"Look, Mr Belladonna, sir, you've made it pretty clear that I deserve some kind of reparation for what we did at Hallowed Quay, but are you sure this isn't a bit… much?"
Ghira looked between Naruto and the thing that lay in front of them. "Well, it's not doing us any good just sitting here, and with your 'unique' semblance, it does seem like it might be the best solution for the both of us."
Naruto hummed in thought. "But a whole Bullhead? Doesn't Kuo Kuana need this sort of thing?"
Ghira shook his head. "There's no-one around here that's qualified to fly the thing. One of my guards has an engineering background from Mantle before they moved out here, they did a bit of tinkering to keep it in 'ship shape', or that was at least how he put it, but the man has no idea how to fly it. Just how to keep it from falling apart."
Ghira stared at the hunk of metal. "And, between you and me? It's an eyesore, and I want rid of it sooner rather than later."
Naruto stepped up to it, checking one of the panels at random, seeing as he had no actual idea what he was looking for. "How'd you even end up with a Bullhead?"
Ghira let out a chuckle. "Ah, isn't that a long story. This isn't a new model, obviously, but this was ever-so-courteously donated by Atlas during a protest nearly a decade ago. And by donated…"
Naruto immediately understood. "You stole a Bullhead from Atlas?!"
Ghira shook his head, but the grin he wore was all Naruto needed to see. "We didn't steal it! It just so happened to end up in Menagerie through a series of misplaced documentation. And a good disguise."
Naruto was a little lost. "Wait, if you flew it from Atlas to here, what happened to the pilot?"
Ghira's smile dropped a few notches. "Not everyone made it through those protests. There weren't too many casualties before Sienna took over, but when there were, it was a sad day for all Faunus."
The statement hit Naruto hard, and he struggled for a place to put his hands, so he settled with one scratching behind his head and the other coming to rest on the Bullhead's handle. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be," Ghira said. "It's been a long time, and they died doing what they loved. Which was stealing aircraft from military installations. Honestly, they had always danced a fine line between safety and danger. Hell of a pilot, though."
Naruto slid open the door to the rear bay, hopping up. There was a layer of dust over everything inside, and a good number of the bits and pieces he was familiar with were missing, like the slung seats, for example, and upon closer inspection, he could see numerous scratches, scuff marks and what looked like Dust residue near the edge of the door, next to a bolted in mounting point. The short amount of time he'd spent in an Atlesian Razorback during Operation Kingslayer meant that he was at least familiar with what went onto those mounting points. Usually big guns, which Naruto was entirely up for. If he could even get his hands on some. Actually, Atlas would probably be a good place for that, too. Definitely more supplies over there than in Menagerie.
He moved through, checking the cockpit. Not that he had any idea what he was looking for.
All he found was more dust, but at least there were actual chairs, one for the pilot and one for a co-pilot.
He stepped back out, leaning out the door. "Does it have a manual, or something?"
Ghira thought for a moment. "There's some documentation in the cockpit, we never had a need for it, but I don't know how useful it will be." The massive man quickly grabbed his scroll, reading something on the screen. "I've got to be off. Duty calls, and such. If you plan on flying it, try not to cause any problems."
Naruto nodded, watching for a moment as Ghira departed the rear of Kuo Kuana's guard barracks, heading back towards the main town, before he slipped back inside the Bullhead, settling down into the pilot's seat and opening a small compartment, grabbing out the binder of old, yellowed pages.
He began reading through them, only just able to make out parts of the text, faded with age as it was. One part stuck out to him, and he realized something rather crucial.
Flights had callsigns to identify themselves. That was a pretty important feature, and each aircraft was identified by a different identifier.
Naruto hopped out of his newly-acquired Bullhead (and wasn't that the strangest thing for him to say), checking the worn pain on the exterior.
As far as he knew, each aircraft had its identifier painted onto it. Unfortunately, with the paint so worn down as it was, Naruto couldn't make out head or tail of any identifier.
He could make out a lot of places where a new coat of paint would be definitely appreciated. Just because he was flying an older model didn't mean he had to advertise that it hadn't been receiving the best treatment.
Flying the thing over to the nearest place to get some cans of paint and primer probably wasn't a good idea, though.
Naruto sat back down in the pilot's seat, thinking. How would he even fly something like this? How did you learn, or how would he learn, considering how his semblance worked. Did he just power it all up and hope for the best?
That was easier said than done, too, considering he didn't know how to turn the damn thing on.
