Hey guys! Sorry it's been a minute, but I'm sure that's getting a little too repetitive. Been super busy as always. You know what they say about rest for the wicked. Also got a couple other story ideas, and wanted to get the scenes that I had in my head written down. Won't really be working on those until I'm finished with this one, but I didn't want to forget about the ideas altogether either. Also had an idea for later down the road, and wanted to make sure it was perfect!
I absolutely love the feed back you guys have been giving me. I always worry about my pacing on character relationships, but you guys are giving me the feeling I'm doing Naruto and Ruby right at least, so I truly appreciate that! To Kasilios, I truly appreciate you taking the time to give a true broken down analysis on my story so far. It's far from perfect, but your words have help immensely, and can't tell you how much I appreciate it.
Here is the next Chapter, and I hope it leaves you wanting even more!
Naruto slowly came too. He felt like he had just gone multiple rounds with all the Biju with his hands tied behind his back. His body felt heavy, his lungs burned, and his head throbbed. He couldn't bring himself to open his eyes yet, but he vaguely heard two voices speaking in hushed tones.
"Are you sure?" A voice that he recognized as Winter's asked.
Another man, Pietro if Naruto's guess was right, answered. "It is the most peculiar presentation I've ever seen, but there is no mistaking it. The scans don't lie. The manner of it though…as morbid as it is, I have to admit it is fascinating."
Naruto didn't know what they were talking about, but he assumed it was his current condition. He too had briefly considered using Atlas' technology to figure out what was wrong with him, but ultimately, he had a good idea that they wouldn't be able to cure what ailed him, and he didn't need word slipping to RWBY or JNPR. They had enough to worry about as it was.
Naruto finally managed to groan, alerting the two people in the room with him that he had regained consciousness.
"Naruto?" Winter asked, moving closer to him. "Are you alright?"
Naruto slowly opened his eyes, forcing them to adjust to the harsh white lights above him. He looked at Winter, who was doing her best to maintain a professional demeanor, but was failing miserably.
"You know," Naruto croaked, his dry throat working to accommodate him. "I tried so hard to get a reaction out of you. If I knew that I just had to fall out in the middle of the mission, I'd have done it much earlier in the day."
Winter's worried expression quickly faded away into a slightly embarrassed one, "Yes…well…Weiss would not be pleased if I took a new friend of hers out on an information gathering mission and brought him back dead…so, I had reason to worry."
She schooled her face into her typical emotionless expression, before turning to Pietro, who was still looking over the computer screens beside Naruto's bedside.
"As you can see Doctor, he is fine."
"For now," Pietro grunted out. "It is only a matter of time now."
Winter frowned at the doctor while Naruto struggled to sit up.
"How long was I out?" He asked, holding a hand to his head. Winter seemed to not be entirely aboard the idea of him sitting up, but refrained from voicing that opinion.
"About an hour." Winter said. "I couldn't carry you, so I called an emergency evac to the street we were on, and they brought you directly here. I thought Pietro would be the best doctor for you at the moment. Even though his knowledge is centered around robotics, he specializes in Human Anatomy. His machines are capable of scanning and breaking down the body in ways that most hospitals could only dream of."
Naruto nodded, half listening as he struggled to remember the moments leading up to his loss of consciousness. He remembered fighting the Sabyr's, as well as saving Persinette. He remembered falling, but there was something else…what was he forgetting?
"That girl, Persinette, was beside herself with worry." Winter continued, grabbing Naruto's attention. "She came back out of her apartment as the medics were loading you up. She demanded to hear about you rather vehemently. I haven't been ordered like that from anyone other than Ironwood himself. I told her I would let her know how everything went, and hopefully arrange for a visit when you recovered."
Naruto nodded absentmindedly. An hour…Team RWBY, JNR, and the Ace Ops should be done with their mission soon.
"Any word on the mission at the dust mines?" He asked the Schnee.
Her demeanor instantly changed. Her professional aura remained, but her body language shifted. Naruto's senses alerted him to a negative emotion. Winter was preparing to lie to him.
"Well…I haven't checked back yet. I've been trying to make sure that everything was alright with you." She said, hesitating as she gave herself a moment to think of what to say.
Naruto frowned at her, debating the pros and cons of calling her out. Just before he decided to call her out on it, a strong emotion flooded through his connection to the rings.
Worry. Shock. Indignation. Anger.
He felt the emotions from multiple sources. The anger, worry, and shock were easily sensed from all the ring bearers that had been assigned to the SDC Mine mission. The indignation, however, came from Ruby. It was amazing how emotions from multiple people could paint a picture of a scenario. This situation though, did not paint a pretty picture…
A quick check told him that they were all in Ironwood's office. They were within range for Naruto's passive senses to pick up enough. The Ace Ops were there as well as Ironwood. While varying in degrees, they were all radiating distrust.
