This place was a dive. Very few people besides the bartender a few patrons drink at the tables. They might have had a few more if it wasn't for the 'No Faunus Allowed' sign out front but bigots were everywhere.
Even in Vale.
He was simply able to adapt and hide what he was with a transformation and no one could notice him. So flipping his cloak, he found his two targets and pulled up a seat.
"Care if join you guys tonight?" Naruto groaned as he sat on the edge of the table Taiyang and Qrow were drinking from.
Both noted his ears were gone but said nothing of it. Was a good ability to have and allowed one to slide into society much easier.
"After this afternoon, we all need a drink…" Taiyang muttered as he took a hard shot of whiskey. "Yang was never that fast and tried to use her head as much before, what the fuck did you do to my girl? She was nearly keeping up with me at half speed! …Thankful she burned out faster but still."
"Sake if you got it, otherwise I'll take a mug of the house brew…" Naruto ordered from the bartender who nodded and went to check his stock. "The speed is all the tree climbing exercise we been doing… I think everyone has been working on her making her take her time and kicking her ass thoroughly in the spars we had, making sure she doesn't get any offense in but making it slow and drawn out so she learns the lesson."
"All right… I'm going to need to learn that… That's too vital of a skill if it's that much of an increase." Taiyang groaned as he worked his jaw around a few times while Qrow smirked and was glad he took going after Ruby instead. "Also... What kind of sadistic asshole trained you?"
"The kind that reads smut openly to annoy you and belittle you as you can't even hit him in battle." Naruto grinned as both Qrow and Tai just shared a look of astonishment and decidedly they weren't going to pursue that line of inquiry any further as they shook their heads.
While emotional issues were harder to deal with… Yang left bruises that would last for while and he would feel for some time.
"So, do I even want to know what the dickhead wanted?" Qrow growled as he took a swig of his drink before looking over at Naruto. "As there are very few options and considering the Schnee girl wasn't whisked away back to their castle… I think I'm looking at the other few possibilities."
Thanking the bartender as they did have a few things of Sake on stock and warmed it up, Naruto took a small sip and sighed. "A whole bunch of bullshit that undermined Ruby's self-worth issues that have been going on, triggered Blake as well… No you don't know so skipping that one…"
"She's a Belladonna boy, I know who she is and I can only assume her issues with that man are not pleasant," Qrow responded letting him know he was more than aware of her heritage and while Taiyang seemed to be left in the dark he shrugged as he ordered another shot.
He did not want to remember the number of shots Yang got in on him. He was a little bruised and beaten up, to be honest.
"There's your answer then." Naruto took another drink as did Qrow. "Yang was also pissed and somehow was the more leveled-headed and kept Blake from doing anything from all the slurs thrown out as Jacques ordered his daughtered around to introduce the only important person amongst us, me… And then scheduled a diner date with me and Weiss at Stellaris on Friday and had the gall to ask Weiss to make sure I had something respectable to wear considering… Yeah…"
"He then finished by leaving by bidding us a farewell and calling everyone else just adequate… Which in his book probably means I see you as nothing." Naruto finished the rest of the drink before pouring another into his cup. "Not the best Sake but I've found a brand here I like yet… Baa-chan always had the best."
Qrow simply groaned as he finished her drink. "God that would do it… That man and just Atlas as a whole… I hate them so much… By the way, why the hell did you call Ironwood for?! Don't trust that asshole!"
Naruto only raised his eyebrow as he could feel there was intense distrust for the man and it seemed the entirety of Atlas as a whole. Naruto humored him, however. "You think I trusted him?"
Hearing those words both Qrow and Taiyang despite being on the tipsy side knew there was more to his words. Qrow followed up on him. "Kid, I work a lot with Ozpin, and recently there has been a rift between you two…"
"That's because he didn't tell me shit about everything I need to know and left me in the dark!" Naruto growled at Qrow before taking another drink of Sake and sighing. "I made the call as I needed information as we were looking for the missing Dust and I found four Prototype Paladin Mech suits down there… And at that moment everything went the alarms went off and I made the call to contain the situation."
"But… in the end, if it comes down to it, I'd probably trust Oz more than Ironwood after seeing that display of force in city limits. He willingly brought in an airship with his fleet attached just to contain the event for air support… I thought like sending in like a few Bullheads or something… I know a few things about overkill but damn." Naruto sighed as he lightly rubbed his temple before taking another drink.
Qrow could only take a breath as that was something he could believe from Ironwood. The man would go above and beyond if meant completing the mission. "That is why I don't trust him… Don't get me wrong, if my life is in his hand I'm willing to take that bet but it's the message he sent across in the process… And while your message sends hope that almost no one was hurt…"
"The presence of so much military force makes people worry… And when there is too much negative emotional response… Grimm come running." Taiyang finished as he got his shot and took it, having paid attention the entire time.
Frowning for that was something he only heard about and something he had yet to experience, Naruto shook his glass a little as he watched the liquid swirl. Suddenly Taiyang slammed his glass down and was in a more chipper mood, snapping Naruto and Qrow out of their funk. "Enough of this downer crap boys! Time for the real questions!"
Naruto was taken aback by this, not sure what to expect. "What?"
"Oh god… Tai, no." Qrow put his hand on his face in embarrassment before taking a deep drink as he had a feeling this was coming soon as Naruto joined.
He did not want to be aware or awake for this.
