This world is a world of heroes and monsters.

…

-0-0-

The wind is howling.

Snowflakes dance across a landscape of ash and ice. A jet black void fills the sky. Grey storm clouds rumble overhead. Snow and soot smother a forest of stone, the scent of faded embers clinging to charcoal and cinder.

…

-0-0-

To most, the monsters are the Creatures of Grimm, terrible beings who seem to exist with no purpose other than to destroy. No one knows much about these creatures, neither where they come from nor what drives them to hunt man and his creations.

But we know one thing for sure.

These things are the enemy.

They are the encroaching darkness, seeking to drown this world in a tide of death and destruction.

…

-0-0-

A bundle of rags flees through the thickets of long dead trees.

Thin clouds of smoky white take to the air behind him. His frenzied sprint gouges a trail of tiny footsteps into the snow. Frigid air fills his lungs. With every desperate breath, a numbness burrows deeper and deeper into his chest.

The cold fills him. A deathly chill settles in his stomach.

Behind him, the dead forest trembles.

…

-0-0-

Yet, where there is shadow, there must also be light.

The 'brave' Huntsmen and Huntresses of Remnant play this role, sacrificing life and limb in their never-ending crusade against the Creatures of Grimm.

Unlike the reclusive Shinobi, loyal first and foremost to their hidden villages, and unlike the mysterious Sages, secluded and fiercely devoted to their ancient traditions, these warriors of dust, of aura and of steel are the defenders of this world. Each wielding their own unique Semblance, they form the pillars of society, the shields against which the tides of darkness break.

They are the 'good' to the 'evil' of the Grimm.

…

-0-0

Flakes of white fall from blackened branches. Frozen charcoal crumbles to dust.

The land buckles in the wake of the shadow's approach.

He flees from the advancing tremors, fear pumping blood through already frozen veins. A hidden patch of ice catches his step. His foot skids but he manages to recover, shambling forward and never breaking his stride.

The ground makes a sudden slope downward. Another step shakes the earth.

This time he does trip.

…

-0-0-

Every kid dreams of growing up to be one of them, of being the brave hero fighting the evil monsters, protecting the innocent and saving the day.

Even I did, once upon a time.

…

-0-0-

He falls, tumbling, rolling through mounds of ice and snow and ash, at last coming to a stop at the base of the hill.

Snow engulfs him in a sea of soft white. Invisible chains bind his limbs. Frozen still, the cold saps the last embers of warmth from his body. It bites through cloth, piercing his chest, freezing solid his still-beating heart.

He can hear it, a whisper on the shrieking winds.

Sleep, it says. Entrust your heart to me and sleep.

Sleep and forever dream pleasant dreams.

…

-0-0-

Unfortunately, I found out pretty quickly I wasn't good enough to be any kind of hero.

Any weapon in my hands was more of a threat to me than it was to any grimm.

The only thing I could do with dust was make it blow up in my face.

And by the end of my third year of combat training, I still hadn't even figured out how to unlock my aura.

…

-0-0-

The ground shakes. White and grey break as he claws his way back to the surface.

Snow and soot and ash cling to his tattered cloak. The hood falls back to reveal a head of wild blond hair, bright like the rays of the morning sun.

Three whisker-like scars mark both of his cheeks, his skin pale but not too pale, bright with the flush of exhaustion.

Once the same warm blue as a midsummer's sky, once bright with a child's innocence, his gaze bites colder than ice, a mirrored reflection of the frozen wasteland surrounding him.

The weight of his gaze and the scars on his face lend him a certain air of maturity. But the softness along his cheeks and jawline betrays his true age, his stature childish and his skin otherwise smooth and free of wrinkles.

It is but a boy, a lone child, who finds himself lost in this dead land.

The child crawls back to his feet. He pulls his cloak tighter around him, first stumbling and then running once more as a shadow eclipses the horizon.

…

-0-0-

It wasn't a surprise.

No real family, friends or skills or talent to speak of, I was the kind of person you'd only hear about because they got themselves killed trying to do something stupidly heroic.

As morbid as that is…

…

-0-0-

There is no real reason for it. No noble desire or lofty ideals. Rather than call it iron will, childish stubbornness is a more apt description.

Because in this forsaken place, even if there is no life, no warmth, no light, even if he is all that remains in this wasteland, buried in ash and smothered in snow, he refuses to vanish and disappear.

He refuses to give up and fade away.

…

-0-0-

Ah, I forgot to introduce myself!

The name's Uzumaki Naruto! Or Naruto Uzumaki, I guess, if you're from the Kingdoms. It's always a pain, having to remember to switch back and forth. Kind of like having two names.

Yeah… there are a couple other names I have back home and in the Kingdoms.

But those aren't too pleasant. So I'll keep them to myself for now.

…

-0-0-

The tremors advance. At last it comes into view, a light at the end of the tunnel. An escape leading out of this forest of death.

One last push; Gathering all of his strength, he breaks out from the tree line-!

And finds nothing.

…

-0-0-

My motto has always been "Never give up and never back down!"

That… it's how I know, someday, I'll break.

And whether I shatter to pieces in an instant or slowly grind away into dust, I know the day will surely come.

I just hope it isn't too much of a hassle for whoever is left picking up the pieces.

…

-0-0-

Dark waters dominate the horizon.

Churning and trashing, a black sea extends for as far as the eye can see.

He falls to his knees, watching in horror as a clump of snow plummets off the cliff, into the crashing waves below.

The ground shakes one last time and a shadow falls over him.

…

-0-0-

I'm no hero.

…

-0-0-

Its presence appears without warning, descending on him, crushing him like an ant caught in a thunderstorm.

He turns with the draw of a rusted wheel, as if the air has turned to syrup. He turns and looks up.

And up.

And up.

And up.

It towers above him, tall enough to dwarf the sky and blot out the horizon.

Steam shrouds its form, ice melting and evaporating into mist on contact with the darkness, wisps of smoke wafting off jet-black fur.

Jagged lines glow with crimson light, tribal marks joining and splitting off in a form vaguely reminiscent of flickering flames.

Pools of molten fury leer at him from behind a mask darker than midnight. Nine tails whips and thrash in its wake, leveling the forest and crushing the earth beneath it.

…

-0-0-

In another place, another time, I might have been. But the me here and now can't be considered a hero by any means.

So I have no idea why anyone would care to read a story about me.

