WARNING! This Chapter Contains Sexual Content. Reader Discretion Is Advised.
I do not consider it a lemon as it is tasteful, and brief and would be something more you see in a TV drama which is why I am labeling it Sexual Content instead. The scene will be telegraphed well in advance when you arrive at it so it will not be marked as it flows with the story.
It was a warm morning to start this mid-summer day in June at the corner of Diamond Avenue and Sky Boulevard in the city-state of Vale.
People were walking through like business as usual. Visiting small stores nearby. They were going to the market down the street and even to a small little open-air restaurant down the block that had reporters gathered around as it seemed there was a celebrity in the area.
Nestled in the corner was the local bank that had recently come under new ownership since the Vest Frontier group was taken down for the massive corruption scandal involving creation of synthetic drugs, drug trafficking, kidnapping, slaves, and sex ring. And while it had the standard features of any bank they were more generous and forgiving with their loans especially to the lower class considering that their head executive had come from the slums herself…
Lily Scarlatina.
She was an up-and-coming executive and with her small group of trusted associates, they were able to manage to get a few businesses going in the mid-sector. Now she was in charge of the bank. And while it wasn't noticed all that much by the general person as they came to get their money but it was a much larger deal in general. There were always a few picketers in the front telling people not to trust this bank despite, to all the contrary, she was running it entirely legitimately unlike Frontier.
It was an asinine thing really. All because they couldn't stand they had animal features and weren't full-blooded humans. It was as if they hated someone because of the color of their skin.
That would be horrid as well.
All she wanted was for everyone to be treated fairly and as such her loan policies were fair stricter in what they could offer but more lenient and the payment plans and did not harass those in dire situations. She understood that level of pain having grown up in that circumstance most of her young life. So that was why there were stricter offers in place to keep those who couldn't afford to pay their loans back in the long run and those that ran into difficulties while paying were given leniency
It was an all too uncomfortable feeling for her as she remembered picketing the lines for years, wanting to have a better tomorrow…
A better future.
Overlooking the lobby as human and faunus tellers helped their customers, she smiled. This was what it was supposed to be.
What they worked so hard for in White Fang so long ago before their leader had to step down to that detestable woman…
And hearing that she and that renegade faction was squashed by the Gale Fox and his team of Huntresses' from Beacon…
That reminded her and she pulled her scroll from her purse. "Haven't checked in on my niece lately… See if she is free for lunch today."
Glass shattered and a powerful explosion ruptured from the front of her building, knocking her off her feet as the shards all around her and her tellers ducked under their desks. Most customers were in a similar position to her and started screaming.
She simply growled as she looked at the mostly masked men that came jumping through the blown window of her bank while three did not care in the slightest. "Fucking animals think they can take over our city… Blow the vault. We're taking everything here."
"The hell you are! That belongs to everyone!" Lily screamed as one of the tellers behind the desk hit the alarm and it sounded all around. Hopefully soon Atlas drones would be there followed by the police.
Or someone even more capable.
The man with a green mohawk in the middle simply grinned as Lily stood up, looking ready for a fight as she held her purse. "Oh look at this… The bitch thinks she's people, boys."
"Maybe we should show her what it is to be beneath us boss… Even if it disgusts me thinking about putting it in that. Property should know their place." One standing to his left with long brown hair stated with a sickening hiss as he hated his own idea while a few men in black masks held everyone up and a few more ran to the back.
"Sounds like a good idea to me… Tug on those ears for a good long while as they seem like a good grip." The last and pudgiest member of the group with black hair and glasses glinted from his statement. "Not like she has anything else going for her being as filthy as she is."
Lily growled as she recognized the men now for they were wanted bandits. However, seeing new possibilities with crime lowered in Vale these guys might have wanted to take a shot here and seeing they were notorious and picking on mid-class to wealthy faunus in general…
She was a prime target.
"Do whatever boys, let's get the money first. That's the priority here." The mohawk leader growled as he turned for he heard something. "Did you guys hear… Gun fire outside…"
"Well excuse me, boys." A blonde faunus and a black-haired huntress stood at the broken glass outside, dropping two of their men unconscious outside before his gaze turned foul. "I believe you are in my territory I do not appreciate it… Crime of this magnitude does not go unpunished here."
All the tellers and customers who had ducked under cover began to cheer, startling the bandits as they knew exactly who had arrived.
"Get them, Gale Fox!"
"We're saved!"
"My heroes!"
All the bandits simply blink as they hadn't been watching the news or anything of nature as of late being out in the boonies but Lily's eyes widened as she knew who these people were due to her niece.
The Hero of Vale had arrived alongside his mate, the daughter of the original and now the reborn White Fang…
Naruto Uzumaki and Blake Belladonna.
A power couple in the faunus world.
Drinking from a coffee cup, he almost sigh in relaxation as he looked at the gorgeous view as a gentle breeze from the streets blew by at the open-air restaurant table they were seated at.
That view before him was a faunus that had flow black hair to her mid-back, wore a bow to cover her beautiful little ears wearing her black and white huntress gear, her purple stockings, and one-inch heel boots. The collar to signify their relationship stood out the most and her dazzling smile as she gazed into his eyes, lost in his as he was in hers.
Blake Belladonna was as stunningly gorgeous as ever.
If it wasn't for the damn reporters snapping pictures just to their right everything would be perfect.
"I miss Trivia right now," Naruto muttered as he deeply sighed while Blake looked mournful in respect for their fallen ally as while she never got along with her…
Respect for one's comrade something she always taught and believed in.
"Is true that Vytal Festival going to end with a wedding with you and the Schnee heiress?"
"And if that's the case isn't this an act of adultery?"
"Yes, and no, I'm being pushed into a marriage to protect a friend while my mate and I suffer for it. Put that in your reports." Naruto stated with annoyance as he learned that giving answers to the beat reporters was easier than running them off.
And it fit his agenda anyways.
The more it made Jacques look villainous and showed he was still against faunus rights, ignoring a sacred tradition of their people, it would look worse on his part.
Not that he expected it to stop the man. If it wasn't officialized and documented he wasn't going to say it was legal and in the eyes of the law he also had a point…
It was almost a government vs religion situation in this stance and well… Battle lines could very well be drawn.
He was going to test those waters here a little to see how the pot would stir.
"Now, if you wouldn't mind, leaving us be? My mate and I hardly get any time as it is with all this pressure." Blake lightly hissed as she sipped some of her coffee and looked at all the reporters in annoyance before pulling out her scroll. "Yang, where are you? Did you forget the job you took?"
"Shit! Not another dock to my pay!" The roar of a bike echoed from down the street before tires screeched at the sudden turn as Yang came onto the street driving like a lunatic.
"LOOK OUT! WOMAN DRIVER!" A reporter screamed as the bike came barreling towards them with intent as they all scattered but now it was entirely focused on this one reporter.
"OH, YOU ARE SO DEAD!" Yang turned the bike and screeched it to a park as she jumped off it, wearing her bike gear, and landed on the man as she threw off her helmet, and pinned him on the ground. "Do you know my reputation? I crushed the Ironwall's fucking skull! What do you think I'm going to do to you for a comment like that?!"
Picking him up from the mount, Yang tossed him down the street as if he were a doll. "Get the hell out of her you jerk!"
"And all of you leave my friends alone! I'll break all of you!" Yang temporarily flared her aura for dramatic effect to frighten the rest of the reporters as they made a break for it.
She then dusted her hands and smiled contently. "I have to say, this is a good little stress reliever. No wonder why Trivia did it so much."
"But she had more flair to it. She just had a style about her." Naruto stated obviously as took a sip of coffee.
"And it was more impressive as she was a foot shorter and more demure than you." Blake also took a shot at Yang as she sipped her coffee.
"What the hell?! Can I get any praise?" Yang hung her dejectedly before grabbing her helmet and getting back on her bike. "Whatever you jerks… I'm done with my shift anyways."
"Picking up Ruby from speech therapy?" Naruto raised his eyebrow before smiling as Yang nodded. "Tell her I said hello and I see her when we get back in a little bit. We'll do something fun later."
"Actual fun, training is in the mornings," Blake added before narrowing her eyes as she knew Naruto's drive and knew he would just keep working if he could. "Just because we're on the clock today doesn't mean we have to make up training later."
"Okay, you win." Naruto took the defeat, as it wasn't worth it and he had other things to deal with anyways.
Taking breaks was a necessity when you were starting a network and trying to build towards a future like he was. It was tough enough as it was.
"All right, see you guys in a little bit! This bounty should be a piece of cake!" Yang waved as she pumped her handles a few times and her engine roared to life before her tires spun out and she drove off, heading off to go pick up Ruby from her appointment.
"Wish she wouldn't do that… It smells horrible every time." Naruto growled in annoyance at the smell of burnt rubber before rolling his eyes. "Also how many tires does she have to go through because of that? My word…"
Blake stifled a small giggle at her mate before she returned to her longing gaze, enjoying the crisp summer air with a deep breath. "Wish things were more like this… It is always hectic. We never seem to get a chance to sit and relax anymore."
"I know." Naruto sighed before frowning as he missed that time and he wanted more of it, vowing to find a way to just have a little more time of the day. "I just want a small section of the day where we can just huddle in the corner… And there goes the alarm."
Hearing glass shattering in the distance as a few Dust rounds went off and a loud, beckoning ring went off nearby at the corner of the block they were on Blake gave a heaving sigh as well. "Can't even finish our statements anymore."
Pushing his chair out from the table as his orang trench coat billowed in the wind, Naruto gave a half-hearted chuckle to Blake as he held out his hand. "Shall we do this, my love?"
Blake followed suit as she took his hand and slid out of her chair, by the side of the table and to his side. "Gentleman as always I see. Let's do this."
Both Blake and Naruto disappeared in a blur of an eye to everyone else around them.
Arriving on the scene to see a few men wearing black leather masks, Naruto wanted to sigh. That was the most obvious sign you were committing a crime he had ever seen before. Sure it protected your identity but in a world where people could identify you just by your scent, aura, or other means you just couldn't cover your face and say you were good.
These guys were so amateurish.
He wasn't even going to bother trying to do his usual routine of seek and destroy. He was going to go in with a Yang classic…
Which ironically was his old classic of his so…
Was he the originator of it?
No, someone else had to do it before him so on that technicality…
Instinctively drawing Wilt on reflex, several Dust shots were deflected and his eyes were laser-focused as he slid into a kata stance, a basic one trained in the academy but one he had been honing lately now that he had a blade. And in instant, he was behind the two men as they fell unconscious, hitting them hard with the blunt end of Wilt as he sheathed the red blade back into Blush.
Naruto picked up one man as Blake picked up the other and she rolled her eyes at him. "You are just dying to find reasons to use his sword… I'm starting to see why he came around to you."
"What, I'm not that much of a combat…" Blake's golden eyes glared into Naruto's cerulean's and he grimaced. "I do like the thrill of battle, I will admit. But there is one thing I do like more that's even more strenuous and hard on the body…"
Blake's face went scarlet as she choked on her spit and she shook her head. Now was not the time for that! She had just taken a shower this morning! She didn't need to one the moment they got back! "Back to the bounty."
"What, no comeback. I miss our play." Naruto pouted before they both jumped to the front of the shattered glass and broken front wall to survey the scene and drop the dead weight they were carrying.
And then they heard what was said about the bank's owner who Naruto was pretty sure was related to Velvet if her last name was anything to go by. Both twitched at what was said.
Naruto made his move as he entered the building and announced his presence with a boisterous voice before it turned into a snarl. "Well excuse me, boys. I believe you are in my territory I do not appreciate it… Crime of this magnitude does not go unpunished here."
Several cries from the citizens and workers were heard cheer them, which was a little odd for him he had to admit. Becoming a local hero was not something he had planned on.
It just sort of happened. Once his face got spread out on the news…
The police kind of made sure they knew whom it was that helped them keep the streets clean of corruption so they could simply monitor and keep the peace like they were supposed to. Ever since the new commission was installed by the council things were running a lot smoother…
He shook his head, he would meet with her soon enough. He was curious as to why she left…
It was a little odd even if it was understandable given the events that led to everyone's departure.
And there was one very specific voice from a dog faunus that they both seemed to recognize. "Fuck their shit up! I just got this job and want to keep it!"
"Aryl?" Naruto questioned as he and Blake knew the voice and looked for the faunus for a split second before shaking his head, refocusing his attention on the bandits as the long-haired one angrily shot into the ceiling to try and look intimidating.
"Who the hell do you think you are, rotten forest barker! We're the Grull Gang and we don't listen to no animals! Especially filthy barkers like you and your tree-loving cunt!" The long-haired brown hissed as he glared viciously at Naruto's presence, especially seeing what he was, and could hardly care less about Blake and objectified her.
Blake's eyes went feral as they narrowed at the man for a brief moment before she took a deep breath to calm herself. Her gaze was still absolutely focused on him however as she spoke flatly. "I'm going to break his arm."
"What… OH FUCK MY ARM!" The man with thin long brown hair stated before Blake vanished and suddenly appeared right next to him, snatching his left arm, pulling it out straight before everyone and with a simple twist…
The sound of snapping was heard by everyone in the room as she let go and he fell to the ground screaming as he clutched his left arm.
She then kicked him to the ground and glared at the other two as if she dared them to challenge her. "Anyone else wants two broken arms?"
As both Grull, the mohawk man, and his pudgy counterpart wisely stayed silent, it was the downed counterpart that spoke. "You dumb cunt I only have one broken…"
"Because this guy does!" Blake hissed as channeled her inner Yang and she grabbed his right arm, pulled him up, and with another twist and everyone heard the second snap.
"FUCKING ANIMAL-LOVING WHORE!" He screamed as he collapsed back down to the ground.
He was silenced by a boot stomp to the face as he was knocked unconscious by an annoyed Blake as she hissed at him. His slurs and offending her and offending her mate pushed her buttons.
"Well, little lady I do say I'm impressed but it looks like it's just you here now." Grull grinned as he noticed the blonde fox had disappeared and he felt a little better despite one of his top men just getting the shit kicked out of him with ease. "I think even with Sinn down Cole and I can take…"
"You think it's just me?" Blake just grinned as gestured around for them to have a look around. "Have you seen the rest of your men?"
Grull and Cole frowned and their eyes widened in horror as every single one of their gang was strung up and hanging from the roof with their hands tied behind their back.
