A;right, here's the next chapter. Hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer: first chapter
Chapter 9: Links
Somber and slow taps of the piano keys filled the air. A soft harmony from the start and continued to maintain its tone. However, a hint of hope came soon after. Gentle and fragile, the sounds that came from the instrument struck with perfection became more pronounced and confident. The force of the taps became firm and assertive. They tugged at heartstrings despite no words to supply meaning to the melody.
The pianist stopped. Her snow white hair was pulled over her shoulders. A heavenly smile graced her features. Like some goddess that graced the land, she presented herself to her audience with both elegance and an air of flawlessness. Undoubtedly, she was beautiful like untainted and untouched snow. She wasn't a fragile thing. A white rose with impeccably sharp thorns was the best way to describe her aura. She beckoned her spectators to come towards her, either as friends… or foes.
But the latter was a preposterous idea. For her audience were none other than two little girls. They ran into her arms with smiles beaming with rays of joy.
"Mother, that was fantastic!" A young Winter praised.
"Mag…Magnifishent tune, mother!" Said the six-year-old Weiss.
The third spectator narrowed his eyes. 'A memory? Whose… whose is it?' He asked himself. He looked closer at the mother of the sisters, and felt a small tingle rise from his spine. 'And why does she look like her?' Images of a certain priestess and her child flashed in his mind. He shook his head. 'Can't be. Too coincidental.' He concluded to brush off the uneasiness due to the familiarity this vision gave him.
Nonetheless, the memory continued. He watched the sisters twiddle with the large instrument, playing keys with little to no beat, rhythm, or semblance of a melody. Weiss was the most enthralled with the act of playing the instrument. They were passionate eyes, Naruto observed. The little sister aspired to be a musician. Winter had a love for music as well, but her posture was too rigid to even appear fully engaged. She looked conformed. Restrained. Conditioned like some trained puppy.
Naruto frowned. While he couldn't say that training at such a young age to become a warrior was a bad thing, it wasn't good to see it happen here in a world that isn't under constant threat of war. The Grimm were not a sufficient reason to train children to become killing machines. This world needs warriors, sure, but the Grimm are nuisances at best.
Grimm were attracted to negativity. An Elder's appearance came because of him and his rage was unchecked. A jinchuriki's rage was a potent thing. None could match it. So as far as he could tell, the worst Grimm that could appear at a time of peace were the small fries. And only the foolhardy would die from those things. So why?
Why was he seeing the process of a lost childhood reflecting off her glassy eyes? Hell… her innocence seemed lost as well. It wasn't right to see that look on someone so young.
"Lady Winter. Your father wants you to observe how he conducts business. Please meet him in his study." Said a stout servant that stood by the door to the room.
"Are there others in the room? Or is he making a deal through the Scroll?" Winter asked hollowly.
The servant sighed and bowed. "It's the former. I'm afraid to say that you must present your best behavior to the guests."
"Can she decline?" Asked the mother.
"I'm not sure, Madam." The servant replied. "I was only told to bring her to Lord Schnee's study."
"Then inform my dear husband that I have need of Winter's presence." The mother spoke firmly. Her relaxed shoulders tensed to something akin to a fighter ready to fight. That sight sparked interest in Naruto's eyes. A warrior's blood ran in the family it seemed. "She will not be attending to his needs at the moment."
"R-Right away-"
"Please stop, Klein." Winter spoke aloud. "I'll go. Tell father that I'll be coming shortly."
"Winter!" The mother's shock was expressed clearly.
"This is for the best, mother. I've… no wish to hear of a fight in the middle of the night." Winter spoke uneasily. Her frame shivered slightly. "You may be stronger than father physically, but he is someone we can't fight against." She turned to her mother, and faced her with shaky fists. "Grandfather is no longer the one controlling the company. He is. Without him, our family and our prosperity won't last long." She looked away from her mother as she gritted her teeth. "At least he's looking out… for the family by teaching the next generation how to conduct Grandfather's business."
The mother let Winter's words sink in. She hummed as her arms folded over one another. "But is that what you want, my dear?" Winter did not reply. The mother closed her piercing blue eyes. "I'm asking because the Schnee family is not about conforming to the will of others. It is about uniqueness and strength to not fall to conformity as well as to not surrender. The crest is a snowflake to reflect our family's value of individuality. And while ice is fragile, it can also be sturdy."
"I'm well aware of the symbolism, mother!" Winter exclaimed.
"And yet do not uphold the family value by doing this." The mother said. "You give up when you shouldn't. You conform because it's convenient." The frank words stuck with the elder sister as the mother continued. "Our crest has that many meaning to them because of our patriarchal ancestor, who represented all of that. He was not like the others. He was drastically different. One could say he was a demon in many people's eyes. Yet, he never gave up on changing their perspective to prove he's is a person whilst remaining unique."
Naruto twitched. '…What is she saying?' He couldn't believe what he was hearing. The amount of confidence in her words… The fact she sounded like she knows of this tale from the heart… This was a piece of reality in this world. A piece of important history. The description alone fit him well. So eerily well. 'Why does she make it sound like it's true history about her family? No. It's got to be a coincidence.' He persisted. 'This place is another world, right? It has to be.'
"I don't have time for this, mother." Winter spoke.
"That ancestor of ours... he was a stubborn one. One day, he-"
"I said I don't have time for this!" This time, the words were shouted out.
"Then why do you refuse to run from me, Winter?" Questioned the mother.
Winter gave a deep exhale. "Mother, I-"
"I will not have a man forcing you to do what you don't want." The mother firmly interrupted. "You are the maker of your own destiny. Be some beggar, a soldier, a hero, a villain, whatever, I care not what you become. But you will do what your heart desires, and you will overcome the obstacles in the way of that!" Despite the clear fury presented in her words, the woman's face did not match the tone intended. She was calm and collected. "You will not become a caged bird in this house. I promise you that, Winter." Her right hand presented a glyph. From the mystical snowflake, a series of daggers connected to chains appeared.
Naruto stepped back at the uncanny appearance of the ability. "No… you've got to be joking. This isn't happening right now..." A drop of sweat threatened to fall down. The familiarities so far just continued to unnerved him.
