She grunted, a fist meeting her stomach as she took the blow, already grappling with her attacker with her one good arm, heaving as she lifted him and slammed backwards, rolling clear from the impact.
Her opponent did the same, brushing dirt off his shoulder with a grin. "Good throw. Your balance is a little off on the delivery, though, I could feel it."
Yang huffed, rubbing her side tentatively. "Still getting used to being a little side-heavy, Dad. It's not too important."
Tai shrugged. "Everything is 'good enough' until it isn't. Another round?"
Yang nodded, stepping back and raising her guard. Tai did the same, as confident as he ever was facing down his daughter.
Yang, as usual, moved first, darting forwards, keeping her body low as she pushed close, jabbing out to strike against her father's guard, fist meeting forearm as Tai blocked the hit, only to find his balance threatened by a swift leg-sweep that he managed to recover from, if only just.
Yang's eyes had been glowing red since she'd started, and Tai frowned, slapping another jab to the side as he stepped forward into Yang's guard, grabbing her one arm and placing his other hand on her collarbone, hooking one leg behind her own and pushing.
Yang went down, her balance giving way underneath her, but she refused to go without pulling him down with her, pulling Tai down into her.
She shoved with her feet, pushing her father back up to his feet at the cost of launching him back a good couple feet, and she rolled backwards, scrabbling in the dirt for a moment before managing to stand back up, raising her guard as best she could with an absent limb.
Tai made no move to advance, simply seeming content to frown in her direction. "You're relying on your semblance again."
"Guess it's a draw."
Tai took the towel Zwei was offering, giving the dog a pat on the head as thanks, wiping his forehead with the fabric. "If you keep relying on your semblance to win every fight, you're going to get yourself killed."
"It's a tool to be utilized, Dad. I'm using it." She caught the towel, wiping her face. "No point in not using it."
"Yang, we both know the problem with relying on it. It only works when you get damaged. Which means you go from being a capable, confident fighter to a glass cannon. If you go up against someone who takes everything you can dish out, you've got nothing left to rely on. Your semblance should be your last resort, not your first option."
She pushed hair out of her face with a sigh. "Yeah, yeah, I know."
Tai looked as if he was going to continue with his lecture when he was interrupted, Zwei bounding up, vibrating Scroll in the dog's mouth.
He quickly rescued the device from the corgi, answering it. "Glynda? Is something wrong?"
Yang looked on in curiosity as her father listened intently to the slightly-slobber-covered Scroll, a myriad of emotions running over his face. "I can cover for you, but I can't really cover for Peter or Barty. What if I ran a joint combat class in the courtyard?"
More talking on Goodwitch's end, it seemed, though Yang couldn't make any of it out.
"I'll be down in an hour. I'll bring my teaching assistant, if she's willing."
Tai hung up, pocketing the Scroll. "Goodwitch, Port and Oobleck are intercepting an inbound group of Grimm, and needed someone with an actual teaching qualification to do some lessons for the new students. Wanna come help me beat a bunch of first-years into the dirt and get paid to do it?"
Yang couldn't help the grin that crossed her face. "Get paid to fight a bunch of stuck-up kids? Sounds like my kind of party."
Tai grinned. "Atta girl."
Beacon wasn't the same.
That much was pretty clear from the first time Yang had been back to Vale, not-so-long ago. The Wyvern that Naruto had severely weakened and Ruby had turned to stone had effectively been imprisoned under a hastily-established security protocol, a swath of borrowed Atlesian Knights providing a constant vigil over the giant, petrified Grimm.
The rest of the school was very similar from when Yang had attended, though it was still strange to say that. She hadn't come back in when they reopened, it just felt uncomfortable without the rest of RRYN, or any of AWBN, but that hadn't stopped the academy from accepting new students.
Many of the second and third years had departed for other schools, however, and Yang could understand why. Many had lost friends and family here.
She'd nearly lost friends and family here, too. Even with what had happened she'd still lost a part of herself.
Yang found her missing arm reaching up to push a strand of misplaced hair out of her face, frowning as she then had to repeat the action with the existing arm. It was a messy ponytail, of course, tied back with all the effort she could muster, and then her father's help on top of that, but it served its purpose well enough.
