Good to see everyone.
Not much to say.
Kind of under the weather...
And my new work schedule has been kicking my ass.
So I didn't even get my one chapter per week quota.
So glad for my backlog.
Didn't get to answer any reviews this week, so a quick review response before the start of the chapter.
Zeromaru Chaos Mode - Happy you are enjoying this one so far. Neo is one of my favorite characters (now probably my favorite after reading A Roman Holiday and Volume 9). So going into depth with her character alongside Naruto in a pre-canon setting of RWBY to focus more on their relationships and aspects of the world as the threat hasn't reached critical mass yet (considering Cinder is going through her horrors at this time as she isn't much older than Winter and Neo while Salem is still making preparations for what is to come).
Big Peroin - Glad you are enjoying it so far. More to come from her as her role is going to become more pronounced here soon.
KHARAKI TAKAN - Ad lib. Cell phones did exist in the Naruto world (Boruto proves this), so saying they had the old brick phones weren't out of the realm of possibility, and someone like Ayame having one could be feasible. Thank you!
Dasgun - ._.
King0fP0wers - Naruto's instincts are either on the money or completely wrong, especially pre-Shippuden. And considering this is Neo/Trivia, you are on the right course.
Dude64 - (Looks at first paragraph) You are not wrong.
Zero - Trivia's life was harsh in canon, and I'm doubling down on it. Probably more than what was there, but changes are to be expected when a new player is involved. Trivia/Neo never met Roman until she was 18, so think how that's going to change the story.
Guest - Oobeleck's reaction would be fun to write, that is for sure!
TheSlySage, kurogane1602, Monster King - Appreciate the support! Thank you guys so much!
How she despised blue with a passion.
She detested yellow with every fiber of her being.
And the Oum disgusting orange made her eyes well from the vibrancy!
She wanted it out of her sight! She wanted him to be gone! How dare he play her parents' game?
He really was no different!
Trivia's eyes bore hatred for the blonde boy as the door clicked, and their eyes met. The door clicked behind him.
Glass shattered as her friend came into being. She would make him pay for this betrayal of her trust!
Wait, Neo! Why are you on the ground and your hands tied behind your…
Blonde boy is too strong! Our plan failed! Oh, this is a nightmare! Your punch was supposed to take him out and allow us to leave once they let him in!
Neo glanced at Trivia and looked at her crossly while she lay under Naruto's knee as he pinned her quite easily. Neo twitched her head back and forth, glaring over at her and mouthing silently, confusing the blonde.
Don't you mouth off to me, Neo! We were in this together! What do you mean you knew this was going to fail? What do you mean my heart wasn't into it, and you failed because of it?
Neopolitan!
Blonde boy! Not now! Arguing with my real friend! Wait, Neo! Don't you disperse on me!
Neo!
Trivia stomped her foot angrily as Neo shattered into shards of glass, a smirk on her face. The ropes on her wrists tied behind her back fell to the ground as the blonde boy looked around, still unsure what to make of this weird ability he had witnessed a second time. He scooped them back into his pouch effortlessly and looked at her with a puzzled stare.
She stared back with as much furor as she could muster. Followed by mockingly mouthing off, rolling her eyes, and wildly gesturing in a ranting manner before she pointed out the door and crossed her arms over her chest.
The blonde boy understood she was upset. His look was an almost irresistibly cute expression of understanding and abstract bewilderment. She did not allow his adorable face to earn him any points back in his favor!
She was upset with him!
How dare he side with her parents?
How dare he try to help them tame her?
How dare he look so adorable while she was trying to be mad at him?!
Trivia narrowed her eyes as she watched blonde boy hold his hands up and to the side as an act of innocence, attempting to show he came here with no ill intent. She refused to believe that! He came here at her father's behest! And that only meant…
He then slowly extended a finger toward himself before directing it toward her. Her eyes narrowed as she knew that already. Of course, he was here for her. That's why her father had…
Did he point outside? Wait, that wasn't part of her father's plan? And then motioned two fingers like they were walking? Were they playing charades now?
Fair enough. He wasn't entirely proficient in sign, but she understood his intent well enough.
Responding, Trivia, still with a scowl, pointed a finger at herself, then two at her eyes, and then pointed just outside the door, knowing they were being listened to and watched upon. They couldn't leave, and that's why she had an escape plan.
