A/N: As ever, the Embers rule remains.
Call this a fragment if you will; this chapter was BEGGING to be written and I couldn't find a good place to fit it.
If folks don't like this story? Poof! Gone! Deleted for keeps! That's no joke, folks. I'm so busy these days; basically, I don't have time off. Not anymore. My free time is limited and as such, I can't afford to focus on something folks don't like. Reviews keep me writing in these times, and keep the daily updates flowing. Silence...silence only hurts. I hate having to beg for feedback, but without it...well, it feels like I'm not making an impact.
Now then, lets answers some quick questions. A handful should do this time.
Frankly this is the only way I can answer some anonymous questions, but its always nice to chat with people.
Q: The competition for Naruto begins?
A: Not really a competition at this point, folks...
Q: Can you write a Genshin Impact x Naruto story?
A: Don't tempt meeeeee! That game keeps trying to eat my time! Moreoever, I'm stuck in Liyue and I accidentally raised my world level too high. Can't even ascend Raiden; hardly anybody's willing to let me go their world to get her materials, my bloody ipad keeps lagging...!
Halp, please? Life is pain.
Still, the temptation is there. Might be funny to see Naruto run roughshod over Mondstat at the very least...cause chaos...meet a certain pyromaniac...maybe take over a nation or two...put a certain Harbinger in their place...
*shakes head fiercely*
Gah! Focus! Must not be swayed!
Q: How have things changed? Just need an update before I delve back in.
A: For one, the situation in Mantle is markedly different. Things are tense to be sure, but Naruto has his clones working 'round the clock; repairing Mantle's perimeter, keeping its citizens warm and fed, the works. All the while Ciel and Penny help him fend off the Grimm.
Needless to say its garnered out little trio a fair bit of good will. Not to mention that without Jacques, the election could well go in a markedly different direction.
Q: Will we ever see Penny and Ciel's semblances?
A: Careful what you wish for~!
Q: Who is that unnamed person Watts is working with?
A: Come now, you know I can't give her away. It would spoil so many things. Oops. Did I say she? Why, I believe I did...
Q: Are the villains making their move?!
A: At this point Watts and Tyrian have been in Atlas for quite some time. Cinder and Neo aren't aware of them; thank small miracles for that. They're bad enough on their own but if they link up, they have the potential to cause haboc. Neo's semblance is a right pain to deal with, not the mention her illusions/telporting shenanigans. Can she do that? Show was never quite clear on it. She certainly moves quickly. Maybe its short range?
*Sighs* So much potential wasted.
Why hasn't she used it? Seems the bad guys -and girls!- or RWBY suffer from a chronic case of the stupids. I mean, cmon! Neo barely even used it in Volume Seven, and even then only towards the end! That ability's blood broken!
Alright, I've kept you long enough.
As ever, I own no references, quotes, themes or memes!
Now, then. Are you ready? Yes? No? Maybe so? Because! Here. We. Go.
"We're partners, right...?"
~Future.
Countdown to Destiny
"They passed."
"Hmm?" Naruto heard rather than saw Ciel kicked off her boots as she talked inside; he didn't look up from the schematics in his lap. "That's...good?"
"Considering I nearly strangled them? Not so much." she whipped her beret onto a nearby hook then sprawled out onto the bed beside him. "Ruby has potential, though."
That had him looking up from his notes. "Define potential."
"Potentially not annoying." His partner turned onto one side and began to tug off her stockings. "She's not like Xiao-Long or Belladona; not questioning everything, not flinging accusations around and not being an absolute prat. I'd say she was like the Schnee, buuut...
Naruto grimaced a little at the unspoken statement. Weiss had been...twitchy since her meeting with Winter. She wouldn't say why, but she'd given him a wide berth since. He couldn't understand it. Was it because of the baby...? No, she'd even avoided James as of late. Really, team RWBY just had issues. At least Jaune's team seemed sane. Mostly.
