One more chapter as I keep this train on rolling.
Thanks to everyone that enjoys the story.
This is my current comfort work.
Posted my first-ever non-crossover RWBY story.
Although it does have a bit of Sonic influence to it.
If you like my Neo works, she is the main character of the story.
Anyways, onto this story!
Vámonos!
"My head…" Naruto groaned, rubbing his temples as he sat down on the bench in the police office as they were officially processing Torchwick.
They had brought everyone in alongside them due to the damages caused… All by Yang, so she was the only one in trouble for that… And the bounty was being processed to their account as Blake was the one to capture Roman officially.
The strange thing was there was nothing on his partner, and they were struggling to find evidence to keep her behind bars…
Naruto was a little curious about that, especially given how close the two seemed by how they were acting with one another, but he put it aside. She must have been very good at covering her tracks. If it wasn't for his
Blake could not sense her in the slightest.
They also were courteous and gave Yang the bounty for the Malachites and Junior, and she would need them for the damages…
But currently, he was not feeling great. He felt sick to his stomach, and it was getting worse. Nauseous even…
And a throbbing headache…
"Naruto… Are you okay?" He felt Blake's hand gently run across his shoulder before she sat beside him, looking worriedly at him. "You don't look so well and are a little pale… Did you manage to drink while you were there?"
"I did not." Naruto groaned at Blake's accusing him, his face mildly flushed as he scowled and continued to rub his forehead. "Ugh, but it does feel like I'm coming down from being drunk. Ya know, I think this might be connected to my new sensory ability. Not sure why that is, but something has changed about it, and I'm not feeling just negative emotions anymore. And since everyone else was hazy and messed up by proxy by being around that many people…"
Blake's eyes shimmered before she placed a light hand over her mouth. And Naruto glared at her, hearing the repressed snicker escape her lips. "Oum, that's hilarious! You can get drunk off of the atmosphere of a place… You don't even need to drink!"
"No, that is not funny!" Naruto grumbled, which only made her repress another laugh to his ire. "Gah, you… I haven't made a fool of myself since Lee challenged my manhood in front of Sakura for a contest to win her love…"
"Oh?" Blake's eyes twinkled with curious amusement, and her snarky grin was not lost on Naruto. "Friends back home? And competing for a girl? Dare I ask who won?"
"...A cute dog that strolled by and stole her heart…" Naruto muttered, embarrassed by telling the story and reliving the memory of Sakura picking up the dog and walking away from his and Lee's competition, not even caring about the test of meddling to prove who was more worthy of her.
His headache had now upgraded to a roaring migraine, his eyes quivering in rage at the ruckus laughter as Blake threw her head back in roaring laughter, holding her sides as she couldn't contain it.
"It's not funny!"
"I disagree! It's hilarious!"
Naruto twitched at Blake's reaction and was ready to flip her off the bench beside him. Instead, he ground his teeth and held his hands, attempting to defend his honor. "I wasn't even trying to win, ya know! Lee just needed the confidence boost for Sakura…"
"Keep telling yourself that! Look how red you are!" Blake burst out in more hysterics, pointing at his bright red face.
He snapped.
He was done.
With a simple shove…
"This is not how you treat a lady!" Blake flailed, still laughing on the floor, wiping a tear from her eye.
"You are no lady! You are pure evil, ya hear!" Naruto retorted, crossing his arms and looking away from the demon known as Blake Belladonna.
"Now you know how it feels to be on the other end!" Blake only grinned, slowly getting back on her feet, and looked upon Naruto with a mirthful gaze.
Cerulean eyes met with golden eyes. His arms slackened, and a twinkle glistened in his eyes as he grinned.
Oh, this was gonna be fun.
She was finally getting it!
"Ya know…" Naruto tilted his head and closed his eyes, his fingers twitching in excitement at all the possibilities opening up. "This means war!"
"I hardly see what's so funny…" Ruby's voice weakly groaned as she stumbled through the hallway before collapsing onto the bench next to Naruto, dropping her face into her hands and exclaiming. "Oh, Dad is gonna be so mad at me… Proud, but so, so upset… He wasn't too happy when I pushed him to attend Signal…"
Looking at one another and then back at the lamenting girl, Naruto gestured toward her and shrugged. He had no clue what she was going on about or what this signal was. He didn't want to make himself look more like a fool or out himself as even more of an oddity than he already had.
Being voluntold by her clueless partner, Blake repressed a sigh. Forcing a weak smile, she cupped her hands and glanced at the younger girl sitting on the bench. "So you… Attend Signal? I guess that makes sense. Your sister is about to attend Beacon…"
"How do you know…" Ruby looked up at Blake quizzically with squinted eyes before suddenly nodding and shrugging her shoulders. "Wait, Yang probably said something about it. She likes to brag and show off."
