Deliverance Chapter 4

A/N: Hey there demons it's me, ya boy.

Newest chapter dropping right... Now!

Also rating updated, things are only going to get more 'mature' so no sense in keeping it rated T.

'Get out…'

Raven's eyes fluttered open to the words that drifted through her mind. Groggy red eyes opening to nothing but darkness. The floor below her felt tough, like she was laying on rock. Her body ached, she could practically feel her hipbone pressing into the hard flooring as she stirred further, rising upwards as she sat up properly.

The first thing she noticed was that the inn room was gone, the comfy bed she had been sleeping on was gone. Yang was gone, Naruto was gone. Her head twisted around, black hair flicking as she twisted her body to look in all directions. It was nothing but darkness in all directions except one, a bright light that shone from glowing bars that stood vertically in a row. It was a bright, golden glow that illuminated the area around them, Raven's brain slowly realising what she was sitting in as she looked around further and saw nothing but a glossy material that was hard as stone that went in all directions, vanishing into the darkness as the light stopped a few meters short of the bars.

She was in a cell.

A shaky exhale left her mouth as she around her once more try and see anything distinguishable beyond the pillars but it was no use. The darkness was like a void, the light dying only a meter or so from where she stood. The air was warm though as it washed over once more, her breathing hitching at points as fear slowly crept it. She detested it, but her mind raced to think where she was. 'What is going on…' She thought, her heart beating in her chest as she rose up onto her feet and stood her ground. Had something happened, someone aligned with Ozpin or Salem got the drop on her, abducting her while she slept?!

Her maiden powers weren't coming to her, no matter how hard she tried to channel them. It only augmented the fear that made her heart pound in her chest.

"Get… Out…"

She heard a deep voice calling from behind her, a hot gust of wind washing across her as the woman's spine tingled. Her mind made the connection as to why the air was warm, something was breathing. She immediately turned and broke into a sprint, her legs not prepared for the sudden movement as she took to the bars, scrambling for them as the powerless Maiden twisted around as she ran. The pitch-black darkness revealed nothing, just a formless void with the sound of movement deep within it, shifting and sliding as if something was slowly moving across the tough surface she felt her feet smack against.

Her body stopped just before the bars, softly panting as she turned her back to the glowing pillars and slowly back-stepped closer to the illuminating landmarks, keeping her red eyes on the void she came from. Something was in here and she refused to stay with it, with whatever this thing was, any longer. Approaching the bars with caution, she stepped close enough that her skin could feel the buzzing of magic. For some reason, it calmed her nerves. It felt like an old feeling that she's known for her entire life.

Maybe it was from the limited training sessions she'd had with her new status, but the Spring Maiden was not afraid to place her hand against the pure magic column. Her palm pushed in as she stretched her fingers against it, the magic humming below her hand as it was warm to the touch. No shock, no pain. If anything, she felt emboldened by the raw magic that tingled into her hand. A sharp inhale entered her lungs as she cast her eyes out and looked through the bars, barely able to view much but there was one thing that stood out to her immediately.

Rows of other cell bars.

From her limited view, she could see one row: One was dead opposite her location, the exact same size and order of the bars she was near. When she pushed her head through the bars however, she began to get a clearer picture.

"What… Is this place?"

Circular for sure, the gap between each 'cell' was enormous. She could scarcely believe such a massive structure could even exist, her eyes looking up to see nothing but pitch darkness as the walls kept running up, away from the fading light of the embedded magic pillars. She could only guess that it must form into a dome or circular ceiling.

Raven walked between the radiant pillars and began moving into the massive antechamber, it was dimly light from the glowing of the bars but it seemed opulent in nature. Carved and sculpted, it was not a natural formation. Her footsteps echoing each time she put one foot in front of the other, her head looking around to take it all in. If she threw herself into a hard sprint at the bars opposite from her, she figured it would take a good 5 minutes to reach. She turned around, simply twisting herself to take in the row after row of cell bars that made up the chamber. It wasn't hard to count, given they were the only source of light in this place.

"Nine…"

Nine sets of glowing pillars that lined the circular wall of this colossal structure, darkness blanketed everything beyond the pillars of magical energy. She could only assume this was a prison, they weren't arranged as architecture or support. She barely took notice that one set of pillars was dimming and then brightening at a painfully-slow pace, a dull flashing that was out of place to the solid and potent glow of all the other cells.

What was the point of this place, what is it hiding away? Grimm? She wasn't getting that nauseous feeling she normally got around those beasts.

No, this was for something else. The magic was sickeningly strong, made to last. Her mind eventually began to think, her steps the only sound audible that filled her ears as she kept stepping through, a slow walk to nowhere but her head was turning to view each of the bars.

"Hello…? Anyone there?"

No response, nothing but the echo of her voice bouncing about. An idle thought crept into her mind, asking what those worrying sounds had been earlier, but it was ignored as she kept calling out.

"Anyone? Naruto, are you here?" The moment those words left her mouth, sound erupted from everywhere.

Movement, lots of it. She could hear crashing and stomping, all the reverb and echo crashing over her as multiple sources began reaching her ears. Stomping, stepping, slithering and skittering. Her ears could barely keep up with the varying sounds reaching her as she twisted her body around, looking to each cell door but noticing nothing. The darkness hid everything, but the echoing sound assaulted her ears, her hairs standing as she expected an imminent attack from any direction.

"Who goes there! Show yourselves!" She barked out into the darkness on all sides, her eyes finally glowing as red flames ignited against her face, providing light around herself as the woman unknowingly shined a spotlight on her. Her powers finally returning with a humming buzz, her hand still tingling with the raw magic. The noises all ceased, silence falling over the darkness as quickly as the auditory assault hard started, leaving the Maiden to tense as she began to break out into a full-on sprint away, running to what she could only assume to be the centre of the chamber. She could only assume that these monsters were inside the cells, a more rational mind would realised that their escape was highly unlikely due to the cell bars still being here, but she wasn't capable of that.

While running, Raven turned her head down once she felt her feet move across new textures, smooth and coarse, it felt like she was running over smooth stone before it changed to metal, before going back to stone. She couldn't make out much, not from her limited vision, but she could see colours and patterns as she ran, breaks in colour with thick borders and the like. Was it just a floor pattern or was there something to it?