The chains shot out everywhere in the room to anchor in place. None of the people in there were scared by the jungle of chains. In fact, Weiss gleefully toyed with one. It goes without saying that she had no idea what was happening. The butler, Klein, looked disheartened. Naruto guessed it was because of the internal strife happening in the family. And Winter… she neither looked relieved nor afraid. "You are the maker of your own destiny. Remember that, Winter. Never give up your dreams." Said the woman who was a near doppelgänger to one Priestess Shion.
Winter stood like a soldier. "I... appreciate your support, mother. But please. Do not antagonize father." She gave a small nod to her mother, and said, "I best be going now. May I, mother?" The mother allowed her daughter to mother and youngest daughter watched as the eldest child and the butler left the room silently.
"Mother? Will Winter be okay?" The mother looked down at Weiss' innocent eyes, and almost shed a few tears.
Weiss' mother embraced her firmly while the chains around them dispersed like a snow flurry. "I don't know, Weiss. But what I know is that you and your sister will do your best, right? You'll do the best you can to live the way you want?"
Weiss returned the embrace, and gave a smile. "I will, mother! I'm going to be a musician and make the best songs in the world. They… they will call me 'Princess of Melodies' and I'll be a shining star!" The exuberance expressed in Weiss' child form was palpable and infectious. The mother smiled from cheek to cheek.
Naruto likewise grinned. But that didn't last long when he remembered his first meeting with his summoner.
The sight of her defeated form. The echoing grunts of pain. The stench of something that burned colliding against sweat and perfume. The sensation of cold steel enveloping his back as his blood ran down its length. The light taste of iron when he successfully his a cough accompanied by a small amount of blood. It was a day where he saw a fighter. Not a musician, nor a singer.
'What did you go through to change into fighters, Weiss, Weentah?' He wondered.
The scene changed from a peaceful music room to that of a moonlit bedroom ceiling. The blond heard whimpers of fear in the room as violent and ear-piercing sounds vibrated into the walls. He found the source of the former, Weiss, who hid inside her bed covers. He watched her shaky form disturb the neatness of the bed. His ears listened to weak cries and pleas to stop this. Minutes later, he listened as the words changed from pleading to calling for her sister.
'So… there goes my question. This is Weiss' memory.' He concluded as he closed his eyes and his teeth gnashed together.
He woke up. Eyes snapped open without warning. The blond pulled himself up to look at his surroundings. He faked a smile at the people he saw. He couldn't afford to let the nature of his dreams pollute his expressions. It would be a hassle to explain. But he left a mental note to look into the sisters' mother as well as their ancestral past. Too much of what was said sounded too familiar. "Good morning, Weiss, Weentah." He gave off a light chuckle. "Forgive me fur mai inturusion. I was lost because of confusion."
"It's no surprise." Winter responded. "The capital is a large place to wander around." She took a sip of her drink. "Good morning. How was your sleep?"
Naruto looked intently a Winter, then at the younger sister. His mind replayed what he saw, and almost gave a frown that could tip off either. He managed to keep to himself, and answered, "Fine. Confusing dreams. But quite defined."
Weiss, who blanked out due to Naruto's increase in knowledge and comprehension of the common tongue, finally reacted by acknowledging the elephant in the room. She had her suspicions in the form of the stack of books neatly piled on the table. However, she needed to hear it straight from the source. "Naruto, how did learn to speak our language so well in one night?"
"I rayded a rybraree. Read many books gurayds one to -erm... all of elementary." Naruto did not hesitate to answer. "I needed to try to be less of a buruden and be more orudinary." He shrugged his nonexistent shoulders. "I will return what I've 'app…ropriated'. Better returned than permanentulee confesucated."
"Remarkable vocabulary. Something beyond elementary." Winter commented.
"Thank you." Naruto grinned. "High-soci…ety vocab from the dictionary is still iffy. Is that how you use that word? Not really sure, but that urban dicionary was useful to some ekusutent." He gave a look of disgust, and shook his head. The blond didn't see the flabbergasted look on both sisters' faces. "But it is nifty. Anyways, I will get used to speaking your language in a jiffy!"
Winter raised an eyebrow as she leaned back on her seat. "Are you aware you're rhyming?"
Naruto gave her a stare before he blinked rapidly. He gave a thoughtful expression that mixed in both pride and glee. He sat properly, and bounced in his seat slightly. "Really? Amazing truly."
"If you want to be 'ordinary,' then don't rhyme." Winter spoke with mirth in her tone.
"Must be the many childuren's books I read last night then. They rhyme quite a bit." Naruto remarked while he crinkled his nose. "I guess I did it because that was how the books did it." He shook his head. "At least I do not need to keep up the act. It hurts to keep talking like that."
"And there you go." Winter started off. "You've deviated from rhyming. Quite easy, no? But I must admit your learning capabilities are impeccable if you're able to connect them into rhyme."
Naruto couldn't help but nod at the praise. All the while, Weiss spiraled deep into her thoughts. Her summon raided a library in pursuit of knowledge. And that pursuit was heavily successful by physical evidence alone. She crinkled her eyebrows, and gave a look of disappointment.
Naruto committed a crime. It finally sank into her mind that Naruto did something that she didn't approve of. She took a deep breath. And to make matters worse, her initial image on rule-breaking Faunus now affected her view of her summon. Her mind thought of cascading events from assault gradually increasing into other severe acts that eventually would lead him into the arms of the White Fang. Weiss immediately bit her tongue at the thought of Naruto joining such fiends.
However…
"Are you… disgusted, Weiss?" Naruto asked out of nowhere. Weiss stiffened. She wondered if her thoughts were written somewhere on her body or her face. Outwardly, she averted her gaze, and closed her eyes. "I… see. Disappoinutment then." The hollow words that came out of Naruto's mouth made Weiss shudder.
"Why break the law, Naruto?" Weiss asked in a whispered volume.
"I did it so I can undastand you and this world." He replied. Weiss was about to interrupt. He silenced her with his next words. "But farsto, I am a soldia" Naruto didn't hesitate to say. He observed his summoner's lack of flinching, and understood that she was not surprised by the information. "Or better yet, in a more rerevanut comparison, a mersenaree affiriatedo with a Kingdom." He paused. "I am taught to gather inforumation as quickly as possible in unfamiriar teruritoree by any means necessary." He looked straight at his summoner, who did not return the gesture. "You are rucky you did not hear of me murdering someone to get what I wanted." At the mere mention of murder, Weiss shivered.
