It had been more than a month since he first arrived, and he slowly began learning more about Vale and Remnant. Being a faunus was difficult, but he was accustomed to it, despite not fully grasping all the law aspects. It was very similar to the treatment of how he grew up as Kurama's vessel but unlike before…
He was much more adept and capable of dealing with them and their discrimination. It's funny how a simple transformation could fool shopkeepers here, not that he would let them get away with their hatred.
The Prank King had returned in full force when he felt an injustice had occurred.
Glynda had personally asked why he requisitioned so much paint, but Ozpin just smirked and let it be. Everything would be more colorful, and he was right. Quite a few shops were now decorated with confetti colored paint because of their bigotry.
No one dared not to serve Naruto Uzumaki ramen and get away with it. That was a crime of the highest order! Especially in front of a friend!
Naruto got to know Velvet, and her team at that, over the last month. And he had to admit Velvet was demure and mild when she was on her own. She was far sassier when she was around her team, probably a little bit of Coco's personality rubbing off onto her.
Coco was very confident, almost to the point of being overconfident. She seemed so self-focused that she annoyed Velvet, and the faunus would even call her out on it. It didn't seem to affect her, but when the restaurant incident occurred, she started reevaluating some things.
Fox was interesting. He had never met a blind warrior before and never one that wanted to take part in one of his pranks. This was after he and Velvet were not allowed into a restaurant. His ingenuity in helping make his paint bombs and helping set them up despite his disability…
He had a new friend.
The last team member, Yatsuhashi Daichi, was pretty cool as well. For a big guy, he was quite self-conscious and relatively quiet, but he was very protective of his friends and was ready to throw down when they got thrown out of the restaurant. He simply turned a blind eye when Naruto and Fox painted the place in confetti colors.
They had shown him across Beacon and Vale over the last month to get him adjusted to his brand-new living environment, and he was thankful for it. If he had been trying to learn about Remnant from books and venturing out on his own, it would have been so dull and, quite frankly…
Lonely.
He was already missing his friends and wondering how they were doing. Wondering what they were up to. But all he could do was hope for the best and believe in them. And knowing each of them was strong in their own right was enough for him to believe they were doing well. He knew each of them would take it hard, especially Hinata if Sasuke showed him at the end, but he had faith.
They would stay strong, and everything would be fine.
Landing on a tree and scanning the area, Naruto found the area to his liking. It wasn't too secluded, as he could still see Beacon off in the distance. It was forested enough that he was hidden enough to let loose a few times for some light exercise. And if a Grimm showed up…
Well, it probably wouldn't want to show up.
After jumping into the clearing, Naruto slid into frog katas and let the world flow around him. He didn't draw upon natural energy to enter Sage stage. He just let himself be part of the world. As of coming to Remnant and no longer having Kurama's or the rest of nine's chakra to draw upon to reach Asura state, which was relatively novel for him anyways, he seemed to be more inclined to blend with natural energy. He could still enter Sage state, which gave him a tremendous boost, but he just felt one with the world as he moved.
He had heightened senses, speed, and reaction times, as well as being a tad stronger than he remembered. He learned that his lungs and breathing felt strange during training. He thought it wasn't that great at first. After a while, he realized that things were less taxing on his body. This came back to his oxygen intake. So, it was something he was starting to look into how to improve as if this was a faunus trait…
Naruto could get behind it.
Healing wasn't as effective as before, but that was something he had expected. Kurama was no longer with him and hopefully was doing all right on his own, not terrorizing others, especially Sasuke. But to his surprise, he still had an excellent recovery rate. In contrast, it was nothing compared to his literal regeneration from before. Cuts, scrapes, and bruises were still inconsequential and healed within minutes.
He wasn't up for testing sprains, broken bones, or tears, but he felt those would take half a day or more, depending on the severity. He probably could speed up the time chakra amplification, but that was always a risk, even with Kurama being with him.
Chakra recovery was going to be slower. He would have to be more thoughtful in managing it, but at the same time, he had a massive reservoir. So if push came to shove, he could always pull out the big guns without worry. By the end, Kurama was even calling Naruto a tail-less beast due to the amount of chakra he possessed on his own. He might not have access to Kurama's or Asura's cloak, but he still knew his created techniques while in those forms. He knew how to mold them, so in theory…
He was a living buzzsaw when it came to.
