AN: Just a little heads up: there are no romantic relationships being formed in this chapter! Don't jump to conclusions. There will be a lot more character development. This chapter is basically just two kindred souls finding each other. No love. No touchy feely. Just a moment of weakness.

5. Hidden Darkness

"You should tell them."

The words came out of nowhere. She had developed a routine with Naruto, one that involved stargazing. Every night, after all of their classes were done and just before they went to bed, they would gather on the veranda they'd met and watch the stars. If she was being honest with herself, it was perhaps the best part of the day. A silent companion to spend some time with.

"What?"

Her eyes widened when he smiled at her, his gaze locked to something just above her own. He was looking at her bow.

"You should tell them," he repeated.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

He chuckled in response, a teasing sound that told her he knew that she knew what he was talking about. To her chagrin, he didn't let the matter drop.

"I know you're afraid of telling your team, but they'll find out sooner or later," he reasoned. "It will be better if they heard it from you rather than from some other source." He placed his hand on her shoulder reassuringly. "Don't worry. It's your secret to tell. I won't say anything."

He didn't say anything more after that, choosing to remain silent and let her stew in her own thoughts. Would they accept her? Would they hate her for keeping it a secret?

"What would you do?" she found herself asking.

"Get through with it as quickly as I can with absolutely no tact?" he laughed. "It might sound like a joke, but with something this important, it's best that you just come right out and tell them. Don't beat around the bush."

"And… if they don't accept me?"

That was her biggest fear. That her team, this group of girls that she was rather attached to, would reject her for who she was.

"Then they're not worth being your friends," was his serious response. "But do you really think Ruby or Yang would ever judge you for something like this?" They wouldn't, but her fears weren't exactly rational. "I think the only one you would have to worry about is Weiss. She'll probably grill you about why you found it necessary to hide your identity and whine about how you don't trust them."

A wry smile made its way onto her face. She could already hear the heiress's complaints.

"Besides, maybe then you'll stop wearing that bow." She couldn't stop herself from reaching up and adjusting the accessory. "The bow is cute, but I think the ears are cuter."

"T-Thanks," she muttered, embarrassed by the blond's honest words.

"Ha," she watched as he shook his head. "You can thank me by not wearing that bow anymore." He patted her shoulder once more. "Have a good night, Blake."

"Good night, Naruto."

She spent the next few minutes pondering his words. Even her trip back to her room was plagued with thoughts of coming out to her friends. It had been jarring to finally realize that she considered the three girls, a strange collection of personalities, to be her friends, but that was exactly what they were. They got along well enough, they shared their duties, they hung out together.

Quietly locking the door behind her as she entered, she took in the sleeping forms of her teammates. Yang was already snoring, hugging a body pillow to her ample chest. Her blanket was tossed and ruffled, exposing a leg and the girl's mane of unruly blonde hair. Weiss, on the other hand, was the picture of perfection. She neither snored nor tossed in her sleep. Ruby, their fearless team leader, had fallen asleep while doing her homework, sprawled out on her top bunk.

She will tell them. Just not tonight.

And then… that happened.

"Members of the White Fang are terrorists!"

"They're not terrorists! They're just misguided!"

Two sentences, two claims, devolved into an argument, the worst their team has had so far. Differences in ideology and life experiences. Boiled down, those were the only reasons their argument happened in the first place.

Still, she couldn't let it slide. She had grown up as a part of the White Fang, a part of change, a part of history! She wanted her people to live as equals alongside humans. Some part of her agreed with Weiss. It was a part she hated, despised with all her heart. But it wasn't something she could deny.

The White Fang had grown violent, displeased by the lack of change through nonviolence. It was why she'd left in the group in the first place. Sure, they robbed Dust shipments from companies that exploited Faunus workers and even attacked some facilities. But they couldn't possibly be behind all of these robberies, all of these attacks...

...right?

Sneaking over to the piers, where Sun had overheard the location of the next Schnee Dust shipment will be taking place, she waited. She was going to prove that the White Fang were not responsible for this rash of crimes.

A tap on her shoulder drew her attention away from the empty piers.

