Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or RWBY.

Reading: Forced Perspective

6: A Song of Weiss and Fire

"Ha! I get it." Yang grinned as they looked at the title.

"Shut up, Yang." Weiss glowered, she was so close to breaking the T.V. at this rate.

Thank you Stick for teaching me to be prepared for anything. Naruto thought as he walked off of the airship with a new set of socks and shoes on his feet.

Jaune couldn't help but flush and laugh sheepishly.

He heard further retching occur behind him and shook his head. When he wasn't covered in barf, he felt kind of bad, but the other blond guy needed to get his nerves under control.

"It's motion sickness! It's a common thing!"

That or eat less before getting on an airship. Naruto chuckled. He closed his eyes behind his sunglasses and reached out with his semblance to take hold of the sound waves in the air. He dismissed the unnecessary noises – nonsensical chatter of new students and reminiscent chatter of old – and focused on the sound of struggle that came from nearby. Following it with his unique form of echolocation, Naruto came across an older man dressed in fine white clothes, pushing several enormous and polished suitcases on a dolly.

"Bring the palace too?" Sun asked Weiss, who huffed.

"It's called being prepared."

"For the Fashion Wars." Blake stated dryly.

"The greatest war of all," Coco said with a gleam in her shades.

Or at least, he was trying to.

Readjusting his bag's strap to cross over his chest, Naruto opened his eyes and made his way towards the man. He made it just in time to see the girl that was glued to Yang's side – Yang's sister, he remembered overhearing, but held reservations about it. Then again, he and Fox looked vastly different so maybe it wasn't all that impossible – bowl into the cart and the elderly man was knocked to the ground. A faint crack made Naruto frown.

This guy is way too old to be pushing this thing. That or he's not getting proper medical care. Boy, wouldn't the media just love to hear that?

"Weiss one." Yang told Weiss.

"Klein is perfectly fine at his job. It's not like I asked him to stay here!"

"Man, imagine if we had a butler." Ruby sighed at the thought of the sweet life.

He thought as he walked up to the downed older man and offered him his hand.

"You all right, sir?" He asked.

"Yes, yes, I'm fine. Don't mind me." The older man sighed as he slowly got to his feet and dusted his pants off, ignoring Naruto's offered hand. He looked at the toppled cart and let out another sigh. "Miss Weiss won't be happy about this..."

"Indeed, the pretty pretty princess will pee-pee her pants."

"I will clean your clock, Yang. Continue to tempt me." Weiss warned the blonde.

"...Weiss?" Naruto repeated with a small blink as he retracted his hand. "Weiss Schnee? Heiress to the Schnee Dust Corporation?"

"Of course." The man said. He adjusted his jacket and then proceeded to pick up the cart and its contents. "And I am Klein, head butler of the Schnee household."

"...If you're the head butler of the household, then what are you doing all the way out here?" Naruto asked as he began to help where he could. He kept his head down and his attention on the older man while helped pick up the fallen suitcases.

"Miss Weiss' about to start a new chapter of her life. One her father wasn't particularly excited for her to begin and thus sent me to oversee her arrival." Klein explained as he carefully placed the cases back onto the dolly.

"Protective, huh?" Naruto carried two large cases over to the dolly and rearranged them so it would be less likely to topple. "At least he's not as bad as the papers make him out to be."

"Can we get a confirmation on that, Weiss." Blake asked, but the white haired heiress said nothing.

"Ah, the silent approach, it says a lot." Nora nodded.

"Don't get me started on the media." Klein scoffed. "It's because of them that those animals in the White Fang have become so outspoken. Honestly, before all the bombings and rumors and what have you there was a rather tentative peace between the company and the Faunus populous. Then one worker gets fired and drunk and talks to the wrong person and now we've got all these self-righteous, insufferable beasts-"

Blake and Velvet did not look pleased by this and Weiss merely covered her face with her hand, hiding her flushed cheeks.

"Oh god! Someone, hurry! Get a doctor!" A new voice interjected. Naruto and Klein turned to see the puke boy from the airship rush over to a garbage can near them. Both grimaced at the poor soul's weak stomach

"Why can't these shows leave me alone?" Jaune whined, feeling he just might cry at this point.

