Chapter 8 – Search Teams

It is a day after the brawl with Team JNPR. Naruto is in class like usual and Port is going on his usual drawn out spiel. Ruby is trying to break Weiss' concentration, Yang is messing with her scroll, Blake is secretly reading her book, Jaune is trying to pay attention but is getting lost, Ren is trying to keep Nora awake, and Pyrrha is trying her best to find a point to what Port is trying to say. Naruto is off in how own world. He happens to be looking at the beowolf diagram which of course makes him think about that beowolf he encountered in Forever Fall. He thought that he would ask Ozpin again if there was any news.

As Port continued to prattle on, he began to zone out more. "I hope I actually remember to go ask Ozpin…" Naruto thought to himself.

"If it slips your mind, I'll just ring your ear about it." Kurama informed him.

"Gee, thanks…" Naruto internally responds. After another drawn out 15 minutes, class finally ends. Naruto takes off immediately for Ozpin's office.

Ruby sees him take off. "What's his hurry?" Ruby asked.

"No clue" Yang answered. "You guys got any clue? He hung out with you guys yesterday." She asked to Team JNPR.

"We don't know any more than you do." Jaune responds.

"It is curious." Pyrrha mentions.

"We should totally follow him!" Nora interjects.

"I like the way you think!" Yang adds.

"Don't you think we should just leave it be?" Jaune asks.

"I wanna know too!" Ruby adds. The two teams after another few minutes of deliberation decide to follow Naruto.


Naruto is on his way to Ozpin's office. He's keeping an eye out for Goodwitch because she doesn't like him pestering Ozpin. Goodwitch happens to be leaving Ozpin's office and is about to enter the hallway. Naruto peeks his head in the hallway and sees her. "Uh on." Naruto mutters as he starts looking for a place to hide. He sees a room by him and he steps in. He peeks through the blinds and waits for her to pass. "That was close…" Naruto states.

"I haven't seen you this scared of someone since the slug princess." Kurama comments.

"She may not be as strong as granny, but I think she's definitely more strict…" Naruto responds. He leaves the room and heads towards Ozpin's office. On approach, he can hear Ozpin talking to someone. "Who's he talking to?" Naruto thinks to himself. He decides to put his ear up to the door and listen.

"Don't play games with me Ozpin!" A voice on the other side of the door yelled. "I know you, I know that look on your face. Something's happened that you aren't telling me."

"These are baseless accusations James." Ozpin replied. "If something big has really happened, I would tell you. And besides, if it is as big as you claim than surely you would have heard about said thing."

"James?" Naruto says internally. "Who's this James guy he's talking to"

"Oz, do you really not trust me?" The voice asked.

"Of course I trust you." Ozpin replied. "I've informed you of so many things that I would never let anyone outside this office know."

"Then what are you hiding from me?" The voice asks.

"I'm not." Ozpin answers. "And quite frankly, I am getting rather tired of you baselessly accusing me of doing so."

"I'll be there soon enough; we'll continue this conversation then." The voice says before the sound of a transmission ending is heard.

Ozpin then sighs. "This is getting more complicated each time."

"Sounds like the conversation is over." Naruto says internally. He then knocks in the door.

"Hm? Who is it?" Ozpin asks. Naruto then pops his head in. "Mr. Uzumaki? What are you doing here?"

"I came to ask if you found anything about that dust that made the Beowolf stronger." Naruto informed him.

"No Mr. Uzumaki, nothing yet." Ozpin answered. "And frankly there's no need for you to keep asking."

"What do you mean?!" Naruto responded indignantly.

"You are a student." Ozpin reminded him. "It is your job to learn from your teachers, not go solving new mysteries."

"But…" Naruto began to say but he decided against it. "Okay…"

"Is there anything else?" Ozpin asked.

"Nope." Naruto answered. "I guess I'll head back" Naruto said as he left the room.

Ozpin then looked out the window wondering to himself, "What Mr. Uzumaki described is unlike anything I've ever seen. Even she has never accomplished anything like that…"

As Naruto is heading towards the exit, Kurama addresses him. "You're about to try investigating it on your own, aren't you?"

Naruto grins. "Of course I am, Ya know!" He responds internally.

