Emiya leaned back casually in his chair, his legs kicked up on his desk, as he watched the newest students of Beacon Academy file into his classroom.
Professor Shirou Emiya.
Combat Survival Instructor.
Taiga would be rolling in her grave with pride. Following in her glorious footsteps so to speak.
The sharp eyes of the ancient counter guardian analyzed the chattering students before him.
They were so damn young.
Children, the lot of them. They lacked conviction. Emiya was younger then they were when he conquered the Holy Grail War... And his soul had been bathed in blood before he reached the tender age of twenty. To think that children like these were expected to hold back the Beast's of Gaia…
At this rate, most of the students would be dead within the decade.
The restless muttering of the class slowly grew in volume as Archer continued to remain silent, his expression unchanging ten minutes after class had supposedly started.
"U-umm Professor? What are we supposed to be doing?" came the timid voice of a young looking girl. A crimson dress and black hair flashed in the servants mind as his gaze shifted suddenly to the girl. Ruby Rose. Age Fifteen. Wielder of the Crescent Rose, a High-Caliber Sniper-Scythe. Accepted into Beacon Academy after foiling a robbery by Roman Torchwick.
The image of a different girl dressed in black and red flashed across Emiya's thoughts. Rin…
"Pair up," barked Emiya, the servant watching with intent as the students scrambled to find a partner.
"You have a choice."
"Your partner dies. Everyone else lives," growled the heroic spirit, ignoring the gasps and widened expressions of the students, "Or your partner lives. But everyone else dies."
The silence was deafening.
"Make your decision."
Emiya surveyed his class as the assembled students remained silent, unable to meet the piercing gaze of their teacher.
"Too slow," continued Archer quietly, "Your partner is dead. Everyone dies."
A dark atmosphere settled over the classroom.
"To spare one life, another is fated to die. You can't save everyone. That is a fundamental truth."
"You're wrong…" muttered an angry voice softly.
"What was that Mr. Arc?"
A blond haired man stood up suddenly, his hands clenched in shaking fists at his sides, "I said you're wrong!"
Archer narrowed his eyes at the young blond. Jaune Arc. Age seventeen. Wielder of the Crocea Mors. Forged transcripts to Beacon Academy, Headmaster Ozpin allowed the entry of the Arc as a favor to the Arc family patriarch.
"Enlighten me child," sneered Archer condescendingly.
"I refuse to accept that!" growled Jaune as he pointed angrily at the Professor, "I'd rather die before I let that happen! Nobody has to die!"
Emiya couldn't believe it. Another wannabe fucking hero. Curse his E-ranked luck.
"You live in a fantasy world Mr. Arc. The world is a much darker place than you believe," continued Emiya, "I expect a ten thousand word essay on Vale's 17th Expeditionary Force and their subsequent slaughter by the Grimm on my desk tomorrow."
Archer stood up.
"You can't save everyone."
The counter guardian gracefully stalked his way towards the classroom door.
"No matter how hard you try…"
The class was silent as the Professor slammed the door behind him.
"That was… different?" stated the confused voice of one Ruby Rose as she walked through the halls of Beacon Academy with the collective members of team RWBY and team JNPR.
"I don't like him," growled Jaune, clenching his fists, "That guy rubs me the wrong way."
"Well… He was pretty morbid," chimed the voice of one Yang Xiao Long, "And he did cut class short by nearly three hours."
The blond haired girl cocked her head to the side in thought, her chin perched thoughtfully on her fist.
"But did you see that body of his? Bow chika bow wow! Am I right?" grinned the blond flirtatiously.
"SISTER!"
"What? I'm just saying what we're all thinking! Professor Emiya can teach sex-ed to me anytime he wants!" joked Yang, her eyebrows wiggling dramatically.
"You're hopeless…"
"It is curious though…" came the cultured voice of Lie Ren.
"Huh? Whatcha thinking Renny?" asked the bright voice of Nora Valkyrie.
"Professor Emiya, along with the Combat Survival course, are brand new at Beacon," explained Ren carefully, "It's also curious that the class was made mandatory for all students by Headmaster Ozpin with almost zero notice."
The others nodded their heads, contemplating the points Lie Ren was bringing up.
"Every teacher at Beacon Academy can be considered masters in their fields. Only the best Huntsman and Huntresses are allowed to teach here…" Ren stopped, his eyes narrowed in thought, "So why haven't I ever heard of Shirou Emiya?"
"Professor Emiya. A word?" came the sharp request of fellow professor Glynda Goodwitch.
Emiya cocked an eyebrow up questionly before lazily motioning for her to continue.
"Professor Emiya, I don't know what Headmaster Ozpin explained to you, but teachers here at Beacon Academy are expected to uphold a certain standard when it comes to the education of its students. It is completely inappropriate to leave fifteen minutes into the lectur -"
Archer lifted his hand up and cut off the female professor, "Oz told me to teach them how to survive combat. That's what I'm doing."
"How can you say tha-"
"Tell me Miss Goodwitch. How many died in Vale's seventeenth expansion war?" glared the counter guardian.
"Excuse me? I don't see the relevanc-"
"Eighty thousand seven hundred and sixty nine," interrupted Archer again, "That's how many soldiers were lost when we pushed east into Grimm territory twenty years ago."
The teacher's lounge went silent.
"Two hundred and thirty one of us survived."
