5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The next morning found Naruto waking up in a sleeping bag of all things, which was already much softer than a desert cave, but was slightly surprised to find he wasn't the only one. Yang, who had cuddled next to Ruby like a mother bear, had also apparently just woke up. At almost the same time the two blondes stretched, the sound of their joints popping being heard by the other, but the way Yang's tank top lifted up to reveal her toned stomach was a welcome sight to the blonde Branwen. They both just grinned at each other from their respective spots, Yang was more than happy to ogle Naruto's bare chest and the defined scars that no doubt had some great stories behind them.

"So," Naruto began as they both ended up walking towards the locker room, leaving behind their fellow new students that wanted to sleep in.

"Think this place has a gym?" Yang asked with a grin, getting a matching one in turn. "Early morning workout to get the blood pumping?"

Yang wrapped her arm around his shoulder, "Is there any other way to start the day?"

"I could think of a few," Yang actually got caught off guard but that one, although she quickly hid it behind a loud laugh.

"Where have you been all my life? It's like our personalities are in sync." "Kicking ass and taking names."

As it turns out, since they didn't already have so much in common already, Yang and Naruto also trained with the same amount of intensity. Even though Yang trained for power, which was reflected by her strong core and well toned arms, Naruto was more than a little impressed to see she didn't neglect her speed or insurance all that much. More often than not, fighters that went for power couldn't often do marathon fights.

"How are you so flexible?" Yang asked as she delivered another bone shattering punch to the heavy bag mounted in front of her, all the while watching Naruto practically do the splits while stretching his legs.

"What can I say?" Naruto grunted, "My mom was a flexible fighter and she made sure I was one too."

"I get where you're coming from, my old man was the brawler for his old team. Now I hit like a train!" Yang laughed as she delivered another series of gabs, which not only pushed the bag back but also the metal frame it hung from.

"I can see that," Naruto laughed, 'Note to self: don't get hit by those fists...ever!'

"Ya sounds a bit nervous there; don't worry, I won't break you too much," Yang said with grin and a wink.

Naruto just laughed again, a laugh that wasn't part of the mask he'd been using since he got to Beacon, and jumped to his feet. With his stretching over with, Naruto walked over to where Yang was going to town and began beating into his own bag. Unlike Yang, who went for straightforward attacks, Naruto mixed in a variety of both punches and kicks. It was clear to the both of them where they stood in power and versatility.

Little did either of them know that a black haired girl, with a black bow in her equally black hair, had also woken up early and followed the two blondes from the shadows. Clutches tightly in her hands was a book titled "Ninjas of Love " but her illuminated yellow eyes never wavered from the two training blondes. Her cheeks flushed slightly, blondes with abs were definitelyher type.

"Hey, you feel like someone's watching us?" the black haired girl vanished into the shadows, like a ninja.

One hour later, which had been more than enough time for the two blondes to get properly warmed up, and the first batch of new recruits had been led out to a large cliffside overlooking a massive forest the likes of which many of them had never seen before. Naruto could best describe it as a sea of emerald surrounded by towering gray mountains, and off in the distance was what looked to be a manmade structure. Red eyes narrowed slightly in an attempt to make out what it could possibly be, only for a head of long blonde hair to suddenly abstract his view. Yang stood there, Ruby struggling to escape the headlock her sister had her in, and held out her scroll for Naruto to take.

"It's for our dad," Yang answered Naruto's unasked question, tightening her grip when Ruby nearly escaped, and gave him a wink, "I'll owe you one."

Naruto just chuckled and took the offered scroll, it was already set to the camera function, "I'll remember that."

"Yaaaang, everyone's looking," sure enough everyone in their group, including the headmaster and headmistress, had stopped to look upon the trio with mostly bewildered looks.

Glynda Goodwitch herself looked like she was about to pop a blood vessel, especially with the menacing purple aura glowing around her. Also, the glare she was sending Naruto's direction clearly showed that she still remembered the disrespect he showed her just a few days ago. Although it was Ozpin, the very man Naruto had been sent to kill, that looked more amused than irritated or angered by the trio. His gaze had zoned out, a fond smile forming on his face, and Naruto suddenly got the feeling he was now looking at a completely different person. Like a subtle shift in the wind.

