Merry Christmas and happy holidays!
Error!
Danger!
Warning!
Course Correction!
Terminating Shift!
Cannot Lose...
The Queen!
Crystalized snowflakes slowly fell from the sky around him as the sun peeked over the eastern horizon ridge as Naruto stood just outside the village. It had thankfully been a slow, boring night. Despite the loss and despair, there was enough hope that the Grimm were not drawn to the small farming village.
Sheathing Shattered Dreams onto his back, Naruto gazed calmly at the burning light as black smoke erupted behind him as the head of Boartusk rolled off its body before dissipating into the air. It was only the tenth Grimm of the night he had dispatched, so the numbers seemed to be dropping, and they weren't coming in large groups, it appeared. The despair of the community seemed to be ebbing, at least.
The strength of the Grimm was also decreasing as these all seemed to be young Grimm, for he didn't identify one Alpha amongst…
Sensing a high-level surge of negativity nearby, his ears drooped, and he wanted to curse. Of course, things weren't going to be that easy. Get distracted by a rolling warthog only for something massive to make its way to the other side of the village. Predictable!
Forming a single seal, he dispersed in a swirl of leaves and snow, having mastered the Body Flicker during his training trip with the pervy sage. It was a technique he didn't get to use very often as it was somewhat impractical, but it did have its uses and now was one.
It allowed him to quickly accelerate and arrive in the middle of the village, near his cabin in a swirl of leaves and powdered snow. As he burst into a sprint, blinking out of existence with a blur of speed, he accelerated to where he became nothing more than powder snow trailing behind him, moving to where he felt the onset of negativity.
And with a trumpeting roar, he cursed as he knew what had come to the village. It was a Goliath, the largest Grim to arrive yet. And considering they always came in herds, he doubted it was alone. And with one last jump as he made it close to the farmhouse, he cursed as they trampled through the snow-covered fields. Three Goliaths trumpeted, one looking far larger and burlier than the others with heavy bone density on its body. Its tusks were twice as thick and far longer and curled to the heavens.
The trunk knocked a golden shield out of the sky effortlessly as it attempted to trample Pyrrha and Jaune, one efficiently managing to move out of the way while the other rolled just in the nick of time. Naruto wanted to smack his skull into something and scream why they were out there. However, from the looks of things, it seemed Pyrrha had come out to train Jaune, and they were already out and about. So they reacted and were the first on the scene. And he wished they weren't as he wasn't so worried for Pyrrha's sake as he thought she could handle a Goliath.
Jaune could not. He wasn't sure he could handle a Beowolf! Or a Creep, for that matter! And he was in severe trouble right now!
"Pyrrha, this is not looking good!" Jaune called out as he got up from his roll, slipping slightly only to be knocked back by the sheer power of the Alpha Goliath moving past him, plowing through the foot of snow, and its wave shoveled the blonde back. "He didn't even hit me, and that hurt!"
"Jaune!" Pyrrha cried out, being forced to back peddle and jump further away as she summoned her shield back to her, forcing her to use Milo to cut at the trunk to defend herself as the Alpha swung it at her while charging directly at her; however, her eyes were focused on her partner, eyes wide seeing what was unfolding before her. "Look out!"
"Oh crap!" Jaune's eyes widened as he was knocked straight into the path of another stampeding Goliath, and he knew his shield was absolutely pointless.
His only option was to dodge, and with how quickly it descended upon him and his limited mobility in the snow, he wasn't sure he could. So his only option was to try and dive under and use his sword to cut it from underneath. So he went with it.
"It's now or never!" Jaune cried as he lunged, diving head first, his eyes bludged, seeing the Goliath swipe its massive head the moment he opted to dodge, its tusk slowly beginning to descend upon him.
"Jaune!" He could hear Pyrrha cry, but he knew it was too late.
Everything slowed down for Jaune. Nothing could stop this, even if he instinctively used his shield to defend himself.
He gave it his best effort. He was in a difficult position and in over his head already. The fact that it took this long for something terrible to happen was amazing on its own. It was the grace of the Brothers that kept saving him, he guessed. Jaune knew he had made the right call as he couldn't dodge to the sides as he was too slow, and his mobility wasn't good enough in this weather. He was trampled regardless, so this was his best chance to get out of harm's way, and somehow the Grimm read it. Nothing he could do about that.
But at the same time…
He didn't want to leave his friends disappointed in him. They had been here with him and stuck it out with him, knowing he was useless and were even trying to help him get better. They might poke fun at him occasionally, which was fair, but everyone was equal targets, so he didn't feel out of place. He even got to joke back, and no one ridiculed him…
Besides Weiss, she was cold to everyone. Except for Naruto, strangely, after the first couple of days now that he thought about that…
He wondered what had happened.
And now that he had thought about everything, he didn't want Ozpin to have to send that letter home explaining what happened to him to his family. Didn't want his mother to cry about what had happened to him. Didn't want to leave his sisters devastated that their only brother who tried to take up his family's storied legacy even if he was the weakest of them all, somehow. And most of all, he didn't want to disappoint his dad, who, despite saying he didn't have to try and prove himself by coming to Beacon and always had a place at home…
He wanted to prove himself!
A bright light began to glow around Jaune's body as the Goliath's body connected to his shield. A massive pulse of aura burst around him, temporarily halting its momentum and stuttering the massive Grimm. However, as the Arc hit the ground, surprised at what had happened, the Goliath trumpeted in annoyance and swung once more with more ferocity. This time nothing would stop it.
"Jaune!" Pyrrha screamed, transforming Milo and throwing her javelin as hard as she could, sprinting as fast as she could, but she knew she wasn't fast enough to make it.
She wasn't even sure the throw would make it in time! And she had an Alpha Goliath behind her and another Goliath rampaging toward her! Then her eyes widened, seeing the falling snow part.
The snow suddenly billowed and waked in front of Jaune, knocking the Arc back from the impact but still, it was clear as day what he saw. A crystal blue orb of raw energy shone brilliantly, splitting the snowbanks with its velocity and power as a blond fox faunus stood in the crater of frozen tilled land beneath him, a gale of wind billowing and flapping his cloak wildly as he stared at the Grimm before him. And he thrust the radiant orb forward and the tempest concentrated behind his movement.
"Futon: Rasengan!"
The tusk met the glowing orb, and it was over. The Goliath's tusk was chipped and ground into hundreds and thousands of pieces in mere fractions of milliseconds and turned into dust and smoke. And the orb and the arm it was connected to kept coming forward as Naruto threw his hand forward and launched the glowing ball of chakra into its face.
Grimm flesh and ooze were eviscerated and torn asunder. Nothing was left behind as the orb of raw chakra ripped through the trunk, the skull, through the Goliath's entire body until it came out the other side, leaving a massive and gaping hole through the Grimm. And Naruto slowly stood up as he watched the Grimm slowly disintegrate before him, the snow crystal seemingly not even moving. He turned to deal with the remaining Grimm, catching Milo out of the air above his head.
As the Grimm was parted, Jaune watched, seated in the snow as if an Atlas Dust-infused particle cannon had been fired point blank in its face. A shockwave hit him as a massive crack of sound burst through and pulsed through impact. The Grimm turned to dust and flung him into the snow drift behind him. It was like the big guns they had stationed for defense and were still in development, as when they fired more than a single round, they tended to destroy themselves in the process, along with everything around them!
And he did that by hand! What the hell was Naruto?! And where did he go?! He didn't even see him move!
Pyrrha couldn't believe what she had seen and how quickly the Goliath was dispatched. She remembered how Naruto took care of the Nevermore and Deathstalker with a larger version of that orb, but that seemed so different. It felt different.
Before she could register it, she reacted instinctively as she felt her semblance pulse and knew something metallic was coming towards her. She knew that signature. Instinctively reaching out, she gripped Milo before transforming it back into its sword form. She turned, planting her left hand into the ground and charging the Alpha Goliath side by side with Naruto.
The Alpha swung its head wildly, trying to smash its massive tusks and trunk into the two, but Naruto and Pyrrha jumped to the right and left, respectively. Naruto drew Dreams, shifting his blade for the first time into its shotgun form. He grinned as he held the dual barrel gun up and aimed at the yellow eye while Pyrrha did the same on her side with Milo. As the Alpha trumpeted in agony, two shots rang out, black sludge oozing from its eyes.
Naruto dived in, ducking under the swing as Pyrrha came in from the other side from on top, running up the tusk. Transforming Dreams into its extra-long and thick kunai form, he gashed it through the entirety of the beast's throat as he ran underneath it while Pyrrha transformed Milo into javelin form and drove it like a spear through the skull. She narrowed her eyes as it stuck hard. Her strike was not enough to pierce through, and it wildly flailed, causing her to lose her grip and sending her flying off towards the snowy ground below.
Then Naruto leapt out from below, catching her bridal style, landing in a crouch before gazing into her emerald. And with a quick nod, he heaved her far above the Grimm and into the sky above.
Pyrrha grabbed her shield, placed it beneath her feet, focused on aiming for her target, and found Milo stuck in the skull of the Alpha and using her semblance to boost herself off it. With the boost of speed she gained, she grabbed the hilt, slammed it further down as she landed, and impacted the skull with tremendous force.
And it drove the Alpha into the snow-covered field, headfirst, as it slowly collapsed in front of Jaune, who looked shocked and surprised as he scrambled to get up and move out of the way. "By the Brothers, that was awesome, you two!"
Then his eyes widened in horror as he sprung to life, moving as fast as he could.
"Look out, Pyrrha!" Jaune cried, using the trunk of the Alpha to get traction to lunge himself forward and throw himself in front of Pyrrha as the third Goliath collided with the smoking corpse of the fading Grimm, its tusk connecting to his shield and knocking him into her.
Bouncing through the snow, Jaune collapsed on top of Pyrrha as a mound collapsed on top of them. But that did not waver the giant elephant Grimm as it trumpeted, continuing its charge, knowing where they had landed. It was undeterred as it felt several small objects impaling into its right front, and its hind legs did not halt its progress.
The erupting boom that followed crippled its massive legs and collapsed its enormous body onto itself; however, it did.
The large Grimm struggled and flailed around wildly, unable to move. Pyrrha and Jaune jumped out of their snow mound to save themselves, only to see the elephant effectively downed, unable to defend itself. There was only one thing left to do as the others quickly arrived on the scene, having most likely been startled by the deafening noises and explosives.
It was time to put the Grimm down.
Transforming Milo into its rifle form, they aimed and fired as she saw Naruto do the same with his weapon. There was no need to get close and risk injury. It may have been more costly due to dust prices soaring, but it was safer and wiser to unload and put the Goliath down when it was like this.
Several shots rang out, even some from a distance, as the kill shot pierced through its skull, which seemed to be a high caliber round, and finally, the Grimm started to disintegrate into smoke. Taking a sigh of relief as the shift ended and the farmers looking on in the farmhouse from outside their windows looked genuinely thankful, Naruto gave them a wave before he looked over at the morning sun as it finally had risen over the horizon. "And that makes fourteen Grimm for the night. That's the least amount of Grimm that have shown up nightly since I've been here."
