RWBY and Naruto are owned by their own respective creators, of which I am not one.
Chapter 2:
Naruto was on the hunt. After a slightly restless night of trying to sleep on a stiff cot in a room the Hunters essentially used as a homeless shelter (since to them it was obvious he was not actually a licensed professional) the blond got up and was allowed to take one of the quickest showers he ever had and a warm breakfast alongside actual hobos thankful for the kindness. It was harsh out here in the desert and unlike other places, you couldn't exactly live outside the protective walls unless countless miles of sand was your thing. But in doing so he was given a lead to follow in his quest to discover whether or not this Remnant place was in serious danger. They might have been dirty and hungry, but the homeless were the ones who kept their ears to the ground for gossip and rumors incase it brought up something worthwhile.
Which was why the ninja was now stowed away on something called an 'airship' flying effortlessly through the sky towards another continent called Atlas.
They were the homeland of some Dust manufacturer called the Schnee Dust Company. Every day they mined, refined, and shipped their wares to all corners of the world. To Naruto, that mean someone outthere possibly had the answers to his questions. The plane was slightly slower than the blond could move in his recently enabled flight form but it had the geography and a solid destination in mind. The Uzumaki didn't fancy trying to make a go of it himself and getting horribly lost in the process. So the longer boring trip was his only choice.
The construct was huge though, thrumming with the power of dust and electricity throughout every pipe and cable. Workers constantly moved all about in a quest to make sure the shipments were secure and everything was running smoothly. It wasn't too hard to stay hidden even though it was annoying to keep in one place for over a full day except when he needed to stretch or swipe some food from the break room; with his chakra back to proper levels and energized enough to exert proper chakra control the jinchuriki simply stayed in the shadows and occasionally moved if someone got too close. Compressing his enormous amount of energy was a task since everyone with aura was essentially a sensor...but he at least got it to seem like a normal, albeit still powerful, level of aptitude. Seriously, it was almost too easy to do before the large transport gently came in for a landing and he was out the cargo door before anyone was the wiser.
Between Vacuo and Atlas...this place won hands down.
It had a reputation for being Remnant's leading hotspot for technology and Dust merchandise. Everywhere Naruto looked there were things called holograms and 'solid light' and bright neon signs declaring some item or another. People carried handheld radio things called Scrolls which let them speak to each other over long distances and do other stuff right from the palm of their hand. There were weapons that changed into other weapons before acting like a third, and things that harnessed Dust in a manner similar to ninja techniques, and hell...the blond never heard of a firearm before but it was so commonplace here he wondered how far behind the Elemental Nations were in creating them for their own purposes. They had gunpowder already...and if he remembered right the Snow and Sky ninja had those contraptions which shot kunai at a rapid pace...so it was probably only a matter of time.
Just what they needed. More weapons of death that took far less skill to use than a knife or sword.
Shaking away the morbidity, Naruto used that craftiness of his to move about the loading bay without raising an alarm. Unbeknownst to the shinobi the airship brought him directly into the heart of the Schnee Dust Company's transportation sector where any and all SDC vessels docked. Not wanting to get in trouble with the police again, he'd henge'd into an unassuming discarded pen left on the floor a few feet from a security door which was soon after picked up by a woman in a lab coat and set inside her breast pocket. Now he just had to wait for fortune to fall his way.
An hour later it came in the form of his carrier attempting to write with him as she walked through some hallway away from all the ships. She stopped and glared at the supposedly empty writing utensil, swirling its tip against the clipboard she held before looking up at the sound of heels clicking sharply against the linoleum.
"Oh, these darn things..." a second female grumbled as she readjusted the blue shoes making her stumble about before suddenly jumping in her spot and staring at her watch. "Ah! The tour starts in like a minute!"
The scientist could only shake her head at the other employee's vapidity while she rushed away. Then again, they always had those public walkthroughs of the facilities where non-delicate information was stored and she supposed it could start to grate on somebody to the point saying the same lines over and over could mess with your mind. Plus it was now around 8AM, two hours after the morning employees arrived to start their workload, as one of the higher-ups decided to make some extra Lien by allowing tours running all day, from morning to night. The scientist was so happy to have the aptitude for her current job where she could be as grouchy as she wanted to be without citizen's complaining about her lack of cheer while leading them around.
Feeling a small tremble in her hand the pen somehow suddenly slipped out of her enclosed palm and fell towards the ground. Except there was no clatter of it actually touching the floor. And when she looked to pick it up again...the darn thing was missing. She couldn't see it anywhere and it's not like there were any nooks for it to roll under.
How incredibly odd.
"Hello everyone! My name is Hazel and I'll be your tour guide today!" The woman gave a dazzling smile towards the milling mass of bodies waiting in the reception hall despite the early hours and slightly readjusted the small vest her uniform possessed. "Sorry about the delay. But now that everything's good to go, we can begin! Now if you've been on the tour before you may notice that there are many more guards wandering about the premises than usual. This is in fact due to the recent infiltration attempts by the White Fang so we ask that you leave them to do their jobs and try not to get in their way. If you happen to notice anything suspicious, please let me know so that the proper authorities can be alerted. So if there are no pressing questions, we can begin!"
