Hello everyone. Back again. A little later than what I had planned but I was just so busy with other stuff I didn't have time to upload this nearly completed chapter. I say nearly because I had to rewrite a part that I just didn't like.

But I'm glad that I received such a warm welcome back aside from the typical anonymous reviewers that this story always seems to get. But on a quick side note to the one anonymous reviewer that said they wished I had stayed dead. I hope you meant in the context of the story because if you didn't… well then, I think you need to be doing something else with your time if fanfiction stories upset you that much lol.

Either way, here we go.

Chapter 8: Invincible No Longer

"And then, with the beast distracted I wrestled the Ursa to the ground and –"

And that was as far as Naruto was willing to listen. Port may have been a professor in title but Naruto had no idea how he had earned the position. Maybe if he dug deep enough he could find some worthwhile nuggets of information but sadly, he just wasn't willing to dig that deep.

A quick look around the room told him that his classmates had come to a similar conclusion. There were of course a few stranglers who looked to be hanging in. Bless their souls, it was a valiant effort, if not a wasted one. You had a better chance at getting Oobleck to give up coffee than to learn anything of value in this class, at least in his humble opinion.

He spared team JNPR a glance. Jaune had tried to give up like much of the rest of the class. Sadly, he was unsuccessful in that attempt due to his ever-dutiful partner. Pyrrha kept his focus on the professor, whether Jaune wanted it or not. Next to them, Ren was completely checked out, his eyes holding a vacantness that looked far too natural for the dark-haired boy. Against all odds it was Nora who was the most attentive, the girl seemed completely enraptured with the tale.

Below him were team RWBY and they were in much the same state. Blake was reading one of her books while Ruby was just doodling on her paper. Yang's head was firmly affixed to the desk as she lightly snored in her seat. Weiss was the only that tried to pay attention. Of course, Weiss would be paying attention, anything less would be unbecoming of a Schnee he could hear her saying.

Normally that kind of cocksure attitude about one's family name would drive him crazy but for some reason it didn't bother him. In fact, it made him smile at the thought. Somewhere in the back of his mind a treacherous voice whispered something about rose tinted glasses. It went ignored.

He did however reach his hand out and gently brushed it against Weiss's ponytail. Not hard enough to really move it but enough to make sure she could notice.

It had the desired effect, she bristled instantly at the foreign touch and whipped her head around, no doubt ready to chew out anyone who would dare mess with her pristine hair. Her eyes landed on him and he had to hold in a laugh at the rapid change of expression. Anger gave way to a flush of her cheeks. Her eyes went to his and then around to her teammates before they returned to his. His smile widened as her blush deepened and she decided to just return to the lesson.

She wasn't fast enough to prevent him from seeing the small smile on her face however which only made his brighten. He had to admit, he liked how easy it was to make Weiss become flustered. His girlfriend was normally so focused, undaunted and unshakable. The fact that he could change all of that so easily made him happy.

He chuckled as he saw Ruby poke Weiss' side, the younger girl with a knowing grin on her face. Weiss in turn snapped at her leader but unfortunately her face betrayed her, Weiss' normally pale complexion being redder than Ruby's hood.

It was surreal to think that he had a girlfriend. Sure, he had dated before but it wasn't normal by any standard. Hinata and him had gotten together just before the war's outbreak, shortly after he had returned from the Kage summit. Things hadn't calmed down after that either, the war escalating as the Akatsuki prolonged it as much as they could. The true advantage the Akatsuki held was that they didn't have a true base of operations, no territory that could be invaded. It made for a long and grueling war.

With all that was going on, things like simple dates and other 'normal' dating activities had been left to the wayside, leaving him wholly inexperienced in the matter. The thought wiped the smile off his face. When it actually came to dating, he had no idea what to do or even expect. Was he meant to buy her something?

He snorted at his thought. What could he possibly buy that Weiss Schnee couldn't? Was he meant to take her somewhere? The idea had merit, if only he had the slightest idea of where he could take her. He hadn't exactly been around Vale that often.

It became painfully obvious he was ill-equipped for this kind of problem. Maybe he could ask Blake for help? He glanced at the girl only to see her eyes narrowed in Weiss' direction, his girlfriend now being harassed by both Yang and Ruby. She looked ready to kill all three of them.

It also looked like Blake hadn't gotten over their little disagreement. He would need to talk to her later about that. Not now though, she was still too upset and if he pushed things he would only make it worse. Better to let her cool off on her own.

"And with my superior strength, I hefted the foul deathstalker over my shoulder and sent it hurtling into the volcano. Now, for your homework I want you to write a one-page essay on what valuable lesson you learned about being a Huntsman from my riveting tale. Class dismissed."

A collective gasp came from the class while a few heads met the unforgiving wood of their desks. Naruto merely let out a snort, even if he had paid attention, there was no way he would have done that assignment. So, given how he hadn't given even the slightest bit of attention to the lecture, and he was being generous even calling it that, there was no way he was doing that.

Ruby's face made him laugh, a look of pure horror that only deepened as she stared at her notes, which consisted of only a pack of Beowolves. The rest of her team wasn't doing much better, with the exception of Weiss who was guarding her notes from a desperate looking Yang.

It was times like this that made him happy that he didn't give a damn about actually graduating Beacon. Sure, he knew he was going to be here a while but, in all honesty, there was no way he would be here all four years, he doubted he would be around Beacon for the entire first year. That was a long time to be away from home, too long.

But he pushed those thoughts aside and gathered his things. There wasn't any point in dwelling on that right now. He waited for his friends to get their things, some still in shock over the out of the blue assignment. They did in time, and they slowly made their way to the fighting rings. Goodwitch's class was next and that woman did not tolerate tardiness. It was the one class that even he was wary of skipping.

"Well that sucks."

The comment was mutually agreed upon by the group, a chorus of groaning agreement following Yang's words. He snickered at their plight, he should have been more sympathetic but it was just too funny. The look on Weiss' face however was not funny, so not funny in fact that it silenced his own laughter.

"I don't know why you're laughing. You have to do the assignment as well."

Her eyes dared him to challenge her and as someone not used to backing down despite common sense telling him otherwise, he did just that. "We'll see about that."

The smirk he gave her was matched by a confident one of her own. One that spoke of someone always coming out on top. "Yes, we will."

A bead of sweat rolled down his back as he tried and failed to hold her gaze. The fact that Yang had made a noise that sounded eerily similar to that of a whip cracking wasn't helping in the slightest. "Better do what she says lover boy or you'll be in the dog house."

When Weiss rolled her eyes but smiled nevertheless, a deep-seated fear took root inside him. There was no way he was going to do that assignment. He was his own man and he wasn't going to do something he didn't want to, girlfriend or not!

Sadly, as he made to argue he found Weiss and the rest of the girl's breaking off into girl's changing room. Weiss had turned back to look at him and gave him another smirk that took the wind out of his sails.

