Been some time, hasn't it? Sorry for not touching this for almost a year. I'll be sure to work on the source story after this update; promise.

One thing before I start: Naruto is almost nineteen in this. This makes him nearly the same age as he was during the events of The Last.

Also, I'm hoping that this Reading could become a story all its own. So, I'll be taking steps towards that goal! Whatcha guys think?

Disclaimer: pain17ification owns nothing

The eight young adults all looked to the newcomer in open shock while Kushina pulled the man to his feet and hugged him tightly.

"Oh, I've missed you so much, sweetheart," she gushed, elation filling her to the core.

Hugging his mother back, Naruto gave a bashful grin to the others. Honestly, he wasn't used to such openly public affection. "I missed you, too," he replied. "But, what's going on? Last thing I remember was seeing Grandpa Sage in some vision and then I'm here."

"I'll tell you what's going on soon; promise. For now, I want you to meet these wonderful people." Letting him go, Kushina directed Naruto's attention to the others. "These eight are students of this academy. They each form teams of four and I've had a great time so far with them. First, I'll introduce you to Team JNPR."

"Juniper?" he repeated, saying the name instead of the acronym.

"Yes. There's the team leader, Jaune Arc."

The slightly armored blonde gave a nervous wave. "Hey there…"

"The orange haired girl is Nora Valkyrie," Kushina continued.

"Hi!" the short girl greeted eagerly.

"The tall redhead is Pyrrha Nikos."

Said redhead gave a polite smile. "It's wonderful to meet you in person," she bid, confusing the blonde Uzumaki.

"And Lie Ren. He introduces himself like people do back home."

"So, Ren?" Naruto tested, earning a nod from the young man in question.

"Yes, that's correct. Nice to meet you."

"Likewise," was the blonde's reply, giving Team JNPR a warm grin.

"Moving on, we have Team RWBY, led by Ruby Rose," Kushina introduced, moving over to the all-girl team.

"Hello! I'm so happy to meet you, and I have SO many questions!" the young leader gushed.

"Nice meeting you too, Little Red," Naruto replied jovially.

"Next, her sister Yang Xiao-Long."

"Sup, Whiskers?" greeted the female blonde teasingly. "You don't know Xiao-Long we've waited to meet you."

The others rolled their eyes at Yang's pun; Ruby, on the other hand, face-palmed. To their surprise, Naruto let out an amused snort.

"Let's hope you don't leave me Yang-ing with your next joke," he fired back, making the others drop their jaws.

Yang, on the other hand, practically glowed with her grin. "Aha! I knew I'd like this guy! He gets me!"

"Only a blonde could understand another," Weiss drawled out with a straight face before she cleared her throat to compose herself. "My name is Weiss Schnee. It's a privilege to meet you."

"Privilege?" Naruto repeated. "Don't really understand why. I'm not anyone special."

Blake frowned slightly at that. "That's not true. Your mother's told us about you, and I think you're an amazing person."

Naruto blinked at her words before he rubbed the back of his head with a bashful grin. "Didn't think mom would brag about me to people near my age. It's kinda embarrassing, ttebayo…"

Kushina face-palmed this time. "I was really hoping you'd have lost that tic… Anyway, this lovely young lady is Blake Belladonna."

Blake choked on her spit at Kushina's introduction of her, and she saw Yang give her a subtle thumbs-up from the corner of her eye. She then looked back to Naruto and her cheeks dusted slightly at the welcoming grin he gave her and the others.

"Nice to meet you all. You probably already know who I am thanks to mom, but I'll introduce myself anyway." Thumbing his chest, the whiskered blonde declared, "I'm Uzumaki Naruto, a ninja from the Hidden Leaf Village, son of Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina, and the current Toad Sage."

The others smiled at his greeting while Kushina clapped her hands together to regain their attention. "Now, I'm sure you all have lots of questions. However, I'd like to take some time to bring my son up to speed with what's been happening and how he got here. So, I'd like to ask the eight of you to let me have the night with him and we'll continue reading tomorrow. That sound okay?"

Naruto rose a brow at the "reading" his mother mentioned, but he stayed silent. He figured it would be just another thing for her to bring him "up to speed" on.

"That sounds fine, Miss Kushina," Ruby replied for the others. "We should probably get some more training done anyways before heading to bed. We'll see you both tomorrow."

Blake looked like she wanted to say something, but she caught a smile from Kushina and backed off. 'I shouldn't be surprised that she would want some time alone with Naruto right away. Still…I was hoping I could talk to him too…'

With the agreement made, RWBY and JNPR left the room and headed for some training fields while Kushina grabbed the book and led Naruto to the dorm Ozpin had offered her. She led him on a small tour of Beacon Academy and let him see the new world he was on before letting him get settled in the dorm where they both enjoyed a nice ramen dinner.

"So…what's going on, mom? I'm happy to see you, believe me; but, shouldn't I be going back home?"

Kushina gave her son a soft smile. "I made a deal with the Old Sage concerning myself and you, Naruto. I missed so much of your life and I've regretted not being there for you more than I was allowed to because of the Eight Trigrams Seal."

"Mom… You can't blame yourself for that…" Naruto said, hoping to absolve her of her own guilt.

"I know, but that doesn't mean I can't be selfish for once. So, I asked the Old Sage to give me another chance to live as your mother. He made a deal with me, giving me that chance under a couple of conditions. The first is that we couldn't be in the Elemental Nations for it to happen."

"Wait, what?!"