To be frank, combat was the least of his concern. He came across a few Grimm when he was checking his physical facilities and exercising, believed to be Beowolves. They were easy to dispatch, and if the negative void he felt was any indication, there would be more significant and robust threats. However, he wouldn't be threatened any time soon.
If anything, he would probably have more of a threat from dealing with criminals as he saw the rise in Dust theft and was tired of law enforcement's incompetence. And being who he was sitting around wasn't something he was going to do…
He would also probably be more of a threat to himself as people could be so bitter towards faunus, and keeping himself in check was more challenging than he thought.
It would do no one any good to scream. He knew that from a personal experience from his younger days. You had to prove you were above and beyond their pettiness and then work the crux of the problem, which in this case…
It seemed to be an internal bias and belief that faunus were inferior and lesser people, closer to being animals. Some didn't even believe they were born but created, and that was just…
Naruto shook his head. That was an issue for another day. He had to focus on his upcoming task.
"That initiation test is coming up here in a few days… And then maybe Ozpin will give me a clue on what he expects me to do… Cause I can feel that shadow moving." Naruto growled at both being left clueless about what he was supposed to do, and he could feel void was up to something, and it bothered him.
"Well, whatever. I'm getting hungry." Naruto finished his kata and kept the movements fresh in his mind before he put his hands in his pockets and sighed. "Wonder what Velvet and Fox are doing, or are they in a class? …Guess one way to find out."
Jumping back through the trees, Naruto made his goal clear. To see if his friends were available for lunch. He forgot he now had a neat portable tech device capable of calling them to see if they were available.
The luxury of cutting-edge technology was still lost on Naruto.
Today was the day of everyone's arrival, and Naruto was curious. As much as he had discovered over the last month, he felt he had barely scratched the surface. People were an entirely different experience for him when they came from all over the world. He would be curious to see if he could weed out the potential Hunters and Huntresses. This would enable him to at least figure out who he would be dealing with for a while.
At least until he figured out what Ozpin's game was! That man was driving him crazy, but he could afford to wait this time. It wasn't like there was a rush or a time limit. Getting home didn't seem like a possibility, although it was possible that there might be something out there that could lead him on that path. The odds just weren't in his favor.
Besides, he could play the game. He wondered how much he was making Ozpin pay in repairs and fixes from all his pranks.
Little did he know a blonde woman sneezed and was furious at all the paint she had to clean off the Academy this morning with her Semblance.
Watching the doors of the airbus open, Naruto watched from his perch as he hung out in trees nearby. He wasn't entirely interested in introducing himself just yet. He just wanted to observe and see what everyone was about.
"Was this how I should have been like during the Chunin Exams? Probably but that's expecting a lot from my twelve-year-old self... Expecting anything out of myself then would have been a bit much." Naruto wondered out loud to himself as he saw a bunch of people.
He wasn't too impressed until a blonde ran out and puked into the trash can. Snorting at that but understanding the sensation as he was hardly better on his first air ride, his attention was immediately drawn to a blonde and a … How did he classify that hair color? Red? Black? Wine?
A girl that smelled like roses.
A blonde and the girl that smelt like roses caught his attention as the smaller of the two was positively giddy about seeing everyone's weapons. It became apparent at that point that the blonde was her older sister, intriguing Naruto as he couldn't see many resemblances between the two, and she was trying to…
She tried to pawn her off so she could hang out with her friends. Even though her little sister didn't have any friends here, she had been accepted early, as she had stated. And her sister abandoning her at blazing speed left her disoriented, and she tripped right into…
"What are you doing?!" A booming and annoying voice rang through Naruto's sets of ears, nearly forcing him to cover his more sensitive set of ears.
It seemed the rose-smelling girl had tripped over luggage belonging to some sort of snobbish princess, or at least that was what Naruto would call her. He seemed pretty spot on as she started in after the rose girl tried to apologize.
"Ugh… Sorry."
"Sorry?" The white-haired girl huffed before grabbing a briefcase that somehow ended up next to a rose-smelling girl and pulling out a vial. "Gimmie that! Do you have any idea the kind of damage you could have caused?"
