Hello everyone. This is Gemmysaur with a new chapter of Legendary. I apologize for ever making this story if you dislike it, but yeah. I hope you enjoy the story.

I own neither franchise; Naruto or RWBY.

Chapter 4: Distance

Minato woke up – his mind swimming as he felt for his surroundings. He was on top of something soft, the smooth fabric leads him to guess he is on a bed, but not his as this one is too high quality to be found in Tymun and Nyumba's humble home. His head ached as does his body and especially his chakra coils. He opened his eyes but quickly snapped it shut due to the sudden brightness of his surroundings. He resolved himself to open it again, but slowly. He does so, blinking shut a few times to get used to the light and once he finally got his bearings, looked around. He was in a cream-colored bedroom that was rather simple but far better than his own sleeping accommodations.

He looked around and noted that he was not alone on the bed if the lump on his right was any indication. He looked around and noticed many bottles of what he would guess to be alcoholic drinks from the smell of it. His mind raced to how he would beg Kushina for forgiveness somehow when he returns for what he might've done. Steeling his nerves and resolving to take responsibility if need be, he pulled down the sheets over the human-shaped lump's head. Minato didn't know whether to be relieved that he had not brought a woman to bed or vomit his guts out when he saw it was Qrow Branwen who slept beside him, so he settled for the best thing he could think of – fall off the bed in panic.

The commotion was not unheard and even in his distressed and weakened state, he felt footsteps coming towards the room. The door opened revealing a petite reddish black-haired girl, if that makes sense, with sparkling silver eyes staring at him in worry. She is wearing a plain black "combat skirt" with small belts here and there, topped with a white cloak. The girl seemed to be panicking - as if not knowing whether to rush in or ask from a distance, preferably behind the door. She then shook her head then immediately rushed to his side.

"Hey! Are you okay?!" She shouted. "Did you break anything? Did you sprain a muscle? Did you-"

Minato was surprised by how she was so loud, as if she has no indoor voice despite her earlier hesitation. And her worry, it was as if he was dying, when it was most certainly not the case. At least, not now. Still, it reminded him very much of Kushina when she fawned over him after that one mission where he faced off against his rival for the title of fastest nin or that time at the bridge.

"… you have a headache? Did Qrow push you? Because if he did, I can scold him for you if you want to. Well not really. More like I'll tell Raven, but it's the thought that counts right? So, did you…"

It was nostalgic, and annoying enough that he made to silence this woman like he did with Kushina back then on reflex. He put his index finger on her lips, which gave him his desired effect.

"Daijobu da." He said as he smiled… followed by a sweat drop.

'Big mistake', he thought. The woman of black and white reddened like a tomato, stood up and silently walked away. She went out the door and down the hallway with amazing calmness (despite her red face) only ever seen in the most seasoned shinobi he knew.

"Good job Minato, you just freaked her out. Still, she took it better than I thought."

Not even half a minute passed when she screamed and wailed, occasionally shouting the name, 'Raven'.

"Or not." He said.

A few more minutes passed, he positioned his back to the nearest wall, which is beneath the large windows to the left of the bed, content on just sitting there until his mind fully cleared. His mind ran in reverse as it went back to his engagements prior to waking in a bed not his. Kyuubi - that was all that was needed to trigger his memories in full. He thought back to his meeting with the beast of legends. He asked for a partnership, which came down to a brawl where he most obviously lost. He even screwed up enough to have to use up his only remnant of his wife's chakra. Looking back on it, it could've gone better, but it could've gone worst as well.

"That was not Madara!" "The best I can give you at the moment is a chance to gain my acknowledgement." "The next time we fight, I'll get your cooperation in finding a way back. Whether you like it or not."

So much revelations in such a short match that required his attention. His focusing on just those three sentences were enough to last him quite a while to figure out. Who is the fake Madara? Why did he look like his former student? How did man stumble upon Bijuu who preferred to live in isolation and why did they attack? Who knew the beasts were fully sentient and a tad bit rational? Why did Kushina not tell him about it? How will he get back?

So much questions plagued his mind but ultimately, his thoughts went back to his wife. 'I'm sorry Kushina for using up your chakra far too soon. I guess I'm just not strong enough yet. Please wait for me, I'll surely come back home.'

