Full Metal Huntsman

Hey everyone! I've been wanting to write a Naruto/Rwby crossover for a long time, and bounced around ideas, but I think this one is definitely my favorites. I also have another idea I may try and get going when this one gets a little farther in, or I get more time. I do hope you enjoy!

XxxX

Chapter 1: Full Metal

"I believe I may have… miscalculated."

An awkward silence fell upon the spacious garage. The only sound heard being a soft hum of overworked servers powering advanced computers, and a radio playing the rhythm of a soft melody.

"You know… for a genius, you're pretty stupid."

Shikamaru, the original speaker, let out a breath of annoyance as he leaned back in the wheelchair he currently sat upon. Placing his hands behind his head, he closed his eyes, imagining the clouds he could be watching right now. Reaching to the desk on his left, he grabbed a pack of cigarettes, patting the box to release one as he popped it into his mouth.

The former speaker gave Shikamaru an incredulous look, seeing how mellow the other teen was about the situation. Naruto, to further get his point across, held up his bionic arm which was blown completely off from the elbow up. "Do you see what you did to my arm?"

"Yeah, I noticed that when you shoved it in my face and screamed. Troublesome..." Shikamaru patted his pockets for a couple seconds, before cursing as his desired item was missing. With the cigarette still in his mouth, he turned back to Naruto. "More importantly, do you have a light?"

Naruto, being the ever rebellious soul that he was, pointed his destroyed bionic arm toward Shikamaru. A revolver placed in the elbow socket spun sporadically, before falling on what seemed to be a red dust crystal. "Yeah, lemme get that for you." Naruto aimed his arm toward Shikamaru before a burst of fire shot from the stub, igniting Shikamaru's cigarette, as well as his face.

A moment passed as the smoke cleared from Shikamaru's face, showing the boy's singed eyebrows and slightly charred visage. Shikamaru coughed once, expelling his now destroyed cigarette from his mouth. "Was that really necessary?"

Naruto, at this point, could not hear Shikamaru's irritated protests as he was too busy rolling on the floor of the garage, laughing his heart out. "You should see your face! I thought that only happened in bad cartoons!"

Shikamaru, obviously, did not look as amused as Naruto. Grabbing the wheels of his chair, he rolled over to a computer, the monitors coming to life as he pressed down on the power button. In seconds, multiple programs were opened on the dual monitor setup. Shikamaru's fingers were a blur as he typed in some adjustments. Tapping the enter key, the program was sent to a circular device set on the same desk, projecting a hologram for a replacement arm just inches above.

The prodigal tech designer grabbed the hologram, spinning it different directions as he checked out his schematics, humming softly as he thought on how to improve the base model. "I'll be in here making some calibrations for a while. You're lucky your little stunt there gave me an idea for an upgrade. There's a spare arm in the cabinet on the wall," the teen pointed over to his right, where indeed a simple cabinet sat full of bionic arm replacements. "Why don't you go cool yourself off in Vale? I'm sure some of the clubs should be opening by now."

Naruto stared at Shikamaru's back for a moment, one eyebrow raised. "Was that… a pun, Shikamaru?"

Shikamaru looked over his shoulder at Naruto quickly, before returning to his work. "It might have been."

The prodigy heard Naruto's footsteps as he made his way to the cabinet, the creaking of the metal hinges signifying it being opened. "You really should stick to your day job, buddy."

"Unfortunately for me, my day job is dealing with you."

Naruto let a smirk trace his lips, discarding his old busted arm for a shiny new one he just pulled from it's case. Clicking it into the shoulder piece, he placed both hands behind his head before making his way to the door. "I know you love every second of it."

Shikamaru didn't respond, listening to Naruto opening and closing the door. It wasn't until Naruto was gone that he allowed a small smile to split his face.

XxxX

Naruto was a young man of just eighteen. Despite his young age, many could see that the boy carried himself like a seasoned warrior. It wasn't such a strange sight in these times, many young people stepping up to become huntsman, soldiers and officers of Remnant. With the ever increasing threat of the Grimm, and Remnant's criminal underground, it was almost essential that a mass supply of those capable of self defense were taught at young ages.

Naruto's current dream was just that. To join Beacon Academy, and become a Huntsman. Not just any Huntsman, the best to ever live. Believe it.

