Jaune Arc walked the streets of Magnolia and came closer and closer to his final destination. After years of feeling like a loser he was finally gonna prove everybody wrong. He was going to prove that he COULD be a successful wizard. A successful guild wizard that is.
Half sisters Ruby and Yang were having a blast as usual. Their dad was out of town again but it wasn't anything new. Yang was joking around with fellow guild member Sun Wukong while Ruby was just running around everywhere. She was really excited. The guild was rather empty as only Ironwood, Ruby, Yang, Sun, Coco, Velvet and Fox were present.
"Miss Rose." Ironwood said sternly. "Can you please calm down?" He asked. Ruby stood still and saluted.
"Aye aye cap'n." She said jokingly. Sun snorted while Yang punched Ruby's arm playfully. Ironwood didn't seem to enjoy her response as much.
"Master Ozpin is leaving to Clover soon. We don't want him to leave the guild with it looking like the back of a barn." Ironwood.
"Don't stress out too much Ironwood. The guild looks just like it usually does." Coco said.
"Yeah. I was even the one to clean it. Alongside with Velvet of course." Ruby said. Velvet smiled at her.
"Well-" Ironwood never got to finish the sentence as Ozpin walked through the big backdoor. "Master Ozpin! Are you ready to go?" Ironwood asked.
"Yes. Thanks for asking." Ozpin said.
"Well of course. I am the one who is going to escort you there after all." Ironwood said respectfully.
"There has been a change of plans, actually. Velvet will be the one to escort me." Ozpin said. Both Ironwood and Velvet were surprised by this.
"But… why?" They both asked in unison.
"I would rather have Ironwood in charge than escorting me to clover. Velvet on the other hand hasn't had a break in a while and deserves to visit her family in Clover." Ozpin said. Ironwood couldn't believe it. He was going to be in charge. Glee filled his mind and he tried really hard to stay serious. Velvet on the other hand blushed.
"I… I get a reward?" Velvet still seemed shocked.
"You deserve it after all." Ozpin said. Velvet smiled.
"Thank you master." She said politely. Coco then high fived her.
"Does Ironwood HAVE to be in charge?" Sun asked a little bit annoyed.
"YES." Ironwood said, letting his excitement come out a little bit. He then cleared his throat. "I mean… The master requested it and you have to respect his wishes."
"But dad gets back today. He could be in charge." Ruby argued.
"Yeah!" Yang said, agreeing with her half sister.
"He needs his rest after that job he went on. It was definitely a hard one. I can't believe he went on it alone." Ozpin said. Ruby, Yang and Sun frowned. "Ironwood is the best choice right now." Ozpin continued. He then turned to the main clock in the guild. "I have to leave now. Ironwood, take, take good care of them." Ozpin said. Ironwood saluted. "Velvet, are you ready to go?" Ozpin asked. Velvet nodded. "Be safe everyone." Ozpin finished and he left the guild. Velvet waved goodbye.
"Bye everyone" She said happily. She then followed Ozpin as Coco waved back at her.
"Have fun!" Coco said. The doors closed behind Velvet and only Ironwood, Ruby, Yang, Coco and Fox were left at the guild. It stayed quiet for awhile. "Might as well go on a job if Velvet's gone." Coco broke the silence.
"You should. Go have a look at the request board." Ironwood said. Coco nodded and then tapped Fox's butt.
"Wanna team up on this one?" Coco asked. Fox who had sat quietly the entire time cracked a smile and nodded.
"Sure." He said. The two walked over to the request board and started searching for jobs.
A few hours later Ruby had fallen asleep and was snoring loudly which irritated Ironwood a lot. Yang and Sun were still talking. Coco and Fox had of course already left.
"Do you have any idea when your father will show up?" Ironwood asked Yang. Yang lifted her shoulders.
"The letter he sent us said that he'd return today but so far he hasn't showed up." Yang replied. Ironwood grunted. "I can't believe I'm the only S-class wizard present. What if an entire dark guild attacks us? It's just the four of us." Ironwood started stressing.
"That's all we need." Yang said confidently. The big entrance doors then slowly creaked open and everybody's attention went to it. Ruby woke up. The doors opened and the light blinded everyone's eyes. Only a silhouette of a tall man was visible.
"D-dad?" Ruby asked groggily. Everybody's eyes adjusted to the light and the man/boy definitely wasn't Ruby and Yang's dad. The boy did have blonde hair though but was the same age as Yang and wore jeans and had a hoody with armor on top of it. Nobody knew what to say. Yang decides to break the ice.