"What?!" Jaune looked horrified at that statement, and his body shivered. "Please tell me that's a joke."
Naruto only turned to Pyrrha, gave her a nod, and smiled before turning to Jaune, patting the taller blonde on the shoulder as he walked by. "Better start taking your training more seriously! Killed three Boartusk, two Ursa, five Beowolves, a Griffon, and now we had those three Goliaths, and that was the first Alpha among them! The previous night was somehow worse! As it was just a bunch of Griffon and Nevermore, a lot of little ones too. Their pecks are annoying, and with barely any ranged weaponry left, it was a chore dealing with that. Shooting with a close-range gun isn't too effective, so I had to throw Dreams a ton during that night."
Jaune turned an ashen white hearing that, and he swallowed hard. This was not how he wanted to start his Christmas day. Nearly dying and learning he would be drilled and in danger for the holiday season.
"At least the days are calm. The Grimm seem more active at night." Naruto cracked his neck seeing everyone slowly gathered, worried seeing how the morning started before frowning as he felt a very minute amount of negativity but couldn't precisely track it. "But that was closer than it had been on previous nights."
"I think this is only just getting started."
"Why are you not asleep yet? You've been up for almost two days now." Blake narrowed her eyes as she gingerly entered the bedroom that her team and Naruto were sharing in the cabin while they stayed for the duration of their stay. "You really should get some rest. We've got the day covered. You said it yourself, the days are calm, and the Grimm are more active at night. We're not up to anything."
Flicking a page through an orange-covered book with a bemused smile, Naruto didn't even look in Blake's direction. The last time he read this, he didn't understand its intricacies, and now that he did, he felt it told a whole new story. He could feel that everyone was up to something, and she was coming in to check and make sure he wasn't awake. "Uh-huh. You had me convinced until that last bit. I think I'll do that after the next couple of chapters. Make sure you guys are not plotting anything against me."
Blake suppressed a hiss that she was being discovered before innocently keeping her hands hidden behind her back. She simply smiled and shook her head, trying to comfort her friend. "You worry too much. What makes you think we're up to something?"
Naruto scoffed at his fellow faunus' attitude and rolled his eyes, knowing that playful tone indicated someone trying to pull a fast one. He was a master when it came to pranking others, and he was not easily caught unaware when it came to them.
"Oh, I don't know. Maybe because Nora is the epitome of stealth." Naruto sarcastically responded as he continued to read, gesturing at the window while not even batting an eye before mildly grinning at the part he reached. "Oh my. Is this why sensei read this in front of us all the time? I'm starting to understand."
"Nora!" Blake twitched as she face palmed upon seeing the orange-haired member of JNPR with her face plastered against the window, looking into the room and surveying the room, a bright smile on her face as she waved happily when she saw Blake. "Oh, by the Brothers. That is not how you secretly watch someone!"
"And why did you think Nora, of all people, could do that? She is as stealthy as I was when I was twelve, and I didn't understand the word covert back then. You think I wear too much orange now. You should have seen me back then! I was bathed in it with no means of shedding the color when it became necessary to hide!" Naruto retorted with bemusement as he flipped the page before his eyebrow raised at the next scene. "Oh. Is that why he said she would be perfect for that role? There are so many parts to this book that I didn't understand as a kid when I stole a read from the old man…"
Blake twisted her face in a snarl at the fox faunus mocking her before deflating and letting her shoulders and head drop. She then glared at the ninja. "Okay, can you promise that you won't leave this room for the next few hours unless there is an emergency?"
"Oh no, you are doing something out there, which makes me even more worried." Naruto frowned and wasn't sure he liked that there was still something more to come but sighed as he finally broke contact from his reading, looked over at Blake, and nodded. "If it is that important to you, fine. I will give you all the prep time. You can tell Ruby and Yang at the door that whatever you are planning can proceed. I feel it isn't as dreadful as I fear it is and is well-meaning."
"Oh yeah!" Ruby shouted and most likely pumped her fist from outside the door, making Blake's bow twitch in annoyance. "Let's get everything a go, go go!"
"Way ahead of you, Rubes!" Yang boisterously announced as their footsteps led away from the door, leaving Naruto amused at the glowering faunus as he returned to his reading.
And Blake snapped as she pointed at the window, yowling under her breath as her golden eyes glowed with fury. "Get inside and help, Nora! You're not needed to keep watch anymore!"
"Okay!" Nora gave a thumbs up before slowly and painstakingly removing her frozen face from the glass and disappearing from the spot in a blur.
Naruto only giggled as he read, which only drew Blake's irate attention. He did not care, flipping the page again and his eyes widening. "Oh, ho! The plot thickens! I must say, this is getting good! She's right where he wants her!"
"Oh, it can't be that good! I never even heard of that book!" Blake ranted in annoyance before noticing the grin on his face, narrowing her eyes, seeing he had baited her into reacting, and she took a deep breath to calm herself, knowing he was playing with her. "So what's it about? I've never even seen that title before. I would have remembered something that started with Icha Icha. It's an odd title."
Grinning as she took his bait without realizing it, Naruto pursed his lips as he continued down the page and took a moment to answer. When he finally did, he giggled ever so slightly. "Oh my. Of course, you wouldn't. It's from my world and was my first real Christmas gift that came from my pervy sensei as he was a writer in his free time. He gave it to me when he took me on our training trip throughout the land. And, I am finally giving this a shot, and I have to say…"
"He can write smut very well."
Blake smiled, hearing it was something he had that came from his world to remind him of his home. It was still sad, but the happy memory connected to it, especially considering it was connected to this time of year, was a positive in her eyes. It was something that she was glad that he had…
Did he say smut?
Was he reading smut in front of her?
Did she walk in on him reading smut?
And was he unabashedly admitting he was reading it?!
The pale skin of her cheeks flushed a brilliant red, and her golden eyes widened as she stumbled back, realizing she had walked in on his private time. Her eyes darted between the book, his face, and…
"Oh, by the Brothers! I'll leave you be!" Blake hissed as she turned and reached for the door handle to leave, fumbling with it due to her nerves being shot.
"Ah, leaving so soon. I was just reaching the epic climax." Naruto grinned as he poured it on, partly surprised he wasn't slapped yet but loving the reaction nonetheless.
It was a nice change of pace from Konoha. He really understood why Kakashi was as sassy as he was at times.
Blake's face now was irradiated in a vivid scarlet, her breathing sharp as she squeezed her thighs tightly. She turned and narrowed her eyes at her fellow faunus, a sudden realization hitting her seeing his face. She snarled and glared at him. "You ass! Stop doing that! You aren't even reading the book, are you?! You're doing this just to upset me!"
"I am doing both, actually." Naruto grinned as Blake caught on, and her golden eyes dilated in rage, but he continued in a cocky tone. "The main smut scene is later. The first book is mostly romance, and the young couple learning to figure out how to be with one another with a few sprinkles of smut here and there in it. However, that being said…"
"You did walk in on me in the middle of the handjob scene, so if I could get back to it…" Naruto implied, wanting to see her reaction.
And it wasn't what he expected as the door slammed behind Blake, whose eyes grew wide in sheer horror as she bolted from the room, her hand covering her mouth. Instead, she seemed skittish and…
Was she scanning him before she sprinted out of the room?
Naruto blinked and pursed his lips once more before shrugging his shoulders, slipping Icha Icha Paradise over into his pouch by the bed and finally lying down. He had expected to get slapped and knocked out of his bed, being called a pervert, and for her to storm out in justified rage. Not being given space and what he could only assume was interest and intrigue shown. Then again, he never got a chance to be perverted around anyone in a private setting before, so he could only assume, and Tsunade did say there were times it was acceptable to be so…
Did he accidentally stumble onto one of those?
"Oh, for the love of…" Naruto grumbled as he rolled his head on the pillow, fluffing it and finding a comfortable groove before chuckling to himself. "I'm starting to think I'm in an Icha Icha book now. That can't be. Jiraiya would have had something smutty happen this late in the story. Yeah, he'd have a whole lot of smut in it by this point, now that I think of it."
"Merry Christmas, you pervert…"
"I hope I'm still living up to your expectations."
"This is going to be epic," Yang nodded to herself as she set up what seemed to be some game before noticing a very flushed and fidgety Blake come out of the room rapidly. "You all right? You look a bit flushed and a little tense. Need a drink…"
"Nothing happened! I'm not tense or stressed! I definitely did not walk in on or interrupt him doing anything that isn't perfectly normal when one is stressed!" Blake quickly laughed nervously and with a high pitch, fidgeting and looking back at the door frequently, and her face became further emblazoned.
"Okay then," Yang said slowly as she blinked and looked at her partner oddly while multiple heads turned and looked at Blake in the same fashion. "I think a lot of details need to be filled in on as, what? Seriously, what happened?"
"No they don't! Everything is fine! Let's get everything ready and not worry about him mast-About Naruto!" Blake nervously laughed and disappeared in a blur, bolting outside despite not wearing her winter gear. "I need to step outside for a moment to get some fresh air!"
"Blake, it's cold out there!" Weiss called out to their teammate, who ran outside. "What are you doing?!"
Plopping into a snowbank and sinking in, Blake closed her eyes and sighed in relief as she could feel the ice cooling her down. There was no way he knew. No, he did not understand what he was doing to her, did he? Or did he do it all on purpose because he did? If he did after the voice he used last night, he was the biggest jerk around as her instinct was full alert…
She was ready to jump, and if he knew, he knew it!
"If I were to take a guess, I know what's going on." Velvet's voice snapped Blake's eyes open, and she sat up from the snowbank to see team CFVY having left the nearby cabin; Coco and Yatsu were heading out on watch while Fox and Velvet were coming over to their cabin. "Um, Fox, can you head inside and help? I need to have a girl talk with Blake?"
"Yeah, no, don't want to be here for that." Fox waved as he opened the door to see Weiss and Yang at the door. "Woah, everyone was coming out. Something must have happened…"
"I've got this. You all can keep working! We'll be there in a minute." Velvet beamed at the two and nodded her head. "It won't take that long. I have an idea what it is."
While Weiss only nodded in understanding, Yang narrowed her eyes at this, not liking that Velvet knew the issue when she wasn't here. Or even how she had an idea of what it could be. Blake was her partner. She should be the one to help, or at least someone on their team. "Wait, why do you…"
"All right, we'll see you in a minute. Don't take too long. It's fucking cold." Fox commented as he pushed past her and into the doorway. "Come on. We need to get all this ready and have a good dinner ready for everyone! Chop, chop, blondie! That's your actual hair color, right? What I hear from all the girls from Beacon who think it's fake say anyway."
"Oh, you are so dead! And I'm going to bust some heads when I get back!" Yang roared as her eyes burned red, and she charged back inside while Fox smirked, giving a thumbs up to Velvet as the door closed.
