A/N: As ever, we're following the Ember's Rule here.

If folks don't like this, it'll be deleted. Poof! Gone! Every bit of feedback helps. That's no joke.

I simply can't write without it. That truth still holds true here. So by all means speak up! Make yourself heard! Your feedback matters! I cannae write without them!

Now, lets answer some questions. I'll keep it brief so we can get into the story.

Q: Well, the timeline's right buggered now, ain't it?

A: By his very presence, Naruto's changed things. There's no going back. In helping Cinder, in running away with her, he produced a butterfly effect. He didn't just change her fate. He changed the world. This chapter only begins to hint at it...

Q: How old is Illia?

A: Very young...and unfortunately rather in a bad way. And yes, I know what I'm doing with her eye color. They're gray-silver in the show, but if you ask me...

...I think there's more to it than that.

Q: Its about to happen, isn't it?

A: Yup.

Q: Getting serious antihero vibes from Naruto and Cindy there...

A: At the end of the day, Naruto and Cinder are just trying to survive. What have they done wrong? Nothing. Time will tell if they become heroes, monsters, or something else altogether.

Alright, I think I've kept you long enough.

I think we all know what's coming...and its going to be glorious.

As ever, I own no references, quotes, themes or memes. Not a wit or a one!

"You Atlas elite are all the same. You think hoarding power means you'll have it forever...but it just makes the rest of us hungrier. And I refuse to starve."

"You dare touch me?! I am a citizen of Atlas, you churl!"

"AND I! AM! CINDER!

~Future.

Blood Price

Illia kept her head down as she worked..

"Clean the linens, sweep the floors, shut your mouth and do your chores." she muttered the words softly to herself, shoulders trembling. "Scrub the dishes in the sink. No one said that you should think...

A lone tear ran down her tan face as she scrubbed the floor.

"Shine the silver, wash the clothes, and when you're finished darn the socks." She chanted the words she'd heard so many times, a mindless mantra to herself as she worked to distract herself, "Draw the bath, fetch her slippers, fill her glass and wash her feet. Hurry up. You're so slow. You're no good, I hope you know; your life is of no use, and the truth is that no one's ever loved you."

She cooked. She cleaned. She did as she was told. She obeyed.

You see, she had to. She must. She owed her Mistress everything. Without her, she was nothing. Lady Tremaine had taken her off the streets when no one else would. Lady Tremaine was harsh, and her daughters even moreso, but they gave her a roof over her head and at least one meal a day. They only shocked her when they were in a bad mood, or when she wasn't quick enough. She was a good girl. Surely that was enough?

Illia renewed her scrubbing anew and tried not to dwell on it.

And yet she longed for more, even as she cleaned.

"Clean the floors..."

She hungered for it as only a child could; dreamed of a life outside these four walls. A life beyond the perpetual cold of Atlas, the life her parents had promised her before the accident. Before everything went wrong. A life in a warm, happy place far, far away from here...

Illia didn't hear the approaching footsteps until it was nearly too late; until they were all but upon her.

"We'll be staying here for the night." a rough voice drawled. "Make yourselves comfortable."

She looked up and saw the Hunters. What else could they be?

For a moment, her cleaning faltered. She beheld a blue-eyed blond boy and a young woman with striking golden eyes famed by dark hair. Only she carried visible weapons. Though it could be said that the boy looked like a fighter through and through. There was an older man leading the two of them and he, wore a great monster of a blade upon his back. Guests nodded at the trio's passing, bowing just so.

One of them, the woman, saw her and pointed.

Illia squeaked and hunched her shoulders inward, trying to make herself as small as possible. Maybe if she blended in with her surroundings they'd let her be...?

No such luck.

What did they want with her?

It was the blond who approached her first. "What's your name, squirt?"

Her skin flushed. "Illia, sir...

"Here." The girl pulled a field ration from her belt. "You look hungry. Eat."

Her hands betrayed her and she all but ripped it from her hands.

