Hello all Storm here with a new chapter! It's been a while since this was updated, but I'm back at it and just in time with the Volume 9 teaser being released along with Ice Queendom. And here we'll be seeing several surprises, along with some trouble Naruto and Yang will be getting into. So, without further ado.
I own nothing
A month has passed since Naruto and Emerald started staying at the Xiao Long/Rose Cabin, with Naruto having spent most of his time helping Ruby fix Crescent Rose. With the new parts having arrived, allowing them to start repairing the scythe as well as adding in the sword mode.
The half-siblings now looking over the completed and repaired Crescent Rose Mark Two, with Ruby smiling brightly and excitedly as she picked up her weapon.
"It looks so amazing!" Ruby squealed as she changed it into the new sword form, with it resembling its standard gun form but with the straightened scythe blade being revealed and alongside the under barrel of the gun and the butt of the gun having folded into a hilt.
Allowing Ruby to be able to still wield it like a sword, but also fire the gun part as well either at Grimm or to propel herself through the air like in its scythe mode.
"I admit, it does look even more effective. It will also provide greater versatility in fighting at close-range, in addition to long-range and medium-range. Once you master using it as a sword, I'm sure you'll be a dangerous opponent to face." Stated Naruto, knowing Crescent Rose is even more dangerous than before with its versatility, especially against those that'd know how to use such a weapon.
"I know, it's so exciting! I'll be able to take down so many Grimm with my new and improved baby!" Said Ruby before she gained a downcast expression.
"But…I was also really hoping to have Dust infused into the blade, like your swords. But I was just so focused on repairing it after it was damaged, that I forgot. Now I don't know if I'll still be able to, or if I have enough money." Ruby said while glancing at Naruto quickly before looking sadly at her weapon, not ashamed to blackmail her brother to make Crescent Rose even better.
Only for the silver-eyed girl to yelp when Naruto lightly bonked her on the head while giving her a dry look.
"Don't think you can keep blackmailing me. Yes, I knew exactly what you were doing, I just allowed it because I owed you for breaking Crescent Rose. But I'm not going to let you take advantage of it and make me spoil you." Naruto said, having known Ruby had been guilt-tripping him the entire time, but allowed it as he felt he owed her for breaking Crescent Rose.
Now that it's been repaired, he wasn't going to let her get away with it anymore, making the ravenette pout that she couldn't get him to do more stuff for her.
"Fine, no more guilt-tripping and blackmailing." Muttered Ruby, but mentally added there were other ways she can get back at Naruto too.
'I wonder if Yang and Emerald would be able to help me with some pranks?' Ruby wondered, knowing they've been getting into their own trouble whenever they went out into Vale.
"Though I'll admit it's been…nice helping you work on Crescent Rose, Ruby. You can be very passionate about something you like doing and seeing you work on your weapon has been interesting. It's also been nice getting to know you as well." Said Naruto while smiling at his half-sister, making Ruby blush lightly before returning the smile.
"It's been really great getting to know you too, Naruto. And thanks for your help in fixing Crescent Rose…and all the other stuff despite knowing what I was doing." Ruby replied, while mentally deciding to take it easy on Naruto with her payback.
"Don't worry about it, besides, it'll just make it more fun when I beat you in our sparring match." Naruto stated with a smirk, since the ravenette wanted to test out Crescent Rose's sword form against him.
'…Never mind, he will suffer the consequences!' Thought Ruby, now swearing to make him suffer her wrath.
"Say that again when I've beaten you!" Retorted Ruby as they exited her workshop, finding Yang and Emerald in the living room watching TV.
"Wow, you two are actually coming out of there. Quick, get a camera before they disappear inside again!" Yang said in a sarcastic and urgent tone, given they'd been spending most of their time inside the workshop.
"Oh Yang, I think I see a hair out of place. Did you only spend ten minutes working on your hair, rather than thirty?" Naruto asked just as sarcastically, smirking when his twin actually tried checking to see if her hair was messed up.
"So, did you two finally finish your work?" Emerald asked, with Ruby nodding and grinning proudly as she showed off Crescent Rose in its sword form.
"Yep! Now I have a sword, a gun, and a scythe all at once! I will be unstoppable!" Declared Ruby before yelping when Naruto flicked her forehead, making her stumble back.
"Look at that, I think I just stopped you." Naruto stated, making Ruby narrow her eyes at him while rubbing her forehead.
"My vengeance shall be swift!" Ruby said before rushing outside, while Naruto rolled his eyes before looking at Yang and Emerald.
"She wants to spar to get a feel for Crescent Rose's new sword mode and believes she'll win." Said Naruto as he went outside, with Yang and Emerald trading a look before getting up and going outside as well to watch and make sure things don't get out of hand, like last time.
Heading out onto the porch, Yang and Emerald saw Naruto and Ruby standing across from each other, with Ruby holding Crescent Rose in its sword form while Naruto had taken out Kanshou and Bakuya.
