It's been awhile since I last updated, well… sorry if you thought that I stopped writing fanfictions but in reality I have been busy with work so most of the time I'm already mentally exhausted. I can only do paragraphs to progress in writing and I happen to finish updating this story much faster than the rest of my story. I kind of having some roadblocks on my other stories especially my Fate DXD story, I am really stump on it and cannot find some inspiration. But not to worry, even if I progress in my chapters by paragraph I will do my best to update my stories.
I don't own Final Fantasy 7: Advent Children and RWBY.
One Year Later…
It's been a year since Cloud Strife arrived in Remnant and throughout his short stay in this world, he managed to adjust his lifestyle matching the locals in the planet. He prioritized learning everything about his home world and have learned what he needed to know, the basics which are; the currency of money called Lien, the land and the four known kingdoms, the people which is divided to two races; the humankind and the faunus-kind, about Huntsmen and Huntresses, about Grimm which are the darkness that plagues the planet, and most importantly the most essential tool to combat them called Aura. According to Taiyang and the other huntsmen in Patch, Aura is the manifestation of one's soul and it provides protection to reduce any damages that one could receive whether by accident or fighting the Grimm but aura is also limited so one should not always rely on it for defense. It is also used to enhance or strengthen the body beyond what an ordinary human or faunus could achieve and the very reason all huntsmen and huntresses could perform impossible feats like conjuring an aura-enhanced or infused attacks. According to Taiyang, he has his aura already unlocked and have been using it all this time but the Ex-SOLDIER only assumed that his aura has been unlocked the moment he set foot in Remnant and it is a boon that he will never waste.
Cloud classified the huntsmen as Remnant's version of SOLDIER and so far most of them that he met are at the level of a third-class SOLDIER, the only ones that he thought has the strength comes close to the first-class are Taiyang Xiao Long and Qrow Branwen. Cloud met Qrow days after he aided Taiyang's group from the horde of Grimm, he could say that the dusty old crow has a similar fighting style to him but he is confident that he wins when it comes to strength due to the weight of his Fusion sword plus his fast swings. From what he could gather, Qrow is a very cynical and sarcastic man which reminds him of himself back then at his mercenary days. By the time that they were introduced to each other by Taiyang, the raven-haired man gave him a stink eye, a look of suspicion and wariness which he almost did the same since his instinct says that getting involve with Qrow is definitely bad news. Qrow became suspicious of him because of his lack of knowledge on aura but in the end, he only assumed that he was living alone all his life fighting to survive on a harsh environment which results on him unlocking aura by himself without noticing. After all, it is possible to unlock aura by oneself.
All in all, life has been normal for the Ex-SOLDIER. He made sure to make himself busy, always occupied himself each day with work so most of the time he is out of the inn that he's living in. Cloud took any sort of odd jobs ranging from helping around the community to assisting Huntsmen and Huntresses in patrolling and culling the Grimm population in Patch, the same routine like his mercenary work back in Gaia. He has saved quite a lot of savings through these jobs to the point that he managed to recreate his ride called the Fenrir, a monster of a motorcycle that has three wheels; two in front and one at the back, and with a combination of polished black metal over brushed gold mechanics. On either side of the front tires is an expandable compartment that fits all the pieces of his fusion sword and/ or the Fusion sword itself. Unlike the one that he has at Gaia, the Fenrir's engine is dust-powered. He managed to collect parts from junkyards which are surprisingly at the peak condition and some Atlas tech or gizmo that allows autopilot so that it can function without a driver and activating its engine through his scroll.
By the time he saved enough Lien, Cloud travels to Vale and live there to start his own business. It is a delivery service that he also started at Gaia and named his agency as Strife Delivery Service. With Remnant's situation because of the Grimms and bandits, transportation of supply and goods have been hard pressed due to the attack from Grimms whether by land, sea, and air. What worsen the situation is that the White Fang, the faunus organization that appeals for equality turned violent from the recent years, kept intercepting freighters of Dusts which added to the problem and not helping in the situation. When he started his delivery service, many were skeptical about his capability of delivering any goods without being intercepted by danger but as time goes by his reputation increased because he always guaranteed that he can deliver goods without fail and so far he doesn't. Whenever Cloud encounters danger while delivering goods whether they are Grimms, bandits, and White Fang; he either skillfully evaded any attempts with his driving skills or skillfully incapacitates them if they cannot be avoided. These encounters gain him some reputation to bandit tribes and White Fang cells all over remnant which annoyed him to no end. With his efficiency in delivery of goods, some companies would call him instead of other delivery services.
Vale – The Club
In the deep recesses of Vale, Cloud arrives in front of a club riding his trusty steed, Fenrir, with a cargo for delivery attached on it. As time passed by, the blonde merc has modified his clothing although it is still resembling his black clothing that he wears upon arriving in Remnant. He still wears his iconic black zip-up tunic with a single shoulder pad or armor attached with a wolf insignia, he is also wearing a black semi-fit combat pants and black combat boots with steel toes. His waist cape or asymmetrical overskirt became a little shorter which only reaches pass his knee and he is wearing a black leather gloves but his left forearm is covered with a metallic gray vambrace and gauntlet over the armband.
He gets off Fenrir and made his way towards the bouncer telling him about the delivery that Hei Xiong or Junior ordered, the bouncer went inside to confirm it with his boss and a few seconds later he was directed by the bouncer to go at the backdoor of the club and unload the packages there. Cloud carries all the packages to the club's beverages storage and then went to Junior confirming the orders in the inventory. While they are doing the transaction, a yellow and black motorcycle arrives and parks just outside the club with the rider getting off the two-wheeled transport removing the helmet and yellow trimmed aviator glasses. The rider is a fair-skinned young woman with lilac eyes and bright golden hair that fades to pale gold at the tips and a cowlick sticking out at the top, she has a curvaceous body that rivals any supermodels and what all other girls would kill for. She wears a tan jacket that bares her midriff, with golden brown piping and short, puffy sleeves with black cuffs that feature two gold buttons. Underneath this, she wears a low cut yellow crop top with a burning heart emblem on the left breast in black. She also wears a brown belt covered by pleated brown piece of material reaching from hip to hip around the back of her waist, with her emblem emblazoned on the right-most pleat in gold. Underneath it is a long, white, asymmetrical piece of material reaching her knee on the right side, as well as a pair of tight black spandex compression shorts that reaches her upper thighs. She wears a pair of brown, knee-high boots and orange over-the-knee socks, with the right sock pused down just below the knee. A purple bandanna is tied around her left knee and to complete her outfit, she also has an orange infinity scarf and black fingerless gloves.
