Read everyone loud and clear!
Thank you for all the support!
Wasn't able to do much this week...
Then my little focus was spent on making a concept chapter of a RWBY/Monster Hunter story...
So Trials of the Huntress is out for anyone that wants to check it out.
Thankfully I'm well stocked here...
But still managed to process another chapter, too, so...
Switching the update schedule as my schedule has changed to make it more comfortable for me!
Onto the show!
"You have got to be kidding me."
Taking a swig of his flask, Qrow glowered at Tai, his eyes blistered with veins and clouded with a thinly veiled haze. "Does it look like I'm joking?"
"Smells like you've downed a bottle of whiskey. Or three." Kali scrunched her nose in disgust.
"That is, unfortunately, closer to his usual scent, I'm afraid. The fact he hasn't been drinking nearly as much is more on me than anything." Tai sighed as Kali's eyes sharply opened in alarm at his statement. "Jimmy Vanille showed up to Signal to talk to you about Naruto and to set up a date with his daughter? To calm her down? Apparently, he thinks the two of them hit off when they ran into each other when he ran out of the hospital? I have so many questions that I can even begin to describe how alarming this situation sounds!"
"Trust me, it's not a good one, and I'm not even telling you half the story, so be thankful for that. Why do you think I'm hammered out of my mind? By the way, closer to five than three." Qrow murmured as he threw back another drink from his flask and then scowled. "I'm out of the good stuff. Tai, where's your stash? Nah, don't tell me. I'll do a little raiding. More fun that way."
"You aren't going anywhere near the rest of my house like this!" Tai silently fumed as he pushed Qrow back into his chair, staring intensely into his eyes. "I have two children that adore you, and they don't need to see you like this! Not to mention there is her daughter and the boy! None of them need to deal with you like this!"
"Too late for that…" Qrow muttered before pointing at the kitchen entrance. "Kid is here."
"For Oum's sake," Tai wanted to cry in frustration seeing Naruto walk into the kitchen. "And this is the one who barely understands our language."
"Smells like Jiraiya's been to the red-light district! Did the Crow Summoner down the whole liquor cabinet? I can smell him from upstairs!" Naruto waved his hand before his nose, scrunched it up, and walked over to the fridge. "Dump him into the tub and turn the cold water on him or something. What I would do."
"I suddenly worry that he is more accustomed to dealing with drunkards and ways to sober them than anyone his age should be." Kali's ears stood on end as she refrained from hissing before calming her voice so she wouldn't carry her agitation over. "Naruto, dear? Are the girls ready for bed? I was getting ready to read Blake her story before this happened."
"They're sleeping. Ready told her story, and she's out like a light." Naruto poured a glass of milk and put the gallon back in the fridge, making Kali frown as it was odd how well he knew what some things were and wondered how advanced their civilization was.
But more importantly…
"You told her a story?" Kali blinked as her daughter was sleeping soundly. "Well, that's wonderful; I just never seen her fall asleep to anything other than a particular book I read to her before bed…"
"Eh, she ate up the story I told her. A quick one about how my team saved a small island country and liberated its people from an evil businessman by helping ensure their bridge was completed. She fell asleep before I got to the awesome part about how I started doing anything cool."
"It was mostly sensei and Sasuke she seemed to like…" Naruto twitched as he realized Kakashi and his stupid rival had stolen the heart of yet another, and they weren't even here.
He'd show them. He'd show both of them real good.
"Kid got to talk to you!" Qrow waved at Naruto, interrupting the conversation and causing Naruto and Kali to give him a screwed look. "Hey, don't give me that look…"
"Do I smell that bad?"
"Yes, you do!" Tai retorted, looking none too pleased with his brother-in-law and taking a deep breath. "Why do you think this is even remotely acceptable to involve him?"
"Because, as you said, the situation screams all kinds of messed up, and I intend to do a bit of digging!" Qrow snarled back at Tai. "When I talked to the mother, something felt wrong with the way she spoke, and the way the girl acted screamed there was something off about the whole damn family. Now Jimmy has shown up and exacerbated my thoughts, and while I wanted to wait until the kid was slightly more prepped and could, you know, communicate a little better. But it's showtime now! So kid…"
"I, uh…" Qrow looked a little dumbfounded as he turned to Naruto, sitting up on the counter, holding a scroll in his hand, and putting down his cup of milk. "Wait, where did you get that?"
"Oh, that is mine! I left it on the counter!" Tai groaned, seeing the scroll in the blonde's hands, attempting to activate it. "Someone barged in drunk as a mule, and I kind of forgot about it!"
"How does this dumb thing work?" Naruto tapped at the screen several times frustratingly. "Yello, Yang uses it all the time to use code, and mute girl used it to communicate too. I want to tell the Crow Summoner to drown in a cold shower…"
"Now that I think about it, wonder how that girl is doing?" Naruto mused as he tried to figure out the scroll in his hand.
