Back here with another.
We have a tight race between N/W, B/Y and N/B, Y/W now.
15-10 at the Half!
Got a little while before I cut it, so you got time to make your vote count.
I am keeping a list of who votes, so Guests, please leave a name so I can count it as there is no way to be sure if it's the same person or not... Know this can be cheated, but I'm going by the honor system here.
Anyways, let's get to the chapter.
"A Nine-Tailed Fox, you say? …Intriguing…"
"Tell me what you know!"
"Nothing, I'm afraid… Nothing that can help. Just some folklore that may or may not help."
"Bullshit! You told us about her! About how the world used to be…"
"And I know nothing of this… The legends that pertain to mystical kitsunes or foxes are just that… Legends. Some are tricksters and masters of illusions, often disguising themselves as women to trick and steal the life energy of men… Others are good and even said to descend into Godhood for their deeds… And while there is a shred of truth in these tales, there is nothing about a Nine-Tailed Fox."
"What? How can that be? I know what I saw!"
"And I believe you… But my answer remains the same. All I can do is share folklore and conjecture that may or may not be useful. …If you boy indeed has the entity within him… The best thing we can do is to watch over him and keep a lookout for anything unusual."
"Give him a peaceful life so that if this Fox is a threat, it won't ever make its presence known."
"Mama! Up! Play!"
Raven's head snapped open. She took a deep inhale of air, hearing Naruto's voice. She had fallen asleep.
Feeling a tug on her leg, followed by another, Raven chuckled. She had fallen asleep after putting them to sleep… She was pretty exhausted.
Yang was twenty months old, and Naruto had just turned two years old… And they ran her and Tai ragged. They were bundles of perpetual energy, soaking up everything around them.
She had to curb her and Qrow's language when Naruto and Yang began to drop several words they didn't need to know at their age. Still, she would drag her brother to assist more, but… She suspected that his lucky engagement with Summer was now a curse…
Summer was starting to show signs of morning sickness.
"Mama!"
Hearing her daughter call out to her, Raven looked down as she sat on the couch to see the two toddlers gazing up at them. Their dazzling eyes sparkled back at her before Yang extended her arms, holding them up wildly towards her. "Up!"
"Oh, you want me to pick you up, do you?" Raven's eyes glinted with amusement, reaching down and lifting a giggling Yang onto her lap. "I think you earned it. You came to see me…"
"Wait." Raven's eyes narrowed before they shimmered wide at a horrible realization. "How are you both downstairs? I put you both down for a nap in your room?"
"Playtime!" Naruto smiled brightly before pointing to himself, his bushy and fluffy tail wagging behind him excitedly. "Yang! Up!"
A sense of horror sketched across Raven's features as she looked down at her son, who looked proud of his accomplishment. Her eyes darted to the stairs, and without hesitation, she immediately picked up Naruto and carried her children upstairs to the room.
And inside, Yang's crib was knocked over on its side. Raven grimaced before shooting her children a dark glare. "You two are a handful… Can't leave you alone for a second, can I?"
Sighing as she set her children down to play, she quickly set the crib back in place. She then glowered as it tilted awkwardly. "Great…"
"Well, it was time to get you a kid's bed regardless. A little late on that…" Raven rolled her eyes and smiled as her two children ran over to their toy box and brought over their favorite toys to play with her. "You both can make it down the stairs safely on your own… It's time to upgrade."
Gently kneeling and running her hand through each of their hair, she guided them to the stairs. She wanted to see how well Yang did on her own, her eyes gleaming with pride as she carefully went down the steps, her brother helping her down as they both kept from tumbling. "Keep this up, and you'll be as strong as your father and I…"
"Bet this will give him a heart attack when he returns."
Taking a deep sip of her cold drink as the sun beat down on them, Raven couldn't help but snort as she sat in front of her friends. "Ha! Knew it!"
"Raven…" Qrow glowered, his eyes attempting to burn a hole through his sister's head as he sat aside a glowing Summer. "You could be a little more sympathetic…"
"Why would we?" Tai was failing to hide his amusement as his chest reverberated with laughter. "How often have you tried to get out of helping care for Naruto and Yang? Now, there is no way out of this for you!"
