{A Really Brief Note Before The Start Of The Chapter.}

All I can say is that I've been monitoring the growth of this story for the last week, and holy moly. You're all wanting this thing to blow up. Went from a little under two hundred Monday, to breaching three hundred as I write this.

So, let's get into the meat and potatoes today. I would also like to see if anyone knows a good artist. I'd love to not only get them in on this, but also a very special project that I'm working that's outside of Fanfic.

Thank you all for the support!

-Blazeraptor54

Chapter Four: Rise & Shine.

"Depression Is Being Colorblind, And Constantly Told How Colorful The World Is."
-Atticus.

{Belladonna Estate.}
[Two Weeks Later. 2:23pm]

Naruto's left leg now was almost fully healed, and his right one was finished. At long last, he didn't need help going to the bathroom! Hobbling from the door, and back, the blonde had just came back from his recent trip to the porcelain throne room. The boy took his place at the bed, looking at the various books that had been brought to him.

The blonde was never the biggest reader, but he figured he had time. Him being under constant guard as he healed made the shinobi more than slightly nervous, however, Cloud wasn't such a bad guy once he got to know him. The toad faunus was currently outside of his door, and being told to keep him in the room.

Creating a clone, whose state was healthier than the actual creator, he made it walk over toward the door. He knocked thrice, and the door opened. Cloud was looking inside, noting the blonde's two other clones reading books.

"You need something there, shorty?"

Shorty, the little nickname Cloud had came up with was sticking to him, and it burned him slightly. Sooner, or later, Naruto would hit a growth spurt. Then he'd be calling everyone else short! However, for now the blonde just bit back his retorts, better to wait to gloat.

"I was wondering if I can get out of this room?" Naruto inquired whilst putting on his best smile. "I've been trapped in here for days, and I still have one broken leg…not like I'm gonna go anywhere fast."

"Hmm…" Cloud furrowed his brow before taking a deep breath. "I really shouldn't, but you've not been giving me any problems. So, I guess, hang on a second."

Naruto saw the clone disperse as the door shuts. He bided his breath, it wasn't like he was not grateful for the hospitality of Ghira, and Kali, as he came to fully know them. He really was, they didn't have to keep him here, and they knew it. Yet, they still did, and often times one, or both, would come to talk to him.

However, it was the tone they were using that slightly grated his nerves just a little bit.

They talked to him like he was a child, a child in duress. Naruto had been in duress almost his entire life, and once you become numb to the feeling…it's not like it great to have someone point out that you're hurt and confused. Pride cometh before the fall, as Pervy Sage would've said. He missed the old pervert, still though, that Ninjas Of Love book had been intense.

Strictly for all the "right" reasons that his hormone addled mind could pick up on.

By his bedside, on the nightstand, laid his headband along with his team's photograph. They had found his headband the other day, having falling into someone's chimney. That was a lucky break, because it was one of the truly few things Naruto held sacred to himself. He reached over, picking it up, and wondered his thumb over the steel plating.

"Iruka sensei, I wonder if you're crying over me, or mad at me. Don't worry, if you can somehow hear this, I'm fine. Thank you for believing in me, because of that, I turned out to be a not-so-bad shinobi, ya know." Naruto felt prick at his eyes, and then run down his face. "Sorry, if I never got to swing by for the ramen treat the other night…had to go deal with Sasuke's dumb ass."

Memories of the two going out for ramen, and doing things flooded his mind. They hadn't all been pleasant, some coming from the time before he gained Iruka's respect. However, Iruka was the truly the first true bond he had made within the village. His first link in a chain that had grown long, and plentiful, and now that chain seemingly was at its end. It all ended with Sasuke, the nearly broken piece to it all, but still Naruto liked to believe it held firm even its weathered state.

He just hoped that Kakashi, or Grandma Tsunade didn't do anything super rash against Sasuke. He had chosen this! This was his choice. If he hadn't pushed Sasuke out with the smaller rasengan when he did, then they would've both fell into the rift, and been brought here. More than likely, because between the two, he had wings in his cursed forms…Sasuke would've just landed fine.

Still, with the way the Uchiha was at the time, it would've been not safe for anyone here.

Naruto sighs to himself, and smiles softly. "You see what you've done, you bastard, you got me a whole new mess, ya know." He reaches up, and slowly ties the headband to his head, securing it tightly with a pull.

Looking at himself in the mirror, the blonde took a moment to note his unkempt look. His hair was a mess, his body slightly reeked, and though his legs weren't in a cast since they were healing so fast, he didn't have clothes to change into. He didn't want to get wet from a shower, and have nothing to change into!

It was one of the few spoiled things he had in his mindset. However, it was one of the very few things that in all things considered, was the normal. His thoughts were interrupted when Cloud entered the room, carrying with him a stack of clothing. He closed the door, and placed them on the bed. the clothing was slightly weird, not like t-shirts and cargos he was used back in Konoha.

"Lady Kali guesstimated your size. When we get back, it may behoove you to thank her properly. There's two achkans, two pants and underwear, and we have some sandals for your downstairs. You'll be taking a walk with me." Cloud told him before walking toward the door. "Lady Kali didn't know what you liked, so she went with orange."

Naruto looked at the…achkans? They seemed like very long button up shirts, that were long-sleeved as well. He smiled, nodding his head at Cloud. "She guessed right, orange is my favorite color." The blonde smiled brightly before getting up from the bed, and stumbling a little on his good leg.

"I'll be waiting for your knock." Cloud said before exiting the room.

Not being told twice, Naruto hobbled quickly toward the bathroom. He closes the door, and takes off his headband. Putting it on the sink, the blonde strips quickly before entering the shower. Closing the sliding door to the shower, the blonde looked at the single lever. It had a scale on it, ranging from blue on the right, to red on the left.

Turning it completely to the left, the blonde then pressed himself underneath the nuzzle as initially frigid water sprayed over him before turning steamy hot. Smiling to himself, he slunk into the stream, and let the hot water kiss his skin. Breathing in deeply whilst using chakra to anchor himself with his good foot, Naruto looked at the very few selfcare items in the shower.

He pursed his lips at the choices. "Obviously girls mostly use this guestroom it seems…wait…mango scented shampoo?" Naruto picked it up and opened the top. Sniffing it, he smiled a little bit. It was meant for girls, given that there was one plastered on the front of it, but he shrugs his shoulders.

"Meh, it smells good." He poured a helping on his head, placing the bottle back before lathering it.

It foamed up quite easily, and grayish water poured down from his head as he scrubbed. He hummed whilst thinking back over the last week, having woke up in this strange new world. His idling gave him time for figuring out things, and learning new ones.

He learned recently, and what opened a door for him, was that sometimes when his clones popped, he got their experiences. It was weird, it was funny, and it wasn't foolproof. The shinobi knew it wasn't a perfect ratio, not all clones gave memories back, but he bet he could once he got back into training. Still, baby steps, and the first steps was figuring out what this place had to truly offer. So far, it was good reading, great reading, and heavenly soap. Still stuff smelt, and cleansed, better than anything he had in Konoha.

