Aoi Hyoudou: Nothing much to say here except for the fact that Ash will indeed encounter several more black coats, the creatures of Grimm, and Rapid Thrusters in the chapter. Oh, and Ash might finally get to meet the other characters from the RWBY series as well. It all depends. With that being said, please enjoy the chapter.
Beacon Academy
1st Visit - Part II
{...}
"Ash!"
He moaned softly in sleep, flinching a little.
"Ash!"
He groaned in a grumpy tone with his eyes still shut.
"Come on, Ash, please wake up!" Ruby pleaded with the sleeping Keyblade wielder who still refused to budge an inch from his relaxing spot.
"…Five…more minutes." he responded sleepily, shielding his eyes from the sunlight that was shining brightly on his face with his forearm.
"Fine, Ash," Yang decided to go with a different approach to get his attention. "I guess you're just going to miss breakfast, then!" That did the trick.
"What!?" His auburn eyes immediately shot open as he leaned forward, only for him to clumsily lose his balance on the tree branch and plummet to the ground with a loud thud, landing in an awkward position. He began to hallucinate after the fall as three dancing Pikachu whirled around his head. "Hehehe, look at the dancing Pikachu…" he said dizzily, his eyes becoming swirls.
Ruby and Yang both sweat dropped.
{...}
After a quick breakfast at the mess hall, Ash and the two sisters quickly headed over to the locker room where they began to prepare themselves for the imminent initiation. "So…does anyone have a clue as to what our initiation is going to be?" Yang asked no one in particular as she waited patiently for someone to give her a straightforward answer. Ash simply shrugged while sitting on the bench. And as for Ruby, she was half-listening as she was going through her assigned locker, pulling out her Crescent Rose.
"Does it really matter?" Her older sister frowned at her arrogant remark. "Today's the day I get to let my study heart do the talking." she said self-confidently, giving her weapon all the love in the world before hugging it affectionately, only for Yang to step in and interrupt her.
"Well, remember, Ruby, you're not the only one who's going through the initiation." she told her younger sibling in a matter-of-fact tone of voice, her hands moving to her hips. "If you wanna grow up, you're going to have to meet new people and learn how to work together." Ruby groaned loudly at the familiar speech.
"You sound just like Dad!" the dark red haired girl shoved her weapon back into her locker before facing her older sister. "First of all: what does that have to do with fighting? And secondly, I don't need people to help me grow up. I drink milk!" She stood proudly by her statement.
Ash sweat dropped. But he said nothing as he continued to listen in on their conversation.
"But what about when we form teams?" Yang questioned her self-indulgent baby sister.
"I-I don't know." she replied uncertainly, turning away from the older female, her arms crossed. "I'll be on your team or…something." Her remark made her older sister feel a bit uneasy.
"Maybe…you should try being on someone else's team, like Ash's for example." While she quickly offered a sincere apology to the young wielder of the Keyblade for dragging him into the conversation, she just hoped that she didn't hurt her little sister's feelings too much by telling her that she didn't want to be on the same team with her.
"My dear sister Yang—" Ruby immediately faced her big sister with an angry scowl on her face, stepping forward and poking an accused finger against her chest. "—are you applying that you do not wish to be on the same team with me?" she demanded indignantly, crossing her arms again and glaring daggers at her older sibling.
'Oh, boy...' Ash didn't like where this was going.
"What?! No! Of course I do. I just thought—" The blonde female tries to come up with a good excuse. "—I don't know. Maybe it would help you break out of your shell!" she explained poorly with some encouraging words.
"What the?!" Ruby immediately snapped at her older sister, causing both Ash and Yang to flinch at her sudden outburst. "I don't need to break out of my shell! That's absolutely—"
"—ridiculous!" Jaune, who unexpectedly and coincidentally had been walking by, completed her sentence for her. Ash took note that the blonde male didn't even bother to acknowledge any of them as he was too busy talking to himself while glancing down at a piece of paper in his hands.
"Hmm..." Ignoring the two sisters for a brief moment while they were still going at each other's throats, the young wielder of the Keyblade continued to focus his attention on Jaune who was currently flirting away with the white haired girl that he's seen countless times before and a red haired girl in gladiatrix-like armor. Judging by their body language, it seemed that Jaune was very determined to persuade them both in joining his team. While the red haired girl named Pyrrha showed that she was interested, the white haired girl (Weiss, was it? He overheard Jaune call her by that name so he figured it was her actual name) didn't seemed like she was too thrilled that a guy like him was talking to them, as if he actually knew them or something. And it was becoming more uncomfortable as he was invading her personal space, causing the other female to step in and come to her aid by throwing her special weapon which quickly changed into a javelin, pinning the blonde against a locker, followed by a sincere apology to heal his pride and his dignity.
"Attention! All first-year students please report to Beacon Cliff for initiation." All ears in the locker room began to listen in on the sudden announcement as the intercom continued, "Again! All first-year students please report to Beacon Cliff immediately!"
"It was nice meeting you." Pyrrha said apologetically to her potential teammate in the near future, quickly yanking him free from her javelin before following Weiss out of the locker room.
"Yeah, likewise," Jaune murmured dejectedly, slumping to the floor with a gloomy expression on his face, completely unaware that Ash and co. were approaching him until Yang spoke up with a small tease.
