Warnings, in a way. So please read.

I know what you're thinking, Nerfed? Bleugh! In one of my other work, Naruto has all his power and then some. So, he does all he can to get back, which I feel is in character. Here, Naruto lost it all, so he struggles on what to do and how to deal with it. I don't mean he'll struggle with fighting, as he's still pretty good at that.

This is just me going the other way, and having my stories feel different, even if some of the themes are similar.

Conflict, struggle, and tension doesn't strictly revolve around his nerf. Power or not,

Rewritten. I removed scenes, added a couple, shaved off words. A reread isn't required, if anyone remembers it. Though I did switch up a couple of things.

Single pairing only. No Harem so don't ask.

AU-ish. While it might start like canon, it will deviate, quickly. Some characters won't even be introduced until later.

Slow-burn.

Action is spaced, and short.

character interaction heavy. Drama.

"Our fate? After all that blood?"

It felt like a dream.

A little star in the sky caught his eye; it was bright and shining, but it was snuffed out by a passing shade.

Why did it have to hide? Perhaps, the darkness had not wanted him to gaze at it, or maybe it was fleeing. It didn't matter, there was so many that it would be impossible to cover them all.

The starry sky was the only recompense of light. Yet–as if it could hear his thoughts–the sentient shadow grew and began to blot them out.

Something was wrong.

He drew in a breath, and a dull ache coursed through his body. His head felt like it was being pounded, but it went on the back burner when he recalled the situation. No matter how he much he tried to force his body to budge, he couldn't move. He was forced to gaze at the growing shadow in the sky.

Then the last moments fully recollected, and he couldn't believe it.

Uncertainty crept in, too much emotion to describe how to feel. Instead, he closed his eyes and felt the weight lift off his shoulders. He wasn't sure if he wept, laughed, cursed, or all at once.

"You're going to die,"

"Not exactly to plan," he sighed. No plan had, he thought bitterly. At the very least, he endured until the very end. In what felt a crime, he forced his eyes open. If only to confirm that his eyes were true.

It was a moon, it appeared to be falling, but it only grew and rose with each breath. Shadowy chunks of rock rained toward it, crashing onto its surface. Light flourished against it, casting a dancing luminescence across the land.

Soon, the earth under him began to give in to the call. Along with the wild beat of his heart, all he heard was howling gales and cracks of rock.

How petty of Kaguya, like this was her final curse. He would never part with the battlefield; her last graveyard. Why couldn't she just die like a normal person? Then again, princesses were known for their melodrama.

The sky fractured, and the earth lifted; the prison in the sky grew. Its crashes made a terrible, deafening wave that made his heart tremble.

Suddenly, he laughed, but his lungs hurt when he did, so it was short lived. Holy fuck, he won, he'd been able to do it. He couldn't believe it, even when it was going down in front of him.

At the very least –at the graciousness of the Goddess–he was granted one last goodbye to a friend; one who had witnessed it all since the moment of his birth.

A blurred visage of a giant fox appeared; Kurama had its snout inches away, concern spread across its canine features. A giant red eye stared into him.

Naruto tasted metal in his mouth as he tried to speak. Though he couldn't find words. "I guess, I'll be seeing you,"

"It was a nice ride," Kurama replied. What a powerful, sentimental conversation. Though, he wouldn't see him, not again. Kurama could never go with him.

This was the end of the road, journey's end, and all those other complicated, stupid jargons.

Still, there was a few final actions he can take. First, point a finger at the moon, not just any finger–the most important part–a middle one. Then rest as much as possible.

The stars had disappeared, and darkness edged closer. There was nothing more than a blurry visage in the sky. It was useless to look.

He couldn't hold the finger up any longer, and he watched his hand flicker and waver like a dying candle. The last he could do was hold a sword close to his chest; a last memento of a brother.

Fate. How it twisted his tongue, how a simple word made him numb and desolate. What kind of person came up with such an utterly, stupidly, worthless word. What a dream to depend on; that it was fate that made him strong and weak. Fate, that drew, erased, and scribbled the path of life. Fate, that made his friends die.

He didn't want to end it off like this, bitter and hate filled. He made life as good as possible under the circumstances. It could have been better, but it was good.

