Chapter 2: In which Raven learns she has a brain that functions
A/N: Review Responses will be on the bottom A/N. As such, I find it pertinent to state that the word count of his chapter is definitely inflated. I have been flamed for this, so if you flame, I'll ignore you and not respond in future Review Responses.
Story wise, this chapter was not at all what I expected, and is already straying from the 'fun' story that I expected. But I'm not displeased, and will again not edit the storyline. Lots of prose and conversation, not much otherwise. Sorry, I got taken away. I still wanted to post something, so I'll leave it at this.
I feel like I want to go back and edit some stuff in for Chapter 1. It felt alright, but there definitely could be more descriptions/explanation as to what's going on. I'm also unsatisfied with the way I introduced the characters and the students, as well as Naruto himself. I won't go back immediately, but eventually will do so. Maybe. Who knows.
That being said, I'm glad to see people enjoy the different approach to Naruto as a professor at Beacon, rather than as a student.
Chapter 2 START
Team STRQ trudged through the dorm hallways, shuffling their feet with heavy footfalls, dragging their toes against the ground between each step. It was only the second day, but waking up at 7 A.M. to prepare for the day had taken a toll on them after their first day twelve-hour schedule. Granted, the majority of the classes first delved into the syllabus and the beginning portion of whatever subject was at hand, so a good portion of the classes were spent getting to know the teacher and understanding what was to be expected of them as students for the semester.
But that completely ignored the combat class, which was the last class of the day.
There was no syllabus for combat.
Naruto had seen it quite fitting for the rest of the students, who had not taken a proverbial beatdown from his own hands the day before, to perform calisthenics. That, by itself, would not have been so daunting a task. A normal calisthenics workout would have been as easy as breathing for Huntsman, and would have been no more than a light warmup for the majority of the first year Beacon students. After all, they were mostly here for combat training and practically in an elevator school to obtaining licenses and jobs as future Huntsman. Recognizing this, Naruto told them -
"Wait here. I need to bring some weights."
Twenty pound weights on each limb, with no Aura allowed to augment their strength. And if that wasn't bad enough, Naruto had placed more weights on anyone that was in better shape than expected until that student was struggling as equally as all the others. Within five minutes of the workout, labored breathing was all that was heard; no one had the energy to speak. And any complaints were quickly adhered to with...more weights.
And yet, somehow that wasn't even the worst part.
"High knees, people! High knees! Taiyang, get your skinny legs up to your chest, and maybe you'll be able to get a smidgen off my Aura just yet!"
Naruto goaded everyone with the same, sickly warm smile that had covered his face the day before. He continued to shout encouragingly, cheering at the students with hardly a care for what they thought of him. And oh, they thought all sorts of hellish things for him.
After all, he was laughing and talking and making jokes while doing the same workout as them...but with even more weights. When one of the students brought up that he might be using Aura, Naruto disproved that theory immediately by syncing up his Scroll to the arena's system. He also synced up everyone's scroll and called out the students that were using their Aura furtively. They were punished with more of the instructor's abhorrent insults.
"You absolute genius you thought you were, huh? Well, lemme tell you something...you aren't a genius until you can manage to paint the entirety of this beautiful Beacon campus a single, solid shade of pink, Miss Felderwide!"
"Oh, Mr. Chadswick...I remember you were the one to ask me if I was a too young to be a professor. Do I look to young to be a professor to you now? Well, do I? DO I?! You didn't even challenge me yesterday...you brave soul."
"If five times five is twenty-five and twenty times twenty is four-hundred, then what is three-hundred-thirty-seven times eight-hundred-seventy-two? I'm talking to you Mr. Gold. Silence? Well, you wouldn't know either way without CHEATING, so I'm gonna tell it to you straight. It's two-hundred-ninety-three thousand, eight hundred-sixty-four. If you train like me, you would know that in an instant."
And that was how it went for about another hour. Meanwhile, the students that had challenged their instructor were sitting in a meditative position, channeling their Aura throughout their bodies in absolute peace. At least, that was the plan. Most of them couldn't ignore their professor acting like a sergeant in Atlas and choked on their laughter, breaking their focus. A few others simply stared wide-eyed. Raven chose to watch her brother curse a storm silently as he struggled through each set of exercises, sweating profusely.
