Site is still glitchy. Doubt this will get seen. Barely anyone noticed Wayward Fox was updated. That's not gonna stop me, but let me know if you can see this.

This one is gonna be an... Interesting concept.

Up for a ghost story?

This hazy fog… It is all-encompassing. It's all I've known for…

Unable to interact with the world. To touch. To feel. To taste…

All I could hear was incomprehensible noise from the vague shadows of people in the world around me.

How long have I been in this purgatory? Mah, I can't even remember any longer! It has felt like it has been forever. I swear, I've seen countless seasons and watched the indescribable environment change repeatedly.

The world changed. I knew that. It had become something different. I simply couldn't decipher what it had become. I wished I knew what had caused all these changes. What it was that brought all this about.

And if my family was okay…

Above all else, I miss my wife… I miss my daughter… My son, whom I am so proud of.

I wish I could see them again. Give my son words of encouragement and guidance as he is well on his way to becoming the man I wanted him to become. To see my daughter grow up and become a fine woman…

To sit beside my loving wife and share our time together…

Gah, I can't even remember how I arrived in this place—walking through the blur-ridden world. There were other people here. Well, I'm pretty sure they are. They're hazy, just like everything else in this forsaken place. I wish I could communicate with them. Or at least help them when they were in need.

It is so damn frustrating not being able to help anyone! I never felt so powerless… Even when I was a kid, I could do something! Yet now, I just had to sit and watch as these negative blobs ravaged the world…

I couldn't even kick a rock in frustration! Or pick one up and throw it at the damn black blobs!

This was hell! Why couldn't I do anything?

Huh, what was this?

What am I hearing?

Is that crying?

I had to investigate the sound. It was the first sound I had recognized in forever: the cry of a young girl.

Was she in trouble? Was she in danger and needed help?

I didn't know. I just had to find them. Maybe they could help me if I could hear them…

There she was… I was right. For the first time, I could clearly see someone else.

The cry had indeed come from a young girl, even younger than what I remember of Himawari. She couldn't be that old—a few years at most.

I frowned. There didn't seem to be anything wrong. She was simply being carted in what I had to imagine was a tiny wagon by… Another small child? I was sure of that, even if he couldn't identify the hazy shadow.

Still, why was she crying? Why could I hear here?

There were so many questions I wanted to ask, but my stomach twisted into knots. The sound of a child crying was agony. She looked like she was in agony. I just wanted to reach out and comfort her…

Wait… Son of… I can touch her?!

"Huh?" I accidentally roused the girl in red with my pat on her head. She blinked several times, staring directly at me. Confused just as much as I was. "Who are you, mister?"

My heart skipped a beat. My thoughts raced, ignoring the white noise that responded from behind me.

She could see me! She could hear me! She could communicate with me!

It didn't seem like the other child could, and the confusion was only amplified by the girl's voice as she responded to the white noise, pointing directly at him. "Yes der is."

As more scratchy noise followed, I couldn't help but frown and puzzle this situation. This girl could see me when no one else could, and for how long I had been trapped in this realm. Why was this?

The first thought that came to mind made me shiver. It had plagued me for quite some time, and I started to believe it could be true.

Was I… A ghost? A wandering spirit?

It felt possible, and unfortunately, it made sense. But that would mean…

I shook my head. I knelt beside the perplexed young girl, softly smiling. "Sorry about that. Guess your friend can't see me either. You can call me Naruto. …What's your name?"

Looking at the other shade again, her bright, silver eyes shimmered in confusion. "Ruby. What are you doing here?"

"I heard you crying." I flashed a smile and chuckled. "I came to investigate and see who made a young girl cry. See if there was anything I could do to help."

Ruby's lips pursed. It looked for a moment that she wasn't sure whether or not she should trust me. I couldn't blame her. Just like I taught my children, she shouldn't trust a stranger. That was what I was to her.

"No, I'm okay. Just with my sister… We're looking for mom. She's been gone for a long time." Ruby broke the hesitation with a smile.

My heart clenched at the somberness of her words. She was out with her sister… Looking for their mom? Who had been…

I bit my lip. I knew what had likely happened. With all those disgusting blobs around, there was only one answer…

The better question was, how could I help? What could I do, given I couldn't interact with anything other than Ruby? How could I help this little girl who had likely lost her mother…

The shade's grating speech followed, causing Naruto to glower. It always hurt his ears to hear, but I sensed something different this time. The noise didn't feel the same.

There was a hint of fear.

And I turned in time to see the blobs as Ruby screamed.

"Grimm!"

"Stay back!" I stepped between the blobs and Ruby and her sister. My voice remained calm and collected. I had to stay confident. I had to be. Even as I had my doubts on what I could do, I couldn't let my fear show. I had to do something. I would figure it out. I always did before.

Ruby moved directly behind me, gripping my pant leg. Maybe if she could make contact with me, I could do something. I had nothing better. All I could do was try…

Huh? What was this strange feeling?

Why was I shrinking?

…Was the world becoming… Clearer? Huh, was that her sister in front of me? Was she acting like a shield to Ruby like I was? Why was her hair shoved into my face?

Why did it smell like lilacs?!

And what the hell? The blobs were demonic-looking wolves this entire time! Why couldn't I see that before? I could at least tell what people were, even if they were hazy!

"Stay back, Ruby…" Her sister trembled, holding her arm out in front. She looked back down, and she forced a smile despite the evident fear etched on her face. "I can deal with this…"

I scowled. Oh, no, she couldn't! These things would tear a little girl apart! He had felt it happen time and time again when they were blobs! He needed to do something…

Huh? Why did my hands look so feminine…

"Oh…" I grimaced as I looked down at myself and saw her body instead.

If I was really a ghost…

I just possessed the girl by complete accident!

No, I couldn't focus on that right now! I could do something about this situation! Ruby and her sister were in danger…

If only I had my body…

Hmph… Now that I thought about it… I didn't feel like I was possessing Ruby's body at all. I knew I was in control of it, somehow, but it felt like…

Mine.

Did that mean…

"Only one way to find out," I muttered through Ruby's lips, ready to test my theory.

And like it had so many times before, the world seemed to stand still as I ducked under Ruby's sister's arm and moved forward. I made it to the wolf, and I had moved before it could even register. And as I planted her tiny fist into its stupid muzzle, my confidence grew.

I smirked in satisfaction as it turned to black mist with a single blow.

I had my full strength even while controlling Ruby.

"About time I could do something," I growled, clenching my fists and staring at the stunned wolves. "Better take care of this before I lose control."

"Let's go wild."

Okay, this is a concept I have been afraid to do for a while because I wasn't sure how I wanted to approach it. The idea of Naruto being a spirit within the RWBY world and eventually have a bond with Ruby similar to his with Kurama, after the war obviously. One thing led to another, and then I drafted this concept.

Let me know what you think of it. If you like it, there is a good chance this one will be turned into its own story. Not sure if it helps, but the ship would be Ruby X Weiss... And not for fanservice either! It's more because Naruto might not be the only ghost around... :)

So until next time, my friends, Peace.