Not a moment later, Ruby charged towards Naruto, swinging her sword at him, which he blocked with Bakuya before swinging Kanshou at the ravenette. With Ruby ducking under the slash then pulling the trigger, firing a shot off beside Naruto's head, disorienting him from the bang. Along with also propelling herself away from him, before she sped around and attacked him from behind.
With Naruto moving Kanshou behind him, blocking her strike again before kicking his leg back, slamming it into her chest and knocking Ruby back. The silver-eyed girl then being put on the defensive as Naruto charged her bringing Bakuya down her, Ruby raising her sword up blocking the strike. Then bending backwards when he tried slashing at her midsection, speeding away to put some distance between them.
Ruby then sped back towards Naruto and began running around him, trying to hit him, while the whiskered teen blocked all her strikes. His eyes darting around before he managed drop down and seep Ruby's legs out from under her. The sudden stop causing Ruby to go flying through the air, but she managed to catch herself by stabbing her sword into the ground. Flipping in the air, the ravenette landed on her feet ducking down in time to dodge a slash from Bakuya.
Before she then pulled her sword out and thrusted it forward to stab at Naruto, who blocked it with the flat side of Kanshou as he then jumped back. With Ruby going right after him swing her sword at him, which he blocked with both his blades, leading Ruby to quickly flip over him. Bringing her sword down to hit him across the back, Ruby was surprised when her half-brother suddenly spun around her, dodging her attack completely.
Then before she could react, Naruto slammed the hilt of Kanshou into her hand, making her yelp as she lost her grip on Crescent Rose. Dropping her weapon before find Kanshou pointed at her neck while Bakuya was aimed at her heart.
"Oh man." Ruby muttered, having hoped to at least be able to hit him once, while Naruto stepped back and put his swords away.
"You did better than I expected, if you were using all of your weapons forms it would have been a tougher challenge, but one I still would have won." Said Naruto with a smirk, while Ruby stuck her tongue out at him while picking up Crescent Rose.
"Thanks, I think. And I may've used Crescent Rose's gun form like a club a few times, it didn't seem that different." Ruby replied, only to yelp when Naruto flicked her on the forehead again.
"Don't ever think that, there's a difference between a sword and club, one requires skills and precision to use and the other is just a blunt object you swing around. If you're going to use a sword, then you'll have to learn how to actually use one." Said Naruto, making the ravenette nod, having seen how Qrow uses Harbinger in its sword form, knowing she'll need time to learn how to use her own sword form.
"Before you do that, I was…actually hoping if we'd be able to spend some time together?" Yang asked, hoping to get the chance to spend time with her brother before he started spending even more time with Ruby.
"You'd be welcome to join us during training." Replied Naruto, making the blonde girl deflate slightly that he didn't get what she meant.
"I was actually hoping to get some training done on my own." Emerald said, wanting to help Yang spend some quality time with her brother, plus she did want to train on her own to impress Naruto with what she's learned herself.
"And I wanna get used to using Crescent Rose as a sword first, before we start training." Added Ruby, knowing she's basically been keeping Naruto to herself the entire time and knew Yang wanted a chance to spend time with him as well.
Naruto looked at the two with a raised brow before he looked at Yang and saw the hopeful expression on her face, realization soon dawning on him. The whiskered teen realizing the entire he's been here he's either helped Ruby with repairing Crescent Rose or training with Emerald. But he hasn't really spent any time with Yang, not that he didn't want to. He just wasn't sure how, given their first meeting and how they didn't really seem to have much in common. Naruto didn't know how to go about approaching Yang to see if she wanted to spend time together.
"Alright, I guess we can hold off training for a while. That means I also now have a lot of free time, if you had something in mind, Yang." Said Naruto, smiling at his twin, much to her joy at finally getting the chance to spend time with her brother.
"Yes! What time can I pick you up?" Yang asked, confusing Naruto at her choice of words.
"Uh…an hour, I guess?" Naruto said in confusion, with Yang smirking.
"Great, I'll see in an hour for our date, bro." Said Yang before going back inside while mentally laughing at the embarrassed and confused look on Naruto's face.
While Emerald and Ruby couldn't help but feel annoyed and jealous for some reason at Yang calling her and Naruto spending time together a date. Despite knowing she was just doing it to mess with Naruto, they still felt jealous about it for some reason.
With Naruto being confused and embarrassed at Yang calling it a date, before shaking his head, figuring she's just trying to mess with him. Though was curious about what she had in mind for what they'll do together.
*Later*
After an hour Yang kept her word and "picked up" Naruto for them to go out into Vale to spend some time together.
"So, uh…what did you do before coming to Patch? Like what did you for fun or like doing?" Yang asked after trying to think of something to talk about, before settling on hobbies.
"I mostly just trained, learning different sword styles to improve myself, along with taking care of my old sword, before I gained the Yamato. Sometimes, I'd also travel around to different cities to see what they were like. But aside from that, I never really found anything that interested me. What about you, what do you like to do during your free time?" Naruto asked while looking at his sister curiously.
