A/N: PLEASE READ THIS NOTE, WOULD YOU KINDLY?

Well, I've just been informed that a dear friend of mine lost their battle with epilepsy. And I didn't even know about it due to the whole lock down situation.

Wow. That's...that's rough. I think I'm in shock. Everything just feels numb right now.

Aaaaaaaand we've got trolls in the comments again...sigh...

In other news, it would seem that we're having some site problems yet again; chapters aren't displaying properly, reviews are appearing in our inboxes, but not the story proper itself. If you could find it in your heart to tell the admins about these glitches, via the Fictionpress twitter and the Support email, hopefully they'll have this fixed soon.

Now lets answer a few questions, shall we?

Q: When can we see Amber fight again?

A: Trust me, she's scary when you piss her off.

Q: Why does Raven feature so predominately in your stories?

A: She does pop up alot in them, doesn't she? Its not a conscious decision on my part, more that she has a role in events. But she isn't in everything. We haven't seen her in Killing Monsters, nor that of Wolf In Sheep's Clothing. Likewise, she has next to no role in Partners in Crime while Summer features prominently.

Oops. Spoilers. Haven't finished that chapter yet. Or have I~?

Q: I foresee Naruto snapping soon. He's been put through a lot already, now this?

A: You'd be right. I'd say more, but...well. Thar be spoilers in these waters. Lets just say we're about to see a "World of Cardboard" moment here.

Q: Why did Naruto let Raven kick him through the portal?

A: This again? I've explained that. Even said as much in the last chapter. Raven had Amber at her mercy. The merest flick of her wrist would have slit her throat. Could Naruto have stopped that from happening? Almost certainly. He's just about the fastest thing in Remnant right now, though he doesn't yet know that. That aside, panic does funny things to your brain and our boy's not so full of himself as to risk a life. There was a slim chance, a tiny sliver of a second, where Raven might have been able to kill Amber before he reached her. Might.

Naruto isn't the sort to risk someone's life. His own, certainly. Never an innocent.

Q: Why was Birdie even in Vale anyway?

A: As to why Raven wants to have a "chat" with Naruto that badly...well. I DID say his little sky-splitting feat caught a lot of attention. And she's had an eye on Beacon for awhile now. Now, then! We pick up right where we left of; Naruto's out of the portal, Raven's right behind him, and he ain't happy.

Get ready for a brawl. Not a fight, an absolute. Bloody. BRAWL.

Our boy is angry, full of adrenaline, and currently fearful for Amber's life.

As ever, I own no references, themes, or memes. They're uses for entertainment purposes and laughter alone!

"There are three things all wise men fear: the sea in storm, a night with no moon, and the anger of a gentle man.

Me? I've got a different problem. I feel like I live in a world made of cardboard, always taking constant care not to break something, to break someone. Ever since I came to Remnant, I've been holding back. Never allowing myself to truly lose control even for a moment, or someone could die. But you can take it, can't you, big girl? You said it yourself. You're beyond a huntress. You're the Spring Maiden. What we have here is a rare opportunity for me to cut loose and show you just how powerful I really am. Now, then.

CLENCH. YOUR. TEETH."

~an angry shinobi.

Rolling Thunder

This world really had a bone to pick with him, didn't it?

It was the only explanation that made a lick of sense to Naruto anymore. No matter what he tried, regardless of what he said or did, he seemed fated to stumble from one disaster to another without end. He hadn't even been in Remnant for a month yet and already, he felt like he was losing his mind. For all his effort at being a peaceful man, reality wanted to roll right over him.

As such, the very moment -the very instant!- Naruto tumbled out of Raven's portal, so too did he lash out at the first thing he saw.

"Be a good boy and stay put for a bit." her voice chased after him through the nebulous tether. "I'll join you shortly."

"Raargh!"

He swung around, just in time to see the gateway gutter out behind him, leaving him trapped in...well...wherever the hell this was. A tent? This looked like a tent. He barely saw it, didn't care a with for the opulent fabrics or shiny trinkets sprawled around the room. Blue eyes narrowed to hooded slits and a golden limb thundered down, blindly smashing the first thing within reach. A wooden table splintered beneath his fist, shattered like so much kindling. Unfortunately, so did the lamp placed upon it. Fire flickered out and he stomped it down just as angrily.