"Having some trouble there, lady killer?"
"I don't understand." They could tell that he was still moping at his failed attempt to recruit Pyrrha and Weiss to his team. "My dad said all women look for is confidence. Where did I go wrong?" Ash and Ruby helped the poor guy up to his feet.
"Snow Angel—probably wasn't the best start." Yang chuckled with amusement in her tone as she was strongly referring to Weiss before leaving the locker room.
"Come on, guy, let's go." Ruby placed her arm over his shoulders before slowly assisting him to the exit. Ash was about to leave as well but he stopped when he felt like someone was standing right behind him. He glanced over his shoulder where he noticed a tall figure in a black raincoat standing just a few feet away from him.
"You!" He quickly faced the enigmatic figure with a firm glare on his face.
The mysterious rogue in black cringed at his angry voice.
"Ash?" Yang's sudden voice called out to him, which distracted him long enough for the figure to make a quick getaway into a Corridor of Darkness.
"No! Wait!" he shouted, but it was too late. The suspicious character was long gone. He sighed dejectedly, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration.
"Friend of yours?" Yang spoke up, gaining his attention once more as he turned to her.
"Not even close," the former Pokémon Trainer simply told Ruby's elder sister with a low sigh.
"So…who was he, then?" she pressed on further with a curious look on her face, hoping to get a decent answer from him.
"No one important," he half-lied with a shrug, dodging the question. Yang folded her arms and frowned at the black haired teen and his lame attempt to avoid her question.
"Ash, don't you dare lie to me. I can tell that you're hiding something. Just spill it already!" She wasn't going to allow him to leave until he fessed up about the man in the black raincoat. In fact, she even moved in front of him, just in case he tried to make a break for the exit. He heaved a sigh for the third time.
"You're not making things easy, are you?"
"Nope," His lips formed into a smile as he chuckled in amusement at her quick response.
"Then you'll just have to wait. We still have an initiation to go through. Come on!"
"Ash!" He immediately grabbed her wrist and starts dragging her along with him to the exit before she could even start complaining.
{...}
At the top of Beacon Cliff, Ash was admiring the lovely scenery while waiting patiently for the initiation to begin. He was joined by a total of sixteen first-year students and among those students were Ruby, Yang, Jaune, Pyrrha, and Weiss along with a few other familiar faces in the bunch. Every last one of them was standing on top of a stone pad with Beacon's insignia on it. Standing before them with his favorite coffee mug in hand and his devoted assistant his side, was Professor Ozpin.
The lecture was about to begin.
"For years you have trained to become warriors. And today your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest." He took a brief pause to make sure that everyone was listening closely to every word he was saying because it was very important. He even spared a glance or two Ash's way to see if he was still paying attention because down the line he too—like it or not—would take part in the special initiation, no questions asked. Ozpin gave Glynda Goodwitch the cue to continue where he left off while taking a sip from his coffee mug.
"Now I'm sure many of you have heard rumors about signing up with teams. Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates…today!" she stated strongly with a firm tone of voice, eying each student closely with narrowed eyes, hoping there was no objections. Ruby was the only one who didn't like the idea of being paired up with random people in a team.
"What? Aw…" she whined childishly in a low tone, hoping no one heard her. Professor Ozpin began to speak again.
"These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon so it is in your best interest to be paired with people who you can work well with." Ruby whined again.
"That being said the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years." The dark red haired girl's world was completely shattered into a million pieces after hearing the sudden news.
"What?!" she complained loudly, followed by several murmurs and whispers among the students. Most of them felt the same way as her. They didn't like the involuntary rule that was being placed over their heads. Even Ash was beginning to wonder if these rules were going to affect him in any way. For one thing: he was only a provisional student at Beacon. And secondly, he wasn't going to be around for four more years so that was a major problem as well. But Ozpin didn't seem to care what they thought as he continued with his lecture.
"After you've partnered up make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your way or…you will die." He made a strong statement, causing a few students including Jaune to feel uneasy. "You will be monitored and graded for the duration of your initiation, but our instructors—" He shared a quick glance with his assistant in understanding before facing the students once again. "—will not intervene. You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path containing several relics. Each pair must choose one and return to the top of the cliff. You will guard that item as well as each other and we grade you appropriately. Are there any questions?" he asked briefly. Jaune shyly raised his hand up.
"Yeah, um, sir—"
"Good," the gray haired man said quickly, paying no heed to the blonde teen who still had his hand in the air, hoping to get his attention. "Now take your positions!" he ordered in a casual tone of voice. Ash took note of all the first-years except for Jaune beginning to move into their stances. He didn't know what was going on, but he figured that he would find out soon enough as he quickly whipped out his Keyblade and began to move into his stance, waiting for further instructions.
"Uh, sir," Jaune was trying desperately to get the headmaster to look in his direction. "I've got a question." Weiss was the first to be sent airborne by her respective pad, followed by several other students. "So…this landing strategy thing. What is it, like you're dropping us off or something?" he asked with a nervous tone of voice, drawing both the headmaster and Ms. Goodwitch's attention to him.
"No, you will be falling." the gray haired man simply told the younger male. Ash didn't like the sound of that as two more students were propelled into the air by their pads.
