Somewhere in the Emerald Forest…
"Just what do you think you're doing?"
"I'm following my partner. Duh!"
"I'm not sure whom you're talking about. I don't seem to see anyone else here aside from me and MY partner. However, considering that this is the Emerald forest we'd be more than willing to accommodate you by escorting you until you found your own partner or a parental figure."
"I'm not a child and Naruto is my partner not yours!"
"If you're not a child then why are you acting like one?"
This small snippet of the feud that had ensued the moment Naruto, Ruby, and Weiss found themselves interlocked in a three-way gaze had been going on for quite some time and had started to sound like a broken record not five minutes after it had started. How such a thing as a three-way gaze could actually happen was beyond Naruto's ability to fathom. In truth he figured that the two girls had locked eyes with one another but, rather than settle for the other, they latched onto the only other person within the vicinity which unfortunately happened to be him. While at first he'd attempted to stop the feud, it soon became apparent that neither girl was listening to him, too engrossed in their fight to register even the Grimm he'd been killing as they made their way towards the temple and relics.
"I swear Naruto if you don't get these two bitches to shut the fuck up I'm going to manifest my chakra and do it myself!"
Kurama growled yet another threat, one of many he'd made since their trio had been formed. While at first he'd found it amusing to see the gigantic fox demon curled up on the floor of his prison with his forepaws covering his ears in a vain attempt to drown out the fighting, the humor died soon after. Now Naruto found himself honestly considering allowing Kurama to have his way, if only to gain some reprieve, and figure out how to explain the missing initiates later.
"While I don't usually agree with the Demon's uproarious outbursts, I'll make an exception this one time. These young ladies have greatly overstayed their welcome. They need to control themselves and their emotions now otherwise I will do it myself," Hyorinmaru chimed in.
"Look, if I could get them to quite down I would have done it a while back but neither of them will listen. Just tell me we're drawing close to the goal. That at least will ensure we have others to help with the situation."
"We're nearly there. I can sense more of these Grimm as well as a few humans nearby. It won't be long before we come upon these so called Relics."
"Yea and then you can ditch one of these bitches and settle for a new one for the next four years," Kurama added.
Naruto shuttered, imagining how the fallout of that might end up. Neither seemed at all preferable with Ruby no doubt being prone to breaking down in tears and Weiss being very much the opposite. He briefly considered ditching them here and simply giving up. That would leave them as each other's partner and allow him to try again next year, hopefully without this same predicament. While the thought gave him a chuckle he reluctantly brushed it aside. He had a promise to keep to Sakura and giving up now would only hinder his progress in finding a way back home.
Still, the fact that he had two girls clamoring to be his partner was bizarre. Naruto had never been what some might call a Ladies man. That title had always belonged to Sasuke who somehow found himself the subject of every girl's conversation as they practically drooled at the very sight of him. While he'd been envious of that before, being on the receiving end of it put things into a whole new perspective. Was this something that Sasuke had to tolerate on a daily basis? Probably not, all things considered. Maybe when Ino and Sakura were involved. Sasuke was very driven and obsessed with finding and exacting revenge on someone for some reason or another. He didn't know all the details but it was quite clear that girls and relationships in general had been far from his mind.
Their journey, which seemed to take longer than one would have expected, came to a merciful end when the tree line thinned. A large open field with a ravine dotted with ruins on one side and another smaller set of ruins just across the field where they could already see several people standing around came into view. Naruto's heart leapt at the sight. More people meant a possible escape from the troublesome twosome he'd been dealing with and maybe even the possibility of dumping one of them off on someone else. He silently considered the option of dumping them onto each other and finding himself a new partner but quickly discarded that idea. It would be much easier on him if he had only one of the girls mad at him and not both. Knowing his luck, they'd somehow bond over their irritation of him discarding them both and team up to make his life a living hell for the next four years.
"Hey, it's my sister," Ruby squealed, taking a moment to stop squabbling over who was Naruto's real partner and racing off towards a young woman with long blonde hair.
"Ruby," her sister squealed, catching the speeding huntress and enveloping her in a tight hug. "You made it. I knew you would."
"Yep, I even have the coolest partner and he was someone I already knew," she chimed in.
"Really? Who is it?"
"That's something I'd like to know as well," Weiss said as she approached the group.
The tone of her voice was enough to earn a groan from Naruto as realized she'd reignited their feud all over again. Was there no end to this torment?
"He's right here, duh," Ruby said, grabbing hold of Naruto's arm.
"You must be mistaken. Uzumaki Naruto is MY partner. He was simply polite enough to allow you to travel with us to retrieve our relics and find you a suitable partner."
"I'm not the one who's mistaken it's you. I locked eyes with him first. You're just too much of a spoiled brat to admit when you're wrong," Ruby shot back.
"Excuse me?" Weiss snapped, the two girls descending once more into their squabble.
Yang watched the pair, a confused look spread across her face as she tried to make heads or tails of the situation. Her older sister instincts told her that it must have had something to do with the tall blonde they were with and she immediately turned on him, locking him in her crosshairs. Typically, she would have had less words and more actions for anyone foolish enough to think they could toy with her sister but her ire quickly deflated when she saw his face. The word haggard came to mind as he lost all will power to try and weasel his way out of the situation. The moment their eyes locked his expression became one of pleading as he silently mouthed the words Help me. Yang had to suppress a laugh, realizing that the boy wanted nothing to do with his current situation and conveniently raising her opinion of him as a result.
