Chapter 5
Ruby was tired. But aura exhaustion wasn't as bad as the regular kind, so even the brief rest she had gotten when Pyrrha had carried had let her recover a bit of her strength. So, ignoring Yang's fussing, Ruby found the person she was looking for when her eyes landed on Shirou.
Ruby had already thought of a plan. The little rachni weren't very tough, just dangerous in numbers, the perfect targets for someone who can simultaneously launch a multitude of heavy projectiles.
"Shirou!" Ruby called out as the rachni emerged, but she needn't have bothered. He was already forming his swords. Then, like the night they had met, a beautiful wave of blue appeared around Shirou, and as the color faded, it left blades in its wake.
Ruby beamed as she again beheld the plethora of weapons suspended in the air. They hung there for an instant before launching themselves at the Grimm and slamming into them with perfect accuracy.
"Wow." Ruby heard Yang say.
Ruby glanced at Yang, and her smile widened when she saw that Yang looked as entranced as Ruby felt.
Shirou fired two more waves of swords before the rachni stopped pouring from the trees.
"Holy hell, Shirou!" Yang said, drawing all eyes toward her. Then, letting go of Ruby, Yang looked ready to charge toward her partner before the sound of falling trees pulled everyone's attention to the massive armored form of the rachni queen.
The Grimm let out a rage-filled shriek as it charged forward and leaped, throwing itself skyward.
"Skatter!" Shirou said, a note of panic evident in his voice.
Shirou took an extra half second to look behind him and confirm that nobody hesitated. Yang had already grabbed Ruby and sprinted to the side, with everyone else following her lead as she leaped off the plateau. Seeing everyone had time to get to safety, Shirou didn't hesitate further and threw himself down the stairs.
The Grimm landed on top of the temple with the crash, creating a massive dust cloud that stung Shirou's eyes.
Scrambling to his feet. Shirou ignored the uncomfortable warmth of his magic circuits, and another wave of swords formed and fired toward the massive Rachni, only for them to bounce off its armored form.
Shirou grimaced. He had hoped the bone armor would be brittle enough for his swords to punch through. However, even though Shirou's attack didn't appear to have hurt the Grimm, it still drew its attention to him. Red eyes burning, the rachni's mandibles flared, and it spat out a stream of green fluid toward Shirou.
Shirou rolled to the side, and the fluid landed where he had been standing. The ground smoked, and the grass disintegrated almost instantly.
'Acid.'
Shirou's mind danced as he tried to settle on a strategy since it was clear that mundane blades weren't enough. Summoning a Noble Phantasm strong enough to penetrate the Grimm's armor and annihilate it was possible but risky, given the amount of prana he had already expended. Furthermore, tracing something of Caladbolg's power would exhaust him when he was fully rested. So, doing so now would almost certainly knock him unconscious. A bad idea in a monster-infested forest.
Shirou glanced at Kanshou and Bakuya. They had cut through the ursa easily, and the D-rank phantasm was much easier to trace than something like Caladbolg. Decision made, a plan began to crystalize in Shirou's mind, but before he could begin his assault, he heard Ruby call his name.
"Shirou!"
Shirou looked at Ruby, who was frantically pointing at something in the sky.
Shirou turned just in time, and his eyes widened as a bird the size of a plane pulled out of its dive and flapped its wings powerfully, launching dozens of spear-like feathers toward him.
"Crap!"
Shirou slammed prana into his legs and bolted, ducking and dodging around feathers, some getting close enough to ruffle his clothes as he frantically evaded.
The bird cawed as it continued its flight, sweeping high overhead, and began to bank widely.
Shirou didn't stop moving until he got to his group of allies, trying to ignore the pain in his legs, which let him know his reinforcement had been less than perfect in his haste.
"Shirou."
Yang was the first to acknowledge him, reaching out to grab him by the shoulder, her eyes scanning him from head to toe. "You good?"
"'Yeah, I'm just going to be sore tomorrow."
Yang let out a bark of laughter even as she kept her focused on the rachni, which seemed content to watch and wait.
"You've got some good dance moves, but you should know better than to get fancy without a proper warm-up."
The nevermore began flying back toward them.
"Shirou, block the feathers," Ruby said, her silver eyes dancing between the nevermore and rachni.
Shirou didn't argue as another wave of feathers was already heading their way.
More swords materialized, forming a steel wall, shielding all eight people from the dangerous rain.