She raised both hands to stop any further outbursts. "Relax. I know that you're still worried about your friends and I'm not selfish to fully take you from them. So, I asked the Old Man to make a genuine copy of you for me to summon. You and the you back home are exactly the same; right down to your memories and abilities. This way you won't have to leave your friends alone."

"…Not gonna lie, mom; that sounds pretty twisted."

She gave a sheepish chuckle. "I thought you'd say that, ttebane…"

"What about Kurama and the other Bijuu?"

"Think back, Naruto. What happened in that vision you had with the Old Sage?"

He blinked at the question before he thought back to the talk he and Hagoromo shared. "He said that someone was hoping to see me; that someone being you. He also said that I wouldn't need to worry and that I'd have a chance that less than a handful have gotten."

"A second chance," Kushina elaborated. "In this case, a second chance to live a life the way you truly wish to live; one without the pressures of prophecies or past lives."

"I remember Kurama telling me to listen to Grandpa Sage…and then this feeling of being pulled in two directions." He blinked in realization. "That's when the copying process happened, isn't it?" At her nod, he continued, "Kurama looked like he was struggling with something while it was happening…"

Taking a moment, he looked within the personal plane of his seal while Kushina sat patiently and waited.

After a moment, his focus returned to the outside world with a look of surprise. "Kurama was copied too?"

"Close. He was split into two halves again. You have the Yin half while your other self, much like for most of your life, holds the Yang half. Don't worry, though. Both halves have a piece of the other so that they can regain their full power after some time. You should be able to speed it up by gathering Nature Chakra."

He finally relaxed in his seat at that. "This is unbelievable… But, I can't be upset with it after seeing it for myself." Taking a breath, he gave his mother a smile and finished, "Thanks for making sure my friends wouldn't lose me."

"Of course. Like I said, I made a selfish wish; but, I'm not selfish enough to strip you from them. Are you sure you're okay with this, though?"

"Yeah, I'll be okay. I just hope that Other Me gets a chance to talk with Hinata. I never got a chance after everything that happened."

"…You're sure you will be okay with leaving her?" Kushina stressed, now feeling incredibly guilty.

"So long as she's happy, I'll be fine. Besides, Other Me is still there." His smile remained, strong as ever. "I'll be fine, mom; promise."

She let out a relieved breath. "Good. I was worried I might've crossed some personal lines."

"Relax, mom. I'm not mad. I'm honestly happy to be here with you. So, let's drop the subject and get back to what's been going on since YOU got here."

"Oh! Right! The others and I have been reading a book about another version of you; this one from an alternate timeline."

That alone told Naruto he was in for a long night.

The following morning had Naruto sitting at the table in Kushina's room, reading the fifth chapter of the book concerning his alternate self. Once he finished the chapter, he set the book down and sighed. "This is a lot to take in, even if it's just a story version of me."

"Trust me, you're not the only one who's been impacted by this. Poor Ruby…" She shook her head sadly. "She had to witness her mother's death, despite it possibly being different than what really happened. That kind of trauma could break a weaker person."

"Why are you still having them read this, then?"

"It's what I need to do if I want to stay in this world and have you with me," she explained. "I read this book with them, acting as a link between their world and ours. Once the story ends, I'm free to live here."

"Have you told them?"

"No, but I will. They deserve that much."

"Yeah, they do. It almost sounded like you were using them for a moment."

"I know that; but I wanted to wait until you were here with me to tell them. It was selfish, I know; but you already know how I feel about what happened."

He nodded in understanding. "Just make sure to tell them everything. I'm going to go explore this Academy some more. I'll meet you with the others in a couple of hours."

"Alright, but don't go too far or get into trouble. And don't say you won't, because you and I both know that Uzumaki don't find trouble; it finds us."

He cringed at the truthful statement. "Yeah… I'll be careful," he promised before he left the room, stepping out just in time to see Blake leaving her room. "Morning," he greeted.

She jumped at his voice, turning to face him. "Oh, good morning. Did Miss Kushina tell you everything she needed to?"

"For the most part. She has something to tell you and the others concerning how I was brought here. I'm going to explore this place a bit more before meeting you all later."

She hummed in understanding before an idea struck her. "Why don't I show you around? You can tell me what's going on while we walk."

"I appreciate the offer, but this is really something that mom should tell you guys herself. But, I wouldn't mind us hanging out some other time. We could talk about what growing up was like with our personal stigmas."

Blake tensed at that. "…You read the book," she noted.

"Only as far as you did. I have to say, Faunus being treated like that gets under my skin. I know what blatant hatred feels like, and I can't stand seeing someone else going through that too." He chuckled bitterly. "Guess you could say that I have an instinctive protectiveness for people similar to myself, y'know?"

"I think that's just another thing that proves you're a good person, Naruto," Blake replied, giving him a small smile. "It's one thing to hear or read about it; but, it's definitely more noticeable to see it for myself."

This time, he chuckled sheepishly. "I think you're praising me too much, to be honest. But thanks for the nice words. I'll see you later, yeah?"

With that, he gave her a wave and walked off, leaving her alone in the corridor. Or, she would've been if she didn't hear her dorm's door crack open.

"Seriously, Yang?" she accused, feeling embarrassed.

Fully opening the door, the grinning blonde revealed herself and their other teammates; much to Blake's ire. "So, how's it feel to talk with Foxy, Kitten?"

Her bow hiding her Fanus ears twitched. "Don't push me, Yang. Remember: I know where you sleep…and we have plenty of things to clip with."

That shut up the tallest girl of the group. Meanwhile, the youngest gave an apologetic look to Blake. "Sorry for eavesdropping…"

"Forget it," Blake sighed out, shaking her head at their antics. She then looked to her white-themed teammate. "Something you want to say before we continue with our day, Weiss?"