"Mostly training too, along with working on Ember Celica as well. I also work on my motorcycle Bumblebee, not to mention coming here to Vale to check out the clubs, sometimes cause some trouble if anyone starts annoying me." Replied Yang with a smirk, having gotten into a few fights before, not to mention whenever she and Emerald got into trouble.
"A motorcycle? Does it have weapons?" Naruto asked, getting a raised brow from Yang.
"No, since I already have my gauntlets." Yang said, not sure why she'd need to put weapons on her bike, while Naruto shrugged in response.
"It never hurts to have some variety, I have Yamato along with Kanshou and Bakuya, since it's good to be able to use different weapons so you don't become predictable. Plus, it'd certainly be shocking for anyone that sees to see a motorcycle turn into a weapon." Stated Naruto, making the blonde brawler laugh as she could just imagine the look on people's faces to see a motorcycle turn into a giant weapon.
"Well putting it like that, I may consider turning Bumblebee into a weapon, if only to see the looks on people's faces!" Said Yang with smile before looking at her brother.
"What's with your Semblance anyway? I know it lets you teleport but how does that work?" Yang asked, confused as to how his Semblance worked.
"My Semblance allows for both long-range and short-range teleportation, the latter you've already seen I make use of in combat. The long-range though is trickier, given the way it works is it either lets me open a portal to a location I've been to or align with my intent. For instance, if I wanted to be somewhere safe, a portal would open up in a safe location. I can also just have a specific destination in mind, even if I've never been there, like when I opened a portal to Patch for me and Emerald to arrive through." Naruto explained, making Yang look at him in surprise at how much his Semblance could do.
"Yeesh, and all my Semblance does is make me stronger when I take damage." Said Yang, seeing how different their Semblances were, having originally thought they'd be similar since they're twins.
"Yes, I've heard about what your Semblance can do, letting you absorb kinetic energy from attacks then return it with greater power. It's certainly a useful Semblance, but it's also a double-edged blade if you aren't careful." Naruto said, getting a look from his sister.
"What do you mean? I can end fights with a single punch after taking enough damage and my Aura protects me long enough to take opponents down." Yang stated, with the whiskered teen looking at her with a raised brow.
"And what happens when you encounter someone strong enough to shatter your Aura? Or someone with a weapon that can cut through it?" Naruto asked with Yang falling silent at that.
"One thing you should never forget Yang, a Semblance is just another tool, not a crutch to rely on, as take it away and you'll simply fall down with no way back up. I'm not saying don't not use it, but learn to fight smarter, don't just rush into a fight, watch your opponents, study them and their movements, wait for an opening and then strike." Explained Naruto, the blonde brawler rolling her eyes at his words.
"Yeah, yeah. You made that perfectly clear during our oh-so loving reunion." Yang said sarcastically, still feeling slightly miffed at that.
"Like I said, you're welcome to join during training, as my disappointment aside, you do have potential. You just need the drive to improve and grow stronger." Naruto replied, having seen Yang does have potential during their fight, which only added to his disappointment that she didn't seem to do more to improve herself.
"Well I certainly have the drive to knock you down a little, just so I Kanshou you who's the better fighter." Said Yang with a smirk, while Naruto groaned and covered his face.
"Unfortunately, I'm afraid there's nothing I can do to help your sense of humor, you likely killed that long ago with your terrible puns." Stated Naruto, while Yang simply laughed before spotted a club down the street.
"Sweet! There's a club I've been to a few times, it's a great place to go to have some fun and get some information." Yang said, grabbing Naruto by the arm and pulling him towards the club.
"Uh…I'm not really sure about that. Clubs aren't exactly…my thing." Said Naruto, not really liking clubs, finding them to be too loud and crowded for his taste.
"Oh, don't be a baby, how can you know if you like it if you've never been to one? Besides, you did ask me what I had planned, well now I'm planning to help you learn to have some fun, the Yang way!" Stated Yang, with the swordsman rolling his eyes but allowed his twin to pull him along if only to satisfy her.
Though unknown to the twins, they were being watched by Vermillion, along with an acquaintance of his Abigail Pyre, having hired her to aid him in this mission.
Abigail is a woman with should length red hair and dark eyes, with her attire consisting of a dark red tank top and matching red shorts that are mostly covered with a black shoulder cape worn over her right arm, with her top and shorts having black trimming while her cape had red trimming, black fingerless opera-length gloves, black knee-high heeled boots with red lace. While her weapon was a Swordbreaker scimitar, having openings on the back of the blade to catch swords between and break them.
While her Semblance was known as Ethereal Hand, making her great at pickpocketing people, as well managing to trip opponents up during a fight.
"I don't see why we're even wasting time waiting. They're just two brats, I don't even know why you'd ask for help in dealing with them." Abigail stated, annoyed that they were going after two teenagers, even more that they haven't already dealt with them.
Only to fall silent when Vermillion growled lowly and slowly turned his head towards her.
