Love all the support and all the well wishes.
For the time being, I'm going to be responding to reviews and comments here.
Been a rather rough couple of weeks, and my time is more restricted.
More ironic is this chapter was written well before the ending of Volume IX...
And again, it really works well with a certain revelation brought about.
It only required an ever-slight dialogue adjustment...
You'll see what I'm talking about soon by the end.
There is also a small idea I have been tinkering with, no plans for it to be released any time soon as I've got too much going on.
But thinking of a RWBY/Monster Hunter cross sometime in future that would replace the Grimm, which would change several things overall.
So if that is something you would like to see, let me know.
Review responses, as I've simply had no time this week.
Hope to get back to normal next week.
Or do you prefer the open commentary?
Jeremy Steinmark - Thank you! That's one of the main story elements is Naruto's relationship with Ruby, Yang, Qrow, and Tai, so I'm glad you are enjoying it and it is going well. As much as I talked about Volume 9, that is a firm no. Most stuff from The Ever After is staying out of the story as that would require going to The Ever After and altering the story's plans. The lore drop, however, was the biggest thing of use and can fit in quite nicely along with Trivia/Neo paying homage and using Curious Cat as one of her illusions, as it obviously was inspired by the Cheshire Cat.
Guest #1 - Yes, there is changes to the canon lore of both worlds. It's a world fusion, and mixing the two together. Minor spoiler, but I think it is something many or expecting at this point, the Shinobi didn't go quietly into that good night.
As for the DC crossover, I'm a bit meh on it. Not a DC fan overall outside of Batman, and I'm only mildly curious about this simply due to the odd decisions they've made with the RWBY timeline. It definitely exists in its own world, that's for sure, considering the few things I know is that Yang is without her arm, Blake is seemingly with them, Weiss was taken to Atlas, certain DC characters have randomly turned into Faunus, RWBY are all in their Beacon gear, and it seems to happen immediately after the fall of Beacon, so...
It's literally a fanfiction concept, so I can't help but enjoy it on some level.
The Blind Ficus - Love the support!
Arashi Uzukaze - You'd be surprised to hear Fox of Remnant has a read/watch fic in progress as someone approached me about it! I only green-lit based on how it was presented and wanted to see how it looked first. As an older writer, I'm a little more stringent on those that type of thing as I've had others ask if they can adopt old stories of mine in the past or ideas and the flat-out take entire segments of my story without changing a thing and making it their own. But if done well, I'm all for it! So if someone comes to do the same for Hushed Dreams, the same applies.
Zero - And the fire is only simmering!
Dasgun - o0
codywhite162 - Appreciate it as always. Barely got my one per week well ahead, but everything is looking good!
Guest #2 - Thank you very much!
kurogane1602 - You are welcome, and I'm glad you enjoyed it! Appreciate the well wishes!
The penguin5030 - Thank you very much!
KHARAKI TAKAN - No problem! I mean, that is an apt thing to call Boruto if I've ever heard it. It's interesting mix I will say that I'm way fusing the worlds lores together. Appreciate it, the ending is a bit of setup for this next arc.
King0fP0wers - I don't think anyone wants Smaug to become physical any time soon (sad that no one caught that reference, but alas, it was vaguely based on his book appearance).
I tend to think they didn't want Neo back for other reasons. I feel they were done with their character, honestly, and if she does come back it will be at the very end to shift the tides. And yeah, would have been interesting to see what they could have done, especially Curious Cat.
Lone survivor1 - You're welcome! One of my favorite parts to write as I felt like Blake and Yang would mix like water and oil when they were younger, so it's fun to explore. Rubes is just, well, as advertised.
Guest #3 - The Bijuu will get more discussion, so give it time. It's a slow burn.
Monster King - Again, thank you for your reviews!
Small shoutout to theSlySage for a correction! Thank you!
This last month had been dreary and dark. Nothing mattered. He couldn't escape his mind. His thoughts kept coming back to him.
What more could he have done? Was there anything he could have done? Anything different to change what had happened?