The blonde young woman enters the club and saunters towards the bar walking past an orange-haired man in white trench coat and black bowler hat and a girl with pink and brown hair wearing an ice cream themed colored dress. If she even looks carefully, the young woman would have recognized these two as they are famous criminals but she is more focused on the question that she will ask to the informant.
"Strawberry Sunrise. No ice. Oh, and one of those little umbrellas." The blonde girl started.
"Aren't you a little young to be in this club, Blondie?" Ask the man standing in the bar. He is wearing a black vest over a white dress shirt, a red tie, black gloves and black dress pants. He also has gray eyes, short black hair with matching beard and mustache.
Upon hearing his reply, the young woman giggles and then counters with her own reply.
"Aren't you a little old to have a name like Junior?"
"So you know who I am. You got a name, sweetheart?" The man that is now known as Junior greeted in a little flirty manner to start the conversation.
"Yes Junior, I've got several. But instead of sweetheart, you can just call me sir." The blonde beauty smirk as she grabs his groin and squeezes it painfully causing Junior to cry out in pain comically.
While this scene is happening, Cloud happens to come out of the back to talk to Junior about the payment for the delivery only to stumble upon the scene of Junior being manhandled by a girl way younger than him. He raises an eyebrow in curiosity and opted to watch first before he takes any action. The blonde mercenary observes the blonde girl analytically and judging by his own observations, he concludes that the girl is a huntress-in-training and about to go to Beacon Academy he guesses.
"What are they doing?" Cloud thought as he can already smell trouble.
"People say you know everything." The young woman brings her scroll up to Junior's face, showing him a picture of a woman resembling the blonde beauty only that the one in the picture has long black hair and a pair of blood red eyes.
"Tell me where I can find her and I'll let you go." She continued.
With a strained tone, Junior replied.
"I've never seen her before, I swear!"
"Excuse me?" The blonde beauty asked not hearing a proper address to her.
"I swear, Sir!" Junior repeated adding a title at the end.
Junior's henchmen begin to gather around as they notice the commotion with their boss, Cloud thought that this is his cue to calm the situation down. This situation will only end with injured personnel and destruction of property that the foolish girl cannot afford to pay and will cost her with her career as a huntress.
"Hmm, looks like we have an audience. This must kind of embarrassing for you, huh? Awkward…" The blonde woman commented as she noticed the crowd, she clenches and unclenches her free hand hyping herself up for the incoming fight.
"Listen, blondie sir. If you want to make it out of this club alive, I suggest you let me go. Now!" Junior said his voice still strained.
The girl smirks and lets go of Junior's groin which he made a sigh of relief, but the information broker would not want to let this thing lying down. He needs to make the blonde bitch pay and teach her a lesson. He was about to open his mouth but he is suddenly cut off by the newcomer.
"Excuse me, Mr. Junior Xiong. Here's the bill for the deliveries and while you process my payment, let me handle this girl, no need to destroy everything here in the club and that's bad for business." Cloud said cutting them off as he gives Junior the bill then he walks towards the girl and grab her wrist dragging her outside.
"Hey! Wait, what are you-" The young woman tried to protest but despite the strength that she puts up on her struggle, Cloud was not fazed in the slightest and continues to drag the blonde girl with him out of the club.
Outside the club, Cloud walks out the establishment dragging the blonde beauty with him that is currently struggling on prying her arm off of him. They reached the forefront where their motorcycles parked on and then he finally let go of the girl. The blonde beauty glares at Cloud her eyes switching colors from lilac to red and her hair showing signs of being light ablaze.
"What the FUCK is your problem!?" The blonde girl cussed at him for interfering with her business.
"Do you even know what you are about to do?" Cloud fired back as he crosses his arms.
"You are about to start a brawl to a place full of people destroying expensive property to add with that. And aren't you too young to be in this kind of place?" He continued.
"You look like we are at the same age! And I can take them on! Besides, this place is a den of criminals. Who cares about the collateral damage? I am doing the police a favor." The young woman replied haughtily which Cloud scoffs in response.
"Hmp… doing the police a favor? That's not going to happen girl and instead you will be sued by Junior for Assault and destruction of property then you will go to jail. Your family might not even afford to pay the damages that you will make and this will also affect your career as a future huntress." The blonde mercenary said using a merciless and cold logic, which made the blonde beauty flinch seeing his point but she would not easily admit defeat because she thinks that she's in the right and wants to help cleaning the trashes of society, it is a part of her duty as future huntress.
"Why should I go in jail for busting up criminal asses!? I'm doing the right thing here!" The blonde girl argued back.
"That's not how the world works! You need a hard evidence on Junior if he is really doing something illegal, or else you are just a crazy girl with a huntsman training attacking 'civilians'." Cloud countered cooly which made the girl growled.
"Well hotshot, I'm going ask you just once… out of my way or you will taste a knuckle sandwich from me." The blonde girl warned as her yellow bracers transform into a pair of gauntlets with shotgun barrels and shells installed in it, then she smashes both of her fists together while her hair ignited with fire.
"This is the problem with you huntsmen, full of yourselves. Just because you have power over other people doesn't excuse you from being a loose cannon." The male blonde grumbled as he grabs the hilt of the first tsurugi, preparing to defend himself.
(Cue RWBY OST- I Burn)
Their stare off made a tense atmosphere between the two and after a minute, the female blonde charges towards Cloud using the recoil from her shotgun gauntlets propelling her forward with an additional speed. The Ex- SOLDIER immediately draws the first tsurugi and parried the female blonde's barrage of punches which are accompanied with shotgun blasts, with only the flat of the blade and he made sure to hold his skills back to avoid hurting her too much. Both fighters' movements were so fast that their exchange can be seen as almost a blur with the female brawler trying to get through the male swordsman's defenses.
