Chapter 14: The Clocktower Strikes
As Naruto reappeared on the cliffs of the Emerald Forest, he glanced up at the sun; it was beginning it's downwards descent, which meant it was just after midday. Feeling oddly chipper after the productive meeting with Kakashi and Obito, he decided that he'd find out if Ozpin had kept his word.
Namely, if Beacon had ramen.
Maybe he could take the rest of Team Deathstalker with him… he thought to himself as he walked towards the school. As he marched, he saw a guy in a white shirt with blue vest walking towards the Emerald Forest, their scroll in their hand as they tapped at it slowly, taking pauses in between taps. It was a member of Team REVB, the blonde. Naruto ignored him as they passed each other, although he heard the boy mumbling to himself.
"Let's see… A fell day, a Grimm day? No, too obvious. Remember what Roy said, leave the low hanging fruit…" he mumbled as he walked by, Naruto bemused by his rambling.
'Not my problem. Now, let's go get my ramen!' he mentally cheered and vanquished thoughts from his mind, before running towards the school. As he swerved through the trees, he began to think about how he was going to get home.
'I think the first step should be checking the library. They might have some stuff, and maybe I can talk with Ozpin.' he decided to go to the library first, and then he'd go to Ozpin with all that he found, and ask if Ozpin had anything else to add. Oh, he knew Ozpin probably had his own agenda, but honestly it didn't matter. He could just leave if Ozpin got pushy.
Leaping down to the doorway into the cafeteria, Naruto could smell the food found within. "Hmmmmmmmm!" he hummed appreciatively. "Raaaaaaaamen…" he opened the door quietly, not wanting to attract too much attention. After all, it would be that much harder to leave afterwards if the other students wanted him to stay, he reasoned.
Slinking to the bar at the back, he saw one of the Beacon Staff manning the post. Waving him over, Naruto smiled brightly.
"Hey! Ozpin said you guys have ramen?" he said, although his tone indicated that it was a question. The staff member smiled brightly at him.
"Ah, yes! You must be Uzumaki! Ozpin told us to get ramen from Vale for you; honestly, it was a bit tricky considering it's a traditional Mistrali dish, but fortunately for you, Remy was from Mistral and knew how to make it from the raw ingredients." Naruto nodded, not really caring about the backstory of how the ramen came to be, simply that it was there, and waiting for him.
"Oi! Remy!" the cook called over his shoulder, "Uzumaki's here! Got his dish?!" Naruto flinched and glanced over his shoulder. Sure enough, Team PAYNE was there and waving at him now that they'd heard that he was in the room. He groaned, slumping slightly.
However, as a bowl of ramen slid beneath his drooping face the smell revived him. Grinning ear to ear, he smiled at the chef who'd given it to him.
"I guess you're Remy?" he asked, pulling to bowl towards him. The cook scoffed.
"No, my name's Rem. Only Jeon calls me Remy. Now get out of here! The other students need to eat as well, you know!" Naruto grinned and walked off. As he neared an empty table he sat down with a sigh of contentment. Now it was just him, and his ramen. Too bad his friends weren't here as well, but he'd get home soon enough.
Right before he could dig in, he felt someone moving up behind him. Not sensing negative intent, he decided to ignore them. However, when he felt the bench beneath him wobble, he turned to see who was daring to sit next to him during his ramen eating time. Of course it would be Yang.
"Hey Whiskers! Wanna come sit at our table?" she asked, leaning forward and resting her cheek on her fist. Naruto noted that she still had her gauntlets on, and shrugged.
"Nah, I'll be leaving after I finish this bowl." he said calmly. Yang smiled and shrugged.
"So? Doesn't mean you can't come sit with us!" she cheered, reaching to grab his arm. Naruto's hand flashed out, grabbing her wrist firmly.
"Don't. I just want to sit here, eat my lunch, then leave. Got it?" he nearly growled, his eyes flashing red for a brief second. Yang scowled and wrenched her arm free. Or rather, she tried to. Frowning, she looked at her arm, grasped in his hand and realized his hand hadn't moved a single millimeter.