The wind blew at her hair, her heart a pleasant beat; the familiar rush of excitement! Her lips curled in a smile, really, it was a beautiful day for a ride in the skies. It was unfortunate that others didn't share the same sentiment.

A look behind her to judge the distance from herself and other, panicked soul. The direction of the breeze shifted lower. The green below grew larger, and soon, she met the ground, she tucked, rolled, and flipped onto her feet. She landed with a wide spread of her arms, and bowed for an invisible audience.

There was still a chorus of excited cries, but it wasn't for her. Above, students clamored as they shot through the skies, gun fire and other means to propel forward. They soon disappeared behind the thicket of the trees.

The artifact was deeper in the forest, but first she had retrieve her weapon, and gain a partner that was pinned by it. This was a competition, but she had no worry about losing.

Pyrrha started a pace, it wouldn't be any good if Jaune were stuck up there any longer than necessary.

A bright glow caught her eye, but it died as quickly as it came. A curious glance, and without her realizing, she had been drawn to it, like a moth to flame. She halted her possessed steps. Strange, she noticed no other platforms had landed nearby. Now, curiosity had taken hold.

She looked for a peek at the cause of this mysterious light. It was a meadow, and in a stream, half submerged within the passing shallow water was a blond boy. His arm outstretched in his attempt to crawl away.

"Hello?" she called out, but received no response. He breathed raggedly, rasping for air.

Pyrrha gave a mental apology to Jaune, but someone needed her help. She hastened to his location. She discarded her shield before she pulled him out of the water, his legs dragged behind him.

"Hey! Are you alright?" the only response was a groan, she stopped. "Can you stand? You have to give me something,"

She looked around for any sight of the platform, but there was no sign of it, which was odd.

He held a sword to his hand, and it buried against the ground. Signaling his desire to sit or stand, and she tried to help. His arms shook with feverish intensity, and his gasps hadn't lessened in the slightest.

Pyrrha saw his face for the first time, three marks on each cheek, and blank glazed eyes. His blues eyes didn't focus, like he saw nothing. He muttered something inaudible.

"Sorry, I didn't catch that," she said. He leaned on his sword for support, and she let him go. "What happened to you?"

This was the strangest thing. She looked him over for any wounds, but there was nothing noticeable. Most of his limbs lay limp, the exception being his right arm. How did he come to be so injured?

A snap of a twig.

Pyrrha recalled her shield and caught it in her hand to face the threat. It was a Beowolf. Ebony fur stuck straight, body poised for a pounce. A white skull featured on its head, and along the length of its spine ran a row of spiked bone.

It paid no attention to her, not until she stood in front. She had only her shield, but it would do. One Beowolf wasn't a threat. At least, that's what she thought until more surfaced from the brushes of the forest.

This wasn't good. At all. "If you can hear me, and if you can stand -"

One of them charged and jumped, but she swung her shield and met its fangs with the edge of her shield, A loud crack as its jaw disfigured. It dropped. Another had joined, she stepped aside and kicked it in the chest, it was sent flying into the bushes.

"That would be great!"

It was blinding at first. The perpetual burning throb in his eyes; like he hadn't seen light in years. He saw colors, but nothing solid and clear. He blinked, feeling his lashes brush against his skin.

He was blind.

Thoughts crossed his mind, that this was truly the end. However, the moments grew longer with the searing pain. Every breath wasn't enough, and he inhaled flames that cooked his lungs. It grounded him, he was alive and gasping for air.

He saw shapes with dull colors, but they were dark silhouettes as their colors melded together. Red and gold moved toward him. The incomprehensible, muffled mutters he heard comforted him from the confusion.

"Not yet," it couldn't be counted as a whisper.

The red figure had disappeared. Now, all he saw were shifting shadows that scattered around in his vision. He saw lifeless colors close to him; darkness was deeper, and shadows started to dance near it. There was a constant ringing in his eyes, and he heard…a howl?

What was that? He was dead, wasn't he? It made sense, didn't it?

A breath, a scorching inferno sparked to life in his lungs. He couldn't think, it hurt, all of it hurt so much! There was something was gnawing in his head, drilling and boring deeper inside. What was wrong with him!

He heard a scream. Red danced in his vision, flowing wildly in this consumed abyss of its twisting shadows. One of them leapt toward him, but was cast aside.