"Please, don't mind us," Ozpin spoke up, his voice seemingly distant but somehow sinking into everyone's very bones, "It's rather refreshing to see two children wanting to make their parent smile."

Glynda looked like she wanted to protest, this was far outside what was allowed, but one look from Ozpin was all it took so crush any approaching argument. Naruto silently took note of this, but nonetheless brought his attention to the happily posing Yang and the very embarrassed Ruby. He silently wondered if Raven would also like a picture, seeing as this was the academy she'd gone to, but then he remembered what type of woman she was.

It was also at this point that Ozpin began his little speech, the one he gave to each and every group of new students the moment they arrived on the cliff. He'd given it to Galindo when she was still his student, to Qrow and Raven, and so many others that he'd nearly forgotten their names. It was meant to both tell them their objective, which he tended to change every couple of years, and warned them of the dangers they would be facing. This was no longer a game, they would have to be ready.

"For years, you've trained to become warriors," Ozpin began, watching as each member of this group stepped upon square tiles evenly spaced out into a straight line, "And today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest."

"Now, sure many of you had heard rumors about the assignment of teams. Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teams...today," Glynda interrupted, which was apparently to be expected seen as Ozpin didn't react in the slightest, and Naruto could've sworn he heard Ruby's mind break just a little bit.

Ozpin continued without a second thought, "These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at beacon. So it's in your best interest to be paired with someone with whom you can work well with."

Naruto and Yang both looked at each other at the same time and grinned, which actually made Ozpin shudder just a little bit. He remembered what Yang's father had been like, he's constantly reminded of what her mother is like, and the thought of her pairing up with someone like Naruto was a bit frightening.

"That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years," Ruby's cry of horror and outrage could be heard by all, but at this point who could blame her?

"Ruby looks like she's about to have a panic attack," Naruto whispered to Yang, who just nodded with a slightly concerned look on her face.

"After you've partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will surely meet various Grimm on your path. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path, or you will surely be killed," some of the other new recruits sobered up rather quickly, but it was those that didn't they caught Ozpin's notice.

Naruto decided to tune out the rest of Ozpin's little speech, he got the gist of what they needed to do and would get it done. After all, it helps when your own mother managed to complete this task single- handedly and did end up getting a partner till after she'd already claimed her own relic. She said it was because she didn't want anyone slowing her down, and so she blindfolded herself for the entire mission. As a young boy, Naruto had been awed by his mother's ability to do a mission without her sight, but the gap in skill between them had closed much over the following years.

"Now, everyone take your positions," was the last thing Naruto heard from Ozpin, taking the young Branwen out of his daydreaming.

"I'll be on the lookout for you, whiskers," said Yang as she put on a pair of aviator sunglasses.

"You'll have to catch me first, gorgeous," Naruto shot back as he took his own ready stance, his feet spread apart while his left hand gripped the sheath of his sword and his right hand gripped the hilt.

Naruto was sent flying into the air not seconds later, his cloak flapping in the wind as he went up and up into the sky. It was only when he reached the height of his arc that Naruto folded his arms close to his body and locked his legs together. He moved faster on the ground, so the best course of action would be to get to the ground as quickly as also meant he have to be able to slow his landing so that the impact wouldn't kill him, which was easier said than done. Faster and faster the treetop canopy rose up to greet him, and it was at this moment that Naruto acted. Both of his garments lashed out in front of him, his hands held up so that the grapple device hidden beneath them could fire. Two hooks, attached to the gauntlets by reinforced wire, shot down and dug into one of the thick tree branches below.

Naruto's aura flashed around his arms and shoulders, reinforcing them for what was about to happen. He flew past the large branch and waited for the moment for the wire to catch him, and when it did he felt like his arms were nearly dislocated. His forward momentum made him spin around through the air, but Naruto managed to correct himself mid flight and actually land on the tree branch itself. The hooks detached from the branch, and a mechanical device inside his gauntlets reeled the wires back in. It wasn't the best type of landing, but it got the job done.

"Note to self, find a better way to survive falling several thousand feet from the sky," Naruto grunted as he rotated his shoulders, feeling no lasting damage but it's still kind of stung.

