A/N: Salutations~! Here we are! The fully realized version from yesterday little fragment story, and its a long one! Looking forward to your feedback! Every little bit helps! Normal update schedule resumes tomorrow.
Coeur planted the initial idea in my head with his now infamous "In Your Wildest Dreams" story. I went a step further with it, decided to go full steam ahead and embrace the meme with open arms.
Hence why this story is marked as the parody category, of sorts. We're gonna have a mad time here~! Ergo, this is the Tyrian bit from my fragments of remnant plot in, fully realized and improved at that. You'll see him soon enough, just not in this particular chapter. I spent a week working on this story, re-writing it, perfecting it, embracing chaos, as it were. Hope you enjoy it! The lads and I bandied about working titles like "Since when did I open an orphanage,"or "Protect the little ones", but in the end we voted on this one.
So here we go. The fate of this story depends on you, the reader. Your feedback determines the fate of this tale, and many others. I'm just a humble author trying to make his way in this wild, wacky, warped world, and stay alive, one word at a time. As ever, I own no references, quotes, themes or memes. Not a wit or a one. A humble writer am I.
Here we go, once more, into the fray! Remember this is a humorous, parody.
This is meant to make ya'll smile and laugh. Let's have a MAD time~!
Looking forward to your feedback! Obvious quote is obvious~!
"Mortals. Humans. Faunus. Like little children: always fighting, making a mess out of the things. Then we are left to clean it up. Its tiring. They haven't changed since we left. They never will. Surely you realize this?"
"Perhaps. But just as there is a monster inside all of us, so too, can there be faith. Love. Happiness. Even the most vile of souls can become heroes, given half a chance."
"Bah! Just look at them. They haven't even attempted to collect the Relics in the last thousand years."
Because they are not yet ready for our return. They are our children. Give them time to grow."
"Listen to yourself, brother. That's awfully naive prattle, don't you think?"
"What makes it naive? All I do is for the good of everyone."
"That depends upon your definition of everyone."
"Are you TRULY so afraid of lending a hand?"
"Not at all. I simply cannot see the point."
"Then let us make a wager, brother."
...alright. You have my attention."
"The usual terms, then?"
"You read my mind."
"So let it be."
"...you've already chosen a champion, haven't you...?"
"Whatever gave you that idea...?"
"I know what look! How long have you had him down there?!"
"Only a year."
"Brother! That's unfair!"
"What's the saying the mortals use? All's fair in love and war? He leapt at the chance to help."
"No-good-two-timing...! That's the way you want to play this, eh? SO BE IT!"
"Its your own fault for not choosing a champion earlier...
.
..
...aaaaaand he's gone."
~A Wager Between Brothers.
Gotta Adopt 'em All
Someone terribly Important had come to the orphanage.
Cinder knew they must be some big shot, because the matrons were going absolutely mad in their haste to prepare everyone for their arrival. It was kinda funny, watching the nasty old hags scamper about like chickens with their heads chopped off. All the commotion had the other kids stirred up, and even she wasn't immune to the chaos that had overtaken her so-called home. Against her better judgement, she actually found herself almost cautiously curious about the new arrival, optimistic even.
Maybe today would be the Day.
Maybe she would be chosen.
Maybe, just maybe.
She'd already been passed over these last three years and was nearly nine now; she knew she wouldn't have much longer here. Mistral orphanages were cruel like that.
Most people didn't wanna adopt older kids.
Or Faunus, for that matter.
She'd seen older kids turned out by the matrons for having ears or a tail before, and few faunus parents never came here to adopt anymore. Not after what happened Last Time.
The Matrons were to blame for that.
Cruel old crones they were, offering adoptions to all, yes, but only ever giving children to the highest bidder. Anyone who couldn't pay their exorbitant rates was summarily turned away. Those who argued were beaten by the guards. Those who made a fuss were never seen again. Just thinking about it made her want to say bad words.
Yet she couldn't. Well, she could, but she absolutely didn't dare. They'd wash her mouth out with soap if she was lucky, break an arm if she wasn't, or worse, make her scrub the floors with said arm.
