Here we are on the first of the month and only a few days away from a year since my return to writing.
Lot of emotions about that.
Especially considering I'm focusing on a story that, in a lot of ways, is a redemption story for failing at a promise to myself (crafting a Naruto / Blake Romance story).
Thank you to everyone for their support, not only this but who just reads my stories in general.
I appreciate it a lot.
Just to let you know, the plan for this story is to be about 100 to 120k in length.
The meat of the story is Naruto and Blake, and the conflict is built around that.
Anyways, let's get to this.
Enjoy.
"Ya need something?"
"Nothing…" Blake's eyes shifted away from Naruto, laying on her bunk across the small room of the airship they were traveling upon, her bow twitching as she tried to pay attention back to her book.
She wasn't used to traveling like this. It was even more awkward that she was in a room, alone, with a young man her age in the yukata she bought for her nightwear as it was something she was comfortable wearing…
And they were both reading something that was not supposed to be read in front of other people!
Why was she reading this book?
…Right, it was the only one she had on her. It was one of the few things she kept on her when she split from the White Fang…
She didn't have access to the rest of her collection! The rest was at home, and the other books were now in his hands or hopefully in Ilia's…
Why didn't she stop at the bookstore before leaving? Stupid! This was a mistake! And now Naruto was looking at her weirdly…
Wait, he was reading the same kind of book? She never saw him buy any books! And she remembered him mentioning he kept his master's books on him and that he wrote…
He couldn't judge her if he were reading the same kind of books in front of her!
"It's not nothing." Naruto slowly dropped the red book he was reading, noticing the curious expression on Blake's face and the twinkle in her eyes as she tried to focus back on her book, acting like nothing had happened. "Mah, you keep looking over at me. Something bothering you?"
Seeing the flush peeking out from the corner of her book, as she tried to immerse herself in Ninjas with Love, Naruto grinned. He loved the title. He felt his master had inspired the book if not straight up written it…
Wouldn't be the first time. He had written a book under a pseudonym to prove a point and see if he could have success without his name attached to it.
"No!" Blake's face was a full scarlet, berating and cursing under her breath as she covered her face with the book before stammering nervously. "Just seeing what you are reading…"
A wicked grin crossed Naruto's lips, hearing her voice as he leaned back into his bunk. Oh, was she interested in reading those kinds of books after all? Heh, so he called it right.
Although he wished he found them more enthralling, maybe reading wasn't his thing. Admittingly, he still didn't entirely find the act of reading them all too thrilling. He was simply trying to honor his master by giving the books a chance. The naughty bits were something…
So that was how that worked, huh? Interesting.
"Oh, just reading my master's second, well technically third, work." Naruto flipped the page, completely oblivious to everything else around him. "Not an expert with these kinds of stories. Never really found the appeal outside the, ya know, sex. But I've been trying to expand my horizons a little. Been wanting to get in more touch with my sensual side ever since…."
Naruto sighed, and his eyes glistened.
He hadn't thought about her in a while.
Hoped she was doing alright.
Blake went rigid as she lay flat on her bunk when his voice dropped a decibel quite purposely. He admitted he was reading…
She flushed and then hissed. Why did he say it with that tone? That infliction? Was he trying to imply…
He wanted to…
"Ow!" Naruto held his head as a tray from their earlier dinner smacked him in the head, sitting up from his bunk and glaring at Blake. "What was that for? I'm not the only one reading the stuff! You are reading it too, alongside me, so screw you!"
"Not in your lifetime!" Blake held a righteous and indignant fire lit in her eyes, burning a hole directly into Naruto's gaze.
"What?" Naruto blinked in confusion before they widened, snapping his book close, seeing how flushed and agitated she was. "Wait, what? Hold on! Whatever just happened? There has to be a misunderstanding! Did I say something wrong? Why are you so upset?"
Blake's eyes only burned further as the door opened to their bunk room, their server having come somewhat late to grab their trays. "Oh, I'm supposed to believe you don't know?"
