Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand, I'm back. Been a LONG time, you guys, and sadly it wasn't all that great. But I'm working things out, so I'm hoping I can keep things up better. I'm sure none of you want to go another two years without an update.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor do I own RWBY

"...And that's how I slayed the rampaging pack of Beowolves. Sadly, our great battle drew several more Grimm to the village..." While Professor Port rambled on and on about his glory days, Naruto was doing everything in his power to stay awake. While the others in the class were allowed to choose their own seating, team RUBY was requested to sit in the very front of the classroom, meaning Naruto couldn't simply sleep through the lecture. He mulled about the idea of sending a clone to his next Grimm Studies lesson in his stead, but thought better of it, realizing that his teammates wouldn't approve, both on his official and his unofficial team. So, instead, he opted merely to flip his pencil idly in his hand, each time increasing the number of flips.

As he caught the writing utensil after twenty flips, Ruby, Yang, and Blake - likewise bored out of their skulls - were betting with the members of team JNPR as to how many flips the ninja could go without screwing up or getting called out by the professor. It was actually Pyrrha who was the first eliminated from the betting pool, not believing he could get to fifteen. Meanwhile, the highest guess was from his own partner, with Ruby suggesting that he would keep going until the end of class. And based on the time, she was about two minutes away from winning that bet. Nora on the other hand had her money on the idea that Naruto was gonna lose his concentration and accidentally get the pencil stuck in the ceiling.

"Would you please stop talking?" Weiss hissed, more to herself than anyone else. Kiba snorted in response, earning an icy glare of death from the Schnee Heiress. Nobody was really paying attention to the Professor anymore, anyways.

"Three...two...one!" Ruby whispered, doing everything and anything to avoid squealing in triumph as the bell chimed, signaling that class was over.

"Mr. Uzumaki. Ms. Rose." While Ruby looked confused as their teacher called their names, Naruto flinched. He was more than prepared to be reprimanded by the teachers, as he was constantly back home. But it was only the first day. With the flinch, his arm jerked, and Nora flashed a bright smile and thumbs up as she looked to the ceiling to see the pencil jabbed into it. "I'd like to have a word with you before you leave," Professor Port announced.

Staring intensely at Ruby, Nora resisted the flow of students and pointed at the younger girl. "We will be discussing this later," she declared. Nora Valkyrie didn't do 'Ties.' She seemed ready to say more, but Ren and Jaune each gripped a wrist and began pulling her away towards the door.

While Yang and Blake stood up to leave, Naruto leaned in to his partner. "Why does he want to talk to us?" he whispered.

"I don't know, act natural!" Ruby frantically whispered back before plastering a bright, innocent smile on her face. As the Professor moved toward them, he chuckled.

"The both of you can relax. I simply wished to tell you how impressed I was with your performance during the initiation." When they looked confused, he continued. "Not many people, Huntsman or no, would allow themselves to be swallowed by a Grimm to protect someone they've known less than a day. And not only did you both enter the belly of the beast for one another, you managed to escape and kill the Taijitu. Very impressive."

At this, Naruto smiled slightly, while Ruby shuddered at the memory. "Uh, thank you, Professor," she said, but Port waved her off.

"That being said, I would advise caution in the future. It isn't often that those devoured by the creatures of Grimm get to live to fight another day. If you ever need to talk about the experience, my door is always open. Sliding down the gullet of a King Taijitu can be jarring to young minds, such as yourselves." Naruto raised a brow, and had to suppress a smile.

"You sound like you're talking from experience," he suggested, and Port laughed in response, giving his student a hearty slap on the back.

"I admit, I wasn't always the skilled warrior standing before you. In my youth I was swallowed twice by one Taijitu. Each head tried it, and each got what was coming to it in the end, and the experience - while none too pleasant - helped to forge the Huntsman I am today. That's why I was planning on using your admirable commitment to the Huntsman's path as an example in future lessons. However, if you are uncomfortable being reminded of such a harrowing experience, I would understand." Naruto just shrugged.

"It doesn't bother me," he said. "It's more Ruby who you would need to discuss that with." Nodding, the professor turned to the hooded girl, who merely blushed and averted her gaze.

"It's fine with me, Professor," she squeaked, and Professor Port let out a hearty laugh.

"Splendid!" he announced. "That was all I wished to speak with you about, so you may both move on to your next class."

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Combat class was next, and while Port had been rather long-winded and droning, Professor Goodwitch threw the class straight into the mix, dividing them into pairs, each pair getting a solid three minutes for a spar. According to her, the pairs had been selected before-hand and were based on performance in the initiation, making certain to avoid having primary teammates fight each other, however. This was to give the new students the most even fights possible so that the Professor had more time to better analyze where they needed the most work individually - as opposed to just having a total knock-out in the first thirty seconds.

