Underneath the Underneath

by no169

Naruto finds himself in an unfamiliar land, facing unfamiliar monsters. Stripped of most of his power, he'll need to adapt to not only survive but to flourish. Can hard work and skill make up the difference? This is a story about recovering from disaster, overcoming great challenges, and adapting to incredible circumstances. Weiss x Naruto medium-burn. Mature Naruto.

2. Vale

A/N: So here's chapter 2. It's a bit shorter than the last chapter, but when I originally wrote this, it was 23k words, so I had to split it. On the bright side, it means that the next chapter is done, so I'll put it out later in the week. That'll give me some time to get a head start on chapter 4. Honestly, I'm pretty happy overall with how it turned out, but as always, constructive criticism is more than welcome.

There's a poll for Naruto's semblance on my profile that was posted as of 2023/04/24

xXx

The next three weeks were rather unremarkable, as almost every day was spent on the road. Luckily, the infrastructure of the kingdom was surprisingly well maintained. Road signs were kept in good condition, and the road, usually a dirt path, rarely failed. The weather had been good to him. The constant heat indicated he was close to the equator or was currently in the midst of summer. It was probably both, as, from his knowledge, equatorial weather didn't vary in temperature much. And the weather was usually separated into two seasons—wet and dry. He seemed to be in the dry season.

What unsettled Naruto the most was how little human contact he had made while on the road. Travellers were few and far between and were almost always in a hurry, like they couldn't wait to reach the next settlement. He hadn't run into any bandits or marauders, so there was only one explanation he could think of. Grimm. Although, that didn't mean there weren't people out there willing to prey on the weak and defenceless. Even in a land filled with shinobi, there had always been those willing to resort to such means and, subsequently, risk attracting the ire of those shinobi.

There were so few traveller's that he considered the possibility that people had an alternate means of travel that he wasn't aware of.

At the time, he had wondered if the Grimm truly had such a stranglehold on the population. The very next day, he stumbled across a truly terrifying collection of the creatures. Various types he had not yet seen, all seemingly based on an animal of some sort. Wolves, bears, boars, and even a few colossal scorpions littered the mix. It was as if several herds of different types had aggregated into one giant mess. He had even spotted several flocks of flying Grimm. He'd have to figure something out if he was ever attacked by the winged monsters, as currently, he had no effective means to combat that.

Maybe he could just punch them out of the sky one by one as they dove for him?

What interested him was that though the beasts shared the same space, there didn't seem to be any particular unity among the monsters. Sure, they seemed to tolerate each other, but that didn't mean there wasn't the occasional posturing or snapping of jaws. On the one hand, it indicated animal-level intelligence. On the other hand, Naruto had never seen such a diverse group of animals coexisting. Shaky as that coexistence seemed to be. In fact, the hoard hadn't actually been doing much of anything. They were just standing there... menacingly. He chalked it up to an odd quirk of Grimm behaviour, but with so much time spent around strategists such as Shikamaru, he was almost tempted to say the beasts were waiting for something.

He was definitely overthinking things.

While on the road, he had chosen not to stay in any of the settlements he encountered along the way. Instead, he decided to camp out under the stars; the supplies offered by Garett proved to be invaluable. The creature comforts would have been nice, but he was on a limited budget. Redgold had insisted on a small monetary reward for his actions, claiming the feat was comparable to a lower-level huntsman contract. Whatever that meant. He had thought huntsmen weren't mercenaries. Regardless, Garett and the town could only part with so many resources, and Naruto recognized that they had already given him a lot.

Most of his budget had been spent on food. While he had the mind to purchase the tools necessary to hunt and catch his own game, he wasn't above visiting the odd town to evaluate the noodle scene. The thought brought a frown to his face. The noodle stands had been good, great even, but they were unfamiliar to him. Try as he might, he simply couldn't find a chef who could make or even knew about ramen.

Maybe it went by a different name? He knew the thought was desperate.

Speaking of camping under the stars, Naruto had reached an unfortunate realization. Upon his first night outside, he concluded that this wasn't his world. Unless someone had gone and broken the bloody moon while he was out. Maybe they had? Madara's Infinite Tsukuyomi did require the moon to work. Maybe someone had broken it to prevent another casting? Based on all the other evidence, Naruto had his doubts.

At the time, he was surprised at his own reaction. He should have felt angrier. He should have been more afraid. Maybe he should have cried. Instead, all he could feel was a melancholy acceptance. From the start, he had suspected this possibility and concluded that he had been unconsciously preparing for this outcome.

He still had a lot of questions.

Where was Sasuke? Dead? Looking for him? What about Kaguya? If this was one of her dimensions, where was she? Was there a way home? He decided the only question that might have an answer was the last one, so he reasoned that, ultimately, his immediate goals had not changed.

There were positives, at least.

While his journey thus far may have been unremarkable, that didn't mean it wasn't productive. In an effort to keep his mind clear, he spent his early mornings training his body in similar, yet less insane methods as Lee or Guy would. No way in hell was he strapping a boulder to his back and slogging it for miles. Running laps on his hands was an option he had tried for a few mornings, but he was skeptical of the results. No, most of his physical exercise was spent in the form of callisthenics. Push-ups, sit-ups, jumping jacks, and lunges were just some of the surprisingly ordinary exercises he performed. Ordinary exercises he practiced in extreme excess. As reduced as he was, he was still a monster in the stamina department.

Speaking of which...

While his mornings were spent physically training, his afternoons and evenings were spent entirely on chakra and Aura control exercises. He didn't really know the first thing about Aura, aside from what had been briefly explained to him by Garett, but it seemed somewhat similar to chakra. His mediocre results proved him wrong. It wasn't as if he was getting nowhere, but his progress in controlling and increasing his Aura wasn't to his standards. It was a shame, as he'd been looking forward to progressing beyond the capabilities of a child. He'd have to either read into the subject upon arriving at Vale or find himself an instructor. He didn't like either option. Why couldn't it just work?

On the other hand, his chakra was in an entirely different situation. Much to his overwhelming joy, he began to notice by the end of the second week that his chakra capacity was steadily increasing. It wasn't returning on its own, nor quickly. Instead, the increase was clearly the result of his training.

