Notes: Here's the next chapter. The deadline for the contest is August 22nd, let's hope I can make it in time. I've gotta say, I'm really glad to see how many of you seem to enjoy this. I really truly appreciate the support I'm being shown. I hope I don't disappoint any of you.
The sun rose over the horizon, painting the sky orange, bringing an end to the short time of rest. After packing things up and a quick breakfast prepared by Shirou, they were off. There was a village not too far, the plan was to head over and call for a bullhead to come extract them.
And so, through the forest they traveled. Yatsuhashi took the lead, Coco close behind him. Velvet and Fox stood beside Shirou, who trailed lightly after Coco.
Though they had exterminated much of the grimm, there were still a few small ones here and there. Whenever one of them jumped out, the group of teens were quick to take out the creature before Shirou could even move. Of course, what the teens didn't know, if Shirou had decided to, he would have moved against the threat before they even noticed it. But he had decided to leave it up to them to take care of the creatures.
It wasn't that Shirou couldn't be bothered to fight, or that he was scared, nothing like that. The reason he stayed back was because these teens were tasked with taking care of these creatures. It was the profession they had chosen. They were sent out here on these missions so they could gain experience. It was to prepare them for the future. If Shirou stepped in, he'd be robbing them of some very important experience. And if they should die in the future because of that, it would mean Shirou was responsible for their deaths.
Of course, that didn't mean Shirou would just sit back. If they came across something he didn't think the team could handle, or it looked as if one of them was about to be seriously injured, Shirou would step in without hesitation. That was why he kept his guard up the entire time they'd been walking.
"Don't worry, we'll be arriving at the village soon. We'll take care of any grimm that attack, too." Velvet, who noticed his tenseness and misattributed it to fear of the grimm, did her best to reassure him.
Without even looking at her, "Alright." was the only thing he said.
Velvet scratched the back of her head with a wry smile. "And I thought I was the quiet one."
"Sorry." Again, without even looking at her, he spoke only a single word.
"N-no, it's fine." She gave an awkward chuckle. The whole conversation felt awkward.
The short conversation ended, bringing about a reign of silence. Nothing but the sound of the occasional twig snapping under boot, leaf crumpling under foot, feet impacting ground. There was also the sound of metal jingling about, the equipment the students brought with them.
The only thing Shirou had on him besides his clothing, was a pale-grey cloak, the hood currently not being worn, and a small pack slung over his shoulder. Perhaps he had some other things hidden beneath his cloak or in his pockets, they wouldn't know. He would have had a tent and camp supplies, but Shirou told them they could just leave the equipment there. He said if the grimm attack and destroy it, fine, but if not, he would use it next time he traveled that way. There was no question in their mind over whether it would be destroyed or not, but he seemed indifferent to it, so they didn't pursue it further.
"I see the village, it's just up ahead." Yatsuhashi informed them all.
Shirou looked past the teen. Marking the entrance, two large pillars stood upright, a large wooden beam laying across the both of them. Though it was the entryway, there weren't any walls around the village or anything, people would be just as capable of entering any other way. Of course, it was built along the main road, most people would find themselves crossing through this gate on their travels. That was probably why the gate was placed there in the first place.
"The bullhead should be arriving soon." Coco said. "We'll wait around town till it gets here." Her team nodded and gave words of acknowledgement.
Shirou was right, traveling with them would get him to Vale much sooner. It wasn't like he had a ship he could have taken. He was just going to walk all the way.
All that was left was to wait for the bullhead. Then he would be well on his way back to the city.
[Fate/RWBY]
"Hey, do you want to hear a story?" he asked.
"Sure!" the young boy replied.
He raised a brow. "Someone's a little excited."
"Of course I am! You always have cool stories, and you always use them to teach me something."
"Huh?" He scratched his cheek. "Do I really?"
"Yeah, it's really fun."
"I see... But this one might be a little different from the other ones I told you."
"I don't mind!"
"Well, alright then...
Once upon a time, there was a young prince who had been cursed by a wicked fairy. 'As a beast you'll stay till the end of your days. Unless you find one to love, who you they love.' these were the words spoken by her. But the beast was hideous. Surely there was none who could love him.
'Once this rose wilts, your fate is sealed. As a monster you'll die, with none who love you.' Time had passed. The young prince hid himself away, waiting for his death to come.
'Did you hear about the hideous beast?' people would say. 'I heard he eats people who get too close.' Rumors spread. 'I heard he's a real monster.' A tale of fear the people would tell. A prince judged by his appearance.