"Yes!" Naruto held out his hands in annoyance, gritting his teeth before his eyes shifted to their server as she strutted in with a wide grin, grabbing their trays and bowls. "If I'm saying it… Hold on a moment…"
"Stop checking out the server, you perv!" Blake fumed, livid at what she was seeing. "And you have the audacity to try and say that anyone that reads smut perverts when you do stuff like this and be as suggestive as you just were?"
"Wait, time out!" Naruto snapped his eyes away from the suspicious server, and her grin was only emboldened as she gave a simple farewell wave, carrying the tray out the door. "Yo! What suggestive thing did I say? I don't understand!"
"It was your tone!" Blake gnarled at Naruto, her eyes gleaming furiously at him before taking a moment to calm down. "When you were talking about your book and emphasized sex and sensuality. You see what I did there?"
Naruto's eyes enlarged, and he almost choked at how Blake responded—her tone shifts. Feeling incredibly uncomfortable as his face was now blistering, he coughed. "Nani! That is not what I meant to do! I swear!"
"By Oum, are you that dense!" Blake hissed and rolled her eyes before looking over at Naruto, groaning. "Oh, I can believe you are…"
"That hurts…" Naruto squinted at Blake before exhaling, deciding to take the defeat here and move on, having enough experience with Sakura to know when to call it. "Look, never been good around girls… Sakura always called me oblivious and thick-headed… So, I apologize. If I said something or said something in a way I didn't mean to… I honestly don't know. I'm horrible at this! I'm reading a porn book my master wrote to figure out! If that doesn't scream helpless, I don't know what does!"
Scowling, still heated at Naruto, Blake refused to look over in Naruto's direction. However, as he spoke, her bow lowered as her ears twitched. Her expression softened, and she had to choke a laugh.
Why did he make her feel this way? How was he like this with his words? So capable of making her feel so…
Comfortable?
There was no reason he should be. Even after this amount of time, she should not trust him the way she did, yet here they were on an airship to Atlas, sharing a room together…
It bothered her. Yet after seeing how he handled Adam and everything he had done so far, a part of her rationalized…
He was safety.
Yet…
Was that permanent?
How long would he be here? Or was all this…
"You're not helpless. Just an idiot." Blake rolled her eyes and turned her gaze back to Naruto. "Oum, those books aren't going to help you in the slightest either. Great, this is up to me to help you if you are really that ignorant…"
"I mean, I somehow didn't know a girl was so in love with me until she nearly died to protect me…" Naruto chuckled and scratched the back of his head, eye smiling in the process. "I thought she was just kind of cute and weird."
Blake choked on her spit, looking in horror at the blonde abomination before her, and began hyperventilating.
"Oum, I need a miracle…"
Opening a random room, tossing the trays and bowls, and hearing some cry out, an airship stewardess' eyes glimmered as she strolled forward with amusement hearing the crashing and cursing within.
Having checked several rooms, heterochromatic eyes shimmered as her illusion dropped, and a parasol twirling entered with no one else in it.
Ah, the lovely chaos of those she left to clean up her mess! Oh, and that poor stewardess she left tied up in the closet…
Eh, she'd be fine. Someone would find her soon with all the muffled screaming she'd be making.
The boy and girl were doing well, it seemed.
She sighed, wishing she didn't have to be here. She would rather have stayed home in Vale…
But no, the horrible, monstrous fire demon wanted her to gather intelligence on this mesmerizing blonde from the club. Someone that could be a threat to her operations or someone she could recruit in the future…
Hardly. She had seen the hatred in those amber eyes…
And the clarity in his.
They would never align.
But as long as her partner was forced into this arrangement, there was no choice. They had to follow what she said, and if she wanted information on him, she would get it for her…
Neo grinned as she flicked her parasol next to the bunk she would take, a peal of melodic laughter escaping her lips. Oh, how little did she know…
It was time to flip these tables and regain her and Roman's status in this game!
A new player was on the board, and she would use him to regain control of Vale…
Whenever she could drag them away from wherever they were going here!