"Intel gathering has never been your strong suit." Kurama commented.

"I always found it boring." Naruto answered him. "But this is different, this is something I personally want to find out."

"I suppose that makes sense." Kurama admitted.

As Naruto is heading off, Teams RWBY and JNPR are tailing him. "Dust that made a Beowolf stronger?" Blake questioned to the others. They all turned to Weiss since her family are the authorities on dust manufacturing.

"Don't look at me. I'm just as clueless as all of you." Weiss told them.

"Something being out there that can enhance the strength of the Grimm. That's not an implication I like…" Pyrrha comments.

"You can say that again. But now it makes sense." Jaune states.

"Makes sense? What makes sense?" Ruby questions.

"We all seen how messed up Naruto was back in Forever Fall. Did it really make sense that one Beowolf was able to do that to someone as good as he is?" Jaune questioned them.

"I never thought of it to be honest…" Ren admits.

"Even I have to admit that he would normally flatten a Beowolf without a problem." Weiss adds.

"Considering how well he did against the Death Stalker, I guess it really wouldn't add up." Pyrrha conquers.

"Well then we better keep following him." Yang interjects.

"She's right. If Naruto does find something, he might need back up." Ruby addresses them. They all agree and continue to follow.

As Naruto keeps walking along, he thinks, "Do they really think I don't know they're there?"

"It isn't like they were trained as shinobi. I'm sure this is their best attempt." Kurama informs him.

Naruto keeps walking and getting followed by the others until he stops. "Okay, this is stupid! Get out here guys, I know you're there!"

"What?! How could he possibly know?!" Nora shouts without hesitation. Ren just face palms.

"What are you guys doing following me around like this?" Naruto asks them.

"We thought maybe you could use a hand." Jaune tells him.

"No reason for you guys to stick your necks on the line for—" Naruto began to say.

Yang cuts him off mid-sentence by shoving him down leaving Naruto complete stunned. "Listen up whiskers. You're our friend, and friends always got each other's backs whether you like it or not!"

Naruto then remembers when Itachi said something similar. He then smiles as he has plenty of people to count on even in this new world. He then stands up. "You guys are right. Sorry, I guess I'll be straight with you." He then confirms everything they heard form eavesdropping on his conversation with Ozpin.

"So it's all true…" Jaune mutters.

"We can't let something like that stick around." Blake adds.

"So, what's your plan?" Ruby asks.

"Well, I was going to search around Forever Fall. That's where the incident happened in the first place." Naruto answers.

"And if there's nothing there?" Nora asks.

"Well…I guess I'll see what I can find around the city." Naruto answers.

"Not much of an answer but I guess it's all we got for now." Yang comments.

"Let's get moving!" Ruby announces.

They start checking around Forever Fall for clues. They start by where the incident happened. "So, what did the dust look like?" Blake asked.

"It was small enough to fit in your hand and it was an intense blue color." Naruto answered.

"Lots of Dust is blue, so that doesn't really help." Weiss informed him.

"All I can say is you'll know it when you see it." Naruto answered again.

"We shouldn't stick around here long, we know there's plenty of Grimm." Jaune commented. They then spread out and kept searching for any signs of this mystery dust or enhanced Grimm. They all make sure to stay within eyesight of someone else just in case. They search for about 40 minutes and come up empty. "I think we should head to the city now." Jaune suggested.

"Yeah, we're not having any luck here and we shouldn't chance an attack." Naruto answered.

The group heads back to the city and starts looking for whatever clue they could find. Blake was checking some alleyways. There were the minor shady deals going on, but nothing connected to what they were looking for. Nora practically forgot what they were doing, and Ren is keeping her on track. Pyrrha and Jaune are asking anyone if they've seen anything while Weiss is doing the same. Ruby is asking the dust shop owner since he seems to have all the bad luck. Naruto is watching them all work.
"They're coming in handy." Naruto says to himself.

"And what the heck are you doing?" Yang says to him, much to his surprise.

"I thought you were checking the alleys with Blake." Naruto responds to her.

"I was, but then I noticed you just standing here. Are you just trying to push all the work on us now?" Yang asks in jest.

"Someone needs to supervise!" Naruto answers.

"Oh, so Whickers thinks he's good enough to supervise? What makes you an expert?" Yang asks.