"Hello there! I am Yang. And you are…?" Yang asked.
"Jaune Arc. Rolls of the tongue nicely. Ladies love it." He winked at the end of it. Yang wanted to snort but didn't want to hurt his feelings.
"State your business Jaune." Ironwood said.
"I'm here to join the guild." He said excitedly. "I always wanted to be a guild wizard so here I am." Ironwood wasn't sure what to do.
"Usually master Ozpin makes you battle a regular wizard. Depending on how well you do he let's you join. I guess we should follow the rules then." Ironwood said. Jaune gulped as soon as he heard "battle".
"Let's do it then!" He tried to not appear fearful.
"I am James Ironwood by the way. I'm not the master of our guild. Our master is heading to a conference right now and he left me in charge." Ironwood explained.
"Nice to meet you Ironwood." Jaune said. Ironwood nodded at this.
"Likewise Jaune. I apologize for the options being scarce but who do you wish to battle?" Ironwood gestured to Ruby, Yang and Sun. Jaune looked at all three of them. Sun looked really strong. Jaune already felt like he had no chance against him. Even Yang seemed intimidating to him. He also didn't want to go against Ruby, thinking that'd be a weak choice and defeating her wouldn't really impress Ironwood. Unfortunately Jaune felt like that was the only opponent he could defeat.
"I choose… her." Jaune said as he pointed at Ruby. Ruby smiled.
"Yay! It's been awhile since I've fought. Can't wait to see what kind of magic you use." Ruby said excitedly.
"Let's head to the backyard. Sun, you stay here and watch over the guild." Ironwood said. Sun frowned, clearly wanting to see the battle.
"Do I have to?" Sun ased.
"Yes." Ironwood said sternly.
"Fiiineee." Sun groaned, not having it.
Moments later Ruby and Jaune were standing at opposing sides of the backyard. Yang and Ironwood stood at the sidelines.
"Good luck new kid!" Yang said. "Ruby kick his a- I mean butt." Yang covered her mouth, ashamed she almost cussed in front of her little sister.
Jaune was incredibly nervous. He was fighting a little girl, nothing to be afraid of, right? Ruby on the other hand was excited to finally fight after a long time.
"Begin!" Ironwood shouted. Ruby ran towards Jaune at an incredible speed. Jaune didn't have any time to react and Ruby uppercutted him in the chin. Jaune stumbled backwards.
"What the…" He said confused. Ruby grinned as she leaped at him and punched him across the face. Jaune stumbled to the side this time. Ruby ran towards him again but this time he expected it. Before Ruby could land another hit a see through wall appeared between her and Jaune. Ruby ran straight into it and fell on her butt.
"Woah… You have defensive magic. Cool!" Ruby said excited. Jaune smiled.
"Thanks. Usually I don't get complimented on it." Jaune said. Ruby got up and ran around the entire backyard making her next move unpredictable to Jaune. Jaune tried to focus and predict from which direction she was coming anyway but failed to and Ruby kicked him in the stomach. Jaune stumbled backwards again and Ruby was coming at him again. He then used a force field to create a bubble around him. Ruby ran into it again and was dazed. Jaune then reduced the force field into a normal shield and ran towards Ruby to tackle her with it. Ruby leaped in the air though, surprising Jaune. She then came down and kicked Jaune into the head sending him face first into the grass. Jaune got up and stumbled a bit showing he was dizzy from the kick to his temple. Ruby then attacked him continuously from each angle. After a while he managed to predict some of her attacks and block them with his magic but for the most part of the battle he just got beat up. Ironwood grew bored and raised his hand.
"Halt." He said. Ruby who was just about to punch Jaune in the chest stopped abruptly and fell. Yang snored at this. "I've seen enough." Ironwood stated. Jaune helped Ruby got up and the two faced Ironwood.
"What'd you think?" Jaune asked nervously. Ironwood was silent for a few seconds.
"You did decent." Ironwood said. Jaune sighed in relief. "For a fifteen year old." Ironwood continued. Jaune frowned and mentally cursed at himself. "A wizard of your age shouldn't have trouble fighting a fifteen year old. I'm sorry but I believe it's best if you come back when you're more skilled." Ironwood said. Jaune was silent. He felt empty. It was just like always.
"Are you sure there is no way I can-" Ironwood cut Jaune of.
