Hunting or Bust

Dust 43: The Greatest Food Fight of The Ages

Glad to see the positive reaction to Naruto's style change. You guys thought I meant something way more complicated, didn't you? Nope, back to basics.

Speaking of basics, still trying for more concise chapters and shorter arcs. My goal is to get this volume done in at least half the number it took the last one.

Emphasis on at least.

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

"And so Sasuke came to us one day, on his knees, and begged us! He was like, "Oh please please help me upgrade my weapon! Cause the grenade launcher is so cool and I wanna be just like you!" So after awhile we finally took pity on him and I said, "Silence knave! Let me guide you in the ways of making your weapon even cooler than before!" So with my trusty followers we traveled to the city, found ourselves the best upgrade imaginable, and now thanks to me he has been blessed with more awesome power than ever before!"

The orange-haired girl exclaimed, completing her tale. Slowly all eyes shifted from the bombastic storyteller to the more trustworthy narrator beside her.

"Sasuke mentioned he'd like to upgrade his weapon and we helped." Ren softly spoke as Nora plopped down in her seat next to him, "That's it."

They looked to the Uchiha for confirmation as he silently nodded in agreement. Yang stretched out her arms, "Well, you have to give it to her. She's one hell of a storyteller."

"Thank you!" Yang gave the ginger bruiser a thumbs-up in solidarity and quickly had to lean back to catch the strawberry tossed to her. She caught it between her teeth and the two girls quickly started making a game of it.

"You got an upgrade?" Naruto leaned over to spot his teammate and grinned with excitement as his ears twitched on his head, "That's awesome! We should have a match to test it out. I got some upgrades too and I need to break them in."

"It's not much really." Sasuke shrugged, "It's just supposed to make my shots reach farther."

"How dare you!" Nora cried out indignantly while still tossing a berry for Yang to catch, "It's a patented Nora super upgrade! That means it takes whatever you had before and makes it ten times better! Guaranteed!"

"I hardly doubt that's a guarantee."

"I hardly doubt your face!"

Jaune coughed, "So, noticing a distinct lack of Ruby drooling and asking these guys what's new about their weapons. Any reason she's not here?"

The group of friends noticed the absence of their little hooded friend from the table. In fact none of the people outside of her team had seen her since returning.

"Ruby's," Yang stopped and caught a grape before continuing, "She's back in our room doing something."

"She said that today was the last day to enjoy ourselves and we had to make it special. Then she just started muttering to herself before she ran off to lock herself in our room." Weiss shook her head, "That girl is too much worry to bother with after coming back from break."

"Did your break not go as you planned, Weiss?"

"It was fine." The heiress answered Pyrrha's question with a small, content smile, "I stayed in a villa my family owns in Vytal. Enjoyed some fine cuisine. Took in the culture. Reenergized myself for another semester of Ruby's antics and just general being around this group. And I stayed away from my father's business talk and Whitley's pestering."

"Who's Whitley?"

"Someone none of you will ever meet so forget that name entirely."

"Definitely gonna remember that." Weiss glared at Yang's smirk. The blonde chuckled before turning to her silent partner, "What about you, Blakey? Have a cozy vacation away from the absolute fun and joy that is your team? Blake?"

The cat Faunus hadn't been listening to her friends' conversation. Her attention was preoccupied with the pages of her journal. She silently looked over the facts and details she had recorded over the last few days.

Near the end of the break Blake had realized that she hadn't stopped thinking about the White Fang and Torchwick's role in helping them. It had become so prevalent that her mind was becoming bogged down with theories and trying to remember facts. She needed to write them down just to get them out of her head. So she had bought an empty journal and started writing any sightings or facts or ideas she had down. Her official log of everything White Fang or criminal related.

A lot of people would be concerned to hear she had made this...but she had a good reason. And she was reminded of it when she turned the page.

A sketch of her former partner. His back...a sight she had become very familiar with following him on missions over the years.

There was a plan forming in their ranks. A plan that meant the help of someone like Roman Torchwick and his goons was a necessity. Whatever goal was so important that the heads and leaders of the White Fang would work with not only a human but a criminal like him...was not one Blake wanted to see fulfilled.

Danzō. Adam.

They decided to work with him...and they were dragging Naruto's mother, Kushina, into it as well.

She couldn't let them succeed in whatever they were planning.

Blake was finally pulled from her thoughts as Yang leaned into her line of sight. The Faunus shirked back in surprise before Yang smiled with a tilt of her head, "What's up? Must be nice up there in the clouds~."

"Sorry." Blake apologized, discreetly closing her book to avoid any questions, "I was just going over some things from last semester."

"Wow~." Yang drawled, "That sounds so~, super~ interesting."

"You're the one that asked."

"Fair."

Yang quickly turned away and caught a cherry in her mouth. She nodded to Nora who was clapping and giggling happily at her successfully catch.

