RWBY: The Redeemer
Author's notes
I watched episode 3 of season 6 a week ago; HOLY FUCKING SHIT.
On another note, thank you very much for your support! This story has reached its first 100+ subscribers! Although I wish to see more reviews, but still, thank you so much. You readers are also the ones who keep this project running.
Without further ado, enjoy and R&R!
Beta-read by Starlight's Poet
Chapter 9: The First Term Starts (II)
Ruby and Weiss stood on the stage, facing each other, with Claude standing between them. The rest of the team RWBY and team JNPR were watching from their seats. Glynda herself was standing at one corner, observing the situation.
"I'll say this again." Claude announced. "The match ends when one of you can't fight anymore, your aura go red, either of you forfeiting, or when I said so. Any question?"
Weiss simply narrowed her eyes at Ruby, who looked slightly unnerved at the gaze, but chose to stand her ground without a word.
Taking the silence as the cue to carry on, Claude then nodded. "Alright, you can begin." he said and stepped away from the stage, as the two combatants assumed their combat stances.
Weiss was the first to strike as she bolted straight forward, throwing several thrusts of her rapier towards her young leader. In response, Ruby used the shaft of her scythe to parry every single one of Weiss' attacks off her.
Using her smaller build, Ruby then ducked a bit lower to gain some leeway and she swung her Crescent Rose horizontally to push Weiss away. As soon as the heiress took a step back, Ruby then pushed forward and began her counter attack, by throwing several swings towards her opponent in fluid motion.
Weiss gracefully performed several back-flips to avoid every single swing of Ruby's scythe, and she soon regained her footing and blocked another swing with the blade of her Myrtenaster. The two then began to clash their blades, exchanging fast, yet light strikes in order to test and measure up one another.
As if she began to understand Ruby's range, speed and pattern, Weiss started to weave and dodge every now and then instead of blocking and parrying all the time. Soon, she caught an opening, and with a flourish she spun and sent a back-hand at Ruby's cheek.
"Oof!" Ruby grunted at the attack, it did not hurt much, but Weiss scored the first strike. In retaliation, she angled her Crescent Rose vertically and leapt to perform a downright slash.
Not wanting to take any risk, Weiss leapt back just in time when Ruby unleashed a vertical spin that left a noticeable scratch on the stage floor, garnering several 'oh's from spectators. Not willing to give her any chance, Ruby gave chase as soon as Weiss landed and threw another swing of her scythe, which the latter simply jumped again to dodge.
But instead of leaping back, the heiress jumped over Ruby's frame and used her Semblance to produce a glyph. The glyph then served as a platform to allow her to jump even further, creating a distance between her and Ruby.
However, Weiss immediately ran for it while conjuring several glyphs around her, one at the front and a few more below her, as Ruby began to use her Crescent Rose's long-range function and fired several high-impact rounds.
The bullets were either passed harmlessly or deflected by Weiss' glyphs, as she blitzed towards Ruby, using more of her glyphs to manipulate her trajectory while mid-air.
Getting caught off-guard by Weiss' unexpected manoeuvre, Ruby was too late to react when Weiss land a solid heel on her face, causing her to stumble back. The heiress began to grow a smirk, believing that she was leading the game.
On the side lines, everyone was watching the spar with rapt attention. With the knowledge of Ruby being two years younger, Blake and team JNPR were impressed that Ruby was able to hold herself up against an actual combat school graduate. Claude, though, was watching with critical eyes at the combatants' movements, his expression was dead-serious.
Seeing the action first-hand was different than watching a video footage. While she had yet to land any strike, Claude was impressed at his niece's strength, balance and adaptability in wielding the Crescent Rose - he could see that Qrow had done a good job in teaching the young girl. In the end, however, Ruby was still a 15 year-old; her overall performance still showed how much she had to learn.
On the other hand - Weiss fought with coordinated and precise movements. It was shown that she had earned her position as a top-graduate from her previous combat school; her Semblance also provided versatilities for her attacks. However, precise, coordinated and trained styles made her moves rather easy to read, as Claude had been predicting several moves that Weiss had used during the match so far.