But, it was coming back to him.

He wasn't anywhere close to where he had once been; in reality, his reserves were only at the level of a Chūnin. Yet this opened up a plethora of possibilities. Theoretically, he could use a Rasengan. He could use some of his wind manipulation. He could use his Kage Bunshin.

If he was smart about it.

And therein lay the problem. Naruto had spent a lifetime having more chakra than he knew what to do with. He didn't do things in moderation. He never had to. Now, with his reserves, he'd likely only be able to use a few techniques before running the risk of draining his chakra dry. Hell, if he wasn't careful, he could kill himself if he accidentally produced more Kage Bunshin than his capacity allowed. While it was only a B-rank technique, there was still a reason it was listed as a kinjutsu. Well, technically, he supposed, the Tajū Kage Bunshin was a kinjutsu. And technically, there was a difference between the Kage Bunshin and the Tajū Kage Bunshin. But no matter what anyone said, they were fundamentally the same; it was just a matter of how many copies one wanted to make.

Regardless, Naruto was beyond thrilled. All the problems he had come up with could be solved by both training his capacity and by increasing his control. So that's what he did. He still remembered his chakra training exercises from Kakashi and Jiraiya, and there were plenty of spare leaves on the ground. He had already tried his luck with tree climbing, which yielded promising results. He was pretty confident that by the end of the next week, he'd be well into water-walking exercises. There were plenty of rivers and streams nearby to choose from. Given his current experience and skill set, he'd be tempted to almost rank himself as a Tokubetsu Jōnin. Almost. His lack of reserves and control was really what was holding him back.

Despite this, the increase in his chakra had led him to make several renewed attempts to contact his wayward tenant, but each time he had been met with failure. He held onto hope, however, as with his chakra's slow but steady restoration, the more confident he became that his connection with the fox would be restored.

xXx

The next day started like any other. Wake up, train, bathe in a nearby river, then it was back on the road toward Vale. It was during his morning callisthenics he noticed an uninvited presence in the clearing he was currently in. He contemplated taking the initiative and meeting this guest, as it would be an excellent opportunity to continue practicing with his new trench knives.

Much to his delight and confusion, the blades were constructed using chakra metal, of all things. Though he doubted the residents of this world would know it. He hadn't noticed it when he first received the blades, but upon a chance incident when he was holding the knives and feeling out his chakra, a small amount had travelled into the blades with surprising ease. It had been a serendipitous discovery. He'd been practicing with his trench knives on any roaming Grimm he encountered, and as far as he was concerned, the blades complimented his fighting style as well as he had hoped they would.

But Naruto knew this wasn't a Grimm hiding in the foliage. Whoever, or whatever, was there was too subtle. As far as he knew, Grimm weren't known for their overwhelming subtlety.

A loud yelp, followed by a crash, proved this. Naruto smiled. He'd also been practicing with his ninja wire. While still not at a level ready for combat, he was confident that his use of the wire for an ad-hoc alarm system was steadily improving. One day, he'd be able to set a field properly and utilize the tool to its fullest potential.

Several soft yet angry curses snapped him out of his musings. Naruto couldn't hold back his laugh as he approached the tangled mess of limbs, which had unfortunately ended up in a nearby bush as their owner had undoubtedly tipped over his wire. Maybe he was better at this than he thought?

He stashed the chakra knives he had instinctively drawn, ready to greet his curious voyeur. Despite the woman's annoyed grumbling, and this was most certainly a woman, he could sense no ill intent from her, and he had long since learned to trust his gut.

Stopping several meters back, enough room to dodge something if he was wrong, Naruto called out to her, "so! Spying on people, huh?" The woman stilled at his words. "That's a pretty neat pastime."

"I wasn't spying on anyone!" she screeched back, a slight tremor of embarrassment in her voice. She resumed her struggle. Naruto noticed the ninja wire had become tangled around her feet. Great. That was going to be a pain to sort out later. Naruto knew she wasn't spying on him. He'd sensed her presence the moment she approached. As far as he could tell, she'd merely stumbled upon him. Perhaps drawn to him as he wasn't exactly quiet during his exercises.

He just really liked messing with people.

"Alright, would you hold still? Let me help you." He still couldn't get a proper look at the woman, her head and torso were still trapped in the bush, leaving her limbs thrashing about sadly. She slowed her struggling, apparently considering his words. She must have decided she was tired of flailing about as her limbs eventually slackened.

Naruto dropped to a knee and began the tedious task of unwrapping the wire from the woman. Damn, she really got tangled up. This might take a while. After several minutes, he decided there would be no good way to go about untangling her and, with a heavy heart, opted to cut the wire completely. After practically scraping the wire off her ankles, he looked at the tangled mess. Great, now he only had one spool left.

Sighing, he stashed the remains of the wire in his pocket. Maybe he could find someone to do... something with it.

Loud rustling emanated from the bush as the woman, now freed, resumed her struggle. Naruto clasped her forearm in his grip and stood up, tugging her upwards and out of the shrubbery. Upon her release, she let out a surprised gasp. Naruto stepped back from her as she regained her balance.

Now free of all obstructions, he looked the woman up and down. She was young, possibly a few years older than himself. She stood an inch taller than him and had a light brown complexion with shoulder-length, straight brown hair. He noticed a small beauty mark below her left eye. The girl continued to grumble as she plucked the twigs out of her once pristine hair.

She wore a long, green hooded cloak over a cream-coloured blouse. Naruto couldn't tell if the pleated skirt she wore was connected to her top, as they were separated by a brown vest covering her midsection. On top of that, she had a dark brown corset with matching pants and a pair of brown thigh-high boots. Her right shoulder was covered by a single golden pauldron, and a single golden vambrace covered her left forearm. More golden armour plating covered her boots up to her knees.

Peaking out from the small of her back was a crafted wooden handle with a red crystal at one end and a white crystal at the other. Naruto had no idea what the item was. It may have been a weapon, but if it was, he was unfamiliar with it.

His assessment lasted all of two seconds, ending before the woman had even finished smoothing out her skirt. As if remembering his presence, the woman straightened herself and took an almost cautious step backwards. "Thanks for the help," she said while running a critical eye over him. "But what's the big idea?" Now she sounded annoyed.

