Hunting or Bust

by Master Attlon

The paths we find ourselves on. Are they predetermined by fate? Or do we really have the power to change our future? Will we stick to the paths we find ourselves on? Or if a chance presented itself, would you take it? This is a new path. A new chance at life. A...did that kid just spew chunks all over the deck? Yes. Yes he did.

36. (No) Place You Belong

Hunting or Bust

Dust 31: (No) Place You Belong

Hope you've been enjoying Chibi and Zweibleweed as much as I have...

Cause I'm about to balance out that sweetness with sour and vinegar.

Family Matters Arc.

Begin.

((((((((Hunting))))))))

"We love you-"

Before she could finish, the horrible crunch of a claw grinding and forcing itself through two layers of bone and flesh silenced her. The tip of the Alpha's claw pierced her chest and covered them in blood as he could only watch in silent horror.

He couldn't find his voice and was in shock as the Aplha Beowolf tried digging to get to them. Their mother was shielding them with her body as their father was directly behind her to guard them. If the claw pierced through her, it must have pierced through him as well. And now it sounded like the Beowolf was slashing and gnawing its way through their father's corpse to get to them.

He still had Aura. He could have kept fighting while they ran off. But no. They protected him. Protected them. His parents gave him a mission to make sure he got out of here alive...

And assure that the crying child in his arms lived as well.

They were running out of time. Their mother's body started to jerk and shift around as the Beowolf started to chew through her as well. He need to act fast! What could he do?!

Their father's sword!

It was right there!

Just past their mother and the Beowolf!

He needed it!

Now!

"HA!" He pushed against his mother's body and sent the Beowolf stumbling back as he ran. He held his brother close to his chest as he heard the Grimm roar and lunge for him. He dove, grabbing the blade and turning around to thrust-

"WRAAHHHHH-"

The blade went right between its eyes and poked through the back as it let out one last dying growl before going limp. He dropped the blade and crawled back before the Grimm could topple over them. He suddenly realized how hard his heart was pounding and how desperately he was taking in air. He was covered in blood. His parents-

"Mother! Father!"

He suddenly remembered the boy clutching into his shirt and looked back up. The viscera and gore that surrounded the immediate area. The pieces of their parents that had been torn apart and the remains lying by each other.

He felt his brother try to separate but pulled his head in and forced him down, "No! No don't look! Don't look!" He couldn't look away. The horrible sight of his parents' mangled bodies seared into his eyes as he felt his stomach churn and eyes fill with tears. He struggled to control himself as he heard his brother cry as well, "S-Stay calm. I-it'll be alright. Re-remember mom's song. ~L-Leaves from the vine, f-f-falling-"

He couldn't. He couldn't stop the sobs as he weeped and stared at his fallen family.

He heard a rustling in the bushes and forest surrounding them. He spotted red eyes and monstrous growls emanating from the darkness and tightened his hold on his brother.

He could feel it.

They were surrounded.

"I-Itachi." His little brother choked out through his cries. The seven-year-old looked up at him pleadingly, "W-what do we do?"

The older brother looked around at their predicament. Surrounded by Grimm. A now orphaned pair of brothers, only 12 and 7. And their parents lying in pools of their own blood.

Alone.

They were alone.

Itachi remembered the last thing his parents told him and hugged his brother protectively as the Grimm started looming towards them. He whispered, "It's okay. It's okay Sasuke."

He looked back up at the monsters approaching them...

"I'll protect you."

And he didn't know it, but at that moment when the Creatures of Grimm lunged towards their prey...

His eyes changed red.

((((((((Hunting))))))))

"I...I just want you to know that I love you. I know I don't say that enough but it's true. Through everything that's mattered in my life, you've been there for me. The best. The worst. And everything in between, you've been a constant source of support. So I just want you to know...you'll always be the best. The best friend ever. The best partner ever. Every person I've ever worked with besides you will only be mediocre in comparison-"

"Kiba! Say goodbye to the dog and let's go!"

"SHUT UP YOU HEARTLESS BASTARD, I'M SAYING GOODBYE!" He turned back to the dog sitting in the crate, "Sorry about that. You know Naruto's just jealous about how awesome you are."

Akamaru let out a sad whine and pawed at the crate door. Kiba nodded, "I know man, it sucks. But the others need you back at the shelter and you know how Mom and Hana can get when we don't listen." The big dog let out another sad whimper as Kiba shrugged, "It'll be okay. I'm only here for a few more weeks and then I'm back. So wait for me a little longer, okay?"

Akamaru moaned for a moment before giving a strong bark of encouragement.

"See ya later buddy."

"Ruff!"

Kiba stepped back and let the postal services carry the crate to the delivery bay, extremely wary of letting the dog out again because of the havoc it caused last time. Kiba watched his best friend get carried off for the trip back home as he sighed and walked back outside.

His friends were all standing out in the street waiting for him to say goodbye. NKTS came for the support and to say goodbye to their fuzzy roommate. RWBY and JNPR accompanied them because Ruby and Nora wanted to give their farewells.

Tenten patted his shoulder, "You gonna be okay?"

"Yeah." Kiba tried to sound neutral but the disappointment was clearly bleeding into his voice. The bun-haired girl squeezed his shoulder supportively and he nodded in thanks.

Nora and Ruby stepped forward, a very solemn aura between the two usually exuberant girls as Ruby had her hood up almost ceremonially. She looked around at the gathered parties, "We will now take a moment to say a few words."

"Wait, you're not really-"

"He was so fluffy!" Nora cried out, "He was like a big walking bed you can sleep on while he carried you everywhere! We had the best games of catch! He licked me and I licked him back-"

"Oh god."

"I will love him forever!" The ginger girl wiped her eyes and waved to the post office, "Goodbye friend! I'll always remember you!"

"You know the dog's not dying right-"

"I loved squishing his face and playing with his ears." Ruby sadly muttered as she pulled her hood down, "I wish I could let him meet Zwei. That would have been a never ending game of cuteness and they would have been best friends and played together and it would be so much fun! Now we can only dream."

Naruto and Blake had to repress the overwhelming urge to shiver. That giant hound working together with whatever dog could keep up living in the same house as Ruby and Yang?

That was a nightmare.

Ruby hung her head, "And now, a very special song prepared by our very own Weiss Schn-"

"No."

"Okay then. I guess we're done." Ruby sadly muttered as she shuffled away while Nora regained her joyous expression. The hooded girl dragged her feet like they were weights, "I'm gonna go feel better with ice cream and cookies."

"Oh yes, classic Ruby feel-good buffet." Yang laughed as she and her partner followed behind their leader, "I think I'll get it on that action."

"Figures you would." Blake noted as she and the others started heading for the transport back to Beacon.

Sasuke stepped up to Weiss' side as they brought up the rear. The heiress had crossed her arms in frustration at being put on the spot like that by her partner. Probably wasn't happy with the idea of singing in front of them after last time, "Did you actually prepare a song for this?"

"No! No I didn't!" She defended herself petulantly as she almost started seething and shaking with rage, "Ruby just tried to push it on me so she can hear me sing again! She's been wanting that ever since the first time I sung in front of all of you. And I refuse to do it again."

"If she just wants to hear you sing then what's the problem?"

"The problem is the blonde, gauntlet-wearing shadow that sticks to her back, waiting for the moment she can catch me doing it." She rubbed the bridge of her nose in exhaustion and huffed, "Like she wasn't relentless when she had the Bad Angel material. I will not feed that fire as long as I am able."

"Sounded like Ruby just wanted to give Akamaru a memorable goodbye."

"He was here for a week! And he's not dying!" Weiss argued with a scowl, "Ruby is just being melodramatic. She'll get over it."

"Yeah but you liked him too right? I mean you did come over sometimes to pet and coddle him with that baby talk-"

"Stop!" Weiss cut him off, a faint hue on her face remembering how silly and demeaning she acted while in the vicinity of that mangy mutt. His big slobbery face and floppy, droopy ears. The excessive stray hair and ridiculous loudness when he moved. The cute little wetness of his nose and how he waved his fwoppy twail whenever she scwunched up his wittle-

"AHHHH!" She screeched and gripped her hair, "Stop! That! Now!"

The Uchiha boy looked at her strangely as the refined heiress seemed to have a dispute in her mind. He slowed down to give her some space to vent. Doing so left Sasuke trailing behind the rest of the pack and letting him get a good look at them.

Ruby was being comforted by her big sister after Akamaru's inevitable departure. Blake was speaking with Naruto about how relieved he must be now that the canine was gone, with him mentioning that he had called and texted a few times with his father recently. Tenten was speaking to Jaune and Pyrrha, remarking of Jaune's improved skill and movement in the spars with the help of Pyrrha's training. Kiba was being hounded by Nora on the topic of hounds in general and was pushing to visit his shelter while Ren silently walked alongside them. And just ahead of him, Weiss was muttering something about cleansing the baby talk out of her systems.

A strange sight to see all these people together, but one he had grown accustomed to. These were his friends.

...

Friends?

They were his friends, right?

Of course they were. Everything they had been through together. They were friends now through and through. No doubt.

So why did he feel he had to reassure himself like that? And why was he so sure it still wasn't enough?

Was it because they weren't his real friends? Or because they hadn't made friends with the real him?

No, this was real. This was him. Sasuke Uchiha. Just...putting on a face and a pleasant act.

Which meant it was a lie. But a good-natured lie. A necessary lie. A lie for the benefit of himself and the others.

They probably wouldn't like the real him if he told them the truth. He didn't like even thinking about it. Made his skin crawl.

This was easier. For him and everyone else. He grew to smile whenever he could and the others became familiar with that look. He would outwardly express his joy in a situation and become more comfortable with it by doing so.

