Volume 4 got me into the mood to finally work on this again, so I purged this chapter of all those horrible mistakes that were in it. I also improved the fight scene at the end a little bit. Looking back, I didn't put enough effort into it, and I apologize for that.

Not sure when the next chapter will come, but at the latest, it will probably be sometime around the one-year anniversary of this story.

No, Chapter 18 is not up. That was me accidentally uploading this as 18. Sorry about that.

And we're back! Welcome to Embers of a Shinobi, Chapter 17!

Anyways, on with the story!

I don't own Naruto or RWBY. I'm just a broke college student...

Normal Talking: "Insert witty remark here."

Normal Thinking: 'Insert witty remark here.'

Bijū/Deity Talking: "Insert witty remark here."

Bijū/Deity Thinking: 'Insert witty remark here.'

Scene Change: Insert Place Here

Jutsu/Technique: Insert Jutsu Here

Previous Time I Was Here: 11/9/16 (Improving the chapter from the utter piece of crap that it was before)

Beacon Academy

'Ammo?' A hand lightly patted against her pouch, verifying its contents. 'Check. Scroll?' She pulled it out of pocket and turned it on to see the remaining power. '98% is a check. My baby?' A grin formed as she placed Crescent Rose onto her lower back. 'Where else would she be? Check! Super cool outfit?' She glanced down and verified that, yes, her new outfit was awesome.

The new outfit was made up of a long sleeve, light grey shirt under a black pinafore with two vertical lines of stitching. She also had on a red skirt -Because battle skirts were functional and great looking- with a black version of her personal rose emblem, and to top it off, she even had a cape!

'Super happy to give that a check! And finally...' Ruby spun around. "My awesome team!" She smiled brightly at the other three occupants of the room, but only got a blank stare, an amused glance, and an irritated huff in return. Like Ruby had been doing, Blake, Yang, and Weiss were all going over final checks before they all headed out. Each of them also had on different outfits for their 'mission'.

"Can you please not be so..." Weiss seemed to struggle to find an adequate word to use. "...you?"

Ruby brushed off the mildly offensive remark, knowing that it was simply her female best friend's way of interacting with her. "But I can't help it! We're finally getting back to our investigation!"

"Yes, and that investigation is one that involves terrorist organizations and other dangerous criminals. Take this seriously!" Weiss rebuked.

"Oh, if we're going to be serious about this, then we need a plan." Yang interjected. "Lucky for you guys, I just so happen to have on-"

"Rejected!" Weiss quickly cut her off, aware that anything Yang came up with would doubtlessly involve some form of brute force...or seduction.

"But you didn't even hear my plan fi-"

"I said rejected! I don't want to hear anything you have to propose!" Weiss shouted. "Listen up. As the only one out of us whose sanity has never been pulled into question..." She ignored the two glares and a pout. "I will be the one who issues the plan and roles."

Ruby's pout grew. "But I'm the team leader..."

"And I'm the person who doesn't care. You will be following my lead on this." Weiss crossed her arms. "Now that that's taken care of...Ruby, you and I will be heading to the CCT to check on some other Schnee robberies or inconsistencies. There is only so much I can get on a scroll..." She turned to Blake. "Are there any hotspots for White Fang activity? Ones that don't result in getting noticed would be nice."

After a brief moment of thought, Blake spoke up. "The White Fang has regular faction meetings that act as a way for giving out orders and gathering new members. I can probably sneak into it."

Weiss hesitantly nodded. "That sounds good, but be careful." If it was either Ruby or Yang instead of Blake, then Weiss would have denied it on the spot. "And lastly-"

"Seriously, Ice Queen. At least hear my idea out." Scowling both at the name as well as the words, Weiss reluctantly nodded. "There's a guy on the other side of Vale who is something of an information broker. I'm willing to bet that he knows something about Torchwick and what he's been up to. And to top it off, me and this guy are buddies." Yang paused. "...Sort of.

Yang's proposal surprised Weiss. "That's actually...not a terrible idea. Fine then, go ahead and do that." Yang grinned and saluted.

"You got it, your royal frostiness!"

Ruby bounced up and down. "So it's a plan! We can meet up later to by Yang to pool our information." She pumped a fist into the air. "Are you ready?!"

"You know it!" All eyes snapped to the window at the unexpected voice. Hanging there was Sun. "What are we waiting for? Let's go!"

"Sun?" Blake's face momentarily slipped from its normally blank expression.

"Hey, monkey boy." Yang greeted. "What are you doing there?"

Sun waved at her. "Just...hanging out." The two blonds chuckled at the lame joke. "I do it all the time."

Weiss' glare darkened. "You do what?! How often does this happen?!"

"Often enough. I like climbing trees." Weiss attempted to calm herself down, but she twitched when Sun jumped into their room and landed next to her. "So, we're finally getting back at that Torchwick guy and his goons? About time!"

A growl escaped Weiss' throat. "The four of us are going out to investigate. You are going to not interfere."

Ruby smiled apologetically. "Sorry, Sun. This is something the four of us want to do alone. We'd rather not get others involved."

The blond Faunus waved her off. "Uh, hello? I was there in the shipyard. I already am involved! If anyone still has a chance to back out, it's the two who weren't there that night." Weiss took a menacing step forward, prompting Sun to give her a nervous glance. "So in conclusion, I'm coming whether you want me to or not."

"Listen, you infuriating little-"

"Relax a bit, Weiss. He's right about already being involved, so we might as well include him." Yang said.

Seeing that she was correct, Weiss reluctantly relented. "...Fine..." Sun brightened upon hearing this.

"Great!" He leaned out the window. "Hey, Neptune! You can come in now!"

"...That's nice to hear you say, but can I get a confirmation from the owners of the room?"

"He's here too?!" Weiss cried out in shock. Pushing her way by Sun, she looked out the window. "Why are you here too?" Neptune was perched on a small ledge outside their window, doing his best not to fall.

Neptune attempted to sound aloof, but there was still some tension in his voice. "I'm here because my team leader insisted on finding out what you guys were up to. And I'm outside on a high up ledge because the same team leader doesn't know how to use a door!" Weiss couldn't help but sympathize somewhat with him for also having a team leader with quirks.

"Well, I suppose it would be best if you come in." They would probably be held at least somewhat accountable if he fell.

The blue haired teen sighed in relief. "Oh, thank Oum." He said quietly and climbed in.

"Now then, are we leaving or what?" Sun asked.

'Calm, Weiss. Remain calm...' Weiss took several deep breaths and spoke up. "We agreed to let you join us, not your teammate."

"Well, I figured that if the other two people who fought Torchwick could bring two extra people, then I would be able to bring one." Sun supplied. "Don't worry about it. Neptune is cool."

"You know it."

Weiss' mouth opened and closed as she attempted to find something to say, but she soon gave up. "I'm done with trying to reason with you. Come if you want."

A small grimace appeared on Neptune's face. "So we're really going up against Roman Torchwick?"

"And Kitsune." Yang added with a smirk. "Why? You scared?"

