Time to hammer this one out. Hey, UknownHero here and welcome to another chapter of A Simple Mission Rebirth! Yeah... Been stuck on writing a chapter for Time To Make History (it's still a thing) and I wanted to do a chapter this month after skipping last month so... here it is. God, I wanna write up more about the Angel but I wanna space it out, only coming in the beginning, middle and end of this arc.
Speaking of arcs, I have to deal with Jaune Arc and his frequent depictions as a harem protagonist in FanFiction. I really hate it and I wanna make as much fun out of it as I can.
Oh, and this fic has a TV Tropes page now! Check it out. I actually kinda gave in and made it myself.
So, onto the reviews! To a random Guest: Yeah... that's permanent. There's a reason for that. Everything I write generally has a reason. To MegaElite: Thanks! And yeah, my crappy upload schedule (which is non-existent) is something I should work on... though university does put a damper on things. Oh, and uh... I'm having trouble with one of the most basic things you have to do in Unity: Making the player hurt the enemy. I have no idea how I do that! Goddamn it, I can code using pseudo but I can't do it in C-Sharp! Uh, sorry about that. Um, to white1498: ...I'm pretty sure I put in RvB references somewhere in this story... but I'll work on that front.
Okay, that's it! Time to dive back into the world of Remnant! Here we go!
Load Game... Start!
Chapter 25: A Simple Status Quo
"Okay, maybe going AWOL was a bad idea." Yang mumbled out before blowing a strand of hair out of her face.
Their first step into Vale since coming back to Remnant from Japan was... rather eventful. They didn't know what happened but someone must've recognised them and called Beacon or something. It was kind of a blur, with all the tear gas and all but the eventually found themselves in the local police station's interrogation room, cuffed with their hands behind their backs, their weapons confiscated and their Semblances suppressed by a special machine installed in the room.
They had no idea where everyone else was. Raven was more than likely getting Rias, Pancakes and the rest to a safe location, hopefully to wait it out until the situation is resolved.
"Dad's gonna kill us. Dad is so gonna kill us." Ruby whimpered, feeling quite empty with one of her scy-ifles on her.
"I'm sorry, but our parents are the least of our worries!" Weiss shouted out in between panicked sobs. "We're going to jail, we're gonna go to jail for the rest of our lives!"
"Calm down." Blake told the Heiress. "They're probably just going to question why we were away longer than necessary. All we need to do is stay calm, tell what happened and then hope for the best."
"Blake, we can't tell them about-" Yang started only for the former Faunus to tilt her head towards a corner in the ceiling. Yang looked and saw it was a security camera, hidden in the shadows of the room. There was probably a microphone on it too. "Oh, okay. I get it. Princess, just follow Blake's lead. She's got this."
After several more minutes of waiting, listening to only Weiss' eventually fading sobs, a familiar face entered the room.
"Pr-Professor Ozpin. Hi!" Ruby nervously greeted as the Headmaster as well as Professor Goodwitch. "So... How's-"
"Miss Rose, be quiet." Glynda interrupted harshly, causing Ruby to wince as her head drooped down. This was not going to be the same as the robbery. "I would like to remind you all that all of you are in a great deal of trouble. Not only did you go missing after the date we specified you would return, but also possessed illegal weapons and modifications and destroyed the provided apartment building. As well as risking the discovery of Remnant to Earth."
The RWBYs noted that Glynda didn't mention bringing along people from Earth. That would've gotten them deeper into trouble.
"Now, now. I'm sure they have good reasons to do as such." Ozpin said as he sat down. "I know Team RWBY would never do such things without good reason."
"But sir, this is not something that can be excused! I'm sorry, but I request the immediate expulsion of Team RWBY from Beacon!" Glynda stated, causing Ruby to panic. No, they can't get expelled! That would mean they could never become Huntresses.
And to that statement, they all began to speak their thoughts about that decision.
"No, wait!" Yang called out, her eyes flashing red before restraining herself.
"I don't wanna go back to father... I don't want to..." Weiss began to hyperventilate.
"Everyone. Calm down." Blake stated. This was still a salvageable situation, they just had to choose the right words.
"Please! We can explain!" Ruby begged, close to tears. This wasn't happening, she wouldn't allow it!
"Can you?" Ozpin spoke up after taking a sip of his coffee. "Because if you cannot, I'm afraid that I must allow Miss Goodwitch here to go through with your expulsions."
The RWBYs quickly went silent before they all looked at each other.
This was their only chance to prevent their expulsions.
Ruby, Weiss and Yang all turned their gazes to Blake, who already had a plan in mind.
"...We were... We were experimented on." Blake sighed out, acting as if she was bringing up bad memories.