The sound of someone cheering, followed by weapons fire, was the only warning Naruto had before Yang suddenly went flying over him, laughing like a mad woman the whole time. Naruto just shook his head in exasperation, wondering if she'd always been this excitable, but he had a mission to complete first. So, after taking a moment to figure out which way was north, Naruto jumped off the tree branch and took off deeper into the forest.

Tree after tree flew past Naruto as he continued to race through the forest, passing Grimm of all shapes and sizes until he had a practical horde of them right on his tail. They were anything too bad, at least nothing he couldn't deal with on his own, but they would be a pain once he actually got to the temple. It would probably be best to deal with them now, but Naruto still felt that he had some ground to make up. After all, if Yang was able to get so far ahead of him and who's to say the others hadn't already?

"What, you want some to?!" Naruto heard right as he burst into another clearing, his eyes laser focused on the massive Ursa, before he shot forward and cut the creature in half with a quick slice of his sword.

Blinking for a moment, Naruto's red eyes met the bright yellow eyes of a dark-haired girl, who had a bowtie in her hair. Meanwhile, the dark-haired girl's eyes locked with a temperamental Yang's. Normally this wouldn't be a problem, aside from the fact that it all happened at the same time, and so nobody knew who their partner was going to be. Leave it to Yang to still be focused on the fact that her kill was just stolen.

"I could've taken him," Yang said, putting her hands on her hips, but the dark-haired girl just rolled her eyes.

"And the rest of the forest while you are at it," Naruto commented as he flipped his katana into a reverse grip and slid it back into its sheath.

"Hey, I'm not that bad!" At the same time, Naruto and the dark-haired girl looked over at the pulverized Ursa that Yang had previously punched into oblivion.

"Anyway," the dark-haired girl finally spoke up, "Who is whose partner?"

Both blondes glanced at each other before simply shrugging their arms, earning them an exasperated look.

"Does it really matter? I mean we're in a forest full of Grimm and just trying to survive, let's let the teachers sort out this mess," Naruto said with a shrug of his shoulders, just before the small horde that was following him burst into the clearing.

"Friends of yours?" Yang teased.

"What can I say? These things just love me."

"I should've just stayed up in the trees," the dark-haired girl said as she readied her weapon, "My name is Blake, by the way."

"I'm Naruto and this is Yang, it's a pleasure to fight by your side today," he said in a carefree town, getting into his ready stance.

"Oh yeah, now this is what I call a party!" fire exploded out of Yang as she punched her fist together, her gauntlets now re-loaded.

The Grimm roared in challenge in charge the three hunters and training, but little did they know that this would be their last days alive. For a legend was born this day and would be remembered for years to come.

Yang charged forward with a gleeful warcry of her own, shooting at the Grimm until they got within striking range, and the punch she delivered to one unlucky Beowolf was strong enough to shatter it's head like a melon. This unfortunately left the blonde boxer well and truly open for the other Grimm to flank her from both sides. Or that would have been the case had Naruto not suddenly appeared on her right, cleaving another wolf in two with a powerful two-handed downward swing of his katana, and Blake doing much the same with her own unique weapon.

Naruto nimbly dodged a clawed swipe at his head, ducking down and spinning into a low crouch while his blade glided through the Grimm's soft flesh. His cloak shifted as he did so to reveal the hilt of one of his two daggers, which was gripped moments later and slammed into the eye of a massive Ursa.

Another loud roar alerted him to three different wolves leaping towards him at once, their maws was open to reveal razor-sharp and jagged teeth. Naruto just smirked at his good fortune, they were all lined up!

"Die!" He exclaimed as his blade burst into flames and, in one single swing, Naruto decapitated all of them.

This is proving to be a great fight, Grimm were so much more of a challenge than common thugs and he got to fight alongside two beautiful teenage girls! Even as he dodged and flipped over numerous other Grimm, Naruto still cuts side of Yang and Blake fighting their own battles. Yang was like a tank, a tank that like to punch things, and had been laughing this entire time. Blake, on the other hand, was like a silent killing machine. Her weapon of choice, which seemed to be a gun, a slightly shorter than normal katana, and a kusarigama.

She was nimble as well, having led more than a few of the Grimm to the edge of the clearing where she could use the trees to her advantage. She got the high ground on one of the branches first, using a weapon like a grappling hook with a rather durable ribbon tied to it, and use the Grimm's slower speed against them. Blake would've made a good bandit, or at least Naruto like to think so.

