Guess I'm back to an extent on here.
Some things are working, like notifications...
However issues such as stats are still broken going on two months not to mention there still other bugs and issues to sort out.
So I'm still in the middle of protesting of sorts.
So, not to ostracize, you, the readers, I've come up with a middle ground.
I will continuously update on Ao3 throughout the month if you want to keep updated on my stories and read them when they come out.
However, around the end of the month, I will have a massive dump of updates of whatever I've worked on, spacing out chapters if something had multiple releases in that time.
Sound reasonable enough?
Grimm.
The darkness that swallowed Remnant whole, nearly driving humanity to extinction until the discovery of Dust allowed them to fight back on even footing. A material of unknown origins capable of harnessing the many elements of the world.
Grimm were unnaturally drawn toward humanity. The modern scourge, unlike anything his time had seen.
Holding an unnatural, seething hatred toward people. An unhealthy desire…
Drawn to the negativity of the light of humanity to drain it dry like the leeches they were…
An unfortunate app analogy, as he would come to learn through his studies and lessons with Qrow.
Naruto stared down the greatest sum of Grimm he had ever seen before his eyes in the ruined village. Watching the horde close in as an anxious and twitching Vernal glancing at her clan head with apprehension as she floated above with his magical might, drawing forth the horde.
A lone Grimm was not a threat to a Huntsman.
Well, a proper and trained Huntsman.
With advancements in modern tech, more sophisticated training, and ample access to Dust, the Grimm threat had been significantly reduced. Academy students in the lower academies were now expected to handle basic Grimm before graduating, but to be wary as their numbers were where their advantage lay.
The Grimm vastly outnumbered humanity, and if they were ever drawn to a heavily drawn populace…
The results spoke for themselves.
Whatever drew them to this place caused them to wipe this town off the map. With an invasion as numerous as this?
This town would have surely folded…
And that shriek in the distance…
That horrifying shriek.
That was a powerful Grimm.
Numbers and strength? That's why Huntsman died to the Grimm.
Naruto bit back a snarl, his hand clutching the handle of Un, flicking the trigger until it locked the Dust vial he wanted prepared in the chamber within his scabbard. Without his gaze leaving the oncoming horde pouring through the gates of the village, over the walls, whether by climbing or flight, Naruto was ready.
But he knew he couldn't do this alone.
There was a reason why Huntsman were placed on teams…
"I need you to cover and watch my back, ya hear!" Naruto barked at Vernal, intently focused on the rush of innumerable Grimm charging toward their position.
"What?!" Vernal shrieked, the circumstances greatly unnerving her as her eyes shifted from Raven toward Naruto. "I… Raven… We…"
"It's obvious what she's doing here! Her goal is clear!" Naruto snarled, his eyes glinting as they caught Vernal's blues. "We don't have a choice if we wish to survive. You want to prove your clan is strong. Shut up and hold your ground! There is nowhere to run! Her portal only leads to us or to Vale! There is no easy route to your clan!"
Vernal's eyes flickered, filled with a mixture of horror and uncertainty as the reason why she was brought on this trip had become fully evident.
She was simulating no escape. It was a genuine possibility. Raven's portals with them here…
Would only lead to her direct family. And was that a demon she was willing to face if something was to happen in this situation…
Even she didn't know the mentality of their tribe chieftain, and seeing her like this…
Made her trust in her judgment waver.
Vernal swallowed her pride, the grip on her crescent blade pistols tightening as she gnarled her teeth. She nodded as her eyes glimmered, preparing for the onslaught of the horde approaching them rapidly. "Aiy. I got your back as long as you got mine."
Her only answer was the glint in Naruto's eyes, shining briefly as the wave of Grimm had almost crashed upon them. But what happened next was something she had never quite seen before.
She only had the briefest word to warn her before it happened.
"Brace yourself!"
It was as if time itself dilated.
Stopped.
Her eyes were drawn to the only motion she caught in the span before it besides the Grimm…
The flicking trigger of Un.