Back to the fight - wanting to end the match as soon as possible, Weiss then proceeded to stab her rapier to the ground, the revolving chamber rotated and clicked, and a yellow clock glyph appeared beneath her. She then bolted towards Ruby with her Myrtenaster pointed at her.
At the sight of speeding figure hurtling towards her, Ruby simply hardened her expression and tightened her grip on Crescent Rose; her silver eyes focused on the incoming attack.
Weiss believed she had secured her victory, as she closed the distance. However, when her Myrtenaster was only a second away from striking her target, Ruby suddenly vanished in rose petals. Weiss blinked as she tumbled and rolled on the ground before recovering herself, looking around for her opponent. When the corner of her eyes caught a glimpse of red blur, she turned to follow and found her cheek being greeted by the sole of Ruby's boots.
WHAM!
That had to be hurt - everyone from the side thought as they saw Ruby landed an impressive drop-kick, on Weiss' face. The heiress bounced and rolled on the ground before she returned to her feet with a growl, Myrtenaster planted on the ground to support herself.
Then, Ruby launched her counter attack by blurring towards her opponent, leaving rose petals in her wake. Still feeling a sense of vertigo from the drop-kick, Weiss was put on defensive as she struggled to keep up with Ruby's onslaught.
Every time Weiss tried to gain distance by using her Semblance, Ruby would use her own Semblance to keep her pressure. The heiress then clicked the chamber on her Myrtenaster and stabbed her sword on the floor again, and Ruby suddenly had to blur backward to avoid a burst of ice spikes coming from the floor.
Ruby landed to see the ice spikes protecting Weiss, preventing her to get closer. Then, the latter conjured several red-orange glyphs around her, and fired a volley of fireballs at Ruby.
The younger girl managed to easily dodge and parry every single fireball coming her way, as she used her Semblance again to charge at Weiss. In the process, Ruby angled her Crescent Rose horizontally and she spun even faster, breaking the ice barrier that Weiss created upon contact. The force behind her blow also caused Weiss to be launched back until she hit the wall.
"And that's the match! The winner is Ruby Rose!"
Everyone blinked and saw that, while Ruby's aura gauge had been reduced by two-third, Weiss aura had reached orange, nearly red. The girl was still crouched on the floor, massaging her throbbing head. When Weiss slowly regained her clarity, she found a hand outstretched before her face. She looked up and see Ruby was offering her help to stand up.
Weiss glared for a bit between her supposedly team leader, her outstretched hand, and her own hands on the floor. A second later, she took a deep breath as she slowly grasped Ruby's hand, allowing the younger girl to pull her up.
"Good fight, Weiss!" Ruby said with a cheerful smile.
"...Yes." Weiss simply said as she pulled her hand back from Ruby's grasp, not willing to meet her eyes.
"Well done, you two." Glynda complimented as she approached the two girls with Claude in tow. "Anything you'd like to say, Mr. Cole?" The deputy turned to her assistant.
"Let's see… Ruby." Claude turned to his niece. "...That's a smooth drop-kick." he said with a small grin, eliciting a proud smile from Ruby and an eye-roll from Glynda. "And Weiss…." the heiress looked up, her expression clearly said that she was conflicted. "Your form is not bad - precise and coordinated, although it can use some work; but I suggest you do something about your endurance. When you go out to the field, you will bound to take hits. You need to learn how to take them, the same goes for you, Ruby."
Glynda closed her eyes, inwardly agreeing the points that Claude had laid out. Ruby nodded with thoughtful expression, and Weiss also nodded in acceptance.
"Other than that, you both show promise, but you both are also still green. What you need is more experience, something that I'm gonna drill into your head in future." Claude said with a somewhat unsettling smile, causing Ruby and Weiss to visibly shrink slightly, and Glynda to sigh softly. "That's all, I guess. Any question?"
When neither Ruby or Weiss said anything, Glynda then addressed the rest of the students. "That will be the class for today. Be sure to keep what you learn from the matches in mind and I will see all of you again in the next class. You are dismissed."
The students began to leave their seats towards the exit, Yang waved at her younger sister before she walked away with her partner in tow.
