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Vale
The Vytal Festival had taken Vale by storm, descending on the kingdom like a swarm of locusts on a field of wheat. If it wasn't the shops that were hanging signs and banners in their front windows, promoting souvenirs to tourists or Dust and weapon mods and accessories to visiting students and Huntsmen, it was the overall decorations that had begun to transform the city itself. The high traffic areas especially were littered with them, ensuring that every available space had been taken up with promotions and decorations of every kind. It somewhat reminded Naruto of the festivals that would take place back home only this one seemed a bit more intense. Back in his village, food and game stalls would be set up along with stalls for vendors selling things like small toys and masks for kids to wear. There'd been decorations as well, though that had typically been limited to the festival area itself. Here, however, you were bombarded with it and, in all honesty, it was beginning to make him feel a little uncomfortable.
The only thing that was more unnerving to him was currently Weiss. On a typical day, the girl was usually proper, uptight, and even a bit snooty. They'd all come to tolerate this about her, considering it as part of her charm, but today she was acting in a manner that was a complete 180 from her usual demeanor. She had actually been the one to recommend (insist really but there was no sense trying to tell her that) to her team that they all spend the day down in Vale. More often than not it was either Yang or Ruby who wanted to venture out to Vale with Weiss reluctantly coming along though complaining about every little thing along the way. To see how she was now, however, had them all exchanging anxious looks. Even Kurama was a bit put off by the display.
"Isn't wonderful?" she asked cheerily. "A festival dedicated to the cultures of Remnant and we'll be here to experience it all."
"This girl is off her medication," Kurama said in Naruto's head.
"That's not a very nice thing to say about our teammate," Naruto shot back.
"She's your teammate, not mine, and don't chastise me. We share this body and I know you're creeped out by her behavior too. I can sense your feelings along with your thoughts. Either someone spiked her juice this morning or she suffered a brain injury in the middle of the night that's caused a massive swing in her mood."
"She's just excited for the festival. Anyone would feel the same," Naruto said as he tried to push aside the anxiety he was beginning to feel.
"Can you imagine the amount of planning and organization that goes into such an event?" she asked.
"Wow, Weiss, you sure know how to kill the mood, don't cha?" Yang asked.
"Yea, you've been smiling so much it's honestly starting to creep me out," Ruby added.
"Quiet you two. You could do well to learn from this experience as well as the history behind the festival itself," Weiss chided.
"Is that why you insisted we come down here? To learn? Weiss, I'm not going to slog through a full week of school only to spend my weekends doing some off the books research," Yang complained.
"Considering how much of that time you spend actually sleeping in class, this would be an excellent opportunity for you to catch up on everything you've missed. There's so much that history dedicated to the festival itself. Think of everything we can learn about Vale's culture, the culture's of the visiting Kingdoms- "
"I get the feeling this is building up to something I'm not going to like," Kurama commented.
"- and most importantly, all the information we can gather on the visiting teams which we can use to exploit their weaknesses during the tournament," she said, her cheery smile quickly turning sinister.
"Kill it! Kill it with fire!" Kurama demanded.
"Speaking of the tournament, what was it like out where you lived Naruto?" Yang asked.
"Oh, this is my first time actually," he replied.
"What!?" Weiss blurted out.
"You've never experienced the Vytal Festival before?" Ruby asked, giving him a concerned look.
"Where have you been living all this time?" Yang asked.
"With a bunch of bandits out in the middle of nowhere," Kurama replied.
"The village I grew up in was pretty isolated. I'd heard of the festival but never experienced it."
"Even when it came to Mistral?" Weiss questioned.
"No but we did having something similar. Growing up we had a yearly festival centered around a coming-of-age ceremony called the Chunin exams."
"I've never heard of that," Weiss replied.
"It sounds somewhat familiar. Not quite sure where I heard about it though," Blake mussed.
"It was something we conducted with some, uh… nearby villages. Teens of a certain age would travel to the hosting village to take an exam and even take part in a tournament. At the end the elected leaders of our villages would decide on who was granted the title of Chunin. Sometimes it was one person, other times multiple, and there were even cases of no one being chosen."
"What's a Chunin?" Ruby asked.
"It's a title. Basically, we each had responsibilities and our titles represented the level of responsibility as well as the expectations that came with them. There are others beyond that which I'll explain another time. All in all, it was a major part of our culture and something that we all looked forward to taking part in when we grew older."
"What was the highest rank you could reach?" Blake asked, showing genuine interest in what Naruto was explaining to them.
"Hokage which basically means you're the village leader."
"How many of these Hokage's have you had?" Weiss asked.
"Four so far. Our village was being run by the third Hokage when I left though he passed away not too long ago. I think they were in the midst of appointing a new one when I departed."
"Hmm, that sounds very interesting. I'd like to hear more about at some point. It seems like your village has some deep routed history. Usually villages out on the frontier don't last very long due to the Grimm but, from what you've told us so far, the alliance your village has with these others must be why you've all managed to survive this long."
"Yea, something along those lines," Naruto replied.