Oh yes. The ginger powerhouse had wanted to try that with her as well during their two week reprieve. Luckily Blake had fended her off as best should could, despite her protests and mini-tantrums that were quickly solved with Ren's help.

Thank God Nora's kindred spirits were back.

"So!" Kiba clapped his hands, "As fun as it is to sit around, reminisce, and watch Nora sink bits of food across the table...any plans for today?"

A massive white folder was slammed down on their table hard enough to shake it. All of the students stared at it in shock before looking up at the young girl that had dropped it between them with a look of pride and overwhelming excitement.

She didn't even seemed worried that she had crossed out the words 'Property of Weiss Schnee' in favor of printing 'BEST. DAY. EVER!'

"Friends! Partners! Sisters! And Weiss!"

"Hey!"

"Four score and seven minutes ago I had a dream!"

"Shit you're old."

"A dream that one day we would come together, find the most fun activities we can, and have the most fun anyone has ever had in the history of ever in the whole world!"

They watched the girl in silence as Weiss silently flipped through the folder. She closed it with an indifferent expression, "You owe me a new folder."

"I don't know if I can afford it."

"You'll find a way."

"What are you talking about?" Blake asked.

"I'm talking about enjoying our last day before school starts again! Let's have fun and start the semester off with a bang!"

"I say we start it off with a Yang!" Yang joined in with a cheer before looking around at the pained, uncomfortable expressions on their faces. She waited for the agreements, "Eh?"

She just received a berry harshly spiked into her nose.

"We have a really busy semester ahead of us now." Ruby clarified as she started counting off her fingers, "The new students are filling up the campus. The tournament is gonna happen right after our first mission. Another few months of listening to Professor Port's lectures!" That earned an audible groan from them, "Plus don't forget that new training seminar from some important guest that starts next week!"

"You okay?" Tenten looked worried when she saw her leader gag and choke on his drink, knocking his hand into his chest as his face suddenly went purple for some reason.

"I thought that was optional?"

"Yeah but I already signed us all up for it!" Her teammates looked at her accusingly, "What? I thought you'd be happy to get some extra credit."

"Not when there's no extra credit to get!"

"No point crying over spilt milk!" Ruby shrugged and continued on, ignoring the shout and angry tirade Weiss devolved into, "I just want us all to have fun before we start classes again! Plus we always have so much fun hanging out!"

"I think you might be remembering things differently. There's a distinct amount of shit hitting our fan when we're all together."

"That invite for everyone?" Ruby nodded as Naruto grinned and stood up, "Then count me in! I could use the excitement!"

"Yeah!" Ruby was quick to high five him for agreeing with her, "C'mon, let's do it!"

"You go ahead." Blake spoke as her leader looked betrayed by her answer. The Faunus looked back at her journal, remembering its contents even as something ridiculous as her partner throwing food at Nora occurred at her side. There was no point in her going with them if this was going to be where her thoughts were the whole time, "I think I'll sit this one out."

"Come now. There's nothing wrong with a little fun before we start getting back to work." Of all people it was Weiss to come to the defense of Ruby's suggestion. The hooded girl looked at her partner with admiration as Weiss stood up, "I don't appreciate her stealing my folder but I can appreciate the effort she put into her planning. And it's not a bad idea to participate in an activity together as a team, and with friends. I believe-"

Weiss heartwarming speech was interrupted as a cream pie splattered across her face.

The entire cafeteria went silent after the impact.

It was dead still, the only sound being the whipped cream dripping down on the floor before the pan followed. To Weiss' credit she didn't freak out, scream, or stomp her feet demanding someone pay for her cleaning bill.

But the fact she silently stood there was much more terrifying.

She slowly reached up and wiped the cream from her face, her blues eyes opening with an icy, detached, almost murderous glint to them. She looked across the room...

"Whomever did that...speak up...and I promise I won't be mad."

...

"Pfft."

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

"-so then he tells us, "Don't die," and if that ain't an action movie line I don't know what is. And then we start fighting off these White Fang guys and we're in sync! It was crazy! And we were beating all these guys up and saving the day and everything!"

"Awesome."

"But then this big guy walks out and I mean big! Like - like Sage big but he's got Scarlet sitting on his shoulders!"

"Like that time during the parade they tell us not to remind them about?"

"Exactly! So she goes off to fight that Torchwick guy and leaves me and Naruto to fight this new dude! And we handle it - no big deal - I even left a cut on his face, but then he does this weird arm thing and everything changes. I hit him in the head again but no blood, not even a nick. Like he didn't have Aura one sec and now the dude had it to spare! And he punches me, and it hurts bad."

"How bad?"

"I felt like puking up the bananas and apple I ate."

"That's bad."

"So then if that wasn't bad enough, the thing on his arm covers his whole body! And now the dude was covered in Aura! And things were getting steamy," Sun looked at his partner, "And I mean like steam was actually shooting off his body and everything! Like a sauna! So I pull out my Semblance, start blowing up my clones, kicking ass. This big guy dives in to hit me but Naruto pushes me out of the way and takes the hit!"