The others quickly caught on and winced at the false, horrible memories they possessed.
"Experimented on?" Ozpin repeated as he leaned forward.
"We... We found the source of all those strange occurrences. Black winged people. Where one's wishes come true. We found the location where it was all happening, deep underground. We went in and... we ended up getting captured." Blake explained. "They tortured us. Changed us into... something else."
"What do you mean?" Goodwitch asked, looking rather skeptical. That cued the first Bishop of Ruby's peerage to do something.
"Dispel." Weiss whispered out, barely audible to human ears as she broke Akeno's illusion, which she had set up prior to arriving.
Glynda suddenly quietly gasped as she saw the illusion melt away. To her, Ruby went from the innocent 15 year old she was known for since she came to Beacon to a 17 year old who was looked much hotter than her older half-sister.
Glynda then panicked a little when she thought that.
"...Your scar is gone." Ozpin noted as Weiss looked away from the Headmaster.
"We got stronger, faster, we could heal from surely fatal injuries. Even the deepest scars are nothing but a memory." Blake continued. "And... they... they turned me into a Faunus..." She then brought out her whiskers and tail, just to sell it more.
"...Japan does have an obsession with cat Faunus-like characters..." Ozpin muttered out.
"And... gave us these." Ruby added as they all simultaneously brought out their Devil wings. "And we used all of these new powers to destroy them all." She said darkly, her silver eyes glowing slightly.
Ozpin and Glynda just glanced at each other. The young Huntress-in-Training had the eyes of a veteran Hunter. That wasn't something you can fake.
"Is this why you stayed on Earth?" Glynda questioned.
"We were afraid that people would hunt us down. Like Grimm." Yang stated. "So... we stayed."
"And why did you come back?" Ozpin asked.
"Er... we ran out of money...?" Weiss chuckled nervously while Yang resisted the urge to face palm.
"Um, yeah, and we still have friends and family here." Ruby added in. "And... to some of them, we're all they have left." She sighed out, the image of Taiyang appearing in her mind.
The room fell into silence as Ozpin and Glynda processed this new (false) information while the RWBYs anxiously hoped that they bought that crap.
Finally, after a minute or two of contemplating, Ozpin knew what he had to do.
"...I see." The Headmaster said as he finished his cup. "It seems to me you have gone through much during your mission on Earth. I feel sorry for sending you there in the first place."
"It's... It's okay." Ruby had to suppress the urge to sigh in relief along with her teammates. "We did our mission in the end, didn't we?"
"So... are we free to go?" Weiss had to ask, hope in her voice.
"I don't see a reason not to." Ozpin replied. "However, I cannot allow you to participate in the Vytal Festival Tournament."
"WHAT!?" The RWBYs exclaimed.
"But... it was going to be our first tournament." Ruby whispered out in a depressed tone.
"Yes, I know and I am sorry for this, but your... modifications may have affected your health. It may not be apparent now but it could have long-term consequences or delayed symptoms. Team RWBY must attend a weekly check up at the school infirmary, no exceptions. See it as punishment for destroying the apartment as that cannot be explained by your changes." Ozpin stated.
"Okay, that wasn't-" Yang wanted to argue before Glynda slapped her riding crop on the table.
"While I may disagree with Professor Ozpin, I trust his judgement and you should too." Goodwitch said. "Frankly, you would've gotten harsher punishments if it were me. Are we clear?"
Well, it was this, jail or expulsion.
"Yes, Headmaster." The RWBYs sighed in unison.
"Good. Now you are all free to go back to your dorm." Ozpin said as he stood up as he and Glynda started to leave the room.
"Um... aren't you gonna unlock our cuffs?" Yang asked. Ozpin turned his head and gave the team an amused smirk.
"Why bother? You've already gotten out of them by now." The Headmaster pointed out as he closed the door behind him.
"He knew?" Weiss got out in disbelief as she rubbed her wrists. She unlocked her handcuffs by using a combination of wind magic and her glyphs to push the pins and turn the lock.
"That's Ozpin for ya. Nothing really gets past him most of the time." Yang replied as she tried to hide the shattered remains of her handcuffs.
"Just be relieved he actually bought it." Blake said, glancing up to make sure the camera was off before hiding her lockpicking kit in her shoes. "Hey, Ruby, you okay?"
"Give me a sec! Come on! Come on!" Ruby growled while on the ground next to her tipped over chair, slowly pulling her legs under her arms. "Almost got it! Ugh, I can't see because of my boobs!"
"I got it." Yang said as she destroyed Ruby's handcuffs. "There. Next time, ask for help when your big sis to."
