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A/N
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Chapter 25
"I think this is the dumbest thing you've ever done or conceived since I've known you."
"How so?"
Sasuke looked over his former teammate and slowly blinked his single eye as he compiled the list mentally before trying to figure out where to start from said list. To start, Naruto was now wearing a simply black t-shirt and pair of blue jeans. Normally, this would not be the case as he'd always worn some kind of orange, even after coming here. Coco did her best to keep that unsavory color away from him, but sadly, all attempts fell short when he could simply opt to wear an illusion over his choice of clothing. So, the two had simply decided to let that fight fall to the wayside in favor of trying to get him into other things that had also failed for the time of their use.
The other change came from him sitting perfectly still, or a clone of him at least. Sasuke didn't know if the clone was sleeping or trying to meditate. And for that matter, he wasn't even sure these two were the same. For all he knew, Naruto could be outside of this room doing something else. Like torturing Cardin for another terrible deed done to some poor soul. The life of a bully was hard and long, but damn if Naruto wasn't always there to put him in his place with a well-deserved, and undetected, prank that hadn't been linked back to him.
Another thing that was noteworthy were the stack of history, math, and world geography books that now lines his desk where his sealing arrays were located. A few other books, like Ninja's of Love and a few self-help books were tucked away on a small bedside nightstand with Ninja's of Love having a bookmark put about thirty pages or so in to mark his spot in it. Where he got it and what it was about, Sasuke didn't care. But the fact he was reading something at all that wasn't magic based was a step in the right, and possibly wrong, direction. He wasn't judging. He was just worried about him.
But the biggest, and strangely oddest, change came in the form of a bowl of fruit that was at said desk. An apple was already eaten to the core and two banana peels now lay on a napkin while the bowl was filled with grapes. Naruto didn't eat that kind of food. He inhaled ramen like they inhaled air. His food pallet was one-part ramen and one-part broth and one-part water. He never deviated from that. Or at least he never saw the deviation in it.
Sasuke could get behind any form of change in a person, be it bad or good because it was something he was trying to do, just like how everyone was with their lives. A failure to change and adapt meant you were stuck in a rut. And a desire to keep things the same was also just as bad. If you failed to move forward with the world, you were inevitably left behind. And if you were left behind, you were forgotten. The history of Mantle was proof of that. They didn't want to change, and as a result, Atlas, came into power and now claimed its right as the capital of that land, leaving Mantle in the dark past that it now trapped itself in.
Why did he find this all so terribly troubling? Well the short answer was that change was best done in moderations. Some people might be able to handle a big change, like having a roommate or significant other move in with them. But for those that couldn't, a small change, like something as waking up early by setting an alarm clock or three was generally a smarter and safer bet. Starting small was always the best idea. Like learning how to cook. Learn a few meals and set your expectations within a reasonable tolerance. No one could make a five-star meal the first time they go at it.
"I don't truly know where to begin, so I'm just going to tell you that you're doing this too big too fast." The quizzical look he got in return was all the proof he needed that this warning was not understood by his former teammate. "You need to start small. This is too big and too fast of a change. No one can make such a drastic change like this."
"I don't see how this is a big change."
Sasuke closed his eye and massaged the bridge of his nose. Were all little brothers this dumb or slow, or was this just Naruto being Naruto again? He couldn't say that this was because he was blond, because Yang sure wasn't dumb. She had her moments, but everyone had their moments, so he couldn't use that excuse, not that it would work here anyways. This was just Naruto trying too hard and not seeing what the problem was because he was used to trying big things that usually paid off.
"You can't just change your diet as quickly as you think. You have to work to a change. Find something you like, throw it in your meal, even if it's something as small as a snack. Don't change your entire diet because it can and will cause medical problems with you. That'd be the first problem I see here." Naruto nodded, accepting that and obviously thinking on something to do about that. "I'm happy you're picking up reading on other things, but don't bite off more than you can chew. This is a bit much. Start smaller and find books you know will help. Those look too big with words that might be too big or too long for you to understand. If you want, I'm sure I can help you, or get Weiss to help you. Hell! I'm sure the Librarian will help you if you ask?"
"Glynda?"
"No. The actually Librarian."
"That place has one?!"
Squeezing his eye shut, he resisted the urge to throttle his friend. That'd be no good here and he wasn't in the mood for the fight, even if it would be considered training. "The next change would be your outfit. I'm happy it's not a bright color like what you usually wear, but I hope you understand that wearing black isn't going to show proof of a change. An outfit only does so much for someone, and while I'm happy, it's not exactly a great swap."
"Then what should I wear? White? That's Weiss's thing." He paused and glanced back at the Naruto on the bed, arching a thin brow before shrugging. "Mom says I should wear red. Said something about our clan liking that color. Maybe that'll work?"
"Fine. Red will work, but in small doses. Don't go and buy all red shirts and pants. That's just dumb." Naruto suddenly snickered and then pouted all at the same time. "They made fun of you for wearing orange all the time, didn't they?" Naruto nodded with a depressing sigh. If a rock were present, he expected his blond-haired friend to start kicking it around in a rejected fashion. "Just please, for my sake, don't bite off more than you can chew. I'm happy you're trying to change, but this seems like a bad idea to go too big too fast. What if this blows up in your face? I don't want you feeling like you failed at something that should be easy."
