A/N: As ever, the "Embers" rule remains in effect for now.
If folks don't like this, POOF! Away it goes. Deleted! Reviews are the fire that keeps me writing. Without them, I cannot put pen to paper. Simple as that. Every bit of feedback matters, large or small~! Your voice matters! Speak up! I repeat, every bit of feedback matters...even if people think it doesn't.
That's no joke; Feedback gives me strength. Looking forward to charring with you all~!
Call that what you will, but I write for feedback; that, and the joy of chatting with you all. That's the long and short of it. Now more than ever in this hectic time, its fun to bandy ideas back and forth, respond to fan mail and just interact with you all.
Silence...silence hurts more than words. Now then, onto your questions!
Q: Update Schedule?
A: Partners in Crime is next. Also! Effective immediately, the updates for The Gods Must Be Crazy, Rags to Riches, and All things Must Die are pushed back until further notice. They're not ready yet. Sorry for that, but I'm incredibly busy and I won't stand for short chapter anymore.
People bash the hell out of me for writing anything under 3,000 words, so I'm trying to avoid that...
Q: Wait, how does Cinder know Naruto?!
A: Read and see.
Q: Soooo..this is a John Wick Naruto? Nice! Haven't seen that done in awhile.
A: With a bit of the Equalizer and Nobody thrown in for good measure. Y'see, he just wanted to be left alone to do his own thing; forgotten by those around him...
And then along came Roman.
Congrats, Torchwick. You woke the dragon.
Q: Oh, dear. People are gonna die, aren't they?
A: Let the bodies hit the floor~!
Alright, I've kept you long enough.
As ever, I own no references, quotes, themes or memes. Not a wit or a one.
And trust me, there are a LOT of references in this one. Really had a blast writing it. Ready? Set! Go!
"I tried it, you know. Being normal. Wasn't terribly good at it.
You've disrespected me. You know what that means.
So? Which will it be? Right? Or left?"
~?
Pay Your Respects
In the shadow of Junior's club, a knife found a man's throat.
The bouncer in question went still. No, it would be better to say that he froze. He ceased to move, blink, or even breathe. Every fiber of his being locked up as those words whispered in his ear. His mind became intimately aware of his surroundings, of the darkness, of the man standing within it, of that cold, cruel steel hooked against his jugular. His very soul gibbered for mercy, pleading that if he was just quiet enough, that if he just didn't move then maybe he'd be left well enough alone.
"Hello, Francis. You look good."
No such luck.
The guard dared a thread of breath and turned his head just so, hoping to hell he was wrong. He was not. Baleful blue eyes gazed back at him, set within a whiskered face framed by messy blond hair. He'd discarded his shopkeeper's attire in favor of a crisp navy suit with a striking red tie, darker than blood itself. On anyone else, it would've been gouch. On him? It was a reminder. This man didn't need a knife to kill him. That he had brought one at all said more than most. He was being kind.
This was a man who had shown him mercy once in the past, a man who allowed him to reform and change his ways.
He wondered if he would be shown such mercy a second time.
...Mr. Uzumaki." he swallowed once as his voice broke.
"Now, now, don't be formal. But look at you, you've moved up in the world." A smile touched the blond's face. "Lost a bit of weight, have we?"
Francis swallowed again, unable to mask his accent for fear of what might happen if he did. "Fifty pounds."
Fifty men inside. He prayed his associate understood the warning.
Naruto inclined his head just so.
"That's good, good." A hand patted his back, pulling the pistol from his belt. "You won't mind if I take this, will you?"
He didn't have much of a choice, did he? You couldn't fight this man. You could try, but you would die. The gangs had tried once. Once. Never again. And he didn't want to die. He had a family. Grandchildren in Atlas. He wanted to see them again. Oh, gods. He didn't want to die here...!
"Are you...here on business tonight?"
"I'm afraid so, Francis." Blue eyes flashed in the dark, gleaming red in the gloom. "Why don't you take the night off?"
The knife slowly fell away from his throat, jagged metal kissing skin, but not breaking it.
"Francis, report." Junior's voice hissed through his earpiece. "Any sign of him?"
Francis tugged out the device earpiece with trembling fingers.
