Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and I do not own RWBY
AN: First look at Naruto and Ruby getting to know each other, not much else to say here. I hope you enjoy.
=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=
Reviews
No real questions, just a bunch of happy reviews. Thanks for the support :)
=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=
Chapter 7: Misunderstanding
=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=
A week had passed. While it wasn't the easiest thing to adjust to, Naruto found himself in a decent niche at Beacon. Sometimes he still got weird looks, but they weren't hateful. For that he was glad. He had grown closer to Team RWBY and JNPR. They now made regular visits to his dorm. Never all at once, and usually only to stop by for a quick hello, but all the same it felt nice.
He had only been on one other mission since his last, another D-Rank that was outside of Vale. Growing restless would be putting it mildly. After going so long without a proper fight, he was starting to get twitchy. His training helped, but the twitch always came back.
After asking Ozpin about it, the man suggested leaving for a bit. Just a day or two, out visiting some places in Vale. Perhaps bring a friend or two along since the weekend was swiftly approaching. Naruto agreed. Maybe a day out would help.
That's where he found himself, sitting in his room, messaging the others about a day in the city.
Unfortunately, Team JNPR was completely booked, already having planned group training for the weekend. Team RWBY had readily agreed, so it would be a party of five.
When are you all okay with leaving? I don't mind what time really.
Naruto was messaging Ruby as the girl was trying to avoid her school work and he gave her an out.
I don't think it matters, as long as it's not to early. Yang can be cranky if she gets woken up too early.
Naruto laughed to himself. She seemed like the kind of person that would do that.
Well I'm sure I'll be up before you. Just come on by whenever you're ready, sound good?
He tapped his fingers against his leg, waiting for a response.
No problem.
He was about to respond when he got another message from the girl. He opened it and raised an eyebrow at her question.
=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=
Ruby lay on her bed, ignoring Weiss's demands to do her work due for tomorrow. She was having much more fun talking with Naruto, why should she ruin it?
"Hey what time should we leave this weekend?" She asked her teammates. "Naruto says he doesn't care when."
"Not early." Yang immediately spoke, looking around the room as if daring someone to challenge her decision. When no one did, Ruby responded with a few swift strokes to the scroll. She hummed a tune, while waiting for Naruto to reply.
"He said to just go over there whenever we are ready." She didn't receive a reply, but noticed everyone nod in agreement. She almost swore she saw Blake staring at her when she said that, but the girl turned back to her book too quickly for her to tell if she was or not.
After she replied, she immediately sent out another message, hoping she wouldn't be making him mad with that kind of question.
Do you like Blake?
It was… well direct wouldn't do it justice. Blake had been acting weird for a few days now and it all had to do with Naruto. It took her a while to piece that together, but she did. Maybe Yang's teasing wasn't so far off?
Well yeah, I like all of you guys.
She smiled. He didn't understand what she meant, but she was glad he liked them all. They were basically friends at this point.
I meant like-like Blake.
She waited nervously for his response.
"You mean like more than a friend? Like a girlfriend?
"Ruby, please start on your work." Weiss sighed. "You'll be up all night if you don't start now."
"Not now Weiss. This is important." She quickly typed out her response before sticking her tongue out at her friend. Weiss rolled her eyes before returning to her own work.
Yeah, like a girlfriend.
She couldn't imagine asking him this in person. It was much easier to talk about this over the scroll. She was embarrassed enough when Yang only implied about Blake's feelings.
I never really thought about it to be honest.
She didn't get to finish reading as Weiss let out a groan. "Ruby, please. What could be so important that you can't do your homework?"
"It's just important." She huffed, rolling onto her back. Yang slipped off of her bed, shuffling over to her sisters bunk. Poking her head over the edge of it, she spied on Ruby as she read the only message she could see.
Yeah, like a girlfriend.
"Ruby?" Ruby jumped at her sister's voice, almost throwing her scroll. She clutched it close to her chest as she stared at her sister.
"Yang don't scare me like that!"
"Why are you talking to Naruto about girlfriends?" Weiss stopped writing, turning slowly to look up at the two girls. Blake had lowered her book enough to stare over at them as well.
"N-No reason." She squeaked out. That was enough evidence for Yang. She marched straight out of the dorm, her thoughts only on beating up a certain blonde.
Ruby sat frozen as the other two continued staring. Weiss's stare was one of disbelief and shock while Blake seemed suspicious. Maybe even angry?
"Ruby…" Weiss started. "...Why didn't you tell us you had a crush on Naruto?" Ruby flushed at the accusation.
"I don't! Yang didn't read the whole thing, it wasn't about-"
"You don't have to explain yourself to me." Weiss halted her. "Your personal life isn't my business." She turned back to her work silently. Ruby turned to Blake for help but the girl was already buried in her book. She let out a cry as she fell back onto her bed. This wasn't fair!