"Let go of me, Naruto." she snarled, eyes flashing red. Naruto released her, and sat back in his seat. After a brief moment of growling, Yang tore herself away from his table, and moved back to her team.
"That didn't appear to go well." remarked Pyrrha as she sat down. "What did you say to him?"
Yang frowned. "I just invited him to our table and then he just grabbed me! It was like he was someone completely different."
Nora scoffed. "Completely different? I don't know who you've been looking at Yang, but that was exactly the way he was during initiation." Yang's brow drew together, furrowing in thought.
"What do you mean, Nora? He's always been so upbeat and happy!" she exclaimed, slamming her fist on the table. "He shouldn't be behaving like this!"
Jaune tentatively raised his hand, and Pyrrha nodded to him.
"Yes Jaune?"
He gulped audibly as Yang turned to glare at him. "Well, I'm sorry Yang, but from here it kinda looked like he blew you off and you grabbed at him…" his voice shrank down to a whisper as she glared at him, eyes burning red by the end. Before she could yell at him, Nora agreed.
"Yeah… I mean, you just grabbed at his arm! Why did you do that if he didn't want to come over?" she asked, her voice curious.
"Well he should've come over! It would've been better if he did, so I just…" she trailed off as her eyes faded back into lilac, widening.
"Do you think that he thought I was attacking him?" she asked, voice hushed. Pyrrha shook her head firmly, however.
"No Yang, I don't think so. I think he just didn't want to come over, and when you tried to force him to he simply stopped you." Jaune agreed.
"Naruto's a nice guy, but if he doesn't want to come over I don't think dragging him kicking and screaming is going to help. Let him come over when he wants to, not when you want him to." he pointed out.
Yang smiled at him, a bit guilty. "You know, you would've made a pretty good leader as well." she teased, making Jaune blush.
"Nahhh, you don't mean that!" he waved her off. Pyrrha contested this.
"Actually Jaune, I think you would've made a wonderful leader! In fact, do you want to help me strategize later?" she asked, blushing a bit. Yang grinned and sat back, Nora joining her as they watched the conversation unfold.
"He's really clueless, isn't he?" Nora asked, watching Jaune start writing down their names on a napkin as he began to strategize, Pyrrha's face a trifle downcast as she pointed things out.
"Yeah, he is. But you know, watching him now, I wonder why he wasn't made leader?" Yang wondered. Pyrrha was a great fighter, probably as good as her, but she wouldn't be able to lead them effectively from the center of the fighting. She shrugged. Ozpin probably had his reasons.
Nora shrugged. "Maybe, but I think that Pyrrha's the best leader we could have! I mean, she's Pyrrha!" she exclaimed happily.
"Yeah, you're right." Yang agreed. "I just hope Naruto becomes a good leader in time for his Team." she cast her eyes over at Naruto, who was leaving the cafeteria, his ramen eaten.
Naruto frowned as he walked down the hallways. He had… absolutely no idea where the library was. It wouldn't do to ask Ozpin, that would be ridiculous. He'd learned a little bit regarding how to treat authority figures, thank you very much!
This left him with three choices. Look for it, and maybe find it using Shadow Clones, ask a teacher, or ask an older student. A mere moment of reflection was needed, before Kokuo spoke up.
"Naruto, try to find an older student. If you use Shadow Clones there's a chance someone will see you and your clones, which would be bad." he advised. Naruto agreed with Kokuo's wise counsel, and headed towards the main plaza. He'd seen some students there from the windows. As he marched out the great doors leading to Beacon's foyer, he was pleased to see a wide assortment of students cluttering around the plaza. Strolling around the fountain, he began to choose his target.
"Meh. Why bother choosing who to talk to? Just go up to someone and ask them!" Naruto flinched at Son Goku's bellow, his headache worsening a bit. But he agreed with the idea.
'Yeah… let's go talk to that girl.' Walking up to a girl standing by herself, Naruto noticed her bunny ears atop her head rather immediately.