"Whoa. Gotta make sure to thank this guy for saving your ass."

"Let's not get crazy." Sun defended before shrugging, "Anyway, Blake's leader shows up and brings this other weird girl with her, but this girl's got blades and lasers and everything! And if that wasn't weird enough, Naruto pops back out and he's covered in Aura too! He screams and stretches his arms and beats up the huge guy! And it turns out they're both descendants of this ancient clan of Faunus that used to fight Grimm a really long time ago!"

"Um...are we still sure we wanna participate in the tournament with these guys?"

"Don't be a baby. Anyway we save the day, all go home safely, and then they go out on break." Sun smirked, "Which means I had two whole weeks to get to know Blake better~."

"Awesome dude." The blue-haired boy bumped his partner's fist when the chance was offered and smiled, "So how'd that go?"

"Not great." The Faunus' shoulders sagged and even his tail fell behind him sadly, "Turns out she's way quieter than I thought and doesn't say much. I mean we talked a few times but I usually got stuck dealing with this hyper short girl or the sword guy who's hands were healing. I mean they were cool but...she seemed kinda preoccupied."

"Oh dude." His partner raised his fist, "I request you return that fist bump."

"No way! Things are weird right now but I refuse to give up! Blake is one of the coolest girls I have ever met and the people here are just as awesome! I gotta keep trying!" Sun squared his shoulders confidently and nodded his head, ready for the challenge that may come in the next semester. His smirk fell before looking at his partner accusingly, "You can't tell anybody about the stuff I told you about, okay? That's super secret!"

"You have my word."

"I mean it! Don't just sneak off and tell Scarlet, because Scarlet can't keep a secret to save his life! And loose lips sink ships. And sinking ships cause the people in them to drown slowly and painfully-"

"AH! AH! AH! I got it!" His partner cowered and shook in his boots before taking a deep breath, "Y-you didn't have to go into detail! I already know how awful the water is!"

"I know you do, buddy." Sun patted his partner's shoulder and continued down the pathway by the cafeteria. If his guess was right, Blake and her friends would all be together eating right now. This was his chance to get closer with them all and become a member of the pack.

He was so caught up in his thoughts that neither him nor Neptune noticed through the window the panic, splattered food, and the occasional thrown Jaune.

"Okay, they should be eating so I'm gonna introduce you to them." Sun warned, "Please don't make me look bad."

"I'm insulted you would even think that."

"And don't hit on any of them, okay. There are a lot of girls and they're all cute and..." He sighed, "Just be cool, okay?"

"Dude?"

He stopped and grinned, showing his sparkly whites to his partner. The tall young man had a head of bright blue hair pulled back with yellow goggles. A red jacket with a dress shirt and tie beneath it, completed with jeans and black shoes.

Neptune Vasilias.

Coolest guy at Haven.

Sun conceded, "Good point."

They continued to the cafeteria entrance as Neptune asked, "Hey, did you ever find those guys you were looking for? You seemed really excited to meet them back at Haven."

"Dude, don't remind me." Sun groaned, "Turns out the Dirty Dozen of Beacon are just some group the students made up before the festival started. Trying to psych us out."

"Sucks to hear that."

"I know!" Sun reached for the doors but they burst open in front of him.

"Run! Run!"

"They're at it again!"

"It's the Dirty Dozen!"

Sun and Neptune shared a look, the huge grin failing to hide itself on Sun's face. They barely pushed through the onslaught of oncoming students before breaking into the cafeteria.

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

"A~HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" The short, usually peppy girl cackled maniacally on the top of her heap of tables and kitchen equipment, "FOOLS! PLEDGE YOUR ALLEGIANCE TO THE PANCAKE EMPIRE AND I SHALL BE KIND IN MY TREATMENT! YOU CAN JOIN MY FOOL AND ENTERTAIN ME!"

"Nora, I'm totally fine not being the king or queen or emperor or whatever. But do I have to be the fool?" Jaune pleaded, "I mean can't I be like a knight or something?"

"SILENCE FOOL!"

Jaune shrunk under her booming voice and whimpered. His partner was quick to pat his shoulders and comfort him as Ren hung his head, "We shouldn't have given her this much power."

"Hindsight, I suppose."

"Bwahahaha!" Another laugh echoed across the room, coming from a softer voice trying to sound as boisterous as Nora's. Standing atop a pile of chairs was Ruby with her hood flapping behind her dramatically. She stepped up to the highest point, nearly slipping and trying to keep herself balanced before announcing, "No chance, Pancake Dumbire!" Nora grumbled as the young Huntress proclaimed, "For you shall all fall to the Cookie Cingdom!"

"Okay, I have a few things to address before we proceed with this fight." Weiss and the rest of her team joined her partner on top of the heap as the heiress critiqued, "I'm just going to skip over the structural integrity and shoddy craftsmanship of this pile; I'm noticing a pattern with you and stacking things that shouldn't be stacked. And I'll just ask that we change the name. If not into something more elegant than at least grammatically correct."