"Now you sound like my dad."
"Then he's a smarter man then I give him credit for."
"You don't even know him."
"True, but I paid attention in history class. The man was a brilliant warrior that mastered Fuinjutsu, created a powerful technique that you have mastered, even though you claim he never completed it. The man was, and still to this day, probably the third strongest Kage I've read about, trumped only by the first two for our village." Naruto made a face that looked like he was doubtful of that and judging by his sudden grin that might have held more truth than Sasuke was willing to know at this time. He could ask later. "I just want to make sure that you're going to be okay out of this. I want you to succeed because I'm all for you changing and becoming a better and stronger person. We're all we have here."
"I get that. I really do. But I'm listening to my parents on this. These are their suggestions." Naruto ran a hand through his hair and looked at his black shirt. "Maybe black isn't my color, but it was the only other thing I had. I'll go to town later today to get some clothes."
"I'll tag along if they don't pile on any homework for me."
"Good luck with that."
"Here's hoping. I don't like the idea of you out there on your own trying to buy clothes for yourself. Not that I have anything against you, it's just that I think you might do something a little strange with it." Naruto nodded. He could see himself doing that. "Anything else planned for today?"
"No. I think I'm just going to talk with my parents and continue working on some of the arrays."
"You any closer to making progress with some of the more advanced ones?"
"I have no idea. Mom seems to think I'm getting there, but dad keeps saying that she's like me and had stupid hands. Dad thinks I'm getting it, but I'm not even close to being past beginner yet." Naruto folded his arms and shook his head. "You'd think that if my clan was powerful as it was, I'd have received training on how to use this stuff."
"Well it's advanced. It's not like it's something they taught us."
"Which mom is laughing at and is also very angry about." Sasuke arched a brow and Naruto started scratching his head. "Dad says that because peace was somewhat achieved and war wasn't going on like how it was when he was a kid, class was a bit different. They taught Fuinjutsu to them, but it was never on the level of the Uzumaki clan. Which makes sense I guess."
"It does, but it also doesn't." Sasuke cupped his chin in thought. It was proof of their world being further twisted and backwards. Even in times of peace here, they still seemed to train their students to fight other students, and not just for the festival, but against other nations should someone grow a pair to stand against another. Currently their main enemy seemed to be the White Fang, which made some sense. Otherwise, they'd be fighting Grimm and only Grimm. "They help you out with any of our theories?"
Naruto now looked exasperated and craned his head to look at the ceiling. "I don't have any idea on that they're talking about. It's well beyond me. It's all based on theories concerning chakra flow in our bodies and the world, along with infusing it into items for storage, along with the use of seals and our chakra nature. I don't understand it."
"Well keep trying. If I have to, I'll use my Sharingan and go inside your head to see if I can understand it. But with as much homework as I've been getting, plus team exercises, that might take a while." Naruto nodded. Being a Teachers' Assistant meant he knew what was coming and what wasn't. He knew that Oobleck wanted his students to do a detailed paper on the underground black market of Mistral. And judging from what little he'd already read on the books he'd taken out, that was going to be a long and detailed piece of work.
"Hopefully it doesn't come to that. I got a headache last time that was done. Probably not a good idea to fishing in my head again just to talk to them." Naruto's eyes squinted as he looked his adopted older brother over. "How are you and Coco doing? Any news on when she's coming back?"
"We're not dating."
Naruto blinked a few times. "But you're always around her. I thought you were dating."
"No. We're not dating." Sasuke looked at his watch. He had to leave soon. Glynda was having another sparring session for class today. He didn't want to miss it or miss a chance to fight one of the new students that had already arrived. "Besides, we're too young to think about things like that. We're fourteen. We shouldn't be looking for relationships."
"But I thought…"
"Thought that since we spend time together that makes us a couple? No. We're just friends. She's been helping me get better at socializing with others and is also helping me with you in getting you out of orange. Thankfully you're about to make that so much easier." Naruto still didn't look convinced. "We're not dating. Naruto, we don't know the first thing about a relationship. Do you know what it's about?"
"Holding hands and spending time with them?" Sasuke's single eye rolled and the blond sighed. "What do you want from me? We were both trained by a perverted teacher. You spent a month with Kakashi training while I spent a month training with the author of his favorite book." The Jinchuuriki sighed. "Actually, I spent more than a month training with him and went out on some of his research operations. I guess I got it worse." A curios gleam formed in his eye as he stared at his friend. "Did you happened to have to read any of those books while training with Kakashi?"
Sasuke blinked. Nagato placed Keshena on the bed, his mighty hands gently caressing the side of her face as he slowly removed-
"Can't say I did." He shuddered as he remembered the horrible, yet well detailed, writing when he read Kakashi's porn book. Who got off on that? How did he get off on that? "Besides, weren't you trained by the author? Surely he taught you something about it?"
Naruto blinked owlishly as he remembered the words of his now late mentor. "Women are creatures of beauty, Naruto," Jiraiya said to as they watched from the seclusion of the treetops down on the women in the river, "that are meant to be feared for their ferocity in bed, enjoyed for their lustful beauty, and respected for the bountiful breasts."
