DISCLAIMER: I in no way own Naruto or RWBY...Y'all need to remember that…

. . . .

From Dust Till Dawn

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Chapter 9: Take one down, pass it around

. . . .

After getting into the elevator out of Ozpin's office, she leaned against the wall and let out a loud, irritated groan. "Ugh...I need a drink…" Another groan. "...now I sound like Qrow...wonderful…

. . . .

Naruto stares at the building in front of him in mild annoyance, a slight twitch starting to form in one of his eyes.

FORECLOSED BY VALE POLICE DEPARTMENT

"I'm not angry…" there was police tape all over the windows. "I'm not angry…" a few detectives were walking out the doors, cameras and bags of evidence in hand. "I'm angry…" Lisa Lavender was standing by the entrance of the building, speaking to the VNN news camera about how the notorious Hei "Junior" Xiong escaped arrest after a fight broke out in his club. Later evidence that he was running his illegal information network was found and he was currently wanted for espionage, grand larceny, and treason against the kingdom of Vale.

"I'm very angry…"

"That's rough kid." Gyuki decided to input his opinion, idly searching through Naruto memories. Only searching through the last month or so, just so he'd know where they were and what was important. "Wow, if you didn't want to be a Hunter-or whatever-you could have been a pretty high dollar bartender."

Naruto grumbled to himself as he turned away from the shutdown club. "Eh, it was a living. Only really did it cuz Junior knew who was who in the city. Having him around was the best way to keep up with what happens in the city since the media is heavily censored."

"Censored?"

"Well, when you live in a world where your natural predator is attracted to negative emotions. You don't really want your populace to panic or be worried about all the darker things that happen around the city. Especially stuff like what Junior and his crew got into."

"Huh, makes sense...though a little controlling."

"I mean...yeah. But that's the world I guess?" The blond shrugged as he walked away. "Now to find a new place to get plastered at…" He thought to himself as he made his way back into the more pedestrian side of Vale. He passed several bars and various kinds of clubs as he went through downtown Vale, the people of this world not ones to shy away from a bit of revelry to ward off the Grimm. However, these places didn't have what he...required, in a good bar.

Clubs he could handle, though not being one for the music or random people trying to talk to him, he decided to veto the options he came across. And most bars didn't have the selection he would need to even get a buzz. Having Nine entities of pure power and energy in your body constantly healing him made getting anything from alcohol a challenge in itself.

"Why not go into that one?" Kurama grumbled as the blond passed by what had to of been the eighth bar.

"Look at the clientele, what do you see?"

"Humans brat, a bunch of normal looking humans." The Bijuu snarkily replied, not understanding the question.

"Exactly." The Shinobi responded. "A bunch of normal people. People who could probably just have a few beers or shots and be well onto their way away from sobriety." He explained as he gave another look at the people in and outside of the bar. "They wouldn't have anything there that would be able to affect me."

"Che, I bet now that we're awake nothing would really be able to affect you."

"Well, you see my furry friend. Me and the people of this world share a...let's say a common enemy when it comes to finding a way to getting drunk off our asses." The blond smirked as he finally made it back to the Bullhead docks that lead back to Beacon.

"Explain."

"Jeez, patient much." Naruto huffed as he quickly moved to get onto a Bullhead that was just about to take off back to the school. Flashing the Pilot his Huntsman ID Ozpin oh so graciously made for him, he took a seat inside and waited for take off.

"It just so happens that people who have their Aura unlocked have a very hard time getting drunk off of normal stuff. Since it is always passively healing them, much like you all do." After a few other students entered the ship it took off, flying quickly back to the school at the top of the cliff overlooking the Kingdom's capital. "So, they made something special just for them that can bypass someone's Aura and actually work like intended."

"...Should I be impressed that a bunch of drunks got together to make something to get them even more drunk, or worried that this was somehow a priority for these people in the first place?"

Naruto sighed with a small grin as he looked out the window to the slowly shrinking city below him. "Like I said, since their natural predator is attracted to negative emotions, people had to find a way to get as much of those out of everyday life as possible. It's why they have so many more holidays than we had back home. They allow basically everything outside of harmful drugs here because it makes people happy and keeps them that way. It's honestly one of the best-if not the best-defences against the Grimm that these people have."

