Chapter 12: Beacon's Ballroom, pt.2
Naruto woke himself with a yawn. After their previous day, they'd been herded into the Ballroom, and their gear taken to Initiate's Lockers for the next day. He'd not bothered, even though most students had given him a wide berth. He'd managed to find a little nook, away from most of the other people he knew so that they wouldn't get flak for knowing him. It turned out most people didn't like his introduction. Meh. They just couldn't understand art!
He blanched at that. 'Am I becoming like… ponytail dude?!' he asked himself, eyes widening. Shaking the stupor off of himself, he glanced at the clock hanging from the wall. It read 5 AM. So he had four hours to kill. Shrugging, he took his pillow (which had consisted of his cloak, rolled up into a bundle) and set out, holding it under his arm.
'Let's see… I have four hours till initiation starts. Technically, they never said we couldn't leave Beacon before then…' he thought to himself, grin splitting his face. Strolling out of the Ballroom, he had to glance a second time. Ozpin was waiting outside, a smile on his face and a cup of… after a few sniffs he identified it as coffee in his hand. With a nod, Ozpin greeted him.
"Good morning, Mr. Uzumaki. How are you this morning? Ready for initiation?" he asked, sipping his coffee. Naruto nodded warily, recalling his conversation with Taiyang and Qrow. If Ozpin knew he was planning on teaming up with Ruby, then he'd never let him near her. Call it obstinance, but apparently Ozpin didn't like letting other people's plans come to fruition, even if they didn't impact him.
"I'm doing great, Ozpin-Sensei." he greeted, causing Ozpin to smile happily.
"I see you're excluding the bow this time." he said genially, happy with Naruto's casual behaviour.
"Ah, you said I didn't need to." Naruto said warmly, easing up as Ozpin continued.
"Yes, and I'm glad you took my advice to heart. While it's always nice to be shown respect, I fear only Glynda will appreciate it; especially after yesterday."
Naruto tensed, which Ozpin noticed. "Now now, don't be alarmed. I was just curious about your… entrance yesterday. The last time we had a student make an entrance like that was one of our older students, Daebo Golden." Naruto cocked his head, curious.
"What'd he do?" he asked, tension completely gone. Ozpin noticed this, and was pleased to see that Naruto was no longer nervous.
"Well, he was the last one to actually go on stage. Oh, we have students try to impress the hordes fairly often, but most attempt it from the safety of the audience. Young Mr. Golden was simply the last to go on stage; using Fire and Ice Dust he created a large explosion, much like you, only far more destructive. When the smoke from the Fire Dust cleared, he'd scorched his name into the wall, and had used the Ice Dust to create a large statue of himself."
Naruto was impressed, that was beyond even what he'd done. However, Ozpin continued.
"Of course, he was not perfect. Unlike your display, his backfired on him. The Fire Dust had melted the back of the statue, and a few seconds after the smoke cleared it slid forwards off the stage." Naruto winced.
Ozpin continued, "And, all in all, his performance merely demonstrated that he could afford Dust, and knew how to use it, albeit not very well. Yours, on the other hand, was far more intriguing." he levelled his gaze at Naruto, who only now noticed his glasses were missing.
"Tell me, Mr. Uzumaki, who were the… titans you referenced, and what significance did they have with your… tails?" he inquired.
Naruto thought for a few seconds, before shrugging. Ozpin wouldn't believe the truth, so he might as well tell him that and then make something up. At the very least, it'd amuse him.
"I'm from another dimension, one where there are nine Tailed Beasts that were left by an old Sage to watch over the world. They all joined me, and sealed themselves within me. The names you heard yesterday were the names of the Tailed Beasts. They're called that because they each have different numbers of tails, from one to nine." he said, his voice dripping with amusement. Ozpin however, merely looked at him curiously.
"How… intriguing. And how did you end up here?" he humoured Naruto, who could tell Ozpin didn't believe him.
"Well, I accidently was blasted through a rift in Space-Time, that sent me flying through Timeless Space until I found a weak point in this dimension. I made it through, and appeared in the forest just a day before I met you." he finished, looking at Ozpin shrewdly.
Ozpin was thinking. Sure, the story was outlandish, and probably untrue, but honestly, he could easily find out.
"If you truly are from another dimension, you shouldn't have the same energy type as us, nor know the same language. How are you speaking with us, and how do you explain your Semblance?" he asked goodnaturedly. Naruto nodded, a frown on his face.
"Honestly, I'm confused about the language aspect myself. The only theory I have is that as the same species, we must have evolved similar languages… which is extraordinarily unlikely. Maybe there were travellers in the distant past that gave us the same foundation for language… at least, that's what Kokuo thinks. As for my Semblance, well… I don't have one. I don't even have Aura, at least, not the same way you do. Aura, from what I can tell is simply a shell composed of Yin Chakra encasing your Yang Chakra, whereas I have both entwined together." Ozpin frowned at that, looking closely at Naruto. Reaching out his hand to his shoulder, he paused briefly.
"May I?" After Naruto nodded, he touched his shoulder, feeling for his Aura. Frowning softly when he didn't feel it, he paused and checked himself. Shaking briefly, he withdrew his hand, a new look on his face. This was a look of trepidation.
"So. You really don't have Aura." he said, his voice bland. Naruto merely nodded, starting to worry that Ozpin might actually believe him.
'Wait, that's not necessarily a bad thing! Professor Ozpin might be able to help me get home!' he thought, suddenly excited. He'd been relying on the skills the Shinobi of his home used, but maybe Ozpin might be able to help immediately.
Ozpin mused to himself, his fingers tapping his cane rapidly. Suddenly turning, he began to walk away.
"Mr. Uzumaki, if you could follow me to my office, I believe we may be able to help one another." Naruto, a smile splitting his face, followed after Ozpin without a second thought.
After marching down some hallways, they'd come to an elevator that Ozpin opened. Naruto was a bit confused by it, as he'd never seen one before, but managed to hide his confusion behind a veneer of interest in the buttons inside. Ozpin pressed a button, with no label, just a green button with a gear insignia imprinted on it. Ozpin noticed Naruto's curiosity, and smiled.
"Yes, I'm afraid that it is there." Naruto gazed upon a gold bar, with Port Fort emblazoned boldly upon it. He shrugged, before asking what Port was.
"Ah, Professor Port is our Grimm Studies teacher here at Beacon. He's quite dedicated to his craft, although he does so love to… pontificate." Naruto looked at Ozpin, bemused. Ozpin caught on, and elaborated.
"He likes to tell stories about his past. While they aren't exaggerated, most students tend to ignore them." Naruto nodded, before the elevator dinged as they made it to the top floor. As the door slid open, Ozpin marched in, propping his cane up against his desk. Naruto looked around the office, noticing how despite the advanced technology, it reminded him quite a bit of the Hokage's office. Maybe all offices of leaders were the same, he mused as Ozpin sat down.
Once Ozpin was seated, he slipped his scroll onto his desk, creating a hologram above it. Swiping through files, he eventually reached one that he opened.
"Well Mr. Uzumaki, I'm afraid that this is all that the Kingdoms have on interdimensional travel." Glancing up at the file, Naruto looked over the file. After a few minutes, he looked at Ozpin quizzically.
"So there's only two recorded cases of people slipping into another dimension, and one of them was a Semblance that allowed someone to access an exact copy of your own, except no people? What did you even call that?" Ozpin nodded, opening a subfile.
"That was over fifty years ago, a young lady by the name of Phoebe Dax. She opened what came to be known as the Ethereal Dimension, or Plane if you will. It was an exact copy of our own, except she could pass through physical matter there as though they were mere clouds. She died after running out of Aura in said dimension, unable to return." Naruto swallowed audibly, nervous. Ozpin continued.
"And the other case is more what I was hoping you'd see." opening a new subfile, Naruto's eyes widened.
"This man corroborates your story. He apparently fell into our dimension from another, and also mentioned a void where space was… odd." Naruto nods, picking up where Ozpin left off.
"Yeah, my arm was like a kilometer long and I could see the side of my head. It was disgusting!" Ozpin hummed, intrigued.
"Well, suffice to say this man didn't have Aura either, although I doubt he came from your dimension. His name was Annatar, and he gave us a few trinkets before he attempted to depart. While his first attempt was unsuccessful, his second may have borne fruit, as he vanished and never returned."
