A/N: PLEASE READ THIS NOTE WOULD YOU KINDLY?
Sorry if this seems shorter than usual, but this was next on the docket, and, well, the time has come.
Noooooooooooooo I don't want surgery! Nope nope nope! But no matter how much I might say that, I can't put this off any longer.
By the time you read this, I'll likely be headed in for my procedure. Pretty sure I'll be out of sorts for a few days afterward as well. Now, I know what you're thinking. Does this mean no updates for weeks on end? WRONG! I had a feeling this might happen, so I prepared a slew of updates for this very occasion. My team will carry on in my stead while I recover. They've got loads of material to work on while I get my strength back.
As always, every title will be a "Partner" related theme. I'm not sorry.
As ever, I own no quotes, references, themes or memes.
Where's Glynda, you say? Why, my dear reader...
...HERE BE GLYNDA!
"Fear can unmake even the best of us. Fear of failure. Fear of success.
Or worse, fear of ones own self. Yes, fear is a powerful thing.
Fear causes us to make mistakes, that much is true.
But in the same vein, fear keeps us alive.
Without fear, we'd all be dead."
~?
Partners in Panic (Interlude)
Naruto ran.
He didn't care which way he went, so long as it led away from the madwoman chasing him. Had he been in his right mind, he would've known better than to pull a such a stunt like this; would've tried to talk his pursuer down or otherwise disable her and prevent such a chase. Unfortunately, Naruto Uzumaki wasn't in his right mind at the moment. Or much of any mind for that matter.
"Stop right there, criminal scum! You're under arrest!"
The moment he heard those words a switch flipped somewhere in the back of his brain and he bolted.
All the world dissolved into a mottled grey-and-black blur as Naruto shot in the opposite direction of the shouting huntress. He didn't stop, didn't look back, didn't even think to check if she was chasing him. His body howled at him to stop, screaming as old injuries flared up with the burning fury of a thousand suns. At his peak he could have outpaced the cloaked girl easily and lost her somewhere in the city. But he wasn't at his peak. He was still recovering and would in time, but for now he was tired, frightened, and unable to think straight.
His brain told him to run, and so he did.
Had she recognized him from video footage or something? Judging by her expression. She must have. Just his luck.
"Halt, you fiend!" What was this, a soap opera or something?! "You're committing a crime!"
"By running away from a crazy woman?!" he brayed back. "I don't think so!"
An ominous clicking sound rose in his ears, like angry gears.
"You take that back!"
Against his better judgement, the wayward shinobi stole a glance over his shoulder as he ran and was rewarded with a rather terrifying sight. His pursuer wasn't unarmed anymore. On the contrary. She'd pulled a gigantic freakin' curved scythe when he wasn't looking. Curved! Scythe! Where in the blue hell had she been hiding that monstrosity?! Under her cloak?! Not likely! It looked like she knew how to use the damn thing too. Just the sight of it made his new eye burn uncomfortably and he hastened his pace.
Naruto squeezed it shut, not trusting to his self control at the moment.
Trying to lead her off with shadow clones did nothing; she either evaded or ignored the fakes outright in favor of him. As if she knew he was the genuine article. That implied she was a tracker of some sort, and irritated as he was, he wasn't willing to hurt her enough to make her break off her chase. Not in this state. So he ran on. And she pursued. Worse, she was fast. Too fast by half!
Summer Rose pelted after him with the relentless determination of a trained bloodhound and the accuracy of an eagle, shouting all the while.
"Stop, I said!" she cried! "You're only making this harder on yourself!"
"Never!"
Bounding over a pothole, the exasperated blond hooked a right, lobbed a smoke bomb over his shoulder and tore through a nearby shopping district, barging headlong through crowds ahead. A frustrated shout somewhere away to the south told him he'd managed to distract the huntress, if not lose her entirely. Even then, Naruto kept forging forward at a reckless place until he was finally free of the crowd entirely, heedless of the clamor he caused in his haste to escape.
With one final effort he broke through to freedom.
A minute passed. Then two. Followed by three. He kept counting.
Naruto slowed his pace on the sidewalk, hoping against hope. No one wearing a white cloak appeared to give chase. A series of strange metal vehicles passed him by on the street, earning quizzical look from the blond as he squinted at them. What had Roman said they were? Cars? Strange things. Who wanted to get into a box and go somewhere? Wasn't that a little weird? Maybe it was normal here. With each passing moment, his nerves bled away, leaving him to unwind at long last.