Ruby relaxed after waving back at Yang, and she turned to address her partner. "Hey, Weiss. That was…" however, she saw Weiss was already walking towards the door with somewhat heavy steps. She gave chase, and reached her hand out towards Weiss' shoulder as soon as she caught up.
"Weiss, wait-!"
"Don't touch me!"
Ruby flinched, pulling her hand back abruptly at Weiss' voice. Their eyes met, and when Weiss saw the look on Ruby's face, her own expression turned a little guilty from her outburst. "I…" she found herself not knowing what to say. "I… I want to be alone at the moment." she managed to say in the end.
"Oh… Okay." Ruby gave a small smile, although the small hurtful look still lingered on her face before vanishing. "Well, it's just…. If you want to talk, I'm always all ears."
Weiss only nodded at Ruby's words before she finally walked away. Looking worried, Ruby kept watching Weiss' retreating back until she found a hand rested on her shoulder. She turned to find Claude standing by her side, his eyes were also trained at Weiss, whom finally vanished at a corner.
"Sterling…" Ruby greeted, before she returned her eyes at the direction where Weiss just went to. "...Did I do something wrong?"
Claude only glanced at the girl before he gave a comforting squeeze on her shoulder. "Nah, you didn't." he said casually. "She just needs some time for herself, give her some space and she'll come around."
"Are you sure?" Ruby looked hopeful for a second before hesitation suddenly crept over again. "I mean… What if I actually did something wrong? What if I mess up?"
She suddenly found Sterling's hand on top of her head again, softly caressing her locks. "Ruby, everyone will bound to make mistakes at some point in life. Perfect people just don't exist." he said with a smile. "I mean, come on. This is just the first day of school, don't get moody already when there is still a long way waiting for you at Beacon." he then leaned closer to meet Ruby's silver eyes with his. "...The only moment you truly mess up, is when you choose to give up."
Ruby only stared at Claude, blinking every now and then. A few seconds later, even Claude felt awkward himself; he never considered himself as a wise kind of guy. "Look, I know being a leader can be very frustrating and all, but now that things had been said and done, what you can do now is have faith while keep doing your best."
Ruby looked down on the floor for a second before she looked up again. "Sterling… Are you the leader of your team? I mean, you do have a team, right?"
Claude blinked at the question, before he smiled slightly. "Yep. And, again, yes, I am the leader of my team." he said as he considered his team's status. His partner was going incognito, but Peter and Barty were still around, thus he concluded that his team was still around, albeit not completely.
"And…." Ruby suddenly gained an intrigued expression. "How did it go? How does it feel being a leader?"
"Like I said… Frustrating." Claude scoffed. "Especially when you got yourself a knob-head of the highest order for a partner."
Ruby found herself giggling at the remark. Unknown to her, she and Claude had made themselves comfortable by standing and leaning against the wall.
"But that's only at first, though." Claude quickly interjected. "Soon, I learned that even being a leader, there is one rule that I cannot go against; there is no 'I' in a team." he smiled knowingly at his niece. "Sure, a leader is the one who makes the final call and all, but then again, you cannot be a leader if you have no one to be led."
Ruby nodded thoughtfully at Claude's words. "There were arguments, fights, and all stuff that made me questioned myself…. But in the end, my team was always there for me, making us relying on each other in the process." Claude said with a nostalgic smile. Ruby herself also found herself smiling at Claude's expression.
"...And you know what, I'll ask you this." Then, Claude turned his gaze back at Ruby. "Now that the position of team leader had been placed on you, what are you going to do with that responsibility?"
Ruby remained silent, taking Claude's words into heart. A few seconds later, she suddenly found her head being patted again.
"Just take it easy for now." Claude smiled as he took his leave. "You should hurry too, your team is probably waiting."
"Oh, that's right! I'll see you later! Thanks for the advice, Sterling!" Ruby's face lit up as she quickly ran past Claude. The man himself only shook his head in amusement.
As he watched Ruby's retreating back, Claude then found Glynda walked up next to him. The two simply watched Ruby made a turn at the corner and vanished from sight. A few seconds later, as the sound of Ruby's footsteps went further and further away, Claude finally broke the silence.
"So? How did I do?"