"I guess that makes sense. I do sense very few strong negative emotions coming from that entire city. Which honestly, is quite the accomplishment. Between the disease, poverty, criminal activity, and death that usually comes with cities of this size, they're usually a cesspit of negativity and despair."

"I guess the people of this world grew to be more optimistic. I mean, it was either learn to be happy or die." The blond chuckled as the Bullhead touched down and the Beacon docks. He quickly got off, but did not head towards the school itself. All around the school were various buildings. All ranging between different dorms, apartments, Huntsman based stores, and of course, Bars that catered to exactly what any Huntsman would ever need.

"I never got to try this place out, but I heard it's pretty great…" He mumbled to himself as he stood outside a little hole-in-the-wall bar. No doors and only a couple of tables outside of the bar counter.

The Crow Bar was about to meet an Uzumaki out for a good time.

. . . .

"Naruto."

"No."

"Just hear me out-"

"I said no dammit!"

"He's not cut out for this world, you have to kill him."

"Goddammit Kurama, if you suggest killing this completely wholesome bartender one more time I'm coming into that seal and kicking your ass again!"

Kurama grumbled to himself as he laid down, effectively shut down on his idea to put this poor man out of his misery. The guy was just WAY too pure to live in a world like this. The mustachioed bartender of the Crow Bar had given the blond a large smile as he entered the establishment and proceeded to say one of the purest, most wholesome things the fox had heard in eons.

"By golly! It ain't everyday we get a professor in my little bar! My names Daryl, what can I get for you sir!"

It made the fox want to puke.

"...Just kill him a little...please?"

"HE MUST BE PROTECTED!"

Kurama sighed in disappointment. Why must a creature like this exist? What did he do to deserve this kind of torture?...suddenly the memories of killing hundreds upon thousands of people in the past and causing rampant destruction wherever he went before he was sealed came to mind.

'Damn you karma, why must you be such a bitch!?'

No longer paying attention to the fox's suffering, Naruto returned to his drink with a happy smile. A tall glass of Hunters Bain was just what he needed after the week he just had. Chugging half of the glass down without a second thought, he slammed it back down with a loud sigh of content, a rare smile tugging at his lips as he relaxed in the homey atmosphere the small bar gave.

"Gee Professor, you must be all sorts of stressed if your takin' to your drink this heavily." Daryl said as he started to clean a few glasses. Most of his patronage was done by Huntsman, and since most Huntsman weren't in town for long, his bar was currently empty save for the one armed blond. Naruto gave a heavy sigh before taking another big swig from his drink.

"You have no idea, Daryl."

"Ooh, that sounds like there's a story to that." A new voice called out from behind the blond. Smooth, seductive, and all around feminine. Daryl was the first to see her and instantly turned red as a cherry. Naruto on the other hand stiffened, his nose twitching as he picked up a familiar sent, one that set him on edge immediately.

Blood.

He turned his body around, left side facing the new arrival. She was an obvious beauty, he'd give her that. And she knew it too. Her red, form fitting dress was cut in such a way that it showed just enough of her hip to show the edges of her black spats. Her long legs on full display as she slowly-Deliberately-strutted forwards, her glass heels clicking with each and every step. Though she was trying to get all their attention focused on those legs of hers, Naruto kept his gaze lock on her eyes.

Her amber orbs shined with a sharpness that was hard to find these days. The held a confidence to them that the blond could tell that she wasn't someone to be taken lightly, and by the small, sultry smirk she wore, she knew she'd have just about anyone eating out of the palm of her hand with this little display.

Though, she obviously never met Naruto before. She slid her way up to the bar next to him and took a seat, eyes never leaving his. "So mister Professor, what's got you all twisted up, huh?" She asked, a soft coo to her voice as a hand duly traced a finger down his arm. The blond just gave her a full stare. Really? This was the best she could do. He had to admit, her entrance was spot on, but now she was just laying it on thick.

"I'm sorry, who are you?" He droned out, not at all affected by her attempts at seduction. This had to be amateur hour compared to the things Kunoichi regularly had to do. She was making all kinds of mistakes. Too close right off the bat, eyes intently focused on him and never backing down. If she wanted to play the seductress role here, she'd bat her eyes, play a little harder to get, make him want to get closer to her on his own accord. Not throw herself at him like this.