"Tai yes!" Taiyang responded with a grin before he looked deadly serious into Naruto's eyes making him question whether or not it was a good decision to sniff out where the father and uncle went to join them on their drinking night as he need one himself. "So my boy! Interesting that you happen to train with four young and gorgeous girls and I noticed that all of them have some level of attraction to you, even if Yang doesn't show it very well…"
As Taiyang's voice began to trail off Naruto realized the horror of what had been unleashed and why Qrow was ordering another, stronger drink. This was the dreaded tactic he heard so many fathers would use against potential suitors for their daughters…
However, he had an out of this situation and he planned on using it even if it was slightly falsifying the information. "Sir if you wouldn't mind… I am a recent widower and I have a difficult enough relationship as it is… Let us not bring up this kind of topic, shall we?"
"I… Uh…" Taiyang was shut down instantly as Qrow just left slacked jaw as he found the one way to get Tai off the subject he was on, hitting home on a very personal subject for him. "Oh… I should know better than that… I apologize."
"You didn't know, water under the bridge… Let's move to something else that isn't depressing." Naruto suggested as it was a smidgeon of truth in the statement as he was the one who died and he had plans to marry Hinata, and he knew she would have said yes before he put down the menu and pointed at an item. "The hell are these and are they good?!"
"Nachos? You've never had nachos?" Taiyang asked bizarrely as he looked at Naruto then over to a confused then back at Naruto. "Seriously? How is that possible?"
"Fuck it… Get a damn plate for him." Qrow sighed as he knew this was going to be a long night.
A very long night if didn't know what nachos were.
Neo knew that smell. It was the smell of when a plan went wrong and there was a very long night after. At least that it was for Roman…
And now it was coming from Naruto. But somehow it was far fouler… Like that of a skunk shot out its spray in a garbage can and then someone filled it with beer. And then beer gave birth and then afterbirth smeared all over Naruto...
She was not there for the incident but she was aware of the presence of the Schnee executive after he left and it was after she had cleared a path.
Her hard work to clear a path, wasted!
All she knew now was that there was a seven PM diner outing with Weiss at Stellaris with the man, everyone was still very off put and as everyone went to sleep Naruto snuck out and seem he drank…
And she missed her chance to record any of it to see if something amazing happened.
Neo twitched as she dumped a bucket of ice water on his face.
"Neo the fuck!" Naruto was quickly aware of his surroundings only to get flipped the bird by Neo in her maid outfit as she was in no mood this morning for her usual routine, just pointing to the coffee and then slamming the door shut.
Naruto blinked and tried to figure out why Neo was upset when the whiff of alcohol hit his senses. "Oh, this is pungent… Well, I did drink a lot but man that reeks worse than I thought. The hell did they put into their homebrew?"
"And why is she acting like she's my pissed off wife?" Naruto growled as he got up and took off his cloak that he slept in along with his top. "If anyone that should be…"
"Fucking god Naruto you smell like booze if it got in a fight with a garbage bin and then it got dumped into a vat of raw sewage!" Blake growled from the other side of the door before she used her scroll to enter, being given lock permissions to enter from Glynda, and was annoyed as she was still dressed in her yukata. "Neo just showed up in my room, shook me awake, and pointed your name in her book and I came running over… And you smell like this?! The hell were you doing last night?!"
"Drinking, obviously… With Ruby's and Yang's dad and uncle so I wasn't off galivanting if that's what you thinking." Naruto sighed as he grabbed a cup of coffee and noticed it was way strong. "Okay, think Neo was thinking I was going to have a hang-over or something…"
"With how you smell I would think that too… And that you fought a hundred skunk faunus or something cause my god." Blake commented as Naruto did wreak of liquor before she sigh. "I wasn't accusing… I was worried after yesterday… And it isn't a good habit."
"No, you're right… I just needed a moment and I happened to indulge in one of baa-chan's old habits to see if worked for me… It does not." Naruto drank another sip from the cup and sighed. "I can't get drunk and drank every bottle of sake they had and about ten mugs of homebrew. I started even stealing shots from Tai as I didn't want him to fall over while Qrow called a cab for him as he didn't want to be outdone before going with him to have him crash as his place."
Blake smiled at Naruto's admittance and was happy it seemed it was just a one-time thing. It was curious and fascinating he was perfectly fine after drinking that much but that was a benefit… She just did not want to have to deal with it…
Especially if this smell had anything to deal with it! It was horrendous! "That's good to hear… Now go take a shower! I'm dying…!"
Then she noticed something very curious and looked at Naruto's head and wanted to bring it up when the door opened once more.
"The hell is my dad texting me to make sure you're not dead… My god, you smell awful! Is this the stench of rotting carcasses mixed with every bad drink in the book?!" Yang walked over barely awake and groaning as she was not used to being awake at this hour and barely in clothing before the stench of booze hit her nose. "The fuck that woke me up! Now I underst… And you give me shit about drinking?!"
"First time I ever went out drinking, learned I can't get drunk and I drank more than a camel. … Their homebrew has a smell that can destroy nations after a certain amount of time after it is drunk. Things I've learned over the past eight hours." Naruto rolled his eyes at Yang who was looking at him very curiously despite holding her nightshirt over her nose.
"Uh, Naruto?" Yang walked over and then poked his head where his fox ears were supposed to be. "You might be missing something… Although I do have to say…"
Blinking at where Yang was poking Naruto frowned for a moment before cursing as he realized his transformation was still up the entire time he finally dropped it and his ears returned. "I forgot I could keep that up in my sleep… No wonder Baa-chan's never dropped.
