AN: So I recently binge-watched RWBY and this is one of the many brain children that I conceived from it. While I'm pretty sure most people are here because they've already seen RWBY, if you haven't I highly suggest you watch it. It's a great show, with great characters and immense potential.
Before I continue, I'd like to clarify: Ichigo is going to be Remnant-born and have an Aura. No reiatsu and mystical stuff from Bleach is really going to cross over, with the acceptance of Zangetsu. I won't say much more than that, but obviously I want to expand on the holes in the RWBY-verse. That doesn't mean that people from Bleach won't be appearing, because they will, but not for a while.
Anyway, Onward!
Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY or Bleach. I do not make any money from this.
Once, there were two brothers, Gods. The older brother, the god of light, was jovial and kind, taking pleasure in creating forces of life. The younger, the god of darkness, found he could only bring forces of destruction and corruption. Despite their differences, the two brothers loved each other, standing together over Remnant together.
The older brother spent his days creating; making water and plants, and animals to roam the lands. But eventually the sun would fall and night would descend upon the earth, and the older brother would retire and the younger brother would come out to see all that his brother had done. Disgusted and jealous at the beauty and life his brother had brought into the world, he destroyed it, bringing drought and fire, famine and disease.
But the sun would come up, and the older brother, kind and innocent, would see all that his brother had done and weep, once again bringing for water and life into the world of Remnant, only for the younger brother to whisk it away in disgust.
Life always returned.
One night, insane with rage and jealousy, the younger brother brought forth a creature of his own; creatures that shared his own desire for destruction and desolation: the creatures of Grimm. These fiends tore through Life, shredding and ripping and snarling with anger and malice. That night, the animals screamed in fear, trees and grass withered and decayed, and fire boiled the earth, but the older brother slept on. When he woke with the sun the next morning, it was to the Grimm feasting on his creations.
Terrible rage and grief swept through the brother, and with a wave of his hands, destroyed all the creatures in his sight, rousing his brother with his anger. Ashamed and pillitant, the younger brother confessed that his actions were born of jealousy. He was envious, he told his brother, for he could not create life as beautiful as his. The older brother, empathetic as he was, lifted his younger brother up, and proposed, one final creation, but this time, they could do it together.
Mixing both their powers, the brothers created a creature with the ability to create and destroy, it would be giving knowledge to learn of both the world and itself, and, most importantly, it would be given the power of choice.
And so, humanity came to be, free to choose how to live with the knowledge they gained, creating or destroying how they saw fit. Content with their creation, the brothers turned away from humanity, leaving behind four gifts for their creation. They would eventually be known as the Four Relics of Power.
Ichigo
Ichigo scowled at the grey brick wall ahead of him, squinting slightly as the only light in the room was shining directly in front of him. He was handcuffed to the steel table in front of him, which was bolted to the cement floor underneath him. Off to his left was a large one way mirror, that did nothing from stopping Ichigo from feeling the stares on the other side. He had already finished counting the bricks on the wall in front of him and decided to slowly turn his head to scowl dispassionately at the one way glass, taking a childish pleasure in imagining the uncertain look on the detective's face.
He would be the first to admit that he looked like a delinquent, with his long orange hair pulled into a loose ponytail, scowl, and the tattered red bandana wrapped loosely around his neck, it would be hard to see him as anything else. He wasn't a troublemaker really, but he just didn't put much thought into his looks, or what other people thought of him. He hadn't expected, though, to get in trouble within his first three months at Vale.
The door behind him opened, and he turned his head slowly, gazing at the two people that had walked into the room with outward dispassion, though he had a slight meltdown at who it was.
The first was a man with tousled grey hair, though he looked to only be in his late 30's at the latest. Ichigo did notice that the man had black eyebrows, so his hair must have been black at one point, and turned grey due to stress or something. His brown eyes stood out on his light skin tone, gazing around the room over his dark-tinted spectacles. He wore a green shirt under a dark green vest and black jacket, and deep green colored trousers. A green cowl was wrapped around his neck, and Ichigo couldn't help but let his eyes linger on the cross attached to the garment. A cane and a folder were in one hand and a coffee cup in the other.
The second person was a woman, with blond hair and a rather stern expression on her face. She looked to be slightly younger than the man, early to mid 30's if he had to guess. Her blond hair was pulled in a sloppy bun, the bang on the right side of her face curling in a manner that was both refined and casual. Her eyes were a startling green, but unlike her compatriots, she was gazing at him rather plainly behind oval shaped top, some type of blouse that Ichigo had no way in hell to correctly identify, had a teardrop shaped keyhole neckline and large cuffs that flared out at the end. The blouse was tucked into a high-waisted pencil skirt with bronze buttons and dark stockings. A cape was clasped on her shoulders, purple on the inside and black on the outside, though Ichigo was sure there was a purple design on the outside, he didn't get enough time to look at it.
Even at first glance, Ichigo could tell that these people were dangerous. He could feel, and even see, their Aura when they had walked in. The man's was a pale green, while the woman's was a rather deep purple. Under normal circumstances, Ichigo, or any person for that matter, would have been nervous being handcuffed to a chair at the mercy of people powerful enough for him to see their aura outside of battle, expect there were a couple factors that calmed him.
One, the two people that just walked in were rather famous, and he knew them, or of them. Both Professor Ozpin and Glynda Goodwitch were well known Huntsman, reputed for their upstanding morals and beings teachers or, in the case of Ozpin, the headmaster, at Beacon Academy. Two, even though he was currently handcuffed to the table he hadn't actually broken any laws, so there was really no reason for him to be here. And three, also the biggest reason why he wasn't nervous, was because Ichigo was used to being arrested.
Seriously, this was like his fifth time.
Ozpin finally took a seat, setting down the white coffee mug he had in his hand, while Goodwitch moved to stand behind the renowned Headmaster. The man took his time getting comfortable, gently resting his cane and the folder on the table, before readjusting himself in his seat, fixing his jacket as he did so.
Ichigo's jaw clenched, and he resisted the urge to snap at the two. He'd been stuck in the damn room for the last half-hour, and was getting rather tired of being chained to a table. Still, Goodwitch was watching him like a hawk so Ichigo managed to stay his tongue, though his scowl did deepen. Ozpin, lazily opened up the manilla folder, lazily turning the pages over, humming thoughtfully.