"Calm down." Ironically, it was Kurama who proved the voice of reason. "We'll get her back."

"You don't know that!" his very voice shook the earth. "She could be anywhere by now! Its my fault! If I hadn't...!"

"Stop throwing a tantrum and think for a moment!" A jarring headache snapped his head to the side before he could storm out of the tent and do something reckless. "We were caught off guard. I didn't think she'd go after Amber, and neither did you. Are you going to let it happen again?"

"Of course not!"

"There you have it, then." In his mind's eye, Naruto saw his partner roll over and exhaled a thin cloud of steam. "When that woman reappears, and something tells me she will soon, we'll deal with her."

"But it was my fault! If I hadn't goofed around...

Even now he cursed himself for his own mistakes; knowing there was no one else to blame but himself. He'd been the one to open the window; made the mistake of letting Raven in. Everything had snowballed from there and it was all his fault. His and his alone. She probably had Amber at her mercy even now. What else could he do? Blitzed her? He might have reached Amber in time...or he might've seen her die. His mark allowed him to heal many things, but there was no bringing someone back from a beheading. His ego wasn't so large as to believe he could do that. And he wasn't willing to risk her life for foolish pride.

"You're not infallible." the next retort cooled his heels. "That's what makes you human."

"Aren't you angry?" Naruto asked.

"Of course I'm angry." a low growl pushed itself through the fox's jaws. "I'm just better at hiding than you. And...well...

"Eh?" The sudden hesitation put a dent in Naruto's anger, enough to give him pause. "What's this now?"

...I'd rather not see your Maiden come to harm. That's all."

"Wait. My Maiden?" Naruto blinked. Once. Twice. Three times. Realization broke like the dawn and a loud guffaw burst from his lips. "Aha!" he cried, jabbing a finger at him! "You're sweet on her!"

"That has nothing to do with it! She's simply more tolerable than the Schnee!"

Laughing helped; because his partner's discomfort gave him something to focus on beside the rage. Naruto blew out a trembling breath through clenched teeth and willed himself to uncurl his fists. Deep, primal anger seethed just below the surface of his skin, a seething vat of fury that he only narrowly managed to slam a lid on. He knew, of course. They both did knew there was nothing they could have done. Raven had them by the balls...for now. They'd just have turn the tables. Soon. And they would. They'd overcome worst odds than this before.

...thanks." he sighed, wiping a mirthful tear from his eye. "I think...I think I needed that. Still gonna kick that bird's ass, though."

"Damn straight we will." for a sliver of a second, he caught a flash of teeth in his mind's eye. "Just you wait. She'll never see it coming."

It really was one thing after another, wasn't it? First came that bloody debacle with Amber assassins, then Qrow provoked him into a fight, followed soon thereafter by Winter's tantrum. Now along came a new danger, and he didn't even know her name. He knew next-to-nothing about her at all, save that she was Qrow's sister. She certainly acted like a Branwen, crashing into his life and throwing everything into disarray without so much as a care in the world. Was it so wrong to want a moment's rest? Apparently so!

Damnit. No anger. Just calm down...!

With his emotions mastered once more, Naruto exhaled in a put upon sigh and took a step back to survey his surroundings. He really was in a tent of some sort; excluding the heavy fabrics and blankets, there was nearly no light in here at all now that he'd smashed the lamp. Even now he could see that faintest ray of sunlight peeking through the flap, hinting at the world beyond. Kurama fell curiously silent in his head, leaving him with no other recourse but to venture forth.

"Well," he muttered, "Nothing ventured, nothing gained...

Gritting his teeth, he stalked out of the tent, peeled the flap back, and emerged into daylight.

Blue eyes squinted at the camp that lay beyond...if one could call it such. By his reckoning it was little more than a ramshackle dwelling all things considered, an open enclosure surrounded by a wooden palisade consisting and a single gate. The people here looked rough, and their homes rougher still, though the shoddily built huts and leaning tents suggested a lifestyle favoring quantity over quality.

Speaking of tents, he'd just stepped out of the biggest of the bunch. "Aw, hell."

Had that been the end of it, he might yet have escaped without drawing any attention to himself.

It wasn't meant to be.

You see, the very moment Naruto set food outside her tent, a series of harsh clicks reached his ears. He looked up, knowing at once what he would find there and not any happier for it. A wall of bodies greeted him, easily two dozen strong, if not more. Also not a problem. Nor were the weapons in their hands.

