It was a cool, calm, late night. The street lights flickered before they faded. And in the darkness, shadows descended upon the Glass Unicorn used the cover of darkness, thin electric crimson tinted bands over their eyes pierced through the night as they swarmed.
Several shades stood before the Glass Unicorn as a faint red aura passed over the building. The lights extinguished as they went inside. Several others went in through the front door as others perched and prepped from the alley on the left-hand side of the building, hanging just above the windows.
Unaware of three sets of eyes shimmered above them, encircling them from above, cutting off any escape as a faded pulse of chakra shimmered throughout the building.
[ X ]
(Three Hours Prior)
"I need each of you to listen to me..." Kushina exhaled, sitting at the corner of her bed, allowing the kids to relax. Well, Naruto and Ilia sat down calmly, ready to listen to the plan. Adam just stood further away, agitated he was even involved. "I know Madame isn't a fool. She knows we're Faunus. She's been deceiving us from the start, not wanting to tip me off that she was aware of that fact."
Naruto scrunched his brow and scowled. Everything he had seen from that woman until now didn't add up. "Wait, seriously? She often seems kind of..."
"A self-absorbed narcissist." Ilia finished for Naruto spitefully. "So are her daughters after that stunt they pulled..."
"Indeed. After that, there is no way they weren't aware of something about us." Adam sneered, crossing his arms as he recalled the event.
"They all are," Kushina responded with a straight face before wincing as Cinder's image came to mind. "Well, besides her. ...I don't understand what the issue is. Regardless, this ends tonight."
"Damn right, it does!" Naruto snarled, clenching his fist, his eyes flashing scarlet briefly. "I'm not gonna stand here and..."
"You are going to listen and follow my directions. If you don't, you are going to know a pain he can't fix." Kushina lashed back, knowing how impulsive her son could be. He had temper issues just like she did. Worst because he was a hormonal teenager...
She had to focus...
Bitch. He's my boy. You do anything...
Kushina twitched at Kurama as he snarled at her from within. "Don't you start, asshole!" Kushina shrunk, realizing she said that outwardly. Naruto winced, knowing precisely what had caused her to say that. "...Ignore that..."
"Kurama, don't antagonize mom..." Naruto whispered under his breath to his half of Kurama, grimacing.
...Only if she backs off.
As Naruto exhaled, Ilia watched the mother-son duo, confused at first. An epiphany hit soon after, and she quietly exclaimed."Oh! I think I know what that was about..."
Rolling his eyes, annoyed at the side tangent, Adam scowled. "...Can we focus on the plan? What is it you want us to do?"
"Right..." Kushina chuckled, rubbing her head sheepishly. She let her and Naruto's emotions derail this conversation. Steeling her face, her gaze fell onto all three. "First thing you all need to know..."
"Tonight , the Silver Bullets are coming here to detain me and train me for how much of a thorn I've been in their side."
[ X ]
(Present Time)
Using the darkness to their advantage, the shadows hunkered through the halls. They were well aware their target could see through the darkness, but so could they.
Their visors from Starhead Industries were equipped to filter all possible light, allowing vision equal to those filthy beasts. They were even superior. They could switch to infrared or thermal vision. Scan aura readings, connect to next, and show data...
By inventing such technology. They were the superior race. And as they stood before their target's door, silently communicating with hand signals as they stood on each side of the door, they were here to prove it.
With a crack, the two taking the lead confidently burst in with their guns drawn...
Only for the several members behind to be thrown back into the hallway wall as their comrades flew into them.
And through their filtered red night vision, a single figure strolled before them. With the blade of his sword resting on his shoulder, the figure sternly stepped in front of them. "You guys just had to show up and prove her right, huh?"
"Well, considering you are here to take a life, I suppose it's time to deliver justice to you."
[ X ]
(Two Hours Prior)
Brown eyes wavered as a long swathe of graying black hair covered his left. Combing it back to the side, Rhodes met dark azure, nearly violet eyes. "If you know this, why haven't you taken it to the authorities..."
"And let them escape again?" Kushina scowled before scoffing at her fellow Huntsman. "You know as well as I do, evidence like this can be dismissed with Lien. Money talks, and they have a ton to throw around. ... But if they make a big enough mistake..."
