How was this even supposed to work?

Naruto was more confused than ever as he lay in bed, ignoring the morning sun and his noisy neighbors. He was an official Huntsman, so he could take missions all across Remnant ranging from hunting Grimm and bodyguarding to pursuing criminal bounty warrants, yet he was also going to be taking classes regularly. He was annoyed he couldn't directly deal with criminals unless they actively broke the law in front of him and gave him a reason to act, but...

He'd make do.

His brain hurt. This was somehow more confusing than being a genin whose jobs were the most tedious in the history of ninjas. Like, who wanted to mow lawns, fix shop signs, or the worst... Catch that pitiful cat and bring it back to that dreadful woman.

And what was worse was that the implication that he would be receiving jobs directly from Ozpin made his blood boil. If the man had just come out and told him his actual plan instead of stringing him along, he wouldn't just want to throat punch him and kick him a few times in the crotch! It was infuriating as if there was a goal, why not inform him of it?

"AND WHY ARE MY NEIGHBORS SO NOISY?!" Naruto roared annoyingly as he finally got up and decided to put on his Beacon Academy outfit he got last night before he decided to go 'greet' the occupants next door and show them the ninja 'hospitality' he was shown oh so well.

He swiftly kicked the door wide open as he called out to them. "Why in the hell are you all so no… WHY IS IT YOU FOUR?!"

"Naruto!" Ruby greeted her new friend and happily jumped up to meet him, despite being in the middle of hanging a bed from the roof.

It collapsed and would have fallen onto Weiss as she prepared things on her bed below. It would have fallen onto her if Naruto had moved faster than their eyes could see and had not caught the bed. His eyes were wide in horror at what they were doing, and he couldn't fathom how they got to this point. "And just what the hell are you doing? This is a death trap!"

Weiss' eyes sparkled further at the act before her eyes glared daggers at their so-called leader, who nervously laughed.

"It's not that bad," Yang stated, ignoring what just happened as she and Blake were putting books on top of another bed and trying to find the balance to stack another bed.

Naruto twitched. For him, the scene was a horror movie. Not because of what they were doing. No. It made her realize just how vital D-rank missions were and how impactful they could be for the shinobi's future.

And he hated that.

"No… No. No, No!"

Pushing all four out of their room, he slammed the door shut. As they waited outside, they heard hammering and Naruto barking orders to tear down what they had put up and to fix it properly. The four could only watch as, a minute later, the door opened. And from within stood a severely agitated Naruto with two perfectly adequate bunk beds he had managed to craft together.

"Are you done trying to kill yourselves?" Naruto growled as the four re-entered and looked at their beds, wondering how he quickly turned their regular beds into bunk beds.

"Do you have some level of carpentry training because this is very well done? Nowhere near craftmanship skill but for the time you took… I feel safe with this." Weiss wondered out loud as she was highly impressed.

"I was forced to learn many skills when I was twelve to make a living… Minor carpentry just happened to be one of them…. God, I hated D-rank missions… And now, knowing just how vital they were pisses me off." Naruto answered before muttering the last part as he had just recently thought about them before…

At the very least, they had nominal value when he looked at them. He didn't feel it was worth dealing with all those hateful villagers who would only come to respect him when he saved their lives.

He wasn't bitter. Not one bit… Maybe slightly.

While the others took it in stride, Blake's bow lowered, and she looked saddened by his words. The fact she didn't entirely understand everything behind his words didn't mean she didn't understand having to watch others scrape by and fight for a living.

Looking at a clock they had set up and seeing the time, Naruto sighed. "Well, we have like eight minutes to get to class, so we'd better get to it."

"Ah! I forgot about classes!" Ruby cried out loud before she slipped into a blind panic and started to grab all her books. "Oh no, oh no!"

"You idiot! We're almost going to be late because of you!" Weiss cried as she grabbed her bag, and the four rushed out of the door, only for team JNPR to look out of their room in synchronized unison.

Then they realized they were running late.

Naruto only blinked. He thought he was running on time. Eight minutes was nothing to get to a class on the other side of the academy.

Shrugging his shoulders, he slowly began to make his way out of their room and closed their door. "Whatever. I'm in no hurry to get to class anyway."