She almost laughed at the absurdity of it all.
"I hate that professor," Qrow snarled, his teeth clenched in his displeasure. His entire body felt like it had been dragged across jagged rocks up a mountain, and upon reaching his destination, had been tossed back and forth far too roughly. Essentially - "I'm so sore, but I'll gladly take a fight next time."
Taiyang let out a rueful chuckle, giving his teammate a sideway glance. "Sure, yeah. Take a fight against that guy. Sounds fun; I'll be glad to watch." He still felt like his parade had been rained on by a hurricane from the day before. At least he had eighteen others that felt the same...actually, Raven didn't count. She actually pushed the professor back the tiniest of margins in her last attack. Seriously, though, wasn't it so saddening that he was jealous that she managed to take out even 0.2%? Perspective really makes some things acceptable and other things ridiculous.
"Same here. I know that workout was rough, but that kick to the chin made me feel things I'd rather not. Workouts, I can at least recover with cookies. I'll sit out, thanks," Summer said her piece with a sigh at the end, eyes closing from exhaustion.
"I mean...that's fair," Qrow acquiesced. Then, he pointed a finger at Taiyang. "But you watch me, ya' little punk. And I'll at least get a solid hit in to make even with that chump." He shook his head roughly in agitation. "Who does he think he is?"
"As hard as it is to believe, I believe I'm your professor."
That...cheerful voice was far too familiar to the group. Slowly, as four and in unison, the team united to turn in tandem. Before them was, indeed, their combat instructor. However, instead of the tracksuit sweatpants and warmup jacket he had worn for past two days during class, the teen was now donning a buttoned semiformal bright blue shirt, matched with beige khakis that was freshly pressed.
"Ah..." Summer, Qrow, and Taiyang all blanked.
"What's with the getup?" Raven inquired, starting the conversation. "We only finished class about thirty minutes ago."
Naruto scratched the back of his head, chuckling. "Yeah, well, you guys - errr...the entire class seemed to take a long time changing into their school attire. It was actually long enough for me to change, go to my after class meetings and finish up, and head to my office hours."
The team stood slack-jawed. Had they really spent that long?
"Yeah, you guys really dragged your feet to the dorm hallways; I was able to catch up to you guys from around the corner after about a few seconds. Make sure to stretch more tonight so that you won't feel as sore tomorrow, alright?"
Bleak nods were his response.
"Oh right," Naruto continued, not at all perturbed by the rapidly paling faces of his students at the realization that this was their new norm. "I know that you guys are tired, but how about you guys come to my office hours? I have to meet up with some second years to answer a few questions, but after that I'm open to all classes. It'll be a great learning experience!"
"...I'm good, Prof," Taiyang muttered under his breath.
Summer nodded immediately in agreement. "I have cookies waiting for me back in the room, so I have to tend to that. It's like...super important!" She excused herself and ran - walked with dragging feet - as fast as she could back to her dorm, leaving behind her teammates. 'It's for the greater good!'
Qrow eyed the glorious and brave team leader fleeing with all the cowardice in the world with understanding. "I'm fine. Thanks, but no thanks. I have to help our leader with some cookies - real important as she said. Besides, does anyone even go to your office hours?" He didn't wait for an answer and began to walk away. Taiyang followed after him, saying that he was the one that was to help Summer with her cookies. The two tripped over a ridge of carpet that suddenly spiked up, leaving the two growling on the ground and Qrow grumbling, "Just my luck," as he got up.
Which left Raven and Naruto standing isolated in the hall.
Raven pinched the bridge of her nose, eyes closed in irritation. "I apologize on my brother's behalf. We came to Beacon to become as strong as possible, and he's running away to eat cookies with the leader of the team."
Naruto shook his head. "It's fine. It's nice to see that your team is doing so well together. Although Qrow should probably drop the act and try to actually connect with others."