Giving a bright smile at Fox, her face dropped, and Velvet frowned as she turned and looked down at Blake. "Why are you not medicated? You are in a room with a male faunus, whether he is at heart or not is not the point, and you are in heat. It's already bad enough with male presences, and then amplify it with someone you are attracted to who has a presence like that…"
"I am not!" Blake hissed as her eyes narrowed as Velvet hopped back, a bit startled by her defensiveness before her bow depressed, and she shook her head as she looked down and away. "I mean, I like him as a friend, but I'm not interested in him that way. I've got far more things to deal with than relationships and don't want to deal with another one again for a long time…"
Velvet walked over to Blake, smiling before offering her hand to her fellow faunus. "It's okay. If you are not ready, no one is forcing you. As Naruto said, I'll be here when you need to talk. Now let's get out of the cold. I can run over and grab my meds if you forgot yours, and you can trade me back some of yours later, so no one runs out early. That's too important to run out of, you know!"
Looking up at Velvet as she gingerly accepted the hand offered, Blake mildly blushed at the light contact before frowning. "I don't have any…"
"Well, then I can go run over and get mine…" Velvet started as Blake shook her head and looked away from her friend, ashamed.
"I don't have any medication. I'm not on any. "Don't..." Blake started before her gaze was brought back to a quizzical-looking Velvet.
Frowning at how subdued and withdrawn Blake had become, Velvet wasn't sure what to make of it. However, none of it mattered as they stood out here freezing in the cold, and she shook her head. "Well, I guess your prescription must have run out sometime between coming here from Menagerie, and you forgot to fill it. Things happen to the best of us. Remember to see the doctor and get back on it when we return to Beacon. Thankfully even for trainees, all medical expenses are covered for hunters."
Blake kept from hissing at the mention of the island nation. Of course, Velvet knew who she was. Why wouldn't she be aware? She knew she was a faunus, was aware of the Belladonnas, and she wore the family seal proudly on her clothing as she had done since she was very young. She didn't hide it very well, and here she was, allegedly on the run and in hiding. Maybe a change of clothing was in order…
"Ah, yes. I'll do that when I get back to pay you back." Blake muttered as she scratched the back of her neck as they entered the cabin once more before Velvet vanished, leaving to grab her medication. "Right, like I used to do…"
"Back in Menagerie. Before everything. I can do this again. I did it before."
"What are you muttering over there?!" Yang called over and motioned over. "If you wouldn't mind, I could use a little help getting this set up, as it was all your and Velvet's idea!"
"Right, coming!" Blake gave a half-hearted smile as she tried to push back her feelings as they slowly turned to a home she hadn't seen in a very long time.
And now, with fervent determination, she helped set up the celebration so that it would be memorable. If it was indeed his first holiday with friends, she wanted to make it something that would last a lifetime.
To get their minds and thoughts off their homes.
"Merry Christmas!" Everyone called out the moment Naruto walked out, being led out carefully by Velvet, knowing the mistletoe was there and did not want to be caught under it as she understood Blake's game.
She wanted to be kept from being set up.
"Didn't we have a party?" Naruto commented as he walked out, looking a little confused, seeing even more decorations, the table filled with food, and even a few games being set out, he also noted there were still several more gifts that were unopened under the tree. "Or was that only the exchange…"
"We wanted to give you the full experience, man! Sounds like you and Fox never had a Christmas or a happy one, so we put some effort into this!" Jaune grinned as he cracked his knuckles and looked proudly around, even if he was sore from the training in the morning and then helping finish with cooking and decorating after. "Not to mention Professor Glynda dropped by to deliver a few more letters and packages…
"Ruby, why is yours moving? Should I be panicking more? Why is no one else panicking?!"
"I think I have a sneaking suspicion why, and it's because we're all badasses, Jaune. Guess you aren't." Yang narrowed her eyes, ignoring the glare from Jaune, before rolling her eyes as Ruby excitedly tore open her package and heard the bark from within. "We're taking him back home once we get back to Beacon. I told Dad we couldn't afford to take care of him."
"Hey, we're not at the opening…" Blake started before she let out a loud hiss as everyone heard a bark, and she leapt high above and behind everyone, leaping onto the same shelf Ruby had collapsed on before when trying to put the star on the tree. "Is that a dog?!"
"Zwei! I missed you, buddy!" Ruby held her corgi happily while dropping the rest of the package, cans of dog food spilling out along with him as the dog happily licked her face. "Ah, I knew you missed me!"
"Did your father send a dog through the mail?" Ren looked stupefied at what he witnessed, picked up the dog food cans, and blinked owlishly. "Loaded with full cans in the same packaging as the poor dog? But how? And why?"
"Also, when?!" Nora jumped in, wanting to ask a question before receiving a stern glare from her partner. "What? I wanted to ask one too! Why is everyone so upset with me today? What am I doing wrong today?"
"Eh, sometimes you can have those days. Mine was yesterday." Jaune shrugged his shoulders and sighed depressingly, remembering the punishment he received today for it. "And I earned every bit of that back…"
Pyrrha said nothing in return but only had a satisfied smirk. After seeing that burst of aura, she knew what she was working with now and the potential that lay dormant. She would mold this clay and make it her own. He could become great too, be a fine warrior someday, and make some fair maiden happy. She was sure of it. In the meantime…
It seemed a certain faunus hadn't learned his lesson from the mistletoe. And with two steps, she could…
"Blake, get down from there!" Naruto's ears twitched in annoyance before he heard the crack. "Oh, for the love of…"
Catching Blake in an instant as the shelf he had fixed broke again, he growled under his breath as he set her down, only for Ruby to set down the corgi and it to come running in their direction and barking. And Blake hissed, hiding directly behind Naruto, leaping onto his back and shoulders, wrapping her legs around his chest, arms tightly around his neck. And under his breath, he muttered to himself. "Oh, I know what you are now…"
With a simple growl that conveyed his intent, Zwei stopped, tilted his head awkwardly, and stared at Naruto. The fox looked confused for only Akamaru had such a reaction to his intent, and his was muted as he was an Alpha. For the corgi to sit down, loll its tongue out of its mouth, and happily bark at him, further confused him.
Did it think it was an Alpha? Did it really think it was the head of its pack? With Yang around? With her father, who had to be a rugged individual to raise two daughters like these two, from what he knew about him, mostly on his own?
The small corgi interested Naruto but not enough to deal with Blake nearly strangling him over…
Why did she feel intensely hot? And as if she was generating more and more heat?
"Ruby, new room assignments. You and the dog are switching with someone. Don't care who." Naruto narrowed his eyes at the small dog as he tried another growl before he confusedly twitched and tilted his head at the corgi as it happily barked back, thinking they were playing.
"What?! Why?!" Ruby complained and pouted, stamping her feet and looking upset as she thought the scene was cute and funny, her smirk turning into a frown as her laughter stopped. "Zwei is well-behaved and a good boy! He won't do anything!"
"That's not the point, Ruby," Naruto growled again and balked at the dog's audacity to wag its tail and happily jump up at him. "Okay, listen here, you little shit…"
"I'll switch if you stop growling. They're terrifying…" Velvet meekly announced, huddled behind Yatsu and Fox, and shivered wide-eyed before she looked over at Ruby. "Your dog doesn't feel fear. He's ignoring Naruto's dominant aura."
"Uh, what?" Ruby blinked owlishly at her friend before looking back at Naruto, with Blake riding his shoulders, to see him growl once more and Zwei happily bark and jump at him. "I don't get it. What's the deal?"
"I think I know." Pyrrha tried to snicker at Blake's unfortunate situation before prying her eyes from the two and then looked down into Ruby's quizzical silver eyes. "From what I know, faunus are more in touch with their instincts than humans. One aspect is that they happen to be more attuned to the…"
"Animalistic hierarchy." Pyrrha winced as she tried to find a way to phrase what she was saying without coming off as racist, as she was referring to animals in general, not calling them as such.
While Velvet frowned, she nodded in understanding as there wasn't a better way to put that and let her continue. "So, like all animals have an aura or presence about them that radiates power and intimidation; it's because of their natural aura and how strong they are. So…"
"Your dog is ignoring the fact I'm intimidating it by enforcing my presence on it, and if I put any more effort into this, its heart will stop!" Naruto growled at the happy corgi jumping at his legs. "I don't mind dogs, but I do mind someone choking the life out of me because they don't! Velvet volunteered. You two are switching!"
"Get away from me!" Blake hissed and swatted down at the Zwei, her eyes squinting at the corgi lolling its tongue out at them. "I have done nothing! Back foul beast!"
"Okay, Zwei, come here, boy!" Ruby clapped her hands and beckoned her puppy before frowning that her corgi ignored her entirely, happily barking at Naruto and Blake. "Um, that's not normal. He always comes when I call for him. He must be really excited."
"Yeah, too much so." Yang rolled her eyes, placed a leash on Zwei, and began to pull him away, who only growled at her as he reluctantly began walking with her, and she only snarled back at him as she walked away with him. "Oh, don't start with me. You started this! This is why I said we couldn't deal with you! You only listen to Ruby half the time and barely ever to me, you hyperactive nugget!"
Cracking open a can of dog food, Zwei's tail started to wag again as she scooped it out and plopped it into a bowl. She then placed it down before the excited corgi. "There you go. Stop messing with people for a moment."
Zwei happily leapt into the bowl, devouring the wet food as Yang rolled her eyes at the canine. She then turned and raised her eyebrow at Ruby and scowled at her baby sister. "Are you actually going to be able to remember to feed Zwei on your own?"
"What, I always fed…"
"Bullshit. I don't understand how Zwei loves you so much when I'm the one that always feeds him!" Yang scowled before putting the leash in Ruby's hand. "Whatever, I like where this is heading. Maybe Zwei will finally realize his little Rubes isn't his treasured person after all when he starts getting hungry…"
"Hey, I said I always feed…"
"Oh, family drama on Christmas! I'm home!" Coco grinned before she received two death stares from the sisters and took a step back before looking back at her drink. "Uh-oh. That wasn't in my head, was it? Am I already tipsy? I'm not that much of a lightweight, am I?"
"I wasn't the only one," Jaune's started before shaking his head and stopping himself as he could feel the hair on the back of his neck stand as he felt a menacing presence behind him. "Nope, shut up, Jaune. Don't do it again. Learn your lesson."
Pyrrha smiled brightly. He was learning already!
Seeing everything calm down and Ruby had Zwei on a leash, Naruto sighed before recognizing there was still an intense burning sensation on his back and now hefty breathing and panting in his ears. Unsure of what was going on, he decided not to question it and spoke as he tried to pry her arms from his throat. "Blake, if you wouldn't mind…"
"Oh, right!" Blake uncurled her legs from his chest and jumped off him, her face popping red before she suddenly bolted outside. "Need air!"
Velvet flushed with understanding as everyone looked on oddly. Even now that she had taken the medication, physical contact was still challenging. So she attempted to draw attention away from her friend and to the table of food they had all prepared. "Well, let's not wait! Let's get started! We worked hard on this meal!"
"I am famished after dealing with the Grimm that have been prowling around the town today." Yatsu nodded as he looked over at the table, and his stomach grumbled.
"There seemed to be more when Nora and I were out on patrol earlier, too," Ren commented, frowning as he thought about it with a worried expression on his face. "I wonder if it's because of what today is, and considering what everyone lost, everyone is mourning even more, and it's drawing the Grimm more than normal? High levels of negativity will catch their attention, even in a small farming village like this."
