October Tenth.
Naruto stood in his room, it was now one week before graduation, taking a deep breath he finished his latest painting. He backed away, it was a white-haired woman with defined features, wielding two blades. A request had come in, Weiss Schnee of all people, requesting a portrait of her sister, of course, she didn't know his face.
The painter she had patronaged, he chose to keep it hidden on the call, and had gotten a down payment of five thousand Liens to start the job. He managed to paint Winter Schnee with vibrant detail, she was in the midst of holding swords at the ready.
All of this of a single photo Weiss Schnee had given as part of the deal.
Luckily, he'd never have to meet the girl in person.
Rap and hip-hop music played in the background of his apartment, he had been making a note play more upbeat music when using lighter colors. Thanks to the new flow of income, Naruto had enough money to get him through the first year at Beacon.
Classes weren't cheap there, and to get access to the cafeteria and such was costly in of itself.
Four year students in Beacon, if you didn't take the graduation exam early in the third year, could run easily one hundred thousand liens before it was all set and done. That was on classes alone, room and board added another fifty thousand, material supplies added to a fair share of twenty-five thousand.
That twenty-five thousand was due at the beginning of each year mind you!
The cafeteria, since it was filled with just what Naruto could describe from the list, all the food. The blonde saw the bill at the bottom, it was heavy, a whopping thirty thousand a year heavy!
Either you were well loved by the community and you got a free pass, or you were a blue blood. Anything less than that, unfortunately with Naruto fitting the bill, he'd have to bust his ass to make it good. Perhaps he could continue coming to the apartment on weekends to paint?
Maybe he could just make a studio somewhere in Beacon's grounds?
The problem was that Huntsmen in Vale were considered freelancers, and not part of the military, unlike Atlas. Atlas's academy gave free rides to those they felt would be a good fit in military service. All Huntsmen from Atlas were in the military, and were actually officers, with officer training.
But, in Vale, since they were considered freelancers, they didn't get the benefits of tax money. It was a matter of laws, and since Vale's laws listed Grimm hunting as freelance. Meaning for profit, that meant Huntsmen were no different than from job you trained for in college.
From what he read of his letter, which laid open on his coffee table, his papers had been approved and was due to report to the airfield station a week after graduation. Currently, Naruto was just busy painting to make extra income, he had three other projects going on along with his current one.
The Dragon Prince's Bride, because Paloma loved the first one so much, she even put a down payment of a thousand liens.
The Eternal Fall, a forest painting based on Forever Fall Forest in Vale.
Iskandar The Great, a painting of Iskandar and his band holding swords, with the man holding the largest above his head. He had contacted Naruto, even spoke to him, both had a good laugh once he realized he was the kid he met at the concert and Naruto had begone work on the next cover for his album via painting.
Iskandar was the most generous of the clients, having seen his other works, he went ahead and paid ten thousand Liens to sponsor the painting.
Currently, he was almost done with it, in fact, he'd be finished with it tomorrow!
Easy money, easy food on the table, and easy living for a moment.
The last painting, Beacon, was of the school itself. It was a massive painting, it took up the window space inside of his apartment, apparently, it had been commissioned by someone at the school. A mystery buyer, and by Mirabella's word, he was high up in the council as well.
He'd make history, if the painting was well received, to be the first Faunus Artist to have a painting in any government building. But that wasn't the legacy he wanted to leave, he wanted the thrill of the fight and of being a Huntsman.
Currently, he had enough to pay for the materials and to put a down payment on his education for that year. Not enough to fully pay for it, but enough to make sure it got a good head start. The blonde sighed, looking at the fourth layer of paint of Winter's portrait, and he shrugged.
Each year was an enrollment cost, which was the cost of everything put together.
A lot of people argued that this education should be free, but people can't fathom the costs it takes to produce Huntsmen. The amount of quality training, the four years of supplies, ammunition and dust. Security detail for school events that were formal, so that no radicals could just go in and slaughter a huge investment.
Huntsmen were investments of civil society, because while the military protected the majority of people, they played a defensive role. Huntsmen got incentive to take fights to very demons of the night that plagued humanity.