There was just a slight issue with that. Naruto was crippled from birth. Starting at a very young age, Naruto refused to allow his disability to slow him down, training twice, even three times as hard as any of his peers. He was unable to join any academy with his situation, but that didn't stop him from finding those willing to teach. Going through many masters, his late father's student, and former master, as well as some traveling huntsman, Naruto had quite the repertoire under his belt, knowing many forms of hand to hand and weapons styles.

With his combat abilities sorted, there was but one issue he had to take care of. That issue brought him to Vale, where it was rumored a prodigy in the way of technology design was stationed. That's when he met Shikamaru, whom he could now call his closest friend. The boy had his faults, for sure, mainly his chronic laziness, but he was a wiz with anything mechanical and digital. Naruto stepped into his shop one day asking for a prosthetic to be made to replace his missing arm, something Atlas had only just started on.

The boy was able to deliver a rough draft in about a month, and just another month after that, a finished product. Obviously by the state of Naruto's last arm, they weren't yet perfect. But they were damn near close. Naruto had never seen such craftsmanship in his travels.

He didn't know much of Shikamaru's background, why he was paralyzed from the waist down, what brought him into the trade in the first place, or why he had so readily agreed to help Naruto, but deep down he believed that Shikamaru had a strong sense for justice. It was he who had suggested Naruto test out his new arm cleaning the streets of Vale.

Months later bring us to present day. Naruto had grown some since he first arrived in Vale, now standing at a solid six feet. Tall, for his age. He was well fit, years of hard training shaping his body nicely, his face chiseled and rough, giving him a wild appearance. It was quite the sight for many of the opposite sex, though Naruto had never noticed the stares.

Adorning his upper body was a burnt orange hoodie, well padded for extra protection should his aura run out. Over that was a white blazer, adorned with light blue shoulder patches and orange accents. His hood fell over the sharp collar of his blazer. The sleeves of his hoodie were rolled up over his blazer's sleeves, pulled back to his elbows, revealing his robotic right arm and the dust revolver in the elbow joint. To finish off his outfit was a pair of simple black pants and running shoes, for quicker movements. Naruto was somewhat of a tank, but he found his styles revolved more around his speed than his power.

The heels of his shoes clicked against the cement sidewalk he was currently walking. Hands in his pockets, he looked quite bored and desperately in need of a henchmen or two to punch. Not one to brag… too much, but ever since he and Shikamaru had started working together, much of Vale's crime began to slow down. They had made a name for themselves in the past months, Naruto now being known as something of a vigilante in the eyes of Vale's populace. The only major thing happening right now were the dust store robberies they kept hearing of.

Shikamaru was currently investigating the robberies on his own time, his talents far extending mechanical engineering. However, with his lack of experience, he wasn't able to find much. Each time they got close to a lead, Naruto was always one step behind.

The man behind the robberies, Roman Torchwick, was quite the smooth criminal. Naruto knew someone like Torchwick was way out of his league. But he wasn't ever one to back down from a challenge. Come hell or high water, Naruto would track the man down and make him answer for many of the things he had done.

Aside from it's active crime network, Naruto greatly enjoyed his time in Vale. He was definitely a people person, and preferred large cities with high populations. He was originally from Mistral, and while the city was large, it couldn't hold a candle to the beacon of Remnant, Vale. The longing for his homeland still panged at his heart, but the void was filled with the hustle and bustle of the city. It's nightlife was something he took advantage of. Even now, walking through Vale, he could hear the pounding music of Vale's numerous clubs and bars, a common sound on the weekends.

A smile split Naruto's face as he stepped to the beat of the music. Vale was lively, safer, and he could thank himself and Shikamaru for making that happen. It was a good feeling.

"Naruto."

Naruto placed his hand on the earpiece connected under his hood, a mischievous look adoring his face as he heard the voice of his friend. "Shikamaru, I didn't expect to hear from you this soon. You miss me that much?" He teased lightly.

"Would you shut up for two seconds?" Was Shikamaru's irritated reply, the exasperation in his voice evident. Naruto did so, also detecting a hint of seriousness in his tone. "Roman's been sighted nearby. Just now."