"Hi, I'm Yang Xio Long, Ruby's older sister," Yang said, taking hold of the blonde and snatching him away from his captors.
Both girls shot her indignant glares but one sinister glare of her own had the pair backing off and resuming their own squabble soon enough. Naruto breathed a sigh of relief, grateful to be out of the line of fire, at least for now.
"Uzumaki Naruto, we meet last night," he said, shaking her hand.
"We did?" she asked, confused for a moment before the events of the previous night slowly came back to her. "Oh, right, we did didn't we."
"Yep, seems we're running into one another at every possible moment," he joked or at least tried to but the humor died in his throat as the girl's volume increased.
"So, which of them is your partner?" Yang asked in a hushed tone.
Naruto glanced back at the pair, motioning her away so he could speak without the risk of being overheard. "I honestly have no idea. We somehow managed to end up in the same place all at the same time and before I could figure out what had happened they started bickering about which of them was my partner. They haven't stopped since and I'm starting to consider quitting the initiation just to get away from them and start over next year."
"Whoa, hold on there, let's not do anything drastic. Have you tried talking to them about it?" she asked. The indignant glare Naruto shot her was answer enough and she held her hands up in mock surrender. "Sorry, sorry, just making sure."
"Sorry, I know you mean well being Ruby's sister and all but it's just been a nightmare. They haven't stopped arguing once and I'm starting to lose my sanity. Any reprieve from this would be welcome."
"Well, why don't you grab a relic and we'll start making our way back? I'm sure the teachers can help sort this whole mess out and neither of them will be able to argue with that decision. Not only that but you'll have Blake and I to talk to on the way back," she said, motioning to her partner who silently waved back. "Oh, well, you'll have me to talk to at least."
Naruto offered a weary smile, glad to have some small light of hope in contrast to this living nightmare. Granted, he was being overly dramatic. Weiss and Ruby were nice enough girls and would no doubt become cherished friends as time went on. However, their current behavior had worn away his patience to the point that he just wanted to find some quiet spot where he could just relax and maybe even get some rest.
Walking over to the ruins of the temple he looked over the relics that had been left for them. He immediately recognized them as chess pieces, parts of a board game that he and Raven would occasionally play. It had reminded him of a similar game they'd played in his own world call Shogi, something which his friend Shikamaru was a genius at playing, though the rules and pieces were somewhat different. Picking up one that he knew to be the knight he stowed it away in his pouch before turning to the others. He considered telling them to get their own pieces but, considering they still thought of him as their partner, he decided to deal with the fallout later.
"Heads up, we've got a large Grimm incoming. Looks like two of them," Kurama gave a warning.
"Fuck me," he hissed.
"What was that?' Yang asked.
"Everyone, listen up, we've got a pair of large Grimm headed our way. I'd suggest we start making our way back to the school before they get here."
"He's not wrong," Yang's partner Blake replied. "I can hear them in the distance."
"You can?" Yang asked, starring at the girl's ears with obvious surprise. "That's some pretty great hearing you've got."
"Oh, um," the girl said, suddenly embarrassed or was she nervous?
It didn't matter as the sounds of trees falling over soon filled the air, alerting the Huntsmen to an incoming Grimm. Seeing that the time to run had passed all of them took ready stances, drawing their weapons as they faced the forest. Those whose weapons had long range capabilities checked their magazines and Dust cartridges, making sure they wouldn't be caught off guard if they tried to fire off more shots than they actually had. The noise grew louder, denoting their enemy's imminent approach. Naruto took point with Yang close behind him. When the Grimm emerged they'd charge it head on with the others offering support. If they were quick they'd be able to overwhelm the beast before it caused too much damage. As birds flew from their perches, the group readied themselves for a fight. What emerged was far from what they'd expected.
"YEEEHHHHHAAAAWWWW!"
An Ursa came barreling out of the tree line, running as fast as its legs would carry it and wearing what Naruto could only assume was an expression of pure anguish. Atop the beast was a girl dressed in a white blouse and pink skirt with orange hair and a large hammer on her back. She was riding the beast like it was the most natural thing in the world, an expression of pure joy and excitement etched across her features. The Ursa made it halfway across the open field before it collapsed from exhaustion and, finding it had lost the will to live, subsequently began dissolving before the group of dumbfounded teenagers.
"Aww, it's broken," the girl said, sounding legitimately disappointed by the fact.
"D-did that girl just come riding in on an Ursa?" Blake asked.
"I saw it but I still don't believe it," Yang replied.
"Nora!" they heard someone shout.
Emerging from the tree line a young boy with stark black hair tied back in a ponytail wearing a green outfit that reminded Naruto of home and with a single pink strip in his hair ran out to the girl. He stopped before the dissolving Ursa corpse, supporting himself on his knees as he tried to catch his breath. He must have been chasing after them the whole time which no doubt would have made for a peculiar sight for anyone passing by who noticed a girl riding an Ursa and being chased by a young boy.
