Chapter 4: In the Hands of the Enemy
Life had decided to ease up on Jaune Arc. Though stunned, his team had been very supportive when he revealed his false transcripts. After the rounds of disappointment, they agreed to help Jaune however they could. Pyrrha had been especially understanding.
All of his doomsday revelation fears had been thoroughly debunked. Looking back, he felt pretty foolish in not fessing up earlier. The training with the rest of JNPR had been beneficial.
Though they paled in comparison to Julia's instruction. The woman was curt, but not unkind. When he screwed up, she wouldn't relent until he understood and admitted his stupidity. But through it all, he always felt that his best interest was involved.
This is what Jaune kept repeating in his head as he faced the dilemma of the day.
"Focus", Julia called out as though she was unrelated to the current state of affairs.
"I'm trying!" Jaune muttered. The blonde Arc brought his blade down and beheaded another one of his numerous foes.
This evening, Julia had dragged him into the hunting grounds of Chimi. These were unpleasant looking monsters that had the body of different animals with the head of a human. A lot of said heads were old men. All in all, that made the battle very unsettling to his stomach but he knew better than to run away.
If those annoying Faunus haters ever saw monsters, they probably wouldn't dare call Faunus beasts.
While Jaune was having an epic struggle against the monsters, Julia's own battle was far more one sided. Chimis were falling to her gun like flies. The ground couldn't actually be seen in her immediate area.
Jaune felt a little inadequate. With that in mind, Jaune ducked out of the way of a jumping Chimi and shield bashed another one. He flipped his blade and stabbed the nearest one in the abdomen. Quickly, he kicked the monster off his blade and sent it rolling at the oncoming horde.
Hearing their pained cries, Jaune almost felt remorse. That is until he remembered 'Alice' and the Chimis' own attempts to eat him on sight.
"We're almost done here, move over Jaune", Julia said even as she was using her heel to crush the head of a whimpering Chimi. Jaune raced out of her line of sight just as she opened fire and caused a massive explosion. She walked briskly and took in the energy off the corpses.
"The hunt is done", Julia stated.
Jaune watched her in amazement as she shook her beautiful head. Gorgeous as she may be, Jaune had no plan on trying to flirt with her. Julia rang alarms in his head that he couldn't help but compare to Alice. The only difference was that Julia seemed to be on his side. Also, he didn't think she would appreciate any of his one liners.
"You've done well to survive this long. You're far less of a hindrance than I expected", she admitted lightly. There went another blow to his recovering ego. It seemed everyone was taking shots at it. "Take these, I expect you to use them in dire emergencies only."
Walking up to her, he took the gift. It appeared to be a collection of paper people with fancy bindings between them.
"These are my Shinigami. Insert your will into it and throw it to the sky, it will alert me to your location and I will come along shortly. Do not make me regret giving it to you, understand?"
Jaune nodded quickly and put the shaped paper away. Things with Julia was always a little on the weird side.
She nodded satisfied before aiming her gun at his face. "Now get ready for another training session."
Jaune screamed.
…
By the time Jaune returned to Beacon, lunch was in progress. Dragging himself through the doors, he slumped into the seat beside his partner Pyrrha. Jaune just took a moment to bask in the freedom.
The rest of his team and team RWBY looked at him curiously. Most of their worries about his condition was dismissed when they noticed the eased expression on his face. But still the curiosity burned within them. Ren decided to make the inquiry.
"Why are you so disheveled?" Ren wasn't one for beating around the bush.
"Training." Jaune said that as though it explained everything about his condition. He ignored their looks and stretched lazily before continuing, "A huntswoman has been putting me through the paces. Julia is pretty intense."
Yang whistled in appreciation. "Well, well, well, aren't you a little lady killer. So spill, is she hot?" The blonde brawler waggled her eyebrows at him.
In opposition to their expectations, Jaune burst out into a fit of laughter. "She's easily one of the most gorgeous women I've ever seen. But we'll never be like that. I wouldn't even dare to flirt with her in a thousand years. I'm pretty sure she shot me down before I spoke to her the first time." Jaune didn't look distressed by it one bit, which confused his team. "But I do have the upmost respect for her. One day I want to reach that level of expertise. She's an impeccable and knowledgeable warrior and leader and I'm eternally grateful that she's giving me the time of day. Every time we meet, I face monstrosities beyond my capabilities. Without her guidance, I would die in seconds, but she's a person I can place my trust in. I want to prove to her that I'm a good student. One day, I'll stand before her and show her the fruits of her teaching and my labor."
