Fusion of Forces | Chapter 10

Glynda was a woman who prided herself on being able to pick up on even the smallest of hints that allowed her to judge anyone rather accurately. She was equally proud to call herself intelligent and yet this blond teen was pushing the limits of that.

He jumped so erratically between being a normal teen boy, a seemingly veteran warrior, and a man haunted by his past mistakes so quickly that it was hard to asses just who he really was. It both confounded her and caused her no minor amount of irritation.

Ozpin meanwhile stood there as an exact counterpart to the frustrated blonde woman, calmly sipping his coffee as he gazed out at the vast stretch of forest below. There was no denying it. Naruto Uzumaki was an enigma. However Ozpin knew that Naruto was also aware of this and there would be no strides made in unraveling said enigma without the blond's permission.

For now all anyone could do was wait. In time the blond would grow to trust some and only then would they be able to find the answers to the many questions that surrounded one Naruto Uzumaki.

"Do you really think the relics would be in a cave?" Pyrrha asked her blond companion.

The two had stumbled upon a rather large cave opening and were now debating on if the initiation would have them go on a spelunking trip to retrieve the relics.

Naruto shrugged before reaching up and tearing a sizable branch off of a nearby tree. Reaching into his jacket the blond pulled out what appeared to medical bandages and proceeded to wrap the bindings around the top of the branch. To Pyrrha's surprise the small fox kit who had seen sleeping cracked open a single eye before bringing its tail to the top of the makeshift torch. With not even a grunt of effort a small red flame flickered to life on the tip of the fox's tail before leaping to the torch, igniting it, and providing them a much needed source of light.

Now that Pyrrha was focusing intently on the fox wrapped around Naruto's neck she began to take notice of its unique features. Where other foxes where a variety of colors, Naruto's fox was a color she had never seen before. Its fur was a burnt orange color bordering on a dark red. Even the fox's tail was unique as, instead of the normal short yet fluffy tail most fox were known for, this fox's tail was quite long, long enough to easily wrap around Naruto's neck and drop down to his chest somewhat. Then there was its face. Stretching from the area surrounding its eyes and reaching up to its ears was a patch of black fur, which was also seen outlining its lips. It also had a rather long and skinny body that gave it an almost human like appearance. Then there were the eyes. A crimson so vibrant and like blood that it put her own red tresses to shame.

All in all Naruto's fox was different and seemed to even be able to understand human speech and conjure flames on a whim.

"What kind of fox is that Naruto?" Pyrrha asked, the curiosity nagging at her.

Kurama turned and regarded the teen, burning crimson eyes staring at her with such intensity that it felt like the fox was peering through her, judging her very being. It left Pyrrha feeling uncomfortable. Seemingly satisfied with its judgement of her the fox let its head fall and its eyes close, apparently going back to its napping.

Naruto spoke up, returning her attention back to the blond as he motioned for her to follow him into the cave, "He's not so much a fox as he is a Kitsune, a branch of the fox family though far more intelligent and powerful, something he likes to brag about."

Pyrrha just nodded her head at the vague reply, understanding that Naruto still had some secrets to keep. She didn't mind and was more than happy to wait and let Naruto tell her when he was ready. As it was he had already told her about a rather significant part of his past.

As the two ventured even deeper into the cave, they both began to grow anxious, neither liking the dark enclosed space. As they trudged on and on, there was an odd sense that they shouldn't be there, a foreboding feeling that seemed to whisper into their ear to leave and go no further.

"Uh Naruto, are you sure the relics are in here?" Pyrrha questioned.

"Right now? Not really," Naruto admitted with a chuckle.

Deciding to cut their losses the pair turned around and began to make their way back out of the cave. However both paused in their steps upon hearing...something moving just behind them.

'Kit...you need to go...NOW!'

Without even a second thought Naruto tossed the torch to the ground and picked up Pyrrha bridal style before pushing chakra into his legs and powering forward in a dead sprint. Pyrrha didn't even bother to ask what was going on, having seen five pairs of burning red eyes peering at her and Naruto through the darkness. Instead of playing the damsel in distress, Pyrrha pulled out her spear and shifted it into its rifle form before firing off a full clip at whatever was chasing them.

Clearly whatever it was had thick armor as she could hear the bullets bouncing off of what she suspected to be a large Grimm.

Not one to be so easily stumped in battle Pyrrha reached down to her belt before pulling out a different clip, this one full of rounds imbued with Fire Dust, giving them that much more kick. Quickly swiveling her body, the redhead looked down her sights as she fired over Naruto's shoulder. This time the bullets seemed to pierce the Grimm's armor just enough to cause it to slow down. None too soon either as Naruto sped through the cave entrance, bringing them back into the bright light of day.

Only seconds after, the cliff the cave had lead into erupted into a shower of rumble as a massive scorpion like Grimm burst through the opening, letting out a screech of hunger and power.

With acidic stinger and pincers poised to tear them to shreds Naruto and Pyrrha shared a look before nodding. Turning on their heels the pair began to book it as fast as they could, intent on putting space between them and the massive Death Stalker Grimm that would like to have them for lunch.

'Why does everything I do have to end up going horribly wrong?' Naruto lamented.

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