Before, she'd have been concerned about how she looked, though hiding that concern was the art in and of itself. Making yourself look good and not making it look like you had to try was the secret to physical attraction, or so she had thought, at least, but now all of that was effectively nothing to her.
She'd seen the world at its worst, and the world had laughed in her face, set her aflame and launched her aside, and all she could do was scream in pain and watch as her close friend, and possibly something more, was spiritually torn asunder and left for dead.
Her frown deepened. She hated thinking about this stuff, but it was where her mind invariably led her time and time again. Deeper and deeper she would spiral into the rabbit-hole, her thoughts getting progressively more and more negative, unless she either pulled herself out of it, or was summarily distracted.
This time, as it tended to be more often than not, it was the latter, as Taiyang nudged his daughter out of her thoughts. "I'm going to go check in with Goodwitch and the others. Want to tag along, or would you rather wait in the courtyard?"
Yang spared one glance at the imposing tower, with the massive stone Wyvern still sat atop, and shook her head. "You go on, I'll wait. I don't wanna get in the way."
For a second Tai looked as if he was about to lecture her on something, but he stopped himself with a small nod. "I'll be back in a bit. Pick a nice spot for the lessons, yeah?"
Yang nodded as her father strode into the tower, Atlesian Knights watching his approach carefully, stopping him for his ID.
She stopped paying attention to him after that, kicking a loose stone aside as she turned around, casting a glance across the open courtyard that sat at the front of Beacon. It was, as it usually was, devoid of people, with only pockmarks of grass and paving scattered almost haphazardly across the expanse.
"Yeah, Dad, I'm sure Goodwitch is going to be really happy that you've picked the front yard to tear up," Yang muttered to herself with a half-hearted chuckle. She didn't feel all too amused, but it was the thought that counted. At least, so she hoped.
She let her feet walk a path without anything but instinct leading the way, only to stop a few moments later.
The Cliffs of Beacon were still gorgeous. Even after everything, there was something so alluring about the Emerald Forest as it stretched past the horizon, earning its name with remarkable ease. Yang found herself staring again. Even with the somewhat-overcast weather, it was still a stunning view.
She looked down, noting the scuffed stone and the roughly-hewn steps that seemed to have seen some action quite recently. Really, recently, now that she thought about it. Was Naruto or someone else back in Vale?
Yang shook her head. There was no way, they would've at least visited by Patch, or even just tried to call and check in. Ruby definitely would have, so she hadn't turned around and come back to Vale.
She stalled a moment, thoughts pausing. Did she just hear voices from down in the clearing? If she had, they weren't voices she recognized, though that shouldn't have come as a surprise.
Leaning over the side, Yang peered down towards the clearing. It was distant, but she could make out the forms of four people, who she presumed to be first-years. They'd obviously found the clearing, though considering Naruto had literally carved a staircase to it, it was safe to say that they'd found it with quite a bit more ease than any of AWBN or RRYN.
She almost contemplated heading down there, but again she stalled.
There wasn't anything down there for her. Naruto wouldn't have left anything, and if he had, he would've at least sealed his dumb 'Arcave' up behind him before he left. At least, so she hoped. She wasn't going to go check, though.
Instead, Yang turned back towards Beacon, picking a spot in the courtyard to help her father hold the lesson.
She just hoped it wouldn't take too long. She'd almost forgotten how much she hated being here.
Naruto was bored.
It wasn't his fault, of course, it wasn't like there was much to occupy the time when you were the responsible one behind the wheel. Or, well, the proverbial wheel. There wasn't exactly a wheel in the Bullhead.
He looked to his side, noting the empty chair, and quickly looked behind him into the Bullhead's bay, noting that both Ilia and Blake were asleep in the slings, completely out of it. He grumbled a little, but it wasn't like either of them could fly.
Naruto found it easy, of course, but that was because he had some kind of divine intervention providing him with the knowledge and capability to do it. That and a lot of magic, but he wasn't entirely sure piloting an aircraft had anything to do with magic.
His current co-pilot was Maya, his newest acquisition to his family of Grimm-like Bound Souls, and the black cat seemed more than content to lay in the co-pilot's seat, curled up and all comfortable, snoozing quietly.