She didn't want to end up like surly Samantha. She'd never healed quite right.
But none of that mattered now, the matrons had rounded everyone up today and demanded they be on their best behavior, which was concerning enough of by itself, given that there were at least thirty of them at any given day.
Sometimes kids ran away. Sometimes they came back. Sometimes they didn't.
One of the old hags washed her face with a rough cloth that she absolutely hated while another did her hair up in those ugly buns she loathed. They weren't even real pigtails, not really, more akin to two tufts of hair held atop her head by tight cords.
She didn't like them. They hurt her, pulled way too tight.
And besides, she liked her hair long and down, thank you very much.
Even if the other kids pulled it sometimes...
.
..
...okay, a lot...
But she'd tolerate it just for today, because she looked like a boy like this; no one adopted girls in Mistral; they always wanted boys. Servants. Laborers.
At least they hadn't tried to make her wear a dress...even if her clothes were a mess.
Today she wore little more than a tattered white tunic with a dirty brown apron slung over it and matching black breeches increasingly covered by hasty patches as she grew older. She only had the one pair after all and the matrons were too stingy to get her another...or new shoes for that matter.
She'd pricked her fingers so many times fixing them, too...
Such were the rules of the orphanage. Only keep what you could carry, or someone would take it from you. They might be rags, but they were her rags, she had fought and scratched and bled for these, and she wasn't giving them up for nothing, let alone some silly girly dress.
Give her shorts and a tunic any day!
Eventually, however, the matrons finally managed to round everyone up and in doing so, distracted her from her sullen musings.
One by one they arranged the tallest orphans to the back, shortest ones is the front, with herself caught somewhere in the middle of the pack. She knew how she must look. Uneven pigtails, sunken cheeks, bags under her eyes. A messy, weak child. She had always been scrawny and today was no different; a bit of spit-shine could hardly fix that.
The door opened, and a hush fell over the room; she strained on the very tips of her toes with the other kids to see who it might be.
She saw the white coat first.
It covered broad shoulders trimmed with pale silver lapels, the like of which glistened in the afternoon sun, gleaming with other medals besides. Those fancy epaulets were a dead giveaway but it was ultimately the man wearing it who confirmed her initial suspicions.
Cinder sucked in a sharp breath through her teeth at the sight.
Even a grungy orphan like her knew what he was.
What on the remnant was a Specialist from Atlas doing here?
Specialist were elite soldiers, they never left Solitas, let alone Atlas. Or so the rumors went.
They certainly never came to the continent of Anima, let alone an orphanage out in the boonies of Mistral.
Beneath his specialist coat, he wore an orange-on-black vest that matched his trousers. Curiously enough he wore a battered blue headband proudly around his neck, the frayed cloth connected to a metal plate bearing an odd leaf symbol, or at least it had, before someone carved a deeply jagged line through the emblem.
For some reason, looking upon it made her feel strangely sad. She wasn't sure why.
He walked at a brisk pace, arms swung loosely at his sides, seemingly leaving him wholly at his ease, but Cinder wasn't fooled. Nor did she fail to notice his weaponry. The man was a walking armory of knives and daggers besides. Holsters upon holsters, belts and bars and sheathes scattered about his chest and sleeves and trousers. What purpose did they serve? Did he throw them? Teleport to them with a semblance, maybe? So strange...
Everyone knew Huntsmen and Huntresses -especially Specialists- wielded all sorts of colorful weapons but these were downright simple. Efficient...
Ignoring his bristling weaponry, she hurriedly took in his appearance.
Despite being armed to the teeth he had a kind, smile, whiskered cheeks, blonde, hair, and bright eyes The latter were a blazing, burning blue, one might even say they were unnatural. They almost seem to glow in her peripheral vision, flickering, as though lit within by a mighty flame. Likewise, his whiskered cheeks were a mystery to her; they were either scars or the marks of a Faunus. She wasn't entirely certain herself. It could've been the former, but may well be the latter for all she knew.
He didn't utter a single word, and yet the Matrons cowered before him like so many mice.
