A/N: EDIT: Went back and expanded some scenes, added content and the like. Chapter felt a little too rough. Looking forward to your feedback~!

Also a minor edit with Kurama, sorry, made a mistake, he's not supposed to be in this chapter~!

Long chapter ahoy~!

Here we go~! Still here, still in pain, still writing despite it all.

In other news...depression's starting to hit reeeeaaaal hard these days.

Sometimes I wonder why I do anything at all. I can't claim to understand what's going wrong with my head.

I don't even know why! One moment I'm fine, then my mood craters for a few hours, then I'm back again for a bit, and the cycle repeats. Its rather annoying; as though I've become a prisoner in my own mind sometimes. Sure, what's one more mental problem on the pile. Not like I don't have enough, what with already being this old. Feels like every day is a battle sometimes. But when I go to the docs, they say oh no, you're fine, you're just tired. HA!

Writing helps fend it off the worst of it times, but when I come back to myself, its still there. Waiting for me.

*siiiigh*

Don't mind the rambling of this geezer...I'm still here, still trying to beat this thing.

With my fifteen year anniversary on this site finally here, I find myself reflecting on the little things in life. What was once a lazy pastime meant for me and a few friends really grew and evolved over time. There are days when I look back on the last fifteen years here and I wonder if anyone will remember me; if I made an impact, despite never making a single cent on any of these stories. Some days were happier than others, and some stories I enjoyed writing WAY too much; to the point where I'd stay up all night working on them.

And of course, there are times when I look to the future and wonder what will become of things when I'm gone.

Of course, I try not to dwell on the latter overmuch; I'm still alive and still writing. In an ideal world, I'd like to keep doing so for as long as I can. But old age is catching up to me and these days, the world is filled with so much madness and death. Feels like everyone's lost their minds sometimes. Even before that, so many friends and fellow writers I once knew are gone, now. Will I still be here in twenty years? Ten? Five? Its a chilling thought. But for now, I'm still here, still writing.

So here we go. The fate of this story depends on you, the reader. Your feedback determines the fate of this tale, and many others.

I'm just a humble author trying to make his way in this wild world, one word at a time.

As ever I own no references, quotes, themes or memes. They're merely tributes.

Time and feedback will determine if this remains a story. Simple as that.

In other words...its up to YOU, the reader. Do let me know~!

Put on your favorite music track, because this goes hard.

As for me, I went with RWBY - All Things Must Die (feat. Rena) 【Intense Symphonic Metal Cover】by FalKKonE.

I put that thing on loop, and it really jived for the second half of the chapter.

Our boy has three semblances already, and he's angling for a fourth!

"There it is. That's the look. I enjoy that look of confusion, when an inferior being meets a higher power. Its intoxicating, wouldn't you agree?

What's wrong, bandit? You were laughing before.

But you're not laughing now."

~a future scene.

Here be Bandits

Her scroll was banging off again.

Amber almost didn't hear at first, so lost was she in her nightmares. But it kept bleating at her, incessantly, until at last she creaked a sleep-gummed eye open and flailed for it. Her hand scrambled out of the blankets and pawed at empty air, reaching, reaching, REACHING-

Gravity betrayed her as she reached just a tad too far.

THUMP.

"Owwwwww~!"

The floor was cruel and cold and wooden; something Amber hadn't much minded before when she was awake, but very much did now that she found her face squashed against it. Owww...her poor head. Felt like someone had kicked her skull clean open. An angry growl grumbled against the ground as her eyes briefly flickered with maiden fire. Blasted inn. Her cot was way too small for her liking, but it was all she could afford with what little lien she had left.

Still, she was grateful to be awake. If nothing else, the noise had freed from dreadful dreams.

She'd died again. Trapped in that terrible, cold metal tube, banging at the glass.

It was almost always the same. She always dreamed of in the tube.

Every time. Without failt.

Sometimes she suffocated to death.

Sometimes an arrow pierced her heart.

Sometimes the tube turned on sucked out her very soul.

And sometimes, they just left her in there to die alone, wasting away as time dragged on. That was always the worst. Screaming and pounding at the glass, unable to be seen, unable to be heard. Unable to die, but unable to live, either.

She'd had one good dream, just the one, when she'd shared that campsite with Mercury. A reprieve.

The nightmares had come every night since.

Brrr.

Her scroll bleated once more, demanding her attention.

Shivering a little, Amber sat up on her knees, snatched it up, keyed in her password and took a look.

Her eyes lit up as saw the sender. "Mercury!"

In an instant she was awake, fumbling for the screen.

Her brow furrowed. "Let's see here...Ansel...bandits...? Eh? What has he gotten himself mixed up in...?"

Well, that settled it. She'd help him. He was...what? A friend? She had so few of those left now. She'd thought Ozpin was her friend, that Qrow and Glynda were her friends, but they weren't now, were they? They wanted to contain her, control her, keep her not in a cage, they weren't that bad, but they wouldn't let her leave Vale, or that awful mansion.

She was a huntress damnit! She was meant to be free! If she'd known the burdens, the perils, the pain she would suffer, she never would've accepted this power. Some days she wished someone would just...take it away. But that was childish thinking, even for her. She knew that. She was stuck with this power. Until death did them part.

Mercury, now he was free. No one could chain him down. He'd kill anyone who tried.

She didn't know what she felt about him. He was witty, sarcastic, and not at all afraid to talk back when need be. Regardless, he'd lit a fire in her, reignited something deep inside, a feeling she'd lost long ago. There had never been time for anything like this. Not since she inherited this Power. It was always training, or hiding, or meetings with Ozpin. Always what was best for them, for the world, never for her. Never what she wanted, not once.