Not much of a conversationalist, it seemed. He didn't mind all too much. He just wished he had something to occupy his time with.
They were nearly six hours into what was looking to be a near nine-hour flight, which meant that Naruto was cutting it really, really close when it came to fuel, but he could always stop and refuel if it was really necessary. Beneath them was ocean once more, but earlier in the night it had been a quiet trip over the top of what Naruto realized was the eastern-most part of Sanus.
They would be coming up on the southern-most part of Solitas soon, though, and if they were making good time it would be within the next hour or so.
Going from tropical jungle and dry desert to cold tundra and frozen wasteland was going to be a harsh change of environment, too. Naruto was a little nervous for a multitude of reasons, but at least one of those reasons was the temperature. Sure, thanks to Callisto he was resistant to ice and the cold, but Blake and Ilia weren't.
Hell, Ilia was still wearing her skin-tight 'tactical leotard', as she'd called it. He'd nearly had to interrupt what had been shaping up to be a carbon-copy of the 'combat skirt debate', too.
"Now that I think about it, I haven't even checked the perk I got from you, hey Maya?" Naruto muttered aloud, realizing. "Bit negligent of me."
He brought up the menu, quickly reading through, if only so that he could resume his focus on the sky. He knew he wasn't supposed to System and drive, but at least there wasn't much to hit in the sky.
[Perk Acquired!]
[From Shadows]
[Your connection with the soul of a Bashenga allows you to deal twice as much damage with any sneak attack.]
Well, that was nice and simple, but not bad, either. Double sneak attack damage was really good, if he was being honest, it would definitely come in handy.
Well, maybe not with Terminator, but if he swapped back to Tranquility or used Telum a little more often he'd definitely be able to take advantage of it.
Or if he somehow found someone willing to teach him how to attach a suppressor to Predator. That'd give it a bit of a kick.
Naruto gave his controls a quick check, before stretching in his seat, letting out a yawn. He'd hit Level 22 Piloting in the trip so far, and he was expecting at least one more level before they reached their destination, maybe even two, which would be nice. If he even managed to get three levels he'd get an upgrade to his Pilot Title, and a new Garage Slot on top of that.
He returned his eyes to the dark expanse in front of him, the night sky stretching on seemingly forever. The moonlight was minimal at best, barely casting any light into the sky, but it was enough that Naruto could at least tell if there was a surprise mountain coming up.
Combined with the auto-map his Bullhead was equipped with, it was enough for him. If he needed more, he could always figure something out, especially if he was going to be spending more than a day or so in Atlas. It couldn't be too difficult to get the craft outfitted with some spotlights, or even some kind of scanning device.
He had learned what one of his small screens in the cockpit was for, though. A small radar device, occasionally pinging to check their surroundings.
He wasn't sure how it worked, of course, only that he knew it did work, so that would have to do.
Naruto laughed quietly. If that wasn't the story of his life…
'Ping!'
His eyes flicked to the device in question. It hadn't made that sound before. There was also a cluster of red dots on the screen, all headed directly towards the center point.
Naruto paled. They were the center point.
"Damn it. Guess we're getting one hell of a welcome," He muttered, throttling up. "Blake, Ilia! Wake up, we've got company!"
Hunter training plus years of experience in the White Fang meant that Blake was awake in a moment, as alert as she could be considering the circumstances. Ilia followed suit, only slightly slower.
"What are we dealing with?" Blake asked, leaning into the cockpit, a concerned expression on her face.
"That's what I was hoping the two passengers with night-vision could help clarify," Naruto remarked. "If they're slow enough, we can bank and hope to outpace them, but if they can keep up, we're in a lot more trouble."
Maya unfurled from her nap on the co-pilot's seat and hopped over into Naruto's lap, making sure not to get in the way as Blake stepped through into the cockpit, peering into the darkness.
"I don't know what they are," Blake stated, frowning. "I've never seen that kind of Grimm before."
Ilia stuck her head in the cockpit, paling rapidly. "Manticores! We need to get out of here!"
"Grab hold of something!" Naruto let out as he began the banking maneuver, angling the Bullhead and pulling back on the cyclic.