Her eyes stung as she chewed on the protein bar. She was still gnawing on it when the blond said something -she wasn't quite sure what- but whatever it was ended with him giving her his rations too. She grabbed at the lot of them and shoved them into her pockets. These were real hunters, nothing like those brutes who worked for Lady Tremaine. Not at all like the large man with the twin maces. Illia didn't like him. He spoke of law and order as if he knew them; truth and justice like he embodied them.

But what justice was there for a little Faunus girl?

"Oi!" The older man called ahead of them. "Naruto! Cinder! Lets go. Our room's ready."

The pair lingered for a moment, looking like they wanted to say more, do more, but they hesitated. Illia gulped down her meal and turned silver eyes upon them.

"Will you still be here come morning?"

Naruto winced. "Just for a little bit...

"C'mon!" Their minder called.

They departed with a rueful look and a promise to speak with her again.

She watched them go, trying to fight down the spark in her heart. True hunters. That was what they were. True hunters fought injustice wherever they found it. She wanted to be just like these two. She wanted to go with them, even if she wasn't brave enough to say it. But they were only staying for a night. They'd be gone tomorrow with the dawn, surely.

Illia looked left.

Illia looked right, now.

Illia scarpered to her feet and ran for her room.

That night, the little faunus prayed to the shattered moon. She prayed to the Gods above and below as she'd never prayed before. She begged and cajoled and pleaded like the child she was. She prayed they would stay, even if only for one more day. She'd go without food for that entire day, and wouldn't shirk her chores. Not even a little. She just...just wanted to hold onto this spark of happiness for a little longer.

Illia prayed until she couldn't stay awake anymore.

She kept praying, even in her dreams.

Something answered her.


(.0.0.0.)


A freak blizzard hit Atlas overnight.

It came with neither word nor warning, and struck without mercy; like the very wrath of the gods themselves. While the denizens of the floating city slept, streets turned to ice and snow smothered buildings. Power lines were weighed down until they snapped. Half the city lost electricity overnight; many a denizen of the Glass Unicorn woke to cold beds and chattering teeth.

Many, but not all.

Here in this moment, Cinder had never been more grateful for semblance.

Naruto apparently felt the same; seeing as he was all but pressed against her for warmth.

"Best semblance ever." he muttered. "You feel like a furnace.

Cinder preened a little.

Using her Gift in such an simple manner burned through her aura at a ludicrous rate, but she had her newfound Maiden powers to draw from. They did naught for her aura, but they helped to supplement what would've been merely a flickering flame in the lobby. Instead she found herself with a raging flame cupped between her palms, gentle and controlled...unlike her temper as they waited for her escort.

The flame in her hands flared, responding to her temper.

"Careful." Naruto warned as he nestled closer to her. "Don't lose control."

She scoffed and returned her attention to the fire within. "I won't if you keep quiet."

Thanks to that they alone were warm, while the rest of the guests huddled in their rooms. Now if that drunken bird would hurry up and get back here, they could be gone from this place. She wanted to hope that. Believe it; even as it looked less and less likely. The storm was still howling outside, and without heat, it only grew colder within.

"You know," he murmurred, nuzzling her cheek. "You act tough, but you're really just a big softy."

Cinder stomped on his foot.

"Ow!" He yelped out a laugh. "That was a compliment!"

Her face flamed for a different reason altogether, cheeks warming beneath his praise.

...thank you. That was," she struggled with the word for a moment before she got the better of it, "Very sweet of you."

So! He wanted to play that way, did he? Well! Two could play at this game. Shifting the flame to her right hand, Cinder leaned over and pressed her hip to his. Naruto shifted a little on the couch, eyes widening just so. He tried to scoot back, but he hooked a leg in his to keep him from doing so. Then she leaned in and kissed his cheek. Naruto sputtered. Worth it!"

"My, my, what's wrong?" she cooed. "Whatever happened to your silver tongue?"

He looked around, flailing for an answer...and found one.

"Hey, there's Illia!" Naruto saw her and waved. "Aren't you cold? Come on over!"

The little girl saw them across the hall; just as Cinder saw the spark of hope flash through her face.

"I have chores...

