AN: So, this chapter is shorter than I would have liked, but I could not find a way to write more without it being bad or having a weird stopping point. Will be trying to have longer chapters in general. Hope you enjoy the chapter! Have a nice day!
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Chapter 2: Of Trees and Ruins
Racing after the black haired girl was a bit of a pain. She was hopping between tree branches, and without a keen eye, it would be hard to see her. Luckily, they were training to be huntsmen, so it wasn't as bad. After trailing her for a minute or two, they came upon an area where the trees parted, creating a mini arena of sorts. There was a Ursa that was slowly disappearing, and the black haired girl was talking to Yang.
"So, that's where you landed." Azura said, before waving. "Hey Yang!"
Looking beyond the girl, Yang spotted Azura and Pyra.
"Heya Snow! Who's the lady friend? Oh, and this is Blake, my new partner."
Azura smiled. "My lady friend," motioning to Pyra, "is named Pyra. She's my new partner for Beacon."
A wave from Pyra was all Yang could get. Blake stood, watching with a passive interest, taking in the two new people. Azura looked over this Blake person, taking note that she really liked black and white. From the black gauntlet and ribbon around her wrist to the white shirt covering her chest, and the black vest and leggings making the white shorts stand out, the black boots barely noticeable. A bow was tied in her hair, standing out with the way it was stood, and yellow eyes that reminded Azura of his own yellow eyes. Her weapon was a black mecha shift blade, with her ribbon connected to it. He wondered what its other form was. What if Pyra's spear also had another form?
Azura snapped out of his thoughts with Yang suggesting that they continue moving towards the ruins. Did everyone but him know where these ruins were? With the other three nodding their approval, they moved off in a direction. Now that all of them had encountered Grimm, there wasn't much conversation going. Not that Blake or Pyra seemed to care, they weren't that talkative. Azura felt a bit on edge, and he would rather they not encounter any more Ursa Majors, or a scarier Grimm. Once close call was enough for him.
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After ten minutes of searching around and seeing only brown trees and green leaves, they finally found the ruins that they were supposed to find for the test. The gray rock and simple design stood out among the rest of the area, and Azura had never been happier to see a different color. There was gold and black chess pieces lining the outer ring of the circular ruin, the rocks and pillars housing them. The quiet was not to last long however, when they heard someone screaming from the sky. Azura blinked a few times, seeing Ruby falling. Then, Jaune came flying out of some direction, taking himself and Ruby flying into a tree, the Ruby 'look-a-like' ghost following after her. Just after that, A Ursa came sliding into the clearing, before landing, dead. The red haired girl and the green garbed guy came off of it. The poor guy was shaking before he spoke.
"Nora. Please...never do that again."
Nora was already by the relics by the time he said that, singing some song about being a queen.
"Nora!" Ren yelled out, calling her over.
She giggled, responding. "Coming Ren!"
Azura sighed, feeling bad for Ren. He almost cried for him, thinking of the lack of sleep he probably has to deal with now. Looking over, he saw Pyra grab one of the chess pieces, a gold pawn. Just when everything was calming down, Pyrrha came crashing through the trees, with a Deathstalker on her tail. Azura could have sworn a vein in his head popped from sheer frustration from seeing the mostly armored creature run towards us, it's yellow eyes focused on Pyrrha. The red marks on its armor slightly pulsing.
"Run!" Pyrrha yelled out, motioning towards us.
Yang exploded to one side, complaining that everyone should just calm down and not have some crazy thing happen for two seconds. Ruby called out to her after jumping from the tree, pointing up. Looking up, Azura saw Weiss clinging to a Nevermore, the giant hawk Grimm screeching as it flew over. Then, she fell, with Jaune jumping out of the tree he was in to catch her. Then he fell as well, with Wiess landing on his back. Azura winced, feeling his back tingle as he imagined it.
Seeing Pyrrha in the background, clearly trying to distract it, made him decide to help. Before he got to decide what to do, she got hit, flying in towards them. Azura jumped out to catch her, feeling bad for not even helping. He grunted as she flew into him, falling to his knees to properly stop them from moving, Luna floated in front of him, looking bored. Ignoring her studying the mecha weapon, which looked like a bronze and red colored spear and shield, Azura looked down at the girl in his arms, banishing thoughts of what other forms it could be. Pyrrha sagged into him with a sigh, before looking up with a dazed smile.
"I never want to do that again."
He smiled in amusement. "No promises, Pyrrha. If it helps, you were good entertainment."