'Huh. Bunny ears, huh? Must be one of the Faunus.' he noted before smiling at her.
"Hi! Could you help me?" he asked, waving at her as he walked slowly to her. She turned and looked at him curiously, her ears standing ramrod straight as she fidgeted slightly.
"A-are you talking to me?" she stuttered, looking confused. Naruto nodded, smiling brightly.
"Yeah! I'm looking for the library! Would you know where it is?" he asked, posture noticeably lazy, designed to put her at ease. Sure enough, it worked, and she relaxed before smiling back at him.
"Oh, it's just down the West Wing, next to the Transfer Dorms." Naruto frowned slightly, but she noticed all the same.
"The West Wing is the wing extending from the west side of Beacon tower." she smiled at him as he flushed.
"Oh, I knew that!" she giggled as he stammered out his response.
"Sure. Well, good luck finding what you're looking for. Would you mind…" she trailed off before continuing, "why are you searching for the library? It's not even the first day of class!"
Naruto nodded, still flushed. "Well, I have some research I'm doing for a pet project, and thought the Beacon library would have information that could help me." he hedged.
"Well, good luck with that!" she smiled at him. Nodding to her, Naruto turned and left.
"Thanks!" he called over his shoulder, waving as he headed for the West Wing.
Entering the library was easy enough; all he had to do was walk through large double doors featuring a crown on each one, embossed with brass and gold. They were also inlaid with crystals, which, while intriguing, were nothing compared to the wealth of knowledge within. As Naruto wandered the great hall, he noticed the terminals where students were working. Mentally facepalming, he realized that he had a meeting with Ozpin, along with the other leaders. He'd probably get his scroll then, which would allow him access to the student terminals. Spinning about, he set off for the elevator.
As he ran down the halls leading to the elevator, he came across team PAYN's leader Pyrrha. She was walking at a leisurely pace towards the elevator. Hearing him, she turned around wondering what the noise was.
"Oh, Naruto!" she exclaimed, looking a mix between pleased and nervous. "Are you heading to Professor Ozpin's office as well?"
"Yeah, we should-" Naruto cut himself off when he saw Jaune standing behind Pyrrha looking bored. "Why are you here, Jaune?" he asked, bemused.
"Oh, Pyrrha wanted me to come because she felt like I would be a good leader." Jaune said proudly. Naruto frowned imperceptibly, and nodded.
"That seems like a good idea!" 'No it doesn't… this is setting up discord.' He smiled at them and thought to himself with a mental frown. 'This would be like putting me and Sai in charge of a mission… you just don't put more than one person in command.'
He put on a placid face for them though. Hopefully Ozpin would send Jaune away so that Pyrrha wouldn't need to.
"Oh thanks!" Jaune said, sarcasm seeping into his voice. "I honestly don't think this is a good idea, Pyrrha. What if you're the only person to bring your partner?" he asked nervously, seeing no sign of Ruby with Naruto.
"Oh Jaune! People need to know that we're equal! I think that the best way to do that is if I bring my teammate to the meetings!"
Jaune frowned. "But Pyrrha… you're the leader. Not me, and not Nora. You are." Pyrrha laughed nervously.
"W-well, that doesn't really mean anything!"
Naruto intervened. "It doesn't mean anything unless you want it to." he spoke, keeping his head straight and looking away from them as they walked. "If you wish for your teammates to be your equals, then yes, you're making a good call. But that will cause problems."
He shuddered imagining Yang or Nora as leaders. "If you don't assert your dominance as the leader, then what makes you think you'll be able to keep your team in line?" Pyrrha frowned.
"I won't have to; I trust my team to do what's right!" she nodded firmly. Naruto mentally applauded her faith, before stomping down on the applause. He'd seen what faith could do to a team. If Kakashi had been firmer with Team Seven, maybe things would've been different.
"Very well then. I wish you luck organising your team." he conceded the debate. Pyrrha however, was far from over.
