"An interesting story Mr. Uzumaki. A highly unlikely one I must admit, but I find myself...curious."

Glynda Goodwitch fought the strong impulse to roll her eyes. Here was some blond teenager - whom team RWBY claimed had fallen from the sky - stating that he came from a world connected to theirs. That wasn't even taking into consideration the nonsense he was spouting about an alternate world concerning everyone currently gathered here.

But of course, Ozpin, the ever eccentric man he was, found all of this "interesting".

She really didn't get paid enough to put up with all of this.

Having known Glynda for years, Ozpin could already tell that she was irritated with him even entertaining the idea of letting this play out. As amusing as that was, he had to look at the much bigger picture here. If even a fraction of what this young man was claiming was true, then this could be the final thing they needed to tip the scales in their favor.

That wasn't even taking into account the boy himself. The teen, although roughly the same age as most of his students, carried himself in a way that spoke of years of combat and hardship. Bright, blue eyes belied a wealth of power below the veneer of youth and vitality.

A new piece had just been added to the board.

"Since this venture involves all of the people currently gathered here, I will let my students decide what should be done."

Hearing this, Naruto turned and was surprised by the mostly positive reactions he got.

The vast majority of the eight teens seemed interested in hearing what he, and the book he had been given, had to say. There were a few, the snow haired one, who seemed none too interested and made it seem like she could be better spending her time elsewhere.

To be fair to her, Naruto realized how far fetched all of this seemed. Even as he was currently standing here, he was still coming to grips with the fact that he was in another world so vastly different from his own. Sure, he'd seen other dimensions courtesy of Kaguya, but none of those places had been inhabited by any sort of life. They had all been barren wastelands meant to kill him and his team.

It also didn't help that this world was so technologically advanced compared to his. He thought he'd seen some technical marvels in the Land of Spring, but this office alone was far and away unlike anything Naruto had seen before. Then again, he'd never really been all that tech savvy in the first place. Still, he was sure that the people in the R&D department back home would have a field day here.

Seeing as it was a mostly positive vote from everyone in the room, Ozpin stood from behind his desk and grabbed his cane.

"It's decided then. If you would follow me, I have an ideal spot where we can all get comfortable and enjoy a good book."

Beacon Academy was a highly advanced and beautifully designed campus. Everything from the restrooms to the classrooms and even the gardens it boasted were up to date. So, it came as no surprise to most that Beacon's library was just as state of the art and well designed.

It was within one of the library's many private conference rooms that the group found themselves getting comfortable in, a task made easier thanks to the bevy of seating choices and amenities.

Seeing that it was necessary for someone to take the lead and get the ball rolling, Ozpin stood in front of the group.

"Before we get started, I feel like now may be the most ideal time to properly introduce ourselves to Mr. Uzumaki and vice versa. I will start. I am Professor Ozpin, current Headmaster of Beacon Academy."

Following his lead, the blonde woman next to him chose to get her introduction over with.

"My name is Glynda Goodwitch, Deputy Headmistress and the beginning combat teacher here at Beacon Academy."

Being one of the more outgoing personalities, Yang followed, dragging her younger sister into a headlock with her.

"Name's Yang Xiao Long and this is my little sister Ruby!"

"Gah! Yang, quit it! You're embarrassing me!" Managing to wiggle free from her sister's clutches, Ruby blushed as she noticed the eyes of the strange blond they had found were now on her. "Um-I'm-uh Ruby Rose. Captain of team RWBY?"

Noticing that her partner was seconds away from trying to hide herself in her own cloak, Weiss rolled her eyes and took over.

"Weiss Schnee, heiress of the Schnee Dust company."

Rounding off the last of team RWBY, Blake spoke up, "Blake Belladonna."

Wanting to look impressive for their new guest, Jaune stood and attempted to introduce himself. Nora wasn't having any of that though and quickly beat him to the punch, literally knocking the poor boy onto his ass.

"Nora Valkyrie, nice to meetcha!"

Sighing in exasperation at his long time friend's antics, Ren dragged her back to her seat before making his own introduction.

"My name is Lie Ren, but you may call me Ren."

Helping her partner off the floor, Pyrrha then bowed in greeting.

"Hello! My name is Pyrrha Nikos, a member of team JNPR."

Sighing at his failed attempt at looking cool, Jaune flippantly introduced himself.

"Jaune Arc, captain of team JNPR."

Seeing as it was finally his turn, Naruto stood and flashed the gathered group a foxy grin, "Uzumaki Naruto, shinobi of Konoha and future Nanadaime Hokage!"

Most were extremely confused by his introduction. Not by the fact that he introduced himself with his surname first, that wasn't too uncommon, but by the strange words that followed it. None of them had any idea what a Hokage was or where this Konoha was, having never heard of it. Then again, he had said he was from a different world, which was now making some more sense.

Ozpin, being as traveled as he was, was curious about both of these things just like his students.

"If I may ask, what is a Hokage?"

Naruto rubbed his chin in thought.

"Best way I can explain it is that they're both a village's acting mayor as well as being the general for the military force."

Ozpin nodded, having seen somewhat similar positions of power exist in some of the more rural villages that dotted their world. It was also somewhat akin to the lordships that had existed before the end of the Great War.

"Ah, I see. And you strive to take over as your home's leader sometime in the future, correct?"

Naruto nodded his head.

"Yup. My sensei, the current Hokage, and Tsunade-baachan, the Hokage before him, are both helping to prep me for taking over whenever Kakashi-sensei decides to step down."

That raised some eyebrows in the room. While the blond wasn't exactly someone to look over, he also didn't carry himself in a way that screamed "Future Leader". However, if he was being groomed to take over as leader of his village, then that meant he had both the political power and physical might to do so.

None were more surprised by this than Weiss. She had spent so much of her life around politicians and the like, she could spot one a mile away. This Uzumaki character did not look or carry or himself in a way that said he was politically savvy. He was far too casual for that. Or at least she had thought so. Maybe she should pay a little more attention to him.

"If you guys don't mind me asking, you said you were each a part of a team? Is that for going on missions and stuff?"

Glynda was the one to answer his question in her usual no-nonsense manner.

"Aspiring Huntsmen and Huntresses who attend one of the four major academies are split into groups of four. They then spend the four years of their tenure at their chosen school training, learning, and going on missions together. At the end of their academic career, they are then graduated to full Huntsman/Huntress status and allowed to travel and complete missions wherever and for whomever they wish."

Naruto scratched at his chin in thought.

"That's kind of the same way we do things back home too. You go to the Shinobi Academy in your village, pass a test, and then you're put on a team of four with a senior ninja as the leader/teacher. From there you rise through the ranks and eventually go solo or join up with one of the other departments in the village."

"An interesting parallel to be sure, and although I'm sure we will find many more similar topics to discuss in depth, I feel it pertinent that we move onto the very reason we've all gathered here, that book in your hands," Ozpin interjected.

At the mention of the book, both Blake and Ruby gained a certain twinkle in their eyes, both being avid readers.

"Oh yeah! What's the title of the book?"

Chuckling at the younger girl's exuberance, Naruto checked the cover of the worn leather book in his hands.

"All it says on the front is 'Remnant's Maelstrom Shinobi'. I guess I'll read first?"

Hearing no disagreements from anyone, Naruto cracked open the book to the first page, expecting to find some sort of introduction. Instead, a sealing array greeted him. Before he could even try and figure out what it was for, it began to emit a dim glow of light. Out from the light came a projection of him standing in front of Beacon Academy, dressed in a completely different set of clothes and with a familiar looking fox wrapped around his neck.

"Cute fox!" Nora cheered.

Yang examined the projection of the blond in the book and the one right before her.

"Couple inches taller, and a pretty cool set of clothes. Either way, that's definitely you Whiskers."

Quirking an eyebrow, Ozpin took a quick glance at the book.

"It seems that some sort of mechanism in the book will also allow us to see what is happening as we read, similar to a hologram. Interesting."

Getting no further interruptions, Naruto decided to move on and actually start reading, despite being somewhat weirded out at seeing an alternate him. Though the jacket the other him was wearing seemed pretty cool, if not a little more bulky than the one he was currently wearing. The height difference was a little off putting though, seeing as he was now among the taller people in Konoha, and this other him still had a few inches on him.

The city of Vale. One of the four major cities of Remnant that stood as a symbol of mankind's perseverance and ingenuity. It, along with its sister cities, cast a light of hope into the hearts of people around the world, showing the world that no amount of Grimm or disaster could eliminate the human spirit so long as one light shone through the dark.

Having an overhead view of Vale flash gave Naruto a better sense of what kind of city he was in. Again, the technology difference was baffling to him. The description of the city gave Naruto the sense that the four major cities were somewhat akin to the Five Great Shinobi Villages.

The word 'Grimm' was a foreign one to him though. Sure, he knew the word 'grim', but the way it was spelled and emphasised in the book meant it was something else entirely.

The sealing array in the book gave him an answer though, some beastly creature with fur black as night and bone plated armor appearing in front of him.

"What in the world is that thing?"

A frown settled on everyone's face as the image of the Beowulf rotated.

Pyrrha was the one to answer Naruto's question.

"It is a Creature of Grimm, Humanity's greatest enemy. We don't know too much about them, other than the fact that they've lived as far back as our history books go. They're the monsters we fight and the things we have to protect others from."

Naruto frowned as he looked closer at the projection before him. He'd seen some truly horrible things in his seventeen years of life, but even he had to admit that these Creatures of Grimm were terrifying. Not even Kurama, for as powerful and monstrous as he was, looked anywhere near as twisted as these things did.

The only thing he could think of that even came close was the demon he had fought alongside the Priestess Shion, Mōryō.

While he had other questions, Naruto decided to hold his tongue for now. The book might answer some of his questions in time. If not, he could just ask.

As a major capital Vale boasted one of the largest shopping districts as well as numerous smaller settlements that lay on the outskirts of the sprawling city. At the heart of Vale was the prestigious Beacon Academy.

It was here at Beacon that the defenders of Vale were trained to combat the forces of darkness. These defenders, normal men and women, who had chosen to dedicate their lives to keeping Vale and her citizens safe were called Huntsmen and Huntresses. Wielding their own unique weapon alongside their equally unique power known as Semblance these warriors were to be the first and last line of defense against those that would wish to harm the citizens of their city.

"What's a Semblance?" Naruto asked, figuring the word was again being emphasized for a reason.

"Not knowing what Grimm or a Semblance is? Maybe you really aren't from this world," Yang laughed.

While it had been meant as a joke, everyone else realized just how true that statement was.

Still, Ruby lightly smacked her sister on the arm.

