Hello there! Got a second chapter for you guys. Trying to make a different approach to my writing and wanted to see what you all thought before I get too far into writing for this story. Since I'm well past the half way point for my other story, I'm spending quite a bit of time thinking about this story.

I hope you all enjoy it and please give me some feedback!

I truly appreciate the reviews that were left for the last chapter and hope to hear more from you guys.

Naruto flew through the sky without a care in the world, and reflected on his mission once more. The Academies were responsible for training the hunters and huntresses, and a hunter or huntress is the only thing that Naruto truly believed could take Sakura. And even then, he felt it would take at least a few of them.

It'd been almost a year since she was taken. Since then, Naruto…hell, all the Konoha 11 have been preparing to get her back. She wasn't the only one that had been taken, granted, but every other captive had been dumped somewhere on the east coast of the Elemental Nations, cold as ice, and mutilated almost beyond recognition. Sakura never was…

Naruto didn't want to think about what it meant. He only wanted to get her back. As much as he wanted to convince Sasuke to come back, he still left of his own accord. Sakura was taken doing her duties as a Konoha Nin, as well as a Konoichi of the Elemental Allied Forces. All because of this damn war.

It had all started just a year before Naruto's training trip was over. People in flying ships arrived in the land of waves. People in sleek armor with the SDC Logo exited the ships and started demanding to speak with the de facto leader, Kazuma. It had been rough at first, but after word got out to the rest of the nations that there were more advanced civilizations across the previously impassable sea, it gathered everybody's interest. Talks of war immediately broke out as the paranoid Kumo and Iwa Kage' began assuming the worst.

They weren't far off, apparently. The delegations sent by the SDC worked out a deal with the Land of Waves, and managed to find deposits of something called Dust, which hadn't impressed many people. Whenever the SDC saw exactly how much dust there was, however, they got more demanding. They resorted to intimidation. They demanded further mining with less payment or compensation, and they demanded that Wave supply housing for their workers. There had already been the issue of different methods of currency, so when they offered a limited number of valuables in exchange for something on Wave land that was obviously of great value to them, Kazuma rejected them.

Coincidentally, just a week after that, some of the wave villagers 'attacked' the SDC guards, resulting in a large-scale shooting that killed almost twenty villagers, four of which were children. Kazuma immediately sent for assistance from Konoha, and what was left of Konoha 12 (Minus Naruto and Sasuke) and their sensei' were sent to drive the SDC away. From what Naruto could gather in his short time here, this led to Konoha being seen as the instigators of the war from Remnant's standpoint.

The SDC didn't leave quietly either. It took Kakashi destroying one of their ships, and Kurenai killing two soldiers that attempted to use civilians as shields before they finally retreated.

Now, Naruto truly felt that Iwa and Kumo didn't care about the specifics, but the act of violence was all they needed. Suna and Konoha empathized greatly for Kazuma and what Wave suffered, so with their sympathy, as well as Iwa and Kumo's blood thirst, the Elemental Nation Allied Forces was created, and war was declared on Remnant as a whole.

In the way of Kirigakure, only the rebels had been willing to hear out the Allied Forces. After some under the table…discussions…the civil war in Kirigakure was resolved surprisingly quickly. The Mizukage was killed, and the next one, Mei Terumi, took his place.

There is no denying that the SDC, and by extension, the Kingdom of Atlas, were the instigators of the war at least from the Elemental Nation's perspective. However, Naruto learned in his time here that Ozpin was the shot caller amongst the Academies. All the Headmasters deferred to him, and if Ozpin said jump, every councilmember of every Kingdom only asked how high.

Ozpin was to blame.

Ozpin was the reason Sakura was taken…there was no other explanation.

Ozpin would pay…but he had to be smart about it.

There was an explosion of dirt as Naruto landed without any means of cushioning his fall. He didn't need to hide that at the very least. He'd spent the last few weeks learning (much to his displeasure) about the differences between Remnant and the Elemental Nations. Remnant had their ninja equivalent in Hunters. While Hunters typically appeared to be anywhere from High Gennin to High Chunnin level in skill, there were the rare occasions that a Hunter could stand toe to toe with a Jonin for a time, though it was rare.

