I'm a little late with this one, but this was a hard one to make it not seem like useless filler. Anyway, enjoy!

Chapter 7:

This is a Curse for Inventing the Oiroke no Jutsu, isn't it?

Ruby looked up at the towering figure in front of her. Its crimson eyes were locked squarely on her. Her mouth felt dry. What was this thing? And where was this place? Dozens of questions raced through Ruby's mind, and she couldn't think of an answer for any of them.

Suddenly the sound of splashing water echoed through the air. It got closer and closer, and Ruby could make out that it sounded like someone wading through the water. Listening carefully, she could tell that the pattern also suggested that it was a person or thing walking on two legs.

A figure walked past Ruby, and she was confused by how Naruto could be here. He turned to her, and the sight she was met with chilled her to the bone.

This Naruto looked almost entirely the same as the Naruto she knew, but he wasn't the same. This Naruto's eyes had pitch-black sclera, and his eyes were blood red. He had an air of superiority, and Ruby could see the overwhelming hatred for everything hidden deep within his eyes.

"This is inside Naruto's mind, inside my mind." He pointed over his shoulder at the giant fox. "And that is the Nine-tailed Fox, a creature trapped inside me. I must say, it's interesting having someone new in here."

"You're not Naruto," Ruby said, but then she was suddenly lifted up into the air. The darker Naruto was holding her throat tightly, crushing her windpipe. She clawed at the grip. Could she die in this place? And if she did, what would happen?

"Shut up!" He yelled, eyes full of rage. "I'm the real Naruto! But the fake that you know is in my way."

Ruby managed to kick this Naruto in the chin, forcing him to let her go. She quickly backpedaled away, trying to figure out what to do.

'This should be interesting,' the Nine-tails thought, and he crossed his front limbs together lazily.

Ruby held her ground, trying to spot any weaknesses that she could aim for. Before she could realize what was happening, she lost all the breath in her lungs as this Naruto drove his fist into her abdomen.

Before he could pull back, Ruby reacted quickly and wrapped herself around his arm, flipping him into the water. She fell in as well but was quick to get back up.

Steadying herself, Ruby stared directly into the Dark Naruto's eyes. As silver met red, she realized something and dropped her fighting stance. Arms hanging loosely at her sides, she took a deep breath to calm herself down. The Nine-tails noticed and shifted positions slightly.

"Finally given up?" Dark Naruto sprinted forward and connected his fist with her cheek. "That makes it easier on me."

Instead of Ruby falling, she dug her heels into the ground as best as she could to stay standing. She turned to her opponent and smiled gently.

Dark Naruto took one look at her expression and rage filled his veins. As he continued his onslaught, Ruby didn't back down or lose her smile in the slightest. If anything, her smile grew more caring with each punch.

"Stop looking at me like that!" Dark Naruto paused to take a breather. "I won't let you fool me!"

"It's okay," Ruby replied softly, "I'm not going to fight you anymore. I can see now that you're right. You are Naruto, just as Naruto is you."

"Quit lying! I know you're just trying to get me to drop my guard, just like everyone else. But I ain't falling for it. I know that everyone will just end up abandoning us!"

"I won't. I'll always be there for Naruto- for you- because he's my friend." Ruby reached out towards Dark Naruto. He looked at for a second before slapping it away.

"Save your words. I won't disappear just because you're a good liar."

Ruby watched Dark Naruto vanish into the darkness and wanted to run after him.

"Don't waste your breath," the Nine-tails spoke up, "you'll never be able to break through to him."

Ruby sighed in frustration. "Dang it, and I really wanted to help too. Oh well, maybe I can try again later."

The Nine-tails looked down at the girl's frustrated and disappointed face, and he could see the innocence in them. Yet, he could also tell that she wasn't blind to the ways of the world. This girl just truly believed that no one person was beyond saving. For a brief moment, the Nine-tails saw a flash of the old sage in the girl's place but quickly shook his head.

Ruby glanced down the pitch black tunnel that Dark Naruto had retreated into, before she turned to look back at the Nine-tails. She could see that the giant fox seemed to resemble Naruto when he had come in to beat the Devourer the other day. The only difference was that the Nine-tails had none of the human-like features of Naruto.