It was a trying effort the first few weeks he did it but now it became so easy. He felt happy doing it now. And the others were happy to see him.

They were his friends. His family. His teammates were now the people closest to him in the entire world.

He could trust them. And they could trust-

"But cutting off your ties like this? Ignoring them and abandoning them deliberately when they come to you...that puts someone in a very dangerous place. A place they can get lost in."

Kiba's words echoed in his ears. Haunting him like a warning. No, not even a warning. A reminder. A reminder that he had done this once before with someone he cherished and adored more than anything else.

Could they trust him? Really trust him? Or would he turn and run if a better opportunity presented itself? Or if he thought this second chance was just too hard?

Apparently Naruto had thought that, considering he never trusted him with the knowledge of his father and all the pent up anger towards himself. Despite everything they had been through together.

But Sasuke did know the feeling of anger and disappointment towards oneself. Especially when it came to familial issues.

Just because he couldn't empathize with the parent angle, didn't mean he wasn't familiar with the screwed up family aspect.

But what did it matter? What could he say to help?

A group of civilians passed by their motley gang of students while they passed the street. They shifted through the large crowd of people to get to the other side-

"I knew you were okay."

Sasuke's eyes widened as he looked back at the crowd that passed them. He froze in the street, making the cars honk at him as the light turned green and he still hadn't moved.

That voice.

No way.

"Are you alright?"

Sasuke came back to reality and saw Weiss standing on the sidewalk, waiting for him to come to his senses. The honking of horns and the angry tirade of people waiting to drive over him started to register. He shuffled off the street while his eyes were firmly locked on the path they just came from.

"Seriously, are you okay?" Weiss reiterated with a raised eyebrow, "You look like a lost child. Did something happen?"

"No." He was quick to reply. Too quick. He sounded on edge and panicked. He took a breath and shook his head, "No, I-I'm fine. I-I was just-" He shook his head and walked around her, "We're trailing behind."

Weiss narrowed her eyes and watched the taller boy walk off. She looked back the way he'd been staring and tried to spot whatever had freaked him out. She decided to just ask again when he seemed to calm down.

However Weiss didn't notice that while she was looking around for something, someone had clearly spotted her and her friends in return.

((((((((Hunting))))))))

"Okay, I'll admit." Tenten walked in their room and felt her shoulders dip with disappointment, "I'm gonna miss Akamaru not being here when we come back. I already miss stroking his head and rubbing his belly."

"I know right!" Kiba dragged his feet with a dejected expression, already missing his best friend's company. He fell back on his bed and deflated sadly, "He was the best part of the day. The best of us."

Naruto gave a disgruntled groan and rolled his eyes, "Are you gonna keep lamenting until the end of the semester? Because if you are, the next few weeks can't go by fast enough."

"Shut up. I'm coping."

"Come on Naruto, you have to admit having Akamaru here was fun." Tenten gave a cheeky grin, "I bet you're just acting like that because you miss having your buddy around."

"Then let me say it again so it's super clear. I'm glad that mutt is gone and I'm not gonna miss him at all." Naruto grumbled, "I'm pretty sure I've been traumatized by the harassment and stalking from that mangy little bastard."

"Is that actual spite? Or are you just sore because foxes don't like dogs?"

"Is that a stereotype?"

Sasuke hadn't heard what his team and friends were talking about. It was just background noise at the moment as he walked into the room and tried to collect his thoughts.

It wasn't possible, right?

It was just a trick.

Stress induced delusions.

He hadn't been thinking clearly. His head was just getting wrapped up in old memories and distant thoughts. He just imagined it.

But the voice. The tone and infliction. Everything was the same. Perfect to the last decibel. So how-

"Hey Sasuke, what's that?"

The Uchiha boy came out of his thoughts and turned back to Naruto, "What's what?"

"That paper in your pocket. Is that supposed to be something?"

Paper?

Sasuke reached back and felt a piece of folded paper sticking out of his back pocket. His eyes widened in surprise.

Where did that come from? More importantly, how didn't he notice something slip in his pocket this whole time?

Sasuke pulled it out and stared at the folded sheet for a moment before finally spreading it open. A map of of the city. With a certain area circled in bright marker. And text just above it.

Here

"So what-"

"I'll be back." Sasuke went out the door and pocketed the map before his team could finish speaking. He heard them stutter and call out but he ignored it as he walked through the hall and out the dorm completely. He started making his way to the dock to grab some transport back to the city.

He didn't even realize he was on the Bullhead down to Vale before it arrived and he walked off.

It was all just one moment. One blur. One moment he was in his dorm, the next he was walking through midtown trying to find the spot on the map.

His mind just went blank. Anticipating what was going to happen when he arrived at this rendezvous. But every time he thought he had something, his mind just went blank again.

Before long Sasuke arrived at his destination. A mostly empty lot located behind several old buildings that were mostly likely abandoned. He recognized the area. Him and Naruto had been here a lot when they had work in Vale to do for Wilsk.

But he had to focus.

That voice. That writing. The skill to slip something on his person and then disappear without him even realizing. He knew one person with such skill.

The same person that taught him everything.

Sasuke stood in the lot with empty barrels and a discarded, broken car off to the side. He looked around and saw nothing that would catch his attention. His eyes shifted red, everything in the dark becoming visible to his sight but still nothing. He couldn't even feel a presence anywhere nearby.

That was amazing.

Sasuke eyes changed back to black and he just sighed as he walked into the center of the lot. He looked around one last time to see nothing move or shift in the shadows. There was nothing here. No one.

...

"~Leaves from the vine, falling so slow, like fragile tiny shells, drifting in the foam~"

The song. The same melody that always came to his tongue subconsciously when he least expected it. He finally gave the tune its words, the lyrics he hadn't recited in many years but never forgot.

"~Little soldier boy, come marching home~"

...

"Brave soldier boy. Come marching home."

The familiar voice finished the song for him. Sasuke slowly raised his head and took a deep breath as his summoner finally presented himself. Sasuke turned around to face the older man, not hesitating or even worrying anymore about what might happen.

He saw a tall figure walk out of an alley and into the moonlight. His black hair had long bangs going down each side of his face. The pronounced lines along his nose and under his eyes made him look tired. The onyx eyes focused directly on him. He wore the same black jacket and grey shirt beneath it with blue pants, just like him. And embezzled on the back of the jacket was the sigil of their family, the red and white fan. He kept his right hand hidden in the pocket of his jacket while the other just hung at his side.

"Itachi."

The older man was silent before a faint smile spread across his lips. It was small but real enough as he nodded, "It's good to see you again little brother."

Sasuke's mind was blank. He should have considered the reasons why his brother was here. He should have thought about how he got here or how he knew where he was.

But none of that crossed his mind. Despite the years of apprehension and fear...only one thing came to him at this moment.

Sasuke closed the distance between them and quickly embraced his brother. He knew this was a bad idea...separated for two years and an indescribable amount of tension between them...and the first move he makes is charge in and hug his brother. He knew this was a bad idea.

But he missed his brother.

He felt one arm cross over his back in return and squeeze back. They stayed like that for a minute before separating to face each other. Itachi lightly tapped Sasuke's forehead before resting a hand on his shoulder. He showed his brother a faint smile and squeezed his arm tightly as if to assure himself it was really him, "You've gotten taller...I've missed you, Sasuke."

The initial surprise had started to wear off and instead gave way to trepidation and a slew of other emotions. Confusion as to how he found him. Fear as to what he had to say. Dread at what he would do. Concern as to what had happened to him and the others since he left. He decided to focus on the matter at hand and get some answers, "How did you find me?"

"It wasn't easy. We've been looking for a long time but never found anything. For the longest time I thought the worst and that you might have..." Sasuke felt an overwhelming sense of guilt grip his heart to see his brother struggle to say the words before he carried on, "But an informant of ours found a lead. A thread on the net that talks about some of the new arrivals at the hunting schools, in preparation to set bets and wagers on the tournament. And one of them mentioned a young Uchiha that had recently arrived at Beacon. He showed a lot of promising talent and skill. And I thought it sounded rather familiar. So I took a chance, and here you were."

Sasuke raised the map up, "And this?"

"I thought it would be better if you and I could speak privately. So I waited for a good opportunity and left you a message. I'm glad to see you knew it was me."

He had been tailing him. Him and his friends. And he had been so close to them without Sasuke even realizing it. He used to train to accomplish acts and feats like that but after being away from them for so long he realized just how unnerving it was to be followed without even noticing it. And just as bad...if he had been tailing him earlier, then he must have taken notice of the friends he traveled with as well.

"It was quite a sight, seeing you with all those kids your age. I remember not too long ago that you always seemed so adamant about following me and the others everywhere. You wouldn't be caught dead hanging around with 'snot-nosed kids who could barely put up their fists'."

Sasuke couldn't help the chuckle from remembering that conversation. The brothers shared a laugh before Sasuke shook his head, "To be fair, a lot of them can hold their own in a fight. If that means anything."

"Not just that." Itachi just kept staring out into the empty lot, "You smile more than I thought you were comfortable with."

The smirk on Sasuke's fell into a straight line as he lowered his head in shame. Of course his brother would take notice of him acting differently. No one in the world knew him better. He closed his eyes, "There's a reason...I mean I had to-"

"Sasuke." Itachi cut him off and the older Uchiha looked at his brother with bewilderment and concern. He slowly shook his head and asked in an almost desperate voice, "What happened? You were prepared and seemed so ready. So what happened? Why were you gone for so long? Why didn't you come back?"

Did he think this was never going to happen? No. He knew it would eventually. He knew that someday he would have to track down his brother and the others, face them directly, and tell them what happened. Why he didn't come back.

But he didn't think it would be today. Or anytime soon. He really wished he had spent some more time thinking about what to say. Considerable time.