…

-0-0-

In front of him looms a monster of monsters. A demon the likes of which can just as easily breathe him in as eat him. Behind him is the vast endlessness of the sea whose waters can swallow him just as easily as the monster before him.

Death surrounds him and he faces a choice.

…

-0-0-

But… well, let's say for the sake of argument.

…

-0-0-

If he stays, the demon will kill him quickly and without any suffering. All he has to do is close his eyes and it will be over before he even knows it.

But the sea… even if he somehow survives the fall, he still doesn't know how to swim. There was never anyone to teach him. He will have to learn to swim or die a painful, pitiful death trying.

A quick death, certain and painless. Or the slightest chance of survival, a gamble against insurmountable odds.

…

-0-0-

If you were to write a story about me… someone like me in this world of heroes and monsters…

…

-0-0-

An odd noise escapes his lips. Some strange sort of sound, caught between a scoff and a chuckle.

As if it was ever even a choice.

…

-0-0-

Without a doubt, it'd definitely be a tragedy.

-0-0-

A roar shakes the heavens. And the child plunges into the freezing abyss below.

…

…

…

Of Heroes and Monsters

Chapter 1: Of Uzumaki Naruto

Thud, thud.

Thud, thud.

Weary blue eyes crack open to a faint, almost rhythmic thudding.

They blink slow and with the exhaustion of an interrupted rest. Shadows flash by, the unforgiving rays of the afternoon sun stabbing into his retinas like a salvo of tiny daggers, condemning him for daring to sleep at this hour.

Another blink. He rubs his cheeks. Wipes a bit of drool from his chin. The sting of more than a few restless nights turns his tired gaze into a squinted glare as he looks around, searching for the source of the noise, finding it to be the ceiling above him.

Thud, thud. Thud, thud. The other occupants of the train all fail to notice the sounds coming from above, from the roof of the train cart. Two columns of seats flank a rather spacious walkway, as though someone decided to stick a couple seats in a cargo train for whatever reason.

He scratches his head, digging his fingers into a greying-blond mop of wild spikes, a single stray hair sticking up off the top of his head, the faintest traces of gold still present among the white.

Hmm…? This is…

With that, he remembers. He remembers the reason why he is on a train in Atlas of all places, the Kingdom most infamous for its intolerance of all things faunus and faunus-related.

It maybe a bit of an exaggeration. But seeing as how the seat next to him is empty, as are most of the seats around him, the majority of the train's occupants huddled at the front and back ends of the train as though trying to stay as far away as possible from the whisker-like markings on his cheeks…

Well, he can't help but think there may be some truth to those rumors about Remnant's most militarized Kingdom.

Then again, considering why he's here in Atlas to begin with, it's not really fair to be judging them so harshly.

Leaning back, he slumps back into his seat. His gaze wonders about the train, searching for anything noteworthy.

A man in a suit taps at a PDA with clear annoyance.

A little girl draws on a napkin.

And a faunus hiding two, fluffy, dog ears beneath a hood glares at the suited man, whispering something into his jacket.

More thuds appear, like raindrops or some kind of gravel or debris falling on the roof of the train cart.

But raindrops don't land in pairs. And they don't cast shadows over the mountainside either.

The train jolts. He lets out a sigh. His eyes close.

"About time…"

It begins with the sound of someone kicking in the door.

"Nobody move!"

Next comes the screaming. The shouts. Footsteps stomp down the walkway. Men and women rush into the car, all with some sort of animal trait, be it ears or horns or a tail, faunus all wearing the same uniforms consisting of plain black clothes and grey body armor with a plated mask covering the top halves of their faces, the masks somewhat reminiscent of the shadowy beasts plaguing the lands of Remnant.

Sort of. Maybe if you squint hard enough.

"Put your hands up!" a voice shouts in his ear. He peeks one eye open to find the business end of a shotgun inches from his face.

"Are you listening to me?!" the White Fang grunt yells, his voice cracking only a little. "I said put your hands up!"

He gives the faunus a tired blink, one eye not quite closing as fast as the other.

"So loud…" he moans in a sleepy half-drawl, rubbing his eyes. "Don't you know it's rude to be making so much noise when someone's trying to sleep?"

The faunus gives him a confused look. "Sleep? Why're you asleep at 3 in the afternoon?"

"Well," he tilts his head in thought. "I'm reeeally lazy."

The faunus gaps. Another masked faunus, this one wielding a katana, comes to the aid of his comrade.

"Hey, what's going on new guy? What's the hold up?"

"This guy, he's-"

Another tired blink. Sleepy blue eyes widen. "Wait a second! That boring outfit… those stupid-looking masks… you guys are the White Fang!"

Both White Fang members share a glance, finding themselves in agreement with the description, much to their chagrin.

Clad in an orange hoodie, black shorts and sandals, the fifteen-year old, Naruto Uzumaki, rises from his seat. Slouching a good foot shorter than both of his accosters, he glances around the train.

Four White Fang grunts stand at the front of the train, arguing amongst themselves. Two more stand guard at the back. Adding the two in front of him, that makes for a total of eight grunts, all for a single, unguarded, civilian transport.

Interesting. He returns his gaze to the White Fang grunt with the gun.

"Mmm… so I'm guessing you're supposed to be a bear faunus," Naruto says, noting the furry, round ears poking out from the hood of the faunus. Then, he looks towards the newcomer. "But what the hell are you supposed to be?"

"… That's not important."

"Heh, you're something stupid like a donkey, aren't you?"

"It doesn't matter!" the donkey faunus shouts, indignation and shame coloring his cheeks. "Just put your hands up before I cut you!"

Naruto blinks. He perks a brow. "Are you guys… trying to mug me?"

"Are you really just now noticing this?!"

"Yeah, I mean," Naruto shrugs. "You guys are kind of doing a pretty crappy job at it."

The White Fang grunts still. They stand in stunned silence as both try and fail to comprehend that yes, the unarmed teenager they are trying to mug is indeed telling them that they are doing a bad job at mugging him.

"You're both doing a couple things wrong," Naruto says, his tone casual, almost lecturing. "First, those masks suck. They make you look like your only purpose is to make someone else look good when they kick your ass."

"See, I told you these masks looked lame…" the first grunt says to the other.

"It's part of the uniform!" the second grunt snaps. "Besides, they're supposed to look like grimm masks!"

"Your bosses actually want you guys to look like a bunch of disposable mooks?"

"Hey, who're you calling a disposable mook?! That's not what it's supposed to mean! It's supposed to symbolize how humanity treats us faunus like monsters so we put on these masks to look like the grimm since that's how people treat us!"