She chuckled before responding. "Good to know."
Standing up, Azura dragged Pyrrha up with him. Once she was stable on her feet, he let go, hearing her give a quiet 'thank you'.
This was the moment of peace, right? Azura looked around, watching as everyone grabbed a piece. Everyone except Ruby, who was missing. Looking around, he saw her fighting the Deathstalker, her scythe shooting out what sounded like sniper dust rounds. He yelled out towards her,
"Ruby!"
That yell was all that was needed for Yang to race towards Ruby as she realized what was happening. The Nevermore cried overhead again as Ruby ran away, only to get caught by a Nevermore feather, the steel like feathers holding her down by her cloak. The ghost-Ruby tried to stop the Deathstalker from stabbing Ruby with the orange tail that loomed overhead, but it was to no avail. His semblance couldn't have even reached that far if he tried.
In a blink of an eye, Weiss was next to Ruby, white dust rapier holding her stance up, clearly scolding her for being dumb, while the Deathstalker tried to break away from the ice that trapped its tail in. Azura wondered if he was wrong about the Schnee, she clearly cared about others to some degree. A few moments after that, Jaune commented that the Nevermore was coming back around towards us. Weiss was quick to comment that running would probably be the better choice.
"It's probably the better idea." Azura said, voicing his thoughts
Ruby was quick to keep it up. "Then let's grab the artifacts that are here and make a run for it!"
Once that was done, the group of ten students ran through the other side of the clearing, just over the hill. Ruins were lined along the sides, leaving little room to move other than straight forward. They ran as fast as they could, hearing the Nevermore cry overhead again. They all gathered behind a pillar as the ruins of a tower was seen ahead, pulling their weapons out. Jaune with a white sword and shield that was a sheath, and Ren with two green SMGs that doubled as small blades. Azura shook his head, thinking of how this wasn't a good time to study weapons. The Nevermore landing atop it. As they caught their breath and looked among each other to plan, they saw the Deathstalker break through a pillar, the sound alerting them to its presence.
"Oh crap, Run!"
Jaune yelling that was enough to push them to move again. Ren called out to Nora, telling her to distract the Nevermore. After dodging more feathers, Nora complied, shooting out grenades to obscure its vision. Azura ran towards the tower, along with the others. Weiss and Nora caught up with ease, and Ren and Blake were busy, Azura glancing behind him, seeing them distracting the Deathstalker. They were still running towards them though. They slowed down for a moment along a stone bridge, the Deathstalker unwilling to try to cross it.
Azura stopped alongside Pyrrha, who had changed her spear into a rifle and was shooting at the weak points between the armor. Azura drew his pistol and sword out as Ren and Blake distracted it, shooting the entire magazine into the tail, stopping it from using it as it froze over. He chucked the magazine out and over the side of the bridge, reloading with a fire dust magazine. The Nevermore broke through the bridge behind them, leaving the four of them to deal with the Deathstalker. Pyra, Ruby, and the others were stuck on the other side, dealing with the Nevermore. A few moments of fighting later, and the last fire magazine just inserted into the pistol saw Blake disappear and fall, Nora and Jaune taking her place. Azura stopped to look behind him, seeing Blake finding a place to catch on to and make her way towards the other group. Further behind her, Azura saw the others fighting the Nevermore, with Pyra shooting a SMG, the other form of the spear, with the others towards the wings.
The fighting continued, The deathstalker breaking out of the ice on its tail, and stabbing it into the bridge. The already shaky support for the bridge on top of the tail was enough to break it loose, and everyone sprung into action. Ren ran towards the Grimm and jumped on to the tail, shooting just below the the head of the tail, watching as the deathstalker swung its tail wildly. Ren got knocked off, but not without leaving the tail head hanging loosely. Nora cried out for him as he slammed into a pillar.
Jaune struck up a on-the-spot plan, calling for Pyrrha to throw her shield at the weakened bit. It cut right through it cleanly, and the Deathstalker cried out as the tail head fell and stabbed through the armor, right into its back. Pyrrha then threw her spear at one of the eyes, stabbing through it cleanly. Her shield laid on the grass as Ren stumbled towards it, intending to grab it. Azura heard Pyrrha gasp out.
"My spear is stuck in the eye. It won't come out!"
Azura was curious as to why she was holding her hand out, but had no time to dwell on it. Jaune cried out a moment after.
"Nora! Jump on my shield!"