"But why do I feel the girls will be the cause of my second death?"

Naruto wanted to pound his head into the desk during class. How in the hell did Weiss become even more agitated toward Ruby? How was that possible? Did Ruby defile her dog's grave or something?

What was her problem?

He would admit it would be minorly distracting for someone to call out directions for you in the middle of a battle or to cheer as loudly as Ruby was, but everything was in good spirits. It wasn't like she actively disparaged or purposely tried to distract her.

Thankfully he noted that Ozpin and Professor Port were taking care of Ruby and Weiss separately, and he had faith that they would sort that out. While he had scant trust in Oz towards himself, he figured he probably was a more caring individual towards his students and those he put in positions of power…

He still questioned putting Jaune in a position of power on his team. Why would you name Jaune that team's leader when a flash bang was blowing up in your face named Pyrrha? What did Oz see that he missed? Or did Oz do it to screw with Naruto's thought process and make him throw out all his analysis from before?

That would not be surprising.

He tried looking underneath the underneath, but sometimes Ozpin did not have an underneath, which was frustrating.

Ozpin was a puppet master who sometimes just moved pieces to move pieces, throwing him off. If he weren't sure that he was in the right due to his emotive sensory, he would have already busted him down and probably caused a massive issue here at Beacon.

Naruto wished he would do something instead of just sitting there and waiting! He wanted to be more proactive!

He almost lost track of where he was heading and nearly bumped into someone. However, Naruto's eyes lit up when he saw who it was. He grinned as he heard her voice. "Well, well, if isn't mister big shot himself."

"And if it isn't Ms. Too Full of Herself, Coco Adel, how are you? Velvet, Fox, and Yatsu?" Naruto countered before calling out to the other three team members in a friendly manner.

Coco merely huffed before giving a slight grin, her eyes glinting behind her sunglasses. She liked how Naruto would call her out and didn't back down an inch. It made the challenge all the more fun. To see who was indeed number one, she refused to give up and say she was anything less than the best. But if he was...

Only then would she submit.

"Doing good, Naruto. Congrats, by the way," Yatsu responded as he was genuinely happy that one of his new friends did something that was nearly impossible.

"Like seriously, man, you've got to take us out on a mission when you get assigned to one. I'm sure they'll let you take us if it isn't too highly rated. Second years get a lot more permissions." Fox grinned now that they had an in with a hunter and wanted to see if they could do some incredible new missions.

"That's… Is a gross misuse of his powers and responsibilities." Velvet responded before she happily smiled at Naruto. "But congratulations. I was planning to send you a text saying we should celebrate... But then I realized you don't ever check your scroll."

"I keep forgetting this thing exists and barely remember it is my door key." Naruto chuckled as he pulled out his scroll before suddenly sweating, seeing he had a few missed texts. "What, when did she get my number?! I don't remember giving her that?"

"Uh-oh, Velvet, you have competition." Fox grinned before Velvet smacked him on the shoulder, and Coco glared at him. "What? Just telling the truth. Do you think others aren't planning to come after the Huntsman on campus? They're coming. Just you watch. Now, if you need a guard to keep them off you, you know who to call..."

"You are just as bad at answering your scroll as he is, and you don't have an excuse. You have Ada! She will answer it for you!" Velvet commented before being annoyed at the end, making the blind warrior twitch as his timid teammate called him out.

"That reminds me… You, me, arena!" Coco called Naruto out, ignoring her teammate's spat as she placed her hand on her hip and looked into his eyes as hers glinted with purpose and grinned cockily. "I have no trouble accepting you might be skilled enough, but I want to see it for myself, so I challenge you to see just how capable you are!"

"Alright." Naruto enthusiastically accepted Coco's offer and stunned the rest of team CFVY. "But I know the arena isn't easily rented out, so let me know the date and time you're available for the thirty seconds I'm going to throw you around… And the hour-long infirmary trip you'll need afterwards."

In the end, Naruto was grinning, and Coco bristled at his comment, which lit her fire further. "Oh, you think you are such hot… What the?"

"It's not hot stuff when I can back it up, Coco," Naruto stated, still grinning as he stood directly behind her, back-to-back while holding her weapon in his hand before handing it back. "Way heavier than I thought... But I do look forward to that date. Always interested to see how others fight."

