A/N: PLEASE READ THIS NOTE, WOULD YOU KINDLY? 'Tis but a quick one.
MAJOR EDIT! I didn't like the way this chapter was went, so I went back, added a lot more content and added the Raid in here. Might wanna reread this.
I'm terribly sick, so I'm afraid this is the best I can do at the moment. Sorry, and looking forward to your reviews!
Little!Raven is precious to write and I regret nothing~!
Still recovering from surgery, so my update rate isn't quiiiiite where I want it to be just yet, but I'm alive. Got a few more scars to add to the collection now, though.
Now, I suppose I could wax poetic about a few things, but...nah. Inspiration struck me in the middle of the night, and it pushed this chapter out quickly. I've been waiting for chapter three, holding myself back, planting little teases here and there, but no more! I'll let this chapter do the talking for me.
Now comes the first blood.
Now comes the long awaited raid.
Now comes...well, lets just call it a surprise~!
"You were born to do great things, Raven. Spread your wings and fly, my child. Soar."
~Raven's Mother.
The First Fracture
The raid would begin at dawn.
Little Raven both knew and dreaded that terrible truth in equal measure; after all, she'd spent the better part of the evening preparing for that very sunrise. She'd sharpened her blade to a razor's edge and polished her armor until it glistened in the moonlight. She'd laid it out in her tent and checked the leather straps, once, twice, thrice. Then she'd gone on to prepared poultices in case of injury, nine in all. Three for herself, three for Qrow, and three for Naruto, just in case. Come what may, she swore they'd be prepared.
Yet the night was still young and remained restless.
Securing the final poultice in her pack, the bandit-to-be leaned back and wiped a bead of sweat from her brow to take stock in her work. Her hand trembled when she pulled it away, betraying her fear. She forced it into a fist and kept it that way until the tremors ceased altogether.
"Stop, damnit!" she growled at her traitorous limb. "You'll be fine. You trained for this."
Raven told herself she wasn't afraid. No. Never. Only weaklings felt fear. Fear was poison. Fear made you weak. Fear meant death. She. Feared. Nothing. Fear had been the end of her mother. She felt no such fear. She refused to die tomorrow. Conversely, she was determined to make sure Naruto and Qrow survived as well. Her mind whirled, triy
And ensuring their survival cost her a night's sleep? Bah! Sleep? Who needed sleep?! Not her!
She held a strong bond with each of them, and could sense where they were at any given time; when they were in danger, too. If push came to shove she'd cut a portal to them and drag their asses out of the fire. If she blundered into an enemy she couldn't be beat by herself? They'd come pouring through any gate she opened. They'd gang up on any bastard who tried to take them out.
"We'll win." Raven chanted the words to herself as she began to pace back and forth in her tent. "We have to win."
Refusing wasn't an option. They'd be cut down on the spot. Nor was running away a valid choice. They were children. Were could they possibly go?
Sometimes, Raven really hated her Semblance. Her portals made her a glorified fast travel system, but only to those she knew and forged a bond with. Naruto. Qrow. Father. With enough training, she might someday be able to open a portal whenever and where she wanted; but such a day was still far off. But one day. One day. She liked that thought.
Someone knocked at the flap of her tent.
"Buzz off!" she snapped at them, and the sound ceased.
Raven growled, allowing her mind to wander to more curious matters.
As far as Semblances went, Qrow had gotten the short end of the stick and been beaten with it. His semblance just brought plain 'ol bad luck, for ally and enemy alike. She dreaded the thought of his evolving. She'd been on the receiving end of it once or twice or already. Her brother was already a walking disaster, not through any fault of his own. The last thing he needed was a boost. His semblance might help them tomorrow...or it could damn them. There was no telling with him.
Oddly enough, she found herself grateful that Naruto hadn't unlocked his yet. She suspected it would be a powerful thing, but it might prove just as dangerous.
Did his personality count as a Semblance?
"Nah," she dismissed with a shake of her head. "That can't be it. Too simple."