Naruto instantly switched to his professional mode, completely stopping in his tracks. His eyes narrowed, looking much like that of a predator, sure to strike fear in those that stood in his way. "Where?"

"Dust shop, south side of town, place called 'From Dust Till Dawn'. Reports of a fight breaking out. Someone is holding him back. This is your chance, Naruto!"

Naruto popped open his scroll as directions to this dust shop appeared on the screen, sent from Shikamaru. He reached up, grabbing onto a midnight blue undershirt beneath his hoodie, stretching the neck up over his nose to hide his face. "He's not getting away this time."

Naruto spun on his heel in the direction of the shop, taking off at high speeds down a nearby alleyway. He wove through the narrow space, hopping over a dumpster and the homeless man leaning on the other side.

"Watch it!" the man called out as he ducked Naruto's legs.

"Sorry, old man!" Naruto called out with a grin, holding up his hand in a wave. He turned the corner out of the alley, the main street with the shop in view at the very end at a cross section. He stopped, seeing a man dressed nicely in a black and red tux being launched through the large front window, followed by a young girl a few years behind him in a red cape.

Instantly, the girl was surrounded by Roman and his creeps. To her credit, she seemed quite unfazed as she pulled out her weapon of choice, a large scythe that was kept at her back. Naruto whistled as he admired the craftsmanship of the weapon. Nothing like Shikamaru could make, but it sure was pretty.

The young teen girl stared down the hardened criminal without fear, something Naruto definitely respected. She must have been a huntsman in training, judging by her weapon and how she held herself. Not wanting to be late to the party, Naruto charged forward, making good time.

None of the combatants noticed his approach as they were too busy with each other, allowing Naruto the element of surprise. Hopping up onto a car and into the fire escape of a nearby building, Naruto made his grand entrance.

He stepped up onto the railing of the fire escape, jumping off in a mad dash toward Roman. As he neared, Roman finally noticed him, with just enough time to bring his cane up to block Naruto's harsh roundhouse that would have been dead center on his nose. The kick was enough to send Roman back a couple feet, sliding against the asphalt.

Roman glared at the newcomer, quite irritated that he was stopped by not one, but two troublesome kids. This was the last time he borrowed any of Junior's useless men.

Naruto landed where Roman was previously standing in a crouch, his metal hand pressed against the ground to hold his balance. He stood back up, eyes staring right back at Roman defiantly. He had waited a long time for this moment. He'd even had a line prepared just for this specific criminal, because he was just that awesome. "I'm about to put you out, Roman Torchwi-"

Unfortunately for Naruto, his short moment of glory was interrupted by the shrilly voice behind him, belonging to the girl he was attempting to help. "Oh. My. Oum."

"Huh?" Came Naruto's intelligent reply, grunting lightly and staggering as he felt a weight bump up against him, falling onto his metallic right arm. He brought his arm up to see the very same girl holding on to his arm with stars in her eyes. Her short stature with his height allowed her feet to dangle beneath her. "What are you doing?" He asked her.

"You're Full Metal!" She called out a little too loud, Naruto wincing as she was right next to his ear. "The famous vigilante of Vale! Your arm is so cool! Aah!" She called out like she had just seen her favorite celebrity.

While flattered that he actually had fans; aside from the Vale Police Department; Naruto was slightly annoyed from the affection do to the current situation. His nose scrunched together as he eyeballed the younger teen, attempting to shake her off of his arm. He kept one eye on Torchwick to make sure he didn't try and run. "That's great Red, but we're a little busy right now."

She was relentless. "Can I get your autograph?" Her mouth open wide, edges of her lips peaked in a massive grin.

There was a slight pause from the masses, broken finally by Torchwick clearing his throat. Naruto and the hooded girl both looked over to him, hands on his hips, the most miffed look you could imagine marring his face. "Are you two about done?" He called out.

The girl dropped from Naruto's arm, face flushed as red as her hood. "S… sorry." Her voice grew soft and small, clearly distraught from her sudden outburst.

Naruto turned fully back to Torchwick, but not before he plopped his metal arm down onto the girls head. "I'll sign whatever you want after we kick ass, okay Red?" The girl perked up at this, her previous embarrassment gone completely. She nodded vigorously to his question. "Can you handle those guys?" He asked, nodding over to Junior's henchmen.