And it seemed like she expected her attempt to work, if the slightly startled expression she let slip for all of a second before her grin...widened?

"My name's Cinder, you're professor Uzumaki, right? The youngest Professor to be hired at any of the huntsmen academies?"

Though her tone did not change, her body language did so entirely. No longer was she hanging off of him. Instead she leaned back in her chair, slowly crossing her legs and flashing him a predatory smile.

"And if I am?" Naruto responded, the alcohol might be playing tricks on him, but his senses were picking up on a familiar energy coming from her. One not unlike the one in the forest, though weaker. Much weaker. This felt more akin to the dying maiden in the...vault...shit.

"Just put two and two together and got four didn't you, brat?"

"Not now Kurama!" The blond hissed back at the laughing fox. Great. This was just fabulous. He came out here to drink, and loosen up after getting brought into a shadow war with secrets and shit, and now one of those secrets was sitting directly next to him. Fuck.

"Then," the woman, Cinder, answered while completely ignorant to his internal screaming. "I'd like to talk to you in a much more...private, place." she cooed, her hand reaching back out to his arm. The gentle caress was accentuated by the slight heat that radiated from her hand, and by the light that seemed to gleam from her eyes, she was doing it on purpose.

"Play along kitten."

"Matatabi?" Naruto questioned the cat's idea.

"She isn't exuding any pheromones that suggest she's lusting after you."

"Yeah I got that, she's doing a pretty poor job at seduction anyway, pretty cliche with what she's trying…"

"How would you know brat? Been doin' some seducin'" Son decided to chip in.

"I mean, did have to study it for a while to get my Sexy Jutsu down sooo."

As Son and a few of the other Bijuu began to burst into laughter, Matatabi took a deep breath to keep herself from screaming at the blond and her brothers.

"ANYWAY…" she cut in before they got any more off task. "That means she wants something from you other than...well...you."

"Alright, alright. I'll go along with this. Worst case scenario I kill her and Ozpin owes me one."

The blond leaned forward, moving into Cinders personal space as he tilted his head slightly. "Private, huh?" His words came as a soft growl, eyes darkening as he stared at her. Finder leaned back slightly, her eyes widening in surprise by the man's sudden change of demeanor.

"Uh...wha-?"

"Said is play along. Didn't say I wouldn't show her how it's done first." The Jinchuriki thought with a cheeky smirk. Turning his attention back to the half maiden in front of him, he shifted his body to fully face her, the knuckles of his one hand barely grazing her exposed thigh with a feather soft touch as he moved.

"Well I might be interested in something private." He almost purrs out the words, leaning back away from her, though only enough to be just outside of her personal space. "So, Cinder, what did you have in mind." He reached over and took his drink in hand and polished off the rest, eyes never leaving the half maiden.

"...well whaddya know...there's the pheromones…"

. . . .

Ruby Rose was not what you would call a night owl. Some could even say that she was quite the opposite. Usually being dead to the world or passed out asleep by ten at night. But for whatever reason, she found herself not being able to fall asleep and decided to take a walk around Beacon's campus, taking this time to reflect on her first few weeks as a Huntress-in-training.

Besides the rocky start, things seemed to be going well. Weiss was starting to ease back a bit, cooperating more and helping her out when she needed help with any leaderish type stuff.

Blake was still being...Blakey? A mix between aloof and asocial, nothing really bad, but she sometimes gave her the feeling she wasn't happy being around the team. Though, the only reason Ruby didn't really worry about it was for the fact that Blake always tagged along with them, never refusing to hang out and always pitched into the conversation if it was about something she was interested in. Distant, but still friendly.

And to be completely honest, if Yang wasn't around she'd have no idea what to do. She was basically her rock at the moment, keeping her confident enough to be more outgoing than in Signal and actually act somewhat like a leader. Though, she did notice how on edge the blond was lately. The words she had told her about Professor Uzumaki still on her mind.

Speaking of the blond Professor…

Somewhere along the way of her wandering the campus, she found herself near the Bullhead docks, walking on scene that made her stop fully in her tracks. The blond Professor she had just been thinking about was closely following a brunette woman in a red and gold dress. And by the way they were headed, they were going into the city. Well, good for him she guessed?