"But Weiss, Cookie Cingdom is so much better!" Ruby countered, "It has that thing you should like! A...al...um-"

"Alliteration?" Ruby beamed a smile and nodded, "Yes well prepare yourself for this shock but that's not enough to make me comfortable with the name." Her expression fell as Weiss crossed her arms, "You could just name them properly. Alliteration doesn't mean you have to spell them the same."

"Well, thanks for the tip, Weiss, but let's get back to the important stuff!" Yang climbed up to stand beside her team as Blake followed up as well, "The best way to enjoy our last day before the start of the semester! Food fight to end all food fights!"

"This spiraled out of control much faster than I expected." Blake mentioned as she looked back to the little nook she hid her journal in. Hopefully it would be safe in there from whatever happened next. Blake wasn't going to say she knew exactly how this would turn out...but she knew exactly how this would turn out. The Faunus tucked some hair behind her ear, "This will be messy."

"Hahahahaha!" Sitting in the third corner of the cafeteria was a structure of food trays and silverware. On top of the manmade monstrosity was Kiba, bellowing at the top of his lungs with arms crossed confidently. The tattooed boy smirked, "Doesn't matter whether you've got cingdoms or empires! All shall fall before the might of Fort Kickass! We accept all unconditional surrenders and pleas for mercy on workdays from 9 to 5!"

"Kiba no!" Naruto clamored up and poked his head up from behind the fort. His ears stood up on his head and he glared at his partner, "We were gonna name it United Night Army under my-"

"As I said! Fort Kickass is accepting all surrenders before we begin! Any takers?!"

"Never!" Ruby yelled as her team roared and raised their fists in solidarity.

"Fools!" Nora laughed, "Now you shall forever work in the pancake mines in service of your queen!"

"I thought we were an empire?" Ren questioned, "Empires don't have queens-"

"SILENCE!"

Naruto finally crawled up to the top level and stood beside Kiba. The two partners looked between each other and smirked before the brunette shrugged, "Okay. Don't say we didn't warn you."

They jumped off the fort as its walls burst out in every direction, Tenten and Sasuke barreling through their structure and sending trays flying. Team RWBY panicked and duck behind their wall as trays pelleted their construct relentlessly. The tower faired better, Team JNPR hiding behind the tables to avoid the savage onslaught of silver projectiles.

Team NKTS stood in the center of their surprise attack as the leader and his partner landed back on ground. They stood besides their teammates before grabbing their weapons for this battle. The team stood tall with their temporary arms before yelling at the top of their lungs and charging their foes.

"They're coming!" Ruby yelled, "To battle!"

"YEEEAHHHHHHH!"

"NOW! FIRE THE MELONS!"

NKTS and RWBY paused as they looked up at the shadows rocketing towards them. The colorful Team JNPR all moved as quickly as they could to grab and throw watermelons. They set them on tables, across the floor, on trays and in the air before tossing them out like a ballista to spike into their foes.

The others had to quickly dodge and weave through the storm of watermelons as they avoided the red splashes and flying seeds that erupted from the impact, "Okay! Looks like we can actually start!" Yang called out with glee as she charged across the cafeteria, picking up a pair of chickens along the way to secure around her fists as makeshift gauntlets, "HERE COMES THE ONE-WAY XIAO-LONG EXPRESS!"

"CAREFUL, MELONS ARE RETURNING FIRE! I REPEAT, MELONS ARE RETURNING FIRE!"

Yang grinned while making a mad dash for the tower. Her hands blurred out at some points to destroy any wayward watermelons coming at her. Her devious grin and focused glare landed on the blond leader that was about to toss another fruit at her before noticing her course aimed towards him.

She grinned when she saw Jaune sweat in realization. No offense to the goofball, but you always aimed for the weakest link first.

This was food war. And food war never changes.

Yang was coming up on Jaune and the boy flinched in fright. She notice him gulp down the lump in his throat before stepping back and leaping up. She expected he was trying to retreat, but Yang was shocked to see Ren dive through the space Jaune had jumped from and dash towards her. Her eyes widened and she quickly leapt through the air as he slashed at her legs with a pair of leeks.

The buxom boxer landed back on the ground and fell into her stance as Ren kicked back up to his feet with his leeks in hand. She smirked, raising her chicken fists up as the martial artist narrowed his eyes. They ran at each other and Yang yelled as she leapt over and slammed down with a poultry punch. Ren attempted to block her heavy strike but realized it was futile while his leeks started to buckle from the pressure. He slid in under her side as Yang pushed through and caught her balance.

The two were quickly on each other, chicken meeting leek in a blur as they attempted to catch each other in their blind spots. Yang ducked beneath Ren's swing and quickly raised her arm to block the follow-up after he had spun through again. Yang continued to block against the boy's quick swings before lunging down and swiping at his ribs.

