A/N: PLEASE READ THIS NOTE, WOULD YOU KINDLY? 'Tis but a quick one.

Well, well, well! I wasn't expecting this story to get the traction it did. Now then, time for questions:

Q: Will there be a timeskip?

A: Yup. Now we jump forward a few years...and get to see the weapon Naruto wields in this world.

Q: Does Naruto have Aura in this? Even though he's from another world?

A: Yes.

Q: How soon can we expect to see some action?!

A: Right now, actually.

Q: What kind of weapon will Naruto have?

A: In keeping with the theme of Raven and Qrow's weapon names foretelling the future, we've done the same with Silas and Naruto. For example. Silas wields a staff called Foresight. Raven has her katana, Omen. Qrow wields his sword/scythe/gun hybrid in the form of Harbinger. And of course, we can't forget Naruto's weapon. We'll be calling his Prophecy. As for how it looks...well.

Ever heard of Zabimaru? Yes? Good. Its strongly resembles that. Better to just say it out loud to prevent confusion.

In other news, Someone asked me and team if we would write a RWBY crossover where Naruto just went around adopting some kids and raising them. As in adopting Raven, Tyrian, etc. I won't like, it proved to be a tempting prospect for us. REALLY tempting. In the end, we turned them down. It was...well, honestly tempting, but we had to refuse. If we were to write a story like that, I'd need to devote a great deal of time and resources to it, and won't write something folks don't like. Besides, we already have Little!Cinder in "An Untraveled Road" already, don't we?

And yet everyone, everyone, EVERYONE wants to see a story about Little!Summer and the rest! Did we start a trend or something?! Thoughts?

Still, if the gang and I DO attempt it, it'll be pro bono, as always. Still not quite comfortable getting paid to do this, and the rest of them are mostly in agreement on that front. Now then, get ready for Little!Raven and Little!Qrow. Hope you're prepared, because my team and I made them friggin' adorable.

...they're also vicious fighters.

"Fight me!"

"Nope. Not interested."

"What's wrong? Scared? Afraid you'll lose?"

"Nah, you're just too small. I'm afraid I might squish you."

"Why you...?! Take that back! Take it back right now, you blond bastard!"

"Fine, short stack. Want a handicap? Do I need to bend down so you can swing at me?"

~Little!Raven and Little!Naruto.

A Different Kind Of Strength

Time passed.

Years flowed like wind as the boy spent his life among the Tribe. He learned their ways, their traditions, their customs. How to walk. How to talk. How to wield a weapon. Slowly but surely he grew in power...until he began growing like a weed, both in height and strength. All the while, Silas watched him intently. Of course he did. He would allow for nothing less. He hadn't taken the boy in out of the goodness of his heart. The runt would be strong, or he would be cast out. That was the way of the Tribe.

Thus, he trained him as he trained his own offspring. Ruthlessly.

He pitted them against one another, time and again, until they learned the ways of war.

They were meant to be rivals. Enemies. Constantly seeking an edge over the other. Instead they became friends.

Naruto never turned violent. Never lashed out. Never took pleasure in hurting others. Never expressed any interest in learning how to reave or raid as Raven did; nor did he feel the need to constantly ask questions as Qrow often would. Rather, he focused wholeheartedly on his skills. He trained and trained and trained until he dropped. Then he trained ever more. He did not display any weakness beyond in this, and as such Silas felt no need to stamp down on it nor did he think to curtail this strange focus.

In their tenth year came the time for testing. All three of them. And what a test it was:

"Dodge, brats!"

A heavy black staff whirled down at Naruto's head like a thunderbolt.

Sharp blue eyes widened not at the command, but the speed behind the weapon. Only ten years old and already he knew better than to take an attack like that head on. It wouldn't just break through Aura; but the bone behind it as well. He whirled away in a blur of blue on black to evade the initial strike, and when said staff split apart to bark an angry dust round in his face, he was prepared. Rather than make the mistake of tanking a shot like that, he dropped flat to the earth to duck and let the fire bullet arc howl harmlessly overhead past.

Unfortunately that meant it slammed right into Qrow's chest and sent him sprawling instead.

Naruto winced as his partner cried out in pain. Bad luck, Qrow. What kind of Semblance gave you such bad luck?

Foresight was a vicious weapon, just like her master, and Silas was merciless in his assault. Even as Naruto spun upright the chieftain was storming forward, quarterstaff whirling in his hands. Its spiked edge slammed at his head, only to meet steel instead. Of course it did.

After all, Naruto had a weapon of his own. Everyone in the Tribe did.

Silas chuckled as he bore down with all his strength. "Good. You managed to block this time. But now what will you do?"

Naruto grit his teeth and refused to speak.