=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=
Yang didn't even bother knocking when she reached his room. She kicked the door down, storming straight inside. Naruto was sitting on his bed, quietly tapping on his scroll. He likes up and smiled, giving her a small wave. He had told them they were always welcome and Yang did seem to like big entrances.
"Hey Yang."
"You have some nerve!" She glared down at him, standing right at the edge of his bed. "Corrupting my sister like that!"
"I did what now?" Naruto cocked his head. What was she talking about?
"What did you do to make her your girlfriend? Did you threaten her or something?" Her glare intensified.
"She's my what!?" Yang screamed as she brought her fist down at Naruto. He dodged it with little difficulty, moving off of his bed to stand near the door. "Hey calm down!"
"Don't lie to me! I saw the message!"
"What message?"
"The one Ruby just sent you about being your girlfriend! You can't hide from that, all of Team RWBY knows!" She stalked towards him, readying for another punch.
"Wait!" He got her to stop her advance. "You must have misread something Yang. Ruby isn't my girlfriend." He shuffled around Yang back to his bed. After picking up the dropped scroll, he turned it to face Yang. "See?"
She scrolled through the short amount of messages, losing some of her anger with each one.
I never really thought about it to be honest. Blake's a good friend, but I don't think she would like me like that. She likes someone else though. Besides, I'm not really looking for a girlfriend. I'm having enough trouble just trying to get used to everything here. Maybe one day in the future, but no time soon.
"Oh." Yang felt a little embarrassed by her outburst just now, but it was her sister. She would protect her if it was the last thing she did. "Sorry."
"It's okay." He smiled. "Just spy on the rest of the messages next time too." He chuckled as Yang laughed.
"Will do." She glanced back at his scroll. "What did you mean that Blake likes someone?"
"When we talked last week, I got the impression that she had feelings for this person she kept talking about. I could be wrong, but don't tell her I told you. I wanted her to figure it out for herself." He stared at her sternly.
"Fine." Yang pouted. She'd have to find another reason to poke fun at Blake now. She hadn't made a cat joke in while…
"Did you need anything else, or did you only come to attack me?"
"Yang!" Ruby burst into the room before Yang could respond. The short girl looked ready to fight. "Don't hurt… him." She trailed off when she saw the pair standing, not fighting, staring at her. "You aren't fighting?"
"I explained the situation." Naruto explained.
"Oh."
"Don't scare me like that Ruby." Yang threw her arm around her sister. "You're too young to have a boyfriend."
"I am not!" Ruby yelled as Yang pulled her out of the room.
"As long as I'm your sister you are."
Naruto smiled at the pair as they left. Yang definitely cared for Ruby, her reaction proved that much. Maybe she went a bit over the top, but he would have done the same if anyone had started to Sakura. They either treated her like a princess or they met his fist.
=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=
"Why can't I have a boyfriend?" Ruby asked yet again as the pair entered their dorm room. Weiss stared up from her paper and Blake ignored them.
"Because I said so."
"That's not a reason!"
"Yes it is." She said matter of factly. "Every older sibling has that power."
"That's a lie." Ruby muttered, sitting down on Weiss's bed. "Weiss tell her it's a lie."
The girl sighed. "She just wants to protect you. You can get a boyfriend if you want to." Yang glared at Weiss as Ruby cheered.
"So who are you going to get together with." Blake spoke from behind her book. They couldn't see it, but her hands clutched the book much harder than necessary.
Ruby blushed and hung her head. "I don't know…"
"Why make such a big deal about it then?" Weiss questioned her.
"Because I'm not a kid. Just because there isn't a boy doesn't mean I can't date one… eventually."
Yang sighed. "Ruby, do you even understand what dating is?"
"Of course."
"Then what do you do on a date." Ruby began to speak when her voice fell. What did she know about dating? "See, you aren't ready for something like that."
"I know it involves holding hands and dinner… sometimes kissing." Yang bristled at her words.
"No one better be kissing you!"
"I can kiss whoever I want!"
Weiss and Blake sighed respectively. This was going to last all night wasn't it?
=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=
The next day brought with it a shining sun and two angry girls. One was angry because she was being forbidden from even looking at boys by the other. The other was angry because the former took the time to stare at every boy they passed in the halls on their way to class, most likely out of spite.
By the time they sat down in their last class of the day, Yang was tempted to attack any guy that even glanced in their direction, most likely to spite Ruby. When Glynda and Naruto walked in, she managed to calm down a little bit. Glynda wouldn't approve of that kind of action in her class and Naruto would stop her before she could do anything to anyone. Best to let it go for this class at least.
That was the plan. Then Ruby had to start staring at Naruto. Dammit, there was no easy way out of this, was there?