Teams JNPR and RWBY were amazed by the level of dedication and clarity in the normally wishy-washy blonde teen. They could almost see the flames of passion kindling in his eyes. Said effect was ruined as his stomach growled.
"Well, I guess I should grab a bite to eat before our next class", Jaune got up and went into the lunch line, leaving his friends to their devices.
"Dang", Yang commented as she finished her drink, "That must be some lady. She got Jaune on lock down. How do you guys feel about that?" Her question seemed more directed at his partner than anyone else.
Pyrrha just smiled at ease, "I'll support Jaune as long as he needs it."
Ren placed his cup of steaming tea down and added his commentary, "It is a relief that he has found a pillar of support. His strength will only advance by leaps and bounds from here."
Nora stood up proudly and said, "Jauney isn't squishy anymore! The other day I smacked him with my hammer and he didn't even squeal." Team RWBY looked at her blankly as she continued to cheer for her supposed cooler leader.
It was at that moment that Jaune returned with a tray of food. He went right to eating everything on his plate.
"So, I can't help but notice that you haven't flirted with the Ice Queen in days", Yang said while ignoring Weiss' indignant cry of 'excuse you!'
Jaune merely blinked and shrugged easily. "I just realized that this is a serious and dangerous lifestyle I'm training for and I have better things to do than trying to flirt with someone that obviously doesn't like me."
While it was logical, the statement shocked his friends. Jaune Arc that wasn't obsessed with Weiss? Ridiculous! Although, Weiss looked very pleased at the development.
"I, for one, applaud your conviction and wish you the best of luck", Weiss complimented, thus making it the nicest thing she had ever said to the teen.
Jaune had to stop himself from rolling his eyes. Weiss couldn't have been more blatant in her intent. There was no need for her to be so happy about his cease of interest. Seeing her reaction, he had to definitely thank Julia for opening his eyes.
"So guys, will you help me with training after class? I have a ton of work to catch up on."
Team JNPR smiled and each of them agreed to help out their leader. As both teams left the lunch room, they passed by Cardin.
Cardin was a different person these days. His eyes were bloodshot and tortured. Rarely did he look others in the eyes, his attention seemed grabbed by something no one else could see. His gruff voice had become a dull whimper. Whatever was bothering him, it had stopped all of his bullying activities.
His teammates tried to help, but they couldn't understand most of his tirades about the natural order. Teachers were growing concerned as well because he could scream in the middle of class. In the past few days, the boy had already had three mental breakdowns.
Jaune felt bad for not pitying his misery. He guessed he was holding a grudge for all the trouble he and his team had caused him.
…
Oska was racing through the city of Vale. Her eyes were narrowed and focused, this was a serious situation. She was looking for her precious team leader and partner. A pout formed on her young countenance, her team leader was playing hard to get.
It was frustrating enough to make her pull her hair out. Why did Naruto have to be so suave and smooth? She didn't doubt that he knew how his behavior made her heart flutter. Oska had to stop as she swooned with a flush on her face. "Oh Naruto, you're so coy~."
Despite her frustrations, she could openly admit that her life had taken a very welcomed change.
Restarting her search, she began racing at break neck speeds. A large cloud of dust followed just behind her. "NARUTO!" Oska kept yelling in search of her beloved. During all of this, she had failed to actually look where she was running and ended up tumbling into another girl.
Both girls ended up flat on their backs after the collision. Oska felt a massive headache coming on. Shifting her head to the left, she saw the girl she had collided into. She wore a green overall dress and a pink ribbon.
"I thought I had a thick head", she complained. It had felt like ramming into a pole. As she wobbled to her feet, the girl excitably shook her hands.
"This is wondrous, we had a destined meeting!"
"Yeah, if that's what you want to call it."
"This is the part where we become friends. Then we'll paint our nails, try on clothes, and talk about cute boys!" The excitable girl rambled off.
"That's… ", Oska paused for a moment and thought about it. The more she thought about it, the better it sounded! "A wonderful idea!"
"Yeah friendship!" They cried at once jumping into a hug.
"I know just the place. Then I'll tell you all about Naruto."
The girl gasped and smiled, "Tell me everything!"
Oska and the girl, that she later learned was Penny, ran to a beauty salon. Using the generous amount of money deposited into her scroll, Oska treated the two of them for a day in the spa. They had gotten their nails done, hair fixed up, and massages.