"It can't be ignored..." Rhodes exhaled, his head dropping momentarily. Then, with a deep glare, he shook his head. "I still can't go through with this... The collateral would be too costly. The potential cross-fire..."
"Try to open your door." Kushina nodded her head to the door.
Frowning, Rhodes narrowed his eyes, questioning just what she had done. Standing and lackadaisically wandering to the door of his room, his frown deepened. The knob jiggled and functioned just like it was supposed to... But the door didn't budge.
Even after further pressure, he turned his attention back to Kushina. "What did you do?"
"I used a technique of my people to seal the door shut," Kushina explained, holding a single hand up in a sign and deactivating the seal. The door opened with ease, and Rhodes' expression further soured. "I have already put seals on every door but my own to ensure no one will get caught in the crossfire. And as you felt, the door will not open. ...Given who is going to be activating it, there is nothing that can wear it down."
"Greatly reducing the risks of collateral," Rhodes muttered before exhaling before he squinted at his fellow Huntsman. "I still don't agree with this. Too much can go wrong... And involving kids..."
"He would get involved no matter what... I can't stop him even if I tried. She doesn't even know she has him around her finger..." Kushina glowered, not having wanted to involve them. Her eyes then sharpened and bored into his. "And you are very much at fault for that, Rhodes... How long have you ignored her condition?"
Lowering his head, tired brown eyes glanced back. "Justice would not have been upheld if I had done anything... The only thing I could do was train her to get away from here."
Scoffing, Kushina stared down Rhodes. "Well, now you have a chance to redeem yourself..."
"And let justice prevail."
[ X ]
(Present)
"Repeat! Kushina and Naruto Uzumaki are not in the room!"
"What do you mean they aren't in the room?!" A Silver Bullet snarled, listening to the message before turning to his unit outside, holding his hand to his scanner while holding a button. Accessing the database, he let out a curse. "It's a trap! It's another Huntsman!"
A loud crack and glass shattering startled him. He turned to see one of his brothers was thrown inside. His eyes widened as several of his Bullet brothers were dragged into the earth with only their heads remaining. Finally, a muffled cry from next to him caused him to rapidly turn his gun to the sound to see what looked like a black shade. His visor immediately shifted to thermal, and he snarled, seeing a young girl before him.
"You bitch!" He pulled the trigger, a single round firing and striking the figure in the chest.
But she only bounced back, shocked as a visible flicker of Aura shimmered through her body. Simultaneously, he felt a weight come down upon his rifle as a thermal streak passed through his visor's vision.
And the barrel dropped to the ground, traces of burning dust melting on the severed barrel, and embers sparked on the end of his rifle. But before he could react in any measure, he caught a thermal flicker in front of his face and smashed it in as he flew through a window and into the hallway inside.
"You need to be more careful. Your Aura isn't as robust as ours. I'm not always going to cover for you." Adam snarled as the Silver Bullet commander picked himself up, groaning as his shattered visor hung from his face, shattered.
"Sorry..." Ilia meekly responded, following Adam inside as he held out his chokutō and pointed it at the commander, his deep blue eyes shining through the darkness.
"You're okay, so it's alright!" Naruto chimed in, leaping from outside the window, putting his boot on the commander's head, and stomping it back to the floor. "Stay down, prick! ...Surprised you took a shot like that..."
"You can't rely on your strength to carry you forever, kid." Rhodes stepped from outside the room Naruto, and his mother had stayed in, shaking his head. "Talented as you may be, there are many out there that have honed their skills for decades, prepared for a fight that you might not be ready for."
"Well, guess that's true..." Naruto scratched his head as the Bullet commander tried to lift his head against the pressure it was under, staring at the intruder that dared to help these animals. "Just tied everyone up outside. All good here?"
"All taken care of. They'll only feel it in the morning." Rhodes responded with a nod, noticing the man staring at him lividly, glancing past him to see all his Brothers tied up in the room behind him. "This was avoidable... But you broke the law. It's time to pay the price."
"Still think we should have taken care of them." Adam scoffed, rolling his eyes as he sheathed his chokutō.
"No..." Ilia shook her head, glowering momentarily as the image of the sisters came to mind, and she spat on the man. "There are far more satisfying ways to deal with people like this. I would rather they suffer and pay their debts... Give me that!"