Frowning as she rubbed her neck, Neo lay on her bunk and groaned. A massage would be nice. Maybe could use this as a vacation too…
Time away from the witch….
Neo's eyes shimmered as she looked across the room, seeing she was all alone before closing her eyes.
Her eyes snapped open as the door clicked open. Without hesitation, she grabbed her parasol, jumping from her bunk and her blade extending, and she held it out toward a translucent figure, her eyes glistening. Whoever this was thought they were so clever…
Following her while cloaked…
She was a master of disguise herself. She knew when she was being…
Seeing the shimmering, almost as if it was like stealth camouflage. Neo's eyes squinted. She had heard Roman talk about that with an old friend, but this did not seem like that person…
And this seemed like a natural ability from someone far younger than anyone acquainted with her…
Also, she would have noted if he had said he was partnered with someone her height before! This girl was just barely taller than her!
Wait… That mask?
Why would someone from their organization be here and following her? They never had anything to do with them?
Roman saw them as pathetic, worthless…
"I'm not here for you. I, like you to him, am here to keep eyes on her and bring her in if I am able." The young woman with tanned skin raised her hand passively. "We are, unfortunately, now on the same side thanks to your leader when she forcefully brought us in to work for her."
Narrowing her eyes, locking eyes with this intruder in the room she had taken for herself, Neo scowled. This would complicate matters.
The woman was already building her forces and had done something like this? She already had the underground of Vale? Now she had done something to bend them and bring them into her game too?
What was her goal?
"I'm not pleased with it either." The young woman could see her frustration, not that she was hiding it well. "We have no desire to work with humans, but we have no choice. She strode in, coerced our hand with a display of power that could not be ignored…"
Keeping her weapon firmly on the intruder's throat, unwilling to give her an inch on the situation, Neo reached into her pocket and withdrew her scroll. Sure, she was given the ability to speak and could do so…
But she didn't want to waste her precious voice.
Only those that deserve to hear melodic tones should be permitted to listen to it. *
"Work together?" The young Faunus responded, reading the message displayed before her as Neo held it out before her. "Just what do you think we can do…"
Neo only finally pulled back her parasol, the blade sheathing within. She then tapped it against herself before the girl and shook her head. She then grinned and then pointed it outside the room, and gestured off into the distance where she had come from, her eyes twinkling.
Frowning, taking a moment to adjust to the gesture and decipher its meaning, the tanned Faunus scowled. "Them? You can't be serious… She's an idealist, and he's… I don't know what he is!"
Neo's grin grew wider, tilting her head as her eyes sparkled. It made the Faunus uncomfortable as she stepped back from the slightly smaller woman. She only rolled her eyes. "Ugh… Whatever. If you are agreeing to help keep eyes on her, I'll help keep eyes on him and make our jobs easier…"
Finding a hand extended to her, the Faunus refrained from hissing. She wanted nothing to do with this human. Making a deal with her made her skin crawl, but they had similar objectives and were being employed by the same woman, unfortunately, even if she was sent out here by her leader. She sought her out for assistance as she knew that by herself, this would be difficult.
So maybe with her, there was a chance. Or, at the very least…
Ilia scowled as she accepted Neo's handshake. This was going to be a very uneasy alliance, and whatever this woman was planning…
She had a bad feeling about how this was going to transpire…
This place was unlike anything he had ever seen before. He could hardly believe his eyes as he looked at the technological marvel of a city he looked upon.
Trains on rails of light.
Flying vehicles.
Robots in the middle of the street.
Projection screens everywhere!
A weird orange-haired girl just staring off into the distance as birds flew around her, absently swaying and having a broad smile!
Vale was something unique he was still adjusting to, but this was in a class by itself…
He was standing in a city floating in the sky! He couldn't even quantify just how that was possible or where even to begin! That was amazing!
He expected the air to be a little thinner up here but instead…
It was so damn thick and heavy! Like it was choking him! Even more pungent than it was in Vale!