Nora saluted and ran towards him, jumping towards the shield as Jaune pushed her up. He gasped afterwards, stumbling on to his rear from the weight. Nora crashed into the Deathstalker, pushing the tail head through to the other side. She landed on the ground as the bridge fell apart, Jaune and Pyrrha making their way past it quickly. As the Grimm took the bridge with him, Azura jumped on it, grabbed Pyrrha's spear, and dragged it upwards to rip it out, and jumped off towards the ground, rolling a few times before stopping on his back. He groaned, feeling his aura shimmer in and out, feeling weak. Nora grabbed him by the arm and dragged him up.
"Up you go, you lazy-butt! You can't be lazy, only Ren can be like that!"
Looking around, he saw Jaune and Pyrrha next to each other, dusting themselves off. Ren was laying down, clearly not wanting to stand up. Walking towards the other three, Azura stabbed the spear into the ground next to the shield. No words were shared as they watched Ruby slingshot herself with the help of Blake and Weiss. The Nevermore cried out as Ruby dragged it up the cliff, glyphs lining her path as rose petals burst forth from Ruby. In just a few seconds, the Nevermore was decapitated, disappearing as it fell, and Ruby was atop the cliff. Nora shook at Ren's side, before spreading her arms open above her with a jump.
"That was awesome! I wanna do that!"
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Once they were all assembled in the auditorium area from yesterday, Azura realized just how tired he was. As team Cardinal was formed, the hulking brute of a redhead as leader, Azura saw that it was some of his recent allies up on stage.
"Jaune Arc. Lie Ren, Pyrrha Nikos, Nora Valkyrie. The four of you retrieved the gold rook pieces. From this day forth, you will be team Juniper, led by Jaune Arc! Congratulations, young man."
Jaune had to be led away by his new team, as he didn't seem capable of moving at the moment. Azura could help but laugh at his shock, and Pyra was at his side, rolling her eyes at Jaune. She was amused, if the smirk on her face said anything.
"And lastly, Blake Belladonna, Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, and Yang Xiao Long. The four of you retrieved the gold knight pieces. You will work together as team Ruby, led by Ruby Rose."
Azura would have commented on how Wiess seemed in total disbelief, but he heard what Ozpin said. Lastly. As in the last team to be formed. As confusion wrapped his brain, he looked at Pyra. Seeing her stare at him with a similar face didn't help the butterflies stop in his stomach.
"You are all dismissed. Can mister Heart and miss Sol please stay behind? Oh, and team JNPR, stay here. You might be needed."
As students shuffled off, some looking at Azura and Pyra, team RWBY wandered by, Ruby and Yang stopping to wish them luck.
Azura jolted back to life, and seeing Pyra still thinking, grabbed her arm. She shook back to life, letting Azura lead her to Headmaster Ozpin and Professor Goodwitch. They stopped before them, Azura finding his throat dry as he looked at Ozpin.
"Now." Ozpin started. "I do believe the truth should be said here. You were the only pair to grab the gold pawn piece. In fact, the number was uneven to begin with."
Azura nodded, his eyes hardening with a odd determination. Pyra suddenly paying acute attention now. 'What happens now?"
"Well, as Headmaster, I have two choices. Have you leave and give you permission to start again next year, or have a team take you on as a plus two." He said, waving a arm to team JNPR. "And I have called team Juniper here to ask if they would do so. They would be the perfect team to have this sort of thing happen."
Clearly, Professor Goodwitch thought otherwise, based upon the scowl on her face. Team JNPR brightened up, understanding what was being asked.
Jaune stepped forward. "Of course we will take them! They were a huge help during that final fight! And we're friends now, we can't just leave them."
Azura felt excitement bubble up, watching Nora grab Pyra in a bear hug, the poor girl looking pale as she was hugged. Ren stepped towards them to help Pyra out. Pyrrha stepped towards Azura, placing a firm hand on his shoulder, smiling warmly towards him. Ozpin cleared his throat after watching the display.
"As I figured you would answer. Very well. Congratulations mister Heart, miss Sol. We will discuss what will be different for you and team JNPR in a few days. Continue with the rest of your evening and find your dorm room. Your new scrolls will tell you where to go."
He turned to Azura. "I do hope accepting you based on your reccomendation was a wise idea, mister Heart. I do think your mother would be proud of you."
Azura never got to answer, Ozpin already walking off, clearly done with what he had to say. Luna fluttered in front of him, a warm smile on her face showing that she agreed with what he had to say.