The short recollection of his wife made his eyes fill up with tears, which when combined with his face cast downwards, back against the wall as he sat on the floor and one hand on his forehead, it made for a poor sight. It made him look like he lost all he had to live for. That or he's having a hangover.

That short time of contemplation was enough for someone else to enter the room. Someone taller and far more stoic. She wore a red shirt with a black vest, black pants and red shoes. 'What is it with hunters and color schemes?' He thought, regardless, he carried on observing. She has long black hair, unruly and wild not unlike his own, and blood-red eyes. She looked at him silently for a short moment, which he looked up to and returned with equal curiosity as he continued to sit at the floor, body aching and head slightly disoriented, still.

"You're awake. You look like you got drunk with my brother though. Does your head still hurt?" She asked as she took in his prone form. He made no move to answer other than the shrug of his shoulders.

"You were caught up in a peculiar situation it seems, and I am not talking about what happened just now." She said. "I am Raven by the way, Raven Xiao Long. The person who unfortunately got wailed at by a shorter girl for not being there to hold her back on blabbering when she checked on you. Thanks for that."

He blinked at that and replied. "Uhh, sorry? Oh, and nice to meet you Raven-san." His mind raced on how to answer her should she or anyone else ask about his 'peculiar situation' despite his relatively passive face. That, and finally seeing Taiyang's wife that he often talks about when he's not in the company of other girls.

"Let's forget all that for now. How are you feeling? Also, -san?"

'Seems she is the type to get right down to business. She's good with the emotionless mask too.' Minato thought. "I'm fine. My body still feels like it was nearly chewed up by a dog after a brief fight, but I'm fine. Oh, and don't mind the –san part, it's just an honorific from where I grew up in, think of it as a mister or a miss."

"I see." She answered. "Very well, let's get you back up on the bed, and push this lazy prick off."

True to her words, she helped him up by having his right arm around her neck while she supports his body. She sat him on the bed, got him to lie down and tucked him back in. She then turned to his bedmate with annoyance, to which he notes that her mask is not as good as he initially thought. True to her words, she proceeded to kick the human-shaped lump off the bed and pulled said lump by the leg.

"Well, rest more for now. We'll talk later when Tai gets here in the afternoon. I will also be taking your supposed watcher as well. Good day to you." She said with finality and left the room, closing the door behind her, intentionally hitting the snoring huntsman on the head with said door. With her, and Qrow gone, Minato went back to sleep, hopefully feeling better once he wakes up again later.

Legendary: Distance

The blonde shinobi woke up just as the sky turned orange. It seemed the sun is about to set. He felt better already, his chakra already at a manageable level and his head is no longer swimming. Minato stood up and stretched his no longer aching limbs and made his way to the door, offhandedly noting that his clothing is not his own as he has no memory of ever buying a black sweater and jogging pants combo with red trim.

He made his way down the stairs and into the living room where he saw Taiyang sitting on a sofa facing the windows with a sleeping baby Yang, Mrs. Xiao Long and the shorter woman hovering over him. The smaller woman of the two cooing at the younger Xiao Long looked to him upon hearing his footsteps. Her face flared red and ducked beneath the sofa, as Raven smiled while attempting to calm her down. He also offhandedly noticed Qrow on the dining table behind them, drinking coffee.

Minato raised his hand for an awkward greeting. "Hi. Uhm, thank you for taking care of me. Oh, and thanks for the clothes as well."

Taiyang was the first to respond and does so with his typical boisterous voice. "Hey Minato! You're looking fine already. I guess what Raven said is true, that you only needed a nights rest. You really scared us when Tymun found you turned into a human firecracker yesterday. Nyumba might still be building his little altar or something at the moment, not that I know what it is though. So, how're you feeling?"

The shinobi smiled at the man. He sure knows how to lose the awkward atmosphere.

"I suppose that would be my question as well. Are you feeling better now?" Raven asked.

"I am. Better than yesterday at the very least. Thank you for your hospitality everyone, even Qrow-san."

The man in question looked at him with half-lidded eyes and twitchy eyebrows from his position in the dining table as his name was mentioned before grumbling and looking away entirely. Taiyang, noticing his brother-in-law's reaction immediately went to appease Minato.