"Something doesn't make sense though," Ruby said. "You said your village was being run by the third village leader and when he passed away they were looking for a replacement."
"Yea, they would be the fifth Hokage."
"So, what happened to the fourth?"
"He died," he said nonchalantly.
"Eep!" Ruby said in surprise. "I-I'm so sorry!"
"Ruby, you dunce," Weiss chided.
"Don't worry about it. It happened a long time ago, about the same time I was born. I don't really remember it and we've mostly moved on from what happened."
"What did happen, if you don't mind me asking?" Weiss prodded.
"Our village was attacked. A lot of people died including the fourth Hokage."
"Bandits?" Blake asked.
"No, uh, a Grimm incursion. A big one."
"Damn, not too many people can say they walked away from that one," Yang commented.
"Yea, a lot of people died to protect our village, including my parents."
That little revelation was enough to dampen everyone's mood, enough so that they fell into an awkward silence that was only broken by the sounds of the crowds of people around them. While their external conversation may have hit a speed bump, Naruto's own conversation with Kurama was still ongoing.
"I must admit, that was an interesting way of creating some backstory for yourself. Certainly better than saying you spent most of your time in Mistral working with and training alongside some bandits."
"I learned from the best. Sometimes the best way to lie to people is to tell them the truth," Naruto replied.
"With a few creative embellishments," Kurama added.
"H-hey, Naruto, can I ask you something?" Ruby tentatively asked.
"Yea, sure. What about?"
"Why did you leave your village? Was it to become a Huntsman or was it for some other reason?" she asked, pressing her fingers together nervously.
It was to chase down a friend who was obsessed with taking revenge for his dead family he thought to himself, momentarily recalling the climactic battle he'd had with his old teammate, rival, and friend Sasuke. None of this he could really admit to them. It was too outlandish for anyone to believe and he knew it. However, there were some parts of it he could tell them that he might be able to rework to fit the narrative he was building, if only to make himself appear more like he was from their world and not from another one that was completely foreign to them. He took a few moments to craft his response, knowing that his long drawn out deliberation would only work to his advantage. When he was finally ready he took a breath, knowing he had their full undivided attention.
"I didn't have very many friends growing up in my village. I was largely seen and treated as an outcast. Honestly, had that been the only reason for me leaving not too many people would have argued with my decision."
"It wasn't the reason you left was it?" Weiss asked, catching on to what he was saying.
"No, to be perfectly honest I had every intention of staying. I even had aspirations of becoming the next Hokage."
"The village leader?" Ruby asked.
"Yep. The Hokage isn't just a village leader. They're the most respected and revered member of the village. Becoming the Hokage means you're someone deserving of everyone's respect. I wanted to become the Hokage so I could prove them wrong about me. Running away just felt like I would be giving up."
"That is a noble goal, if a bit misguided. That said, I can certainly understand why you would want to attain such a prestigious title. It does make me wonder why you left your village in the first place," Weiss commented.
"It was to bring a friend home," he replied. "Growing up I didn't have a lot of friends. Those that I did, however, were some of the people closest to me. One of them was a person named Uchiha Sasuke. He was an orphan, like me, and had lost his whole family when he was little. We were trained alongside one another, ultimately becoming rivals and even begrudgingly considering one another friends after a while. I even had a crush on the girl who had a crush on him."
"Oh, a love triangle. That's always fun," Yang said, eyeing both Ruby and Weiss as she spoke.
"Yea, well, unfortunately he wasn't interested in that. He was more interested in finding the man responsible for his family's deaths and avenging them."
"He wanted revenge?" Weiss asked.
"Yea, enough so that he left our village and everyone behind to pursue it. I was asked by his crush to go find and bring him home. I didn't need to be asked twice. I already had the intention of doing just that and went off in search of him."
"What happened?" Ruby inquired.
"I found him. I tried talking him down, convincing him to return home with me. He refused. We argued for a while and before long our argument devolved into a fight. It got bad. Real bad. I ended up getting knocked unconsciousness towards the end. Just before I blacked out, I almost thought he might actually try and kill me. He didn't, obviously, but when I woke up he was gone. Since then I've been traveling the world, looking for him, with the hopes of bringing him home and keeping my promise."
"That's what led you to becoming a Huntsman. It would give you a better chance of tracking him down and maybe even beating some sense into him," Weiss concluded.
"Yea, something like that," Naruto agreed, letting her craft her own ending for him.
"Do you think you'll meet him again?" Ruby asked.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, do you think you'll maybe see him during the tournament? If you two were friends and rivals, maybe he got the same idea you did and decided to become a Huntsman as well."
"I-, "Ruby's explanation caused him to stop, a question he hadn't considered before beginning to form in his mind. What if Sasuke had ended up traveling to Remnant just like he had? Granted, he had nothing to back this up but there also wasn't any proof to say he was wrong. Given what had happened and the powers he'd borrowed from Orochimaru along with his curse mark, there was a vague possibility he might have ended up in this world as well, just in a completely different place than him. Of course, if this was true then it would make sense why they hadn't seen one another. Remnant was a big place, after all. There was no telling where he might have ended up and with whom. Not only that but Sasuke had always been better trained and disciplined than him. There was nothing to say he wasn't out there, looking for a way back, silently watching Naruto and taking note of his progress.