Little Red spun her massive scythe, dropping into her supposed combat stance. She grinned, hair slightly covering her face, in an attempt to look cool in front of one of her heroes. "Leave it to me!" She exclaimed happily.

Naruto smiled, eyes still fixated on Torchwick. He was starting to like this girl. She had spunk, and he could definitely respect that. A lot like he was when he was younger. "I'm ready when you are, Torch."

As 'Red' took off to fight the group of thugs, clearly over qualifying them by leagues. Torchwick readied his cane in reply. Upon Naruto finishing his sentence, he pointed the cane toward Naruto, a compartment opening up in the end with a scope to follow. "Good, die." Torchwick taunted, a flare firing out toward Naruto at high speeds.

Thinking quickly, Naruto brought his metallic arm up. The revolver in his elbow spun until it landed on a very light, almost white shade of blue. Bringing his hand out in a sharp backhand, ice began to expel from exhaust ports on the back of his hand. Smacking the projectile, it froze near instantly, flying off away from him and shattering against the ground. Naruto instantly took off in a sprint afterwards, heading straight for Roman.

Reaching Roman, Naruto balled his metal hand into a fist and launched it. Roman was quite skilled with his cane. Wielding it like an experienced swordsman, he was able to bring the butt end up to block Naruto's initial attack. Falling into pace, they both began exchanging blows, Naruto stepping between various forms of hand to hand combat to try and catch Roman off guard, however the criminal always seemed to block at the last second, putting them into a standstill.

"You know, you've been a real thorn in my side Tin Can. Taking out my boys, stopping my dust shipments… I expected a seasoned Huntsman, not some punk kid." Roman spoke between blows.

Naruto ducked under another swipe from Roman's cane, clicking his tongue in annoyance. He was getting pretty tired of this back and forth. Being an impatient person, he wanted to finish this quickly and put his biggest adversary behind bars already. Seeing an opportunity, instead of standing back up straight as would be expected, he kicked off with his right foot, charging headfirst into Roman's stomach like a bull.

Roman was clearly caught off guard, taking the attack full force, coughing as the wind left his lungs, knocking the cigar from his mouth. Naruto then swung his head up, colliding the top of his head with Roman's chin. Roman grit his teeth, head swinging back abruptly as a sharp crack from his jawline was heard. Staggering back, Roman wasn't able to stop Naruto from grabbing onto the wrist that held his weapon.

Naruto twisted and yanked, forcing Roman to drop his cane. Roman let out a yelp of pain as he did so, feeling his wrist seize up from the pressure. Naruto pivoted on his heel, using the strength from his metal arm to pull Roman along with him. Swinging around in a full circle, Naruto threw Roman at full momentum against a parked car, upside down. Roman crashed into the car, denting the side in completely, his body now resting in the dent. He let out a groan of pain, knowing full well his back was going to feel that tomorrow.

Roman opened his eyes in time to see Naruto's boot right in his face. Rolling off the car quickly, he dodged Naruto's stomp, scrambling for his cane. Just in time, as Naruto's boot went crashing further into the car, completely destroying the driver side door.

Rolling a good distance away, picking up his cane as he passed by, Roman stood quite a few feet from the two people who ruined his day. Seeing his henchmen passed out on the ground, beaten by a little girl, he twitched angrily. "You were worth every cent, truly."

The hooded girl stood by Naruto's side, now free to help him with Roman. Naruto placed his hands on the back of his head, clear that he was grinning by the crease in his mask. "End of the road, Roman. Give up like a good little boy so I don't have to pummel you some more."

Roman shrugged his shoulders, taking on a lighter attitude now. "It really has been a blast you two, but I'm afraid I have to cut the party short. I will be seeing you again, I'm sure." He pointed his cane toward Little Red, firing off another, stronger projectile this time. Naruto grit his teeth as he saw the girl freeze slightly, not able to think fast enough to dodge the flare. He grabbed her shoulder and pushed her out of the way, covering himself as the flare hit right next to him, exploding and destroying part of the road.

The girl pulled herself back off of the ground, thankful that Naruto pushed her out of the way in time. They both looked back to where Roman was, only to see him making his escape up a ladder on the side of a building. "Dammit!" Naruto yelled angrily, chasing after Roman immediately.