With a grumble he moved into the boy's locker room, grabbing his trench knives and quickly changing clothes.

"Don't let Yang's teasing bother you. She does the same to me all the time. Weiss is pretty good at ignoring it anyway, you should do the same. It's just easier that way."

Naruto couldn't help but raise an eyebrow when he turned to look at Jaune. His eyes caught Ren's briefly on the way, to which the silent boy merely shrugged. "I'm sorry, what?"

Jaune smiled good naturedly at his fellow blond while still struggling with his gear in his locker. "That rumor that's been going on all weekend. That you and Weiss are dating. Yang was poking fun at it. I wouldn't be surprised if she started the rumor herself. Just don't let it bother you. If you react she'll just keep going. Trust me, I know."

It was a good thing that Jaune had turned back to try and pry is stuck sword from his locker. His missed Naruto's incredulous look. When he looked towards Ren, the boy was a bit more apprehensive than normal. Which on Ren spoke volumes about how uncomfortable he was.

Naruto tried his best to ask the obvious without Jaune noticing. Ren got the message and shook his head in the negative.

'Damnit Pyrrha!'. How could she not have told Jaune? Ren obviously knew so why didn't Jaune? This was something that Naruto had no interest in tackling. Pyrrha was meant to break the news and deal with any fallout, maybe even use it to her advantage.

Gods, knowing how sweet the girl was, she probably backed out at the last second, not wanting to see Jaune get hurt. Oh, wasn't that just perfect. Now how was he going to do it? Maybe he should just broach it carefully, and luckily Jaune already started on that train of thought.

"So, you don't believe the rumors?"

With a final yank and a victorious shout, Jaune pulled Crocea Mors free from its iron prison. "Nothing against you man but I just don't see it. I mean I've been trying to get her attention for months now with no success. Anyway, I thought you and Blake had a thing going on, she's been pretty moody today, I mean more than usual. Seems like she believes the rumors, or at least doesn't like them."

A beleaguered sigh escaped Naruto and he rubbed his forehead in frustration. "Blake and I do not have a 'thing'. We're just friends, like Ren and Nora."

He heard the groan come from said male and ignored it, instead focusing on Jaune. The blond knight laughed at the inside joke and smiled. "Right. Either way, don't worry about those silly rumors. I know you wouldn't do that to me anyway. What kind of friend would go after his friend's crush?"

Naruto could only laugh awkwardly as Jaune left the room, leaving him alone with the quieter member of team JNPR. He turned to the raven-haired boy, an exasperated look claiming his face. "Pyrrha didn't tell you guys!?" He all but hissed.

Ren held up his hands in clear defeat, trying his best to wave off any anger coming his way. "I believe she tried. It looked like she wanted to bring something up this morning but decided against it at the last second. I only figured it out once I heard the rumors and how you two were acting around each other today."

Naruto merely grunted in acknowledgement but didn't comment on it any further. He had thought it strange that Jaune hadn't been giving him the stink eye all day. He figured his fellow blond would have at least been angry with him over dating Weiss. Turned out Pyrrha chickened out at the last second. That was just great. If he didn't confront this soon it was going to blow up at some point. Well, he supposed Jaune was going to explode at him either way. The guy was infatuated with Weiss and a part of him did feel bad about taking her attention away.

But Weiss did not feel that way about Jaune in slightest, no matter how you looked at it. He knew for a fact that she despised his constant attempts to court her. It wasn't that she actually hated him. It was the fact that he wouldn't take a hint and forced her to keep shooting him down, usually publicly.

She had complained on end whenever he pulled a stunt. She hated being the bad guy in constantly shooting him down. Being labeled the 'cold bitch' as her secondary nickname would occasionally come up. He had words for anyone that used that particular name around him but the point remained, it bothered her and it wasn't her fault. Hopefully some good would come out of this, even if Jaune would be pissed at him for a while.

"So, what do you plan to do?"

Naruto shrugged, not really having an answer for Ren. "Right now? Nothing. I'll cause more problems than it's worth, at least today. He'll figure it out eventually. Maybe."

Ren seemed fine with the answer, or if he did have a problem with it he kept it to himself. Ren more than likely could tell he didn't want to talk on the subject anymore and let it die, which Naruto was thankful for.

The two boys quickly caught up with the rest of their friends, Naruto opting to take an open seat next to Weiss. Miss Goodwitch didn't waste any time and started the matches right away. For the most part they were boring, at least for him. They were slow paced and most of the fighters had so many openings he stopped looking for them.

Yang outright crushed some guy he had never bothered to learn the name of. Weiss did much the same to Sky from team CRDL, only with far more elegance than Yang's approach. An interesting match came up in the form of Ren versus Blake. Interesting in the sense that he wanted to know who was better, not that the actual fight was interesting.

The two fighters were fairly similar in how they fought. They weren't powerhouse heavy hitters like their partners. They focused more on precision and their natural agility to overwhelm whomever they fought. The more the fight dragged on it became clear that Blake was going to win. Ren was skilled, far more than Naruto had given him credit for but Blake was equally as good and her evasive semblance put her over the edge.

Eventually Ren's aura dwindled past the breaking point and the match was called in Blake's favor. There was no bad blood between the two, Blake even helping Ren up and offering him a smile. It was nothing like the next fight. Jaune and Cardin had a bit of a one-sided rivalry, if you could even call it that.

Jaune was bad at fighting. There just wasn't any other way of putting it. Cardin wasn't overly skillful but puberty had been kind to him and he towered over most other people, giving him a natural size and strength advantage. Against someone like Jaune, well, the outcome was predictable.

At least the match was short, Jaune had that going for him. The match coming to a resounding close as Cardin smashed his mace into Jaune's flimsy defense that sent him hurtling out of the ring. The noise from the hit even made Naruto wince. He wasn't the only one, next to him he could hear Weiss groan while a more enthusiastic Ruby cheered some well wishes to the dazed knight.

"He's… really not improving much, is he?"

While blunt, no one could argue against the point Blake made. Whatever Jaune had been doing to improve clearly hadn't been working.

Ruby seemed almost as frustrated as Jaune did at the outcome but brightened up as she whipped her head in Naruto's direction. "I know! Naruto, why don't you train Jaune like you did with Weiss? He'll beat Cardin in no time!"

The scowl on Weiss' face told him all he needed of what she thought of that particular proposal. He gave Ruby an apologetic smile. "I don't think that would work."

Ruby's look of confusion hit him, her innocence working against her as he could feel Weiss' ire grow at the thought of Jaune joining them. "But why?"

Yang quickly leaned over her sister and gave Naruto a playful grin. "Because it would cut into his precious alone time with his ice princess. If Jaune trained with them then Wiess would have to share." Yang paused, a thoughtful expression washing over her face before a downright lecherous look took over. "Unless she wants to. Oh my, two at the same time? How bold Weiss-cream."