"It's a bit hypocritical of you to tell me to control my team. As far as I know, you haven't spent any time with yours since initiation. Do you even know where they are?" she asked, cross. Naruto's flinch was unnoticeable to the untrained eye as he responded in turn. "Ren's putting the room together while I go to the meeting with Ozpin. Besides, everything should turn out fine without me." he justified, ending the conversation with his tone.
The ride up the elevator was a tense affair. Pyrrha habitually glanced at Naruto, and then looked away with a huff. Jaune, while ignorant of most social cues, could tell that Naruto thought it was a bad idea for him to go to the meeting, and was therefore nervous about it. As they neared the top, he brought it up again.
"Pyrrha, I really think that-" and she cut him off.
"Jaune, we are a team. That means we're all equals in this group, and I want you to come with me to these meetings. If Professor Ozpin doesn't want you there, then…" she trailed off, thinking of what to say before resolutely committing to her path. "Then I won't go to these meetings!" she declared, proud of her resilience.
Jaune's response was interrupted by the chime of the door opening, and Naruto brusquely moved past them into the office, which was currently occupied by nearly thirty other students, which Naruto surmised to be the team leaders from all years. Moving to the right side of the room, he slouched in the back and utilized one of his great shinobi skills.
'Ninja Art: Genjutsu: Peeper's Delight. Damn it Pervy Sage…' he thought to himself as the only Genjutsu he'd learned from Jiraiya seeped into place. While the Jutsu was completely ineffective in combat, it worked wonders when applied outside of combat. Simply, people would be hard pressed to notice him, and if they weren't actively looking for him, they would simply ignore his presence. It consumed a vast amount of Chakra however, hence why he was able to use it. Jiraiya had devised the Jutsu to peep on Tsunade, although it had badly misfired. He'd run out of Chakra, and then Tsunade had promptly pummeled him to pieces.
Ozpin cleared his throat, looking around his office from behind his desk. "Now that everyone's here, we can begin.
"Firstly, this year Beacon is hosting the Vytal Festival. This means that instead of midterms, you will all be evaluated based on your performance in the tournament, or in the preliminary rounds."
The room was filled with grumbling at that, and Naruto noticed that a few teams looked dismayed at the idea.
"Secondly, I'd like to welcome our new Team Leaders to the group, since the other FIrst Year leaders are already here. You all know Pyrrha Nikos…" he gestured to her, before his eyes narrowed. "And… Mr. Arc, why are you here?" he asked, his voice bland.
Jaune paled noticeably, flinching away from all the eyes on him. "Oh, uhhh, well…" he stammered, shrinking in on himself as he felt the eyes pressuring him.
"I brought him with me, Professor." Pyrrha saved him, drawing everyone's attention to her. "My teammates deserve to know what impacts them, and be able to make decisions for themselves." she said firmly.
"Ms. Nikos, you are aware that we appointed you as the leader for a reason, yes?" Ozpin sighed, sipping at his mug. Pyrrha nodded, and he continued before she could speak again. "And yet you decided to ignore the very basic structure and hierarchy of Beacon, which dates back nearly a century, because you felt like your team deserves the same as you?"
Pyrrha nodded firmly. "Just because you appointed me as the leader doesn't make me more qualified than anyone else on my team. I refuse to be lauded for something like that." she declared, standing tall as she proudly faced the accumulated Team Leaders.
Ozpin stood from behind his desk, setting his mug down with a light clink on the glass surface. "Ms. Nikos, are you saying you are not going to perform as the leader for your team?" he asked, eyeing her seriously. Pyrrha shook her head.
"I will perform as required, Headmaster, but my teammates are my equals. I'm not better than them, or beyond them." she said firmly, with a few Team Leaders chuckling at her statement.
"Girl, I've seen your record." another leader spoke up, "You could wipe the floor with your entire team, at the same time!" Pyrrha frowned, her eyes downcast before Ozpin spoke up.
"Very well then." he said warmly, looking at her as she raised her eyes to meet his. "I've never hidden the fact that I've made many mistakes during my life… and it appears I have done so yet again. Ms. Nikos, do you wish to abdicate your position as Team Leader?" he asked formally, his cane tucked behind his back as he leaned forward over his desk.
