Chapter 2: Chapter 2 What's wrong with these people
A/N: I did say these would be infrequent but I had some spare time so I thought I'd at least try to get a few chapters out of the way. Just a reminder- When I refer to them as Alexandrite/Sapphire it's because they're in disguise, when they're Nova and Luna it's out of disguise. It's an unorthodox system but it helps me mentally keep track of everything.
As per the drill: I do not own RWBY, I just own my OC's and unique plot points etc.
Updated: 27/10/22
Chapter 2: When's the plot kicking in?
Sapphire felt her head spinning as she, and her team, were dragged around the academy on a 'grand tour' led by none other than goldilocks and red hood.
Team RWBY lead them through the halls of Beacon, "Aaand here is the Library," Ruby pointed out as they made their stop.
Hex spoke up feeling her brain overheating trying to remember all the locations, "Is this everything at Beacon? I feel like I'm gonna need a GPS or something just to navigate this place…." she made no attempt to hide the awe in her voice, a sentiment which was echoed in the minds of her teammates.
"I'm glad I have an excellent sense of direction," Alexandrite said smugly, folding his arms and what everyone could assume was a smile beneath his mask.
"Oh please you get lost on the way to the bathroom," Sapphire berated her brother. Alex blushed in embarrassment shaking his head bashfully, "I... uh... well you see..." his feeble attempt at covering for himself just made the rest of them laugh harder. He didn't know if it was the atmosphere of the academy or just team RWBY that made him feel so open that he would attempt to converse more than basic responses.
"Nonono this isn't the final stop at all, we haven't shown the best place yet," Yang said with a grin.
"What could be better than the Library?" Nitro said sarcastically, his eyes rolling and Weiss shot him a peeved glare. Yang's grin grew wider, as they approached their final destination, "THE CAFETERIA!". Her cheer was interrupted by a loud gurgling noise, she blushed, "I guess I'm still hungry..."
"Yang! You just ate!" Weiss said annoyed at the embarrassing display.
"Well... I didn't get to finish!" she said exasperatedly. Alex just chuckled, "It's fine we could do with some food too, we haven't eaten since...yesterday?" he turned to his team to which they nodded feverishly.
The two teams joined together at a couple of tables and benches to sit and talk, mostly because team RWBY was dragged away from their meal earlier. Beacon cafeteria was... massive to say the least. A grand hall housing an innumerable amount of benches, enormous segmented windows, and perhaps one of the widest selections of foods anyone had ever seen.
Nitro felt his jaw drop, "Are they kidding? I feel like we're being spoiled here..." he said feeling his hunger increasing exponentially. Even Hex who wasn't much for eating unless necessary felt the temptation overwhelm her. The Zephyrs briefly glanced at each other, a simultaneous nod was mirrored between them before they disappeared in a flash, the sheer force of their motion leaving a gust of wind behind and a very bewildered team RWBY.
Alex facepalmed, dragging his hand down his face, "That glutton... Saph you can ahead and..." he turned to the empty spot where his sister was. He had to blink a few times to realize she was also with the other two loading their trays to the brim.
Alex sat down at the table's opposite side to team RWBY, Yang had a mouthful of chicken leg, Blake silently munching on what appeared to be tuna, and Weiss just sat there glaring at Ruby who was currently tearing into a plate of cookies. "Aren't you gonna eat anything?" Yang asked swallowing her food. Alex shook his head, "I'll eat later, I've been trained to go several days without..." his words fell short as his team came back and sat next to him, Sapphire handing him a plate loaded to the brim with an assortment of tuna fish and grilled salmon. He felt his throat dry up and his mouth watering beneath his mask. Hex smirked raising an eyebrow, "Sapphire thought you might be hungry... you can't fool anyone cap'n."
Alex felt his mind go blank and he had to compose himself for a moment, it took every ounce of willpower to stop himself from ravishing the plate before him. Team RWBY watched the masked siblings intensely, awaiting the moment they took off their masks to eat. Especially Blake, whose eyes were glued to their every movement. In fact... they were so focused that they didn't even notice the bits of food slowly disappearing. They blinked in bewilderment for a moment, a simultaneous "Huh?"
