Chapter One: In Which Weapons Lead to Friendship
Legends. Stories passed on through the ages of time, imparting tales of great acts of heroism against the overwhelming power of villains. To most, they are just fantastical stories to teach morals to youths or simply to entertain, but like all stories there exist fragments of truth in those tales.
Someday this too may become a legend, but I hope that by writing this tale down perhaps this fragment of truth can become passed down to future generations. As extraordinary as they may be, heroes are also human prone to the same mistakes, heartaches, and fears.
"Get it off! Get it off! Get it off!"
Her cousin's shriek could have woken the dead. The reason for the shriek, a spider that had chosen to crawl along her shoulder and was now dangling from a thin thread connecting it to the girl's flailing arms. Natsuki ignored the looks that were fixed on them as she caught the girl's arm before she got smacked in the face. She pinched the tiny eight-legged creature between thumb and forefinger.
"I can never understand how someone that is training to be a Huntress can be so afraid of spiders."
"Because they're icky and small and you never know where the are. And they make sticky webs for unsuspecting people to walk through. Also because they are the spawn of Mother Satan herself."
Natsuki just sighed and leaned back against the wall, pulling her black cowboy hat down to shade her eyes while she crossed her legs, spurs jingling.
"Why are you wearing your spurs anyway?"
"Why do you have Dust tattoos?" Natsuki shot back without moving. "They're just a much of a weapon as Tempest is."
"Well, I get that, but why are you wearing the jingle bobs."
At that Natsuki frowned and glared down at the back of her heels where the small metal balls hanging on the outside of the spurs would ring out against the metal of the spur whenever she moved. "Cassidy put them on when I wasn't looking and I didn't have time to take them off before we left."
"Well, just make sure you take them off before initiation. You don't want those giving away your location when you're in the Emerald Forest."
"Emerald Forest?" Natsuki repeated and then pushed the hat back to stare at her cousin. "Nanami, what is initiation? You've been making vague comments about it since you joined Beacon last year."
"Don't worry about you. I mean you don't have wings like me," Nanami rustled her golden brown wings in demonstration. "But wolves always land on their feet right."
"That's cats," Natsuki deadpanned. "And why would I need to lan-"
"Shh, everything will be fine," Nanami cut her off, pressing a finger against her lips. Beneath her hat, Natsuki's wolf ears angled backward suspiciously while the tip of her tail twitched sporadically. "Oh, look its Goodwitch."
A news feed that had been playing on one of the holographic screens was suddenly replaced with an image of a stern-looking blonde huntress.
"Hello, and welcome to Beacon! My name is Glynda Goodwitch." Natsuki glanced at her sister from the corner of her eye. She had never seen her cousin this focused before. "You are among a privileged few who have received the honor of being selected to attend this prestigious academy! Our world is experiencing an incredible time of peace, and as future Huntsmen 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.
"We ask that new students report to the auditorium as soon as the airship lands. Returning students we ask that you make your way to your Team dorms to check in and that you do not wander the campus until classes start on Wednesday. Thank you."
The holographic screen shut off, giving the two cousins an uninterrupted view out the glass window opposite of them and the tall spires of Beacon Academy. Gasps and murmurs of awe were echoed by new students as they flocked to the windows for a better view. Natsuki shot a glance through the window beside them towards the city of Vale.
A commotion farther down the airship dragged Natsuki attention away as a blonde boy rushed towards a garbage can with his hands clasped over his mouth. Welcome to Beacon indeed.
Xander was having a great day before one of his fellow students got airsickness. Everyone around him was excited and totally hyped to actually have gotten into Beacon. There was some nervousness as well, but his own good mood allowed him to ignore that and he allowed the excitement of the moment carry him away on a natural high. Then he suddenly found his stomach doing flips in empathetic queasiness to the airsick boy that rushed past. Sometimes - most of the time - having a semblance that he couldn't turn off really, really sucked. Especially when the other students' emotions around the boy went from excitement to disgust and cruel amusement at the boy's predicament.