"Naruto…" Winter wanted to say something, but the blond put a stop to that.
"I will not hold back, Weiss." Naruto announced. "I am a joker. I am a deceiver. I am a thief. I am a fighter. I am a soldia. I am a kirra." He waited for Weiss to look at him. There was no luck on that front. He noted no reaction from her in any way, shape, or form. He guessed that she realized this from his words alone. Or maybe, she too saw something. Wouldn't rule it out considering he saw one too. "I am probabulee scum in your eyes now." He said. "But it does not change the fact that there are things that are done out of necessuty."
Weiss looked at Naruto uneasily. "Necessity?" She repeated the word. "There is no reason for you to break the law, Naruto! You didn't need to stoop to lows like a degenerate! You could have asked for help from me or my sister."
"I do not want to be spoon-fed information like a baby, Weiss." Naruto answered bluntly. His firm stare did not deviate into any other expressions. "I adumaire your generosity, but your way is slow."
Weiss felt offended that her help was dismissed as if it was a nuisance. She recovered from the recoil caused by Naruto's blunt choice of words to respond. "Wha-"
"A poor man with no friends to depend on has no money to feed his famiree. Would you have them starvuh or have him suteal?" Naruto interrupted without fail.
"That has nothing to do with what you've done!" Weiss bolted off her chair, and exclaimed to the blond.
The blond nodded without hesitation. He understood that his words had no context. Until he said his piece, that is. "You are right. But the motivu at the core is the same. The man in my senaruioo, if driven to the edugee, would act out of necessuty." He saw his summoner immediately clamp down on her mouth. "I am sorry for doing something necessaree. But I will admit, I've done something wrong. Does that displease you, Yuki hime?" While he blasted Weiss with words of turth, inwardly, he found himself thankful for taking the time to read a grammar book to make proper , he still was well deep into this conversation. He looked intently at Weiss.
The sight of clenched fists told all to the blond. He kept silent to not cause any more distance in the already strained bond with his summoner.
Winter could cut the tension in the air with a plastic knife. Weiss was right that Naruto didn't need to do what he did. But he wasn't wrong either in that when necessities are desperately needed, a crime on record is hardly a deterrent. But she was intrigued by Naruto's reasonings to commit a stupid thing.
"I understand that you are a warrior, and you need the respect of one. However…" She trailed off for a moment to readjust herself at her seat. "What did you do to gain a vast amount of knowledge overnight? Learning a language, while is not a prevalent thing in this world, is a trying task. Yet you've shown a varying degree of knowledge immediately, and exposed yourself to those who would see you dead or tamed."
Naruto stood up from his seat. "My abirities mine to know, my summoner to learn, and for everyone else to disucova if they are rucky to witonessu it. All you have seen… is because I thought that the amount of force is apporopriate to the situation." His words were truth. "I admit that revearing myself at the rybraree was stupid. And I am paying consekuenuces." He hummed before he gave a toothy grin. "But they will have to catchu me farsto!"
"You're going to run from the law?" Winter asked. "After a noble thing you've done for the kingdom?"
"Is that out of 'necessity' too, Naruto?" Weiss asked angrily. "You'd evade the authorities?"
"I am going to hide from the miritaree because that is how I will be safe." Naruto fixed the statement as well as explain his next actions. He looked at Weiss, then to Winter. "The porize cannot give a heavy sentence to what is such a small crime." He shrugged his shoulders, and pointed an accusing finger at the elder sister. "Retsu be honest, your miritaree is the one who has eyes on me. Kind or mariciousu, they are not eyes I want on me at the moment. And they will use this as reason to de…tain me."
"Why do this to yourself, Naruto?" Weiss asked. "Why make yourself a scoundrel? Why perform the things you do, then tarnish that by committing crimes?"
"Why does that bother you?" Naruto returned the question with one of his own. "I am your summon, yes, but my actions do not carry ova to you. I am alive -therefa I can make my own choices. Good. Or. Bad."
Winter interjected. "You must understand that Faunus in Atlas are not accepted wholly."
"I know that from my conversation with Makoto. Discurimination." He said bluntly. "So? What does that have to do with me? I have been laughed at, scorned, despised -what difference is there from what I have exuperiencsut?" He laughed hollowly as memories of his childhood erupted in his mind. The mere mention of discrimination replayed the events like some movie reel. His expression morphed to reigned anger. "I have been called a 'liar' countless times. 'Thief!'" He recited. "'Murderer!'" Teeth revealed pronounced canines.
The sisters recoiled at the sight.
But Naruto cooled off with a deep breath. "So what is one crime supposudu to mean to me? Does it stain my Faunus reputation?" He turned away to look at the kingdom outside the window.
"Yes it does." Weiss replied firmly. "When instead you could be a better person, you chose the easy way. Instead of doing hard work that showed your sincerity and your merit, you do this."
Naruto sighed. "Your sister knows rittle, Weentah."
"Excuse me?!" Weiss stepped forward. She didn't like what was said, obviously. "You're the one turning yourself into a criminal! You're throwing your life away!"
"Why do you want me to be a better man for something so rittle?"
"Because all I see -all I hear is how you'll descend into an anarchist. A terrorist." Weiss answered uneasily.
"Hah. Now that is fonny." He looked at Weiss. "Do you think so little of Faunus that any negative action will read to them becoming a Whaitto Fang memba, Weiss?" The shudder he observed said enough. He smiled.
"How do you know of them, Naruto?" Winter questioned cautiously.
"I see. That is where the fault lies." The smile became a smirk. "I learned of them while I studied. I needed backguraond on your world's corentto eventsu. Faunus exuturemists of the highest order. It makes sense; you lack faith in the Faunus ever changujing once they have sturayed. That is why you so desuperatulee want me to be better. Because I can reformu before it is too rayt." He walked to the window. "You want me to 'face the music' as some of your people say. But I cannot. Not because I am a coward, but because I am important."