He leaned back in the seat, remembered exactly how little it had been cleaned in some time, and quickly stood up, brushing years worth of grime off his back.
He could think of what to do about his current situation whilst he tidied this thing up.
He lounged back, feet up on the cockpit's dash, careful not to hit any buttons.
Once he'd cleaned the Bullhead up, it was surprisingly comfortable, especially now that he wasn't coating himself in a fine layer of filth anytime he sat down.
He'd gone through both the inside and the outside, cleaning it as best he could, which was surprisingly well. He'd even hosed down the outer panels, though all that had really done was remove what little amount of paint had been hanging on.
Flying it was still a little bit out of his depth, but sitting in it was definitely within his ability.
He stretched, arms above his head, fingers interlaced, before he stopped slouching, bringing his feet down to take the proper position, wrapping one hand around the control stick.
Naruto didn't really know what it was called. Was this the joystick, or was that just a game thing?
He wasn't going to fly. He just wanted to turn the machine on, not start the engines. He scanned around, hoping to find an easily-labeled switch.
He did not find an easily-labeled switch, but he did notice what looked like an ignition switch, considering it was in a place that wouldn't be accidentally nudged, covered in a thin plastic box.
He flipped the box lid up, and flipped the switch, watching as the many switches, buttons and screens in the cockpit lit up.
Diagnostic information, radar devices, inbuilt communications… it was all functional. Barely. Naruto could see a few issues already, like how all the tech was at least a decade old, but that could all be replaced if needed.
He once again took hold of whatever-the-name-of-the-control-stick-thing-was, and was nearly startled by the sudden appearance of a notification popping into his field of vision in a single, unexpected moment.
[Skill Learned!]
[Piloting (Active): Thanks to the System, you are capable of piloting all manner of vehicles with increasing expertise. Level 1; XP 0/12.]
The sudden influx of information rocked into his skull at a mile a minute, and within an instant Naruto knew exactly what he was holding.
He lightly tapped a rhythm against the cyclic with his left hand, the other coming to rest gently on the throttle. His eyes flickered up to one of the somewhat-faded displays, and he ran through a mental checklist he didn't have only moments ago.
And then, once he'd finished all that, he gently throttled up, using the cyclic to gently tilt his thrusters.
The Bullhead took off.
Naruto cheered as it did, hand coming off the throttle for a moment to hit a button, the slight squeaking of somewhat-rusty motors whining as they shut the side doors and squeaking as the landing gear retracted, and then he throttled up faster, tipping the cyclic and properly cruising off into the air.
It was now that Naruto realized that whilst Shirdal, Alcmena and Apollo were fast in the air, they weren't this fast, as he throttled hard, nearly maxing the thrusters.
He was stress-testing, that was what he told himself, as he twisted the cyclic, sending the Bullhead into a spiral through the air.
The only things that were keeping him from properly putting the aircraft through the paces were his low level Piloting skill, and that he was pretty short on fuel.
Also he wasn't sure if the engines weren't going to turn into twin plumes of fire and smoke and send him plunging into the desert beneath him. Perhaps it was best if he didn't find out what it took to get to that point.
He slowed down somewhat, cruising at a decent speed, banking the craft around and pointing the nose back towards Kuo Kuana, as he glanced out the side of the cockpit.
"When did you start flying around?" He asked.
Alcmena could hear him, though not physically, rather through the link, and she flapped her wings once more, gaining some more speed to fly just in front of the Bullhead.
Naruto shook his head with a smile. The air was freedom, and with this new Bullhead, he'd definitely be able to make it to Atlas without too much trouble. "Knock on wood."
He took his hand off the throttle, flicking through a few settings on the main control panel. Autopilot was greyed out, a flickering red error indicating that there were more than a few problems with that, and the aircraft was, as Naruto had expected, unarmed.
He replaced his hand on the controls, throttling down and tilting the thrusters back, bringing the Bullhead into a reasonably-gentle stop, flicking a switch to bring the landing gear out as he touched down with a thump, not too far from the Belladonna household.
He shut down the Bullhead, standing from the chair and giving himself a quick stretch, watching as his newly gained XP filtered in.
[You've gained 1,500 Piloting XP! You have reached Level 5 Piloting!]
[You have unlocked a Player Garage Slot!]
Wait, what? Player Garage?
Safe to say Naruto did not know what a Player Garage was, but he'd be damned if he was going to skip over it.