This day just kept getting weirder.
"Please, don't ever do that again," the boy managed to say only to look up and realize that the girl, Nora he heard him call her, had skipped on over to the relics and was currently eyeing the Rook.
"I'm queen of the castle, I'm queen of the castle, I'm queen of the castle," she began chanting as she balanced the chess piece on her head.
"NORA!" the boy shouted in irritation.
"Coming Ren," she said cheerfully, completely unfazed by his irritated tone.
"Well, that was anticlimactic," Yang commented.
"Yea, I was actually expecting something a bit more threatening," Naruto commented.
"I never said that was the Grimm threat," Kurama replied.
"Then where is it?"
"Incoming," Hyorinmaru chimed in.
"AAAAAHHHHHHH!"
As if to answer his unspoken question a boy in white armor wearing jeans and a hoodie with a sword strapped to his hip emerged, barreling out of the forest. Close behind him was a redheaded girl in bronze armor carrying a round shield and spear in her hands, glancing back at the forest. Naruto didn't get the time to ask what was chasing them as a massive Death Stalker plowed its way through the tree line, sending debris flying in all directions. Instinctively everyone dodged out of the way, already realizing that the moment to escape had passed them by.
"What the hell?' Yang cried.
"Where did that Death Stalker come from?" Weiss asked.
"No time for questions," Naruto said, quickly falling into his training. "Everyone split up and surround it. If we attack it from all sides, it'll have a difficult chance of overpowering us."
Receiving a nod from everyone they quickly split and moved, taking up positions around the giant scorpion. The creature took notice of them, lashing out with its pincers and large stinger. Unfortunately for the beast most of the combatants had long range capabilities, enabling them to attack without getting too close. Even Naruto could maintain his distance and attack it to some degree. Having gained the advantage, he was certain they would be able to handle the Death Stalker well enough until he heard something that made his blood run cold.
"KKKKAAAAWWWW!"
"Kurama, please tell me that's not- "
"Another Grimm, sounds like a bird," he confirmed.
"Fuck!" he yelled only to look around and realize he'd said that out loud. "Uh, we have another Grimm incoming."
To emphasize his statement a black shadow cut across the field as a massive Nevermore soared into view. Catching sight of the large group of teenagers it swooped down, spraying the field with razor sharp feathers as it flew by and showing no concern whatsoever for it's fellow Grimm as the projectiles pinged off its bone armor. The group scattered with Yang, Blake, Ruby, Weiss, and Naruto ending up near the ravine while the others stayed nearer the Death Stalker, a wall of feathers separating the two groups.
"Everyone alright?" Naruto called out.
"Yea."
"I'm fine."
"Where did that Nevermore come from?" someone asked.
"It must have been drawn here by the negative emotions," he heard a girl reply.
Showing little remorse, Naruto shot a glance over to Ruby and Weiss. The pair averted their gazes, Ruby showing a more apologetic expression while Weiss maintained a neutral mask apart from the light dusting of red in her cheeks. Sighing, he picked himself up and looked to see where the Nevermore was. From its flight path it would be flying over the ruins before making another pass for them. They could intercept it and attempt to knock it out of the air but that would leave the Death Stalker to their companions.
"Hey, you need any help over there?" he called out.
"We should be fine. We'll handle the scorpion, you guys take care of the bird," he heard the other male call out.
"Alright, we'll kill it quickly and then come to back you guys up."
With something of a plan he motioned to the girls and led the charge into the ruins. Truth be told Naruto wasn't at all ecstatic about fighting a giant bird while navigating the dilapidated and deteriorating ruins that hung over a very deep ravine. That said, they didn't have much of a choice. The Nevermore had the advantage thanks to its wings and would no doubt shred them to pieces in the open field. Out here though they had a chance of clipping those wings but also at the risk of losing their footing and falling into the abyss. The girls had already begun their assault with Yang somehow managing to leap into the things mouth where she had begun unloading her gauntlets into it. Ruby and Weiss had put their feud aside, focusing on the Grimm but choosing their shots wisely so as not to hit Yang. That just left him, uncertain of how he should approach the thing.
"Any ideas guys?"
"I do have one suggestion that might work but we'll need to wait for the right opportunity," Hyorinmaru replied.
"What is it?"
"Kido, it's a special soul ability that Soul Reapers can use. There are several different Kido, each with their own unique effect. I know of one which might prove useful but we'll need the others to help us finish the job."
"Sounds like a plan. What's the Kido you were thinking of?"
"Its called Geki. There's an incantation you'll need to recite along with some hand movements. Make sure to focus your energy on the creature and it should work. I'll show you how its done and tell you the incantation."
After listening and watching the hand movements shown to him, Naruto formulated a plan, one that could prove victorious so long as everyone worked together.
"Girls, I have a plan but I'll need your cooperation."
"What is it?" Ruby asked.
"I have an ability that's part of my semblance. It'll allow me to paralyze the Nevermore for a short time. While its immobilized, I'll need all of you to finish it off."
"How are we supposed to do that?" Weiss asked.
"I'm open to suggestions."