In Naruto's case, he found himself facing down Pyrrha. While Naruto had been hoping to go against Kiba and give the other students a good show, Ms. Nikos could see the logic. They were both partnered with the leaders of their respective teams, and based on what she knew of her opponent, he was a skilled, versatile fighter. One capable of adjusting on the fly and working with most anyone. He also fought hand-to-hand primarily. It would be a good test of her ability against someone with minimal chance to be manipulated by her semblance. While she had opted out of registering her Semblance with the school - not wishing to give away her advantages - she had a sneaking suspicion that one of the professors knew of it. They were trained, skilled Huntsman and Huntresses, after all.

It took a few moments to get started, as much to Professor Goodwitch's annoyance, the school's computers seemed to have trouble reading Naruto's aura and had to be re-calibrated. According to her scroll, the systems were picking up Aura from him. However, something else seemed to be interfering with the sensors. This confused Naruto, and the only explanation he could think of was that Aura was either directly related to Chakra, or the two were just coincidentally similar enough that the systems had picked it up. His fellow ninjas picked up on this as well and opted to look into the strange occurrence further when they had a chance

Once the problem had been solved - or at least was brought into manageable territory - the two fighters faced each other. Each wore a rather confident grin. It was quiet...kinda.

"Kick her butt, Naruto!" Ruby yelled, her hands thrown in the air.

"Yeah! Represent, Whiskers!" Yang shouted down as well.

"End her winning streak!" Blake agreed, somehow waving a small orange flag with his red-spiral symbol. Where she got it, nobody would ever know. Not to be outdone, the rest of team JNPR joined in.

"Go Pyrrha!" Jaune cried, pumping his fist.

"Do your best!" called Ren, still remaining the most reserved of his team.

"Crush him like a bug under your heel, Pyrrha!" Nora screamed, giggling maniacally while her two male teammates slowly turned to stare at her. Pyrrha just gave a sheepish wave to the rest of her team.

The combatants were signaled to begin and Naruto wasted no time in rushing Pyrrha, who stood in place, shield up and waiting. Naruto was fast, but she could deal with that easily enough. She knew from watching the spars with Team RUBY that a relentless attack at close range would be able to keep him from attacking. While she wasn't as fast as Ruby, Pyrrha was confident in her skills with her weapon. She just needed to wait for him to move into close enough range for her to begin.

A solid roundhouse was Naruto's opening move, which his opponent easily redirected using her shield. Hoping to catch him off balance, Pyrrha went on the offensive. A swipe from her sword started her off, but Naruto nimbly ducked backwards beneath it, throwing himself into a backspring into the air. Before he had time to plan out his next move, Pyrrha had shifted Miló to it's rifle form and opened fire, forcing him to backpedal further upon landing. Her weapon returning to sword form almost instantly, she lunged.

She had intended to slam into him with her shield, knocking him back, but Naruto instead threw something unexpected at her. He reached out, grabbing the edge of Akoúo and pulling it down, while a plume of smoke erupted just behind his back. She had precious little time to react to the fist of the clone that was headed straight for her face. With a show of strength and augmented by her semblance, she tore her shield from the ninja's grip and blocked the punch outright. Naruto must have been surprised at losing his grip, as he and his clone did nothing as she dispelled the duplicate with a single swipe of her blade, before spinning and launching a kick at his whiskered face.

Up in the stands, Ino felt a tap on her shoulder, turning to see Ruby looking at her curiously. "Hey," she asked. "How was Naruto able to make a clone without crossing his fingers?" Ino just smiled softly at the girl, before turning back to the fight.

"Those clones are Naruto's best and favorite skill. One he's had an insane amount of practice in. While he'd still have difficulty in making any large amount without the hand-seal, he's managed to get the hang of making one-or-two on the fly in combat without performing the sign," she replied, while watching Naruto dodge Pyrrha's foot by mere centimeters, slipping a kunai into his hand discretely at the same time. "It's all about molding his chakra correctly, and while it's very difficult without a seal, it's offset by the benefit of not telegraphing his moves so much."

"So that's why you make those hand-signs then?" Blake inquired. "To help you focus this 'chakra' you've been talking about?" Ino nodded in response, but opted to clarify.

"It's a bit more complicated than that, but at a basic level, that's an accurate summation." Seemingly satisfied with those answers, the rest of Team RUBY went back to watching their lone male teammate fight.

Deciding to test Pyrrha's defenses, Naruto made the crossed-seal for his jutsu, spawning three clones that rushed the girl. Not even sweating, Pyrrha smoothly swiped one clone in the leg with her sword, spinning low and shooting another in the chest, before shifting her weapon yet again into spear form, firing a shot to force it straight through the stomach of the final doppelganger. The spear stabbed into the floor of the ring and without missing a beat, she ran straight for it.