On and on they thought, the Grimm forcing them closer and closer together until they were eventually making up different styled team attacks just to stay mobile. Naruto's favorite one was when he had given Yang the end of his grapple and Blake had done the same at the end of her ribbon. The blonde bombshell then proceeded to spin them both around while they use their katanas to slice apart the Grimm before they ever got close. She would then let them both go and the fight would start again!

In the end of it there was only one Grimm remaining, poor little Ursa with nowhere left to run. Naruto, Blake, and Yang all stood on three different sides of the creature, black smoke and decaying Grimm bodies littered around them. They each took their ready stance, the Ursa let out a whimper, and then they attacked. Blake went low, taking the creature's legs out from under it by literally cutting them off. Naruto went high, spinning through the air like a maelstrom of blades, removing its arms with two devastating strikes. Finally, to top it all off, Yang once again propelled herself forward with a blast from her weapons, flying through the air with another happy cry. Her face slammed into the creature's face and it was quite literally blown to pieces.

"Well that was fun," Yang laughed a tired laugh, haven't having to put that much effort into a fight in quite a while, and she be lying if she said it didn't get her a bit excited!

"It was...entertaining," Blake tried to keep the smile off her face, focusing on sheathing her sword and attaching it to her back.

"We should do it again sometime," Naruto sheathed his own weapons and readjusted his cloak.

As one the trio turned and began walking north once again, the shadow of a massive Nevermore passing over them for just a split second. Yang could've sworn she saw a dash of red on the creature's back and something bright white being held in its talons. Oh well, she doubted it was anything important.

As it turns out it was something rather important, for now Yang stood paralyzed as Ruby came falling out of the sky like a high-speed missile. No one had really been expecting it, especially since the trio had finally made it to the abandoned temple and was about to collected their artifact. So all Yank due was cursed just seconds before her little sister slammed into her, sending them both crumbling to the ground in a heap of flailing limbs and painful groans. Naruto actually looked rather amused, but Blake on the other hand look like she couldn't comprehend what just happened.

"Did she just fall out of the sky?" Blake asked, for a moment thinking that the girl had somehow remained airborne ever since been launched off the cliff.

"It would seem that way," Naruto tried to stifle his laugh, but failed rather miserably.

"I'm glad you find this so funny," Yang groaned out as she struggled to sit up with a passed out Ruby on top of her, "Next time she can hit you and then we'll see if you're still laughing."

Whatever Naruto was about to say next was cut off by the roar of another Ursa, only for an explosion of some kind to hit its back and for it to fall over dead. Riding on the back of the now dead creature was an orange haired girl with the white and black top and a pink skirt. Walking up from behind the dead Grimm was a young man with long black hair ending in almost all green uniform; Naruto thought he looked like the wannabe ninja.

"Nora, please don't do that again," the green wearing teen huffed out, clearly out of breath from whatever torment he just been put through by his orange haired containing.

The Orchard girl had apparently rushed past Naruto and snatched the Knight chess piece he was about to grab, "Oh look at pony!"

"Nora!" The long-haired teen shouted, this time with a harsher edge to his voice, but the girl just giggled and gave a mock salute.

"Coming Ren!"

"Did that girl just ride all the way here on the back of an Ursa?" Blake was starting to wonder if she should have just stayed home, it would've been so much more peaceful.

"I..." Yang tried to speak, having just barely managed to pick yourself up off the ground while we Ruby was slowly coming back to the waking world.

"Hey, what's that over there?" Naruto asked, pointing to where he saw some trees being knocked down, just as a familiar redhead came bursting to the forest with a Deathstalker right on her heels.

"Did she run all the way here with a Deathstalker chasing after her?" Yang looked like she was about to explode, which she did end up doing about three seconds later.

"Would everyone just shut the hell up for five seconds, is that so much to ask? Just five seconds of peace and quiet so my head would stopped splitting like a piece firewood thrown into a volcano!" Blake actually jumped back a bit it Yang sudden outburst, having been taken by surprise when her hair literally caught on fire and her eyes became a vibrant red!

"Easy there gorgeous, no need to have a meltdown," Naruto, apparently having more guts than all of them combined, actually padded the still flaming gang on her shoulder.