"Common trait for blondes, I dare say." Blake grinned as her eyes shifted slightly toward the only blonde in the hall.
Naruto attempted to look offended before muttering under his breath and rubbing his temples. Tries as he might, he couldn't argue with that…
He had a history of showing off, too, and she didn't even know about it, which was worse!
Ruby giggled, seeing the sulking and miserable form of Naruto, which only added to his misery as he turned from the two before she gently looked away and to the double doors of the station, very few officers patrolling the halls at this time of night. "I do… Or I did, I should say."
Naruto, taking a moment from his indignation and showing compassion, expressed concern. "Mah, that doesn't sound good when you say it like that. You weren't even involved tonight. They should have done anything…"
"Oh, no! They didn't expel me!" Ruby frantically waved her hands and shook her head before calming, and her eyes glistened, looking down and away. "No, as I was giving my account of what happened, I didn't realize I was talking to the Headmaster of Beacon, and he took an interest in me… And offered me an invitation to attend his academy this upcoming semester."
"The Headmaster of Beacon is here?" Blake's eyes shimmered, darting down the halls as a thoughtful expression crossed her features momentarily.
Naruto caught this action, as if she was making a note, and returned her attention to Ruby. He wondered why she was curious about this person as she never brought it up before. He had concluded that these schools were places for those to train up and be prepared much like the ninja academy was but specifically designed to deal with those odd creatures…
Blake seemed more than capable already, so why was there an interest?
"So, I have to ask," Blake mused as her gaze lingered over the younger girl. "Why is it that your dad is going to be upset? If you were already attending Signal and your sister has already been accepted…"
"It should be a good thing you got in." Naruto grinned, following up for Blake as he patted Ruby on the back. "He should be stoked to see his daughter getting ahead of time! That's an achievement, yeah!"
She only exhaled, her silver eyes gleaming as she looked downward. "It is, yes, but… I, uh…"
"Ruby!" The station's front doors opened, and a moderately tall and built man, looking concerned and relieved at the same time as he swept over, embraced Ruby as Naruto quickly evacuated the area. "Oh, thank Oum, you are okay! Are you both trying to give me a heart attack? It's bad enough Yang does this all the time, but now you had to join her on her escapades, young lady?"
"I see the issue…" Naruto stepped beside Blake, whose bow twitched at Naruto's whisper, and nodded as she observed what was happening.
"And I thought my parents were overbearing…" Blake muttered, seeing the man crush his daughter with his embrace.
Only for a hand to pry him off her and a pair of lilac eyes to roll as her father quickly readjusted and sternly glared at her. "Dad, give Ruby some space, would ya? Rubes is not brittle! She didn't even get involved in anything! She just showed up at the end like she was following me! …Which I told her not to do!"
Ruby nervously chuckled, scratching her cheek, glad her dad ignored her but felt the heat of Yang's glare. "Sorry…"
"Well, maybe if someone didn't roll into every possible place looking for scraps and fights just for information on a particular person, this wouldn't happen." Tai crossed his arms, scowling at his eldest. "And what does it look like this time, young lady? You know this isn't going to look good for me coming out of my wallet."
"I've got it this time! I can take care of myself!" Yang's eyes flared briefly before crossing her arms over her chest defiantly. "Caught some criminals with my friends here, and we split the bounty so I can cover the damages!"
"That's our queue to leave…" Naruto stepped toward the door, seeing attention drawn to them, whistling as he did not want to be brought into this family affair.
Blake nodded in complete agreement seeing her father's eyes shift to them, slinking carefully to Naruto's side and wanted nothing to do with this. This was her issue. They had enough problems and didn't need to add her family trauma to the list.
She had her own…
Blake's eyes shimmered as she lowered her head, memories flashing. All pleasant…
And then there was him…
And there was nothing but fear of what could be…
Her eyes shifted to her partner…
Could he really…
"Yo!" Yang's eyes simmered as they bored into their direction. "I am not done with you! I have so much more to discuss with you after what I saw tonight!"
"Indeed." A voice Naruto was unfamiliar with added, snapping his eyes directly over to the new presence. "I am quite curious after watching the security footage myself."
A man with messy silver hair in an unzipped black suit with a dark green button vest and shirt underneath and a dark green cowl on his neck. And on that cowl was a cross with a purple jewel embedded into it.