Before Naruto could answer her, she continued, "I could have hurt myself in that fall!" Naruto doubted that. Despite rummaging around in the bushes, the brunette didn't have a scratch on her. She probably had an unlocked Aura.

"Sheesh, you're welcome, lady." Naruto fired back. "You know I didn't have to help the person who was spying on me." His tone was of annoyance, but in reality, he didn't care much. It was all part of the game.

As the girl began to sputter a response, Naruto interrupted her, "and by the way, that trap was meant for the Grimm. And you went and sprung it! Now my wires are all ruined!" He honestly was a little annoyed at the loss of his ninja wire.

The girl blew a raspberry at him. Seriously?

"Some trap that was. It was just a tripping hazard. What's it supposed to do against a stupid Grimm?"

What the?

"It was supposed to be a tripping hazard!" he yelled back. "Something to alert me when I'm sleeping!" Naruto frowned. In a quieter voice, he mumbled, "besides, it caught your stupid ass."

"What was that?" she growled at him.

"Nothing," he replied while looking away.

After a few moments of tense silence, the girl began to chuckle. It started as a quiet giggle, then quickly bubbled into throaty laughter, the kind that came from the stomach. Naruto joined her. There was something innocent and carefree about the feelings it brought. He couldn't remember the last time he had laughed like that; there had been no time for it during the war.

Eventually, they simultaneously began to calm down from their amusement. Naruto stepped further back into the clearing, allowing the unknown woman to step further in to avoid standing in the bushes. "I'm Amber," she introduced herself while reaching her hand out. Naruto returned the gesture, "Naruto," he replied with a smile.

He meandered over to a nearby log and sat down, his new acquaintance joining him moments later. "So..." she began, "what are you doing out here?" Her question was awkward but was likely her best attempt at starting a conversation. He wouldn't have come up with much better. "Training. But if you mean in a broader sense, I'm making my way to Vale."

Amber's eyebrows rose towards her hairline, "on foot? You know there are faster ways to get there, right?" Naruto shrugged in response. He'd assumed as much. "Why not take an airship?" He didn't know what an airship was, but he could certainly take a guess. Deciding to play it safe, he responded noncommittally, "don't have much money. Had to make due." Amber nodded slowly. "Still, it must be a long trip. Wouldn't travel expenses work out to be the same?"

Naruto grinned and indicated to his still-assembled tent, "I catch a lot of my food." She nodded in response, hiding a laugh behind her small hand. "So, are you looking for something in Vale? Maybe to attend Beacon?" Why did people keep suggesting that? His irritation must have shown as she quickly added, "it's just that... you know, you look to be about the right age. And if you're out here, you can definitely defend yourself."

He knew it made sense. But there was no way in hell he'd be attending another academy. Once was more than enough. Besides, being the combat veteran he was, the prospect of being admitted to a school now felt... demeaning. Maybe Sasuke wasn't the only prideful one around.

"It's okay. My plans in Vale are kind of hard to explain. Long story short, I'm really far from home, and I'm looking for a way back." He decided a vague approach would be best. He doubted a stranger would be willing to pry into the matter.

She could likely sense his unwillingness to talk more on the subject as she offered a safe reply, "Huh. Well, Vale's definitely somewhere you can get some answers. I know a few people there who have been around the block..." Naruto decided he'd let that line of conversation end there.

"What about you?" he asked instead. "Why are you on the road? And how'd you run into me?" Amber had the grace to blush, "first of all, I wasn't spying on you," she commented hotly. He already knew that. "And I guess we're the same in this case. I'm heading to Vale as well..." she sounded annoyed when she said that. Before he could ask, she continued, "my mentor has called me back." she rolled her eyes. "Something important, apparently." He took particular notice of her phrasing. He knew better than to ask further. She was displaying a similar unwillingness to delve deeper into her personal business.

"No airship for you?" he questioned with a raised brow.

"Nope." she replied while popping the 'p.'

"I may not look it, but I can take pretty good care of myself" Naruto didn't doubt it. Despite her initial clumsiness, she held herself proudly. If her Aura was unlocked, which he suspected it was, he had no doubts she could fight. So long as she didn't fall into any more traps.

"Are you a huntress or something?" he asked. It was an educated guess.

She thought the question over and then cryptically said, "or something."

She smiled at his annoyed 'tsk.'

"Well, I'm done with my training for the morning. Would you be open to travelling together until we hit Vale?" He offered offhandedly. The girl seemed to consider it. "I don't know," she mused. "Qrow always said to be wary of strangers." Qrow? Maybe the aforementioned mentor. Although she spoke this name with much more affection.

"Well, if you don't want to, one of us should get going now. It'd be awkward if we started walking the same path at the same time."

She rolled her eyes at his proclamation. "You're no fun."

He looked back at her as he began gathering his camping supplies. "I'm sorry, but you're wrong. I'm actually a lot of fun." A small amount of surprise coloured her face before she hummed, "somehow, I don't doubt that," she finished the comment with a quick wink. Now it was Naruto's turn to feel colour grace his face.

He spent the next five minutes gathering the last of his supplies. Once finished, he noticed Amber waiting at the edge of the clearing, closest to the dirt road. Gear neatly packed in his backpack, the two of them began their joint venture to Vale.

They walked for several hours, chatting about various topics. When his travelling companion had asked him about his semblance, Naruto was at a loss for what to say. Thanks to Garett, he was aware of the concept but understandably hadn't yet discovered his own. The topic made him curious. Was a user's semblance determined by the kind of person they were? Or was it their semblance that shaped their personality? Garett had been unable to answer that question.

Apparently, he'd taken too long to answer, as Amber had taken his silence as a voluntary choice. She had apologized, stating that she also chose not to broadcast her semblance. The way she spoke made it seem that it must have been a very personal subject for people. It made sense. It was hard to find something more personal than someone's soul.

Naruto was reminded of his previous trek through the woods with Olive as they walked and chatted. Some of the information shared between him and Amber was similarly mundane. Their favourite colour, hers was red, surprisingly. Their favourite food, still no recognition of ramen, much to his dismay. What Naruto noticed most, however, what her lack of willingness to speak about future plans. He hadn't pushed her on that since he was similarly closed off. Plus, they'd only known each other for half a day. He couldn't expect either of them to start spilling secrets. And she held a lot. He could tell, so did he.