He'd been like that for as long as she could remember. A silver-tongued devil; rarely losing control of himself, ever able to talk his way out of trouble, easily bringing many around to his way of thinking. That couldn't be his Semblance. But he must have one. Everyone with Aura unlocked theirs, sooner or later. Maybe it had something to do with his eyes? They alwasy turned red when he got angry, a deeper, darker shade of red, not like hers, but like blood, red and slitted, almost like a beast, or a demon-
"Nope! Not going there! Stop, stop, stop!" Raven slapped her cheeks when her thoughts veered down a dark path filled with violence. She slapped them until her face was red and her eyes watered. It worked. She'd been rambling again. Had the news of the Raid truly affected her this much?
Her thoughts betrayed her yet again.
Naruto was still grumbling about tomorrow, saying they weren't ready. Didn't he understand? Silas wasn't being cruel. He was being merciful. He'd endured his first raid at five. Half their age. Where he'd gone untested, they had been given a chance to hone their skills. To work together, and in doing so forge a team. Father couldn't hold them back forever. Any longer than this and the Tribe would begin to question him. They'd say he had gone soft or worse...become weak.
Weakness didn't last long in the Tribe.
It would be fine, she told herself as she chewed on a fingernail. Because their target was weak, while the Tribe was stronger than it had ever been. Only the strongest survived. Yeah. Survival of the fittest. That was how it had to be-
"Are you asleep or something?!"
"Hyeek!"
Raven whipped around with a squeak as a crop of blond hair poked into her tent...mere inches from her face.
"Idiot!" she flailed at him instead, tiny fists sliding harmlessly off his visage. "Don't scare me like that!"
"Well, would ya look at that?" A blond brow rose. "Guess you're awake after all."
Raven grabbed a nearby skillet and tried to bludgeon him with it.
"Hey, now! Not the face!"
Rather than retaliate, Naruto simply swayed out of the way with a laugh and stood up, denying her the satisfaction she so sought. The cast iron metal missed him by a country mile. Blast him! Why did he have to be so freakishly tall! Moreover! Why did she have to be so short?! She was a growing girl, for crying out loud!
"Did you just come here to scare me?!" when it became clear that she wouldn't be able to hit him, she planted one hand on her hip instead. "Or did you actually want something?!"
"You two decent in here?" Qrow's head poked inside the tent. Mistakes were made.
"QROW!"
Raven rounded on her brother with a hiss. The skillet sailed up over head...and came down crashing with an ominous whistle.
A decidedly Qrow-shaped impression was left behind as her sibling slumped to the floor.
"Why is it always me?!"
"Because I can't hit Naruto." she huffed. "He's too quick."
"Heh." The whiskered youth flicked her a V-shape with his fingers. "Guilty~! C'mon, short-stack." he wheedled at her. "We can't sleep. Let's do something fun."
Raven felt a rare vein pulse just above her right eye, pulsing in time with her heart. He really did press that button too much for his own good. She knew she was small now, but one day she would grow. One day she'd stand just as tall as them. No! Taller! She'd tower over them all. She swore it. Vengeance would be hers! Mwahahaha!
...she's monolouging again, isn't she?" Qrow sighed.
"Yup." Naruto said.
"Should we interrupt her, or...?"
"Probably not a good idea." the blond whispered. She'll be stuck like this for a good couple of hours yet."
"Spar, then?" the young Branwen suggested with a shrug. "It too late to do anything else."
"Sure, why not." Naruto slapped his back. "Hope you don't mind eating dirt."
Raven blinked, suddenly realizing both boys had run off without her.
With an outraged cry, she raced after them.
"Wait for me, you dolts!"
(.0.0.0.)
A quick scuffle later left them three of them dirty, yet feeling refreshed all the same.
It hadn't even been a fight really -not with the Raid on the horizon- more a light exercise to clear their heads. It certainly cleared Raven's. Her body was pleasantly sore, and it served to drive away all those dark thoughts that had been clouding her mind. It left her in an almost bemused haze
This was nice.
"We'll watch each other's backs tomorrow, yeah?" Naruto asked as they made their way back to camp. "We won't need to kill anyone if we're careful."