What was causing this? And why was it messing with his senses here? He struggled to draw in and feel the world around him here accurately! He could still do it, but it was far more difficult…
"Gonna throw up…" Naruto coughed as he covered his mouth and nose with his hands, the smell overwhelming his senses and making him nauseous. "How do people live here? This smell is horrid…"
Blake's bow twitched, gently rubbing Naruto's shoulders as she scrunched her nose in understanding. The dust pollution was strongest here in Atlas. Being the world leader in technology had its drawbacks, and it made Atlas the least desirable place for many Faunus besides the archaic ways the Kingdom still looked upon the lower class…
Not just Faunus.
"It's Dust pollution. Something you're going to have to get used to, I'm afraid." Blake grimaced as she noted the Atlesian Knights guarding and patrolling the streets openly as citizens seemingly without care walked about without a care in their daily lives. "Many Faunus complain about it too when coming here for the first time. Trust me. It's not pleasant for me to deal with either."
"At least I'm not alone then…" Naruto grumbled, his eyes wavering on the strange mechanical creations standing at key entryways to places and patrolling the streets. "This place is like something from a sci-fi movie… Gotta get used to this…"
Naruto noticed the smirk on Blake's face, and he scowled, hearing her hum. He didn't like her attitude in the slightest. What more was she hiding? Did things get even more advanced than this?
Was there going to be giant mechs?
Was there? Because that would be kind of awesome. He almost wanted to know now as if he could fight a giant mech that would be on his bucket list…
Throw that in Sasuke's face when he got back home if he was there. Pretty sure he had to be alive because if he was alive, Naruto was sure his friend was too.
Oh, and he'd need a souvenir too! That would get on his nerves!
Oh, there better be giant mechs…
Blake's expression turned to worry, seeing the excitement on Naruto's face. She only wanted to withhold information to make him suffer, but now he was getting excited! What was he going to do? She better head this off before he did something irrational…
She got this weird feeling he was trying to show off, which was irritating her…
"Don't."
"Don't what?" Naruto chirped, tilting his head with an eye smile.
"Don't be you." Blake glared at Naruto, expecting he was about to do something, crossing her arms over her chest. "Remember, we are here for something more important and not for your shenanigans."
"Mah… Okay…" Naruto pouted momentarily, looking around the area, still mesmerized by everything. "So, where exactly should we start, though? I do kind of want to explore, and that hardly ever fails me…"
"By all means, it should." Blake rolled her eyes at her partner before stepping forward and sighed deeply as she withdrew her scroll. "But, I don't know this place either. Never been here in my life… But there are things here that you need to see… That I need to see… To know how things came to be."
"Blake?" Naruto saw her shoulders depress and heard her tone waver, knowing something was bothering her.
"It's nothing." Blake ignored him, only making Naruto squint at her as she buried herself into her scroll. "Now, I can't say how we'll manage to pull this off, but tonight there is a performance at the opera house."
Naruto blinked. He couldn't fathom a reason for going to an opera for any reason. He struggled with reading books, and now here Blake was, wanting him to go to an opera. "Um, no thanks… Think I'd rather…"
"Idiot, we're not going to enjoy an opera. Even I'm not going to push that on you as even I wouldn't want to go to one under any other circumstance. But in this case…" Blake rolled her eyes, and her eyes twinkled as she held out her scroll for Naruto to see. "Remember who I said was the most controversial person regarding Faunus' rights? Now read the last name to the headliner…"
"Schnee. Weiss Schnee…" Naruto frowned before his eyes snapped wide open. "Wait, is she that guy's daughter? Yo, we gotta get in there! He's gotta be there if she's performing! Might be our best chance to get an audience with him! Let's go!"
A grin spread across Blake's lips. Nodding in agreement, she pulled the direction of the opera house on her phone. She wanted this chance.
Even if she knew nothing could change…
She knew she was about to ruin his day, which made everything much better for her. But perhaps, maybe…
Just maybe…
Naruto could do something, and she clung to that.