Raven stilled. Before they came, they were told that in order to fit in at Beacon, they had to learn anything. That included how people interacted with others and got on other's good sides. They had trained to attain the goodwill of others, and they had thought they had that art down to the very last trick. It had taken them months of practicing, painstakingly learning how to read people and use the proper vernacular. Which also meant they had to learn vocabulary.
It was horrid.
And yet, this single instructor saw straight through that and called out her brother without a single hesitation. Does this mean the other instructors would have noticed?
"What makes you say that?" Raven asked, her eyes narrowed at the slightly shorter professor. Naruto looked on to where the boys had fallen to the ground and smiled softly.
"Because I was like that once. Trying to understand others without really understanding them. The best way to actually get to know others and how to get in other's skin, is to know the other person beyond their facets and skin-level aspects. Their schedule, their habits, their favorite food - these are all things you can learn in a day. Their fears, their likes, their loves - things you can learn in a week. What you learn from years of camaraderie is only possible if you truly open up yourself to the other. Otherwise, there's always something missing." He turned his gaze to her. She felt a lump in her throat. "That means you, too. Miss Branwen, I would suggest that you, also, learn to lower your walls."
"Is your Semblance understanding others?" she asked sarcastically, trying to deflect the conversation. Naruto kept his easy-going smile, catching the shift she wanted in the conversation. He started walking, and Raven followed beside him.
"You could say that." Her pupils came into full view. "If I didn't tell people what my Semblance was, I believe many others would be confused. But since your random guess was actually somewhat on the right track, I'll correct you and give you a better hint. My ability has more to do with understanding in general, and this goes beyond people. It took me a long time to actually realize how to use it, because I took it the wrong way initially and believed I was not suited for combat."
Raven stared hard at her professor. "You, Professor Uzumaki - "
"Just Naruto, please. I don't like the formalities."
" - 'not suited for combat?' That's a bad joke, and I believe I'm rather poor in telling those."
They turned a corner. Naruto pulled out his scroll and flicked through a few applications. "I think I'm a rather good comedian. Check this, my pupil. Knock knock."
"...Who's there?" Raven allowed.
"I eat mop."
"...I eat mop-who?" she replied in confusion. Naruto's grin stretched and reached his eyes.
"Groooooss."
She paused in her steps, realizing what she had just said. Raven glared at her combat instructor with malice. "You're not very mature, are you?" He shrugged to her dig at his character.
"I'm only sixteen. What do you expect? At least I won't stick my tongue at you." He put his scroll away. "But I did record that whole time, Miss "I eat my poo." Now, if you'd excuse me, I have to go talk so some students." Naruto knocked on one of the door to one of the student's rooms just a few steps away. He was allowed entry, and went inside a moment later.
The black-haired girl stood stock still for a minute longer, replaying that entire conversation. "Perhaps that's his way to telling me I need to focus on my surroundings more?" She brought a knuckle to her chin as she pondered in the middle of the spacious hallway. "It is possible..." her eyes shone. "..but I'll make sure to get him back." Before anything else, though, she needed to get her body back to her dorm.
When she entered her own spacious room, she was greeted by the scent of sweets permeating throughout her living quarters. The space had enough room to have four beds for sleeping, four desks for studying, four individual closets, and a large bathroom, and some extra space that they hadn't even really taken advantage of because the rooms were simply too large. And yet, the smell was so strong that she crinkled her nose immediately upon entry.
Spotting the origin of the stench, she spotted Summer dunking a cookie into a cup of milk and quickly shoving it whole into her mouth. Beside her team leader was a gigantic pile of cookies, no doubt stolen from the kitchen. The shameless girl glanced in her direction, waved cheerfully, and went straight back to her desserts unabashed.
"The kid hold you up?" Qrow spoke from his position against one of the walls. "Did he take notice of you or something?"
Raven shook her head. "More like he took notice of you," she answered easily. Her brother slipped on a look of disbelief. "He noticed a crack in our training, and he called you out for it."
Qrow openly cursed, no longer in the presence of their taskmaster. "Did he call me weak? Seriously, I'm gonna punch that kid." Before she could correct him -
"Good luck with that; I'll make sure to record every single fight," Taiyang called out from his spot on the bed. He had no reluctance to sit on his bed, as he was not sweaty. He appreciated not having to do the workout today, but he seriously questioned the importance of meditation.
