"Actually...I think one more chapter couldn't hurt." Kushina said, causing Minato and Kakashi to stiffen, both men paling.
"In that case, I'll do this one." Ruby said.
Smiling, Naruto passed the book to her, "Ok then. Take it away, Ruby!"
When Naruto had first come to Remnant he had no idea that there would be an almost entirely different form of human life that coexisted alongside the "normal" humans.
"Huh...the world 'normal' is in qoute marks." Ruby pointed out as she paused in her reading.
Blake sat a bit straighter, eyes going wide. She was suddenly very much more interested in this chapter than usual.
Said race of humans were called Faunus. For the most part these Faunus looked and functioned like any otherhuman, except the fact that they bore animalistic features. These features ranged from being a simple pair of cat ears to having the claws, eyes, and tail of a dog.
Ruby deeply frowned at that, "Ok...no need to make them sound so strange, Faunus are normal people, too!"
The resident catgirl whipped her head to look at her team leader, feeling her eyes start to sting with tears of gratitude at that.
That feeling was incressed as everyone else either nodded or verbally agreed with the scythe-user.
Blake sniffed loudly, starting to just get overcome...she loved these people! She meant it!
However the differences between human and Faunus were not merely cosmetic. Faunus exhibited traits similar to the animal they looked like. Those with canine features had a sharper sense of smell and hearing while those of the feline family had enhanced eye sight and agility.
"Ok...why the heck is that abnormal?!" Naruto demanded. He knew plenty of people with enhanced senses and quick bodies.
Coming from the Elemental Countries where there were families of people who could use their own bones as weapons
"Wait...say what?! No way! That's so cool!" Ruby cheered, pausing in her reading with stars in her eyes.
, expand any portion of their body at will, or had a colony of bugs literally living inside of them
"Wait...what?!" Weiss cried, then scrunched up her face, "That's DISGUSTING!"
"Hey!" Naruto snapped, "One of those bug guys is a friend of mine!"
- well needless to say Naruto wasn't impressed.
Naruto himself bore some animalistic features due to being in the womb of his mother while she housed the soul of Kurama and then having said Bijuu (Tailed Beast) trapped inside his own body. Of course his features were hardly noticeable with the whisker marks that marred his cheeks being the only immediately visible difference.
Naruto nodded at that.
It was when Naruto channeled Kurama's chakra that the features became more noticeable. With the influence of the Kitsune's unique energy flowing through him Naruto's normally blue eyes would become a bloody crimson with his pupils becoming slits like that of a fox's. His nails would sharpen and grow in length, becoming knife like claws. To top it all off the whisker marks on his cheeks would thicken and become even more noticeable.
"...Really?" Blake asked, interested, looking at Naruto.
He shrugged, "The uncontrolled state, yeah. No demos, though. Dangerous stuff."
Blake nodded.
Being the container for a Bijuu marked Naruto as a Jinchuuriki (Power of the Human Sacrifice) and to some this meant he wasn't exactly human himself. Years ago he had struggled with this concept, refusing to believe that he was different from the "normal" people.
Naruto shifted in his seat. That brought up memories, none of them good.
Of course in the shinobi world where walking on water and giving the laws of nature and psychics the finger was a daily occurrence, "normal" was a loose term.
"Hold up!" Yang said, looking stunned, "Stuff like THAT is seen as normal where you guys are from, but they still saw Foxy as "different" and hated him for it?! What the Hell kind of messed-up logic is that?!" she demanded, eyes shifting red.
Still the civilians of Konoha who had seen the fearsome and destructive power that was an angered Bijuu feared and hated Naruto, not being able to look past his title of Jinchuuriki to see the lonely orphan who only sought the love and warmth of family and friends.
"Oh..." Yang winced, that answered her question.
Ruby set the book down and in the time it took to blink, she had zipped over and wrapped her arms around Naruto, hugging him.
"Looked like you needed it." She said, letting go of him.
Kushina's eyes watered at the young Rose's sweetness and compassion for her precious baby boy. She had to restrain herself from snatching her up in a hug of her own. Far as Kushina was concerned, Ruby was good for Naruto. Enough said!
Naruto smiled softly at that, taking a deep breath and hugged her back "...Thanks, Ruby...mean it..."
Smiling at helping a new friend, Ruby went back to her seat, picked up the book and started reading again.
Many lesser people would have crumbled under the weight of such emotions, but Naruto had only turned around and sought to make the world a better place, a place where no other person would have to go through the prejudice and hate that he had as a child.
Blake blinked, then shot a smile at Naruto. "Bravo, my good sir, world needs people like that."
Naruto bashfully rubbed the back of his head at that.
As such it was no surprise that Naruto deeply sympathized with the Faunus of Remnant. They were like him. Treated harshly because of something they had no control over.
Blake abruptly stood and moved over to sit next to Naruto, Kushina smiling as she made room for the girl. It didn't surprise her, or anyone else in the room, that she had done that.
Normally Naruto was a fun loving person and very easy to get along with. There were few things that could truly anger him. The sight in front of him was one of those things.
A fellow first year student, a guy named Cardin from what he gathered from the whispers in the cafeteria, was publicly bullying and humiliating an older student. Simply because she was a Faunus.
"HE WHAT?!" Naruto cried, bolting to his feet furiously.
Nothing angered the blond more than seeing someone pick on another simply because they looked different.
What only angered him more was seeing that nobody, not even a professor, was going to stop it.
Naruto started breathing heavy, bursts of crimson chakra coming off him as he did.