Ren stepped back but Yang lurched forward. The blonde threw punch after punch as the boy tried to block them but to worse result each time. His whole body jerked side to side as he tried to cope with the power behind her strikes. But Yang was relentless, grinning a little wider before the leeks finally snapped and her chicken glove slammed into his chest.

He was almost blown back before she reached out and grabbed his foot. She pulled him back in before spinning around and sending him careening into a pile of chairs and trays. She pumped her fist knowing she had taken one enemy out.

Ren had the moves and skill, but so did she. And she hit hard. Really hard.

Speaking of getting hit hard, that's what happened to the back of her head as she was suddenly smacked through several tables. The boisterous teen had to catch herself and shift back into stance before she saw Pyrrha standing with a stale baguette in one hand and a tray gripped like a shield in the other. Yang bounced on her feet, the sound of the others getting into battles across the hall reaching her ears before she sprinted towards the redhead.

The moment she threw out a jab, Pyrrha ducked beneath it and slammed the baguette into Yang's stomach with a resounding thud. The blonde nearly doubled over as Pyrrha followed through and came up behind her. Yang turned and yelled, throwing out a cross as Pyrrha swung her weapon along her arm to strike her in the chin. Yang's head shot back and made her stumble before Pyrrha spun and slammed her tray into the blonde's chest. Yang let out a sharp gasp as she was sent flying across the cafeteria.

Ruby leapt over her sister's flying form and came back down, screaming at the top of her lungs as she swung her tray down swiftly. Naruto saw her incoming and called for his team to move as they dispersed. Ruby landed with a powerful stomp on the table before turning around to see NKTS gathered together. She called for support, Weiss and Blake quick to join her side.

"YOU TWO! GO!" Tenten and Sasuke nodded and charged in the opposite direction. Naruto and Kiba were left facing the trio, Naruto gripping a breadstick while the tattooed boy held a pair of chicken wings.

"FOR GLORY!" Ruby declared, Blake and Weiss joining in with her triumphant roar as the hooded girl jumped down from the table. She charged the two boys, tray raised in hand like a blade, "HYAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH-"

They both stepped aside at the last moment to let her pass. Kiba snatched her hood as the young girl snapped off her feet, gagging before slumping back to the ground. He smirked before lifting her up and tossing her back towards her team. The young leader let out a terrified scream as Blake and Weiss stepped aside to let her sail between them.

Blake brandished a pair of baguettes while Weiss pulled out a swordfish and took her fencing stance. The Schnee heiress made a powerful lunge and went flying at the two boys as Kiba raised his wings to block her attack. She followed through and pushed him back as Naruto turned in time to block Blake's strike.

The two Faunus started exchanging strikes and swings, their bread weapons colliding and sending flakes off in every direction. Blake swiped her baguettes at the fox as quickly as she could, chambering her unused hand before following through with it. She forced the speedy blond to block and retreat as she pressed forward.

He leaned his head back to avoid a swipe to the chin before pulling his whole body back as she swung down at his chest. He ducked beneath her next slash and then forced her to block as he started attacking. Even with the shorter reach, Naruto made up for it with fasts strikes before quickly retreating out of her range.

Blake yelled and brought her baguette down as Naruto dodged to the side. He leapt up onto a table before kicking her in the head, Blake using her Shadow to take the hit as she somersaulted with the attack. She jumped up on the table with him and the two Faunus were back to exchanging blows.

Kiba tried to block the stab as the tip of the swordfish pierced through his chicken wing. Kiba quickly jerked to the side with Weiss' weapon still pierced through his and forced the heiress out of her stance. He quickly sent out a kick but Weiss deftly avoided by backflipping away from it. The ivory-haired girl then found her footing and dashed back at Kiba.

He yelled and threw a strong cross at her approaching form, but she easily ducked under it and pulled Fishenaster out of his Chicken Fang. She slid to a stop and returned to her battle stance as Kiba took his.

Even if he was larger and stronger, Weiss had no trouble leaving him in the dust.

"HYAH!" Weiss proclaimed and lunged at the wild-looking boy. She left a quick strike and flipped over him before he could counter. She dove back in to strike his backside but she was surprised by how quickly he reacted to block her strike. Kiba caught her swordfish under his armpit and locked her in place before she could pull back. With Weiss now in his range, he started sending jabs for her head.

The heiress was forced to weave around the chicken wing strike as she took hold of her swordfish with both hands. Once Kiba's arm was fully stretched out, Weiss yelled and finally pulled the swordfish from out of his grasp and stepped out of his range. The brunette smirked as he raised his fist again while Weiss slid her right foot back.

She felt something knock against her shoe and looked down to see a ketchup bottle lying by her foot.

Oh, that could work.

"AH!" Blake yelped when the breadstick Naruto was using came swinging at her with a link of sausages tied to one end. One of her baguettes broke and she was forced to dodge as his weapon came swinging for her head. He laughed and smiled as she was forced on the defensive. And she quickly had to stifle the small smile growing in her face while they played this ridiculous game.

