Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY. Or anything that I reference. Just the stupid OC.

Every conflict and misfortune that has ever befallen me was of my own doing. Looking back at it, there were always some choice actions and words that I wished that I could take back. The three words I regretted most were spoken so softly and tenderly, that I sometimes wonder what possessed me to say them.

"...damn, you're tiny."

'I love you' would have at least given me a chance to run away.

Chapter 3

'I hate everything so much right now,' I thought to myself with eyes clenched in frustration.

I was currently on the airship that I knew was heading to Beacon. Leave it to Ozpin to force me to make a temporary stay in town, while he and Goodwitch got to relax in a nice, snazzy school until the new term. I had to be resourceful and find shelter and money on such a short notice too.

I violently shuddered at recent events best left forgotten. A repeat of that short period of time will never happen again, if I have anything to say about it.

"My god, you're going to get into so much trouble if anyone finds out the crap that you pulled. Well, unless it's that one blond, or the orange haired chick. They'd probably grin or burst out in laughter if they heard about what you did," The Voice said. As much as a help he most likely was, his current attitude was irritating my already strained nerves.

'Don't you effing jinx my luck right now!' I mentally jabbed a finger at him before directing my focus to the problem. 'One of them is standing right over there, and I have no intention of finding out if you can send telepathic messages or not,' I mentally stated, my intent that said that 'there was no room for arguments' clearly showing.

I heard a snort. "Yeah? Well, good luck with that. They're still heading in your direction at any rate, so sucks to be you."

Oh...damn.

I turned around and was met with the sight of a very enticing pair of...well, breasts. I'm a guy, sue me. I snapped my eyes upward, survival instincts kicking in to ensure that today was not the day that I got my ass kicked by a literal buxom blond bombshell.

"Hello, what can I do for you?" I asked with, what I hope sounded like, genuine curiosity, and not sensuality. Ruby turned away with a huff, probably because I didn't acknowledge her, while her sister made a grin that potentially promised bodily harm. My somewhat allies shivered in anticipation for the upcoming conflict, my insanity in glee and my shadow in defense.

"Soooo, I heard that you and my sister got into some trouble last night?" she started. "Before I forget, what's your name, anyway?"

I smiled a little, hiding away the mischief and mirth as I decided to do a very tiny prank.

"Oh, right, I'm sorry. My name is Yang. Pleased to make your acquaintance," I said as I held out my hand for her to shake. I mentally smirked when I saw the look of confusion on Yang's face. Damn, I should have brought a camera.

"That's a weird coincidence; my name's Yang too." She took my hand and squeezed hard. I was left nonplussed when the pain started to build until I realized something.

'It's...a test?'

I experimentally returned the pressure and was greeted with a challenging smirk. 'Okay then. How about...this?'

My hands let go for an instant before clamping back down. Hard.

I saw Yang wince, and thought I had it the bag. "What's wrong, Yang? You don't look so hot." Swiftly afterward she gave me a strained smile and pain erupted in what I can only assume equal force.

"Hssssssss!" went the sound of my concealed gasp of agony, and my hand went dead, fully submitting to the girl's tortuous grip. It took all my willpower not to sigh in relief when she immediately relinquished her grip. That didn't stop me from looking down in worry and irritation at the now reddened and almost-limp appearance that my hand now sported.

"Hmmm...I give you a seven out of ten, but you probably could have taken me if you've done this before...hand?" Oh god, she chooses now of all times to start her punning!?

I glared at her as I mumbled. "You must be a freakin' eleven then. And what do you mean if I've done this before?"

I froze when she took my hand again and gave it a light squeeze. "See? The position of your grip is all wrong, and you're constricting the wrong muscles; your mostly tightening your hand, not crushing outright."

"Oh, I'm sorry," I began sarcastically, "I actually thought that I was being pretty discreet about my crushing. How could I have possibly been sooo mistaken?" Of course, I shut up when I felt her beginning to destroy my hand again.

"Yang you can use a big word like 'constrict?'" Ruby asked in a teasing tone.

""And what's that supposed to mean?"" I answered with Yang, remembering to keep up my facade. Until Ruby killed my fun.