Naruto wasted no time. Despite his body screaming in protest, he flung himself from the hospital bed, ignoring the fact that his top half remained bare from the tests Pietro had performed on him. He tore down the hall with purpose. Long strides carrying him to the general's office despite his condition.
He ignored Winter's calls from behind him. He vaguely heard her scrambling to grab his clothes and catch up to him.
Luckily, they were already on the same floor, and Pietro's office was located in the middle of the floor. The closer he got, the more he sensed, and the angrier he got. He could feel two other Atlesean Soldiers flanking Ruby. He couldn't sense specifics, but they were so close to the girl, Naruto could practically feel their hands wrapped around either of Ruby's arms.
He rounded the corner leading to the office. As he walked up the stairs, he noticed the doors to the office were closed.
Naruto decided to make a bit of an entrance.
His acute hearing caught the end of the conversation just before he made his move.
"I'm not accusing Miss Rose of anything." The muffled voice of Ironwood said. "The fact remains that we have no clue what we are dealing with, and it disappeared after coming into contact with her. I just want tests done until we can be certain she is safe. Nothing else will be—"
Naruto had heard enough. He extended a hand, touching the doors at the seam in the middle. With a little effort, Naruto extended the center of gravity for his Shinra Tensei just a few inches past his palm before pushing.
With a loud groan, the doors separated slowly. The occupants of the room grew silent, turning behind them to see what could possibly have forced the doors open. Naruto's eye glinted dangerously when his eyes landed on the two soldiers' hands tightly wrapped around Ruby's arms. The rest of Team RWBY and Team JNR were standing to the side, looks of worry and outrage written across their faces. They were held back by the Ace Ops, who made sure to stay positioned between them and Ruby.
After gathering a lay of the room, Naruto locked onto Ruby's panicked eyes. Her wide eyes suddenly blended into another image that was burned into his mind from the incident with Adam over a week earlier. Scared, not knowing how to get herself out of her current predicament.
Naruto truly tried to calm himself. He didn't know what happened at the mine, but whatever it was, Ironwood was obviously not taking it well. Regardless, Naruto couldn't stomach continuing to see Ruby so worried as she was now if he could help it. Not after what happened with Adam.
As much as Ruby and the rest wouldn't like him doing it…It was show time.
Naruto narrowed his visible eye, pointedly glaring at the two soldiers. They yelped as they were forcibly torn away from Ruby, stumbling backwards and closer to Naruto. They regained their footing, and drew their weapons, knowing that Naruto had been the one that had separated them from what they were ordered to do.
The Ace Ops stiffened in preparation, and Ironwood himself held a healthy frown. The two soldiers leveled their guns at Naruto's chest.
"We have orders kid. Your next attack will have you arrested," The older of the two soldiers said.
Naruto stared at the guard, tilting his head in mock confusion. Knowing he could get away with simply passing it off as his 'semblance', Naruto decided to use his Jiton to get his point across. It was a difficult technique to maintain, but worth the intimidation in this situation.
Naruto heard the clicking of Winter's heels behind him signalling her arrival, but ignored it for the moment. He exerted his control on the magnetic forces of the two guns, instantly crumpling them like wads of paper. The two still unnamed soldiers stepped back in fear at the display, allowing Naruto to step forward. The wads of crumpled metal fell to the floor with a clang.
As soon as he did, he heard Winter draw her sword, and the Ace Ops assumed their battle stances. He maintained his position, wanting to make a statement, but refusing to start a fight.
"Now that I have everybody's attention." Naruto said with a glare around the room. "I want to make one thing very clear."
Ironwood narrowed his eyes at Naruto, but made no move to interrupt him.
"The next person to lay a hand on Ruby will lose that hand…" Naruto started, before letting his gaze settle on Ironwood. "And the person who ordered it…will lose their tongue."
The threat was not lost on anybody. Even Team RWBY and JNR stared at Naruto in shock. Blunt and straightforward had always been Naruto's style, but they wondered if he had overstepped.
"And the same goes for everybody else I arrived with," Naruto added. "Weiss, Blake, Yang, Jaune, Nora, Ren, Oscar, and Maria Calavera. We came here to help Atlas, but you would do well to remember that we are not from Atlas. Even Weiss is a Valean Huntress. They are to follow orders of their superiors in the field but don't let yourself think for even one second that that means you can overstep your bounds out of it. You're toeing a dangerous line. Anything you want out of Ruby, you can ask respectfully, and accept her answer in the same manner."
Ironwood turned, walking around his desk and coming to a stop next to Ruby, "You might want to watch your tone Uzumaki. Who are you to spout anything about toeing lines? You aren't even a Hunter."
The atmosphere suddenly shifted, Naruto using his Tendo powers in a way he had only recently discovered. Everybody suddenly found themselves heavily weighed down. The two soldiers instantly dropped to their knees, and even the aura supplemented fighters in the room began feeling their own knees wobble.