Kali winced because Naruto didn't realize how close to the topic he was with his off-hand comment. His eyes rolled as he returned it to her, and she held out her hand, and he returned it to her. "Whatever, can't figure it out anyway."
"It takes getting used to," Kali responded as she handed Tai's scroll back to him, still glowering at Qrow. "From the sounds of things, your little friend is why the drunkard is upset…"
"What?!" Naruto jumped from the counter and then anxiously looked at Qrow. "Mute girl is in trouble, Crow Summoner! Why didn't you say that earlier? Let's go!"
"What did you just say to him? Now he's ready and wanting to go?" Tai turned to Kali, looking visibly upset.
"Only that the drunkard was talking about the girl is why he came in this way! He extrapolated things and thinks she is in trouble. I don't understand how he got to that thought!" Kali defended what she said before trying to reason with Naruto. "No, Naruto. She's okay…"
"Oh, something is brewing there. I guarantee that! I just need to find it!" Qrow belligerently interrupted, holding his fist up defiantly, and Naruto began to nod his head in agreement, not knowing anything he was saying. "See! Kid agrees with me!"
"Tomorrow at four!" Qrow held four fingers on his right as he stumbled to the door. "I'll be here then. We're gonna bust this wide open!"
As Qrow fumbled out the door, Naruto gave a thumbs up and grinned. "All right! Got my first mission in this world! I'm going to save mute girl! Now, did he mean four tonight or in the afternoon? How fast do I need to pack? What gear do I need? Wait, Crow Summoner! I need answers!"
"No! Don't you go anywhere! He's going to get further wasted!" Tai bellowed as Naruto rushed out the door, asking further questions to a drunk Qrow.
"Oum, help me…" Kali muttered, watching the scene unfold before her, and she was unsure how to handle this.
She was beginning to think she needed a drink.
No!
This was not what she wanted!
She despised this!
Her father set this up! How did he find them? How did he find blonde boy? The drunk?
No! She wanted to make things happen for herself! To make her own friends! To choose for herself!
No, no, no!
It was too much for her to be confined in her room outside of Aurelia's training! She detested the upgraded bolt locks on her door!
Not allowed to take a step outside of her room unless her father or mother requested her presence outside!
All because of her actions in the dining hall.
Trivia did not care! She was tired of this constant feeling of being trapped! She wished for freedom! She desired to feel the frigid air outside on her terms!
But she could not get out of this forsaken room without outside assistance! Even summoning Neo to assist her was futile, as her friend could only helplessly fiddle with the newly installed locks.
Piercing the door with her stare, snarling as she gnashed her teeth, kicking her bed, she refused to move from her spot.
She did not want this!
She wanted a choice!
Trivia wanted to choose for herself!
Why couldn't they understand that? Why wouldn't they listen?
Where was someone that would listen? That valued her opinion? That would treat her like an equal!
Where was that person?
Naruto was buzzing.
He was full of energy!
He was ready for this!
Didn't know half of what he needed to do, but what he did know was that this was an espionage mission! An undercover mission!
All that was gathered by pops and Kali was that the crow summoner felt that there was something off about mute girl's family, and they needed to get the dirt on them and prove it. Problem was, for him, that it was tough as he could not understand their language!
But there was an in already when the crow summoner dropped mute girl off! He was the in, and they would let them into the premises under the guise that Naruto and mute girl were hanging out, which would give them and the crow summoner chances to figure things out!
Brilliant!
He was sure mute girl would also want to join in, as she obviously had to know something was happening with her family! Why else would she have been out alone without her family and gotten picked on by bullies if they were super rich?
That didn't make a lick of sense! Something was going on!
Oh, he was given a name for her, and he already forgot it. Tia… Tea… Triv…
Bah, he would remember it later!
Ruby and Yang were bouncing around him excitedly, laughing loudly, and he grinned. His excitement must have been rubbing off on Red and Yellow! He still couldn't understand a word they said; well, now he could understand a word or two, but body language was universal, and he knew they were giddy and bubbly chatting around him.
Meanwhile, their pops was sitting on the couch, holding his head in his hand…
Naruto would take the blame. Hopefully, they'd have a long nap once he left on his mission with the crow summoner…
There he was!
"What took you?" Naruto cried as he saw Qrow walk in, anxiously tapping his foot thumbed through his pouch on the coffee table. "I've been ready to do this! You're not like Kakashi-sensei, are you? Wait, is it actually four? Don't have a regular clock here, so it's difficult for me to read them here…"
"Dear Oum, what have I walked into?" Qrow muttered at the sight before him, seeing his two nieces bouncing around the living room energetically, circling the couch in a pseudo game of tag.
