A/N: PLEASE READ THIS NOTE, WOULD YOU KINDLY? It has some important information.
Feel free to think of this as two chapters in one. It certainly felt like that for me. Fair warning, we cover a LOT of ground here. Looking forward to your reviews! They're all that keeps me going in these dark days...
Blasted fever is kicking my butt. I swear, if its not one thing its another! And if I have to spend ONE MORE NIGHT in a hospital with them POKING AND PRODDING at me I'm going to lose my bloody mind. My body can't seem to hold itself together these days. Its not cancer, no tumors to be found, nothing! I'm just really sick. Health ain't looking too good...
Still, its allowed me to binge watch a few movies while recovering, Sherlock Holmes, 300, that sort of thing, and that's given me a bit of inspiration.
In other news, somebody better pick up that phone, because I called it!
Feels quite nice to be validated by the recent RWBY episode. Saw that *SPOILER* coming a mile off there, I did. Especially with *SPOILER* and not to mention *SPOILER* there at the end. Still, that bit near the end surprised me. Don't even get me started on that bloody cliffhanger. Rooster Teeth, why you do this?!
Question time! Lets have a few this time:
Q: When are you going to post that NarutoxRWBY plot bin?
A: Soon, hopefully, my current health permitting.
Q: Timeskip when?! You promised!
A: Yes, yes I did. Prepare~!
Q: So...are Salem and the rest just...good now?
A: Hahaha-NO. Naruto may be a good influence on everyone At the end of the day Salem and those who serve her are unrepentantly evil. They are, however, united in the cause of keeping our young Naruto out of harms way. None of them regret their path. Well, Hazel may feel SOME given the loss of his sister, but Cinder doesn't, Watt's wont, and Tyrian's too mad to care. To say nothing of old Merlot and his...mannerisms...
Don't touch the kids, folks. That's the golden rule.
Ozpin's figured this out early; so long as Salem is focused on a domestic family life...she's quite distracted from other matters. And as we all know by now, a distracted Salem is a happy Salem. A happy Salem is a Salem that won't destroy the world. Even moreso, now that she's with child. At this point should something untoward happen to Ozpin, she's more than willing to hunt him down again just to make him take responsibility.
Death by snu-snu! Take one for the team, Ozma!
Q: Who's the villain in this story? Surely there is one...there has to be one...right?
A: *cackles* Oh, there are quite a few. Quite a few indeed. But the less said of them the better. Still, I'll give you a hint. Who would be fool enough to strike at a happy woman and her family? Who is willing to throw themselves against impossible odds to eke out a victory? Why, I can count the number of people willing to fight Salem on one hand. And do remember, while world may suspect that she exists, they don't know of her immortality. If they did they would stay far, far, FAR away.
Alrighty, then. I've kept you long enough~!
As ever, I own no references, quotes, themes or memes. And yes, I do play Among Us.
Buckle up, because its time for the good stuff!
"The whole secret lies in confusing the enemy, so that he cannot fathom our real intent."
"So, in other words, baffle them with bullshit?"
"Well that's one way to phrase it...
~Salem and her Son.
Keep On Marching
Naruto took the news better than expected, given that it came the day after Weiss's rescue.
"A little sister? Oh...that's...wow."
Flanked by Ozpin, Salem watched her son intently from her throne and braced herself for the inevitable explosion. It never came. Naruto did not rant. He did not rave. He did not throw a fit or shout nor scream or even cry. If anything, he seemed rather perplexed by the notion. The girls, were of course, delighted. Babies were babies after all. Babies were to be coddled and protected and cooed at. Besides, her pregnancy -the fact that she was even capable of such- made the whole "Queen of the Grimm" bit slightly less terrifying. Even Raven and Hazel were were quietly bemused by the news.
Not all were, of course.
Qrow appeared rather poleaxed by it all. Watts swore he wouldn't be changing any diapers. Willow wasn't present to be told anything. Somehow, Salem doubted she would care. The heiress was still down in the dungeons with Jacques, who would never again see the light of day. Summer took one look her way flounced off, leaving them to their little celebration. Merlot shrugged and continued his experiments.
And as to Tyrian...well...
"Oh, happy day!" the madman flung up his arms with an exuberant cry, head tilted back in bliss. "To be an uncle again! I must prepare! Away~!"