Archer growled at the cowed professor, "Of the two hundred and thirty one survivors, only me and Oz remain alive to this day."
"Trust me. I know what I'm fucking doing."
The strict authoritarian of Beacon gaped at Emiya, speechless.
"You never were one to mince words were you old friend?" chuckled the voice of the newly arrived Ozpin, "Forgive my old comrade Miss Goodwitch, the Staff Sergeant never did master the art of tact.
"Hmmph," snorted Archer unapologetically.
"Eloquent as ever," grinned Ozpin.
"Ohoho? I had not realized you two were old war buddies Headmaster!" boomed the distinct voice of Professor Port, "Why that reminds me of when I was just a young lad, freshly pressed into Vale's Naval Armada! Ahh those were the days-"
"A-ahem. Regardless…" said Professor Goodwitch, regaining her composure, "I still expect you to teach the students properly Mr. Emiya."
Emiya gazed at the flustered teacher from his relaxed position on the teacher's couch. The immortal chuckled.
"Very well. I shall endeavor to put forth greater effort," said the Archer, giving a slight mocking bow in response.
"Thank you," said the blond witch with as much dignity as she could manage.
Archer merely grinned.
20 years ago.
"Contact! Contact! Two o'clock! Two hundred meters! Beowulf's!"
"Light em up!"
The roar of the vehicle mounted fifty caliber machine gun echoed across the ancient road, the dust filled bullets slamming into the hides of the oncoming horde.
"-his is Lumberjack 3-6, how copy?"
"-egative last transmission, say again Lumberjack?"
"-reak contact, break conta-"
The haggard forms of the dismounted troops circled around the last two remaining vehicles, their dust rifles firing rapidly into the darkness.
"Fire in the hole, fire in the hole, fire in the hole!"
The resounding boom shook the countryside as the soldiers destroyed the ancient bridge before them.
"Nevermore's! Ten o'clock high!"
"This is Bastard 3-6 requesting immediate Hunter support at grid coordinates Alpha-Charlie-Six-Niner-Tree-Tree-Seven-Six-Two-Four-"
"Eat shit and die!"
A hail of razor sharp feathers rained upon the troopers from above, eviscerating a trooper and severing the torso of another.
"Lieutenant Ozpin! We just lost comms with Sapper-6!"
2nd Lieutenant Ozpin glared at the offending birds of prey, before firing his trusted cane rifle.
Explosions littered the sky.
"Where's those damn Hunter reinforcements?!" shouted Ozpin over the deafening cacophony of battle.
"Sir! Lone huntsman approaching from our three o'clock!"
Lieutenant Ozpin's eye's widened as the lone hunter crashed into the flank of the approaching horde, twin blades flashing with deadly accuracy.
"Sappers forward! Rally on the hunter!"
Ozpin growled in disgust as he slid past the swinging claws of a charging Beowulf, his cane rifle exploding the soulless beast with ease. The young officer charged in front of his dying platoon, trying to clear a wide enough path as the normal soldiers bounded forward.
The lone huntsman continued to slice through the Grimm forces with ease, the young looking male was drenched in blood, and covered in black gore and entrails.
"Where's the rest our reinforcements!?" shouted Ozpin as he finally rallied with the Hunter.
"Dead," grunted the other huntsman, kicking the limp body of a Grimm off his blade.
"Goddamnit!"
"There's a MP company holed up three klicks to the east," growled the crimson clad hunter, "I cleared the route of any class-four Grimms and above. If you and your men move quickly, you should be able to link up with the MP's without too much trouble."
"And what about you?"
"I'll cover your escape."
Ozpin cursed as he switched his gaze between the remnants of his platoon and the lone hunter before him.
"Goddamn it! Sergeant Graves!" called the Officer to his last surviving squad leader, "Take the men and move three thousand meters due east."
The officer ripped out his map and circled the general direction with bloodstained fingers.
"There should be a Military Police company operating in the AO. I'll cover your retreat with the hunter."
"But sir-"
"Stow it Sapper. Move out," Ozpin's glare left no room for argument.
"Roger sir. We're oscar mike."
Ozpin spared a final glance at his men before rejoining the conflict next to the dual wielding swordsman.
"So… What's the name of my fellow dead man?" asked Ozpin in typical gallows humor.
"Staff Sergeant Emiya. 5th Special Forces Group, 3rd Battalion, Alpha Company," grunted the hunter.
"Second Lieutenant Ozpin, 130th Engineer Brigade, 84th Engineer Battalion, 609th Sapper Company."
Ozpin smiled at his newest comrade with bloodstained teeth.
"Shall we dance?"
"I am the bone of my sword…"
A/N: This chapter was way too goddamn short. I can't stand short chapters, yet here I am writing them. Still no idea where I'm going with this, though I think I'll have fun flashing back to my completely fanon expansion war… The problem I'm having with this fic is that I don't have a coherent plot in mind. We don't really have any idea where the plot is going in RWBY yet, (though we do know Team JNPR's got some dance moves) so I'm not sure where we can go from here. I think there's going to be a lot of focus on Jaune Arc clashing with Emiya, but besides that, your guess is as good as mine. Shoot me some ideas or your thoughts and I'll try to reply to them asap. Next chapter I'll try to focus mostly on teams RWBY and JNPR… Leave a review, and until next time.
-Private Jenkins
P.S. This is currently the fourth most reviewed Fate/RWBY crossover. Out of five. The competition is fierce.