All the while, Oska had told Penny all about Naruto and how amazing he was. She then went on to describe her team and friends. Penny seemed just tickled at the notion of making even more friends.
Penny had explained that she worked with the Atlas army. Apparently there was some mortal tournament happening and she was in Vale to participate. Silly humans, they thought they had a hope of defeating her team.
Now the pair walked amiably down the streets of Vale. Oska had calmed down on her need to find Naruto. Kitsunes were known for being free spirits. When he was finished, she was sure he would find her. That was how deep their bond was.
By now, the sun had begun to set. An explosion shattered the pleasant walk between the two new friends. "Big explosions at night? We have to check that out. Maybe we'll get a good fight out of it." Holding back in class was a tad annoying. Aura really wasn't too difficult to bypass. Without Aura, humans were oddly delicate.
"I am behind you, friend Oska", Penny cheered as she flexed her arms in support and a show of strength. "I'm combat ready."
A grin was on Oska's face, "That's the spirit. Let me help you", she said as she took Penny's hand and threw her unto the roof of one of the nearby buildings. Penny didn't panic and just landed gracefully on the roof.
Oska backed up a few steps and leapt right after her friend. They nodded to each other giddily and ran from roof to roof to their destination. Reaching the pier of the city, they saw a pretty shifty operation taking place. Faunus in white Grimm masks were hauling crates into airships. It couldn't be anyone but the terrorist group White Fang.
Penny landed near a pile of crates thus startling Ruby. "Salutations. We are here to investigate."
Oska snorted. Penny was here to investigate. Oska had seen enough. They were bad guys and they needed a pounding. Leaping down, she raised her fist and smashed it into the ground. Cement and other debris exploded from the impact sight. Giant chunks of cement smashed into the criminals, knocking them to the ground. Crates were rattled and fell roughly to the ground, causing a chain reaction where they exploded, revealing the contents to be dust. A whole light show of effects spewed out of the crates and in minutes most of the people hauling crates within the vicinity were flat on their backs, groaning.
Scanning her surroundings, she found who appeared to be the boss. If she remembered the news correctly, that was Roman. She found the orange haired man groaning on the ground.
"Some help here, Neo."
From above, a woman with brown and pink hair dropped in. She twirled an umbrella as she looked over the fallen man with a condescending smirk.
As Neo went to pick up Roman, Oska yelled, "Oh no you don't." She traveled the distance between them almost instantaneously and punched the woman squarely in the stomach. Neo dropped hard, but as she fell, she broke into mirror shards.
Oska narrowed her eyes, thoroughly insulted, "Your illusions are nothing compared to my darling!" She reached out and caught open air before slamming her arm into the ground. With a crash, Neo was now visible in her hand.
Neo tried to gash out her opponent's eye with her umbrella. Oska tossed her like a rag doll in return. Before Neo ceased rolling, Oska was above her ready to drive a foot right though her ribs. Neo rolled out of the way and pivoted herself on her arms to flip back on her feet.
Neo pulled a blade out of her umbrella and thrusted right in the center of Oscar's throat. It was brushed aside like a mosquito bite.
"Still on the ground here. Anytime you're ready Nero", Roman continued to complain.
Neo rolled her eyes as she tried to make distance between her and Oska. But Oska wasn't going to allow that whatsoever, "Hold still and fight!" Her bellow produced soundwaves that shook the area once again. The surrounding buildings buckled and all of the nearby windows shattered.
Neo stabbed her blade into the ground to hold her position. Her bones rattled at the waves and damage was spreading throughout her body. Alarm was evident on her features.
As soon as the cry ended, Roman's associate dashed towards Oska. A volley of blade thrusts were aimed at Oska. In return, Oska's hands were blurs as she punched the sword at the tip. Neo's features strained at attempting to break the skin of the student's fists. All she accomplished were minute gashes that were healing faster than they formed.
"Not good enough", she said to Nero as a taunt. She broke the engagement and performed a jumping spinning kick right into Neo's face and whistled as she slid on the ground.
Pushing herself back on her feet, Neo eyes flickered with annoyance. Taking her blade, she ran towards Oska, but at the last moment, she jumped over her and made a run at Penny and Ruby. She didn't get far.
"Where the hell do you think you're going!?" Contempt filled the monster's core. This girl simply thought she could walk away and attack her friends like that? Electricity surged through her fingers as her contempt for Neo grew.
