Chapter 1- Destined Meetings
Now that he thought about it…How does he go about talking to others? Yusaku walked through the crowd of students, his expression poker faced as usual, but honestly…he was unsure of what to do, the young man looked around finding people already speaking with others, until he sensed something, a pulse coming from nearby, as if someone was calling to him. He scanned the area soon finding a single person standing by the forest path leading to the fountain, something was off about them, something familiar,
'Wait…another Revenant?' he followed after them, his weapon sheathed, but his right hand resting on its handle, he continued the path, following the cloaked person until they reached the dimly lit fountain area. The person stopped at the fountain,
"So, what was that about?" He questioned darkly, Yusaku's eyes sharpen to deadly edges, and the person took a simple step a sigh escaping them. "Oh well, I took a wrong turn, I didn't expect you to find, Mr. Number-One-Revenant," she hummed, the young woman removed her hoodie,
Yusaku's eyes narrowed at the mention of 'Revenant'.
"I was right…" He muttered under his breath
The woman spun around revealing long auburn hair swept to the side a single emerald green eye and a black eye patch over her right, under her cloak was a black suit jacket with a white blouse underneath, daggers attached to blue, frilly skirt, she grabbed the hem of her skirts and curtseyed, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Subject 0001, Eclipse, I'm Subject 0009, Gorgon, my real name however, is Ophelia, it has more a pleasant ring to it, don't you think?" She hummed,
Yusaku drew Nameless and aimed it at the woman, his sharp onyx eyes keeping their trained glare on the woman. "Alright then…so, two questions for ya, First, I guess there's more than just us, second, why is the project still up? It should've ended during the last testing."
Ophelia hummed and took a step to the side, her hands behind her swaying hits. "Hmm, Well, to answer you questions in order, I'd say yes, there are others, as for why there's more Revenants…well, I guess 'father' got bored again, but to think you would falsify documents and enter Beacon…or could it be the headmaster assisted you?" Yusaku remained silent his blade still aimed for her, the young woman smiled, "Well, I'll take my leave…" She hummed,
"Hold it!" Yusaku rushed forward then swung his black and lifeless grey sword, the woman hummed and with a single dagger stopped his blade, Yusaku's eyes widen and Ophelia simplysmiled. "Now now, my darling, we'll have time to play rough later." She said, Yusaku gnashed his fangs glaring daggers at the woman, who merely licked her lips, her cheeks grow red. "Ahh, yes, that's what I've been waiting to see, that sharpness, that feeling of killer intent rolling off your body, Aaaahhhh, How it excites me. The Rebellious son, and lone survivor of Dolls Fall!" She hummed.
Yusaku's eyes widen, soon sharpening, as a crimson glow held his once onyx eyes, he kicked Ophelia back. A surprise to the woman, she looked up at her 'Darling' watching as Nameless suddenly vanished and as a Black and red aura erupted from his shoulder, soon encasing it and forming a claw of black and red mass.
Ophelia laughed and just as easily blocked the coming strike, "You restricted yourself! You are actually keeping yourself from using those powers father gave you!"
"BE QUIET!" Yusaku shouted driving his left fist into Ophelia's jaw before once again swinging his claws, a strike Ophelia managed to evade soon twisting her body and going into a back flip, once she landed she smiled happily.
"Ahh…aahhh! That's the rage I've heard so much about, sadly our time is over for now, I'll see you around, my darling." She smiled
"OI, WAIT DAMMIT!" Yusaku ran towards her, all before the young woman disappeared, leaving nothing but a puddle of water in her place.
Yusaku cursed bitterly, the aura claws he projected soon fading away replacing it with Nameless, he sheathed his sword then scanned the small area. "…Dammit…Which way did I come from again?"
Yusaku continued to curse himself for getting lost but His internal cursing was quickly cut off as he arrived at the docks, where a single sneeze caused a large mess, as an explosion shook the grounds the air going from hot to cold, sparks of lightning lashed out at the same time as well,
He sighed and looked over to find two young woman, both dressed in opposite colors, the two seemed to bicker before the white haired, blue eyed young woman stormed off his direction him, she caught him watching the spectacle,
She scowled at the young man. "Anything you want to say?"
