This ship was much nicer than Naruto had thought. The sound of the engine was smooth. He barely noticed it now that the ship was in the air and flying.
Naruto exhaled. He typically didn't like to steal things. Only when necessary. And this time... Didn't feel quite necessary.
However, the General unjustly threatened to capture him and endanger his friends for whatever reason. And while he sent him a message, Naruto was still pissed off about it and didn't feel bad for commandeering this airship. James may not have harmed his friends, but he felt a similar rage to that of when he found out Shikamaru and Chouji's sensei was killed by the Akatsuki.
Naruto still seethed over that day. It reminded him that not everyone was worth saving.
Only those who had a shred of humanity to them.
"Huh?" Naruto blinked as he stepped onto the bridge to see everyone staring him down. He absently noticed Qrow was there, but that didn't bother him. They're goal was to head to Vale, and he figured that he was hitching a ride. "What?"
"Explain, now!" Weiss scowled, her arms crossed over her chest.
"I'm still waiting on that story," Penny followed with a light frown.
"Oh, that makes sense." Naruto lightly grimaced before nervously combing his hand through his hair. With a sigh, he reached down and grasped the lamp attached to his hip. "Let me make this easier... Jinn."
Naruto exhaled as the world seemingly stopped. Everyone besides Blake recoiled and tensed at the sudden shift, before their breath was caught in their throat. Their attention focuses on an ethereal being leaning over Naruto's shoulder and resting her assets on his head, much to his annoyance...
And Blake's jealous agitation.
"Again, so soon?" Jinn gave a sultry smirk as she looked upon the rest on the bridge. "Oh, you've brought the children of humanity with you this time. I suppose you wish for me to show them? You know, I only have two more wishes to grant for them this century? ...Or are you asking a favor from me?"
"A favor, if you would. I don't think this is worth using a wish." Naruto frowned and shook his head, his attention shifting to Weiss, seeing the poor girl in stricken disbelief.
"This can't be real. This can't be real... Why do these things keep happening? I just wanna go home." Weiss struggled to catch her breath, nearly on the verge of hyperventilating.
"Very well... However, I will do so only under one condition." Jinn rose, amused by Blake's heated expression, before moving to assist Weiss.
"Hey, I know this is a lot. I get it. Let's work on calming your breathing." Blake calmly and sincerely addressed Weiss's panic attack.
"That's easy for you to say! You've been around this insanity for a while! I haven't!" Weiss exclaimed, unable to compose herself.
Naruto raised a brow at Jinn. Under a condition? Jinn wanted something? What could a being such as her want?
Shaking that thought from his mind, Naruto gauged Weiss for a moment before he stepped toward her. While her agitation was reasonable, Naruto felt she was having a panic attack. Clasping his hand on her shoulder, Naruto drew her gaze into his and calmly spoke. "Take a breath... Match your aura flow with mine. It will help."
Weiss gave him a startled glance. But noticing his calm demeanor, she took a deep breath as she felt his strange aura. Still, it wasn't tough for her to match the calm flow, and her breathing returned to normal.
"How did you know to do that?" Weiss blinked, looking queerly at Naruto as he released her shoulder.
"Mah, I asked a friend's sensei to learn a technique to help soothe her nerves. She always would faint when she was around me, and I wanted to try and help her." Naruto gave a smile while chuckling.
As Weiss gave Naruto an awkward stare, Naruto exhaled as he shifted his attention toward Jinn. "What's the condition?"
"I wish to be free. That is my one desire. To experience the world for myself." Jinn simply stated, staring into Naruto's gaze, faintly smiling. "I only ask this of you because, outside of my creator, only you, with the assistance of the Moon, can do this for me and break this seal. Craft me a body to experience the world I so deeply know but have never been able to experience."
"Creation of All Things..." Naruto muttered under his breath, his brow alertly raising. "If that is your condition, I accept. But it might take some time, and your help to accomplish such a task."
"Of course. I have all the time in the world." Jinn softly smiled at Naruto before her attention shifted to the others in the room as the world snapped to white. "Now, allow me to show you what the world once was and how the world has come to the state you now know it."
"And maybe, learn a few things about yourselves."
[ X ]
Naruto furiously rubbed his temple, trying to alleviate his throbbing skull, giving a nasty side glance at an amused Jinn. Was it necessary to go over the major beats of his life?