"Ah… For some reason, it almost looked more natural without them." Yang commented without realizing that was originally the case for Naruto.
And that comment resonated with Blake as she had never seen Naruto without his fox ears and she pieced together his stories. "Is that… What you use to look like in your old world?"
"Wait, what?" Yang turned to Blake as her eyes widened as she realized what slipped and she covered her mouth. "The hell does that mean? Old world, use to look? Explain?!"
"It's okay Blake… As I said long ago, never was hiding it from anyone." Naruto moved over and gave her a small hug as she looked upset with herself. "And yes, that was what I looked like back then… Yang, you might want to go get dressed if you want an explan.. …ation?"
There was a pause as Yang grabbed snacks out of Naruto's cabinets before plopping down on his zabuton right in front of him, still barely contain in her nightwear. "Yeah, I'm here to stay for a while. Start from the beginning."
"I'm… Not comfortable with you in a half-dress state for as long as this might…" Naruto commented and tried to not look in the direction of the younger dragon as he now had the pleasure of dealing with the elder dragon.
He wanted to stay on his good side and having one of his daughters barely dressed in his room was not a way to stay on his good side.
"Deal with it! Tell the story!" Yang growled as she started eating the snacks and glared at Naruto.
Blake sighed defeatedly knowing there was no way to change her mind. "I'll grab her things…"
"Thanks! Now tell me the story!" Yang's purple gazed into Naruto's as Blake left the room to gather Yang's clothes for the day.
"Um… I need to take a shower real fast as I really stink and you need to get dressed so…" Naruto tried to give himself a moment to breathe.
"Then I'll sit on the counter and listen to your story and change as you take your shower! Let's do this!" Yang growled as she was through with his excuses.
She wanted to hear what the hell was going on!
"What the fuck Yang?! I don't let Blake in the bathroom when I shower and you want in there just so you can hear me tell my life story?!" Naruto commented with a growl as he was annoyed.
"Yes! At this point, I already know something is up as it sounds like you weren't born a faunus, your powers are bullshit and you clearly said you are from another world or some weird alternate reality! I want answers and I'm getting them one way or another!" Yang cracked her knuckles and glared.
Naruto stared back before giving a defeated sigh.
Taiyang was right. Once his daughter's made up their mind there was no stopping them.
Blake re-entered the room, handed Yang her clothes, and gave them a small wave as she headed back to the door. "I'm going to get my shower while Ruby and Weiss are still sleeping… Yang, you step foot in that bathroom if he goes in for a shower... I'm going to break Ember piece by piece in front of you while you watch."
"EH!" Yang jumped before vigorously nodding before remembering the smell and covering her nose. "Yep, got it! I will let him take his shower… Oh god about the smell! What was I thinking?! But I'm still standing at the door!"
"Yeah, yeah! I'm on it!" Naruto growled as he slammed the door to take his shower while Yang changed outside, determined to hear the story. "So where to start…"
"Seventeen years ago on the day I was born, a demon fox spirit attacked my village, brained washed and controlled by another…"
As Blake made it back to her team room and slowly entered the bathroom, she shook her head as this had been the start of a morning. Neo's rude awakening, the smell of Naruto and then Yang…
Shedding her morning clothes and getting taking care of morning business, she started to get the water ready for her side for her shower as she let her thoughts travel. What was she going to do?
Naruto had to go on a date with Weiss with that man? The thought was eating her alive. She trusted him and even Weiss but…
Blake shivered. While she lived with the Fang all her life and most of it was peaceful protest she had seen the horrors of what that man had done to other faunus before. What his grandfather had done to faunus before… It was simply a tradition…
He took it a step beyond.
Feeling her face and shivering for a moment, she slowly stepped into the water and tried to push the thought out of her mind. It would be all right. Those times were over…
Weren't they?
"SO YOU ARE A SUPER BULLSHIT MAGIC NINJA!"
"DAMMIT YANG! THAT IS NOT THE POINT OF THE STORY!"
Blake was snapped out of her dark drifting thoughts and a slight smile was brought to her face as she let out a laugh of relief at the two's interaction. "And that my boyfriend and the best friend I've made here…"
Yeah, everything would be all right. She just had to have faith.
"I am… So sorry about this." Weiss apologized as she and Naruto the highest-class clothing shop in the entirety of Vale and it showed.
Naruto was entirely uncomfortable and very, very wanted to let these people have it as he could feel just how little they thought of him and would have not served him if it was not a personal order from Jacques himself.
He could feel their belittling stares which reminded him of when he was a child but somehow it felt even worse. All those stares were of simple hatred and most of them had a least a hint of believability to their logic behind it. Most jinchuuriki were not stable and could be threats and only the latest were due to changes in seals that had drastically improved over time.
Not everyone had an Uzumaki and excellent seal masters around to keep their jinchuuriki stable like Konoha.
These people thought him simply beneath them because he was a faunus. He deserved to grovel at their feet. To be their property. To wait on them and beg.
If there was ever a time he thought the White Fang had a valid issue with society this was it. They had a legit argument here.
The people that were living in this district did not need to be in charge or have the influence they did. …But money created power and that was true even in this world.
"If I wasn't going through therapy… I think I might need some after this series of events we're going to be embarking on." Naruto quietly growled his frustration out as he await the next measurements to be come in taken.