"Looking back on it, he's probably wrong on one or two things," he admitted quietly. He could see it though. Maybe the man had a point on more than just what little impactful wisdom he gave him. Or he was dead wrong and women were meant to just be feared. That might explain why Sakura hit him all the time. Did that only apply to their world? He hoped so. "Let's move on."
Sasuke checked the time again and shook his head. "I gotta get to class. I'm sure you can think of some other things to do for helping you change while I'm gone. Or you can come with me and watch me do a match."
"Pass. I think for once I'm just going to be lazy."
"When are you not lazy?" Naruto raised a fist as if to threaten him but then decided against any hostile action. Sasuke just smiled. "We can train this weekend. Hopefully nothing crazy happens between now and the dance."
"Isn't that like a month away?"
"Something like that." Sasuke opened the door and departed, but not before turning and look back at the bowl of fruit. "Try not to overeat on the fruit. Apples are all well and good, but too many can't be healthy for you. At least I don't think."
"Then I need to go throw up."
"I'm just trying to be funny. I guess my joke suck still." He left, shutting the door and leaving the blond in the room with his clone.
The Naruto on the bed opened his eyes and glanced at the other one. "You think he knows that he was talking a clone the whole time?" Bed-Naruto asked.
"Probably," the clone replied, smirking as he picked up his scroll and started looking for some more stores to visit in Vale. "How are the talks going?"
"Meh… Dad is still trying to explain the next level of sealing I need to master, but the arrays are really complex. I told him I'm taking a break. Mom agreed that I should take a break and so I'm back. Learn anything while I was out?"
"Ninjas of Love is a great book."
"I meant for the history stu- What? Why am I talking to you? I can just kill you and figure out on my own." The clone shrugged and dispersed, leaving a blinking Naruto on the bed to glare at the apple core on his desk. "He was joking about apples being bad, right?"
(-)
Jaune took one look at the match and declared, "She's got this," only to watch as Weiss was beaten by Emerald not a few moments later. Sighing, he glanced over at his team that had opted to watch the fight in silence.
Emerald was good, but if Glynda hadn't called the match due to time limit and aura consumption, Weiss might have won. Plus, Emerald wasn't using her Semblance, or so it seemed to Jaune. Perhaps she was and he just didn't know what to look for.
"Not bad, but not good either." Jaune glanced over at Emert as the teen stared at the victorious teen. "She relies too heavily on her weapons. Lacks hand-to-hand combat. She'd rather fight you afar than up in your face."
"It's her style. It works for her," Jasper added. He scratched at his chin and caste a shy glance in Pyrrha's direction. After a few months of not fighting, his grades for Glynda's class had finally forced him to fight and he lost against Pyrrha. Sasuke had warned him that this would be the case, but the man had believed that if he won one fight against you, you were never going to beat him.
Glynda put a stop to the conversations by calling for the next set of fighters. "Dove Bronzewing and Jaune Arc, please come down to the arena."
Jaune felt a chill run over him as he heard the names. Slowly, he got up, his hand resting on his handle of his blade for comfort and made his way down to the arena. He wished his first fight was against someone weaker. Dove wasn't a pushover. The man had talent and skill to back up his rather pulp figure.
The walk was quicker than he would have liked. Dove had opted to jump from their seats down to the arena. He stood in the center a cocky smirk and his sword resting against his shoulder. Dove was only second best in his team. Shame that Cardin wasn't the best and that went to Russel.
Grabbing his sword and equipping his shield, Jaune took his battle stance and calmed his breathing for the fight.
"Begin."
Dove zipped over to Jaune with incredible speed for his size and began slashing at him in an attempt to whittle down his aura as quickly as possible. Jaune stopped each attack before it could hit him with his shield. The blows were light, but the speed in which he did them was had to keep up with.
Dove jumped over the blond and slashed at his head. Jaune negated most of the force from the blow with a well-timed brace from his shield, but his head was still grazed. As Dove landed, Jaune spun and did an upward slash, catching the teen just barely across his chest. His aura took the blow, but if Jaune were to look at the board, it would show no change in his aura gauge.
Taking the blow personally, Dove shoved his shoulder into Jaune's body to force him back as he gripped the handle of his weapon with both hands and delivered a powerful upward slash that caught him across the chest and knocked his aura down a considerable amount while sending the blond leader stumbling back and falling on his backside. This saved him from a follow-up swing that would have hit him in the head and threw the other teen off-balance when his swing didn't connect with its target.
Jaune rolled backwards in an impressive display of flexibility and quick thinking. Dove righted himself and charged towards the teen with his weapon ready to skewer him. Jaune stopped it with his shield, twisted around the thrust, slashed, and caught Dove in the back with full contact this time. Dove stubbled forward, twisted around, and took shoots at Jaune. The leader of JNPR raised his shield and blocked the bullets but blinded himself. Dove jumped on the opportunity and rushed him with a sliding slash that knocked Arc to his knees. Dove rushed back and hit him in the head with a roundhouse kick that knocked him to the ground hard.