The girl turned toward the shopkeeper that Roman was originally robbing. He was standing in the doorway of his shop, watching the fight unfold. "You okay if we go after him?" She asked the old man. As he nodded, she took off behind Naruto. While he was making his way up the ladder, she used the rifle in her scythe to propel herself upwards, passing by him and landing right behind Roman.

"Hey!" She called out to Roman, Naruto catching up and stopping beside her.

Roman stopped at the edge of the building, his back facing them. "Persistent." He called out in irritation. Just then, a bullhead came into view from behind the building. Roman jumped into the bullhead, climbing up through the open side door. He turned around inside the bullhead, holding up a red dust crystal. "End of the line, Red! Tin Can!" He called out, tossing the dust crystal out at their feet.

He fired his cane out toward the crystal, fully intended on blowing the both of them up. "Shit!" Naruto called as he grabbed onto the girl's hood, ready to jump away and pull her with him. He didn't have to however, as another player entered the battlefield. An older blonde woman jumped in front of the two, using some kind of semblance to block the attack.

From the look on the girl's face, she was quite excited they were just rescued by a true Huntress.

Roman hadn't seen the woman obviously, cheering out in victory as the crystal exploded. He let out a noise of question however when he noticed the two young fighters fully intact, guarded by a new woman. This day just kept getting better. Now he had a Huntress on him.

The woman waved the wand she held in her hand, purple projectiles twisting and turning in the air until they collided with the bullhead, knocking it off balance. Roman stumbled with the bullhead, before making his way to the cockpit, where his accomplice was currently flying. "We have a Huntress!" He called out. The woman stood from her seat, allowing Roman to take the wheel, before making her way out to the open door.

He heels clicked against the bullhead's floor, standing out in the doorway to face this Huntress. Both engaged each other in an impressive display of magical abilities, things Naruto never knew were even possible.

The fight only served to make him nervous. Something big was definitely coming to Vale if Roman had this kind of firepower under his belt. Though from the look of things, this woman was a step above Roman. Or a few steps. She must have been the one calling the shots, ordering the increase in dust robberies. If she was behind all of this… That meant disaster for all of Remnant, not just Vale.

Naruto shook his head. He didn't want to think of this anymore. It looked like the fight was coming to a close anyway. Naruto looked down under him as a row of red circles appeared at their feet. He cursed for what felt like the umpteenth time that day, seeing what kind of havoc these circles caused earlier. The Huntress pulled the hooded girl out of the way with her semblance, while she jumped forward to dodge them. Naruto flipped backwards, cartwheeling away from danger. The circles exploded in a pillar of flames, destroying part of the roof.

Naruto growled in anger as it looked like the two were trying to use that distraction to make their get away, the bay doors on the bullhead closing. Dead sprint toward the edge of the building, Naruto yelled out in frustration. "You aren't getting away, Torchwick!" The hooded girl and the Huntress watched in puzzlement as the revolver on Naruto's elbow spun yet again, this time landing on a blue dust crystal.

Naruto flung his right arm forward as a burst of air shot from his wrist. His hand detached from the arm, flying at great speeds toward the aircraft, held to the arm by a metal rope and pulley system. His hand grabbed onto the edge of the wing, and as the bullhead attempted to lift off, the rope pulled tight, stopping it in place. Naruto dragged across the roof a ways, before he found footing on the lip of the building. He tugged, grabbing his arm with his left hand, holding the bullhead back. The aircraft screeched in protest, bending at the connected point.

Naruto yelled out in slight pain as the force pulled at his connected joint at the shoulder. His arm groaned under the force, but to his credit, he had stopped and was currently holding the bullhead in place. He was able to take one step back, actually pulling the bullhead along with him. He roared in triumph, trying to pull the bullhead farther as he took more steps backwards.

The stars in the hooded girl's eyes returned as she watched Naruto's arm in action, having a thing for weaponry. She always thought his arm, along with the dust revolver was a genius idea, but she never expected it to be capable of something like this, not to mention the strength it took for Naruto to pull the bullhead back with him. Her reverence in Full Metal came back full force. "That's so cool!" She yelled out in excitement.

"Naruto! What are you doing?" A concerned voice shouted through the earpiece in Naruto's ear.

