Welcome to the Four-Part Special Edition of Fox of Remnant.

The Fated Holidays.

To all my readers, thank you for sticking with me for this long.

I appreciate every one of you coming on this journey with me, and I hope you stick around as there is more to come.

For that, we have come back to Volume I for some cut content that I originally had planned on but didn't feel at the time.

And that the original chapter VI was simply too good to push back.

And with the evolution of the story, some more details are needed to be added, and where better to start than the beginning?

And how appropriate what was cut was Christmas themed?

When I first started, this would have only been a chapter, maybe two.

It speaks volumes about how quickly I've returned to form and evolved.

So enjoyed, and let us begin our Winter Wonderland!

Error...

Scanning Shift...

Analysis Complete...

Acceptable Outcome.

Downloading...

Seeing snow falling all around him as he walked through the courtyard of Beacon, classes being dismissed for the two-week winter break. It was only a few days before Christmas, leaving him in a mild funk, especially with what recently occurred here.

Naruto, despite having made some new friends, felt alone. Everyone was excited to celebrate the holiday with their family and friends except him. Christmas was simply not that time of year for him to spend time with family or friends. He never got the chance to, even when he had friends, which was the most disappointing part. He didn't start making friends until after that season, so he never celebrated it. The few gifts he ever received and cherished were from the old man Hokage, Teuchi and Ayame. There was Jiraiya, but he still had those gifts on him, although he barely got into the series.

He spent two Christmases with the pervy sage, and he tried to pass down his love of writing to him. He might have taken it up if it wasn't for the world-class beating he received from peaking in on all the kunoichi at once. That destroyed his desire to be openly perverted. Tsunade and Shizune taught him how to respect women after understanding his lack of upbringing left him a step behind in that regard.

Still, he had those books to remind him of his sensei. He might do that during the break to beat the loneliness. It would at least remind him of the few times he spent with family and friends.

Otherwise, this time of year meant nothing to him as all it did was tug at his heartstrings and remind him he was always alone. He sighed. This would have been the first time he might have had a chance to spend with everyone back home in Konoha and make this holiday mean anything.

And he died at the hands of his friend.

Now he was stuck in this new world with people he would call friends. Two had come close to earning that title, and he would give them that. The rest were slowly working their way to it.

Naruto wasn't willing to classify them as his true friends. Not yet, anyway. He wasn't ready for more than a few friends at most.

Sighing as he figured most of them would be leaving for the holidays, as there were many students here, he slowly trudged through the snow towards the dorms. There was no hurry for him anyway. He probably would take a few more missions during his time off to stay busy.

He pulled out his scroll to see if there was anything on the board, as he was somewhat disinterested. Might as well get started on looking at what was available. Might get a good payout for it anyways. There was something to do with a farming village…

His fox ears twitched at hearing the crunching of ice and snow and the sound of someone breathing heavily as if they had been rushing over; Naruto turned behind him to see Velvet, bundled up due to the cold, running to catch up before she called out to him. "Naruto, wait!"

"What's up?" Naruto stopped as he turned back to look at the rabbit faunus as she bounded towards him.

Velvet huffed as she finally caught up, for she was wearing a heavy coat, and she didn't get along with cold weather all that well; she smiled brightly. "I wanted to catch you before you went anywhere…"

"I know that everything here is new for you and that you don't have anyone to spend with during the holidays," Velvet began as she let Naruto know her intentions. "So Blake and I decided that since many of us are staying back for various reasons, we wanted to have our own little get-together. And we wanted to make sure you were involved. Well, because…"

Velvet flushed as she tried to find her words but stuttered over them, cursing herself over her meekness. Why couldn't she find the words when she needed to? Did she have to retreat into herself whenever she talked to people? Especially those that she found…

"You're staying here for Christmas?" Naruto asked as he tilted his head, letting the snowflakes shake out of his hair. "I thought you had family here in Vale, so you would stay with them."

"I do, but…" Velvet started before taking a deep breath and trying to find her confidence. "I know Fox doesn't have a family to go home to, and Yatsu doesn't feel like heading home to Mistral for Christmas is worth the hassle. And hearing from Blake that everyone in our small friend group was staying back…"

"Everyone? Doesn't Ruby and Yang have family here in Vale too?" Naruto blinked as he questioned why everyone was staying when they had family to return to for the holidays.

He understood Yatsu and Pyrrha's reasoning that going back to Mistral would be too much of a hassle despite it being the closest Kingdom compared to Vacuo and Atlas. Fox, he had now understood as he didn't know that about the blind warrior, and it made him want to catch up with him. He couldn't speak for the rest, especially Jaune, as he always spoke about his family and how his seven sisters drove him insane…

Still, he couldn't help but feel jealous as he wished he could have a family close to that size. Meeting his parent's spirits was one the greatest joys of his life, and those circumstances were not in the best situations…

"Well, yes, but…" Velvet blushed as she didn't know how to answer that.

Thankfully the crunching of more snow bailed her out, and their attention was brought to a bundled-up Blake, who spoke on her behalf. "Yang thought it would be best to try and bond with her new team once she heard I was staying behind and convinced Ruby to stay behind. Not sure why Weiss is staying back, to be honest. It seemed like she didn't want to go home."

"So I figured having a small party, and a Secret Santa would be fun and got together with Velvet to start the planning." Blake smiled, seeing her fellow faunus struggling, and decided to come to help her. "And you are taking part, I've already put your name in the pot, and we're drawing names, so come on."

"Wait, what?" Naruto narrowed his eyes at the girl he knew to be a faunus. "Do I get a say in this? What if I had plans?"

Blake and Velvet raised their eyebrows at the blonde fox, and he growled at them before sighing. "Fine, I don't have plans. I don't celebrate the holiday as it is meaningless to me…"

"Never had anyone to celebrate it with." Naruto mumbled as he looked downtrodden after finishing his statement.

This caught Blake off guard; her bow flattened, and Velvet's ears drooped. However, finding a surge of strength, she brightly smiled and tugged at his cloaked shoulder as she comforted the fox. "Then all the more reason to join us. To make the holidays more memorable."

Feeling the warmth of her smile despite the bitterness of the cold around, Naruto couldn't help but smile back. Then feeling Blake warmly pat him on the shoulder, he mocked and sighed. "Fine, let's do this… Where are we holding the drawing at?"

Both girls smiled, and he frowned.

Why did he not like what he could sense from the two of them?

"No. I refuse." Naruto twitched as everyone was in his dorm room, his eyes glaring daggers at the two faunus. "Why does my room have to be where the party happens?"

"Because… You have the most available space…" Blake nervously chuckled as she stepped back, feeling his heated stare.

"And all the rooms are close by, so it isn't too hard to go back to." Velvet tried to add on, only to bring his deathly gaze onto her. "Or not… Maybe…"

"I think it makes the most sense!" Ruby jumped in with a bright smile as she looked around. "All our rooms are too cluttered, and here we can decorate and set up a small party and use the hallway to connect to our rooms too! And if Yang gets too drunk…"

"RUBY!" Yang growled at her sister and twitched at her. "First off, let's not air out what I do on my own time… Also, I will not get wasted at a Christmas party with friends… Why are you looking at me like that, Weiss?"

"You came back shitfaced last night complaining about how all guys suck and deserve to be neutered! And there might be only be a few good guys out there!" Weiss narrowed her eyes, and her voice held a distinct edge. "Then you started coming onto Blake and me and how good-looking we were before you passed out, and we had to toss you onto your bunk… I began to question many things after that."

"By the Brothers… I didn't…" Yang looked mortified before she sunk into herself. "Was I really that drunk last night!"

"Yes! It was uncomfortable." Blake hissed in annoyance, as that was not a fun night. "Next time you come back like that, we aren't letting you back in!"

"Um…" Velvet blinked at the minor debacle between team RWBY and wanted to move past it as everyone else was getting uncomfortable. "We could always…"

"I'm fine with it," Naruto smiled back at Velvet to ignore what had happened. "Wished I had a little more time as, obviously, I wasn't ready for such a thing. I don't even know how to hold a Christmas party…"

"I can help!" Ruby cried as she jumped over and Velvet nodded in agreement. "Decorating will be fun!"