Qrow grinned with venom. "Good, I hope you do. One of these days, I'm gonna get that little hellion," he swore to whatever gods existed. None of them heeded him.
"Mou caaan oooo et!" a mouth-stuffed-full-of-cookies Summer Rose cheered, a single fist raised in the air.
"Right," Raven let out. In the end, she decided to let the misunderstanding remain and move on to another subject. She could always tell him later than what the professor meant was that they both needed work on their conversational and infiltration skills in general. "Are we doing anything today; I don't want to crash out like yesterday and do nothing. It feels counterproductive, and would rather prefer it were not a habit."
"Speak for yourself," Qrow called out. Her rebuttal was that she was. He choked when she continued to explain that she had already studied up on the history of Remnant as suggested by their history professor and gone through a single chapter in every subject last night before going to the cafeteria to refuel on protein and carbs. "Alright, sis. I get it, I get it. Get off my case." He huffed out and turned his head away, unwilling to look at her.
The rest of the team quietly gave their lack of plans to do anything for the rest of the evening other than go to the cafeteria to eat and to study a bit. Nodding, Raven decided that there was no incentive for her to stay with her team.
"Perhaps it is best for me to learn the layout of the campus. I'll may join you all for dinner; message me whenever you plan to eat." And she went out of the room.
The three of the them stared at the door as it naturally began to close. When it finally shut, Summer and Taiyang peered over to their last teammate.
"Is she really your sister?" Taiyang asked, incredulousness clear. Summer nodded her head rapidly. Qrow pulled down on his eyelids with his fingers, rubbing his palm against his cheeks.
"Yeah, she's my sister, alright. It's always been like this." He breathed out melodramatically, earning a scoff from the other dude and a giggle from Summer. "I just wanted to relax and have a good time here, but she wants me to work hard. Oh, the absolute horror."
Indeed. The horror.
Raven made good time exploring the campus, seeing for herself what the images on her phone could not describe.
The library was gargantuan. The ceiling was so high up, and the shelves were only slightly shorter than the ceiling itself. Each bookshelf was packed with knowledge, and she walked through each aisle to familiarize herself with the subjects offered by the school. Indeed, there was no lack of information in this academy. Topics on the origin of Aura, how Aura is trained and practiced, and how it is used in present life and the implications of its usage - including in war and politics - were all right there at the tips of her fingers. The history of Remnant, the supposed birth of Grimm and how the ancient civilizations fended off the violent creatures of the darkness, and how both man, Grimm, and Faunus all evolved to each with the threat of the other party.
In another aisle, there were novels with excessive prose and pompous novels simply for the sake of having a book written and somehow published. At least, that's how she saw some of them. She exited the aisles, sure that there were at least a hundred thousand sources for her to read whenever she wanted, and walked by the long tables used for studying in the central area of the library.
She had already visited the fountain and had seen the cliffs at Beacon due to the initiation test. There were a few other locations she did want to quickly glimpse, but the majority of her to do list was complete. Perhaps she would walk to one of the edges of the campus and take a breather and read a book there. She had rented out one of the books on Aura and Semblances, as she was curious was to what civilizations thought of them. She had a general idea from her own experiences, and her tribe had told her what Aura and Semblances were capable of, but this was all about perspective. The school had thousands of books and the world had thousands of researchers: she was sure to find interesting theories. So she had picked out a random book.
She spotted a nice tree with shade with grass surrounding the area that would suffice for her reading pastime. However, she groaned at the sight of a certain blond with about six students all around the area of the tree. It seems that she wouldn't get her time here, so she turned to walk away.
"Raven, you came to my office hours! I'm surprised to see you make it after only your second day here," Naruto called out to her, spotting her instantly. She sighed and faced her combat instructor, noting that he had changed yet again into a blue tracksuit with white stripes. He was standing in the middle of a clearing of grass, a Scroll in his hands. He waved her over before looking down at his device and calling out two of the students that were sparring near him. Two males were fighting with their weapons out, moving with such ease that she had no doubt that both were well versed with their weapons. It was as if the blade at the edges of each hand were simply an extension of the body.