"So... is your name actually Nine-tails, or is that more of a title?" Ruby cursed her inability to think of ways to start a conversation in a less awkward way.

The Nine-tails stood up, his massive tails swinging powerfully behind him.

"Stupid fleshbag, you think I just give out my name to everyone." A dark chuckle escaped his mouth. "You need only to know that I am the great and powerful Nine-tails, and if it weren't for these accursed bars, I would eat you in an instant. That's the kind of demon I am."

"Nope!" Ruby shook her head rapidly, making the Nine-tails sweatdrop. "You can't be a demon. For one, you don't have horns."

"...What exactly do you think demons look like?"

"Second, you're way too fuzzy and cute to be a demon."

The Nine-tails felt the throbbing vein in his forehead and shifted closer towards the bars.

"Cute?!" He roared, the air leaving his lungs blowing past Ruby like a violent hurricane. "I am in no way cute! I'm the most terrifying being on this entire stinkin' planet! The minute I'm free from this prison, I will show you just how demonic I can be."

"If you weren't so big, I'd definitely keep you as a pet. You're almost as adorable as my dog Zwei."

"I will enjoy your screams, girl."

Jaune coughed awkwardly as his three teammates stared at him in disbelief. He couldn't blame them. He had just decided to tell them about how the only reason he got into Beacon was because he had faked his transcripts. Needless to say, his teammates had been surprised by the revelation.

Jaune knew that they could tell Ozpin about this, but he didn't care. Pyrrha, Ren, and Nora were his teammates, and he felt that he had to be completely honest with them. If hanging around Naruto had taught him anything, it was that a team could only be at their best when they could all fully trust each other. He felt that either this would help further that trust, or it would show him that his hope of becoming a Huntsman had been nothing more than a stupid pipe dream.

"Well isn't that interesting?"

Team JNPR's attention was drawn to the open door and a smirking Cardin leaning against the doorway. A horrified look took over Jaune's face as he realized that the person who hated him the most at Beacon had just heard everything about how he had lied his way in. This was not good, to put it lightly.

"I just happened to be passing by when I heard Jauney-boy here say something interesting."

"'Happened to be passing by' my foot," Jaune mumbled under his breath.

"What do you want, Cardin?" Ren asked, eyes narrowing in suspicion. He didn't know what Cardin was up to, but he knew that it couldn't possibly be anything good. Cardin was a bully who particularly seemed to hate Jaune, and even Ruby to a lesser extent. And no one knew why. Cardin just appeared to be a jerk for no reason.

"Oh, nothing much," the cocky smirk that overtook Cardin's features made Jaune freeze up, "just Jaune to do whatever I say unless he wants me to tell Professor Ozpin his little secret."

Jaune's eyes widened, and he began panicking. If Profesor Ozpin knew about how he had cheated to get into Beacon, he would be kicked out for sure. Furthermore, he had no clue what would happen to Pyrrha, Ren, and Nora if he was expelled. They could be suspended until a new teammate could be found for them, at best.

Jaune realized that the only way to make sure nothing bad happened to his teammates was to agree to Cardin's terms. He didn't know if they even still trusted him after learning his secret, but as team leader, he couldn't let them get punished for his mistake.

"If you think Jaune would be your personal servant, then your even more stupid than you look," Nora said, standing beside her leader. Jaune looked over to her and was met with a reassuring grin.

"Go tell Professor Ozpin whatever you want, but none of us will cave in to a bully like you." Pyrrha placed a comforting hand on Jaune's shoulder, staring at Cardin with a hard stare that seemed foreign on her ordinarily smiling face.

"Jaune's our leader, and no matter what he did to get into Beacon will change that fact." Ren stood next to Nora with a calm expression.

"You guys…"Jaune shared a look with each of his friends and felt a surge gratitude rush through his system. He met Cardin's gaze resolutely. "Cardin, I may be the weakest member of my team, but I'm trying to get stronger. So you can go to Professor Ozpin, and you can get me expelled, but I'm not going to let a jerk like you bully me anymore."

Cardin frowned before turning around in frustration. "Fine! A cheater like you has no place being in Beacon among those of us who actually worked hard to get here."