"Don't worry about him. He's just sore he got kicked out of bed. His fault though. He should've been watching you but he drank instead… and he didn't even invite us. Anyways, the clothes look good on you." Taiyang said.

"I see. Sorry about that Qrow-san. And thank you for the clothes as well, Taiyang. I assume this is yours?" Minato replied.

The boisterous blonde smiled as he gestured a 'no' with his head.

"I see. I guess it's you I have to thank Qrow-san?"

Qrow gave a snort, but nodded in acknowledgement anyway – at the first words of thanks at least. Meanwhile, Raven was observing Minato from head to toe, looking back every now and then as if she might miss some miniscule detail to a greater mystery. As it is, she has not gotten anything from observing him so she decided to, with all the finesse of a brick, ask ahead… before she got interrupted by her husband.

"Oh, that's Raven's clothes by the way. She said you can have it." Taiyang said, with which Minato met with a sweat drop and a quick look to the lady Xiao Long.

"Minato, may I ask how you got yourself in such a condition? I remember Summer finding you being carried by someone, and that someone reported that you spontaneously became a human crater."

With those words, the little lady known as Summer came out of hiding, curiosity overpowering her shyness.

"Yeah, that's right!" She said. "Mr. Tymun also said something about bubbling and bloodlust."

Minato tensed at the questions, something that no one missed. His mind raced a mile a minute as he thought of how to explain having fought and lost to a giant nine-tailed force of nature that was locked away inside his body. Which brought him to another thing, it was odd that his body was taking being a jinchuuriki so well despite not being supposedly so. He was not accustomed to it since he was already a grown man when the Kyuubi was sealed into him, and he was no descendant of an extremely powerful and long-lived clan either. 'Perhaps, the Bijuu themselves have to do with it? Kurama has been oddly silent after that match before.' He mused.

Raven, noting that they were not getting a straight answer from the blonde patient, decided to let it go for the moment.

"Let's leave it at that for now. Perhaps our little patient has not recovered as well as he thought." She looked at the man in question. "Does anyone have anything else to ask or say? If not, I'd like to bring baby Yang to bed now. She's been patiently waiting for our guest to wake up earlier, but I guess she got too tired of waiting."

Everyone looked at each other and thinking up of anything to say. None seemed to have anything of importance to talk about so Taiyang decided to have some final words before they allow Minato to go back to Tymun and Nyumba's.

"So Minato. Maybe tomorrow, you'll be fine enough to talk about what happened? Maybe play a little with baby Yang as well since she missed you for the past two days, opting to play with the dynamic duo you stay with while we were busy. She did well to cheer them up as well while they waited for you to recover. You can either go home now or stay here for a while longer if you wish. Our house is as good as yours…" Taiyang was then met with a glare from his wife as she was about to go up the stairs. "…For rent! For rent of course. H-haha."

"Thank you for that. And yes please, I'd like to play with little Yang as well. I'd choose the former option on my place to rest by the way, thank you for your offer though." Minato smiled at the invitation for playtime with the little ball of sunshine, and sweat at the little gesture of his friend's spouse.

"But, actually, I was hoping to ask for your help. I was supposed to ask yesterday, but stuff happened and I never got the chance to. I was wondering if you guys can help me get a hunter's license. Tymun's recently, obviously implying I need to do more for my part in the house, even if he thinks he's subtle about it."

Taiyang beamed at him, Minato noticed. It wasn't really unusual as his fellow yellow head was smiling at everyone and everything. It's just that it was weird, the timing. As if he was waiting for it. "Sure thing! We'd be happy to help w-"

"Tai would be happy to help. I'd be happy to take Yang to bed now, thank you very much. It was nice meeting you Minato. Oh, and before you say 'thank you' again, you're welcome. Good evening to you." Raven came back down to suddenly cut her husband off only to once again excuse herself. Qrow stood up from his spot as well, put his mug in the washer and made for the door.

"Well. I guess I'll be doing work for the moment. Bye guys. Bye Minato… san." Qrow excused himself as he closed the door, leaving Taiyang, Minato and Summer to discuss hunstmanship. The latter which seemed to feel like she'd been put under a spotlight all of a sudden.

"Uhhh… I guess I'd be happy to help? I guess?" Summer sounded unsure but offered her help anyway.