He wasn't the only one though. The normally calm Pyrrha was tightly clutching her food tray while Nora was frowning and seemed to be debating on grabbing her hammer. Even the stoic Ren looked visibly angered by the scene.
Team RWBY was no better. Yang was clenching her fists tight enough that her knuckles were turning white and Ruby was glaring heatedly at Cardin. Weiss looked indifferent for the most part, but if one looked closely they could see her own abject disgust with the male. Blake was the most visibly angered. Her amber eyes had become slit and you could hear her almost hissing while her hair bow twitched in agitation.
At that, Naruto took several deep breaths to relax, sat back down, and smiled at the Remnent teens.
"Just wish we did more..." Jaune said, fighting down a wince.
Both Teams shifted. Looking back at that, they realized they were all as bad as Sir Asshole. They all had done nothing to help defend Velvet, they had simply felt bad for her instead of actually helping her. So what made them any better?
It left them all feeling guilty.
As Cardin shoved the teen Faunus causing her to fall and spill her lunch, Naruto stood up, shocking those around him from their own thoughts. Before anyone from his team could stop him, the blond was gone in a blur of speed.
The next second he appeared and the series of events that followed shocked everyone watching. There Naruto was, suspended in mid air, his fist inches away from Cardin's face, while Cardin himself was being held with his hands behind his back.
"What the-?!" Everyone yelped. hat happened?!
The sharp sound of heels hitting the floor echoed throughout the cafeteria as Glynda Goodwitch stalked through the now silent building.
It was now clear to everyone what had happened. The female professor and Huntress had intervened at the perfect time and stopped the blond teen from giving Cardin what both teams NNPR and RWBY thought he deserved.
Naruto himself was angered deeply by the appearance of his fellow blond.
'Tch, of course she happens to intervene right when this teme was gonna get what he deserves.'
"Teme?" Nora asked.
"Means either...ah..." Naruto nervously shot his parents a look.
"Slur. Means either 'bitch' or 'bastard' depending on who you say it about." Minato supplied, feeling it was better he do it than let his son get on his mother's and Mikoto's bad sides.
Jaune blinked. "...Ohhhh-Kayyyy...am I the only one that feels that sounds about right about Cardain?" he asked.
"No. It suits him." Blake said flatly.
"I hope you know that we do not condone fighting amongst students outside of the arena, Mr. Uzumaki," the buxom professor lectured as she stared straight into the angry eyes of the still suspended Naruto.
Still pissed at not only her choice of timing and words, but at Cardin as well,
"Yeah...I'd be pissed about all that." Naruto scowled. He REALLY wasn't liking that Goodwitch woman so far.
Naruto lashed out, "But you do condone bullying I take it? Cuz I didn't see you or any other professor here stop this jerk from attacking that girl who did nothing wrong."
Glynda almost visibly flinched at the retort, knowing that if she said the wrong thing, not only would her credibility take a hit, but so would Beacon's.
"Burn the witch!" Yang cheered.
Adjusting her glasses Glynda continued in the same voice, "The situation would have been handled properly, and as such there was no need for you to intervene."
"If the situation would have been handled properly, it wouldn't have taken Naruto getting involved in the first place for the staff to put a stop to it." Kakashi said with a frown.
Naruto narrowed his eyes at the blonde woman before he scoffed and, shocking everyone - Glynda included -, flared his chakra quickly, breaking him of whatever the female professor had done to stop him.
Without even glancing back Naruto stormed out of the cafeteria, clearly less than happy about how the situation was "handled".
Shaking herself from her thoughts of the enigmatic blond, Glynda turned to Cardin and released him from her hold, "Mr. Winchester, you will be coming with me to see Mr. Ozpin to address your actions here and your subsequent punishment."
Outraged for being punished Cardin retorted with a yell, "Why!? I didn't do anything wrong!
"Bullshit you didn't, Sir Asshole!" Naruto snapped, only to freeze as a feeling of dread crashed down on him. He turned to see his mother frowning at him with disapproval.
"Naruto, language!" Kushina snapped
Blake jumped to her feet and stood between the woman and Naruto, glaring defiantly. "Don't you dare! He has every right to be upset with all of that!"
"While I fully understand, that doesn't mean he's off the hook." the mother said.
Naruto gulped.
Besides what about that...idiot blond!? He should be in trouble too!"
Glynda was far from happy to have another student yell at her for the second time in a day and glared heatedly at the teen, scaring the piss out of him and a few others in the vicinity, "Do not question me Mr. Winchester. The situation with Mr. Uzumaki will be dealt with appropriately and you needn't concern yourself with it. Do I make myself clear?"
Clearly cowed by the angry visage of the imposing professor, Cardin only nodded his head.
"That's the whole thing with bullies, their really just cowards." Kakashi said.
Ruby, Weiss, Pyrrha and Jaune all shared a look and snicked at that. Recalling the Ursa in Forever Fall Forest. Cardin talked a big game, but played a terrible one when push came to shove.
As Cardin was led out of the cafeteria by the strict professor, the cafeteria exploded into gossip, the wheels of the rumor mill already turning.
Team NNPR and RWBY were worried for their friend, never having seen the blond teen display such anger, though none more so than Ruby and Pyrrha.
The two mentioned girls nodded.
Naruto was kind enough to be Ruby's first friend at Beacon and had helped her on several occasions, most recently with the whole drama between her and Weiss. The heiress had confessed that it was the goofy blond who had really driven her to apologize to the younger girl, not only helping Ruby and Weiss, but team RWBY as a whole.