"This guy's awesome!" Nora said exuberantly as she transformed her hammer into a grenade launcher and spun around the swords as the steam of feathers stopped. Nora pulled the trigger several times, but the grenades detonated well before they reached their target as the nevermore quickly gained altitude.
"We need to split up. We can't fight both of these things at once," Ruby said, silver eyes narrowed as she looked over everyone.
Blake raised her hand, eyes thoughtful.
"I should be able to trip up the rachni with my weapon, but I'll need someone strong to back me up."
"Count me in!" Nora said, flexing a slender arm. "Hit me with a bit of lightning dust, and there's no one stronger."
Blake looked uncertain, her brows tilted downward until Ren stepped forward.
"She's telling the truth; I've never met anyone stronger than Nora, especially when she uses her semblance."
Weiss swung her sword elegantly in front of her and spun the cylinder built into the hilt until it glowed yellow.
"If you need dust, then I suppose I'll be necessary as well."
"Excellent, you four keep the rachni busy. Pyrrha, Yang, Shirou, and I will do the same with the nevermore. Whoever beats their Grimm first supports the other. Let's go!"
"We need to keep the nevermore focused on us," Ruby said as the two groups split up to complete their assigned task.
"Shirou, could you do the honors?"
Shirou nodded as he mentally commanded his fifth wave of swords to shoot forward, the uncomfortable warmth of his prana now a burning heat.
"I'm not going to be able to do that many more times, Ruby," Shirou said, watching as his swords neared the nevermore, only for it to flap its wings and knock them off course.
"That's fine. Pyrrha, how far do you think you can launch me if I jump off your shield?"
"Nowhere near high enough for you to reach it when it hovers."
Shirou grimaced as an idea formed, but not one that he liked. Shirou stabbed his swords into the ground.
"If you guys can keep its feathers off me, I should be able to ground it."
Shirou held out a hand, and a black bow, as long as he was tall, slowly formed in his hand, far slower than his usual swords would have.
"I shall shield you," Pyrrha said, her voice uncertain as she took a stance in front of Shirou, her shield up and ready.
"What are you planning, Shirou?" Yang asked.
"Your bullets aren't big enough to hurt it, and my swords aren't fast enough to penetrate its feathers. So we need something heavy and fast." Shirou held up his free hand.
"Trace, on."
A sword formed in Shirou's hand, five feet long and unadorned.
"Alteration."
Shirou intoned just as the nevermore hovered and began to launch more projectiles.
Trusting Pyrrha to keep him safe, Shirou focused on the sword as he changed it, making it more aerodynamic, denser, and sharpened to point to a razor's edge.
Taking a breath and closing his eyes, Shirou ignored the distractions around him. The howl of the feathers flying through the air, the booms of Nora's grenades behind him, and Pyrrha's grunts as she blocked projectile after projectile. Shirou knocked his modified arrow and pulled back the bow string with the sound of straining metal.
In his mind's eye, Shirou saw his target. He connected his arrow to his target and opened his eyes. It was like the world was moving at half-speed. Waiting a half beat, Shirou let the bowstring slip out of his fingers. The projectile leaped from Shirou's bow with a thunderous slam, propelling the modified sword forward with unerring accuracy.
The projectile hit the nevermore's wing joint and punched straight through until the hilt slammed into it, wrenching the wing out of position. The nevermore let out a scream as it fell and hit the ground with a crash.
"My turn!" Yang crowed and sprinted forward.
Yang fired her gauntlets behind her as she leaped. For a second her entire body glowed a bright yellow, and flames seemed to lick at her extremities as her fist came down on the nevermore's uninjured side, leaving it utterly crippled as its other wing broke.
"Ruby!" Pyrrha called and threw her shield expertly, the gold metal gleaming as it spun and hit the nevermore in the eye, causing it to throw its head back and caw.
Ruby followed the path of the shield and ran right behind it. Then, using a quick burst of her semblance to gather momentum, she brought Crescent Rose down on the nevermore's neck. The heavy, razor-sharp blade sliced the nevermores head off in a single strike.
Shirou allowed himself to relax as he saw the nevermore's body begin to smoke, signaling its death, while Yang cried out victoriously.
"That's what I'm talking about!"
Yang swept Ruby up in her arms and spun around in a circle in celebration.
"Yang! quit, we need to help Weiss!" Ruby wheezed, her brief burst of semblance not helping her aura exhaustion, and pointed to where the other fight was happening across the clearing.
