3. The Semester Begins

Pyrrha panted, sweat streaked across her brow. Her chest heaved as she swallowed gulp after gulp of precious oxygen. Her limbs stung, her heart ached, her head swam.

She prided herself on her physical fitness. It was something well within her control, something she could improve upon. It was why she woke up every morning to jog and exercise. It was why she sparred with all her heart. Then, came along this blond haired, blue eyed boy who took that pride and shattered it.

Peering up at him from her hunched over position, her eyes gave the boy a once over. Strong frame. Impressive endurance and stamina. A strategic mind. He was even more physically fit than she was; he had been out here working out for far longer than she had, yet he was in the exact same condition she was! Those few traits alone brought up a single important question: how come she had never heard of him before? With his skills and those strange abilities, wouldn't someone have sponsored him in a tournament already?

"Here, Pyrrha." Confused green eyes blinked, focusing on the object he'd held out in front of her.

"Water!"

She chugged down the canteen, relishing every last drop of the cold refreshment. It wasn't until the container was drained to the last drop that she realized how thirsty she had been.

"Thank you," she smiled. "Do you always train so early in the morning?"

"Yup!" He wiped away the sweat on his forehead, drinking from his own canteen. "Feels weird if I don't."

Pyrrha nodded in understanding and agreement. She had her own workout routine as well. She had her own regimen. Then she saw her partner out on the grounds of Beacon and well…

She got competitive.

"You up for some food?"

Her stomach answered for her. Loudly. Repeatedly. His chuckle only made her cheeks burn even more.

"That... sounds lovely," she replied.

"I can tell!"

She didn't ask him about the way his two canteens disappeared in plumes of smoke. It made her curious, but she chalked it up to his Semblance. Some sort of pocket dimension for storing things? Maybe a teleportation ability? Did it have to do with those strange scrolls he stored on his side of their dorm?

"Good morning, Captain, Pyrrha!"

She held back a laugh for the sake of her aching ribs. Nora hopped off her bed and gave a cheesy soldier's salute to the blond, laughing as he ruffled her hair.

"Good morning to you too, soldier! At ease!"

The three of them looked up as the bathroom door opened.

"Ren! Pancakes!"

This was her team, she realized. A hyperactive orange haired girl, a taciturn boy, and a mysteriously skilled blond. None of them cared for her title. None of them deferred to her. To them, she wasn't Pyrrha, the Invincible Girl. She was just Pyrrha.

And, in her opinion, that sounded rather grand.

x-x-x-x-x

"Hey! Over here!"

Team NPLN stopped in their tracks. A certain boisterous blonde, wearing a rather stretched out Beacon uniform, beckoned them towards her team's own table. With shared looks and a collective shrug, their team joined Team RWBY.

"How are you guys settling in?" Naruto prompted.

"As well as I can, sharing a dorm with my baby sister!" Yang pulled Ruby to her side, smiling as the younger girl squirmed in her grip.

"Yaaang!" her little sister whined.

"That aside," Weiss frowned, "the room is a bit… cramped."

"Cramped?" Pyrrha questioned.

"Yea." Blake blinked. "Don't you guys have the same problem?"

"Nope!" Nora interjected. "Mostly because our captain only has a bunch of scrolls and nothing else! You'd think a boy would have some clothes or something."

Everyone at the table turned their attention from Nora, who was now pouring a ludicrous amount of maple syrup onto her pancakes, to Team NPLN's captain.

"You… don't have anything but Scrolls?" Weiss blinked.

"Not these," Naruto clarified, holding out his own Scroll. "Paper scrolls."

"Oh!" Now, Blake was curious. "What's in those scrolls?"

"My… stuff," Naruto laughed. "You'll see. I'll show you when we get back to our rooms."

Satisfied, but still curious, the table's conversation devolved. Yang continued to grill Naruto about how he could damage the Deathstalker with such a small knife when Ren's dual bladed pistols could only scratch the bone-like shell.

"You're not going to-" Naruto started.

"Ow ow ow ow! Please! Let me go!"

Their entire table stopped what they were doing. Most of the conversations in the mess hall came to a halt.

"See? I told you they were real!"