The elder sister understood immediately. The younger didn't.
"Think of this, Weiss." He said. "You have a ball. Evuree one else wants it. Who do you give it to? Them, who might use it and never give it back, desutroy it, or use it against you? Or do you keep it, and be the target of their jealousy and paranoia? Do you see the image, Weiss?" He turned around. "That is my situation right now, Weiss. I am that ball in your hands."
"…So what's the point?" Weiss asked, still not understanding it.
"The miritaree is dangerous." Naruto said. He sighed because even when he mentioned it earlier, Weiss failed to comprehend. " They want to make me their soldier or their weapon." He shook his head and shrugged his shoulders. "It is obvious enough, yet you are brind. If they cannot have me, they will try to desutroy me." He looked at his summoner with pity. "You are the summoner of what they deemed powafurru. They want it -they want me for themselves." He sat on the couch once more. "As I see it, I have little time to learn what I need to know about Remunanto. That is why I rushed. That is why I said you know rittle. You don't know how human hearts work." He pointed out to Weiss. "That is why I broke the law you so love. My time as a helpless summon is gone. They will want their pawn. My fureedom is freetingu."
"I would protect you from that life and from them!" Weiss exclaimed. "You are my summon! They can't take you away from me, nor can they attempt to do that!"
Naruto closed his eyes. "You undaresutimate the resolve of gureedee or scared men." He answered without missing a beat. He felt the summoner's anger simmer down, and waited for a few more moments to continue. "Your words will fail because you are someone they do not care to risten to. Not onry are you a chaildo, but your fatha and the miritaree are more infuruensial than you -more powafuru than you. They can do whatever necessusari to get what they want." He gave Weiss a small look of sadness. "I appureciate your consarun over my actions and my werrbeeing, but you cannot help me."
Weiss' form slacked. She appeared defeated; her confidence died out with the few truths uttered. Yet, her eyes quivered with anger. Though it's unknown whether this anger stemmed from frustration over her uselessness or something else.
Winter spoke up. "If I told you that there is a place for you in this kingdom where you can hide without any need to look over your back, would you go there?"
Naruto looked at the elder sister with cautious eyes. "And where would that be?" He asked.
Icarus watched as the materials were tempered by the facilities' machines. The external pieces were already formed and molded into the specific shapes needed, polished, refined, and then set aside. The internal frame, where the pneumatic pistons, the gears and joint mechanisms, pseudo muscles, and everything else were being made. The armor-clad young man looked to his father beside him. "Do you approve of my choices?"
"It's not a matter of whether I approve." The father replied. "It's a matter of how am I supposed to piece it together." He crossed his arms. "Not only do you want something akin to a magazine stored beside the inner frame, you want an ejection system for it that leads to the palms. That, and a propulsion mechanism at the elbow for great impact. You also want ample space to hold a wire system and three pairs of…" The father took a deep breath. "You're making my brain do overtime making those things collapsible."
"Surely, you jest." Icarus remarked with a light chuckle following after. "My father, one of the world's finest inventors and designer in all things mechanical, is having a migraine over something as simple as this?" He shrugged his shoulders. "Besides, It's not my fault. The algorithm that makes the derivatives is the one you need to complain to."
"That I do." The father admitted. From his coat, he pulled a lighter out alongside a pack of cigarettes. "But… you have to admit this is that hardest that my system has ever done in its ten years of service." He opened the pack, and took a cigarette out. He stashed the pack before he lit the cigarette. "Over five hundred seeds came from that process." His free hand massaged his temples. "And at least a thousand derivatives came from those seeds."
"A fighting monster of a Faunus." Icarus simplified.
The inventor took a huff of his cancer stick. He exhaled it, and let out a line of smoke. "Undoubtedly."
"How are you planning on making those arms move?" Icarus asked. "Because last I recall, there should be a Dust engine in them to work." He looked to his father. "Yet I see none in the blueprints. Nor do I see anyone designing a pair for both."
The father continued to huff his cigarette. "The false muscle is fashioned like a regular muscle. As such, they are made up of smaller muscles that contribute to the whole." He eyed his son, who appeared to wish to jump to questions. "In those false fascicles, there are six ultra Aura-sensitive receptors embedded in them. Upon sensing Aura, they will expand and contract by the will of our client."
"Isn't that counterproductive? The point of the prosthetics is to not use his Aura." The son crossed his arms.
"The client has so much Aura to deal with, why not siphon a mere one -nay, a third of a percent of it to function the arms?" The father answered with a question. His free hand waggled like some pointer a teacher used during lessons. "The hyper-sensitive Aura receptors will act like pathways for the Aura to flow. Think of it like a false nervous system for false muscles. He just needs to move his Aura like always, but with significantly less Aura consumption from his already insignificant drain of it."
"So you're refining his control?" Icarus readjusted his previous question to this.
"That is the theory." The father answered. "However, whether the receptors can handle a heavy input or not is up in the air. Another is the durability and structural integrity of the internal frame; I doubt that it will survive its first true battle." He chuckled lightly. "Those blows he deals out… the stress on the joints has to be otherworldly." He huffed his cigarette once more while he shook his head. With a long sigh, the smoke he inhaled was released. "No shock absorber in the world has the ability to take on impacts enough to push back enemies built like mountains." He hummed loudly whilst pacing back and forth -a telltale sign of his frustration.
"Then perhaps a call to the Red Smith will help?" Icarus suggested. "That inherent skill of his to analyze structures might be of some assistance. Perhaps."
The inventor screeched to a halt. His frustration was immediately wiped out at the mention of one of Atlas' unique smiths. "Is he even in the Kingdom for starters?" He asked.
Icarus took out his Scroll. "We'll just have to find that out, won't we?"
The father waved a hand. "Call him later. We'll discuss further if he's available." He beckoned his son, who did not hesitate to follow him to his office. "Right now I've need of your opinion on his secondary equipment." He said as they traversed the halls. "This one has the theme of custom modules created from the derivatives packed into one superstructure."
""Wait, what?!" Icarus was surprised by his father's initiative. "I thought the additions to his prosthetics were the only armaments we are meant to give." He shook his head not know what his father was thinking. "Why give him more than needed?"