"Is that so?" she held out her cupped hands. "Wouldn't you be better able to do them if you were warm?"

Fear and greed warred across the child's face. In the end the latter won out. She scampered over.

Naruto shared a look with Cinder as she did. They'd discussed this last night. No girl should wear a shock collar disguised as a necklace. To his credit, Naruto waited until Illia was distracted; lost in the flaring flame and the heat it provided. The tiny child sighed, luxuriating the in the open warmth provided by their flame. Golden eyes flicked to blue. Narrowed. Then he moved.

"Yoink!"

Illia made a tiny noise of surprise -but not discontent!- as his hand closed around her collar. She didn't have time for anything more than that before Naruto ripped it free. Her body jolted once. A stray spark shot into his palm and then the device fell dead.

Her face went ghost white. "No! Give it back!"

Naruto held it upright as she tried to jump up and grab it. "Why?"

"I have to wear that!" she hopped again, coming well short. "I'll be punished if I don't!"

"You shouldn't be." Cinder stifled the heat in her palms and rounded on her, just as they'd practiced. "No one should wear a collar."

Illia made a keening noise, her knees twisted left then right in thinly veiled anxiety. "But...but I have to...my Mistress will beat me if I don't...

Naruto absolutely hissed. "Mistress?!"

Cinder's snarled joined his, causing Illia to clam up.

She was still struggling with her words when the mains doors crashed open.

A mighty swirl of wintry wind whipped in, chilling them to the bone. Qrow staggered in after it, covered in frost from head to toe. A booted foot shot out and kicked the door closed behind him, sealing them shut against all the ice and snow once more. He cast a baleful glare back the way he'd come, as though trying to thaw the storm with the sheer heat of his glare.

"No dice, kiddos." he shook himself like a wet dog, spraying ice everywhere. "Storm's not letting up. All flights are...grounded...

He trailed off when he saw Illia's collar danging in Naruto's grasp. Blinked. Once. Twice. Thrice.

"Oi!" his brow turned stormy. "I was only gone for an hour!"

"We didn't do anything!" Cinder interposed before the drunken huntsman could vent his wrath.

"Yeah!" Naruto rallied and presented the collar/necklace as evidence. "Someone was making this poor girl wear a-ow!"

His right arm spasmed, near-on convulsing as the item in his hand delivered a powerful shock. He grit his teeth against it and adjusted his grip holding it by the cord rather than the crystal. Cinder applauded him for his restraint. She would've broken it outright. But Naruto held on. He kept his temper in check, choosing to preserve the evidence rather than indulge in petty self-satisfaction. Just another reason why she lo-no! Don't say it out loud! He'd never let her live it down!

"See!" he exclaimed, snapping her back to reality as he brandished the device in Qrow's face like a whip! "Shock collar!"

Cinder preened a little as Qrow's gaze snapped to Illia. "That true?"

The chameleon Faunus quailed beneath his glare. "Yes, sir..."

Qrow fell silent. Cinder retreated half a step, still wary.

In the end she needn't have; because Branwen only sighed.

...nope." he smacked his lips with a shake of the head. "Not having it. She's comin' with us."

Illia squeaked. "I am?!"

Naruto grinned. "Is that legal?"

"I'll make it legal." Qrow slammed his flask back and took a long draught to settle his temper. "What're they gonna do, stop us?" he scoffed. "We've got the evidence right there." he pulled a leather pouch from his belt and swept the offending item inside. "C'mon. We'll find another hotel to stay in.

Cinder smiled at the sight. "Maybe you're not so bad after all."

"Just like that?" Illia's voice warbled once. "Why me...?"

Foolish. She didn't need a reason to free someone.

"Everyone has the right to be free...why are you hugging me?!"

The little girl didn't let go of Cinder's leg. Not once, even as she bawled.

Naruto cooed somewhere behind her. His Scroll flashed once, taking a picture.

Cinder absolutely hissed. "Delete that at once.

"Nope." Naruto stowed it inside a pocket, his gaze seeking Illia's once more. "You got anything you wanna take with you?"

She perked up. "I have a few shiny things I've collected...nothing really important...

