(Author's Note)
Hey guys, 0n3dgeGaming here! And hey, I'm here a lot quicker than last time!
...Yeah, that's not really something I should be proud of, huh...
Anyways, there's some new stuff to go over.
First is that I will now only be posting these -5 chapters once the next 'main' chapter is done, so yes, chapter 7 is complete. It will be posted a week later, probably earlier in the day too, but yeah, next Wednesday, for me at least, since time zones and all that.
And that's pretty much it really.
I actually would like to take a moment to apologize for rushed writing in this story. I'm not perfect and as I close in on an idea I have for a thing I start to just sorta work until I get there. I know it's a problem, I'm trying to work on it, but hey, I can't promise I'll ever really fix that.
Okay, now moving past THAT...
Onto reviews!
To Cross-Z Magma: I agree Zero One is awesome, Ohma Zi-O is terrifying and awesome (I have the Ohma Form Ride Watch), as for your questioning on timelines... We'll see. I can't say it'll be 100 percent the same, but I hope it'll come off as less... written during filming as some of the stuff in Zi-O was. (And just to note, I love Zi-O, even with it's flaws. One of my favourites. Hell, I'm making a story about it so... Yeah.)
To 8GoKey40th: Who knows where Sougo's allegiances lie...? I mean I do, but I'm not telling anyone yet.
To Taiman215: I do have plans for Tsukuyomi, especially considering how important she is in Zi-O proper, but for now... that stays close to the chest.
And with all that out of the way, let's get onto the story!
"...Someone explain this to me, please…" I asked, looking over at the pink haired bugster standing off to the side, rifling through one of the nearby drawers. I looked over at Emu, a confused look on my face. "Why is she here?"
"Oh, Ozpin hired her." Emu noted, looking over at Poppy. "She's had some previous experience as a nurse and for a combat school were surprisingly low on hands here for medical personnel."
"Why does that not surprise me…" I shook my head, before wincing as Poppy walked up to me and stuck a needle into my arm. "Ow, what was that for!?"
"Blood test." Poppy said, sounding more like her Asuna persona than her bugster self, which was weird, since she wasn't in her human disguise. "We don't know what effects Kuroto's bugster infection might've had on you."
"Shouldn't I be immune though, you guys have the doctor's notes on Parado, right?" I asked, wincing as Poppy pulled the needle out of my arm.
"That's possible, but we don't know for sure." Emu said, looking at the screen in front of him. "From a physical we just did, nothing seems out of the ordinary, but we'll need to run a blood test to make sure."
"Yeah, I get it." I said, rolling my neck as Poppy placed a bandaid over the puncture wound. "The whole, we need to make sure this isn't actually killing you thing. I still feel like the Parado Vaccine I have will take care of it though."
And by Parado Vaccine, I mean Parado himself.
"Right, I should get moving though, got classes later." I said, standing up from the chair I was sitting in. "I'll see you two around.
"Alright, take care!" Emu nodded as I walked out.
"Where is it?"
"Where's what?" Asked Parado as he looked up from his handheld.
"The Genm Ride Watch… I can't find it anywhere…" I said, digging through the nearby dresser in case I had dropped it in there. "Where could I have dropped it?"
"It's probably not something to worry about. No one else but you can really use that thing anyways." Parado noted.
"He has a point, my lord." Woz noted, looking down at the book in his hands. "The only ones who can utilize a Ride Watch's power are those with a Ziku Driver, like yourself, and the owner of the original power. And Kamen Rider Genm is currently in prison, so there's nothing to worry about him getting his hands on the watch."
"Still… Doesn't mean I can't really worry…" I muttered, crossing my arms as I sat down on my bed. "...Whatever, I'll think about it more later, we have classes tomorrow, let's get some sleep.
"Yes! Yes, prior to the Faunus Rights Revolution - more popularly known as the Faunus War-" I blink as my I tried to process what Professor Oobleck was saying, as the man zipped from one side of the blackboard to another, with such speed that might've put ruby to shame if it wasn't for the obvious blur of his motions. "Humankind was quite, quite adamant about centralizing Faunus population in Menagerie."
"Now! While this must feel like ancient history to many of you, it is imperative to remember that these are relatively recent events! Why, the repercussions of the uprising can still be seen to this day!" I let out another sigh as Oobleck rocketed in front of his desk. "Now! Have any among you been subjugated or discriminated, because of your Faunus heritage?"
Faunus, a topic that was… well…
Difficult to discuss, to say the least. While the issues of my home world, that of racism against others of different color and the like, were gone, racism had taken on a bit of a different approach, in the form of these half human half animal species.