"I would've gotten out them eventually." Ruby grumbled with a cute pout. Yang just laughed at her cute face. "Hey! Anyways, we should find the others before we head to Beacon. I wanna give them the tour."
"Or, we can get a head start on our training for the next tournament." Weiss suggested, which was promptly ignored.
"And we may as well enjoy all the free time we have now." Blake pointed out. "I really need to catch up on the books I left at Beacon."
"Speaking of stories, where did the whole experimentation thing come from?" Yang asked.
"From one of the manga I bought while on Earth." Blake answered before sighing. "Still can't believe we managed to convince him."
"Well, let's not worry about it now. Let's find Issei and the others and show them the wonderful world of Remnant!" Ruby declared as she and her servants dashed out of the police station, going past Ozpin and Glynda on their way out.
"...You do realise I don't believe a single word that came out of their mouths, right?" Glynda admitted as Ozpin refilled his mug. "Something else happened to them, and I want to know why."
"Please, Miss Goodwitch. Relax and allow them to keep it to themselves. There are some things the world is not ready for." Ozpin said as he took a sip of his coffee.
Glynda couldn't help but roll her eyes. Of course he knew the truth, but was keeping it from her.
God, she could use a drink right now.
(A few minutes later...)
It was a peaceful day in Vale. People were still dealing with the consequences of the Breach, but life still went on even in darkest of moment. Raven couldn't help but feel disgusted. It was almost like nothing happened since then. Only the one who lost someone or saw death for the first time were the only ones who cared enough to remember it.
And it all fun and games until someone screams-
"THEY HAVE HOLOGRAPHIC STREET LIGHTS!" Issei shouted out, causing the public around him to all at the Perverted Pawn weirdly. Rias and her peerage had switched out of their uniforms and into more plain-looking clothes, making sure they wouldn't stand out too much. "That means personal holographic girls! Hatsune Miku pole dancing, here I come!"
WHAM!
"Shut up." Koneko sighed out as Issei crumpled to the ground, clutching onto his hip.
"Y-You realise I'm right here." Rias deadpanned, shaking her head at her Pawn's antics.
"Thank you." Raven breathed a sigh of relief. 'This has to be karma for Yang. I am not great with children.' She mentally groaned as she pinched the bridge of her nose.
"You know, this place is a little underwhelming I have to admit." Akeno admitted while looking around the Commercial District. "I mean, there's a lot of technology you'd never see on Earth but it's not as different as I was expecting."
"Hm, there is a lot of construction though in this area." Kiba noted. "It looks like there was an attack here."
"There was." Penny solemnly spoke up. "Quite recently, there was breach caused by an anti-human extremist group (the White Fang) that brought Grimm into the city using abandoned underground tunnels. Note: Team RWBY was there when it happened, after failing to stop the train in the first place."
"Speaking of them, maybe we should head for the police station." Kiba suggested. "I'm afraid they might still be in jail if they haven't managed to leave yet."
"They'll be fine. I'm sure they can find us." Raven said.
"You don't know where the police station is, do you?" Rias deadpanned.
"It's been a years, okay!" Raven snapped as she sat on a nearby bench. "I haven't been here in a while! Plus, my favourite bakery is under-construction so I'm a little ticked off right now. We'll go find them soon, but please leave me alone. It's been a very, very long couple of days."
"Mother of the Year, right here." Yang spoke up in a sarcastic tone as Team RWBY walked up to the group. There was genuine anger in her tone. Just because they've gotten closer, doesn't mean she hasn't forgiven her.
"Oh, you're back!" Issei said as he picked himself off the ground. "So, is uh... everything taken care of? Are you in trouble?"
"If you mean we're not going to jail, no, we're good." Ruby replied. "So, what have you guys been doing while we were away?"
"Just exploring the town. I mean... you have holographic streetlights!" Issei answered.
"You're impressed by that?" Blake deadpanned. "Out of all things, you're impressed by that?"
"Well, that has to be more complicated than setting up a real streetlight." Rias admitted. "Although, it would make decorating the town for holidays rather convenient."
"Can we please head back to Beacon?" Weiss asked in a tired voice. "I just wanna go and sleep in a familiar bed and forget about the last few weeks."
"It would be nice to see Beacon again." Ruby admitted. "Alright, let's go back. You guys gonna come with?"
"You betcha!" Issei automatically replied, eager to see the types of girls there. Maybe they had a peephole he could use while he was here!
"Well, looks like everyone's eager to see Beacon." Rias stated as the others walked up to them.
"Not me." Raven spoke up. "I'll probably come tomorrow though. I need to find a place to stay for while and I doubt the school will like a notorious bandit crashing in one of their dorms."
"Speaking of which, we need a place to stay too." Kiba said.
