Well, good new for you all.
I don't have Chapter 8 of A Lack of Faith finished this week, so to compensate, here's another chapter of this. I've actually begun to write these in advance of updating the story, because the plan going forward is to upload on Wednesday and Saturday. If I have a chapter ready, that is. In fact, I'm actually almost done with Chapter 11 by the time you'll be reading this...
Nope, scratch that. I'm was actually finished with it by the time this went up.
Expect 2 new chapters of A Lack of Faith two weeks from now.
So, the more I write this, the more I think the biggest difference is that Fukasaku and Naruto started Frog Kata before Naruto had perfected Sage Mode. So that's what I'm going with. Naruto didn't perfect it, and got paranoid.
Also, fair warning, I'm taking descriptions from the RWBY Wiki again. I don't know nearly enough about the intricacies of dresses to try and describe them.
I don't own Naruto or RWBY. I don't have anything special this time…
Chapter 9: The Dance
After two rather awkward experiences, Naruto Uzumaki was fairly certain he was either dreaming or hallucinating. Somewhat fortunately, it was neither. The first had been mostly pleasant, though the roundabout way in which he had asked Blake to the dance certainly left just a little to be desired.
It wasn't that he regretted it, far from it. He simply felt he could have done it better. But it was the second that made him question his sanity, and whether or not he was dreaming. As he walked back to his dorm room to grab a little money that he had left over from the docks, so that he could go and actually buy a suit, he was passed in the hallway by Jaune and Ren, the latter of whom was wearing naught but a towel.
Shaking his head a little, Naruto continued on to his room. Searching a little, he found his money was with his chokutō. Grabbing both, he made his way out of the school, down to the airship docks.
"Hey! Wait up, Whiskers!" Naruto turned, seeing the familiar mane of blonde hair. He prepared himself for the inevitable onslaught of questions from her, or perhaps some form of approval for asking out Blake.
"So…" she began, in that same strange tone she used on occasion. "You and Blake, huh? I was just joking about that, ya know. Got to say, Whiskers, never pegged you as the type for sassy girls."
He looked at her questioningly, "Sassy?"
"Yeah. Ya know, catty," Yang joked. Naruto rolled his eyes.
"Alright, that one was okay."
She shook her head, "No, no it wasn't. In fact I'd even call it-"
"If you say anything involving a catastrophe, I'm going to throw you over the cliff," Naruto waited. She didn't continue.
"So, where are you going, anyways?" she asked, after a long silence.
"Vale. I haven't actually bought, nor rented, a suit yet. Just a little important."
"Eh. I mean, Sun's going in his normal clothes. 20 Lien says he just buttons his shirt," Yang challenged. Naruto grinned.
"You're on."
Yang grinned back, "Good to hear, Whiskers. Ya know, I thought it would be Sun that Blake went with. I mean, he asked her out just after class the other day."
"He did?" Naruto asked, a little in disbelief. "I didn't know that. Huh. Now I feel a little bad."
She waved off his concern, "Ah, don't be. Blake's the one who decided on you over him. Besides, those abs look nice." She began to… purr, almost. Naruto felt confused. "So, mind if I go to Vale with you? We finished up the dance plans, so I've got nothing to do."
He gestured for her to follow him onto the airship going to Vale. They boarded, sitting down near where they had entered. Naruto turned to her, "So, what about Ruby? Is she more cheery now, like she normally is?"
"Yeah, she's great. You might end up getting a plate of cookies from her, in fact. And she doesn't do that for anyone but people she really likes," Yang answered. "Oh, yeah. Why do you care so much, anyways?"
He shrugged, "Well, I just try to help anyone I can. But also, she's so young and innocent. Seeing her sad… It just reminds me how depressing my old life was."
"Aren't you only a year older than her? What do you mean young?"
"Two years, now. But don't make any mistake; I'm no child by any means. I've stared down death more than my fair share of times, back in my old village."
Yang looked both confused and concerned as she asked, "What do you mean? You've 'stared down death?' How?"
"Well, the smaller villages around ours would come to us with missions on occasion. We would accept, delegating the missions to teams suited for them. Of course, people would lie about what missions would entail, and lead to the people on the team being in more danger than they were prepared for," Naruto explained, thinking specifically of the Land of Waves.
"And people got away with that?"
"Not often, no. Each team had a leader who was supposed to end the mission the moment it escalated."
"Huh."
Yang was silent for the rest of the time traveling to Vale, something uncharacteristic of her. Naruto sat with his eyes closed, curious about something. As it turned out, he could gather Natural Energy even if he was moving, as long as he wasn't the one moving himself. In other words, he could gather the energy while on vehicles. How convenient.
Vale was abuzz with activity. Some were like Naruto, those who had held off on buying a suit for the dance. Others were people enjoying their day off from classes. The rest were normal people. Naruto and Yang got off the airship, being passed by a group of people headed back to Beacon. It made sense, since the sun was beginning to dip below the distant mountains.
Luckily for Naruto, who had no idea where any stores were beyond the weapon shop, he was able to follow the horde of under-prepared people on their way to getting a suit of their own. In fact, there was even a line a little ways out of the store. Eventually, Naruto was able to get in and out, now clutching to himself an orange kimono, something Yang questioned.
"This is what guys wore during formal occasions, back where I'm from. It's called a kimono. Might as well at least try to maintain my culture."
"No, not that. Why does this place even sell a… kimono, you said?" Yang asked, looking at the storefront.
Naruto shrugged once again, "I don't know. Maybe they know a little about other places in the world."
"More importantly," Yang said, turning to face him. "Why is it orange?"
"Why not? It's a great color."
"Well, at least Blake will have no trouble finding you," Yang reasoned.