The blonde huntsman, finally regaining his bearings after being cut off by his wife, finally continued. "Well, like I said, we'd be happy to help. Summer and I at least. First off, you don't have any education right? Common education at least, since I remember you not even knowing how to speak the common language some time ago."

"Yes. Sadly, I don't have basic education. Will that be a hindrance?" Minato asked.

"No, not really. I mean, if it was, Qrow, Raven and I would be a trio instead." Summer replied while making fun of her teammate as for all his skill in combat, his academic standing was less than stellar.

With lips crooked up in a smile, oddly combined with eyes that promise pain, Taiyang furthered her little teammate's point. "Well, she's not wrong, but she could've worded it better at least. Thanks Summer. Anyways, as long as you can read and count, you can take the exam so no, it will not be a hindrance… much. What you need first however, is apprenticeship, to show that you have the necessary skill and fitness to be one. And some basic documents like residency and what not. It takes less time by the way, than if you apply as a student, but that's only if you have recommendations from a respected huntsman, which I-"

"Raven so happened to be." Summer, noticeably more eager to talk, once again cut Taiyang off. "Raven's pretty much our strategist despite me being the leader. She's really good at a lot of things that I wished she shared some of those to us."

The rugged blonde smiled at a chance and took it. "Like her height with you?" He got his desired effect as Summer once again turned red, but this time of annoyance than embarrassment. She then stormed off to the kitchen as Minato looked on with an amused expression.

"You're really close huh." He blurted out his observation.

"Yeah we are. Four years of seeing them in the same room, in the same mission and in the same dining table does that to you, you know?" Taiyang answered back.

"Wasn't what I meant." He whispered under his breath. "I suppose it does." Minato smiled as he answered, remembering back to his bachelor days where Kushina acts similar to his friend's petite leader. "So Taiyang. Can you take me in as an apprentice? I'll do my best to help."

"No can do buckaroo. I have Raven as a partner so I don't think I need much help. Qrow is a loner by nature by the way, and he probably hates how he got kicked off the bed earlier, so he's out too. I can however, have your documents fixed. I know a guy. I'm awesome that way." The rugged blonde all but boasted near the end.

Summer then walked back to sit on the second sofa with a stack of cookies, still slightly red, and gave her thoughts in. "Oohh. I can help. You can be my apprentice since I don't like doing stuff alone. It's boring that way. I usually make patrols around the island while Tai and Raven takes missions out in the capital. Qrow just does what Qrow does so there's that. I don't question it but I have this little suspicion that he's out drinking somewhere. Raven sometimes takes solo missions, but that's few and far in between. We occasionally get together to do big missions too, I suppose I can bring you along there as well. Anyways, you can come with me!" She said with finality but then blushed a little and looked away from the golden-haired shinobi. "No lip-touching though. That's bad. Really bad."

"Gomen, gomen. Ah, I mean I'm very sorry. I won't do it again." Minato sputters his apology. "If I may though, when do we start?"

Summer smiled at a new friend.

Legendary: Distance

Summer Rose stands atop a large tree, looking down for anyone who needs saving among the downed set of carts. It's been three months since she took her blonde sidekick under her watchful eye. She can't say she's not impressed. Even with her eyesight that she prides herself in, that man still manages to find people to save faster than she can, and he doesn't even climb a tree to do so, kinda like Qrow. He takes to trees to run, but stays grounded when tracking. He's weird like that, she wouldn't have it any other way.

Still, his apprenticeship has come to an end with this final exam the council has decided on and she had to admit, she'll be missing moments like this. Or would've if it wasn't for the fact that he most likely will be assigned here as well, or somewhere nearby. Not to mention, teleportation, which is just cheating. That's her second friend with a cheat semblance which is totally unfair, uncaring of the fact that her eyes are a significantly bigger advantage than just simply being able to spot things. Anyways, spotting a few tens of grimm nearby, she made to dash at them with her sickle extended out in the air, ready for monster bashing. She didn't even bother looking at some people who were running from the black monsters confident in and trusting fully her sidekick to be there to cover for her.

Minato didn't disappoint as he flashed in beside the panicked peddlers, teleporting them away to the nearest shelter one by one, and even in groups at times. He made no move to engage the grimm, fully expecting his leader to take care of it. He smiled at Summer and made a beeline for the other carts to check for survivors.