Naruto clenched his eyes shut, drowning out Shikamaru's voice as he tried to focus on his current situation. The bullhead he was attached to pulled back as Roman tried to steer away from Naruto. Grinding gears could be heard from inside of Naruto's arm. A trail of smoke began to seep up from his open wrist, growing thicker and thicker, like a chimney. Naruto almost fell into a coughing fit as the smoke reached his lungs.

"That doesn't look good..." The Huntress voiced her dread, standing ready to remove the hooded girl should anything happen.

Little Red held her hand up to her mouth, eyes wide in concern as she too worried for Naruto's current state. As strong as he seemed to be, it didn't look like his arm could hold out much longer.

"You're putting too much force on your arm! You could blow it any second!" Came Shikamaru's warning, voicing the other two's concerns. Naruto was forced to respond this time, unable to ignore Shikamaru's pestering anymore.

"I don't care! He is not getting away again!" Naruto shouted out loud, the other two occupants of the roof confused as they didn't quite know who he was talking to. Giving one last roar, Naruto tugged hard on the bullhead, pulling it back with him several feet, almost back into the building. That was his mistake however, as the pull created slack in the line, allowing Torchwick to tug back. Bumping up the thrusters, Torchwick gunned it away from Naruto and the building. As soon as the rope pulled tight once again, the gears in Naruto's arms shattered, his arm exploding at the elbow. Naruto was luckily able to cover his face with his other arm as some of his dust crystals ignited.

He did however receive slight burns on the back of his arm, and was launched backwards. He was caught by the Huntress, set down gently in a glyph. Laying against the glyph, sat on the roof, Naruto watched as Torchwick once again escaped him. Slamming his fist against the roof, he let out an aggravated cry of defeat.

This definitely made the list on his top ten worst days ever.

XxxX

"So, Mr… Full Metal, was it?"

Sitting across from Naruto was one of the strangest men he'd ever seen. As the man entered the room; here in the Vale Police Department; he'd introduced himself as Professor Ozpin, headmaster of Beacon Academy.

Anyone who was anyone knew the name Ozpin, though never once did Naruto picture this guy to be the famous Headmaster. "You can use my full name, I know you know it." Naruto drawled out lazily, leaning back in his uncomfortable chair, feet set up on the table between them.

The Huntress from before was in the room with them, standing in the corner, looking quite miffed at his lackadaisical attitude. Not that Naruto cared, it was just how he was, take it or leave it.

"Mr. Uzumaki, you have been running rampant across the streets of Vale, doing whatever you please, being an illegal vigilante. In fact, you yourself have become a criminal by the very act of fighting crime. These actions are reckless and immature. What do you have to say for yourself in defense?" Speak of the devil, it seems she couldn't sit and hold her tongue any longer.

Naruto, mask and hood now down, gave her a large toothy grin as he craned his neck to the side to look at her. He hummed as he pretended to think on his answer, "Hmm… how about, you're welcome?"

The Huntress, introduced by Ozpin earlier as Glynda Goodwitch, grew red in the face. She stamped her heel down against the floor, "Mr. Uzumaki!" She seemed like she was going to continue on, however she was stopped abruptly by Ozpin. He held a hand up to her, still taking a sip from his coffee. "Sir?"

Placing his mug down, Ozpin leaned forward, eyes never leaving Naruto's. Naruto couldn't place it, but something was seriously off about this guy. Whether it was the way he looked at you, or how he held himself like he was centuries old, something was different about him. Not bad, just different. If anything, Naruto decided he'd keep his guard up around good old Ozpin.

The Headmaster looped his hands together in front of his face, seeming to almost study Naruto like a book. "Mr. Uzumaki, while I don't agree with the severity of the crimes placed upon you… it is still a matter of concern." He grabbed a paper kept nearby, sliding it across the table to Naruto. Naruto picked it up, seeing a wanted poster with his name and picture on the front, in full costume. "Assault, damage to property, unauthorized vigilantism, and theft. Those are serious charges."

"Wait, theft?" Naruto called out in surprise, dropping his feet from the table and letting his chair fall to all four legs. He brought the poster closer to his face, reading the charges placed at the bottom. Just there, at the end, was indeed a charge for theft. "I've never stolen anything in my life!" Naruto looked back up at Ozpin, a confused look on his face. "Let alone be caught doing it."