"Decorations! I'm in!" Nora cried out with her eyes glistening with hearts. "I know of a great little shop for the occasion! We can get this place all decked up in no time!"

"Awesome! Let's get to it!" Ruby grinned and was ready to rush out with Nora when a giggling Pyrrha stopped them.

"We still haven't drawn our Secret Santa yet." Pyrrha reminded the two as they stopped at the door and guided them back in. I'm curious about how we're going to do that. We have an odd number, so I think we'll have to draw two names, correct?"

Ren nodded as he was taking care of that detail for Velvet as they were trying to convince the fox to let him use their room. Finishing cutting the last slip and putting it into a small box, he started to shake it up. "We are. Made the most sense, given how many of us there are… Ada can scan it for you, right, Fox?"

"Yeah, don't worry. It's how I deal with most textbooks since I never was able to pick up braille very well. Still struggle with it, to be honest." Fox answered as he gave a thumbs up to Ren and a grin. "Life would suck if she couldn't. With all the blistering on my hands from training, it made picking up braille difficult as I couldn't feel the bumps."

"I can imagine." Ren nodded as he placed the box on the table and sat on the zabuton pillow. "All right, all done here. Time for the drawing. To make this fair, we should draw one first and then do the second after everyone has gotten their first."

"What I was thinking too." Velvet nodded in agreement and smiled. "And there is no limit to what you can spend, but try to be courteous and remember we all have limits. It's the thought that matters."

"Also, just because you draw two names doesn't mean you can't get gifts for others if you feel up for it," Blake added, but her golden eyes drew to Naruto, especially hearing he had never spent the holiday with anyone before. "Whatever you feel comfortable with is all that is expected."

"Wait, we already know that…" Jaune began before Pyrrha nudged him, frowning slightly as she trailed Blake's eyes when she had said before she quickly stated it out loud.

She had focused on Naruto momentarily. Did he not celebrate the holidays before? How was that possible given his age and…

Pyrrha frowned. There were only a few possibilities there, and none were good.

So deciding to be the first to take a name, as she wasn't in any hurry, she reached into the small box and pulled out a name for her Secret Santa. "I'll guess I'll start this… And..."

Giving a slight nod, she stood to the side and waited for her next draw. Her attention was still on Naruto, who was watching the event unfold. She was now curious about how he was treating it.

It was like it was foreign to him. And that was curious to her.

"I want to go!" Ruby bolted in next, rushing by everyone, grinning as she dug into the list and shook around before pulling a small slip of paper out and saw who she drew. "Got my first name! Piece of cake!"

"So impatient." Weiss rolled her eyes at the supposed leader of her team; still a little put off by the assignment a month and a half later but lived with it as she reached in and took a slip to see her first Secret Santa.

"Says you! Who can't wait?" Ruby glared at Weiss bitterly, seeing the princess take a slip right after her.

"I didn't almost knock over people to come to get my first name." Weiss countered with a flat stare, annoyed at the youthful black-haired girl with red tip highlights.

"Don't you two start here, or I'm kicking you both out of my room," Naruto growled at the two, and both girls looked sheepish as the fox faunus held his gaze on him, not wanting to deal with their issues after already having Yang's problems crop up.

"Huh, neat," Coco commented as she drew her name from the box before moving back to take a seat on Naruto's bed, and she looked around. "We're going to need more seats."

"Maybe some folding chairs?" Yatsu stated as he followed after Coco, drawing his name before stationing himself next to his team leader.

"That would work. Maybe a folding table or two." Blake added as she took her name from the pool, taking a look and pocketing it away. "Maybe use one of our rooms for food and snacks while keeping this room for the festivities?"

"Oh, our room for the snacks! We can do that!" Nora gleamed as she jumped and took her name with a massive smile. "Oh, ho! I see I see!"

Ren sighed at his long-time partner's actions before shaking his head as he took his name and ensured he didn't grab his own. Rolling his eyes as he was the first to do so, he chuckled as he put his slip back in, shuffled once more, and drew again. "I drew my name… That's not how this works."

"Surprised that it hasn't happened yet." Velvet giggled in agreement as she took a name alongside Ren and smiled at seeing who she drew. "But I think that is a wonderful idea. I think we should also make our own dishes too. I know that Beacon has dinner plans for the few that stay, but it would mean more if we did it ourselves."

"Oh! I definitely want in on that!" Nora grinned in agreement as she giddy thought about making sweets and all the delicious food that would be made. "I think that is a great idea!"

"Sounds good to me." Yang stated as she pulled a name out of the box before rolling her eyes." Well, ain't that something…"

"I'm not one to brag, but I am pretty decent in the kitchen, so I can whip up a good side." Jaune grinned before taking a name and glancing at it. "All right then. I think I can make that work."

Seeing they were the last two up, Naruto grimaced as he only gained the concept of grabbing the names out of the box, and that was the person he would have to get a gift for, it seemed. At least, that was the way Blake's hint made it sound. He wished he understood the tradition a little more, but he never had friends at this time of year until later in his life and wasn't around them during this time of year due to training.

Naruto was about to walk over when he heard Fox sigh as well. It seemed he didn't have fond memories of the holiday either, as he had been hanging further back and was brought over by Velvet and his teammates coming over. "Guess I should do this."

"Come on, Fox, it will be fun." Velvet smiled and tried to support her friend, who she knew was going through a rough time, knowing this time of the year was not pleasant for him. "I promise you; it won't be like last year."

"Yeah, that's why we're staying back this year," Coco commented before frowning as she gazed at her blind teammate. "We should celebrate together anyways. We're more than just a team."

Sighing, Fox hung his head. He then lifted his head, and a slight grin adorned his face as he scratched the back of his head. "Well, when you put it that way… Fuck it, let's do this."

Pulling out a name, he allowed his Ada system to scan it before he frowned ever so slightly, hearing who it was. "All right, am I the last to draw again or…"

"No, that would be me…" Naruto sighed in a defeated tone, which caught some of their attention besides Blake and Velvet, who had more of an idea now that his mood was a little bit downtrodden. "I was waiting to be last anyways…"

"Let's see who I get." Naruto walked up to the box and drew his first name out of the box.

And it caught his attention, and he wasn't sure how to even gift the person he ended up with. Someone that had everything handed to them if they asked, how could you gift that person? It made his job very tough indeed.

Weiss Schnee.

Tucking the name away, mentally groaning at the pain that was going to be, Naruto hoped his second person would be a lot easier to gift. And someone he wanted that if he had to give a gift to, it wouldn't be too rough.

It seemed his prayers were answered as the next name made him smile. He knew what to get her. That one was easy. It was little more than a month and a half here, and he already had an idea of her personality so he could gift her, but that was because of the time he had already spent around her. It made it easier to figure her out.

Blake Belladonna.

"Okay then, got it." Putting that name away, Naruto figured the idea was to keep the gifter unknown as he walked away. It was called Secret Santa, so he could only guess that was the reason for it. But it would make things interesting as Fox pulled out his second name right after him.

"All right, I can work with these, I guess…" Fox commented with a sigh before, and after a short moment, he made his way over to Naruto as others were pulling their names and whispered. "So… You in the same boat as me then?"

"Not having any clue what to do about any of this, roger that. Never had a chance to celebrate the holidays." Naruto grimaced as everyone started to come up and grab names. "I grew up an orphan and alone, so the day means nothing to me. Didn't have friends until I was older, and I was off and away when the day came around, so I never spent meaningful time with anyone during the day. Most meaningful day I spent on it was training with my sensei for two years and going to a bar after."

Fox grimaced in response. Near the box where everyone was getting their name selected, a set of ears twitched and drooped, and a bow flattened, listening in on their friends' conversation as they couldn't help but feel depressed before each straightened, feeling more invigorated than before about the exchange. Crossing his arms, Fox felt everyone's presence in the room as they grabbed their second name. "Rough. I can't say my memories are any fonder. My parents were shit till they died. Didn't treat me with any respect because I couldn't see, and I considered good food a gift on the day. What they usually got me was useless for me anyways or a cruel joke or prank because I couldn't see."

"Why the hell would anyone do that to their kid?" Naruto growled in a whisper, his ears flattening in anger hearing that.