The girls were silent for a moment, each considering how to go about killing it. Ruby glanced over at Weiss, eyeing her rapier before looking at Blake and her weapon. He eyes grew wide and in a moment she began jumping up and down, waving her hand in the air.
"You don't need permission to speak, Ruby. You can just tell us," Naruto said with a chuckle.
"I have an idea," she said before explaining what she had in mind.
"That's the absolute worst idea I've ever heard," Weiss scoffed.
"You have any better suggestions?" Naruto asked.
She scowled, glancing away in defeat while Ruby beamed with pride.
"Alright, start getting everything set up. I'll go let Blake know what we're up to," he said before heading over to her. "Hey Blake, could you get Yang please?"
"On it," she replied, tossing her weapon just as the Nevermore made a pass.
In an expertly done throw her weapon curved around the blond, wrapping itself around her waist in the thick ribbon before she gave it a pull. Caught off guard but adapting quickly, Yang sailed through the air before skidding to a halt near Naruto. The Nevermore wasn't as lucky, crashing through some of the ruins before flapping its wings aggressively to get itself airborne once more. With the creature temporarily out of the game Naruto took the opportunity to explain what they were doing and set about putting their plan into action.
Having managed to rise above the ravine, the Nevermore hovered above the opposite peak, looking around in an attempt to regain sight of its prey. Naruto rushed forward, taking a moment to gather himself before focusing his spiritual energy within him. Putting a hand out he began writing symbols in the air, chanting an incantation as he did it and focusing on the Nevermore as his primary target.
"Disintegrate, you black dog of Rodanini! Look upon yourself with horror and then claw at your own throat."
"Bakudo #9: Geki!"
His body began to glow with red hue, almost like his aura was reacting to the incantation. At least, that's what he hoped the others assumed. In truth it was a side effect of the incantation, his soul reacting to the incantation and focus he had as he held his gaze on the Nevermore. His intervention had been successful as the bird suddenly seized up, falling to the ground with an audible crash with its head just jutting over the lip of the cliff just as he had planned.
"Now! Do it now!" he instructed, struggling to keep his focus.
Due to its large size and overwhelming power he was having a great bit of difficulty maintaining his control over it. He would only last a few more seconds at most before he collapsed from exhaustion. Pushing himself any further would undoubtedly lead to unwanted complications, not to mention questions he didn't want to have to answer anytime soon.
The others wasted little time enacting their part of the plan. Between Yang and Blake the two had stretched out her weapon's ribbon while Weiss pulled it back using a gravity glyph with Ruby at its center acting as the projectile to their sudo-slingshot. At his command Weiss released the glyph, shooting Ruby forwards before a series of glyphs along the cliff face were generated, allowing Ruby to race up them. At this point Naruto's energy gave out and he collapsed to the ground, his concentration breaking. While the Nevermore was released from his grip, it had no time to react as a crimson missile raced up the cliff, catching its neck in the blade of her scythe and subsequently decapitating it all in one move.
"Well done," Blake called out.
"Hell yeah," Yang chimed.
"I'll admit, she has some talent," Weiss said.
"Did we win?" Naruto asked from his spot on the ground.
"Sure did," Yang replied, pausing for a moment before adding, "looks like the others took care of the Death Stalker, no problem."
"Good, good. Now, can someone help me up and possibly carry back to the cliff. I don't think I can walk on my own."
With a soft chuckle Yang took hold of his outstretched arm, hoisting him over her shoulder and walking off with him hanging from her back.
"This is so demeaning," Kurama commented.
"Oh, shut up," Naruto replied tiredly.
/-/
"… making them team JNPR, led by Jaune Arc," the headmaster announced.
Applause sounded from the announcement, polite though not undeserved. Jaune scratched the back of his head nervously, giving a sheepish smile as he led the rest of his team off stage.
"Now, as has long been the tradition of our schools, teams are typically made up of four Huntsmen each. That being said, there will be times when some teams are formed which require some of those traditions to be put aside as a greater emphasis is placed on the talents and showcasing of its members. As such it is with great honor that I announce our first five-man team."
"Oh no," Naruto groaned internally, already predicting what the headmaster was about to say and wondering if it was too late to opt out and try again next year.
"Uzumaki Naruto, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, Yang Xio Long, and Ruby Rose collected the knight chest pieces. As such they will be known as team NWBYR (Newbern), led by Uzumaki Naruto."
The applause, sprinkled with some confusion from the crowd, sounded once more as their names and faces were presented to the crowd. Naruto smiled as best he could, all the while cringing inside. This was not how he'd imagined things going for him.
/-/
"Ozpin, are you absolutely sure about this?" Glynda asked.
Not five minutes after finishing the initiation and making his way to his office, his deputy had immediately spoken her mind. It was something he had come to expect and even admire about the woman. Glynda Goodwitch was not one to simply ignore the Goliath in the room and would immediately voice her concerns whenever she had them. Additionally she would also give any possible alternatives that came to mind, knowing better than to simply complain about the Headmaster's decisions without having something constructive to offer in return.
"I'll admit it is a little unorthodox but it's not like we haven't bent the rules a little in the past," he pointed out.
