Of Heroes and Monsters
Welcome to Beacon
Chapter 18: White(II)
The water is warm, but not too warm. Warm enough to wash off the dried blood and dirt and general grime covering his body. Not warm enough to be comfortable or too relaxing. The water from the showerhead washes over him, a slight bit of water manipulation making up for his inability to use either of his hands on account of the nerve damage in one and the other still being attached to his arm somewhere in the Emerald Forest.
Ozpin didn't know anything either.
One can't survive in the underground without learning how to tell if someone is lying. The simple fact of the matter is that the safeguards and regulations that protect hunters and shinobi don't exist for mercenaries. The only thing protecting a sellsword like him from a lying client is the implied threat of their head being next on the chopping block if they are betrayed or otherwise misled.
And as far as he can tell, his current 'client' has done neither of those things. The headmaster appears to be every bit as baffled as he was by the Elder Wendigo's appearance. On the other hand, the huntsman's decision to leave him and a group of baby-hunters to fight it all on their own is a different matter entirely, one which he made sure to express his thoughts about via the application of a fist to the face.
There is a part of him that can't help but wonder if Ozpin was expecting that sort of a reaction from him.
The man had evenremoved his glasses beforehand, after all.
Naruto holds up his hand. The falling droplets slow and shift, rejecting the pull of gravity as they are pulled into a vortex of water, swirling into a collapsing cone above his palm. It is a relatively simple trick, two parts shape transformation with one part elemental manipulation, but still one he never would have been able to do in his younger years.
When his world was the village and everything beyond the its walls were wonder and imagination.
When a black-masked grimm was little more than a ghost that would haunt his nightmares whenever the nights were dark and the moon fell to pieces.
When the thought of him attending a huntsmen academy in Vale was just as ridiculous as the idea of him even surviving long enough to do so.
Funny how things tend to work out.
He makes a fist. The vortex accelerates, coalesces into a serpent of water, snaking up around his arm, over his shoulder, about his chest and onto the other shoulder, splashing into mist once more when it reaches the cloud of blackened ash fluttering about the stump that used to be his right arm.
At the rate it's going, the arm will probably be back in a day or so. A week at the latest, as long as his healing factor doesn't get taxed having to fix something else. With a sigh, Naruto grabs the disfigured limb and presses his forehead against the shower glass.
"Why did I do that…"
Only the sound of running water answers him. He allows himself a brief moment of contemplation, wondering if maybe, just maybe, he should have bit the bullet and accepted one of the other students as his partner instead of getting saddled with Goodwitch.
It doesn't take long for him to find the answer to be a resounding 'no'.
Sort of Ozpin himself, she is probably the one in this school most capable of dealing with the fallout should he decide to go rogue. From a tactical standpoint, from a political standpoint, from a logical standpoint, for him, Goodwitch really is the most ideal partner.
So why is it that any thoughts of his 'partner' only bring with them a hollow feeling of longing and regret?
He leans against the shower glass, pondering the emptiness in his chest. The water drums against his back. Eventually he pulls his forehead from the glass with another sigh and turns his attention to other, more physical matters.
Namely the spiral of ink scorched over his stomach.
A finger presses against the blacked skin, an unnatural heat emanating from the ink. It probably won't go away until his arm is finished healing, so he'll have to be careful. Arguably, the presence of the ancient grimm in his body is a darker secret than even his identity as the Demon Fox.
Ozpin knows. He has to know. There's no other reason the man would have invited him to come to this school. The real question is whether or not he has decided to share that little fact with Goodwitch.
Probably not.
If there's anything he's learned about old men with secrets, it's that those secrets tend to go one of two ways.
Either to the grave… or right in the middle of a situation they can only make worse.
"So, I'm going to have to tell her myself, eh?" Naruto raises a finger, a tiny flame flickering to life over his fingertip. An equally tiny chain sprouts from the flame, wrapping around the shower knob and turning it off. "That's going to be a fun conversation."
The water stops. The chain shatters. Naruto steps out of the shower to grab his towel and-
-freezes when he locks eyes with the person standing in the doorway.
"…"
"…"
Her eyes are wide like saucers, her pupils tiny, silver pinpricks. She refuses to meet his gaze, silent, her mouth half-open as she stares, unblinkingly. The silver-gaze drinks in his shoulders and chest, clinging to his upper body for all of three seconds before it drops, going lower, lower and lower until her blush spreads to turn her face the same shade as her hood.
"…"
"…"
"… w-wolfie?"
A slip. Two slips. The first, calling her by the same name only one 'other' person has ever used. The second, his coming out a fair few pitches higher than he'd have liked. Both caused by there being something else to the normally, all too talkative girl's gaze, something other than the surprise and mortification and embarrassment currently turning her the same shade as a tomato.
His voice seems to jolt her out of it. Her eyes go up. Down. Up. Down. Her voice spills out of her lips several pitches higher than usual as she tries and fails miserably to keep her gaze above his waist. "Penis- I mean, Naruto! Penis you doing here-I mean- I mean- I mean-I mean-I mean-!"
Naruto shuts the door.
He grabs the towel and starts to dry himself, his thoughts bouncing somewhere between 'totally called that' and 'how did I not notice her' before finally coming to a stop at the realization that if she really was staring at that, then there is a good zero percent change she didn't see his seal.
Well crap.
Regardless of what she may or may not have seen, people tend to agree with the reality they are most comfortable with. Considering the only evidence she has to go on is the mark on his stomach, he doubts she will be able to connect the boy who lost an arm protecting her with the masked criminal she fought that night in Vale.
It's a clan marking. A seal that anyone can have. A trick of the light. A bit of unwashed blood. Excuses and counterarguments aplenty go through his mind.
And he discards them all with a sigh.
His own words to Blake echo back to him. Securing his towel to his waist, Naruto steps out of the bathroom to find red curled into a ball on top of one of the beds. He opens his mouth to call out to her. Pause. Frowns at his half-nakedness.