He hit the switch for the side doors, hopping down out of the aircraft and checking his surroundings, running his hand along the metal plating, his semblance directing his movements.
His Bullhead may not have auto-pilot, but his brain certainly did.
He reached the front of the craft, and it was then that the notification prompt appeared.
[Would you like to store Bullhead Mark II in your Player Garage? This will take one garage slot and prevent the vehicle from being sold!]
[Yes/No]
Naruto hit yes, watching as flickering golden energy spread from where his hand lay against the metalwork, running up and down the aircraft like brightly lit veins, until the entire aircraft was enveloped in gold, glowing light.
And then, just as suddenly as it had begun, the Bullhead Mark II vanished in a burst of golden sparks.
[You have stored the Bullhead Mark II in your Player Garage! You have 0 Player Garage slots remaining!]
[You can access your Player Garage from your Player Menu!]
Naruto did so, navigating through his menu.
[Beginning Player Garage Tutorial!]
[The Player Garage can store and deploy all sorts of vehicles found in Remnant! Any vehicle may be stored, as long as it does not breach any of the restrictions!]
[Vehicles stored within the Player Garage may be deployed at any time as long as there is enough space to deploy, and deployed vehicles may be returned to the Player Garage as long as they are stationary and not running!]
[Vehicles require fuel to run, and many vehicles consume fuel at different rates! Once you've completed this tutorial, you will unlock the recipe for Basic Dust Fuel!]
[Lastly, stored vehicles can be upgraded with various upgrades, including fuel efficiency, armaments, armor and other utility upgrades!]
[Player Garage Tutorial Completed!]
Naruto made sure to read the tutorial carefully, before tapping it off, leaving him with the Player Garage screen.
The Bullhead Mark II didn't seem to be damaged in any way, that was good, and the only cost to him effectively digitizing it had been the single slot that he had available. He could see he had a few more, of course, but where some were greyed out, others were highlighted in yellow, indicating that he could unlock them. The only thing was, the ones that weren't locked behind his Piloting level cost a not-so-insignificant amount of Lien.
He didn't need them now, though, which was good, so he didn't have to worry about blowing a load of money before he'd even started on his trip to Atlas. He had a feeling he was going to need quite a bit of backup cash for that trip, and not just for stocking up on supplies.
A notification interrupted his musings.
[You have been awarded a new title!]
[Novice Pilot: Gain +20% XP whilst Piloting any Stored Vehicle. Also unlocks the Basic Dust Fuel Crafting recipe. (Reach Level 25 Piloting for next rank.)]
Naruto let loose a grin. Another title to add to his collection, it seemed, and one that would very soon get quite a bit of use. He was more than happy to let that replace his Huntsman title while he was flying.
He brought up his Crafting menu, checking his recipes. He saw the latest entry, the glowing dot next to the name of the Basic Dust Fuel showing it had been just added. He tapped it, looking at the ingredients. "Alchemic Reagent and Lightning Dust Powder, huh?" He said aloud, musing to himself.
It wasn't expensive at all, which he appreciated. In fact, he could probably make quite a bit of it at the moment. Of course, he didn't exactly want to spend all of his Lien or use all his Lightning Dust on it. He might need it in the near future.
He turned away from the landing site, where his Bullhead had been sitting before being turned into whatever it was turned into to be stored inside his semblance, and began walking back towards the household.
It was still reasonably early in the morning, which Naruto was glad for. His original plan had been to depart in the evening, to hopefully arrive in Mantle by the next morning, and whilst he'd thought he might have to delay that with Ghira introducing him to his newest addition to his arsenal, it seemed that it wasn't going to play out that way.
He would need some, though. Enough to get him from here to Mantle, and maybe a bit of spare fuel, so he didn't end up plunging into the middle of Solitas due to a miscalculation. Not that it would be a significant danger, of course, more so that he'd just never live it down.
He kept up his pace, walking down a path cut into the nature that surrounded the Belladonna household, only barely paying attention to his surroundings as he checked the rest of the Player Garage menu.
There were a number of things that stood out to him, some that had been pointed out to him by the brief tutorial, and the others that he was noticing now.
Like the total HP of the Bullhead Mark II, sitting at 12,500. That was something remarkably important to take note of. It wasn't a massive amount of HP, either, in comparison to a lot of things.
Of course, the little thing next to it labeled 'upgrade' was probably a clue to why it wasn't the biggest amount he'd hoped for. It was, unfortunately, greyed out, and tapping it only brought up a tooltip saying that Naruto was missing components.