Noticing her current teammate's smile was all she needed for confirmation that the people they need to save are being taken care of. She then made to focus entirely on the large packs of beowolves and round, rolling pig thingies as she hefted her weapon, a black sickle with white trim, with a top end that resembles a bird's head. She pressed a button on its shaft, extending her reach as the head is now only held to her weapon by chain. She swung her weapon in a high-speed rotation as she ran towards her prey, white cape billowing behind her as she did so. The spinning armament of grimm smiting met it's opponent and continued to cut through it and continue towards another one, hitting a beowolf in the face, flinging it a few meters into the air, hitting another at the side, shredding its innards. She rotates her body, all the while, her mace-turned-flail keeps spinning. It makes contact with a pig grimm, boarbatusk she reminds herself, stabbing it against the ground then kicking it away, hitting another one and flinging it to a third and fourth, both of which were curled up into a ball, throwing one off course, then kicking the other towards the upcoming pack of wolf grimm like a pinball of doom. She pressed on against the black beasts, looking like a beautiful ballerina, only with a monstrous weapon that spins along with her, cutting through grimm regardless of size and shape.

She stopped spinning as she noticed a bigger beast in the shadows of the foliage aiming to pounce at her. She dodged a swipe from an alpha dog grimm, leveled a look and spun around as her body was sideways parallel to the ground. The spin tugged at the sickle's head and forced it upon the grimm's face, stabbing it, denting it and killing it immediately. Twelve, her kill count on this bunch already. Make that twenty-eight, after the latest brandishing of her prized weapon. She looked towards her ally and made a thumbs up and a wink, which he replied with his own. It was their own little signal from Team STRQ that everything is clear and everyone is safe.

With a push of a button on her chain sickle's handle, the bird and chain retracted converting it back into its short-ranged form, a miniature scythe more than anything. Summer Rose, huntress extraordinaire, looked towards her sidekick with a smile. He looked so cool throwing around his weird, tri-tipped daggers, flashing around like a human firefly. But now, as he was picking up his scattered daggers like a homeless person picking thrash for food, not so much. She made a smirk as she slowly stalked towards him, stealthily. About a meter and a half away from her blonde companion, she jumped. And as always, he would dodge at the very last moment and catch her in his arms to prevent her from hitting a tree face first.

She drooped in his arms in defeat. As usual, he his elusiveness amazes and frightens her at the same time. She commented, "How do you always know when someone is behind you? It's annoying! I swear, you're more annoying than Raven when she's on her leave-me-alone sprees."

Minato just gave her a toothy grin, made her stand on her own feet and walk towards the wreckage. He looked around and touched the ground, making sure that he didn't miss anyone. What touching the ground means, she'll never know, but she doesn't let it bother her. She just brushes it off as one of his little quirks.

"Well, that's mission accomplished I guess? Did I do well on my final exam senpai?" Her latest blonde friend said.

"Well, you did bring everyone to safety with ease as always, and you even let me hit some grimm. I guess that's a pass, kouhai." Summer gave two painfully obvious winks with a bright smile, but then her face sets to a frown. "…but that also means we're not senpai and kouhai anymore. I kinda like having you as a sidekick. Almost as much as leading Team STRQ, almost."

Then she brightened up once again. "Hey! Maybe, we can have you join my team. And then, we can do adventures together every now and then as well. And then, the team will handle the fights while you swoop in and save everyone else!"

"And then I'll teleport everyone back to Tai's house right?" Minato retorted. "How convenient huh?"

At the very least, Summer looked ashamed at that, but she didn't let that get her down. She smiled even brighter. "And then we can have beer with everyone, and then we can play with baby Yang, and then we can invite Tymun and Nyumba, and then…"

He cuts her off by patting her head as he says, "Sure. Let's do that. But first stop, beer and grape juice."

"What's the grape juice for–"

Then they were gone with naught but a yellow flash.