"They've seen us!" Blake replied as she clung to the co-pilot's seat.
Naruto swore. "That's gonna be a problem! We don't exactly have an armed Bullhead here!"
"Can't you just shoot at them?!" Ilia asked, clinging hard to the cockpit door-frame.
Naruto levelled the aircraft, checking the radar. The red dots were following them. "Sure, let me just get up and shoot at them. While I do that, who's gonna fly the damn Bullhead?"
Blake slung herself into the seat she'd been clinging to the back of, glaring at Naruto. "You'd better be a quick teacher."
"Throttle's there, cyclic, er, turning stick is there. Don't put too much into either of them, especially don't knock the cyclic, and try to keep us level. If something's going wrong, let me know, and I'll resume control."
He was already peeling himself from his chair, sliding past Ilia. "The door switch is the one labelled door, hold onto something and hit that!"
Blake did so, and the rush of wind blew Naruto's hair back as the doors slid open with a loud mechanical whine that was completely drowned out by the sound of moving air and engine noise.
He activated Surface Walk and stepped out of the Bullhead, placing his boots against the hull, wincing as the wind whipped past him, threatening to pull him off the aircraft like an insect clinging desperately to the side of a car.
On the other hand, of course, now that he was outside the aircraft he could definitely see the dark mass of Grimm that was currently pursuing him.
He'd be lying if he said that wasn't intimidating. Manticores were terrifying, too. Almost lion-like, with the exception of the feathery wings and the large white scorpion-esque stinger, they were fast enough to keep pace with the Bullhead, and even then they were closing in gradually.
Naruto knew they wouldn't get bored and just peel off, either. They were going to follow them until they either caught and ate them, or died trying.
He was really hoping for the latter.
It was almost a shame that he couldn't try out Terminator yet, too. The shotgun was, invariably, a shotgun, so range wasn't exactly its specialty, and he was severely lacking in the twelve gauge slug department, so it was going to have to be either Sandstorm or Mana.
He was a lot more accurate with his spells, so Mana Flak was going to lead, his first move into what he was hoping was going to be a good combo.
He watched the Mana shell burst in the air as it neared the Manticore horde, sending chunks of shrapnel-like energy lancing through the cluster of Grimmflesh, quickly using Observe on the closest of the group.
[Manticore]
[Grimm, Level 60]
[HP: 4,312/6,600]
Wait, Level 60? These Manticores were actually quite weak in comparison to what Naruto was used to fighting.
Had Grimm always been this weak?
He shook his head free of that thought. The Grimm weren't weak, he was just so used to fighting against much stronger Grimm inside dangerous dungeons.
He couldn't be surprised about this, it was a cluster of what were effectively tier 0 Grimm above the middle of nowhere. They weren't exactly battle-tested, Naruto doubted there were that many aircraft that flew from Menagerie to Atlas, or vice versa.
Or any, for that matter.
He fired a second Mana Flak into the swarm, this time watching the crackle of lightning go off as it splintered into shards of electrically charged Mana.
Honestly, two or so more casts of Mana Flak would easily finish off the cluster of Manticores. But, now that Naruto realized they weren't exactly the greatest threat he'd ever faced, he could use this situation to his advantage.
He ran down his mental list of ranged attacks, considering his options. He definitely had a few, though whether or not they were all viable was a little up in the air, pun not intended.
Maybe he could Uzumaki a Mana Grenade through the air, and detonate it with a careful shot from another weapon? No, that was far too difficult, even without taking the fact that he was currently standing sideways on a Bullhead flying at top speed.
Mana Arrow wasn't a great choice, unless he wanted to fire fifteen of them into the crowd, and that was if he landed all the shots. The same went for Mana Bullet, and the spinning variants.
Mana Pulse was a good option. It had a large amount of splash damage, meaning he could use it to clear the entire cluster in one go if he landed the shot, but the projectile itself moved quite slow in comparison. There was a good chance that the Manticores would just avoid it, and then it wouldn't even detonate.
Even his summons were out of the question. Apollo, Shirdal and Alcmena couldn't possibly keep up with the Bullhead as it was right now, and even if they did engage, Naruto wasn't getting any XP for his skills.
