"I blame you Sasuke."
"How is this my fault Dobe?"
"You do have a track record of people trying to take you into custody Sasuke-kun."
Sasuke actually managed to look affronted by Sakura's comment.
For all of three seconds before he shrugged unapologetically.
It wasn't his fault he didn't like dealing with stupid people. If people weren't stupid, he wouldn't be a criminal in several countries.
"I'll say it one last time! Put your hands up and lay down your weapons!" A female voice called to the base of the same cliff Team 7 had stood under a scant few hours ago.
The other 8 shmucks that had been traveling with them now seemed torn between taking them into custody, and staring at the top of the cliff in confusion. Though Sasuke had to admit, at least they were smart enough to disperse around Team 7, plus one, equally.
Not that it would make any sort of difference what so ever.
"How does she expect us to disarm ourselves and keep our hands up?" Naruto asked, not taking the current situation seriously in the least.
Surrounded on all sides and with seemingly no way out? That kind of stuff was Team 7's bread and butter.
Hinata was a super badass too!
"Naruto-kun be nice. She seems very on edge." Hinata's soft voice carried over the blond and he just shot her a cheeky grin.
"Hinata-chan did you just make a pun?"
The look he received from the Hyuga was both admonishing and adoring.
Lovable idiot was Naruto's middle name after all.
His cheeky smile was replaced by an easy going one as two people landed in front of the group of 4.
It was a man and a woman, presumably the one who had given them contradicting orders. The man stood around the six foot mark, with silver hair and brown eyes. Along with a complexion that would leave Orochimaru green with envy.
Pale bastard.
The woman was far more appealing to look at, with a slender, hour glass frame and standing an Amazonian six foot five. Her blond hair was tied up in a bun with a stray strand curled down the right side of her face. She too held a pale complexion that accented her striking green eyes beautifully.
Both were professionally dressed, and gave off an air worthy of respect and deference.
Naruto just yawned lazily. Something that drew a sigh from both Hinata and Sakura. Hinata's was more as an act of affectionate acceptance than anything.
"Is anyone else getting an odd sense of deja vu?" Sasuke asked as he took in the two individuals before him. Aside the height difference and style choices, the blonde could pass for Tsunade. The man may as well have been Kakashi. Not like any of them had actually seen the man's face before.
"You're just seeing things Sasuke, all those weird eye powers must be getting to you." Naruto waved it off, trying to keep the tension low for all involved. That lady really did remind him of Tsunade.
Which meant the possibility of beatings.
Super-strength powered beatings.
Naruto violently suppressed a shiver.
"I must say, you all seem quiet calm about your situation." The man in green spoke, a certain air of control wafting off him.
"Well, no sense in being skittish and end up making matters worse is there?" Naruto shot back, his smile once more in place.
They had a far bit of information, a good launch point for any future actions in the very least.
Now they just needed to know where the hell they were.
Naruto pointedly ignored the harsh glare the blonde woman gave him as he stepped forward. Out of everyone, he was the tankiest, and the fastest. While Hinata might be more diplomatic, and Sakura more intellectual, he was pretty good at handling people and the most likely to escape should things go wrong.
If not, well, like he said. Tanky.
Sasuke was left out of any and all negotiations for several reason, chief amoung them his piss poor people skills.
Plus Susanoo would make for a great shield for the girls if things came to blows.
"So, would you believe me if I told you we have no idea where we are?" The blond started, his hands in plain view as he stopped four paces from the two new players in this little adventure.
Four steps, half a blink. Plenty of room.
"While it isn't strange for people to get lost in the Emerald Forest, it is strange for them to walk away uninjured." The silver haired man shot back.
"Well...we're good like that. My name is Naruto, and this is the team. Hinata, our magnificent scout." Naruto waved a hand to the bluenette whom promptly blushed and smile bashfully.
"Sakura, a very scary medic of whom I hold the utmost respect." Naruto quickly added as he heard knuckles crack. 'Please don't hit me'
"And the Bastard." A scoff met his words and Naruto could only just keep from shooting the other male a chesire smile.