"Where the hell am I!? Naruto, this isn't funny!" She called out angrily, twisting herself around as she began to peer at all the cells, still noticing nothing as she took them in. Row after row she looked at her, body turning as the fire-eyed woman finally turned back to the cell she approached from. She felt her stomach clench as she inhaled sharply, her blood freezing in those veins.

Eyes met eyes, her small crimson pair staring into a colossal pair of piercing blue that were easily larger than her whole body.

Even with the glowing pillars that half-blocked the view, she could make them out with frightening accuracy. They gazed at her with utter contempt, her brain buzzing as adrenaline began to stir, sweat beading against her skin further. She felt frozen, she couldn't move. Those piercing ice-blue eyes gazed at her from the darkness of its own cell, a pair of floating beacons that made her want to scream. Big blue eyes made her think of that big dumb blond idiot who saved her, but this wasn't him right? This couldn't be him, not with eyes like that. Her hands clenched tighter. She wanted to be anywhere but here, she wanted to be safe.

"Naruto…?" She spoke under her breath as her entire body locked in-place, unexpectedly she felt a warmth soon fill her right hand, squeezing it herself as she managed to steady her breathing. What she didn't expect was her words to reach the beast, as those eyes soon filled with outrage as they narrowed dead-on Raven. The intake of breath she heard was almost like a wind tunnel, her hair pulling towards it lightly. As if it was enraged by her audacity to say such a thing. For a Maiden like her to even dare using that name.

Danger filled her senses, adrenaline building as she felt something was coming. Her breathing sped up as she clenched her palms as tight as she could, sweat beading down her skin.

Those huge eyes just glared her down, gazing at her with such overwhelming animosity. Seconds had passed but nothing happened, her throat clenching as she swallowed saliva she didn't know had built up, she stood her ground though. Her eyes never broke, those red orbs remained locked to those monstrous blue eyes. Another gust of wind that sent her hair waving behind her, a thick exhale of annoyance that rocked her body as the sound washed over her form. The ominous pair of angry eyes glaring her down began to glow and audibly hum, briefly revealing a thick bar of red that run underneath with white stretched around the top of the eyes, looking like fur to the hyper-focused Huntress.

Then came its voice, shaking her bones as the flash of hot air washed over her body.

"Leave."

Deliverance

Launching up from her prone sleeping position, the shaking women let out a shaky exhale as reality began to wash back over her freshly-awoken form. Her body glistened from sweat, clothes clinging to her athletic form as she threw her eyes around and immediately began scanning for that monster.

The only one she could see was a splayed-out Naruto on his bed, snoring loud. His entire form was glowing red and gold, chakra leaking out as the man kept snoring while only dressed in his long black pants as the covers had been kicked off, leaving him mostly exposed.

Her hands clenched against the sheets, chest heaving a little while her vision began to adjust to being wakened in a surprised manner. The only thing in her mind was those eyes, locked on and staring her down like she was . It was a monster, that was the only word she could use to describe that thing. The inn room was providing immense comfort to her nerves, her alerted system starting to bring itself down as she managed to steady her rugged panting.

"What... was that...?"

The sounds of birds were finally reaching the ears of the panting Huntress, sun must've only risen on the large town over the last hour or two. Her brain began to slow down, realising that she wasn't in danger. She was safe. Her chest slowed in its frantic breathing, finally resting her body back down as she pressed into the bed.

"Was that a dream?" She asked aloud, the only responses that reached her ears was a cranking snore from the man to her right and her own breathing. Her mind replayed it over and over, the sight of those massive pillars of magic, the cacophony of sound that assaulted her ears and finally, those eyes. Slowly, she turned her head to a sleeping Naruto, her eyes taking him in as began to entertain a thought. "What was it… 'Left to rot in the darkness'?" She recalled bits and pieces from their previous conversation, she did her best to ignore everything else that happened during their verbal sparring but she managed to remember the few things he said about himself. Was that where he came from? His prison, nothing but the light of his cage to keep him company in that suffocating darkness. If that was where he was from, how long had he been in there?

Maybe she'd keep this to herself, just for now. No point in trying to open an old wound when things were already tense between the pair.

Enough thinking on dreams and blonds though. It was morning and the start of a new day, a day that Raven was determined to claim for herself. She promised she wasn't going to flounder like a new-born anymore, she would seize the day. Even with her disrupted sleep, she felt energetic to start things, excited, dare she say.

Pressing up, Raven swung her legs over the edge of the bed and rose onto her feet. She was wide awake now; she saw no reason to attempt sleeping in. She'd rather not risk the chance of stumbling back into that nightmare. She'd take her chances when she goes to sleep later tonight.

Square on her feet, Raven stepped over to the crib and cast her head over it, peeking in to see a snoozing Yang wrapped up in her blankets. She allowed herself to relax more as she leaned on the crib, smiling down at the sleeping girl.

So much to do. She had to plan out her training regime, she was upping the ante. Raven was no damsel to be rescued and the fact he'd saved her twice in almost 2 days was cause for a shake-up. She refused to let it be a third time.

Not only that, but their trip had to be planned better, what she'd need for Yang while they make for Argus. Omen was long gone; she'd need to re-equip and get some proper protection. A Huntress with a weapon would blend in far more than a Huntress with glowing eyes and elemental magic. They'd need some Lien as well; she had no idea how the blond got them a free inn-stay but she wasn't putting any bets on this happening again for a second night.

Before she could do any of that however, there was one final thing nagging in her mind. A situation that would need to be solved; it was the biggest obstacle she had in her way right now. She had no idea how Qrow had caught up to her so fast, but the fact her baby brother got the jump on her in such a miserable state was an insult she would never forget. Granted, he was entirely in the right with coming after her and she felt a warmth at her brother's skill when it came to tracking her. He truly was her twin, no doubt about it.

This was going to require some serious thinking. Qrow had to be removed from the picture, he wouldn't drop his loyalty for Ozpin and she had zero doubts that he was going to alert the rest of their team to their position and bring them in. Once again, she could hardly blame them since it was her own foolish and brash idea that brought this mess on, but that was the thing. It was her mess. It was up for Raven to decide how to go about and fix or worsen things, not them. This means she was left with one big issue; removing Qrow from the picture in a way that deterred STRQ from pursuing.

She had two ways to resolve this issue.

She could do things in her own traditional way, the Raven way, if you will.

