A/N: WARNING! Are you prepared for this? I don't think you are. Lets see.
This couldn't make it into a story but the scene was BEGGING to be written. So here we are.
Plot point: In which a desperate Jaune seeks out...a rather unlikely mentor.
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For those who might be wondering, I tend to update this Plot Bin on Mondays or Tuesdays every week. Helps keep my muse happy and prevent the stories from raging out of control. Some scenes come from stories that are already written of course; while some are what if scenarios, its always amusing. All those drabbles you've seen may well be continued here in the bin, so don't worry you haven't seen the last of them.
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I'm just a humble author trying to make his way in the world.
Hope this makes you smile~!
"Are you prepared? I can train you, sure, but it'll cost ya. Are you prepared to pay that price?"
...d-d-do you want my soul?!"
"I don't want your soul, dumbass! What do you take me for, a demon?!"
~?
Training Begins Now (Part I)
At long last, he'd finally found him.
Find him Jaune had; really, after such a long search it was almost anticlimactic.
He found the man he sought in a cabin well off the beaten path leading to Ansel, just as he'd been told.
In a way, the man almost reminded him of dad. He had a harsh, rugged look about him, the kind that one gained from spending months in the wilds outside the walls. His face was worn with grit and dirt -or perhaps it was the weight of the years- yet despite that, his equipment was nearly immaculate. His grey cloak looked warm and heavy against the coming winter, his boots in well repair. What little he could glimpse of those dark orange-and black clothes beneath suggested the same. He could see patches near the sleeves and knees, suggesting they'd been repaired multiple times throughout the years.
This was him. It must be. Dad had spoken long and at length of a boyhood companion who matched this very description.
Blue eyes?
Check.
Blond hair?
Double check.
Whiskered cheeks?
Triple check now. No doubt.
If this wasn't Naruto Uzumaki, he'd eat his boot.
The youth coughed once and cleared his throat. "Um...excuse me? Can we talk? I need your...help?"
For his part, the man pad him little heed as he went about his work like he wasn't even there. The ax in his hand descended ruthlessly, splitting another log in twine to join the rest. He fetched another and repeated the process with frightful precision. Each strike sent painful reverberations through the earth; a noise that caused Jaune to clench his teeth.
Once.
Twice.
Thrice, now.
The young arc coughed and found himself summarily ignored for his efforts.
It was the straw that broke the camel's back.
No. He hadn't come all this way for nothing. Blue eyes flashed with thinly concealed ire and a painful memory. Failure wasn't an option. He stormed forward, intent to earn the stranger's attention one way or another. He very doubted he'd be able to do anything to harm a man like this, but if he could just get his attention, make himself heard...!
He seized the stranger by the arm and wrenched it down. "Listen to me!"
Mistakes were made.
With a snarl stranger tore his arm free, grabbed Jaune by the throat and slammed him into the earth before pressing his forehead to his.
Baleful blue eyes pierced him, rooting him where he lay. Whiskered cheeks dimpled in a scowl and he realized the man really hadn't noticed him; he was that focused on his task. Beneath those burning blur orbs he felt small. Tiny. Insignificant. An ant waiting to be trod upon by a giant. His courage withered away even as he tried to cling onto it.
"I know your face." the man's voice was rusty, but still sharp. "Who sent you?"
Jaune whimpered. "No one?"
"Not a lie. Good." iron fingers loosened around his throat, allowing him to breathe. "What is your purpose here?"
That, he could not answer. The Sage read his mind regardless.
"Nick's son, are you? Ya look like him well enough. If its training you're after, go an' ask your father." Quick as you please the stranger took him by the shoulder and yanked him up again. "Tell him the world needs more huntsmen...and to bring a beer the next time he comes by."
When he didn't budge, the blond scowled at him.
"Are you deaf? Go away, boy." firm hands dusted him down and shoved back the way he'd come. "My power isn't meant for someone like you. You aren't ready to learn it."
Jaune nearly did just that. Buckled. Gave up. Slunk back home like a dog with its tail between its legs.
Fear stopped him.
He'd run away from home for this moment; somehow he'd always imagined it would be...more than what he'd received. Oh gods, Mom was probably worried sick. To say nothing of his sisters! Bad enough that he'd stolen Crocea Mors and run away; but to creep back with his tail between his legs...no. They'd never let him out of their sight again. He couldn't bear the thought.
Shame flooded his cheeks.
The thought hadn't occurred to Jaune. His motives were simpler than that. Unbidden, he recalled his father's words.
"We were sworn brothers, he and I. You were nearly named after him, Jaune. He's a good man. A little down on his luck and a bit of a drinker these days, but he's still got a heart of gold beneath it all. Should anything ever happen to me...seek him out. I know he'll protect you."
Screw that! He didn't want protection! He wanted to prove himself!
"Please...train me." Jaune blurted the words out before nerves could claim him. When the man didn't answer, he barreled on. "I want to be someone. If its money you want, I'll find a way to pay you-
"HA!"
