Chapter Twelve: Unwind
Team MNKM remained silent in the elevator up with Ironwood. He had not brought Cobalt, something that Naruto found suspicious. Naruto was aware that Ironwood knew he had many questions about the boy, but to not bring Cobalt here was too convenient. Naruto, however, was not aware of the exchanging looks his team was sharing, given his preoccupied mind. When the doors finally began to open, Team MNKM was surprised to see Ozpin pacing back and forth with a serious expression he had never worn, and Qrow leaning against the wall being scolded by Glynda for drinking so early in the morning. It seems there was already a discussion that took place, and from the looks of it, it didn't go well. Ironwood stepped out first, and tried to open the discussion.
"Hello Professor Ozpin," he began, only to be cut off by Qrow.
"Get straight to the point, Jimmy," he hissed. "We all know why you're here, so start explaining why you're experimenting on kids." This got the attention of the four students, but Ironwood was not fazed.
"You've got it wrong Qrow, I'm not experimenting on children. Cobalt is a special case we've been working on."
"What are you talking about?" Naruto growled.
"Ozpin, you know that Atlas is always working to make new technology," he said, earning a slight nod from Ozpin. Naruto didn't like being ignored, but bit his tongue. "We want to make the world safe, and make everyone's lives easier. When we studied Naruto's energy, we found that although it is similar to Aura, it also has trace amounts of what seemed to be Dust at first. Under certain conditions, it took on properties of wind, and even fire."
"What's your point, Jimmy?" the scythe wielder asked irritably.
"We use Dust for energy, but as you know, it doesn't work outside our atmosphere. Space travel is something that is a fantasy to us, but Naruto's energy doesn't have such a limit. My scientists been able to isolate it in chamber where Dust would normally not work but his chakra had shown no changes. If we can figure out how to harness and use it, the possibilities are endless."
"That doesn't explain your 'special case'," growled Naruto. He felt two hands from Kohl and Marie on his shoulders holding him back from a step forward he didn't realize he took. Ironwood realized that he had gone off topic, and let his enthusiasm die.
"Right, of course," he said, composing himself once more. "Professor, I have mentioned to you before about a predicament one of my head scientists has." Ozpin nodded, although he showed a slight amount of confusion. "Well, his situation had brought him to a new area of robotic research. He wanted to create a sentient android."
"You mean artificial intelligence?" asked Midnight, surprising her teammates with her brief outburst.
"In a way, yes," replied Ironwood, as he turned back to Ozpin. "One of the problems we had with this was creating something more… human. We've had many close cases, but in the end, they've all failed… until Cobalt."
"Does that mean Cobalt's a robot?" asked Marie to Kohl, who shrugged.
"Naruto, you seem to want to ask something," noted Ozpin. "Go ahead."
"Thank you, Professor," began Naruto. He glared at Ironwood, and raised his hand, creating a Rasengan. "Do you know what this is?"
"It's chakra," replied Ironwood easily.
"Correct," Naruto smiled sarcastically. He then pushed it against the wall he was standing next to, making it crumble.
"Naruto!" chided Glynda, but the boy ignored her. He raised his other hand, and created a second Rasengan, only it became a dark purple color as it was infused with the Kyuubi's chakra.
"Do you know what this is?" he emphasized. Ironwood inspected it more closely.
"It still looks like Chakra," he replied a bit hesitantly. "Albeit, a bit darker."
"Almost," replied Naruto, thrusting it into the opposite wall, causing a much bigger area of destruction. "That was my chakra with some of the fox's mixed in." He then began to emit a deep red color, which immediately put Ozpin, Glynda and Qrow on edge. Qrow had seen what it could do firsthand, and the other two had seen a glimpse from what Qrow managed to record.
"What are you doing, Mr. Uzumaki?" asked Glynda sternly. Naruto once again ignored her.
"Finally, do you know what this is?" he growled, his voice distorting. Ironwood once again gave the same answer. "Alright, why don't you touch it?"
"What reason would-" began the General.
"This is what Cobalt would be feeling if he was human, so touch it!" he demanded, extending his arm out to the General. Ironwood grabbed his wrist, and immediately retracted it as his skin began to burn.
"What the," he said, waving his hand to cool it off. Naruto allowed the chakra to recede. "Naruto's chakra has never shown such adverse effects in our labs."
"That is what your robot is blasting people with when he uses that gun," Naruto explained angrily. "Now this is my final question. WHY does he have the fox's chakra?"
"Yes, General," chimed in Ozpin. "Why did you infuse this robot boy with an energy you do not understand?" The three Huntsman and the four Huntsman in training looked at the General with pointed glares.
"I'm trying to protect Remnant," he replied, frustrated. "We need to be prepared for the next threat that comes our way, even if we are in a time of peace.! You have done nothing with this new power to benefit the world, am I so wrong to be the first to try?"
"YES!" shouted Team MNKM in unison.
"It's a huge invasion of privacy!" shouted Marie.
"You didn't even ask him!" pointed out Kohl.
"And you've done this behind Ozzy's back after he's trusted you for so long!" added Naruto. Ironwood took a deep breath, and sighed tiredly.
"It appears that you're on your own, James," added Ozpin.
"I see that Ozpin," he replied with masked anger. "What would you have me do, then?"
"You can start by removing blondie's Chakra from your toy robot," Qrow chimed in immediately.