Look upon me, weaklings, his presence seemed to say. This is true power. Kneel.
Cinder didn't trust him. Nope. Not one bloody bit.
It was the Smiling Ones you had to watch out for, the Smiling Ones took kids away, and they were never heard from again. Nobody ever came back when they went with a Smiling One. His smile looked kind, but it didn't reach his eyes; like he wasn't quite all...there, somehow; as if he were staring at them from a great distance, seeing them, yet not seeing them. All the while, he kept smiling.
She immediately dubbed this smirking individual the Smiling Man.
That, or the wicked Whiskered Man.
Both titles sound scary enough.
Her stomach roiled with uncertainty as those piercing blue eyes roamed across the assembled children. Unbidden, she found herself shying away from the Specialist, even as a small part of her secretly longed to be seen. He would ignore her like the others surely; choose a tall child, a healthier, child, better behaved child...
"Is this how you run an orphanage?"
Cinder stiffened. His words weren't meant for her she realized, but the matrons.
"Well?" he rounded on the two old crones, arching a blond brow. "Is it?" There was an edge in his voice flicker of anger that promised...she wasn't sure what exactly, but it was definitely there. "I knew it would be bad here, but this is ridiculous." he turned a critical eye on her and yet again, she glimpsed a fleeting flash of fire in his eyes. "Half of these children look like they haven't eaten anything better than bread and the rest look downright horrible. Where's the jungle gym? Where's the orange? Where's the damn Ramen?"
One of the matrons flinched in the face of his cutting words, and dared to speak."We don't have any-
"HERESY!"
He backhanded her, a mighty open-palmed smack sending her reeling back.
Cinder silently cheered.
"Not another word from you!" he jabbed a finger at the other, silently stunned matron before she could muster up her nerve. "This entire orphanage is now property of Atlas, namely, me."
One of the hags sputtered. "You can't! You have no right!"
"Ahaha, but you'll find that I can~!" crowing triumphantly, he ripped a document from his jacket and thrust at the closest crone, nearly knocking her back. "Here's the paperwork. I own this place, now. I've already spoken with the city; you'll find everything's in order. By all means, read it. You'll find it quite legally binding."
Cinder couldn't see its contents -or read for that matter as no one ever taught her- but whatever its contents, the sight of them had the matrons silent as the grave. A ripple of confusion passed through the children, and a few of them even dared to smile at one another with the barest flicker of hope.
Cinder didn't share it.
Why would anyone wanna buyout an orphanage...?
No, the Specialist was up to something. What was his game?
In the absence of their protests, the Smiling Specialist began to inspect the lot of them one by one, from the oldest child to youngest. He asked them a great many questions, some of which she understood, much of which she didn't. Things like their names, likes, dislikes, favorite foods, that sort of thing.
It was agonizing. Not simply the standing, but the waiting, the realization that eventually it would be her turn.
Her heart began to hammer in her chest. Sweat beaded upon her brow.
Cinder squirmed in place, unable to endure. "Hurry up already...
Without warning the Smiling Specialist rounded on Cinder.
How had he heard that?!
Before she could even think to blink or flee, he stood before her. She hadn't even seen him move. What was he..?!
"Everyone outside." his voice rang clear and strong. "Run along now."
The matrons needed no further excuse; they scarpered, and most of the other kids went with them.
Cinder made to follow them.
"Not you."
Meep.
"Hello, there." Much to her chagrin the Smiling Specialist crouched down before her and blocked her path, blue eyes twinkling ever so slightly. "Who might you be?"
She tucked her chin into her chest and refused to look at him. "No one."
"No one, hmmm?" He chuckled at her, "Strange name for a girl. How old are you?"
Damnit, he knew.
Golden eyes sought the floor. "Twelve."
He gently flicked her forehead. "Don't lie, now."
Horsepiss. How could he tell? Was it a specialist thing?
Reluctantly, she raised her gaze to meet his "...I'm nine."
His eyes lit up. "Is that so?"
An ember of curiosity sparked in her wary ashen heart. "Are you here to adopt someone?"