"And Velvet, how about in a few nights for that celebration? Found this small shack that serves the finest Udon noodles." Naruto responded to Velvet's earlier thought about a celebration. "Might have to invite a few others, though… Have a few noisy neighbors that might want in."

"That works." Velvet smiled, ignoring Fox's attempted glare in the back of her head, as she knew they didn't have anything planned then, and both Yatsu agreed, and Fox gave a thumbs up in their general direction. "We'll see you then."

Still slightly shocked, Coco nodded as Naruto slowly began to walk away, keeping his scroll out, before Fox finally spoke. "I've got to say… I can't see, but that was fast."

The group leader could only sweat. She didn't even feel Naruto disarm her. Maybe she would hold off on that challenge for a little bit until she was a little more ready.

Then they could put some stakes on it... Maybe a date, like he said.

Coco grinned. Those stakes were acceptable.

Naruto kept walking as he tried to figure out how to text. He slowly learned how to use it since it was just like a small keyboard and his computer knowledge... Was very rough. Fortunately, it was just like writing a message, so it wasn't too complicated. So he sent a message to his new contact.

How in the world did Blake get his number?

"Okay… I know I invited you and Ruby…." Naruto started as he sat at a small table next to Blake and Velvet as the shack had brought it since Velvet called ahead of time.

"It was Weiss…" Blake sighed before her eyes glowed with sparkles seeing a tuna fish head on her bowl of Udon and her bow began to twitch excitedly.

She suddenly regained control, looking extremely embarrassed at what had happened. Her eyes darted to see if anyone noticed her lack of self-control besides Naruto, who simply grinned at her. Her eyes narrowed at the fox, hissing as she realized she had been caught, and his fox ears only twitched back and forth. Her eyes widened as she realized the horror.

Her bow was still twitching as he was in sync with her twitching.

Stiffening the objects beneath the bow, Blake took a deep breath and calmed down. It was fine. It was okay if he knew. Others at this table didn't seem to catch on, at the very least...

She then looked across the table, saw the two people Naruto was commenting on, and sighed out loud. "When I said I had somewhere to go, trying to leave separately, so no one expected anything, Weiss found it weird saying Ruby was going out as well."

"With some deductive reasoning, she realized it had to do with you, and suddenly she just had to come… And Yang didn't want to be left alone… Now she has abandonment issues." Blake quietly finished before grinning there at the end.

"I Do Not!" Yang banged her fist from the other end of the table as Blake had purposely said that loud enough for her partner to hear. "It would have sucked to have been left alone with no plans and all my friends doing other things!"

"You mean they all failed and were sent home?" Coco responded as very few teams passed this initiation exam, as was usually the case, slightly annoyed that this new girl ended up sitting next to the challenge she was trying to conquer these last couple of weeks.

She understood why Velvet was sitting next to him. She had known him for the longest, and he considered her his closest friend. That was fair. This wasn't very pleasant.

Beacon had one of the lowest acceptance rates among the prestigious Academies. It was one of the reasons she came here. It was for the challenge.

Yang bristled at the comment but did not respond. It was, unfortunately, true.

All her friends failed, even though one did retrieve a piece... He was injured enough that he couldn't return due to darts from a particular pedestal meant for one challenger, failing her other friend. Rotten luck for them.

However... They didn't have to take it out on her. Why did things escalate the way they did? Why did they ask her to do those things...?

She frowned. It left a sour taste in her mouth. Did all her friends think like that?

"Don't feel guilty about it," Fox commented as he took a bite and was pleasantly surprised by the noodles. "It happens all the time. I had a few friends I came in with, and none of them made it in. You've got to take who you've got if you want to make it as a hunter or huntress."

As he took a chomp of his noodles, finding they were quite tasty but still had nothing on the greatness known as ramen, Naruto turned his attention to the princess. "You know it is interesting… Why is it that you just had to come?"

Feeling his scrutinizing gaze upon her, Weiss almost withered with a blush as she turned away to meet his eyes. This did not remain unnoticed by Naruto, and it left him with a small pit in his stomach. He swore he could hear a familiar friend's voice somewhere far, far away.

And he could swear Kurama was laughing.

