AN: This late update is brought to you by an unexpected and panicky moving situation, no internet, Persona 5, Horizon Zero Dawn, Monster Hunter: World, my job, and good ol' procrastination.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or RWBY.
Chapter 6: A Good First Impression
"So, how well do you think Mr. Uzumaki will fare, Qrow?"
"He should be fine. Trust me, there isn't anything on that island that he can't handle. All things considered, like the normal tests taken at the combat schools, this should practically be routine."
A small sip sounded throughout the quiet office. "And on the off chance that something goes awry?"
The click of a tongue was heard through the scroll's speaker. "Oz, if he manages to screw this all up then you owe me compensation for the time I invested."
Ozpin chuckled as he lowered his mug to rest on his desk. Turning his cog-themed chair that matched the rest of his office to the side, the headmaster of Beacon said, "If it comes to that, then what sort of restitution did you have in mind?"
"I'll figure something out. You can count on plenty of vacation time being thrown into the mix, though."
"And Taiyang? He volunteered much of his own time as well to help with young Naruto."
"Get him a new toaster or something then. I can guarantee he'd actually be excited about it."
"I'll be sure to take that into consideration." The gray-haired man stood from his seat and walked over to the large clock-esque window that gave him a miraculous view of Beacon's grounds and beyond. "What do you suppose your nieces shall receive for their efforts, hm? Surely they too had a considerable impact on the young man's development."
"Just keep an extra eye on them while they're at the academy for me and Tai like we know you will regardless. I doubt they'd want anything in return for helping their friend out anyway. What's with these hypotheticals? You really betting on the kid screwing up?"
"Nothing of the sort, I'm simply making conversation. When waiting for the semester to start and having gotten most of the important planning out of the way, one tends to have an extra helping of time every now and then."
"And since when has time ever been a problem?"
The corner of Ozpin's lips uplifted from the response. "I suppose you have a point there."
With scroll still held to his ear, the headmaster continued to stare out his window, specifically in the direction of a certain island.
"Oz?" Qrow eventually said when the silence grew too long.
Ozpin blinked away his minor trance. "Ah, pardon me. I was momentarily lost in thought."
"About?"
The gray-haired huntsman hummed lightly to himself. "They should be landing soon, correct?"
Qrow paused before answering. "Uh, yeah. The ships took off about an hour ago. Should be touching down any minute now."
"Do you think he'll take well to the kingdoms' representatives? To my knowledge, he hasn't had much, if any, contact with those outside Vale."
"Don't know. That'll be up to him, but I can't imagine meeting anyone new will be a big deal at all." Ozpin guessed that Qrow must've remembered something from the suddenly amused grunt he let out. "I just really hope he somehow manages to get under her skin. It's always satisfying knowing she isn't as unflappable as she thinks."
Knowing exactly who the man was referring to, Ozpin smiled and said, "Well, then we shall see if he joins the prestigious list of those who are able to do so, alongside yourself and her father."
"He shouldn't even consider himself a true student of mine if he isn't able to."
"We'll simply have to find out once everything is done for the most part. Perhaps luck will strike and something interesting will be included in the assessments."
"Don't get your hopes up. While these tests are more along the lines of 'show us what you got or go home', not much ever happens."
"Indeed." Ozpin ever so slightly narrowed his eyes as he once again dove into his thoughts. "Well, regardless of the fact that the headmasters are given immediate video and written testimonies once everything is complete, I'd ask that-"
"'That should anything noteworthy occur with Naruto, let me know'. I know, Oz." Qrow groaned. "I'm sure I'll be nothing but ecstatic once he gets into Beacon so I don't have to hear that anymore."
"Yes, yes, and you'll be mostly free once more when your hands are wiped clean of one less burden."
Ozpin heard the other man sigh. "I didn't mean it like that."
Looking satisfied, Ozpin said, "I know. I only wanted to see if there's still some light in that dusty old heart of yours."
"Bite me." And with that, Ozpin heard the click from Qrow ending the call.
Pocketing his scroll after the amusing talk, Ozpin brought his gaze back forward. Looking through the window he used one half of his focus to look at the horizon with the other half staring at his own reflection. Like so many times before he found his mind practically thinking of nothing and everything at once as he simply let the silence tick on by. So preoccupied was he that he didn't quite notice someone else enter the room.
"Professor Ozpin?"
The headmaster turned his head a tad and saw his blonde colleague's reflection staring at his back. Turning to face her, he held his arms behind his back as he said, "Ms. Goodwitch."
The huntress gestured to the folders she had in her arms. "The files of the examinees you requested?"
"Ah, yes, of course."
"Is everything okay?" Glynda asked as Ozpin slowly made his way back into his chair, his mind still not completely there.
The man schooled his features and graced her with his usual professional smile. "Yes, all is well. No need to fret over anything at the moment."
The woman stepped back and watched as the headmaster dove right into the profiles of his potential students. Seeing that he was going to be preoccupied for some time, she turned to leave the office. "If you say so."
"Sooo you like to read?"
"Mhmm."
"Is the book you have right now any good?"
"It's okay."
"Um… do you read comics too?"
"I've dabbled."
"Have a favorite series?"
"Not particularly."
"Oh." Naruto patted his thighs a couple of times as he let out a prolonged breath. The entire trip so far had either been silence as he stared out the window or just a bunch of what may be counted as small talk. The black-haired girl with the bow hadn't really given him much to work with and always gave short answers with the barest of emotion. He was also pretty positive that she hadn't so much as moved her amber eyes away from her literature since their short introduction.
A subtle glance back at her confirmed that her eyes were still locked firmly onto the pages. With nothing else going on he took that moment to quickly take in bits of her attire such as the dark scarf around her neck and ribbons on her forearms, along with the similarly colored buttoned vest, low-heeled boots and stockings with a touch of faded purple. The only other bits that weren't dark in nature were the white sleeveless halter undershirt and shorts, the silver cuff around a detached black sleeve on her left arm, and the white flame on the outside of her stockings that looked to be her emblem.
All in all, the dark ensemble went hand in hand with the demeanor she had shown so far, though that didn't mean she was negative per se; indifferent would be a better term.
Leaning back in his seat, he decided to try and strike a conversation with the person on the other side of him. Turning his head to the male with a light green mohawk and shaved head, he said, "So, what's-"
"Don't talk to me," was the young man's stern response, not even bothering to take his eyes away from his scroll's screen in front of him.
Trying not to let the twitch in his eye show, the blond faced forward and simply let out a breath through his nose, deeming anymore effort for the time being not worth it.
Naruto had nearly missed it, but with not much noise interfering for a split-second, he was barely able to pick up on the green-haired boy's whisper of, "Damned faunus."
Oh please let there be a combat portion between us… Naruto thought with annoyance, now not bothering to hide it from his face. It seemed that even within the up and coming generation of huntsmen, instances of intolerance were still present, though that wasn't hard to believe considering the recent activities of the White Fang. Even if his words were technically wrong in regards to him for obvious reasons, that didn't dispel the contempt behind them.
Unbeknownst to Naruto, Blake's grip on her book tightened, her eyes narrowed, and there was an almost unnoticeable twitch from her bow. For the first time since their little introduction, she spared a glance back to the young man and eyed him more closely, figuring he heard the same thing.
She saw it was obvious he didn't take too kindly to the mohawked male's lone interaction with him, but it looked like he decided to simply ignore and move on, one of the many common reactions to this sort of thing she'd witnessed firsthand. She hadn't really paid the blond any mind beyond seeing the seat available next to him and their small back and forth, though it wasn't personal; she just preferred sticking to herself. Now that she was observing what apparently classified him as a faunus, she found her mind following an interesting path.