"And on behalf of our other selves, I thank you." Ruby smiled at the blond Uzumaki.
Naruto waved her off with a smile, "Any time."
Pyrrha and Naruto had become close in the weeks since team NNPR had formed, something that was clear to anyone who saw the two together, which was quite often. The two were often seen sparring or training together, eating together, and generally looking like a couple, something the gossips of Beacon had taken great pleasure in talking about.
Both Naruto and Pyrrha groaned while Jaune frowned.
Clearly worried for their friend, the two teams rose and made to look for Naruto, but were stopped the voice of Blake.
"I don't think that's a good idea."
Curious about what the brunette
"Brunette? My hair's black." Blake said.
meant, Ruby turned and questioned the still seated member of team RWBY, "What do you mean Blake? You saw how angry Naruto looked!"
Arms crossed, Weiss decided to add in her own two cents, "I agree. We shouldn't just let Naruto leave like that."
The silence that ensued following Weiss' statement was near palpable.
Noticing that the group of people had gone completely silent and were all staring at her while Ruby poked her like she was some sort of freak, Weiss swatted Ruby away from her and called out, "What? Why are you all staring at me like that!?"
"Sorry, but we've never heard you call Naruto by his actual name," Ruby sheepishly responded.
The Schnee heiress' brow began to twitch in anger, "I'm not that mean am I!?"
"You're not mean, just very formal." Mikoto said.
Weiss hummed thoughtfully, then nodded. She could deal with and accept that.
Not wanting to anger the glyph user any more, the others instead opted to turn their attention back to Blake, also choosing to ignore Weiss' indignant cry as no one answered her question.
"What I mean is that, seeing how angry he is, Naruto probably wouldn't like having so many people crowd and interrogate him," Blake continued.
"Seen stuff like that before?" Kakashi asked
"Too often." Blake replied.
The others remained silent, none having any sort of rebuttal to the distant member of team RWBY. None of them had ever seen Naruto anywhere close to angry and had no idea how he would react to their presence. Weiss was the only one who had seen the blond team leader of NNPR in a mood other than goofy or serious, and that had been a more disappointed Naruto than an angry one.
Weiss blinked, then nodded.
Finally it was Pyrrha who broke the silence by rising from her seat and beginning to make her way to find Naruto, seeming to ignore Blake's words.
Surprisingly it was Ren who stopped the redhead from continuing her walk, putting his arm out in front of Pyrrha.
"I think we should listen to Blake and leave Naruto be, for now at least."
Pyrrha actually seemed lightly annoyed and it showed in her tone of voice, "I'm sorry but Blake doesn't know Naruto like I do and I think he needs his friends right now."
"And I appreciate you wanting to be there to help me." Naruto said, to which Pyrrha smiled.
Lightly shoving her raven haired teammate's arm away from her, Pyrrha made to continue on her way to find her blond friend, but was again interrupted, this time by the ravenette of team RWBY,
"Much better." Blake nodded, refering to when the book incorrectly called her a brunette.
standing in her way.
"You're right, I don't know Naruto like you do, but I do know that look in his eyes. That wasn't the look of someone who wanted to talk or listen, that was the look of someone who needed to vent their frustrations in a physical manner."
"Also true..." Naruto winced.
For a moment neither side said anything, both young women staring into the eyes of the other, waiting to see who would concede first. Amber bore into emerald green with a silent and calm intensity, attempting to show its own unwillingness to back down in the contest of wills.
Many would have assumed that Pyrrha's concern for her friend would aid her and fuel her desire to prove Blake wrong, but it was in fact that same concern that caused her to not moments later, sigh and back down from the silent battle.
"Blake: 1, Pyrrha: 0." Yang commented.
As much as she proclaimed to know Naruto better than Blake, the red head of team NNPR knew that it wasn't all that true. Sure she knew more of Naruto's past and ambitions than anyone else, as far as she knew, but at the end of the day she was just as clueless as to how Naruto functioned. She knew Naruto as the strong willed and goofy, yet deceivingly strong, warrior. As sad as it was for her to admit, Pyrrha knew only a fraction of Naruto Uzumaki, the person, something that made her all the more saddened.
She of all people knew what it was like when others judged you at face value, never bothering to get to know the person hidden behind the walls and baggage that came with life.
Pyrrha cringed while she hugged herself and rubbed her arms, shuddering at that.
This was something she resolved to fix.
When the sun set and the moon rose to take its perch in the sky, Beacon Academy truly came to life. Being so far from the main city of Vale and its lights, the stars were able to show their brilliant lights. Alongside the light of the moon, the stars bathed the buildings and grounds of Beacon in a dim white light, bringing an almost ethereal feel to the atmosphere of the academy.
"Really is rather beautiful." Weiss nodded with a faint smile.
Many students and teachers would often venture out to any one of the higher structures of the academy and spend minutes or even hours simply enjoying the peace and tranquility that came with the blanket of Night. With the cool breeze blowing softly, many others chose to go for a jog or simply meditate, taking advantage of the crisp and clean air.
One particular blond Uzumaki found himself also partaking in Beacon's night life, laying on his back staring up at the twinkling stars, perched atop the second tallest structure situated not too far from the main lighthouse that was Beacon's namesake.
Naruto shrugged; he enjoyed star-gazing as much as Shikamaru liked watching the clouds, and he enjoyed being up high when he needed to think about things.
The silence that enveloped the teen and the snoozing fox on his chest was broken when Naruto spoke aloud, "Come to enjoy the view too?"