"And you shouldn't say something foolish. If you think they're just two brats, then by all means go down there to kill them, see how long you'll be able to last. Salem wants the boy dead, meaning he's not to be underestimated, even more so with how she sent me to kill him." Retorted Vermillion, turning back to Naruto and Yang as they entered the club.
"So…we just have the others soften them up for us?" Questioned Abigail cautiously, since they also brought some other allies as well.
"No, I fully expect them all to end up dead. They're merely for us to see what they can do, then plan and prepare to kill the boy after seeing his abilities firsthand." Vermillion said, wanting to get a feel for Naruto's abilities first and then take him out.
*Later*
After entering the club, Yang mostly pulled Naruto along everywhere trying to get him to loosen up and have fun, while the whiskered teen only being annoyed at the loud music and people. But eventually he started relaxing and started getting used to it, even starting to enjoy himself, which made Yang smile.
"See?! I told you, you just had to give it a try!" Yang said with a grin as she and Naruto went over to the bar, while Naruto had a small smile on his face.
"Okay I'll admit this isn't…terrible and can be rather fun." Replied Naruto, admitting it is pretty fun.
"Of course it is, anything I like is always fun! But what makes it even better is having a drink to go with the clubbing!" Stated Yang before waving over the bartender, who just so happened to also be the owner, Hei Xiong or Junior as he's commonly known as.
Junior wears a black vest over a white dress shirt, a red tie, black gloves, and black dress pants. He has gray eyes, short black hair, along with a matching beard and mustache. Junior is also exceptionally tall, standing a full head over both Yang and Naruto.
"Aren't you kids a little young to be in a place like this?" Junior asked with a raised brow, while Yang merely smirked.
"And aren't you a little old to be called Junior?" Yang retorted, making the man roll his eyes.
"Fine, whatever, not my problem to question where kids like to go on their dates. But if you both start getting too touchy-feely, then take it somewhere else." Said Junior assuming they were a couple on a date, much to their embarrassment and mortification.
"W-we're not on a date! And we're definitely not a couple!" Naruto said, with Yang quickly nodding in agreement.
"Yeah! We're siblings, twins in fact!" Added Yang, wanting to make it perfectly clear they were related and not a couple, while Junior looked unphased at this information.
"Whatever. When you feel like ordering something, let me know." Junior said before walking away, leaving the embarrassed twins behind as they sat in silence.
"Well…that was…" Yang muttered, looking everywhere but Naruto.
"Yeah…" Said Naruto, also avoiding looking at his sister.
The two glancing at each other before quickly looking away, though they tensed when they heard a sudden crash while all the noise came to a stop. Turning to the source of the crash, their eyes widened when they saw Vermillion, Abigail, and sixty Hana Guild foot soldiers enter the club. With the crash having come from the guard posted just outside crashing through the doors by Vermillion. The masked criminal now carrying his flail, holding the handle in one hand and the thirty foot length of chain in the other.
Looking around the club, Vermillion soon looked at Naruto and Yang.
"Everyone get out now, but not you two." Said Vermillion, pointing at Naruto and Yang, while the rest of the clubgoers didn't hesitate to run to the nearest exit.
"Hey! I don't know who the hell you think you are, but you-" Junior said angry at these guys for busting into his club, only to be silenced when Vermillion swung his flail wrapping it around Junior's neck before with minimal effort swung the man through the air and sent him crashing through a wall.
"Old friends of yours?" Yang asked while activating her gauntlets, with Naruto pulling out Yamato.
"No. But, I'm guessing they were sent by Salem. I take it she's seeking retribution for her now dead Maiden vessel." Stated Naruto, with Vermillion simply giving a nod.
"It's nothing personal, but when Salem puts a hit on someone, they don't live very long to regret the mistake of crossing her." Said Vermillion, making Naruto sigh, seeing he and Emerald now had a hit put on them.
"Very well." Naruto said as he grabbed Yamato's hilt, while Yang got into a stance with a smirk on her face, liking the chance to also get to fight with Naruto as well.
Not a moment later, Vermillion motioned his men to attack, with them all charging towards the twins, only to be stopped when Naruto teleported right in the center of them. The whiskered teen drawing Yamato and swinging it through the air, slicing three thugs at their midsections, nearly cutting them in half. Before he then bent back to avoid a strike from another thug, stabbing Yamato through a fourth thugs chest.
With Naruto then flipping over him and another thug, kicking the second into the he just stabbed, impaling him on his sword still inside the first thug. Then just as quickly teleport in front of them and grabbed Yamato's hilt. Pulling it out of the two and slicing the throat of the thug that tried striking him.
Meanwhile, thirty of the soldiers had continued charging at Yang, who jumped into the air into the center of the thugs and pulled her fist back. The blonde brawler slamming back into the ground, unleashing a fiery punch that released a shockwave through the dance floor, knocking them all back. Not stopping there, Yang charged at one, as they were all getting up, jumping into the air, and performing a somersault kick on her first opponent. She then turns around and uppercuts a second one, following it up with a spinning kick that sends another two tumbling away.