Cheeks aflame, Weiss gave Yang a glare that could have killed a lesser person. When it failed to Weiss opted for a more traditional response. Her hand rested over Myrtenaster, her icy blue eyes never leaving Yang's mischievous lilac. "I will stab you Xiao Long."

Yang's waggling eyebrows showed how much she thought of the threat. Naruto saw the sparks flying in his girlfriend's eyes and placed a hand over the one mere inches from drawing her weapon. The last thing he needed was for Weiss to try and make good on her threat.

He turned away from Yang with a nervous chuckle and looked back to Ruby. "Anyway, I wouldn't be a good teacher for Jaune. All I'm really doing is pushing Weiss to her limits-

"Oh, I bet you're stretching all of her limits."

'Damnit Yang! Not helping!' He had to tighten his grip on Weiss' hand to stop her from drawing her blade. He could feel her murderous intent and if he let go of her he had little doubt she would lash out.

"Jaune needs to build a foundation before my type of training would be any good. I have no idea how to use a sword and shield to even try and help him with that. Pyrrha would be better than me for that."

Glynda's voice cut through their conversation, its booming authority silencing everyone. "Class, we have time for one more match. Ms. Nikos, please make your way to the arena."

Goodwitch gave Pyrrha a single nod seeing the girl making her way to the arena, her eyes returning to her scroll. "Now to find you an opponent."

"If I may, I have an opponent in mind. I want to fight Naruto."

Hushed whispered washed over the small arena. Many of them were directed at him and it made him scowl. He had made a point of not fighting in these spars because he didn't want to draw attention. Then he had gone and handed Weiss a rather one-sided beating in front of everyone. Weiss was not one of the weaker people in their class and beating her so easily had started quite a few rumors.

And to an extent that was fine, but fighting Pyrrha was not something he wanted to do. She was famous, like literally world famous for fighting and was easily the strongest person in their year, if not Beacon as a whole. If he beat her the way he knew he could, a lot more attention would be thrown his way.

The invincible girl beaten by some nobody from some no-name backwater village. That would spread like wildfire. He didn't need that kind of heat. The less people looking into his past the better.

"Ooooooooh. Finally, you two are going to fight. Weiss has been going on and on about how strong you are, even stronger than Pyrrha. Honestly, I don't buy it. No offense but nobody is better than Pyrrha."

And then there was that. From the way his friends were looking at him, they were all excited to see the fight. Even Blake was paying attention.

"Pyrrha is quite the formidable adversary but Naruto is more than capable of coming out victorious. I expect nothing less."

Naruto felt like slamming his head into the desk in front of him. Instead he opted for giving his friends a nervous smile. The way Weiss looked at him, so confident in his abilities, the pride she had in him. It made him want to win.

'Damnit all.' "I'll do my best."

Internally all he could was groan while he lifted his body up and made his way to the ring. The whispers increased ten-fold as he walked down the stairs. It was only natural he supposed. Pyrrha was untouchable to anyone in their class and he hadn't lost since beating Weiss a few months ago. They all wanted a good fight. He supposed he would have to give them one.

He passed Jaune on the stairs who patted his shoulder before limping up to the rest of his team. "Good luck, you'll need it."

It was all he could do to not grimace at Jaune's words. No amount of luck was going to help him here. This was a lose-lose no matter what happened. Either Weiss was going to be pissed at him for throwing the fight or he was going to get a lot more attention placed on himself. Just great.

He nodded to Pyrrha, who returned it with a warm smile. For her, this was a test of her strength. She had seen him fight in the Emerald Forest during initiation and she must have been chomping at the bit to fight him for real. Her competitive spirit was just that overwhelming.

"I'm sure you both know the rules but let me reiterate." Goodwitch took a breath before continuing. "You will fight using tournament style rules. You will fight until one of you is knocked out of the arena or until your aura enters into the red at which point you will stop. Am I understood?"

Naruto nodded but couldn't help but feel the last bit was aimed at him. Just because he thought the rules were stupid didn't mean he was going to break them. No faith.

He watched Pyrrha slide her shield and sword off of her back with a practiced fluid motion. Her legs were bent and ready to explode at a moment's notice. Those emerald eyes stared into his own with a sharpness expected of a champion. She was taking him seriously. Despite all of that, she still had a bright smile on her face.

"Begin!"

Naruto smiled too, his hand grabbing ahold of his trench knives before he tossed them behind him and out of the arena. He smirked as the sound of steel clattering against the tiled floor silenced the room. He could feel every pair of eyes in the room on him, mouths agape at the move.

"Are you… are you not going to fight me seriously?"

She held her weapons a little lower but still at the ready. What she couldn't hide however was the disappointment that filled her voice at the realization.

She was right of course, he wasn't going to fight her seriously. In truth he couldn't, not without risking hurting her. It would also draw too many eyes to him. But that didn't mean he wasn't going to give her a challenge. "I am taking you seriously. I've seen you fight dozens of times Pyrrha. They'll only get in the way."

He didn't elaborate nor did he even give her time to consider his words. The moment his words reached her ears he was on the move. He launched himself at the four-time champion and brought his fist into her guard.

Despite her initial confusion, she had never truly let her guard fall and took the blow head on, bringing her shield forward to bear the brunt of the attack. Flesh met steel and neither gave way. Pyrrha was forced to give ground however as Naruto's overwhelming strength forced her back, her heels sparking against the arena floor with Naruto not far behind.

Years of training kicked in and Pyrrha flew into action. Her short sword was a blur as she threw a flurry of attacks at Naruto, each one aiming for a debilitating score across the whiskered blond. Sadly, none found purchase, Naruto weaving skillfully between each and every attack.

Naruto was impressed, that much he could admit. Pyrrha's skill wasn't exaggerated. Her blade was precise and her movements swift. Nothing was wasted as she moved from attack to attack. If she were born a shinobi, she would probably have been Jonin with the right training and access to chakra.

But that was the thing. She wasn't a shinobi. She didn't have access to chakra or was put through the kind of trials that were imposed on them from a young age. For all of her natural talent and hard-earned skill, she was a huntress, and he was a true shinobi. They were in completely different worlds.

He let the girl disengage from the close-range melee, giving her a parting gift in the form of a fist in her side as she did so. She certainly felt the blow but hid it through a determined visage. Admirable, he was expecting at least some kind of reaction from that.

She lunged at him a moment later, her short sword aiming for his head. He saw the attack coming every step of the way and reached out to meet her head on, his hand snapping at her wrist and preventing the sword from coming any closer. Nevertheless, the attack remained unimpeded, her sword mecha-shifting the moment Naruto caught her wrist.

The tip of the javelin was quick to reach him and only a quick jerk of his head prevented him from getting a nasty gash across his face. Instead the blade settled for a score of hair rather than flesh and blood.