Yusaku simply sighed and began walking past her, not really acknowledging her until he was within ear shot of her to which he replied with. "…Nice show Ice Queen…"
"Ah! Wh-Wha, Ice Queen!?" She exclaimed, she looked at the young man as he walked towards the younger girl, she only spun on her heels than stomped into her next step.
"Welcome to Beacon…" the younger girl moaned falling to her back
Yusaku stopped in front of her and extended his hand to her. "Get up kid," Was all he said, the young woman jolted and looked up at him, she sat up and took his hand, a small smile across her lips, with nervous blush dusting her face,
"H-Hi, I'm Ruby…"
Silence befell the young man, his eyes narrowed as a small pain struck his chest, but soon he shook it off. "If you're looking for the auditorium than it's down that way." Yusaku said jabbing his thumb in the general direction before taking off. "Ah! W-wait!" Ruby called out.
'Dammit not again…' Yusaku muttered, the smaller girl soon fell in step with him. "I didn't get your name."
"I never gave it to you."
"Eh? Why not?"
"Because I didn't intend to make friends here, I'm just here to train, nothing more, nothing less." Yusaku growled
"Hmm, your kinda mean, aren't you?" Ruby's eyes furrowed a little.
"Not a good guy, that's for sure."
"Eh? I wouldn't say you're a bad guy," She smiled soon stepping in front of him, her hands behind her back, a pure innocent smile across her lips. "I mean, you are joining this school too, meaning you're trying to be a Huntsmen and protect people, that doesn't make you a bad guy in my books, maybe mean, but not a bad guy." She said,
Yusaku's eyes narrowed, the slight pain in his chest soon returning, a pain he choose to ignore and continue walking forward allowing Ruby to talk his ear off in an attempt to get him to open up. 'This kid's annoying…the hell were you thinking, letting a kid attend, Ozpin…What the Hell are you thinking? But…at the same time…she reminds me of…' For a moment Yusaku's eyes soften, the sharp pain returning once again, he clenched his fists ignoring the pain, repressing those memories…
The two soon arrived at the Auditorium, Ruby smiled soon scanning the area, "Ah! Look, there's my sister! We can jo-Eh? Hey? Where did you go? Awww…" Ruby moaned while kicking the ground,
Yusaku gave a relieved sigh, he stood himself at the back wall with his arms closed, far enough from the crowd of students, far enough to be on his own, his mind all over the place, between his meeting with another Revenant, Ophelia, the Ice Queen, and finally the little girl known as Ruby, why couldn't he meet someone that WOULDN'T give him any form of headache, or be a potential threat,
His thoughts were once again cut off upon hearing chewing next to him, he jolted and looked over to find a young man with short brown hair slicked back, he was dressed in a white and black outfit consisting of a white and grey hoodie that was left open with a black t-shirt underneath, a silver breast plate, his legs clad in grey shorts and a pair of red and white sneakers. On his hip was a long blade combined with a rifle, in his hand was a bag of chips which he was enjoy. He noticed Yusaku looking at him with a surprised expression, he grinned.
"Sorry, I kinda got lost and got hungry, but don't worry! If you want to get some snacks I know where the School shop is at now!" He said triumphantly. Yusaku couldn't believe it,
'J-Just how carefree is this guy?!'
"Oh right! I'm Ace, Ace Obsidian, Nice to meet ya buddy!" The young man moved his bag of potato chips to his other hand and extended his hand to Yusaku. The young man snapped out of his stupor but remained dazed. "Y-Yusaku…Yusaku Kurogane…" The young man named Ace broke into a toothy carefree grin than said. "Well than Yusaku! It's great to meet ya! To celebrate our new friendship, here's a gift!" Ace said handing him one of his many snacks. "Y-Yeah…Th-Thanks…"
'THEHELLJUSTHAPPENED!?'