"I'm actually on a mission." he replied. "I'm looking for someone. Hunting a target, really. She's known to frequent this orphanage." there it was again, that gleaming grin. "I figured it would be easier to just buy the whole place up, wait her out, and take her down."
Oh. That meant he wasn't here for her, then. Or anyone, really. Her heart clenched in her chest. "Alright...
"Would you like to leave this place?"
The sudden question floored her. She stared at him. "Why?"
"Skittish little thing." He blew out a sigh. and belatedly she glimpsed a fresh flicker of fire in his eyes. "If it's names you're after, I'm Naruto. Formerly of the Leaf, presently of Atlas."
Cinder was a clever girl; she picked up on the way he said that, presently, almost like he didn't intend to linger for long. "Weird name."
He tilted his head and squinted at her, rather reminding her of a fox. "Mind tellin' me yours?"
...Cinder."
"Huh." his squinting eyes opened a little to reveal the lively azure light within. "Named after Cinderella, no doubt...
Now it was Cinder's turn to cross her arms and squint at him. "What's a Cinderella?"
Naruto recoiled like she'd slapped him. "You're joking."
Her head tilted. "I'm not, though...?"
For some reason, that made him most sad indeed. "Haven't you ever read a storbyook before? Children do that all the time?"
Not me.
She shrugged a shoulder and looked away. "Dunno how to read."
Sadness was soon replaced by anger. "...does anyone here?"
For a moment, Cinder thought about lying.
But he'd told her not to and she feared him more than the matrons.
Truth it was, then.
...No."
"Nobody's ever read one to you?"
She shook her head slowly.
Naruto stopped smiling.
It was just for a moment, an instant, a sliver of a second, but in that shattered shard of time, his blue gaze blazed. Between one heartbeat and another the air became thick and cloying around them and Cinder found herself shrinking back before it as something reared its ugly head. What was wrong with his eyes? It almost felt like a great beast was looking back at from within them...
"The funny thing is...you'd be right."
Hweh?!
"I see." Naruto exhaled in a heavy sigh, utterly unaware of her plight. "So no one here knows how to read. Nope. Not having that."
Little Cinder blinked. "Nope?"
"Means no," he retorted less-than-glibly. "Damn place isn't anything like what I thought it would be."
"Like what?" she snapped at him, incensed by his blase behavior. "Like you? Why do you even care? You can do whatever you want. Go wherever you want. Why do we even matter to you?!"
Naruto threw his head back and belted out a loud laugh; so much so that Cinder found herself clamping both hands over her poor ears merely to muffle it.
So loud!
At length, he settled down beneath her baleful glare.
"Hoo boy, I needed that." Still chortling, he wiped a mirthful tear from the corner of his eye. "Thanks. Its been awhile since I had a good laugh like that."
"Not welcome." she grumbled, digging a finger into her ear. "Noisy old man...
He physically flinched at the last two words. "Old?! I'll have you know I'm only-
Cinder leaned in, nostrils flaring angrily. "Only...?"
If he said twenty, she was calling bullshit.
Naruto's jaw clicked shut.
Knew it.
"Y'know," he said suddenly, apropos of nothing, "You remind me of an old friend. He was a surly little shit, just like you."
So the Specialist could curse. Good. Against her better judgement, Cinder found her interest piqued. Atlas Elite or no, he had clearly taken an interest in her wellbeing; which meant he wanted something from her. What, she had no idea, but she could use this. Try to bargain with him, and hopefully get something in return. Again, she had no idea what, but something, as they say, was better than nothing. Leashing her rising anger, she willed herself not to punch this scary specialist.
"What happened to him?"
"See this headband?" He touched the scarred metal plate danging from his neck and held it up for her inspection, all but thrusting it into her face. "This belonged to him. It was a memoir from our first true fight."
"And...?"
"I killed him."
He said it with a smile, too. Like it was the most natural thing in the world.
That settled it, then.
The Smiling Man -Naruto!- was batshit crazy.