Naruto's eyes perked at hearing that before summoning a few clones and having them set out for guard duty while they ate, knowing they would be more than adequate for most anything. The action caught a few off guard, and Fox jumped, still surprised by the presence of multiple Narutos suddenly being there, but the fox sighed as they left the room. "That makes sense. The number of attacks has been lowering through the grieving process since I've been here, but given this day for spending with friends and family, I can only imagine the pain it draws. We need to be ready just in case. My gut was telling me something was off this morning."
"Oh," Coco looked at the drink in her hand and sighed. "I probably shouldn't be drinking then…"
"I recently saw a pretty strong Huntsman that was just stone-cold drunk, and he said that was his norm. So have at it, but make sure it doesn't impair your fighting if we need you later. Your vision is important for aiming." Naruto shrugged his shoulders as Velvet set up plates for everyone. "Now that I think about it, that Huntsman also told me not to tell anyone he was here, and he was still on the job and had gone dark. Well, it's not like anyone here knows who he is…"
"That sounds like uncle Qrow!" Ruby happily squealed, snapping Naruto's neck toward her as her eyes beamed at him. "If he's back, that means his mission brought him back here! Oh, I wonder what villainous ne'er-do-well he has tracked down all the way back to Vale? Oh, I want to hear how his mission went so badly! He has all the coolest missions! I should give him a call!"
"Ruby, he's still out working." Yang retorted as the outside door opened and Blake, still dusting snow off herself, walked inside mildly less flushed. "He'll contact us when he's available like he always has. You never know with him, either. He could also be passed out in the middle of the floor right now, unable to answer the phone. He could also be on his knees in some alleyway…"
"Ew, ew!" Ruby swatted at her sister, clawing at her eyes, while Zwei barked at Yang defensively, attempting to protect his beloved mistress. "I don't want that image in my head! Uncle Qrow would never!"
"You didn't walk in on him and dad…" Yang muttered under her breath before shaking her head, forgetting about that day and shrugging her shoulders as what they did on their own time didn't matter to her.
She just didn't want to see it from her parental figures! It was weird and awkward! Why was it in the living room?! In the middle of the day?! Did they expect her and Ruby to be out all day?!
Naruto, Blake, and Velvet's ears twitched, one making their bow shift, as they heard Yang's mutterings but thought nothing of it. It would have been awkward if they were related, but that was not the case, so they moved to grab their plates. Then Naruto pursed his lips, ignoring a curse from Weiss aimed at a specific person in black as they bumped them forward in line with a mischievous grin and mused as a thought came to his mind.
He never saw Kakashi with a woman. He knew he always read smut, but he often hung out with Gai…
Shrugging his shoulders, wondering how the two jounin were doing at home, Naruto sighed as his thoughts drifted to Konoha. He wanted to know how everyone was doing. He hoped they were all okay and celebrating and having a good time.
Especially Hinata and Sasuke. He couldn't imagine how either was doing as he was still coping with the loss of Jiraiya, and he barely had time to think about losing his sensei…
He had a lot more since coming here, which weighed heavily on him.
"Are you okay?" Weiss' voice caught him unaware as he was paused by the main course at the table as they moved through a line serving themselves, his ears drooping before they were brought straight up from being startled. "You looked a little out of it."
"Sorry, I thought about my home and how I'll never see it again." Naruto murmured, taking a slice of the ham and putting it on his plate as his cerulean eyes generally sparkled and lost some of their luster.
"Oh, I see. That must be awful." Weiss lowered her head with a frown, knowing that had to be difficult. "I can't even imagine what this is like as I always have had a home. Even if I don't want to go back ever again…"
Raising an eyebrow at that darkly muttered comment that was under her breath and was probably meant for only her ears, Naruto couldn't help but get a slightly better picture of what it looked like back in Atlas for Weiss. Some issues were going on back home. "It's not easy, but I can't figure out if I were in a position to go back and see my family, why wouldn't I? From the sounds of it, it feels like something is up."
Weiss' eyes bulged in surprise before she bit back a snarl, not wanting to come across as rude. So she covered it up, huffed and turned away after seeing his ears twitching and recognizing he had heard her mumbling. "I mean, it's not worth the time or lien to go back currently. I just got here after all. It would be a wasted trip. I eventually have to go home, but it wouldn't make sense to leave now after the semester just started."
"Uh-huh. Sure." Naruto raised an eyebrow before shrugging as he got his fair share on his plate. "Well, I can't say I get that either but, hey, what do I know? Must be nice to have those kinds of problems and not having money as an issue instead. I never had a family, so the concept is lost on me."
"How dare you?! You don't know the first thing..." Weiss snapped her head around angrily with her icy blue eyes glowing at Naruto at the insinuation growing before her face fell as the last words reached her ears, and she froze. "I-It's not that simple…"
"Never is, princess. Wish it was sometimes. Makes all of our lives easier. So does talking about it." Naruto replied before taking his plate and giving her a small wave, leaving her be as he finished and looked for a spot to take a seat.
And as he did so, enjoying the first few bites of the meal, he found himself looking up at a very agitated set of golden eyes. "Yes?"
"The hell was that back there?" Blake silently hissed as she took a seat nearby, her plate in hand, but her eyes dilated at the fox. "Are you trying to make her hate you?"
"No?" Naruto looked confused and tilted his head at Blake, which made her freeze the moment she saw those ears twitch, and she repressed the violent urge to reach over and grab them and stroke them. "It's not where I planned on anything going. I just heard enough of what she had been saying under her breath and had to bring it up. It is better to let things out than to keep them in."
Giving a few iffy side nods, as he wasn't wrong about that, Blake just wasn't sure about how tactful or graceful he had been. She sighed after taking a couple of bites from her plate as Velvet sat next to them, followed by Yang, Nora, and Ren. Likewise, she frowned at the glance at her that he gave when he said the last part of the statement was also directed at her. She swore he knew more than he let on, but she put that aside for now. "That Apathy attack hit each of us rather hard, but she has been acting even more despondent and uncharacteristic of herself even before."
"Yeah, I can even tell she's not acting quite right. Wonder what the big deal is?" Yang commented as she spotted Ruby joining Weiss, bringing Zwei along with her, seeing if the corgi could help cheer her partner up. "She got a call from her father last week before the break, and while I don't know what it was about, she chased all the family servants that showed up to help her pack, and she had been in a foul mood since. Her mood only perked up hearing about the Secret Santa, and when she saw the names she drew…"
"Dude, I think she has a crush on you!" Yang grinned as she elbowed Naruto after taking a bite of her food, making him cough and nearly choke on his food before he glared at his fellow blonde. "She usually acts all high and mighty with everyone else and puts them down, and she doesn't do that when you are around. I mean, she has been less every day as she's been adjusting but the moment you are nearby, she becomes, well, how do I put this…"
"More dainty? Lady-like? Proper? Hard to put it into words, honestly." Yang scratched the back of her head as she ignored the glare she was receiving from the blonde fox. "I swear she is trying to study you as it's not the normal lustful gaze. It confuses me as I'm used to that one. It's something more complex."
"Huh, never really noticed. We haven't had very many cordial conversations until lately." Blake pursed her lips together and glanced over at the Schnee heiress, who was petting the devil spawn as she and Ruby chatted, well, Ruby absently talked. "Interesting…"
"That's because you hardly ever talk. You need to open up more to the rest of us! You only open up when Naruto or Velvet are around. And that is so frustrating!" Yang twitched before she saw Blake's gaze and grinned as she scooted near the bow-wearing faunus as she returned to eating her food. "Oh, I saw that look. I think you are planning something. Fill me in later. I want in."
"You're crazy," Blake muttered under her breath, seeing Naruto's ears twitch as she knew she could hear him before leaning over and whispering very lightly into Yang's ear. "But fine. I might need help later."
Narrowing his eyes, seeing Blake and Yang plotting together, as that could not end well, Naruto wanted to growl. And seeing Nora hop over to them only made him squint even further. Nothing constructive could come of this, and he was about to break it up when a cough got his attention. It was Ren.
Was he helping them? But why? Why distract him from their…
"Yeah, I know. Ignore them for now. Nothing good can come of it, but it's not worth dealing with either." Ren rolled his eyes at the three before wanting to focus on the matter at hand. "You sense it in the air, too, right?"
His ears stiffened for only a moment, but Naruto nodded, recognizing the serious tone and rigidity in Ren's body as he spoke in a hushed tone. "Yeah, the air is heavy around the village. I can feel the negativity and know it's coming. I fear tonight is going to be a rough night."
"You can sense negativity?" Ren looked genuinely surprised at hearing that before giving a slight nod as he thought about it for a moment. "Well, given how quickly you seem to react, that makes much more sense. You know where everything is and even locate the Grimm. And if it is as you fear, we should probably…"
"That's why I said everyone should be ready. If it doesn't happen, everything is clear, but if it does, then we're all ready for the fight." Naruto commented as he took the last few bites from his plate. "This is terrific. Velvet, thank you. I'm going to have to get seconds of that pudding stuff. That is amazing!"
Velvet smiled brightly after hearing that, glad that Naruto enjoyed it so much. "You're welcome. There is plenty more. You should try Weiss' pies. They are delicious."
"What? No, they are okay. I mean…" Weiss started from the other side of the room before blushing and looking away. "Since you said you're not into sweets, they're probably not to your taste…"
"Oh, you ought to try her sweet cherry pie." Yang grinned manically with it, stretching ear to ear, her lilac eyes burning brightly as Blake turned scarlet and pushed away from her, not wanting anything to do with this, and Nora hopped out of the way. "I think that one is untouched."
Coco spat out her drink and began to laugh out loud. Fox grinned but hid it well, whistled, and turned away from the commotion. Jaune was sweating bullets to keep from reacting. He knew it would be his doom as he felt the pressure from Pyrrha's gaze, and he did not need a more intense training session added on to what already happened this morning after the Goliaths. Several other faces flushed scarlet; Velvet mouthed disgusting once more as her ears lowered.
No one was brighter than the pale-skinned Weiss as she heard Naruto choking on his spit, and she snapped. She was not having any of this today as she quickly rounded and grabbed her blade. She stomped viciously over to the blonde dragoness with malicious intent spewing from her cold eyes as she drew Myrentaster.
After the last night of events, Yang was quickly out of her seat as Weiss slowly stalked her and sang in an elegant voice that was cold as ice. "Run, run, run fast as you can! You can't outrun me…"
"Can anyone take a joke around here?!" Yang roared, upset as she rushed to her winter gear and quickly started putting it on. "I swear, no one can take a joke!"
"Not when they're horrible! I'll take your bad puns any day of the week over the sexual innuendo!" Naruto twitched as his eyes narrowed at the blonde as she ran to the door and opened it. "By the way, have a nice trip! See you next fall!"
"What now…" Yang started as she looked back at the fox for a split second before she felt her right ankle tangled in something at the doorway's threshold that happened to be very strong and tight.
