We are here again.
Been doing some reflecting on life.
Released a bunch of one-shot/concept draft stories this week of old works I was working on when I wasn't posting for several years and on hiatus.
So didn't get very much writing done this week, but will get back into here shortly.
Didn't get to responses either, sorry about that and will try to get back on track.
As a note, for some that may think it going slow, it is kind of meant to.
It is built to the story, and this entire 1st Arc is world-building and set up to effortlessly roll into the 2nd Arc.
From the first few chapters, the pace begins to pick up quicker, and things get moving in a hurry.
Another quick note, Chapter 23 is the final chapter of the 1st Arc, and 24 marks the beginning of the 2nd.
Thank you for all your support.
Now let's get this show on the road!
Answer.
Please answer.
They aren't granting me very many freedoms. This is the last one left. Finally, after a week, Father has given back my ability to call you without supervision…
So pick up the damn…
Thank Oum, he picked…
A faint blush spread across Trivia's face as her heterochromatic eyes sparkled in realization. She had called while he was in the shower yet again!
She had forgotten what time it was! He was typically in the shower around this time of day as he was wrapping up all his workouts! His schedule and routine were rock-solid…
Like those abs.
Those shredded abs that someone her age shouldn't have. Glistening in the freshly speckled droplets of water that drew her attention to the towel he attempted to wrap around his waist…
Male anatomy was extraordinary. There was a need to learn more about it. She wanted a closer examination of it. Maybe if she asked nicely for a demonstration…
"Dammit, you know this is a horrible time to call me!" Trivia heard Naruto exclaim in his foreign tongue before scowling at her over the screen and fumbling over his next words. "Bad. Time."
Trivia smirked and shook her head and grinned, a voice from within her speaking through her. And she happened to agree very much with the voice. Whether hearing a voice in her mind was normal or not, she did not care.
It was indeed a matter of opinion.
Regardless, she concurred with Neo's voice. It was excellent timing.
"I'm beginning to think you might secretly be a devil…" Naruto muttered in his language as he placed his scroll to the side and allowed himself to get dressed, much to the displeasure of Trivia.
She lost her eye candy.
However, when he picked the scroll back up, she could still see those defined muscles beneath that tight shirt he wore. Oh, well, at least there was still something of a show…
Her eyes caught his hands' motions, and she sighed, noting he was asking how she was doing. Sitting up on her bed, having been lying down on her belly prior, Trivia slowly signaled back to him simply. He still was catching on at a decent pace, but it was still too slow for her to have a full-fledged conversation.
But that was okay.
The charades and acting were fun. And after a week without talking to anyone but her mother, father, and that bland, demonic instructor, Aurelia, she was glad to talk to someone else.
Someone that wanted to talk to her for no ulterior motive. Well, outside of helping her with her plan, but…
That was so far out of sight. And what would she do if she succeeded? What was her plan after?
All the things she needed to think about, and she didn't have any of those thoughts...
Ugh! She hated planning! There was no fun in that! It was boring!
Where was the spontaneity? The exhilaration of doing whatever she wanted! The freedom to choose and deal with the repercussions later!
What? Oh, right. Naruto…
Trivia set up her scroll in front of her so she could sign properly to him. This would be a long session today. She knew that much. She had much to get off her chest, even if he didn't understand.
He was a good listener.
"This right?" Naruto spoke with some difficulty as he sat on the couch in front of the coffee table with Blake.
The two were working on a simplified worksheet that Kali made for them in order to help them read and translate his and modern language. "Does this… Sentence look correct?"
"Still not getting this stupid language. Hate it…" Naruto muttered and glared at the sheet as he moved his paper over to Blake so she could see. "But I understand the need to be able to read it as well…"
Looking over at what he translated, Blake gleamed and nodded. "Yes! Looks okay so far. Only a small mistake with your vowels."
"Are you kidding me?" Naruto replied in annoyance and began to try and fix his translation in annoyance.
"How's this?" Blake showed her sheet, making Naruto twitch as while they had two different sheets, they had the exact words and sentences, as that is how Kali had set it up.
Blake was nearly finished with her worksheet, and it looked flawless! He understood everything on it she had written!
A six-year-old outperformed him, and it was embarrassing on every level.
This travesty could not stand! He was Uzumaki Naruto!