And then he was off, running pell-mell through the halls, cackling all the while.
"And there he goes, the fool." Cinder scoffed, a strange light in her eyes. "He'll never shut up now...
The spectacle reactivated Naruto, but he wasn't the one to speak. Weiss had that honor. "So...how far along are you..?"
"Not very. We were thinking Autumn, if its a girl." She touched a hand to Ozpin's own, drawing a smile from her partner. "Or perhaps Morrigan. Maybe even Maude. We've not decided."
...oh, oh!" Ruby waved a hand, eager to offer her own input. "What if its a boy?"
"And what if it is?" Salem's face dimpled in a rare smile. "Did you have a suggestion, dear girl?"
Her pale face wrinkled in thought. "Umm...how about Corin?"
"Nah, sis." Yang tossed her head. "Not good enough. Its gotta be a color."
Weiss pursed her lips in thought. "Perhaps something starting with W, mayhaps?"
Winter looked up from her book. "William sounds nice."
"The kid's not a Schnee, ice queen!"
...what about Albion?"
Yang elbowed her. "Heh, not bad, Blake!"
Nora raised her hand. "Thunder sounds pretty awesome."
"No, Nora! Bad Nora! We're not naming them after a storm!"
Cinder gave up with an irritated sigh and finally threw her hat into the ring. "Ash."
"DENIED!"
Everyone went mad after that-at least the children did- each eager to offer ideas off their own. Salem basked in like a proud matriarch and endured it for a few moments before raising a hand to silence them. In truth, she had not considered the matter overmuch. She suspected the child would be a girl. She had a feeling about this one. She adored her boy, but he was growing so quickly, and to have a girl again...! Just the thought made her heart leap.
"I'm sure we'll think of something." she said at last. "Thank you for your suggestions."
Naruto seemed to be taking it well enough. He'd yet to speak against it. Had he gone into shock? He was certainly blinking quite a bit.
"Huh. Neat." Her son nodded once more, a curious smile lighting his whiskered cheeks. "Alright. I get it, mom." Another nod. "I'm gonna be a big brother. That's pretty coooooohmygodsIamnotready...
His eyes rolled back in his head and he pitched backward like a fallen elm. Salem snapped her fingers and a dozen shadowy hands caught him before he could accidentally dash his head against the stone floor. From there they eased him back to one of the good couches, where a startled Winter and Weiss fussed over him. Nora pulled a marker from her pocket. Cheeky little thing.
"That's the best we could hope for, I suppose." Ozpin pinched the brow of his nose with a bemused smile. "At least he didn't seem opposed to a sibling...
"Ha!" Yang grinned, quite pleased with herself. "Alright, kitty-kat. Told you he would faint. I win the bet. Pay up."
Blake scowled and slapped a wad of lien into her hand.
(.0.0.0.)
"Blast it all!"
Ironwood's fist crashed down on his desk like a falling star, splitting it down the middle with an awful crack. He punched it again for good measure. Again. Yet again. And again. He kept striking until his shoulder ached and his knuckles bled through the thin fabric of his glove. Drawn by the crazed clamor, a well-meaning secretary dared to poke her head into his office and ask after his wellbeing. She took one look at the general's thunderous expression and ran for the hills. Wise of her. Most wise indeed.
With a long-suffering sigh, the general sank into his chair and buried his head in his hands.
For you see, James Ironwood was having something of a bad day. Something told him he was going to have an awful week. A horrid month. An abysmal year besides. Already he could feel a migraine coming on, pounding at his temple like the drums of a great hunt out for blood. And make no mistake, blood had been shed.
Salem had taken the Winter Maiden. He knew it was her. It had to be her. Who else would be so bold to strike at the very heart of Atlas?
It was too much to hope for Freya's survival, not when her guards lay dead in pools of their own blood. Good soldiers, slain for the cause. They went down fighting at least. But why leave the bodies at all? This smacked of pride at best, arrogance at worst, and it burned him to his core to realize just how badly he'd been outmaneuvered. Damn that woman. She distracted them with one hand and robbed them blind with the other. No doubt she had help from the inside. That suggested a turncoat -bloody traitor!- somewhere in the military. Unfortunate.
Worse, all video footage had been scrubbed clean from the system. They had no faces. No names. Nothing. Only silence.