Or she could, as an adult, have a dialogue with her brother and try to make him see the 'error' of his ways by trying to bring her in and agree that she has outgrown Ozpin and her team, wishing to finally part from this whole Hunstman/Huntress business and go her own way. They were family, most likely the last of the Branwen, and that meant something to her. However, that would require both she and Qrow to compromise and find common ground that both would find acceptable. Raven snorted aloud, shaking her head.

"I'd have better luck talking Glynda into a career on a stripper pole."

Qrow was going to open his mouth a single time and she'd be ready to strangle him. This headache would come later, fresh air and some breakfast would do her good. She needed to clear her head, at least a few hours, and properly think what she was going to tell that moron. She just knew he was going to be a pain in her ass. Bypassing that landmine for later, she needed to rouse her companion. Once the woman's mind began thinking of breakfast, her body realised just how hungry it was. Tantalizing visions of cooked meat, eggs and fresh bakery bread began to fill her mind. It was time for food, she would not be denied.

The red-eyed Branwen stepped away from Yang's little cradle and turned to the slumbering form of the Uzumaki that was sprawled across his bed. Her footsteps softly tapping against the floorboards as she moved her way across before stopping right next to him, ready to wake him up but she held herself for a moment. Her eyes taking in the snoring, dishevelled form of the blond as his chest rose and lowered with each breath. Not that she would admit aloud, but the physique of the blond was very easy on the eyes. She found herself gave along his chest, hints of scars slightly blemished his skin, but the rest was just muscle ridges and definition. There was one detail she did take note of however, her eyes gazing at a four-prong set of scars across his abdomen. It looked like an impalement wound to her seasoned eyes. Still, She couldn't stop the slight envy she felt as he slept like a log.

Of course, the woman had little idea how such a meagre comfort was beloved by the sleeping Kyuubi; it was the first bed the Uzumaki had slept in since well-before the moon shattered. He was taking advantage of any comfort he could get, to interrupt such a comfortable sleep would be a vile act.

The very act that Raven eagerly played, her sword-hand coming down sharply and clamped against his nose, getting the reaction she wanted immediately as his intake was halted and his body shook itself awake, eyes flicking open groggily. He blinked and winked, clearing the foggy vision as he slowly adjusted his eyes to the smirking face of Raven that cast a shadow over him, her crimson eyes gleaming with enjoyment. He felt a slow chill go down his spine, watching her slowly lean on in as she gazed at him, eye to eye. Oh, he really did not like that look at all!

"Get up. We're getting supplies and food. Food supplies. We're getting food right now." As she finished her rushed speech at the man, her stomach spoke up as a familiar grumble roared from her toned stomach. She refused to blush for that one, she was too damn hungry to care.

Naruto's brain managed to adjust, taking in the information as the word 'FOOD' rang out multiple times, hitting all the right signals as the barely awake male nodded with both his eyes barely able to focus on the smirking woman. He slowly raised his hand up, forming a fist and pumped it into the air. "Say… No more…!" Never mind, he loved that look.

Deliverance

Stepping down the steps of the Inn, a freshly dressed Naruto wore the brightest smile he could on his face as he entered the main area of the Inn and beheld the old woman he was looking for, seated at the front desk of her establishment with a steaming cup of Vacuo's finest before her. She was idly going through some paperwork it seemed as the smiling woman's head turned to greet him with a welcoming smile.

"If it isn't my handsome guest. I heard some strange noises from our esteemed mother up there, I hope you two cleaned up after yourselves." She chided with a playful grin, her hand softly lifting her steaming cup of tea up. She got to enjoy both her sip and the look on Naruto's face as he began to shake his head, waving her off.

"Isn't it a little too early in the morning for that Granny, you need to get your head out of the gutter!" He laughed out as he patted behind his head. He idly thought about what she said, he hadn't heard any noises from Raven, so he had to guess it was when he was asleep. 'Noting that for later…' He thought as he began slinking up closer to the counter and leaned down against it. "Say Granny, you wouldn't happen to know where we could go get some new outfits, supplies for little Yang, maybe a weapon…?" He asked cautiously as the older woman finishing another sip of her tea, slowly pressing back into her comfortably chair as she hummed aloud while she slowly drummed her hand across the desk.

"Oh, a few stores… There all nearby actually, old Li managed to get her Inn near the centre of town after all." She gloated a little while she looked at him properly, smiling. "But best I can recommend for most of your needs would be our general store, I know the lovely woman that helps run it. You'll know her when you see her, lovely purple hair with the happiest smile you've ever seen. Tell her that Grandma Li sent you and she'll be more than happy to help you get outfitted, dearie." She tapped her hand against the desk, idly thinking about

"She's got connections as well! Starting to think you're some kind of crime boss in this village, Granny!"

His exclamation was waived off by the happy old woman, settling back into her seat with a grin. "Oh, nonsense dearie, I have just been alive long enough to be at the birth of almost everyone in this village. I mean, they also owe this old girl quite a few favours as well" She added with another wink, getting a wider grin from the man. Steps soon announced the arrival of his saviour, the blond looking back to see a dressed Raven, as best she could in her damaged outfit, with Yang in her arms. The girl was freshly fed and content in her bundle, this was the time to get some shopping in. She made her away across, joining the blond with the older woman who was delighted to see the moving raven-haired woman and her darling baby.

"Oh, welcome dear, glad to see you're still in one piece after all that noise and thumping on the bed! Sounds like you've picked a good man for it, just please don't break any furniture."

Even the stoic Raven couldn't help but let her cheeks flush a little, confusion all over as her eyebrows raised up. "A-ah, what? We weren't-… Ugh." She couldn't get a sentence out, especially not when Naruto's cackling began to fill her ears, the blue-eyed man leaning against the desk and laughing with the old crone at Raven's embarrassment.

The old woman could only wave her off as she laughed, happy she got a new facial expression out of the serious-looking woman. She sat back in her chair, giving out a pleased sigh. "Ah, all too easy." She was enjoying her twilight years. Her eyes flicked to the baby in Raven's arms though, a warmer smile moving onto her face as she sat back up and looked at the pair. "Here, why don't I also look after the little Yang? You'll get through the square faster if you aren't being stopped by every woman asking to see her, and my granddaughter-in-law at the store will hold you up for a good hour if she sees that little bundle of joy." All of them good reasons, in her humble opinion, that she was hoping they would accept.

She had been too busy to get near baby great grandson as of late, so she was more than happy to dote on this little baby to get her fix.