"Move, you dolts!" an unfamiliar voice cried somewhere near the back of the crowd. "Lemme through!"

A young girl with piercing blue eyes and dirty brown hair elbowed her way through the mob of miscreants to regard him intently, heedless of their difference in stature. Nevermind the fact that she had to look up at him, she still conveyed her sheer presence through silence alone. Clad in ragged leathers as she was, and with little more than a knife at her side, she didn't seem like she would be in charge of such a motley crew. Yet they heeded her words all the same and made way for her.

"That's him." she stabbed a finger at him. "He's the one Raven told us to expect. Take him."

Aha. There it was. A name to go with the face. Naruto bit back a sigh as his blue eyes blazed red. Still, he held his ground. "You got a name, kiddo?"

"Vernal." the youngster snorted back and crossed both arms before her chest. "Not that it matters to you, dip-shit."

His mouth twitched into the barest beginnings of a smile. "Language."

"Piss off." she raised a lone finger in salute. "You're not my dad."

"And on that note," he shook his head, "I don't think I'll be going with any of you."

"We're the Branwen tribe!" one of them crowed, "Most feared bandits in Mistral! Don't mess with us!"

Naruto perked up. In hindsight, perhaps that one should've kept his mouth shut. Until now, he hadn't quite considered them criminals.

Bandits?

Now that he turned his senses outward he could feel their emotions, some were little more than common thugs, others...others were worse. They washed over him in an ugly wave of filth, staining his very soul. Liars and thieves. Murderers and rapists. Unclean. Scum. Filth. These people -their leader!- had threatened him. Naruto didn't mind that. He was used to threats. He'd grown inured to them over the years. But they'd tried to hurt Amber; that poor innocent girl who wanted nothing more than a normal life. And that...well. That was unforgivable.

A slow smile spread across Naruto's face. "Bandits, you say?"

Kurama mirrored the expression. "Well, well, well. That simplifies thing, doesn't it? Lets seem them report to their master if they're out cold."

"Put him a cell." Vernal ordered, utterly unaware of the dialogue taking place. "He can cool his heels there until Raven gets back." It was the final nail in the tribe's coffin.

Naruto didn't snap. Snapping implied losing oneself to a mindless frothing rage, going berserk with anger. His was colder. A quiet, glacial fury, a supernatural calm that settle over him even as the blood in his veins turned to so much ice. There was no need for Sage Mode here, much less Kurama's aid. His fists would be more than enough for what he had planned. Raven wanted to try and take someone from him? Fine. He'd steal everything from her in return.

Thus smiling, he raised his hands as two men stepped forward to bring him in.

Naruto's hesitation had already cost him dearly once. No longer. Fuck fate and damn destiny. He refused to let himself be pushed around any longer. These people were thugs and criminals. Criminals respected two things. Strength and fear. Fine. Just this once, he'd show them fear. Fear was all he felt right now; fear for himself, fear for Amber's life. Given his present situation, he was something of a savant when it came that emotion. Fear drove him to make a reckless decision indeed.

Strong arms took hold of his shoulders for a moment. Only a moment.

Then the air absolutely ignited.

"GET! OFF!"

With a flick of his wrist and a roar of rage the blond wrenched his right arm free and swung it backwards in a blistering backhand. His reward was a man's strangled grunt; one that became a piercing scream as the blond dug his fingers in, grabbed him by the face and pulled. Blood splashed across his sleeve and he summarily ignored it as he tore his left hand loose and smashed it against the nose of his second captor. This time there could be no mistaking the awful hideous crunch of crushed cartilage and broken bone as the poor sod crumpled to the ground.

Every weapon in the camp trained itself on him at once. Good. Just as he'd planned.

"Do I have your attention now?" Naruto tilted his head with a hum, heedless of the blood on his face.

Credit where it was due, Vernal realized what was about to happen next. She just wasn't fast enough to prevent it.

"No, you idiots!" she raised an arm, trying to stop them from unleashing further chaos in the camp. "Don't shoot! He'll escape!"

They shot.

