So, as far as I know, this can truly be called the end of the setup chapters. All - or most - of the major players have been introduced, and I can promise that next chapter is when it really starts to get nuts. I should point out that with summer coming to a close (yeah, that's a shame) I may not have as much time to crank out chapters in my (unofficial) ideal of a chapter per week. Even so, thank you for the positive response!
Now time for review responses!
Lord Sigfry: Yeah, can't wait for that scene too.
garoorar: ...Can I expect you to never let the hair go? I mean, I know you can't picture like that (and it's a little weird for me too.)
Ressan: I understand. It seems that large group conversations isn't one of my writing's strong points.
xX Bottle of Win Xx: Yes, that's something I'm not proud of. However, in my opinion, I feel the teams fell in place like this because of Jaune's absence. As far as I know, the Ren/Nora and Yang/Blake happened without any interference on Jaune's part. However, since Jaune didn't go to Beacon, Pyrrha wouldn't have a reason to stay behind and watch for him, and so would decide to seek out Weiss. Thus, Ruby would be paired with Penny. And that is how the teams, in my mind, were formed.
To those who requested more: here's more.
Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY or the concept of 'One Punch Man.'
15 minutes earlier...
Maxwell felt for anything in between his teeth, before checking his watch. Only 2 more minutes before the livestream. Sitting on the curb of the street, he idly watched the pedestrians across the street walk, before looking down at the thing that he was fiddling with.
It was a brand new camcorder that he had just bought, and boy, was it worth every bit of lien that he spent on it. The picture quality was top notch, and the sound recording was so good. He felt a bit of a smile come back to him as he mentally congratulated himself for the fine purchase.
Looking down at his watch, he realized that it was time. Turning on his camera, he looked up at the place where he would be making his video.
The From Dust Till Dawn shop.
Looking back at the camera, he aimed it at himself, making sure that the store could be seen in the background.
"Hello, viewers! This is Maxwell Simmons with part 19 of my series, the Corporate Takeover of Vytal. So..."
He gestured behind.
"Dust. You heard the stories, I heard the stories, and the business are already have already starting selling what they think..."
Maxwell frowned. He wasn't sure, but he was hearing something...and it was getting louder. Looking up, his eyes widened before his mouth described his current feelings.
"HOLY-"
Diving out of the way and covering his face, he could only cower as whatever it was crashed into the front of the From Dust Till Dawn store. He felt the broken glass fall on his back, but he kept still. As everything quieted down, before everyone's wonder and fear shattered the silence, Maxwell looked up from his arms, before realizing that he was still recording.
"Okay, something just crashed into the store. You gotta believe me, I ain't making this up. Something just flew out of the sky and crashed into this...Hold on." Maxwell spoke into his camcorder, before looking over at the storeowner, who he was certain had been sweeping right next to the window.
Maxwell could only stare as he saw the man look up from his work, look at the ruins of his store, before mournfully sighing and going back to his work.
"...Okay, I'm gonna go get a closer look at this thing...Wish me luck, and just in case, tell my mom I love her, but she really needs to use deodorant or something."
As Maxwell stepped closer to the shop and peered at the body, he couldn't stop himself from exclaiming.
"MONTY FUCKING OUM! Is that Ursa headless?!"
Ozpin sipped from his coffee mug as he looked outside from the window of his office.
Today had been rough, considering the city had no idea what to make of the headless Ursa falling from the sky. Despite damage control, the news spread by way of social media, and as far as he could see, all sorts of theories about it came up. And as much as he would have liked it to be a sign of Grimm infighting or publicity stunt by the owner of the store (which he severely doubted), he was only waiting for the official results.
Hearing a knock on the door, he set the coffee cup down on the table.
"Come in."
As Glynda entered the office with the files, Ozpin blinked at the other two people standing at the doorway.
"Mayor, Chief. This is certainly a surprise, what can I help you with?"
"We were in the neighborhood, and we thought that you would be the best person to ask about Grimm, considering one just dropped out of the sky and smashed into a building."
"...Yes, I supposed it would be logical to make that assumption."
Meanwhile, the main talk of the cafeteria regarded the 'Ursa that fell from the sky.' Team RPBY and WPNR sat at the cafeteria table, strangely silent. Then Pyrrha spoke up.
"You think we should send an apology note?" The rest of her team and Team RPBY looked at her, unsure of what the Spartan was saying.
"What do you mean by that?" Ruby asked.
"Well," Pyrrha began. "Doesn't that owner always seemed to suffer misfortune whenever we get involved?"
The two teams fell silent as they thought about the experiences that they have had with the old owner of 'From Dust Till Dawn.'