Raven narrowed her eyes for a moment before looking to Naruto, the man giving her yet another big dumb grin that made her sigh. She had to work on her thing for blonds. Fine. "I would appreciate that; we shouldn't be too long and hopefully we can be out of your hair in the next few hours." It was still morning and Raven was already getting a little flighty. She wanted to get things wrapped up and be on here way, she had no idea how long it was going to take before Mistral Hunter teams began snooping around, or even worse, Qrow somehow got loose.

Instant communication was a blessing and a curse.

The senior just waved her again as she smiled. "Don't trouble yourselves, we can work it out. Go and get yourselves worked out, okay?" As she rose up slowly, already getting around to 'selflessly' taking it upon herself to look after the wee baby Yang. Raven just sighed as she helped transfer the little bundle to the old woman, maybe carting around a baby through Mistral wasn't the brightest of ideas.

"Alright, let's go Naruto. We've got a list to fill out, Lien provided courtesy of my foolish brother." She reached up, grabbing the spikey-blond man and yanking him by the scruff of his huge coat, immediately dragging him along as the old woman waved them goodbye.

"Good luck out there! Enjoy your little date." She called out, grinning wider as the door slammed particularly louder than normal. The old woman turned her head down, bouncing the little girl who was stirring in her arms. "Oh dear, I don't think that poor man knows what he's getting into. Your mommy is one tough egg!" Cooed the old woman, smiling at Yang's face grew into a smile of its own with her little hands raising up. "Goodness, you are just an angel…"

Maybe she could convince them to stay one more night? The old woman then blinked as she realised something.

"Wait, did they just leave the other two here?"

Deliverance

Qrow wanted to shout, to yell, even he'd be okay with just screaming like a little girl right now. The man was bound in a seated chair, but something was very off. He couldn't move a muscle, not even twitch his fingers or toes, he was just stuck seated with his face looking up a group of blonds all arguing over the small study table that they had dragged into the centre of the room, facing right at him. There were four blonds standing with an extra seated down, the only one with a tail, who was busy… Drawing? He couldn't see exactly, but he was clearly doing something on the paper before him while the other loudmouths around him kept shouting over him with their ideas of what was happening. Qrow could only stare with a tired glare at the sight before him.

"No no no! You're drawing it wrong, that's going to be a seal for water purification!"

"Water purification? Do you even know Fuinjutsu you numbskull?!"

The seated Naruto just sighed as he finished up the rudimentary paralysis seal. He was making back-ups in case their friendly guest somehow got loose, he still wasn't sure how this 'Aura' and 'Semblance' stuff worked but it seemed a basic inhibitor was keeping Qrow's Aura locked in, with another keeping the man's body effectively paralysed. He could just take it easy, but Naruto had a good feeling that the guy before him had some serious guts, better to be safe than sorry!

Placing the seal paper down, Naruto laced his hands together as he looked at Qrow with a big grin, the three-tails he had fluttering behind him moved silently in the air as they circled around the seated man and snagged around the chair legs of Qrow's seat. sliding the chair and dragging Qrow closer until he was practically seated at the table and facing Naruto. Eyes were moving, so it was clear that the guy was conscious and taking it all in. Naruto was glad that Qrow couldn't move his neck; he felt it would be smoother if he didn't have to explain the 4 or 5 failed seals that messily covered their captive's chest.

"Hey, look, I am really sorry about this. I don't really take people hostage, not my style. If you could believe it, I am normally the guy breaking out of being captured!" He joked out, his eyes looking at the blatantly annoyed pair of burgundy-red eyes that gazed at him. No response as well, obviously. Naruto just gave a shrug as he laid back in the chair and carried on. He was asked by Raven to keep Qrow contained until they were done shopping and that wasn't going to be a problem, he had a few ideas of what to do.

"But, while I have you here, I think this is a good time for me to get some things off my chest. It isn't too often I have such a… Captive audience, eh?" He grinned out as both his hands lifted, brow raising up and down, dearly hoping to see some sort of amusement in the man's eyes.

There was none.

"Anyway, I think I owe you a proper introduction! My name is Uzumaki Naruto! It's a pleasure to meet you, as I said before. But I know what you're thinking. 'Naruto, like the fishcake?!' and I say NO!" Naruto slapped his hand down, throwing a finger out to Qrow's face not long afterwards. "Not the damn fishcake, it means Maelstrom! How hard is it for people to get that, right?!" He said, looking at the entourage of himself around him, all of them literal 'yes-man' as they agreed wholeheartedly, nodding their heads as they patted him on the shoulders. "You got that right Boss!" "It's totally simple!" "It's crazy just how simple it is!" They then all turned back to him, 5 sets of blue eyes gazing at him, the lead blond leaning forward as he squeezed his hands against the table.

They waited in silence, hanging with baited breaths, for their hostage to agree. The silence was deafening. The almost- naked Branwen could only internally sigh as he even tried to move his brows, move anything! He was stuck, like a vegetable, only his eyes were allowed to move, nothing else!

"Wait… Do you not get what we're talking about because you… You don't know what ramen is!?" Naruto exclaimed, sending the other 4 around him into a meltdown as they all looked between each other. "Not know what ramen is?!" "T-That's not possible!" "Cursed world! This world is beyond redemption!" This only made Qrow's jaw itch to scream at them, he knew what the damn food was! He felt the effort well inside him, almost able to feel the very muscles in his jaw, but nothing came, it was like his entire brain was just sleeping on him.

"Okay, so." His attention came back as the main Naruto slapped his hands together for a crisp clap that filled the room and silenced the despairing clones. "It's a noodle dish that sits in a delicious broth and oh… The broth is divine, I cannot tell you how much I love it. Obviously, it can be the instant kind, but Ramen made by someone who puts love and care into it? It can't get any better. Throw in any toppings you want and that's it, shut every other restaurant down. We don't need anything else!" He boldly proclaimed as he leaned back in the chair, another Naruto then leaned in while whispering into his ear as the main Naruto's brow quirked for a moment as he turned back, whispering back just as heatedly to the clone who leaned in, leading the pair to argue in whispers for a few seconds. Finally the 'main' Naruto eventually acquiesced as he sighed and turned his gaze back to Qrow, lifting his hands in a way as if he was trying to sell the idea.