Oz was no help at all; his old friend offered vague promises of assistance, little more. He was distracted by something. Whatever it was, he'd proven terribly cagey about it.
Why take the Maiden and leave the Relic? For some fresh plot? A ploy? A threat? They had no way of knowing who her successor might be, nor their intentions. In her youth, Freya had been terrifying. He didn't relish the idea of facing someone like that on an open field. They could just...walk in, open the vault, take the staff. Atlas would fall and crush Mantle. Thousands would die. And he wouldn't know until it was too late. .
"No!" His fist crashed down again, reducing the last of his desk to rubble. "I won't allow it!"
Some might call him mad, others would insist he was too focused on this, that he relied upon Mettle too much. Fools, the lot of them. His semblance gave him clarity. Focus. It allowed him to see that which could not be seen, to make the hard choices others wouldn't make. Salem had made her move. Atlas -nay, all of Remnant!- needed strong leadership to counter her. Who knew what dastardly schemes she was concocting even now? Someone had to take charge. And if that someone must be him...then so be it. This world was not ready for the horrors of Salem.
Plucking a field radio from his belt, he thumbed the device on and spoke into it. "Get the Ace Ops in here. I have a task for them."
One way or another, he would be prepared. No matter how long it took.
Even if it took days, weeks, months, years...
...he would be prepared.
(.0.0.0.)
And So Time Marched Ever Onward...
(.0.0.0.)
Salem wasn't much of a dog person.
Despite what Ozma might say, she really much rather preferred cats to canines. Cats were clever creatures to begin with, but their loyalty was often fickle. Dogs were trustworthy to be sure, but they often required more training. Training meant time, and while she had the latter in abundance, it wasn't something she enjoyed.
Case in point, the baleful beast crouch in the throne room before her.
It had taken ages to train before this nonsense and now she must reeducate it again, for its original purpose would no longer serve in the grand scheme of things. Blasted thing had taken two years to retrain and it still made mistakes, sometimes. That stopped today.
"Take the girl?"
"No!" Salem gave the Hound a stern swat on its bony snout. "Save the girl."
"Take?"
A pale brow rose in story splendor.
"Save. The. Girl." her voice all but throbbed with persuasion. "Protect the girl. That is your task this evening."
The mighty beast cocked its head from side-to-side like an inquisitive puppy. A giant, fanged, shapeshifting puppy. Sometimes she regretted granting it sentience. Still, the benefits outweighed the risks. It was a deadly instrument of her will and far more capable than most. Nor would it balk from the task given to it. She had children to attend to, while this creature would pursue its goal with single-minded sentience.
"Save." a voice like a slow moving avalanche issued from its fanged maw.
"Yes!" Salem beamed.
"Protect." It sounded certain this time.
Salem allowed a small smile to grace her pale visage.
"Excellent." her hand descended again, stroking the baleful beast between its pointed ears. "This will be her first taste of real combat." Crimson eyes drilled into the Grimm like a lance. "No harm is to come to her. Do you understand? Weiss is going to give me beautiful white-haired babies someday." she paused, allowing the weight of her words to sink in properly. "Guard her as you would one of the royal family. You are to watch over her and protect her. No taking! Understand?"
The Hound barked an affirmative.
"Good boy." Salem's smile grew. "Now be off with you."
Her minion capered off a trot. She was still watching it when a pair of tiny arms locked around her leg.
"Found you, mama~!"
Bemused red eyes gazed down into a familiar face, a tiny visage. A simple soul.
"So you did, little one." She beamed down at her youngest and felt her heart melt anew. "So you did. Now wherever did your brother run off to...?"
(.0.0.0.)
"Are you prepared?"
Naruto didn't open his eyes in the darkness, but he did smile. "Yup."
Someone clicked their tongue at him. "Wipe that silly smirk from your face at once and ready your weapon!"
"Nah." his grin grew another inch, refusing to regard the belt and the fearsome armament he'd left by the door "Don't wanna."
He couldn't see Cinder's face, but he could feel her scowl as he stalked about the yard. He could hear her circling him. If looks could kill he'd have a smoldering spot right between his shoulders. Heh. Almost made him smile, that did. She didn't glare at anyone else like that.