"I...might have thrown a guy through his window, though to be fair the guy did have a gun pointed at me." Ruby admitted sheepishly.
"Does my time working at his shop make up for the fact that I accidently damaged his delivery truck?" Penny asked in a completely non-rhetorical fashion.
"I totally swear that I saved his shop from being overrun by Beowolves!" Nora protested.
"Nora...You knocked a group of them into the highly explosive stock he had kept under lock and key, then you fired a grenade in there when you thought one of them moved." Ren sighed, in that long-suffering tone one usually gets when they had dealt with Nora Valkyrie as long as he had.
"You don't know that! Besides, I redecorated for him! The place never seen so much business before." Nora nodded sagely.
"Nora, his store saw at least a 50% increase theft, since you threw out the display cases."
"So? Everyone knows to be a discerning customer, you gotta feel the product."
Weiss blew hair out of her face.
"I guess I'll if I can ask Father if he can spare some high-grade stock."
As the group fell into silence again, Weiss again sighed.
"Regarding the elephant in the room..."
The rest of the group looked at each other before Penny spoke up.
"Looking at the angle that the corpse landed in and the angle in which it broke through the window, I can definitely conclude that it indeed fell from the sky, and not because of some machinery or such, as skeptics on the internet are claiming." Penny smiled.
Ruby, having not paid attention, bit her lip, before groaning out loud. Throwing up blueprints and other schematics up in the air, Ruby flopped onto the table, tears flowing from her faces like waterfalls.
"I CAN'T DO IT!" She wailed before sobbing some more. Yang immediately jumped over Blake and Penny, who moved just enough on the seat to create a space for Yang. Landing, she immediately put her arms around her little sister.
"What do you mean by that?" Yang cooed. Ruby sniffled a bit before answering.
"I can't figure out what weapon could have caused this. I just don't know what could have caused this."
"Shh...There, there, Ruby, my little sister. Even prodigies get stumped by things..."
"DINNERTIME!" The security guard shouted as he pulled the cart through the cell block. He did his job efficiently, the simple act of pouring food into a bowl and setting it with other offerings having been done with nimble experienced fingers. As each tray is done, he walked up to each door, before sliding the tray in. This is the same routine he did for each prisoner of the cellblock that he had.
Except for one. As he pushed his cart through the cellblock, he came across one corrider. Walking down it, he soon saw a sealed door, with metal bars making sure that one could get in or out. Unless someone had the key that could open the door.
Grasping a key around his neck, making sure it was tight around his neck without choking him, he leaned over a bit, sliding the key into the lock. As he heard the lock unlock, he opened the door to another door, now with a passcode. Swiftly putting it in, he opened the door only to see another door with a need for a key card. Taking it out, he swiped it through, before opening the door to see the final door. It didn't take him even a moment to unhatch the door, before swinging it open.
There, in a reinforced glass enclosure with devices all over with the sole purpose of suppressing the use of Aura, sat the mastermind that nearly brought Vytal to its knees.
Cinder Fall.
As the guard pushed the cart into the enclosure, he could feel the stare of the woman behind the glass. Quickly doling out the food onto the tray, he inputted in a code next to a small opening. With a whir, a small opening was created. Placing the tray on the opening, he was prepared to close it when he felt a hand on his. Looking up, Cinder stared at him for a bit.
"Thank you."
With that, she took her tray, sat down on the table provided, and began to eat. The guard stared at her for a while, before closing the opening, and pushing the cart out of the room. In the hallway leading back to main cellblock, the guard looked around, his eyes glowing a bit as he dug around in his pocket.
Then he took out a pair of gloves, put them on, and continued on his way.
It slept.
It doesn't know how long. Years, decades, centuries, time flows like the water around it.
It waits. It waits for light. The light...it is too dim for its taste, for its brethren.
And so it waits. It waits for powerful light, that once seemed to permeate the land above them.
It slumbers, and waits.
Jaune yawned as he lifted another log onto the chopping block. Lifting the axe, he slammed it down, just using enough strength to split the wood without breaking the stand. Grabbing the split firewood, he put it on the pile. Looking at it, he nodded to himself before knocking on the side of the wall. After a few moments, the window next to him opened and a old lady looked outside her cabin to see Jaune gesture to the pile of freshly cut firewood.
"All done, and I believe this should be enough to last you the winter."
"Oh, thank you, young man. I suppose a hardworking person like you deserves a reward." With that, Jaune shook his head.
"Naw, I'm good. I guess the idea of helping others is enough of a reward already."
The old lady looked at him for a while, before smiling. "I believe that if more people were like you, then the world would be a better place."
Jaune shrugged. "We can only hope, ma'am."