"Yang! Don't be mean!"

With the sisters squabbling between themselves, Weiss rolled her eyes before addressing Naruto.

"A Semblance is an ability that is, usually, unique to an individual. My family is unique in that we all have the same Semblance called Glyphs, which allows us to create different runic arrays that do a variety of things."

Naruto hummed in interest, before continuing to read. Barely a few paragraphs in and he already had so many questions. Best to save them for later otherwise they'd all be here for way longer.

They were to be symbols unto themselves; symbols of strength, pride, and hope.

It was here at the entrance to Beacon Academy that we find a tall and well built teen admiring the massive structure that was the academy. The teen surveyed the building with blue eyes so intense that they seemed to be like twin pools of the ocean itself. Three marks that resembled whisker marks marked his tan face on each cheek. Blonde hair as gold as the sun fell in messy spikes around his head, the bangs falling across his forehead, further accentuating his electric blue eyes.

The blonde was garbed in clothing that seemed fitting of a warrior ready to march on to the battle lines. A plain black shirt with some sort of swirl in a burnt orange color on the chest clung to his top half. Over top the shirt was a black jacket with the same swirl on each shoulder. The top part of the shoulder was covered by some form of white armor. The back of the jacket as well as some parts of the front were dotted with the same pieces of white armor.

Covering his bottom half was a pair of plain grey pants. On his left thigh was a black pouch. Laying horizontally attached to his belt was a small and plain looking scroll. Covering his feet was a pair of black leather boots with the ends of his pants tucked into the ankle high footwear.

Standing at a solid six foot with a lithe build, the blonde would have struck an imposing figure if not for the twitching of his eye and the fluffy orange furred fox kit wrapped around his neck like a scarf.

"No offense, but the longer hair looks way better on you Whiskers," Yang offered.

While they weren't as vocal about it as the blonde bombshell, it was clear to see almost everyone agreed with the sentiment.

Looking at his reflection in a nearby mirror, Naruto had to admit he did kind of miss his longer hair. Maybe it was time to let it grow out again?

"But more importantly, is that a pet fox? That's so cool!" Nora cheered.

Although he was in a vastly smaller and less intimidating form, Naruto instantly knew that the supposed fox kit described in the story was Kurama. But, revealing that would probably lead to a whole host of other questions, so for now he answered with a simple, "He's more like a partner."

The answer did nothing to discourage the excitable teen from bugging Ren about getting an exotic pet for themselves.

"Remind me again why the hell I have to go to school...AGAIN Kurama?" The blonde asked aloud, voice dripping in annoyance.

Some would think the teen crazy for talking to himself however that was far from the case. The fox that lay around his neck stirred and allowed one of its closed eyelids to crack open revealing ruby red eyes. Shaking it's head in a very human show of exasperation a gruff male voice rang through the blonde's head, 'Because it seems to be both the easiest and best way to get a job and possibly some answers. Besides it should be easier since you have done this before. Also don't talk out loud you dumbass, people will think you're nuts.'

The silence following that was near deafening.

"Di-Did that fox just talk?" Jaune finally asked.

Seeing as everyone was pointedly staring at him, obviously wanting some sort of answer, Naruto shrugged.

"Uh, no? I mean, I guess technically it's telepathy?"

The bland looks he got in return made it obvious that none of them were having any of his shenanigans.

'Looks like you fooled them. Real smooth.'

'Not exactly the time for your sass Kurama,' Naruto growled back.

Sighing in defeat, the soon to be Hokage decided it best to simply rip off the proverbial band aid.

"I'll tell you more later, but to keep it simple; his name is Kurama and he's the Kyūbi no Kitsune, or Nine-Tailed Fox. He's pretty much a sentient mass of energy who was sealed into me by my parents when I was born."

"...badass."

"Ms. Xiao Long! Language!"

That was definitely not the reaction Naruto had been expecting.

'Wonder if that's why he has those whisker marks?' Blake internally pondered. That particular feature had been one of the first things she noticed about him, leading her to wonder if he was a Faunus like her.

Seeing as he was apparently from a different world though, that was probably not the case. However, since he had some fox spirit sealed inside of him, it made sense that he had some fox like traits himself. They weren't as obvious as some of the fox Faunus she had met, but they were still there.

A sigh escaped the teen's lips before his head fell in resignation, 'But I hated school then and I doubt this will be any different from the Academy back in Konoha.'

'That may well be true, but keep in mind that despite the situation not changing YOU have changed Naruto. And for kami's sake please don't act a fool. I think we've suffered one lifetime too many of that,' the voice replied back.

Stretching his limbs, the now named Naruto sighed again and folded his arms behind his head, 'Wasn't exactly my decision. Not my fault those teachers were too bigoted to actually teach me properly.'

'Fair point kit, but you also weren't exactly helping yourself by acting like an idiot either.'

'Touché Kurama, touché.'

Now that brought up some unpleasant memories for Naruto. It'd been a long while since he'd last thought about the Academy days. Not exactly his most cherished memories, but he'd come to terms with that part of his past.

"You were treated differently for having Kurama sealed inside of you, weren't you?"

The fact that the question had even been asked caught Naruto off guard. Hearing it come from Blake, someone he pegged as not being much of a talker, was even more surprising.

Since everyone else in the room was well aware of the raven haired Faunus' past, none of the Remnant natives were surprised that Blake was the first to connect the dots though.

"Uh, yeah. The day of my birth wasn't exactly the…'happiest' of occasions for my village."

Even though there was obviously a lot more to be said, the gist of what the blond was trying to convey came through loud and clear. An awkward silence settled over the group, most finding themselves unsure of how to proceed after that brief glimpse into Naruto's upbringing.

Still, the blond Jinchūriki knew he had to press on with the story. Hopefully that would break the tension that had settled in.

Before the mental conversation between the teen and fox could continue they were both startled by a sudden explosion only a few yards away from them. Both raised an eyebrow as they saw a girl about Naruto's age dressed in all white screaming and hollering at a younger girl in red.

"Why is this my introduction!?" Ruby moaned in agony, clearly remembering this specific moment of time.

Weiss decided to stay silent. She had been a bit of a brat to her partner at this point and the less said, the better.

Their eyebrows ascended even higher as a girl in black interfered on behalf of the girl in red. Naruto felt bad for the younger girl seeing the regally dressed girl in white stomp off with the girl in black quietly sauntering off, leaving the girl in red to fall to her knees in sadness.

Blake sighed as she realized she probably could've been a little nicer to Ruby at the time. Sure, she had stood up for her, but leaving her alone like that wasn't all that helpful in the long run.

Throughout this, Ruby continued to cower in her cloak, trying to ignore the embarrassment that was sure to come.

Feeling sympathetic Naruto made his way over to the red themed girl who was muttering to herself about knees...which was rather odd. Not one to judge though Naruto lowered his hand into the girl's vision, offering to help her up.

Ruby peaked out of her cloak, a hopeful glimmer in her eyes. While she wasn't the most social person, a friend who could look past her quirks was always welcome.

Naruto in turn smiled, offering the proverbial hand of friendship. He had always had trouble bonding with others, for obvious reasons, and he could understand the young girl's struggles.

The Red Riding Hood look alike turned curious gray eyes up to the owner of the hand and was slightly surprised to see a rather good looking blonde offering her help. She took the offered hand and was a little surprised when the teen pulled her to her feet with only a slight tug.

Naruto had to resist the urge to slap himself when he noted just how attractive the red haired girl was.

And just like that, Ruby was back to fully cocooning herself within her cloak.

Naruto meanwhile found himself just as embarrassed, now realizing how invasive reading a story from his point of view was going to be.

"Should I be worried about you making a move on my sister?"

Yang's teasing definitely wasn't helping.

'Seems that you inherited your father's love of red hair, ne?' Kurama chuckled mentally.

Hoping to save himself from further embarrassment, Naruto latched onto Kurama's remark as a means of talking about something else. Besides, talking about his parents was somewhat cathartic these days.

"My mom was bullied for her red hair as a kid, but my dad thought it made her beautiful. It's actually kind of how they ended up falling in love. After that, mom called her hair the 'red thread of fate', because it helped to bring them together."

At this, Pyrrha took the time to inspect her own crimson locks. The thought of being bullied for the hair color she had inherited from her own mother was an unpleasant one. On the other hand, the idea that her vibrant mane could also help her find love was enticing.

'The 'red thread of fate' hmm?'

Naruto just childishly glared at the cheeky fox.

Before he could come up with a rebuttal the girl whose hand he was still holding spoke up, "Uh...thanks for that...um..."

Realizing that the girl was asking for his name Naruto let go of her hand and grinned, "Naruto. Uzumaki Naruto."

The girl's face lit up in a smile, "Nice to meet ya! I'm Ruby Rose."

The sound of Kurama's snickering echoed in Naruto's head causing his brow to twitch. Of course the fox would find her name amusing. Though even he had to admit that it was all pretty funny. Red cloak with red highlights? And her name was Ruby Rose? Yeah it seemed like her parents really wanted her to like the color red or liked the story of Little Red Riding Hood a little too much.

"Naming children after a color was a small act of rebellion during the Great War and is a trend that continues today," Ozpin chimed in, in defense of Ruby's name.

On the other hand he wasn't one to talk either. After all he had gone around in a bright orange jumpsuit for a few years and then spent another 3 or so years in a darker version of that same jumpsuit. Even now his love for the color orange was hard to repress, evident by the rather large swirl on his chest.

Naruto chuckled.

"You could say I'm kinda the same. My dad was called the Kiiroi Senkō or Yellow Flash, while my mom was known as the Akai Chishio no Habanero or the Red Hot Habanero."

Catching on to where the blond was going, Ruby cheered, "And red and yellow together make orange!"

The younger teen received a Foxy Grin™ in return.

Knowing who his parents were and having grown up the way he had, any connection he had to his parents was precious to him. Even one as seemingly innocuous as color meant the world to him.

"Even still, I'd say most people are probably happy you've toned down the amount of orange," Weiss observed.

Naruto only quirked a brow at the slight jab.

"What was that, Ice Queen?"

"Why does everyone call me that!?"

Nobody bothered to answer the heiress, most too busy trying to cover up their snickering.

Pushing those thoughts to the back of his mind, along with the sounds of a still laughing Kitsune, Naruto offered one of his patented foxy grins, "So I take it this is your first year here at Beacon?"

Ruby nervously chuckled, "That obvious huh?"

"No, all the experienced Hunters and Huntresses are blowing themselves up with Dust," Naruto chuckled.

"Why does everyone have to be mean to me when we first meet?" Ruby questioned.

