DISCLAIMER: I do not own anything RWBY
Rong Shan. Some called him sword saint. Others called him slaughterer. A name long lost in the minds of mortals. Some believe he had reached enlightenment and broken into the Heavens. Others believe that he'd simply died of old age from self-induced isolation.
*** Diyu(Netherworld) ***
On top of a mountain lies a humble hut, overlooking the cast cosmos. Vast arrays of colors, galaxies, and nebulae paint the background.
An elderly woman and a young man are sitting across from each other. Despite her age, her skin is free of wrinkles, her posture is full of grace, and her white hair runs like silk. It is quite obvious that she was quite the otherworldly beauty in her younger years. The young man sitting across from her looks rather ordinary. His brown hair runs down to shoulder length, and his height is neither short nor tall. His most standout feature are his eyes. Deep and dark, full of wisdom and age.
"Meng Po," the young man softly says. "Will you not grant me this favor?"
The elderly looking woman known as Meng Po sighs, "Rong Shan... There was such a bright future ahead of you, yet you chose to let it all go. If you'd wished, you would have easily broken through to-"
"I grew tired," Rong Shan gently interrupts. "What use is power and eternity if I'd already accomplished my goals?"
"Truly... What a shame," Meng Po shakes her head. "I'll only ask one more time. This is what you desire?"
Without a hint of hesitation, Rong Shan nods. "It is. I do not wish to let go of her memory."
Meng Po's eyes glimmer sadly and she waves away the cup of tea she'd prepared for Rong Shan.
"Very well," she says, then gestures to the edge of the mountain.
Rong Shan stands at the edge of the cliff and peers down at the swirling pools of light. Different worlds and planets flicker in and out of view. He takes a deep breath and closes his eyes, then leans forward to plunge down the mountainside.
Meng Po's appearance swirls and changes to a young woman with unmatched otherworldly beauty. Her soft eyes gaze down into the pools Rong Shan had dove into.
"May you find true fulfillment, Rong Shan," she murmurs to herself.
*** A Forest ***
A certain blonde knight jerks awake in the middle of a crater. Taking deep breathes, he looks around to take in the surroundings.
'A forest...'
He closes his eyes and crosses his legs, concentrating on organizing the surge of memories racing through his mind.
'This boy's name is Jaune Arc. He'd impacted the ground at high speed and the cause was... being launched from a cliff? An initiation for Beacon Academy... Huntsmen...'
One of his eyebrows raise curiously.
'Weak in physical ability, but the intensity of his memories suggest inner strength within the heart. Unfortunate, yet admirable... Pass in peace, Jaune Arc. To repay the debt of merging with your body, I will carry your name in this life.'
A rush of energy courses through his body. Though slightly alarmed at the sudden change, Jaune calmly concentrates and grabs hold of the foreign energy. Slowly, he circulates it through his muscles, organs, and bones, feeling them grow stronger with every pass. After less than a minute, the stream of energy begins to dwindle, and Jaune reopens his eyes.
'That energy felt similar to qi, but it seems to automatically replenish from the body. Intriguing...'
Jaune recalls the purpose of landing in this forest.
'Find a partner and locate a relic, whatever that may mean.'
Jaune glances down at his figure and peels away the remaining scraps of his armor. It would no longer be usable, as it had been completely destroyed from the impact. Near the crater's edge, Jaune locates a sword and scabbard in relatively good shape. He smoothly unsheathes Crocea Mors, causing it hum in the air.
'Good sword. Near peak level by mortal standards.'
His thoughts are interrupted by a beastly roar from his rear. Turning around, Jaune is faced by a large bulky bear-like creature covered in bone armor and glowing red eyes. Pawing the ground several times, the Ursa roars and charges at full speed. He widens his stance with the intent of testing his new body's capabilities, but he suddenly steps back.
A red and bronze spear whizzes past Jaune from the brush behind him and pierces deeply into the Ursa's right arm, rendering it useless. From the same brush, a young teenage girl with flowing red hair jumps out and kicks the Grimm's skull with both feet. As she kicks off from the head, she grabs her weapon's handle and lands in front of Jaune with her shield raised, demonstrating her intent of guarding Jaune. Meanwhile, Jaune watches with amused, yet, interested eyes.
'I believe her name is Pyrrha Nikos. An interesting way of engaging with the enemy. I wonder how she compares to the other students?'
Pyrrha takes a glance behind her at Jaune, checking to see if he is injured. She'd taken notice of his rather... unique form when free falling. She turns her attention back onto the Ursa in front. After taking a short moment to gauge it, she dashes forward towards its weakened side. The Ursa swings its left arm across to defend itself.