Neo was supposed to knock out blonde boy and then use him as a shield to get out…
Blonde boy frowned as he looked at the door for a moment. Then he grinned before making the strangest sign she had ever seen. What did that even mean? What was it…
What in the world? Two more blonde boys! What kind of Semblance power is this? What was he planning on doing? Wait, she saw things about this, and none were good…
Hold on, what? That's not how Semblances work! She read on them, and he clearly showed what his Semblance works! How did his clone change and…
One precisely like her…
Scrutinizing the mimicked version of her, Trivia flicked its head, gasped at how solid it was, and heard it yell back at her in annoyance.
It was a solid copy of her! With his blonde boy's voice but cloaked in an illusion of her! What was his power that he could do this? Create a clone and use something like her illusions? Better yet, what was he planning on doing with a copy of…
Wait, outside, did you say blonde boy?
Pointing outside, Trivia grinned as Naruto smirked and unlatched the window hatch before holding out a single finger. She frowned at that.
They had a time limit. Boring! But…
He had a point.
What did she plan on doing if she escaped the house by knocking out blonde boy? What was her plan after that?
Rolling her eyes, mouthing in excruciating annoyance, she grabbed her brown blazer and slid it on. She wasn't sure how he planned on getting her safely out of the window and…
Why are you grabbing my hand…
AH! BLONDE BOY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING? THIS IS NOT HOW YOU TREAT A LADY!
Wait, are we on ground level now? Did you just run me down the side of my house? That was amazing!
Trivia's eyes gleamed as she gazed up and saw her room window close, marveling at how blonde boy ran her down the side of the house. She didn't understand how he could do that, but she wanted to learn so she could do that on her own time! She wasn't sure what his Semblance ability was and where his Aura control came in, but wherever it did, she wanted to learn some of these skills!
Okay, blonde boy was back in her good graces.
Let's hit the town, blonde boy!
Trivia smiled brightly at him and pointed ahead, knowing where to go. She had walked through this neighborhood enough to know there was a place she wanted to visit.
She just hoped blonde boy had some lien on him! She wanted to go shopping!
And this time, she didn't have her dad's card!
"So I take it that your…"
"Naruto," Qrow informed Carmel as he quickly lifted his hand from his pocket and fidgeted with his left ear for a split second.
"Ah, yes." Carmel smiled and nodded, noting that the man seemed slightly uncomfortable. "I noticed that Naruto and you have strikingly different appearances. I assume that he takes after his mother?"
"He's adopted." Qrow as he settled in. "Found him roaming the outskirts of the Kingdom of Vale when he was young, alone with Grimm surrounding. Given the circumstances…"
"His parents didn't make it. After seeing his condition, my family couldn't let him be on his own, so we took him in." Qrow fiddled with the story, telling truths with lies so the woman who was reading him couldn't entirely catch onto his deception.
He had a funny feeling that she was assessing him more than he was attempting to evaluate her.
And that was worrisome.
"Oh, how tragic." Carmel lowered her head lightly and softly smiled. "At least he has a caring family now, at the very least."
Thinking about how Ruby and Yang were laughing and circling him as he arrived earlier and the enjoyment on his face watching them, Qrow smirked. The kid seemed to enjoy their company in the short time he had been around.
And from the few things he had learned from Kali that she learned from talking with the boy, he knew his life in his old era did not seem precisely ideal. So that he was taking the adjustment as well as he had been…
"Yeah, yeah, he does."
Hearing the beep in his ear, he refrained from rolling his eyes, but at the same time, it was expected.
Kid worked fast, and they were on the move. He'd have to take advantage of this later as the woman didn't trust him, nor did he trust her.
Thankfully the two kids seemed to gel well and were doing something. Now whether that was helpful or not was entirely questionable. Considering how fast they were getting…
She was probably taking the lead, so no, it probably wasn't…
Then again, all he needed from the two of them was a distraction, so when they could provide one, he'd be golden. So, for now, he'd continue with this small talk.
"So tell me…" Qrow focused on a feeling he'd been having since he met her. "You seem familiar to me, and I can't quite put a finger on it, and it's bothered me since we met. Are you, by chance, from Mistral? I feel like I've seen you there before when I was younger…"
Carmel's face stiffened briefly, but it was enough for Qrow to notice before she smiled. "Why, of course. I was born there, but I doubt we ever interacted, my dear Huntsman. Why would such an elite socialite such as myself ever interact with a barbarian tribesman such as yourself?"