"Sun? What's-" She bit down on her lip to stop the yelp of surprise.

The one who had tapped her on the shoulder wasn't Sun, but a different blond.

"So, Blake," Naruto whispered, "what's so important about an empty pier that you won't even come back to Beacon?"

"N-Naruto!" She floundered for an explanation. "It's nothing!"

"Uh huh. It wouldn't have anything to do with those White Fang members walking around down there, would it?"

Her head spun so quickly, she was surprised her neck hadn't popped. Only when she looked down at the pier, there was still no one there.

"So it is about the White Fang."

Stupid, clever fucking ugh!

"I hate you," she muttered.

"Your team's worried about you, y'know," he said, laying down beside her on the rooftop.

"Yea," she muttered, her head drooping down. "I know."

"Then send 'em a text. Tell 'em you're okay and then get back to this… stake out."

She did just that. She didn't wait for a reply. Just a quick message to tell them that she was okay and that she'll return by morning.

"See? Better now?"

She smiled a little. He was right. She did feel a little better.

"Here."

She drooled a little as Naruto handed her a tuna sandwich, wrapped in a waxed paper bag. Her stomach growled, her ears perked up. It had been a while since she'd eaten, too occupied with the stake out to eat.

"Thank you."

Tuna had always been her favorite, but the taste was ruined by the weight of the things on her mind.

"Hey," Naruto smiled, "don't stress about things too much. If things happen, they'll happen." She nodded, but her worries never left. "Normally, we'd be back in Beacon, stargazing together, but you had to go and be a detective," he teased.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. You have something on your mind, so don't worry about it. We can deal with this White Fang business then we can go back to stargazing." He got comfortable beside her. "And since I'd rather not see you hurt and have to answer to your angry teammates, I'll stay and help you."

"You don't have to," she muttered around her sandwich, unable to meet his eyes.

"But I want to." He rested his hand on her shoulder, much like the night before. "You're my friend, Blake. Come hell or high water, friends stick together."

"Together, huh?"

"I must be a horrible friend," she whispered quietly.

"Friends have spats," Naruto reasoned. "Friends disagree. But what matters is how you move forward." The words brought a smile to her lips. "Now eat up. I get the feeling it's gonna be a long night."

And so, she did.

"You really do look a lot cuter without the bow."

She'd heard that line before, from someone else, but hearing him say it made her smile.

"So who's the blond guy on the other side of the pier?"

"An insensitive jerk."

x-x-x-x-x

Scrolls were so damn useful. They could send calls, receive calls, monitor aura. Record voices…

Naruto smiled to himself as he recorded the conversation between this Roman Torchwick - same asshole who was stopped twice before by Ruby - and the members of this White Fang. They were gathering Dust. Lots of it. They had already known that, but why?

Apparently, there were three more of these bullheads coming in to carry away more of these Dust crates. That, along with all of the research he'd done on the Scrolls, allowed him to draw up two conclusions: either the White Fang was planning some kind of drawn-out battle of attrition or an all-out attack. He would bet his money on it being the latter, and that worried him.

He disappeared behind a container as the White Fang members went about their business, preparing the containers for transport. That was when he made his move. Sneaking up behind the criminal in charge, Naruto pulled him into a rear naked choke.

This was a weakness he'd figured out rather quickly. Aura could only protect someone if they were awake to will the aura into a shell for protection. It could protect against sheer force, but it couldn't protect someone from oxygen deprivation. Like the kind brought about by a cinched off carotid artery.

A clone came to life beside him, picking up the thief's cane and taking his place and personage as the conductor of this little operation. The moment Roman had knocked out, another clone took the unconscious thief away from the scene to be tied up and interrogated later. You never know if this bastard had someone inside the police force to help him escape.

Four clones came to life, following the behind the White Fang members and tagging the containers they'd rigged up to be transported. These bastards were going to be in for a big surprise.

With the evidence gathered and his plans in place, Naruto snuck his way back to the location Blake had been hiding. Now, there was another blond there with her, the same one she'd referred to as "an insensitive asshole."

"Well well well," said the blond Faunus. "Blakey has a taste for blonds apparently."

