It's a tad shorter than the last few chapters, but as you'll find in the note below, life has been extra hectic. Also, I apologize in advance. I was trying to match the feel of the last few chapters, but not sure if I succeeded. Just know that I tried.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor do I own RWBY
"Yang? Ever hear of the fastball special?" Yang and Naruto walked to their side of the field, preparing to take on Blake and Ruby. At hearing his question, Yang began to giggle.
"Who you want, Whiskers?" she asked, and Naruto shrugged.
"I'll take Ruby. Besides, that way we get to see just what our partners can really do," he replied, Yang nodding in agreement. "So, your sister kinda bombed at the team name. You got any ideas?" The young huntress thought for a moment, before clapping Naruto on the back.
"Got it. We're gonna be team Firestorm," she proclaimed. Naruto raised a brow.
"Firestorm?" he asked, clearly expecting an explanation from the slightly-older girl.
"Yeah," Yang replied cheerfully, extending the Ember Celica into their active form. "I bring the fire, and with that Rasengan thing, you bring the storm." Naruto actually blinked a bit owlishly at that, before smiling and rubbing his head. He had honestly been expecting some sort of reference to their shared blonde hair or his whisker marks that Yang couldn't seem to stop talking about. Way better than he was thinking she might have come up with.
"HEY!" Looking across the training field, Yang and Naruto saw Ruby excitedly waving to them. "Are you guys ready?" From up in the stands, Nora also had a question.
"And are you gonna turn into a hot chick again?!" he excitedly yelled out, causing Jaune to nearly fall from his seat once more. The 'J,' 'R,' and 'P' of team JNPR each looked to their orange-haired teammate - who was giggling like a psychopath - and each palmed their blushing faces.
Back on the field, Yang pounded her fists together a few times in anticipation. "Yeah, Ruby. Team Firestorm is ready to kick your butts!" While Yang had expected Ruby to be upset with the taunting, she was equally pleased by what her sister was actually more angry at. The red-cloaked girl turned sharply and gripped Blake by the arm, shaking it dramatically.
"Gaaah!" she bellowed. "Team Firestorm is a WAY cooler name than Team Ladybug!" Unsure of how to respond to either the contact, or her young Team-Leader's distress, she just gently patted her current partner on the shoulder.
"If it makes you feel any better, I like Ladybug as a team name."
"You do?" sniffled Ruby in reply. Blake smirked.
"Yeah," she confirmed. "And besides...who cares if they have the 'cool' name? Doesn't change the fact that they're going to lose." The last bit was said loudly enough for their opponents to hear. Blake's smirk turned full-blown grin when she noticed how riled Yang now was just from the single taunt.
"Blake, as your partner, I apologize in advance for the bruises you're about to receive," the blonde girl shouted as the time-keeper clone stepped into the arena.
"The Match will begin in five..." he proclaimed. Meanwhile, the original spoke out of the corner of his mouth at Yang.
"Straight up," he said, seeing her eye twinkle for a moment.
"Yes sir," she replied, settling into her fighting stance, Naruto doing the same.
"...two!...One!...Begin!" Before Blake and Ruby had time to contemplate what was happening, Yang twisted, gripping Naruto's wrist and spinning, flinging him up into the air at high speed over the arena. While Blake was distracted in shock, Yang took the opportunity to launch two shots from her weapons at the black-clad girl. It was not to be, however, as only a shadow was left in place of Blake. Yang growled, cocking her weapons before charging in with a roar.
Ruby looked up to try and see where her partner had gone, but had to shield her eyes from the glare of the sun. While young, Ruby was no fool, and raised her guard to the sun, anticipating an attack coming from the direction of the blinding ball in the sky. However, no amount of smarts could prepare her for a dark mass growing over the orb, soon eclipsing it and growing bigger and bigger. The light was cut out as the mob blocked out the sun and Ruby and JNPR in the stands just stared, mouths agape at the descending cloud of flesh. "Oh," squeaked Ruby, before disappearing in a swirl of rose petals. Not a moment too soon, either, as a veritable army of clones crashed into the spot she had so recently occupied.
Dispersing, the clones of Naruto created a large cloud of smoke, obscuring Ruby's ability to see her opponent. Luckily her reflexes were not affected, as two Kunai knives shot out from within the wall of smoke. Swinging Cresent Rose, Ruby deflected and swatted the two knives away, before laying down a barrage of shots back into the slowly dissipating cloud, not noticing one of the discarded Kunai laying behind her being picked up.
It was only by sheer dumb luck that his swipe missed. Ruby, expecting him to attack from the ground as he had with Yang, leapt into the air, with the blonde following with his own jumping attack. Spotting the airborne ninja, Ruby smiled brightly as she fired Crescent Rose, throwing her into a sharp spin and aiming to literally cut her partner off. Naruto quickly blocked the attack with his kunai, but was thrown toward the ground with great force. He didn't have long to contemplate his next move as the red-cloaked girl had landed and used her speed to put him on the defensive.