The three dark markings on each of his cheeks weren't exactly something she'd seen before. Normally when a faunus has whiskers, they're actual whiskers. They only looked like some tattoos or perfectly parallel scars for the most part. Now the bit of anger she earlier felt for his sake was replaced with curiosity. Was he some sort of weirdo trying to pass as a faunus? Did he simply think the markings were cool or some sort of fashion statement? Maybe he was a faunus and she hadn't seen his specific characteristics before, or they could potentially be birthmarks? Even with the possibilities piling up, it was apparent that the unnamed testee sitting on Naruto's other side didn't need any more evidence than a quick peek at his face.
Her thoughts were broken when she saw that his blue eyes lit up like he remembered something before he reached into a side pocket in his duffel bag and stuck his hand inside. Feeling around for its supposed contents, she witnessed his contemplative look switch to one of confusion. Pulling his hand back out revealed a hardcover book that looked about the size of a novel. Naruto stared at the item for a bit and then flipped it over to the front cover where a note was taped.
"I told Ayame to replace your comics and sneak in a few actual books. Hope you can build a taste for real literature while you're not busy... Tukson. That bastard…" she heard him mutter as he read the message.
Her eyes widening, Blake quietly gasped and whispered, "Tukson…?"
"Huh?" Naruto sounded as he turned to her. "You say something?"
"Uh…" She looked back at the book.
Noticing where her gaze was at, he said, "Oh, this isn't mine. I have a friend in Vale that owns a bookstore. I usually get my comics from him but I guess he wanted to mess with me before I took off. Man, I was really looking forward to catching up on the arc I was on…" He sighed and leaned back into his seat, though he blinked once he realized he was at least having a better conversation with Blake than before and tried to build on that. Not like he was going to kill time on the piece of literature currently in his grasp, at least not yet.
Sitting up straight, he turned to her. "If you pass and decide to go to Beacon, you should visit the place. He has all kinds of books you'd probably like."
"...What's it called?" she replied after a quiet pause, trying to keep her emotions cooled all the while.
Naruto smiled. "Tukson's Book Trade." The whiskered teen's face grew annoyed as he brought the book to his face again. "Though don't get too close to him or he and his sideburns will mess with you and take away what you love…" His comics better be okay when he got back, he swore to the gods…
With Naruto's gaze and ire not towards her, he missed the look of surprise that welled up on Blake's face.
Sideburns? So that's where he went… she thought.
Looking back at Blake, the blond lazily waved the book in the air. "You know this one?"
She wordlessly nodded after glancing at the title.
Naruto curiously looked at her. "What's it about?"
After a moment of hesitation, she bookmarked her page and placed her reading material onto her lap and silently sighed. She supposed it wouldn't hurt to at least talk about something she actually cared about. "It's about a man with two souls, each fighting for control over his body." She remembered the tale of Jekyll and Hyde clearly. It happened to be one of the books that Tukson tossed her way when she started to dive into the world of literature.
Now that she thought about it, perhaps she should read it again at some point in the future?
The blond made an intrigued grunt. "And I'm taking a wild guess that one is evil or something?"
Blake nodded.
Naruto looked at the cover with a bit more focus. "I'd imagine that being a pain, having something inside you trying to make you something you aren't. If something bad was crawling around my soul, I'd be pretty pissed."
"Well, that isn't exactly what happens in the story," she replied, a little more emotion finding its way into her voice.
"Then what's going on with mister two souls?"
A glint appeared in Blake's amber eyes. "You'll have to read and find out."
Naruto blankly looked at her. "Should've expected that."
A ghost of a smile appeared on the young woman's lips as she went back to reading her own book. Naruto thought she cut the conversation there until she emotionlessly said, "Your little comic will still be there when the tests are over. Might as well spend some extra time on an actual novel in the meantime."
A look of exaggerated shock broke out on the Uzumaki's whiskered face. "'Little' comic? You are severely underestimating the quality of this series."
A skeptical raise of a delicate eyebrow was the only answer he got.
Undeterred, Naruto decided to prove his point. With a smile, he began, "So it all starts with this timid little kid who wants to be a hero…"
Their conversation continued on from that point for a while, though it was mostly Naruto talking with the dark-haired girl politely listening as she read. Even with the blond's excitement over the topic making his words jumbled at times, especially while trying to avoid spoilers, Blake was able to get a grasp of what he was getting at regarding the apparent comic series. She had to admit she was intrigued by the end of Naruto's explanation, but the young woman wasn't making the story a priority to look into. Maybe she'd get around to it someday, but she already had a steady backlog to catch up on as it was.
As Naruto went off on another tangent Blake gave a quiet sigh. While this conversation was rather appealing to a bibliophile like herself, Naruto's seemingly limitless energy was, ironically enough, becoming rather exhausting. She knew he meant well and was just trying to be friendly, but right now all the raven-haired introvert wanted to do was get as comfortable as possible and focus on the book in front of her. She was just getting to the good part too!
It was then that the heavens seemingly noticed her plight and the surrounding speakers rang out for the second and possibly last time since they first left Vale.
"Okay, passengers, we will be touching down in a few short moments. Everyone, please retrieve your belongings and exit in an orderly fashion once instructed to do so by the flight staff. Hope you all enjoyed the trip and good luck."
The vessel was then filled with the sounds of everyone packing their things while talking amongst themselves in excitement. After grabbing his bag and weapon, Naruto was going to say something else to Blake but that train of thought was halted when he felt the ship begin its landing process, nearly making him lose his footing.
Like clockwork everyone started crowding around the exits, eagerly waiting for the doors to open and let them out. In the commotion and small amounts of pushing that came with it, Naruto was separated from the dark-haired girl. He was a little disappointed at that realization, but he quickly figured that they'd bump into each other again at some point.
It didn't take much longer after that for an attendant to let the potential students file out and ever so slowly Naruto made his way back into fresh air once again.
The teen shielded his eyes from the sun for a moment as he kept pace with the crowd. His vision clearing, he saw that their group was the last to disembark. The other two from Vale was a little further ahead and looked to have merged when they reached a checkpoint of sorts not far from the open landing area with the ocean at their backs. He also noticed several other different ships near them and even a couple of docked boats disembarking, probably holding people that came from the other continents. Without any other choice, he and the other potential academy students joined up with the others.
Now all together as one group, the constant muttering to one another started growing in volume and those not at the front really had no idea what else to do.
That is until a stern voice overpowered everyone else's.
"Enough!"
And just like that, all was silent for several seconds until the owner of the voice continued.
"I understand you aren't all well versed in the expected etiquette befitting an elite huntsman or huntress recruit, but that doesn't mean you couldn't have taken this chance to make a good first impression." Due to the silence, practically everyone was able to hear firm click-like footsteps as they seemed to pace back and forth on the pavement. "So far I'm not impressed, but that's usually a given at this stage in your possible careers. Undisciplined. Disorderly. All around greenhorns. That's all you'll ever be if you don't take the time during these entrance exams to make myself and the other representatives think otherwise."
The footsteps stopped yet the silence and tense atmosphere remained. Having taken advantage of everyone's focus, Naruto managed to squirm his way towards the front and got a good look at the speaker as she talked again.
"If any of you even have a smidge of doubt in your own abilities, then I highly implore that you get back on your ship and go back home. I'd rather not have my time wasted on fodder that don't have the drive to succeed at such an entry-level point like this." Her narrowed ice-like eyes caught the blond's attention first as they firmly spanned over any unfortunate soul they could. They looked as cold as her rigid military demeanor, perfectly melding with her white bunned hair and mostly white clothes that looked more like a uniform. Even with personal touches like the red broach holding up her open jacket, exposed arms showing from the large opening in her sleeves, and garters fashioned into her white pants, she had a total professionalism about her that radiated superiority. If Naruto had to wager, he'd bet that the vibe she was exuding was well-earned, especially with the rapier resting at her side.
