AN: Well, well, I see many hope for more RWBY characters to pop in and say hello, but, as I said in the end of the last chapter, I had already decided. So, if you don't like it, don't worry...things can always change, for nothing is set in stone.
And, uh...Yeah, late. I really shouldn't set due dates for myself. Procrastination is a curse.
Disclaimer: I own neither Naruto nor RWBY. If I had a stake in either, I wouldn't be on this site.
Chapter 2: A Simple Day
"We should, um...We should wait, just a bit." Ruby finally decided. "Make sure things play out a little bit differently."
Yang frowned while Weiss nodded.
"Glad you decided, and now we can continue." Blake said as she started the next part by selecting the lone four option.
Ozpin had replayed a recording of last night. He saw Naruto attempting to release the flames out of Cielo Fiamma by brute force, which amounted to nothing but failure. Naruto needed his Aura, but one cannot unlock it without large amounts of distress or someone unlocking it for him. As much as he wanted to help, he could not interfere. If he did, it would send the message that Ozpin had been spying on his new employee. That and Lupa did say that she taught Naruto to be wary of those who know the identity of Cielo Fiamma. The Headmaster sighed; it was slightly infuriating to keep secrets this important to the young man. The boy had a right to know his own heritage, his own family, but that can't be done.
Not until Naruto was strong enough. Ozpin was only a Headmaster, nothing more. The more he interfered, the faster the secret unfolds. Ozpin leaned back on his chair, and stared to the ceiling. 'Minato…guide your son to the right path.'
"Well, that's only making the secret more tantalizing." Yang mumbled, still a little bummed they couldn't share this with others.
Blake Belladonna could not get the image of what happened last night out of her head. A young man -a human- could wield Cielo Fiamma. Impossible. It broke all logic. Cielo Fiamma was linked to Fiamma Primo's Aura. Therefore only people of his blood can wield it. Does that mean that boy is related to Primo? Plausible, but she had never heard of a half-Faunus that had no visible characteristic of an animal. From her angle, she could not see anything else other than the untamed hair he had.
'Could it be his hair? It almost looks like a lion's…' Blake wondered. 'Male, lion faunus, could have pronounced canines, retractable claws, or a mane.' She scratched the last one out. Compared to other lion faunus, the young man she saw last night had shorter hair than most.
"Barber shops exist." The Schnee heiress idly commented.
"Shut up, Weiss," Blake said with a small frown while she tried to figure out what type of Faunus this guy was.
'The same can be said of Primo…' She thought begrudgingly. Despite being in love with books, Blake did not fancy mysteries. So far, that blond enigma last night has been a consistent mystery full of plausible truth or contradictions. It frustrated her.
She walked to the initiation location, a cliffside that faced a wide forest, while still recollecting facts. 'Minato Fiamma, or Fiamma Secondo, was last to have wielded Cielo Fiamma. But in the years before his assassination and subsequent reformation of the White Fang's methodology, Fiamma Secondo admitted to losing the weapon after being knocked out by alcohol.'
"Yeah, uh, no." Yang snorted. "That's a lie. A crappy one, too."
"How do you-?" Weiss was cut off by Yang's smirk.
"The Gauntlets only come off when we say they come off." Yang shrugged. "Someone would have to cut my arms off to get Ember Cecilia."
"Fair point."
Blake did not like the implication. Minato Fiamma was known in the White Fang for his inability to hold his drink. He would be a chaotic drunkard. However in the presence of a woman, he was a casanova. Blake really hated the implications her mind made on the spot. 'Had Fiamma Secondo conceived an heir with an unknown woman during the time he lost Cielo Fiamma?' It made sense at least. Only a Fiamma could activate Cielo Fiamma, and the new unknown wielder of Cielo Fiamma could activate it; however, its flames were a different story. Blake knew that young man's Aura had to be locked since the flames were not spewing out the arm thrusters on his forearm or even coated his palms. Moreover, she could tell his Aura was compatible since it felt warm even in its restrained state.
"Who are you?" She silently asked nobody in particular.
"For years, you have trained to become warriors." Ozpin's voice snapped Blake out of her thoughts. "Today, your abilities will be evaluated in Emerald Forest."
"Aw yeah, get to see us be awesome all over again," Yang said as she popped a chip into her mouth.
"Yes, nearly dying. How awesome." Weiss deadpanned.
"Ah, c'mon, Weiss, don't be so glum!" Ruby beamed at her partner. "We took out a giant Nevermore!"
'I shouldn't focus on that guy. I came here to Beacon to start fresh. I shouldn't remind myself of the White Fang. I shouldn't remind myself of the lost Fiamma family. I shouldn't-' She stopped herself. Cielo Fiamma was Fiamma Primo's, her idol's, weapon. Her family name of Belladonna only survived up to this point because Fiamma Primo saved her grandfather and grandmother from meaningless execution. To forget that was to trample upon her family's word. It was her duty to seek out this young man, and get some answers.