"His bad luck is my gain." Summer mused, causing Qrow to scowl at his fiancee.
"If I didn't know any better… I would suspect you had something to do with it failing." Qrow growled before he sunk his head. "Oum, my bad luck is so horrible I can't even have safe sex."
"Heh, better than be forced to go without." Tai patted his brother-in-law on the back, ignoring the seething glare shot in his direction by Raven. Despite it, he only grinned back at her. "Someone learned their lesson after Yang…"
"S-shut up." Raven stared at her husband before squinting at her husband. Hearing joyous laughter over the side of the yard that Tai had fenced in over the last few months, she glanced over to see her two children sprinting and tossing a small ball to one another. "I don't regret anything…"
"Oh?" Summer's eyes gleamed, and her smile broadened. "Sounds like someone wants another…"
"No!" Tai and Raven immediately cut Summer off. Both then glowered as Summer laughed, and even Qrow chuckled.
"They are a handful." Qrow mused before his face flattened as a loud yap caught everyone's attention, returning their attention to the fenced-in yard. "What the… Tai… When did you get a dog?"
"Puppy!" Two voices squealed in delight.
Team STRQ burst out of their chairs and into the yard in a blur. And they each were stupefied as Naruto and Yang noticed them instantly and shuffled in their direction…
The happiest corgi in hand they had ever seen, its tongue lolled out of its mouth as it happily barked, looking up at them. "We keep!"
The corgi barked once more before licking Naruto and Yang in the face, causing both children to squeal in delight and glee before letting him go. And the three ran through the yard as all four adults just stared.
"Where did he come from?" Was all Tai could mutter, watching the children chase the enthusiastic dog around the yard. Kneeling, he called the dog over. "Here, boy! Come here."
The corgi yapped, happily trotting over to Tai, panting heavily as he gently patted his while fishing around his collar. Finding a tag with the name Zwei, he looked down the dirt road that headed down toward Patch. "He's obviously owned…"
"Wonder if he belongs to that old man in the cabin nearby?"
"Puppy! Yay!"
"Name! Name!"
Wincing at the volume of his children as he walked back inside, a firm grasp of the leash as he led Zwei into the house. He saw Raven scrunch her brow toward him, questioning why he returned with the corgi. He simply sighed, leaning down and unclasping Zwei from the leash.
"Tai…" Raven voiced her concern before eyes were drawn to his revolver knuckles, seeing the smoke still rising from the weapon attached to his wrist. "Tai? What happened?"
"He… Grimm." Tai's gaze pierced through her, and he shook his head, biting his lip as his children swarmed the corgi. He softly smiled, watching the dog enjoy the attention as Naruto and Yang crowded him before he sullenly looked back at his wife. "He's definitely his dog… Had pictures of him. Must have come running this way when he heard the kids."
"Name!"
"Zwei." Tai knelt beside his children, patting the dog softly on the head as Naruto and Yang beamed at him, attempting their best to listen. "His name is Zwei."
"Zz-we!"
"Wei!"
Zwei barked, wagging his short tail, accepting the children's names. Taiyang weakly chuckled, running his hand over the dog's fur. "Close enough… Now be careful with him."
"He's a good boy, but he's been through a lot."
She didn't like doing this…
Her children were healthy. What was the point of getting a check-up so often? As long as they were healthy, what was the reason to see the doctor? Even a mild bug wasn't a concern… Just built character and made them stronger.
Tai was insistent on… So was Summer. So here she sat… In this pointless clinic for this pointless check-up, watching the doctor run a few tests and her children through another set of exams.
She knew her children were healthy! Naruto had never been sick once, and Yang only had a few bouts of sniffles in these two years… And a case of chickenpox…
Raven glowered. Naruto hadn't even caught it… Was it because of the Fox?
"Ms. Branwen," The brunette doctor smiled widely, giving out two lollipops to her children, much to Raven's displeasure. "Your children are in remarkable health. I would even wager they're some of the healthiest children I've seen at their age."
Raven scoffed and rolled her eyes. She knew they were…
"But I do have a worry about Naruto in particular."
Raven's head snapped, and her eyes bored into the doctor's, causing her to flinch. "And what is that? If he's healthy, there shouldn't be any issues?"
