It was a bright, sunny day at Beacon Academy. A light breeze blew over the campus grounds.
Ruby stood on the vibrant green grass outside, her scythe at the ready. She dressed lightly, a black t-shirt and shorts with strapped-on sandals. She adjusted Crescent Rose's blade so that it was angled farther away from the handle, closer to a spear. She took a deep breath as her face settled into a determined expression.
Yang stood ten paces away from her. The older sister's lips curled up into a composed smile. She also chose to dress lightly, wearing a simple, white shirt and the plaid skirt that was part of the academy's uniform. Her bare feet felt up the ground's texture. Even in her relaxed state, her body radiated power. The sun's light shone on the girl's tempered muscles. Impending, vast strength, normally repressed, was about to be released for some time.
The rest of the first year students sat off to the side on the hill, far enough so that they wouldn't be caught in the crossfire. Pyrrha had her scroll out to film the spar. Both Jaune and Weiss had a pen and notebook in hand to record anything significant they would witness— forms, stances, behavior, speed, power, technique, behavior— whatever might grant them an edge in future fights. Blake and Ren poured tea from a thermos and focused on the sisters, analyzing what they could, though not with any extreme intent. Nora was practically bursting with excitement, struggling not to whoop with laughter. Natsu crossed his arms and leaned back against the hill.
Glynda had a smart-pen and tablet in hand. She calmly uttered a single word.
"Begin."
In an instant, Ruby activated her Semblance and rushed forward. In a single pace, she traveled faster than the human eye could see, about thrice as fast as most huntsmen could sprint. After four paces, she outstripped even the fastest of military fighter jets, which can reach speeds up to mach 4. The girl's velocity proceeded to double every two paces until she reached her sister.
Having reached her top speed, Ruby swung her scythe upwards, below her sister's right shoulder.
When the blade was only mere centimeters away from her skin, Yang sidestepped the attack. She lightly swung her open hand towards Ruby's back.
Before she could be caught by the attack, Ruby dug the end of her weapon into the ground and changed her direction. Releasing one of her palms grip from the handle, Ruby capitalized on the greater range and allowed the previously gained momentum to deal another strike towards Yang's midriff.
Brushing her knuckles just a hair's width away from the blade's edge, Yang deflected the strike and stepped forward. With the distance being shortened, she placed her open palm a centimeter in front of her little sister's torso and-
Ruby angled the barrel of her scythe at Yang's arm, pulling the trigger.
Yang had to leap back to avoid the wind Dust-infused bullet that whizzed by her. She kicked the ground, gouging out the earth and twisting the terrain. Ruby's footing was disrupted. With a single bound, Yang was behind her and swept her legs out from under her.
Pivoting her body in midair, the little girl swung her scythe in a full circle. The attack was deflected by Yang barehanded once more, but Ruby made use of this to change her momentum and attack in the reverse direction. This time, the attack caught Yang in the shoulder and sent her skidding back. Landing back on her feet, Ruby bent over trying to catch her breath. Sweat trickled down her chin due to the exertion.
The easygoing smile that radiated kindness had not left Yang's face. She was unharmed by the attack. Bouncing on her toes, she probed her sister, "What's wrong? I know you can do better than that." Her eyes gazed over her kin like that of a lion's.
Dashing forward, Ruby's Semblance activated once again. When she struck down with her Scythe, Yang dodged backwards. Letting the inertia carry her, Ruby jumped forward and propelled over her weapon. She kicked forward and almost landed a blow on Yang's chest.
Unfortunately, she was a few years too shy to compete with monsters in their area of expertise.
Yang batted away her foot and swiped at her knee with the other arm. Ruby barely brought her scythe forward in time to block with the handle. She was sent flying meters back. Her sister straightened up and started to walk forward towards her.
Ruby continued to initiate the offensive. She blitzed forward and attacked from every angle, putting her entire body behind her attacks. The Aura that empowered her strength was started to deplete as she used it faster than it could regenerate. Meanwhile, Yang hadn't used her Aura at all.