"Your name is NOT Yang! You're a mean person named Gray that got arrested with me, you tried to convince me to become evil, you shot at me with a real gun, you-"

"HE WHAT!?"

Before I knew it, Yang grabbed me by the scruff of my shirt and suspended me off the ground. Quite impressive since I was taller and no doubt heavier than her. Also gave me a better view of her rack. Luckily for me, she was too preoccupied with killing me to notice. The readers on the other hand snickered in understanding, sighed in dissapointment/embarrassment, snorted in disgust, and any other myriad of reactions one expected when they heard about this perverseness. I plead the fifth, at any rate.

"And it was at that moment that Gray realized: He...was fucked."

I kicked my feet uselessly in the air that I was hanging in, courtesy of a seriously pissed off older sister. "N-no, wait! It's...just a little misunderstanding, I swe-AUGK!" I was cut off as Yang slammed me into an interior wall, still suspending me by my collar.

"And what exactly am I misunderstanding?" she snarled with a dangerous red gleam in her eye.

"Urk. I w-was purposely missing! I wouldn't have really, um, aimed a gun at her! Honest!" I futilely pleaded.

"Abort! Abort mission! Shit has hit the fan! Abandon ship!"

'Traitor!'

"Eep!"

I unceremoniously crumpled to the ground when Yang finally let go of my shirt, coincidentally the suit that I had purchased on the of the robbery (cheapskates at the cosplay store insisted that I couldn't rent it!). "Glad to see that you're Miss Understanding." I scrambled back up to my feet and cowered before the twin glares that were being sent my way.

"Er, uh, does this mean I get to live another day?"

I smushed myself even further into the wall as the brawler's face closed in on my own. "I could let you off easy, but that just wouldn't do now, would it?" She maliciously grinned as I furiously nodded at this.

"So what exactly are you gonna-ah, ahh!" I stilled all bodily movement as Yang suddenly gripped the area around my crotch.

Yang became confused but continued to hold a tight grip. Then slid her hand lower. And lower. And lower still.

"Oh..."

She looked back up to my face that was twitching in a somewhat erratic manner. "So yeah, you just grabbed my big gun. I usually have to approve of you before you hold it, but I think you're cool enough. I mean, you could have taken me out for dinner first or something..." I nervously trailed off, loving every moment of what was happening.

"I, ah, um, er...sorry..." Yang let go of me and backed off very slowly.

"No way..." My ears then focused on the younger girl. "He beat Yang..."

I really should invest in buying a camera with loads of memory. "Yeah, so I think we just landed. Anyway, it was nice meeting you two...I think. But I'll see you two later at school, maybe."

The sisters both nodded and slowly made their way away from me, dazed looks still on their faces. I waited until they were out of line of sight before releasing a relieved sigh, then began snickering.

"So that's why you wrapped that gun in ballistics gel," The Voice stated.

'You don't know how lucky I got from being prepared for this; well, you do, but that's beside the point,' I thought back as I pulled out the gun that I had 'appropriated' at the robbery. After some heavy modification, I was pleased to say that this was now my weapon.

True to The Voice's accusation, I was holding up a long, rectangular bar of metal, not unlike the case of a flute, entirely encased in a cylindrical mass of gel. 'I swear, it's amazing the things that people so casually sell to the local pawn shop. Then again, those people were most likely pretty strapped for cash.'

"Oh, and we weren't?" The Voice asked smugly. "As I recall, we didn't have any money at all until-"

'No!' I cried mentally as I finally made my way off the airship. 'I will say it again, we will NOT bring that story up. Besides, they owe us big time for the crap that happened.'

As I headed down the ramp, I suddenly remembered something that struck me as quite odd: I saw no sign of Juane anywhere.

"Oh shit, we screwed up continuity already! What are we gonna-"

"BLAURGH! Hurhk-ugghhhh..."

"Oh. Well. Never mind then."

I went up beside the blonde male and began rubbing his back. "Oh geez, man, are you alright. Err, sorry, standard question," I said as he gave me a withering glare, the effect ruined by the greenish hue on his face. "That's not gonna work," I responded in a deadpan.

I stepped back from the slightly armored teen and took in his features.

Blonde hair? Check.

Blue eyes? Check.