Naruto could've taken that moment to run; fled away over the barrier and into the woods. No one would've caught him. But he didn't want to escape. Instead, he chose to stand his ground. Dust rounds pinged harmlessly off his chest and shoulders Kurama's golden cloak as the fox howled to life around him, and with a wave of his hands, he directed his chakra back and outward. Countless golden arms burst from his body like a torrent of angry snakes, seizing and crushing everything in reach, all within sight. Bone. Flesh. Metal. Everything yielded to him, men and women dropped like flies, screaming and howling.

He didn't even deign to face the rest. He simply inhaled, chest swelling with air. Vernal dove for cover just as he breathed out.

Chakra is a potent thing; the chakra of a tailed beast, even more so. The sheer force behind his roar slammed the stragglers into one another and sent them sprawling, dashing them against each other. A second scream brought half the wall down. A third ripped the gate from its hinges, launching it down the road like a leaf on the wind.

One of the survivors rushed him through the smoke with a roar, waving a machete.

Naruto mule kicked the bastard through what remained of the palisade, creating a shower of wood and bloody splinters. That one didn't get back up. How odd. He didn't feel any guilt for his death. Why had he been afraid of hurting people like this at all? It felt freeing. Liberating. Scum deserved to die, didn't they? Was that the anger talking?

That left the runt from before, quivering at his feet. Now that he looked at her, Vernal really was just a kid. One who might've been forced to grow up faster than she would've liked, but a child nonetheless. She couldn't be more than fourteen. Fifteen at the most. She looked absolutely terrified. Of course she was. He'd dismantled most of the camp in thirty seconds.

Still, something in him hesitated and he lowered his arm. "Don't worry. I'm not gonna hit a kid."

"I'm no kid!" the urchin growled back at him. "I'm a proud member of this tribe!"

"Whatever you say. Look, just stay there and you won't be hurt."

A sixth sense shrieked a warning the moment he turned his back on her; even then he was

"Die!"

Naruto willed his body to pulse gold for the merest of moments and the crude knife shattered into countless shards on his shoulder. With nowhere else to go but up, the shrapnel slashed into the poor girl's palm with brutal intensity. Vernal cried out in surprise and stumbled back, clutching her bloodied hand. Wide eyes balked at him, the ruined hilt she clutched, her own blood, and back again.

"What the hell are you?!"

"Are ya done?" Naruto frowned. "You should probably get that looked at."

"Fine." her shoulders slumped in defeat and she hung her head. "I see how it is. If you're gonna kill me, be quick about it."

...what the actual hell." Now it was Kurama's turn to balk. "You can't be serious. Just what kind of environment was she raised in?!"

"Kill you?" Naruto seconded the sentiment with a scowl of his own. "Why would I do that?"

"The strong kill the weak." icy blue eyes gazed up into his own. "That's the way of the world. Raven will avenge me."

"Somehow, I doubt that." Raven didn't strike him as the sort to care for anyone but herself. Perhaps she did. He doubted it.

Vernal sniffled. "What, you scared? Ha! then you're weak. Just like-

Naruto sent her sprawling with a single roundhouse kick.

She never saw his boot fly into her face until it was too late; barely even felt the pain, such was its intensity. Her world went white. By Naruto's standards it was a weak attack on his part; he could've snapped her neck if he hadn't held back at the last second. Unfortunately, this left the crazed girl conscious. Dazed and angry, but still very much awake.

"Now why did ya have to do that?" he blew out an angry breath. "You can't hurt me. Stay down. Don't make me knock you out."

She leaped onto his back the moment he turned away.

"Off!" he ripped her free and tried to depart, only for her to grab his ankle.

"I'm...not done...

"Don't ignore her." Kurama cautioned. "That's a good way to get another knife in your spine."

"Then what do you suggest I do?!" he hissed back.

"Scare her. Put the kid to bed."

...fine."

"You know what? You're right." Steeling himself, Naruto looked over her and cut a grin, teeth flashing in the gloom. "Ya ain't a kid. You're a member of Raven's tribe." Two steps carried him toward the startled girl, leaving him looming over her, casting her small body in his shadow. Credit where it was due, Vernal didn't buckle. "Which makes you a pig." until he modulated his voice to sound very much like the beast he housed; then those knees began to tremble. "Pigs should be slaughtered." he leaned closer still, forehead pressing against hers, red eyes boring into blue. "Where should we start, little piggy? Your lungs, perhaps? Pancreas? So many places to stab, so little time~!"