"Her fighting style reminds me of Tifa but this girl is wilder and less refine." Cloud commented in his mind as he parries the attacks.
Frustrated from their current stalemate, the brawler added some kicks in her attacks to add pressure against the swordsman. She adds different types of kicks in between her punches with low kick and then high kick which were easily blocked by Cloud with ease and then she tried a sweep kick which he successfully dodged in turn. As both continued their battle, Cloud decided to at least fight back so when he saw an opening between the female blonde's onslaught he immediately swings his sword into a horizontal slash. The brawler widens her eyes in surprise but immediately composed herself as she backflips away dodging Cloud's counter by a hair's breath.
The moment she flips her body to upright position, the blonde brawler immediately cocks her shotgun gaunlets and fires dust shells in every punching motion she did. Cloud responded as he twirls the first tsurugi once and then swings his weapon rapidly deflecting all dust shells without fail, which obviously shocks the girl.
"What the- he can swing that large weapon that fast as if he is just swinging a plain sword!" Her eyes widen on what she saw but when she calms herself from her shock, she noticed that the blonde swordsman did not moved in to attack on her moment of distraction.
"Wait, why didn't he- oh? So THAT's what you are trying to say to me huh?" Her crimson eyes narrowed as she seethed in anger, taking Cloud's calm demeanor and stance as an insult, to mock her on how he is not taking her seriously.
The blonde girl roars and charge at the Ex-SOLDIER while Cloud prepares to block her attacks anytime but she was about to make contact, she fires her weapon to the ground propelling her upward passing overhead of him and the moment she lands behind the swordsman, she immediately unleashes a flurry of punches while firing her shotgun barrels. Cloud manages to put his sword in between then to shield him from the barrage of punches, and after several seconds, the blonde brawler stops and distance herself by leaping back which made Cloud confuse on her actions until he noticed the smirk plastered on her face. He widens his eyes as he noticed something was off, he looks at the flat side of the blade and see the dust shells planted on his weapon like a minefield. Before he could even react, the dust shells explode sending flying cracking a nearby wall of the building.
His body shimmered in white light indicating that his aura absorbs the damage but he still definitely felt the impact of him slamming on the wall. Cloud immediately stands up shrugging the damage dealt on him and made a battle stance glaring at the blonde brawler who is currently smug and taunting him with her hand in come hither motion. Indulging the young lady, Cloud raises his sword up as the First Tsurugi shimmers with a faint glow. He swings down sending a Blade beam towards her which made the blonde girl widens her eyes in shock and immediately rolls to the side evading the surprise attack.
"W-Wait! That's an aura attack, a pro-level technique that commonly used by professional huntsmen! Who's this guy really!" The blonde brawler yelled in panic within her mind.
Before she could compose herself, the blonde swordsman was already on to her moving so fast that the Ex-SOLDIER immediately closes the distance and attacks her with a swipe of his sword. She sidesteps evading the slash then she immediately raises her right arm blocking another swipe, she punches him with her free arm while firing her weapon at the same time but Cloud simply tilts his head avoiding the attack. The Ex-SOLDIER kicks her to her stomach staggering the blonde brawler back but the girl fires both her shotgun-gauntlets backwards propelling her forward to the blonde swordsman, she twists herself into the air then executes an axe kick but immediately blocked by Cloud. He swipes his sword to disorient the girl but the blonde brawler recovered quickly as she fires her gauntlets again each shells were easily deflected by the Ex-SOLDIER but the blonde girl only used the recoil to gain some distance while he is distracted.
Both of them got into a stare off once more as the blonde brawler clench and unclench her fists while Cloud remains calm in his battle stance. The brawler made the first move as she charges towards Cloud propelled by gunshots, the swordsman answers with another blade beam towards her but before his attack hits, the girl shoots towards one of her flank changing her direction and avoiding the attack then shoots again propelling her towards the Ex-SOLDIER rearing her fist ready to give him a haymaker. The swordsman twists his body avoiding the blow but his back now facing the brawler, she grabs the opportunity and attacks with another punch but Cloud put his sword on his back blocking her attack without him even looking. Then the Ex-SOLDIER swipes his sword towards the blonde girl's legs which avoids by jumping over the attack, Cloud made a follow-up slash but the brawler blocks it with her left gauntlet and immediately counters with her right. The swordsman tilts his head avoiding the punch and shot then pushes her to gain some distance but the brawler propels towards him immediately with the help of her gauntlets and reared her right fist for another haymaker. This time, Cloud deflected the attack batting her punch away knocking her back and made her open to attacks. He did not waste the opportunity as he unleashes a slashing blow to her, two swipe combo ending with an overhead slash after gaining momentum from a front flip. The attack sends her to the ground creating a crack from impact and the girl's body shimmer with white light, her aura taking damage.
Cloud landed on the ground and assume a battle stance not letting his guard down on his downed opponent. The blonde brawler slowly stands up from the cracked ground then glare at the swordsman but her expression suddenly changes into a smug, grinning that she was now assured for victory. She bumps her fists together as her hair set ablaze her lilac colored eyes turns into blood red again but this time, Cloud felt the shockwave of his opponent's newfound strength. The Ex-SOLDIER braces himself as he knows that his opponent will make her move soon. The brawler propels herself forward closing the distance between her and Cloud, she reared her fist now coated with fire. Cloud swings his sword to parry the flaming punch but found himself unable to, as he felt the blonde girl's attack heavier than their earlier clash. The blonde brawler smirks at the confuse expression of the blonde swordsman.
"Sorry hotshot but now that I'm powered by my semblance, you do not stand a chance against me in terms of strength now." She said as she started to unleash her combinations of punches and kicks.