Still, she was holding back the brunt of her wrath and it was getting damn cold in here. Blasted Maiden powers. He liked it better when she used fire attacks. At least then he'd be warm. Of course, she knew that and delighted in irritating him. Nooo, she just had to be the Winter Maiden.
Two years hadn't done much for the young man's patience.
It had giving him a sibling -with another on the way!- and honed him in other ways of course; he'd grown stronger and taller, more confident in some ways, yet humble in others. Nor was he the only one to change. Two years had given Cinder time to grow into her new powers, to grow up and out in more ways than one. She knew it too. She'd caught him staring. There was a reason he'd kept his eyes closed for the last five minutes. She wasn't above using her beauty to distract him these days.
"Stop glaring at me and attack already." he sighed. "I've got a raid with Winter and Weiss in an hour. You know how they get when I'm late."
An angry intake of breath told him she'd risen to his bait. He knew why. Cinder could never bear to be in the same room as the Schnee sisters. Nor did they enjoy her presence. Winter, in particular. Perhaps it was the Grimm in them. Who could say? Winter and Cinder never had a problem with Ruby, but then again, Ruby was the youngest of all them-
'Ah.' he felt her killing intent spike. 'There we go.'
When the attack came he was more than ready for it. A cold breeze brushed the back of his neck as the temperature plummeted. It was his only warning; all he needed. He opened his eyes and pivoted on one heel to slam a punch backward. Not forward. Backward. Aura flared and a strangled curse hissed through his ears as she doubled over. Not missing a beat he pressed the attack and drove an elbow into their solar plexus. He found only empty air and the sudden absence of his foe had him stumbling in the dark. Across the room, golden eyes blazed with triumph as his attack passed through an afterimage. Too late, Naruto realized his error.
She'd feigned weakness to draw him in. He'd gotten greedy. One must never get greedy in a fight with Cinder Fall. Bad things happened when you did.
Sure enough, a torrent of wind struck him dead in the chest, defying gravity to fling him into the air. His back crashed through a wall, struck a pillar, and managed to right himself at the last. The once frigid room warmed alarmingly and his sixth sensed shrilled a warning. Danger! Move! Now! He caromed off the next wall, flinging himself to safety.
Not a moment too soon.
A pillar of flame found him in midair even as he twisted his body aside, clipping his aura before hurtling past to scour the stone clean. Her fireblast tore a hole through the wall altogether and he leaped through the wide opening she'd made seeking safety outside rather than face her in closed quarters. Mistakes were made. Cinder's laugh said it all.
"Now, wherever are you going?"
Booted feet struck ice and frost crept up his ankles, trying to weigh him down. Naruto was forced to kick out again just to avoid losing a leg to the black frost. Fighting outside was a horrid idea; she'd call down her storms here and he'd never reach her. A third and final leap carried the day; he crashed back inside and raced up a scarred and pitted wall, clinging on with his feet for dear life. He still stood there, defying gravity.
Times like these reminded just how irregular his existence truly was.
Normal men could not walk on walls and water. Normal men couldn't take their inner energy and mold it to their will. Normal men didn't hear voices in their sleep, whispers teaching them things they were meant to know, meant to do, meant to be. But he wasn't normal, was he? He had never been normal, even before his dip in that pool of darkness. He was extraordinary.
Unfortunately, so was Cinder with her power-wait. What was that smell? Why did he feel so warm...?
"Owowow! Hot!" frantic hands flitted about his still-smoldering robes to put them out. He shot Cinder a baleful glare. "Are ya tryin' to kill me?!"
"Yes." she gazed up at him, serene in her confidence. "You'll face far worse than this in the outside world."
"Somehow, I doubt that!"
Her smirk earned her a scowl.
"What's wrong?" she cocked one hip and he tried in vain not to stare. "Afraid? If you can't beat me, you're not worthy of venturing out on your own."
Unworthy?! Him?! Never! Naruto twitched. Cinder saw it. Her smile grew. "Struck a nerve, have I?"
A muscle jumped in the blond's jaw. There she was, throwing his words back at him again. This mustn't register on an emotional level. He knew she was mocking him, as he had mocked her; trying to get a rise out of him and draw that out. He knew what she was after. It didn't help. He grit his teeth, refusing to rise to the bait. Calm. He was calm. His mind was a calm ocean, unstirred by thoughts nor breeze. Her taunts didn't bother him. Not a bit...