Neo shook violently as the electricity invaded her system. Clenching her fist, Oska slammed an electrified fist right into the criminal's astonished face. Neo slammed right into bundle of broken crates.
Around the pier, airships rose to the sky. "Cease and desist", Penny called as her backpack opened. From their depths came a row of blades connected to wires. The blades shot out of her backpack and stuck into a couple of the airships. Slowly, Penny walked backwards and pulled the ships with her.
A vicious grin was on Oska's face. "Let me help you, friend." She pulled on the wires and ended up tossing the ships into the ground with an explosion.
"Those two are a little scary", Ruby mumbled beside her teammate Blake.
The sound of sirens caused the students to follow the sounds to the source. A squadron of police cars were parked at the piers and worse of all there were military airships coming down.
Taking the chance, Neo limped to her fallen associate and threw a pallet to the ground. Smoke erupted all around the pier. By the time the smoke cleared up by the airships, both of their figures were long gone.
A gruff looking military man walked to the students. He eyed Oska with a stern expression, "Ms. Duke you will surrender yourself to the Atlas Military. Resistance will not be tolerated."
Oska cracked her neck at the challenge. She took a fighting stance and stated, "Come at me."
Following her challenge, each of the police and soldiers pointed their weapons at her.
Oska didn't appear discouraged.
"Calm down, Oska. This is merely making things worse", Penny attempted to defuse the situation. She appeared uncharacteristically worried.
The air was tense. Oska saw how distraught her new friend was and lowered her stance with a click of her tongue. "I surrender."
She and the others were taken away. They would spend the night in questioning.
…
Back at Beacon, Rikuo sat upon a tree in his night form. Unlike previously, it was now a cherry blossom tree. As the petals fell upon the ground, he gazed upon the broken shards of the moon. Slowly, he took a sip of his alcohol. "A disjointed moon, not unlike my blood", he lamented lightly.
An Aosagibi sat on his shoulder. The blue light radiating off its form added a nice tint to the moon watching.
Slowly, Moka paced towards the tree where Rikuo sat. "How does it feel?"
"What do you mean?"
"I'm talking about being part human."
"I've always had human blood. Being part human just feels like being me. Is my heritage such a troublesome thing to you?"
Moka was quick to shake her head. She leaned her back against the tree as she stared at the moon as well. "When I was young, humans terrified me. I couldn't fit in with them. For one reason or another, I stuck out like a sore thumb and they rejected me. It hurt so much that it drove me to the brink of hatred. I guess I never bothered to rectify that, now that fear has become reluctance. The students here kind of make me uncomfortable. I don't know how long I could've have stayed here if not for the rest of the team."
"Does that feeling extend to my day form now?" Rikuo questioned seriously. Her admittance came as a bit of a surprise. She had never alluded to any discomfort with all the people on campus. Though, she did spend most of the time with members of the team.
Moka took a moment to think and spoke clearly and assuredly, "Not at all. He's always been the sweetest guy I've known. I don't believe he would ever intentionally hurt me."
That statement seemed to make the sitting monster overly pleased. Rikuo jumped down the branch from which he sat. The heron flew off his shoulder and returned to the branch. He sat down lazily beside her, "Share a drink with me. Let it be a strengthening of our friendship."
Smiling she took the small cup and slowly sipped its contents. The liquid warmed her throat.
"Come on Ren, the cool lights were around here somewhere."
"Please slow down, Nora", Ren begged as he was dragged with her. He saw the two basking in each other's presence and stopped his friend. "Sorry for intruding."
Rikuo brushed off their concern and welcomed them to sit down as well. The pair started to introduce themselves to Rikuo and until Moka began to giggle. "Introductions aren't necessary. This is Rikuo."
Ren looked shocked, while Nora seemed amazed, "You have a hair growing semblance! I'm so jealous."
Both monsters wanted to break out in laughter. Semblance was like the mortal blank check for reason.
And so the four sat beneath the moon and swapped some stories about their childhood.
…
Team RWBY returned to Beacon haggard. Questioning had taken almost the whole night. Headmaster Ozpin hadn't been the happiest either.
Just around the corner was Naruto, ever smiling, "Has any of you seen my partner? She's not answering her scroll."
Ruby laughed nervously and explained the incident at the pier. "Then, she was very agitated during the questioning. She kind of beat up some of the officers."