Something flickers across Naruto's face, something dark and ugly. He hides it with a quick smirk. "… You know there's a video of some dude's dog beating the crap out of a Beowolf."

"Oh hey, I saw that video. It's the one with the corgi, right?"

"There's one with a corgi?"

"Shut up! Who cares what the masks look like!" the White Fang grunt says, brandishing his katana. "You wanna get cut, kid? Cause that's what's going to happen if you don't start listening to us right now!"

"Oh yeah, that's another thing. Neither of you are using your weapons right. For a katana, you want to put your hand here, like that."

"Hey, what are you doing?!" the grunt pulls his hand back and brandishes the katana. "You….! You…"

He pauses. The anger drains out of him like a deflated balloon and he looks to his sword arm. "Huh, it really is a lot better."

Naruto resists the urge to roll his eyes. Instead, he shoves his hands into his hoodie's pockets, sighs and looks to the other grunt with a flat gaze.

"And you forgot to turn the safety off," he says in a dry tone.

Grunt #1 looks to his gun in confusion. He points it to the side and tries to fire. A click. The trigger catches. Grunt #2 slaps a hand against his mask.

This time Naruto does roll his eyes.

The incompetence of fodder and mooks the world over never fails to baffle him. Honestly, it's like taking candy from a baby. The sheer scope of their uselessness is almost enough to make him feel guilty about doing this.

Almost.

"Here, I'll get it for you," Naruto says, putting his hand on the gun. "But honestly? The biggest mistake you guys made?"

A sharp crack, like fracturing ice, comes from beneath the whiskered boy's palm. The grunt blinks as the gun in his hands falls to pieces, cut and sliced to pieces from the inside out.

"Trying to mug me."

A fist slams into the grunt's jaw.

The blow comes like thunder, heard and felt only after the fact, launching the grunt off his feet and into the seats on the other side of the train. Naruto turns to the second grunt. It takes a moment. The gears begin to turn and the grunt's brain finally manages to solve the puzzle of why the form of his partner has been replaced by that of a smoking fist.

"Why you-!"

The response comes in a snarl and a flail of his katana. Naruto graces the oncoming blade with a dismissive glance, as if it is no more than a plastic toy swung by a small child.

He catches the blade between his fingers. The blade shatters, veins of frost coating the broken edges of the folded steel. A knee to the gut causes the grunt to double over. Naruto grabs the back of the faunus's shirt, hurling him into the ceiling, the White Fang grunt bouncing off the top of the train car and hitting the floor with a dull thud.

The two White Fang grunts at the back aim their guns at the whiskered boy. Frigid blue eyes fall on them. Their fingers twitch, about to pull the trigger when-

Death.

A single knife, thrown with all the force of a bullet fired from a gun, piercing their aura, impaling their mask and burying deep into their brains-

A punch that causes their heart and lungs to burst like blood-filled balloons-

A kick shattering their spine, scrambling their intestines, puncturing their stomach-

-their bodies freeze in abject fear at the gruesome images flooding their minds. The guns drop from their hands and the White Fang grunts fall limp to the floor, both foaming at the mouth.

Naruto blinks, staring at the two masked faunus. He scratches his cheek.

"Er… whoops?"

His hand snaps out behind him, grabbing the face of a grunt about to swing at him with a katana. Turning, he hurls the grunt into the window, the back of the faunus's head cracking against the treated glass.

"Right, forgot you guys are just a bunch of idiots in Halloween masks," Naruto says with a sleepy expression. "Sorry about that."

Only three remain. Clustered together, the last of the still-conscious White Fang grip their katanas, wearily approaching the boy who just took out over half their squad in less than half a minute.

He raises a hand. A ghostly, ethereal flame flickers to life over his palm.

Three chains of golden light spout from the flame, wrapping around each of the grunts' ankles.

Naruto throws his arm up. The chains follow his movements, slamming the grunts against the ceiling. He lets his arm fall. The grunts hit the floor. Repeating the motion a few times for good measure he dispels the chains, the aura constructs dispersing into motes of flittering aura.

The flame again sparks to life in his palm, this time taking the shape of a tri-pronged knife with a flat edge.

Knives and chains, knives and chains. It's strange, the ways those two shapes always seem to come so naturally whenever he shapes his aura.

Shame he's always sucked at aiming.

The dog-eared faunus trembles as frigid blue eyes fall on him. His cover blown, he goes for the receiver in his jacket, trying to contact the Lieutenant, trying to send a warning to his brothers and sisters in arms.

A flash of gold slices the head off the communications device, the tri-pronged knife going into and through the seat and the seat behind that and the seat behind that, vanishing back into aura before it comes to a stop.

"Tch, missed."

The faunus pales.

"Oh, no I wasn't going for the headshot," Naruto is quick to explain. He pokes a finger into his palm. "Yeah, I kind of wanted it to do that thing where it stabs you through the palm and pin your hand to the seat."

"THAT'S NOT MUCH BETTER!"

An unforgiving grip rips him from his seat, dragging him to the back of the train. Beneath the train, over the train tracks, looms a good kilometer drop to the forests below. One the white-haired boy gives him a very good look at.

"So, I'm looking for a guy, kind of big, built like a bear, might actually be a bear faunus but I'm not too sure," Naruto says as he dangles the plain-clothed, White Fang grunt over the rails.

He scratches his cheek. "Hmm? What was his name again? I've never been good with names…"

"Guh-ack! L-leme go!"

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that."

The train turns a bend. The faunus almost screams as he feels the train's momentum tugging at him, attempting to throw him into open air.

"I'll do anything! Please! I'll tell you whatever you want, just pull me back!"

Naruto smiles.

He drops the White Fang grunt back onto the floor, allowing him a brief moment of rest. A moment he uses to try and crawl away. Before the faunus can even get back to his feet, a foot stomps on his back, pinning him in place.

"That's something that's always annoyed me about you guys," Naruto says, crimson flashing across his eyes. "You know… other than the screwing with peaceful protests… and the stealing… and the killing… and the general… terrorism."

He tilts his head. Perks a brow. And shrugs. "Anyway, point is, if you're all so willing, so eager, to kill other people for the sake of your 'cause', you should at least have the guts to not run away the moment someone turns the table on you."

"But I guess that is the reason they always send one of the real members to oversee your operations."

