Disclaimer: See first chapter.
Chapter 3:
Weiss couldn't believe her luck. After the questionable...event on her travels to Vale, it was smooth sailing as she waited outside the ship and watched a few well-dressed men load her luggage onto a baggage cart for transport to her room. All pristine white bags, of course. Filled with her essentials and unmentionables and a fair amount of Dust to refill her rapier whenever their slots became too low on the wonderous item.
But then she went and turned around for one minute and some buffoon tripped and fell right onto her things!
It was a younger-looking schoolgirl in a black blouse and matching frilly skirt with red trim, a small black corset at her waist underneath a humble but growing bust, dark grey stockings, and knee-high boots that matched the rest of her color scheme. Pinned to her waist was a silver rose emblem, positioned next to a small satchel used to hold rounds of Dust ammunition. A long red hood was attached at her shoulders by small crosses, able to settle and hide the large red compacted scythe holstered at the small of her back. Wide silver eyes looked out from a soft rounded face, with chin-length hair smoothed back on the left and allowed to hang forward and frame her face on the right. It was two-tone; primarily black with plenty of reddish highlights.
This girl in the cape was so lucky that her impact didn't rattle the containers too badly and blow them all up! And even luckier that the heiress raised her aura in time to shield her entire body when the little idiot sneezed because the errant Dust particles leaking from one of the bottles tickled her nose! The ensuing detonation created a small crater and thin layer of soot over Weiss' entire form (or over her coating of aura, actually) and thankfully didn't char her clothes at all. But it really raised the silvernette's hackles that this younger female who didn't even look of age to enroll at Beacon so blatantly disregarded all safety protocol around the powder!
Weiss was unaware of, and therefore completely ignored, the fact that it was partially her own fault for waving the bottle of red Dust with a loosened cap right in the imbecile's face in the first place.
No matter how much the hooded girl apologized Weiss wasn't having any of it. At least there was recognition of her talent though, when another student with wavy black hair and a large bow of the same color on top of her head returned the jar she dropped during the boom. Then the mysterious and blunt girl ruined that too by having the nerve to say the Schnee Corporation abused their workers and even toed the law!
Snatching the jar out of Ms. Rude's hand the white-loving maiden stomped off towards the large stone arch entrance which everyone else had passed under on their journey to the academy's inner area, leaving the help to restack her suitcases. Now all alone, as the ravenette simply walked away after saying her piece, the only female left dropped to her knees and sighed. Then she fell on her back and closed her eyes while whining about how her semester was off to a rollicking good start.
Until a brown gloved hand with a metal plate reached down with the intent to help her up. Shadowed by the sun overhead, she was unable to see who it was as she grabbed the limb and was pulled to her feet. It was actually a boy with a gentle smile and a sword strapped to his hip. It was also someone that triggered her short term memory, even as he started to speak in a vaguely hesitant voice.
"Hey. I'm Jaune." he said as his full look was revealed to her. He was tall, with untidy dark gold hair and blue eyes. His torso was clad in a black hooded sweatshirt with dark orange sleeves and the thick gloves along with white body armor at this chest, shoulders, and back. His lower half was covered by light blue pants with a white knee patch and two crossed belts and pouches on his hips, the blade holstered to the left of his waist. His appearance made him look strong...but one could easily tell he carried himself shyly.
"Ruby." she replied with a light grin of her own before realization finally struck. "Wait, aren't you the guy who got sick on the ship?"
Jaune Arc's expression fell as Ruby Rose brought up something he sorely wished to forget.
"I wish you hadn't remembered that..."
She laughed awkwardly as the pair began their trek towards the school. At least now she had someone to explore with, since her no good sister left her out to dry.
Darn that Yang!
"...then I sort of met Weiss when she stopped by the tour at the main industry building, followed her, and asked about Dust. I stopped the big bird from attacking and then we landed and you asked me to come with you."
Ozpin calmly took in the entirety of Naruto's lacking explanation as the pair of men sat across from each other within the large, clockwork-styled room settled atop a rather large tower that served as his official office. All the older man did was ask why they received a distress call from Weiss Schnee's personal transport involving a stowaway followed by a second, more frantic transmission involving a Grimm. The blond's basic appearance was given by the guard...so it really wasn't hard for Ozpin to pick his uniqueness out of the crowd. The thing about his guest was that he didn't provide much detail, which actually wasn't too big of a problem after giving it all some thought. The middle-aged headmaster of Beacon Academy could sense the severity of the teen's aura in spite of him now actively keeping a lid on the power. That, and how Ms. Schnee was seen both safe and secure on the ground while ordering some of her own employees to take care of her things. Nothing in her expressions suggested she'd been assaulted. All of this together explained that even though he had enough power to quite possibly execute a Nevermore from a moving airship the young heiress had never been in any danger from him.
There were still some things he'd like to know though which meant he needed more cooperation.
Meanwhile Naruto had been doing the exact same thing with sizing up his fellow man.