"By the way, Yusaku, you know what happened back at the docks? I heard there was an explosion,"
"Huh? Oh that? Some girls got into an argument and one of them sneezed and exploded or something, some kind of weird Semblance I guess." He shrugged slowly recovering from his confused stupor.
"Ah, Makes sense, I wound up helping this guy who was blowing chunks on the Aircraft, we got lost, and were practically walking aimlessly for about an hour or so, that's when I got hungry." Ace chuckled,
"H-Huh…In-Interesting."
Ace grinned. "Well! I was always told to make things interesting for my friends in any way possible, Plus I saw you over here avoiding the crowd, figured I'd come and chat it up with you." Ace grinned, Yusaku blinked. 'Do…Human's normally approach stranger's that are alone?'
"I'd say it's working pretty well considering how quick we became friends, I mean, you don't really say much, but you seem like a cool guy, Oh, Look it's starting!" Ace grinned and pointed the stage, where Ozpin appeared, Yusaku looked over finding the man walking to the stage and stopping on the microphone, he tapped the head of it checking to make sure it was operating well, and once he nodded with satisfaction, He began to his speech, but something felt…off,
"I'll...keep this brief. You have traveled here today in search of knowledge-to hone your craft and acquire new skills. And when you have finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people. But I look amongst you, and all I see is wasted energy, in need of purpose – direction. You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you to take the first step."
"Whoa, some opening words." Ace whistled, Yusaku nodded. "Yeah, he's normally not like this…is something bothering him perhaps?"
"Eh? You sound like you know him personally."
"Sort of, Ozpin sort of adopted me, he's my legal Guardian until I leave Beacon, or I find my own family." Yusaku shrugged, he then heard sniffling coming from his new friend, he looked over and found his new friend with tears streaming down his face.
"Waaah! That's so sad man!" He cried out suddenly hugging Yusaku, garnering the attention of other students.
"Waagh! O-Oi! Get off me will ya!? Come on, Your getting my jacket wet from you disgusting fluids!" Yusaku growled trying to pry Ace off of him, "Wwaaaahhh! Yusaku, that's so mean man! M-My tears aren't disgusting! Their Pure! Come on man, It's okay to feel sad!" Ace cried.
"I SAID LET GO DAMMIT!"
WACK!
"Yeowch!"
Night had finally settled, everything until now was smooth sailings, Glynda showed the students to the Locker room where they stored their weapons and other gear and finally where they would be sleeping, the place Yusaku instantly recognized as the ball room. She had told them they would be sleeping here for the night and to prepare for the Initiation tomorrow,
Yusaku had finished changing into his sleep wear and brushed his teeth, in his ears were his ever present ear buds as he returned to the ball room, his hoodie up and shadowing much of his features, and once he stepped into the mass room lined with sleeping bags…all he found was a majority of the girls giggling to themselves pointing out some of the shirtless boys that were either flexing or rough housing in an attempt to show off.
He merely scoffed and pushed his way past them, soon finding a spot in the back void of anyone, he tossed his bag down and plopped down on the mat. He plopped down his dull onyx eyes shifting out to the window before taking notes of the day's events, his troubles with speaking to others, his meeting with Ophelia…another Revenant, meeting Ruby, and his first actual friend? Ace, soon he noticed someone approaching him, he mentally prepared himself, ready to call his claws, and He couldn't take the chance if it was Ophelia trying to do something to him, but instead he found Ace walking over to him with a toothy grin
He removed his ear buds. "What can I do for you, Ace?" He asked.
"Nah, just seeing if these other mats are open." He grinned, Yusaku gave a small nod, Ace's grin only grew as he plopped down on the mat next to him. "Pretty crazy huh? We're getting the chance to take Beacon's initiation tomorrow! I can't wait man!" Yusaku only blinked at the hyper active young man than gave a sigh, "I suppose,"
"Ah come on man! Ah-ha! I got it! You're just shy ain'tcha? No worries! I got some people you can meet!" He grinned, He stood up and made his way over, soon stopping and motioning Yusaku to follow, the young man simply shrugged. 'I…suppose no harm can come from it…' He stood up fixing his hoodie and following after him, a move he quickly regretted.