"Psh! Scared? Me?" Neptune scoffed. "No way am I scared."

"Your higher pitched voice says otherwise." Yang shot back. "But maybe it's just my imagination. If you're not scared, then you won't mind coming along with me to the shady part of Vale!"

Neptune's eyes widened. "W-With you?" He stammered. "Uh, wouldn't it be best if I go with someone else?"

"No, that's a great idea!" Ruby interjected. "Neptune can go with Yang while Sun goes with Blake. This way, everyone has a partner!" She pointed towards the ceiling. "As team leader of RWBY, I decree this to be our mission pairings!"

"Wait just a minute! Didn't I say that I would be the one making decisions here?!"

"Rejected." None of Weiss' teammates hesitated to throw that back at her.

Sun grinned and walked over to stand next to Blake. "Looks like I'm with you. We're going to some White Fang meeting, eh?"

"Yes."

Ruby grabbed Weiss' hand and dragged her towards the door and opened it. "We all have our assignments, let's move out!"

Realizing that there was no longer a point in arguing, Weiss pulled her hand free with a glare. "I am very capable of walking on my own, thank you." Weiss turned back to room. "If you find anything of significance, contact the rest of us." She instructed.

"Come on! Let's go!" Not wanting to wait any longer, Ruby dashed out the door and into the hall.

She only got a few feet when she came to a forced abrupt stop.

"Ow!"

"Watch it!"

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" Hearing the commotion, the others rushed out the door to find Ruby, a girl with green hair, and a boy with silver hair sprawled out on the floor. Standing off to the side was another girl with black hair and amber eyes.

Yang quickly rushed forward and helped her sister off the ground. "I've told you to watch where you're going. You shouldn't even be moving that fast when you're inside, Ruby!" Unseen to them, the green haired girl's attention snapped to the other girl on the floor.

"Sorry..."

The silver haired teen glared as he pushed himself to his feet, the green haired teen getting up as well. "Oh good, you're apologizing. And I'll be sure to apologize when I kick your hea-"

"Mercury." The amber eyed girl interrupted him before he could say anything too bad. "I'm sure it was simply an accident."

Ruby hastily nodded. "It was! Honest!"

The amber eyed girl smiled. "We understand. It can be difficult to avoid people in halls like this when you are in a hurry." She glanced at the people behind Ruby. "Such a large group will make it even more difficult, of course."

'She's really understanding...' Based on first impressions so far, Ruby decided that she liked this girl...Although something about her eyes were a little familiar. "Um, are you three new?"

The amber eyed girl smiled. "We're visiting from Haven."

Silver eyes lit up in realization. "Oh, you're here for the festival! Visiting students have their own dorms, actually. They're in the other building." The other girl nodded in understanding.

"I see. Thank you for that information." Gesturing to her companions, she continued. "We got a little lost, but we'll head there now."

Happy to have helped someone, Ruby smiled. "Not a problem! Welcome to Beacon!"

"Thanks. Maybe we'll see you around." With that, the three walked away.

Ruby waved after them for a few moments. "The guy with silver hair seems a little grumpy, but the girl who didn't get knocked down is nice." She commented.

Weiss huffed. "I can't believe you. You make terrible first impressions on nearly everyone you meet." She ignored Ruby's sputtering denial and walked off. "If we're going to do this, then let's go. It would be a good idea to get started."

Emerald glanced over her shoulder and shot a friendly smile at Ruby. As she turned back, she spoke quietly. "Cinder...The blond girl called the girl who ran into us 'Ruby'."

Cinder moved her eyes to Emerald. "I noticed."

"Isn't that the name of Naruto's friend?" Cinder looked back in the direction they were walking. Slowly, a smirk formed on her face as her amber eyes gained an eerie glow.

"Yes...I do believe that was her name."

City of Vale (Later)

Neptune glanced around nervously while following behind Yang. "Do you seriously know someone here?" His eyes landed on doors in front of them, where two men in a red and black suits were gaping at the sight of Yang. "Oh...I guess you do. And how exactly do you know these people?" Those expressions of fear weren't normal.

Yang have him an innocent smile. "A girl's gotta have some fun every once in a while, right?"

"She's back! Someone tell the boss!" Neptune's apprehension grew when the two grown men scrambled inside at the sight of Yang.

"...What is your definition of fun?!"

The question brought about a false moment of thought from Yang. "Just a little destruction of public and private property along with assault on multiple individuals." She brightened. "But don't worry! I'm pretty sure that only a couple of people needed to stay overnight in the hospital."

He swallowed. "...Y-Yeah...Fun..."

"I'm glad you agree!" She moved to the door. "Now come on, let's say hello."

"Didn't they lock it?" Neptune asked, more to himself than to her.

"I think so...But why does that matter?" Grinning wildly, Yang uncompressed her weapons. "They know how much I like breaking stuff, so they close the doors so I can destroy them!"

'That's not why they did it...'

"Knock knock!" Rearing a fist back, Yang brought it forward and crashed it into the doors, sending them flying into the building. Walking in, Yang called out. "Hey guys! Guess who's back!" Numerous guns were immediately pointed at her.

"How can you call these people friends?!" Neptune hissed. "They don't look like friends!"

"Stop! If anyone shoots, you idiots will be the one paying for the damages this time!" A voiced interjected. A moment later, the owner of the voice pushed his way to the front of the group. "Blondie...You're back...Great."

Yang grinned at the man. "Hey there, Junior! Good to see you again." She grabbed his arm and directed him to the bar. "Come on, you're gonna give me a drink while we talk some things over."

"I'd rather we not do that, if possible."

"Oh, that's so cute. You think you have a choice!"

"...Of course I don't...Where the hell did I get a stupid idea like that?"

White Fang Meeting

Naruto, dressed up as Kitsune, looked out over the gathering of White Fang members of new recruits. Instead of joining Neo and Roman on the stage, he was standing up on a catwalk above everyone. Reaching up to his earpiece, he spoke. "How much longer until it starts?"

"According to what I'm told, we will start in a minute." Roman's voice came over the transmission. "They are apparently waiting for a few stragglers."

"Understood." Naruto glanced at the crowd again, attempting to estimate how many people were here. 'That's at least a hundred people...And they hold these things how often?' Although most of the people were already members, there were at least a few dozen new recruits present. Naruto's attention was caught by a man stepping on the stage, and he recognized him as a lieutenant.

The lieutenant stopped at the center of the stage and spoke to the crowd. "Comrades, thank you all for coming to this meeting tonight. For those of you who are here on their first gathering, allow me to introduce a special ally of ours. Despite some initial skepticism, he has proven himself to be vital on us obtaining our goal!" He stepped aside as Roman walked out. The second the crowd saw him, whispers swept through the room.

"So it's true?"

"He really is working with the White Fang!"

"How can we trust a human?!"

Ignoring he chatter, Roman waved to the room. "Such a warm welcome! Thank you all!"

"What reason could that bastard possibly have for being here?!"