Weiss only held her head down sullenly as the tailor returned to finish taking Naruto's measurements on the legs before moving up to the waist and getting the needed measurements and moving to write them down. "This is something he is never done… In all my experience… He has shown nothing but contempt…"
"Believe me, that has been expressed well enough by word of mouth and action." Naruto bitterly commented and he didn't mean to come across as an affront to Weiss but the way she flinched it seemed she had taken it that. "Hey, I'm sorry… You and your father are two separate people and I did not mean to offend you… He is just a piece of… Fine art."
As the tailor came in once more and had Naruto raise his arms as he began to work on his torso and, arms and shoulders to get the correct measurements for his body, Weiss stayed silent but her eyes stayed ice cold as she glanced at the ground below. Naruto could feel a swirl of emotions spiraling from her.
Contempt for her father's actions. Sadness for everything that had happened so far. However, what surprised him was mild anger he wasn't sure why but felt it was directed at him. Once the tailor made his way to write the measures her eyes coldly stared into his. "Whether you approve or not, that is my father and slight against one Schnee is a slight against all Schnee."
Understanding where that anger now was built up from, Naruto sighed. "That is something I wish I understood a little better… But unlike you Weiss, I never had the luxury of having a family growing up. I was alone ever since I was born… Loneliest one of all."
Weiss flinched back Naruto's words and returned to a sullener state as they both realized they hit a nerve of the others as the tailor came in once more and got the last measurements. "Very good sir. Now I would suggest for the colors we shall go with blue…"
"A deeper orange to accentuate my skin tone, crimson accents to embolden, and golden buttons and accessories to flesh out the rest and coordinate with my hair." Naruto gave an authoritative response to what he wanted for the colors on his tux, his blue eyes locking straight with tailors and showing him exactly who was truly in charge.
"Ah… Yes sir…" The tailor stuttered as he wasn't exactly sure of the order.
"Then get to it!" Weiss ordered as she stepped beside Naruto and the tailor left the pair alone before she turned and gave Naruto a raised eyebrow. "Since when…"
"I was trained in more than just to be the strongest… I was starting to be trained in how to lead and how to present myself. Dressing accordingly just happens to be something that one of my friends just made sure I learned." Naruto sighed as he slid his trench coat back on as he remembered the amount of time Ino spent drilling him on how to accentuate his figure properly.
The fact he learned he was picking the proper color all of his life was kind of ironic, as did most of his friends back in Konoha.
Frowning as she remembered when he told her and Yang about being trained to be like that of a living weapon, Weiss was now even more worried. It was like Naruto was raised to and trained by the White Fang itself but that wasn't possible, was it? At least if Blake's notion that they were peaceful as long as they were…
Then again she said there was quite possibly a rebel faction within it for a long time that kept itself hidden away.
"I'm surprised Yang didn't wake you up with all her yelling about events I was telling her about my story this morning, to be honest… It's not like I'm trying to hide anything." Naruto could sense where Weiss' thoughts were going as they left the store and entered the district and Naruto could still feel the glares upon him.
This was the part of Vale that did not care for faunus if the signs and stares told him anything.
And the sheer amount of negative feedback he was getting.
"Is that why she was yelling about this morning?" Weiss rubbed her temples as she too was woken up a little earlier than she wanted to be. "I was trying to figure out why Yang was over there and Blake was just calmly reading a book after taking a shower before walking over there… I thought she might have been more reactive if it was what I thought it was at first."
"What, no? God no!" Naruto looked horrified at that thought before explaining the events of this morning and it left Weiss blinking.
"That… Is a series of events." Weiss shook her head before sighing. "I'm sorry that this all started because of my father… If he could just leave well enough alone… Leave me alone! That's why I came here instead of Atlas despite his wishes!"
Despite the look of several onlookers, who were very easily scared off from a little focused killing intent Naruto looked over and saw a park in the distance. "Mind if we go over there? Probably a little less crowded."
Weiss moved in that direction, not wanting any more eyes on her if possible. It was lucky enough that there was no press in the area otherwise there could be an entire scandal from her action alone but it was something Naruto was very good at handling. His clones and transformations were very good at drawing attention away and they still hadn't caught on to his game.
It would be a matter of time but that was what Neo was for.
Neo simply cracked her knuckles from behind, waiting for them to arrive as she was bored and needed something to do. The pansy reporters were frightened of her. She had begun to build a reputation as the most intimidating bodyguard and Naruto was getting letters from others seeking her services.
Neo enjoyed the fire and warmth provided. Her loyalty was to Roman and Naruto was protecting him, garnering him a modest amount of her loyalty.
And all her new outfits were going to be so lovely!
"Why is the park fancier than all the other districts and even Beacon's it feels so fake. I can't feel the earth as well here…" Naruto growled as they started walking through it and he found himself feeling the lack of natural energy flowing through this park.
It didn't feel alive despite the plant life here. It felt forced, unnaturally kept. And the trees and fauna didn't harmonize with one another. It just looked elegant, that was it.
"It's like this in all of the top districts." Weiss flatly commented as they walked through Sakura trees mixed trees of rain forest before finding a park bench before a small pond and she sat before it, looking out into the water's depths. "They take rarest and most elegant species of plants and trees to make it look like a beautiful display on the outside… Hiding all the blemishes beneath."
Naruto stayed quiet as he knew there was more to come as her icy cold glare stared into the water. "All I ever wanted to do was please my father since I was young… But nothing ever mattered to him. Nothing I did seemed to be good enough."
"It's true that if I desired something, it was given to me. It always was… But that didn't matter none of it. So I just stopped asking as I didn't want any of it and stayed on my own, with only occasionally my sister making sure I was okay…. As I was always alone like you so callously called out." Weiss' eyes turned sullen and dropped down. "But I never got the things I need in my life… My father was always out working and when he was home, he just didn't care or he was angry… Violent!"