Naruto trudged along with everybody else, disguised in clothing that made him look less like a street rat or experienced fighter and more like he actually belonged. Everyone in attendance appeared like they were upper class, expensive outfits and all. A quick application of chakra later made him fit in far better than he did before. Slacks, an orange business shirt, and black shoes fit right in with everybody else. The blond wasn't sure what exactly he might learn but since this place was the top expertise for Dust and its abilities Naruto figured it was as good as any place to start. He'd slipped by the security teams to make it here though...and he kept feeling eyes on him, as if they weren't sure the ninja had always been a part of the group or not.
Not standing out was actually really difficult for someone like Naruto Uzumaki.
"Alright everyone! Please follow me to the first room where...we'll...o-oh! Ms. Schnee?!"
Hazel halted in her tracks, staring wide-eyed down the corridor past her followers and forcing the mass of Schnee customers at the rear to bump into each other in a bid to stop. Her surprised squawk and choice of words naturally made all heads in attendance swivel around to see this supposed person. And since Naruto was a bit taller than the few elderly surrounding him, they jostled him to move until finally the blue-eyed boy complied and walked out of the way so they'd stop poking him with their damn bony fingers. This, however...inevitably brought him to the edge of the tourists and into the perfect line of sight for what everyone else was so interested in.
Subdued steps at his side made the jinchuriki twist his upper half around; the action bringing him to bear on someone who was positively striking.
She was pale, almost unnaturally so. With long silvery-white hair pulled into a ponytail off the back right side of her head which hung behind her right shoulder and was held in place by a small tiara ornament. The female had on low-cut opera-styled dress with an undersized black piece of lace covering any cleavage of her small chest, and a silky white cloth belt. The dress, her calf-high boots with high wedge heels, and her bolero jacket with a high wavy collar, were colored a pale icy blue which also appeared white depending on the angle of the light. Both the inside of the coat and boots were shaded a deep vibrant red; the edge of the skirt and the sleeves of the jacket widened near the bottom with lace that resembled snowflakes.
For accessories the newcomer wore a thin chain with a small silver apple clasped at her neck, along with rectangular dangling earrings to match. And speaking of snow...as she stepped by it revealed a large snowflake logo on the back of her top. It was the exact same as the one stenciled on every shipping container and employee badge. And her name was Schnee...
Huh.
As the overly pretty girl continued walking by everyone she could feel their stares upon her. Being watched was nothing new; it was a coincidence that the tour group was right there when she decided to go past but if so, why not get all eyes on her regardless?
Naruto blinked at the moment she came up parallel to his side. Because of her color scheme, it made the girl almost appear to be glowing with an inner light as he continued to watch her with his jaw slightly open. Her thin neck tilted slightly as she glanced at the blond, darker sapphire meeting lighter blue and revealing to the ninja her one blemish among flawlessness: a thin pink scar running over her left eye similar to Kakashi's.
Weiss Schnee smirked softly at Naruto's dumbfounded expression before walking up to the tour guide's side and spinning around to look out among the crowd. Having people in awe of her was nothing new but it was always nice to be appreciated. A pity for the boy in the orange shirt though...he appeared to be the youngest of the lot and while she could appreciate his build, he still looked a little too low brow for her refined tastes.
"I'm sorry for interrupting." Weiss began, "I didn't realize a tour would currently still be in this portion of the building. But since I have your attention, allow me to personally thank each and every one of you for continuing to support the Schnee Dust Company. If it wasn't for you then we could not have grown into what we are today. Your efforts and business were just as important in making us number one. So for that I, Weiss Schnee, hope you maintain your support in helping us bring you the latest in Dust breakthroughs and conveniences."
Her smirk returned as the civilians burst into cheery applause.
The guide looked overwhelmed by her Weiss' presence. "T-thank you Ms. Schnee!"
"It's no problem...um..."
"Hazel, miss!"
"Hazel." the successor added with a softer smile before returning her attention to the crowd. "Now if you'll excuse me I need to be on my way. As you may or may not have heard, I've been accepted to Beacon Academy in Vale and my airship will be leaving soon." More clapping soon followed and Weiss preened under their efforts. Waving an arm and placing the other against her hip, the silvernette absorbed the attention like a sponge, clearly enjoying their admiration. "Thank you, thank you."
With one final flourish she gave a deep curtsy, grasping the tips of her dress while she smoothly slid through the motion like a proper lady. The Schnee left soon after, slender hips flaring subconsciously underneath her outfit as her confidence soared ever higher and she walked away. Naruto scratched his cheek at the clear signs of superiority the teen exuded before shrugging his shoulders in the end over her display.
"So...who was that exactly?" he asked aloud in confusion. He got that she was somehow related to the company or whatever but...well, this was Naruto. A few of the people around him gave him looks of sheer disbelief and the jinchuriki grinned sheepishly in an attempt to lessen the scrutiny now forced upon him. "Um, I'm new around here and still unfamiliar with things."
At least one man was willing to humor him. "Well that was Weiss Schnee. Next in line to run the entire Dust conglomerate and she's actually going to school to become a professional Huntress."
"She's a fantastic singer too. I just barely got tickets to her last show before it sold out."
"I wanted to go. Too pricey for me though."
"Oh you missed out! Such a sublime voice..."
An elderly woman standing among the babbling fans watched Naruto with scrutiny as he rubbed his chin in thought. She especially zeroed in on his facial markings and once her weary eyes focused properly she immediately fell into her husband's arms. "A-ah! Your face! Are you a Faunus?!"
He actually took offense at that. It was almost like when the civilians used to look at him back when he had no concept of jinchuriki and the Kyuubi.