"Your guess is as good as mine. They were racist bigots who saw any weakness as a blemish to their family." Fox shrugged his shoulders and sighed. "Funny enough, maybe if they weren't such angry people that believed all the vitriol spit out from supremacists, they would accept help from all the faunus we lived around. We lived in the slums due to my father's shit job and my mother's drug addictions."

Gritting his teeth and clenching his fists at hearing how his friend lived, Naruto had to take a deep breath to calm himself as he felt his blood boiling. That would do no one any good here. He needed to control that.

Shaking his head, he let out a soft sigh and looked as Pyrrha took the last name out of the box. "Well, at least you got out of there, and everything is on the up for you. Look at where you are now. Surrounded by friends that want to share this… Odd holiday with us."

"Fair enough…" Fox tilted his head and nodded in agreement before he mused. "But how the hell do I do that? I've got no idea what to get who I have for my gifts. Maybe if it were one of my team or you, I'd have a better idea but them?"

"Who did you get… Oh." Naruto wondered before Fox showed him the slips he drew, and he saw the sisters and had to bite back a laugh. "Okay, fair enough. I have an idea to help you there, in any case. They're rather transparent and easy enough to figure out. I have the true wildcard in all of this."

"Like you can…" Fox started before Ada scanned the slip of paper he pulled out, and his face flattened. "How the hell do you even start with that? Like, how? Where is the starting line? In the Dust Mines, maybe?"

"Ow, that's too on the nose." Naruto bit back a chuckle before he hung his head and wasn't sure where to start. "But your guess is good as mine. Not to mention now my place will be filled with decorations…"

"It's not going to be that bad." Velvet pouted as she bounced over to them, her ears twitching as the two grinned as she came over to them, one watching her as the other felt her presence, which only made her self-conscious. "Will you both stop being gloom and doom over this?!"

"Never! I will die first!" Fox feigned as he held his fist out in mach anger before buckled under the glare he felt Velvet give him. "I can't see that look, but I feel death is upon me…"

"That's because it's not just Velvet," Naruto commented and grimaced as a few glares were upon him. "What can I do for you ladies?"

"Well, since this is your dorm room, we figured you should come to pick out a tree." Yang grinned as she walked over with Blake, turning her attention from burning a hole into Fox's head. "So since Nora and Ruby are handling decorating, I figured we'd pick out a tree, but Blake brought up a good point. Since we're putting it up in here, you should come with us and select it!"

"That's a great idea." Velvet smiled, agreed with the blonde dragoness, and knew Blake probably pushed her to invite Naruto before she turned to Naruto. "I think that should be the first thing we should do anyways. Set the mood."

"It's a little late for that," Ren commented as Nora and Ruby bolted the room after putting on their winter gear and groaned out. "Those two seemed focused on decorating… I better go along with them to keep them, especially Nora, in check."

"Have fun, Ren!" Pyrrha waved as she stifled a giggle as the downtrodden young man grabbed his winter gear and slid it on as he headed out the door, following after the two.

"NORA!" Ren called out as the door closed, and a crash was heard outside, leaving everyone wondering what had happened. "RUBY, HOW?! How did you both manage this five steps out of the room?!"

"I DIDN'T MEAN TO!" Ruby cried as she obviously was the one that caused the crash and breaking noises outside.

Yang facepalmed at her sister's action while Weiss rolled her eyes and she muttered. "Of course. Why wouldn't something happen? Ruby breaks something in her hurry. Go figure. Add it to the bingo card."

"There's a bingo card? When was I going to be informed about this? I want in. What's the prize?" Coco grinned and made Weiss giggle as she drew her attention away from Ruby and Nora's mishap.

Naruto blinked at the events before he shook his head, not even wanting to know what happened. All he knew was that it sounded like glass shattering, and he wasn't sure what happened or wanted to know what it was. So he focused on what was asked of him and turned to Yang and Blake before shrugging. "I mean, sure, I guess. Never done it before, so I have no clue what we're looking for."

"You've never had a Christmas tree before?" Weiss responded incredulously before her face fell, seeing Naruto shrug in response, adverting her gaze, genuinely feeling upset by hearing that. "I see…"

"Well, never fear!" Yang took charge with a bright grin as she wrapped her arm around Naruto's shoulder. "I got this! I know exactly what to look for! Now it all is going to depend on the size and thickness…"

"What the fuck?" Fox coughed on his own spit as many of the girls blushed deeply as while he could usually deal with that kind of verbiage, it felt a little spicier coming from someone he knew happened to the talk of the academy. "Phrasing! Please rephrase that!"

"No! I know what I said!" Yang grinned as she purposely threw the innuendo into her words, and everyone glared at her while Naruto slid out of her shoulder grasp. "But really. Size and thickness do matter here! It must be the perfect size to hit the right spot and…"

"Yang Xiao Long!" Blake roared as she walked over to her partner, grabbed her by her coat, and glared. "I will toss you out right now!"

"Okay, okay!" Yang put her hands out and waved them passively. "I'm not wrong, though. Depending on where we put it, you want it to fill out the room, and you want the tree to look healthy, so the thickness of the branches is important."

"You are not wrong, but… No." Pyrrha stared at Yang before shaking her head, trying to recover from her blush. "That was a little much…"

"Not for me." Yang grinned before her friend growled once more, and she panicked. "Okay, it was! What's your issue today?! You seem more aggressive than normal!"

"And on that note… I say we get on out of here before this gets weirder." Naruto shook his head as Blake yowled at Yang and grabbed his cloak, sliding it on. "If we're going to do this now and they're out going to get decorations, we might as well get started. We have like four days to look for a gift anyways. Not a lot of time."

"Right! I'm so screwed here!" Fox commented as he remembered who he was getting gifts for.

"We're here for help if we can." Velvet smiled at her friend and patted him on the back as she slid on her coat. "Don't stress. We're all here for one another."

"Now, let's go get this tree." Yang grinned, ignoring the intense gaze she had burrowed into her as she led the way in her winter gear, walking out the door before her eyes widened at what was broken in the hallway. "Ruby! How did this happen?!"

"I'M SORRY!" Was heard throughout the dorms as Ruby cried with Ren profusely apologizing to Glynda, who had been bringing in decorations for the dorm, and she and Nora tumbled through them, shattering a good amount that she was somehow managing to repair thanks to her semblance.

"Oh my god…" Naruto blinked at the scene before turning around and heading in the other direction. "Not going to deal with that."

"No! Help me!" Ruby wailed, disheartened at the scene before her as she watched many of her friends and her hero the moment she walked onto Beacons campus, turned around, and walked away. "Some friends you are!"

"Well, maybe if you didn't sprint out without looking like a couple of idiots, this wouldn't have happened!" Weiss screamed back as she held both of her temples while Ren could only hang his head and shamefully nod in agreement. "Sometimes actions have consequences! Time to learn!"

"No! I'm too young to die!"

"Me too! I haven't become Queen of my Castle yet!"

This was interesting, to say the least. Going through a snowy field full of pine trees, Naruto had to admit this was a first for him as he walked alongside Pyrrha while Blake and Yang walked ahead, the blonde dragoness gauging trees for Naruto's room. Fox, Velvet, Weiss, Jaune, Coco, and Yatsu were elsewhere in the field, looking through trees to see if they could find the perfect one.

He still wasn't entirely sure what the point of a tree was, but if it were part of the tradition, he would accept it. He saw it all the time in Konoha anyways. He remembered the old man Hokage told him something about it, but he never really put any stock into it growing up as it wasn't important to him. He never had anyone getting him to get anything outside, having a stray gift or two appear in his room every year, but other than that, it didn't mean much for him.

But watching everyone having fun going around and searching for a tree, which would end up going up in his room, was an odd but enjoyable experience.

Pyrrha, on the other hand, was watching Naruto curiously. She found it odd that he didn't understand the holiday before now and was observing everything as if it was new to him. As if he never got to enjoy it before.

That was disheartening to her. How could someone with such a strong heart, mind, and body have never experienced the holiday? And it seemed to bring up only painful memories? What happened to him to cause such things? Was it because of his ra…

She shook her head. Times had changed. Things were slowly but surely becoming better. She would help things move along and become better too. Maybe she could make that change too? It was worth a shot anyways.

"Hey! I think I found a good one!" Jaune cried out and snapped everyone out of their funk.

