Chapter Three

Arnold

The rest of the day was going to be spent touring the school. Ruby talked excitedly to Yang, no longer worried from my physical face-palming. I spot Jaune in the crowd and, surprise, surprise, He's flirting with Weiss. And Weiss is, to her credit, trying to deal with him calmly. Most likely because she remembers making Ruby cry earlier, but I can see the fuse getting shorter. The Weiss Bomb is about to explode. And this whole scene is being watched from afar by Pyrrha Nikos.

'Time to try and sail the S.S. Arkos.'

"Hey Ruby? I need to go do something.", I say before I head over towards Jaune and the angering Weiss. I don't think Ruby even heard me though.

As I get closer, I see that Weiss is just about to blow, so I speak first. "Hey Jaune! Come here a sec!"

Jaune looks slightly annoyed from being interrupted, but walks towards me. "Yeah, Toby? What do you need?"

I put two fingers up to his face and he leans back and gives me a confused expression.

"Two things! One, your bugging her. She's not playing hard to get and your "Ladies Man" attitude is not helping. It doesn't make you seem more confident it just makes you seem like an ass."

Jaune looks sad, but I keep going now only my pointer finger in his face. "And two, there is a girl back there who's been wanting to talk to you since she saw you. Do yourself a favor and go say hi. Don't act like a ladies man and don't be an ass. Just be yourself dude."

Jaune honestly seems surprised and happy that a girl wants to talk with him. "Really? Where is she?"

I point behind him to Pyrrha who looks like she doesn't know how to react to suddenly being noticed. Upon seeing her, Jaune's eyes widen. "Whoa..."

'Arkos has sailed. I repeat, Arkos has sailed. Now I just gotta help keep it afloat.'

I push him lightly towards Pyrrha. "Go talk to her. And remember, just be yourself and don't be an ass."

Jaune looks at Pyrrha for several moments before he gulps, nods at me, then heads towards Pyrrha. Mission accomplished.

"Thank you for that. That dunce was becoming insufferable."

'Oh yeah, I did just sorta help Weiss. Oh! I wonder if Weiss and Ruby are a possible ship or if that's just a fan thing. I'll have to watch and see. What was Ruby and Weiss's ship name again?... Oh, yeah! White Rose!'

I turn to Weiss and smile. "He can be at times but he's not a bad guy. I think he might feel out of place here for some reason."

'aka, FORGED transcripts.'

"Perhaps that is true, but he should not be- Is he flirting with Pyrrha Nikos!"

'Really Jaune?... Oh wait, they're both laughing. Okay, he's NOT making an ass of himself.'

"Nope. She's been wanting to talk to him, so I sent him over there. I also told him to stop acting like an ass and to be himself... At least he listened..."

Weiss seems shocked. "She WANTED to speak with him?!"

"Yep.", I say popping the p. I then continue to watch Arkos in action.

'I'd like to think I've done some good today.'

Weiss clears her throat and says in a hesitant tone. "How is that girl from earlier? Is she still upset?"

"Ruby? Nah, she's fine now. She is still a bit scared of you though.", I chuckled. "I don't know who you screamed "You!" at but it caused her to jump into her sisters arms in fear."

Weiss seems to wince slightly. "Yes, that was caused by one of the... students here. She spoke ill of my families company."

'Time to play the amnesia card.'

"Your families company? Your family owns a company?"

Weiss gives me an incredulous look. "Are you a fool? Does the name Schnee Dust Company ring any bells?"

I tap the side of my head. "Now would be a good time to mention that I've got amnesia. I can only remember stuff from about two weeks ago till now."

"In that case my sympathies. I cannot imagine forgetting your whole life so suddenly one day."

'Okay, I need to get off the amnesia topic. I'm not so good at this... Oh I know!'

"You know...", I started. "I think I may have bought product from your company once or twice... Do you sell Dust infused bullets?"

Weiss nods with a smirk. "Of course."

"Yep. That's where I know the name from. My pistols fire Flame and Ice Dust so that's what I buy. My name is Toby Lawliet by the way. At least as far as I remember."

Weiss gives me a small curtsy. "Weiss Schnee, a pleasure to meet you." She smiles before her scroll rings, she checks it and then speaks. "Forgive me but I must take this. It was nice meeting you Lawliet."

"You too Weiss, see you later!", I say. I then head off to try and find a familiar face.

'Wow writer, you really changed circumstances to help Weiss out in terms of attitude problems. I wonder if that will affect everything going forward or just some things. She does still seem a bit stuck up but... eh.'