As far was blades went, Prophecy was a decidedly lightweight weapon; a mass of ebony steel forged with honed edges and jagged tips. It wasn't meant for sustained clashes. His was a trick weapon, designed for ambush and surprise attacks. Even now he could feel it warping under the strain.

Yanking his weapon back, he spun and cut out at the chief's legs. Silas swatted the strike aside with contemptuous ease and beckoned him forward with a knowing smirk. Naruto chased him with a snarl. They raged back and forth across the camp like hellcats; raging and striking with singular ferocity.

Until finally, finally he saw his moment.

A flick of his wrist and a press of a button near the hilt caused the barbed blade to split apart into serrated segments as it unfolded to become a corded whip with a biting edge. It lashed at the ground like an angry beast, forcing Silas forward to avoid its longer reach and deadly coils. Just as planned. Another flick send it swirling around his staff. Silas jolted in surprise. Naruto seized the moment and yanked with his all his might, somehow managing to force the quarter staff down to the ground. The moment it touched the dirt he surged forward and stamped on it with his with all his might.

Silas grunted in acknowledgement and struck out with a free hand, trying to gouge out his eye in recompense for this temerity.

Naruto turned his head and let it glide off a whiskered cheek with a crackle of Aura, then peeled a palm from Prophecy's hilt and ripped a knife from his belt. It burned through Aura and found flesh. For the first time since their brawl had began, Silas grunted in surprise and glared at the red stain spreading across his trousers. Red eyes narrowed in what might have been anger. Or pride. He wasn't sure.

"Impressive." he chuckled. "Most impressive. But you've forgotten something."

A sinking feeling opened in the pit of Naruto's stomach. "And that is...?"

"I don't need my weapon to fight. You do."

Blue eyes widened.

Silas let go of his staff and the wayward jinchuuriki had all of an instant to comprehend his peril before a knee cracked into his jaw. His thoughts shattered like brittle glass and he dropped his weapon as he went spinning into the dirt.

Silas didn't give him the chance to recover.

A crushing kick drove the wind from his lungs and left him retching on the ground.

"You rely too much on that sword, boy." the admonishment stung his ring ears. "Trust in your fists a little more."

The elder Branwen tossed him Prophecy and then stooped to reclaim his own tangled weapon. Raven dove at him out of the corner of his eye, forcing him to turn and catch her blade instead, lest he loose a hand. A faint weight against Naruto's hunched back told him Qrow had also seen the opportunity for what it was and chosen to pounce. Bastard, using him as a springboard!

Alas, the twins acted too rashly.

Naruto heard Foresight click ominously and hastily reverted Prophecy to its sword form. When he looked up, he saw that weighty staff complete its transformation and change into a towering ax.

Credit where it was due, Qrow fell back back the moment he saw it. Naruto didn't much blame him. Bad times abounded whenever Silas utilized the mechasift function of his weapon. By now, the boys knew better than to strike recklessly, lest they caught by the explosion that followed.

Raven didn't.

She flew at Silas like a shrieking banshee, sword in hand.

Naruto slapped a palm to his face. "Raven! Don't rush in, damnit!"

Silas saw her coming and smiled. It was not a pleasant smile. Even from this distance, Naruto saw the wind-up coming. He knew what was next. He'd seen it time and time again. The elder Branwen didn't deign to dodge. There was no need. The moment Raven drew within striking distance his ax blurred at her head with impossible speed. To her credit, the little girl yelped and frantically tried to brave her blade with the back of her hand in an attempt to block, but it availed her naught.

Raven's father smashed through her guard and sent her sailing backwards through the air much like her namesake.

Mercifully, her flight proved a short-lived one. She struck the ground and bounced, once, twice, thrice, skipping and sliding across the camp like a flung stone. The moment her momentum abated, she scampered upright, bright eyes burning with bloodlusted glee. On someone so small, it proved a terrifying expression. No child should look so pleased by the promise of violence.

Qrow sighed. "She never learns, does she?"

"Eh." Naruto coughed and wiped his mouth. "You know how she is. He'll knock the stupid out of her sooner or later."

"Maybe." he earned a shrug for that, followed by a concerned look. "You need to fight harder, though."

He wrinkled his nose as he climbed to his feet. "Don't wanna hurt uncle Silas too much."

"You just stabbed him!"

"Eh," the blond waved him away. "I know he can take that much."

"The old man doesn't seem to share the sentiment." Qrow craned his neck as Raven hurtled back into the fray. "You're gonna get hurt if you keep going like this."

"We shouldn't have to." he shook his head. "The tribe needs to be better than this. Its not right, you know?"

The younger Branwen looked away and scratched his cheek. "Don't say that too loudly."

"Why not?" Naruto blinked. "You won't tell."