Alex chuckled, "Hey I think Ozpin is trying to grab your attention," he said causing all members of team RWBY to briefly look away, staring at the emptiness behind them. "HEY! Not funny!" Ruby yelled in protest.
"Did you think you'd get to see behind these masks so easily?" The ASHN leader said wiping his hands with a napkin.
Team RWBY could only gawk at the suddenly empty plates, "HOW?!" came the resounding response.
"Trade ninja secret," Alex responded to which they all groaned.
"So, proper introduction time, I'm Yang, and this little red over here is my baby sister, but I'm sure your leader already knows her," She gestured to Ruby, a devilish smile on her face. "Yang stoppp," Ruby tried shoving away the blonde as she tried to mess up her hair.
"Ruby Rose, leader of Team RWBY and youngest huntress trainee at Beacon, Ice princess over to my left is Weiss Schnee and the quiet, broody one next to Yang is Blake." Ruby introduced her team puffing out her chest proudly.
"Ice Princess? Seems... fitting.." Sapphire said rubbing her chin. Weiss just huffed in annoyance at the name.
"Weiss Schnee, heiress of the Schnee Dust Company, a pleasure to meet you," Weiss said with her usual air of pompousness to which team ASHN internally gagged.
Sapphire cheerily shook the heiress' hand and Weiss could've sworn she the younger girl's eyes were glowing. Blake visibly flinched at the mention of the SDC, an action that did not go unnoticed by the ASHN leader, especially the subtle twitching of the black bow atop her head.
Well, that's ironic, a hidden Faunus girl in a team with the heiress to the company that's the enemy of all Faunus, wonder if Oz did that intentionally, Alex pondered. He was no fan of the SDC either, not because of his Faunus heritage or their mistreatment of his kind, but because of the company's ethics in general. They exploited their workers and employed the slimiest of business tactics to narrowly avoid heavy taxation and skirt just above the labour laws for profit. They were borderline slavers and he despised that about them but that was no reason to hold resentment toward the Schnee heiress. After all... the actions of parents should not dictate the child.
Alexandrite was the first to introduce himself. "A pleasure to meet you all, I am Alexandrite Lucius and this adorable blue next to me is my little sister Sapphire Lucius, we're uh... ninjas hence our outfits," he said almost trying to convince himself of his own lie. In reality, they barely had any sort of ninja training, the most they knew how to do was move silently.
Nitro followed up "And I'm Nitro Zephyr, some peeps call me Speedy, some call me slick, some people don't even call me, I'm trained in Mixed Martial Arts and boxing, my partner and sister here is Hex," he gestured for the purplette to give her intro.
"I specialize in tech and espionage," Hex said looking at the teens before her as if analyzing them with her eyes. She stopped on Yang for a moment, the wild blonde was...eye-catching to say the least.
"Like spy stuff?" this came from the inquisitive red tearing Hex from her thoughts.
"Kinda, more like undercover operations and tactical assault…" her words trailed off as she could see it was all going over the younger girl's head. "SO YOU ARE LIKE A SECRET AGENT?! OH MY GOSH, THAT IS SO COOL!" Ruby squealed.
Weiss pinched her partner causing Ruby to yelp in pain, "It won't be much of a secret if you yell it to the world!". Ruby gave her big eyes and apologized, Hex felt a little bad for her, "No it's quite alright.". It seemed her apologies were unnecessary since Ruby instantly recovered like someone turned a light switch off and then on.
"So have you guys figured out what dorms you are in?" Blake asked.
"Oz kinda dumped us out here with you guys, not that that's a bad thing but we aren't really sure of anything right now," Nitro said, he was afraid he came off as rude but team RWBY seemed to pay no heed. He had a bad habit of being sarcastic and rude when it wasn't intentional.
Alexandrite spoke up, "Class schedules, sleeping arrangements, necessary textbooks," he counted on his fingers.
"Well you can just hang out with us at our dorm until it's sorted, I'm sure the old man has something for you," Yang said.
