Chapter 22: Trek

The tall bushes rustled only slightly as Troy and Melissa crawled through them, creeping up to the White Fang encampment. They were taking it as slowly as possible, lest they draw attention due to bushes shaking on their own, on this windless day. Melissa very carefully pulled her weapon from her back, looking through the scope to the camp. She scanned the side closest to them for several moments, shaking her head a moment later. Troy held in a growl, and they began to back away.

It had been nearly three days since they had run from Shion Village with their tails between their legs. They hadn't mentioned it, however, since they were more concerned with surmounting the next obstacle: freeing Diana from captivity. And at the moment, they were trying to find a way into the camp, but weren't having a terrific amount of luck with it. For one, there were few entrances along the high stone walls, and the ones that did exist were usually heavily guarded. They hadn't been able to make a camp nearby, because patrols were regularly sent out to secure the surrounding area against any humans or other threats, like Grimm.

As the sun was setting, by which time they were well over five hundred meters away, Troy stood again, and Melissa followed his lead. Troy sat down on an overturned tree trunk, hold his head in his hands. He sighed to himself, "We're never gonna get in there, are we?" Melissa sat down next to him, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"We'll find a way. Maybe tomorrow I can fly over to and get a better view," she suggested. Troy, however, shook his head.

"They'd see you too quickly," he argued. "And besides, you wouldn't see anything new." The pair had, by now, scouted each side of the octagon encampment. And each time, their hopes had been dashed yet again by either a solid wall or a door with enough guards to stop a Goliath. They had even had a close call when a patrol had just barely passed them by, whilst they had hidden in the foliage. Luckily, they seemed to have avoided being spotted, at least for now. But Troy wasn't sure how long their luck would last, and he wanted to just get in and free Diana.

Teleporting in would be risky, because he had no idea what kind of company he would find when he reappeared. He might get lucky and end up in an area where no one went, or he might end up in the mess hall for the guards and other members of the organization. He had asked Melissa not to fly over at all, since they might have spot her if she did, and then shoot her out of the sky. No, they would have to find another, safer way in. Troy rubbed his forehead with his palms, "Maybe… what about the sewage system? They've got to have one, right?"

Melissa stared at him, "You're seriously saying we should go through a sewer than just trying to teleport into a corner somewhere inside?" Troy shook his head.

"I told you, there's too many ways that could go wrong. If we end up surrounded by terrorists like those people, I don't think we could really fight all of them off." He stared at the very distant encampment. From here, it look like a mere anthill.

"But we wouldn't have to. Couldn't we just teleport away?" Melissa debated.

Once again, Troy shook his head, "Then they would be on alert for any intruders. It would make it a lot more difficult."

Melissa sighed. This entire venture seemed to be turning south. First it was that village being attacked by bandits and Grimm. Now they were stuck outside of where they needed to get, and were only avoiding being caught by the barest sliver of luck. She looked up at the now-starry sky. "Why did you have to attack them, Diana?" she asked the air, as if it could answer her. Whatever the case, they needed to find a place to make camp for the night. If they stayed within the sightline of the Fang, there was a chance that they would be seen, however far away they were.

A short period of searching later, and they had found a collection of tree that were grown so close together that they almost formed a wall around them. It made a good place for a temporary camp. Melissa sat down next to Troy, "What do you think Naruto's doing?"

He gave her a sideways glance, "Why does it matter? He can't help us, can he? He's halfway across the world in Menagerie by now." His tone was just a little angry. No… it was bitter.

"I-I was just making conversation," Melissa replied. She got up and walked back over to her bedroll, where she laid down, staring back up at the skies above. She wasn't really thinking on anything, just laying back, staring up. Distracted would be the word, but there was nothing to distract her. Eventually she closed her eyes, and though she didn't know when, she drifted off to restless sleep.

"Another day, another adventure!" Nora cheered, energized from the proper sleep Team RNJR had been able to achieve in the inn back in Higanbana, the town they had just left behind. Her cheerfulness was reflected in the attitudes of the rest of her teammates, as well. Jaune was carrying the map, studying it with his brow raised as though in dismay.

Ruby asked, "What's on the agenda today?"

"Walking," Jaune answered.

"With a side of?" Nora queried.

"Walking," Ren echoed.

Ruby sighed, "Haven is a lot farther away than I thought…"

"Ruby…" Ren began, walking up next to her. "How long did you think this journey was going to take?"

The small girl threw her arms up in frustration, "I don't know! I grew up in a small area; I've never been this far from home."

She walked up next to Jaune, who returned the favor of Ren echoing him earlier, "Right, but… how long?"