"Okay, grill BBQ is a close second, so we're going to keep those places. But!" He announced, leaning forward to Qrow. "That depends on the cut and type of meat, you obviously know the best, right?" Once again, all 5 pairs of eyes turned and stared at him, waiting for him to answer.

Qrow could only hope that death would claim him soon.

Deliverance

"This looks good. We'll grab this, along with this one as well. Better to have two. Anything that'll work like a diaper?"

"Just over here! If you're wanting something that's going to last, I say these ones here. Much better absorption from what I have dealt with."

Naruto could only watch in a bemused fashion as Raven went through their shopping list like a regimental soldier, the bubbly attendant next to her barely even responding to her direct and blunt replies as they went from aisle to aisle in the general store. The purple-haired woman had been nothing but helpful once she found out they were being put up by Granny Li, talking Raven's head off as they walked down the store and kept heaping more stuff into Raven's arms. He to admit that he could see why Granny insisted they come to this store.

"This shouldn't take too much longer." He said to himself in a hopeful way. He liked walking about the peaceful Kuroyuri with Raven, sure, but shopping with her was a little scary. He'd never seen a woman almost ready to spear someone just for looking at the same items she was wanting to get.

Leaning further against the counter, Naruto reclined himself a little more as he waited for Raven to be done marching up and down each of the aisle. His ears pricked to a curious sound to his right as he turned to look, peering down to the little rocker that was sitting up behind the counter. He was greeted by big pink eyes that gazed up at him with interest. He just grinned wide at the little bub that hung in the rocker, waving his hand at the baby and gaining a curious cooing back. He was running into a lot of babies lately, strangely enough. Drumming his hand across the counter, he was content to make faces at the stunned baby that was eyeing him up, unaware that Raven was staring as she watched him entertain the child.

Her hand swept in before his face, a crisp click from her fingers startling him as he jumped a little. His head turned, eyes wide, taking in the bemused expression of the red-eyed woman as she placed the basic provisions and baby supplies on the counter. Her lips were twisted up into a playful smirk, hand brushing her thick bangs from across her face as she looked at him. "Are you quite done entertaining the baby?" She asked in a way he just knew was demeaning. The whiskered male could only huff as he stood up straight, moving back to give Raven more room while the purple-haired woman giggled out gleefully.

"See my little Lie did you? He's going to be such a heartbreaker when he grows up." Came the bubbly reply from An Ren as she happily lowered down into a half-squat while she made faces at her baby, smiling even wider as her pink-eyed baby could only coo and giggle back at her, the pair having a loving back and forth. The sight brought a warm smile to Naruto's face, watching the mother gleefully interact with her child. He couldn't stop the pang that he felt, watching such a sight he knew he never got to experience…

"Ugh."

His eyes widened as his brows quirked, Naruto turning his head to see Raven's face warped in petty disgust at the blatant show of affection. Raven shook her head, turning to look at the blond as she scoffed.

"You'd never catch me doing something like that." The words leaving her mouth only confused the man further as he watched her, just this morning, call Yang her 'Little Golden Lioness' and say all sorts of grandiose things she'd achieve, all in a voice just like the one that An was doing right now. His mouth opened and hung for a moment, trying to process the words he wanted to say. His lips closed, then opened again, before they closed for a final time. Her eyes took note, narrowing in annoyance as Raven tilted her head, daring him to say what he was thinking.

"What, you got something to say fox-boy?"

He wisely kept his mouth shut and just shook his head, peeling off as the man took to the door of the shop and began his exit. A huff leaving his lips as he heard Raven hum to herself, clearly enjoying her victory in that 'stand-off'. It was too early for to argue right now, and they hadn't even gotten food yet! His hand pushed the store's door open and walked on out, the huffing and puffing man not daring to look back as he just knew that Raven was smirking at him. He gave out a sigh of relief, finding himself out on the quiet street that acted as the main hub for Kuroyuri. Arrayed stalls and vendors were only just starting to open as locals were leaving their houses. Even if it was nothing close to the scale, he got that familiar nostalgic feeling as he looked over villagers just going about their morning, memories of Konoha slowly filtering into his mind.

'Come on Naruto, can't keep thinking back like this…' He idly noted to himself, eyes fluttering as he forced the melancholic thoughts of his old life out of his head. It wouldn't do him good to live with his head stuck in the past. He was here now, standing right in the present and he had a duty to put the boot in on this troubled world's ass. Maybe also put the boot in Raven's ass if she pulled any stunts like she did at the river, but that was neither here nor there. Thoughts of the crimson-eyed woman began as he noticed she was seemingly happier this morning, he had honestly been worried he'd wake up to her hands against his throat for his little 'Timeout' stunt he pulled on the siblings. Seeing the troubled woman converse and seem like a functioning human being with people was a nice change, he had suspected the scowl on her face was permanent!

Chatter began floating around, Naruto was standing near the store entrance while he moved his eyes across a group of hunters, some early morning catches across their shoulders, walk by as all eyes were clearly staring at the tall blond, they seemed suspicious but without hostility. A smile grew on his face as he waved at them, nodding in his head down in a greeting which they passively returned with half-hearted waves.

"Well, at least they aren't drawing weapons on me."

He mused aloud, adjusting his position as he placed his back against the wall and waited. It didn't take the whiskered blond long to start smelling some street food, inhaling long and slow, even in his hungered state it was still very calming, just like the rest of this forest town. While the 'song of nature', as he dubbed it, was a corruptive and bitter whisper, it seemed to die down once inside Kuroyuri. He could passively sense a stew of positive emotions all around him that acted as a buffer for the man, the anger he felt while travelling was worryingly high but in here he practically forgot that he even had an issue with it. Another curious piece to the puzzle that he needed to figure out.

A door opened and shut near him, rousing Naruto from his thoughts as he turned to view the blank-faced Branwen staring at him, her arms crossed against her chest with a new rucksack straddled across her back. Slowly she began to move down the wooden steps that lead into the store, each step given more emphasis as she approached him like a predator would approach its prey. His brow quirked up for a moment as Raven finally stopped before him, barely any room as she starred him down intensely, even while her head was craned upwards. Their eyes locked as Raven slowly opened her mouth, it looked like she hated every second. Naruto furrowed his brow as he began to worry.

