A/N: EDIT: Flames again, eh? Can't we all get along?
WARNING! This chapter hits hard.
As ever, we're going by the Embers Rule. This will be deleted if folks don't like it.
That's right, gone for keeps. Every bit of feedback counts. So by all means, speak up! Makes yourselves heard!
Your words matter, after all. I wouldn't be here without you.
That's no joke.
Now then, onto your questions:
Q: Ha! Nice twice at the end. What else you got in store?
A: Near infinite power opens up nearly infinite possibilities. Don't mess with a drunken demigod. It never ends well.
Of course, if you manage to BEFRIEND said blond, as Qrow has, well. You'll never fine a truer friend.
Q: Show us the rest of the fights! Explain you must!
A: I thought the outcome was painfully clear? The bad guys, in their arrogance, made a mistake. Naruto was fighting Raven and Cinder to be sure, but Jaune and the others were busy with the tribe and Watts. To say nothing of Emerald and Mercury.
Sure, Raven had her tribe, but against a properly trained pack of Hunters who AREN'T caught by surprise...well. The results speak for themselves
Q: I hate to be a downer, but how the hell is Jaune going to take this? Will he snap? Forgive? Or aybe...
Oh.
Wait.
No, no, no! Neon, I swear to gods, don't you do it!
A: ...do what? I'm afraid I don't much understand your question. Hopefully this chapter provides some answers.
Lets just say madness is contagious.
Q: Aha! I've figured out the pairings you've got going with Naruto! You're going to pair him with *SPOILER* and *SPOILER* to say nothing of *SPOILER!* How do I know this? Because you've not done it before. Looking forward to seeing how you pull it off, you sly old dog!
A: Had to redact a few words, but yes, I try to keep the pairings and circumstances unique.
Q: Any chance we can see Boruto villains in some of your stories? I know you dislike the show, but Isshki and the others are right terrifying.
A: ...that's complicated. I don't much like Boruto, and while SOME of the villains work well enough, I don't care for much of it. To say nothing of recent spoilers. Naruto and Sasuke as absentee fathers? And then THAT happens to them? After what they went through? HELL NO!
Alright, I've kept you long enough.
I could answer some more questions, but I'd rather the story speak for me.
As ever, I own no references, themes or memes.
Minor verbatim for last chapter, btw.
Get ready to laugh.
"Look, I get it. I'm a considerate fella. I'll do you a solid. Just this once, but you owe me."
...do I want to know what I owe you?"
"You'll see. Sooner or later."
~Drunk on Life.
Not a Monster (Interlude of Jaune)
When had everyone gone mad?
For the life of him, Jaune Arc couldn't see where, why, or even how it happened.
One moment they'd been at their ease back in Haven, planning their next move. Sure they'd been lost, but they'd been together. Most of them -no one really knew where Blake was- and sure, they aimless, adrift, but they were together. He hadn't lost heart then. He'd know they would come up with something, find a plan, a way in the dark, something. Anything.
At least he'd thought so, until Ruby's surly uncle dragged in a drunk...well, a drunk drunker than him.
Everything had snowballed after that.
"Pack your things, kids! We're raiding the Branwen tribe! And my bitch of a sister!"
You see, that was the moment. The instant he should've known everything had gone awry. But he'd forged on ahead regardless in the vain hope that he'd find light at the end of the tunell.
And with it, vengeance for the fallen.
Now one thing had led to another and here he was in the thick of things, fighting for his life. Arms sore, pulse pounding in his ears, Crocea Mors dripping with bandit and traitor blood alike. His blade cut a crimson path before him, felling each bandit that crossed him. He'd lost himself in the madness of battle and for the first time in a long time...since that awful night...
He was smiling.
A tiny part of Jaune's shattered soul wondered if this was healthy; if he should really be taking his rage out on these thugs.
The rest had long since caved to the chaos whirling around him and no longer cared for such a quandary. These were bandits. Scum. Worse of the worst. He'd already seen their work. They preyed upon the weak and left the survivors for the Grimm. They were just like her. He saw Cinder's face in every enemy, every kill he made, and it stoked his rage to new heights. It gave him strength. So what if he didn't have a Semblance? He didn't need one. He had aura. They didn't. It was enough.
"Die, Huntsman!"
He really wasn't one, not yet, but the bandit before him couldn't make such a distinction.
