You know, if you ignored the constant geopolitical games and the ever-oppressive systemic exclusion and racism directed at the Faunus, Atlas was a beautiful place that Naruto would have happily settled down in, at another point in his life.
Stunning vistas of immense mountain ranges spanned the horizon, though with the altitude Atlas floated at, he could see them spanning far further beyond those initial boundaries, off into the snowy distance.
Their room was one with a view, and he had to admit, it definitely beat Beacon for decor. In-built bunk-beds, a near wall-to-ceiling window and a stylish-but-simple bathroom made for the perfect dorm room.
He turned away from the window, deftly clambering onto one of the beds, leaning against the back wall, folding his legs beneath him as he brought up his menus.
Next to him appeared Cadejo, the wolf-summon curling up and resting his head on Naruto's lap as Maya peered at the two of them from her spot on the top bunk, finding incredible comfort in Blake's constant scritching.
Naruto gave Cadejo a gentle scratch behind the ears as he looked through his latest notifications.
[New Quest!]
[Blending Business with Charity]
[Successfully infiltrate the Charity Gala in Atlas.]
[Reward: Universal Solvent x10]
Well, that was the plan already, so at least his semblance was keeping up. The notifications weren't done, though.
[New Quest!]
[Tinker Tailor Soldier Friend]
[Help Dr Polendina repair his daughter.]
[Reward: ?]
That, however, had not been his exact plan.
Well, Naruto had been planning on tracking down Penny's father and returning her soul to him, but he didn't exactly think he was an expert in biomechanical engineering. What kind of help he could offer was limited, but his semblance seemed to suggest that he could at least try. All he'd have to do was track down Dr Polendina.
Maybe Ironwood would know? Naruto would have to ask the next time he bumped into the man.
Though whether or not he'd have enough time to do it before tomorrow night was a different question.
Hell, it was only mid-morning now, but he'd had a long, long night. Flying all night had taken its toll on his mind more so than his body, but he'd kill for a couple hours of rest.
Blake interrupted his trailing thought process, dropping with ease from the top bunk and landing, feet padding against the plush carpet of their new area of habitation for the foreseeable future.
She turned to face Naruto, and he couldn't help but smile at the sight of Maya comfortably tucked in Blake's arms. His newest summon had found her favorite spot, it seemed.
"Naruto, Ilia and I are going to go get our disguises sorted out, but we're… a little lacking in funding. Mind lending us some?" Blake asked, and Naruto just nodded, reaching into his inventory.
"Whatever you don't want to spend you can just toss back to me whenever. I don't think I'm gonna need too much of it anytime soon."
He tossed Blake a good handful of both gold and platinum-colored Lien cards, and he could practically feel Ilia's eyes boggling.
Blake looked at the money. "I don't think we needed…" She stalled, counting the chips. "...Naruto, this is twenty-five thousand Lien."
Naruto nodded. "I have absolutely no idea how expensive things are in Atlas, so go nuts. I can always make it back with hunting Grimm, or even just doing Bounties. It's not a big deal."
He twisted to his side, laying flat on the bed now, Cadejo shifting to get more comfortable. "Now go on, shoo. I need some sleep. Wake me when you get back, though."
Blake and Ilia shared a glance, before they both shrugged, stepping out of the room.
"Thanks, Naruto," Blake said, before closing the door.
Naruto was already asleep.
Bright white light filled his eyes, blinding him with such luminescence that even closing his eyes did nothing to prevent the light from searing his very mind.
Naruto clawed out, reaching for something, anything, but there was nothing. He was floating amidst the burning bright light, though he wasn't falling, or even moving at all.
He forced himself to open his eyes, tears pooling in the corners. Eyes open or closed, still nothing changed, he was still enveloped in the bright glow.
And then, all of a sudden, he wasn't. Feeling himself falling, he opened his mouth to shout, but nothing escaped his lips, and he fell soundlessly, until he plunged into a pool of inky blackness.
It was liquid in every concept aside from the actual, physical feeling. He couldn't surface, though he tried, and he couldn't breath, though he didn't want to try inhaling the murky substance.
It felt like hatred, like pain, like suffering. It was agony simply to spend a moment touching it, and here he was, submerged in it like an unborn child in utero.
Everything was black, and there was no depth to anything, no sensation. Naruto was suffocating, now, his lungs screaming in agony.