But back to this feeling...it felt like warm butterflies in her chest, sunlight on her face, the frantic pounding of her own heart.

Could it be...?

Amber clapped both hands to her cheeks and shook her head.

No! Bad girl! Calm down, girl! It was too soon for that! Way, way, waaay too soon...

.

..

...wasn't it?

Her gaze flitted back to her Scroll, reading the messages therein. Ansel. That was a few days away, wasn't it? Less if she flew.

With luck, she could make it there quickly-no, she could! She would!

She wanted to see him again. She must.

If only to put these dreams to rest.


(.0.0.0.)


Ansel rolled out the red carpet for them.

Well, inasmuch as a small village on the edge of the frontier could roll out the carpet.

Naruto appreciated the hospitality-rustic as it was-really, he did, but he knew it came with a caveat.

He and Emerald were each given free room and board at the inn, while drinks at the local tavern were summarily declared to be on the house. Better yet, the innkeeper was so delighted to put up two "Hunters" passing through at little cost to them, so long as they lent a hand keeping an eye out for more Grimm. An easy bargain. This place was full of retired huntsmen and their families; warriors past their prime or those too young to make a meaningful difference. They'd had received more than a few kindly nods from the former and awed looks from the latter.

On the surface it sounded simple; all they had to do was face these bandits...if they did indeed exist, and send them packing.

And yet he couldn't help but feel that there was more at work here.

Or was there?

"If these fools cannot fend for themselves them what point is there?" Leave it to Cinder, the proverbial devil on his shoulder to pour poison in his ear.

"Devil indeed! I'll have you know I'm a well-adjusted member of society."

'You tried to recruit me while my house was on fire.'

Semantics!

He shook his head to shut her out.

Ansel was riled up, there could be no denying that, but were bandits to blame? The Grimm would say yes. They'd been drawn here by the sheer negativity of good folk fearing for their lives. But was there something more sinister at work here? Emerald seemed to think so. Then again, she could be frightfully paranoid. It had taken no small amount of work -and spoiling!- on his part to earn her trust and even then it was a fragile, fledgling thing. She wouldn't put her faith in others just yet. It fell to him to be the voice of reason here, both for the village and her.

But they couldn't stay here.

They absolutely could not stay here; they'd get bogged down and never leave.

Yet neither cold he leave these people to their fates. If their lives really depended on him, if there really were bandits, if there was some unknown danger...too many ifs.

"Wanna spar?"

Naruto blinked, drawn out of his maudlin reverie. "Pardon?"

"Spar." Emerald stared back at him, her plate pristine clean. He hadn't even touched his and it showed. "You look tense. And I need," she swallowed once to master herself. "I need to practice."

The last bit was said just a touch too quickly. She must've been unnerved by all this, too. Or mabye it was the Grimm.

Who could say? Regardless, he took her off in the spirit it was given.

He stood, knocked back the plate, and scarfed his dinner down.

"Sounds like a plan."


(.0.0.0.)


A shadow watched them from afar.

Hunters. Actual, real, live hunters! Here! In Ansel!

They seemed like good people...maybe...maybe they could help...?


(.0.0.0.)


Emerald knew her way around a brawl.

She fought not like a huntress but like a survivor. Rough and tumble, no-holds-barred, doing whatever it took to win. She had been born and raised on the streets and it showed. Wasn't afraid to fight dirty either. The girl was all elbows and knees and not at all afraid to use them when he disarmed her. Which was often. Most of her style -if one could call it such- was clearly self taught and she fought solely by instinct. Here, at least, Marcus' training came in clutch. He could see those mistakes and them, correct her stance and adjust accordingly.

They'd found nice, isolated little patch of dirt behind the tavern to do just that and-

"Rah!"

Naruto opened his eyes and swayed backward, grinning from ear to ear as her heel passed mere inches from his face. He caught her ankle and sent her spinning away. She didn't fall. Instead she whirled with it, letting momentum drag her chained sickles in at his forehead with blistering speed. Wilt stabbed down, entrapping one, even as he caught the other and reeled her in like a fish.

She realized what was about to happen, locked eyes with him, and used her semblance. Quite suddenly he found himself face three of her.

Points for her. He'd told her to use it sparingly where need be, and she had.

But hallucination or no, he could sense her all the same.

His fist found her stomach and she folded like so much wet paper. He expected a complaint, pain at the very least. Instead she accepted the blow, dropped to her knees and clutched her gut, all with nary a noise. He knelt to check her, to make sure she was alright-

And she swept his legs.

Naruto pitched backward with a squawk. It was his own fault, really. He'd let his guard down; pity and concern getting the better of him once yet again. Emerald took full advantage and tackled him, driving him down to the ground, practically straddling him. She planted her legs on either side of him and shoved a sickle under his throat.

"Yield!"

There were a dozen different ways he could've slipped free. He chose not to.

Grinning, he raised his hands. "Alright, I give. You gonna get off me now? Unless you're into that sorta thing."

Emerald looked down. Her face went red.

She tackled him.

A rustle in the bushes commanded his attention.

Emerald tumbled off him and rounded on it, weapons raised. "Who's there?!"

"Whoa, whoa!" A boy emerged from the brush, hands up. "Don't shoot! I come in peace!"

Naruto climbed to his feet and assessed the newcomer in an instant. Blond hair. Blue eyes. Thin. Scraggly. No aura. Ripped blue jeans and a dark hoodie. Was that...a rabbit on it? He couldn't quite tell by the crude armor the boy wore. For it was crude, make no mistake; blasted thing barely covered his chest and shoulders. How was that supposed to protect him? And why did he look so familiar?

Emerald hissed. "You'll leave in pieces!"

He should've know this would attract attention.