Annoyed at the near miss, Naruto doubled his grip on her wrist and pulled her into him. He ducked beneath her arm and slammed his hip into hers. The move broke her balance and with a burst of chakra and a heave he rolled Pyrrha up and over him and tossed her across the arena.

She flipped through the air, her body contorting almost unnaturally as she righted herself and landed with a roll, easily correcting her position so she was resting on one knee. Her shield was brought to bear in front of her with her javelin nowhere to be seen. Instead there was a long rifle in its place, its sights set on her opponent.

Several shots were rattled off in his direction, each barely missing their mark as Naruto wove between the deadly projectiles. He saw Pyrrha abandon her ranged option and rose to engage him, her rifle transitioning into a short sword in the matter of seconds.

Her weapon was just like Pyrrha. Swift, not a movement wasted and dangerous in any position. It fit her to a 'T' and she used it perfectly. She blended all three forms of her weapon seamlessly into her combat style. He could tell that she had truly earned the title of the invincible girl.

Pyrrha went on the offense instead of letting her opponent come to her. She lowered her should and charged Naruto with her shield, trying to slam Akouo as hard as she could into Naruto's guard.

He saw it coming and moved against it. Instead of dodging, he brought both his arms forward and jammed the shield back into Pyrrha's arm. She moved with the blow, taking the momentum from Naruto's attack and spun, bringing Milo around faster than she had ever before and cut a light grove across his chest.

The cut was shallow and healed almost instantly thanks to his healing factor but it made Naruto press a little harder. He moved within her guard, his hand snagging her weapon arm as he did so. He spun his body, dragging the girl with him before he stopped and reversed his movement to bring his knee into her stomach, doubling her over. Not letting go of her arm, he spun again and bashed his elbow into her face before turning and lashed out with a kick to her chest that sent the champion flying.

Pyrrha flew across the ring before hitting the tiled floored, her armored greaves scraping against the ground before she used the momentum to kick up, her shield held before her and sword at the ready.

She heaved but held her guard regardless. Her cheek had a nasty bruise on it and one of her eyes was blackened. Despite all of that her eyes shined with anticipation. He couldn't see her mouth with how she held her shield but he could only imagine the smile that was on her face.

Naruto took the lapse in combat to look around the room. Their classmates had been unusually quiet and he didn't understand why. That was until he saw the looks on their faces. Almost all of them were in some form of shock, most openly gawking at the display. Even Weiss seemed shocked at the fight. He cursed himself for letting himself get caught up in the moment.

He glanced at the board monitoring their aura, Pyrrha's was sitting at just below half while his remained at one hundred. He wasn't sure how it measured his chakra in terms of aura but if it was going off of his reserves than it was never going to dip at all. This was exactly what he didn't want to happen. He could still afford to beat Pyrrha but he couldn't do it in such a commanding fashion. She needed to look like she wasn't getting dominated, that this was far closer than it actually was.

Naruto let a confident smirk come to his face and cracked his neck. He even rolled his shoulder to make a show of it. "Come on Pyrrha, don't you think it's time that you take this a little more seriously? You're nice and warmed up now right?"

Her eyes lost their sharpness momentarily, replaced with confusion before she shook it off, her guard rising ever so slightly. Emerald orbs pierced into his ocean blue, the sheer determination in the was impressive.

Pyrrha took the lead and charged Naruto again, this time bring her rifle to bear and taking several shots at him. If anyone thought that her aim would suffer while running at full speed clearly hadn't been on the receiving end of it. It actually took him by surprise and he was slow to react.

His knowledge of firearms was pretty limited but they seemed straight forward enough. Small guns like Blake's pistol or Ren's machine guns were effective at short distances and could be used fairly accurately while moving. On the other hand, bigger guns like Ruby's high-power rifle and Pyrrha's long rifle usually took a rooted position to fire rounds off accurately.

Pyrrha didn't have that limitation and not for the first time he had to appreciate the amount of training and dedication to be able to do that so effectively. The bullets whizzed past him and he tried to back pedal. Pyrrha used her ranged advantage to keep him from making any significant distance between.

She rattled off one more shot before leaping into the air and twisting to throw her shield at him. Like her bullets, the shield was aimed to perfection and hit his forearms with the force of one of Yang's punches.

He knocked the offending object away and barely caught the tip of Pyrrha's short sword hurtling towards his face. Every instinct he had told him to dodge back and bring his legs up in a devastating kick to her under chin. With an angry grunt he fought that instinct, an awkward affair as his feet were already moving to do just that.

Fighting against himself only resulted in his feet getting tangled together and he stumbled backward, still managing to avoid her weapon, if only by a hair's breadth. Pyrrha didn't relent and like the trained champion she was pressed the attack. Despite having thrown the shield away, it was back in her grasp and currently being driven into his abdomen.

His breath was robbed from him and Pyrrha spun into his body, wrapping both arms around his right one and in a move that reminded him far too much of what he did earlier, she hefted his body up and over hers' and threw him across the ring.

His world inverted and he felt the ground before he saw it. Luckily his back broke his fall. Shaking a cobweb from his brain, he began to reconsider letting Pyrrha get a few good hits in. When given the opportunity she really knew how to hit hard.

He made to get up but stopped at the tickle of steel against his throat. He saw Pyrrha, arm extended and her spear hovering above his jugular. "Yield!"

He tried to keep his face as close to neutral as he could before a smirk slowly creeped its way onto his face. He saw the confusion in her eyes shift to shock and panic before she was lifted into the air and thrown behind him.

She didn't let that be the end of it, not that he thought a simple throw would take someone like Pyrrha out of the fight. He watched her twist in the air and land gracefully in a crouch, eyes full of fight. They trailed from him to the chain he was casually twirling and he could practically hear her brain churning with questions. Too bad it was too late; the fight was over.

"Pyrrha Nikos has been thrown out of the ring. Naruto Uzumaki wins by ring out!"

He couldn't help but laugh at the gob smacked look on the poor girl's face. She probably hadn't even realized how close to the edge she had thrown him.

With a flick of his wrist he brought his chain into his sleeve where it dissolved into nothingness. He quickly hopped off the stage and walked over to Pyrrha, who was still frozen in place, her posture as rigid as a statue's.

It took a moment or two but she finally seemed to process what had happened. Like a rusted machine, her arms fell to her sides and she looked at him, disbelief etched onto her face. "I… I lost?"

Naruto gave her a good-natured smile and patted her shoulder, his hand remained as he pulled her with him, making their way back to their seats. "It happens to the best of us. No one is perfect. I just caught you off guard with my semblance. I don't really flaunt it, something you know a thing or two about."

Recognition flashed in her eyes, her gaze straying to the twin daggers Naruto was returning to his holsters. "Is that why you threw them away at the beginning of the match?"