"Then you won't mind leaving them," he planted a palm against her back and steered her towards the exit. "With a bit of luck and speed, we'll get you out of here before anyone's the wiser."

Qrow grumbled under his breath. "Not with my luck...

He was still speaking when a door crashed open in the lower foyer and a woman wrapped in an obscene amount of finery hurtle through. Flanked by two girls -who could only be her daughters- alongside a pair of guards in dark leather, she tried to cut an imposing figure and failed spectacularly. Cinder wrinkled her nose at her. Ugly old hag.

"See?!" The elder Branwen flung up his arms. "Nothing's ever easy!"

"You, there!" she took one look at the lot of them and planted one fist on the her hip, even as the other stabbed a finger forward. "Release that girl at once. She belongs to me."

Cinder's gaze zeroed in on the woman; or rather, the remote clutched in her hand. Didn't take much to put two and two together. Her smile became sly.

"Whatever do you have there?"

The woman bridled for a brief moment, then rallied.

"That is none of your concern." she concealed the item behind her back and raised her chin in haughty defiance. "I am a law abiding citizen of Atlas. I pay my taxes and treat my employees fairly-

Illia wailed. "That's a lie!"

Her employer scoffed. "Come along now, or I'll be forced to...reconsider the terms of your employment.

Illia hung her head.

.

..

...no."

Lady Tremaine frowned. "I beg your pardon?"

"No!" Illia's head snapped up, silver eyes blaze. "You're awful! I don't want to be here anymore!"

The remote flicked out.

"YOU WILL DO AS YOU ARE TOLD-

Too late, she noticed the missing necklace.

A blade fiicked out under her chin, cutting her short.

Cinder blinked, somewhat taken aback. It didn't belong to her or Naruto.

"You're a real piece of work, you know that?" Qrow Branwen advanced upon her, forcing her to step back lest he open her throat. "I've seen your kind before. Say it." she gulped and he growled at her, a deep and throaty sound that had no business coming from a human throat. "Explain yourself."an arm swept back to the quivering Illia. "Tell me why you were ready to shock a little girl. Go on. We're listening."

Lady Tremaine faltered. "You're a huntsman! You wouldn't dare kill me!"

Naruto started forward, but Qrow's chortle stopped him. "About that...I've never been a very good Hunter."

The main door clicked open behind them.

She must've seen something behind him just then; for her face turned smug.

"Rhodes!" she cried! "Thank goodness you're here! These hooligans are trying to rob me!"

Qrow whirled. "Now wait just a minute-

He was still speaking when a vicious mace slammed into his ribs and launched him across the room.

Lady Tremaine flicked a glance at her guards. "Take the girl. Kill the others."

One of them flung a knife. Cinder twisted and shielded Illia with her body.

Blood splashed across the floor.

Silence swelled in the hotel.

Illia looked up.

"Ma'am...?"

With trembling eyes she beheld Cinder's wound. So did Naruto. A switch flipped in the back of his mind.

"Return my merchandise at once!" Lady Tremaine was braying at them, her words an endless animal bleat. "She is mine to do with as I please!"

Something dark stirred within him.

"All of you...

Let go.

Every one of you...

Yes. Let go of it all.

"Each and every last one of you...!"

Just let go of everything.

So he did.

Blue eyes snapped into furious slitted scarlet. Anger took hold, muffling all else.

He stalked forward, eyes set upon the sneering shrews. Nine chakra chains burst from his back, writhing like so many tails. They found the first daughter and tore her limb from limb. Nothing remained of her. Only shredded clothing. Her sibling shrieked, turning to run. She made it all of two steps before he caught her. His chains reeled her into his grasp. His hands closed around her head and ripped. An awful crack filled the room and he flung her severed head aside to join her sister's body.

Here at last, the Mistress realized her own peril. "You can't do this! I am a respected citizen of Atlas!"

"And I!" Cinder raised her wounded arm, middle finger and thumb pressed together. "Am!"

Her eyes flashed.

"Cinder!"

She snapped her fingers.