The blond leader got up slowly and took a few punches to the face as a result before he regained his bearings. As Dove aimed yet another punch for his face, Jaune flipped his sword and presented it in front of the fist. Dove didn't stop and slammed his knuckles into the blade. If aura hadn't been covering his knuckles, he would have surely lost a finger. Jaune was lucky as well since the force behind the punch was enough to send the blade back at his face, but a timely raise of his shield prevented this and allowed him to press the advantage when Dove backed up and stared at him.
Shield and sword in hand, Jaune moved up with a shield bash. Dove sidestepped the attack and did a twirl with his blade out to take another chunk out of Jaune's aura. Arc hissed as he felt the sting of the blade against his back and spun with his shield out to hit him. Dove brought his arm up to block it. Jaune twisted his arm and collapsed the shield back to its scabbard form and clocked Dove against the side of the head, knocking the man for a loop.
Jaune pressed the attack and got in two more good knocks before Dove retaliated with a fury of blows that left the Arc youth confused and on the floor. He wasn't sure what happened, only that he was now on the ground and staring at the darkened ceiling.
"That's the match," Glynda called out. Jaune glanced in the direction of her voice and saw Dove standing over him with his sword ready for another swing. "You've shown some improvements in combat, Mr. Arc, but you still have a lot further to go." Glynda looked at Dove as the teen sheathed his weapon. "As for you…"
Jaune tuned out any further conversation as he got up and moved to the stands to continue watching the next set of fights. He was just happy to have landed a few blows. Dove was capable of standing toe-to-toe with Pyrrha for swordsmanship. The fact that he even managed to hit him a few times was proof of his improvement. Dove might not be at the top of the leaderboard for their class, but he wasn't at the bottom.
Making his way to the top, Jaune smiled when his friends welcomed him back with praise. It wasn't until he sat down that he felt true relief for what he accomplished, though little in the eyes of some, it was grand in his eyes.
"Sasuke and Mercury Black," Glynda called out, adjusting her glasses as they threatened to fall off her face. The two glanced at one another and simply jumped to the floor where both looked to the other with an arched brow. Glynda brought up their aura gauges and the two took their fighting stances.
"No last name?" Mercury asked the former Uchiha.
"No," he replied calmly.
Mercury snickered. "Must suck then, huh? Having no family name, I mean. You know, aside from missing one eye."
Sasuke Sharingan sprang to life and the teen blinked as he felt a great dread hit him hard. He stuffed those feeling deep down and smiled as the match was called and the former Uchiha sprang into action.
Mercury surged forward and met him with a hard kick to the head. The former Uchiha ducked under it and spun low with a leg out to knock him down and evade the kick that just barely ruffled his hair while his kick took out Mercury's leg. The silver haired youth flipped as his leg was kicked out from under him, landed on his hands and sprang away. He flipped as the former Uchiha sprang to his feet and rushed him. Tucking his feet together and then shooting them out, Mercury released twin shots from his shotgun greaves and caught him in the chest and knocked him back.
Mercury grinned as the raven-haired youth stood his ground with his arms covered after taking the blast that should have knocked him down.
Sharingan spinning wildly, the Sharingan user stared down the teen in front of him in wonder. His aura stops just short of his knees? Why is that? Can he block it? No. No one can do that back home. So then why…? His single eye narrowed and a smirk crossed his face. Interesting… I guess Weiss wasn't joking about their technology.
Mercury rushed forward, jumped, spun, and lashed out with three rapid spin kicks that Sasuke narrowly avoided. He lashed out with a fist and caught Mercury's kick that was aimed at his side with the other hand. Mercury took his punch and reeled from the force behind the blow. Growling, he fired off a round from his captured leg and freed himself from the former Shinobi. Sasuke grimaced as his hand burned from the discharge and hastily covered it in a thin layer of ice.
A second shot rang out and the former Uchiha stared down the teen as he flew at him and lowered himself to meet him. Mercury shot over him and grimaced when he felt a powerful force grab him and yank him down in to the ground hard. The force behind it was enough to make him see white lights in the corners of his eyes as he was sure that might have nearly given him a concussion were it not for the aura that surrounded him.
Sasuke wasn't done and jumped forward after he hit the ground, holding tight to his leg and pulling it with him, resulting in a loud pop that echoed around him as the former Konoha Nin rolled from his landing and sprang to his feet. Mercury was already back on his feet and whatever damage might have or should have been done was not visible. Sasuke blinked as he was certain that should have popped his leg out of place at the hip.
That should have done something, but if he's that flexible…? Sasuke didn't dare finish that line of thinking.
Mercury rushed him and began delivering a flurry of kicks that forced him back until he was forced to jumped over him and kicked him square in the back with one of his own powerful blows. Staggering forward, the youth ran forward and then proceeded to run up the wall a few feet before jumping off with a powerful blast from both feet that put him behind the former Uchiha. Sasuke followed him in the air and when he landed he was back on him in an instant.
