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.

17. We Do a Little Investigating

A/N: So here's chapter 17. This was both one of the most difficult chapters I've written and the easiest. I'm not sure why that is. A lot of stuff happens here, and I'm fairly happy with how it turned out. It's also a bit longer than most other chapters, so I hope you guys enjoy that! Let me know what you guys think! If the chapter feels a little disjointed, it's because I wrote the first half in two days, got COVID (which hit me like a shovel), took two and a half weeks off of writing, and then wrote the last half of the chapter in two days.

xXx

"I thought that class would never end."

Naruto glanced at his faunus teammate as she adjusted the ribbon wrapped around her wrist. "I don't know if it has," he frowned. "Port's just going to pick up from where he left off in the next class."

Yang groaned from across the room, the sound becoming muffled near the end as she adjusted her gauntlets.

Naruto couldn't help but sympathize with his blonde counterpart. They weren't all blessed with a carefree mind like Ruby in that they could doodle away on their notepads for the duration of the class. Nor were they blessed such as he was, in which he could spend the class chatting with his partner without catching the ire of their Professor.

'Is that all I am now? A mere distraction?'

'Considering I can't use your chakra anymore, pretty much.'

'You brat. I still provide valuable perspective throughout your boring little life.'

The blond suppressed the urge to shrug. 'Debatable. If you want me to believe that, you'll have to be less of an asshole. Besides, isn't my life just a soap opera to you?'

'I have no idea what you're talking about.'

Uh-huh. It wasn't that long ago the fox had said as much. The Jinchūriki chose not to comment on it.

"Alright, guys, today's the day," said Ruby with a wide smile. "The investigation begins!" The girl cried while jumping down from her bed, nearly landing on Weiss' legs in the process.

The white-clad girl dodged backwards while frowning. "I'm glad you're taking this so seriously," she said with a sarcastic lilt.

"Oh," said Yang in realization. "We still haven't gone over the plan yet, have we?"

Ruby grinned in response. "I was just getting to that." The scythe-wielder began to pace the centre of the room, adopting a posture more befitting a drill instructor. "So," she began. "The way I see it, we're going to have to split up if we want to make any real progress."

Naruto nodded along.

'What's to stop you from sending out a couple dozen Kage Bunshin to do all the legwork.'

The blond frowned. 'Nothing, really. But for some reason, it doesn't feel right.'

'Isn't this a matter of national security? Internal plots and terror organizations harassing the people and the government?'

'Theoretically, yes. But we don't actually know how deep this goes. Plus, this is important to Blake. What am I supposed to say? Hey guys, don't worry about it; I'll let my clones do everything. You can just sit back.'

'I mean... you could.'

'I'm not doing that. If you want a practical reason, then if I send out a couple dozen clones, I'm going to be exhausted by the time the fighting starts. And if the White Fang has people like Torchwick running around as foot soldiers, they probably have some decent muscle in the upper echelons.'

The fox hummed in consideration. 'That's a better reason. You could always send out fewer clones, but I won't push the topic. Besides, your team knows the extent of your jutsu. If they haven't asked, they probably don't want you to do it.'

'Exactly.'

Naruto caught the flying pillow aimed directly at his face. He blinked in surprise as he stared at the feathery bundle.

"Nice catch, Casanova. If you're alert enough to react to that, then pay attention to your leader."

Naruto glared at Yang. It wasn't so much the pillow; it was someone like Yang telling him to pay attention. The gall of that woman.

"You know, dear," Weiss added with a mischievous smile, "If you're too busy chatting with your inner demon, you're free to stay behind."

The shinobi frowned. After learning the truth, his girlfriend had quickly picked up on when he was conversing with his tenant. She'd even begun to retroactively point out past instances.

'She is clever. Much too clever for you. Better watch out, or she'll be running circles around you in no time.'

At that, the blond refused to engage with his partner.

"Huh," Ruby chimed in. "I don't really like that." The team shot her varying looks of confusion. "The way you said 'dear,'" she elaborated to her partner. "It sounds so weird coming from you. Especially when you're not being all nasty about it."

"Hey!" Weiss complained. "He calls me 'snowflake,' why can't I use a pet name? And what do you mean by nasty?"

"It just..." Ruby muttered. "It just sounds unnatural. Find a better one. And make sure it's not cringy."

Naruto laughed at the look on his leader's face. She looked like she swallowed a lemon.

Weiss lightly recoiled at that. "Okay," she mumbled. "That's rude. And what do you mean by nasty?" She reiterated.

"Can we move on?" Blake interrupted. "We need to go over the plan. Again."

Naruto smiled sheepishly. "Sorry about that. I'm listening now."

"B-But," Weiss stuttered. "What did she mean by —"

"— Right!" Ruby chirped. "The plan is, we're splitting up. Me and Weiss are going to the CCT to check the Schnee records for any other Dust robberies or inconsistencies."

Naruto nodded in understanding. It made sense. Given Weiss' status, she'd have an easy time accessing those records. And with those records, it might be possible to identify patterns. They might even uncover some sort of inside plot if they were lucky.

"Blake is off to the nearest White Fang faction meeting. Once she's in, they might reveal some of their plans."

Blake nodded. "That's only if I don't get recognized. I should be safe, considering they usually hand out masks."

Naruto frowned. That sounded dangerous.

"Finally," Ruby declared, "You and Yang are heading to the shady side of Vale to gather some information."

The elder sibling grinned proudly. "I have an old friend out there who typically knows everything going on in Vale. Getting information out of him shouldn't be too hard."

Naruto nodded, then paused. "You guys seemed pretty well-versed in the plan already. Are you sure I'm not being left out of something?"

...

Ruby snorted, then blew a raspberry. "Nah," she said quickly. Too quickly. She grinned awkwardly at the shinobi's calculating gaze. "I mean, maybe we've got a girls-only group chat where we hashed some ideas around during class, or maybe you were just zoned out for longer than you thought."

Naruto stared at his teammate blankly. "Right," he muttered. Cool. He could always start a boys-only group chat with Jaune and Ren. It'd be awesome. Yeah... their own group chat. With blackjack and... Ah, screw it. The blond sighed. After a moment, he shook himself out of his daze. "Can I make a suggestion?"

"Of course!" Ruby smiled.

Naruto nodded in gratitude. "I couldn't help but notice Blake's the only one running solo, despite her role putting her in the most danger."

Glancing around, the ravenette simply nodded in agreement. His assessment wasn't wrong.

"So, I was thinking of sending a clone with her. At least so she can have a little backup."

Blake hummed in consideration. "I appreciate the thought, but there's one problem. You're not a faunus."

Naruto nodded. That was indeed a conundrum.

However.

"That's true," he acknowledged. "But I can disguise my clones — and myself — with one of my chakra techniques. Basically, I can create an illusion to make my clone look like a faunus. Or an entirely different person if I want."

"Seriously?" Yang asked in surprise. "What's stopping you from showing up as Torchwick and asking for all their secret files?"

Naruto chuckled. "Technically nothing. But there's a lot to consider when pulling a stunt like that. Do they have someone who can detect and see through illusions? Is that how Torchwick would typically act? Will Torchwick already be there? If not, what are the chances other people there know where Torchwick currently is?"

"Oh," Yang frowned. "So, not so easy?"

"Not so easy," the shinobi echoed. "I can take on a new look, but that doesn't give me an inherent understanding of the target's knowledge or behaviour."

"That still sounds pretty useful," Ruby chimed in. "It kind of makes me wonder, though. Would that be considered offensive? I know dressing up as a faunus is kind of racist, so..." She looked to her faunus teammate.

Blake shrugged and performed the 'so-so' gesture with her hand. She seemed to be thinking the offer over. "You know what," she said. "I'll take you up on the offer. I could use the backup. And given the circumstances, it's not offensive."

"Great!" Ruby said, "We'll meet up tonight near Yang to go over what we found. Let's do this!" she cried with a fist pump.

"Yeah!" Agreed a suspiciously familiar voice.

All five members of RYBWN took several startled steps backward at the voice emanating from the window. There, hanging from a tree branch by his tail, was Sun Wukong. The monkey faunus grinned at the assembled teens.

"Sun!" Blake exclaimed in confusion.

"How did you get up there?" Yang asked in concern.

The blond faunus grinned. "Ah, it's easy. I do it all the time!"

Weiss scowled indignantly. "You do what?"

Naruto couldn't help but balk at the man's words. "Sun... dude..." he muttered. Had he been wrong about this guy the whole time? Was he secretly a pervert?

"I climb trees all the time!" The bare-chested teen said easily.

Weiss' scowl deepened.

Naruto simply shook his head. "Hey, Sun? Word of advice?" The monkey faunus hummed in response. "You need to consider the context of what you're saying. Claiming you 'do it all the time' while staring into a woman's dorm on the third floor makes you sound like a pervert."

Sun's eyes widened. "What?" He said while flipping into the room and landing cleanly on his feet. "That's totally not what I meant!"

"Well, that's sure as hell how it came off!" Yang shouted angrily. She turned to face the team's resident shinobi. "Thanks for saying something, by the way."

Naruto nodded, then turned back to Sun. "Just... think a bit before you say shit like that."

The Shade Academy student nodded sheepishly. "Right. Sorry, girls."

The Jinchūriki pinched the bridge of his nose. Good enough. Still, Sun's stealth skills were rather impressive. He hadn't even noticed the boy. He might have made a good shinobi if he wasn't so eccentric.

...

Scratch that. Eccentricity was basically a requirement.

"So," Sun said in an attempt to change the topic. "Are we finally getting back at that Torchwick guy?"

"We," Blake said with emphasis, "Are going to investigate the situation. As a team."