Why did someone else that he loved have to leave him?!
There was no explanation for it. There was no farewell yet again…
Summer was gone.
She wasn't coming back. Her scroll's locator was nowhere to be found, and Qrow had even left to search for her for a month.
There was no luck finding her. She was lost, and unlike her, there was only a single story that could be told of what had happened.
The mission she took, the one she refused to speak about, had claimed her life.
He felt nothing. He felt emptier than when she left him—like a void had opened and swallowed his heart. Something had sucked all of his emotions out of him. He was barely operable from what was drained, unable to do the most basic tasks. All that was left was a husk...
A shell of a person…
If he could call himself one.
All while his two daughters floundered and cried out for assistance.
That he couldn't give! Even when they desperately needed it!
Yang learned to fend so much for herself and Ruby in that time, and he felt so horrid about it. His friends stepped in more than he cared to admit, for he didn't realize how close he was to losing them.
If he had lost them, he was sure there was no coming back from the darkness that swallowed him. The thoughts he was having he may very well have…
Now there was an odd light in his life, and he couldn't explain it. It was very recent. Within the last few weeks even. Somehow, he felt Bartholomew may have been more correct with his diagnosis of his life than he would have liked…
Every morning there was something new.
Something different.
As he stood in front of the oven with the burners on, preparing bacon and scrambled eggs for breakfast, Tai had an amused grin while he listened to the noise at the table behind him, only able to understand the majority of the vocal voices.
"What are these squiggles? What is this? How is this a language I'm supposed to be able to translate and speak this?"
"I don't want to do math! Numbers don't make sense!"
"Squirrel goes peep, peep. Snake goes boom."
"That's a lovely coloring you got there, Ruby," Tai commented, ignoring the yelling from the two blondes at the table before confronting his loud daughter. "Yang, stop staring at your workbook and pick up your pencil. Working on a few problems isn't going to hurt you."
"Don't wanna!"
As Tai glowered at his disobedient daughter, Kali sighed while her ears flattened, trying to keep her eyes level with Naruto. Then she glowed as her daughter closed her book and placed her paper beside her.
"I'm finished with my fractions."
"Good job, dear. Any issues?"
Blake shook her head, and her ears perked up, smiling brightly at her mother's praise. "No. I understood the lesson."
"What? Bull!" Yang slammed her book open and glared heatedly at it. "Ain't no prissy little sister and hero stealer gonna out show me!"
"I'll show you I can learn better."
"Really, that's what's going to motivate you?" Tai muttered as he turned his attention back to his cooking. "Whatever works, I suppose."
Gazing at the blonde girl and back to Naruto, wondering if there was a historical link between the two, given how they were handling learning, Kali shook her head. She was struggling with teaching the boy how to speak, and she found him to be a challenging student to deal with.
No matter the method, it seemed to fail, or he couldn't retain what she tried to teach him. She had tried to start simple, which it was not as she had never had to reverse engineer her language like this before and start with a similar concept she would for a child.
And it was failing miserably.
Kali was losing her patience.
"I understand it is not easy to comprehend as our languages don't mesh very well. But there are similarities. Start with those first and work…"
"What similarities? I see nothing that looks like what I've spoken all my life, catwoman!" Naruto bellowed in response as he frustratingly looked at the paper and squinted at it before glancing at her. "Can we go back to trying to speak it? I feel like I was having an easier time!"
Hearing the slur amid his rant, Kali hissed as her golden pierced his cerulean. "Enough! Can you, for once, call me by my name or something more appropriate? You may not think anything of it, but in this day and age, it is not acceptable!"
"What does that even mean?" Naruto barked back in annoyance, confused. "I call everyone names! Doesn't matter who they are! They have to earn my respect, and you, lady, haven't earned that!"
"I don't know what I'm doing here and don't understand this dribble! It's confusing, and I can't wrap my head around it! This just isn't doing it for me! And now you are lecturing about what to call you!" Naruto flipped the sheets in front of him aggressively before standing out of his chair. "Whatever! I'm getting out of here and going out to train to cool off!"