And at that moment, she lost all her balance and plummeted to the icy ground below her, smashing face-first and sliding a few feet forward. Looking behind her, she saw a barely visible tripwire, and she groaned painfully. "Ow, that was terrible. Even for me. When did you even set that…"
A sigil formed around her, and her eyes widened as ice crystallized around her, freezing her arms and limbs to the ground. Struggling with everything she could, Yang heard a voice above her as two feet delicately walked around her before she felt one gently plant itself firmly on her right cheek. "And now for the coup de grace!"
"Oh, by the Brothers! Not again! My ass is still sore from last night's beating!"
"Then maybe you should think before you make ill-advised jokes!"
"Why did I let everyone convince me this was a good idea?" Naruto rolled his eyes as night had come, and he was out on patrol, but he wasn't alone.
"It will do worlds of good for everyone to experience the normalities of hunter life in the villagers outside the Kingdom walls," Ren stated while holding a fashioned torch to help with lighting outside the village walls, for a flashlight did not cut it. "That's why everyone rested as much as they could to join you tonight in case your prediction and my senses are right. This is our job, too. We can save our party for later."
"Like for New Year's!" Nora grinned as she jumped in and joined them, brandishing Magnhild on her shoulder before she started strutting out ahead of them on the perimeter. "It will be the coolest party ever, so come on and bring it, Grimm, if you're planning to do anything tonight! It's been hours already! Where are they?!"
"They are around. I feel that much. They're just far away." Naruto frowned as he could feel the negativity of the Grimm, but it seemed odd that they, with everything he had expected and from what he knew about their kind, weren't coming and swarming.
And it was bothering him. It broke a cardinal rule for Grimm, and he didn't like it.
And then there were the golden eyes of Blake shifting behind him, her eyes taking a looking at him, and he narrowed as she looked at their last partner. Then she made her move as she quickly ran up and joined Nora with a cat-like grin spread on her face. "Maybe they're scared of your intimidating might? Shall we scout around and take a look? We could find a Grimm or two up ahead to take care of on our own."
"I'm all for that! Bring it on!" Nora grinned as she started to jog ahead with Blake hot on her heels, blowing a raspberry at a twitching Naruto as he had a feeling this was part of her plan.
"Wait, Nora! Dammit, you guys!" Ren rolled his eyes and jogged after them, holding the torch, realizing they needed light, and tried to keep up with them. "Don't run ahead! We need to stick together! That's why we're in teams of four, with everyone with one Naruto or a clone!"
"Spoils go to the bold!" Nora as she ran ahead, trying to be the first to take a Grimm out for the night despite Naruto not sensing any in that direction.
Ren rolled his eyes as he chased and sighed deeply. So this was the plan and why Nora and Blake wanted to team with Naruto specifically. But why with Weiss? What was he missing here? Did it really have to do with the sapphires and how she had been acting around him as of late? He didn't buy what Yang had said earlier, so he wasn't sold on it, but…
"Shouldn't we chase after them?" Weiss asked as she watched Ren chase after Nora and Blake while Naruto reached into his pouch as everything started to dim and grow dark before cracking something he pulled out, revealing it was a powerful glow stick. "Oh, that helps a lot."
"I'm not sensing anything in that direction, and the negativity isn't close to the village, so leave them be." Naruto shrugged with a slight smile as he watched Nora slide down a hill in the distance before handing the glow stick over to Weiss. "A little R&R, even in the middle of a job, isn't necessarily bad if it's keeping the spirits up and it doesn't go overboard and get anyone in trouble or put anyone in danger. And if something puts Nora in danger, well, that thing is pretty damn scary in my book, as she's got abnormal stamina and endurance. I'd rate that as a threat any day of the week."
"You and me both." Weiss thankfully took the glow stick before she grimaced at the thought of anything capable of immediately putting Nora in danger before letting out a deep breath as they followed the path left by the others and kept their eyes out for any signs of intrusion. "I apologize for earlier…"
"What about?" Naruto raised his eyebrow in confusion and looked puzzled. "You had nothing to do with Yang's horrible…"
"Not about the pies!" Weiss flushed a deep crimson as she was reminded of the incident and wanted to stomp another mudhole into the blonde's rear end for that before taking a moment to recollect herself as she looked up at him. "No, I meant snapping at you at the table. I only heard the part about the money and not wanting to go home. I immediately got defensive, but when I heard what you said, I realized I had made a mistake. After hearing you mention that you had no family or a place to call home, I felt so embarrassed. It makes my matters seem trivial in comparison."
Giving a soft corner smile as he walked beside her, Naruto met Weiss' gaze and spoke in a soothing, warm tone. "To me and my life, maybe, but that's such a belittling way to put that. For you, it's something that's been eating away at you and stressing you out. It's not something you are comfortable dealing with to the extent that you didn't go home, so it had to be serious. I would want to see my family under nearly any circumstances, so it does confuse me."
"That being said," Naruto continued as they walked forward, focusing on the path ahead as they came to the hill and saw everyone had traveled down it from the footprints and tracks, frowning as this wasn't the usual way to go, but he was starting to feel something ahead and wasn't sure what it was and seeing them run off ahead, he was less certain. "If you aren't comfortable talking about it, we don't have to. Not everyone finds talking about their problems easy. Took me years to figure that out, and losing someone I cherished in the process."
Glad he wasn't pushing, as she didn't feel like talking about her problems out loud was the best way for her, Weiss slowly and carefully took the treaded path alongside Naruto. "Thank you. It's not simple, but I can say my family is, not pleasant. I love them, but our relationships are not great, or even good, for that matter. My closest relationship is with my butler Klein since my sister was stripped of her heiress status…"
Naruto's ears perked at that detail as Weiss froze stiff as they stopped on the hill, biting her lip and berating herself for letting that slip. She then sighed, closing her eyes momentarily to compose herself. She opened them and gazed at her current partner. "Well, it's not like that wasn't made abundantly clear by my father when he announced I was the heiress. I was never meant to be the heiress. I was the second born, after all. My sister was born first, and the role naturally belonged to her as it has been done in our family for generations. My great-grandmother passed on the rights to quarries to my grandfather, so we've been in control of them for a long time…"
"There are a lot more of the Schnee clan than I realize, isn't there?" Naruto winced as he began to realize there was a distinct possibility that there were quite a few men, women, and children that all belonged to this family, and he hoped they weren't all like…
Well presented themselves like Weiss did when she arrived.
"And what is that supposed to mean?" Weiss feigned anger by placing her hands on her hips and glaring at Naruto before softly bringing her hand to her face, covering her mouth as she gently giggled. "We're not that common, and all of the family lives in the floating city of Atlas above Mantle." But to be brutally honest, from what I've seen of my uncles and aunts, they aren't too different from my father since the money has gone to their heads…"
Naruto curiously tilted his head, surprised as he naturally figured their family had been wealthy, considering they had owned the Dust mines. "So you weren't always rich? I might have to rethink my nickname for you as I always thought you were born into riches, princess. Hard to imagine you without your natural elegance or wearing designer clothing. It'd be interesting to see you in street clothes."
"Ha, ha. Very funny." Weiss rolled her eyes as they reached the bottom of the hill, Naruto assisting her as it became very steep by offering her hand, and she daintily accepted with grace. "Thank you. And yes, my family wasn't always rich, but it was well before my time. They were doing fine, from what my mother said, and never hurt for money, but my grandfather wasn't a very successful businessman. That's where my father came in. He stepped up and made the business super profitable like no other before it, and in exchange for all his hard work, all he wanted was my mother's hand and well…"
"Grandfather accepted, and the Schnee dynasty as it is now was born," Weiss said, but there almost seemed a sullen undertone to her words as she stopped and looked up at the shattered moon of Remnant. "Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if he hadn't accepted. What if mother found someone she truly loved and she ran away with? Then maybe I could stop having to wish those fairy tales she used to read me when I was small would come true…"
"Weiss?" Naruto expressed his concern, feeling the turmoil building within her, and hearing what she said only made him worry, but suddenly her ice-cold demeanor returned once more.
"What utter tripe and nonsense. I can't wait for a shining knight to come save me. I had to do it myself! This world is what you make of it, and I refuse to be bogged down by trivialities of such irreverence." Weiss turned from the moon with intent before she nearly recoiled, seeing Naruto look worriedly at her before she muttered under her breath. "At least I did…"
Deciding to ignore that, even though his ears twitched as he caught it as clear as day, Naruto frowned momentarily before seeing her shoulders raise ever so higher. She lifted a burden off her shoulders, and he gave her a light grin and closed his eyes. "You feel a little better getting that out of your system?"
Narrowing her eyes at his grin, Weiss wanted to retort back with an ugly comment, but she had to admit he was right. So instead, she only scathingly glared at him with her icy blues. "I hate that it works. If you tell a soul anything I said here…"
"Not a word. And I don't go back on my word." Naruto responded and motioned by zipping his lips shut, comforting Weiss as she knew he meant that. "But I think we should catch up with the others before they get into trouble. I have a feeling things are about to start getting rough soon. That negativity isn't moving, and I don't like it, but…"
"I feel like it's just hanging above us now, watching everything."
"Yeah, it does feel…" Weiss started before their scroll buzzed, and she frowned as she prepared to answer it and saw who it was. "Ren's calling everyone. We're not that far from him…"
Naruto frowned and looked at where they had run off to when they were at the top of the hill. His eyes narrowed, and he growled. "So it begins."
"This is going to be how this night goes…"
"Nora! That's the hill!" Ren called out before wincing as Nora slid and started to slide down the hill. "Oh, that won't end…
"AHAHAHAHA!" Nora laughed as Blake looked on, skidding to a stop, stifling a laugh watching Nora have fun sliding down the hill before she collided with the powder making a giant snow wake below, jumping back up and pumping her hammer. "That was awesome!
Making it to the hill himself, Ren sighed but smiled, seeing his gleeful teammate giving him a massive grin at the bottom. "You should slide down and join me! It's awesome!"
Ren sighed and shook his head as she slowly began to trek his way down the hill carefully, treading a path down as Blake was already doing the same. Neither was as daring as his partner. Nor did they want to test their luck and possibly splat against one of the dozens of trees she had missed on her way down. While exciting to her, it wasn't to them. She was, well…
Nora was Nora.
"Well, that's no fun. You got to live a little-" Nora complained, seeing both making their way down to her before she turned suddenly behind her, frowning as she saw nothing but swore she could have heard something. "Ah, Ren? Do you feel anything with your super sensitive super sleuthing?"
"I can't sense Grimm if that's what you're asking, but Naruto said he couldn't sense any in the area," Ren called from midway up the hill as he looked down at Nora, looking rather skittish. "It's probably a bird…"
"I don't see any wildlife around. It's kind of weird at this time of night." Blake interrupted as she looked around with her eyes glowing a bright gold and frowned. "I would expect something like a rabbit, fox, deer, or, as you said, a bird, but there is nothing. It's like something has spooked them all, and that's not normal. Everything is quiet, and nothing is here."