"Just less for me to lose," Naruto said, unaffected by the increased gravity in the room. "And I promise you, my lack of a license means absolutely nothing about what I'm capable of."
The pressure disappeared just as suddenly as it had arrived. Everybody, even Ironwood, took a deep breath, though the General attempted to be discreet to save face.
Naruto looked at all the members of Team RWBY and JNR, "Go back to your dorms. I'll be there soon."
"What?" Weiss asked incredulously. Everybody else looked just as confused.
"But—" Ruby started, but was quickly silenced by a glare from Naruto.
"Back to your dorms." Naruto said in a firm tone, leaving no room for argument. "I have things I need to discuss with Ironwood. Things that have nothing to do with you. And while you're there, Ruby, you can discuss with your team what happened on this mission, and you can decide if what the General requested is reasonable and necessary."
"They are not free to leave yet." Clover cut in. "What we saw…there are security measures that we have to—"
"Clover that's enough," Ironwood barked. "They are free to go to their dorms. We will discuss what happened later, when tensions are settled. Winter, you can stay behind. After Uzumaki and I finish our…discussion, you can report what you found in Mistral."
Teams RWBY and JNR definitely did not want to leave, but a quick beckoning from Naruto had them hurrying out. The Ace Ops and the shaken soldiers followed, leaving Naruto alone with Ironwood and Winter.
As soon as the doors close, Winter hissed as she shoved Naruto's cloak and mesh shirt into his hands. "What you just did was not even mildly appropriate. People have been thrown in prison for less!"
"I'm sure they have." Naruto said with a shrug as he slipped the offered clothes on. "Either way, my warning stands regardless of what agreement we come to today. You will not lay a single finger on any of them. They are here to help you willingly when they could just as easily return to their own Kingdom. We are all fighting a common enemy."
"Are we?" Ironwood narrowed his eyes at Naruto. "You are a complete wild card Uzumaki."
"And you're right to wonder about me." Naruto said. "Ozpin trusts me, but then, he trusted Lionheart too. You have no real reason to doubt me, but that is likely why you still included me in your plans. I get it General, but regardless of what happened at that mine, what I just walked into was unacceptable."
"If I deem it necessary for the protection of the Kingdom—" Ironwood started.
"Then you will deal with me!" Naruto cut him off harshly. "If you truly doubt Ruby's loyalties, maybe I should remind you that she has spent the majority of her life without her mother due to Salem? Or maybe I should point out the fact that one of her closest friends are dead because of the dusty old bitch? Caution is warranted when it comes to Salem, but what your exhibiting is unchecked paranoia! And as far as having two soldiers just grab her…Have you not heard any reports of Adam Taurus from Argus?"
Ironwood blinked in confusion at the sudden topic change, "I heard that he had been killed, but with how much has been going on I…"
"Well let me educate you just a little bit." Naruto growled out. "Ruby and Weiss, while waiting for the rest of their teams to wake up, decided to go to a grocery store to make breakfast for everybody. Adam Taurus lured them away from public with a faunus boy as bait. He managed to capture both of them, and took them outside the city."
Winter gasped beside Ironwood, who had retaken his position seated at his desk.
"Weiss never told me…"
Naruto crossed his arms, "Of course she didn't. That day was hard on the both of them. Taurus planned on killing Weiss in front of Ruby…but before that…"
Naruto looked down in shame, his hand coming up to touch his eyepatch, "What he planned to do to Ruby in front of Weiss wasn't something I would wish on any woman."
Both Ironwood and Winter's eyes widened in shock.
"Luckily, we were able to find them before anything happened. Weiss caught his attention and he broke her aura. He almost killed her and I arrived just in time to stop her, but I wasn't fast enough. I have lost everything I cared for recently, and Teams RWBY, JNR, and Oscar have quickly wormed their way into my heart. Team RWBY specifically has seen me at my lowest point, and they have supported me since. I'm here to help you against Salem, but they are my priority. Unless they truly do wrong, I will not let any wrong be done to them…My warning still stands, and I feel like it is warranted."
Ironwood sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose, "I didn't know…I can see where my actions would have alarmed her. I just…panicked, I guess."
"I did too, in a way." Naruto said, looking back at the crumpled weapons behind him. "I hoped that this would lead to an understanding between us. You have a Kingdom to consider, but the way you deal with them is something you need to consider as well."
Ironwood sighed, before nodding. "Understood. I will give my apologies to Miss Rose myself. As for the weapons and the…roundabout assault of my soldiers, we won't worry about that. Consider it a show of trust."
Naruto nodded, before turning to walk away.
"Also," Ironwood said, stopping Naruto in his tracks. "Taurus…was that you, or…"
Naruto shook his head, continuing to walk out of the office, "Qrow's tired of people fucking with his family. I'd keep that in mind as well."