Feeling put on the spot, the Schnee heiress coughed in hopes of removing any awkward tension. "Well…it looks like he's interested in spending more time with you. Maybe you could expand on that…?"

"Right… Ugh, why am I in this kind of situation?"

A couple of hours later saw Naruto arriving in the room the others had used for the first chapters of the book. To his relief, he didn't sense any negative feelings or tension in the air upon arrival. "Everything out in the open?" he asked, earning a nod from Kushina. "And how do you all feel about things?"

"I can't say I blame her," Yang spoke up first. "She wanted to see you and feels responsible for something out of her control."

"While I'm not happy to hear that her reasons were under a selfish undertone," Weiss began, "I can't hold it against her."

"Family will do reckless things for one another," Ren spoke up. "It's been proven time and again."

"If I were in her position, I'd most likely do the same thing," Pyrrha agreed. "There's nothing to be upset over."

"Yeah! Besides, this way we get to meet you, too!" Ruby exclaimed as Nora nodded in agreement.

"Don't worry about us holding anything against your mom," Jaune added. "We're all in agreement on this."

Naruto smiled at their words before turning to Blake. "And you?"

Looking him in the eye, she gave a faint smile. "This is something I think can help us connect better as both teams and friends. Besides, you and your mother are interesting people with outside perspectives. It'd be good to hear your opinions on certain things."

He gave a relieved sigh at that. "Good. Glad to hear that. So, why don't I read this next chapter?"

The others agreed and Naruto took the empty seat; one that was conveniently placed between Blake and Kushina. Yang winked at her partner mischievously as her fellow blonde sat down. She also expertly ignored the annoyed look as Naruto started to read.

Sackcloth and Ashes

Chapter Six: Where I Stand

A pair of white eyes stared across the room, narrowing slightly at the sight of a familiar blonde twitching in his sleep, muttering denials and pleas while sweat falls down his face.

"Seeing myself like this really drives home how close Sasuke was to beating me…" Naruto muttered.

"At least he didn't, though," Ruby spoke up to cheer him up. "You were able to get him to see reason."

He smiled at that. "Thanks, Little Red."

Neo slowly got out of her bed and silently moved towards Naruto's bed, noting just how tightly his left hand was gripping the bedsheet. Absently, she noted that his mechanical arm was detached from his body and laying on the desk near his bed.

"Hey, I just realized that you still have two arms," Jaune noted.

"It's not my real arm," Naruto shot down. "It was made with the cells of Lord First gathered from what we could of the White Zetsu Army."

Only Kushina knew what he was talking about, the others giving him confused stares.

"Uh… I'll just tell you guys about it later…"

She placed her hand gently on his crippled arm, gripping it firmly while her eyes remained their white shade. With her free hand, she reached over and cupped his cheek, softly rubbing where his whisker markings were. It seemed to help, for his twitches slowed to a stop while his mutters quieted down.

"Your whiskers aren't really that sensitive…right, Foxy?" Yang asked, her grin growing as Naruto's cheeks turned red.

"Yang, no tormenting my son," Kushina cut in, earning a relieved look from Naruto. She then matched Yang's grin and added, "Not unless I'm there, at least."

"Deal!/MOM?!" both blondes replied.

His head turned to hers, eyes opened and unfocused; showing he was still trying to get out of whatever nightmare he was having. "Don't go…" he whispered, his tone pleading; begging whoever he was seeing to adhere to his words.

Seeing this, and hearing the desperation in his voice, struck the petite woman hard. Her gaze softened as the hand on his cheek kept rubbing his whiskers softly. Making a decision, she climbed into his bed and laid down against him, her head resting against his chest as she whispered back, "I won't…" Slowly, his calming heartbeat lulled her back to sleep, and she held onto him tightly in hopes he would sleep peacefully.

"I hope this Neo girl is like this for real," Naruto mused.

"Actually…" Ruby awkwardly began.

"We don't know for certain," Weiss continued. "She fought Yang a while back, showing she was working with Torchwick for real."

"I see… Maybe I can get through to her like in this story," the Uzumaki proposed before going back to reading.

Unknown to her, a pair of narrowed amber eyes glowed in the darkness of the room as the owner witnessed the sentimental moment.

"Jealousy is an ugly bitch."

"Yang!"

A couple hours later, Naruto began to stir; which Neo felt due to his chest rumbling slightly. While she enjoyed the warmth he gave off, she let go of the blonde and got off his bed. Grabbing her school uniform – something she found to be very bland – she headed for the bathroom to shower and change.

"Ugh… Those clothes really take away individuality, ttebane…" Kushina groused.

Blue eyes blinked open, getting focused on their surroundings before Naruto sighed softly. "Another one…" he mumbled.

"If you have trouble sleeping," he heard Cinder speak up, making him turn to see her adjusting her own uniform, "you can always talk to us about it. You can confide in us, Naruto. After all," she looked to him with her signature smirk, "we're legitimate teammates now."

"I know she's up to something. The other me knows she's up to something. I just don't know why I haven't done anything about it…"

"Maybe you're waiting for a better moment?" Blake asked.

"Nah, I wasn't really much for planning. Most of my fights had me come up with crazy ideas in the heat of the moment. Shikamaru was the real brains among the Leaf 12…"

He gave a small hum at her words while Emerald yawned awake. "Damn, how long was I out?" she groused.

"About six hours," Cinder answered. "You fell asleep before I did."

"How the hell are you so…up in the mornings?"