It was then that team ASHN received a text on their scrolls simultaneously, it read:
"Your assigned dorm is opposite to team RWBY, to the left of Team JNPR, Room 406, you should find all your requirements met." (A/N I Don't actually know what the room numbers are I just made this up)
"It's like he predicted this," Weiss said absently.
"Don't question it… that man moves in mysterious ways," Alexandrite said.
'He's not the only one' thought Blake as they moved to go visit the ASHN dorm.
Inside team ASHN's room were two sets of bunk beds, similar to the one for team RWBY however the wallpaper was orange.
"Wait you guys actually GOT bunk beds?! We had to make ours..." Ruby looked on with a pout in her room. "For what it's worth red, your attempt at makeshift bunk beds was pretty solid." Alex complimented making the red leader give a shit-eating grin and thumbs up, the smile reflected on Alex though no one could really see behind the mask.
"Hex," Alexandrite said. The girl simply nodded and pulled out a small device shaped like a remote and threw it into the room. A blue glow enveloped the space and three beeps were heard. "All clear," She finally said.
Team RWBY observed curiously, "Uh what did you just do?" Ruby asked.
"Remote Tech and Radio sweep or RTR for short, lets me know if there are any unwanted 'bugs' in our room," Hex replied.
"Don't you think that's a little, I don't know… much?" Yang asked.
"Call us paranoid, we don't expect you to fully understand, at least not yet," Nitro said as he began moving the team's backpacks into the room.
"I call top bunk!" Sapphire squealed as she barged into the room, back at Haven all they had were simple rooms, she always wanted bunk beds.
Her older brother could only look on with a contented expression, glad that his sister could have some enjoyment in her life. Ruby took notice of this.
"Aw look at you all happy, didn't take you for the doting older brother type," Ruby nudged Alexandrite. He was surprised she was able to even tell his expression through his mask. "Honestly I haven't seen her this happy in a while, and I mean someone has to dote on her, it's been just us for so long I.." He cut himself off and mentally chastised himself, he was revealing too much.
"Hey what do you mean?" Ruby asked but her question met with deaf ears as he turned his back to her and walked into the room, taking his bag from Nitro and placing it onto the bottom bunk of Sapphire's bed.
"Where did you get those bags?" Yang asked bewildered, they had been walking around hands-free all day, except hex who had a backpack.
"Hyper-compressed storage cubes," Hex said rolling four cubes that looked like large dice in her hand. "Super compacts all our non-breakables like clothing bags, into vacuum containers locked by hybrid dust insulators." She explained as if it were the most simple thing in the world.
"But… physics…" Weiss tried to think about it but her head started spinning.
"Shhh it's okay… this is really advanced particle mass manipulation… don't think too much." Hex snickered at her reaction, especially the face she made when Hex pressed the top of the cube and it expanded into a full-sized duffel bag.
"Hey, we really appreciate you guys helping us out today and showing us around," Nitro said trying to be polite, he had to make a conscious effort on his image after all.
"Oh, it really was a lot of fun for us too, glad we got to make new friends!" Ruby said with a smile, inwardly she was a little disappointed that she wouldn't be able to prod Alexandrite further.
The statement caught them all by surprise, this was the first time anyone had outright declared they were friends. It wasn't in their mental code to just register someone as more than an asset or a liability upon meeting. "Friends huh... Yeah, we're friends now," Alexandrite said almost to himself. Nitro raised his eyebrow and Hex was smiling a little. inwardly they were still very much cautious.
Ozpin trusts team RWBY and their leader trusts Ozpin so... in their rationale, it was safe to become 'friends' with team RWBY. Sapphire herself was worried that her brother would be stuck to just their team, he needed to socialize, he needs to act like a teenager. Some things really can't be helped when you were forced to grow up too quickly.
"We'll leave you guys to get settled in, dinner is at six if y'all are hungry by that time," Yang said as she ushered her team back to their own rooms.
As team RWBY exited and were confirmed out of sight and hearing range, team ASHN breathed their final breath of relief. All tension is finally gone from them.