"I want those arms of his to be formidable." The inventor answered. "But those are for the threats that are manageable by his skills alone. This one is for the ones beyond abnormal, the ones that push him to use Aura in a wasteful way."
"Father, the client can make an avatar the size of a military cruiser! Even if you're making the argument that he's being wasteful, the fact of the matter is that he can win with it! There's no need to make this." Icarus reasoned. "What you're giving is overkill!"
The father stopped walking. "The point of these creations is keep him fighting for a longer amount of time." He turned to his son, and looked him in the eyes. "I understand that this is unneeded because all I've done is theoretically improved his sustainability of his by only nine percent. In context of a battle, that's an extra half a day from his already ridiculous limit." The cigarette burned to its last inch. "What I have in mind for him… frankly, It's as you said: it's overkill."
Icarus asked, "Did the Grandmaster put you up to this whole thing?" He interrogated his father angrily.
"Yes and no." The father replied calmly in contrast to his son. "The Grandmaster only wanted to know of the client. He approves of our project, and thus, we are able to make the client's arms. But this extra little thing I've mentioned… is my own idea for caution's sake. I've ran it by him too. He... begrudgingly accepts, but has yet to see it."
"There's a great risk you're taking here by making our client yet another target of another faction." Icarus stressed 'another' because he was fully aware of the tip in the power balance.
"I'm well aware." Icarus' father admitted. "But he can handle his own; I have an unyielding confidence in that young man."
Naruto, Weiss, and Winter waited at the landing pad atop the latter's building that housed the suite. He had yet to learn the location of his sanctuary, and it bugged him to no end that he didn't know. He pestered them for answers, and yet they refused to tell him for reasons unclear. The idea of waiting for transport when time wasn't on his side didn't appeal to the blond. Standing out in the bearable cold for minutes did not smooth things over with his initial feelings about this. The instincts he developed over the years told him to run right now to leave the sisters out of his mess. Weiss may be his summoner, but she could not be held accountable. In a way, this was still in the promise he made to her last night.
To protect her. Getting her out of trouble with the military was a way to protect her.
After reminding himself of that, he chose to run. Admittedly, there were better choices that screamed 'Naruto Uzumaki'. However, he couldn't afford to do that. Not to his summoner. Anything he did would spell more trouble than before. The existence of one Naruto Uzumaki was like a singularity for trouble. But not immediately. He took a step back. One small step. It was hardly noticeable unless one looked for movement out of the peripheral. And to his surprise, neither sister noticed. He moved again. Still, the two sister failed to sense his retreat.
"Do you really think that's a good idea? Isolating yourself from your summoner, who already distrusts you, will only breed bad partnership later on." Kurama spoke up for the first time this day. "Is abandonment of your responsibility to her the only way?"
Naruto grimaced at the thought. While he couldn't stay here, he also contradicted himself by abandoning Weiss. He gritted his teeth in frustration. Abandoning a friend for both an equally logical and wrong reason was still a terrible choice! Kakashi's words back when he started out as a Shinobi still lingered. Naruto shivered at the word and the context behind it.
Scum.
"You're not one to abandon friends. That isn't you by a long shot, brat. So why start now? Could the excuse be made that you're in a world so drastically different than home that you needed to reign our power from curious eyes? If so, why take the lessons you learned as a child to heart now when you've ignored them before?" The Bijū didn't understand, and thus the issue was presented as bluntly.
On the other end of the mental conversation, Naruto was forced to think about it. 'Is it the case?' If he was being honest, probably. Naruto didn't want people hounding him for Kurama's Chakra again. But as a summon, he had a responsibility to keep his summoner -his friend safe. And there came the conundrum. To help one is to ignore the other's problem. If he stayed by Weiss, he would no doubt be a target by the military and other interested parties. If he isolated himself from Weiss, he'd leave Weiss to a less than proper father as well as leave her by her lonesome.
"What is the right choice here, Kurama?"
"Don't ask me! I'm the one going away in a couple of days!" Kurama shouted inside Naruto's head. "If you're so worried, then don't take me into account."
"But that means I'm abandon-"
"Cut the crap with your half-assed excuses!" Kurama interrupted passionately. Naruto could imagine the Bijū slamming a paw down on the floor violently. "No one is telling you to be the damn plaything of a power-hungry group. You're too much trouble for them anyways once they got a hold of you." The beast shook its head remembering the prankster Naruto once was. It grinned at the memory. "There are better ways to handle those people. Even you admitted it in your head that there were some better ones too! But... what's really important here is that I'm telling you to stick by your damn summoner, that's it!"
Naruto sighed lightly. 'I'm a hypocrite of the highest order.' He thought in defeat. "Fine, Kurama. We'll do it your way." He declared to his partner.
"And your plan to deal with the military?"
"I have some ideas if they do choose to meet me." Naruto replied vaguely. The gears in his head turned. Slowly, the edges of his lips curled upwards ever so slightly. A quick and light huff of amusement came out.
Kurama kept silent. It wasn't sure whether or not to be happy or afraid. It sighed because it was the only thing it could do. 'A miscalculation... It seems I've gone and stirred up the demon.'
Outside, Naruto stopped his retreat. He conjured up an arm to scratch his head as he called his summoner. "Weiss." The summoner turned around. With his head in a bow, he said, "I am sorry fa sutiring. If we have time, I want to retarunu the books."
"And how will you manage to do that when you're a criminal?"
Naruto sprung up happily. With a mock salute, he covered himself in his Chakra cloak, and dashed away like lightning. The sisters were left in the dust; they were unamused.
"I was certain that he would have showed something new." Winter muttered as she crossed her arms.
Weiss faced her sister with an eyebrow raised. "What were you expecting?" She asked.
"Anything other than that." Winter replied. "I was sure that the personification of a bag of tricks, your summon, would do something strange and new."
"Did he not say that he wouldn't reveal his abilities?" Weiss recalled. "It would be a waste to declare that, then throw it away the minute it's convenient." The pair went silent for a moment. Weiss looked to the direction Naruto headed. "At least he has morals for the simple things. That, I can agree with."
"Even though he admitted that he's a killer, you would accept him for morals alone?" Winter questioned. Weiss' expression didn't change, and that made the elder sister curious. "What changed, Weiss? The idea of a Faunus being less than a law-abiding citizen always angered or at the very least perturbed you."