"A mess of your creation." Taiyang gritted through his teeth before lowering his head and sighing. "Kid has a hyperactive disorder. There is no other explanation for his jitteriness. They just fed off him all day and…"
"I will catch you soon, Rubes!"
"Na-Uh! You're too slow!"
"Gah!" Yang tripped and stumbled as Ruby blew her tongue out at her. "Wait, Ruby…"
"No! Gotta go fast!"
"Not in the house, Ruby!" Tai picked up Ruby and sat her on the couch, making his youngest's eyes widen at being caught so easily. "Let's calm down for a little bit while your uncle and I try to talk, okay, little Rose?"
"Okay…" Ruby pouted in her seat, crossing her arms across her chest, her playing being stolen from her before her mood suddenly brightened. "Qrow!"
"Play!"
"Uh, not today, sweetheart. I'm here for the knucklehead, actually." Qrow winced as he tilted his head at Naruto before hearing Ruby's disappointed gasp.
Looking around the room, seeing various objects in the house knocked over, made him wince even more. "Okay, it's been a day, I see. I kind of need her, so…"
"Upstairs avoiding the disaster with her daughter, who is peacefully napping." Tai motioned up the stairs. "Probably scared her off with the horrible display of parenting…"
"It is nowhere near as horrible as you think." A door closed upstairs, and a light chuckle was heard as Kali slowly descended the stairs. "Quite the contrary, honestly. Given the circumstances, I think everything is running rather smoothly."
"Now, what is required of me?" Kali turned her attention to Qrow, a frown adorning her face. "I find this entire ordeal to be blown out of proportion. I would like to have as little to do with this as possible. Vanille and his company are one of the few connections we're trying to establish for better rights for Faunus here in Vale."
"And he's one of the few people willing to hear Ghira and our organization out, so I'd appreciate that whatever this is does not harm one of our vested interests. Or I dare say things here shall become quite uncomfortable for you in particular." Kali's tone promised swift retaliation as she kept a level gaze with Qrow.
Naruto's sight bounced between the two, seeing the tension and hearing Kali's voice. He knew something serious had been said and wasn't quite sure what. Was there more to this than just the girl being in trouble? What else was the issue? Were there diplomatic issues?
Oh, those were awful! The stories from Kakashi-sensei and the pervert and those were just nightmares! Was this going to be one of these having to carefully watch your step scenarios?
He wasn't the most careful. He hated to admit that, but he wasn't the most silent person around. Kind of learned his lesson that he wasn't the most stealthy after dealing with those Sound ninja…
He was fine as long as it was against civilians or even most genin. Anyone with a modicum, oh Sakura would criticize him if he was using that improperly, of skill he would be in a world of trouble.
"Ah, just tell me what's going on? I want to get this on the road already!" Naruto twitched as he nervously itched all over. "I'm so ready to go!"
"Yeah, yeah. I get it!" Qrow retorted to the blonde's actions as he broke eye contact with Kali without saying a word, an understanding having been reached without saying a word.
Reaching into his pocket, he retrieved a Vale tech scroll before showing it to her. "This is what I needed you for. Kid has already been separated from us a few times. So he needs a scroll, whether or not I can understand him, I, or even Tai, if he's here, can use the tracking locator to find him in case anything goes wrong as long as he's nearby. And when he's more fluent, you know, to call."
"Got it registered today, so you can show him the call features and the sign app, as those will probably be useful for him today." Qrow turned back to Kali and smirked as Naruto's eyes lit up, trying to figure out how to use the device.
"Awesome! Is this my payment, Crow Summoner? Now I can figure out how to play those cool games Yellow plays…"
"It's not just a gaming device! It's a valuable tool!" Kali moaned as she moved to instruct Naruto. "First, allow me to show you the most important feature of it, to be able to call anyone at any time."
"Oh, so it's like the cell phone Ayame had?" Naruto mused, and Kali stiffened as she stood straight up while her ears flattened and eyes dilated. "Thought it looked somewhat familiar. Ours were way more brick-like and didn't have this weird projection screen. That makes this thing make way more sense now. Still don't know how to use it, but…"
"They had phones in his time that acted like scrolls." Kali stepped back and refrained from hissing as both Tai and Qrow immediately swiveled their heads to Kali and then to Naruto as he seemed to understand.
Tai summed their thoughts perfectly.
"Just how much technology has been lost and rediscovered or recreated?"
"What in the world?" Naruto looked up at the place as they came to the circle driveway. "Mute girl lives here? Heard Kali say her family was rich, but this is like something out of a novel!"
"Not sure what you just said, but this place is too much for my blood." Qrow glared at the residence and shook his head. "Keep that up, though. You speaking in your language keeps true to my story."