Leaping forward, she used Miló to pole-vault into the air. Before she could even get a shot off however, she caught of glint of metal as Naruto whipped the kunai at the airborne combatant. Pyrrha spun in the air however, and Naruto thought he saw a trace of a glow on her hand as the thrown knife actually changed its trajectory. Not enough for many - if any at all - of the Remnant natives to perceive. But each of the four ninja did. It was enough to cause the blade to miss by only a fraction of an inch, adding an air of grace to Pyrrha's movements. Performing a three-point landing, the girl once again had her weapon in it's rifle configuration and had opened fire at Naruto, who was dodging each shot easily. And with each dodge he was coming closer and closer.

Knowing he'd be upon her in seconds, Pyrrha returned Miló to it's sword form as Naruto unleashed a volley of shuriken at her, whizzing through the air like tiny buzz blades. But her skill with shield and sword allowed her to deflect or block each one. The two finally came together, clashing sword vs kunai. They could each tell the other was enjoying themselves though, as both combatants wore matching grins.

The clash was broken at Professor Goodwitch's announcement that only thirty seconds remained of their three minutes. Naruto wasted no time, throwing his head in and slamming it into Pyrrha's. Many in the crowd were shocked. Pyrrha Nikos had a reputation as being 'untouchable.' It wasn't that she never took hits, just never something so direct as a simple headbutt. The girl herself was surprised as well, and somewhat dazed. Even with her aura, a hit to the head was not something one could ignore. Naruto's forehead protector however managed to absorb the brunt of the force on his end, and he leapt away, two clones appearing to rush back in.

Pyrrha took no time in defeating the copies, and was more concerned with the familiar sound that Naruto's Rasengan produced, and with a battle-cry he raced towards her. While she was sure his attack was probably not powered enough to rip her to shreds as it did the Grimm during initiation, she was sure that she didn't want to be hit with it. It was clear that low-power or not, it was meant to be Naruto's finishing blow against her.

Formulating a plan quickly, she threw her shield at his feet, causing him to leap over it. Her semblance, however, allowed her to guide the ricochet back from the floor upwards, slamming into his legs and causing him to fall forward in midair. With the precision of a veteran marksman, she pulled her reconfiguring weapon up as it finished its transformation, and fired off a single round.

And that was when everything went to hell.

The first thing her round contacted was Naruto's destabilizing Rasengan. And when it did the lingering dust reacted in a manner more violent than any dust reaction she herself had seen before. A shattering blast sounded out, and the entire class of huntsmen and huntresses-in-training leapt from their seats as a blazing fireball exploded in Naruto's palm. The force of this sent the ninja hurtling across the room at high speeds, colliding with the floor several times before he was stopped by the wall of the room. Her mouth agape behind her hands, Pyrrha quickly let her instincts take over.

Rushing to him, alongside Professor Goodwitch, Pyrrha noted his clothing was burning, and quickly removed her sash to use in smothering the flames. Naruto grunted in pain as Pyrrha furiously babbled apologies, and Goodwitch noted that while he had a few superficial burn on his arm and side, his palm had been slapped with second-degree burns. By the looks of things, he had also dislocated his shoulder when he had been thrown like a ragdoll from the blast. She looked to the now very pale Pyrrha, and set a hand firmly on her shoulder.

"Ms. Nikos, I'd like you to escort Mr. Uzumaki to the infirmary. I'm not exactly sure what caused such a powerful reaction - and we will be looking into it, thoroughly - but never-the-less, at this school and in this chosen profession, injuries are to be expected, so you have nothing to be worried or ashamed of." Pyrrha could only nod, slightly numb as she gingerly helped her sparring opponent off the floor. By this time, the rest of Teams RUBY and JNPR had arrived on the floor, and Team KIWL as well, and Naruto, despite obviously being in pain, was trying to alleviate their concerns.

"-And I've had worse, you guys, trust me," he said, Pyrrha coming out of her thoughts into the tail-end of the conversation. While he sounded fine for the most part, his team and Pyrrha were concerned about his burned hand. It was twitching slightly, and with each involuntary movement, Naruto winced a bit. However, a few parties also noticed a slight red glow from the burnt flesh that had nothing to do with his injuries. While Goodwitch and the Remnant-native students assumed it to be his aura working to heal his injuries and lessen his pain, the members of NIKL each recognized it for what it was, and shared a knowing look with their injured teammate.

Despite his pain, Naruto just grinned at his fellow ninjas. They had been privy to his sealed-away secret for just over a year now, and each of them had taken it much better than he expected. It was Ino who said it and said it best.

"We've known each other since we were kids. If you were going to kill us, you would have done it way back in the academy, since we all kind of treated you poorly... It does definitely explain a lot of things though..."

Pyrrha helped the slightly-hobbling ninja out the door, now silent as she tried to process what had just happened. Why had her round caused such a powerful blast? Why had Naruto's Aura not protected him from the blast? It was these thoughts that drew her mind back to a breakfast conversation just a few days prior. And the word that team NIKL used among themselves. Chakra.