By the time Yang and Naruto got back to Beacon, it was dark out. The moon wasn't quite above the mountains yet, but it was visible, mostly. Yang bid Naruto farewell, going off saying she needed to make sure the fog machines weren't being tampered with by Weiss.
Naruto began to walk back his dorm, still holding his kimono in its plastic covering. He made a note to himself to remember to attach the Uzumaki crest to his arm tomorrow night. On his way back to the room, he passed by the fountain, finding Diana was staring at the water, presumably at her own reflection.
"Hey, Diana," he called out to her. She looked up, smiling as always.
"Hello, friend!" she returned.
"So, did you ask Troy to the dance, or did he ask you?" Naruto was curious. He felt like one of the two had to have happened.
"Neither! Although, I may have just forgotten. Oh, well. I can ask him now!" She said, scurrying off to the dorms. Naruto chuckled to himself, shaking his head at Diana's usual antics. He began to follow her, back to their dorm room.
There, he found Troy wide eyed, blinking quickly in front of Diana. Melissa was laughing, but looked at the door when it opened. Seeing who it was, she stopped immediately, starting to ask him something, "So, you and Blake are going to the dance?"
He nodded, "Yeah. I kind of… accidentally asked her."
She saw what he was holding. "What is- Is that a suit, or a dress?" She asked, laughing a little.
Naruto got defensive, "It's formal wear from my village! It's not a dress. It's called a kimono."
"So, why does it look like a dress?"
"It. Doesn't. It's meant to be regal."
"Well, why is it orange? Why not black?" Melissa asked.
"'Cause orange is the best color," Naruto answered. Melissa shook her head.
"You're weird, Naruto."
"Meh," Naruto ignored her, walking over to his bed, hanging the kimono up for tomorrow. Melissa laid back down, laughing to herself. Naruto turned to face Troy as he followed Melissa's example. "You know, Troy, she's not asking you romantically. She just thinks it would be fun to dance."
Troy stared back at Naruto, as Diana nodded once, "Yep!"
"Feel Pain. Contemplate Pain. Accept Pain. Know Pain. Feel Pain, Accept Pain, and Know Pain. Those who do not know Pain will never understand true peace! SHINRA TENSEI!"
A man. A village. He flew above. A mountain, with five faces. Destruction. A crater. The man left.
Another mountain. A secluded village. Another massacre. The man. He killed another one.
"Where is he?"
A toad, old and decaying. Two small corpses at his feet. Anger. A sense of failure.
The scene changed. There was a statue. It had nine eyes. It changed, becoming a colossal monster. The world, torn apart.
Another world. This one different. The monster, tearing through a village. Fireballs shot at it. A man on top. He laughed. Water doused it. More laughter. Lighting. No effect. Death.
So much death.
Naruto awoke, sitting upright in an instant. He held onto the small yelp that was about to escape his mouth. "It was just a dream. Just a dream," he mumbled to himself. He sighed. He hadn't had such a dream in several months, but all of a sudden one crops up. Great.
He looked about, realizing he'd been asleep for only about an hour. The room was still dark, even more so now, without Troy's light on. He tried to think back to the dream, but it was already murky. Something about a monster was all he could make out.
Perhaps this was something the fox would know about. Naruto delved into his mind, needing to ask the fox, "Kyūbi! What was that monster in my dream?"
"I'm unsure. It could be a few things, but none of them make sense, especially not with you here."
"What do you mean?"
"By its appearance, it looked to be something from an ancient era. But without you in your own accursed world, it could never be reborn."
"What is it?"
"Even if I described it to you, you wouldn't ever be able to comprehend it. Not without facing it."
"What is it called?"
"That, Kit, is not something I will tell you."
"Fine."
Naruto left his mindscape, laying back down, but staring up at the ceiling in thought. A monster from the ancient era, huh? What was something like that doing in a dream? He wasn't sure when he managed to fall back to sleep, but after what seemed like seconds, he woke again, this time in the sun-lit dorm.
He sat up, looking around at his teammate's beds. Each of them were empty, which probably meant his team was out doing their regular things. But, to his surprise, he found a note on the desk.
He read it aloud to himself, "Naruto. Meet us in the library." He set it down, "Hm. Weird. Ah, well." Grabbing his jacket and haori, he left the room, headed for the library. On the way, he could have sworn he heard hissing from Team RWBY's room, but he decided it would probably be best to ignore it.
In the library, he searched through the rows quickly before spotting his team sat around some of the computers. "Hey guys," Naruto said, walking up. They turned to face him.
"Yo," Troy responded, in such a perfect mimicry of Kakashi-sensei's voice that Naruto did a brief double take.
"HI!" Diana returned excitedly. Melissa nodded at Naruto, greeting him silently.
"So, why are we here, anyway?" Naruto queried.
"We need to talk about the kind of mission we want to take on Monday," Troy replied.
"Wait, so why couldn't we do that in our dorm?"
"Diana wanted to be in here. And so, here we are," Melissa said, not batting an eye. Diana smiled innocently.
Troy spoke up, apparently continuing the conversation from before, "I think a search and destroy would be best. It would give us the best chance to train."
"No, I think it would be border defense," Melissa countered.
"Actually, Melissa, I'm going to have to go with Troy on this one. I like the sound of search and destroy," Naruto backed up the suit-wearing member of MDNT. Diana, obviously, was supporting Troy, making it three-on-one.
Melissa rolled her eyes, "Yeah, fine."
"So, that's that. What else are we doing?" Naruto asked.
"Well, Diana said she wanted to play against Troy in chess."
Naruto stared at the rainbow girl, "Really? You play chess?"
"Yep!" she replied joyfully.