"Urk…" Yusaku grunted his brow twitching.
"Yo, Ruby, Yang!" Ace grinned greeting a familiar short girl, and a tall blond, "Ah! Hey Ace, Oh! It's You!" Ruby exclaimed pointing at the young man,
"Oh? You two already know each other?" Ace questioned
"Sort of," Ruby said,
"Not really." Yusaku replied with his arms folded, "Oh? Well! Yang, Ruby, this is my Buddy, Yusaku Kurogane, Yusaku, this is Yang Xiao Long and her sister Ruby Rose," All of this before Yusaku could even stop him, he let out a mild groan, 'Dammit…I dropped my guard…'
"Yusaku, so that's your name," Ruby said softly
"Oh, so you do know each other," Yang smiled than offered a hand. "Welp! A friend of Ruby's is a friend of mine." She said, Yusaku looked at her hand the let out a small breath.
"We aren't friends, only person I trust is this one," Yusaku said jabbing a thumb at Ace, 'For whatever reason.'
"Yowch, someone's cold hearted, come on buddy, Lighten up! You can't make friends like that!" Yang grinned,
"Don't need them, they'll only get in the way, besides, we're only gonna know each other for a while, Either way, I made it this far on my own." Yusaku replied
"What about your fa-"
"Don't have one, only family I had died a couple years back." Yusaku replied,
"O-oh…Sorry…" Yang said softly, Ace noticed the drop in mood then soon noticed the fifth member of the group. "Oh, hey there, what's your name?" He quickly asked the black haired young woman, she looked up from her book.
"Blake Belladonna." She replied
"Nice night right?" Ace grinned.
'Oh here we go." Yusaku rolled his eyes knowing what the young man was about to attempt, as did Yang, the blonde couldn't help but muffle her laughter while Ruby cocked her head in confusion.
"Yeah, almost as nice as this book…that I will continue to read…"
"Ah…Psst! Yusaku, Back me up! Be my wingman!" He whispered over to the young man, who only groaned and slapped his forehead. 'Why am I even entertaining this?'
"What's it about?" Ruby's sudden question shocked the group of five
"Huh?" Blake blinked in surprise
"Your book. Does it have a name?"
"Well... i-it's about a man with two souls, each fighting for control over his body." Blake explained her book
"Oh, yeah... That's real lovely!" Yang said sarcastically
"I love books. Yang used to read to me every night before bed. Stories of heroes and monsters... They're one of the reasons I want to be a Huntress!" Ruby gushed
"And why is that? Hoping you'll live happily ever after?" Blake questioned
'No such thing as a happy ever after or heroes that'll save someone in distress.' Yusaku rolled his eyes, not choosing to speak this words aloud, but it was Ruby's choice of words that surprised him
"Well, I'm hoping we all will. As a girl, I wanted to be just like those heroes in the books... Someone who fought for what was right, and protected people who couldn't protect themselves!"
A small smile came across Blake's lips, admiring Ruby's young innocence, "That's... very ambitious for a child" but her smile soon turned into a grim frown,
"Unfortunately, the real world isn't the same as a fairy tale." Yusaku suddenly spoke up, his arms folded before him
"Well, that's why we're here! To make it better." Ruby smiled
"Oh, I am so proud of my baby sister!" Yang cried out with joy, at the same time lifting her darling little sister into the air hugging her.
At the same time Ruby began to kick out like a kitten wishing to be left on the ground, "Cut it out!" The forced sisterly bonding soon evolved into a dust cloud of fighting limbs and stars.
Ace chuckled and black laughed slightly, while Yusaku looked at the group before him, only remember his time with his original group, his 'Family', allowing himself a faint smile that just as quickly vanished, "Well, Ruby, Ace, Yang, Yusaku, it's a pleasure to ha-"
"What in the world is going on over here?! Don't you realize some of us are trying to sleep?" It was the Ice Queen that stormed up to the scene of Ruby trapping Yang's legs, like the rest of them she was in her pajamas.