'Okay,' Ichigo thought snidely, 'Two can play that game.'
"Interesting," Ozpin said suddenly, shattering the silence between the three. "It says here you have no surname, Mr. Ichigo." The headmaster lifted his head to catch eyes with Ichigo. The teen just shrugged.
"I have a last name," the teen said. "I just didn't give it."
Ozpin hummed again, taking a sip of his coffee. Goodwitch scowled at him. "Would you care to tell me why you interfered with Hunter mission, or, for that matter, why you were outside the city at this time of night?"
Ichigo shrugged again, lips twitching at how Goodwitch was glaring at him, it would have been better if he could get under Ozpin's skin but he'd take what he could get. "I was out training when a bunch of Grimm just showed up and attacked me." He turned his head slightly, to gaze at Ozpin full in the eye. "And it wasn't that late. It's only, like, ten."
"Training?," Ozpin asked, ignoring Ichigo's last statement. "To be a Huntsman?"
Ichigo shrugged.
Goodwitch bristled.
Ozpin hummed, turning back to the documents, flipping through the rest of the papers in the file slowly before finally picking them up tapping them lightly against the desk, and sliding them back in the folder. He gazed at Ichigo, over the brim of his glasses as he took another sip of his coffee. "Your papers all seem to be in order, Birth Certificate, Identification Number, Scroll Numbers, even previous addresses. I must say I'm impressed, you seem to have quite the wanderlust in you."
Ichigo resisted the urge to scowl or shrug, instead lifting his hands as far as they could go to scratch under his chin. He had to lean in a bit. "I moved around a lot when I was younger," he said simply.
"And the fact that you seem pretty tall for someone who's birth records were created seven years ago?"
Ichigo snorted. "I heard that moving around makes people age faster than others," he said listlessly. The man was smart enough to draw the most likely conclusion as to why he look significantly older than seven years old.
Ozpin's face was as stoic as ever, but Ichigo knew that those brown eyes were examining every single thing thing Ichigo did. "Tell me, and please be honest, why were you training in the woods, Mr. Ichigo?"
The teen raised an eyebrow as the man switched tactics. Honest? He could do that. "Well, yeah, I was training to be a Huntsman, or training to begin training as a huntsman at Beacon Academy."
"And why, if I may ask, did you choose Beacon? Your list of addresses show you've been to the capital of both Mantle and Vacuo, both for a significant amount of time. Surely you could have gone to either of the two schools in their kingdom."
The teen's scowl deepened, remembering his time in the other kingdoms. "To be honest, its because I like it here more. I've had bad experiences in both places, but in the time I've been here in Vale, it's been… quiet." It wasn't a lie, but it definitely wasn't the whole truth. Not that he'd tell them that.
If Ichigo's choice of words were weird, neither the headmaster of the Huntress indicated that it was. The two did glance at each other briefly before Ozpin turned back to the orange-haired teen.
"I'm sure you are aware that I am the headmaster of Beacon, Professor Ozpin," he said. Ichigo just nodded. "As the headmaster of the Academy, I feel it is my duty to inform you that, while your fighting skills seems to be exceptional, you do indeed lack scholastic documentation of your schooling level, which happens to be required. Not much, admittedly, but some is needed."
Ichigo simply nodded. "I know, I have an appointment to take the test in two weeks. I hope to get in next year." Ozpin didn't miss a beat.
"And what if I told you that I could have testing appointment drawn up within the next week to get you into Beacon this semester?" Ichigo fought hard to keep the surprise off his face. If that happened, the he could-
He stopped the thought hard, scowling hard at the man across from him. "Is this some kind of joke?" he asked.
Ozpin sipped from his mug again. "Indeed, it does seem like a ridiculous possibility, the school year does start in a couple of days, but perhaps I should clarify before you give an answer." He didn't even wait for Ichigo to say anything, just took another quick sip of his coffee before speaking again. "While I am first and foremost a Huntsman, I find that I rarely have the need to act as one, and am, therefore, free to act as a professor and scholar. I see much promise and talent within you, Ichigo, I prefer for such promise and talent to be cultivated and nurtured as soon as possible. I found that, academically, early action yields greater results. This offer isn't on of pity, Mr. Ichigo, rather it is an investment in hopes of bringing one of possibly the best Huntsman of tomorrow to Beacon."
It was a pretty speech, the teen would give him that. Ozpin had a way of formulating words into something that moved the soul of those around him, and briefly Ichigo thought that it could be possibly this guys Semblance, but quickly discarded the idea. He would have felt if the man had used his Aura in any way such as that, not to mention that he had never even heard about people using their powers in such a way. He grit his teen, flexing his jaw a little thinking of the words he wanted to say but trying to figure out a way to say them politely. He didn't want any charity, and the man had been pretty spot on when he assumed Ichigo thought that the offer was out of pity.
"Even if something like that did happen," Ichigo said, started off slowly, "and even if this wasn't an offer from pity, as you said, I'd still say no. I don't have the money to pay for Beacon. The year away was for me to save Lien to pay off the first semester until I started taking missions."
Something glimmered in Ozpin's eyes at what Ichigo said and the teen was sure the man had the ghost of a ghost of a smile on his face, but he covered it with a sip from his mug. How much coffee did that thing have? Goodwitch was still gazing at him, but it didn't seem as hard as before.
"A noble, if somewhat stubborn, reasoning, Mr. Ichigo. But I can assure you that such a plan won't be necessary. Beacon already has several programs, financial scholarships, and even delayed payment plans in place to support students in your situation. Not to mention, missions with any amount of substantial Lien are only given out the second semester of your second year."
The teen couldn't help but full-on scowl. Well there goes that plan, but he still wasn't going to by whatever the guy was selling. "Is there a reason I'm still handcuffed to this table?"
"As a matter of fact, yes."
Ozpin didn't offer anything past that, even when Ichigo raised his eyebrow in questioning. "Why?" he finally bit out.
"The police were worried that you would attack them, judging by your delinquent-like looks."