That last shout brought a smile to Roman's face. "What do I have to offer?" Roman chuckled. "Oh, I have a lot to offer." He began to ace the length of the stage. "I'll freely admit that humans are terrible people. And out of those terrible people, I am probably one of the worst ones. So your anger? I get it! It completely makes sense why you would want to be rid of us."

"How could a human like you understand?!"

Roman raised his hands in a placating manner. "Hey, relax. We have more in common than you think." He began to walk back and forth again. "Hear me out. Every single one of us here has a common enemy…The people in control! It isn't my fault that you are thrown out of restaurants simply because of how you look, it's the fault of the restaurant owners. The reason that you are looked at with such distaste? It's because the government officials refuse to give you equal standing to the humans?" Murmurs were sweeping through the crowd.

'As much as I hate to admit it, he actually does know how to please a crowd…'

"The reason that your children are bullied? It's because the human only schools portray your people as some kind of monsters!" Roman spun around to face the crowd. "The reason that more of your people have been left to die than needed? It's because some humans decided it was necessary in order to protect their own kind first." By now, the audience was shouting again, but in support of Roman's words.

Blake glanced around in dismay as she watched her fellow Faunus get so easily pulled into what Roman was saying. "How can they buy into this so easily?" She whispered to Sun.

"Because he isn't wrong." Blake snapped around to look at him in shock. "Nothing this bastard is saying is wrong. Everything has been proven time and again, and that's why these people are agreeing with him." He looked to her. "After all, isn't that why you fought with the White Fang in the first place?"

Not having anything to say, Blake turned back to the stage.

"So I ask you…Why should you lie down and take it? Don't you deserve your equal lot in life? Why should the humans be put above you? Above your needs? Above your children's needs? The answer…" He paused for dramatic effect. "You shouldn't!" The crowd cheered. "It's time to strike back! Don't let the humans walk all over you anymore! Stand up and fight!" He stepped off to the side. "And I know exactly how to do it!" With a snap of his fingers, the curtain of the White Fang insignia fell, revealing a completed Atlesian Paladin.

"This right here is Atlas' newest weapon against all the scary things in the world…Things like a portion of the population who fight for their rights." Roman declared. "Lucky for us, we managed to get an early deal on them. And you know how that happened? It happened because of both myself and my companions working with the lovely people of the White Fang!" Suddenly, a spotlight shone on Naruto's position, forcing him to raise a hand to shield his eyes. Looking to the source, Naruto glared when he saw Neo cheekily waving at him from next to the light. "More specifically, our good friend Kitsune here has run several operations with your organization to seize the parts. Let's give him a round of applause!"

Naruto glared at Roman for the latest attempt to annoy him, but none of the White Fang members noticed. Instead, they enthusiastically cheered for him as well. 'This was unnecessary.'

'Naruto.' Blake stared up to the catwalk, trying to get a better look at him.

"Well, we thought he would be here. It's not much of a surprise." Sun commented.

'So Naruto has been joining the White Fang on their raids?'

Pulling the attention back to himself, Roman continued. "Many of your comrades have already shipped out to other places where they are needed. I get it if you would prefer to stay in the city…But if you are truly serious about joining this fight, then you can expect things like this to be provided to you. Anyone have any questions?"

Naruto sighed as the crowd burst into applause, feeling torn over the entire speech. On one hand, he knew that some of the White Fang members really did see this as a chance to get revenge.

And that was something he was against on every level.

He was fighting to make things right, not for some petty bid to get even. That was Sasuke's thing, not his. Yes, Naruto has lashed out a couple of times in retaliation, but he has never devoted himself to the cause of turning the tables on the enemy and putting them in the position that they put their victims in.

But on the other hand, Naruto couldn't stop himself from at least somewhat agreeing with Roman's words. There were several points that Roman said that struck closer to home than Naruto would have liked, so he couldn't say that any of them were false.

He shook his head. 'Let's just hurry and finish up here.'

Junior's Club

"How could you not know anything?!" Yang shouted.

"I'm able to not know anything by not getting told anything!" Junior said in annoyance. "The last time I saw that bastard was the night you came in here. He paid the usual monthly fee for my men and then left, that's it. He stopped paying after that, and I stopped lending him my men."

Out of nowhere, Neptune rushed up to the bar. "So you admit to working with him?"

Junior stared at the blue haired teen in disbelief. "Didn't I already say that all I've done is lent him my men? That they never told me anything?" He looked back at the blond and nodded to Neptune. "Who is this moron?"

Frowning, Yang shoved an elbow into Neptune's gut, sending him back and onto the floor. "Forget the nerd."

A weak cough was heard. "I…Intellectual."

"Worry about how much I'm going to hurt you if you don't tell me what I want to know!" Yang continued.

"For the last time, I don't have the damn information you want!"

Yang glared. "So out of all the times Torchwick came around to pay for your men, he never said anything useful? Not his plans? His resources? His goals? Nothing? He just came in here, walked out, and that's it? He never did anything else?"

"That's what I've been saying!" Junior shouted. "The asshole never told me much, and honestly, I would have been skeptical of how he's gotten this far if he was loose lipped. He always did the same thing. He paid, acted like a jackass, and then left. No more, no less. It never changed." He paused. "…Actually, the last time there was something different…"

Immediately, Yang's interest was caught. "Oh? Do tell."

Junior absently rubbed his chin in thought. "There was this one thing that I thought was weird, but I didn't put too much thought into it."

"Enough stalling, what was it?" Yang's demand prompted Junior to glare at her, but she wasn't fazed.

"Torchwick came in with some kid." Yang blinked. "The brat didn't even look old enough to get into Beacon yet, but he might have been around Signal age."

"A kid?" Yang repeated. "A young one? With Torchwick?" Her eyes widened. 'That might have been Kitsune!' Yang scowled at Junior. "Why didn't you say anything?!"

"Because someone messed up my entire memory of that night!" Junior shot back.

Ignoring the truth of the statement, Yang leaned forward. "Tell me about this kid. What did he look like? Did you talk to him? Did you get a name?"

"I never saw what the kid looked like. He didn't take off his hood…At least not when I was conscious." Junior frowned as he attempted to remember the night. "I did talk to him for a bit. He seemed nice enough…To the point that it was surprising that someone like him was hanging out with Roman Torchwick. But I let the conversation go because I knew that there was a chance that I could get involved something I didn't want to be."

His words made Yang deflate. "So again, you can't tell me anything useful."

Junior growled. "I guess not, sorry. I don't even understand why you're asking me about the kid. You saw him too."

Her eyes blinked in surprise. "I did?" Junior nodded.

"Yeah, you did. You don't remember? He was the kid eating the ramen."

Yang's entire body froze. There was only one person Yang saw eating ramen that day, and that was…

'Naruto…'

Lilac eyes instantly bled red.

The club owner yelped when a hand shot out and roughly grabbed his tie to pull him closer. Junior paled when he saw the angry snarl on Yang's face. "You had better be joking…"

"I-I'm not! I swear!" That was not the answer Yang wanted to hear. "The kid stayed behind to eat some ramen! After that, you showed up! You know what happened afterwards! The next time I woke up, the club was empty and destroyed!"