He was tall, and despite the cane he carried while walking he didn't use it to bear much of his weight. Ozpin's hair was disheveled and grey, made to look like he just rolled out of bed or faced down a particularly strong gust of wind and matching his whitish skin. Small and round glasses rested on his nose; darkened glass doubling as a set of sunglasses to protect his thin brown eyes. Matching his tenure as the intelligent boss of Vale's leading school for pumping out defense against the creatures of Grimm, the man wore a black suit jacket left open with matching vest and shoes, dark green undershirt and pants, and an emerald scarf with attached purple cross on its front. His entire ensemble was simple yet still appeared layered and rather intricate like everyone else he came across.
Ozpin seemed exactly how a school headmaster should carry himself. Stoic but still able to smile. Like now, as he finally set down his mug and spread his hands atop the table to speak bluntly.
"You know you're not in trouble, young man."
"It's Naruto."
"Naruto, then. It takes quite an experienced fighter to take down a Nevermore by themselves. I don't need to know why you stowed away on Ms. Schnee's transport to question her about Dust. You had your reasons and no one was hurt save for a few security guards, but it was their fault for losing composure at the first sign of a Grimm. No, what I'm more interested in is how exactly you killed the Nevermore."
At that the elevator door popped open and a brown heel attached to a knee-length black boot slipped inside followed by the rest of the shapely woman who wore it. Following the trend of complicated outfits, Glynda Goodwitch had based hers off a stereotypical and strict schoolteacher. Besides the shoes, her legs were covered by brown stockings and a black pencil skirt hugging her hips. At her waist was a black corset with four large buttons running up the center. Under that, the blonde's upper half was clad in a white dress shirt with puffy sleeves which suddenly tightened at the forearm before spreading out at the wrist, a round cutout exposing the cleavage of her modest chest with a thin green bead clasped at the collar of her throat. But the strangest part? She wore a black cape with an inner purple lining. Across the back it had a line of bronze diamonds...and the bottom was purposefully and symmetrically torn to look like arrows.
Glynda's light yellow hair was pulled back into a bun near the nape of her neck, with a thick strand curled near the right of her face. Severe green eyes which promised no leeway on any mischief stared him down from behind thin rectangular glasses and a fair-skinned face. Having to deal with rowdy schoolchildren on a daily basis, the Goodwitch possessed a low tolerance for anyone who wouldn't act their age or in a mature fashion. So it made sense why the Huntress was staring him down like he greatly offended her.
In her hands was a larger version of the Scroll those guards had owned, which she swiftly placed in front of Ozpin before turning to continue glaring at the younger blond in a way that made him think of Iruka whenever Naruto broke the rules.
"You may not want to know his motives but unlike you, Ozpin, I will not stand for reckless endangerment of any kind. I just finished checking the Cross Continental Transmit and found only a single hit on a 'Naruto Uzumaki' originating from Vacuo as well as a possible match based in Atlas. It's suspicious that this young man barely has any information pertaining to himself for public access." She didn't like how there was a lack of community information on this mysterious child. No former schooling or grades or address. It was as if he just appeared out of thin air and it simply didn't make much sense.
A flick of her deft finger brought up the two different sets of information pertaining to the ninja side by side. One was of his encounter and enrollment with the cops from Oasis, and the subsequent police report of his destruction of the horde of Deathstalkers along with a summary of the origin story he told his interrogator. Ozpin paid extra attention to that as his eyes flickered over the text.
The second was just a curious report on someone matching the Uzumaki's appearance disappearing from the tour group in a puff of smoke. But not before being labeled as a Faunus and causing mass panic among those gathered in the room after dropping his trousers. Glynda only found that one by accident after taking a chance on searching for blue-eyed blonds with whisker marks. Defining features always made the investigation just a little bit easier to narrow down and seriously, not even actual Faunus possessed facial features like his. She didn't understand the sudden reinforcement of people mislabeling him over something that no one else had. And as if he was reading her mind...
"Er, just so you know if that Atlas one says anything about being a Faunus they're wrong. I'm a human. I don't see why people keep freaking out over it, out of all the ones I've seen they never had facial markings."
"You also have no respect for the law!"
"Now now, Glynda. He was not charged with anything according to these reports. There is no police record to mar his documentation. In fact, he was commended for singlehandedly wiping out the pack of dangerous Grimm."
"That's not the point. He also snuck aboard a private airship after terrorizing a group of tourists and then hassled the heiress of the biggest global conglomerate around...to ask her about Dust."
Raising a hand, Naruto spoke again. "In my defense it was a good idea at the time."
She readjusted her glasses by pushing at the bridge with two of her fingers. "Which merely proves my point."
"It also gave me peace of mind, when everything I asked Weiss turned up wrong. Plus she's perfectly fine. Go ahead and ask her yourself. Those guards were knocked out because of everyone reacting to the bird, WHICH by the way, they'd have been in a shitload of trouble with if I hadn't 'broken the law'!" he finished with accompanying air quotes near the end. Technically the security fell over and bumped their heads because of said bird causing the vessel to roll...and the ensuing shockwaves created by his Chō Mini Bijūdama (Super Mini-Tailed Beast Bomb)...but they didn't need to know all the finer points.