Pyrrha gave him an assured smile, "I'm sure everything will be fine."

"Tell that to hashtag VomitBoay." Jaune said, holding up his Scroll.

Nora whistled innocently at this.

and Klein sighed before he looked at the other butler-dressed individual.

"Curse my kind nature. Jasper, take Miss Weiss' things to where they belong," He said to the younger hired help, who nodded and took the cart of things from the older man. Klein turned to Naruto and smiled apologetically. "Thank you once more, but as a medic, I must assist those in need of aid."

"Served in Atlas?" Naruto asked. Klein shook his head.

"Mantle's militia before it was abolished and Atlas' damned robotics took our place. They do well, but, men must make livings somehow, mustn't they?" Klein asked. The blond nodded and bid the older man farewell before he continued on his way. Or he would've, were it not for the sudden explosion and then the abrupt plunge into darkness.

"…Oops?" Ruby laughed awkwardly as Yang glared at her sister.

"If they Bae is hurt severely, know that your punishment will be fatal."

"Not the cookies! They're innocent!" Ruby pleaded with tears in her eyes as Yang confiscated the plate.

Naruto awoke in a room with a bright light shining down on him.

"A good Huntsman is always aware of their surroundings, boys. Your blessing is a curse and your curse a blessing, the reasons behind them can change on a whim, as can the tides of battle."

"When do we meet mysterious mentor?" Neptune asked curiously.

"Who knows at this point." Yatsuhashi.

Of course Stick's words of wisdom were the first thing Naruto thought of after he was roused back into consciousness by the strong scent of ammonia that was shoved in his nose. The old man lived to chide the Alistair brothers on their failures. And boy wouldn't he have loved to be here to mock Naruto's lowered guard.

Stubborn, sadistic old prick.

"Well, look who's up," said a girl's voice. Naruto blinked a few times and pushed himself into a seated position before he looked at the girl in the auburn themed attire. He stared at her for a moment, trying to place her face in his memories. She smiled and pulled her sunglasses off, revealing two brown eyes that stared into his. "We haven't met yet, and frankly that's quite a shame."

"And now I'm in the story, yes!" Coco grinned.

"Does that mean we're showing up?" Yatsuhashi asked Velvet.

The rabbit faunus nodded, "If Coco is there, no doubt Fox is. So we should be too."

"Yeah...Sorry, but," Naruto rubbed his face and grimaced at a throb of pain. "Who are you?"

"Name's Coco Adel. Second year," the girl, Coco, said. She sat down in one of the chairs nearby and crossed her arms, a coy smile on her face. "I'm surprised you're not interesting in knowing more about where you are or what happened."

"I can guess," Naruto said. He let his head lull back to the pillow and stared at the obnoxious light fixture that hung over him. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "White walls, bright lights, a crap pillow and a lingering odor of cleaning fluid? Size indicates that it's a not a hospital, and knowing that I was outside of Beacon before the lights went out leads me to conclude I'm in a nurses' office or the equivalent of it. Probably going to be watched for a few hours since I blacked out after an impact like that instead of brushing it off."

"He mentioned you would be quick on the uptake, but wow. Color me impressed," Coco said. Naruto tilted his head to look at the older girl for a minute, the open chair beside her, and then at the door. He looked back at her with a dry stare.

"You're part of Fox's team."

"Cute, smart, and a younger model?" She chuckled, sat back and folded one leg over the other. "I should consider trading in."

Fox's shoulders slumped.

Coco patted his arm, "I'd never trade you in. At least for a few years."

Fox sniffled a little.

"I'd love to continue this back and forth, but I can feel Fox's glare through the wall," Naruto said. He glanced at the door. "And he could at least tell the nurse I don't need to stay!"

Fox shook his head as he walked into the room with two other people, both were laughing softly like Coco was at Naruto's complaint. The first was a giant of a teen who dressed in what were simple, yet somehow extravagant robes that favored green and brown. The second was another girl, her clothes were also an earthy color scheme, and she had two rabbit ears atop her head.

"See?" Velvet smiled to her partner.

"I'm sure Fox would love to introduce you, but I'll do it in his stead-" Coco began.