Only then did he turn to face him. "Thank you, sir-
All he found was empty air.
No one was there.
(.0.0.0.)
Knock.
Knock. Knock.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
It was the sound of doom, a steady thud-thud-thud that echoed against the door. Three knocks. Like drums out for blood. Junior knew it in his soul, he'd known it the moment his men started screaming behind that door, known that there was nowhere to go, nowhere to run, nowhere he could possibly hope to hide where this creature couldn't find him.
So he didn't try at all.
Even as the door buckled and shook, even as the last of his gang died bloody stood at the bar, bottle in hand, and drank. Liquid courage fortified him, not enough to make him drunk, but it was all he had. All this, for a single mistake. It was just a dust shop. How was he to know that thing lived in Vale? He'd never been told! Or if he had, he'd forgotten. He wasn't sure which. He couldn't remember anymore. He wasn't sure he wanted to, not after the sounds he'd heard.
The doors crashed open and his killer stalked over the threshold at a brisk pace, eyes narrow and intent.
There wasn't so much as a drop of blood on him. Not a one. A mountain of bodies behind him, and not a drop of bloody anywhere other than his weapons of choice.
Blue eyes met his.
"You know, I never did like guns." His knife flicked out once, carving a scarlet smile in the last man's man's throat. The fool went down with a bloody gurgle. "So uncivilized. Wouldn't you agree?"
Melanie tried to bar his path -bless her simple soul!- and was summarily swatted her through a wall like a straw doll. Miltia made the same mistake and joined her sister not a moment later. Hei winced at the awful sound that followed. He wasn't even sure if they still lived...no wait, they were groaning. Thank the gods for small mercies.
Because he had the distinct feeling he wouldn't be receiving any.
"Where is he, Junior?"
"I don't know!" he dropped the bottle and raised both hands to show himself harmless "I swear! Honest to gods! He was here an hour ago, but he left! Do you really want to start a war with the underworld over this?!"
"You misunderstand. This isn't war. This?" His hand rose. "This is pest control."
Junior raised his hands higher, shielding his face. "I didn't know it was you!"
"And now you do." the rejoinder was swift. "Are you sorry?"
"Yes! I swear! I didn't know!"
If he had, he never would've lent Roman those men!
The knife came up under his chin. "Tough!"
"She," Junior warbled and broke. "She won't let you get away with this."
"Yes." something flashed through those cold, dead eyes. "She will."
"She won't!"
"You truly believe that, don't you?" his killer regarded him for a long moment. "Alright. I've got time." he kicked out a seat for him. "Sit down."
Junior did no such thing. To sit was to die. "I don't think-
"No," Naruto snarled, "You don't. Now sit. Down."
Junior sat.
"You see, there once was a man." he found a full glass and knocked the drink back. "He was a soldier of fortune, a mercenary who traveled the world. He wanted for nothing, needed nothing, and yet despite that, he decided to share his abundance with someone who was less fortunate. An orphan. Fourteen years old, an urchin with nothing to her name but a pair of swords and the clothes on her back. A kid who had, by all rights, been used and abused from an early age. Troubled, prone to violence...stop me if you've heard this one before."
Junior gulped. "No...go on."
"I will, thank you." Naruto hummed his thanks. "So this good man opened his home to this girl, and when she stole from him, this good man loved her anyway." He took up a fork and began to carve away at his meal. "When she failed in school, this good man showed understanding and patience." a piece of stake came and went, swallowed in a single bite. "When the girl lied and cheated and clawed and fought, this good man showed compassion, until the girl who had never felt anything like being wanted or loved...finally did. It was a miracle, no two ways about it."
He set his fork down, and the silence stretched between them.
"One week later, the girl killed the good man."
Naruto slammed his glass down, etching a crack in the fine material. Junior's gaze followed it, mesmerized. "You see the girl was afraid. She was scared that one day, the good man would wake up and realize she wasn't worth it, like all the others in her life." That little fracture etched itself deeper now, becoming a deep fissure. "She couldn't bear the thought that this man, this good man, would throw her away like that. So." he took up the fork and made a slashing motion across his throat. "She killed him."
Only then did Junior glimpse the scar there.