And then just as suddenly as he'd fallen within the infinite sludge, it drained away, leaving Naruto stranded on the floor of a chamber, cold stone against his back.
He spluttered and wheezed, hacking up a lung of what should have been black liquid. Instead, mud and water spilled from his lips, confusion rushing through his mind.
Red eyes gleamed out of the shadows, Grimm stepping out from the splintered cracks, all sorts of the monsters from Beowolves to beasts that Naruto didn't recognize.
He scrabbled in the stone, which was slowly becoming mud beneath him, trying to reach for a weapon, any weapon, but nothing was within reach.
But the Grimm halted their advance, pausing once they'd surrounded him.
Warily, he climbed to his feet, watching as they parted, a path appearing amongst the mud-covered stone.
And then he watched as the mud separated, leaving tiles of pure, clean stone, only to be covered by wafting smoke as it crept towards him.
A figure emerged from the shadows, red eyes shining through the smoke. The figure was definitively female, but Naruto only saw pale white skin and pitch-black fabric for but a moment before they and all the Grimm surrounding him turned to smoke and ash.
He was falling again, darkness enveloping each and every one of his senses as he plummeted towards nonexistence, tumbling head over heels.
He had no definitive way of determining orientation, no clue which way was up and which was down, and the expanse of shadow gave no hints to help him determine that. All he knew was disorientation.
And then, like before, he stopped, though this time it was a very physical stop as he slammed into intricately carved slate with a wheeze that grew into a lengthy groan. It felt like his ribs had caved in from the impact, and he rolled onto his side with a cough.
This time, however, nothing changed around him, no Grimm appeared, he didn't start falling once more.
Was this his final destination for wherever he was? How did he even get here, for that matter?
His questions went unanswered as he picked himself up from the ground, wincing in pain as every muscle distinctly rejected the idea. Instead of submitting to that pain, however, Naruto took in his surroundings.
Dark, delicately-carved slate lined the floor and walls, and now that Naruto looked, even the ceiling was the same ashen-colored stone, thousands upon thousands of glyphs and symbols etched with decades-worth of precision lining every surface.
Similar in etches and decorations were the closed stone boxes that were staggered about the room in sequence, all marked with the wear and tear of years of something.
Naruto wasn't sure what until he noticed the inscriptions above. He couldn't even read the language, but he could definitely understand what they were regardless. These were stone caskets, almost sarcophagi in nature, and Naruto had no doubt now that the marks were from people paying their respects.
At least, people in the past. Now it looked more than abandoned, like he'd stumbled, or rather fallen, into an ancient catacomb.
Before he could think any longer on that he found his attention being drawn by the row of slate sarcophagi at the end of the tomb, a shimmer in the air above them drawing his eye.
He took a tentative step towards them, and when the ground didn't disappear beneath him, he took another more confident step, until he was moving with a steady rhythm towards the eight stone coffins.
Like every other plaque, Naruto couldn't understand the foreign writing, but he didn't need to understand the writing to know what these contained.
He laid a hand against one of the gold-trimmed double crescents inlaid into the tops of the sarcophagi, hyper-aware of every bump, ridge and dip in the stone construction.
He closed his eyes, feeling for something. He tried to let Terrakinesis flow into the stone but he could feel nothing take hold, no feeling of power flooding through his veins.
Instead, he felt empty. Devoid of life, a shell of his former self. He wasn't Naruto Uzumaki, Hunter anymore.
He was just Naruto Uzumaki again. Someone he hadn't been for over a year.
Something touched Naruto's shoulder.
Naruto's eyes shot open as he grabbed whatever had gripped him, finding his own grip wrapped around Blake's arm, his amber-eyed friend handling his surprise with a startled-yet-calm presence.
He let go immediately, glancing about. "Sorry, I-"
He stalled, unsure of what to say. He settled for repeating himself. "Sorry."
He was lucky Blake was so accepting. She nodded, taking the apology for what it was. "No harm done. Bad dream?"
Naruto didn't know how to answer. "I guess. Didn't feel like a dream, but I guess the worst ones never do."
"Mhm," Blake hummed in agreement. "I'm just surprised your semblance isn't making you immune to them."
Naruto let out a half-hearted laugh. "I don't even know if my semblance is giving them to me, Blake. For all I know it's trying to clue me in on some kind of distraction."