'I should probably get dressed first…'
With only the partial use of one arm, it takes a moment to change into the clothes Ozpin lent him. A miss-buttoned white dress shirt and the black dress pants are the only pieces he picks from the standard Beacon Academy uniform, the noose, vest and blazer all going to the way side. He goes to sit next to the crimson cocoon, waiting patiently for the painfully awkward, not-so-social butterfly to emerge.
The seconds tick by. Naruto clears his throat, throwing a glance at the red ball. "So… you enjoy the view?"
The ball shudders and, for a second, he swears the girl manage to somehow blush through her hood.
"Yeah, honestly I one-hundred-percent saw this sort of thing coming. Tried to warn sneeze, but she called me an idiot. She's the one who let me in, by the way."
No response. He perks a brow.
"How long were you standing there, anyway?"
The ball shudders again. Naruto stares with a blank expression and a small blush before his lips pull into a slight smirk.
"I mean, I don't get what you're so embarrassed about. I saw your boobs last night, so I guess we can just call it even. T-though I suppose you did get the 'full package', not just the boys, but I only got the girls a-and…"
Naruto stops, squeezes his eye shut and presses a hand over his face as the heat in his cheeks becomes too much for him to keep going. What appears to be steam starts to waft from inside the wrapped-up ball of red.
This is awkward. This is so, very, painfully awkward, but he cannot allow himself to run away.
He wants to. He wants to, oh so very badly. It would be all too easy just jump out that window right now and pretend the last couple minutes never happened. Ruby probably would play along, if only to avoid the potential death by sheer embarrassment. Alas, he has already made up his resolve. This is the path he has chosen. He must see it to its end, no matter where that end may lead. All there is left to do is endure and push on ahead.
Naruto coughs. He takes a breath. And another. "Hey, you like weapons, right?"
A lonely, silver eye peeks out from under the red hood. Hesitant. Weary but hopeful that his attempts at embarrassing her out of her shell are over with.
He should let it end there. The rational part of him tells to get to the serious stuff now. But the joke is there, and in spite of the heat scorching his cheeks, he cannot resist. With a grin and a face every bit as red as her hood, Naruto looks her in the eye and says-
"So, what'd you think of my kwnai?"
-and proceeds to curses whatever god, goddess or deity is responsible for cursing the half population of humanity with voice cracks.
The silver eye widens. Silence. For a moment, neither of the two teenagers says nothing. And then-
"Pft… hehehe…h-hahahaha- AHAHAHAHA-!"
Laughter fills the room. Ruby falls backwards onto the bed, clutching her stomach and kicking her feet.
"K-kwnai! Kwnai! HAHAHAHAHA-!"
Naruto holds his face in his hand, the heat in his cheeks actually starting to melt his brain, steam beginning to pour from his ears in turn as his healing factor attempts to repair said brain damage.
"-HAHAHAHAHAHA-!" Thud. Ruby rolls off the bed and hits the floor face first. For a moment, there is silence. Then= "-AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA-!"
This was a mistake. Everything was a mistake. He never should have come to this school, Vale, he never should have left the Island of the Elementals. He regrets everything, everything and everything, the only solace he can find in this situation being that it was Ruby and not her sister that walked in on him and witnessed this blunder.
The laughter dies down. Ruby climbs back onto the bed, wiping a tear from her eye. "Hehehe… kwnai… hehe…"
"You done, red?"
"You're more red than me!"
"You're red…"
Naruto rubs his face and pulls back his hand, giving her a dry glare. Ruby smiles back at him.
"Well, I'd have to s-I-I mean, why'd Weiss let you in our room?! Was it just to use the shower? Why didn't you just use the shower in your room?"
"I don't know where my room is. I was planning on just taking a bath in the lake but…"
"Oooh~," Ruby makes a noise of realization and nods, apparently agreeing with her partner's action.
"What?"
"What do you mean, 'what'? Of course, you shouldn't be taking a bath in a lake! What if you got an infection or something?!"
"Healing factor. But hey, what about you guys? Is everyone okay?"
"Yang's a bit beat up but she's always been tough, so she should be fine. Weiss too, but I saw her going back to the nurse. And Blake, I think she's a bit bummed she lost her weapon but last I saw she was just reading a book. Yeah, since I saw everyone I figured there wouldn't be anyone in our room! So, when I came in and the shower was on…"
"Mmm. What about you?"
"The nurse lady said I have a bit of a… contusion-?"
"-concussion?"
"-yeah that! But otherwise, I'm okay."
"Mm," Naruto lets out a blank grunt and a nod, an almost invisible sigh of relief escaping his lips. With his body still in the process of healing his right arm, the seal over his right eye has been set entirely to suppression. The lone blue eye on the left goes to the door, the window, the blank walls of the room, for some reason unable to look at the girl next to him.
He should tell her. He has to tell her. Eventually, she will learn the truth. Because even if 'eventually' doesn't come today, or tomorrow, or even a week, a month, a year from now, it will come. And when it does, that happy illusion will be shattered to reveal the ugly reality underneath.
And it will hurt all the more for the time she spent believing in it.
-You are the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox-!
"Hey so, it looks like Uncle Qrow's weapon was working pretty well for you before… you know," Ruby asks with a guilty glance at the empty sleeve to his right, her voice drawing him from his thoughts. "But yeah, you were kicking tons of butt with Harbinger's sword form! And that pincer attack we did was awesome! We should totally think of a name for it!"
"Why can't we just call it 'pincer attack'?"
"No way, that's sooo~ boring! And besides, if we're fighting someone and one of us just shouted 'pincer attack', they'd instantly know what we were doing! It needs a cool codename!"
"Alright, what do you want to call it?"
"Naruby!"
"Please never say that word again."