"Finally." Naruto muttered, stealing one last glance over his back jogging as he left the confused crowds behind. "Home free. Roman's never going to let me hear the end of this, I swear."
Naruto rounded a corner and crashed headlong into a young woman, sending her stumbling backward.
His body betrayed him, acted back without thinking.
Strong arms snatched his unfortunate victim up and spun her into his chest before she could fall. She tried to catch herself on him, but that only ended with them bashing their foreheads together all over again and left them seeing stars. As far as first impressions went, it wasn't the best. Naruto felt his world burn white for a moment as he tried to recover.
"Oh, what the hell." he pinched the brow of his nose and shook his head. "Why can't I catch a break today?"
...would you mind letting go of me?" a soft voice inquired.
Naruto looked down.
Startled green eyes rose to meet him, framed by a pale face, golden hair and...rimmed glasses? He had a sliver of a second to take in her outfit, a pale pleated top, her lower body wrapped in a dark high-waist pencil skit and riding boots. Was that a purple cape? It was! His respect for her climbed another notch. It took flair to pull off a look like that, but she did a remarkable job. She was in his arms for all of a moment before he realized just how close he was holding her, and lower her back to the safety of the sidewalk.
"Look, I'm really sorry about this," He babbled out, heat rising to his cheeks. "Some crazy girl in a white cloak was chasing me, and I really didn't mean to run into you."
Those lovely jade orbs fluttered in a slow blink.
"A white cloak, you say?" Her brow creased. "That sounds familiar. Did she have a scythe, perchance?"
"Yeah," Naruto took half a step backwards, "How did you know?"
"Experience." The woman exhaled in a long suffering out a sigh and smoothed a crease in her skirt. "That would be Summer Rose. She's a rather excitable girl."
Summer.
Well, at least he had a name for his pursuer now. That was better than nothing. Still, at least he'd left her behind. All's well that ends well, right? Really, this was all just a big misunderstanding. So long as she didn't pop up and startle him again.
"AHA! There you are!" A familiar voice cried. "Glynda, quick! Get him! Don't let him escape again!"
Nope! His legs were having none of it. Nope nope nope! Time to bolt again! Exit stage left!
"Sorry about that!" He flung a parting greeting back at her. "Nice outfit!"
Mercifully, the blond didn't give chase. She just...stared at him as he fled, cheeks rosy and eyes wide. Thank heavens for small mercies. One pursuer was bad enough. He didn't need two!
Still the remaining huntress seemed determined to take him in, if nothing else. And for what?! He hadn't even done anything wrong! No, wait. He'd told a lie. Someone was dead because of him. Even now he remembered none of it, but the same couldn't be said for his pursuer. He'd given someone a heart attack and they'd died of fright. That alone implied unpleasant things he'd rather not think on.
Skirting a cart, he turned and flung its contents at her.
"My cabbages!" someone cried!
"Sorry!" Naruto barked.
A bullet shot past his cheek, opening a thin line against the whiskers there to draw blood. He pivoted on a heel to growl at the girl. She lowered her scythe, and he found a smoking barrel etched into its base. Incredulous, he touched a hand to his cheek. Frowned when it came away red.
"Why're ya shooting me?!"
"You have Aura!" She scoffed. "You'll be fine!"
Mismatching eyes fluttered rapidly. "The hell is Aura?!"
"Wait, you mean you don't have it...?" As he looked on, his pursuer's face went bone white. "Oh gods, I'm so sorry!"
"Apology not accepted!"
Naruto saw the opportunity for what it was and fled again. Summer gave chase out of instinct if nothing else
Across rooftops, through back alleys and abandoned buildings alike she followed him, forcing him further and further from civilization. He didn't even realize it at first; her plan was a slow, subtle thing, and by the time he realized his pursuer was actively hemming him in, it was too late.
All at once, he reached the docks and ran out of road.
"Got...you!" the huntress gasped, falling to her hands and knees behind. "Jeez...you're...quick!"
Against his better judgement, Naruto dithered. Blast his weak heart. "Are you...alright?"
"Just...gimme a minute." came the wheeze. "Haven't run this far in awhile."
He crept closer.
"Got you!"
Silver eyes snapped up and she latched onto his arm like a limpet. A harsh clicked rose in his ears, and he looked down to find a handcuff clasped against his wrist. He tried to jerked his arm back before she could grab the other but she was just too quick; another click and a wrenching in his shoulder had both limbs bound behind his back. Summer hummed happily. Naruto's brow twitched.