The job's mortality rate was extraordinarily high, one in ten Huntsmen would die before seeing the age of thirty. Those past thirty had a higher chance of dying, since many of the deadly jobs got filtered over to them. Sometimes being recognized for your experience was not always that great…though the money many of those jobs brought in were often life changing.
Not everyone is meant to be a Huntsmen. The world needs metalworkers just as much as it needed the cold steel of a warrior to push back the night. But, for now, he was a painter. He stares at his painting of Weiss Schnee, the irony of a Faunus artist painting a Schnee wasn't lost on him.
Then again not all Schnee were horrible people either.
It was decent in his books, but the colors never truly shined until the fifth and six layers were added, he needed to lighten her skin a little bit more. He made some rose to her cheeks, make her lips a little lighter shade of pink.
The smallest little details were also the most important to get something to lifelike quality. From the round face, the admittingly beautiful baby blue eyes, the silky white hair. Like a white rose, she would be considered beautiful, but there was a human quality to both of them.
Naruto stops for a moment, looking at the portrait before sighing and getting his scroll. He began to punch in the number for his bank, waiting for the ring tone to end before he could enter his passcodes in order get his account balance.
The A.I that answered him was the standard Carmichael, a newly updated version of the old Friday variant.
"Your current account balance is forty thousand, six hundred, and twenty-five liens. A payment has been issued to the amount of twenty-five thousand liens due to arrive at Beacon Academy in two days. A payment has been issued in the amount of ten thousand liens to Beacon Academy in two days. The stated purpose for payments is Materials and Education." Naruto heard his scroll suddenly speak, "is that all?"
Naruto chuckled, finishing the fourth layer of the painting, "no Carmichael, that's all."
"Have a good day, Mr. Namikaze." The scroll then hangs up.
Getting back to the painting. Naruto took time to examine his work, making sure everything was in order. He held the paint brush, a specific color of white on it, alabaster. He wanted to shade the hair of Winter to fit with the pose, everything had to be shaded to fit that pose.
The finishing touch on the fourth layer came with the hair, where he began to add the first layer of detailed paint. As much as he hated most of The Schnee Family, Naruto didn't hate Winter. Her father on the other hand, even by her own words, could go rot in a Grimm pit.
People like him allowed mining disasters like the one that happened to Ilia's parents, not intentional, but not investing enough to make sure the mines were safe. It was a matter of time, the ticking of the clock, until something would happen. The truth, the cold truth, hindsight will always be twenty-twenty for a reason.
You should've saw it coming.
Finishing up, Naruto grabbed his scroll, looking at the time.
"She's probably still up," Naruto said to himself. "Better let her know how its going."
He pressed a number on it, calling Mirabella, he got an answer, "Ah my star."
"Hello Mrs. Mirabella, just want to report that Iskandar's and Weiss's paintings are near completion, they'll be done tomorrow night," Naruto told his art dealer, intent to get some money before going into Beacon.
"Ah, yes, that is good news. I heard you have another painting you're wanting to sell me?" She inquires, with Naruto yawning a little in the background.
"Yes," Naruto walked over to it and showing her.
"Ooh, an environmental, Forever Fall?" Mirabella questioned as she looked at it.
Naruto nodded, "yes, and thank you for getting me some high profile work."
"Don't mention it, you're a good artist and need exposure, though I kept you being a Faunus vague from our Schnee client." Mirabella replied she looked at the painting, "I could probably sell that for five, giving you two."
"I want half." Naruto retorted with a smile.
"Fifty-five, forty-five, gives you two thousand two hundred and twenty-five." Mirabella also retorted, countering his counteroffer.
"Fine…" Naruto rolled his eyes and then smiled, "you're twisting my arm a little."
"Come now," Mirabella waved, "tis only a formality, I'll send someone over later to pick up the painting and with your money."
"Roger that," Naruto hung up, taking a deep breath as he looked at the paintings.
His apron was stained with paint, like always, he stretched and took it off. Looking at the paintings, sighing, he tosses the apron to the floor. Taking his shirt off and walking toward the bathroom. He yawns, looking at himself in the mirror.