'Oh no. Please don't tell me…'

"We now have… Dinner plans." She got out, clearly unhappy with how her interaction had ended but damn it, she couldn't get a word in with that woman! Once the woman properly clocked on that Raven had a baby just like An did, she refused to let her go without an opportunity to meet the baby girl. It soon went from a one-sided conversation to a hostage negotiation, the purple-haired woman saying she'll drop the price and even throw in some free things, just to set up a dinner plan? She'd let Raven leave if she agrees to a double dinner where the babies could meet. The Branwen had no idea how the village girl could enforce that demand anyway.

Raven could never pass up a free meal, a homecooked one at that, but did this damn village girl have to make it sound so weird?!

"Do you want to run that one by me again… I left like, 5 minutes ago?!" He exclaimed, genuinely surprised that this was the result. He was terrified that she was about to say that An had tried to hug her and she iced the poor mother on the spot. Damn, he can't believe he missed out on Raven being outdone like that… Still, he would take 'Dinner is at 6' over 'We have 10 minutes to flee before the entire town is chasing up with pitchforks' any day of the week. That did just leave on little issue on his mind, however.

"Right, so ignoring that. That's food plans for later, what about right now...?" His hand slowly pointing down the road, wrist near his chest while slowing his speech at the end as he watched not a hint of emotion. that wasn't the already-present annoyance. flick across Raven's face as she looked at him. Damn how could she be so expressive one minute, and then the next she's a good shoe-in for a Hokage stone head look-alike. A thought flicked into his head, immediately making the man grin as his hand suddenly turned, index finger now pointing at her face, her forehead to be precise.

"Don't you even dare." Came Raven's razor-sharp response, her right hand snapping up to seize his wrist, eyes finally moving from something other than stonewalling irritation! The cheeky grin on Naruto's face only made her scowl further as she gripped her hand on his wrist and tried to squeeze but to no avail, it did nothing to lessen his smile. "I have not forgiven you for the last time you pulled this. If anything, I think I am well-within my right to take one of your tails as a trophy, maybe a new nice stole for me to wear, huh?" To her irritation, he only grinned wider as he leaned in, their eyes getting closer.

"Hey, you promised food. I never let a woman do things like that to me until she's at least bought me breakfast. I got standards to keep, you know?"

The Huntress couldn't stop the quirk across her lips from forming, a laugh desperately held down as all tension left her face. Damn it, she just couldn't win with this damn blond smug-faced fox! She could only sigh as she nodded, shaking her spiked black mane as she agreed to his terms. It didn't help that the moment breakfast was mentioned, her body remembered just how hungry she was.

"Very well. I believe our food options are opening as we speak, it shouldn't be too hard."

They had supplies, so it was now time for food. After that? She would begin to think on how to… deal with her troublesome little brother.

Deliverance

"Okay, so you can think of the academies as a sort of military training, right? Trained and cultivated to combat issues, mostly Grimm, and keep the peace in a way. The Kingdoms all have a standing army sure, but a few good teams of expert Huntsman and Huntresses can mop the floor with entire regiments, no question."

Qrow explained aloud as all 5 blonds looked at him with great interest, one was even taking notes off to the side. It took another round of those dumb questions from these idiots before they realised, they needed to adjust the seal and actually let him talk. Now here he was, finally, able to converse with these weirdos who began asking him all sorts of questions about Remnant. It was weird to begin with, but asking him basic questions about what the academies were and why they exist? That flicked some flags for Qrow, throw in that monstrous Fox form he followed and those huge ass tails?

'Raven, where did you even dig this crazy bastard up from …?'

The younger Branwen had been thinking all morning about who or what this guy was. He assumed Faunus as an obvious starter, but he never saw any of them do the shit this guy was doing. Was his Semblance something to do with all things Foxes or something? Summon more tails, turn into a massive Fox… But that didn't explain the clones, so was that then his Semblance?! Or did he somehow have multiple? If he recalled his history, there was only one or two extremely powerful Huntsman/Huntresses who were able to do that, and they were all late into their careers as larger-than-life veterans.

Not a mid-20-something dumbass who held him hostage and kept talking about noodle soup and what Qrow's favourite animals were. Then again, the fact that Salem existed was proof enough that reality had ways of just throwing conventional logic out the window.

"Ooooi! Qrow!" His internal musings were cut short as the 'main' Naruto waved his hands before his face, catching his attention back as the blond leaned back from over the table once he knew Qrow was listening again. "Don't drop on me yet! I got more questions." He then picked up a piece of paper that Naruto scanned his eyes over his 'list' while deciding what question to ask next. He hummed for a moment, tapping his hand against his chin as the Uzumaki scanned the utterly blank sealing paper, his mind thinking of what to say. He placed it down, looking back at Qrow as those wary eyes looked at his curious blue pair. "Okay, I have one, serious this time."

"Are you going to chase Raven no matter what?"

The Branwen man felt a lump in his throat form as those joking eyes hardened, gazing at him with a sudden intensity that made him sit up in his chair. Well, try to sit up in his chair as the man was still caught in a paralysis from the neck down. A few seconds went by as both stared, Qrow thinking things over. If he gave vague promises and lied, would he be allowed to leave? He could see his scroll over by where a clone had gone through his stuff, so all he needed was that bad boy and he could send the alarm to Ozpin. Something in his brain was suggesting against it, the way the blond looked at him.

He wasn't getting malice or an eagerness for Qrow to sign his own death sentence. He had a strange feeling that playing things straight with this blond was going to be the net positive for him.

"If I don't, you two are going to have teams from all four academies hunting you down. Raven basically detonated a hand grenade in the political scene, I wasn't kidding when I said some want her head on a stick." Their eyes remained focused, gazing at each other. Qrow looking for hostility while Naruto was looking for deceit, neither was having any luck. The scruffy man pushed on with his talking. "Even then… Damn, I have no idea how long Oz can keep this up as well. Haven is grinding their teeth to hunt Raven down with the other academies pressure Ozzy to label her as a threat and be hunted down. It isn't good, fox-man." He finished simply.

Naruto's hand drummed along the desk he had before him, a corner table really, and thought over Qrow's words in silence. A hum or two leaving his mouth but gears were turning for sure, Qrow really didn't like the look. "Please don't tell me you're encouraging her to keep this rogue act up?" Naruto's hand stopped its drumming, eyes returning back to Qrow's staring pair. That serious face slowly broke in a wide smile, Naruto looking at him dead-on and without an ounce of care.