"While I will agree with that, I'm more concerned by just how far you've bent them. It's one thing to allow Miss Rose into Beacon two years early. It's another thing entirely to allow the creation of a five man team. Certainly not even you could have been blind to the way she and Miss Schnee have acted around one another."
Ozpin would be hard-pressed to claim he hadn't. The dislike the two young women held for one another was palpable, enough so that many people had kept their distance for fear of being caught in the crossfire. That said, he could also see how Mr. Uzumaki felt about it, finding the whole affair tiresome rather than something with which to feed his ego.
"I have faith in them as well as their leader's ability to bridge the gap between them. Having said that I will keep a close eye on them. Should their feud escalate beyond his capabilities to handle I won't simply ignore it and hope it burns itself out."
"Let us hope it doesn't come to that," Glynda replied.
/-/
"Well that was certainly interesting," Weiss commented.
"I'll say. Never expected to be on a five-man team," Yang commented.
"Woman," Weiss clarified.
"Same diff and you're forgetting we have at least one man with us or have you forgotten your partner so soon?" Yang asked.
Naruto made no attempt to correct anyone. He was still reeling from the fact that not only did he have two partners but that he'd been made the leader of his own team. Any arguments made to the headmaster had been quickly shut down by the man as he explained to him, in a manner that suggested any attempts to change things would be futile, that he'd made the decision based on their actions in the field. Naruto thought otherwise but realized he didn't have much in the way of hopes of convincing the headmaster to reconsider his decision. As a result, he'd been saddled with two girls, both of whom refused to allow the other to be alone with him or allow him to be alone period. He could only pray that they'd calm down as time went on, otherwise it would be a long four years.
Before long they reached their dorm, surprisingly without incident, and Naruto swiped his scroll over the keypad to open it. He took only a couple steps inside before standing there, starring at the scene before him. There was nothing wrong with the room per se. It was a decent size with minimal furnishing to include their beds, a couple of desks, dressers, a closet, and a single bathroom. The main problem lay with the number of beds provided to them. As most teams were expected to only include four members there were, as expected, only four beds. That just left the question of who was going to be the odd man out in the scenario and Naruto had a terrible feeling that he was going to be that man.
"Well, this is interesting," Yang commented.
"It makes sense. They only expected a four-man team, not five," Blake replied.
"So does that mean some of us are going to have to share?' Ruby asked.
Silence pervaded for a moment as everyone took the time to digest what she'd just said. Ruby's face slowly began to turn the same shade of red as her cloak, a detail that did not go unnoticed by her sister.
"Um, you know, I wouldn't mind, um, volunteering my bed," she said quietly.
"Volunteering your bed for what, Miss Rose?" the stern voice of Miss Goodwitch asked from behind.
Ruby jumped and nearly tripped over her cloak. She wasn't the only one as almost every other member of her team had done the same with Naruto being the only exception.
"I was, um, just volunteering to give my bed to Naruto to sleep in," she said sheepishly.
"That's very considerate of you, though that leaves me wondering where you might sleep," Miss Goodwitch pointed out, giving her a stern look that dared her to suggest anything inappropriate.
"She can sleep with me," Yang piped in, coming to her sister's aid as she locked her in chokehold. "We did it all the time back home. It'll be just like a sleepover, albeit for four years."
"I can assure you it won't be nearly that long. It'll be a couple more days before we can have another bed moved into your dorm. Until then I was about to offer Mr. Uzumaki alternative accommodations but it seems everything's been taken care of."
Naruto had to repress the whimper that threatened to escape at the thought of having a private room if only for a couple days. He liked his partners, he truly did, but not so much their current behavior. Weiss was smart, sophisticated, and level headed while Ruby was cheerful, excited, and an all-around fun person. Since coming to Beacon, however, he'd seen a new side to the girls, one that had him fearing for his life. It was obvious things were only going to get worse before they got better which meant he'd need to think of some way to mitigate the damage before his friends did something that had him caught in the crossfire.
With their sleeping situation settled, Naruto decided to go ahead and claim the bed near the closet. Yang and Ruby took the bed on the opposite side with Blake taking the one next to theirs and Weiss claiming the available bed next to his. He could see Ruby wasn't pleased about being so far away from her shared partner but it was something she'd have to deal with for now.
"So, Naruto, how did you get into Beacon?" Yang asked once they were all settled.
"Huh?"
"Yea, you said you'd tell me once we got in," Ruby piped up.
"Yes, I must admit I'm curious as well. My sister told me a little of what happened but I'd like to hear it from your perspective."
"Oh, alright then," he said.
With his katana sitting in his lap, Naruto began recalling the events that had transpired that night. When the question was brought up of what had led him to Atlas he merely mentioned he'd been traveling through Mistral on a training mission and had decided Atlas would be his next stop. Any mention of his true intentions were glossed over as he knew none of them needed to know, let alone believe such a story. Hell, he'd had a hard enough time explaining it all to Raven.
The moment the story got to the Grimm invasion everyone leaned in noticeably. Ruby's facial expressions were too cute and Naruto had to exert all of his will power not to laugh out loud. She was eating it up and audibly gasped when he got to the part of the Goliath breaking through his ice wall with only himself standing in its path. He made sure to emphasize the fact that he felt completely out of his league and in no way thought himself capable of taking it down on his own. Regardless, Ruby still gazed at him in awe, making him feel just a bit proud of himself as he recalled (and maybe even embellished a few moments) of his battle with the Goliath right up until it was impaled by a large icicle as it jutted from the ground.