"Oh, nice!" Yang walked over with Naruto and the rest following, looking at the full tree before she looked over at the blonde faunus. "Think this would go good in the corner of your dorm room?"

Giving a good look at it for a moment, Naruto shrugged as he wasn't really sure. "I can't be sure. I mean, it looks good. You are the expert."

"What do you think, Pyrrha?" He asked as he turned to the slightly taller red-haired amazon warrior, seeing as she was just slightly taller than him by maybe half an inch.

When did that happen? He swore that when they first met, she was at least two inches taller than him.

Snapping fully out of her thoughts, she gazed at the tree before smiling back at Naruto and nodding. "I think it would look good. It is a nice and full tree. It fits everything we're looking for. And hopefully, Ruby and Nora got the text for decorations on the tree."

"Ren got it and is directing them carefully after they got the scolding of their lives from Glynda." Blake shook her head and gazed at the tree. "This will do nicely. One step down."

"Now, time for the hard part."

Blake was not wrong when she said buying gifts was difficult. It took most of the afternoon to figure out what to buy for the exchange.

Naruto knew exactly what to do for hers. That was easy. He picked up an excellent little romance book from the bookshop he knew she liked to visit after he covertly, with a clone, made sure he went through her collection of books to see what she had.

Pointing Fox in the right direction wasn't too tricky either since Ruby and Yang weren't hard to buy for. At least to him, they weren't. He did have the distinct advantage of being their next-door neighbor and had to deal with them daily. Velvet went with him to help him along, so things were very hard for him in the long run.

Then it came to buying things for the most troublesome one of all.

Weiss.

And he wasn't sure what he could buy her. What would she even want? What would matter to her? What would mean anything to her?

Naruto racked his mind, and he couldn't come up with anything, which annoyed him as he became increasingly frustrated as time passed.

The hell was he going to get her?!

His ears twitched fiercely, and his eyes dilated as he couldn't figure out what to get the girl. There was nothing in this world that she could get if she didn't want it. So what could he get her?

Twitching, he felt another presence nearby and turned to see Blake. And her bow mildly twitched in unison with his ears before she growled at herself. "Stop that…"

This only made him smirk. He knew, but he wouldn't say otherwise, and his ears were twitching similarly. She seemed to sync with his state naturally. It was kind of funny and cute, in a way. He wished the bow wasn't there so he could confirm what kind of faunus she was, but for now, he understood why she stayed hidden. It was a safer world if everyone thought you were human, even within the walls of Vale.

Still, he thought it would be cute to see what kind of ears were twitching…

And that she would be honest with everyone about what she was, but he already covered that reasoning…

"Frustrated too… Let me guess. Princess." Naruto commented as he looked around the store, and despite several stores he had been in, he couldn't figure out what she would want.

He ended up in a fashion shop before his eyes focused on a very peculiar item and he pointed it out to the receptionist. While it wasn't anything special, he did note that she had a particular fondness for jewels, so maybe… "Huh, that looks neat. Color is close to her eyes and she has an assortment of jewelry."

"You too." Blake sighed in exasperation before shaking her head and rolling her eyes, somewhat annoyed as she spent time looking for her gift for the Schnee. "Honestly, I already picked hers up despite it being a struggle. It wasn't easy, but I figured something out based on what I knew about her tastes. I was going to get her something anyway, but I got her as my Santa, so at least it was cheaper for me in the long run."

"Well, lucky for you, at least. Hope this will work for the princess as I find it pretty cool." Naruto grumbled as he paid and had it bagged before frowning at that last part. "If you need a bit extra lien, I can spare some, or you can join me on a Grimm hunt I was planning to do for some extra money. Shouldn't be too challenging. A lot of hunts have taken up around this time, so there isn't much left on the boards outside the big bounties. Might take that request I saw when Velvet caught me…"

As he had done earlier, Naruto pulled out his scroll, looking at the board again. "There has been a major problem with one of the nearby farms where a decent amount of produce is made for Vale, and several Huntsmen and Huntresses have vanished. The bounty has shot up over the last two weeks. I remember first seeing this on the board, and it was nothing like this. Could help pay for all the gifts and then some."

"A cool mission to pay for all the gifts. Count me in! That way, I can afford something for everyone!" Nora called out from behind as if she was listening the entire time as she and Ren, trailing slightly slowly back, zoomed over at Naruto's side to check out the bounty board on his scroll. "Wow! That is so much! Hunters do get all the cool missions! That wasn't even on the boards at Beacon!"

"Because it isn't meant for us, Nora." Ren sighed as he took a glance before trying to dissuade the sparkling-eyed Nora. "We're still in training. They don't even know what this could be or if there are more Grimm around. It's something far beyond what we're prepared to deal with. That's why it's on Hunter's private boards, not up on the Academy boards where we could take it."

"Ah, but Ren," Nora pleaded and looked at her friend with disapproval in her eyes but some understanding too. "How are we supposed to get that experience if we don't try? We also will have a Huntsman with us, so everything should be okay. It won't be like back then, I promise. We're stronger now and can look after one another."

Hearing the young man sigh and look at his partner, Naruto immediately noticed something he hadn't seen between the two before. While he always felt Ren's appreciation for Nora being around, he hadn't delved into what it was. It was personal—no reason to do so. But upon hearing that and feeling the dread and worry emanating from Ren and the sorrow yet hopefulness from Nora, he knew something more lay beneath.

Something rather dark as Ren shook his head as he seemed to put his foot down on this. "Nora, you're being selfish. We're not ready for a real mission that could have taken the lives of fully-fledged hunters. We don't need the extra lien and can do fine with what we have. We've made do for this long; it's fine. Not everyone needs…"

"It's not about that!" Nora countered, tears starting to build in her eyes as her emotions began to well up within. "For once, Ren, stop letting your fear get the better of you! It's not like it was back then! We'll be okay!"

At this point, Naruto decided to take over and shut everything down before it happened. He spoke with cold, calculated intent as he focused on Nora. "There isn't even a mission to accept as I haven't undertaken it. You won't benefit from doing this and making a scene in public. I only take those that can keep calm under pressure, as there is uncertainty and anything could happen.

"You aren't showing that at this time, and I wouldn't want to take you out on a job. I only take those that I can trust." Naruto finished with a slight amount of bitterness in his voice.

She reminded him far too much of himself as he was younger. And that was not a positive thing at this exact moment. He admitted that certain things worked, and he would deal with it. He had done it for years, but sometimes it did not work, and he failed spectacularly. And taking someone like that into the unknown…

How did Kakashi deal with him when they went to the Wave Country?

He had to thank Jiraiya for teaching him some sense and patience during their two years of training. He still had his energetic reactions, but the pervert did beat some of that out of him during that time. Then Tsunade rounded out the rest with her training schedules for him once he returned…

The tears welling within Nora's eyes began to fall freely at this point as her aqua eyes darted at Naruto. And she cried out at him and tossed a small bag she was holding at him. "Jerk!"

Barely catching the bag, Naruto was caught off guard as he watched Nora sprint away from the three, leaving him befuddled and highly annoyed. His ears twitched as Ren called out after her and chased after her. "What the hell was that?"

Blake cringed. She was a little put off by the situation and was uncomfortable. Not to mention a few people looked around at them as if they were at fault. Her bow depressed as she hung her head. "I don't know…"

Growling in his throat, agitated by what had happened, Naruto frustratedly flicked his hand through his hair. He understood that something deeper was going on with Nora and Ren, but this was out of his hands. He turned and started to stalk away. "Whatever! She imposed herself on the conversation and accepted an offer that was extended to her."

"I get it, but," Blake agreed but kept her voice soft, hearing the agitation in his voice and trying to keep him calm with what she was about to say. "I think you were a little…"

"Harsh with what you said and how you said it." Blake grimaced as Naruto turned back, and his cerulean eyes burned into hers, making her flinch.

She had never seen him angry before, so this was something new.

Seeing Blake's recoil, Naruto's ears drooped as that was not his intention. The last thing he wanted was to ostracize one of the few people he felt he trusted in his friend group. And he felt his blood boiling, and his skin had tinged red slightly.

He recognized it was the triggering of his semblance. He felt the issue and cursed. He needed to discuss ways to keep his calm and composure further if it was going to be a massive problem if it kept up. It seemed connected to his emotional state, which was not a good thing.