The two returned to their fighting but Sasuke managed to hold his ground and keep the fighting at his pace as he forced the kicker into a fist fight that he obviously didn't want to fight. Finally growling tired of Sasuke's closeness, Mercury threw a punch that forced him to go by the former Uchiha, spun, and kicked him in the side of the head that forced the former Shinobi to spin from the blow. Mercury turned just in time to see that his attack was now being directed back at him in the form of the raven-haired teens' momentum from his kick as he returned the move back to him and forced him back.
Sasuke dropped back into his fighting stance and waited for the teen to come at him. His Sharingan spun angrily as he waited to see what his next move would be. Mercury rushed him and flipped in the air. Aura was transferred to his knees and from there, Sasuke had no idea what his plan was. His legs shot out and one caught him in the chest while the other lashed out and got him across the face, sending him spinning to the ground. Getting to his feet, he punched Mercury in the side and got grabbed in a headlock for his troubles and received an elbow to the back before kicked twice in the face and thrown away.
Rolling along the ground and jumping to his feet, the former Uchiha took a calming breath as his eye stopped spinning and focused more intently on the fighter in front of him.
Mercury gave him a cocky grin as he watched the former Uchiha slowly regain his composure and then slide into a strange stance. He stood ramrod straight with one arm behind his back and the other presented in front palm up. Sasuke smiled and made a "come hither" gesture towards him.
Left eye twitching, Mercury took his stance again and waited. Sasuke smirked and rushed him with a fist pulled back. Mercury lashed out with a kick and raised one arm to catch his fist. Sasuke evaded the kick and let his fist fly into his waiting hand. Mercury grinned as he held on tight and lowered his leg to get ready and hammer him a few times with his other one when he noticed the grin grow on Sasuke.
His foot turned inwards and before Mercury's eyes he vanished from sight.
Mercury's own surprise at the sheer feat he'd just witnessed momentarily forced his guard down as the former Uchiha got behind him and threw a powerful punch that caught him in the side of his face and sent him careening along the ground and rolling away. Sasuke took his stance again as Mercury got to his feet and rubbed the side of his face where the fist had struck him.
"Come," Sasuke ordered, a large grin on his face.
Mercury snorted but seemed impressed regardless as he took his fighting stance again. Seeing that his opponent was coming to him, Sasuke came to him and rushed him with a speed that Mercury could hardly follow. Twisting and lashing out with a hard kick, the former Uchiha ducked to the right of his leg, crouched down low, appeared behind him, closed the distance and kicked him hard in the chest to send him flying.
"What's the matter, Mercury? Is that all you got?" Sasuke taunted. He felt something strange in the teen. A competitive nature? No. It was something else. He rushed Mercury as the teen got to his feet and stopped a few feet away from him to begin running around him and force the teen to try and follow him as he dropped a smoke bomb on the ground distorted his opponents' vision. As the cloud of smoke vanished Mercury finally caught sight of the raven-haired youth rushing him with a few flips before he lashed out with a high kick that Mercury barely avoided before Sasuke flipped up and grabbed his shirt to pull him down into a rising knee bash that caught him in the chest and sent him backwards.
Taking a few steps back, the former Uchiha looked over at the gray-haired teen. It was a moment later that he was back on his feet with a cocky grin on his face. "Is that all you got?" he asked in a taunting tone. Sasuke scowled and glanced up at their aura levels. They were even, despite the damage they had both taken. Mercury rushed him and the former Uchiha grimaced as the teen kicked him hard in the chest. Sasuke stood his ground and caught his second kicked. Mercury grinned and fired his weapon at point black into Sasuke's chest and knocked him back and down. Switching legs, Mercury followed up and kicked and fired shot after shot until Sasuke was completely obscured by the smoke.
"You alive over there?" he taunted as he glanced up at the aura gauges. Sasuke's gauge hadn't fallen any even from that beating? He turned back to the smoke and grimaced as he saw a dome of ice covered the spot where Sasuke had been. Shards of ice littered the ground where he had fallen from the initial shot along with bits of his shirt. Grunting, he started firing again in an attempt to shattered the ice dome.
Sasuke huffed from inside his protective cover and held his shoulder where the Curse Seal resided, pulsing and burning as it attempted to boost his power. He glanced down his left arm and saw the black markings forcing their way down before he willed them away. He could hear the ice cracking and a desire to subdue his seal before he rushed back out to fight that man forced his hand.
Taking a calming breath, he shut his eye and searched deep within himself to call upon the strength to force the seal back. A moment later he felt the seal stop burning and recede back within its confines before.
I can't do that again. That drains my stamina too much and forces the seal to become active. He sighed and caught his breath before thinning the ice behind him and slipping out. He flipped through some seals before taking a deep breath and shattered the ice. Mercury never saw it coming. A torrent of flames left Sasuke's mouth and shoved what ice refused to melt outwards like a highspeed projectile that slammed into him with minimal force but their numbers and the heat that followed was enough to drain his aura to just before the red.
Grinning, Sasuke narrowed his eye on the teen before he saw something falling right in front of him. A teardrop the size of a small ball hit the ground and detonated in a flash of thunder. Then another hit behind him, followed by another and then a few dozen more before he felt his entire world explode into pain. A quick substitution with a clone place a few feet away from him was enough to pull him out and avoid any further damage to his aura. He checked it saw that both of them were borderline in the red.