A torrent of nearly invisible wind, coated with a thin veil of white* due to the Dust within it, gushed from around Naruto. Sweeping through the surrounding scenery, catching all within it.
The pressure and force of the gale nearly swept her from her feet, having only his words to do what he said, unsure what he was preparing. She had seen some of what was capable from Raven using her magical powers of the Maiden or by those using Dust…
However, this gust still nearly blew her off her feet even as she dug her feet into the ground, and her Aura was shielding her!
What was this?
It was catching all the smaller Grimm, such as Beowolves and the aerial Lancers, along with a few stumbling Ursa, Sabyr, Boartusks, and Beringels, and knocking them back or off balance.
An opening?
Vernal knew not to hesitate. She had her fingers on her bladed pistols, ready to fire, but it seemed it wasn't finished…
For the gale abate, only to recede toward Naruto with a violent, swirling, and slicing force, sucking any misfortunate Grimm that had lost its balance into its wake.
Vernal's eyes flickered in horror, feeling a tug as a mysterious second version of Naruto gripped her arm and vanished with her, leaving behind only a log. At the same time, Naruto Naruto leapt into the sky.
"Fujin: Bakyūmugeiru!" * Naruto roared as many Grimm were pooled into the cutting and tearing winds, crafting chakra in his right and forming a massive orb of chakra as he fell back to the earth, crashing with vicious force. "Odama Rasengan!"
Grimm bodies shredded under pressure. Their shrieks echoed. Their bodies dissolved into shadowy mist before the ground beneath cracked and ruptured from the collision.
Naruto released the technique before it was finished, knowing the job was done, landing in the cracked and cratered ground as shadowy remains of the Grimm evaporated around him.
And the horde stormed forward, undeterred by his display. Not that he expected them to be…
Grimm were creatures without fear.
"Oh, this is gonna be wild, isn't it!" Naruto sarcastically mocked with a growl rumbling in his chest, his right hand moving to the handle and trigger of Un.
He would have reflected that the old dusty crow had rubbed off over these past few years as much as Ruby and Yang had…
And in this circumstance, it was challenging to find that optimism that those two shone brightly instead of his sarcastic pessimism.
Yet Naruto grinned, drawing Un as he slid past the slamming fists of Beringel and pounded the ground where he was, Un slicing through its torso. Only for it to follow through with its arc, severing through Beowolf, trying its luck, and finding the top of its head severed.
Several shots rang out as Grimm before him, dropping one and stunning another before a spinning ring was hurled into the skull of an unwary Creep, causing the beastly Grimm to slide to the ground before Naruto.
Vernal ripped her bladed circlet gun from the skull of the Grimm while taking careful aim at the coming Grimm, a snarl crossed on her lips. "You're not taking all the glory here! I'll show you exactly what someone of the Branwen clan can do!"
A sliver of a smile crept onto Naruto's lips, seeing Vernal's cocky and confident attitude return.
That glint in her eyes despite the rush of Grimm swarming them, regardless of what Raven was doing.
Regardless of her own fear.
Okay, he kind of liked her…
Even if she was a bit of a bitch.
Now, if he could only funnel all these Grimm…
His eyes lit up, an idea coming to him, his eyes swiveling around.
"Got it!" Naruto shouted before pointing behind and towards one of the smaller, more condensed streets after several more slices, bouncing between Grimm. "Let's fall back there!"
"What…" Vernal snapped before following where Naruto was leading, and her eyes lit up.
It was basically an alleyway. It would limit their mobility, and if they were overwhelmed, it would become disastrous…
But more importantly, it would limit how many of them…
Hearing a loud, shattering crack, Naruto and Vernal's eyes tracked to the gate and narrowed. "Goliaths! That's lovely! Really wished you would do something other than… Oh, for Oum sake, how many Sphinx are up there?!"
"Following your lead!" Vernal ignored Naruto's attempt to chastise her tribe head despite holding reservations for her at this very moment., but she was providing valuable support to them
However, she still thought this was way too much for just attempting to help train this brat! Just because he was supposedly the weapon that could end all of this…
How?!