Allowing the water to rinse his hair out, the blonde's unkempt spikes flatten down to a smooth mop of hair. His next goal was the soap bar, and he began to scrub. He stayed scrubbing, until the bar itself was almost halfway gone from the original size of his palm. Still, the grayish water falling from him meant that he was getting cleaned, and that was something after spending a literal week reeking like roadkill.

Shutting off the shower, the blonde stepped out onto a mat. He grabbed a white towel, and began to dry himself rapidly. His back, and head first, followed by his front and legs. He shook his head, much akin to a dog, and the semi-dried spikes remerged before he looked at himself in the mirror.

Smiling at his much cleaner shine. The blonde wrapped the towel around himself before grabbing his headband from the sink and tying it back onto his head. Walking back into the guestroom, or his medical room, he called it. The shinobi made his way over to the clothing. Dropping the towel, he picked up the boxers.

He slid them up, and found they were slightly loose. Frowning at that, since it meant that he was going to feel awkward sometimes while walking, he reached over for the pants. They were black, solid black, so there wasn't really much to comment on. Save that they had beltloops with a sash next to them.

The sash itself was yellow in color, and he tied it through the pants before slipping them up. He made sure to zip, and button them before tying the sash into a slightly tight knot. Bouncing on his good leg to make sure they weren't going to just fall down on him, he hissed a little when putting pressure on his still healing left leg.

Grabbing the next set of the clothing, the achkan. There were two of them, one was pure orange with black cuffs, and the other was blue, with orange cuffs. Taking a moment to observe it further, the buttons on the orange garment were black in color, whilst the blue's buttons were also yellow in complimentary to the cuffs.

Sticking to what he knew, the blonde wore the orange achkan. Slipping it over his head, the garment felt loose, nearly showing his shoulders. Still, he didn't want to complain. He could've just been told to stay in this room, and that'd been the end of the conversation. Hobbling toward the door, Naruto knocked on it whilst dispersing his clones.

One of them, the one reading a book called Captain Ahab, flooded the memories of the book into his mind. It caused him to slightly feel nauseous a little, but he quickly recovered as the door opened. Cloud stood there, dressed in his white armor, and whistled a little bit.

"Damn kid, you clean up nicely." He complimented before noting the headband. "What is that you're wearing?"

"It's my headband from my village. It signifies that I'm a shinobi." The blonde stated proudly before noting the expression on Cloud's face. "I can't wear it, can't I?"

Cloud took a moment, and sighs, "No. I'm sorry."

Frowning, Naruto took it off slowly before hobbling back toward the bed. He laid it on the nightstand, gently rubbing it before walking out toward Cloud. The young guard closed the door behind the blonde. Patting his shoulder.

"Don't sweat it, kid, it'll be there when we get back." Cloud then reached behind him, and handed Naruto a crutch. "Here, this'll help you with that bum left leg for a little bit until it's healed."

The blonde situated, and began to use to it to help him with his speed of walking with Cloud. As he walked, he noted the looks of several familiar faces throughout the estate. These guards were looking at him, judging him, and making sure to never look away. He felt those stares dig into him, it was no different really than how Konoha looked at him.

"One of these things is not like the other, one of these things doesn't belong."

He often heard that chant from schoolkids when he was in the village, whenever he was around. Making his way to the stairs, the blonde struggled down them, but eventually got to the bottom floor. This place was huge, and he gawked at it a little as they began walking toward the back.

Exiting out of the back double doors, Naruto saw the garden Kali had told him about. It filled with palm trees, and various tropical flowers. He sniffed the air, noting the sweet aroma of the said flowers. Then he saw the gazebo, and broken tiling on the ground from pieces had been missed. He frowned as it was still broken, but was moderately surprised to see a small depression five feet wide from where he landed.

"That's where you supposedly found the ground." Cloud commented whilst pointing at the spot. "C'mon, lets go for a walk."

Slowly hobbling with the crutch, Naruto and Cloud took a walk around the garden before coming across Ghira. The large man was knelt down, looking at a large tropical flower that was myriad of colors. He snipped a few errand pieces of, keeping it tidy. He stood up, his imposing figure dwarfing both Naruto's and Cloud's. Turning to face them, the man crossed his arms, the garden sheers in his hand still.

He nods his head, "Cloud, Naruto. What are two doing in the garden?"

"I'm taking our guest from the clouds for a walk. His legs are nearly healed, but the left one is still a bum leg, Chief." The Kuo Kuana guard answered promptly. "I hope this was okayed by you, and not Kali."

"I knew nothing of the sort." Ghira answered before looking at Naruto. "Nice clothing, I'm assuming my darling wife picked you out some sort of outfit. Unfortunately, your original clothes got shredded when we had to save you."

The blonde waved him off, "it's not big deal, it's just clothes." He replied with a smile.

The Chief of Kuo Kuana looked the boy up and down, regarding him. "You feeling better, truly, in such a short time?"

"Of course, I recover quick, ya know." Naruto beamed whilst giving the biggest smile he could. "Still, like Cloud here said, my left leg is still healing."

"As you've not been a nuisance to us, more or less, just a hurt kid. I'm willing to let you go out, and walk Kuo Kuana. Do not stray from Cloud, however, he's to be your escort at all times. Even when you're healed, until we figure out who exactly you are, and where you've come from." Ghira told Naruto sternly before placing the garden tool on the ground. "For now, however, let me walk with the both of you."

"Yes, Chief." Cloud bowed his head in a curtsy before looking over at Naruto. "Hey, numbskull, Chief Belladonna stating something like that means you bow."

"Oh! Um, like this?" Naruto questioned before dipping his head forward a little.

The faunus guard just groans.

Ghira merely chuckles a little, pats the blonde's shoulder. "That'll do for now, now you looked like you were curious, was it me…or the flower?"

"Well, honestly, it's the flower."

Ghira pursed his lips, smiling a little, "aren't you going to ask why I'm gardening?"

"Well, not really, you see, back where I'm from I never really had a lot of friends. So, I spent my years as a kid taking care of potted plants. I got pretty good at it, and I was even taking care of a cactus plant a friend sent me from his home in Suna." Naruto smiles at the memory of the flowering cactus, wondering if Iruka would be by to water it every now and then. "So, yeah, what kind of flower is that?"

"They're called plumeria, it's a flowering bush. It's the flower of Kuo Kuana." Ghira stated proudly before watching as Naruto walked over to it, and bent down to sniff it. "It carries a sweet scent, doesn't it?"

"Oh yeah, it does, it smells awesome, ya know!" Naruto noted the hints of spice on the sweet scent, which rankled his nose a little bit. "Achoo!"

Ghira, and Cloud chuckle, with the larger faunus man pointing toward the red flower Naruto had been smelling. "The red ones carry a little bit more of spicier scent to them." He belatedly warned the blonde kid, whilst seeing him observe the plant. "You seem something?"