He switched topics, unwilling to speak more about the subject. "Where's Ilia? I thought the two of you went to get 'disguises'?"
Blake let out a sigh. "Please, don't remind me. We may be able to blend in, but trying to get Ilia not to burn down half the stores we ran into based solely on the 'No Faunus' signs out the front was a pain."
"So you figured you'd let her out of your sight so she can burn them down with your conscience remaining clear?"
Blake glared at Naruto. "No. Ilia went down to Mantle to try and find a place more welcoming to Faunus. She said something about not wanting to give business to racists. I agree with her, I'd rather not pay them either, but her chances of finding something to wear that's suited for the event we're going to is… limited."
That made more sense, and Naruto nodded in acceptance. "You find something you like?"
Blake nodded. "After much deliberation. You wouldn't believe the prices on some of the high-end outfits, though. I've seen entire villages fed for months with less."
"Guess Ironwood's blockade isn't just for Dust. Probably hit the entire economy hard. Risky move for the General to make."
Blake let out a humorless chuckle. "I'm surprised Ironwood wasn't deposed in an SDC-staged coup d'etat when he threatened their bottom line."
Her face grew more serious as she said it, though. "The SDC probably put harsher standards in place in their mines to make up for it."
Naruto sighed. "Not much we can do about it, Blake. Above our paygrade, so to speak. The General seems to have made the best decision he could in the circumstances. What the SDC does in response to that is solely on whoever's in charge."
Blake still seemed unconvinced, but Naruto, once again, changed the subject, this time by standing up from his bunk and stretching, feeling tense muscles gently ache in response to his movements. "I'm gonna go check some stuff out. Never been to Atlas before, figure I might squeeze in at least a little bit of time to do some touristy-stuff. Tag along?"
His black-haired friend shook her head. "I need some time to unwind. You go ahead, I'll hold down the fort."
Naruto nodded, pausing before he slipped out of the door. "You want to keep Maya for some company?"
For a single split-second, it looked like Blake was considering withstanding her innermost thoughts. Then she sighed, gave up her token resistance, and nodded.
Maya was comfortably curled in her lap not a moment later.
Atlas, Naruto was quickly learning, was not a small part of Mantle.
In fact, it was around the same size as Vale, though it was distinctly missing the- well, Naruto didn't exactly want to call it a slum, but, if the name fit- district that Vale possessed. Instead, it seemed to make up for that fact with a massive amount of custom boutiques and other various storefronts.
Did Naruto want to buy lunch at the bakery in front of him, the one two buildings down, or one of the sixteen-billion that he'd passed to get to this point?
"How many bakeries does a city need?" He murmured to himself, his old nervous tic reappearing as he scratched at the back of his head.
Naruto, of course, had no real answer to his own question. He could guess, of course, but there wasn't much use in having that information to begin with. He supposed, should his career as a Hunter fall through, he could always resort to city planning.
His career as a Hunter, thankfully, hadn't yet fallen through, so his attention refocused onto that fact, and all the additional parts that came with it.
Not that he didn't duck into one of the numerous bakeries and purchase a cheese and bacon roll. Once he'd finished that off he resumed his search for something-slash-anything that might capture his attention, and subsequent interest.
And then, all of a sudden, he felt his attention and subsequent interest drawn straight towards what looked exactly like any of the forty-six-trillion clothing boutiques that lined the streets.
He couldn't exactly explain why his attention was drawn in the way it was, but he found himself entering all the same.
'Style and Spice' seemed completely unassuming from the outside, no different from the white exteriors of every other store, but it was the man inside that made Naruto reconsider passing it by.
Dark skin, an impeccable white and grey suit with a bright lime tie the same color as his eyes, he noticed Naruto as the blond stepped over the threshold, a small smile crossing his face.
"Naruto Uzumaki. It has been some time since we have met. You were a memorable silhouette."
Naruto felt his hand reaching for the back of his head and resisted the urge. "Baharat, right? Weren't you running a store in Vale?"
Baharat nodded slowly, the towering skeleton of a man as imposing as ever. "My business is not restricted by kingdom, only by inspiration. And, I suppose, the blockade, but that is not as infringing upon my business as it is upon others."
Naruto paused, a lull falling over the conversation for a moment. "I still have that suit you made for me, but…" he paused, embarrassed. "It doesn't fit me anymore. I was wondering if you might be willing to resize it? I have to go to a charity event tomorrow night."