"That. Sounds. Amazing!" Ruby squealed.
"I must admit it does sound very impressive. It's certainly in line with what my sister Winter told me," Weiss confirmed.
"Badass leader," Yang piped in.
"Yea but certainly not something I'd want to do again anytime soon," he admitted.
"The fact that you faced a Goliath and lived is impressive in of itself," Weiss pointed out.
"So how did you two meet?" Yang asked, suddenly taking a turn in the conversation. "I've been wondering about that since you and Ruby got into a fight the night before initiation."
"That actually happened after the Goliath incident."
"Huh?"
"It turns out the village I'd saved was actually an important shipping port used by the SDC. Weiss' father decided to thank me personally by inviting me to a charity ball he was hosting."
"Father really just wanted to show him off. I doubt he actually cared about Naruto in the slightest," Weiss said in an irritated tone.
"Yea, I figured as much. Once I found an opportunity I decided to slip outside for some air. No one stopped me or came after me. That's when I saw Weiss training out in the courtyard and decided to join her."
"Oh, so it was love at first fight," Yang joked, wiggling her eyebrows for emphasis.
"Excuse me?" Weiss choked.
"Yang, that was terrible," Ruby said with obvious annoyance.
"Yea, I have to agree that was terrible," Naruto said, "and we just had a friendly spar, nothing more."
"Alright, if you say so," she said though the look she gave said she had something more planned for the future. "So what happened after?"
"I left Atlas and made my way to Vale where I met Ruby. I'm sure you already know that story."
"Yea, she told me about it. Kind of surprised she didn't make it up."
"I told you so!" Ruby griped.
"Speaking of, how did you end up coming to Beacon so soon?" Naruto asked.
"Oh, um," Ruby said nervously as she realized everyone's eyes were on her.
"She got into a fight with Roman Torchwick," Yang replied.
"Wait, what?"
"Yang," she whined.
"That's difficult to believe," Weiss scoffed.
"I have the news article to prove it," Yang challenged.
"I think I heard about that. Didn't Torchwick get away though?" Blake said.
"Yea, but it wasn't my fault."
"No's saying it is. Why don't you tell us what happened?" Naruto suggested.
Embarrassed, Ruby began to recall the events that had transpired that night. In contrast to Naruto's story which had every one of the edge of their seats in awe, Ruby's had them more or less cringing. While she'd managed to subdue his subordinates easily enough (something which surprised no one) attempting to take on Torchwick himself had possibly been the worst idea she'd had all night. Despite this she'd still rushed forward, attempting to subdue the criminal and nearly becoming a smear on the concrete roof as a result. It was only after Miss Goodwitch had intervened that the tide of battle had turned although Torchwick managed to escape and Ruby, thinking nothing wrong with her actions, had excitedly asked Goodwitch for her autograph before finding herself in a police station being lectured.
"That's when Ozpin showed up and offered me a place at Beacon," she finished.
"That's… interesting," Naruto said, still unsure of what to make of the story.
"It's insane is what it is," Weiss chimed in. "You're lucky to be alive."
"I was fine. My Uncle Qrow trained me."
"Which means little when facing off against a trained Huntsman like Torchwick. You're lucky he didn't kill you."
"Still, it does seem odd that the headmaster would ask you to join Beacon simply because you managed to survive an encounter with Torchwick," Blake pointed out.
"Hey, my sister earned her place here same as we did," Yang said, coming to her sister's defense.
"She's lucky they didn't lock her up and throw away the key. The fact that Miss Goodwitch was willing to send her off with a slap on the wrist is minimal compared to her actions being borderline vigilantism."
"How are my sister's actions any different from Naruto's? He's not a licensed Huntsman and yet he got praised and even a recommendation to be sent here."
"For one thing he was fighting Grimm and kept the damage AWAY from the village. Ruby was fighting Torchwick in the middle of the city. She's lucky no one else was hurt during their fight."
"None of that matters now," Naruto interrupted, hoping to put an end to the arguments. "What matters is we're all here and we've earned our place. Speaking of which, with everything that's happened I think we've also earned a good night's sleep as well."
"I concur. I could really use some rest, especially with classes being first thing in the morning," Weiss agreed.
With things settling down they got ready for bed with Naruto slipping into the bathroom to give the girls some privacy while they changed. Before long they'd each climbed into their own beds with Ruby and Yang sharing one. Though the sisters argued and teased one another it wasn't long before they'd each drifted off to sleep. Naruto soon followed suit, clutching his sword tightly to himself as the first day of the next four years came to an end.
/-/
Sleep came and went for Naruto all throughout the night. He assumed it must be nerves given the fact that he'd just started the first step to a much larger journey that would hopefully lead him back home. As such he didn't really get a full night's sleep, finally giving up on the prospect around six in the morning. With little else to do and not wanting to wake his teammates so early in the morning he instead snuck out to go for a run and get some exercise.