Jaune strained his eyes to somewhat observe the fight. All he could really see were blurs during the moment of attack, but otherwise, he could more or less make out the flow of battle. He'd seen them both fight countless times and even looked over the recordings during free time. Since he was roughly familiar with their fighting styles, he could guess what movements they had made judging from their current stances.
"Does her stance seem kind of... off to you?" Jaune asked.
Pyrrha looked at him. "Which one are you referring to?"
"Yang."
The champion looked back to the fight. Ruby swung her weapon with alarming force, much higher than one would expect from any fighter in general. Though they were very high in quantity, they by no means lacked quality. Each strike was targeted and well executed at any openings the girl could see. Her momentum would not stop. Yang was deflecting all of the attacks off her knuckles and forearms whilst stepping forward. Ruby swung the blade horizontally with both arms, forcing her sister to duck down. Yang retaliated by kicking the weapon towards the sky and putting Ruby off balance.
"See? It looks like her form is off, and she's not getting power from her back or chest cause of it," Jaune pointed out.
"Geez, Jaune," Nora teased. "Staring at Yang's chest again. You sure move on fast."
His face reddened. "Wait! No, I don't star- Well, maybe someti- Actually, no, it's not like-!"
"Don't tease him so much, Nora," Pyrrha sighed. "Jaune, you are correct. With the way Yang is composing herself, she'll only be using the strength from her arms and legs, but none from the muscles in her back or chest. Her offense will be decreased significantly. Yet since she isn't extending herself, her balance is never being compromised and her defense is extremely stable."
"Oh." Jaune wrote all of this down. It made sense. Ruby hit surprisingly hard for someone her size, maybe as hard as Nora. Prioritizing defense was how Jaune lasted more than a minute in any of his own fights, so it wasn't like he could judge another for doing the same. Especially since he himself never learned how to throw a proper punch.
Ruby hastily flipped back, slightly stumbling over the grass. Yang was suddenly directly in front of her. Up close, her eyes didn't quite look like that of a human's. They were too bright, too sharp.
Yang's arm shot up, and the edge of her palm was brought down like the heavy edge of a massive war axe, slamming Ruby's scythe into the ground, disarming her.
Her instincts saved her from the next attack. She grabbed Yang's wrist with both hands and kicked at her head. Yang blocked with her right forearm as a resounding sound of muscle striking muscle rippled through the air. Ruby twisted her body and kicked with her other leg before jumping back. She spun through the air a dozen meters back and had to claw at the ground to balance herself when she landed.
Growling slightly, countless petals were left in her wake as she dashed forward and dealt out three roundhouse kicks in midair. Each attack was dodged by Yang leaning her head back each time. Ruby closed her fist and struck upwards at Yang's shoulder. Taking advantage of her sister's reflexive block, she pulled back both arms and launched twin blows at the abdomen. It was like striking metal, but it forced her sister back a few meters.
Pressing the offensive, Ruby jumped off her left foot and put all her strength into her right leg to strike at Yang's temple. Clear droplets of her sweat blew off into the air as her silver eyes came into focus.
Taking no breaths nor worries, Yang blocked the attack once more with her forearm. She reversed her hand and caught Ruby's ankle before tossing her back. Her sandals tore up the grass as she dug her toes against the ground. She fell to her knee, gasping for breath. Ruby felt a gentle hand tap the side of her neck.
Miss Goodwitch blew her whistle and ended the match. "Excellent performance, both of you."
"Nice fight, Sis!" Yang grinned. "Ya almost had me."
"Liar," Ruby pouted. She stood up and tugged Crescent Rose out of the ground. She felt muscular arms like iron wrap around her torso and embrace her.
Yang rested her chin atop Ruby's head. "Mmmaaaa~ don't tell me you're still upset about last night. It's for your own good!"
The younger sister squirmed and tried to shake her off to little effect. "You're making a scene!"
"Could the two of you stop your antics for five seconds?" Weiss scoffed, walking up to them. "The day isn't getting any longer."
"Are you two fighting over something?" Blake asked. "It doesn't seem like it'd be something serious."