"What?!" Naruto, Rhodes, and Adam's voices resonated as Ilia dropped and slammed her knees on the man's arm, prying a remote from his hand.
An active one.
Naruto's ears twitched as the whirs of mechanical gears ground and grew louder by the second. His eyes flickered before he stomped the commander's head into the ground with a crack and cursed. "Ah, shit! Get down! We have an unwelcomed guest incoming!"
Bullets tore through the outside walls, ripping through and all through the hotel. Several bullets deflected from a crimson blur as everyone ducked below. With wide eyes as the bullets stopped temporarily, Adam sheathed his chokutō and dropped down as several large laser blasts ripped through, hitting the wall behind him. "Coming in with the big guns! There are three Spider Droids out there!"
"Mah, those are some of the weirdest Spider-Droids I've seen! The hell are those guns on 'em!" Naruto growled, his tail agitatedly swishing against his legs. "No care for collateral, huh?! Typical Silver Bullet cyborg assholes! Bringing in the tanks for no reason!"
Rhodes' immediate worry was for everyone staying in the rooms behind him. He knew this was bad, but... He was stunned that while the bullets and blasts were penetrating the walls... Nothing made it through.
"What did Kushina do to these walls?" Rhodes stared, flabbergasted that the walls could withstand bullets now. He knew they were relatively thick as sound didn't travel well through them, but they shouldn't have been able to withstand high-caliber rounds and laser cannon rounds! They were simply made to keep sound from traveling outside them so business could be conducted peacefully in lounge rooms or the rooms themselves without fear of being listened in from outside.
Something he knew was exploited but had no proof of until now.
"A little something she and my father worked on when she was pregnant with me! Ain't anything here gonna pierce through those walls!" Naruto shouted over the gunfire, his eyes shifting to Adam with a nod, extending his right hand as a strange glowing orb began to form. "All charged up, bud?"
"Don't call me that," Adam grunted as a lull in the firing occurred, jumping off the ground in sync with Naruto and rushing the Spider Droids in tandem.
Rhodes was again caught off guard, not expecting them to run a counterattack. They were working seamlessly together... As if they knew what the other was thinking.
Snapping up, his skin hardening to metal, he rushed forward ahead as bullets began to fire once more. He couldn't hesitate any longer as they pelted him and bounced off harmlessly. There was no telling how long Kushina's barrier would withstand their shots.
With several slashes along the legs of the Spider Droid that he charged, Rhodes drove his blade straight through where he knew the circuit board would be. He had previously experienced combat against the regular models when he attempted to arrest bandits that liberated SDC technology... So he knew where to strike.
And as the Spider Droid shut down, Rhodes sighed before staring in wonder at the devastation the two young men had left from their actions, blinking in sheer astonishment. Just what was with the youth? They were getting stronger and stronger by the year! This was ridiculous! First Cinder, now these two?
What would the future be like if they all became Huntsman?
[ X ]
Slipping through the bullet with an almost gleeful ease, cerulean eyes shone through the night. An orb of raw chakra formed as he charged the Starhead Industry model Spider Droids, which were much larger than the regular model. It shifted before his eyes, turning into its canon form, and he could see the heat generated within.
And Naruto only grinned as he leapt forward, straight at the cannon undauntingly, his right arm reared back. And as it fired at him at point-blank range, he thrust the orb of chakra forward, splitting and shredding through the laser round as it connected to the barrel.
"Rasengan!"
A swirl of chakra ripped and tore through the Spider-Droid as if it were paper. It was akin to a grenade explosion as it ruptured the Droid and threw its shrapnel all about. All that was left was the outer skeleton of the Spider Droid, a round hole drilled through it as it collapsed; Naruto landed next to the fallen tank.
With a grin plastered on his face, Naruto slicked his hand through his hair and kicked the fallen tank, sending it tumbling down the alley and into the street for any onlooker to see. "Ha, you thought a measly cannon shot could take me? Ain't anything here that can withstand the force of my father's strongest technique."
[ X ]
Concentrating his Aura onto the pommel of his chokutō as bullets rained down onto him, Adam snarled as he rushed through the hailstorm. His Aura absorbed several shots, but it did not matter. It was slowly shifting to its cannon mode. He couldn't let that happen.
A shot like that would pierce his Aura and could cause massive damage.