Growling, Yang shoved Junior back and whirled around. Without saying another word, she stalked towards the exit. Seeing this, Neptune scrambled back to his feet in order to follow.

White Fang Meeting

Naruto had his arms crossed as he waited out the rest of the meeting. It was only a little bit longer until they would finally head to the new hideout, and then he would be able to just go to sleep. Looking down at the occupants of the warehouse, he watched the new recruits line up where directed.

Scanning over the heads of the crowd, Naruto found himself absently noting what type of Faunus each person was. So far, he had seen dog tails, tusks, cat ears, antlers-

He stilled.

'Cat ears? Black cat ears?' Dread pooling in his stomach, Naruto searched for the person who he had spotted a second ago. Eventually, he found her. From where he was standing, Naruto judged her to be a girl who was a little older than himself, and she was glancing around…As if attempting to find an exit. Next to her was a blond boy with a monkey tail. Suddenly, the girl with the cat ears turned her face in his direction.

The two stared at each other for several moments.

'Oh, son of a-' Cutting off that thought, Naruto snapped his eyes to Roman, only to see that the orange haired man had spotted them too. 'This is going to happen again, isn't it?' It seemed the blond monkey Faunus also noticed Roman staring at them, because he alerted his companion to it.

Deciding her next course of action, the cat Faunus whipped out her weapon and aimed it at a junction box.

'Damn it all.' A single shot was all it took for all of the lights to go out.

"You stupid brats again?! Someone catch them!"

"Sun! We're leaving!"

"Right behind you!" The sound of something shattering was heard, soon followed by loud stomps, and then an even louder crash. It was then that the backup power for the warehouse kicked in, allowing all of the inhabitants to see that a large hole was in the wall, as well as the lack of a Paladin mech.

Cursing, Naruto spoke up. "Neo! Catch up to us when you can! I'm going after them now!" Not waiting to see any confirmation, Naruto dashed out the newest exit.

With Yang and Neptune

Neptune clung on for dear life as Yang sped through the streets. "Hey! Slow down a bit! You're going too fast!" Unfortunately for him, Yang didn't appeal to his pleas. "Why are you so mad?!"

"Mad? I'm not mad. I'm freakin' pissed!" If what Junior said was true, then…

Yang's attention was pulled away by a light coming to life on her dashboard, signifying that she had an incoming call on her scroll. Knowing that is was most likely one of the other pairs, she skidded to a stop.

"You stopped?" Neptune muttered. "Oh thank Oum…"

Ignoring him, Yang pulled out her scroll. "Yeah?"

"Everyone! If you can hear me, then we need-"

"There's a giant robot chasing us!" Blake was cut off by her temporary partner.

"Inform us of the situation in sensible terms!" It seemed that the others got called as well, because Weiss' voice was clear…As well as her irritation.

"Torchwick brought an Atlesian mech to the meeting!" Sun said. "And now he's using it to chase us!"

Instantly, Yang spoke up. "Torchwick was there? What about Kitsune? Was he there?!"

"Wha-? Yeah! But who cares about that?! Focus on the robot that's trying to kill us!" It was then that a loud stomping sound was heard on the other end of the street. Yang and Neptune glanced up just in time to see Blake and Sun run by, a large robot hot on their heels.

"Um…Wasn't that them?"

Growling, Yang put her scroll away and floored the gas.

With Naruto

Naruto jumped from building to building while chasing after Roman. "You do know that you're attracting a lot of attention, right?!"

"I. Don't. Care! I am sick and tired of these stupid brats interfering with every little thing!"

'Damn it…There's no way that this won't get other people to join in soon…' Shaking his head, Naruto resolved himself to simply ending this fight at the first chance available. His frown deepened when he noticed that Blake and the blond guy hopped onto the highway, Roman doing the same. With this thought in mind, Naruto pumped more chakra into his legs and leapt further.

Directing his fall as best as he could, Naruto landed on top of a speeding car, only to hop off of it and onto the next a moment later. Up ahead of him and Roman, the two Faunus were doing the same.

"Did you come to join the fun?"

"Someone has to make sure that you don't destroy everything!" Naruto bit out. "Keep civilian casualties down to a minimum!"

"What? But…Oh, fine! I won't push the cars out of my way…as much."

Nodding, Naruto touched down on another car only long enough to move to the next. Suddenly, he heard the roar of an engine that sounded like it was fast approaching. Glancing over his shoulder, Naruto groaned when he realized who it was.

Yang glared at the giant mech causing panic ahead of them. "We've got to slow it down!"

"I'm on it!" Neptune began to reach for the weapon on his back, but he paused when a smaller form landed onto a truck in front of them. "Who is that?!" The instant she saw him, Yang's mind screeched to a crawl.

Cerulean eyes connected with lilac.

'Is that really…?'

"That must be Kitsune…" Neptune concluded. Frowning, he pulled the weapon off of his back and turned it into its gun form. "We need to take him out before we can get to Torchwick!"

Hearing this, Yang hastily shook her head to clear it. "Y-Yeah! I'll give you an opening, you take the shot!"

"Let's do it!" In response to Neptune's shout, Yang applied more pressure to the gas pedal, making them speed up. Taking aim, Neptune fired several rounds at Naruto.

Seeing the threat, Naruto quickly took out his gunblade and shifted it into a gun. He jumped from car to car as he avoided Neptune's electricity coated bullets, returning fire when he had an opening.

"Hang on!" Yang swerved to the side to maneuver out of the way of Naruto's shots. "You won't be able to hit him like that! He can just jump to another car!"

Neptune nodded. "Then I'm going to have to do the same!" Neptune carefully stood up on the seat of the motorcycle. "You go help Sun and Blake!"

"Hey, wait!" That was as far as Yang got when Neptune leapt off of the motorcycle and onto a nearby car. "Damn it!" Although she really wanted answers, Yang reluctantly sped up to catch up to the paladin.

"Not happening…" Naruto muttered. He crouched down to jump onto a truck in front of her, but he found his path blocked when Neptune landed on a van between them.

The blue haired teen smiled at Naruto. "Sorry, but you're not going to stop her!"

Naruto tensed his body. "I don't have time for you…"

"Well that's unfortunate…" Neptune twirled his weapon around, turning it into a trident. "Because you don't have a choice!" He leapt at Naruto.

Naruto scowled and flicked the switch on his gunblade, making it become a sword. Bringing his sword up, he blocked the trident and kicked out at Neptune. Rolling with the deflection, Neptune flipped his body up and over Naruto, coming to a stop in a crouch behind him. Acting on the opening, Neptune swept his trident at Naruto.

Knowing he had to get out of the way, Naruto jumped off of the truck and onto a large flatbed next to it. Not wanting too much distance to get between them, Neptune immediately moved onto the same flatbed.