"No." Ironwood said sternly. It was silent for a while and nothing happened. Ruby patted him on the back.
"I'll take my leave then… Thanks for giving me a chance." Jaune said politely as he slowly left. Ruby felt bad for him. Ruby glared at Ironwood.
"What is wrong with you?!" Ruby asked angrily as soon as Jaune was out of sight.
"There is nothing wrong with me. I'm just following the rules. He is clearly not fit to be a guild wizard yet. This is the only way we'll stay one of the top guilds in Fiore alongside with Fairy Tail and Silver Talon." Ironwood said.
"Ozpin would've been more easy on him." Ruby argued.
"Well I'm not Ozpin. And considering I'm the only S-class wizard around now I suggest you stop arguing with me." Ironwood said. Ruby continued glaring. "I actually did him a favor. He probably would've died on the first job he went on. Now he can stay alive and won't have to die because of lack of skill." Ironwood said. Ruby didn't feel like replying to Ironwood and stormed back into the guild. Yang chased after her. To their surprise they saw father talking with Sun.
"Dad?" Ruby said surprised. "Dad!" She then said happily as she runned to him and hugged him. Yang copied Ruby and a family hug took place. "I'm so glad you're here!" She said happily. The three broke apart.
"How did the job go? Did you get some mad jewels in for us?" Yang asked. Taiyang grinned.
"Of course I did. Unfortunately I had to share it with Qrow who suddenly appeared" Taiyang said a bit bitter.
"Uncle Qrow was there?" Ruby asked excitedly.
"He saved your ass didn't he?" Yang grinned. Taiyang turned a light shade of red.
"Maybe, maybe not." Taiyang said as he scratched his neck. Yang stuck her tongue out at him. "You're not allowed to curse in front of Ruby by the way." Taiyang said. Yang's cocky expression faded while Ruby rolled her eyes.
"I'm fifteen, not five." Ruby said.
"That's debatable." Taiyang said jokingly.
"The same thing could be said about Sun." Ruby said trying to get the fray of possible jokes away from her. Sun seemed offended.
"Hey! I'm a sophisticated human being." He said. He then crossed his arm.
"More like a sophisticated monkey." Yang then said. They all laughed. They all stopped laughing as soon as they heard a door shut. Everybody's attention went to Ironwood.
"Welcome back Taiyang. It's been a long while." Ironwood said.
"Hey James." Taiyang said. "Where's Ozpin?" Taiyang asked.
"He's at a conference. I'm in charge while he is gone." Ironwood answered. Taiyang didn't seem to enjoy the answer but didn't think arguing about it would make a difference.
"Well… it's been a long two weeks. I'm going home. Girls, are you coming?" Taiyang asked. Ruby and Yang nodded..
"See you guys tomorrow!" Yang said as she waved.
"See ya!" Sun said while Ironwood simply nodded at the three. The door closed behind the family leaving only Sun and Ironwood in the guild.
The next day Yang and Ruby were walking to the guild. Their dad was still exhausted from the job he went on. Ruby was still thinking about Jaune. He had potential and could grow as a wizard over time. Ironwood wasn't going to give him a chance though.
"Are you okay?" Yang asked. Ruby snapped out of her rant.
"Yeah. Just thinking about how annoying Ironwood can be. I know he means well but he's always so… GAH!" Ruby said. Yang snickered.
"No wonder he likes me more than he does you." Yang said. Ruby punched Yang's arm playfully. The two reached the guild doors and opened them up. Coco and Fox were back and Sun was also there alongside with Cardin, Torchwick and Neo.
"Hey guys how-" Yang was interrupted by an angry yell. Everybody's attention turned to Ironwood who was furiously standing next to the request board.
"Somebody STOLE one of the job requests. WHO was it?!" He asked. Nobody replied.
"It probably was Roman." Coco said. Everybody agreed with her.
"Hey!" Roman Torchwick said feeling offended. "Just because I SOMETIMES steal stuff doesn't mean I ALWAYS do it." He argued. Neo nodded in agreement.
"Whoever it was, I WILL find out. If one of you know anything I want you to report it to me immediately. Preferably BEFORE Ozpin gets back, understood?" Ironwood said.
"Yes Ironwood." everybody said. Ironwood then looked at Ruby with his angry expression. Ruby gulped and glanced at Yang. Yang was looking back at Ruby.
"What a great way to start the day." Yang mumbled. Only Ruby heard. She nodded in agreement.