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A/N
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Chapter 12
Naruto awoke to the unfamiliar presence of someone else in his bed with him. His mind raced and for a moment he reached for his pistol as he jerked around in his bed to grab the item and point it at the person beside him. It only took a second for him to remember that the person in bed with him was Miltia. Sighing, he calmed himself and rested his head gently in the comfort of the pillow. The groggy feeling was well out of his system as the next thing to make its presence known was a headache.
Naruto grimaced as he swung his legs over the edge of the bed to go and find some painkillers. Between the operation to kill Badger and now a hangover, he wasn't feeling very well. Plus the activities of the night before left him with a lot of pain in his back as he remembered getting clawed once or twice by Miltia's long nails.
Walking across his room naked, Naruto strolled into the bathroom and started pilfering through the cabinets to find his medicine. He tore open the bottle upon discovery and knocked back three pills with a painful shudder as he felt something wet drip down his lower back. His hand touched it and for a moment he sighed as a stinging sensation came back to him. His hand returned with a few splotches of red where his aura hadn't been able to fully heal him yet. It sort of proved that theory that alcohol and injuries don't mix well when you're recovering.
Grumbling, he stormed out of the bathroom and looked down when his foot landed on something soft. Without much thought he reached down and picked up the offending piece of clothing as his mind began to slowly return to its normal stasis of none existent pain. He was holding up a white sock. It took all of five seconds for him to process the information. Slowly he returned to his bed where the sheets were drawn up over the sleeping form of someone. Naruto didn't like getting drunk and going home with strange women.
With one fluid motion he pulled the sheet off and blinked.
There, in his bed, sleeping soundly was Melanie, naked as the day she was born.
Naruto looked from her naked form to the offending sock before dropping said item and opting to get cleaned up. He wasn't going to fight her naked, not that it clearly mattered now. She'd already seen him and he'd seen her. But she was a woman and he had yet to come across anyone woman that didn't cover themselves up after having sex and waking the next morning. As far as he was aware, only married women did that. They could be dating and she'd still try to cover herself up in the dead of summer on a day where having even sheets covering your form was too hot to handle.
His shower didn't last as long he would have liked as after getting in and barely getting through washing his tail there was heavy pounding on his door. He could hear the small sound of an unhappy shriek, marking the awakening of Melanie, and he was forced to get out with soap still on his tail. He left it in the shower long enough to hopefully remove it all as he grabbed his boxers and threw them on. When the water was turned off, he grabbed some pants and a plain orange shirt before opening the door and coming face to face with a red Melanie as she stood in almost all of her naked glory.
"Go to the bathroom," he told her. She scooped up her clothing and made a mad dash for the safety of said room. Naruto tore the door open and found a very unhappy Miltia waiting behind it, her hands balled into fists and resting angrily on her hips. Her foot tapped impatiently as he stared at her. "Come on in." She shoved him out the way and started searching the place. "She's in the bathroom taking a shower. Why don't you explain what happened to me last night."
"Why don't you explain why you slept with my sister?" The barb in her voice left Naruto wincing as he noticed how hostile she was being. He truly wanted to explain himself, but decided against it.
"I don't remember much from yesterday after my fight with Yugito." The tapping of her became faster. Her gaze hardened and Naruto was left wondering if he had made a greater mistake than just sleeping with Melanie. Scratching the stubble on his chin, he finally came clean. "We're not dating. We never were. You told me you didn't want any strings attached. Now if I read your message wrong, that's not on me. I'm a guy. I know that's a stupid excuse, but to be fair, every woman I've been around says one thing and means three other things. So you can't really blame me for something you don't make clear."
Exasperated, she threw her hands in the air and stomped around his apartment. "So that's what this is about, huh? I said I didn't want any strings attached! I meant that at the time. But now that I know you… I'd like to be with you."
"Well you're shit out of luck because he's my man now." Melanie walked out of the bathroom with her hair still wet and left in coils around her damp skin. Naruto scoffed and looked away from her. His gaze was still on Miltia as the short haired twin glared at her sister. "Don't be jealous. You told me that you guys weren't a thing. I want to be a thing with him after last night."
"I'm not some trophy for either of you," Naruto told her, finally make eye contact with her. Melanie was covered in only a towel. As if that was going to change his mind. He'd seen her already. He wasn't impressed. Plus, if his memory served him right, she was rather loose. "I was drunk and mistook you for Miltia. That ones' on me, but I do remember you saying you had an itch that needed to be scratched."
"How do you mistake me for her?" Miltia demanded.
"The only thing different about you, beside your personality and fighting styles is your hair length and choice in colors for clothing. Both of which can be easily mistaken when one was as drunk as I was last night."
"That's a shitty excuse." Miltia hissed at him.
"Then what's your excuse for not stopping me and make me understand it was your sister?" He had her there. She could have stopped him at any time from leaving the club with her. But she didn't. She had opted to sit and watch as Naruto inhaled an absurd amount of alcohol with her sister and then, after hearing a few choice words from her beloved sister, left with her. Naruto calmed down and sat down on his bed. Neither sister dared to move to comfort him. "Listen, I'm sorry for the mix up. Last night was anything but joyful for me. And I'm not talking about the sex, Melanie. I'm talking about seeing Yugito."
Miltia smiled and for once, was proud that she had done her job well enough to hold something over Melanie's head. Usually Melanie could get any kind of information from anyone or anything because she was computer smart. Miltia was people smart, but shy.
Nii Yugito was a classmate of Naruto's from his time at the starter school in Atlas. She was a year ahead of him and was quickly pulled before graduating at the top of her class. She disappeared for a year before surfacing again and getting involved romantically with Naruto. The details from there became sketchy, as whatever happened between the two had been behind closed doors, but what was known was that there was another man involved. He used to be a former musician, but it had only been a cover. Older, wiser, the man had been everything every woman wanted if you listened to the media on what woman wanted after getting a few children with a hot young man.
Yugito was then always seen with the same man for years. They were seen in town with another woman from time to time, but they were working as personal guards for someone else that she couldn't get a name on. Whoever the person was, she didn't know, and at this point, she didn't care enough to give a damn about. All she cared about was that a very emotional ex-girlfriend had just shown up and Naruto pulled the trigger without a second thought. Almost as if she had promised him pain on their next visit.