In the end it was too much for Vernal bear; a single spike of killing intent finished the job and solidified his lie; with a wordless gurgle she toppled backward foaming at the mouth.

Naruto nimbly caught her and lowered her to the floor. Only then did he wince and scratched the back of his head. "Well, you were right. That did it."

He didn't relish the idea of killing anyone. But he accepted the necessity of it. He wasn't above breaking a few bones.

Or perhaps...every bone in their bodies? Hmm. Yeah. That sounded about right.

Cracking his knuckles, he turned his attention to the remaining bandits.

(.0.0.0.)

"You're going to die. I hope you realize that."

Not half bad, as far as last words went. Raven hadn't seen such resolve in a long, long time, least of all a look like that. She considered the girl she had at sword-point. She did not weep. Did not beg for mercy. Nor did she tremble. Even as Omen's scarlet edge caressed the nape of her neck, her golden eyes gazed unfalteringly up at her, even as she informed her of her own imminent demise. She certainly had spunk, if nothing else.

This girl would make putty out of little Vernal.

There was a fire there, a grit her apprentice still lacked. Amber had seen death, danced with the devil in the pale moonlight, and come out stronger for it. Oh, there was fear in her eyes to be sure; fear of her, of her death and all that it entailed. But despite that fear, she stayed strong.

"You think you can kill me?" She scoffed. "You're too green."

"Not me." Those burning golden orbs narrowed upon her. "Naruto. He won't let you get away with this."

"Ha!" a sharp, disbelieving guffaw burst from the older woman. "That kid? He's not a killer. Not yet, at any rate."

"Naruto's not like that!"

"Is he now?" Raven cocked her head and granted her a cruel smile. "I watched him bat my baby brother around like a schoolyard bully. He dismantled the Schnee in even less time. He's strong. He just needs...a little push to have the right mindset.

The girl tried to surge up, but Omen tightened against her throat.

"Ah, ah, ah!" she cooed. "Don't move just yet. It would be a shame to get blood on the carpet."

"You're right." Amber agreed wholeheartedly, suddenly, surprising her. "Naruto wouldn't kill a good person. But you?" her smile stuck with her, small and secretive, and it planted a seed of doubt in Raven's heart. "Look at what you've done. You took me hostage, kicked him through a portal leading to gods-knows-where, and left my fate hanging over him like a guillotine. Who knows?" slim shoulders rose in a stiff shrug as her captor began to glower at her, "He probably thinks you're torturing me even now." With each word her voice rose, ire growing, heat building. "How you think he's going to take that?"

She paused, letting the words sink in and take root.

"I've seen him fight too, you know." the words dipped suddenly, become a furious whisper. "You didn't see that one. I don't know what edge you think you have, but it won't be enough. You have no chance."

Pride roared back to life in Raven's heart and she furiously stamped it down, to no avail. "Maybe I should kill you then and be done with it."

"You could." Amber shrugged. "I wouldn't be able to stop you. But it would be a bad death...

Raven sneered. "That's what I thought."

...for you."

Cheeky little shit!

She thought herself safe, thought she was untouchable. She was right, in a sense. Her life had value.

"You're the Spring Maiden, aren't you?"

Raven stiffened and nearly cut her throat right then and there; it was this very rigidity that betrayed her.

"How...?"

"I'm more attuned to my powers than most." Amber retorted glibly. How could she be so calm with a sword at her throat?! "Until now I suspected, but I wasn't sure. Atlas still has their Maiden. Nobody gives a damn about Vacuo. The only one that's been missing is Spring." she held up another finger, completing her calculation. "And you wouldn't be so confident about facing Naruto unless you had that kind of power. Meaning you either have a Relic -unlikely!- or powers similar to mine. Seems I was right."

Kill her. A nasty little voice hissed in Raven's ear. She knows too much. You've ended one Maiden before, why not another? What's stopping you?

Because she was a coward. Amber clearly wasn't. Huh. This was a strange feeling. She actually felt pride for someone else. Unfortunately, it was overshadowed by all this unyielding rage toward her captive. Omen's blood red blade trembled for a moment, itching for action. Raven reluctantly drew it down a hair.

"I'm not going to fight him." she answered finally. "Though I dare say I'd still win. I just want to speak with him. You were merely a means to an end."