"Yes, I know how to hide bruises…" Weiss admitted to the truth Naruto confronted about days earlier. "My mother and sister taught me… We learned how to adapt as we just thought it was because of what was happening outside and it would be over soon… But it wasn't. It never ended and still goes on to this day. It's why my mom drank and stopped paying attention to Winter and me."
Sensing the depression welling within her, Naruto knew Weiss needed some form of comfort yet in an open public place like this he did not want it to be misconstrued if someone showed up and this got out in the tabloids. Neo was doing her job but things happened still…
Seeing a hand offered, Weiss gladly accepted it and slid her hand into Naruto's and intertwined their fingers with one another. She understood the gesture and knew something more in a public place would be deemed inappropriate and was thankful.
"He controlled every aspect of all of our lives Naruto and that's why this scares me." Her eyes started to fill with tears and looked into his. "From every little aspect. What we ate, how we trained. What we wore. I barely got to choose how I wore my hair and he was always upset that I was never in alignment! I did it so he would notice me but all it ever did was get me a stern lecture or if he was having a harsh day… He would strike me… Then after some time, he stopped caring altogether and I hardly saw him!"
Feeling her hand squeeze around his, Naruto gave a comforting squeeze to reaffirm he was there for her and Weiss took a deep breath but was still on the verge of tears. "Winter got away from it and left me alone… And then he just stopped coming by at all… As if I didn't even matter!"
"That was until he one day came by to see how I was doing with my training and that's how I got this scar…" Weiss unconsciously traced her scar as she recalled the memory. "That day, I made my decision to leave and go to Beacon, to run myself and get as far from him as I could. To take control of my own life!"
"Even if I was still weighed down by his chains the day you saw me… I was trying to fight and I know I will never fully get out of his grasp, as even Winter still can't get fully away… But she's become her own person and I want that myself…" Weiss was ready to burst. "That's what I wanted… And now he's come for me again when I least expected it as I was ignored for so long."
Tears began to stream down her eyes as she looked straight into Naruto's eyes. "I was truly expecting he had just come to take me away but this… I don't know what he is up to! And to be focused on you! For all my life he has hated faunus, made a show of it to take the strong and branding them in their face!"
Weiss shuttered as she recalled the memory while Naruto's eyes narrowed as he put the thought away for later. "…It scared me as I child to see that… I can still remember how his lone eye shone so bitterly with anger…"
"And now he's acting so calm and collected towards you and I can't think of anything good that can come from this." Weiss choked and her body trembled.
Naruto grimly smiled for he wasn't sure himself and he could only see a few scenarios but sharing those right now would do her favors in the state she was in. He simply comforted her with a gentle squeeze and some soothing words. "It's going to be okay… We're both going to come out of this all right. Believe it and it will come true."
"And have faith in me." Naruto finished with a warm smile. "Together we'll get through this and then we can get back on with our normal… Onto the lives of Huntsman and Huntresses."
In the end, Weiss gave a sad laugh but she nodded as she felt the warmth in Naruto's words while she wiped away her tears. "I do have to believe… And I have faith in you."
"All right then… Let's get back." Naruto smiled and gave her another reassuring squeeze as he looked out at the pond. "Blake's been annoyed most of this day and I need to make it up to her… And then figure out how we are supposed to work in our training in amongst all this… And now an etiquette session with you too… Ugh…"
Weiss gave a comforting giggle as they both got up and started to walk back into the town when she noticed everyone glaring at them. And she recognized the reason immediately as their hands were still interlaced with one another.
And she didn't care in the slightest as his hand was warm… So comfortable… But…
"Naruto… Our hands…" Weiss commented with a blush as she didn't want it getting out into the tabloids and stories getting written and getting out of hand.
Blake found that article and there could be an issue regardless of how well they explained and how garbage their reporting was.
"What… Oh, well that explains a lot." Naruto grinned before the two slowly broke their hands from one another and gave a chuckle. "As long as you are feeling better."
"I am, thank you." Weiss smiled back as she held her hands behind her and walked at his side, happily keeping in step with him.
A slam was heard from behind him as they both kept walking unaware as a man was thrown into a garbage bin before a camera was thrown to the ground. A heel stomp later and it shattered to pieces as Neo mentally growled.
Tipping the bin over, she followed her charges to make sure no one else followed.
"Naruto…" Blake growled in annoyance as she looked at the cards in her hand and everyone else in the room. "I'm trying my best here…"
"At least you're trying!" Naruto said from behind her, arms around her waist and his feet slid under her knees, as he tried to figure out what the objective of the game was as he sat directly behind her. "You honestly know more than I do at this point… And Yang is showing no mercy so this isn't even a fair fight… It's Arcadia Fighters all over again."
"You play Arcadia!" Yang excitedly cracked her knuckles as even Ruby's interest seemed to peek as well, being frustrated at getting beat so badly by her older sister while Weiss was on the other end of the board trying to learn the game as well.
They sat in the middle of his table set up, playing Remnant the Board Game, and Yang was spectacularly demolishing all of them with her forces and traps.
"No, I get my butt stomp weekly by Nora in it. There is a difference." Naruto commented as he just had no luck trying to figure out the strategic board games or complex video games. "Going to have to put that on hold though as training will have to pick up here shortly, unfortunately..."