The woman just pursed her lips at his uncouth inflection and crass language.
"So Mr. Uzumaki...a war, hmmm?"
Naruto deflated and laid his head on the desk, one hand tapping against the wood as the shinobi attempted to gather his thoughts over Ozpin's casual question. The man himself waved off his associate's disbelieving glance before handing back the Scroll and pointing to the section involving his entrance into Remnant. Taking the item Glynda quietly began to read thoroughly instead of skimming this time. Her face never changed no matter how much time passed, but then again she had always been the no-nonsense instructor who only wanted her students to grow stronger and stronger.
Another world? Please.
At least the headmaster kept an open mind.
"You have no idea." Naruto began while looking up. "It's...as far as I know it's over. We finished it. The bad guys were sealed away and we stopped everyone from being drained of all their chakra. I don't feel like telling the whole story again right now."
"Chakra?"
"See that's the thing. You call it aura. But after seeing and hearing what it can do, all I can think of is chakra. You use it to enhance yourself and use it in attacks? So does chakra. But it feels off to me. And then we get to Dust..."
"And I'm guessing this is why you decided to question Weiss Schnee?"
"As someone whose family runs a big company revolving around it, I took a chance and figured she'd know more than anyone else. Dust comes in different colors and let people use the elements." Here he pulled out his single green crystal, flicking it with a finger after placing it on the table. "This is a wind one which also happens to be my own chakra affinity, because a person's chakra is inclined towards using the elements too. The thing is the energy feels off. Like it's not exactly whole. But after my research I've found nothing wrong to speak of. I...didn't have too much to go off of but if Weiss was telling the truth then there's no problem."
"Well...I...suppose you believed you had yourself a well-founded reason for speaking with Ms. Schnee...but under the circumstances, you could have found a better avenue to approach her instead of breaking and entering." Glynda admitted as she finished scanning the tablet. The blonde teacher still didn't believe the farfetched tale on her Scroll. It sounded loony. And she'd never heard of chakra or the Elemental Nations or tailed-beasts, and it would likely remain that way.
Ozpin was listening with his chin resting atop his clasped hands, and that was a sign which the pretty Goodwitch did not like.
"Your take on a person's aura is quite intriguing. I've never heard anyone describe it as 'being off' before but, since one cannot inherently change their soul then perhaps it's merely a byproduct of your...separate realm. But I'm curious: what else would you say is a characteristic of chakra?"
"Um...you can't really see it unless a person focuses really hard to create it, or has a lot of it to go around. If you use too much you'll get weaker and weaker before entering chakra exhaustion, and going beyond that it could kill you. But resting will help you recover."
The grey-haired man bobbed his head in agreement. "Yes, that much is similar."
Glynda placed a palm against her forehead as the two continued speaking. She could already see where this was going, and Ozpin was surprisingly hardheaded when he started getting ideas.
"Also, chakra was the real reason behind the war. Uhhhh...well, to make a super long story short, the main bad guy who was actually a girl wanted all the chakra in the world for herself. So...yeah. We beat her though after lots of setbacks, and Kaguya won't be bothering anyone ever again as long as I have anything to say about it." Sighing deeply, Naruto leaned against the rigid back of his chair and looked at the spot on his right hand the Sage's sun used to sit. Ever since trapping her it had simply disappeared from his skin but luckily he still had a hold of Hagoromo's powerful energy...at least for the time being. It was a loaner after all, and the ninja wasn't sure if he'd have it forever. "But here's the main problem. Kaguya was so powerful she could actually rip open holes to different dimensions. It was a hell of a time trying to keep her in one place, at least until she made the mistake of merging with the Shinju and gave us the opportunity to finish it. As we were sealing her away she got all pissy and used the remains of her chakra to do it one last time. Then she knocked me through before the portal collapsed, and here I am. I need to get back but I have no idea how. I want to make sure my friends are okay and that they were all freed from the Infinite Tsukuyomi after Kakashi-sensei cut the root keeping everybody else trapped."
The two adults shared a look, one unimpressed and one intrigued. Everything the blue-eyed boy said made absolutely no sense...and nevertheless somehow still did since Naruto so completely believed his own words. But without proper subtext, a fair bit of his explanation went right over their heads.
"I must apologize in advance then because trans-dimensional hopping has never been breached. Sure, I've heard scientists and intellectuals theorize over such a thing but no one's ever decided to take the leap, or even know if we have such technology yet. And yet here we are, speaking to someone who has done just that."
"You're truly believing everything he says?" the Huntress asked in a defeated tone. Her boss took a sip of his drink and licked his lips in response.
"Let's just say...I don't not believe him."
Ignoring the terrible double negative, Glynda pressed on. "Then let me make my own guess: since Naruto would currently be considered a ward of the state due to his apparent...lack of a past here on Remnant as well as having documented battle experience against multiple Grimm, you're going to allow him to enroll here at Beacon?"
"Of course not Glynda. That would just be silly."
The blonde woman's eyes widened slightly in surprise. While she herself was against it, the female hadn't actually expected him to say that. "Really?"