Just like that, Lady Tremaine went up in flame.

Her body burst into a pillar of fire, a blaze so hot that it swallowed her screams before they could be born. Then it began to spread. Cinder snarled and snapped her fingers a second time, a third, a fourth, a fifth now. and the fire latched onto the floor, the carpet, the ceiling. She didn't stop until the guests fled from their rooms, until Naruto hauled her back, until the entire hotel was ablaze.

Burn it all.

Burn them all.

Burn this rotten world.


(.0.0.0.)


"They're criminals!"

"They didn't do anything wrong!" Qrow wiped a thin line of blood from his mouth as he climbed to his feet. Ugh. Bastard hit like a truck. "If you were in their shoes, you would've done the same!"

"It doesn't change what happened! The law is the law!"

"They're family!" Qrow raised his weapon, keeping himself between them. "Don't do this, Rhodes. Walk away. Now. Don't make me fight you."

Left unspoken was a more dire threat.

Don't make me kill you.

Rhodes lunged.

Qrow moved...and it ended.

Parry. Duck. Sweep his legs, strike, pierce his aura.

But it would end that way, wouldn't it? Rhodes wouldn't stop. Bastard was relentless like that. He'd always been a stubborn one, more hardheaded than he was a huntsman.

Qrow did.

What he had to do.

It ended as all things in his life did, with him standing over a bloody body, consumed with regret.

"Damnit." he growled and tore Harbinger free. "Look what you made me do! It didn't have to end like this!"

...Uncle Qrow?"

He turned, blood on his blade; saw the ruin they had wrought and sighed.

He pulled out his Scroll and dialed a familiar number. His fingers fumbled at the keys, failed once, twice, then tried again. Third time was the charm. He'd never live this down. Forget Ozpin, the man on the other end would hold this over his head for eternity.

Someone picked up immediately.

"Hey, ah, Jimmy?" he received a low growl and his wince redoubled. "Got a bit of a problem here involving a Maiden. I need a favor...how good are you at getting away with murder?"

In the end, 'ol Irondick did as he asked; if only because he had no choice. No one wanted their secrets revealed.

Perhaps it was an abuse of power on his part -no, it definitely was!- but he couldn't bring himself to care. James and Oz could cover this up. By the time the finger pointing started, he'd be long gone. In all likelihood he wouldn't be able to show his face around these parts ever again.

'Bah, never liked Atlas anyway...

"Let's go." he said instead. "Storm's probably let up by now."

Credit where it was due. Naruto and Cinder followed him without hesitation. He didn't miss the blood on them. His niece and nephew were no strangers to murder.

But little Illia was. She all but clung to Cindr's skirts as they slipped outside. "Where are we going?"

Qrow looked over his shoulder, regarding the teenagers and the little girl who had thrown her fate in with theirs. Three brats looking to him for answers in a world that had none. Wasn't right. Wasn't fair that they had to see the ugly side of the world at such a young age. Damn his semblance. Damnit to hell.

There was only one safe haven he could think of; a terribly familiar place indeed.

"Home." he said at last. "Pretty sure my nieces are gonna love you...

As luck would have it, he was half right...

A/N: Had to save the reunion for next chapter. Would've felt rushed here. Remember, Embers rule. This will be deleted forthwith if folks don't like it. Forthwith! So speak up! Make yourselves heard!

And there we go.

Lets see if this story has a happy ending.

As stated above, reviews are my lifeblood. Can't write without 'em.

So in the Immortal Words of Atlas...

...Review, Would You Kindly?

And enjoy the previews.

SPOILERS! READ IF YOU DARE!

(Previews)

Taiyang staggered back, looking like he'd been struck. "Wait, does that make them my kids?"

Qrow slapped his back. "You know how it is."

And so the misunderstanding continued.


Naruto and Cinder exchanged a look and shrugged.


Yang stomped a foot. "No! You're not family!"

Ruby raised a tiny hand. "I dunno, they seem nice...


...why are you braiding my hair?"


Ozpin bowed his head.

"Rest well, Raven. You will be avenged."

R&R~!