"Maybe I should go out," Naruto stripped down as thought and went over to the shower, "I should celebrate."
Naruto closed his eyes as cold water brushed his skin, slowly the water increased in temperature. Steam began to roll of his skin where the water impacted, the blonde Fox Faunus just lets the soothing waters take him.
He leans back, taking deep breaths.
"You should just fade away, you'll do so eventually." Naruto's eyes snapped open, revealing in front of him was his demon.
The demon had a terrible smirk, the whisker marks on his face were much thicker than his normal birthmarks. He had a messy hair, cuts across his arms and bruising around his neck. The demon even sported a hole in his head, long scabbed over.
The demon stood in this black void, his right hand had a strange black round mark on it, "you are just going to fade away…why not grab that nice electric charger cable and place it in a bath?"
Naruto shook his head, "I am on a high note…I'm not listening to you…"
"You can't always run away from me, I am always inside of your footsteps, one by one…I follow them." The demon chuckled as he walked around Naruto.
He walked to where he stood right behind Naruto's left ear, leaning down, "how many times did you think to end it today? Three, four, ooh…only two?"
Naruto frowned, lowering his head, "I just…don't want to go back again."
"You don't have too, Naruto buddy," Demon Naruto dismisses as he looked at his counterpart, "You can always pretend that you're okay, put on a smile."
He then suddenly gripped the top of his head and chin, the demon smirked before violently snapping his own neck. The audible sound of bones literally breaking and snapping out of place made Naruto winced as the demon stood there still.
"But that just doesn't change the fact you're broken inside!" The demon roars before suddenly reforming himself.
The demon licked his lips, "all you have to do is that just snap your own neck…painless. You're more than capable of it, I mean, you either do it to yourself or you do it to Ilia."
"I don't hate Ilia…" Naruto lowered his head.
"Please," the demon said. "Spare me."
The demon's head snapped back into place when it failed to do so the first time perfectly. Suddenly a familiar girl stood next to him. She had red eyes as well, looking down at Naruto.
"I hated you, how come you got to have sympathy!" She screamed at him, "I got laughed out simply because my family died, you're just the worse! I hate you, I hate you, I hate you!"
Naruto winced, "but…I'm…"
"You're nothing but a pathetic loser, if I hadn't catered to you back in Atlas you'd just be hanging up and put in the morgue! You don't deserve anything, you're never going to be a hero, you'll just be another body with a toe tag!" Ilia, the demon screamed out.
The demon stepped behind Ilia, gripping her head firmly, "see?"
"Ilia!" Naruto screamed, trying to run over toward her.
The girl let out a sharp, painful scream until the audible cracking filled the void. She fell to a heap, laying on the ground as she slowly turned into the void itself. Black, nothing but darkness, Naruto glared right at the demon.
His own eyes red now, crimson, like blood.
"How pathetic," the dark one says as he licked his fingers, "you either go two routes from here bucko. You can kill yourself, end it all and be at peace."
He then suddenly teleported behind Naruto, standing right next to his left, leaning over and smiled. "Or, you just become the very monster you fight to keep a bay…every…single…day."
"Then again," the demon steps forward, "maybe the second option will make you happy. Hearing people that made fun of you beg for their pathetic little lives, like ants trying to escape a boot…man…trying to escape the universe."
Naruto took a deep breath, "you're not real, I am me, you are not me…"
"For now," the demon chuckled, "that's only half true…I am very real Naruto."
The demon suddenly had his right-hand glow a purplish color, almost black, but it contrasts slightly with the background of the void. Red-tails emerged from behind him, nine in total, and he looked right at Naruto as his features became more demonic.
"Only a matter of time before you cast everyone and everything aside…either you die a lonely little piece of shit…or you live and become a demon…" The demon suddenly growled, only for chains to emerge and pull him into the void.
He thrashed, and before Naruto couldn't question what was going on, he felt something grab him as well and pull him into a light.
Naruto opened his eyes, gasping for air, he looked at the shower, the water had long since turned cold. He stood there, waterlogged, naked and afraid. He turned the water off, stumbling out of the shower, he walked over to the towels, wrapping himself up.