"Are you going to kill me or not, then?" Amber demanded.

Temptation reared its ugly head once more. "Perhaps I should. You annoy me."

Was it possible to hold the power of multiple Maidens? She already commanded the full might of Spring. What would she be like if she added the power of Fall to her own?

She was tempted...

"No."

...but in the end, she thought better of it. She'd already run the risk of pissing that thing off, and slaying his significant other would only enrage him further. Taking her captive would be even worse; she was certain that the boy would fly into a furious rage if she even attempted such a thing. Moreover, it would paint a big red target on her back. Salem would hunt her. Ozpin would hunt her; she'd have no peace. Ozpin, she didn't fear, but Salem? Salem couldn't be killed. Salem would just keep coming, driving at her again and again until she broke. And make no mistake, she would break.

You couldn't beat something like that.

But with the girl alive, here in Beacon, Salem's attention would be focused on her for the foreseeable future. On Vale. Amber. Better the Maiden she knew than the one she didn't. That served her purposes just fine. Amber had only ever been a temporary hostage at best, used once to get her message across, and then released-

All at once, the door swung open and such thoughts were swept away on the wind.

"Hey, kiddo." Qrow's head poked inside. "Ozpin sent me to pick...you...up...

His words trailed off as he saw them, rather, her blade against Amber's throat.

"Well, shit." Raven said less-than-eloquently.

And the little bitch grinned at her!

Raven saw the smallest of smiles flit across Amber's visage for the merest of moments. Then the Fall Maiden turned a pleading expression and haunted eyes toward the younger Branwen. Raven knew what was about to happen and tried to clamp her free hand over the girl's mouth, but that only earned her brother's immediate ire. Really, she had no one to blame but herself for the events that transpired. Amber reared back and bit her with vicious force, bloodying her hand and causing her to recoil with a yelp.

Of course, the little minx took that opportunity to dive out from under her and tumble to Qrow's side. He only narrowly caught her, looking just as flummoxed as she fet.

"Uncle Qrow!" the Fall Maiden wailed through crocodile tears," Help! She's the Spring Maiden! She took Naruto and tried to kill me!"

"Bwyuh?" he sputtered.

"Lies!" Raven howled. Blast it. She wanted to cry. Today just wasn't her day!

Amber twisted the emotional knife in her brother's gut and buried her face in his chest. "No! She's lying! Don't let her kill meee!"

Raven knew her brother well. Almost too well. She knew his tweaks, his tells, and what pissed him off. And what she'd just said? There was something about the words "Uncle" and "Qrow" when combined together with "Don't let her kill me" that set her sibling into a righteous fury. She witnessed the moment those words registered, saw his red eyes narrow upon her. Damnit. Amber's actions had conjured up a perfect storm and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

"Don't worry." Harbinger sailed free with a wordless hiss and his own words emerged as a growl. "I won't."

Nope. She wasn't about to fight her brother here. Not with little miss Fall Maiden at her back. She couldn't kill her, but she couldn't let her go with that knowledge either. The optimal choice would be to kill her and Qrow both, ensuring the information never left this room...but she couldn't kill them. Not while they presented a united front.

"This isn't over!"

Ran yanked her blade through the air, cut a portal to the right of herself, and dove to safety. It was a good plan. Admirable, even. Those who ran away lived to fight another day. Until her brother's blade slammed into her unprotected back and tore a chunk out of her aura and flesh alike. Pain blazed her vision red. Raven had time enough to gasp in pain as she tumbled through.

Then she crashed through to what she prayed was safety.

(.0.0.0.)

Everything was on fire.

Raven realized her mistake the moment she'd emerged from her portal; realized she hadn't found safety at all, but the absence of it.

Upon her less-than-triumphant return, the leader of the Branwen Tribe was not greeted by her band of bandits, but by smoke and flame. In her absence she'd laid waste to her camp. What camp? Nearly the entire clearing had been leveled, sparing only her tent and a few bits of wood. The heaps of groaning bodies amidst the ruin did little to assuage her own concerns. Ruined. He'd ruined her tribe.

It would take months to rebuild this, if not not longer. Nevermind recruiting. They'd be crippled for years because of this.

She never saw his fist.