Fox held his hand up to stop her and approached the bed. He held his fist out and Naruto grinned before he reciprocated the act of what the kids on the street called a "fist bump." The Alistair brothers kept their knuckles pressed together for a good five minutes, and they pulled their hands away when the younger Alistair began to laugh.

"Wow, seriously? That's weird, Fox," he said as he leaned back and rested his hands behind his head. "Starting to rethink this whole academy thing if we're just going to be grouped like that."

"…What just happened?" Weiss asked, confused beyond belief.

"Did they talk through a fist bump?" Blake asked, the sheer ridiculousness was beyond her understanding.

Coco looked at Fox, "Can you do that?"

Fox just cocked his head, saying nothing.

"Don't play coy!"

Fox just shrugged.

Fox let out a silent chuckle and nodded. Coco looked between the two and then looked at her teammates, both looked as bewildered as she was.

"What just happened?" she asked. The younger Alistair waved her off.

"It's a thing we developed a long time ago," Naruto said. He sat up and gave a small wave to the other two students. "Nice to meet you, Yatsuhashi. You too, Velvet."

"...O-kay...We'll be discussing your contact telepathy later," Coco said, giving Fox a pointed look. The older Alistair shrugged off her glare

"You are a cruel partner," Coco poked Fox in the side.

and turned to Naruto. He then promptly cracked the blond across the side of his head.

"Ow, Fox, what the hell!?" Naruto glared at his blind brother. Fox made a series of quick and sudden gestures with his hand before he punched Naruto in the head again. The blond yowled and recoiled away. "Jeez-us! It wasn't my fault! I was helping someone out!"

Fox shook his head. He held up his middle and ring finger, then flicked them down, before he crossed his arms. Naruto stared at him with a twitching eye.

"I was the one caught in the explosion, ya jerk!"

Fox arched a brow.

"Yeah, I know!" Naruto scowled and rubbed his abused head. "Swear to god, I don't know who's worse at making fun of me: You or Stick."

Fox deadpanned.

"...Shut up."

"But he was clearly winning the argument! Stop being a sore loser." Nora mocked Naruto.

"Ahem," Coco coughed into her fist and leveled a dry stare on the two. "As entertaining as it is to see such brotherly love, would someone care to explain why they were in an explosion?"

"If I knew that, I wouldn't be lying here." Once he was sure Fox wasn't going to hit him again, Naruto scowled and crossed his arms. "Mark my words, whoever did catch me in the explosion has one hell of an apology to give."

Ruby hid within her cloak.

"Ah, so Bae will doll punishment. Good."

"Traitor!" Ruby shouted in a muffled voice.

"And here I thought all would be forgiven if you were given noodles," Coco said. Fox snorted while Velvet and Yatsuhashi shared a confused look.

"Hey, I prioritize! Breaking and entering is forgivable by ramen, nearly blowing me up, that's a whole different story!" Naruto argued. The four older students stared at him. He blinked. "What? What'd I say?"

"Breaking and entering?" Coco asked. Fox stared for another moment before he palmed his head. He then gave Coco a half-hearted backhand across the arm. The girl looked at him sharply. "Hey! This isn't a training session, Fox."

Fox pointed at his head, then Velvet's ears, and then Naruto. Coco blinked before she gasped.

"But he's not ready for a threesome!" Coco gasped.

"Coco!" Velvet shouted as Fox bonked his leader on the head.

"Ow!"

"No!"

Fox nodded.

"You really think she-?"

Fox nodded.

Blake looked at Fox, "That's too perceptive."

Fox shrugged.

"Wow! ...Now that's quality service," Coco said. She rubbed her chin and addressed the confused blond. "The break in may have been Fox's fault."

Fox crossed his arms and drummed his fingers.

"What? You paid for it. I was distracted by the Cherie in the window," she said. Fox arched a brow and made a fist, before he extended all but his index finger. Coco scowled at him. "Those are fighting words, Alistair!"

"He's so argumentative." Nora whispered to Ren.

He just looked at her dryly.

"Uh, Coco?" Yatsuhashi stepped forward and cleared his throat. He gestured to himself and Velvet, before gesturing to Naruto. "Care to fill us in?"