Belatedly, he recognized him. "I remember you. You're the one I plucked out of the Grimm yesterday." His mind flailed, struggling to recall his name. "Jaune, right?"

"Yeah..." The scraggly boy flushed and looked away. "...that'd be me."

Silence reigned supreme. Emerald didn't lower her Thief's Respite.

Naruto laid a hand on the barrels and forced it down. "Did you want something?"

"I, ah, wanted to ask," Jaune studied his shoes as though they were made of gold. "Are you two...huntsmen?

His lack of courage was beginning to rankle him. Where was the spirit he'd shown yesterday? Where was the fire? "Why say that?"

Jaune kicked at the ground. "You look like huntsmen."

"We're only a little older than you, idiot."

"Emerald."

She subsided with a sigh. "We've been training. There's a difference-

Jaune perked up, hope in his eyes. "Did you attend Signal?"

Emerald tilted her head with scorn. "Did you?"

"No...but I want to be Huntsman."

"Huntsmen are fools."

Jaune winced, but rallied in the face of her ire. "N-No, they aren't they're heroes."

She scoffed. "Heroes die all the time. We're not heroes."

Naruto's conscience gave him a nudge.

"I want to be somebody." Jaune wouldn't back down; if anything, Emerald's insult only seemed to embolden him. "I'm sick of this place, and sick of my sisters. I want to help people, save people, the same way you saved me back there." he saw their deadpan expressions and faltered at last. "I know. I'm weak. I would've been dead without you...

"You are weak."

The nudge became a poke.

Naruto sighed. "How many sisters you have?"

"Seven."

The poke became a stab.

He would have killed for a mentor in his first life. Granted, he'd gotten several eventually, but this boy clearly hadn't. It might be too late for this boy to make Beacon in a few years, buuuut...

"What are you asking of us?" he sheathed Wilt with a sigh. "Training?" Do you have Aura, at least?

Jaune looked like he might lie for a moment, then thought better of it. "No."

Of course not. "Are either of your parents Huntsman?"

"Dad is." No hesitation this time. Good, good.

"And where is this father of yours?"

"Out on a mission."

Emerald saw the angle he was taking and backed him up. "Why hasn't he unlocked your aura? Its not hard."

Jaune wilted a little under their gaze. "He doesn't think I'm serious about this.

Emerald shook her head, hair swaying. "You clearly aren't.

But I am! I have armor. And a weapon!

Emerald didn't say anything to Jaune. She didn't have to. Instead she pivoted and looked to him.

Naruto could feel her stare. You helped me, her gaze seemed to say. Are you going to help every stray we stumble across? No, he wasn't, but surely...

.

..

...damn him for being a softy.

A muscle jumped in his jaw. "Seven in the morning."

Emeralds sputtered. "Excuse me?!"

Jaune faltered. "Come again?"

"Be here at Seven tomorrow morning. Sharp!" He stabbed a finger into the younger boy's armored chest. "And eat a light breakfast. But first...come here."

Jaune scrambled closer, practically tripping over himself.

Cinder scoffed in his head. Coddling the weak...

Hush.

He laid a hand on the boy's head and closed his eyes. The words came with surprising ease. "For it is in our weakest moments that we find our strength. Through this we become a bulwark against the darkness, a defender of the weak and forgotten, the powerless and misbegotten. Unbound by morality and and driven by ambition I release your soul and by my shoulder support thee...

Jaune jolted in his grasp with a gasp and he felt the aura surge out of him.

"There." he stepped back, wiping a bead of sweat from his brow. "I've unlocked your aura. You have quite a lot. Remember, seven tomorrow. Don't make me regret this.

Jaune bowed.

Not good enough!

"Am I understood, soldier?!"

The boy saluted instead. "Sir! Yessir!"

He didn't fail to notice Emerald's jealous glare.


(.0.0.0.)


What was Mercury playing at?

Emerald couldn't understand. She wasn't sure she wanted to. Ansel had no strategic value. Their supplies were meager, and they had little in the way of warriors. So why linger here? Why unlock a civilian's aura and teach him basic swordplay? It all smacked of kindness and mercy, which was nice and all, but it wasn't getting hem anywhere. Their funds were still dwindling. They'd need to move on.

Instead here they were, settling in for the night at this blasted in when they should be leaving.

He made no mention of either as they went to their cots.

Finally, it was too much. She couldn't take it anymore.

"Why are you helping him?"

"Ahhh, dear Emerald." Mercury threw himself back on the bed with a languid sigh. "So full of questions. I like that."

She squinted at him. What was this, some sort of trick? "You do?"

"Sure." he shrugged a shoulder. "You keep me honest."

She arched a green eyebrow.

"Well, most honest." he amended, clasping both hands behind his head.

Her brow climbed higher.

"Okay, okay." he granted her a cheshire cgrin. Relatively honest. To answer your question, I helped Jaune because he reminds me of...well, me, when I was younger. Kid's got moxy."

"Are you saying you were weak?"

"The weakest." there was a telltale twinkle in his eye as he winked her way. "Hard to believe, eh?"

It was! Very much so! Mercury had never been weak. She refused to believe it. She absolutely refused.

No way in hell!

"He'll never make it to Beacon."

"He might," her partner disagreed. "I've given him a good start. He can build off it once we put Ansel behind us."

Something about those words lit the spark of hope in her. "So we're not staying here forever?"

He nodded curtly. "We're not; not by any means."

"Then what are we waiting for?"

A finger rose. "Who, actually."

"I don't get it."

"A friend, if she's willing to meet up with us. She might not. She's not a fan of civilization, nevermind the big cities.

Vale. He had plans for Vale. "That's where we're going, then?"

"In due time."

