A short explanation about something last chapter: Diana. I'll be honest, I actually completely forgot she was there for a while. So, instead of rewriting what was A) already completely written (Laziness wins again), and B) Probably my favorite fight in the series, I had her eating a bagel. Would any of you believe me f I said I actually have a plan for her backstory? 'Cause, trust me, I actually do.

Speaking of plans... People. I have a large amount of this story planned out. As in, everything up to the end of Volume Three. In fact, I've got an overview of my plan in a document labeled 'A Detailed and Well Laid-Out Plan.' And yes, that name is bad.

I don't own Naruto or RWBY. Or Dragon Ball. Or Hunter x Hunter. Or any anime. Or manga.

Chapter 8: The Training

A funny side effect of not getting to sleep until past two in the morning? When you have to wake up for classes the next day, you tend to be tired. Exhausted, even. And for Naruto, he could barely walk, because of all the strain he put on his legs when he fought Neo.

Troy wasn't even in the dorm, probably because of whatever it was that kept him from joining in on the fight. Diana, as always, was energetic, even after last night.

Melissa, on the other hand, was angry about being left behind. She spent a good hour ranting about how unfair it was, and how she could have helped. The thing was, they hadn't even told her what they had been doing. Naruto probably should have felt bad, but he was trying to get feeling back in his legs.

"Perhaps if you weren't so reckless, this wouldn't be an issue."

'Shut up. You're not helping."

"Well, it's not as though I can heal tiredness. What do you want me to do?"

Naruto ignored him, as it was time to go to Oobleck's class. As they were leaving, Troy showed up at the door, with his arm in a sling. He waved at them with his other hand, passing them to go and get dressed. Naruto, Diana, and Melissa began the trek halfway across the school, with Naruto using Melissa as a support.

"I should not have used so much speed last night," Naruto said flatly. Diana nodded in excited agreement.

Melissa tried to scold him, much like a mother, "Well, maybe you won't be so careless in the future. Honestly, what were you doing that caused you such… soreness?"

"I was fighting a tiny girl with an umbrella and the power to make illusions," Naruto said, looking right at Melissa, who stared back, blankly. She breathed in deeply, through her nose.

"You know, I don't honestly know what I was expecting. Maybe something, like… I don't know… A horde of Grimm? What happened, anyways?" she finally asked, looking from Diana to Naruto. Naruto raised an eyebrow at her.

"Wasn't it on the news? I could've sworn there was a point where he made a bunch of cars rain down on a freeway…" He said, looking at Diana for confirmation. She nodded again, now eating a doughnut. Melissa stared blankly again. She seemed lost.

"Well, between the giant mech, the White Fang, and Diana eating a bagel, it was a pretty crazy night," Naruto said vaguely, holding back a grin at Melissa's frustration. He forgot how much fun it was to mess with people. In the back of his mind, he wondered whether or not he should start his pranks again.

Melissa held back a growl. Naruto was intentionally keeping it from her, she could tell. He was having fun with this. "Ass," She muttered. Naruto chuckled.

"Fine. I'll tell you after Oobleck's class," he conceded, having arrived at the doctor's classroom. Melissa groaned. Having to sit through one of Oobleck's classes before she could hear these exciting events? A fate worse than death, by God.

Inside the classroom, it appeared as though none of the students visiting for the Vytal Festival had shown up, or that they simply weren't in the class. Ruby gave Naruto a cheery wave as they walked in, which he responded to with a grin, since his hands were being used for support.

They sat in their usual place, just behind Team RWBY. Ruby turned around to look at Naruto, looking a little worried. "What happened, Naruto? Why were you leaning on Melissa?" She asked, looking him over.

"Oh, nothing much. Just a side effect from last night. Went a bit too fast fighting the tiny girl, and my legs started to give out," He explained. Her brow furrowed.

"How come that's never happened to me?" It was a good question, at least it sounded to be to the others. Naruto got why, however. His speed wasn't the result of a Semblance, so his body wasn't meant to move so fast. Just like how Bushy-Brows couldn't move well after he had fought Gaara. Beyond, that is, the thousand breaks in his leg. The difference was, Naruto had used a lot more speed, for a lot longer.

"Well, you're probably just better with the whole 'speed' thing," Ruby beamed, and he could tell she was happy with his explanation. He got the feeling that she was probably rather proud of her Semblance, especially whenever he admitted she was faster than he was.

Blake was eyeing him strangely, like she was trying to figure something out. After a while, she frowned, turning forward. Yang winked at him in knowing, like she was reliving the fight last night. Weiss kept her eyes facing forward, ever the dutiful student. Soon, Oobleck zoomed in, beginning his lesson on the Great War with gusto.

After the lesson, Naruto tried walking on his own, feeling his legs could probably hold him by now. A moment after he let go of Melissa, his knees buckled, though he was caught by Troy before he fell far. Apparently, Troy's injury had been minor enough that his Aura had fixed it in only about twelve hours.

The fox was a little impressed by how fast the citizens of this new dimension could heal. And perhaps a little jealous, though he would never admit it. Today was one of the few days they had when they only had one class in the morning, and none for the rest of the day, meaning Naruto could, if he wanted, go back to his dorm and sleep it off.

But according to the fox, his legs would be back to normal before much longer. He looked over at Troy, "Hey, Troy. Take me up to the roof. I'm gonna spend a while up there." His teammate looked hesitant, but complied anyways, despite Melissa's protest.

"Naruto is injured! Also, he needs to tell me what happened last night, why he's as hurt as he says he is!" She complained, while Troy walked away. He called over his shoulder that he would tell her once he left Naruto on the roof.

Thanking Troy as he left, Naruto sat down at the edge of the roof, the same as he had done for several months now. The view he had had become engraved into his mind. He could see Beacon Tower, but off in the distance, he could see all of Vale. When it was dark out, the lights of the city twinkled beautifully. He could see the expanse of nature all around them, but knowing that those places were probably full of Grimm was somewhat dampening for the mood. He sat, meditating, working ever more on Sage Mode. He was close. He knew it. A few hours passed before the Kyūbi spoke.

"You seem to have a visitor. It's the cat girl."