Swipe after swipe Naruto dodged, trying to regain any ground he could, but Ruby's assault was relentless. And unlike with Lee, whose speed was likewise insane, the girl had longer - and much sharper - reach. Something the blonde wasn't used to. In terms of strength and even natural speed, Naruto had the edge. Perhaps even in unarmed combat. But in close range, with her scythe in her hands and her semblance to out-pace him, his partner had all the advantage she could exploit. He'd need to put some distance between them. And hearing the explosive battle of Yang and Blake off to the side, Naruto quickly flashed through some hand seals.
While Ruby smirked, the fiddling with his hands having grabbed his focus enough to allow her a solid hit, her face turned instead to horror as in a burst of smoke, it was no longer Naruto taking the blow, but Blake. The bow-wearing girl grunted in pain as she was sent skidding across the ground. The shielding of the training ground prevented any serious injuries, but she'd likely be feeling that later. "Blake, No!" Ruby shrieked in horror. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry! I forgot he could do that thing where he switches places with someone else." With a groan, Blake stood, shaking off the shock.
Up in the stands, team JNPR were discussing the match as it was unfolding. Well, Pyrrha and Ren were, and Jaune was trying too. Nora was just being Nora. "Naruto is rather impressive," Ren put forward. "I'm a bit curious as to where his numerous abilities come from, but still." Pyrrha nodded in agreement.
"Yes, but Ruby seems at least capable of keeping him on his toes with her speed." she replied, having watched the two intently. "Despite Naruto's more varied arsenal, Ruby's specialization with her high-speed scythe combat is enough to keep them on somewhat even ground."
"I don't know," Jaune interjected, directing their attention toward him. "I mean, even without everything else, Naruto could just spam those clones like he did earlier and overrun the whole team like an army." Ren shook his head.
"While I'm sure that his ability can create a large number of copies, we don't actually know how. How strong his clones are compared to Naruto himself, both in offense and defense, whether they can act on their own accord or require direction from the original...All we know is that they are corporeal and burst into smoke when dispelled or otherwise dismissed." Jaune's eyes widened as he realized what that last bit meant.
"Which means Ruby and Blake don't have to hold anything back against them," he said, and Nora grinned.
"Can we go next?" she asked. Despite himself, Ren smirked.
Back on the field, Blake rushed toward Yang who was likewise running at the Black-haired girl. As Yang launched her assault, Blake used her own clone and appeared directly behind her opponent, in the air and leg cocked. Yang, by this time, had expected such a maneuver, but before she could turn or dodge, her younger sister appeared in a burst of rose petals. The blonde-girl wasn't sure what she was expecting, but it wasn't the taste of dirt as Ruby used her scythe to sweep her legs from beneath her and Blake slammed her foot into the back of Yang's head. Unable to adjust herself, she slammed face first into the ground beneath her as Ruby sped away again while Blake took off at a sprint toward Naruto, who created three clones surrounding him.
As Blake neared, Naruto prepared for a similar assault to what had moments before downed Yang, he was actually caught off guard when she fired Gambol Shroud to the side, zipping passed his clones before being snatched by the red blur that was Ruby. Recovering quickly, Naruto leapt high into the air, sacrificing his clones which became snared in ribbon - speedily wrapped around them and pulled taught, slamming them into one-another - forced to dispel. When he had formed his hands into the seal for the Shadow Clone, Blake smirked.
"Ruby, now!" she shouted, raising her weapon and - keeping an eye on the recovering Yang - began launching a volley of ice-dust rounds in sync with Ruby, both aimed at the ninja's hands. Naruto attempted to avoid the hail, but under the combination of Blake's rapid fire and Ruby's heavy fire, Naruto's right shoulder was soon encased in ice, as was his right foot and true to the girls' plan, his hands were each frozen. Like a rock, the blonde plunged to the earth, landing in a heap. While this served to break his icy bonds, Ruby quickly pinned him with Crescent Rose. Blake meanwhile trained her own weapon on Yang, who was making her way to them.
"Team Ladybug for the win!" Ruby shouted, only for her breath to hitch and her eyes to go wide in shock at the feel of cold steel on her neck, a smiling Naruto Clone peaking out from behind her back and into her peripheral vision. Blake almost found herself at the mercy of a clone as well, but put some distance between them with her semblance.
"Time!" The moment the time-keeper clone shouted, Naruto's two clones popped out of existence.
"Looks like Whiskers pulls off another win for his team," Yang boasted, smacking Naruto on the back in praise, while Blake scoffed and Ruby fumed.
"Oh Come on! It was a draw at best!" the young Team Leader proclaimed, the group moving toward the bleachers and the waiting Team JNPR.
"Actually, at the time the match ended, Naruto had you captured Ruby, and was no longer being covered by Blake, making it two-against-one," Pyrrha reasoned, causing Ruby to deflate. Not wanting to bring the girl down, the red-head put her hands up in a defensive gesture. "That being said, near the end, you and Blake worked together quite well, and tag-teaming a single weapon is usually difficult at best. If you were looking for a good combination attack, that was it." Her words definitely had a cheering effect on the young girl, and with a smile she held her hand up to Blake. The rather stoic girl rolled her eyes, but still gave a small grin and gave her leader a high-five. Pyrrha was a celebrity, and though she was still in school, was a skilled and experienced fighter. Her opinion was not one to be taken lightly.