Taking a few deep breaths, letting his skin return to its regular tint, Naruto rubbed his right temple. "I guess I see that. How she interjected herself and reacted toward Ren when he told her…"

"It reminded me of myself before I learned I was doing more harm than good with my actions," Naruto admitted as his ears drooped further, and he looked away, disgusted with himself.

Blake's attention shot up at that, finding it difficult to believe that Naruto was ever like Nora at any time. And if he was, she had to wonder what caused such a shift in personality, for she could tell there were sparks of that energetic and bombastic nature, as proven by his bombing the stage with paint and the pranks he liked to pull on everyone. But with all these people staring, she didn't feel comfortable here…

"Hey," Blake broke the tension with her voice, grabbing Naruto by the arm and pulling him away. "Let's take that job and get away from here. We can cool down and talk on the way there if you like."

Pondering for a moment, Naruto took Blake's lead and walked in stride with her, withdrawing his scroll and pulling up the mission board once more. "Sure, I need a stress reliever now anyway."

"Tackling some Grimm should be the perfect stress reliever."

Night had fallen, but it was of little consequence for the pair of faunus. It belonged to them, but the snow falling heavier and heavier and the wind slowly picking up strength as the rumblings of a storm coming in would make things very difficult soon. A blizzard was coming, and Naruto cursed. While accustomed to cold weather in Konoha, he never had to deal but once, and that was the worst weather-related experience in his life…

And how he was going to have to do it again. What was the weather like in Remnant? Especially here in Vale. He thought it looked relatively close to the center of the map, so why was a blizzard something that occurred here? What was this world's climate situation?

Shaking his head and returning his focus on making it to the village, he sighed. After paying for a taxi to take them the majority of the way to the southern side of Vale, it was a longer trek further to make it to the farmer, and the sun had faded at this point.

Blake sent a simple text to keep her scroll from blowing up from messages and calls, but it didn't seem to help, and she had to turn it off, growing annoyed at her team and friends. "I let Yang know I'm out with you on a mission, and she freaks out, wanting to know why they weren't invited. Then everyone else gets involved…"

"Why mine is already off," Naruto commented as they walked the dirt path toward the lit town through the snow-covered trail, only lights in the distance giving them any clue they were heading in the right direction. "Keep your eyes peeled. The Grimm could be anywhere here."

"Can't sneak up on me. I was borne from the shadows." Blake grinned as her golden eyes gleamed in the night light, reflecting all light as she easily scanned the area and kept watch.

However, after a few minutes of hearing nothing but the crunching of ice and snow beneath their own feet, her bow depressed as she remembered what had happened earlier that had brought them here in the first place. Her eyes then glanced over to the blonde, who kept a vigilant eye open for any possible signs of what could be signs of the Grimm that were attacking the village.

She wasn't sure how to bring that up if he wasn't talking about it. He usually was open when he wanted to speak. At least, that was how he had seemed, and a few times they had hung out, he had openly admitted such things to her. And his stories were quite interesting. She had to admit. It would be hard to believe if she hadn't seen what he had done to the Nevermore and Deathstalker.

Still, even now, she had some doubts…

Her ears twitched beneath her bow, and she glanced behind her. She caught movement, and with a quick draw of her weapon Gambol Shroud, she transformed it into kusarigama form. She then wrapped the ribbon around her wrists before unleashing her chain scythe behind her with devastating speed toward where she heard the sound of crunching.

Only for her bow to twitch as she heard the sound of metal deflecting, and she hissed in annoyance as she now clearly saw the intruders. "What are you two doing here?! How did you follow us?!"

"Not that hard, considering we took a taxi, and there are footprints in the snow without covering our tracks. We didn't make it difficult…" Naruto commented as his ears twitched and sighed as he looked out at the two that followed them here. "But, why did you follow us here?"

"Pyrrha? Weiss?"

"Well, I, uh…" Weiss stumbled over her words as the hardened stare of Naruto caught her off guard, and she wasn't quite prepared for that level of intensity from the fox.

She didn't want to come out and admit she was worried after seeing his reaction after Nora flipped out and wanted to check in on him too. She didn't find it fair that Blake got to go out alone with him!

Being the one that deflected Shroud with her shield Akouo, Pyrrha returned it behind her and sighed as she flickered her robe fully around her once more as it was frigid, and her armor beneath was not meant for this kind of weather. She would have had on more regular clothes, but considering the final class they had taken part in was Glynda's, it always dealt with combat. They were expected to wear their combat gear for her class.

So she had been suffering all day, for there never was time to stop and change.

Pyrrha absently wondered where the customary arrogance and sternness of Schnee girl went, but she seemed to melt within Naruto's withering stare. And while he indeed put some intent behind it, he wasn't trying to be intimidating. He was making a point that this was a serious job. And that was something she could get behind. He was becoming something more and more, and her emerald eyes glistened.

"Quite a few of us caught what happened at the store. Velvet and Fox decided to check on Nora and Ren while Weiss and I tracked the two of you down and followed you." Pyrrha answered honestly as she walked towards Naruto and Blake with Weiss trailing. "Didn't realize you were going on a job until we got here but now…"

"I think you were able to put that together if you saw what happened," Naruto stated as his eyes narrowed as he looked at the myrmidon as she stood before him. "This isn't a proving ground. It is very likely hunters have died here, and it was a risk-taking Blake with me as it was. I only allowed it as, truthfully, I can cover for another person on my own if the need comes to it. The more people around, the harder it becomes if a situation calls for my assistance."

"Nothing has been gathered about how the other Huntsman and Huntresses have disappeared or the cause of all the disruption here." Naruto finished with a mild growl before taking a deep breath and gazing at Weiss. "Otherwise, all is fine. That was stupid and caught me off guard…"

"Reminded me of old memories I want to keep dead and buried," Naruto said with finality before he turned away from the three and barked. "But if you two are here, it's too late to turn back. Keep your eyes peeled for movement as we head for the village."

"Who knows what is going on?"

"The hell is going on here?" Naruto growled as they entered the village, feeling a chill go down his spine as he looked around. "Something doesn't feel right…"

"Where is everyone?" Weiss spoke as she saw the town lights, but it didn't seem like anyone was in the houses or buildings, but dozens of footprints scattered through the snow. "These tracks seem relatively fresh…"

Bending down and checking the tracks, measuring the gate and width of them, and comparing the size of each foot, Naruto had an idea. And he couldn't shake the sensation of dread he was feeling. "Panic… They were running. They were fleeing from something."

"But what?" Pyrrha narrowed her eyes but trusted his judgment, getting a cold shiver from the sensation the small farm town was giving her. "Had to be a Grimm, but I'm not seeing anything but human tracks. Maybe something else, but the snow drift makes it hard to tell. If it is, it's very human-like."

Sniffing the air, Blake narrowed her eyes. She rushed ahead. Naruto cursed and followed after her, trying to sniff the air before he growled as he caught the scent too. It was not something he had hoped to smell, but it was something he had expected when he came to the village and saw the tracks.

Blake arrived at a mound of snow blowing in the frigid, bone-chilling wind whipping around her. Her golden eyes narrowed at the smell she had caught, but her body trembled. She knew what was under, and she didn't dare look under. The mound wasn't quite what she thought it was in size, so maybe…

She gingerly reached out for it, but her hand was stopped, as Naruto gripped her wrist as he bent over by the mound. He sighed, closed his eyes, and shook his head as he averted his gaze. "We're too late… Grimm already have been here."

"What, but how… Oh, by the Brothers, that's a child!" Weiss started before she looked horrified as a mighty wind drift caught each of them, and as they were barely able to keep their footing, the mound of snow was slightly exposed to show what lay beneath.

And it was a withered and wrinkled hand, frozen stiff due to the cold climate.

Then it became clear there were several other mounds throughout the street; this wasn't the only one.

They had come moments too late to save some of these villagers.

"No…" Pyrrha looked at the snowy hellscape before seeing bodies within the snowdrift and felt her body shiver as a cold and empty feeling began to swallow her whole. "This isn't supposed to be how it happens. This isn't how it was destined to be…"

"It is an unfortunate part of life we have chosen." Naruto sighed as life as a shinobi had trained him for this, and even though seeing a drained child was demoralizing and all the lives of those that perished before him, he stood up and looked upon the scene. "We aren't always the heroes that save those in need because we don't get the call in time or it isn't taken seriously enough at first."