Naruto opened his eyes, sensing the Faunus behind him. As she sat down next to him, Blake sighed copiously. She looked at him, with her expression being between a scowl and a frown, some anger in her voice, "Why are you so determined to help me? What have I done for you?"

"Blake, I will do whatever it takes to help a friend in need. Plus, you remind me of a friend I had one time. I don't want to see something like that happen to you, but it might end up that way if you keep going down this road of revenge," he explained. She tried to speak, to deny it was vengeance, or possibly to ask what had happened, but he hushed her. "It is revenge, Blake. You want revenge on the White Fang for all the pain it caused you.

I will never, ever, abandon a friend. Bear that in mind, Neko-chan," he finished with a wink, getting up and leaving the roof, as Blake turned from looking at his back to looking out over to Vale. Naruto sighed as he left the roof. He had told Blake the truth, just not all of it. Oh, well. Another time, perhaps. For today, he was starting to think rest was a good idea.

Unfortunately, the day went by too quickly for Naruto's tastes. Soon, he had arrived back to his dorm, just in time for Melissa to hear the end of Troy's tale of yesterday. She turned to him as soon as the door opened; bombarding him with questions, demanding to hear what happened after Troy was knocked out. He told her his part of the story, omitting the conversations with the fox, obviously. He also left out his Rasengan.

He couldn't tell her what happened with the mech, which was the thing she was interested in, mainly. Apparently, Diana had been so invested in that bagel of hers that she hadn't even noticed there was a fight going on once she sat down.

Avoiding the rest of her questions, Naruto took off his jacket and haori, climbing into bed. As he sat in the strange bed, he thought to himself, before drifting off to sleep, 'I need new pajamas.'

When he woke, he opened his eyes slowly. It was dark, but thanks to his new Faunus traits, he had no trouble seeing the room clearly, even without infusing chakra into his eyes. The clock over on the desk said it was after midnight, meaning he had slept for roughly twelve hours. He must have been more tired than he thought.

Seeing he wasn't falling asleep anytime soon, he got up, putting his clothes back on, and leaving the dorm. He wanted to see Vale.

The roof, as one might expect, was locked off at this time of night, but that didn't mean Naruto couldn't get up there. Instead of climbing up, and risking someone seeing him, he sent a small portion of chakra to his legs, and jumped, soaring high up, right to the roof.

He sat down, gazing out over the edge, being able to see all of the lights in the distance with no trouble. Even Beacon Tower was lit up tonight. In general, it was a peaceful environment. He began to meditate just a little. Not trying to practice Sage Mode, just sitting, breathing, and thinking to himself.

So much had happened since he came here. He had gone back to school, he had made several new friends, and he had learned that mankind could work together. It just took a little cooperation. If he ever got back to his own world, he wanted to bring peace to them, to end the wars they had all waged so many times.

He sighed to himself, thinking back on what he had told Blake about. He hadn't actually thought about it, but now he would never have the chance to fulfill his promise to Sakura. And that irked him greatly.

Oh, man… They were probably really worried about him back home, if it was still standing. After all, he hadn't shown up in several months, after disappearing through a pool of water meant for toads. Yeah, maybe that hadn't been the best idea. Now he thought about it, hadn't Geezer Sage warned him?

Yeah, maybe he should have seen this coming. Probably.

Ah, another wonderful Saturday. A bright, beautiful Saturday, as well. Several of the teams Beacon played host to were abuzz with excitement, planning to travel to Vale. Among these many teams, with the exception of one member, was Team MDNT. Troy, Diana, and Melissa were going to be spending the day in the city, just enjoying the lovely weather as they walked around, perhaps shopping, perhaps battling a giant Grimm as it attacked the city. Who knew?

Naruto, however, had other plans. He, like Melissa, decided that the Emerald Forest had a few too many Grimm. He had plans to spend the entire morning traveling around, training against the monsters. But also, the Emerald Forest was a very natural place, full of energy. It would be much easier gather Natural Energy in it, as opposed to the roof of Beacon.

And so, he left his dorm at around six, six thirty. He was awake before even Diana, and out of the room by the time she was stirring. He only brought his clothes and chokutō, deciding he needed to practice more with the still unfamiliar weapon. Up to now, he had been trying to use it as he used a kunai, and he could tell that wasn't a good way to wield it.

But besides that, he was unnerved by how much difficulty he had had with the tiny girl, Neo. He felt sure he probably could've beaten her, given time, but that wasn't good enough. He hadn't even managed to beat her before she had fled with Torchwick, and yet he wasn't able to walk on his own the next morning.

All of these thoughts were rumbling around Naruto's head as he walked down the hallways, making his way through the school to Beacon Cliff. He was a little surprised that anyone else was up, but he did see a few students walking around. They looked to be from Haven.

Fond memories of initiation aside, the Emerald Forest was a beautiful sight in the early morning. The trees seemed to sparkle in the mid-morning sun, and the various bits of the temple seemed as though they were built into the forest, as it flowed so smoothly over and around them. The expanse of woods reminded him a little of the forest around the Leaf, or maybe even the Forest of Death.

He shuddered, remembering the sensation of being eaten by a snake. Ignoring it, he sat down, meditating once more, gathering the nature energy into himself. It really was easier here, where nature still reigned, rather than the city, or even Beacon, where mankind had taken the wilds.

Soon, very soon, he felt his body change just a little, and he stopped gathering energy. He stood, stretching slightly, and looking himself over. His hands had become webbed, and he felt a few warts on his face, but other than that, he seemed to be normal. It wasn't as well done as on Mount Myōboku, but it was a good first try in this new world.

Getting himself ready, he backed away from the cliff, before he began to sprint for it at high speed, leaping off of it into the open air above the Grimm-filled woods. Not having to worry about landing well, he filled his entire body with chakra, fortifying his bones for the landing. He landed on his left hand, twisting off of it and springing to his feet.

"I just need to see…" He muttered to himself, as he made a few clones for the first time in months.

Hours later, Naruto was still working on getting the ratio of chakra and natural energy correct. He was getting closer, but it would be much more difficult outside of the woods, in somewhere like the city. Right now, however, he was in his base form, trying to perfect something.