"Fair enough." he relented.
"Aaargh!" Ciel muffled a scream into a pillow, legs flailing as she threw a fit. "You have no idea how close I came to wringing their little necks!"
He reached over and absently stroked her back. "There, there...you're alright...
"In any case, its over. They all have their licenses now." There could be no mistaking the pride in her voice as she righted herself, not pride for them, but her sister. "Penny handed them out with Winter." He heard a smile touch her lips. "You should've seen her. She was over the moon. Wish you could've been there."
His eyes drifted back to the plans for Amity as he made another note. "I sent a shadow clone...
"Its not the same." Ciel pouted and tore off another stocking, all but forcing him to avert his eyes. "We missed you. I missed you. she looked like she wanted to say something more to that effect, but she faltered. "You've been buried in this project for days now...
He had, and they both knew why. Amity needed to be perfect. They were only going to get one shot at this. Salem wouldn't give them another. Once she cottoned onto their scheme, that was it. Game over. She'd send all she had at them. If they failed...well. There were no second chances here. Do or die. And she wasn't even here yet!
'Tch.' he clicked his tongue. 'This would be so much easier if Kurama was here.'
He was still powerful to be sure; his partnership with Ciel and her nanites made him all but indestructible. More than that, she tried her utmost to fill the void the old fox left behind. But he just couldn't blast armies apart like the old days. It would take a horde of sage-enhanced clones armed Rasengan and Rasenshuriken alike to achieve that kind destruction. More than that, he missed the broody bastard. Where had he gone...?
Something twinged at the back of his mind, aching like an old wound. A whisper tickled his thoughts.
...I'm stressed." Ciel's voice hooked into his thoughts, reeling him away from it. "Stop looking at those papers and pay attention to me~!"
"Oomph!"
Breath burst out of his lungs as she tackled him headlong, landing on his chest to bear him down onto the bed. The schematics flew through the air and scattered about the room, taking his thoughts with them. Irate, he glared at the plucky girl, intent on giving her a piece of is mind. He immediately regretted it. When he looked up he got an eyeful of a tan thigh with a bit of black lace besides. Ciel stared right back, wholly unaware of the compromising position they'd landed in. A slow heat crept into his cheeks as he realized she'd unbuttoned her blouse when he wasn't looking.
He promptly snapped his gaze back down. "Ah...Ciel?"
She leaned forward. Naruto tensed, expecting the worst anticipating something else entirely.
Her arms closed around him. Nothing more.
.
..
...what're you doing?"
"Hugs make everything better." Ciel hummed against his neck, heedless of her state of undress. "You looked like you needed one."
Something unspooled deep inside him. A rusty laugh burst from him as his arms tightened around her waist.
"Thanks, partner."
"Hmm." she nuzzled his neck anew. "That feels nice. Praise me more."
Laughter rumbled in his throat.
"What're you, a dog or-ow!" he laughed anew when she nipped his neck. "Okay, okay! Kidding! I was joking! Sharp teeth! Sharp!" his body squirmed when she began to lay a line of soft kisses against his jugular instead, bringing on a discomfort of an altogether different kind. ""Alright, now you're just tickling my neck for crying out loud...
"Am I?" her head rose. "Father says men like to be kissed there."
"Pietro?" his brow furrowed. "Remind me to smack him."
In the silence that followed Ciel let out a low chuckle, a soft contralto in her chest. It was surprisingly pleasant to the ears. His body chose that moment to remind him of just where she was sitting. Ciel must've noticed as well; because her already dark face darkened further still as all the blood rushed to her face.
...Naruto," she wriggled a little atop him, drawing a groan from his lips, "We are...we're partners, aren't we?"
"Of course we are." he hedged, wary of her words. Stop squirming! "You know that."
Her eyes became half-lidded. "And partners share, don't they?"
An alarm wailed in the back of his head.
Danger, danger, danger!
"Depends on the sharing I suppose-mmph."