Nora laughed loudly as Cardin left, celebrating their victory. "We sure showed him. Right, Jaune? Jaune?"

Jaune was sitting on his bed, holding his head in his hands. "Oh, what I did just do. I can't believe I said that to him. He's going to murder me in our next spar. Wait, I'll be getting expelled before then!"

Pyrrha, Ren, and Nora sweatdropped. 'Same old Jaune.'

The three were still worried, though. They fully believed that Cardin would carry through with his threats, which meant that Jaune would probably be expelled.

"I already knew," Ozpin told the young student in front of him, setting his mug down onto his desk. Cardin tensed up.

"If you knew, then why haven't you kicked Jaune out yet? He cheated to get into this school, the punishment for which is expulsion."

"I know that, but I am not going to expel Mr. Arc for that. He-"

"Why?!" Cardin slammed his hands down onto the desk, trembling heavily. "Is it because he's an Arc? Just because his ancestors were famous doesn't mean he should get special treatment! That Ruby girl too, she gets skipped ahead two years just because she's the kid of some great huntsmen. You even let in a bunch of outsiders who didn't take the entrance exams at all!"

"Mr. Winchester, that is enough. I let all of them in for a reason. Reasons which I don't need to disclose to you. But I can assure you that they all belong here at Beacon just as much as anyone else." Ozpin's stern look softened, seeing his troubled student. "I know how hard it must be for you because of your family, but you also earned your place here. Don't ruin it because of some petty grudge."

Cardin's hand trembled as he clutched it tightly into a managed to get out a semi-polite goodbye before leaving the headmaster's office.

Once outside, he slammed a fist into the wall and swore. Even Professor Ozpin was on their side -was spoiling them- for no reason. A bunch of idiots who hadn't had to work hard at all to get into Beacon while everyone else actually deserved to be here. They got in for free, while he had spent years studying, making sure he got good enough grades and scraping together enough money to get into this school. It wasn't fair.

He chuckled scornfully. "Guess life just doesn't care about fairness or those who work hard." He began heading back to his dorm. "There's no one else that I can trust but myself."

Jugo sighed as he was forced to try on another shirt as Coco sped through the store, carefully picking clothes that she deemed would look the best on Jugo. Meanwhile, the three other members of Team CFVY had taken to sitting on the ground and entertaining themselves with their Scrolls.

"Coco," Fox spoke up as he glanced at the time, "it's getting late. I think we should start heading back if we don't want to sleep through tomorrow."

Coco paused in her search, tapping a finger against her chin as she began to think. Her teammate had a point. Tomorrow would be Saturday, and she didn't want to waste her weekend by sleeping. She walked to the dressing room door and rapped her knuckles against the door.

"Okay, Jugo, finish up with what you have in there and we'll leave."

Jugo sighed in relief, quickly putting his regular clothes back on. After doing that, he helped carry the clothes that Coco had picked out up to the counter so that they could pay. Since these clothes were for him, he paid for them himself.

Grabbing the handles of the bags, he began heading back to Beacon with Team CFVY.

"It's a good thing you're not as tall as Yatsuhashi," Coco told Jugo, glaring playfully at her giant teammate. "It was a nightmare finding things for him."

Yatsuhashi ignored his leader and instead shifted the subject. "Have you heard what happened to that woman that Professor Goodwitch captured when those people attacked at Forever Fall?"

Jugo shook his head. "I know that she hasn't been cooperating with the police. What happened?

"Apparently some people who said they were family visited her, and she went insane. She began screaming out a bunch of astrology and zodiac stuff in her cell and lost her mind," Fox responded.

Jugo wondered what was up with that. There was no way that it could simply be a coincidence that she went insane after getting a visit. He wondered if Jiraiya could find out anything about it with his connections.

Jugo made a plan to start looking into things himself. He would have plenty of time over the next few days. He continued to think as they began walking towards the dormitories of Beacon.

"Good night, Jugo," Velvet said as Jugo parted from Team CFVY to head towards his team's room.

When he walked through the door, Karin looked up from her Icha-Icha. She said a quick greeting before burying her nose back into the book. Jugo couldn't believe how quickly she had gotten into the series; it was almost… terrifying. She seemed to enjoy it even more than Suigetsu, and that was the real scary thing.