The blonde sighed, walking into his living room, noting that he had just stood there…in that shower for over an hour. He gripped his head, slightly feeling a pounding headache incoming, he sighs as he sat on the couch.
Still naked under that very towel, but he watched as the sun was setting. He looked out of the window, taking a few deep breaths as he got up, and then calmed down.
"It's only a nightmare, he's not real, he's just the negative you." Naruto mantras as he stood there, "and he'll never win."
Getting into his room Naruto took a few moments to rummage through some clothing. Getting out a good pair of jeans and a white shirt. The blonde checked himself I the mirror as he stretches and yawns.
He was going to go out and celebrate his birthday, alone.
Naruto strummed the flamingo in his hands, having decided to just stick to what he knew best. He pranced the floor as he played it, no different than the foot movements in a tango. The store's teacher nodded, watching as Naruto moved to his own beat.
Taking a deep breath, he just smiled as he finished playing.
"Bravo," a man said as he stood next to another man, "very good Mr. Namikaze."
"Thanks, Javier," Naruto thanked the man in front of him, handing him back the flamingo guitar.
However, Javier shook his head, "nah amigo. You can have it, consider it a graduation present from us, you've been a great customer over the last year and such."
"O-oh really," Naruto looked at it, "w-wow…thanks."
The man waved him off, he looked at the blonde, "shouldn't you be at your ceremony kiddo?"
"Skipping it Verdant, besides, no family to see me walk anyway." Naruto simply states as he put his hands in his pockets.
Javier nodded, "well, you take care alright, Beacon is a cool cat place."
"Cool cat huh?" Naruto laughs as he walked to the door, "then they'll just love me there."
Qrow took a deep breath as he saw his students come up, getting their papers and having their picture taken. He noticed that Naruto wasn't there among his peers. Sighing, Qrow just watches as Taiyang shook the hands of those that came up.
'Goddamn it, Naruto, c'mon you earned this!' Qrow thinks to himself.
He watches as Yang starts walking toward him, he hands her papers, he quickly straightens himself up. Smiling while patting her shoulder, she smiled and nodded, walking over toward her father. The buxom blonde starts chatting up a storm after getting a hug from her father, her friends all walk with her.
"Hell yeah, Yang," a green haired girl said. "Next stop Beacon Academy."
"You know it girl, and mama is finally free to go explore." Yang states while walking with her friends into the hallways.
Another of her friends, another blonde looked at her, "anyone take notice that were one short?"
"Hmm," all of them hummed as they looked at her.
Yang then questioned her, "what do you mean Iris, we're all here."
"Well, all of us, yes. But not everyone that should be graduating. What about the loser that slept in back, was he here?" Iris inquires as she rested herself against a locker.
"Nah," the green haired girl said. "Loser wasn't here, can't believe for being asleep he somehow grads."
"Its total bullshit," Yang admits as she rubbed the back of her. "I mean, really ya know, we bust tail trying to grad and yet someone just falls asleep all the time."
"Come to think of it, Yang, I can't even remember what the idiot looks like. I mean he had blonde hair, but that's about it." The shortest blonde of the group states.
"Yeah me neither, oh well, hopefully he's not going to Beacon. God, could you imagine him getting stuck with someone like that?" Yang said while talking to her friends, "he'd probably be asleep in the middle of a mission."
"Totally," Iris rolls her eyes, "and then we'd have to explain how he got killed."
"Being a loser," the shortest blonde states while leaning on the locker by Iris.
"Sasha," the girl looked at Iris, "please don't rub your booty on my mine."
"S-sorry," Sasha apologizes while yawning. "Speaking of sleep, I'm not going out tonight ladies."
"Aww, what a shame, and here I was hoping to celebrate my birthday with you girls since I didn't get too a couple weeks ago." Yang then smiles, "but I know where we can get some drinks at."
Iris rolls her eyes, "Crow's nest, doesn't your uncle frequent that place?"
"Yeah," Yang dismissed with an eyeroll, "and?"
"Well, FYI, won't you get into totes trouble with daddio?" Sasha inquires.