"Naruto?" She asked, and Naruto just made to wave her off.

"You've apologized enough, Pyrrha," he said. "Really, I wasn't kidding when I said I've had worse. You should see a pair of scars I've got..." Pyrrha noted the drop in his tone, hints of a deep sadness seeping into the young man's normally jovial speech, so she decided to cut him off.

"I am sorry, but that's not what I was going to say," she said, cutting him off. "Your Rasengan. It's that 'Chakra' you've mentioned, isn't it? Not Aura?" Naruto nodded, so Pyrrha continued. "Could that have been why my round exploded when it hit your attack?"

Thinking for a moment, Naruto gave a half-shrug. "It's possible. I don't use Aura and Dust, so I don't really have any way to tell you if it was reacting to the Rasengan, or the pure chakra itself. The Rasengan, even the low-powered one I was going to use, can get nasty when they destabalize."

"What exactly is Chakra, anyway?" she inquired. "It clearly isn't Aura, so I doubt the four of you have just been using the wrong name for your auras. And how did the computer register your Aura for our match at all if you haven't unlocked it? And is that Chakra that's covering your burns?"

Naruto just looked off in thought for a moment. "I'm not actually sure about the computer. I'm also not sure I'm the best one to explain Chakra. I'll do my best though. Chakra, basically, is the combination of a person's physical and spiritual energies."

"Physical and Spiritual? Could the Spiritual energy be your Aura?" Again, Naruto offered a half-shrug. "What about the Physical part?" Naruto scratched the back of his head with his non-injured hand.

"Well, the way it was explained to us is that the Physical part literally comes from our cells," Pyrrha nodded and motioned for him to continue. "We build up the physical side by physically training our bodies, and we build up the spiritual side by studying, mediation and mental exercises. The two forces combine to in what is known as the Well of Chakra, where it then can be directed through the body."

"That sounds amazing, though using the body's physical energy sounds much more draining than using one's Aura," Pyrrha stated with a hint of awe at the new information. "Is it dangerous?"

"Only if the person grossly overestimates what they can do. We can suffer from Chakra exhaustion, but most people would simply pass out if they use up too much. You can apparently die if you use up all your chakra, but I've personally never seen it. Maybe we can talk about this later though?" At Pyrrha's glance, he motioned with his head. Following the gesture, the Huntress-in-training realized that they had already arrived at their destination. "You can head back to class, Pyrrha. I've got it from here."

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

When Yang, Ruby, and Blake returned to the dorm, they noticed Naruto sitting on his bed, flexing his bandaged, injured hand. Looking up at the girls entering the room, Naruto quirked a brow at the three as they stood stock still before in a burst of speed that the shinobi found legitimately impressive, they were upon him. The questions were coming rapidly and their words and sentences were blending together while they each performed a different task. Namely, a rib-crushing hug from Ruby, a hearty smack on the back from Yang, and Blake meanwhile had gingerly gripped his hand, checking his bandages.

"Maybe one at a time?" he wheezed through Ruby's hug. "We've got time. I screwed up my arm and shoulder, but I'm not going to drop dead you know." The three girls had the decency to look sheepish as they backed off.

"We were worried about you!" Ruby protested. "When you didn't come back for any of our other classes, we thought you'd be way worse off." Naruto just chuckled and rubbed the back of his head nervously.

"Well, it just seemed like a total waste of a good excuse if I had gone back to classes." Blake, easily the most mature of the group, scoffed and shot him a mild glare. Her partner however just laughed with Naruto.

"I totally feel you there, Whiskers," she said, flopping down onto her own bed, now on the receiving end of Blake's glare herself, as well as Ruby's.

"Yang, don't encourage that behavior," Her sister scolded. "He's got to come to class. If not for his grades, then definitely for mine! As team leader, I get graded on team performance, and attending classes is a part of that!"

"That's a thing?" Naruto asked, and Blake nodded.

"Doctor Oobleck noticed your absence from History class, and felt the need to inform all the new team leaders about that fact," Yang informed him, rolling onto her stomach and propping her head up in her hands.

"So no skipping classes!" Ruby ordered, poking the blonde in the chest for emphasis and doing her best to look like a serious leader. It was immediately undermined by Yang making was distinctly the sound of a cracking whip, further flustering Naruto. It also cause Blake to give a genuine smile at her partner's antics, before she rolled her eyes and moved to her books. She'd just finished one last night, and while she had her 'special' book hidden beneath her pillow, that was on the list of things she was not ready to tell her team about. Naruto groaned and began unwrapping his bandages, his team giving him looks that showed that were first concerned, and then greatly impressed as his burns were now completely healed.

"Ok, I know aura heals things quickly, but those burns were really nasty. How are they already fixed up?" Yang asked.