Alexandrite pulled off his hood and mask, as did Sapphire. His face was now out in the open more or less, the evening light cascading over a light pink jagged scar that ran from the top of his left brow to his upper cheek. The siblings then removed the wigs that had lain atop their heads revealing their true hair color. Hair silver as if it were moonlight, except Nova Alexandrite's had orange tips and Luna's had blue tips. Two small horns poked out from the top of both siblings' heads. Their skin was light in colour, not pale, more of a creamy coffee colour, it was also lightly patterned with a scaly texture, mainly around their hands and cheek areas.
"Shit finally, I'm out of that stuffy disguise" Nova said. As he spoke, small fangs poked out from under/over his lips.
"Speak for yourself you don't have to wear pink hair all day!" Luna said angrily.
"Honestly the pink actually suits you," Hex said.
The younger girl could only huff and turn her head pink dusting her cheeks, "That's because I look good in everything," she retorted. "Remind me why we have to wear these stuffy outfits?"
Nova sighed, "It's for our own good remember? New identities, new school. The less people that know who we are the better."
"Dude it's been ten years, I doubt anyone would recognize you guys even if you weren't in your disguises," Nitro said dryly.
"It's a precaution, besides people tend to treat you differently when you're a Faunus. The world just hasn't let go of its biases towards our kind so anything that helps us move about freely is a bonus."
Luna threw her wig across the room as it landed softly on Nitro's face, "Right... and whoever's been hunting us is the ones who tried to kill us at Haven. Always a ray of sunshine with you, isn't it brother?"
"Calm down princess, we need to get some rest before dinner, or have you forgotten we spent the last 15 hours traveling," Nova said.
"I agree with our fearless leader, I could do with some shut-eye," Nitro yawned as he spoke. The team members climbed into their bunks to rest for a few hours.
"How's your control? I noticed your eyes glowing faintly a while ago" Nova asked his sister, sending her a concerned look.
The blue-clad girl just shrugged, "It's nothing, just got a little irritated from that Schnee girl, no spikes in emotions otherwise, so no loss of control, what about you?"
The team leader just let out a breath, "It's been flaring up a lot, you guys probably could feel it when you were near enough to me, this power, it's getting more difficult to control. My instincts are running wilder and it's getting out of hand." Nova said worriedly.
Luna just put an arm on her brother's shoulder. "Hey, it's just the lack of sleep and stress. You've been pushing yourself too hard, you need a break. Your powers are more unpredictable than mine, if you lose control over yourself it could be bad."
"Yeah, I know… but we don't have time for relaxation. We came to Beacon for a fresh start, a new life. If we get complacent all of it could disappear…" Nova said darkly. Everyone on the team wanted to dispute him but they knew he was right.
It was roughly around 6:30 when team ASHN awoke, just in time for dinner. Dragging his body out of bed, Nova felt his bones ache with exhaustion. He wanted nothing more than to just lay around in bed but the dining hall was closed at nine, and knowing his sleep schedule, he'd be awake and starving come the early hours of the morning. He managed to rouse his team, slowly but surely donning his disguise once more. He hated it, pretending to be someone else, not being able to freely express his thoughts and emotions because he had to pretend to be this secretive leader. If he was being honest, the mask was just annoying... but it kept his identity safe so he had to bear the discomfort.
"This outfit is going to make me sick one day..." Sapphire said walking out of the bathroom in her disguise.
Alex rolled his eyes, "Pfft, you don't have the body temperature of a furnace, this thing gets really hot after a while." he reached around to his shoulder unconsciously tracing his birthmark, a flame, the symbol of his Aspect.
Nitro and Hex refused to awaken, "...mm... sleepy... fuck off...ate enough..." Hex mumbled, her head buried in her pillow. Nitro just snored louder in response to his leader's attempt. The dragon siblings just shrugged and made the trek alone. The halls of Beacon weren't quite as bustling as they expected, most students paid them no mind while some just stared. It didn't bother them if they were attracting stares, after all, their identities were hidden, and they were safe.
They were well into their meals when someone called out to them.
"Oh hey, it's you guys! You're the new transfer students, right? Heard about your team RWBY," A happy-looking blonde male strutted over to the table where they sat. Trailing behind him, a rather hyper-looking orange-haired girl, a black-haired tall boy with a pink streak in his hair, and a redhead.