"It took me a couple tries to be fair," he prattled on, heedless of her horror, "If only because I kept trying to save him for the longest time. By the time I realized he couldn't be saved, that he wanted me to kill him, wanted to die, wanted to be a martyr, it was almost too late. But in the end, I granted his wish." he jangled the headband before her one last time for good measure before tucking it back into his coat. "I'd never seen him look so happy as he did the day he died. I keep this with me, reminding me of what he could've been. Sakura never forgave me for it, of course. Neither did Kakashi. So I left. Peace in our time and all that. Best they have it without me.
She was trembling, couldn't help herself. "Is there a point to this?
A finger prodded her forehead. The point here, kiddo, is that you remind me of Sasuke. Trust me when I say you don't wanna be like Sasuke. You'd make a poor martyr."
If that was a roundabout way of saying be nice then he'd made his point.
She gulped.
"But to answer your unspoken question, no, I'm hardly as free as you think." Naruto thumbed his scarred headband, chuckling. "I have duties. Responsibilities. Problems. Sometimes I kill dangerous people before they become a threat. Sometimes I save those down on the their luck. Most of the time I do my own thing. Like I'm doing right now.
Cinder looked back to his coat, confused. "You're really a Specialist, then?"
For some reason, that made him eye his coat and laugh again. "Something like that."
Was he not? Something more, maybe? But the only thing she could think of that possibly outranked an Atlas Specialist in the field would be...
Oh.
Ohh.
Ohhh!
Her eyes widened. Was he an Assassin, then? Atlas Black Ops? Or maybe even Headmaster-
Grrrngl.
Heat speared through her cheeks as her stomach growled plaintively, interrupting her intrigue. Flushing to the very tips of her ears, she clutched her belly and hastily averted her gaze, to no avail. Treachery! Betrayal! How dare her body throw her under the proverbial Beowolf like this!
"Ahem!" Naruto coughed harshly into a fist, commanding her attention. "Be honest now, do the matrons feed you well here?"
Cinder could feel said crones glaring at her from afar and knew she would get a telling off later, if not a beating outright. They might even kill her now that they'd essentially been "bought" by an Atlas operative. Whatever punishment they meted out, she knew it wouldn't be a pleasant one...but screw 'em. If today was her last day alive, the least she could do was go down swinging.
She shook her head.
Naruto hummed dangerously. "I see...
There it was. That flicker of anger, his killing intent.
Maybe he'd kill those bitter bitches for everything they'd done, arrest him at the very least. She hoped so.
"Want some food, then?" he dipped a hand into his belt and offered her what she could only assume were field rations of some sort, an energy bar, worn and crinkled. "This is all I've got on me right now."
Her golden eyes fastened onto the snack. Naruto moved it left, then right, and she followed it, watching like a baby hawk.
She wasn't stupid, she wouldn't be tricked. But she was so hungry. "Will there be more food if I go with you...?
"Tons." He patted her head. "As much as you can eat. I promise."
She wanted to believe him. "I don't believe you."
"That's unfortunate. His smile became just a touch sad. "I'm not the bad guy here."
"All the bad guys say that." The words escaped in a rush before she could think to take them back.
Shit! Hadn't meant to say that out loud!
She clamped a hand over her mouth, too late. She'd never get that energy bar now.
Naruto's brow shot up into his hair, and for the first time since meeting him, he looked genuinely surprised.
"A little fight in you after all!" He laughed the last word, not angry, but seemingly pleased by the spark, she shown just now, that fleeting flicker of anger she always did her best to suppress. "I like that. Tyrian's gonna love you."
Cinder blinked, finding herself floored by the blond once more. "Tyrian...?"
"My adopted son." the blond beamed. "Did I not mention him?"
"Not even once!"
"Ooops?" he drove his knuckles into the side of his head and stuck out his tongue briefly. "My bad. He's a faunus, by the way. I hope you don't mind."
Her brow furrowed in absolute confusion. "Why would I mind that?"
By way of answer, Naruto offered her the ration bar.
Instinct took over; Cinder ripped it free from his hands, peeled back the wrapper and bit down.
Her golden eyes practically sparkled.
Sweet!