"Nothing really, just looking at it more. We had nothing like this in Konoha, it's awesome though." Naruto laughed before pulling back, and stretching a little. "So, what other flowers do ya got?"

"Well now that you mention it…"

[One Hour Later.]

"…Those flowering trees are called foxtails, and over here we have Higanbana, though they don't bloom until October." Ghira continued rambling about which plants he had in the garden his wife helped him grow. "My favorite flower, out of all of these, is still our national flower of the Menagerian people, sunflowers."

Naruto saw the little patch of sunflowers towards the back of the large garden. He walked over to them, noting some of them were red in color. "Huh, these ones are red. Why is that, aren't they supposed to be yellow?" He inquired before feeling them, and smiling a little bit. "They're very soft."

"Believe it, or not, sunflowers do primarily come in yellow." Ghira then rubbed his nose with a smirk of pride. "However, they can also come in white, mahogany, brown, and even orange!"

"Ooh that's cool, ya know. Yeah, where I'm from, these only grew yellow." Naruto smelled them and then smiled softly. "They smell so sweet, kind of like Ino's shop back home."

"Ino?" Ghira looked at him, and then smirked. "Little girlfriend?"

"Oh, gods no, no-no-no, she's just a fellow graduated! She graduated as a kunoichi!" The blonde shinobi stated before noting the confused looks on Ghira's and Cloud's faces. "Oh, that's just the girl's version of a shinobi."

"But didn't you just say that she had a shop?" Cloud raised an eyebrow, curious to why Naruto would make a mistake like that…if he had.

"Oh, crap, yeah. I mean, technically it is her shop, but her dad owns it. She grows wolfsbane there, wisteria flowers, and even roses." Naruto snapped his fingers before noting the lack of the flowers of love in the garden. "For a garden like this, why didn't you ever grow any roses?"

"Heh, I'm actually surprised that supposed differing worlds share plants. Anyway, let's say that is still the case, what color were the roses from you supposed world?" Ghira inquired before crossing his arms, looking him in the eye.

Naruto sheepishly rubs the back of his head. "Okay, so, they come in a lot of colors. I mean there's the reds, blues, yellows, whites, but Ino was also starting to cultivate purple, and black flowers." He blushed a little bit before giggling. "I actually suggested she try to grow pink ones, because well…"

"Oh, now this I have to hear." Cloud chuckled before looking at Naruto. "So, you do have a little girlfriend."

"Well…not really, she's more or less into another guy." Naruto thought of Sasuke, and then felt some pain his left chest. "He's a total jerk though, ya know."

"You know what, Cloud, I like the cut of this kid's jib." Ghira laughed before noting the look of confusion and raised hand of the kid. "Um, yeah, Naruto what is it?"

"Um, what is a jib, and why do you want to cut it?"

Both adults in the garden just smacked their faces. Groaning from the pain their brains were in. Obviously this kid was curious, young as he was at the tender age of twelve, but it seemed slang eluded him in some degrees. Granted, this was older slang, but most kids had heard from others at some point.

"Okay okay, follow along with me." Ghira took a deep breath, preparing himself for some mental gymnastics. "Okay, so you know what a flag is right?"

"Well duh, who doesn't know what a flag is right?" Naruto crossed his arms, eyeing the much larger man curiously. "What do flags have to do with a jib…whatever that is."

The man took a deeper breath, sighing before he went to explain it. "A jib is a sail on a ship, and the kingdoms all had a particular way of placing theirs. That's why, when I say, I like the cut of your jib…I mean I think you're good. If I said I didn't, then you'd be in a world of trouble." He finished before noting Naruto's head nodding.

"So…kind of like my headband I have in my room. If another person has a Konoha headband, then were good, but if someone else has a Kiri…or Suna headband it could spell out trouble." The two adults looked at one another whilst Naruto summarized it. "Pretty much, just shows that were friends, not enemies."

"I mean, yeah, in a wayward way about it." Cloud commented before ruffling the kids much to his annoyance. "Still, we're gonna head to Dr. Vista's here soon since you can move about on your own."

Naruto blew an errand strand of hair from his face. "Do I have too, I mean, Vista is nice and all…but I keep telling you all. I'm not from here, and I'm not an assassin." The blonde slightly whined.

"Well the assassin part is something I believe, but kid, you've been beaten the crap out of. I mean, your feet and hands are littered with callouses. Most men who work in construction don't have them like you have them. Not to mention, your disturbingly familiarity with the vital points of a human body." Cloud rubbed his chin whilst speaking, and pointed his finger toward him. "Also, you seem to carry yourself more openly, so you're more of a solider."

"Okay, so I'm a solider, I mean technically shinobi are expected to defend their nation and village." Naruto agreed, whilst seeing Ghira and Cloud frown. "What did I say wrong this time?!"

"Hey, watch the tone, no reason to flip script." Ghira calmly warned him before sighing. "The reason I frowned is because, Naruto, child soldiers are illegal in any part of the world."

The blonde blinked for a minute, and then thought for a minute. "So…let me get this straight, how old do you have to be to fight for your village…err…nation?"

"Kingdom," Ghira corrects before sighing, "you have to be at least eighteen for the regular armed forces."

"What the heck?! That's like super old, I know Jonin that are younger, ya know! I mean they're super elite shinobi, who have completed dozens of missions!" Naruto hollered out before pointing at Ghira and Cloud. "Are you guys serious?!"

Cloud smacked Naruto over the head lightly, making him yelp a little bit. "Cool it with the yelling, twerp. Sheesh, going to give a me a migraine with all that hollering." Cloud used his pinky to dig into his ear, cringing at the ringing from Naruto's voice. "To elaborate, there are some forces like Hunters that train from when they're ten-ish, but never see active combat unless it's with Grimm, and that's usually supervised until they're like seventeen."

"Hunters…" Naruto thought for a moment, then smirked. "Oh, we had Hunters!"

"Oh!" Cloud was shocked by that statement, "do tell."

"Okay, so our Hunters were called ANBU, and they would sometimes go after rouge shinobi. Traitors, and the likes. Basically, well, it wasn't a good day when they caught their guy." The blonde shivered a little bit. "The penalty for betraying one's village is usually death."

Ghira and Cloud both looked at each other.

"If this kid is from another world, I kind of slightly prefer the Grimm at this point, Gods above it sounds like a nightmare." Cloud thought before looking over at the chieftain of Kuo Kuana. "Wonder what Chief Ghira has got running through his head."

Ghira gazed into the boy's life filled eyes, filled with happiness as he talked about the darkest things. "I don't know where you're from, but it must've been hell if you're truly happy about something like that…"

"Has this world of yours ever experienced, you know, peace?" The Chief inquired whilst crossing his arms, looking down at Naruto incredulously.

The blonde thought about it, and stayed standing there rubbing his chin for a for a few moments. A pregnant silence filled the air, only giving birth to the blonde drawing a blank and shrugging. This made both Ghira, and Cloud look at one another. Both understood one thing, if this was an imaginative scenario, and that the kid was messed up in the head, it meant that he ever only knew one thing truly.

