Deliverance
A/N: Hello! Welcome to my first chapter of the first story I have ever written!
"Normal Speech"
"Demonic/Loud Speech"
'Internal Thoughts'
'Demonic/Loud Thoughts'
"Get BACK!"
A blast of luminescent fire ripped across the surrounding and immediately ate up any foliage that had been blocking the path alongside the towering beast of black whose essence dispersed once the flames ravaged its body. Standing before its dissipating shadow was a haggard young woman in red and black with a thick mane of black hair with her eyes glowing a piercing red as two long trails of fire hung against her eyes. Her body tingled from overuse; she didn't have many of those left in her…! Nothing no longer in her path, the woman stormed forward as she took off in a mad dash through the carnage she had just made, but it didn't take long before she crashed into fresh foliage and darted into the woodlands further and further. She could still hear everything behind her, the stomach-turning destruction that lit up the night behind her as countless Grimm cried and bellowed into the night.
"Keep going… Keep going…!"
She repeated as she crashed through another bush, her body half-twisted as she aimed her shoulder forward and kept charging through the brush. She had to get away. Her left arm cradling across her torso to protect that which she clutched to her front, the cargo she carried was worth all these lives, no matter how much it pained her heart to admit it! That was all that mattered, now that everyone was gone. It was gone. It was all gone… Her tribe, her people, her family! She clenched her jaw as she tried to steel her eyes, the faces of her comrades waving at her to go, to flee from the certain death they knew was coming. Her heart shuddered as hot tears streamed down her face, uncaring for the branch that scrapped across her cheek to open a cut. She could barely think, not after that. Not after seeing that THING.
Nothing had worked, no matter how hard they fought or how much of her powers she threw at it, she just stood there with a smile. The screams still reverbing in her head, and they wouldn't stop! Anything, please! Make them stop!
"Take thi-AAAH! AAAAHHHHH!" "Go, get out of here! We'll be right behind yo-GAAAH!"
She just stood with those soulless eyes as one by one, her flicking hand took another family member after the other, tribespeople she'd broke bread and bled with, dropping to the floor with faces etched in existential terror at the sheer delight this creature took in watching them struggle and die to the last, sending her hordes over and over as Grimm flooded through and helped their dark Mistress smash through all that the Branwren Tribe held dear.
To leave them and run, to flee like a damn coward… It burned every inch of her core, to admit that she was scared. She was terrified. Her arm hugged her precious cargo that much tighter, hearing a muffled little cry of the only thing she had left.
She wanted nothing more than to stop and comfort her baby, to assure her everything was going to be alright.
Her eyes leaked further tears, hands squeezing the bundle. She didn't say anything as she pushed on.
"Bring the Maiden to me. Alive."
That voice boomed across the landscape as it came from the imposing figure of darkness, standing above the wreckage of the clan's home, arms outstretched in some sickening display of joy. A serene smile etched on her face, almost appearing matronly if not for the horrific actions that lay in her wake.
Her message would be a clear one, especially once she had her minions nail the maiden's corpse to a post right in-front of his little academy. It was a message only she could send; it was her sole right and joy to crush that little insect and his plans anytime they sprung up.
Darkness reached up, smothering the lone figure before vanishing. The maiden was exhausted, battered and all that running just meant she would die tired. She need not do anything else, she had important matters to attend to elsewhere.
After all, only a blind miracle could hope to save Raven Branwen now.
The night-sky thundered, the darkened heavens soon illuminating with flashes of lightning before the boom of thunder drowned everything out.
Her legs burned. She couldn't feel her feet anymore, her boots soaked in mud and water from the torrential downpour. Her hip ached from a wound gashed across her side and seeped her crimson essence in a trail behind, a Beowolf's lucky shot that even her stupid brother would berate her for taking.
Her clothing torn in the places she could spare to add extra layers, doing her best to make sure little Yang was dry and safe. In a rare moment of respite, she lifted that precious thing up, her tired face looking at the curious purple eyes gazing up at her.
Yang…
Her forehead leaned in against the bundle, choking out another sob that wracked through her sore throat. She had brought this on herself; to think she could raise her little baby without being yet another grave-filler in this endless shadow war. Running away, leaving her team behind, all for it to culminate in this horror she was now living.
She would've grown to be a strong, powerful woman. She believed it with every fibre of her being, and she wanted to be the one to mould her, to free her from the illusion of choice they would've forced upon her before throwing her to Salem just to keep that monster at bay, just like all the others!
And Ozpin declared that her team could kill Her. As if that was even believable now! To be the ones to slay that THING?!
It burned her heart, fresh rage soon replacing the sorrow as she thought about the blatant lies, he had said, keeping them in the dark. She couldn't be killed; she couldn't be stopped. She made that abundantly clear to the Branwen, her own declaration as she massacred her family as if she was playing a fun little game.
Her feet started moving again, pushing onwards, while she clutched her baby as best she could. Her free hand flexed, wanting to rest atop her hilt but it didn't matter, most of her blades had been shattered against her futile fight and one against a particular persistent Grimm. She was down to just one blade.