"Because I'm a shinobi!" Naruto shouts with pride.

"…Kid." Kurama says to Naruto.

"What?" Naruto asks in response.

"The hell's a shinobi?" Yang asks.

"That." Kurama answers him.

"Oh…" Naruto says to her. "You know a ninja?"

"A ninja?" Weiss asks skeptically. "Someone as loud as you?"

A vein pops on Naruto's head. "My village is all about ninjas!"

"I believe you!" Ruby shouts to no one's surprise.

"At least SOMEONE backs me up." Naruto states. "So, any of you get any leads?" Everyone gives a collective no.

"Nobody's heard of this special dust before, so it must be new. I'm guessing word hasn't gotten around yet." Blake comments.

"That's a good point…" Naruto admits.

"So what? We wait a few days and try again?" Ruby asks.

"Maybe. For now we should just head back." Naruto replies.

"Well this was pointless." Weiss adds.

"Oh thanks, you were a real help…" Naruto says with sarcasm.

"Come on Weiss, it wasn't that bad." Yang interjects.

"Speak for yourself. I could have finished my work during this time." Weiss responds.

"Come on guys, we got to get home for tomorrow." Jaune tells them.

"Isn't tomorrow Saturday?" Ruby asks.

"Yeah, but our team has plans." Jaune answers. He and the rest of team JNPR head back to Beacon. Naruto also is walking off.

"Where are you going?" Ruby asks.

"To drown my sorrows in noodles…" Naruto responds.

"Yeesh, if that's how you deal with disappointment, you're gonna be fat in no time." Yang comments.

"That was uncalled for!" Naruto shouts as he's walking away.


Later that afternoon Team RWBY is walking through town which is now completely decorated for the upcoming Vital Festival. "The Vital Festival! Oh this is absolutely wonderful!" Weiss exclaims gleefully.

"I don't think I've ever seen you smile this much Weiss." Ruby says while cringing a bit. "It's kind of weirding me out."

"How could you 'not' smile?" Weiss questions Ruby. "A festival dedicated to the cultures of the world! There will be parades, dances, a tournament! Oh the amount of organization and planning that goes into this event is simply breath taking."

Yang sighs and says, "You really know how to take a good thing and make it sound boring."

"Quiet you." Weiss says to Yang in a tone that would make Goodwitch proud. They then hear the sound of a boat in the harbor.

"Remind me again why we're spending our Friday afternoon visiting the stupid docks?" Yang asks.

"Ugh, they smell like fish." Ruby complains

"Hey! I didn't hear you complaining when we were searching earlier with that idiot!" Weiss sternly responds.

"Yeah but when we were searching earlier, we knew what we were trying to do. I still haven't got an answer on why we're at the docks besides smelling the catch of the day!" Yang responds.

"Hmph, you just have no appreciation for culture." Weiss says dismissively.

"Do you think that's really why she brought us here?" Ruby whisper to Yang.

"I doubt it." Yang whisper back.

"Aren't the visitors from Vacuo supposed to arrive by boat today?" Blake asks.

"Of course! And I wish to be a proper representative and welcome them." Weiss answers.

"She wants to spy on them to have an upper hand in the tournament." Blake responds.

"You can't prove that!" Weiss accuses. They then see another broken into store and some police musing about the possibility of it being the group known as the White Fang. "Hmph. The White Fang. What an awful bunch of degenerates."

"What's your problem?" Blake asks Weiss.

"What's my problem? I simply don't care for the criminally insane." Weiss retorts.

"That White Fang is hardly a bunch of psychopaths. They're a collection of misguided Faunus." Blake says in return.

"Misguided?! Then want to wipe humanity off the face of the planet!" Weiss indignantly responds.

"So then they're 'very' misguided. Either way, It doesn't explain why they would rob a dust shop in the middle of downtown Vale." Blake responds.

"Blake's got a point. Besides, the police never caught the Torchwick guy I ran into a few months ago. Maybe it was him." Ruby adds.

"That doesn't change the fact that the White Fang are a bunch of scum." Weiss states with her nose smugly in the air. "Those Faunus only know how to lie cheat and steal."

"That's not necessarily true." Yang interjects. Then as if fate was trying to be funny, a sailor yells to "stop that Faunus!"