"Speak for yourself, soft touch." Raven snorted.
"Least I'm not soft in the head." he quipped right back.
"Heh." Qrow jabbed Raven with an below. "Hes' got you there, sis."
That had her howling at them all over again. They were still bickering as they picked their way back through the main camp.
A fire awaited them in the center ring, and a cloaked figure as well. They crouched near the flames for warmth; back stooped and body hunched as they jabbed at the smoldering logs with a stray stick. Raven stiffened and squinted against the dim light; but her caution proved overwrought; for the stranger raised their head as the three of them drew near.
Qrow hissed. "Oh, bugger."
"Hello, dearies." Old Nan granted them a crooked grin, exposing rotten yellow teeth framed by a pale face and lanky black hair. "Out sharpening your blades tonight, were ye? Good, good." her head bobbed as the children exchanged a wary glance. "Come, warm yourselves by the fire. There's plenty of room for the three of you."
"Sure, why not?" Naruto shrugged and did just that, leaving the twins to follow.
Raven really, truly didn't want to. But she knew better than to refuse the crone's invitation. No one slighted Old Nan and lived to tell the tale. The last one try the wise woman's patience had died a gruesome death. Some said it was a curse; that she was a witch, that she could foretell the very future itself. Some said that Old Nan was the one who was cursed; that she'd been beautiful before she offended the gods. Raven didn't know what to believe. There were more rumors about Nan than there were stars in the sky. But even Silas respected her, which meant they couldn't refuse the elder's invitation without making fools of themselves.
Moreover, she couldn't show weakness here.
So she plopped down on the first log she found, wearing a smile she didn't feel.
"Did you have need of us, elder?"
"Stoke the fire for me, will you dears?" Nan tittered softly. "These old bones of mine aren't quite up to it.
Credit where it was due, Naruto and Qrow moved quickly. They'd always been good kids, always happy to help where they could. In less than a minute they gathered fresh kindling for the old crone and had the fire roaring high and bright once more. With the light from the fire, Raven noted that the woman's cloak was red. Red as blood. Red like her hair.
"Such good children." the elder cooed as she patted their heads. "You deserve a reward. How about it, dears? You've a raid tomorrow, or so I've been told. Care to know your fortunes?"
"No." Raven's chest swelled with pride. "I already know mine."
"Do you now?" Dark eyes squinted at her in the gloom. "And what do you think you know, sweetling?"
"I know I'll be rich." she said simply. "I'll lead the tribe. Fame and fortune will be mine; all of Remnant will whisper my name in fear."
"Is that what you believe?" Old Nan cackled, a raspy, phlegmy sound. "Why not see for yourself?" She gestured back to the fire. "Why not see what the flames have to say?"
"Fortune telling?" Raven watched the old crone hunch over the fire. "Why? What does the future matter?"
"Ha! The wizened old woman laughed at her. "More than you would know, dear girl...more than you know? What say you?"
Behind her, Naruto and Qrow exchanged a nervous glance. "I dunno...
"Done." Raven rose to the challenge readily, even as Naruto and Qrow exchanged an uneasy look behind her. "What's wrong? Chicken?" she sneered at them. "Its just nonsense, anyway."
"So let it be." the hag clapped her hands with a cackle. "Lets start with your brother, shall we? The boy favored by ill luck and fate alike."
She threw a hand towards the fire and flames flared, casting strange twisting shadows across their faces. Old Nan tugged up her cowl, shrouding her wrinkled visage in shadow
"Qrow Branwen." Her voice changed without warning, losing its dry rasp to become a soft, almost sensual purr. "Long is the road you will walk. Paved by hardship and despair." the years seemed to fall away form her with every word, but Raven dare not look away from the fire, lest she be caught. "But at the end, you shall find what you seek. You think yourself cursed, but your curse shall save you time and time again. Lost not yourself in a drink and you shall have a daughter. A girl with silver eyes."
"EH?!" Qrow jerked back as if he'd been scalded.