I remember Ruby and Yang's, hell, even Taiyang's reaction to me expressing confusion over the girl with dog ears walking down one of the streets back on Patch. That then led to a long explanation about the Faunus.
In retrospect, or hindsight, one or the other, it was like an anime fan's dream come true. Finally, they'd get to stop pestering Elon Musk to create Catgirls, now all they had to do was pester him to create an interdimensional wormhole to Remnant so they could try and get a faunus girlfriend.
Honestly, I don't know if the Faunus would appreciate anime fans, or find them repulsive to some extent. Since honestly they'd probably be the most open to them, but at the same time…
Some of them can go too far.
I let my eyes drift to the left, catching sight of the brown haired bunny girl raising her hand hesitantly. Velvet, if I remembered correctly. She wasn't the only one, multiple other faunus rose their hands up as well at that question.
And this is why Racism can go shove it...
"Dreadful, simply dreadful! Remember, students, it is precisely this kind of ignorance that breeds violence!" Professor Oobleck said, taking another sip of his coffee. I blinked in mild concern for that man's bloodstream, since at this point it was probably 5% caffeine. "I mean, I mean, I mean just look at what happened to White Fang!"
And then there's these guys, the White Fang, a terrorist group that at one point started as a civil rights group for the faunus, which quickly turned sour a while ago. Now, well, they aren't exactly protesting 'Peacefully' anymore…
"Now, which one of you young scholars can tell me what many theorize to be the turning point in the third year of the War?" Oobleck asked, before a hand shot into the air in front of me. "Yes?"
"The battle at Fort Castle!" Weiss answered, lowering her hand.
"Precisely! And, who can tell me the advantage the Faunus had over General Lagune's forces?"
"Hey!"
I idly turned my head over to the source of the noise, seeing Jaune rubbing the back of his head. And as if on cue, Professor Oobleck shot in front of the huntsman, causing the blonde to jump back slightly in his chair. "Mr. Arc! Finally contributing to class! This is excellent! Excellent! What is the answer?"
"Uhhhh... The answer... The advantage... that the Faunus..."
"This is sad…" Parado noted, looking over at Jaune.
"It's like looking at middle school presentations…" I muttered to myself.
"Just endure it, my lord." Woz said, letting out a sigh as he looked over the notes he kept for the class.
"Yeah, and why are you taking notes anyways?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "Aren't you from the future? Shouldn't you already know this stuff?"
"I can't have my lord fail his classes, can I?" Woz said, looking over at my empty notebook.
"...Point taken…" I muttered.
"Uhh... Binoculars!"
I had to physically cover my ears with how loud the class was laughing, giving a groan out as Jaune shrunk into his seat slightly.
"Very funny, Mr. Arc! Cardin! Perhaps you would care to share your thoughts on the subject!" Ookbleck asked, zipping back in front of his desk.
"Well, I know it's a lot easier to train an animal than a soldier." Cardin said, chuckling to himself.
"Oh really, then why haven't you been trained yet?" I muttered under my breath darkly.
Pyrrha let out a sigh, looking over at Cardin. "You're not the most open-minded of individuals, are you, Cardin?"
"What? You got a problem?" Cardin asked, glaring at the red headed girl.
"No, I have the answer! It's night vision. Many Faunus are known to have nearly-perfect sight in the dark." Pyrrha said, looking over at Oobleck.
Blake followed quickly afterwards. "General Lagune was inexperienced, and made the mistake of trying to ambush the Faunus in their sleep. His massive army was outmatched, and the general was captured." She noted, before turning around to face Cardin. "Perhaps if he'd paid attention in class, he wouldn't have been remembered as such a failure."
A large smirk formed on my face as Cardin stood up from his seat, fist clenched. "Mr. Winchester! Please take your seat." Oobleck said, before zooming in front of a laughing Jaune. "You and Mr. Arc can both see me after class for additional readings."
I let out a wince as Jaune slumped his shoulders. Before turning back to face the front of the class, watching as Professor Oobleck took another sip of his cup of joe.
"Jaune can not get a break, huh?" I muttered to myself.
"Now! Moving on!"
"Pyrrha, I know I'm going through a hard time right now, but I'm not that depressed." Jaune said, looking over the side of the roof, electing a confused look from Pyyrha "I can always be a farmer or something..."