Storming out of the kitchen and slamming the outside door shut behind him, Kali growled in frustration as everyone else jumped in surprise at the incident. One particular individual looked on tearfully as she slid out of her chair and started to trail behind, weakly pulling at the door.
"Ruby, give him space," Tai called his youngest as she tried to follow after Naruto. "He needs to calm down and blow off a little steam. He's not going anywhere, and he'll be back shortly. Breakfast is almost finished, so why don't you sit back down? Maybe he'll be back by the time you're done."
"Yang, grab your sister, darling." Tai sighed as he noted Ruby wasn't listening and jiggled the handle feverishly, and Yang complied, glad for a distraction away from the demonic work in front of her.
Leaning back in her chair, her ears twitching as she watched the scene play out in the kitchen, Kali closed her eyes and drew several breaths. There was a disconnect, and she was struggling more and more with the child. He wouldn't listen, and the name-calling…
He was so unruly…
Her eyes snapped open and directed toward Tai's young blonde, Yang, as she guided a tear-filled Ruby back to her chair. A slight frown pursed her lips. She had thought several times before but…
There were many similarities between the rambunctious personalities. The difference was that she was six, and her father was disciplining her, albeit in a way she wouldn't have. Every parent had a different method, and it worked for him.
But he was thirteen, she found out, and he was acting the way he was. And he was acting so…
"Having trouble with him?" Tai's voice resonated as he dished forth a plate before Kali, doing the same for his daughters and Blake.
Giving a slight bow in thanks for the meal, Kali exhaled as her shoulders sank and her ears lowered. "More than you know. Speaking the same language isn't enough. There is such a large disconnect, and I don't know how to bridge the divide between us."
"Doesn't help that he keeps using racial slurs," Kali muttered the last statement to herself as she took a small bite. "Thank you for breakfast. It's not often that I don't have to cook at home, so it's pleasant to sit back and focus on another task at this time in the morning."
"Think nothing of it." Tai grinned as he served his plate and set another aside. "This was always my main job in the household as it was what I was adept at besides gardening…"
"Well, before…"
Tai's face fell as his words went silent, his eyes losing vibrancy. The table fell silent as Kali had no response, only holding a sympathetic look at the widower. The only sounds were the metal clangs against ceramic and the gentle gnashing and chewing.
Finally, the silence was broken. An exhale as Tai shook his head. "Well, this is something I have noted from my short experience as a teacher, but…"
"But from his body language alone, he does not seem comfortable with how the material was presented. It's not a focus issue from what I've seen. I don't think he's connecting how it works."
"Might be a weird observation, but he can pick up small tasks and learn by watching physical demonstrations. I think he's more of a kinesthetic learner. Someone that learns by example instead of from a book." Tai added as he returned to his meal.
Thinking back to the practice sessions she had had with Naruto until now, Kali scowled. Then her face slowly but surely fell as the more she thought about it, the more he seemed to pick up when they were physically talking and conversing, and she was explaining how the two languages work.
His constant name-calling made her want to switch, as she couldn't handle it…
"And don't you think you might be too harsh on him?" Tai continued after swallowing his bite, returning his gaze to the faunus woman. "We don't know what his period was like. For all we know, racism didn't exist in his era, and the names he uses are simply terms of endearment he has always used for others."
Kali's head snapped toward him, and her eyes slitted. Then they softened as she lowered her head, the thought passing through her mind.
The thought that humanity and Faunus possibly existing on equal terms with one another was so foreign. Faunus' history of Remnant had been so bleak, always third-rate citizens, but hearing the boy knew what she was and recognized her…
Tai then turned to Kali's daughter, shrugging his shoulders. "I mean, it's clear he harbors no resentment considering how often he is playing games with our daughters and striking up conversations with yours to help her learn your old tongue."
"I could be wrong, but I don't think I am…"
As silence fell over breakfast again, Tai smiled, seeing Ruby finishing her plate and bringing it to him. "Finished already?"