"We can't," replied Ironwood, earning even more annoyed looks from the veterans in the room. "Cobalt can't use the Chakra directly. The weapon he has is infused with different Dusts, which the Chakra is able to magnify the effects of. It uses the same technology that we used to drain Naruto's chakra on a much smaller scale, the only difference is that the gun then infuses it back into his body. Naruto's Chakra is the only thing that is keeping him going. Before the infusion, Cobalt was just another mindless robot, but afterwards he began to gain a sense of self. If we take it out, it might kill him."
"Don't do that," said Naruto, much more calm than before. Qrow gave the boy a quizzical look.
"Kid, that android is dangerous," said Qrow. "You're the only one who knows how this Chakra stuff works."
"It's not Cobalt's fault," replied Naruto, looking at Ironwood. "It's yours. I didn't ask to have the fox sealed in me, just like Cobalt didn't ask you to stick my chakra in him. As much as I hate to say it, your reasons for doing so… aren't too dissimilar for why it was done to me." His team was a shocked to see Naruto drawing parallels that compared Ironwood to his own father.
"What were the reasons that-"
"You don't get to know that!" Naruto interrupted. "I don't like you, and I don't trust you. My life is none of you concern." Ironwood was taken aback, but agreed. He had no place to ask such things after this invasion of privacy.
"So, what is to come of Cobalt?" asked Ozpin.
"I've had him go on a few field tests," replied Ironwood, getting glares from the team behind him. "He's going to continue as a student of my academy, and will participate in the Vytal Tournament."
"Then I am too!" insisted Naruto.
"Naruto, you don't have an Aura to gauge," reminded Glynda.
"If Jimmy here can enter his student who has no Aura, why can't you?" Naruto demanded.
"That is true; how will he participate if the officials can't call the match?" asked Ozpin.
"I've had my scientist link his scroll with a program that detects the damage he takes in battle, and will display his Aura accordingly. He won't have an edge, since he can't feel when his Aura is depleting, and instead will get periodic reminders that inform him of his Aura levels, or he can just look up at the giant monitor."
"So he's cheating?" asked Kohl. "Then Naruto can cheat too. Let him get in on that program." Marie tried to hide a smirk, knowing that Kohl just wants to participate in the Tournament.
"Very well," he agreed easily. "I'll have it sent to you once I'm back on my ship. Is there any other questions from you, or is this interrogation over?"
"No," replied Naruto, seeing that his team would get an explanation from him later. "We're done."
"Then you are dismissed," replied Ozpin. "I'm sure Qrow and Glynda have a few things to discuss with the General." Naruto could almost feel the killing intent radiating off Qrow, but said nothing and left with his team.
Team MNKM Dorm
"That was a headache," complained Marie, falling on to Naruto's bed face first. "Are you good though? You seemed really pissed in there."
"I'm fine," assured Naruto, taking a seat at the desk in their room. Kohl sat on his bed and took out his scroll, scanning through it. Wanting to shift the spotlight away from her partner, Marie looked over to Kohl.
"So anything you want to share Kohl?" Marie asked with exaggerated inflection in her voice.
"What are you talking about?" he asked, not looking up. "What would I have to share?"
"I don't know, you were gone for the whole weekend with a cute Faunus girl," began Marie. "You didn't call home, and Mindy was worried sick! What happened between you? Am I going to be an aunt?"
"No, nothing like that," he answered, ignoring his leader's face fall. He didn't seem remotely bothered by her implications.
"Wow, you're like absolutely zero fun to tease," she sighed as she once again failed to get a rise out of him.
"What about you and Mindy?" asked Naruto. "I was gone most of Saturday, how did the Dust robberies investigation go?"
"It was fine," assured Marie, laughing nervously. "Nothing spectacular happened."
"What happened after we left the first club?" asked Midnight. "I can't really remember that day well." This seemed to grab both boys attention.
"N-nothing happened," replied Marie. "We just walked around looking for Junior, then we crashed his place, remember?"
"No," she answered simply, ignoring the signals Marie was desperately trying to give. "What happened? I woke up sore all over, especially my head."
"Oh, the club was loud, you know," Marie tried to wave off.
"What did happen?" asked Kohl. "You seem to be hiding something."
"Nothing!" she insisted.
"You're a terrible liar," chuckled Naruto.
"Look, Mindy was offered a few drinks when I was talking to the bartenders, and before I knew it, she was kind of tipsy." Midnight's eyes widened. She remembered the first club now. Marie had ignored a guy that tried to approach her, and Midnight felt a bit sympathetic. She didn't know the drink he offered was to get her drunk, she thought it was a thank-you for acknowledging him. She knew how awful it is to be ignored, and a fruity drink seemed to be an appropriate token of gratitude. After that, her memory began to get blurry again.
"How did you let that happen?" asked Kohl incredulously. He had no malice in his words, just sheer curiosity.
"I was too focused on finding Junior," she admitted. "I didn't think anybody would have tried to take advantage of Mindy that way."
"What do you mean?" asked Midnight. Her team looked at her with skeptical expressions. "W-why are you all looking at me like that?"
"Mindy, do you know what most guys our age want?" asked Kohl seriously. She shook her head nervously, getting a sigh from Marie.
"Mindy, we're going to have a talk…Like right now," she said, dragging Mindy into the bathroom. It wasn't long before they stepped out, and Mindy hid her burning face from being seen. "Ok, now that that's settled, let's talk about our break."
"What break?" asked Naruto.
"First semester is over," Kohl answered. "We have about ten weeks of down time before classes start up again. I suggest we start training for the Vytal Tournament, we need to get our teamwork in check."