But he didn't. It was here and now. So he had to speak the truth.

"Itachi, I'm sorry. I couldn't do it. The chance was right there - right in front of me - but I just couldn't do it. I know I said I was ready to prove myself. To be like you. But I froze. I thought about it so many times over the years but I can't bring myself to follow through with it." He looked up at his brother, "I can't do what you do."

Itachi just watched him, his shoulders lowering with disappointment at what Sasuke said.

"And I never came back because I didn't think I'd be able to face you and the others after failing like that. Refusing to do the same things as you and everyone else would just cause tension and strife. I didn't know what to do." Sasuke clenched his fist, "But maybe there is something we can do now. The headmaster at Beacon, Ozpin, is brilliant. And he has considerable pull with the Vale Council. He's willing to look past prior discretions if he believes an individual has worth and talent as an asset that can be beneficial for - well, I don't know. But that's why he accepted me into Beacon, even though I had criminal ties and no prior education. And he would probably do the same for you."

"You're smarter, and stronger, and faster, and more experienced than I am. Ozpin would have to be an idiot to let someone with your abilities pass so easily. And everyone too. I'm sure you can do something to help the people of Remnant without having to do it by yourselves anymore. You don't have resort to fighting from the shadows. You don't have to fight alone." Sasuke nodded before looking up, "If you give me some time-"

He froze in shock seeing Itachi had vanished without him even noticing. He looked around in a start but couldn't spot his brother again. He was gone.

And the sense of fear and dread in Sasuke's stomach...it only grew worse at the thought that this wasn't over yet.

((((((((Hunting))))))))

Itachi watched over his brother from the rooftop as Sasuke looked around for him. He still had difficulty tracking him when he erased his presence like that. It reminded him of the times they trained together, Sasuke trying to locate him in a dense area of forest and Itachi getting the drop on him and bopping his crown. It made him chuckle in fond remembrance.

But now seeing his brother like this...he had changed so much in the time he had been gone. And Itachi wasn't sure if it was for the better. Seeing his brother change his personality and seem so uncertain about what he should do...

It felt like a sharp pain had settled in his stomach.

"So? You got to see him again. Was it worth it?"

Itachi ignored the deriding, short tone that asked him that question as Sasuke walked out of sight, "He seems so confused. So worried about seeing me again."

"Well no surprise there. I told you he wouldn't want to see you again. Traitors and cowards tend to act like that when they're put on the spot."

"You don't know that-"

"I sorta do! Was his face pale? His skin all clammy? That's probably because he was thinking, 'Oh wow, here's my brother I totally abandoned and ran away from because I chickened out and turned traitor! Geez, I hope he doesn't give me that ass kicking I deserve-"

"Stop it! Itachi doesn't need to listen to you complain and whine any more than you usually do! Especially not now! Give him a moment to think."

"What is there to think about?! He ran! He left! He made that choice and we should just ditch him! If he isn't strong enough to fight our cause then we don't need him!"

"We can't just leave!"

"Why not?!"

"Because he's Itachi's brother. His family."

"...We're his family now too."

"You know what he means. Itachi won't just leave him. Right?"

Itachi lowered his head before shaking it, "I can't. We have to stick together. I made a promise a long time ago that I would always watch out and protect him. I don't know what made him change his mind or why he's acting like this..." Itachi's eyes opened again, "But he's still my brother."

"Even though I want to help you bring Sasuke back with us, I have to agree with the moron about this. We can't just bring him back in so easily. Not after he ran away. After he failed to do his duty. And after he's been spending so much time with that guy. He needs to prove that he can still fight alongside us. Which means he has to finish the job."

Itachi's eyes lowered hesitantly at the thought of forcing his brother to do something like that against his will. But even though he felt like this, a part of him agreed. Sasuke had to prove they could trust him again.

"And he can't stay with those 'friends' of his anymore either."

"I know."

"If you want to get this done, you'll have to follow my plan." The first voice stated to Itachi, some spite still in his tone but forcing it down to help advice his leader, "Are you willing to follow through with it?"

It left a bad taste in his mouth. And he was certain that even if he got Sasuke back, his little brother would never forgive him for what he did.

But even so...

"Yes. I'm ready. Let's proceed."

(((((((((Hunting))))))))

"Half day! Woohoo! This is awesome!"

"Technically it's not a half day. The last two classes were just canceled because Professor Port and Professor Goodwitch had to deal with festival preparations."

He didn't care why they canceled class or how long it would happen. They were free from the daily confines of class sooner than usual and he was thankful for that!

"Okay team, we're free from the tyranny of having to take anymore classes today!" Naruto grinned and looked between his teammates, "But I still got something to do later with Velvet. So until then, what should we do?"

"We can always do a little training out in the grounds." Kiba offered while rotating his shoulders, "I wanna work out a few kinks in those combo moves we're working on."

Naruto seemed excited at the idea before Tenten shook her head with a grimace, "I'm still feeling sore from the last training session we had. Plus have you looked outside today? It looks like it's gonna be raining any moment. I'd rather not get caught up in that." The bun-haired fighter shrugged her shoulders, "I say we just head to the cafeteria, get something to eat, and then have an easy rest of the day in the room."

Kiba gave a small hum, "That doesn't sound too bad actually."

"Okay. Two ideas so far. Sasuke, any suggestions?" The team turned towards their silent swordsman as he seem more preoccupied with daydreaming than engaging with them. He turned to them and Naruto repeated, "Training or resting? Any preference?"

The Uchiha remained silent with his expressionless face. He stepped in towards Naruto and whispered, "I need to talk with you."

He nodded, "Okay. Well if you want to talk-"

"Not here." Sasuke gripped the whiskered Faunus' shoulder and led him down the hall as he looked back at Kiba and Tenten, "We'll meet up with you two later. Don't wait for us."

Their partners seemed perplexed by his action as Sasuke dragged Naruto around the corner and away from everyone else. When they were alone Naruto pulled his arm out of Sasuke's grip, "Man, what's going on with you? You've been quiet all day and your eyes keep looking around whenever we stop. You're acting like-"

Naruto finally took note of Sasuke's frown and stern glare. His reserved manner and silence around the others while he was focused on something. It was how he acted when something was very serious and very bad. How he used to act all the time when they first started working together.

Naruto immediately realized that something was wrong, "What is it? What happened?"

He answered in a low voice, "I saw my brother."

"Your brother?" Naruto repeated as his eyes widened, "Y-your brother? You saw him here? How - is that why you were gone so late last night?"

Sasuke nodded, "He contacted me yesterday when we were in the city. He wanted to meet me. Wanted to know if I was okay. And why I've been gone for so long." He answered, "He wanted to know why I couldn't come back."

"What did you tell him?"

He didn't answer and instead looked up at his friend with a firm glare, "He slipped me a note while we were in the city. All of us. He saw you."

Naruto reeled back and grit his teeth, "Oh shit. Shit shit shit." The blond ran a hand down his face and took a sharp breath, "What did you tell him?"

"I told him I wasn't going to do anything. That he should stop fighting as well. Use his skills to help people, through legitimate means. Do something good." Naruto seemed concerned with that idea before Sasuke shook his head, "But he left. Vanished before I could say anything else...I don't know where he is."

"What do we do?"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, "What were your plans later?"

"Velvet was gonna tutor me."

"Cancel it." Sasuke ordered, "We're gonna stick together through this. I don't know if Itachi came with anyone else or if he might do something drastic. I don't think he would but I won't risk it. We'll stick together to make sure nothing happens and when it's night you'll stay in the room and I'll go back into the city. I'll find him again so we can talk."

"I'm not gonna leave you to handle this by yourself." Naruto stated with a frown of his own.

"You can't mean to bring the others-"

"No." Naruto denied with a furious shake of his head. He grimaced and paled at the thought, "We can't let them know about this. If they did-"

"Then just listen to me." The Uchiha spoke with finality, "I've got your back. I'll figure this thing out with Itachi, and we can put it all behind us for good."

Naruto may not have told him everything about his life, but that didn't matter to Sasuke. He was the person that showed him there was so much more for him to. He was the person that stopped him from taking a very different path in life. The one that had led to coming here, making dear friends he would cherish for years to come.

Naruto was his closest, most cherished friend. And as long as he could fight...

Sasuke reached out and gripped Naruto's shoulder, "I won't let anything happen to you. I promise."

((((((((Hunting))))))))

Blake looked up at the bleak sky and darkening clouds as there was a slight chilly breeze that passed over the mostly empty street they traversed. She felt a small shiver go up her back to the tips of her ears that twitched under her bow. The hidden cat noticed the Schnee beside her looking even more annoyed than she felt as she glared at the back of the siblings leading them.

She was exhausted at being pulled into yet another strange activity by the sisters as she droned, "So why exactly did we all have to come down here with you?"

"Why do you have to keep asking that?" Yang responded with frustration as she looked around the area, "Just consider it a team building exercise or whatever. Look blame Ruby, not me."

"Oh, way ahead of you." The heiress informed with a curt tone.

Their little leader seemed to take full notice of the knives being glared into her back and tried to disarm the tension with a cheerful smile, "Oh, c'mon guys, lighten up! We came to the city! Isn't there always a fun thing to do when we come down here?!"

"Not when it looks like this outside."

"Okay, well clouds aside," The hooded girl shrugged, "We can still have fun, right?"

They could absolutely have fun on a dreary day like this. Reading in their room. Reading in the cafeteria. Reading in the library. Honestly anything besides coming out here to check up on Yang's motorcycle would be fun.

"Look, I know it sucks, but I'll make it quick." Yang reassured them while looking up from her Scroll, "This is important. I got a message from the guy in charge of the depot that said something happened with Bumblebee. He didn't say anything else and I don't know what's up. I just wanna check and we can get going." Yang grinned, "Hey, that's something fun we could do. I can finally show you two my bike. You can even ride with me. How about that for fun, right Ruby?"