"I hadn't considered that," he replied.
"Well, if he is walking the same path as you, there's a good chance we'll see him during the tournament and, if not, then he might just see you. The Vytal Festival is televised all over Remnant, after all. No doubt he'll see us fighting in the tournament as well."
"Yea, that makes sense."
They walked for a while, Naruto silently contemplating the possibility of Sasuke having traveled to this world along with him and, if so, how he was supposed to find him. As far as his priorities went, figuring out if Sasuke was here and convincing him to go back with him were fairly low on his list of priorities. His main reason for joining Beacon was to learn more about Remnant itself and hopefully find a way home. If a way existed and he discovered it then convincing Sasuke to come home with him just might prove to be that much easier. It would mean he could hold the possibility of him taking revenge for his family's deaths over his head, as shallow as that was. However, there was also the small chance that Sasuke might have had the same idea only he didn't know Naruto was here nor would he be looking for him. If he found a way back home first, it could leave Naruto stranded with no way home and no way of fulfilling his promise to Sakura as well.
"Hey, somebody stop that no good stowaway!"
Shouting from the docks quickly drew Naruto out of his contemplation and he glanced towards the water where he could see a small ship was docked. Several men were shouting and chasing after a boy with blond hair, tanned skin, and a monkey tail wearing a white unbuttoned shirt, jeans rolled up to his knees, and a pair of sneakers. Despite being outnumbered, the boy proved to be nimble and quick on his feet. He easily out maneuvered his pursuers, dancing around them before climbing up a nearby lamppost to hang from by his tail while he ate a banana.
"Hey, I'm a great stowaway. A no good stowaway would have gotten caught," the boy argued.
The men ignored his comment, racing towards him with the intent of surrounding him and cutting off all escape routes. This proved futile as he quickly polished off his banana and threw the peal into their midst. Unable to react fast enough, one man slipped on the peal and, in his panic, reached out for something to steady himself. That something proved to be his fellow sailors who came toppling down to the ground in a mass of limps. With a hearty laugh the boy jumped down from his perch before racing up the docks and past them. As he ran past them, Naruto saw his face turn towards Blake and for a moment he thought the boy might have winked at her. He was gone a moment later, leaving him standing there puzzled. Weiss, on the other hand, was quick to recover.
"After him!" she ordered.
Before anyone could point out the fact that she wasn't their team's leader, she was off and running after the boy. Reluctantly they followed, doing their best to keep up with Weiss who was surprisingly fast despite the fact she was wearing heels. She didn't make it far, though, as she rounded a corner and promptly slammed into someone. They caught up to her to see the heiress splayed out on the ground with the other person laying just opposite her and looking surprisingly fine despite the unexpected collision.
"Uge, my head," Weiss groaned, sitting up and rubbing a small bump on her head.
"Weiss are you okay?" Ruby asked, rushing to aid her.
"Yes, I'm alright. What did I run into?"
"Salutations!" the other person, a girl by the looks of her, said loudly.
Naruto and the girls jumped back, caught off guard by the girl's jubilant greeting. It was certainly an unexpected one, not only for the fact that she been had laid out on the ground only moments earlier but that she had risen to her feet and had a cheery smile on her face despite what had just happened. It was less reassuring and more creepy, a thought which he could see every member of his team was no doubt sharing if the looks on their faces was anything to go by.
"Um, hello?" Ruby said, unsure of how to respond.
"Greetings fellow humans. My name is Penny Poledina. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."
"Uh, yea, sure," Yang said, giving the girl an awkward glance.
"Hi Penny, um, I'm Ruby- "Ruby began.
"Ruby Rose, of team NWBYR, led by Uzumaki Naruto. You're also one of his partners with the other being Weiss Schnee," Penny interrupted.
"How did you know all that?" Ruby asked, a little put off by the girls sudden divulging of information regarding their team.
"Probably because we weren't the only ones who realized just how important and advantageous it is to look into the other teams participating in the tournament," Weiss explained hotly.
"Uh, yes, it is exactly as Miss Schnee just said and no other reason," Penny replied with a smile.
"There is something seriously wrong with this girl," Kurama commented.
"Be nice, she's probably just nervous about meeting new people," Naruto replied, making the excuse for the girl despite the feeling of unease that was creeping up his spine.
"I'm serious Naruto, this girls isn't human."
"What do you mean?" he asked, noticing the urgency in Kurama's voice.
"Everything about her is off. Her scent, her heart beat, even her eyes. They all seem artificial. I can't be sure but I think she's one of those artificial manikins we encountered in Atlas."
"The Atlasian knights? You mean she's a robot?"
"I think so but I can't be sure."
"How come?"
"I can sense her life force. It's odd but it's there and only a living creature with a soul can generate life force."
"Well that's… interesting," Naruto mussed, uncertain of how he should process this new information. "You think she might have started out as a living person but had an accident and was put into an artificial body to keep her alive?"