Her smile caused Naruto to glower. Dammit... She did that on purpose.
"I have so many more questions..." Ilia broke the deathly silence as everyone attempted to digest the story they had been shown, blinking repeatedly.
"Oh, another question? You know, I don't typically give out answers for free." Jinn repressed a charmed laugh while her eyes sparkled.
"I think this one is directed more at me. I think I have it from here, thanks." Naruto responded, running his hand through his hair.
"Very well. I am here for when you acquire my assistance. But next time, I'm going to require some form of payment." Jinn winked before her body faded, and time was restored to its natural flow.
Naruto simply chuckled, ignoring the venomous glare Blake had focused on the lamp and the growl rumbling in her throat. "Alright, now that you've seen everything, what do you want to know?"
"Several things, but most importantly... There was Faunus back in your time!" Ilia exclaimed, unable to constrain her shock.
"Uh, huh?" Naruto blinked, confused, glancing over at Ilia and Blake for a moment before furrowing his brow. "I suppose we did. They weren't out of the ordinary. I had a lot of peculiar friends, and they weren't even the strangest. I had one friend who had a, what's the word, symbiotic, I think, relationship with the bugs that used his body as a hive."
"What?!" Weiss loudly shrilled as everyone else in the room recoiled, their eyes widening to horrific proportions.
"Kid, do us a favor. Don't ever mention that again." Qrow shivered at the thought.
"Yeah, I get that. My other friends felt the same way too... He was a good guy, though. I liked him." Naruto sheepishly grinned, nodding in understanding.
"Okay, moving on from that... Doesn't anyone else realize what this means?" Ilia blanched, shaking that image from her mind before returning to her original train of thought.
"Going by your original question, it would mean that our records stating Faunus are only a recent phenomenon is incorrect. Yes, that would shake the foundation of many history books." Penny mused as she scanned her internal database before smiling.
"Yes! And we were treated as equals in the past!" Ilia continued to exclaim, trying to make her point.
"And, you're leaving out the fact that life was nearly wiped out once by world-eating parasites and was wiped out the second time." Qrow sighed, exacerbated before glancing over at Ilia. "I get it. It is a revelation to note, but all of life was wiped out and brought back by the Gods of Light and Darkness in time. It's why his lines remained. I imagine they brought back Faunus in the same manner after some time. What is more important is that one of those parasites still exists, and I have a feeling that the woman who the kid and his friend sealed away is the danger Oz mentioned."
"Yeah, she's coming. I thought I felt something off a while ago, but with the distance and warped space involved, it was too vague for me to get a read on properly. Still can't really feel what's going on due to the distance. My guess is the seal has broken, and she is coming. ...I need to wrap things up here and start preparing for her arrival." Naruto bit his lip before he clenched his fist.
He needed to be stronger before she arrived. Blake needed to be better prepared, just in case. He didn't have the time to be messing around. Yet, there were so many other things that required his attention. Things he needed to do...
Goals he wanted to accomplish.
Most of that could wait. Salem wasn't going anywhere. She could wait. His goal didn't matter while Kaguya lurked. The only thing that was necessary was to handle the situation in Vale, and then he could immediately train. Help Blake understand and access more of her power and chakra in general.
Maybe help train anyone who came with him, see if they wanted to become shinobi for his new Konoha...
...Find a location for Konoha...
Naruto had a lot to figure out.
"I need a moment," Weiss mumbled, turning and walking away after another moment of silence.
"Take all the time you need. I think everyone could use a moment." Naruto nodded, feeling the aching in his head worsen.
"Speaking of, we're gonna need to stop. Penny may have disconnected it from the Atlas network and removed all the trackers she could find. Still, we're gonna need an expert to ensure there aren't any tracers onboard and to remove any visible identifications. Don't want Atlas to track your whereabouts." Neo scowled as she glanced around the bridge.
"Do you know anyone who can do that?" Naruto pursed his lips and gave a slight nod. Neo's logic was sound...
"I know of someone who has connections." Neo grinned before scowling.
"Anyone but her. Last thing anyone needs is to be in debt to that woman." Qrow snapped his head toward Naruto and growled.
"Not my fault that Lil' Miss has her mitts in a bit of everything and can find whatever you need." Neo rolled her eyes and gave Qrow a sour glare before smirking at Naruto. "But you're in luck. I just happen to know her daughters, and they owe me. And while Lil' Miss can be quite unpleasant to deal with, typically, she loves her daughters. While she hasn't always treated them the best..."