The message was clear. Even still, in an attempt to eliminate any form of interpretation, Ruby added, "Sorry, Sun. We don't want to get friends involved if we don't have to."

The monkey faunus, evidently able to find his own interpretation despite Ruby's clearcut statement, blew a raspberry in response. "That's dumb. You should always get friends involved. That's why I brought Neptune," he indicated out the window with his thumb.

Ruby, being closest to the window, poked her head outside.

Naruto raised an eyebrow as a calm 'sup' could be faintly heard. After some light back and forth, the black and red-clad girl dragged the blue-haired teen into the room. Neptune caught himself before he could stumble and quickly stabilized his breathing.

"Thanks," he nodded to Ruby. He then turned to his partner. "You sure took your time to introduce me," he said with a frown.

"What? We were out there for like 10 seconds," Sun argued in confusion.

"Whatever, dude. It felt longer."

Huh. Well, at least they hadn't overheard their conversation regarding his clones. He really needed to be more careful about that.

...

"Alright," Ruby clapped her hands. "Looks like we're shuffling the deck a bit, considering we've increased our manpower by 40%."

Naruto squinted. "Is that right?" He whispered to Weiss. He'd taken to standing beside his girlfriend due to a certain blue-haired addition.

"40% is correct," she sighed. "Since she's a gun-nut, Ruby's surprisingly good at mathematics. Not that it's particularly difficult math, mind you," the heiress added teasingly.

Right. Consider himself minded.

"Me and Weiss are still together," Ruby chirped. "Neptune, you're with Yang now. And Blake's got Naruto and Sun as backup, seeing as how they've got the most risky task."

"W-Well, hang on a second, Ruby," Neptune interjected. "I was thinking I could go with Weiss while you hang out with your sister."

Ruby hummed in thought, eliciting looks of alarm from both Naruto and Weiss.

"I have a better idea," the ashen-haired girl interrupted snidely. "Naruto comes with me, Ruby goes with her sister, and Neptune goes home." She ended her suggestion with a nasty scowl.

Naruto blinked owlishly. Aside from the warm feeling of giddiness, he had to suppress a deep laugh at seeing the look of shock on the previously suave-looking teen's face.

Ruby burst into laughter, then shook her head. "You guys are hilarious. The original team's stand."

With that, the reaper grabbed onto her partner and quickly disappeared out the door.

Naruto smiled softly after them. He'd have to do something nice for Weiss later. The look on Neptune's face was priceless.

xXx

"You know, Naruto, I never figured you to be the jealous type."

Wait, what? Naruto tilted his head in surprise at Sun's teasing words. He wasn't the jealous type, was he?

The faunus laughed in amusement. "Yeah, you. I didn't expect to see that kind of reaction when Neptune started hitting on Weiss in the library, remember?"

Oh. Right.

The blond scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "Well, it'd be weirder if I didn't have a reaction, right?" There was no point in denying it. Luckily, he hadn't made a scene about it. But, yeah. He'd been jealous. Or, at the very least, protective. Besides, Weiss hadn't seemed to mind.

Naruto, Blake, and Sun had just arrived at the White Fang faction meeting. They were early, of course, which meant they needed to find something to pass the time. It seemed Sun had decided that would come in the form of teasing his fellow blond.

"Guess so," the monkey faunus admitted. "Still, I want you to know that I was totally willing to have a talk with Neptune about it."

Naruto raised a brow. "And you're not anymore?"

Sun laughed. "After the way Weiss shot him down today? I think I'd just be rubbing salt in the wound."

Blake hummed thoughtfully. "I don't think Weiss shot him down particularly hard. She's usually like that with people."

The shinobi nodded at his teammate's words. During initiation, the heiress had been even... firmer when turning down Jaune.

"Ah, well," Sun muttered, "Maybe I should rephrase myself. There's really no need for me to say anything because Weiss shot him down, period." At the two teens' looks of confusion, he continued. "You see, Neptune is... how should I say it? Not particularly used to rejection. As I'm sure you can tell, he's pretty popular with the ladies. I don't remember the last time he was ever turned down. It's usually him who's turning people down!"

The blond of Team RYBWN couldn't keep the look of skepticism off his face. Really? The blue-haired punk was that popular? He couldn't see it. A glance at Blake revealed she felt the same way.

"Ah, whatever," Sun waved them off. "Shade Academy's in the middle of a desert and bumfuck nowhere. There isn't exactly an abundance of well-hygiened young men." Blake's upper lip curled in disgust. "The point is," the faunus continued. "Neptune's attractive enough that he's never faced rejection before. So, to have Weiss show so little interest and to have her outright reject him is a significant blow to his pride. Trust me, I won't have to say anything."

Naruto hummed. "And what if your buddy decides to take it as a personal challenge? Forbidden fruit and all that."

The well-muscled teen shrugged his shoulders. "Then he's in for more disappointment. It doesn't take a genius to see you and Weiss are smitten with each other. But if you're that worried, I'll give him a nice kick in the pants. Going after another dude's girl is definitely not cool."

Hmm. Good to know.

"Sun's right, Naruto," Blake said with a small smile. "Besides, Weiss can handle herself."

The blond scratched his chin. There was something in the way his teammate said that. It wasn't distaste. It wasn't apathy. It was almost admiration. Humour.

"Huh. I didn't realize you and Weiss were on good terms again." Their reunion had, after all, been interrupted at the docks by none other than him and his stupid clone. Naruto didn't know what kind of response he expected, but he had to blink away the confusion as his black-clad teammate simply shrugged and smiled at his statement, all but confirming his off-comment.

"Wait, really?" He asked. "When did that happen?"

Now, it was Blake's turn to look confused. "Yesterday?" She half asked, half answered. After a moment, she smiled teasingly. "Not everything happens in front of you, you know? Sometimes Weiss and I have conversations when you're not around."

Huh. He supposed that made sense. Was he really so self-centred that he forgot that other people had lives that didn't revolve around him?

Nah. It wasn't that deep. He was simply glad that the two had made up. A small part of him had been worried that the two were still on rocky ground. He'd have to ask one of them how the conversation went after this. As for now, they had work to do.

At least, that's what Blake's scroll alarm was telling them.

Immediately, the three of them dropped the air of levity that had been surrounding them. Sun and Blake donned the White Fang's signature Grimm mask, and the latter tugged free the ribbon hiding her feline ears. Despite the seriousness of the atmosphere, Naruto couldn't help but admire her extra appendages. There was something alluring about them.

"We all remember what to do?" Blake asked seriously.

The two blonds nodded. They'd gone over it a few times already. Sun and Blake would attend the meeting on the ground, while Naruto would keep watch from above. Preliminary scouting had revealed an open roof, something the shinobi was all too willing to take advantage of. Even better was that there didn't seem to be any security up there. Even if that did change, it'd be easy to neutralize them.

It was a shame. Sun's presence meant he wouldn't be able to Henge into a faunus and provide shoulder-to-shoulder support for Blake. But overall, more people were better in this case. If they were caught, they'd need the firepower. Besides, being a few dozen feet above Blake instead of being beside her wouldn't change much.

Still... A small part of him had been looking forward to displaying his abilities to his teammates. He banished the thought. How childish. Being prudent would win the day here.

"Good," Blake nodded. "Let's hope this goes smoothly."

With that, the two faunus split off from their human teammate. Once the two had turned the corner, Naruto waited another five seconds before he began to scale the warehouse wall. It didn't take him long. Seconds at most. Once he was on the roof, he quickly scanned his surroundings to make sure — yeah, good thing he did. Not too far away, a White Fang grunt stood, staring at him awkwardly.

The man, seemingly a dog faunus, was dressed in the typical garb of a White Fang foot soldier and was in the midst of lighting a cigarette. They stared at each other blankly for several seconds.

...

"You uh... you here for the faction meeting?" The man asked glibly.

Naruto nodded slowly. What was it? A dozen metres that separated them?

"Entrance is down the way you came..."

Naruto nodded, all the while feeding chakra into his legs. The man was armed with an automatic rifle, sure. But it was holstered. Shouldered across his back. The shinobi could cross that distance well before the man could draw and aim.

The faunus frowned upon looking the blond up and down. "You don't look much like a faunus..." He said as he finished lighting his cigarette.

Right... The problem was if the man could shout for help before Naruto could strike.

The radical militant shrugged. "Well, unless those whisker marks are more than just scars." The man followed up by taking a deep drag of smoke.

Oh. Nevermind. Nothing to worry about. The guy was stupid. Without hesitation, Naruto rocketed towards the man, crossing the distance between them in less than a second. Ruby would be proud. The faunus, bless his heart, had nary a chance to widen his eyes in disbelief before a well-controlled fist buried itself in his stomach. He coughed out a lungful of smoke, then collapsed in the blond's arms.

Naruto set the guard aside gently. No need to be too rough with him. He had made it easy, after all. Afterwards, the blond made his way to the large open skylight. The building itself was fairly standard as far as warehouses went. Large, open, and utilitarian. The building was seemingly made up of a large single room, with two stairwells at either end that provided access to the roof. He'd do well to keep an eye on the doorways.

As the shinobi tip-toed to the edge, he peered inside. He let loose a low whistle at what he saw. The majority of the room was packed with members of the White Fang, a third of whom seemed to be new recruits. There were well over a hundred individuals, which really begged the question: How were so many radical activists — borderline terrorists — able to move about so freely in Vale? Wasn't the city supposed to be highly monitored by security cameras?

Hmm.

As the blond scanned the crowd, he immediately spotted Sun and Blake. While he was loathe to admit it, the two stood out. At least, it felt it compared to the other newcomers' relatively plain garb. It took a while for the crowd to fully congregate, which meant that the teen on overwatch could continue to scan the room for any potential complications, something he took full advantage of.