"It could be possible," Kurama agreed. "Normally I'd say it's too similar to those sci-fi comics you read sometimes but, given all the strange things we encountered in Atlas, not to mention the rest of Remnant, I can't say it's not possible. Still, the way she acts is rather strange. Even if it were true, most people wouldn't greet each other by saying greetings fellow humans."
"Maybe she was young when it happened?" Naruto surmised.
"And experienced some serious brain damage as a result," Kurama concluded.
"By the way, Miss Poledina, you wouldn't have happened to see a Faunus run by this way, would you?" Weiss asked, completely oblivious to the private conversation Naruto had been having with Kurama.
"Why yes, I've seen several faunus during my tour of the city today," the girl answered cheerily.
"We're looking for one in particular. He's a monkey Faunus, blonde haired, a real ruffian. He ran by here just a moment ago."
"Hmm, let me search my memory banks," Penny replied, oblivious to the odd looks Naruto and the girls gave her. "I'm sorry but I don't recall anyone matching that description. I've seen at least three monkey Faunus and over a dozen blonds today but none that coincide with your description."
"He escaped us then," Weiss snarled. "No doubt he's off to meet with some of his White Fang associates."
"Excuse you!? That's racist!" Blake barked.
"How is it racist?" Weiss asked in an indignant tone.
"You're assuming that just because he's a Faunus that he's part of the White Fang. You have no evidence to support your biased assumptions."
"I'm basing my observations off of personal experience, thank you very much," she replied angrily.
"No, you're basing them on the assumption that just because he's a Faunus then he must be part of the White Fang as well. That's no different than saying anything with the SDC logo must have been acquired through the exploitation of their workers and backroom deals, neither of which would be too far off."
"How dare you," Weiss snarled.
"Please tell me they're not going to be doing this all day long," Kurama pleaded.
/-/
Despite Kurama's wish, Blake and Weiss continued to argue the whole way back to their dorm room. Not even the loud droning of the bullhead was enough to drown them out as they're volume had risen to such heights that they could make them out perfectly despite the overbearing engine noise. It was enough to tempt him to start looking for one of the empty dorm rooms to crash in for the night. Anything to get away from the fighting, if only so he could get some sleep. The worst part of it, though, came when Weiss attempted to drag Naruto into their squabble and get him to support her viewpoint. Say what you would about him, while he was loyal he wasn't stupid.
"You agree with me, don't you Naruto?" Weiss asked.
"Don't try to involve me. This has nothing to with me," he said, crossing his arms in a hands off fashion.
"But I'm your partner," she scoffed.
"And I'm also Blake's teammate and you're team leader," he said, pointing to them both, "both of which are good reasons for me to not take sides and maintain as unbiased a stance on this issue as possible."
Weiss scowled, obviously disappointed by this turn of events, but Blake gave him an appreciative look. He merely nodded in response. While he'd only heard about the White Fang through word of mouth and various news outlets, he'd known about as little about them as he had the SDC. Again, what he'd heard was mostly word of mouth, both good and bad. In the end he'd decided not to give the two of them much thought. Aside from the party he'd been made to attend, he didn't care much for the SDC and didn't feel any pressing need to ally himself with them.
"Despite what you may think, I'm well aware of how the world sees me and my family. I've had to live with the rumors and scandals surrounding my father's questionable business practices and I know how that has placed in a negative light. As a result, I've spent most of my life attempting to please him and his over inflated sense of perfection while also dodging attempts on my life and my family's from people like the White Fang. I've even had to attend several funerals of family friends, associates and business partners who became targets of those terrorists all because of my family name. You may think I'm racist and biased when it comes to the Faunus, but I have years of personal experience for why I act the way I do."
"That still doesn't excuse your overall treatment of him. I understand that living in fear of terrorists would leave you wary to be around other Faunus but that doesn't give you the right to lump them all into the same group without proof of their actions."
"Well maybe if they would do the same with my family instead of attacking us without provocation," Weiss snapped.
"Well maybe we were just tired of being pushed around!" Blake shouted.
The room went deadly silent as the weight of Blake's words sank in. Yang and Ruby starred at her, stunned by what they'd just heard. It could easily be explained away as a slip of the tongue but, given Blake's mortified expression, it was anything but. Weiss' own face went through several emotions beginning with surprise before moving onto confusion, then disgust, before finally settling on subtle fear as she began to slowly back away from her. Blake barely registered this, her eyes darting towards the door before she bolted, bursting through and down the hall within seconds. It took a moment for the events to kick into everyone's minds as Yang quickly sprang after her partner while Weiss sank to the floor, relief mixed with mortification at what had just happened.
"Well, it seems the cat's out of the bag, literally," Kurama said.
"Yea, and somehow I think things are only going to get worse from here," Naruto replied.