But the other girl was a bigger mystery. Fuu, no last name or one she could find, hailed from Mistral and came out as a top student at her starter school. But before she could even graduate from there she was allowed to enter into Haven and start her career as a Huntress before she disappeared under strange circumstances. What was known was that her Semblance was over the power of lightning and she earned the title Unstoppable Titan for it. Reportedly she had been spotted with a young man that went by the name of Gaara, but held a more noticeable title as the Desert Demon for his Semblance, which gave him control over sand.
If these two powerful people were here for Naruto, then she feared for his safety.
"She's here with Fuu, the Unstoppable Titan of Mistral." Naruto blinked and looked at Miltia as she pulled out a small folder from behind her back. Naruto took it from her gently and started reading it over. "She left Vacuo and its Desert Demon, to come here with her to find you. But I couldn't dig up anything on why she has a different Semblance than what she was shown to have."
So I was right, Naruto thought with a bitter chuckle. "Thanks. But I think I know why she has two Semblances. Or so I'd like to believe that's the case." He got to his feet and looked the twins over as he put the folder on his bed. He could tend to that later. Right now he had to get ready for a meeting with Ozpin. He wasn't going to put this off now. The man knew something and he was going to get his answers right now even if he had to fight every teacher in that place to get them. "So what do we do about us?" He looked between the two sisters.
"I'm with him…" Melanie said finally, her hands on her hips as if challenging her shy sister to take him from her.
"I was with him first!"
"I heard you say that you were nothing but friends with benefits, right? Or am I wrong?"
"You are wrong!"
Naruto rubbed the bridge of his noise. This was degrading fast into a cat fight. Any other circumstances and he'd provoke them both into fighting. But he worked with them and he wasn't going to let them just ruin their sisterhood over him.
"I'll be your boyfriend, Miltia." Her face became the highlight of joy while Melanie looked at him with the intent for murder. "Behind closed doors, however, I'll take you both as my girlfriend, but in the public, we're just friends, Melanie. I won't be affectionate to you. That sort of stuff is frowned upon here in Vale. Mistral has different laws in places, so polygamy is acceptable there."
"Really?" the twins said in unison.
"Mistral is a different place with different customs and rules. I've been there enough to know a few people with multiple wives or multiple husbands." The twins blinked and shuddered at the thought of a woman having more than one husband. That just sounded strange when compared to one guy having multiple wives. They couldn't think of a single time in romantic novel that had shown up as anything short of meaningful. "But we'll discuss this tonight. My place. Come back here after work and we'll work this whole thing out, okay."
"And where are you going?" Miltia asked, sounding worried.
"I have a meeting I've been avoiding that I need to tend to." He looked at the bathroom and then to the two girls. Miltia eyed the bathroom strangely and Naruto sighed. "Fuck it." He took his shirt off, locked the door, and threw Miltia onto the bed. She didn't even fight it.
(-)
"You deliberately disobeyed me."
Yugito didn't even flinch at the bite in Ozpin's tone. The man was holding his calm rather well, but it was easy to hear the barb in his voice if you knew what to listen for. She knew what to listen for. They all did. It was one of the greatest curses that came with their roles in life. But she wasn't about to belittle a man that held the power of life and death at the moment. Ozpin was a great many things, irrational was not one of them. Everything he did was calm, cool, and collected. It was another thing that they all knew about him. Even picking up a cup of coffee and bringing it to his lips was calculated, cool, and calm. The only time this image was ever broken was when something visibly shock or stunned him out of it, which was rare.
Her arm in a sling and bandaged from the bullet she took, Yugito was not in any mood for anyone's lip unless it came from Ozpin right now. But if anyone said anything, like how Fuu was gearing up to lecture her again, she might have a few choice words with the hyperactive woman.
"I told you I had this handled," Fuu said stiffly. Ozpin took his glasses off and started cleaning them with his one hand. He wasn't giving up his cane to do something this mundane. "If you had simply listened to me, you wouldn't be hurt and we might not have pushed Naruto away… again. This is exactly what happened last time."
"I'm not going to listen to you, Fuu. Not when we're the same age."
"No. But you will listen to your senior on this. I've been a Guardian longer than you. That makes me your senior. And when I tell you to not go, I mean don't go. You went, I had to follow, and then I had to clean up your mess with my power. Believe me, she's none too thrilled about me using it right now to save your stupid ass. She's just hoping that your Guardian is lecturing you as we speak." Fuu huffed and collapsed on her bed. Ozpin adjusted his glasses and opened his mouth. "Are your beds just as comfy as these ones?" Fuu asked him, a strange glint forming in the corner of her eyes.
"..I don't understand what you mean." Ozpin hoped he could play that off and get back on track.
Fuu might be the oldest Guardian between the two females present, but her mind was still very immature at times. Either this was a coping mechanism or her Maiden didn't lecture her enough to keep her disciplined. Ozpin had heard from Gaara that the current Summer Maiden and Fuu were a little too close, but until he laid eyes on it, he wasn't going to believe it. Didn't help much that all the previous Guardians for Summer fell in love with her. Thank Oum this one just happened to be a female.
Fuu rolled her eyes as she collapsed fully on the bed, a goofy grin forming on her face as a spatter of pink began to grow across her cheeks.
"Idiot aside," Yugito said harshly, hoping for a reaction from her fellow female, only to not get one, "What do we do about Naruto? We need him now more than ever!"
"You will do nothing," Ozpin confessed, his cane taping with authority. "You've already screwed up twice and disobeyed orders. You're lucky that General Ironwood is on our side now or this situation would be worse. He won't be making any plans to take Naruto back to Atlas to stand trial for his crimes, but that doesn't mean he can't throw him in jail here for obstructing justice. I could very well have you thrown in jail since I know you were the one that started it. The club was closed, so you broke in. And then you coerced Naruto into a fight with you. I know that makes him just as equally guilty, but I'm not going to have another Guardian go to jail just because someone has issues with another one."
"Why can't I go back to talk to him? I know him better than anyone."
"You can't go talk to him because you don't know him anymore." Ozpin felt a migraine coming on.
Yugito, like all of the other Guardians that carried her line were always hotheaded. They acted without care or thought and at times got into more trouble than was needed. He recalled a brief moment where the third – or was it the fourth – Guardian brought on two warring towns because she felt her Maiden was in danger. If the Maiden hadn't intervened in the event the present Guardian would have died. And since her partner was already KIA, they needed to find him before anything bad could happen. So losing her last line of defense wasn't exactly something she was keen on doing.