Her brow furrowed; her eyes burned as the sting of tears threatened to spill once more. Thoughts ran through her mind on the use of said blade. She blinked away the tears, squeezing her hand tight as she pushed on.
She would keep that blade, the insinuation in her brain haunting her but she would choose her own fate over letting that monster get to decide how she and Yang go out.
'Something neither of those two would ever give their pawns a chance to decide.' She thought with vitriol.
Her adrenaline was starting to wear off and the effects showed, her eyes sagged while her movement became more sluggish. The rain pouring against her body was starting to numb everything, yet pain was kind enough to bloom all over her body from open wounds, she knew she didn't have long at this rate. She needed somewhere to hide, to get away. Her reserves were bone-dry and there was nothing she could do.
Her thoughts lingered on trying her Semblance, but her heart shuddered, she didn't have enough left in the tank to even attempt it without immediately passing out… And her mind raced. How long would it stay open? Would it be enough for someone to dive in, would she just be gift-wrapping herself and a poor victim for her assailants…?
Her breathing grew shorter as the chill worked itself to her bones, holding herself tighter while the limping Branwen marched on.
The rain and thunder thankfully drowned out the apparent pursers, washing away her tracks and blood-trail into the mud. It was a small respite which left Raven with her own thoughts, a hand pressed against little Yang's covered body as she felt those tiny hands try to grasp her mother's bigger one.
Stupid… Stupid…! STUPID!
Her eyes burned as those familiar fire-trails lit against her eyes, but she squashed them down, two glowing beacons in the dark was the worst she could do right now.
An impulse decision, ending that maiden who came to her. A rendezvous arranged by that blasted Ozpin, just like the rest of her team to find the others. A stupid split-second decision and the maiden laid dead, and Raven was now one of, if not, the strongest Huntress on Remnant…
"A lot of fuckin' good that did me…!" She growled through clenched teeth.
It led Salem right to her, essentially shining a giant damn beacon on her. Someone must've been trailing that maiden, it only made sense as to how this absolute nightmare of a night happened so fast. Her mind, in its delirious state, could only make up scenarios as to how her entire world went to shit within days of claiming maidenhood and taking her daughter away.
For safety, she deluded herself!
So Yang could be raised as a strong warrior, just liker her mother, she said!
The eldest Branwen shambled quicker, picking her pace back up as she began to make her way in-earnest. If she could get a few hours in of rest, get away, she could go back. She'd swallow her pride, beg if needed, just to make sure Yang is saved. They could at least allow her that.
Sadly that chance would never come.
Piercing from the darkness came a stiletto blade, ripping through her tattered aura and lodging dead into her back as Raven collapsed from the sudden force, pain arcing through her body in a fresh wave while she teeth clenched down. Eyes went wide in fear, desperately trying to scramble back and onto her feet as through the cacophony of the storm, she could hear it.
"Hehehehe… Hahaha! Oho! You almost gave us the slip, little bird!"
She grunted through the pain, pushing onto her feet as Raven turned half her body to look back, two piercing mis-matched eyes of green and purple gleaming at her through the dark, her boots crashing into the mud as she picked back up and began running, even as her body ached and screamed for rest.
Lightning flashed, illuminating the female figure with a smile that could put most Grimm to shame. Tattoos ran down her body like sharp lighting, jagged lines of black across her pale arms and shoulders, her face only having a single tattoo of an open vertical eye right atop her forehead, eternally focused forward as the white-haired assailant twirled both of her stilettos in her hands. White boots pressed into the mud, matching the white cloth that ran up her legs and even covered her chest and hands, a white hood atop her head to close it out. Nothing but white.
White to match Her Eminence, white to match her glorious murderous idol.
Raven ran. She ignored the pain as best she could, and she just ran.
Another blade whistled past, jamming straight into a tree that the Branwen dashed past, hearing the cracked wood in her ears before that laughter started once more, only growing louder when the cry of Yang was heard over the dissipating thunder-boom.
"Where are you going!? Come back! I only want to talk, I am great with kids~!" A voice that was filled with sadistic glee, another knife whistling towards Raven and dug straight into her flesh, this time sinking deep into her right arm as it pierced through. A scream managed to exit her grit mouth, trying to restrain but the pain was building.
"Ahaha! Yes! Let me hear more, please!"
The voice came further back, walking at a slow pace as the sickening laughter matched Hers. It sent shivers down her spine; every nerve was on-fire as the desperate mother tore through the wilds in Mistral, desperate for a way out, desperate for anything!
Her lifeline was spent, her aura did everything it could to knit her wounds, to stem bleeding, to keep her body moving. She had only given birth a week or so back, her body adjusting to the maiden-transfer as well, she was at her worst possible state and now any energy she had for her Semblance was gone.
Another blade came whistling in, slamming into her thigh as it fought with her aura for a split second but to no avail, flesh was pierced and it sent Raven crashing into the ground with serious force, her body sliding into the mud while she clutched Yang tightly. A desperate cry echoed from her baby, barely heard over the storm but it rang in her ears. Every little noise her baby made did.