"She doesn't have to fill me in," Naruto said. He shook his head at his brother. "Your type is so painfully obvious, bro."

Fox tilted his head in thought...

...And then cracked Naruto across the head for a third time.

"Now Fox, don't deny it." Coco cooed at the boy.

Fox merely huffed.

"Ah, god, why is it always three's?!"

"Long story short, Fox and I got a cute Faunus girl to deliver ramen to next year's model," Coco said. "Apparently, she broke into his apartment to deliver."

"...H-How do you get all of that from him?" Velvet asked. Fox gained a sly grin and Coco put her sunglasses back on.

"That, my little cottontail, is a secret." She smiled and made for the door. "C'mon, let's go tell Nurse Skrashensnif that Fox's baby brother is well enough to join the rest of the fresh meat."

"Uh, what?" Ruby asked, after poking her head out of her cloak.

"Don't you mean freshmen?" Naruto asked. Yatsuhashi chuckled and Velvet giggled behind her hand as they followed their team leader out. Worried, the younger Alistair turned to the older. "Doesn't she mean freshmen?"

"Right?!" Ruby agreed.

Fox merely reached out and ruffled Naruto's hair before he walked out of the room. The blond sat with a twitch in his eye. His brother had completely blown him off. His brother's team had rattled his already exploded nerves. To top it all off, his brother's school seemed to be cursed. That or Naruto was.

"...I should've gone to Shade instead..."

"Bae, you speak crazy talk!" Yang gasped at his words.

"Must you really?" Blake sighed as she turned the page in her book. Her question was directed at the blond teen that had dropped his sack beside her.

Yang glared at Blake.

"What?"

"You know what you did. Homewrecker."

"Now you're just talking crazy!"

Her gaze remained glued to her novel, despite the impressive physical feat going on beside her.

"Hey, some of these guys seem like snorers and those girls look suspicious! They keep giving me weird looks," Naruto huffed. "Sorry if I feel safer next to my roommate."

"You haven't even kissed yet! You aren't roomies!" Yang fiercely argued.

"I meant, must you do that?" she asked, looking up from her book to catch the blond in the midst of a one-handed, vertical push up. He paused once his arm extended and blinked at her.

"Blake," he said. "I'm trying to keep in shape. I'm usually out right now patrolling the streets-"

"Vigilantism is illegal."

"Says the former equal rights terrorist." Naruto muttered.

"Burn!" Nora crowed.

He jumped on his hand to avoid the Blake's attempted kick. Once his balance was retained, he glowered at the girl. "Hey, chill out, Ms. Noir! I'm being quiet and no one is listening to our conversation. ...I think."

"Key word, think." Weiss rolled her eyes.

"Just keep it to yourself. Why are you sleeping by me, anyway?" Blake asked. She looked up from her book to level the blond with a dry stare. "Don't you have other friends?"

"No." Naruto said, his brows furrowed together as he tried to focus on his task and hold conversation. "Don't know anyone aside from you or Yang. She and her sister are buried in the center of the girls side, not to mention she seems like the grabby type."

"Hehe." Yang grinned, her fingers making a grabby motion.

"You look like some old pervert." Blake chided.

"I'm a young pervert thank you very much!"

"…You're welcome?"

"Yeah, well," Blake's cheeks burned as she looked back at the pages in her hand. "So are you."

"I told you not to try and wake me up. You've only yourself to blame for the rope burns." Naruto chuckled when the Faunus flushed and ducked back into her book.

Yang glared daggers at Blake, "Even I haven't tried to be that kinky and you're doing it the first week you've met him! Have you no shame?"

"Shut up!"

"Besides, I'm pretty sure you liked it."

Yang just looked scandalized at her partner.

Blake just wanted to curl into a ball and die.

"That's so not fair," Sun said, looking grumpy and pouted at Blake.

"Oh not you too!"

"I will cut your hand off."

"That'd suck. I like this hand. We've been through so much together. Stick's training, puberty, ah...Memories..." Naruto smiled. He shook his head and switched arms. "Like I said, I feel safer around my roommate. Not to mention, you're wearing your sexy yakuta. Much easier on the eyes than most of these gals' plain ole pajamas."