That in and of itself was not worrying. The worrying part of Remnant was their technology. With how quickly Remnant found their ground fighters to be outclassed, they quickly resorted to their technology to make the difference. This definitely evened the odds. A doryuheki did not do much against a volley of .50 cal bullets.

So, Naruto thought himself stronger than most people here. The issue with this was their aura. Each Hunter and Huntress only had one specific ability that they mastered throughout their lives. It's what limited them, but it also allowed there to be more of them. So, the problem lied therein what Naruto would claim to be his Semblance. He wasn't always the smartest, but he was smart enough to decide to go with what would be the hardest to hide.

With that in mind, he chose his 'Semblance' rather easily. Luckily, it made the need to hide his physical prowess obsolete.

With these thoughts wrapped up in his mind, Naruto quickly fished out a pair of sunglasses and threw them on before dashing off into the distance. His speed was something that not many could keep up with, but definitely not his fastest pace. He had no clue who he would want his partner to be, but there were at least three he wanted to avoid of the ones he had gathered info on. Weiss Schnee, enough said. Blake Belladonna, entirely too observant and a possible faunus. Her senses would make things difficult if he got too far in. Cardin Winchester…if he killed the obnoxious brat, he would be too likely a suspect. Other than those three, he didn't really have much of a preference. The blond girl would be nice as it would give him somebody to joke around with, but he also wanted to avoid personal connections if at all possible.

He wouldn't delude himself into the belief that everybody from Remnant was evil, but they were at war. He couldn't befriend somebody just to betray them. That would hurt more than anything he'd ever done…to betray a friend…even after his time in combat, it still went against everything he stood for. The only reason he even wanted this espionage mission was because of Sakura.

Everything he learned from Jiraiya made him the second-best infiltrator in Konoha. It was the ideals behind it that prevented him from doing such things happily, however. To gain people's trust, only to use everything they said around you against them…it felt low. He knew it would be unavoidable on this mission, but he didn't want to do such things to a good person.

Maybe that Yang person would be best not to partner with. She sounded like a good enough person. Her sister too…she had such large doe eyes that screamed 'You can't deny me!'. No, they were both dangerous. Likely too easy to like for him to be partnered or team with. It was looking like that Cardin guy or his friends would have to be his goal.

"You look like you're thinking pretty hard," A voice called out next to him. Considering he was running at about fifteen to twenty miles an hour, this was extremely shocking to him.

"Gah!" Naruto slid to a stop and adopted a fighting pose. Speak of the devil…and they shall appear.

Shit.

"Woah there, guy!" A red and black clad girl laughed at him as she too fluttered to a stop. "Didn't mean to scare you!"

"Uhhh," Naruto met her silver eyes hesitantly.

"I'm Ruby!" The girl stuck out a hand. "Guess we are partners!"

Her eyes sparkled in the friendliest of manners as she said this.

Fuck.

That.

"Nope," Naruto turned around and began walking away.

"Hey!" Ruby shouted out. "Where are you going!"

"Nope!" Naruto called out over his shoulder. "Didn't meet each other! Sorry Rudy!"

"It's Ruby!" Ruby zipped in front of him and crossed her arms, glaring at him adorably…I mean…angrily.

"Whatever you say Rainy," Naruto continued walking right past her. "Of course, I wouldn't know your name. We've never met!"

Naruto pushed himself past an almost heartbroken Ruby and through a thick and high shrub, only to find himself face to face with a white haired, snobby looking girl with a rapier.

"Ah," Naruto with a nod. "That would be my luck."

The girl opened her mouth to say something, but Naruto had already turned around and entered the clearing where he had left Ruby.

"Hiya Ruby, I'm Naruto," Naruto said casually. "Let's go pretty much anywhere but that way."

"You came back!" Ruby fist pumped the air, bringing a small smile to Naruto's face before he quickly wiped it away.