Uncertainty nagged at her anew, gnawing her nerves. She didn't want to appear weak before him -anything but that- yet he'd mentioned some else. Someone. Else. It rankled her more than she cared to admit. "You didn't tell me you had a friend."

"I met her before you." he held up a hand, sparks sizzling within, then raised another, crackling with shards of molten glass. "It was right after I killed my dad and an annoying broad. His casual admittance of murder would've appalled anyone else. Not her. Mercury didn't kill without good reason. "Don't worry, she's good people."

Emerald twitched. "She...?"

Was that whom he'd texted earlier?

...was she not special after all? She'd though she was.

With that thought, A seed of jealousy planted itself in her chest.

"But enough about her." Mercury stifled the two semblances in his hands and rolled over onto his stomach to look at her. "Where do you want to go?"

Emerald froze up. She still wasn't used to anyone asking what she wanted. "Me?

We can see the sights, travel the world, cause chaos. Whaddya say?"

"Travelng the world sounds nice." she swallowed once to master herself then barreled on before she could lose her nerve. "This friend of yours...what does she look like...?"

"Tall, tan, with short brown hair. There was something in his face as he said it.

"Hmm." Emerald looked up from her lap. "Do you," she curled one finger around her pale tresses, "Like girls with long hair?

"Mercury" blinked at that, just a little too quickly. By contrast, his reply took several seconds. "...I do."

Oh! Ohh! Ohhh! That was good to know. Maybe she shouldn't cut her hair after all.

Mercury squinted at her, noticing the spark in her eyes. "Why did you ask?"

...was curious." No way was she telling him about that. Not yet.

He sighed and flopped off the bed. "Alright. G'night, Emerald. I'll take first watch."

"Goodnight, sir."

"I told you to call me by my name."

The ghost of a smile touched her lips. "I'll think about it, sir."

She waited until he'd closed the door, until his footsteps had receded, until he was well and truly gone.

And then:

Her head hit the pillow, narrowly muffling a happy squeal.


(.0.0.0.)


Jaune had spirit.

He was untapped, untrained, almost utterly unremarkable in almost every way...but he wouldn't give up, he wouldn't stay down and he just, would NOT quit. No matter how hard he hit him, no matter how many times he knocked him down and out, he always found a way back to his feet.

Was it wrong that Naruto took some pride in that? Probably.

He still kept pushing him regardless.

So had passed two days.

In many ways the boy reminded him of himself back in his first life. Little skill, little training, little in the way of common sense, but determined to prove himself, refusing to give up. His attitude and confidence needed much work, but those would come with time and skill. They could fix that.

"Rah!"

"Wrong!" Wilt diverted Crocea Mors with ease, sending Jaune stumbling past. The younger boy swiped at him as he went. A stray strand of silver hair fluttered by. Naruto raised his somewhat marginal opinion of the boy by one notch. Good. In the beginning, he wouldn't have thought to do that.

He whirled and drove a metal-shod boot into the boy's back, tossing him into the dirt.

Don't swing with all your strength." he barked at him. "Move with the weight of your blade. Let it guide you."

Blush barked dust and was summarily tanked by the younger boy's aura.

"Better."

But then the boy sagged and his face grew stormy.

"No, no, no!" he dragged him back to his feet and gave him a shake. "Don't give up. You don't get to give up. Never give up. That's your defining trait, Jaune." when the boy made to speak, he shook him again. "If you want something, you have to fight for it! Don't sit there and mope! You have two years 'till Beacon! USE! THEM!"

The boy drooped in his grasp. "But this is harder than I thought! I

"If the next words out of your mouth are "I can't" I will smack you! I swear on my sword!

He felt a dark ripple of approval in that instant. Where had that come from...?

Shaking it off, he fixed his would-be-pupil with a baleful look.

"Listen to me, Jaune." he took the boy by the shoulders, frog-marched him over to a nearby stump and sat him down. "Because I'm only going to say this once. You're blind to what true power can bring you." he slung an arm around his shoulder, holding him close. "I'm going to let you in on a very important secret, one I learned when I was younger than you are now. You see, power, real power, doesn't come to those who were born strongest, or fastest, or smartest. No, it comes to those who would do anything to achieve it."

"But I'm so far behind...

Fool of a boy!

Fine. Being calm clearly wasn't working. Time to appeal to his emotions. He mastered his temper and gave him another shake. "Look at you. Struggling to have everything you want, all while the world tries to make you choose. Good. Evil. Hero. Villain. Light. Dark. Choose, they say! CHOOSE!" he snarled the younger boy into silence. "Pick one or the another, but not both, oh no, never both! Real power means you don't have to choose. Be who you want to be. And so will I."

He let him go, stepped back, and assumed a ready stance.

"What do you want to be Jaune?"

The boy stood, picked up his sword and readied his battered shield.

Naruto grinned. It was not a nice smile.

"Now try to hit me."


(.0.0.0.)


The bandits came the next morning.

They found one man waiting before the gates of Ansel.

Sitting, really, right out there in the open without a care in the world.

Fifty they were, but even they paused in the face of such an unusual sight.

Just as planned.

"There you are," Naruto stifled a yawn and rose, propping himself up on his sword. "Kept me waiting...

One of the bandits stepped forward, an ugly balding brute with a scar over his right eye. "Where is she? Give her to us, or we'll burn this place down."

He frowned. "Where is who?"

One brandished a hatchet at him. "Don't play dumb! Where's the Maiden?

He felt Cinder perk up in his soul. He could almost imagine her slow, sinister smile. "Oh? What's this?"

Naruto tilted his head. "Maiden? I dunno any maiden. I don't even know what that is, for crying out loud. Why're you after her?

"That bitch pissed off the boss!" weapons waved his way, battered and worn. "We had to trek all the way from Mistral to get here! Now give 'er up!"