She didn't see it. He was fighting well as they retreated, claiming any Grimm they could to create space and distance for themselves. But to say he was the key to their survival…
It was madness!
Well, this was insanity…
So, that tracked? Perhaps Raven had lost it when she returned with that woman without her…
She had been different ever since.
Vernal and Naruto dove into the small, covered, yet ruined street as a Sphinx roared in pain, fluttering up and away after a failed dive bomb. A kunai stuck into its torso, followed by an electric round of ammunition.
The Grimm thunder after as lightning struck down upon the city, ripping and tearing through the masses. Wind rippled and howled as the intensity picked up, sweeping lighter aerial Grimm to the ground as even large Grimm of the skies maneuverability noticeably dipped.
"Well, can't complain!" Naruto noticed the dramatic weather shift, knowing precisely what was causing it, eyes focused ahead of where the Grimm would be coming.
"I can!" Vernal spat, eyes narrowed as she held her weapons before her, ready to fire and strike. "Grouping and focusing our targets is great in theory, but if we get swarmed, we're dead! They outnumber us!"
"Correct, they outnumber us on the main streets!" Naruto formed a seal with his hands, his eyes shimmering with anticipation. "While in here, numbers will be in our favor!"
Vernal's eyes narrowed. Her lips quivered, knowing his Semblance was peculiar. She had seen him duplicate himself earlier, but from what she heard from Raven, that wasn't his Semblance. It had far more…
Variance.
And with his strange attack made of raw Aura…
"Kage Bunshin!"
Her eyes flickered and grew.
What was this?
How many of him were there?
Duplicates of the brat gathered behind them in significant number. Dozens more were now on the rooftops!
Some were even standing on the sides of the wall!
How?!
Vernal growled as the Grimm roared, pouring into the alley. "Okay, kid! You are telling me exactly what the hell this is after this is done!"
"Heh, not the first person to say that!" Naruto grinned, seeming bemused. "But, that means we gotta survive this first! And I say, funnel the bastards, and let's blow them sky high!"
"You have charges on you?!" Vernal fired shots as the horde poured down the small street, almost feeling sorry as a rain of throwing weapons pelt them from above. "I have some Red Dust that can spark a flame…"
"That's the one thing I lack! I ran out!" Naruto sheepishly admitted, knowing his stores of Dust were limited, and due to his training, he had been running through his reserves and leaving them relatively sparse. "Have the materials to make traps and hold them up when we get overrun when the big guys get here…"
Vernal pursed her lips, watching Naruto cut down several Beowolves with Un as they got close. Backing up as Beringel leapt in, smashing the ground next to her, watching it be sliced in half by one of the various duplicates, she sprinted forward and cut into Ursa's throat that attempted to take advantage. With a single trigger, she finished the Grimm and moved forward into the frey.
Raven had given them access to their Dust supplies if he needed them since she was training him. So why wasn't he using it to stay stocked up? She couldn't fathom a reason not to…
Unless…
Vernal smirked. He was out doing his own thing, whatever that happened to be, and didn't want her to know about it or question what he was doing. Interesting.
She would use that knowledge for later.
A trumpeting caught her attention, and Naruto spat, narrowly avoiding a Sabyr that pounced, bouncing from the wall and cutting it down with a white blade from Un. The walls began to crumble as his clones shouted out from the top. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! The big guys are here!"
"Ya think!" Vernal snapped, barely avoiding a Lancer barb from above, thankful a clone immediately responded with a throw that pierced the bug Grimm's head before ripping her blades through a Beowolf that came far too close for comfort. "Whatever your plan is…"
"Yeah, it's time, guys!" Naruto ordered several shuriken flicking into his hands as the Goliaths stomped and turned into the street, drawn to their Auras. "Let's set this up!"
"Kage Shuriken!"
With a flick of the wrist and of his clones, hundreds of throwing stars from all directions multiplied and sprayed through the masses, littering the street and embedding into or knicking every Grimm in their way.