Yet there was still no sign of the blonde fox faunus anywhere yet it was as if they could feel him lurking…
"I don't think you understand the trouble you all just stepped into," Naruto growled as his voice came in from all around them. "You see over the past six months I made it my mission to fight the system… To stamp out corruption… To fight organized crime!"
"And then are people like you who just want to burn down whatever you feel like to get a quick score, an easy buck, an easy lay. Always on the lookout for the next big whale to dig into." Naruto's growl spat vilely all around them as he focused In on his target. "And then you heard a rumor… That there's a big game now in Vale… That many of the big players have gone missing and that you could get a score here. So you pick a target, one that your group always does as you have a natural inclination towards…"
"We were set up!" Grull realized that he walked right into a trap as he pulled out a massive club as his body began to glow, showing he knew somewhat how to use aura. "Cole blow this place!"
"Right on that!" Cole's body began glowing showing he too knew how to use aura and even had a semblance.
"Not today boys!" Naruto growled as he suddenly appeared from behind Cole, grasping him by the mouth and pulling him into the darkness.
There was only the sound of slaps of meat before Cole's body was viciously thrown through against the far side wall. He bounced and fell through a desk in front of a worker, knocked out cold.
"And no, we didn't set you up," Blake informed Grull as she drew Shroud as she stood before the massive man ready for a fight. "Your gang is horrible covering its tracks and it was easy to figure out where you were going. We only waited for you to make your move as we weren't keen on following you through the sewers."
"It reeks down there!" Naruto complained from all around, his voice sounding a little more distant than it was before and a little more distracted.
Something had caught his attention and since he was hiding in plain sight, he was going to sneak out and let Blake finish the rest of this. He was confident she had this.
This guy was a joke anyways.
That was a very interesting presence that he was feeling. Two of them in fact. They felt oddly familiar in a weird sort of way but he had never sensed them before. What worried him more was the fact there were several other auras around and those he could identify as they had started to become a little bit of a problem recently…
Blake struck with blurring speed and surprisingly Grull was able to put up his club and managed to block Shroud in the nick of time. The only reason for that was due to the sheer size of his club as it was a six-foot club and two feet wide at its max. Grull was also a beefy man at six foot ten inches and while slightly overweight for his size he had one thing going for him and that was his arms were jacked.
And he parried Blake off him with ease but she flipped in the air, gracefully landed against the wall, and began running alongside it to the shock of everyone in the room. And Grull too as she picked up a speed and lunged at him. "What the hell are you?!"
"Your nightmare!" Blake hissed as she smacked him in the face with the sheath of Shroud before looking a little unsure of herself for a moment.
The man didn't go do with the blow and only stumbled back.
He was a sturdy one, that was for sure. She'd half to put a little more effort into the next blow as she did hold some back.
She wasn't trying to kill or maim the man. Although in fairness these were bandits so…
A little excessive force wasn't too out of line…
Blake shook her head at the thought. Excessive violence was not the answer in situations like these. It hardly ever was and only was in rare circumstances… Like being called an animal-loving whore. That was worth every fiber in her body to break that man's arm violently as possible. but otherwise...
She unfortunately had taken part in such events and knew what they looked like. This was not one.
However, that hit had stunned Grull into another thought as he looked absolutely terrified with a massive bruise on his right cheek as tears started streaming down his face like he wasn't used to being struck like that. "All right you win! I'm out of here!"
"What?!" Blake looked utterly shocked at the giant man crying before he sprinted out, jumped through the glass window, and left her utterly shocked. "What just happened? Naruto?!"
"Naruto?" Blake spoke his name again as something normally happened when she called his name when something weird like this happened and when she didn't get a response that was more worrisome as she realized the massive man was getting away. "Wait, get back here!"
Blake leaped out of the window as she heard sirens, not worrying about everything else as the police would handle this situation from here as she chased the leader of the Grull bandits down, leaping above everyone on the sidewalks as she use the side of the buildings as he vantage points.
More people were in awe at the sight as Blake quickly caught up to the massive lug of a man as he got to the middle of the street and she screamed at him. "That's far enough! You aren't getting away!"
"No!" Grull yelled as he threw his club in her direction as she leaped towards him only to see a shadow clone waving at him and giving him the finger. "Wait, but how?!"
"From behind idiot!" Blake leaped off the building from behind and slammed Shroud into the back of Grull's precise force, making the man's eyes go white as she dropped him flat on the ground.
He was out cold as she growled and returned Shroud to her weapon kit on her back. "Now where did Naruto go… It's never good when he randomly disappears like that."
That was when she heard clapping and a voice she wasn't expecting to hear here in Vale. "Now that was quite the show wouldn't you say, dear?"
Blake's eyes widened and her head snapped to the direction of the voice. And she saw who it was and her heart began to beat a mile a minute.
They weren't supposed to be here!
And where was Naruto?!
SHE NEEDED HIM WITH HER NOW!
"This city…" A massive man wearing a purple coat clipped together over his toned chest that had a tuff and trimmed fur in the center smelled the air and looked around, seeing far more kids playing on the sidewalks while the adults, both faunus and human alike walked together in this mid-district despite the few 'no faunus allowed' shops there still displayed. "Is far more alive than I remember."
"It's the Vytal festival dear, the beginning stages of the tournament just getting underway." A demure, compared to him, a woman with black cat ears spoke while walking next to him wearing a more eastern attire. "But you are right. None of the festivities are happening on this side of the town and everything over here seems much livelier… And I don't remember seeing so many faunus in this district before. Same amount bigotry, unfortunately."
"Some things stay the same, my love, it's the hard truth of life." The larger man spoke as he looked at everyone with more of a smile. "But this is a good feeling here. A positive change has been going through his place. As much as I always take news reports with a grain of salt… These seem to have an air of legitimacy to them."
"Many of them that came from Vale have said much of the same… A storm was brewing but seemed to have brought forth so much good with it." The eastern cat woman spoke as she elegantly strode alongside the giant beast of a man.
That was before a small child bumped. It was entirely by accident. He was no more than eight and he was facing off with a girl of similar age but he had no chance of winning. She happened to be a faunus… And she was a cheetah. He was doing his best to keep up and he had lost track of what was in front of him
She simply laughed as the girl ran back and nervously laughed as the boy went sprawling on the ground and she gingerly bent down and reached out to help him back up. "Excuse me little one."
"Sorry miss. I'll Woah you are big mister!" The kid apologized as he accepted her help before he looked up in awe at the monster of a man next to her. "How did you get so big?!"
As the woman lightly laughed, the beast of a man simply grinned and chuckled at the boy's attitude. "You see I ate all my vegetables growing up."
Hearing a disappointed groan of disapproval from both the girl and the boy, the man chuckled again before continuing. "However I also ate lots of meat and exercised every day. Drank plenty of water and tried my best to listen to my elders. I studied too. A strong body needs a strong mind. All of those things together help me grow as big and smart as I am children."
Ruffling the boy's hair, the beast of a man sent the kid on his kid his way. "Now that you know how to grow big, strong, and wise go and play. That's an important part of growing too."
"Yes, mister!" Both kids stated before running off.
And as they did the man heard purring and turned to the cat woman who smiled brightly at him with her eyes closed. "Yes, dear?"
"Ghira dear… I've been thinking now for a while. I think I want another one." Kali's smile was both majestic and entrancing that it would have made any man cave to her desire right then in there.
Ghira was no exception. He simply had more patience. "Oh. I guess we'll have to work on that later. Have to do some workouts though… Some of those muscles might not quite be ready for that level of exertion if we're going to be going that hard. It has been a while."
"I do prefer our tender sessions." Kali tilted her head before they resumed their walk before her ears twitched hearing the kid once more and looked back. "What?"
"Hey! Don't push mister!" She saw and her eyes immediately narrowed seeing a man wearing a mask reminiscent of White Fang masks of old knocking the kid over.
Only this time it was black.
"Ghira…" Kali hissed but she could see he was already tense and aware of the situation as his eyes were ahead.
There was one before them as well.
Black Fang assassins were sent to take out the old leader of the White Fang.
To take out the trash as they saw it.
"Hey, apologize to the kid." A voice echoed from behind the Black Fang assassin as he suddenly stopped and slowly turned.
And there stood a blonde-haired fox faunus wearing an orange trench coat, all black underneath, and orange combat boots who helped the kid up, patting him on the head before giving him some lien. "Got get you and your friend some to eat, yeah. Try to make it healthy though as the big man said. Big and strong."
"Thanks, mister!" The boy smiled as he took off.
"Oh my god! You got to talk to the Gale Fox! I'm so jealous!" The girl grabbed him as she followed after.
Naruto's attention just stayed focused on the black-masked man as he knew who it was. It was a problem that had been cropping up recently as someone had decided to take Adam's words seriously and form the Black Fang for him since he fell. They were using him as a martyr for they're rallying call.
And it was working as his impassioned speech did have an effect. It either drove those wanting to support the old ways back to the White Fang of old under Ghira or they rallied to his new cause as an extremist that wanted nothing more than to fight for their rights.
Unfortunately whoever was heading it was just as bad as Sienna and saw the White Fang as a thorn in their side and simply wanted them intergraded back into them so they could be whole again. They didn't like that Adam had split everything apart.
The bull had separated the monster that Sienna had created and made it its entity while reforging the White Fang anew.
"Gale Fox?" The Black Fang assassin instantly recognized the name the kid spoke and Naruto simply grinned as he tapped a certain blade on his waist. "Wait, isn't that…"
The wind slowly began to pick up and blow heavily, catching hold as everyone in the street started to push back away from it's the force of its gale. And as Naruto's trench coat billowed in the wind the people in the street recognized the tell signs and began to move across the street.
"Fight's breaking out!"
"Why would anyone pick a fight with the Gale Fox?!"
"They must just want to have their butts kicked!"
"Oh man, I'm recording this on my scroll! My channel is going to get so many hits!"
Kali's ears twitched at what everyone was saying as Ghira kept his focus on both the sight and the assassin before him however it seemed his attention was more on the fox as well. She pursed her lips as she had heard that name before… "Oh, now that's something… Ghira dear, we've found half of whom we're looking for. Or it seems he found us."
Ghira only nodded as he kept that information on the back burner as he noticed the Black Fang assassin before him place his hand on his sword hilt.
They were arrogant if they think they could handle him one on one.
But his eyes were drawn back to fox faunus as a red blade was drawn and directly pointed at the rooftop on the other side of the street. "Sniper! You might want to put that rifle down…"
Ghira's eyes widened as he couldn't suddenly smell the third man and sense his presence. There was a third! These two were decoys!
Clever…
"What the fuck?" The assassin in front of the fox faunus was about to cry out when he heard the assassin above scream.
"Why is there a crab in my face?! The hell is this?! Why are there so many up here?! Where did they come from?!"
"Tried to give him a warning." The Gale Fox shrugged as the man started shooting wildly before you could see vague images of a faunus in a black mask flailing wildly with crabs all over his body, screaming at the top of his lungs as they jumped on him. "They get vicious when they get attacked now. Crabara, no maiming! Just containment!"
"They're everywhere! My rounds do nothing! What are these indestructible monsters?!"
There were the sounds of many clacking and bubbles blowing before a few jumped on the ledge of the building, holding their claws up in confirmation. The fox faunus gave a nod of approval as they went back to work and jumped the assassin faunus.
"NO! GET OFF ME! WHY ARE THEY SO LARGE?! THEY LIKE THREE TIMES BIGGER THAN NORMAL CRABS!"
"Interfering with our plan, get out of our way!" The assassin drew his katana, lunging straight for Gale Fox only to slice through an afterimage of the faunus waving at him. "What?"
To hear the sound of metal being deflected and a boot being delivered straight to the mid-section of the second assassin as he tried to take advantage and went after Ghira. He by no means would have succeeded as he was only a second from behind slashed and knocked back but…
No risks were taken.
Not when he was sure who these people were.
"Come on, really?" The Gale Fox raised his eyebrow as he looked at the assassin as he stumbled backward from the blow. "Did you honestly think that was going to work? I've seen better tactics from academy students. Try harder."
And he didn't mean these academies… He meant his academies.
That was the insult.
Ten-year-olds had better attack patterns. Some eight-year-olds.
He knew of a few even younger...
"Bite me!" The assassin growled as he regained his footing with a more proper stance and went to slash through Naruto only for it to pass through his image. "What in the…"
To feel the blunt end of Wilt be placed on the back of his neck as the Gale Fox appeared directly behind him. "How about no? You don't have the features I look for in someone I much rather bite. And considering you aren't her…"
"Night, night." He thwacked the back of the blade against the man's spinal column and he went limp, dropping to the ground leaving only the one assassin who realized the folly of the situation.
"Gale Fox… Oh shit!" The assassin in the mask finally realized what was going on and he held his blade out as the faunus simply grinned at his response. "No… We have orders for you too but…"
"To retreat on sight, correct?" The fox gave a smile as the wind picked up harshly as a gale began to blow through the streets before his mood soured. "Unfortunately you caught me in quite the bad mood… Reporters soured my morning coffee with my mate as we tried to relax before a job… We were in the middle of a bust and now I found you here in my territory, Black Fang members and assassins no less!"
"And on top of that, you're trying to target her family! I am going to break you!"
The fox's eyes went feral as Wilt sheathed into Blush as it felt like a storm was blowing into the street as everyone began to lose their balance, with only Ghira standing firm as Kali held onto her mate to keep from losing her footing. Ghira watched the spectacle and kept his eyes on the blonde faunus, never having seen such a display before.
It was as if he was bending the world to his will.
"OH SHIT!" Was the only thing the assassin could say as the Gale Fox was on top of him, driving him up into the air with a vicious right uppercut that would have launched him into the sky.
That was if Naruto hadn't disappeared instantly and dropped right back into the street below with a powerful axe kick that slammed him into the ground with enough force that the ground cracked from the strike.
The Black Fang member didn't move as the blonde landed next to him but a small compression of his chest showed he was still breathing. The fox's ears twitched as several Atlas drones started to round the corner. He turned at them and roared. "Get your shit together Ironwood! I know your duties are mostly towards the festival but come on! Your response time is still lacking! Been here for a while now! The police got to the crime scene first and then this happened!"
"Stupid droids, what are they good for?" Naruto muttered as the droids arrived to take care of the scene and make the arrests as a thud was heard and the third assassin hit the ground in front of the droids. "Good job Crabara! Snacks await you back at Patch!"