"I see. My name is Ozpin, Headmaster of Beacon Academy. Perhaps we can move this somewhere more...comfortable. My school is very near here." The man relented as each of the four seemed to silently converse with one another.
These people were dangerous. While taking them to the academy was a risk, it was a calculated risk. The apparent leader had saved young Weiss and Pyrrha, it was unlikely they would react violently with more "collateral" in the way. Even if it did rub Ozpin raw to think of his school and students as such.
The fact that there were several other teachers and skilled students should this 'Rouge Element' act out helped sway matters.
Naruto stood there for several moments, his eyes slowly widening. He spun violently and jabbed a finger at Sasuke, anger wafting off him like a miasma.
"I KNEW IT WAS YOUR FAULT! We're at a SCHOOL! You evil bastard!!"
Ruby, Yang, and Jaune all managed to snicker in the semi-tense situation.
Pyrrha took a note from Hinata and Sakura, just hanging her head in astonishment. 'Oh god what an idiot.'
Threes company Pyrrha.
Weiss and Glynda were peas in a pod, face planting at Naruto's very blatant attempt to make a joke in poor taste.
Blake and Sasuke both raised an eyebrow, while Ozpin just took a soft sip from his mug.
Ozpin wasn't easily fooled. It was often the most eccentric that were the most powerful.
A certain dusty crow came to mind.
Sakura took a few steps and promptly flattened Naruto against the earth.
Or into it would be a better description.
"Take this seriously you idiot!"
"But...Sakura-chan...this doesn't help..." Naruto groaned from the slight indent his body left.
Damnit that girl hit hard. Did Ero-sennin go through this with Baa-chan?
-CATB-
Hinata had to agree with Sasuke on one point.
This definitely had the makings of Deja Vu.
Sure they were currently several stories off the ground in a heavily, or so it seemed, fortified area with possible enemy combatants on all possible sides, but this office really had the feel of the Hokage Tower's mission office.
Strange parallel, that.
As such, she was treating this as a semi-formal incident. Something she should be aware and alert for.
"How did you guys make this thing so fucking tall? I've only seen places like this in Rain, and none of them are this nicely made." Naruto's voice rang from the large bay window.
Unfortunately, she seemed to be the only one with such a mindset.
"This is an amazing collection! I've never even seen books like this? Are these exotic medical ingredients?" Sakura called from a book shelf off to one side, one hand holding a book open, the other grabbing for another.
Sasuke just calmly stood to th left, his eyes racking over a small stack of weapons, his eyes taking in every morsel of "Stabby slashy pointy death" hanging on the weapons rack. Impressive collection.
Not practical obviously, but still impressive.
Hinata just tried to suppress a sweat drop. This Ozpin character hadn't moved from his chair in the last few moments of the sextuplet group had entered his "very beautiful office" as she had put it.
Why was no one else taking this as seriously?
'Then again...Naruto and Sasuke don't really have much reason to be intimidated...it's still rude though.'
"I'm sorry for their reactions Mr. Ozpin. We are usually much more put together than this." Hinata offered apologetically.
"Think nothing of it...Hinata wasn't it?" A nod answered him. "I'm very use to these kind of interactions believe it or not." A calm sip of a mug did much in the way of covering Ozpin's amused smile.
Dangerous this squad may be, but they were hitting a nostalgic bone for some reason.
"Sir, I believe we should address the elephant in the room." Glynda ground out, her hand tightly gripping her riding crop. These...CHILDREN were making a mockery of everything this academy stood for.
AND OZPIN WAS LETTING THEM!
"Elephant? I don't see an elephant." Naruto spoke up as he circled back around the desk and stood at Hinata's side once more.
"She was being figurative Dobe." Sasuke snipped from his corner of swordsman heaven.
"Oh shut up ya Bastard." A book clocked Naruto on the head, curtesy Haruno Shipping.
"Don't call Sasuke-kun that!" "Sakura-chan~" Naruto whined, his hands covering the newly formed bump.