'He's not going to let me get any further…' Naruto thought to himself. 'And that trident makes it so that it will be hard for me to get in close to use my sword…We would both just dodge each other if we used guns…Which means…' Naruto sheathed his gunblade, confusing Neptune greatly. 'The best way for me to get around this is by outnumbering him.' Naruto brought his hands together. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Neptune's apprehension grew when he saw copies of Naruto appear on either side of the original. "Great…This must be the cloning ability." He supposed that he should count himself lucky that Naruto wasn't able to do any more on the flatbed, or else he would also be hindered by the lack of room. Shaking his head, Neptune slid into a battle stance. "Fine then…I still won't back down!" He dashed forward.

The clones pulled their gunblades out and moved to meet him without being instructed. Together, they moved to slash at Neptune, but the older teen used his reach advantage to his benefit to parry and block the blows before they even got close. Seeing this, Naruto joined the fray.

The blue haired teen used the staff part of his trident to block a downward strike, but he didn't stick around any longer of that so he wouldn't be stabbed by the second clone that was attacking from behind. Rolling to the side, Neptune was shocked to see the original Naruto standing in front of him, blade already arching down.

"Whoa!" Acting hastily, Neptune attempted to move his weapon into the path of Naruto's attack, but he merely succeeded in deflecting the blow enough so that it only hit his arm. "Hey! That really hurts!"

"Kinda the point…" Naruto muttered. He lashed out with a kick, but Neptune jumped out of the way and onto the top of a box truck. Naruto and his clones immediately went after him, the two clones landing behind Neptune while the original landed in front of him.

Not liking the battlefield one bit, Neptune hesitantly spoke up. "Um…Sorry about this, but I don't suppose you would be willing to change the location a bit?" The only response he got were three hooded blondes slipping into battle stances. "Of course not…"

Naruto and his clones attacked together, the clones aiming lower while the original aimed at Neptune's torso. Knowing the danger, Neptune twirled his trident around and clashed it against two of the attacks, opting to simply dodge the third.

Now that Naruto was at least briefly off balance, Neptune lunged at him with his trident. Naruto leaned back to avoid the attack, but he was forced to drop to the floor completely when Neptune quickly followed by diverting his trident's trajectory towards him.

Luckily for Naruto, his clones were able to recover in time and interfere. First, one of the clones intercepted the attack, and then the second one used that chance to kick Neptune off of the truck.

"Ow! Again!" Rolling his eyes at Neptune's shout, Naruto glanced down onto a lower highway, where Roman and the others jumped down to. He scowled when he saw the situation.

Sun and Blake were outmaneuvering Roman while Yang drove around them and assisted however she could. 'I don't have time for this…' "You two keep him busy." With that command to his clones, Naruto started to make his way back to Roman. As he approached them, he spoke into his earpiece. "How are things on your end?"

"Oh, I'm absolutely peachy! Don't you love it when stupid brats won't stop making a mess of things?!"

Figuring that Roman could use the help, Naruto shifted his weapon into its gun mode. Landing on a car, he took aim for Sun, but he never got the chance to fire.

"There is no way you're going to leave me with clones so you can help your criminal buddy!"

"Gah!" Naruto grit his teeth when an electrified bullet impacted his shoulder, momentarily paralyzing his arm. Glaring back, he saw Neptune hopping from car to car to not get stabbed by Naruto's clones, but even that one shot had made a big enough opening for one of them to land a slash on his back.

"Looks like you can use some help yourself…" Roman chuckled. "Why don't we knock their number down to half?"

Naruto stopped rubbing his shoulder to regain the feeling. "What did you have in mind?"

"Get closer. I'll take care of it from there."

Despite not liking being left in the dark, Naruto crouched low before jumping down onto the highway they were on.

"Hey! I said you're not going anywhere!" Neptune dodged a clone's attack and moved after him. It soon turned into a chase where Naruto was trying to catch up to Roman, Neptune was trying to catch up to Naruto, and Naruto's clones ran interference however they could.

"Am I close enough now?!"

"A little bit more! I only need a few more feet…Good, that's close enough!" Naruto came to a stop on a truck that was only a couple dozen feet behind the mech.

"What's your plan, Roman?!" Naruto was very aware of Neptune's approaching form.

"Oh, just a little something I like to call…" Sun twirled his staff around and jumped at the mech, prepared to land a hard blow. "Catch the monkey!" Roman lashed out one of the Paladin's hands and latched it around Sun.

"Wha-?!"

Blake's eyes widened in alarm at the sight. "Sun!"

Not giving them a chance to interfere, Roman whirled around so that the mech was running backwards. "I suggest you duck, Kid!" Finally realizing the plan, Naruto got low as Roman hurled a screaming Sun his way.

And directly into Neptune, who was coming down on Naruto in an attack from above.

The impact made Naruto wince, but he was still relieved to see the two of them fall out of sight over the edge of the highway. "Glad that's over with…"

"Maybe you haven't noticed, but we still have these two to deal with!"

"I know that…" Naruto turned back towards Roman. "But it will still be easier now that…" Naruto cut himself off when he spotted something in the middle of the road ahead of them. "Roman, watch where you're going!"

Standing in the road in front of them was Weiss, who was glaring at the oncoming mech. Timing her move precisely, she spun around and stabbed her weapon into the ground, causing a large portion of it to ice over.

"Huh?" Roman was unable to react swiftly enough to prevent the Paladin from slipping on the ice and over the barrier of the highway. "Son of a bitch!" The remaining cars on the highway all skidded to a stop before reaching the layer of ice. Sun and Blake quickly hopped off their modes of transportation and went down after him.

Naruto cursed and jumped off of the truck he was standing on. "Roman, you alright?"

"…I really hate these brats…"

"Yeah, you're fine." Arriving at the point where they went down, Naruto glanced over the edge and was just in time to see a cloud of white form. "What was that?"

Roman was quiet as he answered, most likely because he was focusing on trying to find team RWBY. "That was the ice girl and the blond one working together to create steam…Now, are you going to help me or not?"

Naruto frowned and dismissed his clones. "I'm coming down."

Ruby flipped in the air and landed on her feet following her assault on the large mech. Deciding on her team's next move, she called out. "Checkmate!"

Knowing that was their cue, Blake and Weiss dashed forward together. The two of them timed their attacks so they would slash at the legs at the same time, but it still seemed to be doing no damage. Rapidly growing annoyed with the lack of visible progress, Weiss landed on the ground just as a white glyph formed in that spot. Tightening the grip on her rapier, she launched her body at the cockpit.

Unfortunately for Weiss, she never anticipated the sudden black blade that appeared to intercept her strike. Acting on instinct alone, Weiss formed another glyph under her feet and used it to propel herself back toward the rest of her team.

Weiss' glare darkened to new levels when she saw who interfered.

"Kitsune." She growled.

Naruto stood in a battle stance in front of the Paladin, staring the team down. "Sorry, but we've barely had the thing for two days. It would suck if it broke already."

"Yeah, the paladin is the important thing…Never mind the person inside of it!"

Yang's eyes flared red when she saw him, but they immediately went back to lilac. Similarly, Blake's eyes widened at the sight of him, but she quickly recovered herself.