Ichigo turned to give an unimpressed stare to Goodwitch from under the stray orange tresses that escaped his ponytail. Her first words to him, and she insults him about his appearance. Really? What was next? Was she going to chastise him? She wasn't his teacher yet, so he wouldn't hold anything back.
"I apologize, Mr. Ichigo," Ozpin said, cutting the rising tension between the teen and his second-in-command, "it seems we forgot to inform you of our original intention of coming here. Because you interfered with a Hunter's Mission, outside of the city limits, it fell to me, as the headmaster and foremost superior of Team CFVY, to determine the punishment, if any was to be given. I had already made my decision before coming here, I am sure you can guess what it was." Ozpin stood, grabbing his coffee and sipped it once again, grabbing his cane. He made his way to the door, Goodwitch following like a purple shadow, but when the man reached the door, he stopped, glancing at Ichigo still seated at the table, who stared straight ahead resolutely.
"I know you must be curious as to why, Mr. Ichigo, so I will explain myself. Under normal protocol, you would be jailed for three months with another three months on probation. I have decided to waive these charges because, excluding the note of several arrests, you have a clean record. Far be it from me to potentially destroy the future of one so talented as yourself. And you are talented, Mr. Ichigo." The sound of his cane tapping against the floor reached the teen's ears. "If you wish to take me up on my previous offer, then report to the testing center you were designated three days from now.
"You remind me of a man I know, not so much in temperament or looks, but rather your posture. He too sat with a great deal of weight on his shoulders, uncertain of what path he would walk. I convinced him to become a Huntsman, something I hope to be successful in once again. To this day, I have never regretted convincing that man to attend Beacon. I have no doubt that I would feel the same about you, should you choose to attend this semester. Until next time, Mr. Ichigo"
With that final comment, the two professors left Ichigo with his whirlwind of thoughts. Less than a minute later, two officers came in and uncuffed him, apologizing for some reason or another. Ichigo waved it off with a grunt, and followed the duo out. He managed to get his weapons, Midnight and Zangetsu, from wherever they had been held, though he did have to glare the man at the pickup window into submission. It helped to relieve some of the anger he was feeling.
Eventually, much longer than he would have liked, Ichigo managed to get out of the police precinct, weapons and all, and started to make his way home, a scowl planted firmly on his face as he traversed through the streets of Vale. There was no way he was going to go to that early test. Sure he had been practicing for, like, a month, but it still didn't sit right with him. Especially the part where Ozpin compared him to someone else. To take the test early and then go to Beacon and not having a way to pay was like walking into a trap you knew was there and not having a plan to get out of. It was stupid, and almost guaranteed to get you killed.
With those thoughts in mind, Ichigo hardened his resolve, his steps gaining more purpose. There was no way he was going to take Ozpin's offer.
-天鎖斬月-
Ichigo took the test.
Once the anger at being wrongfully arrested, again, and Ozpin's comparison had run it's course through his system, he was forced to calmly think and analyze his situation. His conclusion was that Ozpin had been right in only one aspect. The earlier you learned was better…
Okay, maybe not in all cases, but in this case he'd do better not stalling. The sooner he got through his first three semesters, the sooner he'd be able to pay off his debt and work to a real goal, his real goal. Having come to a decision, Ichigo spent the next few days cramming as much info into his head as he could. The teen had studied so much that when the day to take the test came, Ichigo was more afraid that he'd mix up all the information instead of not knowing. Honestly, he didn't know which one was worse, and he left the examination area with a migraine the size of Ursa. He'd fallen to a small coma after words and didn't wake up for the whole day, and impressive feat considering the test had finished at ten in the morning.
Two days after his test he got his grades back, surprisingly high scores, and his acceptance letter to Beacon. The day after that, he got his uniforms (complete with a new state of the art, Beacon-approved Scroll) in the mail, and the day after that, today, was the day to head out to the designated area to get lifted to Beacon Academy. Of course, the past couple of days had been rather busy. He had to reroute his mail to Beacon, not that he got anything but bills, and ended his lease with his apartment building early, not to mention a bunch of other legal stuff that gave him another migraine. Honestly, if Ichigo knew that it would have been such a hassle he probably would have waited. Not to mention the oddly specific packing order. Why did he need to pack an overnight bag?
Still, it was all over and done with and he was currently on an airship heading for Beacon. It was surprisingly packed, with teen of all shapes and sizes milling about while Ichigo stood awkwardly in a small alcove, alternating between watching the city of Vale pass under his feet and observing his future classmates. The oranged-haired teen wasn't the most social person to ever walk the planet and the fact that he'd reach the average age for enrollment next year made him rather reluctant to even attempt to mingle with anyone.
'The ship is making good time,' Ichigo mused watching the streets that he'd memorized over the last couple of months pass under him. He looked to the distance, noticing the Beacon Cliffside and the dark blot right above it. 'That should be Beacon…' Nearby, Ichigo he heard the sound of some rather obnoxious laughter, and across the ship, a student was fiddling with one of the screens until it suddenly burst into life displaying some news anchor.
"-and in other news, it has been revealed that the culprit behind the recent string of Dust robberies is none other than one of Remnant's most wanted: Roman Torchwick. Torchwick continues to evade authorities, and the Vale police department encourages any with information on his whereabouts to contact them immediately. Back to you, Lisa.
"Thank you Cirel. New information has been released on the Faunus Civil rights protest last Saturday. Vale authorities have confirmed that it was indeed members of the White Fang that masterminded the violent outcome to the civil gathering. The once peaceful organization has now disrupted-"
The screen suddenly disappeared, replaced by the imposing figure of Glynda Goodwitch. Ichigo scowled.
"Hello and welcome to Beacon," She said, her voice amplified through the ship's speakers. "My name is Glenda Goodwitch. You are among the privileged few who have been given the honor to attend this prestigious academy. Our world is experiencing an incredible time of peace, and, as future Huntsman and Huntresses, it is your duty to uphold it. You have demonstrated the courage needed for such a task, and now it is our turn to provide you with the knowledge and the training to protect our world." With that, her figure faded away, and Ichigo couldn't help but let his face soften from his initial scowl at the sight of the woman. So she could be pleasant. Maybe, he had been a bit too quick to judge the woman, he had been rather annoyed at the authorities. There a commotion from the other teens who all flocked to the windows, 'oohing' and 'awwing' at the sight before them.