"We can discuss Blake's preference for colors another time." He smiled at the embarrassed girl. "I got the evidence and I have a contingency to get these Dust crates out of their hands. Now, we just have to get out of here."

He saw the concerned look on her face. She was fighting an internal battle. The White Fang in her, the girl who still fought for Faunus rights, was arguing against her rational side. He could tell. Placing his hand on her shoulder yet again, he reassured her.

"We will bring them to justice, Blake. But there's something bigger at play here. Otherwise, the White Fang wouldn't work with a human like Roman Torchwick, right?" She nodded. "So we shouldn't blow our cover just yet. Let them gather their Dust. They'll think nothing is wrong. Then, we can strike them where it hurts."

His words sparked something in those amber eyes. He didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

"Okay," she whispered, her shoulders straightening. "Okay."

"Wait," the other blond muttered, "how come you let him touch you but I get the angry look?"

"It's the whiskers," Naruto smirked.

She rolled her eyes, but said nothing. That just meant he was right. Or, at the very least, close to the mark.

x-x-x-x-x

"Thank you," Blake said. "For helping me."

"Don't mention it. Wasn't my first stake out and I don't think it'll be my last," he laughed.

She tried to not read into his words. It would only add to the mystery that was Naruto Uzumaki. So, she changed the subject.

"What did you do with Roman Torchwick?"

"I took him to a safehouse. Gotta get some answers for what's going on in Vale and what he was doing with the White Fang."

She checked her corners, looking for any person or security cameras that might pick up on their conversation. You never know he might be listening, even in the halls of Beacon. When she realized the coast was clear, she stopped him.

"Can I come with you?" she asked. "I want to hear it from his mouth."

"Sure. I'll pick you up tomorrow morning."

"But our classes-"

"I've got that covered." He smiled at her, leaning in closer. Just when she thought he was a little too close for comfort, he whispered, "Your team is listening to us." Her eyes widened. "Good luck explaining to them about our date tomorrow."

Date? What da-?

"Good night, Blake."

Her jaw worked soundlessly as he disappeared behind the door to his dorm with a smirk. Confused, she opened the door to her room. Just like Naruto had stated, she found her team scrambling away from the opened door.

"Well well well!" Yang smirked. "Didn't know you worked so fast, Blake."

"What?" she asked, slipping in and locking the door behind her.

"Shameless!" Weiss accused. "To think you'd take advantage of Naruto's concern for you in such a way!"

"What are yo-"

"Using your ears - which are really kinda cute, by the way - to… to!" Ruby couldn't finish the train of thought, blushing to the roots of her hair. "To do that!"

"'Good luck explaining to them about our date tomorrow.'"

That stupid jerk! He knew her team would catch the tail-end of their conversation!

"It's not like that!"

"Pfft!" Yang mocked. "You're going on a date tomorrow. We get it. Skipping Professor Port's class to go on a date with Naruto? Lucky~."

"It's not a date!" Her cheeks were on fire at this point.

"Didn't know you were into blonds. Should I be concerned?" teased Yang.

"No!"

"You two went quiet at the end there," Yang pushed. "Did you two…" She mimed a kiss with her hands.

"We didn't do anything!"

If she knew she was going to be catching so much flak from her team, she would've thrown caution to the wind and shoved her tongue down his throat. At least then she'd have something to show for it!

"Clones," the voice in her mind pervertedly giggled.

"Sure~."

"I'm glad you're back," offered Ruby before the two sisters went back to bed with teasing smiles.

Weiss continued to stand in front of her, chewing on her lip. The silence between the stretched onward until…

"I'm sorry," they said at the same time.

If someone had told a younger Blake that, one day, she would apologize to a Schnee and be on good terms with one, that person would have been sent to a hospital psych ward. In pieces.

"I… I wanna apologize," Weiss started. "I didn't mean to make it sound like I hated all Faunus. It's just… the White Fang haven't exactly made themselves friends of the Schnee. And… I just wanted to tell you that," she chewed on her lip, trying to find the words, "that I don't see you as Blake the Cat Faunus. I… We," she gestured towards Yang and Ruby, "see you as Blake Belladonna. Our friend. Our teammate."