"It's been nearly five years since you laid eyes on him. Didn't you even notice that he has a metal arm, or how he looks at things in a tactical aspect? You can't deal with someone like him. Not anymore. You used to beat him all the time in your spars, but that was five years ago. Naruto isn't the same person you met all those years ago. He's changed… probably for the worst, but he's changed. Let us handle this. Besides, I hear that Bee isn't too happy you went off and left him with the Winter Maiden." Yugito held his gaze for a few short seconds before sighing and turning away to leave. She stomped her feet as she did until she was out the door, Scroll in hand, and dialing a number as the door shut. "Sometimes I regret my life," Ozpin muttered.
"Don't be like that, Professor O," Fuu commanded with a hearty laugh. She sprang to her feet and adjusted her shirt. She didn't fill it out like how Yugito could, but she wasn't bad either. Some women just happened to be lucky in that department or late bloomers. Fuu always said she was growing and that she was a late bloomer. Now she was nearly twenty. If she was a late bloomer, she was the latest one Ozpin had ever known of. "I'll go talk to him."
"Are you sure that's wise?"
"She thinks so." Ozpin rolled his eyes. "They used to get along so well when they were first created, Ozpin. They looked to each other and found comfort in their lives. Remember, three of them were siblings when they were created and brother and sister are right here."
"He hasn't made contact with him yet."
"No, but those feelings can surface regardless. I'll tell him her name and we'll see what he does. Besides, I'm sure she misses him all the same. She doesn't say it, but I know she misses him." Arms behind her back, she suddenly smiled and said, "I really wanna get this over quickly. As much as I like the idea of Gaara roaming about with his girlfriend to reign him in, I don't like the idea of Summer warming her own bed by herself." Ozpin shut his eyes and fought back the mental image of Fuu and Summer naked in bed together. It wasn't so bad, except that both were nearly twenty years his junior and both were very attractive. It made him feel bad and in need of a shower.
"Do what you want. But if you mess this up, know that you will get a lecture as well."
She gave a mock salute and slinked out the door, once more leaving her weapons behind.
Kids these days are getting stranger…
(-)
"Sorry I'm late." Kiba walked through the door looking right as rain. If Junior hadn't been told Kiba had gotten his arm and leg broken, he wouldn't have known it. "I had some issues I had to take care of."
"Like your broken limbs?" Kiba snorted. "So something other than getting your arm and leg broken came up? I dare to think what that was."
"I had to get in contact with someone that was of particular interest to me."
"And who would that be?" Tayuya asked, making herself known from behind the counter.
"You didn't like the fact that I was saved by her when we were dating." That was all it took for Tayuya's eyes to snap open, slam the glass on the counter, and scowl. "And since we're on the subject, you should know she's supposed to be dropping by for a visit. So I really need to get a place or find a way to kick Junior out of his place to impress her now."
"I'm standing right here!" Junior snapped. "And you're not kicking me out of my own place. I own it." He reached behind the counter and pulled out a folder. "I was able to find a few properties for you, though. You can go inspect them whenever you want. I have their contact information. I hope you have the money for it though. Pretty sure you do unless you just get paid in tips around here."
"I have enough money." Kiba snatched up the folder and skimmed over a few of the places. "Why is there never a place out in the middle of nowhere for me? That's how I lived in Vacuo with my family."
"They don't have a lot of safe places like that around here." Junior told him with a frown.
Vale might be a well-protected place but outside their walls and natural barriers, things were a little less comforting when it came to homes and locations. Vale only had a few small locations that one could safely live in without the threat of Grimm breathing down your neck. Though there were a few places out there, the chance of getting a spot with Grimm activity was rather high. And only a truly insane person would want to live in an area infested with Grimm. Either that or you were very skilled at dealing with them.
Kiba put the folder on the counter and sat down. "I'll go take a look at these places tomorrow before work. Speaking of work," he drummed his fingers on the table, "do you have anything for us aside from guard duty today?"
"I don't have you doing guard duty. You're a bouncer."
"Same damn thing, different words. And don't tell me otherwise. I stand outside, let certain people in and keep others out. If they get to rowdy, I come in, beat them up, and then throw them outside. The only difference here is that I don't get to kill them. That's the only real difference." Junior didn't have the strength to argue against him. Kiba's logic, though crudely put, was rather sound. "So no new jobs for me?"
"None right now." Junior picked up a glass and started cleaning it when a thought hit him. "Actually there is a job you can do. It's a rather simple one. Naruto didn't want to do it, so I'll give it to you." The club owner reached behind his counter and pushed a small business card to him. "That guy you roughed up some two months ago, Roman Torchwick, has been making waves in the underground and has yet to come over and pay me back or tell me the location of my men. I know they're not the best, but I managed to get something on him a few weeks ago and you guys have been rather swamped with work. Since you just got back, I figured you'd want to make some quick lien. How about it? All you have to do is go to this location and tell him to pay while taking a finger or two. I don't care how many as long as he could still write the check or punch in his pin number."
Kiba picked up the card and snorted. "I'll deal with it. I can find the guy, anyways. This will be a cakewalk. Come on, Akamaru. We got some legs to break and some fingers to cutoff." The loud lap of a happy dog sounded somewhere behind the counter in front of Junior and the man sighed.
"No dogs allowed, Kiba!"
"Next time stay outside, Kiba. Akamaru is always welcomed, but not you!" Tayuya added. Junior gave her a sideway glance before he chuckled at her joke. She smiled back and went back to work getting ready for the club opening in a few hours.
(-)
"Hello!"
Naruto came to a quick stop as he looked to his left and found Raven with Richtor. He was looking around for something in the market while Raven looked directly at him. "What's up? Kind of busy at the moment."
"Meeting with Ozpin?"
"Yes."
"Damn! I need someone to watch Richtor for me. They're hounding me about their findings and I can't just leave him at HQ. Not when he's about to get something to eat anyways."
"Leave him in the bookstore. He'll be fine there. I'm sure his girlfriend or whatever she is to him is there." He kept his hands in his pockets as he started walking. Raven missed Richtor perking up at the idea of going to the bookstore. "So I'm assuming you know I had a run in with my Ex last night."