"Sheesh, don't say it like that...

See, this was why he liked Qrow. Qrow made sense. Qrow was his friend. Qrow was willing to listen. Qrow wouldn't rat him out for expressing his own private reservations. Yeah, he was rough around the edges -everyone in the Tribe was- but at the end of the day Naruto considered him a good person.

Raven was not.

She was all fire and fury, fierce and wild, like spring itself. She'd been the first to walk, the first to fight, first to ask about joining Silas in a raid. First, first, first. That was all she cared about. Whenever she accomplished something they couldn't, she'd lord it over the two of them. Restraint? She didn't know the meaning of the word. She had to win every argument, every brawl, every fight, every EVERYTHING.

Even now, she raged against Silas like she was actually trying to kill him.

Sometimes, she worried him. They'd grown up together, the three of them, and that attitude had only worsened with age. She claimed they were the same. That they, the three of them, were meant for this. Even their weapons -forged by a kidnapped smith- shared the same meaning. Omen. Harbinger. Prophecy. Honestly, he was beginning to sense a pattern here. Meh. Probably wasn't important.

"Better go help her." Qrow drawled when Raven cried out. "She's getting creamed out there."

Naruto pouted. "Or we could ignore her. Yeah. Let's do that."

His friend frowned. "That's my sister out there."

He got a black look. "Your sister's a bitch."

Qrow laughed. "Sometimes, yeah...

No ten-year-old should cuss such. But they weren't children. Not really. No, not anymore. Children didn't last long in the tribe. They'd never had a childhood. Some small, tiny part of him, felt bad about that. This wasn't normal. They shouldn't live like this. But he knew better than to voice his concerns to anyone else. Qrow understood, but Raven would snitch on him the moment he opened his mouth. Daddy's girl, that one...and maybe that was alright. She needed some normality in her life. Speaking of which, they should probably help her...

Picking himself up, Naruto snatched his weapon out of the dirt and stumbled after his best friend.

Silas saw them coming, took one look at them, and shook his head.

"That's enough for today. You lot are in no shape to fight."

"YAH!"

Raven lunged at him when he wasn't looking and he casually swept her legs, sending her tumbling their way. Naruto caught her and she slapped his hand aside with a snarl.

"B-But I can still fight...!"

"No buts!" Silas snarled. "I have no interest in batting about weaklings. You fought well today."

Those keen red eyes roved across each of them in turn.

"Raven." those scarlet orbs found his daughter first. "Your ferocity was admirable. You kept coming, even after your Aura broke. That takes strength."

"Hmm!" Raven preened under his words, a wide smile lighting her face.

Naruto shook his head at the sight of it. Suicidal was what she'd been. Why praise that? Why tell someone to keep driving at their enemy until they died? He hated the idea of it.

As if sensing his doubts, Silas rounded on him in the very next moment.

"However, it was Naruto who drew first blood." He cast his gaze to Prophecy, still hanging limp in the boy's hand. "He also thought to entangle my weapon and deprive me of it. He nearly succeeded. Take heed, strategy is better than tenacity. You'd do well to remember that, Raven."

Raven sulked.

"Qrow...

Quite suddenly, Qrow found himself the recipient of Silas's attention.

Naruto saw the hope burn in his eyes.

...do better."

He saw it extinguished in the next instant. Silas Branwen had not a single word of praise for his son, and it showed on Qrow's face. Naruto clasped his shoulder and flashed what he hoped was an encouraging look his way in the hopes of raising his spirits. It didn't much ot a word of praise for his son.

"Rest and recover." Silas instructed them. It was more a command than an admonishment. "The three of you will join us in tomorrow's raid."

Naruto sucked in a sharp breath through his teeth.

Raven hissed in absolute triumph.

Qrow's face went white.

"Seriously?!"

"Are you questioning me?" Silas rumbled.

...no." he grumbled.

With that, their chief left them to it.

Naruto took a moment to steady himself, catching his breath as he crouched in the dirt. His thoughts whirled out of control, refusing to obey him. A raid. He'd never been on one before. Silas had never expressed any such interest in taking them along, and he'd always managed to wriggle out of them before this. Why the sudden change? He didn't know. Didn't understand. It made him feel sick. He knew what a Raid was, what it implied for them all. Raids meant violence. Death. They'd attack an innocent village and then...!

A shadow fell over him.

"Trying to upstage me, huh?"

"Not now, Raven." a blue eye flashed over his shoulder in a rare moment of anger. "I'm not in the mood."

He knew what Raven was doing. She felt glutted on what she assumed to be a victory and the promise of a Raid. A chance to prove herself. Yet at the same time, she found herself. riled by the praise Silas had so freely given him. She'd been trying to hit him for years. She'd never succeeded. It must've burned, to know there was one thing that she couldn't upstage him in. Was her pride that weak? Beneath all that bluster and bravado he knew the truth. She was a scared little girl.