She'd thought it would be bland and chalky and nasty like military rations were rumored to be, but this was the opposite. She was sure she'd never tasted anything like this in her life. Yet some small misty memory tugged at her from her childhood, insisting she had.
From the before times. Before the orphanage. Before everything.
In an instant, she found herself wrapped up in the past, seeing through forgotten eyes. She was being being bounced on someone's knee; gazing up at a man with dark hair and darker eyes. She was smaller, even moreso than she was now. She made a nose and reached for him with pudgy little hands, pawing at his cloak. The man -daddy?- noticed and said something to her, words she couldn't remember, then handed her a snack just like this...hadn't he? It tasted good.
She couldn't recall his face, or his name, or anything else about him beyond that.
Dark hair. Dark eyes. A low voice, spoken softly so as not to startle her.
'Daddy...?
In an instant the scene changed and she found herself swept out of the man's lap. A woman in a gold dress with dark hair held her close, humming softly. This one had golden eyes, dark hair, and quite possibly the most radiant smile she'd ever seen. She remembered her face, it was a face she'd seen so many times, a hint of the adult she would come to be..
'Mom..?'
The woman kept humming, holding her small body close.
No, wait. Words. Lullaby. It was a lullaby...
"Rock a bye Cinder, on the tree top...
The memory vanished between one tentative bite on the other and Cinder found herself choking, not on food, but tears.
She couldn't remember the last time she'd cried.
Everything was blurry...but the taste of the energy bar was familiar. So she kept eating. These were whole grains and berries, and they were so good that she simply couldn't help herself any longer; she devoured the snack. in an instant, nearly choking in her haste to consume it.
From there, she sniffled and clutched at her shoulders, shivering a little despite herself.
Her parents. She'd remembered her parents just now.
Parents. Actual parents. She had been loved...!
'Daddy...Mommy...
"Tastes good, doesn't it? Atlas only makes and takes the best." Naruto, great big oaf that he was, pretended to mistake her shivering for the chills. "Here, you must be cold...
He stood and removed his fur-lined coat, then, much to her disbelief, draped it around her shoulders. It was much too big for her, so large, in fact that it threatened to drag on the ground and trip her up entirely.
But it was also warm.
So very warm.
Comfy.
Scrubbing her face with the back of a hand, she clutched the jacket close with the other, and scowled at the Specialist. "Who are you really?"
Naruto winked and held up a finger before her lips to forestall her questions. In the same motion he took said hand, thumbeded away her tears, then reached past her head. Almost belatedly, she felt five firm fingers pluck out her pigtails. One by one, he drew away the hated leather cords that bound her hair, leaving it to fall free in a messy tangle down her shoulders.
"That's much better." he nodded, evidently satisfied with both her dry eyes and unbound tresses. "If you're going to be coming with me, you should at least take better care of your hair."
Her heart hitched for an entirely different reason. "What...?"
"Isn't it obvious? I'm adopting you, brat."
Cinder's throat closed.
"...!"
Hope and joy and fear banged against the walls of her heart, stealing away all logic to render her response a strangled whine. She couldn't move. She couldn't think. She couldn't even breathe...though she should probably do the latter if she didn't want to pass out anytime soon.
At a loss, she warbled a out noise that may have been a cousin to a question. It emerged as a raspy squeak, and have one more to listen closely, they might have heard a word. Just the one."Really...?"
It was enough to get his attention.
"C'mon," Naruto rose slowly, tousling her hair as he went. "Haven't even been here an hour and I've already had all I can stand of this place...
Reality rushed back and she flailed for an answer, an explanation, anything at all. "But you said you had a mission...
"Did I, now?" he glanced down at her, bemused. "I don't recall saying anything of the sort."
"You definitely did!"
"I may have," he conceded with a wink. Congratulations. You're now part of said mission. Remember, its our little secret...
Wait, was he just adopting her for the sake of his work?
If so, should she feel pleased about that?
If it led her away from here...
.
..
...did it really matter?