"Hush, boy!" Nan snapped at him, though her eyes never once left the flames. "I'm not done with you. Do not anger the man who walks with a cane yet does not limp. Beware the betrayer. Trust not he who claims to have the heart of a lion." she tilted her head a moment, considering. "Slay the dragon. My vision darkens. I see no more."
"Riddles and vagaries." Raven muttered. "How do we know any of this is true?"
"Silence, girl." she flinched as those unfathomable orbs founds hers once more. "I see in you a coward, Raven Branwen." Urk. That hit a little too close to home. "The time comes when you will be tested. Falter, and so too will your friends." a wizened hand patted her cheek, but it wasn't wizened anymore. It looked almost...young. "Bend, but do not break, little bird." she tried to peer beneath the hag's cowl, but found only shadows lurking there. Shadows, a pair of full lips that weren't at all wrinkled or wizened as they should be." Trust in the strength of your bonds." she intoned. "You were born to do great things, Raven. Spread your wings and fly, my child. Soar."
Those were her mothers words. Spoken only to her. How did she know them?
"In time you shall have children of your own." more and more, old Nan didn't sound old at all, as if some other being were speaking through her. "Your eldest will bear hair of spun gold and eyes of lilac. She will be a terror to her foes and a sister to her friends. She is here, yet not here. Lost, yet also found."
"Raven? Having kids?" Now it was Naruto's turn to scoff. "No way. Not a chance. She's too feisty-
And then those white eyes found his.
"Naruto Uzumaki." she hissed. "The boy cast through time."
Uzumaki? Raven blinked rapidly, curiosity peaked. Was that his last name?
"Um, can we not do this?" her companion gulped, raising his arms as if to ward off some unseen blow. "I don't really want to know my future-
"You hold back the beast." Nan ignored him and bulled on. "You should not be here, boy. Yet you are. Curious." Naruto looked like he might object to that, but the crone glowered him into silence and so he went still once more. "I sense great fear in you. You have anger, you have hate, but you don't use them." his face twisted and she laughed, sounding very much like a young woman. "Yes. That's the way. Embrace your emotions. They are your strength."
Naruto climbed to his feet. "Enough. I don't need to hear this."
The wise woman latched onto his wrist, shackling him in place before he could bolt.
"You will be betrayed three times by those you love." She hissed the words quickly, syllables blurring together as she gazed up at him. "You will live for them, fight for them, bleed for them, but still they will seek to undo you at every turn. Seek the scorpion. Trust the girl who claims to be a good witch. Save the girl kissed by fire before she is touched by darkness. But beware the undying. Do not listen to the man with many eyes! Heed my words! Ignore them at your own peril!"
Naruto ripped his hand free an the seer sagged.
"The fire fades." she whispered. "Your future grows dark. I can see no more."
Qrow recovered first and sketched a weak bow. "Thank you, elder. You've...given us a lot to think about."
"Be off with you now, children." the hag kept her hood up and didn't look at them. "You have a busy day tomorrow. Leave an old woman to her rest."
Shaken, they departed.
After such a scathing tale, the trio found themselves restless once again. In the end, they congregated back at Raven's tent. There was nowhere else to go.
"Guess we'll call it a night." Naruto was the first to find his voice. "I'll see you guys in the morning...?"
Raven latched onto his sleeve. "Stay."
It was just a word, little more than a whisper in the night, but it had Naruto folding like a house of cards all the same. They were each of them rattled, unnerved by the prophecy they'd been given. No one wanted to sleep alone. Not after hearing that. You'd have to be insane.
"Well, you heard her." Qrow managed a shrug he didn't seem feel, though she recognized the relief in his eyes all the same. He dragged out a spare cot and laid it beside hers. Naruto did the same, and together the three of them fashioned a crude bed of sorts, lying side by side. She couldn't remember the last time they'd done this.
Raven nestled against Naruto's back and yawned cutely. "If you look over here, I'll kill you."
"Yeah, yeah, I get it...
She feigned a smile and yanked the covers over her body, trying to hide herself as much as her scattered thoughts. Betray him? No! Never. Old Nan hadn't spoken of her. She'd simply said he'd be betrayed three times by those he cared for. Would it be soon? Some far flung future? She wasn't sure; just thinking of it left her antsy.