While Team MDNT enjoyed Troy losing in chess, Team RWBY were all going over the upcoming night, discussing various things. At the moment, Yang was teasing Blake, the only person on the team who actually had a date. Weiss had been rebuked by Neptune, though she told her teammates she hadn't asked or accepted anyone, since she was so busy. Yang wasn't one to get stuck in a steady relationship, and Ruby was… Well, being Ruby. She was more about fighting and killing monsters.
"Now, Yang, I removed your fog machines from the ballroom this morning. I decided we really don't need them," Weiss told the blonde, much to her ire.
"What? But I thought we agreed! Didn't you want them because Neptune thought they would be cool?" Yang nearly yelled. Weiss shrugged.
"Well, I changed my mind. I decided they would be unfit for a formal dance."
Ruby spoke up, asking her sister where she had gone for all of yesterday afternoon. "Oh, nowhere. Whiskers was headed to Vale, and I tagged along," she answered.
"Wait, why was Naruto going to Vale?" Blake asked, confused.
"He hadn't actually planned on going to the dance, see. He needed formal wear," Yang replied.
Blake tried to create the image in her head of Naruto in a black-and-white suit, but couldn't. Not even having seen him in a Beacon uniform. She honestly couldn't see Naruto wearing a suit for anything, ever.
"I can't see Naruto wearing a suit," Weiss said exactly what Blake was thinking. For some reason the Faunus didn't get, Yang grinned mischievously.
"Yeah, me neither," said the blonde.
Weiss cocked her head, "Wait, but you just said-"
"No, I said formal wear."
"But don't they mean the same thing?" Weiss asked. Yang shook her head. "Why am I somehow not surprised? So what is he wearing, then?"
Yang shook her head, "It'll be a surprise. But, please, try not to laugh too hard. I think he's a little touchy about it."
"Wait, why?"
"Oh, no reason," Yang answered, looking sideways, avoiding eye contact. She wasn't even sure what the kimono would look like on Naruto, but chances were it would look hilarious.
"You know, that worries me a little," Weiss remarked.
Most people may prefer to spend the entire day before a dance getting ready for it, but Naruto was not, in fact, most people. Quite the opposite, in fact. So instead, with, he estimated, 6 hours left before he would need to start getting ready to be able to make it on time, Naruto found himself once again on top of Beacon's dorms, where he was finally beginning to get the hang of Sage Mode. It wasn't perfect by any means, but he was able to enter and maintain it even on Beacon's grounds.
This obviously excited him, since it meant he was close to having back his full abilities. Not that he was weak without them, far from it. In this world, he could probably beat almost anyone. He thought back to some of his first experiences here, and suddenly felt like he wanted to fight Qrow again. He wasn't sure what had happened last time, but he remembered feeling clumsy.
Mysteries for another time. For now, he was focusing on the presence approaching from behind, a man who was walking up the stairs. He was new to the whole 'chakra sensing' thing, or, in this case, 'Aura sensing,' so he wasn't sure who it was. He released his Sage chakra, returning to normal before the man arrived. He kept staring out at the mountains and at Vale, until the door opened behind him.
Naruto turned to face the man, seeing it was the headmaster. He bowed his head a little, "My apologies, but I sensed an immense amount of energy coming from this rooftop. I believed it merited further investigation. Would you mind if I asked you what it was?"
Naruto shrugged, preparing to lie his way through this, "Oh, just something I'm working on. I need a lot of work on it before it'll be ready, though." Ozpin nodded, though Naruto was unsure as to whether or not he was actually convinced.
"Well, I'm impressed, certainly. How long would you say?" Ozpin asked in a curious voice, but Naruto felt like there was something else concealed underneath it.
"Oh, a few years, at best."
"I see. Apologies once again. I shall leave you to your practice."
He left, and Naruto let out a sigh. Even he could tell the headmaster wasn't entirely convinced. He was evidently fluent in the verse of lying and deception. He really would make a great shinobi, even if this world didn't have any.
Naruto shook himself out of his thoughts, turned back to Vale, and sat down, meditating once more.
'Less this time. Aaaaand… good.'
He took in too much once again. He acquired the same webbed hands and warty features as just a moment ago, frowning as he did.
'Damn it. Even less, I guess.'
Before he released his Sage Mode, he felt another presence approaching him. This one was smaller, and stopped briefly when they passed Ozpin. Chances were, it was a student. A few moments later, after he reverted to normal once again, he was proven right when the door opened, revealing Ruby to be standing behind it.
"Naruto?" she asked meekly, for some reason.
"Yeah, Ruby?" he asked, looking over his shoulder to her. She walked up, sitting down next to him.
"I… I wanted to say thank you. I'm so glad you got Blake to go to the dance!" her tone shifted as she spoke, going from gratuitous to excited. He smiled warmly at the young girl. "Thanks, Naruto."
She leaned over, giving him an appreciative hug. He returned it, in a very brotherly way, "Don't mention it, Ruby. Just helping out."
The embrace ended, and Naruto grinned, "How 'bout a race?"
"What are- Why are you panting, Ruby?" Yang asked her sister, as she stumbled back in. The young huntress-in-training fell face forward onto the bed, turning her head to the side once she did.
"Naruto."
"What were you doing with Naruto that could be so tiring?" Weiss asked from over by the closet, where she was selecting a dress.
"Racing. He's faster than I thought. But, I still won!" she said exhaustedly, giving a shaky thumbs up. Then she collapsed completely, falling asleep. Yang shook her awake, telling her they needed to start getting ready.
She complained, but she stood up anyways. With an hour before the dance started, Yang left with Weiss, since they needed to make sure everything was in order. Blake left soon as well, finishing her preparations.
Ruby, meanwhile, groaned at the last part of her outfit. She had no problem with the dress, in fact she rather liked it. It was a short, red, sleeveless dress with a thick black sash around the waist and black edging at the bottom. The bodice of the dress was split vertically to the sash and laced with black lacing. The yoke of the dress is translucent mesh with an opaque collar and hem, as well as opaque lines connecting the collar to her shoulders.