He could feel his friend transcending space, and the world was bothering him, but he would ignore that pit in his stomach for now. This was an alarming development. "Princess…"

"What, you didn't want me to come?" Weiss suddenly blurted out indignantly as she felt indecent and began to think coming here was foolish.

What did she think would happen? She had not given him much reason to think positively about her. So here she was, lonely and afraid, trying to make some connection, with a faunus no less, and she was blowing it because she couldn't relate. She didn't know how to!

She was blowing it all because she couldn't communicate well and was being her stiff self.

"That's not what I'm saying at all." Naruto corrected in a soft tone. "This is an abrupt change in how we treat one another. I have to question it... I don't mean it to be negative. It's only a little odd when you mention I was a nightmare just yesterday, and I'm trying to figure out what has changed."

Weiss had the decency to blush as she remembered that statement, cursing how things turned out. She wished she had chosen her words better. "Well… Things change and… That was aimed more at Jaune than it was at you."

"Uh-huh, sure." Naruto didn't entirely buy it before rolling his eyes. "Well, regardless, what's up with you today? You were annoying me with how you were acting again... Let's just say there was about to be a repeat if you two didn't talk to the professors. Hopefully, they gave some sound advice."

Deflating at hearing that, Weiss poked at her noodles weakly. She was very embarrassed that this was being brought up. She had brought this upon herself as he would comment on it. He always seemed to protect Ruby…

Sensing the sudden burst of negativity coming from her, Naruto sighed, for that was not what he intended to do. So now he had to find a way to build the princess back up. So he stuck with combat, which was something he was interested in. "What were those glyphs you used earlier? I've never seen anything like that before."

Weiss' attention snapped back up as he took an interest in something she had done and seemed genuinely curious. "It's a family technique that's been passed down through generations… It's nothing too special."

"Really? Because it looked cool to me." Naruto commented after taking another bite. "I'd like to take a moment and compare it to something my master taught me 'cause they seem slightly similar, and I want to see if they function fundamentally on the same level. It'd be neat if they shared some principles as that would give me a few theories about what I've been working on."

Her world brightened at hearing that he wanted to spend time with her. Even if it was only for something like showing off her abilities, she could only give the nod, accepting his proposal. If it could only be more…

She wanted it to be more. So that she could spend some more time with him and get to know him better...

So she could understand why those words meant so much to him. And why he reminded her so much of...

Wondering what just broke in Weiss, Naruto decided it was wise to ignore it for now. She was in a better mood now and lost in her own thoughts. At least her mindset was positive.

"You have… Made an intriguing group of friends in these last weeks." Velvet smiled as she sat in her seat next to Naruto, glad for her friend that he was talking to other people.

While she hadn't said anything, she was apprehensive about him and sensed something was off with him. He seemed lonely and would always gaze out into the distance longingly as if something was missing. She knew he said he was far from home and would never see it again. It made her heart pang as something terrible had happened. The sight of him finally talking to someone other than her and Fox as Coco and Yatsu tagged along was extremely uplifting. And seeing his interactions with the two, in particular, was sweet and made her feel much better.

Something inside her told her he needed more friends, so the more, the better. Perhaps one of them would be lucky enough to fill that ache she was feeling... Slowly but steadily, it rose within him. Something she could tell would soon become an issue if he didn't deal with it...

Velvet wished she could be more confident and ask him what the problem was but in front of all these people... She couldn't. And by herself...

She was too weak.

So, for now, she would do her best and support him this way.

"And then he was like, swish, BOOM! Hit them with a blue orb of raw aura!" Ruby ecstatically told the story to a patient Yatsu and a mildly pale Coco as she had been listening to the girl most of the time after brushing off the elder sibling. "And then there was a crater and half a Deathstalker and Nevermore falling to the earth as we were all blown away by gale force winds!"

"The hell?" Naruto choked on his noodles as he had not been paying attention to Ruby telling the story.

"That seems… Like a tall tale." Coco admitted after she calmed down a little.

"But it is really cool. I do believe he could toss the Deathstalker pretty far." Yatsu commented, knowing Naruto was powerful just from asking to work out with him a few times and never seeing him break a sweat, and he couldn't keep pace with his light workout.