"Totally!"

Their leader silently retracted her statement with a terrified grimace and a furious shake of her head. The message was clear; a warning of death for going that way.

"As tempting as that sounds," Blake brusquely stated, "I'll pass. I'm not all that interested in biking. No matter how fast or motorized it may be."

"I agree." Weiss quickly complied with the Faunus' wishes as she shook her head, her white ponytail swaying with her movement, "I'm sure there are other, less strenuous, less life-threatening activities we could do for fun."

Yang scoffed and followed it with a hearty laugh. The black and white-clad girls looked at the blonde strangely as she sent back a cheeky smile, "Oh I bet you two could have a whole lot more fun if we did go back to the school. But I doubt it wouldn't be strenuous~."

They didn't quite appreciate the giddiness in her voice and raising of her brow. Weiss questioned on their behalf, "What do you mean by that?"

"I mean you two specifically would have more fun back home." She grinned, "With your little boy toys~."

Ruby feigned a gasp and covered her mouth in shock before she shared a quick giggle with her sister. Blake reeled back in surprise at the accusation and heard a more genuine gasp from Weiss beside her as the heiress nearly yelled with indignation, "Excuse me?! What is that supposed to mean?!"

"I think you know exactly what it means, Icy Queen. You and Sasuke." Yang teased through her smile as she enjoyed that peeved expression Weiss failed to hide, "Don't look so surprised. We might have totally blown sneaking up on you guys the first time, but you haven't exactly been subtle after that. Sit next to him. Sit across from him. Invite him to dinner~. Asking him out on a date - even a totally boring one like the museum - is a feisty move for you Weiss. I'm proud of you."

The Schnee heiress blubbered and stumbled in horrified shock at the implication. But was it just an implication? She certainly did seem to be spending more free time with him than she ever expected the girl to willingly spend with other people. She stayed around them so much mostly because she was supposed to while they were a team. If they weren't bound by that rule, she would suspect that Weiss would giggle happily while flying away on a jet pack powered by Dust and Ruby's sadness.

That seems like the kind of thing rich people would use their resources to do.

"And don't think you're being all sneaky too, Blake," Yang smiled after enjoying the sight of the stuttering heiress, "Like we don't know about you and Naruto."

Oh god, not this again.

"Yeah!" Ruby chimed in with a suspicious gaze and big smile, "We know all about your little sorted affairs."

"Sordid."

"That too."

Blake felt the need to rub her temples in some vain attempt to banish the migraine that nested in her head. She was just imagining a little cloud of Yang and Ruby faces that bounced on top of her brain for fun. She glared at the sisters, "Like I've told you dozens of times already, you are reading into something that is not there. There are no affairs, sordid or otherwise. I have spoken with Naruto a handful of times and I gave him a book he can read. That's it."

"What about the part where you were throwing yourselves at each other?"

"Excuse you?"

"Yeah, there's a rumor that while you two were in the library, you tried to start a little mm-hmmm with each other." Yang's grin and dirty tone didn't leave much to the imagination as Ruby looked at Blake in complete, honest shock, "Other students say that if it wasn't for the librarian coming to check on you, you two probably would have done it right then and there. Even knocked over all the books on the shelf too." The busty blonde nodded with something akin to pride, "I never would've expected it from you Blake. I'm impressed."

Don't be impressed. She felt dirty receiving Yang's respect like this.

Blake also took notice of the fact that Weiss had come out of her stupor to look her over in disappointment at the allegation. Like she was any better. Did she have any idea how any normal Faunus would react to hearing a Schnee and an Uchiha were getting chummy? It was like end of days, but grosser because she actually knew them.

Blake frowned, "Can we just go fix this stupid bike already?"

Yang frowned hearing the insult to her awesome bike and crossed her arms, "I'm not moving one step until you say Bumblebee is the most awesome, wonderful thing you've ever heard."

Blake was already making her way back down the street they came down.

"Wait wait wait! It was a joke!" Ruby blurred in front of Blake and desperately waved her arms around to halt the quiet girl from leaving. Her leader tried to disarm the tension with a nervous smile, "She was just kidding! No reason to be angry! All friends here!" She purposefully left off saying either Blake or Yang's name so the apology could go either way. She was diffusing the situation while making sure not to take sides. She was definitely learning how to be a leader dealing with a group, "And look, we're here! That's good, right?"

The bow-wearing girl turned back around to see Yang was already opening up a storage space that likely held her personal vehicle. The boxer made her way in and the rest of her team followed into the container. They finally laid eyes on the 'wondrous' machine they had heard so much about, a yellow sport bike that turned to red down the back and with a black seat. She didn't know much about bikes or engines but she would bet that this one was sporting some serious torque.

She expected nothing less of Yang's bike.

"Honey~, I'm home." Yang said as she walked over to her bike and lovingly ran her hand over the handles, "Did you miss me? Because I missed you~."

"You sure you don't want some privacy for your sordid affairs?"

"Oh please, you two wish your rides were as good as mine."

"Can we stop now?" The girls all looked at Ruby as their little leader grimaced and shook her head, "All these weird jokes are making me uncomfortable."

"Agreed. This is getting excessively childish." The ivory-haired fencer complained as she crossed her arms petulantly, "Just turn the stupid machine on, figure out what's wrong with it, and let's go."

"Turn it on? While it might be busted? Are you crazy?" Weiss blinked in shock at the response as Yang scoffed, "You don't turn it on while it's messed up, that would just make it worse. It's like ruining the engine on a car. Or the propulsion system on one of your jet packs."

Weiss' eye twitched, "For the last time, I. Do not. Have a jet pack."

"Sure you don't." Ruby said, unconvinced, while dipping over to Yang's side, "So what's the problem?"

"Don't know. Everything seems fine." Yang muttered with a growl, "Man if I came down here for nothing I'm gonna be so pissed."

Weiss made her way over with interest, "Here, let me see."

"What are you gonna do? Glare at it?"

"Shut up you dunce. Move."

Blake signed, crossing her arms and settling into her spot for however long this would take. She had to admit that it was amusing to see her teammates flock around and try to help fix the bike, even if they didn't know what was wrong.

"Yang, what's that?"

"What - what the hell?! Who put crap in the exhaust pipe?!" Yang bent down further as she found something lodged into the pipe of the bike. She reached in and grabbed it before giving a firm yank, struggling to dislodge it as she groaned, "When I find the asshole who did this I'm gonna shove my foot so far up he'll be coughing boot."

Blake blinked in surprise at what Yang just said as she stood up straighter. Yang said she hadn't seen her bike since she had last come down to the city with the others that weekend. Blake didn't know a lot about vehicles, but she guessed Yang knew a thing or two. So how could something be wrong with it when Yang was the last person on it and didn't notice anything? And how would the lot owner know something was wrong with the bike when he didn't have the keys to turn it on? Well he probably had copies of the keys to open theses compartments up, but he still couldn't turn it on, right?

Blake thought over these things until her eyes wandered up to the top of the room and she spotted something in the corners of the wall. They were secured to the dark corners of the room but she could see them clearly, held up by bolts and with small red lights on them. They looked like-

Wait.

Blake heard the shutter door close behind her and she yelled, "Yang, don't-"

Yang grunted as she finally pulled the foreign object out of the pipe, revealing it to be some kind of device that had the same still red light. But the moment it was freed, it let out a soft ping and turned green.

And the whole room burst with gas.

The canisters she had recognized had unleashed their payload and filled the storage unit with gas in a matter of seconds. Blake quickly held her breath and covered her mouth to avoid breathing any of the foreign component. She shut her mouth as tight as possible as she heard gasps and coughs around her, the others not being prepared for the sudden attack and accidentally taking in the smoke.

She couldn't see anything. Her enhanced sight did nothing as she was blind in this cloud. The cat Faunus could feel her lungs start to strain as she stumbled over to where she last saw her team and see if she could help any of them. Her arm swung out randomly in a desperate attempt to find her friends.

She felt something! It was warm! And soft, long hair that felt like a blanket! It was Yang! And she was on the ground, unconscious. She had breathed in the gas, blindsided by the surprise attack.

Blake reached down and grabbed her partner by the shoulder and hefted her up. She was heavier than Blake expected, but nothing she couldn't handle. She started for the direction of the shutter, dragging Yang's feet along the way.

"*Gasp*"

Damn! She couldn't hold her breath any longer! The gas was in her system, so she had to act fast!

Her hand probed forward and she felt the bumps and trenches of the shutter door locking them in. Blake furrowed her eyes and reached back for her weapon, using both blade and sheathe to cleave through the metal and then use Shadow to propel them forward through the cut.

Blake stumbled out into the street, clumsily dropping Yang as the black-haired girl fell to her knees and coughed. She felt her arms and legs start to go numb as the gas was starting to take affect. She grit her teeth as her eyes fluttered, "Damn."

No, she had to go back! Ruby and Weiss-

The shutter broke open even further, the sound of metal shredding through metal as a red and white blur burst into the street beside them. Ruby stumbled forward after pushing through with her speed, Crescent Rose in one hand and an unconscious Weiss under the other. Her leader let out a few strained gasps and coughs before she fell to her knees, the heiress slipping from her arms as Ruby finally succumbed to the affects of the gas.

It was just Blake now, and she could feel her consciousness fading. She didn't have long. She had to take the others-

"Glad I got you all in one try. And here I thought I would only get one of you and I'd have to try again for the others. Lucky me you travel in a pack."

Who was that?

She didn't recognize the voice.

Was it the one who laid the trap?