Fighting.

{Doctor Vista's Office.}
[Two Hours Later.]

Dr. Vista was currently sitting in a chair across from Naruto. The chestnut-haired man was going through the profile he had built from Naruto over the last two weeks. The kid had healed remarkably fast, just a week off from his projections given what his body was showing.

Knock-knock-knock.

Three rapid knocks signaled that he was here.

"C'mon in, Uzumaki." Vista called out whilst hearing the creaking door open up, thank goodness the hospital was back to being slow again. "Hello there young man, looking debonair."

"Debo-what-now?" Naruto questioned as he shut the door behind him.

The doctor chuckles under his breath, "it means looking good, or suave."

Naruto blushes a little at that, smiling sheepishly. "Oh, thanks, I guess. Hey, so, I'm up walking around now, and this place Kuo…Kuana…is super huge." The blonde gushed whilst taking a seat at a chair. "So, what's up doctor?"

"Well, Naruto, like I told you at the Belladonna estate. I've assigned myself as your doctor, and psychiatrist. Just to remind you, and to reassure you, anything we discuss here short of threats of harm to yourself, or individuals is perfectly subjected to confidentially. There is no one, not one single person, that'll hear these things but me." Vista got out a piece of caramel candy, tossing it over to the blonde. "You seem to like caramel, so I got you some more."

"Oh sweet, these things are weird ya know, sticky and all of that…but super good!" Naruto popped the wrapper open before popping the soft taffy-like candy in his mouth. "Mmm, so good~"

Vista chuckles a little bit, and writes something on his notepad. "Okay, continuing on from our last week's conversation. You said that this Sasuke Uchiha was- "

"Is."

"Is your best friend despite him supposedly stabbing through your chest." Vista made a note before nodding his head. "Can you describe to me why you view him in such a light, despite the fact that you nearly suffered an intentionally fatal injury from the older boy?"

"Well, doctor, Sasuke is just in a dark place. It's my duty as a friend, maybe even as a brother, to drag him out. We grew up in the academy together, and yeah, he's cold but I know him. He's not usually like that, ever since he got bit by that snake bastard Orochimaru." Naruto crossed his arms before swallowing the caramel treat. "I'm actually glad I can cuss in here, usually Lady Belladonna doesn't like it when I do so at the estate…and with her large cat ears…"

"Makes it hard for you to hide it. I get it, I'm glad to see that you're using Lady in there. She's a kind person." Vista praised before jotting down some more notes. "So, this Orochimaru, who is he?"

"Orochimaru is a murderous traitor to our village. He is trying to steal Sasuke's body because his is failing. Hopefully, at the very least, that I held Sasuke long enough from getting there too soon. I really hope that snake bastard turned to dust." Naruto seethed before growling under his breath. "Which is why I am kind of frustrated, don't get me wrong, I kind of figured I was dead when I went into the rift…but it irks me that I'm not home helping him!"

"I see, so this bond you share with Sasuke, it is very significant. Is this because you both were orphans growing up, and you both developed a co-dependency on one another to validate each other's existence?" Vista inquired whilst gauging the blonde's reaction.

The shinobi became slightly downcast, and sighed. "No, doctor, we weren't dependent on each other for that. Sasuke was always popular, I mean all the girls liked him, and some guys too." He said whilst biting his lip a little bit. "Heck, I mean, I love the guy like a brother. He is the pinnacle reason why I train, it's because I don't want to just stand above him, I want to be equal to him."

"So, you want to have equal standing on the grounds of this Sasuke fellow. Has that changed since the fight you both had?" The good doctor questioned whilst jotting a few more notes down, taking a deep breath.

Naruto nods his head slowly, and sighs whilst looking down. "I never realized just how vulnerable he was, over his brother. I mean, his one vow was to kill him, but ya know…I was hoping to help him. I just wish there was someway I could let him know, right now, that despite everything, I'd do it all again if it meant to help him." A tear found its way out of his eye. "I'm sorry, it's a very touchy subject."

"Don't be sorry for crying, it's natural. Why do you apologize for that?" Vista inquired.

"Because shinobi aren't supposed to cry, we're supposed to harden ourselves. I guess that's why I've always been a crap shinobi. I can't bring myself to kill when it matters most, I hesitate, because I relate to the pain someone feels. Like something in the back of my head is telling me, no, ordering me to stop!" Naruto grabbed his head in frustration. "It's all a bunch of confusing emotions, ya know!"

"This voice in your head, does it become louder when you're about to fight, or during the fight?" The doctor questioned him whilst writing down a couple of notes. "It's okay to answer that in any way, Naruto, I don't think you're crazy."

"I know I'm not crazy, ya know! I'm just saying, for some reason, I try to see the good in people no matter what. There's very few people that I can look at, and say that they need to just die. Orochimaru is one of them, because of all the pain he brought to others." Naruto looked away before biting his lip. "Yet, I knew two people who also brought pain to others, and they redeemed themselves…so…what is the right choice?"

"Interesting, this kid is supposed to be a child solider, but he shows a willingness to go against his own indoctrination." Vista bit the tip of the pen, noting the mix of emotions on the kid's face. "He doesn't seem to be unsure of what he wants to say, he fully believes he's from another world."

"That reading material you gave me on the last visit. Things about something called aura, and semblances. I mean, yeah, they sound similar to what I use. However, doctor, I'm telling you that I don't have aura, but chakra. I don't have this 'semblance' everyone keeps whispering about. I mean, think about it I'm supposed to have one ability, right?" Naruto questioned whilst crossing his arms, his crutch sitting at the back of his chair. "I really can't wait to be fully healed so I can help around the place, I mean it's the least I can do, ya know."

"Aren't you wanting to get home?" Vista commented whilst noting the look in Naruto's eyes slightly shift. "You seem fixated with events back home, are you sure that this Konoha place isn't somewhere here on Remnant?"

"Doctor, I'm one hundred percent certain that it's not. I mean, look!" Naruto weaved a single hand seal before a clone appeared next to him. "Can anyone do these things, like this?"

The clone suddenly transformed into a notepad, with Naruto catching it before it fell down. He formed another clone which turned into a pen, and he began writing with it. Vista saw him turn the notepad over, revealing strange scribbling on it. The notepad and pen both disappear into clouds of smoke right afterward.

Vista just chuckles a little bit, and smiles. "To be fair, semblances do evolve over time. You might've started with clones, but gained the ability to transform them. I actually followed a case of girl with the ability to create hard light creations, unfortunately, last I heard, she perished in a house fire in Vale." The young doctor took a minute, and sighed. "So, let's say I believe you, that you're in fact an alien to this world. Why would you want to help anyone here?"

"Because it's the right thing to do, duh." Naruto frustratingly emphasized whilst crossing his arms. "It seems like from what I heard, despite it seemingly being different, Kuo Kuana has a hard time with these Grimm things…what right do I have to make the situation worse?"

