Disclaimer: BROTHER READER, I KNEW YOU'D COME!
Reading Remnants of Who You Are
Everyone stood quite in the room, all processing the image of the beast that lurked behind Naruto a few minutes ago. Some could faintly see the red eyes of malice and his slitted pupils, while others noted some animalistic traits but couldn't pinpoint the class due to the shadowy veil covering most of his appearance.
Nora went to her dorm for the mean time, for reasons she did not specify as to why. She didn't think that deeply into Naruto's past or the beast that lurked behind him like the others in the room because she knew it was eventually going to be revealed as they continued watching the show further on, and in her own opinion she thought the beast looked cool in a scary and evil kind of way.
As the rest thought of their own theories of Naruto, Blake was more enchanted in the mystery that was the self-proclaimed ninja blonde. Lost in her own thoughts the cat faunus mind raced, wondering what mysteries that Naruto held hidden in his character, the type of person he is or was. It excited Blake, It's the reason why she loved reading books in the first place. Every story had a tale, a mystery, a lore that was further explored as the story progressed.
She wondered of his past, the mysterious beast that lurked behind his back, the strange flames that surrounded him like some aura-like shield, the loss of his missing limb, she wanted know his past and how he got to there world. Blake was determined to figure out this mystery.
"So what is he?" Blake was the first to break the silence in the room after taking their time to process episode two of Remnants of Who You Are.
"I have not even the slightest clue," Weiss frowned as she remembered how the episode ended, she admitted the beast behind the blonde protagonist scared her a little.
"We know he's a ninja," Ruby refreshed the team with the claimed fact by Naruto in a rather upbeat manner.
Saying that fact alone dispelled the negative dread that Ruby felt about the beast that lurked behind Naruto's back. She cared more about having a ninja friend than some dark beast that was lurking behind her soon to be ninja best friend. Ruby got ecstatic of the thought, Ninja's were cool!
"Yes but I think there's more about him than he really knows," Blake frowned, she was expecting a good answer from Ruby instead of being reminded of the fact.
"But it's the best lead we have on him," Pyrrha smiled as she shared with her friends, "If we take a few of the scenes of the intro, Naruto is quite experienced in battles though not enough to beat a veteran hunter like Yang and Ruby's uncle Qrow."
"And he didn't have his main weapon," Ruby informed once again to the group.
Yang frowned, "Yeah, Uncle Qrow rarely does that. He always brings and fights with Fran on the road."
"Fran?" Jaune asked confusedly.
"Oh it's the name of uncle Qrow's weapon. You know the scythe?"
Jaune nodded as he got it.
After the small talk with Jaune and Yang was over Ren went back on topic and voiced his plausible answer, "He probably must have been confident in defeating Naruto without the assistance of Fran."
Weiss scoffed, "If that's true then I think it's pretty unprofessional of him, his leg would've still be in place if he brought his main weapon."
"Hey, uncle Qrow would've still kicked Naruto's butt with or without fran," frowned Ruby, not liking the idea of her uncle losing.
"It could be true but Weiss has a point Ruby, your uncle could've avoided the bad luck of getting injured if he just brought his main weapon," Pyrrha said.
Weiss let a haughty smirk graced her face that eclipsed over Ruby's childish scowl.
"And also Naruto stated he could create clones but due to the loss of his arm he couldn't perform the ability for some reason, " Pyrrha continued on, "So Naruto, in way, was handicapped as well. In fact, if Naruto had his clones at his disposal he might have given Qrow much more trouble in the battle, maybe even lost."
A loud raspberry was the response of Ruby. Her uncle would still win no exceptions, Naruto just got lucky to take some shots.
Pyrrha chuckled, not offended by Ruby's rude response.
"Which is weird, does anyone have a good idea as to why he needs his other arm in order to make a clone and better yet how many can he make?" asked Yang to the members.
Blake had a good theory and it was thanks to a certain monkey faunus she knew, "Remember Sun's semblance."
"Oooh, we talking about Sun now?" Yang smiled deviously to her partner, "Then let's talk about his abs~"
Her face heated when Blake heard that.
"Have you ever felt them?"
A loud hiss was her response, Blake couldn't believe Yang just asked that.
"What is a good question?" Yang held her hands in defense with a smile.
"That is not relevant to the topic we are discussing!" Blake yelled.
It was relevant to me, thought Yang with a smile.
"Sun's defined abs aside," The cat faunus paused as she said, blushing deeply while her friends held their laughter at what she just said, "The point is about Sun's semblance."
"What's it called?" asked Jaune.
"Via Sun," replied Blake.
Weiss face scrunched, "Sound's pretty arrogant."
"Doesn't matter, what matters is that Sun's semblance allows him to summon two clones to his aide. I've seen him summon them by folding his hands," explained Blake to the group.
"Kinda similar to yours but more rounded," Yang smiled.
"Sort of but it has a major flaw that in case Sun has to stand still and manipulate them in order to take action."