Ruby was right; the heavily armored rachni proved a more challenging opponent than the nevermore. Though it did appear that Nora and Blake had managed to tangle its legs and hamper its mobility, it was still fighting viciously with its acid and free limbs.
"'Then let us provide them aid." Pyrrha said, as she snatched up her shield and let the way to engage their next foe.
Blake cursed as she dodged a stream of acid, only to get hit by one of Grimm's legs hard enough to send her flying a second later. It had been easy getting the Grimm to give chase to her group, and she and Nora had managed to tangle up two of its legs using part of her weapon. A modified katana pistol hybrid with a titanium woven ribbon hidden in the handle.
Blake had thought the girl was nuts when she asked Weiss Schnee to hit her with as much lightning dust as possible, but it had worked. Blake had used her agility to dart in and around the Grimm's legs while the others had distracted it, and Nora was able to pull it off balance and tie it off. It effectively crippled the Grimm's mobility but not its ability to fight.
Blake pushed herself up quickly. Being still was almost a death sentence against the rachni, which was making liberal use of its acid-like venom whenever it had the chance.
"Ren!" Weiss shouted, "Its eyes are a weak point."
'Smart.' Blake acknowledged though it irked her to do so.
Ren seemed to get what Weiss meant and strafed around the Grimm's front, his bladed machine pistols pumping out round after round as he did so.
The Grimm showed why it had survived as long as its size would suggest. Using its forelimbs, the Grimm shielded its face from the onslaught. Even if the bullets didn't manage to reach the Grimm's eyes, they served as a good distraction. Nora capitalized by darting forward and slamming her hammer into one of the rachni's defending legs, causing the armor to splinter. The Grimm let out a chittering shriek and batted Nora away with its damaged leg sending her rolling across the ground to stop at Blake and Wiess's feet.
"Why couldn't we get the birdie," Nora groaned as Blake pulled her to her feet.
Blake was starting to wonder the same thing as she dodged another stream of acid, pulling Nora along as she did so.
"That is it!" Weiss said with awe-inspiring volume.
Weiss brought Myrtenaster in front of her, its blade glowing a pale blue as a massive glyph of the same color formed under the Grimm. Then, with a wordless shout, Wiess reversed her grip and stabbed Myrtenaster into the ground. Ice surged towards the Grimm and exploded upward in a series of massive spires once it reached the glyph under it.
Blake saw Weiss stumble as the Grimm was all but encased in an icy field, and realized the aura expenditure to amplify the dust to the degree that Weiss had must have been immense.
Ren was quick to take advantage of the Grimm's immobilized state and began to pump a fresh clip of bullets into the Grimm's eyes. Unable to block with its limbs, the red hate-filled orbs burst under Ren's accurate fire.
The Grimm howled and thrashed, acid falling from its maw continuously. The acid combined with the rachni's rage-fueled strength to let it break the ice surrounding it.
Wiess steadied herself and closed her eyes for a moment. Then, digging deep into herself, she created a series of platforms using glyphs and air dust to hold them aloft.
"Nora, smash."
Nora's pink eye seemed to glow as Wiess's order made it to her brain, and she immediately dashed up the glyphs until she was directly over the rachni's head.
Jumping high, Nora brought her hammer up and back so far that the head almost touched her heels. Then, with perfect timing, Nora whipped the hammer forward and smashed it into the rachni's head, pulverizing its skull and ending its thrashing as its lifeless body slumped forward and began to smoke.
"Well, I guess we aren't needed after all," Pyrrha said just, and Nora landed and held her hands up as she stuck the landing.
Yang was happy to applaud her new friend, and she walked up and clapped Nora on the back with a playful smile.
"It may have taken you a while longer, but nice job taking out the big bug."
"Arachnid," Weiss grumbled, and she brushed some stray grass from her skirt tiredly before turning to Blake, the only other person who didn't seem to have a partner.
"I don't suppose you already got a relic, did you?"
Blake nodded and patted at the small pouch she wore around one leg.
"Oh my Oum, Pyrrha, we need to get our relic!"
Ruby had apparently overheard Weiss's question and began dragging Pyrrha toward the temple, which looked even more like ruins than it had ten minutes ago.
"Good." Weiss ignored Ruby's outburst and gave up all pretenses of elegance as she let her legs collapse under her, completely spent from the ice glyph she had cast.
"I'm just going to rest here for a minute while you get your ribbon."
Blake would have been irritating, but she could empathize with Weiss concerning her current weariness.
Blake moved toward the slowly fading ice prison and disintegrating Grimm. With her sheath that doubled as a cleaver, Blake began to hack at the ice surrounding where she estimated her ribbon and sword would be.
