A/N: As ever, the Embers rule persists. If folks don't like this?
Poof! Gone! Awaaaaay to the void it goes. Gone once and for all. Forever. Completely.
So by all means, speak up! Raise your voice! Make yourself heard! Your reviews matter! Really, they do!
Now onto your questions!
Q: So this Naruto is the Remnant equivalent of John Wick?
A: Times ten. Dwell on that for a moment.
Q: Waitaminute...sowed some wild oats...you tellin' me he's got kids in this story?!
A: *laughs* Read and see.
Q: Roman's boned, ain't he?
A: Roman, Neo, and anyone fool enough to associate with him. Naruto let him go to send a message.
Never was it said that he wouldn't hunt Roman down for what he did.
As ever, I own no references, quotes, themes or memes.
Really, it would be easier if I did...
...hope this makes you smile~!
And awaaaaay we go!
"One does not barter with death. Nor does one bribe the devil.
You run from them. You hide from them.
Pray they don't notice you.
Oh, yes. You pray.
PRAY."
~?
Just a Nobody
Naruto's broom attacked the floor ruthlessly.
There were no survivors.
The whiskered warrior hummed softly while he worked, sweeping bits of broken glass and shattered dust out into the street. It was slow going. Tedious even. Roman's men had made quite a mess; to say nothing of the hole he'd blasted in the ceiling. Really, he could have used his shadow clones to expedite the process tenfold by now, but it was the little things in life -things like this!- that kept him going. It also gave him time to think, to consider just how he was going to make Torcwhick pay for his transgressions.
"Or maybe you're just stalling." Kurama yawned from his customary perch on counter. "We both know what comes next, don't we?"
Without missing a beat the blond swept up a bit of desiccated dust and winged it at the fox's head.
"If you can talk, you can help." he growled. "I gave you that body for a reason."
"Fine, fine, twist my tails why don't you."
Cold blue eyes met his.
"You let him go." his partner stretched once and uttered a jaw-popping yawn as he hopped down to the floor. "He's probably delivered his message by now." with but a flick of his tails he righted a fallen shelf and swept the ruined merchandise aside. "Now its time to hunt him down like the dog he is. Him, his associates, everyone who knows his name. No one will respect us if we let something like this slide."
True enough.
When you were immortal, you learned to appreciate the simple pleasures in life. When you ceased to age in the conventional sense of the word, you found meaning in the smaller things, the simple minutia of living. When time could not slow you, when death was unable to hold you, you had to find things to live for, if only to stay sane.
Surprises, for instance.
No matter how long you lived, you could never know all there was to know, never see all there was to see, for each day there was always something new to find. It added that little bit of spice to life. Just the sort that kept an ancient shinobi going. Even the odd spot of bad luck could prove a surprise, a shock to break one out of a tedious cycle.
It could also serve as a warning.
Not to him, of course, but others. There was always a bigger fish out there, always a monster hiding under the bed. Today, someone had poked that monster. Roman's actions had been...well, less a surprise and more of a shock. A wakeup call, really. He'd been quiet too long; spent lifetimes getting this place up and running, not for the cash, not for the reputation, but the simple joy of having something to call his own. People might wither and die, but a business, a legacy? Those were eternal.
And one punk comes along, ruining it all.
The handle of Naruto's broom cracked under his grip.
Not just him, but Junior's boys. He recognized the Red Ax Gang when he saw them. They'd destroyed no small amount of his Dust. He'd be paying the Club a visit, too. Kurama was right. Maybe it was time to clean house. Time to remind the world why you didn't mess with a man's life.
A phone rang in the back, cutting the dark spiral of his thoughts short.
Blue eyes shifted to regard it.
Glass and masonry crunched underfoot as he stalked towards it. Still it rang. Once. Twice. Thrice. It was an old piece of work; not a scroll, but a landline, corded and all, with a dial to spin numbers. He wasn't sure why he'd kept the blasted thing around. Nostalgia? Memories of a simpler time? Who could say?
Kurama hopped onto his shoulder. "You gonna get that?"
Naruto didn't speak. He reached down, and after a moment's hesitation, picked it up.
"Hello, old friend." a familiar voice came through immediately. "I heard about your shop. You have my condolences...
(.0.0.0.)
"You're in a great deal of trouble, miss Rose."