With her words still lingering in the minds of those gathered there, Naruto saw that no one reacted with much else besides looking at those around them, some more nervous than others. Even so, no one made to leave, each person having their own reasons for staying.
A short laugh was bellowed out by a man who then approached the white-haired woman's side. "Now, now, no need to be so serious, Ms. Schnee. We should be welcoming all of these children with open arms! Any one of them could become a fine defender of our kingdoms, so it might be better to tone down the boot camp mood you're setting."
Whoever this Schnee woman was turned her sharp gaze to the man as he stopped next to her with one arm locked behind his back and the other holding a proud fist at level with his chest.
"And you felt it necessary to interrupt when I was the one given the task of greeting the examinees, why? I know all academies aren't the same but is this how all the teachers conduct themselves at Beacon, Port?"
Port, a man who seemed to be budding into his elder years and wielding a hell of a gray mustache that covered his mouth completely, placed his hand on his moving belly as he laughed again. "While I can't speak for my colleagues, I'm still of the mind that they would prefer a less hostile approach." He brought his hand up back into the fist it was prior. "Besides, you weren't the sole person to bear the responsibility of meeting these kids. We only suggested you be the first up before I or another stepped in with our own twist, and what better way to get their young hearts and minds focused on the task at hand than easing them in with a warm introduction and perhaps an inspirational tale or two?!"
The woman eased back a little and doubtfully looked at the heavyset man in the burgundy suit. "Inspirational?" she said dully.
The elder man's face became a bit smug as he said, "Of course. We've all heard many a tale about the heroic deeds of the past to present day, and it is those very tales that brought drive to countless people destined to become huntsmen! No doubt some of the children here today are among those that have been touched by the very same thing!"
Port walked forward to the edge of the crowd and started addressing some of them individually. "How about you, young man? Ever hear about the brave and handsome hero who wrestled a beowolf and brought it back to his village in captivity with his bare hands?" The random teenager shook his head in the negative. "Ah, well how about you, future huntress? Has anyone ever regaled you with the tale of the man that brought down an entire hive of lancers using the queen's very own stinger?" Another no was his answer. "I see…" he said with a hint of disappointment.
Not willing to stop his attempts, he tried his hand on the next person. "Of course someone has had to at least heard about- AH!" he yelled in a high-pitched cry, surprising everyone around. The one most surprised was the curious faunus girl he just tried to address. She had no idea what to do besides stare up at his frightened pose from her short stature, one of her mouse-like ears twitching as a few squeaky breaths of fear escaped Port's lips.
All was quiet once again until a couple of poorly contained snorts turned into full-blown laughter. The source happened to be Naruto as he held his stomach while bent over, letting out his audible joy without resistance. The sound of the blond was infectious as others joined in as well, not really focusing on what caused the reaction in the first place. Port gazed upon the amused crowd as the volume rose and straightened his posture before sighing.
Another group of students not showing him the respect he rightly deserved. What else was new?
Giving the crowd another once over he let out a few chuckles himself. Switching back to the proud pose he held before, he figured he'd just have to capture the minds of those fortunate enough to join his class at Beacon. Yes, they'd end up being the most prepared for the world ahead of them if he had anything to say about it!
A hand placed itself onto the huntsman's shoulder. Port turned to see a smile surrounded by a tannish-gray beard that connected to the thick mane upon the owner's head. "I suppose we all make our own unique impacts, Peter."
Port grunted in amusement. "Indeed we do, Leonardo. I guess it's your turn if you so wish?"
Watching everyone calm down, the bearded man named Leonardo stepped up. "If that's okay. We all have to make a case for our own schools, after all." Clearing his throat and almost timidly looking back at the children that now had his attention, he said, "With some of the theatrics out of the way, let me officially welcome you to this island. As I'm sure you're already aware, this is where you'll conduct a few examinations and possibly be given an invitation to one of the four great huntsmen academies, though that wholly depends on you. Unlike those put through combat schools to reach the same goal, the tests here are more open and shut in a much shorter time frame due to not overseeing your personal progress during the course of years. Obviously the skill level will vary on a grander scale, so if anyone is deemed unfit, particularly during the physical and potentially dangerous stages, they will be quickly removed and sent back for their own safety."
He paused to relax before gesturing to himself. "My name is Leonardo Lionheart, the headmaster and representative of Haven Academy." He smiled at some of the surprised looks he got. "Even if it's unusual given that I'm the only headmaster attending, I'm not exempt from handling the proceedings personally. Besides, seeing those that might one day become my students sounds much better than being cramped in an office. Thankfully, I managed to clear my schedule for the occasion." He stepped aside as he brought attention to the other two that had spoken before him. "Being given the honor of also representing their academies are Professor Peter Port from Beacon and Specialist Winter Schnee from Atlas. We will be the main judges of your talents throughout your exams, save for a few extra eyes to help move things along smoothly."
"What about Shade?!" exclaimed somebody from the middle of the crowd.
The headmaster's face became apologetic. "Unfortunately, due to some unforeseen events and the fact that they are rather understaffed at the moment, Shade Academy wasn't able to spare the person they had in mind. In their place are a few staff members from various Vacuo based combat schools that will oversee the testing along with us. They are currently preparing the testing areas and double checking to make sure everything is ready to go for you all."
"Now then!" Winter suddenly cut in as she stood in line with the other two. "Today will be for settling in and preparation while tomorrow will have the written exam and spars between yourselves. The next and final day's test will be kept hidden for now so don't bother asking. Behind us are a few tables to get checked in. We as representatives, along with some assistants, will see if you're officially supposed to be here, give you the necessary information regarding your lodgings, and what rules you'll be expected to follow during your stay."
"Once you're all caught up I suggest you take some of your free time to fully take in where you're standing!" Port exclaimed. "Those that appreciate at least some history will understand that this is a significant place, one where the ending of the Great War came about and peace was finally achieved through extensive negotiation. The idea of establishing academies for huntsmen in the first place was made during such negotiations so you might as well explore the roots of your desired profession. That's essentially why we hold these tests here, to try and hammer home the sacrifices made to make sure you and society as a whole are here today. Also, a little extra motivation doesn't hurt, does it? Now, off to your lines so we can get this thing started!"
The three reps then turned and made their way to their assigned spots for the check-in, exchanging some small talk all the while.
"Once again, I do believe you have a knack for giving speeches, Port," Lionheart commented.
"Ha!" Port retorted joyfully. "It's not as if I'm the only one. You two certainly left a mark of your own."
"I suppose," Lionheart stated as he dabbed some sweat off his brow from a handkerchief pulled from his brown coat. "I've never been one for public speaking, but it does come with the job."
"Whether or not we ingrained some sort of mark into their psyches remains to be seen," the white-haired woman stated, her heels clicking at a steady pace. "Regardless, every little action they all take must be examined with a critical eye. Accepting anyone but the best is not an option."
Port grunted. "It might do you some good to ease off some. They're kids. They all have plenty of growing up to do so we can't expect them to be perfect."
Winter's eyes glanced in Port's direction. "I'm not looking for perfection. I'm looking for competence. Standards must be adhered to, wouldn't you agree?"