"Uh, I see...so, like did you hand out parachutes to us?" he asked another stupid question. It was almost time for the young wielder of the Keyblade to be hurled into the air by his pad.
"No, you will be using your own landing strategy." That being said Ash, Ruby, Yang, and a screaming Jaune were the last ones to depart from the cliff and into the air, leaving an amused headmaster to enjoy his coffee.
The former Pokémon Trainer could feel his adrenaline pumping as he free-fell towards the Emerald Forest at a fast speed, rushing winds blowing against his face. It wasn't the first time he was in this type of predicament and it certainly wasn't going to be his last either. Back when he was dealing with Team Rocket during each one of his journeys he always ends up free-falling whenever he tried to rescue Pikachu from their giant robot or jumped out from their hot air balloon. The only regret he had during those days was not learning how to cushion his fall. It would've helped at a time like this. But since he wasn't like Ruby and the rest he could only brace for impact as he immediately plowed through a tree, hitting all the tree branches that were in his way. He could feel his flesh and his clothes being slashed by the branches as he finally reached the bottom and landed in a bush, softening his landing a bit.
Moments later…
Ash groggily emerged out from the bush and dusted himself off, removing the tiny bits of twigs and leaves from his messy black hair before casting Cura, restoring his strength and healing his cuts and gashes. His clothes were still torn up a bit, but it didn't really matter all that much to him. He could always change into a new set of clothes later. But first things first, he needed to figure out his current location. He began to examine his surroundings very cautiously because he didn't know what was lurking around the Emerald Forest. He had a strong feeling that he wasn't even close to the rendezvous point from where he was. Not the strong start he'd been hoping for, but whatever. He could only blame himself for his lack of preparation. It was just a minor setback. He'd work around it.
The young protagonist began to head off, taking a random path and hoping that it would eventually lead him to the forest temple.
{...}
"Ugh…Am I even going the right way?" the Keyblader grumbled loudly to himself, walking aimlessly on his selected path that he had instinctively chosen half an hour ago. Everything he saw looked exactly the same. He hoped he wasn't going around in circles or worse got lost like he tended to do in the past. But after passing by the one tree he'd marked with his Oathkeeper earlier for the fifth straight time, there was no doubt in his mind that he was indeed lost with no sense of direction whatsoever. "Great..." he sighed dejectedly with closed eyes in a frustrated tone, his pace coming to a sudden halt.
Unbeknownst to the discouraged teen, another figure clad in a black raincoat was standing behind him with observant eyes, studying him very thoroughly in complete silence. Sensing that someone was behind him, Ash immediately turned around and noticed the enigmatic figure. "It's you guys again!" he hissed in a fuming tone of voice with narrowed eyes, glaring daggers. "Come here to pick a fight with me?" The rogue in black made no attempt to respond to that question. Instead he took off running. "Hey!" The black haired teen quickly pursued the figure.
The chase was on.
Ash didn't know where the enigmatic rogue was leading him to, but he couldn't afford to lose the hooded man in his sights, even if he was heading into a trap. He followed the Organization XIII member with a strong pace, determined not to fall behind. There were a couple of times where the rogue in black made a few attempts to shake the annoying pest off his tail by making quick turns to elude him, but that did absolutely nothing to slow the young wielder of the Keyblade down. Growing tired of this little cat and mouse game, the figure abruptly headed deeper into the forest, followed closely by the former Pokémon Trainer. Ash panted and huffed heavily as he passed through thick bushes and brushed aside leaning tree branches. There were so many trees standing in his way with very little running space, limiting his mobility. He didn't know how the Organization XIII member was moving so swiftly without having any sort of trouble, but he couldn't lose sight of him. After several attempts to pick up his pace stumbling around a few times over tree roots, he quickly followed the fresh footsteps in the dirt that had been left behind by the rogue, hoping that he didn't get too far away. The tracks eventually led the Keyblade wielder to an open field where he advanced forward cautiously on high alert, hoping to spot the man in black, but he had no luck. The enigmatic rogue was long gone.
'Where did he go?' He double-checked the surroundings while walking around to make sure that the Organization XIII member wasn't hiding anywhere or planning to sneak attack him from behind. The coast was clear. 'I can't believe I lost him…' the disgruntled teen mentally sighed with a low groan of frustration. But then he glanced up when he heard the sound of rustling in the trees, causing him to be on his guard.
The suspense was killing him. Ash didn't know what was coming, but he was ready for anything, both hands tightening their grip on the Keyblade. Bursting out from the trees was a new swarm of Heartless that he wasn't familiar with. They had spherical, black heads with glowing, yellow eyes and a jagged mouth. Their heads were surrounded by a large, two-pronged, beak-like helmet that sported a black spike on either of its sides. The helmet itself was orange and the Heartless emblem was on top. Their bodies were also spherical, black, and only slightly larger than their heads. They lacked arms, and their legs were thin and did not have distinct digits. A propeller was attached to their rears that they apparently used to fly. Their necks and bodies were separated by a thin, cyan line.
There were so many of them. And it was very evident that they had him outnumbered and surrounded on all sides. Ash could tell that he was in for a fight. This was a great opportunity for him to blow off some steam. But first things first, he pulled out his spare Pokégear and aimed it at the new Heartless, quickly analyzing their data for future reference. The name: Rapid Thruster appeared on the screen. 'So that's what they are called…' And not a moment too soon as he quickly rolled to the side by instinct and slid backwards after pocketing the Pokégear when several Rapid Thrusters began to swoop down at him from his left unexpectedly.