Ruby hesitated, "Maybe like… two… weeks?"

Jaune quickly pulled the map away from his face and exclaimed, "What?!"

"Okay, fine! Three or something!" Ruby responded. "Look… whatever." She paused, glancing up for a second before doing a double take. "Hey… what's that?" 'That' was a walled village, though the buildings looked odd from their distance. Nora jumped up on the fence next to them and put her hands over her eyes.

"That's strange," Jaune remarked, glancing up and down from his map. "I didn't think we'd be hitting another village for a few days."

"Are those buildings…" Nora began. "Damaged?"

There was a brief pause as they processed what Nora had just said, before Jaune broke the silence, "We should search for survivors!" He dropped the map, and they took off running towards the town. Nora jumped up on the walls while the other three ran through the entrance. They glanced around, but there were no bodies, no people at all, in fact. And on closer examination, the buildings weren't actually damaged. Or rather, they didn't look damaged. They looked like they were simply never completed at all, like a construction project that was abandoned.

"Hey, I think I found something!" Nora yelled out, now further down the road. They all ran up to see. She brushed aside some bushes, reading the sign. "Oniyuri?" She stood up, placing her hands on her hips. "I've never heard of it."

"Me neither," Jaune added.

"I have," Ren sighed. The others turned to stare at him. "You might think of it as… Anima's Mountain Glenn… had it never been completed. Years ago, the richest members of Mistral were… unhappy with how the kingdom was being run. Frustrated with the council, they pooled their resources together to build a city, with their own laws. They hoped that one day, it could maybe even become its own kingdom." He paused, turning away. "Many thought it would be the future." He walked to the side of the road, "I know my parents did…"

"What happened?" Ruby asked.

Ren sighed, rubbing away some of the settled dust on the small stone railing, revealing claw marks from some time ago, "What always happens…"

"Grimm…" Jaune finished. Ren clenched his fists.

"Not just any one."

Ruby glanced at her friends, then back to Ren, "One…?"

A flock of ravens, as if they were trying to be dramatic, flew up from the forest outside the walls, and over the town. Jaune began to walk away, "C'mon. Let's just get through here. This place gives me the creeps."

They kept on through the town, with Ren taking the lead. Suddenly, when they had just passed a mossy fountain, he held up his hand, telling them to stop. He closed his eyes, focusing on a faint sound. He lowered his arm to his pistol. His teammates drew their own weapons, looking around. Ren's eyes shot open just as a figure leapt over a nearby building. He dropped to he ground a short distance away, sliding back and extending bladed bracers as he did so. He let out a, "Hah!" like he wanted to fight, but didn't give them even a moment to react.

Naruto blinked, still staring up at the sky. While he questioned the mentality of taking another boat after what had happened with the last one, he also didn't want to walk across an entire ocean to get to Blake's home. So, he didn't voice his concerns when Blake said they would take the first boat to Menagerie.

They had been on said boat for nearly a week now. As it turned out, they had actually crashed somewhere along the northern coast of Anima, and by now they were nearing Menagerie. Naruto honestly couldn't wait to see the home of the Faunus here on Remnant. Blake seemed to detest the idea, but he liked the idea of a place where people who were treated as less than human could live without fear. Perhaps it was because of his own life, what he had been through in his childhood. Last he had heard, they would be docked within two days. And that had been several hours ago.

A shadow blocked out his view of the sun, standing between himself and the ball of fire. "There you are!" it spoke. He sat up, avoiding slamming his head into Blake when he did. "I was just talking to the captain, and he said that we'll be in Menagerie in a few hours, sooner than he expected."

"That's great! So we'll be there before night?" Naruto asked, more eager to see it than he thought.

Blake shrugged, "I think so. It's only noon, so probably."

Naruto stood up, "So, what do we do until then?"

Blake raised an eyebrow at him, "Well, I know what I'd suggest, but you'd probably give me a blank look, so what were you thinking?"

Naruto thought about it for a moment, "I don't know. What do you do on a cruise?"

"Usually they have things around the ship to do. I know that there's a hot tub and pool on the other side of the ship. And I think that they have a theater somewhere onboard."

"A theater? You mean like a movie theater?" Naruto asked. Blake nodded slowly.

"What else would I mean?"

"I dunno. We didn't really have movies back home. We just kind of trained and went on missions. And sometimes we would go to hot springs and stuff. I know Baa-chan liked gambling, too."

"Baa-chan? Who was that?"

"Granny Tsunade. She became the Hokage after Ji-chan died fighting the snake."