Ruby growled. Well... about as much as a baby lion could growl anyways...
"Don't worry about it," Yang assured. "Anyways, Ruby, about your fighting-"
She stopped struggling and listened.
"Your attacks are good and have a lot of force behind them, but you're overusing your Semblance. That'll tire you out too much. Also, when you do use it, you're too linear. Try using your speed in shorter bursts, kay?"
Ruby slumped. "It isn't like I'm not trying. It's just that it sorta happens all at once."
"I understand. Even so, focusing on an issue makes you more likely to solve it. Just keep at it and you'll be catching up with lightning in no time!"
"Yeah, yeah, alright," she conceded. "Can you get off now?"
"Hmmm... Don't wanna." Yang replied, leaning on her sister even more. She blew a lock of hair out of her eye and looked around. "Natsu's gone, by the way."
"Huh?"
Two cars raced down the streets of Downtown Vale. The one in the lead was a maroon coup covered in chipped paint and worn scratches. An arm stuck out the window and carried a pistol, firing at its pursuer. Right on its tail, a black muscle car with white racing stripes charged down the concrete, easily reaching speeds over a hundred kilometers per hour.
"Vale, capital of the Kingdom of Vale, a beautiful city filled with pretty faces and luxury. But I've seen what lies beneath the surface. The lies, the murders, the many many secrets... The peace and happiness here are nothing more than a desperate cover up. A blissful ignorance to hide away from the Grimm outside the borders.
And so while the beasts prowl in the deep, dark woods, the real monsters walk on the streets. A much more terrifying reality.
Yet that is the world we live in, so what can you do?
I was raised in a rather simple home right off the coast. Had a successful researcher for a father, a kind tailor for a mother, annoying siblings that always hogged the couch... I'm quite the lucky guy. Though, sometimes being lucky is even more worrying, cause you never know when that luck will run out.
Learned how to fight just cause it was logical, picked a weapon that had good range, not exactly fond of my Semblance, though. It'll do I suppose. An amateur can't make it in this line of work. The work chews up those kind of people like extra sugary cereal for breakfast. Guess I'm not too shabby if I'm still-"
"NEPTUNE! QUIT MONOLOGUING AND SHOOT THOSE GUYS!" Sun spun the steering wheel just time to avoid a fireball that left a scorch mark on the road. Bullets hit against their bumper. He switched gears and continued the chase.
Neptune stuck his head and arm out the window, taking aim with his self-made weapon, a railgun/assault rifle hybrid that shot like a beauty. If it had a human form, he'd marry her without a second thought.
Taking the velocity and direction of the two vehicles into account, he took aim and fired. The bullet shot through the robbers' rear window and destroyed their rearview mirror. He fired again and caught the driver in the shoulder, disabling his shooting arm.
"It's a sad facet of life, that we must harm our fellow man so often. Violence in the movies seems so glamorized, but the pain inflicted in always glossed over. All we can really do is hope that the cycle of violence doesn't come full circle till we're already in the graves.
What is the motivation of these criminals? Are they really so bad? They are people just like everybody else. They have their own side of the story. It just so happens that today, their stories are on the different side of the law.
Such a tragedy..."
Sun slammed the brakes just in time to veer out the way of a Dust truck. He then slammed on the accelerator and was quickly closing the distance. He saw something drop from the criminal's window. His eyes widened as he sharply turned left and reverse the entire car. The grenade went off and sent their ride reeling across the road. He kept on spinning the wheel until the car regained the proper position and stabbed his staff into the ground outside, forcing an extremely sharp turn.
The engine groaned as it started to overheat.
"GOT YOU NOW, BASTARDS! HAHA HAHAHAHA!" Sun laughed like a maniac as he blasted at their targets' tires with his shotgun. Now, technically, they were officially employed as "Assistant Investigators", not cops or detectives, and policy stated they weren't supposed to be firing their weapons from a moving vehicle. But results tend to speak louder when it comes down to it.
"Damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it, DAMN IT!" The driver clutched the duffel bag filled with Lien notes and scoured the area for an escape route. They'd been planning this robbery for weeks! He was not gonna be stopped now by a couple of punks! A strange sound penetrated his ears, something like metal being tossed in a blender
The car lurched forward and suddenly stopped as it was turning around yet another corner. The tires burned uselessly against the ground. A fairly large hand gripped the side of the coupe, crumpling the metal like tinfoil. An unusual young man in terms of appearance and demeanor was holding the car in place like it was nothing.
Sun pulled up next to the halted get-away car and stepped out. "Oh, hey, Natsu! What ya doin' out here?"
Natsu stared at him with a solemn look on his face. While his left arm was holding the car in place while it was trying to drive away with seemingly no effort, his right hand held a carton of milk he was drinking from. "Sun? Ah... Hey, just taking a little walk, I guess. Heard some noise coming from over here so I decided to see what it was."
The driver leapt out of the car and aimed his pistol directly at Natsu's face. "Let go, now, before I start shooting."
He ignored him and drank some more milk. "Is this what you guys do all day? Seems kinda boring."
Sun shrugged. "Nah, you just don't understand the thrill of a good car chase." He grinned, "This is every schoolboy's daydream at least once, ya know?"
The driver stopped waited and fired his gun.
"Well... I never really went to school, barely go now even. Also, I'd sooner turn that thing to a pile of molten steel than get in it."
The driver fired a second time. He then started panicking and emptied the clip. Crumpled pieces of lead fell to the cement. He felt a hand grip his face, and currents of electricity ran through his body, shocking him into unconsciousness.
"Natsu Dragneel, one of the most dangerous monsters that walk these streets, yet a more steadfast ally you wouldn't find. A guy more beast than man... Many wonder just what exactly lies under that unassuming gaze of hi-"
Natsu pointed at Neptune, not saying a word.
Sun threw his hands up. "I dunno, it's just a thing he's been doing, recording himself doing detective stuff. It's probably just a phase."
He grinned a bit. "Ruby does stuff like that too, sometimes, even dragged Weiss into it once."
"Really?"
"Yup."
The other robber kicked the door open and held a hand up to Natsu and Sun's faces. "Take this you brats!" Fire erupted from his palm-
And was immediately repressed. The flames condensing into a little ball and shooting towards his left foot. He fell down to the ground, screaming. "Aaaaah! He shot me!"
"Whoa!" Sun gestured to the poor fool. "You shot him!"
Natsu rubbed the back of his head, not exactly concerned. "If you look at it from another perspective, he shot himself. It was his own flames that did the job. The surprising thing is that those flames even did something, cause they were kinda cold."
The robber continued to cry out in pain. "What is wrong with you!?"
Sun grabbed him and handcuffed him before throwing him in the back of the car. "You have the right to remain silent and... Neptune what was the other part?"
"Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you. Amen."
"Yeah, that... what was that last part?"
Natsu finished the milk and tossed the carton in a trash bin a few blocks away. "You guys seem busy, so I'm gonna go now."
"We still doing that thing later?"
"Mmn, most of the girls are really looking forward to it for some reason."
Neptune pointed at himself. "-and Neptune."
"-And Neptune," Natsu added. "Anyways, see you then." He turned around and disappeared in a single bound, jumping over several city blocks.
Sun smiled. "Another case, another win. Up high!" He held up his hand for a high five.
Neptune obliged. "Awesome."
'Yet another day goes by... the streets are hardly any cleaner. Every day is another glimpse into the darkness that lies underneath. Our efforts always seem to be put to the dirt. Why are we here? Just to suff-!'
"...Neptune? Neptuuune? Oh for the love of-!" He sighed, "I need a new partner."
Central Vale Police Department...
The City of Vale's Police Department was located close to the epicenter and constructed from the most modern architecture of the century. It was a stable hexagon built from bullet-proof glass and black steel. Motion sensors and cameras at every corner ensured that no funny business happened within its proximity.
Running twenty-four hours a day, the facility keeps a nonstop watch over the city so that it can respond to any threats as soon as possible.