Blake's vision started to tunnel, losing focus as she saw a new set of legs walk in between her and Ruby. The new arrival bent down beside the younger girl and inspected her hood with interest, "Hmm, we could use this."

Blake couldn't see the man's face, but that didn't matter. She could see the design on the back of his clothes and that was enough to send dread down every fiber of her body. A red and white fan plastered over the back of the fabric.

No. Not here. How did they know? How did they find her?

"You're still awake? Oh, spoke too soon?" The man seemed to regard her as Blake toppled over and her eyes started to veil. The man turned around to face her and reached out, "Sorry kid, nothing personal. And I promise this will all be over with nothing but a little nausea. But you girls have a role to play, and I want this crap to be done with already."

Before Blake checked out, she noticed a strange design covering the man's palm.

A peculiar tattoo...of an open mouth and slobbering tongue.

((((((((Hunting))))))))

"Yeah, go Ren! Beat Jaune's scrawny, lanky butt!"

"Ugh - Nora! C'mon, don't call it lanky!"

"Sorry Jaune, but Pyrrha's already rooting for you! And I'm the queen of the JNPR trash talk!"

Pyrrha tried to encourage her partner as she noticed a strained expression cover his face, "Persist Jaune! You can do it! Ren can't hold out much longer!" She might have earned a dirty, pointed look from the thinner boy but she was doing her best to cheer for her partner, "Just keep your balance and-"

"UWOH - OOF!" Jaune's arms buckled and he fell over on his back from the handstand. Their leader laid on his back with a disgruntled groan as Ren gently lowered his legs, a small sheen of sweat over his brow but no real fatigue after the challenge. Jaune sat up and mumbled before looking up at the green-clad boy, "How was that? Were your arms going weak at all?"

Ren shook his head, destroying Jaune's hope of making any exponential progress. Pyrrha gave an encouraging smile and offered her friend a hand, getting a smile to come over Jaune's face as he was pulled up on his feet. He rubbed his shoulders tenderly and looked at her questioningly, "What's the point of these handstand exercises again?"

"Just some useful training." She tried to demonstrate its usefulness to the blond by placing a hand on her naval, "It's good for core and upper-body strength, building stamina and proper breathing, and will help you keep better balance. And if you can outlast Ren, then that means you've made wonderful progress."

"You know I should feel a little insulted that I'm the lowest point on the scale you're judging from," Ren finally spoke up, "But considering you've probably been accustomed to this training longer than us and Nora is Nora, I guess I can live with being the bottom line."

"I'm sorry." She felt guilty implying something like that from someone as skilled as Ren.

"It's fine." He just shrugged it off, "As long as we are here, I can benefit from this workout as well."

"That's the spirit!" Nora roughly patted her partner's back before flexing her lithe arms, "I say we get to the next part of training! I'll go pull some boulders out of the ground and throw them at you guys! You'll have to bob and weave and do a slow-motion bend backwards to dodge them!"

"How are we supposed to do anything in slow-motion?"

"If you try hard enough, life finds a way."

"No." Pyrrha shook her head and denied Nora's suggestion, deflating the girl's enthusiasm in an instant as the ginger just pouted sadly, "We are not doing anything that dangerous. This is just strength and conditioning training for now. And even when we do more advanced exercises, I doubt we'll be throwing boulders at each other."

"Be easier if we got to bring my hammer and your shield. Then it'd totally be safe." Nora said with a huff and cross of her arms, not completely understanding that even with a shield, that wouldn't make boulder dodging safer.

Ren looked up through the trees along Beacon's field they came to for training. He must have noticed the leaves swaying and darkened clouds as the wind started to pick up, "Well if we still want to get some training in, we have to do it quickly."

"Well what are we waiting for?" Jaune exclaimed as he passed Pyrrha with a joyful grin. He turned back to his team and pumped his fist, "Let's go guys!"

Pyrrha was overjoyed to see her partner's willingness to keep training. She had been worried that when they started practicing together, she might do something to push him too far or overwork him. But she didn't give him enough credit. He still had a ways to go and more work to be done, but Jaune was willing and ready to go the distance with them.

It was moments like this that she felt so proud to be his partner.

And in an instant, it happened.

Before they could move, a massive figure dropped down from the trees and landed directly behind Jaune. Pyrrha's eyes widened in shock and her legs tensed in preparation to move as Jaune looked back. The large man swung his arm out and knocked Jaune off his feet, sending him flying and straight into the trunk of a tree, "JAUNE!"

Pyrrha quickly pounced on this new foe, Nora and Ren backing her up as they charged behind her. But as the tall man prepared to engage them a second, smaller figure dropped town in a crouch in front of him. This one was a woman and she immediately popped back to her feet, raising her arms up as a barrier of pink crystals sprouted up.

Pyrrha stopped before ramming into the crystal wall as the blurry figure behind it punched the other side, shattering the crystal and sending shards of it at them instead. The redhead champion raised her arms in defense and felt the force of the crystal shards impact over her Aura. She heard Ren grunt and Nora yelp in pain as they were blindsided by the attack as well. Her team had to quickly backpedal to avoid any more shards and put some distance between them and their attackers.

Now Pyrrha got a better look at them. The man was the taller of the two by at least a foot, long green hair going down his back with cold, strange blue eyes that appeared to ripple from the middle. In each hand was a straight, double-edged sword that had sharp prongs coming off the side of the swords' length. He wore a dark grey jumper, with the insignia of a jagged lightning bolt on the left breast.

And beside him was a shorter woman, light blue hair tied in a spiky ponytail with her eyes focused on them. She wore a similar jumper as her companion, but with a blossoming flower on the left breast instead and a red undershirt beneath it. She wore long red pants with a black skirt that ended around her thighs. The woman narrowed her eyes as she held out her hand and a thin, sharp length of crystal extended from the end of her arm.

Pyrrha really regretted not bringing any weapons with them now.

The crystal woman dashed forward and Pyrrha raised her guard in anticipation. She bobbed and weaved around the rapid swipes aimed at her head and legs. This woman was going for her weak points, and with startling accuracy and speed as well. She seemed completely focused on knocking her out as when Pyrrha blocked the crystal blade with her arm-guards, the woman would strike out with a palm for her face or a spin kick to her ribs.

Luckily Ren and Nora slipped in at her sides and held the woman off with rapid attacks of their own. But the strange woman held them at bay, parrying their attacks with the flat of her crystal. Pyrrha charged in as well and overwhelmed the woman with three opponents at once, but she proved resilient as she blocked all of their strikes with her arms and legs. It was a blur of punches and kicks while the blue-haired woman blocked and parried them as best she could before she started getting overwhelmed. Even her crystal shattered after blocking enough of their attacks.

But then the man with the blades came dashing in and struck at Pyrrha, forcing her to block with her armor as her Aura took the brunt of the thrust. The redhead was lifted off her feet and sent flying backwards before she finally found some solid ground to stand on. When she looked back up the large man had sprinted after her and was already pulling back for a swing.

The pronged sword came slashing at her head while Pyrrha leaned back to avoid its edge. It was quickly followed by the second blade that came down like a guillotine and slashed the dirt and ground as Pyrrha slid out of the way. He stepped in and swung the blades incredibly fast as Pyrrha could only evade the swipes by the smallest margins.

She was at a disadvantage. This man had longer reach and as long as he had his blades she couldn't get in close. But why was he focusing on her? She looked past him and noticed that the blue-haired woman was holding off Ren and Nora with attacks that weren't meant to be fatal.

They weren't trying to kill them.

So why?

It didn't matter. This was her opponent and she had to beat him somehow. Her only choice was to use Polarity and try to catch him by surprise. But she'd only get one chance before he started figuring out what she was doing and adjusted. She watched him turn-

"HA!"

Jaune came running in from the side and tackled into the man, knocking him off his balance and forcing him back. The swordsman caught himself and gripped his blades tightly as Pyrrha helped her partner, "Jaune!" She steadied him with a hand on his shoulder and breastplate, "Are you okay?!"

"Y-yeah, I'll be fine. Who are these guys," He asked after rubbing his head softly, "Where did they come from?"

"I don't know." She responded, looking back at their foe as he tightened his grip on his swords, "But he's strong. And unarmed, we won't be able to beat him easily. We need to strategize."

"I don't think we gotta beat him." Jaune whispered as he took a makeshift fighting stance beside her and whispered, "We just need to get some help, or our weapons."

"Okay, well how do you-"

"You have to run and tell a teacher."

"No," She instantly shot down that suggestion without hesitation, "I'm not leaving you behind. I'm not leaving Ren and Nora behind. We'll do this together-"

"Pyrrha, that's the best option we got. You're the fastest one here and we can at least hold them off long enough for you to get Glynda or Ozpin." Pyrrha wanted to shoot that idea down again and again but she spotted her partner in the corner of her eyes. His eyes were trembling, with sweat coming down his temple and hands shaking slightly. She looked past their opponent to see that Ren and Nora were still holding the woman off, but the fighter was losing his breath and Nora was struggling to keep up with the quick movements with her wide attacks.

She hated the idea of leaving them...but they didn't have many options.

"Now!" Jaune charged forward with a yell and reared his fist back to strike their opponent. The taller man swatted Jaune's fist away with the handle of his sword before the other one came down on the nape of Jaune's back. He was protected by his Aura but he slammed into the ground with a very audible gasp of pain.

She followed and charged the man before he could bring his blades up again. He had to widely dodge the fists she threw at his head before he could attack again. Pyrrha bent back as the tip of the blades swiped close to her face and forcing her to duck as they came back around.

The green-haired man was about to kick her away but stumbled as one of his legs was attacked. Jaune had tackled the man's dominant leg, giving her a chance to kick up into his chin. This knocked his head back and Pyrrha threw a quick strike into his neck, forcing him to gag and swing at her wildly to get some space.