Though as attentive as he was, those inside the building weren't giving away much. Sun and Blake didn't appear to be drawing any unwelcome attention. The atmosphere, while tense, wasn't setting off any alarm bells. Even the White Fang in uniform seemed relaxed. Well, as relaxed as an illegal terrorist meet-up could allow for.

Honestly, the only thing that stood out was the large anomalous object that was hidden under a tarp at the centre of the stage. Now that screamed trouble. Based on Sun and Blake's nervous eyes directed towards it, they felt very much the same.

Eventually, the event organizers must have deemed the meeting begun, as a White Fang member, a slightly more distinguishable one, began to address the crowd from the stage. His speech was short. Simple. Really, it was less than a dozen words. It seemed the purpose of this meeting was to introduce the members to a new beneficiary.

Hmm. New beneficiary? He wondered if — yup. With an arrogant swagger, Roman Torchwick sauntered onto the stage from behind the large concealed object. Had he been hiding there the whole time?

The crowd, at least the newcomers in the crowd, immediately erupted into boos and jeers. Naruto was almost tempted to join in. Torchwick, on the other hand, took it in stride. He called out to the crowd of faunus with a jovial cheer, indeed becoming of a man who simply didn't give a shit.

Yet, with honeyed words and a charming smile, the man was easily able to woo the impressionable crowd. He knew exactly what to say to galvanize them. In only a matter of minutes, the crowd was eating out of his hands. At least, the new recruits were. Most of the senior White Fang members appeared indifferent to him. Weary at worst.

With a haughty snap of his fingers, the mysterious centrepiece on stage was revealed with a flourish of fabric. Behind the curtain was... some sort of metal monstrosity.

'What the hell is that?'

...

'No idea. I've never seen anything remotely close to it.'

It looked vaguely like a person. Sort of. It had a large body, two multi-jointed legs, and two stocky arms that ended in what appeared to be high-calibre rifles. It didn't have a head, though. Oh, and it was massive, standing roughly five metres tall, or about three times the average person's size.

'Well, it's big. And metal. Kind of like a juiced-up training robot. Think it's some kind of weapon?'

'Huh. Yeah, good call. Definitely a weapon; look at the guns. Maybe a cross between a weapon and a vehicle?'

Naruto hummed. A vehicle? While he didn't know much about vehicles in general, in fact, almost all of his knowledge about them came from Remnant; he couldn't see how this thing fit the description. It didn't have wheels. It didn't look like it could fly. Hell, it had legs. What kind of vehicle had legs?

'Want to make a bet?'

Did he? Damn right, he did.

'You're on, ya —'

'— hold that thought, dumbass. You're about to have a repeat at the docks.'

Naruto frowned at his partner's words. What the hell did he mean by — blue eyes widened as he felt a presence behind him. He twisted hard to the right, watching as a familiar pink umbrella speared the air where his chest — his heart — used to be.

Huh. He really needed to be more attentive to his surroundings when speaking to his tenant.

The blond backpedalled several steps, expecting a follow-up attack. Surprisingly, nothing came. Instead, Naruto took a moment to appraise his attacker.

It was a girl. And not just any girl, a surprisingly adorable girl. What the hell?

She was tiny, maybe around the same height as Weiss, if not smaller. She was easily under five feet. Like Weiss, her skin was a milky white, nearly as pale as a ghost. And her hair was an interesting amalgamation of colours. One half of her long mane was pink, while the other half was brown. Within her pink tresses were long streaks of white. Large heterochromatic eyes — pink and brown — stared questioningly at him.

Naruto offered the girl a slight frown. He felt like he understood her theme. Pink, brown, and white. All represented in her hair, eyes, and even clothes. Man, the people of Remnant really liked to lean into it, didn't they?

The girl, or woman, he supposed, smiled at his frown. She slowly twirled her umbrella while approaching him, stopping once the distance between them had closed to about a dozen feet.

Hmm.

Why was that umbrella so familiar? And wait, did she just try to skewer him with an umbrella, of all things? What the hell? Naruto squinted. Wait a minute...

...

Nope. He had nothing.

The woman rolled her eyes, then gestured to her chest. She clenched her fist, then made an 'exploding' gesture.

Naruto continued to stare blankly.

The mysterious woman sighed silently. She raised her umbrella, pointed it at her own chest, and mimicked stabbing herself in the heart. She then indicated to him and smiled.

...

'Oh, for fuck's sake! She's the bitch who stabbed your clone at the docks.'

Naruto's eyes widened at the revelation. "You stabbed my — me the other day!" He cried indignantly.

The women grinned brightly, nodded, and performed a small curtsey. My, didn't she seem proud? After a moment of self-satisfaction, she frowned. The multi-coloured girl dragged her thumb over her throat, pointed to him, and shrugged with a look of confusion on her face.

That one was a little more clear: why aren't you dead?

Well now. How was he supposed to answer that? He couldn't very well tell her it was a clone she stabbed. He could say — wait. He didn't have to say shit. This was an enemy, for Kami's sake.

With that in mind, Naruto frowned and gave her a half-hearted shrug.

"I got better," he replied in disinterest.

She frowned in turn.

The shinobi eyed the young woman. She may be small, but that did not diminish her potential threat. He'd known plenty of small powerhouses. He was currently dating one, after all. As he eyed her over, he knew that would continue to prove true. Lithe muscles were likely coiled beneath her outfit. He held no delusions the girl was ready to pounce. It was in the way she walked. She tried to disguise it. To look relaxed. Calm. It was an illusion. He would know; he was doing the very same thing.

She was definitely skilled if she was able to sneak up on his clone. Hell, she'd done it again just minutes ago. He'd likely need to reassess how he should fight her. Something told him that her style may be a bit more similar to back home. Speed and misdirection. If that was the case, he needed to take the initiative. Apply some pressure. Keep her on the back foot. Letting her come to him would only make things more challenging.

With that in mind, the blond drew one of his trench knives, and his legs exploded into a flurry of movement as he launched himself towards his opponent. The woman's frown dropped in favour of a wide grin, and she brought her umbrella up to intercept his downward slash. Metal rang against metal, like a blacksmith hammering at their forge. Pink and brown eyes widened as the woman was forced back.

With that, the two began exchanging a lightning-fast series of attacks. Well, to be more accurate, Naruto delivered while the girl dodged. Upward slash, downward slash, a punch with his off-hand, the petite woman evaded him spectacularly. Employing the use of his lower body, the blond continued to probe her fighting style, mixing in a series of high and low kicks.

Surprisingly, her style seemed highly defensive — correction, evasive. Perhaps it shouldn't have come as a surprise; her small frame favoured mobility, but something about her gave the impression that she was also reasonably well-versed in offence. Maybe it was her earlier confidence. Perhaps it was because she had tried to assassinate him twice already. It was hard to say.

After nearly a full minute of this exchange, he found an opening in her guard. A slightly overextended block had left her side barely exposed. But in this case, barely was enough. With a grunt of effort, the shinobi planted his fist in her side, rocketing the woman back. She moved with the momentum, propelling herself into a series of flips and cartwheels.

As she came to a stop, Naruto grinned at her undisguised frown. She seemed to be favouring the side he struck her on. Nodding to himself, he now felt comfortable with her fighting style. She was fast and agile. Flexible and light on her feet. If he had to guess, she likely did favour misdirection and redirection.

Bad news for her since that was precisely how Naruto enjoyed fighting with people as of late. And in this case, he was stronger, faster, more experienced, and more skilled. Sure, she had flexibility, but he had reach. She may be more agile, but he was faster overall.

That wasn't to say she wasn't skilled. She was. Surprisingly so. Naruto was putting a notable amount of effort into the fight. But this pink-themed girl was no Pyrrha. In reality, this girl was much better suited to fighting someone like Yang. Her style was the antithesis of the brawler's. But against someone as fast or faster? Strength, skill, experience, and even stamina played a much more prominent role. And he had those in spades.

What was best? The woman knew it. At least if her anxious scowl was any indication.

Naruto slowly drew his other chakra blade, brandishing it offensively. In response, the woman unsheathed a hidden blade from her umbrella. Huh. Was it a swordstick? That was marginally cooler than just a plain umbrella. Why wouldn't she have led with that? Was it overconfidence? Or part of her typical strategy? Egg your opponent on with an inconspicuous umbrella, then reveal your real weapon once they get sloppy? It made sense, he supposed.

Whatever.

Channelling chakra to his legs, the blond lept forwards, re-engaging the girl. He stepped into her guard, not allowing her the opportunity to backpedal, which was surely something she'd want. Her shortsword had more reach than his daggers, after all.

Naruto swung quickly and with precision, forcing the girl on the defensive. He held back the strength of his swings, instead favouring tight and short slashes. If his suspicions about her elusive fighting style were correct, she'd be looking for even the tiniest opening. The most meagre crack in his style to exploit. His tactics seemed to be working quite well if the angry scowl and grunt of frustration were any indication.

Knocking the girl's shallow stab to the side, one of the few instances she had managed to get an attack in, Naruto broke her guard with an atypically powerful swipe of his blades, then sent her tumbling back with a rather ungraceful spartan kick to the midsection.

Damn.

If he'd tried that with Pyrrha, she'd have caught his leg and done Kami knows what. Yang would have simply tanked the hit, empowering her.

Yeah, this really did come down to a poor matchup on the little assassin's end. It made the blond wonder. She probably could have done some serious damage were it anyone other than him.

Yang, of course, was susceptible to this girl's fighting style. Blake wouldn't have been fast enough to hold any sort of advantage. Ruby lacked experience and wouldn't have been able to anticipate the girl's attacks. And Weiss was a coin flip. If she could keep the girl at a distance, she'd have a strong advantage. But if the girl managed to close that distance, the heiress would be certifiably boned.