Ironwood nodded grimly. It was another subtle threat, though he couldn't fault the blond for it. It was also a well-meant warning, telling him that even if he didn't have to deal with Naruto, he would deal with an angry Branwen. While Naruto was surely stronger, Ironwood had a healthy respect, if not fear, for what Qrow was capable of when motivated. An army was useless against a man that could sneak past it and cut your throat in your sleep.
When the office doors squeaked shut behind Naruto, Ironwood made a mental note to have them fixed before turning to Winter, who was still processing what she had just learned.
"What do you have to report?"
]-xxxXXXxxx-[
As soon as Naruto was far enough away to not worry about anybody seeing, he stumbled into a wall in exhaustion. He was much angrier than he let on in that office, but had to quickly backtrack after using his Jiton on those weapons. He is much more exhausted than he had originally thought. He was just happy that Ironwood was just as willing to make amends.
'Check on Ruby.' Naruto thought. 'Then you can sleep.'
Although he was much slower than he would have liked in getting there, he arrived at Team RWBY's dorm fairly soon after. He spent a minute composing himself and making sure that he didn't appear as exhausted as he was.
He knocked on the door, which slide open almost before he was even done knocking. Of course, Ruby had been the one to answer the door. Rather than looking angry or upset like he'd expected, she almost looked worried.
"Are you ok?" She asked, her tone reflecting the same worry written on her face. Everybody else was behind her, the same worry written across their faces.
"Of course," Naruto smiled. "Somebody like Ironwood isn't going to be scaring me off any time soon!"
Now, Ruby definitely appeared upset. "Naruto…on the way back from the mine, we heard Harriet telling Clover that you collapsed in Mantle, and that you were being taken to Pietro."
Naruto's smile faded quickly when she said that. 'Damn.'
"Please…" Ruby said, her eyes misting slightly. "Don't lie to me. Are you alright?"
Naruto's shoulders sagged, and he gently pushed himself past Ruby and to the nearest bunk. He collapsed onto it heavily, no longer concerned with hiding his hospital visit and being too tired to maintain the peppy façade.
"I guess I was still just too tired from Argus. There was another Grimm attack, and I had to use my mark to heal somebody. They wouldn't have made it to the hospital and I wasn't just going to let them die. I think it just took too much out of me that time."
He looked up, noticing that everybody was still staring at him with varying degrees of worry.
"I'm fine guys. I'm just probably going to have to take the next couple of days…not that Winter will accept anything less." He then tried changing the subject. "You know I tried all day to get a reaction out of her, and didn't get shit until I woke up in Pietro's office? Pshh, talk about an Ice Queen."
Ruby sighed, taking the hint that Naruto was done talking about what happened to him. She didn't want to press, knowing that Winter probably wouldn't let him continue walking around if he was really not ok. That…and the fact that they had news for him.
"Naruto…" She muttered quietly, gaining his attention. He looked at her and after a reassuring glance at everybody else, she looked back at him.
"We found Kurama." She whispered.
Naruto stared at her with an unchanging expression. The pieces suddenly fell together in his mind. He suddenly remembered feeling Kurama's chakra before he lost consciousness, and it wasn't near him. He felt it through the rings! Was that what had Ironwood freaking out? Had they seen him? He had to know.
"Where is he!" Naruto suddenly said, sitting up and leaning close to Ruby. "Was he at the mine? Did he escape? Is that what Ironwood was flipping out about? Did they—"
"Hold on there, Naruto!" Yang suddenly cut in, being the first to speak other than Ruby. "There's a lot to explain. It was a weird mission for sure."
Naruto nodded, his mind still racing a mile a minute. After calming himself, he locked eyes with Ruby again. "Tell me everything."
]-xxxXXXxxx-[
(A few hours earlier)
Ruby was walking through the mines with the rest of her team, and Harriet. Team JNR, Vine, and Elm went through a second entrance, and Clover and Marrow entered through the last. They were leaving no chances for this Geist to escape.
They had made first contact with the Geist when Blake had gone ahead to make sure the shaft was clear for Harriet to break through. Other Grimm allowed the Geist to escape, leaving them to clear their way.
Clover and Marrow had just informed them that they made contact, and it was fleeing into the deepest part of the mine. A quick look at the layout of the mine told everybody that they had it cornered.
The cavern they soon found themselves in was huge and the very air around them vibrated with energy from the dust around them. It was well lit, unlike the entrance to another chasm that hadn't been on the map. It was revealed by a collapsed wall on the other side of the cavern. It was pitch black just beyond the break in the wall, showing how large the unmapped chasm must have been.
Ruby briefly worried that the Geist had made its way into there, which would prove difficult. Luckily, the Geist had made itself busy with the dust in the main cavern while waiting on them to catch up to it. Unluckily, well, you get the picture.
The Ace Ops got to work immediately, quickly severing one of the golem's arms and beginning to work on the rest, at least, until a loud rumble brought them all screeching to a halt. Even the Geist looked intimidated by the noise, if that was even possible.