"I figured that out when I called you up in a foul mood two hours ago."
"That was for different reasons." Raven chuckled at the hidden message there and decided to drop that subject. "I'll take him to the bookstore. You go ahead and go back. I'm sure Yang won't be too happy if she sees us together. And I think they're coming to town anyways. She usually does on Fridays after class." Raven had already left and Naruto shut his eyes in complete annoyance. This day was not his day so far. If it got any worse, he'd shot the nearest person. Or he'd just annoy that Fuu chick even more since he was already armed and ready for their meeting. They try anything and he was taking them down with him unless Ozpin got involved. Tactical mind or not, he wasn't daring enough to say he was in Ozpin's league.
Looking back at Richtor, Naruto rolled his eyes and hooked a left after getting the okay to cross the street. He didn't want to go to the bookstore, but damn it if he had to he would. Plus it would allow him to find out a little bit more about the strange girl Richtor enjoyed hanging out with. It was cute to think he had a girlfriend or a crush at the moment, but also very worrying since Richtor was incapable of lying. Bending the truth was a different matter just the same as evading the question entirely. He could do those well enough, but to Naruto's knowledge, Richtor had never once spoken a lie.
The bookstore came into view and Naruto walked inside with a happy Grimm Eater sniffing the air until he bolted to the right and snuck up behind the woman he'd been meeting with for the last two months before the operation to kill Badger had begun. She immediately turned and started scribbling something down on a little notepad.
"Sorry if I'm interrupting anything right now." Naruto made his presence known. The strange mute smiled and bowed to him. "Richtor, when I get back from meeting, we'll go get you some lunch, okay?" Richtor practically jumped for joy at the aspect of food. It wasn't that hard to come by, given their proximity to Grimm. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto." Naruto confessed, realizing that he had never once given his name to her. She shook his hand and scratched out whatever she had been writing to write something else.
My name is Cream
Naruto almost smiled at the blatant lie from the strange girl and decided to move on. "Well it's good to know he's got a good friend, Cream. I'll be back in a bit." She nodded and started writing some more on the notepad for Richtor to see. Naruto watched for only a fraction of a second before he got chills down his spine. Her gaze shifted to him and in that moment there was a killer look in her eye that vanished only seconds after making contact with him. Naruto walked away with a frown. I know you're name isn't Cream, Neo. He moved through the bustling crowds until he was close enough to the bullhead that would take returning students back to Beacon.
"Hi there!" Naruto's hand almost instinctively went for his gun, but he halted and glanced to his right where Fuu was standing smiling at him. "It's so good to know that you opted to come today. I was worried about our little run in from last night would change your mood. But it's nice to see that I was wrong."
"My mood is still sour."
She waved him off. "I was talking about your desire for something else. I do hate it when young men fall for me."
"I bet." Naruto looked around for a moment. Bustling streets aside, this was a very public place and she had already planned on nonviolence since he couldn't see a weapon on her. She didn't even need a weapon either. That was the truly scary thing about her.
"Don't look so worried. This is nothing more than simple talks. It's not like anything bad is going to happen here. We just want to talk. Nothing more. Nothing less."
"Sorry if I'm a little worried about that since the last two times you people have made moves to speak with me, it didn't go so well."
"Well to be fair, you did jump the gun on our last meeting quite literally." She sniffed the air and sighed. "And you brought your guns. Not that I don't mind as long as you keep them to yourself. But please don't try to bring them out on me. I'd really hate to have to do something negative towards you."
"As long as you don't give me a reason, I don't have to." She nodded, accepting his answer. "So why me?"
She jumped on the bullhead and motioned for him to do the same. Naruto relented and followed with a visible scowl on his face. "I suppose the most basic reason is because he chose you. But there's more to it than that." The bullhead lifted off and began its quick journey back to the academy. "You see, when they die, they make a choice on who they go to next. It's sort of like that show about the person that controls weather, but rather than going in a set cycle, they just chose who they want from anyone that's either living or about to be born." She tapped her chin in thought. "I guess that sort of counts as the same thing. Doctors and religious people are so technically on everything, but we'll just keep it simple for now."
Simple? Yeah right.
"So what sort of information did they give you when you had your first meeting with them?"
"Only that the process to remove it would kill me if l opted to refuse becoming a Guardian."
Fuu's face became grim and horrified at his words. "Well no wonder you're a sour puss." The bullhead landed and she hopped out. Naruto followed, but kept his hands in on his holsters. She didn't mind. He had a right to be wary of her if that was the case, which it was not the case. "Well I can safely tell you that won't happen. The removal process is painful for some, but no one has ever died. In fact a few of them over the last few years have opted out and had it removed while they were in their late forties and they're still alive and kicking."
"Well that idiot that was Yugito's partner said that's what would happen."
Fuu pinched the bridge of her nose. "Darn that stupid Killer Bee," she said, her voice almost cracking with laughter. "We keep telling him to quit his rhyming, but he refuses and now it's sort of cost us years with you. But we'll deal him later. I suppose you can't be faulted for not understanding that lousy singer or whatever you wanna call his music. I don't think his band is even doing well, to be honest. I think they sort of hit rock bottom at this point. They can't be saved unless they come out with a really good musical number."
Naruto hadn't listened to any of his music and had no comment on the subject. But if he did see the man again, he was going to shoot him, and not because of his music, but because he couldn't stand the idea of his ex-girlfriend cheating on him with some idiot like that.
"So since we're on a touchy subject, we'll move on." She pointed forward like she was making a scene change for a play. Naruto rolled his eyes at her antics. "So do you know the story of the Guardians?" Naruto shook his head. "They really didn't sell this to you at all, did they? Figures. Always leave it to them to screw something up. Yugito is just like her Guardian: Hotheaded and irrational. Maybe that's why they bonded so fast?" She shrugged and continued walking. "So the story goes that when the Four Maidens came into existence, the old man who gifted them their powers grew fearful of what might happen to them. To him, they were the proof of his soul and his desire for something more. So he created Nine Guardians to defend them. Each Guardian was granted extraordinary powers to defend their Maidens, but with an odd number of them, one of them was left out. It was the ninth Guardian, considered to be the strongest of all of them, who opted out and would only defend them when it was required."
"So who has that one? You?"