"My jammies are adorbs!" Ruby declared with a fist in the air.

Her little sleepy time mask was the best.

Pyrrha giggled, "That is true. Just like Jaune's."

"Ew." The other girls blanched.

"They're comfortable!" Jaune told them.

This time, Blake's kick didn't miss. Naruto spilled onto the floor with a groan and he glowered at the cat's smirk.

"Geez, if this is what you do to guys that compliment you, I'd hate to see what you do to someone that asks you out," he said as he got back on one hand and resumed his exercise. "Unless, they're into that sort of thing."

"Pervert."

"Stop being so, well balanced chemistry!" Yang complained, looking at the screen in frustration.

"I find it hilarious." Coco sniggered at her.

"Watch it, Adel."

"I'm seventeen. It's what I do." Naruto shrugged, his pace and effort not changing in the slightest. He stopped mid descent when he caught sight of an approaching figure. "Uh-oh."

"Uh-oh?" Blake asked, looking up with a confused frown. "What could be-? Oh."

"Evening, Baby Face. How's it hanging?" Yang asked as she admired the show before her. Shirtless, lounge pants, and what hinted at loose boxers? Oh yeah, Yang loved a free show and what a show it was.

"High five to me~!" Yang cheered, her eyes glossing all over that fine bod.

"Meh, he could be more buff." Nora dismissed with a wave of her hand.

If only she didn't have to appreciate it in the presence of his company. "Blakey, have a nice day?"

"It wasn't terrible until this one interrupted my reading." Blake muttered with a nod to the now frowning blond.

"Hey, I'm the one that was blown up. A little sympathy would be nice!" Naruto frowned.

"You're fine." Blake rolled her eyes.

"Oh yeah he is," Yang said, grinning at her fellow blond. "Is that how he disrupted your reading?"

Blake glowered at her, but refused to answer. She was not going to give either blonde ammo, be it for friendly teasing or for not so friendly verbal combat. Her gaze went back to her book.

"Boo, Blakey no fun."

"Blakey no care." The faunus retorted to her blonde partner.

"I choose to take your silence as a yes," Naruto said. He flipped to his feet and then grabbed a small towel from his bag. He dried off the sweat that gathered around his face and threw the towel over his shoulder, before he crossed his arms and grinned at Yang. "So, what'd I miss? I asked Blake, but she wasn't very helpful. All she said was that it was almost time to sleep-"

"And I really want to finish my chapter." Blake added. Naruto glanced at her and then held his hands up in resigned defeat.

"See what I mean?" he asked. "No help whatsoever."

"Well, turns out Blakey helped Ruby out before Ozpin's speech," Yang said. She stepped to the side and pulled Ruby forward. The younger sister yelped at being thrown in the spotlight, and the older grinned. "Go on, sis. Make a friend while Baby Face and I catch up."

"You used me…" Ruby gasped at her sister.

Yang looked serious as she patted her head, "For the greater good."

"You're good!"

"Exactly." Yang beamed at her.

"Uh...Well, thanks, Blake," Ruby said. The older girl sighed and looked up at her with a small smile.

"It's fine, Ruby. Really. Weiss Schnee should've known better than to jostle some Dust around like that," Blake said. She chuckled a bit. "Although, I have heard a few others calling you Crater Face, so keep an eye out for that."

"Jaune, it stuck!" Ruby pouted cutely at the blond.

"What ya get for my nickname."

"Aww," Ruby said with slumped shoulders. She glowered at her snickering sister. "This is all your fault!"

"It's not my fault you blew up, Sis. You should've watched where you were going," Yang said. "Or at least not inhaled that dust. You know you have explosive allergies."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold up!" Naruto pointed at Ruby with narrowed eyes. "Did you blow me up!? With a sneeze?"

"Oooooh, Ruby fucked up~!"

"Nora, language." Pyrrha chided.

"But she did!"

Ruby swallowed heavily. This did not bode well.

"Uh, maybe?" Ruby let out a sheepish laugh and rubbed her arm. "Would it help if I said I was sorry?"