"She will do anything for them."
[ X ]
All Weiss could do was stare vacantly through one of the many windows, watching the clouds rapidly drift behind them as they soared through the sky.
This was simply too much for Weiss. This was madness. Ever since she bumped into Naruto and Blake, insanity had followed.
Penny being hacked out and forced to attack the citizens of Atlas. Being charged for damages to Atlesian property despite trying to protect people. Naruto stepping in to protect not only Penny, but his friends and Weiss, whom he didn't even really know? It didn't make sense!
...But she was grateful that someone, for the first time in years, as far as Weiss could recall, did something selfless for her besides Klein and Winter.
There was always a string attached when anything came from her father. Her mother...
Maybe Mother had when she wasn't drinking. Weiss couldn't remember the last time she hadn't seen her without a glass of wine in her hand... Not that she could blame her mother.
Weiss let out a pitiful sigh. All of those problems at home felt so distant. She had so many more new ones that followed after she followed along with this group and found Naruto.
Learned that the Grimm had a master, who happened to be immortal... And a witch. But now could be killed by Naruto because he had some ability to counter her immortality?
And that he was from the first cycle of man thousands upon thousands, or however many years ago it was! And this was the third cycle?! And the witch was from the second cycle?!
All of this was too much for Weiss to handle. She went from preparing to become a Huntress and head to Beacon to this!
How was she supposed to react? How could anyone treat this situation normally?
"How ya holding up?" Weiss's heart jumped into her throat, startled that Naruto suddenly walked up and beside her.
He stared out the window for a moment before his gaze shifted to her, and he flashed a light smile. "I get it. It's a lot to take in. I just wanted to check on you and see how you were doing."
"Terribly." Weiss exhaled, glowering as she deflated and looked away from Naruto, unsure why she even said that to him.
"I get that. It took me a few weeks to digest, recognizing this was my world but not the time period I knew. All this on top is way too much. I can only imagine what it feels like for you when you were accidentally dragged into all of this instead of heading to school." Naruto sheepishly grimaced while shaking his head.
"That's one way of putting it." Weiss scoffed, but gave a light nod. "I'm supposed to be at Beacon right now. Getting ready for whatever their initiation test to be accepted into the school is, so I can learn how to become a Huntress."
"That makes sense." Naruto gave a few subtle nods. "But, and maybe I don't know enough about this, doesn't that sound stupid?"
"How is that stupid?" Weiss snapped her head back and threw a shaded glare at Naruto.
"I mean, I don't really know you, but I've seen what you can do. You're plenty strong already. Maybe not as strong as an elite like Qrow, but you're already getting up there. You scuffed me in Sage Mode, that takes a lot to do! So, why go to a school? Isn't there another way to become a Huntress?" Naruto explained himself before asking, curious.
Weiss flinched before furrowing her brow to think after calming. Naruto didn't mean it in a demeaning way. He thought she was good enough to be a Huntress already. And while that inflated her ego and confidence...
"The only people who can grant someone a Huntsman or Huntress a license are the Headmasters of the four major academies in the Kingdoms of Atlas, Mistral, Vale, and Vacuo. While they do grant licenses on occasions to exceptional individuals, most typically have to go through classes and training by experts to be considered ready for the field." Weiss explained as she recalled what she knew of obtaining a license.
"Ah, so it's like a ninja license." Naruto mused, pursing his lips before grinning. "Well, let's go ask Ozpin about it? I need a license if I'm gonna operate. Wanna do this legally before I figure out how I want to make my own Kingdom."
"You can't just ask..." Weiss glowered and narrowed her eyes at Naruto's audacity.
The gall to ask a headmaster to get a license. Sure, he was accomplished and probably could be given one... Outside, possibly the issues Naruto had with Atlas, but maybe those could be forgiven...
"What do you mean, make your own Kingdom?!" Weiss stammered, her eyes wide as she held her hands over her chest.
"Oh, I haven't told anyone except for Blake about that yet... Right." Naruto nervously chuckled while rubbing the back of his head. "Well, you saw my life. What my goals and dreams were then. And after seeing all of my memories again, it has only reinforced my desire. I will rebuild my village and become Hokage."
"And I want all my current friends to join me so we can make a better place."
[ X ]
This had been a long night. It had been a long day. So much had happened.
