Welcome back! Hope you guys are enjoying things so far. The pace I release these is going to slow down quite a bit for a little. Life and all that noise. Please though let me know what you think! I have some ideas for where I want to take this, but I also want to make this a good strory for the readers! Leave a review gosh darn it!
Disclaimer: RWBY belongs to Roosterteeth and Monty Oum
Yada yada yada TO THE STORY!
"RED!" I screamed as I jolted awake covered in sickly sweat.
I scanned the room around me to find everything as it was. The sounds of my ragid breathing sounded in the room as I struggled to calm myself. Looking over at the clock, it was pretty early. I had about about two hours until classes. I sat on the edge of my bed rubbing a hand down my face trying to cope.
I though back to my dream. I had been in a field of soft grass with roses sprouting and blooming like crazy all over the place. The sun was shining and the birds singing. I could see Ruby in the distance waving me forward. I smiled heading towards her. It was a pretty great dream.
When I approached though, there was nothing I could do but look on in horror. Ruby's cloak lit in dark infernal flames and her smile and laughs had turned into screams of pain and agony. She fell to the grass which withered and died as the roses turned into the familiar cracked and red rock of the Pit. The heat in the place spiked as beings of fire and blood erupted from the ground. I stood and was forced to listen to Ruby beg for help, my eyes glued to her burning effigy of pain. I was then pounced upon and was burned, cut, and brutalized at the same time in a never ending cycle unable to do anything.
All the while there was the laughter...
A shiver ran down my shoulders and back as I stood. I headed to the bathroom and took a shower to rid myself of the horrid sweat. The water was refreshing and helped soothe me, but my mind raged with questions and horrors at the dream I had just had.
Was hell keeping tabs on me?
I wanted to deny it with everything I had, but there was always that chance. It was one of their favorite means of torture after all. When you gave someone the briefest spark of hope it was easy for that to become a bombfire. Then they would put it all out in one fell swoop as they took all that possibility and happiness away and replaced it with pain.
I dressed in my regular uniform and headed out from the room, deciding to walk the halls to help clear my head a little bit. The sun had begun to rise over the trees and structures that surrounded the academy. I sat on one of the window frames as my hand was pressed against the cool glass. It was apparently getting pretty close to winter in this world. I had to wonder if they got snow...
"Ah! . Its a pleasure to see you. Good luck too. I was just lookign for you in fact" I turned finding Ozpin with his mug of coffee "Would you accompany me?"
"Sure thing sir"
"Oh no need to stand on formalities here. My father was sir" he joked half-hartedly.
"Eh? So what do I call you then?"
"Proffesor is fine...or Ozpin."
"Alright Proffesor" I said as we entered his office, closing the door behind us. "What did you want to talk about?"
"Well you see I think its important to see where you want to be and where you want to get in your time here at Beacon."
I nodded "So is that what your asking?"
"Essentially yes."
"Well I want to help people. I want to protect those that are important to me. I dont want anyone to go through anything like I did..."
"That is completely understandable Rai. What I am asking though is are you ready to take responsibility? In your story you were a leader. Yes you were a warrior, but many times your capapbilities in commanding the standard...fighters, if you will, was what won the day and prevented defeat..."
"So you want me to be a leader?"
"No Rai. I want you to be a commander, a leader of men. Glynda told me about your class yesterday. Do you want to know something interesting? Many of our senior students were given the situaion as well, but out of all of them Glynda believed your to be the best."
"I thought she said it was too risky..."
Ozpin stood excited "That it exactly! All good plans need to be risky! If you believe your plan is perfect then you've already been defeated. If there is risk, then you are prepared for things to go wrong and can Adapt! I see the potential in you Rai. There are great things you can do...and I know it may be too soon, but I think you are ready."
I thought about it. Then I thought about it some more. The sun rose higher as Ozpin stood still waiting for my response, barely shifting from his stance.
I ended up nodding.