Hearing someone approach her, she glanced over her shoulder between swings to see Shirou.
"Need a hand?"
"Please."
Between the two of them, they made short work of the ice, and Shirou found Blake's sword in no time. Reaching into the ice, Shirou gave it a tug and pulled it free, the ribbon rapidly retracting into the hilt as he did so.
In the second it took for the ribbon to retract, Shirou analyzed Gamble Shroud, and his eye widened as its history became known to him.
During her service to the White Fang, Gamble Shroud had been used to commit crime after crime by Blake Belladonna. Robberies, assaults, sabotage, but never murder. And that was the only thing that kept Shirou from turning and knocking Blake unconscious.
But even still, he hesitated to give the sword back to its owner, unsure if he should trust someone who he now knew to be a terrorist.
But his hesitation only lasted a second. Blake hadn't tried to hurt anyone and had even taken the lead in distracting the rachni. And there was something else that Shirou could feel within the steel. Regret. Deep, weary regret, had all but steeped into the blade. Shirou handed Gamble Shroud to Blake, making a silent commitment to watch her closely until he had a better idea of her character.
"Guys!" Ruby waved happily. "Pyrrha and I got our relic. Are you all ready to go back to Beacon?"
"'Yes!" Nora said. "I'm starving, and there's a pile of pancakes in the cafeteria with my name on them."
Nobody argued, and as Shirou began to walk away from the ice and disintegrating body of the rachni, he never noticed a small dark bug-like creature fly out of the ice until he felt something sting his neck. Clapping a hand against his skin Shirou didn't feel anything amiss.
"Alright there, Handsome?" Yang asked as she came to walk beside Shirou.
"Yeah, just a bug bite."
Yang snickered behind her hand and surreptitiously pointed toward Weiss's back.
"I thought the ice queen over there was the only one with bug bites."
Shirou shook his head and tried not to smile as Yang continued to giggle at her own joke.
"You're horrible."
"I think the word you're looking for is hilarious."
The two continued to banter lightly as they entered the trees and returned to Beacon Academy.
They hadn't run into any more Grimm during the trek back to the cliffs that they needed to climb to get back to Beacon, and for that, Shirou was grateful. Ascending the ridge had been a bit of a challenge but not a time-consuming one, and Goodwitch was there to greet them when they finally made it to the top.
"Congratulations, all of you. You successfully completed your initiation. Please go to the cafeteria and get some lunch, then head to the auditorium by one o'clock for team announcements."
"Food." Nora said, longingly, leaning on Ren dramatically. "Carry me, Ren.
Yang looked from Nora to Shirou, and a sly grin formed on her lips.
"Good idea Nora," Yang said before she hopped onto Shirou's back, her legs snaking around his waist and arms around his neck.
"To the cafeteria!"
Shirou grunted and stumbled forward, trying to keep his balance.
"Yang! What are you doing?"
"Getting a piggyback, obviously. Why? I'm not heavy or anything, am I, Shirou?"
Shirou felt a shiver go up his spine at Yang's tone. People may have often said Shirou lacked any sense of self-preservation, but he liked to think he proved them all wrong with his response.
"Not at all." Shirou said, defeated
Shirou ignored everyone's amused looks and led the way to the cafeteria to celebrate their success with food and laughter. Shirou did his best to join in, but in the back of his mind, he couldn't help but lament how far away he was from his dream. He knew how much potential his power had, but he had yet to reach that pinnacle. Not even close if he compared himself to Archer. That smug bastard could have taken out both the rachni and the nevermore in a second and still have enough energy to carry everyone out on his back if he needed to. Shirou pushed those thoughts aside. He had made a commitment with himself to never become like that man. Shirou had a purpose beyond the endless battlefield.
The group only left the cafeteria when Weiss noted the time and ushered everybody out and towards the auditorium.
"These must be the current students," Pyrrha said, and Shirou couldn't fault her deduction given the plethora of unfamiliar faces that milled about.
Ruby, never fond of crowds, winced slightly and edged closer to Shirou and Yang as they made their way closer to the stage where Ozpin was standing and waiting.
"Thank you all for being here today," Ozpin announced into his microphone, almost instantly hushing the chatter throughout the room.
"I thank you because by standing in this room, you have all proven that you have what it takes to become a protector of our world. To become Hunters. It is my honor to welcome several incoming first-year students. Today you have succeeded in taking your first step in becoming one of the elite few to have graduated from our prestigious institution. This should be a day of celebration, which is why I hesitate to voice what I'm about to tell you."