Qrow's eyes narrowed as Carmel closed her eyes. She recognized his name and knew exactly who he was and was calling him for his family's deeds. Her smile only brightened further. "What I find more impressive is that you pulled yourself out of that wretched filth and kept yourself clean of it all this time. The same can't be said for the other, I suppose. I wonder how her husband took knowing she returned to her tribe over her family."
Red eyes collided with her brown as hers calmly opened, and she looked back into his without showing any signs of fear.
And her smile never faded.
This woman was dangerous, and Qrow knew it.
Information was her game, and that made her a powerful opponent.
Naruto knew his job was to cause a distraction for the most part during these first few visits. Give crow summoner time to gather information and see what he could dig up.
The fact that he needed to get a picture of the locks on her door was not lost on him, but for now…
Why did all girls love clothes shopping?
Was that just constant? Sakura, Ino, and even Hinata enjoyed it from what he saw. All the older kunoichi he ever saw shopping took their time browsing through clothes…
Naruto didn't get it. Something comfortable, practical, and that was in his favorite colors was good enough.
However, mute girl seemed to be enjoying herself quite a bit. He struggled with her name even after hearing the woman call her daughter by name. He still didn't understand the dialect well enough to know how to translate that! It was Triva-something!
It would take him a long time to learn this language, and he knew it.
Shaking his head of that, she seemed obsessed with white, pink, and brown clothing the most, but she had moved out of the girl's section, and now strangely, they were in the boy's section.
Wait, why? Why were they here…
"Hey, wait, no! What are you doing?" Naruto growled as she lifted his arm as if she was trying to get a measurement of him.
She pinched his jacket, pointed at her eyes, and then shook her head, all the while having a disgusted expression on her face. "Hey, my look is not bad! I happen to like orange!"
Tilting her head as she did not understand a word from his mouth, she frowned. It seemed she caught his upset tone before she used a few signs, most of which he didn't recognize as he wasn't well practiced with code. But he saw some of it and translated what he thought was said into 'orange was fine,' but given how much more was said…
She was insulting his look in general.
Squinting his eyes as he looked down at the tiny girl, he gave her a condescending glare. He followed with a sign that was the equivalent of 'And?'
Her grin spoke a thousand words as she skipped along the aisle, and Naruto's eyes narrowed further.
Was she taunting him now? Oh, she was a tiny terror! Why were girls like this?
"Hey, that wasn't a challenge!" Naruto followed her, annoyed as he pocketed his hands and grumbled following her. "Hey, listen to me…"
"Oh, that is kind of a cool jacket." Naruto had a white jacket thrust upon him with orange streaks running emblazoned through it and the edges trimmed with it. "I kind of like…"
"Wait, I have no money!" Naruto motioned with a free hand the sign of cash before shaking his head. "I can't pay for any of this!"
Oh, he did not like the sudden smirk on her face when he signaled that to her. Why did she suddenly look so mischievous? Oh, no. Was she planning what he thought she was? He only did that out of necessity for clothing and wouldn't do that again without cause…
"No!" Naruto barked at the brown-haired girl, a sour expression crossing her lips at his tone as he signed at her. "Don't you dare…"
"Hey lady! Why are you yelling at me?" Naruto turned to the store clerk walking toward them and was nastily shrieking. "Calm down, lady! I don't understand a word you're saying!"
The clerk pointed at a sign at the front desk that clearly couldn't read. Mute girl glowered and pulled out her scroll, feverishly typing something into it while he threw his hands in the air, exasperated.
"I have no idea what you just said, lady, or what that sign is! Why is she so mad, mute girl?" Naruto glared at the woman, crossing his arms in annoyance before looking at the scroll held up by his mute friend. "Well, I can't understand that…"
As the lady angrily screeched again, Naruto got the distinct impression that she was upset at him, and he had no control over it. It was starting to irk him severely and brought up old memories he had buried about how shops treated him back in the day before the old man came down on them…
And seeing mute girl stomping next to him, furious as she tried to sign to him something incomprehensible in her agitated state…
Wait, that was something like animal she just signed? Hold on? Was the lady calling him…
A beastkin?