The boisterous, unapologetic voice of one Cardin Winchester reached them. Team CRDL was sitting at their own table, an unruly collection of teenaged boys and out of control hormones. That being said, what was happening was inexcusable. Standing up and pulling on the long ears of a Faunus girl, Cardin Winchester and his friends were laughing at the girl's plight. The pain on her face was obvious.

There was a second, a brief second, where the shocked mess hall could only watch. Then, everything went cold. It wasn't the oppressive cold of a winter storm; it was the cold chill that drowned out everything else. It was the fear of coming face to face with an apex predator. The feeling was gone almost as quickly as it came.

Soft footfalls came as soon as it lifted. Team RWBY and NPLN didn't even realize Naruto was no longer among them.

"GAH!"

The loud shout of Cardin Winchester broke the silence. Naruto, standing protectively beside the Faunus girl, gripped the teen's wrist with enough force for his Aura to activate.

"Let. Her. Go."

When the Winchester refused and tried to pull his arm away, Naruto's grip tightened. Aura flared. Cardin's friends tried to stand up and help him, but they found that none of them could move, their muscles locked into position.

"I won't repeat myself."

To his credit, Cardin resisted for a few more seconds before the blond squeezed. Even under the augmentation of his Aura, he could feel his strength waning as Naruto continued to apply more and more pressure. Pushing through the pain, he lashed out with a left uppercut.

It didn't end well for the Winchester.

A gentle nudge from Naruto's right hand returned the punch to its sender. The flash of Aura and resistance shocked Cardin just enough for the boy to let go, freeing the Faunus girl from his grip. Naruto took the brief moment of shock to check up on her.

"You alright?" The meek nod she gave nearly made him pat her head. "Good."

That was the only warning Cardin received. Naruto's hand grabbed the boy by his head, slamming it directly into his food tray. What no one could see was the application of a black seal on the back of his head.

"And now we have a complete collection."

With a dramatic snap of his fingers, the seals on Team CRDL came to life. Cardin's head was pressed further into his meal. The rest of his team joined him a split second later. With his next words, the entire hall finally realized where that feeling of dread had come from.

"The next time I see you pulling something like this, I will send you back to your parents in a bucket."

What no one else in the room could feel was the overwhelming intent he was giving off. Focused solely on the four teens, who have never felt someone's intent to kill before, they passed out.

"Weaklings who would dare to pick on a girl but couldn't last a second against killing intent." Naruto turned his attention away from the teens, smiling as the Faunus girl squeaked, blushing to the roots of her hair. "It's okay. I won't bite."

"Um- uhh. Th-Thank you."

"You're welcome. Come on. Let's get you something else to eat, yea?"

x-x-x-x-x

"You're welcome. Come on. Let's get you something else to eat, yea?"

Ozpin frowned. Had he been too quick to accept Naruto Uzumaki into his Beacon? He had done it on a whim after all. Best to keep this unknown as close to him as possible. The shorter the leash, the better.

Now, after witnessing the events within the cafeteria, he wasn't so sure. The mysterious teen had somehow locked down and scared four Huntsmen-in-training so badly, they'd passed out. To be fair, Team CRDL was far from the best team in Beacon - far from it - but they weren't the worst either.

"Sir! You cannot allow this to happen on school grounds!"

Right. Glynda.

"That is correct," he admitted, "however, we can't do anything about it either."

"Sir?!"

Although her voice had barely changed in pitch and volume, he knew what he'd said was practically sacrilegious to her.

"Mr. Uzumaki had stood up in the defense of Ms. Scarlatina with minimal violence. If we step in now, how do you think the students, who, need I remind you, had been recording the incident, will perceive our intervention?" He knew he'd won her over by the slight raising of her eyebrows. "They would not see staff members upholding the school policies; instead, they would see sympathizers to those who would mistreat Faunus kind." Ozpin shook his head. "I rather like my Academy the way it is, Glynda: without the White Fang knocking on my doors."

"I… I understand." Goodwitch sighed. "And Ms. Uchiha?"

"Taken care of. Leonardo has sent over a group of students of his own. A group of three, to be precise."

"Do you think this is a good idea, sir? Mr. Uzumaki has shown that he is quite the dangerous individual already. At the very least, he appears to be a sociable individual, capable of empathizing with others. Ms. Uchiha, on the other hand, could best be described as a functioning sociopath." With a few taps on her Scroll, she brought up several images of the Emerald Forest. "It's hard to believe that a seventeen year old could torture, even if they were only Grimm."