While most would think him odd for seemingly talking to himself, the figure that emerged from the shadows of the nearby stairwell entrance broke that notion. Garbed in her usual dark clothing, Blake showed no signs of being surprised that Naruto had known she was there. Still she was curious though.
"I'm surprised you knew I was there."
Blake nodded.
Still not tearing his gaze from the star filled sky, Naruto grinned and replied, "And I'm surprised at how quiet you could be with those heels on."
"It is a skill that must be honed." Kushina laughed.
Blake huffed at the jab at her clothing choice causing Naruto to chuckle.
Shaking his head the blond rose to his feet, dusted his clothes off and moved Kurama to his usual spot around his neck.
"And he was still alseep?"
Naruto shrugged.
"So what brings you out here at this time of night?" Naruto asked, donning his usual carefree grin.
Blake sauntered over to the edge of the building and situated herself on it, crossing her legs and leaning back as her gaze focused in on Naruto.
Naruto seemed to take it in stride and sat himself back down on the floor, meeting Blake's intense gaze with his own nonchalant one.
Neither side spoke for a moment before the raven haired female broke the little staring contest and turned her head to the side, casting her sights on the front of Beacon Academy.
"Everybody began to worry about where you had gone off to after what happened in the lunch hall. I was lucky enough to be the first to find you."
"Heh...uh...sorry everybody..." Naruto said sheepishly.
Naruto nodded his head, "So are you gonna bring them here or take me to them?"
The dark themed Huntress to be turned her eyes back on her blond companion before speaking, "I'll let them know where I found you and that you were alright as well...after I get some questions answered."
Deciding to have some fun with the stoic girl, Naruto grinned and spoke, "Curiosity killed the cat you know."
Everyone groaned, except for Yang. She silently applauded the joke.
"...You're almost as bad as Yang..." Blake said.
"Other me!" Naruto groaned.
Blake's gaze went from curious to cold and deadly in the blink of an eye.
'Does he know?'
Deciding that it was better if she played it off, Blake continued, "Not many people would have interfered in that fight, let alone react in such an angry manner."
Still unfazed by the ravenette's cold and distant demeanor, Naruto shrugged, "I'm not 'many people'."
'Though I could be thanks to a certain jutsu hehe,' the blond chuckled at his own in joke.
The residents of Konoha all chuckled at the joke on Naruto's numbers when producing Shadow Clones.
Seeing that she wasn't getting anywhere by trying to dance around the question, Blake decided that the straightforward and blunt path would be the better option,
"Straightforward and blunt dowork better for me. No guessing games, just saying what you mean." Naruto pointed out.
"I hear ya, Naruto..." Ruby muttered. She hated guessing games when it came to what people meant. If they had something to say, just say it.
"Why were you so angered by that fight? Being angry I could understand, but you looked downright furious, at not just that jerk Cardin, but at Professor Goodwitch as well."
"Oh boy...here we go..." Naruto sighed.
Blake nodded.
Naruto sighed before turning to look up at the stars above, "One of the things I can't stand to see is someone picking on someone else, because of something they don't understand, for something that the victim can't control. That girl didn't choose to be born a Faunus. Cardin chose to be a jackass. As for why I was mad at Professor Goodwitch? Simple. She and any of the other professors could have easily put a stop to it and even stopped it from happening again in the future, but they chose not to simply because if they interfered it would have looked like they sided with the Faunus, and with the White Fang being the spokespeople for the Faunus, well it wouldn't have gone over well."
Blake couldn't help but to agree with Naruto. Even if the Faunus didn't want to be represented as a whole by the less than savory actions of the White Fang of recent years, there wasn't much they could do about it.
Blake winced at that.
The White Fang had once been a group of Faunus who fought, peacefully, for equal rights for their fellow Faunus and fought to put an end to the years of discrimination against said group. There had been progress made, but it was slow going and many Faunus began to tire from the constant struggle to prove themselves. From there it all went out of control and in recent years, the White Fang had turned to violent acts of terrorism to get their point across.
"Great...another Akatsuki..." Naruto groused, not pleased at all.
Was it effective?
That was a question many asked, and none could give a solid answer to.
"Um...No!" Naruto said. "All it does is make Faunus-haters look right! Sure it was slow going with the peaceful methods, but it got the results the Faunus WANTED! You can't rush an important goal without screwing it up! All changing to fear tatics did was make the Faunus look like rabbid, murderous beasts to both the ones who did and didn't already feel that way!"
Blake stared at Naruto and how passionate he was when he said that. It shocked her just how strongly he felt about it. And he was absolutly right about it, too.
Blake found herself wondering how a meeting between Naruto and her parents would go, since her dad was the founder of the White Fang back when it was an equal rights movement rather than a terrorist organization.
Because of how sensitive the topic was many people took a sort of neutral stance and chose to neither help nor hinder the discrimination and hate crimes against the Faunus.
"Oh, that's a load of bull! I get its a tricky topic, but how blind can people be?! That group doesn't represent these Faunus people as a whole; that's just an excuse that further keeps everyone from realizing that the Faunus are people who live in Remnant and defend it just like humans do, ttebane!" Kushina snapped.
Blake felt herself tearing up again. As someone that saw the devision between humans and Faunus her entire life and sought to change it, as someone that wanted equality between the two...people like these who judged not on what a person couldn't help, but rather on what kind of person someone chose to be...
She felt someone nudge her and saw Kakashi handing her a box of tissue, the visible portion of his face and the shifts in the cloth of his mask making it clear he was smiling.