Sun and Neptune walked down the glass stairs to the main lobby where the Chief was getting coffee. She was an elderly woman of slightly above average height. Her hair, tied into a strict bun, had turned gray, and several wrinkles were forming on her face, but her age hardly slowed her down at all. Dark aviators covered her eyes and she wore a simple vest, tie, and trousers along with steel-tipped boots.
Police Chief Martha S. Danerrei finished her coffee in three gulps before heading back to her office.
"Hey, Chief! We caught the robbers!"
She groaned. "Why do all kids these days feel the need to shout everything?"
"We checked with the witnesses. They said there were only two robbers, and all the money is accounted for. However, the weapons they were using aren't registered in the database, so they may have connections to a black market of sorts. Do we interrogate them, or..." Neptune faltered.
Danerrei rinsed out her coffee mug in the sink. "Leave it to the Interrogation Department. Any collateral?"
"Just some minor scorch marks on the road."
"Hm." She pulled out her scroll and looked through some messages. "We'll be having some special visitors today. Stand by for the briefing. You're free to leave afterwords." With that, she left.
The boys waited in the lobby with nothing better to do.
Sun turned to Neptune. "Who d'ya think the visitors are?"
"Either huntsmen or some council guys, probably has something to do with the rising crime rates."
"Still better than my hometown. A baby would mug you there."
"A baby can't hurt people, Sun."
"You don't know that."
"I have common sense."
"You're afraid of water," he countered.
"Bodies of water. Do you know how useless humans are underwater? That's not even including what lives down there!"
A very soft voice cut in. "If humanity reacted to their environment with caution and took their weakness into account, they would still be crawling in the mud."
Eating a cake donut with a diffident look on her face, a dark-haired woman turned away from the trainees. Her features were pretty in the same light that a frigid blizzard was pretty, cold and harsh, yet without any flaw. She had a well-endowed figure and golden horns that curved upwards. The woman dressed in a black sailor uniform with dark blue stockings and a red scarf that wrapped around her neck, slightly muffling her already soft voice. Some sort of tribal marking was worn on her forehead, a circular symbol, like a crescent moon, with a dot in its center and eight more dots surrounding it.
Neptune stepped back, startled. While he was a bit of a sucker for beautiful women, he was also normally rather aware of his surroundings. Being caught off guard so casually put him on edge. "Where-"
Sun butted in. "Hey! I'm Sun, pleased to meet ya! Oh, whoops. Sorry. You one of the visitors today?"
She didn't respond.
"Um..."
A young looking guy in a white dress shirt and trench coat, with fairly long, black hair tied in a ponytail, put a hand on the woman's head and bowed his own in apology. "Sorry, my partner is a bit shy when it comes to strangers." He placed a stylish fedora on his head. "I'm Akira Sato, a licensed huntsman and detective for hire. Feel free to just call me Akira, since I'll be here for a while."
Akira gestured to the woman who had started eating another dessert. "Seilah here isn't a huntress, but she's as capable as one, if not more so."
Responding in kind, Sun pointed his thumb at himself and his own partner. "I'm Sun, and this is Neptune. Looking forward to solving cases, taking names, and kicking ass with you guys."
The detective smiled lightly. "Likewise."
Seilah poked him in the ribs.
"Hey! Be patient a little," he chided. He got jabbed in the ribs this time. "Fine, fine, I'm going." Akira waved to the boys, "I have to introduce myself and Seilah to the Chief now. Wouldn't be good to be late again." He headed over to the Chief's office, upstairs.
His partner stayed behind. "Watch your backs... if you don't wish to die."
". . . . ." An awkward silence ensued.
Akira guided Seilah by the shoulders and started pushing her up the stairs. "What she meant was that a few convicts escaped prison and one may be coming here to Vale, so be a bit more careful."
RWBY Dorm...
"I can't believe you! How hard is it to understand that if you skip all your classes, you won't be able to graduate. In fact, this is the kind of behavior that gets people expelled!" Weiss criticized.