"Maybe," Yang admits, but then gives a sly smile. "But mama wants some sunrise action and Crow's Nest doesn't check for IDs."
"Underage drinking, potentially getting caught? Fuck it, I'm done, where do I sign up?" The green haired girl inquires as she smiled.
"You sign up on the lineup if we're caught, Midori." Yang states while bringing her arm around her, "where's Flare?"
"Oh, she's actually sick," Sasha told Yang and rubbed the back of her head. "Figured she'd tell you, oh, well right?"
"Yeah, well, I'm thinking about sneaking Ruby out with us." Yang told the girls, "get her a taste of social life."
"Oh God, Yang, no offense…Ruby isn't exactly the girl we need to bring with us. She'll crack like an egg meeting a rock." Iris replied.
"Yeah," Midori shrugs and sighs, "kind of got to agree with Iris on this one Yang."
"Aww, well all I wanted to do was Yang out with my sister." Yang told her friends, "besides after tonight we need to get ready for Beacon."
"Ooh yes," Iris laughs as she rubbed the back of her head. "I wonder how many hot guys there'll be."
"Probably for miles," Sasha shrugs, "my big sis says that our definition of hot is a time and dozen there."
'Even their limp noodle is a hunk here," Iris blushes as she imagined what the boys would look like.
"Well c'mon girls, let's go get cat called by so creepy old men." Sasha smacks Midori's and Yang's bottom while walking past them.
Naruto sighed, looking at his home, his apartment. He was walking with the landlady, he had decided to go ahead and vacate since he wouldn't be able to realistically afford the rent and keep up with everything.
"Well, everything seems to be fine, your security deposit will be cut in half for cleaning…because well, you did stain the carpet." The woman stated as she wrote on her paperwork, "fair winds Mr. Namikaze."
Naruto took the paper, he looked at her, "I hired a moving company that's going to be taken my art supplies, the picture of mother and her vase to Beacon, they have storage units there for students like me."
"Not cheap?" She inquired.
"Not cheap, cost me an extra five hundred a month, so, about six thousand a year to just store my stuff." Naruto pinched his nose, looking at it, "this place served me well for a year."
The blonde stretched, "well, better get going to the airport."
"You know students aren't supposed to be there for another three days, right?" the landlady questioned him.
"Meh," Naruto waved as blew off the notions of traveling with fellow peers, "none bothered talking to me, so I won't put myself to where I may be in the way."
Loading into the airship, Naruto watches as much of his stuff was marked fragile. He had to spend some extra money to hire a team of movers, that somehow got approved by Beacon security. He wasn't going to be able to just go back and forth from inner city Vale and Beacon academy constantly.
Walking over toward his seat Naruto yawns and flops down. He looked at his scroll, watching a Minichad video. A no sleep Read It compilation talking about horror stories. He sat there, listening to gamer go on and on about Creepy Pastas and such.
He looked out of the window, seeing the aircraft begin to lift up.
Qrow was drinking a beer in the empty classroom, looking at the empty chairs. It was his last year teaching for a little bit, he was going to be working directly under Beacon for the next couple of years to earn some more money. He looked at Taiyang's desk, which his feet currently occupied.
Frowning as he swallowed the contents of his drink, 'everyday you came in and you slept right there."
'You blonde idiot,' Qrow swigged something from his flask, 'I wish you'd shown up…I'm here for you kiddo.'
He then smiled though, looking at the desk that Naruto had occupied, 'then again…kid, you mimicked me as a teen to T.'
Qrow heard a knock, looking over at the door, "yo."
"C'mon Qrow," Taiyang says as he entered the class, "I just cleaned that."
"Some boot stains never killed anything," Qrow replied. "So, you know Yang is probably going to get into trouble with her friends."
Taiyang rolled his eyes, "I'm well aware."
Qrow nodded and sighed, "yeah, well…fuck man, want one?"
Taiyang nodded getting tossed a beer by Qrow, the man took a seat at one of the open chairs. Looking at Qrow, who seemed to be focusing at the back of the class. Taiyang popped the lid, taking a swig out of it.
"Doesn't it bother you?" Qrow questions as he looked over at Taiyang.