"The orb is also true." Velvet added, catching Naruto off guard as he thought no one knew about the Rasengan before that moment. "He didn't answer one of my texts, so I went looking for him and found him demolishing a Beowulf with one of those… There was nothing left of it."

"Okay… I need to work on my sensing skills as they have been off." Naruto grumbled as if Velvet and all of what happened the day before slipped under his nose; he would have to get better at sensory in his base state.

That was unacceptable.

"I'm adept at hiding my presence, so I would be shocked if you could sense me if I didn't want to be found." Velvet grinned as she had one up on Naruto, and from what she knew so far about her fellow faunus, that was a rare feat.

He was nearly impossible to beat in anything outside of a battle of wits.

"Is that a challenge?" Naruto growled as he felt Velvet's confidence as she grinned right back at him, not backing down. "Very well, call it a date. Name the time and place, and we'll do this!"

"Maybe later, once classes and everything settle down, we can figure out a day for our date." Velvet sassily blew a kiss out the end, leaving Naruto twitching and wanting more.

How dare she leave him at half-mast?!

At this, Coco held her hand up for Velvet, and the two high-fived, and Naruto was livid. The two of them plotted against him?!

Well played.

"I don't know what just happened, but I think Naruto got gunned down hard," Fox said as he finished his bowl, leaving Naruto a writhing mess.

"You're supposed to be on my side, Fox! You're my backup! Where were you on that one?"

"Unable to see your ass finally get owned." Fox grinned as he waved his hand in front of his face.

At this, Naruto couldn't hold it in and burst into laughter, with the entire table joining in on the joyous laughter.

And with the ice broken, the rest of the night proceeded smoothly.

Little did they know they missed two of Naruto's clones being marshaled by a third as they held a wicker basket with distinct miniature pinchers hanging out of their side and a large aquarium.

As the night was wrapping up and they found themselves back at Beacon, Naruto found himself with the odd pairing of Blake and Velvet. Well, strange as he was pretty sure all three of them present were faunus, but Blake was hiding that fact.

He didn't get verbal confirmation but suspected that he knew what lay under that bow. And if her reaction to fish was anything, he might have a guess too...

And that was fair. People were prejudiced against faunus, and if she felt it would give her a fair shake to hide what she was, then so be it. He wasn't one to judge.

However, he had another specific reason he was out; if they wanted to hang around, that was fine. They would learn more about his… Unique relationships… With a certain headmaster.

He had realized as he was mowing down Grimm, and today as he was doing maintenance on his tools, it was a sobering fact…

Blake simply didn't want to go back to the room. It was a nice night out, and hanging out with two other faunus felt right. She felt more at ease around Naruto, even if she had to admit he had his quirks. Everyone did. But at the same time, she got this ease that reminded her of…

An image popped in her head of Menagerie, and more specifically, of a particular pair of individuals she may have run away from…

Blake violently shook her head at that image and pushed those thoughts away. She was on the run. She couldn't think about home! Not now! Not after everything she had been through!

...It was too dangerous to go back.

It was too dangerous to stay...

What was she going to do?

Naruto was utterly bewildered by the flux of emotions from Blake that he nearly stumbled himself. There was a whirlwind flowing through her, and it almost sucked him in and caused him to lose focus on what he was doing.

And he wasn't trying to sense emotions at the time!

Velvet appeared confused as she looked at the two. They both had the weirdest looks she had ever seen. Blake was a mixture of longing, fear, and anxiety, and Naruto seemed to be mirroring those but adding confusion…

Was he an empath too? How many abilities or tricks did he have? Did he sense what she did coming from Blake too? That distressing urge...

And why didn't they seem to want to talk about it? It was so frustrating knowing something was wrong and being able to do nothing about it!

Damn her for not having Coco's strength and being able to come out and say what she wanted!

Now getting a whirl of emotions from Velvet, Naruto was ready to leave the girls and head out on his own. This was getting a bit much and taxing his emoting sensory. "Um… Are you two okay?

"Yes?" Velvet timidly replied, her left ear curling down as she said that.

"Oh what, oh sure." Blake stumbled before covering up with a fake response.

"Yeah… I suddenly believe that way less now and think we're all screwed up." Naruto muttered as he shook his head.