She walked over, making sure not to interfere with the high level spar that was taking place. Next to Naruto was a young adult woman about her height. Blond with curls at the end that reached her shoulder blades, glasses at the tip of her refined nose with sharp green eyes behind the lens. A casual white top the hugged the frame of her body with moderately sized breasts, and black leggings that did little to cover her toned legs.
"Raven," she introduced herself to the girl, her arms crossed. The other girl simply glanced in her direction before returning her focus to the fight.
"Glynda." The older student nudged her glasses. "A pleasure." The blonde student noticed the book in Raven's hand. Her eyes glinted with veiled excitement. "I see you also partake in research."
Raven looked down at the book in her right hand and shook her head, her hair swaying. "Nothing like that. I was simply interested in what Beacon had to offer when it came to knowledge of Aura and Semblances."
"Oh, do tell," Glynda said. If anything, Raven thought the girl sounded more interested. "It's rare to have talks about the nature of Aura and Semblances. Normally, most of my peers are satisfied with knowing that they have Aura and what their Semblance does, but nothing so grand as why we have our specific Semblances and why certain individuals have extraordinary levels of Aura, like Professor Uzumaki here. For example, isn't it strange that some parents have never had their Aura unlocked, but have a child that has high levels of Aura?"
"It's Naruto, Glynda," Naruto interjected, but his eyes were still focused on the two students that were dashing about the clearing. The other three students were as transfixed as the blond, their attention almost trancelike as they gazed upon the dance occurring before them. "I've told you this a hundred times. You're also older than I am,"
"And as I've said a hundred times as well, Professor: you are in higher standing and have earned your position as professor at this academy. It would do you well to accept that a bit of self-respect and proper disposition would bring about more respect from your students," Glynda reasoned, firm on her opinion. Naruto simply sighed.
"You're the only one that really feels that way. Besides, I think I have enough self-respect, and I don't need the respect of students," Naruto said.
"Why not?" Raven asked, her fingers tightening around her arms. Respect was fought for and an unquestionable boon in the society she grew up in. It didn't matter if an individual had no self-respect, but if they were strong, they were still feared. And fear meant that there was a modicum of respect in that feeling. And she wanted to be respected by her tribe and feared by her enemies.
"Good question." Naruto then walked towards the two boys that had finished sparring and gave them tips, exhilarated at the improvement he had seen. The two older students brightened up, despite panting heavily, at the praise.
Glynda seemed exasperated. "This professor here is of the opinion that students at Beacon have a rather...high self-esteem and outlook of self. Which he also admits is a good thing, but he also believes that there is a difference between self-confidence that matches the skill level of whatever student accurately, and hubris of the highest order. In his opinion - and I am partial to his theory - most students fall into the latter category.
"I admit that Beacon is a prestigious academy, and that only the best of the best students manage to enter the gates of this school as actual students. This gets into the thick skulls of most of my peers, and they deem themselves far into the path of becoming Huntsman. Only four years here at Beacon and you graduate and attain a license to become Huntsman and are immediately respected by the majority of the civilized world. Your lineage and your progeny are immediately capable of having pedigree. Some students here are from privileged backgrounds.
"So they look at Naruto as a black sheep of sorts. For one, he's young. He never went to school, and he also doesn't have a family history that matches his current status as professor. They envy him and ignore him, looking at him as if he were simply another student; some don't even allow him that."
"But he's strong," Raven stated. "There's no reason not to listen to him when it comes to fighting." Glynda turned her head to stare at Raven straight in the eyes. Red matched green, and all was frozen in place.
"Then you'd be one of the few students that can say that they have a brain and actually uses it." She let the words sink in with a moment of silence. "The History of Remnant, the theories on Aura and Semblances, the science of Dust and its uses, and the rest of the classes we take all fall short when it comes to combat. Anyone could be smart, but they have to be strong enough to become a Huntsman, and to become a good Huntsman is to understand what is necessary out of one and acting on it. Anyone that doesn't understand doesn't belong here, and the others that do not act upon the code of a Huntsman are not ideal."