"You mentioned at the party that you heal super fast, but this is insane," Ruby said. As the closest to Naruto, she grabbed his hand and began examining it closely, looking for any sign that it might still be injured, but she could find nothing. Even the hair that had been singed off his arm had regrown, and had she not seen it earlier, she would have thought he'd never been injured to begin with. "There isn't even any scarring."

"Yeah," Naruto replied, gently pulling his arm back to himself, a glint of sadness behind his eyes. "It takes a lot to leave a scar on me. Believe me, I do have a few..." The girls of Team RUBY shared a look, but didn't press. They weren't sure if he was ok talking about what was clearly a painful memory, and so they figured they drop the subject for now. So Blake decided on the best course of action to change the subject.

Naruto was jerked out of his thoughts by a thick pile of paper being thrown into his lap. When he stared blankly at the dark-haired girl, she just shot him a smirk and elaborated. "Orientation materials for the classes you missed. We're all supposed to read through them tonight. Professor Peach and Doctor Oobleck were both pretty clear that we were supposed to pass these on to you, and Doctor Oobleck was kind enough to also provide a transcript of his orientation lecture for you to read as well." Naruto picked up the aforementioned transcript.

"This is a lecture? It looks more like a novel!"

"Oobleck talks very, very fast," Ruby said, staring blankly ahead as she thought about the History Professor.

"And moves very fast," Blake continued in that same monotone.

"That man drinks coffee the way Ruby eats cookies," Yang finished, before hopping off the bed. "And speaking of food, I think I'm gonna go get some." Blake shot her partner a deadpan look, holding up her own Orientation packets.

"We need to read these too, you know," she stated, only for Yang to drape her arm around Blake's shoulders.

"And we will," she reassured her. "But I can't focus on an empty stomach." As if on cue, Naruto, Ruby, and Blake put their hands to their stomachs, which had taken the moment to growl almost menacingly. "Come on," she said, moving behind her teammates and ushering them out the door. "Classes are over for the day, so if you don't want cafeteria food, we could always head into Vale and find something." Ruby smiled brightly at her sister.

"Hey, yeah! Going out to eat in Vale could be like a team-bonding night," she cheered. "And since you made the suggestion, dear sister...you get to pay." Yang stumbled for a minute, before glaring at her younger sibling, who merely stuck her tongue out in victory.

"Fine. But no ramen, no tuna, and no sweets." Yang was smiling once again at the groans of protest from all three of her teammates before shutting the door to their room. "You know, I know a pretty hot club. It's on the shadier side of Vale, but it's pretty cool. And if Naruto does his transformation thing, we could have a total girls night."

"Nice to be included, but I'd rather not have a bunch of drunk guys spending the night slapping my ass and trying to get in my pants..." The three girls stopped walking and stared incredulously at Naruto for the umpteenth time, and he suddenly realized he said that part out loud. "...eeeeehhh, it's a long story, I lost a bet, I really don't wanna talk about it."

"Oh, we're gonna get you to talk about it..." Yang said, smiling deviously. "So, anyway, Pizza?"

Getting several nods and verbal approval, the team headed down to get a Bullhead to take them into the city.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

"Not Ramen, but pizza is always good," Naruto sighed, patting his full stomach as the group wandered somewhat aimlessly around the city. "I didn't know they could make them that big." The girls let out content sighs of their own.

"Yeah," agreed Yang. "Arty's makes some of the best Pizza in Vale, and since they cater to Huntsman and Huntresses, they make sure to have large portions. A small there would be considered at least a minimum anywhere else in town."

"I don't know," said Blake. "That one we got I think had too many toppings. It's like it was trying to be every type of pizza at once. And why was it called the 'Camp Camp' special?" She only got a shrug in response. Blake was sure that they probably loaded every pizza topping they had at the store onto the giant pizza. However, despite the confused nature of the thing, she definitely appreciated the anchovies.

"We've got some time before we need to get back to Beacon," Yang announced, changing the subject. "We could still go have girl's night at the club..." She waggled her eyebrows at Naruto, who just threw his hand up in exasperation. She'd been pestering him all throughout dinner. By this point, he was getting ready to cave just to make her stop. "Come on, Whiskers. Even if you have a bad time, you could always just pull another Rubber Chicken." Naruto just stared at her a narrowed gaze.

"That would take too long to set up. Unless you know where I can get eight feet of rubber tubing, a duck, three pipe-wrenches and at least one gallon bucket of chicken shit, all in one night," While Yang just snickered, Blake and Ruby both shuddered, having finally heard exactly what had gone into the prank which was infamous enough that even his other teammates refused to speak of it. Ruby quickly interjected, desperately needing to change the subject.

"Not tonight, Yang," she said. "We're all stuffed, and I don't know if you noticed, but we're all still wearing our school uniforms." Yang quirked a brow before looking down at herself and the rest of the team.