Through the ringing, he heard a muffled sound of a voice; the same from earlier.

He had to move, but no matter how much he willed to stand, it was impossible. Naruto tightly held the grip of the blade. It was the only limb that bent to his will. He had to get up.

He saw the woman then, it was she stood behind a waterfall. He had to stand! A creature ran past her, and her hand reached out to him. Another cry.

All he saw was red.

He had done the impossible by defeating a goddess, yet he couldn't something as simple as this? This was not acceptable. He gripped the sword and ran his hand along the edge. His palm grew hot and wet, slick with blood.

You fucking idiot, he thought. He couldn't stop shaking, and felt an unbearable pressure in his skull. Get. Up.

A breath that refreshed his entire being. The darkness dispersed and left only light; the shadows became wolves. The red and voice, a woman.

A wolf threw itself at him. He blocked its bite with the blade. He kneed the wolf-like beast in its underbelly. Naruto slashed, and severed a part of his head, and it dropped dead.

There was only time for action as another lunged at him, but he stepped aside and sliced the creature in a clean stroke.

The woman launched her shield at the wolf, and it was returned when she scored a hit. He came to her side to dispatch another couple of these odd-looking wolves.

He was granted a brief reprieve. He was surrounded by a lush, green forest.

Naruto spared the young woman an apologetic glance, and that was returned with a relieved sigh, and a smile. They prepared themselves, and Naruto noticed he was armed with the only efficient weapon.

Howls rang in the air that signaled their appearance. The scratches of branches being swept aside, twigs and wood snapping. Within the forest, he saw a horde of them approach.

His body felt heavy, and slow to respond to his commands; muscles stiff and burning as he held himself. It felt as if he hadn't moved in ages, or still suffered from his wounds. He was no longer hindered by the pain in his chest, but his lungs still longed-for air. Good god, even his bones ached.

In short, he wouldn't be able to fight well enough to repel them all.

"Screw this," he muttered.

Naruto tapped her arm, and then turned away from oncoming assault. She followed, and he started to sprint as fast as he legs could carry him.

Chakra was out of the question. Even thinking about it sent phantom pains through his body.

His thoughts were interrupted when several creatures appeared in front. The bronze armored girl threw her shield at one of the wolves. It crashed against its legs, falling face first into the ground. The shield immediately returned to her hand.

The others charged, pouncing at them with large fanged primed. He pointed toward the one in front as he dealt with the other, a kick, and it was sent away.

The girl charged in front him, shield raised as she crashed against one of the wolves. He threw Sasuke's sword at another the wolf, piercing its skull. The armored girl grabbed a hold of the blade as he righted her footing, and kept her momentum. She tossed Sasuke's blade back to him.

More of these feral wolves kept racing after them, almost a never-ending stream. He led the girl toward areas where they would have an advantage as they fought them off. They would meet their end if they stopped from the gaining horde.

Several them had caught up, but in a trench as to help them from being overrun. Just as he thought they were being overwhelmed, two figures appeared from the thick of the forest with thunder-like explosions from items in they held in their hands.

An odd glyph appeared in front as them. A wolf crashed into the seemingly solid symbol. Ice formed on the ground, creating a slippery terrain to make it more difficult for these beasts to traverse.

He noticed the white-haired girl doing these techniques. Her teammate, a black-haired girl appeared in front of them and helped fend them off. Now, they could destroy the rest of this mindless creatures.

They said words he didn't recognize, but it didn't matter the wolves began to drop, and the horde dwindled.

They continued to step back, several of the creatures appeared from the above before they were brought down. Naruto stayed in front, dealing with any that came too close. He directed the nearest person if any of these monsters appeared at their flanks.

There was just so many, instead of bodies creating a hurdle for the wolves to climb over, they dissipated into black dust.

He tapped the shoulder of the girl who could use ice, and he made a motion with his hand to cover them. Hopefully she understood. She nodded.

The top of the trench was quickly covered by a thick layer of ice, creating a tunnel. More ice covered the bottom of the ground, making it harder for the beasts to quickly reach them. These things were so mindless and feral.

Did he have some sort of treat on him?

He witnessed other things too, like how the weapons that blown bullets also changed into the swords they currently held. Or the shadow-like clones that appeared from the black-haired girl, or the glyphs that would appear.