Childishly flailing her arms Ruby replied back, "But it wasn't my fault! I mean well I guess it kind of was, but still it was an accident and now because of that I won't have any friends and this is gonna be horrible and..."

Without missing a beat, Ruby was back in her cloak.

"She always was a bit of a motor mouth," Yang sighed.

The blonde loved her sister dearly, but she was also more than aware of her little sibling's "eccentricities". She blamed Uncle Qrow.

Naruto could only barely resist the urge to laugh at the rambling girl. How she was able to talk so fast was a little mind boggling but he had seen stranger so he let her continue to vent out her frustrations.

A lone silver eye peeked out from her signature red cloak. Maybe this wouldn't go so bad?

A few minutes later a slightly winded Ruby blushed as she kicked at the ground, realizing that she had just spilled her guts to a guy she had met all of five minutes ago. The thought that he would be too weirded out with her to be her friend crossed her mind. Luckily before she could go on another worry induced ramble Naruto's voice broke through her thoughts.

"Better?"

"...little bit," Ruby admitted.

For a few seconds neither said anything, Naruto just standing there still grinning and Ruby still blushing in embarrassment. Then it broke. Laughter overtook the silence and filled the air, the two enjoying the oddness of the situation.

Poking her head out from her self-made cocoon, Ruby had only one thing to ask.

"Best friend?"

Naruto threw a reassuring smile at the shy girl, offering her a closed fist.

Excited at the prospect and understanding the gesture, Ruby was all too eager to reciprocate.

"Best friend," Naruto affirmed.

Everyone smiled. They all knew how much Ruby struggled with coming out of her shell, literally sometimes, so it warmed their hearts to see someone so understanding of that.

Yang was especially happy for her sister. Naruto seemed like a genuinely good guy and having someone who was so self-assured and bright like him around would do Ruby wonders.

While everyone else was quietly taking in the blossoming new friendship, Ozpin was quietly musing to himself. Too wrapped up in the moment, no one else had noticed the small spark of energy that flashed as Naruto and Ruby's fists connected.

'Curious.'

When they had regained their breath and were now just chuckling out the last of their laughs Ruby asked, "So you're a returning student here?"

Naruto flashed her a grin, "Nope!"

Most everyone had to do a double take. The way that the blond had popped the 'p' in that was scarily similar to the way Ruby and Yang said it. It was a subtle detail, but one somewhat unique to the sisters.

Blake was especially suspicious. Looking closely, what had been passing similarities were now becoming features shared between family members. The same vibrant shade of blond, the same well defined facial structure, and the same slight tan to their skin. Hell, even the way their grin reached their eyes was the same!

A sweat drop trailed down Ruby's head.

"Wait so you're a new student like me?"

"Yup!"

Ruby cried crocodile tears, "I was hoping you would be able to show me around!"

Naruto shrugged before folding his arms behind his head, "Well it can't be that hard to get around here...right?"

"Famous last words," Ren intoned.

"I really need to learn how to keep my big mouth shut. Gotten me into way too much trouble over the years," Naruto moped.

Some of the others could empathize with the foreign teen, though they were reluctant to admit it.

"I'm not at all surprised to hear that," Weiss snarked.

She'd been around Naruto for only a few hours at this point, but he just seemed to be a magnet for all things troublesome.

And she definitely didn't have some sort of bias against blondes or anything.

Naruto had no comeback. Too many people throughout his life had nagged him about it enough that he'd come to accept his terrible luck.

Ice Queen was still mean for vocalizing it though.

The gathering of incoming students to Beacon all raised an eyebrow together as a girl in red came soaring through the open doors of the hall like she had been shot out of a canon. Lucky for her she landed in the arms of a busty blonde haired teen who grinned at her like the situation was normal.

Yang shrugged. It happened regularly enough, even these days.

"At least it was a soft landing," Blake rolled her eyes.

"Rude!"

Weiss glared at her teammate's chest.

'Stupid genetics.'

While team RWBY was squabbling over all this, Pyrrha was somewhat worried about her team captain. He'd been oddly quiet for a bit and seemed to be worrying over something. Hopefully it wasn't anything too serious.

"Ruby!"

Realizing that she was currently in her sister's arms Ruby wrapped her arms around the blonde's neck and cried in joy, "Yang! I'm so glad to see you!"

Ruby was soon subjected to her sister's famous Hug O' Doom.

"Aww, I knew my little sister loved me!"

Having been on the receiving end of similar "affections", Naruto was quick to come to his new best friend's aid.

"Uh, I don't think she can breathe Yang."

With her sister thrown off enough by that, Ruby was able to wiggle herself free. Disappearing in a shower of rose petals, the younger teen then appeared hiding behind a sheepishly chuckling Naruto.

Yang wept, complaining that her sister had traded her for another blond sibling.

Many sweatdropped at the dramatics while both Glynda and Weiss massaged their temples in frustration.

Naruto decided to push ahead with the reading, hoping to get this back on track.

Before anyone could question why Ruby had come through the door via the air, their attention was drawn back to the entrance of the hall where a blur of yellow raced into the hall before quickly slamming the twin doors shut.

There leaning against the door, panting and out of breath, stood another blonde with a frightened look to him. Even weirder was that a small fox kit was mirroring the blonde, looking equally terrified.

Whatever levity there had been in the room was gone, both Naruto and Ozpin looking especially grave.

Even Kurama had gone silent, paying more attention to this story. Annoying as he was, he and his partner had faced down a cavalcade of threats ranging from small time thugs to monstrous entities few would ever live to speak of. For both he and the brat to be frightened was extremely worrying.

Ruby hopped out of her sister's arms and rushed the panting blonde, clutching to his chest like he was her husband who had just come back from war.

"I thought I'd never see you again Naruto!"

As serious as the situation had been, they all could only stare and blink at the scene playing out before them.

Strange didn't even begin to cover it.

Brows were raised even higher as Naruto wrapped his arms around the much smaller girl.

"Shh it's ok Ruby. That...thing will never hurt us again!"

Ruby looked up with a hopeful look shining in her gray eyes, "You killed it?"

Naruto looked away, "No. I was barely able to get away from it with my life."

Both Jinchūriki and Bijū raised a brow at that. Naruto, running from a threat? Even the half-blood Uzumaki had to admit that he was usually far too stubborn to ever run from a battle, even if he was far outclassed by whatever opponent he was up against. Running away just went against his very nature.

Before the soap opera like situation could progress any further Yang shoved her way in between the two before asking the question that was on everyone's mind.

"Ok what the hell are you two talking about!? And how the heck do you know his guy Ruby!?"

"Anyone else way more interested in learning what the heck caused that whole scene?" Jaune asked.

The lanky captain got an affirmative from everyone there. Some were even upset that Yang's alternate self interrupted the scene.

What had been the point of that? Where was it going? It just seemed so out of place that it was incredibly jarring.

Hopefully there'd be an explanation at some point.

Ruby just grinned and appeared by Naruto's side, "This is Naruto Uzumaki. Naruto this is my sister Yang."

Naruto chuckled as he nervously waved at his fellow blonde who was inspecting him like a lioness would an unfamiliar creature. He had enough experience with busty blondes to know not to make them angry. That usually led to a painful beating.

Yang playfully growled at her fellow blond.

Kurama's Jinchūriki buried his face in his hands in embarrassment. Why was this story being told from his perspective? As much as his mouth got him in trouble, he could only dread the mess his unsaid thoughts were bound to cause.

'Jeez she's almost as big as Tsunade Baa-chan (Granny Tsunade) and she's like half her age!'

'FUCK!'

Kurama could do nothing but roll over in laughter. Having other people hear what he had to on a daily basis was too perfect.

While some blushed at the "lewd" thoughts, Yang was all too eager to pounce.

Crossing her arms under her bust to further accentuate her curves, the brawler gave the whiskered teen a salacious wink.

"Like what you see?"

Naruto was beginning to regret listening to Sage-jiji. Why had he thought this was a good idea? Maybe he could blame this on Sasuke? After all, it was the teme's fault he had even messed with that seal in the first place.

Before Naruto could question what the girl was eating to grow such a...healthy body Kurama made himself known by hopping his way up to Naruto's shoulders where he wrapped himself around the blonde's neck.

'Kit, kami must love you or something. I mean you've pretty much spent your whole life living every pervert's dream, surrounded by busty and hot females.'

Naruto wondered if beating Kaguya was worth it. Maybe he should've just let Sasuke take all the glory after all. Anything would have been better than having his embarrassment made clear to so many strangers.

With the Konoha native bemoaning his lot in life, some began to wonder what Kurama was talking about.

Naruto would have normally had a snarky comment to reply back with, but he could find none. The fox was right. His stalker since childhood, Hinata, had blossomed into a beautiful young woman with a pair that could give Tsunade a run for her money. Then there was Tsunade herself who boasted possibly the largest pair in all of the Elemental Nations. Both Anko and Kurenai were equally beautiful and as equally gifted in the chest area. Not to mention Shion the priestess who wanted him to father her children. Of course who could forget the Mizukage (Water Shadow), Mei Terumi, who had no shame in flirting with him whenever a chance arose.

Image after image of extremely gorgeous women began to appear before the group. A pale eyed yet regal beauty, a mature yet somehow still youthful woman, two striking and stand out women, a royal and dignified priestess, and a seductress who knew her looks could kill.

Some of the girls were struck with a dual sense of admiration and jealousy, but the boys were simply stunned.

It was pretty clear each of these women were extremely beautiful in their own right, but it was just as easy to see that they were no slouch in the strength department either.

Yang on the other hand couldn't help but take pride in her looks. Naruto had met and been close with such gorgeous women and yet he still found her attractive?

'Good thing I called dibs first.'

Naruto didn't know whether to cry in frustration or joy. On one hand he had tried his hardest to not fall to the dark side and become a pervert like every male role model in his life, but it seemed Kami had other plans or just enjoyed tempting him.

Hearing this only made every female in the room grow to respect the Uzumaki. To have that kind of restraint and respect for women was an admirable trait, especially if it was true that all the males around him were perverts.

"Uh, quick question!" Ruby chimed in. "But, what's a 'Kami'?"

"From the way it was used, I take it that it's some form of deity, right?" Blake turned to Naruto for confirmation.

"Pretty much, yeah. Most Shinobi aren't exactly all that religious, but a good chunk of us still believe in Kami, the Shinigami, Yami, and a few others."

Although now that he thought about it, "believe" was a pretty bad way of putting it. Shinobi knew the kami existed. After all, his father had summoned the Shinigami to seal Kurama into him.

Ozpin, meanwhile, was intrigued by this. Yet another constant between their worlds it seemed. The way Naruto talked about some of these 'kami', they sounded quite similar to the Brother Gods of Remnant.