"Mmm." The rumble turned to a voice. "Such noisy pests. I thought I had corrected such behavior."
A gigantic orange furred, clawed hand emerged from the pitch-black chasm, dwarfing the Geist's golem easily. The hand reached out to wrap around the large golem. With a terrible shriek, the Geist, golem and all, was dragged into the chasm by force. There was a burst of light as the dust in the golem's body was ignited.
The brief lighting gave Ruby just the briefest moment to see what lay in the dark chasm. She saw orange fur, and lots of it.
"What the fuck?" Harriet whispered beside her. Ruby paid her no mind, her thoughts centered around one thing. That claw looked way too familiar to not be what she thought it was. Ignoring the fear gripping her heart, she took shaky steps towards the pitch-black hole in the wall. Her footsteps echoed throughout the now quiet mine, alerting everybody as well as what was in the chasm to her movement.
"Kid! What are you doing!" Harriet hissed with wide eyes, her own irrational fear from the monster she just saw keeping her from stopping the red clad girl.
Ruby ignored her, stopping in front of the hole in the wall as a large blood red eye suddenly appeared against the pitch-black background.
"Begone puny human." The voice rumbled loudly, almost deafening everybody as the sound of the voice reverberated off the walls.
"K-K-Kurama?" Ruby said lowly, almost in a whisper. The eye widened almost comically. Ruby suddenly heard the voice loudly in her mind, though she knew nobody else heard.
'How do you know of that name?' Kurama asked her. Remembering how Naruto had communicated with Kurama, Ruby thought her next words.
'I met him…Naruto…he is searching for you!'
The eye studied her closely, before settling on her ringed hand. 'Ah yes! I feel his chakra now. He must have truly cared for you to create something so precious and powerful.'
Ruby blushed at the implication before reminding herself that Naruto had off course made one for eight other people. She gave him a nod, 'I've been with him since he was brought to this world. He has been worried about finding you. This mine kept him from sensing you since we've gotten here.'
'He is nearby?' Kurama asked in surprise. When she gave him a mental affirmative, he hummed in her mind.
'I will view that ring he gave you as a symbol of his trust in you. I will warn you against trying to take advantage, as I can easily break free if I go willingly. Will you take me to him?'
'Yes!' Ruby thought urgently, ignoring that she had no clue how she would do so. 'He misses you! I would do anything to reunite you two!'
'Good…hold out your hand, girl.' Kurama grumbled. Ruby did so without hesitation. She held her hand out as if she were in older times, waiting for a man to kiss her knuckles.
A large claw emerged from the shadows, reaching towards her as the Ace Ops shouted in warning. The tip of the claw touched the ruby on her ring, and a bright flash of light blinded everybody present. When the light faded, Ruby was on the ground, having been knocked unconscious. The Ace Ops rushed to her side, shining lights into the chasm beyond them in preparation for a fight, but nothing was there. Beyond the scattered rocks from the golem's body, there was nothing in the large chasm, which proved to be larger than even the cavern they were currently inside of.
Luckily, the Ace Ops didn't notice every other member of Teams RWBY and JNR hissing and quickly pulling their rings off of their fingers. The sudden influx of energy heated each ring beyond what any of them could handle even with their aura protecting them.
"Rose!" Harriet yelled, turning her attention from the empty hole in the wall to the unconscious girl next to her. She leaned down, grabbing Ruby by the shoulders and hefting her into a sitting position. The sudden movement seemed to jar her awake, and her eyes fluttered open.
"W-what happened?" She asked in confusion, holding a hand to her head.
'I'm in your ring now, girl.' Kurama spoke in her mind. 'I trust you to hold to your promise. Take me to Naruto as soon as you can, and I will be in your debt.'
'No debts necessary.' Ruby quickly thought. 'Naruto has saved me and my friends multiple times now. He more than deserves the help, though I don't know when I'll see him next without company we don't want.'
Kurama huffed in her mind, and withdrew his consciousness. She quickly looked up at the Ace Ops, reassuring them that she was fine.
"Let's get out of here!" Clover ordered as soon as Ruby appeared to be alright. He got on his mic, saying something into it as he began walking to the nearest exit tunnel.
After she got to her feet, she managed to follow the rest out of the cave with minimal difficulty. The Ace Ops definitely appeared to be in a rush to get out. They met Ironwood as well as an entire platoon of soldiers outside. Ironwood did not seem very happy, if the harsh glare at the entrance of the cave was any indication.
"Clear it." Ironwood order. The entire platoon raised their weapons, marching into the cave entrance. Clover immediately rushed over to inform him what happened. After a moment, Ironwood dismissed him, waving Teams RWBY and JNR over while a Manta Ray landed behind him.
"We're heading back to the academy. I want to ensure whatever that thing in there was is completely gone before we bring Amity over."
They all nodded, and climbed into the ship with the General and the Ace Ops.