Who was this man that stepped toward him, cane in hand, with a calm air about him? And what was with his presence? There was something about him…
He couldn't decipher his feelings. Unlike everyone before him, where he could feel something from them, a side effect from just having Kurama's chakra and not the fox with him and maybe all the bijuu's chakra as well, perhaps, but with him, he couldn't get a read on him.
But furthermore, his brown eyes were trained and fixed on him as if they were trying to analyze him.
Study and gauge him.
And he did not like it.
"Oz?" Naruto turned toward the father of the two sisters, hearing he knew this man, and looked at him in confusion. "What are you doing here? Aren't you usually at Beacon… Or, you know…"
As the pieces slowly put themselves together in his head, Oz turned to greet Taiyang. Smiling at his old friend, he gave a pleasant bow. "Ah! It has been quite some time, hasn't it, Tai? Has Ruby given you the good news yet about being accepted into Beacon?"
"Ah! Wait, no!" Ruby squeaked in alarm and shrunk into herself. "I haven't! No! I hadn't even got a chance to say anything about that yet!"
Tai's expression dropped, his face hardening as his eyes locked with Oz. Even as there was another loud squeal and pained scream from Ruby as she was lifted and crushed by her sister's death grip, the two kept their gaze with one another.
One's gaze steadfast and relaxed despite the discontent of the others.
And whatever this staredown was, Naruto could feel the disconnect between the two. However, the two once knew one another and could feel the friendliness in the voice of the older gentleman…
The same was not held true for the father of the two daughters.
"Oh, this gonna be sweet! My baby sister is coming to Beacon with me!"
"Yang… My spine…"
Naruto was not looking forward to this.
He really wasn't.
But the moment the strange man from last night extended the offer for coffee this morning, Blake accepted it on their behalf. That was annoying, but he dealt with it as, again, she seemed transfixed on something in her mind. Whatever it was, it was fine. While he had no desire to attend this arrangement after what he had seen and what he was sensing, if there were something she wanted out of this, he'd put up with it.
He saw her interest last night, so there was something he didn't understand, so he'd get a clearer picture now. As for the man…
There was something off about him. Naruto wasn't sure what it was, but he didn't seem… Genuine.
He didn't know how to put it. He didn't seem like a bad person, even as he sat in front of him with an equally as tall blonde woman that had a full head on him in height, but there was this aura about him…
Naruto felt he was a good judge of character, but he was struggling to determine anything about this man.
Also, who drank cocoa when they went to a cafe for coffee?
This man was a paradox!
"Ah," Ozpin sipped his cocoa, slightly chuckling at Naruto's odd expression while Blake enthusiastically sat next to him with a cup of coffee in front of her. "This is a nice little open-air place, don't you think?"
"Yes." Blake agreed, smiling as she softly held her cup after taking a sip. "This is a quaint establishment."
"If you say so…" Naruto muttered, looking at the two of them, questioning her motivation here while prodding his drink before him, not being much of a coffee drinker. "So… Whatcha wanna talk 'bout that you brought us here? Gotta say, not feeling talkative after last night."
Ignoring the elbow bump in his ribs and the wary side glance from Blake, Naruto kept his focus on the silver-haired man from last night. He knew he was intrigued by him, and now knowing he wasn't home, he knew better than to trust everything at face value.
There was something more. There always was.
Naruto almost chuckled. There was more meaning in his original meeting with Jiraiya…
His master, while in town for his usual reason, was, in fact, there for him. It was just his luck that he ran into him first…
"No, no." Oz held his hand toward Blake, seeing the interaction and her silent reprimanding of her partner, and only held a warm smile. "It's quite alright, given everything that happened. Fear not. I just wanted to observe things with my own eyes."
"Mah, what?" Naruto tilted his head in curious confusion before blanching back. "Ya know, you are not helping your image any better. Just making yourself look creepier."
"Naruto!"
While the man seemed to continue to possess a pleasant smile, his partner had developed a deep scowl on her lips. And with a strict tone, she retorted. "You, child, seem to lack appropriate manners and respect for someone your age should have. Do you not realize you are talking to the Headmaster of Beacon and one of the finest Huntsman ever to serve Remnant?"
"Now, now, Glynda… Let's please…"
"And I'm supposed to care, why?" Naruto responded, his gaze meeting her emerald gaze with his eyebrow raised.
"Okay then…" Ozpin grimaced and buried his face in his cocoa as he carefully observed the interaction. "This will be intriguing."
Glynda flushed and was immediately flustered. Her eyes tightened, and her gaze focused on this boy, her arms crossing over her ample chest as she sat straight in her chair, her imposing stature looming high above his. She then tapped her fingers against her arm as she observed him for a moment longer, noticing the lack of reaction to her presence and air.