The best there is! The best there was! The best there ever will be!
He could not let this stand!
This worksheet would be defeated, dammit!
"Yeah, yeah. Looks really good." Naruto tried not to speak in a mocking and jealous tone as he knew Blake wasn't outperforming him on purpose before shaking his head and smiling at the young cat girl. "You're gifted with words, aren't ya?"
"I like reading. And stories." Blake responded as she returned to work on the worksheet after returning the smile with her own. "It's often lonely at home. I don't have too many friends…"
"That sucks!" Naruto frowned as he squinted his eyes at his paper in frustration, sounding out the word in front of him, knowing it was something Kali had recently discussed in their verbal lessons. "Why not? Don't tell me people make fun of you for the cat ears thing? Wait, is that what your mom meant by that?"
"Kind of…" Blake stopped working on her paper, putting down her pencil, and deeply frowned. "Mom and Dad are heads of the White Fang, a group to help Faunus not be…" Made fun of by everyone else in the world."
Following Blake's example as he put his pencil down, Naruto turned his full attention to the sullen little girl and listened. A deep frown adorned his face as he heard her words and remembered Kali saying times had changed.
But had they really? After all…
He was hated by his village for reasons he couldn't control.
"So as they are trying to make things better for our people. I'm alone and have hardly anything to do when they're out. I barely have friends, and they are not always available." Blake's ears lowered, as did her head. "So I read about these fantastical worlds and stories… And pretend I'm there instead."
Silence followed her words.
Cerulean eyes stared at Blake's form in astonishment at hearing such a profound statement. From a child so young, no less! And then a look of understanding and acknowledgment followed, a sad knowing smile crossing his lips.
"Hey," Naruto slowly reached up and untied his headband, catching Blake's attention as he slid it from his forehead before clasping it tightly in his grasp as he looked fondly at the object. "Do you want to hear a story? About overcoming hatred and finding acceptance and friendship?"
"It's filled with cool ninja stuff, too, I promise." Naruto closed his eyes and grinned as he faced Blake.
"Yes!"
"Cool!" Naruto placed the headband on the table to be the story's centerpiece, focusing his attention on the lead. "It all begins in the Hidden Leaf Village. A lonely boy sitting on a swing having just failed his third exam in a row. All the rest of the kids celebrated with their family and friends, having successfully become shinobi."
"That boy happens to be me, and this is how my journey truly started…"
"It's so good to see you again, dear." Kali embraced and was enveloped warmly in the loving embrace of Ghira's arms, having come to meet him at the airport. "I'm surprised you stopped by for the detour…"
"It's a minor one to come and see you, my love." Ghira leaned in and gave his wife a passionate kiss, having not seen her in some time, and contently growled. "I missed you."
"Oh, where is Blake?" Ghira noted the lack of his daughter's presence as he scanned the area and mildly frowned.
"She wanted to stay back and help Naruto with his translations after hearing you were going to be swamped with work and didn't want to bother you." Kali mewled as she tried to melt from the kiss before groaning in disappointment at the separation of his touch. "Knew you would have more time after taking care of all our work here in the Vale branch. She also knows you'll have time after, given how close to that time of year it is…"
"Oh, fair enough, I suppose." Ghira gave a hardy yet gentle laugh and shook his head. "Or did you perhaps tell her that gifts may be on the way and that she needed to be a good girl?"
"Maybe?" Kali smirked and giggled with her husband. "No, she's doing exceptionally well. A few issues here and there, but Blake is on her best behavior, and you should see her with the caretaker's little girl. She might have a soft spot for her as she gets to read out loud to her, and it makes her day. They get along quite well, not to mention she really has taken a shine to the boy too."
Chuckling at the thought, knowing how much his daughter already developed a love for reading at her young age, Ghira beamed at his wife. While watching his fellow Faunus gear and prep the Bullhead for the journey to Valley's airport, he gently sighed. "So, how have things been here?"
"It has been okay. It's been a challenge, I will admit." Kali exhaled, her eyes trailing the same sights as her husband, a burden lifting from her shoulders as she let go and spoke to him. "Despite my skepticism, he truly is a boy out of time. From how he speaks, his mannerisms to his knowledge of subjects that a boy his age shouldn't know about my father's people better than even my father knew… Because he was there. He lived it and experienced the traditions. He's done things instinctively that my father would only do in practice."