The young wielder of the Keyblade immediately glanced up and began firing a set of Fira spells in succession, each one hitting at least two or three Rapid Thrusters at once. More Rapid Thrusters began to dive down at him, but this time from the front and from the rear simultaneously, almost putting some pressure on the Keyblade bearer if he hadn't reacted in time by diving out of the way with another quick roll, causing most of them to collide with one another, followed by a few more Fira spells. Several more Heartless dived at him, but he easily sidestepped each one of their clumsy attempts and began slashing away at them with various combo strikes and quick hits before sending them all packing with finishing blows. But he soon noticed that no matter how many he defeated more continued to appear. 'Where are they all coming from?' He would have preferred that Pikachu was fighting alongside him, but since his Summoning Gem was still recharging thanks to the little mishap with Ruby from yesterday, he had to go with another plan until then. At the rate he was going with the Rapid Thrusters, he was bound to get tired eventually. There was only one spell in the back of his mind that might be able handle all of this with one quick powerful strike and that was Thundera. He hoped that his latest training session with Aqua would work to his advantage. If not, then all the beatings and all the lecturing that he had gone through with her would all for nothing.
After swatting away some more Heartless with his Oathkeeper and quickly breaking through the encircling Rapid Thrusters, he began moving his Keyblade up high over his head with one hand, slowly closing both eyes. And with a deep breath, he shouted in a serious tone of voice, his auburn eyes shooting open once more, "Thundera!"
A pregnant silence fell upon the forest. All the Heartless began to look around their surroundings in a fretful manner. Nothing happened. Ash tried again. "Thundera!" Still nothing. Maybe he was trying hard enough. "Thundera!"
A random tumbleweed rolled across the area thanks to a sudden cold breeze after his third failed attempt to cast Thundera. 'What's going on? Why isn't it working?' Ash chewed his bottom lip as the Rapid Thrusters were slowly advancing towards him, strongly believing that they were out of danger for now. 'I did what Aqua told me to do. I breathed. I closed my eyes. I even relaxed my mind. I did everything and yet…still nothing!' he mentally sighed with a low groan. 'Maybe it didn't work because I'm still tense.' It was a good guess, but that wasn't it at all. He broke down into a cold sweat as the Heartless surrounded him again. 'Not good,' He stood his ground waiting for the inevitable to happen. He gritted his teeth in frustration as all the Rapid Thrusters began to dive down at him from all sides simultaneously. The situation looked very grim for Ash until three lightning bolts unexpectedly descended from the heavens, striking all the Heartless with no mercy, electrocuting every single one. The black haired teen didn't know if this was his doing or what, but some instinct told him otherwise. And once all the Rapid Thrusters were no longer a problem as they quickly disappeared in defeat in the form of black particles, he immediately spun around when he detected another presence behind him. It was another rogue in the black raincoat, but this this one was a little different from the last two he had encountered. The figure had a height close to his, but that was about it.
"What do you guys want from me?" the former Pokémon Trainer demanded angrily with a glare, standing his ground with both hands gripped tightly on his Keyblade.
"…" The mysterious figure stood still like a statue, making no attempt whatsoever to answer any of the teen's demands.
"Answer me!"
"…" The rogue in black still refused to say a word or two to the infuriated Keyblade wielder. Instead the enigmatic figure simply raised his arm and pointed at something over the teen's shoulder.
Sensing immediate danger, Ash quickly spun around where he barely dodged a powerful attack from a beastly shadow creature by ducking under its arm and jumping backwards to put some distance between him and the four vicious monsters, one of which nearly having decapitated him with that surprise attack. He winced with a low groan when he noticed that his lower-left cheek was dripping blood onto the dirt from the fresh cut. 'Where did these guys come from?' He began to sweat a little as he stood his ground against the strange creatures. 'Could he be behind this?' He took a quick second to glance over his shoulder, only to find that the rogue had vanished. 'Figures...' He was growing tired of all the hooded figures running away from him. It was seriously getting old.
The four beast-like shadows were slowly advancing towards him on all fours, roaring ferociously with killing intent glinting in their crimson eyes. They looked so much like Heartless, but they weren't. Their physique was very similar to an Ursaring. There were bony spikes on their backs and on their arms, their faces also sported white bonelike masks with red detailing.
Ash could tell that these wild beasts (creatures of Grimm, was it?) wouldn't be an easy opponent to defeat. It's going to be a tough challenge, more challenging than that swarm of Rapid Thrusters moments ago. But he was determined to find a way to overcome the odds. He always had in the past after all.