The Invincible Girl then turned to team Firestorm - the two blondes looking rather pleased with themselves - and gave them her review of their performance. "As for the both of you, while Naruto tends to be rather sly and can lean toward trickery and misdirection on the battlefield, he and Yang are both primarily heavy brawlers. Yang using her strength and physical combat prowess to overwhelm her foes and Naruto using the clones to do the same is a dangerous combination, particularly your opening maneuver."
"Fastball Special for the win!" Yang blurted, pumping her fist into the air.
"There are weaknesses, however," Pyrrha continued, causing Yang and Naruto to raise a brow and look at each other. "For example, Naruto's clones never seem to take more than one or two solid hits before disappearing. Assuming your opponent can't tell the original from a copy - and they know they don't have to hold back against your clones - if they catch you off guard, it might potentially be with lethal force." That gave Naruto something to think about. He never actually realized that as a flaw in his strategy before. Something to work on, he supposed.
"CLOAK AND DAGGER!" Everyone jumped at the sudden outburst from Nora, but she herself was unaffected by the stares. "Cloak and Dagger," she repeated in a normal volume. "That should be the team name for Ruby and Naruto. I mean, she already has the cape and hood, he fights with a throwing-knife..." It took one second for Ruby to process what Nora said, another three to think about it, and immediately thereafter she had dropped to her knees, hitting the ground in shame.
"That's WAY better than the one I came up with...I mean, I think it is, since I don't really remember it, but still!" Unsure of what to do, Blake gently patted her on the back to once again try to comfort the younger girl.
"Back on point, was there anything else that needed pointed out?" Blake asked the observers.
"Um, yeah, I kinda feel like your teams aren't really working 'together' all that much..." the members of Team RUBY turned to Jaune, who frankly looked a tad unnerved by their gazes. "It's just, the only times any of you have really worked with your partners was the beginning of the last match where Yang tossed Naruto. And then at the end where Ruby and Blake both worked together to take down Team Firestorm one-at-a-time. The rest of the time, you all kinda broke off and fought separately, and I think that kinda defeats the purpose of the team-training, doesn't it?" Now each of the hunters in training - including his own teammates - were looking at Jaune like he had grown a second head. Nobody on Team RUBY had really thought about that, and while Pyrrha had noticed, even she hadn't thought her partner would have thought of such a thing and brought it to their attention. Jaune was nice, after-all, but from what she had seen in the initiation, wasn't really the strongest huntsman. It was good to know he at least had a decent grasp of team strategy.
"Anyway, time for the last match," Yang announced, after a moment, before clapping her sister on the back. Despite all the criticism, Ruby matched Yang's grin easily.
"Can we be Team Sunset?!" she asked excitedly. Apparently she had been planing for that one.
"Sure," Yang replied. "Cause when we're done here, the sun's gonna set on Whiskers' winning streak." Seeing the rolling eyes of the others present, Yang looked a bit sheepish, but tried to defend herself. "Guys, come on, that was a great one!" she pleaded getting only a few sighs and half-smiles in response. Knowing that was the best she would get, she turned to Naruto and Blake. "Alright, how about you guys? Who's team Sunset going against?"
"Team Copycat," Blake said before Naruto could even begin to suggest anything. "It's the most fitting, given that the both of us fight using clones."
"Plus your bow looks like cat ears and Naruto has cute kitty whiskers!" Ruby chipped in with a small squeal. Naruto's eye twitched and while rubbing his birthmarks he uttered something regarding foxes. Blake, meanwhile, just went shifty-eyed at the mention of cat ears.
"...right," she said after a minute, before turning to head back down from the bleachers into the training area, followed closely by Naruto. "Jaune's right, as weird as it is to say it. But I don't think we can run the same combo as team Ladybug. You're quick, but not to Ruby's level. Any ideas?"
"Nnnnnnnnoooooooooooope," Naruto replied. "I don't have any skills that...could..." Blake raised a brow as Naruto adopted a thoughtful look. "Actually, there is this one move I pulled with an...old teammate of mine. I'd have to adapt it a bit, but..."
"What did you have in mind?" Blake asked, and Naruto shot her a massive grin.
"About how long is the ribbon on your weapon?"
The two continued on in their conversation while Yang and Ruby took their places on the other side of the field. Each team of two were immersed in speaking to each other, trying to properly strategize for the final match of the morning. As the timekeeper clone stepped up, each member of team RUBY settled into a ready stance, preparing for the end of the countdown. And when it came, each combatant leapt forward towards each other.
Naruto, having learned his lesson from last time, used kunai and shuriken to try and keep Ruby at a distance. She had no problem dodging even the curved paths of the ninja stars, but wanting to end things quickly, she instead opted to block or deflect. Time was of the essence here, and while two minutes might feel like much longer in the heat of the battle, it was still only two minutes. Ruby even got to prove her marksmanship by shooting one or two out of the air. Still, it was all going on far longer than she should have allowed.
"Yang! New Combo!" Ruby yelled, eager to try out the move she and her sister had decided on. Yang, dodging a sweeping slash from Blake's weapon of choice, turned to look at her sister. The girls made a run for each other, and neither Naruto or Blake really wanted to be on the wrong end of whatever the sisters had come with. However, seeing as how this was training, neither wanted to interrupt either, and so they could only stand and stare. Stare as Ruby fired off a shot with Crescent Rose, using the recoil to break into a spin. She whipped around and with a war cry performed a vertical slash, though the primary blades were for some reason on the wrong end.