Blake took them with a greatful nod, before drying her eyes. These Konoha people, the other members of Team RWBY, and the members of Team JNPR...she just felt her heart break and melt with happiness she knew them!
Still what made Blake curious was Naruto's tone of voice and the words he used. He spoke like he knew personally what the Faunus were going through. It also said that he wasn't exactly a fan of the White Fang's decision to turn to fear tactics to achieve their goal.
Dabbing at her eys, Blake nodded. So Naruto was pro-Faunus, but Anti-White Fang...at least the current White Fang. If their methods hadn't changed, he would have no issue with the group. She could easily understand that better than anyone.
"Why do you care so much? Usually the only people who are so invested are the Faunus themselves and you don't look any Faunus I've seen."
This was a question Naruto had prepared for the moment he had found out about Faunus and the discrimination against them. Seeing as how he was trying to keep the fact that he was a shinobi and Jinchuuriki from becoming public knowledge, he and Kurama decided to go with the perfect cover.
Naruto shifted. He was getting sick of these lies his other was having to go by!
Naruto turned to Blake and stared her down. While normally this action wouldn't have been too surprising, what the young woman saw in Naruto's eyes caused her to gasp.
Gone were the normally bright blue eyes that usually greeted those who looked into the blond's eyes. Instead what stared into Blake's own amber eyes were twin pools of burning, vivid crimson with the slit pupils of a creature of the feline or fox family. The six marks that marred Naruto's tan cheeks were now thick lines that were visible even in the dim light of the moon and stars.
Then it hit Blake.
'How has no one else figured it out? For goodness' sake, Yang's nickname for him is Foxy!'
Still reeling from the small revelation, Blake only muttered a single sentence, "You're a Faunus."
"Similar, not exact..." Naruto cringed.
"Same side of the fence either way, you know what the Faunus go through and want to help fix things." Blake said, smiling at him in reassurance.
Naruto grinned, showing off the sharpened canines that now poked out of his lips, "I'm surprised no else has called me on it yet."
Blake was then hit with another small epiphany. Faunus had senses far more similar to the animals they exhibited which meant that from the looks of Naruto had an enhanced sense of smell.
"You know don't you?"
Naruto shrugged casually, "What? About you being a cat Faunus? Yeah, Kurama was the one who picked up on it when we first met you. Said you reeked of cat."
The now revealed cat Faunus huffed at the jab at her smell. She was still a teen girl and very much so took pride in her appearance and being told that she "reeked of cat" was less than endearing.
Though she was distracted from the sort of insult when she noticed that Kurama had awoken and was staring at her with the same crimson eyes that were now in place of Naruto's usual sapphires.
The night seemed to be full of revelations for Blake as she now realized how connected Naruto and Kurama really were.
"You're a fox Faunus. That's how you can understand Kurama."
"Is that a thing? Them knowing how to talk to animals?" Weiss asked.
"Uncommon, but yeah. That's a thing Faunus can do." Blake shrugged.
It wasn't unusual for Faunus to be able to communicate with the animal they were aligned to, but it wasn't exactly common either. It was usually a sign of a Faunus who was far more animalistic than they were human.
"Funny...seeing as Faunus are given a bad impression of humanity because of the way people treat them, you'd think they'd feel like they should be more animalistic..." Kakashi scoffed.
Blake nodded. "There are those who think and feel that way among Faunus."
Which didn't connect with Naruto. The only visible signs that showed he wasn't human were his whisker marks and eyes and it seemed like he could turn those features, sans the whiskers, on and off at will, something she had never even heard of.
Blake frowned. That wasn't exactly true...
Most Faunus who wanted to blend in with humans had to resort to various kinds of clothing or makeups to do so. If there was a method that Naruto could teach to others to hiding the more noticeable of features, then he would be like a prophet for many Faunus who simply wanted to live their lives without worrying about the harsh words and reactions to their being a Faunus.
"How can you hide your features like that?"
Naruto grinned and decided to give into his more foxy side, "What? Tired of the bow?"
Blake narrowed her eyes before asking another question, "How did you know?"
"Bows don't twitch, Blake," was Naruto's simple reply.
"Yeah...think we should have noticed that." Yang said as she looked at her partner's head, waiting. Blake's bow twitched right on cue.
Deciding to answer her other question, the blond Uzumaki continued, "As for hiding my features, I don't know. It's just something I'm able to do. Maybe it's cuz my mom was a Faunus and my dad was a human. Who knows."
Kushina gave an amused shak of her head. From what she'd seen, Faunus and Jinchuriki were similar enough for that to be the case.
There went her hopes of Naruto being able to teach such a valuable ability.
Naruto winced like he'd been stabbed and turned to Blake. But before he could say anything, she beat him to it.
"It's all right...what's stoping you is the sheer fact that its something that you can't teach. You would if the option was avalible to you, but the choice isn't yours to make." Blake hugged him. It was funny...her friend Ilia Amitola and her had this exact same talk. Illia had been utterly consumed with crippling self-loathing over how "lucky" she was over how her Faunus trait as a chameleon granted her the ability to change the color of her skin, hair and eyes, allowing her to blend in with her environment, and even pass off as being fully human rather than being seen as a Faunus. She'd hated herself for having that ability while other Faunus didn't, so while she could be spared it, she had to see other Faunus be descriminated against. She'd hated that so badily...