"Mhmm, just don't make me regret it. And keep up."

"Oh, I will," Ruby nodded excitedly. "Promise! I'm super-fast, see!"

With that said, Ruby zipped a circle around Naruto. Rose petals flew around Naruto's face, tickling his nose and cheeks.

"Gah!" Naruto waved his hands around, brushing the petals away. "That's cool and all, but can you like…make that not happen?"

"Nope!" Ruby said cheerily, popping the p at the end. "It's a part of the Ruby Rose partner package!"

"Of course it is," Naruto shook his head. "Let's just get these relics, shall we?"

Ruby nodded excitedly, "Sure! So, what are you like? What's your favorite color? Food? Do you like cookies? Oooh what about strawberries? With sugar or without? Do you like milk? You can't have cookies without milk! Oh what about—"

"Ruby!" Naruto cut her off, grabbing her by the shoulders and shaking her lightly. "Look, we are going to be partners for the foreseeable future. I get that you're probably nervous that we won't like each other, and want to get to know each other, and as cute as the word vomit is, we have to do this initiation first. Then we can spend the whole school year getting to know each other, ok?"

Ruby blushed a deep red and nodded quickly. Naruto stared her in the eyes and nodded slowly, "My favorite color is orange. I'm not usually the kind of guy that tries a lot of new foods, but my favorite kind of food is pasta. I'd be happy to try those foods, so let's get this done faster than everybody else, alright?"

Ruby nodded again, and Naruto slowly let her go.

"Cool. Now, you said you're fast. You lead the way."

Ruby nodded again, still blushing a deep red. She turned and swiftly began walking in a random direction. Naruto sighed, noticing that she was walking the wrong direction.

'I'll let her cool off, then correct her.' He thought to himself. 'And now I have to figure out a way to slip out of the whole getting to know each other thing…She's entirely too sweet.'

Meanwhile, Ruby was having thoughts of her own.

'Great Ruby,' She thought to herself. 'Barely met your partner and you already embarrassed yourself.'

-xX- If it matters to you, you'll find a way -Xx-

"This is about the dumbest idea you could have possibly come up with," Naruto shouted at Ruby over the wind.

"What!" Ruby asked, also yelling. "I couldn't hear your over the sound of my awesome idea!"

"I said you're stupid!" Naruto shouted even louder.

"Aww," Ruby joked. "You're too kind!"

Naruto rolled his eyes, but in the short moment it took him to do so, Ruby had jumped off of the flying Nevermore. As soon as Naruto saw the girl missing, he sighed and dropped as well.

As he fell, he saw Ruby being caught by what he could only assume was her sister judging by the long blond hair. Luckily, it seemed like Ruby dropped exactly where they were supposed to be going. Perhaps she was a little smarter than he gave her credit for. Like him, she probably just had an odd way of showing it.

Turning from falling headfirst to foot first, Naruto braced for impact. He landed solidly on his feet, causing a resounding boom to fill the clearing.

"Woah," Yang grinned as the dust cleared. "That was pretty metal blondie!"

Naruto climbed out of the small crater he'd created, and dusted himself off.

"Your sister is a handful."

"I know! Isn't she great?"

Naruto snorted a Ruby zipped up beside him, "You didn't die! That was totally awesome! How'd you do that? Was it your semblance? Did you just make your aura take it? That would be kinda stupid actually. Maybe you shouldn't do that. Unless I'm wrong? What was it!"

Naruto opened his mouth to answer, but was interrupted by an Ursa crashing through a tree and into the clearing.

"He lasted so long!" The same orange haired girl from the day before giggled as the Ursa turned to dust. She landed on the ground fairly lightly and turned to the tree line behind her, where a green clad, black haired man ran out, clearly out of breath.

"Nora! Never…do that…again!" The boy chastised her in between pants of breath.

Naruto shook his head, and turned back to Ruby to answer her question. Just then, another group entered the clearing. A red-haired girl was the first to make the clearing, followed by a Deathstalker, with a very terrified Weiss Schnee hanging off of its tail. The Deathstalker didn't care about this however, being completely focused on the girl skillfully evading all of its attacks.