Sleep came quickly.
For once, it proved a dreamless one.
Incredibly, none of them suffered nightmares that night.
(.0.0.0.)
The dawn broke with tentative care.
Thinning rays of sunlight peeked their head over the misty horizon, almost as if they were afraid to wake the sleepy little town below.
All told, the town of Flint couldn't even be called a proper town. Really. Its chief export was meat and furs and it dealt in ale. Its gate was an old, rickety thing, pitted and worn by the years, manned by only a single pair of sleepy guards. And why shouldn't they be? All was silent. All was calm.
Naruto knew that peace was about to come crashing their ears.
Silas had all but kicked the three of them out of Raven's tent at first light. From there he'd led the warrior os the Tribe on a relentless march, driving them all on and on and on until their legs threatened to buckle beneath them. Those that fell behind were shown no mercy.
Now, finally they were here and he couldn't breathe.
Anxiety played a part in it to be sure, but it was mostly exhaustion that . The moment Silas called a halt, he crashed to the ground. Qrow joined him a moment later, soaked in sweat.
"Your old man's insane." he rasped at him. "Is he trying to kill us?!"
"Dunno." the ill-fated Branwen croaked back. "He's never been like this before...
"He doesn't...he meant...oh, screw it." Raven slumped atop them. "I'm fine...I just need a moment here...
Qrow gurgled wordlessly and smacked his head against the cool, wet earth. Naruto was nearly tempted to join him; it was only the knowledge of what awaited them at Silas's hands that kept him from flopping about like a fish. For reasons they didn't understand, the Chief was showing no mercy today. The stragglers had already been beaten and sent back to the Tribe with their tails between their legs. They'd receive no spoils from the Raid today, or any thereafter until they redeemed themselves.
Ignoring the howling ache in his limbs, Naruto dragged himself upright and pulled the twins up with him.
Everyone was watching them, waiting for any sign of weakness. He knew it. Qrow knew it. Raven certainly did. Best not to give them any.
And besides, Silas was moving again.
With the Tribe's strongest men and women at his back, the Chief climbed atop a fallen log and, the better to be both seen and heard by those who followed him. He stood tall and strong, clad in dark leather armor, mighty weapon in hand as he gazed down at the lot of them. Blood red eyes flicked over the three of them, saw them standing. His head inclined in a nod. Then his gaze swept back to the some eight dozen tribesmen below.
"Warriors!" he roared the word, arms spread wide as if to seize the very heavens themselves within his grasp. "Today we raid!"
"Ha!" countless boots stamped rose to greet his words.
"Today we claim what is rightfully ours!"
"Ha!"
"TODAY WE CONQUER!"
"HA!"
The last bout was the loudest by far; it left Naruto's ears ringing.
"But first," he lowered his ax and the masses split like a great sea, revealing the three of them leaning on one another. "Today, my children are blooded!"
Nearly one hundred boots began to stomp out a rhythm.
"Today they join us as warriors!" The crescendo reached a fever pitch as he spoke. "The strong thrive! The weak die!"
Another cheer went up.
Naruto's heart hammered in his chest like some terrible beast, drowning out all sense and thought, muting the world around him. He knew what was about to happen. He could see the village walls from here and Silas was whipping everyone into a vicious frenzy of blood and anger. The Raid was about commence. He wanted to stop it. He had to stop it. But he couldn't. He didn't have enough power. He wasn't strong enough.
"This is wrong." he tried to hiss at Raven anyway. "We shouldn't be doing this."
"Not now." she hissed at him. "Its too late for second thoughts."
"Way too late." Qrow grumbled, pointing. "Look."
Silas thrust his weapon into the air.
"CHARGE!
A roaring, rolling thunder went up and the Tribe surged forward, pushing the three of them along in the vanguard. Qrow latched onto his jacket to avoid being swept away and Raven grabbed at his hand, but the press of bodies proved too much and forced them apart almost immediately. Naruto cursed and whispered a prayer of safety for them. Move or be crushed. Such was the way of the Tribe. He hoped they could hold their own. Saying it was one thing; doing, another.