A bullet whisked beside his left eye, cutting into his flesh and causing him to snarl. Clenching the handle of his chokutō tightly, he flicked his wrist as he was well within range, focusing intently on the Spider Droid charging its laser cannon.
His world became red under the shattered moon as the arc of the blade, amplified by the energy he deflected and absorbed earlier, traveled through the armor and carried through the Spider Droid. His chokutō didn't even cut through it on its own. The energy he had stored had created a slicing blade that extended around it, shredding through it.
Its top half toppled as everything he sliced through withered to metallic dust. With a sheath of his blade, he turned only to see what Naruto had done to his Droid... And the massive chunk missing out of the middle.
Adam snarled, wiping the trail of blood on the left side of his face away, the wound slowly recovering his Aura charged through it. Still nowhere close... He had to get stronger... Faster.
He couldn't keep falling behind. He had to surpass him. Prove he was better.
[ X ]
(Four Hours Prior)
"No! I won't let.... Ah!"
Electricity coursed through her neck. She expected it, and yet it sizzled through her Aura. It couldn't absorb the amperage applied, and she could feel it sizzling and burning the skin of her neck. Her skin blistered around the collar...
"You have no choice in the matter." Madame hissed, hand in her remote as she dropped in front of the building, ushering her in. However, her eyes flickered as she noticed Cinder hesitantly striding forward on her power, heading toward the hallway.
"Stop! You are to head to your room immediately, young lady." Madame tried to call out to her, attempting to save face in case anyone walked in and saw what was happening.
Cinder did not care. She refused to bow to the woman's whims any longer. Even as the flesh on her neck burned, her eyes shone with determination, heading down the right hall. She would not stop! She had to inform someone! Naruto! His mother! ...Rhodes! Yes, Rhodes would do something about this! He had to! He always talked about justice to her...
"Aaahhh!" Amber eyes unfocused as electricity sparked from her collar.
Her vision whited out.
She felt nothing... Then she felt... Cold. And everything hurt as she lay on cold, hard concrete.
Everything was blurry, but she recognized where she was. She was in the basement...
"You'll stay down here and rot for all I care!" She heard Madame shriek at her as her gaze fell onto the stairs, seeing the woman standing at the top before opening the door. "You are just like your mother! A horrible wench who takes what isn't rightfully there!"
Amber eyes burned with a furious passion through the dark as the door slammed shut. With several clicks, she knew it was locked.
She knew her mother? She cursed her mother? Was that why...
Unable to move her body, her limbs trembling from the electric current that had previously run through her body, Cinder refused to yield. Even noticing a shack on her leg, she refused to give up.
A hollow scream left her lips...
If she was loud enough... Someone could hear her down in this desolate void...
But she knew otherwise. She would not be heard due to the thick and padded floors of the inn.
[ X ]
(Present)
"Think that is everything?" Naruto crossed his arms, scowling at the destruction around him. "Got him tied up, Ilia? Don't want any chances if that asshole wakes up again!"
All clear. I sense a massive amount of negativity beneath us. Think you might want to check on the girl.
'Right.' Naruto nodded, wincing as he could only worry about Cinder and couldn't act until now, feeling Kurama release the seal so he could check on her. He had wanted to see her but couldn't give up his position or let anyone know they were aware of what they were planning.
"That was your fault!" Ilia snapped, stomping beside her, likely inflicting some of her aggression onto the Silver Bullet commander. "And yeah, I tied his ass up like you should have!"
"My bad! I thought we were done..." Naruto grimaced, hanging his head momentarily before exhaling.
"Never think the job is done until it is." Rhodes lamented, shaking his head before scolding him. "If you are going to become a Huntsman, that is a lesson you should take to heart. The faster you can take care of something... The less you put others in danger through your actions."
"Don't showboat and go straight for the finish." Adam snarled, crossing over the now ruined outer wall of the Glass Unicorn, and stared at the commander. His eyes shifted and bored into Naruto's. "If I had dealt with him, it would have been over, and this wouldn't have happened, Uzumaki."
"Yeah, yeah..." Naruto muttered before squinting at his friend. "But I'm not gonna do that... Killing our enemies doesn't get us anywhere. It just keeps the cycle of hatred going... And it makes us no better than them, ya know?"