"Missions don't convey danger properly…" Naruto took a breath and remembered a moment of his life going to the Wave country once more and the time he spent there.

And he could have only thought of what would have happened if his team hadn't recklessly accepted the mission and pushed forward when Kakashi warned them of the dangers ahead, telling them it was not their job to take the mission any longer. He understood what his sensei had tried to convey at the time but at the same time…

It was heartless as he would have doomed all those people for someone lying as they couldn't afford the payment.

This world didn't have this excuse, but they simply didn't have the information. Those that lived outside of the kingdoms were at an inherent disadvantage. The Grimm were too dangerous of a threat to keep in check. Even farms, despite their importance, were at high risk because they were not within the walls.

"People are still alive here." Naruto could feel emotional pulses in the distance but couldn't shake the dread in the air, and he narrowed his eyes. "But I don't think the Grimm have left either…"

Hearing that, everyone drew forth their weapons and prepared for a fight. They weren't sure what they were up against, but due to the village's low lights, the Grimm had a distinct advantage…

"Naruto! You have the best sight amongst us!" Pyrrha called out, immediately taking advantage of the situation. "Being able to see at night gives you the best chance of spotting them first. We need to stay close so they can't get the drop on us, and we can counter."

"Agreed. Stay close." Naruto nodded in agreement as he motioned for everyone, not going to out Blake as a faunus as the wind blew a cold wind chill and snow flurry through the farm street. "Visibility already sucks as it is, and it is getting worse."

"No kidding… The storm is starting to kick up." Weiss could hear the wind howling and hoped that was the only noise she heard. "I knew we were getting winter advisory this evening, but I didn't imagine it could get this bad."

Gathering close together, Naruto and Blake's eyes shining brilliantly in the night, he gave a discreet nod to her as they kept watch and listened for any sound that felt off. The sweeping winds of the storm continued to pick up and obscure their vision, and the cracking of the ice and snow beneath their feet as they made things difficult.

"I can't imagine sight will be much of an advantage any longer… I can hardly see." Pyrrha's voice was barely heard over the raging winds as flakes of snow buffeted the four, her emerald eyes darting around in desperate hope of catching anything outside the buildings before shivering. "What is this sensation? I feel so…"

"Hopeless." Blake finished for Pyrrha; her golden eyes narrowed as her bow dropped, and her face fell before she shook her head as she felt her body tremble. "Something is wrong here! Weiss, you are the best in studies? Are there any known Grimm that can do something like this?"

Pondering for a moment as she kept Myrtenaster drawn at her side, Weiss took a moment to consider the question. She swore she had come across a Grimm that matched something of this description before, but it was something rare. She shivered as a dark and foreboding presence crept upon her very being, sucking and draining her very being. Her drive. What made her want to continue to keep pressing forward?

"Weiss, are you okay?" Naruto's voice snapped her out of her funk as she felt his hands clasp around her shoulders and saw his cerulean eyes peer into her own while the cold and blistering winds sheared around them.

Her heart skipped. The sensation of dread and hopelessness began to fade, although she could feel their presence overbearing and wanting to take her. She felt an odd sense of comfort, familiarity, and warmth in his gaze. Somehow, despite what she had seen and the mounds of snow that told her otherwise, everything was fine.

At that moment, her memory caught up to her, and she realized the horror they were in as the shiver crawled up her spine once more. "Apathy! We're dealing with Apathy!"

"What?!" Blake roared over the howling winds as her golden eyes turned to her fellow teammate, and her dread suddenly began to intensify. "By the Brothers, this is the worst imaginable situation to be dealing with them! It has to be a rather large group to cause this kind of damage so quickly!"

"Explains the large amount of negativity and dread I'm sensing everywhere… I can't get a good sense of where anything is!" Naruto growled as he gave a light scan through the books on all the known Grimm when he first started so he had an idea of what he would be dealing with.

Apathy were a highly dangerous Grimm for a reason, as long as they were in packs. And it sure felt like it. Even solitary, they were still somewhat tricky to deal with due to their resistance to physical damage.

And considering everyone here…

Naruto cursed. This was not a team apt to take care of this situation besides himself and Weiss due to her usage of Dust. Blake and Pyrrha were highly combat-oriented and physically based fighters.

Reaching into his pouch, he drew forth two vials of Dust he happened to have on him that he could afford. He didn't need them now. He had chakra, so he was fine. They were going to. "Blake, Pyrrha, take these. It's all I have, but you need them more than I do."

"Wait, but won't you need them too?" Pyrrha asked as she looked at the vials and was surprised and didn't want to take them from someone who also needed them.

"This isn't the time to debate this. Take them. I can damage Apathy without Dust. You two can't." Naruto commanded as Blake took one of the vials offered in understanding, grimacing at the situation before he forced the vial into Pyrrha's hands. "My ability to destroy these Grimm isn't reliant on Dust, don't worry about that. I doubt they can resist what I can throw at them."

"My worry is about you two being able to handle yourselves in case their abilities can drain and freeze me." Naruto sternly replied as he gazed directly at Pyrrha, while Blake seemed to take the hint before he looked at all three of them. "I should be fine as I dealt with worse before, but it is better to be safe."

"Right." Blake gave a nod in understanding as Weiss took a breath to calm her nerves before following suit, checking Myrtenaster.

"Physical combatants due little to no damage to Apathy unless their weapons are Dust-infused," Weiss explained as Pyrrha only narrowed her eyes and looked upset. "Dust rounds will be mildly effective, but their skin is especially thick, and even sniper rounds have difficulty piercing through… Elemental Dust and bombs are the most effective way to bring one down."

"Explosives, you say…" Naruto made a small note of that as he fingered his pouch once more and gave a mental count in his head of his kunai and shuriken and grimaced. "Well, no time like the present. Only use this if you absolutely must. They are your last lifeline. Unfortunately, this looks like a job where I will mostly do most of the work. Weiss, you're on clean-up. Anything gets past me; smoke it."

"Got it." Weiss nodded as she switched Myrtenaster to red Dust and prepared his sigils, knowing she would need as much power as possible to bring down any Apathy that came close.

They were rated a high-threat level Grimm for a reason. Most Huntsman and Huntresses were inadequately prepared to deal with them. She could only hope the same was not proven today and that they were the exception. And that Naruto truly was the force of nature he has shown he had been in the past against a threat that wasn't a physical threat…

But a mental one.

Pyrrha couldn't help but feel troubled and out of place. After years upon years of training, only to be sidelined when a mission of importance came up? That couldn't be right, could it?

She would admit she wasn't as noble as Weiss and didn't come explicitly due to what had happened at the store. She was worried about Naruto as he was an idol and pillar of strength unlike any she had seen with his feat of power at the initiation test in the Emerald Forest. But she came because she did overhear the bit at the end that they were going out to do a job, and she was interested in taking part herself.

To prove that she, too, was a specimen to behold. That she could keep pace and prove she was still something…

Special.

Yet here she was, being told for all their strength and valor, she was a hindrance and that only her bullets be all the support she could provide. How could that be? That shouldn't be possible for someone of her caliber. She was worth so much more…

Wasn't she?

"Pyrrha, stay close." Naruto barked as his voice was barely heard through the howling wind and driving snow, seeing she was losing a step from the group and could feel doubt starting to creep into her mind.

He wasn't sure what it was, but the overwhelming dread around him did not cause it. Something from within was causing it, and this was not the time and place to be having doubts. He already had issues with her when she froze during the police incident two weeks back and questioned her judgment. Now was not the time for another issue to be building within her. Ozpin might have made the correct call in not naming her JNPR's leader if this was how she behaved and reacted…

She needed more seasoning.

Coming close to the edge of town, without any encounters but the dread filling more and more, Naruto couldn't help but get the sensation that they were being stalked. He would have liked to stop and focus on drawing forth natural energy, but the sensation of hostile and negative energy made it difficult for him to concentrate. It was as if it was drawing on him and draining on…

He growled, they were being hunted, and the damn conditions made it next to impossible to see anything more than five to ten feet out in front of them outside the buildings and the powdered snow. Even with his eyes filtering the darkness so he could see clearly through the night, the sheer volume of flakes obscured his vision, and the wind muffled any sounds he would otherwise be able to hear naturally. And he did catch the crunching of their footsteps, making it all the harder to detect anything else.