The ride back was silent and awkward. Harriet checked her scroll about half way back, before nudging Clover's shoulder.
"Uzumaki went down in Mantle."
"What?" Clover hissed while everybody else tensed, hoping to hear what happened.
'Naruto?' Kurama asked in Ruby's mind, obviously still able to hear everything outside.
Harriet nodded, "Winter said they dealt with another Grimm attack. After it was over, he just collapsed. She said it wasn't pretty. She is talking him to Pietro now. She's hoping his scans can tell them what's wrong with him."
'Grimm?' Kurama asked in confusion. 'Girl, what is Grimm?'
'The thing you killed earlier was a Grimm.' Ruby answered. 'They are humanities biggest problems.'
'Biggest problems?' Kurama scoffed. 'Tch, you ningen here are even more pathetic than I remember. Naruto wouldn't fall to something the likes of these pests. Not even at his weakest.'
'No,' Ruby agreed. 'He wouldn't. Even without Senjutsu he is above any Grimm I've ever seen. That's what worried me. I wonder if he over exerted himself with healing people with the Sun Mark again.'
'The Sun Mark!' Kurama barked. 'The old man gave it back to him? And you speak of his Senjutsu as if you have seen it?'
Ruby gave him a mental nod, happy to keep updating the fox so that she could distract herself from worrying about Naruto.
'He's used it against a couple opponents since he has been back. Without you, it was his greatest strength.'
'Hmmm.' Kurama hummed in thought. 'While that is true, I don't see why he would have to use it. No offense to you, but I can feel that your strength doesn't come anywhere near matching up to his. And if all of you humans in this world have this bastardized chakra, then I see no way for anybody to hold a candle to him in strength.'
'That's true,' Ruby thought bitterly. 'I'm nowhere near as strong as him, but there are chakra users in this world. It is rare, but the ones that do, actually have chakra and their aura. And the chakra they have is already mixed with Nature Energy. Naruto had to use his Senjutsu to fight off two of these people.'
Kurama muttered to himself in thought, 'Perhaps this world isn't as weak as I thought. I will discuss this with him the next time I see him. He is fine, quit your annoying worrying. I can feel his chakra now that we are out of that accursed cave. It is steady.'
Ruby let out a breath that she didn't even know she was holding. She almost thanked Kurama, but he was already gone.
The rest of the fight was spent with silence, with RWBY and JNR exchanging worried glances with each other, and trying their best not to worry about Naruto or what had happened in the cave. Ruby could feel that all of them wanted to ask her what had happened, but couldn't with the Ace Ops and Ironwood so close.
They finally landed in front of the Academy, and Ironwood wasted no time in directing them to his office. They were surprised to find two soldiers already there, but they quickly pushed the thought out of their mind when the doors closed behind them and Ironwood immediately began asking questions.
"Do any of you know what that…thing was down there?"
They all shook their heads and voiced a negative response. Ruby really hoped that they were convincing. Kurama gave his own personal scoring on their attempt at lying to the General.
'You're all terrible liars.'
"Miss Rose, Clover told me you seemed to say something to it before it touched you. What did you say?"
Ruby blinked in shock, "Uh, I…uh, I was surprised to see it. I figured with my eyes, I would be the best to approach it. When I saw how large it was, I may uh…have said holy shit? Hehe."
Ironwood narrowed his eyes at her suspiciously, "Just how large was it?"
Ruby figured slipping truth in as much as she could was the best way to go about this, "Huge. Easily bigger than the Wyvern at Beacon."
Ironwood cursed, before pulling out his scroll, "My men have cleared the mine. It's safe, and no sign of anything of that size. Just some straggling Grimm…Miss Rose, what did you feel when it touched you? Clover said it disappeared very suddenly. Do you feel any different?"
Ruby blinked. Did he think it was a possession type Grimm?
"Uh, no different. I just remember waking up with Harriet shaking me. I don't feel possessed or anything…And, I wasn't really effected by the group of Apathy we ran into, so I doubt that any possession type Grimm would have an easy time getting in here…ya know?"
Ironwood's eyes seemed to stare through her soul. Finally, he sighed, "That's good. Well, after some tests, we should know more."
"Tests?" Yang suddenly asked. "What kind of tests?"
Ironwood frowned at the older sister, "We must make sure that there is nothing amiss with Miss Rose. There will only be a few tests, and then this will all be—"
"Fuck that!" Yang yelled. "I'm not letting you just poke and prod at her! If she wants the tests, she will say so!"
Ironwood looked at Ruby, who suddenly realized that he was expecting an answer out of her.
"Uhm…well…I'd prefer some time to maybe—"
"No," Ironwood sighed. "I'm afraid we don't have time."
He nodded at the two soldiers, who had slowly been approaching Ruby from behind.
Two strong hands suddenly wrapped around her arms, causing Ruby to yelp in shock.
"Hey!" Ruby exclaimed. "What are you—ugh—Doing!"