/-/
The next several hours until morning seemed to drag on. Yang returned nearly an hour after she'd given chase, having failed to locate her partner and hoping she had returned to their dorm. Weiss was beside herself and kept insisting that they take the matter to Headmaster immediately. Naruto dismissed this, pointing out that Ozpin would have known if Blake had been White Fang and as such wouldn't have intentionally allowed her to placed on the same team as Weiss if he believed her life was in any danger. While Weiss remained unconvinced, he did manage to placate her by offering to stand guard should Blake return. She reluctantly agreed, going to bed while Naruto took up a watch until she'd fallen asleep. After that, he too went to bed, asking Kurama to wake him if he sensed Blake's presence. While he didn't expect her to come back tonight, he did want to take the opportunity to talk with her if she did. There was obviously more to her story than they'd been told and he was curious to find out more.
The next morning at Breakfast Weiss immediately regaled team JNPR with the events of the previous day, events which were greatly exaggerated by her own personal account and her claims that at any moment Blake could have killed her in her sleep. Naruto waited patiently for her to finish before he retold the events of the previous day, minus Weiss' biased accounting and sticking to the facts. Weiss was rather perturbed by this but stayed quiet. It was only when Yang suggested that they go down into Vale to look for Blake when she started to argue against it. It was obvious Weiss wanted nothing to do with her teammate anymore and, as far as she was concerned, she was as good as dead. Despite this both Ruby and Naruto agreed, grabbing their stuff and making for the landing pads moments later. When Weiss protested about them going, Naruto suggested she stay at Beacon while they went to look for her. Being faced with three to one odds, Weiss reluctantly came along, stating she didn't want to be left alone as Blake would no doubt use that as an opportunity to attack her. Naruto merely rolled his eyes, refraining from pointing out that Beacon was the safest place she could be and that, if Blake did attack her, fully trained Huntsmen would come to her aid in moments.
As such they now found themselves down in Vale, having spent a few hours talking and asking people about Blake but with nothing to show for it. They were effectively looking for a needle in a stack of needles and, given that it was just the three of them (Weiss refused to help look and simply stood around complaining) their efforts would prove all but futile in the end.
"I don't understand why you all insist on wasting your time looking for her when we should be going to the Headmaster or better yet the police," Weiss complained.
"They'll have her arrested. I'm not doing that to my partner, not until we've had a chance to talk things out," Yang countered.
"She's a criminal Yang, she all but admitted it to us last night."
"You're just assuming that she is. She never actually said she was part of the White Fang, only that she's a Faunus."
"Then why did she run Yang? The innocent don't run."
"Maybe she ran because she was afraid of a certain white haired, entitled little bitch turning around and making her life a living hell simply because she was a Faunus the whole time," Yang growled, stalking up to Weiss and pushing her face into her guard.
"I'm honestly surprised it took all of you this long to realize she was a Faunus," Naruto commented.
His off the cuff comment was enough to break them lose from their argument. Weiss and Yang slowly turned their heads to regard him, giving him a quizzical look. They obviously thought he was joking but, from what they could make of his expression, he was quite serious. Even Ruby found this surprising, looking to her sister for confirmation and receiving a shoulder shrug in response.
"You knew she was a Faunus?" Weiss asked.
"Yes."
"The entire time?" Yang chimed in.
"Yes," he said again.
"How?" Weiss asked, clearly unconvinced. "How were you able to notice that she was a Faunus when the rest of us didn't?"
"Her bow obviously?" he replied, using it as a convenient excuse despite Kurama being the one to actually let him in on her secret.
"Huh?"
"Her bow? The one she never took off. Not to sleep or shower or at any point in front of us, at least," he pointed out.
The girls' collective looks of disbelief quickly gave way to realization as they each thought back to their interactions with Blake and slowly began putting the pieces together. He was right. At no point had any of them thought to question Blake's overarching need to keep her bow on at all times. At the time they had considered it something of an accessory, an extension of her combat uniform, and thus hadn't thought to ask her about it. Now, though, they soon realized she had been using it to conveniently hide her Faunus heritage from them in plain sight and they'd been none the wiser.
"Oh my gods, he's right," Yang groaned. "Naruto noticed it before I did and I'm her partner."
"She does eat a lot of fish," Ruby added.
"If you knew why didn't you inform the rest of us?" Weiss asked, quickly overcoming her disbelief and rounding on him with an accusatory glare.
"It wasn't my secret to reveal," he said easily.
"Excuse me?"
"Blake obviously wanted to keep her Faunus heritage a secret. Whatever her reasons for doing so are hers alone to tell but I suspect it had something to do with how poorly the Faunus are treated, not only in the kingdoms but also in school. Even though Beacon caters to both Humans and Faunus, the Faunus are still treated poorly by some of the other students. Knowing that, it doesn't surprise me she would keep something like this a secret."
"That still doesn't excuse the fact that she kept it from us. We should have been informed," Weiss argued.
"Why? Because you're Weiss Schnee?" he asked, watching with some satisfaction as she flinched back at the comment. "The fact that none of the teachers informed us probably means that there was nothing pressing to inform us of. I'm sure if there was something in her background of the criminal level, we would have been informed of it immediately. I honestly doubt she would have been let into Beacon otherwise," he said, watching as Weiss quietly fumed, any counter arguments she might have had beginning to fall flat.