Resigned to his fate Naruto just stuck out his hand in greeting, "Nice to meet you Yang."

Not even bothering to reply to the greeting the blonde did a total 180 and was instantly invading his personal space bubble and gushing over the cuteness of Kurama. The fox himself was enjoying the attention, only serving to boost his already massive ego.

'You should really let me out of the seal more often.'

'No! You just want to perv on women! Hinata still can't look me in the eye after that stunt you pulled!'

"Is Kurama really that small?" Ren asked. It seemed odd that the fox they were looking at in hologram form didn't quite match up to what little Naruto had told them of the beast.

The others were just as curious to know. Hadn't Naruto called him a 'Nine' tailed fox? The fox they were seeing only had one tail.

"Since he's kind of made entirely of energy, he can be. But his true form is about the size of a small mountain or so."

"Oh my," Pyrrha gasped.

None of her friends could blame her either. Even just thinking about how massive that would make the fox was mind boggling and hard to grasp.

"Um...I'd like it if you didn't do that. Stupid fox already has a big enough ego."

'I am the strongest of the Bijū and one of our world's most powerful entities. I think I have a right to have an ego.'

Naruto couldn't exactly refute his partner.

'Still a furry asshole though.'

"How could such a cute little thing have an ego?" Yang cooed in a baby like voice while cradling Kurama in her arms.

Ruby was reminded of when they had first taken in Zwei. As much as she didn't publicly show it, her sister could be pretty girly.

The fox was more than enjoying the situation he had found himself in, 'Kit...I now understand why Jiraiya was a pervert.'

Naruto could only sigh and pinch the bridge of his nose in frustration, though on the other hand looking at his fellow blonde he really couldn't blame the fox. Even he had to admit that the term "blonde bombshell" fit Yang almost to the letter and if the metallic bands on her wrist and the smell of gunpowder were anything to go by, the bombshell part may just be literal.

Yang blinked. Did he just make a pun...about her?

A predatory grin stretched across her face.

'Whiskers is so mine.'

Naruto shivered as his danger sense went off.

'Oh god, there's another one,' was most everyone's thought.

Ruby on the other hand already knew what her sister was thinking and she could only offer her silent condolences to her new best friend. Wait, did that mean she was getting a brother-in-law then?

In Blake's mind though, another trait had been added to the list. There was just no way that this whiskered blond was not related to Ruby and Yang and she'd prove it if it was the last thing she did.

With the excitement over, the hall descended back into the chatter of friends and the group was left to their own devices without having to worry about having the whole freshman class' eyes on them. Of course both Yang and Naruto were the type of people who could care less what other people thought of them and Ruby wasn't focusing on the background people enough to care.

"Side characters are boring!" Nora cheered.

"We're in that crowd Nora, so we're the side characters," Ren explained.

"...oh yeah."

Naruto laughed at the byplay. The two knew each other extremely well it seemed.

As the group of three (plus one fox) chatted and got to know each other, Yang found herself actually enjoying the company of her fellow blonde. Far too often would guys chase after her and her sister and spend that time simply ogling them like creeps. She knew her outfit didn't exactly help, but not only was it easy to move in it also gave her an advantage over those perverts who would stare at her chest in the middle of a battle.

"Not an uncommon tactic actually," Naruto nodded, recalling that many kunoichi followed that same line of thinking. Plus he knew the power of a seductive female well, after all he was the creator of the S-Rank Oiroke no jutsu.

Yang beamed at the praise. Finally someone was on her side!

"Please don't encourage her," Weiss groaned.

Naruto was different and instead looked her straight in the eyes which, with his piercing blue eyes, unnerved her a little bit. It was like he could pierce straight through her without even trying. What made her a little more on edge was how comfortable she was with the guy.

Not even a few minutes with the blonde and she was joking with and teasing him, which she found incredibly fun to do because of how he reacted. Seeing the somewhat cocky blonde turn into a blushing stuttering mess was just hilarious. Sure she was known for teasing people, but to be this comfortable with someone so fast? It made her a little worried. You didn't see and do the things she had by trusting everyone you met.

While she was happy to know that Naruto didn't look at her like a piece of meat, Yang frowned as she recalled some of the lengths she had gone to in search of info on her absentee mother.

Knowing what she could do to Naruto with a little teasing was a good pick me up though.

Ozpin, however, was far more interested in something else.

The story made a point of how easily the two sisters were finding it to be so unguarded and at ease around the mysterious teen. Looking around, he could see the same being true here. Even Glynda, as stern as she usually was, seemed to be easing into the situation.

To be so naturally charismatic was the sign of a truly great leader. The former king would know.

Before their little get together could continue a certain princess in white stomped her way to them and made her presence known by pointing her finger at Ruby whilst yelling, "You!"

Ruby reflexively jumped into her sister's arms and cried, "Oh god! She's back!"

The girl in white merely continued on her rant, "You're lucky you didn't blow us right off the cliff!"

Yang looked at her sister who was still in her arms in surprise, "Oh god you really did explode."

"I told you it was an accident!" Ruby exclaimed in an attempt to defend herself.

"To be fair you were kinda shaking those vials of Dust around, so you are also to blame," Naruto butted in.

Ruby beamed. Even in the story Naruto was willing to come to her aid. That just bumped him up from best friend to BFF!

Weiss was meanwhile wincing. Had she really been that bad? Seeing it play out from an outside-looking-in perspective was only making her realize how badly she had needed that wake up call.

It wasn't all bad though. Seeing this also made her realize how much she appreciated the bond she had with her teammates now.

Maybe she could do something for Ruby after this?

Ruby gave Naruto a grateful smile, while the princess gave him a dirty look he was all too familiar with.

'Hey Kurama you think she's part Uchiha or something? I mean only an Uchiha can sneer like that.'

'You got a good point there kit. But Uchiha's are also known for their love of black sooo,' Kurama said as he pointed out Weiss' choice in clothing color.

Taking an appraising look at the heiress, Naruto had to agree with his alternate self. The similarities between her and a younger Sasuke were hard to miss. It was almost uncanny.

"And just who the heck are you?"

'Definitely going to have to treat my team for putting up with me back then. I sound a little too much like father and Whitley. Gross.'

Taking a page out of one his teacher's books Naruto gave the girl a lazy look and drawled out, "I'm sorry did you say something princess?"

While the girl was turning red from anger and not so silently fuming, both Yang and Ruby were just looking at the interaction between the two with barely surprised giggles.

"I said who the heck are you!?" The girl all but screamed.

Naruto just grinned lazily and somehow managed to smile with his eyes, "Isn't it polite to give your name before asking someone else's?"

That was the straw that broke the camel's back. Yang was on the floor rolling in laughter while Ruby was not fairing much better, hands on her knees as her shoulders shook from laughing. Even those within hearing distance of the group were either laughing or grinning when they saw how well the white themed girl seemed to be imitating a tomato.

Even in the room, most everyone was trying to not be too obvious about their laughter. All except for Nora and Yang at least. They were openly laughing at the Schnee heiress' expense.

'Kit...you're evil...and I'm so proud!'

'Could've done better. Wasn't even that funny,' Kurama disagreed.

Naruto had no comeback as he kind of agreed with his partner. He could do better and he would hold himself, alternate universe or not, to a higher standard of comedy than that.

Barely stopping herself from strangling the infuriating blonde in front of her she seethed out, "My name is Weiss Schnee."

Around them some jaws dropped hearing the name Schnee. Evidently Naruto knew the name as well because his own jaw dropped, "As in the Schnee Dust company!?"

The now named Weiss crossed her arms and gained back her arrogance, "That's right my father is the owner of the largest Dust company in all of Vale."

Naruto did a complete 180 and went back to his uncaring posture from before, "Wow then you really should've known better than to be shaking vials of Dust like a rattle."

'Much better,' Kurama chuckled.

Seeing someone so similar to that little shit Uchiha get put down did his bitter soul some good.

Almost instantly the laughter came back even stronger than before as Yang gasped in an attempt to get some much need air into her lungs, Ruby equally out of breath. Weiss on the other hand let loose a scream of frustration and threw her arms in the air.

"UGH! YOU ARE SO INFURIATING!"

'It's always the blonde ones,' Weiss huffed internally.

As Weiss stamped away in anger Naruto just chuckled as Yang leaned on him, still trying to regain her breath, "Foxy, I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship."

"I personally prefer calling you Whiskers, but my other is right. This is gonna be one hell of a ride!" Yang cheered.

While everyone agreed in their own way, so far enjoying all they'd been shown, Jaune was slowly coming to a realization. Hopefully he was wrong though and the timing had just been shifted a little off course.

As the crowd began to quiet down a man dressed in an all green suit with silver hair and glasses walked his way before the microphone, aided by a metallic walking cane of some sort. This was the head of Beacon Academy, Ozpin.

"I will...keep this brief. You have traveled here today in search of knowledge, to hone your craft and acquire new skills. And when you are finished you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people...but I look amongst you and all I see is wasted energy, in need of purpose, direction. You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you to take the first step."

Without a word more Ozpin began to walk away, not even sparing a glance at the crowd of his newest students.

'Brutally blunt and to the point, but a sentiment I'm sure many of these naive brats needed to hear.'

'But we have no idea what kind of life any of them have led,' Naruto countered. 'And I know you feel it just as well as I do, most everyone here is carrying some kind of burden on their shoulders.'

Kurama could say nothing. As much as he was loath to admit that his partner was right, the emotional weight he could feel swirling around each of these kids was palpable. Some hid it better than others, but no amount of darkness could escape his Negative Emotion Sensing.

All the more reason for him and his partner to keep an eye on the headmaster though. Something was just...off about the man.

Equal amounts of shock, anger, and denial ran through the teens in the crowd after Ozpin's rather bleak speech. Yang huffed in anger at the man's words, while Ruby looked down in contemplation. Naruto merely stood there with his arms crossed.

'Great, another Kakashi. Wonder if he has some porn stashed away like the scarecrow too,' Naruto thought to himself.

"Mr. Uzumaki! How dare you insinuate that!" Glynda reprimanded.

Naruto raised his arms in surrender.

"I swear I didn't mean anything by it!"

'Though my other might be onto something.'

The similarities between his Jōnin sensei and the Headmaster of Beacon were pretty blatant for sure. But, as everyone else was laughing at the absurdity of their Headmaster reading erotica, they had all missed the light dusting of red on his cheeks.

Naruto had been around perverts all his life and his now fully developed Pervert Sense™ was tingling.

