Author's Headnote: What's this? A New Fanfiction? Don't you have already enough on your plate? Yes, I do. Mostly because I keep writing myself into a block. Apathy or something, I don't know. However, this is a rule 63 Ruby Rose story with a twist. A complete retelling of RWBY, with swapping out Ruby Rose with a male counterpart. I'm gonna say this now, Ruby's male counterpart isn't going to be akin to the canon character. RWBY is owned by Roosterteeth and the late Monty Oum.
RWBN: A RWBY AU: Rueben Rose
City of Vale, May 10, Sunday, Evening, Shopping District
It is another Sunday night at Remnant. Though, for traveling nomad Rueben Rose, it's quite somber. Being he's low on dust to light up the lamps in his tent. He's been wandering around Eastern Sanus ever since he was ten years old... why? Well, it's a long story.
Now, who is Rueben Rose? Well for one. He's a sixteen-year-old boy, around 5'9 in height. With a thin body shape, along with small muscles due to the amount of hard work he puts up having to live alone. Most kids his age wouldn't know the survival skills he does. He dabbles in mechanics in his past time, though he never has enough working parts to make anything, anyway. He only has basic training in combat thanks to some guy that comes over once every six months. So, he knows only basic skills with a sword.
He wears ripped black jeans and with a white T-shirt, along with a dark red jacket with a black hood stitched onto it. His doing. He also wears an old sneaker on his left foot, color worn out. And a black combat boot on his right. His hair can be described as a sharp black. Just black. It's short, straight and uncombed which means it's quite messy. The most important detail is his silver eyes. Though, he doesn't know what's so important about them.
No less, for self-defense, he carries an old, rusty longsword. It was found off a skeleton. Figured that the dead body didn't need it, so he took it. Weapons aren't quite interesting to him, but he has one on him to simply get by. The sword is a longsword. Meaning it's two-handed and fights like a sword. Not like a great sword, which is more so of a swinging bludgeon than a sword.
Fire dust is what he needs and thankfully he managed to scrounge up enough lien to get some new dust to get by. After that, he can get back and warm up his camp and sleep in the outdoors. Not like he has a choice anyway; his hometown is long gone.
And as he approaches the nearby store: 'from dust till dawn', he sees 4 members of the White Fang, they appear to be leaving from the store, with bags seemingly heavy to follow. Three of them looked like normal members, being a mostly white outfit, grimm mask covering the eyes, black vest with the White Fang logo on it. The usually stuff. He sees them sometimes in the wilderness, but avoids them. But one stood out. His outfit was black, consisting of a leather jacket and jeans, with some minor armor around the legs and arms. The White Fang logo is nowhere to be seen. His hair was bright red, and his mask looked different from the others. Of course, being a faunas, he has an animal trait, in his case it's bullhorns. He can handle common thugs, but the White Fang aren't common thugs, so he decides to hide.
However, he can hear one of them sniffing.
"There's a witness" the one in black said, likely the leader.
"What do we do?" One of the members asked.
"We don't leave witnesses alive. We killed the clerk; we can kill some straggler."
"On it, sir."
It didn't take very long, but the mooks manage to find Rueben, as he was hiding right behind the store. Guns were pointed toward Rueben in which his hands were raised in the air.
"By any chance, do you guys take prisoners?" Rueben asked, trying to lighten up the mood.
The mooks look toward each other, they were confused to the reaction. During that time Rueben had punched the middle one in the gut, and took his gun. He then rolled downward and got away from them. After that, he intended to escape, but the mooks opened fire on him.
Rueben draws his sword. He takes some damage, given that his aura is week. He's suffered some damage. His aura isn't that tough, especially when it comes to physical attacks, melee or ranged. So, the guy who taught him how to fight told him to not rely on his aura, being that it can break easily.
Remembering that, he decides to charge in and attack the mooks in an aggressive, offensive manner. Being that it's a rusty sword, he's attacking with the blunt part of the blade to avoid being a murderer. Plus, it's the only part of the weapon that can hurt them. He does a series of bludgeons, followed by some more bludgeons. He completely wacks the White Fang mooks out of consciousness, using the advice he was given: Fast and quick attacks. He sheathes his sword, though, he had trouble doing so, being that it bent slightly.
After that, it's safe to say he can leave the area before he gets in more trouble. But then suddenly... the White Fang Commander had confronted Rueben and fired a warning shot.
"That's not a warning shot, that's to get your attention." The White Fang Commander stated. "Draw your blade." he said, drawing a red straight-edged katana.
Rueben, seeing there's no way out of this, draws his rusty sword. "I suppose there's no way we can talk about this?" he said, in a sarcastic tone, to mask his fear.