'So anyway, where's Ruby and Yang? I can't see them... I can't see Blake either. Jaune and Pyrrha seem to be having such a pleasant conversation I don't have it in me to interrupt them...'

I sigh and decide to leave the auditorium.

'Okay author, fair warning. I'm only truly happy when I'm surrounded by people. That's why I took my weapons apart during my three day break at the hotel. It kept me busy while I was alone. I get uber sad if I'm left alone for too long, so throw me a bone.'

As I step out of the auditorium and onto the step heading down, I gaze upon the sight of Beacon's courtyard looking for any familiar faces.

"Fetch little doggy!", I hear a voice shout. And a bone collides with my head before falling to the ground, leaving me with a slight headache.

…

"Just... Fuck you...'

Turning to the voice that had just shouted and I see him smirking above a frightened looking dog Faunus. The guy smirking is none other than Cardin Winchester. Picking up a bone, I feel the desire to be a little bit badass again. Haven't been able to do that since I showed off my skills to Ozpin.

Picking up the bone, I toss it several times to get a feel for it's weight. Then I smirk and throw the bone like a ninja star at Cardin's head. The bone hits home, and the dog Faunus runs away as Cardin's head whips back from the sheer force of my throw, afterwords though, Cardin sets his eyes on me.

"What's the big idea!?"

I scoff. "The "big idea" is we all just got here and you're already being a racist shit to someone. Also, look out where you throw your shit dingus. Someone might just throw it back."

'Oh yeah, I'm having fun. God I hope Blake is seeing this.'

"Why should you care!", Cardin says with a sneer. "It's not like your one of these filthy animals."

'Oh... I'm feeling pissed.'

"The only one here that qualifies as a "filthy animal" is yourself ass-hat. I suggest you behave yourself."

Cardin smirks. "Or what? What will you do pipsqueak?"

'Hey! I resent that! I'm at least as tall as Jaune!'

I smirk. "Or I'll make you behave.", I turn to leave. "Remember that."

I hear Cardin snort. "Whatever."

I ignore him and keep walking. 'What was even the point of that? To establish what, that I hate Cardin? Or what?'

…

'Was that you trying to be funny because I said throw me a bone? You suck.'

I continue to walk away from Cardin with no clear destination in mind. Then my stomach grumbles. 'Oh yeah, I haven't eaten today.'

Heading in the direction of what I hope is the cafeteria, I am soon stopped by an uncertain voice.

"I thank you for helping me back there."

I turn to look at the owner of the voice and see that it's the same dog Faunas as before. His smile is uncertain and his crimson colored eye's keep darting around. His hair is silver, almost gray and is stylized into an extremely messy bowl cut, his gray dog ears popping out on both sides of his head. He is dressed in plain white dress shirt, black dress pants and, oddly enough, white sneakers. Or at least what passes as sneakers in Remnant. Over his dress shirt, he wears a messy unbuttoned blazer.

'I don't remember this guy from the show. Is he an original character?'

I give him a kind smile. "It's no trouble. That guy was a douche."

The Faunus snickers and his smile grows, his uncertainty gone. "That he was!..." His smile fades and he looks saddened. "Cardin has always been like that though."

'Wait, this guy knows Cardin personally?'

"You know the guy?"

The dog Faunus nods. "Yes, we went to Signal together. He has always picked on me..."

I cock my head to the side. "You don't stand up for yourself?"

The faunus violently shakes his head side to side. "No! If I do-, I mean-, he will-"

The room grows silent. Several moments pass and I sigh before I stick my hand out for him to shake. The Faunus flinches slightly but otherwise doesn't move.

"The names Toby Lawliet. What's yours?"

The dog Faunus, hesitantly shakes my hand. "My name is Arnold Campbell, it is a pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise.", I give what I hope is a calming smile. "Hey, I'm thinking of heading to the cafeteria. You wanna join?"

Arnold seems surprised. "You wish me to come?"

I nod. "Of course! Do you want to come?"

Arnold nods vigorously. "I-I would love to! Er-, I mean... That would be fine."

'I think I may have just met one of my future teammates.'

LINEBREAK

The cafeteria was filled with students, but none I recognized, and looked almost exactly like it had in the school. The only difference, just like with everything else, is that it looked real.

'That's because it IS real.'

I grabbed myself a slice of pepperoni pizza and a small salad, while Arnold grabbed pretty much all meat. 'aka, Small Steak, Pork chops and chicken.' Now with our food, Arnold and Me sat down at the table I know would one day be the table of teams RWBY and JNPR.