Mercury slowly got to his feet and growled as he stared at the panting former member of Team Seven. How he on his feet? That should have removed his aura entirely! Mercury swore internally before he glanced up at the stands where Emerald and Cinder were watching with wide eyes. As was everyone else. Strange that the match wasn't being called yet…
Huh? Sasuke disappeared in front of him and reappeared directly in front of him with a rising high kick that propelled him into the air. He flipped over, landed on all fours and jumped up to follow him from behind and put two fingers in his back. Mercury twisted when he felt Sasuke grab his right side to spin him into a kick that he blocked with his forearm. Sasuke spun in the air and Mercury prepared for a kick from the other side only to get blindsided from the same side as the first kick with a backhand that forced him into a headfirst decent.
"Come back here!" Sasuke ordered as he flipped in the air during their decent and outstretched a leg that caught him in the chest as they both hit the ground. The force of the kick him hitting the ground was enough to reduce his aura to nothing.
"This match is over."
The two teens glanced at Glynda and obeyed without question. Mercury grimaced and glanced in the direction of his two teammates before shrugging.
"Sasuke, you did well. A good display of keeping your opponent on their toes and always forcing him to adapt to your every changing combat style. Mercury, you focus and devotion to a singular style prevented you for being able to adapt to Sasuke's changing combat style. Though, one cannot fault you for not being fast enough to handle the sudden increase in speed that your opponent showed, nor his creativity with his abilities." Glynda then checked off the winner on her scroll and called for the next match as Sasuke walked to the locker room to change his shirt so he was decent for class. Sun could get away with it, but he wasn't Sun.
He checked the Curse Seal on his shoulder and saw that it was red, most likely from him holding it as tightly as he did during his confrontation with it inside his ice shelter. He gently touched it and for a moment saw it pulse as if it were going to flare up again. Could Naruto do the Evil Sealing Method on this thing? I doubt it, but it'd be nice to have it reinforced. If not for my sake, then everyone else's. He shut his eye and then made his way back up to the others where Pyrrha was finishing her match with Russel and Sky. The duo just couldn't beat her two on one. If they had one more, maybe Dove, they could have pulled it off.
Class was over and Sasuke sighed as he and the rest of his team made their way to their dorm to get their homework done. Curse Oobleck and his history lessons. They weren't even finished getting things set up to start their homework before a knock came at the door.
"I got it," Emert said, sounding very happy as he shut off his scroll to answer the door. Naruto stood in the door with a knowing grin on his face. "Sup, Naruto? You need Sasuke?"
"He got homework?"
"Of course," Jasper said with a displeased look on his face. Persia said nothing, instead opting to continue her work. She had most of it done while the fights were taking place. She didn't pay nearly as much attention as she should have during the events. Neither was Blake for that matter. "You knew, didn't you?"
"Probably." Naruto poked his head in and spied his former teammate sitting at his desk, pen in hand, scowl on his face, and a textbook open. "I'll talk to you tomorrow. I can take care of what I need to get done on my own. Don't worry man."
"You sure?"
Naruto thought about it, glanced down the hall, then shrugged. "It wouldn't hurt to have some help, but hey, I'll manage." He waved goodbye and opted to check out another one of his friends to see if they'd be able to help. He knocked on the door and smiled when the bubble girl with orange hair answered. "Hey, Nora! You guys got your homework done yet?"
At this, she sighed and shook her head. "No. Unlike some of us, I was paying attention to the fights. Did you know Sasuke could move really fast on command?"
Arching a brow, Naruto wondered if Naruto forgot about their fight or that she had been present for some of their training? But then again, they weren't fighting as tough as they usually did anymore and most of their training sessions now were revolving around chakra theories and jutsu training.
"How fast was he moving?"
"He was disappearing and reappearing like he was teleporting, but Pyrrha says she could see his movement. Ruby could too. It was strange to see him disappear and reappear as quickly as he did," Jaune confessed as he looked up from his desk. He shut a book and stood up. "And to answer your previous question: I did finish my homework because I was working on during class like he gave us time to do and then during lunch before heading to Glynda's class."
"If Professor Glynda were to learn of this she wouldn't be very happy." Jaune looked worried while Pyrrha looked on with a smile to the mischievous blond. "Thank God I'm not someone that likes ratting people out. Oh well. She'll just have to find out on her own if she doesn't already know. I bet she does and she just didn't care to say anything."
"I'm sure that if she did, she would have said something to us," Pyrrha pointed out helpfully. Naruto snapped his fingers and nodded. "What are you doing today, Naruto?"
"Well I'm about to go to town to pick out some new clothes or just look around. Wanted to see if anyone wanted to go, but I guess since two of you have homework, that'd be a bit rude to split the team up since I imagine you're all going to help each other?"
"If the two of you want to go," Ren spoke up quietly with a small cough before he spoke, "Nora and I can handle this on our own." When Nora looked ready to protest, Ren added, "And it'll give me a reason to make pancakes and not worry about Nora eating them all before you guys get back. Get something while you're out."
And whatever words of revolt were going to come from Nora were silenced as she started happily working on her homework. Pyrrha glanced in Jaune's direction saw him look over the teachers' assistant before smiling. "We'll go," Pyrrha chimed in, grabbing Jaune's hand and hauling him off before he could protest. Naruto watched the interaction curiously before shrugging and following after them.