She and Blake had become friends after Blake had comforted her this exact same way. Illia wishing she could share her ability with other Faunus, but knowing she couldn't. The guilt it had left Illia with had almost driven her suicidal before Blake had stopped and gotten through to the chameleon-girl.
Blake wondered how Illia was doing these days...
Though the tid bit that Naruto was technically only a half Faunus was interesting. Couplings between Faunus and humans were almost non-existent and usually the children born of said relationships were human, never displaying any traits of their Faunus parent. Something about Faunus genes being recessive.
If what Naruto said was true then he was a unique case.
While Blake contemplated the information she had been given, Naruto gave a mental sigh of relief. While it was all a passable half truth,
Naruto flinched.
it was the best cover he and Kurama could come up with to explain both his whiskers and his transformation when he used Kurama's chakra. Of course that explanation would be blown to bits if anyone ever saw him actually use the Bijuu Cloak. There would be no way he could lie his way out of that one.
"That case, hope it happens so I can finally come clean..." Naruto muttered.
Blake put a hand on his shoulder and gave it a comforting squeeze. She understood that. Naruto didn't like all the half-truths and secrets; he wanted to be honest with them, but the truth was just too strange.
On the other hand the likelihood of him even using the Cloak was slim to none. He only really needed it if there was someone who outclassed him in every way, and after Kurama's training the only people who could do so were Kage level shinobi, something he doubted Remnant had.
Of course the other scenario where the Cloak would be called upon was if he was beyond furious. Again thanks to Kurama's help in better controlling his emotions, someone or something would have to make him want to rip them to shreds with his bare hands for that to be the case.
"So why do you hide your features?" Blake asked out of curiosity.
Naruto smirked as he allowed Kurama's chakra to recede back into the seal, taking with it the eyes and fangs, "Why do you?"
"Touché." The feline said with a nod of aknowlagement.
Blake had no answer. It was a good response.
"But the real reason is the fear. Most Faunus' features don't look all that threatening. Your cat ears and eye color aren't all that scary. Glowing red eyes and fangs? That's something out of a nightmare and the last thing I want is for people to run screaming, because I smiled."
The amber eyed teen nodded in agreement. First seeing those burning red eyes staring at her had sent a shiver of fear down her spine, like her instincts were telling her to run as far away as possible.
Blake winced, feeling like she should aplogize for that, but not knowing how.
"So then I take it you don't want me to tell anyone else?"
Naruto shrugged as he stretched, "I don't really care if people know I'm a Faunus. If they look at me differently because of it then oh well, not much I can do. Though I will probably tell my team just because I trust them and don't think they'd care."
"We don't." The other members of RWBY and the members of JNPR all said as Blake stared, then she smiled.
Blake seemed to ponder Naruto's statement before sighing. It wasn't like she didn't trust her team to not look at her any differently, it was really just her own issue with actually letting people in after everything she had been through in the past few months. She had left one life behind and was trying so hard to build a new one, one away from the lifestyle that had caused her to leave a certain group.
Blake squirmed again.
The young Faunus was shocked when she saw Naruto sitting next to her, never having seen him move.
"You're secret's safe with me. I know what its like to fear how the people close to you will react to something so...out of the ordinary.
"Sucks all around...feel like a dirty lier, but you feel you have to in order for them to accept you, the fear's like a guillotine blade..." Naruto shivered.
Blake nodded, fully agreeing.
I will say this though, the longer you wait, the harder it'll be to explain why you hid it in the first place."
Brushing a stray strand of hair behind her ear, Blake joined Naruto in gazing at the nighttime sky, finding herself far more calm and comfortable than she ever had before.
Blake smiled again.
Odd how the most hyperactive and goofy person she knew, outside of Yang and her sister Ruby,
"Hey!" The siblings cried in unison at that.
was able to make her feel so tranquil and at peace. Another thing to add to the list of oddities that surrounded Naruto Uzumaki.
"Naruto's good at that." Kakashi said with a small smile under his mask.
The following day saw Naruto joined by the other members of team NNPR and team RWBY as they made their way to he main arena of Beacon Academy.
The night before had been surprisingly uneventful despite the "revelations" it held.
Naruto had gone ahead and told his team about his being a "Faunus" and their reactions were less than surprising. Pyrrha just smiled and told him that something like that didn't matter to her and that she would always be his friend.
Ren was not at all fazed and simply stated that it only made sense. Nora was the only really noteworthy reaction, having been curious about the marks on his cheeks from when she had first seen him. Now knowing that he was a Faunus and that the marks were actually whiskers and not just scars or odd birthmarks, Nora was tempted to pet them. And pet them she did.
Naruto went pale at that. Oh no...not that...! Anything but that!
He didn't want to have a fruneral for his dignity like this!
This of course led to all of team NNPR finding out that, like any canine or feline, Naruto's whiskers were sensitive to touch.
"Can somebody please kill me?" Naruto moaned.
Blake pat him on the back, having a sinking feeling what was going to happen and wished she could prevent it. Poor Naruto...
Mikoto walked over and placed a hand on Naruto's head before the space around him swirled as Naruto was sucked into the Kamui's alternate time–space dimension created by her Mangekyō Sharingan. At least he wouldn't need to hear what happened next.
Being turned into a purring mess like a common house pet was something Naruto's pride would never be able to live down and Nora was more than happy to exploit this newfound "weakness". On the bright side Pyrrha had offhandedly commented that it was cute and even Ren had cracked a smile and laughed at seeing his team leader turned into putty by some light petting of the face.
Everyone froze, then looked at one another before all bur Mikoto and Blake roared with sheer laughter at that!