She laughed. "No. You do, silly. That's why, even without your connection to him, you can't sense us. Believe me, I can tell you where every single one of us our, no matter how faraway we may be. Same works for them. But with him it worked a little differently. You see, he wasn't just strong, he was smart. What's the point in putting himself on a Maiden if she already has two capable defenders? There isn't a reason unless she was going to be in grave danger. Thankfully, his power allowed him to know when such a thing was to occur and he could be there in an instant."
"That is not something I do."
"That's not something you can do right now. And even then, you'd only get one of those powers, but thankfully, that doesn't matter right now. With the way the world works, if you wanted to get to Vacuo right now, you can get there in about an hour or so if you don't count checking your luggage or buying the ticket, along with a passport if you don't have one. But we're getting off topic. So when each of the Guardians took a Maiden, the ninth one wandered the globe, seeking riches and knowledge. He has quite the story on him if you ever take the time to read the many stories on him. But that's the point I'm trying to make. What I'm getting at is that he was left out because he opted to be left out and would only come to their aid when he knew they had no way out. Lately, we've needed him, and sadly, you're not connected to him. He can only watch but not interact. It's very sad."
"Then why chose me? He could choose anyone else he wants, right? What makes me so special?"
"To be honest, I don't know. Mine has yet to tell me what makes me special, so I leave it at that. And to be fair, I've done my research on the previous Guardians that carried her. None of them have anything in common at all. Not like how Gaara is to his predecessors. Each one of them has always had the ability to control sand. It's actual a gift granted to them by the Guardian. It's not a Semblance." Naruto's left eye twitched. That actually explained a lot right there. "Now the story goes that the Guardians would fight to their last dying breath in defense of their Maidens, and this is true. But sadly, when they fall, they can't do the same thing a Maiden does. If a Maiden lives long enough to connect to people, and she thinks real hard on the person in her final moments, her power is transferred to said person. It actively seeks out this person and won't be stopped by anything until it reaches said person. But with them, it's different. They become ether and actively search for a new person to embody. Sometimes this process can take years, other times, it can take minutes. It just depends on if they had already found someone prior to their hosts' death."
"So if I die right now, he's already got someone lined up to replace me?"
"Probably, but since you're not connected to him, the process might take even longer. Being connected with them grants them more access to the world outside where they reside within us. If I cut you open, we won't find him. But if we delve deep into your mind, past vision and sound, we can find him, sitting somewhere in a world beyond here, like a portal to another place inside your mind, watching with a little window to the outside world. Once you connect to him, that window grows and you can speak to him, listen to him, and he can do the same for the world around you. Think of it like an AI that is turned off and then turned on and you get the picture."
Naruto got the picture. It was a scary picture and not one he liked at all. It just made this whole thing sound worse. At least now that he knew dying was off the table, it made his choice a little bit easier to make.
"But I can tell you right now that if you don't do this, mine is going to be very upset with you." Naruto's face fell. "You see three of them were siblings. Mine just happens to be one of the three siblings and her brother is right beside her right now. And she's so very upset that she can't speak to her beloved brother. Sometimes I think their love went a little too far, but since those were considered the dark ages and bloodlines and kingdoms were in order, keeping your blood in the family sort of went that way. Maybe I'm just reading in to it too deep."
"I'm not dating you."
"That's not what I'm saying. I'm saying my Guardian and your Guardian are siblings with the sister probably having romantic feelings for her brother who was never there for her. Believe me; they've got a lot of history. Ever hear of the story of the Three Soldiers, the Immortal Twins, the Story of the Lost Echoes? Those are them. In each story, the sister falls in love with the brother who is always gone. The only reason it's not brought up in the story of the Immortal Twins is because he was there, but he wasn't a big factor in their story. We're lucky to embody these two because it means we're connected by the same mind that binds them together. They can't separate easily and even though it hurts them in the end, they know what has to be done. They made a promise to each other when they became Guardians that when the day they were no longer needed, he'd give her the answer he promised to give her. But only recently she has begun to fear he knows that this life is eternal and never ending. Such a terrible fate, really. A woman who loves a man who tricks her into the guise that he will be with her when their duty is over, but knows it'll never end. So tragic."
"I get the feeling that he's not as powerful as you make him out to be."
"Oh he's powerful, but that just depends on your definition of the word." She came to a stop and looked up, admiring the construction of Beacon tower. Naruto snorted at it. "You share his taste in decorations, though, if that makes you feel better. No host of his has ever liked this place. It makes them feel disgusted. Sort of like how I hate guns. But that's because my Guardian was considered to be the bravest. When she became a Guardian, she once threw her brother, not your Guardian, like a spear headlong into a Sea Wyvern to kill it. We share that in common. I'm very brave, bordering on suicidal if you talk to my partner, Gaara."
"That explains nothing to me, nor is there a connection there for this place. I simply hate being out in the open like this."
"That's two things…" she said with a giddy smile on her face. Naruto sighed and shoved the doors open to the academy. She followed in but had to open the door since he decided not to hold it. She smiled the entire way until they got to their elevator. "So we're going downstairs because that's where Professor O wants us to meet."
"I'm not getting in that metal deathtrap with you. You've killed people in far smaller."
A goofy grain spread across her face as she remembered the moment he was talking about. "Good times, but sadly, you don't have a choice." Naruto's hand leapt to his pistol. Her hand shot out faster than he could follow and she stopped, a lecturing finger wagged in front of his nose. "Now now! We can't have you pulling a gun out in the middle of a school. That's a big no-no!" Naruto released his hold on his gun as she released her hold on him. "So now that we have that squired away, let me tell you how this will work. We're going to get in the elevator and go down to Ozpin. He was very happy when I told him you were coming. I'd hate to have to resort to violence. Which is why I brought these."
She fished around in her pack and brought out a pair of cuffs with purple glowing bands on them. Naruto bristled.
"They're not for you. They're for me!" She handed him a key and he looked at it questioningly. "I'm putting my faith in you for this. There are two ways this work. I use my power to grab you, put you in the elevator, we ride it down, and you meet with Professor O. The other way is that you put these on me so you know I'm not a threat, and we go down that way together." The joy in her voice was almost too hard to miss. Naruto glanced at the key and then to the cuffs. "I'm in to this sort of thing. Besides, once these are on, you know what they do."