If the two were questioning this, they soon received an answer as the blunt staff slammed into the palm of Yang - who was careful to avoid the rear blades - while the blonde's arm did buckle from the force just a bit. But with her semblance active, she just smiled dangerously at the two as she funneled the force of the blow into her next move. As though she and Ruby were one, she in one swift motion gripped the scythe and spun, pulling the weapon and its wielder along. Redirecting the power she had just received, the brawler released her sister in a modified version of the fastball special she and Naruto had done in the last match.
Once released from her sister's grip, Ruby fired off a few rounds, simultaneously using her semblance to send herself into a frenzied spin, transforming the girl into a whirling buzz-blade. Both Naruto and Blake dropped their jaws, leaping away from each other as Ruby passed between them. The cloaked-girl was prepared for this, however, and fired off several shots. Most of the spray was sent in random directions, but two did manage to hit Naruto - one in the chest and one in the left shoulder - and one managed to hit Blake in the thigh, taking her by surprise before she could use her semblance. The black-clad girl groaned. The shielding of the field prevented certain levels of damage, but the shot was still going to bruise badly, even with her Aura speeding her healing.
She rubbed the now sore spot gingerly as Ruby came out of her spin, having to lean on her weapon as the dizziness took hold. Looking to Yang, Blake stood back up, once more unsheathing Gambol Shroud, firing it at the older of the sisterly team. Her target dodged to the side, gripping the ribbon tightly in her hand. For some reason, it didn't feel as soft as it had other times she had felt it over the previous matches, but she paid it no mind as she yanked the ribbon. She had been trying to pull Blake into close-quarters combat, but had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach when her opponent merely let go of her weapon with a smirk.
Finally regaining her bearings, Ruby turned just in time for the entirety of Gambol Shroud to erupt into smoke, revealing it to somehow be nothing more than a series of Naruto's clones, several even grabbing hold of the others legs to form what had a moment prior appeared to be the ribbon of Blake's weapon. "WHAAAAAAAT!?" Ruby shouted, flabbergasted and unable to believe just what was happening before her. "How is THAT a THING!?"
Yang, who likewise was near to short-circuiting, was unable to resist the hand that clamped to her arm. "Back at you!" the first clone shouted, pulling his fellow copies towards him with a mighty heave, and bringing Yang along for the ride. The copies began swinging around and around - a massive game of crack-the-whip - and the girl on the end was getting severely disoriented.
"Oh no you don't!" Ruby proclaimed, taking aim. Seeing this, Blake rushed the girl in the red-hood, as did the original Naruto, but Ruby vanished in a burst of speed, leaving only a few rose-petals behind. Before they could even locate her, two quick shots rang out, striking the pre-occupied clones on the ground at the start of the chain, and dispelling them with a pop and a burst of smoke. No longer anchored to the ground, Yang and the rest of the clones were sent flying.
While the clones simply dispersed themselves, Yang was forced to try and right herself in the air. Not the easiest of tasks when one was dizzy and woozy. That was one roller coaster she wouldn't be trying again any time soon. Using her weapons to slow her descent, she landed in a roll, just managing to stop herself from being thrown out of the training field. Firing off a quick shot to get back up to speed, she was joined by her sister as they rushed their opponents for one final blitz attack before time ran out. Ruby leapt up to Yang's shoulders before springing off into the air, opening fire on Blake and Naruto to put them on defense.
Blake, relying on her semblance, easily avoided the threat, but Naruto was left to merely dodge. Ruby - not prepared to lose again - decided enough was enough and activated her semblance. As she descended, looking in her speed like a red blur trailed by rose-petals, Naruto was actually caught off guard when she slammed into him full force, knocking the both of them back to the ground, skidding.
At his yelp of pain, both Blake and Yang looked over at their teammates and cringed. Up in the stands, team JNPR, even Nora, likewise gave a painful wince.
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
"All I'm saying is that this is the second time," Naruto grumbled, a sight limp to his step. "Two crashes, two hits to the balls. You have one-hundred percent accuracy towards my balls." Ruby was practically near tears as she continued apologizing to her partner as Team RUBY made their way back to their dorm. Yang on the other hand had gone from sympathetic to thinking it was hysterical.
"Either way, Whiskers, I think she had you down for the count that time," she said through fits of giggles. "Told you you were gonna lose that match."
"I'm just surprised you're even walking after that," Blake chipped in, though not without a blush. They were after all discussing her teammate's testicles out in the open. Hell, even behind closed doors that would be an uneasy topic. "I mean, even as relatively small as Ruby is, force being equal to mass times acceleration says that you probably shouldn't be up and walking already." Naruto waved her off, but said nothing.
Yang, still grinning like an idiot, placed her hand on Ruby's shoulder. "So you've slept together, and gone for his balls twice...you sure there isn't anything going on between you two?" Naruto and Ruby immediately fixed the blonde girl with matching withering glares. "So," she began again, trying to change the subject. "We're still free the rest of the day...anyone wanna go get some lunch? We can hit the cafeteria."
"I could use some fried fish and tea. But that training was...nice," replied Blake, agreeing with her partner. "We should make partner training a regular thing, I think." Ruby beamed at the suggestion.