There was something odd about him, and she couldn't shake that feeling…
"Sorry!" Blake's eyes snapped toward Naruto as he stumbled into a young woman wearing an olive maid-like outfit. "Ah! Didn't mean to! Wait, weren't you just over there? And now over here… Why couldn't I sense you move…"
How did he get that far away from her? What was he doing? Did he get distracted again?
She ground her teeth and stomped over to her troublemaking partner…
"Sensing my presence…" The girl that Naruto nearly flattened gave him an odd glance filled with curiosity. "How intriguing? Were you out scanning things to learn about the world? Everything is so fascinating and new for me that I can't help but come out and absorb every detail when I have available free time."
"Huh?" Naruto blinked owlishly at the strange girl whose eyes stared at him with brilliant wonder, only to make him sheepishly grin and rub the back of his neck. "I'm, yeah, in a way. Out traveling to learn more about it. Learning more about the world to get back home…"
"Naruto, how does this keep happening?" Blake snarled as, for the second time, he nearly ran someone over. "You have to be more careful! First that crook in Vale, and now this poor girl here? For someone who supposedly has a sensory ability to feel everyone around them, you tend to run through people!"
"Mah, I was saying something about that before you came over here! I didn't notice her move, and now she was over there before!" Naruto squinted at Blake, holding his hand toward the strange girl before an odd expression came over his face, and he tilted his head at her. "Hold on. That makes me curious, though. The only things I haven't been able to sense that's been moving around has been those robots…"
"Eep!" The young woman with orange hair squeaked, green eyes vibrantly shining as her shoulders shrunk, hiccupping during her speech. "My apologies! You were dashing, and I could not... react in time! I must… report back to my father! Sorry for inconveniencing you!"
"Wait, hold on!" Naruto held out his hand before placing it on his hip, watching the girl in an olive-green made-like dress run off frantically. "What an odd girl… Reminds me of Hinata a little bit… Huh, neat. Ow!"
Pinching Naruto's ear, Blake growled and pulled him. "You have got to stop running into people…"
"Okay, my bad! Need to get better, ya!" Naruto pulled his ear free and grimaced at the pinch. "And they both have been accidents, okay? One was really, really short, and this time I couldn't feel her presence! Like she wasn't there for me despite, like being there, ya know?"
"Still doesn't change the fact you are reckless, idiot." Blake rolled her eyes and sighed, gazing around, looking at where the strange girl had just been. "But that girl was acting weird before you nearly ran her over. Just kind of standing there. Wonder what she was doing?"
"Dunno." Naruto shrugged before grinning. "Just seemed like she was enjoying the scenery around her, especially the birds. Kind of seemed like she was taking it all in. Kind of cute, honestly?"
Blake's eyebrows rose before a smug grin crossed her lips. "Oh? Have a thing for cute redheads?"
"Nani?" Naruto flinched in alarm, becoming very defensive as he faced Blake. "N-no! I was just saying something like that is kind of cute! Don't twist my words, ya hear!"
"Nah, you have a thing for redheads." Blake waved before pulling out her scroll, pulling up the opera house's location while ignoring the heated stare burrowing into the back of her skull from Naruto. "This Sakura girl, now this girl. All fall into shades of red. You have a type, it seems. Interesting…"
Yet as she found the directions, she couldn't help but feel somewhat disappointed.
Almost as if she was hoping that maybe…
"All that work to get in here… And he didn't show up?" Blake's eyes shimmered with dignified rage, placing her hand on her forehead, trying to calm herself. "To his daughter's performance? That, apparently, he went to great lengths to set up? The nerve of that man…"
Naruto, as uncomfortable as he was standing with all these aristocratic people wading through the theater, couldn't help but nod. It felt like a slight. As if he was sending her a message…
She delivered a fantastic performance, given her age as she couldn't be older than Blake, yet as he listened during the performance…
As lively and beautiful as it was…
It felt a touch melancholy. Maybe that was because he could feel…
Negativity radiating from her. Anger…
Sadness. But most especially…
In fact, he was that swell right about now, swiftly passing by…
His eyes crossed paths with the songstress of the night as she made her way through the crowd, her gaze cold and stride precise. And not but a couple of feet from them stood a woman with strikingly similar features pleasantly gazing upon her with a heavily blushed face and a boy with the same striking features they possessed.