Throw him into a fight and he was golden. Try to make him think it out on a board and he couldn't figure it out.
"Yeah, that's about right. Nora never loses." Ruby commented as she looked at her hand in frustration and then at the pieces on the board. "Almost like someone else I know unless we're playing uncle Qrow!"
"If you can't handle the heat, get out of the kitchen girls! I'm glad we took the day off to relax! We needed it! Swear we took uncle Qrow's bad luck for a moment!" Yang grinned as she got ready to make her move.
Then there was a knock at the door and Ren's voice came from the other side. "Naruto, I need to talk to you. I know it's been hectic but I feel this is urgent."
Neo hopped to the door, having been watching the newly installed TV instead, and opened the door to invite Ren in hoping this urgent news would lead to something interesting.
Despite having his senses it was a little bit of shock seeing all of RWBY in the room playing a game, Ren had to admit. He also admittingly was wishing they weren't here. He would have been fine if was just Blake but he didn't want to talk about this in front of someone that just said whatever they wanted like Yang…
He was woken up this morning by her too.
Naruto sensed the discomfort but felt something was bothering him. And if something was bothering Ren that was usually not a good thing. And he wanted to get up but Blake was comfortably sitting in his grasp. "Okay, if you think something is urgent something is seriously wrong. What's going on?"
Rubbing his temple as he didn't want to tell everyone else, Ren decided just to get it over with as it was better to have more eyes in case it was a bigger deal than he thought it was. "Well, to be honest, I'm not so sure if it is but I feel like it is. Before we went to see you both in the hospital when we first got the call, we bumped into a group of lost guests over here…"
"Now I normally wouldn't have thought of anything of it at first but… What was weird was I couldn't sense their aura. It was as if something was blocking my ability to sense their aura and feel their presence. And as someone as that could… You look like you've seen a ghost." Naruto's face darkened and Blake could feel the growl coming from Naruto.
"Naruto… Breath…" Blake could feel his heated breath and skin was starting to darken, signs of semblance starting to take effect. "Relax."
"Yeah…" Naruto took a few deep breaths as his skin color reverted and his eyes stayed feral as he kept focused on Ren. "Was there a woman… Black hair and golden eyes that felt like could burn right through you."
"Yes." Ren nodded as he confirmed Naruto's suspicion.
The front door slammed open as Neo nearly bolted out. "Neo, confirm but do not engage! Keep your eyes on them and we switch out to keep rested, understood!"
Stopping at the front door, her one brown and one pink eye gazed back and pierced back into Naruto's blues. And neither budged before Naruto repeated his command. "Understood?"
Slowly nodding her head, Neo shattered into shards of glass and disperse into the hallway with one goal in mind. Getting her revenge. And if it meant this was going to be a slow burn, so be it.
She wanted Salem to burn too.
No one betrayed Roman!
"Okay, what the fuck is going on?!" Yang cried out as everyone looked a bit shaken up.
Blake looked worriedly into Naruto's eyes as she turned and put herself fully into his lap. "Naruto… Is… What is this?"
"We are getting our front door kicked in is what this is and Ozpin is letting it happen for some reason or doesn't know about it," Naruto growled lightly as he tried to keep his composure. "The one that saved Adam is here, staying at Beacon and mocking us… Most likely with her two cronies."
The rest of team RWBY's eyes widened at hearing that while Blake's narrowed and a low hiss came from her throat. She knew he survived, Naruto had told her and told her that he escaped with the help of the fire witch.
"Fuck life!" Yang flipped the game board away, not caring about it anymore. "Can't get a moment of anything good!"
Having just missed the board being tossed haphazardly by her head, Weiss glared at Yang before laying her head on the table, exhausted. "When will this end…"
"Ren… Thanks for letting me know about this… This is more important than you think." Naruto could only rub his temples before noticing Ren was taking a seat with them. "Um…"
"Think this seems important enough I should join the discussion," Ren stated with a small frown as he recognized that Naruto and team RWBY had done something very reckless recently and now realized there was something more to their actions.
This was that something more and it seemed a lot was at stake.
"You're not wrong… Fuck it, welcome to the team!" Naruto growled as he'd welcome Ren at this point. "I'll catch you to speed here in a bit."
Ren nodded for that was fair since he was joined midway in a group that seemed like it had been built up at least for a little while.
"…Well, at least we have the first leg up on them this time." Ruby came out and looked at the situation positively and everyone looked at her. "We know they are here and we know they want something. Sure we don't know what they want but if we keep our eye on them we'll find out… So we just need to keep a rotation going."
"Ruby, not everyone is good at stealth and tracking. Again that specialty favors Neo, Blake, and myself." Naruto commented but he was quickly countered.
"Then take one of us with you!" Ruby slammed her hands on the table and got everyone's attention. "How are we going to get better if we don't practice and learn?! You want us to learn, this is how it is going to happen!"
"Trial by fire huh… Not the way I wanted that to go." Naruto groaned but relented as arguing with either of the sisters would end in a fruitless debate in the end. "Fine, we'll go out in pairs…"
"Yes!" Ruby finally got the victory she was wanting. "All right, obviously we can't start now so…"
"I have to pair with Naruto." Weiss immediately cut to the chase, dropping Ruby mid-sentence.
"What?!" Both Ruby and Yang stated together and glared at Weiss.