Cloud could only go to defensive, as the brawler's attack rains down on him relentlessly, concentrating on dodging the attacks. He can feel the power behind the punches and kicks despite avoiding it, there are also some attacks that he cannot avoid so he has no choice but to block the attack but the force behind it manage to push him back as he feels his bones rattling from the girl's strength. The Ex-SOLDIER tries to retaliate and counter but the brawler dodges his attack before swatting his sword with a backhand disorienting him as a result. The blonde brawler did not let up as she charges forward while Cloud is disoriented but he immediately recovers as he starts dodging her barrage of punches with the firing of shotgun shells.
Adapting to his situation, the Ex-SOLDIER deftly parries and redirects each attack while also attacking when there is an opening to the relentless brawler. The blonde brawler twists her body to perform a roundhouse kick but Cloud ducks the attack then he twists his body to do a sweep kick which made the fiery girl outbalanced but the brawler quickly recovers by putting both of her hands to the ground to stand upside down, then with a twist of her body she did a spin kick lashing at the blonde swordsman like a whip. Cloud manages to avoid the attack but he is suddenly forced to deflect dust shells coming from the already standing brawler. Not giving him any quarter, the blonde girl charged forward to the distracted swordsman. She reared her fist and lands a strong uppercut breaking Cloud's guard batting his sword away but not enough to disarm him. Then the brawler barraged him with punches on his gut followed by uppercut to the chin and ends the combo with a whirling kick sending him flying. The Ex-SOLDIER immediately recovered mid-air flipping himself up and landed gracefully to the ground as if he is defying gravity with the way he lands.
"She's getting better. Time to get a little serious and end this." Cloud thought as he felt his semblance activating amplifying his remaining aura. During the year that he lived and traveled in Remnant, he discovered that his semblance is 'Aura Amplification' but there is more to it than what he could see. The truth is his semblance was a downgraded version of his one true semblance, the 'Limit Break', which was once just a type of skill that he gained back in Gaia but now a manifestation of power in his soul here in Remnant. The evolved version of Aura Amplification.
Cloud's semblance changes into its evolved form, Limit Break, as he was now coated in a flame-like blue aura as he raises his sword up. The blonde brawler assumed that her opponent will attack with an aura projectile so she immediately charges forward shortening the distance between them with the help of the recoil from her gauntlets, she reared her fist now coated with fire as she about to give him her most devastating punch. But unfortunately for the brawler, Cloud is not using the blade beam but his more powerful limit skill, one of his signature attacks, the 'Cross Slash'. The Ex-SOLDIER countered the brawlers attack by unleashing three heavy and devastating swings sending her flying and embedded to the wall. The blonde girl's body shimmered until the light that is coated around her body shattered indicating the breaking of aura and the end of the fight.
The blue flame-like aura faded from Cloud's body as he relaxes his stance, watching his opponent if she is going to fight more. Said blonde brawler girl is currently lying face down on the ground, her body racks in pain all over. She could not comprehend on what has happened at the end of the fight, somehow her opponent just one-shoted her with one move. Despite her aura was still on the green, the attack was strong enough to break her aura with the addition of pain from the hits that she took.
(O.S.T. end)
"Rrrgh… not yet. It's not over yet." The blonde girl painfully stands up ignoring the pain on her body.
Cloud could only narrow his eyes to this girl's stubbornness, he will not see it as a weakness if his opponent concedes in battle in order to fight another day. But this girl is rather ridiculous, even though he finds her attractive, her prideful attitude is her downside, too brutish and tomboyish too. She would risk her life for some broken pride. For the blonde swordsman, pride would only get in the way on to the battlefield. It is one of the top list on reasons why warriors fall in battle. He can see that the girl raises her hands in a battle stance and is about to charge at him but a voice suddenly called out which is familiar for the blonde girl.
"Yang! What are you doing? Dad was calling you and you're not answering." A feminine cute voice called out which made the blonde girl now named Yang freeze in place.
"Uh… well Rubes, I was uh… sparring! Yes! I was sparring with the blonde swordsman over there. He seems strong so I challenged him." Yang said her alibi with some hesitation at first but managed to found her excuse as she points at Cloud who was conveniently there.
Cloud could only sigh as the girl in the red hood now focuses her attention to him, looking at her appearance she is quite a cute girl that exudes purity and innocence, too much of both actually if the Ex-SOLDIER's impression of her is right. She has a short black hair with a tint of red on the tips, pale skin and a pair of enticing silver eyes that he could not help but stare into those orbs. Before he could stare too much, he also observes the girl's overall appearance, she is wearing a black gothic style dress under her red hooded cape, dark leggings and black combat boots with red soles.
"She's right. We were only just having a sparring match." Cloud said while he gives Yang a flat stare that says 'you owe me for this' to her which said girl could only scratch the back of her head and gives him a wry smile.
"Yang! You can't just bother people because you want to- WHOA! Is that a greatsword!? Does it have any cool features? How does it work?" The hooded girl reprimanded Yang but before she continues, she laid her eyes on Cloud's first tsurugi and got distracted. In a blink of an eye, the girl got closed besides Cloud while she almost shoves her face near the sword salivating on the design.
This sudden change in the mood made the blonde swordsman stepped back, a little overwhelmed by the girl's quirk barraging him with questions in a machine gun pace. Seeing this scene unfold, Yang could only snicker on her sister's antics but since she owes Cloud on covering her from her sister, she's saving him just once. The blonde brawler sauntered behind the hooded girl and yanks her away by the hood.
"I know you like weapons Ruby but you should ask the guy's name first and ask him out before you get to the intimate part. I'm Yang by the way, and this is my half-sister Ruby. Sorry about her behavior, she just loves weapons very much." Yang said giving the girl named Ruby a teasing grin.
"Yang! Stop it with your teasing!" The girl now named Ruby yelled back at her sister.
Cloud felt a little grateful to his fellow blonde from saving him from a wild Ruby, so he decided to just play along and acts like someone who normally meets new people.
"No, it's alright. My name is Cloud, Cloud Strife. I am just a delivery man."
"You are very skilled for a delivery man, are you sure you're not a professional huntsman?" Yang asked not sure on what to make on the Ex-SOLDIER, Ruby also looks on to him curious on what he is going to say.
"No, I'm not. I neither attend a combat school nor have a license of a huntsman. My skills in battle are truly self-taught as I try to survive the wilderness outside the kingdoms." Cloud replied only saying half-truths on the nature of how he obtained his skills in battle.