"SHUT UP!" Blake snapped. Didn't they understand how embaressing that was?! While Naruto may not have been a Faunus, she'd known plenty that had dealt with embaressing topics like!
After everyone calmed down and returned their attention to the book, Mikoto released Naruto from her Kamui dimention and he thanked her, which elected a flinch from the woman for some reason; Ruby resumed reading.
Of course Team RWBY, minus a certain black cat, were curious as to what had led to all of the drama and Naruto had decided to tell about his half true secret. Blake, having already found out the night prior, was unfazed. Weiss brushed it off in her usual arrogance and said that Naruto was still just a dumb blond, a comment that earned her an angry glare from both Yang and Naruto.
Both Yang and Naruto glared at Weiss for that comment.
Even still Naruto could see that Weiss was just being Weiss
"Weiss being Weiss, huh?" the heiress said, narrowing her eyes at the pair, matching them glare for glare.
and knew that she was saying she didn't care about his not being entirely human, in her own unique way.
"Oh..." Naruto blinked, droping his glare.
Ruby had given him a hug and told him that it didn't matter to her if he was a Faunus or not, he was her first friend at Beacon and that's all that mattered to her.
Both Naruto and Blake smiled at Ruby. It was good seeing she was that kind of person who didn't care about things like that, and what mattered to her was the nature of a person's character.
Yang had given him a noogie and commented that it just gave her nickname for him an even better basis.
"I would do that." Yang nodded with a smirk.
While not exactly being the complete truth, Naruto was happy to see how his new friends felt about him. It felt good to know that even now, so far from home and his precious people, he had new precious people who saw him for who he was.
Naruto and his parents all smiled at that, feeling touched and greatful.
It also made him feel a bit guilty for lying to them and keeping so much hidden from them.
"I HATE that!" Naruto cringed.
Kurama was swift to remind him of the consequences that would follow if Naruto allowed that guilt to force him to spill his entire backstory. It was not a matter of trust, but a matter of protecting them from not only those who would no doubt come for Naruto for whatever reason they may choose as well as protecting them from Naruto himself.
Knowing that he couldn't just toss Justu around like they were going out of style kept Naruto at a level that seemed more fitting for someone of his age, at least in Remnant. Sure there were still plenty of people who could no doubt defeat him, both Ozpin and Glynda being on that list, but to do so would no doubt force them to a level they hadn't fought at since their youth.
"...You give lessons?" Yang asked as all the others from Remnent looked interested.
"No." Naruto shot down flatly.
Bottom line was that by not spilling his guts, Naruto was making sure his friends were kept safe...well as safe as they could be with the whole career choice of being a Hunter/Huntress.
Needless to say the previous day had been quite eventful, for Naruto at least. Today was panning out to be another eventful day as well.
"How so?" Kushina asked.
Ozpin had caught wind of the would have been fight in the cafeteria and had decided a fitting punishment for both Naruto and Cardin.
"But Naruto didn't do anything wrong!" Ruby protested.
Seeing as how Beacon was training future soldiers, what better way to settle a dispute than with combat? Obviously it wouldn't be a no holds bar fight. The match would be something more of a regulated spar with one of the professors acting as referee and the shields all of Beacon's arenas were outfitted with turned on to ensure that there was no serious injuries.
This would allow Cardin and Naruto to settle their beef with each other in a relatively safe and monitored environment. The "prize" for the winner of this impromptu exhibition? Getting away scot-free.
Well for Naruto at least. Cardin would be penalized for bullying another student regardless of if he won or not.
"I'm liking this Ozpin guy." Naruto said, starting to smile, as were his parents.
By winning though he would have his sentence lightened to some degree. While Naruto didn't technically do anything wrong, being stopped by Glynda before he could actually hit Cardin, he still had attempted to harm another student and then disrespected a professor. Thus his punishment was having to fight in the match and, if he lost, serving the equivalent of Cardin's own sentence.
Of course both teams NNPR and RWBY hardly saw this as a punishment, having full confidence that their blond friend would have no troubles in triumphing over Cardin. In their eyes this was just going to be an entertaining show of seeing Cardin get what he deserved.
"There's a way to record this, right?!" Jaune asked, almost begging. Cardin was a jerk and the Arc still remembered being blackmailed by the guy.
As the two teams entered into the main entrance way to the arena, the group of teens stopped as the fighter's entrance was separate from the one for the audience.
Slinging an arm around her fellow blond's shoulder, Yang grinned as she gave Naruto a little pep talk, "Kick that jerk-face's ass Foxy!"
Well a Yang version of a pep talk at least.
"A good pep talk, you mean." Yang said.
Having said her peace, Yang moved aside only to be replaced by her younger sister.
"Kick his butt Naruto! We'll be cheering you on the whole time!"
"Hey! You can't just hijack my pep talk, Rubies!" Yang complained.
These kids truly were wordsmiths of the highest calibre.
The sarcasim made Kakashi nod, proud of his student.
Weiss decided to throw in her own two cents to the conversation, "Don't be too much of an idiot."
Ah yes, a speech that would motivate even the laziest of bums. Weiss truly used her high class upbringing to craft such words of vigor and inspiration.
Weiss glared at Naruto, cheeks puffed in annoyance at the jab at her. She wasn't one for speeches, ok! Sitting around but refusing to do anything more than spout words was what her "father" and brother were good at, not her!