"Well I don't trust her. She ran off without any explanation. We should be taking this matter to the Headmaster, at least to inform him of what's happened," Weiss stated.
"We'll do that after we've found her and given her chance to tell us her side of things," he said, turning and walking down the street.
"Where are you going?" Weiss asked.
"To try and find her. Our efforts aren't going to do much to help us locate her. I'm going to see if I can at least locate and corner her, hopefully long enough to talk her down."
"And how do you plan on doing that? Vale is a large city. You don't even know where to start looking," Weiss pointed out.
"There's a bookstore nearby that she liked to frequent," he pointed out, "I'm going to ask the owner if he's seen her at all today and maybe start from there. Just so you're aware, I was trained on how to track people in an urban environment. Part of our training for the Chunin exams back in my village. Hopefully it'll come in handy here."
"I'll come with you. It'll be easier with two people," Weiss offered.
"No, you'll stay with Yang and Ruby. Having more people coming along will only slow me down."
"What?" she said aghast, "but I'm your partner."
"You're also partly to blame for Blake running away like she did. If she sees you there's a good chance she'll just take off again. Better I go it alone than with you in tow."
"You expect me to just stand around and wait while you go off after a criminal?" she scoffed.
"Allegedly," Yang commented.
"Honestly, I'd rather you went back to Beacon and waited for us there," he said, ignoring the indignant look she gave him in response. "It would be more helpful than you are now, doing nothing but standing around complaining."
Weiss recoiled at the comment and Naruto didn't wait for a response before he set off. He'd already wasted enough time arguing with her and there was no telling what kind of trouble Blake might have gotten into while he was out here searching for her.
"Kurama, think you can pick her out of the city?" he asked.
"I figured you were going to ask that. I can sense her life force. She's not too far away. I'll direct you as best I can. The rest will be up to you. I hope you have a plan for how you're going to handle things."
"When do I not?" Naruto asked, ignoring the scoff from his friend as he took off down the street.
/-/
Sun sipped the herbal tea he'd ordered, the overall taste of plant flavored water lost on him as he attempted to digest the veritable shitstorm that had been Blake's explanation of her life growing up in the White Fang, helping to turn it onto its more violent path and then jumping ship when things became too much for her. Honestly, he'd just tagged her as being a cute Faunus girl who was hiding her heritage in an effort to avoid being bullied and ran off when her secret was revealed to her team sooner than she'd wanted. He'd tagged himself as the charming rapscallion who would swop in to offer a shoulder to cry on and an ear to listen to her as they slowly drew closer, inevitably starting a relationship that would lead to something more down the line. At least, that's what he'd pictured in his mind. In his defense, his only point of reference had been the library of romcoms his cousin kept on her scroll and practically swooned over during her movie nights. He'd never really cared for them all that much. Give him a decent detective movie any day.
All that said, he could be forgiven for having felt like he might have bitten off more than he could chew. The moment Blake revealed she'd been a former member of the Fang, he'd nearly choked on his tea and soon found his confidence levels taking a nose dive as she continued to speak. Still, Sun Wu Kong was no coward. He didn't back down from a challenge, no matter how demanding or imposing it may seem. He merely needed to reassess the situation and plan accordingly. First step was helping Blake make up with her teammates. That would obviously ingratiate him with her friends and help him come up with more ways he could use as excuses for spending time with her.
"So what now?" he asked.
"Now I need to find the White Fang."
"What? Are you crazy?"
"I need to find them and prove that they're not behind the Dust robberies happening all over Vale. I need to show Weiss that they're not criminals like she assumes them to be."
"Uh, aren't they terrorists though?" Sun pointed out.
"That's not the point. I'm not excusing what they've done outside of Vale to earn that reputation. I just need to prove that someone else is using that reputation to hide their own actions and mislead the police while they conduct these robberies."
"Alright, how are you going to do that?"
"I have a plan. There's a Dust shipment arriving at the Vale harbor tonight. No doubt whoever is behind these robberies will want to hit that the moment it arrives."
"And you're going to do this alone?"
"I have to Sun," she replied.
"Don't you think that's a bad idea? I'm all for proving your teammates wrong about something they're just ready to assume is true but I can't just sit by and let you go this alone. Maybe you should contact your team, have them back you up."
"No, if I do that then they'll just drag me off to Beacon. We'll never get this resolved and I'll never be able to prove to Weiss that she's wrong."
"And what if they decide to involve themselves?" he asked.
"They'd have to know what I'm planning for starters. Are you saying you're going to run off and tell them on me?" she asked, narrowing her gaze on him in a threatening manner.
"No, no, I'm just saying," he replied defensively, "I only thought to ask because the blond-haired gut you were with yesterday is standing right behind you."
Blake didn't even think to question whether or not he was joking with her. In one swift movement she rose from her seat and turned, ready to bolt the moment she caught sight of her team leader. She figured she'd see him in the doorway to the second floor of the café, having arrived here by chance and possibly having not noticed her. It would give her time to leap over the balcony and onto the street below. What she hadn't anticipated was for him to be standing right behind her, eyes narrowed and mouth set in a firm frown. Before she had a chance to react he placed a firm hand on her shoulder, shoving her back down into her seat before she had a chance to run towards the edge.