What she had a problem with was the shoes. They weren't tall heels, but they were tall enough to be inconvenient. As she tried to walk out the door in them, she could already tell she wasn't going to enjoy walking around tonight. Oh, well. At least she wouldn't have to do any fighting.
As he predicted, Naruto had more than enough time to get himself ready. Since he had only four parts to his entire ensemble, he felt it shouldn't take him more than a few minutes. While he wasn't wrong, between the white hakama and the- strangely- bandages around his midsection, he spent ten minutes getting to the last layer. It was the orange part, though, so Naruto felt it was worth it. The obi was a very dark green. And of course, he had basic sandals on.
Finishing dressing, Naruto glanced at himself in the mirror. He felt like something was missing. He reached into his pile of clothes, and pulled out the First Hokage's necklace, placing it around his neck. He looked once again in the mirror, and thought he looked pretty good. Besides, no one else would get he was dressed formally, so their faces might be worth it.
"Alright…" he muttered to himself. "Tonight's a good night. Let's do this."
As Naruto turned to the door, Troy walked through, but stopped when he saw Naruto. He gave a curt nod, though Naruto was fairly certain he found the sight hilarious. Naruto raised his hand in greeting, before walking out.
"Right, where's Blake?" he asked himself, looking up and down the halls. As expected, he didn't see her. He began to walk down the hallway towards her dorm, to see if she was there, when Ruby stumbled out of the room, wobbling on her heels. Naruto jogged over to her, letting her lean on him so she wouldn't fall over.
"Thanks, Nar-" she stopped suddenly, looking at him. Her face contorted into one that was trying very hard not to laugh. She failed. After several minutes, as they were leaving the dorm building, she managed to stop herself. "What- is- that?" she managed. Naruto rolled his eyes.
"It's called a kimono. It's formal wear in my village," Naruto explained. Ruby's laughter was petering out, but she at least managed to breathe in. They began to make their way over to the ballroom. Shortly, Naruto heard more laughter, this time from behind them.
"Naruto, what are you wearing?" asked a chuckling Blake. "Why are you wearing a dress?"
"It's not! It's from my village!" Naruto complained. Blake raised an eyebrow. Only then did Naruto notice what she was wearing. She wore short, purple, asymmetrical, halter neck dress that was split up the right side and has a black collar. A translucent black mesh covered her shoulders, décolletage and back, and decorative black swirls covered the left side of the dress and continued up the left strap. Like with Ruby, she wore black heels, though she didn't seem to be having trouble with them, as expected from a girl who fights in them.
"Wow… You look… beautiful, Blake," Naruto had trouble even getting that out. The look was such a turnaround from what she had been like recently, and it accentuated her natural beauty well.
The raven-haired beauty blushed down to her roots, evidently not getting such compliments often. To recover herself, she elected to tease Naruto lightly, "So, I noticed Ruby was hanging off of you… Got to say, Naruto, I didn't think you were that kind of person."
He looked confused, tilting his head slightly, "What? I was helping her walk. She was stumbling around in her heels, so I let her use me for support while she walked."
Blake rolled her eyes, smiling at her date for the night. He was rather oblivious. Ruby stepped away, "Thanks, Naruto! I'll walk from here, though!" And with that, the silver-eyed girl walked away, tripping every so often as she did.
Naruto turned back to face Blake, offering his arm. She took it, locking her arm through hers. They walked together, talking with one another, with Blake asking about the kimono, "So, why are you wearing a dress?"
"It's not a dress, like I said. It's called a kimono. Surely you've heard of them before, with how much you read?" Naruto asked.
Blake shook her head, "No, I haven't. Though, I've read something that sounds familiar to that language you use sometimes."
He looked over in mild interest, "Really? Where did they come from?"
"They were written in a part of Anima, near Mistral. They've got a history full of different cultures, though. So it's no surprise they have a few languages. I always just thought it was made up."
"What was the book called?" he asked. Her eyes went wide for only a moment.
"I- I don't remember. Something about ninjas," Blake nervously answered. Naruto chuckled. "What?"
"Ninjas, huh?" he asked, looking sideways at her.
She ignored him, staying silent until they reached the ballroom. There, they found Yang stood at a podium in front of the door inside. She let out a mocking squeal when they entered, "Oooh, you two look so cute together!"
Naruto rolled his eyes, smile on his face. Yang bid them a good time, then turned her attention to the people still arriving. Blake and Naruto went over to the side of the dance floor, where Ruby was stood awkwardly.
"Hey, you two," she greeted. They all stood around for a bit, before Naruto offered to take Blake out onto the dance floor. They walked off, beginning to dance. Yang and Weiss came over to where Ruby was stood, watching the pair. Naruto, somehow, was excellent at a slow dance. Not the kind of thing you expect from a guy who usually moves so fast Ruby had to narrate what he was doing.
"You know, they make a good pair," Yang exclaimed suddenly. Ruby and Weiss turned to look at her. "Well, just look at them! The blond and the black!"
Weiss raised an eyebrow, "Blond and black?"
"Shut up," Yang's dismissal lacked any real anger, as Ruby giggled at her teammates.
"So, what do we do now?" She asked, looking between the two.
"Just have fun!" Yang answered, walking away, back to her podium. She was glad to see her partner enjoying herself so much. When Naruto had asked her to let him talk to her, she had been a little hesitant, she would admit. Blake had seemed upset at Naruto for a few days after the investigation, all because he showed up to help.
Yang wasn't even sure how he managed to follow them. To know where they were headed, he would have had to have been on the airship… with… them. But if the only other person there was that arrogant-looking boy…
Yang turned back to Naruto, narrowing her eyes a little. She'd have to ask him about that later. Although, she reasoned, knowing Naruto, he might have just been on top of the airship. She shrugged to herself, stood at her podium once more. The door opened, and she gave a cheery greeting to the pair that walked through the door, "You guys are just in time!"