Ren pursed his lips at Blake's response. While it worried him, he absently had to wonder how she could see in the dark so well. There was only one answer for that, but she gave no visible traits to…
Glancing at the bow for only a second, Ren shrugged the thought off as it was more than understandable why she was hiding in plain sight before returning to the matter at hand as they reached the bottom of the hill with Nora. "So it is really like Naruto, and I fear. Something is in the air tonight…"
"It's starting to seem that way." Blake frowned as she glanced around the wooded area they ended before sighing as she pointed over to a clearing. "If we circle around this way, we'll be back on the front path to the village. We should run into Ruby's group. We should probably let them know there is no wildlife in the area."
Ren nodded as it made logical sense, slowly beginning to trek in that direction with Blake when he realized Nora had not moved. "Nora? What's wrong?"
He instantly recognized the look of terror on her face. His eyes narrowed as he followed what she was looking at, and his eyes narrowed as he couldn't quite make out what she saw as it was. And he growled as he saw something move deeper into the woods amongst the treetops, floating and moving further away from them with what looked to be tentacles. "What the hell is that?
"Some kind of new Grimm?" Blake hissed as she drew Gambol Shroud, keeping her eye on the floating creature. "I'm chasing after it and…"
"Wait! Nora, snap out of it!" Ren grabbed Nora by the shoulders seeing her aqua eyes glazed over, shaking her once, and in an instant, she sprung to life and inhaled deeply, and her body trembled. "What happened?"
"It happened again! I was there! I was home! We were under the house…" Nora began to explain, and Ren's eyes widened before he gritted his teeth. "I saw so many people die, Ren…"
Embracing Nora, rubbing her back in slowly soothing circles, Ren comforted her as she embraced him with a tight and fearful squeeze. "It's okay. We made it out of there, and that thing will never haunt our nightmares again. All right, Nora? We became hunters so we could take care of ourselves and finally deal with that monstrosity ourselves when the day comes."
Taking a few breaths, Nora's confidence returned as she let go of Ren and her aqua gaze met Ren's, and she gave a firm nod. Smiling, seeing her strength return, he hastily turned to see Blake ready for them as the Grimm had left, and he could hear Naruto and Weiss at the top of the hill. "That thing can affect one's mind or evoke a fear-inducing reaction that triggered that memory. Let's go."
Learning more about her friends' pasts than she would have liked, Blake frowned as she nodded her golden eyes and quickly spotted the creature as the three of them moved forward. Her eyes narrowed. It was as if it was purposely staying on the edge of her vision. It was as if it wanted to be tracked, and she scowled at that. "I don't like this. It's as if it's leading us somewhere. It's like it has some sentience! What Grimm acts like this?! They're supposed to be aggressive!"
"I'm calling the others." Ren pulled out his scroll and established a connection with everyone else's scrolls as fast as he could, not liking what he felt was going on. "Made contact with a never before seen Grimm. Seems to float and use some mind-altering abilities."
"What? I was just with you." Naruto's voice came from over the scroll, and he sounded surprised. "There wasn't a Grimm in the area, and I could only feel a sense of negativity, but it didn't feel Grimm-like in nature. It felt like something more…"
"Well, dreadful, if I'm being honest." Naruto continued while trying not to sound as unsettled as he was. "We all need to meet up now. Stop following it. Something is wrong. I've felt like something has been watching me for a while now."
"You too?" Fox stated in an alert tone from his scroll. "I've been having Ada use a sonic pulse around me, but I've been getting nothing. Yet I can't shake the feeling that something is watching. Something unnatural is happening around me, but I can't pinpoint it."
"Everything feels dead around us too. Like nothing is here. All the animals have gone silent or just not around." Velvet confirmed Fox's suspicions as she was paired up with her partner like usual, along with Jaune and Pyrrha.
Blake growled as she noticed the same thing. "What can cause such a thing? It's like they're anticipating something…"
"An attack! There are so many Grimm!" Ruby screamed from her end of the scroll, and everyone's eyes widened. "I'm looking through my scope, and I can't even count all of them! Beowolves! Ursa! Creeps! Baby Nevermore! A big one! A Goliath! And this weird one is hovering above all of them that I've never seen before!"
"Ren!" Nora cried, her eyes widening as he turned to what she saw, and he looked shocked, seeing where the orb was leading them.
A horde of Grimm emerged from the trees ahead, and Nora's cry echoed throughout the scroll. "I don't think it's alone!"
"I think we have the same situation over here!" Ren, his eyes narrowed, seeing the Grimm emerging from the distance, barked over the scroll. "Ruby! Is there a Grimm with a spherical head with tentacles that have barbs at the end of it?"
"Yeah?" Ruby's voice came from the other end with some hesitancy.
"Be careful of that one. It might have some illusional ability based on fear. It petrified Nora when she first saw it and drew her into old memories." Ren warned over the line, ensuring everyone knew what had happened. "There is no telling what else it can do, and if there are this many Grimm, it likely is what is drawing them here and possibly leading them…"
"A mother brain Grimm?" Naruto dropped by next to them, Weiss rushing over behind in the distance before looking up to where Ren's eyes were leading and using his scroll to take a picture of it. "Let's see if we can get any information on it while we're here. Velvet, is there anything happening at your location?"
"Nothing I can see." Velvet worriedly spoke as she seemed to be looking around and couldn't find anything. "And your clone says it can't sense any Grimm nearby."
"Yatsu, use a flare to signal your position. Defend the village from that position. We'll handle this location." Naruto ordered as he drew Shattered Dreams from his back and growled as he pulled out a tool flare of his own, bursting it into the sky. "I've marked our location too! Keep your guard up and stay safe. Something still doesn't feel right."
"The air is heavy, and I swear something is watching!" He stated as he drew a single shuriken from his pouch, concentrating his chakra, and threw it toward the charging horde, quickly forming eight half seals as he waited until it was close to the horde to activate it. "Shuriken Kage Bunshin!"
One shuriken became hundreds, and each pierced, tore, and cut into the Grimm before dispersing into clouds of smoke. Some bounced off and turned into poofs of smoke as they hit sturdier targets at slightly off angles due to their mass creations. A lot tore into Grimm flesh, and even a few stopped a few dead in their tracks as the throwing stars pierced into the creature's eyes. The throwing stars clipped many of the baby Nevermores and completely shredded them. The pack of Beowolves and Creeps separated from their Alphas as the larger ones continued their charge, with a few being pelted while a few dropped dead in their tracks.
And then a loud crow erupted from above as a Nevermore flew high overhead from above and a Goliath charged with the rest of the others. "Here they come!"
Ren opened fire, shooting burst shots with dual pistols StormFlower, focusing on the smaller Grimm. Seeing one shuriken transform into what seemed like a thousand was a surprise. However, it was a useful tactic as the smaller Grimm scattered, and many of the Nevermore were taken out. Blake quickly picked up the rest next to him after mopping the rest up with the rest of his suppressing fire. Still, there were too many, and the Creeps and Wolves were getting close.
The Goliath was suddenly pushed back as an explosive purple round exploded in its face in the shape of a heart, stumbling the massive Grimm. Nora grinned maniacally as she fired another round of Magnhild at the Grimm as it charged in, causing it to trumpet in pain as it stumbled and giving everyone a chance to jump and move out of the path of all the charging Grimm. "I've got this guy! The big ones are my specialty! The larger they are, the more I have to hit!"
"Leaving it to you!" Naruto called out as the large Nevermore flapped its wings above, feather darts reigning down upon them from above, forcing everyone to scatter as he jumped from tree to tree, being joined by Blake. "I'm going after big bird!"
"Let me help!" Blake hissed as she took a few shots at the baby Nevermores flying around them. "There are so many of these things flying around I can thin them out and… Are those Griffons up there flying by that thing?!"
"Yes, yes, those are! Lovely night this is turning out!" Naruto transformed Dream and took a shot at Beowolf that lunged toward them before offering his hand to Blake. "Well, no time like the present, my lady. Ready to fly!"
Taking the offered hand, her eyes widened as she felt her left shoulder almost be pulled out of its socket. Blake grimaced. She would lambaste him later for that but feeling the wind rushing around her made her eyes glisten.
She was in the sky! How far did he throw her in a single toss?! How strong was he?!
Was that why her shoulder felt like it was pulled out of her socket?
The asshole!
Drawing Shroud and cutting through several smaller Nevermores, she estimated her height which was still rising, to be around practice airdrop distance. And she thought Nora and Yang were freakishly strong. She didn't even see his eyes glow gold! What the hell was this?! Only now was her momentum starting to fade!
Okay, she needed to hear more of his stories! What the hell bullshit did he have to deal with in his world to require this level of strength?!
Putting her mental rant aside and knowing she needed to use her momentum, Blake transformed Shroud into Kusarigama mode, tightening the ribbon around her left hand. With a precise toss, she stuck the blade into the spine of the large Nevermore.s. Tightening the ribbon as she ascended higher from the momentum, she drew the cleaver sheath from Shroud off her back and into her left as she was snapped down due to the tension. Shroud Kusarigama's head loosened from the back of the Nevermore and sliced out of the Grimm, but with her momentum shot putted straight at it, she cleaved into its spine as the massive Raven cawed in annoyance.
It was enough to draw its attention onto her and draw its attention away from the true threat as an orange blur rocketed from below, driving a massive kunai into its throat with his right and, with inhuman strength that she already deduced, driving a left fist into the bottom of its beak. And with it cracked open, he gripped the edge using the same hand and snapped it open.
And then, with a grin, Naruto tossed what looked like a tag down its open beak. His voice barely carried over the howling winds, making Blake's bow twitch in horror as she just caught what he said.
Blake's eyes widened as she remembered what was on the end of that shuriken that blew up the Apathy.
"Fire in the hole!"
"You're kidding me!" Blake roared against the wind as the blonde fox let go and free fell into the wind, and suddenly, the Nevermore's head erupted into flames and shattered into smoke, and black viscera scattered into the air.
Her eyes then grew wide as she lost her footing, sliding off the back of the flying Grimm as it violently spasmed and flung backward from the shockwaves. She was sent hurdling in the air with dozens of baby Nevemores around. A Griffon swooped in, trying to snap at her, but she reflexively dodged in mid-air, slashing at the Grimm's beak as it snapped at her and tried to bite her midsection. It screeched in pain as she transformed Shroud into its gun and Kusarigama form, firing shots as she continued falling to the earth below.
Only for a pair of hands wrapped around her ankles, her eyes widening.
"What the fuck?!" Blake couldn't believe what she saw as a chain of Naruto and his clones formed and now had her grasped in the air and controlling where they were flying as they fell, and she couldn't help but be caught off guard by what the blonde was capable of. "Seriously, how?!"
"I've got a lot in my bag of tricks, and funnily enough, this is not the first time I've done this!" Naruto grinned and let his voice carry through the howling, freezing winds, possibly being the real one, as he grinned at Blake while holding tightly to her ankles. "Though the last time I used it to slam someone into the ground, I was set on fire and driven from a cliff onto my skull for my troubles. So I guess I haven't learned my lesson!"
"Now lead the way, my lady! You're the head of this chain scythe! We'll follow your lead and direct you where you want to go!"