"Hmm, nice to know," Weiss perked at learning the Faunus weakness.
Pyrrha too was happy to learn a weakness from one of her future opponents from the Vytal festival, she was already thinking of ways on taking Sun Wukong down.
"So you're saying Naruto's clones might work similar to Sun's?" Ruby asked.
"In terms of summoning them yes, in ways of commanding; I'm not so sure," Blake answered.
"Neat, I wonder how many clones he can make?" Ruby wondered.
"He seemed rather confident with the ability so my best guess would be four or five, counting him of course," Pyrrha shared.
"Why just four and five, why not an army," Ruby smiled at the thought, an army of her. She would be unstoppable.
Weiss shivered, having a good guess on Ruby's thoughts. One was enough, thank you very much.
Yang chuckled but she was pretty much in agreement with Ice Queen, she was fine with one sister and one sister only.
"Well I guess we got this theory under wrap," spoke Jaune with a smile, hopefully they will be able to see the technique in the future.
Blake carried the conversation and said, "So let's move on to the next topic, it's time we address the elephant in the room. The beast that lurks behind Naruto's back."
The room went quiet.
"Were not entirely sure what that thing is," said Weiss, "All I know is that it could be the force . . . no, I'm confident that is the force that attracts Grimms towards Naruto."
Everyone stayed silent as Weiss continued, not wanting to interrupt her.
"This beast or whatever that thing is that lurks around Naruto gives me a bad feeling and that fact alone quite scares me."
"Why's that?" asked Ruby, concerned for her friend.
Weiss looked over her leader, making eye contact, "I don't know, I just have this feeling that that thing is something that shouldn't be mess with."
Blake contemplated Weiss words. She sighed as she knew the topic wasn't going nowhere, there weren't going to find anything helpful about the beast unless they continued on the show. Though the cat Faunus had a theory that maybe it was the beast that caused Naruto's faunus like transformation, she wasn't sure but she was confident.
"Sup, I'm back," Nora entered the room with a new pair of underwear after she mess with the other with her orgasm of violence. Nora waved as her friends greeted her upon arrival.
The tv turned up on cue and the intro soon played.
Ruby hummed to the lyrics as she watched the awesome opening again.
The opening ended and title soon appeared.
Chapter 3: Red
Ruby beamed upon seeing it. She was going to appear soon!
Naruto decided to go with Qrow. Well, he'd been bribed and vaguely threatened, but it was his choice nonetheless.
Weiss grumbled critically over the decision. She thought he should've just declined when she read that he was threatened, but it was Naruto's decision nonetheless. She will respect it.
The two woke up at the crack of dawn and headed over to where Qrow's niece was staying.
Ruby got up from her seat and made exaggerated poses as she spoke, "Oh yeah, get ready new best ninja buddy! Ruby Rose is about to rock your world!"
"Oh my," Pyrrha blushed at Ruby's word.
Jaune shifted in his seat, he was ashamed of actually visualizing the image.
Yang snorted into a fits of laughter after the play of words Ruby spouted.
Blake cheeks tinged pink as she criticized her partner in a low whisper, "Act your age Yang."
"Never~" Yang whispered back.
"What so funny?" Ruby asked at the confusion of her friends.
Trying to stop her giggles Weiss responded, "Nothing much, it's just a joke I told everyone about the day."
Ruby eyes brightened as she heard that, "Really, can you tell me? I like jokes."
"You're too young to understand," Weiss replied quickly.
Many of the members nodded quickly except Nora who was waiting to continue the show.
Ruby pouted as she didn't say anything and took her seat and continued watching.
The trip was shorter and less eventful than last nights but he enjoyed it, watching the sunrise was a nice treat.
Pyrrha could agree with the blonde. The sun was always nice too look at, especially with a long day of training.
In that short while Naruto learned a little bit about the dark haired man he would be traveling with, mainly that he was a Hunter, a really good one at that.
"Uncle Qrow is not only the best huntsman but he has the hardest-working liver in all of remnant!" Ruby exaggerated dramatically.
"I doubt the liver part," Yang smiled at her sister.
Ruby sticked out her tongue childishly in response.
The group chuckled at her behavior.
Naruto counted seven times Qrow could have taken him out last night, and he was probably missing a few more.
"He would've kicked your butt a hundred times over," Ruby boasted her Uncle's skill.
Yang chuckled at her sister's cuteness at fangirling over her uncle.
Pyrrha was impressed about the blonde's observation, she had to reevaluate his intelligence. He was more deductive than he let on.
And that he loved booze.
"Shocker," Sarcasm dripped from Yang's voice as she heard that.
Ruby giggled at that.
Weiss nose scrunched at the reminder of the huntsman love for alcohol.
Like, really loved booze.
"To the point he'll marry it!" Yang hamed in as she laughed.
"Ugh, Yang stop you're embarrassing yourself," Blake cringed at her partner's attempt in mimicking a hammy voice.
Yang frowned, "Oh please it wasn't that bad!"