This was a food fight. A slightly entertaining food fight, nothing else.

"SAY YOUR - AGH!" Naruto let out a yelp as a carton of milk burst against the back of his head and sent him stumbling. Milk matted his ears and the back of his head as he looked back for a moment, "What the-"

Blake took her chance and dashed in. She grabbed a link of the sausage and ripped it, taking most of Naruto's weapon away from him. She quickly whipped it out and wrapped it around his ankle before yanking his leg out from under him. The blond couldn't even yell before Blake spun and sent him flying with a kick.

Kiba was about to engage the heiress again before he heard his partner's scream grow closer. He turned around just in time as Naruto landed in his arms. The duo made to argue but Weiss grabbed the bottle of ketchup and slammed it onto the ground, coating the floor in a red sheen that caused Kiba to lose his balance.

"H-Hey-"

"No fair-"

"HYAAHHHH!"

Ruby came flying through the air and slammed into the incapacitated partners. With their slippery foothold and no defenses, Kiba and Naruto were sent flying through the air and into a pile of tables. Ruby cheered, "SEE! FOR GLORY!"

Tenten and Sasuke charged the tower as the remainder of JNPR threw watermelons to intercept them. The bun-haired girl held her weapons between her fingers; an assortment of little chocolates, rolls, and chicken nuggets. She threw them with all her might at the top of the tower, forcing Nora to duck. Unfortunately Jaune was too slow to react and took a breaded treat straight to the face.

His scream and the resounding thuds while he tumbled down the tower caused everyone to flinch in pain.

Pyrrha turned back just in time to raise her tray as Sasuke tried to attack her. His kick met her tray and let out a mighty boom. She pushed him off and he used the opportunity to launch himself away from her. The champion made to follow but had to raise her tray when Tenten threw a slew of delectable projectiles at her.

Pyrrha knocked them all away before swiftly turning the baguette in her hand and throwing it like a javelin. Tenten raised her guard but was still knocked off her feet by the force behind her throw. Pyrrha watched her friend get blown away as she held up her tray. She felt someone step up beside her and noticed Ren had picked himself up to fight again. He caught his bearings and they charged on the offensive. Sasuke saw them coming-

"WRAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"

Kitchenware flew up in every direction as Naruto, Yang, and Kiba burst out of the piles they were buried under. Yang roared and sprinted to join the fight as the rest of her team followed her lead. Naruto and Kiba grabbed some plates and silverware off the floor as they charged in to join the fight.

The center of the cafeteria became an unstoppable war zone from which no one could leave without getting covered in food.

"U-ughhhh." Jaune groaned as he pulled himself up. He rubbed his head, running a hand over the scar on his forehead before he taking notice of the battlefield happening just a few meters away. The resilient blond thought to join his teammates but when a stray apple came flying over hard enough to burst on impact next to his head, he decided against it, "Um...this might be getting too crazy."

"I agree, knave!" Nora came dropping down beside him, wielding a long metal pole with a watermelon pierced on the end of it. The orange-haired powerhouse looked back at Jaune and gave him a sad smile, "Now I must be off! What kind of ruler would I be if I just set my subordinates off to be brutally murdered for the glory of my rule?! A regular one?! Perhaps! But I want to play in the game too!" Jaune palmed his face at his friend's antics as she silently weeped, "Knave, if I do not make it back...I leave you in charge of picking up the droppings!"

"Really? Even now?"

"Farewell!" Nora turned, her weepy, vulnerable expression instantly changing into one of vicious combative desire as her hands tightened around her makeshift hammer. Her grin widened as she pounced.

The group of friends had resorted to their reflexes and instincts while exchanging blows in a tight area, but they heard Nora coming and looked up in time to see the ginger reel her hammer back while falling. Someone called for cover, and they all immediately separated as she brought it down with enough force to blow everything around it away.

Nora was quick to pull her weapon back and spin it around her to force her opponents away. She came to a sudden stop and thrust her weapon into the closest person she could.

Unfortunately, Tenten was that person.

The older girl was blown off her feet with immense force and sent flying back. Blake was caught off guard as Tenten came flying into her and they both went careening into the back of the cafeteria.

Nora's eyes glinted as she spotted her next target. The fox's ears shot up in horror before he jumped up to avoid the swing to his legs. Nora persisted and swung her hammer as Naruto struggled to keep out of her range. She made to attack again and Naruto smirked while raising his fist in preparation-

"DUCK!"

He immediately bent over as Kiba vaulted off his back to catch the ginger by surprise. His kick landed on the pole of her hammer and she pushed him back. Nora dodged under his punch before slamming the end of the pole into his gut and then bringing the watermelon end down on Kiba's head.

Yang smirked and charged Nora as she raised her hammer up again. With her chicken gloves on, she started actually forcing the diminutive powerhouse on the defensive to dodge her precise punches. Adding a few kicks into the mix, Yang was sure she had the ginger on the run.