They reached the gates just as the alarm went up, the guards having taken notice at last. Too little, too late.
Someone rushed him with a pitchfork from one side, and pickaxe the other; and the world fell away into a mad melee. One foe led to another. Time ceased to have any meaning. Reality went ignored as he fought. Naruto wasn't sure when or how Silas managed to force the gates open, only that they did, and suddenly were now within the town, surging onward.
All the while, his mind raged.
He did his best not to harm anyone he encountered. He really did. He kept his sword sheathed and struck out with disarming blows, using his elbows and legs whenever he could. His aim wasn't to main or hurt anyone, but to knock the fight out of them. Knock them out, if he could. Anything was better than taking a life. He didn't want to cross that line. He didn't want to be a killer.
"Monster!"
A boy with blue eyes and blond hair rushed him from an alley, swinging wildly as he spat condemnations. Naruto batted his blow away and struck out for his chest, only be greeted by Aura. His brief moment of surprise was nearly the end of him; because the bastard took advantage of his hesitation and broke his nose. He tasted blood and reared back. Anger reared its ugly head as he caught a punch and shoved his adversary back before he could capitalize on the opening.
Monster?!
He didn't want this! He didn't want any of it! If he refused to fight? He'd be killed.
If he ran away? He'd be caught and killed. So would Raven. Qrow, too. He didn't have a choice!
"SHUT! UP!"
Barreling through the younger boy's clumsy offense with a howl, Naruto sidestepped an awkward bunch and rammed an open palm into his jaw. Aura or not, the boy felt it. When that didn't put him down he struck again, and again, and again. He kept hitting him until the boy's eyes rolled back in his head; until he collapsed like a sack of sad potatoes at his feet.
Adrenaline fled, leaving him to balk down at his bloody hands. To see what he'd done.
Naruto looked left. Naruto looked right.
All around him the chaos of the raid continued to swirl. No one paid him any heed. Blue eyes flicked down to the boy at his feet, gazing at his bloodied face. Should he leave him here? It would be the smart thing to do. He didn't owe this stranger anything. And yet...a thorn pricked his heart and held him back.
"You can hate me for this later." he grumbled.
Slinging him over his shoulder, he stalked to the first open door he could find and hid him in a closet. Then he locked the door. Striding out, he ducked away from the melee and slipped through an alley. Everyone was screaming. Bandits were laughing. His stomach roiled, and what little he'd eaten this morning threatened to come tumbling back up his throat
When a portal opened beside him, he nearly swung out of sheer instinct.
"There you are." Raven's head poked through, followed soon thereafter by the rest of her. Qrow was only a heartbeat behind. "You alright?"
They both had blood on them, and it wasn't their own. Had they killed?
Qrow saw the anger in his eyes. "Easy there, whiskers. Just calm down.
Naruto bit down on a hysteric giggle and shook his head as he stepped back, uncaring as her eyes widened. Calm?! Him?! No! He wasn't! Not at all! He wasn't prepared for this; all this blood, all this violence...it wasn't just pointless, it was cruel. These people had done nothing wrong; Silas had decreed their deaths anyway. Men, women, and children alike. He could see it in his mind's eye, and the sounds tore at him, cutting deeper than any blade. They were all suffering. He wanted it to stop, needed it to stop, someone, anyone...!
"HUNTRESS!"
A cry went up and Naruto's head snapped back just in time to see said crier land at their feet him in a greasy red stain. Blood spattered his face and he wiped it away numbly, not quite registering what had happened. Fear hit him a moment later as he balked at the corpse. A huntress?! Here?! That shouldn't be possible. This was meant to be a quick and easy raid. So then where was...?
He heard a building collapse before he saw her.
Once he did, she was impossible to miss. A terror to behold, a burning demon clad in burning gold and black fabric. Fiery golden hair spilled over her shoulders and danced in some unseen breeze, while her face lay hidden behind a mask of red paint and white bone-no. The red wasn't paint he realized, but blood. She was covered in it he realized, dripping with the blood of her enemies.