And what a sight it was.
The city of Vale had a rather large reservoir of water bordering its northern edge, a pocket of water that was surrounded by tall cliffs of stone on three sides and Vale on the other. On the cliff's northern edge was Beacon, expensive stone and metal that expended over two square miles; it was a fact he'd come across while studying. Beacon itself was situated just above of a large conflux, where two rivers met before spilling over the edge and into the large reservoir. There was a large quay just under the falls, where several ships were docked. Ichigo even spotted a path carved into the cliffside, winding it's way upward behind the falls.
It took several minutes for the airship to reach the impressive school and land in an equally as impressive courtyard. Ichigo shuffled out with the rest of the students on his airship, but stepped to the side as soon as he could. Being in crowds made him uncomfortable and being stuck on the airship with so many students hadn't been what he would define as fun.
He sucked in a deep breath, raising his hands above his head as he stretched. It was good to be outside again, not to mention that the air around Beacon didn't smell of decomposing garbage and plasma. And it was quiet! Maybe he would actually enjoy his time here?
The sound of an explosion told him otherwise.
Turning slowly, Ichigo was greeted to the sight of a slowly dispersing dust cloud. He had a quick internal debate as to whether he should check if everything was okay, or if he should just leave it to someone else. The sound of rather angry yelling made his decision for him, and, with a sigh, he made his way over. Before he was even halfway there, the dust cleared enough for him to see three girls, two black haired girls and one with white haired. The one with white hair, snatched something from one of the brunette before storming off, before the same brunette turned and left, leaving the last girl to stand alone, obviously depressed.
Noting how downcast the girl looked, Ichigo felt himself move forward quicker. "Hey," he called out, causing the girl to jump slightly. "Are you okay?" She whirled to look at him, stared actually, obviously confused as he drew to a stop before her. She didn't reply, and Ichigo leaned in slightly worried. "Hello?"
The girl jumped again, eyes widening. She glanced around herself as checking for anyone else, before locking eyes with him again. She pointed a thumb at herself. "Me?"
Under normal circumstances, Ichigo would have retorted angrily and stormed off, but the girl had so much innocence and naivety in that simple word, he couldn't help but grin slightly. "Yes, you," he said, poking her on her forehead. "I asked if you were okay. Even if that explosion was small, someone could've gotten hurt."
The girl rubbed her the spot he had poked, pouting slightly, before flashing him a rather bright smile and thrusting her hand out. "I'm fine, thanks for asking. I'm Ruby, by the way. Ruby Rose."
He grasped her hand, bemused. "Ichigo," he said, taking a quick moment to really take her appearance in. Ruby Rose, had big silver eyes that shone with innocence and emotion. Her black hair was cut in an asymmetrical bob, letting the bangs on the right side of her face fall down to her chin while her left only fell to her cheek. A closer look at her hair also told him that the ends were red; weather it was natural or not he didn't really care. She wore a black blouse and skirt, trimmed with red, and a black corset-thing with red laces around her waist. Equally black stocking and boots covered her legs and feet, though her boots were, once again, trimmed in red. A dark grey belt rested crookedly on her hips, her emblem, a rather detailed rose, was pinned onto it as well as several silver bullets and a bundle of red and black metal that Ichigo assumed was her weapon. She finished her look off with a simple red cloak, fastened onto her clothes by two cross shaped pins. She was short, as well. He was sure he stood a full foot above her.
Ichigo was rather amused by the red and black color scheme, though he couldn't really judge. Wearing white jeans, a black belt, white shoes, and a black long sleeve shirt, he had his own color scheme. A tattered red bandana was tied loosely around his throat, and he pulled up the sleeves on his shirt, revealing bandages wrapped around his left forearm. His own emblem, a hollowed out triangle with lines emerging from the corners to connect in the center, was hanging on a chain from his belt. On his right hip was a thin looking blade wrapped in white bandages, while a white band ran from his right shoulder to left hip, the bandaged wrapped hilt of his blade poked out from over his shoulder. He had pulled his hair into a ponytail again, like he usually did, though bangs still fell about his face.
"That's a cool looking scar," Ruby blurted out,before promptly turning a nice shade of red. "I-I mean, your sword looks cool! Not your scar! Not to say your scar doesn't look cool, it looks awesome!" She probably would have babbled on, further embarrassing herself, but Ichigo's chuckling stopped her.
"Thanks," he said, idly fingering the two claw marks that ran from the bottom of his left eye, down to his chin and neck, before disappearing under his shirt. I got it from a rather large Ursa when I was younger." Ruby's eyes were seemingly replaced by stars.
"That's so cool!" she practically squealed. "What happened!?"
Ichigo scratched the back of his head awkwardly, but still managed to chuckle good-naturedly. "Maybe another time," he said. "How about we find out where we're suppose to be going. Ruby nodded thoughtfully.
"The dorms, maybe?" she asked, before glancing at Ichigo. "This place has dorms right?"
He shrugged. "They should. I don't really want to sleep outside for the semester." It wasn't really funny but Ruby giggled, causing him to smile. "C'mon, let's explore." They hadn't even made it ten feet before a voice called out to them.
"Hey, wait up!"
It was a guy about his height, Ichigo noticed, with blue eyes and blond hair making his way over to them. His face was slightly flushed, and Ichigo would have thought it was because of his run, but he could tell just by his build that the guy had more strength than he let on. He stopped in front of them, breathing slightly heavily, so Ichigo took the time to, once again get a good look at someone. The blond wore a black hoodie underneath a patchwork of white armor that consisted of a diamond-shaped chestpiece, spaulders, rerebraces, and elbow guards over his orange, detached sleeves. Brown, fingerless gloves covered his hands, and Ichigo spotted a small patch of armour on the back of them. Two belts crisscrossed at his waist, both a different shade of brown, each with their own pouches sewn on. His jeans were blue and faded, a small white patch having been worn out on his left knee, and black high tops, almost identical to Ichigo's shoes covered his feet. A sword hung at his hip, sheathed.