"Uuu~…"
A small chuckle escapes him at the disappointed expression on her face. "But yeah, the two weapons I'm most comfortable with are greatswords and scythes, so… 'Harbinger' was a good fit for me. It was actually a pretty big help… you know. Until the giant dog-monkey-deer-rabbit-plant-mulch monster showed up."
"Ehehe, mulch monster…" Ruby lets out a small laugh of her own. "That's kind of a weird, combination, isn't it? Why'd you learn to use a greatsword and a scythe?"
"Because they're flashy."
"Huh?"
"Well, I mean… how do I put it…? As a kid, you see someone swinging around a scythe and you're just like 'whoa, that's so cool and badass, I want to use a scythe too!' and… well, that's pretty much why I started to use a scythe."
Ruby nods excitably, leaning towards him. "Right, right?! I mean, Yang's always going 'just a scythe is too slow and bulky' and 'you're going to get your butt kicked if you ever meet anyone who actually knows their way around a fight', but you don't really need to learn something like hand-to-hand as back up, right?"
He somehow manages to resist the urge to say 'your performance that night in Vale after I disarmed you should speak for itself'. "It doesn't really have to be taijutsu- er, hand-to-hand, but generally it's good to have a backup. Like a sword or something."
"… You really think?"
Naruto shrugs.
"I'll think about it." Ruby hops to her feet and goes over to her things, taking out a shower. "So, I was planning on taking a shower so-"
"Want me to leave?"
"Oh no it's fine, just uh… please don't look?"
"I… don't really want to?"
"Oh." She blushes and looks away. "Right. Uh… it's just since I… I mean, with your arm, I was wondering… erm… it's just… I… never mind!"
With a squeak and a flurry of rose petals, the bathroom door slams shut. Naruto stares at the door with a confused look, not entirely sure what the excitable girl was trying to get at. He thinks about it for a moment, decides he doesn't really care and lets out a sigh.
Well, it's now or never.
A relationship built on lies will only end in suffering. One way or another, if he keeps this charade up, someone is going to get hurt. The incident with the Wendigo is proof enough. If they knew the truth of who he is, there's no way they would have gone back for him. And because they did, they almost got themselves killed.
It is obvious enough Ruby will be the leader of RWBY. So, if she knows the truth at the very least she will be able to direct her team accordingly. Besides, even if he is to keep his identity a secret, Ozpin did say he would be leaving it to him to decide how to deal with the girl he fought that night in Vale.
The sound of running water comes from the bathroom. Naruto gets to his feet. Another sigh. He rubs the back of his neck, swallows the lump in his throat and makes his way over, pressing his back against the door.
A moment passes. And another. Naruto opens his mouth and closes it without a word. He squeezes his eye shut, bites down on his unease and swallows again.
Thud. The back of his head knocks against the door. And sure enough-
"N-Naruto?!"
"Ruby. There's… something I need to tell you."
"… What is it? Is something wrong?"
She seems to immediately realize it is something serious. Probably because he opted to use her actual name instead of some lazy, short hand. Naruto lets out another sigh.
-You are the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox-!
"I am the Demon Fox. The one you fought that night in Vale."
He barrels on ahead, not giving her a chance to respond. "After I got away from Goodwitch, I ran into Ozpin and he offered me a chance to come to his school on the condition that I keep my identity a secret."
There is no response at first. Only a silence and the rapid pitter patter of the shower water. Is it cruel to spring something like this on her so suddenly? Maybe. Probably. But in the end, it is for the best. Even if she hates him for it, it is better for her to find out now instead of in a situation where it could put her in danger. It is better for her to hear it from him instead of someone else.
-You are the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox-!
Even now, six years later, he can recall that day in perfect clarity. From morning to night. From when his biggest worry was not being able to pass the final exam to when his world burned down around him. The violent end to the peaceful beginnings that set him on the bloody path to becoming who he is today.
Even now, its memory still haunts him.
He can only hope, for her, that this becomes nothing more than an unpleasant memory. If she even remembers it, six years from now.
"Then… why are you telling me?"
The voice that dispels the silence is confused. Scared. Hurt and maybe even a bit angry. Nothing he shouldn't have expected and nothing he shouldn't have prepared for.
"Because you were going to find out eventually," Naruto says simply. "After everything that happened in Vale, it'd only be a matter of time. When I brought it up, I was told Ozpin said he'd leave it up to me to decide what to do. So, I figured it'd be better for you to hear it from me."
"… What about Yang? Does she-?"
"She trashed the bar I usually go to for work, but most people don't know I go there, so no. The only people who know are Ozpin, some of the teachers and you."
"Oh. That's…"
A pause. For another moment, there is nothing but the sound of running water between them. Then-
"Thank you."
Naruto perks a brow, glancing behind him at the door. "For what?"
"For telling me… and… not murdering my sister…"
"You're… welcome?"
Again, the silence returns. Naruto coughs. He glances to the side and scratches the back of his head.
'… This is awkward…'
He had expected anger. Hatred. Rage. The sort of reception that would have made Goodwitch's attitude towards him seem warm in comparison. All of those he knows how to deal with. All of those he has dealt with for his entire life.
An entirely non-sarcastic thank you and a contemplative silence? To say he is stumped would be an understatement.
Maybe she is still reeling from the shock of learning her new 'friend' is one of the most infamous criminals of the century.
Or maybe she is scared? Afraid if she says the wrong thing, he will silence her to tie up any loose ends. Though if she was, he'd probably be able to tell. He has always been more attuned to negative emotions than normal people. Then again, there is always the possibility the sleep deprivation and fatigue are dulling his senses.
Either way, he should leave. Give her some time to sort out her thoughts without his presence to influence her. That'd probably be best.
"Ozpin told me to keep my presence at this school a secret," Naruto begins to explain. "But, in all honesty, after the crap he pulled in the forest, I really don't care much about what he wants right now. If this gets out, it'll be trouble. I'll probably have to leave the school. So…"
If you want me gone, that's all you have to do.