"It's not a healthy issue… Just something peculiar that I think we need to look into." The doctor winced from the intense stare from the mother. "When running my test, I noted your son's Aura is… Unusually active for his age. It's not a major concern, but it worries me as children's Aura shouldn't manifest in such a manner so early in their life cycle."
"I worry something may be wrong."
Raven's eyes darted to her son, happily sucking and gnawing on his lollipop. Raven frowned as she felt her stomach knot. Did this…
Also have to deal with the Fox?
"What do you mean his Aura is atypical?!"
"Raven…" Tai gently tried to calm his furious wife, her eyes burning with a bubbling rage he had only seen a few times.
Each of those times, those who had her ire aimed toward them did not fare well…
"I am sorry, I don't have an answer for what the problem is. Just that your son's Aura does not read correctly on any scans. It doesn't react like Aura should on any test I gave him." The brunette doctor grimaced, her head hung solemnly before she gazed into raging mother's eyes. "There is a possibility this is because he is so young and his Aura already so energetic, and when attempting to measure it, the scale overloaded before I could get an apt reading of its scale…"
"Wait, he broke the measuring scale from the sheer size of his Aura?" Tai's eyes flickered in shock, shaking his head several times. "I don't think I've ever heard of such a thing.
"It might be because our model here isn't the most up-to-date, so I can't say much on that." The doctor nodded before grimacing under the cold stare Raven was still giving her. "I can't say much, for I'm not an expert in the field. What I do know is that your son's Aura doesn't react how Aura typically does. So it's a concern to watch out for, especially considering you are Huntsman. I can't say for sure if this is just a blip, and it will all be fine…"
"Or that he may never be able to wield Aura properly."
Crimson eyes shone through the darkness.
Standing at the doorway, Raven's gaze never left his sleeping form… Besides, for a few odd snorts and shuffles from Yang in her sleep.
Her lips quivered as her gaze focused on her son's stomach. Those bizarre markings… She knew it had something to do with the Fox…
She knew better than to try and mess with them. She tried to contact anyone she knew about them to see if they knew anything about them, but it all returned empty. The best answer she got back was from Ozpin, saying it was possibly a mystical containment array…
Definitely did not want to mess with that if that creature lurked beneath it. The fewer people that knew about it, the better!
No chance of accidentally freeing that scourge onto this world…
"Raven," She heard Tai's voice from behind her before he wrapped his arms around her waist and rested his chin on her shoulder to look over and into the room. "We'll do what we can… There is no telling what will happen. It could be fine. It might not be… We'll make due…"
"It's the Fox…" Raven repressed a snarl, her eyes filled with indignant rage. "He should be fine… He's healthy… He's strong…"
"And how do we know he'll want to follow in our footsteps?" Tai cut Raven off, causing her to wince before glowering. "I know that is what you want… But think about what they want."
"They're barely over two. There's no telling what they could grow and want to be. Let's let them make that decision when they're old enough to understand what they want, okay?" Tai felt Raven quiver in his grasp. "And if they want to make that choice, then…"
"We'll find a way to make it work."
Cerulean eyes beamed. This place was so weird!
So long… So many doors! Why was Aunty here? Why was Qrow here? Many others were here too! Were they here for the same thing?
He wanted to explore! See what this place was! But Papa held him on his side, with Mama holding Yang as they walked through it. "Aunty this way?"
"Yes, Aunty Summer is over here." Papa chuckled, a big smile on his face as he stopped in front of a door. "Now you gotta be good before we go in… And quiet. Don't want to wake her."
"Wake? …Aunty sleeping?" Naruto tilted his head, staring in wonder at the door.
"No… But she's tired." Mama walked beside them, hefting Yang higher onto her side. "Same for you, Yang. …Aunty really wants you both to meet her."
"Okay." Naruto and Yang said together, holding a hand to their mouth to keep quiet.
Mama and Papa quietly laughed before Papa knocked on the door. Naruto wanted to happily call out as he saw Qrow open the door, looking tired but kept his hand over his mouth. Had to hold his mouth to be quiet…
"How ya holding up?" Papa patted Qrow's shoulder.
Qrow let out a deep breath, and his head shook. "Never felt so nervous yet happy at the same time…"
"Know the feeling well." Papa smiled as they walked into the room.