"Come… on…" he growled. He turned to a tree. "RASENGAN!"

The orb exploded before he could hit the tree with it. It was still easy enough to do with a clone, thank Kami, but he wanted to be able to use it one-handed, the way Ero-Sennin had. It just wasn't working. He had no idea what it was he was doing wrong, but for some reason the chakra destabilized whenever he would try to attack with it.

"I need to stay focused," he muttered to himself. Perhaps that was it; he was losing control of the chakra because he stopped focusing on it. But no, that didn't work either. He had created a small clearing from the amount of explosions he had caused, and he was starting to run out of chakra. It was like that time he had spent an entire day climbing a tree.

Deciding he needed a short respite, Naruto went off to find another Grimm to cut in half. Maybe an Ursa. Yeah…

The Grimm weren't hard to find, since all Naruto had to do was be really loud as he traveled through the woods, something he tended to be anyways. Soon, he was attacked, not by an Ursa as he had hoped, but by a King Taijitu. The serpentine Grimm slithered around him in the middle of a clearing, one head seeming to approach from one side while the other head seemed to come up from the other side.

Naruto waited, just another second… and jumped, right over the lunging white head of the snake. He came down with his blade pointed downwards, driving it into the white half of the snake. Unfortunately, he appeared to just annoy the large Grimm.

He jumped off, pulling his blade out of the snake as he twisted it, causing more damage, hopefully.

He groaned mentally. 'Hey, Kyūbi? These things don't have an Aura, right?"

"No, they don't. But at the same time, you're low on chakra."

'Nah, I've got enough.'

Naruto ran for the black head, extending his right hand out to his side while his left held his pistol. He began the sphere, holding it at a small size for stability. Just before he impacted the serpentine, he flooded it with chakra, causing it to explode in his hand, sending him flying and obliterating the Grimm's black head.

Though it worked, the side effect was that his arm felt like it was on fire. He sheathed his sword, and clutched his arm in pain. Then the white head reared up, as he rolled his eyes.

"Oh, for fu-"

He was drowned out by a colossal roar from the King Taijitu, presumably from the pain of its other head having just exploded. It slunk towards him, dragging the remains of the other head behind it as they bounced on the ground in a hilarious fashion. It lunged at him, soaring through the air, chomping its mouth around him in a single bite.

Only for a familiar chokutō to cut a hole through its head. Naruto climbed through it, victorious in a most brutal fashion.

"I'm not sure whether to be impressed or not."

'I'm going with impressed.'

Naruto walked away from the scene of rapidly-decaying carnage he had created, looking for another tree to meditate in. He found a nice tall one, and climbed to the top, sitting down to gather energy.

'Hey, Kyūbi? Know any better ways to train? This isn't much work.'

"You could undo the seal, and we could battle."

'Very funny.'

"We could."

Choosing to ignore the fox, and focus on the energy he was gathering, Naruto stopped the moment he felt a change. He stood in the tree, feeling the world around him without having to focus. He felt a rush of energy, of power, and of chakra. He knew: he had entered his Sage Mode.

He looked himself over, pleased that he didn't find any toad features. He closed his eyes, now horizontal yellow slits, orange pigmentation over them, and breathed in deeply. He faced towards Beacon Cliff, roughly three miles away. He exhaled, and the tree toppled over from the force of his jump off of it.

He could almost feel the skin on his face peeling off as he went, jumping from tree to tree at incredible speeds, reaching Beacon Cliff in a matter of seconds. Off-handedly, he wondered if Ruby was still faster when he was in Sage Mode. He suspected not.

A minute later, he felt his Sage Mode leave him, as he had spent a while marveling at the fact that he had accessed it so well. But then a thought came to him. Geezer-Sage had said that he still had about a week of training ahead of him. He wondered what that could be. Probably finishing up Frog Kata. But beyond that, Naruto would need practice in a less natural area. The forest was probably the easiest place to enter it, followed by Beacon, and then Vale. If he managed to enter Sage Mode perfectly in the city… the thought was wonderful, especially since he knew what to look forward to.

He climbed back up Beacon Cliff, pausing only for a moment to look out over the forest. A sad smile came to his face, as he thought of Konoha. He reached the top of the cliff, only to find someone waiting for him.

Ozpin stood casually, sipping his coffee, as he looked over Naruto. The boy had nicks and cuts all over, the results of his 'training' in the woods this morning. "Well, you seem to have been having a productive morning," he said, nodding towards the part of the forest Naruto had torn to pieces.

Naruto stood, petrified, but also wondering what the headmaster was going to do. In the back of his mind, he wondered why he was here. But he said nothing, for nothing came to mind for him to say.

Ozpin continued, "Would you mind explaining to me what exactly you were doing, so early in the morning on a fine day like this?"

"I was training in the woods. I had a few things I wanted to practice," Naruto said, gesturing to his sheathed sword. "I thought students were allowed to use the Emerald Forest for that."

Ozpin took a sip from his mug, and closed his eyes, breathing in through his nose, "Oh, indeed. Students are allowed usage of the forest. I was merely asking why you had decided to 'practice a few things' so early in the morning. Forgive me if I am mistaken, but most students would want to sleep on a Saturday morning."

Naruto nodded, still keeping his eyes on the professor, "I felt that I needed to improve after what happened a few days ago."

The headmaster raised an eyebrow, "Oh? And what did happen? You wouldn't be referring to the unfortunate incident with the Atlesian Paladin, would you?"

"Yeah, that's what I was talking about… Why? I thought people had heard about that."

"Oh, indeed they have," he took another sip. "But not of who was involved in such illegal activities. I'm afraid I must ask you, in the future, not to engage in combat of that nature in the middle of a city.

However, that is not what I wish to talk to you about. I respect my student's privacy, barring when it may cause harm to the school or its students. Now then, would you kindly explain why you don't have any records, any history, at all?"

Naruto sighed, looking down, "Well, I suppose it had to happen eventually…" He looked up at the headmaster. "As I told you before, my village was very secretive. But, I didn't tell you everything. My village is a very far ways away, not even on this continent. We didn't even know about the Kingdoms' existence."