Alex swallowed his mouthful of food, which looked odd since his mouth was moving behind his mask, "Um not to be rude but uh, do we know you?".
"Name's Jaune Arc, short, sweet, and rolls off the tongue, ladies love it." The statement made the teens' sweat drop, the oblivious blonde carried on, "This is my team, Pyrrha, Nora, and Ren," he gestured to the red-head, orange-haired girl and tall boy respectively. "You don't know us but you will. We saw you walking around with Ruby and the others a while ago, kinda wanted to introduce ourselves you know?" he finished.
Pyrrha giggled "Jaunne thought your ninja masks were cool and wanted to say hi, he just had trouble coming up with a reason to meet you," she said much to Jaune's embarrassment. "Pyrrha!" he exclaimed a blush prevalent on his features.
Alex laughed a little, "I'm Alexandrite Lucius, this is my little sister Sapphire and my teammates Nitro and Hex, who aren't here at the moment," he introduced them.
Nora perked up at the introduction of Sapphire. There was a brief moment of staring between the orangette and the tiny Sapphire, before Nora shouted, "Oh my gosh she is SO CUTEEEEE!" then she squealed in delight, practically leaping toward the short girl. A look of slight dread washed over Sapphire and she moved to hide behind her brother's shoulder causing Nora to comically fall flat onto her face. "Nice to meet you," she said a little intimidated.
"So…. Are the masks like you know uncomfortable? And how do you even eat with them on?" Jaune asked while gesturing to convey his message.
"The masks hardly feel like they're there. We were trained to keep them on if that's what you were wondering, as for how we eat with them on... trade ninja secret," Alexandrite lied through his...mask, he added a little wink at the end for extra effect but wasn't sure if he quite sold the act. Everyone bought it... except for Pyrrha, who eyed them strangely, a look of confusion briefly gracing her features, wondering why they would need to lie. The look was gone just as fast as it came and Alex swore he was seeing things.
"But…" Jaune trailed off realizing that a whole half a fish was missing from Alexandrite's plate while they were talking when it had a whole one at the start. Dizzy swirls appeared in his eyes, "Don't think about it too much," Pyrrha said as she placed a hand on her leader's shoulder.
"Oh you should try the roast turkey here it is absolutely amazing," Nora said noticing Alexandrite's only meat was fish. "Ah I'm not really a fan of meat, I'm more of a fish person," Alexandrite said. "Fish is gross," Nora stuck her tongue out earning a chuckle from the ASHN leader.
"We're heading back now, it was nice meeting you," Pyrrha said as she dragged Jaune off, it was evident she didn't want to prolong their interaction further. Her team followed behind her, Alex tried to smile and wave but there was an uneasiness behind Pyrrha, she was wary of him, and she saw through his lies. He needed to be careful of her.
He was torn from his thoughts when Sapphire gripped his arm, "Nova, the whole point of us moving here was to keep a low profile, seems to be working quite the opposite if you ask me, though, they don't seem like bad people," she said retreating from behind him, glancing around to make sure Nora was gone.
"Honestly I didn't expect the people here at Beacon to be so friendly," he replied still eyeing the spot where team JNPR stood.
"What is it?" she asked seeing his expression.
He mentally shook himself, "That Pyrrha girl... she suspects something... she's observant... and cautious... we need to keep an eye on her."
"Well anyone would be suspicious if they picked up on you lying... I mean seriously, a wink?" she shot him a disdained look.
"Well I thought it was a good idea at the time..." he trailed off but his excuses blew into the wind. "Why don't you just head back without me? I'll catch up in a few."
Sapphire thought for a moment, "Fine... just don't be long."
Alexandrite made his way through the campus grounds until he felt he was in an open enough field of grass. He just wanted to be alone for a little while. So far, everything had been going the opposite of what he'd liked. First there was Ozpin blatantly knowing who they were... then there was team RWBY who seemed to want nothing more than to be their friends... and team JNPR who seemed to share their vision.
"Why is everyone in this school so... friendly and open? Back at Haven, everyone kept to themselves..." he muttered, gazing out toward the open sky, "Well... blending in by hiding in plain sight isn't a bad idea either..."