The summons who could level up their skills were his Elementals, but they were out of the question, seeing as none of them could actually fly. At best Gravitus could float, but that wasn't of much use in the situation.
Naruto thought for a moment longer. Maybe he should try something new? He hadn't done that in a while, it felt like. Manipulating Mana was always interesting, and doing it whilst stuck to the side of an aircraft seemed like an interesting change-up to his usual formula.
Only thing was, he didn't really know what he was trying to make. Something long, and fast? A projectile, definitely, but something he could constantly push Mana into.
He could feel something new forming in his hands, ever a strange feeling, and he kept up his focus, more and more Mana flowing through him and into the new spell.
And then he fired it, eyebrows shooting up as he continued to fire it, and then he realised that it was constantly draining his Mana to fire a laser beam out of his hands.
[You've discovered a new skill!]
[Mana Beam (Active): Thanks to the System you are capable of firing a beam of pure Mana. Costs 10 MP/s. Level 1; XP 0/12]
He watched as it hit Grimmflesh and melted it into slag, droplets of glimmering black sludge raining down from the sky and onto the grey beach below as they arrived above the continent of Solitas.
He kept up his aim, the beam melting its way through blackened tendons and frost-covered bone, cutting and burning until there was nothing left aside from the two parts it had severed.
Some Manticores lost their wings, plummeting in a spiral towards the ground, others finding their skulls becoming more liquid than solid, dead before they even began to fall.
At 10 MP/s, Naruto could practically continue to hold this beam as long as he needed. It might not do much damage on contact, but maintaining that contact…
Well, the final Manticore dropping from pursuit thanks to the molten matter of its entire torso dripping away was more than enough evidence that it was, in fact, quite an effective spell.
He cut the beam, giving his hand a quick shake to rid it of the steam that slowly rose off his palm, though he didn't do a very good job of it, and stepped back inside the aircraft, tapping Blake on the shoulder to switch.
"Good job holding us steady," He remarked, taking his seat once more. "Anything interesting happen while I was out?"
Blake rolled her eyes. "Well, we're above Solitas. At least, I hope it's Solitas. Otherwise you're not as good a navigator as you claim to be."
Naruto checked the map panel quickly. "Looks like Solitas, but I can't be sure. The giant label that says 'Solitas' is only so accurate."
Blake smacked him on the shoulder as Ilia stepped back into the rear of the aircraft, laying back down in one of the sling-seats. "That's enough excitement for me, I'm gonna try and get some more sleep before we land."
Blake took the co-pilot's seat once more, letting Maya into her lap. "So, did you get anything interesting?"
He brought the notification up, checking through quickly.
[Encounter Complete!]
[You've gained 7,560,000XP and 39,600 Lien! You've acquired 11 Inert Dust, 13 Manticore Stingers, 3 Manticore Pelts, 3 Manticore Skulls and 3 Grade II Gravity Dust Crystals!]
[You have leveled up twice, and reached Level 75!]
"Nothing much. Typical drops, and some Gravity Dust," He answered, gently easing back on the throttle. "I wasn't expecting much, though."
They fell into a comfortable silence for a few moments, before Naruto spoke up once more.
"Get some rest. I'll wake you before we land."
Blake nodded, allowing herself to drift off in the seat, Maya still comfortably settled in her lap.
Naruto kept his eyes on the sky, gently adjusting his heading. A few more hours, and they'd be in Atlas.
So why was he so nervous?
Yang couldn't really stand to be here, if she was being honest.
She was only a year older than most of these students, and yet felt as if they were nothing more than clueless children, hitting at each other in some kind of game of pretend.
She could tell at least a few of them had an understanding of the Grimm, and what other threats there were, but a good portion of them were treating this impromptu combat lesson as nothing more than an occasion to mess around.
And the worst part was she'd been just like them.
Every time she wanted to beat some sense into them, Tai had just given her a quick, momentary glance, but it was more than enough to convey the message.
It was the glance that he'd given Qrow time and time again when she and Ruby were goofing off during training.
'Don't interrupt', it meant. She was more than wise enough to do as her father instructed. She'd been on the end of doing the exact opposite of that enough to know that by now.
So she stood still, watching the students fight each other in the typical sparring fashion that she'd gotten so used to.