"What are you talking about, we work great together!" argued Marie.
"No, we don't," Kohl replied evenly. "We've haven't had a real mission where we have had to work together in combat roles since our initiation, and that wasn't really impressive, given we only took out a single Ursa."
"That Ursa was stronger than any Ursa I've ever seen," Marie pointed out, before she realized the truth in his words. "I guess your right… Back at the docks, we were all fighting individually, not really as a team. Why is that?"
"Kohl was out with Blake, I had to plant some bombs and swipe some files, and you barely got your weapon back," answered Naruto. "Speaking of which, Mindy was the only one who was being a team player. She protected you from that umbrella girl."
"That mute midget is tough," grumbled Kohl. "She was able to keep Blake and Sun at bay long enough for Torchwick to escape, and that's not even mentioning that she took a blast of Chakra enhanced Dust from Robo-boy using her stupid umbrella."
"That thing is ridiculously sturdy!" agreed Naruto. "The blast it was able to disperse should have made a crater in the ground. I wonder if Cobalt was trying to kill them…"
"You know what, let's stop talking about that night," sighed Marie. "We've had a rough couple of weeks, and I just want to unwind. Naruto, did you ask JNPR about the arcade later?"
"Oh, right, they said it was cool," grinned Naruto. "Oh, but RWBY might be there too."
"By herself?" asked Midnight.
"No, not Ruby, team RWBY," clarified Naruto. "Ozpin really messed up naming her team. All four of them will be there."
"Hey Kohl, are you going to be ok with Weiss being there?" asked Marie. Kohl sighed, and shrugged.
"I know there is still going to be some awkward air around us, but it doesn't bother me. Besides, Ren and I still have to swap recipes." This got a few strange looks from his teammates. "What?"
"You're swapping… recipes?" asked Marie. "With Ren?"
"Yea, he's a good cook, according to Nora," he informed. "I'm not too bad myself, but I don't really cook for anybody else. Ren's got a taste tester, so he's probably leagues above me."
"Whoa, don't just try to play this off," demanded Marie. "Since when has this been your thing?"
"Why are you trying to make such a big deal about everything?" sighed Kohl. "Just because I don't have a ton of free time, it doesn't mean I don't have hobbies." Naruto stopped Marie from further interrogating the Faunus by interrupting.
"Anyway, do any of you know where the arcade is?" he asked. "I kind of forgot to ask for directions."
"You idiot…" mumbled Kohl. "Do you even know which one?"
"Heh, heh… no?"
Vale: Public Park
"I'm telling you, these kids these days are getting weirder and weirder!" exclaimed Torchwick as he casually sat in a park bench with his partner. The normally multi-colored girl nodded silently, and continued to enjoy the ice-cream Roman had bought her. The two were dressed in all black, Neo fashioning her now black hair into twin tails with fancy white bows that would normally match Torchwick's attire. Torchwick on the other hand wore a black overcoat and a maroon beanie that hid most of his hair from view. "I know that they go to fancy Huntsman schools and all, but nobody, especially not a dorky little girl, should be able to yank a bunch of airships out of the sky like it was her job! And don't get me started on the whiskered kid, that little bastard gives me the creeps."
"…?" Neo looked over to him and turned her head questioningly, ice cream dripping from her chin. Torchwick knew her unasked question immediately.
"He started attacking the cop kid right after he shot at us with the red explosion," explained Torchwick, wiping her chin for her. "My weapon didn't leave a mark on him, but the blond was causing physical damage with his bare hands. Even when you hit him upside the head with your parasol, that kiddie cop was barely rattled." Neo nodded in understanding, realizing that it would take a frightening amount of raw strength to achieve that. "Anyway, how's your ice-cream?" he asked. Neo gave him her brightest smile, earning a slight chuckle from Torchwick. "Good."
The two sat in a comfortable silence as Neo finished her frozen treat, and Torchwick letting his mind wander. He wanted to kill that damn teen cop, but he had no idea where he would be now. To top that off, he knew that he needs to remain on the down low, lest he get arrested and have his plans ruined. A few minutes passed, and a devious grin begins to make its way across his face.
"…?"
"Oh, sorry Neo, just got a bit distracted," he waved off, before realizing the role she could play in his plot. "Say Neo… hypothetically, if you found out that Cinder and her two brats were going to betray me, you'd tell me, right?" Neo nodded without hesitation. "What if you found out I was going to betray them, would you tell them?" Neo's smile faltered, and she took out her scroll. Torchwick recognized the expression she held, and only awaited for her message to be sent.
"My allegiance is to you, and you only," it read. Torchwick looked back to his partner, who was pouting slightly. Torchwick's scroll went off again. "Are you questioning my loyalty?"
"No, of course not," he laughed, wrapping his arm around the shorter girl's shoulders. The skeptical expression she held melted away and she leaned into his embrace. "You know that when you've been in this business for so long, you start to get a little paranoid. I know I can trust you, Neo, don't ever forget that." The girl nodded happily, almost cuddling into his arm. Torchwick's scroll went off a third time.
":)"
Ozpin's Office
"I understand your intention, James, but you can't take matters into your own hands like that," Ozpin sighed. "What good would having synthetic people bring?"
"Cobalt was initially designed for exterminating Grimm," explained Ironwood. "In case a swarm would ever manage to break through the walls, they would be the ones who would take them on. I know that the citizens of Atlas are tired of seeing my Atlesian Knights parading around the streets, so we needed something incognito. These androids would be the solution to that, as they won't raise suspicion from passersby while still keeping them safe."