It seemed she had no care for the damage she was about to cause as she wildly shook the vial in front of the rose-smelling girl's face. Naruto could see what was about to happen as small vapors of smoke began to escape. "This is Dust mined and purified from the Schnee Quarry! What are you brain dead?!"
The rose-smelling girl was just too stunned to respond with anything other than ums and whats at the white-haired girl's rant. She was getting whiffs of the vapors making her very, very lightheaded. The princess didn't notice this at all. "Fire, water, lightning, energy! Are you even listening to me?! Is any of this sinking in?!"
"What do you have to say..."
"ACHOO!"
An explosion of fire, ice, and electricity rocked where the rose-smelling girl and the pampered princess were just a second before, yet as the dust settled, they were only ash-covered and relatively unharmed.
This only seemed to enrage the white-haired girl even further despite being at fault. "Unbelievable!"
At this point, Naruto was done. She genuinely annoyed him and was berating the girl for what was an honest accident. It was clear the girl was frazzled and unsure how to deal with this.
He was not.
"Enough, princess." Naruto dropped in and landed between the two in a crouch before slowly standing up, separating them before anything else could happen. "She apologized for what was a complete accident. You, on the other hand, keep aggressively attacking despite the fact she was not putting up a fight. I'm not about to idly stand by and let someone else get stepped all over because of some misunderstanding."
Naruto's sudden appearance caused the princess to jump back, startled at his sudden arrival. He offered a hand to the rose-smelling girl and helped her to her feet. However, the two appendages on the top of his head caught her off guard the most as he was a faunus, yet here he was without hesitation helping a human and even protecting one…
Who was this person? And also, how dare he interrupt her?!
"Do you have any idea of whom you are talking to?! I'm…" The princess was suddenly interrupted as a mysterious person made their presence known.
A slightly older feminine girl with black hair wearing a bow on her hair holding a bottle of dust that the princess previously was holding. "Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company. One of the largest producers of energy propellant in the world."
"Ah, finally some recognition..."
"And the same company infamous for its controversial labor force and questionable business partners and practices." The black-haired girl finished starring daggers before handing the dust bottle to Weiss, who was not very impressed with her.
"What… How dare you…."
"I don't care who she is or how high and mighty she may think she is. No one is untouchable!" Naruto growled as he stood before the rose-smelling girl, his protective instinct in full force. "When someone is in trouble, I will stand up for them when they can't. When something is wrong, I will fight for what is right. That is what I've always done and what I will always do because that is just who I am."
"Now, princess, I ask you, can we just accept Rose's apology and my own so we can be done with this?" Naruto asked, hoping so their day could move along, and as much as he would like an apology for the rose-smelling girl's sake, he wasn't about to force it.
Nothing positive would come from forced change.
Weiss was extraordinarily caught off guard by the intensity in the blonde faunus' voice when he declared he didn't care who she was, which frightened her. It reminded her so much of what her father dealt with the White Fang, but suddenly his demeanor changed as it was clear that aggression wasn't the intent.
She had heard those words before, but it was the delivery... They had passion and fire behind them. And there was a presence behind them she couldn't shake. She felt it every time her father spoke, but this felt… Even more intense. And, in fact... She had heard those words before...
Her eyes glowed at the startling memory she uncovered before she shook her head. It was something that did not matter. The past was dead and buried. Nothing could change that. Especially memories of him...
"Ugh, fine. But make sure this doesn't happen again." Weiss complained but winced as her eyes crossed into his steely cerulean eyes.
Upon seeing her servants get her luggage back onto her trolley and begin to walk away with them, Weiss couldn't help but give a trepid stare back. She looked into the stern eyes of the blonde faunus before turning to walk away.
Maybe… She had been a touch too harsh.
Naruto simply sighed. This was not how he planned for things to start the day; he already felt he needed some ramen just from dealing with that. Little did he know he now had a floating heart chibi Rose behind him.
"Wow… Just like the heroes in all the fairy tales!" The rose-smelling girl, now in a chibi state, proclaimed, startling Naruto for him to look back at her in shock and awe as he couldn't comprehend how she could transform her body into such a state.
"Hardly." The bow-wearing girl stated as she watched the scene unfold, curious before her attention was turned back to the faunus wearing an orange trench coat, black collared shirt, and black pants with orange combat boots.