"If you think that is what is best for me sir then I will. I respect your opinion. I dont want any special treatment though..."
"Hmm that may be troubling. See I'm essentially going to need to put you over some of the other students. If you are to lead then you need those who will follow after all..."
"What if they offer sir?"
"Pardon?"
"All I'm asking sir is that I'm not given the position. Nobody will respect that. You said yourself that my leading was what won the day in the Pit. I earned those people's respect. I fought alongside them everytime. They knew that I put my everything into every match. I want that in my people sir. So I say give me a week to be with the students. Maybe fight a few? Then put out the offer. i wont be happy with respect by granted authority sir. I want true respect and more than that I want them to see me as a friend. Someone to guide and help when they need it..."
Ozpin patted the air with a hand " Alright Mr. Peak. You'be made your point. I agree that your way of things is probably much better. I must reconsider things then. We may save that role of leading until later. It is probably best for you to enjoy your time here for a while. So for now stick with RWBY, JNPR, and VLVT and get better acquainted. Its about time for you class though. I think your oppurtunity to fight may be sooner than you expected" he chuckled as I left the room and went to get some breakfast.
I walked into the cafeteria grabbing some hashbrowns, bacon, eggs, and toast for my meal. Hearthy and filling. Just what I needed.
I sat down with the others. They were all pretty energetic. Jaune was moving like he was a little sore but that wasnt too suprising. Blake was rubbing her eyes like she was tired, but I suspected that she was prone to getting stuck nose deep in a good book.
"So Rai" Ruby perked up next to me "Excited for Basics in Comabt this morning?"
"They have us fighting first thing in the morning?" I was somewhat suprised.
Jaune was making a 'I KNOW RIGHT?!' gesture towards my with boths hands making Pyrah next to him giggle.
"Well don't work new kid. If you end up againt me I'll be gentle..." Yang said grinning.
"Dont worry Yang. I can give you a handicap if you want one..." I shot back.
The rest of the meal went by with idle chatter. Apparently there hadn't been any interesting matches so far. They were downright predictable in most people's opinion. Getting up at the bell we cleared out all of us heading to the locker rooms.
Jaune, CRDL, Ren, some people from VLVT, and I were changing real quickly. Guys dont dilly dally when it comes to getting dressed. I threw on a pair of gray cargo pants a nice set of shoes and a tight firt gray undershit with a very loose t-shirt overtop (apparently they hadnt gotten the right size for whatever reason) and then strapped on my weapon harness with everything in their regular position.
I caught Jaune looking a little puzzled by the time I finished.
"What got you looking puzzled Jaunie boy?"
"Huh? Oh nothing! I'm just wondering that you dont have any armor. I mean even Ren has some ballistic plates in his outfit" he nodded to the side where Ren tapped his chest with a thump to prove it.
I shrugged with a grin "You'll see soon enough."
"Oh great" he replied head hanging low.
Ren, Jaune, and I walked out to the practice grounds. The space had shooting targets and dummies all over the place. It was domintated by a stone platform area that was about the size of a football field. There was even a seating area for spectators.
We all grabbed a seat while the others started trickling out. We were all in the seats patiently when Goodwitch came out and took a position in front of the bleachers in front of the stands.
"Good morning class" we all grumbled response "I hope you are all ready for a little special circumstance training today..." the others started sitting up a little straighter in their seats.
Glynda grinned "That's what I thought. So today..." she looked at her clipboard "...we will be having two versus one matches. It is important for you to get used to these situations. Often you will be outnumbered and will need to be prepared. So first I have... Rai Peak vs. Yang Xiao Long and Ruby Rose."
Jaune patted me on the pack "Dont worry man. Well collect what remains we can find. The service will be beautiful..."
Ren nodded with a pitying expression "Good luck Rai..."Succint as ever.
I walked down the stands onto the slightly elevated platform. Ruby and Yang got on from the other side. They stood on about where the 30 yard line would be and I matched them.