"So making a bunch of tin soldiers was your only option?" asked Qrow sarcastically, before realizing Ironwood's wording. "What do you mean 'initially' designed?"
"Cobalt… can't do much against Grimm," admitted Ironwood hesitantly. He noticed the lack of reaction that the three Huntsman gave him. "You don't seem all that surprised…"
"We have had our suspicions," replied Glynda. "Naruto and Qrow had found out during their field test. Naruto's red Chakra won't do any damage to Grimm unless he personally wills it to. If he doesn't it just seems to make them stronger."
"Which is why your little 'Grimm Exterminator' can't do any damage," realized Qrow. "You based all his weapon systems to run off Naruto's Chakra! Goddamn it, Jimmy! Didn't you run any test done before you went gung-ho with your experiments?"
"We ran plenty of tests!" Ironwood finally snapped. "We were extremely careful with how we handled everything!"
"Then what happened, James?" asked Glynda.
"We don't know!" he said frustrated. He felt like throwing his hands in the air and walking out, but managed to recompose himself. "We were very thorough, but after the infusion… Cobalt couldn't utilize it. The weapon systems were designed to channel energy, but after he gained sentience, they just shut down on him."
"Naruto would be the only one to have a clue as to why, but I don't think he has ever experienced anything with androids," sighed Ozpin. "General, we have much more to discuss, but it's getting rather late. We can talk about this during the Vytal Festival, when your presence in Vale won't be suspicious."
"I understand," Ironwood said with a nod.
"But the experiments will stop," added Ozpin. "Is there anything else you want to share with us before you go?" Ironwood was about to say no, but remembered his head scientist.
"Yes, there is. Mr. Polendina finally succeeded," he said simply. "She will also be participating alongside Cobalt."
"I see, send him my congratulations. It's good to hear at least one bit of good news." Ironwood nodded and walked into the elevator.
Vale: Downtown
"Is this the place?" asked Naruto, seeing an unimpressive door with the sign 'Games and Stuff' written in green crayon.
"I think so…" Kohl answered unsure. "I mean it's the only place I've found. Call one of them to see if we're in the right place."
"We can just walk inside," pointed out Marie. "We look like a bunch of creeps standing around here like this." Her point went unheard as Naruto was already talking to Jaune.
"Really? No way!" he exclaimed. "That's awesome! I knew you had it in you!"
"Yo, whiskers!" Marie called out.
"Oh right, sorry," he responded sheepishly. "You got to fill me in, we're walking in right now."
"I didn't know Naruto was into gossip," Kohl said with a thoughtful expression. "I guess you learn something every day." The four walked into the unassuming place, and were blown away by the amount of lights and sounds going inside. Naruto had found Jaune waiting his turn on some musical guitar game while Pyrrha and Nora were jamming out. Ren was holding a giant stuffed sloth backpack off to the side, expression never changing.
"Hey Jaune!" Naruto called out. The taller blond turned and gave the team a friendly wave.
"Hey, that was quick, were you waiting outside or something?" he asked.
"Maybe," Naruto laughed. "Anyway, you got to tell me how this all happened." Before Jaune could say anything, another set of voice arrived.
"We're here! The party can start now!" cheered Yang. Behind her trailed the rest of team RWBY.
"Oh, hey Yang," Jaune and Naruto said in unison.
"Well, we're all here," Marie pointed out. "Now what?"
"Have you never been to an arcade before?" asked Nora, who had just managed to beat Pyrrha by a few points. "It's the greatest! Especially the dancing game! Ren is the best!"
"Ren?" asked both team RWBY and MNKM. The green-clad boy just let out a sigh.
"I've got to see this," cheered Yang. Kohl and Midnight followed suit, as Nora led them towards the game.
"Anyway…" Naruto said to break the silence. "I've never been to an arcade, where do you guys recommend?"
"Depends what you're into," replied Pyrrha. "I personally enjoy Ski-ball."
"Alright, lead me to the balls," declared Naruto. Jaune, Blake and Marie stifled a laugh, while Weiss and Pyrrha turned a shade of pink. Ruby didn't seem to catch the joke, but Yang could be heard laughing from across the arcade. Pyrrha led the group over to the set of machines.
"Alright, so what you have to do is get the ball into the holes over there," explained Pyrrha. "The smaller ones are worth more, but they're harder, and the larger ones are worth less, but easier to get into."
"Sounds easy enough," smirked Naruto. He, Pyrrha, Jaune and Blake took their positions as the machine began to countdown. Once it reached zero, the balls were released, and the four of them began to throw them as fast as they could.
"Weiss… is that cheating?" asked Ruby, seeing Naruto throw the balls directly into the holes instead of rolling them. The two had to sit one out, seeing there were only four machines available.
"Well… I think so…" she answered unsure. "I don't think there is a rule saying you have to roll it though…"
"That's my partner!" cheered Marie enthusiastically, before she realized she wasn't cheering on Pyrrha. She didn't want to single out Pyrrha feeling it would be uncomfortable, so she decided to cheer everybody, awkwardly. "Um, go everybody… you're all really… good."
"You sound like one of those moms who thinks everybody should get a trophy," said Weiss. Marie shot her a small glare, but let it soften. Weiss wasn't wrong, but she didn't have to point it out. The game was soon over, and Naruto was the clear victor.
"Wow, I think you beat the high score," applauded Jaune. He turned to see all the scores, and was disappointed he got last. "Wait, you even beat Pyrrha!"