"Oh Qrow, you have no idea who you're talking to! A powerful political entity sending elite teams to come hunt me and my partner down? It's just like the old days again!" He announced, grinning ear to ear as he lounged back, hands folding behind his head as he laced his fingers together, reclining without a care as he laughed. "I'm eager to see how strong you all are! Fixing everything wrong with Remnant is going to require some serious muscle, that's for sure!" Naruto's words only confused Qrow even further, the man's face twisting like he'd just been told Ozpin and Salem were now forming a jazz duo.

"Alright, I don't have the brainpower or the alcohol to even begin asking about that insane shit." He sighed while trying to move his arm, there was an itch on the side of his neck that might kill him if he doesn't scratch it soon. Deciding it was time to re-direct things, the crimson-eyed man focused back onto the grinning stranger who held him hostage. "Okay, my turn for the question. Who are you to Raven? Not once has she even said anything about someone like you." He stopped, brow furrowing, before he continued. "Actually, I don't think she even has friends outside of Summer! So that begs the question, what's your deal with her?" He watched as the blond moved out of his reclining pose, hands moving back onto the table.

Qrow figured that Raven and Taiyang had… Gone their separate ways a few weeks back, Raven showed up at his apartment and crashed for a night or two. Not long after that, Taiyang finalized his awarded property on Patch and had been telling them about the big damn cabin he was going to be building and not once did he even mention Raven and her input on the building. Messy situation only getting far worse once Raven decided to forgo kicking the hornet's nest and just set it on-fire.

It had been an awkward time in the team for sure, Qrow noting poor Summer's conflicted feelings about being there for both Raven and Taiyang, given her close friendship with the former and her crush on the latter. Who knew that dating inside the 4-man cell was a bad idea? That meant, to Qrow anyway, this guy must've been some form of rebound that Raven had in the wings, or even worse, the guy she'd been seeing while with Tai. A little scenario that he felt was even too cruel for his sister's usual antics.

Tai had been over the moon to meet little Yang, for Raven to have pulled some shameless antics in the background with some other guy, another blond to boot, that the baby wasn't even his daughter? No one deserved that awful gut punch.

"Hmmm… I guess you could say we're partners. Comrades!" He said, both his hands smacking the desk with that huge smile back on his face. "She got me out of a real bad situation, I consider myself to be in her debt, and we figured it was going to be safer for us both to team up and go traveling across Mistral. I know she's in trouble, so that's why I am going to do my best to watch her back!" Qrow's eyes widened for a bit, hearing that whole spiel. Raven came in and saved a stranger? Not only that, but she also then decided it would be a good idea to go walking about Mistral, as if half the world's Huntsman cells weren't going to be vying for her huge bounty? He knew for certain that his idiot sister was going to have her face plastered everywhere in a matter of days.

'Either this guy is straight-up lyin' out his ass to me, or he's leaving out a lot of crucial details about what went down.' Were the only thoughts that Qrow had, knowing something wasn't right. She just happened to stumble upon some ultra-powerful Faunus with multiple Semblances who was in danger that she, as a fleeing fugitive from Salem, managed to overpower and beat? Oh yeah, sounds plausible for sure.

"Riiiiight…" Came Qrow's reply as he clicked his tongue a little, desperate to scratch his neck. "Well, I guess it's your question now."

"Hmm…" Naruto nodded as he began to think, purposely ignoring the obvious disbelief that Qrow had. He knew telling a half-truth like that would be dismissed, meaning their little subterfuge would go on for longer. He was just making time, knowing the original Naruto and Raven were making plans for how to proceed and how to deal with the gruff man before him. But, if he was going to ask blunt questions like that, Naruto saw no reason to not just do the same. He was going to have fun while also applying a little more pressure. His head turned back, looking at Qrow with a friendly smile.

"I want to ask about-"

Qrow felt a cold sweat go down his neck, those blue eyes were now a vibrant red, closer to an orange than Raven's scarlet red eyes. Slits carved down the middle of his eyes, giving him the visage of a predator. His smile had pronounced canines, crossing over his bottom row of teeth easily and resting over the threshold of his bottom lip, only spurring the fear he felt bubble in his stomach. Then came his voice.

"-Ozpin and Salem."

Deliverance

"That hits the spot…"

Raven groaned as she leaned back against the booth-seat the pair were in. Before her was a clean plate that once held almost every type of protein she could get for breakfast, her hand placing the utensil down after finishing the last of her eggs. A steaming cup of tea was to her right, a perfect way to end her filling breakfast as the woman lifted it and began to sip. Her eyes slowly panning across to the blond who was in a similar position to the Branwen woman, three plates placed atop each other while the whiskered man hung his head back against the booth seat.

"You know, I wasn't willing to budge on getting anything other than ramen, but that breakfast was good. Glad I took your advice." He said with a content sigh, head turning back down to look at the drinking Raven who was nodding in-response. "I think I will save getting ramen when I know its going to be good, you know? That special occasion will only make it better." He hadn't thought that you could make venison for breakfast, but man had they showed him with that cheesy deer omelet.

It was a nice place they had found after they followed the hunting party up through the town for a little bit, fresh meat had been on their minds strangely enough. It was a further extension to the quiet respite that Raven was grateful for, some actual time to collect her thoughts. She even dropped her guard while they ate, sure they had been getting odd looks as they were clearly out of town and didn't exactly fit in, but they were spending good lien and were staying with the town's 'Godmother' herself. That settled enough distrust for the townsfolk to go about their days and barely spare a thought to the strangers talking over their breakfast.

The eye-watering aura of strength that the pair exuded also did wonders for keeping their privacy respected.

"Okay, so what's next Raven-Taicho?" Said the whiskered man as he placed down his finished cup of tea, resting back into his seat while stretching his right arm across the back it. He watched her slender brow raise upwards as she placed down her cup, index finger tapping against the wooden surface.

"I don't know what that means, but for what's next? We wrap things up and get moving. This dinner is an annoyance, but I get the feeling that our generous benefactor will be quite disgruntled if we blow off dinner with her family." Raven said with some minor annoyance. They didn't have time for this, they needed to get mobile before more of Ozpin's, or worse, Salem's goons began sniffing around. Her head leaned left and right, stretching her neck a little before she turned her head back to look at the man. "And Qrow needs to be dealt with. Getting him out of our hair won't be a problem, I have a helpful solution that'll send him on a one-way trip back to Beacon." She explained, Naruto's brow raising a little at her confidence. Sounds like she had even more up her sleeve, he was interested.