"How did he try the second time?!" Naruto demanded, steel in his voice. Ozpin cocked an eyebrow, not showing offense at Naruto's demand.
"Well, that's where I'm afraid this becomes a bit of a bother. He never documented his process, he simply acted until he succeeded. All I can tell you is that he attempted this feat right here, on Beacon's grounds." Naruto nodded once more, strained and impatient. However, Ozpin wasn't finished.
"I have a new offer for you, if you're interested." Naruto sighed, sagging.
"What do you want?" he asked tiredly.
Ozpin smiled warmly, his hands steepled beneath his chin. "Judging by your… tale, I suppose it is, you are far beyond what a normal student would be." Naruto looked at Ozpin, curious.
"And what makes you think that I'm beyond them?" Naruto asked, waiting for Ozpin's take. Maybe he sensed his Chakra when he touched his shoulder… Naruto pondered grimly.
Ozpin smiled again. "Mainly deduction, I assure you. You were sent careening into a new dimension, and, judging by your curiosity, are unsure how to get home. This tells me that whatever sent you here was an uncommon occurrence in your world, one that you and no one else has been prepared for. Now, seeing your combat ability, or at least a fraction of it, tells me that you can easily combat Roman Torchwick. And if you can fight a lower level Huntsman with ease, then that tells me that whoever you were fighting that could defeat you, and then utilize an ability that you and yours were unaware of, is without a doubt stronger than most of my own Huntsmen. And if that is the case, then I presume you'd be stronger than a mere student, especially a First Year. Am I wrong?"
Naruto was gobsmacked. Ozpin's logic, while fallible in some parts, was not wrong. There were spots where he could have definitely been wrong, but he wasn't. Needless to say, Naruto was wary once more.
"...Yes. You're right." Naruto admitted, seeing no point in concealing. While the Shinobi Way was to hide as much information as possible, Naruto was sure that would only put Ozpin on the alert for more deceptions. Much better to let him think he was willing to reveal all.
"Well, in light of that, I've decided you must be wasted as a student here. If you would, I'm willing to either offer you your Huntsman License now, and send you on your way, or…" he slowed, looking for Naruto's reaction.
"I can make you a teacher here at Beacon." he finished, causing Naruto's eyes to widen. Ozpin, seeing the look, decided to add on some more incentive.
"As a teacher here you'd have access to sensitive information and resources that as a student, you'd lack, and not have time to explore; and as a Huntsman you just wouldn't have the time to take advantage of, nor the ability due to your work in the field. So, would you like to work at my school?" Ozpin asked, a small smile on his face as he sipped his coffee.
Naruto was eager to agree. Even though he could see Ozpin had ulterior motives for this offer, it was still a good deal. He'd be able to research to his heart's content, and find a way home. Hell, he'd probably be able to get home in a few weeks at worst if he could collaborate with both the Shinobi and the Huntsmen circles! There was only one problem…
He'd promised Taiyang to join Ruby.
'Damn it Naruto, it's just one little promise, one that you didn't need to make! Ruby'll be fine, hell, Jaune can be her teammate! Then you can get home again, and not need to commit to four years of schooling!' he thought to himself, the Leaf nearly appearing before him, his desperation turning his thoughts towards home.
"Naruto, what was your Nindo?" he heard growl from his mind.
'Kurama, we could get home! We could be there so soon!' he said, pain echoing through his voice. The Tailed Beasts were silent, before Shukaku spoke up, his voice strangely absent of his trademark insanity.
"Naruto, one of the things that Gaara always remembered most about you was your Nindo. If even he could remember it, you have no excuse for neglecting it."
'But Shukaku, guys, I thought you'd want to go home?' Naruto asked, confusion and resentment filling his mental voice. Kurama bristled, but was hushed by the rest, before Gyuki spoke up.
"Naruto, I long to see Bee again. Unfortunately, his incessant rapping has grown on me. But, bluntly, the Shinobi World was never our home. Ever since the Sage died we've been hunted, exploited and imprisoned." Naruto made to interrupt, his passion awakened, but Gyuki spoke on. "I know you say you'll change the world, and I believe you can do it. But for now, what matters isn't getting home. It's that when you get home you're still Naruto Uzumaki."
"And Naruto Uzumaki doesn't go back on his word…" Naruto whispered to himself, prompting a look from Ozpin.
"Hmmm? Well Mr. Uzumaki? Would you like to take this offer?" he asked, the patience only accumulated with age showing in both his face and speech. Naruto sighed, defeated.
"I'm sorry, Professor Ozpin. But I'll have to turn you down." Ozpin's eyes widened, shock momentarily seeping through before he collected himself.
"I see. May I ask why? Surely you do not wish to stay here for the next four years?" he asked, his voice soft. Naruto sighed once more, slumping forwards.
"I've already made contact with my home, and they're trying to bring me back." Ozpin's eyes widened, before narrowing. "I have faith that they'll find a way home for me, and besides…" he hesitated, before deciding to throw all in. "I made a promise to help Ruby here."
Ozpin looked at him closely, before sighing. Standing up, he put down his coffee mug and walked to the window.
"I've seen countless aspiring students, Mr. Uzumaki." he began, his voice mellow, with a hint of melancholy touching every few words. "I've had bullies, I've had prodigies, and I've had those that only want to help others, and save the world. Every one of them would have taken me up on that offer." He turned back to Naruto, a smile on his face. And this time, Naruto could tell without a shadow of a doubt that it was genuine.
"But here you come in, a stranger from another world, with the exact attitude that I've looked for for-" Ozpin cut himself off, before recollecting himself, his voice sifting back into the bland look that Naruto now recognized as faint amusement, although he'd bet it was fake.
Ozpin continued. "Ah, well. I guess there's no use crying over spilled milk, as they say. So I might as well ask you this. Usually I reserve this right for the strongest of their generation, and I'm sure Glynda will find some form of vengeance for this; but who would you like to be your partner?" he inquired, a smile on his face. Naruto blinked.
"Why?" he asked, honestly confused. Ozpin smiled.
"Typically, we require some form of payment. I know Ms. Nikos knew about this from her agent, and brought me a really nice mahogany desk, which I'll miss, but you, Mr. Uzumaki, have proven your value. So, who would you like to be your partner?"
Once more, Naruto was confused. "So, just to clarify, you usually ask the strongest student who they'd like their partner to be?" Ozpin nodded. "And you… give them that partner?" Ozpin nodded once more. "What if the teams end up unbalanced?" Ozpin snorted this time, before stifling his… Naruto assumed he'd been about to laugh.
"Please. It's impossible to have a balanced team; and honestly, it makes betting in the Vytal Tournament so much harder. It's much better to have a nice powerful team to take home the prize." Naruto blinked again.
"Are you shitting me?" he asked, aghast.
"Hmmm?" Ozpin hummed, looking at him in amusement.
"You mean to tell me that this whole… thing, is about bragging rights?!" Naruto exclaimed, shocked.
Ozpin simply nodded. "Yes. Atlas must lose. They've won the five previous Tournaments, we cannot allow them another." he said, completely serious. "James has already taken my favourite chair, leaving me with THIS monstrosity." he gestured at his chair, which Naruto noted looked rather uncomfortable. "And my bookshelves, and my lampshade, and…" he voice lowered into a growl, his eyes glinting harshly. "Last year he stole my coffee blender, along with the trade rights with Vacuo for their coffee beans. This shall not stand! This year we must WIN, lest we lose the thing that makes this Academy work most of all…" he sipped his coffee aggressively, leaving Naruto flummoxed on how he got it back in his hand. Stealing a look at the desk, he was dumbstruck when he saw the old cup was still there. Looking back at Ozpin, he saw his shoulders shaking.
"Glynda." Naruto blinked again, before gripping the bridge of his nose between his fingers.
"You bet your SECRETARY?!" he asked, feeling a migraine coming on. Ozpin sighed.
"And now you know why I wanted you as a teacher." Naruto frowned, and before he could speak up Ozpin continued. "And don't call her a secretary. She's ALSO the Combat Instructor. I just thought it would be more productive to make her my secretary, and make you the Combat Instructor." Naruto sighed again. He wouldn't lie, that sounded awesome. Teaching people his own age how to fight? How much more EPIC could you get?!