A blonde haired woman wearing glasses and a cape of some sort strode up the microphone to take Ozpin's place, "You will gather in the ballroom tonight. Tomorrow your initiation begins. Be ready. You are dismissed."

Jaune hung his head as he could no longer lie to himself.

"I knew it."

"Jaune? What's wrong?"

Hearing the genuine worry in Pyrrha's voice drew all attention to the moping captain of team JNPR.

"Yeah, you okay over there Vomit Boy?"

"Yang! Rude!" Ruby defended her fellow captain.

However, it was that sentence that caused the younger teen to come to a startling realization.

"Oh..."

"I'm not in this story."

It took a minute for that sentence to click. Then came the looks of shock and understanding.

At this point in their timeline, the shaggy haired blond had already met Ruby, then introduced himself to both Weiss and Yang before Ozpin's speech.

That wasn't what had happened in the book. In fact, looking at the holographic image of the gathered students in the auditorium, each of them were able to pick themselves and their friends out of the crowd. No one could find even a hint of Jaune anywhere.

"Jaune, I'm so sorry!" Pyrrha tried to console her captain.

Everyone could only offer their silent condolences. They all knew how much getting into Beacon had meant for him, how much being with all of them meant to him. To make it worse, they had all been enjoying this world, almost saying that they were having fun without him around.

Ruby felt especially bad. She should have been the first to notice. While he was far from perfect, Jaune had been the first friend she had made at Beacon after her own sister had left her behind. They had bonded as they struggled with the weight of being a captain their team could rely on.

She had just been so wrapped up in meeting Naruto, both in real life and in the book, that not seeing her fellow captain had completely slipped her mind.

Naruto himself could only wince. It seemed like in this story, he would be outright taking Jaune's spot in the lives of his friends. That was a horrible scenario to imagine, let alone see play out right in front of you.

Amidst this pity party, Jaune decided he wasn't going to let this get him down.

Taking a deep breath, JNPR's captain gathered himself and stood to his feet.

"It's fine guys. Even though it looks like Naruto is taking my spot in the book, that doesn't mean he's taking my spot here in real life. Here, in our world, he's another friend we can be happy to have around."

Walking the small distance between him and Naruto, Jaune offered his hand.

"I hope your other can take good care of my friends in that world. I know you'll probably be a way better fighter and leader than I was, so I hope I can learn from you."

Naruto smiled as he could see the wealth of potential in his fellow blond. He was rough around the edges, but the guy's heart was in the right place. It took a lot of guts to do what he was doing.

Giving a firm grip, Naruto shook Jaune's hand.

"I'll do my best. And for the record, there is no better, just different."

Team JNPR looked on in pride at their captain.

Ozpin looked on in respect for the boy, feeling even more justified in his decision to let Jaune stay. It had been a dangerous gamble, allowing someone so inexperienced to attend Beacon, but so far it was paying off in spades.

There was still much room for improvement, but the foundation blocks for Mr. Arc to turn himself into a truly capable warrior and leader were there.

Sitting atop the windowsill with one leg dangling outside, Naruto allowed the crisp night air to brush against his face, his blonde locks rustling in the wind while his cerulean orbs stared at the moon that now hung in the starry night sky.

Going over today's events he had to chuckle at the parallels in this new life of his. Without even opening one of his eyes Kurama spoke through their mental connection, 'Parallels there may be, but remember kit, there will also be many differences. You can not allow your past to haunt you any longer, lest you become like that one eyed sensei of yours.'

Now that brought up a question everyone had in the back of their minds. While their version of Naruto had been very forthcoming about how he had ended up in their world, the book had made no mention of how its version of him had ended up at Beacon.

Mulling over what had just been said, it seemed like it hadn't been an easy transition.

Kurama and Naruto were already creating a list of possibilities. A vast majority of those routes were none too pleasant and did not bode well for his alternate self.

Choosing to ground himself in his own reality though, Naruto braced himself for whatever outcome that version of his world had fallen into.

Naruto only offered a bittersweet smile as he absentmindedly allowed his fingers to softly stroke Kurama's fur. Looking back now it was funny how much things had changed. Almost a year or so ago and the fox that was curled up in his lap had wanted nothing more than to tear him to bloody bits and break out of the seal that kept him in Naruto. Now? Well Naruto had no idea how he would've survived this long without Kurama's help.

That was a sentiment he could definitely agree with his other on. The beginning of his and Kurama's relationship had been anything but pleasant, both dealt a hand neither had asked for nor wanted.

With that being said, the chakra beast was now among one of his most precious people and someone he regularly sought counsel from.

Although Kurama would never admit it out loud, being the stubborn bastard he was, the Bijū respected and cared for his partner.

"You could say me and Kurama didn't exactly start off on the right foot," Naruto sheepishly recalled their first actual interaction.

"Jeez, I'll say. I thought Ruby and Weiss started off bad," Yang joked.

Neither of the aforementioned girls could argue. This book was making it extremely clear to everyone in the room just how rough their initial meetings had gone.

Then there was Naruto himself. Looking back he could've slapped himself. Admittedly he really hadn't changed all that much. He was still pretty hyper and knuckleheaded, but the difference now was that he had balanced out. Thanks to Kurama's help and his own determination he had been able to improve in almost every area by leaps and bounds.

'I wasn't that bad!...was I Kurama?'

'I'd bet one of my tails that, if you could go back in time to meet your younger self, you'd probably end up strangling him.'

'...thanks buddy.'

Naruto was knocked out of his little reverie when he felt the presence of Ruby next to him, "Penny for your thoughts?"

Ruby giggled to herself.

'I wonder if I could bring Penny along to one of these?'

The blonde turned and took in Ruby's pajamas with a smile. While in her normal clothes the girl looked ready to go into battle, or a Halloween party, however in her pink pajama bottoms and black tank top, Ruby actually looked her age.

"Aww, look at how cute my baby sis is!"

"Yang! Stop! You're embarrassing me!"

Naruto could only chuckle as Ruby used him as a human shield to protect her from her sister.

Kind of made him glad he had been an only child, a sentiment shared by some of the others as they watched the siblings. Only a few of the more observant members noticed a flash of longing in Weiss' eyes though.

Ruby also took in Naruto's own sleep wear with a minor blush. The white tank top with some sort of leaf like symbol that hung off his form allowed his well muscled arms to be seen quite easily. Likewise the navy blue gym shorts with that red swirl of his did a good job of showing off his equally well-toned legs.

Ruby had to blush as, with the moon in the background and blonde hair swaying gently in the breeze, Naruto looked quite attractive.

A shower of rose petals covered Naruto as Ruby escaped to hide behind Weiss.

If she had known that reading this book would just end up humiliating her in front of all her friends and two of her teachers, she would have never agreed to reading it. There was no way she could show her face to any of them now. She'd have to start a new life somewhere, take a new name.

Mistral sounded nice this time of year.

Naruto blushed, but could empathize with the poor girl. Having your internal thoughts put out for everyone to read and see was among the most mortifying experiences of his life.

"Just thinking about home."

A pit formed in Naruto's stomach. He did not like the way that had been said. There was an underlying sadness to that sentence that alluded to something he wouldn't like.

He wasn't the only one to pick up on that though. Both Nora and Ren seemed to get the same sense of dread as they sat a little straighter and were that much more attentive.

"Where are you from?" Ruby asked curiously. She admittedly didn't know much about her new blonde friend, which was something she wanted to remedy.

Naruto just turned his gaze back to the moon. He had spent enough time here on Remnant to have come up with a back story which was as close to the truth as he could get without having to tell everyone the complete truth.

"It was a village out in the middle of nowhere. It was my people's attempt at starting up another city like Vale. It had actually been around for awhile and thanks to the forests that surrounded it, it was named Konohagakure no Sato."

Before Ruby could question exactly what the name meant and what language it was in, a slightly surprised yet subdued voice made its way into their conversation.

"The Village Hidden in the Leaves."

Everyone turned to look at Blake in confusion.

Seeing the same question on everyone's face, the young Faunus shook her head.

"No clue how my alternate self would know the language, I certainly don't."

"Aside from the obvious of Mr. Uzumaki trading spots with Mr. Arc, this is one of the first variations we've been made aware of," Ozpin mused.

Although it was a seemingly innocuous detail, they could all agree that it could possibly lead to far reaching consequences in the long run. That aside, this was among the first they had noticed and so soon too. It was hard to say what other small changes had been made and what outcomes they would lead to.

Both Naruto and Ruby turned their eyes to see the black haired girl who had helped out Ruby earlier in the day making her way to them, book in hand.

Naruto raised his brow and nodded, surprised that someone actually knew the language, "Yea that's spot on actually. I'm surprised someone even knows that language still."

The raven haired teen offered her brow raise, "Same can be said for you. For all intents and purposes it's a dead language."

"That does bring up a good question, how are we all able to understand you and you us?" Weiss questioned.

Silence. No one had even realized that, right from the get go, Naruto had been able to easily converse with them, with only certain words and phrases needing to be translated so far.

"I honestly have no clue, but it is definitely odd. The next chance I get to talk to Sage-jiji I'll be sure to ask him. He's the only one I can think of who would know."

Seeing no other option, the group acquiesced to Naruto's suggestion.

Not even a whole chapter in, and so many questions had already been raised.

Naruto just smiled, "My village actually preferred it, made names and stuff sound a lot cooler. By the way I'm Uzumaki Naruto."

"Blake. And your name...your parents really liked ramen huh?"

Naruto childishly pouted, "Damnit that's not what my name means!"

Ruby giggled at Naruto's pout before asking, "So what does it really mean then?"

The blonde just puffed out his chest and proudly declared, "Maelstrom."

Blake chose to interject, "So your full name means 'Maelstrom Spiral' then?"

"Not too bad of a name there Whiskers," Yang complimented.

Even if she would never say it aloud, every time her dad called her his "Sunny Little Dragon", it brought a small smile to her face, knowing she carried such a strong name.

"Agreed," Ren chimed in.

Despite the painful memories it brought him, Ren wore his name with pride. To him, it was a reminder of the man his parents had wanted him to be and he could only hope that he was making them proud.

Naruto just grinned cockily, "You got it!"

Yang suddenly appeared behind Naruto, scaring him enough to almost make him lose his balance and fall out the window. Thankfully she had also chosen to grab his whiskered cheeks and began tugging at them, "I don't know, I think I'll just stick with calling you Foxy."

With Yang still painfully tugging at his cheeks, Naruto began to cry dramatically, "Ruby help! Get your crazy sister off me!"

Yang leered at Naruto, the book giving her too many fun ideas.

Seeing the almost hungry look in her eyes, Naruto began to take note of any and all exits, just in case he needed to make a quick escape.