"And that is who I'm looking for," He crouches down, pressing his knee against the faunus's back, grabbing a fistful of hair and yanking a dog ear up to his lips. "Now, little doggy, why don't you tell me where your master is?"

"H-heh-"

A forced laugh comes from the faunus.

"You think you're strong just because you beat up a couple of foot soldiers?" he jeers through the pain. "Well, you're not! You're nothing! Call us all the names you want, because once the Lieutenant takes control of this train-!"

"Oh, so he is here! Great!"

The White Fang grunt gapes when Naruto steps off him with a cheerful hop. The white-haired boy turns back to the faunus with a happy grin. "I was soooo~ worried! What if I got on the wrong train? Or what if you guys called off the job for some stupid thing or another? It really was a pain, tracking you guys down, waiting for an opportunity like this."

"… What?"

"You see, your boss and your boss's boss have pissed off a lot of people," Naruto explains, crouching down to look the faunus in the eye. "A-LOT of people. People in high places. People with big money. People who know people who know people like me."

"And those people? They couldn't care less about rank and file like you. They know there's plenty more where you come from. Buuut, they're offering a pretty penny for anyone who can really hit you White Fang stooges where it hurts."

The White Fang grunt blanches. He stares with disbelief at the boy maybe half his age. "Who… What are you?"

Naruto sighs, as though disappointed.

"Oh yeah, I guess you wouldn't recognize me without the mask. Honestly, nobody cares until I put on the stupid mask."

He holds a hand over his face. As if it was always there, hidden behind some kind of illusion, a bone white mask phases into existence.

A mask identical to the masks of the shadowy beasts that plague the lands of Remnant. A mask styled in the image of a three-eyed fox.

He pushes up his mask to give the faunus another look at his face, an unhinged grin stretched across his whiskered cheeks.

"Y-y-y-y-yy-you're-!"

"How about it? Recognize me now?"

The faunus hurls himself out the back of the train.

"Now that's just overly dramatic…" Naruto deadpans, tossing the mask over the side of the rails. He turns back to the train. His eyes scan the passengers, searching for the puzzle's second missing piece.

There. He points a finger at the well-dressed man.

"You, suit guy."

"Suit guy? How rude! My name is-!"

"Yeah, yeah, don't bother," Naruto interrupts with a wave of his hand, "No one cares about your name, anyway. But is there anything too dangerous hidden on this train? Like a cargo of dust or secret weapon hidden further up?"

"The only dangerous thing on this train is you," suit guy sneers with all of the feigned innocence of a business man trying to deflect the blame.

"Riiight," Naruto rolls his eyes, "Am I going to have to give you the same treatment as Mr. Doggy?"

Suit guy sniffs at him. "Your tactless intimidation and hollow threats may work on animals like the faunus, but I assure you, no man of any self-worth would give in to such brutish tactics."

Naruto perks a brow.

-a few moments later-

"AAAAAHHHHHHH-"

A scream echoes out the back of train.

"Sure holding someone over a ledge isn't the most original idea ever but I don't exactly have that much to work with here," Naruto grumbles.

"I mean, I suck at genjutsu. And I'm not the biggest fan of cold-blooded torture either. You know how it goes. When all you've got is a nail, anything can be a hammer… or something like that."

Another scream is the response. Naruto gives Suit Guy a dry stare.

"Alright, you have four seconds to start talking," he says, giving the man's leg a good wiggle to get his attention. "One…"

Naruto lifts his pinky. And the man squeals.

"It's an armor!" he cries out. "It's a prototype suit of armor, developed by the Schnee Dust Company!"

Naruto perks a brow. "An armor? Here I was under the impression you guys in the Kingdoms only cared for stabby things that transform into guns… where'd you get the idea for something like an armor?"

"It-," Suit Guy's eyes dart side to side, as if searching for something. Like a scapegoat. "It was the Ruling Council of Atlas! The general ordered us to-"

Whatever he is about to say dies on his lips as an image pierces his mind, a vision of himself being torn apart by a herd of rabid grimm.

"Kay, you can stop talking now," Naruto says, clamping down on the man's leg, feeling the bone creek and strain. "Now, developing a superweapon during peacetime isn't something I'd put past ol' General Morningwood, but if he was, you know he'd be flashing it all over the streets of Atlas, whipping it out in public so he could brag about how awesome it is."

He pauses a moment to ponder if he should reconsider his wording. A shrug.

"But he isn't. So that means you're lying. I don't like liars. Especially liars who try to hide behind a shield of civilians."

"So," frigid blues narrow, a coldness in his gaze that could cut through steel. "One more chance."

"It…" a gulp. "It was designed to mimic the power of the Second Stage Jinchuuriki Cloak."

That coldness drops a few more degrees. For a moment, he wonders if he should have taken his chances with the fall. The moment is short-lived, however as he is thrown back onto the train.

"Who knows?"

"O-only Jacques Schnee and the people hired to work on the project! I was only brought in to transport it!"

"Where."

"I don't know… there are supposed to be two exchanges after this next stop…"

The boy's lips thin into a frown. His eyes narrow and drift away in thought, a burning crimson creeping across his iris. It appears for only an instant, like a dark flame burning away at the veneer of coldness, before that coldness reasserts itself and those frigid blues fall back on him.

"I'm destroying that armor, whether or not the White Fang has got their hands on it," Naruto declares. He moves to return to the train car, only to pause and glance back at the man.

"You might want to advise your boss to keep away from this whole 'replicating a Jinchuuriki's power' business. Tell him to stick to his dust and his transforming guns. Because the easiest way to get a Jinchuuriki's power is to make one. And people aren't as easily fixed as machines once they break."

With that, Naruto steps back into the train car, his mood soured and his mind awhirl.

An undercurrent of fear sweeps throughout the passengers with his return. Hushed whispers fill the air. Harsh stares follow his footsteps. They try their hardest to ignore his existence, as if pretending he isn't there might actually make him go away.

How nostalgic.

Nowadays, he usually needs his mask to get that kind of a reaction. Not like when he was a child. Not like when those stares were still so cold and painful. Even now, it'd be a lie to say he can ignore them completely. There are some things a person can just never get used to. But there are more important things to worry about.

More than retrieving his bounty, dealing with that armor has top priority. While he has nothing to fear from someone like the White Fang Lieutenant obtaining such a weapon, there are others among the White Fang's ranks who he will have to worry about if they manage to get their hands on something like that.

Naruto muffles a sigh. Another day, another train wreck of a mission. Well, a metaphorical train wreck.