"Really? Cool," Naruto shrugged. He realized that there was something on his foot, and saw the machine spewing out tickets. "What do I do with these?"
"You can exchange them at the prize counter," explained Ruby. "Wow, you got a lot! What are you going to get?" Naruto felt a grin forming.
"Say, are there any luck based games?" he asked almost too innocently. "I want the stuff on the top shelf."
"Dude those are like tens of thousands of tickets," warned Jaune. "You'd have to win the jackpot on every game here."
"I'm feeling it," Naruto grinned. "Come on, I'll show you." The two blonds left the remaining girls behind.
"What do you guys want to do?" asked Blake.
"Karaoke!" cheered Ruby, grabbing her partner by the wrist. "Come on Weiss, you're up first!"
"I'll pass," replied Blake. "I'm going to find Yang. She gets really competitive, and I don't want her breaking anything."
"Have fun!" waved Pyrrha. Marie now found herself with the one girl she had wanted to talk to, but found herself unsure of what to say. Thinking quickly, she looked around to suggest something. "I don't think we've talked much before," said the tall red-head turning back to the shorter girl. She extended out her arm. "I'm Pyrrha."
"Food?" she asked, seeing a child walk by with cotton candy. "For eating?"
"Um, sure, I guess I can eat," Pyrrha said with an awkward laugh.
'YOU IDIOT!' Marie shouted in her head, as she walked along-side her hero.
Jaune stared in shock as Naruto won the Wheel of Fortune on his first try, earning nearly eight hundred tickets. He had already done the same for few other games.
"Dude… how are you doing that?" he asked.
"I've been told I have the devil's luck," grinned Naruto. "What's next?"
"I wish I was lucky," Jaune sighed enviously. "Maybe then Weiss would go out with me…"
"That has nothing to do with luck, Jaune," Naruto replied, gathering his tickets. "I couldn't get a date out of a girl back home even if I was the last guy in the village."
"You?" asked Jaune. "Why not?"
"Well, one, she didn't like me," replied Naruto bluntly. Jaune made the connection, and saw his problem was the same. "Second, she found me annoying and immature, and lastly she already had eyes on somebody else. I mean, we were twelve at the time, but getting shot down still hurt."
"Tell me about it," sighed Jaune. "So what happened?"
"Nothing, really. I kept asking, and kept getting shot down. It wasn't until I came back from my training trip with my godfather that I stopped bothering to ask. At that point, I would just be wasting my time…" Naruto sighed as he rubbed his arms where his weapons were hidden. "Honestly, I should have tried to find somebody else."
"Well, maybe things will work out with me and Weiss," Jaune said hopefully. Naruto shook his head, but didn't dismiss the idea outright.
"I don't know, Jaune. I know you must like her, but there really isn't much you can do to make her like you back. Sometimes you just got to cut your losses and find somebody that's been right beside you when you needed her most…"
"Right beside me?" asked Jaune, confused. Naruto snapped out of his momentary funk, and waved it off.
"I'm sorry, that just sort of slipped out," he said with a forced laugh. "You know, just a bit homesick still. Ignore what I said." Jaune nodded, but kept thinking about it. Why did he like Weiss?
"So, um, you like food?" asked Marie. She cut herself off, and tried to rephrase the question. "I mean, eating, you do that right?"
"Yes…" answered Pyrrha. "A-are you alright?"
"What? Of course I'm alright!" defended Marie, rubbing the back of her head nervously. She knew she was making a fool of herself, and sighed. "I'm sorry, it's just… you're you, you know?" Pyrrha's face lit up in understanding.
"Oh, I'm sorry!" Pyrrha apologized, throwing off Marie. "I didn't mean to be intimidating."
"What, no, you're perfect!" insisted Marie, before she mentally slapped herself. "I mean, it's me. I don't really know how to do the thing," she tried to explain, "the whole… talking? Gah! I'm just rambling now!"
"It's fine" assured Pyrrha. "I didn't think you were a fan of mine."
"What?" asked Marie incredulously. "How can I not be! You won the Mistral Tournament four years in a row! That's incredible! I participated in the first one you won, and I've wanted to meet you since!" Pyrrha sported an embarrassed blush, and tried to play it down.
"I got lucky with my matchups," she tried to explain.
"That's a load of crap! You're amazing!" she insisted, before she covered her mouth. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to spaz out, it's just-"
"You don't have to explain yourself, I think I get it," Pyrrha assured. "I didn't know you were from Mistral. What part are you from?"
"Oh, I'm from Kuchinashi ," she answered. Marie saw the brief expression that flashed on Pyrrha's face. "I know... I'm aware of what people think of it."
"I didn't mean to offend you," Pyrrha tried to explain, "It's just I wouldn't have guessed."
"It's fine," Marie waved off. Suddenly both their scrolls went off. They both opened it to reveal Yang had sent them a mass message informing that she and Weiss will be taking care of the upcoming dance. She was asking if they had any preferences. "We have a dance?"
"Yes, but I thought Team CFVY was taking care of decorations."
"Well, it looks like Weiss and Yang are going to plan it now," shrugged Marie. "So, who are you going to let take you?"
"I, um, don't know yet," Pyrrha replied, looking away. Marie was nearly frozen in shock. She knew that expression anywhere.
"No way," she whispered, earning Pyrrha's attention. "Y-you're crushing on somebody…"
"What?" asked Pyrrha in slight panic. "I, um, don't know what you're talking about."