"How do you keep doing that? You answer one question, and then I've got two more to ask," Blake remarked. Naruto grinned, shrugging.

"Brat, I need to talk to you."

'You couldn't have done this earlier? When I was alone?"

"It's important."

Naruto blinked, seeing Blake staring at him. "What?"

"Nothing, just… never mind." She turned and began to walk away. "I'll see you later, when we get to Menagerie."

Naruto watched her for another moment before he entered his mind, "What do you want, Kurama?"

It's about that thing I was sensing before. Take just a little of my chakra for a moment, and you'll see. It's stronger here, and it feels a little different."

"You sound… nervous, almost."

The fox scoffed, "Brat, I am older than your entire civilization. I was created long before mankind ever began to use chakra as a weapon, and I am the strongest of the Bijū. There is nothing in existence, especially not in this world, that can make me 'nervous.'"

"Alright… give me just a little." Naruto felt a sudden minor influx of power as the fox's chakra seeped through the cage and into him. He could see his reflection in the water along the ground, and the red eyes that came with it. For just a moment, he left his mind, and he felt what the fox was talking about. Deep beneath them, so far down that it was undoubtedly halfway to the center of the earth, there was a mass of energy. It didn't feel like Aura, but it also didn't quite feel like chakra. Naruto frowned, wondering what it could have been. And Kurama had said that it was different from before, back on the beach almost two weeks ago.

He reentered his mind, "What the hell is that?"

"I'm not entirely sure, but I have an idea. But that's not for you to know. I just need you to know it was there, in case it's not what I think and it attacks. But, like the other one, this one seems dormant. Or… asleep might be a better word."

"Asleep? Attack? What is it, Kurama?" Before he got an answer, he felt himself be forced out of his mind, and found himself still standing on the front of the ship. Kurama's chakra had receded, as well. So he couldn't sense the thing anymore. Just a moment later, he was searching for it with Sage Mode, but he supposed it was way to far away for even Sage Mode to sense.

He left Sage Mode, sitting back down on his chair. He laid back, hands behind his head, wondering what the hell that energy could have been. It dawned on him that it might have just felt different because he wasn't used to sensing things with Kurama's power. He mentally nodded, deciding that that must have been it.

For a while, he laid there, staring up, until a loud horn blared all across the ship. Immediately, he sat bolt upright, thinking it was an attack. A moment later, he realized that it was probably just the signal that they were close to Menagerie. He stood up, and gazed out in front of them, and saw an expansive island in the far distance. However, between that island and the boat, there were massive waves, most likely caused when the giant sea monster-looking Grimm in front of them had reared up.

Naruto smacked his forehead, realizing that he had probably drawn it here when he used the fox's chakra. He entered Sage Mode and readied himself to fight. Blake dropped next to him, staring up at the Grimm. "Where did this come from?" she questioned rhetorically. Naruto shrugged. He crouched, bending his knees as he prepared to jump. Blake ran forward, shooting at it several times. It evaded each bullet with its long, thin body. It snapped forwards at her, closing its jaws around where she had been just before her clone allowed her to dodge. Naruto launched himself upwards like a rocket, soaring high above the Grimm. He grinned, turning his body towards it and creating a clone just above his feet. He pointed his sword at it, hurtling off of his clones feet.

He shot down, fast as sound, thanks to gravity and his own leg strength, and pierced right through the bony armor and down through its skull. He smirked, thinking it was dead, when it began flailing, trying to shake him off. He pulled his chokutō out of it and jumped off of the wounded creature. He landed next to Blake, who was crouching behind the railing. "Well, that didn't go as well as I thought it would," he remarked. Blake rolled her eyes, turning her attention to the Grimm.

"How did that not kill it?" she questioned, as if he knew. "I'll distract it. This time… cut off its head."

Naruto nodded, running off to the side while Blake shot at it as she retreated backwards. Foolishly, the Grimm lunged at her again, only for Naruto to slam into its side, pinning it to the side of the ship with his sword. He pulled out two kunai, and went to work on it while it thrashed around, generally damaging everything. Nothing major, though. Not this time. Within a few moments, the body began to dissipate, returning to dust. He picked up his blade, sheathing it. Blake walked up next to him, "Aren't we a little close to Menagerie for this thing?"

Naruto shrugged, not wanting to tell her why it had probably shown up. After all, in her mind the fox was probably just a monster, especially since the red-eyes were just the beginning of the fox taking over his body.

