my companion is Nora Valkyrie. What is yours?"

Naruto beamed, glad for any friend he might make. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki, pleased to meet you!"

The blond stuck out a hand, and the two shook hands.

"You ordering anything?" a man dressed in an apron asked, grunting as he set down a… sizable plate of pancakes in front of an eager Nora.

Naruto turned to face the man, scratching his cheek. He noted the way the man's eyes flicked to his whiskers and hardened, but remained silent.

"Yeah… Sorry, but I'm broke right now." Naruto replied, smiling sheepishly.

The person frowned. "If you're not buying, then get out."

"Now now, isn't that a bit rude?" Naruto asked placatingly, smiling stiffly. Mentally, though, he was screaming murder.

"Out. Now."

The man reached for a broom that rested against the wall, making Naruto frown as he left his seat.

"Yeah, whatever." the blond grumbled as he headed for the door. Pausing at the door, he turned and stuck out a tongue childishly. "Never wanted to eat in such a dingy place anyways!"

"Why, you-!"

Naruto laughed as he spun out of the restaurant, waving goodbye to Nora and Ren as he did so.

Ren looked turned around to look at the enraged shop owner, then at the orange-haired teen who was stuffing her face with pancakes. Sharing a silent conversation the two nodded, Nora stuffing the last of her food into her mouth and swallowing as they rose from their seats.

Ren put a few Lien cards onto the table to pay for Nora's food, before leaving the store as well, jogging to catch up with the blond from before.

They were more than surprised to see the blond with a bottle of orange spray paint stuck to the side of the building, a pancake in his mouth.

The duo stared at him, and he stared back, before swallowing the food with an audible gulp.

"...Hey, what's up?"

"How'd you get on the wall?!" Nora yelled enthusiastically, jumping in place. "Is it your Semblance?"

Ren noted that Nora's exclamation started drawing the attention of others in the street, though how Naruto hadn't done so already, he had no idea.

Naruto, for his part, furrowed his eyebrows. "Semblance? What's that?"

..

Emerald and Mercury watched with wide eyes as Cinder paced the room, sparks of fire popping in and out of existence as the female stewed over the cause of her anger.

Cinder grimaced as she thought back to how close she was to the power… The plan had been to engage the Maiden in a melee, since their magic wasn't as effective that way, and they'd just disoriented her enough to engage, but then the blond came in…

He had supernatural speed, as nobody had even seen him emerge from the treeline before he smashed that attack on the ground… And there was the attack in and of itself, a sphere of pure energy. Not only that but he was also able to navigate silently within the dust, some kind of sensor? That would explain why he interrupted without pause, if the entire reason he was there in the first place was to combat them…

That was three abilities, two of them somewhat generic but not normally feasible without a Semblance or tool, especially not at the blond's presumed age! The only upside seemed to be that he was hesitant of fighting all three of them, and that he tired rather quickly.

Cinder's thoughts whirled as she tried to formulate a situation in which the blond would be disadvantaged, another part wondering how he had three abilities…

"What's got her on edge?" a voice called out, and Mercury and Emerald turned to face Roman Torchwick, an orange-haired man lazily striding up to them, cane in hand as always.

Scoffing, Emerald turned back to face Cinder, who had yet to cease her pacing. Instead, Mercury answered with a shrug.

"Our little expedition hit a snag. Some blond idiot interrupted us right at the end." Mercury said, his face as carefree as always.

"Well, that can't be good." Roman stated, albeit with no sign of being distraught at this news. In fact, he was rather pleased that someone kicked Cinder off her high horse, not that he was fool enough to tell her that.

He turned around to hide his smirk, waving a hand in goodbye as he left the room. Briefly, he wondered where his heterochromatic companion had gone off to, before shrugging it off.

Neo can take care of herself. He had a job to do.

Grumbling, he shot a glance at his… boss. Cinder.

She had the capability of eliminating both him and Neo if she wished, and had informants everywhere. He wouldn't go down without a fight, but if Neo died…

Anyone with the power to make her this wary was someone to keep an eye on. Maybe he'll be able to slip away from, or outright decimate Cinder if he was lucky.

But first, he'll have to make contact.

..

Naruto yawned, scratching his cheek..

It had been a week since he'd left the hospital, and he had done pretty well with what he had on hand. He found a few part-time jobs and a good ramen stand, plus he had no trouble with sleeping outdoors, and he washed his clothes in a nearby stream.

And, finally, today was the day for the Academy to start.

Personally, he still had some misgivings about going to school, of all things, but it was the best way to obtain information. How to use this new power, and how to return to the Elemental Nations.

If he couldn't…

Shaking away his thoughts, Naruto bent down and gathered the small belongings he had. Nothing much, just his clothes and a few keepsakes from his world, plus a futon.