"Of course. According to what we've learned our young friend is already an incredibly gifted warrior who's lived through far more than your average teenager ever should. Joining as a student would simply waste his time and talents...which is why I have a much better idea to help Naruto while he's stranded here in our realm. It's our duty to guide the younger generations after all and any help is appreciated."
Ozpin's lips curved into a small grin as said boy's eyes narrowed in suspicion. The headmaster had yet to say anymore on the matter but the lone girl's stomach dropped all the way down to her feet as her logical thought process deciphered just what Ozpin had in mind. It was idiotic. It was completely irresponsible. It was...
Again using her fore and middle finger to push her glasses farther up her thin nose, Glynda shook her head and turned to open the door. "We need to get going. Freshman orientation is starting soon."
It was going to be a major headache for the rule-abiding female.
"-and we can paint our nails, and try on clothes, and talk about cute boys like tall, blond, and scraggly over there." Weiss snarked in an exaggerated tone as she pointed a thumb over her shoulder at Jaune who, by this time, was standing alone off to the side and trying not to look as awkward as he felt after Ruby went to join her sister. The glass-ceiling amphitheater was filled with a large number of hopefuls to Beacon's upcoming semester and yet somehow, someway, Ruby and the icy female found themselves standing next to each other within the crowd. Or more like Weiss had been on the lookout for the younger girl's multicolored hair to start round two.
She'd stalked off in anger before but now that her temper had cooled, Weiss felt as if she could continue berating Ruby without interruption.
Ms. Rose's chipper attitude despite the other woman's obvious dislike of her made the silvernette all the more bitchy.
Especially since Ruby's innocence led her to believe Weiss really wanted to do all those girly things with her. "Wow, really?" she asked with undisguised awe in her voice. Maybe making new friends here wouldn't be as hard as she thought. But the scythe-wielder's anticipation caused the mocking smile to slip right off the heiress' abnormally pale face.
"..."
"..."
"No."
Ruby's shoulders slumped as Weiss abruptly turned away and crossed her arms. Thankfully attention was drawn to the stage where Ozpin began speaking into a microphone with Glydna standing off behind in the background waiting for her turn to address the crowd. The headmaster's speech was short and sweet, but the white-loving student felt her jaw drop open at the third person there up on the stage. Orange, black, and yellow; this couldn't be happening.
Standing with her hands on her hips, Ruby's older half-sister Yang Xiao Long remained quietly on the hooded girl's other side listening to the byplay between the two 'acquaintances'. Despite the apparent dislike of her little sister, still interacting with a crabby pants like Weiss was good for Ruby. She needed to branch out and meet more people...no matter who they were. Back home the other girl didn't have many who she called a friend and spent most of her time with Yang. It wasn't a problem per se, but the older sibling did have a life of her own.
One with a personal agenda.
...and hopefully cute boys.
Speaking of which, Weiss wasn't the only one to notice the odd addition standing up there with the two teachers. Yang listened with half a mind to Ozpin and then Glynda's following instructions while her eyes were glued firmly on the blond leaning up against the wall just far enough away to remain an unknown factor. He was up on the raised platform nearly out of sight but his body language showed he wasn't sure what he should be doing. No one asked him to leave so it wasn't as if the man was in a place he shouldn't be. And when they were dismissed by the Huntress, the stranger quickly spoke to the two adults before Ozpin said something and pointed a finger. Ol' blue eyes nodded before taking one leap off the stage and covering the entire span of the auditorium before bursting out the doors in a blur.
Weiss pushed her way through and did her best to follow, completely ignoring Jaune as he tried to say something to garner her attention. Yang gave a low whistle at the total shutdown before the gangly boy could even get a word out, as well as just how much distance the other male got before nudging her sister in the side, who watched Weiss leave with a look of gloom. "Oh cheer up, lil' sis. She's just got a stick up her butt."
"Yang!" the petite scythe-fighter yelled, scandalized. She didn't have to say it like that!...because her younger sister was still inherently innocent, even now.
"Besides, did you see how far that guy jumped? Doesn't that just fire you up and make you want to show off your own skills?"
"Well..."
"Now come on, everyone else is going to the cafeteria and I don't want to be the last one left behind."
Ruby was dragged away by her far stronger sibling but once out the door she was allowed to walk under her own power. Most, if not all of the newcomers were actually wandering around with only a few having specific locations in mind, the school-supplied canteen being only one of them. Yang's observation was pretty off but the bodacious blonde never sweated the small stuff. All she really heard was they were to gather in the ballroom when the sun went down. Other than that Yang was more focused on the guy who could make Miss Fussy Britches lose her mind...
It actually caused a spark of rivalry to swell within her breast.
Weiss was totally seeking him out to make a move on the stranger before anyone else could!
Not that Yang was looking to go steady anytime soon, she was a hot young woman after all with a rewarding career looming in the future...but that didn't mean she couldn't network with some good-looking men beforehand. Spurred on by the spirit of competition the fist-fighter began to jog at a faster pace that forced Ruby to keep up. Luckily finding the cafeteria wasn't a chore; besides asking the older students for directions (since they already knew the lay of the land and just had free time until classes started for everyone) the large building wasn't too difficult to find. Along with its size, it was completely covered by large windows that allowed a view of the many tables and vending machines set within, with students eating or milling about.
