Remnant of a Shinobi

by AuraofChakra

During the final battle between Naruto and Sasuke, things don't go so smoothly. Sent off to another world, Naruto is ready for a new adventure. What awaits him in this new world where people not only have to deal with each other, but a race of creatures that solely exist to destroy humanity?

25. Chapter 25 - Reconciliations

AN: The first section of this chapter will delve into things the series has not answered. So if it ends up being proven wrong later on if the series continues, then that's just how it is. I will not be going back and changing this first section, and I am making this note to make it clear that this was made before any possible continuation made this wrong. With that out of the way, please enjoy the chapter.

Chapter 25 – Reconciliations & Forging Ahead

Taiyang was out chopping wood as Zwei napped by the porch. It had been a few weeks since Yang and Naruto left for their journey. He was relatively sure they were okay. He knows how tough Yang is. Well, at least he thinks he does. He hopes they managed to find Ruby. Despite how capable Ruby is on the battlefield, he knows her mentality might not be up to par, at least going off of the last time he seen her. He cannot help but worry about her.

As Taiyang was chopping wood, he heard the familiar sound of a portal opening. He said to himself, "All this worrying must be making me hear things." He then looked up to see a raven fly by and land on a branch. His eyes widened and said, "I'll be damned…what are you doing here?"

Raven landed on the ground and returned to her human form. She responded, "Couldn't I have just been an actual bird?"

"Maybe if I didn't hear the portal" Taiyang answered. Raven nodded her head in acknowledgement of that point. Taiyang then asked again, "Why are you here?"

Raven simply sighed and said, "Something Yang told me."

Taiyang smiled wide as he excitedly said, "So she did find you!"

Raven crossed her arms and had a slightly annoyed expression as she sarcastically said, "Thanks for telling her about my Semblance by the way."

"She wanted to know more about her mom" Taiyang responded as he shrugged. Raven did not know how to respond to that, so Taiyang asked, "You in a hurry?"

Raven thought about it and she knew Vernal could handle running the tribe for a little while. Raven then answered, "I have time."

"Then why don't you come inside? I'll make some tea" Taiyang told Raven.

"…Sure." Raven responded. It felt weird for her to agree, but she did so anyway. They stepped inside the house which woke up Zwei. Zwei walked over to inspect the new the arrival as Raven looked down at him. She asked Taiyang, "When did you get a dog?"

As Taiyang was preparing some tea, he responded, "The girls really wanted one and they eventually wore me down."

Zwei was able to detect Yang's scent on Raven and his tail started wagging. He treated her quite friendly as a result causing Raven comment, "Your dog is a bad judge of character."

"Maybe. But he probably just smells Yang on you so he thinks you're a friend" Taiyang said with a smirk.

Raven looked down at Zwei again and she sighed before finally sitting down. She then observed the layout of the house and said, "It's…cozy."

Taiyang could not help but laugh at that comment. He then said, "Look at the fierce bandit leader trying to make small talk." This caused Raven's face to dawn a mixture of annoyance and embarrassment. Taiyang then poured a cup of tea for Raven before pouring one for himself. Looking at Raven's face, he said, "Oh relax, I wasn't making fun of you."

Raven sighed again and commented, "I can't believe it's this hard to have a normal conversation now…"

"What? Your bandit pals don't have great social skills?" Taiyang said jokingly.

Raven simply shook her head in response and grabbed her cup of tea before taking a sip. She said, "It's good."

"Thanks" Taiyang said in response. There was then some awkward silence between the two before Taiyang said, "You know I have to ask."

Raven looked down and prepared herself as she said, "I know…"

"Why'd you leave?" Taiyang asked her. "I have a guess, but I have to know."

Raven sighed before she started her answer, "I was out on a Grimm extermination just like I told you I was gonna be on. It was just a Beowolf pack that was attacking field hands. Most of my time was spent on tracking a few Beowolves back to the rest of the pack. It was easy enough to take them out once I did. I was about to turn into my bird form and fly back to let them know I was done, but then I heard a gunshot. I managed to dodge it, but when I looked to find the culprit…it was members of my tribe…"

Confused, Taiyang asked, "Why would they shoot at you?"

"At first I thought they were trying to kill me for abandoning the tribe" Raven answered. "Qrow and I were supposed to return to the tribe after graduation. Equipped with all the skills and knowledge of Huntsmen. Obviously, that didn't happen."

Taiyang shook his head. He knew this to some extent, but he still thought it was stupid. He then asked, "So what happened next?"

"Then my fellow tribesmen attacked" Raven continued. "They held nothing back, so neither did I. I ended up killing two of them and wounding the other three. That's when one of them stood back up and complimented me. Told me that those four years at Beacon clearly weren't a waste. But then he said I'd become soft. That if I was still a member of the tribe, all of them would have been dead."

"Well that's a healthy attitude" Taiyang commented sarcastically.

Raven ignored Taiyang's quip and continued, "That bandit informed me that the leader of the tribe was dead. He had gotten too old and couldn't keep up in their last raid." She looked at Taiyang and said, "Keep in mind, the previous leader was one of the best combatants the tribe ever produced. So they weren't gonna let just anyone replace him."

Taiyang's eyes widened before he looked down and said, "So they were there to recruit you…"

Raven nodded and said, "That's right. Just like the leader, my brother and I were two of the best warriors ever produced by the tribe. And with our training as Huntsmen, the tribe knew we would be even better."

Taiyang crossed his arms and with disappointment in his voice said, "And you chose to go with them."

Raven looked down and said, "It wasn't an easy choice…"

"Sure it wasn't" Taiyang stated dismissively.

"It wasn't!" Raven exclaimed in anger, showing hostility for the first time since arriving.

Taiyang was surprised at her reaction. He then asked, "Okay, so why'd you go then?"

Raven sighed and rubbed her head in frustration. She told him, "You know, when we first met I thought you were a complete joke. You took nothing seriously and your attempts to make the team get closer seemed pointless. But…" Raven lifted her head back up and said, "Even though I didn't realize it right away, it was working. You and Summer were making Qrow and I actually feel like we belonged. And then you even started winning me over."

Taiyang had a slight smirk as he told her, "Hey, I always did my best even if it seemed like a joke."

Raven thought back to their days at Beacon as she continued to say, "Your demeanor was so off-putting at first. You just seemed so unburdened by the world. But, when the time called for it, you got serious. And when Summer led us, we really were the best."

Taiyang's smirk grew into a full smile as he started to reminisce as well and he said, "Those days sure were fun."

Raven had a melancholic expression as she said, "Looking back, they really were the best days of my life." Taiyang was genuinely surprised to hear her say that. Raven then said, "When the two of us got together, I was actually happy. And when we were approaching graduation, I thought hard about if I really wanted to return to the tribe. I already knew Qrow wasn't going back. He finally had friends for the first time in his life. Friends who didn't keep him at arm's length because of his Semblance."

"Yeah, but maybe Qrow came out of his shell a little too much" Taiyang jokingly commented.

Raven shook her head, but she had a smile. "As graduation got closer and closer, I thought that maybe I would stick around a little longer. See what this life with you and as a Huntress would be like." She looked down again and said, "I enjoyed our post-Beacon life for as long as it lasted. I honestly didn't think the tribe would come looking for me."

"You still haven't said why you left with them" Taiyang said, but not dismissively like before.

Raven looked to the side and said, "As great as my life seemed with you, the tribe was still my home. They were still my people. I don't know if it was guilt or obligation, but I couldn't turn them down."

Hearing all of that, Taiyang said, "I don't know if hearing you actually liked life me and the team makes me feel better or worse."

Raven took another sip of her tea and said, "Well I definitely felt worse about it." She then put her face in her hand and said, "I knew I wouldn't have been much of a mom. And I knew there was no telling what the tribe would to do convince me to come back. No one grows up happy in a bandit tribe."

Taiyang understood that point, but he said, "We all would have fought like hell to stop them. They never would have gotten close to Yang.

Raven then looked Taiyang in the eyes and asked, "You really think watching my old family and new family kill each other was a better option for me?"

Taiyang genuinely struggled to respond to that. He then said, "I guess I'm not sure what would have been better for you. But the destruction of your tribe would have been better for everyone else."

This clearly upset Raven. But her anger turned to sorrow as she said, "You're probably right…but I still couldn't let that happen. So I returned home and took over the tribe. It was hard at first. For a while I had to prove every day that I was good enough. But eventually they all looked to me as their undisputed leader."

Taiayng then had a thought and asked, "Why didn't they come for Qrow?"

"They knew he was loyal to Ozpin. I'm not" Raven answered matter-of-factly.

Taiyang shook his head and said, "Yeah, that's true.

"Then seven years later, something unexpected happened" Raven continued. "The Spring Maiden joined our tribe."

Taiyang was stunned as he asked, "Does anyone else know?"

"Leo, Qrow, Ozpin…and Salem" Raven answered.

Taiyang was a little shaken upon hearing Salem's name. He then asked, "So what happened?"

"They only recently found out we had Spring" Raven clarified. "But the Maiden herself was inexperienced…she didn't make it."

Taiyang's eyes softened as he asked, "Do you know who has the powers now?" Raven answered this by making the Maiden flames trail from her eyes. Taiyang looked shocked as he said, "You?"

Raven deactivated the powers as she responded, "I was shocked when it happened too. I guess I was still young enough at the time. The Maiden was truly loyal and wanted the power to stay in the tribe."

"How did you keep it under wraps?" Taiyang asked curiously.

"Whenever I thought I might need to call upon the power, I would wear a helmet that kept my eyes hidden" Raven answered. "I then kept a young woman named Vernal by me so it would appear like she did it."

"Huh…that's pretty clever" Taiyang admitted. "Like mother like daughter." This made Raven look ashamed. Coerced or not, she still abandoned her daughter. Taiyang noticed this and said, "Yang mentioned that you saved her. What was that about? Were you checking up on her?"

"You must be talking about the incident with the underground train" Raven responded. "I wish I was there to see Yang, but it was just a coincidence."

"Oh, I see" Taiyang said in calm tone. "But that sounds like an interesting story."

Raven became more relaxed since she was about to tell a story where she did not need to defend herself. She said, "I heard a rumor about the White Fang aiding a crime boss in Vale. I wondered if this meant they might collaborate with the tribe too. But I couldn't off of just a rumor, so I went to investigate. Even as the leader of the tribe, I never forgot my training as a Huntress."

"Which means you were able to track them town" Taiyang surmised.

Raven nodded and said, "I arrived in time to see the White Fang fighting a couple of kids. One of them looked just like Summer."

Taiyang smiled again as he says, "My girls are usually troublemakers."

Raven then continued, "I watched the crime boss Roman Torchwick confront those two kids which confirmed the rumor of his ties to the White Fang. Since I had the info I wanted I was about to leave…and that's when I heard that girl call out for Yang."

"And you couldn't leave until you saw if it was your Yang, right?" Taiyang guessed.

"Yes…" Raven admitted. "And then I saw what was clearly our daughter run up and hug her sister. Then they and their teammates went on the train and fought. And for some reason I had feeling…a feeling that Yang was going to fight something she wasn't ready for. So I decided to check on her despite knowing that if she seen me, it could make things worse for both of us."

"It clearly didn't" Taiyang stated.

"I don't know about that" Raven retorted. "It might have been what reignited her desire to find me. Although based on our meeting, I guess it was the need to find her sister."

Taiyang got more excited and said, "I have to hear how that meeting went!"