"Really?" he thumbed Wilt free from her sheathe, revealing a gleam of scarlet metal. "If she's the boss of you lot, then I pity ya. "

"Why you little...!"

In every group there was always an idiot; some blithering bonehead who was either too strong or too DUMB to take a hint. Evidently this little tribe had the latter. One rushed him now, hatchets in hand, howling like a lunatic, a mad bull charging. Anger reared its ugly head in his heart once more, but this time he was ready for it. He channeled it, focused it, master it.

"That's not a sword, he tutted softly. "No...

Wilt flicked forth from her sheathe, quick as lightning, then slid back in thrice as quickly.

Behind him, the man fell apart, his body cleaved in twine at the waist.

...this is a sword."

One of the bandits-to-be cried out in a high, reedy wail.

"He killed Bert! Get him! GET-

Blush barked and the speaker went down with a faceful of dust.

"You know what?" Wilt scraped free from her sheathe. "Fine. Come and die."

It was too much to hope they would listen. They rushed him.

Again, as planned.

"Lookie here~!" He reached into his belt pouch and withdrew an item. "I've got a jar of dirt. Care to guess what's inside it? He superheated it in his palm and flung it at them before they could guess. "I'll give you a hint...

THOOM.

Cinder's semblance flared and the jar -or rather the molten dirt within- went off like a hand-grenade. Shrapnel sprayed in every direction, some of it even skittered off his aura. The bandits weren't so lucky. Twelve of them died outright, six more dropped screaming, and three more where stunned. The rest couldn't see the forest for the trees.

But Emerald could...even from this distance.

One bandit dropped to the ground, screaming, clawing at their face. He ran them though.

Another crashed to their knees, gibbering about snakes. He lopped off their head with a lazy backswing.

He was sure she and everyone in Ansel were watching from the walls. She would play the silent support, letting him tear through the bandits.

Let him be the one to fight.

Let him give them the hope they craved

If any tried to get past him, they'd be trapped in their worst nightmares.

And yet it didn't seem they were. They were too focused on him, to the exclusion of all else. He lobbed another "jar of dirt" their way and even more fell back into the smoke. What was this? How could anyone be afraid of this lot? He was picking them apart and he was just one man. There had to be more than this. There just had to-

"Enough!" a new voice barked, souring his good mood. "Useless idiots, the lot of you! Back up!"

A woman strode through the smoke, clad in red and black, her hair dark as night. He couldn't see her face behind a red-on-white mask.

White Fang? No...not quite.

He could sense the Aura within her and deeper within, the telltale flicker of a Semblance.

Curiosity had him tilting his head. "I'm guessing you're the witch."

She planted a fist on her hip. "Excuse me?"

"No, no," he wagged a finger her way, "I'm not talking to you while you're wearing that." his voice lowered further, not unlike a parent speaking to an unruly child. That's precisely what she was to him. "Take that ridiculous thing off, then we can speak."

...fine." an annoyed sigh issued forth from the confines of the helm. "There's no point in hiding it now, I suppose."

Remarkably, she complied and cast it aside.

Eyes red as blood were , skin white as snow, hair black as night. She might've been beautiful if weren't for her scowl and the lines in her face.

She looked tired. Worn. Exhausted...and angry. Dirty, too. Like she hadn't had a proper bath in days.

Did it have something to do with that Maiden they were on about...?

Cinder was curiously silent in his head.

"I am Raven Branwen, leader of the Branwen Tribe." The Band Queen drew her blade with a flourish, its crimson edge glinting in the sunlight. "You have two choices before you, Huntsman. Stand aside and give me what I want, or die screaming."

"Good for you." Naruto crossed both arms before his chest. "I choose the third option; the one where I kick your head in."

Throaty laughter was his reward.

"You think you're a hero, boy?" her full lips pursed in a scowl. "Your morals, your code, its all a sick joke. These people you're protecting?" she raised a hand, indicating the walls of Ansel behind him. "When the chips are down, your so-called friends over there ...they'll eat each other. Just like we're about to do...to you!"

She lunged.

Wilt met her halfway.

Scarlet steel sparked against red.

His boots bit back into the grass, tearing a furrow into the earth.

She leered at him over their crossed blades, bearing him down. "You know how to use that thing, kid?"

"Funny, I should say the same to you." His hair flashed riot-red as Adam's semblance took hold. "Thanks for getting real close, though."

Her eyes bulged.

Raven flung herself backward, braving her blade with both hands to defend herself. Too late. Wilt yowled. A swathe of red dead struck her head on, slammed into her torso, barreled her back into a tree, and beyond. She kept going, vanishing into the woods with an awful crackle of sundered timber.

What a joke.

'Why did I ever think this was a threat to me...?'

When she didn't emerge, Naruto turned his eyes on the remaining bandits. Of what was once fifty, less than half remained.

"Ordinarily I'd let you guys off with a beating...but this ain't ordinary. Sorry." He granted them a grim look. "I'm fresh out of mercy. You've made a life of harming people. Now Imma harm you.

He stabbed Wilt down, conjured a pair of Rasenshuriken to his hands, let them fly, and closed his heart to what followed.

When the blood was done flying and the screams dying, he waded in.

What followed was not a massacre. Massacres implied effort.

He fell upon them, sword swinging.

It was a slaughter.

By the time Raven reemerged from the thicket, it was to see the last of her men cut down by his bloody hands. He lopped off the last survivor's head and kicked it her way, sending it tumbling down to her feet. She balked at him with wide eyes. No bravado now. All he saw was surprise, shock, and a touch of...oh yes...there it was. Fear. He could see the ugly wound in her left shoulder, the way she favored her right leg. Despite that, she still held her blade tight and glared at him.