When the pair of siblings made it inside the first thing they noticed was the table closest to the lunch line/kitchen area was besieged by a stack of ceramic bowls. Most were already empty, their dirty remains piled atop each while the rest were soon to follow. Weiss stood just behind the danger zone with her hands on her hips and a look of complete irritation cracking the icy veneer of her normally pale face...which was currently flushed with emotion as she continued berating whatever was hidden behind the containers.
"What are you still doing here?!" she started as Yang and her baby sister approached with slight apprehension, Ruby more so than Yang. "You're not a student! In fact, you're technically a criminal! Do you want to go to prison?!"
"Technically it's your fault for calling the guards in the first place and setting me up. I wasn't arrested at all, so hah." A deeper, rougher voice replied before the sounds of slurping could be heard. Weiss' look of disgust was priceless. "And I was going to leave until that Ozpin fellow stopped me and asked to follow him. He's got some weird idea in mind after hearing my story but hasn't told me or that strict-looking blonde lady what it's about yet."
She paused before a flicker of realization crossed over her face. "No. No way. There is NO way he's planning to enroll you in Beacon."
Crossing the edge of the boundary the two sisters were amazed at the sight of the strange fellow from the stage scarfing down freshly prepared noodles as easily as if he were breathing. Ruby felt a little queasy though, while Yang wondered how the hell he manipulated those chopsticks so darn effortlessly. Not many people used them but there were some places in Vacuo and...maybe Mistral where it was commonplace.
Naruto just wiped some broth away from his lips and regarded the heiress with a dull stare. "Me? A student?" And then he began to laugh. Like, a lot. So much that the three girls and the other curious individuals nearby leaned away out of sudden fear for his sanity. Running a finger under his eye to clear away the tears of mirth, the ninja sighed and turned back to his food. "That's a good one Weiss. I haven't gone to school in three- no wait, I guess it's four now- years."
"So you're a dropout." she concluded distastefully.
"Nope. Graduated bottom of the class and proud of it."
That comment apparently hurt Weiss in some way as she stuttered, and her scarred eye twitched, before finally the thin female gave a scoff of disgust before promptly leaving. She'd been doing that a lot lately. "I can't be around you without my head starting to hurt!"
"You get used to it! Just grab something to eat and come sit back down!"
"Never!"
The whiskered shinobi chuckled before raising the utensils to his mouth again, only to pause when two somethings sat down on either side of him. "Hellooooooo~!" a new, less narcissistic voice called from his left as the one on the right gave him a small wave. Blue eyes flickered over to see the two-toned girl from his arrival wearing the long cloak smiling timidly in his direction. Her shy expression was kind of cute. But if she was here, then...following the memory of seeing her earlier in the day...then the other one must have been the girl who kept her from jumping people over their weapons.
He was right.
Tilting his head he was met with a set of mirthful violet irises set in a pretty grinning face and framed by long, messy yellow hair (yet still incredibly taken care of) similar to his own in brightness and loosely hanging down her back. She had on a tight tan vest/jacket with short puffy sleeves which revealed her stomach, black cuffs at the bicep, and golden trim, kept half open to reveal a low-cut yellow shirt with a black flaming heart symbol on the left side of her ample chest. Her lower half was clad in black bike shorts with a tan half-skirt covering the back of her waist and kept in place by a thick brown belt. Under that but above the shorts was a longer white half-skirt longer on one side which hung down past her thighs. Brown platform boots reached up to her knees, worn over long orange socks of different lengths, with the left leg having a grayish bandana tied above the boot. The female finished everything off with finger-less black gloves, bright yellow wrist bracers, some items hanging on her belt, and an orange scarf wrapped around a slender neck.
If she was blonde and could wear any amount of orange, then she was automatically okay in his book.
"Hi." Naruto greeted back before looking down at his current bowl.
"Um...I see you like noodles?" Ruby lamely said when a short silence descended upon the new group. Yang could only roll her eyes at how inexperienced her little sister really was in these situations. Time to step in.
"My name's Yang, and the one pointing out the obvious is my sister Ruby."
"I'm Naruto. Nice to meet you."
"Wow. Ironic." The Uzumaki snorted at the bustier female's observation since he was expecting at least somebody to crack that joke, missing when Yang began gesturing for the scythe-user to start talking again. She was only here for support...for the moment. Ruby blinked and sat up straighter when a common point of interest finally popped into her mind and motioned for Yang to stop waving her arm about at the back of the blond boy's head.
"So...what did you do to make that Weiss girl mad at you? I accidentally sneezed and blew her up in a minor Dust explosion, and she started to yell, and wouldn't stop, and then she yelled at me some more before the Headmaster's speech where we saw you on the stage, and now she was yelling at you too and...she likes yelling?"
Yang slapped her forehead with a sigh over her sibling's ability to ramble on when she was nervous.