"Sorry for yelling at you," he said, once he regained his breath. "I just didn't know where to go, so I was going to ask you guys. I'm Jaune Arc, by the way."
Ruby smiled. "I'm Ruby Rose."
Ichigo nodded. "Ichigo."
Jaune raised an eyebrow at him. "Just Ichigo."
"Just Ichigo."
The blond teen shrugged. "Well nice to meet you guys. Where are you headed?"
"We don't know," Ruby said. "We were just going to walk around until we found somebody."
It spoke well about what type of guy Jaune was when he didn't even bat an eye. "Sounds like a plan to me."
Ichigo's lip twitched upwards as he started walking in the direction he had seen the other teens go. Things were quiet for a while, and the orange-haired teen took the time to appreciate the beauty of Beacon. The trees and grass were green and healthy, though there were a couple trees whose leaves were red further into the campus grounds, and the center courtyard was surrounded by a circle of clear water, further down Main Avenue.
"Well, this is awkward," Ruby said suddenly, causing Ichigo to blink in slightly surprise.
"Is it?" he asked turning to her and Jaune. They both nodded, looking at him strangely. "Well, sorry?" he hedged. "I was just checking out the grounds."
Jaune made a face. "You want to talk about the school? Isn't that, I don't know, lame?" Ruby nodded her head vigorously in agreement, causing Ichigo to sweatdrop.
'These two…' He crossed his arms and shook his head slightly, strangely amused. "Okay, what should we talk about then?"
"Weapons!" Ruby immediately exclaimed. "Oh! Oh! I'll go first! This," she paused as she reached behind her and, with a flourish, pulled the hunk of red and black metal that rested on her back, causing it to extent into a deadly red and black scythe, "is Crescent Rose! A scythe of my own design, that doubles as customizable, high-impact sniper rifle!" The girl grinned proudly, and Ichigo couldn't help the small grin that came over his face, inwardly noting how infectious her smile was.
Jaune, though, was totally confused. "A… whaaa?"
Ruby cocked the bolt. " It's also a gun."
"Oh. Well that's cool!" Ichigo could only nod along with Jaune's assessment. Cresent Rose was pretty cool looking.
'So what do you guys have?" Ruby asked, totally missing the sheepish look that came over Jaune's face.
"Well, I, uh, I have this sword," he said unsheathing his blade, a simple, worn weapon with a blue handle and a golden crossguard. Ruby 'oohh'ed. "And I have this shield too." Grasping his sheath, Jaune gripped it tight causing it to expand into his shield. The edge of the shield and the symbol in the middle, a large crescent moon above a smaller once pointed at an angle, were gold. "It's called Crocea Mors."
"So what do they do?" Ruby asked, tapping the shield, causing Jaune to fumble around to catch it.
"Well," he started, collapsing the shield and putting the sheath on his hip, "the shield gets smaller, so when I get tired of carrying it, I can just… put it away."
"But… wouldn't it weigh the same?"
"Yeah, it does." Jaune was sheepish, and Ruby apparently caught onto it.
"Well, I am kind of a dork when it comes to weapons," Ruby admitted, only slightly embarrassed. "I guess I did go a bit overboard when I made it."
"Wait? You made that!?" the blond asked, astonished.
"Of course. All students at Signal forge their own weapons." She paused, tilting her head in slight confusion. "Didn't you make your's?"
"It's a hand-me-down," Jaune replied. "My great-great-grandfather used it to fight in the war."
"Sounds like a family heirloom, really," Ichigo said casually. His words caused Jaune to look a little down. "But, I thinks that pretty cool."
The blond looked up, surprised.
"Yead!" Ruby agreed. "I like it. Not a lot of people have an appreciation for the classics these days."
At her words, Jaune seemed to tune out a little. "Yeah. The classics…"
Ruby, true to form, turned excitedly to Ichigo with stars in her eyes again. "What about you Ichigo? What do your swords do?"
He smirked a bit, placing a hand on the sword at his hip. He channeled a bit of his Aura into the handle, causing the bandages wrapped around the blade to disappear into black whisps. "This," he said, drawing the thin blade with a flourish, "is Midnight." The blade was about two feet in length and, like it's namesake, midnight black in, single edged with a slight curve toward the tip: a wakizashi.
"She's my main weapon. I can use her like this, or-" with a sharp turn of his wrist, Ichigo released the blade for a split second as the blade split in half down the middle and transforming into a bladed-bow, "-I can use her like this. She has a couple more forms but I use these two the most."
"That. Is. So. Cool!" Ruby squealed. "Does your bow actually bend? How did you get it to do that? The blade was seamless, I couldn't even tell that it could do that! How do you shoot arrows? Can you use that as a close-combat weapon?"
"Whoa, whoa," he laughed, "one at a time. And remember to breathe." The last part actually had a bit of concern in it. Ruby had been talking so fast and so much that she had become flushed and breathless. She flushed a bit further in embarrassment.
"R-right," She muttered. "So does your bow actually bend?"
Ichigo nodded. Holding the bow in his left hand, he channeled a bit of Aura into it causing a line of blue energy to shoot from one tip and attach to the other. Grinning at Ruby's awestruck expression, he brought his right hand forward and pull the string back until it was taunt, showing how the blade flexed slightly, a blue arrow materializing as he did so. Ruby and Jaune gasped, and Ichigo fought to keep himself from full on smiling. Aiming at the sky, Ichigo released the string and the arrow shot into the sky, disappearing beyond the clouds.
"That. Was. So. Cool!" Ruby and Jaune exclaimed together. "How dd you do that!?"
Ichigo shrugged, collapsing the bow back into it's blade form, and with another controlled release of his aura, bandages wrapped around his blade and he placed it back onto his hip. "It's a secret."
The blond and brunette both face faulted.
"W-what!?"
"You can't do that!" Ruby exclaimed. Ichigo shrugged again, smoothing his face over to hide his amusement as he started making his way away again.
"Yeah, I can," he replied. "And I just did."
"W-What about your super long katana!?" She asked, making her way after him.
"It's an Ōdachi!" he called back. "And it's a secret!"
"Ichigo!"