(-)
Pyrrha gave Jaune some space as he spent his time speaking with his fellow blond. Jaune was mostly curious as to his fighting style and his way of thinking when it came to combat. He really wanted to know how to be creative when it came to combat just like how Naruto supposedly was. For what few times he'd seen his fellow blond fight, they were brute force fights where he utilized superior strength and speed in his fights.
"…then they made me their King," Naruto said with a grin as he finished telling a funny story about his travels with Jiraiya on their hunt for Tsunade.
"Really?" Jaune asked, stars in his eyes.
"Oh God no!" Naruto said with a laugh. Jaune deflated but didn't seem all that hurt by it. It was worth the laugh it seemed. "Have you guys been around this part of town?"
"Not really," Pyrrha confessed. Naruto put his hands on his head and shrugged. Jaune pulled out his scroll and started looking for something that was close by for them to get something to eat. Naruto came a stop in front of an old store and smiled as he checked his scroll to make sure this was the one he wanted before putting the device away and stepping in. Pyrrha read the name of the store and blinked. "The Beginning? Odd name for a store."
She followed her partner and friend inside.
The entire store was not what she had expected and apparently Jaune was the same. An old man was behind the counter with a pair of glasses while an equally old woman was off to the side drawing on a sketchpad that she was busying herself with. The store was broken up into two sections with clothes and armor for respective genders on either side with a display of an assortment of masks in the center as if to bring both sides together.
"How can I help you three today?" the old man asked.
"I'm looking to get something custom made," Naruto told him as he stepped forward.
"That doesn't seem that hard. What did you have in mind, young lad?"
Naruto scratched at his cheek in embarrassment. "I was hoping I'd get inspired by something in here to be honest. Maybe find a mix set or something. I'm trying to get stuff together for my jobs I take from Ozpin since most of them involve combat with Grimm."
"Ah… A Huntsman. Well armor would be the main thing you want but designing it and finding the quality of the metal will be up to you. Metal prices are always so changing. But whatever price they're at right now, we'll lock 'em in and you only pay that price."
"Thank you."
Naruto bowed and started looking around with Jaune. If Coco were here she could help pick out something. He already had an idea on what he wanted, it was just talking about the design was hard for him. Emotions he could do easily. He knew that. Talking about how something looked and describing it someone else was very hard. He remembered one-time Iruka wanted them to describe a snowman in eight paragraphs without starting each paragraph with the same word from before. He didn't pass that one. In fact, he was pretty sure he wasn't the only one to fail it. Why did that even apply to being a Shinobi? Was it just to teach them how to write and not look like an idiot? That was dumb if it was.
Naruto found a few things in red that he liked, but they were simple clothing and not much in the way of armor. He knew it could be added, but his father was telling him to get something that had it already on it or was built into it under the cloth. His mom was agreeing, but she was ultimately more interested in something else. Whatever she was interested in, Naruto wasn't paying attention and didn't care either. In fact, he was pretty sure she was trying to come to terms with this world even more. The use of scroll was enough to keep her asking for more information about something he didn't really know how to work all too well. Sasuke knew it though. That was enough for him.
Sighing, he turned to Pyrrha as she walked out of a changing booth wearing a pair of blue jean shorts and a red spaghetti strap shirt. She called out to Jaune and the Arc gave her a thumbs' up before turning to his task at hand. Pyrrha glanced in Naruto's direction and then back to Jaune.
"She's in to him." Naruto heard his parents say in unison. Naruto scratched his nose and returned to his task at hand. "She's is rather cute. Almost looks like you when we were younger, Kushina."
"Not curvy enough, honey. Sorry. Ain't me."
Naruto massaged his temple as his parents started arguing over whether or not Pyrrha resembled Naruto's mother in her youth. "Jaune," Naruto whispered as Pyrrha disappeared back to the changing booth to put on her normal/combat clothes, "I know I'm blind to a lot of things. Like, really blind. But has she always been this… overly friendly to you?"
"Who? Pyrrha? Yeah. She usually even helps me find my hoodies when they go missing. Shame that she left some of her unmentionables in the bathroom yesterday after our workout. I let her use the shower first. Guess she was really tired if she did that." Jaune pulled out a black hoodie that had some armor padding on the inside of the sleeves and back. "Why?"
"He's worse than you, Minato!"
"You mean he's worse than you, Kushina."
Naruto gave him a dead stare before answering with, "No reason," as he turned and saw the masks. Well, if clothes were out of the option for the time being until Coco got back, he might as well have some fun just looking around the store for something. Maybe he could find some ideas and message them to her? No. That'd give her more time to plan stuff out. Or that'd be a good thing and he'd spend less time as her dress-up doll? He wasn't sure which one was better since both still had him doing the same action just over different periods of time.
"Naruto," Jaune moved forward and put the hoodie on the counter after telling the man he'd pay for it and just wanted to keep looking around. "What was your home like? I mean your village? Sasuke hardly talks about it. And what few things he does mention always involve you."