Raven was still in the process of stepping out of her portal -of closing it! when a pair of clenched knuckles barreled into the side of her face and sent her body spinning into the dirt. Pain flared in her cheek and when she tried to rise, a vicious kick cracked her ribs and her skipping across the camp like a flung stone.

"There you are," a rough, angry voice drawled somewhere behind her. "You kept me waiting."

Scrambling backward like a drunken crab, she struggled to right herself and not a moment too soon. A tan fist slammed down into the space she'd just occupied, fracturing the earth. She had time enough to glimpse a blur of gold and black before she found her footing again. She didn't need to look to know who it was.

"Where's Amber?"

Of course. That would be the first thing he asked.

"Safe in her room." she snorted. "Your girl made quite the mess for me."

It was the wrong thing to say, judging by the way his eyes went slitted. "Send me back."

"I will." she reassured, careful to keep her blade between them." Once I've said my peace. You're a fool to trust Ozpin."

"Yeah. Sure. Ozpin bad." Naruto frowned back, dismissing her words out of turn. "Don't trust him. Great. We done here or what?"

Impudent little...! No. She needed him. Raven willed her temper to be still and clicked her tongue. "Now is that any way for a guest to behave?"

"I trust one person in this world." the blond reared back, golden light beginning to splay across his body. "And you're not her. I'll say it again. Return me to Vale. Or I'll find my way back."

"You kill me, you'll never get back there." she grinned back at him and wiped a thin line of blood from her nose. "How long will it take you to find your way? Days? Weeks? You won't leave. You need me."

"Do I?" He went terribly still. "I'll take my chances."

"What? No! Wait!"

Naruto pounced on Raven and bloodied her nose before she could get her blade up in time. Behind her the portal guttered out harmlessly, leaving her target trapped. That should have been a relief. It was not. The next blow nearly broke her neck and knocked a tooth loose as her head snapped violently to the side. She caught the second and threw one of her own, earning a stunning headbutt for her troubles. She clawed at him and he he grabbed her wrists, slamming her against one of the few standing structures in camp.

Then and only then did she glimpse the visage of her so-called prey.

Startled red eyes went wide as they met a pair of furious hooded slits not unlike her own, framed by an equally furious face. His fist shot up, and came crashing down.

I've blundered, she realized.

She took the next punch on her chin and kicked out, launching him away with a gust of wind. It didn't last. He twisted his body in the air, caromed off one of the few remaining walls, and bounded back at her with a roar of absolute fury. Against her better judgement, Raven tried to stand her ground. It was like getting run over by a train. With her current wounds, it felt like a swarm of Nevermore had pecked her to pieces.

So much for being inconspicuous. The cat was out of the bag anyway.

"Enough!"

She flung both arms out at her sides and took flight, summoning a storm with all the fury of the season she embodied. High above the blue sky darkened, black clouds swarming in faster than a plague of locusts. Lightning rippled through the heavens, bringing with it a bleak peal of thunder. It didn't drive Naruto back, but it did give him pause. A brief moment of respite that she used to catch her breath. She needed to stop. Needed to think, get control of the situation before it spiraled even further out of control.

"You're like Amber." those keen red eyes rose to regard her. It wasn't a question but a damning statement.

A muscle jumped in Raven's jaw. "You...this is all your fault! You ruined everything!"

She flung a bolt of lighting at him and he batted it aside.

"What do you have to say for yourself?!"

"There are three things all wise men fear," she craned her ear to listen as he righted himself. "The sea in storm, a night with no moon, and the anger of a gentle man. Me? I've got a different problem."

The faintest whisper at her back as her only warning before a golden light struck her to the ground.

"I feel like I live in a world made of cardboard, always taking constant care not to break something, to break someone."

Raven righted herself and took flight once more, only for another unseen blow to batter her through a tree and send her tumbling back to the earth.

"Ever since I came to Remnant, I've been holding back. Never allowing myself to truly lose control even for a moment, or someone could die. But you can take it, can't you, big girl?"

A torrent of ice crashed down on the blond's position, skewering him from head to toe. Until his body went up in so much smoke. Raven hissed and conjured a fireball to her palm, searching for him. Strong hands grabbed her hair and whipped her down into her tent like a falling star. She thrashed upright, tangled in the fabric, gave up and blasted it free with a rush of wind. She swung Omen at the first hint of light, straining for an edge to dig her blade into. Something. Anything.