"No…! No!"
She cried out under her voice; it couldn't end like this. This couldn't be it…! She had to… She still had to see Yang grow up! She still had to have another drink with her brother! Summer needed someone to help her pick out outfits for some stupid date no doubt! Thoughts raced through her mind, the cowardly Branwen refusing to let her fear take over and beg for mercy.
Not to this monster, she'd rather she and Yang both go out than let her daughter be at the whims of this creature or her mistress!
Her hand dove down for Omen, grasping at the hilt of her blade while she pressed it in, activating the cylinder to draw her last blade.
"Not so fast!"
Came an ecstatic cry as pain once again came crashing down on Raven, a heeled-boot swinging from the side and catching Raven's head, sending her crashing back into the mud. It didn't take long before it came down, boot-heel stamping into her head as she gave out a cry of agony.
"Ah ah ahh… That's dangerous!" Came her insufferable voice once more, boot twisting Raven's face deeper against the ground. Then she felt a hand grip the handle on her scabbard, tearing it off her belt, a cry leaving her throat as she desperately tried to fight back, the exhausted woman reaching underneath her impaled arm.
Her arm squeezed the blade's handle, steeling herself as she tore it cleanly from her punctured arm before she lashed out and drove it upwards, angling it against the leg and thigh that pressed down onto her head.
"Whoa~!"
Freedom was achieved, her would-be captor leaping back and away as Raven wildly swished the dagger, crawling up onto her knees. Her face twisting in sheer anger as the black-haired mother clutched the babe's bundle even tighter to her body, barely able to rest on her knees as she struggled to get back on her feet. She couldn't make out much with her blurry vision.
"You think… This is enough?!"
Raven bellowed out, her voice hoarse as she clenched her teeth, almost cracking her molars from the sheer pressure she was putting into forcing her knees and thighs to push her up, to let her stand on her Gods-damned feet!
"I'll take you all on! I won't... Go down easy!"
It wouldn't end here, not like this! She wouldn't let this happen…! She wanted to LIVE!
'SHUNK! SHINK! SHUNK! SHUNK!'
Lightning struck, flashing the entire clearing as Raven's body went ramrod and her effort died, leaving Yang to cry out into the cold night even louder. Blood escaped her mouth in a thick cough as it stained her chin. Her eyes struggled to look down, to spy the four blades lodged into her torso. Two locked into her shoulders, another two piercing through her thighs and into the backs of her calves.
It took a few seconds as her brain tried to process it. Her brain unable to even keep up with the pain. Unable to process Yang's wailing cry against her chest while her hand went slack and dropped the knife and her baby, the bundled ball hitting the wet ground at a short, safe distance. Her brain was still reeling as it had to come to one conclusion. She had… Lost?
'BOOM!'
Thunder drowned everything else out a split-second later.
Bhain Lai was having a great day.
That grinning assassin watched her prey, refusing to sit still as she stalked around the desperate mother, her eyes drinking in the sight of the infamous Raven Branwen on her knees. Knives sticking out of the Branwen like she was a damn Mistralian Solstice roast!
It was times like these that she thanked the Gods above for letting her serve Her Eminence.
She knew she couldn't kill her; the orders were clear. They were absolute. No wiggle room at all! The tragedy! She had to be alive! Still breathing! She couldn't have a dead Raven as her murderous jewel in the crown, so to speak!
Buuuuuuut...
She didn't say anything about her missing a limb or two. Maybe an eye? Surely, she doesn't need two eyes! Or maybe, she'd just scalp the bitch and have one hell of a trophy to flaunt! Oh! Then she could get the brother as well and have a matching set!
She twirled those blades, no longer circling as the assassin stepped closer and closer. Her smile could not get any brighter. This was the big one. A bona fide damned Maiden! Her hands twisted into the handles of her blades just a little more, excitement coursing through her body like a wonder drug.
Sounds behind her alerted the assassin but she paid it no mind, mindless growling of Grimm and footsteps of masked-wearing henchmen and henchwomen. Minions to their Goddess, their little fight didn't attract much attention at all, it had just been a waiting game until the little maiden exhausted herself entirely before they ran her down.
Raven saw her life start flashing before her eyes. Blood seeping from her wounds and down her lips, it hurt to breathe. She saw Qrow, that stupid bird-brained idiot, the man she wanted to drink with one last time… Summer and her stupid, hopeful smile, no doubt wanting to ask her another crazy hypothetical or 'would you rather'… Even Taiyang… the joyful man she shared a few nights of passion. The father of her precious Yang. She wanted to apologise for what she did, to all of them. She was a coward, and this was the result, tears streamed down her face, the dam entirely broken as Yang's crying only got louder as she was unattended.
The sound haunted her in the dim clearing, rain pouring down as the weather only seemed to get worse. The intensity picking up as the clouds thickened up, thunder bellowing in the distance. Lighting crashed into the soaked earth at a rage-filled pace. It seemed as if nature itself was sharing in her agony, her eyes glowing that bright scarlet-red and the trails revealed themselves, marks of her stupid, shameful decision.