Naruto was almost done conversing with two boys. He had called out two other students, one boy and girl, and was about to spectate them. He took a step in the direction of the last student and began to talk to him while keeping his eyes on the two girls about to spar.
"Plenty of students acknowledge that he's strong. But they refuse to overcome the hurdle that is their pride. They won't allow themselves to listen to someone younger than they, and the youngest professor at Beacon at that."
Raven shook her head. "Fools." Strength was everything.
"Absolute smooth-brained monkeys," Glynda agreed. Protocol and hierarchy was necessary. The two girls turned to face the newly started spar when Naruto gave the signal to begin. Once again, it was a high level battle with unexpected moves that could only be thought of on the spot if one had experience, or was suggested the idea. Or if they were a genius. That was always a possibility, Raven allowed.
She shook her head. "But why are you telling me all of this. We just met."
"Because you walked back when he called for you."
'Because all of the other students choose to walk away instead, or sheepishly deny his beckoning.'
Raven stared at the blond professor, who had a wide grin on his face as he scribbled down notes on his Scroll while analyzing the fight at the same time. The eagerness and unbridled pride he showed had no falsehood. It was why each of these students, definitely all older than first years as she didn't recognize a single face, trusted him and listened to him. He understood combat and knew how to teach it, and they accepted that as fact and chose to listen. Even if it was only six of them here.
But he taught first years, and she realized that he probably was given the option to teach the older, more mature students.
"Did he deny the option to teach the upperclassmen?" she finally asked after mulling over that sobering thought. Glynda nodded.
"I can't say I don't understand, but I don't approve. If only five fourth-year students and one third-year student are willing to come to his office hours, how does it make sense that first year students would listen to him. He was here for the last semester last year, and he had office hours every day. We were the only six to come, and still are."
Her theory came to fruition. He was selfless...a quality she had heard of and read about but could not understand. He had given up the potential to work with older students that would be more accepting of a younger professor, ironic as that sounded, and had chosen to take the more difficult approach to teach the youngest students at the academy. But why? Weren't there better instructors available, or at least ones that would capture the attention of the students from the first day and forever hold on to the respect of the students until the end when they graduate? Maybe even after?
She had no answer to her added questions. Answers only seemed to result in more questions. However, if anything, she could understand one thing. Naruto was doing what he could, and Glynda was doing what she could to help him and tell him that she trusted him. And so were the other five students. So the least she could do is -
"...I'm Raven Branwen, first year student," Raven said, re-introducing herself. For the first time in that conversation, Glynda softened her expression and allowed herself a smile that made her beautiful in the afterglow of the sunset that lightly touched the campus.
"Glynda Goodwitch, fourth year student."
They stood in silence, watching the spar continue until its end. They continued to watch as Naruto cheered up the two girls when they walked over to him with sullen expressions, both displeased with their performance. Their eyes never left the spectacle that was the first year combat instructor taking on more responsibility than was necessary as he completely broke down the fight with a recording, complimenting and critiquing each moment with avid dedication and contagious excitement. By the end of it all, it seemed that the girls were content with their spar and, if anything, prepared to improve for the next time that they'd spar.
"Raven. Glynda." In a blur, Naruto was in front of the two. "Would you two like to join me in meditation. The rest of the students are going to stretch and warm down their bodies, and Rex," he thumbed over to the one student that hadn't fought in a spar, who was on his Scroll and staring intently at whatever was on the screen. " - he's going to be breaking down the fights and work on his own stuff."
Glynda donned her normal, cool expression that betrayed none of her thoughts. "Of course, Professor Uzumaki. We sparred yesterday, so it's only natural to allow our bodies to rest."
"Please, just call me Naruto," he sighed, already knowing what she was going to say. Glynda simply gave him a look and sat down cross-legged, already closing her eyes. He looked at Raven.
She couldn't help but notice that despite what he said earlier about not needing the respect of students, that didn't mean that he didn't necessarily crave it. He was looking at her with professionally veiled expectant hope. It was masked so well, but there were minute tells that gave her the impression that he actually wanted her to stay. To learn. To become the best Huntsman she could be. It's not as if she wasn't tempted to stay -
'But...I'm going to be the leader of my tribe...not as a Huntsman.'