"Are you afraid, my prince?"
...it bothered him alot! She was mocking him again. He hated being mocked. With that ugly thought his Grimm side thrashed its way to the surface, forcing a snarl from him. The world slowed to a crawl. Blue eyes bled red and black. Blond hair became pale as his tan visage lost all semblance of color. Angry scarlet veins pulsed through his whiskered cheeks and forearms. Fingers crooked down into cruel claws. His teeth sharpened into fangs; teeth that he bared now in a growl at her.
Cinder saw it at once and responded in kind of course; she'd been banking on his temper getting the better of him.
"There you are." she all but purred the words. "Took you long enough."
By contrast to him, Cinder's transformation was smooth through and through. Golden eyes became venomous crimson slits framed by pools of shadow and flame. Her lustrous ebony hair slipped into a sensual shade of ash as all the blood drained from her face, leaving it alarmingly white. No horns to speak of. No fangs. She remained elegant. Refined. He'd never understood why. Cinder had taken to her new self far faster than Ruby or even Winter ever had. For her, it was like slipping into a new dress.
"Well?" a finger crooked at him, inviting. "Don't you know its rude to keep a lady waiting?"
Naruto kicked off the wall and flew at her.
His reward was a faceful of fire. Even in her transformed state, Cinder wasn't shy when it came to utilizing her Maiden powers. Aura or not, they still hurt. He crashed through the flames and relished in her brief moment of surprise before he tackled her to the ground. His first punch crashed through her aura and found her chin. The second was caught, his arm twisted, and quite suddenly, her legs were between them. He felt her entire body tense in preparation of some mighty herculean effort.
That was before she got both palms under his chest. Flame flickered at her fingertips; red eyes bulged. Her own narrowed in triumph.
For anyone else, the explosion that followed would have been lethal. As it was, Naruto nearly lost an arm and a good bit of skin in the inferno that followed. Cinder didn't give him a chance to recover. Even as he healed and thrashed upright, she was upon him, blades awhirl. They ripped and tore at one another; crashing about the training yard like the monsters they were. Her blades carved into his chest. His claws ripped through her shoulders, their wounds healing even as they whirled away.
On the ninth exchange, Naruto felt his anger began to falter. This wasn't working. For all his endurance, he wasn't a tank. He could deal damage with the best of them, but he couldn't wade through fire with without feeling pain. He would never be able to. He just wasn't built the same way as Hazel, not matter how much he wish otherwise.
Nor was he a scientific sort like Merlot. He did not need to know how his Grimm form functioned to wield its power. He didn't need to understand his chakra to use it, nor meet the monster within. He intrinsically knew. Instincts carved it into him. He couldn't fight the way Cinder did; her fighting style simply wasn't something he could hope to learn. She danced while he stumbled through the steps, relying on speed and power rather than grace. So why he dance to her tune?
A quick hop carried him back once more the floor. Cinder readied her blades, wary of the gleam in his eyes. "Giving up, are we?"
...hardly."
Rage receded as his training took the reigns, bringing with it a harsh reminder of past lessons. Raven had ripped away any and all semblance of honor from him in battle. Watts had whittled away his weaknesses and sharpened his mind. Tyrian had taught him to maim without killing. He'd been keen on that last point. He would never take a life unless it was absolutely necessary. It was a line he refused to cross these last few years and wouldn't cross still if it came to it. But he wasn't above getting a little rough when it came down to that.
His mentor's words came back to him now, a strange blend of all their voices. Somewhere in the back of his mind, a switch flipped.
First, distract target. Naruto reared back and spat in Cinder's face. She recoiled, startled by the unorthodox and savage tactic. Then block her blind left. Her swords raced in, trailing fire; and he slapped them aside with a quick sweep of his hands, utterly uncaring of the cuts that opened across his palms. Counter with cross to left cheek.
Cinder stumbled back, startled as armored knuckles found her just below her eye. They'd leave a bruise.
Discombobulate. Open palms hands slammed down on her ears with sound and aplomb, deafening the Winter Maiden. Dazed, she cried out and countered with an unfocused column of fire. Naruto employed a sharp elbow block to divert the blast, followed by a body shot to her ribs. Block left jab. Cinder's sword flew from her numbed fingers. Weaken right jaw. His fist barreled into the left side of her face and earned a curse fro her. Now fracture. Perhaps her peril, Cinder tried to retreat, only for him to catch her heel with his and yanked her back in. Break cracked ribs.