Through the door came Mercury, dressed in a three-piece suit trimmed with yellow, and Emerald, wearing a simple green dress. Mercury spoke for them, "Wouldn't miss it for the world."
As the night progressed, the dance continued in a very calm, normal fashion. People were, as expected, dancing, or they were sitting about, talking with friends, or even just stood above, watching the dancers. At one point, General Ironwood could even be seen dancing with Goodwitch. It was a little frightening to see two rather strict people dancing with one another.
Jaune sallied up next to Ruby, "I see you're hiding out at the punch bowl, too."
Not turning, she dryly said, "Yep."
Tilting his glass to her, Jaune proposed, "To the socially awkward."
Ruby giggled a little, clinking her glass against his. "Sorry things didn't work out with Weiss," she said, having been there when Weiss slammed the door in his face.
"Ah, it's fine," Jaune replied, not really paying attention. "Neptune's pretty cool. I get why she went with him."
Ruby looked confused, as she asked, "What do you mean?"
"Well, come on. Not many people can pull off blue hair," Jaune explained, drinking his punch after he finished.
"No, I mean, Weiss came to the dance alone."
Jaune choked a little on his punch "Uh, what?" he looked over at Weiss, who seemed to be fussing over a single flower. She failed, looking down.
"Yeah, she said that she had too much to focus on to worry about boys."
Jaune looked over to where Neptune sat, looking around awkwardly, while Sun sat, arms crossed, looking just a tiny bit bitter, next to him. He growled in anger, "Hold my punch."
He handed Ruby his glass, and walked off over to the two. No sooner had he walked away than Ruby took a large drink from his punch. She waited for a bit, but when he didn't come back, she wandered off, eventually going up to the balcony, next to her sister.
"You know," Yang began. "I think we really needed this."
Ruby looked out over the ballroom, like her sister was doing, just watching each pair. Naruto and Blake were sitting off to the side at the moment, with Naruto apparently telling a story, as he moved his arms enthusiastically, providing effect.
She also saw Penny. The girl was dancing alone, with two Atlas soldiers guarding her. It seemed like her dancing was infectious, as one of the soldiers began tapping his foot in rhythm. The silver-eyed leader turned back to Yang, "Yeah, and you did a great job planning it, too!"
The blonde reached over, pulling Ruby into a crushing one-armed hug, "Aw, thanks! It wasn't all me, though. Weiss did a lot, too." The sisters looked over to where Weiss was. As they did, they saw Neptune walk up next to her, beginning a conversation.
Yang sighed lightly, "Tomorrow it's back to work…"
"I'm sure we can handle whatever gets thrown at us," Ruby answered. As she did, the two heard fits of laughter from the floor below. They looked down. "Except for that."
Naruto looked over at the source of the laughter, and saw Jaune wearing a white dress. Blake seemed like she was about to say something, but Naruto held up his hand, "It's. A. Kimono."
She giggled to herself. After a brief conversation, Jaune and Pyrrha moved over to an empty part of the dance floor, followed by Ren and Nora. As the two Faunus watched, all four of them began to dance, completely in sync, to the next song that came on.
"Wait, so… did they know this would happen?" Naruto asked, bewildered. "Did they know the future?"
Blake began to laugh again at her date's confusion. Naruto felt this was a serious problem, however. Not a negative one, but one that was worth solving. Kakashi-sensei had always said he could see the future with his eye, but Naruto was fairly certain that was a lie. Besides, they didn't have any Sharingan. At least, Naruto had never seen any of them with the black-tomoe pattern.
A brief thought flashed through his head of Jaune shooting off a fireball. He shuddered a little, now picturing Jaune fighting against the Akatsuki.
"Naruto, you are one of the goofiest people I have ever met, you know that?" Blake said, facing him. "How does that tall tale of yours end?"
Naruto turned to Blake. "Oh, yeah. And believe me, every word of this is true," He answered, nodding his head back and forth. "So there I was, dozens of clones, all facing Ebisu-sensei…"
Ruby, while she enjoyed seeing all the fun her friends were having, grew bored of the dance rather quickly. It only hurt its case more that she had to wear the heels the entire time. Damned torture devices.
As she left, she noticed something in the distance. It was a little difficult to make out, with the outfit she seemed to be wearing and how dark it was, but it looked like a woman running across the rooftops in the distance. Ruby narrowed her eyes at the sight.
And so, being the logical girl she is, Ruby decided the best course of action would be to follow the strangely dressed woman, without even taking off the heels she could barely walk in.
"I don't believe you. Say it's true all you want, but I don't," Blake was saying, laughing. Naruto rolled his eyes.
"Look, you don't know what ninja were like in my village."
"I still don't believe you," Blake replied. "That's a whole different level of perverted."
"Hmph. Doubting my talent, I see?" Naruto questioned, in a booming voice, like the kind you'd expect a narrator to have. Blake laughed even harder than before.
"You know, I'm glad I agreed to come with you," she said, a smile across her face. As they kept talking, Yang sat down next to Blake.
"So-ooo, how are the lovebirds doing?" she asked teasingly. "Planning your wedding yet?"
Blake blushed, and Naruto laughed, "No, not yet, blondie."
"Ay! Watch yourself, Whiskers!"
"Never gonna happen. I shall continue to be sarcastic until the day I die!" he exclaimed. "Why are you over here, anyways?"
She shrugged, "I'm not really into the whole 'dating' thing. Who needs one man? No offense, of course."
"Eh."
"Hey, where'd Ruby go?" Naruto asked, looking around, but not seeing any red except for Pyrrha. "I can't see her anywhere. Did she leave early?"