Namely, Superdense Steel Plates, whatever those were. Naruto couldn't see them in his crafting menus, so he had to assume he wasn't a high enough level to get access to them yet.
Hell, he couldn't even see Steel of any kind, so he was definitely not a high enough level. Maybe if he actually did something with all the ingots he'd been practically hoarding. The only steel he could see anywhere in his menus was the Low Steel Ingots he'd picked up from the corpse of the Machina Gigas, sitting in his inventory.
Amongst other things, he mused. He had quite a full inventory. 'Choc-a-block', as his mother would probably say. He wasn't entirely sure what that meant, of course, he never really was with a lot of the things his family said, but he could understand the context.
He needed to do something about all of it, to be honest. It was a cluttered mess, items dumped wherever he'd needed them to go, even if they were sorted into rough categories.
Well, he did need something to do on his way to the workshop he was about to rent.
Again.
He'd said it before, and he'd probably end up saying it again, but man did he find Crafting relaxing.
He'd been working away at it for a little bit of time now, finding the workshop more and more familiar. This was, what, the third time he'd rented the place out? Honestly, he was glad to have found a private spot like this to do whatever work the System had him doing.
He definitely wasn't complaining about his XP gain, either. That and the other upgrades he'd gotten, like how his Designer title had ranked up from Apprentice to Adept when he'd hit Crafting Level 30, that was great. All it actually came with was an upgrade to the extra XP he made on every craft, but that in and of itself was an excellent reward.
That and all the recipes that came with the levels. Only just earlier this morning he'd been saying how he didn't know what Low Steel Ingots were, but now he had a recipe for them. One Iron Ingot and one Coal, pretty cheap, all things considered.
Then again it was Low Steel, so he had to imagine there was a higher quality one at a higher level.
Another thing that had happened during his continuous spree of crafting, forging and smelting, was an achievement unlocking.
[Achievement Unlocked!]
[Forgemaster]
[Smelt a total of 1000 ingots.]
[Reward: Instant Smelter Perk]
According to the perk description, Naruto could now smelt an entire batch of ore into ingots in a single smelting process.
Safe to say Naruto was very happy with this discovery. The amount of time it would save was going to be astronomical.
He made use of it, too, as he continued to process the ore in his inventory. It was incredibly satisfying to see his inventory just suddenly stock up in one go, instead of over the course of a few hours. Definitely worth the effort.
He turned all the Coal he had in his possession and smelted it together with all the Iron Ingots, suddenly finding himself with far more Low Steel Ingots than what he'd started with. He added to that by turning the remaining ingots of Copper that he had into Brass, having combined it with some of the Zinc he'd turned from ore into ingots.
That left him with the only possible recipe he could smelt being his Sand, and he quickly found that turning it into Glass was an easy process with his new Instant Smelter perk.
Not enough to get him another level, but enough to get him pretty close.
Though, with him over thirty, now, he'd unlocked another new recipe alongside the Low Steel.
"Stymphalian Bronze?" He said the name aloud, hoping it might bring some semblance of a clue as to what it was. It did, surprisingly, as Alcmena summoned herself in front of him, though in her original, much smaller form.
She stretched out one wing, and Naruto inspected it, the sheen of familiar bronze glinting in the forge-light. "Yeah, that's probably what it is, huh? Wonder what I can do with it."
Easiest way to figure that out was to make some, but first, he was going to have to delve into a different inventory tab, into an incredibly old inventory slot.
Naruto withdrew the cluster of Stymphalian Feathers he'd gotten from so, so long ago. "Has to have been close to a year, now…" Naruto murmured, flipping them over in his hand. "Making me feel old."
Alcmena chirped quietly in response, shuffling herself into a more comfortable position.
He tossed the metallic feathers into the furnace, pulling out the rapidly forming slag in a single moment, watching in never-dulling amazement as it formed into a stack of ingots. It really wasn't going to get old anytime soon.
"Interesting," He remarked, lifting one of the ingots. "It's definitely lighter than normal bronze, and a lot brighter. Maybe it's stronger, too?"
He had to assume as much. There wasn't much point in his semblance locking it behind a higher level if it was worse than regular bronze. Maybe if he smithed it into plates? He could try and maybe make some armor, though if that would be more of a hindrance than a help Naruto didn't know.
