A/N: ...Apologies. I failed you, I'm sorry. Forgive a sickly old man.

Between the site breaking, my sister going to the hospital -she's going to need surgery for her leg and I'm praying they don't amputate-I'm at my wits end and tearing my hair out over here. And! To make matters worse! I just had three employees quit. Meaning I now need to go in, figure out what's wrong, then go back out to check on my sister.

I CAN'T GET ANYTHING DONE!

had a massive update for Take the Girl primed today, but its shaping up to be far longer than I anticipated, its already nearing tens of THOUSANDS of words. I can't even post half of it; because that would be a disservice to you, the readers. Its going to be one of my longer chapters, possibly even the longest yest.

So here we are, a teaser of sorts. As ever, I own no references, quotes, themes or memes. They're tributes to legends far greater than I.

I'm just a humble author trying to make his way in this wild, wacky world, one word at a time.

Time and feedback will determine what remains a story and what doesn't. Simple as that.

In other words...the fate of this is up to YOU, the reader. Doooo let me know~!

Mind you, this is a teaser to whet your appetite. Do forgive any errors.

The actual chapter should be out tomorrow or Monday.

Oh, and A New Archon is nearly ready, too.

"The end isn't the end; only the beginning of something new.

~?

Take the Girl (Teaser) a.k.a Hire the Girls

Haven needed help.

It was a painful fact; one Naruto wasn't proud to admit. For all their resources, and despite him holding a seat on the Council of Mistral -as every Headmaster before him had!- all the lien in the world couldn't substitute a proper mentor. Certainly he could be in multiple places at once, disguise himself as nearly anyone he knew, and move with both incredible strength and speed, but even he had his limits. Teach children to kill Grimm and become badass Huntresses and Huntresses? That he could do. As to the rest...

.

..

...at the end of the day, he and Vanessa were only two people. Even together, they couldn't run Haven alone, much less provide an entirely fresh perspective for every subject and curriculum. Willow's generous donations courtesy of the SDC ensured they weren't lacking for funds, but it was a matter of using said funds to not only fortify and enhance Haven, but acquire the right personnel for her.

The former had been easy; it was the latter that proved difficult.

He was loathe to take any teachers from Sanctum -one of the few places Lionheart hadn't sank his claws into- for that matter either, seeing as it served as a preparatory school for Haven itself. On that same front, he didn't entirely trust Malachite to teach impressionable young youths; she had an underworld to run, the better to keep the gangs from his throat.

Ann Ren, while quite capable of killing and wise in her own ways, couldn't simply become a teacher overnight, no matter how much she might want to. They were working on that.

Likewise, Willow couldn't do it for obvious reasons and Raven...yeah, no. She might not be wanted in Mistral anymore, but he wasn't about to parade her around where Ozpin could see her. Not without a proper disguise. I It was difficult enough convincing her to wear a wig when she went out, much less a contact for her remaining eye. Teaching impressionable brats when she was raising one of her own? Nope! Nuh-uh! Not happening! She would chew those kids up and spit them out.

Which brought him back to square one. Vanessa had combat classes covered and while he could step in when need be, there were still gaps to be filled.

Naturally, when the fiery vixen recommended several applicants, he jumped on that, thinking it a good idea.

Or so he'd thought at the time.

Now...?

A muscle jumped in his jaw. "Vanessa...

"Yeeees?" she stifled a yawn with the back of her palm and flicked a weary look his way, just as tired as he.

"How many have we gone through today?"

"Seven, I believe." she checked her clipboard and looked back to the door. "That last one was a disaster. Little more than a brute, really."

Naruto's skull struck his desk with a dull thud.

He wouldn't anything hire anyone short of the best; and he didn't want any of Ozpin's spies in here. Or gods forbid, Salem.

"There, there." She kissed the back of his neck, perking him up. "Only a few more to go, then we're done for the day." Her lips ghosted over his ear, then his cheek now, lingering at the edge of his mouth. "I can think of just the thing to help us relax.

He planted both elbows on his desk and buried his head in his hands to stifle a sigh. "Can't we just hand them over to Raven and be done for the day?

Vanessa hummed. "As entertaining as that would be, we'd be violating a few labor laws, so no." She looked to the door. "Next!"

"Hold your horses!

The door creaked open and a newcomer limped into his office with an annoyed tut, her once proud back slightly stooped with age. She wasn't much to look at given a glance; an old crone wrapped in blue robes, clutching at a short cane, yet-not-quite leaning on it. Her dusky skin was wrinkled with weary, her dark-hair streaked through with grey, and where here eyes should be..

.

..

...what in blazes was that contraption on her face? Mechanical eyes of some sort? An artificial replacement for what she no longer had? They must be. She'd lost her original eyes then. The wound must be old, so much so that he didn't think even he could hope to heal it...or could he?

"Don't even think about it." Kurama snapped at him. "If you couldn't restore Raven's eye, you won't be able to heal this. Unless you intend to tear open her wound again?"

...no. He wouldn't inflict that sort of pain on anyone.

Best to let it be, then.

Nevertheless, he let his gaze roam back to the not-quite-old woman. In about sixteen years or so she would doubtlessly be hunched even further, shrunken and shriveled, forced to rely upon that cane of hers entirely, but she still had some life to her; a spark that, while he couldn't glimpse it in her false eyes, he could see in the spring of her step. She was pretending to be older than she was perhaps, but she wasn't senile, not yet. A flicker of sympathy stirred within his heart.

Said sympathy died the moment the old biddy opened her mouth. "Who's the strawberry pimp?"

Several things happened at once.

Naruto fell clean out his chair!

Kurama guffawed openly.

Vanessa giggled.

"I like her!"

A/N: You all know who that was. But the question is, what is a younger *SPOILER* doing here?

I'll do my best to post more once this life calms down and the site gets fixed.

Sorry,

~Nz.