They managed to find their way to the other students, though Ichigo may have just used his sixth sense to figure out where they were. They had barely walked through the archway before someone was already calling out to them. One of them, more specifically.
"Ruby! Ruby, over here!, I saved you a spot!"
A head of yellow bobbed over the crowd, and Ruby made to go over to her but stopped and glanced over at Jaune and Ichigo. "Hey, I gotta go," she said inching her way toward the other blond. "I'll see you guys after the ceremony!" Jaune tried to get a word in but she was already gone.
"Ohh," he groaned. "Where am I supposed to find another nice quirky girl to talk too?" And what was Ichigo, chopped liver? Granted he wasn't quirky or a girl, but he had thought that they had been getting along just fine together. Apparently not. The blond wandered off into the crowd, still looking slightly down.
Ichigo shrugged it off, Jaune would snap out of it eventually. He glanced through the crowd, barely able to spot Ruby talking to the blonde girl that had called out to her, briefly debating on whether or not to go over there, but quickly decided against it. He wasn't a fan of crowds. Instead moving to the edge of the amphitheater and leaning against one of the ornate pillars, where the sound of yelling reached his ears. The white haired girl was from before was yelling at Ruby again.
He watched, amused at how… expressionate Ruby was, her face morphing from scared, to apologetic, to sheepish, to dumbfounded, and back to apologetic. She really was an open book. The sound of loud feedback sounded, cutting through all the talking and as one, the students turned from their conversations to gaze at Professor Ozpin, his faithful purple shadow behind him.
"I'll… keep this brief," he started, pushing his glasses further up his nose. "You have traveled here today in search of knowledge, to hone your craft and acquire new skills. And when you are finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people. But I look amongst you and all I see is wasted energy, in need of purpose, direction. You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far." A low murmur ran through the crowd, and Ichigo could only raise his eyebrow at the man's statement. Unrepentant, Ozpin continued. "It is up to you to take the first step."
With that, the man stepped away from the microphone, only for Goodwitch to take his place.
"You will gather at the ballroom tonight," she said, her voice as controlled as ever. "Tomorrow, your initiation begins. Be ready. You are dismissed."
-天鎖斬月-
Ichigo spent the rest of his day more-or-less scouting the area, locating buildings such as the dorms (there were multiple dorm buildings), Beacon Tower (the tallest and most prominent tower with the glowing green orbs of light at the top), the Cross Continental Transmute System (CCT for short), the library, dining hall and even the ballroom. He didn't stray too far from the center of Beacon, though he did manage to find a map of the immediate area around the school in the library. The Emerald Forest was east of the school, reportedly teaming with Grimm for the students to fight, while the Beacon Cliffs were directly to the south. North of the school was the reputed fairgrounds where civilians and students would set up booths or stalls for things like the Vytal Festival.
With all the new information to be cataloged and surroundings to be processed the rest of Ichigo's day passed by quickly, and he soon found himself being ushered into the locker rooms by a faculty member. He surprised to see both boys and girls milling about in various states of undress. His Scroll buzzed as he walked through the door, giving Ichigo a much needed distraction from the unexpected turn of events. He pulled out the high-tech device, opening it and tapping the New Message icon.
Locer # 115: 1-5-1-5
He quirked an eyebrow. He already had an assigned locker? He shrugged making his way through the thinning throng of students, until he found the right one, and punched in the code. The metal door popped open with a click, revealing the the overnight back he had initially complained and wondered about. Well that was one question answered. The mass of students that had been there when he first entered was quickly thinning, so he decided he should probably hurry so he didn't miss curfew or anything.
If he did though, would they send Goodwitch after him?
The thought made him snort. As if. There probably wasn't even a curfew. Still, it only took him about ten minutes to find and open shower stall, clean himself, dry off and get dressed. He folded his clothes neatly at the bottom of his locker before setting Midnight and Zangetsu inside.
The ballroom was filled with about three hundred students, teens conversing lowly or reading a book or roughhousing before they finally retired for the night. Ichigo barely even had a time for a cursory glance around the room before the sound of what could either be a cat drowning or a woman's death gurgle reached his ears. He glanced to the right to see Jaune staring at him, what looked like defeat plastered on his face. Ichigo had to focus on keeping the twitch of his lip from being visible. Just what the hell was the guy wearing? It was blue, with bunny slippers and a white bunny face on the chest, and totally one piece.
"Are you wearing a onesie?" he asked.
Jaune looked genuinely offended. "What's wrong with onesies?" It came out surprisingly forceful, like a challenge,and, even though Ichigo hadn't known Jaune for long, it was so un-Jaune-like that he had to blink in surprise.
"Er, nothing , I guess," he replied uncertainly. Jaune nodded, before releasing a cry that Ichigo recognized as the drowned cat from earlier.
"Anyway, why do you have to look like a model all the time?" he cried despondently.
The orange-haired teen cocked his head to the side. "Huh? What are you talking about?"
"That!" Jaune said gesturing to him. "What you're wearing!"
Ichigo glanced down at himself, scratching his chin uncertainly. He didn't really know what Jaune was talking about, he was only wearing a pair of grey sweatpants and an orange shirt, granted the shirt was a little more uncomfortable than he remembered. It must have shrunk in the wash. He still had the bandages on his left forearm, but his shirt showed that it ended at about his mid bicep, and he'd folded his bandana and wrapped it around his head to keep his lip hair from falling into his eyes and only being marginally successful. It made his hair stick up a bit more, but that was nothing really, and he had gotten lazy so the bandana was situated crookedly on his head. He usually slept without a shirt on, and was really glad he'd decided to pack one.
Luckily, he didn't have to try and decipher what Jaune ment as someone chose that time to call out to them.
"Ichigo, Jaune!"
It was Ruby, and she was waving them over, a large smile on her face. She was standing next to several other people, the same blond who had called out to her in the amphitheater, the white-haired girl from before, and a resigned-looking brunette. He grinned slightly and made his way over, hearing Jaune grumbling under his breath behind him.
"Hey, Red," he said, nodding at the other girls.
"Where were you?" she asked. "I couldn't find you after the ceremony! I told Yang all about you, but when we couldn't find you she thought I was making you up!"