The half-sisters were both not convinced as they continue to stare at him especially to his eyes to discern if he is just lying to them. Cloud only stared back, his face having a blank expression. Much to the surprise of the two, they did not detect any lies on him so they reluctantly accept his answer.
"I guess you're one heck of a prodigy if all your knowledge in fighting were just self-taught." Yang shrugs her shoulders.
"Yeah! You're amazing! Did you even make your own weapon!?" Ruby asked with excitement in her tone, her silver eyes twinkling in anticipation.
Upon seeing her expression, the Ex-SOLDIER made a small smile on Ruby's quirkiness that it kind of reminds him of one person that affected his life. An image of Aerith suddenly appears in his mind, her long brown hair billowed through the breeze, bright green eyes brimming with kindness staring at him. He immediately stops his reminiscence and replied to the silver-eyed girl with a teasing smile.
"Yes, I created my sword myself and before you ask, it has a special feature but I'm not telling. It's a secret but if you are lucky enough maybe one day you would see it in action."
The Ex-SOLDIER turns around leaving the two girls with Ruby having an angry pout that it only appears as cute and adorable. Yang teases Ruby on how she was rejected by him while the young girl reacted resulting to them banter to each other. Cloud watches the two with amusement in his eyes before putting on his aviator goggles and leaves the area riding Fenrir through the roads of Vale.
Vale- From Dust till Dawn shop
Ruby Rose is not in a good mood. After being teased by her sister, Yang, about her going too strong on a man and mentioning how their dad would have a heart attack because a certain rose wanted to pollinate added on her annoyance. She was also denied, her, Ruby Rose, weapon-expert extraordinaire being denied with knowledge about a new weapon that she had never laid her eyes on. Whenever she sees another unique weapon, she would immediately analyze the thing and then interrogating the owner for details. This quirk of this girl despite her cute face, made her become isolated from her peers because they are creeped up on how she acts. If it not for Yang and her popularity, no one would ever look at her some people in Signal were only friends with her in order to get close to Yang.
But that did not bother her one bit, she remains positive and cheery plus she is just being herself. Someday she will find people that will accept her as she is and for now she could only hope to meet them. She will not also give up on hounding Cloud about the details about his sword, she will not be denied, mark her words. As she enters the dust shop, Ruby went to the magazine's section to look for the latest trend in weaponry. She eagerly looks on the contents, temporarily forgetting about Cloud, while putting her earphones on to listen some music. She is now in her own little world unaware of the trouble that lies ahead. Outside the dust shop, somewhere in a dark alley, a group of men wearing black suits and red ties are heading to the shop lead by an orange-haired man with a black bowler hat and white coat holding a black cane on his hand.
Roman Torchwick, the infamous master thief, and ten of his henchmen head down an alley from the shadows. They stop behind Roman, who reignites his cigar without touching it and grins before walking down the road, frightening nearby citizens as they make their way towards the shop 'From Dust till Dawn'.
Roman and his henchmen enter the shop, and upon seeing them, the dust shop owner made a worried look in his face as he felt something bad from their visit. The henchmen look around and at the dust crystals n the display when Roman approaches the elderly shopkeeper.
"Do you have any idea how hard it is to find a dust shop open this late?" The stylish thief asked as he flicks his cigar.
One of the henchman points his gun at the shopkeeper which made the elderly raise his hands in alarm.
"P-please just take my lien and leave!" The shopkeeper begged as he wants to avoid things to get violent.
"Shhh, shhhh, shhh, shhhh, calm down, we're not here for your money." Roman reassured the shopkeeper before ordering one of his henchman. "Grab the dust."
A henchman opens a case and removes one of the several cylinders, which the group uses to take dust from the tube containers on the walls.
"Crystals. Burn. Uncut." One of the henchman said as he places another open case on the display to the shopkeeper.
The shopkeeper proceeds to fill the case. As another henchman goes for another tube, he hears a muted song from the hooded girl's direction, and unsheathes his sword. He approaches the girl and points his sword at her back.
"Alright kid, put your hands where I can see them." The henchman threatened but receives no response from the girl.
"Hey, I said hands in the air! You got a death wish or something?" He goes over to the girl and turns her around. The hood dropping revealing a surprise Ruby Rose wearing headphones. The henchman motions for her to lower them which she complied.
"Yes?" Asked Ruby.
"I said put your hands in the air now!" The henchman said again with a threatening tone.
"Are you… robbing me?" Ruby tilted her head asking innocently.
"Yes!" Was the thug's frustrated relpy.
"Oooohhh…" Was Ruby's only response, lacking the fear in her tone.
Roman is waiting for his men to finish the heist when he heard someone shouts "Heeeyaaahhh!" and then one of his henchman flies past him. He motions another one of his men to deal with the unexpected interloper. One of his men responds drawing a gun from his jacket then raises his gun and aim at Ruby.
"Freeze!"
The next thing happens so fast that in a blink of an eye, the henchman is easily tackled by Ruby and they crash through the window. The other men look outside to see what happened as Ruby gets up and unfolds the red colored mechanical box at the back of her hips and transforms into a scythe that is larger than her lithe form. This weapon is what everyone in Remnant called a mecha-shift weapon and Ruby named it as Crescent Rose. Roman scowls, but Ruby smiles back at them before twirling the weapon around showing her skill on handling the scythe, striking it into the ground and turning off her headphones.
"Okayyy…. Get her!" Roman said to his remaining henchmen.
(Cue RWBY OST- This will be the day by Jeff Williams feat. Casey Lee Williams)
The henchmen head out of the shop and run at Ruby, who spins around on top of her scythe and kicks the first approaching criminal in the face. She gets Crescent Rose out of the ground and fires it off to hit another one with the butt of her weapon, sending him flying. She fires again and brings the side down on one attacker and dodges the next's gunfire with her rifles's speed, getting close enough to knock him into the air and follow him upwards so she can beat him away to Roman's feet.