She was forced back and the tall man brought his other foot in to kick Jaune's gut. This winded the blond and he released his hold on the man's leg before a sword came along and smacked him off the ground. Pyrrha felt her anger rise at seeing her partner swatted off like that as she leapt and landed a spinning kick across the man's face, earning a satisfying grunt of pain from the large swordsman.

He got his footing and brought both swords down to attack her chest.

Pyrrha raised her hands and pushed forward, locking the blades with her Polarity and repelling them back. The man's grip didn't slip at all and he was blown back into a tree with his swords so hard he cracked the bark.

This was her chance! She made a run for the field and came out on the other side of the trees. She spotted some students walking away and heading into the school before it started raining. Pyrrha prepared to yell-

"AH!"

"Don't."

Jaune! She froze immediately after hearing the pained scream of her partner. She turned back around to see the blue-haired woman had Jaune pinned to the ground on his side, a foot on his ribs and his arm outstretched at an uncomfortable angle. She applied a little more force on her hold and Jaune let out a soundless gasp.

Pyrrha grit her teeth and glared daggers at the woman. She looked over to see Ren was pinned to a tree with crystals locking his limbs, and Nora in a similar state but on the ground without any leverage to move her body.

The woman kept her grip on Jaune's twisted arm as her partner thrashed around on the ground in an attempt to break free. She pulled on the arm and halted his attempts entirely as she looked at Pyrrha with a cold detachment, "I'm sorry this got so out of hand. It wasn't supposed to be like this. We were supposed to find a quick and easier way to apprehend you all. But one of our partners failed to deliver us a shipment of sleeping gas, and even if we did have it the wind would have blown it away. Clearly we were stuck with the strong arm method, but you lot are just as skilled as we heard. Which is good. If you want to be Hunters that protect people, you'll need to get even stronger."

"W-who are you?" Ren strained to ask from his pinned position.

"You don't need to concern yourselves with who we are." The tall man said as he stood up and rubbed the crick from his neck, "After tonight, hopefully we'll never meet again."

"You ain't that lucky, buster!" Nora roared from the dirt as she bared her teeth and snarled, "When I get outta here, you better believe there's gonna be a butt-whooping of epic proportions to suffer through!"

"We need you to come with us." Pyrrha narrowed her eyes and prepared to respond, "And we know this can get out of hand if any more people are involved. So don't leave and tell anyone about this. Come back here or else-"

"AH!"

She gave a quick twist and Jaune's elbow started turning in a bad way. Pyrrha tried to contain her gasp at hearing Jaune wail in pain, "I will have to start breaking and popping things off your friends. And by the time you get back, they'll be gone, and you won't find them. Don't test me. I'm fairly efficient at following through with those kind of promises."

"D-don't listen to her! Pyrrha, we'll be fine!" Jaune yelled through grit teeth as he ignored the searing pain of his hyperextended limb, "You have to get the teachers! You have to - AH!"

"I won't repeat myself again." She said coldly as she narrowed her eyes, "Come back here now. Or your friend gets it."

Pyrrha looked between her friends and the precarious position they were in. If Pyrrha went, she could definitely outrun them. They wouldn't be able to catch her. But if she did, she'd be leaving her team to god knows what. And it would be her fault. But if they were all caught, there was no hope anyway. She-

"Decide."

"GAH!"

"Okay!" Pyrrha finally relented after hearing Jaune let out a terrible scream when his arm was twisted and pulled. She walked forward with her hands raised and didn't make any move to attack them. The large man walked over to her side and placed a hand on her bare shoulder.

The blue-haired woman finally released her grip on Jaune arm as he cradled his arm and flexed his fingers to make sure nothing was broken. He looked up at her in shock as the woman turned back to a yelling Nora and glaring Ren, "Don't worry. From this point on, all you'll have to do is bear witness."

When she turned around, Pyrrha finally got a good look of the insignia on her back. A red and white fan embroidered over most of her jumper's back.

They - they were-

"Sorry about this young lady."

Pyrrha felt a violent shock through her entire system, before there was just blackness.

((((((((Hunting))))))))

"Really?"

"Really."

"There's no one here at Beacon that you're even slightly interested in?"

"Nope, not really."

"Well what about before Beacon?" Tenten insisted with great curiosity as she looked at Kiba, "There had to be someone that caught your attention as a kid? When you were walking around all spilling with hormones and desires and stuff-"

"Okay, nothing was 'spilling', and don't imagine anything even close to that." He looked off and shook his head, "Yeah I had my eyes on some girls when I was younger but they hardly ever seemed interested in returning the sentiment. I got one or two kisses but those were mostly just on dares." He gave a limp wave to his face, "The kid with the tattoos is usually the escalation dare."

"Why in the world did you get tattoos on your face?"

"I'll tell you when you're older." She was the oldest! Tenten glared at him for his deflection before he quirked an eyebrow, "What about you? Got your eyes on anyone?"

She decided to return the favor and turned her head up with a harrumph, "I'm not telling you. A lady needs to keep a little intrigue about herself." There, let's see how he likes being kept at arm's length about important matters like that.

"Okay."

Well that backfired.

She glared at the smug smirk that tugged his face at seeing the affect his reluctance had on her. The stick user grumbled and marched up to their door with a stomp in her gait. Whatever. Maybe she'd get better responses from Naruto and Sasuke.

She swiped her Scroll and opened up to see Sasuke standing in the middle of the room. She went for his attention, "Sasuke, I need help getting through to Kiba. Who was the first..."

...

That wasn't Sasuke.

He turned around to face them and she noticed his hair was longer. He had very pronounced creases under his eyes and along his nose. This man was taller than her partner. He was dressed in black while Sasuke mixed blue and grey.

And she felt compelled to point out all the differences...because he looked like a carbon copy of her partner.

She immediately stopped in place and felt Kiba do the same behind her. The only reason they didn't immediately apprehend the intruder was because it was impossible for him to look so similar to Sasuke without there being some kind of connection. And until they knew what it was, they wouldn't make a move. For now.

The older lookalike turned back to gaze around the room as he nodded, "Okay, so this is his room. That's good. For a second there I thought I came into the wrong room." Tenten quickly took notice of their open window as the wind bellowed through and made their drapes flap wildly. He snuck in through the window, "It's nice to meet you both. My name is Itachi Uchiha, Sasuke's older brother."

Tenten blinked in surprise and sent a quick look back at Kiba who was just as shocked. She remembered Sasuke talking about his brother a few times, but each time he seemed to stop before he said too much. It must have been a sore point for him. She could see that now if this guy frequently breaks into peoples' homes like this, "Hi, I'm Tenten."

"Kiba." His voice was incredibly curt as he closed the door behind them.

"You two are part of his team, right?" He gave a courteous nod to them, "I'm sure it goes without saying, but I want to give you my thanks for sticking with him for the time you've been together." He walked away from Tenten's bed and examined Kiba's next before trailing along the wall. Tenten and Kiba mirrored his movement and kept a good amount of space away from their intruder as he came up to Naruto's bed, "You two at least."

"Thanks for the thought, but there are a few things we'd like more than your thanks," Kiba's voice was sharp and short, "Like why the hell are you here? And why'd you feel like coming in through the window and not say - y'know - the door?"

"I doubt I'd be allowed in if I came through the door."

So he breaks in? Seemed like sound logic...for a crazy person. Tenten narrowed her eyes, "You left on bad terms?"

"We didn't even leave on terms. I wished him luck, and that he'd come back soon, but he just never came back." She saw the look in his eyes and saw so much sadness displayed in his onyx eyes. He must've been so frightened to never understand what happened to Sasuke while they were separated. His right hand was still pocketed as his other hung at his side, "Seeing him here, alive, healthy...happy...I can't remember the last time I felt so relieved. Like I had been holding my breath for two years and I didn't even know it."

Kiba took a step forward, sharing a glance with her before asking, "So you came here...to see him again? Because if you were, that would be the second family reunion we've had to go through in the past week."

"I did come to see him again. And honestly I hoped he and I could work things out quickly last night," This caused Kiba and Tenten to share a quick look as they realized where Sasuke had been last night, "But I guess it was never going to be that simple. To tell you the truth, I didn't just come here to see him again." Itachi finally stepped over to the last bed in the room, Sasuke's bed, and looked down at it in silence, "I came to take him back with me."

...

The air around them changed. In an instant it felt colder and more tense than it already had been just facing the strange man like this. Tenten saw Kiba's shoulders go stiff as she asked, "Didn't you say he was happy here? Why would you want him to leave that?"

"Because we have a job to do. A duty. Something we have to do together."

"He has a choice whether he wants to do that or not."

"He made his choice a long time ago. I just need to remind him of it. And unfortunately...I need your help to do so."

"Is that so?" She saw Kiba's hair start to turn up and become more unruly as his shoulders squared with the activation of his Semblance. Tenten was uncertain for a moment before she realized how dangerous the man before them could be. He snuck into Beacon without raising any alarms. He had such composure that he ignored the tension and intent around him like it was nothing. If he was as skilled and strong as Sasuke...

Tenten took a precaution and hid her fist behind her back while it became coated in metal, "We're not going to tell him to leave Beacon, if that's what you're asking."

"I knew you wouldn't...and that's not what I'm asking." Itachi's hand reached out to touch the bed as his back was to them, "I'm sorry for what's about to happen." Tenten heard Kiba's knuckles crack when he clenched his fist as she swallowed the lump in her throat, "Please understand that I am extremely grateful for everything you've done for Sasuke. For giving him your trust and friendship. But I made a promise...a long time ago...that I would always protect and watch over him as long as I live...I need to keep that promise."

His hand lifted from the bed and fell to his side...

"And I want my brother back."