"That reminds me... of something you said yesterday. Everything was starting to look bleak given the craziness, and then when Yang spoke about all of us dying together… What you mentioned bothered me. You said you were done dying again. What does that even mean?" Blake stopped as she recalled the moment before the world shook from his powerful display.

Velvet stopped at hearing this and immediately cut Naruto's path off, her ears perking straight up and standing stiffly on end. That was something she didn't know, and as with anything, she began to call her friend. This deeply troubled her considering the state she found him in a month prior.

He looked like he had been through a battle and was caked in the scent of his own blood.

And the second Blake said those words, she was brought back to what she was thinking of earlier, and she was getting the same feeling. The downtrodden expression on his face and the dimming of his eyes. They bothered her.

What happened?!

"Naruto… When I asked you a few weeks ago where you were from, you told me it didn't matter… That your home was gone… I felt an emptiness from you… And now I'm getting the same feeling as then, and I didn't push… Because I thought you lost your home…."

"I did lose my home… And my life. I died and somehow ended up here on Remnant instead of my world of Earth." Naruto sadly smiled, a single tear running down his face as his admission surprised and startled them. "I died fighting my best friend to change his heart… And succeed but succumb to my wounds as he tried to keep me there."

"But the fates weren't done with me." Naruto continued as he closed his eyes. "I was transported across tremendous distances to this land, and in the process, it manipulated my body. However, this is only part of the story. I was born human in my world... Faunus didn't exist there, although they wouldn't be out of place and accepted as relatively normal."

Blake and Velvet's eyes snapped open, hearing this as Naruto continued, his tone still solemn.

"When I was born, I was fused with the spirit of a fox demon. In turn, I was hated my entire life for it as he was fused with me, and he had nearly destroyed our home. Mistreated and ignored all my life except by a few that made my life worth anything... But that's not the pertinent part here." Naruto tried to explain how he came to be here and the lead-up to why he believed he was the way he was now. "He and I… It took a long time for us to co-exist, but at the time of my death, we were separated... But part of his essence remained within me as I transcended worlds. Something must have happened. I can't figure out what, but whatever remained of his spirit's essence that lingered in my body had to have fused with me… Changing me into the form you see before you."

While he was telling the tale, they were both stunned and silently weeping. They were both shocked. He was a created faunus…. That flipped their perceptions entirely around, and if that was true, what did it mean behind the origins of where faunus came from? Was it possible that the first faunus were all from other worlds or had dual spirits?

"It's kind of ironic, really." Naruto opened his eyes and gave a broken laugh. "I was scorned all my life. Spit upon, kicked around, and refused store access while all the kids laughed at me or bullied me. I fought for so long to try and make people see me as me, to withstand the hate, that I forgot why I was doing it other than to prove them wrong. And just as I finally figured out how to make people stop hating me for seeing me as the fox spirit inside of me… Now everyone sees me as a dirty fox faunus instead… Go figure."

"The fates want me hated by the common folk. The fates must get some kick out of it. Have to keep shoving me in the dirt and remind me I'm nothing, huh!" Naruto finished as he looked up at the night sky and the shattered moon of Remnant, finding it kind of calming. "Huh, that's why Gaara always did that. Still calming despite how broken it is."

Suddenly Naruto felt the warmth of the embrace of two separate bodies hugging him simultaneously. And to be quite honest… It was quite nice. It felt like for the first time since he had been here on Remnant…

Someone who listened and cared.

Letting a few more tears flow as he let go of those memories, he rubbed the girls' backs to let them know he was alright. "Hey… As much as I appreciate it, I forgot the purpose of my trip out here. But thank you… I didn't realize how much I needed that… And to get that off my chest."

Slowly disengaging from their embrace, Velvet smiled softly while Blake gave a knowing nod. While he may not have been a natural faunus...

They understood that emotion very well, and it resonated with them. It was like any other, and on some level, if he was transported to this world...

Maybe he was turned into a faunus for a reason.

"It is wise to do so. It's healthier that way." Velvet agreed as she was always willing to lend a listening ear to a friend. "And while I do think the fates were… Cruel… I think it was also because they already knew you could handle it… You already lived the life of a faunus… Maybe they have something more planned for you?"

"They need to stop their plans as it's getting really old…." Naruto growled as whatever plans they had they could shove them before he sighed. "But thanks for staying positive about it."