Glynda let out a breath. "Your choice of words could use a lot of work."
"Which one are you referring to?"
"Basically, all of them." Glynda replied without missing a beat. "Your so-called motivational speech until your supposedly words of wisdom towards Ms. Rose."
"...Hard to please as usual, aren't you?" Claude sighed at Glynda's remark.
Glynda's lips grew into a small smile. "If it's any consolation, you did say some good points. I suppose you do show some promise to be a teacher."
Claude scoffed, albeit he was smiling this time. "Gee, thanks for the confidence."
"Now that you have talked to Ms. Rose…" Glynda then glanced at him. "What are you going to do with Ms. Schnee?"
Claude then blinked. That's right, he still had to deal with Weiss' issue as well. However, he merely shrugged. "Don't worry, I got her."
Glynda did not bother to retort at her charge's non-committal attitude, and she chose to leave it at that. "Just make sure to keep our first-year students together, Mr. Cole." she gave Claude one last look before she walked away as well.
Claude heaved another deep sigh before he left for his next destination as well.
Weiss was standing at the edge of one of Beacon Academy's balconies. Looking at the mountainous forest before her under afternoon sky - the orange hue is slowly turning darker by minutes. A few seconds later, she closed her eyes leaned back further on her seat as she heaved a deep sigh.
Today was a disaster for her - the match earlier should have shown everyone that she deserved to be her team leader more than a girl two years their junior. However, she failed to take into account about Ruby's Speed Semblance and was caught off guard, and things spiralled down from that point.
She had been bested in combat, by a girl she believed to be too young for something she herself had signed up for. She was not that stupid not to accept the obvious result after the match, but it took everything of her not to lash out like some kind of sore loser in front of everyone.
When she was still busy trying to accept about what happened, she sensed someone was approaching her. Was it Ruby, or someone else from her team? Perhaps she had gone away long enough, but she was still not in mood for talks. Might as well get this quickly done and over with…
She sighed and turned to address whoever was approaching her, only to widen her eyes at the sight of the newcomer.
"Good afternoon, Ms. Schnee." Headmaster Ozpin himself greeted with amiable smile as he held two cups of warm drinks with his hands.
"P-Professor Ozpin, sir!" Weiss found herself stuttering and abruptly straightened herself up to address the headmaster.
"At ease, young lady." Ozpin simply replied without dropping his smile. "The class has ended for today, I'm not here for anything official."
"Um… then, how can I help you?" Weiss managed to regain her outward composure, although she was still panicking inside. To be honest, speaking to the headmaster himself was the very last thing she needed, not with her turmoil still running around.
"I was only walking around for fresh air and I saw you sitting out here by yourself." Ozpin then offered her a cup. "...The wind is quite chilly, and I simply can't ignore a student in need, can I?"
Weiss looked between Ozpin and the mug offered to her, and soon she found that it was a perfect opportunity for her to turn the tides in her favour. Sure, her performance was not at best earlier, but maybe, just maybe, the headmaster would want to listen to her? Besides, he had gone out his way to provide her something to warm herself up, it would be rude for her to refuse.
"If…. You don't mind, then." Weiss then slowly accepted the beverage and the two stood next to each other.
The two remained silent for some time. Weiss stared at the steaming dark liquid reflecting her expression for a few seconds before she took a sip - relishing the warm and the taste through her throat.
Ozpin himself also took a sip before he chose to approach the subject. "I've received the reports from Ms. Goodwitch and Mr. Cole. You've had your first match with Ms. Ruby, your partner."
"That…. Wasn't my best performance." Weiss retorted, her expression was filled with shame for a second. "...It won't happen again."
Ozpin simply hummed as he took another sip of his drink. "Anything else you'd like to say to me, Ms. Schnee?" he finally decided to waste no more time.
Weiss seemed to be on the same page and chose to go for it. "Professor Ozpin… Why did you pick Ruby as the leader of the team?"
Ozpin hummed before he closed his eyes. Weiss simply waited for the headmaster to speak again.
"I have several reasons for picking Ms. Rose to be the leader of team RWBY, with one of them being, that I see a potential in her."