"I don't think he meant standards shouldn't be followed, Winter," the headmaster said. "I'm sure that he wants you to not be too focused so that you can focus, at least properly. If you're so intent on finding the negatives you'll end up missing the positives." The bearded man faced forward as they were almost at the various tables to get the students set up. "I'm sure you wouldn't have been negligent nor too strict regardless of our words, but this is your first time being sent to oversee these tests. No harm in trying to be on the same wavelength with each other."
"I'll keep that in mind," Winter replied as they separated to take their own stations.
Once it was noticed the reps were heading to their seats with the rest of the staff, the students started lining up wherever they could to get done as fast as possible. This led to some people getting jumbled in some parts, once again squeezing around Naruto before he could react and obscuring his vision from the front. He didn't mind all that much given his own desire to get past, but it was still annoying to have people constantly bumping into him.
Since he was at the front when they dispersed, it didn't take long for his turn at one of the tables to come, and as luck would have it he discovered he managed to end up in that military woman's line.
Once he stepped in front of her she, like with the previous candidates, said, "Name please, or if you have a scroll with the downloaded forms the process will be much quicker."
Wordlessly, Naruto nodded and gave her his scroll. With a practiced hand she took the device and inserted it into some little console plugged into the computer she had set up. A few clicks and beeping sounds later brought up his information onto the holographic screen for her to look at. The blond patiently watched as her eyes darted left to right and even took a few glances at him, probably confirming his physical appearance from the profile picture and description. He figured it wouldn't take much else from there but he got confused once he saw her eyes suddenly narrow and stare at whatever was on her screen for longer than he was comfortable with.
He felt a little intimidated when she shot her icy eyes at him and then back again to the screen.
"Uh, is something wrong or…?" Naruto asked.
She looked back at him with a neutral face, though that look in her eyes didn't stray away. "Under the voluntary section for apprenticeships or other professional instruction, it has you sponsored by Qrow Branwen. Is that true?"
Naruto looked back at her quizzically and arched a brow from the small amount of distaste he picked up from her saying Qrow's name. "What, you know him?"
"Please answer the question," she retorted professionally for the most part.
Naruto crossed his arms and kept the confused look on his face. "Uh, yeah? Black hair, big sword, heavy fondness for alcohol; pretty sure that's him."
"I see," she muttered and stared at the information again.
Naruto could practically feel the impatient eyes staring at his back and felt like he had to speed things along. "I'm still able to participate, right? What does he have to do with anything?"
"How long have you been under his tutelage?" she asked, ignoring his own questions.
"Does it matter?" Her silent stare made him roll his eyes, something he would have noticed she didn't quite appreciate if he kept his eyes locked onto hers for a split-second longer. "Only a few months," he answered, making her raise a regal brow.
"That's not very long all things considered."
Naruto shrugged.
"How did his training with you start?"
Well, couldn't give her a completely honest answer there. "He recruited me."
"Was this under any special circumstance?"
And the slight facade went on. "Besides introducing his inebriated self and vanishing into the night to contact me the next day, not really."
"Sounds like him," she quietly said to herself before continuing. "Learn anything particular under him besides the basics?"
Okay, he was starting to lose his own patience. Letting some annoyance bleed into his voice, he said, "Yeah, he taught me how to violently poke monsters extra hard until they go bye-bye."
Turning her attention to remove his scroll and clicking a few things on screen, she offhandedly replied with, "I see he taught you some of his manners."
The blond now looked flabbergasted. "Wait, my manne- what about yours?! I'm only trying to get through, lady! What's with the extra interrogation, dattebayo?!"
Winter pushed his scroll forward to give back to him, not reacting in the slightest to the blond's outburst. "That's Specialist Schn- dattebayo? Never mind. Anyway, your information checks out so simply follow the new instructions downloaded onto your scroll to find where you'll be staying. I also strongly advise you look over the rules listed to make sure your stay goes smoothly."
Naruto pocketed his scroll but still kept his eyes on the older woman as she patiently waited for the next person in line with her fingers interlocked on the table. Calmer, he asked, "Seriously, what was with the questioning?"
"Simple curiosity. I apologize if I seemed hostile or too nosey in any way. I meant nothing by it."
Ever the forgiving one, Naruto nodded and accepted her apology. The teen then recrossed his arms. "The hell happened between you and Qrow?"
He almost missed the minor agitation that appeared again in her eyes. "Nothing of note to bring up."
"I mean, I can see it."
"See what exactly?" she inquired.
"Him pissing other people off. He definitely has a knack at getting to you." That she could wholeheartedly agree with. "Don't know what's with the two of you, but he doesn't get much worse than being snarky- well, besides the physical punishments if you're in my shoes. Like, you'd be surprised how much damage your aura can take after smashing through multiple trees. Doesn't exactly feel good, but getting on his nerves too numbs it a little."
"Is that supposed to be defending him?" she asked honestly.
Naruto had to actually hum to himself as he thought about it. "I guess. Yeah, he's a prick when he wants to be, but I know he gives a damn deep down, especially about his family."
"Understandable, but that mouth of his has done its fair share under the wrong circumstances. Given his position, he certainly doesn't act like a huntsman of his caliber should, so it's not out of the ordinary for me to want to see if his student inherited the same tendencies."
The blond waved her off. "Fair enough. I mean, this one time he did tell me about how he and this- oooh now it makes sense!" he exclaimed with a finger pointed at her.
"Excuse me?" she surprisingly questioned.
"You're-!"
"Oh will you please just go already?! The other lines are close to being half done and we've barely moved an inch!" an angry voice yelled behind Naruto.
Turning around, the blond instantly recognized the mohawked guy that sat next to him on the ship.
"Oh hey," Naruto said very unenthusiastically. Seeing the boy's sneer persist made Naruto roll his eyes again before he tightened his hold on his stuff and began walking towards a large open gate where students were filing through. "Well, later then," he continued as he walked by Winter.
The Atlesian soldier nodded his way at the farewell. She was about to ask the frustrated young man next in line the same basic questions as the others, but found herself go rigid when she heard Naruto shout, "Don't work too hard, ice queen!"
"That little…" she turned to see that Naruto was already happily walking away and almost out of sight. Facing back forward with a mental huff, she went on with her work.
"Of course you told him, Qrow…" she whispered with a twitch of her brow.
"And then you punched him, right? Please tell me you punched him."
"Yang, not everything can be solved with punching, though I'm not saying it wouldn't have been satisfying."
The young woman on the scroll's screen shook her head. "I'm gonna have to disagree with that. I can't remember any problem of mine that didn't get resolved from a love tap or two."
Naruto closed one of the dresser drawers in his cramped dorm room, finishing up with his unpacking. Standing back up to meet Yang's gaze from his scroll leaning against a lamp, he said, "I don't think trusting your memory is the best thing to base something off of." He then blinked curiously before rubbing his chin in thought. "Actually, with how you fight you've taken a bunch of hits to the head, so would losing your memory from those hits mean your problems could be forgotten? That'd mean because of getting punched your problems are solved because in your mind they're not even there in the first place…"
"Hey, don't think too hard and blow a gasket! You haven't even done the written test yet."
Silently cursing Tai for making him overthink some things since their study sessions, Naruto replied with, "Whatever, and no, I didn't punch him. It wasn't hard to ignore him, and I promised Ayame I wouldn't be getting into trouble anyway… at least not on purpose."
"That's true, I guess. Still lost a good story, though."
"So tragic," he replied emotionlessly. "Anyway, much happen since I left?"
The feisty girl looked back at Naruto amusedly. "Since a few hours ago? Yeah, totally different world," she said sarcastically.
"Smartass."
"P-... potty… mouth…!" a very faint voice sounded in Yang's background.
Naruto blinked in confusion. "What was that?"