He scratched the back of his head awkwardly, oddly feeling like he was being chastised. "Sorry bout that," he said. "I was walking around campus trying to get a feel for the grounds and all that. And keep your voice down, people are trying to sleep."
"Thank you!" the girl with white hair exclaimed, either not knowing or ignoring the fact that she had probably woken up anyone who had fallen asleep. "I'm surprised. Out of all of you, only the delinquent has any sense of decorum." Said delinquent scowled, opening his mouth to retort but someone beat him to it.
"And I assume you're including yourself as well?" The resigned looking brunette stated, causing the white haired girl to whirl to her in indignation.
"And, who," she started hotly, "are you?"
The brunette didn't even blink. "I'm Blake, and you're Weiss Schnee-"
"And I'm Yang!" the blonde cut in, throwing her arm around Ruby's shoulders.
"- and," the seated brunette continued as if the blond girl hadn't cut her off "You're all interrupting my reading and several other people's sleep."
The white haired girl,Weiss, retorted angrily with Ruby coming to support Blake and Yang supporting Ruby. Ichigo sighed, glancing at Jaune to see him slowly backing away, eyes wide with uncertainty under the angry stares of their future classmates. Ichigo honestly couldn't sympathize with the guy simply because he didn't care what other thought about him. He could empathize with the others though, he wouldn't want his sleep to be interrupted by a bunch of bickering girls. Of course he'd had his sleep interrupted by much worse, but nonetheless it sucked.
"Oi!," he called with a scowl, cutting through the argument that was still going and effectively silencing the four girls. "Why don't we all calm down and go to sleep. We have a big day tomorrow, so can it and get to your beds."
He could feel the whole room's eyes on him, some in relief, some in anger, though the four girls were looking at him in surprise, a glint of challenge in their eyes. For the longest moment Ichigo thought that they were all going to turn and yell at him, but he kept his face impassive as he stared right back at him. Surprisingly, with the exception of Ruby, Weiss was the first to fold, huffing and turning on her heel, her powder blue nightgown swishing about her ankles. Blake was next, simply shrugging and turning back to her book and ignoring them.
Ruby had been cowed as soon as he raised his voice, looking down at her while she poked her two pointer fingers together. Yang, on the other hand, smirked opening her mouth to say something, but he just turned his head slightly to give her the full effect of his stare. She closed her mouth, but still smirked.
"Okay," she said her lilac eyes twinkling in amusement. "Night, daddy," she said, throwing a saucy wink his way before pulling Ruby away with her.
Ichigo pinched the bridge of his nose with a sigh, not quite successful at keeping the blush at Yang's comment off his face. He was pretty sure he had just inadvertently opened a can of worms that would have been better off being closed. He sighed again, already knowing there was no way of correcting it.
He mumbled a 'goodnight' to Jaune, before making his way to the edge of the room in search of an open sleeping bag. He found one, thankfully, and dragged it to a mostly vacant corner. He was just about finished setting up shop when he heard giggling to his left. He twitched. "It wasn't that funny," he grumbled, only getting more giggling.
"You did sound like a dad," was his reply. Ichigo groaned, collapsing onto his sleeping bag and glancing to his side, his amber eyes meeting vivid green.
She had hair the color of flames that fell all they way down her back. She was leaning against the wall, her blankets pulled up to her lap, a book in her hand and a small, if somewhat uncertain smile on her face. She extended a dainty-looking hand. "I'm Pyrrha Nikos," she said.
Ichigo grinned slightly, reaching out to take her hand. It was surprisingly callus "Ichigo. No last name." Pyrrha giggle again, using her other hand to cover her lips.
"Well, Ichigo No-Last-Name, thank you. As much as I am for people socializing with each other, it was getting a bit difficult to focus on reading." The teen shrugged.
"They were being loud, someone had to do something. If I hadn't I'm pretty sure they would have argued for the whole night." The redhead cocked her head slightly.
"Pretty sure?" she echoed. "Do you not know them?"
"Not really," he replied, shaking his head lightly. "I met Ruby, the black-haired one with the red tips, earlier today when I got off the airship. The rest I just met."
She giggled again. "I thought you were all old friends. It certainly looked like it."
He shrugged, turning to gaze out over the slumbering students. "I don't really have friends," he said.
"Really?" She seemed legitimately surprised at his words. "You seem nice to me."
He scratched his chin, scrunching up his nose a little. "Well, I moved around a lot when I was younger. Never stayed in a place long enough to tie my shoes really." He turned a flashed her a grin. "Plus, I kinda look like a delinquent, or so I've heard."
"I think you look just fine," she laughed, before turning contemplative. "Though I am curious how you got that scar. Beowulf?"
He shook his head. "Ursa, when I was younger. I'd just taken it's eye and it tried to do the same. I nearly die, but I got it in the end."
Her eyes shone a little in the low lighting. "That's impressive. How old were you?"
"Young enough for it to be considered brave instead of stupid."
They both shared a laugh at that, though Pyrrha took a bit of time to compose herself. "Thank you, Ichigo, I haven't laughed like this in a while." Her expression turned a bit down. "To be honest, I don't have any friends either."
It was Ichigo's turn to cock his head. She didn't have any friends? He was going to say something that, upon reflection, would have come off as callous, but noticed her body language. Her knees were drawn to her chest as she hugged them, and she was staring resolutely ahead of her. Her book lay closed at her side, and he could just make out her fingers fiddling with each other in the low light.
He nearly sighed. He had been lonely before, for the majority of his life actually, so he could spot the signs. Honestly, he was always lonely nowadays, but he was slightly jaded to the word from harsh experiences. She wasn't, or at least he assumed she wasn't. Either way, he could tell that she was desperate for companionship.
"I'm hurt," he said, ending the small them.
She looked at him startled. "Huh?"
"You don't consider me a friend," he clarified, before sighing dramatically. "Oh, and here I am giving up my precious sleep to talk to you."
"W-w-what? I mean- w-we just met a-and-"
"Pyrrha," he said, cutting off her sputtering, "sometimes it doesn't take that long."
Emotions flashed over her face, before she simply smiled widely. "Thanks, Ichigo."