Hopefully it doesn't become an actual train wreck.

A tug on his pants pulls him from his thoughts. Naruto looks down to find the little girl from earlier, standing atop the groaning body of one of the White Fang grunts.

"Hey, mister. Where'd the dog guy go?"

"He broke the rules and brought some bad things onto the train, so I made him go bye-bye."

"Ooh…" the little girl nods in perfect understanding. "Who are you mister? Are you a huntsman?"

Naruto perks a brow. A wry grin makes its way across his cheeks and he pats her on the head.

"Not quite, girlie. Try aiming a bit more on the other side of the fence."

The door closes behind him with a rusty squeak. He steps out of the train car, the mountain face speeding past him on one side and dusk eclipsing the sky on the other. Rushing winds tug at his hair. Wheels screech against the tracks. His gaze drifts from the horizon awash in crimson to the forest below, the color of flame beginning to creep into the sea of greenery.

"Summer's coming to an end, huh…"

An explosion of smoke engulfs his entire form.

Orange melts into black and white. His shorts become a pair of black pants, taped off at the ankles. Black combat boots replace the lazy sandals. And his hoodie becomes a ragged, white haori over a black undershirt.

It is nothing too fancy, nothing particularly unique. A kind of lazy outfit one could probably throw together with some change to spare. By themselves, the clothes don't speak to anything aside from their wearer being ready for a fight.

The mask appears in his hand with only a thought. It is the final piece to the puzzle. The symbol that gives the black and white meaning. A three-eyed mask styled in the image of a fox, the markings upon its face no different than those of the shadowy beasts plaguing Remnant.

As they should be, after all. Putting aside the differences in species and other superficial details, the only difference between those masks and this mask is that this mask isn't attached to the face of some grimm.

Naruto fits the mask onto his face. Places a hand on the door to the next train car.

Light and darkness. Flame and shadow. He can see it in his mind's eye, a nine petal spiral kept bound by nine chains.

It is like loosening a tap. Ever so slightly, the spiral begins to unravel. Golden embers escape out from behind the seal. Aura floods his body, the warmth spreading from his core, strength and vigor surging through his veins.

"Now then." Blue eyes burn gold and look to the next train car. "Let's try this again."

The door shatters inward.

Four sets of eyes turn, a small squadron of masked faunus occupying the walkway, standing between him and the next car. All armed. All holding those arms like complete amateurs.

Wind swirls about his feet. Aura gathers in his legs.

Burst.

He closes the distance in a single step, planting his foot into the chest of one of the White Fang grunts, his momentum launching the grunt over the remaining length of the walkway. A quick punch to the jaw downs a second grunt. A fist to the back of the head drops the third.

The fourth manages to finally get a glimpse of their attacker.

"E-EEEEEEEEEEE-!"

The moment his eyes see the three-eyed fox mask, he lets out a shriek, throwing down his weapon and fleeing as though the shadow of death itself were on his tail.

He gets to the end of the walkway before a hand grabs the back of his head and slams him face-first into the door. The grunt slumps to the floor and Naruto steps over his unconscious body, out this train car and into the next.

Each squad in each of the next three carts meet the same fate. The masked boy carves through the ranks of the White Fang on his way to the front of the train, where he finds a windowless passenger car labeled 'VIP'.

Naruto takes a moment to inspect the ruined door.

A deep gouge runs along its hinges, the grooves and tears in the metal as though someone took a chainsaw to it.

"Yep, that guy's probably here," he concludes. A lazy kick sends the door crashing down.

Light pours into the train car. He steps through the doorway, eyes shifting side to side in the darkness.

"I heard the guy's name was 'Banesaw', but that seems a bit too much like calling a duck a duck," he mutters to himself. "Doesn't exactly fit the Kingdom's naming convention either…"

"Though, I guess I'm not exactly one to talk…"

Through heavy shadows, he makes out the shapes of the weapons lining the walls, the reinforced crates of dust stacked along the floor. A certain emblem is visible on each and every box, an emblem known to him and just about every other person in Remnant.

A white snowflake.

"The Schnee Dust Company…" his gaze drifts from the boxes to the various weaponry hanging from the walls, all of which he's sure can turn into some sort of gun. "This is…"

He feels the bloodlust long before he hears the rev of the chainsaw. Naruto flips away as whirling teeth bite into the spot he was just standing in a shower of sparks.

"YOU!" a roar comes from the shadows.

The speaker emerges from the darkness, a giant easily head and shoulders above the masked boy. His entire body ripples with slabs of muscle. Trunk-like arms carry a chainsaw almost as tall, if not taller, than Naruto himself. With crashing steps, the White Fang Lieutenant emerges from the depths of the train car, beady, black eyes glaring from behind a custom, full-face, grimm mask.

"I've been waiting for this day, for a long time, Uzumaki! Or should I say, the White-Faced, Gold-Tailed, Demon Fox!"

Naruto blinks, only seeing a hazy shadow in the darkness. His mask hides a questioning look.

"… Have we met before? Who are you?"

The Lieutenant twitches. Maybe from indignation. Maybe from mind-numbing rage. Or both.

"It was a mistake for Adam to think some human could ever understand our cause," the giant faunus growls. "Three years ago, you betrayed us and saved the Schnee! For three years, you've owed the White Fang a debt, and today it's getting paid in blood!"

"I don't know if 'saved' is really the word that should go there…"

The Lieutenant charges him. Naruto slips out of the way of a swing, the Lieutenant wielding the modified chainsaw like a greatsword. He dodges another slash from the chain-sword, swift steps keeping him out of the path of the whirling, iron teeth.

The chainsaw is little more than a faint blur of motion in the shadows. The echo of its engine bounces about the train car, the reverberations making tracking the weapon by sound all but impossible. Yet still, Naruto reacts to each of the Lieutenant's swings without hesitation, keeping himself out of the way of the path of the whirling teeth.

It's like reading from a book. The faunus's thirst for blood telegraphs his every move. Naruto rolls under a grab, stabbing a golden knife into the back of the Lieutenant's thigh. The wind-enhanced edge of aura slices through the faunus's aura with ease, biting deep into flesh.

A crash. The Lieutenant falls to a knee. With a roar, he forces himself back to his feet, swinging the modified chainsaw with reckless abandonment.

'His leg shouldn't be able to hold any weight with a wound like that,' Naruto thinks, weaving through the onslaught of powerful but clumsy swings. 'Is it just his aura… or maybe, a semblance…?'