She tried to wrench her arms out of their grip, but they wouldn't budge.
"Hey!" She heard her friends yell collectively as they began stepping forward. The Ace Ops were quick to intercept them, giving them hard stares in a silent dare to step further.
"Get. Your. Hands. Off. My. SISTER!" Yang ground out, ending with a yell. She whipped around to Ironwood. "Do you think this is some elaborate plan or something? Do you think Ruby had something to do with that thing down there? Is that why you aren't giving her a choice? HUH?"
"I'm not accusing Miss Rose of anything." Ironwood said, trying to reassure them. "The fact remains that we have no clue what we are dealing with, and it disappeared after coming into contact with her. I just want tests done until we can be certain she is safe. Nothing else will be—"
Suddenly, the door behind them groaned as they were forced open. Naruto was revealed to be on the other side. Ruby could almost even feel the relief from Kurama, just as she was, but she wasn't worried about that. While her mind was still focused on the two men currently trapping her…not letting her leave…against her will…She also noted that Naruto was extremely pale. Much paler than he typically was. It only added to her worries.
She locked eyes with Naruto, and suddenly, the two soldiers were stumbling away from her, luckily letting go of her arms. She immediately felt better. Those two tight grips had reminded her all too much of…
"We have orders kid. Your next attack will have you arrested," The older of the two soldiers said, holding their weapons up to Naruto.
Ruby watched as Naruto tilted his head at the guard, almost mockingly. Winter appeared behind Naruto, his cloak and shirt bundled up in her hands. Oh, that's right…he wasn't wearing a shirt…nice.
The two soldiers' weapons suddenly crumpled in their hands, rendering them completely useless. Winter drew her sword behind him, leveling it at him threateningly. The Ace Ops did the same, preparing for a fight, but Naruto ignored them.
"Now that I have everybody's attention." Naruto said coldly, sending a…begrudgingly pleasant shiver up Ruby's spine. "I want to make one thing very clear."
Ironwood narrowed his eyes at Naruto, but made no move to interrupt him.
"The next person to lay a hand on Ruby will lose that hand…" Naruto said, before staring right at Ironwood. "And the person who ordered it…will lose their tongue."
Being directly between the two, Ruby got a first hand look at the absolutely chilling look in Naruto's now ice blue eye. She felt something ignite in the very depths of her stomach looking at that eye.
'Oho!' Kurama chortled. 'Not even a month, and he's already found somebody to ignite his fire! Well done girl! Though, I can see that isn't the only fire being ignited! You best calm yourself before you do something you regret in front of all these people!'
'Meep!' Ruby blushed a deep red, though nobody was paying her any attention. 'Get out of my head!'
Kurama chuckled once again, before falling silent.
Ironwood suddenly stepped beside her, making her realize she hadn't been listening, "You might want to watch your tone Uzumaki. Who are you to spout anything about toeing lines? You aren't even a Hunter."
Before her anger even had the chance to rise at the insult to Naruto, Ruby felt herself grow heavier. Her knees wobbled under her weight, almost unable to keep her up. She would have looked around to see if the others were feeling the same, but she was much too focused on keeping herself upright.
"Just less for me to lose," Naruto said calmly, though Ruby didn't know how with how heavy the room felt. "And I promise you, my lack of a license means absolutely nothing about what I'm capable of."
The pressure disappeared just as suddenly as it had arrived. Ruby gasped slightly, thankful that she hadn't collapsed like the soldiers beside her did.
Finally, Naruto glanced at her, before looking towards the rest of her friends, "Go back to your dorms. I'll be there soon."
"What?" Weiss asked incredulously. Ruby agreed. She didn't want to leave him. He may have intimidated Ironwood and the Ace Ops, but she wasn't a fool. Naruto wasn't well right now.
"But—" Ruby started, hoping to convince him to come with them. Staying and arguing with Ironwood didn't really seem like a good idea to her.
"Back to your dorms." Naruto said in a firm tone, cutting off her argument and fanning the odd feeling in her stomach. "I have things I need to discuss with Ironwood. Things that have nothing to do with you. And while you're there, Ruby, you can discuss with your team what happened on this mission, and you can decide if what the General requested is reasonable and necessary."
"They are not free to leave yet." Clover cut in. "What we saw…there are security measures that we have to—"
"Clover that's enough," Ironwood barked. "They are free to go to their dorms. We will discuss what happened later, when tensions are settled. Winter, you can stay behind. After Uzumaki and I finish our…discussion, you can report what you found in Mistral."
She didn't want to leave, but the look in Naruto's eyes promised a stern talking to later if she didn't listen.
'Maybe I'm cool with that?' She thought for a brief moment, before shaking her head. 'No! What are you thinking! Kurama! Do you have something to do with this! I swear if you do…I'll…I don't know what I'll do but you won't like it!'