"We need to talk," he said, his firm tone implying she was to remain seated.
"Uh, hi, I'm Sun Wu Kong, leader of team SSSN from Haven Academy," Sun replied in a nervous voice as he extended his hand to shake Naruto's.
"Uzumaki Naruto, leader of team NWBYR. Thanks for keeping an eye on our wayward teammate," he said, shaking his hand firmly.
"No problem," Sun replied, relaxing at the friendly gesture offered.
"Could I ask for a moment with Blake? She and I need to discuss a few things, teammate to teammate."
"Yea, sure, I'll leave you two to it," he said, vacating his seat.
Blake shot him an accusatory glare as he maneuvered around to let Naruto sit. In response he gave her an apologetic shrug, asking what she'd expected him to do. In truth she couldn't blame him. She hadn't expected any of her teammates to locate her, let alone corner her so easily. Now here she was, sitting across from her team leader and about to get lectured for running away. Her eyes flickered to the balcony edge once more and she contemplated the odds of her managing to make it before Naruto could start to pursue.
"I wouldn't if I were you," he said, drawing her attention back to him, "even if you did manage to evade me, I'd still find you and then I'd tie you down and haul you back to Beacon for good measure."
"Why haven't you done that already?" she asked curiously.
"I know there's a reason behind your decision to bolt than you let us know last night. Now, Weiss has been very vocal regarding her reasons for why she dislikes- "
"You mean hates," Blake interrupted.
"- dislikes Faunus," he continued, "and while I can understand her reasoning to a point, I also know there's your side to consider as well."
"You honestly think it matters?" she scoffed.
"I wouldn't be here if I didn't," he replied honestly.
"Look, I understand your doing this to try and fulfill your role as team leader but drop it, okay? You have no idea what my life has been like. You have no idea what it feels like to be treated like trash, to be overlooked and judged simply because you were born with an extra pair of ears and then deemed acceptable to be labeled as a criminal by the rest of society simply because they see you as being beneath them," she hissed.
"Then let me tell you something Blake," Naruto said, leaning in as his tone took on a dangerous edge to it that had her shrinking back. "Out of everyone on your team, I'm the most capable of sympathizing with what you've been through. Out of all five of us, I know better than anyone how it feels to grow up surrounded by people who look down on you, who treat you like a disease and actively avoid you as a result. I know how it feels to have adults lash out at you, call you derogatory names and teach their children to act the same way simply because you were born with something you couldn't control. I know how it feels to be surrounded by people who actively hate you and to have the overwhelming feeling of wanting to lash out at them because of it. The only difference between you and I is that you had the benefit of knowing why everyone hated you."
Blake could see no hint of lies in Naruto's eyes as he spoke. His words and expression all gave credence to the sincerity of his words, ensuring that she understood that everything he said was true. It peeked her curiosity, the thought of what his life must have been like, what he had been put through to lead him to understanding how she must have felt to be ousted as a Faunus. She put that thought aside, however, as that wasn't what was important at the moment.
"Alright, what do you want?"
"I want to hear your side of the story," he replied easily.
"Why? Hasn't Weiss informed you all of what the White Fang are and how undeserving of your sympathy I am for hiding the fact that I'm a Faunus?" she asked in a sarcastic tone. Her mood quickly wilted when Naruto gave her a disapproving glare, one that showed he was well beyond the point of jokes.
"Weiss has given us her side of things, yes," he said diplomatically, "and I know there's more to this than what she assumes to be true. She thinks you could have and would have killed her in her sleep if given the chance. I know this isn't true," he said quickly, seeing her move to defend herself from the accusation, "you've had plenty of opportunities but never took them. The very fact that you ran immediately after ousting yourself as a Faunus tells me it was never about her. It was about you, about your past, and how you wanted to keep it secret from us."
"I would have told you all, eventually," she replied in a small voice, "I just wasn't ready."
"You didn't trust us," he replied, watching her bow dip as her ears attempted to flatten against her scalp, "so why don't you put some effort into it by trusting me now. I came here to hear your side of things and that's what I intend to do."
Reluctantly, Blake once more reiterated the story she'd told to Sun several minutes ago. Unlike the blonde Faunus, Naruto didn't act surprised by what he heard. Everything she said seemed to barely register with him and the surprisingly small amount of questions he asked throughout only seemed to lend credence to this fact. By the end she was unsure of how exactly Naruto felt about everything. His expression was difficult to read and gave away nothing. At most she was able to understand, or at least assume, that he was mulling it all over in his mind. A few times she thought it looked like he might be carrying on a one-sided conversation with himself in his own mind though she couldn't be too sure of it. Everyone had their own way of working through problems so she didn't have any right to judge if this was his way of working through everything he'd just been told.
"Alright, so, just to be clear you're no longer part of the White Fang," he said.
"Yes, the way I left them made that quite clear," she confirmed.