Her chest kept breathing, air passing through with agony sparking in her body at every step. It was fine, that meant she was still alive. The Spring Maiden clenching her blood-filled mouth as she managed to lift her head a little and meet the gaze of this disgusting creature who gleamed at her like a monster.
Her heartbeat pounded more than it ever had, it felt like fresh adrenaline was coursing through her veins. Fire burned. She cursed everything and anything! Her voice was silent, but her mind was screaming to the heavens, the final testament of a legendary huntress throwing insults against the uncaring universe.
'I don't… Want… To die…! Not here!'
'Not in this cursed world! Not when… Gods let these monsters exist!'
'I need to protect Yang! This… Is my fault!'
Her mouth opened a little, a growl escaping the dying Huntress, almost that of a Beowolf. Her eyes glowed brighter, the flames expanding out from her eyes. Lightning smashed down nearby, instantly incinerating some hapless Grimm standing nearby, spooking a few others.
'I… FUCKED UP! THIS… THIS IS MY FAULT!'
The heavens growled louder, a thick blockade of angry, vengeful storm clouds choked the sky above as the rain only got harsher, pelting down with ferocity. Raven could feel it, almost like hale, crashing against her skin. Little crying Yang at her knees, thankfully protected by her mother's body, her little lungs still producing that piercing cry of a baby desperately wanting its mother.
'No cost… I won't pay…! I will do ANYTHING! I SWEAR!'
Raven pushed herself, whatever she had left. Her aura, her maidenly powers, even her very soul was gripped in terror as she yelled her prayer out into the void. Her aura shuddered to life, barely glowing.
'PLEASE! ANYONE! HEAR ME! I… BEG! PLEAD! BESEECH!'
She cried to the heavens, even as Beowolfs crawled forward with the masked minions, ready to collect the disabled Branwen. They all stopped, however, as Raven arched her back and held her face to the heavens and screamed her lungs out, a pillar of red blasting from her eyes just as everything in her world burned. Her body, her soul. It felt like it was on-fire.
"SAVE US!"
Her piercing cry stopped near-all and it interrupted the bewildered Bhain, but she still stepped closer, ready to jam a blade through a lung if it would shut this Maiden up.
The heavens roared as thunder split eardrums and lighting incinerated trees and Grimm alike, nature itself was cracking and buckling against the force tearing through. The sky stirred, moving and blowing with tempestuous winds as they tore through the darkened valley, trees being torn from the roots and tossed from the sheer force building, a spiralling hurricane that almost threatened to tear a chunk of Mistral apart.
Hidden behind all the thick storm clouds and hellish squall that had blanketed the valley was the broken shell of Remnant's moon. Shattered portions of the celestial body moved, if only slightly. It glowed bright while its surface began to clench and shift.
The moon lit up the night sky across the world, glowing that painful silver light as it heard her cries.
Remnant heard the cries, the desperate pleas of its maiden. Nature itself responded.
Everything then… Seemed to slow down. Raven's eyes locked onto the approaching woman, but her foot was taking so very long to finally press down. Her hands twirling her blades in such a slow, agonising way. Was she delirious? Had adrenaline overloaded something?
She felt it… A prodding against her mind, a warmth greeting her as it crept across her senses and drowned out the pain.
'Anything?'
It was a male voice that spoke to her, a deep-bass-y voice rang in her head as if coming from a colossal mouth, as everything stopped. She could see the rain stop in real-time as the pellets of water hung in the air. Grimm in various poses, masked figures brandishing weapons. That grinning face stuck just before her. A laugh, not one of mockery but of friendly amusement rang in her mind, that male voice again.
'You really should be careful about that word. It has all kinds of implications.'
Raven blinked, her mouth opening to talk but she couldn't move. It was just her consciousness, she couldn't even move her eyes to look down to see Yang, to make sure she was okay.
'W-who… Who is this? What… I- '' Confused? You called for help, I answered. That's what people normally do. What, never asked for help before?'
She'd blink if she could. Anger slowly bubbling but it was kept down by sheer desperation.
'Yes! I need help! Please, I am… I need assistance, I need your help!' Silence reigned for a second, as if the voice was weighing her tone. 'Yes, I know. Your pleas woke me up, quite the pair of lungs on you. I heard your voice, over and over. It took me a little time to reach out given the… State of the place. Worried I was going to split a continent!'
Words that meant nothing, meaningless chit-chat to a desperate woman on the verge of being dragged to the worst place she ever could imagine. 'I don't care about that prattle! I need help! Please! I meant it, anything! Do you not get it?!'
More silence followed that. It felt like an eternity, a ringing silence in her head as the world lay paused around her, her aura erratically flickering while her eyes did the same, the only motion in the motionless world.
'Okay then, fine. A soul. Give me your daughter's soul. You said anything, didn't you?' The voice responded, suddenly unfriendly and rather irritated than from when she first heard its rather amused and jovial tone.
Raven's gut twisted; she could almost feel the blood in her mouth moving. Anger surged through her body for such an audacious demand! 'Fuck… You! Over my dead body!'