The rest of them then came charging at her, with Yang shooting at the first one in front of her and kicks behind her at another. Another thug swings at her from behind, but she sweeps his legs out from under him and punches him up into the air, only to grab him and slam him into the ground. She then takes a couple steps toward an oncoming thug to jump up, kicking him in the face, and launching herself off of him, allowing her to deliver a flying punch to another thug. This is quickly followed by her rushing forward as she defeats yet another nearby opponent with a punch to the stomach followed by and uppercut launching them into the air.
"HA! That's ten down for me already! Wait, make it eleven!" Yang said with a smirk, while ducking under a strike from an eleventh thug and delivering a fiery punch to his chest sending him crashing through a glass pillar.
"Are you really doing this, right now?!" Questioned Naruto, blocking a strike with his sheathe followed by cutting the thugs head and kicking it towards another, rushing them slashing them diagonally across the chest.
"Of course! This is turning out even better than I hoped! We got to hang out, go to a club, now we get to kick ass! This is the best bonding time ever!" Said Yang grinning, while trying to hide her queasiness that Naruto as actually killing his opponents.
"Well, if that's the case…" Naruto said, teleporting in the center of five thugs, driving Yamato through the first ones chest before jumping up into the air.
Pulling out Bakuya and Kanshou, the swordsman combined them together into their bow form and pulled out three arrows, nocking them before releasing them. Each one finding itself buried in a thugs head, with Naruto landing on the ground before rushing the last thug, slashing them both across the chest. Before dismissing his twin blades and recovering Yamato, vanishing in a burst of speed past two thugs and slowly sheathing his sword. With blood exploding from the thugs once Yamato clicked and was fully sheathed.
"…I believe that puts me at fifteen. I'm up by four." Said Naruto, looking at his twin, with Yang smirking at this.
Before she notices several more assailants rushing her from behind and fires a shot, using the recoil to send her flying towards yet another group of enemies. She elbows the first thug and kicks him away while another attempts to swing at her, but is promptly blocked and shot in the face. Yang then swings around under his arm and punches him once more. This is followed by another spin as she kicks, punches, and kicks him again, with the final hit sending him flying backwards through a glass pillar.
Yang then fired a short that sent her propelling towards three more thugs, smashing her fist into the one standing between the other two sending him crashing into a wall. Followed turning to the one her left and punching, doing the same with the one on her right. The Huntress-In-Training punching both of the thugs multiple times until finally she grabbed them both and slammed their heads together taking them out.
"That's now sixteen for me and putting me back in the lead!" Yang said with her smirk growing, while Naruto rolled his eyes but had a small smirk on his face while seeing they'd already taken out most the assailants.
Though suddenly Naruto grunted in pain when he was struck from behind by Vermillion's flail, followed by the chain being wrapped around his chest. Before he found himself being pulled towards the criminal, who grabbed him by his neck, with Naruto feeling a sudden tugging feeling at his Aura. The whiskered teen then gritted his teeth when the chain suddenly ignited with fire burning though his clothes and body. With Vermillion then sending Naruto crashing into the bar, triggering a mini explosion as the alcohol hit the flames.
"Naruto!" Yang shouted in shock and horror at seeing him being hit the flames, though before she could rush to try and save him she gagged as Vermillion suddenly appeared in front of her wrapping his flails chain around her neck.
With him then launching her into the ceiling, the blonde brawler crashing through it before she was then yanked right back down and slammed into the floor. Then finding herself pulled right towards Vermillion who slammed his fist right into her face. The impact being strong enough to shatter Yang's Aura as she was sent crashing into the wall, falling to the ground unconscious.
"We're done here, let's go!" Vermillion said, walking over to the unconscious Yang and threw her over his shoulder, the redhead looking towards the flames to see Naruto coming out, covered in burns that were slowly healing, his eyes widening when he saw Vermillion had Yang.
"Let her go!" Said Naruto about to teleport to Vermillion, only to be shocked when the man suddenly teleported in front of him, slamming his fist into his face and sending him crashing into a wall.
"You want her back? Then come to this location." Said Vermillion, pulling out a Scroll and tossing it at Naruto before teleporting beside Abigail and his remaining men.
Naruto only being able to watch in shock and horror as Vermillion opened a portal with his flail, which he, Abigail and his men went through, with the portal closing behind them.
"NO! DAMNIT!" Naruto shouted and cursed, not believing this is happening again, that he's left powerless to save someone.
Standing up, Naruto picked up the Scroll Vermillion tossed at him, scowling as he looked at where they'd taken Yang. Before grabbing Yamato and opening a portal to return to Patch and tell everyone what happened, the put Vermillion and the rest of his allies in the ground, in as many pieces as possible.
*Later-Xiao Long/Rose Cabin*
After arriving back at the cabin, which got everyone's attention given the state he was in being covered in healing burns and his clothes being nearly destroyed, and the face Yang wasn't with him. With Naruto explaining what had happened, how they were attacked, why they were attacked, and about Yang being kidnapped. Much to their shock and horror, not only that Salem had hired people to hunt down him and Emerald, but that they'd taken Yang as well.