Trembling lips brushed his as Ciel's breath warmed his face. It was a gentle kiss all things considered; not one to steal his breath away, but enough to silence him all the same. Warm and chaste, not frantic and passionate as Winter's had been. Ciel's very body quivered in his lap a she pulled away. She didn't give him a chance to speak. Even as he opened his mouth to speak smothered it with hers, lips striving against his, holding the words at bay. But even she had to breathe, eventually.
"I can't." she babbled, drawing back. "I'm sorry, but I can't hold back anymore...
When he tried to sit up, she planted a firm palm against his chest and shoved him down.
"Please don't be angry." she made a keening noise through her teeth, more a pleading whine than anything else. "Please don't hate me." she tore her blouse from her shoulders, sending it fluttering to the ground. "Winter said it was alright. I don't want to feel like this anymore." tears burned in her aqua orbs. "I want you to touch me." another kiss now, barely a feather's brush. "I want to be with you. I want you to look at me the way you do her. I just...I want...
With a supreme effort of will, she withdrew her lips from his. It hurt.
"Do you care about me?"
His head bobbed warily. "I do."
He really did. She'd been with him for so long now; first as a program, then an as an individual and now as a person. They'd been nothing before one another. So what if she was a copy of a dead woman? She was real to him. She thought. She felt. She cried. Hell, she was crying right now! So he reached up and cupped her cheek.
She leaned into it. "You won't betray me? Never ever?"
"Nope. Really, I think three's enough-
The door crashed open, cutting her well short.
"Salutations!" a familiar voice cried! "I've come to celebrate!"
Naruto and Ciel jumped as a familiar figure strode through, chipper as can be. "Penny?!"
The former tensed; expecting anger. Outrage at the least. Indeed, Penny stopped short upon seeing them. A hing of something flashed through her green eyes, and one of them briefly blazed with Maiden flame before she managed to master herself. She looked to Naruto. Back to Ciel. Down to Naruto again.
"Oh!" And then, much to his chagrin, her eyes flashed with absolute delight. "Is this intercourse?"
Naruto slapped his forehead. "Penny, no...you know what? Yes. Yes it is. Happy now?"
"Sensational~!"
In hindsight, he wasn't sure who moved first, only that someone did. Penny launched herself into his lap, not knocking Ciel aside, but merely shifting her somewhat. Quite suddenly she was no longer sat atop his legs but between them, leaving Penny all but tucked into his side. Ciel shifted accordingly and quite suddenly, he found himself trapped between them.
In all fairness, Naruto tried to protest. "Now wait just a second! Shouldn't we at least have a date or...ow! Easy with the shirt!
Ciel's reached back to undo her bra. "It doesn't matter who's second now, does it?
Penny unclasped her ribbon. "No, I suppose it doesn't. Or third."
Ciel's eyes were gone glazed. "Or fourth...or fifth...
They pushed him down to the bed.
Not so innocent after all...
(.0.0.0.)
"Ugh!" Winter rolled over with a groan as she heard noise from the next room. "This baby is trying to kill me...and so are they!"
She thumped a fist against the wall, to no avail. The commotion only grew louder, more frantic.
"Oh!" Penny's voice rose in a succession of gasps. "So that's what it feels like...!"
Winter clamped a pillow over her head to muffle the ruckus.
The things we do for those we love...
(.0.0.0.)
The door slammed open the next morning with a harsh crash.
"Rise and shine, Huntresses! There's work to be done!"
A series of groans, curses and pleas arose from the four bunks.
Yang all but whipped a pillow at him. "You rise! You shine!"
Naruto caught it and flung it right back. It struck her dead in the face, launching her out of her bunk with a squawk.
He grinned.
"Anyone else wanna go?"
(.0.0.0.)
And so it went.
"Alright, everyone. Election day. We've got work to do." He unfurled a map upon the table. "Here's where we'll be needed." his finger traced a red circle across the main thoroughfare. "Maximum security for the election. I don't want a single sentry out of place.