"Not to mention getting past some of his eccentricities has been quite arduous." Kali scrunched up her nose and scowled lightly. "It took me forever to get over his name-calling habit."
"Lovely, even the ancient people were racist." Ghira scowled at hearing that tidbit and didn't like hearing his wife had to endure that in the slightest, especially from someone essentially an ancestor of his beloved.
"No," Kali shook her head, clarifying the situation as she frowned and looked into his eyes. "It's more a term of endearment and respect for him. Everyone has to earn his respect. He has had a troubled upbringing from the few comments he has made about his past. His behaviors match more of a younger child at times because he never had parents, and his only discipline was recently by teachers and combat instructors. So he doesn't get basic concepts like that very well."
Ghira still scowled, but his gaze was more reproachful than usual. It was more understanding that…
"But there is something else," Kali's golden eyes glimmered. "From everything he's said, there are some shattering revelations about our people Ghira… While his blood tests show he is human, he has visible feral and animalistic traits that can be associated with Faunus. They are more pronounced the more frustrated he becomes or when he is fighting and has adrenaline coursing through him. The way he runs through the foliage"
"It's almost as if some Faunus lineage could be traced through him or through some of my father's people somehow," Kali stated, drawing Ghira's attention.
"Are you saying what I think you are?" Ghira whispered in a low thrum, almost as if he didn't believe his ears. "That despite evidence to the contrary…"
"Maybe there was a time when Faunus were driven underground, or something happened, Ghira." Kali's eyes glistened, and the words she spoke rang in his ears. "But the very first words he said to me still resonate. "He recognized what I was, and there was no judgment."
"A child out of time knew what a Faunus was, or at least didn't seem concerned with our appearance. He had a friend that he called the same thing he calls other Faunus. He had what could very well be a Faunus friend in his era! Or a friend to what is essentially the predecessor to what would become the first known Faunus!"
"But most of all…" Kali took a deep breath as Ghira listened, letting his wife speak in her peace and absorbing every detail. "That means somewhere, somehow, records of all this was lost."
"And that at one time, our ancestors was seen as equals to humanity…"
"Trivia."
"Are you paying attention?" Aurelia's voice echoed in the library as Trivia stared blankly while sitting at the table, drumming her fingers along it.
Rolling her eyes at her teacher, she silently mouthed off. As if any of this mattered, the material wasn't that difficult, and if she paid a modicum of attention, she could retain it. But now, there was no point in the matter.
She felt like spiting her father, who wanted nothing but excellence out of her. So she wasn't planning to do a damn thing in this class but retain the material she cared about.
And Aurelia's teaching was so tiresome! She often had to find ways not to doze off!
Wait, doze off…
That's an exciting thought…
"Trivia," Aurelia sighed, her shoulders hanging in a defeated manner as she gazed at her student in what seemed to be a caring manner. "Believe me when I say this. While I can't imagine your situation, I understand your frustration and apathy."
"I can't help but sympathize with you and what I've seen." Aurelia frowned as she softly spoke. "But you have to let me do my job if you want anyone to assist you, dear. We both know the likely outcome here if you continue like this, dear."
"I'll be out of a job, and he'll find someone else less caring." Aurelia sighed as she sat softly on the table and looked down at the petite girl. "Or perhaps your mother convinces your father to do what she desires. And in a few years, be shipped off early to that primary school she desperately wants you to attend?"
Glowering at the thought of a worse teacher than Aurelia replacing her, Trivia's eyes slitted as the latter words crossed her teacher's lips.
Oh, that wouldn't do. She wanted a choice in the matter, and while she didn't like any of her outcomes currently…
At least this outcome still had something positive held within. She just needed to grasp it. And if her teacher, of all people, was willing to offer her assistance…
Well, she guessed she would make a little effort.
What could it hurt?
Fine. But do the lessons have to be so tedious and boring?
"I resent that, young lady." Aurelia huffed as she stood back up, lifting her nose in a haughty manner away from Trivia. "If you dare say to think my lessons are excruciating now… I scant to think of what you may say when the material becomes far more complex."
Trivia's complexion paled as she looked up at her teacher with a worrisome expression as horror dawned on her. That face she made was utterly terrifying…
She had only made things difficult for herself.