The young wielder of the Keyblade made the first move. He immediately rushed forward at the bear-like creatures. They snarled loudly at his charging form, charging as well and swinging their powerful paws straight at him. He quickly ducked under, sidestepped, and even jumped over their slow attacks with his agility before sliding between their legs over to the other side. The Keyblade bearer began firing a set of Fira spells at the Grimms, two of them taking most of the damage and knocking them back while leaving the other two in a fit of rage, charging forward once more. The ebony haired teen dashed forward, sidestepping the first Grimm's attack with ease before slashing its chest with his Oathkeeper. The attack caused it to stumble backwards in pain, allowing him to quickly parry the second attack from the second Grimm with the Keyblade. Then he proceeded to slip around another blow and slam his weapon against its face several times before unleashing a set of quick strikes and combo hits for good measure. The shadow creature cried out in agony after taking so many hits from its attacker, staggering backwards a little before falling over on its back when a speeding fireball collided into it at full force, engulfing it in a minor explosion.
Three down! One to go! Ash didn't waste any more time and turned his attention to the final Grimm who was coming straight at him in a fit of rage. He held his ground as the enraged beast closed the gap between them. Standing on its hind legs, it fiercely swung its right paw at him, but he swiftly ducked under its arm before it could connect. It immediately swung its other paw, but he easily sidestepped and moved back a little. He quickly lunged forward, slamming the Oathkeeper into its chin, completely stunning it for a brief second before striking the foul beast with numerous combo strikes, each hit landing one after the other.
The bear-like Grimm staggered a little with a low growl, shaking its head in an attempt to get itself together. Feeling that he should wrap things up as quickly as possible, the Keyblade wielder immediately charged again at the disorientated creature, not giving it any chances to fight back. He performed swift strikes against its body with the Oathkeeper and then proceeded to twirl the Keyblade for a quick second before executing more combo hits at a faster pace with the final strike completely knocking it into the air. Ash followed it up with a quick Fira spell by pointing his Keyblade directly upward and launching the fireball straight into the creature, setting off another minor explosion. The roasted Grimm came crashing down afterwards, its body still smoking from the aftermath.
All the Grimms were down, but not out for the count. They were still breathing. It gave the Keyblade wielder a moment to catch a breather. His earlier opinion about the Grimms had changed when he'd fought against them. He'd been expecting more of a challenge. But it seemed that they had failed to deliver unless his latest training session with Aqua made that much of a difference. His skills and his mobility did feel like they'd improved a bit since last time. Maybe that was the reason why it had felt so easy when he was crushing the Grimms during the fight. It was all thanks to his growth.
The sound of weak growling caught his immediate attention as he began to make plans about whether or not he should stick around and finish them or take his leave now while he still could. Ash went with option B. While it wasn't normally his nature to run away from an unfinished fight, he just couldn't afford to waste any more time goofing around with the Grimms. He still had an initiation to complete, after all.
Ash saw an opening and immediately went for it by running past all four Grimms who were now up, chasing after him in a fit of rage. Glancing over his shoulder with a look of surprise on his face, he noted that the bear-like creatures were hot on his tail, closing in on him very quickly. He was quite impressed at their display of speed, almost reconsidering his view on them for the second time today. But he simply couldn't take the risk of having them following him back into the forest when there was a good possibility that there are other wandering students nearby, not wanting to cause any of them any sort of unnecessary trouble in the long run. Thinking fast, he aimed the Oathkeeper forward and fired a set of Fira spells at the ground in front of two large trees, creating a large smoke screen. Relying on his memory, he slashed the tree trunks as he passed by. A crashing noise came immediately after that, followed by several thuds and bellows of frustration. Looking over his shoulder, Ash could see that his impromptu plan had worked. Blinded by the smoke, the Grimms had run straight into the fallen trees, stopping them dead and causing them to collapse in a heap.
Thanks to the smoke cloud, they couldn't see or smell their intended prey with the smoke hurting their eyes and noses. Ash took full advantage of their confusion to make his escape.
The chase was officially over, for now.
{...}
Ash ran for a good whole mile, making sure he was at a safe distance away from any Heartless or Grimm before stopping near a tree to lean on so that he could finally take a break and catch his breath, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead with his forearm as the Oathkeeper vanished once more. He began to check his surroundings, wondering if he was at least close to the rendezvous point after all that running he did, if not then he didn't know what he was going to do next. After considering his situation, he figured that he should probably get going before something else decided to show up. And maybe just maybe along the way he might run into Ruby, Yang, or perhaps Jaune.
The young wielder of the Keyblade was about to head out when he began to hear an indistinct sound coming from somewhere. He couldn't make out what it was because it was really faint. But he could tell by a gut feeling that it was close to his current location. Whether or not he was planning to go investigate the peculiar noise was still up in the air at this point. He just didn't want to take the risk of falling into one of Organization XIII's tricks again. But when he heard a desperate cry for help, he reconsidered his decision as he immediately took off running with a full sprint. He didn't know where he was going, but he didn't care. Someone was in dire need of assistance. And it wasn't in his nature to disregard anyone even if they were a stranger to him.
The desperate cry for assistance eventually directed him to a random area where he didn't see anyone around, making him wonder if he was beginning to hear things. Not wanting to believe that he was starting to lose his mind already bad enough that he was hearing a ghostly voice in his head occasionally, he began to call out with a calm tone of voice, hoping that someone would respond to him immediately without any hesitation. "Hello? Is someone here? I came to help!" He waited around patiently until he heard a familiar voice answering his call.
"Ash? Is that really you? Finally!" It sounded like Jaune.
"Jaune?" He looked around for the blonde teen, but couldn't find him anywhere. "Uh, where are you?"