He shrugged, grinning all the while. "What are friends for?"
-天鎖斬月-
The next day dawned to early for Ichigo's liking, or more like he was woken up too early for him to be called a productive member of society. The way that the room was still brightening, told Ichigo that it was barely past sunrise, and, were he at home, he'd usually just rolled over, shut his eyes, and go back to sleep. To bad he wasn't at home, where the first thing he saw was his ceiling and not the beaming face of Pyrrha Nikos.
"Come on, Ichigo," she said, softly but with clear exuberance. "It's time to get up."
He groaned and rolled onto his side. "Mm sleepin'," he slurred.
She shook his shoulder gently. "Ichigooo."
The orange-haired teen sighed, rolling onto his back to stare up at the redhead. "Pyrrha, I gotta tell you something."
"Yes?"
"I'm a nocturnal animal." With that he rolled onto his left side, closing his eyes to fall into sleep oblivion. Or he would have if she hadn't started poking him. 'Ignore it Ichigo,' he told himself. 'It'll go away if you ignore it.' It didn't, and after five minutes, Ichigo finally conceded defeat. "Fine," he growled out, "but you owe me coffee."
"Okay," was his happy reply.
He sat up, scratching the top of his head, and he blearily looked around the ballroom. It took him a second to realize something. Everyone was still asleep. He twitched, turning to glare at Pyrrha, who only beamed happily at him. He sighed, whatever anger that had built up leaving him. Instead he got up and headed for the locker rooms, Pyrrha, humming happily as she followed behind him.
He felt refreshed after his morning shower. And by refreshed he meant that he felt less of a reanimated corpse and more of a newborn homunculus. He changed back into his clothes from yesterday, but left Zangetsu and Midnight in his locker. Zangetsu was only for when he needed to hit something, really hard. By the time he got out of the locker room Pyrrha was waiting for him fully dressed with a cup of steaming brown gold in her hands. He practically snatched the cup from her, taking a sip from one of the best things in creation. As the warmth settled into his stomach, Ichigo took in Pyrrha's appearance.
She had changed out of her sleep clothes, a simple black shirt and red shorts, and into what could only be some Amazonian Princess outfit. She wore some kind of strapless armor top that was split down the middle, with the middle portion being a locut bronze piece while the outer parts were brown. The material, hardened leather if he had to guess, was stiff and slightly, but tastefully, embroidered. Dark brown gloves covered her hands and arms all the way up to her mid bicep, though she did have a bronze bracer on her left arm. She had a red drapery around her hips and over her black mini-skirt, the red piece of cloth falling down to her ankles. Elaborate bronze greaves covered her from just below her mid-thigh and ran all the way down to her boots, while a pair of cuisses covered her thighs. Her brown boots were high-heeled and trimmed in bronze.
A belt was wrapped around her waist, two pouches rested on one hip while her emblem, a bronze plate with a shield and spear on it, rested on her other hip. She wore a large bronze gorget around her throat, an emerald the same shade as her eyes set in the ornate piece, and a bronze bracelet on her upper left arm. Lastly, Ichigo noticed Pyrrha's headpiece, an elaborate piece of bronze that shone from under her bangs and above her ears. Thin chains hung around her ears, teardrop-shaped emeralds hanging from them. All in all, she looked pretty badass.
He wasn't going to tell her that though. Instead he chose to take another sip of his coffee and nod his head in slight reverence. Black, just like his soul.
"Where'd you get this?" he asked.
"The dining hall," she replied. "They're still setting up for breakfast."
Ichigo took another sip. "Then we should still be asleep."
"Haven't you ever heard the saying, 'the early bird gets the worm'," she asked.
"Yeah, but the second mouse gets the cheese." Ichigo was then treated to the sight of a pouting Pyrrha, something that he would consciously think of as one of the cutest things he'd ever seen. Not that he'd tell her that. He took another sip. "Let's head to the dining hall, gets some food and try and puzzle out what we're going to do for the initiation."
His companion nodded and they made their way to the dining hall, a room just as illustrious as everything else that he'd seen at Beacon. Wide, open, and spacious Ichigo barely registered the magnificent sight of the sunlight streaming through the multi-colored glass, focusing only on the smell of food that waifed to his nose. He practically floated over the buffet table, before loading a plate with meat and eggs. He somehow found himself seated next to Pyrrha while they both eat. They didn't get much talking in, more because Ichigo was still fighting his way back into being a functioning human, but the food helped, and they shared a laugh when the noticed the first of the the other students make their way into the dining hall, looking as bleary eyed as he had felt.
Surprisingly enough, more and more people made their way into the the dining hall until it was packed, and suddenly Ruby and Yang were setting their plate down across the table from them.
"Morning Daddy! Morning Miss." Yang said with too much cheer to be human. Ichigo grunted while Ruby and Pyrrha laughed.
"Hi Ichigo. Who's your friend?" Ruby asked.
Right. "Ruby, Yang-"
"Daddy?"
"-this," he said raising his voice to run over the blond's, "is Pyrrha. Pyrrha, the squirts Ruby, the airy one's Yang. I think…"
"Hey, I resent that!" Ruby exclaimed, while the other two laughed again.
"Yang Xiao Long," the blonde said sticking out a hand. "I'm Ruby's sister."
Ichigo blinked. He hadn't know that, but it suddenly made a lot of things make sense. Like why Ruby was seemingly at ease around the older girl, or how they knew each other. He shrugged, draining the last of his coffee and tuning back into the conversation that was happening around him, only too see everyone standing up and heading out.
"Whoa, whats going on?" he asked.
The girls turned to him, looking at him curiously. "Did you hear anything Professor Goodwitch just said?" Pyrrha asked.
He scratched the back of his head sheepishly. Apparently he'd zoned out longer than he had thought. "Sorry, I kinda zoned out. What'd I miss?"
"Professor Goodwitch, told us to get our weapons from the locker room, we're going to start the initiation soon."
AN: How was it? Be sure to leave a review, if you liked it. Or don't. It doesn't matter really.
Thanks for reading ~VS
P.S. If anyone has a better name for Ichigo's sword other than Midnight, PM me and if I like it I'll change it.