"Do I look like I'm half dog? Oh wait, the cop said that wasn't right..."
"What?" She shook away the strange question and grabbed her beau's sleeve for support. More and more people were starting to watch as the commotion overtook the calm atmosphere in at a frenzied pace. "Guards! GUARDS! HELP! A FAUNUS!"
"No I'm not! Do you see any horns or ears up here?!" For emphasis the blond ran his hands through those spiky follicles of his but the woman continued to scream. The cry was taken up by the others and soon enough a wide circle had formed around him, security personnel drawing their weapons on the unarmed 'Faunus' as he desperately tried to calm everyone down.
"Put your hands in the air!"
"I'm serious! I'm not a damn Faunus!" The whole racism towards half-creature beings was ridiculous. It was worse than being a jinchuriki, or at least how Naruto suffered under the separation from his fellows. He was ignored, belittled, and left starving for attention. From what the police officer back in Oasis explained there were many places where the Faunus were treated like actual animals and violently repressed. Deaths, beatings, and all manner of prejudice forced them to lash out. Things always devolved into hostility. Even where the animalistic race was accepted they were still considered a lower class by far too many. They breathed, their hearts pumped blood, they grew older and fell in love, but the only difference is they had beast-like features. Big whoop. Naruto was lucky he only suffered under ignorance and not the same treatment as, say, Gaara endured.
"We're serious!"
"Okay, you know what?! Screw you people! I'll show you I'm a human and that you're all being big fat idiots!" Fingers fumbled against his pants Naruto, in a very Naruto-ish action, then proceeded to spin around and moon the terrorized people while calling the lot of them dumbasses. Horns or ears may have been easier to hide but the smooth unblemished skin of his tailbone spoke volumes. One could disguise their ears but an extra appendage was a lot more difficult. Obviously there were Faunus who didn't actually have tails but considering the boy also lacked additional bits poking out from his skull, he actually had some backup to his claims.
Still...the kid was exposing his ass in public and Faunus or not that was always a no-no. The guards immediately tackled the (now) minor threat, only for the blond to explode into smoke and leave no trace of himself behind. The proceeding search of the area and its surrounding buildings brought up the same thing and entirely screwed up the rest of the Schnee's business practices for the entire day.
And the whole time his shenanigans messed over the big conglomerate Naruto wasn't even in Atlas anymore.
Weiss Schnee smiled as she lifted the glass of chilled champagne to her lips and crossed one thin leg over the other, partaking of the bubbly liquid and sighing in appreciation once she finished her sip. This was truly the life and just one of the things she'd miss once she started the school semester. Refined meals...being waited on hand and foot...and most importantly, sleeping in the confines of her own luxurious room at the mansion. It was such a great place to practice going through the forms with her Dust rapier Myrtenaster; privacy was a given within the Schnee household but her room was her room. A sanctuary where Weiss could just be Weiss.
No manners.
Protocol for an upper class woman was unnecessary.
But in a sense, Weiss could have that same similar state of security while out at Beacon. While she was going to make it quite certain that she was an heiress with grand ambitions and therefore higher on the totem pole, there was the possibility of others coming from the same background enrolled as freshman as well. Oh, that made the scarred silvernette smile in anticipation. Teamed up with those in her social class, with high grades and strong techniques, the girl's future squad could all be the picture perfect celebrities while out in public before retiring to their room and just acting...normal.
It would be so nice to strike out on her own and get away from the stifling atmosphere of her family. Not to say Weiss despised her father or sister. Oh no, she loved them with all her heart. But Daddy Schnee and Winter put their focus into the company. When Weiss eventually discovered that a sword in her hands became a skilled and deadly blade, she put in her application to the Kingdom of Vale's premier Hunter academy in a bid to test herself before the weight of taking over the business became too much to ignore.
She could fight. The world needed protecting. Her current course in life was a no brainer.
It had been hours since her early morning departure, and time was just sailing by. Even now they were sailing over the ocean, having left behind her home continent behind with Remnant's largest landmass on the horizon. Peering up at the nearby bay window, the female looked past the person staring out at the clouds before her pale neck tilted back down and she ran a finger lazily around the rim of her glass to create a quiet, vibrating hum. After quietly matching the pitch with her own tone, Weiss broke off both noises and allowed the silence to embrace her once more. In due course she decided to take another sip before the white-lover immediately spat out the mouthful of liquid in a spray of mildly alcoholic mist and started coughing to clear her lungs. What the hell?! She had been alone in her private cabin on the transcontinental airship since takeoff, except for when the stewardess brought lunch! When did- how- WHAT?!
"Man this is a heck of a view." Naruto said in serene amazement, watching an undecipherable black dot far, far away with expressive eyes. He wondered if it was just another of these ferries but the distance was still too great even for his ninja-trained orbs. So in the meantime he just followed the Nara doctrine and watched the sky from a place with a great view.
Better than the deep shadows of a cargo hold again.
Having grown tired of concealing himself on the lower decks the jinchuriki eventually slipped up to where his target was. Having already undergone the mundane task of patiently waiting for an aircraft to shuttle itself from Vacuo to Atlas, learning on the fly how distant the two continents were from each other, he really hoped it would be quicker this time. What Naruto didn't know was that Vacuo and Vale were on the same continent and that Vale was essentially closer due to its positioning so therefore the travel span would be less...but that didn't stop the shinobi from disliking it in the long run. Cursing all the monotony he decided to go and see things from a nice vantage point.