"Up here," came a quick reply. Ash stared intently at all the trees standing before him, but still couldn't find his friend.
"Up where?"
"Up here against this tree. Turn around." The black haired teen complied as he slowly turned around, glancing up where he took note of Jaune hanging in the tree by his hood, which was pinned tightly by a familiar javelin.
"H-Hey," he greeted sheepishly, waving his hand weakly at his friend.
"Uh…Jaune, what are you doing hanging in the tree?"
"Oh, you know. Just wanting to enjoy the view and the nice weather up here." he retorted in a sarcastic tone of voice while crossing his arms, staring down at the bewildered teen.
"How long have you been stuck up there?"
"Over half an hour," he said dejectedly in a whisper, his head slumping in defeat. Sighing softly, Ash just couldn't leave him hanging like that. No pun intended. It wouldn't be right on his part.
"Hang on. I'll get you down."
"Thanks, Ash. You're the best!" The Keyblade wielder was about to help his friend out when he heard the sound of a bush rustling nearby. He immediately stood his ground, but then relaxed when he spotted a familiar figure in white clothing stepping out from the bush, dusting herself off with a low grumble. He could tell that she was in a bad mood judging by her facial expression. And when she realized that she wasn't alone noticing Ash and Jaune waving at her with an apprehensive smile on their faces, she first glanced up at the hanging blonde before casting her gaze down onto the ebony haired teenager with narrowed eyes.
"Hm, you seem more capable than this dunce. And more reliable than that annoying brat back there." Ash cocked an eyebrow at her, wondering who she was referring to. "How about it? Is there any chance you would consider becoming my partner?" she requested with a curious look on her face, waiting patiently for his answer.
"That all depends." he said simply with a shrug. Her lips slowly formed into a deep frown, crossing her arms.
"And what does that mean?"
"Simply, Weiss," His lips quirked into a smile, completely ignoring the dirty look he was getting from the girl. "How about you try being nice to Ruby for once? If you could do that, then I might consider your offer."
"What does that have to do with me asking you to be my partner?" the white haired girl questioned at the strange request, placing a hand on her hip.
"You're a smart girl. You figure it out." he answered with a sly remark. Her eyebrow twitched violently, gritting her teeth in frustration.
"Fine! If you don't want to be my partner, then just say so instead wasting my time with this nonsense!" Weiss began to storm off in a fit of rage, leaving a dumbstruck Ash behind.
"Wait! Weiss! Where are you going? Come back!" The former Pokémon Trainer immediately chased after the white haired girl after the misunderstanding between the two, leaving a distraught Jaune behind.
"Guys! Come back! Don't leave me here all alone!"
{...}
"You came back!" Weiss didn't say anything. She simply grabbed her "partner" by her hood and began to drag her off to who knows where.
"Be nice to her, he said. Who does he think he is ordering me around like that?" the white haired girl muttered angrily under her breath, failing to notice that the Keyblade wielder was trailing right behind them. Ruby took notice of him first, waving directly at his approaching form with a smile.
"Hey, Ash!" she greeted cheerfully, causing Weiss to come to a halt with a low groan, allowing the black haired teen to catch up to them with the dark red haired girl running over to meet him.
"Hey, Ruby. So…you and Weiss are partners, huh?" She gave him a small nod.
"Yeah…as luck would have it. I ran into Weiss first before I could even find Yang." she explained with a low groan.
"I'm not happy with this either, you know." Weiss said sourly in a bitter tone of voice, overhearing their conversation with her back turned to them and her arms crossed. Ruby simply ignored her.
"So, Ash…mind telling us who your partner is?" she asked in a curious tone of voice, but then finally noticed the cut on his left cheek and his ripped clothes. "And what in the world happened to you?" She felt really concerned for her friend now as she extended her hand to touch his cheek, only for him to gently take her hand and place it back down to her side.
"No need to worry. It's just a scratch." he reassured Ruby with a smile. She was still concerned about him. "As for my partner—" He took a slight pause, glancing over to Weiss before facing Ruby again and continuing, "—I just thought maybe I should tag along with you guys for a while, if you don't mind that three's a crowd." He joked in amusement.
"I'm okay with it, but I don't know about Weiss." the dark red haired girl simply answered, throwing her thumb over her shoulder at the white haired girl who still had her back turned, giving them both the cold shoulder. But then she finally responded in an annoyed tone of voice after growing tired of being stared at by the pestering duo.
"I don't care what you two do, as long as my mission isn't delayed because you're too slow." She began to walk ahead. "I swear if I get a bad grade I'll—" Ruby made a mad dash to her side with impressive speed, completely startling her out of her wits. "—what the?!"
"I'm not slow. See? You don't have to worry about me," she stated proudly with a cocky grin on her face, her fists on her hips.
"When did—" Weiss tried to look back, but Ruby immediately cut her off from doing so.
"Weiss, just because I don't exactly know how to deal with people doesn't mean I don't know how to deal with monsters." Weiss simply crossed her arms in annoyance as the younger female threw an arm around her shoulders and continued with her absurd rambling, waving her hand across her field of vision in a lousy attempt to help her partner envision her sense of view. "You're about to see a whole different side of me today, Weiss. And after it's all over you're going to be like, "Wow! That Ruby girl is really, really cool and I wanna be her friend."" She abruptly disappeared in red petals, leaving an unamused Weiss behind.