"Pancakes can stay at our dorm. I think we have a spare blanket and pillow." Weiss said. Pancakes nodded, though a nice spot of soft floor would suffice for her. "And maybe Rias and her peerage can pass off as students from a different school since they're visiting Beacon for the tournament. Just say you're late arrivals from Shade Academy. I'm sure there's a few spare dorms you can stay in for the time being."
"They'll need fake Student IDs though." Blake pointed out.
"Don't need to. A little bit of memory modification should suffice." Rias replied with a smirk. "A necessary evil unless we want sleep on the streets."
"Or we can stay where Branwen-san goes." Issei suggested, their collective gazes turning to the oldest person in their group.
"No." Raven said automatically in a flat tone.
"Yeah, wasn't expecting you to." Yang muttered out.
"Well, we better get going now before the sun starts to set and the last Bullhead leaves." Ruby said.
"Bullhead?" Issei repeated.
"The fastest way from Vale to Beacon. Now hurry up, we're wasting time." Weiss answered before taking in a deep breath. "You know what; it's good to be home." She admitted with a smile on her face.
"You miss this place after a while." Blake breathed, taking in the air.
"Even if it's an entire world, it's good to be back." Ruby stated as she looked up at the sky.
"You said it, Rubles." Yang agreed with a grin as they made their way to Beacon. "Welcome home."
(Some time later...)
"Man, when are they gonna get back?" Jaune mumbled under his breath, he and his team waiting for the next Bullhead to arrive. After a tough training session, they decided to rewards themselves with a dinner in the city.
"Are you talking about Team RWBY or the Bullheads?" Nora asked, starting to feel her stomach grumble. She literally (figuratively) dying of hunger here!
"I'm sure he's talking Team RWBY." Pyrrha spoke up. "They have been away for a while and lately things have felt... different since they left."
"No, I'm pretty sure he was talking about both." Ren said with a sigh. "You guys are just missing them. They're going to come back."
"Yeah, we know, but Beacon still feels a little weird without them around." Nora admitted before hearing distant engines. "Hey, the Bullheads are coming. I am so ordering the filet mignon!"
"Nora, we're going to Olivia's Garden." Jaune pointed out.
"What!? Olivia's Garden sucks! I'd rather to Red Lobsta! Their cheddar biscuits are awesome." Nora complained before pouting.
"Huh? No! Olivia's Garden breadsticks are better than Lobsta cheddar biscuits!" Jaune called out.
"Hahaha! Oh, that's a good joke, Jaune. Oh wow, you are such a jokester!" Nora laughed out as she wiped away tear before looking serious. "We're going to Red Lobsta or break your knees."
"It was worth it last time. Wanna try again, Valkyrie?" Jaune challenged as sparks flew between them.
"Oh no." Pyrrha and Ren groaned in unison.
"Hey Pyrrha, Ren. Nora and Jaune having the cheddar sticks argument again?" the leader of team RWBY asked as she walked up to the JNPRs to see the commotion.
"Yeah, looks like it Ruby." Pyrrha sighed out. "Looks like we're gonna have to stop by two restaurants tonight."
She then blinked and realised who she was talking to.
"R-Ruby!?" Pyrrha exclaimed as she looked at the older, bustier-looking Red Reaper and stumbled back a little. "R-Ruby, you've... you've... you're back!"
"Er... yep! We kinda are, aren't we?" Ruby chuckled out with a small blush on her face. She had told Akeno to not cast an illusion over the team. It was going to be too much of a hassle to deal with when the illusion eventually dissipates and just wanted to get it out of the way rather than deal with all the shock and stuff in the future.
"Sup, guys! How's it been since we left?" Yang greeted at the rest of Team RWBY, as well as a few new faces came with them. Penny had to go and do business with her creator and team but promised to meet again tomorrow.
"Huh?" Jaune and Nora paused their argument to turn to see that the team they've been talking about earlier had arrived.
"Wow, I knew Ruby's Xiao Long genes would kick in eventually but... now I'm wondering how young Yang was when it kicked in." Nora mumbled out.
"Hey! We missed you..." Jaune called out as he ran up to the group before trailing off as he started to stare at... Ruby's new assets.
"Okay! We get it! Ruby had a growth spurt! Back off!" Yang called out.
"But uh... that's more than a..." Pyrrha started to speak only to be interrupted.
"It's classified. All you need to know is that it's a result of our mission." Blake stated with a small glare, telling them to drop it.
All the JNPRs knew about Team RWBY's mission and everything related to it was that it was top secret so they had no choice but to let go of all the questions about Ruby's new height, waist and bust.