Good mood ruined, he drifted to the far end of the airship where there weren't as many people. He passed two faunus on his way and made sure not to stare at the taller of the two despite his curiosity about the wings on her back. Were they strong enough to support her weight? Could she fly? He did, however, find his gaze lingering on the wolf faunus because 'Oh my Dust, she's dressed like a cowboy. . . or was it cowgirl and the rifle slung over her shoulder looked so awesome and it was just so cool and. . . Oh. That was new. He had never felt such a mess of emotions before. Nervousness and excitement were to be expected, but there was also guilt, longing, and wariness. And most of all was the love and care she had for the other girl. It was powerful and moving and Xander was not at all ashamed of the way his eyes began to water. Because the only time he'd felt a familial love that strong was when he was with his mother.
The girl's sudden irritation directed at him suddenly snapped him out of the moment. He realized that he was staring and that she had fixed him with a piercing glare. The taller girl at her side had also begun glaring at him and he gulped nervously at the harmful intent both girls were directing at him while the older cracked her knuckles. Smiling nervously he gave a tiny wave before practically fleeing back the way he came towards the nearest set of doors as the airship finally docked at Beacon. The airsick blonde from before rushed out the door ahead of him, leaning over a trash can as he lost his breakfast. Xander staggered as he was once again subjected to the boy's queasiness and staggered to the side out of the path of the other students to recover so he didn't lose his breakfast as well. The rush of excitement from the departing students peaked and he found himself easily overwhelmed by the sudden surge of emotions that were not his own. Needing a chance to breathe and recover before he was driven crazy, he plopped down onto a nearby bench to wait until the majority of the students had passed.
By the time he felt ready to get up almost everyone had already left the airship docks. He ran a hand through his long black hair with a sigh as he realized he didn't know where he was supposed to go. A sudden explosion caused him to raise an eyebrow and rush towards the sound. There had to be people there and maybe he could get directions.
Instead, he found a young girl of maybe fourteen or fifteen, laying in a crater in the ground. Sad, disappointed, and lonely. Xander sighed tugged at his green jacket to straighten and brushed his hair back before he moved to stand over her. Her wide silver eyes opened as his shadow blocked out the sun. Alright, Xander. Time to be a gentlemen. Don't be weird.
He smiled kindly and held out a hand. "Hey there, need some help."
She accepted his hand and allowed him to pull her to her feet. He hid a wince at how tight her grip was. Dust, was she strong.
"The name's Xander."
"Ruby."
Nailed it.
Totally not nailing it. This girl was like awkward to the nth degree. She was nice and kinda cute, but shyer than anyone he had ever met. After several painful minutes of silence, Xander tried and failed to think of a conversation starter.
"So. . ." Ruby suddenly said in the awkward silence. "I got this thing."
From beneath her red cloak, she pulled out a large clunky object that was equally as red. It unfolded into a weapon that the girl spun like it weighed nothing before burying the tip in the sidewalk.
"Is that. . ." Xander's eyes widened as he stared at the weapon. "Is that a scythe?"
"It's also a customizable high-impact sniper rifle!"
Xander clapped his hands together with a squeal, eyes filled with stars. "That. Is. So. Cool."
His handsome, charming gentlemanly status was officially ruined. But who cared because it was sniper scythe and it was so cool and the engineer in him wanted to take it all apart so he could see how it all worked and Ruby Rose was officially his new best friend. He had to take a picture to send to Simon. His brother would love it as much as he did.
"So what've you got?"
Xander swept his jacket back to draw his twin revolvers. "I got these babies. Meet Kaminara Burett."
Ruby's eyes lit up. "Awesome. You don't usually see people using classic weapons like revolvers these days, but the classics are cool too."
"Oh, but there's nothing classic about these." He spun them by their trigger guards to grab them by their barrels as the rips rapidly unfolded into a curved crescent blade that connected to the barrel. "Because they're also dual hatchets."
"So cool," Ruby said breathlessly.
"The bullets are custom made too." Xander grinned and returned them to their revolver form so he could remove one of the Dust bullets. He held it out to the awestruck girl, who quickly returned her weapon beneath her cloak so she could take. She closely examined the bullet, turning it this way and that so she could exam the pronged tip and the yellow Dust that could be seen encased inside.
"Is that Lightning Dust?"
"Yeah. My brother came up with the design. He calls them taser bullets. He made my guns too."
"Your brother? Isn't it traditional for Hunters to make their own weapons or have them passed down to them?" Ruby asked passing over the bullet.