"Years of practice," was the slightly cheeky response.

"It really is," Weiss agreed, earning bland looks from the other women. The three men shrugged at that.

Naruto got out of his own bed, slightly surprising the girls when they noticed he was only wearing a black nightshirt and some green boxers with pink hearts. He saw their stares and looked down at his sleepwear before shrugging casually. "This is what I sleep in," he defended plainly.

Naruto's cheeks became inflamed at the looks the others were giving him.

"Duly noted," Emerald replied awkwardly, mentally warring with herself. A large part of her still held a grudge against him, but a small part thought that he was attractive.

Blake's amber eyes narrowed at the image of the red-eyed greenette.

"Nice hearts," Cinder complimented teasingly.

He ignored it as he grabbed his new school uniform, making a face at how boring it looked. "…We don't really have to wear this every day, do we?"

"Unfortunately, yes. It's school clothing, and while we're here, we will follow the school guidelines so that we don't draw attention to ourselves."

"I'm wondering why Ozpin seems to know you," Naruto commented, making her raise a slender brow. "During the team assignments, he seemed kinda reluctant to name us a team."

"If he already knows about Cinder, why's he letting her stay so close to his students? That just gives her more potential hostages…or casualties," Naruto grumbled, earning concerned looks from the others.

"He's got a point…" Nora muttered.

"We have different viewpoints and methods on bringing about change to Remnant," she answered smoothly. "He takes his own path while I forge my own."

"…He also spoke to me before we were launched into that forest."

"Oh? And what did he have to say?"

Frowning, the whiskered blonde answered, "He wished me good luck and reminded me how partners were chosen."

"Nothing else?"

"Nope. My guess is that he has suspicions about me already knowing you and he was getting his own first impression."

"Wonder how that went," Blake sarcastically mused.

"That sounds like him," Emerald spoke up, sharing a look with her boss.

"Yes, it does. Be careful around that man, Naruto. He thinks he knows many things; but he's actually pretty narrow-minded."

"It's people like that who can hinder growth or potential," Kushina noted.

"Yeah, I think I saw what you mean," he agreed, mentally thinking back on Raven's warning to him about Ozpin.

"Still surprised you got my mom to see reason, Foxy…"

"I've been told by many people that I have this…way of connecting with others. I guess that meeting with Raven took that literally in a spiritual sense."

Neo cut into their chat by stepping out of the bathroom, dressed in her uniform and looking pouty. She shared a look with Naruto, tugging at her red ribbon while her eyes turned brown.

"Yeah, I know," Naruto sighed out in agreement, sending another dirty look at his own uniform before going into the restroom to change.

Naruto was officially bored out of his mind as the portly Professor Port

Yang snickered at that. "I gotta remember that one…"

"I'm shockingly surprised you haven't made that joke before," Weiss responded.

went on a tangent about his youth; throwing in his own extravagance to his tales. The blonde Uzumaki could tell right off the bat that the man was full or crap; but he said nothing.

Instead, he gave a soft groan and leaned back in his seat. Looking to his right, he saw that Neo was passing time by doodling in her notebook; her drawings consisting of Grimm from her own imagination. He had to smirk at the incredibly detailed drawing of a foxlike Grimm with nine tails.

Naruto chuckled at Neo's drawing. "It looks like Kurama."

[Not a bad representation of me,] Kurama agreed from Naruto's mind.

'Hey, buddy! Was wondering when I'd hear from ya!'

[I was resting from the split. Anyway, you'd better get back to reading. The others look a bit worried.]

Mentally nodding, Naruto decided to stop anymore awkward moments and summoned a Shadow Clone before having it take the form of a dog-sized fox with nine tails. He then let Kurama take control of the transformed clone. "How's that?"

The smaller Bijuu took a look a himself before he grunted. [It'll do, I guess.]

The others, save for Kushina, recoiled in surprise at the talking fox. It was Ruby who spoke up first. "Uh… Kurama, right?"

[Got it in one, shrimp.]

"Be nice, buddy," Naruto admonished with a chuckle. "She's the youngest one here, so she still has time to grow bigger."

[I suppose she could grow bigger, but what about getting taller?] he fired back with a fanged grin, making both Naruto and Ruby turn bright red.

"You know what I meant, ya damn fuzzball!" Naruto shouted before he went back to the book to kill the awkwardness.

'Gee, I wonder where she got the idea for that one?' he mused sarcastically, chuckling to himself.

Neo heard him and smirked before resuming her shading. Next to her, Cinder raised a brow at the closeness between them, as well as the Grimm her subordinate was drawing. It was much too detailed to be a whimsical idea; which could only mean that the multi-tailed fox was connected to Naruto in some manner.

"Oh no! Their bonding is showing her the truth!" Nora dramatically cried out before nudging Ren. He sighed at that and had his Scroll play a "Dun Dun Dun!" sound effect.

Emerald, who sat next to Cinder, was passing time thinking of clever ways to pickpocket the other students without getting caught. Old habits die hard, and each new method added some restrictions or rules she had to follow. It was a good way to mentally test herself.

Naruto blinked at that before he looked to the others. He made a thinking face before he felt someone flick the side of his head.

"No," Blake shot down.

"Aw, c'mon! It would've been in good fun!" he tried to reason with her, but she just gave him a firm look.

"No," she repeated, making him slump in his seat with a pout.

Yang fought a snicker at that, sharing a look and grin with Kushina.

"Now, who here among you shares those qualities?" Port called out, referring to the qualities that professional Huntsmen and Huntresses need to have; at least in his opinion.