"Good thing Kali taught you how to properly greet before coming, as I ain't no good at that," Qrow muttered as they reached the door and he looked upon the place. "I hate that I'm doing this so much. But I have a gut feeling, and something isn't right about that woman…"
"Seems familiar to me…" Qrow rang the bell and slicked his hand through his hair, having a distinct impression that the last time they met was not their first. "Well, here goes, kid."
With a creak, the door slowly opened, and a balding man dressed rather finely answered. "May I help you, sirs?"
"Yeah, we're here at Jimmy's request," Qrow replied to the man with his hands pocketed. "Came by Signal to request a meeting between my son and his daughter after their impromptu run-in a short while back."
"Ah, yes. Right this way. Lady Vanille is expecting you." The butler opened the door to allow them entry and bowed.
"Oh, she is, is she?" Qrow frowned upon that information as Naruto walked into the estate, and the butler showed the way to what seemed like a massive dining hall. "From my conversation with Jim yesterday, he stated he would be here…"
"Business arose, and he had to take care of it, unfortunately." The butler stated before opening the door to the dining hall and bowing respectfully. "My lady Vanille. Huntsman Branwen and his son have arrived."
"Thank you, Penn. That will be all." Carmel softly spoke, acknowledging her butler, and turned her attention to her guest. "I apologize for this abruptness and that Jim went out of his way to find and contact you…"
"Yeah, it was awkward when he used his leverage to speak with me at the end of the school day at Signal." Qrow bit back a snarl as that afternoon was not a pleasant experience for him. "Not to mention Naruto here has been having a rough time too with his teacher and my brother when I've been out. So not the most ideal of timing for us."
"You have my condolences, but when Jim makes up his mind, there is almost nothing I can do to persuade him." Carmel winced as her eyes trailed to the young blonde. "Our dear Trivia has been quite belligerent this last year, and since she left the house unsupervised, she has only become further unruly. We worry that her lack of communication in general and with others than ourselves may be exacerbating her issues as she is isolating further from us."
"So I understand Jim's hastiness to speed things along if he believes interaction with a peer her age will lessen her less desirable behaviors." Carmel held a pensive expression as her gaze fell to the floor, a thin frown on her lips.
"Huh, I see," Qrow hesitated to call out his observations after having watched Trivia being well-mannered, curious, and happy when she was out on her own, if not a little naive and careless of her surroundings.
Taking in his surroundings, Qrow frowned as this place wasn't to his liking. Not to mention, a certain key person was missing. "So, I was kind of expecting…"
"She's being quite uncooperative and refusing to leave her room." Carmel sighed before motioning for her butler. "I thought perhaps showing he was here might lift her spirits, so, Penn, can you take the dear boy to Trivia's room?"
"Yes, my lady." Penn bowed once again and motioned for Naruto to follow.
However, before he did, Naruto seemed to take the situation in, bowed to the woman, and practiced what Kali had been teaching. "Plea-sure, to meet, you."
"Shit, that was hard. Hate this stupid language." Naruto muttered instantly, and Qrow grinned, having played his role perfectly.
"Oh, your pleasure is mine, dear." Carmel smiled and gave a curtesy back as Qrow continued to grin from ear to ear.
He might not have understood what was being said, but if the kid couldn't read the situation of the room and knew enough to do the right thing at the exact moment, he needed to. Whatever training they had in his era was effective…
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?
This place was too fancy for his tastes! He did not like it at all! Too extravagant and luxurious. Reminded him far too much of Madam Shijimi and the Fire Daimyō's estate on the numerous times they had to return Tora to the premises…
How could people live like this? Naruto didn't understand it!
No wonder mute girl wanted to get out! This was too much!
What the…
This was her room? Why were there bolt locks on her door? A key padlock? They were keeping her locked in her room!
That was wrong on a variety of levels!
Quelling the rage burning within as he wanted to scream and kick the door down, break in to take the mute girl from this place, Naruto took a breath. Now wasn't the time.
Evidence first. Had to make a case. He was given that much information. There was a camera thing on his new gadget, would ask mute girl about it later. For now, he'd see if she wanted out, as this was not right!
Something was wrong here!
Trying to be cordial, waving to the butler as the door was opened for him, Naruto stepped inside…
And froze as his cerulean eyes were pierced by a pair of pink and brown eyes seething at his appearance.
This did not seem like it would be an easy mission after all…
Why were all the women he knew temperamental?
Chapter 14 Preview:
Seeing him squint at her signs, struggling to comprehend them, she sighed. Of course, his sign wasn't up to par with hers. She had looked into the paper scroll the crazy man had him recognize and diagnose his language from and…
It was ancient. So there were so many questions about why he only spoke it…
"Naruto. Uzumaki Naruto."
He understood her question! She smiled brilliantly before frowning…
They needed better communication! This was not acceptable!