"Your right Yang," Weiss voiced.
"See, Weiss thinks I wasn't that bad," Yang smiled at the Ice Queen and gave her a saucy wink for her support.
Appalled by the affection of her teammate, Weiss hastily informed her, "I was saying your were right on not being bad because in my opinion it was terrible.
Yang gasped as her feelings were hurt. She glared at the Schnee heiress, no more sexy winks to you
A tomato landed at Yang's face.
"Boo, that sucked!"
Yang's burned red with rage as she was about to deck that electric amped redhead to smithereens.
Nora welcomed the challenge but sadly her teammates stopped it from escalating as Yang was soon dog piled by members of team RWBY and JNPR.
Yang eyes returned to her usual lilac as she dusted her jacket grumbling at her friends for interfering in her destroying Nora.
She gave the powerhouse of team JNPR one last glance, she glared at the her, silently messaging her that this wasn't over.
Nora smiled cockly as she upturned her palm and extended and retracted her fingers, goading the busty blonde to bring it.
Ren soon sprayed her with water to put a stop from yet again another violent encounter between the two. He sighed as they continued to get back and watch the show.
"So..." Naruto spoke up, his one hand in his pocket. "What's your niece like? Are you sure she won't mind some random guy tagging along?"
"I won't mind!" Ruby replied excitedly.
"He can't hear you sis," Yang reminded his sister.
She blushed in embarrassment as Ruby then put her hood to hide her shame.
Weiss smiled as she rolled her eyes, that was her leader.
Qrow chuckled.
"She's...different.
"Oh we know that for sure" Weiss smiled looking at her leader.
Ruby frowned, she wasn't sure if that was an insult or a compliment but she would take it nonetheless.
Yang ruffled her sister's hair playfully, making sure she didn't think to much of Weiss and uncle Qrow's comment. In her opinion being different was cool.
And I'm positive, kid. If anything she'll be excited to see what you can do."
"You bet I will!" Ruby yelled excitedly, "Not only do I get a ninja buddy, I get a ninja buddy with awesome mystical ninja powers! Who is also an Alien!"
"Not. An. Alien!" Jaune punctuated the fact.
"Yet," Nora glared daggers at her leader.
The Arc returned the Valkyrie's glare two-fold. She will not win this battle, she will not get his Lien!
"Ugh, would you dorks pipe down. Some of us are trying to watch here," Weiss grumbled the rest of the groups annoyance, or so she thought.
Pyrrha and Yang were pretty much fine with the shenanigans and playful talks the rest of the members indulged themselves into.
Ren too was fine but was rather lenient with the talks, as long as Nora behaved.
Blake was the only one who shared Weiss feelings, she wanted to watch and discover more about Naruto.
Naruto pursed his lips at that, not really knowing what to think of it. Different? He wondered how different. The blond felt nervous already, what little he did remember from his scattered memories told him he hadn't been very good with people. I wonder what type of person I was. To be that hated?
The crew frowned as they heard that, many wondering what type of person was in the past.
Ruby frowned, deep in her gut she knew Naruto wasn't a bad person, yet she wondered as to why he was hated.
Blake blinked as she saw Naruto's eyes, she could tell with just a single glance that Naruto was discriminated. He had those same tired out looks of that of the former senior members of the White Fang, who were first dealt with the injustices and discriminations of the old laws. She wondered if his whisker marks were the cause.
From the corner of his eye, Qrow caught the flicker of doubt on his companion's face but said nothing of it.
The duo walked through the giant steel doors of the Inn and Naruto marveled at the sight. Qrow had to be loaded, this was too much. Statues, expensive furniture, well dressed people. This was a place for the rich no doubt about it.
Yang grumbled as she reminded that uncle Qrow was picky with his money.
"Naruto." Qrow spoke up. "Remember what we talked about. You keep your abilities a secret."
"I got it. I'll keep things to myself."
Naruto didn't understand why he had to be so secretive about who he was or what he could do, but he figured it was best to listen.;
"Yeah, it's not often we see a guy walk on water," Jaune agreed that it was best for Naruto keep his skills hidden.
"Yeah they would've probably strapped him in a table and do all sorts of sick experiments on him," Yang wriggling her fingers close to her younger sister.
Ruby shuddered at the thought, "Stop it Yang, that could actually happen to Naruto."
"The marothining of the Thing Strangers have been getting in your heads, it's just made up," Weiss said.
"But they would totally experiment on him once they figure out his weird powers," Ruby argued.
"She isn't wrong, what's stopping people from trying to figure out on what makes Naruto tick," Jaune supported.
As gruesome as the implications sounded, Weiss admitted they weren't wrong. The Schnee heiress hoped for Naruto to be careful with his secrets.
Qrow wasn't a bad guy, a drunk sure, but not a bad guy. He could usually sense when something was off about people and he didn't feel any of that from him.
Ruby and Yang smiled at Naruto's trust over their uncle.