Pitter, patter, pitter, patter. The gentle drumming of the shower water again rushes to fill the silence. Naruto shoves a hand in his pocket and pushes off the bathroom door. He makes his way across the room and prepares to leave, only for the voice to come again from the bathroom.
"Naruto…? That's actually your name right? Naruto?"
"… Yeah. Naruto Uzumaki."
"Okay, um… so… you're not leaving right? You're staying at Beacon?"
"That's the plan, at least."
"Alright… can we talk? Later, I mean."
"Sure. Anytime. Just… just let me know."
Naruto exits the room, the door closing behind him with a gentle click. His departure is quiet. Almost silent. And because he leaves the room, he does not hear as Ruby calls out again with a somewhat forced cheerfulness to her voice.
"Hey, so I was thinking about going to buy school supplies later, and Yang was telling me we should just wait until the after the first round of classes so we'll actually know what we need to buy but I was thinking it couldn't hurt to be prepared so I was thinking I'd go get some today! I was just wondering if, you know, you wanted to come with me? If you're not too tired, I mean. After everything that happened in the forest, if you don't really want to that's okay, but I just wanted to ask, since, you know, if you're going to be a student here you'll probably need some stuff too."
…
…
…
"… Naruto?"
…
"-Russel Thrush. Cardin Winchester. Dove Bronzewing. Sky Lark. The four of you retrieved the black bishop pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team CRDL(Cadinal), led by… Cardin Winchester!"
The crowd around her erupts into applause. Blake stifles a yawn as the newly christened Team CRDL walks off the stage.
It had slipped her mind. They may have already received their team assignments, but they still don't know who the leader is going to be yet. Following the convention set by CRDL, that means the 'R' of their team is probably going to be their leader. Ruby Rose. While she has some reservations about the younger girl's maturity, that innocence and optimism isn't necessarily a bad thing.
Blake Belladonna glances over at said girl, both red and white partners appearing to be vaguely unsettled by something.
If she was to hazard a guess, she would say that 'something' is the absence of a certain whiskered idiot.
"Jaune Arc. Lie Ren. Pyrrha Nikos. Nora Valkyrie. The four of you retrieved the white rook pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team JNPR(Juniper)."
She hadn't given it much thought earlier. Tired and beaten and bruised from their battle against the Elder Wendigo, the only think she could think about after they left the forest was asleep. And now, a short nap later, it has begun to dawn upon her just how precarious her situation is.
It was never her intention to let anyone find out about her faunus heritage. That Naruto found out was something entirely beyond her expectations, even more so his reaction, which amounted to a big 'so what?'. She'd be lying if she said there wasn't some part of her that had hoped they would end up partners, if only so she won't need to worry about hiding her ears from the person she will be working with for the next four years.
"-led by… Jaune Arc!"
Even so, Yang seems to be friendly enough. The blond looks to be rather fond of Naruto, even if he isn't a faunus himself. So, she doubts the revelation of her species will throw much of a wrench in their relationship.
The problem is not her partner, nor even her partner's sister. No, her worry stems from the fourth in their team of four.
Weiss Schnee.
The daughter of a man known the world over for his corrupt business practices, the ruthless exploitation of his faunus employees being only one of the various misdeeds to his name.
Of all the people she could have ended up on a team with, it had to be a Schnee. And perhaps the only Schnee absolutely justified in her hatred of the faunus, considering what the White Fang had very nearly done to her three years ago.
There's no way she can allow the heiress to learn about her past. The events of three years ago had probably only served to further reinforce the prejudices passed down to her by her father. Which means she probably won't be very forgiving of anyone with even a history with the organization that had abducted and tried to murder her not so long ago.
A nudge on her shoulder pulls her from her thoughts. Blake looks up to see her image appear on the screen, next to the faces of her teammates, Ruby and Weiss already making their way onto the stage. Yang motions for them to follow and they both go to the stage as well.
Blake perks a brow.
From afar, she hadn't noticed it. But this close to the man, it is obvious. There is a slight swelling of the skin around the headmaster's right eye, the injury mostly healed but still there.
"Blake Belladonna. Ruby Rose. Weiss Schnee. Yang Xaio Long. The four of you retrieved the white knight pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team RWBY, led by… Ruby Rose!"
… As expected. Even if the team name wasn't literally her name, she was the one to organize their attempted rescue of the weakened Naruto. It's obvious she'd be Professor Ozpin's first choice to lead them for the next four years.
"I'm so proud of you!" Yang gushes, wrapping her sister in a hug. Weiss's gaze snaps to the headmaster and back to the younger girl, disbelief and denial clear in her eyes.
'Well, it should have been obvious,' Blake muses.
They make their way off the stage, Blake watching the fuming heiress out the corner of her eye.
Really, it isn't fair to judge her without giving her a chance first. After all, prejudice is prejudice, regardless of whether it stems from a person's physical attributes or their biological parents. Even so, the faunus can't help but feel a sense of unease around the Schnee. It is akin to treading into a minefield, knowing the slightest mistake could set something off.
A memory from earlier this morning drifts to the forefront of her mind. An overheard conversation, one she only picked up thanks to her faunus heritage. Her team leader had wanted to pair up with Naruto and the whiskered boy had none too gently rejected her.
It would have been nice, Blake muses. She'd have someone she wouldn't have to hide her heritage from on her team. Naruto himself seems to already be rather close to the sisters, despite them having only met the day before.
What would their team name have even been? Off the top of her head, she can't think of any word for red with an 'N', a 'B' and a 'Y'. Though, maybe they could've used his last name. She knows some people from Shoshima only use their given name with close friends and use their family name with everyone else. So perhaps they could have used the first letter from Naruto's last name, which is…
Blake blinks.
What is Naruto's last name, anyway?
"And last but not least, Naruto Uzumaki."