Hearing those words, a sliver of a faint smile crossed Rhodes' lips. He closed his eyes and exhaled. He might not have entirely enjoyed what happened here... But he knew the youth was in good hands. She was in good hands...
This kid had a good head on his shoulders.
Four sets of eyes bulged as a loud crack and what sounded like an eruption roared within the inn. Everyone piled into the hallway, rushing to the sound, and their eyes were drawn to a burning inferno escaping into the hallway as the basement door ruptured and flung into the hallway.
Seeing fire perimate through the building, Rhodes' eyes shimmered. He knew what this was... He knew her Semblance very well. If she thought she was trapped, and something was wrong, she may have attempted to super-heat the door and burn it down to get out.
And now a fire raged within the inn.
"Cinder." Rhodes' eyes flickered as he watched a lone figure step out of the basement, amber eyes seared with hatred as she stepped out. Her Aura crackled, absorbing the heat of the flames before rushing out toward the other side of the building.
Streaking straight for the Madame's room with the sword he gifted her in hand.
"Cinder!" Naruto burst ahead as a blur, frantically consumed by the image of her seething expression burned into his mind.
Rhodes couldn't stop him... Nor did he try. If anyone could reach and stop Cinder now...
"Help me evacuate everyone out of the building!" Rhodes stopped Adam and Ilia from chasing after their friend by grabbing onto their shoulders and pulling their gaze to his. "Let him handle her!"
"We need to prevent as much collateral as we can! No one can die here tonight, understand!"
[ X ]
All she saw was a fiery red.
Hatred was all she felt. All she cared for.
She wanted her to feel her pain! Make her writhe in agony. ...Her little bitches too.
Without wasted motion, the door to Madame's room crunched, and the hinges shattered from the force of her kick as she leapt into her room, bouncing off her intended target. She strode into the room, and her gaze bored into her horror-stricken eyes as she weakly scurried away, blood dripping from her cracked open head.
And they were in here as well. Likely brought them into her room for the night so they wouldn't be caught in her heinous acts.
Cinder snarled, her grasp of the sword Rhodes gave her to train with, the blade glowing red hot as she scorched it with her Semblance. No, they had to know. The way they always acted around her... Tormented her... Treated her like dirt!
She would make them feel every last bit of her hatred! She would burn them alive! And only as they begged for mercy... Would she give it.
Dragging the blade's tip against the wood floor, a trail of flames trailed behind it as she slowly stalked her prey. "What was that you said about my mother?"
"Cinder please..." Madame fumbled over her words, crawling toward her two fearful daughters, huddled into the corner of the room, staring fearfully as Cinder trapped them inside, the fire beginning to spread around her. "You don't understand... It wasn't anything personal... AH!"
"It was for me!" Cinder screamed as she slapped Madame with the blunt side of her sword. Madame collapsed to the ground with a shrill cry that only began to become shriller as she pressed the superheated, nearly melting blade's blunt end against her face and held her firmly against the floor. "Five years! Five years you tormented me! Disciplined me for no reason! Spited me! And for what?! ...A grudge he held against a mother I barely remember?!"
"Cinder, please! We're sorry! We only followed mom's..."
"I'll get to you whores in a second." Cinder lividly spat, her amber gaze searing into theirs and silencing their pitiful cries for mercy as she lifted her melting blade and held it menacingly before her. "Just as soon as I'm done with this... Ah! You wench!"
Madame's flickered as the collar around Cinder's sparked with the voltage she charged through it, reaching the remote. But unlike before, Cinder's Aura crackled, and she did not drop like before. Her rage... Her hatred sustained her...
Burning with the intensity of her hate-filled heart, Cinder's eyes stared down at Madame, her sword lifted to strike. She hesitated. Waited to see the fear in her eyes, knowing there was nothing she could do. That her life was coming to an end...
And that she was the cause of her own demise.
A sadistic smile spread on his features as she saw the desired look. It was so delicious... She wanted more! To make everyone feel this sweet agony! Watch the world...
"Cinder, stop!" A voice that shook her to her core as she felt a hand wrap around her wrist, stopping her from finishing the job.
With a turn of her head, amber eyes furiously bored into concerned ceruleans...
Her eyes wavered. She hesitated, attempting to break free of his grasp, shaking her head. "No... No! She deserves this! Deserves to die for what she has done!"