It was so impressive to take a moment and see things midflight for once without unnaturally fast opponents taking up his entire concentration so he didn't die. Maybe at some point in the future he'd change back into his own flight mode and just take in the sights from an aerial view. Who knows, really? Considering now he wasn't locked in deadly combat the male could take the time to appreciate the sight of the world so far below him with a birds-eye view.
"Who are you and how did you get here?!" Weiss shrieked as she jumped to her feet and pulled Myrtenaster from its resting place on the nearby table. The blond turned just as the other teen stepped forward to apprehend him, only to pause and lean back in shock as she got a clear view of his features. "YOU?! Why are you here?! Did...did you actually stalk me?!"
"No! Well, technically I guess I did follow you but it's not stalking!"
Naruto was forced to lean back as the sharp tip of the thin saber hovered near his tender throat and Weiss glared into his face. "A likely story!" This wasn't the first time an admirer became a bit too bold and the gal had been forced to show them why it wasn't such a good idea to get clingy. She even sneered as she got a good look at his change in clothing, with the clothes of a far less quality than what he had on before. Plus the jacket he now wore was incredibly frayed and ragged at its bottom hem...and the right sleeve was torn up to the middle of the forearm which exposed, of all things, some sort of mesh underlay. And who wears headbands anymore?
"I'm serious! I just needed to ask you a few questions about Dust! You're the heiress or whatever, and that would mean you know more about it than anyone else!"
Despite the praise Weiss downplayed the smirk crawling over her lips. So he thought she was the leading expert on Dust? While it was true, obviously, he was going about it horribly wrong. So this person wasn't exactly a creep, just an idiot. An idiot who...snuck onto her ship without any problems and made his way through the entire transport without being spotted. Okay. Maybe there was something off about the situation. Lowering her weapon so as not to accidentally skewer him while she decided what to do the white-lover gasped suddenly and moved the rapier right back to where it would keep him nervous. "You're a Faunus?!"
"Huh?" Seeing her icy eyes fiercely glaring at his face, or more specifically his cheeks, the wayward blond sighed explosively and actually cursed his unique facial markings. He'd never had so many problems with these damn things before! Despite the danger he began twisting his head around, making sure to hit the different angles. Dropping his pants in this situation was not a good idea this time. "No! I'm! Not! Do you see anything else besides hair? I'm tired of people calling me that!"
Not because he thought it was bad to be one of the animal humans. But because it was seriously getting annoying being mistaken like he was diseased or something.
No, Weiss only saw yellow spikes and nothing else poking out from his scalp. But that didn't mean he was off the hook in any way. Too bad for him, but the moment she jumped out of her chair she pressed a hidden button to call for backup. She disliked the fact her first instinct was to call the guard but...living the high-class life as she did meant that bodyguards were a staple of the norm. This was also a time for her to relax before she threw her all into her studies to rise along the academic ladder and he was ruining it all. But what really ticked her off was when he kept trying to look back out the window again instead of focusing on the deadly weapon indenting his skin.
Before she could make her insulted feelings known, the elevator hissed open as two men with pistols moved carefully through the doorway and scanned the room before zeroing in on the pair of teens and their awkward positioning: Weiss pointing her rapier at a mysterious boy with his back to her. One quickly broke off to cover the heiress as the second raised his gun and pointed it at the ninja. "Put your hands in the air!"
"Are you okay Ms. Schnee?" the other asked sharply while Weiss smugly sheathed her blade at her left hip.
"Yes, I'm fine." she said as the security officer led her back towards her chair to put some distance between them. Naruto exhaled noisily through his nostrils, raising his limbs above his head while turning around as the guard roughly pushed him towards the bay window and proceeded to grab his wrists and handcuff them together. He was even enough of an asshole to kick him in the back of the knees and put him flat on the floor. Weiss wince ever so slightly upon witnessing the forceful treatment but, well, he shouldn't have stowed away on a ship with someone who was akin to royalty in the Kingdom of Atlas.
The guard pinned him down with a knee for good measure before speaking into the Scroll attached to his chest. "Command, we have an unwanted visitor. Please advise."
...
...
...
"Command?"
The ship rocked heavily, and the man trying to cut off Naruto's air supply was thrown off his feet and onto his face like a ragdoll. Weiss tipped into her chair and the other guard fell flat on his ass. The only one to not suffer from the sudden change in direction was the shinobi and that was due to his prone position. Flipping her ponytail away from her face with an irritated huff, the silvernette pulled herself back onto her feet and smoothed out her clothing under the superior grin of the captured blond.
"Attention, attention! A Grimm has been sighted off the port bow! "
"WHAT?!" Danger or not, Weiss rushed to the window and looked off in the direction the stowaway had been mesmerized by. That black dot? It wasn't just a dot any longer. At this point she could make out the telltale signs of wings flapping to gain lift and all she could think about was, 'How did a Grimm get so close to the intercontinental transport lanes?!' The soulless creatures were always kept at bay by Hunters and/or specialized patrols to keep travelers safe outside the protective walls. It took a lot of work but then again, flying Grimm consistently never grew large enough to pose a major threat to the flying machines so anything bigger than your average bird was taken out by a ship's regular gunfire from multiple cannons.
The one heading towards Weiss' private transport was definitely not average.