Silence once again, the warmth had lessened just a little bit. Was the connection fading? Her guts only twisted and churned more as if- 'AHAHAHAHA! Oh man, you had me worried for a second there. Pheeeew! I was honestly going to cut this off if you agreed, all that wasted effort as well! Mothers sacrificing their children isn't in my book for rewardable actions.'
And then warmth bloomed back through her body, she began to feel her feet and hands once again, even though she couldn't move a muscle.
'I… Wha-' 'Shut up bird-hair and let me talk. Here's the deal.' 'B-Bird hair?!' 'Shut up! Sheesh. Okay. Laying it out flat. You're dying, or at least, something close to that? I can't really see anything but you. The world is in this disgusting black haze, there is no balance. It's vile, revolting. Yuck!
Raven could only try and blink as she was having a conversation, hyped up on adrenaline whilst seemingly talking to a higher being or sorts...? Her skin buzzed, she wanted to move, she wanted to fight. Fight or Flight was still running through her body, yet she was locked in-place.
' I don't… Know what you want me to say?' 'Agree with me damn it! Look at this world, it's a mess! Those Gods did a terrible job, look at what they've done! Our one wasn't perfect, but it certainly didn't suck this bad! Roaming hordes of monsters killing everyone, misery and despair everywhere… It's just awful. I can feel it, the hatred. Even from you, it clings to you. It hangs in the air like a bad stench.' The voice said in a strange sombre tone, silence reigning over the conversation.
Fire built within her. Oh, this was a topic she had opinions on! Raven put her piece in. 'I hate this world. I hate that my daughter will just be another body for an unfilled grave already lined up, in an eternal war with no end. Two immortals, who send minions at one another with no end in-sight!' Fire roared in her spirit, finally breaking the seal over a conversation topic she tried to have many times with her team.
'Useless plans only for stalling, a clear enemy yet we are still bickering over needless politics. There is no answer, there is no path to victory! I watched her kill everyone… And he would have the gall to then send my child and her friends one day against her just to stall, just like my team was being prepared for, had I not run! Had I not panicked and… Screwed up. That is what it means to live here! On this trash heap of a world! I hate it!'
Silence settled over their little mind-call after that. As if the entity was brewing, hearing the words she said. Her thoughts vented a little as the Huntress exposed her true feeling, throwing words she might regret if she was in a clearer headspace. Words that were a little too familiar for the older being to hear.
'An eternal cycle of hatred…' She heard back, as if he was saying it for himself, rather than her.
'I'm sorry?' She asked with hesitation to her tone. It was a string of words she really didn't want to hear. But she didn't get any words back, warmth flooded her further, her aura spiked out larger as it grew across her body. It didn't go more than an inch past her skin, but it was looking better than before she met her mysterious benefactor.
She could feel it, her body was mending, even if she was atrociously wounded and pushed past a point of exhaustion. Her spike of maiden-powers should have killed her outright. She wasn't going to die, but she had a bad feeling she wasn't going to be moving for a while.
'What's the deal then?' She asked back mentally, remembering his words earlier as he was clearing healing her.
'Release me into the world, and I will save you and your daughter right here, right now. That's the deal. No backstabs, no sudden betrayals. A one-time offer. This is all I got, only a maiden can free me from my cage. I am hoping, anyway...'
She balked for a moment. The word 'release' didn't inspire confidence in her, especially from a being that so-casually mentioned the Gods. She wanted to question that line at the end, but brain was spinning out. Her judgement wanted to fight against such an open deal, but here was her divine intervention. It was literally falling into her lap to save her baby and herself.
Deliverance was being offered.
Her mind raced, she had to make sure. She was going to make this airtight.
'No harm to me or Yang. Ever. For as long as we live, you will not harm us.' She fought back. She could almost feel the entity blinking at her actions. Silence for a few seconds more. At the back of her head, she was almost worrying this thing had plans to kil- 'No I am not going to kill you once I save you, dumbass. I am genuinely offended you would accuse me of killing a child, let alone the woman who would free me. Do you even-I know-My friends would-Aarrggh!'
She blinked at his response, even though she didn't even ask that question. He seemed to have a tantrum on the other end, the anger waved in and out but did nothing to stop the slow regeneration she was receiving. She was almost wanting to smile at the response. It was warming to hear some hints of empathy on a faceless, unknown entity she had never met or seen.
A far-cry from her normal experiences of Human and Faunus alike.
'I want to hear you agree to my counteroffer.' 'Of course I agree, yes. I won't harm you or the baby, Yang was it? Raven and Yang will not be harmed by me, as long as you two live. I cross my heart and hope to die.' He said with a little verbal flourish at the end. That then raised a question from her end, even as she felt hope for the first time in a while.
'I am… Glad. I accept, a hundred times. I accept your deal! Please save me and my daughter… Whoever you are?" She felt a huff on the other end of the 'call', as if he was grinning wide as he spoke.
'Oh me? The title is Kyuub no Youko, from an old friend I will never forget. But you? You can call me Uzumaki Naruto. Remember that name, you hear? It's going to fix this shitty world of yours, Raven!'