When Pyrrha reaches the Ursa's right side, she expertly steps and pivots on her front leg, twirling to its backside. With a quick slash of her weapon in xiphos form, the back of the Ursa's knees are cut. With the flick of her wrist, she switches to a reverse grip on her weapon and stabs it into the back of the incapacitated Ursa's skull, killing it instantly.
As the Ursa's corpse disintegrates into the air, Pyrrha flicks the black ichor off her weapon and makes her way back towards the blonde knight she'd saved. Her eyes gaze over his appearance.
'His armor has been reduced to scrap metal, and his clothes are in rather bad shape. Did he not cover them with his Aura? Why does he look so nervous?'
Jaune does his best to look nervous. After all, for all intents and purposes, he is a seventeen year old boy and should act as such.
'Hmm, perhaps I should invest some time into practicing my facial expressions when I am alone.'
"T-thank you for the assistance. Your name is... Pyrrha, right? My name is Jaune Arc," he holds his hand out.
Pyrrha's eyes brighten, then she enthusiastically grabs hold and shakes Jaune's hand.
"Well met Jaune."
She glances over him once again.
"Um... if you do not mind answering, why are your clothes and armor so damaged, while you look okay? Was your Aura not channeled through them?"
'Aura...'
Jaune rubs the back of his head and sheepishly laughs.
"I was rather nervous when we were launched from that cliff."
He brings his hand down and smiles, "Does this mean we are partners for the duration of this initiation?"
Pyrrha brightly smiles back.
"I suppose we are. Now, the only remaining objective is to retrieve a relic."
*** Later that afternoon ***
Jaune brings his shield up and deflects the claws of the Deathstalker, while Ren and Pyrrha sprint around to flank its sides. According to their plan, they shoot and cut at the base of its tail, causing it to lose tension and droop directly above its head.
"Nora!" Jaune calls out.
"On it!" Nora yells back before jumping onto Pyrrha's shield.
Timing their movements, Pyrrha launches Nora high into the air. At the very peak of the launch height, Nora presses a trigger, firing a blast from the back of her hammer and adding to her momentum as she falls. She spins forward rapidly with her hammer, then slams the Deathstalker's stinger directly into its brain, killing it.
"Yeah! That was awesome!" Nora cheers as she stands atop the Deathstalker's corpse.
Jaune chuckles to himself as he puts his shield away and sheathes Crocea Mors. He stands together with Pyrrha, Ren, and Nora as they watch team RWBY finish dispatching a Nevermore, its headless corpse now tumbling down a cliff.
Teams JNPR and RWBY excitedly make their way to the dorms, save for Jaune, who absentmindedly walks behind them, deep in thought.
'That headmaster had quite the strange look in his eyes when he designated me as team leader. Does he suspect something? And more importantly, if he does, is he an enemy? There is also the issue with Aura, as I am unable to recall any knowledge of Aura from Jaune Arc's memories. This means that I will have to explore the possibilities of Aura and its nature in my own time. There is much I do not fully understand of this world.'
"-aune. Jaune!"
Jaune looks up, blinking his eyes.
"Yes? I apologize as I was rather caught up within my thoughts."
"Well, stop that and help us make this important decision!" Nora exclaims.
Jaune tilts his head, "What decision?"
"You silly tortoise! We need to decide which side of the room we each sleep on!" Nora loudly sighs.
'Excuse me?'
Jaune sighs, "I don't particularly care. You three may decide amongst yourselves and I will take whichever spot is left."
In the end, Ren and Nora claim one side, while Jaune and Pyrrha are on the other. As the sun had set and they prepare for bed, Jaune rummages through his bags for sleeping clothes. When he pulls out a particular article of clothing, he fails to stifle a loud groan, catching the attention of the other three. They peer over the shoulder of their leader, seeing his hand tightly gripping a Pumpkin Pete onesie.
Jaune blankly stares at the abomination in his hand.
'If this was not a gift from Jaune Arc's sister, it would have already been set ablaze. I would rather die than be caught wearing this...'
"Hmm, this thing needs a wash so I don't be able to wear this," Jaune nods. "Unfortunately, it will need to be stored in my closet. Indefinitely."
He promptly shoves the onesie into the very back of his closet and grabs a normal shirt and shorts to change into. Ignoring the stares from his teammate, he crawls into his bed with his back turned towards them.
"Good night everyone."
Pyrrha fails to suppress a snort, prompting Nora to roar with laughter, while Ren smirks from the side in amusement.