"I understand your concerns, Glynda, but there is nothing else we could do about this. Either we keep them close and assess their threat level now, or we risk losing them to her."

x-x-x-x-x

"If there was a list of things I do not want to see, you take the lead. By. Far."

Kurama gave the Uchiha girl an annoyed stare. This must be her revenge for his taunts the other day. He would stop being a thorn in her side, but what was she going to do? Seal him in a natural satellite? It wasn't that much worse than this.

"What happened to the dobe?"

"Why do you care?" he huffed, shifting his tails back and forth. "If you cared about him, you wouldn't have left him. If you cared about him, you would ask him yourself." Kurama's lip lifted into a toothy grin. "Or are you too cowardly to do so?" He scoffed when he felt her chakra surge through her eyes. "Go ahead, brat."

He stared her down. There was nothing he could do against her. Of all the people from their accursed world to have activated that divine eye, it just had to be her. If it had been Naruto, he wouldn't have minded.

As much.

"..."

"Go on then. What are you waiting for?"

"..."

"Hahaha!" The mad cackle of Shukaku broke through the silence. "Bitch lost her nerve! Damn am I glad Naruto dumped your a-!"

Another surge of chakra slammed the One-Tail directly into the ground. Overwhelming pressure kept the chakra beast pinned. The Uchiha's brow furrowed.

"Strange that you would care so much." Kurama lowered his head until they were practically eye level. "After all… you left him."

A pulse of chakra told him all he needed to know. He didn't need to see the reflection of his eyes in the water below to know what she was doing.

"Go on, Uchiha!" Kurama laughed without restraint. "See what your departure did to him!" He continued to laugh, even when her control was relinquished and the sanctity of his mind was his once more.

"..."

"I hope you're happy now." The smirk widened even further. "He already wasted five years of his life chasing after you. You're not worth another second of his time."

x-x-x-x-x

"There you are!"

Naruto blinked. There was only one other person he had ever met who wore sunglasses indoors and that was Killer Bee.

"And you brought a hunk with you."

"Note to self: do not leave Yang in her company."

"C-Coco!"

"I hope our little bunny hasn't caused you any trouble?" He really didn't like the way she was leering at him.

"Not at all."

His hand settled between Velvet's ears, gently patting and scratching her head. Her foot began tapping ever so slightly on the floor in the same rhythm as his hand movements.

Cute.

"Well, now that you're back with your team, I'll see you around, Velvet."

Naruto walked away from the girls' dorm, pointedly ignoring the loud door slam and what sounded like Velvet getting grilled by her friend.

"You didn't have to do that, you know."

"Do what, exactly?" Naruto replied.

From the corner of his eye, a black and white shape peeled itself away from another corridor.

"Help her."

"You're right. I didn't have to." His footsteps resumed. Hers followed suit.

"Then why did you?"

"Because I wanted to." He faced her, smiling ever so slightly. "Do I need a reason to, Blake?"

He knew why she was asking him - grilling him, rather - about his intervention on Velvet's behalf. How she managed to slip past other people's notice with a twitching bow was beyond him. Then again, these teenagers weren't raised to notice every minute detail and have this level of situational awareness.

"No." When she shook her head, the presence of her ears became even more obvious. "Our teams decided to get together and learn some more about each other. I was sent to fetch you."

He gave her a knowing smile.

"Did they send you to fetch me or did you volunteer yourself?" The brief flash of color on her cheeks told him everything he needed to know.

"I…"

"Your reasons are yours. I won't pry."

He was already pushing the limits of her comfort zone, it seemed. Stubborn girl. She reminded him of a younger Satsuki. Not the lost, broken girl who tried to kill him and run away to Orochimaru. The younger Satsuki, the one who kept to herself, whose words were rare and her smile even more so.

The nostalgic smile died before it could even take shape. The girl he grew up with was gone. He'd said so when they last fought.

So be it.

He'd paid his dues. He'd burned his bridges. This was a new world, a new life for him to live.

"Naruto!" Pyrrha greeted.

"Are you finally going to tell us how you cut through that Deathstalker or am I going to have to wrestle it out of you?" Yang taunted.