"You realize this is a trap right." Qrow stated, looking at his nephew, who'd also changed into a new set of clothes to replace his destroyed ones.
With him now wearing a long, silver buttoned blue coat with three separated coattails. A white, serpentine pattern runs around the collar, with a snakes head hanging over the coat's left shoulder, and its tail slinking down the right, all the way to the bottom of the coat. A gold lining runs across the edges of the coat, and a silky, golden flower blossom pattern decorates the inner lining. Each cuff of the coat also possesses five, gold buttoned straps with gold lining. The coat also features identical straps on each shoulder, decorated with silver buttons instead of gold.
Underneath the coat, he was wearing a navy blue ascot wrapped around his neck, which hangs over a black, sleeveless vest that reveals his well-toned arms and shoulders. He wears tan, finger-less gloves, a brown, snakeskin belt with a silver buckle, dark green pants with a scale pattern running across its surface, and tall, brown boots with two golden buckled straps at the top.
"Of course it's a trap, the leader obviously has a Semblance that lets him copy other people's Semblances since he could teleport and open portals after touching me. As well as having seen how I fight, he's preparing for when I arrive. And I'm gladly going to kill anyone that gets between me and him, cut off his head, then save Yang." Said Naruto, fully aware he's going into a trap and will welcome whatever Vermillion has in store, knowing it won't be enough to stop him from killing the man.
"After that it'll be best if Emerald and I take our leave, since if Salem's now making a move against us, we need to leave now." Naruto added, with Emerald nodding in agreement, knowing they couldn't stay here any longer without bringing more danger.
Which disheartens Ruby, Taiyang, and Qrow that they had to leave so soon, but they also understood their reasoning.
"I wanna go! I want to help save Yang and bring her back!" Said Ruby, worried and fearful of what could happen to her sister.
"Absolutely not! You aren't going anywhere Ruby; this is beyond just simple Grimm or even regular criminals! These people work for Salem, that means they have no reservations about simply killing anyone that gets in their way. Especially you, with your eyes!" Taiyang immediately said, refusing to have both his daughters in danger, and while he is worried about Naruto, he knew that he's capable of handling himself in these situations.
"Tai's right, kid. This is way out of your league, though I understand where you're coming from, wanting to save your sister. But we can't save her if we also have to look after you. Though I'll be going as well." Qrow said, looking at Naruto and Emerald, not planning to sit back while his niece is being held captive.
"I don't care! I already lost my mom because of Salem; I'm not losing Yang too!" Ruby said, not wanting to lose someone else she cares about, because of Salem and her followers.
"Yeah, and she was older, stronger, far more experienced, as well as having mastered her Silver Eyes, but she was still beaten by Salem. Also, do you really think she or Yang would want you putting yourself in danger because of them?" Said Naruto, only for Ruby to glare at him.
"What would you know?! You never met my mom and you've barely spent time with Yang! And when you do, she's kidnapped and I'll probably lose her too, because of you!" Retorted Ruby before speeding out of the cabin, while Naruto frowns at her words with the others being shocked at what she said.
"Don't…don't take what she said seriously, Ruby didn't mean it and she doesn't actually blame you. This is just a trying time for all of us, right now." Taiyang said to Naruto, knowing Ruby's just scared and angry, which he causing her to lash out, with the whiskered teen shaking his head.
"It's fine. What matters is just getting Yang back now." Naruto said, with the others nodding in agreement.
"Then let's go kick some ass." Said Emerald as she, Naruto, and Qrow began preparing to head out to the location where Yang is being kept.
None of them noticing how they were being watched by a particularly attentive raven, before it flew off.
*Unknown Location*
Meanwhile, Yang had started coming to from being knocked out by Vermillion, only to find herself strapped to a metal table. Unable to break her restraints or even use her Aura or her Semblance, making her worry of where she was and what was happening.
"I wouldn't bother trying to escape, those restraints have been made to suppress a person's Aura and Semblance, as well as being strong enough to restrain those much stronger than you." Said a voice, getting Yang's attention, the girl looking only to be met with a holographic image of Merlot, with her eyes widening at the sight of his limbs and eyes.
"Who, or what, the hell are you?!" Yang said, with Merlot smirking at her.
"I am Dr. Merlot, founder of the now defunct Merlot Industries within Mountain Glenn. And you are my newest test subject, one who should be thankful as I've only ever performed this experiment on one other person. One you know quite well." Merlot said, with it taking a few moments before Yang's eyes widened then glared at the scientist.
"Naruto? What the hell did you do to my brother?!" Demanded Yang, glaring at Merlot.
"I gave that brat power beyond anything anyone could ever hope to achieve! And how does he repay me?! Crippling me, destroying my lab, killing all of my Grimm, and taking my sword!" Shouted Merlot, scowling before smirking at Yang.