Even from this distance he felt her eyes lock onto them.
"You bastards have some nerve, picking on the weak like this!" her words were a roar as she stormed forward. "Lets see how you like it!"
Naruto backed away, and Qrow mirrored him. Why was she glowing like that? Was it a Semblance? He didn't know, and he didn't want to find out.
Semblance or no, where she moved, bandits died in droves. She cut through them with ease, snapping bone like matchsticks. They were but nails to her; something to be pounded down. Her fists were the hammer. She was a golden meteor that fell upon the bandits without mercy, swirling and striking like a starving beast, uncaring of the numbers against her.
"Shit, shit, shit!" Qrow backpedaled. "Time to go! We're not ready for someone like her!"
"Are you mad?!" Raven snarled. "This is our chance to prove ourselves!"
"We can't fight a huntress, Rae!"
Only a few paces ahead of them, Silas lunged at said huntress from the fog of war, only to fold over her fist as the woman struck him in the stomach. An ominous crack of bone swelled through the air before she spun and kicked him into a building. He did not rise again. Just like that, the Tribe's strongest had fallen. The bandits wavered. The huntress didn't stop. She smashed through them.
Naruto lashed out blindly with his blade when she came for them.
The woman caught it between her thumb and forefinger as though it were no more than a stick. Then she shattered it with a flick of her wrist leaving him gawping at the ruined hilt in his hand. He swiped blindly at her with it and against all odds, managed to crack her mask. She made him pay for it dearly. Her hand shot up, seized him by the wrist and yanked. He felt something pop in his shoulder. Red eyes narrowed behind the polished porcelain as he cried out, boring into his own with terrifying intensity.
"Oh, what the hell?" a soft, husky voice growled back at him. "Are my eyes playing tricks on me or something?! You're so damn tiny! Today's just getting weirder and weirder!"
Qrow lunged at her with a desperate cry and she sent him spinning into a wall with a lazy backhand.
"Stay down!" she snapped at him. "I mean it!"
Naruto tried to jump her when she was distracted, only for a golden gauntlet to lock around his throat and stop him dead in his tracks. Blazing eyes greeted him and he gurgled in surprise as he found himself lifted from the ground; as the huntress slammed a free fist into his torso. Breath burst from his lungs as pain rocketed up his ribs. He tried to move, to speak, to spit at her. Nothing came.
A single punch was all it took to lay him low and leave him retching in the street.
"Leave." the word itself was power and he flinched beneath its weight. "This village is under my protection. Get out of here while you still have your lives."
"Like hell!" Raven dove at her with a shriek was summarily kicked aside like a harmless straw doll. Naruto watched, helplessly as she crashed through a window and struck the ground with an ominous crack. She didn't get back up again.
"Jeez!" the stranger blew out a sigh, her words muffled in the chaos. A lone lilac eye peeked out at them through the crack in her mask, narrow and intent. "That...didn't feel as good as I thought it would." she lowered her leg, considering Raven's still form. "Even as a kid, she's a bloodthirsty little bitch, huh? You're not much better."
Blue eyes flashed red.
"Don't talk about them like that...
Naruto forced himself upright, only for his arm to betray him again, to buckle when he needed it most.. What the devil was she on about?! Was this the strength of a trained Hunter? They hadn't stood a chance against her. No one had. It didn't sting. It humiliated him. He'd thought himself strong for his age, capable at the very least. This woman had run roughshod over the lot of them.
"Oh, you're still conscious." Her head swiveled toward him, when he tried to move. "That's good. Take your friends and retreat."
"What...?"
"You deaf or something?" she planted a hand on her hip and cocked her head. "I don't wanna kill a bunch of kids. Already sounded the alarm, too. More hunters will come. "Go." the woman nudged him with a boot when he didn't get up. "Crawl back to your tribe and never come here again."
Was it wrong that a part of him wanted to thank her? She'd stopped the raid. Even now he could hear the rest of the Tribe retreating; those she hadn't cut down had turned tail and fled. He couldn't hear anyone screaming now; only the muted rush of rapidly receding boots. Was Silas somewhere among them even now, or had he fallen in battle? He doubted it. The old man was too stubborn to die.
