Fusion of Forces: Remnant's Maelstrom

The now revealed cat Faunus huffed at the jab at her smell. She was still a teen girl and very much so took pride in her appearance and being told that she "reeked of cat" was less than endearing.

Though she was distracted from the sort of insult when she noticed that Kurama had awoken and was staring at her with the same crimson eyes that were now in place of Naruto's usual sapphires.

The night seemed to be full of revelations for Blake as she now realized how connected Naruto and Kurama really were.

"You're a fox Faunus. That's how you can understand Kurama."

It wasn't unusual for Faunus to be able to communicate with the animal they were aligned to, but it wasn't exactly common either. It was usually a sign of a Faunus who was far more animalistic than they were human. Which didn't connect with Naruto. The only visible signs that showed he wasn't human were his whisker marks and eyes and it seemed like he could turn those features, sans the whiskers, on and off at will, something she had never even heard of.

Most Faunus who wanted to blend in with humans had to resort to various kinds of clothing or makeups to do so. If there was a method that Naruto could teach to others to hiding the more noticeable of features, then he would be like a prophet for many Faunus who simply wanted to live their lives without worrying about the harsh words and reactions to their being a Faunus.

"How can you hide your features like that?"

Naruto grinned and decided to give into his more foxy side, "What? Tired of the bow?"

Blake narrowed her eyes before asking another question, "How did you know?"

"Bows don't twitch, Blake," was Naruto's simple reply. Deciding to answer her other question, the blond Uzumaki continued, "As for hiding my features, I don't know. It's just something I'm able to do. Maybe it's cuz my mom was a Faunus and my dad was a human. Who knows."

There went her hopes of Naruto being able to teach such a valuable ability. Though the tid bit that Naruto was technically only a half Faunus was interesting. Couplings between Faunus and humans were almost non-existent and usually the children born of said relationships were human, never displaying any traits of their Faunus parent. Something about Faunus genes being recessive.

If what Naruto said was true then he was a unique case.

While Blake contemplated the information she had been given, Naruto gave a mental sigh of relief. While it was all a passable half truth, it was the best cover he and Kurama could come up with to explain both his whiskers and his transformation when he used Kurama's chakra. Of course that explanation would be blown to bits if anyone ever saw him actually use the Bijuu Cloak. There would be no way he could lie his way out of that one.

On the other hand the likelihood of him even using the Cloak was slim to none. He only really needed it if there was someone who outclassed him in every way, and after Kurama's training the only people who could do so were Kage level shinobi, something he doubted Remnant had.

Of course the other scenario where the Cloak would be called upon was if he was beyond furious. Again thanks to Kurama's help in better controlling his emotions, someone or something would have to make him want to rip them to shreds with his bare hands for that to be the case.

"So why do you hide your features?" Blake asked out of curiosity.

Naruto smirked as he allowed Kurama's chakra to recede back into the seal, taking with it the eyes and fangs, "Why do you?"

Blake had no answer. It was a good response.

"But the real reason is the fear. Most Faunus' features don't look all that threatening. Your cat ears and eye color aren't all that scary. Glowing red eyes and fangs? That's something out of a nightmare and the last thing I want is for people to run screaming, because I smiled."

The amber eyed teen nodded in agreement. First seeing those burning red eyes staring at her had sent a shiver of fear down her spine, like her instincts were telling her to run as far away as possible.

"So then I take it you don't want me to tell anyone else?"

Naruto shrugged as he stretched, "I don't really care if people know I'm a Faunus. If they look at me differently because of it then oh well, not much I can do. Though I will probably tell my team just because I trust them and don't think they'd care."

Blake seemed to ponder Naruto's statement before sighing. It wasn't like she didn't trust her team to not look at her any differently, it was really just her own issue with actually letting people in after everything she had been through in the past few months. She had left one life behind and was trying so hard to build a new one, one away from the lifestyle that had caused her to leave a certain group.

The young Faunus was shocked when she saw Naruto sitting next to her, never having seen him move.

"You're secret's safe with me. I know what its like to fear how the people close to you will react to something so...out of the ordinary. I will say this though, the longer you wait, the harder it'll be to explain why you hid it in the first place."

Brushing a stray strand of hair behind her ear, Blake joined Naruto in gazing at the nighttime sky, finding herself far more calm and comfortable than she ever had before.

Odd how the most hyperactive and goofy person she knew, outside of Yang and her sister Ruby, was able to make her feel so tranquil and at peace. Another thing to add to the list of oddities that surrounded Naruto Uzumaki.

:::

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