"And I started using makeup on my scar. Okay, good. Sleep." Weiss quickly said as she walked by, only to be pulled to the group by Yang.
"Oh no Princess, we just got back. Can't you spare a few minutes to talk with some friends and introduce 'em to our new ones?" Yang said with a smile.
"I guess that's our cue." Rias spoke up as she stepped forward and pulled out her hand. "Hello, we're from Shade Academy. We met these girls earlier today. I'm Rias Gremory."
"Pyrrha Nikos. A pleasure to meet you." Pyrrha replied as she shook the Gremory King's hand.
"Lie Ren. Nice to meet you too but... I don't think I've seen you anywhere." Ren stated as he narrowed his eyes. He would've definitely recognised her on campus, as well as every single person that even had the slightest attraction to girls.
Plus, with the red hair and similar-coloured eyes, she could probably pass off as a relative to Pyrrha. And that wouldn't have gone unnoticed.
Even the Champion herself was squinting at the sight of the girl. It was rather odd.
"We got caught up in personal matters and were unable to come right away, but we're here now." Rias replied before glancing to her peerage (and Pancakes). "And this... is..."
"Why... are there two of them!?" Issei growled out, glaring at the Prince and the Knight with equal hate. "Seriously, you have your own damn Prince here!?"
The RWBYs and Nora couldn't help but snort or laugh at that statement.
"Hey!" Jaune called out before sighing. "Though you can't exactly disagree." He mumbled under his breath. "The name's Jaune Arc. Rolls off the tongue and the ladies love it." He said while winking at a group of girls passing by.
Who promptly froze then ran away.
'I'm getting the feeling he'll get along with Issei-kun.' Kiba thought with a chuckle.
'Damn him! He has a better reputation than me!' Issei mentally fumed before thinking. 'Though, I have to admit that's not much of a feat. But I think it's getting a little better though.'
It was not. Moving on.
"Well, Jaune-kun, my name is Kiba Yuuto. And this here is my friend, Issei Hyoudou." Kiba introduced as he pulled Issei closer by the shoulder.
"I can introduce myself!" Issei complained.
"I'm Akeno Himejima. Please take care of me." Akeno said with a bow.
The JNPRs only looked at the dark-haired girl in confusion.
"What?" Jaune got out.
"I-It's a saying from where she was born." Blake quickly explained. "It means to both please and thank you. It's used to makea request and also to thank the person, either before or after they do it for you."
"I... haven't heard of that before." Nora admitted. "But hey, you learn something new every day. The name's Nora Valkyrie."
"Koneko Toujou." Koneko simply said as she licked her ice-cream.
"Aw... You look so cute and small. How can you be a Huntress?" Nora cooed as she looked down at Koneko. "You're more like a cute little kitty than a-ACK!" She then screamed out in pain as Koneko stuffed her fist into her gut.
"I'm not... small." Koneko said in a flat tone before taking her fist out, allowing Nora to collapse onto the ground.
"Nora!" Jaune called out concern as Ren helped the Pink Bomber to her feet. "Are you alright!?"
"Urgh..." Nora groaned in pain. "Stomach. Eating itself. Punch. Less painful. Than empty stomach."
"She's okay." Ren deadpanned.
Ruby then coughed, getting everyone's attention as the Royal Pawn pushed the resident Fallen Angel forward. "And this, um... well... Just introduce yourself." Ruby sighed out.
"My name is Pancakes." Pancakes introduced herself in her usual empty and dull tone. Jaune, Pyrrha and Ren were a little weirded out by the girl. Her eyes were soulless and her voice lacked life.
However, Nora ignored all that and only responded to one single thing.
"Excuse me." Nora got out, her pain forgotten.
"My name is Pancakes." Pancakes repeated in the same tone as before.
"...Excuse me?" Nora got out in disbelief.
"My name is Pancakes." Pancakes said once again.
"H-Her real name is Pan Cagayake but she goes by Pancakes." Blake explained.
"She's... a little peculiar but she's... um..." Ruby tried to figure out something that would make Pancakes seem... appealing, however Nora beat her to it and grabbed Pancakes by the shoulders.
"Your name is Pancakes." Nora said.
"My name is Pancakes." Pancakes said.
"Your name is Pancakes." Nora said, getting excited.
"My name is Pancakes." Pancakes said.
"Can... Can you make pancakes, Pancakes?" Nora asked with hope in her tone.
Pancakes only blinked at her.
"Close enough to a yes, new best friend!" Nora cheered out as she hugged the girl in the tightest grip she could muster.
"Oh dear Lord..." Ren groaned, causing the Devils to hide their sudden headaches.
"Well, it was very nice to meet you all and see you all get along but it's been a tough past few days so I'm going back to the dorm to sleep." Weiss said as she started to walk off.