Happy bubbles were blown from a two-foot crab on the roof leading the small crabs around before she jumped back down and started heading home, their job complete.
"That… Is something else?" Was a Kali could say watching the crabs with a tilted head, not sure how to process that scene as it was beyond anything she had ever witnessed, and just blinked a few times.
"I'm trying to process a few things myself," Ghira spoke as he pondered everything he saw.
He knew very well what Huntsman's duties and jobs detailed and while in his younger days he too was a Huntsman before he retired young as he choose the path he did seeing the hopelessness in the world and knew it needed to change. He could not make that difference as being Huntsman and being a faunus were… different back then.
And the job was violent which he, unfortunately, was good at. He made many mistakes when he was younger as such the folly of youth…
So he knew what the young faunus could do in this situation and with a show of force he was displaying he made it obvious he could have taken them then and there. And he showed restraint. With the weapon that he was using…
The same weapon that he used.
He was aware of the fate of Adam Taurus. It was broadcasted on the news and the outcome of what happened so it was curious as to why the one that was opposed to him wielded his weapon.
Very curious.
"Sorry about that. Wasn't expecting any of this today. The name is Naruto Uzumaki." Naruto walked over to them with a soft chuckle as he gave a moderate bow before he offered a handshake that Ghira accepted. "Did not expect our first meeting to go like this in the slightest. Or without Bl…"
"That's far enough! You aren't getting away!" Blake's voice echoed from just further away as Grull sprinted onto the scene in a panic.
Naruto blinked as the big man began to scream in terror, his eyes full of tears as he swung wildly at an incoming Blake who vanished with a shadow clone giving the man the bird. "What did I miss?... Never mind, going to get us a bigger table at the little restaurant over there. Blake and I were drinking coffee there before everything happened. Best little open-air place around here and we can talk freely and visit."
"Oh, that sounds good. We'll be there shortly." Ghira nodded as that sounded like a fine plan and it was getting closer to lunchtime now.
Kali gave a warm smile at the generosity and sincerity she could sense coming from the young man as she watched Blake down the thug with ease. "That sounds lovely. A cup of coffee sounds nice right now."
Naruto gave a simple wave before he dispersed in a swirl of leaves, leaving both a little unsettled at another unusual ability but Blake had warned them he was full of those.
"Now where did Naruto go… It's never good when he randomly disappears like that." Blake growled to herself not realizing their presence as she looked back to where she came from while putting Shroud back into her weapon bag.
Kali couldn't help but give her daughter a clap seeing the immense improvement from what she saw three years ago when she left home. "Now that was quite the show wouldn't you say, dear?"
Blake's head snapped in their direction and her eyes went wide as many emotions crossed her face and the fact that Naruto wasn't beside her for any of this.
Shock at seeing her parents here in Vale of place.
Horror at seeing them here without the slightest of warning.
Excitement and longing at seeing them for the first time in three years.
Love and hope at seeing the people that inspired her most of her life.
Fear as she was afraid of them seeing what she had become.
"Mom! Dad!" Tears filled Blake's eyes before she broke out into a straight sprint and ran straight into Ghira, who was slightly caught off guard at his daughter's speed of his daughter's embrace but hugged her deeply. "I'm so sorry! I never…"
"It's okay dear… That was a long time ago. Things have changed." Ghira gently rubbed his daughter's back as he looked down at her sobbing form with a soft but caring smile. "And I think I would like to a hear lot about them now that we're here for the festival. There is still some work back home but… They're doing well enough right now that I think for a month they can handle it without me there. They'll just have to do with my orders from afar as it's been too long since I've seen my baby girl."
"He means he couldn't wait for you to come home any longer so he came looking for you dear." Kali smiled and closed her eyes as her husband twitched before sighing as his wife was right, that was the truth.
While he was a patient man… It had run its course in this case and used the Vytal Festival as an excuse to come see his daughter. Three years was too long, especially after that phone call. His worry had hit its peak. After he got a location he was ready to head out the door, it took an enormous amount of sheer willpower and the reconstruction of the White Fang to have kept him as grounded as long as it did.
"HUNTRESS BELLADONNA." The robotic voice of the AK-200 spoke and Blake and Ghira disengaged their hug as Blake brought her attention to the droid. "WAS THE SUBJECT TREY GRULL APPREHENDED?"
"Yes, he's unconscious and Naruto and I have the rest of his gang tied up in the bank. The police are there taking the rest in the station." Blake wiped the tears from her eyes as answered the robot's question.
"AFFIRMATIVE. WILL FINISH THE PROCEEDINGS FROM HERE. CARRY ON WITH YOUR DAY. REWARD WILL BE SENT TO YOUR ACCOUNT SHORTLY." The AK-200 finished before it went to the unconscious big man to cuff him and send a signal.
"I still have to say, never liked droids," Kail responded with a frown at the interaction looking at the machine and shivered and her family could only nod in agreement.
Faunus in general seemed to dislike droids it seemed.
"What happened here… The Black Fang?" Blake's eyes narrowed and she hissed at the sight of the AK-200s apprehending and moving the smaller to move men. "And assassins at that… Oh, they did not just do what I think they did."
"Isn't the first time they've attempted it, unfortunately." Kali sighed as Ghira's shoulders dropped ever so slightly. "Adam's speech as impassioned as it was stirred something and created it however took control of it isn't someone who wanted to follow his will."
"No, they're butchering it and carrying on Sienna's, that's for sure… He was becoming himself there at the end." Blake growled before looking down as she recalled Adam's final moments and his sacrifice before her eyes snapped open. "Naruto where the hell are you? You don't just randomly disappear unless you're plotting something or something… Far worse happened again…"
"I got a bigger table for us!" Naruto waved at the open-air restaurant and Blake's face dropped as she snapped towards her mate seeing her mom wave and Ghira give a small chuckle.
They knew where he was.
That meant…
He was here before her.
And that meant…
He had helped with the Black Fang.
That was where he disappeared to.
Her bow twitched. She wasn't sure if she wanted to break him or jump him.
She chose both.
Her golden eyes glinted as angrily stomped over to the blonde fox who backed up after seeing the warning signs. "Woah, Blake! Hold on, let me explain! Those are my cheeks you're holding! …Oh."
Gripping both of his cheeks, Blake's soft lips pressed against his as she gave a deep and passionate kiss before she broke it and gave an annoyed purr. "You are sometimes the most frustrating person there is and I can't even be mad at you because when you disappear on me like that it is to help my family whom you've never met before! I thought something bad had happened again… I hate and love you so much right now!"
Ghira looked at the scene curiously before he simply heard a noise he knew all too well. It was his wife purring as she watched the scene with a knowing smile on her face. "Ghira darling, I like this one. I think we'll be keeping him."
"Blake, that's my face you are violently caressing… Ow, but also… Not here. You know what that does to my whiskers." Naruto whined as he was putty in Blake's hands and she knew it.
And she gazed deviously at him and he had a look of worry on his face.
"Right… Later." Blake hummed as she let go of Naruto before she put her hands behind her back and closed her eyes. "Rough."
Naruto blinked for a moment before standing straight up and offering his mate her chair which she gladly accepted. He didn't need to be further broken before tonight. While it was only in the last few days they officially made their vows for she was finally comfortable and put her past behind her, he had learned a few things about her.
When she said rough…
Well, he learned that he needed to work on his soundproofing seals as Taiyang and the others heard them from their place…
And they were over half a mile away.
He then offered Kail her chair as Ghira blinked before he mentally grimaced knowing that look all too well on his daughter's face as he slid in next to his wife, preferring this atmosphere as it was a little less crowded and could fit on the outskirts of the table and not crowd Kali.
Blake inherited that trait from her mother.
Taking his seat beside Blake, Naruto took a breath as he noted the content look on Blake's face as she sat across from her mother. She was so happy seeing them both despite the anxiety he knew she had buried within about what they, specifically her father, would think about her life choices. She was basking in their presence and his at that…
He could hear the low thrum of her purr as her bow twitched excitedly as she took off her weapon back revealing the collar on her neck now adorn with a small azure crystal at the center as they went through their vows. She had chosen it to be the jewel she wanted as it reminded her of his eyes.
His was adorned with the same crystal as it was the choice she made and he found it fascinating as well. To him, her choice was what mattered and that was the meaning. Also, the jewel had a spiral pattern in it so it kind of looked like Rasengan if you squinted your eyes…
So it was kind of neat.
It was that collar that was the first thing Kali noticed about her daughter's appearance and despite hearing the story of what had happened with Adam over the phone, she was surprised at seeing she had made the same kind of commitment so quickly again. It was such a pitfall for younger girls to make mistakes in their youth but…
Something felt a little different. When she got the call in late March Blake had been confused and trying to put her past behind her so she could connect with him on a deeper level. Something a lot of young couples did and more times than not that did lead to sex. The thing was from the sound of it they had that deeper level already… She was struggling with giving herself up.
And now here she was a month and a half later and she was proudly displaying she had fully committed to him.
She had to know. "Well, I'm surprised that the two of you already took the step… When you called us at the end of March you were still sounding so lost on what to do. So what changed and when did it happen?"
As four cups of coffee were brought over and the waitress was thanked as she handed everyone a menu to order from, Naruto and Blake glanced at each other as they weren't sure how to even start or what they could say out in public. Some of the details they didn't want to be heard by prying ears.
So Naruto started as he looked over at Blake. "Well, how do even start on what changed? I know my mind was made up to at least start pursuing a steadier relationship after protecting you from Adam's Moonslice when we searching for evidence hear on the White Fang…"
"That incident?" Ghira raised his eyebrow as he did a little research before coming in and many White Fang members left the old fang and rejoined this current regime for what occurred on that day. "The account of that day said that Adam went on a rampage and tore through the base with a prototype mech suit and that… You with some weird cloning semblance saved nearly everyone's life that day."
Blake looked down sullenly as her bow lowered. "Those two casualties were by my hand…"
"I am at as much fault as you are, stop blaming just yourself," Naruto growled as he narrowed his eyes as they had gone over this multiple times and she still had some trouble sleeping over it, something he knew more recently as they shared a bed. "Blake, no life loss is acceptable but at that moment and what was occurring… The choice we made was correct. We did the right thing as there was no idea what other damages he could keep doing in the state of mind he was in at that time."
"I know but it still bothers me…" Blake's bow flattened as it still made her feel horrible and was glad when Naruto offered her his hand and nodded in understanding, purring in response.
His comfort helped.
Frowning ever so slightly, Ghira let it go for now. The life of a Huntsman and Huntress did sometimes cross the path where sometimes the life of another person was put against your own. It was part of the reason he had chosen the path he had himself.
He learned from his mistakes.
And it seemed the boy had not only learned that lesson… Had learned a much darker lesson in turn.
He would have to discuss that one with him at another time. That wasn't for here or now.
This was meant to get to know them and see why they… Well went as far as they did. He wasn't expecting wrinkles either!
Blake liked to keep him on his toes. Always had since she was a kitten.
"Well, your communication is very good. That's a key to a healthy relationship." Ghira smiled as he took a drink of his coffee for that was a major bonus in his eyes as he looked over to a very satisfied Kali watching the scene. "Sorry for the interruption. I was just confirming I was talking about the same event."
"Adam would have sliced me in half if it wasn't for Naruto that day." Blake sullen spoke and Ghira choked on his coffee at those words while Kali's ears dropped and her face that had been cheerful so far had suddenly turned sour as the waitress returned for their order.
"Can I get…"
"All the fish you have, now!" Kali responded with her ears violently twitching as she looked at the sword in Naruto's possession.
"Mam?" The waitress questioned the order.
"I know. It's odd but what you may have heard was probably sounds like a lot of fish or maybe every type of fish you have." Ghira began to explain to his wife and mate's demand. "What she means is… Every single fish in your restaurant. Cooked, seasoned, and ready to go until I say stop."
"Do it! I'm paying!" Naruto removed the offending weapon from sight and sealed Wilt safely away so it would not be endangered by Blake's mother.
"Right away!" The waitress decided that the order was sufficient enough and would just get it going, knowing that if the Gale Fox was afraid…
Just get it done.
"I trained that boy in swordsmanship and he tries to cut my daughter in half… Drag him from hell myself… Show him what a beast is…" Kali hissed under her breath now that the weapon was removed from sight and she would have a nonstop stream of comfort food coming.
At this point, Naruto leaned over and whispered to Blake with wide eyes. "I don't think we're going to be able to answer the question at this rate. I could only imagine this would be what it was like if my parents were alive."
Blake could only nod before her face sullenly drop at the mention of her mate's family past. The fact that he grow up cheerful and well-adjusted as he was truthfully astonishing…
Kali's ears twitched at that comment having heard it loud and clear but she said nothing seeing Blake's face. Besides, they still needed to get to the answers they had sought in the first place. So she took a sip of her coffee. "Oh, this is good. I must know where they get their blend from."
"Right? It's why we come here when we can." Naruto responded as he drank some of his before his face soured at the next part of what was coming. "When I woke up in the hospital and we had some discussions that kept us grounded here in Vale and before long I was healed up and ready to leave so the whole team was there and ready to go with me."
"He was there… And our lives become hell because of it." Blake growled as she looked over at her father before taking a deep breath. "How did you manage to stay calm all these years dealing with that man with the labor and civil rights disputes caused by that… That…"
"Oh… Him." Ghira took a moment before realizing whom his daughter was talking about and inhaling deeply. "I will admit, it was not an easy task and there many times my anger boiled over and I had to leave. That man is detestable and to be honest… It was the one failure of my tenure as leader of the White Fang before. He always got the upper hand in the end and why I inevitably stepped down… That and…"
"Sienna?" Naruto raised a valid question as he had a feeling that was the other reason.
Ghira only nodded as figured the two before him knew as did some of the worlds at this point with what Adam had released to the world with his speech about how radicalized the White Fang had become. "She played a major role in it as well I'm afraid. Pressure from within and outside made it obvious that it was time to step down… If only there was a better option at the time."
"So I'm guessing this is when the arrangement was forced around this time." Ghira sighed as he had a feeling the story was about to take a turn here.
Both nodded as Naruto took back over. "He gave me to the Vytal Festival to decide on whether I should accept or not but it was to protect Blake's teammate and our friend, his daughter, by the way, Weiss from just being swept away and taken home and having her license stripped from her. And being who I am I naturally have protective instincts and was inclined to take the bait and he knew it."