He eyed the room, spotting the young Schnee heiress looking eager to prove herself; as well as a couple others.

Weiss gave Ruby a look at that, and RWBY's leader gave her an apologetic one in response. "I'm sorry for my attitude before, Ruby," the heiress said, surprising the young Huntress.

She then smiled brightly and replied, "No worries, Weiss."

However, he and the other members of the staff had been told of a certain Freshman who had caught the eye of certain unsavory parties. As such, they had been asked to keep a closer eye on him, and what better way than volunteering him for a demonstration?

"Super," Naruto noted sarcastically. "Now, I'm under suspicion of the entire staff…"

"Mr. Uzumaki," he stated, making the blonde turn his blue eyes to the man. "Perhaps you'd like to show your mettle? After all, if you could survive a loss of limb, a simple demonstration should be a breeze, yes?"

Naruto narrowed his eyes in annoyance, already figuring out what the man wanted; or at least, what he was asked to do. With a sigh, he got out of his seat and walked down the steps, hands in his pockets and posture slouched like a certain lazy genius he knew.

"Troublesome," Naruto groused with a smirk, making Kushina's brow twitch while the others fought snickers.

"Fine," he replied, sounding just as bored as Shikamaru always did. He stood next to Port and faced the class, letting them all see what he thought of this situation.

To his amusement, he saw that the white-haired girl he bumped into the other morning looked downright pissed at his boredom. Some students looked confused at his posture while others looked concerned, focusing on his replacement arm. The other members of Team RWBY, Pyrrha, and his own teammates looked confident in his abilities; especially his team.

"Are you ready?" Port asked preparing to open an enclosed cage that was shaking violently.

"Let's get on with it," Naruto answered, taking a relaxed stance. He fought a snort at the concern on the teacher's face, ignoring it in favor of the Boarbatusk that was released. It gave angered snorts and jerked around, turning its fierce gaze to everyone else in the room. "Oi," he called, earning its attention. "Focus right here, Porky. Forget about them and focus on me."

"Why do you think the Grimm seem to ignore you?" Ren asked Naruto.

"My guess? It's my link to Yang Chakra; otherwise known as Light Chakra. It's Life in an energized form, and the Grimm seem to focus on artificial things," he answered.

The students were surprised at this, wondering why he was calling out the Grimm. But, what confused them further, was how the Boarbatusk looked confounded and stayed in place; simply eyeing the blonde before it.

"Well?" Naruto taunted. "You gonna just stand there?"

"Or are you gonna show me what you got?"

"Not sure it's a good idea to call her out," Blake mused.

"It's the only way I could know who I'm dealing with, considering how my other self is being watched by Ozpin and his group."

The dark woman from before smirked at the words she heard through one of her Grimm. Closing her eyes, she focused on its senses and got her first real glimpse of the mysterious newcomer.

"My, my…" she mused, a smirk forming on her lips. "He looks so young; but that power he has – that radiance – is intriguing. Very well then, Newcomer." Her eyes gave a brief glow as she mentally told the Grimm to attack. "Show me what you have."

"Challenge accepted," Ruby translated.

The Grimm gave a battle cry and tucked in on itself, spinning in place to gain momentum before shooting forward at high velocity. Blue eyes gleamed faintly and a smirk formed on Naruto's lips as he muttered, "Good…"

Only Blake, due to her feline ears, was able to hear him. She frowned at him, wondering why in the world he was so eager to have the Grimm fight.

The whole room saw him stay in place, still looking relaxed and calm; which made the students either think he was crazy or overconfident.

"No," Pyrrha spoke up, studying the other Naruto's stance. "It's not overconfidence; it's sheer belief that there's no danger. It's almost like a Master staring down a fresh student."

So, it shocked them all when he casually raised his right leg and caught the spinning Grimm with the bottom of his sandal; the only change he made to his uniform. Eyes widened one by one, and jaws were dropping when they saw him tense his leg and force it down, having the Boarbatusk dig into the floor and bury itself enough to become stuck.

Seeing it immobilized, Naruto nodded to himself and stepped back as he said to himself, "But, not good enough."

"How tough is that golden energy, anyway?" Jaune asked.

"Well," Naruto began, looking unsure, "Grandpa Sage said that my chakra is now that color ever since I unlocked Six Paths Sage Mode; which is, more or less, a divine state…"

Yang jerked back at that before leaning forward. "Hold up! Doesn't that mean that you technically have godlike power?"

"…Maybe?" Naruto answered sheepishly.

"Alright, let's get back to the story before we lose track," Kushina cut in.

Blake, once again, was the only one who heard him. She was just as surprised as the others at how easy he made it look to take down the Grimm. But, shock gave way for a small smile; showing that she was proud of her fellow Faunus and his display of raw strength.

"I hope it's okay if I view myself as a Faunus in this," Naruto said to Blake. "I mean, I do have an animal trait that's genetic; and my Sage Mode is linked to toads."

She gave him an assuring smile. "It's okay. I can understand why you would feel that way, and I appreciate you asking my opinion on it."

He smiled back and went back to the book, missing her faint blush.

'You're crazy, Naruto… But, you have the power to back it up; no doubt about that.'

Turning his focus to the Professor, Naruto asked, "How's that?"

"The Grimm is still alive," Port pointed out, bringing attention back to the creature that was left unable to move; only twitch in agitation.

"It isn't going anywhere," Naruto rebutted, casually heading back to his seat. "Besides, the Grimm aren't the biggest threat out there."