Weiss didn't look at her sister. The best she could do was stiffen up from what she could feel was a curious gaze from her elder sister. It was both uncomfortable and scary. "If I'm to be honest, would you please let me finish before you ask questions?" She asked. Winter agreed without saying anything else. The younger sister used the silence as her signal to speak. "It's because I've seen what Naruto's life was. His life has been a blend of grays." Weiss answered. And to her surprise, Winter did not speak out. "I saw his childhood, the start of his career, and likely the moments before his death." She said nothing of the woman she met in that vision because of how confusing that was.
She turned around to face her sister. Weiss saw not a single change of expression. Not one. Goes to show how Atlas handled its students. Weiss smiled at her sister's determination to let her story continue. And that she did.
"He's an orphan. And in his home... village? I think that's what it was. A-Anyway, he's not very well liked in his home. The people ostracize him. Their glares were intense. Their words, while I could not understand, were sharp like daggers. He was hated for something that could not understood." She looked down. "In a way, I guess that's how we... I treat the Faunus who stray from the righteous path." She grimaced at the truth that came out of her mouth. Tasted like a conflagration erupted in her throat. But she persevered to continue. "But with the Faunus, I have a reason for my cautious dislike. The same can't be said for the villagers Naruto lived with." She looked up. Her expression was of the utmost seriousness. "To alleviate his pain, he made pranks. Caused trouble of all sorts. But never once committed a crime."
Winter shuffled forward. Startled by the movement, Weiss stopped her storytelling for the moment. "Oh? Is it over?" The elder sister asked. Weiss shook her head. "I apologize if I startled you. Standing in one pose for a while made for an uncomfortable experience to listen to your story. Go on."
"At school, on what I could guess was the day of a final exam, he failed. I could see the elation of others at his failure. But then a man approached him with hope. His joy was evident. But then... his joy became dread. His trust in the man was broken by whatever was said. His teacher, one who cared for him, protected Naruto from a killing blow. I quickly understood that the distrustful man was a traitor to the village. Naruto quickly dispatched him, and graduated in the field. He became a child soldier or mercenary, as he said earlier. At least there, he made some friends. His teammates disliked him; however, they were tolerant." She paused soon after. The next she vividly remembered was his final battle.
"Is something the matter, Weiss?" Winter asked out of concern.
The younger sister perked up. "H-Huh? Of course not!" She denied so passionately.
"Next is his death, I presume?" Winter prodded for her sister to move along.
Still uncomfortable with the memory, Weiss shakily confirmed. "Y-Yes. His death was catalyzed by a battle with his teammate. My guess is that the teammate went and became a... traitor. And this battle was to either take this person to justice or kill him." She shuddered as she recollected the chaos the pair made during their fight. Her hands cradled the sides of her head when she remembered the clash but calmed herself for jumping into that. "I unfortunately saw the end of the battle. The two were ragged from fighting. If you saw Naruto like I did, you would have thought how easy to capture or kill him in that instance, but still see it as a trial to do so. They were that exhausted. And yet they drove themselves to beat the other into submission no matter how fatigued their bodies were. Driven machines of battle is the best I can describe for their indomitable will." The raw brutality in their blows echoed in Weiss' head. "When they had enough of their brutish fisticuffs, they decided on one final blow to decide it all. Lightning and wind! Man-made storms, the two of them! The riverbed they fought on used to be a deeper, but their clashes cut off the water flow from the natural reservoir above. The ravine's walls crumbled from the power they exuded, and the river evaporated to the point the ground was just mud." Weiss covered her eyes as if to protect herself from the viewing of the memory. "T-They were so casual about unleashing power that could kill within a s-single breath!"
"Take your time, Weiss." Winter said softly.
"Lightning and wind." Weiss recalled. "They used elements without Dust. The freedom to use them -it's like they consumed Dust! Yet... they didn't show signs of degradation or mutation." Winter reigned in the questions that formed in her head. "And those two... they became man-made storms. Naruto's teammate called down lightning, and even coated it with some black flames. Naruto himself beckoned the wind to come to him. With Naruto's attack, however... he made the wind lethally sharp like invisible blades that danced on his palm." Weiss recoiled at the red her mind produced. "Geysers of blood yanked out of his right hand, and still, he chose to make it more powerful that he sacrificed his arm! And... and when they clashed, the self-inflicted wounds affect his other arm when he made yet another to meet his teammate's desperate secondary and final attack. It ended in an explosive display, from what I could gather."
"Quite vivid from what you're describing." Winter remarked.
"Yes it was... But you can see why I'm accepting of him. It's the only life he knew: a life of battle and hatred where hope was sprinkled in."
"Yet I see that there are gaps." Winter noted.
"Yes. It seems I witnessed the more important memories that give context to Naruto's current behavior as well as his circumstances moments before coming here." Weiss summarized. "I can only hope he strays from it now."
Winter agreed to some extent. But there was something else that bothered her. "You say he's a dead man." Winter recalled. "I seem to be mistaken, but your conclusion to your story says otherwise."
"W-What?!"
"You never specified seeing a body. And in my belief, not seeing a body does not mean death." Winter explained. "All you've seen is a whiteout, and that says little of anything."
"If an attack made of his own doing led to self-inflicted wound to eventual dismemberment, then why rule out the possibility of death?" Weiss questioned. "It ended in an explosion too! How can anyone survive an explosion when they're at the end of their ropes?"
"If they had enough energy to blow themselves up, then they have enough Aura to protect themselves." Winter countered with the shake of her head. "You are pretty adamant about considering your summon as a deceased being. I don't understand this. He's as alive as you and I. Is there something you're leaving out, or are you implying your summoning is far more flawed than originally thought of?" Her scrutinizing gaze seemed to look deep into Weiss' heart to dig out the truth.
"Stirr not here." Naruto said out of nowhere. The sisters flinched at the sudden appearance out of nowhere. "Weentah, Weiss, your ride is slow." The blond remarked bluntly. He looked at Winter's unchanged expression, then to Weiss' frozen stature. Tension, he sensed. "Something happen?"