"Good luck to you students. Monty knows your going to need it..." Glynda said from her pedistal. "Let the match...BEGIN!" She launched a flare into the air.
Ruby was off like a rocket trying to get me by suprise. It really was incredible how fast she could get. She twirled out Crescent Rose and went for an upward strike. It was all rather impressive and would have been phenominal if it had worked...
That's the thing about fighting though. In order for it to happen you have to actually hit your target. I used a slight push to move me just out of the way of her attack. She flew past me moving too fast to correct her mistake. I pulled my shotgun out as Yang came at staright on bobbing and weavign with fist up to guard. I changed the setting on Retribution to simple concussion rounds. They caused a lot of impact, but weren't enough to label it an explosive round.
Yang zoomed in at this 'opening' she saw. "Ready new guy? This is gonna hurt you a lot more than me!"
She came in with colassal momentum. It was all impressive. I directed her force directly down to the solid stone of the ground underneath me. I saw her wince in pain as she had essentially just punched the solid ground with all her might. I took her hesitation for an opening, levelling Retribution at her guy.
"What was that about it hurting?" Yang's eyes widened as she brought her fists up guarding as best she could. I shot once and the slug sent her flying out the other side of the platform and skidding in the dirt. Glynda blew a whistle, apparently signaling that she was out. I didn't have any time to watch as Ruby was on my again in a second.
She launched into a series of rapid series of slashes and shots, it all happening so fast that it almost sounded like one continuous sound. If I could liken it to anything I would have to say a machine gun that shot chainsaws. It was intimidating. Heck the thing was sharp after all.
Instead of putting a solid effort into blocking the strikes alone like I had Yang, I put up a field in front of myself in a crcluar form. The strikes were taking its toll though and I could feel the drain happening somewhere inside me. I could see Ruby sweating herself apparently having a hard time keeping up her speed. I replaced Retribution with my twin Gales and readied for an opening.
THERE! She came in for an overhand swing and I stepped in. She wasnt expecting it and as she tried to back away I but a blade up under her scythe's own and held her in place as I took the other one and pointed it at her chest. The whistle blew again.
I smiled putting my weapons away. Ruby was huffing slightly at the workout. I had no idea how someone so small could move something as big as her weapon...let alone in a dress!
"Feeling alright there Red?" I handed her some water as we sat in the pleachers. She nodded her thanks and took a good solid drink before handing it back to me and responding.
"Ya...Just...a little...tired" I laughed
"Those were some pretty awesome moves you were pulling out there"
"Really? Think so?"
I nodded "Heck I was pretty scared out there..."
"Psh ya right. It wasnt like anything could have hit you..."
"Well if that had gone on for much longer something might have. The two of you managed to take out half of my reserves."
She fistpumped. Yang came up to join us and she gave me a noogie for cheating. I tried to explain how using a talent wasnt exactly cheating, but my protest fell on deaf ears. Jaune, and Ren were up against Nora at the moment. How that girl could casuse so much destruction was anyones guess.
Class was over soon enough and everyone was able to get a turn. We had lunch and then went to have a history lesson with an overactive teacher that looked like he was on some kind of daily routine of coffee injection, drugs, and energy drinks. I could only stare at teh spectacle in front of me that was considered to be a lesson.
We sat at dinner and were discussing some of the fights.
"We really only beat Nora cause of Ren here..." Jaune expalined.
"Yep!" Nora stated cheery as ever eating a slice of apple pie.
"Why do you think that Jaune?" I asked.
"Well I think if I had some kind of semblance I could do more like you guys.." he gestured at all of us. "I got nothing though. I have lots of aura sure, but what does that help with? It lets me get beat up more that for sure!"
"Let me try something Jaune" I focused a field over his bottle of water so that essentially no-one should have been able to touch it. "Okay Jaune try to grab you drink..."
"Like this?" he grabbed it, his hand passing through my field like it was nonexistent.