"Don't forget the part where she beat up a soldier with another soldier", Yang added helpfully.
"Thank you, sis", Ruby said in annoyance before continuing, "They're detaining her and planning to bring her to Atlas, under charges of conspiracy or something like that. Sorry!" Ruby finished by bowing quickly.
"No big deal", Naruto finished.
Ruby looked shocked, "Aren't you worried for your partner?"
Naruto's grin was almost feral, while his eyes were narrowed slits. "That's not it. We're going to break Oska out of jail and get away with it. I need to call the rest of the team. Have a good night."
"I have a bad feeling about this", Ruby admitted.
"I do too, Ruby. Mr. Smiles seems a little dangerous", Yang said in conjunction.
…
Qrow Branwen was a simple man with simple needs. All he required was his trusty alcohol, a nice girl, and anyone with the word Schnee in their names being a kingdom away from him.
The drunken man took another chug of his alcohol canister before continuing his trek. He was on his way to a village outside of the kingdom for a rest stop. Qrow had been on an assignment of sorts as a favor to Ozpin.
Thinking of Ozpin, he should probably return some of the calls. If he didn't answer soon, they, being mostly Glynda, would get antsy and bother him.
As he come closer to the entrance of the village, the sight before him made him put away the alcohol. Just near the entrance, villagers were marching away from the living areas. Each of them had a dazed look as they were directed to airships, one after another. Everything was quick and professional, a further alarming piece of information. And for the cherry on top, the henchmen were all Grimm. Grimm that were acting in a neat and orderly fashion.
This couldn't be the first time this crew had done this, they were just too good. Someone or something was collecting people for who knows what. He reached for his back to unhook his weapon. Qrow scanned the area and found the head of operations.
She was a beauty too. A tall dark woman with light blonde hair and red eyes stood alert. With the combination of her tiara, flowing white dress, gloves and boots, she looked more like a princess than some super criminal.
Some days it just didn't pay to be a fighter. With a confident stride he marched up to her. "What are you lot doing here?"
To his mild surprise, she broke into tears, "You should've left when you had the opportunity. Now I must eliminate you." Her voice sounded downright heartbroken. It made him sound like the bad guy here.
That made him more alert than he was previously. How long had she been onto him? Pushing aside his worry, he continued, "Yeah, I can't exactly let this slide. It kind of comes with the job, huntsman you know?"
Getting into a fighting stance, he struck first. With great speed, he got her on all sides in one sweeping motion. No less than twenty strikes were made on her.
None of them phased her. She didn't even appear too alert. Qrow gritted his teeth as he shifted his sword into gun mode. Before he could aim and fire, the woman punched him right in the face and sent him flying into the dense forest in front of the village.
As he got to his feet, he wiped the blood from his lips. His Aura hadn't done anything for that blow! This was turning out to be a nasty fight. She might have had some kind of anti-Aura semblance. No, that was a bit too ridiculous. She might have had some kind of weapon.
The girl walked leisurely through the foliage, looking for Qrow. It kind of peeved him to see her so unguarded. From the look of things, she had pretty good night vision. What came next told him just how badly this was going to get. The woman's arm twisted violently and morphed into some kind of wing like dark black appendage.
This had officially entered strange territory. With a flash, she was just in front of him. Her vile looking arm whipped him through a number of tree trunks. Fortunately, his Aura still protected him from the force of breaking through tree trunks.
Gritting his teeth, he aimed his gun and fired round after round of bullets at her face. Honestly, he couldn't find it in him to be shocked by her catching the dust bullets in her mouth and chewing them. Apparently she liked the taste of fire dust rounds.
While she was enjoying her meal, he made a run for it. Not even ten seconds after starting to run, Qrow found her in front of him. When they collided, he was pushed aside. For a dainty looking thing, she had a dense body.
Tears were still running down her face, "You poor dear, to have to die alone here. Why couldn't you withhold your curiosity?" She rose her appendage high before she stopped. A look of glee burst from her features, "Great news! I can let you go. I'm so glad I can spare you, even if it's just because I must horde the others. Live well, for your brethren that can't. Have a good night." With grace that even a Schnee would be jealous of, the woman strode off.
Though it grinded his gears and damaged his pride, he couldn't save the hostages. Holding his wounded body, which his Aura was failing to heal, he made a run for it. His allies needed to be alerted to this.
From the look of things, this wouldn't be an isolated incident.