A henchman charges to Ruby while drawing out his weapons of choice, a pair of handguns that can shift to short swords. He started exchanging blows with the reaper with a gun kata style swinging with arcing attacks like a blade while also firing his weapon in point blank or close quarters to pressure his enemies. The young Rose has avoided every swings and point blank firing so far by both dodging and deflecting, but the creasing of her eyebrows shows that her opponent is more challenging than those she has easily taken down and she can already feel the pressure. But Ruby did not let the henchman dictate the fight as she inputs her own attack swinging her scythe which the henchman avoided by leaning back and did a back flip kick which evaded by the reaper using her petal burst semblance to gain some distance while shifting Crescent Rose to rifle form shooting the thug. Said thug avoided all the shots with his acrobatic moves flipping through all shots towards him.
"Hoh… not bad, not bad. I guess some of Junior's men are competent enough to fight a huntress. So what now, Red? What are you going to do now?" Roman commented as he watches the fight in amusement.
Ruby continues to fight in long range to keep the gunslinger henchman at bay but suddenly, she saw from the peripherals of her vision a flash of steel and immediately reacts. Attacking from her flank is another henchman using a Dao sword with its sheath functions as a cleaver which he holds in a reverse grip. She just avoided a swipe from his sword as she switches to using a scythe again. Like the gunslinger henchman, he employs acrobatic maneuvers that are incorporated with every swings or swipes of his sword and cleaver like a blade dancer, he relentlessly attacks the reaper alternating with between sword and cleaver-sheath while also inputting some kicks to throw Ruby off. The silver-eyed girl could only twirl her scythe around blocking and parrying all the aggressive swings while dodging some attacks that she couldn't block. They continue to exchange blows until the blade dancer thug launches an uppercut slash which Ruby tried to block only for her to get staggered and disoriented. The henchman took advantage of the opening as he follows with a straight kick to the reaper's gut knocking her back.
"Ooofff!" Ruby grunted from the sudden pain that she felt from her stomach, she immediately composes herself and recovers her stance.
She was about to charge to the blade dancer but unfortunately, she faces a hail of gunfire instead as the other thugs join the battle. Using her semblance, she evaded all the bullets by dashing around the field moving in zigzag motion. The henchmen continuously shoot at Ruby but they can only see a glimpse of her cloak leaving behind trails of flower petals. Firing her Crescent Rose backwards, Ruby uses the force of recoil to close the distance to one of Roman's henchmen as she swings the scythe with deadly precision cleanly cutting the barrel of the submachine gun rifle before twirling her scythe and aims her own rifle, firing point blank at the henchman sending him flying. She once again uses the recoil to get close to the next henchman then she stabs the butt end of her weapon to the ground and vault over to use the momentum for another swipe cutting another submachine gun before vaulting over again giving the thug a double kick to the face.
Ruby pauses for a second to collect herself but her breather was cut short by a bullet almost grazed her cheek she looks at the gunslinger firing his guns while charging towards her. The reaper raises her weapon as she once again exchanges blows with the gunslinger henchman, Ruby made sure to be very careful as she blocks, dodge, weave and swings in any order to not fall to any chain attacks that he is going to make. She makes sure to keep her scythe moving as she deftly rotates or spins her weapon around as a form of defense while she breaks through his guard. Unfortunately, Ruby was suddenly hit from the back by the blade dancer henchman with a flying kick making her tumble forward only to be met with another kick to the face courtesy of the gunslinger then shot her to the chest whittling away on her aura. The reaper immediately composes herself blocking the gunshots and kicks then she ducks avoiding a sword swing from the back before making a sweep with her scythe making the gunslinger fall back. Then she starts to exchange blows with the blade dancer only for a gunshot hitting her back. Using the cleaver-sheath weapon, the blade dancer disarms Ruby before attacking with an uppercut slash sending her airborne and before she drops to the ground, the young huntress-in-training is hit with a roundhouse kick sending her towards the gunslinger. The gunslinger henchman clotheslines Ruby knocking her down roughly to the ground as she is now lying in a heap.
(O.S.T. end)
After a few seconds, Ruby moves struggling to get up as her aura shimmers flickering in and out on the verge of breaking. One of the henchmen move forward aiming a rocket launcher on the defenseless reaper to take the final blow, he fires the launcher as the rocket homing in towards Ruby. The silver-eyed girl could only widen her eyes in shock and fear, she knows that her aura is on the red zone so an attack as strong as an explosion from a rocket could break her aura upon contact and the explosion will fatally wound her or even kill her at worst. Before the rocket reach her, a shadow landed in front of her and the rocket suddenly slice in two and parted to different directions then explodes behind her. The reaper manages to compose herself as she looks at her savior. Her savior to her surprise wears dark clothing and a familiar spiky blonde hair.
"Cloud!" Ruby called out as tears flows out of her eyes in relief.
"You okay?" Cloud asked the girl not leaving his eyes to the enemy.
"mmm…" Was Ruby's meekly reply.
"Leave this to me, focus on regenerating your aura." The blonde swordsman said to her as he engages in his battle stance.
(Cue FF7 Remake O.S.T.- Those who fight)
Seeing another interloper, both the gunslinger and blade dancer charge towards the EX-SOLDIER. The gunslinger starts firing his guns while the blade dancer runs ahead to engage Cloud who is currently occupied in deflecting bullets with skill and precision. As soon as the blade dancer reaches Cloud, they started trading blows with the thug making complex swings on his attacks while the blonde swordsman deftly parries each blow with ease. The gunslinger thug joins in to support his comrade by providing cover fire but Cloud draws his other blade in a reverse grip as he blocks the bullets while fending off the blade dancer thug at the same time. Cloud is now currently dual-wielding the first tsurugi and the hollow blade in order to fight against more than one enemy.
With a mighty swing, Cloud sent the blade dancer back meters away from him before dodging a kick coming from the gunslinger. The henchman fights the EX-SOLDIER in close quarters using a gun kata style and both start trading blows with the thug trying to aim his guns to any part of his body but failing because Cloud keeps blocking and redirecting any aim without effort. Cloud swings the hollow blade but the gunslinger leans back dodging the attack, he was about to retaliate when he suddenly felt a very strong kick to his gut which sends the thug flying. While his enemy is still in mid-flight, the EX-SOLDIER call forth his aura focusing on his blade as he uses the limit skill Blade beam and launches it towards the gunslinger. When the attack hits, the gunslinger crashes on the light pole which causes it to dent while the thug drops to the ground unconscious.