Then again, any armor would be a blessing, he'd been without it since…
Naruto blanked. "Wow, it must've been a while. Since that King Taijitu swallowed me… I think? Or was it the Shai-Hulud?" Naruto couldn't remember. "You'd think I'd be able to differentiate between times I've nearly been eaten, huh."
Alcmena chirped in reply.
"Good point, I am getting distracted. I guess I'll make some, might as well."
He nearly did, too, if it weren't for a glimpse of something in his menu catching his attention. "Required materials, Stymphalian Bronze Plates and Bolts of Fabric…"
He didn't have any Bolts of Fabric. That was a rather important part, it seemed, seeing as every single recipe wanted some. Quite a bit, actually.
Naruto sighed, stowing the Stymphalian Bronze Ingots back in his inventory. "Another time then, I guess. Another thing to add to the checklist."
He moped for another couple seconds, before remembering that he did in fact have a couple other things he could do, including one that he'd deliberately saved for last.
Well, okay, just one or two things, but it was the thought of productivity that kept him motivated.
First, fuel. He'd not underestimated its usefulness earlier, and knowing that he could actually make some was a definitive plus.
All it was was Lightning Dust Powder and Alchemic Reagent, so that meant he'd have to crush a few bits of Lightning Dust, which he could definitely do, he had a surplus of the shocking crystals.
He turned all five of his Grade II crystals into powder, deciding against turning his more expensive, higher quality crystals into powder, if it was all going to be the same powder. That just seemed like a waste.
Now he had half as much Lightning Dust Powder as he did Alchemic Reagent, and that lasted up until Naruto turned it all into Basic Dust Fuel. That was going to be excellent in the near future.
With that out of the way, Naruto was left with his final item on today's checklist. The last thing he really had to do before he could set out for Atlas.
Naruto reached into his inventory, pulling out the Terminator PACK, laying the box on the worktable.
"Let's have a look at you."
His handiwork would rival Ruby's, now. He had no doubt the two of them would be able to hold fierce competition, if she were present.
He missed Ruby dearly, but he'd be damned if he didn't find that what sat in front of him anything but a convenient distraction.
Tough metal, gleaming silver with a hint of steel, it looked both smooth and rugged at the same time. This was a weapon Naruto could see himself putting through its paces.
[Terminator (Well-Made)]
[A lever-action shotgun made of tough but light alloy, colored silver, chambered in 12 gauge. Holds 5 shells, plus 1 in the chamber. The lever is specially-designed to allow for one-handed rechambering.]
[Ironskin: +5% Total HP when equipped.]
Naruto loaded the weapon, slinging it over his back where Tranquility usually sat. There wasn't much point in having two shotguns equipped at the same time, and he'd be lying if he said he didn't want to test this one out at some point.
One-handed rechambering sounded really, really cool.
He gave the workshop a quick scan over, checking to make sure he hadn't left anything behind before closing the door behind him, quickly giving a wave goodbye to owner, who seemed somewhat more enthused with him leaving than he entirely had expected, but then again, hearts and minds were difficult to change in the best of circumstances. He doubted all that many people truly knew what had happened in Hallowed Quay.
Well, something to work on the next time he was in Menagerie. At the very least he knew that he could get reputation rewards from Hunter Bounties, if he ever found himself with enough spare time to pick one up.
Then again, he had no idea if he was ever going to have spare time again. Seemed to be an incredible rarity, these days. Even when he wasn't going full-sprint headfirst into danger, he was working away with his semblance.
It had pretty much taken over his life, at this point. Wasn't that just a sobering thought.
Then again, if he had a choice between having it or not having it, he knew which one he'd pick every time.
He kept his pace even as he walked down the streets, keeping his mind focused elsewhere. He still got stares, still got mothers hurrying their children back inside, but it wasn't as prevalent, not as obvious. It wasn't so much that they knew, and more that he was just a more common sight.
He was starting to blend in. A shame that couldn't have happened earlier, it happening just as he was about to depart seemed a bit asinine, but what could he do?
Nothing that would be worth the effort, at least.
He rounded the corner, onto the main thoroughfare for what would be the last time for a while, and he took in the sights, drinking in the warm sunlight. He might not have spent too much time here, but it was definitely memorable. If it weren't for the cripplingly abhorrent racism that a good majority of the rest of the world held for the Faunus this would be a remarkable vacation spot.
Naruto sighed. It was midday, now, the sun as bright as it was going to get today, and he definitely didn't want to burn anymore daylight if he could help it. Flying might not be any safer during the day, but at least he'd be able to see whatever Grimm were headed his way.