"Huh, guess we were so eager to get some food that we forgot to change clothes," she said sheepishly, a blush adorning her face as she absentmindedly began to play with her hair. "I suppose girl's night isn't really girl's night if we don't all get dressed up."

"Why am I still being included in this?!" Naruto asked.

"Hey, you didn't want to be included? You shouldn't have shown off that you can turn into a hot chick whenever you want," Yang lazily replied, shooting him a look that told him this was definitely payback for using the Sexy Jutsu to win their sparring match previously.

"Anyway..." Ruby began again, working to bring them back on track. "Let's head back to the Academy. We do still have those reading assignments to finish tonight."

"Seconded," Blake agreed, raising her hand to show solidarity with her team leader. Naruto grimaced at the thought.

"I change my mind, I wanna go to the club." He placed his hands into the familiar seal, but yelped when Ruby grabbed him by the back of his uniform and began dragging her partner towards the docks. After a few moments of putting up zero fight, Naruto just sighed and began to walk with her. Yang snickered to herself again. Naruto in the few days they had known him, had shown himself unable to successfully argue with a their team leader. Fight with her in training, absolutely, but outside of that...She was about to once again mock her fellow blonde with another whip-cracking sound, but yelped herself when Blake began to drag her own partner, by her ear no-less, to follow their teammates.

"Gah! Blake, this- OW- isn't funNY!" She yelled, doing her best to keep up with her partner. "Seriously, cut it- OW! I'll be good, I promise." Blake regarded the blonde for a moment, before sighing and releasing Yang's ear, which the blonde rubbed gingerly before throwing a betrayed pout at Blake, who just gave an innocent smile in return before the two began to follow once again.

"Why do you keep trying to get Naruto to turn into a girl again?" Blake idly asked. The blonde girl just chuckled.

"You know, at first it was just a joke, but now that I know he's actually done it before...I have to see it..." A moment later Yang's eyes lit up as her partner did something she hadn't done much of in the few days they'd known each other. She giggled.

"Truth be told, I kind of want to see it myself..." She admitted quietly, and Yang shot her a grin.

"So, what are you going to do if we wake up with Ruby in Naruto's bed again?"

"Probably just have them push their beds together and be done with it," Yang replied with a shrug, eliciting a glare from Blake. "Look, I don't really know the right thing to do here. I mean, she got eaten. Not many more traumatic things to go through than that. I haven't had to help Ruby with Nightmares since she was seven, but she's always dealt with them this way. Crawling in bed with me, or our Dad. It's almost like she's programmed to do it at this point."

"But still, she should maybe talk to someone, like Naruto suggested," she argued. Yang nodded in response, her face turning more serious. "I was thinking if it's still an issue by the end of this first week, we can go to one of the Professors about it." Yang nodded yet again.

"I sent a message to our Dad," she said, and at Blake's look, she elaborated. "I did not tell him she's crawling into Naruto's bed. Last thing we need is Dad going ballistic over Ruby sleeping in the same bed as a boy, especially a boy on her team..." Blake suspected there was a story behind something so specific, but let Yang continue uninterrupted. "But he actually suggested the same thing as you. Said that Doctor Oobleck or Professor Goodwitch could probably get Ruby in with a good therapist."

As an afterthought, she added "But we might wanna think of something for the beds anyway. Our room is pretty cramped as is." Blake sighed, but agreed.

"It could use some rearranging. It's a small room for four people."

"I was thinking turning the beds into bunk-beds, but I think I like the idea of pushing the beds together. I wouldn't say no to some cuddling." Blake almost tripped at the suggestive tone her partner had used, and blushed a bright shade of red when Yang nearly doubled over from laughing so hard. Blake finally shook it off and noticed they had made it to the docks, stepping up into the Bullhead to be brought back to the Beacon.

"You're terrible," she said.

"I'm adorable," Yang shot back, moving over to Naruto and Ruby, who were engaged in their own conversation and paying no mind to their teammates. It seems her little sister was too engaged in consulting Naruto on the kind of weapon he'd be interested in. Each pair of partners were so engaged in their respective conversations that they barely noticed the Bullhead take off, nor did they notice it land. The trip might as well have been instantaneous as far as Team RUBY was concerned.

By the time they had returned to the dorm room, Ruby had gone over her ideas for what weapon Naruto might like. She had narrowed it down and had decided against a bladed weapon such as a sword or her scythe. Naruto seemed to be more the type for a bludgeoning weapon. A staff, maybe. Something simple. A staff could also be worked together with a rifle configuration, something Ruby was already intimately knowledgeable about, and would make it easier yet to create such a weapon. But no, Naruto didn't seem to be a long-range combatant, so he probably wouldn't be thrilled with a sniper weapon. Perhaps have the weapon separate into a pair of Tonfa which could operate more like a pair of hand-cannons.