"You were what?!" Blake roared, hearing something about fire and being spiked on his head before she was pulled out and snapped in half by a Griffon's beak.
She angrily threw the head of her weapon, holding tightly onto the ribbon. She embedded it into the Grimm's neck for its interruption and pulled down to try and gash the Grimm's thick hide open. She hadn't anticipated that she had created a pivot point and the chain of Naruto's swung forcefully upwards back into the sky. Her surprise only lasted a moment as she took advantage of the momentum of the swing to embed the head of Shroud further and rip into the Griffon deeper. She grinned as this was just like using Shroud, only a massive chain of humans…
Kind of weird in that context when she thought about it.
The Grimm was pulled and yanked with the chain before Shroud was violently ripped through the hide of its neck, rupturing smoke as it fell to the earth below, crashing through the trees.
"What was that?" Weiss screamed as she barely avoided a Griffon crash through the treetops, smashing on top and crushing several Beowolfs and Creeps before shouting. "That does not help! That makes things significantly harder, you two!"
"Just how are they doing that up there and not falling? That defies the laws of physics." Ren questioned before turning his focus on the Griffon that fell from above and the Goliath that Nora was dealing with, and now only an Alpha Beowulf and a few regular Creep and Beo's remaining. "It almost seems like magic…"
"Really cool magic!" Nora grinned as she panted, firing another round at the Goliath and knocking it off balance. "Man, this guy is tougher than I thought. I could use a boost right now. Weiss! Got any Yellow Dust to hit me with?!"
"What?!" Weiss screamed as she jumped away from a Beowolf trying to slash at her, creating a sigil mid-air to quickly land on and change direction before countering with a quick slash through the Grimm's face, ending the creature's life before she glared at the orange head's direction. "Are you mad?! I'm not doing that! That will seriously injure you!"
"No, seriously!" Nora stated as if it was obvious before as Ren sliced a Creep that got too close before focusing his fire on the Griffon that was slowly regaining consciousness from being knocked out of the sky. "That's my semblance! I absorb electric charges that dramatically increase my physical strength! It might hurt like a lot. Like when I got struck by lightning when I was a kid, it completely knocked me unconscious! But it really amps up the power, and I can hit way harder! It's why I always charge myself and have a little residual charge every morning just in case things go wrong, so I'm ready!"
Weiss' eyes couldn't increase in size further as she looked at Nora. Did she admit she was struck by lightning when she was a child? Just what was she?! What was Naruto?! He was making copies of himself and flipping a chain of himself, holding onto her teammate in the air, gashing and cutting through Griffon's and baby Nevermores through the sky, using their momentum to beat gravity!
Having had enough of all this nonsense, Weiss shouted as she switched Myrtenaster's chamber to yellow dust and charged her blade in her general direction. "I swear you are all insane! Don't say I didn't warn you!"
"Yeah, I know… Umph!" Nora grinned before her eyes widened as a charged streak of golden lightning burst pulsed from Myrtenaster's blade as she triggered her weapon, striking her in the chest and knocking the hammer wielder flying and skidding into the snowy terrain below.
"Nora! Are you okay?!" Weiss cried out, thinking she might have overdone it as she started to run over to her friend before seeing a shaking Nora slowly rise.
And she grinned as purple electricity began to spark around her while the ground started to rumble. Weiss quickly turned to see the Goliath charging and changed Myrtenaster to blue dust to slow down the massive Grimm, creating a wall of ice crystals before them. It was not enough as the gigantic elephant shattered through the wall with ease, barely being hindered by the wall making the Schnee heiress stumble back as she hardly had time to move out of the way or try to get Nora out of the way.
Only for Nora to suddenly spring forth with electricity crackling around her wildly with Magnhild transformed as she jumped straight into the Goliath. With a primal scream, she drove the head of the hammer into the skull of the beast. And her grin was plastered on her face as the massive Grimm's weight gave way and was driven back. There was a loud crack as the elephant was forced off its feet and flew into the air, rearing onto its hind legs as it landed with a heavy thud on the ground further away.
Seeing the opening to strike as the Goliath trumpeted in pain, its neck exposed, several black glyphs formed before Weiss as she saw her opportunity. Switching Myrtenaster to red dust, the blade began to glow a red hue as it heated to a crimson hue, and she made her move. Bursting forward, breaking through the glyphs and gaining more and more speed as she did, she blurred behind a wave of fire trailing behind her blade as it sliced through the throat. Forming one last blue glyph to create a solid platform to bounce back and finish it, slashing through the other side of the massive Grimm's powerful and thick neck, leaving a blazing trail of flames as she sliced through, blitzing by faster than the Goliath could react.
However, her landing was rough as she attempted one last glyph and found her aura somewhat depleted. After trying to land properly, she slid and tumbled through the powdery and icy conditions below. At least she could see the Goliath was dissolving into smoke and dispersing as all Grimm did upon death, so she had finished that, so all that was left were a few Creep and Beowolves on the ground. Ren and Nora could mop that up quickly as she recovered and let her aura charge up…
A loud screech reminded her of the downed Griffon as she tried to stagger back to her feet, recognizing the danger she was in as the Griffon had reawoken. Ren's covering fire did nothing as it galloped forward, its beak ready to chomp. Only for a hammer to meet its beaked face. Nora, still charged with electricity, smashed it down to the ground, her entire body jittering as she landed on top of the Grimm. "Oh, ho! That was a good charge! Haven't felt that in a-WOAH!"
Being flung off the Griffon as it swung its head back up and flapped its wings, angrily chomping at Nora only to have StormFlower hit it in the face like a boomerang, redirecting its attention as it sliced into its beak before being reflected off and into a nearby tree. It cawed angrily and flapped its wings in annoyance upon seeing the young man that had thrown his weapon at it. Just as it was about to gallop in his direction, smoke erupted from its neck and powder snow burst from beneath it.
And Blake held Shroud extended as she knelt in the cratered snow, her aura phasing around her as she used it to shield herself from landing on impact. Her golden eyes glimmered as smoke poured above her head. The Griffon's head slid off its body, falling next to her as she slowly and wobbly stood back up. Her knees shook weakly before she glared back up to the sky, seeing the chain of Naruto's had broken and cried out at them and were handling the last few Griffon as smoke rained from above. "A little less force next time! I barely could absorb that fall and land properly!"
"Well, we did skip the day they were going to do high altitude landing practice, but that was extraneous circumstances…" Ren commented before getting a death stare from Blake and winced at the pressure she was imparting from it.
"I know, Ren! We were all there for that and wouldn't have been able to pay attention that day regardless due to everything that happened to Velvet and Naruto!" Blake snapped as she remembered why they skipped class that day before she turned towards Weiss, her eyes widening as she transformed Shroud into Kusarigama. "Weiss, look out!"
"What?" Weiss panted as she moved towards her while Nora flattened a Creep.
Narrowing his eyes, seeing the same thing, Ren dashed over to collect his other half of StormFlower, sliding under the Alpha Beowolf and gashing its right ankle with a slash before making it to his weapon. He made each shot count, delivering two straight to the skull of the Alpha and dropping it. But as he turned, he saw it and his eyes widened.
A black pulse filled the area, knocking everything back as a searing pain filled Weiss' back as she felt something harsh pierce through her lower back, piercing through all the way and out her abdomen.
Weiss couldn't comprehend the sensation as she felt something writhing within the searing and piercing pain. Trembling as she could feel a familiar liquid draining out of her and down her stomach and onto her leg, she looked down on the right side of her lower abdomen and saw a barbed tentacle before it ripped back out.
She screamed in agony as she fell to her knees and rolled to her back to see what looked like a crimson crystal orb floating above her with a massive of tentacles, one retracting back to the Grimm as another easily swatted away with Shroud as Blake tried to slash the Grimm from a range while closing into her friend.
"So this is the Fated Queen?" A dark and powerful, feminine voice spoke out from the orb as it seemingly looked down upon Weiss as he struggled to scuttle away in the snow. "What a pity. I do think a queen should be far more powerful and majestic, unlike yourself."
A dark malevolence filled the area, rooting Weiss in place. She was unable to move, her body shivering and her eyes quivering and tearing from the terror exerted upon her. Any time she had seen her father upset paled in comparison to this! Whenever she saw anyone assert their presence upon another, especially being around Naruto and how he could impart his intent onto others…
There was just something terrifying about this will!
"Let's see if this course can be corrected."
Tendrils lifted from the core of its body, and with its barbs bared towards Weiss, each lashed out at the petrified and injured trainee.
Blood splattered on the powder snow.
Smoke poured from the severed tendrils.
And powder engulfed both of them as the Grimm was hit with an orange blur that came from above with tremendous force, and several dozen others scattered around the forest.
Staining her face and clothes was a crimson elixir not of her own, and Weiss' eyes widened seeing a kneeling form before her. "Blake?!"
Breathing heavily as she had several tendrils piercing through her, one in her left collar bone, one through her stomach, and another two right thighs and calf, Blake groaned painfully as at least she cut through the other tendrils quickly enough. Those would have been too much to deal with if they had hit center mass. And at the same time, the rest of the tendrils had slacked as Naruto had come in, simultaneously cutting another tendril with a throw of his weapon and driving his blue orb into the Grimm faster than she could have reacted.
But it still wasn't enough. If she hadn't gotten in the way, Weiss would have been…
Seeing her friend bleeding and wounded in front of her snapped her back into reality. Regaining her strength despite her own injuries, Weiss gripped Myrtenaster and sliced through the tendrils piercing through Blake and freeing her from the grip of the Grimm. They whipped back and retracted to the core before another pulse of dark energy filled the area, knocking everyone off their feet except Naruto as the dying Grimm slowly faded into smoke. One lone tendril wrapped around his wrist.
And he gripped his head painfully as the dark wave pulsed over everyone. He felt as if something was invading the deep recesses of his very core. Like something dark and maligned was slithering and crawling its way through his very being. Recognizing the sensation, having had a minor session with a certain mind invader on this matter, he gripped the tentacle and ripped it off him. And in an instant he felt the presence leave his being and panted as he looked at the orb before stomping the head into smoke.
"Perfection! His calling card was true! You are utterly magnificent and what I seek!" A dark and twisted voice filled the air leaving Naruto with a twisted snarl on his face. "I will do you a service and call back my other eye and spare your friends from my assault! You can have this place as I no longer need it! You have shown me what I needed to see and granted me my wildest desire!"
"Till we meet again, my Fated King!"
Biting back a growl, not even hesitating as he knew his clones were mopping the rest of the minor Grimm in the area, Naruto swiftly was at Blake and Weiss' side, seeing they were struggling to get back up. "Stay down. The more you move, the more you cause your wounds to bleed. I only know medical first aid in the field, but Sakura pounded that knowledge into me until she was confident I could perform basic wound cleaning and sutures."
Naruto pulled out his scroll, along with an actual scroll and opened communication with it. "Coco, Ruby! What's the situation over there?!"
"We're almost all clear over here!" He could hear Coco's confidence over the scroll and wanted to twitch at the girl. "That flying orb Grimm just left before we could do anything, and we are mopping up the stragglers over here. Good thing, too, as my rounds weren't doing anything to it, and I felt off about it."