Legendary: Distance

Taiyang was playing with baby Yang when Raven finally got home. It was her daughter's birthday and she wouldn't miss this very day for the world. She was excited enough, despite her stoic face, that she almost forgot that she closed the door on her brother. He couldn't open it himself since she made him bring everything as punishment for getting drunk without them, and he couldn't ask for help since his brotherly pride didn't allow it. She resigned a sigh as she reopened the door behind her to let Qrow in. She smirked a little at the sight of him in his typical white polo with grey running down center, collar and cuffs colored black, and black pants and shoes. His left hand had a box of cake while his right held bags of ingredients to be cooked, as does his left and right shoulder. His bearded face showed signs of annoyance as sweat poured down his cheeks from his black hair. Red eyes looking at her own with a fixed glare. Raven only sighed as she stood aside while holding the door for him to enter. She knew pulling him from resting after a long week's work was bad for him, but the day is too special an occasion for him to sleep his ass off.

Qrow stopped for a moment by the door to look at her once again. "You know, I'm fifteen minutes older than you right?"

"With how you act, it looks more like the opposite." Raven retorted which earned nothing but a derisive sneer from her sibling.

The woman whose hair color fits her name begun looking through the ingredients Qrow tiredly placed on the kitchen counter, choosing which goes with which for her to cook. She looked to her small family in the living room, Tai playing with Yang, the smaller Xiao Long smiling all the while, and her twin brother Qrow snoring on the sofa. All that's left is for their team leader to be here to have her awkwardness be the life of the party.

She patted down her red shirt and black skirt, then put on her blindingly (and painfully) bright yellow apron, courtesy of Taiyang, to get started when she heard a knock on the front door. Considering she didn't feel any presence seconds prior, she can pretty much guess that it was their little leader and her own blonde sidekick. That man, despite his semblance, has great respect for privacy since he teleported outside rather than in, which is nice.

Tai let them in seconds later and she noticed that they wore matching smiles that would melt everyone's heart, hers most certainly did… almost. Summer was in the same get up she always wore when going on a mission while Minato, who could fight regardless of what he wore, now is in a blue short-sleeved hoodie topped with a plain white vest. Same pants though, so she assumes that Summer got him the only white of his attire. He's not in the best position for that anyway, financially speaking. Regardless, Raven looked beyond them, just entering are the blonde teleporter's hosts, Tymun and Nyumba, as she listens to the conversation.

"…thank you for having us Taiyang. It's been a bit busy with us since Minato started running around with a girl. I guess you could say, it's been Xiao Long since we had a break." Raven cringed at the awful pun the skinny faunus man made.

The black-haired mother of one made note of their appearance. Tymun wore a white shirt under a brown polo and his cargo pants are light blue. His auburn hair styled upwards in spikes slicked forward. Meanwhile, Nyumba's large girth is covered by a maroon shirt with a black vest, in conjunction with blue pants. His hair in the color of her own which, in contrast to his friend, is slicked back and held with a pigtail, while his moustache hangs proudly on his face, which Qrow stares at the moment he woke, mumbling something about needing to have some facial hair of his own. She notices that they left their shoes by the door, as Minato always does but disregards it as unimportant. Typical Minato it seems, his hosts are even already emulating it. Regardless, it's her first time meeting them really, more of not really bothering to have a chat with them than being too busy to do so. So she greeted them with a smile as she heard her named being called then got back to work. It was nice that they brought food too though. Less work for her.

"…say that Minato is now an honorary huntsman beginning today. He passed the test with utmost ease. He even set the record for the fastest rescue…" The raven-haired mother of one made note of the last fact. 'Impressive', she thought.

As Raven Xiao Long worked, she thinks back to one of her upcoming missions. One that she sees is too risky to leave alone. She needs allies for this. More than just Qrow and the old man. Tai is a big flirt, loyal he may be at the end of the day. He thrives in the spotlight and is simply too high profile to work in the shadows. He'd be better off in the front lines. Summer is… well she's Summer. She's extremely skilled, perhaps the best in the team, but she's also the most naïve and awkward.

"…many did grimm did she kill?" Qrow asked.

"It was that obvious?!" Summer screamed in panic. "And I thought Minato sneaking away to teleport the flying cameras to another part of the forest so I can get some exercise was genius!"

"Oh, it wasn't that obvious. I was just seeing if you really just watched over him or if you interfered with the test he was supposed to do solo…" Summer dipped her head down in being caught with her hand in the cookie jar, or rather, her weapon in smoking grimm carcass.