Naruto merely put down the chopsticks and rubbed his stomach. "Well...we had an interesting ride over here from Atlas. I ticked her off but I don't think that's too difficult with Weiss. The fact I'm still around is probably the reason. Can't really tell with her yet."
"So what did you do?" the older of the two asked. Her curiosity was piqued and even Ruby was nodding along in interest. The ninja began stacking his empties and cleaning up the mess as best as he could. Wait, when did he finish off the remains of his food? Naruto somehow did it right underneath their noses!
"Oh that? I just-"
Weiss reappeared as if summoned by the gossip, shoving her Scroll in front of the male's whiskered face and waved it back and forth. "You. Professor Ozpin just called me directly through the school's information system and asked that I tell you he wants to see you in his office when you're finished. So go now. And get yourself a Scroll so I don't have to be the blasted messenger." she ordered sharply. With a tone of finality ringing in her voice she turned on a wedged heel and left with her dainty nose in the air. Following the headmaster's request wasn't the problem; her being lumped in with a delinquent like the shinobi was. The fact she had only just recently patched her Scroll into Beacon's network and yet their apparent (and unwanted on her end) connection automatically made her his keeper was problematic.
The blonde fist-fighter found herself whistling again in incredulity at the white-head's coldness. "She sure doesn't like you."
"Eh. She's the heiress of a big corporation and I illegally sneaked aboard her private ship without getting into trouble. She'll come around eventually."
Both Yang and Ruby nodded along as Naruto gathered up his bevy of trash bowls and hauled it back towards the kitchen area for the dishwashers before the pair of teenage sisters stopped mid-gesture and looked at each other in disbelief.
"Wait, what?"
Later that evening, Naruto found himself pushing open the large ornate doors leading to Beacon's vast ballroom. At the moment, the area normally filled with fancy dresses and important events had an entire class of Hunter initiates in their pajamas, fooling around or doing their own thing or even trying to sleep. It was segregated by gender with girls on one side and boys on the other; the jinchuriki hefted the spare sleeping bag dug out of storage and momentarily given to him before walking over to the far end of the male's side and dropping the rolled up object near the large windows where no one else decided to bunk. Unfurling the bag he quickly pulled off his jacket, pouch, sandals, and headband and set them off to the side, before simply putting his back against the wall and releasing his breath in a tired puff of air.
Ozpin wanted him to do that?
It was crazy.
Then again he did have some experience in the matter. Not professionally, but the results still spoke for themselves.
But how would he do it? There was so much to do and so many to cater to.
Then again if those guys could handle it then so could he...hopefully.
But they had a much narrower audience. If anything he should follow the guidelines of...
It struck him right then and there. Of course! It fit Ozpin's criteria and the Konoha nin knew how it worked. Except he'd have to up the ante. When the time came Naruto now knew exactly how to handle it all. Ah, they'd be so proud to know he was making the best of a shitty situation. But with no way back that anyone knew of it was up to the blond to figure out how to proceed. For now Ozpin had given him a way to live a relatively stable life and he wouldn't turn that down. Better than inevitably winding up tangling with the police again as he wandered around.
"I don't get it. Which one is your symbol? Is it this- oh, it could be this! But I'm not sure if it's this. Hey Ren! Which one do you think it is?!"
"Nora, don't go through other people's belongings without permission...and use your indoor voice."
"He doesn't mind. See, if he did then he'd tell me so and I'd stop...and this IS my indoor voice!"
Naruto looked up sharply the moment someone started essentially yelling right next to his ear. So absorbed in his thoughts he missed the arrival of a giggly girl rummaging through his meager possessions paying special attention to his hitai-ate and jacket. With chin-length orange(!) hair that feathered out in the back, pale skin, a pink nightgown, and light blue eyes she attempted to tie on the hitai-ate and strike a pose only for someone to quickly stop her from further messing with his things before he could do so himself. The male reminded him of Sasuke: stoic pretty boy features, focused look, black hair although stretched into a low ponytail alongside a pink streak in his bangs...and he had a loud companion.
Eerie.
"Even so." the boy supplied, causing his friend to scrunch up her nose before turning and presenting the metal and cloth back to its owner, her petite hands quickly winding the long ends of the hitai-ate back up to make it appear presentable. She did so rather festively, humming to herself before handing it over with a flourish.
"Ta-daaa~! I guess he's right, but then again Ren usually is. Here you go; sorry for not asking but it just looked so cool."
"Er, it's fine."
Naruto let the item drop into his palm as the female began tapping her lip in thought. She simply ignored the taller student's quiet moan, his manner being that of a person so incredibly used to the rampant behavior by now that he just accepted it as normalcy so it affected him in the least. "Nora, people are trying to sleep. You should really save your energy for tomorrow."
The newly named Ren dipped his head in apology. "Hey, I never learned his name! We could've been new bestest buddies- oh, not that you'd be replaced or anything- oh wait! I almost forgot! BYE! NICE MEETING YOU! Hey Ren, this is totally out of the blue but do you think I could pull off a headband?" Nora screamed as she was dragged by her collar back towards the girl's section and her mind was cluttered up by multiple thoughts all at once. Her arm flailed frantically as she waved and it made the blond automatically return the gesture because of her sheer expressive cheer before realizing he was doing so and stopped. He might have still been loud and obnoxious but it had mellowed with age; the last few months had proven just how serious the Uzumaki could be when it was needed. That Nora girl though...from what he could see it looked like she'd never struck that type of balance.