Raven rolled her eyes and said, "Fine. So the day before, I had just found the Schnee heiress barely conscious after her ship crash landed."

Taiyang was quiet before saying, "You kidnapped our daughter's teammate?"

"How was I supposed to know they were teammates?" Raven responded with a little annoyance in her voice. Taiyang simply shrugged and Raven said, "Things were finally going smoothly after the Grimm attack."

"Grimm attack huh? How bad was it?" Taiyang asked curiously.

"Have you heard about these new evolved Grimm?" Raven asked in turn.

"Yeah, apparently they're called Super Grimm" Taiyang answered.

Raven made a perplexed face as she said, "Super Grimm? Really?"

Taiayng shrugged and said, "Hey, I didn't name them."

Raven shook her head and said, "It was shortly after the train incident when one of those Super Grimm attacked the tribe. It was a Razor Wing bigger than any I'd ever seen. I'll never forget those fiercely glowing blue eyes…"

A little more nervous about the story, Taiyang asked, "How bad did it get?"

Raven looked down as that incident still affected her and she said, "We lost half the tribe. All our bullets bounced off and our other attacks were superficial. Then more Grimm arrived, and it got really bad. I had to call upon my power as a Maiden to slay the Razor Wing and suppress the other Grimm."

Taiyang is surprised to hear what it took to fight one of the Super Grimm. He then comments to himself, "I can't believe my girls have been taking those things on…"

Raven took note of that and asked, "How long have they been doing that?"

"Apparently since they first started showing up" Taiyang answered.

"So Yang's been fighting them since before she got her new powers…" Raven muttered.

Taiyang didn't quite catch that so he asked, "What was that?"

"I was just thinking out loud" Raven told him. "So like I was saying before, I had just taken the Schnee hostage and things were finally smoothing over. Then Yang shows up the next day after having beaten up a bunch of my men." Raven then shook heard had before saying, "And she had a boyfriend with her of all things."

Taiyang smirked and said, "He kept his word then." This confused Raven until Taiyang explained, "He promised to have Yang's back."

Raven crossed her arms and said, "I guess he has that going for him at least…"

Noticing Raven's expression and tone, Taiyang says, "Guessing introductions didn't go well."

"We both let each other know then we didn't like each other" Raven informed Taiyang which made him laugh. "How did your introduction with him go?"

"Not great" Taiyang said without hesitation. "But that wasn't really his fault."

Raven finally has a slight smile as she said, "Seems it's finally your turn to tell a story."

This time Taiyang sighed and asked, "Did you notice one of Yang's arms was cybernetic?" Raven then quickly lost her smile and nodded. "During the Fall of Beacon, some White Fang nutjob cut her arm off."

Raven's eyes widened as she tried to hide her guilt. She had just teamed up with the White Fang which means she might have teamed up with the one who maimed her daughter. She in fact did.

Taiyang continued, "Qrow brought her, Ruby, and Naruto to a refugee camp. I was already waiting there when the ships arrived. As soon as I seen the ships, I full sprinted over to the group." He then chuckled and said, "That might have been a bad idea."

Confused, Raven asked, "How would you running over be a bad idea?"

"It makes more sense if I put things in context" Taiyang told her. "See, not only is that Naruto kid Yang's boyfriend, but he also became a big brother figure to Ruby. Now imagine the horrors they all must have faced that night. Then they finally get to the refugee camp"

Still not seeing it, Raven said, "That should have been an improvement."

"I'm not done" Taiyang told her. "Now think about it like this. You got to the refugee camp, but you just got there so you're still on edge. One girl who's practically your little sister is comatose, and your girlfriend is missing an arm and on heavy pain killers. They're completely defenseless. Now some guy you don't know is full sprinting over to the most important people in your life."

Raven's eyes widened a little as it all finally clicked. She then nodded as she said, "He was ready to rip you apart."

"Thankfully Qrow caught onto that and let him know I was their father so we avoided a fight" Taiyang informed her. "But then I yelled when Yang told me he was her boyfriend."

"Did he get uppity with too?" Raven asked.

"He froze up actually" Taiyang answered. Raven's jaw almost hit the floor at hearing the difference. However, she then realized that it probably came down to Yang's attitude. Yang was far more antagonistic towards her than her father. Taiyang then laughed before saying, "We're talking about Yang's boyfriend longer than I expected.

Raven rubbed her head and said, "Technically he's part of the reason I'm here…"

Confused, Taiyang said, "Clearly it's your turn again for story time."

Raven shook her head a little before she said, "Around a week or so after I sent Yang and her tag alongs through the portal, Salem's people showed up at our camp."

Taiyang scoffed and said, "Last thing you needed."

"Tell me about it…" Raven said, still annoyed at the whole situation. "They came to me to offer a deal. Have the Spring Maiden open the vault and they leave us alone. I was desperate, but I didn't want them to know that…so I modified the deal to include killing Qrow."

This time Taiyang was visibly upset as he shouted, "You what?!"

Raven looked disgusted with herself as she said, "Like I said, I was desperate. Qrow had been harassing the tribe for a while and I wanted something beneficial to come out of all of this. If I'm being honest, I was expecting Salem's people to say no…"

Taiyang was still upset as he said, "But they went for it."

"One of them put up a fuss, but yeah they went for it" Raven told him. "One of them also mentioned Ruby and the other kids along with someone stronger than Qrow." Raven then thought, "Which doesn't really narrow it down since they all seemed stronger than Qrow."

Hearing the part about Ruby and the other kids, Taiyang said, "I hope that part at least gave you pause."

"Not in the moment" Raven answered. "But the closer time came, the more I kept having second thoughts. Then the day it was all going to take place had come. When I seen Yang glaring at me, I couldn't look her in the eye…"

"Then what happened?" Taiyang asked, fully engrossed.

"Her boyfriend…" Raven started to say and then shook her head. "That punk called me out. Said I was putting on an act and since I'm Yang's mom I can't truly be a cold-hearted monster."

Taiyang was quite surprised as he said, "Wow, Naruto must be good at reading people…and really smitten for Yang."

"They sure seemed like it…" Raven muttered. She then said, "He asked Yang is she really hated me, and she admitted that she didn't. Then her angry glare became more sympathetic."

Taiyang smiled and said, "I like where this story's heading."

Raven raised her hand up and said, "Hold on, we ended up fighting."

Taiyang then let out an annoyed sigh and asked, "Why?"

Raven looked to the side again and explained, "I was still terrified of Salem and didn't believe Yang could handle the burden. So we fought…and Yang won."

Taiyang couldn't believe it. He then said, "I can only assume you didn't use the Maiden's power.

Raven shook her head and told him, "I used every ounce of the Maiden's power and still lost." Taiyang was completely dumbfounded so Raven asked, "Did you know about her powers?"

"What powers?" Taiyang asked, still in his dumbfounded state.

"Well that answers that" Raven stated. "Yang said "Whiskers" taught them to her."

"I have no idea how…" Taiyang stated. He then picked up on the Whiskers comment and said, "Her calling her boyfriend "Whiskers" has to come from you."

Perplexed, Raven asked, "How do you figure?"

"'Cause it didn't come from me" Taiyang answered. Raven then made an annoyed face which made him laugh. Once he finally stopped laughing, he asked, "So what happened after the fight?"

"I retrieved the Relic and gave it to Yang" Raven answered. "Then I felt so lost on what to do next. Yang told me when you're lost you need to be with the people you can count on the most…and I don't have anyone like that."

"You definitely used too…" Taiyang commented.

Raven was quiet until she said, "Did you and Yang practice that response?"

Taiyang simply smirked and said, "She just has a good head on her shoulders."

"Well, she still had that picture of our team" Raven told him. She then cracked a smile and said, "I had a genuine happy smile in that picture."

"So then what are you gonna do now?" Taiyang asked.

Raven lost her smile and said, "I don't know. If I go back to the tribe, Salem's people will probably wipe them out. With the things I've done as the leader of the tribe, there's not a lot of places I can go. Maybe some small village away from the kingdoms that haven't heard of me."

Taiyang looked at Raven and could tell she wasn't exaggerating about being lost. He then said, "You could stay here for a couple days."

Raven was surprised and asked, "Are you sure about that?"

Taiayng shook his head as he said, "Of course I'm not sure. But I also can't let you be alone right now. Yang's right, you need someone you can count on."

Raven was not sure about this and started to say, "After everything I've done—"

Taiyang cut her off and said, "Look, no one's gonna pretend you haven't done a lot of questionable things. But you're still to woman I loved. You're still Yang's mother. It won't be like before, but I can still be here for you."

Raven was stunned and did not know what to say. Trying to keep her composure, she simply said, "Thank you."

Taiyang then looked at their feet and said, "Zwei seems okay with it too and he makes the final call."

Raven looked at Zwei sitting by their feet and wagging his tail. She asked, "What does he want?"

Taiyang shook his head and said, "He wants you to pet him." Raven looked hesitant, but she brought her hand down. Zwei walked over to her hand, and she petted his head. Zwei gave a happy bark and whether Raven knew it or not, she smiled as well.

A Nice Long Talk

Naruto had just claimed victory for Haven in their battle. As everyone cheered, the adrenaline from the battle that was keeping them going subsided and they all realized how tired and injured they are. Jaune was too exhausted to heal people with his Semblance so they will have to make due with normal medical treatment.

Nora sat down and said, "I am WIPED…"

"You're not the only one…" Ren told her in agreement.

Despite how tired he was, Jaune was looking in a different direction with a big smile on his face. Pyrrha took note of this and asked, "What are you smiling about?"

"They're finally back together" Jaune responded. Pyrrha then looked over and seen the now reunited Team RWBY standing together with Naruto who was helping Yang stay upright. This sight caused Pyrrha to smile as well.

"You gotta tell us what you've been doing since we last seen you!" Ruby excitedly told Blake.

"Well I—" Blake started to say.

"Hold up" Naruto interjected and cut Blake off.

Weiss narrowed her eyes in confusion and asked, "Huh? Why?"

"Because…Blake and I need to have a talk first" Yang informed them.

"Oh! Right! Partner stuff!" Ruby excitedly said. She then placed her elbow on Weiss' shoulder and leaned on her before saying, "Totally get it." Weiss rolled her eyes and shook her head in response.

Naruto then looked at Yang and asked, "Where do you guys wanna have your chat? I thought you guys would use the school but…" He and the others looked over as he said, "You kinda blasted it to bits and melted what was left ya know."

Yang gave Naruto a skeptical look as she pointed to the buildings Naruto blew away with his Giant Wind Bullet as she said, "Look who's talking."

Staring at the aftermath of the biggest displays of destruction she had ever seen, Blake commented, "You're definitely the most destructive couple I've ever seen."

"Aww! She complimented us!" Yang exclaimed. This caused Blake to giggle.

Naruto smiled before looking around. He seen that the injured were being led to the hospital that was still standing. He then said, "How about finding a place after getting your arms bandaged?"

Blake then further observed how damaged Yang's arms are and said, "He's right." Then she, Yang, and Naruto started walking to the hospital. There are a few Faunus with medical training that were looking at people. Blake walked up one that was cardinal Faunus and asked, "How long until my friend can get her arms checked?"

The cardinal medic was looking at the list of supplies as he said, "I'm not really sure." He then looked over to see the friend was Yang and he said, "Oh! Well if it's one of them then I'll get to her right away!"

"Glad to hear it, ya know!" Naruto exclaimed as he sat Yang down.