He glanced around making sure no one was nearby, "Well... it's not a training ground but the weather is nice..." He began to clear his mind, reaching for his weapon which stood at his side, a long black katana in an oddly thick sheath, near the hilt on the sheath was a trigger mechanism.
Readying himself mentally, he got into a drawing stance, his right hand hovering over the grip of his katana, his left index finger and thumb on the trigger and gear system. He inhaled deeply before pressing down on the trigger, keeping his left hand on the sheath, the blade shot forward with immense velocity and acceleration, instantly he gripped it with his right hand and used the momentum of the blade to cleave an arc upwards in the air. A wave of wind shot forth from the impact of the strike, rippling the grass in front of him. In an instant he used the remaining momentum of the strike to reverse the blade's direction swinging downwards, his left hand detaching the sheath and bringing it upwards to meet the sword.
In truth the katana wasn't actually a katana, the main stem of the blade was thick and segmented, and not sharp at all. The sharp edge came from a switch on the handle that when flipped, drops a small thin blade from the thicker stem to create a katana.
A satisfying click resounded like a key fitting into a lock as the blade was slid into the scabbard, the thick sheathe split in half down the middle, the lower half, flipping itself to attach against the end of the first half creating a long sleek pole with a slight curve. The blade hilt was now sticking out of the top of the pole, it then rotated ninety degrees anticlockwise pulling the curved blade from the thicker portion of the pole, from here the blade split open and a larger convertible blade dropped down to form a scythe.
The dragon that adorned the hilt of the katana was now encircling the weapon at the top, the blade made to seem as if it was coming from the mouth of the dragon The trigger system sat at the center of the pole, he squeezed the trigger and the sharp edge of the blade glowed orange and began to oscillate at a high frequency. As he swung his scythe the blade made a low humming noise. Alex immersed himself in the rhythm of his strikes, a deadly dance that seemed to isolate his mind and body from the world around him.
His mind had finally calmed down as he became fully immersed in the blade dance he was performing when...
"Fancy weapon you got there," a familiar high-pitched voice came from behind him. Alexandrite jumped a bit and turned around with his weapon trained on the person behind him, ready to strike. Ruby raised her hands in surrender and stepped back a little, "Hey hey watch it, sorry for sneaking up on you," she said slightly frightened.
"Ruby? I am so sorry," Alexandrite said as he lowered his weapon. "Why in the name of Remnant would you choose to sneak up on a man with a weapon," he retracted the scythe by double-tapping the trigger. The blade folded back to its original state.
"Honestly I didn't mean to, I just saw you swinging around a scythe and thought, hey scythe buddies yah know?" Ruby said a little shyly
"It was partly my fault, it's just that I get quite immersed..." Alex tried to communicate with the girl, but his words were awkward and he felt a little stiff.
"Let's agree it was both our faults and move past this. I know we just met today but..." his flat expression, or at least what she thought was a flat expression seemed to make her nervous. "I think that your scythe is cool and I really want to be your friend and…." She began rambling out of social anxiety.
Alexandrite, realizing she was just nervous, suddenly burst into a fit of laughter; he couldn't help it the flustered girl was even more awkward than he was.
"AH! Did I say something wrong um um ohmigosh did I say something stupid, you're laughing at meeee, I'm not stupid I swear!" Ruby said frantically waving her arms.
Alexandrite finally calmed down a little, "No no, it's just that I was worried that I was coming off as nervous when you seem actively worse off,". Ruby frowned at his words. "Sorry for laughing" he apologized.
"It's just that since that time in the mod shop today, talking to you, I want to really become friends you know? Like besties... if you'd be okay with me" Ruby said a bit of pink dusting her cheeks though unnoticeable in the dim light of a nearby streetlamp.
He paused for a moment, a stranger whom he had met just today was offering him friendship. Did friendship even work like that? "Ah well um… sure? We could try being proper friends first," Alexandrite felt a little apprehensive. Talking to her made him feel comfortable, though he was beginning to realize that was her natural charisma. He had to mentally scold himself so as to not reveal anything about who he really was.