A part of the shinobi wanted to enjoy the fight. Pull his punches. Let her go on the offensive. Really confirm his theory about her fighting style. His rational side understood where he was and what his original mission was. He needed to end the fight. He needed to do it quickly, before she found an opportunity to escape and report his position.

He needed to surprise the girl. He wanted to be creative. Something more than simply overpowering her. Or out manoeuvring her.

He needed to change the gravity of the situation.

'Think this will work?'

'I told you before. It will. You need to trust me. Just imagine something heavy. Maybe that bowl-cut spandex-wearing freak's training weights?'

Rock Lee? Huh. That could work. The taijutsu specialist's training weights were on a whole other level. They'd serve as a good point of reference.

Naruto once again lept into action. Only this time, he deliberately left his guard slightly open as he charged. The woman tried her best to school her features, but the blond could plainly see the spark of opportunity in her eye. She brandished her shortsword as he closed the distance, readying herself to parry and counter.

Before that could happen, however, Naruto reached out with his senses, focusing entirely on her weapon.

Heavy.

He felt his Aura slowly stretch outward. Beyond his immediate proximity.

Heavy.

He felt the spiritual energy slowly wrap around the girl's blade.

Heavy.

Really, it was a good thing he was familiar with Shape Transformation, thanks to his chakra. As it turned out, the skill was, in fact, transferable.

With one final mental command, he willed his semblance into action, drastically increasing the weight of his opponent's sword. The effect was immediate. Her weapon, something she very likely spent a lifetime becoming familiar with, became a stranger in her hand. And not just any stranger. A kami-damned heavy stranger. Her eyes widened as she immediately lost her grip on the weapon's handle. Worse for her still, she immediately stumbled backward, lest her own weapon pierce her foot. Sure, her Aura would have tanked it, but the sheer surprise and panic had overridden her training. As such, she willingly put herself off balance only seconds before the blond would strike.

And strike, he did. A heavy downward swipe, enhanced by both fūton chakra and his semblance's gravity-altering properties, nearly crushed the girl into the concrete. Instead of outright killing her, something he was thankful for, the girl's Aura absorbed the blow, creaking and cracking as a result. If the blond had to guess, she was one solid strike away from losing her protective shield altogether.

The girl stumbled onto her rear and quickly tried to scramble away. Her weak attempt to put distance between them failed as her back quickly met the edge of the roof's skylight. Naruto ended the exchange by resting his blade on the nape of her neck.

There was frustration in her eyes. Disappointment. But also curiosity. Excitement. And was that... arousal? What the fuck? Nope. Hell no.

Naruto frowned. What the hell was he supposed to do with this girl? They were in the middle of downtown Vale, standing above a White Fang meeting. Was he supposed to call the police? No way they'd be able to contain her despite her being low on Aura. Should he wrap her up in his chakra chains and bring her to Beacon? It'd be safe, considering his jutsu's suppressive properties. But what was he supposed to say to Ozpin? His team? Should he just let her go? That seemed stupid as hell. And dangerous.

Unfortunately, the decision was taken from him as a single gunshot rang out from inside the warehouse, plunging its occupants into total darkness. Uh oh. His head reflexively snapped to the source of the disturbance. Immediately, his eyes widened as he realized his mistake, and he quickly looked back to his defeated opponent.

Too late.

The woman was smiling widely now. She blew him a flirtatious kiss, then promptly shattered into countless glass shards, like a full-length mirror being dropped.

The blond couldn't even appreciate her escape before a thunderous crash echoed throughout the building, shaking it to its foundations. Sighing deeply, Naruto ran toward the sound of the destruction and looked over the roof's edge. Sun and Blake were running out of the warehouse district full throttle. What really caught his attention was the 18-foot-tall metal monstrosity sprinting after them.

Naruto looked back to where his opponent once lay. Nothing. Not a trace of her. Even her weapon was gone.

Damnit.

xXx

"That was a rather long call, wouldn't you say?"

Ozpin eyed his friend as the man re-entered his office, his sardonic question doing little to help spur the man to conversation. James Ironwood moved with a painful silence as he approached the large desk. Without a word or, really, any sort of tell, the normally pristine General collapsed heavily into the seat across from him.

"I take it you kept the details of our conversation confidential?" Ozpin asked with a raised brow. His question earned him a dry huff and a wry smile.

"Of course," the Atlas native replied in exasperation. "Who could I have told? What could I have said?" Even across the table, Ozpin could practically feel the man's blood pressure pulse dangerously.

Beacon's Headmaster slid another cup of coffee across the desk for his long-time friend. Ironwood reached for it, his other arm already pulling out his silver flask. Before he could mix his two favourite drinks, he paused. A shallow shrug followed up his hesitation, and instead of combining the two, he pushed the coffee back and took a long pull from the flask.

Ozpin chuckled humourlessly to himself. It was to be expected, given the subject of their previous conversation. Loathe as he was to admit it, even now, he himself was actively trying to calm down.

"You should slow down a bit," the bespectacled man advised, watching quietly as his counterpart's throat continued to greedily drain the flask's contents. Didn't he need to breathe?

Eventually, Ironwood did stop, but only because the container had been thoroughly emptied. As he capped the bottle, he released a deep sigh. "Slow down a bit, huh?" He echoed tiredly. "I remember saying those exact words once you started talking nonsense."

Ozpin frowned. "Not nonsense," he chastised lightly. "The truth. The real truth."

...

"The truth," James scoffed. "Am I supposed to take your word for it? I thought you told me the truth years ago. But even that was a lie, wasn't it? And now this."

The grey-haired man struggled to find the right words. He'd expected this kind of reaction. Actually, he'd expected worse. But even still, finding the right words to placate the man in front of him was proving even more difficult than he'd imagined. Maybe calming Ironwood wasn't possible. Maybe he just needed to let the man's emotions run their course.

"When do you plan on telling Glynda? Amber?" Ironwood asked tiredly.

"Soon," Ozpin replied immediately. "A week from now. During the first year's field mission." He licked his dry lips. Perhaps limiting his fluid intake to exclusively coffee wasn't such a great idea? "Amber will accompany Team RYBWN and subsequently find out in person. I'll inform Glynda while they're in the field."

James nodded. "You've got it all planned out, don't you?" Before Ozpin could reply, the man continued. "Of course you do. You've had lifetimes to plan it out, haven't you?"

A bittersweet silence permeated the room.

"Not as long as you'd think," the immortal man commented softly.

"And the other Headmasters? The rest of your circle?"

Ozpin sighed. "Not long after Glynda. I'll also need to get ahold of Qrow. Things will be escalating very soon, if I had to guess." Another pregnant pause. "What of you, my friend? Have you decided on who you'd like to inform?"

"Not yet," the General hung his head. As if the burden of Headmaster, General, and Councilman wasn't heavy enough, he now had to deal with this. It was still nothing compared to Ozpin's burden. He'd trade places with the General in a heartbeat if he could.

"Take your time to think," Ozpin advised. "But if I may make a suggestion, I'd recommend Specialist Schnee. Your Ace Ops, too, if you feel like you can trust them."

Ironwood sat up straighter. "Winter, huh?" He hummed with a raised brow. "Any particular reason why?"

"Plenty of reasons," the Headmaster replied with a small smile. "Though, you're not nearly as surprised with my recommendation as you'd like me to believe. Care to share?"

James released a genuine laugh at that. It was dry and raspy but carried with it the first bit of real levity since he'd stepped foot in the office. "It must be a coincidence."

"I take it you were speaking with Specialist Schnee earlier?"

Ironwood nodded. "Her, among many others. I've had to shuffle most of my assets because of you. Sending some ships back to Atlas, bringing different ships over. What's truly surprising is how insistent Winter's been about coming to Vale. She practically demanded to come with me when she found out I'd be travelling here."

Ozpin hummed in response.

"You know something about that, don't you?"

"I might," the Professor smiled. At the General's expectant look, he chuckled. "It might have something to do with her sister dating the boy you're so worried about."

James balked in response. Ozpin savoured every contour of the man's surprised expression. His earlier disbelief had been of skepticism, stress, and terror. But this? This was incredulity born of confusion, innocence, and humour. It was a nice change of pace.

"You've got to be kidding me," the normally stoic General sighed. At Ozpin's mischievous smile, he shook his head. "You're not kidding me."

"I thought you'd be pleased, James." At the man's look of confusion, he continued. "Earlier, you expressed concern that someone as powerful as Naruto wouldn't be controllable. I still insist that he's not the liability you think he is. But with him dating someone local, he certainly has a reason to fight with us."

"Honestly, now that I've had a minute to digest everything, I'm not really worried about the kid," Ironwood said with a shake of his head. "Still, though, that's one hell of a coincidence. And it does explain why Winter was so insistent. She probably wants to interrogate the boy."

"Indeed," Ozpin smiled. "There's no doubt she and her sister have been in contact."

A sharp beep sounded across the table, originating from the General. The man blinked, then reached into his jacket's pocket. Pulling out his scroll, his eyes scanned the device. "Speak of the devil," the man muttered.

Ozpin watched as his friend's eyes continued tracing his scroll's surface. He took notice of every crease on the man's face and how, with every line of text, they seemed to twist and pull, indicative of mixed news.

"Something wrong?" He asked, trace amounts of concern tinting his smooth voice.

Ironwood hummed. "No?" He half answered, half questioned. "I was just about to say that one of those rearranged assets was that I'm bringing Winter over here earlier than planned."

"Is there a problem with that?"

"Yes and no," the General replied. "I've just been updated that she's halfway here."