The tiniest gasp of pain fled from her lips when he struck again. Something deep inside him winced, but he couldn't stop now. He wouldn't. A point must be made.
Traumatize solar plexus.
His knee rammed into her lower abdomen, driving the air from her lungs.
Dislocate jaw entirely.
He ducked a blast of frost and struck again, well below her ear.
Heel kick to diaphragm.
A hearty kick finished what Cinder had so foolishly started and hurled the Winter Maiden away like a straw doll. She struck the ground, bounced once, then skidded across it, until she struck a wall. Aura crackled sullenly, low, but not yet broken. Still she clung onto her transformation more out of pride than anything else. Sparks crackled in her hand, but her bolt went wide, missing him by a wide margin. No surprise. Her ears ringing, jaw fractured, three ribs cracked, four broken, diaphragm hemorrhaging...a human would have died to wounds like those. But they weren't human now were they? It was the only reason he'd been rough with her.
Target down. his inner self beamed. Capacity to taunt? Neutralized.
Three quick strides brought him to the fallen maiden's side. Flat on her back, Cinder scowled up at him, thoroughly trounced. Or it might have been her battered jaw. Probably both. Her hand shot up and his body reacted accordingly, catching it by the wrist. A knee came down on her stomach, not to injure but to hold, pinning her in place. She tried to struggle up, but her ribs prevented her from rising. Naruto shook his head slowly.
"Yield."
Cinder went terribly still beneath him for a moment. At last, she shook her head.
"I mean it." he growled and pushed down. "Don't make me knock you out. I will if you push me."
After what felt like an eternity, her chin bobbed in a slow, albeit reluctant nod.
With that, realization broke like the dawn. Naruto blinked, and his mental switch snapped back again, leaving him with the backlash. The fog of battle began to burn away, bringing with it the thrill of victory. He'd been so consumed with the idea of winning that it hadn't hit him until this very moment. Victory. After all these years, after so many defeats, he'd overcome her. Cinder always seemed invincible. Eternal. An obstacle he would never overcome. Now he had. Finally.
Naruto slammed a fist into the air. "HA! I finally beat you! Oh, wait, you're hurt...
He tumbled off her and laid hands on her shoulders, minding her injuries. Thanks to her Grimm State, her body had already begun to mend; it took the merest nudge from him to hasten it along. Cinder didn't thank him for it. With an odd look, she reached up and set her jaw. An awful noise filled the air it clicked back into place. The rest healed quickly. She sat up, massaging her face, grimacing now as her injuries healed. Red eyes bled back into gold as she regained her form. Still that strange look persisted. A host of warring emotions flitted across her face. He didn't recognize them until it was too late.
Anger. Surprise. Pride. Fondness. Hunger.
Without warning, Naruto found himself caught in the teeth of an old memory:
"So!" Blue eyes blazed up at hers, "If I get stronger, you'll marry me?"
"If such a day comes." She indulged him with a smile. "You'd have to defeat me, first."
"Promise?" he held out his little finger to her with an anxious smile. "You can't break a pinky promise!"
"Oh, very well." Golden eyes rolled at him in mild irritation, but she clasped the questing digit anyway. "There. Are you satisfied?
He blinked the recollection away, somewhat startled by the sudden recollection. He'd said those words as a child. Back then, Cinder was larger than life to him; as the only person near him in age she had been someone to follow, someone to emulate, someone to look up to. He remembered wanting to be just like her. He had not...forgotten those words per se, he just hadn't thought of them for quite some time. It wasn't his fault.
He'd never thought to look at her in that way in quite some time. She'd always seemed unobtainable.
Cinder Fall was most certainly looking at him now; though she hadn't uttered a word. She was just...staring at him, her gaze terribly narrow and intent. Had he broken her? Was something wrong? Had her eyes always been that bright? Even with the unnatural flames of the Maiden burning in her gaze she looked lovely. Even with her outfit torn, her hair dirty and still-healing injuries, she remained proud and strong. Her lips parted as if to speak, pursed, seemed to think better of it. At length, she shook her head and loosed a bitter chuckle.