Glynda swore she popped a blood vessel.
"Yes, as amusing as this all is, I really do find myself curious as to who, exactly, you four are." Ozpin spoke and once more the six descended into a bout of tense silence.
...well tense for Ozpin and Glynda.
"Like I said before, we're lost. We woke up in the jade forest out there and are just trying to find out where we are." Naruto spoke easily enough. He couldn't sense anything overtly negative from the two before him, aside from annoyance and a small inclination to manipulation, something that had become like oxygen to him in his life as a shinobi.
People found him annoying and every half way decent shinobi knew and tried to manipulate others.
He pointedly ignored his own lack of such attempts.
"Emerald Forest, but I see how that may be confusing. It seems you just fell upon a bit of bad luck." Ozpin corrected absently. That was an interesting issue. He didn't think the blond youth was lying to him, but he still didn't know if he could trust this group.
Then he was struck by inspiration.
"How about a game? Think of it as...20 questions. You ask a question, I'll answer, then ask my own. Sound fair?" Ozpin asked amicably.
Naruto crosses eyes with his life long friends, trying to gauge what they thought of the idea.
This man was sly. Conniving in a way. Nothing they weren't use too. He seemed High up on the social ladder if his academy was any measuring stick.
"Sounds fine. Would you like to go first?" Naruto spoke after a moment.
"Something simple then. What were you doing last night that landed you in the forest?" Ozpin asked curiously. It was unusual for anyone to just blatantly wonder in to Grimm ingested territory.
"Ahhahaha uh...we...kinda got smashed." Naruto admitted. He had the decency to look bashful, but all the same couldn't stop the disbelief from coloring Ozpin's face.
"I...see." That's all the man could say really. Who drinks enough to...right. Qrow.
Naruto paused for a moment, crossing eyes with Sasuke and holding a silent conversation.
In the end, he hung his head. Sasuke never wanted to take things slow.
"Do you know anything about cross-dimensional travel?"
The blonde woman blanched.
Ozpin just raised an eyebrow.
"I'm aware of the scientific communities obsession with superstring theory and the possible existence of varying layers of reality." Ozpin supplied, making Naruto perk up.
Maybe this wouldn't be so hard.
"Well, String theory isn't really the best comparison, but it's close. Based off what we can infer, we are no longer attached to our own reality." Naruto offered. While he wasn't necessarily book smart, some sciences where necessary to know when studying seals. Quantum Machincs happened to be one.
Just because he wasn't smart doesn't mean he can't secularly focus on stuff.
"So you mean to say, you and your friends are from a different dimension."
"Possibly, honestly nothing would be too far of a stretch for us anymore." Naruto replied.
Stupid moon fights and rabbit goddess.
"I...I'm sorry, but you can't seriously expect me to take that at face value." Ozpin spoke as he leaned back. He would give them credit. It was certainly the most creative lie he had ever heard.
Naruto just smiled. "Well of course not. I can actually prove it to you." Naruto clapped his hand together, before making a flashy showing of undoing the seal holding Kurama.
The sheer pressure of the released energy made Ozpin drop his mug and Glynda hit her knees.
It was an ocean, like an all encompassing wave of raw unbridled power
Sufficating.
Panic inducing!
And like a breeze it was gone.
"Ahehe...sorry about that...I...misjudged the initial power shock people experience when feeling that chakra for the first time." Naruto offered as Sasuke shook his head.
What an idiot.
"W..wha..."
Naruto took in the dilated pupils of the Silver haired man in interest. Usually people were a bit shock when he opened the gate, but never before had someone had this kind of reaction.
"That's my partner, Kurama. He's a mass of living energy sealed inside me by my father on the day of my birth. Nice guy once you get passed the blister and fanfare." The blond spoke with a simple wave.
"G...Grimm..." Glynda spoke, trying to force a question out but still stunned from the absolute agony and bloodlust that had just been passed through her.