He was gasping for air by the time the last one dissolved into ash. It was a long series of days. Fighting Kurama and way too many things after that which eventually concluded with fighting Kaguya. That was only a briefest of summaries.

Naruto turned to the others, and heard words he couldn't understand. Judging by their body language, they seemed to in disbelief, and in relief.

They knew each other, and conversed before they turned their attention on him. Words were said that was alien to him; it was absolute gibberish.

Naruto felt bile rise in his throat, and he turned toward a bush. What came out was less bile but more slime and dry heaves.

The one clad in bronze armor stepped to him, the one that saved him. She was sweating, and despite almost causing her death, she smiled. He could catch a name, or at least what sounded like one.

"...Pyrrha," she tried to hide her disgust, but her concern wasn't lost.

A name that made his tongue twist strangely. She spoke a few words before his head felt like it smashed against the moon. He soothed his temples to calm the terrible panging. He was only able to catch the last words she said.

"–Partners now I suppose," she smiled, holding a hand for him. He grasped it with his own shaking hand. "I had another in mind, but you needed help,"

He nodded, feeling like if he spoke now, he would never speak again.

"You were fortunate we were nearby, and that," the white haired started, looking at the black-haired girl with a frown. "Blake had noticed the strange behaviour of the Beowolves,"

"They stopped attacking me, did you notice that?" Blake said, and he caught her gaze. An eye-catching feature about her was the bow she held in her hair, as well the dominant black clothes.

The girl dressed in white, a faded scar on her left eye. "Yes, anyways. I'm Weiss Schnee, I don't think we've met at orientation,"

"Like she said, I'm Blake,"

All the others looked at him then, and no doubt he would have to speak. He cleared his throat, and caught his breath.

"Naruto Uzumaki," he replied. No longer feeling everything would fall apart, but it still loomed precariously. They continued to study him, but he didn't know why. He was not in the Elemental Nations that was for certain. He didn't quite remember ever traversing dimensions.

Though, there was that brief darkness, and he didn't have the headache.

"How fortunate for you to end with Pyrrha," Weiss said. He glanced at his 'partner', looking sheepish. "At any rate, we should continue our search,"

They voiced their agreements, and started to walk. Since he didn't know what else to do, he might as well follow. They had the sense of direction.

"I've never seen such a large pack of Beowolves before," Pyrrha murmured. "Or ones that acted so oddly,"

"We killed at least twenty of them," Weiss said. Naruto and Blake were content with not saying anything, both for different reasons.

"Naruto and I killed quite a few before we ran into you both," Pyrrha replied. "I hope it doesn't happen again, or with other Grimm."

Grimm, Beowolves. He had never heard these words. Grimm seemed such an intimidating word.

"I feel uncomfortable without my weapon, I used it to pin Jaune to a tree before I ran into Naruto," Pyrrha said.

"I'm sure he's fine," Weiss replied. "Perhaps we can go and fetch it? And help him too, I guess,"

"I hope so, but It was all a blur, and I don't recall the place," an expression filled with worry as she talked.

"Hey," he muttered. He drifted closer to get her attention. She was tall, and he had to look up at her. "sorry for what happened back there,"

"It's fine," she smiled, "I think the better question is, are doing okay?"

He had to think about it, "Well I don't feel like I'm dying,"

"Uhm," a pause, "That's good?" she changed the subject. "What happened?"

He had to think about it, "I have no idea,"

Naruto dug his hands into his pocket to quell the uncontrollable shakes. Get her somewhere safe, then, he could rest. Talking–as much as he loved to do it–was exhausting.

Pyrrha seemed to understand that he didn't feel like talking. She went ahead.

"Hey," Weiss walked up to him. She came close, her voice low so the others couldn't hear. "If you can switch partners, would you consider it?"

He shrugged, "whatever,"

Her blue eyes widened, surprised, relieved, like she had no hope for it. "well, that's great," she said, smiling. "Blake doesn't seem to hold a high opinion of me. It would be best, after all, Pyrrha and I would be able to learn more from one another,"

It seemed she liked the girl he had been 'partnered' with in this strange place. Confident in herself too.

Her energy disappeared after she got what she wanted. The smallest of talks followed, "How did you get so roughed up?"