"So. Who would you like as your partner? I recommend Ms. Nikos." Ozpin suggested, sipping his coffee. Naruto thought to himself, before sighing.
"How about Ruby?" he asked, causing Ozpin to start thinking.
"Well, she is quite impressive… coupled with her training, Semblance and other qualities, I'd say that you'd have quite the team with both of you there… if I were to ALSO give you Ms. Nikos…" he very nearly started salivating, causing Naruto to back away, weirded out. After collecting himself, Ozpin nodded.
"As you wish; Ms. Rose would do well alongside you. I will do my best to ensure that you end up together." he decided, before glancing up and down Naruto again.
"...Now be honest with me; do you have any Lien?" he asked.
"No, I didn't bring anything with me here except my cloak." Naruto revealed, which made Ozpin hum in thought.
"I'll give you your student sums early then, and you can go to Vale to purchase some new clothing before Initiation. I'd advise you hurry, Mr. Uzumaki; you only have an hour." Naruto looked at the clock in confusion, before seeing that he indeed only had an hour.
'Did we really spend that much time talking?' he thought to himself, before bowing as he backed away to one of the elevators.
"Oh, not that one." Ozpin called out, "That one leads to the basement, where I have secured some… illicit coffee beans. I trust you will reveal this to no one?" Naruto smiled at him, amused.
"Don't worry Ozpin-sensei; if I can hide the Hokage's tobacco and booze stash, I'm sure I can forget that you have a coffee stash." Ozpin smiled happily.
'It appears that the leadership all have their vices… no matter what world.' he thought to himself, before beginning to think further on Naruto's dilemma.
'Should I ask the Relic of Knowledge?' he thought, his heart torn. He continued to think, flinching as he settled down into his chair.
Naruto stepped out of the elevator, before running out. He only had about an hour to get to Vale and back… better make this quick then. His eyes swirled into the Mangekyou Sharingan, before he quickly used Kamui to warp himself. He recalled when he'd used it yesterday, to get into his smoke screen. He'd been lucky enough to find a letter from Obito, along with a clock sitting on the ground atop a package wrapped in brown paper. The letter had been brief, but had brought tears to his eyes.
'Naruto,
I hope that you're doing alright. I've informed Kakashi that you're still alive, and he's begun a research division into discovering how to get you home. For now, we've left you these gifts from your friends, along with one that Nagato would have wanted to give you.
Also, I left this letter here when the clock said 8:00. I'm going to be coming back with Kakashi tomorrow afternoon, when it'll say 19:00,, so if you could be here that would help expedite matters.
-Obito'
Naruto had swiftly torn into the package, which he could tell were all from his friends. Kiba had sent him a short letter telling him to get home, and some food pills. The others had all been… very discomforting. They'd all sent him instant ramen packets, along with short letters saying they couldn't believe he was alive. However, a black silk package drew his attention. It was small, but he could instantly tell that it belonged to Nagato. Maybe it was the way it smelled, like rain and wetness, maybe it was the fact that the silk was water repelling (which he discovered after he'd cried a little on it after reading the letters). Either way, he slowly slid it open. Inside was a very familiar forehead protector; it was Jiraiya's. Dragging it free of the silken confines, he looked all over it, noticing the little dents and battle marks covering the surface. Smiling broadly, he'd slowly reached up and wrapped it over his head, removing his Leaf forehead protector. He'd slipped it into his pocket, before preparing some smoke bombs for his great entrance.
Naruto sighed, scratching at the forehead protector. Honestly, it itched more than his old one. But as he reappeared in Vale, he swiftly marched down a street to where he'd seen a clothing store a few days ago on his first day in Vale. Marching in, he was glad to see it was open. Looking at the clothes, he was glad to see someone working, and quickly walked up to them.
"Hey there!" Naruto greeted them loudly, causing him to start and turn, stumbling awkwardly in his blue cloak with white trim, which caught on the wall. He squinted at Naruto before speaking.
"I'll be blunt; do you have any Lien, or do I need to ask you to leave?" the shop owner asked, his voice strained as he scratched his short hair. Naruto nodded quickly.
"Yeah, I've got money. I'm just here to pick up some new clothes since these ones are kinda old and crappy." The shopkeeper snorted, agreeing with Naruto immediately.
"Oh they are. What are you looking for? Casual, formal, semi formal, or something else?" he asked, seeming nearly reluctant to say it. Naruto frowned, thinking. He kinda wanted another tracksuit, to be honest.
"I'd like to see your jumpsuits, please!" he asked happily. The shopkeeper frowned, before glancing at him.
"Are you sure?" Naruto nodded happily, and the store worker sighed (or more accurately, groaned), before leading him down an aisle to a set of jumpsuits.
"Here's our jumpsuit collection. But I'd really recommend something else, considering that these are… well, they're jumpsuits!" he exclaimed, watching Naruto pick up a light blue and white jumpsuit. Naruto frowned at him.
"I wore a jumpsuit for years! They're great!" he denied, crossing his arms. The shopkeeper sighed.
"Listen you moron, I have a deal for you. You come with me, try on the outfit I think will look good, and I'll give you a twenty percent discount." Naruto paused, considering. This would save him money, and he didn't know if he'd need more later. Shrugging, he gestured for the shopkeeper to lead the way, scowling at the bitter sounding man.
"So what's your name?" Naruto asked as they walked to the side of the store. The shopkeeper spoke back over his shoulder, avoiding obstacles like a dancer.
"The name's Belkar."
"My name's Naruto." Naruto said genially, before Belkar led him to a small out of the way corner of the store. He started taking things off a rack, asking Naruto some questions as he did so.
"So, why are you wearing crappy clothes like that?"
Naruto answered sheepishly, "I ran out of money and found these in the garbage. But my… teacher I guess, gave me my student stipend early so I could go get some new clothes."
Belkar hummed thoughtfully. "So you're at Beacon? A First Year I take it?" Naruto nodded, confused.
"Yes, I am. How'd you know?" Belkar snickered.
"I'm a Third Year at Beacon, I'm just working here mornings to pay for some extra stuff for my gear. I need to get some vambraces, but since I'm not getting any money other than the Student Stipend, I can't afford them at the moment. So I'm gonna work here for a few months, then I'll have the materials." Seeing Naruto's confusions, Belkar clarified. "My fighting style relies on using my daggers and acrobatic jumps. But since I use daggers my arms often get too close to my opponent, which ends up with them scoring hits on my arms. While my Aura does protect me, it drains it quickly if all my attacks result in them getting a hit. So I need to make really strong bracers to protect myself, then I can stop using Aura for everything." Naruto nodded. It seemed pretty smart; he was tackling a weakness so that his style wouldn't result in any injuries. Glancing back at the rack, Belkar asked another question.
"Got any colour preferences?" Naruto thought for a moment.
"Orange and black, or orange and blue and white." Belkar shrugged, turning back to his rack. After a minute of grabbing and dismissing different outfits, he drew out one and handed it to Naruto.
"Here, try this one on." Naruto shrugged, and walked into a changing room a few meters down the wall. Swiftly changing out of his current slobwear, he felt the shirt fit snugly around him. Glancing down at it, he shrugged as he didn't bother tucking it in as he flung his coat overtop. Opening the change-room door, he stepped out where Belkar was waiting. When Belkar saw him, he frowned.
"Well, it looks alright…" Naruto was currently garbed in a white coat with an orange undershirt. The coat went down to his midthighs, and had black clasps holding it tightly shut against his chest, but allowing it to flare outwards. The pants were simply black, and when down to his shins where he then had black boots with orange lining, and brocade overlays in orange and black. The collar was popped, which allowed his orange undershirt to peek through. Honestly, it was far beyond what he'd worn before as a Shinobi. However, Belkar did not appear enthused with the outfit.
Turning about suddenly, Belkar reached for another outfit, wrapped in translucent plastic.