"Today is our weekly reprise from set match's, you may challenge anyone you wish today." She gestured to Naruto. "Naruto will be stepping in throughout the day and fighting several of you."
After a round of nods, Glynda called the first person to the floor, their partner tagging along. It was then Naruto noticed something peculiar.
"Miss Rose, is there something wrong?" He called out. The people around her noticed her fixation on Naruto.
"No."
"Then please watch the match, not me." She sighed, turning to the pair of fighters as they began.
"You shouldn't be staring at Naruto." Yang whispers harshly. "People will start to get the wrong idea."
"You're just mad because I'm looking at a guy. Stop being so overbearing."
Yang grit her teeth. "I'm not being overbearing, just tone down the sultry gazes."
"I am not giving him sultry gazes." Ruby raised her voice slightly.
"You could have fooled me, you haven't stopped staring at any guy since we left the room this morning. For all I know you're practicing your seduction methods for later." Yang teased lightly. She was still angry, but maybe her joke would break some of the tension between the two.
"I'm not trying to seduce Naruto!" Ruby yelled. The pair of fighters stopped, everyone turning to the girl who now seemed mortified.
"Be that as it may Miss Rose, I believe that is a conversation left behind closed doors." Glynda spoke. The others erupted into either laughter or whispers. "Please continue." She waved at the fighters.
Naruto glanced up at the girl. She was doing her best to hide underneath her cloak, no doubt embarrassed by the outburst and being called out on it. Seduce him? That's the thing he had trouble seeing. While he didn't believe anyone her age could be completely innocent, she seemed to be more ignorant of the problems of the world than the others.
Maybe a talk about what happened would be in order.
=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=
Class was over, Ruby had managed to avoid getting called. Whether Glynda did it on purpose, or she just got lucky remains to be seen. The four members of Team RWBY left as soon as they were dismissed, their leader moving a bit quicker than necessary.
It didn't take them long to make it back to their dorm, what with Ruby practically running to the room and the others doing their best to keep up.
"Ruby, I'm sorry." Yang kept apologizing. Honestly, things had gone too far. She didn't want her sister embarrassed like that, especially in front of the entire class.
"Shut up!" She yelled, throwing herself into her bed. Yang flinched at the words. Ruby had never said anything like that to her before. Most people would just brush it off, but coming from the person you cared about most, it hurt.
"Ruby, I didn't mean to-"
"Maybe you should just give her some space to breathe." Weiss placed her hand on the brawler's shoulder. "Give her some time to cool off."
Yang threw the hand off, opting to climb into her own bed. Weiss sighed, turning to her own bed. Work could wait. Maybe she could just relax for a few minutes.
Blake climbed into her bed, staring at the short girl across from her. She might have been jealous of her for what she said, but she felt bad for her too. Getting outed like that must have caused her quite a shock.
The knock at the door shook her from her thoughts. Weiss was already up, opening the door for their guest.
"Miss Schnee." Her ears perked up at the voice.
"You can call me Weiss Naruto."
"Very well. I'm here for Miss Rose." Weiss turned back to look at the girl.
"I don't think she's in any state to talk to anyone."
"I see. Well tell her I hope she feels better. Remember, we-"
"I'll go." Ruby called out. She hopped down from her bed, walking over to the door. "It's better than being here." Yang tensed visibly at the remark, but she made no move to turn away from the wall.
"She'll be back soon." Naruto smiled, leafing the girl away from the room.
=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=
The pair were walking to the fountain. Maybe it was because he spent his first night there, or perhaps it was because the sound of water falling was relaxing, but he felt a lot calmer here than anywhere else.
Sitting on the bench facing the school, Naruto turned to the girl and smiled.
"You planned on seducing me?" Ruby choked at the question.
"N-No."
"I know." She looked up at him curiously. "Even if you were, you'd have to do better than how you were." He laughed as she turned scarlet.
"It was Yang's fault."
"How so?"
She crossed her arms. "She kept telling me I couldn't date boys, so I stared at everyone I could. I'm not a kid anymore, she can't tell me what to do."
Naruto frowned. "You say that, but your response says otherwise. Instead of talking it out, you immediately did everything you could to annoy her. That would be the definition of childish."
She stared in disbelief at the blonde. "But-"
"Trying to argue for no reason other than to get what you want is childish as well. If you are trying to prove a point then you are well within your rights to argue, but trying to tell me you're not a kid won't prove it to me."
Ruby kept quiet. Naruto smiled. "Now, would you like to explain why you had such an over reaction to such a thing?"
She was silent for a moment before she began speaking. "Yang's always like that. She tries to to act like a mother to me, not a sister."
"Why do you think that is?" Ruby thought for a moment before shifting in her seat.