"No, there isn't. Now let's see how you fight." the White Fang commander added.
From the looks of it, he's a skilled swordsman. So, he observes.
The all of the sudden. The White Fang Commander changes to a relaxed stance.
"Well, what are you waiting for? Make the first strike!" the commander taunted.
Falling for the taunt, Rueben went in and made the first strike, only for it to be parried completely by his sword. The reaction catches the novice fighter-off guard, in which the White Fang Commander had pulled down on his blade, breaking Rueben's guard
The White Fang Commander then took the time to slice vertically at Rueben, which further damages his weak aura. Rueben's eyes are unable to percieve the rapid movements by his strong opponent. And not to mention these attacks seem to be minorly cutting through the aura, too.
He then does a horizontal slice that pushes him back. Being that his aura is weak, it's likely nearly depleted by now.
And speaking of, his opponent comes in for another attack. In which Rueben tries to block with the sword. He does manage to block it, though he can see that the commander's blade is slowly cutting through.
"How pathetic." The commander stated. "I was expecting someone able to take on my guards to be more... combat able." he added, and then pushed his sword through, destroying the blade. Rueben, then sucker-punched the commander in the gut, and tried to run away. However, he moves faster than Rueben can run, which forces him to pick up one of the guns from the white fang mooks. Rueben then fired the gun at the White Fang commander.
To his surprise, he sees the commander slicing apart each bullet that is fired towards him in swift action and pace. Guess there's a reason for his leader position, Remnant doesn't have many swordsmen with that skill. He keeps firing until the clip is empty and throws the gun at the commander, only for him to slice the gun in two. The commander then grins.
"Raw, but the potential in you is quite... high... despite the weakness." the commander said, approaching Rueben. He was walking slowly and menacingly, playing around with the blade, the gin on his face grows larger. "But it's been a while since someone managed to land a hit on me. Even if you're just a novice at the blade, I am impressed. Such a shame you'll never reach your aforementioned potential." he added, followed by him quickly to stop moving and pulling out a gun, he had then fired at Rueben.
Everything faded to black.
Vale Hospital, May 10, Sunday, Late Night, Ward 301
Rueben had woken up... from his memory, and looks... he appears to have been shot in the head... and survived. He survived being shot in the head... which is weird enough. Though... how did he get here? And who brought him here? It's as if he was being watched over...
"I see you're finally awake." a voice said.
Rueben then turned toward the direction he heard the voice. He saw a man in a red suit, with green eyes and silver hair. He is also wearing a pair of glasses, and has a cain on him. Rueben had never seen this person before ever in his life.
"Gah!" Rueben screamed.
"Worry not, I am here on good intentions." the man re-assured.
"Where am I?"
"You're in the hospital."
Well, that would make sense, being that the last thing he remembers is being shot.
"Who... are you?" Rueben asked.
"I assume your mother didn't tell you about me, then?" the man said.
"You... knew my mother?"
"I'll take that as a no, then."
"My mother was a farmer, she said she always was one. She ran a strawberry farm. Pretty sure strawberry farming isn't that exciting..."
The man chuckled. "So she was, apparently." he stated.
"So... who are you, then?" Rueben asked.
"The headmaster of Beacon Academy, Ozpin." Ozpin introduced himself. "And you?"
"Rueben Rose." Rueben responded.
"I must say, for someone your age, you seem to be quite independent."
"Uh, what's that supposed to mean?" Rueben asked.
"As my duty as headmaster, I need to watch over the nearby wilderness. And my scouts had seen you, a teenager just a year short from applying to a huntsman academy survive in grimm infested wilderness all on your own." Ozpin stated.
"Well, I avoided the grimm, not fight them. It'd be suicide for someone like me to fight them on my own, and of my skills."
"You have an unlocked aura, so that's a start."
"Yes... however, it's quite weak in comparison to most unlocked auras."
"That just means there's more to shape."
"So... are you buttering me up to enroll your school without an application? If so, the answer is yes." Rueben said, getting to the point.
"Straight to the point. Indeed, I am offering you to join my school, but not out of pity. I simply accept students who I believe would reach their full potential. Regardless of their starting skill."
"And those who don't?"
"Well, you're going to learn about that in a couple of days."
"Uh..."
"I'm not going to tell you what it is. So, why do you want to join?"
"I've heard these kinds of academies have free dorms, along with self-provided catering. Which means I get free food and a roof under my head for four years."
"That's a... practical answer."
"I like to see the benefits of my action."
"Well, I hope that doesn't lead anywhere... drastic."