"Here, try this one now." he grunted. Naruto was confused, but shrugged it off. He took the new outfit, which appeared to have fewer articles of clothing, and quickly changed. When he emerged, Belkar gave an approving grunt. Instead of a few layers, this time Naruto was simply wearing a black dress shirt, with the sleeves rolled up. His pants were a burnt orange, bordering on red but not quite there. His shoes were still Shinobi sandals, which Naruto was loath to part with. Belkar nodded approvingly when Naruto didn't acknowledge his grunt.
"Well, you're one of the people who look better in simpler outfits." Naruto shrugged, unsure of what to say.
"Well, do you want it?" Belkar asked, showing Naruto to a mirror. Naruto looked over himself, a bit withdrawn, but not disappointed. With his dress shirt not tucked in, he wasn't sacrificing mobility, and the colour scheme was more… him than the last outfit. Jiraiya's forehead protector didn't really go with it, even he could tell that. So he'd wear his own, at least until he went home. Then maybe he'd do what Jiraiya did, and travel…
Either way, Naruto liked the outfit. "Yeah, I do. Could I also get the other one, just in case there's any formal events?" he asked, since the other outfit was more formal, and looked professional. Belkar shrugged.
"Sure, why the hell not. I'll even put the discount down for both of them." Naruto nodded in thanks, before taking up the spare outfit and putting it back in it's bag. Belkar told him about maintenance on the wait to the check out.
"Now, the outfit you're wearing now is designed to be Huntsmen wear, so it doesn't require any special washing. You can just let it soak in water, then dry in the sun. It'll be a bit wrinkly, but that's life." Naruto nodded, happy with the information. Honestly, some of the things Ino used to bring on missions required special soaps to clean properly, and they needed the water to be a specific temperature. He was glad she'd grown out of that. And he was glad that his new outfit wouldn't require any special maintenance. After paying Belkar, who discounted twenty percent, Naruto went on his way into a side alley where no one would see him.
'Maybe I'll store my formal outfit in my weapons locker…' he thought to himself as he used the Kamui to twist away into nothingness.
Twisting into existence just outside Beacon, Naruto quickly made his way to the locker room. As he walked in, he saw that the rest of the students were up and ready, getting their weapons and equipment from their lockers. Sidling up next to some student in gray armour with orange hair, Naruto quickly punched in his locker combination (thank the Sage for the Sharingan, otherwise he'd never have remembered it). Slipping his outfit inside, he closed it with a clang, and locked it. Pausing to consider, he swiftly opened it again and stashed his Lien inside it as well. When he closed it, he saw the student looking at him, leaning against his own locker.
"Can I help you?" Naruto asked, not needing Kurama's ability to sense negativity to tell that this student loathed him.
"What help could a stupid animal like you give me?" the other student jibed snidely, causing Naruto to pause, turning towards him with a snarl.
"Hey! Who're you calling an animal?" Naruto growled angrily, as the student's friends flanked him.
"You, you freak! We all saw it! You had those disgusting tails! At least most freaks don't have more than one animal part, but you're a freak beyond freaks! You're a monster!" the student snarled.
Naruto paused to consider, taking deep breaths. Thanks to his Sage Training he didn't fly off the handle as much as he used to, which was fortunate because he-
"You don't belong here! You're nothing but a beast, a mindless savage! All you're good for is labour, and even then you fall short of real men!" Naruto grew a tick on his forehead as he tried to stay calm. At this point other students had begun to notice, and were circling. Naruto recognized this; they were trying to decide whether or not he'd be easy to bully. Either he could act out now, and potentially get in trouble with Goodwitch, or he'd be singled out for bullying.
It wasn't much of a choice.
Naruto glanced up at the taller boy, and smirked. "Well, at least this man isn't hiding behind a metal suit." the student recoiled as though stung.
"Are you calling me a coward, freak?!" the boy snarled, reaching for a handle protruding from his waist. Naruto nodded.
"Anyone who needs to hide behind armour obviously doesn't have much faith in their ability. I mean, look at you, look at me." he gestured to his new, immaculate outfit. "Who's the coward here, the one trying to bully a guy with no weapons or armour, or the one standing up to the moron in great metal sheets?" the student spluttered for a brief few moments, making Naruto glad that he'd learned how to keep a level head and speak properly from the Tailed Beasts. Eventually, the boy drew forth his mace, which was black with a glowing red crystal set within it.
Swinging wildly, the boy sent his mace streaking towards Naruto's face with terrifying speed; but Naruto simply bowed, and the mace flew over him and caved in his locker.
This, of course, made Naruto frown. His stuff could've been damaged! Standing upright, he pushed his hand against the head of the mace, keeping it lodged in his locker. The other student growled, his face turning red with either fury or exertion. Naruto couldn't tell.
Eventually, he decided enough was enough. "Get him!" he howled for his friends, who drew out their weapons. Glancing around, Naruto took stock of the situation. There were seven of them, and only one of him. All of them except three had weapons out and ready, and looked ready to fight.
'This'll be fun.' he smiled bestially, before wrapping his fingers around some of the flanges of the mace beneath his hand. Ripping the mace free of his locker, the student holding it only had a brief moment, where his eyes widened as he was spun around, slamming into two of his friends, sending them to the floor.
"Cardin!" cried out one of the other students, this one with a mohawk. Snarling, he turned towards Naruto, drawing two daggers and stabbing at him. Naruto however, instead of reacting to the daggers, kicked out one of Mohawk's legs from under him, sending him face first towards the ground with a cry. However, before he hit the ground Naruto spun, kicking him towards another student, and sending them both over the bench lining the center of the locker room and into the one who was probably Cardin, who'd just gotten up (which then sent him sprawling again). Naruto stood straight, looking at the rest of the students who'd just seen four of their own taken out, all in the span of ten seconds.
"You gonna give up, or do I need to go and find a window to throw you through?" Naruto asked, disdain pouring from his voice.
The rest of the students stood still, all waiting for someone else to make a move. However, inevitably, something else happened. Another student walked in, with long red hair and bronze armour.
"What's going on?" she asked, green eyes looking around. Naruto shrugged, knowing better than to lie.
"Just a minor disagreement. I'm sure it's all sorted out now." he said, glaring at the other students, who quickly nodded and backed off, with only Cardin and his friends rising up.
Cardin snarled, "Why are you protecting him, Nikos?! You saw what he was! He's a freak! A monster!"
Nikos simply looked at Naruto before smiling. "Maybe, maybe not. But I look forward to discovering that for myself!" Naruto grunted, sliding back into a lazy stance, his hands slipping into his pockets.
"Be careful what you wish for… some things are better left in the dark." Naruto warned carefully, trying to push her away from examining him. Nikos, however, simply smiled broader at him.
"What's your name?" she asked, and Naruto groaned mentally.
"Naruto. Naruto Uzumaki." he replied, waiting for her to give her own. When she simply nodded however, he cocked an eyebrow.
"And… what's yours?" he asked, his voice nearly betraying his annoyance. Fortunately (or unfortunately), before she can answer Jaune comes walking by.
"Come on, come on! I know it was down here!" he mumbled to himself, checking the numbers on the lockers. Naruto glanced at him, before halting Nikos' introduction.
"Sorry," he said absentmindedly, calling out to Jaune. "Hey Jaune! Over here!" he waved him over. Jaune walked over to him, eyes widening when he saw Naruto's new outfit.
"Whoa dude! Where'd you get the new clothes?" he asked, curious.
"Oh, some store down in Vale. I woke up early and went down to get some new clothes. Wouldn't do to only wear my other clothes all the time!" he answered happily, glad to be speaking to someone who didn't think he was a monster (or could be one).
Nikos cleared her throat meaningfully, causing Naruto to slap his forehead.
"Oh yeah, Jaune, this is…" and he trailed off, looking at her. Nikos quickly threw out her hand, excitement filling her voice.
"My name's Pyrrha! Pyrrha Nikos! It's a pleasure to meet you!" she said happily, and Jaune smiled in turn.
"The name's Jaune Arc! Short, sweet, rolls off the tongue, ladies love it!" he winked at her, making her giggle softly. Naruto was once more confused.
'Maybe I know less about girls than I thought…' he mused, walking towards the door as Jaune and Pyrrha got to know each other. He twitched when the PA system activated, Goodwitch giving instructions;
"Would all First Year students report to the courtyard with your gear for initiation, all First Years to the courtyard."