Some pep found its way onto Yang's visage. "Oh, that's just Ruby." The older sister turned her head to the side. "Rubes, you know you can't lay on the ground forever."
"Eeevil!" Naruto heard Ruby whine. He then watched as Yang calmly brought her scroll over to show Ruby flat on her back, a few scuffs on her innocent face and clothes. Ruby seemed to feel the scroll's presence approach right next to her face despite her eyes being closed. "Help…" she pleaded to Naruto pitifully.
Yang's hand came into the shot and Naruto saw her gently pat the black-haired girl's head. "The pain helps you learn, little sister." Ruby's groaned response faded in volume once Yang stood back up, walked away and put the camera back to her smiling face.
"No scythe?" Naruto questioned monotonously.
"No scythe," Yang confirmed happily. "I know you do well enough when you and her fight up close and weaponless, but sometimes you gotta show some tough love to help her grow. The clock's ticking on our time before Beacon so giving a little push doesn't hurt, or at least it doesn't for us."
"You know Ruby doesn't like it when you mention that around her."
"She's a big girl now so she can handle it. Don't think she's paying attention to much right now anyway and I'm also now in the kitchen." The fridge's light that reflected on her face confirmed her words. "So what do you have to do now?" she asked.
"Gonna go walk around for a while. I just needed to find my room in the dormitory so the rest of the day is doing whatever and resting. I guess it's mostly for those that traveled a lot further than me."
"Gotcha." With her water bottle now in hand, Yang said, "Have fun then, whiskers. Don't forget to call us if anything juicy happens, preferably something with violence."
"Such a cultured woman you are," Naruto replied as he closed and locked his door behind him while heading into the lightly crowded hall.
"You know it," she said cheekily before hanging up.
At that Naruto made his way through the hall and down some stairs to get outside. Once joining up with the rest of the populace in the streets, some examinees intermingled here and there in the excited crowd. He simply chose a direction and began walking.
Hands in his unzipped hoodie pockets and Hien hanging over his shoulder, Naruto calmly traveled down the sidewalk while looking around. The dorm building was near the edge of the city and from what he understood so were the tests themselves, having to use the outskirts and forest to operate safely, so he hadn't gotten a good feel for the size yet. Now that he was moving along and able to see some tall buildings on the horizon, he could see it was definitely bigger than Patch, not so surprising since the island was practically five times as big on the map.
Continuing on he took in whatever caught his eye, mentally noting possible stores and anything else interesting to check out on his way back. Having gone through a few blocks, he saw a lot of places for gifts and souvenirs, giving the place its validation of being a popular tourist destination for the history ingrained into it. Said history was actually the reason Naruto found himself walking more briskly down a sudden street because something unique came into view from the distance.
As he approached, the utter size of his target was becoming more apparent with each block. Honestly, he was pretty sure as long as no big building was in the way, he would be able to see it from any part of the city.
Walking in pace with some others heading in the same direction, he finally made it to a large and open courtyard. Now that he was there, he slowly walked up to the four massive statues in the center with a large fountain positioned smack dab in the middle of them. He noticed the large stream of water the fountain was shooting up nearly touched four hands that were resting on top of one another in unity, hands that Naruto saw came from the four people the dark metal was portraying. Each of them had their own styles of clothing and armor, and from what he could gather they all were befitting of how the kingdom's warriors of old used to dress for battle. While most and much smaller war memorials he had seen or heard of depicted brave soldiers charging into conflict or perhaps a single person proudly brandishing his weapon, this one didn't exude any feeling of violence whatsoever. In fact, the peaceful yet determined expressions molded onto their depicted faces, along with their sheathed swords and shields resting at their sides, gave off an impression of being freed from anguish and gaining an eagerness to keep that freedom intact. The worn out symbols of the four kingdoms engraved onto the weapons and armor enhanced the feeling even more, something Naruto could've sworn he was able to feel in that instance as he took in the last details.
"That's probably what the mustached guy meant by appreciating the place," the blond whispered while still dazedly looking up.
"It's certainly a wonderful sight, isn't it?" an excited voice suddenly exclaimed very close to his ear.
"What the-!" Naruto jumped and quickly spun around, hitting his shoulder into whoever was right behind him.
"Ah!" a female sounded from being knocked backward.
In a panic Naruto reached out and grabbed one hand with both of his own, stopping the person from falling midway while bending forward to keep his own balance.
Breathing a sigh of relief, Naruto looked up and met a set of unperturbed green eyes with his own blue.
"Salutations!" the orange-haired girl cheerfully exclaimed, waving her free hand in greeting.
"Uh…" Naruto muttered, confused and thinking about a couple of things in that small instance. First, why was this girl suddenly so joyful as she hung stiffly above the ground from his grip? Secondly, he was definitely digging the color of her short and curly hair. "He- hello?"
"Hello!" she replied with enthusiasm.
"You, uh, doin' okay?" he asked calmly, seeing her body slowly sway back and forth from him adjusting his hold.
"Why, I'm perfectly fine! Thank you for your concern!"
"Need me to pull you up?"
The girl innocently hummed. "I'm sure I'd be just fine carrying my own weight, but assistance would be welcomed."
"Um, okay then." With that, Naruto eased the teen back to her feet.
"Thank you," she said with a seemingly ever-present smile on her freckled face, straightening the skirt end of her gray and green overalls shortly after.
"No problem." She didn't respond and continued to patiently stare at him. Not really knowing how to react, the blond tried to break the silence. "Sooo what's your name?"
Her expression grew a little excited. "Penny, it's a pleasure to meet you! What is yours?"
"Naruto. I didn't hurt you, did I?"
"I'm fine. No harm done."
"That's good. Why were you so close behind me anyway?"
"Oh, I had previously observed the monument for the first time a few minutes ago. I saw you curiously walk up and wanted to see if you would be as mesmerized as I was."
Naruto raised a brow. "Why?"
"I thought it would be interesting."
"Uh, was it?"
"Indeed! Your facial markings in particular made it more unique and enjoyable."
Well, that wasn't weird at all. "Well... glad to help, I guess." He eyed the statues again. "So it's your first time here too, huh? You gonna take the entrance exams?"
She shook her head. "Not exactly. I've only traveled here to observe certain parts of the tests to become more acquainted with actual people in live combat."
He looked back at her. "You going to be a huntress?"
She nodded happily in determination.
"Then why aren't you participating?" She seemed his age, unless she was actually a year or two younger and would have to wait for her chance.
"That's because I will be attending the academy in Atlas this coming semester."
"How do you have a spot if you aren't familiar with people fighting?"
She suddenly became tense. "Um, well, I am a tiny bit, but that is very limited in variety. It's not set yet but my attendance is almost nothing but assured, but- it's just that- um…"
Seeing her jovial face switch to being worried, he said, "Hey, it's okay. You don't need to tell me if it's too personal."
"You aren't upset?" she asked, nervously looking up at him.
"Wait, why would I be? You're entitled to your own business. We barely met and I think I've been the only one asking questions anyway, so sorry if I seemed I was interrogating you or something." Great, right after being annoyed from being questioned earlier he was probably doing the same to someone else.
"Oh, you weren't!" she assured. "In fact, I have quite enjoyed the conversation so far! Casually socializing this much with someone I'm not familiar with is something I've been wanting to experience for some time."
"This much…?" Naruto whispered to himself. "You realize it's only been a few minutes since we started talking, right?"
And there he went, going back to asking questions.
"I do."
How sheltered is this girl? he thought. "You don't get out much, do you?"
She looked sad at that. "I don't."
An uncomfortable silence grew between the two with Penny looking more interested in the ground.
Naruto mentally flinched before schooling himself. Well, he'd be damned if he didn't at least try to cheer her up. It was him that brought down her mood so suddenly anyway.