The cardinal medic took a look at Yang and said, "Those injuries must be incredibly painful. But luckily they're simple to treat." Naruto, Blake, and Yang were relieved to hear that. The medic then injected Yang with morphine before applying some disinfectant, then ointment, and finally bandaging her up.

Now that Yang has been treated, Naruto said, "I'll get out of your hair so you two can talk."

"What do you plan on doing?" Yang asked him.

"I'm gonna look for Orange Spark" Naruto answered. "That big bastard sent my staffs flying away when he planted me in that crater."

Blake nodded and told him, "Good luck." Naruto smiled and headed off. Once Naruto was gone, Blake helped Yang walk as they looked for a place they could talk alone.

Yang opened a door to the stairs and said, "This could work."

"I doubt many people will be coming through here. So good call" Blake said in agreement. They then both sat on the stairs and were quiet for a minute.

The tension continued to increase so Yang tried to break as she said, "I planned on having this talk for a while, but I never actually thought about how to start it."

"I've been really nervous about this moment" Blake admits.

"Oh I could tell. You looked like you were about to collapse when you saw me" Yang commented.

Blake looked down and said, "How could I not? I abandoned you during the worst possible time."

It went quiet again after Blake said that. Yang looked forward as she asked, "Why'd you do it? Why'd you run away?"

Blake put her face in her hands and said full of shame, "I'm so sorry…"

Yang looked at Blake and said, "When I woke up and found out you left, I felt like someone kicked me in the stomach." Blake continued to feel worse as Yang then said, "The whole team fell apart that night."

Feeling both awful and surprised, Blake said, "I didn't know the team fell apart…"

Yang looked down recalling the fallout to the Fall of Beacon. She explained to Blake, "Atlas Soldiers made Weiss go back to Atlas. She didn't wanna go, but when she seen the rest of us were about to go fight for her…I think Weiss didn't want to make us fight anymore that night. So she left."

Upon hearing this, Blake could not help but think, "Could I have done something if I was there?"

Yang then continued, "As for Ruby, she was in a coma."

"What?!" Blake exclaimed in shock.

Blake's response caused Yang to sigh before she said, "It was an awful night." She then raised her head as she said, "I don't know what I would have done without Whiskers. Him being there helped me feel less…broken. And what was broken he helped me put it back together." She smiled and showed off her cybernetic arm as she said, "Literally."

Blake finally cracked a smile and said, "I almost didn't notice the new arm."

"A lot of people miss it surprisingly" Yang told her. Yang then dropped her smile before she said, "You still didn't answer me. Why did you run?"

Blake's eyes were again filled with sorrow. She finally started to answer as she said, "It started with what happened to you during the tournament."

Yang's face grimaced as she said, "We found out what happened…"

"Really? What happened?" Blake asked in both shock and curiosity.

Yang shook her head and told Blake, "We're not getting off topic. You can ask questions after."

Blake looked back down the stairs as she said, "After what happened to you, I got this ill feeling that wouldn't go away. I went to get tea with Weiss hoping to calm it down. But then the attack happened and it got so much worse. And then when I seen the White Fang…When I seen Adam…it was like the world was coming down around me."

Yang looked visibly upset at the mention of Adam, but there was also a hint of sadness as she felt bad for Blake. She then asked, "Do I even wanna know your story with him?"

Blake was quiet for a couple seconds before asking Yang, "On that day, remember that "partner" I told you about?"

Yang's eyes widened as she asked, "Wait, him?" Blake nodded before Yang rested her head in her hand while looking forward and she said full of sarcasm, "You sure know how to pick 'em…" Blake now looked even more ashamed. Yang seen this and said, "Sorry, that was too far…"

Blake shook her head and said, "No, no you're right. So, on that night I confronted Adam. In my own mind I was trying to get a grip on things, keep them from spiraling further out of control. But I was terrified of him. So all the training and improvements I made at Beacon went out the window and he took me apart."

Yang was remembering that night as well and said, "When I found you on the ground it looked like you were pleading for your life."

Blake shook her head again and said, "It's worse than that." This confused Yang until Blake explained, "Adam knew you were there and I was pleading for him to leave you alone." Yang's eyes started to widen as Blake said, "Adam made it look like he killed me knowing it would make you rush in full of anger." Yang's anger for Adam grew and her face expressed as such. Blake seen Yang's expression and called out, "Yang?"

Yang then slammed her fist through the stair railing. She then closed her eyes and took a deep breath and stayed perfectly still. She managed to calm down before she looked at Blake who was curled up like a scared cat. Yang felt awkward and said, "Uh, sorry about that…"

Still a little nervous, Blake commented, "Your outbursts were a lot less scary when you couldn't send giant Super Grimm flying through buildings…"

Yang smirked and said, "That can all be explained later. So keep going."

Blake sat normally again and continued by saying, "After Adam cut your arm off Naruto showed up and lost his mind."

"Whiskers said he fought that guy" Yang commented.

"If you could even call it a fight" Blake responded. "Adam got some hits on him, but Naruto beat Adam pretty bad. But the emotions Naruto and I were putting out drew the Grimm to us. Naruto stayed behind while I got you to the safe zone."

Yang looked shocked as she said, "Whiskers didn't say much about what happened after I lost consciousness…"

"I doubt it was any easier on him than it was on me" Blake commented. "That night Naruto looked dead behind the eyes as he said he failed to save you and Pyrrha. I didn't know what he meant about not saving Pyrrha." Hearing all this for the first time, Yang felt awful about how Naruto must have felt in that moment. Blake then continued, "Seeing the one we all counted on look like that was bad enough. But when when Jaune started yelling at him, that ill feeling I had exploded, and I just panicked. All I could think was that I had to get out of there before things somehow got worse."

Now hearing Blake's story of what happened that night, Yang was quiet. Blake was quiet as well as nervous. Yang finally said, "I didn't know you felt like that."

Blake still had sorrow in her eyes as she said, "It doesn't matter how I felt. Abandoning my friends when they needed me is unforgivable…"

"That's on us to decide" Yang told her calmly.

Confused by that response, Blake asked, "What…what do you mean?"

"I mean only I can decide whether I forgive you or not" Yang explained. "Only Ruby can decide whether she forgives you and the same goes for Weiss."

Very surprised, Blake started to say, "You…you can't be saying…"

Yang looked at Blake and said, "I'm still a little upset you left the way you did. But it's clear you hate yourself for it more than I ever could."

Blake paused before she asked, "Is it that obvious?"

"You're struggling to look at me even now" Yang told her.

"Oh, sorry…" Blake responded.

"You came here and fought despite knowing this could have turned out like Beacon" Yang further pointed out. "You're trying to be different."

"I…that's…" Blake let out, struggling to speak.

Yang then stood up and said, "I forgive you."

Those words left Blake in complete shock. In that moment, the anxiety and self-loathing that had been plaguing her since the Fall of Beacon flowed out of her as tears of joy and relief streamed down her face. She then stood up as she and Yang shared a reconciliatory hug.

After the hug, Yang sat back down and said, "Those painkillers still have me a little wobbly."

"Will you be okay?" Blake asked in concern.

"I'm fine" Yang answered. "Honestly the worst part is my coat got all torn up."

Blake nodded and said, "It was a nice look while it lasted."

"Speaking of new looks, is that the same jacket from when our team tried to find Torchwick with the boys?"

Blake raised a brow in confusion and asked, "Who are the boys?"

"Whiskers, Sun and Neptune" Yang answered.

"Oh, I guess I should have figured" Blake commented. "No, it's a different jacket. But I guess I must have liked how white over black looked."

"It suits you" Yang told Blake as a compliment.

Blake smiled and said, "It feels weird having small talk with you after everything that's happened."

"Eh, I guess you have a point" Yang responded. "It's a good kind of weird though."

Blake let out a slight chuckle and said, "True." Her eyes then widened as she had a realization and said, "Oh no…"

Confused, Yang asked, "What's wrong?"

"My mom has unrestricted access to our friends! Who knows what she's asking?!" Blake said with genuine worry.

Yang could not stop herself from laughing before she said, "I forgot your parents were here."

With panic in her voice, Blake said, "I need to stop her!"

With an amused smile, Yang got up and said, "Let's go." They then made their way back through the hospital. They came back out to the ruined campus to find…

"And then Blake just had a face like she couldn't believe what was happening!" Ruby excitedly told Kali as she was recounting the events of the Beacon initiation.

Kali giggled as she said, "I can just picture her face in that moment."

With dread in her voice, Blake said, "It's already started…"

Yang could not stop smiling. She then walked to Kali and said, "Hi. I'm Yang, Ruby's sister."

"My name is Kali, Blake's mother" Kali said introducing herself. "You look just like Blake described."

As Blake walked over blushing from embarrassment, Yang asked Blake, "What did you tell her?"

"That you were strong, beautiful, and always ready to fight for your friends" Kali answered.

Yang crossed her arms and smiled as she looked at Blake and said, "Got me down to a tee."

"Ooh! How'd she describe me?" Ruby curiously asked.

"Let's see…she said you were excitable and endearing but also reliable" Kali answered.

"Oh wow" Ruby said as she turned to Blake. "You're good at descriptions." Blake tried to put on a smile to hide her embarrassment.

Weiss easily saw through Blake and smirked as she told Blake, "You're not hiding anything here." Blake just sighed in defeat.

Yang was now glancing around and asked, "Whiskers still looking for his weapon?"

"Last I checked" Weiss answered.

"He was getting frustrated" Ruby added.

Kali's face showed confusion as she asked, "Who in the world is Whiskers?"

"It was a nickname Yang gave Naruto when the met" Blake explained to her mother. She then tilted her head in thought as she said, "Although now it seems more like a pet name." This made Yang dawn a smug grin.

Kali's eyes widened in surprise before she grinned and said, "Now I see. Well as Ruby said, he was getting frustrated to some of the other Faunus went to help him with the search."

As Kali said this, one of those Faunus, in this care a deer Faunus shouted, "I found one!"

Naruto ran over and grabbed it before saying, "Thanks! I really owe ya."

"Are you kidding? I was glad to help!" The deer Faunus happily exclaimed. "After all, your group really saved us."

"Everyone had each other's backs, that's what it came down to, ya know" Naruto told the Faunus.

Nora, who was also helping to locate the other half of Orange Spark, seen something in the remains of the school building and said, "Uh oh…"

Ren walked over upon hearing Nora and asked her, "What did you find?" Nora pointed at what she saw so Ren walked over and picked it up. It was the other piece of Orange Spark and it was clearly broken. Ren said, ""Uh oh" is right…"

Now seeing this as well, Jaune asked, "So who wants to be the one to tell Naruto?"

Ren, Pyrrha who had now walked over, and Nora all stayed quiet after Jaune asked that. Ren then finally spoke up and said, "You're the leader…" Jaune was clearly not thrilled as he looked at the broken piece of Orange Spark. He then sighed before grabbing it and heading over to Naruto.

Team RWBY were still conversing with Kali when they heard Naruto exclaim, "WHAT?!" They all then looked to see a distraught Naruto walking towards them.

Seeing his face, Ruby asked, "What's wrong?"

Naruto held up the broken piece of Orange Spark and in a low tone of voice said, "It was in the school…"

Yang them remembered she completely destroyed the school with her Dragon Flame. Hey eyes started to widen as she nervously let out, "Ohhh…"

"This is awkward…" Blake weakly muttered out.

Naruto then went to sit down and sulk. Weiss then asked Yang, "Think that's gonna put a strain in the relationship?"

