AN: Chapter five is here. Nothing much to say here. Let's get this started.

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Acclimation

Naruto watched Sasuke force Cinder to sleep with his Sharingan before he looked over to Ozpin.

"Why'd you lie to her? You know we can't suppress her soul," Naruto said. He can't say he'd have wanted to do something like that anyway. No matter how rotten Cinder was.

"Insurance. This way, I can say you and mister Uchiha showed her mercy. And that if she acts up you will follow through with the threat. Just in case." Ozpin replied.

"You say that like we actually could." Naruto sighed.

"If you protest, you could always try to heal Amber again." Said Glynda. Naruto just shook his head.

"I already failed once. I think if it was just a matter of restoring her maiden power and healing her wounds it wouldn't be too hard… but it's been so long since she's sustained them. And this power of mine is just like any other ability or muscle. It needs training. I'm not proficient enough to fix months of damage from her being comatose. And even if I was, whatever Cinder did to her… I can't heal that. It's like she's been tainted by something foul. Healing and purification are not quite the same. I can't save her." Naruto frowned, his fists clenching.

"Then our course remains unchanged. You will transfer Amber's soul into Cinder's body along with her maiden powers. We shall just have to hope that whatever blending of the souls occurs here is in Amber's favor." Said Ironwood.

Naruto huffed. "This still sucks."

"It was your plan." Sasuke scowled as he wakes over to Amber.

"But not like this! I was kinda hoping they'd be able to share a body or something! Or maybe make a clone!"

"Well those options aren't feasible. This is all we can do, so stop whining. You have the seal ready?" Sasuke asked. His Rinnegan rippled to life as he placed his hand over Amber's head. Naruto grunted and produced a scroll from one of his weapon pouches.

"Spent over three thousand clones these past four days to learn this one seal. Of course it's ready." Naruto approached Cinder's prone form as Sasuke nodded.

"Then let's get to work." Said Sasuke.

Cinder opened her eyes slowly, squinting them near shut as green light streamed past her lashes. Everything was a blur and for a moment she didn't know where she was. The last thing she remembered was being attacked by… herself? And her powers were stolen. Cinder shook her head. No. No, she'd been fighting Sasuke. And she'd been the one to attack Amber and steal her powers. She'd never be able to attack herself.

Her brows knitted together. But, she thought, I am Amber. She started to get a headache. What have they done to me? She wondered. Cinder groaned.

"I see that you are awake, miss Fall." Said Ozpin. He sipped at his drink and the noise made Cinder want to bang her head against the wall and smile all at once.

"What did you do to me?" she asked, her words coming to her slowly.

"Exactly as I said we would. Amber's soul was deposited into your body. Naruto and Sasuke showed you mercy you did not deserve, however. They chose not to snuff out your own soul completely."

"They saved my life." Cinder said. They ruined my life, she thought. Cinder's face scrunched into a grimace. "How long have I been out for?"

"Since you were attacked? It has bee—"

Cinder cut Ozpin off. "Never mind. I know exactly how long it has been."

Slowly, she opened her eyes. Ozpin was a blur at first, but he slowly came into focus. Behind him stood James and Glynda. Further behind them were Naruto and Sasuke. She knew most of these people well, but had no intimate memories of them at the same time. It felt so weird.

"Amber?" Glynda ventured, her eyes sparkling with something Cinder could only assume was hope. Cinder shook her head.

"My name is Cinder Fall."

"But you are Amber, yes?" James inquired.

"No—yes? I don't know. I… my head is a jumble. Too many memoires. Conflicting ones. I'm a horrible person. But I've done so many good things. How could I be? I murdered people in cold blood… all I wanted to do was give that little girl an apple… why did this happen to me? I didn't do anything." Cinder rambled. Her hand came up to her head, clenching it.

"She can't reconcile the two sets of memories and emotions right now." Said Sasuke. "I'll help." Cinder looked up at the sound of his voice, fear coursed through her first, but she knew this man had saved her. Ruined her. Killed her. Brought her back to life. Her headache grew stronger. And then she looked into his eyes and the ache was simply gone.

Cinder blinked and the next thing she knew she was standing in a monochrome world with Uchiha Sasuke stood across from her. Alone.

"Where are we?" asked Amber. And Cinder knew then that they were not as alone as she'd thought. She looked off to her side and laid eyes on the woman she'd tried so hard to kill. Succeeding was not nearly as satisfying as she'd once hoped it would be.

"Your mindscape. Cinder's to be more exact. What becomes of it when you two get used to one another I am not sure. But this, essentially, is Cinder's world. A reflection of her state of being. A sad, colorless place inhabited by a vile, power hungry woman who wants only for dominance." Sasuke responded. Cinder's eyes narrowed.