He merely shrugged at her while starting up the stairs to the rest of their friends, pointedly ignoring the shocked murmurs going on around them. "Pretty much. Weiss had mentioned that whenever she fought you she would just narrowly miss you with her lunges. I've sparred with Weiss enough to know that she doesn't miss unless something makes her miss. From there I just had to watch your fights to figure it out. You're pretty good at hiding it.

Pyrrha hummed in understanding but didn't elaborate on it. She barely registered the steps they were climbing, her mind lost in thought. He left her to it, not really wanting to linger on the fight. The sooner he could put it behind him the sooner everyone else could forget about it.

"Oh my gosh! That was amazing! You were both so awesome out there!"

Or not. "Thanks Ruby. It was just a spar though. I might not have won it if it wasn't for the ring out. Pyrrha's pretty amazing after all."

"Still, the outcome was unexpected and quite enlightening. It shows us that even the strongest of us can fall to an unknown ability." Lie said with an appreciate nod. Or was it Ren? For some reason everyone called him by his last name. He never could figure out why that was.

Weiss hummed in agreement. He could see she was still replaying the fight in her head, trying to analyze every detail. "It's true. Sometimes the best fighter doesn't always win. A weaker opponent can pull an upset if they can catch the person off guard." Weiss' eyes widened slightly and turned to him, a panic settling in. "Not that you're weaker or anything! I was just stating a hypothetical."

He waved off his girlfriend's concern with a chuckle. "It's fine. It was a close fight anyway. I probably wouldn't have won if it wasn't for catching her off guard."

"Yeah, well Pyrrha's crazy strong. I'd be happy with a win over her no matter the method. Though you probably won't get lucky next time." Yang commented.

He just laughed as they continued to talk about the fight, the class having come to a close with the end of the fight. It was better that they thought the fight was so close. It was probably more the fact that they convinced themselves that the fight was close. People were funny like that. Give them an unexpected or an 'impossible' outcome and they would try to rationalize it.

Here that meant trying to reason how he had beat someone that should have been better than him. Be it a trick or tactic, it didn't matter as long as it conformed to their understanding of the world. It was the same reason his cover had still held. His powers were vast compared to those around him and completely out of the ordinary from what people of Remnant even saw as possible. His 'aura' didn't work like other peoples' but since he still called it aura people would make their own assumptions. A mutation of some kind or a trick that hadn't been fully explored. The idea that he didn't have aura at all never entered their minds because that just didn't conform to how the world worked.

Talk of what ifs and should have beens swirled around him, everyone being animated in the discussion except for the loser herself. Pyrrha walked with them but didn't say anything, her eyes hazed over in thought.

/-/

The sound of steel meeting steel echoed around the rooftop as two swords connected, sparks flying around the two combatants. Pyrrha shifted her body, moving with a fluid grace that was all but second nature to her. Her mind wasn't even registering the movements, her body reacting while her mind wandered.

With a spin, she brought her blade around again and knocked Crocea Mors into the air while dropping low to take out Jaune's legs. He crashed into the cold cement with a loud thud, a slightly dazed look in his eyes.

"That's gonna leave a mark…" He turned to his partner with a strained smile while rubbing his lower back. "Man Pyrrha, you're really not holding back, are you? I didn't think you would be going so hard right away. It's only our first training session after all."

Pyrrha's eyes refocused, her hands coming up over her mouth as a blush spread out across her face. "I'm sorry! I kind of just started going through the motions. I didn't mean to do that."

She didn't miss the concerned look that Jaune gave her as he stood up, nor the downward turn of his lips. "Is everything alright? If you don't want to train me you really don't have to…"

Panic swelled up inside of her at that. Was that what he thought? That couldn't be any farther from the truth! "No! I want to help you! My mind was just elsewhere. It won't happen again. Come, sit for a minute, you deserve a break."

The two sat on the ledge overlooking Beacon. It was breathtaking with the soft hue from the moon illuminating the forest. There wasn't a view like it in all of Remnant. It was made all the better that she was able to share it with her partner.

"Jaune, can I ask you a question?"

He looked at her, his ocean blue eyes peering into her own emerald orbs. They were so pure and honest. He wore his emotions on his sleeve. It was something that she lo-liked about him so much. "Of course, what is it Pyr?"

The nickname made her smile, her first one that didn't revolve around tournament fighting. "I was just wondering why you asked me to help you train all of a sudden. I'm ecstatic that you asked but it still surprised me, that's all."

Jaune turned away from her, his eyes looking over the forest but not really focusing on anything. "To be honest, I didn't want to ask for help. I wanted to prove to myself that I could do this on my own. That I didn't need anyone to help me out and that I deserved to be here."

She couldn't help but catch the self-doubt in his words. As if he somehow hadn't earned his place here like everyone else. She wanted to press him on it but refrained, she didn't want to pry into something so clearly private. He would tell her eventually if he wanted to. He was finally opening up to her, she didn't want to ruin it by asking too much. "Then what changed?"

A self-depreciating laugh left his throat but his eyes didn't seem to be that upset. "Well, I know that I haven't exactly been doing a stellar job in the Miss Goodwitch's class. I haven't improved at all since coming here. I'm not exactly deaf and I can hear all the criticisms, or laughing would be more accurate."

He shook his head at that, something he seemed far to comfortable with doing. "But even that wasn't what did it. Honestly? It was Weiss."

She could feel her face wanting to morph into a frown but stopped it. Why? Why was it always Weiss with him? Everything seemed to revolve around her, no matter what it was. Even this somehow involved the girl! Why couldn't he look at her that way for once!?

Tempering her emotions, she somehow managed to maintain a fragile smile. "Weiss?"

He must not have heard the disappointment that seeped into her voice, his own gaining more energy as he explained. "Yeah. I mean she's nearly perfect. As far as fighting goes she could wipe the floor with over half the class. Despite that she still asked Naruto for help and look at her now. Only like three people can actually beat her. If someone like her, who was already so far ahead, can ask for help to improve then it would seem stupid if I didn't because of my pride. I want to be a huntsman more than anything and Weiss showed me that I can't let my pride get in the way of that."

Her smile fractured as Jaune continued to heap praise on the girl, her teeth grinding against each other. "You really admire her, don't you?"

A red hue dusted his cheeks, a nervous chuckle escaping his throat. "Yeah, I do. At first, I was just trying to act like I belonged. My Dad always said all I needed was confidence. So, I made an ass out of myself trying to pretend I was meant to be here and flirting with Weiss was really just to hide my nervousness. It didn't work out that well."

Pyrrha remained quiet despite wanting to speak to his own defense. She hadn't missed his choice of words. Pretend, meant, act. He really didn't think he was good enough to be at Beacon. Maybe it was his lack of confidence that was stifling his growth more than anything.