"How is that bad news?"

"Oz, I gave the order less than two hours ago. Never mind that she shouldn't be anywhere near here yet, even if she left immediately. I wasn't expecting her for another two days. Which I'd expect her to need in order to get her affairs together."

...

"I see," Beacon's Headmaster stated. "It seems she's quite eager."

James shot him an exceedingly flat look. Instead of commenting, he reached into his jacket pocket and began digging for something. After several moments, his lips twitched in satisfaction. "You know what? I'm going to make myself forget the fact that my top Specialist disobeyed her standing orders just so she could come and interrogate her sister's boyfriend."

"Oh?" The bespectacled man hummed. "And how do you plan on doing that?"

Ironwood smiled as he unveiled a flask. It was decidedly different from his previous one. It was gold-plated and slightly smaller. Ozpin wondered if that had any indication as to its contents.

"Are you sure you haven't let Qrow influence you?"

The General barked a sharp laugh. "Maybe," he replied. "But after tonight, I think it's warranted."

Hmm. The man did have a point. In fact... As his friend began to unscrew the top of his container, Ozpin reached out. "Give that here."

There was a smile on the good General's face, and he surrendered the alcohol without any protest. "You know, somehow, I miss it already. Salem. Relics. Maidens. It was so much simpler when it was just that."

Ozpin scoffed. It'd been what? Three hours since the truth came out? But yeah, he'd drink to that.

xXx

Naruto grunted as he leapt from vehicle to vehicle. How the hell were Sun and Blake so proficient at this? Try as he might, the blond was having an exceedingly difficult time trying to gather his bearings.

Not far ahead of him, his eyes tracked the towering metal monstrosity as it tore recklessly across the highway. Beyond that, he caught glimpses of his two faunus companions as they effortlessly danced atop the speeding vehicles, which, in turn, were weaving in and out of his line of sight.

Seriously, what the hell? How were they so good at this? They made it look easy, yet it was taking everything the shinobi had not to lose his balance. Did they have experience leaping across moving vehicles or something? Give him a sturdy tree branch or a stable rooftop any day of the week. But this? Speeding vehicles travelling over a hundred miles an hour while weaving amongst themselves? Hell no.

As the metal giant barrelled into a line of cars that hadn't moved out of the way in time, one of the civilian transports, an SUV, if he remembered correctly, was thrown high into the air. The Jinchūriki's arm shot out, and with it, a golden chakra chain. It wove around the land-turned-airborne vehicle's frame, catching it mid-air.

Unfortunately, the blond found himself briefly thrown off balance, nearly spinning around as he failed to take into account both the SUV's weight and momentum. It was like having to catch a medicine ball when one was expecting a children's toy. Using chakra, he anchored his feet to the roof of the car he was currently surfing and, with a deep grunt of effort, safely deposited the car he'd caught with his jutsu back onto the road.

As the sounds of carnage began to grow more distant, Naruto growled in annoyance. Not only was he trailing behind everyone else, but he was also moving a lot slower. Now, adding that he had to stop entirely so he could catch a flying vehicle — which, by the way, was housing a very grateful family — meant he was even further behind than he would have liked. The shinobi waved sheepishly to the overenthusiastic child seated in the back seat of the SUV he'd just saved. In the passenger seat, the boy's mother, her face pale as a ghost, managed to nod in thanks.

With another chakra-enhanced leap, the huntsman in training flung himself back down the highway, intent on catching up to his friends. After several shaky strides, it quickly became apparent that he'd be unable to do so. Not only was he still slower, but the giant machine was making a habit of uprooting even more civilian vehicles, forcing him to delay further as he opted to pull the motorized death boxes out of the air with his chains before they could crash and kill their occupants.

Why the hell did people insist on driving these things again?

Suddenly, the loud, piercing growl of an exhaust pipe ripped past the blond as he leapt mid-stride, nearly knocking him off balance upon landing. Motes of yellow and blue pigmentation clipped past his vision, and as the distance between him and what was evidently a speeding motorcycle increased, Naruto immediately recognized the fleeting forms of Neptune and Yang.

The girl bellowed something out as she passed. And, if the Doppler Effect hadn't distorted her words so terribly, he might have understood them and belted out a reply.

As it stood, it sounded suspiciously like 'slowpoke.'

Damn.

They were certainly in a hurry. Not only that, but that giant metal bastard had just tripled the amount of vehicles it was tossing about!

With a grunt of effort, the Uzumaki increased the chakra flow to his legs and shunted his mind to inconsequential topics such as 'balance.' Several more chakra chains, six in total, sprouted from the blond's back, each intercepting a flying car. He prioritized saving the ones that looked like they'd be fatal if they were to land, praying those he couldn't reach would be okay. A thin sheen of sweat began to surface on his forehead, which was immediately wiped away as the cool night air crashed against his skin.

This was probably the hardest the shinobi had ever worked to coordinate his clan's signature jutsu. Attacking Grimm or duking it out in a spar was different. It didn't necessarily require finesse. Not like this, at least. He was used to attacking with them. Causing harm. A delicate hand was not something he'd ever had to consider. Yet if he was careless, he could very well crush the occupants of these vehicles, killing them just as well as a fall from the highway would.

As he continued down the busy highway, gunshots, or at least something analogous with gunshots, sounded from up ahead. A brief glance at the noise indicated Neptune had joined the fight, taking an impromptu gunner position from the motorcycle's back seat.

Well, hopefully, he'd prove helpful.

Naruto's brow creased as explosions continued to rocket the road. Thankfully, as fortune would have it, whatever Neptune was doing was enough to distract the mechanized monstrosity from flinging even more cars around, allowing the scowling blond to slowly close the distance between him and his objective.

As the shinobi closed ever further, sharp cerulean eyes widened as, with a flurry of acrobatics, Sun and Neptune collided with each other mid-air, causing them to be launched over the side of the highway.

Ah, crap. Hopefully, Sun was okay.

Despite the setback, Naruto grinned as up ahead, seemingly without warning, a familiar white-clad figure delicately dropped onto the road.

Man. So much was happening so quickly. Was this the headache of urban combat?

Weiss glowered at the rampaging suit of metal as it rapidly closed the distance between them. With a twirl of movement and flourish of her blade, she coated the surface of the asphalt with a thick sheen of ice.

The machine — or robot — either didn't notice, didn't care, or was unable to stop in time. The mechanical titan hit the ice with all the finesse of a drunken sailor.

Seeing such a large entity slip and stumble evoked a strange sense of humour. Like a scene out of a slapstick comedy. It was tempered by the very real possibility that should the machine fall the wrong way, it could crush any number of passing vehicles — or worse, Weiss. Those fears, however, went unfounded as the mech lurched forward uncontrollably and careened off the side of the overpass.

Hmm. What were the odds of that being the end of it?

As the Jinchūriki hit the ice, he halted his legs, allowing his momentum to gracefully carry him to the ashen-haired beauty, all the while maintaining eye contact with the girl. When the distance between them had evaporated, he halted his speed by feeding chakra to his feet, anchoring himself in place. Weiss' stern look of focus was spoiled as a tiny smirk snaked its way onto her face. It was the briefest crack in her facade. A minor slip in those scowling blue eyes. It was gone as quickly as it appeared, replaced once again by an instinctive wrinkle in her brow. She glanced in the direction the machine had gone over, then back at him. She didn't need to vocalize what she was thinking.

It's not over yet.

Without a word, the blond reached for the heiress' hand. Weiss stared at the appendage in consideration, then rolled her eyes. She stepped away from him, slowly walking backwards to the ledge of the highway. All the while, a tiny grin crawled its way back onto her features.

There was a look of mischief in her eyes.

Her heel kissed the road's edge, and her grin bloomed into a full smile. "Let's finish this first, shall we?" With that, she stepped back. Weightlessness stole her away as she disappeared over the edge.

Naruto sighed. Right.

With nary a glance at his surroundings, the shinobi lept after his teammate. It wasn't often he got to fight with the girl. Usually, they were sparring against each other when they trained. Or working on the technicalities of Ruby's strategies.

Speaking of Ruby's strategies, it seemed likely they would be putting some into action, as with a brief glance, he noticed the entirety of Team RYBWN was now present. Seriously, when did that happen? And where were Sun and Neptune?

"There you are," Blake drawled lazily.

The blond spied the faunus out of the corner of his oceanic-blue eyes. She had Gambol Shroud poised and ready for combat. "I was starting to worry when I didn't see you outside the warehouse. Or on the highway."

Naruto frowned. Before he could mention that he'd been busy, both duelling his new pink-themed friend and snatching cars out of the air like a used car salesman, the massive machine before them began to advance.

"Freezer burn!" Ruby cried excitedly.

Yeah, it looked like they'd be utilizing her strategies. It wasn't a bad thing, all things considered. They'd all sat down at one point or another to provide input for their team's battle tactics. Say what you would about the shinobi; deep down, he was a surprisingly adept tactician, so he knew good tactics when he saw them. Shikamaru had often attributed many of the blond's Shogi wins to subconscious strategy making.

It may not have been as subconscious as the Nara was led to believe. Sometimes, it was fun to feign ignorance.

And Ruby was just as talented when devising her own strategies as the blond's childhood friend. She was just a bit more excitable when executing them. Just a tiny bit.

Immediately after the scythe-wielder finished her order, Yang and Weiss sprung into action. Ruby, Blake, and himself jumped backward while Yang lept up high. The Schnee heiress made good on her family's specialty and activated the ice Dust in her rapier. A thick layer of crystalized water sprouted from the tip of her blade, which had been wedged into the ground. It grew quickly. Aggressively. Within a matter of seconds, several feet of ice had radiated out from its starting point. Yang landed on the impromptu ice rink gauntlet first, a round of fire Dust discharging upon impact.