Now that Jugo thought about it, he didn't see Suigetsu in the room. However, he did see a note laying on the table and picked it up.

"Going out for the night. Be back by morning," Jugo read noiselessly. He turned to Karin.

"Did Suigetsu tell you where he was going?"

"Maybe he got a girlfriend."

The image of Suigetsu trying to flirt with a girl popped into their minds. They pictured him going all maniacal and weapon crazy mid-conversation.

"Impossible," they both stated in sync. While Suigetsu was their friend, they believed that Naruto was more likely to get a girl than him. And that was saying something. Naruto was perhaps the densest idiot they had ever met, and they doubted nothing short of a confession straight to his face or a kiss would clue him in.

Jugo grabbed his pajamas and began heading to the bathroom to change. On the way, he passed by Ren, who appeared to have just gotten out of the shower. They shared a silent nod of greetings, and Jugo headed into the restroom.

As he began changing, he couldn't help but wonder what his life would have been like had he never met Naruto. Undoubtedly he would have probably ended up following Sasuke as he had originally planned. But then Naruto came along, and Jugo had been reminded of the first time he met Kimimaro. Jugo had known then that it was Naruto who had inherited the will of his deceased friend, not Sasuke as he had once thought.

Jugo pulled down his shirt, and he thought about how much control he had gained over his monstrous side since he had started traveling with Naruto.

As he walked out of the bathroom and towards his room, he passed by the window. Outside, he saw someone standing out in the courtyard. The person didn't seem familiar, and as far as Jugo could tell, he or she looked too old to be a student. The person looked up and met his eyes. Jugo saw a flicker of red in the individual's eyes, and then the stranger began walking away.

'That was strange.' Jugo stood there for a few more moments, gazing at the empty courtyard, before rubbing his eyes as his sleepiness began to catch up with him. He was going to sleep well tonight.

"I've almost got it," Ruby said as she tried to walk up the wall in front of her once again.

"So close!" Naruto exclaimed as he attempted to use Ruby's semblance.

Jiraiya sighed as he watched the two. Ever since the sun had risen hours ago and they had woke up, the two of them had been trying to use each other's abilities. Needless to say, they weren't having much success.

Suddenly, Ruby took a step up the wall, and she managed to shakily stand sideways on the wall. Jiraiya blinked in surprise, unable to believe how quickly she had managed to grasp onto wall-walking, even if she did look like she was about to collapse any second now.

Then a flurry of red leaves zoomed past Jiraiya, and the sage watched as Naruto lost control and rammed into Ruby. She was knocked off the wall, and both of them fell overboard in a blur of red, black, orange, and yellow.

Several of the sailors rushed to the side as they began looking for where the two had fallen. Jiraiya groaned into his hand. These two were going to be a major pain in the neck until they were back into their natural bodies. That was assuming they didn't get themselves killed before then, of course.

"Don't worry," Jiraiya told the sailors as he began scaling down the side of the ship, "I'll get them."

A few moments later, a soaking wet Naruto and Ruby were sprawled out on the deck of the ship. A sailor brought each of them a large blanket to wrap themselves in so they could warm up.

Naruto curled up tightly in his and began shivering. "This suc-achoo!" He rubbed at his stuffy nose. "Everything feels weird. Seriously, Ruby, how do you wear panties all the time? And why do girl's chests have to be so heavy? If only I had switched bodies with Weiss, then I wouldn't have that problem."

"You're just not used to them," Ruby sighed as she snuggled into her blanket. "Ah... So warm."

Naruto groaned as he continued to shiver. "This has to be some sort of punishment for inventing the Oiroke no Jutsu." He looked to the sky and shook his fist. "I won't apologize for it! It's a very useful jutsu!"

Jiraiya laughed at his student, but then he saw the sailors beginning to take up lookout positions on the edge of the ship. Jiraiya joined them and peered down into the depths of the water below, and was met with the same magnificent sight that he had seen when they had first come to Remnant two years ago.

"Whoa…" Ruby whispered as she came over to see what the commotion was about.