"Oh, hey, wait! You seem kinda tired, u-uh well, you did admit you're already tired and I-I just wanted to-" Jaune tried to talk but his own nervousness was causing him to mess up.
"Jaune, this not a good time to ask for a date." Weiss growled. "Besides, you have a tournament to train for. Your teammates are relying on you and you can't let them down."
"Yeah, wait no but uh..." Jaune tried to think of something to fix the situation only for Weiss to stomp her foot.
"For the millionth time, no!" Weiss shouted out. She was close to her breaking point and it hasn't even been a day since they arrived at Remnant. She wanted to forget all this Devil shit for at least a few hours and relax. They had already lost their place in the tournament, became denizens of Hell and were going to have to lie for the rest of their lives.
She did not want to deal with this right now.
Meanwhile, Jaune winced. All he wanted to do was invite Weiss to dinner with his team. He didn't bother to invite the rest since they only had enough for one extra person and well, he kinda wanted to fix their relationship. Sure, he had a major crush on her for a while but after the dance he let it go, preferring to have her as a friend. Though, thanks to his advances she generally avoided him nowadays, automatically assuming that he was going as her out.
He gave up on having her as a girlfriend, but he could at least try to be her friend.
'This is so stupid. Why won't he give up?' Weiss mentally deadpanned as the others just grimaced at the two. 'This is just pathetic. I just want go to the death trap that's waiting to happen that I call my bed and go the hell to sleep. Doesn't he realise he doesn't even stand a chance in the first place!? Father's probably going to flick him away like a fly. Probably give him a restraining order; maybe give me a bodyguard at all times. Plus there's always...' She then glanced at Pyrrha, who looked a little depressed. 'You know what, I'm going to do Pyrrha a favour... and crush his heart. Oh Hell, I think Akeno is rubbing off on me because I'm actually looking forward to it.'
"Are you going to leave me alone unless necessary?" Weiss asked in a flat tone.
"Huh? What?" Jaune dumbly got out.
"Say yes before I stab you in the foot." Weiss growled.
"...Yes...?" Jaune replied with a confused yet scared look on his face.
"Fine. Let's go out." The Heiress said with an eye roll and a sigh.
SHATTER!
"For fuck's sake, Garasu! This isn't fucking amateur hour, you dumb fucking cockbite! Fuckin' balls!" A glass replacement man yelled at his partner after dropping at least 10 panes of glass. "THIS IS WHY MEINU LEFT YOU!"
Jaune looked even more confused while ignoring the distant sounds a man being attacked by someone using shattered glass as a weapon. "...What?" Jaune said once again.
"She said yes." Ren pointed out, his jaw thoroughly on the floor.
"Yeah, I know but..." Jaune then paused as he flashbacked to the last three seconds just to make sure it was real. "...What...?"
"I'll go on a date with you so you'll finally leave me alone. This weekend or whatever. I don't care. Just don't be late." Weiss grunted as she stomped away from the group, not noticing that she was stomping away from the dorms.
"...Did Weiss just ask me out?" Jaune muttered to himself.
Then it really hit him.
He had a date with Weiss Schnee.
He had a date with Weiss Schnee.
Jaune Arc, the worst of the worst, the unluckiest man in Beacon, the Dork Knight, the Vomit Boy.
Had a date.
"Okay." Jaune got out before shaking his head before smiling. Okay, maybe that crush wasn't gone but he wasn't going to turn down his first date. "Okay! I'll call you when everything's ready!"
Jaune couldn't hear what Weiss said in response but he was pretty it wasn't anything nice. Still, he had a chance. And that was all he needed.
"I'm gonna go and uh... Yeah I'm just gonna go." Jaune said as he ran off, kicking his heels together on the way back to the dorm, leaving behind the frozen bodies of his teammates and friends.
"W-Weiss!?" Ruby exclaimed, wondering if Weiss knew the consequences of her actions.
"Weiss... what have you done..." Blake whispered out.
"Oh no." Rias said simply with a wince.
"This might go badly." Akeno muttered out.
"Schnee-chan, do you have any idea how much you hurt such a close friend?" Kiba mumbled out quietly.
"..." Koneko only grimaced in silence. The Spartan's crush on the Blonde Knight was extremely obvious.
"Did that just happen!? Did that really just happen!?" Yang got out in disbelief. This was a dream. This had to be a dream.
"P-Pyrrha..." Nora whispered out in concern, her heart aching for the Heartbroken Champion.
"A... A... A..." Pyrrha choked out, her left eye twitching as tears started to well up in her eyes.