"Who you calling crazy Mr!?" Yang yelled as she began to tug at Naruto's cheeks even harder, laughing maniacally all the while.

Ruby began to laugh as she watched her sister torture their new friend, while even the normally cool Blake cracked a grin as she watched the two blondes interact.

"SAY IT! SAY UNCLE!"

"YOU CAN'T MAKE ME!"

"YOU WANNA BET FOXY!?"

"OW OW OW OW! DAMNIT YANG THAT HURTS!"

"SAY IT!"

"NEVER!"

"SHUT THE HELL UP! SOME OF US ARE TRYING TO SLEEP!"

Silence.

Ruby stared at the poor bastard who had told both Naruto and Yang to shut up with wide eyes. This was not gonna end well...for the guy at least. Quietly she wondered what kind of flowers he liked.

Both Naruto and Yang slowly turned their heads to face the brave (read: foolish) soul who would dare interrupt them.

For a moment both parties stared directly at each other, the nameless and random teen defiantly glaring straight back at the pair of blondes. However when Yang slowly stepped off of Naruto's back and cracked her knuckles, he began to sweat. When Naruto began to crack his neck, the glare dropped off his face.

With fearful eyes he watched as the blonde duo stalked their way over to his place on the floor, people quickly clearing the way so as not to get in between the cold fury of Naruto and Yang and their prey.

That night screams of pain echoed throughout the school grounds for ten minutes straight before all was quiet.

"What an...odd scene," Blake noted, having nothing else to really say.

The others agreed. While most could definitely see the two blondes rough housing with each other, the way it had all played out was somewhat out of character. It also dragged on for a little too long. Instead of being funny, which is what they assumed it was trying to be, it just came across as forced.

"AH! Now that was a good night's sleep!" Yang declared as she stretched, drawing the eyes of every teen male in the room.

A smug smirk crossed Yang's face. Sue her for being proud of the body she had worked hard to achieve. Though genetics did play a part as well.

Probably the only thing she could actually thank her mother for.

Naruto grinned as he stretched as well, "Couldn't agree more Yang! Slept like a log."

Ruby could only sweat drop upon seeing the devious grin the two shared. Maybe introducing them to each other was a bad idea.

Glynda could only imagine the amount of chaos the two would cause, a sentiment unknowingly mirrored by almost everyone there.

For the good of everyone and their sanity, they would need to keep the two under surveillance and make sure they didn't spend too much time together.

Naruto collected his stuff before walking out of the hall, Yang, Ruby, and surprisingly Blake not too far behind.

"Hey! Back off, I called dibs!"

'She's a great friend. She was there for you and accepts you for who you are,' was Blake's internal reminder for why she put up with Yang.

On the other hand, times like this made her question if leaving Menagerie had been a smart choice. Maybe the White Fang would still take her back?

As the group made their way to the locker rooms where their battle clothes and weapons were Naruto decided spark up a conversation, not one for silences, "So you guys ready for whatever our initiation is today?"

Ruby was bouncing around like a rabbit out of excitement in response, "Oh my gosh! Today's the day! We're gonna become Hunters and Huntresses! THIS IS SO EXCITING!"

"No one let her near any type of sugar," Weiss warned.

Ruby pouted. It wasn't her fault cookies were so delicious.

Besides, it wasn't like she was "that" bad with sugar. She just tended to have a little more energy than usual after a few….dozen.

"The same goes for Nora," Ren added on.

"Ren! How could you betray me like that!?"

"Need I remind you of the incident with the maple syrup candy?" Ren levelled a flat stare at his childhood friend.

"Oh come on! That was one time and the town said they could fix it!"

"It was one time, because you've only had it once, and I think it best we keep it that way."

Nora quickly joined Ruby in pouting. Why were their partners so mean to them?

Naruto chuckled at the girl's exuberance while Yang shook her head at her sister's hyperactiveness, "You bet your butt we are Foxy!" Winking at her fellow blonde she continued, "Just don't get left behind ok?"

Naruto laughed as petted a still sleeping Kurama, "Psh. Speak for yourself. I got this test in the bag, -ttebayo!"

Judging by how old the book version of him looked to be, Naruto guessed he was about 16 or so, which was around the time he had fought Nagato. If that was the case, then he could see why his other would be so sure of himself.

"-ttebayo? What's that mean?" Ruby wondered.

Crap. He had hoped no one heard that.

"It uh...doesn't really mean anything. It's kind of a verbal tic similar to one my mom had. Closest thing I could say it translates to is, 'ya know'."

Naruto's whiskered cheeks heated up in embarrassment as some of the girls giggled and called it cute.

Blake raised an eyebrow at the verbal tic before turning curious eyes at the fox kit wrapped around Naruto's neck. She had seen the fox before, but seeing as it had spent most of the time sleeping she had passed it off as nothing of importance. Now however, with them no doubt heading into combat, she raised a question, "Naruto, what about your pet? Is it a good idea to bring it along?"

'PET!?'

The fox seemed to have heard her and in response opened its eyes before glaring at her and growling. While Kurama usually appeared to be sleeping he was always keeping his senses out, making sure to keep him and Naruto aware of anything and everything around them. As such he had heard Blake's question and was none too happy at being called a pet.

'She better watch it! I am no pet! I am the great Kyuubi no Kitsune (Nine Tailed Fox)! Strongest of the Bijuu (Tailed Beasts) and I could easily crush her underneath my paw!'

Naruto massaged his forehead as his partner went on a tirade with him being the only one able to hear it.

However, this only reinforced his decision to not let Kurama out. He was just getting to know these people. The last thing he needed was his partner scaring them away by being his usual asshole self.

Blake was mildly surprised to see twin crimson orbs bore into her own amber eyes, clearly expressing just how angry the fox was.

The blue eyed teen turned to face Blake, "Uh I'd apologize. Kurama here doesn't like to be called a pet."

Blake raised an eyebrow wondering just what kind of fox this Kurama was. She had never seen a fox or any animal with such unique red eyes, or even fur of that color. The fox also seemed to be extremely intelligent, having perfectly understood what she had said.

"Uh...sorry Kurama?"

Blake winced. While there was a plethora of derogatory names many Faunus haters often used to insult them, being called a pet was probably among the most derisive. It was one aimed especially at younger Faunus.

This in mind, Blake turned to address Naruto.

"I'm not sure if he can hear me, but please let Kurama know that I am truly sorry for calling him a pet. While the other version of me didn't know, it was still extremely rude of me."

Naruto could only blink, stunned that the ravenette had bothered to even attempt apologizing.

Even Kurama had gone quiet, just as stunned. No one had ever apologized to him, bar Naruto and that had been after years of animosity between them.

"Uh...well he can hear everything I do so he heard you loud and clear."

Not expecting a response, Blake nodded in acceptance, simply content that she had made her apology known.

The small fox looked to have actually scoffed, further surprising Blake and the others, before resuming his position as Naruto's scarf.

'Stupid cats. Think they're so amazing,' Kurama huffed.

Everyone's eyes widened, all of team RWBY turning concerned filled faces to their Faunus teammate. Without even needing to say it, they were all on the same page; it was too soon for Blake's secret to be exposed, especially in such an abrupt way.

Blake was meanwhile fighting an internal battle, all while doing her best to not catch Naruto's attention.

On one hand, she was almost ready to go with her usual tactic of just running away. If she left now and never came back to these "reading" sessions, then she'd never have to face his judging stare.

However, there was another option.

Come out and tell him the truth.

Although she'd only known him for a few hours at this point, it was evident that he was a genuine person who was pretty forthcoming with his thoughts and feelings. More importantly, from the few snippets that she had managed to piece together through context clues and what she did know of his past, Naruto might actually have dealt with similar hardships.

While the room had gone deathly silent with everyone else having decided to see how this would play out, Naruto was confirming a few things with Kurama.

"Huh, so you are part cat. Cool!"

No one, not even Ozpin, could have possibly ever guessed that would have been Naruto's response.

"You're not...surprised?" Blake asked, still trying to come to terms with what she had just heard.

Naruto shrugged.

"Not really. I have a better sense of smell than most so I could smell hints here or there, but that wasn't really any of my business. Besides, it's not like it matters or anything. You probably got some pretty cool cat traits though, right?"

Still caught on the backfoot, much like everyone else in the room, Blake could only confirm his theory.

"Yeah, I guess? I mean I can see pretty well in the dark and senses of smell and hearing are better than most."

"Cool! A buddy of mine had some traits like that too, but him and his clan were closer to dogs instead."

Naruto would not stop throwing everyone for a loop apparently.

"But we can talk more after this chapter, yeah?"

Still somewhat speechless and more than willing to temporarily put off dealing with any more of these moments, everyone agreed.

Naruto sweat dropped at his friend's comment, "Well that's probably as good as you're gonna get. He's pretty stubborn when he wants to be."

Blake decided to voice her question as she kept looking at Kurama in curiosity, "What kind of fox is he? He's pretty smart and doesn't look like any fox I've seen."

Naruto shrugged, "He was sort of an experiment my village was doing. They wanted to see how Aura affected animals and so as a small kit he was injected with doses of mine, which is why we're so close. That's also why I know he can take care of himself, he has his own Semblance."

'Knowing what little we do of this world, a serviceable cover up. Could only mean that version of me was the one to come up with it,' Kurama teased.

Naruto wondered if there was somehow a way for him to mentally roll his eyes at his partner.

"While you've been very open about yourself and your origins, is there any reason your other would not do the same?" Ozpin inquired.

Naruto scratched at his chin as he thought about his answer.

"I can think of a few, but it's more likely that he's trying to lay low and gather as much info about your guys' world before deciding what his next moves should be."

That made sense to most everyone there, especially if they took the differences in how Naruto arrived into account.

The whiskered teen before them had come willingly, knowing why he was sent here but also being able to go back home at some point.

From the small tidbits that had been dropped here and there so far, the book's version of Naruto was not so lucky. He more than likely didn't have a choice in coming to Remnant and going back to his world didn't seem like it was an option for him.

Kurama mentally grinned, 'My, my kit that was a pretty good lie. Seems like you really are becoming a true shinobi.'

Naruto just shrugged. Just because he kind of trusted Ruby, Yang, and Blake didn't mean he was gonna just spill his whole life story to them. He had been stabbed far too many times in the back to be that trusting anymore. Besides it wasn't like they'd believe him if he told them that Kurama was actually just a physical manifestation of energy that had been sealed inside of him by his parents and Death when he was only a few minutes old. Or that Kurama was actually several stories tall and so powerful that with just a flick of his tail he could crumble mountains.