Having packed everything into a small backpack he had found, Naruto stood up and stretched, grinning as he felt the breeze on his cheek.

Taking a few steps back, his grin turned into a smirk, as he ran towards the edge of the roof, diving off without hesitation.

He had roughly one hour to reach his destination, where the 'airship' was to pick them up, which was on the other side of the city. A self-imposed challenge of sorts, though it was far too easy.

Over the week, he'd learned to manipulate this new 'aura' of his to a certain extent, but only in the case of strengthening his body.

The effect was about half as effective as chakra, but considering chakra enabled him to destroy mountains with ease before, it wasn't unreasonable. If he concentrated, he could even replicate the Rasengan, though no other Ninjutsu was possible.

Strangely enough, he also retained the ability to make Shadow Clones, and without hand signs!

Grinning, Naruto spun in midair so that he was parallel with the building, a rather tall skyscraper that didn't exist in the Elemental Nations, and planted a foot on it, and jumped away before he would come to a stop.

With incredible speed, he rocketed away from the building, spinning to look at his next foothold.

A perfectly identical clone poofed into existence next to him, grabbing his hand and swinging him towards a nearby roof, which cratered slightly upon his landing.

Without pause, he jumped to the next roof, and the next, nothing more than a blur as he sped across the city.

Ten minutes. That's how long it took for him to reach his destination, not even out of breath.

Frowning, he checked the time as he walked into the 'airdock', or whatever it's called. "Damn! I've gotten rusty. Then again, I haven't really trained recently… Maybe a good old workout is good."

"I see you're here early as well?" a voice called out, making Naruto raise an eyebrow.

Looking up, he saw it was a red-haired girl, probably his age, dressed in some strangely-styled armor. There was nothing like that back in his world. "Yeah. I assume you're going to Beacon as well? Name's Naruto."

The girl seemed surprised at something, which made Naruto raise an eyebrow, but he shrugged it off.

"Hello then, Naruto." she replied politely. "My name is Pyrrha Nikos, and I am indeed going to Beacon Academy."

Smiling, he nodded. "Nice to meetcha, Pyrrha. I look forward to attending Beacon with you."

"I feel the same." Pyrrha smiled, sensing no ill will from him. Most people either avoid her out of respect or fear, or have some hidden intention. Naruto had neither.

This bode well for the following school year.

..

"Ruby!" Taiyang yelled up the stairs. "The airship is here soon! Are you ready?"

A loud clatter was the response, followed by a series of loud footsteps and thumps. After a moment of waiting, the father was rewarded when his daughter flew down the stairs in a storm of rose petals.

"Yup!" Ruby said, with a mock salute. "Let's go! I can't waiiiiiit!"

Taiyang chuckled and rubbed her head, making her pout. "All right, all right… But admit it, you were totally unprepared, weren't you."

"No I wasn't!" Ruby shouted indignantly, pouting again. "Anyways, let's go! Hurry, hurry!"

Taiyang chuckled as the two walked outside, and he started the car. "Gotcha. Still, I'm surprised you decided to go to Beacon. What made you decide to go?"

Ruby slid into the car, a thoughtful expression on her face. "When the headmaster offered me a chance to go to Beacon, he gave the same offer to someone else. A boy."

Taiyang raised an eyebrow. "I don't need to worry about chasing away any boys, do I?"

Ruby shook her head rapidly. Whether he knew it or not, her father was releasing trickles of killing intent. "N-no, not at all! It's just… this boy, he only had one arm. And even so, he still agreed to become a hunter, no hesitation! And if I can't do even that much, then do I really deserve to become a huntress when I graduate Signal?"

Taiyang didn't say anything for a moment, leaving Ruby to her thoughts. She looked out the window, frowning.

As they drove within sight of the pickup area, he broke the silence.

"I… don't know what Oz is doing, offering a disabled person to attend his school, but I trust him." he said slowly. Even so, he was going to have a talk with the man later. "But know that you have every right to become a huntress, whether you take this opportunity or not. You've worked hard, and you've no reason to compare yourself to anyone else."

"...Thanks, dad."

"Anytime." Taiyang smiled, slowing the vehicle to a stop. "Oh, and tell Yang I said hi."

Ruby mock-saluted again. "Yes, sir!"

Laughing, the blond shooed her out the car. "Now get going! It won't do for you to miss the airship!"

Grinning with newfound confidence, Ruby sped out in a flurry of petals, activating her Semblance again.

'Beacon, here I come!'

..

So… I didn't meet my 3k objective this time… Hope you enjoyed? YouTube sure is distracting. I went there for Semblance, background, and character research, and… well… yeah.