Weiss felt her heart leap into her throat. Not because the Grimm was huge and still growing in size as the distance between them shrank...although she never would have guessed she'd be forced to face one of such caliber before the girl even became a proper student. No, it was because up so high they were all sitting ducks. While the large transports, and at a better rate the considerably smaller Bulkhead ships, were quite maneuverable in the air, something such as the approaching Nevermore could fly circles around them. If nothing was done then they were all in major trouble. Even with her Semblance, the female couldn't exactly remain in the sky indefinitely and she was out of her element.
"So that's what that was." Naruto said to himself as realization dawned.
Frantic transmissions began piping in over the two guards' Scrolls. "Is that- IT'S ATTACKING!"
"TURN, TURN!"
"HOW DID A GRIMM EVEN GET SO CLOSE?!"
There was a scream of metal rubbing against metal as the entire ship began tilting at a speed it wasn't used to doing, its odd flipper-like thrusters twisting and rolling its entire frame to the right. Black projectiles were rapidly gaining speed and the listing transport just barely lost enough altitude to allow the razor sharp feathers fired from the Nevermore's wings to just narrowly graze its hull. Unlike other Grimm, this one had the barest of white armors worn over its elongated skull like a helmet. The rest of it was like an overly large crow with flowing, elongated tail feathers. While they had avoided perforation by the monster's attack...inside was a different story. Everyone within was forced to brace themselves as the floor unwillingly became a wall and gravity decided to fuck them over.
The security quickly fell and slammed harshly into the new 'bottom' of the ship as the lone, flustered female in the room was forced to hold onto the foundation of her cushy seat for dear life so as to not wind up like her unfortunate bodyguards. They were lucky that was reinforced glass or else...yeah. Naruto, along with everyone else onboard, noticed his sense of balance begin to change along with the transportation and therefore did all he could to keep himself from plummeting and possibly getting hurt due to his bound arms. By that...once the man keeping him down lost his balance, the ninja bucked to get him off before simply doing one of the baser chakra control exercises: tree climbing.
As the aircraft eventually righted itself Weiss was left speechless upon noticing the bothersome blond had somehow remained in the exact same spot he'd been the whole time without tumbling away. Yet before she could proclaim her disbelief the boy had already stood and turned back towards the window to stare out at the big bird. "Another one of those things?" Looking over his shoulder with a mischievous blue eye, Naruto grinned. "Hey. If I take care of that, will you at least listen to what I have to say?"
Weiss' mouth was already wide open at the sheer audacity of him 'taking care' of the dangerous avian, which allowed for her skeptical scoff to easily vacate her lips. "You're joking, right? That's a Nevermore! A big one. The creatures of Grimm grow far differently than other organisms, and considering that one is nearly as big as this ship..." She quickly shook her head, making the long whitish locks bound by her hairpiece to whip back and forth. "It's been around for a long time and that means it knows how to fight and survive effectively! It would take a whole group of Huntsmen and Huntresses to destroy it...and that's if it was low enough to fight at ground level!"
They were at a disadvantage because of the terrain. While the Nevermore was hazardous, that's not to say it couldn't be beaten.
But this yellow-headed fool was suicidal.
"You're underestimating what I can do. By the way, is this a door?" With a simple twist of his wrists the manacles snapped like cheap plastic before Naruto walked over to a large metallic slab welded to the wall next to the windows; the big reddish button on a nearby console looked rather enticing. Upon seeing her set of half perfect/half flawed eyeballs staring at him without any response the shinobi merely shrugged and slapped his palm against the switch. With a slight groan, a seam appeared horizontally in the center of the emergency exit and began to fold outwards.
Luckily they weren't too high or moving too fast because the sudden invasion of wind was only strong enough to send anything that wasn't bolted down flying about, sans the humans. Weiss' long locks flipped around from the sudden forceful drafts, and the loose edges of her clothes continuously flapped, but other than that she and the unconscious guards were unmoved. Random papers and other light objects were blown about like a mini-storm and that in itself was annoying as they continued to block her vision. The Uzumaki grinned at her as his headband fluttered around his golden spikes before he grasped the edge of the bulkhead and took a step. Finally realizing that the idiot was going to jump she screamed something but her words were drowned out by the rush of air.
The last thing he did before jumping was giving the swordswoman a cheesy thumbs up, his body immediately disappearing out of sight into the cloudless blue expanse.
Wide cerulean orbs stared at the empty doorway for a long, lingering moment before rapidly blinking as the Schnee came to terms with what she just witnessed. A boy, a stowaway whose worst crime so far that she knew of had been sneaking onto the private vessel, just effectively killed himself and Weiss had done nothing to stop it. Oh sure, she yelled at him...but someone as intellectual as Weiss instinctively knew there had been no point in doing so since he'd never hear her regardless. Yet she did so anyways and look how well it turned out.
Losing the strength in her legs, the muscles trembled before she dropped to her knees and then fell the few extra inches onto her butt, just staring at the space where Naruto had occupied with something akin to shock. The winter-themed female hadn't even tried to stop him physically, merely reaching out an arm in the hopes it would magically keep him from committing to his idiotic way of thinking. She could have blocked the exit with her Semblance, or rushed over and stopped the door from opening, or...something. But instead Weiss froze up and let it happen.
It made her feel powerless and disgusted with herself.