Taiyang held up his hand with a shout. "Alright, Melody is down! Well fought, Casper, but you left yourself open when you tried that full-out attack. Melody, if you kept your focus up, you would have been able to take advantage of that opening."
The two students nodded, taking the advice, stepping out of the makeshift arena that Yang had picked out as the location of their lesson.
"Now, I notice that some of you feel that you and your teams are more than capable of dealing with other people in combat, seeing as you don't feel it necessary to concentrate on the lesson at hand. So, if you feel that your team can handle your fellow teams, I'd greatly enjoy the opportunity to test that!"
There was a number of different glances exchanged across the cluster of students, but Tai paid them no mind, continuing on. "Volunteer, step yourself and your team into the ring, and let's see exactly how competent you are against a more experienced opponent."
Tai himself stepped into the ring, stretching his arms. "Well? I'm waiting!"
There was a good number of students from Signal in the audience, all of which were most definitely not willing to step into the ring.
It seemed that common sense just wasn't so evenly spread, though. Yang watched as a team stepped forward, the leader all bluster and bravado.
"We'll fight you!" The leader practically exclaimed, pushing his hair back in a way that reminded Yang so much of a mix between Cardin and Neptune. If she was being honest, it wasn't a good look.
His team didn't seem much better, one even daring to wink towards her.
Yang was going to enjoy watching this.
Tai caught it, too, though he didn't show expression in regards to it, keeping his face deliberately neutral. "Well, let's get started, then. Yang, could you officiate the match?"
Yang nodded. "Sure."
She took a step forward, looking between her father and the opposing team of students. "Everyone ready?"
Tai nodded, and the leader of the opposing team drew his weapon. "Born ready, beautiful."
Ooh, Yang was really going to enjoy watching this.
"Then begin."
Tai didn't even let the leader do anything. A single swift movement had him grappled and held taut, though that didn't stop him from trying to struggle free.
"Basil!" One of his teammates shouted, concern immediately overriding common sense as he watched his team leader get locked in a sleeper hold that he couldn't break free from.
Yang kept an eye on her father's scroll, watching as the leader, Basil, steadily dropped in Aura, the only thing that was keeping him conscious.
His teammates moved to attempt to break Basil free from her father's grip, but it was pointless, as Tai released him a moment later, throwing him at the teammate that had shouted out, collapsing both of them in a tangle of limbs.
Tai caught the next swing of the blade that was aimed towards his chest, wrenching the weapon out of the holder's hand as he punched with his other hand, completely breaking the poor boy's Aura as he stumbled backwards.
The fourth member was the one who had winked at Yang, and Yang watched with somewhat-morbid amusement as Tai simply slapped the handgun-dagger out of his hand, grabbed him by the collar and the belt and hoisted him into the air, slamming him down back-first onto his knee, letting him slump onto the ground with less than five-percent Aura remaining.
The leader and his unfortunate target had clambered back to their feet, attempting to land strikes.
The maul hit where Tai's head had been before he'd swayed out of the way, hand snagging the haft and tugging it out of his hand, using it to parry the rapier that might've landed a strike against his torso.
He then used the maul like a javelin on the poor boy with the rapier, and finished up the fight by simply grabbing Basil back into the sleeper hold, holding until the leader of the team tapped out.
"There we go, wasn't that fun!" Taiyang said, helping the boy with the handgun-dagger to his feet. "Did we learn anything?"
He received three groans and a whimper in response.
Tai laughed, but relented. "Alright, let's break for lunch. Meet back here in half an hour, yeah?"
The vast majority of the students began filtering off towards the cafeteria, and Tai turned his gaze towards Yang. "Learning anything?"
Yang cocked an eyebrow, folding her arms in her best Blake impression. "Yeah, Dad, I'm learning heaps."
Tai let out a chuckle. "Good thing that I'm not teaching you today, then. Go get something to eat, I'm going to go check up with our temporary employers."
Yang nodded, watching her father as he walked towards the central tower once more.
She looked towards the cafeteria. A thousand memories flashed through her mind in a matter of moments.
"..."
She paused for a moment, mouth open as if to say something, before she closed it with a shrug.
'Might as well bite the bullet.'