"Well, welcome to the outside world then, Penny," he said, trying to sound more upbeat.
"Pardon?" she asked while curiously bringing her gaze back up.
Naruto turned a little to his side and gestured with his head. "You gotta make the most outta the trip, right? C'mon, I was going to walk around for the next little while so you can join me if you want."
The Uzumaki swore he'd never seen so much excited disbelief suddenly appear on someone's face like it did on Penny's.
"You…" she started hesitantly, "you're inviting me to embark on a social excursion with you?"
"Uh, people normally call it 'hanging out' if that's what you mean. Y'know, something friends do to kill time and have fun?"
Holy hell, her eyes lit up so much at that moment. Wait, if he wasn't mistaken, he could've sworn he actually saw some literal light appear in her irises...
"We… we could be… friends?"
Naruto shrugged. "Don't see why not."
Some worry entered his mind when saw her look down and appear to shake throughout her entire body, though that feeling mostly disappeared when she lunged forward with a happy shout and wrapped her arms around his torso.
Holy shit, she has some strength in her! he mentally exclaimed as he practically felt his ribs cracking.
"Sensational!" she shouted in utter joy. Before Naruto could react she ended the embrace and stepped back, letting him breath out in relief. Not even particularly directed at him, she started fidgeting in place while looking down in thought and said, "Oh my goodness, an actual friendship! I can't wait to tell father about this!" She blinked in realization. "Oh, maybe I shouldn't given the circumstances. I would probably have to change some details but that wouldn't work for obvious reasons…" she trailed off quietly to herself.
"Obvious reasons?" Naruto asked, lightly massaging one of his ribs.
Penny returned from her mental world. "Oh! It's nothing." She suddenly turned and rushed into his personal space again. "Now, shall we go then?" she stated excitedly.
Naruto eyed her curiously. Her personality seemed to be quite erratic when it wanted to be. Nodding, he said, "Yeah, we can go down the street on the other side of the monument."
"Fantastic!" she immediately grabbed hold of his right elbow and near violently urged him in his given direction.
Almost tripping over himself from the unexpected action, he exclaimed, "There's no rush, Penny!"
His voice stopped her instantly, making her let go and turn to him slightly red-faced. "My apologies, I got too excited. Social cues aren't necessarily something I excel at yet unfortunately."
Naruto stretched his afflicted arm and grinned sheepishly. "No worries. We'll probably have to work on that so please take it easy. From the feel of it, strength isn't going to be a problem for you to become a huntress, but save it for when it's actually needed."
She smiled at the small compliment. "Thank you." Her gaze pointed at the appendage he was loosening up. "You weren't uncomfortable by me grabbing your arm, were you? Was that indecent in this situation?"
Wow, she really wasn't kidding at being socially inept to an extent.
"I mean, I didn't really mind but we-"
"Great!" And just like that, she seemed to forget their previous words as she once again grabbed hold of Naruto's arm and hastily marched deeper into the city.
Ignoring some stares they got and the feeling of his arm about to pop out of its socket, the blond resigned himself to his fate. He might as well let her have her fun.
"Oh, I can't wait to build on this new companionship!" she continued while simultaneously checking both sides of the street before crossing. "You'll have to tell me all about yourself! I hadn't specifically envisioned the scenario of a boy being my first friend that much so, generally speaking, I assume painting our nails and cute boys aren't subjects you'd be interested in?"
"Yeah, not exactly my cup of tea…"
"Oh, do you prefer to talk about tea?"
"That's just an expression, Penny."
She dully stared ahead into space while still trudging on for a few seconds. "So it is!" she eventually exclaimed with enthusiasm.
Yeah, they'd definitely have to work on that.
"I never have this much fun back home!" Penny exclaimed with glee, a bag of souvenirs and other random trinkets in hand as they walked.
Next to her Naruto only had a soda can in one hand with the other resting in his jacket pocket. "Good to hear." And it was, even though they had only walked around like he said and stopped by several stores and stands. Despite the simplicity of the activity, Penny couldn't get enough. Even the various things she bought were quickly piled on to purchase simply because they represented the memory of today if her words were to be believed. The only thing that even had a smidge of extra effort to pick out was the pink bow now placed on the back of her head, though that was mostly on the Uzumaki because Penny couldn't pick a color and asked him to decide.
Sadly, there weren't any orange ones.
Naruto himself hadn't gotten anything yet, but he did make a mental note to revisit some places before he went back to Vale, otherwise Ruby's sad and disappointed stare would probably kill him.
If not that, then Yang's fists would for making her sister even remotely upset.
"Earnestly, thank you for spending time with me, Naruto. You possibly had something else in mind, yet you wasted the daylight on me," she said while taking a peek at the orange horizon, her smile never wavering.
The blond brought the can down from his mouth. "Don't worry about it. I didn't have anything special going on anyway, and meeting new people is always fun, dattebayo."
The freckled girl held back a giggle. "That's the seventh time."
Naruto clicked his tongue good-naturedly. "Have you really been keeping track of how many times I've let that slip?"
"Couldn't help it," she replied happily.
"Whatever, we all have our quirks."
"I suppose we do."
"Anyway, at least we're almost at the dorm before dark. You didn't have anywhere to be, did you? I don't know where you're staying but if you're with anyone I don't think they'd want you walking around at night alone."
She hesitated before replying. "Um, no. I'm not supposed to be anywhere in particular." Right after she said that a hiccup escaped her mouth.
Glancing at her, Naruto lifted the can up. "Need a sip?"
She quickly waved him off. "No thank you. I'm fine."
"Alright then. If you want, we can- hm?" He stopped walking, making Penny do the same.
"Naruto?" Penny saw his gaze fixated on something and followed his line of sight. Once she did she saw he was looking at a girl quietly sitting against a tree in a small park. With a black rectangular sheath resting next to her, she was packing away what looked like a book and her scroll. With the sun setting she supposed there was no longer enough natural light to read. "Is she one of the people here for the tests?" she asked.
Naruto blinked and brought his attention back to Penny. "Yeah, she sat next to me on the ship over here, though we got separated once we landed." Noticing something else in his peripheral to his right, he said, "Oh hey, we're here." Somehow he missed the park right behind the dormitory when he arrived earlier, but it's not like he walked around the entire building in the first place to discover it.
Penny kept an intense gaze on the dark-haired girl as she stood and dusted off her pants. With a small widening of her green eyes and a tilt of her head, she said, "Not saying for absolute certain, but for conversation's sake do you think she felt more comfortable sitting next to you if you were there first?"
Naruto looked at her weirdly. "That's kinda random. Why do you say that?"
"Faunus generally like to stick together because of the scorn they sometimes get from certain humans. It's unfortunate but still true enough to make a social impact. Your facial markings might have made her mistakenly identify you as one too. I recently read something on the subject so the thought came to mind."
"Wait, 'too'? You saying that she-"
"There you are!" a familiar voice sternly said behind them.
Naruto jumped a tad but Penny seemed to recognize the person who spoke because a wave of fear appeared on her face.
They both turned around, the orange-haired girl more warily, and witnessed Winter marching her way down the sidewalk towards them.
"The hell did I do now?" Naruto dully asked with crossed arms.
Winter stopped in front of them with a narrowed expression at Naruto. "Not you, but you're not off the hook completely." She switched targets and her eyes locked onto Penny, causing her to shrink in on herself like a caught child. "You."
"You know ice queen?" Naruto asked Penny, making her momentarily break her fearful expression while Winter glared at him.
"Why are you referring Ms. Schnee as ice queen?" she replied innocently.