She wanted to smile; she really did. She wanted to burst out laughing, at such a ridiculous claim and a title she had zero idea knowing what it meant or represented. Her body heated up, more and more, as whatever he was doing was knitting flesh and searing off mud and grime.
It felt immaculate. Like a secure, warm blanket on a cold morning. It didn't stop there, more energy was pouring into her. She never felt more invigorated!
'Now then. You need to brace yourself, okay? We are building up… A lot of energy, I won't lie. My chakra is probably going to erupt out of you like a falling star, I need to funnel everything I have through you and then reform! It's going to be a miracle if there is anything left once that has happened though.'
She felt her blood freeze for a moment. She had no idea what he was meaning about 'Chakra' but that didn't take priority. Yang lay at her feet, those protective instincts rearing their head again, but before she could even answer, he kept speaking.
'Yang will not be harmed! My cloak is already covering her and you. I never go back on my word, ya hear! Now, get ready and brace okay! You two are living and I mean it! Uzumaki Naruto is a man of his word!'
'This must be a dream… This can't be real.' Were the only thoughts she had before everything went white.
Bhain stepped forward, uncaring towards the final cries of the Spring Maiden and the lightshow she was putting on. It wasn't the first maiden she's seen put on a show and none of them even compared to the majesty and splendour of Salem, when she raised her hand.
Both her wrists twirled as she flipped the cross-guard between her dextrous fingers, ready to jam either one in and cease her prey's ability to see for good.
"Surely she won't mind if I just maim you a little…!" She wore that tell-tale smile but then…
In a split second, Raven's body glowed a brilliant orange, completely covering her body from feet to head as it even wrapped around the bundle at her knees, the crying stopping immediately.
Thank Her Goddess, she was about to kick that bundle like a ball to shut it up.
She barely had time to think anything else as the woman's body kept glowing… And glowing…! Brighter and brighter, it almost looked like she was going to…
"OH FU-!"
Her purple aura ripped to life as Bhain tried to throw herself back, activating her aura and Semblance as a perfect outline of her body hummed in a bright purple.
The next moment? The entire Salem-aligned horde vanished from the face of Remnant.
Expanding outwards like a sudden tsunami crashing from all sides, an apocalyptic heat of red, gold and orange crashed outwards and vaporised anything within the sight of the valley before launching into the air and wiping away the squall within seconds. Trees turned to cinder, rocks were heat-blasted and the dirt itself was rendered into glass.
One figure in-particular was not spared, their aura rupturing in seconds as the body hit the glassed floor and melted into it, leaving a bumpy outline of where a would-be assassin would be immortalized as part of the earth.
For one, very small and short moment, Mistral played host to a visit from the sun.
Ozpin was sipping on his tea as the lunch-time period occurred in Beacon. Things were not good at all. He had sought to make a dash to protect the maidens, or at least move their location once he found that Salem had sniffed their locations but then a massive spanner crashed through that plan.
Raven had gone rogue, off-grid and pretty much off-kilter entirely. Killed the poor maiden, taken Yang and just vanished. Qrow said he had a very good idea where she'd gone but it had to be confirmed.
It was her tribe, obviously. She had nowhere else.
Summer and Taiyang chewing at the bit to go after her, to go with Qrow and find out why she did what she did. He couldn't blame them, not in the slightest.
"Haaaah… What a mess. Goodness me." He scowled as he placed his cup down. He had a very bad feeling she had taken the maiden's powers; he didn't have any proof, but he could hardly see any reason that a spooked Raven would do anything that brash unless it provided some modicum of strategic worth for her.
Then again, killing the maiden did just send her powers elsewhere otherwise, meaning Salem didn't know where she would be. So strategically, if she was about to be grabbed by Salem or her followers, it did make sense…
But why take her daughter and fly the coop? Did she expect Salem herself to retaliate and storm Beacon? Because she now held the powers of a maiden, or because she had her plan ruined?
Knowing Salem, as he unfortunately did… It would only be the former, never the latter. She has goons to do the latter for her.
He truly wanted this work; he extended a branch to STRQ for them to help keep the 'game' going until they could find a permanent way to stop this headache, or at the least, stave off the world's destruction for another day! Every day he had to know that Salem was doing unspeakable things, and he had such little power to do anything about it.
But now? It blew up in his face. His best team in utter shambles, one of them going rogue in almost every way she could while the rest are almost ready to go on a suicide mission to get her back, if she still lived.
Maybe upping to tea wasn't enough, perhaps he needed to take a page out of Qrow's book to get through this day.
"At least 3 are safe and secured, we need to figure out this fourth issu-!?" Ozpin suddenly stiffened, his glasses moving down his face as his soul clenched.
For a moment, a split second that passed, he saw two monstrously huge eyes gazing at him in his mind's eye. Bright red, slitted like a predator, gazing at him before vanishing. A presence in the back of his mind, as if playfully ringing a doorbell and then running away, it vanished as the eyes did.