"Who are you to judge me!?" she shouted. Demanded. She'd forgotten herself in her anger for all of the time it took him to train his eyes upon her. The fear set in. Oh, she thought, this is Death. Fear overtook her then. Sasuke seemed to have taken in the measure of her in that moment as well and scoffed.

"Thank you for saving me, Sasuke." Amber spoke.

"Thank Naruto. It was his idea."

"Maybe, but you helped, didn't you? So, thank you. Thank you so much." She gave him a watery smile while Cinder looked upon Amber in open disgust. Sasuke merely gave his usual reply.

"Hn… We've dallied long enough. I need the both of you to conjure up every memory you have. We'll sort them and when you wake up, you should be in less pain."

"And our emotions?" Cinder asked, much more reserved than before.

"I'm not going to sort those. Not that I really could," Sasuke replied. Personally, he wasn't entirely sure if he was telling the truth. He'd never tried such a thing. Manipulating the mind was not quite the same as emotions. Sure, Itachi had made his own little brother hate him, but that was born from a real life event and the Tsukuyomi bolstered psychological torture that followed. He didn't plan to resort to such things.

"But you—you're some sort of god. Or deity. You have to be!"

"I'm no less human than you are." Sasuke didn't think the Otsutsuki's were human at all, actually. But that part of his heritage was so old. There's no way it hadn't been diluted by now.

"But you have so many powers at your disposal! No human is capable of having that many semblances!"

Sasuke smirked at her. "Maybe I'll tell you all about it when you're more trustworthy. Now do as I said." Cinder opened her mouth, closed it, and then grit her teeth and complied. Sasuke got to work.

"Feeling compassion for this woman is… odd." Said Cinder. She was looking down at the bound and unconscious Emerald.

"Is it?" asked Naruto as he kneeled next to the woman and began to undo her bonds.

"She has been devoted to me for years. She would do anything for me. But I—Cinder… ugh. She cared for no one. Not even Emerald. I'm… we… whoever I am now—I'm not the same. I care about her because I remember her devotion and can appreciate that now, but she tricked me. She's why I died physically. I want to hate her. But I can't." Cinder sighed and massaged her temples.

Naruto glanced her way before his eyes fell on Emerald again. Cinder was massaging her temples. That was a good sign. Before she'd awoken from having her memories sorted, Sasuke had told him about some little quirks Amber and Cinder had. Massaging her temples was one of Amber's.

"I get it. Really, I do… but we need to keep her on our side now. So just try, please?" Naruto asked. Cinder eyed him sharply, scowling. Then her features softened more than he'd ever seen before. The look almost didn't fit her face.

"Fine."

"Oi, Naruto. Let's go. We've been absent long enough. Ozpin will let us know when Emerald wakes. You too, Fall."

"Yeah, yeah." Naruto sighed. He stood and tossed the rope next to the freed Emerald. Turning about, he walked over to Sasuke. Cinder followed and the three of them were on their way to the elevator. The walk was a silent one, though Naruto noticed Cinder seemed to want to speak. It wasn't until they'd already finished taking the elevator back up to Ozpin's office that she went through with it.

"What exactly should I be doing now?"

"I don't care," Sasuke grunted. Naruto watched her flinch, even if only just a bit.

"That's just his way of saying you can do whatever you please. You're free now," Naruto replied. They left the office and made their way down the hall.

"I suppose I can just follow you then?" Cinder asked. Ahead of them, Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Sure!" Naruto grinned.

"Just make sure you don't tell any of your little followers what happened. It would be a shame to have to kill you after all of that work to save your life." Sasuke grunted.

"Uh… right. I won't." Cinder replied. The three of them lapsed into silence again, but eventually Cinder leaned in towards Naruto and whispered. "He's rather prickly, isn't he?" The shit-eating grin that stretched Naruto's cheeks was almost inhumanely wide.

"'Oh, you have no idea."

"I can hear you." Sasuke spa and Naruto barked a laugh in response. Cinder's cheeks colored in embarrassment before her eyes sharpened and she scowled. She glared at Sasuke's back and jerked away from Naruto almost as if burned. Cinder blinked. Her scowl slid off her face and she sighed. In the privacy of her own mind, she couldn't deny her own anxiousness.

She felt nothing like herself. Cinder didn't know how long it would take for her to settle on a new normal or if she ever would. She didn't even know if she wanted a new normal. Some part of her wished she could just rip the new goody-goody side of her out of her mind, but Cinder doubted it was possible. Cinder didn't trust Ozpin and she had the distinct feeling that trying to remove Amber would be tantamount to soul lobotomy.