That was interesting. Most would have started to wilt when she began to impose her presence. Yet he sat, almost looking bored and disinterested. Most other Huntsman struggled to do that…
Curious.
"Well, I now see it is obvious you lack proper manners, and you don't know a thing from that vacant expression," Glynda kept from snapping as she looked down at Naruto.
"Got me on that one." Naruto grinned, his tone playful while his eyes held a certain glint. "Nor do I really care. Gotta work and earn my respect. Title ain't gonna do it for me, ya know?"
Blake's bow sunk, listening to Naruto, and her eyes darted between this woman she knew had to be a teacher at Beacon and him. Oh, she knew that tone…
He had used it on her so many times already.
This was going so horribly. She wanted to stop this before it got out of hand. The moment he offered this little exchange, she accepted on their behalf. She was so intrigued that she had almost forgotten everything she had set up before Naruto had recovered in the hospital…
Glynda sputtered, pushing her glasses back on the bridge of her nose.
The nerve of this child!
The lack of respect!
And the amusement on Ozpin's face was not helping! Why did he like children like this?
She swore if he was offering another young prospect to her school, she was going to ground him…
"By word, you are an ignorant child, indeed." Glynda pinched her nose and huffed. "It is true that not all Huntsmen should be respected if that is the attitude you choose to uphold, but a Headmaster? Someone who trains and leads our future? By word child, you should…"
"How many times have those that lead us have led us down wayward paths, ya know?" Emerald eyes widened and looked into brilliant cerulean. "So much negativity… Pain I can feel everywhere. Nah, gotta see with my own eyes if someone is worth my respect and make my own decisions while I figure things out and help people on my own accord. Can't just trust someone mindlessly, ya know? Leads to bad things, learned my lesson on that a few times…"
As Glynda couldn't help but fall silent, a new expression forming as she looked upon Naruto, brown eyes continued to observe him simply. His lips quivered as he chuckled. "Very well said, if I do say so myself. A wise observation for some as someone as youthful as yourself… There is so much to be done and insufficient time or people willing to do anything about it. It is rare when someone steps up to change things. So seeing one as young as you willing to put themself in that position…"
"I respectfully decline." Naruto closed his eyes, grinning like a fool as he predicted where the man was leading, having felt he might do the same as he did to the young girl last night. "No interest in becoming a Huntsman. Got other obligations when I figure out a way to get back home."
This time Ozpin sputtered, his cocoa nearly spilling out of its glass.
That was not an outcome he had predicted…
However…
"Other obligations, you say? That is a shame. I dare say we could use every person as the Grimm threat grows more out of hand every year…" Ozpin placed his cup down before intently gazing upon him. "But I cannot say I do not understand. Some things are just more important. But now that I have what I wanted to be confirmed…"
"You aren't from this world, are you?"
Naruto's eyes strained as he focused on the silver-haired man. Did he figure it out? No, he knew before coming here and just wanted to have him say it out loud. To confirm it for him.
He refrained from rolling his eyes. Security cameras most likely did him in. Everyone else was confused, thinking he had two aura abilities or something. No, this man could tell the difference and identified it as such.
Now Naruto knew why he felt so ill-content around him. Or why he felt off with him around.
His guard was up around him. He was masking his presence and didn't want to give anything away.
So now the question was…
Where did they go from here? What was the next play?
Blake went rigid while lowering in her seat, unsure how to respond. She knew what Naruto was and had known for a short time. Oh, how many books did she read on how scenarios like this went? This was not the time for his sci-fi knowledge to come into play, but here it was, and she didn't like it!
How often everything went wrong at this point…
"As I thought," Ozpin stated without another word while even Glynda looked at him with a broad stare, the implication of what he had imposed looming.
But nothing came of it as he reached into his suit, withdrawing what seemed to be two letters and a pen. Writing on one, he slid them carefully on the center of the table and only sighed. "If you ever do change your mind, the offer stands. I can only wish you luck in your journey and everyone you help along the way. Assistance in these dire circumstances is appreciated more than you are aware, whether it is fighting the Grimm… Or helping a people overcome years of hatred unjustly put upon them. Any piece of mind to clear this world of the negativity that consumes it is something to be cherished, and you have my full support."
As Blake sat up straight, her eyes shimmering at hearing the headmaster's declaration of his thoughts, his brown eyes met hers. "Ah, yes. Ms. Belladonna. I do apologize for ignoring you during this entire time. You are incredibly hard to get a hold of, but given your circumstances, that is not necessarily the worst thing."
"The second letter is your acceptance letter if you so choose to attend in two months' time." Blake's eyes misted, Naruto's eyes turning to her as Ozpin slowly stood up, waving to the waitress. "Have a wonderful rest of your day."