He swallowed the spit he didn't know he had in his mouth, a cold sweat slowly appearing on his face. "What… Was that?" He asked himself.
He wasted no time, his hand immediately grabbing his scroll. "What is going on out there?!"
Raven felt colour return to her world, her body slowly releasing as she slumped forward. The clanging of metal reaching her ears, hearing someone toss a few blades onto the glassed floor that was around them.
She blinked, feeling the warm air wash across her. A far-cry from the absolute torrential downpour that had been here, only seconds ago in her mind. She blinked some more, the light almost hurting as her body sat suspended. She had minor control but that wasn't her concern!
Shakily, her hands lowered and picked up the bundle, hoisting it up as she once again was graced by the smiling of Yang, happy to see her mother. She pulled the cloth aside, seemingly dried from the apocalyptic melt-down in the valley around them. Those little precious hands came out, waving at her, as she pressed the bundle to her side and laid a hand against them, watching her squeeze her fingers. Two big purple eyes gazed at her, delighted to see her favourite face in the world.
"Aww. That's adorable."
She stiffened up, turning in a second to her body's extreme annoyance and protest, every muscle was raw and ached from her powers. That didn't matter though, not in the slightest. Her eyes went to the size of plates as she took in the figure standing to her side at a distance away.
Tails. Big, fluffy tails that expanded out behind the man, acting like a backdrop for him, each one almost as wide as she was, arranged behind him in an ornamental fashion. Thoughts of those Peacock Faunus she had seen once or twice came to mind. She counted, nine of them. They were very impressive, compared to the sub-par Faunus tails she had as reference.
And then after that, a big grinning face on a man who was taller than her, she could easily tell. Both his fists rested against his hips. He had a light tan to him, and 2 sets of prominent lines drawn into his cheeks that reminded her of the cartoon masks she'd seen children wear at festivals. Blue eyes, oh they were very blue and very big. To top it all off, he had a prominent spikey head of golden hair that didn't go past his neck. Wrapped around his forehead to hold the golden tide back was a headband of black, framing his bangs as it did so, a metal band that bore a symbol she didn't quite understand.
It was not lost on her that her savior was another blond,
He stood wearing a long bright orange coat that went to his knees with black bands running across as the trims of it, the inside being a darker shade of the outside colour. All of which hung over his outfit of black, a zipped-up top and pants. It was simple, something she can admire. Too often did she watch Summer get caught on various branches or fences from all the straps and layers she wore.
Then her eyes lowered further and behold his... Clogs?
Raven blinked at them, her eyes drawn to the shoes with almost a solid 6 inches of space from the ground. Her eyes just hung on them, slightly widening as she just… Took them in.
Before her breath caught in her throat, trying to keep down the snort she was about to give at the sight of the obscenely-archaic shoes.
He noticed, his head looking down at his clogs, then back up to Raven, meeting her eyes as she did the exact same thing.
"What?"
"N-nothing. I am sure… Clogs must've been all the rage in your time."
"Why what's with that tone? Don't they look cool?"
The only response was her breath launching up her throat. "Hnnf.. C-Cool? Ah yes, I believe in some remote… Villages, they are cool!" She tried to reason, with herself mostly.
He had just saved her from a terrible fate, spared her daughter, promised to save the world! That was all well and good, inspiration for a famous legend even!
'I will throw those things into an open fire, the very first chance I get.' She promised herself, all the while the blond kept looking up and down, his face outraged at the silent insinuation. Raven turned her head back, enjoying the silence with her beloved Yang, still playing with her finger.
"Ahh, I am so glad you're saf-""I WILL have you know, that these are a memento from my Sensei! He was able to move in great speeds in them, they are a traditional battle outfit's key element!"
Raven blinked backed, unaware of the landmine she had set off. But, for a woman who had just experienced what could possibly be the worst few days of her life to ever happen, if she was hopeful, she wasn't one to mince words either. This led to a rather blunt response from the emotionally raw woman.
"I'm sorry! They look stupid! So stupid! I mean, just… Why!?" She waved her hand out, up to his coat and attire. "Everything else is good! Heroic even!" Then her hand lowered. "Hello grandfather, are we going to the store to get some Dust today?!"
The straw that broke the bottom of the basket.
"I am OUTRAGED! How dare you even say that! I don't comment on your outdated clan-war outfit or that crazy bird hair!" "YOU DID! LITERALLY WHILE I WAS DYING!" "WELL… IT LOOKS LIKE A BIRD'S NEST!" "COME OVER HERE AND SAY THAT!"
All the while, Yang clapped her little hands, giggling and bubbling about while her mommy and the strange man in clogs bickered.
Finger wedged in his ear, Naruto wiggled as he collected the wax out and flicked it onto the entombed remains of volcanic rock, shaped like a person. He lifted his foot, tapping the clog against it for a 'Tok Tok' to be the response, before he put his clog-clad foot down.
"Damn, everything else is ashes, but this one managed to hold something together. Impressive." He then turned back, watching Raven shakily stand on her feet. Her thick mane of black hair swaying while she brushed the loose strands back, looking at the towering man properly now she was on her feet. He was easily over 6ft, while she was a good 5'7".