"And Professor Ozpin knew all this when you came to join Beacon?"
"He knows everything. I spoke to him personally before I was accepted. You can talk to him if you want to confirm anything."
"That's fine, I'll trust you on that. Weiss might want to speak with him but that's up to her to decide," he replied. "What are your plans for how you're going to handle all this?"
"I'm planning on catching the real culprits in the act. If I can get proof that the White Fang are innocent, at least of the Dust robberies happening here in Vale, then I can go back and prove Weiss wrong."
"What else?" he prodded.
"What do you mean?" she asked. "I already have a plan. I know where they'll strike next and I'm only going to record them performing the robbery so- "
"That's not what I mean," he interrupted. "Isn't there something else you think you should do that might be more important than proving Weiss wrong? Something to do with your team?"
Blake gave him a quizzical look. It was obvious all his hints were going over her head and this only served to infuriate Naruto more. She immediately recognized this and was surprised when he fixed her with an accusatory glare as he once more tore into her.
"Do you have any idea what your little stunt did to your teammates last night? To your partner?"
"I- "she started.
"Yang could hardly sleep. Ruby has been beside herself and the two of them have been persistently asking people since early this morning if they've seen you. They've thought of nothing but your safety since you left. You understand that? Neither of them were concerned with the fact that you were keeping your Faunus heritage from them. They were more concerned about where you were sleeping last night, if you were eating, or if you were even still alive. I honestly felt the same until I found you here, calmly sipping tea with the stowaway we met yesterday and thinking only of yourself and of proving Weiss wrong while your friends are worried sick about you," he snarled.
"I- I didn't think- "
"No, you didn't," he interrupted. "Here," he said, sliding his scroll across the table, "you left yours in our dorm when you bolted."
"What do you want me to do?" she asked.
"What do you think? I want you to call Yang and Ruby. I want you to apologize for running out on them and assure them you're alright and I want you to promise that you won't pull a stunt like this again and will instead trust them enough to talk to them about it before doing something so stupid and reckless like this again."
Tentatively, Blake took the scroll. It opened easily enough and, after going to his contacts list, she found the names of her teammates inside. They were the only ones registered which led to a whole host of new questions but she kept those to herself.
"What happens after?" she asked, wondering what Naruto might have had planned for her.
"After, we'll go get some supplies and find a spot with a good vantage point where we'll wait for the culprits to show up, record them in the act, and return to Beacon to hand over the evidence to Ozpin. I think we can both agree he'll use it to put the real culprits behind bars."
"Wait, we?" she asked.
"Yes. You didn't think I was going to let you do this alone, did you?"
"You can't be serious. You don't trust me enough to do this one my own?"
"Exactly," he replied, the curt confirmation rendering her speechless. "After everything that's happened, do you honestly expect me to just let you go and trust that something doesn't go wrong that could end with you seriously injured or worse?" he asked, not waiting or giving her time to come up with an answer. "Call them, apologize, then I'll explain the situation and you and I will go together. I have every intention of coming back with you, alive. I'm not about to stop now."
Blake didn't say anything. Slowly, she took the scroll and pressed the button to call Yang. While he waited, listening to the conversation that soon ensued, he heard Kurama grumble something to him that he almost didn't hear.
"I have a bad feeling about this."
If he were being honest, so did he.
Surprise, this story isn't dead, even though at one point I thought it might be. Honestly, taking some time off from this story was one of the best decisions I've made in a while. At the time I was writing this in conjunction with World War Remnant and both stories had reached this point in the RWBY universe which led my brain to begin blending the chapters in such a way that I started to see myself repeating the same thing. By the end I decided to take a break from this story and, later on, stopped writing WWR completely. Now that I've returned to this I feel refreshed and have a better understanding of which direction I want this to take.
Just to be clear, I know there are going to be people who think I'm writing Naruto as someone who's smarter or more intelligent than he was in his show but, honestly, Naruto isn't an idiot. He only comes across that way because he was on a team with a shinobi protégé (Sasuke) and their class's top student (Sakura) so of course he's going to look dumb by comparison. In reality, though, he's very smart, very talented, and incredibly hard working. He mastered the Shadow Clone Jutsu almost instantly and is able to give them mass. Kakashi can't do that. He's also been shown to be able to master jutsu and techniques fairly quickly, especially ones that took other people years to master on their own. Having said all that, I'm writing Naruto as a smart character simply because he is. He's just hung around other people who make him look average by comparison.
One of the ideas that I'm glad made its way into this story was the Chunin exams. I'm honestly thinking of incorporating more of Naruto's life from his village and even some of the missions he went on into this story as a way of him creating a backstory for himself that's somewhat true a lie all at the same time. Just one of those things where you realize the best lies are built on a foundation of truth.
Not much of Hyorinmaru in this chapter. Planning on having some more interactions between him and Naruto in the next chapter as well as more Bleach/Soul Society related spiritual powers as well. Really should rewatch the show to give myself some context but I'll be doing my best to research everything beforehand so that it comes across more real within the context of this story.
Let me know what you guys think of this chapter. See you again soon.