Yeah he'd be locked up in the loony boon faster than his father's Hiraishin no jutsu (Flying Thunder God technique).

"I'd like to say that we wouldn't have that kind of reaction, but when you put it that way, it definitely sounds like the ramblings of an insane person," Weiss chimed in.

"I think this whole situation is still a little odd for all of us," Pyrrha admitted.

Even Naruto could agree with that statement.

Both Yang and Ruby shrugged at Naruto's explanation, their family had a dog who also acted as a partner on some missions so Naruto having a fox who could do the same wasn't that weird to them.

"Zwei!" Ruby cheered at the mention of her family's furry friend.

As the group of four plus one fox finally reached the locker room they separated to head to their lockers and get changed. Naruto had the foresight to get dressed away from the girls, knowing what happened to guys who tried to peek on women who knew how to fight and had sharp pointy things on hand.

And just like that, Naruto managed to score even more brownie points with all of the females in the room.

Meanwhile, the whiskered teen was just glad he had learned from the mistakes of his godfather. As much as he respected and loved the man, he was still a less than stellar role model for a young adolescent.

Finally dressed in his clothing and making sure that his punches were full of kunai and that he had his main weapon sealed into the scroll attached to his belt, Naruto began to make his way out of the locker rooms. On the way out he managed to catch the tail end of Weiss asking someone to be her partner for the exam.

At the mention of a weapon, both Naruto and Ruby perked up.

"What kind of weapon is it!?"

Naruto almost felt bad for having to break the bad news to his new friend after seeing her get so pumped up.

"I wouldn't know. The only weapons I've really used are the standard kunai and shuriken. Never took the time to learn a weapon style or get my own made for me."

Now that it was being brought up though, it was something he would be looking into in the close future. Between Sasuke's talents with a sword and Tenten's vast knowledge of most any type of instrument of pain, he was sure they could find something to fit his style of fighting.

Noticing how sullen Ruby looked, Naruto could only ask Yang, "She's pretty passionate about weapons I take it?"

Weiss rolled her eyes but let her teammate answer.

"To say the least, yeah. She's not the greatest when it comes to meeting new people, but give her a weapon and she can tell you all about it just from a glance."

Taking a look back at the still pouting teen, Naruto couldn't help but cave in.

"Hey, Ruby? How about after this, you can help me design and make a weapon? Maybe even the one I have in the book if it's a cool one!"

And just like that, Ruby was back to her usually bright and cheery self.

"Really!? Oh this is gonna be so fun!"

Yang smiled as her sister began to ramble about all the possibilities and what might work for Naruto.

'Good with my sister too? You're making this too easy Whiskers.'

Wondering who was apparently so good that the princess was asking them to be her partner Naruto peeked over and was shocked.

Standing there with a small smile on her beautifully unmarried face was a girl so beautiful he was his jaw had just hit the ground.

Remembering that moment in time, it was Pyrrha's turn to blush. Hopefully she was wrong though and it was some else in that universe?

Noticing the dumb look on his container's face Kurama turned to look at the girl only to have his eyes bug out, 'Kit, I know I'm always teasing you, but...damn! Now I see why your dad liked red-head so much!'

"I said I called dibs damnit! Back off Pyrrha!" Yang declared.

Pyrrha tried to hide her face, especially now that it was close to matching the color of her hair.

Naruto was wondering if this was maybe some nightmare. Maybe when he messed with that seal, it backfired and just knocked him unconscious.

'No such luck gaki, this is real and I have to admit, I am loving every second of your suffering. Please keep reading,' the chakra beast laughed.

Hoping to get through this embarrassment as fast as he could, Naruto resigned himself to his fate.

And Kurama wasn't wrong. With hair as red as blood tied into a ponytail and garbed in bronze looking armor and a battle skirt with boots, the girl looked as dangerous as she was beautiful. Naruto was able to catch what Weiss said about the girl. Apparently she was so good that she was the undefeated champ of some tournament for three years and had even earned the moniker of "The Invincible Girl".

'It's always the red heads,' Naruto lamented to himself.

Unfortunately for him Naruto knew very well just how he was around such women. Confident, strong, yet gentle and understanding. And the red hair? Yeah he'd be lucky if he could throw a kunai straight with her around. He really had inherited his father's love of red-heads.

Hoping that Kami was on his side and that he wouldn't have to be around her for too long for the sake of his dignity, Naruto made his way out to join Ruby and Yang.

Had he looked back once more he would have seen the red head ignore Weiss in favor of turning to look at his retreating form, 'Hmm it's that blonde guy. His name was Naruto I think. He's a little odd.' Smiling to herself she recalled his entrance at the freshman speech, 'And funny too.'

Jaune felt like Nora had just nailed him in the stomach with her hammer. But for the life of him, he couldn't figure out why. He was pretty close with Pyrrha, but they were partners so that was to be expected, right?

If that were the case though, why did he feel even more jealous now then when he realized Naruto would be replacing him in the book?

As Jaune struggled to understand his feelings, Pyrrha was on the verge of passing out, unable to handle all of the blood rushing to her head. This was not how she had imagined her weekend going.

Seeing the line break in the book, Naruto was glad that they were finally done with that whole mess of a scene.

The current gathering of students consisting of a grinning Naruto, a hyperactive Ruby, a cocky Yang, calm Blake, haughty Weiss, an odd girl with short orange hair bugging a teen with long raven black hair, a serene red head, and both Ozpin and his assistant Glynda, stood at the edge of cliff, below which stretched miles upon miles of wild untamed forest.

"How come I can see everyone else there next to us, but the book doesn't mention them?" Ruby wondered.

"Probably cause they're not relevant," Nora giggled.

"Nora", Ren chided.

"To be fair to her, it is Cardin and his bunch, so she's not wrong," Blake spoke up in defense of the hammer wielder.

Ren had no comeback to that, realizing she was right.

"Can you imagine if one of us had gotten stuck on a team with any of them?" Weiss shivered in disgust at the thought.

Ruby stuck her tongue out, "Yuck!"

"I think we can all agree that would have been a less than optimal outcome," Pyrrha confirmed.

Hearing even the seemingly gentle-spirited Pyrrha speak ill of them, albeit in her own still polite way, Naruto had to wonder how bad these guys could be.

Seeing a smug sneer on one of their faces was all he needed to see though. Even in hologram form, the guy just screamed "I'm a huge douchebag!".

Naruto should know, most of his guy friends had all started out as pricks.

Wait, but what did that say about him?

Taking note that everyone who needed to be there was there, Ozpin began after taking a sip from his coffee cup, "For years you have trained to be warriors and today your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest."

Glynda decided to step in and with some sort of tablet in hand continued for Ozpin, "Now I'm sure many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of teams. Well allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates...today."

Naruto raised an eyebrow at the mention of teammates.

'Jeez can this get anymore like Konoha?'

After hearing what Naruto had told them so far, everyone was beginning to take note of the many parallels between their worlds.

That raised the same question in everyone's mind though.

Were they just shallow similarities born from pure happenstance, or was there something more linking their worlds?

Though he did have to wonder why Ruby looked so down while Yang was giving her an "I told you so" look.

Yang winced. She had never really apologized to Ruby for leaving her like that and trying to force her out of her comfort zone the way she had. While her intentions had come from a place of love, the way she went about it left much to be desired.

After this she would have to make it up to her little sister and try to explain her actions.

"These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon, so it is in your best interest to be paired with someone with whom you can work well," Ozpin lectured.

Ruby turned to give Naruto a hopeful look, silently asking him if he would be her partner. Naruto guessed that Yang was attempting to get her little sister to meet new people, but he could see that Ruby would be more than comfortable only having a small handful of people she could trust, a sentiment he shared with her. As such he just gave her a smile and shrugged, silently agreeing with her.

Just like that, Naruto was yet again covered in rose petals. As he sheepishly accepted Ruby's hug and many thank-you's, he was also wondering where in the world the petals came from and where they went. Obviously it was tied to how Ruby was moving, but he was kind of interested in learning more of the specifics. It was eerily close in a lot of ways to Konoha's Shunshin variant.

As if to shatter any of Ruby's hopes at being paired with someone she knew Ozpin continued with a small amount of pleasure in his voice, "That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years."

Naruto had to withhold a laugh as he saw Ruby's world begin crumbling down around her. Off to the side the girl with orange hair happily turned to her friend, "See! I told you!"

"Well there's another difference. The way teams are made is way different back home," Naruto noted.

While he could see some merit to the method - sometimes you had no control over who you could be working with on a mission - but there were also some glaring downsides.

Chief among them was the fact that they were all still technically learning. Much like his own graduating class, they were simply too immature to be left to their own devices like that. They needed the guiding hand of someone with experience and the foresight of their Headmaster to put them on a team where they could properly flourish.

Ozpin, knowing there was merit to an outside perspective, was keen to pick the teen's brain.

"How are teams created in your village?"

"From what I've been learning, there's a couple different factors that you have to take into account. You gotta think about stuff like making specialized teams for tracking and capture, intel gathering and reconnaissance, and even a team for demolitions and frontline battles."

Taking a glance to his left, Ozpin was glad that Glynda had the forethought to begin taking notes of what the teen was saying. Much of this could come in handy.

Noticing that most of his students - Nora, Ruby, and Yang - were not at all interested in the topic, the Headmaster decided it'd be best if they continued their talk at a later time though.

Not wanting to be interrupted any further Ozpin continued his little speech, "After you've partnered up head to the north end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path or you will die."

At hearing that a sudden grim look came across everyone's face. Our favorite blonde protagonist meanwhile had to resist the urge to sweat drop, 'Ok this is getting freaky now. I mean really? Another silver haired teacher preaching the need to walk into a test with the intent to kill.'

After being compared to Naruto's teacher yet again, Ozpin found himself intrigued. Maybe there was some way to meet this apparent counterpart of his.

"You will be monitored and graded for the duration of your initiation, but our instructors will not intervene," taking a sip of coffee Ozpin paused in his speech, allowing the weight of his words to really sink in. After a few seconds he continued, "You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path containing several relics. Each pair must choose one and return to the top of the cliff. You will guard that item as well as your standing and be graded appropriately. Any questions?"

The group nodded in the negative, everyone already clear on their instructions, simple as they were. Find a partner, get through the forest, grab a relic, and make it back to the cliff, hopefully in one piece.

Ozpin nodded, seemingly satisfied with the determination each of his prospective students was showing in the face of the obstacle before them.

"Good. Now, take your positions."

Jaune paled as he remembered what was to come. Thankfully he wouldn't have to relive that moment though and his lunch would stay where it should.

Already having seen the silver launch pads beneath their feet, each student prepared themselves. The first to be launched into the air was the Schnee heiress who merely allowed herself to fly through the air with a bland look.