But the moment she spotted Yusaku and Yang the trio exclaimed at each other "Oh, not you again!" with Yusaku adding Ice Queen at the end.
"I-Ice Queen!? I have a Proper name you brute!"
"Yeah, I just don't care enough to remember!" Yusaku growled
"Well remember it you uncivilized brute, it's Weiss Schnee!" Weiss hissed the two practically inches apart from each other.
"Shh! Guys, she's right! People are trying to sleep!" Ruby yelped with worry, both to break up the looming fight between the two, and as she realized that people were in fact trying to sleep.
"Oh, now you're on my side!"
"I was always on your side!"
"Yeah, what's your problem with my sister? She's only trying to be nice!"
"She's a hazard to my health!"
"You're startin' to give me a damn migraine…" Yusaku growled while pinching the bridge of his nose
Blake, who rolls her eyes at the fight, simply closes her book, reaches over to grab her candle, and blows it out,
The Next Morning
After a lengthy wake up, Yusaku was the first at the cliff, once again dressed in his battle garb with Nameless fixed to his belt, as time went on he noticed the other test takers arriving, along with Professor Goodwitch.
"Sleep well, ?"
"…Amazingly…yeah." He replied, Glynda smiled giving a small nod, soon catching Ozpin.
Ozpin soon stepped before the group with his ever present coffee mug. He cleared his throat and began to speak. "For years you have trained to become warriors, and today your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest. Different kinds of Grimm live here, all ready to kill you at a moment's notice, this will be your chance to fight back, and show us what you are made of, we will not interfere nor give assistance, only stepping in if your life is in true danger,"
"Before we start, I wish to clear up any confusion, Yes, you will be broken into teams of four or even five, your partners will be decided by who you make Eye contact with first, and with who you work well with," Glynda said.
"Urk, T-Teams?" Yusaku groaned,
"Yes , "Glynda nodded.
"On that note! The moment you touch down, the first person you make eye contact with will be your Partner for the next four years."
'Ahhh crap.'
"U-Um, P-Professor Ozpin, when you say touch down, D-Do you mean we will be dropped off by Helicopter or…?" A blonde young man questioned, his voice quivering.
"Oh? No Mr. Arc, you will be landing on your own, with your own Land Strategy." Ozpin smiled, Yusaku watched as one student was launched, he sighed and drew his Nameless from its scabbard. "Oh I SEEEEEEE-ENHEHEHE!" Jaune whimpered as he was launched into a full on cartwheel. Yusaku couldn't help but sigh. "You're a sadistic bastard Ozpin."
Ozpin smiled. "Good morning to you too, Yusaku, and Good luck." Yusaku was soon launched himself, the young man managed to spin in the air and gain his barings, his onyx eyes sharpening as he found a good way to slow himself down, he soon came close to a large tree and with Nameless went into a spinning slash that hooking Nameless into the tree before spinning down it's trunk and landing.
"Alright than…just gotta pass this damn thing, find the temple, grab a damn relic and get out…just gotta make sure I don't make eye contact with anyone." He sighed and walked forward through the forest, a few solid minutes of silence passed before he heard rustling coming from the bushes, he spun around getting into his stance with Nameless before him.
"Ow! Hey! Stop pushing! Weiss that hurt!" A voice came from beyond, Yusaku cocked a brow upward, 'That voice…sounds very familiar…and NOT in a good way…"
"Then hurry up!" Another voice snapped, soon pushing the other forward a loud squeak coming from the first as a familiar black and re haired girl was pushed through the bushes and stopping directly in front of Yusaku, Silver eyes soon meeting Onyx Eyes.
"Aah!" Ruby gasped,
Yusaku's brow twitched in disbelief,
"F-Fancy meeting you here, Yusaku." Ruby laughed a little, behind her came the Ice Que-I mean Weiss Schnee. A long sigh escaped his lips as he spun around, turning his back on the two girls
"Give me a break, for FU-"
TO BE CONTINUED