"First and foremost, are you single?"
"That is not what my other meant, Yang!" Blake snapped.
"No, but it'd make the show way more interesting," Yang said cheekily.
If that blond is the Fiamma Terzo, then it would be her duty both as a Belladonna and as a former member of the White Fang to protect him. To the very last breath. To protect every generation of Fiamma was their family's purpose besides aiding him or her in coexistence with humans.
"These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon. So it is in your best interest to be paired with someone with whom you can work well." The Headmaster gave a quick pause. "That being said, the first person you make eye contact with upon touching the ground will be your partner for the next four years."
'That seems highly illogical to do, but if you want to drill in the concept of teamwork, be my guest, Headmaster.' Blake readied herself. First she needed to get past this initiation before she could search for that young man.
"Drat, foiled by the dastardly education system again!" Yang snapped her fingers and scowled.
Blake rolled her eyes at the joke while Ruby snickered and Weiss smirked.
Naruto groggily woke up. His half-asleep face stared at the ceiling. "Another failed attempt. What am I missing?" He wondered to himself. He raised his right hand, and inspected the ring once more. "Cielo Fiamma…why won't you release your fire? Am I the wrong guy?" As if offended by the question, the rings bound to his fingers tighter. Naruto winced at the action. "I'll take that as a no then." He muttered. "What am I missing?" He asked again in hopes of getting a sign. He waited patiently. Seconds went to minutes; nothing happened. Just when he was about to give up, his mind ached. He closed his eyes.
A black void. However, in the middle of it all, a tiny, flickering flame.
Naruto kind of understood it. Though he couldn't put it into words. He massaged his head. "I'm the one that has to supply the flame, huh?" No confirmation was given. "This sucks. How am I going to get you to work?" An alarm beeped. Naruto's eyes widened. Wait a sec…was that all a dream? What the heck kind of dream makes you dream about being awake?!
"So, he was asleep dreaming about waking up before he woke up and realized he was dreaming about being awake?" Ruby's eyes crossed after she summarized the scene. She closed her eyes and rubbed her head. "Ow, my brain hurts."
"Don't try to think about it, then," Weiss said.
"But it could be crucial to the plot!"
"When has a dream ever been crucial to a plot?" Weiss scoffed. Weiss' scroll hummed alive with The Seer's symbol.
"Remind me to never introduce you to Percy Jackson."
"Who?" Weiss asked.
"No one important, never mind." The Seer's symbol dimmed.
Naruto's eyes locked in on the time shown in the clock.
9:00 AM.
He bolted out of bed quick. "Not again!" He rushed himself into his personal bathroom, and took a three minute shower. A quick brush of his hair, some deodorant, and lotion, and he was ready to put on his dark blue jumpsuit uniform of a custodian of Beacon.
A set of rusty brown eyes narrowed at a rushing blond headed for his position. "You're late again, Uzumaki. " A tanned man with slicked back white hair said. Naruto skidded to a halt, and panted for a few moments. The older man crossed his arms. "I'm beginning to doubt that you actually want this job. You're more akin to a turtle than what your little tattoos on your cheeks say otherwise. I don't see why I can't get you kicked out of this job for your sloppy attendance so far." Murmurs were being passed off from the other custodians in the room. It slightly unnerved Naruto.
Naruto repeatedly bowed since he was afraid to lose his job just after he got it. "I'm really sorry, Boss! I was just-"
"I've no need for excuses." The man cut off harshly before he turned around. "I want to see you work, not squeak like a mouse."
"Eh, I'm more likely to believe he's Blake's brave lion."
"Yang, shut up."
The blunt words got to Naruto, who cleared up his mind. The younger man understood that excuses should not be made. To this man, actions spoke louder than words. He would show it by cleaning far more efficiently than yesterday! "Let's go, newbie. Do you have enough cleaning solution stocked up?"
"Yes sir!" Naruto answered confidently.
An hour or two later, Naruto finished sweeping the hardwood floor of the Ballroom the freshmen slept in last night. He was proud of his work. He made that floor reflect his face on its surface!
"Talk about using some elbow grease," Yang said with an approving whistle. She grinned. "Then again, with his physique, I'm not surprised."
He needed to keep this kind of quality cleaning. Granny Lupa's orphanage depended on his help along with the other older orphans who planned to help out as well. "Now to dust off the walls and polish those windows!" A growl from his stomach protested the idea. "Right after I get some ramen." He exited the room quickly to satisfy his stomach's rumbling. He pushed the door open, and felt it slam against something that grunted in pain. Naruto looked at who might be the unfortunate victim, and was terrified of who it was: his janitorial boss.