"Kitsune, as leader of team RWBY, I saying here and now you're going down! Torchwick too!" Ruby declared.

"And who's going to do it, Red?" Torchwick's voice came through the mech's speakers. "You? Your little team? As if!" He brought the arms up, aiming the rockets at the four of them. "News flash! You aren't heroes!" He fired.

"Move!" Ruby and Blake jumped forward as Yang and Weiss jumped back. "Ladybug!" At Ruby's shout, she and Blake surged at the mech. Suddenly, Naruto blurred in front of the two. "Change target to Kitsune! Yang and Weiss, take care of Torchwick!"

"You got it!"

"Understood!"

Naruto deflected the blade streaking towards his neck, but he was forced to jump into the air to not be hit from behind from a scythe. Unfortunately for Naruto, this was only the beginning of Ruby and Blake's tag team. The moment he blocked or avoided the attack from one of them, the other came from another direction, forcing him to hastily react. Slowly but surely, the number of cuts on his body were piling up.

Back flipping to not get stabbed by the latest rush, Naruto contacted Roman. "We need to go!"

"Really? I hadn't figured!"

Before Naruto could respond in any way, Ruby invaded his field of vision with her scythe at the ready. "Damn it!" Naruto's blade shot up and blocked her, but it was difficult to do.

Ruby glared at him. "I don't want to fight you."

Not able to help himself, Naruto scoffed. "Hey, that's funny. I'd rather not fight you too."

"Just come quietly."

He shook his head. "Sorry, but that's not going to happen." Naruto broke off from the struggle and gained some distance, making sure to keep both Blake and Ruby in his sight. 'Now, what to do…' Replacing his gunblade, Naruto brought his hands together.

The two of them saw this and knowing what it meant, decided to stop him. "Don't let him do it!" Ruby instructed as she used her semblance to close the distance.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Puffs of smoke announced the creation of clones, each of them already wielding their swords and ready to fight. "Now!" The clones and Naruto all rushed them.

Using her speed, Ruby weaved through the clones and their attacks, striking back as she could, but Blake had a much more difficult of a time evading the strikes. Eventually, she decided that she wouldn't be able to last with this many opponents who moved faster than her. Blake swiftly took in the positions of each Naruto. Upon verifying them all, she shifted her weapon into its pistol form and hurled it at the nearest Naruto. As anticipated, the clone evaded the weapon.

But he didn't expect it to come back.

Blake sharply tugged on the ribbon tied to Gambol Shroud, making it fire once it was behind him. The recoil of the shot fired the gun back. As the weapon came back, the blade part of it sliced into the back of the clone, making it dispel. Smirking in victory, Blake whirled around and sent her weapon at the next target.

'That's a new one!' Naruto thought irritably. He ducked under the flying gun/blade when it neared him and shot his own gun at Blake, but he missed when she flipped over the bullets, all while destroying another two clones.

"That's the real one!" Blake called out, concentrating her attention on him as Naruto's eyes widened in shock.

"Got it!" Ruby fired a round off to the side, making the recoil propel her directly at Naruto at high speeds.

"Guh!" Naruto stumbled back as Ruby's scythe cut into him from the flank. Regaining himself, Naruto aimed at her and fired, but he was unable to hit her.

"I could use some help over here!"

"Yeah, well I'm dealing with problems of my own!" Naruto shot back, letting his irritation at the situation seep into his tone. He drew a kunai and used it to parry the flying pistol/blade as he shot at Blake. "What's wrong on your end?! You have a mech!"

"A mech that just lost an arm!"

The hooded blond growled as he shoved Ruby's scythe back. "Fix it on your own! I'm kind of busy!" Naruto dashed forward and slashed at Ruby, forcing her to jump back, but at the next moment he had to deflect Blake's attack. Using the chance, Naruto sprinted at Blake, who was standing off to the side.

Acknowledging the oncoming enemy, Blake pulled hard on her Gambol Shroud's ribbon, causing it to fly back to her hand. But by the time she caught it, Naruto was already under her guard with a foot kicking her gut. Some spittle flew from Blake's mouth as she harshly impacted the ground.

"Blake!" Ruby's distraction would cost her when the remaining clone chose to strike her in the back.

The second that the two of them were both downed, Naruto spun around and sprinted towards the other fight. As he approached, Naruto saw Weiss create a glyph that boosted Yang's speed. The elder blond used that boost to streak toward Roman, fist reared back to do major damage.

"Tch!" Naruto raised his gun and flicked two switches making the gun glow light blue. He didn't have much time to aim, so he opted to spray several shots at her in the hopes that one would hit.

Fortunately for him, one of the bullets did hit Yang's side, and the ice enhanced round immediately encased the side of her body in ice. "What?!" With her momentum completely thrown off, Yang tumbled to the ground.

"Yang!" Weiss turned to see who had attacked and she scowled when she saw it was Kitsune. She raised her rapier in preparation to attack as a glyph appeared under her feet. "Ha!" Aided by the glyph, she rushed to meet him partway. The gunblade reverted to blade form to deflect the rapier towards the sky. Then in one swift movement, Naruto spun around Weiss and turned it back into a gun. "What?!" Aiming at her back, Naruto shot a couple of rounds at her. Weiss cried out in pain as she fell to the ground, covered in ice.

Naruto landed in front of the mech, panting from all of the fighting and moving he has been doing. "Have I ever told you how happy I am to work with you?"

"You can say it more often." Naruto called back.

When she saw who interfered, Yang's eyes bled red again. With a scream of anger, her hair took on a bright glow and she shattered the ice. "Enough!" She got to her feet. "I have been putting this off for too long already! You and I are going to talk. Now!" She shouted.

If the others could see Naruto's face, then they would have seen the confusion on it. "…What?"

"If you are who I think you are, then I am officially pissed!"

"Hey, Kid…Has your cover been blown?" Roman's voice in his earpiece verbalized the very thing that Naruto was wondering.

"…Apparently." When did Yang find out? Did Blake tell her? "This isn't the time to talk."

Yang growled and took a menacing step forward. "This isn't the time to talk? Then when is the time to talk, Nar-"

"Yang!" Yang paused when Ruby and Blake joined her. "Where's Weiss?" Ruby asked in concern.

"Over here, covered in ice!"

"Yeah, it's not so fun, is it, Ice Queen?"

Weiss glared at the paladin, but she was still freeing herself from the ice. "When I get out of here, I will enjoy making you pay…There!" The last of the ice crumbled. "Now then…" Weiss quickly stood up and joined her team.

Roman chuckled, allowing it to be heard by all. "Oh, would you look at this? Four school girls, all standing together to stop the bad guys and save the day. Doing their best to be some kind of heroes."

"This time, we're taking a page out of Kitsune's book." Upon hearing sirens approaching in the distance, Weiss allowed a smirk to cross her features. "We don't have to beat you…Simply stall for time."

Naruto scowled. 'And it's working.' By then, all the destruction on the highways alone would have attracted police and huntsmen to the area. It was only a matter of time before they arrived down where they were. Suddenly, Roman's voice came over the earpiece.