"Well done, my prince." for once, she spoke the phrase without mockery or derision. "I suppose you deserve a reward."
An alarm went off. Naruto opened his mouth to retort against that effect, to say something, anything-
Cinder didn't let him. She surged upright. Her lips met his and stole his breath away.
A/N: There we are. LET THE GAMES BEGIN.
Oh, poor Naruto. Winter and Weiss won't like this. Nevermind poor Ruby and the rest...
Ahoy there, dear reader! Read this, please! LEST YE BE TERRIBLY CONFUSED!
Worry not, we'll see the little one next chapter. I'm not spoiling a thing. Trust me, they're adorable. Last chance to vote for the kiddos name.
I still feel horribly ill, which has in turn affected the chapter length of certain stories. Sorry about that. Its so hard to focus these days and the pain doesn't much help. To make things worse I had to reschedule an appointment due to inclement weather
Soooooo in the Immortal Words of Atlas...Review, Would You Kindly?
Reviews keeps this sickly man alive. Without them, I'll just vanish into the void. Poof. Gone.
So here, have some previews while I rest and recover. Writing/updating this rapidly really takes a lot out of me...
(Previews)
"Finally won, eh?" Mercury was waiting for him near the entrance. "Ren and Whitley were alright and all, but the two of them just got on better. "Aaand another girl joins the harem. Lucky bastard...
"Me? Nah." Naruto looked away. "I don't have a harem."
"ARE YOU BLIND?!"
"Not really." he scratched the back of his head, trying to look away from Cinder and her swaying hips." Maybe if I play dense they'll let me be."
"Not a chance. C'mon, lets get you cleaned up. Mercury slapped his back. "Drinks are on me. My treat."
"Merc, this is my home. Everything's free.
"Semantics!"
Bloody blond, pretending to be thicker than he was. Naruto could play the waiting game all he wanted, but sooner or later he would have to choose between them. Girls were tricky like that. Might as well hang around and see what came of it.
"Big brother!"
Naruto's scowl became a dopey grin. "Aha! There you are
Fun wasn't really something one considered when attacking the White Fang...
"All clear, my lady."
...but this did put smile on her face.
The last year had made her body stronger and her heart harder. It would only ever soften for those she loved. No one else. Perhaps that was cruel of her. Weiss disagreed. Better to love a choice few than none at all. She would not be like Jacques. No. Never Jacques. Mother still visited him in the cells from time to time. Weiss couldn't bear to go down there.
She hit the ground in a pointed couch and alighted perfectly among her prey. Naturally, they went wild.
"Its a Schnee! Shoot her!"
"Boys, you really don't want to do this."
The leader didn't listen. Nope. Of course not. "MASKS!"
"Alright." Weiss smiled as she regarded the terrorist. It was all teeth. "Have it your way. Mask!"
Somewhere deep inside her soul, Venom absolutely cackled. "Copy."
Darkness boiled over her body from head to toe as the parasite -symbiote!- pushed itself outward and upward, allowing itself to grow.
She must've looked quite a sight, encased in a
Her foes shrieked. "WHAT THE HELL IS THAT THING?!"
Blake sighed.
"Ilia...you can get off my back, now."
"No. Warm. Comfy." her fellow faunus yawned and nuzzled closer. "Shut up and let me sleep, stupid."
She didn't have anymore time than that. The door crashed open.
"Hey, mom...long time no see...?"
Kali was across the threshold like an arrow loosed from a bow. "BLAKE!"
"Salutations, cousin~!" Penny bounded on her heels, delighted to see him. "Did you bring me a gift?"
Naruto tousled her hair. "Sure did, squirt."
Watts scoffed. "Softie...
"Do not do this, James."
"Please...mercy...
"Mercy?" Winter scowled. "For what you've done? There is no mercy."
Blue eyes burned red. Her victim didn't die well. He deserved every bit of it, of course...
"I think she's sweet on Tyrian."
Naruto nearly choked on his drink. "Ach! Don't do that...!"
"Silly little man. Humanity exists because I allow it. You are, all of you, alive on my sufferance. And you think you can slay me?
By all means! Try! Drown me. Impale me. Hang me. Burn me at the stake. Cut off my bloody head.
I cannot die. I will never die. I. Will. Always. Be. Here."
R&R~!