"Nevermind," Naruto sighed. "I'm just going to go get our relic."

"But we have to help her!" Ruby insisted. "That's a deathstalker! They are really hard to kill!"

"Then go help her," Naruto waved her off while walking to the chess pieces inside the ruins. "I couldn't care less."

Ruby glared at his retreating form, before whipping out Crescent Rose and fully extending it, "Fine! I will, ya big jerk!"

With that, she started dashing towards the deathstalker just as it flung Weiss from its tail. The princess went hurdling towards a nearby tree, and Pyrrha leapt out of the way of another pincer. The deathstalker saw Ruby rushing towards it, and immediately forgot about its earlier prey, instead focusing on the easier target that was already making her way to it.

"Hyah!" Ruby shouted, slashing at its beady little eyes. The blade of the scythe did nothing to the scorpion's armor, and only served to anger the thing. It raised its pincers and swiped at Ruby, who rather skillfully dodged the first strike. It was at this exact moment though, that the Nevermore that Naruto and Ruby had pitched a ride on earlier decided to make its displeasure known.

As it dived from above, it launched multiple feathers towards Ruby, pinning her hood to the ground rather soundly.

Ruby gasped, and began pulling at her hood desperately. The deathstalker quickly saw her plight, and lunged its stinger at her.

"RUBY!" Yang shouted and started to run towards her sister even though she knew she wouldn't make it in time.

Ruby screwed her eyes shut, bringing her aura forward to take the hit. She knew a direct hit like this would probably drain a lot of it, but she had no other choice at this point.

Just when she thought them impact would be, she felt a gust of wind near her. The pain from impact never hit her, and she opened her eyes in confusion.

"You know, when I said go help her, I kind of meant without getting yourself killed."

Naruto was standing in front of her, holding the stinger in his hands. He quickly kicked out with one foot, catching the front underside of the Grimm and lifting it almost a foot off the ground. He then jump switched his feet, kicking with the other leg and launching the deathstalker back a few feet. It stumbled side to side in a daze, trying to regain its bearings.

"I mean what were you thinking?" Naruto turned to look at her, his hands on his hips. Ruby couldn't see his eyes behind his glasses, but she knew they were reflecting disappointment.

"I…" Ruby started to say, but couldn't bring words to her mouth.

"Look Rose," Naruto shook his head. "You're fast, and you are obviously good if you got accepted two years early. Everybody has their strengths and weaknesses, so don't forget yours just because you want to impress people. You're going to need a lot more force to get through that armor than a bladed weapon can get you."

Ruby nodded, and Naruto leaned down, pulling the feathers out of her hood and yanking her to her feet.

"So, with that in mind, what do you think we should do?" Naruto asked as he glanced over at Weiss disdainfully. Luckily, the girl already knew what should be done. She leapt off the tree and towards the Deathstalker. A few seconds later, the deathstalker was encased in a large amount of ice. It would hold it for a few minutes at least.

"Well," Ruby said. "We have all of our relics, so there's no point in hanging out. We probably shouldn't fight both a deathstalker and a nevermore, so let's just…get out of here?"

"Good plan," Naruto smiled. "After you, squirt."

Ruby groaned, then zipped towards the top of a nearby hill. "C'mon guys! Let's get outta here!"

"Beats getting eaten," said Blake, who up until this point, hadn't introduced herself. She appeared to be partnered with Yang however.

Naruto nodded in agreement, "Let's go then."

They travelled as far and fast as they could, and made it all the way to the cliffside nearest to Beacon before the deathstalker caught up and they ran out of foliage to conceal them from the Nevermore.

"How do you guys want to split this up?" Naruto asked as the Nevermore perched itself on a temple hanging over a ravine.

"I'm no good at range," Ren shrugged.

"I'm sticking with Renny," Nora nudged her friend. "Plus, Mjolnir should work good on the deathstalker."