"Let me out of these." he warned. "This is your last chance."
"No!" his captor growled. "I have questions mister, and you're going to come with or SO HELP ME-
That was all Summer managed before he Naruto bucked against her, reared back, and kicked her through a warehouse.
Straining his wrists, Naruto snapped the cuffs with ease. Unfortunately that left the darn things swinging from his wrists like a bit of bad jewelry. His brow twitched at the sight of them. Moreso when he couldn't get a good grip on them and rip them away. Roman might be too afraid to remark on it, but he knew Neo would never leave him be over this. He could just imagine her silent laughter now.
"Right." Summer groaned, dragging herself upright out of the rubble. "No more nice huntress. You're going down!"
"What the hell are you made of?!"
They collided in a whirl of fists and steel, and he almost immediately found himself on the backfoot through no fault but his own. He dare not use his true strength for fear of hurting her. Which left him shunting away her scythe with his bare hands again and again. Crazy girl didn't relent either. She gave as good as she got, taking hits she had no business taking, and he only himself to blame for that.
Finally he found an opening, grabbed her by the wrist, and launched her through a shipping container...
...which then exploded. How?! Was he cursed or something!? Seriously!
A finger tapped his shoulder as he straightened his back.
Naruto rounded on them with a hiss.
Mismatching eyes of pale cream and chocolate met his, narrow and lidded with dark pleasure. Even then his hammering heart didn't quite calm down until he realized he was looking, well, down. Adrenaline faded, and the roaring in his ears finally subsided enough for him to see sense again.
"Neo?"
The little thief waved happily.
"Roman sent you after me, didn't he?"
Her head bobbed in agreement. Tilted. Looked upon his handcuffs. A pretty smile creased her lips. Moreso when she looked past him and saw the destruction he'd wrought. Were those sirens in the distance? They sounded like sirens. He hadn't meant to set the place on fire. Really, he hadn't! Summer wasn't anywhere to be seen either. Oh gods, he hadn't killed her, had he?
Another explosion ripped through the docks.
Neo signed something at him.
"The hell is dust? Naruto growled. "This isn't funny."
She tittered silently and quick as a flash, offered him her hand.
"I don't know what you're up to, but holding hands isn't exactly gonna-HEY!"
His words and his world vanished with a shattering of glass as the two of them disappeared.
"Oh, come on!" Summer staggered out of the ruins the moment they were gone, hacking and coughing. "No fair! That's just cheating!"
A/N: Neo with the save, once again. Cheeky little thing, isn't she? As ever, references are references and I own nothing. Now its off to surgery for me.
And here we see what happens if you push and exhausted, frightened young man too far. Naruto's still himself in a sense, but in the very same vein he's accidentally crossed a line he wasn't willing to cross. Now he's actively trying to avoid hurting people. Throw in an uncooperative eye and you've got a recipe for disaster and chaos. Now I know this seems a little Grimm -ha!- but rest assured, this won't stay that way forever.
Once Naruto gets his head screwed on properly he might well surprise some of you.
This is a shinobi. He can literally use the transformation jutsu to disguise himself...not to mention all his other abilities.
No Cinder yet, but she's on the horizon. Of course she is. She's a central part of this story, though you might be a little surprised at the role she plays. You know, I once heard someone call her a big fish in a small pond. Well, I'd say that makes Naruto a freaking shark.
As ever, reviews are the wind beneath my wings.
Without them...well. I'll just cry in a corner.
So in the Immortal Words of Atlas...
...Review, Would You Kindly?
And one last thing:
SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS!
PLOT DETAILS AHOY!
YE BE WARNED!
Read if you dare!
(Previews!)
...if we're going to do this thing, we're going to do it proper." Naruto put heavy emphasis on the last word. "Properly."
Neo grinned. It was not a pleasant smile.
She flicked two fingers at the safe and mimed an explosion.
Naruto blew out a sigh and cracked his knuckles. "Alright, alright... I've got this."
"I do not believe he's as violent as he appears." Glynda argued. "He went back for me, when he had no reason to do so. That's not the mark of a criminal."
"Someone's gotta crush~!"
Glynda launched an entire desk at Qrow and flattened him against the nearest wall.
"Ouch." Summer slapped a palm to her forehead. "You really had that one coming, birdbrain...
R&R~!