She hoped Weiss couldn't see how moist her eyes had become. It wasn't the most moving apology she'd ever heard, but it meant a lot.

"Thank you… and I… I want to tell you something."

x-x-x-x-x

"Hello~."

Naruto smiled at the woman who approached him. She wasn't a teenager, that much he knew. The way she walked - stalked really - was telling.

"Hello."

She'd caught him outside, just after his morning workout. Pyrrha had finished a short while ago, having reverted back to her own workout routine. So it was just him and this confident young woman. Who somehow passed herself off as a seventeen year old. At his best guess, she should be somewhere around twenty.

"Cinder Fall," she introduced herself.

"Naruto Uzumaki."

There was something in the way she looked at him, equal parts intrigue and caution that set him on edge. Amber eyes danced with a hunger that he was all too familiar with. Yet another black haired beauty with a thirst for power. A shame really. She was really attractive. Maybe… maybe he could save this one?

Ha! Perish the thought.

"I've been wanting to meet the person who defeated The Invincible Girl."

Husky voice. Very sensual. The one word he could best come up to describe the young woman before him?

Homewrecker.

"Thank you, but don't ever let Pyrrha hear you call her that." He shook her offered hand. "She doesn't like the title."

"I'm not surprised. Names and titles have a way of attracting unwanted attention."

"Of course. Walk with me?"

He watched her sashay beside him as they made their way back to the dorms. She was really laying it on. Had they been back in his original world, she would've fit right into the Seduction Corps.

"I've never seen anyone use only bladed melee weapons before. Aren't you afraid you might find yourself pinned and in need of a ranged weapon?"

"Throwing knives," he answered nonchalantly. "Besides, I have more than one way to deal with ranged opponents."

He didn't elaborate. Judging by the almost pleased smile on her face, she wasn't expecting him to.

"Your Semblance?"

"Never discovered it," he shrugged.

"I see," she purred.

"What about you?" He smiled that disarming smile he'd cultivated ever since he was but a child. "I don't see any weapons on you."

A sly smile came to her lips. Those amber eyes twinkled with something he couldn't quite put his finger on. In her open palm, a flame sparked to life, slowly taking on the shape of a small, yet wicked looking dagger.

"Wow. Very impressive." It really was. Creating things out of only energy was something he thought the Sage of Six Paths could do, but in this world, the rules of his world don't apply.

"Thank you."

She didn't preen, but she did respond to his compliment the way he would expect her to. The slightest straightening of her back to emphasize her chest. An award winning smile. Tucking those midnight black curls behind her ear. Either she's a natural or she had a very good teacher.

"Mr. Uzumaki."

Oh for f-

"Yes, Professor Goodwitch?" he responded.

"Team CRDL has issued a battle challenge against Team NPLN." The blonde woman cut straight to the chase. "Will you accept this challenge?"

"Sure. Let's get this over with. When do they want this challenge to take place?"

"In two hours."

MOTHERF-!

"So be it."

He had better things to do with his day, but he'd rather shut them down now than let them think his team was afraid of them. Better yet…

"I'll tell my team."

With her message delivered, Goodwitch nodded and left, that serious expression never wavering. This woman seriously needed to relax. Life was a little too short to be so serious all the time. Would it kill her to smile?

All throughout the interaction with Goodwitch, he kept an eye on Cinder. She was just a little too interested in the upcoming match. It merely confirmed what he'd already known: she was interested in him. Not romantically, of course. Girls like her couldn't give a damn about a romantic partner. To them, power was all that mattered.

"It looks like I get to see you in action once more."

Hook.

"We could always spar if you wanted to see me in action."

Line.

"That would be lovely."

Sinker.

Now, he just had some rich fuckboys to beat into submission.

x-x-x-x-x

"What kind of idiot picks a fight with someone who outclasses someone that outclasses him?!"

Blake smiled as she bore witness to another side of Naruto. For as unflappable as he was in combat, he was only human. That meant that mask of control slipped every now and then. Like right now.