The cool morning air was welcoming and helped to ward off the sleep that threatened to once more lay claim to him. Running along the path that surrounded the school he found himself passing by a tree that seemed oddly familiar to him. Taking a moment to inspect it he realized that all it was missing was a rope swing and it would be just like the one outside the Ninja academy in Konoha Village.
Thinking back on it, he'd spent a great deal of time on that swing. Come to think of it he'd spent a lot of time alone in general. He would always see the other kids either with friends or family. Having neither for quite some time he'd always been envious of what everyone had, what he had been denied. It had been years before he understood why and even then it still didn't seem fair. To have his family taken away only to be marked as the vessel for a demon and treated as an outcast. He'd been dealt a shitty hand from the very beginning but despite that he'd found a way to make it through and he would continue to do so now.
By the time he was finished with his run and had taken a shower in the communal area, Naruto began making his way back to his dorm. From the screams he heard it was obvious everyone was up with no doubt Ruby and Weiss in yet another fight. Letting out an exasperated sigh he swiped his scroll, unlocking the door and stepping into the screaming match that had ensued.
"- have any idea what time it is?"
"I said I was sorry."
"That doesn't matter. The fact of the matter is you woke me up with a whistle. Who does something like that?"
"I tried waking you before but you refused to get up."
"That's because I need adequate beauty sleep you dolt."
"Yea, like that'll help."
"Excuse me!"
Not even an hour into their first day and already the two of them were at each other's throats. Naruto silently wondered if the headmaster's reasoning for lumping him together with them had been some crackpot plan to use him as a means to bridge the gap between them or if perhaps it was all an elaborate prank at his expense. While he didn't want to think ill of the man, he was quickly starting to suspect it was the latter.
"So what did I miss?" he asked Yang and Blake who were dressed and standing off to the side watching the feud.
"Ruby woke up, saw you were gone, woke us up to help her find you and subsequently pissed off the ice princess as a result."
"Ah," he said, somehow unsurprised. "Guess I'll leave a note next time."
With how loud they were screaming at one another, Naruto decided it was best to not add to the screaming match. Instead he put two fingers together, held them up to his mouth, and gave a sharp whistle. The effect was instantaneous with everyone covering their ears at the sharp noise. Having gained their attention, he gave both girls a disappointed look, one that neither could muster the courage to argue against.
"Now that I have your attention there are some things we need to discuss. First, your little catfights need to stop."
"Excuse me?"
"But she- "
He held up one hand, silencing them before they could attempt to argue. "I don't care who did what to whom. We are partners, all three of us. That means we're going to be around one another a lot for the next four years. So whatever beef you have for one another either put it aside or talk it out but we can't have this being a daily problem."
"It's not my fault," Ruby began to argue.
"Yes it is. You're acting like a child," Weiss accused.
"So are you," Naruto pointed out, causing Weiss to flinch in response. "You acting just as much of a child as she is. If you want to be taken seriously then you need to act the same way. Screaming and yelling will only do the opposite."
"Yea," Ruby agreed proudly.
"Don't start, you're in trouble too Ruby," he rounded on her, causing her to cringe. "You're being just as bad. You need to be respectful of others. This is a whole new level of maturity and you need to step up if you're to be taken seriously."
"Okay," she said, her eyes drifting to the floor guiltily.
"Alright, now that's out of the way get dressed and we'll make our way to breakfast."
As both girls begrudgingly set to work getting themselves ready for the day, Yang nudged Naruto in the side to gain his attention.
"Nice job reigning them in. I can see why Ozpin made you the leader."
"At least one of us knows. I'm still trying to figure out that man's logic," he admitted.
As soon as they were ready they headed down to the cafeteria as a team. By now they had at least thirty minutes left before class began, allowing them some time to eat though he made a mental note to try and cut off any infighting before it began again in the future to prevent them from losing any more time. Once everyone had gotten their food they quickly found a place to sit. Conveniently enough their sister team had saved some for them. Nora, the orange haired girl he'd seen riding in on an Ursa, had waved them down, inviting them to sit with their team.
"Isn't it awesome we all made into Beacon?" she asked.
"It is nice to see some familiar faces," the black haired boy sitting next to her said. "Hello, I'm Lie Ren."
"Uzumaki Naruto," he said before subsequently introducing the rest of his team.
"It does seem a bit odd that Headmaster Ozpin would make you a five-man team."
"Perhaps he saw something in them yesterday when they took down the Nevermore?" the redheaded girl suggested. "Hi, I'm Pyrrha Nikos."
"Hello," he replied, looking at her and for some reason getting the nagging feeling that he knew her from somewhere but couldn't quite place it.
"That's not much of a reaction," Weiss pointed out.
"What do you mean?" he asked confused.
"She's Pyrrha Nikos," she restated, earning a nervous smile from the girl.
"Yea, she just introduced herself."
"Don't you know who she is?"
"She looks familiar but I'm not sure why."
Weiss quickly explained who she was, recalling her victories in the Mistral tournaments and her exemplary skills that had people calling her a prodigy.
"Oh, okay," he said, completely unconcerned as he continued to eat his breakfast.
"What do you mean okay?" she asked in an indignant tone.