She was going to take a few off for those dumb shoes, obviously.
"So…" She opened with, gaining his full attention as those eyes met hers. She had already stripped the excess layers off Yang's little bundle, leaving her with but a single wrap which left the girl able to properly view the world, and the young few-week old girl was enamoured with the big fluffy man, eyes locked onto those huge swaying tails.
Silence.
She hoped he would… Start with something. Anything! She had no idea what was going on! She should be dead, or at least, on the way to being it! Frustration bubbled up.
After all, she was very emotionally charged right now and not much control. Probably post-pregnancy, maybe fresh maiden powers? Watching Salem wipe out everything she knew and grew up with? She had no idea.
"What the hell are you! What is this! I don't know anything about what is happening right now!" To which she regretted immediately, as Yang warbled an upset tone, on the verge of crying. "No, sorry, ssssh. It's okay." She did her best to hush, while her crimson eyes flicked back onto him.
"So, do you want the short answer or the long answer…?" He asked with a raising brow. Raven almost grunted in annoyance, throwing her hand at him for something! "By Oum I will take anything from you right now." She hissed at him, before she turned her face back to Yang to appease her. The lungs on her baby girl were truly impressive and she was not in the mood to hear it.
He clapped his hands together briskly, immediately drawing both girl's attention as he grinned. "Well! That's very hard… As even the short answer, is going to take about 30 or so minutes. And you-" He pointed right at her. "-are about to pass out. Real soon I imagine, given the way your legs are wobbling like that." He said, nodding his head to the slow tremors that were picking up on Raven, the collective exhaustion about to come crashing down.
"Hah, you kind of remind me of those newborn baby deer I use to see out on the Nara range! Oh… Oh, I made myself sad." He said to himself, the wind now gone from his sails. He then perked back up, almost immediately. "No use crying over spilt soup!" He stepped forward, approaching the shaking woman. Raven watched him intently as he approached.
She had his solemn promise to not hurt any of them, and she believed it, for some reason. Maybe the way he smiled reminded her of those idiots on her ex-team, but she believed he wouldn't harm them at all. "Okay, so what are we going to do? I am a wanted woman, and the best plan of action is going to beee…"
He placed his index finger against her forehead, chakra softly enveloping and stimulating her brain to drift off and finally get some rest. "Aaaand down she goes." His other arm reached behind to catch her with the offending hand immediately catching Yang's bundle in a flourish, much to her delight as she wiggled her arms.
"Oho, aren't you a big bundle of sunshine. Big purple eyes as well! Hmm, not that common if I recall." He lowered his face down to inspect her, to which she immediately took the opportunity to wiggle her little limbs to try and swipe at those dangling strands of gold.
"Hmmm… What do I do now? Where do I even go?" He asked seemingly nobody, but he got a response. A happy babbling coo from the young girl in his hand, waving her hands about. It was nonsensical, but it was more of a plan that he had. "You got it Yang, we'll do that." He wore with a grin, getting a delighted giggle from the baby as his reward.
Lifting Raven up and holding her over his shoulder, he then let his tails softly envelop her, wrapping her into his soft and fluffy embrace while Yang kept her eyes on him, cooing with wonder.
It took only a few seconds for the woman to be secure, adjusting himself to hold little Yang securely as well while he then looked around.
"Hmmm, nothing but… Glass. Damn. I didn't think it would turn out like this... Hah, who am I kidding, I knew it would. I can never leave any landscape untouched huh?" He hummed to himself, noting the absolute blasted landscape they had created when the maiden acted as his summoning medium.
Almost every way he looked was just clear landscape. He could spot forests in the distance for sure, but right here? Oh boy, it was going to leave a mark. It looked like he even managed to blast the faces of the surrounding mountain into a smooth, flat plane.
"The Great Naruto Valley, maybe?" He'll have to workshop it. Big Fox statue right over there, I am telling you.
He turned his head, looking down at Yang. "Oh shit, you guys didn't live here, did you? Did I just blow up your house?!"
His only response was delighted cooing and hands trying to reach his swaying bangs.
A/N: Thoughts? Love it? Hate it? I am a long-time Naruto fan, my first anime I ever watched, and I only recently started getting into RWBY as well. Something got me worked up and I decided it was time to try my own hand at things!
I must admit that I am still quite new to RWBY in-terms of the characters and the lore, hence why I made a new Salem crony so I didn't butcher any of her canon followers, who I don't think are active at this point in the timeline...? So if anything is abruptly out of character, my apologies! I do feel Raven is a bit malleable, given all those horrible events usually happen around the time Yang is born to Summer 'vanishing' right? I am going to try my best to keep things consistent. You know, as much as I can with a crossover with a series that has nothing to do with it, introducing a character that will completely change the setting.
100% lore accurate guys, trust.
I want to do my best to keep the shining attitude of Naruto alive as best as I can, this Naruto is here to keep his word, damn it! But he can't fix this world alone. He's going to need help, from both this world and his old one.