"Mmmm I suppose you could say that. The Fox was a part of something known only as the Juubi in our world. It was born of malice and malcontent." Sasuke replied, contemplative.
They had seen these creatures of Grimm, and while the subjects were different, they did share certain parallels. Naruto even mentioned something about Natural Energy of the world. Perhaps a different form of Juubi?
"Where we come from, the Grimm don't exist. While our society has been highly militarized, that is more for the sake of fighting other humans. We do have beasts of burden and fantastical creatures, nothing like we've seen here." Hinata carried on. It was strange. The people here seemed to hold special skills and a truly perplexing form of energy, yet no one had a chakra circulatory system.
A different reality is really the only thing the four of them could come up with. Which was both a good and bad thing.
Good, because it meant that they would be able to possibly find a way home.
Bad, because that might mean an unknown amount of time trying to figure out WHERE home was.
"I...okay. Say I believe you. Say I take this whole absurd, ridiculous mess for what you say it is. What then?" Ozpin asked, a hard edge to his voice. These people were far more dangerous than he assumed. The blond one alone could crush...well any of them really. If he could bring that cold, terrible power to bare, no one in the whole of Remnant could stop him.
And that terrified Ozpin.
"Uhh...we could use a place to crash? Maybe some food and information on a possible way to get home before we end up stuck here for too long." Naruto spit balled. They really just wanted to find a way home, most likely through Sasuke when ever he could get the rinnegan back up and running.
Naruto would charge it himself, but they weren't sure what mixing their powers might do. For now, better safe than sorry.
Ozpin and Glynda just stared at Naruto wide eyed.
That's it?
No plot? No world take over? No subjecation of the masses?
Just...go home?
"You...just want to go home." Ozpin tried to make it sound like a question, really he did, but he was so shocked at the SIMPLICITY of the blond it had possibly damaged him.
This man had the power to crush EVERYONE...and he just wanted to go home.
Ozpin wasn't sure weather he felt releaved that they wanted to go, or terrified that there may be more like this group out there somewhere.
"Well yeah, doesn't everyone?" Naruto scratched his head slightly. Why was this headmaster guy making a big deal out of it.
What, did he think they wanted to take over the world or something??
"...and you'll just go?"
"Of course!" Naruto replied with a nice guy pose, something that just made Sasuke and Sakura sigh.
Hey! Don't diss the pose!
"...fine."
"Ozpin you can't be serious!" Glynda protested immediately. She didn't CARE that this was her boss! This was completely asinine and potentially deadly!
"I'm as serious as I can be Glynda. These four individuals are without a home and I would much rather they stay here were we can keep an eye on them." Ozpin admitted with no shame. They would know anyway, so he didn't bother to hide it.
"Smart." Sasuke spoke softly.
Not that they could really do anything, but it was smart to try.
"I'll have you each added to the roster, and we'll place you together as a team. I just have one question."
"Shoot." Naruto replied with a smile.
He loved it when it was easy.
"Which one of you is the team leader?"
Team 7 and Hinata froze as the question bounced around in their skulls.
"Ah...hum. That's actually a good question." Sakura spoke, a finger on her chin.
While the boys were undoubtedly the strongest, she was the smartest by miles, and Hinata was the most approachable with Naruto as a close second. Naruto had a naturally charm that made following him easy, but he was also bullheaded and kinda stupid. Sasuke was powerful and a strong tactically minded individual, but he was also quite callous and...well an asshole really.
"Oh dear...this may be an issue." Hinata spoke softly, the same thoughts going through her head. They had never been on a team together, so something like this had never been thought about.
With Sasuke and Naruto's competitive natures, her and Sakura's budding friendly Rivalry, things were a bit touchy when it came to who would boss who around.
"You guys always make this stuff so complicated." Naruto spoke with a sigh, seeing the others deep in thought. In his mind, they were pretty fairly balanced across the board, so they should settle this in a fair way.
"Roshambo anyone?" Naruto and Sasuke said at once, each liking at the other with a little grin.
It was good being on the same wavelength sometimes.