Kiba let out a powerful yell as he charged ahead of her and straight at Itachi's back. The older man barely turned around as his leg blurred into a flurry of kicks that landed directly into the tattooed boy's sternum. Kiba was knocked over but he rolled off his back and into a crouch as he merely shrugged off the strikes.

Tenten swiped her arm out and threw several knives straight for Itachi's form. But she saw his eyes change red...

And a blinding pain go over her body...before everything went black.

((((((((Hunting))))))))

"So you go out there, look through the city, and you find him," Naruto asked with a shrug, "What next? What do you say to him?"

"I keep putting that part off." The Uchiha admitted while they walked back to their room, "I don't know what to say when I see him."

"Well you're smart, I'm sure you'll figure it out." Naruto said encouragingly.

But Sasuke shook his head, "I don't know if I can. I think about Itachi and my mind just goes blank. I don't know what I can say to him to justify what I did."

"If it helps, I know exactly how you feel. I just went through this with my dad." The whiskered Faunus offered an empathetic expression, "The guilt. The worry. The fear. That's exactly what I felt when I saw him again. I can help-"

"It's not the same." Sasuke cut him off with a sigh, "You felt guilty because you thought leaving was the wrong thing to do, and you couldn't face your father after making a mistake. I can't do it because..."

"Because what you did was the right thing...and you don't think your brother sees it that way."

Nail on the head. Sasuke didn't even have to say anything else because that pretty much summed it up. He knew what he did was right. He was just sad that his brother and old friends didn't, for now. And that he had failed to return to them and try in some way to help them make the right choice. He was just so worried that he'd fail. That they'd look at him like he wasn't one of them anymore. Like...like he had lost them somewhere along the way...and they could never be a family again.

He felt a firm hand land on his shoulder and saw Naruto give him a supportive grin, "You'll figure it out. If there's anyone that can convince him, it's his little brother."

He wished he was as optimistic as Naruto, but he had his reservations. But it didn't matter. Tonight he'd go looking for Itachi, and if he found him...well, he'll cross that bridge when it comes to him.

They walked through the door and came into their dorm to find it completely empty. Sasuke stopped and looked around, feeling something was off with their living quarters.

Where were Kiba and Tenten?

"They left the window open." Naruto pointed out the fluttering curtain at the end of the room. The bandana-wearing boy went over and closed it before the storm came in and it started getting wet. As he stepped back, he stopped and looked down in surprise, "Tenten left her Scroll."

Sasuke looked over in surprise and saw her Scroll laid gently on her pillow. He hurried over past Naruto and snatched it. He stared at it for a moment before sliding it open to see a notification on the screen.

Missed Call

Kiba

Dread. Worry and trepidation filled Sasuke's chest as he felt like something terrible had happen. He swallowed before sliding the screen and easing it up to his ear, "Hello?"

"Sasuke."

Sasuke grit his teeth hearing his brother's voice on the other end of the call. He lowered it and pressed the speaker so Naruto could hear, "What did you do, Itachi?"

"They're fine, I promise. They aren't hurt, or at least not bad enough that they won't recover later. They were quite skilled for their age. The enhancer boy actually got some good hits in before I was able to incapacitate him. And I merely got lucky striking down the girl with the metal coating."

Naruto was fuming beside him but Sasuke silenced him before he could make a sound. He'd rather not alert Itachi to his friend's presence, or else they'd lose control of the situation. He calmed his nerves and spoke evenly, "Their names are Kiba and Tenten. And if you do anything to hurt them-"

"I won't. They'll be safe."

"Why did you do this?"

"Because you didn't leave his side all day. And I couldn't exactly get your attention when it would be divided between speaking with me and taking his side."

"So you resorted to kidnapping my friends?"

"I resorted to the final measure. When we don't have any other choice to make, we'll even do something despicable. If that means we can finish our job. Remember?"

Sometimes the fastest and most resolute solution wasn't the prettiest or most heroic.

He saw Naruto seething through the corner of his eyes and took a deep breath before speaking, "So what happens now?"

*Ding*

There was a notification flashing on the screen and Sasuke quickly opened it.

It was a map of the city. With two circled locations on opposite sides of the city. One in the commercial district. One in the industrial.

"Sasuke, I want you to meet me in the commercial district. And send your friend with the bandana down to meet your friends in the industrial location. Do not alert the authorities or any of the staff at Beacon to our situation. Do not tell anyone else what is happening. If you do, I can't promise your friends will be in very good condition the next time you meet them. Arrive within the hour. I won't call again. Are we clear?"

"Yeah, we're clear."

The call ended and there was nothing left but a tone.

"Okay, I take back what I said, your brother is a psychopath!" Naruto growled out angrily through clenched teeth, "It wasn't bad enough that he wants you back and has eyes on me, but he involves Tenten and Kiba in this too?!"

"Naruto-"

"I swear to god if I see him I'm gonna break his-"

"Enough!"

The Faunus grumbled before shaking his head, "Whatever! Let's just go to the industrial district and pick them up while we can!"

"You heard what he said. He wants you in the industrial with the others while I meet him in commercial. He wants to talk with my while you're with the hostages."

"We can just go and grab them and leave! He left them on the other side of the city!"

"No, he didn't. He wouldn't just leave them alone for us to take back like that." Naruto looked at his friend in confusion as Sasuke clenched his fist, "He brought the others. I don't know who or how many but he brought others with him to guard them. He had to in order to keep watch on us and coordinate this operation without anyone knowing."

"Operation? Sasuke, your brother kidnapped our team - our friends!" Naruto yelled furiously as Sasuke grit his teeth, "I don't know who your brother was or what way he does things, but this is horrible! You can't trust him! Or even believe him! We can't trust a word he says-"

"He's my brother!" Sasuke yelled back fervently, startling Naruto with the sudden shout, "I know how he thinks! T-this is all just a plan to separate us as far as possible. So I would listen to him! So we can speak honestly!" Sasuke started panting as his heart beat with anxiety and sweat started forming on his brow, "I-I didn't think he'd go this far but I still know him! I can still understand him! Get to him! I just need a chance!"

Sasuke desperately took in air after his yelling as he tried to calm himself down. His brain was reeling back and he was feeling lightheaded as Naruto stood in wait for him to say something. After a moment of silence Sasuke finally regained his voice, "But they'll be waiting for you there. I don't know if they'll attack you or wait for instructions, but they'll intercept you."

"So it's a trap?" Naruto clarified.

"Yes." He nodded, "You'll be walking into a trap."

"But Tenten and Kiba are waiting there. So it's a trap I'm willing to go into."

The Uchiha boy looked up and saw the resolve in Naruto's eyes to walk in there despite not knowing what would happen, just because his friends would be there. He swallowed, "Naruto, if they're there, they might tell them everything. They'll know-"

"Stop." He interrupted, his face twisting in worry before he pushed it down, "We can't worry about that right now. I'll focus on getting our friends back. You..."

Sasuke composed himself before standing up straight, "I'll face Itachi. And we'll end this, one way or another."

Naruto nodded before holding up his hand, "We'll come back here, with everyone, got it?"

Sasuke didn't waste a moment and clasped his hand before nodding, "Got it."

No matter what happened, they'd come back.

((((((((Hunting))))))))

It was pouring now.

Sasuke sprinted through the street and ignored the rain completely as he focused on his destination. The streets were almost completely empty except for a few parked cars and wandering people trying to hide from the rain.

He was close. He could see the building Itachi decided on coming up the street.

Sasuke tightly gripped the handle of his katana and prepared for whatever might happen next.

He'd hope that he'll be able to talk some sense into his brother. He was worried that it might come down to them fighting. But whatever happened, he was getting his friends to safety and protecting Naruto.

And returning this sword to Itachi. He had fought with it and it had protected him for many years...but it was always supposed to be Itachi's. He wouldn't keep a memento of his father away from the oldest son any longer.

Sasuke came up to the building and stood at its door in silence. It was an old shopping building that had closed down and was empty for renovations that never came. The young Uchiha took a deep breath before walking into the darkness.

It was pitch black. He couldn't even see his hand in front of his face. He took a few cautionary steps forward before calling out, "Itachi! Itachi, I'm here! Come out now!"

No response.

Did he lie?

Did he lure him out here for nothing?

Oh god, Naruto!

Before Sasuke could grab his Scroll, he heard something shuffle in the darkness that echoed through the empty building. Sasuke quickly reached for his sword and activated his Semblance. With his eyes boosted by their ability, his sight quickly adjusted to the dark and became clear.

Tenten and Kiba...

And Ruby. Weiss. Blake. Yang. Jaune. Nora. Pyrrha. Ren.

They were all tied up, either with rope or chains along their arms and legs to halt any movement. Pyrrha and Tenten were both on the ground unconscious. And the rest had cloth warped around their mouths to stop them from talking. Blake was the only one of the group that could still see him and the moment he saw her eyes he saw it.

Fear.

A bright light suddenly switched on and blinded them all for a moment as Sasuke reached for his blade-

"Don't move."

He felt a presence drop down behind him and press their hand against the back of his head. Vollmond Reflexion was pulled off his hip and tossed away as his Scroll was fished out of his pocket. Once his weapon and Scroll were confiscated, he was turned around to face the man that got the drop on him.

Although he didn't need to because he knew only one person who'd threaten people with the palm of his hand.

As he expected, he was greeted with the sight of an open mouth tattoo on the palm aimed at his face. Beyond that he spotted the familiar face of a blond man slightly older than him with his hair concealing his left aye and the rest in a ponytail. His one visible blue eye narrowed with contempt as he scowled at Sasuke.

"Hey Deidara."

"Sup brat."

A quick jab to his nose staggered the brunette before he was forced to his knees, "Close his hands." The palms of his hands were pressed together and then a sturdy material was coated around them so they couldn't move. There was no wiggle room to move his fingers at all. Like it was crafted just for his hands.