"Weiss is... still reeling from your earlier comments." Winter lied.
"Ah." Naruto did not believe that for one second.
"How did you manage to return the books?" Winter asked before she remembered something else far more important. "How... did you even gather the books?"
"I opened the windowu." Naruto replied casually. "Like I did to get into your home rast nighto." He hummed and nodded. "Then, I dashed to the rybraree, and stacked the books in front of the door!"
"I see..." Winter needed to do something about her windows, it seemed. If it was that easy to enter, surely investing in a few locks would be of benefit. Nonetheless, she crossed her arms. "Did you give every book?" She asked.
"Yes?"
"The dictionary too?" Winter asked quite seriously.
Naruto took off his coat, and shook it well enough to dislodge anything in its pockets. The sound was enough to get Weiss to look too. Nothing came out. He even went to open his back pouch to reveal his stash of pointy things among his wallet and other personal belongings. He dropped the pouch on the ground like he did to his coat to move on to the next article needed to be inspected. To which, he placed his hands near the button of his pants.
"Alright, that's far enough!" Winter shouted in a panic with her face reddening by the second because of Naruto's boldness. If there was a competition on who was redder, Weiss easily won. Both watched the young man's stupefied expression change to a smug grin. Realizing they've had been played with, they sighed. "I believe you. J-Just put your coat and your pouch back where they belong." Winter said in defeat.
Naruto did as told, and said, "Sorry! You two are tensu. I needed to get your minds off of whatever you two talked about." The grin didn't make it believable. He fixed himself up, and dusted any dust that might have stuck to the coat. "But seriouslee, this is taking too rong. Where are we going anyway? I at reast have a right to know!" He demanded from Winter and Weiss the answers that still yet to be given.
"You're meeting a Schnee." Weiss answered as she pointed a finger. Her serious side returned. He smiled at that. At least she recovered from his words earlier. "Nicholas Schnee, grandfather to my sister and I. You best be on your best behavior, understand!"
Naruto nodded. Grandfather. There was a mention of the elder man in his vision of Weiss' memory earlier. From the sound of it, the father married into the family to inherit the grandfather's business and fortune. He thought the grandfather passed away. But if the man was alive, then it was a welcome surprise. It was good to know the sisters had some tolerable family members.
Still, he found it odd he had yet to meet the sisters' mother in real life. He wondered where in the world she was. She couldn't have changed into a no-show type of parent. No, to him, that woman seemed like the kind of mother that would do anything to be at her daughters' sides. With a pensive look on his face, he wondered what many possibilities that caused for a lack of appearance from both the mother as well as the grandfather.
"Please do reign in your kleptomaniac tendencies, Naruto." Winter added. "I do not want you facing the estate's defenses should you take a treasure."
Naruto scoffed. "As if I can get caught." He said confidently.
"And yet you did." Winter countered easily. "So much for that confidence in your abilities."
Naruto winced at his moment of weakness. It was one of his many dumb ideas, but at least it wasn't one of the worst he had. Except that mistake sent him on a paranoid run from interested folks. He shook his head to ward the depressing thoughts. After that, he looked up. "Oh. Is that it?" He asked as he nudged his chin in the direction of the northwestern horizon that wasn't hindered by the gigantic mass that was the northern mountains. Both sisters took a look to where he pointed, and confirmed it for themselves. The regal airship, shaped like an arrow bolt, slowed its approach, and veered to the side. The snowflake crest was easily visible as it made circled the building before it approached the pad with its rear facing the trio. Winds rushed at the trio, but hardly any of them felt the need to brace themselves form the wind. It came down on the pad, where four legs emerged from the bottom of the fuselage to keep the aircraft balanced on the flat surface.
The engines whirred down and with it the wind it pulled like a dog on a leash. The bay door opened slowly; air pressure leaked out from the opening. The panels that made up the door adjusted themselves to make a more grand and appropriate walkway. Instead of its smooth incline, its pieces jutted out and up to form stairs. Off to the sides, elevated pipes connected together to make a pair of rails, one on either side.
As for the person exiting the aircraft, it was a woman. She stepped down with slow, graceful steps that clacked loudly because of her high-heeled boots. Her elegant snowy blue dress was topped with a pearl-white coat lined with fur. The showy woman raised her right hand to move some of her long white hair over her shoulder. The moment she came within arms length of either sister, nobody moved. Both sisters were stunned to see this woman. Naruto was unnerved by the woman for the same reason he gave the first time he saw her.
Without warning, the woman leaped at the sisters, and sent all three of them to the ground. "My dear Ice Cream and Popsicle! It's been so long!" She squealed.
Naruto blinked at that. 'So the look-alike of Shion like to make food nicknames... not what I expected from a regal woman like her. Then again, I didn't expect that priestess to be bold at the end of that mission either.' He thought with amusement.
The woman squealed some more like some giddy teenager meeting her teen heartthrob as she shook the sisters left and right inside her embrace. "You two hardly call anymore." She said in a depressed tone. "That's not the right way to treat your loving mother, you two. I need at least some form of contact, yet neither of you try!" The now identified mother of two squeezed her daughters close. Her earlier squeals devolved into whimpers of fake sadness as she nuzzled close to her children.
"M-Mother-!" Weiss croaked out from the death hug.
"Can't... brea-!"
"No interruptions!" Mrs. Schnee ordered, to which both the youngest and eldest daughter surrendered immediately from the tone of voice used. "You two are in so much trouble for your negligence. As such, this is your punishment!" She declared before she cackled at her daughters' misfortunes.
"Um... hello, mysteri rady. Stop hurting my friends, please?" Naruto asked leaning forward to facilitate eye contact with the mother.
The woman looked curiously at him. She looked up and down, inspecting him carefully. When she was satisfied with her examination, she smiled. "Hello, mystery boy!" She chirped back at him. "You're someone new. My name is Henrietta Schnee. May I know your name, and what you mean to my daughters?"
"I am Naruto Uzumaki." Naruto greeted with a bow. "I am furends with your daughtas." He answered easily before adding on, "And I am Weiss' samon."