An awfully sharp ax whistled past his head, borne by a great big oaf of a man with brown hair. Easily dodged. Pyrrha's training kicked in and he swept the brute's legs, knocking him to the floor. Even then his opponent didn't stop fighting, trying to hew him down at the ankles. Crocea Mors slashed back in a streak of bloodied steel, snapping the the haft near the center and taking a few fingers at it went. His foe fell with a shriek, clutching at his ruined hand, piggish eyes widening as he clutched at the bloodied stumps.
"Mercy!" he cried! "Don't kill me!"
Jaune didn't feel an ounce of it. Mercy? Was Pyrrha shown mercy? No. She was gone. Had Beacon been shown any mercy? No. Their home had become a Grimm-infested ruin. No mercy for all those cut civilians cut down by the Grimm and the White Fang. All those lives cut short. And this man, this wretched piece of trash who would've happily lopped off his head, had the nerve to beg when faced with the same fate. He saw himself in the eyes of this man, a bloodied specter staring down at him with blank glassy eyes.
These folk weren't hunters.
They were bandits, monsters masquerading as people. Just like her. They'd talked a big game, but in the end, they had numbers and nothing more. A black pearl of anger coalesced in his chest. It gave him the strength to do what needed to be done. To not hesitate.
His eyes hardened.
"Remember, you tried to kill me first."
Crocea Mors sword stabbed down. The man gurgled once and went still.
Jaune didn't linger to see him pass; he'd already whirled to find another opponent.
A bald woman charged him with a greatsword, only to find herself parried. His sword sang and swept under hers, lopping off her head. It was still sailing through the air as he crossed blades with another, battered him in the face with his shield, then ran him through while he was stunned. The bandit doubled over with a wheeze, eyes wide with horror. He planted a boot on his chest, kicked him free, and left him to die. Onto the next.
Time began to blur at the edges as he fought on. His arms ached.
'Stop.' The last bitter dregs of sanity voice in the back of his head pleaded. 'You have to stop! Are you trying to die?!'
Maybe he was.
He moved onto the next, only to find, with some surprise, that only a handful remained. Watts favored his right leg -Nora's work, no doubt!- and fired wildly as Qrow and Ozpin harried him. Yang was making mincemeat of Mercury thanks to Ren's aid. Weiss flitted about with one of the more capable bandits, weaving a pattern of glyphs before her to ward her curved blades away. Nora was racing in that direction, hammer hefted with intent.
A bolt of panic surged through him when he couldn't find Ruby.
She shot past him a cloud of crimson petals and swept three more bandits aside with sheer momentum alone. She saw him and waved, blanched a little when she noticed the blood, then threw herself back into the fray without a word. His fears eased themselves somewhat.
Good. That just left...
"SHUT UP!"
A shriek accompanied by rush of fire swept across the camp. There.
Jaune turned and spied Cinder locked in mortal combat with that strange drunkard. Not. Not combat. Combat implied she stood a chance. She didn't. A lazy backhand caught her by the face and sent her flying into the air. Raven dove at Naruto while his back was turned and he slammed her facefirst into the ground, then struck Cinder down without missing a beat. His hand closed around her face, muffling her scream. White light burned up and out of his palm, drawing a scowl form him.
No! His kill! He wouldn't be denied!
He stalked toward her, mind set on murder. Someone tried to get in his way. Tan skin. Red eyes. Mint green hair. His hazy mind conjured a name. Emerald. She shouted something at him, but all her words were muffled over the roaring in his ears. One of her arms hung loosely at her side. The other whipped an olive sickle at his face. Jaune caught it on his shield, whirled, and lopped off her hand at the wrist. She crumpled with a cry and he slammed his shield into her face, and they reeled away.
There was a sudden flash of light as the horned man did something.
He flung up an arm against it,
When the light cleared he saw. So did the rest.
"Here are your Maidens." Naruto stormed over and dropped two bundles of cloth at Ozpin's feet. "Have fun."
Oscar's body physically recoiled. "What have you done?"
"What was needed."
Jaune couldn't quite see what from this angle; that changed as he drew closer. Wait. Why did they look so small?
"Mom?!" Yang took one look at them and both hands flew to her face. "What happened to you?!"
Mercury hissed out a breath through his bruised face. "What the hell is this?!
Emerald blinked rapidly. Scrubbed at her eyes. "Cinder?! Is that you?!"
Arthur groaned where he lay, trapped under someone's boot.
"You must be joking...
All around them the battle ground to a halt. Jaune scarcely noticed. His stride lengthened and he winced as his ribs protested. Now the the battle haze had fallen away, he realized someone he was injured. Bleeding. Then the anger slammed back into place, numbing it all again.
"Who are you people?" Cinder glanced about fretfully with both eyes, voice high and reedy with fear. "Where am I? What is this place?!"