Ozpin hummed a little, "That would make sense, but for another question I have for you," he looked over the tired boy, with scarring on his hand from… something. It spiraled outwards, in a very peculiar way. "However, I do not wish to rob you of all of your secrets. Should you ever wish to tell me of your actual history, you have but to come to me."

The headmaster turned in his heel, beginning to walk away. He hoped the boy wouldn't call his bluff, and even more that he wasn't wrong. He truly had no idea if the boy was telling the truth about his village or not. And there was still his lack of Aura, even though he clearly had a Semblance. Mysteries for another day.

Something about meeting with Ozpin had rattled Naruto. He wasn't sure if it was his tone, his reasons, or his questions, but the old man bothered Naruto somehow. It was like talking to a mixture of Kakashi-sensei and Ji-chan. He also acted like he didn't believe Naruto, and to be fair he might not have, but he mentioned other questions he had for the blond.

Either way, Naruto decided he was probably done for the day. Between the horrible blister he had acquired from the explosion of the Rasengan and how much chakra he had used that day, he felt knackered. Or at least, not as though he would want to get into a fight for a day or so. Luckily, he didn't have any plans to go and battle a giant robot or anything, so he was all good.

A part of him regretted not going to Vale with his team, since it was probably a nice place to be today, but he felt that it was well worth it. Starting to master Sage Mode was probably a more productive use of time than watching his teammates buy dust. After all, it was always the same: Troy grabbed fire dust, Melissa grabbed ice, and Diana didn't get any.

It felt weird to Naruto to think that he had entered Sage Mode. While he had certainly done it months ago, in his own world, that was months ago, in his own world. He essentially re-taught himself how to access the chakra of all of nature.

All he needed to perfect now was his Rasengan. He might have been able to use it on his own in Sage Mode, if he used both hands, but that still wasn't good enough for him. Even Kakashi-sensei could do it better than he could. He never got quite what it was he was doing wrong, but for whatever reason, he could do it perfectly if he had a clone to help him. He, for some reason, couldn't sustain the rotation and the chakra at the same time, until the Rasengan was fully formed. Then it was no issue. It made no sense, as seemed to be the case whenever chakra was involved.

Melissa groaned. This was starting to become a nuisance. They had visited several Dust stores that day, only to find they had increased their prices immensely, due to all of Torchwick's robberies lately.

The first store had been a little on the small side anyways, with a few patches in the ceiling and walls that needed upkeep desperately. It seemed a little foolish to allow the highly explosive Dust to be sold in a building that looked like it would collapse at any moment.

The second and third had both been incredibly generic storefronts, the little Dust they had in display cases in the front of the store, with almost nothing else being sold.

The fourth store had been little more than a shack, with a single case of dust. They didn't even try to go in that one. It seemed like a front for some kind of… well, they weren't actually sure, but it was incredibly suspicious.

The fifth one had so much Dust on sale that they were almost sure it was illegally acquired. Like, through smuggling, or other means. Possibly robbing other Dust stores. Either way, they weren't sure they wanted to buy any, especially since it costed as much as the other stores' Dust anyways.

"Guys, maybe we should just give up on Dust for now. I don't think we'll find any good prices in all of Vale," she said to her teammates. Troy nodded solemnly, while Diana didn't really care about the Dust, since she didn't use any.

The members of Team MDNT were left, once more, to wander the streets in search of recreation. After a few hours of failing to find anything interesting, they made one final stop in a clothing store. Soon afterwards, they returned to Beacon, with naught to show for their day in Vale.

Saturday, though Naruto felt it was spent well, was very boring and quick. Sunday came soon enough, a day on which even less happened. All he did all day was walk around the school, eat lunch, and sleep.

The week passed by with its usual monotony, the daily routine sinking back in after the excitement of last week. Naruto was, however, a little worried about Blake. She was starting to look a little sickly, and she had been avoiding him for some reason. Then came Wednesday, which had scheduled for them three different classes. First was history. The second was Grimm Studies. The third was combat.

The more Naruto sat through learning the history of this world, the more he realized how strange it was. They had, by his count, two large-scale wars in the last century. But in a world where negative emotions brought more death, why would you ever want to fight one another? The answer, as he had learned, was over the different rights of different groups of people.

Of course, Grimm Studies still meant they would listen to Port's tall tales for an entire class, but at least it gave Naruto some time to think. He could spend the class thinking up new ways to try his Rasengan, to get it under control and use it one-handed. He could also fantasize about different ways he could use the Rasengan, like the one idea he had where he would make an Ōdama Rasengan, and then a few smaller Rasengans around it. Oh, if only.

Combat class, however, was a different story. Almost every student looked forward to it, since it was the only practical class they actually had. Today had a particularly excited atmosphere, since for some reason Pyrrha was going to fight an entire team. It may have only been Team CRDL, but it was still four on one.

Naruto wasn't worried, though. And no one else amongst Teams RWBY, JNPR, and MDNT was worried either. Pyrrha had demonstrated incredible prowess in battle in every one of her fights, even when she had fought Naruto. At least, he thought she had done pretty well.

To start, Pyrrha had the four members of Team CRDL on each side of her. The match began, and Pyrrha rushed Cardin, who met her blows with his mace, but only barely in time. The arm he held the mace in was sent flying backwards as well, setting him off balance, and leaving her with a chance to strike. Before she could, Dove Bronzewing attacked from behind, forcing her to block his strikes. Sky Lark came from behind her, meaning she was fighting a battle on two fronts. She blocked swing after swing of their weapons, even getting several of her own in. Dove backed off briefly, with Russel Thrush taking his place in attacking.

Pyrrha swung at Russel, knocking him off his feet, and turned her attention to Sky, doing a very brief duel with him. She knocked him away, and began to rush at Cardin, switching her sword to its lance form. She swung left. Blocked. Upwards. A small amount of the attack got through. She tried stabbing, getting blocked again. With her lance held next to her face, she fired off a round from the barrel, located while it was in lance form at the end of the shaft. At the same time, she dashed forward, the end result being her slashing across Cardin, sending him down on one knee.