Of course she also dodged the reflexive punch she sent towards his face, moving his head slightly to the side but never breaking eye contact with her. Red and red stared into each other before the girl's eyes suddenly reverted back to the normal lilac color. Yang at least had the decency to blush after nearly taking off her teammates head.

"Sorry."

"Don't worry about it, it's not the first time the girls tried to take off my head and I doubt it'll be the last," Naruto said, waving his hand back and forth nonchalantly.

"Ouch, my head," and Ruby had finally come back to the land of the living, clutching her head in pain as she slowly sat up.

"Hey little sis, you okay?" Yang asked as she knelt down next to Ruby, already going into her infamous mother hen mode.

"I think so, but where's Weiss?" Ruby asked, drawing confused looks from pretty much everyone around her, all the while everyone still ignored the redhead being chased by the Grimm in the background.

"Who's Weiss?" Naruto asked, only for him to be answered by another scream from up above them.

As it turns out, Weiss was a girl he saw before that was in all white and she was currently falling from the sky in a less graceful manner than even Ruby. Naruto just clicked his tongue in irritation, crouched down to tighten the muscles in his legs, before suddenly flinging himself up towards the falling princess. In no time at all his right arm was looped underneath her knees while he supported her back in his right.

"Hey, you falling my way?" Naruto asked with a rather cheesy grin, getting both a surprised and flustered look on Weiss' face.

Naruto landed on the ground with barely even a rattle of his armor, making sure to absorb most of the

impact himself that way Weiss wouldn't accidentally be thrown out of his arms. The now flustered white themed girl wasted no time in pretty much jumping out of his arms, before leveling one of the most icy glares he'd ever seen at him.

"I had everything under control!" Weiss shouted, before turning her icy glare upon Ruby, "And you! I can't believe you just abandoned me up there! I can't believe I even agreed to go up on that thing!"

"I said to jump!" Ruby tried to argue, only to wince when her throbbing head practically vibrated some more.

"What sane person jumps off the back of the Nevermore?!" "Hey, back off my little sister!" Yang butted in.

"This doesn't concern you!"

"My fist is going to concern your face if you don't back off!" as if to reinforce her threat, both of Yang's gauntlets made a cocking sound and a round was loaded into the chamber.

"LOUD NOISES!" Naruto suddenly shouted over all of them, even going so far as to draw his sword and ignite it just to get their attention.

The three arguing girls jumped it Naruto sudden intervention, even Blake jumped a little bit, and just stared at Naruto with widened eyes. The serious intense moment was destroyed when Pyrrha was suddenly flung to the ground in front of all them.

"Great, now we can all die together," Yang huffed out, still slightly glaring at Weiss.

Ruby, seeing her chance to finally prove herself in her sister's eyes suddenly shot to her feet and charge the Deathstalker, "Not a I have anything to say about it!"

Ruby took off before anyone even had a chance to stop her, her weapon already in its scythe form but she apparently forgot one of the key facts about a Deathstalker. Deathstalker's were notorious for their dense armor and it was often advised to either avoid them altogether or somehow attack their underbelly. Yet Ruby, for all her enthusiasm, thought she could defy those simple facts and tried to cleave through the thickest part of its armor. It ended much the way Naruto thought it would, with the massive weapon bouncing harmlessly off the Grimm.

"Ruby!" Yang cried out, already on the move to protect her sister, but they were soon overshadowed by a massive Nevermore.

The blackette made to run away, to get to the safety of her sister's arms, but things hardly ever go the way people plan them to. Massive dagger like feathers suddenly rained down from above upon both the girls, with one of them stabbing Ruby's cloak into the ground while the rest knocked Yang off her feet. The Deathstalker was upon Ruby in seconds, its massive stinger poised and ready to end her already short life. Ruby just closed her eyes.

A high-pitch screeching noise suddenly split the air, Ruby felt something fly right past the side of her head, and a suddenly explosive shockwave hit her with enough force to not only tear her cloak but send her flying back to Yang! Yang just sat there on the ground, her little sis slumped in her arms, but the sight before her was so much more distracting.

"You bastards just don't know when to quit, do you?" Naruto was now standing where Ruby had once been, his arm outstretched and the ground before him was completely uprooted.