"Professor, I would." she said evenly. He nodded.
"Well alright then. As of this moment, you are stripped of your title as Team Leader. The position will be taken up by Mr. Arc in your place. Should he refuse to take this responsibility, I'm afraid that we will be forced to break your Team into… fragments to be delivered under the leadership of established Team Leaders. Do I make myself clear?" he said, his voice growing colder as he reached the end of his verdict. Jaune audibly swallowed, before nodding. Ozpin smiled warmly at him.
"Have no fear, Mr. Arc. I know that you will perform admirably in this capacity." he encouraged, before looking at Pyrrha again. "And you are no longer needed here, Ms. Nikos. You may leave now." he looked after her as she left, with Jaune's gaze lingering on the elevator door.
Ozpin cleared his throat. "Now that that's dealt with, we have another matter to speak of." his eyes clearly showed his amusement. "I am pleased to introduce you all to Mr. Naruto Uzumaki." he gestured to Naruto, who smiled grimly. It appeared Ozpin noticed him through his illusion. It was no surprise, to be honest. In fact, it reaffirmed Naruto's belief that Ozpin knew what he was doing.
The rest of the leaders however were confused. The few near him noticed him and nodded at him, but for the rest whose vision was obscured, he was impossible to notice. He dropped the illusion when people stopped looking for him, and was happy to hear Ozpin was talking again, diverting their attention to him.
"Now that all the new leaders have been introduced, we can move onto the real reason for this meeting." he spoke up, eyes twinkling with mirth. "First Years, please collect your Scrolls from Glynda in the staffroom. Second Years, you now have access to the Beacon Mission Board. You can take missions as a team only. Third Years, you may now take Missions in groups of two if you so wish, and Fourth Years may take Missions on your own. Don't take Missions below your assigned rank, and have a nice day." he sat back down, turning his chair to look out the window.
"Mr. Arc and Mr. Uzumaki, please remain. The rest of you First Year leaders may leave." he said as the leaders stepped into his elevator. Naruto moved away from it towards Jaune, who looked like a deer caught between a Fire Jutsu and Kunai trap. Stepping next to him, Naruto slapped him on the back, startling him and nearly knocking him over.
"Don't worry, Jaune. I got'cha." Naruto reassured, standing beside him. Honestly, Jaune being a good three inches taller than him made him feel like he was the one being supported, but Jaune merely smiled at him.
"Thanks Naruto." Naruto smiled at him grimly.
"Let's just get this over with, alright? Ozpin's a pretty good guy, so we're probably not in trouble." he reassured Jaune who untensed and groaned.
"Oh, good! What do you think he needs us for?"
"My bet's on something involving the Vytal Festival, whatever that is." Naruto thought aloud. "Ozpin told me earlier he wanted a winning team this time, and that Beacon had lost the last couple." Jaune paled considerably.
"That's why he wants to talk to us?! Why does he think we'll win?! We're just First Years!" he cried out, drawing the attention of the few students yet to go down the elevator, one of them walking over.
"Stressing about the Headmaster?" he guessed. Glancing at him, both Naruto and Jaune recognized him as the Leader of Team APAD.
"Yeah… your name is Della right?" Naruto asked, with Jaune facepalming, before speaking up.
"Naruto, his name is De La Fere. That means 'Of the Fere', which is a titular last name, usually denoting nobility or rank." Jaune lectured, with Naruto nodding along.
"Oh, that makes sense. So it's like a moniker?" he asked De La Fere, who nodded, smiling.
"Although it's hereditary, not earned through combat or other such activity. However, you may call me Athos, if you would." he bowed, his Beacon uniform making the movement slightly less graceful than it would otherwise be, but not hiding that he was comfortable with such movements.
"Nice ta meet'cha, Athos!" Naruto chirped happily, with Jaune echoing the sentiment warmly.