Running a hand through his slightly damp hair cleaned after that wonderfully warm shower, Naruto refolded the bits of freshly laundered clothing he'd removed and put them back in a pile before dropped and lying down on his temporary bed to try and relax. If he could, that is. There was so much to plan for in what...two days from now? And it looked like he'd have to arrange for both extremes on the personality spectrum. From apprehensive Ruby all the way up to explosive Nora, and whatever was in between. But wait...that wouldn't really matter for what he had in mind, the Uzumaki supposed. As long as their wills held out then personality wouldn't affect it much.
Glynda Goodwitch was against it. But she just seemed like the type to hate surprises. The blond would have actually agreed with her originally if not for the glaring problem of him being homeless, penniless, and adrift in an unknown world. Ozpin was showing him a kindness so therefore Naruto would do his best.
Folding his arms behind his head and closing his eyes, the male couldn't stop a grin from spreading across his face that may or may not have been malicious in nature. Blue orbs shot open and Naruto quickly turned to the window before opening it and taking in the cool night air. The guy nearest to the ninja grumbled about the sudden change in temperature but other than that there wasn't much of a fuss. What they didn't know wouldn't hurt them, and so it was with that mindset that freshly made clones of himself were sent off to scour the grounds and get a lay of the land. The jinchuriki would need space for his grand plans and doing so beforehand would probably look good on his part.
Somewhere near the other side of the room he heard the unmistakable squeak of Ruby's voice filtering over the muffled ambiance of the room's quiet chatter, followed by Weiss' distinctive bossy tone. Shaking his head the blond closed the window; those two just kept going at it. But...eh, it wasn't him the heiress was gunning for anymore so that was good at least. He might've said back on the ship she could yell at him all she wanted later...but it was a lot nicer when she spoke in an even tone of voice and he would've preferred her to be amicable towards him. Or anyone really. Like that Ren guy, or Yang.
A portion of the female's side suddenly lost its light as someone in a short black robe snuffed out a candelabra used for creating just enough illumination so those who were trying to sleep weren't bothered, but those who were awake could still see. This seemed to start a chain reaction as other candles gradually began to wink out one by one until the large room was bathed in darkness. The only glow left was from that of the oddly fractured moon beaming in through the windows. Well that...and there were a few sets of eyes in the darkness that gleamed unnaturally in spite of the shadows covering their owners. They too finally disappeared as their owners closed them and the last of the students finally took the hint to rest.
Naruto was probably the only person in here who didn't have to wake up early tomorrow for an initiation test. Count him lucky on that, even though anything was probably better than Kakashi's bell test. While it hadn't been a dangerous thing to undertake, that darn thing was just set up to screw with Team Seven's mind and probably let the old scarecrow beat up and humiliate a bunch of preteens, the darn bastard.
Even now his clones were finishing up their sweeps, allowing a rough map of the facilities to settle in his mind. Although the campus grounds were quite large, most of it was taken up by the buildings and intermittent walkways. But the few who dared to venture outside its gates found long stretches of grass and even a large lake off to the side. Further beyond that was the start of a small forest that lead down the valley towards Vale itself. How nostalgic...it reminded him of the lands around Konoha a bit.
Yeah, he could work with that.
Despite the minor nuisance of a foot nudging him in the ribs, Naruto continued to ignore the annoyance in favor of trying to find another comfortable spot. But it persisted, as did the quiet voice accompanying it, as the person standing over his body persisted in trying to wake him up. Ultimately giving up on being allowed to stay in the warm spot the blond yawned and sat up slowly while his muscles twitched from the change. Unfocused orbs blinked lazily as their owner yawned again and scratched his scalp while the other boy on his feet simply looked relieved his weak attempts actually worked. He didn't want to be too loud and draw the other's early morning ire.
"...sorry to wake you but everyone else has already left to eat breakfast." Jaune stated, no longer clad in the childish PJ's he brought from home but instead in his regular clothes and chest armor. Naruto nodded sluggishly at the stranger's explanation before unwillingly slipping out from the confines of the sleeping bag and began redressing. In the quiet lull, as they were the only two left among a sea of empty blankets and pillows (and Jaune didn't want to walk around by himself and get lost again like a loser), the young Arc saw this as another chance to make a friend like he did with Ruby. He stuck out his gloved hand like his dad taught him to do as the orange-centric blond finished tying on his long headband. "I'm Jaune Arc by the way."
"Hm? Oh, Naruto Uzumaki." As the two shook on it Jaune sniffed and leaned away, causing the ninja to grimace. "Sorry...it's been a few days and I don't have a toothbrush."
"I've got a few extra packed away just in case. Would you...like one?"
Naruto grinned and turned to start rolling up his bag. "Thanks man. That'll really help."