Naruto nodded to himself, heading outside. As he cleared the courtyard, he saw Professors Ozpin and Goodwitch standing in the center, with a few students around them. Joining the group, he noticed a few students move away from him after realizing who he was. Ozpin, upon seeing him, gave an approving nod, and Goodwitch didn't even acknowledge his existence as she tapped at a large Scroll-like device she was holding. As they waited, he saw Ozpin glance at his watch. Eventually, Ruby and Yang arrived, with Ruby dragging Jaune behind her while Nikos appeared to be close to laughing. Ruby, after seeing him, squealed and ran over to him.
"Ohhhhhh! You got new clothes!" she said, looking over him. "You look amazing!" Naruto smiled warmly at her, unable to keep scowling.
"Why thank you! I just got it this morning!" he said, seeing her blush furiously when she realized what she said. Teasing was now in order, he decided.
"So what do you think?" he asked, spinning slowly, "Do I have anything I should add?" she appeared to struggle, before trying to seriously answer the question.
"W-well, you don't seem to have anywhere to keep your gear!" she stuttered, causing Naruto to stop and think. He HAD neglected to think of that. Pausing, he thought carefully, before shrugging.
"I shouldn't need them. I'll be fine." he said calmly, making Ruby flinch.
"I-if you say so… just don't get in any trouble, K?" she said nervously, with Naruto blowing her off.
"Nah, I'm not even bringing my weapon! I'll be fiiiine!" he proclaimed, causing Professor Goodwitch to scowl at him, and the rest of the students to look at him like he was a lunatic. Ozpin merely quirked an eyebrow, amused.
As Naruto and Ruby continued to talk, time went by, and after about ten minutes Professor Goodwitch exhaled through her nose, obviously annoyed.
"We're now going to move to the Beacon Cliffs. Anyone who isn't here is automatically disqualified, and will not be going to Beacon." she said fimly. A few students took issue with this.
"But my friend is still in the locker room!" one of them cried out, and before they continued Professor Goodwitch interrupted.
"If they can't even make it to initiation, what makes you think they'll be on time to defend against the Grimm?" she asked rhetorically, and the student scowled.
"But he's late cause that guy," and here he rudely gestured at Naruto, "beat him up in the locker room!" Professor Goodwitch turned to Naruto, a scowl on her face.
"Mr. Uzumaki, is this true?" she demanded. Naruto nodded.
"Yep." he said simply.
Her eyebrow twitched dangerously, and Ruby slowly moved away from Naruto as Professor Goodwitch bore down on him like a wolf on a deer.
"And… why did you think this would be tolerated?" she asked coldly, and Naruto shrugged.
"Well, I thought that if they were allowed to be racist bigots then I was allowed to at least make a comment on it. I guess I thought if they were allowed to oppress me, I could at least be impudent in turn." he said. 'At least that's what Kakashi-Sensei said I was whenever I argued with someone important.'
Professor Goodwitch glowered at him, her eyes like sharp daggers of flint. And with that glower, all the remaining students flocked to Professor Ozpin, who'd moved away from Professor Goodwitch. He'd say it was out of respect, later.
"And where in "impudent" did you think you could assault them?" she demanded, and Naruto didn't even flinch.
"Well, when one of them swung his mace at me I thought I would be allowed to punch him." Naruto said simply, and at this point Ozpin intervened.
"OK, Glynda, I'm sure that we can forgive this. Besides, we can just review the camera footage later." he soothed her, as she slowly calmed down. "Besides, a few students have snuck into the group after the time limit. I'm sure you can take care of this problem?" he offered, and Professor Goodwitch grinned, eyes glinting.
"With pleasure, Headmaster." she said, eyes alight with mirthless fury. With a flick of her crop, she had three students floating through the air as she marched them back towards Beacon.
Ozpin sighed. "With that out of the way, let's go." he started walking towards the cliffs, leading the group of fourteen students down a long winding path. The rest of the students followed him, and Yang slid up next to him, awe covering her face.
"Damn, Whiskers! You took Goodwitch's assault like a tank!" she praised, clapping an arm over his shoulder. "And I like the new look! It's more you than black and red!" she added, which Naruto agreed with.
As they continued to talk, they neared the cliffs, until Ozpin turned around.
"Very well then. Now that we're here, we can begin. For years, you have trained to become warriors, and today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest. Normally, this is where Glynda would explain the rules, but as she is..." he sips sadly at his coffee, "no longer with us, I will be explaining in her stead.
"Now, I'm sure you've all heard terrible rumours about how we assign teams here at Beacon. Fortunately for you, your teammates will be determined today."
Ruby squeaked in fear, tucked between Naruto and Yang on a strange gray platform. She quivered with nervousness as Ozpin continued.
"These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon. So it is in your best interest to be paired with someone with whom you can work well."
Naruto nodded. That made sense. However, he knew better than anyone else here that Ozpin, while a certified genius (he really had a plaque that said GENIUS on it, he'd seen it in his office), was completely batshit crazy. So of course, that meant…
"That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years."
Ruby broke. That was really the only way to describe it. She just stopped moving after slumping forward. Naruto was a bit concerned, but he expected that the adrenaline that would soon be pumping through her would get her going. Ozpin continued his pep talk, if it could be called that.
"After you've partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path... or you WILL die." Jaune laughed nervously, before gulping audibly. He was quite obviously nervous, or even afraid. Ozpin however, didn't pause.
"You will be monitored and graded through the duration of your initiation, but our instructors will not intervene. You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path containing several relics. Each pair must choose one and return to the top of the cliff. We will regard that item, as well as your standing, and grade you appropriately. Are there any questions?"
Jaune quickly raised his hand. "Yeah, uhhh, sir?" To which Ozpin replied.
"Good! Now, take your positions!" before sipping his coffee again, a small smile on his face. Naruto sighed, sitting down on the platform. Ruby looked down at him, bemused, while Yang cocked her gauntlets and put on a pair of aviators. With a grin, she was launched. Ruby glanced at Naruto, an expression of worry on her face as he sat with his eyes closed. However, she was quickly fired off, and, turning around midair, witnessed as Naruto was flung after her.
Her eyes widened as she saw he wasn't moving, not changing a bit from his position that he'd been in before his launch. Reaching for Crescent Rose, she quickly deployed it as she slowed her descent, watching Naruto fly past her like a cannonball. She watched him fly into the trees below, and heard a sound like an earthquake as a large cloud of dust and debris flew up from the forest floor. Deactivating her scythe, she fell downwards, preparing to use her Semblance to land effectively.
Swerving around a tree, she reached into her Shinobi Pouch, tossing some wire as it wrapped around a tree. Utilising it as a rope swing of sorts, she spun around the tree until she saw the ground. Releasing her wire, she rolled when she hit the ground, rolling to her feet with nary a care. Looking around, she only saw brown dust floating about, settling from the impact.
'Oh Gods, what if Naruto got hurt?! I know he's super strong, but that cloud! He could have broken his legs!' she thought, frantically searching. However, she suddenly felt a hand land on her shoulder, and turning, saw Naruto standing there smiling at her.
"Oh, Naruto! You're alright- hey! What's up with your eyes?" she asked, curious. Naruto's iris' were bright gold with an odd shaped pupil, almost like a straight bar, with orange makeup rimming his eyes. Ruby blushed as she remembered the poem she'd read.
"When I saw you there,
With radiant hair and golden eyes
So pure, I felt your hand
Fall down…"
She whispered to herself, feeling his hand resting on her shoulder. His hair certainly looked radiant normally, when it wasn't covered in dust, but for now, she was content to blush.
"Well, I guess this makes us teammates." Naruto said, grinning at her. "Wanna go get the relic thingy?"
Ruby nodded quickly. "After you, good sir!" she proclaimed, to which Naruto bowed at the waist.
"As my lady commands, so shall it be!" he declared, before marching in a random direction. Ruby followed after him, content to simply follow for now.
As they trekked through the forest, Naruto and Ruby were starting to get worried.
"Do you think we're going the right way?" Ruby asked, her voice minorly annoyed. Naruto scoffed.
"Of course I'm sure! I can tell from… the sun!" he said, leading her up a slope dotted with rocks. Ruby was unsure.
"But Naruto, we can't really see the sun, and, well, Professor Ozpin said that we'd need to fight lots of Grimm! But we haven't come across any yet!"