She shook her head.
"I'm sorry, Professor. I have to join my teammates for dinner and rest my body for tomorrow's classes. I doubt you'll go easy on the students that meditated today." She forced herself to ignore the hope that slowly wilted away in his eyes. But the understanding and goodwill never left his expression.
"Of course! Go mingle with your teammates and prepare for tomorrow. I'll have you know that I got something special for the twenty of you that chose to fight me." He then shoo'd her away. Taking the hint, she turned and walked back in the direction of the dorms with her book open and reading as she went. She sincerely did not look forward to tomorrow.
Back with Naruto, he had yet to sit down or close his eyes.
"You didn't have to say all of that to her," Naruto told Glynda, whose eyes were closed in meditative concentration. "She can make her own assumptions and realizations."
Glynda opened her eyes and looked up to her professor. He had his arms crossed, a rare look of contemplation without a trace of his smile visible. "She has a good head on her shoulders."
Naruto shook his head, smile still in place as he gazed at where Raven had turned the corner. "If so, then she would have come to the same realization that you came to. That Rex, Sylvia, Emy, Max, and Curtis have come to. She needs to come to recognize the flaws that our Huntsman society has and what is necessary to remove the pride that infects almost every Huntsman."
'Pride is not necessary on a battlefield.'
"I just gave her a little push in the right direction."
Naruto deadpanned. "Yes," he spoke without inflection. "If you mean a little push in Glynda Goodwitch terms, that's the equivalent of strong arming someone and then forcing them onto a Bullhead to fast track them to the destination without their consent." He sat down next to her and sighed. "Just let them make their own decisions."
"...Yes, professor." She closed her eyes. "You really work too hard sometimes, professor," she told him fondly. She had known him for only six short months, but it was enough to make her own realization that Naruto truly wanted the best for his students. He wanted each one to succeed and become exemplary Huntsman and people. It wasn't enough for him to simply teach someone how to fight, but to also become a great person. She found that aspect of him endearing and something that most people didn't have; something special.
"It's not that I work too hard; it's that everyone else doesn't take this line of work seriously enough," he rebutted. Glynda's chose to remain silent, affirming in her mind that her young professor was truly an exceptional person.
He closed his eyes, breathing deeply.
Huntsman died. That was a simple fact. They died from missions, from unexpected conditions, from assassinations, to an infinite number of other potential possibilities. It simply came with the line of work. Death was a fact in life, and early deaths were a statistic that could not be ignored for Huntsman. So he made sure that when he trained his students, that they would be strong. The fact that the last batch of students to graduate from Beacon were stronger than the previous year's newly minted Huntsman only proved his dedication to his craft as well as his proficiency as a professor.
But it wasn't enough. Three of his students already died since graduation. They had never come to his Office Hours. He had done all that he could in class, and he had tried to convince the third and fourth years multiple times to come train with him after school. Every day.
They hadn't. And three died.
Hubris.
Naruto held back a snarl, which would have no doubt broken the smile normally perennially present on his lips.
What a disgusting fault.
Chapter End
A/N: Yup. Not what I expected to write at all. I just let it keep going and went on a roll, and then this came out. Hope it was still enjoyable.
Also, please Read & Review. I love reading comments and thoughts. General suggestions and critiques are always welcome! Also, glad to see some familiar names!
Now, Review Responses, something I haven't done in a loooong time.
Andrew9908: Fixed the 'thump' to 'thumb'. Thank you.
dfriel1996: I'm really glad to hear that you enjoyed the first chapter. I've been pretty unsure of my writing skills, so your compliment is super appreciated.
Dasgun: You do this in every review lol. Don't know what that means.
mahouka9: Good to hear you like my version of Raven. It's before she becomes super jaded, so I wanted to show that. I think I could definitely flesh her out more, but I'm not entirely too experienced in that. As for the pairing, I'm thinking about it. There's a few other things I have to think about before I can fully commit to that pairing, such as the existence of Yang in the actual RWBY timeline.
hellfire45: Your wait has ended. Just kidding, since this is at the bottom, I suppose your wait restarts? Survive, good reader. Patience is key.