"Yeah, everything went by rather smoothly over here. Coco's fire handled everything with wings easily and even allowed us to pin the Goliath down, giving Yatsu and Pyrrha an easy kill on the Grimm." Ruby commented, genuinely impressed with her senior classmates and impressed by them. "Fox and Velvet were so cool too! I didn't know your weapon could do that, Velvet! That's so awesome…"
"Enough chatter and clear the rest of the Grimm while someone runs and gets two beds ready and cleaned up at the cabins!" Naruto ordered as he examined the wounds on both Blake and Weiss more thoroughly. "We had our orb over here attack along with a flock of Griffons joining in on the fun, and Blake and Weiss are injured! I'm calling Oz for a medical team, but it will take time before they arrive! I'm going to move them to that room as soon as they're sedated."
"I'm on it!" Both Velvet and Jaune's voices called out from over the scroll as Naruto pulled out what seemed to be a small pill bottle from his scroll.
"What is that?" Weiss asked honestly as she looked at the medicine Naruto had pulled out, for it looked like nothing she had ever seen before.
Or at least nothing she had taken before.
"It's a heavy sedative, although it's mild for me. Depending on the dosage and size of the person, it is meant to put them in a daze and even allow them to drift to a medically induced sleep while I can work and clean up the wounds. For you two, it will definitely knock you both out, given that it was meant to put me and my hyperactive system into a daze. So..." Naruto gave a truthful answer as he looked into Weiss' eyes and tried to offer her a comforting smile.
"Okay." Weiss nodded while still worried, trying to force a brief smile in her state as she understood, not wanting to feel what was about to happen.
Then Blake hissed and snapped his head in her direction as Ren and Nora joined them to see what they could do to assist. "I refuse."
"What?" Naruto blinked as he looked at Blake in disbelief and looked at her current condition. "Blake, there isn't time to argue this…"
Blake hissed and stopped Naruto mid-sentence as he gave a pill to Weiss to allow her to take, and she dutifully swallowed even if it was difficult to do so drily. "I am not taking any pharmaceutical medicine that those bastards used to drive the poor and a lot of faunus to poverty…"
"Blake!" Naruto growled as he moved over to his fellow faunus, cupping his hand on Blake's cheeks and forcing her golden eyes to lock into his. "This isn't a request. Either you will take the pill, or I will shove it down your throat and force you to swallow it. You really don't want to feel it when I'm putting a needle through your skin, do you?!"
"It wouldn't be the first time." Blake hissed in response as her breathing labored, glaring defiantly into Naruto's cerulean gaze.
Then her eyes widened in pain as he gripped a smoking tendril in her right thigh without breaking eye contact, and she screamed in agony as he ever so slightly tugged on it. "Are you going to take the medication now, or do you want to feel that be removed?! Because you have four embedded about an inch or two deep into you!"
Blake, still with defiance in her eyes, heatedly glared at the fox before holding out her hand. "Give me the damn pill, you asshole!"
Placing the pill in her hands and watching her to make certain she took it and swallowed it, Naruto wasn't sure where this defiance came from, but it was something new with his friend, and he didn't exactly like this trait of hers. He was sure it was founded and based on something, but…
Grabbing his scroll, now further annoyed, he closed his line to the others before opening it to include Ozpin and Glynda as he made his call. Seeing the wizard never seemed to sleep, as he subsisted on nothing but coffee, he didn't have to wait long as the headmaster's voice smoothly answered. "Well, this is a rather late call. Whatever could it be, Naruto?"
"I need you to round up a medical team and send them to the village immediately." Naruto gave Ozpin an order through the scroll as he heard the other line answer as Glynda picked up her end of the scroll. "Blake and Weiss were wounded during a massive coordinated Grimm assault on the village. I am currently tending to their injuries, and they shouldn't be too severe if treated properly as they are simple puncture wounds, but I am unsure of what that Grimm was capable of. I've never seen it before or know if it uses any poison. It was capable of speech and had weird tentacles…"
"A Seer." Ozpin seemed genuinely upset hearing what had occurred and about that particular Grimm. "Do not worry about poison. That is not a concern. Its powers are… Well, you probably saw what it could do, and if you heard the voice, the void is finally making her move."
"Her voice?" Naruto questioned, hearing that before shaking his head as he noted Weiss was starting to look drowsy and saw his med was kicking in. "Get a medical team over here! My first aid skills are only meant to keep the blood inside! I need actual medics and doctors here to work on them. I know we aren't anywhere close to getting them to proper care, and my care is substandard at best! Then we can transport them to a hospital if necessary if their aura isn't enough to recover the rest of the damage."
"Already making the preparations and having the medical staff brought to speed." Naruto could hear Glynda frown at the headmaster before she gave Naruto reassurance. "I'll have a Bullhead prepped and ready to head to your location immediately, so we'll be there shortly, but how serious are the wounds? A detailed description would help so I can…"
"Video feed works too." Glynda was caught by surprise seeing the video feed as she knew Naruto still didn't understand half of what the scroll functions were, not knowing Ren took the scroll from Naruto having heard what was going on and decided to take over, activating the camera function and panned over Blake and Weiss' injuries to give her a visual on what had happened. "Deep punctures wounds, through and through on Weiss. Possible intestinal damage to both. All right, that's good. I think the medics can get what tools they need to work with from this."
"Whatever you do, do not remove the barbs until we arrive." Glynda iterated over the scroll, making Naruto growl, seeing Blake's state and the amount of blood she was losing. "Despite the loss of blood she is suffering, it will only be worse if you pull all of them at once. Even with a field patching, that will do more harm than good, and like it or not, those barbs are holding more blood in. It's advisable to clean and dress the wound around them."
"I know that." Naruto bit his lip, familiar with field first aid but was still weighing the option of if he could remove them before nodding and giving in. "Yeah, I can do that. Make sure you get here quickly. I have them sedated, and they will be out for at least a day with the medication I gave them."
"Lovely to hear…" Weiss muttered as her eyelids fluttered, the medication Naruto had given her began to take full effect, and her gaze turned to the blonde fox. "Whatever that anesthetic you had on you was… Something else. Wow, I can't feel anything… Anymore."
"I did say it would knock you unconscious. That particular sedative was meant for me. It was in case I blew my arm up again and had to have it repaired in the field. It was meant to put me in a state so I could be healed without thrashing around, seeing as my metabolism is unique due to my rapid natural recovery." Naruto responded as both Nora and Ren were shocked upon hearing that, but Weiss, in her addled state for some reason, only giggled, making him sigh. "Ah, you've reached that state. Forgot that was a possible side effect…"
"Well, that means I can move you without causing you pain and work on cleaning the wounds in a more secure environment." Naruto's ears dropped before they perked back up, and he tried to look on the positive side.
"Fuck…this…medicine…" Blake hissed with pauses in her speech as she glared at Naruto, still very annoyed, for she started to feel drowsy and blinked her eyes. "What the hell…did you do to…me? Not natural… Feel weird… Drunk. Hate it."
Pulling forth what seemed to be a makeshift stretcher from his scroll, baffling both Nora and Ren for why he even had one of those on hand, Naruto, and set at Blake's side as she was the more critically injured. He then communicated over the scroll as he was assisted by Ren and Nora to carefully slide Blake over onto it, who glared at them as she knew it was supposed to hurt but didn't feel anything. "I'm moving them to the cabin to clean and tend the wounds. I'm not sensing any more Grimm, but I'm leaving my clones out on deployment in case there are any more around."
"All arrangements have been made. We're on our way." Ozpin spoke from over the end of the line, his voice strained, but what caught Naruto's attention was what he said, and his eyes almost narrowed as the scroll call ended.
"We're? As in, you're coming, Oz?" Naruto growled as that seemed quite peculiar for the headmaster himself to come out for this incident.
Glynda wouldn't have shocked him, considering in the short two weeks since the police incident, he had come to learn and respect the witch more. She was more admirable than he gave her credit for and genuinely cared for every student on campus. And with how few students remained on campus during the holiday, of course, she was compelled to come to the aid of her injured students. That was logical and in character.
What was in it for Oz outside of hearing about that Seer…
"What happened here has something to deal with you, doesn't it?" Naruto muttered under his breath before turning his attention to Nora and Ren. "Take Blake. I'll carry Weiss the best I can. Be careful and watch your footing. My clones will keep you covered."
"Got it." Ren nodded as he took the head of the stretcher as Nora took the feet, and they both gently lifted the fading but still annoyed Blake, glaring at Naruto as she watched him gently scoop her arms beneath Weiss and lift her bridal style.
This made her growl instinctively as she looked at Weiss' dazed face, her eyes blurry and looking at Naruto without the guard and reservation she usually displayed. And she didn't like how delighted she seemed to be in his hold. Or the fact that she was reaching up and…
"Fluffy…" Weiss stated as she absently pinched and petted Naruto's right fox ear, causing his entire body to shiver.
It wasn't quite nearly as horrible as the incident when she planted a kiss on his cheek, but now he had learned something all new about the appendages that he wasn't aware of before. And he did not like it as he tried to refrain from growling. It wasn't like Weiss was doing it on purpose or was aware of what she was doing in her addled state. She would be asleep in a minute anyway...
"Stop… They're sensitive…" Blake hissed, brightly flushing as she was severely annoyed at Weiss' actions while she looked for something to throw at the Schnee heiress. "Never…Touch… Faunus'…Ears…Without…Permission! …Sensual…"
"What is happening?" Ren commented as Nora grinned and bit back a loud laugh while Naruto twitched in response.
Weiss didn't seem to care or register as she slowly slipped into a medically induced sleep, her hand sliding from his ear, but he swore she saw the slightest grin on the corner of the heiress' face before she fell unconscious. If she did that on purpose…
"Ahahaha! I think I know what this is about!" Nora couldn't hold it back any longer, and her laughter bellowed through the forest and received a glare from a still-conscious Blake. "Someone is…That was a weak kick, you know!"
Blake only glared as her feeble kick with her left leg hardly did anything as she barely felt her body in the slightest, and she could only blame the fox for making her take that vile pill. If she weren't slipping out of consciousness, she would give Nora a piece of her mind like Naruto and Weiss had done to Yang!
But as her head tilted to the side and she fell into the world of sleep, Naruto only sighed and shook off whatever this was. He stared at the white-haired princess in his grasp as he carefully made his way back up the hill and to their cabin, making sure not to agitate her wound any further. Her blood was already trickling onto him, and he had to move quickly, so he cleaned and dressed the wound.
Why was she so complicated? Why was everyone so complicated? Couldn't things be simple for once? He'd like that. For once, couldn't things just be straightforward? It would make his life a lot easier for once.
Sighing as he rolled his eyes, Weiss' head turned and snuggled into his chest almost on cue to make the situation even more awkward for him. Naruto shook his head. Of course not. Now he would have to deal with Ozpin soon too.
Joy to the world.
Course...
Corrected.
Anomaly...
Persists.
Part IV, The Finale.
December 30th.