Just after midday, they were alerted to the rapid approach of an unfamiliar man. He approached from behind, his pace frantic and uncontrolled. As the man neared, he and Amber readied themselves for a fight. When she drew her crystal-embedded weapon, the damn thing actually extended into a 5-foot-long... something. It reminded him of a Bo Staff, but the red and white crystals adorning both ends made it seem like a double-ended spear. He'd never get to find out how it functioned, as upon the stranger's final approach, Amber had sheathed the weapon just as quickly as it had come out. She indicated for him to do the same, and with little else to go on, Naruto trusted her. He sheathed his chakra knives slowly, almost reluctantly.

Upon shooting the girl an inquisitive look, she answered, "relax. I know him." Why did she sound exhausted? The stranger stopped before them. Despite sprinting from beyond the horizon, the man's breath was even, and no sweat could be spotted. He appeared no worse for wear. That was a lie. He seemed much worse for wear but not from the running.

The man had short spiky hair, black with the slightest hint of grey coming through. Curiously, he had red eyes and a slight stubble along his jawline. It was difficult to tell the man's age. Naruto could tell the gray in his follicles was more from stress, as despite the rough exterior, his face maintained slight traces of youth. He wore a tattered red cloak, a gray dress shirt kept untucked, black dress pants, and black dress shoes. In his hand was a massive sword, more a sharpened metal wedge. Like all weapons he had seen thus far, the thing was strange. It was segmented, almost suggesting it could detach or fold in on itself. The handle was also unlike anything he had seen before, like that of a bicycle.

"Amber!" he shouted at her. His eyes were hard, and much to Naruto's alarm, they were not only glued to him but were also darting around the area as if searching for an unseen threat. "Qrow?" She answered back.

Qrow? So not her mentor, then.

"I told Ozpin I was on my way. There was no need for him to send you!"

Ozpin.

The name was spoken with irritation, like a daughter towards an overprotective father. That sounded more like a mentor's name, anyways.

Qrow's eyes snapped onto her as he spoke, "that's not - look, I don't know if you -" Qrow sighed, and his eyes re-settled onto Naruto. "Who's your friend?" Naruto didn't appreciate the look the man was giving him. The man's tone had lowered. It was almost confrontational.

"Relax, bird brain," Amber said while stepping slightly in front of Naruto as if to protect him. Naruto didn't know how to feel about that.

The man, Qrow, looked annoyed at her nickname. He raised his hands in a show of surrender, simply uttering a resigned "whatever."

"Why are you here, Qrow? Can Ozpin seriously not wait another week?" she questioned the man with fire in her eyes. Frowning, he looked her up and down. "You need to learn to answer your damn scroll!" he snapped at her. Amber flinched. "What? Lose your scroll again?" Amber could do nothing but look away sheepishly. "Unbelievable! Do you not remember who's -" the man paused, likely remembering he had an audience.

He took a deep breath, composing himself. "Look, I'm sorry, kid. I know you don't like the constant babying." Amber looked up at this. "Something big's been happening. If you had your scroll on you, you'd understand why Oz's been so overbearing lately."

Amber sighed while shrugging her shoulders. "If it's got you running around tracking me down, it's probably pretty important."

"You have no idea, kiddo."

Naruto stood there dumbly. It seemed that the conversation between the two required a whole lot of background information to understand. He felt awkward and out of place, especially during the softer moment near the end.

As if reading his mind, Qrow looked toward him and simply said, "Qrow," while gesturing to himself. Great. His introduction was as much as Naruto could have hoped for from the man. In fact, now that he was downwind from him, he could detect a strong scent of alcohol, as if the older man had fallen into a barrel and not bothered changing.

"Naruto," he replied in return. "Look, I don't -" "Great, Naruto. Weird name, by the way. I'm gonna borrow Amber here for a moment. Got some personal stuff to hash out. Okay? Thanks," Qrow quickly said while ushering the girl in question to the side of the road.

Wow.

Somehow, the man had done exactly what he wanted: take their personal business to a more private setting.

So why did Naruto feel the sudden urge to unleash his prankster spirit upon him?

Naruto decided to wait for them to conclude their business on the opposite side of the road. Less chance of accidentally getting involved. He approached the road's wooden fence and clambered up, sitting at the highest wooden bar. He dangled his feet while puffing out his cheeks. He hated waiting. He'd rather be walking.

He could leave if he wanted to, but he supposed that would be pretty rude. Plus, he liked Amber and didn't want to ruin a possible friendship.

As he looked around the countryside, he took notice of the large white-capped mountains far into the distance behind him. There was a forest a few hundred meters in that direction as well. A handful of grassy knolls were nestled between his spot on the fence and the forest. After almost 10 minutes, he noticed Qrow and Amber's conversation become more animated; he was clearly explaining something she didn't like.

He hoped their conversation would wrap up soon as he was becoming increasingly restless. Call him paranoid, but he could swear he felt eyes on him. Angry and malicious eyes. For the life of him, he couldn't think of a reason why anyone would be mad at him. Who's plans did he ruin?

Eventually, the feeling passed. Well, perhaps passed wasn't the right word, but he had become more adept at ignoring it. If something was out there, Grimm or otherwise, he figured Qrow, Amber, and himself would be more than enough to handle it. Well, he and Amber. The jury was still out on the older man.

At last, Qrow and Amber seemed to have wrapped up their conversation. They approached him, Amber with a sour look and Qrow with a surly frown. "So..." Naruto trailed off. Great, now things were awkward. "Are you still headed to Vale?" He asked his friend with no small amount of concern. Qrow stepped forward, "you bet she is, kid. In fact, we're all going!" He threw his arms up in faux excitement. Stepping past him, the suspected alcoholic began leading their group.

Naruto frowned. "What the hell's his problem?" he muttered to Amber. "Don't mind him. He's not a fan of meeting new people," she answered with her own frown. She stepped past Naruto and made to follow the older man. He guessed he didn't have a choice in the matter.