Every person has a semblance, a physical manifestation of their aura. From super speed to super strength to x-ray vision and controlling fire, each person's semblance is said to be a reflection of some aspect of their personality, with a few notable exceptions. And while most prefer to simply incorporate this power into their fighting styles, there are some who prefer to keep their semblance secret to use it as a trump card and fewer still whose semblance would hinder them in a fight.

He, unfortunately, happens to belong to the later category. And while he is somewhat worried Lieutenant 'Banesaw' happens to belong to the second… even a semblance can't make up for an overwhelming, overpowering, absolute difference in power.

Golden flames engulf his hand. He plants his feet. The chainsaw falls in an overhead swing to cleave him from shoulder to hip.

Naruto catches the swing.

The floor bends beneath his feet. The force sets his haori aflutter. The engine of the chainsaw screeches and sputters as the teeth try and fail to chew through the fiery aura engulfing his hand. For a moment, the Lieutenant stares in disbelief, the masked boy holding back his chain-blade with no visible effort.

"A debt?" the boy asks. The metal begins to bend and fold beneath his grip. "What are you talking about? I did fulfill my contract."

A sharp crack. The 'blade' of the modified chainsaw shatters, the belt sliced to shreds, the metal cut and splintered. The Lieutenant's eyes widen. He discards the now-useless handle, throwing all of his weight behind a punch at the smaller fighter.

With the same ease that he caught the chain-blade, Naruto catches the punch. He lifts the Lieutenant off his feet, the masked boy swinging the giant faunus through the air, slamming him into the floor, swinging him overhead again and slamming him against the floor again, and again, and again, and again, imprinting the shape of the Lieutenant's body into the floor before hurling him into a crate.

"I agreed to bring her to you," Naruto explains, his tone almost as casual as his stride as he approaches the faunus. "Never said anything about what happens after that."

The Lieutenant growls, throwing out another punch. It finds only empty air. A fist promptly buries itself into his solar plexus, doubling him over. A hand grabs the back of his neck. A knee smashes into his mask. The hand throws him upward, the ceiling stopping his flight and the floor catching his fall.

A groan escapes out from under his mask as the faunus pushes himself off the floor.

"Besides, I'm pretty sure the deal was for you to 'hold her for ransom' and not 'execute her to make a statement," Naruto says with a shrug. "Bit of a difference there. Just a tiny bit. As far as I'm concerned, you guys are the ones who never compensated me for that bait and switch! Yeah! You fucks owe me money!"

He holds out a hand. "So you are right about one thing. Because, there is a debt that's going to get paid today. And it will be in blood. Any last words?"

"Lieutenant, it's ready!"

A voice and a spray of bullets comes from the shadows. Naruto throws up his arm, channeling aura to his haori, the bullets bouncing off the reinforced cloth. A quick blast of wind throws the hidden White Fang grunt against the wall, knocking them unconscious, the momentary distraction having given the Lieutenant just enough time to scamper back into the shadows.

"Oh no you don't!"

Naruto draws back his arm, wind and aura gathering into a condensed sphere of invisible blades. Before he can release them, his eyes dart to the crates. The rows of crates stacked on top of one another and lining the walls, each full of highly volatile, very explosive dust.

He bites back a curse, crashing the sphere in his hand.

At the very least, he can stop this metaphorical train wreck of a mission from becoming an actual train wreck.

"Alright, you giant bastard…" he growls, stalking further into the shadows. "Better not make me chase your ass down again-"

The hum of electricity fills the train car.

A flash of light blinds him. His instincts scream at him to dodge. Naruto leaps to the side as a giant something rushes past him, force and static tugging at his hair and clothes, the screech of lightning echoing in its wake.

Crackling luminescence pierces the darkness. A great bolt of lightning flies through the air. Naruto prepares to dodge, only for an annoying little voice in the back of his head to remind him just what that lightning is going to hit if he moves.

"Tch-!"

He plants his feet. Anchors himself with aura. Naruto draws back his arms, wind swirling in his palms. And channels all of his frustration into a battle cry as he thrusts his hands forward.

"FUUUUUUU-UU-UUU-!"

A sound that is definitely not a voice crack is drowned out by the snap and screech of lightning as he catches the blast of electricity. The impact sets his haori aflutter, the heat singing the edges of his sleeves. Digging in his heels, Naruto begins to push back, his wind dispersing the concentrated lightning.

"-UUUUUUUUUUUUU-!"

Aura becomes wind. Wind becomes a blade, and that blade slices through the lightning, Naruto throwing his arms apart as he rips the bolt of lightning in two, the electricity dispersing into harmless sparks.

"UUUCK-!"

A giant blur of white surges forward.

Naruto's eyes widen.

He just manages to leap back as a steel fist wreathed in lightning bursts from the shadows, slamming into his stomach with all the force of a pickup truck launched from a railgun. The blow turns his insides into mush, only aura and his own quick reactions stopping the lightning-enhanced punch from going straight through him, instead launching him off his feet, through the roof of the train car and into the air behind the speed train.

The tracks serve as his landing track, his spine none-too-gently digging a trench into and through the railway. All but embedded into a hole of his own making, Naruto groans. Smoke wafts from a hole in his shirt, the skin over his stomach bloodied and charred.

"… -uck."

Pushing up his mask, he pulls himself free, rolls over and vomits blood and whatever is left of his lunch onto the tracks.

"Urk…" he wipes his lips and says through ragged breaths. "Feels like… stomach's gone… probably ruptured… everything… ow..."

A shadow falls over him and descends with the crack of thunder. Naruto hurls himself out of the way as lightning and steel fall, blowing a hole through the train tracks. The shockwave throws him back, sending him tumbling across the train tracks.

He catches himself, skidding into a crouch. An electric blue light pierces the cloud of dirt and debris, the glow of a v-shaped visor. A smirk creeps across Naruto's lips and he lowers his mask. "To think I was worried I'd have to chase you down again… but here you are, coming to me."

Gold flares red. "How considerate."

An armored titan emerges from the dust.

Sleek, polished steel covers it from head to toe. Blue lightning crackles about its entire form. The curves and edges lend to it an air of a knight's armor. Glowing wires run from a pure white crystal set on its chest to the arms, the legs and to the ox-horned helmet where beady, black eyes glare at him through a v-shaped visor.

Metal fists clench. The crystal of dust glows brighter and brighter, screeching and humming as it pumps who knows how many millions of volts of electricity into the armor. A shroud of lightning engulfs the white knight, forming into… eight tentacles at its back.