"I doubt it, but I still feel bad" Yang replied.

Ruby then looked at her Crescent Rose and cradled it saying, "Nothing's gonna happen to you…" This caused the rest of her team along with Kali to laugh.

Weiss now had a better look at Crescent Rose and said, "It looks like something almost did happen to it."

"Yeah…Torchwick did a number on it" Ruby replied.

"How did he manage to do that?" Blake asked curiously.

"Oh! So, Torchwick's a Chakra Dust powered cyborg now" Ruby casually answered.

Blake shook her head and blinked several times before she said, "Okay, there's a lot to unpack there." This caused a few chuckles before she asked, "Let's start with the cyborg part."

"Well, during the Fall of Beacon I ended up knocking Torchwick off an Atlas airship" Ruby informed Blake. "He apparently survived, and his broken body parts were replaced by the bad guys."

Yang was surprised learning about this as she and Pyrrha were dealing with her mother and Cinder when this was revealed. She was now as thrown off as Blake who asked, "And what kind of Dust are you talking about?"

"You know, Chakra Dust!" Ruby replied, which continued to confuse Blake.

Weiss then whispered to Ruby, "Blake hasn't gotten the Chakra talk yet."

"Ohhh…my bad…" Ruby said awkwardly. Yang just giggled at her sister.

"Guys?" Blake said, regaining the attention of her teammates. "I'm still lost here."

"Chakra Dust is that blue Dust that mutates the Grimm" Yang explained to Blake.

Blake was clearly surprised as she then said, "If Torchwick was powered by that stuff then no wonder he damaged Ruby's Scythe." She then blinked a few more times as a thought occurred and she asked, "How did you guys get strong enough to overcome Super Grimm? …And apparently cyborgs enhanced by the same stuff."

Ruby, Weiss, and Yang all had awkward faces before Ruby said, "That's a long conversation."

Not understanding the problem, Blake said, "I have no qualms with long conversations."

Hearing that, Kali could tell this needed to be private so she said, "I'll give you all some space."

"Thanks mom" Blake told her mother as Kali smiled and walked away.

"Hold on" Weiss said to regain Blake's attention. Blake was confused and Weiss continued, "We should have this conversation tomorrow after you make your decision."

"What decision?" Blake asked, seeming to get more confused by the minute.

"On whether or not you're coming back to the team" Yang answered. Blake was about to say she was, but as soon as she was about to speak…

Ruby could tell Blake was about to answer so she cut Blake off and said, "The others are right. You need to think this over."

Blake could not understand where this was coming from, so she asked, "What's this about?"

Yang placed her hands on Blake's shoulders and told her, "Listen. We're not trying to push you away. But things are different now. With what we're involved in, if you come with us, you won't be able to help with whatever you and Sun have been doing."

Blake felt and noticeably looked a little heartbroken hearing this. She then weakly asked, "What you guys are dealing with…is it really that big?" Her teammates nodded to confirm this. She then looked towards her father checking on his people. Blake's conflicted feelings were evident on her face.

"You should start with talking to your parents" Ruby told her. Ruby then said with a litte shame in her voice, "You shouldn't just disappear on them." This caused Blake to look confused.

Yang shook her head and told her sister, "You gotta let it go. I'm sure dad's gotten over it by now."

Blake was now standing next to Weiss as she asked, "Do I wanna know what they're talking about?"

"Probably not" Weiss answered.

Over by Naruto, he was staring at the broken piece of Orange Spark and was still bummed out about it. Kurama then told him, "You should still hold onto it. If nothing else, it's still a sign of how far you've come."

Naruto did not understand so he asked internally asked, "What do you mean?"

"When we first got here, you barely survived a small battle with a few Beowolves. You needed a powerful weapon to compensate" Kurama explained. "But now you can smack around Super Grimm and their bosses bare-handed."

Naruto smirked and said, "Thanks Kurama."

Team JNPR now walked over and sat down with Naruto. Pyrrha spoke up first as she said, "It's a shame what happened to your weapon."

"Yeah, tough break" Nora followed up.

"Thanks guys" Naruto said, appreciating their sympathy. "It was nice being able to use a Dust Overdrive again."

"You can always get it reforged" Ren commented.

"Even if we find a smith, I'm broke" Naruto responded.

"We'd all chip in" Jaune argued.

"Between what you all had to spend on the trip, to fix Jaune's shield, and what everyone had to spend on the Dust to figure out everyone's Chakra natures, I'm pretty sure you're all broke too, ya know" Naruto argued back.

Nora rolled her eyes and said, "You sound just like Pyrrha." This caused Team JNPR to all laugh.

Naruto had no context, so he was confused and asked, "What are you guys talking about?"

Pyrrha took out her reforged Miló and said, "Do you recall Cinder breaking Miló?"

Naruto recalled Pyrrha having to fight with a piece of scrap and said, "Oh yeah, when did you get that reforged?"

"For the first week or so I was using a sword I took from the camp" Pyrrha began to explain. "I think it might have been one of the White Fang's."

"That means the sword got to serve a better purpose" Jaune commented.

Pyrrha smirked at Jaune's comment and continued, "Like I said, I used it for a couple weeks. Then Ruby suggested getting my weapon reforged. I had kept the pieces with me for memories' sake."

"I still don't see how I seem like Pyrrha" Naruto commented, still missing the context.

"Pyrrha told us "There's simply no way we could afford that"" Nora answered in a dramatic worried down. This embarrassed Pyrrha.

"Oh…" Naruto let out, now seeing the connection.

"Ruby then said we'll just have to earn extra Lien, which we did" Ren added.

"Okay, but we're not exactly on a money making job, ya know" Naruto tried to counterargue.

"Give it up" Jaune told Naruto. "It didn't work when Pyrrha did it and it's not gonna work when you do it."

Naruto just let out a chuckle and said, "Thanks guys."

Nora smiled before she commented, "I still think it's funny that Yang destroyed it with her new attack."

Naruto thought about why it was funny until he asked, "Are you trying to say this is kind of my fault for teaching it to her?"

Nora's grin grew as she said, "Maybe a little."

Naruto narrowed his eyes and said, "You know what? I take back my thanks." This caused Team JNPR to laugh. As they were laughing, Ruby, Weiss, and Yang had now walked over with Yang still feeling awkward about the situation. Noticing this, Naruto said, "Blake did call us the most destructive couple." While no one laughed, everyone did smile. Yang then took a seat next to Naruto. He asked her, "Are the pain killers giving you any trouble?"

"No" Yang answered. "I was on a heavier dose that day. I actually got to keep my limbs this time."

Naruto smirked before he asked, "How did your "talk" go?"

"What talk?" Nora asked.

Ruby walked to Nora and whispered, "Her and Blake." Nora nodded as now she understood.

"I'd say pretty good" Yang answered. "Any lingering ill feelings seem to have gone away for now."

"That's great to hear!" Naruto exclaimed. "So is she back or…?"

"We'll find out tomorrow" Yang answered. Naruto looked confused at this answer.

"We told her that if she comes back she won't have time for the White Fang" Weiss further explained.

"Oh, okay now I get it" Naruto stated. "That's probably the right call."

Yang then leaned on Naruto's shoulder and took a deep breath before she said, "Today's been exhausting…"

Naruto put an arm around her and commented, "No shortage of surprises, ya know."

Nora stood up and excitedly exclaimed, "But we got to show those Super Grimm who's boss!"

The realization of this then spread amongst the group before Jaune commented, "It was just a couple weeks ago that our whole team had to give our all just to beat one of them."

"You know, I'm a little sad I didn't get to beat one" Ruby stated.

"Hey, you had that Super Ursa on the ropes before getting interrupted" Weiss told her partner.

"And fighting a Dust-powered cyborg is a pretty unique experience" Jaune followed up.

Pyrrha was confused about the cyborg part as like Yang she was absent for the reveal. Yang looked at Pyrrha and said, "Apparently when we were fighting my mom and Cinder, Torchwick was revealed to be a cyborg powered by Chakra Dust."

"That's…concerning…" Pyrrha sated legitimately worried. "If cyborgs can be powered by that Dust, then there may be more."

"I sure hope not" Ren commented.

"Well I do!" Nora said, causing the others to roll their eyes.

"If there are at least they won't have a vendetta against Ruby" Weiss stated.

"So how'd it go against Torchwick?" Naruto asked Ruby.

"It was pretty rough and he messed up Crescent Rose" Ruby answered and showed Naruto the cuts on her scythe. "But I got the advantage when I imbued it with wind Chakra."

Naruto smiled before he turned his head to see Oscar holding the Relic of Knowledge. Naruto then said, "If that isn't ironic."

Yang's eyes looked over to view Oscar too before she became confused and asked, "What do you mean?" The others then looked at Oscar as well.

"Hmm…I think I understand" Pyrrha stated. Now she had the groups attention as she continued, "Between the crazy one we fought before getting to Haven, then Torchwick and the big guy we fought tonight, it seems Salem's minions have Chakra too."

"Yeah…and they're really strong because of it" Ruby commented.

"But it was our knowledge of how to use it that led to our victory tonight" Pyrrha finished saying. She then looked to Naruto who nodded, confirming she was right about his comment.

Ren then looked a little concerned as he said, "I wonder if the Relic of Knowledge could have informed them about Chakra."

As the group contemplates that, Weiss said, "We don't know one way or the other, but I don't think it would."

"Really? Why do you think that?" Ruby asked.

"According to Ozpin, the Relic contains the knowledge of the Gods, but only the Gods of our world" Weiss answered. "Chakra comes from another universe so they might not know about it."

"Huh…that's makes sense" Naruto commented.

"That's a relief" Jaune stated. "Otherwise we would lose our only advantage."

Weiss then tried to hold back a yawn as she said, "I'm exhausted."

"Me too…" Ruby said and the others say the same.

Naruto looked out at the visitors from Menagerie before looking at his group and he said, "This sucks…"

Yang raised a brow and asked, "What sucks?"

"With almost everything destroyed, where's everyone supposed to sleep?" Naruto asked.

With that thought now in everyone's head, Yang replied, "That does suck."

Weiss then let out a gasp causing Pyrrha to ask her, "Weiss? What's wrong?"

"Our living quarters!" Weiss exclaimed in a panic. Their eyes all widened before they all ran off towards their living quarters full of anxiety. As they came upon it, they seen it was still standing but had been broken into.

Nora ran into the building saying, "No no no!" There was then some silence before she shouted, "NOOOO!" This was then followed up by dramatic sobs. The others ran in to see the kitchen destroyed. This caused Ren to be overcome by sorrow and annoyance.

Weiss panned over to see one of the big chairs was destroyed and the big window had been busted through. She then said, "This isn't fair…"

Yang was watching all this with a similar feeling. She then noticed Naruto was no longer there. She looked around and called out, "Whiskers? Where'd you go?"

Naruto then came walking out from the bedroom section with his eyes hidden in shadow. He then said, "The bedrooms…" Everyone else was on pins and needles preparing for the bad news. Naruto then dropped to his knees and happily exclaimed, "Are all intact, ya know!" This caused immense relief to spread amongst them. At least they still had beds to sleep in.

Weiss then seen Ruby writing something and asked her, "What are you doing?"

Ruby then help up a paper sign that read: "Exhausted Huntsmen. Wake at your own peril."

Weiss smiled and said, "It's perfect."

The others then seen it and loved it as well. Nora then picked up the broken door and leaned it against the entrance. That way people would have to actually move it. Naruto then took out his kunai. As Ruby held up her sign by the door, Naruto jammed his kunai into the paper to keep it in place.