Wonderful.

"What was all that about?" he asked instinctively. "I mean, you don't have to say anything. It's none of my business," he quickly added.

She hummed, "well..."

"Don't answer that, Amber," Qrow called from ahead. The second he said that, Naruto could practically sense Amber's desire to tell him increase tenfold. Oh boy.

Looking back at Naruto, her frown deepened. "Well, the thing is, it might end up being your business," she said matter of factly. "Amber..." Qrow warned. She promptly ignored him. "Apparently, there are people after my life. They want... something from me and were reported to be nearby."

"Amber!" Qrow shouted venomously.

"It's only fair!" she shouted back with equal venom. "If he's travelling with us, he could easily be sucked in! I'm sorry, Naruto. If you want, we can part ways from here," she offered morosely.

Screw that. He wasn't going to just abandon someone who may be in need of help. He let her know as much.

She was clearly surprised, likely not expecting him to stick around. "I can't really tell you more. Like who they are, what they want, or why. You understand that, right?"

Naruto waved her concerns off. "Doesn't matter. If they're after someone like you, they can't be any good," he stated confidently.

"You don't even know me," she laughed.

"I know enough. Besides, I have a perfect record when it comes to judging a person's character," he said with an easy smile.

To that, she had no rebuttal.

"Great," Qrow interrupted, dragging out the word. "We're all in this together."

Amber scoffed at his sarcasm but couldn't keep the smile off her face. Even Naruto could tell that something had changed in the man's aura. No pun intended.

So with that, they continued on their journey to Vale.

xXx

Contrary to their initial concerns, the rest of the journey was uneventful. Shortly after they left the clearing in which Amber had made her partial revelation, Naruto noticed that the eyes he felt on them had disappeared.

The trip contained more of the same for Naruto. Wake up, train his body, hit the road, and train his chakra and Aura. Though for the rest of the week, he had to be more discreet when training the former. Even he had the sense to understand that toting an unknown and unique power was ill-advised. It'd likely make him a target. That meant no more tree climbing or water walking exercises. Luckily he could get away with leaf exercises, so long as he was subtle about it.

Early on, he realized that travelling with Qrow and Amber would be the perfect opportunity to get advice on how to train his Aura. After a quick explanation that it had only been recently unlocked for him, both of his travelling companions had been more than happy to offer their assistance. Well, one of them had been more than happy. Much to Naruto's surprise, Qrow was actually an instructor at a prestigious combat school, Signal Academy. How that was possible must have been a testament to his ability, as the man didn't exactly strike him as a particularly good role model. Their frequent stops at nearby settlements to refill his flask was a stark reminder.

To Naruto's immense fortune, training one's Aura was much more straightforward than he had anticipated. Like Chakra, expenditure was one way. Physical exercise was another. Perhaps most fortuitous was the method of meditation. While chakra was the combination of spiritual and physical energy, Aura leaned much more heavily toward the spiritual aspect. Qrow had admitted to nearly omitting this training method, as most students he taught could never fully utilize meditation. Luckily he hadn't, as Naruto knew a thing or two about meditation. The look of skepticism on the drunkard's face had been replaced with surprise upon Naruto's first demonstration, or so Amber had told him.

Naruto had to admit, Qrow was proving to be less of a pain in the ass than he had expected. Once you got through his extremely rough exterior, he was a surprisingly insightful guy. Sure, he was vulgar and irritable and intolerant. And he drank way too much. But really, who didn't have their vices? His sarcastic and dry sense of humour vaguely reminded him of Kakashi. If he squinted. At the very least, the man could fight. That much had been made clear from the few spars they had in the mornings. Though he was loathed to admit it, the man had kicked his ass. That wasn't to say Naruto hadn't managed to get a few good hits in, because he had.

The academy instructor had made it clear that someone of Naruto's age absolutely should not have been able to land the hits he had. He supposed that was a good enough consolation. If only he hadn't been so restricted in the fight. While he was reasonably sure he could use his Kage Bunshin to some effect or even a couple of Rasengans, he had elected not to in order to avoid unnecessary questions. He could pass one of his abilities off as his semblance, but then he'd be locked into a single ability. And then what would he say when he unlocked his actual semblance? People would talk if he started displaying multiple abilities.

When they arrived at the gates of Vale, Naruto had been humbled. He had thought Konoha's walls were large, but Vale's put those to shame. They towered higher than he ever thought a walled community had any need to. He idly wondered what kind of grim could possibly challenge such fortifications. Even the hoard he had encountered early on in his travels would have struggled to even dent the barrier, let alone breach it. The city itself was large, several times the size of Konoha if Naruto had to guess. It was settled between two large bluffs and had the ocean to its back. With three sides covered by natural defences, the city could pour all its resources into the single wall, which they had clearly done.

Another thing that immediately grabbed his attention was the technological sophistication this world had achieved. Large flying contraptions, which could have only been airships, could be seen moving in, out, and within the city limits. Countless buildings, each massively tall, stretched higher than even the great wall. Their images twinkled with neon reds, blues, and greens.

Once inside the city limits, Naruto's reaction elicited a short laugh from his brunette friend. "You know, you'll have to pick your jaw up off the floor at some point, right?" Amber commented upon seeing her friend's look. "Right..." Naruto trailed off.

Qrow scoffed upon seeing his reaction.

"I take it the cities aren't like this where you're from?" Amber asked while crossing her arms. She stood to the side of the road while Qrow had taken to leaning against a nearby streetlight. The two young adults had been reluctantly anticipating this day, neither being particularly happy about it.

While they had only known each other for a week, they had already become fast friends. Naruto was more than happy to admit Amber had been crucial in his Aura training. She'd been willing to teach him several of her personal tips for properly utilizing the energy. While not all methods had stuck, he did find moderate success with a few tricks. She was also an excellent meditation partner. Except for his godfather, Jiraiya, he'd never really had anyone to partner up with. Not that meditation was a two-person job, but there was something oddly comforting about having someone else around doing the same thing.