"They shut off your connection to your aura, I know." Naruto took the cuffs and pocketed them. "Third option: We go down like normal people and not an annoyed young man leading a girl that's in to BDSM." She pouted but made no move to take the cuffs back. Naruto stepped inside the elevator and she turned to follow him.
Is it so hard to find a guy that's in to this sort of kinky stuff? This is why I'm a lesbian. Summer loves it when I cuff her to the bed. She punched a button and the elevator doors shut and began their trip downwards towards the bottom levels of the building. "Aside from all of that, the rest Ozpin can explain. But I have a question for you. What do you think my power is?"
Grinding his teeth, the blond watched the numbers fade away from the counter as they kept going. There was a secret base under the school? That didn't seem right. How did they get the funding for that? "I have two possible theories on it since I know your Semblance is over lightning. It's either time dilation ability or time distortion ability." She nodded with an amused smile. "I find it unlikely that you have a time dilation ability because I could still think at a normal speed, because I wouldn't be able to see you. So that rules that out unless it's like the time distortion ability and it's heavily watered down. Time distortion doesn't seem right either because it didn't distort my awareness of time. Plus they have a clock in the club and I was looking right at it. So it's something like that, but I have no idea what."
She clapped and gave him a wide smile. "You're partially correct. To be fair, when it was explained to me by Choumei, it was some sort of time negation ability." Her eyes lingered on his for a moment, looking for any sort of indication to the name. Naruto had none. "But as it turns out that's not the case. It allows me to pull all of the kinetic energy out of everything and render it inert. Ironically, while in this state, I am unaffected by it and thus can move around at "Super Speeds" when in reality I'm simply walking. It's what makes me powerful."
That was powerful. But obviously there was a catch. Naruto could already tell that something of this magnitude would have problems such as range and if something else came in to contact with it. If you were outside the field of its range, then what happened if you walked in. And did it move with her? Something that big that could sap away the kinetic energy of everything in its field shouldn't move. And even then, that field would have to be pretty small, meaning that the range would probably be no more than fifteen meters at most.
"So how did it affect my mind?"
"It doesn't. Everything you see is sort of stuck in your field of vision like the theory of an object being stuck forever in one place and leaving an afterimage long after it was gone. So everything that you saw during the activation of said ability remains, even if it would have already moved. However, once I start walking around, you can see me briefly because I remain in an area just long enough for the image to register with your optics and mind. But by then I'd have already moved and thus, you wouldn't have even gotten a clear look at me. It's kind of unique, actually, but really there are counters to it, otherwise my predecessor would still be alive."
Naruto didn't doubt that it was just the counters. "So what does my power do?"
"Honestly? I have no idea." Naruto wanted to choke her, but from her showing up with cuffs and her lack of enjoyment at not being cuffed made him think she'd enjoy it. The doors opened and they stepped out. "Ozpin is right down this hall."
"So what is this place?"
"The Hall of Insanity." Naruto sighed and reached for his pistol again. "It's a vault."
He let his gun go and started walking. "And why is there a vault down here?"
"We keep important things down here. Well I see that, but we don't keep anything down here. Ozpin keeps stuff down here. If I had to guess what this was originally used for, I'd say it was used for storage before we had to turn it into a makeshift hospital." The blond licked his lips. That didn't answer any of his questions, but fore the time behind he couldn't openly question her further. He could feel Ozpin ahead of him and was eager to get this meeting done. "One more thing before we go any further. Do you know why we're looking for you?"
"If I had to guess, you're in trouble and need my help. But I'd be lying if I said I care enough to help you. I've got my own problems."
She nodded and continued walking. Naruto followed with one hand on his pistol. The looming pillars did little to put his mind as ease as they walked through the dimly vault until reaching the end where Ozpin awaiting standing in front of a pod of some sort. Naruto didn't bother peering behind him, as whatever he stood in front of wasn't his concern.
"Uzumaki," Ozpin turned in greeting, his staff barely making a sound as it tapped along the floor, "Thank you for coming on such short notice."
"I would hardly call this a short notice since you sent your two assassins after me." He pulled out his pistol and took aim behind himself. "I can feel you back there, Yugito. Why don't you come out and we can talk about the good old days while I break your heart this time around. Sure as hell didn't do me any favors when you broke mine." The shadows detached from the form of his ex-girlfriend as she made her way past him to stand between the other two. "Now if only that idiot would be here, I could put a few rounds in him and really hurt you like you hurt me." She motioned to her arm and he shook his head. "Believe me, I'd do worse to you."
"You don't seem to handle betrayal too well, Naruto. Three, by the way." Fuu commented before falling silent when Ozpin gave her a stern look.
Tapping his cane, the Headmaster sighed and reached out to Naruto as if expecting him to come into his arms. "I know this is difficult, but I need you to understand our current situation. We need your help in dealing with a current threat that we're facing and we'd like to have some help on the matter."
"You could just pay me and spare me the trouble."
"A Guardian doesn't work for money like that." Naruto shrugged. Hey it was their loss. "Uzumaki, I understand that the first meeting had some… complications. I'd first like to rectify those problems. So if you have any questions, please feel free to ask them right now."
"Why me? What's makes me so special that he chose me?"
Smiling and then laughing, Ozpin took his glasses off and inspected them as he answered. "We never know why they chose who they do. Only that they chose people that they fill will help them carry out their mission. Some of them have been very brave, others have been smart. Some of them have had no courage, but find strength and determination to become something more and better themselves. I would dare to say that you were chosen because of your mind, given how you weren't selected until after your eighth birthday."
Naruto thought back to that day. Nothing strange had happened and he hadn't done anything remarkable. He was eight. He looked up to his father and hated him all at the same time. The child in him hated him for never being there when he needed him the most and the boy in him loved him for always being the hero and saving the day for the evil creatures of Grimm. But nothing about that time stood out. There was nothing that he had done prior or after his eighth birthday to signify him as a Guardian.
Slipping his glasses back on, the Headmaster smiled at him. "He saw potentional and a mind worthy of his previous host. You don't know the name, as the man never became a Huntsman, but he wandered Remnant with the soul intent of finding a solution against the Grimm and a way to beat them completely. Before his death he help lead an assault against Atlas forces where they outnumbered them fifty to one and how more firepower than they did. He assault their borders, charged their walls, and stripped them bear with only eighty soldiers and five hundred pounds of red dust explosives. You've seen their walls now, but you've read the history books of their Break Pillar incident, yes?" Naruto nodded with narrowed eyes. It was a lesson to all tactical forecasters and a warning. No one was invicible. "Well he came up with the tactic that was used against them and bested them without losing a single life or killing a single solder. A feat that to this day, no one has duplicated… except for you."