Baharat shook his head. "A foolish endeavour, but your trip here is not wasted. I will not resize the outfit for you, it would serve no purpose, it is out of fashion, especially here in Atlas. You wish to fit in with the crowd, yes?"
Naruto nodded, a little nonplussed.
"Then you will need the latest designs, foolish Hunter. A social event of the highest standing, you must blend in as best you can. Your personality will make you stand out, but only if you open your mouth. I can do nothing about that."
"What's wrong with my personality?" Naruto asked, slightly offended.
Baharat shook his head again. "Nothing, foolish Hunter. You are a good person, I can tell from the way you hold yourself. You would stand out simply because you are not a terrible person."
"Oh. Uh, thanks?"
Yet again, the tall lime-eyed man shook his head. "Do not thank me for stating a fact, foolish Hunter. It serves no true purpose. The gratitude I wish, the gratitude I deserve, it must come from my work and nothing else."
Naruto was nearly lost for words. "Right…"
"Let me design you the latest fashion, so that you may make the correct impact that you need in order to achieve whatever your goal is."
For a sales pitch, it was certainly the most interesting Naruto had ever heard. Well, interesting and strangest. Not to say he wasn't all for it, though. "Sure, if you think it'll help. Blending in would be a definite plus."
Baharat gestured towards one of the fitting rooms. "Come, then, we must begin. Inspiration is fleeting, we must not lose touch."
Despite being not one-hundred-percent on what that meant, Naruto did as he was instructed, following the spindly behemoth into the fitting room.
This might have only been the second time, but Naruto still found himself amazed every time he saw the fabrics that Baharat had on display, rolls and rolls of fabrics from the tough and coarse to the thin and smooth stacked in specialized shelves that lined the walls, aside from the floor to ceiling mirror on the far side, opposite the entrance.
Baharat stepped in behind Naruto, curtain closing behind him.
"From first glance, your measurements have most definitely changed since we last met. Have your regular clothes been tighter recently?"
Naruto nodded. "I'm kind of used to it, but they were pretty loose when I got them."
"A smart choice for one in your position. Now, let me do as I need."
Naruto allowed the man to perform his measuring ministrations, standing as still as he could, which was quite still. Unless he was ordered to spin, or stretch a limb. Then he wasn't as still, but he was still nearly quite as still as he needed to be, still.
This errand had gotten away from him a little.
And then, all of a sudden, Naruto found himself being ushered out of the fitting room, with a promise that his new outfit would be made and ready by the next morning, and that he shouldn't bother Baharat until then.
Naruto wasn't entirely sure how his patronage was classified as 'bothering', but he wasn't going to complain. The man had practically worked a miracle the last time Naruto had come to him, and he doubted this was going to be anything but a repeat performance.
He was effectively escorted out of the store, and Naruto found himself in the mid-afternoon sun with nothing really to do.
Well, nothing to do but go have a look around Mantle, and maybe see if Ilia had made it back to the academy yet.
For a place that boasted some of the tallest mountains and greenest forests, Mistral seemed to be a pretty depressing place.
Ruby had been on the road for a while now, though the exact amount of time escaped her, and they hadn't really made much headway.
Well, they were only about a week or so away from Haven Academy, so they'd made good ground, but as for her eyes…
"Quit sulking, kiddo, it took your mom years to properly master her powers, and she was doing it in Beacon. You can't expect to nail it in less than a month on the road."
Qrow was right, and Ruby knew it, but that didn't do much to make her feel better. "I wanna get it right. I don't like not being able to control it."
She didn't voice the thought that came after it, but either her uncle had developed a mind-reading semblance, or she wasn't half as good at hiding her emotions as she had previously assumed.
"Relax, Rubes, I told you, I've barely got any magic running through me. Even if you did turn me to stone, it'd only be partial, and it'd last barely an hour or so. The brats'd be untouched if you accidentally hit them with it, too. You're worrying for nothing."
Twice in as many times Qrow was right, despite Ruby not wanting to agree.
She kicked at a loose stone, watching the pebble tumble end over end until it came to a rest. "I guess."
Qrow left the matter as it was, turning his attention towards the two 'brats' he'd mentioned. "Can one of you stop flirting long enough to tell me how close we are?"
Nora, though her face was at least partially red, turned to answer. "We're close! Less than an hour, apparently!"