Blake could only watch the man retreating, followed by the instructors for so long, until they were no longer visible. Her eyes redirected to the two letters on the table they had left. Her body shook…
Was this real?
Did she get accepted?
After everything she had done…
Despite it all…
She had a chance to redeem herself?
And do some good in the world?
She had worth? After all this time…
"Blake?" Naruto's concerned voice reached out to her as she felt his hand gently brush her shoulder, snapping her gaze to his.
Only to see his smile as he tilted his head at her. "You're gonna do okay, ya know that, right?"
Blake nearly jumped out of her chair. The hair on the back of her neck stood on end, and her golden eyes squinted. Was he feeling her negativity again? He needed to stop that! She was just…
"It's written on your face." Naruto chuckled as her expression fell, and she sunk into her chair, feeling the blonde was reading her mind by simply reading her expressions. "Look, I can't say I know anything about this world! I still don't know enough, but what I do know is what we talked about in the restaurant… And how much you want to do good… You need to do this. I'll be good out here on my own. I'll figure this out."
A hiss escaped Blake's teeth as she looked directly back up and into his gaze. "Oh! And what about my people? When you still don't know a damn thing? How is that gonna work? You'll just…"
"I said let me shoulder that burden," Naruto calmly placed his hand on her shoulder, closing his eyes. "I don't have the answers, but the more I see, the more I will learn. I can take that pain… I can bare it, and I will face it down with everything I got. Maybe I won't fix everything, but dammit, if I'm not gonna give it my all."
She couldn't explain it. She wanted to be upset and yell at him. That what he said wasn't possible.
That one person couldn't fix an entire race's problem…
But his presence was soothing for her…
And it annoyed her!
"You idiot…" Blake berated with disdain in her voice, looking down and away from Naruto. "This isn't something one person can do. So many people hate our people… It's not just something you can fix…"
"You're probably right!" Naruto chirped, drawing her golden ire as she heatedly snapped toward him. "But I'm gonna work my ass off anyways while I'm here! And I've been thinking stuff like this usually starts from the top! So if you get the top brass to change its mind, it trickles down, and change slowly happens…"
"Idiot!" Blake swatted Naruto's hands from her shoulder, her nostril flared, and her bow stood straight. "This is something we've been fighting for years! We've been doing this for so long, and you are just figured this out now! Do you have a brain in there?"
"Sometimes even I wonder!" Naruto grinned and scratched his chin in amusement, making Blake far more furious before her face fell as she realized what he was doing. "Ah, you caught on… Bummer…"
"Thank you… Jerk." Blake, no longer feeling despondent and letting her annoyance subside. "Why are you the way you are?"
"I dunno. No one raised me? Then a pervert took me out to the wilds for almost three years to make a man out of me?"
"That needs so much more context…" Blake grimaced and gave Naruto a near-pitying look.
"Not getting any!" Naruto smirked as he closed his eyes, making Blake take back her pity and glare at him. "So, you taking that offer, right? Got two months before you head out? Still need a guide for that…"
"Maybe." Blake took a sip of her coffee, much to the chagrin of Naruto, as she closed her eyes. "Will have to think about the offer. Not sure I want to go now after everything that has happened since I sent my papers in."
"What? But, that sounds like a great offer…"
"Ya know?" Blake finished, almost sounding sarcastic as she looked up, and her eyes sparkled in amusement.
Naruto twitched. She just played him. She was getting better and better at this. Learning and adapting at a stunning rating…
Almost as if she was copying him.
Not to mention sometimes her mannerisms were quite like a certain…
"Bah," Naruto waved her off and finally took a drink of the odd drink before him, not liking it in the slightest. "Got two months to figure it out. Think you should, but that's for you to decide. But more importantly, we got work to do! If I want to learn the most about all these issues with your people and who I need to get on board to make things right… Where should I start?"
Blake sighed, putting down her cup. Staring at the blonde anomaly before her, she rolled her eyes and shook her head. "It's not gonna work like that. You are aware of that, right? It isn't even gonna go close to what you think it's going to. We're probably going to end up in jail."
"We'll worry about that when we get there!" Naruto put his fist on the table, gently shaking it as he squinted his eyes at Blake before she sighed, giving up with a shrug, making him chuckle in victory. "Yatta! Now, where we heading? We got plenty of lien after that bounty! Let's put it to use!"
Blake only palmed her face. This would not end well, and she wasn't looking forward to it…
But it would get her away from Vale for a while.
And any pressure he would have on her. So…
A grin snuck on her lips. This would be worth the trip anyways, so…
"Atlas."