That caught Vista by surprise, he stopped writing in his notepad. "So, you're saying, despite us not being your people, you'd still help us if the time came for it?"

"Of course, I made a vow to myself to never ever go back on my word. It's my Nindo, my shinobi way!" Naruto declared with a smile. "I'm more than happy to fight to protect those I come to call friends, I mean, it's how I ended up here…I was never fighting Sasuke. I was fighting the darkness inside of him.

"So…you want to be a hero?" Vista inquired whilst going back to his notepad. "Tell me, Naruto, has there ever been another dream that you had? You said to me a week ago that your one true dream to be this…Hokage…as you put it. All things considered, if you're from another world, that dream is now impossible, correct?"

The azure eyed shinobi took a moment. Thinking hard on the doctor's words before taking a deep breath. "So, what if it's impossible, then I'll just do the impossible. I'll keep moving forward, no matter what, because hard work is wasted on someone who just gives up!" He declared with fiery passion in his voice. "If you never ever give up, all the work you've done is never wasted, even if your dream is so far out of your reach it seems impossible to grab!"

"I told Sasuke, the day that we fought, that it didn't matter what I had to do. I'd broken everything, every single bone in my body if it meant that I brought him home. I never went back on my word, heck, I like to believe that kept my word to the letter given how I landed here." Naruto laughed at the end before noting Vista's stunned gaze as his violet eyes lit up. "What, I'm really passionate about this, ya know!"

"It's as if I'm staring at something glowing in his heart as he says these things. For the briefest moments, I saw it, I swore I did. Inside of his heart was this golden speck of fire, far different than the blue lines going through his body. It looks like an aura network, but more advanced, with strange coils." Vista's mind raced one thousand miles an hour as he scanned over the boy's chest again. "Yet, that golden energy, it felt so much like an aura that it was almost uncanny, but it looked heavier."

"Doctor?"

Vista snapped out of it, deactivating his semblance. "Sorry, that was an impressive little speech there, Naruto. I was just stunned that a child can carry such a will like that." He said honestly, whilst lying about why he zoned out. "I…"

The words were lost on him as he tried to speak. He took a moment to gather himself, and took a deep breath. "I believe that you're a very passionate individual, who strives to see the good in people to a fault. Which is why I'm recommending that you come here bi-weekly. Every Monday, and Friday. For these hour sessions." Dr. Vista took a minute to look at his notes. "There is just one more subject, that stomach tattoo…what is it supposed to represent, you were avoiding the topic the last time."

Naruto stared away before taking a deep breath. "It's…complicated. I'll tell you one day, I promise, but I'm scared too."

"Mr. Uzumaki it's perfectly fine to be scared, remember I'm not going to say- "

"I said drop it! Please, I'm sorry for snapping, but there's just certain things I'm comfortable talking about, and others…not so much." Naruto apologized for snapping. "I'm really sorry doctor, seriously, ya know."

There it was again, just like last week when he tried touching on the subject of the tattoo. Vista took a deep breath, and smiled. "It's fine, that is my bad, I should respect your boundaries young man. Anyway, now that you're out and about, perhaps you can try some food local to here." Vista looked at the clock, and smiled. "Matter of fact, I have a lunch planned at a nice little café. Nothing too fancy, just sandwiches."

"Sandwiches…you mean those things with the meat in between the bread?" Naruto questioned, whilst Vista himself stopped, almost wanting to slap himself in the face. "I mean, Lady Kali made me something with cheese in the middle, it was burnt…but good burnt."

"That's called a grilled cheese." Vista pointed out, and then smiled. "Yes, and they go great with tomato soup."

"Oh, they do, awesome, I love tomato soup! Sometimes I put hot red peppers in there to give it a sort of kick, ya know!" Naruto beamed whilst smiling brightly. "I'll have to cook for them, because I feel like a total deadbeat from laying in the bed all day."

"Kid…you fell twenty thousand feet bare minimum." The doctor deadpanned.

"And I still feel like a deadbeat for laying in bed all day." Naruto pointed out matter-of-factly before smiling brightly. "Say, this is important, like life or death important."

"Could this be a breakthrough?" Vista tightened his grip on the notepad, and waited for the answer. "Okay, what is it, Naruto?"

"Please, please tell me because I just no remembered! Kali's food has been so good, but now that I'm out and about…well it's a life and death scenario!" Naruto gripped his head, and groans a little bit. "Please, I'm begging ya doctor!"

"Just spit out!"

"Do you guys have ramen here?!"

Vista and Naruto sat there in silence as both had spoke at the same time. With the doctor leaning forward, his seat creaking with his action. Naruto sat there blankly, and then the good doctor just held his face. He began to laugh, at first calmly, only turning into a torrent of obscene laughter soon afterward. Naruto laughed with him, nervously at first, and then he joined in the mirth filled laughter.

Naruto rubs the back of his head, sheepishly, "wow…okay that was awkward. Seriously though, I have a ramen addiction, please tell me you guys have some here!" He begged.

"You're having a laugh right now?! Of course, we got ramen, everywhere has ramen!" Vista yelled whilst having flames in his eyes. "Ramen is a staple food in Mistral, and my Gods doesn't Menagerie makes good ramen!"

"They do!"

"Yes, they do! C'mon now, I've been looking for someone to go with me like forever!" Vista got up, grabbing his violet overcoat. "I'm gonna change plans, we're going to a ramen shop with Cloud."

"Alright!" Naruto celebrated before pumping his fists, and then he nervously chuckled. "I can be kind of expensive when it comes to ramen…heh."

"Sheesh, you can't be that bad, you're just a kid!"

[One Hour Later.]

The Golden Dragon was Kuo Kuana's ramen shop of choice. It catered to pretty much every taste one could imagine. Vista loved it, he came here almost daily after work, but it wouldn't too shocking to see him here for his lunch hour. What had him hook was the endless combinations, and the relatively cheap price for the ramen stand. Where most places charged a few liens for just a bowl, the same amount here meant getting two bowls at the very least. With all the trimmings, and Vista loved his squid.

Cloud was on cloud nine, his lips slurped the noodles up into his gullet. He moaned at the hot liquid broth going into his throat after he took a particularly long drag. Vista had great taste, he'd have to bring Castor and Midori here at some point!

Naruto, the blonde shinobi who had brought the subject up, was currently on his fifth bowl. Miso Pork Ramen, with narutomaki, and it was by far the most delicious ramen he had ate besides Ichiraku. Ichiraku would, and shall always remain, number one. However, this place came at a very close second place.

He sipped at the bowl after he finished eating the noodles. Drinking down the broth, and letting out a loud burp afterwards. The kitchen staff over the counter were laughing at the kids antics, with Vista and even Cloud chuckling at him. The blonde just stared at his stack of bowls, and smirked.

"So, what's the record?" He asked one of the kitchen staff.

"Twenty." The staff replied as she prepared fresh noodles, and then smiled. "You are going for number six, young man?"

"Well duh, I mean this stuff is awesome ya know, if it's okay with you doc!" Naruto said with a smile whilst looking towards Vista.