In light of her self-loathing the Nevermore simply disintegrated under the pressure of a huge ball of purplish-white plasma and fiery oranges and reds that nearly blinded the lot of them. Weiss immediately stopped her hate as she once again was compelled to hold onto something as the displaced air from the detonation buffeted the ship. In the chaos of the pilots attempting to keep them all afloat, no one really noticed that as the explosion tapered off it showed the avian Grimm was now nothing more than charred ash blown along with the wind. Whatever just erased the bird from existence was so powerful...it's compressed form had already drilled through the Nevermore's chest cavity before the initial blast.
All they had to go on was the fact the danger was no longer there.
As her world stopped tumbling about the young Schnee cracked open an eye only for both to shoot open once again in disbelief. From what she could see the open door was slowly folding inward as Naruto stood within the boundaries of her room, perfectly fine and well while readjusting his battle-damaged jacket. As she stood up on wobbly limbs to find the center of balance on her heels, Weiss stalked over to the blond as he continued to smile and spread out his arms slightly away from his body.
"See? No big deal. So will you answer my-"
SMACK
"...ow."
With his head tilted sharply to the side and a new ache in his jaw, Weiss had slapped him right across the face the moment she reached him. The look she was giving him too was far from friendly.
"You complete...inconsiderate...IMBECILE! Do you have any idea what you just did?! I thought you killed yourself!" she screeched in anger, clutching her hand because hitting the ninja was somehow just as painful towards herself as it was to him. "I do not care what special Semblance you think you possess, and I don't want to hear whatever crackpot excuse you have for somehow destroying the Grimm...DO NOT ever jump from a moving airship ever again!" With a frustrated cry she looked down towards her slowly reddening palm and continued frowning. Her aura was already beginning to heal the damage but it made her question how potent his own was to involuntarily protect Naruto without him consciously knowing he would be struck. It was quite powerful, and standing so closely she could now feel the energy bleeding off him at a rapid pace. Such a thing was incredibly dangerous but his surplus was so grand it didn't matter in the end.
Ah, never mind that! She was still pissed!
"I..." Naruto was incredibly taken aback by her emotional outburst, originally not understanding the reason. But then he realized no one knew what he was truly capable of in this world; hell, being able to fly was still a wonder to himself and it was his ability! "I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking-"
"No you weren't! Do you realize the danger you put everyone in?! We are thousands of feet up in the air and you...blew up the Nevermore! With nothing to keep us properly grounded, the ship was forced to fight for control so the wind and pressure from the detonation didn't send us crashing to the ground!"
"...Nevermore? And Deathstalkers? Who names these things?"
"Quiet, you!" Apparently the female heard his mumblings. "I can't believe how stupid you are not to take our lives into consideration!" The set of guards lying comatose near the far wall were sheer examples of that...but they hadn't exactly been very lucky since the moment they entered the room.
A blue eyeball twitched in its socket as Weiss blatantly called him out on his less than intellectual standing. "I said I was sorry. Fighting in the air is a new thing to me." But she was right though and who knows how many others hurt themselves when the personnel carrier was almost knocked out of the sky? Naruto felt guilty but considering the constant stream of positive, disbelieving chatter filtering in through the men's scrolls at least mollified him somewhat. The vessel had even returned to a smooth, constant pace without any other problems as someone announced they radioed ahead to their destination to discuss the recent troubles.
The pale girl just looked as if she was going to slap him again. "You are a menace!"
Firmly stopping the finger being jabbed towards his chest by its attached wrist, the silver Schnee's visage was anything but friendly as he suddenly held a green Dust crystal in his free hand. "Okay, look. I know I'm an idiot. You're not the first to say that and probably won't be the last. Yell at me all you want later, for as much as you want, until you feel better. But I need your help. I'm serious Weiss."
Hearing the severity in his voice coupled with his rather neutral but somber look made Weiss clench her teeth. Ten seconds passed before she simply asked in a sharp tone, "What do you need?"
Hearing her acceptance, no matter how reluctant, brought a smile to Naruto's face as he gently released her arm and she pulled back to cross her arms across her smaller bust. "Thank you." Lifting up the emerald gem he held it in the space between them. "I just...need to know more about Dust. Like where it first came from, and how it's actually made."
"You're joking right?"
"No." How resolutely the blond said that made the girl pause; the look on his face was damn near pleading. Weiss could only wonder just how important this information was that made him blatantly break the law just to speaker with her privately. But what this man was asking of her...was common knowledge. Ultimately sighing at the frustrating situation, the chilly female snatched the crystal from his grasp and held it up towards the window. In spite of its solid opaque state the chunk of wind-based Dust glowed just a little bit brighter from the influx of light. If it involved Dust, then it was quite possible her own livelihood was in jeopardy as well as the countless others who worked for her family.
Weiss may have had a frigid aura and acted rude towards those she believed to be beneath her...but she wasn't heartless.
"What's your name?" Because if there were problems later, she'd have a means to point out who was most likely the cause. Unknowing to her darker thoughts the blond saw no reason not to implicate himself.
"Naruto."
The teenager pursed her lips at the strange labeling but otherwise shrugged it off. "Dust-" she began, "-is a naturally occurring energy propellant which can be triggered to explode or use its energy through physical trauma, specially designed machines, or application of a person's aura. It is found under the surface of the earth; despite the inherent dangers we have continued to mine it from subterranean deposits and process it into a smooth but still 'raw' form like this one, or refine it further into Dust powder. The color decides its naturally-infused element; the different affinities became forms of labor-saving devices since their initial discovery many, many years ago instead of merely being used for combat purposes. It can also be sewn into clothing for enhanced synergy...or nauseatingly enough, even implanted within the body."