Kurama raised an imaginary eyebrow, 'I assure you girl, I have much better things to do than manipulate your thoughts, no matter how amusing they are. You are just noticing them a bit more now that you realize you have another person in your head that can hear them. I'll say, not even a few hours back into things and I already have something to poke Naruto about. I'll count that as a win!'
'You'll say nothing!' Ruby screeched in her mind, walking ahead of her friends so that they couldn't see her burning face.
They eventually arrived at Team RWBY's dorm, where they waited worriedly for Naruto.
]-xxxXXXxxx-[
(Present)
They finished their recap to Naruto. Ruby, of course, had refrained from telling him about most of her conversations with Kurama.
"Wow." Naruto scratched his cheek lazily. "It sounds like your mission was a lot more eventful than mine. I can't believe I didn't think of checking somewhere like that! With all that dust basically surrounding him, we are lucky we found him at all!"
Blake nodded along with the others, "If Ironwood hadn't decided to make that the launch site, I don't think anybody would have gone down there in years. Especially with how it closed down."
Naruto suddenly leaned forward, closer to Ruby, "So…He's in there, right?"
He pointed at her ring. She looked at it in surprise, "I think so? That's what he touched, but I've heard him in my head all day, so I'm not sure."
"Eh," Naruto waved at her. "That just means he likes you. May I see it?"
Ruby stared at him in confusion, prompting him to gesture at her ring. Realizing what he was asking, she raised her hand, placing it lightly in Naruto's. He stared at the ring, examining it closely. The ruby in the center was glowing brightly, almost thrumming with the power it now contained.
"Ah," Naruto breathed out. "He wanted to make it a simple transfer when you found me. Unfortunately, that would also let out a good burst of energy. We will have to both make a trip out to see your dad and uncle soon. We can transfer him from you to me then in Vacuo."
Ruby panicked slightly, voicing her concern, "Does that mean he'll be in my head the whole time until then?"
"The whole time, girl." Kurama's voice echoed throughout everybody's minds, startling most of them. "It's bound to be interesting."
"Oh!" Naruto's eyes lit up at hearing his friend's voice. "You can tap into the ring's link? That's so cool…wait…Oi! Stop messing around with my rings ya grumpy old fox!"
"Are you already starting your incessant whining? Maybe I should have made father put me in a harder to find place." Was the fox's sarcastic response.
"Gah, what!" Naruto cried in indignation.
Ruby, who had been managing her own blush since Kurama's confirmation about being in her mind for the time being, finally interrupted.
"We can go do that tonight, right?" She stopped Naruto from starting a tirade about Kurama's biting comments.
Naruto, who had managed to gather enough energy to be excited, quickly sagged at the thought of expending the chakra to take Ruby and himself to Vacuo.
"Well…" He started unsurely. "Tonight might not be the best time. I'm still a little drained, and while Kurama would probably fix that when we transfer him, I haven't tried using my Ikigai being this tired, and I would rather not test it with a passenger, ya know?"
Ruby slumped over in defeat. It seemed that she was stuck with the fox for at least a day.
'You'll learn to love me.'Said fox reassured her.
'I doubt it.' Ruby whined halfheartedly.
Just then, a knock at the door grabbed their attention. Ren, being the closest to the door, opened it.
It was Winter. She didn't look enthused to be there either.
"Uhm, Winter!" Weiss fumbled for words. "Now isn't really a good—"
Winter raised a hand, cutting her off, "I'm here to have a word with Naruto. It's…important."
Naruto raised an eyebrow questioningly. Winter's determined stare had him slowly rising from the bed against his body's protest. She didn't seem willing to put off whatever she wanted to say.
As soon as he managed to pass through the door, Winter closed it, lightly assisting Naruto across the hall and away from the dorm.
"Needless to say," Winter started, keeping a hand on Naruto's back to steady him. "You will be taking a couple of days to recover."
"What?" Naruto asked incredulously. "I'll be fine. This is just a little exhaustion. No big—"
Winter grabbed his shoulder, stopping his slow pace down the hall.
"Naruto…" She began gravely, grabbing his attention.
"There's no easy way to say this, but Pietro's scans aren't wrong."
Naruto waited for her to continue. Her hesitation worried him. Had they seen something that they shouldn't have? Were there any biological differences between him and a human from Remnant?
Winter sighed sadly, not knowing how to break this to somebody she had only recently met. She finally decided to just rip off the band-aid.
"You have cancer."
Ah crap...did I do it again? Shoot...I'm sorry guys :'( Guess I just couldn't help it.
Really though, I know it seems like the world is just working against Naruto, Ruby and company, but really...with Naruto's luck did you expect anything different? And honestly isn't he the type to overcome all the odds anyway?
Probably not but hey! There's always hope! At least Kurama is back in the picture. I've been waiting to write his sarcastic ass for a hot minute!
Hehehe, hope you guys have a great day! I'm off to bed, but I'm excited to hear what all of you thought! Qrow out!