"You may be fast, but you still excel at wasting time." The white haired girl began to glance around and noticed that her impudent partner was nowhere to be found or seen. "Oh, you inconsiderate little brat!" She threw an angry fit, stomping her foot on the ground in frustration before turning to the only sane person she could rely on now. "The nerve of her! Can you believe—" She immediately cut herself off when she noticed that he was also missing.
"You traitor!"
{...}
"Ruby? Ruby! Where are you, Ruby?" Ash was currently searching around for the now missing Ruby in the bushes while praying to Arceus's sake that Weiss wasn't too upset with him for what he did back there, sneaking away without saying anything to her. 'She'll get over it…hopefully.' That's what his gut feeling was telling him anyway. He continued with his search for the dark red haired girl until he heard some rustling in the bushes up ahead, causing him to be on his guard as he didn't know if that was Ruby behind those bushes or something else waiting for him. He slowly approached the rustling bushes with small steps. With a deep breath, he quickly poked his head around the obstruction to see if his friend was there.
"Ruby, is that you?" A pair of crimson eyes was staring intently at him, followed by a malicious growl. "Nope," The young wielder of the Keyblade immediately leapt back with Keyblade in hand as a black wolf-like creature having a similar body structure to Zoroark and comparable features to the bear-like Grimm, popped out from the bushes and begins to growl menacingly at him. Joining its side were its pack members who surrounded the black haired teen from all sides after coming out from their hiding spots, boxing him in with no chance of escape.
Ash had once again found himself in a familiar predicament for the third time today. The new Grimms seemed like they could actually be a real threat to him unlike the last bunch. Not because there was a group of them, twelve in all. Unlike the earlier Grimms they were working together along with possessing both speed and power, which could be a problem for the Keyblade wielder.
The former Pokémon Trainer stood his ground warily, gripping his Oathkeeper firmly with both hands while glancing back and forth, waiting for the creatures of Grimm to make the first move. Several began charging towards him, ready to sink their teeth and claws into his body. He quickly sidestepped the first one and unleashed a swift powerful kick into its flank, sending it crashing into one of its comrades. Then he proceeded to quickly block a slash attack coming from the second one with the Keyblade before leaping backwards to elude the other two. He retaliated by firing Fira spells in all directions, forcing the pack to back away a little, only for him to aggravate them even further. Ash had been afraid of this possible development. All the wolf-like Grimms but one probably the leader due to its massive size were now running towards him in a fit of rage. He began using his mobility and quickness to his advantage, dodging and evading as many Grimms as possible. He tried to limit their numbers down by taking out at least a few with quick, strong strikes and sending others flying back with Fira spells. But there were just too many of them to overcome, some of which already back onto their feet after taking hit after hit from him. He was starting to lose steam and consequently his momentum.
Ash slid backwards after successfully blocking a swift slash attack with the Keyblade from one of the fresh wolf Grimms, unaware that another one was coming straight at him from behind. And when he finally took note of the wild canine running towards him in an attempt to pounce on him, it was too late for him to do anything about it other than whirl around and get body-slammed by his newest enemy. He immediately fell on his back with the snarling Grimm on top. He struggled to hold it back with the Oathkeeper and keep it from taking a bite out of him by using all the strength he could muster. Its sloppy drool began to drip onto his face, which was totally disgusting and degrading. 'Gross!' He shoved his foot against its chest and forced the creature to stumble back a little, allowing him to spring to his feet and slash its chest with a quick strike. It howled in pain before slumping onto its side, unconscious. He leapt backwards when a Grimm came forward and swung its front paw at him, slashing his chest. He winced with a low groan and clutched his chest with his free hand, unaware that another one was approaching from his left with a quick sprint. It latched its powerful jaws onto his arm, sinking its teeth deeply into his flesh. He grit his teeth at the excruciating pain, chewing his lower lip to prevent a bloody scream from escaping. Trails of blood began dripping to the ground from his arm, forming a small red puddle.
The ebony haired teen began slamming the hilt of his weapon against his attacker's white mask not once, not twice, but three times before it finally released its vice-like grip on his arm, whimpering in pain. Then he proceeded to slam his knee into its chin before stepping back and striking it down with a swift slash against its chest. He quickly turned around when a few of its comrades tried to attack him from behind, slashing one across its stomach, spinning around and slashing the second one against its chest, and finally finished his maneuver by kicking the last one in the cheek before jumping backwards to put some distance between him and the rest of the pack. His back was against a tree as he noticed that Grimms were slowly creeping up towards him one step at a time, giving him no breathing room to cast Cura to heal his wounds and restore his energy.
The Keyblade bearer began sweating bullets, understanding very well that everything he was doing at this point was simply delaying the inevitable. Nothing seemed to be working on these things, almost like his attacks weren't having much effect on them whatsoever. He didn't know if he was unintentionally holding back or if they had limitless stamina, but he couldn't allow himself to be defeated by the likes of them. He'd do everything he could to crush every last one of them before heading back to rejoin with Weiss in the search for Ruby. He wasn't going to go down without a fight.
"Haaa!" He let out a battle cry before charging forward at the Grimms with the Oathkeeper in his good hand gripping it more tightly than before.