"You...!"

"Me." he swept his blade to the side, splashing blood onto the grass. "Look at you. Not so tough now, are ya?"

He felt her anxiety. It warmed something in him, something ugly.

Hate. Spite. Wrath.

"Yes. Show her. Do it now!" A furiously familiar voice hissed in his head, snarling over the pounding in his ears. It didn't sound like Cinder. "Tell her! Let her know what its like to be weak! To be powerless! To be NOTHING!

Something was bleeding over into his thoughts.

For once, he agreed with it.

...okay.

"Honestly, you're a joke," he spat at her. "You wanna wanna rob this village like very other, but you don't want things to change." his sword flicked out, lazily sheathed once more. "You want everything to stay the same, maintain the status quo, the strong ruling over the weak. How messed up is that? Tell me, how the hell is humanity s'pposed to change if its not allowed to evolve?"

She tensed, expecting an attack. And he would...just not in the way she expected.

"Tell me, now what did you call me? My morals? My code? Oh! I remember now! A bad joke." he grit his teeth behind his lips and started forward, throwing he words back in her face. "Dropped at the first sign of trouble. You think I'm only as good as I "believe" myself to be. You'll see. But right now, I'm not feelin' very good." Another step, now. Nearly within striking distance. "You think you can just take and take whatever you want, whenever you want, human."

Even swamped by anger he noticed the word. Human? Why was he calling her human?

"But you can't." he glared at her, teeth bared in a snarl. "Because as long as there are those who remember what was, there will always be those that are unable to accept what can be. What needs to be. What MUST be...

Raven skittered backwards. "Stay back!"

"See, now you respect me because I'm a threat." he drew Adam's blade again, charged with kinetic energy, and pointed it at her. "That's the way it works. Y'see, I know what its like to loose. To feel so desperately that you're right...only to come up short." her face twisted helplessly as he looked on. "There it is." he tapped his cheek with one finger. "That's the look. I enjoy that look of confusion, when an inferior being meets a higher power. Its intoxicating, wouldn't you agree?

She didn't answer. Of course not. Cravens were all bluster and no bite.

"What's wrong?" he spread his arms wide. "You were laughing before. But you're not laughing now."

Raven took a step back.

He stalked after her. "Going to run away, coward?"

The word made her flinch for some reason. "Coward...?

"Coward." he all but spat the word, pressing the advantage. "That's exactly what you are. Attacking the weak, the helpless, all those who can't fight back. But the second someone like me comes around, you up and fold like a house of cards." his lips curled in a sardonic spiteful sneer. "You're worse than my old man. At least he died with a Semblance of dignity...well, somewhat. Oh, well.

He charged forward.

The second he did, Raven cut a tear in the air, birthing a red portal between her and him. He had to twist aside to avoid rushing headlong into it. The sudden stop sent him skidding across the grass, tearing a fresh furrow into the dirt.

He didn't miss her irked oath.

Clever. She'd almost had him there.

"Portals, huh?" he eyed the swirling vortex warily. "Is that your semblance? Suits a coward like you."

Coward.

Three times now.

He'd called her a coward three times.

Naturally, he had no way of knowing the switch he'd just flipped. And he never would.

Raven absolutely twitched. Hatred sparked in her eyes. She cut the portal and rushed him with a yowl. "I'M NO COWARD!"

There was grace even in her rage, fire in her fury, strength in her savagery. It didn't save her. He parried her first strike with Blush, evaded the second, slapped aside the third with Wilt, stepped aside from the fourth, and opened his arms wide for the fifth. Her blade slammed down on his chest and shattered, leaving her clutching a useless hilt. She balked at it, taking her eyes off him for a crucial second.

Foolish.

He placed Blush against her stomach, closed his eyes, unloaded. Her body bucked as buckshot plowed into her stomach.

Naruto squeezed the trigger and fired twice. Thrice now. Raven's overtaxed aura shattered at last.

Triumph blazed in his chest emerging as a growl. "Remember what I promised you?"

He chambered a leg over Raven's head. Held it there a moment more.

Her head snapped up a heartbeat too late.

His boot swung down and his heel came alongside it, crashing down into her skull, burying itself there...

...right...

...between...

...her wide eyes.

Blood sluiced down her forehead and ran out her nose. "What...are you?

"Entirely done with your shit is what I am." he tore his heel free from her skull, leaving her to reel helplessly place like a drunkard at last call. "Live or die. I don't care."

Raven didn't even seem to hear him. She reached up past him with blank eyes, to something only she could see. "Yang, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry-

He shoved her. She slumped sideways and fell at his feet, eyes rolling back in her head.

Naruto tutted angrily. Who or what was a Yang?

Meh. Probably not important.

His slammed his hand down on Raven's unconscious visage and squeezed. Her aura lay in ruins. There was no resistance. She was too busy bleeding out at his feet. Her semblance barely put up a fight. So much for the bandit queen. She was either dead, dying, or very close to it. He paid her no mind, found what he was looking for in her soul, and yanked. With that felt something slide into his soul and something clicked in the back of his head, bringing with it understanding.

Scarlet sparks crackled across his aura, his eyes glowed, and just like that, it was done.

"Another one." Cinder's voice cooed in his head. "And without killing the host this time. Well done. Its crowded enough in here already."

This time, someone else answered. "It already is, but at least he isn't afraid to kill."

...he had an angry bull hiding in his soul, didn't he? So much for his theory.

He ignored them and turned an eye to Raven's weapons.

Her hilt was useless, but that sheathe looked special...