Satisfied by her silence, Naruto planted one hand between her shoulders and gently-but-firmly steered her outside to freedom. From there she finally glimpsed an aircraft parked in the grass just shy of the orphanage, a magnificent specimen of steel she couldn't hope to describe, so she didn't.
There it was; her ticket out of this miserable place.
She just had to reach it. Simple, right?
Wrong.
The matrons and the other kids saw them coming.
One of the old hags took a look at her and sneered, upper lip curling in derision. "You don't want to adopt that one, sir. She's half feral. Better to pick someone else. Even a faunus would be better. Here, let me show you...
So speaking, she made to grab for her.
Cinder bristled and skittered back behind Naruto, rage mounting within herz
The so-called Specialist merely snorted. "I'll be the judge of that."
The second matron scowl at him ."And the matter of payment?"
"There will be no payment." he chuckled blackly. "I own you now, remember? Consider your lives your reward; not that either of you deserve them after the way, you've treated these children."
"No!" One of the matrons made to grab for Cinder, causing her to shrink backfurther behind him, not that it stopped the old biddy. "Then you can't take her! She was promised to another client this afternoon!"
Cinder balked. She was...?
That moment of hesitation cost her. The matron reached for her...!
Naruto interposed himself between them and caught her wrist. "Why don't you tell me about this client of yours?"
"Never!"
"Wasn't asking."
He backhanded the the bitch with a flick of his wrist. Teeth whistled through the air to strike the ground like so many pearls as her head snapped to the right. When she made to speak again, her adoptive father stepped forward and struck her a second time, followed by a third. By the time he was finished, the ground lay littered with broken, bloody gnashers.
Naruto, for his part, lowered a bloodstained hand and stared at her placidly, smile, never leaving his face. "Perhaps you've reconsidered your position? Unless you would rather have dentures for the rest of your life...?"
The crone crumpled like a wet paper bag.
"I...I don't know her! She's some rich woman form Atlas!" Frantic, she sought to shield her face from him with the sleeve of her arm. "Said she runs the Glass Unicorn! That's all I know! Honest!"
Cinder looked to Naruto, quietly awed. Her soon-to-be-papa merely hummed. His bright blue eyes burned brighter still with triumph.
Call her dense, but she had the strangest feeling this glass unicorn lady was the target Naruto was hunting...
Ah, but he was speaking again. Pay attention. Take notes on intimidation...
"Sensational. Do we have an understanding,now?" Sure enough his smile remained, though it seemed colder than the ice of Atlas itself. "Or would you rather lose more teeth?"
The uninjured matron looked between him and her injured compatriot, eyes wild. "That wasn't the deal-
An invisible force all but flattened her to the ground with a single push, leaving her quivering before him.
"I have altered the deal." Between one blink and another, Cinder could've sworn those blue eyes gleamed violet, just for a moment. "Pray I don't alter it further. She's not the first urchin I've adopted and trust me when I say she won't be the last."
Cinder didn't have it in her to laugh; she could only star, eyes wide. Was this really happening?
Did he...just make a habit of adopting strays?
Was that a thing he did?
"Don't worry." pivoting in place, the Smiling Specialist turned to address the other children. "I'll see to it you all get good homes within the week. If not, I'll adopt you myself and bring you back to Atlas."
More than a few perked up at that; there was no love lost over the matrons. She could see a few Faunus kids looking longingly his way...could he fit them in his airship? Probably. It looked big...
Alas, the bloodied matron -nasty old bitch- reminded them of her existence as she groaned where he'd left her, still cradling her bloody mouth and what remained of her teeth.
"Still alive, hmm?" Naruto clicked his tongue at her in mild annoyance. "Can't exactly behead you here and scar the little ones...oh, wait."
Grinning, he reached for her.
"I've just the thing."
Seizing the wicked woman by the throat, he whirled, paced away from Cinder and flung the foul crone flung her as one might a football, launching her out into the wilds. She vanished with a shriek past the treetops, never to be seen again. If the throw didn't kill her, the fall would, to say nothing of the Grimm.