Naruto paused to consider. "Hmmmm. You may be right. Tell you what, we wrap this up quickly and… you don't ask any questions about how?" he asked slyly. Ruby squinted, suspicious.
"Hmmm. Nope!"
Naruto groaned. "Why not?!" he asked, frustrated.
Ruby shook her head. "Because we're partners, silly!" she giggled. "We're gonna be together for the next four years! We won't have secrets from each other!" she finished.
Naruto sighed. "OK… I was going to use a technique I know called the Body Flicker, which moves me really quickly in a straight line." Ruby nodded, excited.
"So it's a part of your Semblance?" she asked, curiously.
"Hmmm. In a way; my Semblance allows me to connect with nature, which gives me various abilities." Ruby hummed to herself.
"So… like how Dust is also called 'Nature's Wrath', you can use abilities that are Dust-like without Dust?" Naruto nodded, going along with the explanation.
"Yeah. Kinda like that, except I can also sense nature energy, and feel other people." Ruby oh'ed appropriately.
"And where do your taily things come in? You wouldn't explain yesterday!" she whined, making Naruto laugh as he started walking again.
"Well, I guess the simplest way to explain it is that nature isn't just an abstract concept; Nature is a living, breathing thing. The names I called out yesterday were the names of… well, they're called Tailed Beasts, but they could also be considered nature spirits, from a certain point of view. They are fractions of nature energy.
"They decided to come with me, and sealed themselves within me." Naruto explained, pushing some branches out of his way. Ruby nodded slowly, ducking under the branches.
"Sooooo…" she whistled, "Nature spirits? That sounds kinda far-fetched…"
"What's funny is how accurate the statement is! We ARE kinda nature spirits!" Shukaku howled with laughter. Naruto grinned, clambering over a rock and turning to hoist Ruby up after him.
"Well, it kinda does, doesn't it?" he laughed, pulling her up on the rock. "But it's the truth… they just really liked me, I guess!" Ruby nodded.
"I can see why!" she blurted without thinking, before blushing furiously as she zipped past him up the hill. Naruto chuckled to himself.
"Well, nearly there. Then it's back to Beacon, and…" he scowled menacingly, "studying."
Ruby and Naruto spoke more after she calmed down, and after about twenty minutes of racing through the trees, they finally reached the place where Naruto had sensed the rest of the students. As they emerged from the trees, they saw a group had already formed. There was a boy with a streak of pink hair following a girl with black hair who-
'Hey! That's the girl who was down in the alley yesterday!' Naruto mentally exclaimed, striding forward with Ruby zipping towards the relics. As he neared the two already there, the girl glared at him.
"Hey, what's with the look?" Naruto asked, confused. Let it never be said he knew what some words meant…
"You…" she said, venom in her voice. The guy next to her looked between them both, before shrugging. Wasn't his problem.
"Yeah, me. Did I piss you off somehow?" he asked, genuinely confused. She glowered furiously at him, eyes seemingly alight with indignation.
"You sexually harassed me!" she yelled, causing Naruto to take a step back. His eyes widened in horror.
"What are you talking about?!" he exclaimed, watching as her assumed teammate turned to glare at him. "I did no such thing! All I did was…" and he trailed off, realising what he'd said.
'Ahhh, shit.' he thought, before trying to mend the bridge. "Look, I'm sorry about that. I can see how that would've creeped you out, but my mentor said that's what he said when he first saw his best teammate ever! I just kinda… stole it and hoped it would turn out similar?" he ended, questioning tones lingering in his last words. She, however, merely gazed at him with incandescent fury.
"You… wanted us to be teammates as well?!" she hissed, reaching for her weapon. Naruto waved his hands in front of his face, which was definitely showing his panic.
"No, no no! I just wanted to make a friend I swear!" he said, fear filling his voice. 'I can't just say I said it to mess with her cause I was bored…' he thought to himself.
"Listen, Blake," interrupted the man with her, "Maybe this WAS just a misunderstanding."
Blake scowled at him. "Ren, you are NOT making this into a learning experience. He sexually harassed me!" she said, rightfully. Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.
"Listen, Blake, right?" she turned her angry eyes back on him, making him quickly rush through. "I'm really really sorry, could we maybe forget the whole thing ever happened and maybe I can redeem myself somehow?!" he asked, with Ren giving an approving nod.
Blake sighed, and waved him off. "Fine. If you just… don't do it ever again, I won't make an issue of it. But if I even hear a LICK of you saying something like that again, I'll take away what makes you a man…" she threatened, and Naruto immediately began faking fear.
"Oh, definitely!" he said, his acting poor. Ren saw through it, but it appeared Blake did not. With an approving nod, she moved to take a black rook. Ruby however, grabbed it first.
"Mine!" she squeaked, happily holding it. Blake groaned, and Ren moved over and grabbed the other one.
"There. We didn't lose anything… happy?" he asked, his voice drained. Blake merely sighed.
"I guess… let's get out of here." However, before they can move they see trees start falling in the distance.
"Hey, what's that?" Ruby asked, and the rest of them shrug.
"Maybe a Grimm?" Naruto suggested, popping his shoulder. Blake shook her head.
"Can't be. Too large, no students at our level could take a Grimm capable of knocking down that many trees, without slowing." she pointed out, and Ruby was forced to agree.
Naruto however, had a counter argument. "Whoever said it was at yo- I mean our level?" he challenged, with pretty much all of them catching his slip up. With that being said, Ren frowned.
"That may be so… however I doubt that Professor Ozpin would allow a Grimm of such magnitude in this test." he suggested, leaving challenging Naruto's assertion of their weakness to another time.
As he finished saying that, two people cleared the forest. It was Yang and an orange haired girl, who cried out upon seeing Ren.
"Reeeeeen!" she cheered, flipping her large hammer over and standing on its head, before a large pink cloud popped out behind it, sending her flying towards them with a loud explosive sound. Waving at him as she approached, Naruto felt the need to point something out.
"She's gonna hit us." he said calmly, and Ruby blanched before using her Semblance to flit away, out of the line of fire. Yang, upon seeing Ruby, lit up and charged towards her.
"Ruby!" she cried out, waving her arms. Naruto glanced at her, before looking back at the orange-haired missile swiftly approaching them. With a sigh, he squatted quickly, reached out his hand and grabbed the head of the hammer, holding it in place without even a quiver in his arm as he stopped her dead.
The girl blinked, confused, before her eyes lit up when she saw him. "Ohhhh! You're that boy with the tails from the big room!" she said loudly, leaping down from her hammer. "It's so nice to meet you! My name's Nora Valkyrie, and you're Naruto!" she turned to whisper conspiratorially to Blake, "I remember his name from yesterday!" Blake groaned audibly, turning to Naruto.
"And suddenly you don't seem so bad." she remarked, keeping an eye on the falling trees.
Nora turned towards the trees, her eyes widening. "Wait!... We were being CHASED?!" she cried, turning towards Yang with a hurt expression. "Why didn't we attack it?!" she whined. Yang released Ruby from her embrace, looking at the trees.
"I didn't notice it either Nora!" she said, shocked. Her smile widened. "Wanna go break it's legs?" she offered, winking. Nora cheered, hefting her hammer on her shoulder.
"Ohhhh yes! Come on Ren!" she grabbed Ren by the arm, dragging him towards the woods.
"Uhhh, Nora? Maybe we should wait here where we have a team with us?" he suggested, trying to pull back. Nora scoffed.
"Nahhhh! It'll be fiiiiine!" she drawled, before Blake grabbed her arm.
"While we aren't very close, I'd prefer my partner to stay here." Blake said, Ren giving her a grateful look. Nora shrugged.
"OK then! We'll wait for the beastie!" she decried, cocking her grenade launcher. Yang grinned, eyes burning red.
"That's a plan I can get behind!" she growled, slamming her fists into each other. Naruto groaned, turning to Ruby.
"Let me guess, you want to stay as well?" he asked, with Ruby nodding happily before he finished asking.
"Yep!" she squeaked, withdrawing Crescent Rose from her back. Naruto sighed.