"Oh! I heard about you from Klein! Nice to meet you, Naruto!" The mother said happily. She turned to her youngest daughter. "And you, young lady-" The person of interest tried to protest while making an attempt to wriggle out of the mother's grasp. "I am so proud of you! You performed you first summon! And to pick up a magnificent specimen of a summon, I am jealous!" Henrietta squealed once more whilst tightening her hold on her youngest. The weak screams of help were drowned out. Her flailing arms restrained to allow only movement from the forearm down.
All the while, Naruto, who didn't get that he was complimented on his looks, laughed at the eccentric mother. He judged her as such: 'One thing's fore sure. She may look like Shion, but she doesn't act like her!'
A few moments later, Henrietta released her hold on her children. She said, "Alright, that's enough of my antics." She dusted herself off as she rose up from her knees. After she deemed herself prim and proper, she pulled her daughters up by their arms, and did the same for them too. With a smile, she said, "We shall continued introductions and such on the airship." The mother of the sisters turned around, and headed up the stairs. "Come along now, I hear someone is in need of sanctuary. We best be going if we want no interruptions." And with that, the three left behind followed in haste.
"Father. No. Just no." Icarus said as he looked upon the monstrosity of a box. "That box can't be given to him! You hear me? That is too much, too dangerous, and too deadly!"
The father was shocked. "I'm appalled that you call my genius a mere box! This is meant to be a container of all things pointy, explosive, blunt, and raw power collected in one!" He boasted excitingly. He hugged the thing like a lost lover. With gleaming eyes that shone behind his spectacles, the father said, "Too much, I can agree with. Dangerous, even more so. Deadly! Well... what use is a weapons developer such as I if I do not make deadly objects?" He patted the box several more times. "Still, I will admit this is still partially unfinished."
Icarus gawked. "It's not done?! It's the size of a refrigerator or even bigger!" He pulled his father away from his abomination. "Just how much more are you adding on? At what percentage is this monster of yours done?!" He questioned as he shook his father back and forth like mad.
"N-NoOT eee-yenaaAAAFFFHh!" Shouted back by the father.
Icarus shook his father even harder. Grip tightened to a vice, he shouted, "What do you mean it's not enough?! Don't tell me you're planning on making him a one man massacre machine?!" His voice echoed loudly within his armor. "You fool!" His helmet knocked into his father's head. The metal clank that came echoed into the giant workshop. "None of this is needed, father." Icarus explained his views on this again. "It's not worth wasting resources on when it will only collect dust! Our client is fine on his own. This deathtrap has a better chance of being stolen than it will ever see all of its weapons utilized in a lifetime!" Icarus cradled his father's head.
"Boy, am I lucky I have my Aura." The father started off. He shook his head to rid himself of any lingering effects, if any, from the blow. "I understand. But I see it as a precaution. Something he can use if the need arises." He said before he gave a smirk. "Besides, nobody can steal it. It's far too heavy even with a set of wheels to help drag it along. I've made its construction far too complex for any normal engineer to reverse engineer. It's also impossible to activate without its designated owner."
Icarus let go of his father. "You mean you've already set up countermeasures?"
His father smacked the top of his helmet. "Of course I did!" He said. "I know very well that I am making something far too dangerous that it will inevitably draw unwanted attention to it. Hence I've made it too cumbersome for anyone else to even attempt to use it."
"Hmm... I'm not sure I approve." Said a new voice that appeared beside them without warning. The quality was hoarse, yet comprehensible enough to understand; the voice of an old man. "A war machine such as what you've described... it's far too much for one person to wield even if you deem him noble enough to use it responsibly."
"G-Grandmaster!" Both Icarus and his father uttered in shock.
"Daedalus and young Icarus, a good morning to you two." Greeted the old man. "It brings me such joy to find out I still have the skill to sneak up on people."
Icarus' father bowed. "I'm honored by your presence, but why are you here, sir?"
"Raise your head." The grandmaster ordered softly. "I'm only here to inspect the tool you've made. Which begs the question as to how you've developed the idea in the first place?"
Daedalus attempted to speak, but was overtaken by his son. "May I speak freely, sir?" Icarus requested.
The old man sighed and shook his head. "Since you've already spoken freely, you might as well."
"I believe my father went into one of his panic building episodes." Icarus explained flatly. "On a much grander scale, might I add."
"Fits him well for sure. You do always make something when you're paranoid, Daedalus. There was that new Dust engine when your car was being finicky. Redesigning the Atlas wing suit when you heard your son was to test-pilot one into a fully flight-capable with mounted guns." The Grandmaster pointed out and some few more that dragged the inventor lower and lower out of embarrassment. "Yes, I can see a semblance of a truth in that hypothesis, young Icarus. Might I guess what triggered your paranoia, Daedalus?"
"Why bother asking when you have the answer?" Daedalus questioned.
The elderly man hummed. "I see. An Elder is something to worry about." He folded his arms together, and nodded. "I understand completely." That reply gave the inventor hope. However, the pause unnerved him. "But that does not warrant a war machine like this." The proverbial foot was put down. Daedalus' spirits lowered. "I will allow a smaller scale -something that is interchangeable to fit the situation. And I want to see it in individual sets. I do not want what you have now. I desire your work to be inconspicuous, not obvious. Understand?"
Daedalus bowed. "Yes, Grandmaster."
"Good. Now I have to go now. Good luck with your new projects!" And as quickly as he appeared, he disappeared into a flash of white light.
Icarus looked to his father. "Well... at least you've got your idea intact."
"Indeed." The father agreed as he looked at his work. "I'm lucky he allowed a smaller scaled version of my idea. Sad that this has to devolve though. Just thinking about its sheer weight being used to be some makeshift hammer... or its whole form changing into a cannon." He pinched his temples. "A sad day in the end." He uttered.
"Oh move on, father. We still need to get a specialist's eyes on the inner frame of the prosthetics, remember?" Icarus reminded by dragging his crazy father by the collar of his coat.
"Eh? Have you confirmed if that man is even in the Kingdom?" Daedalus questioned.
A quick dismissal was given. "Who cares as long as you stop tinkering with your overkill box?"
"Hey, I resent that! I told you that masterpiece is not a box!"
"It's a box, and don't you dare deny it!"
And done. How was this chapter?
Review, follow, favorite, I don't care.
This is Azure signing off.