Everyone laughed as the image of a blank faced Weiss was launched into the air, many of them never having noticed it back then.

"How could you make something so fun look so un-fun?" Yang teased.

Weiss huffed and refused to let herself be brought down to her teammate's level.

"Seems like a skill exclusive to the Schnee family," Blake smirked.

"Rude!"

The Schnee heiress crossed her arms as her apparent friends laughed at the jab at her family.

Then again, she couldn't exactly counter Blake's comment.

One by one each of the students was sent rocketing into the air by the pads beneath them. Soon only Yang, Ruby, and Naruto remained. Before Yang was launched into the air she winked at Naruto before pulling out a pair of sunglasses from...somewhere and with a whoop of joy she too was sent flying.

Everyone turned to see Yang with the exact same pair of aviator style sunglasses on.

"Gotta be prepared to be a total badass at any time," the blonde spoke as if she were giving out some sage like advice.

Naruto had to agree. After his nindo, being a badass was like his second rule of life.

Ruby turned and offered a smirk at Naruto before she joined her sister and the others in the air. As the last one left to be launched Naruto looked at both Ozpin and Glynda before offering them a cocky smirk as he rotated his neck, cracking it in the process. He bowed to the two and was launched off into the sky like a bullet.

"YAHOO!"

Ozpin turned and regarded his longtime friend and associate with a raised brow, "He was an...odd one."

Glynda frowned, clearly unhappy with how nonchalant Naruto had seemed, almost like life or death situations were nothing new to him. The other students had looked just as excited to prove themselves, but it was clear they were also weary of the danger that called the forest home.

Seeing the many curious eyes staring at him caused Naruto to shrug.

"I'd say it comes with the job, but most of it is just my own luck."

That just raised even more questions instead of answering the one.

The blonde did not. He had a look in his eye that she had only seen in veteran Hunters and Huntresses, the look of someone who had spilt blood and fought in battles their life on the line far too many times. It did not sit well with the strict woman and set her on edge.

Wondering just who the blonde was she instantly pulled up the video feed of him on her tablet and pulled up his record next to it.

Ozpin hummed to himself as some of the observations he had made were now being voiced aloud. Taking a quick scan of the room, it was clear that his students were now coming to the same realization as well.

There was seemingly no end to the questions they all had. Hopefully they would get the answers to them.

Naruto laughed to himself as he saw several of the others already begin to descend back towards terra firma. However Naruto wasn't an adept user of Fuuton (Wind Release) for nothing. Calling forth only a small portion of his massive chakra reserves he allowed it to coat his form, creating a streamlined shield of wispy light green chakra. Now far more aerodynamic he pushed only a smaller portion into his feet, propelling him further and faster than the others.

"You can control the elements?" Glynda questioned.

Naruto blinked in confusion.

"You guys can't?"

"Not in that way, no. The closest we get is by using Dust," Weiss replied.

"Dust? You mean like dirt?"

"That talk we're supposed to have after this just gets longer and longer," Yang bemoaned.

And here she was hoping that they'd have time to maybe spar or play some games. Something to just have fun and get to know her fellow blond in a more casual setting.

Soon he was naught but a screaming blonde bullet tearing through the air like a knife through wet paper. As he passed the others who had been launched before him he could hear the gasps of shock and one girl in red as she attempted to copy him by using the recoil from her weapon only to slice through a bird in the process.

"BIRDY NO!"

Ruby blushed in embarrassment as many of her friends began to snicker quietly.

Soon the others began to follow suit, using either their weapons or their Semblance to propel themselves even further into the Emerald Forest. However humans were not meant to fly and eventually gravity began to show itself, bringing them all back down to the earth.

Seeing that he was slowly making his way into the trees and wanting to avoid any injuries or broken limbs he reached into the pouch on his thigh and pulled out two kunai knives. Holding the ninja knives in a reverse grip he allowed his bubble of Wind Natured Chakra to pop, letting the winds slam into him, greatly slowing him down. With his speed slowed down the blonde was able to weave through several of the trees, each time he did so bringing down his speed even more. Eventually Naruto had slowed to a decent enough speed to be able to stab his kunai into a large tree trunk. Curving his legs inwards he swung his body around the tree, carving out a spiral into the trunk as he made his way to the forest floor.

When he was close enough to the ground that he wouldn't break a bone from a fall, he let go of the blades and performed a flip whilst tucking into a ball. As Naruto came even closer to the ground he unfurled himself and like a gymnast landed perfectly on his feet before bowing to the imaginary crowd.

'I'll give it a 9 out of 10,' Kurama snickered.

Ren smiled in satisfaction. Although his own entry hadn't been as acrobatic, it was close enough that he was confident that Kurama would have scored him similarly.

"I'd say you nailed it," Yang offered with a friendly bump to the shoulder.

Naruto chuckled.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence."

Naruto blew a raspberry at his fox friend, insulted that he didn't get a perfect score.

The sound of the bushes rustling put him on high alert. Thinking that he was already going to be attacked by something that wanted him as dinner, he pulled out another kunai knife and with perfect aim tossed it into the bush with the precision and speed that came with his years of experience using the knives.

He was surprised though when, instead of the squelching sound of metal piercing flesh, he heard the metallic ring of steel meeting steel. As the victim of Naruto's paranoid attack emerged from the brush all he could do was face palm while Kurama was near gasping from laughter.

'HAHAHAHA! Kami really loves to see you squirm kit!'

Out from the brush emerged a smiling red haired beauty, round bronze shield and spear in hand.

"Anyone at all surprised that he ended up being paired with Pyrrha?"Blake asked.

"Nope!" Ruby and Yang chorused.

"Not in the slightest," Weiss admitted.

"Not at all," Ren confirmed.

"Saw it coming!" Nora cheered.

While they didn't say anything outright, it was clear as day that both Glynda and Ozpin agreed with their students.

That left Pyrrha with her head in her hands and a blush staining her cheeks, already dreading what was to come.

Resignation seemed to be the theme of Naruto's day so he simply added this to the list of things he was going to have to get used to.

Looking skyward Naruto began to curse out Kami, convinced she had either abandoned him or just enjoyed torturing him.

"Seeing and hearing about the situations you get into, I'd say a healthy amount of both," Ren assessed.

Naruto agreed completely as it was the only thing that made sense.

Resigned to his fate he offered a smile and hand, "Naruto Uzumaki."

The red head returned the smile before attaching her shield to her back and shaking Naruto's offered hand, "Pyrrha Nikos."

Naruto nervously laughed as he rubbed the back of his head, an old nervous habit of his, "Guess that makes us partners huh? By the way sorry for almost...ya know stabbing you with one of my kunai."

Yang had to try with all her might to not make the comment she so desperately wanted to. As much as she was tempted to, going by the looks she was getting from Professor Goodwitch, Blake, and Naruto - she'd be in for it if she did.

Pyrrha simply offered a kind smile and laughed, "We are indeed and no harm done!" She looked at Naruto who seemed to be unarmed, outside of the aforementioned kunai, "Do you not have your own weapon?"

Naruto grabbed the scroll that hung from his belt and twirled it on a finger, "I do, but I usually don't use it unless I need to. I can usually handle most opponents just using my...uh...Semblance and kunai."

As he stumbled on his words in the middle of the sentence he began to mentally curse himself, 'Always the damn red heads!'

'I blame tou-san.'

Recalling what little snippets he knew of the brat's parents, Kurama could safely say Naruto was probably right.

Minato had a lot to make up to his son apparently.

Luckily Pyrrha didn't show any signs of her being suspicious or even having caught him falling over his words and nodded her head, "So what is your Semblance then?"

Naruto just winked at the red head, some of his usual bravado making its way back to him, "That my partner is a secret. Though hopefully I won't have to use it anytime soon."

"I just need to not speak sometimes," Naruto sulked.

Ruby patted the sullen blond on the back in an attempt to comfort him.

As he said that the sounds of twigs snapping caught both teens' attention and again Naruto began to curse Kami all over again.

Lumbering out of the trees was, unfortunately, not another of the people taking the initiation, but was instead the massive form of bear like beast. Instead of the usual brown fur though, this monster was covered in pitch black fur with a bone white mask covering its face while various pieces of what looked to be bone protruding out from random areas on its towering form.

This was a Creature of Grimm, an Ursa. Judging by its near 8 foot stature and plated form this was an older and more experienced Ursai, an Ursa Major to be exact.

As Naruto drew a pair of kunai and Pyrrha pulled her shield off her back, Naruto could only mutter a single sentence, "Well fuck you too then Kami."

"I'd normally say you had to put money in the swear jar, but I think that one was deserved," Ruby giggled.

As strict as she usually was, even Glynda had to silently agree with her student.

With the first chapter done, everyone began to stand and stretch out their limbs.

Checking the time, they all saw that there was still some time before the sun completely set.

"I don't know about you guys, but I can definitely go for some grub right about now," Yang suggested.

A chorus of gurgling stomachs was her answer.

"I could go for some ramen," Naruto laughed.

"Maybe tomorrow, we should bring in some snacks for the reading?" Pyrrha offered.

Now having a better idea of just how long these sessions were going to last, everyone agreed that it only made sense.

Beginning to head out of the private room, Ozpin took up the lead.

"Then it's settled. We'll head to the lunch hall for some much needed food. After we've all had our fill we can discuss some of the many questions I'm sure we all have. In that time, myself and Professor Goodwitch will find you a suitable place to stay in for the remainder of your time with us."

"Sounds like a plan to me!" Naruto accepted.

"Onward! To food!" Nora cheered.

"To food!" Naruto, Ruby, and Yang answered back.

Hopefully the ramen here was just as good as back home.

AN: Man I really should learn by now to not make promises I can't keep.

But hey, here's that chapter I promised months back!

Given it took a global pandemic and being forced to stay home 24/7 to get me to write it, but what can ya do right?

On that note, I hope everyone and those close to you are doing good. Shits crazy right now...well I mean it always is, but I guess more so than usual?

Anyways, I honestly had fun with this. It's both funny and cringey to go back and read some of these old chapters. I just couldn't resist making fun of some of the just straight up cringe shit I wrote.

Like damn, how the hell did RMS even get as popular as it did?

I guess we all gotta start somewhere.

I'd also like to think I've improved since then, but I write fanfiction, so what the hell do I know? Haha

This was a bitch to write so hopefully you guys all enjoyed it.

Fucking 65 goddamn pages. Now I understand why so many reading style fics are abandoned. It's a pain in the ass!

Whatever. I'm gonna go back to drinking and playing games with my friends.

Peace!