The glass split, sending both halves tumbling to the table.
"But then something incredible happened." Naruto took ahold of each and laid them atop one another. "The good man didn't die. He got right back up, pulled the blade from his neck and smiled at the girl." A faint glow stemmed from his hands and Junior vaguely felt a flash of heat. "The man did not chastise the girl for her crimes. He simply held her close; as a Father would, as no one ever had before." He gave the glass back, now free of imperfection completely. "Care to know what he said?"
"You're going to tell me, aren't you?"
"He made her a promise, more a vow, really." Naruto steeped his fingers and laid his chin atop them. "He swore to her that he would never lose faith in her, never hurt her, never betray her trust." his head tilted just so, shadows falling over the right side of his face. "He taught her a few tricks after that; small things that a child like her could use."
Why did he have the worse feeling about this? "What happened to this girl?"
"When she was old enough, the good man let her go," Naruto's smile had too many teeth. "He kissed her forehead and gave her his blessing, sent her out into the world to make her fortune. And she did." He leaned back at last, his tale complete. "Would you like to know her name, Hei?"
Some small part of him already knew. No. It couldn't be. The chances of that...it just wasn't possible.
Naruto leaned in. Warm lips brushed his ear. "Cinder."
That name broke him.
Cinder Fall was a stone cold bitch. He'd never seen her express so much as an iota of emotion for her anyone. That was just it. She cared for no one. Nothing. The idea that someone had raised her, even if they weren't her blood...it threatened to unman him; because it meant she would never go against such a person. You didn't mess with family.
"She wants to destroy Vale!"
A brow quirked. "Is that what you think?"
He did! She said as much...hadn't she? Unless she was lying...?"
"So you see, Junior." a scarred forehead pressed against his. "That's why she won't do anything. I raised that girl." A spark of gold burned through those cold blue eyes. "Took her in when she was at her lowed point and made her what she is today. Told her she could be whatever she wanted to be, so long as it made her happy." he shrugged carelessly. "Maybe I shoulda disciplined her better. Suppose I'll have to after this."
"Why?" Hei whimpered. "Why tell me all this?"
"Because I wanted to make things perfectly clear between us." the rejoinder was swift. "Ya see, I know you're wearing a wire; just as I know Roman's listening in on our little conversation." A hand came down on his right shoulder, all but fastening him in place. "Don't worry, Hei. You're going to live. He's going to hear every bit of this.
...I am?"
"You are." his head bobbed. "You've done me a great kindness. Y'see, I'm a merciful man...
A knife slammed into the table, burying itself to the hilt.
"So I'm going to make an example out of you."
...what?"
"Your left eye or your right." Cold dread coiled in the pit of his stomach as those words damned him. "I'll make it quick. Painless, even." A low smile creased those whiskered cheeks as his gaze swept down to the knife. "I hear eye-patches are all the rage these days. Really, I'm doing you a favor. You'll have ladies beating down your door."
It was the best offer he'd get. This, or death.
Looking at it like that, the loss of an eye was a small price to pay.
...left, sir." he swallowed once and closed his eyes.
The knife blurred at his face.
"Clench your teeth."
(.0.0.0.)
Power was complicated.
There are many different kinds of course. Physical, mental, emotional. Blunt. Subtle. Power came in many forms, but at the end of the day, it all boiled down to respect. For it was respect that built the foundation of fear, and with it, wariness of said power. And like it or not, Naruto knew a thing or two about power. When you lived this long, it came to you naturally.
Power was the reason she'd come to visit.
The door squeaked open like a fearful field mouse, the bell above it chiming mournfully.
Naruto looked up from his cleaning. "Well, well. Look who it is."
Cinder Fall slipped inside, puffing out her chest to make herself seem larger than she was. Adorable. He remembered a different time not so long ago when she'd hunched her shoulders inward, trying to be small. Trying to hide, not just from him, but everyone. Everything. When she'd been a tiny, gawky thing, gawping at everything in sight.
To him, she was still very much that girl.
...you look well." she reached across her body and gripped her right wrist. "How have you been?"
"Well." he said with some heat. "More than you clearly seem to be at the moment. What the hell were you thinking?"