Sword with collapsible shield? Check.

"So, I'm guessing you got a little motion sickness?" I asked, trying to make idle conversation with the sick swordsman. "It's understandable. I mean, I for one can't really stand taking prolonged trips by car, but you'd think that more people would be more acclimated with it. You seem to be a rare case..."

"It's not as uncommon as you think," he replied, taking in deep breaths. "However, people have different ways of coping with the nausea and dizziness. I for one prefer minute doses of tranquilizer."

I nodded and smirked as I heard that last bit. "That's cool, I guess. Name's Gray, by the way." Damn, I rhymed.

"Juane Arc," he replied.

"That name reminds me of a girl I've heard about," I said mostly to myself, thinking about the Maid of Orleans (And a certain Servant who was mistaken as her), "...oh well, probably just my imagination. Anyway, wanna hang out after the opening ceremony? You seem like a nice guy, and I'm kinda lacking in the friends/acquaintances department at the moment."

"Oh, you're a new student too?" He beamed at me when I nodded. "Me too! Actually, I-

BOOM!

...

...

Juane and I both stared toward the source of the explosion, until I placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Yeahhh...I'm gonna let you handle this, good luck, see ya later, bye!" And with that, I seemingly bolted out of Juane's sight, only to skillfully mount a tree, unseen by the masses. Hopefully.

"Huh? What? Gray!" Aw, how cute, he's trying to find me. Yeah, that's right, wander to the mean girls over yonder and meet your next friend.

Speaking of which, I had kept my eye on the group of three girls, particularly Blake. As much as I love teenage girl drama, I was much more interested in the secretive Faunus and the things that she got to when she was alone. I snickered to myself when I realized how that could have been taken a different way.

"Hm?"

...shit. I think she caught me spying on them.

I shot from the tree and proceeded to run like a maniacal and panicking criminal, not wanting to attract the black-themed Faunus' attention any further. Of course, due to my incredibly stupid luck, I manger to pass by a lot of familiar faces, and proceeded to do what I do best.

"Hi, hi, hi, screw you, hi, hi, bye!"

Many heads turned, only to sweat drop at the strange sight of me running like the devil was after me.

"'Dont jinx us,' you said. If you keep up these stupid stunts long enough, I bet that psychopath will be back to-"

'Shut your trap!' I mentally snapped, as I began taking deep breaths after the short but exhausting sprint. 'I didn't know maniacs like that actually existed in this place! We'll just lay low and hope that person never ever, in a million years, ever find us.' My body twitched unconsciously at the phantom sensations that ran along my skin.

"Yeah, we almost died again and not even a week after falling a without a parachute..." The Voice whispered as he tried to bring up the events of that day.

[Flashback]

"I wonder where that i-"

"NO!"

I swiped my hands in front of me, imagining that I was physically tearing apart the images if that event in my mind, effectively ending and killing all trips down memory lane.

[...Flashback...Destruction?]

'Screw Oz, and screw the situation he left us in! First we went to jail, then we can't go back to the lair, then I had to run around and find work, and, if that wasn't hard enough, now I got a bunch of psychopaths trying to kill me!' I screamed in mental anguish.

"...whoa. Chill out, man. You got us still, and there's also the fact that you're ALIVE. So I think we can count that as a success in my book."

I stopped walking and sighed.

"I hate my lifeeeeee," I moaned out in defeat. I then quickly turned my head in several directions before facing ahead once more. "I'm in despair! This beautiful yet cruel world has left me in despair!"

My mood only brightened a smidge when I heard a mental facepalm and it's resounding smack echo in my mind.

"Y'know, when I think about it, I made some good puns back on the ship."

"Oh, dear God, no."

"Too bad Yang didn't pay too much attention to them. You could say that her head was...up in the clouds? Eh? Eh?"

"...boooo. You're better off sticking with double entendres...that's still a pun, isn't it? Damn."

"How come I've never never seen any of these people here in episode 3?" I asked myself out loud.

Looking around, I was surrounded in a sea of unfamiliar faces, a big contrast to the dark silhouettes that I was used to associating with minor/unimportant characters. "I mean, not even half of the number I'm seeing here were present during the initiation, right?"