See? R-U-B-Y. It would have been perf-.
…
'Uzumaki'?
As in… the Ghost of the Spiral City, 'Uzumaki'? The same 'Uzumaki' who had walked into a White Fang encampment three years ago and caused most of their forces to pass out in fear, whose very presence made her see visions of her own bloody and gruesome death? That 'Uzumaki'?
The Uzumaki better known to the world over as the White-Faced, Gold-Tailed, Demon Fox?
"… Naruto Uzumaki."
Professor Ozpin's voice echoes out again, as if to inform her that no, she had not heard wrong and that the 'boy' she met only yesterday does in fact share the same name as the infamous monster feared the world over. That… that…
"He didn't," Weiss hisses in disbelief.
Ruby looks around with a confused expression. "… Naruto?"
Professor Ozpin lets his head drop with a sigh. To his die, Professor Goodwitch's expression sours into a promise of pain and suffering for he who would dare to be so insolent as to not even bother showing up at a ceremony celebrating his achievements.
The sudden change in mood is enough for Blake to snap herself out of her impromptu panic attack. And when she does, she very nearly buries her face in her palm.
How could she be so stupid?
Family names are, of course, shared among family. And with how common place clans are in the Great Villages of Shoshima, it wouldn't be strange for ten, or twenty, or even hundreds of people to share the same family name. Naruto had told her he was from Konohagakure, the same place rumored to be the origin of the Demon Fox. It is no wonder he was uncomfortable talking about it.
He probably didn't want her to jump to the exact conclusion she just had.
And she was just thinking about how she shouldn't be judging someone based on their family.
"Naruto… Uzum-"
"Dyyynamiiiic~ ENTR- AH TOO DYNAMIC-!"
Another voice interrupts the headmaster, this one in the form of a scream coming from above and outside the building. A blur of white crashes through the ceiling, plummeting into the stage and kicking up a great cloud of dust.
The dust clears to reveal a body planted waist-deep in the stage, their sandaled feet twitching in the air.
"Ah, Naruto. How nice of you to join us."
This time, Blake does facepalm.
"MMM-MMMMMM! MMM! MMMMMMM!"
An angry yelling comes from the body, his voice muffled beneath a good foot and a half of stone. Yang flips back her hair with an amused look and makes her way onto the stage.
"Um, Professor Goodwitch? He… says you never told him when the assembly was supposed to be," Ruby translates in a hesitant tone. "And, uh, he called you a bad word."
Her older sister grabs the planted boy by the legs. "Hup-!" With one good yank, Yang pulls him from the stage.
"Ah, thanks."
"Yup."
Back on his feet, Naruto pats the dust off a white cloak lazily draped over his right shoulder. A simple and understandable solution to the eyesore that is his missing limb.
"I sent you a message fifteen minutes ago," Professor Goodwitch scowls at the younger boy.
"Yeah! FIFTEEN MINUTES AGO! REAL helpful after I spent the last hour on a bullhead back to Vale! I swear this better not become a regular thing with you!"
Yang steps off the stage. Professor Goodwitch goes to Naruto's side. And Blake perks a brow.
"Wonder what he was doing in Vale?" Yang muses.
"I'm more curious about how he made it here from Vale in fifteen minutes…" Blake murmurs.
Without looking winded in the slightest… when only a few hours ago he looked to be on the brink of death…
"Naruto Uzumaki. You retrieved the white pawn piece."
… Then again, assuming they are from the same clan, it only stands to reason Naruto's power would be comparable to that of his relative(?). Familial semblances are fairly common in the lands of the Elementals. Even then, the strength he had shown in the forest was entirely different from that of the Demon Fox, in both scale and magnitude.
The Demon Fox used a black scythe of metal and wood, not wide-scale, wind-element ninjutsu. The Demon Fox could have slaughtered the monster that attacked them in the forest.
"You displayed a strength and bravery far beyond that of your peers, sacrificing your body and your position at this school for the safety of your friends.
The displays blink out and switch, images of Naruto's furious battle against the Elder Wendigo playing across the screens.
Him saving Ruby at the cost of his arm.
Trees and earth being smashed to splinters, the black giant chasing the white-haired boy across the forest.
The sphere of spiraling light engulfing the shadow and eclipsing the horizon.
Awe and disbelief sweep through the crowd. Team RWBY watches the images with doubt. With envy and a begrudged respect. With uncertain fear. And with admiration and wonder.
Professor Goodwitch closes her eyes. Naruto's lips press into a thin, flat line, his gaze darkening.
"In light of your performance in the Emerald Forest, we here at Beacon Academy believe it would be a waste of your potential to assign you to a traditional team. As such, you will be apprenticing directly under our very own Professor Goodwitch for your time here at Beacon."
"… I swear if the witch eats me, I'm coming back for the other eye."
"Silence, child. Do not make a scene."
"Bit late for that, don't you think?"
Just like when Professor Ozpin had revealed to them Naruto's team assignment at the cliffs, a silence fills the room at first. Then, murmurs start to filter through the auditorium.
Some disbelief. A bit of jealousy, both of the 'he's so lucky to be working with a seasoned huntress' and of the 'he's so lucky to get the hot teacher as his partner' variety. To her pleasant surprise, the reception of the general crowd seems to be a combination of excitement to see the potential of this young and unknown prodigy, a slight bit of envy and amusement that the two appear to already hate each other.
Little to no comments about the boy being a faunus or potentially being a faunus. There are a few comments sprinkled here and there, both negative and positive(there are more than a few mentions of his whisker marks being 'cute'), but the consensus seems to be mostly indifference.
She recalls their conversation from yesterday and a small smile makes its way onto her lips.
Maybe these next four years won't be so bad after all.
Blake turns her focus back onto the stage. And the more she thinks about it, the more ridiculous it gets.
How could Naruto be the Demon Fox? The thought of a psychopath like that fighting to protect them, sacrificing themselves to give them a chance to escape, is ridiculous.