"That should about do it" Pyrrha stated, ready to call it a night.

"I'm turning in, goodnight guys" Ruby told her friends before heading off to bed. Everyone else did the same.

As Naruto and Yang got to their room, Naruto took off his red coat and black shirt before sitting on the bed. He then asked, "How'd things end with your mom?"

Yang took off her boots as she replied, "We fought, I won. We seem to have gotten over most of our issues."

Naruto smiled before he said, "Settling things with a fight is the most Yang thing I can think of."

"Is that a bad thing?" Yang asked full of sarcasm.

Naruto laid back on the bed and said, "Maybe if you were dating someone else, ya know."

Yang smiled and said, "I'm glad I'm not." They then shared a kiss before drifting off to sleep.

Picking up the Scraps

Before the Battle for Haven ended, Neo had stopped Torchwick from throwing his life away to try and continue his fight with Ruby. After having walked away, they returned to the unconscious bodies of Emerald and Mercury.

Torchwick sighed before he said, "Can't believe I'm doing this." Neo simply shrugged and Torchwick started shaking Mercury violently.

Mercury started to wake up, but Torchwick kept shaking until he shouted, "I'm awake!"

"Well that's a shame. I was having fun" Torchwick replied before he stood back up.

As Neo was more gently waking up Emerald, Mercury looked around at all the destruction and fire before he asked, "What happened?"

"We lost" Torchwick said with annoyance in his voice.

Now awake, Emerald said, "There's no way…we had Cinder, a full-fledged Maiden!" Neo simply shook her head which caused Emerald's eyes to widen in pure shock and ask, "Where is she?"

Torchwick leaned against one of the buildings and said, "The redhead and the blonde bimbo came back with the Relic. So she's probably not doing good."

Merucry shook his head and said, "Not buying it."

Neo rolled her eyes as Roman said, "You got your ass kicked by blonde brat number two so I don't wanna hear your opinion on the matter."

Mercury started to stand up, but then stumbled as he forgot is cybernetic leg was cut in half by Weiss. He then managed to balance on his remaining leg before he hopped towards Torchwick and got in his face before he said, "That was a fluke! I'll go kick Arc's butt right now!"

Torchwick was not in the mood for this and said, "Back off before you get another beating kid."

"Mercury! Stop!" Emerald shouted. But Mercury had already started a handstand kick which Torchwick effortlessly blocked. Neo kicked out one of Mercury's arms causing him to drop down. He started to get back up, but Torchwick grabbed him by the back of the neck and started dragging him. Mercury tried to get free, but Torchwick just jerked him around to make him stop.

Torchwick finished walking up the alley of one of the few remaining buildings. He lifted Mercury's head and told him, "Take a good look." Mercury did so in time to watch Ruby take down twenty normal Grimm in a couple seconds and Team JNPR finish off the Super Sphinx. "You think you're ready to take them on when they're serious? Especially on one leg? Well, go ahead tough guy." Torchwick then dropped Mercury and walked back to Neo and Emerald.

Mercury lifted his head again and continued to watch the battle just a little longer. He witnessed Yang punch the evolved Super Giant Nevermore into the school building. Seeing the absurd difference in power between himself and his foes, he said, "Damn it…" under his breath. He then hopped back to the others.

Emerald seen the look of defeat on Mercury's face and decided not to make fun of him like she usually would. When he lost to Naruto, Mercury was still pretty full of himself. She thought that maybe since Naruto was hyped up to be one of the best, Mercury was not ashamed of losing to him. But this time was different. Mercury was humbled not once, not twice, but three times tonight. One of those times against Jaune, who they remembered being the weakest of the bunch. Now on top of that, Mercury just witnessed how outclassed he is by their foes. He must feel humiliated.

"What should we do now?" Emerald asked.

"We get out of here while they're still distracted" Torchwick answered.

"Where?" Emerald asked, having no idea what else to do.

"Maybe the Evernight. Maybe somewhere on the opposite side of the world. We'll figure it out later" Torchwick answered.

Emerald looked at the still humiliated and quiet Mercury before she said, "Okay, I agree."

The four of them then left the still embattled campus. As they made it to the forest, they had to fight off some Grimm. The fighting was mostly done by Torchwick and Neo since Emerald was helping Mercury. They had to fight the Grimm since they were no longer with Cinder or Hazel.

"I can't remember the last time I actually had to fight the Grimm" Emerald commented.

Neo nodded as Torchwick said, "It was nice while it lasted."

Mercury then seen a large sphere go flying and started to ask, "What the he—" Then the Ascended Rasengan exploded and they all took cover. As the Rasengan subsided, Mercury finished his initial thought as he said, "What the hell was that?"

Torchwick got back up and said with annoyance in his voice, "It was orange, so I bet it was "him…""

""Him?" Does he mean Naruto?" Emerald asked. Neo nodded in confirmation.

"How was something like that even possible?" Mercury asked in astonishment. Instead of partaking in the conversation, Torchwick headed towards where the explosion occurred. Neo followed and Emerald and Mercury looked at each other before they followed as well. As they continued, they came across a large crater and were stunned as they had never seen one so large. Mercury asked, "What would Naruto use something like this on?"

Torchwick walked down into the crater a little before he spotted Hazel and answered, "The big guy." The other three then moved over to look and seen Hazel covered in multiple bruises and bloody scuff marks from the explosion. But what was worse was that his stomach looked like it was almost caved in. If he had not been in his Dust-enhanced state when he was hit by that Rasengan, he would be nothing but red paste.

Neo headed down to check on Hazel. Emerald asked, "Is he still alive?" Neo checked Hazel's pulse and nodded that he was still alive.

"But for how much longer?" Mercury asked.

Torchwick then has a thought and said, "Hopefully long enough for us to get out of here." He then headed down and said, "Help me carry him."

Emerald and Mercury looked confused so Emerald asked, "I'm not saying I'm against it, but why?"

As Torchwick got to Hazel, he could tell Hazel was clinging to life. He answered, "The big guy here is a part of the boss' inner circle. If we bring him with us the Grimm will leave us be…as long as he's alive."

Emerald looked at Mercury who shrugged showing he had no counterargument. She then said, "Good point." They then picked up Hazel and continued their escape.

Blake's Resolution

We return to Blake just after her team told her to talk to her parents before making her decision. She walked up to her father and asked, "Hey dad. You got a minute?"

"Sure. What is it?" Ghira asked.

Blake turned towards her mother who was talking to Sun and called out, "Mom! We need to talk."

Sun seen this was going to be a family thing and said, "I'll uh…I'll be at the pond if anybody needs me." He then walked off.

Kali approached Ghira and Blake before she asked, "What's going on?"

"I need to talk to you two about something…" Blake said hesitantly.

Now curious, Ghira asked, "Well, what is it?"

Blake was trying to think of how best to talk about this and she started with, "So what do you guys think about my friends?"

Surprised to be asked that, Ghira responded, "I have yet to interact with anyone besides the one that healed me. But they saved us from the Super Grimm so they are clearly reliable."

"They sure are" Blake commented, glad to hear her father has a positive opinion so far.

"You know I got to talk to your team and they were all friendly" Kali told her daughter. Kali then smirked and said, "And they had great stories."

"I hope you plan on sharing them" Ghira told Kali.

"Of course I am" Kali responded with a smile.

Blake was once again embarrassed before she told her parents, "I was able to reconcile with my team…and I want to go back to them…"

Ghira and Kali both smiled at this as Kali said, "We loved having you home, but we both knew it was only temporary."

"You shouldn't feel bad about leaving" Ghira said, agreeing with Kali.

Blake's cat ears went limp and she said, "It's not that simple…"

Confused, Ghira asked, "What's wrong?"

Blake let out a sigh before she said, "My team is involved in something pretty big. They can't tell me about it unless I return to the team. But that will mean I won't have the time for Menagerie or the new White Fang."

Ghira now let out his own sigh before he said, "Now I see the problem."

"Really? Because I don't" Kali stated.

Shocked at what he mother said, Blake asked, "How do you not see the problem?"

Kali shook her head but kept a smile as she said, "Honey, you already put in the work to take back the White Fang." She then motioned to the unconscious and restrained Adam. "That brat's finally getting locked away."

"And I'll make sure the White Fang never again degrades the way it did" Ghira added.

Kali then walked closer to Blake and put a hand on her shoulder before she said, "Your friends are involved in something clearly important. And you'll regret not going with them."

Blake was stunned at her parents. She did not expect them to tell her to go so quickly. She then said, "You guys won't see me for a long time."

"Despite the destruction we see right now, this isn't Beacon" Ghira responded. He then looked at the CTT tower and then Blake and Kali did the same. "The CTT tower is still standing, so you can still contact us…or vise versa. Oh! Speaking of, I need to call the council and let them know what happened."

Kali continued to look at Blake as she said, "You know what you want to do. That's all that matters to us."

Blake was overcome with emotion as she ran up to her parents and hugged them before she said, "I have the best parents in the world."

As the embrace ended, Kali told Blake, "It's not like you're leaving tomorrow. So we'll save the goodbyes. Tonight was emotional enough as it is."

Blake smiles and said, "I have to agree." Kali then headed over towards Ghira who was trying to contact the council. Blake then breathed a big sigh of relief. Her team accepted her back and her parents accepted her leaving with them. She felt the mental stress just sliding off of her. She then started walking and headed to the pond where Sun was. She found him skipping a rock and she said to him, "Are you bored?"

Sun turned to see her and said, "I used to do this when trying to wind down. It's been a crazy night."

"You can say that again" Blake commented before she sat next to Sun.

Sun looked at her expression and said, "You really look happy."

"I am" Blake told him. "For once it feels like we really won. My team is happy to see me and wants me back."

Sun nodded and said, "Naruto said it was our victory for a reason." Blake smiled and Sun asked, "So are you going back to your team?"

Blake nodded and said, "I am, but they're involved in some really important stuff. So they wanted me to really think about it."

"Did you?" Sun asked curiously.

"I was conflicted, but my conversation with my parents sealed the deal" Blake answered.

"Glad to hear it!" Sun said, genuinely happy for Blake. "So how'd it go with Yang? You've been freaked out about talking to her."

"It went surprisingly well" Blake told him. "She was a lot less angry and bitter than I would have been."

"She did have Naruto with her. Probably made up the difference" Sun said, putting in his two cents.

Blake nodded in agreement before she said, ""Strength" and "hope.""

Sun smirked before he looked around and said, "I don't see any of our old friends."

Blake then looked and said, "Maybe they went to find a place to turn in?"

Sun looked at the destroyed dorms and said, "The dorms are destroyed…so where are we supposed to sleep tonight?"

Blake paused before she said, "That's a good question." She then got up to look around and see if they could find any place besides the hospital.

As Sun got up he said, "Maybe one of the living quarters for the staff is still standing. They were on the outskirts of the campus."

Sun and Blake then walked to where the living quarters for the staff were. A couple young Faunus tagged along as well hoping to find a place to sleep as well. When they arrived, they seen all of the living quarters were collapsed except for two. One had a partially collapsed roof while the other one only had a busted through door and windows.

Looking at the one that still had a roof, Sun said, "At least there's still a chance."

One of the Faunus pointed at the broken door and said, "Hey, there's a sign."

Blake then walked over and read out loud, ""Exhausted Huntsmen. Wake at your own peril."" This caused them to laugh before Blake noticed what was holding the sign in place. She said, "That's Naruto's kunai."