"Should work well…" Ren muttered to correct her, but Nora ignored him.

"My ice should work well on the deathstalker as well," Weiss said haughtily. "And with Pyrrha as my partner, I feel that she should work with me as well."

Naruto rolled his eyes, "Wonderful. That leaves the flying Grimm with a scythe wielder, two tanks, and a bow wearing ninja."

Everybody's eyes snapped towards him.

"Not a ninja!" Ruby hissed, her eyes narrowing at him angrily. Yang's gaze echoed hers, and even Blake seemed offended by the words. Weiss scowled, Pyrrha looked surprised, and only Ren and Nora seemed to not have any negative reaction to the words.

"Right," Naruto quickly corrected. He'd effectively done the equivalent of joking about an Iwa nin being as fast as the Yellow Flash in the heart of Iwa itself. "Bad choice of words. A scythe wielder, two tanks, and…a stealth specialist."

Ruby nodded slowly, her eyes still containing an unfamiliar heat to them, "Crescent Rose is a sniper too anyway. I can hit it."

"A sniper too?" Naruto's eyebrows raised. "Any particular reason for that combination?"

"Fast, deadly, keeps them at a distance, and not many things are faster than a .50 cal bullet."

"Not many things are faster than a .50 cal bullet…"

The words echoed in Naruto's mind. No common Grimm was faster than any bullet. He knew exactly what she meant now.

'Great,' Naruto thought to himself sadly. He would try not to think less of them, but it reaffirmed his belief that a narrative painting the Elemental Nations in a bad light was being spun in Remnant just as the opposite happened in the Elemental Nations. He almost wondered which was the truth. The reminder of Sakura's kidnapping easily told him his answer, however.

His truth was the truth. Sakura was kidnapped, end of story. Kingdoms would burn if they had to…regardless of who their citizens were.

"And how did you know I was a stealth specialist?" Blake asked curiously.

Naruto shrugged, "You're light on your feet, you carry a light weapon, and you're good at blending into a crowd. It's something I've only ever really seen in stealth specialists and…them."

He had to play his part, as difficult as it may be. Words like Ninja, Shinobi, Kunoichi…he couldn't casually throw them around without a negative connotation anymore. He had to make sure he kept up his act. It'd been so long since he'd done any espionage training with Jiraiya that he'd almost forgotten the most important lesson.

"Submerge yourself into your character. Become what you're supposed to be. In Iwa, you have to hate Konoha. In the Mist, hate those with Kekkei Genkai. In the Land of Iron, you need to be the utmost respectful. Above all else, remember what and who surrounds you, and never speak before you think!"

"Them?" Ruby asked with a scowl.

"Yes," Naruto nodded. The deathstalker crashed through the trees behind them, indicating that their time was up. "Let's finish this first."

Ruby nodded hesitantly, and everybody burst into motion. Weiss, Pyrrha, Ren, and Nora immediately moved to engage the Deathstalker, while Naruto, Ruby, Yang, and Blake ran towards the Nevermore still perched on the temple.

Ruby deployed Crescent Rose, and Naruto immediately grabbed it as close to the top of the shaft.

"Eh?" Ruby stared at his hand in shock.

"Rady to fly?" Naruto smirked. As soon as he saw Ruby's returning playful grin, Naruto spun. He dragged Ruby around in two quick spins by Crescent Rose' shaft, before letting go and launching her at the Nevermore.

"Yooooohoooooo!" Ruby shouted in joy as she continued the spin. Crescent Rose came crashing down into the Nevermore's chest, cutting deeply, but not enough to finish the job.

"Woah," Ruby shouted as the Nevermore flapped its wings in rage. She quickly fluttered down to the bridge connecting the temple to the clearing just as Naruto, Yang, and Blake arrived.

"That was awesome!" Ruby giggled. "Is that your semblance?"

Naruto nodded, "In a manner of speaking. Let's finish this thing quick!"

The Nevermore took off, quickly circling around the temple and looking for an opening to pelt the team with its feathers.