"Oh, you were so wonderful, my beautiful baby…" The woman slurred her words, covering her mouth when she hiccuped and smiled brightly at her songstress. "Perfect as always."
"Thank you for your kind words, Mother…" Weiss smiled as she looked up at her mother. "Did Father, perhaps, have a meeting? Is that why he didn't attend?"
Naruto repressed a scowl, glad for the cover of other people walking in the area. She was going through the motions while her mother was drunk.
Something was clearly wrong here…
"Oh, you know how it is." Her brother's smugly responded, almost sounding amused. "I'm sure everything is fine. He was taking care of and making sure our prophet margins stayed afloat. We have been taking quite a hit lately, thanks to those dastardly animals. I heard the mess they made near Vale has cost us quite a fortune, and Father is still working on recovering from that."
"I see…" Weiss' head fell, her expression still cold, but for the briefest moment, there was a glimmer in her eyes.
And Naruto's stomach clenched as he knew that look.
It was one that he had to live with for years. One that he only overcame after years of work to prove himself and someone finally accepting him…
Why did she have the very same look living with a family? How? It didn't make…
"It isn't very polite to intrude on others' conversations."
As Blake's hair went on end, paying attention to gather information, Naruto calmly turned, knowing someone had approached them. They did stick out in this crowd, and not having moved, it could be assumed they were suspicious…
But seeing a near clone of the mother wearing a uniform was not what he expected.
How many children did she have?
"Mah, I was here for your dad, actually. With everything going on with the Faunus Rights and such, I wanted to see if I could talk to 'em." Naruto honestly answered, making the woman's cold eyes narrow while her body ever so gradually tensed. "Wanted to see if I could manage to get a moment to speak with him…"
"You think that anyone can just meet with my father? With everything that is happening?" Her voice was frigid, her eyes gleaming with a horrifying intent that would have frozen many others in place. "Let alone someone like you? You must be a fool to think such…"
"Probably!" Naruto grinned, taking the woman off guard as he chuckled. "Felt like there was no chance I was gonna get to him without doing something crazy, so yeah, I had plans to do something stupid! Still do! But I'm gonna talk to the man and then give him a piece of my mind! And I think I found something here that makes me want to tell him off more than ever!"
"Naruto?" Blake glanced at her partner, confused.
It didn't help that she felt agitated around this woman. That she was ready to attack at a moment's notice. And if she did…
She didn't feel comfortable about her chances against her. She knew Naruto was capable, but even still, she didn't know how skilled he was, which worried her. She had never really seen him fight. Only having seen him put moderate effort into battle, and that was horrifying enough…
Blake did know what Naruto could do and wasn't keen on seeing it in such a public space…
"Yeah, good call." Naruto nodded at Blake and smiled, sensing her worry and smile. "Probably best we get out of here and find a place to spend the night. We can figure out plans for another day…"
"You think you can simply…" The words rolled off Winter's tongue before she glowered, noticing her sister had noticed her presence before standing at attention. "Very well. I will allow you to continue with your fruitless endeavor… Allow you to see just how futile venture it will be."
Stepping past Naruto to warmly receive her sister, she callously bumped past him. While the scene was endearing to see the sisters reunite, Naruto's gaze fell on where she made contact with him, and he smirked. "Ah, she almost got one on me…"
"This might come in handy later…"
* - In A Roman Holiday, there is a short segment when Trivia/Neo talks about how she always believed her voice would be melodic or musical and why she didn't like using the scroll function to speak for her as she didn't feel it sounded like her. Now add that Neo does have a voice actress (used for inaudible grunts when taking hits and breathing, at least since Blazblue Cross Tag), and who happens to be CASEY LEE WILLIAMS… Needless to say, she will sparingly use her voice now that she has it.