"But after initiation and everything settled I couldn't help but to actually fall for her. Sure, she's beautiful and an amazing huntress already but it's so much more than that. She's unbelievably smart, caring in her own special way, her singing voice is amazing and even though she's incredibly rich she doesn't treat anyone badly for it. On top of all of that she's so dedicated to being the best huntress she can be, even willing to ask someone else for help in training. She's just amazing."

Those words hurt her more than she wanted to admit and she hated herself for it. Jaune wasn't trying to hurt her, quite the opposite. He was confiding in her, trusting her with his inner most thoughts and here she was, only thinking of ways to get him to stop wanting Weiss. She was a terrible friend.

Could she sit here and betray her first true friend's trust by using what he told her against him? It would be easy to crush his world if she told him the truth about Weiss. He would be devastated but then she could help him get over it. She would be there for him, comfort him and then who knew? Something could even blossom between them.

The thought was oh so appealing and it made her disgusted with herself. That wasn't what Jaune wanted and to try and use his feelings like that felt so wrong. A real friend wouldn't do that and while she wanted to be something more, she wasn't willing to throw away their friendship in the attempt to make that happen. She valued what they had far too much.

"Then why don't you tell her? No gimmicks, no pick-up lines. Just tell her what you told me. If she doesn't accept your feelings then there's nothing you can do but at least you tried. Just be honest with her."

He looked hesitant, not at all what she was expecting from the blond. He had been so willing to try and impress Weiss before. Why the sudden change? "I… I should. It's good advice. Great even. It's just…"

"What?"

"Did Weiss and Naruto seem different today? I've heard the rumors like everyone else but I blew it off as just rumors. But the more I think about it the worse it gets. They just seem different. Not much but I can't shake the feeling that maybe the rumors aren't just rumors. If they're actually together I can't go asking Weiss out. That's not right."

"Oh." It was all she could bring herself to say. She had seen how rattled he had been earlier when she mentioned that there was a rumor going around that Naruto and Weiss were dating. Curse her indecisiveness, she panicked when she saw his hurt face and couldn't force herself to tell him the truth, merely writing it off as a rumor she heard.

But Jaune was going to find out eventually and it wasn't going to be any better for him then. But even if he did know, would it change how he felt? His feelings were deeper than she had imagined and if Weiss suddenly was unavailable it wouldn't change that. All it would accomplish would be Jaune watching from a distance, lamenting what could have been if he only told Weiss the truth earlier.

Pyrrha crushed the voice in her head that was telling her that was fine. Her jealously was a new emotion she had been experiencing lately and she wasn't fond of it. She wanted Jaune to be more than her partner but was it what he wanted? She didn't even have to ask to know the answer. He hadn't shown even the slightest inkling that he was interested in that way. Jaune wanted her to be his partner and friend more than anything else.

With a firm resolution, she made her decision. Even if it wasn't what she wanted, she would be the best partner Jaune could ask for. "Even if the rumors are true, I think you should tell her. That way there won't be any misunderstandings or missed chances. You can't be mad at yourself if you try, if you don't you'll be wondering what-if the rest of your life."

He took in her words but his unease didn't go away, in fact, he looked even more uncertain of himself. Jaune tried to hide it through a nervous chuckle, for all the good it did. "Yeah, no misunderstandings, only a beating by the strongest guy in school."

The frown that came to her face was instant at hearing that. It wasn't that she thought Naruto would beat Jaune up. Not at all, they both knew he wouldn't. It was the reminder of her loss, the event coming back again to the forefront of her mind.

Ever since she had lost she couldn't get stop replaying the fight in her head, again and again. It wasn't that she lost, even if her manager would freak if he ever found out. The loss was a welcome one and it made her happy to know that she wasn't the strongest person among her friends. The problem was that Naruto held back.

She couldn't let it go. Her competitive nature too strong and the fact he felt the need to not take her seriously hurt. At first, she thought he was merely feeling out her defenses, probing in and out and not truly committing. It made sense and she respected him for it.

But the fight continued and he kept the same pace, never once upping the ante, which she knew he was capable of. After reaching the top of her field she knew a thing or two about holding back to make the other person not feel terrible about themselves. It took a tremendous amount of effort and restraint to do so, even more so in a protracted fight like theirs was.

Then in an almost insulting move he tried to make it look like she would win to then barely come away with a cheap victory, a shallow win if there ever was one. He literally tripped himself, fighting his own instincts and let her get the advantage. That had hurt more than anything.

"You're right Pyrrha, I just have to tell her. Whatever her answer is I'll accept it. I just need to know." He stopped and looked at her, a warm smile on his face. "Thanks, Pyrrha. I don't know what I would do without you. You're an amazing partner."

She returned his smile with one of her own and for the first time tonight, she didn't feel that sharp pain in her chest. Sure, it wasn't everything that she wanted but that was fine. More than anything she wanted a genuine friend, something that had eluded her for her entire life. She had that now and she wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. And who knew? The future was full of surprises. For now, she would let the chips fall where they may.

/-/

"You're going to Atlas? Just like that?"

A shrug was all he could manage. It wasn't like he had planned the trip or anything. "Ozpin just kind of threw it at me, not much I could do. Not like I could say no or anything. He told me to treat it like a learning experience."

His snort following said comment said all it needed to about his thoughts on the manner, something Weiss lightly giggled at. It wouldn't do for her to laugh out loud at his joke, not in such a public place. It would be unbecoming of a Schnee he could hear her saying.

It wasn't like the training rooms at Beacon were packed at this time of day, being the late afternoon on a Monday meant most people were just relaxing after classes. Only the most dedicated of people dotted the large area, a half dozen or so. But it also meant that they weren't alone and thus they hadn't pushed their training as hard as it normally went.

It was light sparring at best, even by Weiss' standards. It did give the added benefit of being able to talk during the 'fight', hence how the topic of Atlas even came up.

"Well if you're going to be accompanying Ozpin then you will no doubt be meeting General Ironwood. You will be on your best behavior. The General isn't the type to put up with silly jokes and pranks. You don't want to be on his bad side. It's important to make a good first impression and I'll know if you do anything stupid so don't even think about it!"

He raised a brow while a challenging smirk came to his lips. "Oh, you'll know huh? What're you going to do? Follow me all the way to Atlas?"

She matched his grin with one of her own, one that she wore whenever she would get one up on him. "I won't have to. My sister is General Ironwood's second in command. She answers only to him. If you act out she'll know."

And then she would know went without saying. That little tidbit went ignored however as he picked on something far more important. "You have a sister? You've never mentioned her before."

Weiss paused mid-step, her blade lowering slightly as a strained look came to her face. "My family is… complicated. I don't like to talk about them much. But Winter is the exception. She is perfect in every way. Please don't cause her or General Ironwood any trouble while you're there, she has enough on her plate as it is."

His smirk faded at the tone of her voice. It wasn't something he was used to hearing from her. It was almost pleading, if Weiss even knew how to plead. He'd never seen her act like that, especially for someone else. Winter must truly mean the world to Weiss.