'Better finish this quickly, then we can get back to Beacon. Besides, I bet Ozpin's waiting for a show…' he thought to himself, before smiling bestially. 'It wouldn't do to disappoint a teacher…'
He took his hands from his pockets, and closed his eyes. Within a few seconds, he'd activated Sage Mode.
"There's two other students running at us… it's Jaune and someone else." he said, just as Jaune and Nikos burst from the treeline, Jaune sailing through the air, with Nikos running behind him. Naruto's eyes widened, and only Ruby noticed their change. Erupting from the trees behind them was a massive scorpion.
"Damn!" Naruto exclaimed, watching it surge towards them with terrifying speed, "I thought it'd be bigger!"
The rest of the students looked at him, aghast. With that being said, Naruto flew forwards, with only Ruby able to track him. He zipped towards it, before leaping through the air. For a brief second everyone could see him, resting still in the air atop it, his fist aiming at it's head.
"Naruto! Look out!" cried Blake, seeing the stinger stabbing towards Naruto's back. Naruto was prepared however, and with a spin in midair, kicked the stinger backwards, before slamming his fist down on the beast.
A loud crack filled the clearing, and wind erupted from the epicenter of the blast, Naruto's fist and the plating of the scorpion, which was buckling beneath the force of his punch. It's legs gave out, and it slammed into the rocky ground, dust pouring free of the small crater it's body created. The rest of the students watched with bated breaths, as Naruto flew backwards, landing on the ground and sliding backwards nearly twenty meters before stopping right in front of them.
"How'd you do that?!" Yang asked, shocked. Even with her Semblance activated, she probably couldn't do that much damage! At least, not at the level she was at currently. Naruto glanced over his shoulder, a small smile on his face.
"Oh, that was a little technique I learned a while back…" he said calmly, while inwardly thinking: 'Hells, I learned that from the toads! I kinda AM a nature spirit guy! Huh.'
Yang's eyes widened as the scorpion surged from the cloud, it's armoured plating cracked but still holding together. As it surged towards them, Naruto quickly barked out a warning.
"Beneath us!" he yelled, right as the ground started to crack. Ruby managed to use her Semblance to zip off the ground, and Blake hooked part of the ruins with her weapon, pulling herself and her partner up. Nora and Yang were not so fortunate, and they were tossed in the air, both of them screaming out in shock.
"What the hell?!" Yang cried, looking down into the ground. Reaching forth from a newly created pit were ten tentacles, each sporting what looked like fangs running down the insides. At the bottom of the pit was a gaping maw, teeth gnashing and grinding rock into dirt, which was spewed out in a cloud of dust and debris. Perhaps the only beneficial part of this new adversary arriving was that the scorpion was sent flying as well, back towards the trees.
"Eat this!" Yang yelled, firing a volley of shots into the waiting mouth of the beast from below, each one firing out of her cocked fists and gauntlets, sending her higher into the sky with each shot. Nora grinned maniacally, and followed suit, also rising slowly in the air.
"Yeah!" she crowed, firing grenade after grenade into the mouth. However, a tentacle swung around, wrapping itself around her.
"Ahhh! Ren!" she cried out, feeling the fangs attempting to pierce her Aura, but failing. For now.
Ren swung out his weapons, dual knife guns, and started firing at the tentacle holding Nora. Blake followed suit, firing at the tentacle with her weapon which she drew with no excess showboating. However, their bullets appeared to have no effect, and the other tentacles began edging their way towards them, deflecting the bullets as much as possible.
Suddenly, they heard a voice yell out. "Pyrrha! Get her out of that tentacle!" and, turning, saw Jaune and Pyrhaa at the edge of the clearing. Pyrhaa slung her shield off her shoulder, and threw it like a frisbee. Naruto watched in awe as the shield flew in a straight line, slicing directly through the tentacle, and freeing Nora from it's grasp. Jaune issued another command quickly, taking charge.
"Cut off all it's tentacles at the base! That way it won't be able to grab us!" he yelled, drawing his sword. The rest of them nodded, and as they drew their weapons, heard a screech. The scorpion was back on its feet, and charging towards Jaune. Jaune, upon seeing it, screamed and raised his shield above himself, managing to block the stinger from impaling him, although he was knocked backwards from the force of the blow. Naruto frowned, and saw Pyrrha stop attacking the new beastie to help Jaune.
"No!" he yelled at her, making her stop, eyes wide. "Keep attacking the weird thing! Ruby, get Jaune! Blake, you and Ren aren't useful against the weird thing! Come help me with the scorpion!" They all nodded, although Pyrrha wasn't happy until she saw Ruby virtually fly across the battlefield, scooping up Jaune in a matter of seconds. Assured that her partner was safe, Pyrrha turned back to the beastie from below.
As Blake and Ren arrived next to Naruto, Blake had some choice words for him. "Do you even know what these Grimm are?" she asked, annoyed. Naruto shook his head.
"Nope. Why?" It was Ren who answered.
"Well, the scorpion is called a Deathstalker, and the one with the tentacles is called a Roper. Although both of these are far larger than their normal counterparts… they must be ancient." Ren noted, while Naruto's eyes glazed over. Blake nodded in agreement.
"Yeah. We should be careful." At this point, Ruby appeared next to them, deploying Crescent Rose.
"Alright! Let's do this!" she cried out gleefully, regarding the charging Deathstalker as she would a platter of cookies.
With reckless abandon.
Naruto shrugged. "Alright… see it's stinger? I'm gonna get rid of it. Ruby, you saw off it's legs with your Semblance and scythe. Ren, you and Blake keep it distracted with your guns." he ordered, cracking his neck as he felt the Nature Energy surge within him. Blake and Ren nodded, and Ruby let out a cheer.
"Alright! Let's go Team Deathstalker!" she crowed, sliding into a sprinting position with her scythe held behind her, the blade angled outwards. Blake cocked her eyebrow at the name, before shrugging.
"Could be worse." she remarked, just as Ruby shot off, blasting towards the Deathstalker like a whirling hurricane of rose petals and crimson metal. Naruto grinned, dashing after her, his blood pumping and his heart beating like a drum in his breast.
As he sped towards the stinger, he felt his eyes pulsating, their thirst for blood and death reaching through him. The Deathstalker screeched, it's eyes swirling to glare at him right as Ruby sawed through the first of its six legs. Which, oddly, it didn't even notice, completely preoccupied with Naruto, who grinned madly.
"Hello, scorponẽ…" he hooted, twisting midair and SLAMMING his leg down on the side of its stinger. 'Good old fashioned Uzumaki Barrage… with just a taste of Kurama's Chakra.' he thought to himself happily as his leg burnt gold for a brief second, caving in the side of the Deathstalker's stinger, literally tearing it off the stump of it's backside. It shrieked in agony, and brought it's pincers up to grab him. Naruto's eyes widened, watching them come closer to him, stretching wider as they prepared to close over his body.
'Even in Sage Mode… those might cut me in half…' he thought to himself, preparing to catch the pincers with his hands, which he reinforced with Tailed Beast Chakra. 'Here goes nothing…' he mentally growled, the Tailed Beasts clamouring in approval from within his mind.
However, it wasn't meant to be. A black object whistled through the air, a black ribbon attached to it, wrapping around one of the pincers. Blake snarled as she pulled back on it, tearing the pincer away from him. Naruto glanced at her in shock, and prepared to blast the other pincer away with his Chakra laden fist, but once more, an object whistled as it wrapped around it. His eyes narrowed at the kunai and ninja wire wrapping around the stinger.
'Ruby isn't strong enough to pull that back! It'll only pull her muscles, or pull her into range of it's attack!' he thought, thrusting his fist towards the pincer, ready to obliterate it down into dust.
"Go to hell! I'm busy!" he roared, his fist glowing like a miniature sun as Kurama howled in agreement. However, once more his thunder was stolen. The pincer was wrenched back, his fist hitting only air. He twitched, looking at Ruby for an explanation, and what he saw floored him. Literally. He finally fell out of the air, landing on the Deathstalkers back.
What he'd seen was Ruby pulling the wire, alongside Ren. 'Of course…' he thought to himself, gazing at the sky as the Deathstalker thrashed beneath him. 'Ren's here…' He suddenly heard a sickening popping sound, and immediately leapt to his feet to see who was hurt.