Vista, who was on his second bowl, looked at him. "If your bloodwork wasn't so good, I'd say no, but your bloodwork has been perfect despite everything. So, yeah, give him another one, but that's it, capeesh." The doctor ordered playfully before seeing the woman smile and nod. "Thank you, miss…"

"My name is Umi," she greeted him with a smile. "I work the day shift here. You must be the famous human doctor, Vista, that everyone keeps talking about."

"Famous, huh?" He gushed a little.

"Mmhmm, you willingly came from a big hospital in Mistral to here. Not only that, you were the one of the very few doctors to leave the hospital and treat people openly here in Menagerie. I know a lot of our people view your kind with contempt, but I humbly thank you for your service." She bowed a little whilst thanking him. "I hope you, and your students Castor and Pollux have been getting along with everyone."

"Castor has, but Pollux misses his home." Vista admitted before looking toward Naruto. "Naruto, what is it?"

"She has…" He looked into Umi golden eyes with rectangular pupils. "Frog eyes."

"Close, but they're goat eyes!" She smiled brightly, and laughed. "Helps me keep up with fast movements of my guys in the back. You've got fox whiskers…sort of, are you a fox faunus?"

"Um, well they're not real whiskers, but birthmarks. As for faunus, nah, I'm sorry…I'm human." Naruto admitted before watching the woman's reaction turned to a flushed one. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to stare, honest!"

"No-no, you're fine sweetheart, it's just weird that a child with your birthmarks not to be a faunus. Surely there's other qualities about you…wait, I noticed something, you've got really long upper canine teeth!" She snapped her fingers when he nervously smiled. "That's not normal for human kids, see, you're close enough."

Naruto giggled a little whilst blushing. "Aww, stop it, you're making me blush ya know!"

Her bright orange hair shined in the sunlight when it made it through the covers of The Golden Dragon. Naruto wouldn't admit it openly, despite her weird eyes, she was beautiful. He watched as she turned around and walked away. Vista was staring at her longer than normal, and the blonde spotted.

"Hey, doctor, you gotta crush on her or somethin'?" He teased just a little bit, making the man push up his glasses just a little bit.

The doctor chuckles a little too sweetly, "don't mess with me, I control your life at the moment."

"Har-har, tough crowd." Naruto moaned before noting someone catching his eye. "Hey, who is that on the wall?"

"Oh, that's Blake." Cloud said absent mindedly before smacking his mouth close. "Shit…"

"Who is she, and wait…" Naruto peered closer. "Wow, holy crap, she's the record holder for fish ramen?!"

"Twenty-one whole bowls, tuna and salmon." Cloud mumbled before remembering the girl from two years ago absolutely annihilating the place when it first opened up. "I mean, she didn't even wanna stop, but she was turning green."

"Heh…" Naruto blushes a little bit. "She's kind of cute, ya know."

Cloud smacked his head on the countertop, "crap baskets, being held by a pacifist!"

[Two Hours Later.]

Naruto was walking along the side of a street with Cloud. His crutch was helping him keep up, with him occasionally moving his leg to brace every so often. The blonde looked at the beach area of Kuo Kuana. It was beautiful, tan sand, and crystal-clear waters. He took in the salty air, and found a bench to sit at. He sat down, watching the waves roll onto the shoreline.

Dark clouds situated at the distance, with thunder rolling off them occasionally. Cloud noted this, figuring that since storm season was finally here, it wouldn't be long before another storm came in. Hopefully this one just remained a strong thunderstorm at best. The guard took a seat next to his charge, with the injured blonde taking off his sandals to feel the heated concrete sandy dirt on his feet.

"This place is beautiful." Naruto frowned a little bit though. "I read from one of the books that the rest of the place looks like a large desert though."

"Yeah, that's the one of the bad things about Menagerie. You see, kid, towards the eastern side of the island continent it's nothing but barren wastes. Well…mostly, there is places where we could set up villages, but Grimm usually come and tear them down." Cloud said whilst looking onto the waters, and pointing off to the far island. "We don't even own those islands over there, that's Mistralian territory."

"Yet…" Naruto remembered from a map he had read, he crossed his arms in pensive thought. "They don't ever use it."

"It's a petulant strike at us. You see, nearly eighty years ago, there was a great war here on Remnant. My kind, faunus, were once subjects to slavery. We were thrown into the war by our masters from Mistral, and Atlas. Meanwhile, Vale and by extension Vacuo gave us the choice. We chose to fight, and the last king of Vale, Arthur, abolished the system of slavery and monarchy." Cloud smiled a little bit, thinking about it. "It's a little ironic, despite our contempt for humanity, we…looked up to the man as a true savior."

"I'm sensing a but…"

"Yeah, a big but because Menagerie was only named such eighty years ago. It was an old slave camp for Atlas…where a lot of us were made to work in the dust mines. Menagerie is basically, well by definition, a place like a zoo with a bunch of wild animals." The toad faunus spat before growling a little bit. "Ever since then, my people fought for the same rights as every human has."

"Change the name…"

Cloud looked at Naruto, "I beg your pardon?"

"Change the name, don't let it be a name that someone who hated you. Change it to something you should be proud of. Because, well, I've seen what people do to others. It's cruel, it's horrible. There was once this village, who were trying to build a bridge, and a businessman used bandits to hurt them." Naruto placed both of his hands in front of him. "Tazuna, that's his name, Tazuna The Bridge Builder."

"Tazuna…"

"Yeah, he was salty old bastard, ya know. However, it all came from a good place. You see, this business guy was a true bastard. His name was Gato, and he used bandits and two awesome shinobi. My team was sent in to escort him, and when we discovered he had lied about the details we held a vote…and we voted to continue helping him." Naruto felt something travel down his face, and his guard noted it. "He was only that way because Gato not only took his previous son in law, but another one…and little Inari was almost killed by him too."

Tears broke from his eyes, and the blonde scrunched his face up a little bit. "The enemy, my enemies at the time, Haku and Zabuza. They were powerful, they were cool, but both were manipulated by Gato. Haku…died protecting Zabuza. Zabuza died whilst taking Gato's head. Me, and my sensei created a bunch of clones to scare the rest of the bandits off." Naruto gripped his fist tightly. "I promised them that I'd come to see them again one day…I guess I'll never get to keep that promise."

"Who did you promise to see again?"

Naruto was taken aback by the question. "W-what did you just say?"

"Who did you promise to see again, it sounds like you revered that Haku and Zabuza fellows." Cloud smiled slightly, and then reached up to grab a handkerchief. "Here man, you might need this."

"Thanks…" The shinobi wiped his face off before staring at the glistening water. "I guess it's all of them. Haku, and Zabuza died doing the right thing. In fact, it was during that very mission that I promised myself to never back down, or break a promise if I could help it…to never go back on my word. Inari, Tsunami, and Tazuna were the very first friends I made outside of my village."

"Hmm…well, how about this." Cloud turned to Naruto, holding out his pinky. "I'll be your friend, so long as you promise me one thing."