He didn't answer with words at first, opting to close the little distance between them. Not giving her any time to react, he wrapped his arms around her, forcing her to drop her weapon.

The girl went rigid in his arms but relaxed slightly once it became apparent he wasn't going to throw her or attack in some way. It only took her a second after that to realize what he was doing and started struggling harder than he'd ever seen her do before.

"What are you doing all of a sudden you idiot!? Let go of me, there are other people watching. Let go!"

He wanted nothing more than to tease her even more, her madly blushing face adorable in a way that she rarely showed. But he stopped himself before he could, instead tightening his hold on the poor girl. "You don't need to beg like that for me to do something for you. I won't cause any trouble for your sister; don't you trust me?"

The girl in his arms stopped fighting him for a moment, her pale blue eyes looking into his own ocean blue. "A Schnee does not beg. And it's preciously because I know you that I have to ask you to be on your best behavior. Must I go over your protracted war with Yang?"

A delicate eyebrow was raised in question but all Naruto could do was chuckle at her accusatory statement. Point made, point taken. "That's… different. I swear I'll be on my best behavior, just for you."

The girl couldn't quite meet his eyes at his words, her blush deepening ever so slightly. "I swear, you say the most embarrassing things." Despite her words, there was no disdain in her voice, only a coy smile that slowly spread across her lips. For a moment he forgot himself and his surroundings, only focusing on the beautiful girl in his arms.

"What are you staring at?"

He couldn't help the silly smile that was on his face. This was still so surreal to him. His entire life he had wanted something like this, someone to connect with and someone that wanted to be with him. He had thought that maybe Hinata would have been that person but the war had been cruel and Sasuke even more so. Right now, however, there was none of that and he was going to relish every moment of it.

"The only thing that matters."

He hadn't thought her cheeks could get any redder but he was proven wrong, her eyes leaving his and searched for anything else to look at. For all her grace and poise, Weiss was even more out of her depth than he was when it came to actual relationships. Sure, she knew flirting and had had plenty of suitors but they had never gotten past the initial greetings, nothing more than business meetings as she described them.

This however was different and it showed with how flustered she would get. Right now, being a prime example. "Like I said, always so embarrassing…"

It came out as nothing more than a murmur but he heard it clear as day and smiled at his girlfriend. He couldn't take his eyes off her lips and slowly moved his hand to tilt her head up towards his. She would probably be pissed at him later for doing this in such a public place but he couldn't find it in him to care at the moment.

"Wait, what are you doing?"

There was panic in her voice with a hint of excitement, giving him all the permission he needed. He didn't respond with words, opting to instead act.

Or he would have if not for the incredibly awkward looking Pyrrha Nikos that was standing only a few feet behind Weiss. With a put-upon sigh, he relaxed his arms and pulled a little away from Weiss. Not enough to disengage from her but enough to be respectful in front of their friend.

"Hey Pyrrha."

He must not have hidden his annoyance very well at her poor timing as the girl grew even redder in the face, a splutter of apologies coming out. "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to interrupt anything! I'll go, I'm so sorry."

Pyrrha made to leave but was stopped by Weiss, who had disentangled herself from him. While not as embarrassed as Pyrrha was for being caught in such a position, she still had a light dusting of red across her cheeks. "It's fine Pyrrha. Naruto was just being foolish anyways. You don't need to leave, what was it you needed?"

The girl looked unsure at first but didn't move from her spot. She looked hesitant to answer, a strange appearance given who Pyrrha was. There was only one thing Naruto could think of that made Pyrrha hesitate and unless she was about to make a love confession, he doubted that was the case.

Pyrrha seemed to find the words that had been so elusive. Her eyes hardened, a determination in them that he had seen earlier today. "Naruto. I've been thinking about our fight all day today and I want a rematch." She said.

It was just now that he realized that she had come in her full combat gear, which would make sense given where they were. He groaned internally, not at all happy with the request. He knew Pyrrha was competitive but this had to take the cake. It hadn't even been a day and she was already challenging him!

"C'mon Pyrrha. We just fought today and it was a close fight. I'm sure Miss Goodwitch will make us fight again soon enough, can't you wait for that? I'm still tired from earlier."

To his surprise, she seemed almost angry at his answer. Her brows knitted together and her eyes took a sharpness he'd never seen from her. Her face tried to remain neutral but even her lips were breaking into a frown, her head tilting downward slightly to let her bangs shadow her eyes.

"Liar."

"E-excuse me?"

A quick glance at Weiss told him she was just as taken aback by Pyrrha's words as he was. The problem wasn't so much the word she used, it was how she said it. It was chipped and jagged in a way he would have never expected from the girl. Pyrrha wasn't one to lose her temper and she had never said a bad word to anyone. She even held herself back from people like Cardin.

But her words came out sharp and cold like ice, her eyes never leaving his. "You're a liar. You said that our match was close. But it wasn't, was it? You didn't take me seriously at all did you? There wasn't one point in that fight that you thought I was a challenge, was there?"

She didn't give him the chance to respond, her voice gaining speed and anger with each word. "But it wasn't even the dismissal that hurt the most. You tried to throw the fight at the end! Did you think I wouldn't notice that? You tripped yourself to let me get an advantage and then threw me for a ring-out. You made it look like you barely won, a fluke. Do you know how much that hurt?"

Her anger was palpable but more than that there was a disappointed undertone. One of frustration, both at him and what he could only assume was herself. He didn't understand the former but he could get the latter. She may have hated her life as a celebrity fighter but she was a warrior at heart. He probably destroyed her self-respect as a fighter.

But it wasn't that easy. He thought he had tried enough to make it look close but Pyrrha was too technically skilled. While not physically on his level, her understanding of fighting was just as deep as his. The mistakes he had purposely thrown her way had been easily caught and while she tried to capitalize on them during the fight, they clearly had never left her mind.

He knew the feeling of being underestimated. To not be shown enough respect for someone to fight you seriously. Even if it meant that he would get his ass kicked, he would've always preferred that to a pity party being thrown his way by someone pulling their punches.

But he couldn't give them that courtesy, not without killing them. "I… don't know what to say Pyrrha. You're right, I held back but only because I had to. I didn't want to hurt you, or anyone here for that matter."

It wasn't the answer the girl wanted, that much was clear. But there really wasn't an answer that he could have given that she would have liked. He wasn't going to apologize either, he wasn't sorry for holding back.

"You don't need to say anything. Just fight me for real. That's all I want."

She emphasized the point by bringing her weapons to bare. He sighed at the action and turned to his girlfriend to find a mediator. To his surprise and mounting displeasure, Weiss had positioned herself from his side to Pyrrha's, the implication clear as day.