Nora winced. "The people of Mantle might not like that...
"Tough. That sniper is still at large. Robyn's a shoe-in at this point. If they're going to make a move, it'll be tonight." he growled a little at the memory. "Lets not take any chances."
His gaze swept past her and found that of a bellow blond.
Slowly, gradually, an idea took shape.
"Arc, you can boost someone's aura and their semblance, right?"
"Well, yeah, but I have to touch them and maintain contact for it to work...
Oh? Ohhh. He could work with that. "Care to test it on chakra? I've got a nasty idea...
"Sir? What's chakra?"
He told them his plan.
"You all know your roles. Team ORNJ will provide support with me, Ciel and Penny." he tapped a finger on the map. "QRWBY will be watching the rooftops and alleyways. People will be antsy tonight." His eyes met each of them in turn as he clasped both hands behind his back. Be careful. Be safe. Come back alive."
"Why trust us?"
"Because ya didn't lie to my face. For that, I'll throw ya a bone. Guard her with your lives."
Ren saluted. "We won't let you down."
Those keen eyes met his for a moment.
What he found there reminded him of an old friend.
"No," he granted them a gave nod. "I don't think you will...
No, they wouldn't. His eyes strayed back to the ticking clock above.
The countdown began.
A/N: Aaaaand there we are. Can't wait to hear from you~!
As ever, the Embers rule remains. If folks don't like this story? Poof! Gone! Deleted for keeps! That's no joke, folks. I'm so busy these days with virtually no days off. That makes my free time terribly limited and as such, I can't afford to focus on something folks don't like.
Reviews are my fuel. I can't write without them~! Not a wit or a word!
So in the Immortal Words of Atlas...
...Review, Would You Kindly?
And enjoy the previews!
And as ever:
WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!
SPOILERS AHEAD!
BEWARE~!
(Previews!)
"Pretty spiffy security."
Naruto did deign to roll his eyes.
"Don't you have a general to seduce?"
Robyn considered the setup with a keen eye as she planted a fist on her hip. "Think there's gonna be trouble?"
Naruto quirked a brow. "Really?"
"Alright." she winced. "Mighta jinxed it with that."
"This is Atlas." he waved another line of clones forward. "There's always trouble. Now help me with this."
She dithered.
"You're going to win this thing, Robyn." he clapped her on the shoulder. "You've got good plans for Mantle...
Naruto touched two fingers to his headset. "Team one. Are you in position?"
"Roger!" Ciel's cheery voice came through loud and clear.
"I though it was affirmative?" Penny posited.
"I'm certain that's something else...?"
Naruto sighed. "Focus, girls. Secure the package."
Harriet grumbled over the comlink. "Is this what we've been reduced to? Running errands?"
"Want me to beat your ass again, Hare?"
"Yes, daddy."
Naruto coughed. There was a pregnant pause. And then.
"What?"
"For the love of...!"
"Damnit, Hare! Keep your kinds out of the calls!"
"I do not understand. Naruto and Agent hare are not related. Why did she call him-
"Nope, nope! Not explaining it!"
"I never go back on my word. Not then, not now, and certainly not for you!"
C'mere. Lemme show you what true resolve looks like...
"What're you doing?"
...something really stupid. But it might bring Kurama back."
Ciel sulked. "Don't I matter to you?
"Of course you do! Its just...if we want a chance...we need him. I need him. We won't survive this without his help."
Jaune spied a flash of red hair in the crowd. "Wait...!"
"He's trying to kill us."
"Yang, no." Ruby groaned into her pillow. "Bad Yang. Go sit in the corner."
"I'm serious!" Ever since we got our licenses, he's been putting us through the wringer!"
So. Huntresess now. Yay. There was a time when she had wanted nothing more than that; when the world was black and white. Now it was grey. Ruby didn't know what to do with grey.
R&R~!