The Grimm, despite dozens fading to smoke as the shurikens found vital areas, were unhindered and kept moving forward.
Undaunted.
Unaware of the shimmering glint in the air trailing behind each throwing star.
"Now!"
A second, higher volley of stars embedded into the walls, and Vernal's eyes widened as she recognized what was happening.
A web trapping of a kind.
She wasn't sure of the material, but it was strong enough to interrupt nearly all the Grimm mid-charge, tripping and catching them…
Dicing through the weaker flesh of unarmored Grimm and disposing of them. Even the mighty Goliaths could only push through, their stampede hindered.
What was this wire?
"If you don't mind, setting off that Dust!" Naruto snapped Vernal out, gripping her shoulder and pulling her toward the other end of the street. "I have rigged to blow, but the Red Dust will burn off the armor of even the tankiest Grimm so the bombs can do their job!"
"Burn?" Vernal, skeptical that the wire could also burn, scowled but switched her ammo type, shifting to her Red Dust. "Fine!"
Darting from the street and back out on the other side into a thick mist that had begun to rise, Vernal snarled, turning around and fired. Singing shots were sent into the horde, and through the wire, she could only watch the inferno that followed. The wires lit up, the blazing web scorning the Grimm within while the two left as smoke clouds popped around them.
Followed by devastating explosions the moment they were out of sight, causing her legs to shake.
And yet, there was still no time to take a breath.
There was still Grimm amongst them…
Far less than there had been, but still more than she would have…
Smoke and flames erupted behind them, and to Vernal's horror, a badly scorched Goliath still had some strength left. Was still charging forward.
Stumbling straight toward…
A flicker of icy blue shattered, and the burning Grimm turned to ashes and smoke.
A blue blade sheathed as crimson eyes bore directly toward them. But without wasted motion, she looked beyond and moved forward, casually pushing between Naruto and Vernal, walking straight toward the rest of the Grimm. "You both still have much to learn… Focus on the task at hand and never let your guard down… For it comes now."
"What?" Naruto snapped, annoyed that Raven decided to grace them with her appearance as she strode toward the Grimm that were…
Not charging and attacking them?
Why would a Grimm ever stop attacking? Yes, some were intelligent and could formulate plans of attack. However, most were instinctual, and it took years upon years to gain that intellect. It was why most Alphas of species were difficult to combat as they were experienced Grimm that lived for eons.
But to see all these Grimm snarl, roar, and growl at them while otherwise holding back?
It was as if something was…
Commanding them.
A loud, piercing shriek caused Naruto and Vernal to cover their ears. Naruto bit his lips, feeling a sense of disorientation and a sense of intent behind it, his narrowing as he could see Vernal shiver.
It was a petrifying screech. Something that induced fear when it cried, enforcing its horrid presence upon others…
Naruto scowled. He had only heard tales of a Grimm that could do this recently. And that information came from Qrow, and he had heard it came from Mistral…
He glared at Raven's backside before his eyes snapped forward.
A prominent, pronounced, shadowy figure strode from the mist, clomping its feet against the concrete. A red mist produced out of the first mouth he saw…
Only to see a second as there was another Grimm riding the back. As if it was fused into the other…
It was as he expected.
A Nuckelavee.
However, its terrifying presence didn't explain the odd behavior of the Grimm…
What was the Grimm floating beside it, and why was Raven so focused on that?
And what was this dark, ominous presence unlike anything he felt before?
"Now, what surprise is this you reveal yourself to me, child? Or is it perhaps you now believe what Ozpin does?"
"And that THEIR FATED CHILD is capable of killing me?"
For as large of a place this was, it was strange why it was so secure.
Why some of its teachers were so observant? Or why every exit to the building was proofed with an alarm.
She understood if it was being used for rehabilitation, which was true for some of the ladies here and her to an extent.
Neo did break the law…
And it brought a smile to her face thinking of her father's car washed away in the currents of the ocean!
She would do it again in a heartbeat to see his face!