As he turned to face her, she leapt into the air above him, stabbing down with her sword, shifting to her lance as she fired it once again, launching into Dove's sword. It bounced off, just behind her as she swept his legs out from under him, sending him onto his back. Quickly using her rifle, she fired a shot into Sky, only for him to block it with his staff. As the gun recoiled, she switched back to her sword. She held her shield up, both arms holding it against the swing of the halberd Sky used. Throwing his weapon a little, Pyrrha swung her sword around, transforming it into a lance as she went, swiping downwards, mostly blocked by the halberd.

As she swung her lance back around to attack again, she fired a bullet from its end at Sky, with him blocking it again. From the recoil, her lance begun to spin around much faster, striking at least twice, with him barely able to block each time. She caught her lance, and pulled it back. She swung upwards, converting it to sword form. As she swung around, she changed it to rifle form yet again, firing a round. The recoil carried the gun back a little. She turned it into its sword form, backhanding it as she swiped across him horizontally.

While she swung back around, she shifted it into a lance, holding it angled upwards slightly. She began to stab, firing the rifle once more as she did. The attack made it through his defense, but was blunted to just force from his Aura, sending him flying backwards.

Cardin watched as his teammate flew past him, turning back to Pyrrha just in time to see her swinging at him with her sword, firing another round as she went. His mace blocked the bullet, but was forced backwards by the accompanying sword strike. They recovered in sync, her swinging forwards from the right to the left while he blocked the attack. He swung from left to right, being blocked by her shield. He brought his mace over his head, slamming it down into the ground, making a small explosion.

She cartwheeled out of the way, as he spun around to allow the momentum of his attack to build. She blocked it once again, but was sent skidding several feet from its force. As Pyrrha stopped sliding, she turned to see Sky coming up from behind to attack. He swung over his head, down into the ground. She jumped over his attack, parallel with the ground. As she went, she turned to her left, seeing Cardin ready to attack once again.

She blocked his attack with her shield, which sent her back down onto the ground. She used her momentum to spin on the ground, knocking over Sky with her legs. She tried to knock Cardin over as well, but he contorted his body in a strange way, avoiding the attack. He punched downwards, but she rolled back, avoiding it and landing on her feet. She ran at Cardin, jumping up and rolling over his back, throwing her shield into his face as she went. She let it pass her as it bounced off, smacking into Sky's head, bouncing upwards. She backflipped through the air, landing feet first on Sky's back, knocking him out.

Dove and Russel charged her together, as she rushed forwards to meet them, slamming her shield into Russel's abdomen, sending him backwards. Landing once again on the ground, Pyrrha swung around to meet Dove's blow, spinning afterwards for a follow-up. He blocked, and she swung upwards, only to be blocked once more. She spun again, kicking him away as she did. Cardin sprinted forwards, jumping through the air and coming down with a huge crash, smashing his mace into the ground. She jumped backwards to avoid being squished.

Moving backwards still, Pyrrha flipped back, shifting to her rifle, firing off a few rounds. Russel came down in front of Cardin, blocking the bullets with his daggers. Dove rushed off to the side, while Russel came straight for her. He spun through the air, landing his feet against her shield as she changed her rifle back to a sword, swiping down with a dagger as he recovered. Both Dove and Russel began to attack her in sync, forcing her to block several blows as they attacked her rather acrobatically. They moved behind her, as Cardin approached in front, swinging his mace horizontally. She dove under it, rolling into an upright position, rifle in hand.

She fired at Cardin, who spun his mace in a circle to block each of them. He moved in, but she jumped up and kneed him in the face, sending him stumbling backwards. He swung wildly, which she blocked with her shield. She swung from the right, while he blocked with his mace yet again. He swung high, and she allowed it to graze over her shield, kicking him in the stomach. He stumbled backwards, recovering by swinging his mace over his head again. She deflected the attack with her shield, swinging once more. He blocked it, and she brought her sword back, only to meet his mace once more.

She attacked again from the right, though this time, his blocking turned him too far, allowing her to jab his back. He fell away, turning to face her once again with a swing. She ducked under it, raising her sword to block his follow-up. Their weapons clanged off each other, and each brought their own back around, blocking each other with an attack. Pyrrha spun, holding her sword behind her head to block, as she swung at Cardin, who had once again turned himself too far with his efforts. She struck his shoulder, then his arm, then his back.

He moved away, disoriented, as Russel came back to attack her. She dodged his daggers as he stabbed again and again with them. Transforming her sword as it swung around her neck, Pyrrha grabbed the shaft once more, holding it over her shoulders. She dodged to the side, avoiding a dagger he had thrown, before launching her shield into his head. She swung wide with her lance, knocking Russel out.

Dove came up to attack, as she brought her spear back around to rest on her shoulders, tip facing him. She fired it again, letting it glide into him, as he brought up his sword to block. She pulled it back again, letting another shot stab it forward once again, only for him to once again deflect it with his blade. Her shield came back down, and she caught it on her left arm. She charged forwards, shield in one hand and sword in another, as Dove fired several bullets from his blade. She blocked each of them with her shield, rolling up next to him.

As she came out of the roll, she swung upwards, though he dodged. Next, she swung from left to right, but he jumped over it, as she had done earlier. As he recovered, he seemed to get dizzy, while Cardin brought his mace up, slamming it into Dove along the way. He brought it down, creating a trail of explosions all the way to Pyrrha, who leapt over and out of the way. She moved forwards, swinging down, then right, then left, before dashing his other side and sending him into the air with an upwards slash with her lance. She jumped up, swiping with her sword multiple times, eventually sending him back several feet.

Still in the air, Pyrrha moved her shield to her feet, springing off of it to maneuver herself around Cardin, while having her lance around his neck, bringing him down with her in a series of flips that ended with him being slammed into the ground, then her kicking him back up as she leapt away. He landed, defeated, as Pyrrha's shield came back down smoothly onto her arm. She stood ready for him to attack again, but he clutched his stomach and stayed where he was.

The lights in the arena came back on, as Professor Goodwitch walked forwards, "And that's the match."

Cardin groaned, "Lucky shot…" before he collapsed on the ground.