"Wanna go outside, please?"
"Go clean up and get dressed then." Tai chuckled and patted Ruby on her head, seeing her silver eyes glimmer excitedly. "I'll take you out here in a moment."
"Mom, can I play outside as well? I will go get washed up and dressed first." Blake asked with a pleasant smile and a flicker of her ears.
"Yes, you may. Wait for an adult to come with you." Kali returned with a pleased smile.
"Wait, I wanna go out too!" Yang finished her plate and narrowed her eyes, looking upset as Ruby gleefully bounded out of the room, and Blake followed suit.
"Finish your work, and we'll talk." Tai looked sternly at his eldest daughter, refusing to back down. "You can always ask questions if there is something you don't understand."
Yang groaned irately as she took her plate to the sink before returning to the table, pouting and glaring at her father. She then flipped open the book and grumbled, mouthing off silently.
"Hate numbers. Hate stupid new girl. Hate you, dad…"
"Love you too, Yang." Tai shook his head as he took his and Ruby's plates to the sink and cleaned them off.
"More than you know."
"Stupid catwoman!" Naruto exclaimed as he flipped off the tree, bouncing back between an obstacle course he had set up over the last couple of days.
He needed some way of testing his skills and wasn't sure how to improve without an instructor to guide him, so he was guessing at his exercises to see if they worked. At the very least, he felt that at least with physical activity, he had an adequate fundamental base of understanding and could make that work and improve from there.
Chakra control and learning new techniques were going to be a whole new issue, and he wasn't sure where to begin…
Billowing the light layer of snow beneath him, cracking the ground on impact as he landed, for he was using more chakra than intended, Naruto bellowed. "I really could use a good workout here!"
"Ow!" Naruto felt an icy cold ball shatter upon impact on his temple, and he immediately turned his attention to the assailant.
Seeing the father of the two girls grinning as he wore a winter jacket over his usual clothes as he crossed his arms, Naruto narrowed his eyes. He then pointed at him accusingly. "Yo! You wanna go, pops! We can go! Ain't taking nothing from you old folks today! I'll show you just who you are dealing with!"
"I'm Uzumaki Naruto! The best there is and the best there ever was! You better believe it!" Naruto challenged the man, knowing he might not understand his words…
But he understood his body language!
"Oh, smirk at me, huh?" Naruto mocked the man called Tai as he held his hands out before growling. "That's it; we're doing this!"
"Let's go!"
Barreling toward the blonde man, Naruto leapt straight for the man faster than most eyes could see. He swung his left sneaker forward for his standard flying kick to his face. The man wouldn't see it coming!
"What the…"
Two hands grabbed his left ankle, and Naruto's eyes opened wide.
He had severely underestimated his opposition!
"No, no, no!" Naruto cried as he suddenly flung behind the man, flipping end over end until he crashed painfully on his back, snow barely cushioning his fall.
"Mistakes were made…" Naruto groaned before he blinked a few times and then kicked back up to his feet. "Okay, not doing that again!"
"You're better than I thought, pops!"
With a grin, Naruto rushed towards the man once more. This time he wasn't intending to be so foolhardy with his attack. The man was better than he thought! Of course, he had to be! Red and Yellow were freakishly fast and strong!
He was an idiot for charging in like that!
The man looked slightly surprised that he was coming in with the same attack plan. Good, he bought into it!
Just as Naruto prepared for a leap, his grin widened as Tai seemed ready to defend himself similarly. With a twist, he blurred away from sight and arrived, flying from above with a right haymaker. "Gotcha!"
Only for him to casually knock his strike to the side, causing his punch to miss wide. "What?"
And then reach out before he could react and grab him by the scruff of his collar with his left hand. "No!"
"Not again!" Naruto suddenly felt himself launching across the field in front of the cabin at high velocity.
Barely flipping in the air to right himself and landing, sliding a few feet on the slippery ground beneath, Naruto stomped the snow beneath him. "All right, not cool!"