And Naruto's widened. He wanted so much to squeal. Aunty was lying in bed! He loved Aunty!
But what was she holding? It looked like a blanket…
"So… Never want to have another one?" Mama asked Aunty, a big grin on her face.
Aunty made a weird clicking noise and looked madly at Mama before looking at the strange blanket. "Hardly… I think I want another… So we can both have two."
"I object to this." Uncle Qrow had big eyes and was making big shakes with his head.
Still holding his hand over his lips to be quiet, Naruto stared at the adults. They were weird…
"Naruto… Yang…" Aunty whispered as she sat up in the bed, moving slowly, holding the blanket to her chest. "You want to meet her?"
Meet her? What did that…
Blue and lilac eyes shone with awe as the bundle was turned. And inside was a little face!
"Baby?" Yang let out her awe.
"Naruto, Yang… This is Ruby." Aunty smiled, gently rolling the baby to help her see. "Say hi, Ruby."
Naruto could not find a word. He simply stared at the baby in Aunty's arms. The baby looked around, and for the first time…
Blue met silver.
I would like take this moment to thank everyone who has been reading and enjoying this so far!
You guys rock!
Your encouragement helps more than you know!
Anyways, since I got this finished quickly... Quick commenter Q and A!
ExcaliberShooter - Not sure what you think is a spoiler when the title is NWBY. You already have a hint on some of the directions, including the ships as Bmblbe is CANON and WhiteRose is one of the most popular ships (and Naruto is technically replacing Ruby). I simply asked if people would to see a switch up as it doesn't drastically effect the outcome otherwise that would have been what I decided on. This is why I said don't ask for other ships as those characters... Really don't matter as the focus is on STRQ, NWBY and Ruby. Everyone else is side characters... Or villains (some shades of gray with my favorite two, but still).
The science emperor - I will say this, I'm using canon-adjacent logic on why Naruto is a Faunus. Through the DC/RWBY crossover we learn those that come to Remnant and have a high affinity with a certain animal to transform into a Faunus of that species. So Naruto has always been linked with Kurama since conception, so needless to say Kurama did have some influence on why Naruto is a Faunus. As for Kushina... Perhaps the effect didn't work on her as she was already dead and just persisting to ensure Naruto was safe?
Guest asking about Kushina and Naruto being flung into the future - No! Good guess given what I've written previously! If someone guesses correctly I will inform them and maybe even write it in that Kurama explains what happened! (It's not relevant to the plot, but there is something behind why they showed up!)
flamenvy963 - I know I sent you a reason personally, but I wanted to say it to everyone as well. This story is going to be focused and linear. So a set ship is what I want as everyone is side characters and not really relevant to the plot. Now will I have a little bit of RomCom between NWBY before the ships settled... Yes! That's funny and I want to at least tease the other ships before moving to the main ones.
arkous tou aikar - Um... Could you explain that better for me? ...I'll admit, not sure what you are talking about and completely lost!
Tris - Fair! That is why I have Lost Destiny! I simply enjoy most ships and will write the ones I don't like if it works for the story or I just don't like the character (not saying that's Pyrrha... Let's just say one of the series main characters is someone I genuinely don't like but do my best to represent correctly).
WhiskeyPeak, SainthoodSaint14 - I have a Nora concept in my Drabbles, but it didn't really get any momentum and my one story that could turn into an Emerald ship (or Neo or Neo/Emerald) kind of flopped and my motivation for it is really lacking.
Arrexu - I really don't like harems and prefer single ships. And when I do a multi-ship, I play it as a poly/open relationship so the characters have more than one partner and it's not dom'd by a single character.
Vongola Ninja - Yep, already have a weapon planned! Hope the Semblance part is starting to get answers...
Reishin Amara - Know I answered you, but I want to state this out to everyone! I love LadyBug(Ruby/Blake)! That is my favorite ship in RWBY as I feel their characters work the best together. But when the story dictates it, I go elsewhere. I have a few stories where LadyBug is the eventual plan.
To everyone that vote or left comments, I thank you so much! It keeps this fire going!
So if you got a minute, I would love to hear back from ya!
But until next time...
Peace.