A blonde-haired monkey Faunus with a same colored tail wearing an open shirt and short blue pants is running away from them. "Thanks for the ride guys!" The Faunus says as he jumps to the harbor. The sailor then calls him a no good stow-away. "Hey! A no good stow-away would have been caught. I'm a great stow-away!" A police officer than throws a rock at him and tells him to get down. The Faunus then tosses a banana peel in the officer's face and then runs off while laughing. He passes by Blake and winks at her.

"Well Weiss, you wanted to see the competition, and there it goes." Yang comments.

"Quick! We have to observe him!" Weiss shouts and the group takes off after him.

As they are running by, Naruto is at a noodle stand and sees them. "What are they doing?" Naruto asks.

"Maybe you should take a break from stuffing your face and go find out." Kurama snidely comments.

Naruto then pays for his noodles and chases after them. "Hey guys! What are you running after?!" Naruto shouts at them.

"Weiss wants to 'observe' the competition in the tournament!" Ruby tells him.

Naruto then looks ahead and see's the Faunus. "That Faunus?" Naruto asks.

"That's him!" Yang answers.

"I got this!" Naruto shouts as he turns the corner really quick and avoids an odd looking orange haired girl. "You're not getting away!"

The Faunus looks back. "You gotta be kidding me, more?!" He shouts. "Okay, let's see you keep up now!" The Faunus starts hopping up the buildings and onto the rooftops. Against most pursuers this would have worked. Unfortunately for this Faunus, his pursuer happens to be a shinobi as Naruto scales the buildings just as easily as he did. "Oh come on!" The Faunus desperately shouts.

"This guy's as agile as a shinobi!" Naruto shouts in his head.

"If that kid's hair and tail were red instead of blonde, I might think my brother got reincarnated here." Kurama comments.

"Let's hope he doesn't start shooting lava at us!" Naruto responds as he starts getting closer. The Faunus makes a desperate leap before he needed to and thus barely makes it to the next rooftop and almost looses his balance. Naruto doesn't make that mistake. "Got you!" Naruto shouts as he tackles the Faunus.

"What's your problem? Let me go!" The Faunus shouts at him.

"I don't know, my friends were chasing you and—" Naruto was saying as he looks around and there's no one in sight. "Where'd they go?!"

"You're the only one chasing me man!" The Faunus shouts, making Naruto very embarrassed.

"There he is! And he's got an accomplice!" One of the officers shouts as he finds them.

"Accomplice?" Naruto puzzles before he realizes. "Me?!"

"Ha! Looks like you're in trouble now too!" The Faunus says making fun of Naruto.

"Aw come on!" Naruto shouts in annoyance.

"Unless you wanna get arrested let me go!" The Faunus shouts. Naruto does and The Faunus runs off with Naruto following. "What? Why are you still following me?"

"You were running off so I figured you must have had a hideout or something!" Naruto responds.

"I don't have a hideout, I just got to this city!" The Faunus informs him.

"What?!" Naruto shouts in disbelief.

"Only you could have gotten into a situation this stupid." Kurama comments.

"Not now Kurama!" Naruto indignantly responds.

Kurama laughs before deciding to give some advice. "Alright look. With as long as the cops took to get to catch up to you two on the roof that means they had to take the long way up. That means they'll also have to take the long way down."

Naruto grins. "You're the best Kurama." Naruto then looks at the Faunus. "Hey! Follow my lead!" Naruto says to him as he jumps into one of the building gaps and lands on his feet. The Faunus does the same and when the police look into the gap they've lost sight of them. After another 15 minutes of looking for the two blonde haired teenagers the police call it a day and head off. "Looks like they gave up." Naruto states.

"Phew." The Faunus exclaims. "Took 'em long enough." He sits down. "Now that we got time, who are you and why were you chasing me?"

"Oh right. I'm Naruto Uzumaki! I'm a student at Beacon and I was chasing you because I saw my friends were." Naruto answers.

"Your friends?" The Faunus questions.

"You don't remember those four girls?" Naruto questions in return.

"Oh them? We lost them the second we turned that corner." The Faunus informs him.

"That far back?!" Naruto states astounded. "They must have bumped into that one girl…" Naruto muses.