"You asked for this!" Naruto turned and pointed at the man with a determined expression before reaching up and tightening his headband for dramatic effect. "Going all out! Was just gonna be a friendly spar! But now I'm gonna use all my tricks on ya now!"
"I left my pouch inside! Of all lousy times…" Naruto groaned as he reached for his gear, only to realize he was without it, and left it on the nightstand by the bed. "Screw it! Don't need it! Gonna do this the old fashion way!"
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"
Five clones spawned around Naruto and he grinned as one transformed into a kunai, and three did the same as shuriken. Taking them in hand, his kunai in his right and the shuriken in his left, he and his last clone began to run in stride. Tai looked on in surprise, caught off guard by the actions of Naruto.
Throwing his cloned shuriken directly in front, he and his clone split off to the side in a pincer maneuver. Naruto watched as Tai quickly adapted and easily stepped out of the way of the throwing stars, moving forward.
Plan one completed. Forced him to make a move.
Now to engage the second portion of the plan.
As he and his clone turned in, his clones burst back into their human form as all five jumped the man at once. Ambush tactic. He couldn't take them all at once. He had to stop giving the man a lack of credit. He was probably better than him physically.
But could he beat him like this?
Yes, he could!
"Oh shit!" Naruto screamed as Tai ducked beneath all of them, slipped straight into his guard, and before he knew it…
Took a direct jab into his chest that sent him flying and skidding across the snowy landscape, his clones dispersing.
And he came to a skidding stop and lay in the fetal position.
He did not move from his spot.
The voice of the cat-ear woman echoed along with several shrill children's voices, and Tai slowly wandered over, looking at Naruto in curiosity as he felt he hadn't hit him too hard. Standing over the downed teen's body, he seemed to frown as it looked like the boy was unconscious…
Suddenly the snow-covered ground crumbled, and Naruto burst out of it, his fist flying straight for his chin.
The distraction worked! He had the fight in the…
A knee in his ribs!
Naruto curled into Tai's left knee and hacked his lung before suddenly dispersing into a log.
The man lost his balance at the sudden shift of the object and felt a foot of Naruto drop into the back of his skull as he came down as hard as he could.
"Gotcha ya!" Naruto cried victoriously as he landed a hit.
Only for Tai to grab the log, throw it straight into his stomach, and send him tumbling.
"Who throws logs!" Naruto groaned as he clutched his gut with his arms as his Replacement log rolled next to him, and he gave it a spiteful glare. "You betrayed me…"
"This will never be forgiven."
As the pain in his stomach subsided, and he heard a chuckle, Naruto glowered at the blonde-haired man as he sat up. But as he did, a hand was offered to assist him, and seeing the sparkle on his face…
Naruto smiled back and took his hand.
That was kind of fun. He hadn't had a spar like that since back home and was missing it. Everything here was new and different…
But something pure, like a well-spirited brawl was enough to reset his mind. Bring him back down to level and calm him.
Seeing Kali with the kids, who were watching and having a blast with it as well, if Yellow's reaction and buzzing around the yard with Red chasing was an indicator of anything, Naruto grinned. He got to burn off some frustration, and the kids got a show!
It was a win-win!
Turning his attention to the beastkin lady, feeling less stressed than he had been in days, he breathed a sigh of relief. "Can we try again, cat la…"
"Kali?" Naruto sighed as he took a moment to readjust and remember things were apparently different. "I think I need that. Not really much of a book learner. Failed all my classes growing up, so it will take some getting used to."
Kali's features seemed far more relaxed as she took in his words and gazed upon him, a sullen smile gracing her lips. She nodded, and her ears flicked. "I think I can adjust my teaching methods as well. I think I might have learned a few things from watching, but…"
"You failed all your classes growing up? How did your parents ever allow you to get away with, young man?"
Naruto's eyes dimmed as he broke eye contact with Kali as she brought up one of his sorest subjects. He didn't blame her as there was no way she could have known.
After all, he was in a different time.
"Wouldn't know. Guess I'll never know, honestly. I'll ask if I ever meet them." He shrugged as he turned to the house and walked away, knowing some breakfast was waiting.