Swimming below the boat were dozens of huge Grimm that looked like a dolphin and shark had had a baby together. Spikes lined their backs, and their fins were very jagged. They were moving slowly and seemed to pay no attention to the boat.

"Amazing, isn't it." One of the sailors walked over, a large faunus whose appearance suggested he was part shark due to the sharp teeth, gills, and fins on his back and elbows. "Those are Leviathans. They're the reason why passenger ships don't make it out this way, despite the fact that they tend to ignore our boats."

"But why? Shouldn't they just attack anything in sight like most Grimm?" Ruby questioned, staring down at the fish-like Grimm.

"No one knows for sure, but maybe they've simply grown smart enough to realize that they are more likely to survive by leaving us alone."

Ruby met the gaze of one of the creatures and watched as it slowly swam away. To think that there were Grimm like this, it was incredible to her.

"They look like they're almost as big as the Nine-tails."

Both Naruto and Jiraiya froze as those words left Ruby's mouth. Jiraiya turned to her with a horrified gaze, his mouth hanging open. Naruto was in a similar state, just a little less shocked and more worried.

"You've met the Nine-tails?" Both of them asked at the same time, and Ruby nodded her head in confirmation.

"Yeah, I ended up in Naruto's mind last night and met him there. At first, he was all 'I'm going to kill you, fleshbag!' But after a few scratches behind the ear, he's now 'I think I'll make you into my slave when I escape, instead of killing you.' He has-"

"Ruby," Jiraiya interjected harshly, making her jump in shock, "you shouldn't be speaking to it at all. That thing will stop at nothing to get out, and if it does it won't care about anyone as it begins its rampage."

"But he doesn't seem that bad. Sure he's grumpy and seems to hate a lot of things, but I think all he needs is a friend."

"Ruby," Naruto said, "just be careful. Don't get yourself hurt trying to make a friend out of the Nine-tails."

Ruby studied at Naruto, and she could tell that he appeared to be in deep thought. She wondered if everything was okay, or if something she had said had struck a nerve with him. She turned to look at Jiraiya, who wouldn't stop giving her that stern stare.

Finally, he gave in. "Fine, we'll be reaching port tomorrow morning. Until then, just don't touch the seal on the Nine-tails's cage."

Ruby gave him a thumbs up. She could do that. The three of them left the side of the ship and went to grab something to eat for lunch. Then afterward, it would be back to trying to stick onto walls. The advice that the Nine-tails had given her last time had seemed to work, so hopefully she'd be able to get it this time.

Meanwhile, a pair of figures were walking in the direction of Sunagakure no Sato, the Village Hidden in the Sand. Both wore black coats with red clouds covering them. One of them was hunched over, while the other stood straight up.

"-don't know anything, Sasori." The one standing straight said to his companion as he trudged through the desert sands. "True art is something that is there one instant and then gone the next, faded into the wind."

"Are all shinobi of Iwagakure as foolish as you, Deidara?" Sasori asked, getting an angered scowl from his blonde haired associate. "Art is something that lasts forever, and that will stand the test of time for eternity. Your silly little explosions are a mockery of true art."

Deidara flung his arms up in the air. "You're impossible! Why Leader ever paired me with you is beyond me."

"Would you rather be in Zetsu's place and watch over Tobi?"

Deidara visibly shivered, even in the sweltering heat of the desert. "No thanks. I'd rather lose an arm before having to work with that little pest."

"The one thing we can agree on." Sasori looked behind at Deidara. "Hurry up, or we'll be late, and you know how I feel about that."

"Yeah, sure." Deidara held a hand up, and the mouth that was in the center of his palm gave him a maniacal grin with its tongue hanging out. "I just can't wait to capture the Ichibi container using my special art."

Once again, the two resumed their argument about what true art was as they grew ever closer to their destination.

Just real quick, RUBY IS NOT GOING TO GET SAGE POWERS! The Nine-tails was simply comparing how similar their personalities were. Just wanted to get that out of the way. Okay, now that I've got that clear, I'm good.

Also, this marks the start of a special character arc with Cardin, who I felt that the RWBY team just simply created as a bully for Jaune. They never explain why he hates Jaune or anything of the sort, so I aim to create my own rendition of him.