"I won't tell anybody," she assured. Pyrrha sighed in relief. "If you tell me who, that is."
"W-what?" she asked nervously. Marie brushed it off.
"I'm kidding, I really won't tell anybody," she replied. "If you don't want to say who, that's cool, but at least tell me, how'd he take it?" Pyrrha remained silent for a while, and finally shook her head. "No?"
"He doesn't know," admitted Pyrrha. "I… haven't told him yet."
"Why not?" she wondered aloud, "You're Pyrrha Nikos!"
"That's just it," she sighed tiredly. "I've had the fortune of being an amazing fighter, and I'm always surrounded with people who like me for that reason alone. Nobody really knows me, and I've never really made any real friends because of it."
"I didn't ever think of it that way," realized Marie. Pyrrha just continued, finally having somebody to talk about her situation to. It felt nice to let it out.
"It's just, when I met him… he treated me like any other girl. He didn't know about my fame, or talent… he just talked to me like he would anybody else. He saw me for me, not some stupid title. Besides, he has his eye on somebody else. He won't notice me."
"I call bullshit," said Marie bluntly. Pyrrha looked up at the sudden change in Marie's tone. "Look, I'm about to say some mean things, but I mean them in the best way possible."
"Um, ok," replied Pyrrha uncertainly.
"What the goddamn hell is the matter with you!?" Marie nearly shouted, poking Pyrrha's chest in accusation. "You've won the Mistral tournament four years in a row, let me emphasize that once again, four years in a row, against people who were both older and more experienced than you. Even if you were the fan favorite to win, objectively, you were the underdog. That's why I always looked up to you, why I still do! Do you honestly believe you won those tournaments because the fans wanted you to? NO! You faced those odds head on, and have always come out on top. Just because this dude likes somebody else, it doesn't mean you have no chance, you got to work for it! He's not going to magically fall in love with you if you just sit on your ass hoping he'd notice you!" Marie was standing at this point, and got in Pyrrha's face. "So tell me, Ms. Invincible Girl, what are you going to do about it? Are you going to keep wishing and wanting, or are you going to grab fate by the balls, and demand that it gives you your man?!"
"Grab what?" asked Pyrrha, leaning back in her chair. Once again, Yang could be heard laughing.
"Are you going to tell him?" she asked again, still in an authoritative tone.
"Y-yes," stammered Pyrrha.
"Are you going to keep moping around?"
"No," she answered with more confidence.
"Will you make him yours?!"
"Yes!"
"Can I have an autograph?!"
"Yes!" she said standing up, before she registered what she said. "Um, wait, what?" Marie had already taken out a glamour shot of Pyrrha from one of her photoshoots with a marker.
"Can you make it out to 'My best friend Marie, you're awesome'?" she asked, handing the items to her idol. Pyrrha got over her confusion, and smiled politely.
Kohl sat impressed as he watched Ren destroying Yang in the dancing game. Ren had already beat Blake and Nora few times; Nora had refused to take off the giant stuff sloth backpack she won and fell several times as a result. Yang had insisted she was the best in Patch, the island she grew up in, but Ren was casually outpacing her and had a near perfect score. The only reason it wasn't perfect, was because Nora had pressed one of the floor tiles on Ren's side in the middle of his routine.
"Do you two play this game a lot?" Kohl asked the excitable orange haired girl.
"Mmhmm," hummed Nora, dancing along to the music. "Ren's the best! At first we were both awful, but we just kept playin' and now he almost never misses a beat."
"Sounds like somebody I knew," reminisced Kohl. "You two don't happen to roller-skate, do you?"
"Nope," chirped Nora. "Ren is worried I'd go to fast and hurt somebody."
"Ah, he's a wise one," Kohl nodded sagely. Midnight was standing closely to his side, trying her best to enjoy herself. "Are you ok, Mindy?"
"I'm fine," she assured with a smile, but she was visibly anxious. Kohl reached out and grabbed her wrist gently.
"It's alright, we're here for you," he assured. Nora had run to hug Ren and Yang as they finished their match, spilling popcorn all over the floor. "When did she get popcorn?"
"She does this kind of thing all the time," explained Ren. He was surprisingly composed, compared to Yang who was panting with Blake offering her some water.
"What do you guys want to do next?" asked Blake.
"Test your might!" cheered Nora, waving her arms around wildly. The group shrugged and followed the hammer wielder to the next area.
Ruby and Weiss exited the Karaoke booth, both feeling a bit winded. They had sang for about an hour nonstop, and their throats had begun to hurt.
"You want to grab something to eat?" asked Ruby. "I think they have cookies by the bowling alleys."
"Don't you eat anything else?" asked Weiss. "That's not good for your teeth."
"Ugh, you sound like my dad!" Ruby whined. "What do you want then?"
"What do they have around here?" she asked, unfamiliar with the cheap greasy food the arcade served. The two girls continued walking when they bumped into somebody. "Oh, pardon me, I wasn't looking."
"Schnee?" asked Kohl, turning to see the white-haired heiress.
"Oh, hi Kohl! Hi Mindy!" greeted Ruby warmly. "Where are Blake and Yang?"
"They went to get pizza," he answered, allowing Midnight to step behind him a bit. "Ren and Nora decided to play in the ball pit. I'm sure you can guess whose idea that was."
"Nora," said the two girls in unison, only for Kohl to snicker.