Blake rose a brow at Naruto's apparent skill in sensing something off on people.
Pyrrha had the same thoughts as her cat Faunus friend, though she believed it was skill that Naruto had probably learned after the intro suggested that Naruto has been in a few battles.
The two made their way over to the checkout desk and Qrow put on a charming smile, leaning over the counter and running a hand through his shaggy black hair.
"Hey there Aqua, you're looking as gorgeous as ever."
Yang grumbled at her uncle's flirty nature.
Ruby just sighed at her uncle's behavior.
Weiss scoffed and rolled her eyes at the old huntsman's attempt to flirt, which Pyrrha found quite ironic given to Neptune.
Aqua rolled her eyes and handed the man a set of keys, barley sparing him a second glance.
"Ruby ate the mini-fridge out, and she made sure to tell me you're paying. Don't forget."
"Oooh, I trained you so well~" Yang said dotingly, pinching her cute little sister's cheek.
"Yang~ Sthap~"
Qrow snatched the keys and walked away, grumbling all the while. Naruto couldn't help but grin at the sight. He also had no luck with the ladies.
"Yep, uncle Qrow can't meet any nice girls," Ruby smiled.
"Yeah, he has shit luck finding them too," Yang quipped in with a smile.
Ruby frowned at her sister's language, "Yang, you shouldn't curse. Dad raised us better than this."
"Fuck, shit, fuck, asshole, motherfucker, twat, bitch, dick, did I forget to mention fuck that," Yang responded with absolutely no regret.
Pyrrha and Ruby were appalled for the amount of swear words Yang cursed out.
Weiss and Blake grumbled at Yang's over the top cursing.
Following behind the aggravated man, the blond stifled a fit of giggles and found his place by his side again.
"Looks like she didn't like you very much, old man." He mocked.
"What the hell do you know, you shitty brat. I'll have you know I've gotten to second base before and all without a single drop of rum."
Yang and Ruby blanched at the imagery, the same could be said to their teammates and friends as they didn't want to know about Qrow's sex life.
"Wow, second base."
This time the imagery of their uncle getting handsy with a girl was shattered with Naruto's remark, Ruby and Yang snickered along with their friends.
He flinched when Qrow angrily bopped him over the head. "Ouch! What the hell?! You like beating on kids you sicko!"
"Just shut the hell up already! You talk way too much for a cripple and I don't have the booze to deal with it. Don't make me take your other arm, damn it!"
Naruto nursed the spot where Qrow hit him and murmured something underneath his breath, and then he grinned. He found it rather fun to tease Qrow, and if he were to be honest with himself, he would admit to how much he liked the company. Traveling alone for a whole year wasn't much fun.
"Glad you have a source of entertainment Naruto," Yang beamed smile, "We can use a guy that can knock our uncle down a peg. Am I right, Rubes?"
Ruby smiled, "Totally."
They came up to a door at the very end of the hall, and just as Qrow was getting ready to open it, the man paused. Naruto couldn't see his face but he could hear the steady breathing, as if the man were preparing himself for something.
He was hesitating.
Why was he hesitating?
"Yeah, why is he hesitating. Is there something wrong with the door?" Ruby asked.
Yang chuckled at her obliviousness. She looked at her friends and pointed at her sister, which was met with confusion.
As if to answer his prayers, the door broke from its hinges and crashed against Qrow with enough force to send his entire body flying, only for it to meet with the wall. Naruto watched Qrow's hand twitch from behind the now splintered wood and openly gaped.
Until they figured it out.
"You're late, uncle!"
Naruto turned to face the speaker and came face to face with red.
Red hair, a red hood, a red cloak.
A lot of red.
"I can see that her taste in colors are quite diverse," Weiss smirked at her teammates choice of clothing.
Many laughed and Ruby frowned, they were just jealous cause know one could rock red like her. . . except maybe Pyrrha but she didn't count.
The girl, who he could only assume was Ruby, looked like she wouldn't hurt a fly.
"Looks can be deceiving," Blake quipped.
"Yeah, I sliced off a nevermore's head," Ruby boasted adorably to her friends as she scythe slash motion.
Blake smiled as she saw her leader's cheerfulness, nevermind.
She looked innocent and happy and like an all-round nice person.
"Aww, really?" Ruby looked quite bashful by the complement, most people rarely described her like that since most note her off weird and socially awkward.
Yang aww'd at the cuteness of her sister.
Blue eyes shifted between her and the now groaning Qrow and he quickly thought otherwise. It's a lie. She's a monster.
Ruby let out a whine as Naruto instantly betrayed her feelings.
Yang popped her knuckles, that kid was lucky that he was on the other side or else she would've decked him the jaw.
It was true that appearances could be deceiving.
"Obviously," Blake smiled.
"Oh, hey there! You must be Naruto! My silly Uncle told me you would be tagging along!" She smiled sweetly when she noticed him and extended a hand. "My name's Ruby, and I'm going to be the best Hunter in the whole world! It's nice to meet you."