Kali hissed as using one's own family as an asset while Blake continued where Naruto left off. "Problem was we were having our own issues with the headmaster having… Let's just say his own personal issues with an ex-lover but we didn't know that at the time and thought it was something more serious, like world-ending serious…"
"Well to be fair it is…" Naruto interrupted and Blake twitched at him for being interrupted and he responded. "I'm sorry, but I am not wrong. He wasn't wrong in that regard… He was just an absolute asshole about it and deserves no respect. It's why I tore apart his organization and why we were kicked out of Beacon."
Blake sighed as she heard the full story of what happened and she couldn't blame him. That was true. Ghira and Kali simply looked between the two. If this was a fight between the two it was the tamest thing they had seen. "Your right… Back on track. We also had the White Fang to deal with and that's what got us as with Adam down we weren't expecting them, especially on the night of the dance…"
"Oh…" Kali immediately knew what was supposed to happen as she took the house phone away from Ghira at a point to help give her daughter advice. "Oh no… That didn't happen. The Schnee got kidnapped instead."
Blake shook her head before her bow dropped. "It wasn't just her… They grabbed another one of my teammates… And they destroyed her and left her brain dead."
A waitress brought a few plates of fish everyone at the sobering details of hearing what had happened but Naruto spoke. "I'm not going to go into details here but… A wish was granted that day and I was able to bring her back but in the end it cost Adam his life after he had begun to return to his old as you probably saw if you have seen the speech."
"There were shades of him in it, yes. Lessons that were finally being learned and having found his own path it seemed. Not the greatest path... But a path that he only he could walk." Ghira remembered it vividly as that day was something else and knowing his daughter was caught in the middle of it was mildly unnerving, to say the least.
But then again when her current mate and her ex-mate were involved… It was hard for her not to be.
"Well a few things that happened that he skipped over that ultimately led to my decision to choose him… First was that he saved Adam as he was still there inside and he brought him back from the darkness…." Blake had a small tear as she remembered seeing Adam being who she remembered him to be and not the beast he had become.
"Second… Adam gave up his vows as he recognized what had happened before what he had become and everything he did." Blake remembered everything that was said and a sad smile spread on her face, knowing he finally did what was best for both of them.
Despite being upset with Adam, hearing he had nearly cut his daughter in half and her new son-in-law took the blow instead, Kali could only look slightly disappointed. It seemed near the very end Adam did remember who he and that was sad to hear as that was whom she remembered the most, the boy who had the potential to be great.
He was just lost.
Ghira agreed but was also curious as to what had happened between Adam and Naruto. Again it was something he would have to talk to the boy about. It was something to be discussed at another time.
"And finally… I broke moments before when I saw the most traumatizing sight…" Blake shivered as she remembered waking up in Yang's arms and saw everything that was happening around her. "And why I was so worried about Naruto disappearing… As he got dragged into and under a Grimm pool by some sort of magic."
Both her parents' faces become distraught as they looked at the fox as he gave Blake a comforting squeeze before they freed their hands so they could start their meals. Everyone knew how toxic those pools were and what they did to whoever was near them.
How did this young man survive let alone be in the shape he was in?
"Not only did he make it through and come back… The story he told me on the reason he was able to do it… Was why I couldn't hold back any longer and sorted the rest of my issues out… And we finally mated a few nights ago. We just got jewels embedded this morning before everything… Went sideways like normal actually." Blake proudly showed hers off before with a smile before frowning as she thought about it.
"Odd things do tend to happen a lot more frequently now, I do agree. Almost like we been gift some sort occurrence or something is trying to guide us…" Naruto gritted out the last part with a growl as he had been struggling with the concept that something was trying to guide him from within so it made him second guess things more frequently now.
He wasn't going to just play into Fate's hand if could help it. He would deny the Goddess at every opportunity and make her work for it.
And if now that he was aware of its presence he needed to make his way to Haven soon and somehow get in their good graces…
Knowledge was power.
And if he could find a way to break his chains…
"Well… Sounds like quite the story." Ghira admitted as he could tell they were a little uncomfortable telling here with other people around but were not embarrassed in showing their affection.
So it was more of the finer details which was fine. Those things didn't need to be public when some of those were mission related. He knew enough from what Kali had told him from her conversation with Blake on the phone after she had taken it from his hearing.
She needed that kind of advice at this time it seemed but everything seemed to be working out and just watching his daughter's small interactions so far with the boy…
Everything seemed fine. Kali seemed more impressed but time would tell. It was why he wanted a longer stay anyways.
If he was going to be handing his daughter away this time he had to be sure. This wasn't going to be another Adam situation again.
"Blake… That's my plate…" Naruto's left ear twitched as Blake took a swipe from his cook fish and grinned as she came back for another. "Yours is right there."
"Yours taste better though! You have salmon!" Blake whined as she got herself the next bite and she gave a catty smile. "I promise I won't eat all of yours!"
"That is a promise you will not keep and you know it!" Naruto growled as both Ghira and Kali looked bemused at the scene Ghira gave his plate over as it was her comfort food.
He would get the next plate as they would serve more soon.
Naruto twitched as he saw Blake open her mouth and prepared for the next strike of his food. "You know what, taking my share of tonight's portions."
Blake's mouth snapped shut and her eyes narrowed as eyes darted at him. "You wouldn't dare…"
"It's my night to cook, you bet I would." Naruto countered as he was not going to back down and started straight back into her golden eyes as if he would not back down from this challenge.
He did not know how to back down from a fight!
It was almost a flaw!
Staring into her mate's eyes, knowing him well enough that he wouldn't back down, Blake found a compromise. "Fifty-fifty? I split mine you split yours, we get to taste each."
"Deal." Naruto split from the half that had been eating and placed the fish onto a salivating Blake's plate.
"Yay! You are the best! Love you." Blake kissed Naruto's cheek, which sent a shiver down his spine before she split her fish and did the same to his plate.
Ghira chuckled and Kali purred at the scene as she turned to her husband and spoke softly as they were arguing and coming up with an agreement, only for Blake to immediately steal from Naruto's plate again. "I think you starting to see what I was telling you, dear… I felt something different when she called and asked for my help."
"Blake Belladonna! That's it! That's my plate then!"
"From what she told me the first moment she arrived she was scared and afraid and just putting up a front… Then the moment she arrived at Beacon she came across him as he made his presence known by protecting one of her future teammates from another… A weird dynamic but it worked in the end but putting a Schnee in any team is a weird dynamic." Kali continued to comment on the irony of the fact that she would be paired with those two later.
"No! It's mine! It just tastes better coming from yours!"
"His presence was calming, empowering, and felt in her words… Like home." Kali closed her eyes and tilted her head as she listened to the two bicker for now Naruto was coming for Blake's plate. "So I know you're going to do what you do and judge and measure him yourself… But know Blake already chosen him. And I think…"
"I am getting a full meal for once…" Both Naruto and Blake's scroll began to violently go off as an alarm went off and they pulled them out. "Shit I guess I'm not… Breach at the south wall?! Unknown species of Grimm and multiple injured trainees and a Huntsman… Oz would you please do your job?!"
"New species of Grimm? Those have been popping up a lot more lately… Ever since you…" Blake growled at the news as she was about to put her pack on and realized that the south gate was on the other side of town. "You are not about to leave me again, you hear me. We can handle these Grimm together."
"The thought came to mind but since it was the first thought I doubted it." Naruto scratched the back of his head as he did think about it for a moment and it was his first instinct. "I honestly wanted to leave you to spend time with your family but…"
Naruto's eyes darkened as he was trying to figure out how Fate worked as he couldn't grasp everything about it and if his first impulse was to do what he said he was going to do then that was naturally what Fate would plan on him doing. So was Fate going to start planning for him to start doubting himself?
It was a slippery slope and he wasn't sure what the play was.
"Do you know where Patch is?" Blake asked as she slid her weapon bag over her neck and she looked over to her parents with a smile while Naruto went to quickly handle the bill as more plates came. "It is a small island just east of Vale. It's where Signal Academy is and their township. We just got our first place built on the beach on the other side of the island, away from the small township so it is a little more dangerous but we have more than enough room out there for you to stay as the crew is working on the second place right now."
"Patch you say, we'll be there." Ghira took a moment before thinking of where it was before nodding as he had a general idea of where the island was and his daughter's directions were most helpful to confirm it. "Now go on ahead, take care of business. We have a few things we need to do as well."
"Right… I love you both." Blake hugged her father deeply before moving and hugging her mom before letting go as she saw Naruto was ready. "Okay, I'm ready… Oh, we're doing that… Thankfully I've gotten accustomed to it."
Naruto gave a wave and bow to both Ghira and Kali. "It was nice meeting you so far, look forward to the evening. Got to make diner plans now as I don't think my plan would feed the four of us!"
"Look forward to it." Kali smiled as it was a treat to see someone else doing the cooking.
She loved it when Ghira cooked but… The mess he made was not acceptable so she kept him in the kitchen till he was done. His food was delicious though…
Holding out his hand, Blake grasp Naruto's outstretched hand and in a swirl of leaves, the two disappeared leaving Ghira even more perplexed.
"A lot of abilities huh… Almost sounds like the warriors of old stories."
Today was probably one of the worst days of his life…
He never imagined when he first came to Beacon it would turn out this way on a routine Perimeter Defense that first-year students were allowed to take part in that they were assigned for the experience. He picked it as it was an easy mission and it was an easy grade and a little lien in their pocket.
If a Grimm came by the few Huntsman and Huntresses on watch would dispatch it if it possessed a serious threat if he didn't get to it first. He wanted to show off he was getting better and putting in the work. He wasn't going to catch up with that Mistral redhead but she was strong, powerful…
Alluring.
And attracted to one of the biggest losers on the campus now that the most dominant presence on campus left after pissing off the headmaster. Well… Not the biggest loser as he had just recently beat one of his teammates in one on one in the arena during an exhibition so he couldn't even call him that anymore…
He just wanted to! That was what he was when first arrived, he just got so much better so quickly!
It was due to her and that fox's tutelage!
But that was neither here nor there at the moment unless one of them was going to show up and help in this situation and he could use their help. Desperately.
Perimeter Defense was one of the most important but also one of the most boring jobs of a Huntsman and Huntress. Most people in Remnant lived within the four kingdoms of Vale, Vacuo, Atlas, or Mistral with very few living elsewhere due to the Grimm threat. The animals lived on Menagerie and had their system of defense and there were other small townships and farmers just outside the walls but roughly most citizens in Remnant lived within the four city-states of Vale.
Which made this all the worse! This is supposed to be the safest of all Perimeter Defense jobs could get. A trainee in line behind a few veterans to show the ropes at one of the Kingdom's walls. Where they had extra armaments and automated defenses to activate. The worse thing would be if a herd of Goliath went on a rampage and they would be forced to put them down.
But these things were something else altogether.
They came stalking from the tree lines with one of the Huntresses of the group noticing them before she called it out but by then they were on the walls and were climbing fast. Dust shots only seemed to irritate them and they were fast enough to move around to only be graved but one went down to a high-powered round shot to the head.
They still went down easily enough… But only because it hit the blackened parts of the body.
The rest was covered in what looked to be bone-white skeletal armor if not just its skeleton.
Once they got up the wall was the problem.
They were a visual nightmare to look at! They all seemed like a mishmash of parts! Like some sort of experiment gone wrong!
These things were humanoid in body but had arms were elongated by a length the fingers stretched to ridiculous proportions and sharpened into knife-edge claws allowing them to serrate or pierce through anything they needed to. Its legs started like normal human legs then deviated with an inverted knee. It became stranger as it hit another joint that came back forward for another leg muscle before it finally reached the foot.
That was a marvel itself as the heel was the back half of a hoof while the toes themselves seemed to be sharpened like claws once more to allow for better grip and tractions. Then it just had this flailing serrated tail that was three times the creature's body length with a massive blunt end at the end of it Finally, on its face, there were two massive pinchers where its mouth should be just under Grimm's skeletal mask
This thing was amalgamation.
And it was clear now they wore their skeleton on the outside of their body like a suit of armor or it just happened to grow through their body.
No one was quite sure as they had never seen this Grimm before.
They were fast. Not fast enough he couldn't track them but fast enough that it was difficult to keep up with. The Huntsman and Huntresses were faster but that wasn't the problem, these things were durable and kept coming.
Weapon bounced off their bones. Dust shots did nothing and even aura-empowered hits only knocked them back. Semblances were used and still, these things kept coming. Only when another went down with a shot through the eye and hitting it through its skull did Huntsman call out that they were only vulnerable within their armor gaps.
But their speed made it difficult. And the tail speed is where things got out of hand. It moved independently of the body and seemed to have a mind of its own and even with three left, the Huntsman went down leaving only the Huntress and his team.
The Huntress sent a distress call out on her scroll knowing the situation was dire but at the moment, barely being able to fend off the three at once as she tried to have his team retreat as this was no place for them to be.
And she was right. He called for the retreat as well but one of the Grimm pinned his team down and they were forced to fight while she was capable of bringing hers down, she passed out soon after as a new thing was revealed during her fight.
These things had chemical warfare. A toxin was released from the tail and spewed all around and it hit her in the face while she was able to get a killing blow, she drop soon after.
It left him and his team against two of these monsters and well…
Russell…
Was ripped in half by one's claws.
Dove…
Had his head caved in by one's tail
Lark…
Was grabbed and his neck was bitten clean off by the pinchers…
Somehow he, Cardin Winchester, was still breathing and fighting. He really couldn't see out of his left eye at the moment from the volume of blood pouring over it as he had a gaping gash from a claw strike he had taken. His armor was torn to shreds and dented with blood seeping out from within but he still stood.
He wasn't about to not make a last stand. He would fight with every fiber in his body while everyone he stood with was weak and maybe he wasn't as strong as he thought he was… He would not give up.
"The hell with you Grimm. You want me, come get dessert!" Cardin screamed as he held his mace up one last time, ready for a climactic end.
And as the abomination Grimm lunged at him, he knew it was over as that claw was coming straight for his throat.
It was the only thing fitting if this was to be it for him.
Only for a blur by his vision as the abomination slammed into the wall nearby and a certain faunus drew a red blade, prepared for a fight. "Okay, these are new."