"Pyrrha could slap those four idiots around and still go toe to toe with Ren and Nora. And I beat her! So what was going through those empty skulls for them to think they could stand up against our team?!"

She hid her smile behind the book Naruto lent to her. Gods bless him and his godfather, for whom she would be without such literary genius.

"Oi. You're not even listening to me right now, are you?"

"Hm."

"Is this revenge for last night?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"You know I could just spoil that book for you."

No matter what anyone says, Blake Belladonna definitely did not yelp, throw up that precious book, and catch it with a sigh of relief. No matter what a certain someone says.

"Cute."

Slander!

"Are you ready?"

She nodded, grateful for any respite from the embarrassing episode. She might've been reading the book Naruto had allowed her to borrow, but she hadn't been completely occupied by the story. Rather, she had been keeping an eye on her surroundings and memorising the path to this safehouse, a nondescript looking building in the middle of the industrial district of Vale.

The insides of the building was rather spartan. A plain table and some chairs filled what could be considered the kitchen/living room. Naruto led her through the large room and to a heavy metal door, leading into the bowels of the building. Just before he opened the door, he stopped, looking back at her with caution.

"Blake. You don't have to see this if you don't want to."

The stubborn glare she told him warned him against treating her as some fragile princess. She was not Weiss. She was not some girl waiting for her prince to save her from a castle's keep!

"I… You will see another side of me, a side that no one has seen before. And-"

She placed a hand on his arm, stopping him from speaking further.

"I trust you." She ignored the look of surprise on his face. "From what you've shown us, what you've shown me, you're a good person." The smile that he gave her said otherwise.

"You wouldn't say that if you really knew me." He took her hand, squeezing it. "But thank you."

"Well, we did come all this way. I'm not going back empty-handed. And one way or another, you're going to be getting answers out of Roman anyways. I might as well see this thing through after I dragged you into it."

He stood there for a moment, hand on the door handle with a series of emotions flittering through his visage. He finally spoke when his face settled on a mixture of amused, impressed and grateful.

"Remind me to get you the installment of Ninjas of Love when we get back, yea?"

Oh, he was going to spoil her rotten at this rate. Her nod and smile was the cue he took as permission to open the door.

When they reached the bottom of the concrete stairs, what she saw made her wince in sympathy. Through a glass window looking into a separate room in the basement, one she assumed to be a one-way mirror, she could see the sorry state of the captured man. With his clothes, save for a pair of boxers, nowhere to be seen, he was left to the mercy of Naruto's interrogation methods. A fan blew on the criminal, drenched in water and with his feet dipped into an ice bath. A length of cloth tied tightly around his head and pressing into the corners of his mouth kept him from speaking his displeasure.

"That won't work," she pointed out. "His aura would protect him from the elements."

"You would be right," Naruto explained. "That is, if he had any aura to use."

Walking into the interrogation room with a small dagger in his hands, the blond brought a small kunai to bear and dragged it across the captive man's pale skin with a featherlight touch. A thin red line was revealed on the man's flesh, proving his point: he had no aura to speak of at the moment.

"You know the drill, Roman. Give me what I want and I'll let you go. Don't, and you keep suffering." There was no verbal reply, just a defiant glare from the bound criminal. "Suit yourself."

Blake visibly cringed at the strangled yelp Roman gave when Naruto pulled out his big toe's nail.

"Trust me, Roman; this is only the beginning."

She couldn't see his face, but she knew, right then and there, Naruto would make Adam look like a saint in comparison. And the worst part about that? She knew and understood the need for things that must be done, things that would churn the stomach of any sane person.

Bile pooled in the back of her throat. It was a sensation that made her skin crawl and her head spin. Through it all, she could only stand there and watch, an unwillingly willing observer to the proceedings. She couldn't look away.

Nail removal. Dipping the freshly exposed nail beds into rubbing alcohol. Waterboarding.

Throughout the entire ordeal, whenever she could see it, there wasn't a smile on Naruto's face. Just a serious countenance that gave away neither sympathetic pity nor sadistic glee. A blank slate.