"Humans and Faunus are more of a threat to themselves than the Grimm can be," Kushina noted with a frown. "Grimm can grow, but they're still relatively predictable. Humans and Faunus can be so unpredictable that it's scary…"

The Remnant residents looked to one another at her words while Naruto had his eyes closed and agreed with his mother.

That statement unnerved the students, and a select few understood what his words meant. Cinder couldn't help but smirk at that, finding the irony in his statement to be amusing.

"Even so, the Grimm are dangerous, and one shouldn't hesitate," Port drew his weapon, shifted it into its firearm mode, and shot the Boarbatusk, "to take them out."

Naruto turned back to the wisps of the killed Grimm before he shook his head in disappointment. "An outdated way of thinking, if you ask me."

"I beg your pardon?" Port's eyes narrowed, though it was hard to tell since they were practically closed all the time.

"Nothing," Naruto retracted, his voice firmer than before. "Forget I said anything."

The class after his demonstration had an uneasy tension for its remainder.

"I can only imagine," Weiss commented softly.

"So, what did you mean earlier?" Blake asked Naruto as she sat at his table during lunch. Her teammates were sharing a table with Team JNPR, and the rest of Team FUNS were obviously seated where he was.

"About…?"

"About killing Grimm being outdated," she clarified.

"Is it really outdated if we're still doing it after so many years?" Pyrrha asked.

"Oh, that…" He went silent for a moment, and she assumed he was collecting his thoughts. "Not many people understand just what the Grimm are. They see the Grimm only as a darkness that seeks to kill anything good or just." He shook his head at that, scoffing at the notion. "I see the Grimm differently, and I blame the rest of the world – and their outdated ideals – for their existence in the first place."

"I…can agree with my other's words, actually," Naruto admitted.

His teammates found his explanation odd, which was why they stayed silent to listen. Blake wasn't so silent as she asked, "Why do you blame everyone else? What could you possibly see the Grimm as other than what we've believed for years?"

"I see them as part of a whole," he answered cryptically, staring her dead in her amber orbs and making her fight a flinch at their intensity.

"No offense, but you do have intense eyes if you look at a person a certain way," Jaune spoke up.

"I've always had trouble hiding what I was feeling. I could make a believable face; but my eyes always told the real story."

"Remnant, the world we all live in, is like a body. The earth and waters of the world are its bones and veins, while the life it holds – from plants to living, breathing things – are its blood."

She blinked at this before slowly, unsurely nodding. "…Okay…"

"At times, a body becomes sick, and it starts to repair itself on its own; like antibodies attacking a virus. So, take a moment to think, Blake." His expression was serious, and she couldn't help but see how his eyes took on the world with a focus much older than his age entailed.

"Surviving a war will do that to you," Kushina informed, and Naruto nodded sadly in agreement.

"If life and nature are the blood of Remnant, what do you call the Four Kingdoms and their senseless disregard for forests and other natural wildlands just to expand their own habitats?"

"…You're talking as if Humans and Faunus are nothing more than beasts," she noted, her eyes narrowed.

"Not beasts, Blake; a virus."

"That sounds almost exactly how my mom described them in this story," Yang stated, looking to her fellow blonde.

"In a way…she isn't wrong," Naruto admitted.

Cinder raised a brow at this, interested in how he came to that conclusion. Emerald found herself uneasy with the notion, part of her unable to fully disagree with the whiskered blonde. And Neo frowned thoughtfully, her eyes both turning brown as she considered his words.

As for Blake, her eyes gave an enraged glow. "How could you think that?"

"Because the Grimm only attack things that are manmade," he calmly answered, stifling her growing rage.

RWBY and JNPR stiffened in realization.

"Take a moment to consider it without the ideals and beliefs of others before you clouding your judgment. Have the Grimm ever attacked wildlife? Have they ever deprived the forests of their trees, or drained the rivers dry? Have they burrowed into the earth, taking things that don't belong to them?"

"B-But they-"

"Blake," he cut off sternly, the blues of his eyes taking a glacial edge. "Think for yourself for once. Don't let others dictate your own opinions."

Blake flinched at that, remembering the times she got swept up in the ideals of crowds other then her personal ones.

He dropped his voice for her sake as he added, "You wanted to change your ways, right?" Her eyes widened and she nearly recoiled at his words. "Change starts with yourself; not with the teachings of others."

"That's something you all should take to heart," Kushina stated to the Beacon students. "You don't truly change unless you're changing yourself first. If someone instructs you on how to change, then it's not a genuine effort and has little value to yourself as a person."

They looked thoughtful at that as Naruto resumed reading.

Amber eyes looked down at that, staring at nothing as she thought about what he had said. It was a lot to take in.

"Stop that, please! That hurts!" a female voice, one that held a distinct accent to it, cried out.

Broken from their thoughts, both teams narrowed their eyes at this memory of abuse against a friend of theirs.

The voice broke Blake out of her thoughts and she, along with many others, turned to see a Faunus girl with rabbit ears having one of said ears being cruelly clutched and tugged by an arrogant looking teen. Her eyes narrowed dangerously as she recognized him from the day of team placements. He was Cardin Winchester, leader of Team CRDL and a human who wasn't afraid to speak his mind about his dislike of Faunus.

"As I said," Blake heard Naruto speak again, turning to see him staring blankly at Cardin's bullying of the Faunus girl, "outdated ideals and beliefs."

"If it takes years to stop senseless prejudice and hatred, then that sort of thinking needs to be outdated," Naruto added, frowning at what was happening.

Calmly, he stood up from his seat and began to stalk towards the jerk.

"Naruto," Cinder called, making him look over his shoulder with a raised brow. Smirking, she bid, "Make a statement, would you?"