"Well my mom passed away a long time ago and Yang's mom left when we were little. She's always been the oldest girl around."
Naruto nodded along to her words. "It sounds like she has taken up the role of mother since both of yours are gone. You know what I think?" Ruby cocked her head. "I think you're lucky."
She raised an eyebrow before frowning at him. "How am I lucky?"
"Because you have someone that cares about you even more than themselves. Yang would let herself die before she saw you get hurt." He poked her shoulder. "You are the center of her world and anything, Grimm, bad people, and yes, even boys, are all things that can hurt you. If you got hurt, it would hurt her twice as much." Ruby's face softened as the words touched her.
"Let's say, for a moment, you do have a boyfriend. One day, you find out he was cheating on you. How would that make you feel."
"I'd want to curl up into a ball and cry. Or never leave my dorm room again."
"Yang would feel all of that, as well as hate for the boy that hurt you." He ruffled her hair, prompting her to swat at his hands. "You're her sister, her only one at that. If she lost you, she'd be alone. What if Yang just disappeared one day, or came into the room crying because of a boy. How would you feel if you saw her in a state of disrepair or never got to see her again?"
Ruby widened her eyes for a moment before they started to tear up. "I wouldn't be able to keep on living."
"That's the exact same way she feels. Sometimes it can be overwhelming, even annoying, but she only does it because she loves you. More than anything else in the world. She's just doing her best to protect you until you can protect yourself. When that day comes, you'll be ready to deal with anything the world throws at you."
She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand as she sniffled. "When did you get so smart about everything?" He chuckled.
"I grew up with a team. They were my family. I'd do anything to keep them alive and well, just like Yang would."
"What about your family?" Naruto stopped smiling. "I-I'm sorry-"
"It's okay. I never had any siblings that I knew of. Both of my parents died when I was young." Ruby stared up at him, tears forming in her eyes again.
"You've been alone your whole life?"
"No, I've always had the old man. He was basically a grandfather to me. Then there was pervy sage, he was the closest thing to a father I had. He had his moments, but he was a good man. Granny was a mom to me, even if she didn't like me calling her Granny." He smiled wistfully at his memories of the three.
Ruby shuffled nervously next to him. He was talking about them like they weren't there anymore.
"Where are they now?"
Naruto's small smile dropped yet again. "The old man died when I was twelve. Pervy sage was killed during a mission not too long ago. Granny is alive as far as I know, probably cursing my name for disappearing on her." He chuckled at the image of an angry Tsunade getting overwhelmed by paperwork.
"Why would she be cursing you?"
"I was supposed to take the village leadership from-" He stopped. He never meant to talk that in depth about his past.
Ruby's eye widened. "You were going to be a village leader! But all of the leaders here are old and your young!"
"Yeah, but I'm special." He chuckled. "Are you okay now?"
"I'm good." She sighed. "I think I should apologize to Yang."
Naruto nodded. "That sounds like a good idea."
The pair stood up before Ruby quickly hugged him. He tensed at the sudden contact, but smiled, settling for patting her head.
"Thanks Naruto."
"No problem Ruby." He pulled her off of him. "Now no more seducing until you can at least keep quiet about it."
She flushed deeply, turning around and stomping off. He laughed as he headed for his dorm room. Some day the girl would look back and laugh at herself.
=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=
Ruby opened the door to the dorm room, peering inside. Weiss looked up at her before returning to her work. Blake snuck a look over her book, trying to be discreet. Yang hadn't moved from her position, still lying down facing the wall.
She crept inside, closing the door softly. She marched right up to Yang's bed before prodding her shoulder.
"Yang?"
The girl turned over, her eyes slightly red and puffy. "What?"
"I… I'm sorry. I didn't mean to act like I did." Yang raised an eyebrow at the girl before she continued. "You were only trying to protect me, I know that now. Thank you." Ruby held out her arms hesitantly, her eyes tearing up. "Are… are we good?" Yang smiled tearily at her sister.
"Of course you doof." They embraced tightly, laughing or crying the other two couldn't tell. They were happy again and that all that mattered.
They pulled apart after a few minutes with a smile. Ruby's smile soon turned to hesitancy as she played with Yang's blanket.
"Hey Yang... What if there was a boy that I liked?" Yang turned her gaze to her sisters blushing face.
"I don't like it..." She crossed her arms. "...but I'll allow it." She glared swiftly down at Ruby. "If he hurts you, you just point me in his direction. He won't have kids after I'm done." Her smile was anything but good.
Blake's ears flicked as she heard the two below. Ruby didn't have a crush on Naruto for real now, did she? What did that mean for her? Could she really try and intrude now after saying nothing for a week? She sighed quietly.
This was going to be a problem.
=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=
Coming Soon - Chapter 8: A Problem
=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=