"Rather large goals," Pyrrha smiled at her friend, instantly supporting her.
Ruby shied away, it was quite embarrassing.
"But pretty naive, after all the best Hunter will be me after all," Weiss proclaimed haughtily.
"We'll see about that!" Ruby glared at her partner.
Pyrrha beamed at the development she always encouraged healthy competitions.
Naruto was floored by the introduction. Still, he took her arm and smiled back.
"Nice to meet you, Ruby. And I believe you."
"Really!" Ruby beamed in joy.
The girl beamed at him and he swore he was about to go blind.
"Ugh, I know her cuteness is too dazziling!" Yang covered her eyes dramatically, "Quick someone call the police, there's no way my little sister can't be this cute!"
"Hey!"
The group laughed at the interaction between the sisters.
All the while, behind them, Qrow pushed the door away from him and fell face first against it, twitching all the while with a pool of blood steadily growing underneath his face.
"H-Help me..."
"You'll be fine," Yang casually dismmissed.
Pyrrha admired the damage that Ruby caused to the veteran Hunter.
Kids these days were brutal.
"Hey! Stop it!" Ruby pouted cutely.
Everyone smiled at her.
"So, Naruto, this is my niece lovely Ruby." Qrow pointed to the smiling girl while nursing both his nose and knee. Aura could do a lot for the body, but the aches always remained. "She'll be traveling with us on our way to Vale."
"We uh, we've met." Naruto said, still eyeing her warily.
"Don't blame for keeping his guard up," Weiss folded her arms, knowing full well that behind that smile was an annoying and persistent girl.
"That really hurts my feelings," Ruby whined pitifully.
Yang consoled her sister which she thanked her for.
Ruby waved happily from her spot on the couch, a pleasant smile on her face.
Yang gushed, it's been a long time since she seen her sister this young before. It was refreshing to see her at this again.
"Well now that the introductions are over, let's get a move on kids." The dark haired man yawned and moved to the liquor cabinet, snatching a bottle of ale, and then snatching another, and another, and...
What the hell is wrong with this guy? Naruto thought to himself, watching with wide eyes.
"I used to wonder the same thing," Yang smirked at her Uncle's alcohol consumption.
Weiss was appalled by how normal Ruby and Yang acted on this but then again it would explain their weirdness.
It would seem this behavior was rather normal however, as Ruby didn't even flinch. Acting as if nothing were amiss with the fact that her uncle had just stashed thirteen bottles of liquor onto his person. Naruto couldn't even tell how he did it.
"Deep pockets," Yang grinned.
Blake gave a skeptical look at the explanation.
"Uncle, don't forget to grab Fran."
"Oh the scythe," Jaune reminded.
"Oh, tch, almost forgot!" He chuckled nervously before making his way over to a large, rectangle shaped object painted red and black.
"Fran...?" Naruto echoed, eyeing the thing as Qrow picked it up and placed it behind him, hiding it underneath the shadows of his cape.
"Cool looking weapon," Jaune admired.
"I know right," Ruby agreed with her socially awkward buddy.
"My wife. My lover. My guiding moonlight. She's my weapon, and she's one of a kind."
"Huh, now I know where Ruby get's it from," said Weiss as she observed.
"Get what?" Ruby asked in confusion.
"Nothing," Weiss dodged the question with a smile.
Naruto reeled at the man's words. "You mean...last night, you didn't even have your weapon on you?" He muttered, shocked.
Qrow winked and grinned triumphantly, a wide smirk on his face.
"And I was drunk. Count your chickens kid, count every last one."
Ruby matched her uncle's wide smirk, she knew he could beat him.
Many were impressed with Qrow's feat except Weiss, can't please them all.
Ruby looked between the gaping blond and her haughty Uncle for a split-second before stars lit up in her eyes.
"Oh boy," Yang chuckled.
"What's wrong?" Ren was the first to ask.
"You'll see," she smiled cryptically.
The rest just soon watched as Ruby smiled.
"You two fought each other?! Does that mean Naruto is a good fighter, Qrow?!"
Pyrrha's widened realizing where this was probably going.
The man in question nodded.
"He has a lot of raw talent and a stupid amount of power to back it up, that's all I'm saying of it."
Ruby squealed.
The group groaned as they rubbed their ears, still sore from the last episode.
Ruby smiled apologetically for that.
"Oh please, oh please, oh please, can we spar Naruto?!"
Pyrrha beamed at her assumption but soon frowned, Ruby never asked her to fight. It kinda hurted her feelings a little.
The blond was taken back.
"I-I don't know, I-I mean...wait...what?"
"Easy there sis, don't weird out Naruto," Yang said.
"Sorry," she blushed in embarrassment, hopefully she didn't weird Naruto out like she did with most people.
"I don't see why not." Qrow spoke up, uncorking his first bottle of the day. "Once we get on our way we'll stop and make camp somewhere and you two can beat the hell out of each other then! Haha, I'll drink to that!" He cheered himself, took a long sip and then sighed happily. "That hits the spot! Come kiddos, let's hit the road!