Yang looked around, frowning, "Huh. I didn't even notice. Oh, well. I'll ask her later."
"Naruto, tell her what you told me, about that Ebisu guy," Blake cut in, laughing over the memory.
"Right! So, Yang, it all started when I went to get my picture taken…"
Nearby, given the task of paying attention to the door, to watch anyone leaving, Mercury and Emerald warned Cinder of the General. A second part of their task, however, was to keep an eye on the Faunus Cinder so desperately wanted. They had no idea why she was so interested in him, but she insisted they pay close attention to him in particular.
He was only telling some kind of stories, tales he claimed were true, but were all outlandish. He honestly just seemed like a goofy teenager. But, still, Cinder insisted. Emerald, at one point, found Mercury chuckling.
"What are you on about?"
"Oh, not much. Kid's got style, though," Mercury answered, having heard Naruto's story about Ebisu.
Ruby stepped out of the elevator, holding her scythe, and calling out, "Hello?" She stumbled in her shoes. "Is anyone there? Hello?"
Cinder smirked, rising out of her hiding place, and stepping towards Ruby, who seemed to get a little hostile, "Excuse me? You know, it's not a masquerade party, so why don't you take off that-"
Not waiting for her to start, Cinder used a container of ice Dust to create a number of shards of ice in front of her. She paused for only a moment, then sent the shards flying at Ruby. Ruby's eyes shot wide open, and she spun her scythe in a circle to block the ice. As she pulled out of the spin, she aimed the end of the barrel at Cinder.
She fired multiple times, but each time her shot was blocked by some kind of arcane energy from the woman, whose clothing lit up, before she spun backwards, pulling two blades out of a fiery wave. They seemed to be glass. Ruby ripped her scythe out of the ground, tripping for a second, before she placed it behind her, firing once to propel herself towards the black-clad woman, bringing her scythe down.
The woman flipped backwards, jumping into air, and connecting her swords into a bow. Three arrows formed, and she fired them at the small girl. Ruby stumbled backwards clumsily, trying to regain her balance. She stabbed her scythe in the ground to provide support.
The woman looked up at her, still smirking. But the smirk faded as the elevator door opened once again, and she saw who it was. Ruby turned, seeing Ironwood behind her. She turned back to the woman, grinning, only to see she had disappeared.
Cinder decided it would be best to retreat, to avoid the trouble of fighting the General. Walking briskly, she changed her outfit from a skintight leather suit to a flowing black dress, with black opera gloves on her arms. She also abandoned her mask, leaving it on the ground.
She sauntered into the ballroom, up behind her green-haired subordinate, "Oh, may I cut in?"
Emerald stepped to the side, gesturing to Mercury, "Of course." She left as Cinder began to dance with Mercury, in order to throw of the soldiers she knew to be following her.
Mercury began to make discreet conversation, "And how's your night been?"
"Mmm... a little more exciting than expected," Cinder answered.
"Should we be worried?"
Cinder scoffed, "Hardly... They'll be scratching their heads long after we finished what we came here for."
"So then what now?" Mercury asked.
"Enjoy the rest of the night. After all, it is a party."
"You know the difference between a ninja and a genius, Kit?"
'Uh… One's sneaky?"
"No. A ninja has immense power, a cunning intellect, and enough stealth to out-wit a god. A genius puts a ninja to shame in all of these respects."
'What are you talking about?"
"Keep an eye on that raven haired vixen, dancing with the gray haired one.
'Is she trouble?'
"She could be."
Naruto looked over, and saw a woman dancing with the guy he had fought the other day. Mercury, he was pretty sure. For the fox to be concerned over her, something must be off. Especially since he said she could put a ninja to shame.
"Naruto? Are you alright?" Blake asked, waving her hand in front of her date's face. Naruto blinked, shook his head, and turned to her.
"Sorry, what? Got lost in thought for a moment." Blake shook her head in amusement.
"I asked about your teacher. I think you called him Kakashi-sensei? What was he like?"
Naruto closed his eyes, thinking. He open them, getting an idea. "Well, these were the first words he ever spoke to us, and how he introduced himself. He said 'My name is Kakashi Hatake. Things I like and things I hate… I don't feel like telling you that. My dreams for the future? Hm, never really thought about it. As for my hobbies… well, I have lots of hobbies,'" he recalled.
Blake stared. "Wait, that was how he introduced himself?" she asked incredulously.
"Well, the actual first words he said to us were 'I hate you all,' but yeah, that was how we met our sensei," Naruto fondly remembered. "So, what about you, Blake? What's your family like?"
She looked down a little, with something in-between shame and pride on her face, "Well, my father… he was the last leader of the White Fang, until five years ago." She waited, but Naruto didn't respond. "My mom, well, she's a cat Faunus, like me. They both live in Menagerie."
"Five years ago, huh? Wasn't that when all the ideals changed for the White Fang?" Naruto inquired. Blake nodded. "So, your dad was a good leader, right? It's not his fault that the White Fang is so violent nowadays."
"You always look at people in the best way, don't you?"
"Eh, not always. Only people I know or who know people I know." Naruto though about some of the people he had met in his life, from Gatō to Orochimaru. Basically, all the evil people he had met. He had only ever seen them as scum who needed to be gotten rid of. They were in the way of peace in the ninja world, always causing harm and hate amongst those they attacked.
"So, were all of the huntsmen in your village like your teacher?"
"Uh, no. But I'm pretty sure that's a good thing. I don't think we could take anymore of Kakashi-sensei," Naruto claimed, thinking about how his teacher would read porn in public. He had conveniently forgotten to include that in the description of Kakashi-sensei.
"I thought you liked him?" Blake looked confused.
"Oh, I did," Naruto answered. "But he was a very… unique person."