For once, he shared her smirk and nodded before resuming his path.

"I told you it was real!" Cardin boasted with a laugh, tugging Velvet Scarlatina's ear once again. "What a freak!"

Blake, Kushina, and Naruto all narrowed their eyes at the insult.

His teammates laughed alongside him while Velvet once again pleaded for Cardin to let go of her ear. Mentally, she was pleading for someone to help her while also angrily wondering why none of the staff were stepping in. Wasn't Beacon supposed to be a school that was open to everyone?

"She's got a point…" Ruby agreed with a wince, wondering why nobody on Beacon's staff stepped in to stop Cardin.

Her pleas were answered when a metal hand gripped Cardin's arm, the clawed digits poking dangerously against the bully's skin. "That'll be enough of that," she heard a male voice speak calmly, and she turned as much as she could to see a blonde teen with incredibly deep blue eyes that were narrowed on Cardin.

"Oh yeah?" taunted Cardin while his teammates got ready to assist him. "Who says?"

"The guy who's about to snap your arm like a twig," Naruto answered coolly, leaking his chakra slightly to enhance his presence while putting some pressure on the arm in his mechanical hand.

"Intimidation can work wonders if used properly," Kushina informed. "If abused, though, it can be seen as cruelty."

Fighting a wince, Cardin held firm onto Velvet's ear. "I'd like to see you- AGH!"

He gave a shout of surprise and pain as the grip on his arm tightened and the metal claws dug into is skin enough to draw blood. The force of the grip also made Cardin release his grip on Velvet's ear. "Try?" finished the Uzumaki. "I just did, and you know what?" He dragged Cardin towards him, glaring him in the eyes while his blues turned amber with horizontal pupils. "I'd say I'm close to succeeding," the pressure on Cardin's arm increased, forcing him to his knees, "wouldn't you?"

His teammates made to help him, but a stern voice clearing her throat had them all turn to see Glynda standing there with her arms crossed.

"Funny how she shows up now," Naruto mused with a frown.

"I believe that fighting is prohibited in the lunch halls, correct?"

Letting go of Cardin's arm and retracting his claws, Naruto answered, "Yeah, you are. Though, I wonder where you were earlier, Professor?"

She narrowed her eyes at him, not appreciating his tone. "And what do you mean by that, Mr. Uzumaki?"

"Just being a curious student is all," he shrugged before heading back to his table.

"I'll see you and Mr. Winchester in detention after classes, Mr. Uzumaki."

"Why is he being punished when he was helping out Velvet?" Yang asked angrily.

"He was still hurting another student," Weiss explained with a frown. "Even if Cardin deserved it, it could still be classified as assault."

"That's bullshit…"

He merely waved her off with his natural arm, leaving the lunch hall shocked at his blatant disrespect for the woman. His teammates, however, found the whole moment hilarious; the three women all smirking at how the blonde ninja got under Glynda's skin. As for Blake, she sent a silent thanks to Naruto for helping a fellow Faunus; though, a part of her also wondered what he pointed out.

If someone responded so quickly to a Human in pain, why was no one around when a Faunus was the one in pain?

"That boy has no respect for authority," Glynda seethed in Ozpin's office, pacing angrily at a certain blonde's words. "Honestly, the nerve of him to call me out on something like this."

"Why? Because it's true?" Blake asked in annoyance.

[No matter what world, no one likes being called out on their bullshit,] Kurama remarked.

"He has every right to speak his mind," Ozpin defended. "Just as you are doing right now, if I might add."

"How can you defend him?"

"Because he made a valid point, Glynda," the Headmaster calmly answered. "Ms. Scarlatina was being unfairly treated by a fellow student in our school grounds, and not one of our staff stepped in to stop that mistreatment. Personally, I find punishing Mr. Uzumaki for helping a fellow student – who is a Faunus just like him – to be a tad unjust."

"Thank you for the support, even if you don't trust me," Naruto sarcastically remarked.

"You can't honestly think that?" she asked in slight surprise.

"Oh, but I do. After all, he was right; no one stepped in to help a Faunus student, but someone did when it was a Human student. The situation might have just become more sensitive, now that a student has called us out on our practices. We may be seen as prejudicial now, and other Faunus students will no doubt lose faith in the school's ability to offer them equal rights and privileges."

"So, it's all about image now?" Nora asked angrily.

Glynda wanted to argue, but she took a moment to rationally go over the situation. She frowned at the truth, seeing how the impact on the school could be possibly devastating in the long run.

"We need to take steps to reassure our students that they are all equal within Beacon's walls. Otherwise, this situation may spiral out of control," Ozpin grimly declared, earning a stiff nod from his trusted aide.

"Yes, sir."

"Those actions are meaningless if it takes someone calling them out on them to fix," Pyrrha stated with a frown.

Detention was rather dull, in Naruto's opinion. It was simply him, Cardin, and any other troublemakers sitting in a room silently with Glynda keeping a watchful eye on them. He passed the time by doing the assignments that were given throughout the day, finishing them all rather quickly since it was the first day of school.

"Schoolwork on Day One? That sucks," Ruby pouted.

Once detention was over, the students were allowed to go, and were given a stern warning to behave from now on. "Mr. Uzumaki," Glynda called to him. "A word, please?"

Raising a brow, he sat back down as the other students leave, easily ignoring the smug slash angry look that Cardin sent his way. Once they were alone, he asked, "Am I in more trouble?"