"At least now we know where they went" Sun commented. "They probably took all the beds, but there were some nice couches in there too."

Blake then gave Sun a questioning look and said, "You sure know a lot about the staff quarters."

Sun shrugged and said, "I would hide out in one when I wanted to skip class. We didn't have anyone like Goodwitch that would hunt you down."

Blake smiled and said, "That's a shame." She then quietly entered the building. She spotted the couches and lounge chairs before she said, "This will do."

"One of the lounge chairs is broken though" Sun pointed out.

"The two of us can take a couch" One of the other Faunus said.

"Or…maybe the other one still has a lounge chair we can take" Blake suggested. They then headed to the other building with the caved in roof and were able to find a lounge chair with part of the covering torn off.

"I won't have any trouble sleeping in that" The other Faunus stated. The four of them then took the partially torn lounge chair back to the semi-intact living quarters as quietly as they could. Blake then took one couch and Sun took the other. The two Faunus that tagged along took the lounge chairs and fell asleep.

Salem's Eyes Reborn

Salem was looking at her crystal ball and saw no image. She could only take this to mean her Oracle Grimm had been slain. She sighed as she knew she would need to make another large crystal ball in order to spawn another Oracle. She gathered crystal shards around her and made them float around her as she walked outside.

As Salem passed through the halls, she seen Tyrian equipping his newly forged pair of "Queen's Servants" claw weapons. His last pair were lost after he was captured by Naruto and his friends. Tyrian then noticed Salem and graciously bowed before her.

"Are you going to try them out?" Salem asked her loyal servant.

"I am! I have a little skirmish prepared outside" Tyrian told his Goddess.

"Hmm, perhaps I will catch a glimpse" Salem told him. Tyrian was filled with glee as Salem then exited her castle.

Salem started heading towards the Grimm pool. She made her way through her Super Grimm horde and next to Théfon who opened its eyes having sensed her arrival. She petted the Grimm Nine Tails and told it, "You can keep resting my dear. I don't need you for this." Théfon closed its eyes again.

Salem now stood right in front of the pool. The crystal shards continued floating around her as she raised her arms up. The sand and other minerals from the ground started to float up and converge into the shape of a sphere in front of her. The crystal shards then surrounded the sphere before magical energy wrapped around the sphere as well. The magic then merged the crystal and earthly elements together and formed a new crystal ball. She then made the ball fall into the pool before she started to concentrate. After a few moments, a new Oracle Grimm rose from the pool.

"You are to head to Haven. I wish to see how the assignment went" Salem told her new Grimm. She then beckoned over a Super Giant Nevermore and told it, "Fly the Oracle to Haven." The Oracle Grimm then wrapped its tentacles around the Nevermore's talon before it took off. Salem then started returning to her castle and she seen Tyrian surrounded by three Super Beowolves.

"Come on now! Don't be shy!" Tyrian taunted. The Super Beowolves then pounced at Tyrian having gotten his consent. Tyrian kicked one of them back before he hopped back from the other two. He beckoned them to come after him and they did so. One of them swiped at his head and he ducked the swipe before thrusting his claw into the Super Beowolf. The Beowolf staggered and Tyrian followed up with two more claw attacks causing a lot of damage to it before he finished it off with a strike from his tail.

The Super Beowolf he kicked back was back on its feet and lunged at him. Tyrian met the Beowolf's claws with his own newly forged ones. He quickly overpowered the Beowolf and threw it down before hacking away at it with a crazed laugh. The third Super Beowolf tried to sneak up on Tyrian, but Tyrian rolled away from its strike. Tyrian looked at the mangled Super Beowolf that was dissipating before he stared back at the one left standing and told it, "It's cute that you thought I wouldn't notice you." The Super Beowolf rushed at Tyrian with increased speed, but Tyrian used the shard of Chakra Dust in his new claws to coat them in Chakra and thrust his claw through the Beowolf, ending the battle.

"It's a shame. Maybe I should have had you all gain your strange auras first to really test these out" Tyrian said. Despite his complaint, he was satisfied with his new weapons and his new strength.

Salem walked up to Tyrian and told him, "You continue to improve."

Tyrian bowed his head and said, "It is all in service to your grand design!"

Salem turned towards her castle and told Tyrian, "Stay ready. I will likely send you after the Summer Maiden soon." She then walked away and as she approached her castle she said, "I'll make the Gods pay soon enough."

Crappy Start To The Day

It is the following day in Haven. The first to wake up in the living quarters is Blake. This is due to her sleeping on the couch facing the window, so the sun shined right on her. She did not mind it though. She was still plenty rested after the crazy day she had yesterday.

She slowly sat up and looked at the ruined building. Despite all the chaos and destruction yesterday, this little piece of Haven earned its name. The windows may be broken, the doors may be broken down, but in this moment, it was peaceful and warm. She could not help but smile.

Blake then heard footsteps coming from the bedroom section and looked to see who it was. Weiss came out still in her clothes from yesterday. She looked at the ruined kitchen and said in a slightly depressed tone, "I already miss my coffee…"

"You guys had coffee?" Blake asked upon hearing Weiss.

Weiss blinked a few times before looking over to see Blake, Sun, and the other two sleeping Faunus. She asked, "When did you guys get here?"

"We were looking for a place to sleep and Sun remembered the Staff Quarters" Blake answered.

"This is where we've been staying since we got here" Weiss informed her.

Blake gave a slight nod and said, "That explains how you guys got here so quickly."

Weiss sat down on next to Blake on the couch and sarcastically said, "Guess you guys weren't scared by the sign."

"You mean the one about tired Huntsmen?" Blake asked. Weiss nodded with a smirk and Blake responded, "We made sure to be quiet. We took the "wake at your own peril" part very seriously."

"That was smart" Weiss told her. "Wouldn't want to wake up an angry Nora."

Blake gave a joking shudder as she said, "An angry Nora scares me more than the Super Grimm."

Weiss chuckled and said, "I guess it should. Especially now."

Blake looked at Weiss and asked, "Are you guys ever going to explain to me how you guys can do…what you did last night?"

Weiss hesitated to answer. She looked to the side as she said, "We're not telling a lot of people…at least for now."

Blake nodded in understanding before she asked, "Would…me coming back to the team qualify me to know?"

Weiss quickly returned her gaze back to Blake and asked, "Are you coming back?"

Blake nodded and said, "I talked to my parents last night and thought hard on it. So yeah, I'm coming back."

Weiss gained a genuine smile as she said, "We're all going to be happy that you're back."

"You two don't need to keep me awake…" Sun muttered.

Weiss shook her head and said to Sun "No one asked for your input."

Sun then sat up and told Weiss, "You clearly haven't changed."

"You know that's not true" Blake told Sun.

"I-I know but I need some kind of comeback!" Sun responded.

"Well, your comebacks need work" Weiss commented.

Blake looked at Weiss and told her, "He doesn't verbally joust with Naruto so his comebacks won't be as developed as yours."

Weiss tilted her head in thought before she said, "You know, that's fair."

At this point the other two Faunus started to wake up and that is when they noticed Weiss. They tried to stay quiet and avoid eye contact with her. Sun noticed this and asked them, "Hey, what's wrong with you two?"

One Faunus, who was a male moose Faunus said, "It's nothing…" Sun then looked at the other Faunus. She was a female racoon Faunus. As Sun looked at her she kept her head down.

As Sun, Blake, and Weiss became confused, Blake's eyes then widened and she said to her fellow Faunus, "Don't tell me it's because she's a Schnee." As the other two Faunus continued avoiding eye contact, Weiss lowered her head in shame.

Sun was in shock and he asked, "Are you two serious?"

"We're supposed to be better than this!" Blake told the two Faunus. "We can't expect the humans to treat us equally if we can't do the same!"

"We're trying!" The moose Faunus snapped back. "But it's not that easy…"

In a voice that was clearly a little ashamed, the racoon Faunus said, "Many of us have family that were mistreated by the Schnee Dust Company. We've even lost loved ones."

Weiss felt terrible for what her family, especially her father, had done to the Faunus. She told the two Faunus, "I'm sorry…"

"I know you're different from the rest of your family. Otherwise, you wouldn't be Blake's friend" The racoon Faunus responded. "But it's still going to take time to let these grudges go."

"We appreciate you helping to save us last night" The moose Faunus told Weiss. "I wish things weren't the way they are."

"I…I understand…" Weiss said with clear sadness in her voice.

The two Faunus got up as the moose Faunus said, "We'll get out of here. It's not fair to you guys to keep bringing down the mood." He then left with the racoon Faunus.

After that emotional turmoil, Blake placed a hand on Weiss' shoulder and said, "Weiss I'm so sorry…I had no idea that would happen."

"It can't be helped" Weiss responded. "I know what my father has done. I can't imagine how I'd feel sitting next to you if your father had done something to my sister."

Blake sighed and said, "I know things will get better. I just wish it would go faster…"

"This is a crappy start to the day…" Sun commented.

"No kidd—" Blake started to say before she was interrupted by someone from the bedroom section shouting, "IT WORKS!"

"That sounded like Yang" Weiss stated. Then she, Blake, and Sun started heading to Naruto and Yang's room.

As they approached, they heard Naruto say, "I can't believe the shower actually still works!"

"Think we should keep it out little secret?" Yang asked him.

Weiss then immediately opened the door letting Naruto and Yang know their secret was out. Weiss said, "Don't you dare…"

Yang looked a little disappointed and Naruto said, "So much for that…" He then seen Sun and asked, "Who invited you?"

Sun looked surprised and said, "I didn't think I needed one."

"Yeah, well you do, ya know" Naruto told him with a smirk. Sun smirked too now that he could tell Naruto was joking.

Weiss then had a realization and said, "Wait a minute…" She then ran off.

Naruto looked confused and asked, "What was that about?" Blake and Sun shrugged.

Weiss came back with the saucepan, a strainer, a cup, and the coffee grounds before she said, "I can still have my coffee!"

Yang raised a brow before she said, "I don't even know how to make coffee without the coffee pot."

Weiss filled the saucepan with water from the shower and said, "I do. Now get the water boiling while I add the coffee grounds."

"Uh, okay" Yang said before she ignited her hand and held it under the saucepan.

Blake and Sun watched Yang still in amazement at her powers. Naruto tried not to laugh, but a snicker came out which made Yang ask, "What's so funny?"

"Sorry, but the contrast is too funny, ya know" Naruto answered.

Confused, Blake asked, "What contrast?"

"Yesterday Yang's fire was saving Haven from a giant Super Grimm. Today it's boiling water in a pan" Naruto explained.

Yang was quiet before she said, "This is such a downgrade."

"Downgrade or not I need my coffee" Weiss told her.

"Won't it be super bitter like when I tried it for the first time?" Naruto asked.

"Yes, but I'll take it" Weiss told him. She clearly would not be deterred.

Ruby then started walking by and noticed them all in Naruto and Yang's room. She walked up and asked, "What's happening?" The water then started boiling.

Weiss then strained the liquid over a cup and said, "Coffee."

Ruby blinked a few times before she exclaimed in surprise, "We have running water?!"

"At least in here" Sun commented.

"Okay, all of you get out" Yang told them.

They all looked at her confused as Blake asked, "Why?"

Yang crossed her arms and said, "Because I wanna be able to get a shower before word gets out and this place gets flooded."