The smiles of his team and of Team RWBY pulled him away from those dark thoughts. Idly, he noted the haphazard construction of Team RWBY's room, raising an eyebrow at the bunk bed layout. And the sewn together drapes. And the book supporting a top bunk

"You can try, but I doubt you could."

"Girls?" Ruby prompted.

A rock settled into the pit of his stomach.

"Uh oh."

There was a soft click as Blake locked the door behind her. Even Nora and Pyrrha were in on it, each revealing a pillow in their hands. Nora smirked. Devious girl. Pyrrha, at the very least, appeared semi-apologetic.

"Ren?" Naruto pleaded. "Help?"

"Uh… No."

A flurry of petals marked Naruto's last chance to escape.

"BANZAI!"

He didn't.

x-x-x-x-x

"Ozpin made a mistake."

Although she'd said it out of anger, they were no less true. Ruby Rose was not fit to be a leader. She had done nothing to earn her position as their team's leader!

There must have been some other reason Ozpin had placed her as team leader. Otherwise, what sense would it have made for a fifteen year old to be the leader on a team when even Ruby's older sister didn't get the position? It made absolutely no sense! Who would put an ignorant, irresponsible child into a position of leadership?!

"Hey!" she yelped. "Watch where you're-" She gasped, cutting off the angry tirade that was on the tip of her tongue. "Naruto! I'm sorry."

He could have done anything in that moment. Wave away her apology, just smile and walk away, yell at her for her lack of spatial awareness. Instead, he gave her that smile. Patient, kind, understanding, sympathetic.

"First fight?"

Her cheeks flushed in embarrassment; her problems seemed so inconsequential when he phrased it that way.

"You didn't have to make it sound like we had a lovers' spat." Naruto laughed in response.

"You said it, I didn't."

"I didn't mean-! It's-! Ugh." She gave a light slap against his shoulder as they walked together. "You and Yang are insufferable."

"It probably has to do with the hair color," he smirked, tugging at the spiky bangs that drooped over his headband.

Weiss rolled her eyes. Through some means that she didn't quite understand, Naruto had calmed her down. The simmering anger - nay, frustration - she felt against Ruby was practically gone. Soon enough, she found herself lounging against a bench, overlooking the Emerald Forest as it glowed beneath the setting sun, with a popsicle in her hand. Before she even knew what was happening, she was spilling her heart out to him.

"You shouldn't be too hard on her, you know?"

"What?!"

She couldn't believe it! He was siding with the fifteen year old? Why?!

"I'm not saying your arguments are wrong. They have merit." That calmed her. "But you're being too harsh on her."

She stared down at her popsicle, clearly frowning. Was she being too harsh? She didn't think so. If anything, it's best that she addressed the situation now rather than later on.

"Ruby is a bit too inexperienced to lead, you're right," Naruto offered, "but in the same vein, do you think you could get your entire team to do what you want them to?"

She sighed. Sadly, he was right. It had nothing to do with her ability or inability to lead, of course! Yang would rather side with her family than a stranger - the stubborn, stacked sister that she was - and Blake had already proven herself to be opposed to her in general.

"Then… what am I supposed to do?"

The weight of Naruto's hand on her shoulder made her face him, searching for an answer, one more satisfactory than what she'd realized so far.

"Just be yourself. Help Ruby learn, be there to teach her what she doesn't know, but also be willing to learn, be willing to admit when you're wrong." No matter what anyone says, she will never admit that he made her blush in that very moment. "Leadership isn't just a role; it's also a mindset."

There are certain moments in a person's life that, upon looking back, one will realize was a pivotal moment, defining them as a person. For Weiss, this was one of those moments. She already knew those things Naruto had said to be true to some extent, but to hear him say it with such truth and conviction?

"Thank you," was all she could say.

x-x-x-x-x

"Am I really that unlucky?"

Pyrrha really didn't know what her partner was talking about. Was the sudden announcement of three new students joining Beacon Academy not something to be celebrated? Did he have something against Satsuki Uchiha?

"Satsuki Uchiha, Cinder Fall, Mercury Black, Emerald Sustrai. With your recommendation from Lionheart, you will now be a part of Beacon Academy, designated as Team SCME (Scheme)."

At least their arrival had given the group a break from the sugar-addled presence of Doctor Oobleck. How such a tall man could move with such speed without the use of his aura was equal parts impressive and disturbing.