The blonde sighed, "yeah, but its his choice."
"I wonder why he doesn't just let any of us in, I don't get it man." Qrow drinks out of his bottle, "and yet here we are two old men watching family walk the next step in life."
"We can only do so much for people Qrow," Taiyang replied as he placed his beer down on a desk next to him. "And, we did what we could."
"That brat reminds me a lot of myself when I was younger, constantly searching for somewhere to belong. Fucking hell," Qrow curses as he burps. "Those chimichangas are not setting right."
"You should text him," Taiyang offered. "At least find out the why to our question."
'I wish it were that easy,' Qrow muses before sighing, "I'll give it a shot."
The blonde took a deep breath as he stepped off the aircraft, watching as movers took some stuff toward the storage lockers. He rubbed the back of his head, looking at his scroll, he had one missed message and opened it.
"Hey Kiddo, it's me The Q man, didn't see you at the walk. I kind of figured you'd skip it, seeing that no one was out here for you and all, but let me know if you're ever free in Vale…we'll get a drink. Now, you just worry about yourself in there, k?"
Naruto looked at the message, he felt his heart grow heavy, he sighed as he started to text back. "Hey, Q man, its kiddo. Sorry I skipped out, just don't like being in places like that, too much BS for my brain. Thank you for the wishes, and I'll gladly take you up on that drink when I get a chance."
The blonde Fox Faunus then took a deep breath, sighing, 'I feel like an asshole…"
He put his scroll away, taking a deep breath as he walked around the courtyard, he made sure to catch up with some of the movers he had hired. He handed them a few extra lien, giving them a tip for their services and all.
Sitting on the edge of the fountain, Naruto just looked at himself in the water, his last name Namikaze wasn't from his father's surname. He didn't know his father's surname, his mom never mentioned it. She made sure to keep tight-lipped about a lot of things pertaining to his father.
In fact, the old sepia photograph was the only photo he was allowed to see, the rest were put in a vault somewhere in Vacuo. Until he graduated Beacon or became a Huntsman early. The seventeen-year-old just looked at the waters as they moved from the wind.
"Hey," Naruto turned to see a man wearing a mask, sitting on the opposite end of the statue's pond.
The mask the man wore was blue, covering the entire bottom of his face up to his eyes, his eyes were chocolate brown, his hair was spikey white as he looked at the blonde sitting just across from him. Getting a better angle, the man hummed slightly as he noticed Naruto.
Naruto spoke up, nervously, "h-hey…didn't see you there."
"Ah," the man in the mask waved, "it's a trick of mine. Anyway, are you skipping class?"
"Wh-what, no, I was just arriving early is all," Naruto told the man, telling the truth.
The man nodded, humming slightly, "well…alright then. My name is Kakashi Hatake by the way, I'm head of security for Beacon."
The two stared at each other for a moment, with Kakashi getting up and walking over to sit next to the blonde, "so are you some sort of blue blood?"
"No," Naruto rolled his eyes and pointed at his ears, "Faunus never will be blue bloods in today's world."
The man chuckled, "not with that attitude young man, you need to grasp destiny."
"Well, I had to vacate my apartment to attend here, according to the rules packet I got last week. So, yeah, kind of bummed now that I am officially homeless again." Naruto looked down at the ground, watching as leaves danced across the courtyard.
Kakashi hummed, "again? That is sad kid, really sad, no parents?"
"My mom died when I was young," Naruto gripped his hands and balled them into fists, "my father walked out when I was younger."
"Hmm," Kakashi seemed to take notice of Naruto, "a lot of hatred in you."
"Huh?" Naruto looked at him.
Kakashi took a deep breath, "hatred is like a drug, if you let it consume you, you'll never recover from it."
Scoffing, the blonde just took a deep breath, "what do you know?"
"My parents died the day I was born, I was treated like a cursed child because I supposedly brought bad luck." Kakashi patted Naruto's shoulder, "but as for being homeless…nah…Beacon's your home now man."
"Enjoy it," Kakashi said as he got up, "and I'll be around if you want to talk…"
"Namikaze," Naruto tells him while holding out his hand, "Naruto."