"Oh, that's a good point" Ruby admitted. She then ran back to her room and checked the water there and shouted, "The water works in my room too!" Weiss then walked off with her coffee to get ready for the day. Naruto then shut the door on Blake and Sun who now stood there awkwardly since they had no rooms.

The Long Day After

After another hour everyone was out of their rooms, Team JNPR included. They had come out forty-five minutes ago, but upon learning about the running water they went back to their rooms to clean up. Blake and Sun now felt even more awkward in the group as they were the only ones that had yet to bathe.

Everyone was now sitting down when Weiss turned to Blake and said, "Tell everybody what you told me."

Blake nodded and said, "I'm coming back to the team."

Ruby and Yang gained big smiles as Ruby then exclaimed, "Yes! Team RWBY is officially back! Nothing's gonna stop us now!"

Naruto was smiling as well as he looked at his friend group was once again complete. He said, "The whole gang is finally back!"

"It's been way too long!" Nora shouted.

Yang walked up to her reconciled partner and said, "Hope you're ready for the craziness we're involved in."

Blake simply smiled and said, "As long as I have you guys, I'm ready for anything."

Naruto's joy turned to reluctance as he sighed and said, "Yeah, we'll see about that."

Blake looked confused at Naruto's comment, so Yang said to Blake, "There's…a lot we need to tell you."

Jaune looked at Sun and told him, "We need you to leave for a bit."

Sun looked surprised and a little hurt as he said, "Is it really that big of a secret?"

Outside of Blake, the group collectively told Sun, "Yes."

"Oh…uh, o-okay…" Sun said as he awkwardly left the ruined living quarters.

Seeing the look on Sun's face as he left, Blake timidly said, "I feel kinda bad…"

"It's for his own good" Pyrrha affirmatively told Blake. Pyrrha deep down still wishes she was never told about the Maidens. Things only got worse after that day.

"So umm…what secret should we start with?" Ruby asked. It was a reasonable question.

"There's multiple?" Blake nervously asked.

"Uh huh. And they're all doozies" Nora nonchalantly confirmed.

"We should probably start with the least problematic one" Weiss stated. They all then stared at Naruto.

Naruto looked a little surprised before he sighed and looked at Blake. He told her, "There's no way to be subtle about this. I'm from another world."

There was a long pause before Blake asked, "Could you repeat that?" Then a half hour later, Blake was sitting there dumbfounded after hearing the condensed version of Naruto's story that only contained the most basic information.

"Are you okay?" Naruto asked, a little concerned.

"I-I think so…" Blake answered unsurely. "It's just a lot to take in…"

"It's understandable if you can't trust me after hearing that…" Naruto said, expecting some backlash like when he told the others.

Blake felt overwhelmed sure, but she was quite understanding. She looked at Naruto, "I'm the last person who's going to judge you for not telling people. It might not be to the same extent, but I was in the same shoes as you when we got to Beacon. Trying to move on from my old life with the White Fang." She then looked down a little and nervously chuckled and said, "But my past didn't want to stay in my past."

Naruto rubbed the back of his head as he said, "We kinda have that in common too…" Blake looked confused until Naruto further explained, "So, when my Chakra left, this world absorbed it and made it its own."

Piecing it together, Blake's eyes widened as she said, "Wait, so the blue Dust that mutates the Grimm…?"

"It's Chakra" Ruby answered for Blake.

"And all our new powers are from Chakra" Yang further explained.

"What? But how?" Blake asked, still missing information.

"Remember those blue energy streams from the Super Grimm?" Naruto asked Blake.

"Of course I do—" Blake said before her eyes widened in realization.

"Looks like you figured it out. That stream implanted Chakra in your bodies which means you have Chakra too" Naruto explained.

Blake's shock then turned to looking awkward as she said, "If that's true, then Sun got Chakra last night…"

There was silence amongst the group until Naruto said with annoyance in his voice, "Damn it! Now I gotta tell Sun!"

"Not necessarily. He doesn't need to know if he isn't coming" Jaune pointed out.

Yang then looked at Blake and asked her, "Any idea what Sun plans on doing?"

"He needs to make up with his team just like me" Blake answered.

"I'm really not sure about bringing his team in on this" Naruto stated.

"Yeah, I don't think it's a great idea either" Ruby said in agreement.

"It would be a bad idea in my opinion" Jaune said, reaching a consensus among the group leaders.

"Maybe we should wait to tell Blake the other big secrets until after we figure out what Sun will be doing" Pyrrha suggested.

"I think that's a good idea" Blake said in agreement. "I'm feeling overwhelmed enough at the moment."

Naruto then stood up to gain their attention and said, "Okay, so today will be just like when we first got to Haven. We rest up today and maybe help around a little bit. Then tomorrow we get back to training." He then looked to the team leaders and asked, "Agree?"

"I agree" Jaune said.

"Makes sense to me" Ruby responded, also in agreement.

Naruto then goes to leave the living quarters as he said, "Then let's go see how everyone's doing." However, after peaking his head out the door he said, "Oh crap…"

The others looked confused and also concerned. They then went to look and seen a bunch of reporters around the campus. Ruby narrowed her eyes and said, "Oh crap is right…"

"I'm horrible in front of a camera…" Jaune muttered.

Pyrrha placed a hand on Jaune's shoulder. He looked to her as she told him, "I'm not a fan either."

Yang shrugged and said, "We should just walk past them. And if they want to talk to us, we just pretend we didn't hear them."

Naruto nodded as he said, "That's probably the best play, ya know."

The group then started making their way across the ruined campus as casually as they could. They did not want to draw any attention to themselves. Along the way, they spotted supply crates that must have been flown in during the night. They hoped there was some food. They also seen a few people in suits by some construction workers. There was not enough of them to start rebuilding, so they must be here to assess the damage.

"I'm surprised to see them here already" Ruby commented.

"My father had already sent a message to the council about the attack before we got here" Blake informed them.

"That's good. The repairs can start right away" Weiss stated.

"And unlike Beacon, they won't have to get through a Grimm infestation" Pyrrha said, adding to Weiss' point.

However, Nora sighed and said, "I still miss Beacon…"

"Yeah, me too" Jaune said, sharing Nora's sentiment.

"Things were so much simpler then" Weiss added her two cents.

"I remember being so nervous about first going to Beacon. Now I'd give anything to go back" Ruby said. Yang, Blake, Pyrrha, and Ren shared a similar feeling.

While Naruto felt similar, he told them, "One day we're gonna head back to Vale and take everything back!" This brightened the mood of his friends.

The reporters heard the chatting and noticed the group. They started running over, but before they could get to the gang, Ghira got in their way. He told the reporters, "These students have been through quite an ordeal and are not ready to talk to the press."

Naruto then leaned towards Blake and told her, "Your dad's good at this." Blake just smiled and the group kept walking as Ghira handled the press. They then came to where the other Faunus are gathered and upon seeing our band of Huntsmen Shinobi approach they start cheering.

"It's the new heroes of Haven!" one of the Faunus could be heard cheering.

Ruby blushed a little and said, "This if kinda embarrassing…"

"Hey, you guys did just as much to protect Haven as we did!" Naruto shouted over the cheering Faunus.

Yuma, who was sitting down and still recovering, responded, "The only reason we're still alive is because of your group.

Trifa, the spider Faunus, asked the group. "If it's not too much trouble, we'd like to learn all your names."

Nora shrugged and said, "Sure! My name's Nora Valkrie!"

"I'm Lie Ren" Ren then announced.

Pyrrha bowed her head and said, "Pyrrha Nikos"

"And I'm Jaune Arc, the leader of the team" Jaune told them. "We're Team JNPR.

Blake then walked forward and told the group of Faunus, "You all already know me." She then motions to her team and says, "These girls are my teammates."

"The name's Yang! Yang Xiao Long!" Yang proudly introduced herself.

"Weiss Schnee…" Weiss nervously introduced herself. She was a little on edge thanks to her interaction this morning.

"And I'm Ruby Rose! Leader of Team RWBY!" Ruby exclaimed with confidence.

The group were noticeably less excited than they were hearing Team JNPR introduce themselves. It was clear this was due to them hearing and noticing Weiss, a Schnee. This clearly upset Blake and Weiss.

Yuma noticed this and felt partially responsible for this. As a former member of Adam's White Fang, he helped push the hatred of the Faunus. So before Naruto or others could say anything, Yuma got up and went to shake Weiss' hand. Weiss was surprised, but she gladly did and this brought a smile across her friends' faces.

Yuma then looked at his fellow Faunus and said, "Under Adam I did terrible things, but you all still accept me. If you can't accept someone else trying to do good who hasn't even committed any atrocities against you, how can we expect to be accepted?" Using his own history helped to better land the point home amongst the reluctant Faunus.

Blake heard this and smiled. She felt reassured as she thought, "The new White Fang won't need me if it has people like Yuma in it."

A younger squirrel Faunus then walked up to Weiss and said, "Um, hi…my name's Jess. It's nice to meet you." The mood began to spread around the others and the friendly atmosphere had returned.

The moose Faunus from this morning then said, "Wait, hold on." He has now gained their attention and both Blake and Weiss were nervous. He then motioned to Naruto and asked, "So what about that guy? What's his name?"

"Oh, right! I'm Naruto Uzumaki!" Naruto said, proudly introducing himself.

One of the other Faunus then asked, "So where's your team?"

Naruto rubbed the back of his head as he said, "It's complicated…"

Ruby then interjected and said, "He's an honorary member of both our teams!"

"He kind of leads the whole group" Jaune further added. After that, a bunch of the Faunus went to introduce themselves to their new heroes. This brought an even bigger smile to Blake's face.

From one of the ships, Adam looked out at this from his restrained position. He could feel his ire continue to grow seeing his fellow Faunus getting along so well with a group of humans. In his deranged mind, he seen this subservience. He gritted his teeth together and muttered, "You will all pay for this…"

After having driven off the media, Ghira was approaching and noticed the animosity filled glare of Adam. He shook his head and thought, "Hopefully him being locked away will allow some of our hatred to wither away." He then walked up to our group and said, "You must be Blake's friends. I recognize you from Blake's stories." He then looked at Naruto and said, "She also spoke very highly of you."

Naruto glanced at Blake who acted oblivious. He then told Ghira, "I do my best, ya know."

"Your best is quite impressive" Ghira said complimentary. "You were able to rally everyone last night to keep fighting. Many were close to giving up."

Naruto smirked and said, "Having your comrades by your side makes it easier to endure whatever comes!" He looked around at his friends as he said this.

Ghira smiled at this and said, "I see why your friends admire you." Naruto was slightly embarrassed from this.

Approaching the campus was Scarlet, Sage, and a now blonde Neptune. They seen the ruined state of their campus and were in shock. They came because they heard about the attack and hitched a ride on one of the ships coming in.

"I don't even know what to say…" Scarlet said in shock.

"I can't believe this really happened again…" Sage said, recalling the Fall of Beacon.

Neptune looked on and pointed towards the group of people and said, "Look at all the Faunus. Looks like the reports of an alternate White Fang defending Haven were true."

Sage looked out at the still standing CTT Tower and said, "At least the tower is still there. Who knows how bad things would be without it."

They continued making their way through the ruined campus. Around the hospital, which was one of the only buildings left standing, they see a group of the Faunus clustered around and talking. This is when they spotted Naruto, Team JNPR, and the newly reformed Team RWBY. They ran over and called out to them.

Naruto looked over and started to say, "Oh hey guys—" He then cut himself off at the sight of Neptune's blonde hair. Everyone in his friend group had similar reactions.