On a whim, he snatched up her broken blade and pressed it to the holster. A whir and a click and he found himself drawing a blade not of bloody red, but deepest wintry blue. Frost crackled across it. No, not simple frost but Dust. A sheathe that created dust blades. His eyes lit up. How much must it have cost to create a thing like this? It might be the only one of its kind in the world.

"Yup, taking that."

He unbuckled the sheathe from her belt, slammed her blade inside, and with a bit of fiddling, strapped it to the left side of his waist. She had no need for it where she was going.

And speaking of going! "Hmm...I wonder...

On a whim he focused his aura and slashed Adam's blade through the air. It snagged on something, but no portal emerged.

Progress. Better than nothing. A second swipe, and he felt the air tear.

Focus!

An image of Emerald burst to the forefront of his mind unbidden, and this time, the world answered.

A crimson portal bloomed before him, a scarlet tether int the ether.

On a whim, he thrust a hand through it.

A voice yelped; a most familiar voice. "What the hell?!"

"Emerald?"

He poked his head through and found her startled face staring back at him.

"Bandits are dealt. Mind sending some help for the bodies?"

"I...you...wait a second!"

He most assuredly did not and ducked back through; too busy gloating over his new gift.

So that was how Raven's Semblance worked. It opened a portal to its owners bonded ones. Those with whom one had forged either a lasting friendship, found themselves attached to, or otherwise drawn to. The revelation boggled the mind. This was...it was beyond useful. The sheer possibilities it presented were endless. If he made a friend in every kingdom -not hard, given his personality- he could essentially unlock fast travel there. Make enough and he could zip around the world without even running.

Cinder offered a smug hum. "You picked up a useful one this time."

Indeed he had. He'd already bonded with Emerald. All to the good, that. It meant he'd be able to find and protect her wherever she was, no matter what happened to her.

But who else had he connected with...

"...!"

Realization struck like a thunderclap and his eyes widened in a fit of glee.

Amber! Of course! He had a portal to Amber!

Ohhh, she was gonna love this. But first...

His gaze strayed to Raven's body.

She groaned softly. He sighed.

"What a drag...


(.0.0.0.)


"Will she live?"

"Hard to say." The doctor adjusted his glasses and considered Raven's prone form atop the medical bed with a keen eye, regarding her skull wrapped in bloody bandages. "Head wounds are often tricky things." he prodded the bandit queen's cheek, drawing a soft groan from her. "She might survive, she might not. Even if she wakes up, I doubt she'll be wholly the same."

Naruto granted him an arch look. Remember his name. Mustn't be rude. "Wallace, was it? Mind filling me in?"

"Nothing simpler." The bald man tittered and made a show of stroking the grey wisp of his mustache. "You rattled her brain and cracked her skull, lad. People don't just get up and walk away from that. She'll be lucky to remember her own name, let alone walk and talk, I reckon."

Despite himself, the reborn shinobi winced. That was no proper way to live. Might be a mercy to just kill her now.

"Still, she has aura, and I've seen folks bounce back before. What do you want done with her?

"Dunno."

Wallace boomed a laugh. You really don't, do you? This here is Raven Branwen. Scourge of Mistral. I've family over there. She's a right menace."

A grey brow rose. "Then what's she doing in Vale?"

The doctor shrugged carelessly. "Looking to cause trouble, I reckon."

Belatedly, he remembered her words. "She said she was looking for something...

"Aye?" Wallace fiddled with the bandages awhile, not looking his way. "What might that be?"

"A maiden."

"Looking for a young lass, was she?" There was no spark of comprehension that passed across the man's face, nor comprehension. "Not many of those around here unless you count the Arc children. I'd be wary of that lot. A wrinkled finger wagged his way. "They're a handful. 'Ol Nick is likely to tan your hide if you try courting one of them without his permission."

Naruto snorted. "Thanks for the warning."

He considered Raven's prone form. "There a bounty on this one's head?"

"Aye," the doctor granted him a toothy grin. "A hefty one in these parts, placed by Beacon itself. One million lien. Alive."

Well, well, well. Just like that he had a reason to want Raven alive after all. He couldn't rightly collect that bounty if she was dead now, could he? He waited until Wallace looked away then subtly placed a hand on her head and sent a healing pulse of chakra threading through her skull. Not enough to close the wound outright, but enough to speed the healing and tear her away from death's door. Anything more than that might see her up an' about before he left, which was somthing he didn't want. But with this, she'd be out of immediate danger. The rest was up to her.

"Will the police station pay her bounty out?"

"Happily!" Wallace clapped him on the back. "You're a hero here, lad. You and that lass of yours are welcome any time."

Good to know. Ansel was a nice place, but it was just a little too homey for him. Best to collect the money and move on now, while they could.

"I'll be going, then. Emerald's probably worried sick. She doesn't like the sight of dead bodies."

"Few do!" The old doctor laughed and waved him on. "You can see yourself out, I trust?"

"Yup, will do."

He nodded and made for the door.

A woman was waiting for him just outside as he emerged.

Much to his surprise, it wasn't Emerald.

His sharp eyes took the newcomer in at a glance. She was slightly older than him by the look of her; her wavy, dirty blond hair seemed to shine in the afternoon light and her bright blue eyes were sharp. Clad in an orange sleeveless top matched by a beige sleeveless vest, she wore brown trousers bearing red stitches on each side, alongside brown boots. A strange a bootlace necklace hung her neck, swaying a little as she cocked her head at him.

"You're the one that saved Jaune." her voice was soft, almost musical. "His friend, right?"

"Sure, why not." he shrugged one shoulder. "He's a good kid."

"He's my little brother." she planted a fist on her hip, looking him up and done. "I wanted to thank you for what you did. Not just for the bandits, but for rescuing him." a pause now, as she seemed to grapple with something. "You taught him a bit, didn't you? He's been bragging about it."