Was this what Kali was talking to him about how the times had changed? Why was she so upset about him calling her names all the time?
Wait, why was this lady calling him out? Was it because of his whisker marks? The hell? Those were birthmarks! Or markings from the fox, he wasn't sure which, but he wasn't a beastkin!
And why was it a big deal? Why get all heated over that? That didn't make sense! What was the difference? Honestly?!
Gnashing his teeth at the woman's incessant screeching, Naruto looked over at mute girl, and their eyes met. With a simple nod, he was done playing nicely with this lady!
She wanted this stuff for free! She was getting it for free!
With a simple sign, mute girl snapped her eyes shut as Naruto flicked a seal out of his pouch, and the room filled with a brilliant bright light. Quickly gathering everything mute girl picked, he stuffed it in a scroll, formed several clones, and transformed them into duplicates of the girl as the two ran for it.
And she followed suit, creating glass illusions of both of them and running around the store manically with his doppelgangers as they burst out of the doors, grinning wildly.
That would teach the woman to scream obscenities at him!
His grin stretched from ear to ear seeing the silent laughter of mute girl running beside him, despite the tears welling in her eyes from the mild pain it was causing her.
Well, that was one way to have fun. Unexpected, but…
Oh, how was he going to explain that to Kali and crow summoner…
Shit.
Oh, this hour has been too short! This was too much fun! There is much more to do, but alas, this must come to an end! Especially if we want to do this again, blonde boy!
Slipping back through the window, a wide grin as she slid out of his grasp and onto the floor, Trivia's eyes were alight with joy, her body brimming with excitement. She noted his clones pop out of existence in a weird smoke, and her eyes shimmered.
Then he pulled her stuff from the paper scroll he had, and she wasn't sure what his tricks were, but they were unlike anything she had ever seen before. It was like magic!
Like from all the fairy tales she read!
And she wasn't sure what his Semblance or what his weird powers were, but everything was so…
Thrilling! She wanted another day like this! But for that…
Ugh, she'd have to behave! Droll! Listen to her father's and mother's rules! Yet, maybe…
All this could come full circle. The more they let their guard down and trust her…
The sooner she could finally succeed and leave this horrible place!
A toothy, devious grin spread across Trivia's face as she concealed her newly acquired effects. A plan came to mind, one that would take far longer but one she needed to work…
And she needed blonde boy's help!
Turning from her closet, she grinned before noticing something in his hand. He had a scroll! Excellent! Wait, he didn't understand their language. How did he use it?
Oh, that was a mild issue to overcome, but something they could navigate! But what was he trying to do with it?
Peeking over his arms, catching the boy by surprise, she frowned as it seemed he was fiddling with it and trying to figure out how it worked. Did the drunk give it to him without telling him how it worked? Or only the essential functions?
What was blonde boy looking for?
As Trivia sighed and took the scroll from him abruptly, she bounced her head back and forth happily. Tilting his head oddly, she grinned as she held the scroll in a very particular fashion and pressed her head against his shoulder, making him look down at her oddly for a moment…
Then a flash caught his attention before the image of their faces appeared on the scroll. His eyes widened, and he started speaking in his weird tongue, and she nodded, knowing it must have been something like, 'It's a camera too!' She then grinned, quickly putting her information into his scroll.
He would need it for later.
Now, what was next? Ah, she knew what. Quickly activating an app, she activated the controller function of the scroll. Blonde boy appeared to recognize the feature.
Oh, he knew of Arcadia Fighters?
Oh, he was about to learn never to cross her!
No one ever beats Trivia Vanille!
Grinning as she handed his scroll to him as he tried to figure out the controller interface, seemingly understanding it fairly well, Trivia pulled hers out.
This would be a fun afternoon indeed! Wait, what was blonde boy's name?
Before beginning the demolition of the boy's hopes and dreams of ever playing the game, Trivia softly signed as she was curious. She wondered if he knew enough sign to understand her question. It was silly of her to continue to call him blonde boy all the time. He had a name.
After all, she needed something to put into her scroll for her contact info later since she had memorized his.
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!
Cutting her controller and pocketing her scroll, she wagged her finger, tapped her foot, and tapped his scroll to deactivate the game. And another tap brought up the sign app.