"That's not the point," Winter cut in and zeroed on Penny once again. "Where have you been? You were explicitly told to not wander off during your stay, and yet you made me worry for hours! What do you have to say for yourself?"
Penny guiltily met the woman's icy gaze. "I wanted to see the memorial," she meekly responded.
Winter shook her head disappointedly. "I was going to escort you to it personally once my duties were finished for the day. That was the original plan, but even after discovering your abrupt absence you weren't at the memorial when I went to find you. Am I already supposed to lose faith in your word if you couldn't even keep your promise on your first day here?"
"N-no! I mean- I-I'm so very sorry!" Penny blurted out before quieting back down. "I know I promised, but this is my first time outside of Atlas and I couldn't help myself. I wasn't going to be long and would've returned before you were done but…" she trailed off while sneaking a glance at Naruto.
The Atlesian soldier let out a 'hmph' as she looked at the blond. "I see, but that isn't much of an excuse, Penny. Staying out longer than expected after already disregarding your word doesn't help in the slightest, so maybe it would be best to place you under constant watch from now on. I hope you understand that your father won't be happy when he hears about this."
The freckled teen expressed a worried whine as she nervously locked her hands in front of her and bowed her head. So deep into her mind about her father's reaction she almost jumped when she felt Naruto's hand place itself on her shoulder with a reassuring squeeze.
"Um, Specialist?" he stated to catch Winter's attention.
"Yes?" she replied stoically, though the barest amount of surprise entered her eyes as he actually addressed her by rank. She figured he'd have forgotten that by now.
"I don't know if my asking will really do much, but can you let her off easy? She really didn't mean to cause any trouble. I'm the one that kept her out late too."
"Naruto…" Penny whispered to herself.
"What she intended holds little weight, and you had no prior knowledge of what she was supposed to be doing so there's no fault of your own. Her original intentions were to do as I say for her safety's sake, but clearly that doesn't mean much to her."
Curiosity got the better of him. "Why does she have to listen to you?" he asked bluntly.
Sounding like it wasn't the first time she answered a question of the same nature, she said, "That's classified information and doesn't concern you."
Wow, she was really by the book, both in language and tone. Thankfully his fondness for the Atlesian forces mostly focused on the weaponry and tech. Current him would probably shoot the alternative him that pursued that kind of pure soldier-esque lifestyle.
Naruto discarded the thought and continued. "Look, from what I gathered Penny hasn't really had much freedom. Don't know why, but that's apparently none of my business. Still, would it kill ya to overlook one tiny mistake? Just sum it up as a learning experience or something."
"If she is to properly represent Atlas, then she has to be able to follow very basic orders. Who's to say that showing such leniency now wouldn't encourage other instances of insubordination in the future?"
"C'mon, I doubt she'd go against orders a hundred times more important than this."
"Could you know that for certain? Give them an inch and they'll take a mile as the saying goes."
"She was only having innocent fun. No danger whatsoever!"
"Tragedy has struck during less."
Damn, she was an annoying nut to crack.
"U-um, Ms. Schnee?" Penny eventually stated. Seeing Winter's attention back to her, she held her hand up to her to present something.
"What is this?" she inquired after being given a small metallic object.
Adjusting the shopping bag she had gotten the item out of, Penny calmly replied with, "It's a snowflake charm. I saw it on display at one of the stands Naruto took me to and it reminded me of you. I wasn't sure if you cared for such things but I still felt like I should get it because you allowed me to accompany you here. I would've given it to you at a later date since I was worried at being found out today, but obviously that doesn't matter anymore…"
Winter's eyes almost unnoticeably softened as she silently stared at the gift. Unbeknownst to both teens, the action reminded her of her little sister doing something similar years ago.
Seeing her guard go down for the first time since they started talking, Naruto decided to take advantage, but he did take a fraction of a moment to consider the kind of person he was dealing with.
He had to go with the nuclear option.
"If you let this go I'll give you dirt on Qrow."
That had her attention. Her face slowly craned towards him, her visage showing the most emotion since her reprimanding arrival. "I beg your pardon?"
Penny looked surprised at the sudden interest in Winter's icy gaze. Perhaps she'd even go as far as to say there was downright eagerness intermingled in there.
"You heard me," Naruto replied smugly with a foxy smirk.
The older woman controlled the small amount of emotion that broke through as she took in Naruto's offer. "Exactly what qualifies as 'dirt'?"
"Pretty much anything that he wouldn't want you specifically to know."
"I see." Naruto couldn't observe it from her physically, but he could practically feel the mental battle the soldier was having with herself. From what little interaction they'd had since he arrived, along with whatever bits Qrow let loose about her when he had more than several drinks and felt like ranting, he knew she wasn't one to deviate from protocol and was the epitome of a perfect servicewoman in the Atlesian military.
"Is there information for possible indictment in a court of law?" She wasn't asking to dig up something that serious. It was more a question to gauge what Naruto had to give, but that's not saying she wouldn't welcome awareness of anything troublesome enough to create concern for her and her superiors.
"Nah, more along the lines of things he doesn't know that I know. Usually, he doesn't care what he says in front of me, but I guess there's some info that some of my… sources felt I deserved to know because of their spite towards him."
"Sources?"
"Yep. Totally legit." The process of acquiring one of these sources actually taught Naruto a valuable lesson.
Don't fuck with Taiyang's blender, otherwise he might become loose-lipped about the skeletons in your closet.
Naruto saw her go silent again as her mental cogs returned to turning. "Why give away sensitive information on the person you trained under?" she eventually asked.
Naruto squinted at her with a fox-like expression. "It's Qrow."
"Fair enough."
"Sooo?" Naruto questioned with rising confidence.
"I'm still thinking."
Naruto cheerfully wrapped an arm around Penny's shoulder to pull her to him, making her squeak in surprise. "C'mon! How can you punish this face?"
After a moment of confusion for both women, Penny caught on, and after mouthing 'oh', she looked at Winter with a big fake smile. It didn't seem that convincing, though, as Penny tried too hard to show her pearly whites, forcing her eyes closed.
Winter didn't look to be any more swayed from the cartoonish grin, but Naruto kept up the negotiations after letting go of Penny.
Backup nuclear option it was.
"Well, ice queen, I didn't want to use this buuut…" the whiskered teen dragged on while exaggeratingly looking to the side.
"Use what?" she inquired with hands on her hips.
Naruto's eyes dramatically locked onto Winter's. "The night of a thousand drinks."
The blond often thought of the skill gap between someone such as himself and those who'd already gone through the grind to become a professional huntsman, but it was moments like this, where Winter practically teleported with rapier drawn and pointed at his face, that he figured he still had a lot of growing to do.
With her blade nearly touching Naruto right between his eyes, she dangerously uttered, "What do you know of that?"
Naruto mentally gulped and fought back a nervous sweat. "S-sources." Technically it was the same source but it was linked to the second lesson Naruto learned not too long after the first.
Don't repeatedly insult Taiyang's food.
"And for what purpose do you bring that up?" Winter continued with an unwavering glare while Penny watched slack-jawed and concerned.
Naruto held strong. "Nothing yet, but you wouldn't want that getting out there, right? And over something so small?"
"Do you really find blackmailing your superior over something so small wise?" she retorted with his own words.
"Okay, to seriously answer your question from earlier today, maybe I did learn something particular from Qrow…" That didn't exactly mean it was a positive thing, but he couldn't spend that much time around the man without something rubbing off on him.
The standoff went on for a few more tense moments before Winter eventually sighed and backed off. This wasn't worth the effort. If she wasn't done with this soon then the others would begin to wonder what was taking her so long.