Naruto stands, his eyes narrowing. "Eight, huh…"

The White Fang Lieutenant surges forward with a new speed belying his giant size, the armored titan drawing back a fist pulsating with energy. Time slows. One second stretches into five as adrenaline floods his body, his mind racing a mile a minute.

One. He hears the words echo in the back of his mind, alongside the crackle of flames and the rattle of a chain about to give way.

'Kaimon(Gate of Opening…'

Two. The armored titan has already crossed half the distance between them, electricity propelling him forward, a giant bolt of white lightning and steel.

Release.

Three. The chain shatters with a sound like falling glass. The warmth flooding his body becomes a heat and that heat ignites a flame, searing strength into his flesh and bone, burning away at his wound.

Four. Snapping white blinds him. He can feel its approach. The static causing his hair to stand on end. Tendrils of electricity licking at his exposed skin. Aura floods his insides, pouring out into the world in a torrent of light and sound, red and yellow and orange erupting into the air, fire pushing back the lightning.

Five.

The metal fist falls, sheathed in a veil of lightning.

A flash of gold meets it, turning it away, a burst of wind blasting the lightning from the armor.

A heatless flame erupts around him. And Naruto can see the Lieutenant's eyes widen beneath the visor as a tail of pure light emerges from behind him.

Another punch comes from the armored knight, this one from the other hand, this one with the same speed and cloak of lightning as the other. Again he intercepts with his tail, wind dispelling the cloak. The armored titan staggers back a step and Naruto draws back his arm, an invisible sphere of blades gathering into his palm.

He leaps forward. Thrusts out his hand. A deafening howl erupts from his palm, a storm of blades engulfing the train tracks, forcing the white knight backwards, stripping the lightning from its armor. His boot slams into the visor, two punches to the stomach doing all of nothing as the giant dust crystal at the armor's chest lights up again, electricity sparking across the steel plating as the Lieutenant brings his arms down in an overhead smash.

A quick burst of wind throws him to the side. Thunder and steel blows another hole through the train tracks. Naruto flips, lands sideways on the mountain face, a layer of aura securing his boots to the rocks. Another burst of air sends him footing upward as the armored titan barrels into the cliff side, smashing a new cavern into the mountain face.

The bolt of white lightning rushes him again, crackling electricity surrounding the armored titan's form. His tail again intercepts a punch too fast to dodge with enough force behind it to break his arm. Wind and lightning crash against one another, erupting into the sky. Naruto retreats further up the mountain. The Lieutenant follows with thundering speed. Yellow flame and white lightning race across the mountain side, summoning shockwaves and spraying pieces of rock and debris into the air each time they meet.

His world dissolves into a chorus of flashes and explosions.

The flash of lightning blinds him. The crack and boom of thunder deafen him. His eyes and ears fail him. Guesswork and pure instinct drive his movements as he trades blows with the armored faunus, tail against fists, aura against steel, wind against lightning, his own blows all but bouncing off of the lightning cloaked plating.

He should have just killed the giant bastard when he had the chance.

Now that stupid armor allows the faunus to punch harder than him and move faster than him, all the while protecting against his attacks.

It's almost like he's a kid again. A stupid, little kid, going up against people who he should have no business fighting, let alone beating. People who could breathe life into forest and spit out entire oceans, human-shaped monsters whose punches can crush mountains, whose kicks can part seas and whose semblances can be mistaken as natural disasters; the kinds of living legends who've even cleaved bolts of lightning in two, real lightning, not the piddly, kiddy, dust-lightning fueling the White Fang Lieutenant's armor.

He has fought against those kinds of people. He has survived against those kinds of people.

He has killed those kinds of people.

Compared to them, this fake, this pretender clad in a lie, is nothing.

Their battle reaches the top of the cliff side, pelting the train tracks below in gravel all the while. Wind howls. Thunder booms. Ducking under a punch, Naruto's tail sharpens with wind, its form becoming thinner and sleeker. The wind-infused aura slashes the Lieutenant across the chest, carving a scar into the dust crystal. He flips over a grab, slicing a horn off the helmet.

His eyes widen as he feels something wrap around his ankle, pins and needles racing up his leg. Glancing downwards, he finds one of the tentacles of electricity, coiled around his boot.

The other seven limbs of lightning grab for him. His tail slices through them all, along with the eighth tail holding his leg.

An armored fist crashes into his chest. Bone breaks. Lightning sears through flesh. Warmth gushes up his throat, the blow launching him off his feet. He flips, manages to right himself mid-air only to land hard on his leg, a numbness burrowed deep into the limb.

His eyes go wide as the Lieutenant barrels into him, goring him through the chest.

"Gah-!"

The world flashes white and red. Pain radiates from the piece of electrified metal shoved between his ribs and through a lung. His tail whips around, slicing the second horn from the helmet. He brings down his good leg on the armored titan's back, sending it crashing to the ground and catapulting him through the air.

He crash lands in a heap of limbs. A shaking hand grabs the length of steel stuck in his chest and rips it out, blood and steam rushing out from the wound.

"First, I got 'mugged'…" Naruto groans, grabbing the hole in his side and forcing himself to his feet. "Then, I got shot at… and now electrocuted and stabbed… huh, is it Tuesday already?"

"Hehehe… HAHAHAHAHA-!"

A warped laugh bellows out from the armored titan.

"Yes! YES! This speed! This strength! This power is what will free the faunus from the yoke of you pathetic humans!"

The white knight spreads its arms, electricity flickering from its fingertips.

"How ironic! How very ironic that you humans would create the instrument of your own undoing!"

"The hell are you talking about now…?" Naruto grunts.

The White Fang Lieutenant pauses to look at him. "You don't know… no, obviously you wouldn't. What would a snot-nosed brat like you know about them?"

"You'd be surprised…"

The mutter goes unheard as the Lieutenant continues his monologue. "Consider this lesson your last rites. I'll tell you what you humans have, for generations, have tried so hard to forget! Go to the grave cursing your ancestors for the sins they tried so hard to hide!"

"… Sins…?"

It takes a non-too-small amount of effort to keep the amusement out of his voice as he shifts, testing his weight on each leg.

"Thousands of years ago, nine grimm were born on Soshima, the Island of the Elementals! These grimm weren't your average grimm. They were stronger, faster, smarter, than the rest of their brethren, each blessed with their own authority over grimm-kind. Even as the Warring Clans Era ended and the Elemental Nations rose, these grimm survived, waiting for the day to strike as one and wipe humanity off the face of Remnant."