He resumed walking up the thoroughfare, his destination pretty much the only destination he ever had in Kuo Kuana, mind once again running through whatever mental checklist it had decided was necessary.
He scrapped the checklist only moments later, attention diverted. "Hey Blake, hey Ilia, how are things? Looking pretty comfortable."
They did seem comfortable, sat on a bench on the verandah, warm tea and what looked to be a small plate of biscuits within arm's reach.
Blake looked up as he approached, Ilia doing the same, though the expressions they wore were very different. "We've been… talking about the future, and our plans."
Naruto pulled up a chair, pinching a biscuit. "Mm-hmm?"
Blake took the time to roll her eyes at his antics. "I don't think Ilia tagging along is a good idea."
The glare that Ilia shot at Blake made Naruto wince. "I didn't realize I wasn't wanted."
Blake sighed. "I already said it wasn't like that, Ilia, but we need you here to keep an eye on the White Fang! It'll look incredibly suspicious if you just follow us to Atlas!"
Ilia frowned. "I get that, but I can't just let you go off to Atlas without help!"
Naruto figured he should probably weigh in at some point. "I hate to point this out, but I think one Faunus in Atlas is going to be problematic enough without even considering where we might have to go. I'm not sure if two is going to be any better."
Ilia shook her head. "I used to live in Atlas, went to a prep school there. Out of Blake and I, I was the infiltration specialist. I can blend in with humans flawlessly."
Naruto 'oh-ed', nodding. "Right. Second point, would you be able to hold back from stabbing any or all of the Schnee's?"
Ilia very clearly looked away.
Naruto continued. "Cause that's pretty much the reason why we're going. To help a Schnee. Weiss, specifically, our friend and Blake's partner."
Blake interjected. "We've already been over that, Naruto. I caught Ilia up to speed."
"From what I can tell, you might want me to stab a Schnee or two," Ilia muttered, leaning back and folding her arms.
She thought for a moment before speaking up once more. "I know why you want me to stay, I get it, but I can do more than just feed you information. If the White Fang think I'm still keeping an eye on you, they'll keep me up to date on what's happening here."
Blake shook her head. "Why would they want to keep an eye on us outside of Menagerie? The only reason why they cared is because Naruto is human."
"Maybe because you're a massive threat to them!" Ilia exclaimed, throwing her arms wide. "Remnant to Blake, they wanted you dead too!"
"Not to interject, but Ilia, why do you want to come with us? Knowing me, it's probably going to go almost identically to how my trip here has played out. Though probably with less water, hopefully."
Ilia looked at Naruto. "Because you two need my help? I've still got some contacts in Atlas, which I doubt either of you have. Have you even been to Atlas?"
Naruto shook his head. "No, this'll be my first time. Though we do have a contact or two there."
Ilia sat back, raising an eyebrow. "Oh yeah? Who?"
"General Ironwood," Naruto replied, straight-faced.
Ilia spluttered. "What?!"
"Blake neglected to mention we worked on a joint Vale-Atlesian operation a while back, huh? Feels like an age ago, now."
"I was more concerned with who I knew, not what I'd done," Blake mentioned. "Didn't seem like such a crucial thing to mention."
"You both worked with the Atlesian Military? To do what, throw more Faunus out of their homes?"
Blake rolled her eyes. "That definitely sounds like something I'd like to take part in."
Naruto answered quickly, if only to avoid Ilia's ire. "Just helping to kill a giant Grimm, that's all. I still have some of its parts in my inventory, actually. Might have to try a summoning ritual, see if that works with it. Once I've tried a few other things, actually, I need to add that to my to-do list."
"One thing at a time, Naruto," Blake admonished, before turning back to her old friend. "Look, Ilia, if you really want to come along, I won't stop you. I just want you to realize the possible consequences of that decision, that's all. I'd be glad to have you along, all things considered. At least I'll have someone who actually understands me for a change. Conversations with Naruto tend to end with a surprise, and not always a good surprise."
Naruto shrugged. "I can't help it. Sometimes you can summon a bird, other times you flashbang yourself. It's a real fifty-fifty."
Ilia sighed. "I'm already starting to regret this, and we haven't even left yet."
Blake hummed in agreement, turning back to her team leader. "Naruto, do we have a way to get to Atlas? There aren't any boats travelling for at least a week, chartered or public."
Naruto nodded. "Yeah, your dad gave me a Bullhead."