"And how did I duplicate it if no one else has?"
"The White Fang incident and now your fight against Badger." Naruto bristled in rage but his mind cleared and he started to laugh. "You see what I'm getting at now. At the age of ten you stopped the White Fang with nothing more than an empty pistol, bombs you didn't have the access codes to, a fewer people than what they had. And you stopped them without bloodshed and death. I'd say that's as close to his accomplishment as any."
"So that's why I was chosen? An event that he somehow knew about that I was going to pull off that was similar to his last host?" Ozpin nodded with a wry grin. It only made Naruto angrier. "So if that's his only reason, why did he really choose me? There has to be a better reason than that?"
"Sometimes there isn't a better reason. Sometimes they simply don't do their own information gathering or decide to tamper with logic and make someone greater than who they currently are. A previous Guardian was taken without his aura unlocked or his Semblance and he was a simple farmhand on the outskirts of Mistral in a small island nation. That young man never dreamed of being a Huntsman or a hero, but now he is. He walks side by side with a man more legendary than most and wielding powers most could only dream to have. Believe me, I've seen them make choices that have shaken what it means to be a Huntsman and a hero."
"Heroes are people who have died. Only villains walk this land until they are dead."
"Morbid statement of the century," Fuu confessed with a disgusted face.
"It's the truth, whether you want to believe it or not. No one is a hero until they are six feet under, and even then they will still be seen in that same light by the same people. Is the SDC CEO a hero because he provides jobs to Faunus? Yes. Is he a villainous person because he cuts their wages and makes them do the dangerous mining at half the cost with no benefits? Yes. So is he a villain or a hero because he gives them jobs at half wages for a dangerous line of business?" Fuu conceded to his logic and backed off. "That's why I think heroes are dead people and villains are people that still walk this land. I'll never be the hero. I'll always be the villain, just like how you all well be seen."
"True as that may be, it doesn't change the sitatuion we're currently in. We only recently started having problems. Come here and take a look at this. Tell me what you see." Ozpin gestured to the pod. The two girls bristled and looked ready to fight as Ozpin stepped aside from the pod. Naruto holstered his pistol but kept his hand on it as he approached the pod. A woman with a horrible burn mark on her face lay sleeping inside. "Her name is Amber, and she's the current Fall Maiden. We lost one of our Guardians when she was attacked by an unknown group. Part of her power was stolen. This is a first and we fear what it'll mean if she dies."
Naruto touched the glass and for a moment there was pain in his chest. He hurt, but didn't know why. Turning away from her, the pain subsided and he looked at the three. "My condolences," he said softly. "So I'm a replacement until you find the Guardians' new host?"
"At this point, no. I would love it if you would agree to it, but I know that you're duties require you to be elsewhere at times. And that's something we can't have." Ozpin motioned to Fuu and Yugito. "These two belong to two other Maidens. Currently we have them in hiding and when they return to them, they'll be taking them to another location where they'll be safe. But currently we don't know of any location that'll be safe for them. That's where you come in."
"I'm not guarding three random chicks, Ozpin. If you know what I've been doing, you'll understand that I'm not exactly in a good position to split my duties between working for a group that's trying to eliminate all of the Ancient Grimm while doing research on all of the new species of Grimm that have been surfacing." Ozpin nodded and the blond rubbed the bridge of his nose in irritation. "Let's say I do this," he began, earing hopeful gazes from Ozpin and Fuu. Yugito shook her head, unhappy with him. "What happens to me? Do I become it or something like that?"
"No. You are in complete control of your body. He won't be able to do anything but watch, listen, and talk to you to supply you with his knowledge. The added bonus is that when you get a stable connection between you two, you inherit one of his many abilities. He's been very keen only giving out the same one to people, as when they were created, they were gifted with many. This new power doesn't overwrite your current Semblance and it doesn't boost it either. Think of simply as a secondary Semblance that serves as a more support ability rather than your main ability."
"I'm assuming there's a tradeoff."
"Naturally." Ozpin snapped his fingers. "Yugito, if you could, activate your ability, please?" She looked between the two males and then stepped forward, faraway from Fuu, and did as instructed. "Empty your clip at her." Naruto blinked in confusion. A free shot at the first woman to break his heart? He didn't have big enough gun with him! "If you feel the need to test it, go right ahead."
Naruto fired one round first, dead center into her crouch. If he was going to ruin anything on her first, it'd be that. But the bullet, instead of hitting her, struck the pillar on the far right side of her where it fell to the ground harmlessly. Confused, he aimed higher and fired again. Same thing happened again. Adjusting his aim one last time to her head, he squeezed the trigger and this time the round went skyward and came right back down at her feet after hitting the ceiling. Three shots and three odd misses were a rare thing for him. But if testing was allowed, why not test it further? His eyes turned red and for a brief moment something whispered doubt in the back of his mind. He fired the round and Yugito spun with a scream. Fuu didn't bother turning to her. Ozpin did.
"You shot me, you dick!" She screamed at him.
Ozpin rushed to her side and checked her shoulder where Naruto had grazed her. "So it stops all projectiles from hitting you, but if its magic based, it goes right through it. That's impressive given that there aren't many mages out there anymore." Yugito swore as Ozpin applied some healing ointment and Fuu started smiling. Naruto took aim at her with his powers activated and fired. The round never got within five feet of her. It hit the ground and his power faded away after that. "So magic doesn't affect your power." He holstered his pistol and looked at Yugito as she got to her with a visible scowl on her face. "He told me to empty the clip. Be thankful I decided against testing that on your head."
"I'd have intervened. I was constantly watching where you aimed." Fuu told him with a childish wave.
"Oh that makes me feel so much better, you stupid dyke!" She moaned as her aura began to finally take hold and heal her wound. "Why is always my damn arm you try to fuck up? Is it because I never gave you a good handjob with this arm, huh?"
"We never had sex."