A chain scythe ripped and caught the second's face, tearing through the blackness but suddenly bouncing back as it retreated to its owner with a look of surprise. "Their skeletons have high resistance to damage!"
"Noticed! Mine took a roundhouse kick straight to face and live! I put some pop into that!" Naruto growled as he didn't expect it to be that durable. "All right, really time to see what you can do Wilt."
Seeing who it was, even as he crashed down into the dirt, Cardin called out. "Naruto! These things have toxic mist in their tails and we've only been able to kill them bypassing their armor!"
"Lovely!" Blake hissed as she looked at the one before her and added a vial of dust into her cartridge. "Well, let's just make this quick then."
The abomination was faster than Blake had anticipated but she easily outclassed it moving in, slashing through with Shroud and slashing into its black bits with it in wakizashi form, targeting her opposition knowing its weakness. It roared and she saw the tail strike down onto her head with speed fast greater than it showed before as a green gas exploded all around it and she replicated a shadow clone that swung its sword through its tail.
And the mist exploded into a fiery burst that set the Grimm abomination on fire as it scream in pain.
"The mist is combustible!" Blake called out as she rushed as the creature roared out in pain, seeing the section of its neck and applying aura to her feet, bursting the concrete from her feet as she disappeared.
Only to appear on the other side of the abomination as its head rolled off its body.
She turned to watch Naruto having simply been dodging through all the attacks of the abomination, studying it as he watched each and every attack with interest. He swept over and jump over the last swipe only to see the tail move and sweep at him and with an application of wind chakra to Wilt, he sliced straight through it, severing right through the bone with ease.
"So the tail operates independently of the body altogether. There might be a secondary brain in this Grimm somewhere…" Naruto mussed the point as she abomination stumbled over at the loss of balance before deciding to put an end to it. "But alas, I've seen enough."
"Torn to oblivion!" Naruto appeared from behind the Grimm, electricity rippling through the air as he Wilt out to his right side before sheathing his blade and when it clicked electrical slashes exploded through its body violently, ripping into several shreds.
It was overkill and even Naruto knew it.
"Okay, getting better with my lightning control." Naruto grinned as a certain Uchiha would be proud to see that display before he turned to see Blake moving to help Cardin as he was wounded.
Naruto grimaced seeing the rest of the state of the team and took a deep breath. There was nothing that could have been done, they had gotten here as fast they could have and even two experienced hunters were overmatched by a brand new foe they simply didn't have knowledge on. From the looks of it, there had been more than the two they had run into.
Checking the huntress and huntsman, Naruto pulled out his scroll, he called it in as he began giving first aid to the man. "Dispatch, Huntsman Naruto Uzumaki here. We need ambulances here at the south gate. One huntsman male, severe lacerations over his torso and arms. One Huntress, several lacerations on her legs and arms, some sort of toxin build up in her system."
"One Cardin Winchester, a trainee from Beacon. Head laceration and possible wounds in the torso… Three body bags will be needed. Clean-up crew will be required." Naruto finished as he did what he could to keep the bleeding down.
Today was just going to be a long day.
"Why is someone cooking in our kitchen?" Was the first thing Naruto said after the long day as he and Blake finally walked through the door as night had fallen a few hours prior and dinner was the last thought on either of their mind.
They both had taken over the Perimeter Defense until it could be scheduled for another Huntsman to take the job. The only thing was no one wanted the job after that and took six hours before another couple of willing older Huntsman took the job off the board for them and replaced them.
Naruto gave them the warning about the new Grimm and how to deal with them so they wouldn't catch anyone by surprise again and he sent his information in digitally so it could be shared. Any time a new Grimm showed its ugly face it was a big deal and these new breeds were starting to appear frequently now ever since Salem needed to find a new host.
Almost as if this was her mounting a new attack to keep the pressure off of her as she was regrowing her power within her new host, whoever that pour individual happened to be and would regenerate soon. How soon was anyone's guess? It never happened before as no one ever eradicated every last atom of her so...
This was new territory.
If he had access to Asura Path during that fight he could have ended her once and for all...
"Also we locked the door… Ruby let you in, I'll have to thank her tomorrow." Naruto was confused at everything as the smell hit and realization dawned on him and he sighed and shook his head. "Sorry, long afternoon."
"Very long…" Blake sighed as she hung her head as Perimeter Defense was not a job she particularly liked, despite knowing its importance, but after the series of events they had endured from the day was extremely taxing on the psyche. "Mom, you didn't have to… And where did you even get the food from? We were kind of running low on groceries."
"The moment the words spoke there was no plan for dinner I knew you didn't have groceries so we took care of it hearing you were going to have a long day ahead of time." Kali hummed as she was cooking in the kitchen as Ghira sat in the living room on one of the zabutons, feeling quite at home honestly as the setup was very similar to what he was used to.
"Word about what you do in Vale gets around extremely quickly boy… The fact you were doing Perimeter duty after getting to the South Gate got to our ears relatively quickly so we decided to take care of a few things before we got here." Ghira responded as both Blake and Naruto entered their own living room to join him. "The kind girl with slower speech… Ruby, you said her name was? Let us in as she recognized Kali as Blake's mother after we said we going to be spending some time here."
"I also sent her a text but I forgot about it… It has been a long day." Blake sat down while Naruto saw his aquarium and sighed as a crab tapped the glass, waiting patiently as they were promised treats. "Naruto?"
"Be right back… Got to go the outside freezer for Crabara as I promised them treats." Naruto hung his head as he was tired before he walked back to the door and slid his boots back on and went back outside.
The crab inside excitedly blew bubbles in the aquarium before going into a filter tunnel to the outside to join the rest of its kin.
Ghira blinked at the oddity of the situation and turned to his daughter who just smiled and shook her head. "No, I don't know how he did it. It's a mystery to all of us how he managed to train crabs and how they suddenly became sentient to communicate as they do. We all just go with it at this point as it is simpler to deal with that way. Fewer headaches and it probably is only one of his middle-of-the-road things of mystifying things he has done, to be honest."
Pondering that for a moment, Ghira just gave his daughter a nod and accepted that answer. Some things were just better off not knowing and the answer sometimes was just so baffling it was better not knowing it. He had seen that many times in his life.
Entering his home once more and taking his boots off, Naruto sighed contently now he hopefully was free of them the night before taking his trench coat and put away. It was too hot to keep it on further and was going to have to think of a summer alternative. "Blake… I need to get some new outfits! The summer heat is killing me! Didn't know Vale was going to get so hot! It was snowing in the winter and now it's like ninety degrees and we haven't even hit peak heat! What is this?!"
"Used to colder climates I assume? He would not like Vacuo right now then. Even Kuo Kuana is hotter than this right now." Ghira chuckled as Blake giggled at her mate's complaining as he came back with his ears twitching.
"It's not I can't deal with the heat, I've been to deserts with impractical clothing before, I just wasn't prepared for what I thought climate here would be more moderate than what it is," Naruto grumbled as took a seat before showing just how thick his shirt was by pinching it. "I had clothes made that I thought would be good year-round and that isn't the case. Going to need to go back and have summer wear made because I tend to armor fit my clothes."
Seeing this, Ghira couldn't help but frown as that was at least a quarter inch thick of high-grade synthetic dust-infused fiber mixed in with regular materials making it more comfortable to wear. But it wasn't meant for comfort. It was meant to stop serious and heavy blows so it made the head of reforged White Fang all the more worried.
What was the boy so concerned about that he wore such clothing all the time? Such gear should only be worn knowing you were going into combat situations. Now granted there was such a distress call that a Huntsman was to answer when the time came but those were on very rare occasions, today being such.
And this was his normal gear?
It was something he had to bring up.
"Boy, why does it seem you are always prepared for a fight?" Ghira focused on Naruto and everything about him as the boy sat before him unflinching, perfectly calm despite his normally intimidating presence and voice. "From every movement, you make to the way you keep track of everything in the room you are always on the lookout. It is only here that I've noticed that now that you have lessened your guard but it's still up but I don't think it is because of our presence."
Blake winced as she knew her dad would grill Naruto and she was hoping it would be so sudden, especially after such a long day even her mother had to agree as she finished and was getting each plate ready. "Ghira, honey. Let them be. It's only the first night!"
"It's fine honestly, it's a fair question," Naruto spoke in a more relaxed tone as his guard was a little lowered as this was his home and he had nothing to fear or hide from here nor from him. "The answer is simple… I was raised that way, trained that way ever since I was a young child around eight years old. I was trained to be a soldier and an assassin."
Ghira's eyes widened as Kali nearly stumbled but his reflexes and balance quickly saved her and she was able to set the first two dishes down for Naruto and Blake since they were out working all day. Blake softly sighed before she gave Naruto a sad smile and turned to her father as her mother returned with both of their plates and sat down. "It's… A long and complicated story…"
"And one I'm not willing to entirely share just yet…" Naruto admitted with a sigh. "I think it best if shared it over the coming days if you're going to spend some time with us. It will you to come to know me better anyways as… My life was something not easily explained."
"That's fair, some things are harder to share." Kali smiled, trying to break the tension that the mood had taken. "We are here after all to visit our dear daughter seen in ages and the boy she was so enthralled with over the phone that she had to tell me all about!"
"Mom!" Blake furiously blushed as Naruto bit his lip and he snickered at his mate's reaction. "Don't you even start! I told you how hard it was to make that call!"
Kali only smiled as she took a bite of her dinner while Ghira did the same with a mighty chuckle that earned a dangerous glare from his daughter. In turn, he simply chortled a response. "Despite how grown up you are still my little girl and still get flustered over boys. I remembered when you first had this issue when you were a young kitten…"
"DAD! Not you too!" Blake's eyes widened in horror as her face was scarlet in embarrassment from everything being said while her mother laughed in unison.
Naruto simply watched with a little amusement but slowly his fox ears started to droop. His thoughts turned to his family. Or the lack of one.
Was this what it was like to have a family?
"I was so adorable to hear how you gushing about just how being around him made your head spin, your stomach do flips and your heart race… I wished we had a better chance to have our mother-daughter talk as I would have loved to have been there personally dear." Kali lovingly smiled as she embarrassed Blake further as Ghira gave a good laugh.
He never got the chance as his mother and father died with him in their arms protecting him from a possessed Kurama and sealing the fox away inside of him. He only met his mother briefly within the seal and his father due to the seal safeguards and then to Impure World Resurrection but even then barely would call that interacting with them like family.
So… This was what his mate's family was like? Would his family have been like this?
He hoped it would have… It seemed nice.
A lone tear escaped his left eye as he watched the scene, seeing shades of what his family could have been in hers. Shades of Kushina in Kali. Shades of what Minato was in Ghira. The parallels were truly there...
"I wasn't gushing… It was how I truly felt!" Blake growled out as she was getting annoyed by her parents' pestering of her adoration for… Then she saw him in the corner of her eye and her bow dropped and the face scarlet of embarrassment slowly drained. "Naruto?"
Slowly poking at his dinner, not paying attention to it very much, with his ears heavily drooped, Naruto looked at Blake with his cerulean eyes slightly glazed over and with a faked smile as he wiped his face clean of any evidence. "Hm? Oh, I was lost in thought. Sorry about that."
Blake wordlessly realized the issue and she slid her plate over next to Naruto as she moved her seat next to his and put herself next to him. She then slid her closer hand into his and squeezed it for comfort but let her body warmth in general be a calming presence for him. "I forgot. This was going to be an issue."
"It's not an issue… I just don't know how to handle it. I've never dealt with having a family around so it's just new to me." Naruto's ears lowered even further till they meshed with his blonde spikes, slight sorrow in his tone as he spoke. "It's just going to take time for me to adjust and me not getting lost in my own head like I just did."
Hearing this Kali's ears lowered as she remembered what she heard earlier and understood the context of if now better with what said and even Ghira knew. The boy grew up without his family. Just hearing he was raised as a soldier, an assassin no less, and that he was an orphan was a cruel way to start life.
It did explain why he was so guarded.
But just how was he so well adjusted was a whole new question along with many others Ghira had for the enigma before him that had gained his daughter's favor. One thing he could say was that he leaning more on the side of cautious optimism, there were just some worrisome signs, one that he admitted to already, he had seen and he wanted to sniff them out.
But those would come. As he said he wasn't ready just to speak just yet. It was a long day and they hardly knew each other. That would come in time.
So it was up to him to break this funk and get a more chipper tune flowing back into the room as he took a look around. "So I find the layout in here quite curious… Blake, did you do most of the decorating or did you both come to an agreement to pick everything out? This looks very much like home but somehow even more…"
"I want some of these decorations myself." Kali mused as she looked around and purred as the taste was quite exquisite and some of the scrolls with kanji and mottos almost seemed homemade. "And then there is this one here that I'm quite fond of that has a nice motto. To never go back on your word."
Blake flushed while Naruto's ears started to perk up again. "No… Most of this stuff was already Naruto's… We just agreed on some of what was left to fill out the furniture and decorations for the rest of the rooms to keep it in theme."
Kali's ears excitedly perked up at hearing this as Ghira noticed his wife's wide smile before Naruto as his fox ears had nearly returned to their normal perkiness continued. "As for that particular scroll, I custom made that one along with the other a few others. Those are personal mottos I live by. To never run away. To never go back on my word. To keep fighting for what you believe in…"
Naruto smiled as that last one was a new addition he added as he looked over at Blake before recognizing he had been poking at the dinner in front of him. "What am I doing? This looks delicious and I've barely eaten all day! Thank you for the meal!"
"Oh, right. There's food. Thank you very much, dear. Your cooking is always splendid." Ghira laughed as everyone started to dig and thank Kali for the meal.
"My I missed your cooking! Oh, how I craved it these last few years!" Blake wanted to cry as she dug in and Naruto chuckled as she purred and rubbed against him, still sharing her warmth so he would stay comfortable. "Oh, you should try that! It's really good!"
"Call me intrigued." Naruto mused as he went for the side dish and sighed contently. "Oh no… This going to be this kind of meal… I'm going to be here for a while."
"That you are, that you are." Ghira grinned as he watched the fox melt into his daughter from his wife's cooking which was a fair assessment of how good it was.
She was a brilliant chef. That was why he stayed out of the kitchen.
Or have her that mad at him ever again.
But all was good now. Everyone was in better spirits and the night went much smoother as it was only the first night.
It wasn't meant to be the night for grilling your daughter's new love interest!
That came later.