So she didn't see it coming when Nora slammed the hammer into her side and sent her flying, breaking through the cafeteria window and out into the campus.

Ruby watched her sister get tossed aside like a rag doll by the orange menace. The sheer carnage and pandemonium going on around her. The flying bodies and terrified screams. The sound of Weiss trying to reprimand them for getting something in her hair before Naruto accidentally tripped her over.

Enough was enough.

Nora and the rest of JNPR were taking advantage of their moment of triumph and pushing forward. But they were blown back as a red bullet came barreling through them. The teens landed bodily over the cafeteria floor as the red blur came to a stop. Her hood flapped behind her before she moved in another burst of Speed.

With the help of her Semblance to propel her forward, Ruby knocked everyone off their feet before they could get back up. She dashed around and blew everyone away so they were rendered helpless. Ruby continued doing this and prepared for the coup de grace but felt someone run into her. She slid to a stop and looked up in shock.

Sasuke stopped as well and looked up at her with dark red eyes. The Uchiha had copied her Semblance and prepared to run.

Ruby took the challenge head on.

The red and purple blurs passed by each other before turning around and clashing again. They continued meeting head-on around the entire cafeteria before running around the walls of the hall. They got closer and closer until Ruby and Sasuke were circling each other at blinding speeds in the center of the cafeteria.

The wind started to pick up wildly. Stray pieces of food and trays started to shake and get lifted up by the force of the wind. Followed by their friends suddenly getting pulled into the powerful vortex being created between the two speedsters. Everyone started screaming and flailing through the air as they were sucked up into the tornado of cafeteria tables and kitchenware.

"See! You see?!" Sun gleefully cheered over the winds as he held onto a pillar for dear life, "I love this school!"

Neptune wasn't listening as he held onto another pillar, covered in food stuff and with a fork sticking out of the goggle lens on his head.

The doors to the cafeteria blew open and the boys spotted the blonde professor stomp into the fray. The deputy headmistress frowned at the sight in front of her and fixed her glasses up her nose. Glynda raised her riding crop over her head before bringing it back down.

Ruby and Sasuke were lifted off the ground by her Telekinesis and left floating in the air. The winds and tornado created by their running quickly died out as everything fell to the floor, friends and teammates included.

The stern blonde waved her riding crop in the air as everything started to float. Stains started bleeding off the walls as concrete sealed back together. Glass formed back into the windows and tables flew back into perfect line with each other. After a moment the once ruined cafeteria had been returned to pristine condition.

Sun and Neptune slowly slid back to their feet as the three teams lifted themselves off the ground. They inspected themselves to see just how dirty they had gotten before they realized they were under Glynda's scrutinizing glare.

"Children..." She spoke tersely while they buckled under her stare, "Can someone please explain to me how this little food fight blew out of proportion so quickly? Anyone?"

"YEAAAAAAHHHH!" Yang burst through the doors and passed Sun and Neptune as she cheered, "YANG'S HERE FOR ROUND...oops, bad time. My bad."

Glynda's riding crop whipped over her shoulder and froze the boxer before she could retreat. She pulled the blonde back over and let Yang slide into place beside her team before releasing her telekinetic hold. Once all three teams were gathered, Glynda started to fume, "Honestly, how could this happen again? The new semester hasn't even started yet and all of you are already back to causing pandemonium!"

"Y-yeah." Ruby shuffled and smiled, "It means we're all ready for school to begin! Right?"

"..."

"S-sorry."

"I don't even-"

Glynda paused when she felt someone grip her shoulder. She looked over and saw Ozpin step up to her side before looking between all of them, "You all seem to be in top form."

"Y-yes sir!"

"Better than ever, in fact!"

"That's good to hear. You have no idea what might happen this semester. So be sure to stay on your toes." Ozpin smiled before turning to walk out, "You're all dismissed."

The students all beamed smiles as Glynda looked at the headmaster in shock. She made to follow him out of the cafeteria while the Beacon kids raised their fists in triumph. Sun spared his partner a look and chuckled before making his way over to join them, "You guys made it out by the hairs on your tails!"

"Sun!" Naruto was the first to meet the monkey and high five him, "Did you see our food fight?"

"See it? We were lucky not to get sucked into it." Neptune angrily coughed behind him, "Well I did at least."

"Lucky you."

"So, when were you guys gonna tell me?" Sun grinned, "The truth about the Beacon Dirty Dozen?"

"Oh god I nearly forgot." Naruto sniggered and held Sun's shoulder for support before turning to his friends, "Guys, you have to hear about this rumor Sun heard back in Haven. Apparently there's this group of students at Beacon that cause tons of trouble. And a bunch of people at the other schools think these guys are gonna cause problems at the tournament. And they have the stupidest name!"

"Naruto-"

"No no, I'm serious! It's so bad!"

"Naruto-"

"They're called the Dirty Dozen of Beacon and..."

The looks of embarrassment and shame across their faces made him stop for a moment.

...

1, 2, 3...10, 11, and he made...