Natsu paid her as much attention as he did his studies while letting Zwei chew his hand. "Hm."
"Why would you even attend a school if you weren't going to attend classes?"
"Hmm."
"Look, I get that you're independent and can look after yourself, but I'd really rather not have this team lose one of its members due to negli- Are you even listening!?"
"Mm."
Zwei ran over to Blake, who scooted away as soon as he came into her range. "Shoo. I don't have any food on me." Blake hastily whispered. "Weiss, Natsu will study when the ocean turns to ice. Focus on something that's actually possible."
"That is the mindset of a quitter."
Yang stirred her mug of coffee and licked the foam off the top. "What Blake is trying to say, Weiss, is that you don't need to be so uptight. More or less, Ozpin'll give Cherry Blossom a pass, since he's so great at hitting things."
"Wow, what a scholar," Weiss responded sarcastically.
"Hey Weiss, I got a question for you." Natsu spoke his first sentence of that day. "Though, it may sound like a stupid one."
"There's no such thing as a st- well actually, yes, there is, but that doesn't matter. What is it?" Weiss waited patiently.
"How strong are huntsmen? I've been at a lot of different places and met people called huntsmen, fought them too, but I don't know if they were just fakes or just weak. What's the usual standard?"
"Obviously, there is no such thing as weak huntsman or huntress. Anyone who unlocks their Aura and qualifies for an official license is categorized as a superhuman. There are some stronger than others, individuals with prodigal skill like Pyrrha or those with excellent Semblances like Miss Goodwitch, that's true, but none can be considered weak." Weiss puffed up with pride. "In fact, I'll have you know that my elder sister, Winter, is considered to be among the best of the best within Atlas."
Natsu looked at her proud expression passively. His eyes still seemed to burn with an internal flame, but they simmered down just a bit. "Is that so?"
"Yup! Huntsmen are the coolest!" Ruby chimed in. "Dad and Uncle Qrow are both kinda old, but they're still super strong! I mean really really strong, "makes Torchwick look like a chump" strong."
"Guess I'll take your word for it, kid."
Ruby frowned and started stabbing her finger into his cheek. "I. Am. Not. A. Kid." She was still a tad bit upset about being grounded for almost no reason.
"Understood, Boss." Natsu nodded with a grin. "By the way, I picked up some chocolate milk while in town and kept it in the fridge. You can have it if you want."
"Really!?" A wide smile formed on her innocent face before she even opened the fridge and popped it open, but as she took a sip, she heard four words forged from pure, sinful evil.
"Hah! Still a kid!" Natsu boomed, a wolfish grin that would scare off sharks stretched across his face..
She gasped and looked at what she held in her hand. "This doesn't count!" she protested.
Weiss massaged her temples, reaching her limit with this foolishness. "I can't believe you actually felt for that."
"You're my partner, you're supposed to warn me!"
"Oh, don't be like that, Sis," Yang patted her head. "It's just some harmless teasing. Besides, at the end of the day, you'll always be my baby sister."
Ruby scowled and tried to set her face in the dark, brooding look Uncle Qrow used to intimidate students. It did not seem to work. "Well, joke's on you. I get free milk!"
Jaune came in from the stairs, dressed in jeans and a hoodie, "Alright, I think everyone is ready. Are we leaving now?"
"Nora, don't run down the stairs. You're shoes laces are- and you tripped. This is fine," Ren watched Nora roll down the stairs.
Pyrrha helped her up. "Are you okay, Nora?"
"Of course I am! Never been better. Now what are we waiting for!? Let's get going!"
Jauned chuckled nervously. "This isn't going to end well."
For the first time during the school year, they were heading to the mall. A wannabe knight, a crazy hammer girl, a very pretty celebrity/prodigy, a ninja who'd probably ignore a bomb going off, an armed loli with super speed, a heiress with family issues, a girl ninja with a past, a motherly monster, and a dragon slayer—totally not actually an arsonist... Jaune ignored his common sense. Cause why would he listen to it now?
He looked at his feet. "I kind of want better shoes."