Tonight was to enjoy being together at last!
"Naruto…" Blake purred as she read beside him in her yukata, flipping through the last pages of Icha Icha before she put down the back and looked at her mate laying to her left in their shikibuton futon bed.
He laid on his stomach and was simply gazing at her which made her blush slightly before she simply ran her hand through his spiky hair and twisted her fingers through the locks. This elicited a pleasant growl of approval. "Thank you for being so accommodating… I know this was not an easy night for you. It wasn't easy for me. I wasn't planning on making a trip to see them until this business with Weiss and the engagement is taken care of… That's far more important in my eyes. And I know they would want me to stay for a while so… I can only imagine…"
"They're here for the Vytal festival, I figured that much. How else could he convince the other heads for him to head out? It would be of political benefit for him to be seen right now to try it make it look like the White Fang is returning to its roots while there is this new radical Black Fang that has taken the approach of a more violent version of the previous Fang." Naruto commented as he was confident on why Ghira at least convinced everyone the reason he left was for this reason.
"Well, that is true. He will be doing that, he is very work orientated like someone else I know… Oh by the Brother Gods I mated someone who reminds me of my father." Blake started before her face went blank for a moment and then she busted out laughing with Naruto chuckling. "You have the right to whip me if I start calling you daddy at any time."
"I can't whip you! You might enjoy it! It'd just give you more reason to cry that out!" Naruto rolled his eyes as Blake gave him a knowing look and he shivered as he knew what that meant. "Yep, you would enjoy it… I'm afraid of what that closet is going to have in it… Not against trying it. You do have that nice thick…"
"Naruto Uzumaki," Blake rolled over on top of his back and growled before her face turned somewhat serious as she felt the tension in his back muscles between her thighs and frowned as her mood changed. "I don't think we can do what I was about to plan on doing if your back is this tense… I know you recover easier than most but… If you needed a massage all you do was ask."
"Yeah but now I feel like that will lead to places and I'm not sure that's a good idea with your parents right across the hall… My soundproofing seals still need work… We woke Tai and the whole house that's almost three-quarters of a mile away and that was probably why Yang was a little off her timing today." Naruto commented as he could feel Blake trying to hold herself back as she worked some of the tightness out of his lower back, understanding what he was saying but not willing to let her mate suffer once she felt the issue he was having.
Blake sighed as her ears lowered as she kept pushing the knots out of his back. He wasn't wrong. She couldn't go like she wanted to with them right next door and that was frustrating. The fact that they woke up a whole other household that far away while amusing was also alarming. She was that loud when it was going that fast and that de…
A furiously blush adorned her face as she shook her head fervently as she pushed out the last knot in his lower back. Just touching his bare skin with hers was sending electric tingles through her body and it was difficult to ignore them. "Okay…"
Sensing that Blake was still wanting a little something, Naruto turned while Blake managed to stay mounted on top of him, and he rose and embraced her before locking his lips deeply with hers. She purred deeply as her tongue slid to meet his, matching his passion as she placed her hands on his shoulders.
Breaking the kiss, Naruto sighed contently as he looked at the purring faunus before him with her beautiful golden eyes. "Better?"
"No…" Blake growled as she shoved Naruto down by the shoulders, re-engaging their kiss for a moment longer before slowly rising back up as her yukata slowly fell and pooled at her waist leaving. "I'll be quiet… But that means I'm on top."
Naruto didn't say a word as he looked at the beautiful sight above him after a few movements and adjustments their hands intertwined and she let forth a deep purr. This was an equal relationship after all as she yowled happily at him from above, like a cat that caught exactly what she wanted and was toying with it expertly.
She wanted the power, she got it and she caught the fox she had been desperately desiring. He was pinned beneath her and experiencing all of her in her natural glory and raw beauty.
Her golden eyes gazed into his cerulean eyes deeply, a fiery passion burning hot and desperately as she whimpered as she forced herself not to roar like she wanted to. He couldn't let her suffer so he rose and pressed his lips against hers which she greedily accepted as he dragged her down on top of him.
Passion soared as the vibrations of one another's breathing and the other's purring reverberated against the others' bodies. Their hands slid from one another as hers found his cheeks and rubbed them gently as his wrapped around her waist as their desires overwhelmed one another.
And they gazed into one another's eyes longingly with haggard breathing as their kiss came to an end and Blake's hanging over his right shoulder, gently nibbling at his human earlobe as sweat drenched her entire body. "I don't want to stop…"
"And while I would love to… We need to stop." Naruto held on tightly to her waist, basking in the afterglow and the warmth of the beautiful, fiery woman that lay on top of him. "We're not getting away with being quiet a second time…"
"I know…" Blake purred as she rubbed against Naruto's head as her breathing slowly started to calm. "So those soundproofing seals… They are top priority now. No questions asked."
Naruto chuckled and shook his head as Blake slowly broke his hold and slid her yukata back on, rolling off him and gingerly placing her feet onto the floor. "Yeah, I'll get on that amongst the list along with the Grimm pools here… Think those still have priority though."
Blake pouted but nodded as she went to the bathroom to clean up, stumbling ever so slightly as she moved. Naruto simply grinned as she watched her do so before hitting the lights as there was one advantage he loved about being a faunus.
He didn't need lights to see at night anymore.
Welcoming her back into the shikibuton under the covers, gently kissing her on the lips as she joined him in bed, her hands lightly caressing his chest as his arm wrapped around her waist and brought her in tightly as she was next to him for the night.
Blake simply purred at the warmth and sighed contently.
"Good night Naruto…"
"Sleep well, my mate."
It was still early in the morning, his usual time to wake up. Darkness was still mostly enveloping all but the sun was slowly rising on the horizon as the clock ticked five in the morning. His mate and wife stirred next to him as she always rose a little after he did, his warmth leaving her being part of her morning wake-up ritual.
After preparing in the small bathroom in the guest room, he was pleasantly surprised to hear the main shower start to run and that the shoji to his daughter and her mate's room was slid open and both had already exited.
So Blake had become an earlier riser?
That was a surprise as he remembered all the times he or her mother would have to wake her for breakfast. Now some of that could, unfortunately, be attributed to how the White Fang became militarized under Sienna's reign but considering he was quite certain she was the one that just entered the shower as he came out…
And as he walked out to the main room he could smell coffee brewing and see half a pot brewing in the kitchen and in the entry hallway his boots had already been removed.
So he was outside already? An early riser himself it seemed.
Curiosity about what there he could be doing at such an hour here on this rather deserted island plagued Ghira's thoughts. Patrol was a thought. He knew Grimm was a possibility here given how isolated the place was and the perfect time to do so would be after waking and before going to bed and he just forwent the night patrol due to everything that went on yesterday.
Or he had some sort of morning training ritual that was ingrained into his being. Something else he could understand as for the longest time when he was young he had the same kind of routines. He still had some as a matter of fact as it was best to always stay in shape.
Regardless, he was one to sate his curiosity, and seeing the pot wouldn't be done for a few more minutes he would follow suit. If it was a patrol he could help with that as he was the man of his house back home. It would only make logical sense to assist here as well.
However, as he exited he was a little surprised to see Naruto without his coat sitting at the edge of the beach, in a meditative stance as the high tide licked at his ankles and the cold, morning sea breeze whisp through his very being.
He simply took a deep breath and let it all breathe around him, letting it all in as the water slowly rise in the air and formed into a large bubble. Then a spark of fire lit within the air next to it and began to condense into a ball of heated flames. The rocks from nearby lifted and swirled as they crashed together, molding a sphere as it floated in the air. The wind picked up around him and sheered the sand but slowly but surely compacted in a tightly compressed pocket. And crackles of electricity sparked as a ball of pure lightning starts to float around.
Five element balls floated around him, circling him with his eyes closed in his meditative pose.
It was really like old story books of the warriors in the olden times. Where they used mystical and often said magical powers to wield the elements to battle back the Grimm and even were successful at keeping them back.
It made him more curious to hear what the boy's story was further as such power was unheard of in this day and age.
Then to his surprise, all the balls of elements began to converge into one as he concentrated them before him, creating what seemed to be a ball of pure black energy. His entire body was shaking from the effort, and control as the ball wildly fought against his control, each of the elements bursting from it and lashing out as he tried to tame the fury of the beast within.
No… Not Allowed.
And his went wide in horror as a beam of light shot out and struck the orb and it exploded with furious intent, destroying everything nearby with disturbing force as it rocketed Naruto back.
He immediately moved to help but as Naruto skidded against the sand before he could do anything the fox kip flipped himself to a crotched position as he started to heavens above. "Fuck off Fate! You scared! Don't want me messing with my old powers you shouldn't have left me with access to them!"
"WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?!" Blake roared as she bolted out of the house, having barely gotten her blouse and shorts on much less worried about her stockings, vest, or boots, and had Shroud at the ready for combat.
She then noticed Naruto and the crater of destruction as she moved through the sand in a few bounds while Naruto shook his head to get the ringing out of his head. "Naruto, what happened?"
"Think I pissed off the Goddess of Fate is what happened… She doesn't want me working on that particular skill. Interesting." Naruto shook his head as the orange around his eyes fade a few times more before an ever-so-slight grin came to his face. "So, she has fear. Good to know."
Blake was about to question his reaction before she sighed as she knew he was simply now just calculating what he had just learned. She simply embraced him tightly. "You are the most impossibly frustrating… Danger just keeps finding you, stop it! I know it doesn't work this way but stop it for one day! I want one normal day without something like this happening! Can we do that for the rest of the day?!"
"I'll try?" Naruto answered as it wasn't really up to him but he would do everything in his power to try and make it happen.
And maybe that was the problem.
He didn't know anymore.
"That's the best I'm getting…" Blake sighed as she knew it was an impossible ask as Fate was just trying to cause things to happen. "Coffee should be ready… Stop trying to prove you can't die and get some. Ruby should be here soon for training. I'm going to get fully dressed."
"Be in there in a minute." Naruto gave Blake a light kiss before she slowly returned to the house, to see a frazzled Kali who came to the door to see what the explosion noise was herself and explain it to her. "What I give to not deal with any of this and just have a more normal life…"
"That's all I've ever wanted." Naruto looked down as it was the one thing he never had in life before he sighed and turned to the larger faunus. "Well, I'm assuming this going to take a bit… Let's talk."
Ghira could only nod as what he just witnessed needed some explaining.
And a lot of it.
What he got he wasn't expecting and it was… Almost more than what he could handle and he would need some time to process.
An explanation of his strange powers wasn't forthright as he wasn't ready to explain his origins yet but that they weren't inherently different from aura and magic of this world. He had an alternative aura that flowed differently and allowed him control of the elements as well as a semblance.
A double bonus.
As for what happened… That was harder to swallow. He was…
A Champion that was bound by the Goddess of Fate was something else… Hard to believe but considering what he saw.
Not off the realm of possibility.
And that frightened him if a Goddess was targeting him.
"Focus Ruby…" Naruto spoke as sat before her on the sands of the beach, sitting cross-legged as she sat, in a regular black sleeveless shirt and red shorts, looking out ahead into the ocean, her eyes closed as she took a deep breath. "Concentrate on from within… What was the feeling like when you first drew upon the power? Do you remember that day?"
From nearby Blake, Yang and Weiss were doing hand-to-hand combat with one another, taking turns and helping each other out with one another's flaws. Yang was seemingly getting annoyed and being humbled currently by Blake as she hit the sand. "Fuck! Stupid little flippy bullshit kicks! I will conquer you yet!"
"Still haven't learned the lesson I see." Blake grinned as Weiss giggled as Yang's eyes flashed red and briefly gold for a millisecond.
Naruto and Ruby snickered before returning to their focus.
"Not… Rea-lly."Ruby responded with some strain as forming and articulating the words she felt and wanted to speak had become extremely difficult since that day.
They were there. She knew what she wanted to say and that was what hurt the most. It was just that just between the transfer from her brain to her mouth there was a delay, a stutter in delivery. The doctors could only theorize that it was the lack of oxygen to her brain for so long that damaged that particular portion of her brain and she knew that was true but…
It was also true that so much damage was originally done that she should not have survived and that somehow through Blake's ex's sacrifice Naruto was temporarily able to regain his old powers back just long enough to resuscitate from the edge of death and needed a little longer to fully recover her.
He wasn't afforded it.
If only… Maybe then she could explain…
"Ruby, focus." Naruto brought her attention back to the task at hand as he felt her losing track once more and could feel her heart racing at whatever she began to start thinking of. "Let's try a different tactic…"
"Do you remember what it was that you said when you unleashed your powers the first time?" Naruto asked as he was curious but was ready to give her the answer to see if it would trigger a response within her.
Thinking as she tried to concentrate on within as well, Ruby shook her head and tried to keep her answer short like her therapist told her so she wouldn't get frustrated and upset so much. "No… I don't… Remem-ber."
"Well, I do as it kind of hit home for me as it told me what you believed in within your heart." Naruto smiled as Ruby shifted embarrassed under his gaze. "You were so frustrated with all the senseless destruction that you screamed out that was enough. That you wanted the violence to stop. It was such a simple clear statement that resonates as all you want is everyone to be happy, isn't it?"
"I… Said… That?" Ruby asked as she thought about it and she felt the words resonate within her and the images flashed through her head.
She saw herself standing before the mech, the pain searing through her head and everyone around her with all the rubble of the building and the burning wreckage of the Manta just destroyed. She wanted everything to stop… It just reminded her of… Of…
Darkness enveloped her vision and white rose petals began to flutter as she could distinctly see a face she remembered vividly even if she was only but a small child when she the face last.
"Mom…?"
"Ruby?" Naruto was caught off guard as something changed within Ruby once more and he could feel the power emanating from her once more but this time even stronger than it was than the last time. "Ruby!"
She couldn't hear him… And everything was slowly petrifying around her as everything was bone-chilling cold.
The memory of Summer closed her eyes and smiled as she spoke to the younger Ruby in the memory. "Ruby dear, one day you will grow up big and strong too, don't you worry darling… Just like all those heroes and heroines in the stories your dad reads to you. But there is something more to it than that…"
"What's that mommy!" Young Ruby asked as the elder Ruby stood at her young self's side, looking at her mother and wanting nothing more than wanting to rush out and hug her.
Summer simply smiled as she hugged and kissed the toddler Ruby who playfully fought back. "A hero does everything within their power to make everyone smile! To make everyone happy and to save the day! Even when they know it isn't possible they try to make miracles happen…"
"That is what a true hero is."