She hit him with a tried-and-true company explanation along with a bit of her own knowledge on the subject but the energetic blond didn't look very impressed. In fact, he looked put out.
"Thanks...sorry though, but it's still not exactly what I wanted. You mentioned the 'initial discovery' though. How exactly did that happen?"
"No one knows. It was an incredibly long time ago before any written records. The best that scholars and scientists have to go off of is an old myth."
Naruto cupped his chin and scowled in thought. "How's that story go?"
"...you really didn't pay attention in school, did you?" The jinchuriki's tense expression immediately softened into a guilty smile. Technically Weiss was correct, but that education took place in an entirely separate dimension with a whole different program. "Okay, wow. It's like this. Listen up because I'm only saying it once..." In an attempt to gather her thoughts the silvernette let her aura flow into the crystal, easily creating a miniature tornado in the palm of her hand. Watching the displaced air swirl about for a moment Weiss allowed it to shut off, confident she had everything she needed to explain. "Legend says that mankind is a remnant of civilizations long past but no one truly knows. The most believed tale passed around is that mankind was born from the unending dust of the world into a harsh and unforgiving land. They were hunted by the creatures of Grimm and, while humans were resourceful enough to survive, the darkness was overpowering and if something wasn't done, they would all be wiped out. Over time the survivors discovered a source of power which evened the odds against the Grimm, and in turn named this gift from nature as the very thing that gave them life: Dust."
"Ah...and once people started using Dust...nature, um, didn't try to take it back did it?"
Weiss' confusion made him feel so very relieved. "No? What kind of question is that?"
Naruto reached over and laid a palm on her shoulder, beaming happily with a genuine smile he hadn't felt since he first unwillingly arrived in this place. The ponytailed rapier-wielder looked at his hand warily but the blond didn't care. "Then there's nothing to worry about!"
There was no other version of the Juubi. Nothing he'd probably have to fight again since he had the power to do so. No prehistoric entity hell-bent on reabsorbing its energy from the people...or Dust...or whatever. Oh...this was going to make his stay so much simpler!
Weiss didn't share his enthusiasm after shrugging off his friendly gesture in a fit of concern. "Hey! If you're hiding something that threatens the safety of everyone that uses Dust, you better speak up!"
"No! There's nothing! I thought there might be a problem but if what you said is true and you're right then I worried over something stupid! Honest!"
Grabbing his jacket she pulled the taller boy down to her level, face to face. The heiress studied him intently before sniffing daintily and shoving him away, the green Dust gem pressed into his chest by her hand as Weiss turned her head and looked away in a clear sign she was acting as though she didn't care.
"Of course I'm right. I'll believe you...for now." Tilting her neck to stare him down, her bright blue eyes shone with a sharp gleam of intent. "But if something dire happens I will blame you entirely!" she explained before taking her own step back with her hands once again resting against her thin waist. Wow...Weiss didn't seem like the type of girl who could summon up such a focusing of her emotions. It just showed the brawler that, in spite of the princess' overtone of being self-absorbed, she truly cared about others underneath that layer of smug frigidity...while not actually coming out and saying what she truly felt.
Naruto sighed but still found himself smiling at the pretty Schnee's roundabout protectiveness. Pocketing the wind crystal, the blond teen wisely kept his mouth shut as sudden tickles in their stomachs signified the ship was descending. Had they really arrived already? Apparently being scared for your life, destroying a Grimm, being momentarily arrested again, and also holding a life-altering conversation about something majorly significant to the realm really passed the time. The longest instance was between Naruto and Weiss speaking with each other; on another entirely separate note, the guards were finally lucid again and to their surprise the girl actually told them she no longer needed their service for the rest of the ride. Sharing a glance, the two weary men left, wondering what happened during their embarrassing bout of unconsciousness that made their young boss change her mind about the stowaway.
The wide blue waves of the ocean from midday were now the vast fields and forests of Vale's temperate environment later that afternoon. Even all that eventually changed as the wilds became scarcer with signs of industrialization popping up occasionally. There were sightings of a lone cottage or minor village where humans bravely sought out space from the continent's major coastal city, also aptly named Vale by its denizens. Not everyone felt comfortable in the safe but enclosed walls meant to protect its citizens from Grimm attacks; Naruto likened it to farmers and such who built their homes outside Konoha. They were far enough away not to be bothered, but still fundamentally close enough to have a chance to flee to safer grounds should they come under assault from the soulless beasts.
The daughter of Atlas' most significant CEO and the son of the Yondaime remained at the window of one of the Schnee family's private vessels, standing together in a somewhat awkward but still somehow comfortable atmosphere while other floating transports followed her ship's lead. The pair remained silent as the additional Beacon hopefuls on the other arriving ships got their first view of the city connected to its illustrious school. Occasionally a light-tinted iris would flicker towards the intruder/guest as Weiss tried to silently figure out more about the boy she begrudgingly allowed to stick around. Soon enough the transport would land and his fate would be up to whoever was there to greet them. Security obviously radioed ahead, both to update on the trespasser and Nevermore, so once the trip ended Naruto would be out of her well-maintained hair. When she wasn't yelling at him or feeling sorry for his lack of brains...eh, he wasn't so bad. But rules were rules and the whiskered orange-lover disregarded plenty of them.