"My head hurts!" Raven's voice warbled in thinly-veiled terror. "Where's my mommy?! I wanna go home!"
"What the actual hell." Qrow swore. "Oi, whiskers! What...what did you do to them?!"
Naruto yawned. "Erased their memories and used a forbidden jutsu. Why?"
...why is nothing ever, ever, EVER simple with you?"
"What, would you rather I killed 'em?!"
And then Jaune was upon them.
A hand flew out, grasping the whiskered warrior by his collar.
"What did you do?!"
"Pretty sure I already explained that." Naruto tottered on his feet, uncorked another flask, and drank deeply. "Look, they're not threat to you as they are now. Hell, they don't even remember who they were. Ah!" A bleary grin crossed his face as he polished off his prize. "They never will. Now...let go."
He didn't. "You should've killed them!"
"I should've done a lot of things."
Sapphire orbs met azure and Jaune recoiled, suddenly finding himself clutching a log instead of a person. He dropped it with a start.
"I didn't just erase their memories." He dropped it with a start as Naruto walked past him. "I purged them." the drunkard snapped his fingers, producing a spark. "Why? Got a problem with that?"
Jaune looked down.
Cinder looked up at him with wide, round, fearful golden eyes. Both eyes! He'd even healed her! It wasn't fair! He regarded the little girl sprawled before him, this helpless wretch on the verge of bawling her eyes out. She couldn't be more than seven. To have his vengeance, justice for Pyrrha so close, only for it to become...whatever the hell this was!
Raven blinked up at Yang, oblivious to it all. "You...look like me."
The blond in question swallowed nervously. "Yeah...?"
"Are you my mommy?"
Yang crashed backward with a wheeze.
Ruby yelped and dove to catch her. "Yang down!"
Nora actually laughed at their plight. Ren managed a rusty chuckle. Once, Jaune might have joined them. Not now. He only had eyes for the wretch before him. Murderer. Killer. He didn't trust her for an instant. This had to be a trick. It must be. Her lips parted and he braced himself for a scathing comment, some caustic retort, but it never came.
The child who had once been Cinder Fall blinked. "Who are you?"
His.
World.
Shattered.
Crocea Mors snapped up with a heartbreaking howl and descended thrice as fast.
Cinder fell back, shielding her face with an arm. "Please don't hurt me!"
He missed.
In hindsight, Jaune wasn't sure why or how, only that he did. Instead of piercing her head, the planting itself in the ground only inches from her face. His victim squeaked in terror and nearly fainted dead away where she lay. Jaune braved Mors with both hands and ripped it free, the blade glimmering in the faint light as it ascended once more. Someone shouted, a hand grabbed at his arm, yet trying to restrain him. An elbow snapped into their face and they fell back with a gasp.
Five pounds of pressure. That was all it would take. He wouldn't miss a second time-
"If you wanna kill a kid, be my guest." Naruto's voice called. "I won't stop you."
This was no child! This was a monster! He couldn't stop here! He wouldn't!
"This is what you deserve!" Tears stung at his eyes. "This is justice!"
His victim closed her eyes and wailed. "I'm sorry!"
...what?"
"Whatever I did, I'm sorry!" she looked away, unable to meet his eyes. "I don't even know you!"
His arms trembled. Some sass he could've put up with. Insults would've only fed his fury. But this? It burned. Oh, how it burned. It was too much. Her memories might be gone, but at her core she was still the same person; he had to believe that, he must; because if he didn't, if he allowed himself to doubt even for a moment...!
A scream tore itself from Jaune's throat.
Crocea Mors plunged down anew...
And clattered to the floor.
Cinder's eyes rolled up in her head and she fainted dead away. Jaune scarcely saw it. His legs carried him back even as his prey regarded him with wide eyes. He couldn't do it. Pyrrha would never forgive him. He wasn't a monster. He wished he could be, but he just...wasn't. To simply kill a kid, even if it was here...here at last his resolved failed him and he buckled.
"Wait." he turned to find Naruto gazing at him intently. "I know that look."
Jaune whirled away. "You don't know anything."
"What was her name?" the older man called at his back. "The one she took from you."
Jaune's feet grew roots and tethered him to the floor. "How do you...?"
"I've been around a time or two. Wasn't hard to guess."
...it doesn't matter."
"See, I think it does." Naruto plucked another flask from his satchel, then frowned. He gave the empty bottle a shake. "Blast it. Why is all the rum gone?"
Fury sparked back to life in his heart and he rounded on him.
"Do you think this is a game?! When have you ever lost anything?! You're just an old drunk!"