As we ate, I tried to break the ice and it actually worked. Arnold stopped stammering and I learned that Arnold had no parents, but he did have a little sister that he practically raised for as long as he could remember. Eventually, we got to talking about our reasons to be hunters and I of course had to lie and claim I was doing it to "find my past. 'Fucking Amnesia.' Arnold's reason... was very admirable. He wanted to be a Faunus people could look up to. Someone who could show Remnant that the White Fang didn't represent all Faunus.

Now however, the conversation took on a less serious tone.

"Hey, Arnold? What's the plural form of Ursa? Is it still Ursa? Or is it Ursai or Ursa's."

Arnold chuckled. "I believe that both Ursa and Ursai are applicable. You would be surprised about how often I hear that very same question."

"Are you sure? Cause I asked Ozpin the day I met him and not only did he fucking ignore me, but he gave me this look that I guess was like, "are you stupid?", so... yeah."

Arnold swallowed a piece of his steak and swallowed. "So... you said you were here to search for your missing past... I know it is early but... Any luck so far?"

'Well writer, I hope your going for the "long lost brother" sub-plot, cause that's what I'm using.'

My face turns thoughtful. "I don't know... See there's these girls... Sisters. Their names are Yang and Ruby... I swear they remind me of something or someone... but I don't know who. Fuck I might be wrong! They might have nothing to do with anything... Other than that... I've got nothing."

Arnold give me a sympathetic smile. "I am sure you will find what your looking for here, you just need to be patient. I will help you in your search if you ever need it."

'I really like this guy. He almost reminds me of Matt in a way.'

I give my new friend a wide smile. "I'll take you up on that! And in return, I'll do whatever I can to help you show the world that Faunus are not to be hated or feared." I move my arm out into a fist and Arnold chuckles before he fist bumps me. "It's a promise!"

LINEBREAK

That night, all new applicants to Beacon gathered in the ballroom for bed. Unlike most students, including Arnold, I did not have pajamas, so I just took off my coat and was gonna sleep in my current clothes. I put my coat in the backpack for now and let me tell you, I am sick of lugging this backpack around.

When I entered, Arnold an I made our way through the room and eventually I found a familiar face in the form of Ruby in her pajamas and a sleeping mask on her forehead. For some reason, there was a large space surrounding her, where no students were laying.

'You want me and Arnold to sleep there don't you? God you are really not subtle.'

"Oh hey Arnold! I want to introduce you to someone!" Despite, his protests, I drag him over to Ruby, who seems to be writing a letter. When she notices us, she gives us a wide smile and I sit down next to her, tossing my backpack to the side. Arnold follows suit, just a little bit behind me.

"Hey Toby! What's up?"

I give her a cheeky grin. "The ceiling. But for reals, I came to introduce you to this guy.", I say as I pull Arnold closer. He glares at me before he looks at Ruby and then he just freezes.

'Wait... is he blushing? Oh no, you're doing this? Fucking really?'

Despite his blushing frozen state and despite the fact I'm bitching on the inside, I decide to pretend not to have noticed and just introduce them. "Ruby, this is Arnold Campbell. Arnold, this is Ruby Rose. She's the one with the awesome giant scythe I told you about!"

Ruby seems happy that Crescent Rose's reputation has spread and Arnold seems to gather himself. He then, and I shit you not, picks up her hand and kisses it. "A pleasure to meet you Lady Rose."

'Must... Not... Shoot... Friend...'

Ruby giggles and blushes. "I-it's nice to meet you too..."

'Oh my god. It's like I can literally see White Rose crumbling to dust.'

"Hey! Hands off my sister!", says an angry voice from behind us. I don't even need to turn to see it's Yang. And Arnold yelps before he lets go of Ruby's hand immediately. I hear Yang make a sound of approval. "Good boy." Yang then makes her way to Ruby's other side and crashes there dressed in slightly more revealing pajamas, just a black tank top and brown hot-pants.

Yang's demeanor is once again happy. "It's like a big slumber party!"

Ruby replies while she blushes looking at Arnold. "I don't think Dad would approve of all the boys, though."

'Mayday! Mayday! This is the S.S. White Rose and we are beginning to sink before we can even leave port! Request immediate evac!'

Yang doesn't seem to notice this as she stares at a random shirtless guy. "I know I do!" Then I hear her make a purring sound and I roll my eyes. Looking back at Ruby, I see that she has continued writing.

I hear Arnold speak. "Excuse me Ms. Rose, but may I ask what it is you are writing?"

Ruby's voice is sad. "A letter to my friends back at Signal. I promised to tell them about Beacon and how things are going."