"Something tells me that was a bad idea." Issei admitted before wincing as Yang slapped him in the back of the head.
"Although you have not commanded, I will do my best to ensure that Weiss-sama will-MMPH!" Pancakes started to say, only for Blake to cover her mouth.
"Pyrrha... I..." Nora went over to comfort the girl, reaching out only for her hand pushed away. Pyrrha barely glanced at them before drifting away towards... somewhere. Just not here. "Pyrrha! Wait! Um, Pancakes, come with me! She's going to need the comfort food." She said as she dashed off to chase her friend.
Pancakes remained silent and unmoving, only looking at the Pink Bomber in confusion.
"I will only act when my Mistre-" Pancakes started, only to be interrupted.
"Pancakes. Follow Nora and do what she just asked of you before." Ruby ordered without a second thought.
"Yes, of course, Ruby-sama." Pancakes responded with a bow before following the two girls of JNPR.
"...I'm gonna go and beat some sense into Miss Heartbreaker." Yang growled as she her fully-covered leather gloves before chasing after the Heiress.
"Not even a day." Blake sighed out as chased after Yang, aiming to stop her from killing the Bishop.
"Well... we're just gonna find someone from staff and get a dorm assigned to us." Rias said, feeling awkward right now. "We'll see you tomorrow for the tour."
"Yeah, see you." Ruby mumbled out.
"I'm gonna go to back to the dorm. Looks like dinner's cancelled." Ren said before hugging Ruby. "It's good to see you back."
"Yeah. Thanks." Ruby sighed out as Ren left her alone, standing in the courtyard before collapsing onto the ground. "Welcome back, Ruby Rose." She whispered out as she closed her eyes.
"What? You didn't have a welcome back party?" A familiar voice asked, causing Ruby to open her eyes.
"DAD!?" Ruby exclaimed as she quickly got up before covering herself. "I-D-D-D-GROWTH SPURT!" She shouted out before coughing. "I-I mean... why are you here...?"
"What? I can't see my own daughter?" Taiyang chuckled out as he hugged the Red Reaper. "You've grown a lot since you came to Beacon, huh?"
"Do you mean mentally or physically?" Ruby questioned.
"A little bit of both but uh... you're not dating anyone, are you?" Taiyang asked, narrowing his eyes.
"What!? No!" Ruby quickly responded while flailing her arms around. "I came to Beacon to be a Huntress! Not get a boyfriend!"
"Or a girlfriend. I won't mind." Taiyang said, causing Ruby to blush, remembering that night with Rias... the night before meeting Raiser. "But, um... it's been a long time since you..."
"Hm?" Ruby looked confused before eyes widened. "O-Oh... yeah... It has been, hasn't it? I forgot. I'm sorry."
"Don't be. Just..." Taiyang sighed out. "I'll take you there, if you want to."
Ruby didn't have to think about it.
She nodded.
(The next day...)
Patch. Where legends were born and laid to rest.
The weather was nice on the cliff. The sun was just rising and there was a pleasant breeze Ruby could feel as she walked up to the sole grave at the edge of the cliff.
"I'll not leave thee, thou lone one. To pine on the stem; since the lovely are sleeping, go, sleep thou with them. Thus kindly I scatter, thy leaves o'er the bed, where thy mates of the garden lie scentless and dead." Ruby whispered out.
One more look back to make sure she was alone before she started to speak to the woman she loved so much, yet couldn't even remember her face.
"Hey mum. It's been a while since I've come here, huh." Ruby whispered to the grave in front of her, pulling down her hood. "I... I look really different, don't I? I kinda had a growth spurt over the last few weeks among... other things. Yeah, things have been... well, things have been pretty crazy. Criminal organisations, other worlds... arranged marriages. Oh, Dad's here, too! He's, uh, you know... Dad." Ruby then shrugged. "He's still teaching at Signal. But he told me that he's going to be on some mission soon. I think he misses adventuring with you. I miss you too."
"Haven't gotten kicked out of Beacon yet! Kinda got close one time but I'm still there. I think being on a team with Yang helps. Keep her in line... That was a joke." Ruby said awkwardly. "She's actually a really great fighter! You can tell she's learned a lot from Dad! Oh, so are Weiss and Blake. Oh! They're my teammates! Together, we form Team RWBY! And yes, before you ask, that does cause a lot of confusion. Anyways, I made a bunch of new friends, and then I met some... let's just say, uh, odd teachers. Oh! We've also stopped some bad guys, too! I guess it's like they say: like mother, like daughter! I still wonder why Ozpin let me into the school early. But uh, I guess he'll tell me one day. You know how he is. It's funny, the more I get to know him, the more he's starting to sound like Uncle Qrow."