Naruto was pretty tired. Not physically, but mentally. It would only be a few hours before they arrived in Vale. With everyone mostly having settled down in the airship, he felt it was a good time to catch a quick nap.
It could never hurt to take a moment and recover.
Naruto had to admit, the rooms and amenities on this airship were pretty nice. A little too bland and drab, but it was better than a sleeping bag. The bed wasn't as firm as he liked, but sometimes a soft bed was what he needed. And having a room to himself would be nice for a change.
A sly grin graced Naruto's expression. Having company in the room wasn't the worst thing. Not after having spent some time with Blake. There were definitely some advantages to sharing a room...
Something she entirely took advantage of as well...
"Heading to bed?" Naruto's gaze shifted after the metallic slide of the door alerted him to Blake as she stood at the doorway.
"Might as well catch some sleep on the way. We're on autopilot and will be arriving in Vale in a few hours." Naruto shrugged, looking up at Blake, trying to grin that he had on his face before her arrival.
"Uh-huh. Thinking about the last time we shared a room?" Blake raised a brow, catching the grin upon entering and the flush on his cheeks now.
"No!... Maybe." Naruto staunchly denied before backing off his stance upon seeing Blake's critical eyebrow. "Mah, you looked too! You're a pervert just as much as I am!"
Naruto frowned upon seeing Blake flush with a mixture of anger and embarrassment, but she bit her tongue from responding. Or at least he thought she did, but the exasperated sigh that she let out immediately caused him concern.
"Actually, the reason I came to see you is sort of related to that in a way." Blake sighed, her entire body deflating with it.
"Huh?!" Naruto recoiled, his eyes as wide as dinner plates as he leaned away. "Wait, wait, wait! I know I joke about that, but I'm nowhere near ready for that! I only want to do that with the love of my life!"
"No! Not in that way, ugh! I came back to talk about us, you dense idiot! About what we are!" Blake scolded Naruto with a loud hiss, glaring heatedly at him for his insinuation.
"Oh." Naruto grimaced, hunching his back before letting out a short, nervous laugh. However, after a moment and a deep sigh, Naruto straightened his posture but hung his head. "I dunno what to say about that. I... I have a lot of weird feelings that I don't know how to describe, ya know?"
"Yeah, I know. That's why I'm here." Blake exhaled, all the embarrassment from earlier washed away as she slowly approached and sat on the bed next to Naruto. "I want to figure this out. I have so many feelings that I just don't know how to express them. Then there is Ilia and Neo continuing to call us a couple, and as much as I try to ignore it, I just can't! It's so frustrating as I don't know what to say."
"I don't either..." Naruto, accustomed to having something to say, hung his head, unsure what to say. It took a moment to search his feelings, unable to process most of them, before letting out yet another sigh. "I can't say what I feel. I... I don't even know what love is supposed to feel like. Like, is it different from the love I have for my friends? Cause I'm already willing to put everything on the line for my friends. You saw how far I was willing to go for the friend who meant so much to me."
"I saw..." Blake bit her lip, taking a deep breath herself as she looked up to the ceiling. "I don't have any answers either. The closest thing I can think of is what I felt for Adam, but I don't think I can call what I had for him love. He was handsome and had a suave demeanor, but I think I was younger and attracted to him, and nothing more. I chased after him, and as soon as he started paying attention to me, I was smitten and wanted more of his attention."
"Ha, I get that. Sounds almost like how Sakura chased Sasuke... Ow." Naruto lightly chuckled before lightly rubbing his shoulder where Blake had smacked it.
"As I was saying," Blake temporarily glared at Naruto before sullenly glancing downward. "I was so obsessed with this version of him in my mind that I failed to see the real him until it was almost too late. And when I did... Was when I found you. And, because of a weird feeling, I now know what was, I stuck with you because you felt safe. I was comfortable around you... And it didn't hurt that you had a nice six-pack."
"What was that?" Naruto squinted, catching Blake's mumbling under her breath.
So that's what she found attractive, huh?
Good thing he found her plump...
"You look too! Don't act innocent!" Blake hissed as she furiously blushed.
"Never said I was." Naruto briefly smirked before his features settled. "Yeah, I get where you are coming from. You were trying to escape a bad situation, a horrible relationship, and then, poof! There I was, causing problems while solving others in the process."