"What do you mean, Naruto?"

"Nothing," Naruto stated. "Just… bad memories."

She offered her support, resting her hand on his arm. A past love maybe? Or just a lost friend? She didn't know and she couldn't really pry. Wouldn't want to chase her friend away, now would she?

"Captainnnnn." Nora's drawled out voice drew their attention away from each other. "Classes are so boringggg. Do we have to go back?"

"Yes, Nora, we have to."

"Drat."

"Today is battle training."

"Never mind~," the girl chirped

The petite girl saluted with a smile and her tongue stuck out. A silly pose for a silly girl, she supposed. There was nothing wrong with that. Nora was Nora. She was the light of their team. Someone has to contrast tall, dark and broody.

They would make a cute couple, she thought. The way Nora would constantly stay by his side, smiling and talking to him. She knew Nora was crushing on her best friend, but Ren seemed rather oblivious.

It was really sweet, in all honesty.

"Come on guys." Naruto led them away from the crowd. "Let's get to combat class before Ms. Goodwitch uses her riding crop on us."

Nora snickered. Ren even cracked a smile. Pyrrha had to hide her smile.

"Naruto! You shouldn't say that about our professor."

"Aww. Don't worry, Pyrrha." Naruto bumped their shoulders together. "I'll protect you from Mistress Pain."

Nora absolutely cackled as Pyrrha flushed to the roots of her hair.

"T-That's not what I meant!"

She liked the sound of his laughter. Was that strange? Was it wrong to like the laughter of her partner? No, right?

She kept throwing glances at him. That rugged jaw. Those jagged whiskers. Those crystal blue eyes. And those battle fatigues of his...

Oh, spirits. She'd just licked her lips, hadn't she?

She wasn't a shallow person. At least, she didn't think she was. She didn't just appreciate him for his looks. They were just a plus. What really kindled her… partiality, was his ability to push her to her limits. Their early morning workouts had shown her that Naruto was far beyond her in terms of physical limits. Now, she was curious as to his combat abilities. Strength did not always equate to battle prowess.

Somehow, she knew that he would meet her expectations - and more!

"Welcome to battle training." The stern voice of Glynda Goodwitch snapped Pyrrha out of her thoughts. "Here, you will learn the more advanced combat lessons that will build upon the foundations you have laid through your previous years."

The screen located above the stage displayed two empty frames amid a blue background. Pyrrha was, of course, familiar with the use of displays during her tournaments.

"This screen will display your Aura levels, synced up with the ones on your Scrolls. While practicing in battle training, the match will be over once one or both trainees' Aura levels have reached the red. During your first few matches, you will only be sparring with your weapons and armor to familiarize yourselves with weapon handling. Only later will you be allowed to use Dust to enhance your combat potential."

Pyrrha wetted her lips. She was ready, now more than ever, to face her partner in combat. Ever since she'd seen what he could do, how quickly he could move, she wanted to pit herself against him.

"First, you will pair off with your partners. Today, you will be learning amongst yourselves. You were made into teams for a reason. Learn one another's strengths and weaknesses. Naruto Uzumaki and Pyrrha Nikos will demonstrate."

Naruto met her eyes, trading smiles with her. It looked good on him, she thought. The way he smiled made him look rather like a fox. A very mischievous fox.

"Come on, partner." They separated from the throng of students, bringing their weapons to bear on stage. "You'd better not hold back on me, Pyrrha."

"Same to you, Naruto."

Miló snapped into its sword form in her hand. Already, her blood sang for battle. She locked eyes with him for a second. He felt the same way apparently. A pair of battle maniacs had found themselves to be partners. How fitting.

Soon, her eyes trailed down to his body. She tried to read him. She tried to predict what he would do, what he was capable of with those strange trench knives of his. Confusion joined the adrenaline pumping through her veins.

She… couldn't read him. Perfectly calm. Perfectly relaxed.

"If I can't read him, then I will have to test him."

With Miló in her right and Akoúo̱ on her left, Pyrrha charged. Probing his defenses, her sword found purchase in the knuckles of his trench knife. Her follow up strikes, sweeping and flowing with the movement of her feet, carried her forward.

Slash, slash, uppercut, backhanded shield bash.