Ozpin chuckled slightly, his lips twitching in the most he could muster of a smile. "Perhaps someone played a prank on you?"

There was an awkward silence for a moment, Naruto looking between Ozpin and the poster. Finally accepting what it said, Naruto tossed the paper over his shoulder, shrugging away the problem. "Eh, whatever. I'm facing jail time either way." Naruto crossed his arms in front of him, tilting his head back to appear intimidating to the two. The image was ruined however when Naruto brought his good hand up to pick his nose, finding purchase and flicking it across the room. Ozpin was unfazed, however, Glynda seemed disgusted by the act. Prude. "So, what, you two gonna have me arrested or something? No offense Oz, but you don't seem like someone who really… follows the rules yourself."

Ozpin laughed a little harder than earlier, finding this boy as amusing as he thought he would. "You've caught me, Mr. Uzumaki. To a T, in fact. Actually, I find myself in need of skilled people such as yourself."

Inside, Naruto was screaming and jumping for joy. This is it, the moment he was waiting for his whole life. There was only one way this conversation could go from here. He was Beacon Academy bound. Those long, hard years of intense training was finally going to pay off. He was finally… finally going to make his family proud.

Outside, Naruto kept his composure, though it didn't fool Ozpin's keen eyes, his glasses shining as he shifted his view. "Is that so?" Naruto asked, trying his best not to give way to his excitement.

Ozpin nodded his head affirmative, "I am. In fact, I have an offer that extends to the both of you."

Naruto tilted his head, slightly confused by Ozpin's statement. "The both of us?" Ozpin tapped his ear two times, giving Naruto a hint as to what he meant. Naruto's eyes widened slightly as he realized, bringing his hand up to his ear out of habit. The earpiece had been taken by the police when he was brought in with the hooded girl for questioning. "You want to hire Shikamaru as well?"

Ozpin took another sip from his mug. "That is correct. I'd like to hire Shikamaru, should he accept, and bring yourself on as one of my students. I'll be frank, Beacon is sorely lacking in the technology department. We don't have near the resources to allocate that Atlas has. Our technological needs have mostly been handled by one of my trusted Professors, Dr. Oobleck. However, it is not his area of expertise, and I believe he will find young Shikamaru a welcome help."

Naruto nodded as he went over the information. Shikamaru was always talking about expanding his horizons, he'd probably be pretty excited about the job opportunity, not that he ever showed his excitement. "What about me? Not to look a gift horse in the mouth, Oz, but I know I'm a year ahead of the new students joining Beacon. Would I be joining a year late?"

"Yes, and no. You'll be joining a year late, however it won't be with the new students." Ozpin answered solemnly. "You see, our job as Huntsmen, even those still in training, is quite dangerous unfortunately. A tragedy has fallen us recently, as one of our second year teams lost a member. You'll be joining to replace that member. This also means you will not be required to take any initiation test that the new students will be taking." Glynda looked as if she was going to protest, but was stopped as Ozpin continued talking. "Your work around Vale has more than proven you're ready for this position. Will you accept this offer?"

Naruto scratched his chin in consideration, as if he even had to think it over. It was a yes as soon as he entered this room. A grin stretched across his entire face, the largest smile he's had in a long time. "How could I say no?"

"Excellent." Ozpin regarded, a smile reaching his face as well, happy that his plan went exactly as he thought. Sliding another, smaller strip of paper to Naruto, he stood up from his chair, getting ready to speak with a certain silver eyed girl. Naruto grabbed the paper, looking it over as Ozpin and Glynda walked past him out of the room. "Have Shikamaru call me at this number should he accept my offer as well."

Ozpin opened the door to let Glynda out, turning to Naruto before he exited himself.

"I look forward to seeing you at school, Full Metal Huntsman."

As the doors closed, Naruto gripped the paper tight and nearly cheered out in victory.

Full Metal Huntsman. He definitely liked the sound of that.

XxxX

"Where have you been? I lost all contact with you after the fight on the roof." Shikamaru had greeted Naruto, as he entered the doors to their garage.