"You know it!" she announced. "But I'm actually off to meet with Nora. We're planning the party for tonight, and I got me some cookies to bake." This got Naruto's attention and he smiled, groaning a bit as he took another step.
"I'm going to go ice my...well, anyway, I'll make up a nice big batch of homemade ramen later. I'll even show you and Nora how to make it if you want," he announced, using his school-issued scroll to unlock their dorm and step inside. As the door closed behind him, the girls just stared at it, before going their separate ways.
While Yang and Blake headed for the cafeteria, Ruby strolled down to the dorm common-room, where Nora and Ren had already set up shop in the corner kitchen. The red-cloaked girl quirked an eyebrow, but still held a slight smile watching Ren mix the batter, while constantly playing keep-away, as Nora for whatever reason was trying to drink the bottle of syrup before the pancakes were even made. The practiced ease at which he kept the hyper-active castle-queen from claiming the syrup made Ruby wonder just how long the two had gone through this little dance before.
Moving to the refrigerator, she looked to see what ingredients she had to work with. Milk, eggs, butter, basic cooking ingredients provided by the academy for the students to use for cooking. Ruby smiled at that. It was nice of the school to provide cooking ingredients - and subsequently a place to cook - and to allow the students to make their own food, as it would let allow the students to make their favorite treats and family recipes when the cafeteria was closed. Like Chocolate Chip cookies, Ruby thought, a bit of drool escaping her lips.
As it happened, the small half-kitchen had all the ingredients needed for her recipe, except for the titular chocolate chips, but the scythe-wielder had a bag of them in her dorm, for snacking purposes. Whether or not she had enough for cookies was wholly dependent on her not eating half the bag on the way from her dorm to the common-room. "Hey Ren, Nora, if I start my cookie dough, and then go get the chocolate chips from my room, will the dough still be here when I get back?"
"No," Ren replied without breaking his concentration.
"Yeah, no, I'd eat all that dough and think nothing of it," Nora admitted, showing not a hint of shame as she made another grab attempt at the syrup, which Ren easily dodged. Ruby just raised a brow at the bluntness of the two, but quickly returned to her cheery attitude.
"Got it, I'll grab my chips first, then start," she said, turning and headed straight back to her team's room. "I really should have grabbed the chocolate before I went to the common-room," he mused to herself as she backtracked to her team's dorm. Stepping inside, she quirked a brow at Naruto, who true to his word had a bag of ice sitting in his lap while he flipped through pages of something on his scroll. She again felt bad, but her guilt was quickly overridden by curiosity when she spotted what he was reading, or rather, watching.
It was a video of team NIKL's raid on the White Fang's meeting that had gotten them arrested. Below the video were a few notes, detailing how many members had been there, how many had been arrested, how many escaped, and how many members of the terrorist organization total that the strange teens had ever put away. That number was high...very high. Likely only a drop in the bucket compared to the groups full membership, but it was still a large number for a team of novices to have accumulated.
Remembering why she had returned to the room in the first place, she put aside her questions regarding the video - namely, how they had captured it or acquired it - and zipped beneath her bed, emerging with her extra large bag of chocolate chips. "Success!" she cried, and this time it was Naruto's turn to raise a brow as he watched Ruby zip from the room, before turning back to the video. Opening up his instant messenger, he began to type.
["Who are you and why did you send me this?"]
After a moment, a new reply appeared.
("Nobody of consequence. Just intrigued.")
["Intrigued enough to get the number of the scroll I literally just got yesterday?"] Naruto was practically glaring at the screen as he waited for a reply. He didn't have to wait long.
("I have a few connections. I had to be sure of what I was seeing.") Well, this stranger was a fountain of information, Naruto thought. ("We'll speak again soon. For now, please don't inform anyone about this conversation. Things might get complicated if this got out.")
With a sigh, Naruto tossed his scroll to the foot of his bed, unsure of whether to take that as a threat or not, but resolved to avoid discussing it unless it became an issue. Gingerly removing the ice from his crotch, he stood, cracking his knuckles as he put his mind elsewhere. Namely, making some ramen for the party.
By the time he got to the common-room, he was met with the amusing sight of both Ren and Ruby fighting off Nora. The orange-haired girl was sporting a mustache of chocolate chips stuck to her face by a light layer of Maple syrup. The jug in Ren's hand was half empty, and Ruby was glaring at the hammer-wielder and hugging her now torn open bag of chocolate tightly to her in a protective manner. Saying nothing, Naruto just turned and walked away. Maybe later. For now he'd go see how Blake and Yang were doing.
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
Teams RUBY, KIWL, and JNPR had taken over the common-room for their celebration. Yang was providing the music, linking her scroll to the wall-mounted television to fill the entire room with an intense beat. Empty bowls of Ramen and syrup-stained plates littered the coffee tables, as did several plastic cups, some filled with beverages of dubious origin, since Kiba had somehow snuck in several cases of beer.