How he hated this kind of weather. He was kind of wishing for a blinding heat and scorching sands right about now…

Not to mention he could feel the nervousness of his partners and their moods dropping quickly. Blake kept shaking her head and hissing as her bow dropped, and she would occasionally stumble over her feet. She was experiencing a drain as her eyes dimmed, her face was sullen, and now she was biting the corner of her lips.

Weiss wasn't in any better condition as her shoulders had slumped over, and she had started to look at the ground, avoiding the mounds she knew now were individuals that didn't make it. Her entire body trembled at the sight. She looked deathly pale, ready to vomit at any moment. It was not an easy scene to witness, and he could only pity her. If he had not seen and felt the deaths of so many before his own, this would have been something else…

It still was. He had to swallow the bile and push through. There was no choice. These people deserved better. But at the very least, he could avenge them.

Pyrrha was lost, unsure how to handle any of this herself. She saw how Blake and Weiss retreated into themselves; now, she could feel a profound and unsettling pull within. But it wasn't what she thought it would be.

It was a voice. And what the voice was telling her bothered her greatly; she had lost a step once more. That couldn't be right. Could it? She wasn't…

Useless.

Worthless.

Pathetic.

"Snap out of it and keep…" Naruto started before his ears twitched, and he caught something in the blistering winds.

It was a voice.

A voice was calling out to them!

"Hunters!" A man called out through blistering winds and was nearly washed out due to them, but Naruto's fox ears twitched as he caught them. "Watch out behind you! Some are hiding amongst the corpses!"

"What?!" Naruto roared before he turned on a dime, and his eyes widened as his fears were proven true.

The mounds they had passed slowly began to part as humanoid figures lifted from around them in the shape of skeletal Grimm while he could barely make out more figures slowly slinking in the distance, following after them. And several hollow screeches filled the night as they looked directly into their eyes, freezing their targets as their world turned gray.

The Apathy had laid an ambush within the small town.

Blake had swiped Shroud at the skeletal Grimm as it emerged from the snow mound next to her, but the slash did little more than agitate it. But she made the fatal mistake as she gazed into its eyes at the moment she saw it open its hideous mouth wide and watched its scream.

Loosening her grip on Shroud, it fell to the snow beneath her body and trembled before her knees shook and gave way to her weight. She never broke eye contact with the ghastly specter as fear coursed through her.

All she saw was that the world that had turned gray slowly turned red as she watched everything she treasured and loved slowly fade away, turning into rose petals. And only one thing stood before her, a shadow lurking behind him with a sinister laugh echoing from around them. "You have nothing left now. You thought any of them could protect you from me?"

"It's time to come home, my mate."

Blake's cry sundered the heavens as she trembled, looking at the faunus standing before her, not the Grimm. She didn't see the open maw of red mist smoking and drawing mist from her body. All she felt was fear, and she needed to get away, but she was petrified of what she saw before her.

Of what happened.

All her friends.

Her family.

Laid wasted at his feet. Cut down and vanished due to the power of his damned semblance. And now he had returned for her all because she had left him.

Because she couldn't stand what he had become! What he and that miserable tyrant had turned the vision of her father and mother into?! She couldn't let it stand!

But now there was nothing left…

"Don't give in!"

Her golden eyes snapped to life as a massive burst of wind swept around her, catching her bow and pulling it off into the snow. Her hands dived into the snow, and she drew Shroud as she snapped the Dust into the chamber. The blade erupted into flames as it superheated and swiftly leapt to her feet. Swiping her sword, she cleaved through the Apathy's neck before its long and gangly hands could react.

The Grimm's head fell to the snow as the smoke spilled from the body as her ears flickered around freely without her bow, her eyes widening at the sight now standing before her.

"Naruto… Are you okay?" Blake muttered as her golden eyes flickered in the night light before shining brightly as they lit up from the glow of flames and embers burning through the snow.

"No!" Weiss screamed in horror as she tried to ready her sigil and burn the Apathy before her, seeing the snow part, but it was a little too late for her to act.

Her icy blue eyes met its haunting gaze as its eerie cry reverberated through her soul, and she felt her world shatter around her and turn black and white with shades of gray. The grip of the rapier only tightened, but the fear rushed through her as someone stood before her that she didn't expect.

Why was he here? It didn't make sense. Wasn't she fighting for her…

"No, no," Weiss began to openly weep, taking a few steps back, tears forming as she tripped and fell onto her behind. "I don't want to go back! Not now! Can't you ever give me a chance to do something for myself?!"

"My dear, is that any way to speak to your father?" The voice of Weiss' father filled her mind as she looked at the Grimm posing as her father, walking towards her menacingly. "Now, I think this is quite enough. This wouldn't have been an issue if you had just stayed at Atlas. Maybe if you would have listened and become the perfect little heiress like you were supposed to be, but you were so stubborn…"

"You are becoming just like your sister." He snarled as the mist began to evaporate off her body and drain into the Grimm's gaping mouth as it drained her. "You wouldn't want to become a disappointment like her, would you? Now come home this instant young lady before I decide to make Whitley the new heir… By the Brothers, the boy has deserved it for being so patient with you two."

"But let's not make your mother cry any longer. She already thinks she's lost her second daughter." He spoke as the last of Weiss' strength left her body.

Losing her will to fight, Weiss' eyes darkened as she fell into the snow as the Grimm walked over her, mist pouring out of her body. An icy blue sphere began to glow from within her chest as the mist gathered toward the Apathy's open maw condensed. It slowly started pulling it from her body as if it was being dragged and drained.

A golden globe glow formed before her, hovering in the air momentarily. In a flash of golden light, it formed into a small rod of light and bolted and struck the Grimm in the chest in a streak of light faster than any eye could see. It didn't even scream. It simply fell over and collapsed, its chest burned and seared as its corpse started to go up into smoke.

"Don't give in!"

With a sudden jerk, the icy blue sphere settled back into Weiss' chest, and she suddenly sat up, coughing heavily and mildly choking before a gale of wind overwhelmed her and knocked her back over. Her eyes widened as she struggled to her feet while taking in the scene before her, noticing the dead Apathy lying at her feet, and she couldn't help but marvel at what had happened.

He had saved her again. He really was her knight in shining armor. If only…

"By the Brothers… What is he?" Weiss watched in awestruck horror, her ice blues aglow with the blaze she witnessed before her.

The moment she saw Naruto react, she knew it was time. Pyrrha didn't care. It was time to prove herself. She would show she was as capable, and as the snow parted way, she struck faster than the Grimm could get up.

But disturbingly, Milo's slash didn't seem to have any effect. The sword cut went through. It even snapped through the bone and skin of the Grimm's neck. It should have been beheaded as it stood up.

Yet it acted like the slice did not matter as the smoke condensed and reformed in seconds. Her eyes widened. That couldn't be. She felt it slice through but now stood up, its gaze locked with her own, and its scream pierced through the howling winds and piercing snow drifts.

And as her world turned monochrome, her eyes widened as she felt the bitter coldness snap around her. She shook her head. This didn't make anything sense. She knew it had to be the Grimm's power, but why couldn't she break free of it? What made her feel so…

Screaming, she slashed at the image that appeared before her, but it didn't seem to matter. Her gashes were meaningless, and mist began to form around her, and she was slapped by what she knew was the Grimm with ease, dropping her to the snowy landscape. But it didn't feel like it was the Apathy that hit her…

It was a warm hand that slapped her.

It was her hand.

"Pathetic." Pyrrha heard her own voice echo as she looked up through the snow while a mist began to drift from her body and to the Grimm's open maw, fear starting to settle within the Mistral warrior. "You truly are worthless."

"No… No, I'm not!" Pyrrha cried out as she tried to stand back up but found her strength was quickly leaving her as she struggled back onto her feet, only to fall onto her knees.

"Look at that. So worthless." The monochrome Pyrrha mirthlessly taunted as it slowly stalked toward the kneeling Pyrrha.