Ruby sulked again. Her feet hurt. She wasn't about to say that, of course, she was the leader and that meant she couldn't show weakness, but even for someone as used to running around as she was, seven hours of walking with a half-hour break for lunch was giving her blisters blisters.
Qrow demanded a tough pace, and despite being used to that, there was something to say about having to stick to that pace without having a comfortable bed to relax into afterwards.
Not that she was about to give up, no sir! Ruby wasn't a quitter, far from it. She was just a little… demotivated.
Her eyes were difficult, and it annoyed her. Even when she'd been learning how to fight effectively with a scythe she hadn't ran into quite the roadblock like she was experiencing now.
The major difference was that when she had hit some kind of roadblock, Uncle Qrow had been there with a word of advice, a way to adjust her stance when she was off-balance or a dry comment on how her grip wasn't in the right place.
Her uncle had absolutely no idea how her eyes worked, and that made two of them, so when Ruby ran into a problem, much like now, she didn't have anyone to fall back on.
'Was this how Naruto felt when he unlocked his semblance?' Ruby couldn't help but wonder for the thousandth time.
The thought was comforting for multiple reasons. Firstly because she really cared for Naruto, and any thought of her blond boyfriend was more than enough to fill her chest with warmth, but also because unlike her right now, Naruto had actually figured out how to use what he'd been given.
Sure, he'd been given a few hints and nudges, at least, according to Naruto, but he'd also figured out a much wider swath of things with his semblance. Quantity over quality, she supposed, though she wasn't entirely sure how her eyes stacked up against some of his abilities.
Naruto could literally summon Grimm-like creatures to fight for him, fire balls of lightning and shift tonnes of earth with his mind. All she could really do was turn Grimm and other magic-wielders to stone.
Well, at the moment she couldn't even do that. At the moment all she could really do was make her eyes glow in the dark. They didn't actually do anything else, but at least Nora could use the light they created to do some shadow-puppetry.
She also didn't need a flashlight when wandering their campsite at night, so that was a plus. Not a really useful plus, and definitely not a combat-applicable plus, but it was something.
On the bright side- damn it, Yang- they hadn't really come across any particularly difficult Grimm. There had been one Geist on their way out of Shion, but even then it wasn't all that bad. She'd split the distraction between herself and Ren, and lead it around until Nora landed a hit on the mask, breaking the boulder that was serving as the body for the Geist and letting it out to retreat.
Not that it had gotten very far. Ruby had seen to that. It had been a nice shot, too, threading the needle between two tree trunks as it fled.
Definitely one of her better shots.
Her mind was still adrift amongst her thoughts as she walked, but that quickly came to an end as Ren spoke up, voice loud to carry across the distance.
"Something's wrong!" He called out, picking up speed. "The town is on fire!"
Nora kept pace, expression more grim that Ruby could ever truly remember seeing it, and both Ruby and Qrow quickly sped up, catching up.
They rounded the next bend in the road, and Ren slowed as they neared, expression glum.
Qrow swore under his breath, reaching one hand for his flask.
Ruby might not have had the senses to pick up emotions like the Grimm did, but even she could feel the anger and sadness radiating off the ruins of the settlement that lay out in front of them, mostly razed to the ground.
"What happened here?" She felt herself ask.
"Grimm?" Nora ventured, though she didn't seem sure.
Qrow shook his head. "Grimm don't start fires."
Ren's frown deepened even further. "Bandits."
Qrow nodded, taking a hefty gulp from his flask. "Grimm would've come through afterwards, cleared out any survivors. The fires have been burning for a few days at least."
He took another sip before replacing the flask on his hip. "Come on, we don't want to stay any longer than we have to. Let's keep moving."
Ruby began plodding along behind Ren and Nora once more.
Mistral, for all its natural splendour, was a depressing place.
[Naruto Uzumaki]
[Level 75]
[Professional Huntsman, Soul Tamer Expert]
[XP: 141,700/5,062,500]
[HP: 908/908 (2.95/s)]
[SP: 1,730/1,730 (11.8/s)]
[MP: 2,080/2,080 (24.8/s)]
[AP: 4,626/4,626 (1.18/s)]
[STR: 55]
[END: 59 (54)]
[AGI: 50]
[INT: 52]
[WIS: 62]
[CHA: 70]
[LCK: 51]
[Stat Points: 45]
[Lien: 711,035L]
[Corruption: 2/100]