What? She's fifteen, not five. She had a pretty good idea just what the blond was doing going into the city with a woman. Though...something about her seemed familiar. She could have sworn she'd seen that dress somewhere before. Deciding to get a better look, Ruby quickly moved with her semblance to a place she could see the two of them and remain hidden. Something about the click of the woman's glass heels and golden accents on her dress just screamed something to her, but she just couldn't remember what.

It wasn't until the woman turned in Ruby's direction that it finally clicked just where she'd seen her before. The red dress, gold patterns, glass heels, and slightly glowing golden eyes...it was the woman who was with Torchwick!

But what was she doing with the Professor!? Was she...Was she trying to kidnap him when he wasn't expecting it!? Kill him even!? But what would she want with him? Or better yet, what was she going to do with him!? The little reaper had to find out, so she did the best thing she could think of.

She tailed them onto the bullhead, sticking behind another group of people who were getting on and followed them into the city.

. . . .

"You know you've got a little follower, right?"

"Yeah, I noticed her when she got onto the bullhead, red cloak kinda gives her away pretty easily. Though, I guess Cinder hasn't noticed yet, so that's good." Naruto thought to himself as he subtly glanced over his shoulder to where the little red reaper was hiding. They were walking down a empty street in Vale's warehouse district, a pretty cliche place to hide if you asked the shinobi.

"So…" he started, trying his best to keep Cinder's focus on him so that she wouldn't notice their little follower. "Not that this isn't getting me into the mood or anything, but where exactly are you taking me?"

Cinder looked back over her shoulder and gave the blond a grin, her amber colored eyes glowing slightly. "Trust me, you'll know what you need when you need to know." She said with coyly before facing forwards and stopping in front of one of the several warehouses. "What you need to know is that someone very important wishes to speak with you, so, if you will?" She said as she turned back towards him, the large doors opening as she did so.

"Lot of malice coming from inside there…"

"Yeah...but it doesn't feel like it's pointed at anything in general…"

"Be careful brat. Whatever is in there should't be taken lightly."

"My thoughts exactly…"

. . . .

"Shoot!" Ruby hissed to herself as she watched the professor walk into the warehouse, shortly followed by the woman in red. What were they doing? Why was he following her? What were they talking about!?

Yang was right, there was something really bad going down here and Professor Uzumaki was right in the middle of it. She needed to find out what was going on and report it to someone. Who though? The police probably couldn't handle this, they were hunters after all. Ozpin would be her best choice, but knowing that he had hired the blond made her hesitate to go to him.

Well in either case, she needed to know more. Looking around she saw a fire escape on the side of the building. She took a deep breath and readied herself. Concentrating as hard as she could, she took a small running start before blasting into the air in a burst of rose petals. Coming to a stop in mid air, she flailed her arms, trying to grab onto the railing of the fire escape. Luckily enough, she was able to latch onto the side rail with little to no noise. Pulling herself up she gave a sigh of relief and began to scale her way to the top.

Coming to a door near the roof, she gave the latch a try, and thankfully, it was unlocked. She opened the door as quietly as she could, only enough so she could slip in and closed it behind her.

Looking around she noticed she was on some sort of catwalk looking over the center of the warehouse. Most of the lights were off, save for on in the middle of the building. The light from it illuminating a small portion of the building, but just enough to show her the blond Professor, and a...Grimm!?

"My, oh my…you are much more than I first thought."

AND IT TALKS!? 'Deep breaths Ruby, deep breaths. Gotta keep a clear head of you're gonna blow your cover…' She schooled herself as best she and pulled out her scroll. 'I gotta get this…'

Aaaaaand record.

. . . .

'This, is NOT what I expected out of my day today…'

"Are they not supposed to talk?"

"It is incredibly rude to ignore me, child."

Naruto shook himself out of his stupor and took a better look at the creature before him. It was an odd, jellyfish like Grimm with what looked like a crystal ball for a head. And within the crystal ball was the visage of a woman, her hair white as snow, skin matching it in color. Dark veins running up the sides of her face and her eyes an eire red. He would have said she had quite the beautiful look, were it not for the fact that she was so reminiscent of a grimm.

"Erhm," he cleared his throat before taking a small breath and readjusted himself. "Sorry, just uh...Didn't expect to be talking to someone through a grimm is all. Caught me off guard." The woman-grimm-thing hummed in amusement for a moment before a small, calculating smirk curved its way on her lips.