Besides, there's also the fact of how much he struggled against the Elder Wendigo.
It is not to discount or discredit the younger boy. The Elder Wendigo was a creature straight out of a nightmare. But, after all… there's no way someone who fought Adam to a standstill at the age of twelve-
"From this day forward, the two of you will work together as Team GN(GwyNn)."
-who was responsible for the deaths of not one but two reigning Kage-
"… Gwynn?"
"It is a name that means 'white' or 'blessed'."
-the monster who massacred the entirety of the Atlassian Military's 1st Battalion and Special Forces Division down to a lone survivor and burned the Great Village Hidden in the Leaves to the ground in a single night-
"Huh. Really thought with the whole 'Red' and 'Blue' thing, he was just going to go with 'GreeN'."
-would have had any trouble defeating a grimm of that caliber on their own.
Right?
…
"You know, on the one hand, I did promise myself I'd rip off the first dick Ruby saw before she turned sixteen. On the other, it sounds like she spent a good five minutes staring at your butt before you turned around, so…"
"Okay, you know what? I just wanted to check on you, see how you were doing, make sure you were okay, but never mind and- w-wait, what?! Five minutes?! Did she seriously say that?"
"Joking… it was probably like a good three or two."
"-!"
She smiles at the look of blank shock over his face. Hand on her hip, Yang Xaio Long beholds the ruins of the building where she and the whiskered boy fought only a day before.
The sun has begun to dip below the horizon. Remnant's shattered moon is just visible in the distance. Her sister's partner had very quickly stormed off after the ceremony. Blake had gone back to their room to nap. And so, as the day winds down to a close, Yang finds herself alone with the boy who her little sister has spent most of the past few hours trying to find.
It was a gut feeling. Somehow, she knew if she came here, she'd find him or he'd find her. One way or another.
"Apparently, the place we're staying at is actually one of the extra rooms at the sophomore dorms."
"Really?"
"Yup. I hear they're a lot nicer than these freshmen dorms are… well, were. Before we got to it."
They share a chuckle.
"Ah man," Naruto lets out a sigh. "It was only yesterday but it feels like it's been way too long."
"It really does…"
"So, you good?"
It feels like she took a sledgehammer to the gut. Multiple times. "Great. You?"
"Yeah." He rubs at his eye. His scarred eye. "Always."
"Just going to ignore the arm?"
"Healing factor. 'Sides, I'm pretty sure I can still kick your ass, arm or no arm."
"Watch yourself, whiskers. I ain't above beating up a cripple."
Naruto lets out a sound somewhere between a scoff and a chuckle. Yang glances over at the empty sleeve to his right.
"How's that even work, anyway? Just going to pop out a new arm or are you going to have a little, baby arm that grows up super-fast?"
Naruto rolls up the sleeve to show her the misty shadows repairing his arm. "Bit of both."
"Whoa. Freaky."
"… It is, isn't it?"
A smile cuts across his cheeks as the words leave his mouth. It is a wrong smile. A smile that looks entirely out of place on the face of a boy the same age as her little sister. A smile more suited for someone like her father or uncle.
"Either way, I'm glad to hear it," Yang steps around him. She pulls the sleeve back down to get rid of that terrible smile and puts her hands on his shoulders, straightening her back, popping her chest forward to give her boobs the slightest jiggle.
It works like a charm. His expression goes blank, his eye goes wide and his gaze drops to somewhere in her cleavage.
"Thank you."
"Uh… yeah, er… no problem..." a blink. He looks up at her. "Wait, what'd I do?"
"Oh, you know, just saved my little sister's life like three times. No biggie."
"Three times?" Naruto perks a brow. "Where'd you get three from? I guess if you count last night and when I cushioned her fall, but she'd probably have been fine on her own. Probably."
"We'll count it as one," Yang gives him an inviting smile with half-lidded eyes. She takes another step forward and rests her forearms on his shoulders. "Plus, when you lost your arm…"
"It's fine," He glances to the side and gives the empty sleeve a flap. "I can regenerate an arm. I doubt wolfie can regenerate a… everything."
She shoves the gruesome image out of her head before it can appear. Another step. "And for what you did at the end, there…"
"… at the end?" he glances up at her. Unsure. For a moment looking like an actual fifteen-year old boy instead of the unstoppable hurricane of wind and gold she had seen in the forest.
"That 'condition' Professor Ozpin gave you for coming to Beacon," she makes sure to keep her voice as kind and accepting as possible. Nothing to suggest any sort of anger or disapproval. "It wouldn't happen to have anything to do with how you met Junior, would it?"
Bingo. He looks away. Shifts. His hand presses against his stomach. "… It does."
"I'm not angry or anything, I just wanted to know, that's all."
"I'm sorry," he winces. "I know I shouldn't have let things get so out of control, but I just-"
"Don't apologize."
It makes enough sense.
Why he held back until the very last second. Why Ozpin would have imposed that sort of condition on him in the first place.
What sort of person Junior, an information broker who deals in the underground, would be 'sometimes marginally useful to'.
The kind of person who should have never had a chance to get into a school like this, short of a chance run-in with the headmaster himself. Who would be assigned to the strongest person at this school as a means of potentially keeping them in check.
Someone with everything to gain and nothing to lose by leaving them all to die at the claws of the freak of nature that attacked them in the forest.
But he didn't. So, she won't hold it against him.
"Prof… Ozpin and the teachers shouldn't have put you in that situation to begin with. It's not your fault, so quit blaming yourself."
Yang looks down at his missing arm with a concerned smile. "Besides, you're the one who came out of it the worst out of all of us."
Naruto gives the empty sleeve another flap. "Yeah, well, like I said. Healing factor."
"Still, you- ack!"
A finger pokes her side. She jolts, her entire body aching like a sore muscle. Yang flinches, shoots the owner of the finger a glare and receives only a flat stare in response.