"And what does that accomplish?" Naruto snapped back at her. His expression matched her furious intensity. "Where does this end? It might make you feel better now, but then what, huh? Where does it go from here? Where does it stop if you don't stop the cycle yourself?"
Cinder's eyes quivered. Her grip wavered before strengthening. She snarled, shaking her head. "But if she lives, she's just going to make someone else's life miserable! She won't stop!"
"And there are other answers, ya hear!" Naruto immediately rallied, gnashing his teeth as he pulled Cinder away from Madame and her daughters, tossing her to the center of the room. Standing before her as she attempted to scramble to her feet, he stood over her. His eyes shone with understanding. "I get it... I get mad, too. At every slight and slur thrown my way for being a Faunus. I want nothing more than to shut everyone up myself..."
"But if I give into their taunts, that makes me no better than them." Naruto exhaled despite the inferno that began to build around them. His concentration was focused entirely on Cinder as she stared back at him. "Responding to hatred with more hatred just keeps the fire raging. If you do, it justifies their thoughts, and the cycle continues. If left unchecked, it will inevitably consume us all that way."
Trembling at his calm and collected voice despite the fire surrounding them, Cinder broke her gaze as she turned her head. Her eyes glinted at her foster family, fearfully huddled, and her sisters were trying to assist their mother. She snarled but closed her eyes. "I can't... I can't let this go..."
"Don't. It's okay to feel that pain." Naruto knelt before Cinder, offering her a hand with a faint but comforting smile. "Harness it, but don't let it consume you. Let it drive you and push you to be better than them... But not giving them the satisfaction of lowering to their level or worse, beneath it."
"Besides, they'll get what's coming to them." Naruto's eyes shifted behind him and to the three before returning his gaze to Cinder. "Never said to let it go without retribution for their actions... I think they reaped the seeds they sowed already... And it is only just beginning for 'em."
Meeting his gaze again, and despite the fire evaporating the moisture building in her ducts, Cinder cried as she took Naruto's hand. He wrapped his arms around her, comfortably embracing her. She wanted nothing more than to burn them for their actions... But maybe... Just maybe...
He was right. She didn't want to do this. Not in front of him... This was a bond she did not wish to sever.
He came for her and rescued her from this hell.
Helping Cinder up, the melting sword dropped from his grasp, and Naruto sighed. He could feel the hatred still radiating from her thanks to Kurama but for now... She was okay...
"Thank you..." Naruto refrained from scowling after hearing Driza's voice. Turning back, he glared at the two, causing her to wince. "I didn't do this for any of you... This is your punishment for going on with this all this time."
"As for you..." Naruto snarled, staring into Madame's stricken eyes. He tossed a kunai into the burning window. An explosion rifted through the room, and spat as he looked at the woman before gently plucking a small device off of Cinder's dress, causing her eyes to bulge. "Save yourself... And know when you leave here, judgment awaits."
" Your crimes will be punished."
[ X ]
With a ding of the elevator, Lee's expression twisted as a lone figure stepped out. Members of his brother lay unconscious as she strode toward him with unwavering determination. "You..."
"Of course, it's me." Kushina scoffed, her gaze unwavering as she approached the CEO of Starkhead Industries. "After all our encounters, did you honestly think you would get away again? This has been a long time coming, and I finally outed you."
Seeing her lift her scroll, a familiar recording echoed from it. His eyes, already seething with utter contempt, ignited with further indignant passion. Lifting his left arm toward her, a cannon replacing his usual prosthetic arm, he roared. "Silence, you beast! You are not worthy to talk to me!"
Fire and shards of concrete and ceramic scattered as the rocket he fired connected with Kushina. She didn't even bother to advert her path toward him. The fool! He would have instead captured her to train her... But this was just as...
"What?" Fort stumbled back as a golden figure stepped from the smoke and rumble of the blast. His eyes flickered with disbelief as Kushina continued stalking toward him with unnerving conviction, her body burning like it was made of the flames of her well-documented rage. "How? How did you so easily..."
"Nothing you have can ever harm me, Lee." Red chain-like tendrils shot from her back, wrapping around the man. They elicited a feverous and painful scream as they tightened and constricted around his body, making sure he felt every agonizing second he was caught in her bindings. "Now it's time to face the music, Lee."
"You and the Silver Bullets are done."