"So why didn't we do that before we left the inn?"

Raven exhaled as she scoffed, shaking her head. "Because it'll make the rest of my team even more desperate to bring me 'home'. They're insufferably clingy…" She led off at the end, but Naruto could see the edges of her lips quirk up, thinking of them in a positive light at least. "To avoid that, I need to cut ties properly. I need to send Qrow back with my intention crystal clear. I have no interest in reuniting with them, Naruto, that time is over." She said as she looked out the window and onto the town's main street, not seeing the way his eyes softened at her words and unaware of the turmoil she had set off inside the whiskered blond. "Going back means prison, at the very least, death at the extreme."

"Would they really let that happen, your team that is."

Raven's head sharply turned back to meet his eyes once more, glaring at him. "It doesn't matter what they want or think, only two people move the chess pieces in this world..." She muttered but continued. "With my current condition, I am going to be kept under lock and key, like some caged bird, if I return to Ozpin's side. But with you?" She stopped, smiling a little as she drummed her hand for a moment across the table. "Freedom. I would take walking all over Mistral with you over sitting in some cramped cell or small house every single time, hidden away until my benevolent master decides I am of use to his plans. A weapon to be used when needed."

Again, a pang going through the blond as her words resonated further. He honestly couldn't argue with that, he had little idea of the world but from what she said, he would choose the same. To be a person, not a weapon to be used. Naruto could only laugh a little, catching Raven's attention as he shook his head, his eyes clearly remembering something.

"What, what's so funny?" She asked, feeling a touch insecure at his mockery for her honest feelings on the matter.

"It's not funny, but it's just strange just how similar we both are." He shook his head, wiping his chin and lips with his hand before setting it back down, a genuine smile stretching back across his face as the blond winked at her. The crimson-eyed woman couldn't help but return his smile as she lifted her cup.

"Oh, that so?" She asked with humor, but traces of genuine curiosity were also in her tone.

"Mmhm! One of my… Family, was in a position just like you. Treated like a weapon and it made him do dark things, but I saved him. Beat his ass up for good measure!" He laughed out as he lifted his right fist in the air, remembering that exhausting fight during the exams. "But he got some real good shots on me as well. I like to think we both reached each other on that day. He's my closest brother, no doubt about it." The look on his face was intriguing to the Huntress, her eyes taking in the way he was fondly remembering the times in his head whilst somehow looking sad at the same time.

"What's his name?"

Naruto looked back up and met her gaze. "Gaara. Hair red as blood, thick black lines around his blue eyes from lack of sleep, but once we fixed that issue, I think he started using paint to keep them that way, sort of a memento. Not to forget where and what he came from; A weapon for his village. They were wrong obviously, Gaara was so much more than that." He continued, the whiskered male surprised that Raven seemed to carry the interest further as she nodded and kept listening, her eyes focused on his, silently gesturing for him to continue.

"I realized I was also a little jealous of his brains and cool headedness. Always thinking of others and even protecting his own village when the Akatsuki came for him, knowing it'd cost him the battle. I know he'd say that he learned it from me and I 'freed' him from his darkness-" The blond said with air-quotes from his fingers. "-But even I can't help but admit he's got me a little beat with how selfless he was then." He admitted, tapping his hand against the table before moving the stack of plates, just to focus on something, remembering that stern look which contrasted the warm smile across Gaara's face as they linked arms and gripped.

One embracing Nine.

"I wanted to be like that when I was Hokage, to be a good leader that protects his village no matter what, just like the noble Kazekage did."

Raven took another sip of her drink as she heard him unload a little, taking it all in with great interest. There was such little she knew about him and now she was starting to get somewhere. Words were being thrown at her that had little meaning, but she noted them for later. 'Akatsuki. Hokage. Kazekage…' She thought, placing the drink down as she finished it and laid her arms across one another on the table.

"Sounds like someone you'd be related to. Noble, selfless and ready to throw themselves into a stupid situation because somebody asked for help." She said, gaining Naruto's attention as he looked back up and saw her face smirking, clearly teasing him and it did its job, a smile was on his face once more as he shook his head, reclining a little more back into the seat. "But I fail to see how that's similarities between us. With this, Gaara, right? Sure, I understand. But you?" She asked, prodding just a little for more information. "How are we alike?"

Naruto turned back, eyes seemingly struggling to focus on her own as he looked away and around the small venue. He was clearly thinking something over, smacking his lips while his hand slowly twisted the teacup around in his hand as it lay on the table. Finally, he managed to gather his thoughts, eyes meeting her once more. He knew this could go either way, good or bad.

"Because we both watched our families and homes get destroyed right in front of us." He said, taking Raven by surprise from the sudden turn as her eyes widened. "And we couldn't do anything to stop it."

A/N: Another one done. Funny story about this chapter is that I got a little carried away writing stuff and before I realised, I had about 18K worth of words! I had to split things up, which means that the next chapter is already about 50% done! Another chapter to go for our time in Kakoduri before they strike out on the road.

I tell ya, the first draft for this chapter looked radically different. I read through it a few times and eventually went 'What the hell is this?' so I toned things down a bit, snipped a bit of it for the next chapter and kept some of the deleted stuff for future chapters! I got to remember to let things breathe, we had 3 chapters of drama and now it's time for some relaxation. Except, not for Qrow, he's in over his head.

Next chapter as well? Ooof. That's a doozy.

Want a sneak peak at something that'll be featured in it?

'The'

Hard hitting stuff.

You just get so excited for the big stuff, that you forget that build up is very important. I know someone raised a good point about Qrow, I agree, but I also wanted him to get the jump on Raven like that to make it even worse for her. Don't worry, I hear you though!

A few points some people might be excited for though: I have made a decision about Yang, I have made a decision about Summer, I have made a decision about Pyrrha AND surprisingly I have already made a decision about Watts. I will honestly be very happy if I do eventually get to him in the story.

And no, don't worry, you won't hear his burn to Cinder over and over AND over again.

When you overuse something, it just loses its pizazz you know?

Finally piece of the note! I am currently working on an OC that is going to be a main cast member, for this first act at least. It isn't a self-insert. Not a blank Jaune-like canvas to get with my RWBY waifu. I am planning a handful of OCs to help bolster the main cast, particularly to help our lovable duo with what they'll be getting up to, but I am letting people know to get some reactions now.