She succeeded...but not in the way she'd hoped.

"You're no mere huntress." rather than dodge, Naruto caught her sword with his teeth, shattered it with a single bite, and slapped her right across the head with its ruined hilt. "You're a Maiden." he reeled her back in as she staggered away and launched her into another pile of burning debris with another kick. "What we have here is a rare opportunity for me to cut loose and show you just how powerful I really am. Now, then."

Even as she pried herself lose from the rubble, Naruto was upon her. His right fist swung back and snapped forward like a piston.

"CLENCH. YOUR. TEETH."

By some miracle Raven managed to get away from his next attack; the shockwave alone threatened to knock her out; that punch would've likely taken her head clean off.

"Are you running away now?" he called up at her as she took flight once more.

His words did nothing to dim the storm, nor her fury. Her ruse was ruined. Her tribe in shambles. People would talk.

Worse, she would have no way of keeping her secret now, much less leading the tribe after this. Salem would hunt her without relent. Bah. Didn't matter. She didn't care. What was once meant to be a simple dialogue had devolved into a bitter fight, one she intended to win. They were looking down on her, all of them, always looking down on her! Merely the thought if made her blood boil.

She just needed to beat him into the ground. Knock the defiance out of him. They could talk later. After she crushed him.

Here in this moment, Raven Branwen felt only the thrill of her powers coursing through her veins and a burning need to blast someone to cinders. As Naruto was the only standing target for miles in any given direction, he was made it by default. He was the cause of her frustrations. Him. She'd just wanted to talk but nooooo, he and his allies had made everything so bloody complicated!

No more! Enough of this! It ends now!

"You are beneath me!" the words tore out of her in a shriek, rising on keening winds as the clouds curled around her. "I am the Spring Maiden, you dull creature! And I will not be bullied by the likes of-gack?!"

Firm fingers closed around her right ankle as the blond leaped up to meet her.

Red eyes bulged in their sockets to meet savage scarlet.

"Oh." Raven choked the syllable out.

Then her face became intimate with the ground in a way no self respecting huntress desired. Left. Right. Up. Down. Center. Naruto whipped her body back and forth into the earth with reckless abandon as though she were a doll of straw, caring not a wit for her cries of pain nor the treacherous creaking of her bones. Back and forth. Forth and back, until finally, Raven's battered aura could take no more. It gave way with a tortured squeal of sparks as her collarbone cracked and something gave way in her spine.

"There you go." And just like that, the blond dropped her to the earth. "Puny Maiden."

Raven tried to offer a retort, but managed only a tiny squeak of pain.

Then she tumbled into the sweet release of slumber.

A/N: References are references.

EDIT! STOPU! READ THIS, LEST YE BE CONFUSED!

First off, Raven ain't dead. She just made a massive miscalculation. Amber really pulled one over on her, didn't she?

...did Naruto just take over the Branwen tribe? Kinda feels like he did, huh. They're all about strength and he just beat their leader into the ground.

Our boy's absolutely had enough of everyone's shit and the bandits are paying with blood and bruises alike. Unfortunately, I had to save the Tyrian bit for next chapter, it would've just felt too rushed here and I didn't want to rush things. As ever, reviews keep this old man alive and -relatively!- healthy despite what's been going on.

Well, that's all I have to say this time around.

So in the Immortal Words of Atlas...

...Review, Would You Kindly?

And enjoy the previews~!

Speakin' a which...

SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS!

READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!

PLOT DETAILS AHOY!

(Previews)

Raven immediately regretted opening her eyes.

"Lets have a little chat." Naruto hummed as he pressed a knife to her throat.

He didn't expect the survivors to bend the knee to him.

"You are the strongest. The tribe bows to you."

Naruto's jaw clicked open. "Eh?"

"Take me with you!"

Of all the responses, he'd not expected that.

"You're strong." As he looked on, little Vernal adjusted the straps on her pack and tried not to falter beneath his gaze. "You beat Raven like it was nothing. I...um, well. I didn't think you could do it. But you did." her nose wrinkled as she struggled with the words. "That's true strength. I want that. I need that. I don't want to be weak again. Please!" She all but threw herself at his feet. "Teach me!"

"Aw," Kurama crooned, "You have a student."

"Bite me, furball!"

R&R~!