Naruto placed his blazer up on the hook by the door, walking past Shikamaru to the fridge they kept stocked in the corner. "Geez Shikamaru, what are you, my clingy girlfriend?" Grabbing a soda from the fridge, Naruto popped the tab before downing it immediately, still quite parched from his earlier fight. He let out a sigh of content, pulling the now empty can of soda from his lips. Looking over at Shikamaru, he could tell the teen prodigy was not pleased with his remark.

Grinning, Naruto waved him off slightly. "Don't worry. They took me in for questioning and took my headpiece, but nothing bad happened." Grabbing a rolling chair, Naruto sat down and moved over next to Shikamaru, leaning back and finally relaxing the long day away. The events were still playing over and over in his head. He still couldn't believe it. "In fact, some pretty good things happened today."

Shikamaru had gone back to typing on the computer in front of him, one ear open to listen to Naruto. "Hm? What would that be? Last I remember, Torchwick got away..." Shikamaru stated, seeing Naruto twitch slightly out of the corner of his eye. "Again." He added. Another twitch.

"I met Professor Ozpin."

That, got Shikamaru's attention back. He rolled his chair to face Naruto again. "Wait, as in Ozpin, Headmaster of Beacon Academy? That Ozpin?"

"Yup." Naruto said happily, straining the 'p' slightly. Grabbing the sheet Ozpin had handed him earlier, he chucked it, letting it float down into Shikamaru's hand. "He asked me to become a student at Beacon. I'll be joining one of the second year teams, actually. Said I was really impressive and super cool and he really wanted me to be a student there. Couldn't think of anyone better. Obviously."

Shikamaru merely hummed in response to Naruto's dragging on, used to the teen's boasting. "Anything else?" He asked, studying the paper with nothing but a number written on it.

"Oh, and he wants to hire you. To work in the technology department or something? I wasn't really paying attention to that part."

Shikamaru was silent for a moment, studying the paper intently. This… was a once in a lifetime chance. To be asked personally by such a prestigious Headmaster to join as a faculty member? How could he not accept. "Thank you." Shikamaru replied after a while, not really speaking to Naruto. "And could you please stop blowing up my arms? That'd be fantastic. They aren't cheap you know."

Naruto sat up straight in his chair, giving Shikamaru a dangerous glare. "Hold up… your arms? Last I checked they were attached to my body. That makes them my arms."

Shikamaru cleared his throat, pointing to the inner bicep of Naruto's still destroyed metal arm, bringing attention to an embossing on the metal. There, in plain font, it read 'Property of Shikamaru Watts'.

Naruto's wild blond locks fell over his face, shadowing his eyes, as his body welled in anger.

"You little son of a… wait a second."

Naruto looked back up, clearing the hair from his eyes, as he realized something. A triumphant smirk broke his rage. "You knew I was wanted, right? Why would you put your full name on my arm. If they caught me, that'd bring the police right to you. Not very genius of you, is it?" Naruto felt pride as he finally caught his friend in doing something stupid for once. This time, it wasn't going to be him.

Shikamaru however seemed unfazed as he turned his wheelchair back around to his computer, replying simply. "Oh, I reported it stolen. That way, if they ever did catch you, they'd bring it back to me. Like I said, they're expensive."

Naruto's world came crashing down around him once again. Of course, Shikamaru was still one step ahead of him. Always. The rage came back twice as hard. "Wait, so that theft charge was your fault?!" Naruto shouted, standing up from his chair as it slid back from the sudden jump. Naruto clenched his fists, shaking slightly in frustration. Shikamaru may be his best friend, but there were times he wanted to strangle the guy. "Have I ever mentioned how much I hate you?"

Shikamaru smirked in response, looking over his shoulder at the one person in the entirety of Remnant he could call his best friend, his eyes showing his mirth. He had pranked the prankster.

"Have I ever told you the feeling is mutual?"

XxxX

That's it! Thank you all so much for taking the time to read!

I really enjoyed writing this out, especially the relationship between Shikamaru and Naruto. I'll be updating this as much as possible, around my work schedule. Going to try and do a chapter a week at least.

There will be pairings in this! For Shikamaru as well. I'd pain me to leave him out of the love. I'm still undecided on the pairings however. If you have any suggestions of what you'd like to see for either characters, let me know! I'll probably pick from the highest suggested ones.

Thanks again! See you next week! (I hope)