Mouthy blond, this one. "And you are...?"

"Saphron Arc." those deep blue eyes swept up and down the length of him once more, considering him. "You're taller than I thought you'd be." At length, she shrugged. "Screw it!"

Naruto blinked. "Screw wha-

"Mwah~!"

Warm lips pressed against his cheek.

Kurama offered a low whistle. Cinder made an appreciative noise.

As far as rewards went, that really wasn't half bad. It raised his spirits, if nothing else.

"There." Saphron stepped back and wiped her mouth with a rueful grin and a blush besides. "Got that out of my system. Damn shame you're not a girl. Terra would've been all over you. Still might be once I show her your picture."

"But you don't have a-

Her scroll clicked.

"Cheeky."

Saphron stowed her scroll and shot him a sidelong look, as though searching for something. "You're a good person, Mercury."

It sounded more like a question than an actual statement. Was that a dig at him? He couldn't be sure.

"As much as I can be." he offered her a shrug in return.

Saphron stared. "And is your friend Emerald?"

"She tries to be. I trust her."

It was the right thing to say.

"I...!" Jaune's older sister stared at him, looked away, gripped her arms close to herself, and seemed to wrestle with something for a moment. "Alright, this is awkward." Finally, she found her resolve and looked back to him. "Its me." she turned to face him and spread her arms wide. "I'm the reason those people came here." Her eyes burned with blue flame, hot and heady. "I'm the one the Bandit Queen was looking for." the beginnng of a small, rueful smile plucked at the corner of her mouth. "I did some things I shouldn't have and pissed her off...because I'm the Spring Maiden. Sorry for involving you in this."

If she expected that to evoke a startled response in him, she was wrong. Dead wrong.

Naruto tilted his head to the right and blinked once. "The hell's a Maiden?"

Saphron's smile shattered. "You must be joking...

A/N: SURPRISE.

All will be revealed next chapter.

Naruto/Mercury just wants out of Ansel but it keeps dragging him back in!

Rest assured, he and Emerald won't be staying here. Lets allay that fear right now.

Hope you enjoyed this little ficlet. Well? Should this remain a story? Yay or nay? What say you~?

As ever, the Embers rule still persists. If folks don't like this story? Well...I'll not continue it. I can't bear to write something no one likes. Its the simple truth, though a sad one. So by all means, speak up! Raise your voice! Make yourself heard! Your reviews matter! Really, they do! I'm literally working every day now, so I have less and less time to write. Daily updates might...slow down in the interim, but I know that would upset a lot of people.

So, in the Immortal words of Atlas...

...review, would you kindly?

And of course, enjoy the previews!

They're mostly the same. Wouldn't do to spoil things, no?.

That said, you know the drill: SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS AHOY! Sail these waters at yer own risk, yar~!

(Previews)

Ozpin pinched the bridge of his nose. "This bodes poorly...


"Hello, little girl...

Amber righted herself quickly.

He was a Faunus, she could tell that much by his scorpion tail. Even then, he didn't look quite...right. There was a wild, almost mad gleam in his eye. There was such a thing as being too friendly and this one was!

A chill shot down her spine.

She could fight him. She was tempted to...

Mercury's words came back to haunt her.

Hesitation is defeat. Arrogance leads to death.

A though struck her.

She didn't have to fight at all. With her power, she could just......yes! That was it!

Her hand snapped up, conjuring a gale.

Tyrian crashed backward.


He saw her expression and sighed. "C'mere." He drew her close. "Just c'mere.

I don't want to be left behind.

You won't be.

Promise?

Yes, I do. And I'm not letting go.


He was better.

Pyrrha flew backwards with a startled yelp and crashed through a wall. The people of Mistral just didn't build things to last. Her back struck the ground, then momentum dragged her down, sending her tumbling.

"You alright there, Red?" a familiar voice called through the smoke. "Did I kick ya too hard?"

Green eyes narrowed. "Not...yet...


I don't need you to save me. I don't need to be fixed. You call this a curse? No. No, no, no. This is a gift.


"You're a good singer. Might wanna work on that temper a bit, though."

Excuse me? Who are you?"

No one important. Have a nice night~!"


Ruby squeaked. "Meep!"

The boy tilted his head. ...that's your name? Meep?"

Shame. Embarrassment. Ruby's face burned redder than her namesake.

Oh gods, she wanted to curl up and die. "N-No! That's not it at all! I'm Ruby! Ruby Rose!"

"Huh." That actually got a grin out of the silver-haired warrior. "Neat. Like the color, I'm guessing?"

"Yeah! So how did you do that?" her confidence surge gack waved her hands excitedly, mimicking the motions and high kicks alongsdie the punches she'd seen him use. "You were all "hyah!" and "boom" and "kapow" back there!"

...you saw that, huh?" For some reason that seemed to embarrass him and set him to scratching a whiskered cheek. "Practice, and not the good kind. These idiots didn't even have aura or semblances...they weren't worth my time."

"You mean someone taught you to fight like that?!"

"Well, yeah, like I said before, it took practice-

Ruby latched onto his leg. "Teach meeee~!"


"Hmm...going to a school full of beautiful women like you? Sounds fun buuuut I'll have to decline." he crossed both hands behind his head and walked away. "I'm not a fan of being stuck in one place for one year, let alone four. Hard pass. Later, firecracker."

"Ha?"

"Sorry, school just ain't for me."


Roman took one look at the ruined city block and shook his head.

"Nope. Not getting involved with that. Neo! Time to go-

A hand settled on his shoulder. "Hello...friend."

Ahhh, crapbaskets.


EDIT: Hope you enjoyed~! Have a great day/night~!

R&R~!