"I gotta say I wasn't expecting to meet someone who kept the old names." Athos remarked, looking at Jaune. "Arc, huh? You're supposed to be a line of heroes, although I heard that in recent generations you'd fallen out of that path." he said offhandedly, but Jaune saw it for what it was. And inquiry.
"W-well I felt that it would be good for someone in the family to continue the tradition." Jaune stammered, paling slightly. Athos nodded warmly.
"I'm glad. If you're anything like the Arcs of old, I look forward to seeing you duel." Athos praised, looking at them warmly. Jaune fidgeted a bit, before rousing the courage to ask a question.
"W-would you give me some advice? Some tips for sword fighting?" he asked hopefully. He wasn't so arrogant to assume he knew all there was to know, Naruto decided. It was good to see Jaune striving to improve.
Athos frowned. "In general, people only ask for advice that they may not follow it or if they should follow it that they may have somebody to blame for having given it." he spoke, his intonement implying it was a quote.
Jaune nodded slowly. "Even so, I would ask for your aid." he said, his inflection becoming slightly more formal than normal. Naruto's brows furrowed at that.
'Is he reverting to an old style of speaking?' he mused, watching Athos smile.
"You have time to learn, Jaune D'Arc. Why ask for my aid while you have the renowned Pyrrha Nikos as your partner?" he asked, his voice genial as he watched Jaune frown.
"I need to get strong quickly. I know I'm behind my teammates…" Jaune said as he glanced at Naruto and then back at Athos.
"And… I can't ask Pyrrha. Just from a day of knowing her I know she won't teach me what I need to learn." he admitted. It wasn't anything against Pyrrha, but she fought in tournaments from what he'd gathered. And he was smart enough to know that he didn't have the time to learn that style of combat. Although the admission pained him, seeing Naruto and Yang fighting had made him realize he didn't have the luxury of time.
"Time, Jaune, time brings round opportunity; opportunity is the martingale of man. The more we have ventured the more we gain, when we know how to wait." Athos quoted again, giving him a smile. "You don't yet know what the future may bring. If in a month you still desire lessons, then I would be honoured to help you." he bowed, before begging his exit.
Saying their goodbyes to Athos, Naruto and Jaune glanced back at Ozpin, who was regarding Jaune with approval.
"Now, Mr. Arc, before we continue we must discuss a minor discrepancy with your transcripts. Would you like Mr. Uzumaki to leave for this conversation?" he asked kindly, his eyes looking down into his mug as he swirled it contemplatively. Jaune wilted, his fears coming back full force.
"I-if you wouldn't mind sir, I would like to have this conversation alo-" he paused, looking at Naruto, who could tell this was serious. Looking at Jaune, he shrugged.
"I'll leave if you'd like." he said calmly. This seemed to restore some of Jaune's admittedly small fire, and when he spoke again to the Headmaster, and the wobble in his voice faded into obscurity.
"I'd like Naruto to be here, sir." he said firmly. Ozpin nodded happily.
"Good. You've passed the last test I had for you, and I must say I'm glad." he complimented.
"Sir?" Jaune questioned.
"I am well aware of the nature of your transcripts, Mr. Arc. I very nearly did not allow you into my Academy due to their… nature. Can you guess why I did allow you entry?" he asked, his fingers steepling over his desk as he looked at Jaune with intense eyes. Jaune frowned.
"I… was it because of my family?" he asked, unsure. Ozpin nodded slowly.
"But what about your family do you think enticed me into inviting you to my school?" he asked, his voice curious, prompting. Jaune thought, his eyes steeling over as he considered.
"You wouldn't have allowed me entry if you knew about my transcripts unless there was something inherent in my family that interested you… and that would need to go beyond simply being descended from heroes." Jaune analyzed, and Ozpin nodded at him, encouraging him to continue.
"Is it because I'm good at strategy?" Jaune asked frankly. Ozpin shook his head.
"While you are a good strategist, as evidenced by your performance in the written tests, that would not be enough to get you by in my school. Tell me, what do you know of the Schnee Semblance?" he asked out of the blue.