Naruto tentatively reached up, extending out his own pinky. "What's that, Cloud?"

"If you are what you say you are, and that you want to help us. Never back down, and never let someone take away that one thing that makes you…you." He smiled softly at the blonde. "You're really such a warm hearted kid, you know that."

Wrapping his pinky around Cloud's, Naruto nodded. "I promise, I'm sorry biting your ankles when we first met."

"Pfft," he blew off the comment, "don't worry about it. I mean, you were scared, but please warn me next time before turn into a naked girl."

"Hehe, I call that my Sexy Jutsu." Naruto teased before breaking the pinky hold. "It's one of my first techniques I developed on my own…say, I have a question."

"What is it?" Cloud inquired.

"What is Dust?" Naruto asked whilst looking off toward the sun filled ocean. "I mean, I know dust-dust is, but from I'm reading it's like some super expensive gem."

"Well, Dust, is an elemental crystal. It contains fire, water, earth, ice, wind, and a myriad of other things." Cloud said before reaching into his pouch, pulling out a small green crystal. "Here, this is Wind Dust."

"Wind…Dust." Naruto breathed before taking it, and his eyes widened when it glowed softly in his hands. "Wow, this thing feels pretty much like…chakra almost."

"You see, that's what bugs me a little bit. That chakra thing you keep mentioning. I'm thinking your semblance is that, and you're just able to manipulate aura into the things you do. I mean, seriously, what color would you want this chakra to be if you could change it?" The guard asked whilst Naruto thought about.

The blonde smiles before closing his eyes. "I'd want it to be an orange color, maybe yellow."

"Hmm…well then, we better get to heading back toward the Belladonna Estate." Cloud got up and dusted his knees off. "C'mon kid, I'm actually way past your curfew at this point."

"Hey, Cloud, here!" Naruto extended his hand holding the crystal. "This is yours, ya know."

"Nah, you keep it kid." He smiled before patting his head. "C'mon, back to the estate."

{Belladonna Estate.}
[8:10pm]

Kali watched through a window as Naruto, and Cloud came up from over a hill. She smiled whilst looking toward Ghira. For some reason, whatever reason, her motherly instincts had taken hold of her around the kid. Despite the fact that he wasn't normal, and that his life's story sounded one bad nightmare after another, this kid was just a cinnamon roll.

"They're back." Kali called over to her husband, who came to stand next to her. "Look at Cloud, kid's acting like he's got a new best friend."

"Hmm…" Ghira hummed softly before looking towards the boy. "He's not a bad kid, Vista called me earlier and told me that he looks almost fully healed up."

"Which leaves the question, what are we going to do with him?" The woman asked openly before turning to meet her husband's gaze. "No doubt in my mind the child is suffering some sort of disassociated trauma. Still, that leaves the question on who had done it to him."

"I'm not so sure on that…" The Chief of Kuo Kuana replied before rubbing his beard slightly. "No, something is definitely special about him, for some reason I'm starting to believe he isn't from here."

Kali frowns at that before sighing. It couldn't be helped. The boy was a special case after all. Their daughter was downstairs, with Adam and some guards. The White Fang trainee had come over to see her, and Ghira respectfully gave them some monitored privacy.

"Does she know about him?"

"Blake, no, not yet. She thinks that were taking care of a fully grown man at this point. I'm assuming that Sienna does as well otherwise she'd marched over here a week ago." Kali pointed out before noting something as she looked toward the garden. "Hey, look, your foxtails bloomed a little early."

"Huh?" Ghira looked over at the foxtails, noting that had indeed bloomed a little bit earlier than normal. "That's weird, because they weren't supposed to bloom until October."

"Hmph, well I guess you get an early show." She teased him before walking toward the bedroom door. "Come now, dear husband of mine, let us go welcome our charge."

"Right."

Both of them walked downstairs before seeing Blake and Adam drinking tea. The bull faunus was regaling their daughter with the usual story of him taking down a different Grimm. Sienna's training methods were brutal, but all in all, effective if Adam was truly taking on Grimm at this age. Kali didn't call out to Blake, and instead walked toward the door to welcome in the hobbling Naruto, and Cloud.

"Lady Kali, Chief Ghira, I apologize for arriving back late. My charge was exploring the town a little bit before we headed toward Dr. Vista's." Cloud apologized before bowing his head in curtsy. "It will not happen again."

"It most certainly will!" Kali chided him with a small smile. "Tell me, Naruto, how was Kuo Kuana?"

"Oh, it's beautiful!" Naruto beamed with a bright smile. "That beach view is something else, I mean just wow…ya know."

"Heh, I bet." Ghira chuckled a little bit. "Say, Naruto, you do make those clothes work out…you can keep them."

The blonde's eyes widened a little bit. "You mean it, really?! Oh cool, thanks, really!"

"Heh," Kali patted the kid's shoulder, "you always so energetic?"

"Oh, you've got no idea, Lady Kali." Cloud laughed before nudging Naruto inside. "So, turns out he's a ramen addict."

"No…not another one." Ghira breathed in frustration, pinching his nose. "I swear, Umi needs to stop creating addicting things."

"Pfft," Naruto laughs off before biting his cheek, "as if."

"Mom, dad, who is that?" They all turned to see Blake, flanked by Adam. "I've never seen him before, is like a kid from one of the village's chiefs or something?"

"Well…"

Before Kali could finish, Naruto answered for them. He stood atop his good foot. Dropping his crutch down, and striking a pose. For some reason, he held his arms out, one above his head and another out in front of him.

"Behold, I'm Naruto Uzumaki!" He declared reverently in a joking manner. "Number One Knucklehead, and Biter Of Ankles!"

"Wait…biter of…" Blake suddenly pointed at him. "You're the frigging person that tried to kill my mother!"

"Wait what-whoa!" Naruto screamed at Adam's sword was pointed at his face. "Holy crap man, you nearly got my nose!"

"Adam!" Kali hissed whilst Ghira glared at him. "Put that down, he's not a threat, there has been a massive misunderstanding!"

"No, the misunderstanding is why this person isn't in questioning!" Adam yelled out whilst glaring at him. "You tried to kill the chief, and his wife?!"

"I fell from the frigging sky man, give me a break!" Naruto complained whilst hopping back away from the sword. "Sheesh, put that sword down before I shove it up your-"

"Enough!"

Kali got everyone's attention with her yell. She took a deep breath to compose herself. "That's enough, Adam, please this has been a big misunderstanding. Naruto here is actually safe to be around, he's been here for two weeks and hasn't done anything to harm us!" She stated whilst looking at Cloud. "Well, except bite Cloud's ankle."

"Hey!" Cloud complained before Kali moved on.

"So, as of now, he's a protected guest in this house." Kali stated before crossing her arms. "No one gets out another weapon at him, or so help me I'm getting my oak tray from the pantry!"

Ghira leans close to Adam, whispering to him, "that oak tray never breaks…I've seen her hit a crocodile guy in the head with it…and he was out."