"Well, yeah, but my brother made these revolvers for me when I was younger. The barrel used to be a lot shorter because my hands were smaller. I loved the design so much that I asked him to help me make a bigger pair."
"Your brother must be a pretty skilled engineer then."
"Oh, yeah. My brother's famous back in Atlas. You actually may have heard of him. Simon Irving."
"You're related to Simon Irving! They say he's so amazing that he can even tell what weapon would fit his clients the best."
"That's him. But can I tell you a secret? It's actually his semblance. See he can look at anyone and know exactly what kinda weapon would be best suited to them. He also has the ability to look at a weapon and know exactly how it works."
"Best semblance ever."
Xander laughed, his smile genuinely happy. And here his brother told him he couldn't make friends via weapons.
"By the way?" He suddenly asked. "Do you know where we're going."
"Oh, uh. I don't know. I was following you."
Natsuki stood near the back of the crowd of students gathered in the auditorium, wolf ears pressed flat against her head beneath her hat. An unfortunate thing about being born with two sets of ears was that noises were amplified and when packed into a room like this, it was quite painful. Leaning all her weight onto one leg, she lightly kicked at the ground and then frowned when she couldn't even hear the jingle of her spurs over the racket. She glanced back towards the door where the last few stragglers were wandering in. Her gaze narrowed as she caught sight of the boy that had ogled her back on the airship. As if sensing her stare, he looked away from the girl in red he was talking to and right at her only to flinch and recoil. He then tilted the other away as if someone had bumped into and turned while holding up his hands as if apologizing only to freeze as there was nothing there. The girl with him was looking at him in confusion and Natsuki found herself raising her eyebrow and turned her attention back towards the currently empty stage.
A few minutes later a tall man with gray hair stepped onto the stage with a coffee cup in one hand and a cane in another. He adjusted the microphone and Natsuki closed her eyes with a wince at the piercing squeal of feedback. Thankfully it cut through the chatter and everyone fell silent to listen to him.
"I'll... keep this brief. You have traveled here today in search of knowledge, to hone your craft and acquire new skills, and when you have 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." Was this meant to be inspiring? "You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you to take the first step."
He had indeed kept it short and without another word, he left the stage. Glynda Goodwitch stepped up to the microphone, briefly shutting an irritated glare at the Headmaster's back.
"Thank you, Headmaster. You will all gather in the ballroom tonight; tomorrow, you're initiation begins. Be ready. You are dismissed."
Natsuki frowned. She was grateful that they didn't have to stay in the auditorium anymore, but the Headmaster's behavior made her curious. He'd seemed almost absent-minded and distracted. She could only hope that the rest of her teachers wouldn't be this way. Putting the thought out of her mind, she adjusted the rifle slung across her back into a more comfortable position before rushing outside to avoid the press of the crowd as the headed to do the same. She inhaled the fresh air gratefully, tail waving slightly in relief while her wolf ears perked up in relief.
Natsuki felt strangely uncomfortable without her cowboy boots or rifle after having them for the majority of the day. She felt far more uncomfortable in the onesie that had replaced her normal nightclothes. She didn't know when Nanami had time to go through her packed clothes, but she knew it had to be her because only her cousin would think it amusing to make Natsuki have to sleep in a lamb onesie in front of her peers. She was quick to glare at anyone that some much as giggled in her direction. She'd even kept the hood of the onesie down in hopes that no one would realize that she was currently a walking pun. One busty blonde girl had beamed as Natsuki walked past and didn't flinch from her glare.
"Nice sheep's clothing, Wolf."
The wolf faunus felt the low rumble that built up in her chest, barely biting the growl back because normal faunus didn't growl. At that moment it was probably a good thing that Natsuki didn't have her weapons as she would have been tempted to either shoot the girl or kick her, an ax kick, with full force and her sharpened spurs. Instead of violence, she just adjusted her hat to make sure it covered her wolf ears before stalking off to one of the far walls where another faunus girl was sitting in a kimono.
"This spot free," She asked between gritted teeth, failing at keeping the anger out of her voice."
"Go ahead," The stoat faunus replied, and the gestured to the boy that lay on a sleeping bag a few feet away. "This seems to be the faunus corner anyways."