"They're probably friends, family, and older students, here to wish us good luck or scout the up-and-coming prodigies. Oh, and try to keep this conversation in your head. People are giving us funny looks."

Sure enough, the surrounding crowd was trying to cast subtle unsure glances in my direction. My response was to casually employ the two-finger defense and rotate a full circle to ensure that everyone got the message. A most therapeutic exercise, as my brother would have put it.

I rose a brow as the shadows attached to me seem to elongate and bristle. This caused me to pet the silky black fabric on my right hand, eliciting more stares that I ignored.

"It's alright GG, we'll show them up in the forest. No need to be hasty and immature," I lovingly whispered to the shadow in my hand. "If it makes you feel better, I consider you my partner first and foremost, before anyone else."

I smiled at the pleased warble that only I seemed to hear, and let my gaze wander around the room. I could see most of the members of teams JNPR and RWBY, but there was one individual that caught my attention. To be more specific, her head had caught my attention.

Blake Belladona. Cat Faunus and ex-agent of the White Fang. For whatever imbecilic impulse that possessed me, I decided to fiercely stare at the bow on her head, trying to discern the telltale signs of her twitching cat ears.

"Jiiiiiiiiiii..." And more weird actions for the rest of the students to gossip about. Not like I cared.

This continue on for a few minutes (In which I had had to turn my head on multiple occasions in order to not get caught staring), until the voice of Oz silenced the chatter.

"I'll...keep this brief."

"Oh, thank God!"

I conspicuously turned my head as I felt Ozpin look at me in irritation, my devious smirk easily giving me away as the guilty party.

As he continued with his opening speech, my attention was focused back on Blake, who was positioned further ahead of me yet a little ways from the crowd. To the untrained eye it may have seemed as she was not listening, but her face was too focused for her not to be.

Stupidly, I decided to just stare at her bow, daring (hoping for) it to twitch or show any other obvious sign of motion. Even as Ozpin finished his speech and Goodwitch began to direct us toward the ballroom, I continued to stare at the girl who wasn't even ten feet away from me.

"What are you doing?" a voice asked from behind me.

"Oh, just spying on that girl over there on behalf of my world changing organizatio-what do you think I'm doing?! I'm checking her out, obviously," I replied, my sarcastic emphasis in the latter half of my words.

"Oh really..."

...wait. I know that voice. Then Blake disappeared in front of me.

"You think we should run?"

'Yup. On three. One...Two...'

"THRE-HURK!"

I dropped to my knees and started choking as a ribbon-like cloth tightened around my throat. Dark spots began to swim around in my vision until the stranglehold on my neck slackened slightly. I immediately started sputtering as I tried to reclaim the air that I had stopped breathing.

"I'm going to make you put on this blindfold now. If you don't make any more sudden moves, I'll let you breathe while I take us somewhere to talk. Got it?"

I vigorously nodded my head, not trusting my voice at the moment.

"Screwed?"

'Screwed.'

We ended up facing each other in an empty hallway not too far away from the designated sleeping area. Blake was glaring at me, simultaneously absorbing every little detail about myself. If I had just a little bit less of self-preservation in my body, I would have risked accusing her of 'checking me out', or some other nonsense. As it stands, I've have too many near death experiences in the last couple of weeks.

"So are you just gonna keep glaring at me, or...?" I began.

"Who are you?" she asked, with no small amount of venom.

I tapped my chin in false contemplation. "Ooh, that's a tough one. How about I...yeah! That could work!"

Blake took a step back in caution when I swiped my hand in front of me and held my fist in front if my face. "Listen close, 'cause I'm only gonna say this once!" Of course, I never expected to be violently kicked in the chest.

"No, you listen here!" Blake growled out through gritted teeth, "I don't have time for any stupid nonsense you want to pull. So we can either do this the easy way, or...I start getting creative."

Try as I might, I couldn't pick myself from off the ground. Damn, she could kick! I wiped my hand across my mouth and-wait, was that blood? I wiped it off, trying to figure out what to do when a cruel bought passed through my mind.

"Hehehe...alright. I'll do it your way. Of course, what was I supposed to expect from the organization your from? I'm sorry, I meant the one that you left." A bitter grin was almost slapped off my face before I was held by my throat.