"Alright, you two. Hurry up and kiss goodbye." came Qrow's callous interruption. Naruto simply rolled his eyes while Amber huffed in annoyance. The man's teasing had grown stale quickly. Seriously, just because they were close in age didn't automatically make them suitable love interests for one another. Aside from some harmless flirting, mainly on Amber's end, they both understood this. With the whole mess involving Sakura, and his later confusion involving Hinata, Naruto was just happy to have a normal platonic relationship with a girl.

With an only slightly awkward hug, they parted ways, Amber and Qrow heading in a seemingly random direction to 'catch a Bullhead.' Which seemed likely to be another form of transportation. Their goodbye was short yet no less emotionally charged. Amber stated with confidence that they'd meet again. For whatever reason, he had been inclined to agree.

That all led him to his current situation. He was lost. Kami damnit.

Naruto looked around his immediate vicinity. Paved streets shot in every direction, with large metal boxes on wheels travelling under their own power. What the hell? Time to ignore that. He spotted several shops and restaurants with slim-looking televisions broadcasting what seemed to be the news. His goal was to find a library or some form of information outlet.

He briefly considered finding a place to stay but immediately realized it was pointless. He had no money, no locations in mind, and no desire to look into the matter at the moment. If worse came to worst, he could always set up his tent on top of one of the low-rises.

Great. Now he was a vagrant as well.

That was a problem for future Naruto. For now, it was time to read up on the world. Luckily, the citizens of Vale had no trouble directing him to the city's library. It was another matter for him to actually find it. It must have been the directions that were faulty. He wandered the city for a time, checking street names, pestering more people for directions, and ultimately, doubling back the way he'd come more times than he'd care to admit.

Eventually, after several hours, Naruto located the building in question. The building was surprisingly large and was of colonial design, differing from its more modern neighbours. Burnt red bricks reached two stories high, framed with white wood trim. The front entrance was elevated, with two small curved staircases framing a center platform. The face of the building had four snow-white pillars evenly spaced across, and to top it off, a large marble statue depicting a man with a sword sat atop the door. A sign that read: Vale Public Library was placed at the statue's base.

No wonder it had been so challenging to find. It really blended in.

Naruto quickly made his way up the steps of the building. He reached for the door handle and pulled. He was met with resistance. He pushed. It didn't budge. He then noticed the sign taped to the inside of the door.

Naruto stared at the sign blankly, reading it in confusion, "closed on Sunday?"

xXx

Naruto returned the next day.

Sure, he'd spent the night camping on top of a nearby low-rise, as he had initially feared. So what if the blinding lights of the city had made it difficult to sleep? Was it really that big of a deal if the endless noise from the city streets had been deafening to him? It certainly wasn't a problem that the concrete roof had left him stiff and exhausted. He was definitely not more irritable than usual right now.

What mattered was that he was at the library, ready to read up.

Kami, he hated reading. As he slipped into the building, he noticed with no small amount of concern that this was the most library-esque library he'd ever had the misfortune of being in.

Countless rows of bookcases, each stretching to the ceiling, greeted him in all directions. Their shelves were packed tight with a plethora of books. Of those books, there was an innumerable variety. Black, blue, and green spines were arranged in an unknown organization system. Some book batches seemed identical, perhaps part of the same series. Other groups appeared random, a seemingly mismatched collection of different sizes and colours.

In the center of the floor was a bifurcated staircase, which consisted of one sweeping set of steps that split off into two smaller flights going in opposite directions. They both connected to the second level, which likely played host to a similar layout as the first. It really was quite fancy. Naruto looked down. Should he take his shoes off?

He was pulled from his thoughts by a deliberate cough to his left. He turned to address the unknown person, and his brow briefly crinkled upon seeing them. Seated behind the reception desk was perhaps one of the most ancient women he had ever seen. Granny Tsunade had nothing on this lady. She had curly snow-white hair styled short and wore large wire-framed glasses with lenses as thick as his thumb. He was unable to tell the colour of her eyes as she stared at him with a perpetual squint. Her outfit consisted of a long purple turtle neck, a black business skirt, thick black stockings, and simple black flats. If the building she worked in was the most library-esque library, then this woman was the most librarian-esque librarian Naruto had ever seen.

Naruto tensed. His experience with librarians was worse than libraries themselves. Due to his status as a Jinchūriki, he'd been thrown out of all manner of establishments as a child. The Konoha Public Library had been no exception, and the librarian at the time had been especially cruel. So much so that he'd initially been hesitant to join Shikamaru in the Konoha Archive Library when trying to decipher Jiraiya's encoded message.

Naruto forced back his unease. This woman had no reason to treat him differently than any other visitor.

That didn't still didn't completely erase his bias.

Taking his lack of response as an invitation to continue, the woman asked, "did you need something, young man?" Her tone was casual and polite, almost grandmotherly.

Naruto blinked in surprise, then looked around the building. Taking a moment to think, he realized this would be the perfect opportunity to hasten his search. He really didn't want to spend half a day just finding the needed books. No, considering how much he needed to catch up, he didn't want to waste any time.

"Please help me," came his desperate reply.

The woman's smile was filled with compassion, "you've come to the right person!"

He quickly thought over the mental list he had been making: Grimm, Aura, Huntsmen, Faunus, and Vale. Those were his immediate concerns. He could have added more, such as airships and weapons, particularly the ranged variety, but for the moment, he'd focus on the basics and go from there.

"I take it you're looking for something specific?" The woman prodded further.

Right, she was still waiting.

As Naruto went over his list with the woman, her eyebrows rose to her hairline. "That's quite the assortment of topics, young man." Naruto scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. It must have seemed quite strange to the woman as he assumed most of this information was common knowledge.

Instead of voicing any questions, the woman simply smiled. "Stay right there. This won't take long." Before Naruto could voice any concerns, she was gone. Old as she was, she could really move.

With little else to do, he waited. After 10 minutes of loitering and leafing through various pamphlets, he began to wonder how the small woman would be able to carry so many books. Even if she only brought a single book per topic, the size of some of these hardcovers...

He was jolted out of his musings by a loud crash on the counter before him. He looked up and saw books. He looked further up and saw more books. Naruto paled. He looked even further up.

Books.

He had a lot of reading to do.

"It always warms my heart to see today's youth taking an interest in reading," the woman nearly cooed. "You'd be surprised by how few kids your age want to spend their days in a library."