One day, during a great storm, a man had come seeking shelter. The prince's heart was moved with compassion. 'Prepare a meal for the man.' he ordered his servants.
He opened his doors, silently inviting the man in.
The man walked in and looked around, but didn't find the owner who had hidden. His eyes fell on a table with food and drinks, a gift left for him. The man accepted, and even spent the night.
The morning came. The man left the palace, preparing to head home. But then he saw a rose garden. His daughter would love one, the man thought. He walked over and plucked the loveliest one he could find. When the man turned to leave, the beast was there. The man fell down in fear of the terrifying beast.
'I gave you food when you hungered, water when you thirst, a place to rest when you were tired, yet you would steal my most precious possession!?' the beast roared. 'For such a crime, you shall surely die...'
[Fate/RWBY]
"Hey? You listening?" A hand was being waved in front of his face.
"I'm sorry, what was that?" The teen shook his head, snapping out of his daze. Looking up, he found his two teammates.
Roman, the one who had asked the question, was leaning against the desk, his white jacket flowing off to the other side. Neo, the one who was waving her... the one who was still waving her hand in front of his face, was laying her upper body on the desk right in front of him, her eyes half closed in boredom.
Adam gently grabbed her waving hand and placed it down on the desk. The girl complied with the silent request, leaving her hand away from his face. She still stay laying on the desk, though. She even rolled off her stomach and onto her back, trying to get more comfortable... then she yawned.
"I said class is over. We can go now." Roman crossed his arms. "Anyways, what were you daydreaming about? Was it beautiful girls?" Roman wiggled his eyebrows.
Neo immediately shot up. She adopted an inquisitive look, yet a smile hang loosely on her lips. She rolled her hands around in the air, urging Adam to explain.
Adam knew what she was trying to say. 'Give us the details! What were they wearing? What color were they wearing? Were they cute or beautiful? Mature or innocent? Did you feel their skin? Was it soft? It was soft, wasn't it? I bet it was soft.' Yep, Adam knew those were the exact questions she was asking.
"I was just remembering something." he explained.
Neo raised a brow, her smile still present.
"No, it wasn't a memory about girls." He rolled his eyes, though the action was hidden by his sunglasses.
"Ah, it's too bad." Roman placed a hand on Neo's head. "Looks like we couldn't hear about girls this time, but someday, our time will come."
Neo looked up at him, nodding her head with a smile that would give the Cheshire Cat a run for his money.
"You two really are strange." Adam sighed.
Adam stood up. Being seated at the end of the row, he didn't need to shuffle around to get free. It was just one side-step to freedom. Turning and walking up the steps, Adam threw a hand over his shoulder and motioned for them to follow. "Let's go for lunch."
With a look and a shrug given to each other, the two teens made to follow Adam's lead. Roman walked normally, but Neo skipped along.
Taking a right upon exiting the classroom, Adam found team RWBY walking down the hall towards them. Well, team RWBY minus R.
"Here comes boss' girlfriend." Roman muttered, earning him a slap to the back of the head from Adam.
When they caught sight of the three teens, the remainder of RWBY changed course to them. Likewise, Adam led his team over to talk with the three girls.
"Where's Ruby?" Adam asked.
"Headmaster wanted to speak with her." Yang answered.
Roman gasped. "Is something wrong with li'l sis!?" He placed both hands on Yang's shoulders with a worried expression.
Slapping his hands off her shoulders, Yang answered, "My little sister is fine." The hidden message in Yang's words, Ruby isn't your sister. Roman ignored the message. After all, he couldn't be too sure that was what she was trying to tell him, right?
"Ah, that's a relief." Roman used his forearm to wipe his forehead. "That's great news, Sunshine." Yang rolled her eyes at the nickname.
While Roman went through the usual flirt with Yang, Neo playing wingman just like always, and Weiss backing Yang up as she shot down all his advances, Adam and Blake began their conversation.
"So why'd Ozpin want to see her?" Adam asked.
Blake looked around before responding, "You guys will have to keep this quiet."
"We will."
"I mean really quiet. You can't tell anyone else."
"You don't have to worry about that."
"Alright," Blake let out a sigh. "There was an intruder last night."
"What!?" Adam paused, taking a moment to compose himself. "Is it related?"
"I don't know." Blake brought her hand to her chin in thought. "Do you think that's a possibility?"
"I think it is." Adam folded his arms. "But I suppose there's nothing to suggest a link."
"Still, for the timing..."
Adam looked at Blake. She was in deep thought, her gaze locked on the ground.
"Blake," She lifted her head, meeting his eyes. "How are you doing?"