Then there's baby Yang who should not be left alone at any cost. She needs someone to watch her grow and reluctant as Raven may be, she may not be that person for long. She also knows that Tai will most likely fall into depression once she leaves. He may not be able to take care of Yang very well so she hopes that Summer will take over. Still, she needs all the insurance she can get so she decided to involve the outsider, or rather, soon to be new member of the team if she goes with what her leader is saying at the moment. It's crazy – trusting something so important with a stranger she barely knew for three months, but it's all she has now. With that thought, she resolved herself for what's to come.

"…gratulations on becoming a huntsman Minato." Taiyang said as he hefted a very excited baby Yang to pass her to his blonde friend. "Yang says congrats too."

Minato beamed as he accepted the little bundle of joy. "Thank you everyone. Thank you little Yang, and happy birthday."

Legendary: Distance

Booze was drank that night, except for baby Yang and Summer who spat hers out as it touched her tongue. Various delicacies courtesy of Raven were enjoyed. Smiles and laughs were seen all around. Shouting with various reasons and emotions were exchanged in good company. And a dusty old crow, a pair of faunus friends, a petite huntress and a duo of father and daughter were asleep on the sofa, the coffee table, the floor and amazingly, the TV set. Summer was weird like that, and she wasn't even drunk. Minato could only smile fondly at what had transpired as he cleaned up the mess they had made.

He then felt a presence behind him, to which he turned to face. The only other person awake had a look in her eyes.

"Beer?" Raven said as she held up a can on each hand.

"I see Qrow is the less tolerant one in the family." He retorted as he accepted the cold beverage.

"Apparently so. You're not half bad yourself."

"I was taught to get around by a super pervert whose daily life involves going around public baths and night clubs. That and annoy the hell out of a perpetually drunk gambler. Do you want to take it somewhere else?" Minato asked, to which Raven replied with a nod. With a flash of yellow as he reached her hand, the scenery changed to a forest shined upon only the broken moon.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" Minato asked, uncertain and worried of whatever it is that the raven-haired woman has on her mind.

"Qrow and I are going on separate little trips. We can't tell anyone since the walls have ears…" Raven said, after which she remembered that expressions and puns went over the blonde's head as he is not a native speaker of the common language. "…meaning-"

"People you don't wish to know might find out." Minato supplied, apparently understanding the gravity of the topic at hand even if he didn't really get the expression.

"Yes. Our trips could change the world as we know it, for better or for worse. I won't be home for quite some time. I might not even get back at all. I have to somehow keep my family safe-"

"And in the dark?"

"Yes." She took a deep breath and made to have scarlet eyes meet with sky blue. "There is someone, or something on the move and we need to answer the questions: who, what, where and why."

"You're telling me, a total stranger, why? If it's something as big as that, why me? Why not another huntsman… or your team?" He asked, confused as to why he is being tasked with keeping such a secret.

Her blood-red eyes closed for a moment as she thought of how to answer him. She then opened her eyes to stare at the moon as she spoke. "I can't take any chances with other huntsmen. They might be part of the problem, or linked to it somehow, regardless of them knowing it or not. But you…"

Raven made to gesture at him with her beer can.

"Tai trusts you. Summer trusts you. Yang absolutely adores you. Everyone who knows you loves you, and yet, they barely know a thing about you. We've known you for three months, and Tai and your faunus friends knew you even longer. You are a wildcard as no one of position either knows much or cares about you. Not even the old bastard. It's stupid, I know. But I'm willing to gamble on their trust if it means my family will be safe."

Minato took note of the 'old bastard' that was mentioned but made no comment or move, only silently nodding to her analysis of him.

"How do you know I'm not part of the problem? As you said, I'm an unknown variable."

"I see how you interact with everyone. While you are secretive, you are still genuine in your interactions, or at least, as far as I can see. Well okay, not really because of that. Let's just say, I trust my family's trust in you." She stopped for a moment to take a sip of the alcoholic drink, after which she continued talking.

"You care very much for my family and my team, as with a lot of other people and yet, you guard your secrets well." Raven's eyes looked down towards his own once again. "The red bubbling aura the skinny faunus friend of yours mentioned, your suddenly exploding with no injuries whatsoever other than clearly drained aura, your randomly disappearing to Oum knows where, your absurdly high level of skill with aura control, where you came from, your eyes that seem sad and distant when you think no one is looking, everything important about you, we know nothing about."