The question in her mind was simple enough. What was going to be normal for her now? She had all the thirst for power, drive, and ruthlessness she'd cultivated over her lifetime. But she had equal parts of her compassion, determination to help others, and empathy she'd learned in her other life. Neither sets of traits was as strong as they'd once been. Mushing them together in a single body muted them and gave birth to something new; something blended.

Cinder wondered if that was the plan all along. Not to snuff her out, but to blend her and Amber into one being. She could not stop it. And, frustratingly, she wasn't sure she wanted to. So little time had passed since her little procedure and she was already experiencing moments where she could not differentiate between what was Cinder and what was Amber. She just slipped into a new state of being sometimes and only realized it had happened after the fact.

One day, she thought, I am going to wake up and there will be no realizing I've slipped at all. I will just be this new person.

Cinder desperately wished she could curse Ozpin to death.

By the time she'd managed to focus again, Cinder found that the three of them were already in the cafeteria. Naruto slipped past Sasuke and took the lead, chanting "ramen" all the while. Sasuke, now at her side, huffed. She chanced a look his way and found him glaring at his friend. Grudgingly she could admit that even while glaring the man was handsome.

Cinder looked away quickly and strode forward. She really didn't want to think about him right now. She let her mind wander again as the three of them got their food. This time, she contemplated what Salem would do to her if she ever got her hands on her. She did not want to betray that woman. Sure, she was loyal only because Salem was more powerful than her and could guarantee Cinder strength, but now? She couldn't do it. Salem made grimm. Grimm killed people. Often. She wanted nothing more than to wipe them from the face of the planet. Cinder blinked and her brows knitted together.

That, she knew, was a muted feeling. The need to destroy grimm was no longer as strong now as it once was. And yet she wanted to exterminate them all the same. How much did Amber hate the grimm before coming to share this body with Fall? Cinder wondered.

"Hey guys, what's up?" said Naruto. Cinder snapped out of her musing and looked ahead. Her stomach twisted dully, twinges of irritation bubbling up within her before being snuffed out like a fire by a strong wind. She could not find it in herself to hate these people any longer. Nor wish them any ill will. Even if they were gawping at her none too kindly. Cinder sighed once more and hoped this would all be over quickly.

Weiss blinked. This was not what she was expecting. That was the problem with her life lately. She could no longer expect or predict anything. Everything used to be simple, even if she did dislike life before Beacon. Meeting Ruby and the rest of her friends changed that. Meeting Naruto and Sasuke? That was like being fired out of a cannon through flaming hoops over a spike pit that was also filled with venomous snakes. While having to fight off grimm. You couldn't predict that outcome.

Weiss let a long, silent sigh pass through her nose.

"We were chatting. Where have the two of you been?" Weiss asked.

"I went to see Ozpin and Sasuke was in the infirmary with Cinder. He really did hit her too hard," Naruto chuckled as he set his tray of Ramen down between herself and Yang. Weiss's eye twitched. She didn't know when that had become his designated seat. But whether it be in the cafeteria, the library, the courtyard, or even some classes Naruto had been sitting between her and Yang exclusively. Weiss thinks it began two days ago, but she couldn't truly be sure. Her mind often wandered against her will these days.

"I thought she could take it," Sasuke grunted. He sat opposite of Naruto and Cinder took up a seat at his right. She glared up at him beneath long lashes.

"You really shouldn't hit girls like that. It's not very gentlemanly," admonished Jaune. Weiss rolled her eyes. As did Cinder, she noted. Sasuke just scoffed and fixed the boy with a glare.

"There's no place for chivalry on the battlefield. You think like that when you're staring down a capable huntress and you're going to die one day," Sasuke spat. Jaune leaned away from Sasuke, bobbing his head up and down frantically. He could put fear into anyone, I'm sure, Weiss thought.

"I get whiskers getting held up, but was she really knocked out for this long? I don't think even I've hit someone that hard." Said Yang, trying and failing to pilfer a piece of meat out of Naruto's bowl. Weiss idly watched them swat at one another in their attempts to outmaneuver each other. Before Sasuke could open his mouth, Naruto supplied yet another answer.

"Oh, they were talkin'. Cinder's been watching us for days, remember? It's cuz she has a crush on Sasuke." Naruto replied, smirking. Yang stopped trying to grab at his food. Weiss's head whipped around to the two in question. The look on Sasuke's face as he stared at his friend could melt steel. And Cinder's cheeks were stained pink.

Weiss thought their reactions were believable for their personal information being tossed out in the open like that. At a glance, their story checked out and nothing seemed amiss, but she couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to this and she wouldn't stop until she uncovered what it was.

"Uh… congrats?" said Jaune. Sasuke's glare settled on him once again and he flinched.

"We are not dating." Sasuke replied.