"I'd rather we keep this topic on track and not go off on teen drama," Ozpin told them. "Now that you know what kind of power you could get, do you want to link with your Guardian or reject him? If you reject him, I will have to remove him. And that would hurt us more than you simply not wanting to assist us and keep him."
Cracking his knuckles, the blond sighed. Well I might as well see how far the rabbit hole goes. "What do I need to do?"
(-)
"We went on a job together."
What kind of a job?
"A fun job! I ate a lot."
Was it scary?
"No. I'm told I don't get scared because of my mental disability."
For hours they sat and talked about their last few days of activity. Richtor made sure to evade most of her questions on the job he'd done, but she kept going back to it. She was a Huntress in training and had hardly ever taken on any live Grimm before. She had long since admitted to be scared about fighting them, but Richtor being who he was, not a trying to be a brave man either, had told her that Grimm weren't scary because they were just things to be played with. And to be fair, Richtor wasn't lying when he put it like that, as when overeating he did "play" with his food; a notion that worried Raven to this day. Only the Badger had ever managed to eat him, and even then, it didn't really eat him, otherwise he'd be dead. It just put him in its mouth and thought its digestive track would finish him off.
Cream wrote down something else and held it up with a big smile. When can we meet each other again? Are you going away any time soon?
"No. I'll be here for a while." His stomach growled and he whined momentarily. "I'm hungry… I wonder where Naruto is. He'd said he'd be back soon." Cream giggled as he Scroll went off. Richtor couldn't see the message the popped up on her screen or what she replied back with. "You're team?"
Yes. They want to go get something to eat now. I'm sorry, but I really must go.
"Can we come here tomorrow?"
Sure. Around noon okay with you?
"I'm usually eating by then, but maybe I can eat something beforehand." She smiled and got up to leave. She paused, turned to him, and wrote down something else on her notepad. They had spent the entire time talking and little to nothing else. No reading was done. Richtor was rather sad on that. She handed him a piece of paper with a date and a time and a number. "You're number?" She nodded. It was her last piece of paper. No more words from her for the time being. "Okay! I'll see you tomorrow." He pulled out his Scroll, plugged her number in, and sent her his. She giggled and began furiously typing on it. A moment later a message popped up and he laughed. "I'll be fine on my own. Naruto is very good at taking care of me."
Furrowing her brow, she furiously typed some more. Is he your brother?
"No. He's a friend." She made an O with her mouth and her Scroll beeped again. Looking dejected, she sighed and waved goodbye to him, leaving as the clerk said that they only had a few more minutes before the store closed. He watched her leave and then bolted for a book stand on sign language. She had a made a point in their last few visits to try and teach it to him, but didn't stick. That wasn't to say he wasn't trying. I wonder where she's going today. He looked at his Scroll as it beeped with a picture of Naruto's face on it. "Hello?"
"I'm sorry that I'm running late, Richtor. Stand outside the store and I'll be there in a few mintes. We'll go get something to eat and then head back to the Club to get something to drink and some normal food." Richtor smiled and began bouncing in place. "I don't see you outside~"
Richtor jumped to the door and scampered outside to await his caretaker after paying for the book. It was days like this he was truly happy with the world. Vale was a nice and relaxing place.
(-)
Kiba peeked over the edge of the railing and down into the large metal warehouse that made up the White Fang rally meeting. If he could, he'd snag Roman and drag him out of this place to give him his much deserved beating and then drag him to Junior for his payment. Sadly that wasn't the case as the man was giving a speech that he didn't give to squirts of piss about to listen to. Racist, bigots, people that controlled the government? Yeah, like they were involved in the terrible lot in life for all Faunus? Had this man not been to Vacuo or Mistral? A faunus was married to the second richest man in the world and in Vacuo if you were a faunus and could survive, you were just like any normal person in this world. You could breathe fire out your ass and they'd think you were normal.
If Kiba would give this man any credit where credit was do, it was that he could pump up a crowd with witty charm and quick last minute thinking. He was almost like Naruto, only less sadistic looking and human. He'd hold the human part against him just because Kiba didn't like the guy and couldn't stand him using others to get what he wanted in life. Kiba used other people, but those people were using him, so it was okay. This was just one sided to him. He tempted them with candy and they bought it like a child with an addiction.
But the other reason that he wasn't getting him right now was because Roman was standing in front of a big mech. A big, powerful, loaming machine of death created by Atlas military mind that was no doubt armed to the teeth to fight the true "menace" of the world: Faunus. Yeah fuck the Grimm. Grimm weren't shit when compared to people that could see in the dark and sported random limbs or extra organs to help him them breathe under water or hear a mouse chirp two miles away or anything like that. Yeah, they were a total menace and needed to be stopped.
Such pretty words for a man that Kiba was sure he was going to kill in the next five minutes. Then he'd show these Faunus a true monster, himself, when angered and fused with Akamaru.
Akamaru yawned beside him and Kiba nodded. I know buddy. I know.
The line of nonmembers began to move towards the front where they'd receive vests and a mask. Kiba didn't hold any illusion that their first job would be do something radical like kill their parents or whatnot. He was sure that that was one of the methods for enlistment into their ranks in Vacuo. Or it had been until they were shut down hard by Shade Academy that didn't stand for their shit. They were still active but they kept to the shadows. No point in picking a fight with a group of people that's first and only option was bomb it to death over talking.
It Atlas taught them one thing during their invasion it was that it was better to blow you away first and then talk over your smoldering remains. Atlas and the SDC hadn't been kind in their takeover all those years ago, and it left a lasting impression on them.
Kiba got up and made ready to fuse with Akamaru when he caught sight of a man beside Roman that had silver hair that stood up and defied gravity, wearing black cargo pants, sandals to match, a white vest, a tattered cloak over his form, a Grimm mask that covered only the bottom portion of his face. He sported a white wolf tail that swished about unhappily at all the new members as they approached to take their respective items. Hatake Kakashi… What's the Fang of Atlas doing here?
"Stop them!"
Kiba looked down as a girl with cat ears and long black hair pulled out a sword that transformed into a gun and shot a breaker to destroy the lights.
And this day just keeps getting better.
A/N
Holy crap I didn't think this chapter would be this long. We actually had more planned for this, but when we got this far, we realized that we still had a lot more to put in to it and decided to cut it here. There are still two more people to show up that didn't show up here and that's just because how long this chapter was getting.