"To be honest I didn't think anyone here would be able to keep up with me. My traits usually let me outpace everyone." The Faunus states.

"Well I grew up learning to hop tree to tree, building to building, yada yada." Naruto informs him.

"You too?" The Faunus states almost as if he found a long-lost brother.

"Yeah. Back in my village that's how people got around other than walking." Naruto answers

"That's pretty awesome!" The Faunus states. "I guess I should introduce myself. My name's Son Wukong."

Naruto was stunned hearing that as was Kurama. "You don't think…?" Naruto starts to ask.

"No of course not! His name is Wukong not Goku. But I admit the coincidence is striking…" Kurama responds.

Naruto, trying not to be awkward, responds "Nice to meet ya Son!"

"So why were your friends chasing me?" Son asks.

"I think Wiess wanted to spy on you for the tournament and the other three were tagging along." Naruto guessed.

"Weiss? Like as in the Schnee's?" Son asks.

"Yeah. She takes some getting used to." Naruto informs him.

"Man, I was kinda hoping the cute black-haired one was the one wanting to chase me." Son states.

"Wait, you mean Blake?" Naruto asks.

"Her name's Blake huh?" Son states with interest.

"Uh, yeah. Her name's Blake." Naruto repeats.

"What's she like?" Son asks wanting to know even more.

"Well she's really smart! But she's also pretty quiet and reserved. She also takes getting used to." Naruto informed him.

Son smirks with confidence. "Good to know."

"…Am I inadvertently playing matchmaker right now?" Naruto asks.

"Don't worry about it." Son tells him.

"Right…I should get going. You got a place to stay?" Naruto asks him.

"Yeah I got it all figured out." Son states.

"Okay. See ya around." Naruto says as he leaves.

"Later!" Son says going his own way.


Naruto is returning to the dorms and the sun is already setting. "Been a long day." Naruto states.

"Not exactly a productive one." Kurama comments.

"I mean yeah we didn't learn anything new about the special dust, but we met a new friend. That's something." Naruto internally responds.

"Meeting a monkey-boy is the lamest consolation prize I've ever heard." Kurama responds

"I'm sure Son wouldn't appreciate you saying that." Naruto adds.

"…Which one?" Kurama asks, genuinely unsure.

Naruto pauses for a couple seconds. "Ah crap, this is gonna be confusing…" Kurama proceeds to laugh. As Naruto continues walking to his room, he hears shouting once again occurring in Team RWBY's room. "Did someone cheat at a game again?" Naruto wonders to himself. Just then Blake storms out of the room almost hitting Naruto with the door. "Whoa!" Blake notices him and wants to apologize but keeps going.

"Blake wait!" Ruby shouts.

Naruto looks into the room. Wiess is standing there looking shocked and annoyed while Ruby and Yang are concerned. "Uh…what just happened?"

"Now's not a good time Whiskers." Yang tells him.

"Well now I have to know." Naruto tells her, wanting to help.

"There's nothing to talk about. Blake is being unreasonable, that's it." Weiss states.

Naruto has a very skeptical look on his face. Ruby and Yang look at each other wondering whether they should tell him. Seeing this, Naruto decides to pull a card from earlier that day. "You're my friends, and friends always got each other's backs whether you like it or not" Naruto tells them, essentially quoting Yang from earlier.

Yang smiles. "Well played Whiskers."

Ruby perks up a bit. "Blake and Weiss got into a big fight over something and Blake took off, and I'm worried." She informs Naruto.

"What was the argument about?" Naruto asks.

"The White Fang." Yang tells him.

"The radical Faunus group?" Naruto asks. "What's to argue about?"

"Well…" Ruby hesitates to say.

"That they're degenerates like most Faunus!" Weiss couldn't help but shout.

Naruto facepalms. "I think I get it now. But why did Blake take it so person—" Naruto realizes it mid-sentence. "Is she…?" Ruby hesitates to answer since it's Blake's secret and not hers to tell.

"She's a cat Faunus. I knew it from the minute you met her." Kurama tells him.

"And you never told me because…?" Naruto asks him.

"Never seemed relevant." Kurama answers.

"True I guess…wait, how did you even know?" Naruto continues to interrogate.