She then offered her hand to him. "The name is Blake… And do you have a minute?"
Surprised at the girl's forwardness, the fox simply shook her hand as he had not pegged her for that type. "Sure. Naruto is the name. Naruto Uzumaki."
"What?! Are you leaving me here? All alone!" Rose suddenly realized she was getting left out when the blonde that Naruto was quite sure vomited stumbled up to bat.
"Well, I'm not the only one having a rough first day."
"Nah, I'm leaving you with him. He seems like he could use some company too." Naruto pointed at the blonde in armor and winked. "He might be more than he seems. Those air buses can be rough if you aren't used to air travel. Did wonders on me the first time I traveled by one."
"See! It is common!" The knightly blonde felt justified now and a tad better about himself.
Feeling better now that she wasn't left on her own, Naruto joined Blake as he waved goodbye. "See you later, Rose… Vomit boy."
"Hey!"
Their walk was relatively silent, something that Naruto was surprised by as Blake had asked him to come with her. Slowly, they walked toward the auditorium, and it seemed like they were just going for a walk. However, he knew otherwise as he could feel it. She was taking her time.
"That was a brave thing you did." Blake finally broke her silence as they took in the scenery of Beacon. "Most faunus… People would have stood by and let a scene like that happen."
"As I said, that is not in my nature. It is just who I am," Naruto responded as he started to get a better read on Blake as her swirl of emotions was confusing. "I'm not one to idly stand by when another is in trouble, and I can do something about it… And I can say the same about you. You intervened with the same intent."
A sad smile crossed her face before she shook her head. "All I did was call out her family's practices and get the attention away from the girl. What you said had far more impact, and letting her know she wasn't untouchable seemed to hit a nerve."
"That was more than enough. It got the job done, and I probably didn't need to go off… I'm just hot-tempered and hard-headed with my beliefs. I know that will land me in trouble." Naruto complimented Blake before admitting his mistake. "A softer touch was probably the way to go… I'm just a hurricane kicking down doors."
Holding back a snort as that was genuinely a funny fault to admit, and the way he said it caught her off guard, Blake collected herself. "I think you don't give yourself enough credit. That was well worded, and I think it hit its mark."
"Huh, you think?" Naruto asked as they found themselves at the front of the auditorium and found a spot. "Guess I never really thought about it, but my friends always said I could talk anyone to my side, so I guess you have a point."
Noting that Naruto wasn't leaving and joining the festivities left Blake curious. The fact that he was already here made it seem like he was already a student. It seemed he was here ahead of time, or he was some special case. Although it excited her further, she decided to curb her curiosity for now. She heard Naruto, who had called Rose off, complain loudly to her sister in the distance before Weiss interrupted and gave a pamphlet about Dust.
"Oh my god… Does she ever stop?"
"A brick might do the trick, but she did tank that explosion, so…."
She held back a snort before shaking her head with a disapproving glare. "Violence isn't the answer."
"No, but it was funny." Naruto grinned, and Blake could only smile before attention was drawn to Ozpin as he walked to the podium with Glynda standing beside him.
"I'll keep this brief." Ozpin began as Naruto glared at the object of his annoyance over the last month and his pet witch. "You have traveled here today in search of knowledge, to hone your craft and acquire new skills, and when you have finished, you plan to dedicate your life to protecting the people."
"But I look amongst you, and all I see is wasted energy… In need of purpose, direction." Ozpin continued as students began to whisper amongst themselves, not sure how to take how he was calling them out.
However, Naruto was very sure what he would do as he had this planned out far in advance. He pulled out a detonator. And Blake looked at him and the objection curiously. "What is that?"
"You assume knowledge will free you from this… But your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far." Ozpin continued, almost looking at Naruto and daring him. "It is up to you to take the first step."
"A detonator."
Blake's eyes widened as she heard that word and tried to reach out, but Naruto's button press was too fast. The stage was suddenly ablaze with Uzumaki spiral paint explosions and smoke in his signature confetti style. The entirety of the stage was coated in the spirals giving it his signature flare but somehow, much to Naruto's annoyance…
Ozpin and Glynda were left unscathed in the middle.