"Oh god, Taiyang was right." Naruto groaned as he slid into himself defeatedly and Blake comforted him, unfortunately already somewhat aware of this fact and was slightly unpleased herself. "There need to be more men… And Jaune doesn't count…"
"Did you forget Friday which I remind you is just two nights from now? We have to deal with that diner date with my father… We must stay on the same schedule, understood?" Weiss stated with annoyance and rolled her eyes at the two heartbroken sisters, catching Ren's attention in the process as that was a highly unusual event.
"Oh… fine…" Ruby sniffed and pouted as she wanted a chance to hang out with Naruto as she never got alone time with him.
"Yeah, makes sense but still going to be mad about it." Yang crossed her arms over her ample chest. "I call Blake as she's my normal partner."
"Gee, thanks…" Blake twitched her eyes before grabbing a board piece and pegging Yang in the face with it. "It makes me feel so much better after hearing I'm second fiddle in your mind to my boyfriend! Some friend you are!"
"Wait… Hold on… I made that sound way worse… Okay, I really screwed that up. Um... I'm sorry?" Yang realized she just dug a hole and wasn't so sure she was climbing out of it any time soon.
Blake only growled before she had a sickeningly sweet smile as she looked into Naruto's eyes and him a peck on the lips before rushing to his bathroom.
"Friday?" Ren asked confused as he looked between Naruto and Weiss as he knew Naruto and Blake were a couple and a diner date with someone's father was a rather sacred thing but putting the pieces quickly together… "Hold on a second… Jacques Schnee, asked you, a faunus to dinner with his daughter as your chaperone?"
"My thought exactly," Naruto said as he rubbed his temples before giving a confused look as he saw Blake emerge from his bathroom with a few bottles slipped away as she sat back down and he whispered. "Are those…"
"Shush… Yang's new hair is going to be amazing." Blake whispered and her smile was sickeningly sweet and Naruto realized just what she was going to do.
And the horror that was going to be unleashed.
"Wait… That means I have Neo again… Why?!" Ruby cursed as bad memories started to flush in of her getting beat down and nearly losing her life. "Why do I keep happening? Did I inherit uncle Qrow's bad luck?"
Naruto gave a pause before pulling out his scroll for a moment and sending a quick text. It was worth a shot at least.
"What if it is publicity he is after?" Ren brought the subject back around as he was still thinking about the dinner date and all attention was snapped to him. "Here me out and sorry for advance if this offends you Weiss, Jacques has always been known to be active against faunus rights and was one of the biggest components of getting a lot of them stripped away in Atlas but in Remnant as a whole."
"Now that Remnant as a whole is supposed to have equal rights for faunus once again, despite that not being entirely true, his image and the image of his company have always retained the fact they have always treated faunus poorly, treating them almost like slaves if they could get away with it." Ren continued.
"They did." Blake interrupted, her eyes narrowed and her voice a snarl. "Many members of the Fang came from the dust mines, branded by the Schnee Dust Company, broken beaten, and withered… It was why they were so bitter and willing to do whatever it took to get their demands met."
'I know from personal experience Ren…" She finished as Ren was confused about how she knew this before he gave her a look of understanding. "Long story short, I was manipulated and brainwashed to believe what I was doing was right but in my heart, I felt it wasn't… It wasn't the same Fang I grew up with so I fled and I came here."
"That makes it all the more apparent that his and his company's image needs a face life in the eyes of the faunus community." Ren nodded in understanding, thankful for Blake sharing her past with him and smiling at his friend before continuing. "They are seen as little more than tyrants and with there being more push to give faunus more and more powers, I wouldn't see it being that long until a faunus was in a higher position of power."
"And what better way to show you are at least visually making amends by approaching the current star of the hour and what I imagine is a beacon of hope for the younger generation of faunus?" Ren finished as he looked over towards Naruto.
"Woah, I am not…" Naruto started but was caught off by Blake
"Naruto… You've been all over the news since you were announced as a prodigy… Oh my god, I think he's right." Blake's eyes widened as thought about it. "While becoming an early Huntsman isn't the grandest news on the stage the way Ozpin did and the fact you were a faunus drew a lot of attention… Then we took down Rainbow Hotel and that sleaze…"
"He was keeping a lot of people down in general but a good majority of them… Were faunus as they fall in the lower income demographic that he naturally preyed upon." Ren pointed out before continuing. "Capturing Roman Torchwick the very next day just cemented everything into place."
"While you only took simple Grimm hunting missions while you were out training… Stories began to run and while I didn't pay attention at first I just thought they were based and trying to create something where nothing was before… That might not be the case now with what just happened… There happened to be a lot of movement of midclass businessmen being slammed behind bars and local people, human and faunus returning home."
"Wait, were you taking a lot of search and rescues during that time?" Blake questioned as she looked over at Naruto before frowning seeing him grimace and her eyes narrowed. "Naruto… I get it but… I joined wanting to do this kind of work with you… And you've been running yourself ragged without me and still working to the bone?"
Naruto sighed as he tiredly glared. "I wouldn't say to the bone… I was relaxing as I should have been… I just so happened to be taking a couple of fewer hours of sleep instead."
Blake's face dropped and her eyes became daggers before she took a deep breath and she looked Naruto straight in the eyes. "You… Me… Big talk later."
"I think he's going to die." Yang nudged Ruby in worry before she backed away as Blake glared daggers at her. "And now I am too…"
"All right, another question answer…" Ren took a moment to process the information. "What those stories all led to was that the faunus and lower class began seeing a shining light and beacon was the prodigy Huntsman… Any news article featuring him or something of his team was being snatched up and sold… That's why there have been so many reporters lately… And why Neo has been so busy lately."