"RUBY!"
Ruby's eyes were snapped out of her memories and her eyes turned towards Naruto directly in front of her, heavily panting as he gripped her shoulders and his eyes golden. She then looked around to see everyone had gathered, even her father and uncle Qrow were there, and then she saw why.
All the sand within a few meter radius had turned to stone around her and looking in the water she could see the glow in her silver eyes before it slowly faded away.
"I… Did… This?" Ruby looked horrified that she held such power within her but then she noted Naruto's panting form in front of her and she started to worry as he was within the stone radius. "Naru-to!"
"I'm fine… I was able to resist it… Seems to have a certain resistance level or something." Naruto panted as he looked up and shook his head. "But we're going to have to really, really need to hone in on that trigger and not let you fall into that again… But at least we found it."
Ruby's worries seemed to vanish as she saw Naruto was okay as everyone slowly walked into the petrified zone, once they knew It was okay, to check on Ruby and Naruto. She was purely focused on him though.
A true hero… Someone who always did something in their power to make everyone smile. To make everyone happy and save the day even when they knew it wasn't possible… To make a miracle happen when it should not have.
Her heart raced and then ached as she saw Blake run to Naruto's side…
It wasn't fair… She never even got a chance. It should have been her that day. She was the one he rescued, not her…
"I said one day! You couldn't even go a full hour!" Blake firmly hugged Naruto before growling. "No more training for the rest of this day! Shopping! Nothing bad can happen shopping for new outfits!"
"Oh, outfit shopping! I want to go!" Yang grinned a canceled day of training was a plus in her book and then one of her favorite things to do was being added to the list.
Of course, she wanted to join!
"That sounds like a great idea for all of us… Just to get out for a bit and take a few days off." Weiss added with a smile as she was getting a little couped up being here at Patch with Ruby's family and while she was glad to be away from her family for the time being…
It was very weird being so far away from society and understanding why Yang had a bike and her license. She didn't mine the small township by Signal but it was nothing compared to what she was used to. The fact that she never needed a license before and it never crossed her mind until now and the only real way off Patch was by the bridge or by boat to get to Vale…
She wasn't huffing it as Naruto and Blake did. If she needed to go into town she would just catch rides with Ruby's dad Taiyang or go with Yang at this point. Walking or running that distance was absurd as even a taxi service didn't come out this far! It only went out to north the north end of the island where Signal and the small township was! There were still several miles between their residences and that!
Why did they have to live so far away from society?!
Why didn't any of them think about getting a vehicle? She understood Naruto as wouldn't have crossed his mind from being from another world where a lot of Remnant's technologies were foreign to him, so she honestly didn't want him driving, but why didn't Blake think about it?!
Little did she know in their room on Blake's nightstand was a driving manual…
She was tired of carrying groceries from one end of the island to the other. She didn't want to rely solely on Naruto and his sealing abilities! She wanted to be self sufficient!
"Me… to! I want… to go!" Ruby excitedly exclaimed with a stutter pausing her words but refusing to be denied her excitement.
Summer clothes were a fantastic idea!
Taiyang sighed and scratched his head as Qrow simply gave a shrug he wasn't the one with a vehicle. He had the power of wings to get him places. Tai slouched in defeat as he couldn't disappoint the girls. "I guess I can make multiple trips if that's what everyone wants to do. My jeep at most can only fit five and that's a rough amount."
"One should be fine… Naruto and I can do our thing if he's still okay?" Blake sighed realizing how many people were here and realized vehicles were starting to become a problem and needed to get her driver's test done as she had been saving up for a four-wheel vehicle herself. "And if he can that will leave just Weiss and my parents. Ruby can ride with Yang on her bike as she has been."
"Works for me, right Rubes?" Yang grinned and Ruby nodded in agreement as she enjoyed the feeling of the wind blowing by.
"Yeah… Not that much of an issue once we get to the bridge." Naruto agreed as do the Body Flicker and get them there without much issue. "Considering it not even eight though… I say breakfast is on the menu before we even think about going into town. That and I need to rest a little… I have been exploded and was nearly petrified to start this morning. How about noon?"
As mostly everyone looked at Naruto as he grew a second head, Qrow winced. "By the Brother Gods did you take my semblance this morning? That's my level of luck…"
"Noon sounds like a reasonable plan for everyone to get settled and ready," Ghira commented as he brought order to the situation seeing as things were devolving into chaos. "Breakfast does sound like a delicious idea. Bacon and eggs are a great way to start any morning."
"Bacon and eggs do sound good right about now, I'll cook some back at the house. Maybe some pancakes?" Tai commented as both Ruby and Yang's attention was caught with the later decision. "We got everything to make them if two young ladies…"
"I'LL DO… IT!" Was heard after a bust of red rose petals and a gale of wind as Ruby disappeared and bowled over Naruto and Blake in the process.
"Dammit, Ruby! Watch out for your surroundings!" Naruto laughed as Blake looked on in mirth at being in petrified sand. "We're going to need to put a sign out saying beware of speeding roses!"
"Didn't even need to finish my sentence." Tai grinned as he manipulated his daughter into helping him cook breakfast. "Might want to get there though before she sets everything on fire…"
"Oh god! Not again! Ruby!" Yang screamed in realization as she chased after her sister as Tai successfully manipulated his other daughter into the kitchen to help.
Qrow face palmed at the scene but couldn't help but laugh. "And this is my family…"
Ghira could only chuckle at the scene as every family had their oddities, his included. He simply offered his hands to both Naruto and Blake and assisted them up while Qrow and Taiyang went along with Weiss to join Ruby and Yang. "Hope you don't mind, I think Kali has helped herself to your kitchen again seeing you were out training."
"Mom!" Blake growled before sighing out loud and lowering her head. "Should have seen that coming… It's not like she's going to sit idly by. You were patrolling like normal too so… You've already turned my home into your home!"
Ghira chuckled as it was kind of true, he did have to admit. "Sorry about that, but you seemed to have your schedule and we figured we'd help out in what we can to make things easier here to start with."
Naruto only nodded as that was the truth. "We do. We always get the training done first thing in the morning but be sure to take breaks for breakfast, we just don't usually start ours until after the first warm-up session."
"And that is right about now normally but we usually eat lightly so…" Blake commented as it was about that time and her stomach growled ever so lightly.
Naruto grinned at her stomach's betrayal as Blake flushed red and her golden eyes turned on him in a heartbeat seeing that grin. He simply whistled and turned away, acting innocent and he didn't do anything and she narrowed her eyes. She then grinned and simply began to hum and his face dropped, not liking that sudden change of attitude and felt somehow the tables had shifted and he did not know how or why they did.
Entering their house, all three sighed at the smell of Kali's cooking and Naruto was to compliment the chef as Kali already set out the plates seeing everyone coming in. "Is this what I missed for seventeen years? Because I feel like I need to make up for lost time if this family cooking… It's amazing smelling!"
While Kali blushed at the compliment she also had the slightest of frowns as everyone took their seats and she had to finally ask as bugged her last night. "Naruto dear… Do you know what happened to your parents or were you just an orphan?"
"Originally I was just an orphan," Naruto answered honestly as took a bite and smiled and tried to keep the story more uplifting this time while they ate. "But as I turned sixteen I happened to learn of my parents and that they died protecting me on the day I was born to keep me safe from harm… But…"
"Let's finish breakfast actually, we got time before we go." Naruto sighed as he wanted to keep everything upbeat. "I'm not going to keep this a secret anyways…"
"Naruto…" Blake realized where this conversation and she was already seated next to him, slowly eating her breakfast. "You don't have to…"
"It's fine… It's cathartic in a way and enough has already happened that it needs to be told." Naruto smiled before he looked at both Ghira and Kali and spoke his next words. "As you've no doubt seen by now I can bend the elements to my will and that isn't a natural ability of this world for most without magic which I do not have. The reason for that is…"
"I was not born of this world. I was born into another far more violent and dangerous world where it was necessary for children to be raised in the way I was. And it all starts the day I was born and fox demon being released from my mother's containment…"
The house was rather quiet after Naruto finished his story, not that he expected anything different. It was a hard thing to swallow that he in all intent was an alien from another world that was brought here by the Goddess of Fate, turned into a faunus by the leftover energy remains of a spirit he used to host in his body and then there was just the rest of his story.
It was utter madness. Then again life here had not changed all that much and the rush had stayed relatively the same so…
Was it all that different?
He was still fighting a Goddess! It just wasn't directly at the moment!
Ghira for once was at a loss of words in his life. The story by all accounts was utterly ridiculous and was that of a fairy tale. But the more outlandish and otherworldly parts were so well weaved within the construct of just life was growing up that it in a way made sense and the values coincided with them. And the emotional conveyance that was delivered with the story punctuated the belief that what he was being told came from the heart.
He could also be a very good con artist but that would have been snuffed out long ago if that was the case as one could only play the role for so long and so consistently. And just from what he knew of the boy, that wasn't in character. He was too pure for that as if anything was true from the story it was the childhood and that was…
The most heartbreaking for him and most likely his wife and mate as they had already seen his reactions firsthand. You couldn't fake his response the way he did. And to learn that he grew up with even a caretaker his entire life… Well if those people were around he would have word with them as that was unacceptable.
No child should ever be left alone during those critical years. Something could have been done better.
However, it seemed his wife had her thoughts as she was the first to speak. "You said… That while you didn't have much time to speak, you got a chance to speak with your mother's spirit?"
Naruto smiled brightly as Kali brought up that memory and he closed his eyes and tilted his head. "I did. It was brief but she was proud of me no matter what and loved me from the bottom of her heart. …And then she embarrassed the hell of me by telling me to make sure I gave her plenty of grandchildren as her only son as it was my duty to make her a happy grandmother."
Suddenly there was a loud purr and Blake looked horrified as she looked at Naruto and she hissed in his ear. "You should not have told her that!"
Kali's smile only grew as she turned to Ghira. "Well, outlandish as some of the story is dear… I think it is believable from what we've seen so far. Things be as they may, some things in this world cannot be explained and we are well aware of that but one thing I do know is that of a mother's love… After all, only a mother would say that to their child."
Seeing his wife so ready and willing to believe and trust, Ghira took a deep breath and was willing to comment. He still had a few lingering issues but they were not entirely with the boy himself. It was more due to his lifestyle and his choices.
And those could be sorted out with time.
"So, Blake dear." Kali's turned to her daughter with her eyes closed and her purr louder than before. "About those grandchildren…"
"NO! NOT READY!" Blake screamed at the top of her lungs, shook her head furiously, and hissed as she glared daggers at her mother as her hair stood on end.
"That's not what I heard last night." Kali tilted her head with the smallest bit of satisfaction as both Naruto and Blake paled as they realized the sound dampeners still weren't enough.
"Fuck… I really need to work on those." Naruto's ears drooped as they were going as quietly as possible and they were still overheard.
Then his eyes snapped over to Ghira in worry but to his surprise, there seemed to be no qualms or issues as the large man simply took a sip of his coffee. It was as if he had expected this conversation to occur at some point and that deeply worried him as his eyes met with Ghira's.
"Don't look at me to save you. You two dug your own grave on this one." Ghira spoke simply as he took another sip, going to ignore everything here as he accepted his daughter was with the fox and that was part of life.
Dealing with his mate was a whole separate issue and they had to solve that one on their own. He had to worry about putting one into her himself after she asked for one recently…
Might have to ask the boy for some training and workouts himself while they were here to stay in shape for her.
Blake just stay frozen as she realized she was heard by her mother making love to her mate and she was just grinning at her, wanting her to do it again. This time without any control so she would have a baby in her arms…
Her life was pain and misery.
"Oh, oh!" Yang threw on a black leather punk jacket as Naruto's right fox ear twitched as his order was already made and somehow he now was made to be all the girl's chaperones and whom they wanted to judge what they wearing. "Check this out! How do I look in this? It rocks right?"
Naruto did not understand how fashion worked for women. He understood looking good was important and he liked making sure he had an outfit that popped and looked nice on him but once he found that, he was in and out. They…
Were decidedly not that.
Maybe he should have taken the hint from Tai and just brought a book and hung out in the corner but somehow he was sure he would have been dragged away. Ghira was simply browsing with Kali who was simply fascinated by all the unique and new fashion trends that had developed over the years having spent most of her time in Menagerie and hadn't been to Vale in years.
Blake had seen a few things she liked and wanted to model them and went to the changing room. The first thing was a hard pass but was almost like a tease to Naruto as she gave him those knowing eyes he knew what they meant. It was basically a purple skin-tight bodysuit that showed off every curve and facet of her body as sultry walked out of the changing room…
Rough… He needed to get working on those seals soon as they got home. Also reminded her to get it for... Purposes.
It wasn't something he wanted her to wear outside.
Since then she hadn't come out so he was starting to get a little worried…
Weiss immediately went to the high-end section and would occasionally come over with a new purse and how it looked with her but to keep in mind when she picked out her new outfit and then went to changing rooms herself as she found something she liked and wanted to show it off. She had not come out yet so alarm bells were ringing…
Ruby was a bit more obvious with her attention. She had been so since coming home from the hospital and would come straight up to Naruto and ask him to come with her. The fact that she did so while Blake was trying to model for him irritated her and he had to push back for a moment. She was a little…
Obsessive as of late.
However, she found the combinations of the perfect outfits that she wanted with Naruto's help and she too was in the changing room and god knows how long that was going to take.
Yang was the only one that didn't model as she simply knew what she wanted, tried it on, and then bought it before she started trying things on randomly while they waited on the others.
However now instead of the brown vest jacket, the only thing holding Yang's modesty back was her small yellow tank top and Naruto twitched as they bounced freely. "Yang, will all do respect get an outfit with it first… I'm not going to judge just the jacket if all I can see is…"
"Hehe! Gotcha you to look!" Yang smirked as Naruto growled as she put the jacket back up and slid her vest and buttoned it back on. "So my body does score points in your book, you just never wanted to admit it. Bigger than Blake's, huh?"
"We could have just let you fall off that cliff Yang and I no one would have known," Naruto growled and Yang nearly face faulted at that mention of the initiation test and how she nearly biffed it that day. "But I felt generous and helped you back up…"
"Well, you didn't have to keep me up two nights ago by having Blake scream all night!" Yang grumbled back as she glared at the blonde fox. "Not only was it irritating not getting very much sleep but… It was also hot so fuck you! I had to dream about that and have to work that shit out of my system! It's already bad enough that I liked you and Blake's my friend. It makes things weird!"