Yang who has finally stopped staring at guys, returns to the conversation. "Aw, that's so cuuuute!" Then to my surprise, she is knocked back by a pillow that is launched in her face. The thrower seems to be Ruby.

Ruby huffs. "Shut up! I didn't get to take my friends with me to school! It's weird not knowing anyone here!"

…

'Why did that hurt? Is this you trying to make us family, or am I really upset?'

Arnold speaks up. "You know us Ms. Rose"

"Yeah!" Yang says enthusiastically. "You also know Jaune! He's...nice! There you go! Plus three friends! That's a three hundred percent increase!"

Ruby smiles. "Yeah... I guess you're right Yang." Her smile fades. "I'm pretty sure the scary lady from earlier still hates me though... Pretty sure that counts as a negative friend."

Yang huffs. "There's no such thing as negative friends! You just made three friends and one enemy!" This time, Yang is hit with another pillow, this one dog shaped, to the face. I find myself smiling at their antics.

A candle is lit nearby and all our heads turn to one Blake Belladonna who is leaning against the wall reading the Hobbit.

'I can't help but notice that the dialog has changed... No ones moving to talk to her... It looks like I'm gonna have to be the one to introduce them...'

"Hey Ruby, see that girl?", I say as I point to Blake. Ruby nods. "She doesn't seem to have too many friends either. I talked to her earlier and she seems really friendly."

Ruby looks uncertain. "Really?"

I nod encouragingly. "Yeah. You should go introduce yourself. She seems intimidating at first but all you need is to talk about books. She really likes to read."

Ruby still seems unconvinced and Arnold stands up. "Come Ms. Rose, if it will help you, I will gladly accompany you." That seems enough to convince her and they both head off towards Blake.

But for some reason, Yang doesn't follow. I turn my head and see that she's staring directly into my eye's, as if she's searching for something.

'Oh god this is different! Is this the brother thing again or did I somehow set off an angry Yang?... No, if she was pissed her eye's would me red...'

I stare back for several seconds before I speak in a somewhat uncomfortable tone. "Yes?"

Yang doesn't blink. "Toby's your name right?"

'And here comes the Amnesia excuse. God I'm sick of it already.'

I try to look solemn. "It is... at least as far as I know..."

Yang blinks. "Whad'ya mean as far as you know?

I chuckle humorlessly. "I woke up about two weeks ago with absolutely zero fucking memories and no I.D. to tell me who I was. All I know is I can fight pretty well, I know the names of all my weapons and Toby Lawliet might be my name. Other then that, I got nothing."

Yang gives me a sympathetic look. "So you're here searching for your past?"

I nod. "Yeah. I mean I must be able to fight well for a reason! And... I guess if I have no past to find here, I can always build a life here."

Yang gives me an encouraging smile and pats my shoulder gently. "That's a good attitude to have! And don't worry! I'm sure you'll find something!" I smile and nod in response.

We sit in silence and watch Ruby and Arnold talking to Blake for several moments before Yang speaks again. "Thanks for taking care of Ruby when she um... exploded? I still can't believe that happened."

I chuckled. "I guess you could say she made an explosive entrance!"

…

….

…..

'Oh no, did I just make a damn fool of myself?'

…...

I hear Yang snicker, right before she starts laughing so hard that there are tears in her eyes. 'Success!'

"Oh! Tha- snrk- That was really bad!"

I nod and smile proudly. "I know! Tis' exactly why I said it!"

Yang continues to laugh and when she finally stops, she shouts across the room. "HEY RUBY! I THINK I'VE FOUND MY FAVORITE FRIEND OF YOURS! HE DOES PUNS!"

I hear Ruby groan and I see Arnold rubbing his Faunus ears in pain. Behind him I see Blake with a pained expression on her face as her bow twitches.

At that moment, Weiss storms into the scene and I'm pretty sure the Weiss bomb is exploding. "What in the world is going on over here?! Don't you realize some of us are trying to sleep?"

Ruby's eyes widen and she whispers loudly at Yang and me. "Shh! Guy's she's right! People are trying to sleep!

I chuckle smile sheepishly. "I know, I'm sorry Weiss." I think I see Arnold and Blake staring at me in surprise. 'What? Is it cause I knew her name, or cause I was friendly with her?'

Weiss nods and, seemingly satisfied, returns to where she had been sleeping. Eventually, Ruby and Arnold return and we all settle for bed. The only light source coming from a candle owned by a beautiful cat Faunus...

'Initiation tomorrow, I need to get some sleep...'

Chapter Three End