"Naruto Namikaze, a name fitting for someone who probably wondered like the winds in a port harbor. Orange port wind," Kakashi rubbed his chin as he looked into the boy's blue eyes, "well…congratulations on making this far."
Kakashi stopped and turned back to Naruto, "if you want to talk, I usually work the night shift as the head security officer."
"What a weird man," Naruto noted about Kakashi, watching the man walk away.
"However," Naruto took note of the Huntsmen Weapon on Kakashi's back, a tanto, "he's a Huntsman."
Standing up, Naruto hummed as he looked at his scroll, it was October eighteenth. Eight days after his seventeenth birthday, a birthday he never really celebrated.
Hell, the only person he ever celebrated it with was probably halfway around the world doing Gods know what!
Finishing out that year in Atlas before being able to come to Vale for his senior year was almost unbearable, and never felt more alone, so he had just shut off the world completely save for a few people here and there.
Like looking glasses into a box, but the box was dark that even with the looking glass, no one could truly see what it was inside.
His stomach grumbled, he walked toward the doors of Beacon, only to suddenly wind blow past him. A warmth wrapping itself around him, he reached up, clutching his shoulder. He felt like there was a hand there, someone hugging him from behind.
"Smile…"
It was a woman's voice, Naruto recognized it, he dares not to turn around.
"C'mon…smile, you did it, look at you…"
Naruto felt tears fall from his ears, he slowly walked as he smiled, taking in a deep breath as he smelt the clear air around him. It wasn't like the city air, it was pure, and more relaxing. Slowly, still clutching the area he felt warm at, Naruto then took a deep breath and then chuckled slightly.
"Smile…"
Naruto found himself smiling as he neared the doors, slowly he opened them up, "I love you, mom…thank you…"
He entered the academy, unaware of the silver-haired man who had been watching from afar. He watches as a small wisp of red flowed away from Naruto, the figure in the wisp was a redheaded woman, bright blue eyes.
The man smiled, sipping his mug, "welcome home young Huntsman…Namikaze Naruto…the name alone sounds familiar."
"Perhaps with time," the man walked toward the building, "you'll find a way to beat those demons gnawing at you as well."
In an office, snow covering the window that was caked in a layer of ice, a woman with white hair and wearing military uniform was organizing paperwork she wrote out for students. She looked down at a letter, addressed to her from Ozpin himself.
She got her letter opener, cutting open the official stamp and pulling the letter out.
"Winter.
This letter is to inform that your student, one Naruto Namikaze, that transferred to Signal Academy has made it. I know we're not on speaking terms, and you're probably wondering why the hell I forged Oz's signature. But, how else would I get your attention?
You should feel proud, he told me that if he graduated, he wanted a letter sent to you. I guess you could say he sort of gave me the idea to forge Oz's signature. You're a busy woman, but I think you've truly given a gift very few could give.
A gift of inspiration and kindness, compassion.
I won't bore you with the details, he's brilliant young man. Knowing my luck, you probably won't receive this letter, but I thought I give it a try. I can see that he's troubled, perhaps hearing from you could give him some faith to keep moving forward?
I don't know.
I guess the cards didn't play in the favor of me being a brat whisperer, which is saying a lot given who my nieces are…well one of them anyway.
Oh well.
Take care of yourself Winter, after all, you got your own brat in a sister to worry about. Heard she's going to Beacon as well, maybe she'll make a good fit, hopefully.
-Qrow Brawen.
P.S. I'm still better than you!"
Winter groans at the ending of the letter, 'of course, wouldn't be letter from Qrow unless it had something childish in it.'
'Heh,' she giggles a little bit before folding the letter and putting it under desk.
She hums as she walks over, getting a stored bottle of cava out of a vault she kept hidden behind a picture. She gets out a wine glass from a file cabinet, years of teaching made her copy Qrow just little bit.
Filling up the glass halfway, keeping classy about it all, Winter leans against the wall holds the glass up.
"To the desires of man, forever are their hearts easy to sway, make headway young one." She toasts before sipping on it the cava and smiling.
"You're in the big leagues now…"