"Good luck, I guess," Weiss said unsure.
"Thanks," Ruby smiled, she too wondered how she would fare with fighting Naruto.
Nora smiled, she was looking forward for another broken leg!
Ren grumbled as he sense his childhood friends bloodlust.
Ruby cheered and Naruto groaned.
"Guess someone isn't looking forward for the fight," Jaune noted.
Nora casually spoke, "He'll suck it up."
He had too, think of the broken legs!
This was bound to spell out trouble for him, he could already feel it.
"Hah, I'm stronger than I look ya know!" Ruby boasted proudly with a smile.
"You still have to watch it though Ruby, Qrow may have been drunk but he still managed to break an experienced Hunter's leg" Pyrrha reminded her friend.
"Relax, I got this," the scythe wielder casually dismissed with a wave.
Just as Qrow promised, after a few hours on the road they'd set up camp. And now the renowned Hunter was kicking back against a tree, his third bottle in his hand and a grin on his face as he prepared to watch two teenagers beat the utter crap out of each other for his personal amusement-er, assessment. Life was good.
Yang's eye twitched in annoyance at her uncle's rather negligent behavior in allowing Ruby and Naruto to fight.
Weiss was less than pleased with this man, she wondered if every episode she was going to find a another reason to dislike him more.
"Remember kids it's just a spar. Try not to hurt each other too bad."
"Break her legs," Nora eagerly said as her bloodlust seeped the room.
The team leader of RWBY frowned as she unconsciously feeled her legs, safely checking if they were still in place.
Ruby reached behind her and un-clipped her weapon, a confident smile over her lithe features. She swung it once and a cloud of red petals obscured her form, until the edge of a wicked looking blade cut through them and scattered them all to the winds revealing Ruby and her weapon of choice. A scythe. The girl tensed her legs in preparation and brought the twice her size weapon up behind her, her grip tightening over the sleek steel as she prepared both her mind and body for the battle to come.
"I hope you're ready Naruto, because I won't hold back!"
Yang gushed, "Isn't she just adorable!"
"Yang!" Ruby whined as her sister was embarrassing her in front of her friends.
Everyone had a good laugh at it but they all agreed that Ruby did look rather cute, especially when her scythe was twice her size given her current age.
Across from her, the blond in question only groaned aloud.
"Suck it up champ! Now go out there and break her legs!" Nora cheered in maddened glee.
"Hah, that's where you're wrong Nora!" Ruby proclaimed boldly with a smile, "Naruto won't go anywhere near my legs.
. . . .
"Ha, ha, ha, HA!" Yang let out a roar of laughter.
Blake tried and failed to hide laughs too, thankfully no one paid attention to her luminent blush.
"What's funny?" Ruby asked in confusion.
"Nothing!" Yang replied with a snorted laughter escaping her.
"Can we please not do this?" He turned to the supposed adult of their trio. "I thought you told me not to show anyone what I could do, damn old man."
"Yeah? Well there's nobody here to see but us so get to impressing. Besides, this will be good for both of you." Qrow responded, lazily waving his free hand while taking another incredibly long swig of his ale. How he could even properly speak with so much alcohol in his system was already impressive enough.
"Does he always consume that much?" Pyrrha asked to the relatives of the old Huntsman.
"Yep."
"Pretty much."
"I'm surprise he hasn't faced problems with his liver," Pyrrha said astounded.
"Give it time," Weiss said pessimistically.
"Tch, fine." Naruto brought up his one good arm and was suddenly encompassed in those dark blue flames. "I guess I'll go all out too."
"Bring it!" Ruby challenged head on, her other self will win this battle.
Ruby felt the winds blow past her when he charged, her hood and cloak fluttering as a result. In an instant Naruto was in front of her, that one arm cocked back and ready to blow her to the other side of the clearing. Acting quickly, Ruby ducked and rolled behind him, watching him fly past her, a blur, while stabbing the blade of her scythe into the dirt to prevent herself from being tossed about like a rag-doll when the ground itself rattled as a result of his attack landing, chunks of earth and dirt falling like rain.
"Whoa, hold back would ya!" Yang frowned at the brute force Naruto unleashed.
Ruby started to chuckle awkwardly as she soon realized that she might have bite more than she could've chewed.
Nora was the only one who looked at the screen with excitement.
"Wh—What the heck was that?!" Ruby exclaimed to herself while watching him slowly rise, his silhouette slightly hidden behind a cloud of smoke and debris.
That was the craziest use of aura she'd ever seen!
"Certainly," Weiss agreed with the younger Ruby.
"Kid! Hold back a little would ya?!" Qrow called out, a rare frown on his face. "This isn't like a life or death fight. You're not in the woods anymore."
Naruto flinched at the sound of his voice.
He's right. I'm not fighting Grimm. The blond steeled himself. But how do I hold back? He supposed going all out was out of the question.