Blake stalled, and Naruto could've sworn he could see gears turning in her head, before she just sighed. "If it's not one thing, it's something else. One day. All I want is just one day where you don't do something absurd."
Naruto shrugged. "That seems pretty tame, for me. It's not like I accidentally opened a portal to a different dimension. Wait, could I open a portal to a different dimension?"
"Naruto?" Blake was staring at him. "Just get ready to leave."
Naruto decided that shutting his mouth and performing a highly-sarcastic mock salute was his best option.
Blake just sighed again.
The Bullhead was fueled, his seat was adjusted and comfortable, Blake was saying her farewells with her family, Ilia was getting comfortable on one of the sling-chairs inside the aircraft, and Naruto was leaning up on the external plating, taking in the warm afternoon atmosphere, occasionally throwing a stick for Cadejo to happily retrieve.
Naruto was apprehensive. He'd been disguising it behind bad jokes and sarcasm, but he wasn't fooling anyone. He was just glad Blake was more than willing to play along with it, as he'd done with her a number of times. A mutual camaraderie established through a lack of talking about emotions in detail.
He'd had a point when he'd started this train of thought. Oh, right, apprehensiveness.
Menagerie had been a whole thing. He'd have to say the majority of his time here had been positive, considering the circumstances, but with his time here had come a startling amount of revelations.
Dungeons sat at the top of that list. The biggest thing he'd discovered, though when he looked through his remarkably short list of uncovered dungeons, raids and the mysterious third type that he still didn't know about, a greyed-out series of question marks for the header, he had to admit that he had technically known about them earlier.
The ruins of Mountain Glenn had been a raid zone, but now he was realizing that it was just a single-floor raid, with the Shai-Hulud as the raid boss.
How many more dungeons were out there? Was his semblance creating them? Or did they already exist, but no one aside from him could actually get into them?
Too many questions without a way of finding out any answers. He'd have to keep his eyes and ears open for any information regarding them, though. They were dangerous, sure, but the rewards were almost always worth it, and usually clearing them helped anybody nearby. To think that if he hadn't bothered to come to Menagerie that entire settlement would have been consumed by Seiren.
He opened his inventory, glaring at the Skull of Lust. He knew why it had dropped, he'd come to realize a few things about the way the System operated. The question was, did he want to actually go through the process of summoning her? It? He didn't even know what would be the result of that.
The more important question was if he had the materials required to perform the ritual. He had no idea of the requirements, it could take a large amount of high-grade Dust Crystals, or a bunch of Stats, a quality of Soul Orb he couldn't yet make, or even something less tangible, like some kind of performance.
Naruto didn't really want to think about what kind of performance would be necessary for something themed around lust.
He pushed off the plating, stepping forward to ruffle Cadejo's fur, the wolf-summon bounding up, dropping the stick on the ground, tail wagging. "Good boy. Wanna make the decision of what to summon for me?"
Cadejo tilted his head, one ear perked.
Naruto nodded. "Yeah, I don't know what to pick either. Maybe I should ask Ilia."
He stuck his head in the side-door to the Bullhead. "Ilia, can I grab you for a sec? You might even enjoy yourself for a change."
She swung herself up from the hammock-like canopy seating. "If you're involved, I doubt it. What do you want?"
Cadejo trotted over to her, offering his head for pats, which he immediately received, while Naruto set about explaining. "Well, as you can see with Cadejo over there, I can summon things. First I have to kill a Grimm that drops an item, and then I can use that item as a catalyst to perform the summoning ritual, binding the soul and creating the summon. Thing is, they also cost a few other things, so there's a limit to how many I can make. Thus far the limit's only been the items I've gotten from Grimm, but with the whole variety of them here, I've got a lot to choose from. Plus all the Dust I got from the dungeon-delving."
Ilia nodded, accepting it without question. Naruto suspected that was because she didn't really care. He continued regardless.
"So, I've got a limited amount of Soul Orbs right now, and a selection of items to use as catalysts. I can't make up my mind, so I was wondering if you'd take the choice out of my hands."
Ilia sat on the lip of the Bullhead's door, leaning back. "Alright, what're the options?"
Naruto began listing them, working his way through his inventory. "A Geist, a Seer, a Bashenga, a Meregrimm, a Balayang, an Arachnae and a Shai-Hulud."
"I know most of those, but what's a Shai-Hulud?" Ilia asked, lifting one eyebrow.