The result was eerily similar to Zabuza's Kirigakure Jutsu, as a thick artificial fog blanketed the area. Were it not for the blond's impeccable hearing, he would have easily lost track of his teammates. His target, on the other hand...

Lumbering mechanical steps echoed throughout the battlefield.

Yeah, that massive son of a bitch wasn't difficult to hear. Hell, it was large enough that the tip of its frame was slightly visible through the fog. Oh well, it made their job easier.

As the team began to circle the beast in search of an ideal angle to attack, what appeared to be tracking lasers tried and failed to cut through the fog. Still, their cover would only last so long, which meant they needed to make use of their advantage before it literally evaporated. This was made evident as the machine fired several explosive projectiles at them, the final shots barely missing Blake and Yang by the skin of their teeth, the concussive force actually managing to throw them off-kilter.

Before Naruto could conduct some trial and error, Ruby beat him to the punch. With a passion-filled war cry, she charged down the middle in a flurry of rose petals, swinging her scythe overhead in a heavy attack. Metal clashed against metal, and she rebounded with a harsh clang. To none of their surprise, the suit's heavy armour wasn't even scratched. It'd be a tough nut to crack.

Their team leader mechanically chambered another round into her rifle. "Checkmate," she said calmly.

Answering her call immediately, Weiss and Blake landed beside the girl, ready to follow through with their orders. Naruto frowned to himself. He desperately wanted to join in. To shove a Rasengan into the machine and grind it to dust. To provide his own custom acupuncture appointment using his chains. To test the limits of his semblance and see if he could imitate Gaara's Sand Burial Justsu.

But he couldn't do that. This was Ruby's show. And what better opportunity was there to apply her strategies, improve the team's cohesion, and further increase her self-confidence as a leader than to test it in the field?

No, they needed this as a team. Besides, if Yang could hold back, so could he.

Speaking of Yang, his fellow blond stepped up beside him, her clenched fists vibrating with excitement. Naruto glanced at her focused eyes and noted in exasperation that they were flickering between their typical lilac and a fiery red.

The sounds of more metal clashing against metal drew his attention back to the fight, and he watched in abject focus as Weiss and Blake continued to test their opponent's defence. As expected, their attacks amounted to little more than an annoyance, though Weiss' final trust into one of the machine's attachments seemed to have made notable contact. Hopefully, she'd damaged something important.

The machine retaliated, attempting to stomp on the two, which caused the girls to backpedal. It launched several missiles after them, which exploded in a line but, again, missed them by the smallest margin. The machine finally caught a break as it landed a hit on Weiss with its arm-mounted cannons, sending the girl flying backward.

Ruby barely managed to get the first syllable past her lips before Naruto broke into action. He closed the distance between him and the heiress seamlessly. The smallest part of him was worried for her. The more rational side pushed that worry down. Weiss was a tough girl. She may be small, but she wouldn't break at the drop of a hat. He'd seen her Aura flare as it absorbed the attack. Even now, as she flew through the air, he watched her activate her semblance as a golden line connected to the space under Blake, an intricate glyph materializing. What that glyph did, Naruto couldn't say as his focus shifted entirely to catching his airborne girlfriend. All he knew was that a lot of explosions followed.

Weiss released a dull humph as she landed cleanly in his arms, eerily reminiscent of the time during initiation in which he'd caught her.

"C'mon, snowflake. Don't you think I should be the only one to blow you away like that?" The blond grinned.

Weiss frowned in response. "You're not funny," she deadpaned.

Naruto laughed derisively. "That's not true, I'm hilarious."

The heiress grunted in response. It was decidedly unladylike. "Of course," she sighed. "I would have been fine, by the way." That might have been true. But she probably would have hit her head if he didn't catch her.

"Sure," the huntsman in training agreed. "But I couldn't bear the thought of your outfit getting dirty."

Weiss smiled.

"There wouldn't be an end to your complaints."

Weiss frowned.

The distant cry of "Ladybug!" briefly caught their attention. It seemed like Ruby and Blake were taking another shot at their opponent. Naruto and Weiss turned and watched as the black and red-themed girls circled the walker, slicing at the thing's legs. If their opponent was biological in nature, such as a Grimm — were Grimm even biological? — then the strategy would have been excellent in immobilizing the creature. But, being the mechanical pain in the ass that it was, their opponent simply tanked the attacks without flinching.

"They really need to go for it's joints," Naruto hummed.

Weiss shifted in his arms. "Are you going to put me down?" She asked with a raised brow.

Naruto hummed in response. Before anything else could be said, a loud clang reverberated across the battlefield. It was distinctly different from the previous volleys of metal on metal. The clang was followed by a dull thud.

"Huh. I guess they figured it out," Naruto mused.

The statement was proven true as the machine stumbled back from the duo, sans an arm, which lay derelict on the ground.

At the sight of the severed arm, Yang must have decided that she had enough inaction for the night as she sprinted past Naruto and Weiss. She slapped her fellow blond on the shoulder, jostling the two.

"Come on, Naruto! Betcha I can tear Torchwick out of that thing before you can!"

Naruto, in turn, blinked dumbly. "Wait, Torchwick's inside that thing?"

"Weren't you there when he started piloting it?" Weiss asked in confusion. Before he could mention that he'd been busy on the warehouse's roof, the girl in his arms continued. "What about the phone call Blake and Sun put out?"

The shinobi didn't have in him to admit that he'd forgotten to charge his scroll. Again. Weiss sighed as she rolled her eyes, likely coming to the conclusion on her own.

Naruto frowned as Yang closed the distance between her and Torchwick. He himself had been pretty inactive in this fight so far, and he was itching to stretch his proverbial arms. Without realizing it, he let slip a slight whine, freezing at the sound.

In response, Weiss shimmied out of his grip while sighing. "Go ahead," she waved him off.

The shinobi's grin doubled in intensity as he heard his team leader call out, "Foxfire!"

Ah, music to his ears. Naruto took off after Yang, funnelling chakra to his legs in an effort to catch up. Naturally, his fellow blonde reached Torchwick first, though he wasn't far behind. It didn't really matter much. That was the great thing about this particular strategy. "Foxfire" encompassed the very simplest parts of the two blonds.

Savagely beat some ass.

Between the two of them, it didn't particularly matter who struck first so long as striking happened. Of course, the more in sync they were, the better. It made it harder for their targets to single either of them out. Speed, power, and relentlessness were intended to make their flurry of hits disorienting to whoever, or whatever, they were sicked upon.

Naruto contemplated the true strategy behind Ruby's tactic as both he and Yang rained hits upon Torchwick's mech. Naturally, this had been devised with the intent of him being in Sage Mode, as well as Yang being bolstered by her semblance. During the conception stage, it was quickly agreed upon by all present that having both those conditions met would be rather unlikely. Not impossible, but unlikely. If the conditions were met, then shit would have well and truly been hitting the fan, and there wouldn't be much around that could withstand their onslaught.

Despite this, having both blonds being "underpowered" still proved to be a formidable attack. Case in point as the metal began to buckle beneath Naruto's chakra-enhanced fists, spilling an eerily red glow from what must have been the mech's cockpit. A flash of ginger hair brought a grin to the shinobi's lips.

"Well, Yang, looks like I —"

He was interrupted as large metallic fingers encircled his waist. He felt the air leave him as the mech squeezed him in its grip and threw him off with tremendous force. Tumbling end over end, Naruto managed to hear Yang's brief laugh before she cried out in surprise. The beginnings of a loud crash were interrupted as the shinobi impacted the ground, rolling several times over until his momentum died out.

Damn, did he ever feel dizzy.

Naruto took a moment to gather his bearings. In a one-on-one fight, he knew he wouldn't have been able to afford such a luxury, but the distant crash of crumbling concrete indicated that Yang was keeping Torchwick occupied.

Good on her.

Sure enough, as he made to return to the fight, he noted Yang was slowly picking herself up from the ground, much like he himself had just been. Entering a brief jog, Naruto hummed in surprise as his fellow blond caught the mech's heavy punch. She didn't move an inch.

Damn. It was impressive just how far the girl had developed her semblance. Naruto himself would have needed to be in Sage Mode to perform a similar feat.

Naruto whistled lowly as Yang returned Torchwick's punch with interest, completely shattering the appendage. Where the hell was that during their spar a couple months ago? Well, as he'd already thought to himself, the girl had improved a lot since then. But then again, so had he. Still, there was no way he'd willingly take a punch like that, lest his arm suffer the same fate as the machine's. Sage Mode notwithstanding.

The giant robot retaliated with one of its few remaining limbs, kicking away the blond brawler just as Naruto approached Ruby, Blake, and Weiss, the latter of whom scanned him briefly before nodding in satisfaction.

"Bumblebee!" Ruby cried, prompting their faunus teammate to hurl her weapon after her partner.

Yang grabbed Gambol Shroud by the handle, allowing Blake to fully capitalize on her partner's involuntary momentum. As the two began to prepare for their next attack, the CQC specialist kicking Torchwick back in the process, Ruby turned to Weiss and Naruto.

"We have to slow it down!" She cried.

Drawing Myrtenaster and spinning the chamber to the last of her ice Dust, Weiss shot her partner a challenging look. "And how do you propose we do that?"

"As if you don't already know," Ruby grinned back.

Naruto sighed. To think they'd actually get to use this strange amalgamation of techniques...

"Crimson Frostbind!" Ruby shouted gleefully.