Naruto's shoulders and ears fell as a blank look of horror took his face, "Oh god...the name is so bad."

They all watched the whiskered boy become more dejected and Sun waved his hand in front of Naruto's face for some reaction before shrugging, "We'll let that sink in for a sec. Anyway guys, I wanted to introduce you to someone. My partner and one of the coolest guys I know."

"Neptune Vasilias. Sun's told me all about you guys." The blue-haired boy looked between all of them before his eyes settled on one person in particular, "But not enough about each one of you. Which is just a shame." The Schnee heiress realized he was addressing her and stood up a little taller in surprise. He smiled, "Hi there Snow Angel, it's nice to meet you."

"Oh." Weiss smiled and nodded back, "Nice to meet you as well. And it's Weiss actually."

"I'll remember that."

Some of the others watched the interaction between their icy heiress and the blue-haired boy. And then some sent rather tentative, nervous looks to their Uchiha companion to gauge his reaction.

Sasuke watched them talk for a moment before walking ahead. He felt the mess that matted his hair, "I'm going to go take a shower before this stuff seeps in. I'm pretty sure you all should do the same before it's too late."

They all looked over themselves to see just how dirty they were before making their way back to their dorms. The Haven duo watched them leave as the monkey waved, "Okay, see ya Blake! Talk to you later! Can't wait!"

Once they were alone the blond slapped his partner's arm, "Ow! Why?"

"I told you not to hit on any of them! And what do you do right off the bat?! That!"

"I can't help it man. She's was just standing there and my natural curiosity drew me towards her."

"Well how am I ever gonna get to talk to Blake if you act all creepy to her teammates?"

"I remember what you told me man. I'm pretty sure I'm not the creepy one here."

Their conversation quickly devolved to slap attacks and grabbing each other before begging for mercy.

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

"Goodwitch was this close to putting us into detention for the rest of our lives." Weiss complained, "Can we get through one day of the new semester before we wreck the whole school? The other schools ridicule us for being trouble makers!"

"You say that but wasn't it you that started the food fight after someone laughed?" Yang quickly raised her hands before the heiress could bite her head off.

"Well whatever." Naruto shrugged as he arrived at NKTS' door and opened it, "Guess we'll just have to see how things play out before we wreck havoc again."

"Naruto, hold on! I forgot to tell you-"

The moment the blond fox opened the door, a giant shadow enveloped him before he was squished underneath a large, white mass.

"AKAMARU!"

"YOU'RE BACK!"

Ruby and Nora squealed as they quickly left their teams and nuzzled into the big fluffy animal. The dog happily received their love and pets as he crushed the blond beneath his weight. Naruto's hand snaked out from beneath the white fur and desperately grabbed for something to pull himself out from beneath the dog's belly.

This semester was shaping up to be exciting.

((((((((Extra: Team Dynamics))))))))

Team RWBY sat in their room in silence while they each studied for their test tomorrow. Weiss slid her seat back and stretched out her arms before heading to the other table, "I'm making a pot of coffee. Does anyone want one?"

"Me." Yang hung over her bed, "Put all the cream and sugar you can fit into it please."

"Me too." Ruby sat up, "And Weiss can you pour me a glass of malk?"

"Excuse you?"

"Malk. Can I have some malk."

"I can't get you any malk but I can pour you some milk."

"Weiss, that's what she asked." Yang clarified.

"Yeah, I just want some malk."

"Why are you saying it like that?"

"Like what?"

"Like you're in pain. You're in pain when you're saying milk."

"No I'm not." Ruby pouted, "I just want some malk."

Weiss sighed, "Say milkshake."

"Milkshake."

"Say milk."

"Malk."

"Oh my-"

"Weiss, stop pestering her." Yang frowned, "Now go over there and pour her some melk!"

"Melk?!"

"Hey." Blake spoke up and got all their attentions as she frowned, "I'm trying to study here. Can you stop screaming about mulk already."

"Did you just-"

"Pour! Her! The melk, Weiss!"

"I just want some malk!"

"You're not saying the same word!"

"Weiss, calm down." Ruby finally jumped down from her bed and stepped up to her partner, "Look, you're tired. You've been studying all day. You haven't been eating or drinking enough. And all you've had is coffee."

Weiss was shaking and catching her breath as her shoulders started to lower. She nodded, "Y-yes, I suppose you're right. I...I need some rest."

"Exactly. Now just get me some cwukies and malk and we can all go to sleep."

Weiss swarmed on her so fast Ruby couldn't react in time. Yang and Blake were quick to pull her off but found themselves on the receiving end of the heiress' vicious clawing hands.

They decided from that point on to no longer prank the high-strung girl.

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

Done

And now we're officially back. A food fight, a little Naruto hint if you guys read closely enough, and Akamaru's return.

In case you guys start to worry, I have a plan for that heiress and the Uchiha. Didn't forget. Just not going straight into it. It'll come. And in a big way. Just not yet.

See you next time.

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Thank You and Bye