"Well I-" This time, it was Minato's turn to be cut off.

"I need your help regardless." She said.

The shinobi was dumbfounded at this. She was the only one who caught up to him keeping silent of his past. That or that she was the only one who bothered to question it. Regardless, he considers her a friend and so he will hear her out.

"I have an idea on what you wish to ask of me, but I'd hear you out anyway." He answered.

"Keep this mission a secret from everyone." Raven told with a face that was slowly losing its rigidity. "Please…"

Her face crunched up as her eyes looked down. Tears were slowly filling up her eyes as she looked back to him.

"Please. Keep it from them, and keep them safe. Protect them from the grimm." His heart broke upon seeing the stoic woman like this but he kept his face as straight as he can as he listened to her request. "Protect them from the true enemies…"

He heard the words that need not be said, 'Protect them from me.'

The dam of tears broke and as did she. She fell to her knees, to which he followed to catch her and hold her up. With such a heavy decision she made, he had to make his own in respect for hers.

"I will. With my life if need be, I promise." 'Idiot! How can you say that when you're looking for a way back home!?' His words were given with clarity and conviction as his mind screamed at his rash decision.

Contradictory thoughts didn't slow him down as Minato helped the dark-haired woman up, pulling out from his pocket, a handkerchief and proceeded to wipe her tears. She accepted the action for a moment before taking the item for herself to use. Raven then looked at him, and for the first time since they met; she gave him a beaming smile.

"Thank you."

AN:

Hello friends. Thank you for once again bearing with me, and thank you also for the newcomers for bothering at all to read it. Characters! Though the OC's didn't really get a chance to shine, their presence will surely be felt in the later chapters. Not much fighting really being done in this chapter though. We get team STRQ together for this chapter too, though from the looks of it, not for long. Took a bit of liberties with the Taiyang - Raven - Summer pre-story canon since it's vague and mostly assumptions at the moment. If you have ideas you wish to share on that or other things, please let me know. Please and thank you.

Anyways, sorry for the long wait. School and work are in the way and I hope to find the Holy Grail to wish for the physical embodiment of "thesis" to be realized as an adult human male, and then I will, with all my strength, kick it in the balls so hard that it will be felt in multiple realities. Seriously, it's harder than Ironwood's grip or Beacon cafeteria's French bread. It's probably as hard as Taiyang's chest hairs, but that's stretching it a bit.

I tried some new ways to do story-telling which I hope, works. It's the part where Raven was thinking and people were being heard in the background. I think it's a great way to get in some unnecessary (maybe) trivia and other nonsense as well. Let me know what you think please. On that note, I will continue to experiment around in later chapters for what works and what doesn't so yeah. Just a little heads up btw, the next chapter or two will be done in the true Naruto way, as it will feature a flashback/s. I hope it doesn't turn you guys off, it's part of the experimental writing thing.

Stilted paragraphs, I don't really understand what it meant but I hope I'm making progress in fixing it. Though, I just noticed as I write this AN that I really do use a lot of commas (,) do I? I hope I can fix that later on. Also, FFnet really makes it hard to post stories as I experienced it yet again.

As for the commenter, Reaper7heGrim, thank you for reading and commenting on the story. As for your observation on RWBY and them being significantly (which is a grave understatement according to you, which could be agreeable) slower than Naruto's high-tiers, I guess I can agree that they could be far lower, but not far enough to go down to mach 5-10. Yang, very early on had a fight with the Malachite twins, where one of them had an impressive showing of kicking aside Yang's shotgun pellets midair. Also, rarely does fiction ever follow real life by making sonic booms. I mean, Ruby's move in the cafeteria doesn't even look like one. It was more like a vortex being pulled in by her power for some inexplainable reason.

Oh, and for people who are missing Kurama already, I have plans for him and his relationship with Minato in the future. Anyways, I hope I didn't cram too much in this chapter (or too little for that matter), but I did make it a thousand words+ longer than I usually do as my apology for being quite late. Also, I'll try to post the next chapter faster as well, I am working on it right now as we speak (or type).

Thank you once again everyone and I hope you enjoyed the story. Comments? Constructive criticisms? Yes please, I feed off of it. Flames? I can tolerate I guess if it points out some flaws in my story.

Gemmysaur signing out. (Always wanted to say that.)