"You don't cause..." Blake frowned briefly before grimacing as Naruto did have a point.
"Uh-huh. I know what I do. I cause problems that I eventually solve in the long run." Naruto chuckled after giving Blake a queer brow lift. Then, with yet another sigh, he glanced forward and shook his head. "And I've had similar problems. You saw how my previous life ended. Now, imagine I wake up, and the first person I run into has a faint, but familiar, scent of wildflowers, and, while this is hindsight, I missed that your aura had a faint similarity to his. And how much all of this confuses me, cause... Well... Uh... I don't know what to say."
"That you might like me?" Blake looked up and into Naruto's gaze as he glanced over her, stumbling over his words. With a soft smile upon seeing him blush and grumble, Blake turned her gaze back to the floor, searching for the words herself as her expression faltered. "See, that's the problem, cause I think I like you as well... But I'm so afraid of getting hurt again... I don't want to rush into something so soon, especially when neither of us are sure of our own feelings."
Naruto's heart jumped at Blake's admission. He already had a lot of strange feelings about Blake since, in a sense, she was Sasuke's reincarnation, and he felt attracted to her. That was a whole, complicated issue on its own. But those words brought back memories of Hinata admitting her feelings toward him.
To say he was slightly distressed was an understatement. And his outward appearance reflected that through his shocked, wide-eyed demeanor.
"Naruto... Are you okay?" Blake recoiled upon seeing Naruto's shell-shocked demeanor, fearing the worst.
"Ah... No?" Naruto recovered just enough to grimace before sighing. "I can't say I was expecting that. A few memories came to mind and jumbled around in my head, making it harder to think. I just don't know how to respond. It's funny. You're the second person to admit that to me... Truthfully."
Blake mildly relaxed, feeling somewhat more comfortable that she hadn't been immediately rejected. However, she immediately grimaced, realizing what must have gone through Naruto's mind.
If she wasn't the first... That meant...
"Mah, I'm not good with this stuff!" Naruto complained, scratching his head as he loudly complained. "I'm usually so sure of what I want to do, and not knowing what to do pisses me off! I sort of want to say screw it, and let's give it a shot, ya know? ...Are you okay?"
It was now Naruto's turn to panic at how rigid and tense Blak wase, her mouth agape as she stared at him, dumbstruck. Was she rejecting him? What if she were? What would...
"Um, no?" Blake broke out of her haze with a nervous laugh. "I wasn't expecting you just to say that, and it caught me off guard."
"That makes sense... We swapped positions there." Naruto responded with a nervous chuckle and a head scratch.
"Yeah, we did," Blake responded with a soft smile, locking her gaze with Naruto. "You know, why not? Maybe it won't work out, but if we both feel like this..."
"That maybe it's worth it." Naruto finished Blake's sentence as he met her gaze.
"Yeah," Blake smiled, a certain sparkle shimmered in her eyes.
Before Naruto knew it, he was rooted to the spot as he felt the softest yet warm brush pressed against his lips as Blake leaned over and gently placed her lips against his. His heart skipped a beat as an electric tingle shot through his spine, causing his body to shiver. Seeing Blake's nervous expression melt as her nerves left her facial features caused him to relax, and he accepted her brief touch. And even if he didn't know how to kiss, Naruto did what he did best and adapted.
And while the kiss lasted only a brief moment, it felt wonderful. Naruto felt... Content.
Especially when she mewled from his sloppy kiss before slowly leaning back.
"Guess we'll have to figure this out as we go," Blake's content smile made Naruto's heart leap in his chest as she slowly rose from his bed.
Was she leaving? But he wanted to do... That more.
Naruto's gaze was transfixed upon Blake as she walked to the exit of the room. Or more in particular, his gaze was caught by the exaggerated sway of her hips as she moved, only jumping to meet her gaze as she stopped at the sliding door. "Goodnight."
"Goodnight," Naruto absently muttered as Blake left him alone in the room to process what had happened.
Kid, you good? Kurama asked after a few moments of silence, worried by the vacant brain activity coming from Naruto.
"Kurama... What do I do?" Naruto blankly stared at the spot where Blake had been.
Can't help you there. That's something you have to figure out on your own. Kurama gave a satisfied chuckle before deviously smirking as an idea came to him. Now, if you want my help in another area, you need to go after her. Sweep her off her feet and bring her back here, tear off those clothes and put her on all fours...
"KURAMA!"