Seeing a chance for sneak attack, the blade dancer charges towards Cloud hoping to land a hit but the blonde swordsman dodges his swing by crouching down. After dodging, Cloud did a leg sweep tripping the henchman but the thug immediately regains his footing as he retaliates to the EX-SOLDIER. The two trade blows in dual-wield combat with the thug trying to slash his way through Cloud's adept blocking and parrying. After a few seconds, Cloud saw an opening from the thug's aggressive attacks and starts to counter. He swings the first tsurugi in retaliation which the henchman tries to block and the henchman's surprise he was suddenly sent skidding backwards from the force of the swing. Cloud saw an opportunity and put his hollow blade together with the main blade and with a clicking sound of a mechanism, the two swords have become one larger blade.
The EX-SOLDIER charges towards the henchman and launches barrage of heavy swings which the thug tries to block. Each swing becoming heavier as they trade blows and eventually, Cloud overpowers the blade dancer cutting both of his weapons before finishing the thug with slashing blows that compose of two swipes followed by an uppercut slash that sent the thug flying embedding him to a building wall. Before he could let his guard down, hails of bullets shower over him as he deftly deflects bullet fire before shielding himself with the flat of the blade. He assesses the situation and the number of the remaining thugs that he needs to take down before dashing forward like a wind, he deftly deflects all the bullets without stopping until he reaches the nearest henchman cutting the barrel of his gun like hot knife on butter then follows with a kick that helps him propel into the air towards the next thug and did a plunging attack cutting another gun because the henchman tried to block his attack.
Cloud did a wide swipe producing shockwave that knocks the other thugs down before proceeding to the last henchman cutting his gun before batting the thug away towards Roman's feet. The bowler hat thief made a displease grunt upon watching all his subordinates get taken down easily by another interloper. Roman would have thought that they could finally deal with little red and teach her a lesson on what would happen to those who play hero but unfortunately another hero-wannabe appeared and turns out, the second interloper is more dangerous that even the thief himself could not take him on.
(O.S.T. end)
"You are worth every cent! Truly you are!" Roman said sarcastically to all his henchmen who are groaning to the ground in pain.
"Well let's end this for the night, shall we? Little red, blondie." The thief added addressing the two before pointing his cane weapon called Melodic Cudgel to the two. A crosshair flipping up revealing the cane being a gun.
Roman fires a round to the EX-SOLDIER and Cloud retaliates by slicing the bullet in two. Suddenly light exploded from the dust round which blinds both Ruby and Cloud temporarily. By the time they recover their sight, Roman is nowhere to be found. Both of them search their surrounding until Ruby looks up to the building sighting the thief climbing an emergency ladder up to the rooftop of a building.
"There!" Ruby called out getting the blonde swordsman's attention as the reaper pointed towards the building where Roman is climbing. Using her semblance, Ruby disperses into rose petals as a red cloth scales on the building wall towards the rooftop.
"We'll leave these thugs to you, call the authorities to apprehend them." Cloud said to the shopkeeper who replies with a nod and raising a thumbs up.
The EX-SOLDIER follows Ruby to the rooftops and with his enhanced body from the Jenova cells he was able to jump so high without any effort and then slowly descend on the rooftop, he was about call out to Ruby only to see that the reaper was shielded from the attack from the bullhead by a huntress. Said huntress has pale blonde hair tied to a bun, has a fair skin borderline to pale and she wears a pair of glasses on her piercing green eyes. Her article of clothing composes of white long sleeve blouse with a black short cape on her back, black pencil skirt with slit that reaches mid-thigh, gray stockings and black knee-high boots. After blocking the attack, the blonde huntress raises her crop and bombards the bullhead with dust projectiles while she uses her semblance to hold the aerial vehicle in place.
Cloud looks up to the bullhead only to see not just Roman but another figure that he assumed as female standing next to Roman, he could not see any feature due her being obscured by the darkness of the interior of the bullhead. The only thing notable that he can see is that Roman's accomplice is wearing a red dress. The mysterious figure raises her hand and fire ignites within her palm then she throws a fireball as big as a Fira spell. The blonde swordsman responded by reflex as he dashes towards the huntress and Ruby's direction in a burst of speed cutting the fireball before it collides to its target and then with another burst, he jumps towards the bullhead surprising Roman and the shadowed figure. Cloud brought down his sword with all his might but luckily for the criminals they have sharp reflexes that they manage to avoid being cleave by the fusion sword. Cloud only managed to put a long gash to the bullhead before the female figure retaliates by firing another fireball which he has no choice but to block and knocking him away from the bullhead. By the time he lands back on the rooftop, the bullhead has already gotten away and with such a headstart it would be difficult to pursue any longer.
The EX-SOLDIER's gaze linger on the fleeing bullhead until it disappears in his sight then switches his attention towards Ruby and the blonde huntress. The blonde huntress' attention is currently on Ruby who has a gaze shining with admiration, he took advantage of the distraction as he leaves the scene jumping to the alleyway where Fenrir is parked. Landing on his vehicle's sit, he starts the engine and leave the area before the huntress notice his departure.
Vale Police Station
Ruby is having a bad day and she was not enjoying her night at all, first she was denied of getting to know about Cloud's weapon, then comes the dust robbery, she was doing great in her fights until two thugs with huntsman-level training kick her cute butt and lastly, Cloud left her and got caught to be brought to the police station and apparently denied for the second time after taking a glimpse of what his weapon can do. Her face has a look of shame as the blonde huntress who she now known as Glynda Goodwitch, with a tablet computer, paces around Ruby is seated at, right underneath the bright light in the otherwise dark room.
"I hope that you realize that your actions tonight will not be taken lightly, young lady. You put yourself and others in great danger." Glynda said with a stern voice.
"They started it! And I was not alone in kicking those criminal butts." Ruby replied back.