"No shit, just try not kill her!" Yang frowned at the screen.
No one chastised her over her cursing given to the circumstances.
"You shouldn't space out!"
He blinked when a field of red petals blocked his vision. His hair ruffled as a light breeze went past his head, and in that instant, Naruto knew that Ruby was behind him. He spun on his heel and aimed a powerful kick, only for the end of his heel to meet the black steel of Ruby's scythe. That split-second of weakness cost him, as a black boot suddenly railed into his gut, knocking him up and stunning him.
Ruby used her momentum to kick off of his body, shifting Crescent Rose into it's gun-mode before going trigger happy. In response, Naruto flared the blue flames licking at his skin and when her dust bullets got too close—they vanished. Burnt to ash. He wasted no time however as the very second his feet touched the singed ground, Naruto exploded after her.
Ruby grumbled at seeing her momentum killed, but she smiled as she still technically had the edge over best ninja buddy.
From the sidelines, Qrow's brow rose at the odd sight.
Does his aura...negate dust?
"If it does than that's a really useful ability," Pyrrha said with intrigue.
"Could it be a semblance?" Weiss asked in interest.
"Possibly?" Blake frowned, she did find that blue aura rather weird to begin with.
"Well one way to figure out is that we keep watching," Jaune said.
"The knowledge will come sooner or later," Ren said in agreement with Jaune.
Ruby noted that this time he was much slower. It gave her enough time to think, and to properly react. Firing off a few more rounds, she watched him suddenly panic and duck, his feet tripping over themselves at the sudden movement and the combined speed. He can't do that trick from before while he's moving! The girl grinned and proceeded to blast the now ducking and weaving blond, keeping a noticeable distance between them.
"Haha, I have you now!" Ruby yelled proudly as she had this fight in the bag.
Nora was glaring at Naruto as the battle raged on, where is the broken leg!
Naruto made a sharp left, and then a right, and then another right. He ducked and jumped and rolled and avoided as many of the bullets as he could. I can't get close to her at this rate. I need to give a little more juice!
The blond grit his teeth and willed even more of his aura to make itself known, the warmth that sprouted from his naval encompassing the rest of his body in seconds.
To Ruby, it looked as if he'd blinked out of existence. One second he was a comfortable bit away from her, dancing to the tune of her gun, and then next he was above, coming down on her with a flame encompassed fist, a trail of blue following behind him. I can still hit him! She aimed Crescent Rose and found her mark, not faltering in the slightest.
"Ruby!" Yang yelled in worry at the screen.
"Oh crud," Ruby gasped at the realization her other was about to get herself into.
Many agreed, this was going to be a mess.
It was at this point Qrow knew he had to intervene. He vanished from his spot and appeared in-between both of them, Fran's sealed form blocking Naruto's punch while he simultaneously re-directed Ruby's shot. Qrow sunk in a few feet from the force of the blow, a crater forming underneath, and the dust bullet tore a clear path all the way into the forest, never to be found again.
"Oh thank god," Yang sighed as her uncle Qrow once again saved the day.
"I almost became a pancake!" Ruby said in shock as she saw the aftershock of the punch.
"Shame," Nora whispered.
Blake sensitive ears picked it up, "Excuse me?"
"Nothing!"
The cat faunus just rolled her eyes.
"Damn kids, I said to play nice."
Naruto let out a breath and let himself fall, glad it was over with, the blue flames dissipating in seconds. He lost this one, no doubt about it. That bullet would have smacked him away before his punch ever could have hit its mark.
"YEAH!" Ruby raised her fist in the air in victory.
Regaining from her earlier shock.
"Your not so tough!" Ruby boasted a bit smugly.
"BOOO!" Nora voiced her displeasure, "You suck, there's no broken legs! And Naruto would've curb stomped you if he wasn't holding back."
"Nuh-uh," Ruby replied childishly, "I would've still won!"
Nora was about to retort but she was interrupted by her childhood friend as he attacked her with her nemesis, the spray bottle.
"Dammit Ren!"
"Behave," that was the young stormflower wielder's response as he kept spraying her.
Ruby however didn't seem to care that it was her win, in fact she could barely contain her excitement.
"That...was...AWESOME!" She was in front of him in the blink of an eye, her mouth moving a mile a minute. "How did you do that with your aura?! You moved so fast and you hit so hard I almost peed a little
"THAT'S GROSS RUBY!" Weiss was appalled at her leader revealing sensitive information towards her leader.
Ruby was flustered in embarrassment as she spoke, "Uh-Er, It's another me okay! A-and , and I said a little, so I didn't pee alright!"
"That doesn't change much!" Weiss countered.
Ruby let out an embarrassed whine.
Yang shook her head as she laughed, her sister was way too honest sometimes.
Pyrrha and Blake comforted the small redhead while the boys said nothing for they were too embarrassed to take part in the conversation.
when you came out of nowhere wow seriously you need to teach me how to do that if you don't I'll never ever forgive you and—"
"Ah...well it's...I...wait...what?" Poor Naruto couldn't keep up.