(Moments Ago)

'Dammit, I can't let this happen!' Naruto roared in his mind, his legs already moving to push him towards Ruby.

Naruto didn't even know what he was going to do once he got to her, but he just knew he had to do something! With each step he took the stinger came closer and closer to Ruby; he knew he would never make it on time.

"I'll helpyou out,but you'llowe meone."

Naruto was suddenly standing in between Ruby and the Deathstalker, a familiar ball of chaotic red energy spinning in his hands, and he didn't even hesitate. He slammed the ball into the Grimm's armor covered face, right in between it's multiple eyes, and allowed the ball to shoot from his hands like a cannon. The ground before him was atomized by the attack, it's size growing to the point that it completely swallowed the Deathstalker, and for a moment everything went red.

(Now)

"Holy shit," was all Yang could say, watching as Naruto stood up straight before turning back to look at her.

Their eyes met once more before Naruto's aura suddenly flashed, his eyes rolled to the back of his head, and he collapsed onto the ground with a dull thud.

"Naruto!"

Far away from Beacon Academy, in a land ruled by Grimm and shadows, the queen herself sat upon her ebony throne with an all too pleased smile on her face. Her already glowing red eyes flashed with power and seemed to refocus themselves, but she was no longer looking at her throne room. No, her mind had reached out to an already ancient Nevermore many thousands of miles away after her connection to a long buried Deathstalker had been abruptly destroyed. Despite what most believed, a Grimm did not truly die after its body was turned to little more than ash and smoke. The very essence of her wonderful creatures instead returned to her to be reformed at a later date. There had only ever been to individuals with the kind of power to actually destroy her creatures in their entirety.

"Aw, it seems you don't have quite the control I thought you did, over that power of yours," Salem purred as she forced the Nevermore to ignore its baser instincts and remain away from the hunters in training, instead making it watch as the blonde haired daughter of Raven ran towards her unknown brother.

"Don't worry, unlike Ozma, I'll show you the truth once we finally meet. So rest for now, little bandit prince, you've quite the journey ahead of you."

Raven watched from the shadows of the nearby ruined temple, one that was suspended over a massive gorge, as a truly heartwarming sight happened before her eyes. Her son had become so strong since the last time she'd seen him, his control over his destructive semblance was something she'd always feared he'd never achieve, and he'd used that new found power to protect his family.

She'd seen the way he interacted with Yang since they met in the forest, which was about the same time that Raven herself had managed to get to Beacon from Patch. If she'd known Naruto's objective was to get into Beacon then she would have just teleported to Yang herself, but it didn't really matter at this point. Although overhearing them flirting was a bit strange, she just figured to each their own.

"You also take after mama's temper," Raven said with a smirk, feeling a little proud of her daughter when she threatened that Weiss girl for yelling at her sister, "I'm sorry I couldn't be there for you, but I couldn't let Ozpin turn your brother into another weapon like Qrow."

Speaking of her traitor of a brother, the sound of someone landing next to her was a bit annoying. This was naturally followed by the smell of a drunk homeless person that very much needed a bath. Honestly, their mother should have beaten him more.

"I'm surprised to see you here," by all the gods in existence, he even sounded drunk.

"What, can't a mother check in on her child from time to time?" best to keep up the lie she told him about Naruto being dead, less he report to the one holding his leash.

"Normally I'd say no, but well you're you," Qrow wasn't wrong, she wasn't exactly mother of the year when it came to Yang, which was something she'd need to fix if she wanted to make her family whole again.

"Don't you have a master to go lick the boots of? I'm sure he's missing his loyal dog right about now," ok, so she was a bit defensive.

"Love you to, sis, but we've actually got a bit of a problem," Qrow nodded in the direction of the massive Nevermore just watching the hunters from high above them, it's eyes glowing bright red.

"Why would that witch be interested in the latest batch of Ozpin's child soldiers?" it stung a bit to refer to her two children so coldly, but appearances must be maintained.

"Does it really matter?"

"No, no I guess it doesn't," Raven shook her head before glancing at her little brother, "Shall we?"

"Aw, some old fashioned Branwen family bonding," Qrow just grinned, the same type of mocking grin Naruto had, "I thought you'd never ask.

Two birds took off into the sky; the Nevermore never knew what hit it.