"If it were up to me, you'd be sent home… with a pat on the back…" Glynda said noticing the little reaper's smile and sigh of relief.
"… and a slap on the wrist." She continues by demonstrating her riding crop, which Ruby barely avoids as she let out a yelp.
"But… there is someone here who would like to meet you."
Upon saying those words, Glynda moves out of the way so a surprised Ruby can see a man in green come through the doorway, holding a mug and a plate of cookies. The silver-haired man puts the plate of cookies on the table as he sits in front of the girl.
"Ruby Rose… You… have silver eyes." The man said as he leans in to look at her face.
"Uh, umm…" Was Ruby's response, not knowing what to say on someone mentioning her eye color in a first meeting let alone on introductions.
"So! Where did you learn to do this?" The man asked gesturing with his head at the tablet showing Ruby's fight with the thugs.
"S-Signal Academy." Ruby answered hesitantly.
"They taught you to use one of the most dangerous weapons ever design?" The man asked again.
"Well, one teacher in particular." Ruby replied.
"I see…" Was the man's response.
The man in green puts the cookies on the table in front of Ruby. The silver-eyed girl responds with a happy squeal before she tentatively picks one up, eats it in a single bite, and then, not seeing any rebuttal, shovels the rest into her mouth.
"It's just that I've only seen one other scythe-wielder of that skill before. A dusty, old crow…" He said as he sips a drink from his mug.
"Oh! That's my uncle!" Ruby mumbles through her full mouth. Noticing her food manners, she swallows her food and wipes her mouth, embarrassed.
"Sorry. That's my uncle Qrow! He's a teacher at Signal. I was a complete garbage before he took me under his wing. And now, I'm like- Hoooowaaah! Witchaaaa!" The girl said enthusiastically as she proceeds to make some karate-style poses and noises.
"Although I got my butt kicked. Hehe…" She thought as she mentally deflated.
"So I've noticed." The man replied, placing his cup on the table and leans in.
"And what is an adorable girl such as yourself doing at a school designed to train warriors?" He asked.
"Well… I want to be a Huntress." Was Ruby's immediately reply.
"You want to slay monsters?" The man asked once more.
"Yeah! I only have two more years of training left at Signal! And then I'm going to apply to Beacon!" She replied as she talks faster and faster with her enthusiasm growing.
"You see, my sister is starting there this year, and she's trying to become a Huntress. And I'm trying to become a Huntress because I wanna help people. My parents always taught us to help others, so I thought, Hey, I might as well make a career out of it!" She giggles.
"I mean the police are alright, but Huntsmen and Huntresses are just so much more romantic and exciting and cool and really, gosh! You know!" Ruby tried to explain only to flip out at the last part, staring at the two with wide crazy smile.
Glynda and the man study her. And from the shine of her silver eyes, they saw innocence and naivety. One who has pure spirit and well intent in helping others, eyes of the one who strives to be a hero, eyes of the one who hopes for great adventure and one whose eyes have yet to see the cruel reality of the world they live in. They can only felt sadness internally as they know that this innocence and naivity will not last as the girl reaches for her dream. They could only hope that this girl would remain strong after experiencing the life of being a Huntress.
"Do you know who I am?" The man finally asked.
"You're professor Ozpin. You're the headmaster of Beacon." The girl immediately replied.
"Hello." The man now known as Ozpin smiled upon the recognition.
"Nice to meet you." Ruby greeted happily as if meeting a new friend.
"You want to come to my school?" The headmaster asked.
"More than anything." Ruby replied with excitement.
Ozpin exchanges glances with Glynda, who shows her disapproval with a glare, before he turns back to Ruby.
"Well okay."
Upon hearing his answer, Ruby smiles, wide-eyed and open-mouthed not expecting her advancement in her year level. And so the gears of fate has begun to move.
Outside the Vale police station
After their talk with Ruby Rose, who is now confirmed to attend Beacon this year, Ozpin and Glynda left the station and stops on the sidewalk just in front of the building. Glynda is still glaring daggers at Ozpin upon his reckless decision of inducting the fifteen-year-old girl into Beacon.
"I hope you know what you are doing Ozpin, it is too early for her to attend in our institution." The blonde huntress said in a stern tone.
"I know Glynda and I have faith on her abilities. I believe that she can overcome any obstacles and succeed." Ozpin replied confidently.
"Now, to our next applicant." The headmaster began.
"This is the second time you are making a reckless decision. Are you sure want to include an unknown in our school? Qrow said that he just a vagabond that appeared in Patch and happens to save a group of huntsmen from a grimm horde. It is also suspicious that he is too skilled for his age, what if he is a spy that was sent by 'her'?" Glynda said her concerns.
"Qrow has been watching him for a year now and he did nothing suspicious that can be pointed to 'her'. In fact, he is just helping out in the community taking odd jobs and helping huntsmen on culling the grimms in Patch. With his skill, we can ask him to be a protector of our new maiden candidate." Ozpin said pointing out the impossibility of her suspicion.
"Hmmph. If you really made up your mind on this, then do as you wish." Glynda reluctantly complied.
"Very well. Now to our next location." Ozpin said as he starts walking together with Glynda through the city of Vale.
Author's Note:
And this is it for chapter 2, in this chapter Cloud has finally met the counterparts or equivalents of Tifa and Aerith in Remnant. I apologize to all Arkos fan but I am not a fan of the pairing, in my opinion, Phyrra's interaction with Jaune seems more of motherly than friendly she comes across like a family to Jaune, being babied or handheld in everything. I am more of a fan of Lancaster and Dragonslayer, and I am still deciding if I should do just one of this two pairings or both creating a three-way relationship between Jaune/Cloud, Ruby and Yang. We already know that Yang Xiao Long is the Tifa Lockhart of this story and finally, the Aerith Gainsborough on the other hand would be Ruby Rose, well because obviously they have something in common, like their positive personality and also being 'the last of their kind'. Well I could also see Yufie in Ruby so she is kind of a combination of Aerith and Yufie but most likely more Aerith. Well next chapter will be on Beacon and I am planning to include a character that you would all like so stay tuned for it.