It was lesson time!
She had to teach him if they were going to have any communication!
Don't give me that look, blonde bo… Naruto! This must be done! All must be done to escape this place!
To earn freedom!
"Well, my end was rather fruitless besides becoming further paranoid about that woman…" Qrow muttered as he walked on the sidewalk with his hands in his pockets alongside Naruto, oddly mirroring his slouch walking style with his hand pocketed. "Take it your end didn't proceed very well either."
"I don't know what you are saying, but this was a day Crow Summoner. A day I tell you..." Naruto muttered and shook his head, wearily paying attention to where they were heading and not liking the direction. "Here, you might want to take a look at this."
"Wait, did you just understand what I just said, or was that an accident?" Qrow raised his eyebrows as Naruto pulled his scroll from his pocket and handed it to him. "Did you get something? That would be rather impressive…"
"Why are there so many more apps on this thing than when I handed it to you?" Qrow grumbled as he scanned through it before looking somewhat confused. "Actually, most of these make sense. Was the Vanille girl involved in picking these out? Wait, two pictures? A selfie and…"
"The hell is there so many looks on her door?" Qrow narrowed his eyes as he held his voice in check before handing the scroll back to Naruto. "Okay, my suspicions of worry about her safety is validated, at least. But now I have so many more questions added on…"
"Oh, why did we have to come in this direction? Hey, can we go somewhere else?" Naruto complained and tried to change directions seeing blue and red lights in front, knowing what was in wait.
"What is happening here?" Qrow noted sirens and a police car in front of a store down the block before hearing a nervous chuckle next to him. "Kid…"
"What did the two of you do while you were out?"
"So we now have a fifty percent discount at Premium Stock Clothes whenever we want to shop there." Qrow threw back a shot of his flask, sitting in the kitchen.
Tai looked mortified as he looked at his brother-in-law as he sat across from him, unsure how to process what he had just heard.
"You did not just use my people's years of prejudice to get yourself a discount!" Kali hissed as she planted her hand firmly against the table.
"No, what I did was bail the kid out of trouble!" Qrow defended his position as his crimson gaze held firm against her stern golden eyes. "Look, there is some shit out in this world that is not right, and I understand where you are coming from. The fact that people hate others for physical traits is one of those, and the kid got dragged into this mess."
"So I used whatever methods I could to reverse the situation and, in the end, turn the blame on their end, villainizing them for their idiotic stance. It's their fault, and I ensured they paid for it." Qrow flatly growled before taking a deep swing.
Biting back another hiss, despising how the man put it, Kali turned her head from him in frustration. "I feared this could be something that may occur once I saw him. It is a light trait but still something that can be called Faunus-like. And that's enough for the bigots to jump all over him in public and be as hateful and spiteful as they want, just like they are to us."
"I'll have to talk with him to try and explain it to him." Kali's expression darkened, and her eyes welled with sadness. "I hadn't brought it up with him before as I didn't think it would come up so soon…"
Tai sighed as his face dropped as his shoulders sank, hanging his arms at his side. "I barely even registered those markings and thought nothing of them. Simple birthmarks or something like that. But to think that they could be construed that way. That's not a conversation any child should ever have to endure…"
"Welcome to our world!" Kali stood as her eyes sharply snapped at him. "This is what we have to tell our children as soon as they can comprehend it! Do you think that is fair? It's why the White Fang was born. It's why we protest and commit to the lengths we do to make a difference."
"To one day stand as equals." Kali made her way out of the room, her eyes glowing as both men lowered their heads as she left. "To stand as the beastkin did with humans like in the days of old."
"As it should always have been."
Chapter 15 Preview:
Her mother? Why did Aurelia allow her mother to watch? She did not want her here. Not after she was the one to…
"Wonderful, dear." Carmel smiled as Aurelia stepped aside as Trivia jumped down to the mat, warily gazing at her mother. "Ah, you remind me of when I was your age, first learning the art of gymnastics."
"I'm thankful I pushed Jim to request this be part of your fitness schedule as it naturally suits you, dear."
"Ah, if you only were to take ballet, we'd have similar interests." Carmel lamented while smiling down at her daughter before shaking her head. "But you are so far ahead of me where I was on the balance beam."
"I might just have to send word to Lady Browning to see if she can take you in a few years early, dear."