"So weak." Another Pyrrha began to trudge through the snow towards her slowly. "Can't stand on her own two feet anymore."

"No… I can fight on my own!" Pyrrha growled as she rose to her feet again, only to feel her shoulders be grasped from behind and the mist drained straight into the maw of an Apathy.

"Is that so?" The Pyrrha from behind spoke, its dark eyes gazing into Pyrrha's emeralds with its cold, dead stare. "Are you sure you can? Are you not just waiting to be rescued again? For you strapping new idol to come to save you?"

"No… I…" Pyrrha dropped to her knees as her strength slowly began to leave her. "I am strong enough…"

"You never were." The monochrome Pyrrha spoke in front of her, draining her mist as it gripped Pyrrha by the head and forced her to look into its eyes. "No one thinks you are. You are weak. You needed rescue when it was time to prove yourself, you froze when friends needed you to step up, and everyone is starting to question your decision-making…"

"You are nothing special."

Losing her grip on Milo and Akouo, both sword and shield dropped and depressed into the snow below. Pyrrha's emerald eyes lose all glimmer as a red sphere began to glow within her chest. And she started to convulse as the mist was sucked straight to the Apathy standing before her. And as the red orb of aura traveled up and through her chest and into her throat, her eyes rolled in the back of her head as her body went limp.

She truly was nothing special.

He had been caught off guard. It wasn't the first time, but his senses had failed him yet again. He had not struggled to sense lesser Grimm like Beowolves, Creeps, Ursa, and the like, but this was new. The overwhelming negativity in the area kept him from being able to locate the Apathy location directly, and he hadn't realized there were so many.

Naruto cursed. He led everyone into an ambush. The poor visibility, and his judgment was lacking. He should have never brought Blake on this job. He should have taken a moment to sort out his issues before coming here and dealing with this. That would have kept Weiss and Pyrrha from harm. He was reckless and stupid. All things he thought he had stomped out from his younger self. Things he worked to have improved upon. To make himself better.

To prove that he was worthy of becoming Hokage and worthy of the title like his father before him. Like the old man.

"Fuck!" Naruto roared as he saws the snow part and several Apathy standing before everyone, and he reacted as quickly as he could and leapt into action.

He was seconds from striking with newly minted Shattered Dreams, steps away from an Apathy that stood behind Pyrrha when its attention was drawn to him, and the scream permeated his core as its red gaze pierced into his.

And skidded to a halt, his world turned gray, dread filling him at the orange figure standing before him. But he took a deep breath and sighed as he came to an understanding of how this worked. "So you are what I fear most…"

"That checks out." Naruto stood before his twelve-year-old self, cerulean eyes gazing into his older, more vibrant eyes. "I was so naive and arrogant back then without a clue on how the world worked…"

"Is this really what I become?" Younger Naruto frowned as he gazed at his older self, the Grimm slowly trudging toward him, trying to drain his will and spirit. "Man, I suck. What's with the ears? Am I furry now?"

"Rub it in, why don't you," Naruto growled in annoyance as his ears twitched at multiple facets of that statement. "Also, no, you little shit! We were turned into this somehow! How many books did we get into when we were young that we shouldn't have?! Why can't I remember that detail?!"

Sighing as he saw his older self recoil at his words, he was disappointed in many aspects of his life. That was something he couldn't get over. He could only imagine what his past self would think if he saw him now, and somehow he was being granted that ability. And considering he was still getting used to life as a faunus and knowing that his twelve-year-old self would know what a furry was…

Naruto blamed all the perverted influences in his life for that. There was far more than there should have been…

"Are we that much of a disappointment?" The younger Naruto spoke again, his eyes trailing downward as he looked away. "I don't see any of our friends around anymore, and everything seems so weird and scary. Was everyone right about us? That we're failures? Just worthless demon spawn…"

"Hey!" Naruto barked as he stepped forward with her cerulean eyes narrowed at his younger self. "Don't you ever look down on yourself like that! We have always been more than that, dammit!"

"Many things happened that we couldn't control, but we succeeded! Everything was going fine, and then something happened beyond our control… And we died…" Naruto sighed as he looked up and away from his past self as the Grimm within still could not draw forth anything from Naruto as he walked near him.

"We died?" Younger Naruto questioned before he looked down and away, depressed. "So we'll never get with Sakura then…"

"She was never the one anyways. We had someone better there that was always there for us. And now, well…" Naruto grinned as he held onto Shattered Dreams tightly, a single tear forming as his thoughts were drawn to Hinata, and his eyes went wide in panic upon remembering who he was with and the danger they were in. "Blake! Weiss! Pyrrha!"

"New friends?! We can't lose them!" Younger Naruto's head snapped up in realizing what was happening before recognizing the situation and locking eyes with his older self. "Then it's time to do what we do best. To bust some heads and, most importantly…"

"Don't give in!" Both Naruto echoed as the elder Naruto applied wind chakra to Shattered Dreams, coating the blade with the element and in a single slice…

"And do whatever it takes to be seen as us." Younger Naruto spoke, tears welling and dripping from his eyes.

Before his head was sliced in half to reveal an Apathy torso being bifurcated.

"Shit!" Naruto roared as he quickly analyzed everything before him and saw Apathy gripping Pyrrha all around and an aura mist draining from her.

He growled as he sheathed Dreams and went through a series of hand seals as the wind around him whipped and built. "Futon: Daitoppa! (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough)"

A gale of pressurized wind swept through, knocking the Apathy and Pyrrha into the snowstorm, knocking the Grimm off her in the process and toward the gathering of many more Apathy that slowly meandered toward them. In a blur, he sprinted with chakra coursing through his body to catch Pyrrha and landing in a crouch before she could hit the snow as the Grimm skidded against the cold ground. They slowly began to rise as their gangly brethren screamed and tried to trap him in their fear illusion, but he quickly shrugged it off now, knowing what he was dealing with.

His worry was entirely on Pyrrha, but as he saw the sphere of aura slowly retreat within her chest, he narrowed his eyes as she began to cough and start to come to. With a quick draw from his pouch, he tossed several shuriken straight at the Grimm as he leapt back. It connected straight into the Apathy leading the group, and he growled out as he landed with a skid. "Go fuck yourself!"

And attached to each one was a sizzling note. And they erupted with explosive force, ripping apart the Grimm they connected to and shredding the nearby Apathy, sending their parts flying. The concussive force was strong enough to even break through the wind temporarily to allow him to see how many Grimm stood behind him, and he growled as he felt Pyrrha had regained enough consciousness to set her down.

He was putting an end to the main group here and now as he stepped before everyone. Several hand seals ended with the tiger seal, and his cerulean eyes burned passionately. "You want fear. Take this! Katon: Gōkakyū! (Fire Release: Grand Fireball)"

Naruto stood in the middle of the street and blew a stream of fire that morphed into a massive fireball that melted through the driving snow and caught the Apathy within, lighting their bodies aflame. But he was far from done as he began to flash through another set of hand signs as the wind bellowed behind him once more and burst around him, catching the flames and condensing them.

"Futon: Daitoppa! (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough)"

The Grimm screeched and screamed as they tried to walk through the flames to their target, but the heat of the flames was too much. The Apathy's dark bodies began to liquefy and turn into puddles from the intensified heat as the flames, their bodies dropping one at a time. The flames stretched down the street, concentrating without flickering into a single house. The snow melted to reveal the bodies of those that withered from the previous attack, but they, too, were caught within the flames.

All were reduced to puddles and ashes as Naruto walked through the devastation, tossing stray kunai into Apathy that survived the onslaught. And they instantly exploded into viscera of body parts and smoke. He made sure every last one was accounted for, his senses slowly attuning to them as their number dropped, and it became easier to seek out their negativity and find them. His eyes glowed in the night light, burning from the chakra, and fire lit within.

Soon there would be none left. They brought this out of him. He would finish it. He may have changed from then, but one thing still held true. He cherished his friends and would go to the ends of the earth for them.

These Grimm would burn.

Corrupted File...

Processing...

Restoring...

The Fated Holidays, Part II...

December 16th.

Do remember I need your voices to decide on what to do for Naruto Gaiden Arc after Volume III.

Should there be a new story for it?

Or should it be a recap Arc covering the major changes?

Or something in between?