The boy was tapping away on a tablet with a pair of headphones covering his ears. Natsuki could see the webbing between his fingers that gave away his identity of some sort of aquatic based faunus. The tablet he was using was something Natsuki hadn't seen in a long time. Most people had switched over to using Scrolls once they had come out five or so years ago. She stretched out her sleeping bag against the wall and then offered her hand to the girl.
"I'm Natsuki."
"Yasmin."
A spark flashed between their hands and Yasmin flinched, letting it go quickly. "Ah, sorry. Didn't mean to shock you."
"It's fine."
Natsuki blinked and when her eyes reopened she was briefly confused as for a moment Yasmin didn't seem to exist at all, but then she was back just as quickly. Natsuki found herself shaking her head, chalking it up to just her mind playing tricks on her.
"Hey Wolfie, nice pajamas!"
Natsuki bristled at the burly human boy that stood over her. She rose quickly to her feet not liking the way he loomed over her. To her surprise, the other faunus rose as well.
"Leave her alone," Yasmin told him darkly, the brown fur on her tail visibly bristling.
"And what are you supposed to be? Some sort of weasel?"
The boy was making no effort to keep his volume down and dragged the attention of everyone nearby to them. Several people were glaring at him, but there was an as equal amount who were laughing and jeering. The rest were watching on apathetically and no one even made a move to come to their aid. Natsuki could no longer contain her ire. The lights flickered wildly above them and the bully tipped his head back to look up at them in confusion and so didn't see the way electricity suddenly began to crackle around Natsuki's body. She was pissed and she would love to show him just what she thought of him.
"Don't," The faunus boy told her without looking up from his tablet. "You'll just get in trouble."
Knowing he was right, Natsuki took a deep breath and calmed her silence but couldn't fully control her shaking. The boy took looked back down at her when the lights stop flickering and sneered.
"Ah, have I scared the little puppy dog."
"Not cool dude!" The voice cut through the air clearly and Natsuki felt her eyes widen at the sight of the boy from the airship. "It's not very gentlemanly to insult a girl you know."
The bully scowled at the interloper. "What do you know about being manly? I could probably snap you in half with one hand."
"I said gentlemanly, not manly, first of all. And secondly, I'm pretty sure I could kick your ass."
"Is that so?"
"Yeah, it is."
The bully threw a rather sloppy punch at the airship boy's head. It had power but not much skill behind it. The boy ducked under the punch, spun around behind his back, planted his foot on the other's behind, and gave a hefty shove that sent the boy sprawling. Several other students had to quickly roll out of the way to avoid being crushed by the bully.
"Consider your ass kicked."
Laughter echoed around them at the bully's expense and the boy that had just literally kicked his ass, placed his hands on his hips and smirked. Natsuki stared at the boy in shock, but quickly wiped the expression from her face when he turned to look at them.
"You girls, okay."
"We're fine," Natsuki replied and then her gaze flickered to the bully as he got up and fixed a glare on the boy.
As the bully bellowed and charged both Natsuki and the boy moved in sync. The boy stepped aside and Natsuki caught the bully's fist in the palm of her hand. She clenched her fingers around his fist and the boy actually let out a pained whimper, his aura the only thing keeping her from crushing his hand. She shoved him backward away from him and the boy cradled his hand protectively to his chest before deciding injury wasn't worth it.
The boy let out a slow whistle. "You're pretty strong for a girl."
Natsuki narrowed her gaze at him. "Thank you for your help."
"And go away," Yasmin added and Natsuki was briefly startled because up until then the girl had actually been rather pleasant.
"Of course," He accepted, a knowing glint in his eyes as he sauntered off.
This is an alternate universe to my other RWBY fanfic, Heart to Heart. There are two reasons I decided to write this fanfic. The first is to overcome my writer's block for Heart to Heart while the second is as a character study of my OCs and how they get along with team RWBY by replacing team JNPR with NNYX. At some point, I plan to do the opposite with NNYX in the place of RWBY. This story is also the first in crossposting on Archive of Our Own under the name ContagiosulyWeird. Artwork of NNYX (save Nickolas) can be found on my DeviantArt account, 3wolfjones4. You may notice that Natsuki's clothes and weapons are different than what they are in Heart to Heart.