"Well done, Ms. Nikos. You should have no problem qualifying for the tournament," Goodwitch said, looking up from Cardin to Pyrrha as she did.

Pyrrha bowed her head slightly with gratitude, "Thank you, Professor."

Professor Goodwitch turned her attention to the students above, "Alright, now I know that's a tough act to follow, but we have time for one more sparring match. Any volunteers?" She glanced among the students above, looking back and forth. Her eyes landed on Blake, who was looking once more at the book she had been so fixated on recently. "Ms. Belladonna?" Blake slammed her book shut, staring down at the teacher with wide eyes, taken off-guard. You've been rather docile for the past few classes. Why don't you-"

Naruto, wanting to help, raised his hand to take Goodwitch's attention off of the Faunus. At the same time, a guy in gray raised his hand, calling down, "I'll do it."

"Ah, Mr. Uzumaki and… Mercury, yes? Very well, you two may spar," Glynda allowed. Naruto gave Blake a small wink, but didn't stay long enough to catch her reaction. Soon, Naruto was stood across from Mercury, who seemed slightly upset by something. Naruto mentally shrugged it off, thinking nothing of it.

"You may begin."

Mercury took off at Naruto, being too aggressive for his own good. He kicked at Naruto several times, even trying to swipe sideways at his head once. Naruto weaved through the entire barrage, grinning the entire time. A pause came, and Naruto drew his chokutō, ready to attack. Mercury smirked, moving back in for another series of kicks. Only this time did Naruto notice he had ballistics attached to his feet, which he could somehow fire at his discretion.

Naruto grabbed his left leg as he kicked, pulling him over his head. He landed on his hands, using them to spin for a moment as he shot a few more times, before springing off of them, back onto his feet. Naruto deflected the shots, but almost missed a few of them, due to how quickly they came.

He transformed his chokutō into a pistol as he ran for his opponent, with the hilt bending halfway, the blade flipping over close to the hilt, sliding back slightly and separating down the middle to allow for the barrel to be revealed. Where the hilt bent, the trigger came out. He leapt over his opponent, firing three shots at different intervals, trying to find Mercury's least guarded spots.

He landed, jumping backwards as he shifted his blade back, swiping across Mercury as he went. His opponent ducked under the blade, kicking upwards rather viciously. Naruto grabbed at his leg, using Mercury's momentum to send himself into the air. While he was airborne, he pulled two kunai from his pouch with his left hand, throwing them downwards towards the unsuspecting boy. He kicked them away, dodging backwards just enough to land in front of Naruto when he stabbed downwards.

As he was ready to attack again, the bell signaling the end of class rang out, stopping them both short. Mercury stood up, and began walking away, as Naruto studied him. He fought well, but he had only used kicks the entire time.

Professor Goodwitch, as the students left, reminded them of both the dance over the weekend, and of the missions on Monday. Naruto hadn't heard anything about a dance over the weekend, but he felt excited nonetheless. The only time he had ever been to a dance was one time with Ero-Sennin, where they had served excellent ramen. Not as good as Ichiraku, but better than instant ramen.

And of course, he was no stranger to missions, so he looked forward to that. It meant he could finally get some money to pay Bangs and Bombs, and still have some extra.

For a sinister team of evil-doers, Cinder and her subordinates weren't great at keeping conversations hushed. Knowing this was a school dorm, and therefore likely had audio and video recording hardware, they regularly discussed their future evil plans and information freely, without any worry whatsoever.

"I tried to fight Nikos, but thanks to the blond idiot raising his hand up, I got stuck with him," Mercury complained. Cinder turned to him.

"Oh? Which 'blond idiot' do you mean?" she asked.

"That Faunus, the one from the docks. I don't get why you're so obsessed with him. He wasn't that good," Emerald said, looking at the ceiling. Cinder smirked.

"And yet, he managed to take down an entire group of the White Fang with only his bare hands. Don't sell him short. What did you find out about him?"

Mercury spoke up again, "I got the feeling he tries to surprise his enemies when he fights. When I kicked at him, he used my own attack to fly into the air. Even after that, he pulled two other weapons, small knives, out from a pouch he wore."

"So, someone who 'fights dirty,' hm?" Cinder supposed. "I think that I'm beginning to like this boy already."

Though he probably could've gotten away with not doing it for a few years at least, Naruto felt like he needed to practice his chakra control once again. He had only used it a few times in this new world, most notably when Yang had almost caught him, and when he had followed Blake.

And so it was that Naruto decided to perch himself on top of Beacon Cliff, then slowly walk down, before turning around and going back up, repeating the process for over an hour. He was glad that chakra control was still second-nature to him. That wasn't something he wanted to have to re-learn.

"You know, there are much more advanced methods of training yourself in chakra control. One such method is your Rasengan that you enjoy so much. However, another, one that you may be able to pull off, is the waterfall climbing exercise."

'Does that mean exactly what it sounds like?'

"Yes. You would be climbing a waterfall."

'I'll have to try that sometime.'

Finishing his last climb to the top, Naruto turned, to look out over the forest. No matter how many times he looked at it, he was always reminded of home. Except for the monsters inside of it that would tear his flesh from his bones, and devour him entirely.

Friday, because of all the planning needed for both the dance and the missions on Monday, had several teams without classes. It was no exception for Teams RWBY and MDNT, who had a plan for the entirety of the day. Since Yang and Weiss would have to be finishing their planning, Ruby and Blake were coming with Team MDNT into Vale, to visit somewhere Ruby had wanted to go to since they had told her about it. Well, Blake would've gone, but she was 'busy.' Naruto had frowned when he heard that, since there wasn't anything she really could have been busy doing.

Now, however, Naruto was merrily talking to the young, peppy leader of Team RWBY, "Oh, you'll love it, Ruby. It's incredibly fun, and they've got great pizza as well."

"Ooh, I can't wait! I've never even been bowling before!" Ruby was very clearly using all of whatever willpower she had to keep from running off, all the way to the bowling lanes without them. Since it had been a few months since Team MDNT had come by, they had wanted to visit once again, since they had had a blast the first time round.