She sheathed her blade, making Naruto breath in relief, and locked her hands behind her back. Looking at Penny, she asked, "I take it you've learned your lesson?"
The girl couldn't have nodded any faster.
"Very well. However, another little slip-up and there won't be anything to stop proper discipline. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes, thank you!" Penny happily exclaimed and, without warning, rushed forward to hug the older woman.
Letting the surprise pass, Winter awkwardly patted the girl's back a couple of times before clearing her throat as they separated. "I do expect the information offered on our esteemed colleague at some point before you leave the island," she addressed to Naruto.
"Deal's a deal," he replied easily. It wasn't anything seriously damaging anyway. In fact, he'd bet that Qrow would applaud the action if it wasn't about him.
It could make for a good laugh someday, and he was sure his fighting skills would be up to par if the huntsman decided to hold a grudge.
"Then I suppose we should be off, Penny. You go on ahead. It would be good to show the others that you're okay."
"Yes, ma'am." She turned to Naruto and happily waved goodbye with a grateful smile. "Thank you for today, Naruto."
Naruto returned it with a grin of his own. "Don't be a stranger. We can hang out again whenever we're both free if you want, dattebayo."
"I'd really enjoy that. Oh, and eighth time." She giggled before walking off with a spring in her step.
"Of course that'd have to be done with permission granted," Winter added. Before he could say something back she gave him one last warning glare. "I don't think I need to explain what would happen if you spread information you're not supposed to know."
"They'd never find my body?" he calmly replied with a squint.
She nodded while tapping her rapier's grip.
"Eh, not the first time I've been threatened with that, ice queen."
"I'm sure," she said with an eye roll. "Good evening, and get proper rest for tomorrow." And with that, she left and followed Penny's path down the street.
With nothing else to do, Naruto held his hands behind his head and walked to the dorm entrance. "Welp, that was fun." After entering the building and making his way back to his room, he got comfortable and lazily plopped onto his bed.
He was considering a quick nap but a text from Tai changed that idea.
Once reading the message, Naruto groaned. He sent a message back before reluctantly opening several familiar notes on his scroll.
He just had to promise the father that he'd do some more studying for the written test in the morning.
With a practiced yet bored tone, he recited, "One of the biggest turning points in the Faunus Rights Revolution include…"
"-have no more than one hour to complete all of the given problems. If any are left blank or unfinished you will be marked down for it."
Naruto reluctantly listened as some staff member continued to rattle off all of the boring rules for the exam. He knew that his entire stay wouldn't be entirely filled with monster fights and other forms of excitement, but he still dreaded anything that was pure academics and no action.
He'd have to get used to it but that didn't mean he was gonna like it.
With his head leaning on his propped hand, he listened on.
"Once we're all done here, you'll get a break for lunch and move on to the physical portion that will take place well into the afternoon. Remember, no cheating. Believe me when I say we will be keeping an eye on all of you. You may begin."
The few dozen people in one of the many rooms in the testing building dove right into the prepared packets in front of them. Naruto would've as well if he didn't skim through the test once he saw the questions on the first page. Finished looking through them all he went back to the front and gazed spitefully at it, ignoring the sounds of busy pencils around him.
There were no multiple choice problems.
This is off to a great start… he thought unamused.
(Omake - The Guardian's Origins)
Practically every person on Remnant had been enamored with the tale of the four maidens at some point in their lives. In fact, the story of how the four sisters became blessed with the powers given to them by the old hermit was used as a model for many parents to teach their children character.
Helping others simply because you are able to do so. Whether or not the story of the maidens helped ingrain that quality in many aspiring hunters can't be said for certain, but there's no doubt in them playing a role in some lives.
With such a heartwarming lesson to go along with the people and setting of the story, there's no surprise that people wouldn't give other unimportant and little details a second or even a first thought at all.
These bits of unimportance could include various things, such as the type of wood the furniture was made of, the amount of available clothing in the hermit's closet, or maybe perhaps…
…if the wizard owned a spool of dark yarn?
Of course, the possibility of the wizard owning such an item at the time of the story would only be known by the wizard himself and perhaps the maidens. And if he did have such a spool of yarn, there's no questioning the likelihood of him blessing it and other objects he owned with his magic to keep their physical conditions fair and protected, though that would've most likely taken place after his property was spruced up by his lovely guests.
And if that was a reasonable possibility then another would be, during one of their yearly visits, the wizard giving one of the maidens that yarn to pass along to someone in need during her travels with her sisters.
From there, hypothetically speaking of course, there would always be a chance of that yarn not being used by the person it was given to or perhaps even being plain forgotten or lost. And if that was a reasonable probability, then it isn't outside the realm of imagination to think that the yarn kept its existence the same as it was within the wizard's home, constantly stuck in a cycle of being passed along or found for days, months, years, centuries, maybe even more than a millennium!
If that series of events over that length of time was believable, then who's to say that spool of yarn couldn't end up...
...in the possession of a young girl in the middle of Vale?
"Done!" Ayame exclaimed in glee, a tired yet happy smile plastered on her ten-year-old face as she finished the last part of her project.
"Oh? That took longer than I thought it would tonight," an amused Teuchi said when he approached his daughter sitting in one of the booths, empty like the others since closing the restaurant a couple of hours prior. He was still in his dirty work clothes from cleaning the kitchen while Ayame was comfortable in her pajamas, having worked by herself well past her bedtime.
He'd let it slide this once considering what it was for.
"That's because I had to make sure I got the eyes right, dad!" she retorted with a lighthearted whine.
He chuckled. "I know, sweetheart, I know. Let me see." Once she proudly presented the object almost entirely made from black fabric, he laughed.
"What's so funny?! I worked really hard on it!" she exclaimed with a pout.
Calming himself, he reached over to ruffle Ayame's hair. "I know you did, and it shows. It's just that it has a funny face."
She pushed his hand away. "So? Did you have to laugh like that?"
"Isn't that a good thing?"
"Huh?"
"When people laugh they're happy, right?"
"I guess, but some people can laugh after being mean too," she retorted.
"That's true, but in this case it made me happy. If I can be happy from just looking at it, then…?"
"Then?" she echoed in confusion.
"Then I'm sure Naruto receiving it as a gift would only make him that much happier," he finished with a smile.
Her eyes lit up. "Can I give it to him now, dad?"
He hummed. "It's pretty late already, honey."
"Please? You know he's probably reading comics with a flashlight again anyway!"
Teuchi shook his head with grin still in place. "Okay, okay, go ahead. If he's cranky because you woke him up then he's your problem."
Without hesitation the little girl jumped from her seat, accidentally knocking over a few knitting supplies, and scampered through the dining area and towards the stairs with bare feet. With Teuchi now behind her and watching with mirth, she started climbing up and yelled, "Naruto! I have something for you!" After almost tripping on the last step and heading toward the little blond's room, she gave one last look at the sleeping cap she made for him.
"Don't worry, Naruto. Those weird nightmares aren't going to be a problem anymore," she whispered determinedly.
AN: The omake references the one in chapter 3 fyi.
And before you say it, I know the pacing is kinda slow, but I just can't help myself with certain details, especially when new characters are introduced. That being said, I do hope to get things moving along. This wouldn't have been much of a problem in the first place if I updated quickly like I wanted to, but the mentioned reasons at the very top got in the way... Whatever, hope to get the action going in the next one.
I also did everything myself. Totally didn't have Fan-Of-FictionX01 virtually slap me with corrections. Nope. None whatsoever. Y'all can't prove anything...
Anyway, please let me know what you guys think, like how you felt about this one, where you think it's going or pretty much whatever else.
Like always, thanks for reading.
Later!