"Gigantic worm thing, that was what we had to help kill with Atlas. Operation Kingslayer, it nearly took down Atlas' biggest aircraft."
"Shit," Ilia exclaimed, whistling. "Sounds tough. Shame it didn't take it down completely."
Naruto glared. "Easy. A lot of people might not take kindly to a terrorist, either. At least Blake reformed."
Ilia scoffed. "I've seen Atlas up close and personal, blondie. I actually know what it's like to live down there, on the ground. I've seen what they do when they find out about Faunus."
"Dangerously close to the line of thinking that led Adam Taurus to working with Cinder Fall and attacking Beacon. Anger doesn't solve problems."
Ilia relented. "You and Blake do have something in common, I guess." She shrugged. "I've heard of Bashenga before, they're like cat-Grimm, right?"
Naruto nodded. "Like a panther of some kind. Blake and I couldn't sense it, it was practically invisible."
"Go for that, then. I've always liked cats," Ilia said, the second half almost catching her off guard.
Naruto chuckled. "I couldn't tell."
He did so, though, withdrawing the Elder Bashenga Pelt and placing his hand on the ground, Terrakinesis activating, carving the pattern into the ground with well-practised ease.
He placed the pelt into the center, stacking the required ten Grand Soul Orbs next to it as he stepped back. "This is going to get a little bit bright."
It did, the runic carving beginning to glow brighter and brighter, until it was almost a kind of beacon, shining so bright he could barely look at it.
And then, as it did almost every time before, it stopped just as suddenly as it started.
He knelt down, stretching one hand out, letting his fingers run through the fur of the house-cat sized Bashenga Bound Soul. A name came to him, as it always did. "Welcome to the family, Maya."
Maya purred quietly, brushing against his hand, and Naruto picked her up, cradling her in his arms. "What do you think, Ilia?"
Ilia seemed stunned. "For everything that keeps happening to you, that has to be worth it."
Those were probably the nicest words Ilia had said to him. "Here, take her, I've gotta make a couple Soul Orbs." He passed Maya over, Ilia more than happy to take the cat-summon, Maya seemingly more than happy to lounge.
Naruto needed a Greater Soul Orb to push Maya from Minor to Greater, but that wasn't all. He was only five Grand Soul Orbs shy of another summon, though with his current Soul Harvest level he wasn't entirely sure how long that would take.
He knew that a Greater Soul Orb wasn't too much to ask for, of course. He outstretched one hand, feeling Soul Harvest activate, Ambient Aura pooling around his hand and coalescing into an orb.
He didn't know if what he was about to do would work, but there was only one way to find out. Naruto outstretched his other hand, and focused. He focused really, really hard.
He could feel it on the tip of his fingers, slowly but surely forming. He was actually doing it! He was actually making two at a time!
Well, he was doing it really, really slowly, but he was doing it. Better than nothing, at least.
Naruto dropped the two Greater Soul Orbs into his inventory and began instead focusing on making a Grand Soul Orb, using both hands to focus it into a single orb. That also seemed to work, and he could feel it forming faster than ever before. Which still wasn't supersonic speeds, but it was, once again, better than nothing.
He dropped it into his inventory and set about making a second, only to do the same with that one, though before he could move onto his third he was interrupted by Blake's arrival.
"I'm ready, if you are," She said, as friendly a greeting as ever. "Are you done power-stancing in a meadow?"
Naruto rolled his eyes, looking around. "I wouldn't really call this a meadow. There are meadows in Vale, this is a clearing at best."
Blake peered around Naruto. "A new addition?"
Ilia gently dropped Maya to the ground, where she quickly stretched, padding over towards Blake.
"Blake, Maya. Maya, Blake. I have a feeling the two of you will get along."
Blake scooped Maya up. "Good girl. C'mon, Naruto, let's get in the air. Time to see if you actually can fly."
Naruto laughed, already climbing into the aircraft. "You'd better hope I can, otherwise we're in for one hell of a bumpy ride."
Blake hit the release for the doors, letting them close behind her as she took her seat in the co-pilot's seat, Maya bundling herself up in Blake's lap as Ilia grabbed a handle, leaning against the door.
Naruto equipped his Pilot title and hit the ignition switch, entered their destination into the onboard navigation system, and throttled up with a firm confidence.
It was a long flight ahead, but Naruto was more than confident he would be able to handle it.
They reached a cruising altitude, and Naruto relaxed back into his chair.
They were headed to Atlas.