"I suppose for those who haven't experienced this before it would come as a shock." She said, a hand coming to her cheek as she rested her head to the side. "Though, I suppose introductions are in order, Naruto Uzumaki. I have gained numerous names throughout my eons of existence on this world. Dark one, Goddess of the Night, Queen of Beasts, Grimmlord. Though, very few have ever truly learned my name. For someone like you though, I will gladly tell you my true name. I am Salem, overseer of this wretched world and the...mother, I guess you could say, of the grimm."

"..."

Naruto just stared at the woman, a dull look in his eyes. The silence carried for a beat, the two, and then three. It became awkward, and irritating. Cinder stepped forwards, a frown on her face as she moved to snap the blond back to reality before stopping as the man released a long, irritated sigh. His blue eyes shifted from the Grimm and over to her.

"You got anything to drink here? Cuz gods I need it now more than earlier." The two just looked at him with varying emotions. Cinder was in silent shock. The man seemed so...so...apathetic, towards meeting a being of such power, such prominence and mystery!? A secret to the world, someone that controls the very monsters that have nearly hunted mankind to extinction and control over 90% of the planet, yet he just acts like he just got told he need to work a second shift for the day at work!

Salem however, had a small frown on her face, though a hint of amusement in her eyes. "You know, it's awfully rude to ignore a woman who just introduced herself."

Cinder's head whipped from the blond to her master so fast that she was thankful to have aura or she would of had some form of whiplash. Was that, amusement in her voice? Was she amused that the man before then was actively insulting her by being so nonchalant about her existence!?

The blond however, just shrugged. "To be completely honest your...majesty?" A nod from the Grimm like woman allowed him to continue. "To be honest your majesty, this isn't the strangest thing I've today. Honestly it's just another thing to pile up on this already long day."

The Queen nodded in understanding before the Grimm she was being projected by turned so she could see Cinder. "Cinder dear, please fetch our guest something to soothe his nerves. He seems to be rightfully in need of a drink."

Cinder just tried to keep her jaw from dropping as she almost robotically turned and walked off into the dark warehouse and out of sight.

Naruto looked at the queen of all Grimm with a sceptical eye. "You know, you're being a lot more accommodating than I thought you would be…"

The chuckle Salem let out was small, light, and all around mirthful if Naruto had to pin it down. He himself felt no malice from the woman, which was odd to him.

"Isn't it common courtesy to be hospitable to those you're discussing a potential deal with?" The Queen asked as Cinder reappeared, a glass of what looked to be wine in her hand. She handed it to the blond, making sure to stay just far enough away that Naruto had to lean slightly to reach the glass.

He took it and smelled it, searching for any poisons to evidence of tampering. Finding none, he took a sip. It was a pleasant brand, he wasn't much on wine, preferring harder liquor, but this would do.

"A deal you say?" He asked between a few sips. His attention now fully on the Grimm in front of him.

"Yes, I would like to make you an offer so that neither of us...step on each others toes, per say." The Queen waited for but a breath before continuing. "I know you've been searching for a particular bandit tribe for some time now. You assist me in my goals, and I will make finding that tribe as easy as wiping them out would be for you."

Naruto stared at the grimm for a long moment, several thoughts coming to mind as he mulled over her statement. Such thoughts like how in the world could she know he was looking for a bandit tribe, and just what she could even need from him. The Grimm owned over ninety percent of the planet, what could he possibly offer to her that she doesn't already have? So, the answer was obvious to the blond.

"No deal."

. . . .

(A/N): To be continued…

Heyoooo, happy late spooktober everybody! Hope everyone had a happy Halloween! I certainly did. (I was DM for over 20 people for D&D….I just about went insane.)

Anyway! Hope everyone liked this chapter, a little rushed there at the end, but I've already started the next one and wanted a way to just jump into the next chapter and not have to have you guys wait so that I could get the entire scene in one go.

Thank you to "Hennesy Emil" over on ! You are the Fettiest lil Fett out there! I salute ya!

Remember to REVIEW and if you feel like being AMAZING, help me out on at P atreon dot com slash Bulbanation.

And like always, I'll see ya next time!