Cseska: Thanks for following! I hope this chapter was to your liking!
Hirameki Kitsune: Awww...Reading that made my day so much better. It's 10 PM, but it's never too late to feel good about a day.
Tanya von Degurechaff: I actually already have an idea of what to do with Naruto, so I'm gonna have to shelf that idea, sorry. But thank you for the suggestion!
iceprince23: yes, sir! It's continued to Chapter 2 now!
Randomficlover: I was trying to make it fun. I know this chapter steered a bit away from the fun side of things, but I'll try to go back to that genre.
turok: Yeah, right! Professor (insert any character) is generally an unexplored concept for RWBY, and I don't know why. It's pretty blank and I feel like it has so much potential. I have no doubt someone else will write something in the future that's much better, but I hope this will be an acceptable placeholder until that time comes.
ramenmeister: Not to spoil too much, but thanks to your review, I actual got an idea that fulfills the lack of displacement. He has his own Semblance and backstory, so we'll get there...eventually. Haha, but thanks for your review. Pretty much invaluable with the fact it forced me to come with a unique solution to your dislike of "Naruto gets Kamui'd into another dimension." Hope you enjoyed this chapter!
daggercloak000: I don't know what normal Naruto RWBY crossovers are really like in your mind...so I can't say yes or no? I just hope you enjoy reading the story, that's all.
SoloChrollo: I responded to you already in a PM. But again, thank you for the message and you have my heartfelt thanks.
Guardian of the Inheritance: Dude. You've been here since The Dark Flash. I legit recognize your name every time. Insane. Thank you.
Rein Tenebres: BOOM HERE IT IS. IT'S CONTINUED. NOW MAYBE CHAPTER 3 (after finals week and work and all the other necessities).
kakaroto22: thank you. I hope it becomes "great fic" or something one day, haha!
Xud10a: Ramenmeister did have a good point, and it forced me to think about the way to approach this story and Naruto's backstory. You reinforced it, haha. That said, I'm so sorry about the permanent hiatus/ending to Akame ga Kill. I just had no motivation for that story and it's seen so much backlash that I was like "what's the point?" But it really does me good to hear that someone loved that story. Who knows, maybe someone will pick it up and finish it one day to a degree beyond what I could've done. Wouldn't that be nice? It could be you, you know?
Riba Nyabom: And hopefully an interesting continuation.
GamerX568: Dunno how to respond if it is. Either way, that's spoiler territory if I answer with anything, so I'll keep my lips sealed.
Wolf1741: Young Raven has indeed taken an inkling of an interest in Young Naruto.
YeTianshi: Glad you found the first chapter interesting. But yeah, I hate when stories start off suuuuper well and then a few chapters make you go 'what' and then you just are forced off the hype train because it's no longer satisfactory. Meh.
808Joker808: Alas, not quite. But kind of, I guess?
jbXCR12: There really is not many Professor (insert any character) in RWBY and RWBY crossovers in general. It's pretty much an entirely unexplored and unchartered mass of goods that we (I'm looking at you, bub) can create! And there are probably many others like you that want to see these kinds of stories, and we can make 'em! Get out there and do some work, good reader!
Sai55: I feel like I recognize your name. I do not want Naruto to be nerfed by hiding his powers. He's undoubtedly strong, but he's not at the point of Naruto in the canon universe. He's no God in RWBY universe either, pointing that out now. He has his strengths, and he's definitely stronger than the average Huntsman. In fact, he could reach absurd levels of strength eventually, which is seen in almost every fanfic with Naruto in whatever universe. But buffing every monster, I think, has it's own problems. Then the Kingdoms will have to deal with the extra threat, even if it isn't necessarily hostile, that exists near its borders. It's a delicate balance I'd have to address at a later time, since that is not something I want to approach just yet.
artem-abramov-2004: I'm not entirely sure what you mean, but yes he's cool. Alas, our little blond professor doesn't not have a pack of cigs.
ChunkyFunkyMunky: No comment. If I say anything, that's spoilers.
Leinad100: Thank you. It's rare to get comments in other languages; it's honestly so great to see people that read and then review, despite the difference in language. Awesome.