The two sat at a nearby stone bench, the evening air was crisp and cold, early signs of the changing seasons. Alex propped himself up on the seat and concentrated on his innate power, generating a little heat to ease the temperatures. Ruby didn't seem to notice the subtle increase in air temperature around the ASHN leader as she began talking.
"So... how does being friends with you work? Like do I gotta play twenty questions or just start sharing..." he asked, fishing for an answer.
She blinked in surprise, "Actually... not a bad idea. It'll help us get to know more about each other so..."
"Ah shit... just the thing I don't want her to know about me...". he thought. Outwardly he spoke, "Who's gonna start?"
"Um, I'll start, I like cookies, strawberries, and my dog Zwei. I wanted to be a huntress because Huntresses are like heroes, I want to fight for what's right and rid the world of Grimm, but most importantly have the power to protect people." She said with confidence, her spunk returning to her.
Alex thought on his words for a moment, how could he say who he was without saying who he was..."I like a lot of things but if I had to pick one I'd say I like fish. I want to become a huntsman so I could protect the people I care about so that no one would have to lose the people important in their lives, and find the man who ruined my life," he said with the exception of that last part.
She looked at him sadly, as if seeing right through him, "Reminds me of what those people were protesting about earlier. You want to be a Huntsman to prevent stuff like that from happening right?"
He was at a loss for words, as she'd hit the nail on the head without even knowing... "Uh... yeah..." he said, finally finding his voice.
Ruby seeing his discomfort steered away from that topic, "So, what's your weapon like, I mean I showed you mine but what's up with yours, it looks so complicated." She said gesturing to the sword at the boy's side. He detached it from his waist and placed it in her hands. She almost dropped it due to its weight. "Woah this is heavy, what is it like a hundred pounds or something," she said as she handed it back to him.
"Try 25, the blade itself is pretty light it's just the sheath and its components that make it heavy." Ruby began fiddling with the guard as the sword rested on both their laps. It was then that Alexandrite realized just how close the two were sitting, he instantly felt blood rush to his face and praised the gods above that she couldn't see anything.
"What do these do exactly?" she finally asked pointing at the switches and trigger.
Alexandrite instantly drew out of his dream-like state, "Well, my weapon is a 35' katana at the base, the trigger launches the blade which oscillates at a high frequency, the concept is that I use the momentum of the launch to amplify the speed and force of my strikes, inside the sheathe there is a key mechanism that fits the hilt of the sword when I sheathe the hilt in it triggers it forming the scythe. If I sheathe it normally and turn the dial only the barrel sticks out and it's a sniper." he turned the sheath around so you could see the underside, there was a hole similar to a gun barrel. He rested the weapon in scythe form on their laps, it was almost like mechanical magic, the scythe itself wasn't that much bigger than Crescent Rose. "The switches are there to swap the blade size from katana to scythe." he finished.
The young girl sitting next to him was in utter disbelief, "How the hell do you fit all this into well... that" she gestured to the slightly large and thick sheath, "It physically makes no sense," she felt a little dizzy.
He simply chuckled, "That's thanks to a special flexible metal alloy that I used to make all the pieces, you probably never heard of it, it's called Incindium," He looked skeptically at the girl looking for any signs of recognition. She didn't seem to show any signs at his words and if anything looked extremely excited, "So you mean to tell me you got a magic thingy that lets you fit a bunch of stuff in there, THAT'S INSANE!" she said a little too loudly. Alexandrite relaxed a bit, if she didn't know what Incindium was she was no threat. She had no ulterior motives, she simply wanted to be friends.
The two talked well into the night, about the similarities they shared and what differences they had. Ruby's perspective on the world was like a bright light in Alexandrite's dark world. A ray of pure innocent goodwill that wouldn't be tainted no matter what happened. She was overwhelmingly sweet, to the point where he swore her aura would give him a toothache... she was someone whom he wanted to be, a person that ignited a spark in him, a level of hope. A shockingly powerful gift of inspiration just by being kind.
A sharp ring was heard, piercing the bubble of calm that had enveloped the two teens. "GAHH!" Ruby shrieked, she fumbled in her pocket for her scroll while Alexandrite simply sat there with a raised eyebrow.