Ruby flailed her arms in a vain attempt to ward the words off, to no avail. They hit her like a physical blow, sending all her hopes and dreams crashing to the ground. Was this the end? Was she going to jail? No, she rallied her thoughts. This wasn't a police station. Miss Goodwitch had brought her here...wherever here was, but it certainly wasn't downtown.
"But why?!" she whimpered a little. "I was fighting bad guys! I did good!"
"You did." the man before her tented his fingers with a sigh, "But it does not excuse your crimes. You inflicted significant property damage on that shop."
Right, calm down. Remember! This wasn't the police station. This was probably Headmaster Ozpin's office; likely one of the many he kept around Vale. He couldn't arrest her...could he? Oh gods, what if he could? She didn't want to go to jail! She was too young! Too pure! They'd eat her alive!
"Naruto said I wasn't in trouble!" Her voice hitched a little. "He did!"
"Be that as it may," Ozpin winced, almost as if he were afraid of something. "We cannot simply let you off lightly on this."
"Am I," her voice warbled and she swallowed once to recover, "Am I going to jail?"
"That depends." The ancient hunter blinked. "Do you wish to?"
She made a keening noise through her teeth.
"Noooo!"
"That was a joke." Here at last his countenance softened. "You'll simply be repaying your debt to mister Uzumaki." He laughed a little as she collapsed like a wet noodle in her chair. "You will work in his establishment on the weekends, until such a time as your debt is repaid."
"Wait, why weekends?"
"Because," He continued with a smile. "I suspect you'll be quite busy with your new coursework in the meantime."
New what, now?! Ruby's heart skipped a beat. Then another. Another still. Wait. Wait, wait, wait. Surely he wasn't suggesting...was he?
"Bwuh?" she managed.
Ozpin leaned forward and offered her his hand.
"I do hope you'll be less rambunctious in Beacon, miss Rose."
Was he moving her ahead two years?! A full two years?! Ruby's heart howled back to life, turning her pale face a bright shade of red. Full steam ahead! All systems are a go! Forward, forward, forward! She lunged across the desk and clasped his hand, pumping it up and down like a madwoman.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you! I'll be the best huntress ever!"
"Do not thank me, dear girl." he withdrew, rubbing his arm with a wince. "Thank Naruto. He called in a favor in a personal favor." that chagrined smile returned, more rueful than ever before. "Now then, I believe your mother wishes to speak with you."
All of Ruby's newfound joy turned to ashes in her mouth. Meep.
"Any chance you can, I dunno, pretend I'm not here?"
He sighed. "I'm afraid that fox is out of the bag."
"Wait, that's not how you say-
The door slammed open behind her, cutting the girl short.
"Ruby Rose!" a familiar voice cried! "You are in so much trouble, young lady!"
(.0.0.0.)
Roman was late.
On a certain level, Cinder wasn't surprised; one could hardly trust a common criminal to keep their word in this day an age. No honor among thieves and all that. Roman had always been surly, and it wasn't as though he had chosen to cooperate with them. He and Neo had been forced into this arrangement, like so many others before him. Still, was it so wrong to expect a little professionalism in this day and age?
Their place of meeting wasn't much better.
Golden eyes flicked about, regarding her surroundings with nothing short of disdain. What had Roman called this place? The Club? How droll. Even a private room such as this was too dingy for her tastes. Too much red by half, to say nothing of the wine. It would suit her needs. For now. Honestly, it galled her. She couldn't wait to be rid of this filthy city.
If it wasn't the bad wine, it was the people.
At least Emerald and Mercury had the good grace to be silent.
Perhaps they'd sensed her mood. Perhaps not. She didn't much care at the moment.
When Roman finally stumbled in, she considered killing him out of principle if nothing less. The man looked awful. His white coat was tattered and stained, his hat horribly dented, and good gods...he reeked! The smell alone was nearly enough to make her eyes water. Only her finer instincts prevented her from pinching her nose outright. Had he gone swimming in a dumpster?
"Where have you been?"
"Such a nice boss I have." Torchwick collapsed on the couch opposite her, all but sprawling himself out without a care in the world. "How are you, Roman? How was your day, Roman? Why do you look like shit, Roman?"
Cinder exhaled slowly.
Must. Not. Kill.