Two people sat down next to Naruto. He looked over, seeing Troy and Diana. "Hey, guys. Have you two been dancing all night?"
It appeared Diana didn't get the idea of formal clothing, as she was still dressed in her normal outfit. Troy, on the other hand, wore a suit that was a single shade darker than normal. Troy responded for them, "No, but for about an hour, yes."
"Hey, so, where's Melissa?" Naruto asked the pair.
"She said dancing wasn't her thing," Diana called past Troy. "I don't see why she would want to miss this!"
Troy spoke in a more subdued manner than Diana, which wasn't terrifically hard to do, "I believe she said she was going to spend the night shooting at Grimm."
"So, she didn't come here?"
Troy shook his head, "Well, given what she said she would be doing, that might be a good thing."
They all laughed, like four friends just joking around. And they were, so perhaps it wasn't so out of the ordinary. They each spent the rest of the night, about an hour or so, all just sitting about, talking with one another.
The following day, though he wasn't sure when he got there, Naruto sat up in his bed. He looked around, confused. He shrugged, thinking he was probably more tired than he thought.
He found he was the first to wake, surprisingly. Usually it was Diana, and then she would end up waking all of them up. So instead, it fell to Naruto.
He crossed his legs and arms, thinking with his eyes closed. How to best wake them up…
Though the morning was scarcely peaceful, Melissa, after today, was glad that Diana was usually the one who woke them up. While each of them slept, Naruto had somehow rigged an entire system of air horns, sirens, and pie-throwers around each of their beds.
He had mentioned that he had spent much of his childhood as a prankster, but this was just a little excessive. Of course, Diana enjoyed it, but she enjoyed everything. Troy seemed somewhere between outraged and livid, while Melissa honestly didn't know what to think.
Somehow, none of the sound penetrated the walls, and there wasn't a single angry complaint to them all morning. Surprising when you create enough noise to wake an entire Kingdom. Naruto sat, grinning, on one of the desks. Troy stomped over to him, tripping and falling pie chunks.
"Please, Naruto…" Melissa choked out through laughter. "Don't ever do that again." The Faunus rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.
"No promises," he replied, worrying Melissa. Well, at least she could buy headphones for next time.
Troy kept up his glare for the rest of the morning, all through the time of getting ready for a mission that day. Naruto had a grin on his face all morning, and Melissa could tell he enjoyed 'getting back to his roots,' so to speak.
"Will all first year students please report to the amphitheater?" came Glynda's voice over the PA system.
"Wait, amphitheater?" Naruto asked. "Does she mean the auditorium?"
"Probably," Melissa shrugged.
In the auditorium, apparently also called the amphitheater, Team MDNT found there to be a rather large crowd of people already gathered. As such, they stood near the back of the horde, joined soon by Team RWBY.
"Hey, guys," Naruto greeted. Before any of them could respond, Professor Goodwitch stepped up to the microphone.
"Quiet! Quiet please," she called out to them. "Professor Ozpin would like to share a few words before we begin."
"Today we stand together, united. Mistral. Atlas. Vacuo. Vale. The four Kingdoms of Remnant. On this day, nearly eighty years ago, the largest war in recorded history came to an end. It was a war of ignorance, of greed, and of oppression. A war that was about much more than where borders fell or who traded with whom, but about the very idea of individualism itself. We fought for countless reasons, one of which being the destruction of all forms of art and self-expression. And as you are well aware, that was something many could not stand for," Ozpin paused for just a moment.
"As a result, those who opposed this tyranny began naming their children after one of the core aspects of art itself: color. It was their way to demonstrate that not only would they refuse to tolerate this oppression, but neither were the generations to come. And it was a trend that is held to this very day. We encourage individuality, expressionism, and unity through diversity. As I have said, today we stand together, united. But this bond cannot exist without effort. Which is why today, while the rest of the world celebrates peace, Huntsmen and Huntresses will work to uphold it. As first year students, you will be tasked with shadowing a professional Huntsman or Huntress on a mission. Some of you may be taken out of the Kingdom for several days. Others may work within the walls for the rest of the week. But no matter which path you choose, remember to be safe, remember your training, and remember to do your very best."
As he walked away, Team RWBY began to mutter excitedly. Naruto pulled Blake aside as they walked away, "Be careful, okay?"
She rolled her eyes at him, "I'm not exactly weak, you know."
"No, I mean- The huntsman. Don't get caught slipping off, when you do."
"Yes, Naruto, I know," she walked off, joining her team over by the board.
He turned to his teammates. Melissa was smirking at him, "Aw, how cute!"
"Oh, shut up," he pointed to a mission board. "Well, shall we?"
Over by the mission board, under search and destroy, there were, as with the rest of them, three jobs available. One was Grimm Infestation. The second was Village Destroyer. The third just said Tracking.
"I like the sound of the first one," Melissa voted.
Naruto looked at the second one, "No, I think we should go with Village Destroyer. It sounds… reasonable."
Troy nodded, "Yes, it does. Besides, I'm sure an infestation could mean something as simple as only a few Grimm."
"Right then, Village Destroyer it is!" Melissa typed in MDNT when asked for team name, and like that, they were signed up for their first mission. Apparently, they left in two hours.
For a while, they sat around at the airship docks, waiting for their time to leave to arrive. They spent the time talking with Team RWBY, who were also leaving that day, except in three hours.
At one point, Naruto found himself talking to Yang, who was asking, "Hey, so how did you follow us that one day?"
"Oh, I was on the airship. You know, waiting, being sneaky."
"But the only other person there was that guy with the snake tail," Yang said. Naruto had a moments pause before answering.
"No, I mean I was on the airship. As in, not inside," he lied.
Yang rolled her eyes, "Just like I thought. You're really weird, you know that, Whiskers?"
"Meh."