"So if you don't mind me asking, how come you came to Beacon without something as simple as a toothbrush? I mean you could have had some reason to I guess...and I suppose it wouldn't really affect you as a student in any way."
The two were making their way back to the cafeteria to get some food in their stomachs; Jaune hoping to keep it down under his mounting nerves and Naruto uncaring in the long run. The rest of the masses could already be seen inside and the pair of blonds quickly grabbed an empty tray each and a bowl of awaiting cereal. The Uzumaki sage already had a mouthful of the oddly pumpkin-tasting/marshmallow-sweetened oats by the time the two sat at the end of a busy table, swallowing the sugary bits and feeling like just he ate a large mouthful of candy. "Not a student. Long story."
The messy-headed male looked confused at the statement with his spoon sticking out between his lips. "Bwuh?"
Naruto shrugged. "I'll be around awhile but thankfully I don't have to take any classes."
Jaune felt his shoulders droop as he tried to comprehend what that meant. "...I don't know whether to say you're lucky or not." Because while the boy with self-confidence issues came to the school to grow stronger his tuition also meant days of boring lectures and homework. The person opposite himself merely flashed a crooked smile before returning to his food. Seeing as his new buddy was finished talking for the time being, the Remnant native followed suit to finish his own meal and try to get some energy for the day. Others were already finishing up and he was intent on finding his locker and retrieving the family heirlooms from inside.
That pretty teacher assigned each newcomer a personal high-tech storage unit yesterday but...knowing his luck Jaune would have a hell of a time trying to remember which was his. Naruto noticed and felt his declining melancholy mood but completely misinterpreted it thanks to the teen's silence over the matter, making him wonder what was making Jaune feel all mopey all of a sudden. Oh, right! They all had that big test today. And Jaune didn't exactly seem like the get up and go type. Or the rise to the occasion type. Or the skilled but unknowing as of yet type...
Drinking down the dregs of horribly sweetened milk in his bowl, the shinobi wiped the excess away around his mouth and slapped a hand on the table. The abrupt action and loud clap startled the hesitant Arc as well as the others sitting around them. "Don't worry about what happens later Jaune. Thinking about it too much right now will make you worry unnecessarily. You'll be fine."
Startled by the advice he simply nodded his head at the encouragement. "I hope so, but thanks."
"No problem. Now let's go get that toothbrush!...this cereal is making my teeth hurt."
Jaune chuckled and stood up to follow Naruto and drop his bowl off, the two passing by a girl sitting at the adjacent table behind where the powerful jinchuriki formerly sat, her bright green eyes watching them leave in polite interest. She had been (unknowingly to the pair) listening in on the conversation out of sheer curiosity. The female was feeling lonely due to her own unique situation distancing the others at the table from speaking with her, simply because they were awestruck or nervous. With nothing else holding her attention the woman deigned to merely let the background noise wash over her to pass some time and, well, the blonds weren't exactly speaking privately to each other so she didn't feel bad about doing it. Other students would stop by to gush over how much they admired her and similar things of that nature, but they would already decide she was too famous to hang out with compared to the regular people and find an excuse to leave as soon as their respect for her was known. The girl frowned at the very idea; was she really so off-putting?
So deciding instead to quietly eat the rest of her eggs in peace she eventually wondered if it would be wrong to try and join in on their robust conversation and start her own attempts at forming new bonds because hey, why not take a chance, only to stop and listen instead. While it was odd that the orange one proclaimed he was not enrolled at Beacon Academy she found it impressive he picked up quickly on the other one's low mood and promptly tried to cheer him up. It was a sweet gesture towards helping his friend...and on a separate note she wholeheartedly agreed with the opinion of proper oral hygiene.
Brushing the long red strands of her ponytail back over her shoulder, Pyrrha Nikos stood to follow suite towards rediscovering her locker and hope the ones who ate Pumpkin Pete's Marshmallow Flakes didn't ruin their chances at passing because of any upset stomachs. Though she endorsed the breakfast cereal per the clauses in her contract ...there was no way in hell she'd ever touch the stuff herself. It just wasn't healthy. And to serve it here at Beacon didn't really seem like a good idea when the kids were trying to maintain a healthy body and sharp mind.
Choosing to give some aid because it was the right thing to do Pyyrha decided she could at least keep an eye out on this Jaune fellow during the test in case things became too much for him. Comrades helped each other, and she needed no other reason to convince herself.
Ahhhh...my first flame-like review for this story. I'm glad to see people enjoy it, as I write to entertain both myself and the readers, but it's expected that there are those who dislike it for whatever reason. So anyways I will say thank you anonymous reviewer for at least liking the first chapter, but I must admit the abrupt assumptions you made based off only two beginning chapters are effectively wrong. There's a whole big thing on the horizon and it doesn't involve what I think you're thinking. Something much different is looming and I'm not following the norm here seen in other crossovers like these. I don't want to say much on it because that could give things away but I will say that another reviewer actually put some of it together already.
Happy Candy Eating Day, people. Decided to finish the end of this for the holiday. Read and review, please. Let me know what you think.