It was crystal.

"Guren?" He attempted to look back at the other figures behind him, "Is that-"

"Look at me!" Deidara grabbed his scalp and turned his head back to face Deidara's scowl. The furious blond sneered and stood up before crossing his arms, "If you're gonna copy anyone's Semblance, it's mine. Just get ready to nuke your hands with them stuck together like that. Look at anyone else, and I'll slam your head into the concrete."

He still had that sparkling personality.

No! Now wasn't the time to get distracted! He looked up, "Where's Itachi?!"

"He ain't here. He's off doing other things."

"Where is he?!" He yelled more fervently as he started seeing red, "Why wouldn't he meet me?! Why'd he bring my team - all of my friends into this?! He wouldn't do something this terrible!"

"No shit, dumbass." Deidara poked himself in the chest with his thumb, "This was my idea. Itachi tried facing you his way. And now we're doing it my way."

"Where. Is. Itachi?"

((((((((Hunting))))))))

Naruto made sure he was silent as he moved from shadow to shadow while approaching his destination, a storage warehouse in an empty lot in the industrial district.

He had one hand bent back to keep a constant grip on a short blade. He had to prepare for what might happen, whatever that might be. A gridlock as Sasuke and his brother work things out, or a fight. He slowly approached-

"Help!"

"Where did you bastards take us?!"

"Pyrrha! Pyrrha, answer me!"

"Yang!"

"Ruby!"

Oh shit!

Naruto abandoned his hesitation, making for the door and sliding it open. He spotted a familiar red hood among a group of other people with their heads covered in bags. His mind went blank as he dashed in, keeping aware of his surroundings and ready to grab his sword while he reached forward, "RUBY!"

But the moment his hand touched her shoulder, her body crumbled apart, bag and head falling to the floor as the hood hung in his hand. His eyes widened in horror as he started down at the red cloth.

Then he heard sliding metal, a click, and a high pitched tone echo behind him.

He slowly looked back to see a black-haired man closing the door shut and placing some kind of device along the connecting point of the wall. It had a glowing red Dust crystal on its front, and it looked ready to pop the moment that door opened. The man turned to face him with narrowed eyes, "I'm glad to see you actually showed up. I was starting to get worried."

Naruto didn't react and just stared down at the hood, "Where are they?"

"At the other location. With Sasuke."

"So they were both traps?"

"Yes."

"And you knew we'd come to them anyway because our friends were in the mix?"

"I knew Sasuke would come. You...I had my doubts."

Don't react. Don't let him see you react. The screaming and calling of his friends continued to overlap and he look between all the dressed mannequins to see Scrolls in their laps on a loop. He stole their Scrolls. His hands tensed around the hood, "Did you hurt them?"

"They'll be okay. And safe after today. Hurting them was never the purpose of this mission. It was to get Sasuke's attention...and to lure you out."

"Okay. Good. Because if you hurt one of them, just to get to me..." Naruto turned back and showed Itachi the spiteful, furious scowl that stretched over his face, "I would have fucking killed you."

"I'm sure you would have."

Naruto clicked his tongue and stuffed the hood into his pack before his hands fell to his side, "So what now?" He spoke up with venom on his tongue, "Did you lead me out here just to kill me?"

"No, I'm not going to kill you." Itachi pulled out a pistol with a small blade attached to the bottom. It looked like a crappier version of Ren's weapon. Itachi raised it up, lowering his stance in preparation as his right hand stayed in his pocket, "But I will have to incapacitate you. So either stand down and I'll make it quick...or if you choose to fight-"

Naruto dashed and pulled a blade out, firing a rapid barrage of arrows at his opponent. The Uchiha man quickly knocked the arrows out of the air and leapt forward to meet Naruto head-on. The whiskered boy held up his short sword and crossed metal, flurries of sparks and slashes came between them as silver blurs.

The two fighters slid around, trying to attack the other's blind spot and gain some advantage. The sound of clashing metal added with the strike of thunder as the entire warehouse rumbled around them. Naruto stepped in, slid back, duck, dodged, weaved, and parried every slash he could in an attempt to gain some ground against his friend's brother. But Itachi easily matched his moves in kind, having no trouble compensating for the lack of range with his blade as he made up for it with pure skill.

There was one final clash between them before they separated from each other. Naruto felt a wet sensation trickle down his forehead and reached up to see it was blood. He reached up again and felt a cut down his bandana that drew blood and ruined his headwear.

When did he-

"You bleed? That's interesting." Itachi noted, "Despite who and what you are, you have stayed by my brother's side all these years. And he considers you a friend. Despite how much you might deserve this, I don't find any enjoyment from beating you. So whether he's right or wrong, I'll give you one last chance..." Itachi raised his gun up and aimed it towards Naruto, "Surrender now, or I will have to hurt you."

Naruto grit his teeth and ripped the bandana off, tossing it aside as his ears twitched in their sudden freedom. He reached back and pulled Stormer out, flipping the katana around in his hand before standing his ground, "Come get me asshole!"

((((((((Hunting))))))))

"This was what Itachi wanted."

Sasuke looked up from the ground and at Deidara as his old friend continued looking down at him with contempt, "He wanted you back. He's been looking for you all these years, trying to find out where you went. What happened to you. And here we find you, fucking around in some school with that - that - what is wrong with you?! Everything you've been through and seen and you stuck by his side?!"

Sasuke lowered his head shamefully, "You should have just forgotten about me."

"Oh I agree!" Deidara yelled, "We shouldn't have wasted our time trying to look for you! Trying to find out if you were safe! You know I was actually worried about you for the last two years! I was scared! I thought I lost my little buddy! But nope! You were alive! And you betrayed us!" He grabbed Sasuke's collar and slightly pulled him off the floor, "How easy was it to turn your back on us traitor?! On humans?! HUH?! ANSWER ME?!"

"Deidara. Calm down. You're shrieking like a banshee."

"Go to hell, Guren! I'm venting!" He harshly threw Sasuke back on the ground and started taking a few deep breaths to calm his nerves. The blond man looked over at the students watching his every move with critical and judging eyes. He glared at them, "What are you all looking at? What, like you don't get angry with family?"

A few of them looked at him in surprise as Sasuke spoke up, "Leave them out of this."

"They're in this because of you."

"Me? I didn't make you kidnap them just so you would get my attention!"

"No! But you brought them into this when you made them a part of this stupid little lie of yours!" Deidara got up in Sasuke face again, "You lied to yourself and every single one of them! You smile and laugh and play around and shit because you know they'd hate the real you! So you buried him as far down as possible, and used all of them to help stuff that reality down! And you even spread that lie out to other people, making that whiskered guy seem like your best friend!" The blond man shook his head, "You make me sick, you twisted, lying little bastard."

Sasuke face twisted with a sad grimace as his lowered his head, "I couldn't do it. I couldn't follow through with my job."

"Your job?!" Deidara yelled, pulling something out of his pocket and pushing it in Sasuke's face as he reeled back, "Your fucking job was reconnaissance! All you had to do was get us information and report back! But you ran off! You ran away! And you've been hiding ever since!"

"Deidara, stop yelling-"

"Shut up!" He cut her off before looking back over at the students. He scoffed and walked around Sasuke, "They're your friends, right? Don't you think they deserve to know the truth?"

Sasuke's eyes widened, "No!" He tried to turn back and stop him but Deidara gave him a hard mule kick to the shoulder and knocked him to the ground, "AH - don't! Don't do it Deidara!"

"Hey kiddies, wanna hear a secret?~" He said in a playful voice as the Hunters-in-training glared up at him, "Your dear old friend Sasuke? He's a natural born killer. He's been training his whole life to fight and kill people. And despite what he says and does to deny that truth, he's been training to fight by our side and kill our enemies. To keep you safe. But he didn't do his job right." He held up the thing in his hand and revealed it to be a photo, "Not only didn't he do his job, he's been helping keep a dangerous fugitive safe for all these years."

"Deidara-"

"Sorry kids, but it turns out your friends..." He dropped the photo in front of them, "Are lying to you."

The photo floated down in front of them and gave some of them a clear view of what it captured. It was a picture that showed some kind of town burning down in flames.

It had Naruto on it too. And hidden inside his blond hair were two furry little ears.

But that wasn't what got their attention...

Half of his face was covered in blood...and the other half was covered by a white and red Grimm mask that had been cut diagonally in the middle.

He was dressed in a white and black uniform, with grey gauntlets and a sword in hand.

It was a uniform many of them had seen before in the news.

Naruto...was a Faunus...

And he was part of the White Fang.

((((((((Hunting))))))))

Done

Well, here we go. I've finally reached a tipping point. Tried some new things. Gave some normal POV sections a shot. Tell me what you think. I'm new to them so I'm not quite sure how I fare.

Anyway...

I know there are probably some holes with Itachi and Deidara's plan. There always are when you're an idiot trying to even remotely mock smart people making a plan. I can't spot the flaws immediately but I'm sure you can. The only thing I can say to defend myself is that this was a hostage situation, they were worried about the safety of their friends, and Sasuke really thought he could handle this matter with his brother.

Obviously I had different plans so boom. Let's leave it at that.

Okay, lots of stuff is gonna start coming out into the open. Dirty laundry and shit. Prepare for secret stuff to start making sense. And some stuff that gets more confusing but will make more sense when I reveal the truth very soon.

Also, CONGRATULATIONS TO NARUTO, FOR BEING THE FIRST CHARACTER IN THIS FIC TO SAY FUCK. Before immediately getting dethroned by Deidara.

Told you this might need a rating change. And the shit that happens in the next few chapters will just start affirming that.

Hope you enjoyed.

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Thank you and Bye