Her eyes fluttered and dazed, and her face soured to a sullen expression.
However, Naruto's expression was one she wouldn't want to see again. So maybe not…
She only wanted to see those eyes. The ones she had only seen once before. When she got him to talk about reading an old book that his sensei snuck around and read when he wasn't paying attention…
She wanted those eyes aimed at her! To see her in such a way! Oh, to make it so…
Neo just needed more time with him! To show him what she had! Then he would…
Focus… No tangents…
Taking a deep breath, reminding herself why she was in these halls, Neo's heterochromatic eyes vividly shone.
She had noticed the twins sneaking out of their dorm every night. And she had followed them every single time. However, as she tried to keep close to them, they would vanish, and despite her Semblance, she would stumble across one of the faculty that did not have trouble spotting her.
They, each and everyone she had noticed, had identical spider tattoos. Each was unusually observant and was among the teachers who had always approached her from the beginning. Constantly disciplining her harshly every time they spotted her using her Semblance.
For a school that was flexible with its rules and didn't seem to punish infringement of the rules, that was one rule it was rather strict about.
They did not want anyone using Semblances on the campus.
So, she had to be more silent and aware of her surroundings as she followed the twin sisters from the dorms. She had to discover exactly what they were noticing so she could stealthily follow…
Even now, as it was morning for she was caught once more, she paced through the shadows, waiting for the sisters to return so she could confront them. She was done with waiting…
She wanted information now…
A shimmer of light caught her eyes. Narrowing her eyes and holding out her hands to the morning light passing through the windows, a veil of light glimmered around where her hand was.
She was reflective? She was inversing the light around her and…
A devious grin spread across Neo's face, her eyes twinkling in delight.
So that's how they were able to perceive her?
It wasn't a fix she could problem-solve rapidly, and she knew she would need help working it out. She knew of a better way to gain access outside. However, there was another solution…
Neo scowled. This was something she had never attempted before, but…
She hadn't done something like this since her mother asked her to change her appearance for their Solstice party, and she was only exaggerating her features. However, if she could do that with her appearance…
Why not someone else's?
Her very appearance rapidly changed, morphing before her very eyes. A wicked grin slivered on her lips as she watched as she matched Miltia's height and size.
Oh, that would work. Now, if she could separate the sister before they left, she could pose as the other and possibly learn what they were up to—perhaps locking Miltia in the closet once more?
Bitch ever dared talk about Naruto. She would do so much worse before Lady Beat could discover…
Clutching her stomach, an anxiety rush washed over her and made her shiver.
She didn't understand it or what had happened…
But one name wordlessly left her lips as she looked out the shattered moon beyond the veil of the school's windows.
Naruto…
A pained scream echoed through her ears.
Lilac eyes shimmered in startled horror, never hearing her sister's cries before as she rolled and stumbled from her bed. Accidentally she became wrapped in her blankets, temporarily trapped before she pitched them aside, looking over to see what had caused the commotion.
Only to see Ruby sitting up in bed, clutching her left hand. Her screams increased in pitch and volume.
"Ruby!" Yang shrieked as she leapt onto her sibling's bed, crawling beside her, attempting to comfort her as she wrapped her arms around her sister protectively, hearing the heavy pounding of her father's feet as he made his way to their room. "What's wrong?"
"It hurts! It hurts!" Ruby cried, clutching her wrist, tears brimming and dripping from her eyes as their door blew wide open. "Make it stop! It hurts so much! I just want it to stop!"
"Ruby!" Yang heard her father's voice as he entered their room.
Her eyes were drawn to Ruby's left palm and the source of her discomfort as she cried uncontrollably.
A silver glow emanated from her palm.
And a crescent moon eerily pulsing.
With stats still broken, if you would so kindly, R&R? Engagement is the fuel for us writers, without it, many stories would not continue. I know a good few of you follow on Ao3 and have already commented on this chapter, so thank you! Your support is invaluable and helps soothes the soul when otherwise I may have simply stopped writing.