"Blake!" Yang looked at the girl. "Can you launch me at it with that ribbon of yours?"

Blake rolled her eyes, but grabbed her weapon, "Can't you just have Naruto do it?"

"He can't handle me!" Yang said cockily as she grabbed the ribbon. Blake began winding up, preparing to launch her over the side of the bridge.

"You're right," Naruto nodded. "Too top heavy!"

"Why you little—" And she was gone, over the side of the rail. Blake's superb agility gained as much momentum as possible for Yang, before slinging her directly into the Nevermore's mouth.

"Think I made her mad?" Naruto asked Ruby as they watched Yang send shell after shell down the Nevermore's gullet.

"Probably," Ruby shrugged. "But it helps her fight."

Naruto nodded, "Good to know. I'll keep that one in my back pocket."

"She might kill you."

"She might try." That earned him a giggle.

The Nevermore came crashing down on the other side of the temple, shaking the entire structure. Naruto and Ruby immediately began running towards it while Yang gained distance. They stopped once Ruby got in a proper position to shoot it.

"I have an idea!" Ruby shouted in between shots aimed for the Nevermore's eyes.

"Is it a good one?" Naruto responded, waiting to hear said plan.

"I hope so," Ruby fired one last shot. None landed in the eyes, but there was no denying they pissed the bird off. "How strong are you?"

Naruto smirked, and Ruby got to explaining her plan. It was rough, but luckily Naruto was good enough to circumvent the issues.

Ruby stayed in position, while Naruto stilled for a moment.

After only a few seconds, Naruto began sprinting towards the Nevermore. Behind him, Ruby loaded gravity dust rounds into Crescent Rose before following closely behind him. Naruto leapt towards the Nevermore's center, and landed a hit directly into it's chest (Do bird's have chest's?) and in an unimaginable display of strength, launched it directly towards the top of the cliff.

It crashed into the top of the cliffside with a surprising amount of speed. Naruto immediately reached backwards with his palm up, just in time for the front of Ruby's beltline to land on it. Naruto quickly grabbed onto the belt, before throwing her like a football directly at the downed Nevermore.

Ruby began shooting round after round of gravity dust, gaining more and more momentum. Eventually, she reached the Nevermore and hooked Crescent Rose around its neck. With one final shot, she drove the blade through, completely decapitating the oversized bird.

As the decapitated body of the Grimm fell down the ravine, slowly dissipating into dust, Ruby made her way to the edge of the cliff, and waved down at her teammates.

'Well…she isn't bad.' Naruto thought. 'She had no way of knowing it would work, but our skills compensated for it. I don't like that she made me use a little Senjutsu for it, but if I had just killed it by myself, she'd have probably felt a little left out.'

He looked behind him to see Weiss, Pyrrha, Ren, and Nora approaching them. They all looked a little winded, but didn't seem to be any worse for wear.

"Well, that was fun," Nora grinned excitedly.

Alright, so maybe they didn't all look winded.

"I guess so," Naruto shrugged, only for somebody to nudge his shoulder. He turned to see Ruby, who had jumped down from the cliff back down to them.

"You know it was fun!" Ruby chirped in a sing song voice. "Now let's get these relics up there so we can be real students!"

Naruto smiled despite himself. Her cheery disposition might be even more infectious than his was.

-xX- Never more does a heart heal but with a kindred soul -Xx-

"Ruby Rose, Naruto Urobline, Blake Belladonna, and Yang Xaio-Long…You will be named Team RUBY, with your leader being Ruby Rose!"

Ruby blinked up at Ozpin, while Naruto looked entirely unimpressed at Ozpin. The girl was smart, but it was a gamble to name her leader. She had the qualities, but nowhere near the experience. Luckily, with Yang being the sister, Blake not giving a single shit, and Naruto being able to look past age, it shouldn't be a problem with said team. Still, Naruto thought it was an odd call to make a fifteen-year-old in charge of two seventeen year old's, and a sixteen year old…not that they knew he was a year younger anyway.