He inspected his clothes, which was somehow holding together. At least he wasn't naked. "I look like it, I feel like it, it's been rough,"

"I suppose that can happen," Weiss replied. The end of the small talk.

He stared straight ahead. His heart beat barely calmed, but he didn't feel that buzz in his blood to urge him on. A minute was ages. The longer he walked, it was like his limbs was turning to stone.

Sometimes they spread apart, looking for their objective in the maze of wood. In open fields, they came together.

Pyrrha walked up to him again, undeterred from their previous encounter, "You're very good with that sword,"

A memento, he held it in his right hand. While he didn't train extensively in sword techniques, he knew how to handle one, "Thanks, it belonged to a friend of mine,"

She gave a nod, and thankfully didn't delve any further. "It's really light, I was kind of surprised about that,"

Naruto couldn't agree, his arm was screaming at him to let it fall.

Distant explosions saved him from answering, along side it, roars, and incoherent yelling.

"Should we help perhaps?" Pyrrha noted.

"As much I want them to be okay, I also want to pass," Weiss stated. "I'm sure they're fine, only the talented are accepted into Beacon,"

"I suppose you're right,"

"Plus, I don't think any good awaits those that fail to grab one. Unless of course, my partner decides otherwise, then I would have no choice," Weiss finished.

"No, I want to pass too," Blake replied. "It's like you said,"

A competition of sorts. Wherever he was, they weren't making a fuss of giant tree roots, or of the moon. His gaze swept the horizon, but he didn't see a moon.

His exhaustion tampered with thinking, so he resolved on doing it later. What was left of his energy had diverted to trying to keep up with their pace.

An unbearable amount of time passed before they finally reached this temple they were talking about. No one was around, other than some roughed up patches on the ground which revealed someone was previously here.

"It's just a pile of rocks," Naruto said. The temple was more of broken ruins of a rotunda, with pieces being laid all around on the flooring. There were some pieces set on podiums; several had already been taken.

"Take our piece, and then return," someone said.

He was hoping this was a race, a one-way sprint like chuunin exams. A fight would be an easy forfeit. Like his friend had said, what a cruel fate.

"Yes, with the first person you made eye contact with," Pyrrha replied, Naruto found the red head staring at him. The other one seemed to frown at them. "How about you choose the one for us?"

Arguing was pointless, and would only waste more of his energy. Whoever was running this would know that he wasn't apart of this. So, with getting her back a bigger priority he would do this and let future him decide what to do.

Besides, he wanted to get to know sleep, like no one had ever known before. Weiss stepped forward and picked out a white piece, and he quickly found the other one.

"I think I rather had enough of fighting for today,"

His luck came through when their way back was met with no other problems.

He found himself at a ceremony, a tall lady was glaring daggers at him as soon as he appeared. Beside her, a man with a cane looked at him with a knowing grin. He looked to be in charge.

It was revealed that the matching–what was called chess–pieces would form together for a larger team. A four-man cell. He caught the gaze of Blake, while Weiss looked happily at his direction. Not at him, but rather to Pyrrha. It was easy to see that she was rather fond of her, if the previous attempts at chatter were of any indication.

Pyrrha had been able to get her weapon back by another blond guy, he didn't remember his name.

He heard the many teams being called. He couldn't remember where he came from, where was the exit? This was proving to be the hardest challenge to try and plan his navigation.

"Team NPBW (Naples). Who had taken the white bishops, comprised of, Pyrrha Nikos, Blake Belladonna, and Weiss Schnee. Led by Naruto Uzumaki,"

His first thought went along the lines of how these people were crazy.

Three pictures appeared on a screen, below was unreadable scribbles he assumed was their names. There was a blank spot, that was likely for him.

There was an applause, and Pyrrha clapped him on the back to send him forward to the stage where he would have to shake hands with this leader. He wondered how they even found out his name, but more importantly, why the fuck was he still being accepted into god knows what? He had seen the uniforms; this was some sort of academy. Or some sort of cult.

Naruto reached the stage, where he gave the man a handshake. You know what? If this cult had a bed, then sure, he would join. No questions asked.

"Now, we have a bit to talk about young man," the man said. In the noise, it could be mistaken as a form of congratulations. Naruto could only nod, and realized his day was not over yet. Maybe he could sweet talk his way out of it.