Weiss rolled her eyes, seeing her partner downing another bottle, eyeing the case wearily. Kiba in turn rolled his own eyes, fishing out a new bottle and thrusting it towards the white-haired girl. While she glared at him, she still opened the bottle and gave it a quick sniff. It wasn't her first taste of an alcoholic beverage - having been allowed a glass of wine her or there at company functions since she was fifteen - but her first experience with beer. Her nose crinkled a bit at the smell, but all the same she put the bottle to her lips, tilted her head back, and proceeded to chug half the bottle in one go. Finishing with a sputter and a series of coughs, much to Kiba's amusement.
Across the room, Ren, Pyrrha, and Lee had congregated in the corner, settling for drinking water or soda, the two Remnant natives doing their best to accurately describe Aura to the Taijutsu specialist. Blake, Ruby, and Naruto had taken up one of the two couches, while Nora took up the second to herself, having dropped into a semi-food coma. Semi, due to the fact that every so often, her arm would seemingly move on its own, nabbing one of Ruby's cookies from the platter she had placed out on the coffee-table.
Yang had taken the role of Host for the evening. Strange, since Naruto had originally suggested the party in the first place, but he didn't mind. He had his ramen, and that was his primary concern. She, beer in hand, was sweeping through the room, pulling random people up from their spots to dance, and not just the boys. Both Weiss and Blake were taken aback when Yang nabbed them both to dance with her.
"She gonna be ok?" Ino asked Ruby, leaning down over the back of the couch, nodding to Yang, but Ruby waved her off.
"She's been sneaking alcohol since she was fourteen. She'll be fine," the red-cloaked girl replied. "Besides, aren't you guys only fifteen or sixteen? I'd be more worried about Kiba." Ino looked to the Inuzuka for a moment, but soon shrugged.
"If you say so. But if she starts doing lap dances or strip teases, I'm done." With that said, and a blush from Ruby at the thought of her sister doing either of those things, Ino made her way back to the kitchen area to refill her water. Jaune, eyeing the awkwardly dancing Blake, Yang, and Weiss, soon settled on the armrest of the couch next to Naruto, taking a swig from his own beer.
"So, I noticed Kiba's the only one of you guys who's drinking. He just a rebel or something?"
"I could ask you the same," Naruto replied. "You don't strike me as someone who'd be a heavy drinker." The other blonde just chuckled.
"I'm really not," he corrected. "I don't drink often and when I do, I'm only good for a beer or two before I get loopy and start doing stupid stuff...but, growing up with as many sisters as I did, Dad figured I earned a beer once in a while." Though Ruby wouldn't even consider touching the alcohol, she still giggled a bit, imagining Jaune surrounded by a horde of female siblings. Likewise chuckling, Naruto pointed at himself with his thumb.
"I heal unreasonably fast," he professed. "Speeds up my metabolism, including alcohol. Since the real point of drinking is to get drunk, and I haven't been able to yet, drinking doesn't really interest me." Ruby blinked owlishly.
"So, you're the opposite of Lee then, if what you told me about him was true," she said, and Naruto just chuckled.
"I suppose I never thought of it that way, but yeah, you could say that," he replied. "But if what you told me about Yang was true, I wouldn't talk about that too loudly so close to your sister." Ruby's eyes widened and she clamped her hand over her mouth, looking to her older sister, who was now trying to get the half asleep and somewhat bloated Nora onto the dance floor, Ren watching in amusement as somebody else dealt with Nora's antics. As Yang gripped Nora's hand, Naruto and Ruby erupted in laughter as the girl fell on her rear, Nora seemingly magnetized to the couch.
Yang's empty beer bottle flew from her hand as she crashed to the floor, not breaking, but merely rolling across the room, where it came to rest under the foot of a new occupant to the room. "Well, you all seem to be enjoying yourselves." The twelve students froze as the voice of Ozpin - quiet though it was - cut its way through the blaring music. They turned to the entrance to see the emotionless face of the Headmaster and the irate face of Professor Goodwitch. Kiba and Yang began to sweat as the Head of Beacon bent down, picking up the emptied bottle and taking a sniff.
There was a pregnant pause as the group wondered what Ozpin would say, nobody listening to the music anymore. After letting them stew for a good thirty seconds, a light smile graced his lips. "I suppose I can't fault any of you for partaking in a few adult beverages. You are, after all, young adults making the conscious choice to become defenders of the kingdoms. However, please remember that neither being drunk or hungover will excuse you from your classes once they've started, nor will it be tolerated during the school-day." There were several relieved sighs at the proclamation, as well as one of disgruntlement from Goodwitch. "By all means, continue to have your fun. I just heard that there was a celebration, and came to see for myself." With a click of his cane, he turned and left the room. Glynda took the time to give one last glare before she too departed.
The mood quickly settled back into what it had been prior to the teachers poking their heads in, though Yang had apparently given up on getting Nora to dance, and plopped down on the couch next to her sister. "I thought we were in for it for sure!" she announced, Ruby and Naruto looking at her with unreadable expressions.
"What exactly, my dear sister Yang, is this 'we' stuff?" Ruby asked, doing her best to look sweet and innocent - not that it was that hard - while Naruto just grinned.
"Yeah," he continued. "The two of us haven't even touched the alcohol. In fact, a majority of the people in the room haven't." Yang looked for a moment as though a retort was building, before she deflated.