Naruto slammed his hands on the ground, feeding his chakra into the concrete. Hmm. They hadn't practiced this in an urban environment. They probably should have. As a result, he found pushing his Adamantine Sealing Chains through concrete as opposed to dirt was slightly more difficult. Instead of synchronizing their techniques as intended, Ruby and Weiss' ice-infused projectiles struck first, slamming heavily into Torchwick's mechanized joints. The machine began stumbling from the consecutive impacts. Not ideal, considering Blake and Yang would need a steady target if they wanted to maximize the effectiveness of their attack. The aforementioned stumbling was corrected as golden chains erupted from the ground, ensnaring the lumbering machine and locking it in place. The blond wove his chains around the mech, twisting around its waist and binding its legs together before they burrowed into the ground again. Chunks of ice exploded across the machine, combining with his sealing chains at the most critical junctures.

It was just in time, as Blake and Yang had just completed their last rotation. The blond bombshell swung around a final time, an inferno of Aura trailing behind her. She struck the centre of the mech with a wild haymaker, transferring all her force into it. Due to Torchwick being overly immobile, the two acted like a real-life application of Newton's Cradle. Only a lot more deadly.

While Yang merely stopped in place, no worse for wear, the transfer of energy caused the armoured suit to literally disintegrate. Chunks of twisted metal were torn off from their pilot, causing Naruto to hold back a grunt of surprise. He was no physicist, but damn if that interaction didn't seem strange. Eventually, he had the sense to release control of his jutsu, allowing Torchwick to be flung from his ice and chakra-induced prison. The man rolled for several rotations before sliding across the concrete unceremoniously.

Yeesh. Hopefully, he still had a smidgen of Aura left; otherwise, he'd have a nasty case of road rash.

The man groaned as he quickly and ungracefully pulled himself up, his Aura crackling and fizzling, clearly indicating that it was on its last legs. He muttered something unintelligible, then turned to scowl at the assembled teens.

Yang, still high from adrenaline and endorphins, sent a dust embued projectile the man's way.

Hmm.

Naruto wondered if the ginger-haired man had enough Aura to tank the hit. He'd never know, however, as a familiar umbrella-wielding assassin dropped in from seemingly nowhere.

Hmm.

Was that her shtick?

The fire-dust-infused projectile impacted the small woman's umbrella, exploding harmlessly and sending flames to either side of the criminal duo.

Torchwick sighed. "Well, that sucked." His deceptively diminutive subordinate turned to face him, a frown of unease clear on her face. "Don't worry, we're getting out of here," he said in an attempt to reassure her. "I just need —" he was interrupted as the pink-clad girl desperately shook her head. His eyes widened as something unspoken passed between them. "Well then, that is a problem. I suppose we'll have to —"

The gangster was interrupted again as Ruby boisterously shouted, "Ninjas of Justice!"

The two resident ninjas made a concentrated effort to not wince at the name. Regardless, with a flicker of speed on both their ends, Naruto and Blake dashed towards their opponents, one propelled by her semblance, the other matching her burst of speed with a surge of chakra.

Torchwick and his companion, as distracted and worn out as they were, failed to respond in time as the two stepped into their guards. Naruto made use of their surprise by grabbing the pink-clad assassin's wrist, the one holding her umbrella. He squeezed down as hard as he could, shattering what remained of the girl's near-empty Aura, causing her to drop her weapon. He twisted her into a wrist-lock, earning a grunt of pain from her. Simultaneously, two chakra chains snaked out from his back. One encircled the girl's waist, while the other ensnared Torchwick, who, by the look of it, had his Aura broken by Blake and was being subdued.

Well, the combination attack was initially intended to sneak up on opponents and suppress their Aura before they knew what was happening. The fact that Torchwick and his henchman's Auras were already at the point of failing just made things easier. Still, this proved it could be done and served as a decent enough field test.

"Alright, alright," the bowler hat-wearing gangster said placatingly. "You've made your point. We're out of tricks." There was genuine derision there, almost enough to make the ninja duo believe his words. Almost.

As a precaution, Naruto extended his chains to fully bind the duo's limbs, allowing him and his faunus teammate to step back, lest they find out two were not, in fact, out of tricks.

"Well, now what?" The criminal muttered. Naruto could have sworn he heard 'ya rotten kids' muttered at the end. Based on how Blake's feline ears twitched, he probably heard right.

In response, Ruby stepped forward, a victorious smile on her face.

xXx

"So, thoughts, everyone?" Yang asked the assembled team.

"There were some areas I felt like we could improve on, but overall, I think things went pretty good!" Ruby chirped happily.

Yang scratched the back of her neck awkwardly. "Noted, but I was referring to that," she said while pointing to the team's resident shinobi.

Weiss followed her teammate's outstretched finger, her eyes landing on Naruto's distinctive form. The heiress frowned. A little over a dozen feet away, her boyfriend was seated on top of Torchwick's prone body like a stool, the man being wrapped from neck to ankles in golden chains. The blond was facing Torchwick's henchman, Neo, as they'd learned, who was in a similar state, only sitting upright. For whatever reason, the young man had decided he would try to elicit a verbal response from the girl while they waited for the authorities to arrive.

"Oh, right," Ruby replied. "I don't think he knows what 'mute' means."

"Never mind that," Blake interjected. "I'm more concerned about where the police are? What did Ozpin say?"

The young scythe-wielder blinked in realization as if just remembering her conversation with the Headmaster that had only concluded minutes ago. "Oh, right. It won't be the VPD responding. At least not right away. Apparently, General Ironwood wants one of his men to handle this. They should be here any minute."

That's right. General Ironwood apparently had business in Vale and had decided to accompany his students for the Vytal Festival. The overwhelming Atlesian air presence had made that abundantly clear. It made sense why Atlas would want to get involved. It was, after all, one of their military prototypes that had been stolen by a terrorist organization and used against the citizens of Vale. They now had stakes in this.

Blake shifted uncomfortably. This whole operation — successful operation — was her idea. Yet, at the end of it, Torchwick was remarkably tight-lipped. The most they'd gotten out of him was his associate's name. Neo. Who, by the way, was apparently mute. They didn't really have a way to verify this, aside from Torchwick's word and Naruto's best efforts to 'catch her slipping.' So, for now, they had no further information about the White Fang's plans.

So, yeah. Blake was appropriately miffed.

...

"Would somebody get this brat off of me?" Torchwick shouted in indignance.

Weiss' gaze flicked back to her boyfriend, and she felt her temper spike ever so slightly. The goofball had devolved to making faces at the pink-clad girl in a final attempt to garner some sort of noise out of her. One look confirmed that the girl wasn't impressed.

The heiress bit back her scathing words after a moment. Well, the little assassin had tried to kill him twice already. Maybe Naruto teasing her was his way of getting even, as innocent as that sounded. What was the harm?

"Sorry, matchstick," Yang mused, "Can't hear you with your face full of pavement!"

Sure enough, the gangster was currently face down on the ground, courtesy of Naruto's haphazard placement of the man. The crime lord muttered something under his breath, earning him a light slap on the back of the head from Naruto, which, in turn, earned the shinobi a scowl from Neo.

"Don't call her that!" Naruto chastised. "Yang's a... nice lady!"

The blond brawler hummed at the hesitation in her teammate's words.

Weiss rolled her eyes at the interaction. Was it just her, or was Naruto treating the two criminals a little too lightheartedly? Whatever, it hardly mattered.

As if summoned from her thought alone, the searing roar of an engine, accompanied by a wide spotlight, lit up the area. The Schnee heiress looked up and was met with a small airship comparable in size to a Bullhead. The white coating of paint seemed to indicate it was of Atlesian make, but upon closer inspection, Weiss' eyes widened in disbelief.

That was, without a doubt, a Schnee design. And not just any Schnee. Weiss instantly recognized the aircraft as the one belonging to her sister. Was this Ironwood's man? The one sent to claim these two criminals?

Weiss didn't even know Winter was in Vale.

She'd emailed her older sister when Atlesian airships first started arriving, but the woman hadn't responded. Perhaps she'd been busy? Or maybe she wanted to keep it a surprise?

"What's a Schnee airship doing here?" Blake asked her in confusion. Evidently, the faunus also recognized her family's design.

Without realizing it, she took note of her own voice as she quietly answered, "It's my sister." Her words were small. Dry. Throaty. She blinked in realization. "It's my sister!" She repeated, louder this time.

"What?" Ruby asked in confusion. "Why's she here?"

Weiss blinked dumbly as the airship descended, apparently finding an adequate area amidst the spiralling overpasses. "She's, uh, she's a specialist in the Atlesian military. She works directly under General Ironwood."

Ruby sunk her fist into her hand. "Ah! So she must be the one who —"

Weiss didn't hear the rest of what her partner had to say as she was already speeding towards her objective. Naruto barely had enough time to widen his eyes in surprise as the girl pulled him from his makeshift seat, said seat grunted in surprise at the sudden shifting of weight.

"W-Weiss, what are you —"

"— Shut up!" she belted out, then winced as Naruto's eyebrows shot into his hairline. Brother's, she must have sounded as crude as she felt. "S-Sorry," she apologized. "In that airship is my sister."

The blond's mouth formed a small 'o', and he nodded slowly. "You mean your super cool older sister who takes no crap from no one and is also a badass Atlesian Specialist?"

Weiss blinked at the strangely familiar words.

"What?" Naruto asked while looking at someone behind her. "Those were her words, not mine," he shrugged.

A distinctive snort from Yang indicated who he was talking to. The heiress shook her head in annoyance. This was what she got for speaking so candidly with her boyfriend. Then again, he wasn't wrong — she. She wasn't wrong.