"She has been breaking a lot of them," Yang mentioned as she remembered the hospital.
"I can't believe any of you didn't realize what she was doing until now astonishes me… Especially you Naruto, you're a sensor. How?" Ren questioned how the shorter woman's work managed to fly under everyone's radar for so long.
Naruto shrugged and Ren sighed before he shook his head of that. "Regardless, your image has taken a steep shot upwards whether you know it or not and this event now will skyrocket it in the eyes of faunus whether they support the White Fang or not."
"Oh…" Blake caught on instantly. "With our intentions to stop an even more violent faction within the Fang itself non-violently. Things escalated out of control yet despite that situation and their use of violence it was contained to the point that only two casualties occurred…"
"Not only that the sheer number of testimonies from the captured White Fang members stated what Naruto did was simply amazing… Respecting every life to make sure everyone got out safely while their very own leader tried to tear the building down around them… Is going to paint him a very high image in every Faunus eyes regardless of his choice to fight with or against what the White Fang represent." Ren finished as he left the idea of where this was going out.
And Weiss was the one that caught it. "My father wants him to boost his own credibility in coming years and make the Schnee name and business more favorable in the case that faunus start having more pull as he fears a shift is coming! He wants to jump on the rising popularity and the change of times now that faunus rights are here to stay and wants to stay in control of the situation and the process fix his broken image and…"
Weiss's words stopped as she looked over at Naruto and Blake and her eyes filled with trepidation. This was wrong… This wasn't the way she had thought this was going to happen… She…
"Weiss, snap out of it! We'll get there when we get there, okay? Let's worry about that when it is time, all right?" Naruto could see where her mind was going and felt the anxiety washing over Weiss and did not need her to have another breakdown today. "Blake… I think you should take Yang and go replace Neo… If she hasn't returned at this point… I'm going to let some of Oz's lackies know of the situation…"
"Trust them more than I do him. Plus Glynda can make up our class hours if she realizes we're doing this for Beacon's safety," Naruto commented as Blake nodded and moved from his lap.
"All right, let's do this! I can go all night!" Yang pumped her fist and they went to retrieve their weapons from their room.
"Wait, let me see you off!" Ruby ran with them and wanted to hug her sister as followed them to their room.
Weiss stayed sullenly seated as the thoughts of before were still there but less so while Ren turned to Naruto. "Well, now that we are here… Would you mind catching me up?"
"Yeah, let's get started on that… Might also give you some notes on how to do the same exercise I have them working on as it helps with aura control and stamina." Naruto sighed as he kept his eye on Weiss and worried for her.
It was going to be a rough time for the princess.
"You came… And only one bottle? Progress." Naruto mentioned as he sat on the dorm building and looked up at the shattered moon of Remnant, finding it still calming and fascinating what could have done that level of damage.
He might be able to cause that level of devastation with another if he had his cloaks but still…
"Yang… Really does need to learn to not talk so much." Qrow hiccupped and grumbled as he took a seat. "So what's so urgent you decided to text me of all people? And how'd you get my number, don't remember giving it to you?"
"Learned that trick from a black cat. ...Let us start out with, I trust you more than Ozpin, how about that?" Naruto responded as he looked over and noticed Blake and Yang hanging just outside of view from a window, most likely where Neo had set up previously.
Qrow raised his eyebrow for a moment before noticing his niece and the blonde girl down below and frowning as he questioned what was going on. "I'd say I worry about your judgment I little…"
"Would you?" Naruto smirked as he turned to Qrow. "Because from my position I saw a man deeply considered with his family, questioning why everything happened and wondering what could do to prevent the same thing from happening again while allowing them to fly freely… And on the other hand, there is a man moving pieces and seeing how the game plays out but making mistakes and not really caring about them as if he has done all this many times before. Out of those who do you trust more?"
"Fair point, continue." Qrow took a swig as he wasn't even going to argue as that was just the cold hard truth as much as he trusted Ozpin.
Everyone was a chess piece.
Naruto simply sighed and shook his head. "You know the information I gave Ozpin… About his operatives thanks to Neo knowing of them, so my question is this? What the hell is planning that he so easily lets them strut into Beacon without so much keeping an eye on them? I seriously doubt he doesn't know they are here if one of his students figure out something was wrong and alerted me."
Qrow's eyes narrowed and for one of the few times in his life, he put the bottle away as he looked at his niece's location. "They're here? Who?"
"Cinder Fall and her associates Emerald Sustrai and Mercury Black," Naruto responded as filled Qrow in on the details.
"Got it, tell the kids in the morning to get back to training… This is between you, me, and the criminal. The three of us can run shifts on watching them." Qrow's eyes shone in the night's light. "They can finish up as I doubt anything will happen tonight and allow me to give Oz a piece of my mind… I'll take nights as it easier for me to follow silently and they'll never see me coming."
"It'll be easier for Neo and I to blend in and follow during the day and afternoon… I'll have to take the days then. Friday is going to be so… Fun." Naruto groaned as that was still a thing.
Qrow could only give the boy a look of sympathy. Being surrounded by that many Schnees, even if one was respectable, was never a good thing. He might just stop by to see if his semblance could cause a chandelier to loosen and crash the party…
"Well, try to have a good night… I think both of ours have already gone downhill." Qrow gave a wave before going to the main building to Beacon.
Ozpin was not going to have a lovely awakening as a crow came flying in at him through his window.
Naruto simply sighed and waved back, looking back at the shattered moon.
"This moon represents how I feel right about now…"