"Tsk tsk tsk. You're not cooperating, Roman. It looks like I'll have to get the answers I want out of Neo."

She didn't know the significance of whoever this Neo was, but Roman sure did. The look of fear that crossed his face gave away more than four hours of torture could.

"Mm!"

"See, you might not be willing to give any information," Naruto taunted, "but I'm willing to bet she would be more than happy to sell out your… contractor if it meant she could keep you safe. Isn't that right, Roman?"

"Mm! Mmm mm mmmm-mm mm!"

"I'll be sure to send her your regards." Naruto walked away from the struggling criminal. "Better yet, why don't I bring her down here and let her see you for herself?"

She didn't quite know what Roman was saying beneath that gag, but it probably included some choice words, pleas, and a lot of threatening. Through it all, Naruto didn't smile. He showed no emotions. Not even when he closed the door into the interrogation chamber did that mask slip away.

She followed him up the stairs, her body cold, everything numb, her mind fuzzy. She hadn't even realized Naruto was puking his guts out into the dining room's sink until she was already beside him, her hand on his back, stroking it as she would a hangover victim.

"You'd think I'd be used to that at this point," he muttered to himself.

The statement only confirmed what she already knew: it wasn't the first time he'd tortured someone. She was horrified, but she knew it had to be done. Something big, something world changing was coming and it had something to do with the White Fang's involvement with this petty criminal. But did that justify what he'd done to said criminal?

She didn't know. The thought hadn't even crossed her mind. Everything was lost to her. Fuzzy thoughts that seemed just barely out of reach.

The next memory she could recall was sitting beside Naruto on the small cot shoved into the corner of the room. Shoulder to shoulder, neither of them said anything. Her nose caught the strong scent of alcohol. Very strong alcohol.

She didn't even think about the decision when he handed the bottle of high quality liquor to her. The painful burn forced her to cough, jolting her mind back to the situation at hand. There was a laugh - Naruto's laugh - from beside her as he patted her back like she'd done for him earlier.

Instead of backing down, she went back for seconds after the burning sensation subsided. She needed something - anything! - to distract her from what she'd seen today. The burn of the second shot was just as bad as the first, but she was ready for it this time.

"Where did you learn how to do that?" Her voice came out as a husky groan.

"Hehe." The sardonic laugh made her look at him. "Where I'm from, if you have one of these," he points at the leaf shaped headband on his head, "you're a soldier and an adult in the eyes of the law. Wanna guess how old I was when they taught me how to do it?"

She shook her head.

"Fourteen." He took the bottle back from her, taking a long draught of the burning liquid. "Back then, I couldn't do anything to burn away the things I saw. Couldn't drink, couldn't do drugs. If I didn't have my... brother to help me get through it, I probably would've just hanged myself."

He was there beside her now, so she wasn't concerned about that happening, but it didn't stop her hand from gripping onto his. After what she saw, she wanted someone to latch onto, someone or something to take away the edge.

"But now? I can drink myself into a stupor. Forget all the shit I've done."

"What changed?" she asked. "How can you drink now?"

"It's… a long story," he winced.

"Well," she grabbed the bottle and drank her share, "we have all day."

x-x-x-x-x

Pain.

"Ow ow ow ow."

She snuggled deeper into the warmth of her bed. Her headache eased ever so slightly, but going from jackhammer-to-skull to hammer-on-skull still left her with a pounding hangover. A warmth began radiating from her hip, chasing away some of the pain, relieving the worst of it until there was nothing left but a dull ache.

"Better?"

She nodded. Nothing sprang to mind about what was wrong with the situation she was in until she finally realized the warmth on her waist was a hand. A hand… on her nearly naked waist. Her eyes snapped open, a decision she regretted immediately when she found her senses drowned out by far too much light. Still, she pushed on, focusing her bleary eyes on the soon-to-be dead man who dared to climb into her bed.

When she realized who he was, where she was, and what happened, in that order, she slumped back into his embrace. Gods above. That happened. Her mom and dad were going to flay her alive. The rest of RWBY were probably going to tease her about this until she died.