Naruto supposed it didn't matter, after all, Kakashi and Itachi had both been placed in the highest-ranking group in Konoha at exceptionally young ages. It was possible.

"Pyrrha Nikos, Lie Ren, Weiss Schnee, and Nora Valkyrie…You shall be Team PRWN (Periwinkle, and yes I know it's not the most original. It's just the easiest to work with that is still related to a color.) And you will be lead by Pyrrha Nikos!"

Weiss didn't look particularly happy about this, but she seemed to accept it after a moment.

"You will now be shown to your dorms!" Ozpin wrapped up the initiation ceremony. "Professor Goodwitch will be explaining school rules and scheduling on the way. Have a good night!"

The stern looking woman waved her riding crop, beckoning the students to follow her. Team RUBY and PRWN arrived at their dorms last, with Glynda taking turns glaring at each team.

"It would do well for you to remember that you are all adults here. Failure of a member of a team means the failure of the entire team. Do your teammates the proper respect of trying your hardest. It is also worth noting that all of you are adults, or at least were recognized in the eyes of Valean Law as such the second you completed initiation. Should any tomfoolery happen with any teammates or other students, you are not allowed to allow it to disturb the peace of the dorms, but everything else will be considered a personal matter and should be handled as such. You should all be mature enough to understand these things. To the women, keep in mind that a pregnant woman is not allowed to continue classes here, as they are much too dangerous. Are we clear?"

Naruto and Ren, even as the only two men, were easily the most stoic about these things, and nodded in an almost lazy manner. The women, bar Yang and Blake, all turned varying shades of red as the implications set in. Glynda gave them all another stern look, before turning and walking away without another word.

"Hear that blondie?" Yang nudged Naruto. "Don't be getting any pervy idea's being locked in a room together with three hotties!"

Naruto stared blankly at her, before turning to look at Blake and Ruby. He looked all three of them up and down a few times, almost to the point of creeping them out. He then took out his scroll and buzzed himself into the dorm room.

"I only see two," he said dully as he entered the room. "Well…I guess I could be the third, but the way your referred to it obviously meant other than me."

"Huh?" Ruby blinked.

"Excuse me?" Blake recoiled.

"The hell is that supposed to mean?" Yang glared at his back as he entered the room.

"You guys cool with me taking first shower?" Naruto asked over his shoulder as they filed in.

"I asked you a question!" Yang said indignantly.

Naruto just grabbed a towel out of his bag and threw a thumb up over his shoulder, "Cool, thanks!"

The three girls stared in shock as he closed the door. A few moments later, they heard the shower turn on. They stared in silence for a few moments.

"Who do you think the ugly one is?" Ruby asked hesitantly.

"It's gotta be Yang," Blake said unsurely.

"Excuse me?" Yang growled. "I'm hot!"

"Maybe when your hair is on fire," Blake said snarkily. "Not trying to brag, but I've got the best ass I've ever seen, and Ruby's adorable—"

"Thank you!" The girl chirped.

"Sure. Anyway, you're the only one that fits. All you have is your boobs."

"Well, what if he isn't an ass guy?" Yang argued.

Blake shrugged, "I'm just saying…"

"No, Yang she has a point," Ruby chipped in. "She's still got a nice pair. So, it's two to one really."

"Seriously Rubes?" Yang looked at her sister in betrayal. Ruby just shrugged and took out a box of cookies from her bag.

"It could be me!" Ruby reasoned fairly. "I'm just saying if it's between the two of you, Blake might have you beat."

The door to the bathroom cracked open, and Naruto poked his head out, full of suds and all.

"You guys are loud. Can you keep it down a little?"

"No!" Yang stomped lightly on the ground. "Tell us who isn't the hot one!"

Naruto shook his head, "All I'm gonna say is I wasn't knocking Blake or Ruby."

He quickly ducked back in and slammed the door shut just in time to block the pillow that was thrown his way.

"Asshole."

Ruby just nodded wisely, "I figured as much. It was only a matter of time, really."

Yang turned to glare at her sister, "And just what is that?"