"What. Do. You. Know?"

I looked through her eyes, so filled with emotion. Sadness. Anger. Desperation. Fear.

I chuckled. "All that I need, more than I want, and more than I should. But," and here I directed all my attention on her, "what's to stop me from sharing what I know about you?"

She released me as she gasped and took a step back in revulsion. "You wouldn't."

"Try me."

Blake continued to stare at me before she made to walk away. She stopped as her back faced toward and gave me her parting words.

"This never happened. And you ran into a wall."

I let out a small pained giggle as I watched her figure slowly drift farther away. An unbidden sob made its way to my throat. Tears began to stream down my eyes as another part of me revealed itself.

"I'm sorry...I'm so sorry..."

"You really messed up, huh?"

I stayed quiet as I contemplated my actions again. Why did I have to be so stupid? I had just made an enemy out of one of this world's heroes. And I was going to pay for it in the future.

"You ran in headfirst into a minefield and did as was expected of that. You just have to deal with the consequences."

'...I want an ice cream.' If there was one thing that I was grateful for, it was the ability to shut down and facilitate my emotions. I don't remember the exact date I discovered my strange ability, nor the reasons it manifested itself in me, but it was always useful for me, a man that prepared for the worst before hoping beyond hope.

My lips twitched as my tenant laughed his heart out. I also noticed a not-so-subtle warmth spread throughout my body, the only-for-me warbling serving to lift my mood further.

"Hey!"

I looked up, but the sight that I was met with was the clincher to my rising good mood. I rolled onto my back, laughing and pointing at the blond knight in footed pajamas.

"Oh god! I, pfft, Ahahahaahhaha!"

Juane gave me a blank stare, making me laugh harder, and he sighed. "Really Gray? No one else is laughing."

"No one worth mentioning," I amended. "They don't want there not-yet-established reputations to take a dive just because he or she wanted to bully someone who was, *snort*, wearing footie pajamas." Even as I felt the slight twinge in my heart that came from my talk with Blake, it was quickly consumed by the giddiness and joy I felt from seeing Juane in his choice of sleep attire.

Juane continued his attempts to shut me up with a glance but soon gave up and settled beside me.

"So how was you first day at school?" he asked.

My laughter was immediately cut off, my hand hovering over my throat.

"It was...eventful. I did a lot of stupid things, and I don't know if I can fix it. I royally screwed up." My eyes closed in contemplation again.

"...Girl troubles?"

And snapped back open. "Okay, how did you know that? Do you have psychic/telepath semblance or something?"

Juane shrugged. "Dunno. But I think that if I messed things up with a girl, that would be the exact phrase I would use to describe it."

"Huh..."

...

...

...

...

Juane was the one to break the silence.

"Would you like to talk about it?"

I tensed with nervousness as I tried to decide what to do. Do I tell him? Should I tell him? Guys?

...

...

Traitors.

My gaze remained on the ceiling above as I tried to figure out what to say.

"I don't know man. I mean, it's not like I love her, we just met and all. But...it's hard to take back the hurtful things that you say."

"Have you tried apologizing?" Bless your soul, Mr. Arc.

"It's not that simple, Juane. We're all here at Beacon to make new beginnings, but what's the point if an asshole like me keeps bringing up the past like a threat. Or worse: a collar?"

Juane took a moment to respond. "...I can't take care of your problems, Gray. And as much as I want to help, I don't have all the answers. All I can say is to do your best with what you got and hope for the best." Best advice I've heard all day. Well, only advice I've heard all day.

"Is that how you ended up in Beacon?" I asked with a smirk, receiving one in turn.

"Exactly. Now shut up. We got a big day ahead of us tomorrow, and we need all the energy we can get."

"...good night, Juane. Thanks...for being my friend."

"No problem!"

Shutting my eyes once more, I ignored everything around me in a zen-like state, something I could only achieve through deep concentration or reading. But, like all good things in my life, it was pretty short-lived.

"We need to talk."

Author's Notes

Gray: I hated this chapter. So much. I don't even want to touch it anymore. Too little happened too fast in my opinion. Now I'm off to write some more. So tired. Sigh...

Enjoy the Day!