A screen set up behind Ozpin came to life and showed a picture of a blonde boy with bright blue eyes and an even brighter smile.
Shirou felt a cold hand grip his heart. It was Jaune.
"Though most of you succeeded, one of your numbers did not. Jaune Arc died today in the Emerald Forest."
Ruby let out a small whimper, and tears formed in her eyes under Pyrrha's concerned gaze. Yang wrapped an arm around Ruby even as she wiped her own eyes and glowered at the floor, unwilling to keep looking at Jaune.
Shirou didn't look away. He couldn't. Shirou stared at the screen behind Ozpin, and his interactions with Jaune burned in his mind. Jaune had never wielded Crocea Mors. Shirou had just assumed he had a different training blade. Jaune had been terrified throughout the morning, and Shirou had just thought it was nerves. Jaune needed to be saved. Shirou failed to see that.
"It is not easy to realize how close death stands to those of us in this profession. So let us observe a moment of silence to honor Jaune Arc's passing and reflect upon what it means to live a life in service to something great."
Ozpin bowed his head, and the room became completely silent as everyone copied his action.
'I'll save everyone in front of me.'
The words weighed heavily on Shirou's mind, even as his stomach clenched and guilt clawed at his heart.
'You'll never be able to save anyone.'
The words rang so clearly in Shirou's mind that he could almost see Archer's figure standing there, encased in his back armor and red mantle, staring right through him with his cold gray eyes.
Shirou grit his teeth and refocused on Ozpin.
"Thank you, I shall now announce the newly formed first-year teams. When I call your name, please come to the stage. Cardin Winchester, Russel Thrush, Dove Bronzewing, and Sky Lark."
As Ozpin called out their names, their initials appeared on the screen, replacing Jaune's image, and combined to become CRDL. Each of the boys walked onto the stage and stood proudly in line, arms held behind their backs.
"You four shall be team Cardinal, led by Cardin Winchester."
A man with burnt orange hair and heavy armor stood straighter at the announcement and smiled, before the group walked off the stage and blended back into the crowd.
"Blake Belladonna, Lie Ren, Nora Valkyrie, and Weiss Schnee."
Weiss stiffened beside Shirou before she made her way up with Blake, Nora, and Ren, and again the letters on the screen combined to become BRNS.
"You four will become Team Bronze, led by Weiss Schnee."
Weiss's stoic mask broke, and she beamed brightly at Ozpin's announcement.
"Congratulations, Weiss," Nora said loudly enough for the whole room to hear as she gave the girl a congratulatory punch on the arm that almost knocked Weiss off her feet. Laughter rippled from the crowd, and Weiss's face flushed red. Weiss shot Nora a frustrated glare and led her new team off the stage.
Ruby glanced around the room, her heart beating forcefully against her ribs as she bit her lip. Ruby had been hoping that she and Yang would be on the same team, and now she was really hoping that was the case since Yang was partnered with Shirou.
"Ruby Rose, Pyrrha Nikos..."
Ruby began to dance from foot to foot, hands clasped in front of her.
"Yang Xiao Long, and Shirou Emiya."
"Yeah!" Ruby threw her arms in the air, and her eyes shined before she remembered where she was standing, and everyone turned to stare at her.
Flushing red, Ruby shrank and resisted the urge to pull her hood over her head as she glanced at Shirou, who gave her a kind smile indicating her to follow him as he made his way to the stage.
The four of them walked onto the stage, and Shirou kept his eyes on the screen as the letters combined to spell out SPYR.
Forming a line in front of Ozpin, Shirou didn't hesitate to meet the man's gaze as he looked each of them over.
"You four will make up Beacon's last first-year team and shall be known as team Sapphire, led by Ruby Rose."
Yes, I am horribly embarrassed by chapter 4. Honestly, such a silly mistake on my part. This chapter is hopefully error-free and it is the longest of the story so far. It was also the most difficult to write. This is because so many big decisions were made that will affect the story moving forward.
So, yes, Jaune is dead. But unfortunately, Shirou had to replace someone, and killing a character is an excellent way to create tension and drama in the story. It should also give me some room to showcase Shirou's mentality.
Lastly, big thanks to everyone who is reading, favoriting and following this story and my profile. The reviews people have left have been helpful, and a quick shout-out to the individual who realized that, yes, I'm a big Mass Effect nerd.