"Huh?" Blake was slightly confused.
"Are you sleeping well? Eating enough?"
Blake's mouth fell open. So that was what he meant.
"Yeah, I am." Blake gave him a gentle smile. "I'm sorry I made you all worry so much."
"As long as you're good now, that's what matters." He smiled back. "So what were you guys up to?"
"We were going to wait in our rooms till Ruby got back. What about you guys?"
"We were heading to the cafeteria to get some food."
The both of them turned to look at their teammates. Weiss was red, Yang was really red, though in a different way from Weiss, Neo was hunched over in silent laughter behind Roman, and Roman had both his hands up, as if to say he didn't do it.
Adam and Blake had two options: Ask them what was going on, or ignore the situation and take their team to their desired location. The both of them shared a look with each other, there was really only one choice.
"Neo, Roman..."
"Weiss, Yang..."
"Let's go!" They both motioned for their team to follow.
And so, while the rest of team RWBY returned to their dorms, Adam, Neo, and Roman walked into the cafeteria.
As the trio walked to grab a tray, Neo spotted Jaune and Pyrrha leaving the room. Meh. But then she saw Ren and Nora following after them. Her eyes glowed with excitement.
She tapped Roman's shoulder, getting his attention. She held out a palm towards her two teammates and pointed a finger at herself. Using the finger she pointed at herself, she drew an arc in the air and touched the thumb of her hand that had its palm at them. With that, Neo ran off towards Ren and Nora.
When Roman saw her two targets, he quickly called out to her, "Neo, don't annoy- And she's gone."
There was the sound of glass shattering, followed by a shout from Nora, "You!"
With a shrug to each other, Roman and Adam went to grab some food.
Taking their trays to a table and sitting down, they found a few familiar faces. Team CRDL were sitting right next to them. Cardin was working on his weapon while his team ate, but he shifted his focus upon noticing the two next to him.
"Hey, Adam! What's up?" he greeted.
"Just eating." Adam replied. "How about you?"
"I'm making the modifications you suggested." Cardin grabbed a tool off the table and started using it on the weapon. "My weapon'll be all sorts of awesome once I'm done with it."
Adam leaned over and took a look at his work. "Good job. But you should change this." he pointed to one of the mechanisms.
"Huh? Why should I change it?"
"It would be more efficient if you..." Technical stuff.
"Oh, that makes sense." Cardin smiled. "Thanks, man."
"No problem."
After finishing up their food, the two decided to go look for Neo.
"You guys better stay out of trouble." Roman smirked. "Unless I'm there with you."
"Hah! Like we could find any trouble without you." Cardin laughed.
With a fancy bow, Roman followed after Adam.
"Man, those four have really changed from when they first got here." Roman said as he finally caught up to his leader.
"Yeah, I suppose they have."
Roman smiled. "Well, I suppose it's because a certain someone held their hand out."
"I didn't do much." Adam shrugged. "You and Neo were there, too."
"Yeah, we were." Roman nodded. "But it was your hand that was offered."
"It may have been my hand, but it was because of the efforts of everybody. Human and faunus working together."
Roman eyed him. "Hey, isn't that something to be happy about?"
"Hm? I am happy about it."
"Then what's with the frown?"
Adam stopped walking. He lifted a hand and covered his mouth. "It doesn't mean anything... It's just..."
"Yeah, yeah, I know." Roman waved his hand around. "Let's go find Neo."
The two of them spent the next half-hour looking for her. They looked everywhere, but couldn't find her. Eventually they found themselves outdoors in their search.
"Why are we looking for her again? Can't we just meet her back at our dorm?" Adam asked.
"It's because she went after those two again; I need to make sure Nora hasn't killed her yet." Roman explained, Adam nodding his head in agreement with that point. "Plus, I want to know if she scored." And then Adam sighed.
"Why not use your scroll to contact her?"
"I would," Roman reached into his pocket and pulled out a small device, holding it up for Adam to see, "But this is her scroll."
"Why do you have her scroll?" Adam questioned.
"She must have forgotten I have it." Roman put the device back in his pocket.
"Why do you have it in the first place?"
"She leaves it with me sometimes."
"Why do-" He shook his head. "No, nevermind, I don't want to know."
Adam turned to continue walking, but as soon as he turned around, the girl they had been searching for was right there. As soon as he found her eyes, she lifted a hand and waved at him.
"Hi," he said simply.
"Neo! You're back!" Roman ran over to the pair, pulling Neo into a hug. Only a few seconds went by before he pulled her away and asked, "So what happened? Give me the details."
Neo pouted, making a series of gestures with her hands.