"...There will be a reckoning, Ruby Rose. Maybe not today, likely not tomorrow, but a reckoning will come," Naruto said. He grinned, the toothy smile sending a chill up the girls' spines. "And it will be glorious. To me. Not you. Thought I should clarify that bit."

"Yang, make him stop! Wa!" Ruby cried as she latched onto Yang's arm.

"Greater good."

"…Aw, fudge."

"...Oh...Okay..." Ruby gulped and then glared at her sister. "See!? I told you this was a bad idea! Now I'm back to negative friends!"

"It doesn't work like that, Ruby," Yang sighed. She gave her fellow blond a pout. "Can't you just let this one go? For me?"

"Yeah, sure-No." Naruto deadpanned. He pointed at the younger sister. "She humiliated me, and got me under scrutiny from my older brother. There will be a reckoning. A prank-filled reckoning."

"Oh, okay. Just keep me out of it." Yang grinned. "And try not to hurt my sister."

"Done." Naruto nodded. He went back to his bag and began to dig around in it.

"We share no blood!" Ruby shoved her sister.

"Fine, no more cookie surprise from me."

"I'll be good." Ruby said with a squeak.

"Yang!" Ruby whined. The older girl shrugged.

"You dug your own grave on this one, Rubes," she said. She looked back at Naruto, who was now seated next to Blake and flipped through a small orange notebook. "At least Baby Face won't hurt you. Right?"

"Now, I could use Fry-Bye, but where would I get enough tomatoes?" Naruto tapped his pencil on his chin. He scrunched his nose up in thought before he beamed. "Oh, that's a good idea! Way better than Fry-Bye!"

"I do not like these words!" Ruby cried out in fear.

"I know, he's making me hungry. Ren! More cakes of pan!" Nora declared.

"Next commercial." Ren told her as he continued to eat some popcorn.

"Yes."

"...I don't want to know," Blake said. She stuck her nose back into her book, determined to keep her hands clean. The cold chill up her spine got a bit worse, though, when another person stepped into the conversation.

"Do you even know how loud you all are? Some of us are trying to sle-Oh, not you again!" The newcomer and Yang groaned simultaneously.

"Weiss to meet you." Yang said in a mock serious tone.

"Go drown yourself." Weiss dryly instructed the blonde bomb shell.

Naruto looked up from his notes at the groan. He arched a brow and tilted his head. The girl currently arguing with Yang and her sister was ... short. Oh, she was cute, there was no doubt about that, but even compared to Ruby, the white haired girl in the light blue nightgown was short.

"I prefer petite." Weiss crossed her arms with a huff.

"And that's perfectly fine." Neptune said with a charming smile.

I wonder if that works in her favor? Considering she looks like a porcelain doll. Although, she's got quite the attitude to make up for her height. She's almost kind of snobby. Maybe it's a defense mechanism, to help her deal with the stress of being a Schnee? Naruto wondered.

"…Is he psychoanalyzing me?" Weiss' eyes widened.

"Is that a first for you?" Yang asked curiously.

"Shut up!"

He closed his eyes and grinned. Then again, I had an attitude when I was a runt. Ah, who am I kidding? I still have an attitude.

"I'm never going to be able to finish this," Blake sighed as she closed her book. Naruto glanced at the girl from the corner of his eyes, then looked down at the novel.

"Well, considering that's the longest of the trilogy, it doesn't surprise me," he said. Blake arched a brow and he shrugged. "What? I like the fantasy genre."

"It's not a fantasy," she said.

"One guy with two souls in his body? Fighting for control?" Naruto grinned and went back to his notes. "Sounds pretty fantastic to me."

"Bae, I fall for you over and over!" Yang laughed, wiping a tear from her eye.

Blake pursed her lips at the fun poked at her book.

"Funny."

"I like to think so."

"You still want the light?"

"You do remember who you're talking to, right?"

"Shut up, Naruto." Blake shook her head and blew out her candles while Naruto snickered.

"Night, roomie."

While Blake settled into her sleeping bag, Naruto leaned against his rucksack and continued to scribble in his notes, all while listening to the three girls argue. Their noise reminded him of Vale's nightlife. Naruto frowned and he looked out a nearby window at the night sky.

I hope I made the right choice, he thought.