Jaune frowned. "Are you talking about Weiss' white things?" he asked for clarification, and Ozpin nodded. "Nothing… sir. I don't know anything." he said defeatedly. Naruto frowned, starting to get an idea about what was wrong with Jaune's transcripts.
"Well," continued Ozpin, eyes glinting, "their Semblance is one that passes down through their family." he explained. Before he could continue, Jaune cut him off.
"Sir, with respect, my family's not like the Schnees! I've heard the stories about my heroic forefathers! None of them had the same Semblance!" he exclaimed. Ozpin sighed.
"Mr. Arc, please have some restraint. I do in fact have a reason for bringing them up." he said exasperatedly. Jaune simmered down quickly, flushed.
"Sorry sir!" he squeaked out. Ozpin sighed, before swirling his mug some more. After a minute of silence, he continued.
"There are similarities. Unlike the Schnees, your family's Semblance isn't the same within each member, rather it's method of activation is the same with each member." Ozpin explained, his voice switching tones as he explained. With his explanation came Jaune's excited exclamation.
"You know how to activate my Semblance?!" he cried out, excited. Ozpin nodded grimly, and Naruto suddenly got the feeling that there was something bad about it.
"The activation process however is a large part of why your family has stepped out of the Huntsmen and warrior life however in recent years." Jaune suddenly noticed Ozpin's dour expression, and realized that there may be a reason why his family didn't want him to become a Huntsman.
"The activation process is simple. One of the people closest to your heart must be in mortal peril, and then you awaken a Semblance that will save them. For example, one of your ancestors Pierre had to watch his sister burn alive. He then activated his Semblance which allowed him to create and control water from his Aura, allowing him to douse the flames and save her life." he elucidated clearly, as Jaune's face paled considerably, back to the colouration it had had at the beginning of the conversation.
"Y-you… you mean I need to watch a friend or a member of my FAMILY DIE?!" Jaune cried out, horrified.
Ozpin nodded sadly. "I am afraid so. And unfortunately, we cannot stage this. There were attempts in your family to stage a life or death scenario, but it never worked. The intended target always failed to awaken their Semblance, and the fact that it was staged meant no one ever died. This, unfortunately, means it cannot happen in a controlled environment." seeing Jaune's state, Ozpin put his hand on his shoulder. "I AM sorry, Mr. Arc. But I felt that you should know, given that you are now the replacement leader. I would prefer you retained your innocence a while longer, but given the fact that you already will have enough on your plate dealing with students wondering why you were chosen to 'supplant', as I fear they will regard it, Ms. Nikos, I think that it's best you know this so you do not feel pressured to activate your Semblance. However, I hope you can take comfort in the fact that in most cases, the awakening of the Arc Semblance has saved the life of the one in danger."
Naruto patted Jaune on the back awkwardly. "Think of it this way: it's kinda like a friend coupon!" he joked morbidly. It worked however, and Jaune cracked a smile.
"When you put it like that, I guess it's a good thing…" he said. His eyes watered a bit, but he forced down his fears, and looked at the Headmaster determinedly.
Ozpin smiled sadly. "I'm glad that you regard it this way. That being said, you are still woefully unprepared for Beacon's harsh training regime." Jaune nodded, resigned to it.
"If I can last out the month, maybe Athos could help me." he said hopefully. Ozpin nodded slowly.
"That would indeed be wise; however I cannot in good faith allow you to attempt to survive the ridicule that would ensue. Remember, Mr. Arc, that the students will not regard you with the respect befitting a student. They will wonder why you have taken Ms. Nikos' place, and I fear they will be most harsh in seeing if it was by skill in combat." Jaune winced at that, before resolutely staying his course.
"I am not afraid, Professor." he said, his voice wavering despite his resolve.
"Fortune favours the bold, I suppose…" Ozpin mused aloud, before rising from his seat. "However, I cannot allow you to be found out. Such would reflect poorly upon Beacon, you understand." he explained, eyes twinkling. Jaune nodded sadly.
"Yes sir." Ozpin continued as though he hadn't spoken.