"You on the other hand…" his nonchalant expression shifts to one of concern. "You sure you're okay? It'll take a bit because my hand's still messed up, but I can always heal you like I did yesterday. If you really need it."
"But you'd have to turn off your healing factor in the meantime, right? Trust me, compared to you, I'm sure I'm great."
"Yeah, 'compared to me' is generally a terrible metric to be comparing to. Most people can't grow arms like fingernails, you know."
"I'm fine. Trust me, I'm fine. Really."
"I'll poke you again," he says, raising his finger. Menacingly.
"You sure there isn't something else you'd rather poke me with?" Yang asks with a wiggle of her brow.
He blinks at her. His brow furrows, a cute and stupid sort of look on his whiskered cheeks. "What?"
"Well~," She takes another step. The distance between them becomes mere inches. Again, his gaze drops like a rock into the valley between her breasts. "If it weren't for you, I'd be out a little sister… if it weren't for you, we'd have all died. I owe you for that. And for the arm."
Her hands slide over his shoulders, fingers coming to rest around his biceps.
"So, I was thinking… how should I repay you?" she asks in a floaty hum with a smile that says she knows full well how she intends to.
"I mean, you can just buy me some ramen or something…"
The moment dies. Horrifically. Brutally. Without a single hope for revival. A sigh. Yang lets her head drop with something between a snort and a chuckle, her ego only the slightest bit bruised by the boy knowingly, or even unknowingly, choosing a bowl of noodles over her.
"You know I was going to sleep with you, right?" she asks, half wondering if that'll fly over his head as well.
It doesn't. "Really?! Wait, no, I want that!"
"Nope. Too late. Ramen it is."
His disappointment lasts for all of a second before he shrugs with a lazy 'meh'.
It doesn't bug her. It really doesn't. He's basically the same age as Ruby, so it's no different than how her own adorable, little sister would probably do just about anything for a plate of cookies. A bit young but not exactly out of her strike-zone, immature and pure in his own kind of fucked up way, she'd be lying if she said it wasn't part of his charm.
Yeah. It was just a joke anyway. Better something than nothing, after all. If she was really trying, there's no way he'd turn her own. So, it doesn't bug her.
Really.
Yang shifts to wrap an arm around Naruto's shoulders, pulling him into a one-armed hug, taking her phone with the other. "Come on, the bullheads are still going to be running for a few hours. I can buy you a bowl. Just let me call Rubes, I don't think she's ate yet, either."
There is a tiny jolt. She'd probably not have noticed if not him being half pressed against her. He looks to the side and, again, his hand goes to his stomach. "That's…"
"Something wrong?"
"Yeah, no, it's just…" he scratches his cheeks. "I… don't know if that's a good idea."
"Come on," Yang gives him a small shake and a smile. "You really that embarrassed she saw your 'little-ruto'?"
"Psh, no," his tone is dismissive, but there is a definite tinge of red to his whiskered cheeks. He rubs at the blush, as if trying to hide or wipe it away. "If you haven't noticed, things just have a tendency of spiraling way out of control whenever I'm in her immediate proximity."
He slips out from under her arm and flaps around his empty sleeve. "So, that's why I'd rather wait for my arm to grow back before we end up having to fight some, shady, criminal organization because they want to steal her 'sweetheart' or her weapon or whatever she calls wants to call it."
"You… are not wrong," Yang admits with a sheepish chuckle.
Between their little midnight excursion the day before and the events of the initiation, even she can't deny that things have a tendency of going horrifically wrong whenever the two are around one another…
"So, if you don't mind, I'm going to go keep avoiding your sister before I lose my right leg, too," he deadpans. "As far as missing arms and legs go, I try to keep it to one limb at a time."
"I'll let her know she's in the doghouse till the arm comes back."
He lets out a chuckle and a slight smile. A good smile. Not like the one before. "By the way, I sent you that picture."
"Oh, nice."
"Yeah, if you need anything, just send me a message. I'll be around. Later."
With that, the whiskered boy vanishes into a whirlwind of golden embers. Yang rubs the back of her neck, watching the motes of light fade away with an exasperated smile.
"Haa… what am I going to do with you?"
…
"Mmm… so everyone is okay with saving the redecorating for tomorrow?"
"""Yup."""
With a chorus of agreements, Team RWBY comes to its first, unanimous decision. Namely, that of leaving the task of organizing their room to tomorrow's Team RWBY in favor of getting some early shut-eye.
Dressed in her Beowolf and rose petal themed pajamas, Ruby collapses into her bed with a sigh.
Okay. Day one. Exploded. Literally exploded and almost blew both her and her future partner off the side of the cliff. Not good. Made two new friends. Good. Actually send her and one of said new friends flying off the cliff. Not so good.
Day two. Attacked by what is probably the scariest grimm she has ever seen. Almost die. Twice. Find out that 'friend' is actually one of the most dangerous and infamous criminals of their time. Get named leader of her team.
Yayyy….
She really, really, really hopes third time's the charm…
…
In the end, she didn't even see him again after the ceremony.
Naruto… is the Demon Fox.
Naruto is the Demon Fox.
Naruto is the Demon Fox.
No matter how many times she says it to herself, something about the statement just feels… wrong. She can't put her finger on why. It makes sense. Professor Ozpin would want to get someone like that off the street by any means necessary. And instead of sending teams after teams of huntsmen after him, huntsmen he'd just beat like he beat Professor Goodwitch, huntresses who probably wouldn't go home to their children, why not just recruit him? Send him after the grimm instead of his fellow man.
It makes enough sense. It makes perfect sense.
So why does thinking about it make her so uneasy?
That's why she wanted to go shopping for school supplies. Why she wanted to find him. To talk to him. To figure out which 'Naruto' she is supposed to believe in.
The one she's heard about on the news for the past six years? The one she met that night in Vale?