"I got a message from Neo." Roman said. "She is near the area and can extract us in two minutes." Finally, some good news.

It seemed that Yang was growing irritated over being interrupted when she was trying to get answers from Naruto, because she blew up a moment later. "Enough! Give up!"

The paladin's speakers boosted Roman's chuckled through the area. "How about…No?!" He raised his remaining arm and fired the rockets at them, making team RWBY scatter. "Why don't you get it?! Even if we do give up, someone like us will just take our place! The White Fang is proof of that!" He blasted the lasers at Blake.

"The we'll take them down!" Ruby shouted. Naruto appeared in front of her with his sword arching down. Acting on instinct, she pulled the trigger of Crescent Rose and used the recoil to evade. Flipping back, she used a second recoil to get behind Naruto. The hooded blond gritted his teeth in pain when the attack connected, but he didn't let up.

"But it never ends!" Naruto retorted. "The fact that it won't end proves there is something wrong! That there are people out there who feel like they are getting cheated! That's why the White Fang was formed!"

Weiss came in and defended Ruby. Locking her rapier with Naruto's gunblade, the two tried to push one another back. "Even so, the way they do things is flawed. It only proves to others that they are criminals who are in the wrong." She glared at him. "Like you!" A black glyph formed under their feet, catching Naruto off guard. He made to move away, but he found himself immobilized. The next thing Naruto knew, he was struck from the side by shots from Gambol Shroud. However, it appeared that Weiss was extremely fatigued, because her glyph faded away a moment later.

Naruto jumped back and ducked under Blake, who came in with a failed follow up attack. "The concept of a criminal is sometimes the way you look at it." Naruto said quietly. "To me, the worst kind of criminal is the person who stands by while others are hurt, not even trying to do anything." He charged at her. "Or worse, they prevent people from getting help! I'd rather be someone who does something!"

"That doesn't justify the way you do it!" Blake rebuked. "What's the point of it if you become the very thing that you were fighting against?!" She used her semblance to have a clone take a hit for her, her real self in the air above him. Acting on the opportunity, Blake lashed out and sent Naruto stumbling away from the blow, but he managed to recover and retaliate when she landed.

Blake leapt out of the way to help Ruby and Weiss with Roman, but Yang was there the next second, throwing both punches and shots at Naruto. "I'm not saying I'm a good guy. I'm not saying that my actions don't have any repercussions. But I am saying that there are people who are seen as the good guys, who are the bad guys! If things were as they should, then that wouldn't happen!" He flipped over her. "And if I have to become bad guy, then fine!" He rushed Yang.

"You are the biggest idiot I have ever met!" She spun around with surprising speed and punched Naruto's blade out of the way. "Everything you've been saying is wrong!"

"It's needed!" Naruto shouted, using his other arm to deflect the next attack Yang sent at him. Bringing his blade back, Naruto slashed horizontally at Yang, but the older blond jumped up and over him. Whirling around, Naruto stabbed at her, but Yang dropped to the ground and lashed a foot out at his legs, attempting to make him fall.

Because of this, Naruto's balance was thrown off and he began to stagger forward, but he swiftly regained his composure and didn't resist the pull of gravity, instead going along with it. Rolling, Naruto sprung back to his feet and swiped at Yang, who was caught off guard by how quickly Naruto was able to recover, resulting in Naruto's blade meeting her side. "Agh!" Naruto went in for another attack, but Yang jumped to the side, clutching her newest injury.

Naruto was about dash at her again, but he stopped himself when he noticed that she was shaking. A moment later, Yang clenched her teeth and her eyes flashed. "It's necessary?" She scowled. "This is necessary? As if!" She exploded forward, surprising Naruto.

Reacting, Naruto swung his blade at her, but Yang was ready for him. As the blade neared, Yang raised an arm up, creating a shower of sparks as the gunblade clashed with Ember Cecilia. Not giving Naruto any time to think, her other hand shot up and latched around his wrist, earning a pained grunt from Naruto as she applied pressure.

With his grip weakened, Yang forced the gunblade out of Naruto's hand, allowing it to fall to the ground, before using the hold she still had on him to tug him closer. Stumbling, Naruto's eyes widened and spittle flew from his mouth as a fist embedded in his gut, making him hunch over. "Guh…!" Suddenly, the second fist crashed into his chin from below, painfully snapping his mouth shut as he was launched into the air from the force. He was arched back with his body facing away from the ground.

Although he was dazed, Naruto registered that Yang had leapt up after him, resulting in her being above Naruto's airborne form, gauntlet reared back in preparation of forcefully sending him back to the ground. Acting quickly as Yang neared him, Naruto put his hands together and created a clone in the air next to him, using it to pull him out of the way of harm while in the air.

With her target having moved out of the way, Yang's punch slammed into the ground, creating a small shock wave that detonated through the area. Landing in a crouch with his clone, Naruto gritted his teeth as pain tore through his body. 'Shit…' He knew Yang was strong, but it wasn't often that he was on the receiving end of one of her truly furious punches. Panting slightly, his eyes scanned the ground, but he failed to spot his fallen weapon. 'Must've gotten moved from the shock wave…' His eyes snapped back to Yang as she stood up from her kneeling position.

Growling, Yang's crimson eyes went to Naruto and his clone. "You…"

'I have no weapon and I'm injured…Damn it, I'm running out of options.' He raised a hand towards his clone, palm facing up. 'No choice then…She's strong, so she should be fine after this…' Knowing what he wanted, the clone brought its hands over to Naruto's, and then began to form the long familiar jutsu.

Seeing Naruto start to reveal another technique, Yang's irritation spiked. "Oh, like hell!" Using Ember Cecilia to gain a boost, Yang immediately blasted forward, shooting the clone as she approached.

Not having expected this, the clone was easily destroyed, leaving Naruto alone with a half-completed Rasengan. The next thing he knew, Yang was upon him again, intent on putting him down for good. "No-!" Acting on instinct, Naruto thrust the incomplete jutsu at Yang, getting a direct hit on her stomach.

"Gah!" Yang shouted in pain, but she refused to budge. Instead, her eyes glowed brighter as her hair seemed to catch fire. "That's…E…nough!" She threw out a hand and grabbed the front of Naruto's top. "You're wrong!" She slammed a fist into his gut. "What you're doing is wrong!" She snapped her knee up, catching Naruto by the chin, but she didn't let him go flying into the air again. "And I am going to make!" She tugged him back towards her, her hair growing even brighter as her rage mounted. "You!" Another strike, but to chest. "Realize." Another hit to the stomach. "That!" She reared a fist back and -after taking a moment to gather all of her strength- she shot it at Naruto's face, landing one final punch on him.

Hard.

Crack!

Naruto blacked out as he went flying back from the force of Yang's punch, tumbling along the ground for several feet. He only came to a stop when he hit the damaged and nearly destroyed mech. After finally stopping, Naruto slowly attempted to pick himself up. But as he did so, he noticed several drops of a dark liquid falling to the ground. Thinking on it, Naruto vaguely recognized it as blood.