They didn't go all the way, thank goodness, but they did have some exploratory fun. Which does explain why she had been stripped down to her bras and panties while Naruto was only wearing his pants. It also explained all the bite marks on Naruto's abs, chest, and neck.

"Never drinking again."

"You bite. A lot."

"Shut up."

She slumped back against him. Normally, waking up next to a friend, stripped down to her underwear, would send her panicking and running for the hills, but the weight of what she had learned prior to her blackout left her numb.

"We didn't do it, did we?"

"You mean have hot, raunchy sex until we forgot our own names?" She barely mustered enough will to slap his chest. "No. We didn't."

Good. That meant there weren't any gaps in her memory and the intimacy of her first time wasn't lost to the ether because of some alcohol. She hummed and laid there, nursing her fading headache and making note of the angry red marks on his chest. She really did bite a lot…

She ignored the shivers his doodling fingers caused. She ignored the warmth that came with having someone to hold. She couldn't get attached now. Team RWBY was already pushing her boundaries. Having whatever complication might arise from this incident was too much.

"So… you really came from another world?"

"Yup."

"Really fought a goddess?"

"Uh huh."

"That girl. Satsuki. Was she the one you were talking about?"

"Yea." His voice trailed off.

She drew her eyes away from those - her - bite marks. Although his torso bore numerous scars that tempted her to trace every last one, the fist-sized wound that sprawled across his flesh, mere centimeters from his chest, made her fear for his life, even as he lay safe and sound beneath her.

She traced a nail around the Lichtenberg scarring that marked his chest. He froze beneath her for a moment, only relaxing when the pad of her thumb replaced the hard point of her nail.

"Does it still hurt?"

"Sometimes."

They fell back into that treasured silence, each lost in their own thoughts. They were very much alike, she realized. Two lost souls, running from their own pasts. And their own relationships. Her, Adam. Naruto, Satsuki.

And they ran right into each other's arms.

"This… this can't happen again."

"Right," he agreed.

Her legs shifted. His embrace tightened. Their lips met. Neither of them knew who started it, but neither were willing to end it.

x-x-x-x-x

"Well done, Ruby."

This was the first time Ruby Rose ever experienced jealousy. She couldn't keep herself focused completely on the workout and training clone-Naruto had given her.

Didn't he realize how jealous she was? Didn't he know how much she wanted what he had?

"Ruby?"

Clones! Honest to her mom's brownies clones. From what he told her, this clone was basically him. Everything he knew, it did. Everything it knew, he will. According to him, it wasn't even his Semblance!

Imagine everything she could do! Play games! Finish homework! Practice with Crescent Rose! Push her Semblance to its limits! Spend time with Yang and her dad! Play with Zwei! There was practically no limit to what she could do!

Bonk!

"Ow~!"

She nursed her head, a large red lump swelling to half the size of her head.

"Focus."

"Meanie!" she cried.

"You wanted me to train you, then at least respect the time and effort I'm putting into training you."

"Yes sir!"

As it turns out, Naruto wasn't just training her, he was training himself. As standing beside her now, were a contingent of twenty five clones, all performing the exact same exercise she was: aura manipulation. At first, she found the company she kept to be rather daunting. Only for the clone teacher to dissuade her of such thoughts.

"Forget everything else, Ruby." The clone Naruto had left her explained. "You're here to train, you're here to improve yourself. The only one you should be comparing yourself to is you. Where will you be at the end of this training session? That should be the only concern on your mind."

Her objective? To cut a leaf.

With her aura.

"The key here isn't speed, Ruby." BLASPHEMY! "It's repetition. I know you're used to doing everything quickly, but some things can't be rushed. This is one of those things. Learn to sharpen your aura and slowly push it through the leaf. You only have to cut it. Don't worry about how clean or how quickly you can do it. Just do it."

By the time the session was over, her aura was depleted. As in nothing left her in her proverbial tank. Still, she made progress: a tiny little nick at the very tip of the leaf. Naruto had rubbed her head, smiling proudly.

"See! I knew you could do it."

Now, to come up with an excuse to explain to her sister why there was a box of leaves placed under her pillow.