Naruto picked up a mask that resembled a dog. He rubbed his thumb over the jaw and shook his head as he put it back. "I'm sure whatever Sasuke told you was true about our village."
"Is it true you once painted a monument in broad daylight with hundreds of others Huntsmen being unaware of it?"
Naruto started laughing. He looked down at the mask. "Yeah. That one is true. I did that and would have gotten away with it if it wasn't for Iruka. He was the only one to ever catch me. I even followed our leaders' personal warriors that acted as his guards. I mean, maybe it was just that they didn't care and had other things to do, but they never found me doing these things."
"Sounds like they might have been rather dumb or blind."
"No." Naruto put the mask back, his fingers tracing the eye-holes. His face darkened. "They weren't dumb or blind. If they were anything, they were near the best of the best. They were handpicked warriors from all ages and fields. If one of them gave you an order, you obeyed without question." He pulled his fingers back and looked at the rest of the masks. "They wore specially designed animal masks and used a codename to go along with it. There was a time I wanted to be just like them. I thought they were the best. Then I learned that if I wanted to prove I was the best I had to be the leader of our village."
"What did the animals represent?" Pyrrha asked as she stepped out holding her clothes she had tried on. She intended to get them. She'd find a use for them somewhere down the road. Maybe a date with Jaune? She had to get him to notice her first. She didn't want to make the first move. She didn't know how. Too shy and with Naruto here it was going to be impossible for her to even ask Jaune out on a proper date. She'd rather have him do it. Yes, she was a hopeless romantic. So, sue her if she didn't like that stuff.
"I don't remember much about that part. If I had to guess, it was probably a stature to who they were or what they could do. Like a Wolf mask might mean that the person was a capable leader and a lone wolf type for combat. We had a Bear mask that might have represented being a warrior of true strength. There was a mask for every animal. So maybe that was why they were designed like that."
"If you were chosen, I guess you'd be a mischievous Fox," Pyrrha pointed out helpfully. Naruto rolled his eyes. "They're intelligent being and have paranormal abilities that increase with their age and wisdom. While some folklore often speaks of them as tricksters and shapeshifters, there are more stories about them being faithful guardians, friends, lovers, and wives."
Naruto rolled his eyes. "Well, I'll say I'm some of that, but I'm not a woman, so I can't be a wife."
"Don't you have the ability to turn into a woman thanks to shapeshifting though?" Jaune pointed out. Naruto gave him a dead stare, causing the Arc boy to stop talking and return to what he was doing.
"Be that as it may, I was never that smart, so that rules that one out as well. Paranormal abilities however," he trailed off and thought more on that one for this world rather than his own. Anything he did here could be explained there. But nothing he did there could be explained there. He could move fast, shapeshift, make copies of himself, utilize chakra in the form of a powerful attack, summon the chakra of the Kyuubi, who was a fox, and had tremendous strength as a result of both his training and the Kyuubi. "Even then, I doubt anyone would like one if they saw one here. They're being of destruction and disaster." He touched the mask one last time and suppressed a shudder as he heard Kyuubi cackle softly in the back of his mind. "Just a swing of one of their mighty nine-tails can raze mountains and summon tsunamis. A single roar can blow away entire villages. That kind of power doesn't need to exist."
Pyrrha put a hand on his shoulder and caused him to raise his gaze to meet hers'. "Perhaps not, but the rest is spot on for you. You are a proud warrior who defends his friends. A stern and powerful guardian to his friends, a trickster, a shapeshifter, and a person with paranormal powers. I don't think Sasuke was wrong in anything he ever said about you, Naruto."
"Yeah," Jaune added as he stepped up to the other side of his fellow blond. "You are a cool dude. And I'm happy to meet you. And given how you saved our butts when you woke up in the hospital during that Grimm attack, I think it even shows that you are everything that embodies a fox. Maybe your mask would have been one… You know… If you wanted one or got to join them."
Naruto pulled his hand away from the mask, an idea forming in his head. "Maybe… But I doubt it." He walked up to the counter. "I think I have an idea on what I want, but I'm not familiar with most metals."
"That's not a problem. Your friends look like they might have an idea on it." He looked to the woman. "You catch any of that?" She nodded mutely as she was busy with the sketchpad. "It'll take us a while to make it. How about you let us make the design. What kind of weapon do you use and we can work around that. Also, we need a color too."
Naruto shut his eyes and smiled. "Red and Black. I use a sword, knives, and shuriken." He looked the man over and then reached for his money only to have a hand put on his shoulder by the old man.
"The first piece will be done in a week. You were the one in the red aura, right? When the Grimm got into the city and the news went nuts with some kid that looked like you tearing them apart?" Naruto nodded slowly and fearfully. The man smiled. "You saved my grandkid in that. I think that deserves at least some level of a thank you."
"Can I get one piece for free?" Naruto told him with a big grin. The man shook his head and Naruto pretended to be hurt by his words. "Darn it."
Laughing, the old man walked around the corner and motioned to a room in the back. "As much as I'd like to for you saving my grandkid, I can't. A little hard to come by when you're out in these cheap areas. Right this way and we'll get you measured up." Naruto nodded and followed him into the back to get measured up for his clothing.