"Uzumaki…"
"Gah! My bad, Boss." Naruto apologized quickly. The value of the apology waned when his stomach growled again.
"…" The older man walked past him. "If you were hungry, you should have just said so. Follow me. I'm taking a lunch break too."
The two headed off into the building's cafeteria hall on the first floor. Naruto was stunned by the volume of students in the large room. "Why are there so many people?!" Naruto asked.
"It's initiation day." The man answered simply before fully explaining the meaning of today. "Second, third, and fourth years are exempted from class so that they can watch the new blood."
"They all saw us suffer," Ruby said with watery eyes. "So not fair."
Naruto stared at the tan janitor with unfocused eyes. The older janitor massaged his temple. Ozpin did say Naruto lacked proper education. "The others have a free day so that they can look at the newly forming teams." The gears in Naruto's head finally worked.
"Oh. That's cool. Does that mean-"
"No we can't watch them." Naruto slouched forward. He was disappointed, but it made sense for other staff to be doing their jobs rather than slack off on a day like this. The older janitor could see the disappointment in Naruto's eyes, and aimed to remedy that by saying the condition. "Unless you're on break." Naruto's mood instantly whipped toward the opposite end of the scale. He whooped for joy.
He may not be a good fighter, but he acknowledged those stronger than him, like the Huntsmen and Huntresses stationed around the world. They were accomplished because they were among the best of the best, and fought tooth and nail to get their position. Kinda like the storybook heroes Granny Lupa talked about before he went to bed. Aside from repaying her, at some point, he did want to become a Huntsman.
He wanted to help people just like Granny Lupa did for him and the others who at one point lived or still lives under her care. He reasoned with himself that doing this job would help the young ones. He shouldn't aim to kill himself off earlier than it should.
"...At least he has a noble head on his shoulders," Weiss said with a small smile that she shared with her teammates.
"I wonder how strong he really is, though?" Ruby mused before she bit into another cookie.
They found a free table, and Naruto quickly sat there to claim it. Plus with this seat, he could watch the recording from far away without any loss in definition. "I'll get us food." The older janitor announced. "What would you like?"
"Miso ramen, sir!" The man left Naruto alone to watch the initiation right where the young man sat.
The blond stared at the far away screen. That girl in red, Ruby, was in a firing squad along with that crabby princess, that golden bombshell, and a mysterious beauty in black.
"Golden bombshell? Points returned," Yang said with a grin.
"Deducted." Weiss scowled. She was not a crabby princess! She was just having an off morning. Then again, that is what they say about first impression.
"Oh, don't be jellin' Weiss. Someday you'll find a lady killer just right for you."
They were firing off round after round in an attempt to shoot down a gigantic black raven, a Nevermore if Granny Lupa's lessons were correct. The giant bird never faltered, and rammed its its right wing on the structure the girls were on. Naruto was alarmed. Would they die falling to their deaths? His fears were proven wrong as each girl easily made it to stable ground up above a similarly made structure.
The young man's fingers twitched. His body had the urge to do something about the situation. But what could he do? He sucked compared to the girls he was watching. Plus, Cielo Fiamma did not want to show its true potential. Naruto clutched his chest. 'Why does it feel like I'm missing out on something awesome?' He wondered to himself before he shook the thought. 'I shouldn't be thinking of fighting. I wouldn't be much help at all.' Just then, a bowl of ramen was placed in front of him. "Ah! Thanks, Boss." The man sat down, and ate his plate of curry.
"You're welcome." The two silently ate their food while spectating the initiation.
Naruto spoke up when he saw something strange. "Boss."
"Hm?"
"Why did that guy in green not die yet?" He asked. "I mean a throw like that to a pillar should kill a person, right?"
"In normal circumstances, yes. With a hit like that, normal people are supposed to die." The man agreed. "However, as a Huntsman or Huntress, they have access to their Aura, the manifestation of their souls to act as a barrier to protect them from major damage."
"So…it's like an active forcefield?"
"Yup."
"But rather than defense, it can also be used for offense." The man stated as a matter-of-fact. "Some people who've trained their Aura can project it outwards as extra force for their attack. Some even compact their Aura into one attack to make their next attack longer, sharper, stronger, and so on." Naruto leaned forward, obviously interested in the topic. "The most terrifying example of Aura used for offense was one man around eighty years ago, who used his Aura to burn an army. My grandfather said that the flames were far more intense than regular ones. Despite looking like normal flames, anyone near it felt the heat melt their armors and weapons."
"I think I know what he's talking about," Blake said dryly.
"What?" Ruby asked.
"Give it a second."
"Woah. That guy sounds pretty strong."
"He was. He's also the one who made the White Fang in the first place." The man answered.
"Yep. Thought so," Blake said with a nod.
"...Whoa." Ruby and Yang chorused.
"That guy was a Faunus?!" Naruto exclaimed in surprise. "That's so cool."