Professor Goodwitch approached them, her scowl gone. She handed a scroll to Azura, and another to Pyra. "These are school scrolls. They will do whatever you may want from a normal scroll, with a few extra additions. And your belongings will be in the room when you get there. Have a nice night."
And she was off, walking fast to catch up to Ozpin. Azura let a smile grow on his face, turning towards Pyrrha and Jaune.
"Thank you so much. I don't know what me and Pyra would do if you didn't take us."
Pyra nodded. "Yes. Thank you for doing that."
"Aw, shucks. It was nothing, you guys." Jaune said, blushing.
Pyrrha held her arm out, with a fist waiting. She stared at Azura, looking embarrassed. He smiled, returning the fist bump. She smiled back. It was good to be on a team, even if it wasn't officially.
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The walk to the dorm was a quiet one, the sky starting to darken with a look outside the windows. Nora was quiet, something Azura felt would be a rare occasion. Azura realized just how much Beacon looked like some hotel in Vale. It had soft red carpet flooring, lights lining the walls on both sides, and windows along the side that looked outside. The walls were a pale green, and left enough space for three people to walk comfortably next to each other. Jaune, Pyrrha, and Pyra were ahead, searching for the dorm room, while Azura, Ren, and Nora walked behind them. Luna was following, looking about as nostalgic as a ghost could be. There wasn't much variance between the halls, and Azura wondered if it would be easy to get lost with everything looking the same.
They stopped after a few minutes, once they found what they were looking for. Jaune pulled out his scroll and put it to the small scanner above the door, the device beeping as it allowed them entry. They made their way inside, and upon turning the overhead light on, let out small sounds of surprise as they saw the size of the room, while Luna floated around, taking it in. Opposite of the door they entered from was a glass window, a desk in front of it. The beds were spaced apart, two on each side. To the right was a large closet with sizable cabinets, the slots holding the luggage team JNPR brought with them. Azura spotted his luggage, and what he assumed was Pyra's, to the side. On the left was another door, one that read 'Bathroom', most likely for showers and other needs. He turned his head once Ren spoke up, seeing him reading from a note that was on the desk.
"We apologize for not having the proper materials for housing six people in a four person dorm room, and we will be aiming to fix that within the coming days. For now, two sleeping bags have been prepared for the new additions. Thank you for understanding. From, the Beacon Supply Commitee."
Jaune chuckled. "There's a 'Beacon Supply Commitee'? They're probably some ninja organization from a comic, and they go around supplying everything without being seen."
Azura thought that was actually kind of likely. He couldn't help the smile from growing on his face thinking about it. He walked up and grabbed one of the sleeping bags, feeling his sore body cry out in joy at the thought. Pyra looked a little less happy, probably wishing for a bed. Pyrrha and Nora went into the bathroom after grabbing their nightwear, with Pyra joining them soon after laying the sleeping bag down near the closet area. The three boys went about their business, Ren and Jaune choosing their beds, Ren taking the one on the right wall and Jaune taking the one near the window, on the left side. Azura took his bag and placed it on the left side of the room, next to the wall that led back out to the halls.
The girls exited the bathroom, all wearing their nightwear, and took their beds, Pyrrha next to Jaune, Nora next to Ren, and Pyra walking back to the sleeping bag. They were all exhausted, each of them going under the covers and falling asleep pretty fast. The boys took the bathroom, with Azura glad that his mother could repsect his privacy, all facing away from each other, and changed as well. Compared to Pyrrha's silk pajamas and Nora's pink and white nightwear with sloths on it, Azura and Ren were similar to Pyra's clothing, wearing sweatpants and a simplistic shirt. They did raise an eyebrow at Jaune's bunny suit, but were too tired to comment on it.
They left, Jaune and Ren taking their beds. Azura sat on the sleeping bag, taking out his private scroll that was given to him, figuring that the school scroll wouldn't be recognized. He opened the messaging app, and sent a quick text to the ones who helped him out with his choice of clothing, the 'Adel Botique', thanking them again for helping him out with the reccomendation. He was once again glad for his mother having the good favor of some families, even in death. Azura then remembered that they spoke of their daughter, Coco, and how she would help him out if needed, but that she was on a mission when initiation started. He'll have to search for her later on, if only to say hello.
With that done, he put the scroll down next to him, and laid down on the sleeping bag, making himself comfortable. He fell alseep, listening to the soft breathing of the others, happy to be allowed this chance to become a huntsman.