"Then again, not sure how he'd do using tonfa. Even if he's never used a staff, it's pretty easy to learn, but not sure about anything else." Ruby pondered while laying in her bed, using one of the apps on her scroll to take some notes, Naruto using the shower while Blake and Yang each were doing their own things, having already showered and changed into their sleepwear. "Maybe skip the second melee configuration altogether...yeah, that could work. The staff could fold together. Could go with a flamethrower...or a double barrel shot-gun, maybe?I'll have to see what he thinks about it. It's going to be his weapon, after all. His input is kind of a necessity." Still, she brought up the 'Draw' function on her app to create a few rough sketches of what the weapon could look like. It wasn't much, but she had to start somewhere. All she really needed was something to work with.

She looked up at the sound of the bathroom door opening and Naruto stepped out, dressed in his pajamasand stretching with a yawn. Ruby put her scroll away, deciding to wait until the next day to continue their discussion on weapons. She got up and gave a slight nod to Naruto as she passed him, heading into the bathroom and closing the door behind her. With a sigh, she began the task of stripping down, which took by far longer than anyone else on the team. Her outfit wasn't exactly what one would call 'simple.' Once she got it off, instead of immediately entering the shower, she glanced at herself in the bathroom mirror. Her reflection met her gaze before traveling down her form.

Ruby had never been one for vanity. However, being moved ahead by two years, being surrounded by older girls - and boys - caused a few moments of self-consciousness in Ruby regarding her body. While her dad, and even Yang to some extent, believed the fifteen-year-old to be much more innocent, or too focused on other things, Ruby was still a teenaged girl. She saw the way boys looked at her sister, or at the very least the way they looked at her sister's chest, and while she knew that those guys were basically pigs, part of her wanted some of that attention. And especially since her partner, who she would be spending the next four years with, was a boy.

Finally entering the shower, she let the hot water cascade over her, lost in her thoughts. She wasn't sure of what to make of Naruto, especially since he, like her, was an early admission to Beacon. She wouldn't go so far as to say she was crushing on him, but she likewise wouldn't deny that he did have an attractive quality to him. She just hated that he had had to save her during the initiation. Was she grateful? Absolutely. But she wanted everyone to know she was capable, and that she belonged at Beacon Academy. But Beacon students didn't get themselves eaten. Beacon students didn't need to crawl into bed with someone to shield them from nightmares. The last thing Ruby wanted was happening, at least in her mind. She was making herself look weak. Look like someone who needed protecting, and she got enough of that from her father. How was she supposed to lead the team if they thought she was some fragile child who needed everyone else to save her?

That was the heart of her current frustration. Since the team assignments, she had had to wonder why she had been made team leader. Naruto was clearly the superior choice. Hell, he was acting captain to a different, specially formed team. She was the girl who got herself swallowed. Sure, many would call it admirable to have 'saved' him first, but then it turned out that being eaten was roughly equivalent to a minor annoyance. He had a full plan for what to do in case that happened. Ruby had no plans. She was plan-less. How could she be the leader and not have plans?

Like everything else the girl did, she made her shower quick, and exited the bathroom clad in her own pajamas and hair in a towel. Looking out at her team, she noted that each other member of team RUBY was going through their respective orientation packets. "So, why did they print this stuff out on paper?" she asked to nobody in particular, but drawing eyes all the same. "They could have just as easily sent the files to our scrolls."

"That's...actually a good point..." Blake said. "Maybe it's a test of some kind?"

"My guess is that it depends on the teacher's preference," Yang interjected, pulling out her scroll and fiddling with it. "Port and Goodwitch didn't even assign any readings."

"Not a fan of school in general," Naruto replied, arms crossed in frustration as he and two clones were going through the materials. "So frankly, I can't tell if there's some purpose to it, or if it's just to punish and confuse the students." At the odd look Blake was giving him and his clones, the three stated in synchronization, "What?"

"Why are you using clones to read the papers?" She asked. The original Naruto just quirked a brow.

"My Shadow Clones, as it turns out, are a scouting technique. You send them into enemy territory. If they spring a trap and get dispelled, or if they find something of note and dispel themselves, their memories transfer back to me. Found out I can use that to increase my study rate." Blake's eye began to twitch at the explanation and he swore she muttered something about how his clones were unfair compared to hers, but she went back to reading. An avid reader herself, her words per minute was high enough that she was flying through her packet fairly quickly too.

Ruby just gave a cheeky smirk, and began flying through the orientation materials faster that either Naruto or Blake. One of the fortunate side effects of a speed semblance was that, provided she was properly focused, she could look at and process information exceptionally quickly. This was pretty much a required secondary power for speed-based semblances. It wouldn't do much good to be able to move at extreme speeds if your brain can't keep up with your body, after all.