The man agreed. "That man united the Faunus under the banner of the White Fang, but it was his flames that attracted the Faunus to him. Despite the destructive potential of his Aura, it's been said that his was welcoming, warm, and gave off the feeling of family. It felt harmonious, or so my grandfather said." Naruto glanced at his right hand.
Naruto calmed himself down. The story felt familiar, but he couldn't place a finger on where he heard it from. But he had a lead now on how to get Cielo Fiamma's flames to come out. "Can you tell me how to activate my Aura?"
The man raised an eyebrow. "Hm? I'm sorry that's impossible for me. I don't even have mine unlocked. You'll need to see a proper Huntsman or Huntress to unlock it for you. Either that or be under a lot of stress to the point you feel like you're about to die or really are about to die, or so the books say. I'm not really sure anymore. You might need to go to the library to confirm the information."
Naruto was shocked to hear the words come from someone else. 'Granny was right!' He now had the right idea to release Cielo Fiamma's true potential. Pumped up by the discovery, Naruto quickly ate his food.
"Eating so fast should make him sick," Weiss said with horrid fascination as the show displayed just how rapidly Naruto ate.
"I know it's going to make me sick." Yang muttered. "Points deducted..."
"I could eat faster." Ruby huffed.
"It's not a challenge, Ruby."
"I could still eat faster."
Once clean, he stood up, and thanked his superior for the food. He took off, but not without stopping to look at the progress of the initiation. He saw Ruby drag the Nevermore up a cliff before she decapitated the Grimm's head cleanly off its body. "Heh…good for you, Ruby." He rushed to the ballroom to finish his job. "First clean those windows and walls, then to the library to pick up a book on Aura for dummies!"
"That'll be quite challenging for him, if his phonetic skills is as bad as he says it is," Weiss said knowingly.
A group stepped into an orphanage. They were wearing the same outfits -uniforms. They each wore a white vest with two buttons holding it together. Underneath was a black top with a hood. On their faces, a metal mask resembling Grimm.
White Fang. They were here for one person. That person was on television, and his weapons looked eerily similar to Primo's and Secondo's. They had to confirm their suspicion. The humans they interrogated pointed out that the boy they were looking for had been a part of this orphanage for his whole life. So here they were, busting down the door.
The leader of the group parted his subordinates. He was bulkier than them, but overall appearance looked the same. His mask was far more sinister however. Instead of a half-mask, this one was a full one with two eye slits with red streaks to add to the design of the mask. It looked like a Golem's face. "Lupa!" He shouted. "Come out you traitor!"
"Oh, well, this ought to be interesting," Blake said dryly.
The peaceful atmosphere of the orphanage changed. An elderly woman in a black blouse and long skirt with a white apron over it entered the hallway. She had extensively gray hair that was pulled back into a ponytail of uncontrollable shaggy hair resembling a wolf's. Her sharp burgundy eyes narrowed at the White Fang members. Her face was lightly wrinkled, betraying her true age of eighty-two. That and her posture was perfect; not a slouch or signs of muscle degradation because of old age. She was fit for an old lady.
"I sense a butt whupin coming," Yang said with a smirk. "Grannie style."
"The deadliest of fighting styles." Ruby whispered with narrowed eyes.
"Cain…is that you?"
"Where is Fiamma Terzo?" Cain demanded.
"Really? Not even going to properly greet your own flesh and blood grandmother?" Lupa asked with mock hurt.
"Where. Is. Fiamma. Terzo?" He repeated in a snarl.
"The Fiamma line is gone." Lupa answered. "Your group saw to its demise. The relatives, both distant and close, were wiped out on that night. You didn't leave any Fiamma alive. You didn't even spare the newborns."
"...That's...Monstrous." Weiss gaped, horrified.
"Yeah, well, I didn't...I wouldn't..." Blake faltered for words. She knew the White Fang had derailed from its purpose, but to have fallen so far off track was shocking.
Cain stomped his foot. "I'm not here for a lesson on morality. Where is he?!"
"The Fiamma family is gone. You're catching a phantom." Lupa lied.
"Stop toying with me!" Cain roared.
"What makes you think I am?" Lupa asked sincerely.
"We raided the prison for answers." Cain said. "Those gang members agreed on one thing they heard from the blond boy that beat them up. Do you know that they said?"
"Indulge my curiosity."
"Fiamma iridescente, pulire tutto."
"...And now I wish I knew how to translate." Weiss muttered. "That was a terribly good cliffhanger."
"Aww, I want to see the Granny kick ass!" Yang complained.
"Next one, next one!" Ruby cheered.
AN: Admittedly, I'm finishing this chapter while recovering from a party favor I wiped out. So, yeah, could be a weak chapter. But...yeah. At least the real story is way better than this.
Anyway, y'all know what to do!
REVIEW!