She laughed and it sounded forced. "I didn't intend to-
"Cut the crap."
Cinder chuckled again, then. This time her laugh was not that fake, cultured thing. It was soft and low, raw and dangerous; the sound one predator might make towards another. She knew better than to intimidate him; if only because she knew it wouldn't work. He'd hoped she wouldn't become something like this.
"I haven't forgotten your lessons." she said, smiling. "Not a single thing."
He checked a smile of his own. "Then why are you here?"
Cinder Fall was no fool. She knew she'd been caught.
Naruto raised his arms.
"Well?" he quirked a brow. "Aren't you going to give your old man a hug?"
Her face flamed with color. "Daddy, no."
"Daddy, yes!" he wiggled his arms. "I haven't seen you in years! You don't write, you never call," his brow darkened, "You send your goons to wreck my shop...
"That wasn't me!" Her eyes flashed with panic from her younger days. "I only remembered the name by chance because you mentioned it once! How was I to know you actually went through with that hai-rbrained scheme of yours?!"
A silence stretched between Master and Apprentice.
In the end, Naruto shrugged. He supposed that was fair; it wasn't as if he'd advertised his new business to old acquaintances. Only a handful knew what he was doing these days. Just the way he'd liked it. Unfortunately for her, it didn't absolve her of guilt.
"And how was I to know the girl I raised became a common criminal with plans to destroy an entire kingdom?"
"I'm not...!" She looked aside. "I don't wish for the destruction of Vale. Its...complicated."
Naruto didn't lower his arms. "Wanna hug it out?"
"Must we?"
"Yes." he grinned. "We must."
Cinder rolled her eyes and walked into his waiting embrace with a huff. Her chin came down over his shoulder as his arms clasped her by the back. She fought for a moment, then succumbed with a put upon sigh, the sort a surly teenager might make toward an overly-affectionate parent. In many ways she was still a little girl to him. She always would be. Even if he had to...discipline her every now and again.
"So!" he grinned down at her. "How have you been? Still going through that conquer the world phase?"
She growled and wriggled in his arms, to no avail, his grin was strong. "This isn't a phase, daddy."
He pulled her a little closer to him. "Hmmhm. Sure it isn't...so? Plans. Tell me. Now."
His foster daughter sniffed once. "And if I don't want to?"
He patted her back. "Then you get a spanking."
She went terribly still. "You wouldn't dare!"
"No? Care to test your old man?
She told him everything.
And he laughed.
A/N: READ THIS NOTE, PLEASE. It clarifies some important points.
Saving the Summer and Ruby bits for next chapter. Would've felt forced here.
As ever, the "Embers" rule remains in effect for now.
If folks don't like this, POOF! Away it goes. Deleted! Reviews are the fire that keeps me writing. Without them, I cannot put pen to paper. Simple as that. Every bit of feedback matters, large or small~! Your voice matters! Speak up! I repeat, every bit of feedback matters...even if people think it doesn't.And there we have it.
Now, then:
Its heavily hinted that "this" Naruto found and adopted Cinder after she escaped from the Glass Unicorn. Hence why she's so blasted grateful to him. He's the Rhodes who never left, the bloke who said she could be whatever she wanted to be. He's the one who let her go her own way, and blundered back into her now by pure bloody chance.
He's the guy she tried to kill, the chap who laughed, and gave her a hug.
You know, its funny. I never said what Cinder's plans for Vale were in this story. Everyone just assumed...
*grins*
...you never know. I might surprise you."
So in the immortal words of Atlas...
...Review, Would you Kindly?
Here, have a preview!
(Preview)
"Daddy, no!"
"Daddy, yes! Now sit down before I tan your hide!"
"Why do Schnees always think they can buy me out? Really, your mother was the only exception."
Weiss died inside.
Roman whimpered. "He won't get me. I won't let him. Crazy bastard. I'll show him...!"
Emerald blinked. "Does that make you my grandfather?"
"Alright. I've been away too long. I've been forgotten. So here's what we're gonna do. If you don't move, your head is going up his arse.
There was a silence.
"You sure you wanna ride this train?"
"I'm not afraid of you!"
"Then you will die braver than most."