With his arms thrown behind his head in relaxation, Naruto took in the interesting sights below and instead pondered what he'd do now. Sometimes his jaw would flex as if he wanted to say something but instead he'd keep quiet. The shinobi already traipsed the border of her hospitality enough and therefore didn't want to push past the limit of generosity she'd already shown. He was an on-the-fly sort of person anyways so...yeah.
Another sudden drop caused the duos' knees to bend minutely as the ship came to a complete stop and the momentum carried its passengers into a smooth landing. The large aircraft with the Schnee snowflake hovered in line along the canyon's edge where the landing pads were built. Beacon's main campus was further away, down a lengthy construct attached to said runway that served as both a defensive point (being one of only two entrances to the academy) and as a way to induce newcomers to their new home for the next four years. Fluttering feelings of positive apprehensive swelled within their chests as the students marched off towards their future career. They were all giddy, and the walk to the school allowed for a way to burn off some of the nervous energy beforehand.
From her position in the upper cabin Weiss could see her fellow classmates begin trooping out of their own vessels while much farther away there were a few walking in from the opposite direction. They obviously came from the main gate but that was mostly for those who lived in and around the area...or arrived by water. Boats were slower but hey, not everyone had access to an airport.
Feeling her hand brush against the comforting hilt of Myrtenaster, the female decided to pose another question. "So what are you going to do now?" Not because she really cared for the delinquent, but due to innate curiosity. A pity that only now she thought to ask the query...but it had been a rather turbulent trip for what was supposed to be a simple chauffeur job.
When the whiskered Uzumaki failed to reply she turned her head, only to go bug-eyed and whip her dainty neck every which way in an attempt to find the brightly-clothed lad.
He was gone.
New anger flared through Weiss' veins as her perfectly pale skin heated under a resentful blush. Stomping her foot against the floor she huffed and pouted and threw her arms up in the air. First he got on without alerting anyone and now he was just GONE? How the hell did Naruto keep slipping by her senses like that?!
Meanwhile, the boy who could rile her up so easily had already crossed the metal bridge connecting the ship to the ground, bypassing the employees aboard and unaware of the fair-haired female's righteous fury. He could still feel her negativity anyways thanks to Kurama's ability but ignored it in favor of using his limited knowledge concerning the heiress to chalk that up to just Weiss being Weiss. Out here it took no skill at all to basically go with the flow and join the crowd of hopefuls walking towards Beacon. He was of similar age, so no one paid him a second glance as he decided to head off to the nearby city by cutting through the school. Then he'd...do something once he got to Vale. Man, not having a tentative plan now that he felt the world wasn't in danger from a complete monster really sucked.
As he drew closer to the campus Naruto stepped by a pretty blonde girl attempting to hold a shorter female in a red hood back as said person bounced around in unbridled amazement. The taller female cast an appreciative glance his way before sighing and returning her full attention to the one in her grasp. She'd have more time to ogle all the boys later once she got this lovely bundle of energy under control.
Plenty of initiates walked through the nearest metal gate without any problems but as Naruto neared them, a man nonchalantly came forward from the inner courtyard moving from the opposite direction. He didn't exactly block the ninja's path since it was a very wide gate but the way the person stopped and stood there watching the toad summoner made Naruto pause as well. In one of his hands was a cane and the other a mug, to which the male took a drink before giving the barest of nods and turning on his heel.
"Walk with me." he said casually. His legs took him back the way he came and, since Naruto literally had nothing better to do without additional assistance, shrugged and jogged to catch up with him. Unless he found something to help him move between dimensions the blue-eyed jinchuriki was stuck in a rut. The guy wanted something? He didn't look like the police so...maybe whatever the guy required wouldn't devolve into an arrest attempt or interrogation.
He could only hope. But hey, if he was lucky enough then maybe Naruto could request a meal and some time for a shower. That would be oh so nice about now...
****I'd like to bring up something real quick though: Faunus. It's still up for debate whether or not they actually have bellybuttons. Blake supposedly doesn't have one on her model and yet she exposes her midriff while still hiding away her ears. If lack of a bellybutton was real, wouldn't she want to cover that too? But then again both of her outfits are low enough on her stomach to potentially cover it up. I've heard how Sun doesn't have one either on his model and it does look like that...but if you look, the bottom section of his abs is slightly different than the rest of his midsection. It sort of looks like its a bellybutton, but simply not very visible due to his muscles.
So for the sake of a lack of information, Faunus in my story actually have them. Maybe they're just less noticeable...idk yet.
So yeah, sorry if this chapter seemed less polished than the first. Somehow, in some fucking way, the entirety of the finished chapter 2...both on my laptop AND my USB was overwritten by the little bit I had started for chapter 3. I never even knew until after I started working more on 3 and then decided to go and edit chapter 2...and was met with a single paragraph. Cue my attempts at rewriting. I tried everything at first to recover the data but I had no idea when the change happened and scouring previous versions of the documents brought up the same damn thing. I was so pissed. So...unlike the rather thought out chapter I originally had, I was forced to remember as much as I could and hope it came out like I wanted. It feels the same and I believe I hit all the points again regardless.
It would've been out much sooner with that small spree of updating I did before.
But all that work gone...
Read and review, please. Let me know what you think.