'I'm…bleeding? From where…?' Everything was too hazy for coherent thought. Gently, Naruto lifted a hand to his face, allowing himself to find where it was coming from. 'Oh…My mouth.' It was then that Naruto noticed something on the ground next to the spots of blood…Something metallic. '…Is that…a piece of my mask…?' Looking at it again, Naruto concluded that it was indeed part of his mask, and a significant portion of it.

He stared at it for another minute.

Sluggishly, Naruto's mind processed what the implications of his mask being shattered meant. His eyes widened as he confirmed the feeling of cold air directly touching his lower face. Hesitantly, he turned his head in the direction of the others…Where there was now a significant lack of fighting.

All four members of team RWBY were staring at him, but with differing reactions. Yang still had an expression of anger on her face, but it was somewhat diminished, as if she was somewhat resigned. Weiss appeared to be taken aback, but she then recovered and scowled. Blake was giving Naruto a sad look, but she didn't seem apologetic.

Ruby looked devastated.

"N…Naruto?" She asked weakly. "W-What are you…Why are you with…W-What's going on?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Weiss asked quietly. "Naruto is Kitsune. He always has been. From the very beginning, he has been lying to us!"

'N-No…'

"N-No. That can't be true." Ruby denied. "It can't!"

Naruto did his best to push himself to his feet, but the fatigue and the damage was finally catching up to him. 'Hey…fox! Now would be a…good time to pay rent!' Marginally, the pain receded, but it wasn't by much.

"Look at what's in front of you!" Weiss shouted. "The proof is there!"

A chuckle was heard. "I told you, Red. The real world isn't as pretty as you think it is." All eyes of team RWBY turned to see Roman exiting from the now non-operational paladin. "The real world is full of all kinds of things like this." He said, slowly making his way over to Naruto. "Those fairy tale stories where the good guys win? The power of friendship granting the hero the power needed to miraculously pull through? That's all they are…Stories…The real world isn't a nice place." He frowned and crouched next to Naruto. "Hey, you alright, kid?"

"G…Give me a minute." Naruto muttered. '…Or more…' Holy crap, Yang was normally strong, but her semblance took it to a whole new level.

Nodding, Roman stood back up. "Naruto is Kitsune…Now you know." He said. "Isn't that a cruel twist of fate?"

"It can't be true!" Ruby repeated. "Naruto would never do something like that! He's nice! And friendly! He wouldn't become a criminal!"

"Wow, you sure are naïve, aren't you?"

Not wanting Ruby to continue any further, Weiss took a step forward. "Enough. This fight is over. You no longer have a paladin to fight the four of us with and Naruto likely has a concussion from Yang's attack. Not only that, but he is disarmed. You lose."

"Ha! Lose? Me? Let me tell you something about that, Ice Queen. Besides being a giant sore loser…I also can't lose. And you want to know why?" He paused for a moment. "Simple, really. I cheat. Now then, this is where we part ways…"

"You aren't leaving!" Blake declared, prepping herself for a fight.

A scoff escaped from Roman. "And who's going to stop me? You?"

"Us!" Weiss corrected. "We will!" A glyph appeared under her. "Right here, right now."

An uneasy look flashed across Roman's face. "That's nice and all…but I think I'd rather pass on that. Neo?" The air between them shattered, revealing a frowning Neo. "Welcome to the party."

"Another one?" Yang growled.

"Yes, another one." Roman confirmed. "You didn't think it would be that simple did you? Of course not!" He smiled mockingly. "Once again, this is goodb-"

Yang just about had enough of all of Roman's crap. After a night filled with shock, betrayal, anger, fighting, fatigue, pain, and worry, she didn't feel like listening to this anymore.

As such, she decided to interrupt the bastard before he could finish so she could cut off any plans to escape. "You're! Not! Leaving!" With a scream of rage, she shot forward, intending to punch Roman in the face as well.

"Holy crap!" Roman jumped out of the way. "Don't do that!" The next moment, Roman found himself on the receiving end of a double team from Weiss and Blake. "Oh, wonderful!" He said sarcastically, frantically parrying and deflecting anything that came his way. "Neo! Now would be a good time to make our escape!"

Nodding, Neo turned and began to make her way to Naruto, who still couldn't get back up, but she was blocked off partway by a red eyed Yang. "Like hell!" With that shout, Yang attacked, but Neo easily outmaneuvered all of her attacks. Feeling playful, Neo stuck a tongue out.

"Gah! You and your freaking ice!" That shout from nearby broke Neo's playful mood. Remembering the situation, Neo frowned and twirled her umbrella. She then lunged at Yang while using her Umbrella as a weapon, and the two engaged in a fast paced bout.

Back by the destroyed paladin, Naruto's mind was switching between semi-clarity and murkiness. 'Come on, fox! I know you can work faster than this!' Despite Naruto's demands, his healing was not sped up. 'Damn it!' Deciding to try doing it himself, Naruto concentrated on channeling the Kyūbi's chakra.

Only to find that he couldn't.

Instead of feeling himself gain power and heal, Naruto's body locked up as even more pain raced through it. Unnoticed by the others, his eyes had turned red while his whiskers darkened. 'What the hell?! Why is this happening now?!' He quickly abandoned that plan, allowing the pain to recede to what it naturally was, along with his features. 'Shit...This is getting worse and worse.' Looking to the fights, Naruto saw that while Neo was holding her own -or even winning- against Yang, Roman was slowly getting overwhelmed. And to make matters worse, the sirens were getting closer.

There was no way for them to get out undetected without Neo's abilities, but a person needed to be near her for them to be concealed. The problem was that Naruto, Neo, and Roman were all split up to a distance that was too far for Neo to cover. At this rate, they wouldn't be able to defeat them and get away, so it they would all be arrested.

'Unless…'

"N…Neo!" Naruto shouted, gaining her attention as she knocked Yang away. "Take Roman and go!" Her eyes widened. "Do it!" Neo's reluctance to do so was clear, but Naruto persisted. "Please, Neo…I'll be fine." He was at least fairly sure that he would be able to escape later. They couldn't account for his jutsu, so he could escape like that. Although he knew that Neo would get him back later for making her leave without him.

Neo appeared to be torn as she looked between him and Roman, who was gaining more and more damage. Eventually, the woman scowled and nodded. Taking another glance at Naruto, she vaulted over Yang's latest attack -stunning the blond with a kick to the head as she did- and made her way to Roman.

Catching Blake and Weiss off guard, Neo successfully managed to hit them both away and reach Roman. Only pausing to send one more glance at Naruto, the two vanished.

"They got away?" Weiss asked angrily. "After all of that, they escaped?" She paused. Slowly, she turned around to glare at Naruto. "Well…Not all of them."

Finally not seeing a point to keeping it up any longer, Naruto allowed himself to slip into unconsciousness.

There we go! All done with Chapter 17!

Questions? Comments? Concerns? Post a review!

Until next time,

Kog6943