"Yeah, you got me there. But still, not exactly drinking alone. Even Blake is drinking..." The girl in question sat down next to her teammate holding two more beers, letting loose a small belch as she handed one to Yang. While a small blush tinted her cheeks, Yang just laughed. "Sexy," she announced, causing Blake's cheeks to burn even more. She would have said more, but an even louder belch suddenly cut its way through the music and conversation. The entire room turned to its source, surprised to find it actually originated from the Schnee heiress. While a light twinge of red appeared on each cheek, she didn't show any other outward form of embarrassment.
"Excuse me..." she said, quietly, setting down her now empty beer next to Kiba's empty bottles. Kiba, who was laughing his ass off. The Inuzuka was doing everything in his power not to give Weiss a hearty slap on the back, but he couldn't hold himself back from both impulses. The glare Weiss sent him only increased his laughter. Standing, Weiss smoothed out her skirt, before turning to address the others. "Thanks for the food, but I'm going to head back to my room now." The others just nodded, a few hoisting their bottles or glasses in a semi-toast to the girl.
She began walking out of the room, before pausing for a moment. She seemed to be contemplating something for a moment, before she sighed, quickly moving to the kitchen-space. In the span of a few seconds, she had opened the fridge, pulled out another bottle of beer, popped it open on the edge of the counter, made her way back to the doorway, and disappeared down the hall. There was a moment of silence, before Ino sighed.
"Way to be a good influence, Kiba..." she said, and Kiba looked incredulous.
"I gave her one beer!" he announced, indignant. "She grabbed that second one on her own!"
"Ugh," Ino groaned, before moving to follow her female teammate. On her way out the door, she pointed to Lee. "I'm going to go back to the room too and lay down. Please make sure that Kiba knows that if he shows up to the room in a drunken stupor, loud and obnoxious, There will be consequences."
"I can't believe Naruto is the NIKL leader. Seems like Ino is the one that keeps everybody in check," Yang announced, Ruby nodding in agreement, while Lee cheerfully nodded at Ino. He was more than used to her preferred methods of keeping Kiba and Naruto in line. Smiling slightly, Yang then turned to Naruto.
"So, you ready to explain the whole 'rubber chicken' thing?"
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
Ino entered team KIWL's room, and Weiss gave her a nod of acknowledgment, but didn't look up from her scroll. She was sat cross-legged on her bed, absently sipping from the beer she had brought back to the room. "Are you alright?" the kunoichi asked, eyeing her female teammate in concern. "You left the party in kind of a hurry."
"It was getting late, and my sister wished to be informed about my team assignments," Weiss replied after a moment, but Ino could tell she wasn't being told the whole truth. "That being said, I have no idea what to say about you all yet. I mean, you and Lee have both been nice, for the most part...but Kiba-"
"-is abrasive? Immature? Crude?" Ino offered, getting Weiss nod, letting out an exacerbated sigh.
"All of the above," she replied, setting her scroll down, finally, and turning to face Ino. "I mean, he's powerful and skilled, but I don't really think he's leader material." Ino's gaze softened a bit.
"Well, while he is all those things, there is a lot more too him than that. And I think you know it. Trust me, I lived with these guys for three years, and he just might surprise you," Weiss looked skeptical, but couldn't deny that there were other, much more noble traits the 'not-faunus' had shown in the last two days. He had made the attempt to cover everyone's escape from the Emerald Forest in what was clearly a retreat scenario, showing that while he could be a bit standoffish, he was also fiercely protective of others. Something she certainly believed was an admirable quality.
For a brief moment, her mind wandered to the incident with the Deathstalker, how he had transformed into a giant, two-headed beast with Akamaru. She might not have even been here to reminisce about initiation had Kiba not intervened. She sighed.
"And I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt," she replied after a moment. "My family, on the other hand..." Ino nodded. She knew of the tumultuous relationship between the faunus and the Schnee family. Half of Remnant knew, and the other half were either too young or too naive to know.
"Maybe wait to send anything to them, then," Ino offered. "Sure, they might be mad that you were late with 'your report,' but surely they can respect the idea of you wanting to have a more thorough understanding of your team. I mean, if your were to judge us on first impression alone, you'd think we were all insane."
Weiss chuckled nervously for a moment, as insanity was - in her view - an apt depiction of her team, but she also knew there was merit in Ino's advice. While she was really only writing to her sister, Winter, there was no doubt in her mind that her father would see it as well. And while he might not appreciate it, Weiss had a feeling that her elder sister at least would approve of sending a more detailed description of her teammates of the next four years. The thought of her father unconsciously drew the bottle in her hand to her lips and she sipped the alcoholic beverage. "I suppose you're right. Thank you, Ino..."
Smiling, Ino began to gather her pajamas and make her way to take a shower. "No problem," she replied. "And hey, if you ever wanna talk, I'm always here. Trust me, after three years with those three, I could use some girl-time once in a while." Weiss watched a slight pang of sadness cross the platinum-blonde's face, before she returned to her smile. Feeling it rude to pry, the heiress just nodded as Ino disappeared into the bathroom.
Closing the door behind her, Ino leaned against the door for a moment, thoughts of Sakura - her closest female friend - entering her mind. Not for the first time, she had wished she had learned some form of memory altering technique before she had wound up in the strange place called Remnant. If only to banish the painful memories, to make her forget that there were friends and family that she very likely would never see again. Bringing her hand to her face, she rubbed her eyes with her thumb and pointer finger.