"No," she answered, leaning back against the teacher's desk. "It's come to our attention that we may have been unfair in regards to the situation between you and Mr. Winchester. While he received detention just as you did, you wouldn't have needed such a punishment if someone had stepped in to assist Ms. Scarlatina."

"So, why have him serve out his detention in the first place?" Jaune asked.

"Because she already issued it in front of so many students," Ren answered.

"Uh-huh… And this is your way of apologizing, right?" he questioned, slightly annoyed.

She fought a frown at his tone. "Yes, it is. Beacon is meant to be an open school, and we…failed to fully uphold that declaration."

'It is just killing her to admit this,' mused the displaced ninja with a mental chuckle. He had a gift for sticking it to the strict types.

"I wouldn't call that a gift," Weiss drawled out.

[Anything can be a gift, Snow White,] Kurama fired back cheekily.

"As such, we will be sure to do better. I felt that you, as a Faunus looking out for your own, should know that."

He hummed at her words, standing up slowly. "Well…as much as I appreciate the pretty words," she couldn't stop the frown this time, "I think they're being wasted on me. After all," he made his way out of the room, looking over his shoulder at the exit, "I wasn't the one being mistreated, was I?"

The Beacons students blinked at his comment before they realized he was right. "I wonder if Velvet was ever reassured that mistreatment would stop," Blake mused.

And with that, he was gone, leaving Glynda silently fuming at his nerve.

Lounging in his team's dorm room, Naruto mused aloud, "I think I may have gotten under that woman's skin…"

"You think?" sarcastically replied Emerald with a smirk. "She looked ready to rip you a new one when you called her out in the cafeteria."

"Her Semblance would've made that child's play, too," Ren noted, remembering Glynda's telekinetic Semblance.

"It's not like what I said wasn't true," he fired back, matching her smirk.

"I'm curious about what you were talking about with that old partner of Adam's," Cinder cut in.

"Adam is working with Cinder," Blake sadly noted, upset that someone she once trusted fell so low in his hatred.

"About Remnant and the Grimm?" She nodded once. "It's something I've been thinking about since I was in Mountain Glenn," he answered honestly, thinking back on the memory of Raven's that he had viewed.

"You think you could do that with us sometime?" Ruby asked.

"Not sure if that would be a good idea," Naruto confessed. "My memories are a little…intense."

"Little is underselling it, sweetheart," Kushina deadpanned.

"That's the change I want to make; to have people make their own damn decisions and see things beyond what people simply tell them."

"Interesting," mused the woman. "That'll be a challenge, no doubt."

"Life is a challenge," he fired back, showing the wisdom he had gained through years of struggle and pain. "The real challenge, though, is standing tall against them; staying true to your own beliefs and ideals. All it takes is guts."

He smiled softly at that, remembering Jiraiya's words to him.

"Ninja endure," Naruto declared, quoting his deceased master. "It's what makes them strong."

[True. I've seen you ninja go through hell during that last war,] Kurama began, [and you kept getting stronger throughout it all.]

"Some ideals can stay strong throughout the years; but if there are those that are just wrong or plain stupid, then they need to be removed so that newer, more open ones can take their place."

"You sound like you've been waiting to say that," Emerald noted with amusement.

"I have/He has," Naruto and Blake stated, blinking in surprise at their sync before sharing a small smile.

"Maybe… But, I know where I stand…"

"It's always interesting to see a chapter's title as part of the chapter's script," Weiss noted with a smile.

He looked to the ceiling of the room, his smile remaining as he thought of every moment his Nindo was put to the test. "And that's with my beliefs; with peace."

Cinder and Emerald blinked in surprise at that, not expecting such an answer. However, having seen enough parts of his life to understand, Neo wasn't surprised and simply smiled softly; mentally promising that she would support him when the time came.

That was where she stood.

"Aww… Orange Cream!" Yang teased, earning a faint blush from Naruto while Blake glared at her. This only made her grin widen.

Coughing to recompose himself, Naruto stated, "That's the end of this chapter. We can continue it tomorrow after you guys practice."

"Maybe you can help us?" Ruby requested.

"Yeah! Nothing gets you ready for a tournament than fighting a god-level warrior!" Nora declared.

"I'm not a god," Naruto shot down. "I have lots of power, but that doesn't make me a god."

[Many would disagree on that, brat.]

"Yeah well, I didn't ask you, fuzzball…"

"How about we show you around Vale to finish off the day?" Yang suggested. "There's lots to see, and they even have a ramen stand~"

"Ramen?" Naruto perked up, making Kurama palm his muzzle while Kushina snorted in amusement.

"Yep! They give generous portions too!"

"You'd still probably break any records, though," Blake added in amusement.

"Oh, now I have to go," he declared with a grin. "If there's any kind of ramen record, you bet your ass I'll beat it!"

[Seriously? You're almost nineteen and you still are obsessed with those watery noodles?] Kurama snarked.

"Oi! Don't be dissing the food of the gods, jerk!"

"Aha! So, you are a god after all!" Nora declared in triumph.

Naruto sputtered and tried to deny it while the others laughed or chuckled at his expense. Through it all, Kushina smiled softly at her son already bonding with RWBY and JNPR. 'Yes… I'm glad I asked the Old Sage to bring you here, Naruto…'

And that's that! How's it looking so far?

Naruto's appearance may seem a bit convoluted, but dammit I want him and Blake together! They're such a cute pair!

Of course, Naruto could pair with almost any girl at Beacon. His personality meshes well with lots of different types…

Anyway, I'm getting off track! I'll be updating the source story next! It'll take some time; I won't lie. So, I hope you'll be patient with me until I get it done!

Until next time!

~pain17ification~