Weiss was not amused at Ozpin's answer. "With all due respect, sir. I have studied and trained under tutelage of the best instructors provided by Atlas, with leadership and management being one of the lessons I took."
"Impressive, indeed." Ozpin nodded, causing Weiss' expression to brighten up slightly at the praise. "...But I fail to see where you are going with this claim of yours."
Thinking that Ozpin wanted her to come clean, Weiss decided to do so. Putting her mug down on the rail of the balcony, she spoke, "Sir, I believe I deserve to be the leader of team RWBY." She also decided to push the issue forward. "...And I'm afraid you made a mistake by choosing Ruby over me."
As soon as she had spoken, Weiss immediately regretted she said those words. Inwardly, she kept berating herself for her phrasing towards the headmaster himself, the only person who had the power and authority to kick her out of Beacon should he wanted to.
However, when she looked at Ozpin's expression, he was sure as hell did not seem offended. Then again, her ambitious and logical side told her that she could not back down by the point. There was still a fair chance that Ozpin would understand her logic; and it was still the first day, headmaster could still make some altercation regarding team assignment.
Ozpin simply hummed as he gave a faraway look ahead of him, leaving Weiss waiting his answer with pensive expression.
"Ms. Schnee…."
Weiss swallowed a small lump when Ozpin addressed her; now was the moment of truth.
"I will admit that I have made mistakes more than any man, woman and child on this planet. But at this moment, I would not consider Ms. Rose's appointment as a leader to be one of them."
For some reason, Weiss' expression softened ever so slightly when she noticed a hint of melancholy in Ozpin's expression. However, the conviction in headmaster's tone prompted her to argue back.
"But, sir!" Weiss turned to face him completely. "I don't mean to go against your judgement, but as far as I know, Ruby is a child, she's not ready for this! I, on the other hand, am more prepared than she is!"
Ozpin glanced at the heiress. Upon seeing her face, his lips grew into a small smile, which he hid by taking another sip from his cup. In Weiss' expression, Ozpin saw confidence that border-lined to arrogance, rebellion, conviction, yet… there was also concern; that she cared for her team.
"That remains to be seen." Ozpin replied. "Ms. Schnee, while I appreciate your assessment, I cannot simply alter my decision. Not when I have yet to properly assess Ruby's actual capability to lead the team… nor yours, in the long run."
Weiss wanted to argue again, but she held her tongue, noticing the point in Ozpin's words. "After all, it's only first day. A little too soon to judge what a student can and can't do, is it not?"
Weiss blushed lightly at Ozpin's knowing smile. The way the headmaster implied that she jumped to conclusion so quick made her having second thoughts.
"There are many good points between Ms. Rose and you, Ms. Schnee." Ozpin's next words managed to catch Weiss' attention again.
"Ms. Rose is young and has room to grow, as well as exceptional skill with her scythe. You have a cool head on your shoulders and in terms of academics are one of the brightest Beacon's had the pleasure of having in its halls."
Weiss seemed to be pleased at the headmaster's assessment about her, although she felt that he was not finished yet.
"However, there are also a number of faults. As you said, Ms. Rose is young, and she couldn't possibly know everything, having graduated two years ahead of her class. And you with your temperament, having led a pampered life style. I won't claim to know what kind of history you've had growing up, but you clearly have trouble accepting matters that don't go your way."
"That's-!" Weiss wanted to refute the remark, but she could not put much power in her voice. "...Not entirely true."
"I have confidence in my observation skill, Ms. Schnee." Ozpin said with a knowing smile. "Your expression spoke volumes of how you feel when I announced your team." his words elicited another blush from the heiress.
"Allow me to tell you, Ms. Schnee…" Ozpin then snapped Weiss out of her reverie. "My school is a place of learning, and another one of reasons I appointed Ms. Rose to be the leader, is to teach her about responsibility. There is no point if I chose you as a leader, when you have learned how to become one back in Atlas, is there?"
Weiss found herself mulling over Ozpin's words, slowly seeing the whole point.
"Considering that you are the one to possess the knowledge, isn't it your duty to guide your young leader, of how to properly lead the team? In the meantime, you can also improve yourself to be a better comrade, a better person."