Beaming, he turned his attention to the remaining matron and leaned low to regard her, teeth flashing in the sunlight. "If I see so much as a hair harmed on any of these children, I will personally tear your soul out your body and broadcast your screams for every other disrespectful wretch who dares to question me. Are we clear?"
Her head bobbed frantically. "Crystal!"
Naruto hummed.
"Lovely."
Still smiling, he offered Cinder his hand once more, the very soul of patience. "Shall we go?"
Golden eyes strayed toward his offered palm. Go with the crazy man or stay here.
The choice was painfully obvious, even for a know-nothing urchin such as she.
Anything -anyone- that took her away from here was a saint in her book.
This time, she didn't hesitate to grasp that hand. On the contrary:
Cinder latched on for dear life.
A/N: Protect little Cinder.
Hope you're ready for the next, and little Tyrian!
If it wasn't already obvious, meme story here, Naruto's quite insane.
This chapter took a lot out of me, time to sleep! Have a great day! Sooooooooo, do you want this to be a story? Would you like weekly updates? Yes? No? Maybe so? Make yourselves heard. I bow to feedback! Pairing might be a single pairing, or might be harem, or there may not be one at all. You decide! Do let me know in your reviews~!
Aaaand there we go. As ever, reviews keep me alive. Without them, I cannot write. So...in the Immortal Words of Atlas...
...Review...Would You Kindly? And have some previews -potential blot bin things- that I'm working on.
References ahoy~! Hopefully this will sate my muse for the time being.
And as ever:
WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!
SPOILERS LAY AHEAD!
YE BE WARNED~!
SERIOUSLY!
HEADS UP!
(Previews! Mind you, most of them are condensed for good reason!
(Previews!)
Tyrian dropped from the rafters and flung up his arms with a merry cackle. "Welcome, welcome, dear sister! By all means, make yourself at home!"
Cinder skittered back behind Naruto. "He's crazy!"
"Now, now, he's only a little older than you...
"What have we here?" Ironwood paused in the doorway and considered the girl currently latched onto Naruto's side. A wry smile tugged at his taciturn face. "Finally took my advice, I see."
Cinder buried her face into Naruto's pant leg and stubbornly refused to look at him now that she knew who he was. Where had all that fire of hers gone?
The blond ran a hand through his frazzled hair and blew out a sigh. "Don't say it."
"Say what?"
"I know you're thinking it. Don't."
No such luck. "Going to adopt all the troubled children in the world, are we?"
His best agent glowered at him defiantly. "...maybe."
He'd been joking! "Naruto, no."
"Naruto, yes."
This is the man who prevented Mountain Glen, girl. Show some respect...
Ozma pinched the bridge of his nose.
His current host -Ozpin!- was still quite young and he enjoyed conversing with him regularly. Perhaps someday they would run Beacon together again, but for now they were naught but a regular Huntsman in the field, a powerful one, but just that. Not a teacher, not bound to the Academies in any meaningful way.
Untethered, they could go wherever they pleased.
And besides, his friend had raised a valid point just now.
Perhaps he had the right of it.
Beacon would do well to follow such the Atlas initiative.
He'd grown so used to relying on the next generation that he'd never thought to start earlier.
Perhaps it was time he remedied that..
Salem made an annoyed noise. "He's just...adopting all the urchins. I don't understand? What's his aim?"
Cinder had a younger classmate. Her name was Winter Schnee.
She disliked little miss uptight immediately.
Winter disliked the "hooligan" right back.
The spat that followed was legendary.
So was it settled. Rivals for life.
That, or best friends.
Jacques crashed backward as clenched fist filled his face at mach speed. The impact caused him to perform a terrifying tumble in the air before he landed hard on his arse.
"Y-Y-You can't do this do me!" he crawled backward like a drunken crab, trying to escape. " Do you have any idea who I am?!"
They weren't having it, weren't speaking, didn't even acknowledge him; their shadow fell over him, eyes blazing.
A fist seized his collar, yanked him forward, now.
Blazing knuckles barreled into his schnoz.
And then there was PAIN...
EDIT: Hey, thanks for reading! Hope you have a great day, and lots of luck! Looking forward to your feedback~!