It still begged the question.
He hung his head. "Thanks."
His words drew a blink from her. "Why're ya thankin' me for? I killed your friends."
"They weren't my friends." Naruto didn't dare say anymore, for fear of being overheard. Not a chance. But one question persisted. Why was this woman letting them go? Who was she? He tried to ask. "Who are-
"Nope. Don't feel like tellin' ya." she interrupted him harshly. "Scoot. Now."
With a supreme effort of will, Naruto popped his shoulder back into place. He found Qrow doing the same, stumbling to his feet like a drunken sailor at last call. His friend recovered quickly enough. Raven did not. They had to dig her out of the rubble together and even then Naruto found himself forced to stooped down just to gather her into his arms. Her head lolled heavily against his one side, but she was still breathing, somehow. He grimaced at he sight. She'd have a black eye come morning, and a scar on her face besides. Perhaps more.
"Why are you letting us go?" Qrow croaked.
"Why not?" The woman tilted her head again, like a dragon regarding ants beneath its claws. "You're no threat to me like this and like I said before, I refuse to kill children." she seemed to preen a little bit at that sticking point. "My parents raised me better than that. Now get. Before I change my mind."
Naruto got.
Qrow slinked silently after him.
And so it was that the Branwen Tribe suffered a crushing defeat.
A/N: Aaaaaand there we go. Edited the Raid in.
Oh dear, Raven's got a scar now and Mysterious Huntress is...Mysterious Huntress.
Really, I'm sure you know what I'm playing at here. If you don't, well...I'll be looking forward to your reactions when her identity is revealed.
We all know who she resembles, because that's bloody well intentional on my part. This "Huntress" isn't a one-off. She's actually a vital part of the story. Now then, some of you may already know what I'm playing at here, but as to the rest...well.
Feel free to guess.
This loss was always planned; because we needed to set an important precedent; the Branwen Tribe wouldn't send their children to LEARN how to kill Hunters if they believe they could take them in a fight. A SINGLE huntress sent the entire tribe packing by herself. That's enough to scare them right and proper...which brings us to the looming timeskip! A bit of backwater training means nothing in the face of superior skill.
So In the Immortal Words of Atlas...Review Would You Kindly?
No previews. No one seems to like them these days.
...fine. just two.
(Preview)
"That doesn't count!"
"Irrelevant." she slashed a hand through the air. "Victory is mine!"
"That...that was a cheap shot and you know it." Naruto wheezed from where he lay. "My poor head...
Was it? She didn't think so. She'd had years to master such and she wasn't little anymore. At sixteen years of age, she'd grown up and out...in more ways than one. Naruto often remarked on it, so this time she'd used her beauty as a distraction. She hadn't expected it to work quite so well.
"Tch." he spit on the ground as she sauntered over. "I liked you better when you were short. You didn't hit so damn hard."
"You fought well." Raven did not pull him up. Instead she climbed atop Naruto's prone form, stradling him with her hips. He went curiously still beneath her, not daring to move. "However, you also lost the bet." she couldn't quite keep the smile from his face. "Now you have to keep your promise."
"Fine, fine, I'm yours for the day." he flung up his arms in surrender. "Whaddya want?"
She leaned back and crossed her arms. "I want you to kiss me."
"Where's this coming from, oi?!"
She was curious to see what all the fuss was about.
"Long time no see, squirts."
Qrow snarled. Raven swore a bloody streak. And Naruto? Naruto found himself looking at the same woman who had laid them low all those years ago. He barely recognized her without the mask, but it was impossible to forget that voice! She looked remarkably like an older Raven,
"What're you doing in Beacon?!"
"I teach here." she planted a hand on her hip and flashed them a wink. "Don't worry, your secret is safe with me. I won't spoil your test."
"You gonna give me your name this time?"
"Not my real one. Girl's gotta have a few secrets. Just call me...Yin."
The name was so obviously fake that he couldn't marshal a response to it. Perhaps that was for the best.
R&R~!