"But I did get my own personal revenge when I had that girl he was with killed. Even if it happened before I started my experiments; it still feels good, knowing I could cause him such pain." Merlot revealed, making Yang's eyes widened.
"You? You're the one who killed his girlfriend?!" Yang said, now hating this guy even more that he not only experimented on her twin, but also is the one who killed his girlfriend.
"Yes, I was. Though, truthfully, she was merely a casualty as I only intended to capture the boy. Her being there was unforeseen, but a pleasing development for the pain it caused him." Stated Merlot, while Yang simply glared at him.
"Why did you even go after Naruto?! What did you do to him?!" Yang demanded, wanting to know why Naruto was chosen of all people for this lunatics experiments.
"Simple, I required a powerful specimen, one that had the strength and will to survive my experiments, and I couldn't have found a more perfect one. He possessed the strength, the will, the killer instinct, and the drive to be the best, even before those experiments I could see that he desired greater power, greater strength, and I was merely obliged to give to him. As for what I did, I made him into the perfect hybrid between human and Grimm." Merlot said with a mad grin at revealing what he'd done.
"You…what?" Said Yang as her eyes widened at he just said.
"He became my crowning achievement! Possessing the unbridled, raw aggression and power of the Grimm as well the strive to succeed and evolve from humanity! His potential was limitless and so his power would be limitless! I would have brought this world to its knees with him under my control! But…he proved too difficult to control, lucky for me…he has a twin sister with the same DNA and strength within." Said Merlot, looking at Yang, who was shocked, horrified and angered at what he did to her brother, and that he's now going to do the same to her, though she tried covering it with a taunting smirk.
"Wow…you aren't just crazy, you're delusional. If you couldn't control Naruto, then sorry to tell you, but there's no way you can control me. The only thing you'll do is make two unstoppable threats that'll want your head." Yang taunted, as while she may not like it, even she wanted this guy dead after what he's done and will gladly beat him within an inch of his life before letting Naruto finish him.
"Ah, you're under the impression I'll be making the same mistake twice. I was arrogant and overly assured of my ability to control Naruto. I've learned from my mistakes and won't let them be repeated." Merlot stated before a needle was jammed into Yang's neck, injecting her with a powerful sedative and knocking her out again, allowing the procedure to begin.
*Patch*
Back on Patch, Naruto, Emerald, and Qrow had finished preparing and headed out, none of them noticing Ruby had snuck out and waited for them to leave. The ravenette refusing to be stopped from going to save her sister, while planning to follow them to where Yang was taken.
Though before Ruby could try following after them, she was suddenly grabbed from behind and then throw backwards. The silver-eyed girl only having a second to see she'd been pulled through what looked like a swirling mass of red and black energy that soon closed, while finding herself somewhere completely different.
"What you were about to do wouldn't only have been suicide, it only would have succeeded in putting you and your family in danger." Said someone, making Ruby tense before her eyes widened when she looked a who'd grabbed her, only to see Raven looking at her coldly.
"Raven." Ruby said, quickly standing up and guessing who it was, given she looked like an older version of Yang but with black hair and red eyes.
"You're smart enough to know me, but apparently not smart enough to know how foolish and stupid you are for trying to follow them." Raven stated coldly and bluntly, with Ruby merely scowling at her.
"And why would you care what I do?! You never cared before about Yang, dad, or my mom! Or are you only caring because Naruto's involved?!" Ruby said, not about to let her tell her what to do when she's never bothered showing up before or caring, with Raven giving her a warning look.
"You should really be careful who you're speaking to, while you're simply proving my point that you're acting childishly and recklessly. You think you can rush in to save Yang, when all you'd be doing is getting yourself killed." Said Raven, only to see her step-daughter refused to back down.
"I don't care! At least I would be trying to save her!" Retorted Ruby, making the woman mentally sigh in annoyance before grabbing Omen's hilt, seeing she couldn't get through to Ruby with words, she'll see if actions will work.
Without warning Raven pulled out an Fire Dust Blade and swung it at Ruby, releasing a wave of fire at the silver-eyed girl. Ruby's eyes widening at the sudden attack before she sped out of the way of the flames and pulled out Crescent Rose, switching it to its gun form and shooting at Raven. The woman blocking all the shots with her sword, before the Dust Blade broke and she replaced it with a Gravity Dust Blade.
Rushing her step-daughter, Raven swung her sword at Ruby who quickly switched Crescent Rose to its sword form and blocked the strike. Only to find herself being pushed back as Raven continued her assault, before using her scabbard to smack the younger ravenette's sword aside. With Ruby gasping in pain when Raven thrusted her sword at her, unleashed a blast of gravity that knocked her into a tree.
Sheathing her sword before switching to an Ice Dust Blade, Raven pulled the trigger on her scabbard, launching her blade out. With her rushing and grabbing it, making Ruby's eyes widen as she rolled out of the way, just as Raven sliced right through the tree and knocked it down, with it being encased in ice.