"Hey, hurry up, Ren-!" a cheerful voice cut itself short as the shower stall curtain was drawn back. Two blue eyes opened and the smile on the speaker's face fell. "Oh. You're not Ren."

"I would hope not, otherwise I'd have to question everything I know about myself." Naruto deadpanned. He crossed his arms and stared down the girl that was either bolder than any other or just didn't care about gender segregation.

"Nora, you utter bitch!" Yang gasped at the girl's forwardness.

"Did she do that?" Yatsuhashi asked Ren.

The boy only nodded.

"Whoa."

"What?" Nora looked confused at Yang.

Either way, he liked her: Her hair was orange.

"Note, Nora must die." Yang murmured sinisterly.

"Hm?!" Nora said with her cheeks filled with Ren's popcorn.

"Heh, my bad." The girl scratched the back of her head. She held her hand out. "Nora Valkyrie, pleased to meet you."

"I'm gonna have to disagree with you on that," Naruto said. He waited for her to take the hint, but ultimately sighed and took her hand. "Naruto Alistair."

"G' morning, Al!" Nora shook his hand. She put her hands on her hips and gave him a once over. Then she looked him in the eyes and grinned. "Is that with shrinkage? Nice."

Yang turned absolutely red in the face and Nora gave a hearty swallow of her snack.

"Hehe, I bet it was!" Nora whooped.

"Get. Out."

"Well, someone's a Grumpy Gus this morning!" Nora huffed. She closed the curtain and walked over to the next stall. "C'mon, Ren-Dang it!"

"Hey, what the heck!?"

"Morning! My name's Nora Valkyrie!"

"GET OUT OF MY SHOWER!"

"Geez, why's every guy so rude? The girls were much more willing to talk!"

"Nora, you are so unique." Pyrrha said, covering her face with one hand.

"Ren tells me that all the time." Nora chirped.

Ren nodded to this.

Jaune gave him a look of pity with how often he had to deal with this.

Naruto won't lie, he enjoyed thinking about the girls "talking" while he rinsed out his hair. He turned off the shower's hot water before that train of thought really woke him up. That Nora chick already saw more of him than he wanted to share.

Heck, even Blake didn't get as much of an eyeful when she walked in on him during that first week she stayed at his place. To be fair, she probably didn't consider he'd be using it at six in the morning because of his nightly activities.

"Blake too?! Bae why!"

"He said I didn't!" Blake snapped at her partner with a flush face.

And I doubt she didn't see anything. I don't think I've ever seen someone's face turn so red before from seeing 'nothing',

"Blake, you filthy lair."

The cat fuanus was this close to shooting her partner.

Naruto thought with a chuckle as he wrapped his towel around his waist and turned off his shower. He stuck his head out and peered around for Nora. He didn't see her anywhere, so felt it safe to step out, dry off, and dress.

Naruto walked out of the men's room in what he decided would be his huntsman gear. He wore rusted orange pants that had black pads on the hips and tucked them into his black boots. On his right thigh was the holster for his short sticks, and on the left was a canister for dust crystals to insert into his flare-stick. White athletic tape was wound around his hands and fingers to give them light protection. A mesh armor shirt added an extra layer of protection beneath his rust orange racing jacket, which had black pads along the shoulders, arms, back and chest for extra protection.

"Huh, kind of plain. Seems the fashion sense is hereditary." Coco told Fox, who simply shrugged off the comment.

The damn thing took long enough to get to my apartment, Naruto thought bitterly as he zipped the jacket up to his neck and tightened the sides to reduce any resistance. He finished his look by pulling out a long black cloth from his locker that he then tied around his eyes and over his hair.

A wolf whistle brought a chuckle from his lips, and he turned to grin at the source.

"I take it I pass the aesthetic test?" Naruto asked. He could feel Yang's grin match his own as she flicked the padding on his left arm.

"And then some. You look like a package begging to be ripped open," Yang said.

"Yummy." Yang licked her lips.

She circled him once and stopped in front of him. "Seems kind of bland, though. Needs more color."

"See?" Coco told Fox.

"Hey, you never know when you've got a mission that goes against someone else's," Naruto said as he closed his locker and then leaned against it. "I was raised by a practical man, sorry my colors are limited to black, orange and white."