"Hello?" the girl answered her scroll tentatively. "RUBY ROSE WHERE IN THE WORLD ARE YOU?!" it was Weiss. Ruby instinctively held the scroll away from her ear to stand the volume. "Um, in the courtyard…." She said slowly.
"What the hell are you doing there?! Never mind that get back here right now, it is way past curfew and if Goodwitch catches you it'll mean detention at the very least!" Weiss scolded the younger girl.
"Oh my god! I'm on my way," she replied with her eyes widening in realization. "Ah sorry about this Alexandrite, I gotta go."
"Ah no worries, my team is probably wondering where I am too, honestly I had no idea it was this late, we were out here for…" he checked his watch, "Holy shit! The hell did the time go?" he exclaimed.
Quickly he checked his scroll to see twelve unread texts from his sister. He was in deep trouble. "Come on Ruby we should leave," the two began walking back when Alexandrite spotted Goodwitch out of the corner of his eye. He turned to Ruby slightly panicked but she simply took his hand and all of a sudden, they were enveloped in a rush of rose petals propelling themselves at a high velocity, and in a matter of seconds, they were at their dorms. "What the…what was that?" he asked disoriented and confused. "My semblance, think of it as super-speed," Ruby said.
The other leader just steadied himself, desperate to clutch onto the feeling of solid matter after speeding hundreds of kilometers per hour in a flurry of rose petals. Ruby snickered at his reaction "Good night Alexandrite," she moved to leave only to realize their hands were still linked.
They both blushed furiously thanking the dim corridor lighting that neither could see. Instinctively they retracted their arms quickly. "Uh sorry, um I should go…." He said nervously, "Y-yeah me too…". They headed into their respective dorms each receiving a very concerned-looking team member.
Alex tenderly closed the door behind him hoping everyone was asleep already. The lights instantly flickered on revealing a passed-out Nitro and a very angry-looking Luna. Hex was on her computer working.
"Mind telling me what you were doing out so late? You had me worried sick you didn't even respond to my messages, I thought I thought…." Tears began welling in her eyes and she ran up to him and hugged him. He wrapped his arms around her small frame petting her head, "It's okay nothing happened to me, I was just training and lost track of time."
"Oh don't you dare use that excuse, we both know you NEVER lose track of time like that and you always make sure you check your comms, come on, what caused you to be so careless?" she poked his chest hard with her index finger.
Alexandrite blushed furiously, "Ah well you see….I was um," he was trying to come up with a way out of this but she had a knowing look on her face, he wasn't going to escape. Sighing in defeat, "I was with Ruby, she came up to me while I was training and we chatted for a little while," he finally admitted.
Luna gave a smug laugh and Hex turned around from her work looking quite smug herself, "I knew it! You have a thing for her!" Hex said. "We made a bet, Luna and I bet 20 Lien that you were with Ruby and Nitro bet against that."
"Wake up gingerbread you lost," Hex pulled the blanket from under Nitro who then fell off the bed startled. "Wha…." He said disoriented. "You lost the bet now pay up," Nitro grumbled as he shoveled 40 Lien towards the two girls. "Ugh let me go back to sleep now…" he said incoherently as he shuffled back into the bunk.
Meanwhile Ruby was suffering a similar fate.
"So…. Alexandrite huh, never pegged your type to be tall and mysterious," Blake said with a sly grin as Ruby walked in.
"That's where you were?!" Weiss practically shrieked. Ruby blushed furiously, "No not like that I was just trying to make a new friend and he had this really cool sword that was also a scythe and…" Ruby began rambling again.
"Ruby…when I find that boy, I'm gonna smack him so hard…" Weiss's aura rose. "NO! Please don't!" Ruby pleaded.
"Fine but if he does anything to hinder you, I will personally execute him," she said with a huff.
Ruby sighed, "It's not like that, well not that I don't think he's cool but he looked like he needed a friend."
Weiss shook her head at the younger girl, "Just keep your hormones in check please."
Well, that's chapter 2. Any suggestions or criticisms are welcome even if it's negative.
See yah next chapter ^_^. There are one or two references to some stuff so if you manage to pick up on it, then good job on you.