Soon, the Bullhead that would take Team MDNT to their mission's starting point arrived, signifying they would be leaving in only a few minutes. The huntsman they would be shadowing stepped off of it, walking towards them slowly.
He caused two different reactions from the students: confusion and caution. Naruto stood, ready for any action the man would take. Ruby also seemed like she was ready to step in.
The man who approached them, the man who Team MDNT would be shadowing for their entire mission, just so happened to be the same man who Ruby and Naruto had met on their way to get Naruto's chokutō. He still wore the same long coat and mask, completely obscuring his features.
He held his hand up for them to hold their fire, as he wasn't there to fight any of them, "Hello there, students. So, which of you will be accompanying me to apprehend the destroyer of two villages?"
Naruto tentatively raised his hand, as his teammates didn't notice, raising theirs normally. "Very good then," he turned to Naruto. "And I believe we've met once before. Why did you never come to me?"
Naruto still had his eyes narrowed, hand ready next to his chokutō, "Couldn't activate the card. Didn't know how."
"But it's so simple. You just needed to fill it with aura."
"Well, that explains it," Naruto finally got a little bit of closure. For weeks, he'd been trying to get the card to do anything, but had failed each time. It made sense now; he didn't have aura.
"Well, anyway, I'm the huntsman you will each be shadowing," he moved on, turning back to face the entire team. "Pleased to meet you. My name is Imperius. Imperius Resdomindo. (Rest oh mean dough (yes I know it's a weird name)) Who are all of you?"
Naruto relaxed a little, "Naruto Uzumaki."
Melissa said proudly, "Melissa Mikeham."
"Troy Davores," answered Troy. "Diana, focus."
"Oh… uh, Diana Grout!" she said, turning away from the flock of birds above.
"Well, I must say, you all seem like excellent huntsmen and women in training," Imperius replied, as he gestured for them to follow him to the Bullhead. "I look forward to the next week or so."
"Wait, 'Week?'" Naruto asked, as they all walked.
"Oh, yes. Tracking someone like this will undoubtedly take time. This will take at least five days, more if whoever it is covers their tracks well," explained the huntsman. "But, this just means you four get even more experience in the field. Truly, nothing teaches better."
They reached the Bullhead. One by one, they boarded, until finally they were all on. The doors closed, and the airship took off, beginning their mission.
Omake #2 - Ninja Competition: Part 2
It wasn't abnormal for students to train in the Emerald Forest. Not at all. In fact, it was almost expected of anyone who wanted to improve themselves. It was, however, abnormal for students to either compete against or watch others compete against other students in a race through the forest.
But, the Teams of RWBY, JNPR, and MDNT weren't normal, either. And so it was that they found themselves on the top of Beacon Cliff, ready for the challenge Naruto had proposed. Those not participating, those not either a Faunus or wearing mostly green, were standing off to the side, placing bets amongst themselves on who would win. In most cases, they would bet on their teammate, but Yang put some Lien on Naruto.
"What? I've seen him fight," She justified.
"SO!" Naruto shouted, excited for the event that day. "As you may be unaware, the first challenge is a race! Thanks to our little Ruby here-" he gestured to the proud huntress-in-training. "-we have three flags placed on the other end of the forest. First one to get one of them and get back wins the challenge! Now that we all know the challenge, let's start! GO!"
And they were off, all three of the proclaimed ninja dashing off the cliff, leaping down into the forest below. Down in the forest, the three hit the ground at almost the same time, and all immediately took off at top speed. Except, that is, for Naruto, who was banned from using his 'Semblance' for this race. Would be just a little unfair to let him use his two hundred mile-per-hour run in a competition to see who could move the fastest, right?
Just a little. Even so, Naruto was still incredibly fast, and agile as well. Blake soon lost sight of him as he moved through the woods, and turned her gaze forwards, dead-set on winning. No way in hell would she lose to either of these two!
Ren kept his eye- or, at least, the corner of it- fixed on the cat Faunus as he jumped through the forest. He was confident in his own speed, but he also couldn't see Naruto. Thinking he was ahead of him, he tried to go even faster, only to miss his next branch, and fall to the ground.
Blake heard a loud thud behind her, and turned for a half second. She probably would have stayed turned for longer, but for the fact that she slammed into a tree. Sliding down it, she cursed herself for her curiosity. It would be the death of her one day…
Ren and Blake recovered quickly, and began to sprint on ground level, something that seemed to them to be quicker. Soon enough, the both of them arrived at the other end of the forest, finding one flag each. They took them, vaguely aware that the other person was there, and turned on their heels, making a dead sprint back in the other direction. For another hour, they were neck-and-neck, all the way back to Beacon Cliff. Both of them launched themselves up it ignoring all fatigue, and reaching the top in only a second.
"Oh, hey guys!" Naruto sat on the ground, laying back, with a flag next to him. He cheerfully waved to both of them.
Naruto wasn't sure if the expression on their faces were those of people who were upset, or people who were angry. He gulped.
Right, well. That chapter felt a little dull. I liked it well enough, personally. The omake, once again, I think needs polishing.
Ah, and the pairing begins. Fair warning, I'm going to find some way to screw this up incredibly. Oh, and by the way: Part of the reason I chose her over, say, Yang or even Ruby, was because of some of the reasoning I've seen used plenty, and used myself last chapter. She behaves very similarly to Sasuke, and given Naruto's mysterious belief that he and Sasuke are friends…
Also, I've never seen a good pairing with these two. And I have absolute faith I will continue to not see one.
And yes, the mystery man appears! So many hours of deciding what to do with him, all thrown out the window to make him what he's going to be in the next chapter. Just wait for that; it'll be a good time.
I'm excited for the next few chapters. I've got big plans, you see. This is something I've had planned out since Chapter f*cking Two.
Until Chapter 10!