"It was only a matter of time that my looks surpassed yours. You might be older, but realistically, I was always going to take the lead!"

"And how do you figure that!" Yang crossed her arms.

"I drink milk!"

"It all goes to your ass!"

"Exactly! I could play Jenga on yours!"

Blake stifled a giggle, and Yang lunged for Ruby, "Get over here you little…"

Ruby laughed melodically as she zipped around the room, avoiding Yang skillfully.

Naruto exited the bathroom shortly after in shorts and a shirt, only to find Ruby smirking at her sister, who was huffing and puffing while sprawled out on the ground.

"There are rose petals…everywhere." Naruto deadpanned.

"They go away eventually," Ruby said cheerily as she skipped to the bathroom.

Naruto sighed, and made his way to the only bed without a bag on top of it. It seemed like he was going to be closest to the wall, just next to Ruby, with Yang just on the other side, and Blake closest to the opposite wall.

"If I catch you creeping on my little sister, I'm putting you through that window," Yang warned from her position on the ground.

"You'll try putting me through that window." Naruto corrected. "And I don't creep, so there's nothing to worry about there."

"Try?" Yang sat up. "Blondie, just cause you can throw a girl that's maybe a hundred pounds soaking wet doesn't mean I can't kick your ass."

"You mean just because I can throw a hundred-pound girl a quarter of a mile…just after punching a two-ton bird the same distance…doesn't mean you can't kick my ass?" Naruto raised an eyebrow at her. "Look, I'm not trying to brag here. I wasn't even talking about strength. I was talking about fighting style. You're a boxer. I'm a fighter. I just win."

Yang rolled her eyes, "What's the difference?"

"You have two weapons," Naruto said, holding up his fists as examples. "I have four."

"Tch," Yang rolled her eyes. "We will see about that."

"Maybe," Naruto said, crawling into his bed. "I'm beat. I'll see y'all in the morning."

"Night," Blake muttered, absorbed in a book on her own bed.

Yang said nothing, simply planning on ways to beat Naruto into the ground should he not treat her sister with respect. Partner or not!

Ruby eventually came out of the shower, and Yang finally dragged herself off the ground and into the bathroom.

"Ahhh," Ruby sighed in happiness as she laid on the bed. "This bed is comfortable."

"Mhmm," Naruto mumbled from under the covers. Blake said nothing, and just turned a page.

"Hey Naruto," Blake said after turning a few more pages.

"Hmm?" Naruto responded sleepily.

"Who's really the ugly one?"

Naruto rolled over and pulled the covers down just enough to glare at Blake, "Seriously?"

Blake shrugged, but didn't take her eyes off her book, "I'm just curious."

Naruto rolled his eyes, "You're all gorgeous. Hard not to be at least attractive in this line of work. You and Yang are both hot, Ruby is cute. There's a difference. Can't tell Yang that though. She sounds like she needs to be brought down a peg…or three."

Blake snorted quietly as she turned another page, "I figured."

"Hey!" Ruby whined. "Why can't I be hot?"

Naruto chuckled and turned back around to go to sleep, choosing not to answer Ruby's question. Ruby just pouted at him, before throwing her blanket over herself and turning away from him.

It seemed to be an interesting start for Team RUBY.

That worried Naruto greatly. He knew he would be in for a lot of work constantly trying to remind himself not to grow too attached.

'Why couldn't they have all been bitchy?' Naruto whined to himself as he dozed off. 'Maybe the Schnee would have been better.'

"Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer," advised the deceptive fox with a sly grin.

…Distance from his vicitms only afforded him less opportunity to thieve and backstab.

Hope you guys all liked it! I've been getting a little philosophical recently. Inspirational quotes have been something I look at a bit when I'm bored. Even thinking of some myself recently. I feel like it helps me with my writing.

I'll be the first to admit that writing isn't one of the leading hobbies in my life right now, but it's still something I hope to get better with if only for the satisfaction of having created something that others enjoy.

Again I hope to hear from you all about your thoughts. Have a great weekend!