"Aside from my intellect and sensing abilities, I'm also a beast." Kurama informs him.

"Ah, that makes sense." Naruto comments. Noticing how awkward it is in the room, he can see how bad Ruby feels about Blake's secret getting out. "Well now I feel bad…" Naruto states.

"It can't be helped now…" Yang comments. Naruto tries to think of a way to ease the tension and show them how serious he is about helping. He then realizes only one thing will do the trick, so he takes off his jacket. "Huh? What are you doing?" Yang asks.

"If Blake's secret got out it should only be fair mine does to" Naruto tells them as he takes off the glove and rolls up the sleeve revealing his robotic arm.

All three of them are shocked "What happened?!" Ruby shouts unable to restrain herself at this point having so many emotions thrust on her.

"Grimm attack as a kid, I'll tell you all more later." Naruto informs them.

After dealing with the initial shock, the three of them see how serious he must be in wanting to help if he is willing to reveal such a thing. "Thanks Naruto." Ruby states.

"Yeah, we're glad to have a friend like you around." Yang Adds. Weiss doesn't give her own response but she's in agreement.

Naruto starts putting his stuff back on. "So now what?"

"We'll see if she comes back. I'll let you know if not." Ruby tells them.

"Got it." Naruto states. I know it's unlikely but, try to get some rest you guys."

"You too Whiskers." Yang answers.

"Goodnight." Ruby says. Weiss is lost in her own head and Naruto heads to his room.


It is the end of the weekend and Ruby wakes up seeing Blake still isn't back. In a sad state she decides it's time to look for her. She wakes up Yang and Wiess and then calls Naruto.

"Ruby?" Naruto says as he answers. "What's going on?"

"Blake still isn't back yet. We're gonna go look for her."

"I'll be there in a few minutes!" Naruto responds.

Wiess then chimes in. "Longer than a few minutes. I am not walking around the city having to smell you all day."

"…Yeah okay 15 minutes." Naruto says before hanging up. Normally Yang and Ruby would have laughed but neither was in the mood. After showering and getting dressed Naruto heads to their room. "You guys ready?

"Just about, still waiting on Weiss." Yang answers to which Naruto just rolls his eyes.

"Come on Weiss!" Ruby shouts getting impatient.

Weiss comes out ready to go looking a bit annoyed. "You can't rush perfection." They then head out and start searching the city. Naruto is currently on a rooftop getting a better view while Ruby and Yang are focusing on the ground search. Weiss isn't trying that hard. Naruto is annoyed at this and grabs a pebble and is about to throw it at her, but he decides now just isn't the time.

"You guys find anything?" Ruby asks.

"Of course not." Weiss answers.

"No…" Yang answers.

"Sorry, nothing yet." Naruto answered as well.

"She's been gone all weekend." Ruby said looking down.

"Blake is a big girl, she can take care of herself." Weiss stated.

"You know…I'm regretting not tossing that pebble at you." Naruto responded.

"Excuse me?" Weiss responded in turn.

"Focus you two! We need to find our teammate!" Yang shouts at them.

"Is she? We all heard what she said." Weiss answered.

"Weiss…" Ruby said trying to get her to stop.

"Maybe she is maybe she isn't, but we still need to find her." Yang adds.

"A member of the White Fang, right under our noses!" Wiess whines on.

"And imagine how frustrating it must have been to listen to an obnoxious Schnee heiress prattle on." Naruto said, trying to get Weiss off her high horse. Weiss then glared at Naruto. Naruto was not intimidated in the slightest. "Look at how quick you are to dismiss her, and then you wonder why so many Faunus can't trust people?!"

Ruby and Yang look down, feeling shame even though Weiss is the only one doing it. "Look, fighting isn't helping. We need to keep looking." Ruby finally states.

Naruto takes a breath. "She's right. I'm gonna go check the warehouse area."

"Why there?" Yang asked.

"It's an area I haven't been yet, so even if I don't find anything I'll have a better layout of the city in my head." Naruto answers.

"Good luck." Ruby said as he heads off and the rest of them continue to search.

Chapter End


AN: That's everything I have completed. I'm still making more little by little, but I wouldn't count on anything. Keep making more stories people. I love reading what you come up with.