"Oh well, don't let it get you down. There's always next time."
Neo smiled up at him and gave him a thumbs up.
"Okay, so what now boss?" The two looked at Adam.
"I guess-" Before he could finish his sentence, a bullhead landing bought their attention. "Looks like one of the teams have returned."
"Which one?"
"Let's go find out." Adam motioned with his hand for them to follow.
The doors on the side of the aircraft slowly opened. A beret wearing girl was the first to jump out. Hanging from her shoulder was a really nice looking bag... with a bandolier as the strap. The trio instantly recognized this girl as Coco Adel. Now they knew the returning team.
"So it's CFVY who's back..." Roman muttered.
The three stayed behind, watching as each member of Coco's team jumped out of the aircraft; they wanted to make sure everyone made it back safely. Fox jumped out next, followed by Yatsuhashi, who held out his hand for his last teammate. Velvet grabbed hold of his hand and hopped out of the bullhead. Content that everyone was safe, Adam turned to leave.
"Huh?" But then Roman made that noise and got him to turn back around. "Is there another person in there?"
Adam looked back at the scene playing out beside the bullhead. Velvet seemed to be talking to someone inside. Who? Her team wasn't in there, they jumped out before her. Just who was she talking to?
After a few moments, a figure jumped out. He wore a pale-grey cloak, a white shirt with blue sleeves, and a pair of jeans. As he stood up straight, the man pulled his hood down, revealing auburn hair to the world.
"Who is that?" Roman asked, to which Neo shrugged.
However, while the two watched with a perplexed expression, Adam's was one of surprise. His mouth had fallen open and his eyes gone wide, he knew this man.
The man scanned his surroundings. When his eyes fell on them, there was a flash of recognition in his eyes. He slowly raised a hand and waved.
"Huh? Do either of you know him?" Roman looked to his two teammates. He was surprised upon seeing Adam's expression.
Though he was older than he remembered, there was doubt about it; Adam knew exactly who this was. "Emiya... Shirou..."
[Fate/RWBY]
The beauty shed tears for her fallen love. She had been able to see what no other could. He was neither a valiant prince, nor a horrifying beast, he was just a man in pain.
Tears of a true love. The rose had not fully wilted. As a beast you shall stay, only true love can save. The curse was broken. He reverted back into who he really was.
'Oh, thank you! You have saved me!' the prince cried out. The two embraced.
Not long after, they were wed. And they both lived happily ever after."
"Wow! That was a great story." the young boy said.
"You really think so?" he asked.
"Yeah, it was really interesting." The boy nodded. "It really gives you a lot to think about."
He ruffled the boy's head. "Everyone had a perception about him, but the beauty was the only one that saw who he really was."
"That's a little bit sad. Just because he looks a certain way, everyone believes he's evil."
"It is unfortunate." He looked up thoughtfully. "But I suppose that's how people are. It doesn't even have to be your appearance. Sometimes it's nothing more than an ideal that gets people to turn on you."
"What kind of ideal."
He looked down at the boy. "One they can't understand."
"Hmm... I'm not sure what that would be."
"Hey, Adam," the boy looked up at him. "No matter what people might perceive you to be, always be who you want to be."
"Don't worry," the boy smiled brightly. "No matter what people say, I'll always be me."
"Ah, I really believe that." he said softly.
"Huh? Would there even be a reason not to believe it, Shirou?"
Shirou shook his head in response to Adam's question. "No, I guess not."
Closing Notes: So I'm sure there are going to be several questions about the ages. I'm just going to let everyone know right now, yes, I've made three characters younger than they were in canon. I am, of course, speaking of Roman, Neo, and Adam. I've decided to have them be students in beacon. I hope no one will be bothered by this decision.
I'm not completely satisfied with the flashbacks, but I think they're alright. I really wanted to show a little bit from the past. I originally wanted to have a certain flashback be in this chapter, but I figured it would be better to save it for the future.
I couldn't really find a way to casually mention it, but in this story, classes end before lunch during the Vytal festival. That's why they went to grab lunch.
The story of the Beauty and the Beast. I kind of just mixed and matched stuffs. Hope none of you have a problem with that.
Also, you guys made me envision another story. Archer and Shirou are brothers in another world! I want to see that story. And that has to be the title! 'Archer and Shirou are brothers in another world!' I might write it sometime in the future. Or someone else can. I don't mind, it just needs to be a story.
Anyone else wonder if Adam has silver eyes under his mask? No? Just me? Okay then...
Well, I'll be off. I hope this chapter wasn't a disappointment to you guys.