This. This was why she loathed working with common criminals. Always so crass. Always thinking of themselves and nothing else. Always so...small, in their worldview. Never once thinking of the bigger picture, nor the longterm. For all his flair and panache, Roman was no different. Ah, but he was speaking to her, and she must attend.
Her gaze flitted over him, noting the curious lack of the case she'd given him. "Where's the dust?"
"Don't have it."
A slender brow rose. "Excuse me?"
"Some guy threw me out." he sat up with a growl and began, massaging his dented hat. "Beat my ass then kicked me to the curb like I was nothing."
"You cannot be serious." Cinder's mouth twisted in a grimace fused with a snarl. Worthless fool. "You lost to a common shopkeeper?"
"Of course not!" Roman's voice cracked like a whip eye, surprising her with its intensity. "What do you take me for?!"
Many things. A fool, a lech, hired help. But she'd assumed he was at least reasonably competent. Now it seemed that assumption was all for naught. Disgraceful. He'd gone with a score of Junior's men, meaning he was hardly alone at the time. And yet here he was, broken and battered.
She leaned forward in her chair. "Was it a huntsman?"
He winced. "Well, no, but...
So he had lost to a civilian, then. Deplorable. A strange nagging sensation tugged at the back of her thoughts. Surely not. What were the chances? She folded one leg over the other as she poured herself another glass of wine. Her luck wasn't that bad. It couldn't be. Yet that thorn of doubt continued to tug at her nonetheless. It just wouldn't let her be.
Curious.
...do you recall the name of this shop?"
"Eh, it was some dinky little place." Roman shrugged. Nothing special. Sparks and 'Splosions, I think? Weird name."
No.
"Joke's on him, though." he chortled, unaware of her dread. "Junior's boys really trashed the place."
No, no.
"Way I see it, he'll be out of business for weeks...
No, no, no!
Cinder's blood was no longer cold in her veins; it was ice, frozen completely. She could barely breathe. This was a bad dream. It had to be. She pinched her left arm, only to wince as pain flared through her limb. Not a dream, then. This was terribly, horribly real. Fury heated her heart, breaking her free from her frigid stupor.
"You must be tired, Roman." she whispered at last. "Come here. Have a drink."
He eyed her warily, but yielded beneath her state. "Don't mind if I do."
Like a good little worm, Roman did as he was bade. She poured, filling his cup to the brim. Roman accepted the glass that was offered and drank. His glass clinked against hers. Cinder waited, watched as he downed it in a single gulp, her body coiled like a viper. She counted to three. Two. One.
Then she surged out of her chair and buried a fist in his gut.
Torchwick doubled over with a rasping gasp and vomited what he'd just imbibed. Red liquid spattered the floor.
Cinder callously flung a nearby cloth at him. "Clean that up. You wasted good wine. Absolute ingrate."
He did so, wasted and gasping for air. A minute passed. Then another. Another still.
Behind him, Emerald gulped. "Cinder, should we leave...?"
"Stay." she hissed.
"What," Roman rasped as he looked up at her, "What did I do?"
"Its not what you did that angers me so, Roman." Cinder stood andpoured herself another flute of wine. "Its who you did it to."
"That fucking nobody?" Roman retched where he lay on the floor. "What about him? It was just a dust shop! What does it matter?!"
Fool! Imbecile! Idiot! She wanted to shriek at him for what he'd done.
"That " fucking nobody" as you so eloquently put it...is Naruto Uzumaki." Instead, her golden eyes flashed over the rim of her glass as she drank, "He once was an...associate of ours." those eerie burning orbs closed for a moment, then opened again. "Do you know what we called him?"
Roman gulped. "I'm going to find out, aren't I."
"..." She muttered a phrase in a language he didn't understand.
His visible eye squinted at her. "What was that?"
"Japanese. She took another drink. "He taught me a bit. The closest translation would be...the boogeyman."
"What," he climbed to his feet with a groan. "You called him a demon?"
"Well, Naruto wasn't exactly the boogeyman." she sat and crossed one leg over the other. "He was the man you sent to kill the boogeyman."
His face paled. "Oh."
"Naruto is a man of focus." Thrice as quickly she stood again, unable to stand still. "Commitment. Sheer will." her forehead pressed against his. "Something you know very little about. "I once saw him kill three men in a bar with a pen." he looked away and she snarled at him. "A bloody pen, roman!"