Sure enough, she grabbed his shoulder. "Then fight me!"

"Nope." Why? There was no point in it. "I don't wanna fight."

"What's wrong?" she jeered at him. "Scared? Afraid you'll lose?"

"Nah, you're just too small." he waved her down. "I'm afraid I might squish you."

Raven's face turned a lovely shade of red. Her height had ever been a sore spot for her; a constant point of shame. Naruto stood at least a head taller than her, and Qrow wasn't far behind. Oh, she'd hit her growth spurt someday, but that day was not today and the three of them knew it.

"Why you...?!" she sputtered incoherently. "Take that back! Take it back right now, you blond bastard!"

In hindsight, Naruto knew he really should. There was nothing valuable to be gained from riling Raven like this, only misery.

"Raven." Qrow warned. "Leave him be."

"No! If he won't fight properly, what good is he to us? He's weak!"

Raven laughed at him, and Naruto watched her hide her weakness behind a shield of false bravado. She was going to keep pushing this time. She wouldn't stop. All because she thought him weak. Powerless. In her eyes only the truly defenseless refused to fight. What did it matter if he was taller than her?

"Coward." she continued, spitting at his feet. "You don't even have a family. Not really. Father's just taking pity on you."

Something twitched in the back of Naruto's mind. He saw red.

"TAKE THAT BACK!"

It was the wrong thing to say and she failed to realize her mistake until those kind blue eyes blazed red. That was her only warning before he surged upward and slammed his forehead into her chin. In hindsight, it was a good headbutt; one that smashed through her Aura, turned her world white with stars and nearly knocked her out on the spot For all her bluster and bravado, Raven Branwen was only ten years old. She wasn't yet the monster she'd become in the future. That headbutt knocked her right to the ground. She bounced once, eyes wide before she skidded to a halt. Angry tears welled up in her wide red eyes.

Naruto glowered down at her and shoved a fist beneath her chin, forcing her to be silent. "Weak, huh? This weakling just knocked you on your ass."

Qrow fell to the ground a moment later, but for a different reason; he was all but howling with laughter. "Ha! He got you there!"

"Meanie!" Raven sniffled, angry tears welling up in her eyes. "I'm telling!"

Naruto blew out an angry breath. Was it wrong to pity her?

Maybe? Just a little?

With a long suffering sigh he climbed to his feet.

"C'mon, short stack. Don't cry. Want a handicap?" he stepped back and beckoned her forward, much as Silas had. "Do I need to bend down so you can swing at me?"

"Really?" She eyed him warily. "You'll fight me? Seriously? You're not kidding? No take-backs?"

She was just so damn adorable when she squirmed like that. "We gonna fight or what?"

Sure enough, Raven took the bait hook line and sinker.

She flew at him with a triumphant grin.

"SUFFER ME NOW!"

A/N: Raven only respects strength. Ohhh, she's gonna learn real quick in this story.

We're going with a more tribal feel for the Branwen Tribe here.

Bone reading, prophecy, and a tightly knit community. That sort of thing. Pretty sure it was heavily implied to be like this before Raven got her claws in it.

That being said, I hope to update this one rapidly. Then again, I'm also hoping to get some feedback here, too. I already have teams in mind, so initiation is a foregone conclusion at this point seeing as the story is all but written in draft form. I just need to sit down for a day or two and polish it up a bit.

But even cast out to another word, Naruto is still Naruto, and we all know how he is, don't we?

So In the Immortal Words of Atlas...Review Would You Kindly?

And enjoy the previews!

SPOILER! SPOILER! SPOILER!

PLOT DETAILS AHOY!

YE BE WARNED!

(PREVIEW)

"Bone reading?" Raven watched the old crone hunch over the fire. "Why? What does the future matter?"

The wizened old woman laughed at her. "More than you know, dear girl...more than you know. Care to know your future, children?

Behind her, Naruto and Qrow exchanged a nervous glance.

"The three of you will go to Beacon. Learn the Hunter's tricks and return to us."

"Friends are just people you haven't met yet."

The blond girl blinked back at him, green eyes narrowing. "That's nonsense."

"Nah." Naruto beamed. "Nonsense would be fighting for no reason. What's your name?"

The soon-to-be student considered his outstretched hand for a long moment. Reluctantly, she accepted it. "Glynda. My name is Glynda."

Ozpin sighed.

"I'll have to ask you three to keep yourselves under control while you're here...

EDIT: Its heavily implied that Glynda is the same age as Raven and Qrow...so aye, she's a student here.

R&R~!