"So you rejected her?" Nora gasped. Sasuke tried to speak, but before he could get a word in Pyrrha eat him to it.

"Well, they've only just met. I know we haven't known him long, but Sasuke doesn't seem the type to go out with someone he doesn't know well."

Naruto snorted. "Oh, you have no idea. Back when we were kids, Sasuke had every girl in our class chasing after him. Rejected everyone."

"Well, he is handsome. I suppose it makes sense." Hummed Yang. Weiss watched on as the conversation devolved into chatting about Sasuke's love life and whether he'd eventually accept Cinder's confession. As Naruto told it, it was love at first sight that deepened on the battlefield. Cinder couldn't resist him. Weiss would admit, it was all rather romantic in a… rough sort of way.

Weiss's gaze slid to Cinder and saw her eating her food, though the twitch of her eye and her ever reddening cheeks gave her embarrassment away. Upon refocusing on Sasuke, Weiss could not tell what he was feeling at all. He had been clearly angry earlier, but now his face was blank. He ate his food in silence and didn't seemed to care about what Naruto had said in the slightest.

Weiss didn't think that was normal. There should be some sort of reaction, not this… nothingness. She glanced around at her friends. They were all chatting happily. Not a single one of them seemed to truly care about Cinder and who she was anymore. For a moment, neither had she. Her eyes fell on Naruto again and she concluded that he had an effect on others that was nigh undeniable. Weiss wasn't sure if she liked it.

Weiss didn't participate in the rest of the conversation much. She only chose to reply when she was addressed. She was still rather deep in thought even after dinner ended. They all went their separate ways, but as Naruto, Sasuke, and Cinder planned to slink off somewhere she approached them. They'd nearly made it to Ozpin's office before Weiss had worked up the nerve to speak to them.

"Could we talk?" she asked. Weiss knew they were aware of her. There's no way Naruto and Sasuke didn't know she was following them. What she didn't get was why they hadn't acknowledged her once. The three of them came to a stop and Naruto turned to her while motioning for the other two to move on. Sasuke hadn't needed to be given further reason to leave and continued on his way. Cinder hesitated and for a moment Weiss felt as though she was being given a death stare by the woman, but whatever It was, the look passed and Cinder was following after her supposed crush, trying to catch up.

"What's up, Weiss?" Naruto asked.

"You are hiding something from us." She said. She didn't want to beat around the bush. There was no point, in her opinion. Besides, after observing him in class and at dinner, Weiss didn't think allowing him the option to be vague was a good idea. Naruto seemed easygoing and even mildly stupid to her, but she was positive that some of that was just a front; a mask. He was sneaky. And he had a way with words that could allow him to talk himself out of most issues.

"Why do you think that?" he replied, his eyes widening with curiosity. Weiss didn't believe it for a second.

"Cinder doesn't have a crush on Sasuke. I don't think. If nothing else, it certainly isn't something Sasuke shares or even seems to acknowledge. When they did battle she seemed genuinely intent on tearing him apart. She couldn't, obviously… but that wasn't a battle to deepen any bonds. She would have killed him, if she could. I just want to know what's going on, Naruto. Being in the dark isn't pleasant." Weiss replied.

Naruto stared her down, his face nearly as blank as Sasuke's. the curiosity she'd seen in his gaze earlier was still present, but far less exaggerated.

"You're pretty smart, Weiss."

"Y-yes, well…" she cleared her throat here and looked away from him. She didn't know why that simple compliment flustered her so. Inwardly she was preening. A deity's approval was something worth relishing she supposed. "I had a lot of teachers growing up." She finished.

"Say you're right and there is something going on. Why does it matter? You're a student, right? It wouldn't be your concern yet."

"T-that may be, yes. However, I did not choose the path off the huntress to cower behind others and do nothing. I wish to be prepared for whatever befalls Remnant."

"That's fair. I felt the same way when I was younger… though I was already a fully-fledged soldier by the time I had the worries you do… you're still a student. Say I tell you what's going on, Weiss. What then? What would you do? Why even ask me anyway? I'm not from Remnant. Shouldn't you be going to Ozpin for this?" Naruto queried.

"Yes… but you're stronger than Ozpin."

"What was that?" Naruto replied, Weiss having spoken too low for even him to hear.

"You're stronger than Ozpin… I want to know what's going on. And I want you to train me to be ready for it." Weiss replied, head held high. She knew what she wanted.

Naruto blinked. He hadn't been prepared for that.

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That's the chapter. I thank all of you for your patience. The next chapter will come as soon as I finish up some other works. Until then, please do leave a review. I'd love to hear from everyone.

Not much to say here. Now you all know what's happened to Cinder, so there's that. Now we wait to see if Naruto accepts Weiss as his student. See you all in the next chapter.