"Get out of there," she muttered, trying to will the thoughts to vanish.
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
Sunday came and went, mostly uneventful. Come Monday morning, however, three members of team RUBY woke to find their fearless leader Ruby Rose sound asleep, a bit of drool running down her cheek. While this wouldn't normally have been noteworthy, the fact that she was laying in Naruto's bed, snuggling his arm, definitely was. Apparently she had her nightmare again that night, and in her state of panic and sleepiness, she had move into her partner's bed.
Yang had to fight back snickering, but Blake wasn't having it. "Yang!" she half-yelled, scolding her partner. "Aren't you a little bit worried that your sister is clearly reacting to some serious trauma?!"
"Of course I am," the blonde girl defended. "But you can't deny that this is helping if sleeping next to Naruto is keeping any nightmares away." Naruto raised his free hand, speaking quietly so as not to rouse his partner, who was somehow sleeping through all of the arguing.
"I'd just like to point out that I have no problem helping Ruby with her troubles, but this seems like something she might wanna talk to a therapist about," he added.
"Well, you've been eaten, like, four times I think you said," Blake continued, happy that Naruto was agreeing with her. "Has talking about it helped you?" She quirked a brow when Naruto looked confused.
"I don't know, I've never actually talked to anyone about it before," he replied, and now both girls shared his look of confusion.
"Wait, but you just said-"
"Yeah, the first time was during an exam back home. It happened so fast and my old teammates were in trouble, so that kinda took a higher place on my priorities," he explained. "After that, the only thing that really bothers me anymore is the smell. But that first time was where I found out that the whole 'Clone Buffet' trick worked, so there's that, I guess." Blake and Yang just stared at him dumbfounded for a moment, before Yang leaned towards Blake slightly.
"This explains so much..." she whispered, getting a nod from the black-haired girl. Naruto just glared at them for a moment - having a sneaking suspicion of what the ladies felt was 'explained' - before beginning to try and nudge Ruby awake. All his attempts to wake her ended in failure however. She was simply too comfortable to awaken and begin the first day of classes.
"Yang, you're her sister. You have to know a way to get her to wake up," Naruto groaned, causing Yang to flash a smile that Naruto knew spelled nothing good. She took a deep breath - fully over-exaggerating the act for dramatic effect - before shouting out.
"Ruby! Some guy with greasy hands is touching Crescent Rose!" Like a shot from a gun, the girl leapt out of bed toward where her weapon was propped against the wall.
"Not my Baby!" she wailed, promptly snatching her weapon and slamming her head into the wall at the same time. Hearing her sister laugh, the scythe-wielder began to pout and rub her head. "That's not funny, Yang!"
"Yes it is," her sister countered between giggles. "Every damn time!" Even Naruto and Blake couldn't hide smiles as the two sisters bickered. Turning to Blake, Naruto just motioned to the bathroom.
"I'm gonna get ready for class, I guess," he stated. "But if you'd like the bathroom first, go for it." Blake smiled at the consideration, but quietly declined with a shake of the head. Naruto just shrugged, grabbing the school uniform with a bit of a scowl, before sneaking passed the arguing siblings to go shower. He groaned at the idea that he was actually going back to school. It was going to be a long day.
Chapter End
Sorry it took so long. Between work, parenthood, and the loss of my grandmother, things have been tough. I hope the chapter was to your liking. I had to rewrite several scenes a few times to try and make certain they at least fit somewhat with the last three. A couple of notes...
Given that there now is an additional team than in canon, I'm thinking of adding in an OC team or two to provide competition during the Vytal Festival. Given how many characters in RWBY are based on other fictional characters, I'd like to do the same. I have some ideas, but anything you guys would like to suggest [WITHIN REASON] would be nice. I can't guarantee anything right now, but I had put some thought into a Disney themed team, with characters based on Frozen's Elsa, Brave's Merida, Tangle's Rapunzel, and possibly a Tinkerbell, giving her a shrinking Semblance (making her akin to DC's Bumblebee or Marvel's Wasp). Again, these are just ideas that could be used, and any input from you all would be appreciated. Again, I must stress that it be kept within reason. If you think I'm gonna have a team of like, Goku, Vegeta, Ichigo, and Luffy, you've got another thing coming.
Also, in terms of the team names, I did decide to go 'Firestorm' for Naruto/Yang, 'Copycat' for Naruto/Blake, and 'Cloak and Dagger' for Naruto/Ruby. I'm pretty sure Firestorm has been used many times in other fics, but I believe Copycat as well as C&D are original. In particular, Cloak and Dagger just popped into my head out of nowhere, and rather than trying to work it into an earlier scene, just figured I'd let it be one of Nora's random thoughts, and it worked, I think. But anyway, these are the names I chose and I stand by them, so I won't be changing them.
That's it, I think. If any questions are to be asked, or you'd like to make a suggestion for the OC team (So I can get working on their names, skills, etc...now and have them be more solid characters) please either leave them in review or PM me about them.
Also, shameless Plug time. If anyone reading this enjoys Magic the Gathering, please check out my crossover story 'Exalted: A Tale of Spiraling Flames.' Trying to get readership up on that one.
Peace to all my Fans
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