'Damn it, freezing up on the battlefield! I haven't done that since I was a Genin!' he snarled, forgetting that he was still technically a Genin. However, he was relieved to see that the popping sound hadn't been anyone's muscles as he'd feared. It was actually the pincers, completely ripped from their sockets. His eye twitched in annoyance as he looked at the stingerless, legless, and now pincerless Deathstalker, which was still shrieking and howling from the ground.
"How is this thing still alive?" he demanded of Ren, who'd approached with Ruby and Blake after they'd… removed the pincers. Ren shrugged.
"Deathstalkers are one of the more durable Grimm, as you should know." he looked at Naruto pointedly, who ignored the hint.
"So they're just super durable?" he asked, looking at the Deathstalker. It was currently quivering in rage, he noticed. Probably because they'd crippled it, he decided. Ren shook his head.
"Deathstalkers are powerful, durable, but their most notable trait is that they grow back their detached limbs. That's one of the reasons they're so dangerous." he explained. Naruto nodded quickly.
"Shouldn't we kill it then?" he asked, curious. Blake agreed immediately.
"Please, it's so loud." she hissed, looking at it in contempt. Ruby nodded happily.
"Gotcha!" she twirled Crescent Rose above her head, before bringing it down hard on the destroyed remains of it's back plating, killing it instantly. As it disintegrated, Naruto glanced back at the other team.
"Let's go help them now." he said, wanting to finish initiation as soon as possible. As he moved to assist, Blake grabbed his arm.
"Let them finish it."
"Why?" Naruto asked, annoyed with the delay. "I want to get back to the cliffs, we should leave before our negativity attracts more Grimm." That was the only thing he'd learned that applied to all Grimm. They're attracted to negativity.
Ren shrugged. "I think they have it well in hand." he pointed out, watching as Nora heaved the Roper from it's den, pulling it free from the ground. Once that was done, Yang was quick to capitalize on it, filling it's face with a barrage of gunfire and fists, as well as activating her Semblance.
After prolonged barrages, the Roper finally fell, misting away into black flakes on the breeze. Naruto sighed, exasperated as the group fell on each other, breathing deeply.
"Now that you're done…" he said, catching the group's attention. "Can we go back to Beacon now? I'm hungry." Nora loudly proclaimed her agreement, hefting her hammer onto her shoulder.
"Rightly said, Taily Man!" she said loudly, grabbing the closest relic and pocketing it. "Onwards to Beacon, onwards… to CAKE!"
"Now, would Pyrrha Nikos, Jaune Arc, Yang Xiao Long and Nora Valkyrie please make their way to the stage." Ozpin itoned, gazing over the students, his coffee nowhere to be seen. As the called upon students made their way onto the stage, his face broke into a happy smile.
'Even though Glynda took away my coffee, this still manages to be something special…' he thought, looking at the team in pride. A heavy hitter team, honestly one that under normal circumstances he'd be pleased to throw at the Vytal Festival.
"You have all gathered the white rook pieces, and from this day forward will be known as Team Peachskin, or Team PAYN, led by… Pyrrha Nikos!" he proclaimed, eyes twinkling as he watched them cheer. "Congratulations." As they cleared the stage, Yang's arm slung over Nora's shoulder as they chattered about all the team stuff they'd get up to, Ozpin smiled dimly at the crowd of students.
"Now, it has come to my attention that the next team already chose their own name." he began. 'Which is good, means I don't need to confront the hurdle of making another team name.' he thought sourly, before calling the team to the stage.
"Would Ruby Rose, Naruto Uzumaki, Lie Ren and Blake Belladonna please come to the stage." After the group had assembled, he smiled brightly at them. "Your team gathered the black rook pieces, and displayed remarkable skill in your battle against your namesake. Henceforth you will be known as Team Deathstalker, or Team NRBR, led by Naruto Uzumaki!" he smiled at them.
Ruby cheered, elated that the name she chose was their team name. "Ohhhhhhh this is awesome!" she squealed, wrapping her arms around Naruto, Blake and Ren. "We're gonna be the best. Team. Ever!"
Naruto however, frowned. 'Great, now that I'm the leader I have less time to research… or… I could have more time since I'll decide what things we do…' he pondered to himself, ignoring as the rest of his team (minus Blake because she doesn't know how to have fun) celebrated.
"As much as I enjoy seeing youthful exuberance," Professor Ozpin interrupted, "I'd like it if you'd clear my stage." Team Deathstalker immediately moved off, nervously edging towards their seats as the student body looked at them with amusement.
Ozpin continued, his voice somber. "Now, we've come to a bit of a problem. We unfortunately have two students who did not make it onto a team, due to less students arriving at initiation than we expected. Far be it from me to remove students due to the failings of another, so I've decided that both of these remaining two students will be sorted as… students to a higher team."
The student body erupted into a cacophony of arguments, all trying to seize Ozpin's attention.
"This will not hamper you in any way; you will simply be responsible, as a team, for your younger students' growth." Ozpin spoke quietly, immediately silencing the room. "They'll take classes with the rest of their year, and unfortunately they will not participate in the Vytal Tournament unless the Team Leader decides to bring them in in the place of one of the other members of the team." he continued, looking pleased with himself as Goodwitch frowned at him, disapproval written all over her face.
"At the end of the year we'll see if this method of education has functioned, and if this student has advanced as much as their peers. If so, we may make it a graduation requirement that your team takes on a student at some point." he said calmly, watching the student body despair, waiting for who would be given another teammate.
"Firstly; would Team REVB step forward?" he asked, as a tall, dark-skinned man with blue armour stepped forward, followed by a blond with a blue vest and white shirt, a faunus with purple hair in a ponytail along with reddish brown robes, and Belkar.
"You will be taking on this student; would Dove Bronzewing please make their way forward." As Dove walks forward the rest of the students can see the trepidation in each step, as he squints up at the team waiting for him. The leader of Team REVB steps forward, holding out his arm.
"My name is Roy Greenhilt. Welcome to the Team, Dove." he welcomed, shaking his hand firmly. Dove visibly relaxes, shaking his hand back. "Thank you…" he whispered as he followed them from the stage.
Ozpin smiled warmly. 'Hopefully Mr. Bronzewing's Semblance will help that team…' he mused, before calling another team forward.
"Now, finally would Team APAD make their way to the stage?" he asked, watching as a student stood up, walking to the stage.
"My apologies, Headmaster, but the rest of our team isn't here right now. They're preparing our room, although I suspect that we shall require another." the leader said calmly, gazing at Ozpin, who smiled thinly.
"Of course Mr. De la Fere. Would Weiss Schnee please make her way to the stage?" A young girl dressed all in white walks up onto the stage, her expression quite thoroughly displaying her annoyance. Ozpin essentially hands her over to Team APAD, and as the duo leave the stage, addresses the students once more.
"All new students will be required to pick up their student scrolls from Professor Goodwitch before your first class tomorrow. Also, I must speak with the Team Leaders today. Please come to my office after this is concluded." he finished, taking a long sip from his coffee as he strolled away (which he pulled from somewhere). Professor Goodwitch marched forward, glaring at the students.
"You are dismissed!" she ordered, and the students fell away like rats, scurrying as far from her as possible as they began to talk about the new method being explored by Ozpin.
AN:
Holy shit. Longest chapter yet! Well, I guess you can see from what's above why this took so long! Now, to get into the fun part! Who can guess who Team APAD is? Believe me, I think Weiss is going to have fun with this team! I'm actually happy with the way this chapter turned out. Whoever guesses who Team APAD is can PM me, and I'll answer ONE question you have about the story, no hiding anything.
Honestly, I just called them Team Deathstalker because after I randomly assigned teams I couldn't think of a good colour. But Peachskin is good (although Yang will probably insist on being called Team Pain).
Anyways, I think I need to address this AGAIN, since reviews are still popping up about it: Naruto is NOT giving Chakra, the RWBY characters DON'T HAVE Chakra, and they NEVER WILL.
Thanks to the reviewer who pointed out that I forgot Gravity Dust.
Thank you to Laxard for pointing out an error, I corrected it!
Thank you to OtsutsukiMadara, your message made me laugh!
Have a nice day, do what you will, I won't be updating for like another month at least (school is now eating my soul).
-Pad