"The tigers of West Anima get through thick brush in the same three colors just fine," Blake said as she approached the two blonds. She arched a brow and then shook her head. "Naruto, why are you wearing that stupid thing on your head?"

"Because I've got BIID," Naruto said with a shrug. "And I like it."

"You're going to run into a tree."

"I'll legally change my name if I do."

"He looks like a George to me." Nora hummed.

"I think it's a bit much, Baby Face," Yang said. She frowned and crossed her arms. She leaned forward to draw the rest of the locker room's attention to her bust. "After all, how can you see my sexy clothes if you keep your face covered?"

"Because of course it's all about you." Weiss sniffed.

"Nah! It's all about that Bae." Yang wiggled her brows at Weiss.

"…Dammit, I walked into that."

"A good question. But think about it this way, Yang. Now I can't look at anyone else," he said. He grinned and tapped his head. "And I've got a pretty good idea of what you're wearing."

"Oh, you do, do you?" Yang grinned.

"I think I'm gonna barf," Ruby gagged as she walked up to them. She smiled at Blake. "Morning, Blake!"

"Ruby." Blake nodded. She looked at Naruto and put a hand on his arm. "I'm going to the cliff."

"Meet'cha there," Naruto said with a nod. He faced Ruby's direction, unaware of the heated stare-down that Yang and Blake had as the latter left.

"Meow~!"

Blake slapped Yang upside the head.

"Ow! Bitch!"

"You deserved it." Blake simply told her.

"Morning, Ruby."

"Uh, g-good morning, Naruto," Ruby said, swallowing.

"Relax, kid. I'm not going to prank you until after this initiation is over," Naruto said. He heard Ruby's relief wash over her in a loud sigh and he grinned. "That said, whether you or I pass or fail, be ready for the pranking of a lifetime."

"Oh...Wonderful." Ruby whimpered. "I'll catch up with you later, Yang. Bye Naruto."

She turned and walked away towards a nearby group that, from what Naruto could hear, included the puking guy, Weiss Schnee and some other person. A girl, he thinks.

"So, now that it's just you and me, wanna take that mask off?" Yang asked.

"And risk seeing another girl? Yang, I may have been born on a day, but it wasn't yesterday," Naruto scoffed.

"Oh, he thinks he's cute, does he?"

"Girl, I'm adorable."

"Yes your tush is." Yang nodded in agreement.

Naruto smirked and began to walk out of the locker room. He stopped, went rigid, and muffled a yelp when a clap silenced the room.

"Did you just slap his ass in public?" Sun roared with laughter.

Yang grinned like she ate a canary.

"Nice!"

Another wolf whistle rang out, this one from a bit farther away, but he could only focus on the slight sting he felt on his keister. A hand patted his arm as the owner walked past.

"That you are, shame you didn't see that coming," Yang said.

"Yang, cruel! I approve." Coco chuckled heartily.

Naruto knew from the tone in her voice that she walked with an exaggerated sway in her step. Had his eyes been uncovered, he would've stared, but he just stood there, frozen.

"...I need to start wearing a mask." A boy murmured nearby.

"What an idiot." Jaune rolled his eyes.

"What if you have to fly on a Bullhead again, Jaune?"

"I'll take some pills before I do!"

"…Dammit."

"Ha! Did ya see that, Ren? That's one of the guys I was telling you about."

"Nora, I don't think we should ever bring that back up in discussion. You were talking about teams? ...And sloths?"

"Oh, yeah! See, we'll make sloth calls to each other if we get separated!"

"Nora, I don't think sloths make calls."

"Well not on a scroll, silly! I'm talking animal calls, Ren!"

"Silly me." Ren dryly noted.

"Really Ren, get with the program!"

Okay, brain rebooted. I'll dwell on what just happened later, Naruto thought as he hastened his pace out of the room.

"…Is it over? Good." Weiss slumped in her seat.

"That was fantastic, really established me as the Alpha chick in the triangle." Yang smiled.

"Alpha what?" Blake glowered.

"Blakey, it's cool. You can be my second."

"Yang!"

Hey guys, finals are over! Will be publishing Rhode's next book soon.