"La, la, la!" Ruby sang with a bright smile, wearing a weird red stocking on her head as she tried to help with decorations with Yang before running happily over to Naruto with a big red sock. "Decorate! Winter is here! Winter is here! Gifts and Qwokies!"
Naruto blinked as everything he was witnessing was simply odd and could not be comprehended.
What were these decorations? What was the point? Why were Kali and Blake helping? Why did Pops bring a giant tree and place it in the room? Was it for the celebration of some kind of festival?
So with great difficulty, he tried to use the language he had been learning. "What's this? Don't understand…"
"Oh, right!" Kali winced as Tai seemed genuinely amused by his daughter before looking at the young man. "It's a celebration of the Winter Solstice. No one is sure of its origins as there are several stories about it. But it is common for families to get together and share it with one another at the end of the year and celebrate good tidings."
"Oh!" Naruto's eyes widened as recognition crossed his face. "Sounds like the Rinne Festival, where we pray for the dead at the end of the year but celebrate their life with gifts for our loved ones and family. We decorated too! Got it! Decorations have changed, spirit and motive remain."
"Where go?" Naruto took the stocking from Ruby, who looked giddy and excited as she pointed to where she and Yang were decorating.
"There, there!"
Giving a thumbs up and a big grin, he followed Ruby's direction near the fireplace. Kali looked at Naruto, her lips puckered, and her head tilted oddly. She then gently walked beside Tai as he fluffed the tree and whispered. "So, a new revelation… The Winter Solstice may have an official origin."
"Why is that not surprising?" Tai muttered and refrained from rolling his eyes as he glanced at the kid. "Should not be surprised by that in the slightest given how old the origins of the Winter Solstice are, and even then, those are rough estimates. It being older is not all that shocking."
A loud caw snapped their attention, and they noticed Naruto and Yang glaring out a window, both yelling at the top of their lungs.
"Shut up, annoying bird! We're decorating!"
"I will end you giant black summoned… Crow Summoner!"
"Uncle Qrow!"
Naruto streaked to the door and popped it open faster than an alarmed Yang could move. He could feel Pops was trailing behind him.
What had happened to cause him to get so badly hurt? Why was there a shimmering portal and several black feathers flittering in the air around him? Wasn't he the one to summon the bird? Why would it leave in such an odd manner?
And why did Pops look so alarmed by what he saw?
"Qrow?" Tai spotted his teammate's condition as the young blonde kid rushed to his aid in the snow and was quickly at his side. "Shit? What happened? Your left leg looks bad."
"Wasn't pretty, can tell you that much…" Qrow muttered as he lay in the snow, his chest covered in bandages, his face burned and bruised, left leg held together in a makeshift cast and winced as he winced he saw a black feather descend slowly before him. "Ever the gentle escort, that one… Still tending my wounds here despite her tender care…"
"Okay, definitely calling for some help." Tai accessed his scroll and began to make a call before looking at Naruto, gesturing to Qrow's side. "Think you can move with us."
"Yeah, you two would be far more gentle than she could ever be. That's certain." Qrow winced as Tai and Naruto moved to assist and lift him, only able to somewhat help with the strength of his right leg. "For what it's worth, thanks… Sorry, my bad luck had to drop like this at the start of the Winter Solstice…"
"Don't be sorry," Tai shook his head as they assisted Qrow toward the door. "You're family. It's what we do. Besides, I got some bad news to report about the Vanille family, and you won't like it."
"Joy." Qrow sarcastically retorted and hung his head. "I am cursed… Make sure they don't take anything if they put me under. Keeping my damn leg."
"Got it." Tai nodded, sighing in relief as the kids were nowhere to be seen, most likely Kali's doing.
He'd have to thank her for that later.
But for now, it was time to get Qrow help as they got him to his poor, defeated couch. That would be his solstice gift to himself…
A new couch, as there was no recovery from the number of times it had been bled on recently.
Chapter 18 Preview:
Naruto barely had enough time to turn and deflect a thrown kunai with the one he had just plucked out of his wooden target.
Standing in a defensive stance, he narrowed his eyes. A woman in a primarily black combat dress with touches of red stood before him. Arms crossed, she stared at him unimpressed.
Her crimson eyes measuring his worth…