"Yes," the ashen-haired girl answered tightly. She began to straighten out his attire, parts of which had become unkempt during the fight. "That older sister," she emphasized her words by trying to smooth out his unruly blond hair. She abandoned the pointless task after only a few moments. "So," she continued, licking her thumb. "I need you to look somewhat presentable," she said as she rubbed away a blotch of dirt from his cheek. "I understand," she stepped back, "that it may be an effort in futility," she stepped back in to adjust his collar. "But at the very least, please try to leave a good first impression, will you?"

Naruto grinned. "Come on, remember who you're talking to," he said easily. "Remember your first impression of me? I was saving a..." he stopped as apparently he himself began to remember the details of their first meeting.

The heiress raised an inquisitive brow. Hopefully, she didn't have to actually say it out loud.

"Right," Naruto grunted. He shook his head. "Anyway, how do I look?"

Weiss eyed him from top to bottom. Honestly? With his messy blond locks, bright blue eyes, and distinctive whisker marks, he was quite handsome. Instead of saying it out loud, she donned a fake frown and sighed. "I'm sure Winter will understand."

Naruto's lips tightened, and he gave her a knowing look.

"What about about me?" Weiss asked with a small twirl. Once she was back to facing him, she took immediate notice of his wide, worried eyes. Uh oh. Panic flared in her chest. What was wrong? How bad was it? Now, of all times? Right before Winter was due to step out from her airship?

Naruto grabbed her by the shoulder and, with shaky hands, turned her to the side. "Okay, Weiss. Don't freak out."

Oh, fat chance there. She was preparing to freak out.

"But I think," he swallowed heavily.

Weiss spied the rest of their team, who were watching in equal parts bated breath and curiosity. Why in Brother's name was he delaying this? She could take it.

"I think," her boyfriend repeated. "There's a speck of dust on your jacket," came his mournful reply. "Other than that, you look perfect."

The heiress froze mid-panic attack.

Yang and Ruby bust into laughter, and not even Blake's spoiled mood could prevent her from grinning in amusement.

The tension in Weiss' shoulders bled away quickly. Yeah, she'd have to retaliate for that at some point. Even if she was technically the one to start it. But not now. They had precious few seconds before Winter disembarked. As it was, the airship had already landed. It was a wonder why the ramp hadn't descended yet.

"You know," Ruby called out, apparently over her small laughing fit. "All that, and you haven't said anything about the rest of us. What are we, chopped liver?"

"I know, right?" Torchwick called out. Now that Naruto wasn't sitting on him, he'd managed to roll onto his side. "At least let me put on my good hat!"

Blake scowled at the man. "Shut up, scum."

The criminal frowned in return. "You know, between that and whatever this gooey little display was," he indicated to Weiss and Naruto, "I think we have a new contender for an Ice Queen."

Weiss ignored the newfound bickering and turned to face the airship. She took a deep breath and ran her hands down her white jacket, smoothing out whatever invisible wrinkles she thought she saw.

Eventually, the tension-laden wait ended, and the inevitable hydraulic hiss of the airship's doors finally sounded out. Weiss swallowed nervously as the ramp descended. Really now, why was she so nervous? In all the letters, emails, and texts she'd sent to her sister — the ones involving Naruto — she'd only ever said good things. Great things.

Maybe that was the problem? She'd only ever talked about the best parts of him. Naruto wasn't perfect; no one was. Not him. Not her. Not Winter, as difficult as it was to believe. He had helped her realize that. And if she knew it, Winter surely did as well. Hell, the most her sister knew about Naruto's flaws was that he could be somewhat childish at times.

Then again, as close to perfect as Winter was, a small component of that was her excellent judge of character. Maybe things would be okay?

Time to find out.

As the ramp fully extended, Weiss couldn't suppress her excited smile as the unmistakable outline of her elder sister descended. The woman was... exactly as the younger Schnee remembered. Regal. Composed. Beautiful.

To both of the Specialist's flanks marched two Atlesian Knights, their wirey frames holding their military's standard energy rifles.

Weiss felt a warm hand caress her lower back, her posture slackening in response. The sensation was gone as quickly as it arrived, but it had the desired effect. She immediately felt the difference as her leg stopped bouncing nervously — when had it started? Regardless, she was thankful for her boyfriend's subtle intervention.

If Winter noticed the small act, she chose not to comment on it. Instead, the woman eyed the two up and down, familiar ice-blue eyes taking them in. While few others would notice it, Weiss could immediately tell that her sister was spending a disproportionate amount of time eyeing the blond beside her.

"W-Winter!" She greeted, cursing to herself for the slight stutter. "I wasn't expecting you to be in Vale!"

The older woman's eyes drifted back to her, her face stony and impassive. Weiss smiled brightly. Winter was exactly as she remembered.

"Hello, Weiss," Winter spoke. Her tone was clipped, her voice deeper than the younger Schnee's.

Weiss couldn't help but beam at the simple greeting. "How have you been?" The heiress asked excitedly. "How was your trip?"

The woman tilted her head in consideration, taking her time to form an answer. Whether conscious or not, Winter's tendency to delay her responses served to increase tension. It was almost intimidating. At least, that's what most others seemed to think. Weiss never saw it that way.

Speaking of...

The younger Schneed glanced at the young man beside her. Naruto seemed... pretty good, all things considered. That was... good. Great.

"I've been well," Winter finally replied. "The trip here was somewhat... last minute."

There was a slight pause in the way she said that. Really, just a fraction of a second. It made Weiss wonder.

"What I did not expect," Winter continued, "Was to be diverted the moment I entered Vale's airspace."

Weiss swallowed heavily.

"And I most certainly did not expect to learn what I did in my impromptu briefing," the Atlesian Specialist added with a frown. "Really, Weiss? Chasing the Kingdom's worst criminal through downtown Vale?"

The young Schnee winced at her sister's words. Winter wasn't overly hostile. She didn't seem that angry. But there was a sprinkle of disappointment in her tone. That alone hurt more than any physical reprimand ever could. Because it came from Winter.

"Still," the woman continued, "From what the city's CCTV system was able to catch, you and your team did well to mitigate civilian casualties."

Weiss frowned. They did? When?

"I suppose the citizens have you to thank for that, don't they?" Winter asked while turning to face Naruto.

Weiss blinked in confusion. What? What had Naruto done specifically to reduce casualties? Was it something he'd done before they met up?

Naruto, for his part, simply scratched the back of his neck in that awkward way of his whenever someone tried to compliment him. "Ah, well," he replied. "It was a spur-of-the-moment thing. I wasn't expecting people to go flying. I'm sure I could have done more," he replied humbly.

Huh. She'd have to ask him about it later.

Winter eyed him critically. "Indeed, I'm sure you could have."

Despite her words, there was a sliver of approval in her tone, which surprised Weiss. Hopefully, Naruto could pick up on it. He was strangely intuitive when it came to Schnee social cues. At least, that's what her team seemed to think. If he couldn't pick up on it, she'd have to inform him later. She didn't want him to think her sister was being callous. She wasn't. She was just... efficient in her words.

"Right," Naruto laughed lightly. He seemed no worse for wear. "I'm Naruto, by the way."

Weiss' eyes widened slightly. Damn. Wasn't it her job to introduce the two? She'd been distracted.

"R-Right!" she interrupted the two most important people in her life. "Naruto, this is Winter, my older sister. Winter, this Naruto, my teammate and boyfriend." She felt heat rush to her face as she spoke those words. The blond shifted awkwardly beside her. Hmm. Had she ever actually told him that she talked about him in her letters?

Winter nodded stiffly. "It's nice to finally match a face to a name. Weiss has told me much about you."

Again, Naruto laughed awkwardly. "It's nice to meet you too. Weiss has said a lot of great things about you."

"I'm sure she has," Winter nodded. There was a teasing glint in her eye. Almost imperceptible, but at the same time, obvious to anyone who knew her. "And as much as I would like to continue this conversation, I'm here on assignment," she said while eyeing the tightly bound criminals.

Torchwick and Neo sat restlessly on the concrete; since their Auras were both depleted and suppressed, they wouldn't have anywhere to run even if they made it to their feet.

"Afterwards, however," Winter added while turning to her sister, "I would like to reconvene with you and be properly introduced to your team."

Weiss eyed the rest of her team from the corner of her eye.

"We'd like that too!" Ruby called with a small wave.

The heiress rolled her eyes at her partner's misplaced enthusiasm.

"And you, Mr. Uzumaki," the Specialist said sternly. "I believe it would be best if we found some time later to have a one-on-one conversation."

Weiss could practically hear the shinobi gulp. "R-Right," he muttered. She herself likely felt as nervous as he did.

As Winter turned to face Torchwick and his partner, Weiss tilted her head in confusion. "Excuse me, Winter?"

The women paused.

"I don't remember ever telling you Naruto's surname."

Winter shifted lightly. "You did not," she said definitively, then stepped towards the bound criminals.

xXx

A/N: That's the chapter, folks. Like I said, a lot of stuff happened. I think the big things are obvious. Ironwood and Ozpin being sneaky snakes. Naruto duking it out with Neo and winning (which I'm doubling down on it being a bad type-matchup for Neo), Torchwick and Neo's capture at the end of the fight (thanks to our boy depleting most of Neo's Aura), and the much earlier arrival of Winter. That's going to be fun to write next chapter.

Honestly, guys, there's only one or two more chapters until the most significant canon divergence occurs, and it's more than you're thinking. I'm a bit afraid. I feel like I'm going to catch a lot of blowback from it, but ultimately, this has been the direction I've always planned to take the story. Guess we'll see if people are receptive to new ideas or if they want the same thing told a dozen different ways.

By the way, feel free to offer up your preferred ship names for Naruto and Weiss. I've got some obvious ones in mind, but I want to see your guy's take. Get creative :)

Also, any ideas on what kind of pet name, if any, Weiss should use for Naruto?

See you guys in the next chapter!