Neptune looked at them all confused and asked, "What's wrong you guys?"

Yang looked even more stunned and said, "Seriously?"

"Why are you blonde?!" Nora questioningly exclaimed.

"Oh, that?" Neptune said as if it was not very noticeable. "I needed a change."

Weiss had her arms crossed and raised a brow as she skeptically asked, "What changed besides your hair?"

Neptune gasped and acted offended as he said, "One's hair is a big part of their identity!"

"Oh, come on—" Naruto started to say, but then he stopped himself.

Confused, Jaune, "What's wrong?"

"I don't wanna agree with Neptune, but…" Naruto started to say. He then felt his hair and said, "Would anyone recognize me without my blonde spiky hair?"

The others in the group then felt their own hair and wondered the same thing. Weiss looked at her white hair that she held in her hand and recognized that her white locks are the biggest identifier of her identity as a Schnee. She then said, "Neptune might have a point, but some people's identity is more tied to their hair than others."

Neptune accepted the partial acceptance of his point while Scarlet and Sage shared an exasperated sigh. Blake then made her presence known as she asked Neptune, "Why did you need the change?"

Scarlet's eyed widened as he said, "Wait, you're here?"

Blake was surprised at that response and said, "Yeah, I came with the other Faunus to defend Haven.

"Is Sun here?" Sage asked. Blake then motioned to Sun talking to Yuma and some of the other Faunus. Then Sage, Scarlet, and Neptune walked towards Sun with displeased expressions.

Naruto looked at them and said, "I feel like an uncomfortable conversation is about to happen, ya know…"

"I have that same feeling…" Blake commented.

"I vote we move further away" Ruby announced. Her friends all agreed.

Sun seen his team approach and happily called out, "Guys!" He then seen their facial expressions and thought, "Oh, I might be in trouble…" Seeing this, Yuma got the same feeling Naruto and the others got so he motioned himself along and the Faunus that were standing there. Sun was now standing there awkwardly and asked his team, "So…what have you guys been up to?"

"Trying to hold things together" Sage said with venom in his voice.

Sun sighed and said, "I guess I'm not too surprised to hear that you're in a mood."

"Where have you been this whole time?" Scarlet asked his absent team leader.

"I ran after Blake the night Beacon fell" Sun answered, trying to keep a neutral tone.

Sage then scoffed and said, "Of course you were with her."

At this, Sun got annoyed and said, "What's your problem with Blake?"

Sage then got in Sun's face and told him, "I don't have a problem with her. My problem's with you!" Sun then backed up a bit.

"Dude, you just up and left us without saying a thing" Neptune told Sun.

Sun was ashamed and said, "Sorry…have things been okay?"

Scarlet was offended at the question as he pointed at Neptune and shouted, "Does it look like things are okay?!"

Neptune, not liking being the one Scarlet pointed to, weakly said, "It's not that bad…"

Sun looked at Neptune and asked, "Dude, why's your hair blonde?"

"I needed a change" Neptune said calmly, repeating himself from earlier.

Sun looked confused until Scarlet whispered to him, "Neptune noticed that all of the blondes in our friend group were in a relationship while he wasn't." Sun then shook his head and Scarlet commented, "But maybe you broke that streak."

Sun looked annoyed but admitted, "You're right, me and Blake aren't together…"

Sage shook his head and said, "You're the worst team leader I've ever seen."

"Come on, you don't gotta be that harsh" Neptune told Sage.

Sun sighed and told Neptune, "Sage is right. I should have said something."

"It's worse than that!" Sage burst out.

Sun was taken aback by this and asked, "What are you talking about?"

As Sage was calming himself down, Scarlet told Sun, "This wasn't the first time you left without us."

Sun had a confused look, but then he remembered that he went to Vale by himself. As a result, he spent a significant amount of time away from his team. Now realizing that he hurt his team even more than he thought, Sun said, "All I can do is apologize."

There was a silence among the four of them until Neptune asked, "Are you back with us now?"

Sun looked conflicted and said, "I'm not sure…"

At this Sage looked angry, Scarlet looked annoyed, and Neptune looked disappointed. Sun then kept thinking to himself, "I still wanna help Blake, but I've really hurt my team. How can I keep disappointing them? I have no right asking them to go with our other friends, especially if it's some secret mission." He then looked over at Blake who looked happy being amongst her team again. He then said to himself, "She doesn't need my help anymore, but my team does."

Sun then looked back at his team and said, "Forget what I just said, I'm back."

"Are you sure?" Neptune asked skeptically.

Sun stood up and said, "I'm sure. I'm sorry for what I did, and I know I got a lot to make up for." Neptune smiled and put a hand on Sun's Shoulder. Scarlet then did the same, but Sage hesitated.

Sage was quiet until he said, "I'm holding you to what you said about making things up to us. And if you ever take off again, don't bother coming back."

"You got it" Sun told his last teammate. Sage then joined the rest of the team and Sun asked, "So what's the plan? The tower and hospital are still standing but that's about it."

"I guess we need to head to Atlas or Shade" Scarlet stated.

"I don't like out chances of getting into Atlas" Sage stated.

Neptune looked at Sun and said, "You're from Vacuo."

Sun smirked and said, "I'll show you guys around my old stomping grounds." He then glanced over at Blake.

"What are you gonna say to her?" Neptune asked.

"I don't know…" Sun said before he walked towards Blake.

Blake noticed Sun approach and asked him, "Are things better with your team now?"

"A little bit…since I'm going to be sticking with them" Sun informed her.

Blake nodded and said with a smile, "I get it."

Sun tried to keep the conversation light hearted as he said, "Don't need me around bugging you now that you got your team back."

Blake frowned and her cat ears went limp as she said, "You didn't need to put it like that…"

Sun gave a half-hearted chuckle as he said, "It's kinda true though."

"It's not!" Blake exclaimed. "I can't thank you enough for what you did for me."

"Oh come on, I was happy to!" Sun replied.

Still a little crestfallen, Blake asked, "Where will you and your team be heading?"

"Shade Academy" Sun answered. "What about you?"

"We're still figuring that out" Blake answered as well. "But we'll be staying here another few days at least."

"Same for us" Sun commented.

Blake then perked herself up a little as she said, "Like my parents told me last night. Let's save the goodbyes for the actual goodbye."

Sun smiled and said, "No argument there!"

"So I'll see you later?" Blake asked.

"Oh yeah, I'll be around" Sun responded. They then went back to their respective teams.

"So what's the news?" Yang asked her partner.

"Sun and his team are heading to Shade Academy" Blake informed them.

"Which means there's no need to tell them" Weiss stated. Blake nodded in agreement.

"So that means we're good to tell you the rest of of the big secret" Naruto told Blake. He then walked back to the living quarters with Team RWBY following. Blake felt her nerves rise and she recalled Naruto's story being referred to as the less "problematic" secret. Upon arriving, Naruto told Blake, "So apparently this world has some pretty big secrets of its own."

After that, they revealed to Blake the existence of the Maidens, Gods of light and darkness, and Salem, the master of Grimm. Blake was now sitting there with her hands in her face trying to calm herself down. Weiss asked her, "Are you okay?"

"I won't lie…Naruto's story was less of a blow…" Blake answered.

"Yeah, that's how the rest of us felt too" Yang told her.

"It's a big problem we're walking into" Naruto commented.

"Are you still with us?" Ruby asked Blake.

Blake took a deep breath and gained a more determined expression as she said, "Always." Her team all smiled at her.

Naruto walked towards the exit as he thought, "Now we can start forging ahead."

Bring Naruto Uzumaki to Me

The new Oracle Grimm was approaching Mantle thanks to the impressive flight speed of the Super Giant Nevermore. Now within the kingdom, the Super Grimm slowed down so the Oracle could observe. This continued for hours until the Oracle sensed something and directed the Super Nevermore to land.

Torchwick was carrying the unconscious and badly injured Hazel with some assistance from Neo. Hazel's weight was not the problem, but his height. His legs dragged along the ground when Roman carried Hazel by himself. But even with that annoyance, taking Hazel with them worked out as the Grimm had left them alone.

Mercury was walking behind them with a limp. They used part of a branch and tied it to his missing leg to act as a peg leg. Torchwick loaned Mercury his cane for support and told Mercury that if anything happened to the cane he would have Mercury's head. Mercury had never felt more humiliated.

Emerald was walking by Mercury in case he needed help. She was still in disbelief at what they had gotten themselves into. Add on top of that the fact that Cinder was now missing. The Super Giant Nevermore then landed by them and startled the whole group. Emerald asked, "Why is it here?"

Torchwick said, "I have a guess…"

The Oracle Grimm then floated out in front of them and Salem observed the state of disrepair her minions are in. She also noticed the lack of the Relic in their possession and asked, "What happened?"

"We lost, all of us" Torchwick answered matter-of-factly.

"Where is Cinder?" Salem further interrogated.

"Sh-sh-she's missing…" Emerald nervously answered.

There were a few seconds of silence before Salem said with noticeable anger in her voice, "Two of you were empowered by my special Dust, one of you was a full-fledged Maiden, and you had a platoon of Super Grimm. And you all lost?"

Trying to restrain his annoyance, Torchwick responded, "Just look at the big guy. That's not a sign of victory."

Salem observes Hazel's condition through her Oracle Grimm and found this hard to believe. She asked, "How did you manage to lose what should have been guaranteed?"

"The students all had powers like your servants do, especially Naruto" Emerald answered nervously.

Salem narrowed her eyes at the mention of Naruto. This is the second time her subordinates have attributed their failure to him. She then told Torchwick's group, "Get to the next town. I will send out Tyrian and Arthur to assist you."

"Thanks boss" Torchwick stated reluctantly.

Salem then walked away from her crystal ball and headed to the meeting hall. She called out, "Tyrian! Arthur!"

Tyrian and Watts came in and respectfully bowed before Tyrian asked, "What do you need us for?"

"You are to meet up with Hazel's party, tend to their injuries, and get them ready for battle" Salem answered.

"What's the damage?" Watts asked.

Salem started walking around as she answered, "The boy needs a new leg and Hazel is struggling to stay alive."

Both Watts and Tyrian were shocked to hear that as Hazel was the most powerful member of their group outside of Salem herself. Tyrian then asked, "What battle are we preparing for?"

"Since Ozpin now has the Relic, he's likely to take it somewhere safer. Probably Atlas" Salem started to explain. "They will need to travel by train, and you are to ambush them."

Tyrian grinned and said, "I do look forward to paying them back!"

"There is a mission that takes priority over the Relic" Salem announced to them, much to their surprise.

"What could possibly take priority over the Relic?" Watts asked, his curiosity now peaked.

Salem started walking towards the large window as she said, "Ozpin's forces seem to have a new ace in their ranks. One more powerful than any of my fighters." Tyrian was annoyed at that statement, but he knows he cannot say anything since he was defeated. "Not only has this Naruto shown himself to be superior, but he has somehow made his companions able to best my Super Grimm one on one. I need to know how. What does he know?"

"So the assignment is what exactly?" Watts asked, wanting clarification.

Salem turns to face them as she said, "Then let me make myself clear. I want that Relic, but that can be acquired any time. Your primary objective…" She then looked extremely serious as she said, "Is to capture this Naruto and bring him to me. Am I clear?"

Tyrian and Watts nodded and said, "Absolutely."

Salem then left the room while thinking to herself, "This Naruto must be where Ozpin's newfound hope stems from. Let's see how he feels as I take it away."

Chapter End