"Indeed, the pizza was wonderful. The bowling was also a good experience," Troy declared, matter-of-factly. Melissa glared back at Naruto.

"This time, I'm gonna win! You better watch out, Naruto, cause I'm about to show you how to bowl properly," she challenged. He held back a snicker.

"Didn't I get a perfect score last time?" she blushed slightly, and turned away with a huff. Ruby laughed.

Diana, following them by way of cartwheel, began to describe how good the pizza was in great detail, for some reason, "Oh, the cheese, so well cooked and prepared, spread out very evenly. Oh, it tasted so good, like a really well cooked bun. And the sauce-"

They arrived at Blazing Lanes shortly, which seemed to have seen a lot more business since they had come here last. It now had a well-polished sign out front, with the name of the place and the emblem of a bowling ball on fire streaking down a lane. The building itself looked much better kept as well, now having gleaming windows.

When they walked in, they could tell the inside was redone entirely. Except for the lanes themselves, everything was in a different position, from the restaurant area to the arcade. Ruby looked around with excitement, ready to bowl. They walked up to pay for a few hours of bowling, getting placed in the lane at the far end of the building.

Before they were able to actually bowl, Ruby insisted they get this wonderful pizza she had heard so much about. Naruto smiled as she tore into it, like her teeth had their own speed Semblance. They bought her her own pizza, with how fast she ate the first one.

"You guys were right!" she squealed. "This is the best pizza I have ever eaten!" She was getting more and more excited. Naruto, who had seen this happen before, tried to snap her out of it, by actually snapping in front of her face. Thankfully, she didn't pass out on them, and was able to actually bowl, rather than sleep through the entire time they had paid for.

Hours later, Naruto found himself subject to a slightly resentful glare from Melissa. "What?" he asked.

"I hate you, you know that?" she shot at him, lacking any real anger. He chuckled.

"You're just jealous cause I won again."

"Hmph."

Ruby looked back and forth between the two of them, "Wait, what?"

On Saturday, as with Friday, there were few classes. Of course, that was simply because it was a weekend. And so, Team RWBY was spending their day putting the finishing touches on the plans for the dance in the ballroom. Or at least, Yang and Weiss were. Blake was nowhere to be found, and Ruby had her chin resting on the table. Naruto sat next to her, since his teammates had once more decided to spend the day doing various activities on their own.

He, however, had nothing else to do, besides perhaps train. But he felt like spending some time trying to cheer up Ruby. She had been upset about Blake's attitude towards the dance.

"Um… Is it a sword that changes into a minigun?" Naruto asked as his twentieth question.

"Nope!" Ruby said, shaking her head. "It was a staff that turns into a cannon. I win!"

"Heh, heh. Yeah, you do," Naruto admitted. "Alright, let me think…"

As he sat back, looking up in thought, Weiss slammed down two cloth sheets onto the table, asking which looked better. Ruby stared at her, saying she thought they looked the same. Weiss stormed off.

"Alright, I got it!" Naruto exclaimed. As he did, a huge boom sounded behind him, making him jump. Yang had set down a massive speaker casually, apparently not caring how much noise it made when she did.

"So, have you picked out a dress yet?" Yang asked her little sister. Ruby looked up at her, a little upset.

"What's the point? Who cares about the-" Naruto cut across her.

"Don't you say you don't care about the dance. You're going, right along with Blake. So, go now and pick out a dress for tomorrow," he commanded. Yang raised an eyebrow.

"Wow, Whiskers. I didn't know you could act so seriously about anything. Besides maybe ramen," she joked. "But yeah, Ruby, don't worry about Blake. She'll be there." She looked over at her dance-planning partner. "Weiss! I thought we agreed: No doilies!"

Weiss pointed at the blonde accusingly, "If I don't get doilies, you don't get fog machines!"

As Yang was about to retort, the door closest to them opened, allowing through a certain monkey-tailed boy, and one with blue hair. "Your dance is gonna have fog machines?" Neptune asked, walking up to them.

For some reason Naruto didn't get, Weiss stood next to Neptune, smiling sweetly, "We were thinking about it."

Neptune nodded his head, "That's pretty cool…"

Sun ignored their conversation, "So, you ladies all excited for dress-up?" Naruto, with his head on its side on the table, turned to face his fellow Faunus.

"Yeah, definitely. Just wait 'til tomorrow," Naruto said, half-sarcastic. To be fair, Naruto could come to the dance as anything he wanted, including a girl. Might be a good prank, but he'd have to find some way afterwards to explain it. So, no. Scratch that idea.

Sun rolled his eyes, "Yeah, yeah. Shut it, Naruto." Weiss looked to Sun and Neptune, asking what they were planning on wearing. Sun pointed to himself, "Uh, this?"

Neptune shook his head, stepping forwards, and raised his hand, "Ignore him, for he knows not what he says."

"Hey, I may have moved to Mistral, but I grew up in Vacuo. It's not exactly a shirt-and-tie kind of place."

Yang deadpanned, "Yeah, we noticed."

Sun began to rub the back of his head nervously, asking what he considered an awkward question, "So... what does Blake think of all this? She still being all, ya know... Blake-y?"

"Obviously," Weiss muttered, crossing her arms in disapproval.

"I still can't think of a way to change her mind," Ruby said sadly, laying her head down.

Yang beat Naruto to responding this time, "Guys, trust me. Blake will be at the dance tomorrow." She began to walk out, leaving them wondering. Naruto watched her back for a moment before getting up to follow her. She left through the door Sun and Neptune had come through, while he was just behind her.

"Yang," Naruto called out, getting her attention. She turned around. "I need to ask a favor."

"What is it?" she questioned, intrigued.

"Leave Blake to me. Don't worry yourself over it," he requested. She frowned.

"But… Why?"

"I- She reminds me of someone I knew, a long time ago," he answered. "I'd rather she not end up like he did, so I want to help her out of this funk she's been in."

"Someone you knew? What happened to him?" Yang asked. Naruto sighed, looking down.

"I'd… rather not. I wasn't able to help him, and now I'll never be able to."

"Oh. Um- yeah, sure. She's all yours, Whiskers," Yang allowed, a little unsure, a little hopeful.