He jolted as peal of rusty laughter burst into the afternoon, silencing him utterly. Harsh and angry, the sound of a man who'd heard those words many a time before. He doubled over and clutched at his ribs, shoulders shaking with mirth.
"Power." he sighed, wiping a tear from the corner of his eye. "It always comes down to that, doesn't it? Even in another world."
A rattling cough cut him off.
"I've had thousands of people come to me in search of power." for a moment he could've sworn the blond's body blazed gold. "They all wanted to learn the secrets of chakra. Each of them died. Tell me, what makes you any different?"
"I...I want this." he pressed his head into the ground. "No, I need this. Please. Teach me! My life is yours."
"What, do you wanna become a harem king or something?"
The younger blond sputtered. "Not really...?"
"That didn't sound like a no."
There was a silence.
"My training may kill you." the whiskered warrior jammed both hands into his pockets and leaned forward with a scowl. "Even if you survive, you might not thank me for it. This power isn't for the faint of heart." a tan hand rose and a sphere of keening blue light snarled to life in his palm. "You need a strong heart and a pure will to command this chakra; in other words, you have to be a good person. If you have even the tiniest shard of darkness in your heart, then its best you back out now. If you don't, your soul might be ripped apart."
Jaune grit his teeth. "Even so...!"
He wanted to be avenge his father. He wanted to save people. He wanted to be somebody. Surely that wasn't wrong? His motives weren't selfish; because he had no intention of ever hurting anyone. He just wanted to make his own way in this world, and he'd never be able to do that with seven sisters babying him. They wanted to protect him. Keep him safe. He loved them, he really did, but damnit, he wanted to live!
"Alright, alright, don't start crying." the blond leaned back. "Stand up. Training begins now."
Jaune leaped to his feet, one hand scrubbing furious at his face. "Great! When do we-
A fist slammed into his face and sent him sprawling.
As far as sneak attacks went, it was a pretty good one; he didn't even feel the clenched knuckles barrel into the side of his face until his back struck a tree. Breath burst from his lungs, only to be violently expelled as firm hand took him by the back of the head and slammed him facefirst into the muck.
Jaune Arc groaned into the mud mud. "...why...?!"
"You weren't ready." Naruto laughed. "First, we need to strengthen your body. Then comes the surgery...hopefully you'll survive."
Jaune gulped.
"Surgery? What for?"
"Weren't you listening? To give you chakra, of course!"
A/N: We haven't seen the last of this drabble. Hence the Part One.
Aaaand there we go. As ever, reviews keep me alive. Without them, I cannot write. So...in the Immortal Words of Atlas...
...Review...Would You Kindly? And Have some new previews!
For potential tales, of course.
As ever, a disclaimer:
WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!
THAR BE SPOILERS AHEAD!
BEWARE!
(Previews!)
The boulder flew through the air.
Jaune watched it fly, tumbling end over end. "How...?"
"Senjutsu's a powerful thing. Seems the surgery was a success. Congrats. You have chakra now."
...my father is dead."
The man paused.
"I'm sorry to hear that. Tai was a good friend." He whirled and planted the ax in the ground, then leaned upon its haft. "How did he die?"
Acrid anger boiled up Yang's throat. "Someone killed him."
"Oh, someone is it it?" Blue eyes narrowed upon him. "Quite descriptive. I'll put it right next to "everyone." a low growl built in the back of his throat, stifling her instinctive reply. "You'll have to do better than that. Tell me truth, girl. Or I'll thrash your sorry hide and drag you back to your mother myself."
Yang wilted.
"There was...there was a man." crazed eyes, a wide smile. Far too wide. "He came to our door in the middle of the night. He...he had a tail." Not just any tail. The tail of a scorpion. "He wore white. He gave us dad's body." What was left of it. Said he'd "made the wrong choice" and paid the price for it. Whatever that meant." her hands balled into furious fists at the memory. "He killed him! I know he did! After that he just laughed and left! "I couldn't do anything!"
"No surprise, there." the man looked away with a grimace. "You're green enough to piss grass. You would've gotten killed. Did he say anything else?"
"Only that he served the whims of his "merciful" goddess. I didn't understand what he meant."
A harsh breeze blew through the clearing, scattering leaves into the air. Yang didn't mind. Anger kept her warm.
...you just described Tyrian Callows." the elder blond pinched the brow of his nose. "I should've known. Damnit." he turned his head aside and spat. "I told Tai he was a lost cause...seems he didn't listen."
Anger blazed to life in the poor girl's heart. Yang stamped it down. "You know him?!"
"Of course I do." Naruto wrinkled his nose in mild disgust. "He was a better man...once. Its not important." his expression soured yet further. "Is that why you're here? Do you want me to kill him for you?"
...I want you to train me."
His eye twitched. "WHY DOES EVERYONE WANT ME AS A MENTOR?!"
"Dad!"
"Oomph!" Naruto grunted and swept the girl into his arms. "You're getting so big!"
R&R~!