"Which means that you will be tutored by me for the next… let's say two weeks."
"Of course sir, I'll pack my bags and-" Jaune stopped talking, eyes widening. "What did you say?" he whispered, his voice fraught with wonder. Ozpin smiled at him warmly, extricating his cane from his side where it was clipped to his belt.
"I will tutor you, Mr. Arc, for an hour and a half each day for the next two weeks. I shall request that Glynda not call on you for combat class for a week, so you will need to work hard." he explained, and Jaune nodded eagerly.
Naruto frowned. "Professor, why am I here?" he asked, confused. Ozpin put his cane away, deflating somewhat.
"Mr. Uzumaki, I asked you here to be the final test for Mr. Arc. If he sent you away to face the consequences of his actions alone, to keep his pride intact, he would have been stripped of his rank as Leader. Now, he also passed two other tests, and if he'd failed all three I would have expelled him entirely."
Naruto frowned again. "So can I leave?"
"Actually, I wanted to tell you that you're both Beacon's best hope against the creatures of Grimm." Ozpin threw out offhandedly, forcing Naruto and Jaune to make a double-take of his words. "Both your teams will be remarkable in the face of the Grimm, and will defend humanity well. Be proud, both of you, because today we finally made two teams that can win the Vytal Tournament!" he cheered, raising his mug in the air as though to salute some entity above.
Naruto groaned as Jaune beamed with pride. "Alright, Ozpin. Can we leave now?" he groaned, stretching his arms behind his head. Ozpin sighed.
"Of course Mr. Uzumaki. I'm sure you want to get back to your team." he said knowingly, before sitting back down and waving them out. "Thank you both for the wonderful conversation, and Mr. Arc, I expect to see you tomorrow at 6 AM sharp." Jaune nodded quickly and frantically.
"Of course Professor! I won't disappoint you!" he said as Naruto dragged him to the elevator.
AN:
Well, here's another chapter! My exam went well, my thanks to all those who wished me good luck!
Now this needs to be addressed: GUNS. I decided that Dust powered guns are significantly better than normal guns. They are essentially powered by magic rocks, and honestly, RWBY-verse needs something to make them at least semi on par with the Naruto-verse. Dust is the answer/solution. I get if you guys don't like this, and yes, it's a bit of a stretch considering we've seen people using guns in RWBY forever and they appear pretty much normal.
But hey, this is just me. The average Genin in my fic cannot throw a kunai faster than a Dust powered bullet. A jonin is a completely different story, and for chunin it's kinda up in the air. It really depends on the quality of both the chunin and the gun, in my opinion.
Thank you for reading that, I'm aware that a few people have already read it, or something to the effect.
Now I hope people know who Team APAD is. If you don't then you're uncultured (hey, don't get mad at me! It's true!).
People had some beef with Obito and Kakashi calling out Naruto's stress induced emo-ness. Hey, I get it that ya don't like it! And it does sort of rewrite his character! But I took inspiration from him right after he heard Jiraiya died. He was depressed, and mopey. However, now he knows that he can get home (just like he thought of taking vengeance on Pain) and will strive to get to the point where he can. He might be a bit broody, but at the moment he's still like the Naruto from right after his trip with Jiraiya.
A bit of flak from people thinking Kakashi should have warned Naruto that Ozzie was leading him on.
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Kakashi knows that Naruto can deal with it even IF Ozpin's playing him. Why warn Naruto that a mosquito might try to bite him?
Oh, and for people who don't like how Pyrrha went, the way I figure it would go would be that she'd not want to be elevated above her classmates even more so than she already is. To that effect, she makes a bad leader because she doesn't want to be one. And she gave up the position when given the opportunity.
Well, thanks for reading this far! I'm glad you're enjoying it and if you're not, please tell me why! I can't guarantee I'll fix it (the other Naruto characters have a VERY important piece to play, and I won't get rid of them because you don't like it), but I'll consider it at least (which is more than I can say for most politicians, so vote for me!).
See you guys some other day,
-Pad