"Nope, it was mine," he grinned deviously. "Ren kept beating everybody, so I had to knock him down a few pegs. What better way than a ball war with Nora?" Ruby and Midnight giggled, and Weiss to her credit smiled a little. "Whoa, I didn't know you could feel joy, ice queen." Although he was just teasing, Weiss took it the wrong way.
"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked offended.
"It was a joke, Schnee," Kohl said rolling his eyes, "lighten up, princess."
"She's an heiress actually," corrected Ruby without thinking. Kohl glanced at her dryly. "Um, sorry… I'm guessing you knew that."
"Yea, don't worry about it. Look, Yang and Blake are going to be here any minute, just tell them we went to find our team or something."
"Wait, you don't have to go!" Ruby insisted. Before Kohl could get another word in, the remaining members of RWBY arrived.
"Hey, you going somewhere Kohl?" asked Yang, hearing her sister. "We brought you mini-corn dogs. Oh, and we weren't sure what to get Midnight, so we got her cotton candy."
"Oh, thanks," Kohl replied gratefully. He hadn't asked for anything, but he just now realized how hungry he was. He took both items and handed the big ball of candy to Midnight.
"So what's going on?" asked Blake, sensing a little tension. She turned her gaze to Weiss, and narrowed her eyes. "What did you do?"
"What?! Me?!" shouted Weiss. "Why are you assuming I did something?"
"She's right, it was me," admitted Kohl. "Seeing her laugh was such an alien experience, I couldn't help but point it out." Weiss was about to retaliate again, but was drowned out by Yang's howl of laughter.
"Oh, I didn't think you had a sense of humor," cried Yang, slapping her knee. Kohl, however took offense.
"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked.
"See?" asked Ruby. "You two aren't so different after all!" Kohl and Weiss glared at Ruby, who shrank from their combined stare.
"We're nothing alike!" the two shouted in unison. Yang began to laugh even harder, and even Blake cracked a smile. The duo looked at each other and continued to shout the same things to each other. "Stop that! No, you! Shut up! How are you doing this?! STOP IT"
"Did they plan this out beforehand, or…" asked Blake, as Yang struggled to breathe. Midnight shrugged, while Ruby watched in confusion.
"I have no idea…" the leader finally said. The two continued to bicker for a while, before Kohl decided to give up.
"Alright, you win," he said tiredly. "Let's just play pool or something."
"Oh, I got Yang!" called Ruby. Weiss shot her a look of betrayal. "What? She's really good."
"Well who am I supposed to play with then?" she asked impatiently. The group then headed over to the other room where many tables were already in use. They began to look for a free one.
"Why don't you pair up with Kohl?" asked Yang. "You two were so in sync just a moment ago."
"She does have a point," agreed Blake, just to mess with her teammate.
"I can't argue with that logic…" admitted Kohl, earning strange looks from the three girls. "What?"
"You… aren't very fun to mess with," said Yang disappointedly. Messing with stoic guys was her favorite thing to do, but Kohl just rolled with the punches. She made a note in her head to get him flustered by the end of the night. "I expected some sort of… well, reaction."
"Yea, I get that a lot," he sighed.
"Then I'll pair up with Mindy," shrugged Blake. Midnight looked at her wide eyed, and back to Kohl. He gave her a reassuring nod, and Midnight walked over to the cat Faunus. They had finally found a clear table, and were setting up teams. Since Yang was proclaimed the best once again, she and Ruby would face the winners between the other two teams.
"Wait, we're actually teammates?" asked Weiss indignantly. Kohl let out a heavy sigh.
"Listen Schnee, we're playing a game, not going on a date. Just stop making such a big deal about it, and grab the balls."
"WHAT?!" she squeaked. Kohl just pointed to the ten pool balls by the pool cues. For a third time, Yang began to laugh. "Oh, right."
"Wow, Ice Queen, getting ahead of yourself, aren't you?" joked Yang, wiping away a tear. Weiss gave up, and didn't bother to react to Yang's teasing, and walked over to her temporary partner.
Vale: Near the Arcade
"Alright Neo, I think we should call it a night," yawned Torchwick. "We've been out all day, and we need to go over the details of our plan." Neo ceased skipping, and stood at attention. Torchwick waved off her business mode. "No need for that, we're not actually going on a mission today, we're just preparing. Keep enjoying yourself." Neo nodded, and hugged Torchwick's arm as they walked down the street. 'I didn't mean that much,' he thought to himself. 'Well, as long as she's happy…' He noticed a small sign in front of a loud building. He read it, and wondered. "Say, Neo. Have you ever been to an arcade?" Neo nodded, looking up to him. "I meant without us robbing the place blind." She shook her head now. "Well, it's about time you have, let's go," he said, walking in with her. It was his last day off, and he wanted to make the most of it, at least of her.
Ticket Counter
"Your grand total comes out to…" said the woman behind the prize counter. "Fourteen thousand seven hundred and twenty nine."
"What can that get me?" asked Naruto trying to be suave. The woman didn't seem impressed and pointed to the top counter. "Oh, ok…"
"What are you going to get?" asked Jaune.
"I don't know… I don't see anything that pops out." He continued to scan the prizes.
"Why don't you get something for Marie?" he asked.
"Why would I do that?" asked Naruto. "I earn these tickets."
"Oh, I thought you and her were... like an item or something," admitted Jaune. "I saw you two outside early this morning by the courtyard."
"You saw that?" Naruto nearly winced. "We were just talking about our old lives, you know? We're just friends."
"I see," nodded Jaune. It was like him and Pyrrha, if he thought about it. "Hey, why don't you get that Dust set?"