The boat began to move again, chugging along to the home of the Faunus. Naruto ran to the front of the boat like an excited child whose mother told him that they almost to the candy store. Perhaps he was more excited for this than he had thought. Blake laughed at his energy, as it reminded her of her team leader. "I should tell you, Naruto… my parents might not like you. I know my dad is… well, he's protective of his family. I don't know about my mom, though."

Naruto grinned, "That's fine. I'll probably just talk them to death until they like me." Blake chuckled.

"You do have a certain way with words…" she joked.

The boat docked only a minute later, and Blake and Naruto were on the shore soon enough. Naruto looked around, trying to figure out what to focus on. There were Faunus everywhere, something he hadn't really seen at all. "I've never seen this many Faunus before!" he exclaimed, drawing another snicker from Blake.

Dr. Watts was frustrated. He hadn't been able to find any village called Konohagakure on his scroll, so he had assumed that it just wasn't plotted on the simple map that the scroll had. And so, he used his resources, in this case an extensive library that had been collected over the Queen's entire life. If it wasn't in here, it wasn't likely that he would ever find it on a map.

Speaking of the Queen, she had been most pleased that Ozpin had so foolishly accumulated all of the data on the boy. She was still doubtful of Cinder's story when Watts had returned, something that seemed to change as soon as he had laid out his findings for her.

While he searched, he also looked into the data he had collected from Beacon. First and foremost, the boy's abilities. Ozpin had rated each category, seemingly on a scale of one to ten. Watts didn't know what kind of comparison Ozpin was making, however, so he wasn't sure what exactly each one meant exactly. For example, he had given the boy an eight for speed. Perhaps he was comparing him to himself? Watts shook his head, telling himself that he would come back to it later.

Next, he looked at the folder labeled 'No Aura'. This one in particular baffled him. It held documentation on paper and in video. According to Ozpin, he wasn't able to sense any Aura whatsoever from the boy, despite what he could do. The late headmaster had listed his own theories on why it was so, with a few notes that were apparently from the boy himself, including one about how he had an additional Semblance forced on to him. The video showed the boy creating two different Aura techniques, one being a sphere and the other being a shuriken. The boy thrust the orb, but threw the shuriken. Watts leaned in, watching that part again. Aura was supposed to dissipate the moment it left contact with the body, meaning it should have been completely impossible to throw it. Let alone the fact that the boy apparently had no Aura at all.

Watts moved on, adding another mystery to the pile of two, so far. Next up was this 'Kyūbi' that Ozpin had brought up once in the 'No Aura' files. The more Watts read into this one, the more confused he got. According to the boy himself, he had an ability where he could tap into some of his animalistic traits even further, increasing his speed and power but making him almost feral. Ozpin had made several notes, including talking about 'seals', whatever that was supposed to mean, and something called a 'Hokage.' The 'Kyūbi' itself was described as Ozpin as a demon, but not a Grimm. Watts furrowed his brow. That sounded like something Salem would know about. The rather bare description of it was that it was a giant fox, capable of wiping out entire Kingdoms without a second thought. Now Watts knew that Salem would want to hear about this.

He studied the strange symbols on the strange book he had picked up, as well. They looked like Old Mistrali lettering, but some of the key features of the Mistrali language were missing from them, meaning it was most likely either an older version or just completely unconnected. He set it aside, intending to run it through an automatic translator later on. Perhaps then he would find out what sort of book it was. Most likely, it wasn't too important, since it would probably just end up being some sort of storybook.

But for now, he had found the largest, most detailed map in the entire collection, at least of Sanus, where Ozpin seemed to think the village was located. He also brought several books on Sanus over with him, hoping they could be of use. Between the two, the map and the books, he hoped to find the 'Konohagakure' within the day, at least.

The only problem was, the only mentions of anything even close to Konohagakure were in sections detailing towns that Vale or Vacuo had decimated or annexed on Anima throughout history. They were all from over a hundred years ago, as well. The latest one had been a hundred-twenty-four years ago, while the earliest had happened so long ago that it didn't have a date. Watts grew increasingly frustrated as he searched, eventually coming to the conclusion that, despite what Ozpin said, the boy's hometown wasn't on Sanus.

Perhaps he would have better luck looking for it on Anima.

Another chapter done, another couple of progressions.

Funnily enough, I actually got so into writing this chapter that I was able to do it all in one night. Now, if ya don't mind, I'm going to sleep, now that it's (according to my computer's clock as I'm writing this) 4:45:53.

And so, the winner of the poll for which character would crossover with RWBY is...

Neither!

Which is fine, since I apparently have a new story anyway. It's called Unprepared, starring Hashirama Senju, the man who somehow didn't have a story yet, leastways in this particular crossover.

Until Chapter 23!