"Honey." Kali seethed just a little bit whilst gaining a dark grin on her face, "don't warn the boy, otherwise isn't not as fun when he runs…"

Adam sheaths Wilt into Blush. Grunting as he glared at Naruto. "This isn't over, I'll be informing Sienna of this turn of events when I leave here tonight." He warned them before turning to Blake. "I'm sorry."

"No, don't be, besides how do we know this kid isn't just someone putting on a stupid face." Blake observed Naruto, who looked confused. "Yes, what's with the fake whiskers."

"Well, I'm sorry, they're called birthmarks!" Naruto chided her before balancing himself on his good foot to cross his arms. "Another thing, I'll have you know, that if your boyfriend points his sword at me again, it's going straight up his-"

"Naruto…" he paused immediately and paled when the shadow of Kali loomed over him. "What did I say about cursing in my house, boy?"

"R-right, so-sorry, Lady Kali." Naruto said whilst fidgeting nervously, and then turned to Blake whilst bowing a little bit. "I'm sorry that you think I was trying to harm anyone here, they've been great me, I would never hurt them in a million years, ya know."

"No…I don't know." Blake seethed before walking away with Adam.

Ghira noted the look on Naruto's face, patting his back. "Hey, don't worry about it, Blake's just protective of us."

"Huh…wait…" Naruto remembered the photograph from The Golden Dragon. "That's the girl that ate twenty-one bowls of fish ramen!"

Cloud just pinched his nose, whilst getting a look from Kali, eyeing him.

"It's a long story…"

{The Barren Wastes}
[4:00am]

A bullhead transport was flying over The Barren Wastes. They were hundreds of miles away from Kuo Kuana. Running a special scouting mission under orders from Sienna Khan. The lead pilot, a lizard faunus with a long tail was currently flying high above the sand dunes.

"Lady Sienna believes that an illegal SDC front was set up here." The pilot commented before turning the transport over toward another sand dune. "I'm not seeing it."

"Of course not, these Schnee bastards are always good at hiding these little clandestine operations. Our goal remains the same, we go in and kill them." A large ox faunus said, two dueling axes on his back. "Fucking bastards."

A moth faunus with wings, and a bow was staring out of the window on the side of the bullhead. Slowly, she saw something, it looked like a fire.

"Got something, to the right." She stated whilst feeling the aircraft tilt to head in the direction.

The co-pilot, a lion faunus with a mane around his neck saw the ruins of the said illegal operation. "Holy shit…" he says breathlessly as they come over the dune. "What in the hell happened here, even for Grimm…"

The pilot brought them into a landing position, opening the bay door. The team exited out of the back. Quickly assessing the area around them. They found a human worker, who's body was black spotted, and purple veins around him popping out.

"This place reeks." The moth faunus stated whilst aiming with her bow. "This looks like a pack of death stalkers just went wild."

"No kidding, bastards didn't have a chance." The co-pilot stated as he walked with his rifle pointed forward. "I mean, we'd killed them, but this looks like they suffered."

"Good, filthy human scum." The ox faunus took a moment to spit on one of the corpses. "I hope they died screaming."

"Gustav." The moth faunus chided before closing the eyes on one of the female human workers. "As much as I hate humans too, this isn't something to take lightly…this place had turret towers set up. Whatever came here hit them harder than most hordes."

Gustav just grunted before walking over toward a security station. He walked over toward the large cave, noting something. There wasn't equipment here for mining, this looked more and more like a military operation funded by The SDC. He growled, those filthy humans were trying to annex territory on their home?! How dare they!

until he noted the cave they uncovered.

"What…the…" He saw two large glowing red orbs in the cave. "Is that…"

He didn't get to answer as a sudden humanoid clawed hand suddenly reached out. It wrapped itself around Gustav before he could react. The moth Faunus saw this, firing into the being's arm before it let him go. Gustav jumped back as the co-pilot came running over.

"Gustav!"

"Get to the bullhead!" Gustav screamed as he saw a purple smoke come from the cave. "Now gods damn it all, now!"

The moth faunus ran with him, whilst the co-pilot fell behind slightly. It was a fatal mistake as suddenly a long scorpion like tail emerged from the cave! It's aim was true, its speed was like lightning as it drilled right into the man's back, and the needle exploding out of his chest.

"Arggh, Gods, help me!" The co-pilot screamed before he pulled into the cave, the fleshy sounds of ripping and tearing filled the night.

The pilot got the bullhead started as the rest of the team got in. He took off just as the cave below them exploded. A massive creature, a mighty Grimm, exploding through the entrance as it roared out. It's hands suddenly launched up, grabbing the aircraft before dragging it back down into the sand.

"No!" Gustav screamed as they crashed into the sand, the moth faunus falling out of the back from where the pilot forgot to close it. "Luna!"

Luna screamed as she fell into the air, only for a large pincer from the lower half a humanoid figure to suddenly reach up and snatch her. She screamed bloody murder before her visage was tracked into the sand that was picking up around the being. Suddenly, the legs emerged, the legs of a very large Death Stalker. It clanked against the sand, thumping, and sending vibration throughout the dunes. The pilot's arm was broken, and Gustav helped out of the aircraft just as the full figure emerged from the sand plume it was in.

It was massive, standing forty feet tall. It's body was wider than the Belladonna Estate. It roared out with the humanoid mouth that held the remains of Luna inside of it, slurping it down as it took notice of them. The pilot was then pushed Gustav off, and ran. He made it only a few feet before a bone spike suddenly launched itself from the beast's hand, and skewered him to the desert ground.

"I-it can-can't be…" Gustav backed away slowly, the large White Fang soldier looked at the massive beast as it casually crawled towards him. "No…there's no way, you're not real! You're not real, you're just a fairytale!"

The beast grabbed him with it's humanoid hands despite the man's vain attempts to bat away with the axes. He struggled into its grip, kicking, and roaring obscenities as he was slowly lifted up. The violet gas leaking from the beast's mouth slowly drifted over to him, he it filled his lungs when he breathed it. Blood veins popping out in his eyes, and the sclera turned red from the toxin as he screamed in agony.

"No! NO! NOOO!" Gustav begged as he began to choke, he found his hands around his own throat. "Gods save me, please! This creature is not real, it can't be real!"

"The Girtablilu!" He screamed whilst he fished his scroll out, trying to contact Sienna despite the need to choke himself, he needed to warn them all. "The Girtablilu is real!"

He didn't get to say anything else as the poison took hold, making him slump down, and drop his scroll into the desert sands. The massive beast brought him towards its maw, and with a few crunching chumps, Gustav was removed the world of Remnant. It roared out into the shattered moon as long, thin, wings formed at the back of its hardened carapace.

With a red sandstorm began to slowly build up around it, and smaller Grimm began to congregate around it. In the sand, Gustav's scroll connected before another roar filled the air, and the voice of a woman could be heard.

"Alpha Squad Leader…come in, this Sienna…what did you say? What is that, Gustav, come in!"

Chapter End