Pyrrha's eyes widened in realization, quickly moving to push Jaune away from the edge of the roof. "N-n-no! That's not why I brought you up here!" She said, both of them unaware of Cardin, who was leaning in from his window behind them. "Jaune, I know you're having a difficult time in class and that you're still not the strongest of fighters, so... I want to help you!"
"Wh-what?" Jaune asked, taking a step back.
"We can train up here after class where no one can bother us!"
"You think I need help?" Jaune asked, his tone shifting slightly.
Pyrrha's eyes widened as she stepped back slightly. "N-no! No, that's not what I meant."
"But you just said it."
Pyrrha let out a sigh. "Jaune, everybody needs a little push from time to time. It doesn't make you any different from the rest of us. You made it to Beacon! That speaks volumes of what you're capable of!"
Jaune's head lowered, as he turned around. "You're wrong. I-I don't belong here."
Pyrrha took a step forward. "That's a terrible thing to say! Of course you do!"
Jaune swiveled around, a look of anger on his face. "No, I don't!" The anger quickly melts as he lets out a sigh at Pyrrha's bewildered face. "I wasn't really accepted into Beacon..." He said, turning around.
"Wh-what do you mean?"
"I mean I didn't go to combat school, I didn't pass any tests. I didn't earn my spot at this Academy!" Jaune's voice raised an octave as he spoke, his words getting faster and faster with each sentence. He turned around, looking Pyrrha in the eye. "I lied! I got my hands on some fake transcripts, and I lied!"
"What? But... why?"
"'Cause this is always what I've wanted to be!" He said, turning away from his teammate. "My father, my grandfather, and his father before him were all warriors! They were all heroes! I wanted to be one, too. I was just never good enough."
Pyrrha placed a hand on his shoulder. "Then let me help you!"
Jaune spun around, a look of frustration mixed with anger on his face as he snapped. "I don't want help! I don't want to be the damsel in distress! I want to be the hero!"
"Jaune, I-"
Jaune: "I'm tired of being the lovable idiot, stuck in the tree while his friends fight for their lives! Don't you understand? If I can't do this on my own... then what good am I?"
Pyrrha reached her arm out to console him, but Jaune leaned away from her, his face covered with grief. "Just... leave me alone. Okay?"
Pyrrha bowed her head slightly, turning around. "If that's what you think is best..." She said, a disappointed tone to her voice.
Jaune listened to the footsteps of his teammate get softer and softer, before they paused suddenly. "Jaune… My father once said this: If I wish for it, fate will always be my ally…" Pyrrha said, before she once again started walking, until her footsteps could no longer be heard.
Jaune let out a breath as he paced from side to side, before stopping suddenly as the sound of mocking laughter became known. He turned to face the source, finding Cardin pulling himself up onto the roof. "Oh, Jaune..."
"Cardin!"
Cardin let out a smirk as he walked closer to Jaune. "I couldn't help but overhear you two from my dorm room. So, you snuck into Beacon, huh? I gotta say, Jaune, I never expected you to be such a rebel!"
"Please, Cardin, please, don't tell anyone!" Jaune begged.
"Jaune, come on! I'd never rat on a friend like that!"
"A... a friend?" Jaune asked, slowly approaching Cardin.
"Of course!" He said, grabbing Jaune and trapping him in a a headlock under his arm despite Jaune's struggling. "We're friends now, Jauney boy! And the way I see it, as long as you're there for me when I need you, we'll be friends for a long time."
Cardin released Jaune, who gasped for air as he leaned on the ground. "That being said, I really don't have time to do those extra readings Dr. Oobleck gave us today. Think you could take care of that for me, buddy?" He said, leaning down to rub Jaune's hair before standing up with a grin. "That's what I thought. Don't worry, Jaune; your secret's safe with me."
Jaune watched as Cardin hanged over the edge of the roof, before he disappeared back into his roof, the audible sound of a closing window ringing out slightly louder for Jaune.
"...So, you want to get stronger?" A voice asked, as a nearby bird that was flying by froze in the air.
"Huh-!?" Jaune stood up, spinning around to see a man in a purple coat. "Who are-"
"My name is Swartz." The man said, taking a step forward. "You desire power, yes? To be the hero? What if I told you I could give you that kind of power?"
Jaune took a step back, a look of uncertainty on his face. "You don't need to say anything." Swartz said, pulling a blank Ride Watch out.
"That's-!" Jaune tripped, falling onto his back.
"Now then…" Swartz said, pushing down on the activation button of the watch, before inserting it into Jaune's body, as the boy let out a yell as he was transformed into a monsterous being. "Let's see what you're capable of…"