He smiled in gratitude, "Thanks, Yang."

As he expected, Naruto was able to find Blake, once again, in the library. He had no idea what she was doing here, but it appeared that she was using one of the many computers for some kind of research. He looked down at his hand as he walked in, shaking his head at Yang's idea.

When he got closer, he put the laser pointer away, clearing his throat to himself and preparing to speak to the troubled Faunus. With a deep breath, he tentatively approached the girl, keeping his presence unknown to her. Contrary to what they all thought, Naruto could actually be rather sneaky when he wanted to be.

Just behind her now, Naruto placed his left hand on her right shoulder. She nearly jumped out of her skin at the sudden presence, then turned and glared daggers up at him. He smiled in response, "Got a minute? I want to tell you something."

She growled, and turned back to her screen, "Go away, Naruto. I'm busy."

"Well, now. We both know that's a lie." She glared up at him again. "Blake, I just need a few minutes, no more than ten."

She groaned, "Fine. Let's go, then."

Naruto grinned, and followed Blake out of the library, up onto the same roof they used to always hang out on. Once there, she turned and looked at him expectantly. He, however, being dramatic, walked past her and stared out towards Vale.

"Blake, what I'm about to tell you… Never repeat it, to anyone. I don't want the others to hear this particular story."

"What do you mean? Why did you even want to talk?" she asked, anger clear in her tone. He turned to face her.

"I need your word, Blake," he asked of her. She didn't lighten up her glare at all, but she nodded anyways. "Thank you." He looked out to Vale again, beginning his tale. "Several years ago, I had a friend. He was talented, he was smart, and he was like a brother to me.

But he also had a dark past. He was a part of the legendary Uchiha Clan, a family from our village. They were both feared and respected across the entire land for their Sharingan, a kind of hereditary Semblance in their eyes that let them mimic everything another person did just by seeing it, or place people under illusions with a single look.

Power like that breeds corruption, though. To get even more powerful, to achieve a higher state of the Sharingan, my friend's brother, Itachi Uchiha, slaughtered the entire clan."

Blake's mouth fell open at this point, out of sheer disbelief. How could a man possibly stomach killing his entire family, just for power? But then she thought back to some of the people she had met, in her time under the White Fang, and she realized that it wasn't too outlandish.

"He only left Sasuke, my friend, alive, telling him to 'acquire the same eyes' as Itachi had. This higher form of the Sharingan was called the Mangekyou Sharingan, and was perhaps one of the most devastating abilities anyone could have. By looking into it, you could be put under an illusion so powerful, that it makes your brain think you're actually being tortured for days and weeks on end."

Hearing this, Blake wondered how anyone could possibly have stopped someone with it. If anyone of this clan could have these eyes, then how could they ever be defeated?

"Itachi left the village, telling Sasuke to nurture his hatred, to find and kill him one day in hatred and revenge. He also told him how to obtain the Mangekyou. It was a secret known only to a few in the clan. To awaken the Mangekyou, you had to kill someone precious to you."

No wonder not everyone had it. How could an entire clan be able to survive if they killed their friends just for power?

"One day, Sasuke met Itachi again. He tried to battle him, to kill him, but Itachi was far too strong for him. Sasuke was left defeated, thinking he needed more power. He became consumed by his hatred, by his greed, by his desire to kill Itachi. He left the village, seeking power from someone who had betrayed the village long ago.

I was on a team sent to stop Sasuke. I fought him for so long, only to be beaten in the end, unable to save my friend from his lust for revenge and power. What I'm trying to say, Blake, is that I don't want to see that happen again. But with how much you hate the White Fang, how much you've been fixated on them, I'm scared of it happening to you."

He sighed, looking over the edge again, "I don't want to lose you, Blake. That's why I keep helping you, why I'll never stop."

All Blake could do was stare, with her mouth slightly open, some unknown emotion on her face. Naruto turned, giving her a weak smile, "So, Neko-chan, please, just lighten up on this investigation. You don't have to stop it, not if you don't want to. But please, remember that you have friends all around you, always willing to help you, no matter what."

She didn't know what to say. She didn't have any response at all, not to a story like that, and certainly not to Naruto's reasons for helping her. He walked up next to her, putting his arm around her shoulder, "Your team is worried about you, Blake. I'm supposed to ask you to go to the dance, but, if you want, we could spend tomorrow night looking more into the White Fang. Just don't tell Ruby I said that." He chuckled lightly. "Otherwise, she'll do that thing where she pouts at me for the next few weeks."

Blake, beginning to be able to think again, turned to Naruto, "I- I-" She stopped, breathing in. "I would love to go to the dance with you, Naruto."

His eyes bulged slightly, then he laughed to himself, "Yeah, I guess I did accidentally ask you out, huh?"

Well, that's another chapter done.

Ah, the dance. Such grand plans, so long in the making. And I'm fairly certain I hate the way this chapter ended. Not, you know, the 'Naruto-tells-a-story' part, just the actual way it ended. As in, the last line or two.

For this chapter, I did something I had never done before: I rewrote the entire thing. Twice. Both times before this one, I just didn't like the way it turned out. Even now, I'm a little unhappy with it. I felt like it had too much canon scenes, with too little divergence. Something I want to get away from doing too much is writing entire scenes just as they happen in the anime.

That's not to say I won't still do it, however. If Naruto or his team isn't present, there usually isn't any reason why it would be different.

I'd like to slow the pace of this story just a little bit. If you noticed, the last two chapters of this story, including this one, have covered, in total, two-and-a-half chapters from the anime. Two-and-a-half episodes, for those of you not in the know.

I don't want to end up reaching the Fall of Beacon by, say, Chapter 12, or maybe even 15, so I'm going to try a few different things to buffer it. Like having far too many scenes of Naruto training.

One last thing. I was talking with a friend, asking him to give me a ship name for Naruto and Blake. So, we started brainstorming. His first answer was 'ninja's of love,' but that's Ren and Blake.

The two I like best that we came up with were 'Cat-o-Nine-Tails,' which was mine, and 'From Shadow (Clones),' which was his. Which do you like more, eh?

Until Chapter 9!