Weiss gave Ozpin's advice another deep thought; the headmaster had a point - perhaps Ruby could be a good leader. Besides, she did end up following her lead at some point during the initiation. Then again, guiding her partner to properly lead the team, was not different than herself leading them, in a sense.
"I understand, professor." Weiss smiled and curtsied, feeling that she could accept things as they were. "Thank you for the advice… and the coffee." she then blushed again. "And… I apologize for my earlier outburst."
"It is fine, Ms. Schnee." Ozpin smiled pleasantly. "Rather, I found it a tad refreshing to have a student willing to speak honestly to me. The entire faculty is ready to listen whenever you have concerns for the duration of your study at Beacon."
With brighter smile, Weiss curtsied once again before she left the balcony, leaving Ozpin behind.
A few minutes later, when Ozpin was about to leave, he saw someone else entered the balcony.
"Y'know, I was wondering when I saw Ice Queen ran past me with a smile on her face." Claude walked towards Ozpin with a friendly expression on his face. "...I guess you beat me to give her a pep-talk."
Ozpin nodded at the young man. "Good work for today, Mr. Cole."
"Oz." Claude nodded as the two stood next to each other.
"So, what do you think of the first years so far?" Ozpin began the conversation.
"So far, so good. I mean, it's only the first day, remember?"
"Hm…" Ozpin hummed in agreement. "...Any news about your old partner?"
"Not really…" Claude's expression went down for a bit. "Rome has always been sneaky like that. It's gonna take time even for me to track him down."
"He will come around." Ozpin replied, and Claude nodded in agreement. The latter then spotted another mug nearby and took it.
"Well, for what it's worth…." Claude then raised the mug. "For the coming, interesting four years?"
Ozpin quirked an eyebrow at the toasting gesture, but he played along in the end. The two shared a toast with their mugs and downed the contents in one go.
"You do realise that what you drank was originally Ms. Schnee's?"
Claude simply raised an eyebrow at the headmaster. "Yeah, so?" He simply shrugged without a care.
Ozpin also shrugged in return. "Just so you know."
Later at night, Ruby just finished her review on her notes and homework from the class that day. Things ended up well for her in the end; Weiss had come around and gave her a cup of coffee with five creams and sugar - just the way she liked to brew it, as a peace offering.
Not to mention, Weiss also gave her some pointers on her notes. Ruby smiled as she prepared for bed, they would be besties for the next four years, no forever.
As she tucked herself under the blanket, her thoughts drifted to her newest teacher. She could not understand, but when she met Sterling for the first time at Patch, there was something… familiar about him, something that stirred something in her stomach. He possessed a pair of silver eyes like her and her mother.
She then recalled the time she spent talking with Sterling; the man was easy-going, fun, and he also shared her hobby about weaponry. When she arrived at Beacon, he was the one who became… her first friend - older, and teacher, sure, but a friend nonetheless.
Then the initiation happened; Ruby still remembered clearly how far Sterling outclassed the entire participants. Even with handicaps, those who passed the initiation had been treading on thin ice.
However, what put the most impression in her mind was, when Sterling rescued her from the Grimm that blindsided her. Watching his back, the tale of heroes and huntsmen which Yang used to tell her for bedtime stories, suddenly came back to her, causing her face to heat up.
Finally, there was the moment where he encouraged her, comforted her. The hand that caressed her head was soft, warm, it made her feel safe. Her thoughts slowly brought a smile upon her face.
Let's give him a warm, welcome home, okay?
Ruby blinked; what was that? That line just suddenly popped out in her mind, spoken in her mother's voice. She scrunched up her eyebrows, trying to make any connection between that line and Sterling, but later, she could not think of anything.
In the end, she sighed as she decided to wrap things up in her mind and go to sleep. However, her hand found its way on top of her head, particularly on the spot where Sterling patted her. Remembering the warm feeling of his hand, Ruby silently giggled in her sleep.
I'm sorry if this chapter is rather short; I just can't bring myself to pro-long the whole thing, it feels... unnatural.
Enough of that, please review of what you think of this bit, while I will formulate equations for what will happen in Jaunedice event.
Ahsoei, over and out.