"I uh... can't imagine why they wouldn't want to be here..."

He could.

The woman hummed. "Right now, it's just you and one other," she said, scratching her chin. "Is that so?" Came Naruto's lame attempt at small talk. "She's somewhere here, tucked away." Naruto nodded in response. "Anyway, dear, did you need help packing the books?"

Naruto froze. He didn't have a library card. Now that he thought about it, he didn't have any forms of identification. Well, that wasn't true. He still had his Shinobi Identification Card and his registration number on his person. Not that he thought there'd be anywhere that would accept it. He cringed as he remembered precisely which photo had been used for the ID.

"Or were you planning on chipping away at these here?" she offered, perhaps sensing his dilemma.

Oh. That option, please.

"Yeah, that was the plan," he replied with an appreciative smile. "I read better in a distraction-free environment." He truly appreciated the woman's helpfulness. "Of course, don't we all," she smiled knowingly. "If you need anything else, I'll be right here." He nodded along with her words. "And one last thing," she added. "If you plan on returning, I can put these aside for you so we don't have to hunt them down daily."

Naruto frowned internally. Return? Him? He supposed there really was no other choice. There was no way he'd be able to finish even a quarter of these books in a day. Maybe if he used his Kage Bunshin, but he couldn't do that in the library. And if he could take them outside, all it took was one random passerby to spot multiple copies of himself to start raising questions.

Naruto donned his most convincing smile and answered the woman, "I'll take you up on that, thank you." She smiled, waved off his thanks, and returned to her regular duties. The woman certainly was an expert in her profession. That left Naruto with the irritating task of carrying the mountain of books to a suitable reading location.

Awkwardly and with a significant amount of precision, he carefully balanced the pile of books in his arms. He began the delicate task of navigating through the library, avoiding tables, chairs, and other visitors. He'd prefer a spot away from the common areas, somewhere more secluded to maintain some level of privacy. He'd never know how the little old lady had moved through the area so quickly with such a large pile of books. Even now, it was taking him considerable effort just to keep the stack of reading material levelled.

Eventually, he found an acceptable location. The area was in the corner of the building and was partially sectioned off by two half-walls. There were several oversized bean bag chairs and a loveseat couch. What drew his attention, however, was the table. It was low to the ground and had several comfortable-looking mats that would allow someone to sit seiza style.

Now it was a matter of transferring the books to the ground without completely dumping them. He doubted the librarian would appreciate that, and the last thing he wanted to do was antagonize the woman who had already helped him so much.

As he carefully lowered himself to the ground, the topmost book began to quickly slide forward. In his haste, he attempted to right himself but overcompensated. The book slid backwards on an angle and went over the edge. Quickly transferring the weight of the stack to one hand, Naruto's free hand snapped out and caught the falling book. Unfortunately, the quick change of hands threw the entire pile into disarray, and the stack began to destabilize. The next book from the top started to slide forwards. Naruto tossed the book he had just hooked into the crook of his elbow, then caught the next falling book with his newly freed hand. The next book was caught by his foot, leaving him off balance as he was reduced to standing on one leg.

Now he was out of free limbs. The fourth book fell, and much to Naruto's distress, he had no plan. Every option risked putting him in an unsalvagable position. He groaned, fully accepting that he'd likely drop the entire pile in his arms once the next book hit the ground. Already he could feel his grip slacken and his body protest at its awkward contortions.

Suddenly, a pale hand pressed against the stack of books, restabilizing it. At the same time, another hand caught the falling book and placed it on the low table beside him. One by one, his mysterious saviour plucked each book from their awkward resting positions and transferred them to the table. When it was just the pile in his hands that remained, the individual reached toward the middle of the stack and took half the burden away from him.

Naruto gazed upon his saviour. She was a young woman, close to his age, if he had to guess. She was roughly the same height as him, perhaps an inch shorter. Her complexion was pale, which contrasted prettily with her long midnight-black hair. Her eyes were a unique shade of amber, and her purple eye shadow flared backwards in a cat-eye style.

She wore a black buttoned vest with coattails, a white sleeveless undershirt that exposed part of her midriff, and white shorts. Around her neck was a small black scarf. She wore black low-heeled boots and black stockings that gradually faded to purple as they neared her feet. Curiously, black ribbons lined both of her arms and on her left arm was a black detached sleeve. The true eye-catcher was the large black bow that adorned the crown of her head.

Naruto couldn't even pretend the woman was anything but beautiful. If her style was to intentionally evoke a sense of mysteriousness and allure, then she was succeeding.

"Ah, thanks..." Naruto breathed.

The girl offered a small smile. "You're welcome. It looked like you could use the help."

Naruto laughed while setting down the last of the books, then scratched behind his head. "Yeah, I'm sure I would have gotten an earful from the librarian if I made a mess."

The girl shook her head while placing down her own stack, "no, she's a sweetheart." She then turned to inspect his mountain of reading material. "Quite a lot you've got here, don't you think?"

"Yeah. Lots to get through," he replied, frowning by instinct. "You don't sound too pleased," the black-clad girl commented.

Was he that obvious?

"Well, I'm from pretty far awa-" "The Studies of Grimm? Basic Aura Theory?" She questioned as she read several titles out loud. "Are you here for Beacon?"

This again?

"No, I'm not here for Beacon," he muttered with a slump of his shoulders.

He must have failed to keep the melancholy out of his voice as the girl quickly apologized. "I'm sorry, it's just that the new year starts in a week, and these are topics a first year would probably want to cram for."

A week? He supposed that made sense.

"In fact, it might be good if I brushed up on some of my own Grimm studies..." she trailed off while running a finger along the spine of the book in question.

"You're a first-year? The question spilled from his lips without thought.

"I will be, yes." She hummed.

Huh. He didn't notice any weapons on her. Then again, half of his weapons weren't visible either, and she could have left hers at home.

After several moments of neither party saying a word, Naruto began to assume that the conversation was at its end. Before he could sit down, she surprised him with another question, "so, do you read recreationally? Have a favourite book?"

He most certainly did not read recreationally. Proofreading Jiraiya's porn didn't count. He had a feeling the girl wouldn't appreciate him bringing up his Godfather's written 'accomplishments.'