Yang could only stare at them all with a pout, before looking down at her own packet. She was only on page three. "Oh, you guys suck," she proclaimed, crossing her arms and glaring over at the others.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

While the girls were asleep - Ruby having not moved into his bed...yet - Naruto had pulled his scroll out, checking out the new message sent from his mysterious watcher. Apparently someone had been busy. The file was a rather detailed comparison of Chakra and Aura. His unknown contact was curiously thorough, and had left the documents with a simple message explaining that as a chakra user, it was his right to the data, and that he could share it with team NIKL at his discretion.

More questions now, as how could this person managed to study chakra, or to do so quite as intensely as they obviously had? They would need a source of chakra to study. Unfortunately, that didn't leave any options. As far as he knew, nobody on Remnant besides he, Ino, Kiba, Akamaru, and Lee had chakra to study. This person would also need a vast understanding of Aura, and given the data presented, was probably a scientist of some kind, or perhaps they had gotten it from a scientist. That did narrow the field. While the world of Remnant was much more scientifically advanced, there was one place above all where the major scientific advances would come from.

"Atlas," he whispered to himself. He would need to confer with Ino, Kiba and Lee, but it seemed like a solid conclusion. And anything that might provide Naruto a lead on this observer would go a long way towards putting his mind at ease.

A whimper to his side caused him to quickly put the scroll away and turn towards Ruby's bed. The girl had broken out into a sweat, and she was tossing and turning, her breathing becoming erratic in the throws of her nightmare. Suddenly, she sat bolt-right up in her bed, but he couldn't tell if she was still asleep. He rolled his eyes and shuffled to the edge of his bed, knowing the sleepwalking girl would wander to him. He was actually mildly surprised when she didn't immediately stumble to his bed, but seemed to just stand there, eyes half-lidded and unfocused. He couldn't tell if she was aware or merely sleepwalking, but it was actually creepy to see her stare at him.

"Ruby...?" the girl didn't move at his whisper, but let out a moan of acknowledgment. "Are you ok?" Now she shook her head. "Do you want to sleep with me?" Without another sound, she crawled into his bed, laying her head on his chest. So, was she waiting for permission? "Ruby, are you awake?"

"Yeah," she admitted - albeit sleepily - after a few moments. "Naruto...do you think I'm too weak to be leader?" Through her closed eyes, she heard a sigh, before a strange rushing sensation came over her and she suddenly shivered at the cold night air. She cracked her eyes open and was startled fully awake by the fact that the two were now sitting on the roof of the dorms.

"You're not weak," he said, pulling her close and rubbing her back gently. "I think Blake might be right. Something is bothering you, and based on your question, it's not totally about being swallowed by a giant snake. So, let's talk about it." He shifted over to the edge of the building, throwing his legs over the side and motioning for Ruby to come over to the ledge as well and sit. "But, you are not weak." There was something about his small smile that was so genuine that Ruby couldn't help but to give him one of her own. Looking out at the campus and the night sky, she sat with Naruto, and the two began to chat.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

"So, how'd you get her over it?" Yang asked Naruto, looking at her sister, sleeping in her own bed for once. Naruto just chuckled and rubbed the back of his head.

"I really didn't," he replied. "She still tried to come sleep in my bed two other times last night after our talk. But I didn't really expect to just cure her with one conversation. You can't just get rid of trauma like that with a single heart-to-heart...but it's a start." He took care to avoid mentioning to Blake and Yang the insecurities towards being a leader that Ruby had shared with him. That was something more personal than he was willing to share with the rest of the team.

"Well, either way, you're right that it is an improvement," Yang said, wrapping an arm around her fellow blonde's shoulders. "But admit it, part of you likes waking up with a pretty girl in your bed, doesn't it?" Naruto looked at her ear-to-ear grin and shook his head with a sigh, a roll of the eyes, and a small smile of his own.

"Well, I mean, if you're offering..." he started, before looking behind him. "But I'd hate to come between you and Blake." Naruto pouted when Blake choose not to react the way he wanted, instead keeping her face neutral as she flipped through her book. As he stuck his tongue out at the dark-haired girl, Yang strolled over to Ruby's bed.

"Hey Ruby, I'm gonna borrow Crescent Rose for a bit, 'kay?"

"Don't you dare!" shrieked Ruby, bolting from her bed and leaping for her weapon, slamming her head into the wall yet again. Naruto sighed as Ruby's groans were drowned out by Yang's laughter. Realizing they were now all awake, he looked to the clock on the wall. He groaned himself at the recurring thought that he was stuck back in school. But a quick glance around the room caused his ire to recede and a small smile to grace his lips as he looked to his teammates. The bickering siblings and the book-worm. At least things were a bit more friendly this time around. Maybe things here weren't all so bad after all.

Chapter End

So, I'm not gonna bore you guys with tons of notes after making you all wait so long. All I can say is I apologize for being off of here for as long as I was. And now, it's been far too long since I've gotten to say this.

Peace to all my Fans

- Fan of Fanfics -