That reminded Ruby. Uncle Qrow hasn't seen her in her new body and Raven was in Vale right now. That was going to be a thing if he did come to visit.
"Oh! Speaking of new friends, I went to a new world and made some there too!" Ruby said excitededly.
"It was... nice over there in Japan. It was so different from here yet pretty similar. I wish you could've been there. And hey, they're here now and they seem really excited to see Remnant for all its worth. S-Sure, it wasn't under the best of circumstances but..."
Ruby trailed off before sighing. She didn't want to lie to mum, no matter how big the secret was. She couldn't in good conscious. Swallowing some spit, she began to speak again.
"Can you keep secret? I'm... sort of a not human now. I'm... I'm kind of a Devil now. I'm still the little girl you know, just with... lots of additions. And there's thing called the Evil Piece system, which allows you to have servants, well not actually servants but more like teammates, or like... chess pieces... and I'm the King of my own peerage." Ruby admitted, looking down at her feet. "Yang's in it, Weiss and Blake are in it, a girl named Penny, Raven and... Pancakes. Yeah, there's a story there but maybe that's for another time. She makes really good pancakes though! Maybe I'll leave you some next time. Nora... Nora has her pretty busy right now. For selfish and selfless reasons."
She turned around and saw that her dad and Zwei were back. That meant that she was out of time.
"Oh! Looks like Dad's back! I gotta go! He's dropping me off at Beacon before he goes on his next mission. I can't participate this year but I'm gonna cheer for everyone that can!" She declared as put the hood back on. She started to walk away, but stopped. She then turned to her mother a smile on her face. "It was really nice talking to you. Goodbye, mum. I love you."
"So, how was the talk?" Taiyang asked as they started heading back home.
"...Good." Ruby simply replied. "I needed that. I miss so much."
"I do too but... We all have to move on, right?" Her father said, looking up at the sky. He had a feeling that Summer was watching over them.
"Yeah. Move on." Ruby muttered her breath.
My end is your beginning…
I know… I wasn't there for you… when you needed me most but just know…
You don't need me anymore…
I'm so proud of what you've become without me… And I'm sure you'll never cease to make me happy I was there for you… even if I wasn't in your life for very long…
Ruby… please…
Ruby…!
"Ruby!" Taiyang called out, getting his daughter's attention. "Hurry up! I'm sure you want to get to Beacon before the first match, right?"
"Right!" Ruby replied with a nod before catching up, a bright smile on her face. "These next few days are gonna be awesome!" She cheered out.
(A few hours later...)
"Ladies and gentlemen! Our next team to come onto the field is... Rias Gremory, Issei Hyoudou, Akeno Himejima and Sora Nai! From Shade Academy, put your hands together for Team RIAS!" Professor Port announced. "Now, isn't that a coincidence that their team name is the same as their leader's name?"
"Right you are! And each of them has rather unique Semblances that could allow for some real off-the-wall strategies!" Oobleck replied as their pictures and some information about the team appeared on the big screen.
Shade Academy—Team RIAS:
Rias Gremory
Semblance: Power of Destruction
Weapon: Devil Trigger & Dragon's Breath
Issei Hyoudou
Semblance: Dress Break
Weapon: Boosted Gear
Akeno Himejima
Semblance: Flight
Weapon: S & M
Sora Nai
Semblance: Sword Birth
Weapon: None
"You put that... that technique from the Rating Games as your Semblance!?" Rias yelled at her Pawn in disbelief, who cowered at her angry gaze.
"It does represent Issei rather well..." Kiba, well Sora chuckled out. He was the one who volunteered to put down a different name so they could have their team name be RIAS.
"Fufufu, you aren't holding back, are you Issei-kun." Akeno giggled out as she tightened her fingerless gloves with vials of Dust on the cuffs. They were just there to hide the fact that she used actual magic.
"Uh... Well, we all agreed to have fun while we're here, right?" Issei pointed out before giving them a determined expression. "This is our day so let's have some fun! Go Team RIAS!" He declared as he raised his Sacred Gear into the air, causing the crowd to go wild.
"These next few days are gonna be awesome!" Yang cheered out as her teammates her stared at the battlefield.
Save Game... Quit!
Whew! Done! And uh, are there holographic street lamps in Vale? I remember concept art about it but I'm not sure...
Oh, here's a fun fact, it was initially going to be Koneko instead of Kiba participating in the tournament but uh... that would require an another name starting with S and... well, it would make Rias look really mean. I chose switched to Kiba and put in the name Sora Nai as a reference to No Game, No Life.
And the whole Weiss and Jaune thing was kinda inspired by a comment from AO3, just twisted a little.
UknownHero signing off, my friends!