"What do you want from me Weiss?" he asked, already feeling tired and it was still early in the day.
"A bit more of a reaction. You're from Mistral, aren't you?"
"You're from Mistral as well?" Pyrrha asked, her question somehow showing less curiosity and more caution laced with panic.
"I lived in Mistral for a few years, yes," he replied.
"And you still don't know who she is?"
"To be fair I wasn't at all concerned with the tournaments. I was focused on more important things," he said, earning a grateful smile from Pyrrha.
"I just assumed that your family would have had better knowledge of such things given your skills with your weapon."
"I highly doubt that," he said.
"What makes you say that?"
"Because my family's dead," he said bluntly.
All at once the mood at the table died. Everyone starred at him, not so much for the news of his family's passing but for the ease with which he said it like he wasn't at all concerned by the fact that he had no family.
"What?"
"I- "Weiss started but quickly found her thoughts derailed.
"I'm so sorry," Pyrrha said, coming to her rescue.
"Don't be. My parents died when I was still an infant. I don't really know much about them or remember them to be honest."
"Still, that can't have been easy," Ren replied.
"Hard to miss what you never had," he replied.
"That's a bit morbid," Blake pointed out.
"Well, at least you had other people who cared about you," Yang said, waiting for Naruto to agree. "Right?"
At this point Naruto had stopped mid-bit, the small bit of egg speared on his fork hovering over his plate. In truth things had started to get better once he'd been assigned to Team 7. Being together with Sakura, Sasuke, and Kakashi Sensei had helped him to feel a part of something greater, something he wanted to hold onto forever and cherish. Before that, however, things had been difficult.
Being an orphan and worse yet the child who unknowingly harbored a demon which had attempted to destroy their village had made for a difficult childhood. He'd never understood why the adults always treated him poorly or why parents told their children to avoid playing with him. He never received a greeting when he returned home, never had anyone else to celebrate his birthday with. Occasionally the third Hokage would visit but that was usually to check up on him or give him funds for the month. Any questions he asked the old man about his parentage or where he came from were always avoided. He was left in the dark with no justification for why. It had made for a very lonely time in his life, one he didn't care to reflect on.
"We should get going, class is going to start soon," he said, picking up his tray to dump his half eaten food before walking out of the cafeteria.
/-/
"You're in a bit of a mood," Kurama pointed out.
"Hush, I'm just a little irritated."
"A little? Naruto, you're radiating such negativity that even I'm starting to feel on edge."
"I'm just a little annoyed by Weiss and Ruby. Maybe even the headmaster, I don't know. I'm just dealing with a lot right now and they're not making things easy."
"You say that as if anything in your life has ever been easy. I know I'm preaching to the choir, kid, but if you expected this to be smooth sailing then you're just fooling yourself. We knew this wasn't going to be easy the moment we took that first step along this path. Fact is we're going to be a dealing with a lot of setbacks. It may only be four years here but we've no guarantee that we'll find the answers we're looking for here within that time. Best get used to it and learn to roll with the punches."
"Wow, that was actually quite sensible. Are you getting soft on me?"
"Hush! I'm merely looking out for me. I have to share a body with you, you know, so the easier this is for you then the easier it is for me."
Naruto smirked, suppressing the laugh he had for Kurama's snippy remark but knowing it would seem odd given that no one else but him could hear him. He was right, though. They'd come here with no guarantee that they'd find the answers they'd been seeking outright. At best they would maybe find a few possible outlets for them to look into but, until they were finished with school, their ability to follow any leads they came across would have to be put on hold until they had more flexibility. Even so, it didn't make their current situation any easier. With Weiss and Ruby effectively acting like oil and water around one another it would take some time and effort on all their parts to get them to at least act civil. Hopefully he'd come up with something and soon, otherwise it was going to be a long four years at Beacon.
So, despite my desires to have an update for World War Remnant precede this, I found myself hit with a bit of writers block and, rather than spend endless amounts of time trying to overcome it, I decided to move onto my other stories which I knew I had some stories waiting in the rafters for. Figured it was best to put WWR on hold while I worked on other things.
While I know some of you wanted me to put Naruto on team JNPR in place of Jaune, I started working on this with an idea already of what I wanted. Having him be part of a five man team was a major part of it and while I know some of you will complain, keep in mind this show has the added of allowing a girl into Beacon two years early, placing her on a team with an ex-terrorist, and her best friend forged his transcripts to get in so I'd say I have a little elbow room when it comes to making a five man team work.
Like many people I don't care for fanfics that retell the events of initiation. My rule of thumb is if it doesn't require retelling then skip it unless you have some constructive changes to make and even then don't spent a lengthy amount of time on it. As such, while the events of initiation were included I tried to make it as short as possible, getting across what I wanted and moving on.
I'll be working on My Sister's Keeper after this. I'll take another crack at WWR but not sure when I'll have an update for that. Better to focus on the stories that I at least have something in mind for. Big plans in the works for Sister's Keeper. I read everyone's reviews so I know what many of you want or are expecting. Hopefully what I have in mind exceeds or circumvents what you assumed is going to take place. I won't spoil anything so be on the lookout for an update in the coming weeks.
As always fav, follow, and review. See you all next time.