The voice blaring through the speaker is arrogant and gloating, as if already assured of his victory. The Lieutenant continues to speak, not noticing as the blood leaking from Naruto's wound slows to a stop, nor as the charred skin over his stomach begins to crumble and flake away.

"These grimm were given the name 'Bijuu', a word meaning 'Tailed Beasts' in the old language of the Elementals. Each Biju's strength corresponded to the number of tails they bore, the One-Tail being the strongest and the Nine-Tails being the weakest."

It is all the masked boy can to do stop from breaking out in laughter. Clench his teeth, dig a finger into his wound and be thankful neither of them can see the other's expression from behind their masks.

"The humans lived in fear of these grimm, of the Biju. An entire peninsula of Soshima was turned to a desert by the One-Tail in a single night and the Nine-Tails was said to be able to level mountains and summon tornados with a single swipe of its tail."

"Even with their dust, their semblances and weapons, there was no way for the humans to fight against such monsters. So they came up with a ritual, a vile, depraved and repulsive method of defeating these grimm."

The Lieutenant clenches his fists, lightning crackling along his armor.

"They couldn't fight them, they couldn't kill them, so they sacrificed women and children to seal them away, forcing those who couldn't fight to bear the burden of being a host to a grimm! Worse yet, these human sacrifices were not praised as heroes or saviors! They were given the name 'Jinchuuriki' and treated worse than dogs, as if they were the very monsters they imprisoned!"

"… Heh-"

The Lieutenant slams a gauntleted fist against his chest, the motion resonating like a clap of thunder.

"This very armor was based off the Jinchuuriki of the Eight-Tails, the second weakest of the Bijuu! That its power, the power of the Eight-Tails would fall into my hands, the hands of a faunus, is further proof I was meant to use this to free these lands from the reign of thee humans! It is justice! It is-"

Naruto bursts into laugher.

"Gahahahaha- ack, my wounds, it hurts! Hehe, hahahaha, I-I can't stop! Hahahaha-!"

The Lieutenant stares, dumbfounded. The masked boy laughs long and hard, clutching his stomach. He laughs until he can laugh no more, reaching under his mask to wipe away a tear.

"Oh, man. I didn't want to laugh, but hearing you spout off like you know anything is just too funny! And it's disgusting. It's so disgusting it makes me want to throw up and then laugh some more. It really is funny."

"Why you-!"

"Talking like that, like you know anything about the Jinchuuriki when you're nothing but a fake."

The Lieutenant freezes as the air trembles.

"It's so damn disgusting," Naruto says, tossing away his haori. "It's always disappointed me, the way you guys have changed over the years."

"You White Fang assholes act like what you're doing is for the betterment of all faunus. You act like victims when all you're doing is taking advantage of the faunus's hate and bitterness to drag them into your war. You've hurt innocent people, burned everyone's bridges and painted the hands of your entire race in red, all while having the audacity to talk about justice. And that really pisses me off."

"I just came here to collect the bounty on your head…" he explains, standing straight up without any hint of exhaustion or tiredness. "… but not only did you go to the trouble of bringing that armor to me. You've also given me a pretty juicy nugget of info. So, in return, let me correct a few of your misconceptions."

The burnt skin over his chest and stomach begin to flake off, revealing perfectly healthy skin underneath. He raises one finger.

"First, you got the order wrong when it comes to the strength of the Biju. Though, I can see why Kumo would want everyone else to think otherwise… Ichibi… the One-Tail is the weakest. The Eight and Nine Tails are in a realm of strength of their own. They could probably beat all of the other Biju with plenty of strength to spare."

He raises a second finger.

"Second, the Biju weren't sealed into non-combatants… they were sealed into woman and children because their bodies could adapt to the strain of housing a grimm the best…"

"Though, you are right about one thing," Naruto chuckles. "Jinchuuriki do tend to become pariahs… seen as the very monsters they contain."

Another finger extends. "Third. That armor doesn't even come close to the Eight-Tailed Sacrifice's power. Not even close. I've never fought him myself… but if the rumors I've heard are true, saying that armor 'gives you the strength of the Eight-Tails' is like comparing a paper airplane to a bullhead. Sure, they can both fly. But the similarities just about end there."

"And fourth," he raises his pinky. "You seem to be under the impression I only have one tail."

It really is a shame. He'd love to see the expression on the Lieutenant's face right about now.

"I am the White-Faced, Gold-Tailed, Demon Fox."

Naruto lowers his hand and spreads his arms, his voice echoing with power. The hole in his side has vanished. His stomach and chest are healed. The air around him begins to ignite, motes of golden embers flittering into the sky.

"Kagegoroshi. Tamamo. First of the Three Great Calamities, the Herald of Morning."

Behind him, his tail loses form, looking less like an actual tail and more like a length of living flame as a second tail emerges to join it. The golden flames in his eyes burn crimson, his pupils becoming vertical slits.

"Wielder of the Authority of Hatred, he who bears the Dead Demon Consuming Seal."

Those embers become tongues of flame, gold and crimson swirling around the masked boy as a third tail emerges, strips of shadow manifesting in the center of each of the tails.

"I am the Undying Vessel, the Jinchuuriki of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox."

"That's… impossible!" the armored titan takes a step back. "That's impossible! The Fourth Hokage killed the Nine-Tails almost sixteen years ago!"

"Don't you remember what you just told me?" Naruto asks with a chuckle, tearing off his shirt.

On his stomach, just above the navel, a menacing, crimson glow emanates from behind an ink spiral. Eight pillars enclose a central spiral, four seals forming the upper arc and four seals the lower arc.

"Now that introductions are out of the way… you seem pretty proud of that armor. Even if it is just a shitty fake."

His skin pales. The ink on his stomach appears almost to bleed. Black oozes from the seal and reaches upward. Tendrils of darkness creep across the whites of his eyes. Crimson energy and liquid shadow swirl around him as his skin begins to peel and flake off, revealing a layer of pulsating scarlet.

"So, why don't I give you a taste…"

The black crawls up his chest, over his throat and onto his face, staining the entirety of his mask a jet back. From the depths of the shadows, three eyes glow crimson, flames dance across the surface of the darkness.

A fourth tail emerges from behind him, this one forged of blood and shadow.

"… of just what the real thing can do."

AN: Third times the charm.