Naruto blinked at the admission. He was aware that Yang did have some kind of feelings towards him, Tai let him know that months ago and her actions did make it a little obvious at times as it seemed like she was flirting. But now she just came out and admitted it. So he wasn't sure what to make of it. "Um… I don't even know where to start…"
"Me and you both." Yang sighed in frustration as placed her hand on her head. "I'm sorry, I'm just frustrated. You both are my friends and I don't want to make things awkward but here I am, doing just that… But it is true. It's stupid really as I just originally wanted to know your secrets and figure out your powers for myself by following you but in turn, I just ended up learning about you and it just made me like you instead. Hanging out with you and my team made me appreciate how kind of awesome you were just in general and made me question most of my old friendships."
"Not to mention I kind of took all the joking the wrong way and mistook it for interest and I played right back into it despite knowing you and Blake were going out. That was kind of my bad but I was just trying to find time to hang out with you when I challenge you to spars and following you by the end, wanting to be around you more and more." Yang frustratingly admitted with a sigh. "On some level, it was probably because most of my friends were no longer here and they happened to be guys and I admit went out with each of them to… I just don't know how to have a normal relationship with a boy, to be honest."
Naruto chuckled ever so slightly, which earned him a death glare from Yang as she was pouring her heart and soul to him, but Naruto shook his head and smiled back at her. "Yang, you don't know how much I relate to that. My only relationship with four girls my age was the furthest thing from normal as possible."
"My teammate Sakura barely acknowledged me when we first met and hated my existence and while she soften over the years she always backhanded me for any perverted thing I did. Her friend Ino was nicer but I barely knew her, she was kind of stuck up and hardly paid any attention to anything besides herself. Another girl Tenten I trained with a lot for weapon expertise but that was as far as our friendship went… And then there was Hinata. So shy and meek that she faded into the background but was almost aways there, loving me at every step without me noticing till the end." Naruto explained his relationships with girls to explain his position.
"So Yang, I understand how I don't know how to relate. My relationships have been pretty screwed up." Naruto chuckled again but this time Yang had to laugh with him as she got the point now.
"Okay, that is bad… But at least at of your friends didn't ask for you to suck them off after only a week of knowing them. Or trying to cop feels... Or sending me dicks pics and wanting me to send nudes back... Although on that one maybe we could do some sort of trading as you did get to see mine on accident..." Yang rolled her eyes at the nerve of some of the guys that she used to call friends before she winked at the end and Naruto glowered at the blonde dragoness as she got a good little laugh out of it. "You kind of made me realize that most of those guys were jerks and that I need to look for guys that are little more than that."
"A lot more than that…" Naruto growled as he couldn't stand people like that as a relationship was based on far more than just sex, that only a benefit after enough trust was established between the couple and if they were both receptive to the idea. "Even if you don't leave much to the imagination with how you dress, it doesn't give anyone the license to act that way. Fuck those guys and anyone like them."
While nodding in agreement, Yang frowned and glared at Naruto. "You sound just like my dad. I look good dammit!"
Naruto shrugged as he wasn't going to argue that point. "You aren't wrong as the appeal is there and it does look good on you… But there is a flaw when with a single move I could just pop those bad boys free with no issue for the whole world to see. Remember our last sparring session and how I can never unsee that image because of a wardrobe malfunction that happened because of the spar."
Yang's eyes widened and her face flushed scarlet as she held her bag tightly against her chest, realizing he could do just that and with all the eyes that could possibly see her twins. "Okay… Changing my outfit… You win. My baby girls need more protection."
Laughing out loud at her meekness at the situation, Naruto had to wipe a tear from his eyes. The mighty Yang Xiao Long was felled by the notion of being exposed in public and because of how she was exposed the last time they sparred. But even his laughter was contagious as she too laughed as a little funny.
That was until a voice snarled out at them, annoyed as a young man with short spiky purple hair and a woman with medium-length silver hair walked by as they made their presence known as they walked by. "Fucking interracial couple making a scene like it is supposed to be cute. Pathetic scum for lowering themselves to take an animal's knot. Disgusting swine."
"THE FUCK DID YOU SAY!" Yang roared as her eyes burned red and nearly threw her bag down as she stormed to the taller man, who stood a half foot taller than her, and dared him to say that again. "You want to say that again to my face punk?! I dare you?! You don't have the damn balls to do it!"
"I said…" The young man with purple hair and goatee, a plain white t-shirt with a violet coat over and a black pair of fitted pants that looked fairly hardy and, the most distinguishing feature of all, silver eyes looked dead into Yang's burning red ones. "You are a fucking disgusting swine for taking animal knot, faunus whore."
"OH, YOU ARE FUCKING DEAD!" Yang screamed as her aura burned to life around her as Naruto slid in between them and put himself between Yang and this man. "NARUTO GET OUT OF THE WAY! I AM STOMPING HIS ASS FLAT!"
"Oh shit!" Tai groaned in the front of the store and jumped to his feet knowing this was not going to end well for as much as they worked on his daughter's aggression over the last two months once triggered there was almost no going back.
Three doors slammed as Blake, Weiss, and Ruby came flying out of the changing rooms in various states of dress. Weiss was the one almost finished putting on her outfit and was simply checking out how it looked. Blake seemed almost finished but was fiddling with her outfit and once more Ruby was battling her boot as she came flying out.
"No… No… Not again!" Ruby tripped over her feet as she tried to come and save the day. "THIS ALWAYS… HAPPENS!"
"Yang, I know this is asking a lot…" Naruto was also very irate and upset himself, but not wanting the store to burn to the ground in a fiery hell storm as he could see this guy's weapon sheath and knew he was Huntsman or at the very least a trainee, tried the calm the situation down. "I understand and feel your anger but I need you to calm down, we can't fight here. None of us can afford that kind of collateral."
"Just let me break his face and we'll call it square!" Yang growled as she tried to move around Naruto as both Blake and Weiss joined in, making a wall as Tai was almost there. "Then I will calm down and we can all leave fine and happy!"
"Oh, look at that. Taking orders from a forest barker? You really do love the knot, don't you? Why don't you shove it down your throat and shut up herd slut?" The purple-haired Huntsman/trainee grinned as he knew he was getting a rise and he kept pushing it and the girl next to him giggled, clearly also a Huntress/trainee from the gun pouches on her hips.
Blake turned and hissed, her anger now entirely focused and now joined with Yang in the fury department as her golden eyes dilated and were focused on him. He however quickly caught onto her disguise by her eyes. "Oh, and we have a disgusting animal pretending she can blend in and hide with us. Rude, animals should kneel at their owner's feet and be grateful they're allowed in their presence."
And Weiss her eyes glinting with righteous fury as she was going to join the fray and Naruto growled under his breath as Tai came over to help hold back his daughter and Ruby bounded in, looking lost and worried about what to do.
"Blake, Weiss! Getting angry is only feeding his ego!" Naruto ordered he felt his blood boil but now with mastery over his semblance he could control its activation before he took a deep breath as the girl's attention snapped to him. "Stop wasting our time thinking about him as that's all he wants. He's just doing it for attention and feeding it only makes him stronger. Let's go buy our things and get out of here. People like him are a dime a dozen and aren't worth our time. We got better things to do and lunch sounds pretty good right about now."
Letting her aura burn out at hearing that, Yang took a breath and nodded in agreement as much as she hated it as Naruto was right. "Yeah, your right… Let's get our stuff and get the hell out of here. I want some sushi…"
Even in her very agitated state, Blake's head perked up at the mention of sushi before remembering her new tailcoat. "That sounds… Wait, my new coat!"
Running to get it while everyone slowly started to move away while Weiss and Ruby ran with Blake to grab their things as well, Naruto, Yang, and Tai started to move away from the situation when the father sighed in relief. "Oh, man… That was close…"
"That was very impressive diffusing of the situation." Ghira's voice came from nearby as he and Kali walked by, his eyes focused on the other boy before joining beside Naruto. "That could have gone much worse than it did."
"It should have… It really should have." Naruto admitted and took a deep breath to clear his head as many thoughts were entering his mind as Blake, Weiss, and Ruby rejoined the group, and everyone headed for the cashier. "If I hadn't recognized what he was doing…"
A burning sensation seared the back of Naruto's neck as a loud crack filled the room and blistering pain as the metal shell of a Dust round lodged into his neck and graze his spinal cord.
"Naruto!" Several screams were heard as he fell to one knee from the force of the impact while one, in particular, moved immediately to protect the rest.
"Fuck off you animal prick! Anything that comes from you and the swine would be a demon spawn!"
Gripping the back of his neck, he could feel blood gushing out and he could feel it pouring down his back. It had hit something, he was sure of that. His guard was dropped as he was surrounded by friends and family. It shouldn't have been due to the situation but he felt confident enough that there would not have been a reaction…
He was wrong.
And then… What he said brought a whole host of bad memories he did not want to remember flooding back.
"Get out of my store you little demon freak!"
"Stay away from my daughter you demon spawn!"
"Let's not play with him… He's just a demon
Naruto's eyes dilated as his chakra surged through his body, he slowly rose despite the protest of everyone around.
"Naruto, don't get up! We're calling for help!" Blake protested as Weiss was dialing for help on her scroll but was a little too late for that.
Pulling his scroll out for a brief second so he could scan and ID the person that shot him before vanished from everyone's sight.
Ghira was ready to pounce on the young man before him and break him. One of the few times violence was acceptable in his mind was when you attacked family and whether it was of his choice or not Blake choose Naruto and that made him such. And the fact he had shown restraint and restored order and peace to only get shot in the back…
He was going to put this young man in his place.
The young man seemed cocky and arrogant too as his magnum transformed out into a short sword gun fusion all the while a metallic fist transformed around his left hand. The girl simply drew both of her pistols, not going to let her friend be in a fight on his own.
"Vi Vender is it?" A cold voice spoke from behind the purple haired while Ghira looked shocked to see who it was. "Huntsman by the age of twenty, rather impressive I do say that you were allowed to take an early exam to exit Haven quickly… Must have thought highly of your skills as the former three-time Mistral Tournament Champion?"
"That was until Pyrrha kicked your ass on the last year you could compete," Naruto growled as he gathered everything he needed from the quick scan and had his earpiece in listening to every detail on file about the Huntsman as Vi turned and his eyes narrowed seeing the faunus he shot in the neck standing so easily despite bleeding profusely behind him. "I know that some people can never change, no matter how hard you try some people are hard-wired to believe what they choose to and are so bigoted and fascist think what they are doing is the right thing when it is hurting everyone around them."
"And I was willing to drop this all and let you go under those pretenses as for one reason or another you ended up becoming a Huntsman so somehow you are doing some good out there in this world. But now… I'm going to break you myself." Naruto growled as he pulled out his scroll and dialed a number. "But we aren't going to do this here… No, you wanted a spectacle I'm going to give you one!"
"Councilor June, yes it's Naruto speaking." Naruto faked a polite voice as he was still very livid as the blood streamed down his back while Vi's eyes widened as realized whom he had called and very few hunters had direct access to any of the council themselves. "I happened to need a favor if you or a few other members of the Vale council can manage it for me… In the next couple of days, I want a prime-time spot to be televised for an exhibition match for the Vale festival before we kick off the tournament here…"
"The contestants? Myself of course." Naruto grinned viciously as his eyes further dilated while he kept his tone cordial as the Mistral Huntsman turned and faced him entirely, standing face to face as he looked ever so slightly above him to meet his gaze. "My opponent is former three-time Mistral tournament champion Vi Vender whom I'm going to rip and tear apart on live television before the whole world to see that bigotry doesn't fly in Vale."
"Oh, you agree Councilor! I thought you would… You'll have it announced when the details are posted, thank you. I'll talk to you later, Councilor… I've got a few things to tend to as do you." Naruto gave a sickeningly sweet smile as he hung up the scroll as sirens began to roll in. "So Vi… I do hope you enjoy your stay in Vale while it lasted…"
"Because in a couple of days I'm going to make it a living nightmare for you!" Naruto gave one last grin as he saw the exact officers who responded and one of them was who it was he wanted to see.
And he left Vi with those words as walked straight to her, not caring about the trail of blood he was leaving behind him was thickening as officers gave a wide birth as they surrounded the situation otherwise. "Okay, what the hell happened at Beacon after I left? Why did you leave and become chief of police of all things, Glynda?"
Despite having a handle on the situation, the witch simply looked at Naruto with wide eyes seeing the state he was in, and just could not believe he was standing. And the blood that was coming out of him… "I'll call you as soon we get you to the hospital, okay? You need to get that looked at immediately!"
"Naruto! Lay down!" Blake rushed over as did the rest of the group as they were concerned while Naruto reached for his neck and saw the amount of blood had increased substantially. "You are so pale right now! You barely have any skin color!"
Apparently, he hadn't fully mastered his semblance and it activated and the blood flow had increased dramatically. "Oh… Fuck me."
With the adrenaline finally starting to wear thin, the wooziness started to dramatically affect him, and the instant he dropped, landing in a seated position as he just barely was able to catch himself. The world was going black very quickly in his vision and he could not fight it as he halted his chakra flow to his semblance and tried to focus it on his neck to start regenerating the wound. It however was a little too late for that and he cursed.
"Fuck… Going to rip that bastard a new asshole…"
Then he fell flat down on the floor, his vision darkening as he could barely hear everyone cry out his name.
All he could think was of the one thing Kurama would tell him to do in this situation.
Rip and tear until the job was done.
And he was going to do just that.
We meet again.
The poll results have been most interesting I must say.
Blake and Neo were the fan favorites...
It brings tears to my eyes that I did what I had to do.
Trivia's story was told, her time was up and Fate called her number.
There was nothing I could do.
She was my favorite of this story to write.
So it brings me no pleasure to say...
There is a new poll that Fate wants me to introduce.
This time you will be choosing what character you believe will DIE in this Volume.
For those that can't access the poll...
I will show you a glimpse into Fate's eyes.
Ruby.
Pyrrha.
Fox.
Jaune.
Yang.
Ren.
Velvet.
Nora.
Blake.
Course Altered.
Recalibrating...
Target Acquired.
Terminating...