"I guess I talked for too long, didn't I?" Ozpin laughed at himself and the event. "A splash of color livens up the stage, and the execution was excellent. Seven out of ten."
Naruto's ears and left eye twitched before pulling a small notebook and writing, 'Phase 2, Uzumaki Bombardment failed. Phase 3 planning stages, crabs?' Before turning to Blake. "Do you know where I can buy crabs and lobsters?"
Blake wasn't sure whether to be horrified or stupefied by what she had just witnessed. The level of thought and preparation that was put into a prank to make it seem like he almost pulled off a terrorist attack… Just to paint bomb the stage and fail to hit his target is some invisible force protecting them… And now he was asking about crabs and lobsters.
What kind of relationship did he have with the headmaster?
Highly annoyed at the explosions of paint covering HER stage, Glynda took the microphone stand and continued without missing a beat. However, her intense gaze focused solely on the headache that was known as Naruto. "You will gather in the ballroom tonight. Tomorrow your initiation begins. Be ready. Dismissed."
Feeling the heat of her gaze, Naruto knew retreat was the wisest decision as he could handle Ozpin. Glynda was a different story. "Well, Blake, how about we get out of here, and I show you to the ballroom?"
Noticing the murderous intensity oozing off of Glynda, Blake could not help but agree, as she didn't want to be near the angry witch. And having someone who knew their way around was just a benefit she couldn't pass up.
So, Blake hurriedly followed after a whistling Naruto, ignoring the hole being burned into the back of his head by the said witch.
He couldn't recall ever being in an environment like this before. Every student taking the initiation test was assigned to sleep in a single room for the night.
Unsupervised.
A ton of mixed gendered sixteen to eighteen-year-olds gathered in one room and expected to sleep and behave. That was a recipe for disaster, and he was thankful that many were here for serious reasons and were putting aside their more natural impulses.
Mostly.
There was still a lot of flexing and flirting going on.
Finishing washing up, Naruto sighed as he stepped out of the washroom and back into the main ballroom. He was entirely out of his element despite that these were all people around his age. Compared to most of the people here, he was trained to be a warrior while most of the others weren't. Sure, they had some training and skills but were their lives dedicated to the task?
He doubted that.
Setting up his rucksack against the wall and away from a lot of people, ironically setting himself closer to Blake without even doing it intentionally. She was too into her book to bother anyways, and he had no intention of breaking that focus. He simply lit the candle next to her so it would be easier for her to continue reading.
"Thanks."
Naruto waved it off as she appeared to be too absorbed in her reading. He returned to his rucksack and stretched his back and joints as he prepared for a night's sleep. Camping wasn't the issue. It was sleeping with so many others around…
"Hello there! I believe you all have met"
"Yang, no! Don't embarrass me!"
Both Naruto and Blake blinked. What was she planning against her sister's will?
"Yes, she exploded in the park," Blake recalled how they met, trying to figure out where this was going.
"Rose-smelling girl, yep, we met at the park when you abandoned her for trivial affairs. How are you?" Naruto walked back from his rucksack so he could participate in this, whatever it was.
Also, he wanted to call out the blonde as he wasn't too impressed with her. There was probably more than what he saw, but the phrase 'Show me what you got!' failed her so far, at least in his eyes.
This lit a fire in the blonde known as Yang as she glared at Naruto and confronted him, standing toe-to-toe with him despite being two inches shorter. "What did you say, punk? I did not abandon…."
"Ditched your younger sister in an unfamiliar place to hang out with your friends when she had no bearings on what she was doing. Doing so immediately left her vulnerable and in a situation where she was verbally abused. And then exploded. What would you call that?" Naruto counted each separate offense as he glared back, not willing to back down as again his protective instincts slowly rose to the forefront as that situation earlier left a bitter taste in his mouth.
At this, Yang recoiled. When described in that manner, it seemed like she did abandon her sister and left her to the wolves. And the fact she heard his sister explode after she left did make her feel guilty, but putting it this way made her feel even more miserable.
"Guys… it's okay…."
"Dammit… I did it again. I apologize." Naruto groaned as he found himself a touch quicker to temper since coming to Remnant, possibly due to his faunus nature, but he had felt it was more due to the fact he was still coming to terms with having died in his world and was here now.