Blake only offered a nod, though if one looked closely they could see the hidden glee in her amber eyes. She usually didn't condone violence as a solution to a problem, but even she had to agree that Cardin needed a good ass kicking and who better to give it to him than blond most thought of as only a childish joker.
She wondered if it was too late to run back to her room to grab a camera. The look on Cardin's face would be priceless.
"Where's a way to record this?!" Blake and Jaune both moaned in dispare over missing the chance to tape Cardin's public humiliation!
As team RWBY left to take their front row seats, Naruto's own team decided it would be a good time to give their own speeches.
"Break his legs!"
One could always count on Nora to be the one to give such eloquent and noteworthy speeches. A voice and mind that only came every generation.
Nora cackled, too giddy at the suppossed compliment to notice the sacasim.
Ren offered a nod before turning to take his seat with Nora.
Ren shrugged, "Man of few words, and not like Naruto needs a pep talk. He'll will no matter what."
Left alone, Naruto and Pyrrha were silent for a few moments, Naruto still trying to understand how he ended up with the strange ones as friends and Pyrrha trying to think of what to say to her captain and close friend to really motivate him.
Of course most people would agree that with Pyrrha being as attractive as she was and Naruto being a teen male, such a task wasn't really that hard and may not even require words if done right. Then again for comedy's sake we must drag as many awkward and hilarious moment out of Naruto and Pyrrha's relationship as was possible before moving to such a stage.
"No way...fourth wall jokes?!" Yang laughed. "Those are great!"
Naruto and Pyrrha both flushed with embaressment at the relationship remark.
Nonetheless it wasn't long before the attractive red head of team NNPR decided on a course of action.
Naruto was caught off guard when Pyrrha hugged him, saying a quick, "Good luck," before letting go and smiling at him.
Naruto offered his own smile before replying with a, "Thanks."
It was Pyrrha's turn to be surprised when Kurama leapt from Naruto's shoulders to hers.
"I won't need his help and the lazy bum would rather just sit and watch the fight," Naruto explained.
"But there's always a reason for overkill!" Nora and Yang whined.
Everyone stared at them.
"That...is frightening..." Ren and Ruby both shuddered at last.
"Those two must never hang out with just the two of them." Naruto said, pointing at the destruction-prone girls.
The others all nodded vigerously.
'Please, that shy Hyuuga girl could have beaten that fool with little problems. Me staying with you would only disturb my nap time. Wake me when you're done toying with that pitiful ningen (human).'
"Lazy bum indeed." Jaune said with a nod.
Pyrrha laughed before reaching her hand to Kurama's head, running her fingers gently through the soft fur around his ears and brow.
With one last wave the red head left to join the rest of their friends in the stands.
As Naruto made his way to finally enter the arena and start his fight, he was once more stopped from doing so, this time by a group of four that he had never seen before.
"Hey! Cocoo and her team!" Ruby smiled.
The one in front, a girl a year or so older than Naruto dressed in a combination of blacks and browns, her eyes hidden behind a pair of sunglasses and a hat covering the top portion of her brown hair, was the one to first speak.
"Hey! You're Naruto Uzumaki right?"
Despite being a little put off by the appearance of these random, to Naruto, people, the blond haired Uzumaki nodded.
The apparent leader of the team continued her speech, "We're Team CFVY (Coffee) and this is Velvet," here the young woman gestured to the only other female member of the team, a shy looking thing with rabbit ears that marked her as a Faunus. Naruto recognized her as the girl Cardin had been bullying in the first place.
"Oh!" Kushina said as everyone realized that the group was there to thank Naruto fro standing up for the rabbit girl earlier.
Continuing on the still unnamed leader kept talking, "We just wanted to say thanks. Velvet usually doesn't like to stand up for herself and so we usually are there to make sure people like that ass-hat Winchester don't mess with her. Unfortunately we weren't there, but we heard that you at least tried to step in to help her and for that we'd like to thank you Whiskers."
Everyone smiled at that.
Naruto chuckled as he rubbed the back of his head, "It was no big deal. I hate people like Cardin and I thought he needed some help with taking that stick out of his ass."
Everyone laughed at that.
"Good one!" Yang praised Naruto.
The older teen laughed while the other members of her team cracked a smile, Velvet trying and failing to hide her giggles behind her hand.
"You know what? I like you Whiskers. You actually got a pair on you, unlike most of these pansies. Give that bastard Cardin a good one for us yeah?"
"Yes ma'am!" Naruto laughed with a playful sallute.
Without a word more, team CFVY made their exit, leaving Naruto to ponder on the strange events and people that seemed to gravitate towards him.
'I swear that girl reminded me way too much of Anko-sensei. God I hope she doesn't have a thing for my blood!'
"Wait...what?!" Jaune yelped.
Naruto couldn't help but to shudder at the memory of a certain purple haired Jounin who took great pleasure in teasing him whenever she got the chance.
"Note to self: meet this Anko chick." Yang said, nodding to herself.
Pushing those unpleasant, or pleasant depending on who you asked, memories aside, Naruto turned to face the entrance way that stood between him and Cardin.
With a vulpine grin stretching across his whiskered face, Naruto began to walk, confidently striding towards his target.
Cardin Winchester had no idea that he was dealing with Naruto Uzumaki, crowned Prankster King of Konoha.
"Wait...is that it?!" Jaune cried, feeling cheated.
"Fight must be next chapter." Minato shrugged, "and look at it this way: you have time to find ways to record Cardin's being humiliated." he said.
Both Blake and Jaune bolted to find a camcorder somewhere in this space they were all in at that.