"She's making a reasonable request." Weiss said before continuing. "And to be honest, Pyrrha isn't the only one that's gotten frustrated over your lack of willingness to fight with everything you have. I understand that you think if you fight for real you'll hurt us but we are huntresses. Getting hurt is part of the job."

His face said it all and Weiss sighed with a shake of her head. "How about a compromise then? If you believe that you're that much stronger than either of us, why not fight us both at the same time? You surely won't have a reason to not give it your all then."

He had to hold back the first thing that came to his mind, something that would earn a slap from his girlfriend for sure. He could tell neither of them were in the mood for his joking. But regardless of how serious they were being, it wouldn't change anything. Why couldn't they just accept that?

"It wouldn't change anything. I told you, I can't fight either of you with everything I have. It would end badly, trust me."

He wanted to say their scowls they shot him didn't mean anything to him but he would be lying. Despite his initial thoughts when he first arrived here, they were his friends, Weiss somehow becoming even more than that. He hated upsetting them, especially considering he could understand where they were coming from.

"You won't let this go until I prove it to you, either of you, right?" Receiving a pair of nods, he let out a deep sigh. "You know what? Fine, but not here. Follow me, but if you can't keep up then that's not my fault."

"That won't be a problem."

"Thank you, Naruto, this means a lot to me. I'm sure it does to Weiss too."

He merely grunted in response and turned to make his way to the courtyard. His pace was sedated as they moved through the halls, the two girls following closely behind him.

He wasn't going to go into a full sprint in the middle of the school, he would wait until they got into the open, lest Miss Goodwitch have his head for making a mess in the school.

They hit the opening of the school and he turned into a blur, leaving Pyrrha and Weiss behind. He could vaguely hear their startled cries before the sounds of their desperate attempts at catching him found his ears. A quick glance behind him saw them gaining, the surprise having worn out. He snorted and kicked it up a notch.

This entire situation was stupid but one he knew would come eventually. Everything about his arrival to this world was one big mess. His story about his origins was so flimsy and poorly put together he couldn't believe it was still holding. He had his suspicions that Ozpin didn't believe him but the man seemed to want to play a long game.

That was fine. There was no way Ozpin would figure out the truth, simply because the truth was more insane than anything they could come up with to fill the gaps. But that aside, his strength and powers was something that would not go unquestioned forever. He had played it off as his strength being born from necessity from living outside the kingdoms but the more he showed the flimsier that excuse became.

He hadn't known enough about semblances and the limitations of aura before he started explaining his multiple abilities. People did not have more than one unique ability and while aura could do some interesting things, it can't do the same things chakra could.

He had a feeling that the only reason they didn't push him on it was because they didn't want him to clam up. He had been pretty evasive about his past and his friends had been kind enough to not get too nosey. That wouldn't last forever and was even now starting to crack. How much longer could he keep this going before it started crashing down around him?

He landed with a dull thud on the forest floor, now somewhere deep within the Emerald Forest. He hadn't paid too much attention to where he was going, only that he wanted be as far from the school as possible without raising too much concern. He didn't need prying eyes for what he was going to do.

He could hear them coming before he could see them, the tell-tale chime of Weiss' glyphs ringing out through the otherwise silent night. It only took them another ten seconds to finally land in the clearing, covered in sweat while laboring for breath.

"You managed to keep up, I'm surprised."

His tone was a little more chipped than he would have liked but he couldn't really be bothered to reign in his annoyance. He didn't want to do this. This would only lead to more questions later but he needed to make a point. He needed them to understand just why what they wanted wasn't possible, at least right now.

"How-" Wiess was forced to pause to take another deep gulp of air. "Are you not even winded?"

She managed to get the sentence out but struggled with it. Pyrrha opted to not even bother with words, merely nodding while greedily sucking in air.

"Because that wasn't me at my fastest."

He let that bit of truth sink in but couldn't gauge much of a reaction due to them still catching their breath. Pyrrha was the first to recover, still undaunted by his little display as she brought both weapons up.

He could respect her desire to fight him at his best. She knew going into it that she would certainly lose but it didn't stop her. It almost made him want to fight her again, just going hard enough to make her think that was his best. He could do it, hold back just enough to crush her but not hurt her. But he wouldn't.

He was tired of lying all the time, by his actions or his words. He had become so adept at it that he didn't even pause when asked about something. The lie would come out as easily as the truth. He hated it. He hated lying to his friends and it was eating away at him.

That was why he was going to do something that went against every logical part of his brain. "I'm not going to fight you, either of you."

He expected frowns from them but instead received icy glares, Weiss being the first to vocalize her anger. "And why not!? We just chased you through the entire Emerald Forest at a dead sprint for you to back out? What, did you think that would scare us? We know you're strong, we just want to know how much stronger you are than us! Why are you so afraid of fighting us!?"

"Because if I fight you for real I'll kill you!"

The shocked expressions would have been funny if not for his mounting anger. Did they think he enjoyed acting like they couldn't fight? Did they think he wanted to belittle them by not trying his best? He hated doing it because he had to deal with the exact same thing! It sucked and to knowingly do it to your own friends was even worse!

"You don't understand. I hold back because if I don't I will hurt you, all of you. I wasn't raised in a place that we could afford to hold back. Where we could take things slow and learn to fight in a safe environment. You either became strong or you died! The first mission I went on people died, a lot of people. I was twelve!"

Stunned and even disgusted eyes met his but he didn't care. He turned away from them and stared out at the forest beyond the cliff they were standing on. A deep valley that would eventually lead into the Forever Fall forest and then the wilds of Vale. Completely abandoned aside from some Grimm that lingered about.

With anger racing through him, he brought his hand to his side and channeled his chakra into it, rotating it faster and faster. The ball of destructive energy took shape and whirred angrily. But he wasn't done as he fed wind into it.

The shape changed, from a perfect sphere to a pointed shuriken. The trees around him shook violently and he could faintly hear a gasp behind him. He ignored everything as he fought to maintain control and shaped the mass of energy to his will. It bent and conformed until it resembled its name sake.

This rasenshuriken was smaller than the one he had used to kill Kakuzu but not less destructive. He threw it with an angry shout and its furious whistling cut through everything in its path.

He turned before it erupted but still felt the gush of wind that came from the explosion. Bits of trees and rock flew from behind him but he couldn't find it in him to care about any of that. Instead focusing only on the ramrod expressions of his audience.

"Now do you understand?"

His voice was nothing more than a whisper and he didn't wait for a response. He simply moved past the two shocked girls and slowly made his way back to Beacon.

He could only hope they did.

And there we have it. Things are churning and looks like we'll be heading to Atlas. For what and how long is anyone's guess. Well not mine since I know but that's beside the point. And Naruto plants some food for thought for his friends at Beacon to ponder in his absence, for better or worse.

Though now I need to work on Last of His Name as I've updated this story twice since I've touched that. The grind continues. Hope you all enjoyed. Till next time!