Switching back to her gun mode, Ruby began speeding around Raven and firing at her, only for the woman to switch blades again. This time to a Hard-Light Dust Blade, which she stabbed into the ground to form a shield around her. Before she then swung her sword through the air, creating hard-light copies of which she fired through the shield around her. The sudden blades forcing Ruby to duck down to avoid getting by them. Only to suddenly be blown away as Raven dropped the shield and changed to a Wind Dust Blade, swinging it at Ruby while releasing blasts of wind at her.
Gritting her teeth, Ruby changed Crescent Rose to its scythe form and stabbed the blade into the ground to keep herself in place. Managing to grab the lever and fire off a few shots at Raven, forcing her to block them as her blade broke from the impacts. Acting fast, Ruby pulled Crescent Rose out of the ground before, to Raven's surprise, she actually threw the scythe at the woman.
Switching to an Ice Dust Blade, Raven stabbed her sword into the ground, forming a wall of ice that Crescent Rose stabbed into. With this giving Ruby the chance to quickly speed around the ice and straight towards Raven, managing to kick the woman in the face while grabbing Crescent Rose and pulling it out of the ice. Followed by going back to its gun form and firing at Raven, getting another shot at her with her Aura flaring around her.
Though Raven was quick to recover and switched to a Lightning Dust Blade, swinging it at Ruby and releasing a blast of lightning at the girl. With Ruby quickly speeding out of the way, only for eyes to widen when she suddenly found her legs incased in ice, while Raven now held her sword at her neck.
"If I was taking you seriously or if I wanted you dead, you wouldn't have even had time to draw your weapon. Salem and her allies won't have the same restrictions, some of them may even toy with you just to watch you helplessly struggle before killing you. They won't care about what you say, what you do, what you want, nothing. The only thing they'll care about is bringing your head to Salem, and that's if you're lucky." Raven stated, looking at Ruby with narrowed eyes before switching to a Fire Dust Blade and stabbing it in the ice, melting it and freeing Ruby.
With the girl simply falling on her butt, as she finally began understanding what Raven and her family were trying to tell her.
"I…I know it's dangerous. And that I could really be killed. But…I'm just…I'm just angry! I'm angry, sad, scared, and confused, and I don't know what I'm supposed to do!" Ruby said while grabbing her head, since she didn't know what to do, while Raven sighed and sat down next to her.
"Yeah, I understand the feeling, more than you could know." Said Raven, looking at Ruby and hesitating before putting a hand on her shoulder, surprising the silver-eyed girl.
"And despite how the match turned out, you actually managed to impress me a few times, and I can see that you have a lot of potential. Just like your mother." Raven said, seeing potential in the daughter of the late woman she loved, surprising Ruby again at being compared to her mother.
"I still wish I could do something." Said Ruby, not wanting to just do nothing, with Raven nodding in understanding.
"I'm sure you do, but for now, just let those with more experience handle it. And…if you want I can take over your training to use a sword while Naruto and Qrow are away." Offered Raven, much to Ruby's shock at the offer.
"Uh…yeah, yeah, that'd actually be really great." Ruby replied, accepting the offer, wanting to get the chance to grow stronger and better protect her family.
Along with swearing to apologize to Naruto as well. Feeling bad about what she said to her half-brother and swore to apologize when he, Emerald, and Qrow got back.
So, what did you think, good. Yep we see Naruto and Ruby have finished working on Crescent Rose and implementing its sword feature, along with Naruto being aware Ruby was blackmailing him, not doing anything since he felt he owed her for breaking her weapon. Before we see them having a spar to see how Ruby handle her new sword, managing to do good with it though still needing a lot of training. With Yang than asking if she and Naruto would be able to spend some time together, want to get the chance to get to know her twin better, with Naruto agreeing after realizing what she means, along with some nudging from Ruby and Emerald.
Then we see Naruto and Yang spending time together before going to Junior's Club, unaware they're being watched by Vermillion and his associate Abigail. Leading to Naruto and Yang having to fight off their followers, only for Vermillion to take the chance to copy Naruto's Semblance and incapacitate him, before knocking out Yang and capturing her. Leading to Naruto returning to Patch and tells the others of what happened, with him, Emerald, and Qrow leaving to save Yang, along with the former two planning to leave now that Salem's put a hit on them.
Before we then see Yang being held captive by Merlot who intends to turn her into a Grimm-human hybrid as well like Naruto, along with learning from his previous mistakes and intends to be better prepared and get Yang under his control.
Finally, we see Ruby planning to sneak away to follow Naruto, Emerald, and Qrow only to be stopped by Raven, forcing her step-daughter into a fight and realizing how foolish it'd be to try going after them. Something Ruby's forced to accept, but doesn't like being unable to do anything, with Raven doing her best to help her before offering to pick up her sword training while Naruto and Qrow are away, which Ruby accepts. So, for those that like the story, thanks for your support. For those that don't or at least don't like the direction taken, you're more than welcomed to drop the story. But thanks for giving the story a chance anyway.
Storm out