"Yep. Jaune you do have a semblance." The others looked suprised at this and perked an ear in our direction to find out what it was.
"What is it?" Pyrah asked "I couldnt feel anything when I checked..."
"Well... his semblance to put it simply is that he can basically ignore other peoples semblances. Anything in contact with him cant be affected by anothers influence through semblance"
"Woah" Ruby said "that's pretty neat Jaune."
"Really? I mean it doesnt really let me DO anything..."
"Trust me Jaune. Semblance is really just another way to drain energy. I figure your one of the guys better off sticking to the classics"
"Ya..the classics..." he murmured to himself.
I finished off my calzone with a sigh and chugging my drink. The others were doing the same on varying levels.
Standing up "I'm heading to my room" Ruby stood next to me "I ll go with!"
I smiled at her setting my tray away and walking down the halls. It was quiet, but not really akward. It was either that or I was just really socially insensitive. The sun cast auburn light through the windows and cloaked the walls in orange glow. We made it to my room without saying a word. I opened the door and was about to turn around and say goodbye, when she followed me into the room and shut the door behind her.
I sat on the bed and she took her seat on the desk chair.
"Something you wanna talk about?..."
"Well...I got up a little early this morning and well...our rooms are right next to each other. I was walking down the hall and I heard you yell, and I wanted to come in and see what was wrong since I was sure you called me..."
I looked back at her. "Ya well. I had a nightmare last night...and it kind of involved you. It was...bad. There was nothing I could do to help you" I felt the salty sweetness of tears run down my cheeks. "All I wanted to do was protect you. I couldnt even move..."
"You wanted to protect me?" she asked with an odd expression. She was blushing with her mouth open. Did that mean...? No. There was no way. I mean we had just met.
"Ya. It was horrible Ruby. What happened to you. I wouldve done anything to help you. Having to watch it all happen...there wasnt a second that went by that I wasnt hoping that I could do something..."
"Shut up"
"What I was just saying...!" I let out a whoof of air as she jumped over and gave me one of her signature hugs. I couldnt stop myself from crying into her shoulder. We stayed that way for a time.
"Ruby..." I murmured into her shoulder
"Ya?"
"I dont think I can lose you..." I closed my eyes head hanging low.
I felt warm lips touch the side of my face and I looked up to see a scattering of roses. There was a folded note on the table with Ruby's emblem on it. Picking it up it read.
'Me too...'
I smiled putting the note back on the desk and walked back into the hall, going to the next door over.I wasnt going to be satisfied with a note after all...
I knocked politely and waited. Yang came up and answered the door looking confused.
"Hey Rai what's up?"
"I was wondering if I could talk to Ruby...?" I smiled
"Sure thing I got to go talk to Port anyway..." she left and I stepped through the door.
I walked up to the side of Ruby's dangerously precarious 'bunk bed' and waited.
"Hey Ruby...?" I was suddenly uncertain
"mmmm?" came a questioning murmur
"Would you maybe want to go out ...maybe hang out or something?" Hang out? Geez I was out of practice. I was glad that I was still able to say it though.
Ruby's head poked out "Really?!" she coughed "I mean I would like to, but only if you do too..."
"Sure thing!"
She hopped out of the bed "Its a date then!"
"How about Saturday? Free all day?"
"Sounds good." she smiled.
"I'll pick you up at ten." I winked as I walked out of the door.
She bit her bottom lip and nodded as I walked out. She closed the door, but not before I heard a squeel of delight. I couldnt help, but laugh.
I went back to my room already making some plans. I was gonna be busy for a while. I had to figure out what to do for the date. Then what were the others think about the whole thing? Where was I gonna get the money?
Yep I was gonna be busy...
I definitely wasnt complaining though...
So? What did y'all think? Let me know. I'm aiming right now for romance since I did label this as one, but I'm also open to something more Hurt/Comfort wise... So convince me! Let me know what you like. As always thanks for reading! :)