To her pleasant surprise, Naruto kept up with her.

Parried, parried, dodged, dodged.

A smile slowly found its way onto her lips. She could feel her heart thundering within her chest, moving to the rhythm of their spar. Having proven to her that he was able to keep up, she decided to change things up.

In a single smooth motion, she jumped. Her blade followed the path of her corkscrew. At the peak of her jump, Miló shifted; blade became javelin. Their eyes met as Naruto leaned back, just barely beyond the reach of Miló. While it didn't quite breach Naruto's defenses, it did make him change strategies.

A win in her book.

The next time she clashed with him, her javelin cleaving through the air, she was surprised to find a gleaming pair of swords blocking and parrying her every move.

"You're not the only one who could change weapons."

She didn't get a chance to retort. Naruto was on her in the blink of an eye. Akoúo̱ met his right blade. Ringing steel drowned out all other noise. She braced herself as the weight of her partner settled onto her shield, flipping over her. Miló was up in an instant, guarding her right side as Naruto's sword came back up. She blocked one sword.

Aura sparked as his second sword crashed into her exposed shoulder. Uncaring, she pushed forward. Miló's javelin tip sliced through the outer layer of his green vest. Another point to her, as far as she was concerned. Just when she thought she could get the upper hand on him, he changed strategies as well.

Those straight-edged swords were gone, replaced by two small tri-pronged knives. Miló was parried as he stepped past her weapon's defense. Aura sparked once again as her armored stomach was met with sharpened points. She disengaged as xiphos Miló carved a thin line across the ground.

"He fights… like me," she realized.

There was no set strategy, no technique that he followed. Just when she thought she'd gotten an inkling into his battle tactics, Naruto disappeared. Her instincts saved her. Miló met one of his knives in shining arcs of steel and bronze. It took a second for her to realize the mistake she'd made.

That kunai was thrown.

A hand slipped past her guard, gripping her by the back of her wrist. She found herself unbalanced as Naruto used his own weight to twist around her and throw her onto the ground. The world twisted, shapes molding, colours blurring as she found herself flipped onto her back with a resounding clang! She was on her feet a moment later, but found no reprieve. Those twin swords were back, tearing away at her defenses.

Naruto had gotten faster.

Polarity tugged at his blades, slowing them down, but it, she realized, was a moot point. Even with her Semblance, his strikes didn't seem to slow down. Belatedly, she acknowledged the drain of her depleted Aura. Her Semblance… wasn't active.

Clang!

Miló was wrenched out of her hands. And with that, she found one of those blades pointed at her throat. They locked eyes again. This time, she noticed how different he looked.

Like a predator on the hunt.

As the rush of blood in her ears faded, silence became the only thing she could hear in the training room.

"WOOO! Our captain could kick some ass!"

Nora's proclamation sent the room clamoring. Applause, cheers and incredulous silence mixed together, a cacophonous noise that echoed around in the room.

"An excellent demonstration, Mr. Uzumaki, Ms. Nikos," Goodwitch praised before addressing the rest of their class. "While you may not be at their level, their display should be something you should aspire to. Adaptability and unpredictability will be vital to your development and survival as Huntsmen."

x-x-x-x-x

"You think that's him?" whispered Emerald.

Cinder ignored the question; it was a stupid one. The boy had been a perfect match of what their mistress had described.

Spiky blond hair? Check.

Whiskered cheeks? Check.

Strange horizontal pupils and orange eyeshadow? No dice.

Though he'd only checked off two of the criteria, no one else in the entire school came even close to Salem's description of the one who'd communicated with her Grimm.

"Obviously," Mercury snarked.

"You-"

"Quiet," Cinder commanded.

She didn't know the full story, but Cinder could tell their team leader had some history with their mark. It was rather easy to tell. Those strange mismatched eyes of hers hasn't left the blond since he stood up on stage.

Thankfully, her two companions were smart enough to only talk about their mission with the girl separated from them. She could barely hear them and they were only a few feet away from her, so she doubted the other girl could hear anything.

The fight had been interesting to say the least. Neither combatants used anything but their physical prowess. No Dust, no Semblances. Even then, this Naruto had surpassed her expectations. He moved far faster than even she could track.

She could use someone like him on her side. If she could recruit him and inform Salem about him…

That would be perfect.