"Anyways... how did I get in the hospital?"
"You were brought here by a trusted huntsman."
"How bad was it?"
"Oh, your aura took the hit, which drained it completely. You then passed unconscious; it had looked like you died."
"So... why was I brought here in the first place?"
"We weren't sure of the state you were in. But no less, I'll let the nurse know that you're ready to depart. Make sure you gather your belongings tonight."
"Alright, I will."
Bullhead, May 11, Monday, Afternoon, from Vale to Beacon
Bullheads are aircrafts designed to transport a populace from one area to another by air. They're a means of transportation when it comes to travelling across Remnant in wide distances, or when travelling to Beacon Academy, which is on a steep hillside.
Rueben is in a bullhead, carrying a traveler's pack, containing just about everything one would have on when they're travelling the wilderness. Despite this, no eyes seem to be on him. Eventually walks toward one of the Television monitors. They're reciting last nights events.
"The Faunas Rights Movement turned Terrorist Organization, known as the White Fang, had attacked a dust store last night. Most of the perpetrators were pursued by an unknown vigilante. Interrogation reports showed that only their leader escaped, and likely had killed the one responsible for trying to intercept their plan. The name of this leader still remains unknown, but a sketch artist has depicted him from what he had come up with from reports."
An image of a man in a trench coat with a katana and sliced back hair appeared with a text box saying 'foolishness'. The quality of the sketch looks like it was made by a teenager with poor art skills.
"And now the police are searching for a new sketch artist, more at 7 on VNN."
The monitor had shut off. And then a projection of someone he didn't recognize appeared, it was a woman, middle aged.
"Welcome to Beacon Academy. For the next four years, you will be learning to hone your skills to defend Remnant against the grimm. Know that things will not be easy, and we will try to push every student to their limit. Even those who had come here by easy means will find no easy road here." The hologram said, before disappearing.
"What was that about?" Rueben asked himself.
He then sees a blonde boy, roughly around the same age as him, wearing plate armor on his torso panicking after the message appears. He is then seen pacing around in a panicked fashion. Five seconds later, he takes a deep breath and calms down. And now he wonders what's with him...
"Are you nervous?" a feminine voice behind Rueben said, which catches him off guard.
"GAH!" Rueben screamed, and then jumped facing towards the source of the voice.
"Oh, sorry. Didn't mean to startle you." the girl said.
Much like the boy, she's armored, though her armor looks more bronze. Her hair is red, and her eyes are green. The armor is well shown right around that her chest is shown by the top. Her skirt also appears to have some metallic features on it, though not entirely, since she can move around it. Her boots are also made of metal, though, they appeared to be heeled, though only by one or two inches. Anything higher would be impractical for combat, even Rueben can say that.
She also has bronze bracers. And on the back, there is a shield and a sword sticking out. From the looks of it, she's proficient at fighting, though not fighting grimm.
"Uhh... ya, it's a first day at a combat school. Not really sure what to expect." Rueben said.
"Surely it'd be similar to Sanctum back home, or Signal in your case..." the girl said.
"Excuse me?"
"You did go to a school before?"
"Homeschooled for a bit, but then I had to take it from wilderness smarts. I grew up a nomadic lifestyle."
"That explains your backpack."
"Ya... I travelled a lot, mostly stayed near the settlements and roads, never strayed too far into the wilderness."
"So that means you've encountered grimm, right?"
"Ya... sort of..." Rueben said, trying to impress her without straight-up lying.
"I see, then I'm glad I get to know someone with some experience." the girl said, sounding impressed and awkward at the same time.
Rueben can feel the bullhead stopping. Guess the time talking to that girl has come to an end.
"Oh, hey... my names Rueben by the way." Rueben said, introducing himself before he leaves.
"Nice to meet you!" the girl said.
"Are you... going to tell me yours?"
"I thought everyone knew my name."
"I never heard of you; this is the first time I've seen you."
"Oh..." the girl said, with a minor blush on her face. "Well, that's embarrassing, my names Pyrrha by the way." Pyrrha introduced herself.
Author's Footnote: Guessing by after you're reading this. I'm not going to copy-paste the script of Canon RWBY, different protagonist means different events. I'm also gonna have some liberties with canon, as with all my fanfics so far. But this one is going to take steps further. And don't worry Rueben's not gonna be some Jaune knock-off, nor is he gonna be overpowered protagonist, nor a Harem protagonist. I can assure you, he's not gonna be just some blank slate character. Also, in this scenario, I'm using the OC tag instead of the Ruby R. tag to avoid getting in trouble, if that's a mistake, I'm gonna change it.