"Then suddenly one day he decided to leave." her visible eye flashed with golden flames. "He never said why. He wanted out. We made a deal. A truce." her lips peeled back in a slar. "And then, Roman, a few days before the anniversary of said truce, you raid his shop, destroy his stock, and smash his windows in."
"To be fair," he hedged, "that last bit was the kid-
"I DO NOT CARE!"
Cinder rounded on him with a hiss, temper still unspent. Her glass struck the wall and shattered, spraying bloody wine everywhere.
Roman recoiled. "I can fix this!"
"Oh?" she cocked a slender brow. "How?"
Torchwick actually stood a little straighter, the fool! "By finishing what I started."
"Didn't he hear a word I said?!" Cinder cast a despairing glance at Emerald, then whirled and drew him into an embrace. "Naruto will come for you, and you will do nothing; because you can do nothing."
"But he let me go...!"
"Only to send a message to me." she pulled away and touched his cheek. "There is nothing he loves more than the thrill of the hunt." Her palm caressed his face. "I should know. He taught me a great deal, after all. I suspect he'll be paying Junior and his men a visit as well. But you...?"
Without neither word or warning, her hand twisted, striking him. Roman's head snapped to the side.
"You have endangered years of planning." flame leaped to her hand, promising pain if he raised so much as a finger against her. "All my schemes will be naught because of you." She brandished the globe of fire at him with intent. "Count yourself grateful I don't kill you here and now! Get out of my sight!"
Roman got.
The door slammed behind him.
Cinder whirled and began to pace immediately thereafter. She had to fix this. She must fix this. He could ruin everything. Would ruin everything. She couldn't hope to stop him. Few could. Ozpin himself turned a blind eye to his activities, catered to him, appeased him, for fear of provoking his wrath. Nor would Salem dare involve herself in this. Which meant...
She reached for her coat and donned it quickly. "I'm going out."
"Ma'am?" Emerald flinched but a little. "I don't understand. Do you want us to come with you-
"No!" Cinder paused, realizing how shrill she'd just sounded. "No," she repeated, forcing her voice to regain its calm tenor. "That won't be necessary."
She had to speak with him. Did she still have his old number? Of course she did. She'd committed it to memory. Something told her a phone call would be...insensitive if she didn't visit afterwards. Fine. In person, then. It presented a great danger to her of course -to say nothing of her pride!- but there could be no risk without reward. Call first, then a visit. Right.
...so be it. Face to face it was, then.
Nothing else would suffice.
Damn Roman to hell.
A/N: ALL THE REFERENCES~!
As ever, the Embers rule persists with this story.
If folks don't like this? Poof! Gone! To the void it goes. Gone once and for all. Forever.
So by all means, speak up! Raise your voice! Make yourself heard! Your reviews matter! Really, they do!
So, in the Immortal words of Atlas...
...review, would you kindly?
And of course, enjoy the previews! Rough, though they are.
(Preview)
The door squeaked open like a fearful field mouse.
Naruto looked up.
"Hello, Cinder."
Right. She could do this.
Summer's head poked around the corner.
Naruto granted her a small smile. "Hello, sweetie."
His old friend pouted. "Thought I told you to stop calling me that."
"You did. I chose not to listen. There's a difference. So? What brings you to my shop?"
"Nothing much." She touched a shelf, then winced when it crashed to the floor.. "Oh, you know, I was just in the area...
"I don't blame Ruby." he cut into her rambling.
Her shoulders slumped. "Oh, thank god...
...she's mine, isn't she?"
Urk. "How...?"
"Tai's been dead for awhile, Summer. I know."
"You misunderstand. This isn't war. This?" His hand rose. "This is pest control."
Junior raised his hands. "I didn't know it was you!"
"And now you do. Are you sorry?"
"Yes! I swear! I didn't know!
"Tough!
"I've come to work~!"
Naruto quirked a brow. "Well, there's not much to be done right now, still waiting on the insurance money." he looked past her. "Oh? Is this your team?"
His gaze fixated on Weiss in particular. "Ah. A Schnee. Why am I not surprised? Everywhere I go, there's always a Schnee...
"Excuse me?"
"You're excused. Now buy something or get."
"I've heard about this place." Her gaze flitted about. "How much would it take to buy you out-
"NO."
R&R! =D