The one she thought was her friend?
Which ones are the mask? The lie?
With another sigh, Ruby buries herself under her covers and pulls out her scroll.
What was the full name again… the White… something, Gold… something, Demon Fox? Such a long name… well, that should be close enough, anyway.
The White-Gold Demon Fox.
Links and headlines from the incident in Vale fill the screen. And Ruby furrows her brow as one in particular catches her eye.
'The robbery… led by the Demon Fox?'
That's weird. Wasn't he just working for-
Whoosh. The blankets are pulled away and she closes the scroll on reflex. Tossing the blanket to the side, Yang gives her a smile.
"Hi there, little sister! You lookin at-" a pause. Her big sister throws a quick glance at the other two residents of the room. "What'cha lookin at?"
"Oh, you know," Ruby sits up and shifts her scroll behind her. "Just, stuff, weapons, that sort of thing. You need something?"
Yang sits on the bed next to her. "Not really. Just wanted to check on you, see how you're doin."
"I'm good. Yeah, my head was hurting a bit earlier, but when my aura re-stabilized it went away, so I'm fine."
"Glad to hear it," she smiles in relief. "By the way, I ran into whiskers earlier."
"Really?"
"Yup. Says he's going to lay low till his arm's back. Something about the way things always tend to go horribly wrong whenever you two are in the immediate proximity?"
"They really do…" Ruby weakly chuckles.
"Sooo~, did something happen? Other than you getting an eyeful, I mean."
Ruby blushes and looks away. "N-no, not really…"
She did it. She kind of wishes she hadn't. But after revelation of the truth behind Naruto's presence at Beacon, she had to tell Yang something to explain why she was so out of it.
In retrospect, telling her older sister she'd walked in on a boy her age in the shower and spent a good few minutes admi -wondering h-how in the world he got there probably wasn't the best idea.
"You sure nothing happened?" Yang asks.
"Yeah, yeah, it's nothing like that. I just wasn't, uh… expecting it, I guess…"
An understatement to be sure, but not technically a lie.
"Alright," Yang pats her on the shoulder and stands up. "Well, make sure you get some sleep Ms. Leader. You've got a big day ahead of you!"
Ruby lets out a nervous chuckle. "Hopefully not as big as today."
"Fingers crossed!"
Night casts a blanket of shadow over the Emerald Forest. The faint light of the broken moon and stars are the only luminescence to penetrate the shroud of darkness that swallows the forest, the sounds of chirping insects and lumbering footsteps and rustling leaves echoing in the night.
He moves through the forest without a sound.
The white cloth over his shoulder morphs into a haori. The crimson spiral on its back ignites, blooming into an orange lily painted in ash. A mask of white bone appears over his face, a single, lone-blue eye peeking out from under the likeness of a three-eyed fox.
Blue bleeds into red. White fades to black. Crimson lights pierce the darkness and the masked boy never breaks his stride, making his way to the heart of the forest.
A shape forms out of the darkness engulfing the forest. First one, then two. Three, then four. Five. Six. Eight. Twelve. Sixteen. They swarm around the boy and he at last comes to a stop, the surrounding forest bathed in a cloak of red.
One emerges from the rest of the pack. It is a shadow the size of a lion in the shape of a fox, its ears long and pointed almost like a bunny's, its tail just under half the length of its entire body.
It is a Kitsune. A grimm native to the Land of Fire.
The Kitsune approaches the masked boy. And like an overgrown cat, the grimm nuzzles against his hand, the creature's blackened mask brushing against his palm.
"So, its way all the way over here, huh?"
The masked boy continues on his path. The kitsune follows alongside him. Movement thunders through the forest as the grimm move to their master's will, racing through the forest, cornering their chosen prey.
Soon enough he comes upon it. Gasping, panting, wheezing, the creature looks nothing like the mountain of muscle and terror that chased them through the forest. The Elder Wendigo releases a feeble growl, its body emaciated and falling apart, faint crimson lights glaring at him from behind a pale white mask.
"… Uwaaah, how miserable." the masked boy bemoans. "Looking at you now, even I can't help but feel bad for you."
"….."
His eyes go to the creature's mask. White with red and yellow markings and not a smudge of black to be found. "… What a shame. Here, I was hoping to finally get some answers. Oh well."
"If nothing else, I can at least give you this," he raises his hand. "And for what it's worth, I'm going to enjoy it about as much as you."
The arm falls. And the shadows move.
"Good night, puppet-chan."
A blur tackles the weakened giant, sending it to the ground. As one, the pack of Kitsune descends on the dying Wendigo like a swarm of locusts. Flesh parts like cotton candy. Bones break like glass. Cracking and snapping, ripping and tearing, gallons of black blood spray onto the surrounding plants and trees.
The gruesome feast lasts for maybe a minute. The pack disperses, the only traces of the Wendigo's existence a splatter of black crimson covering the forest floor, a broken katana-handle and a few tufts of fur strewn about the bloody ruin already fading back into formless smoke.
He walks over, careful not to step in any pools of black mud. Pulling up his haori as not to get any blood on it, he picks up the broken katana-handle. The blade and crossguard promptly fall to pieces, leaving him holding only a handle with a length of torn ribbon attached to the pummel.
"… Whelp, better than nothing," he shrugs, tucking the handle into his pocket.
Silence returns to the forest. And the masked boy slips away into the darkness without another sound.
AN: Whew. And done. I'm going to be reading back through the whole fic and writing a reflection whenever I have the time. So probably after my finals in two weeks. I'd give an ETA for when I'll have the next arc ready, but it's fairly up in the air. If nothing else, I'm going to try to write at least 1.5k words a day while I'm on winter break, and I'll be sure to update my profile 'progress meter' more regularly.
For this chapter… well, just anything. Thoughts from the chapter, thoughts from the arc, any advice you want to give me going into the next one, any and all feedback is appreciated.
Until next time.