"Careful, now." In an instant those eyes hardened, startlingly sober, and he glimpsed the man beneath the drunken facade. "I've lost more than you could possibly know." A hand came down on his shoulder. Do you really want to ride this train?"
A silence fell over the two of them.
Remarkably, the older blond yielded first.
"Gah, blasted puppy eyes." he looked away with a sigh. "Twist my arm, why don't you? This friend of yours...tell me her name." It was not a request.
There was a part of Jaune, a small, petty part that just wanted to defy him in spite of it all. And yet when faced with that piercing gaze, he faltered.
...Pyrrha."
"Hmm. Pyrrha." the old drunkard sounded her name out then smacked his lips, tasting it on the air. "Alright. I get it. I'm a considerate fella. I'll do you a solid. Just this once, but you owe me."
Jaune gulped, not quote comprehending what he was on about. "Do I want to know what I owe you?"
"You'll know in a second."
Confusion and hope sparked to life within Jaune's chest and promptly went to war with one another.
Qrow bridled across the way. "Oi! Cut the crap! You said you wouldn't do that again!"
"I did." A lazy eye peered over his shoulder. "Changed my mind. One per customer rule and all that. So!" his gaze snapped back to Jaune, regarding him as a curious might an amusing rabbit. "Jaune, m'boy! Got anything of hers on ya? Something that might have a bit of her DNA, preferably."
Jaune touched a hand to scarlet sash at his waist. "Yes...?"
"Great!" Quick as a flash, Naruto yanked the scarf from his grasp. "I'll be borrowing this, then."
Don't do this. Don't give me hope. Don't let me believe again.
"What're you doing? She's gone. Reduced to ashes."
"In my line of work, death ain't exactly the end." "Just need a hic," Naruto swayed a little, "Live body and...aha!" He turned to consider the sprawled bodies of the bandits. Most were still moving. Ruby and the others had been more merciful than he. He grabbed one by the ankle. "This bastard will do.
Here at last, Nora found her voice. "I don't get it? Why do you need a body?"
"Suppose you could call it a bit of necromancy. As both teams looked on aghast, the whiskered warrior dragged his victim forward. "Not something I like ta do often. Y'see, I want a student." he prattled on as he slung them over his shoulder as one would a sack of flour. "Someone to pass my knowledge down to." blue eyes met Jaune. "Do that, and I'll bring your friend back. No strings attached."
He was lying. Had to be.
But if he wasn't...?! If there was a chance?!
There could only be one response given to such an offer.
Jaune knelt and bowed his head. "I pledge myself to your teachings, old man."
"Oi! Does this face look old to you?!" Naruto flung his arms up. "I'm in the prime of my youth, for crying out loud!"
Yes, Jaune decided, everyone -himself included!- had gone mad.
But perhaps a little madness was good.
Sanity was overrated.
A/N: Read this note, would you kindly? Got some important info to cover here.
Once more, Embers Rule. If folks don't like it, poof! To the bin it goes. Might even delete it entirely.
First! Don't expect "Edo Tensei" spam to be a thing. Nor Rinne Tensei for that matter. Naruto's got a strict "one per customer" rule, so don't expect him to spam that. And its a tricky jutsu at the worst of times.
Funny thing about having the power of the goddess. Opens up all sorts of shenanigans. Naturally, we'll see everyone's reactions next chapter. You'll love 'em~!
Pairing is going to be an...unorthodox one. I'm aiming for a surprise here. Care to guess it? I intend to make it something...new.
So in the Immortal Words of Atlas...
...Review...Would You Kindly?
And enjoy these previews!
Lets get crazy~!
SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS!
READ IF YOU DARE!
(Previews!)
Pyrrha opened her eyes.
Wait. She had eyes?! A body again!?
...don't understand," she heard a faint voice. "Why revive her down here in the vault?"
"Eh, two birds with one stone. Saves some time. Now I have a genie to chat up...and possibly get hammered.
"Can a genie get drunk?"
"One way to find out~!" Naruto pried the lamp from its pedestal. "Rise and shine!"
His grin was a terrifying thing to behold. "Alright then. Lets get cooking."
Vernal laid her blades upon the ground before him and bowed her head. "I submit."
Naruto cocked his head.
"Two for the price of one? Alright, then...
"Drink up. It'll put some hair on your chest."
Jaune did as he was bade. "Ack!"
Naruto slapped him on the back. "That's the way!"
His fellow blond coughed. "I hate you!"
"Good! Hold onto that hate. You'll be needing it for the next leg of training."
R&R~!
~Nz.