Qrow watched the two interact and stifled a smile. Ruby was a bit overwhelming,
"Very true," Weiss said in a matter fact tone getting the rest of her teammates to agree much to Ruby's hurt feelings.
but it didn't look like anything Naruto could not handle and it was nice to see her interact with someone who wasn't him or Yang. He watched them for a little longer before red eyes trailed away from the two kids and toward the arguably torn up clearing that served as their ring. It was clear that Ruby would have won, but, not if Naruto pulled out all the stops. That fight would have been over in one blow if that were the case.
"Did you hear that Ruby?" Weiss said with a rather smug smirk.
"Hah, told you so!" Nora yelled as she was immediately sprayed again by Ren.
Ignoring the Valkyrie the Schnee waited for the Rose's answer.
Ruby understandably embarrassed said nothing as she soon retreated into her cape.
Weiss chuckled at her actions along with her friends.
Whatever that overcharged punch is, it takes a lot out of him. His gaze switched back to Naruto's sweaty and panting form. Although I can see how something like that would kill a group of Grimm in one swoop. And that weird of aura of his...was that just an accident? Qrow sighed aloud and fought back the coming headache with another chug of his now empty bottle.
Damn you Taiyang, somehow this is all your fault.
Ruby immediately got out of her hood as she retorted to the screen, "Hey don't blame dad for all your problems Uncle Crow!"
"Right on sis!" Yang cheered with a smile.
Blake grabbed the remote and soon she had everyone's attention. Seeing that everyone was paying attention the cat Faunus soon asked her friends, "Ready for the next episode?"
"Everyone looked each other immediately, they smiled and happily answered the question and unison, "Yes!"
Blake looked at the TV and said, "Mr. Creepy Narrator Voice?"
[Don't worry, It's coming . . .]
TenshinG's Corner
Ugh, Merry Christmas and happy late New Years everybody! Sorry the chapter came in so late. There are no excuses really, I was just enjoying my break over my first semester in college and then got sidetracked way too much. I actually wanted update this at the same time later with Reain's update but somehow I was working on my In The Devil's World fic for a while.
Heck, I got distracted by many things like watching my first WrestleKingdom. Holy shit, that match with Kazuchika Okada and Kenny Omega was fucking amazing! And it got six stars to boot! Kenny Omega thanks you for your awesomeness, you are still the best in my eyes and one of the many reason's I started watching wrestling again, Bullet Club for life!
Naruto finished Sasuke's novel adaptation. I admit I hated it honestly, given to the fact that Nowaki and Chino turned into Karma Houdini's given to the murder they did to that poor village which they never did in the novel, heck they weren't apart of the Dark Thunder group either. Talk about adaptational villany in there, there novel counterparts were much more sympathetic honestly.
Three more episodes to go and Volume 4 is pretty much done, this season is pretty much leaving people divisive. I hear the people leaving the show because they haven't been seeing the iconic fight scenes they have been attracted in the first place which sadly is due to the passing of Monty, and also for Mont's right hand man Shane for leaving after Season 3 was finished (if everyone has read the "Controversial Letter" then you'll know as to why). Volume 4 is obviously isn't the strongest season of RWBY by a long shot but quite frankly it was the season that it desperately needed, after all, as cool as the fight scene's Volume 1 and 2 had it didn't save it from the glaring holes it had. Storytelling was a bit clunky, characterization was pretty much sparse with the characters (Jaune, Pyrrha and Blake excluded), no clear indication of the plot or hint of anything grand happening whatsoever (Cinder did hint this a little but nothing much to tell us). World building should've happened earlier but we got it later and that what's volume 4 is about really. Even though it drags a little, Volume 4 showed better storytelling, characterization, and worldbuilding and left enough to hint plot points for the rest of the later season because quite frankly Ruby's Silver Eyes came out of nowhere, even though it might have been hinted in the first episode it wasn't elaborated further to give an actual hint really. Sure some say that this volume could've been done better and I sometimes believe that too, but quite frankly you can't cram everything you write in a 19 or 15 minute video, sometimes you're restricted by time and money with a professional work.
It's the same with mangas, Kishimoto even states that he wished that he planned ahead more with Naruto. Even though I loved Naruto's ending, it did had its warts but ultimately I still love it. I can't blame Kishimoto cause honestly, some of us can't draw and write weekly. Heck as much as some fanfic authors bitch out, I want to know, can any of you guys can really update a chapter weekly with a good amount of 10 to 20k words?
Because I can't and I rather take my time with managing my fics and carefully plan the next arc.
Also Reain make Naruto's normally robotic but let Ruby pimp it out into a similar version Lars Alexanderson clawed gauntlets from Ultimate Ninja Storm 2. Google it if your interested.
Thanks for listening to the AN guys, appreciate your time in reading this. THANK YOU! GRACIAS!