"Why would I want Dust? I can't… use," he cut himself off. Ironwood had figured a way to use chakra to enhance Dust, why couldn't he? "I'll take it. Lady, gimme that one!"
"You still have more than eleven thousand left," she drawled out.
"Well, give me three more then," Naruto grinned. He did the math, and figured he'd still have around two thousand "Jaune you pick something for you, I got what I wanted."
"Really?" asked Jaune with barely restraint excitement. Naruto nodded, as he grabbed the four cases of Dust that came in a variety of colors. Apparently, the sets came with a few crystals, and several vials of powdered Dust. He would have to ask Marie about the differences later. Jaune's first thought was to get something for Weiss, but that conversation he had with Naruto earlier had deterred him from doing so. His reasons for liking her were all superficial; she was pretty, talented and a strong fighter. However, she has never really shown him any kindness, and on their first day she had essentially told him he wasn't good enough to talk to Pyrrha. Despite that, he still held feelings for her, but began to wonder if he liked Weiss, or the idea of Weiss.
"Are you ok?" asked Naruto, seeing his face change with conflicting emotions.
"Yea," he sighed.
"You're a terrible liar," pointed out Naruto. "What's wrong?"
"You know how Yang told us all we're having a dance in a few weeks?" asked Jaune. Naruto nodded, remembering how excited Jaune was to ask Weiss out. "Well, I wanted to take Weiss."
"You made that very obvious," joked Naruto.
"I know, it's just I thought about what you said, and it's got me confused."
"What did I say?" he asked.
"Sometimes you got to move on and cut your losses, and find somebody else. And something about somebody who is always there for you."
"Yea, I was just rambling about my past," Naruto tried to assure. "I wasn't trying to say to give up on Weiss…" Jaune could feel Naruto wasn't finished. "But… maybe you should try to not focus on relationships right now. I mean we got the tournament and the festival coming up, not to mention students from the other kingdoms. I'm just going to enjoy our time off with my friends, which you and your team are. Also, Kohl says our teamwork is pretty bad right now, so we're going to do a lot of training too."
"Yea, I guess you're right," nodded Jaune.
"Of course I am," grinned Naruto. Jaune looked back to the prizes, wondering what he should get. "Listen, before you try to date Weiss, or anybody really, just be their friend. You can learn a lot about somebody that way." Jaune nodded, feeling a bit better about his predicament. Naruto noticed that it was getting dark, and told Jaune he was going to find his team.
As Naruto made his way through the dwindling crowds, he found himself taking a seat at a bench. He thought back to the time he spent with Jaune, and kept remembering Sakura's face. He didn't feel the same affection he did when he was younger, but he still missed her. As thoughts of the dance began to surface, he knew there was only one person he would have asked, but she was gone now. Confused, he tried to stop thinking about the Hyuga heiress, but found himself unable to. He took out the photo once again, and looked at her intently, unaware of black haired girl watching over his shoulder. The girl took out her scroll, and took a photo of the girl he stared so longingly at, and made her way back to her partner.
"Hey Naruto, why are you alone?" asked Marie walking with Pyrrha.
"Oh, I was about to start looking for you," he explained, quickly putting the photo away. "Hey Pyrrha."
"Hello!" she greeted happily. She seemed to be very upbeat. "I'm going to find Jaune, the arcade is closing soon."
"Is it?" asked Marie. "Well, looks like we should get out of here too. Come on, partner, let's find the quiet ones." Naruto stood up, shaking his sad thoughts away, and focused on what mattered. His new friends.
"Alright, let's go. Oh, and Pyrrha," called Naruto before she left. "Tell Jaune I said thanks. I think we all really needed this. Great guy."
"I'll be sure to do that," she said with a nod. Naruto and Marie then left to find Kohl and Mindy.
Elsewhere in Arcade
"Really?" asked Torchwick, rereading the message Neo had sent him. "The brats were here?" He grabbed a dart and threw it in the bullseye for a third time in a row. He walked over to his table and grabbed his drink and took a deep drink. "This night just gets better and better."
"..?" Neo turned her head sideways curiously.
"I'm sure we can use this photo of whoever this girl is," began Torchwick. "We just need a way to convince Cinder's brat to follow our instructions. When are they arriving again?"
Neo held up three fingers.
"Right, three weeks. Looks like we're changing our plan then, Neo. Come on, we got work to do." He led the silent girl out the back door and the two walked down the dark streets back to their base of operations.
A/N
So I had an Omake written for this chapter, but the chapter is already hovering around 8.5k. I also wanted to try something out, and have a Q&A with the characters and you guys. How this will work is you send in your question(s) to me, or leave them in a review if you are going to write one anyway, and address it to the appropriate character, like so;
Kohl: When did you start cooking?
Yang: What did it feel like to have your fist in Naruto?
Marie: How could you let Mindy get drunk? You call yourself a leader?
The questions can be silly, or serious, but not anything that will spoil the plot, and can include anybody who has made an appearance thus far. I'll hold another one Q&A if this one is received well when more characters are introduced. If you have a question about backstories, I'll have to keep it limited to what they can reveal, since they will be in character. Their responses will be posted on the A/N for Chapter 13, or 14, if there aren't enough. If there are too many, the answers will be on my profile, but I doubt there will be that many. Thank for participating.
Also, the poll is still on my profile, so check that out after, and vote for your favorite MNKM member. The results are very mixed, and very close, so every vote counts!