"Well, no, not really. Not as much as I'd like to, at least." His response was just a little too fast.

"Oh," she replied softly. She sounded disappointed. It had probably been the wrong thing to say. The girl seemed like a book junkie. Why else would she be in a public library at 9 a.m.?

He could do better.

"I do have a favourite, though."

That was an understatement. The book he had in mind was one of the few he'd read thoroughly through. More than that in this case. This one held a special place in his heart due to its origins. So precious it was that he always kept a copy on his person. Even now, he could feel its comfortable weight in his breast pocket.

"It's called 'The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi,'" he stated, affection colouring his tone.

The girl's mouth formed a small 'o', and her eyes lit up in curiosity. "Shinobi? That's ancient Mistralian, isn't it? It means ninja if I'm not mistaken."

Wait. What?

Ancient Mistralian? Naruto couldn't help but wonder what the hell that implication could mean. Did Kaguya seed this world with ancient humans from when she first arrived in the Elemental Nations? As some sort of backup plan?

He'd certainly have to look into that later. It looked like Mistral had just been added to his long list of topics to study.

"What's it about?" The girl questioned him, eyes gleaming. Naruto smiled brightly at her. It was a genuine smile offered in earnest. He could worry about Mistral later.

His smile was infectious as the girl smiled back, offering her biggest one to date, which, admittedly, wasn't that impressive. With that, he dove into the synopsis of his master's first, and in his opinion, best book. Throughout his explanation, the young woman listened intently, nodding when appropriate and asking questions for clarification whenever he became too excitable and glossed over any details. It felt good to talk so openly and without a care.

"It sounds like a great read. I'd love to find a copy," the woman replied candidly.

Whoops.

"That might be a problem," Naruto admitted sheepishly. At her raised brow, he explained, "there weren't many copies made, and I've got one of the only ones left." The woman nodded in understanding. "And I take it you're not willing to lend it?" That was a question half-laced with a request if Naruto had ever heard one. The thought of parting with the book made him distinctly uncomfortable. Doubly so, considering the woman borrowing it would be a stranger.

She spoke, saving him from having to find a way to politely decline her request. "It's really important to you, isn't it?"

Naruto nodded. "It was written by my Godfather. It's one of the few things I have left of him."

She frowned at his words, likely not anticipating the conversation's dark direction. Perhaps to steer the conversation back on a lighter note, she focused on the man behind the novel. "Your Godfather, did he write any other books?"

At her question, Naruto's face coloured. Something he was sure she noticed immediately. "U-uh... well... I don't know if I'd call them books per se..." he stuttered. The girl rested her hands on her hips. "What's that supposed to mean?" she questioned.

"Well... he did write a lot of other stories, but they weren't exactly the most reputable, ya know?" She gestured with her hands that she did, in fact, not know.

Naruto hung his head and sighed in resignation, "it was porn. He wrote a lot of porn." In barely a whisper, he added, "there was so much porn."

Against his expectations, the girl didn't immediately recoil in shock, nor did she shiver in disgust. Instead, she broke into a light blush, her pale complexion working against her.

What a curious reaction.

The woman coughed to clear her throat. "W-well, I hear the genre is extremely popular. It's probably why he never wrote anything like his other book." Naruto had to admit that she was right on the money with that assessment. Jiraiya had confessed as much during their training trip.

The girl grabbed one arm with the other, awkwardly continuing, "anyway, I should get back to my book, and it looks like you have a lot to get through."

Damn. She was right. How long had they been talking?

"Right. I'll uh... be here," Naruto gestured to the table. Kami, he felt lame. "Right. I'll be... around," came her equally lame response.

Quickly wanting to escape the awkward atmosphere, Naruto plopped onto the mat and began sifting through his collection of textbooks. It'd do well to sort them in order of priority. At the same time, the girl strayed to one of the nearby bookshelves and began leafing through it.

From that point onwards, the rest of Naruto's day was spent in a blur. He poured over the texts, hoping to absorb as much knowledge as possible. He noticed that the amber-eyed woman from earlier had settled on one of the oversized beanbag chairs. She was curled up like a cat, casually flipping through one of her own finds.

Strangely enough, he found that periodically switching between subjects was the most effective way for him to stay focused. The longer he spent on a single topic, the more his mind would wander.

After several hours, he was alerted to a loud throat clearing. He looked up, spotting the librarian from the morning, giving him a look of concern. "Young man, the library's closing. Have you been here all day?"

Closing? That would mean he'd been researching for almost 12 hours. 12 hours.

"A-ah, sorry about that, ma'am. I must have lost track of time." His apology was accompanied by a large yawn to accentuate his exhaustion. "You need rest. You should go home."

He frowned internally. Were it so easy.

"Right, of course." Naruto thanked the older woman, then quickly began collecting his books. She waved him off, stating that she would take care of putting them aside. When he tried to protest, she waved him off again, stating this was literally her job.

While he was still uncertain about leaving her alone to complete the task, he nevertheless agreed and made his way out of the library. He briefly noted that he could see no trace of his black and white-clad acquaintance. It was a shame. He had forgotten to ask her name.

xXx

A/N: Yeah, so we've already got some canon divergence in that Amber's around. She doesn't get jumped by Cinder and gang. It's never explicitly stated when Cinder attacks her, so I've used that lack of information to suit my narrative.

In the show, Qrow was there in time to interrupt the Maiden extraction process, meaning he was minutes, maybe even seconds away from reaching Amber before she was attacked. I figure that Amber bumping into Naruto would cause enough of a delay in her travels for Qrow to easily catch up in time.

Also, once the extraction was interrupted, Amber was out cold. For whatever reason, a half-Maiden-infused Cinder, Emerald, and Mercury chose not to fight Qrow, who is arguably Ozpin's most valuable agent. I figure a normal Cinder, Emerald, and Mercury wouldn't want to try fighting Amber, Qrow, and Naruto all at once.

Blake was a spur-of-the-moment addition, but I found the scene fun to write. As mentioned above, the next chapter is finished and will be out soon.

There's a poll for Naruto's semblance on my profile that was posted as of 2023/04/24