"I wouldn't have… They're trying to penetrate you… Hard and fast." Blake responded with a slight grin to loosen the tension and got a laugh from Naruto as Velvet mouthed disgusting, which only made her grin further. "No, it's not... Not until you try it. Who knows, you might like it."

Velvet looked horrified while Naruto tilted his head and held his mouth slightly agape.

It sounded... Like she knew from experience.

Shaking that thought from his head, Naruto looked over at the central tower of Beacon. He tried not to look over in Blake's direction, feeling a slight stiffening reserved for a redhead until this point.

"Alright, I feel a lot better now… Time to see the puppet master before I forget what I was doing again." Naruto remembered his goal, which now had both Velvet and Blake curious as they realized they were close to the main building of Beacon. "But before that… If either of you ever need to talk… I've already told you my deepest secret, so don't hesitate."

"And have faith. I'll be willing to listen."

Velvet blushed as Blake stopped after feeling targeted. He knew she had some dark secrets, but…

She wouldn't mind telling them in time. After all, he spilled his to her. It was only fair. But only when she felt a bit more secure.

Perhaps after whatever was about to happen, she would think about it.

Because both Blake and Velvet's eyes were opened to the horror of Naruto kicking open the headmaster's door and announcing himself. "Yo! Great and Powerful Wizard of Oz! Queen to C3 to take your Rook!"

"Bishop to D6, check," Ozpin responded as they played an intangible game of chess without even turning around to acknowledge Naruto's presence.

"Shit!" Naruto realized he was in trouble in the game and needed to reassess his pieces before coming up with his next move. "Alright, moving on. I realized something major, and as much as it pains me… I need you for this requisition."

This lone act of admission caused Ozpin to swirl around in his chair and sip his coffee as he looked interestedly at Naruto. "Besides the occasional paint refill that, I must say, has been bringing life to Beacon and Vale, what is it that makes you come to me? I haven't seen so much color in ages."

"Oh, you just wait for Phase 3," Naruto growled as Ozpin wouldn't know what hit him before shaking his head, pulling out his kunai, and sighing at the few chips in it. "As much as I hate to admit… These aren't likely to last me for much longer. I have limited resources, and proper maintenance will only get me so far with them..."

"I've come to the realization I need to rely on weapons of this world as forging weapons from mine are not cost-friendly at this time, and I have zero blacksmith training despite my jack-of-all-trades nature." Naruto flipped his kunai a few times before returning it to his pouch with a sad smile, knowing he would have to use them sparingly.

Ozpin looked at the boy for a moment before a small smile appeared. "Your mistake was moving your queen too deep into my territory. Next turn, you will use your Rook to take out my Bishop, but that is a mistake. The knight protects it, putting you back into check and, unfortunately, without any pieces but pawns and your queen…."

"I'd be in a world of hurt..." Naruto returned to thinking about the chess game, realizing it was a critical error, and he focused more on taking out his pieces instead of the bigger picture. "I should have been focusing on playing defensively… I still think that's a stupid plan when the queen, in this case, is a literal force of nature that cannot be prepared for."

"Maybe so, but we shall see in due time," Ozpin mused as he opened his desk and looked for something within.

"I have an idea of a weapon that would suit you… Small and compact but packs a wallop. I believe it can be used in many ways like those kunai, but I don't know how it will function with… Your unique aura." Ozpin stated as he pulled out a weapon design and put it on his desk to show Naruto, whose eyes widened at seeing it. "Shall I send it in?"

"Woah… Yeah, I like it." Naruto whistled, impressed with the design, before returning it to Oz. "Looks like it was just finished up too..."

"I like to take my time and make sure things are perfect," Ozpin said before rolling the design back up. "I will send the order in tomorrow morning, and it should be in by the end of the week. At worse, it will be the start of next week, but I doubt it. I emphasize the order is for our newest Hunter."

"Sweet. Night then. Don't drain the midnight oil on the void." Naruto waved to Ozpin as he prepared to leave the office, noticing Blake and Velvet were still shocked at the scene that played out before them.

Unable to comprehend the scene they just witnessed with Naruto and Ozpin.

"Did we break them?"

"It seems so."