That would cheer him up a bit.
He was starving.
Kali's blood ran cold, and she shivered as her eyes trailed the blonde to the house, everything slowly piecing together in her mind. She felt her heart break knowing he was taken further from everything he knew, for he was only forging a life, however odd it must have been in his age…
How would he handle it when he learned more about what happened to their people?
To his world?
"I forgot how much I hate teaching these brats…" Qrow muttered as the final students filtered out of the combat arena, refraining from rolling his eyes. "Oz, why did you recommend me for this job? Was it necessary for me to blend in? I'm a better operative than a teacher…"
"Was that a squawk of laughter?" Qrow's eyes darted around, dangerously narrowed as he looked around frantically for feathers or a sign that she was around.
To see a single black feather flutter before him.
"Swear to Oum, sis. Give me a reason. I dare you!"
"Look who's sounding so tough?" Black feathers fell behind him as a confident, feminine voice responded directly behind him. "Almost sounds like you think that you stand a chance if we were to fight, dear brother. And we both know that has never been true."
"Now more than ever…" A dark-haired woman spoke, her back held to Qrow's back as he gnashed his teeth.
"Why are you here?"
"Same as always, dear brother," Raven replied as she surveyed the small combat arena amusingly. "To see how you are doing? What keeps you from returning to the tribe? Returning with our family when the time is right."
"You know I can't! I'm exiled! Remember?" Qrow hissed as his crimson eyes gazed back toward his sister's back.
Only to hear her huff.
"Under a rule that no longer exists," Raven spoke in a bemused tone. "As the man's head rolls freed from his shoulders."
Qrow's eyes burned at the implication, but he stayed silent as Raven hummed pleasantly, her hand tracing her blade's handle. "All will be forgiven the moment you return, but knowing you, you'll stick out to the end. You are still insistent on following that fool to your death. We both know there is no victory before us."
"Only pain and despair," Raven muttered, her crimson eyes darkening and clutching her fist. "I've seen it first hand as that idiot believed every would go according to plan. And I moronically went along with it when I never should have. Now, Tai and my daughter have to suffer for it…"
"Like you give a shit!" Qrow snapped around only to find a blade inches from his neck.
"Dear brother," Raven spoke softly, her crimson gaze meeting his. "You still don't know after all these years…"
"How much I have been watching, have you? What I've done to keep my family safe while that fool has failed and floundered?" Raven grinned as Qrow's eyes slitted. "But let us say I didn't care as you said…"
"Would I still be able to create portals to my child and my dear husband?" Raven whispered, her blade pressing tightly against Qrow's throat with a grin before she pulled it back.
Sheathing it, she grinned as she turned it back. "I like the boy. He's got moxie and fire. Would make for an excellent tribesman. I like him even more now as I've seen the light return in my husband's eyes."
"You have company coming," Raven commented as she opened a portal and began walking through. "The unpleasant kind, unfortunately. Believe it has something to do with a mute girl."
"Till next we meet, dear brother."
Watching his sister disappear into her portal and close before him, Qrow clenched his fist as his teeth ground together. "The hell was all this about Raven?"
"Why just show up all of a sudden like that? What is your game?"
Hearing the arena door open, his attention was suddenly drawn to it, and his eyes narrowed. "Oh, you are kidding me."
"Raven wasn't joking. Oum help me, why is he here? Did he figure out who brought his daughter home the other day?"
Pocketing his hands, Qrow defeatedly turned to meet the man walking alongside the headmaster of Signal, knowing he was here for him.
First Raven. Now this?
The girl had to be a Vanille.
What was his luck?
Chapter 12 Preview:
Not to his tastes, but effective. Reminded him too much of what the tribe did with their young…
Watching Naruto leave with the butler, his attention focused back on Carmel. Now the game truly began as Naruto played his part.
Why did this woman seem so familiar to him? Why did this situation for the girl seem so off? And furthermore…
Why did he feel he had just walked into a trap?