The battle wasn't over just yet.
{...}
A wave of pure exhaustion and fatigue washed over the young wielder of the Keyblade. He was currently on one knee, his face looking down covered in cold sweat as wet droplets from his chin began to drip slowly onto the ground. His face and body were in bad shape, covered in battle wounds and bruises. His Keyblade was stabbed into the ground with his hand still gripped around its hilt. His heavy panting was an obvious sign that he was completely out of breath from his ongoing battle with the wolf creatures. Most of their unconscious forms were lying around, but he didn't know how long that would last. It was just him and their fierce leader who did absolutely nothing throughout the whole fight scene but watch facing off for the first time in the worst possible scenario ever for the young man.
Ash noticed that the leader of the wolf Grimms was taking its precious time approaching him with small steps. All of the fighting he had gone through earlier had drained most of his strength, barely having any juice left in his reserves. He had been lucky enough to stay conscious. Otherwise he would be lying flat on his stomach right now, out cold with the rest of its friends.
"So…you've finally decided to join in, huh?" Ash began to speak to the shadow beast in a soft whisper, chuckling lightly with weary eyes, watching it advance towards him, taking its time and savoring its prey's imminent demise. "Not that I'm surprised." He slowly closed his eyes, waiting for the inevitable to happen as the snarling Grimm was standing in front of his vulnerable frame and was about to strike with its claws when everything went dead silent for the longest time. He didn't know what had just happened, but he refused to open his eyes until he knew that it was safe to open them again. He heard a low cry, believing that it was coming from the Grimm, followed by a heavy thud afterwards.
The Keyblade wielder quickly opened his auburn eyes again when he noticed that the wolf Grimm leader was lying dead on the ground at the feet of his unexpected savior. He was astounded to see the same enigmatic silhouette that he had encountered earlier who was standing in front of him and had his back turned against him, once again having come to his rescue and saving his life from certain danger. "You..." He couldn't put it into words, seemingly speechless by the turn of events.
The rogue in black didn't spare the teen a single glance as he began to walk off, forcing the former Pokémon Trainer to push himself up to his feet.
"Wait..." he said weakly, panting heavily with each breath he took. The figure simply ignored him. "I said, wait!" he yelled angrily in a serious tone of voice. The silhouette's pace came to a sudden halt with his back still against the Keyblade bearer. "Why did you decide to help me just now?" The rogue didn't respond. "What's your motive?" Again, the mysterious figure didn't answer. "Answer me!" Instead of giving the latter any sort of answers to put his mind at ease, the silhouette simply glanced over his shoulder for a brief second before casually walking into a Corridor of Darkness that suddenly appeared out of nowhere. "Hey!"
Ash tried to move forward, but his legs suddenly collapsed from fatigue, causing him to drop back down to one knee with a low groan. He could only watch helplessly as the dark portal closed behind the figure. He could feel frustration building up inside of him, gritting his teeth in annoyance that he couldn't get a single answer from the member of Organization XIII. But he couldn't allow himself to get all worked up when there were other matters he should be worrying about first. If he wanted to return to Weiss, hoping that Ruby would be there with her in one piece, he should take the opportunity now to get himself together before the creatures of Grimm decided to wake up from their little nap.
The young protagonist quickly yanked his Keyblade out from the ground and cast Cura to heal his injuries and rejuvenate his strength before standing up and heading off to retrace his steps back to Weiss. One thought went through his head as he was making his way back; he hoped that Ruby and Weiss weren't doing anything stupid and dangerous during his absence; like hitching a free ride on a giant bird thing for example. That was the last thing he wanted to deal with right now.
He was in for a big surprise.
A/N: Sorry if this chapter was cut short. I needed a stopping point so I could wrap everything up in the next part before moving on to…Traverse Town where Ash will run into a familiar face. Whoever that may be, your guess is good as mine. Plus, Ash needs a new set of clothes; perhaps his current Kalos outfit in the XY series would be a good choice for him. What do you think? Anyway, back to RWBY—I hope Ash's interaction with Weiss wasn't too bad. And no, Weiss doesn't have any interest in Ash whatsoever, if some of you were thinking about it. She just thought he would make a far better suitable partner than both Ruby and Jaune that was it. Although it would've had been interesting if she actually had a real interest in him other than respecting his abilities and slight maturity. I would ship them like any other pairing, most likely in a similar fashion when I'm writing an Ash/Hunter J story. Weiss (somewhat) reminds me of J XD. Same goes with Blake (who hadn't made an actual appearance yet in the story so far, but will in the next part), but with Cynthia. For now, only Ruby and perhaps Yang will have a slight thing for him. I don't want you fateful Aqua and Korra fans to start hating on the small harem idea when one of the two girls or both will become his love interest in the end so relax. With that being said, please R & R! Oh! And one more thing before I head out, I will post a poll about the next world after Traverse Town (which will only have two parts). The choices are pretty much old worlds you are familiar with. Cast your votes on which familiar world do you want Ash to go visit the most after Traverse Town. The voting will end after both parts of Traverse Town are posted so that gives you a lot of time to make your decisions.
P.S. - Give the proofreading and editing credit to my beta-reader, Vandenbz.
Aoi Hyoudou (formerly known as Johan07)