"I'm sorry too." Yang apologized as she realized she had pressed him, and he was not one to back down before offering her hand in apology. "The name is Yang Xiao Long and I think I've been on the wrong end of a few decisions today."
"Naruto, Naruto Uzumaki… Rose?" Naruto stated after shaking Yang's hand before realizing he was leaving the person central to all of this out again.
While Yang laughed as if he were telling the funniest joke, she blushed and grumbled. "You're actually calling her by her last name. She only gets called that when she's in trouble!"
Rose blushed even harder before muttering her name. "I'm Ruby..."
"Well, it's nice to introduce ourselves properly. Let's hope I don't start any more fights around you; otherwise, people might start saying things, and we wouldn't want that. Think your sister is jealous enough as it is." Naruto grinned at Ruby's blushing form.
"As if. Why'd I be jealous?" Yang huffed as he glared at him, and Naruto was about to comment.
Ruby immediately saw where the conversation was heading, her eyes wide in horror as she began to understand the fox's personality had similar traits to her sister.
"No, no, no!" Ruby slapped her hand over Naruto's mouth as he was clearly about to point out her gawking at all the guys flexing. "I think we're all right here..."
Blake coughed to get everyone's attention as she was pretty annoyed at the noise level in her area. Naruto simply apologized. "Sorry, Blake, we'll keep it down…."
"What's the book about?" Ruby inquired, curious now that Blake had entered the conversation, surprising the yukata-dressed girl.
"Um… It's about a man with two souls fighting for control over his body." Blake stated, explaining the book she was reading as it wasn't often she had to do such a thing.
"Oh… that sounds really lovely." Yang sarcastically responded to herself.
Naruto repressed a scoff as he mentally stated he could teach that author a thing about how two souls in a body really worked.
"That sounds good... I love books." Ruby smiled as she tried to make an honest connection with Blake. "Yang used to read to me every night before bed. Stories of heroes and monsters… They're one of the reasons why I want to become a Huntress."
Blake gave a small huff of a laugh, but Ruby was amused nonetheless. "And why is that? Hoping you'll live happily ever after?"
Ruby gave a simple nod and a smile. "Well, I'm hoping we all will. As a girl, I wanted to be just like the heroes in the books… Someone who fought for what was right and protected the people who couldn't protect themselves."
Blake sighed, looking into Ruby's eyes, wondering if Naruto had rubbed off on her. "That's very ambitious for a…."
"And that's great." Naruto interrupted Blake, sensing where she was heading and decided to cut her off. "It takes more than just words. You're going to have to prove it day in and day out. It will be up to you to stand up for yourself, not just for others. But, what good are you to others if you can't do that?"
Moving over and patting Ruby on the shoulder, Naruto smiled. "But that takes time and work! You've got to find yourself first, and it seems like you've got a good start, all you need is the right push. So don't worry, you'll make it there and be a magnificent Huntress!"
Feeling the confidence beaming from her from the load he just dumped into her, Ruby nodded vigorously in agreement. "Right!"
"I'm so proud of my baby sister!" Yang suddenly announced and squeezed Ruby, lifting her into the air.
"Cut it out!" Ruby responded with a right drop punch, and the two brawled on the floor as both Naruto and Blake watched the catfight in wonder.
"Well, as entertaining as this is…." Blake began as she was trying to get back to reading
"What in the world is going on over here?!" A shrill voice that no one wanted to hear as Weiss stomped all over them. "Do you realize that people are trying to sleep?"
"Not you again!" Ruby and Yang screamed at Weiss as they were done with the princess.
It also seemed Naruto was done with the situation as well. And Blake's eyes widened.
"No!"
"What is that?" Ruby and Yang asked.
"A detonator," Naruto answered honestly, leaving everyone that could hear the conversation on edge and ready to flee. 'If everyone doesn't shut up and get in their beds, rucksacks, or whatever they have to sleep on, I'm going to hit it. At that point, we'll all have to deal with being covered in paint for the rest of the night. Every single person in this building."
"And I can live with my decision. Can any of you?"
Soon, everyone was far away from the volatile faunus and preparing for bed. Naruto finally laid down to get some shut-eye while Blake was given some last-minute time to read.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome."