AN: HAPPY EASTER BITCHES
Been some questions about other Bleach characters appearing or not. Others will, one appears this chapter.
Some others have brought up Aizen in a few of their questions. Frankly, I'm not a very big fan of the guy. I've just never really liked the villain with ridiculously complex plans which always work out perfectly. The world isn't like that, there is simple too much chaos and unpredictability. So will he appear? Maybe, but if he does it won't be in the same way he is portrayed in Bleach.
People seem to like how I modified Port. So that's nice.
King Edgar: The pairing would only go down that path if I can put everything together in a way where that would make sense.
Wildwind1885: Sorry dude.
Bunkhead: In the right train of thought there, but I don't plan on going in that direction.
SidJ: Chad is my dude, I want to include him. If I do, he won't be some throwaway either.
Korrd: I think this chapter will work things out for you.
Zrocker119: I think this chapter will answer that.
Guest Reviews: Ozpin and Kisuke are not the same person. Story is not dead.
One last thing, I've had a few people say that the jumps in POV can be a bit confusing at times. To fix this, I've decided to take a page from Martin's playbook and place the character's name before a segment from their POV.
WEISS
That thug! How dare he talk to her like that? Implying that she relied on her name and family, bashing all that she had worked towards; it was absolutely infuriating. Someone like that getting assigned as a student mentor had to be some kind of cruel joke. Either that or Ozpin was going mad. Come to think of it, he had seemed off during their welcome speech…
After her…disagreement with Ichigo and Professor Port, Weiss decided to go for a walk in an attempt to cool her head. Not really paying attention to where she was going, she soon noticed she had come upon the cliffside where all the new students' .had started their initial test in the Emerald Forest. The springboards had obviously been removed; best not have some fool accidentally shoot themselves into the middle of the forest. Walking up to the edge of the cliff, she thought back to all that had happened over the past few days.
What a horrible week. She had arrived at Beacon hopeful, but it had been a nightmare from day one. That girl, that Ruby, that KID had almost blown her up minutes after she had arrived and preceded to act like a complete child. And what did they do? They made her captain! Captain! She shouldn't even be at this school for two more years. What was Ozpin thinking? There's no way someone like her could lead a team. And as for those two idiots... She thought Professor Port would understand, but he wouldn't even listen to her. He treated her like a fool, but he was nothing compared to the other one. Kurosaki. What an impossible jerk. Maybe her father was right; maybe she had made a mistake in coming here.
It all just made her so…so…FURIOUS! With a thrust of her weapon, she fired a bolt of ice, and another, and another. In her rage, she vented her frustration by freezing everything in sight, trees, rocks, grass; nothing within her gaze was shown mercy. That was for Ruby, the girl who didn't understand the responsibility placed on her. When she ran out of blue dust, her weapon switched over to red. Everything which had been frozen was now being melted by her weapons new fiery projectiles. That was for Kurosaki, the joke of a mentor assigned to them by Ozpin. He was nothing more than a delinquent. When blue ran dry, she shifted to yellow. From the tip of her weapon came forth furious sparks of electricity, jolting everything in the area which had already suffered through the two previous waves. And that, was for her father and the undoubtedly smug look he'd have from seeing all this.
As her yellow dust chamber clicked empty, Weiss dropped to her knees, breathing heavily. Gaining her breath, the girl gazed at her handiwork. The area surrounding her had been decimated. As the smoke drifted away and the dust began to fall, she saw that almost everything in sight had been blackened and burned. Though what by lightning and what by fire, Weiss couldn't tell. It gave the girl pause. This place had been pretty when she had arrived. "What am I doing?" she spoke out. This isn't like me. I'm a Schnee. Schnees don't throw tantrums when things don't go their way. No, they didn't. A Schnee was proud, but poised. A Schnee would never allow their emotions to take control of them.
Weiss took a deep breath; she had to calm herself down. Just then, a slight rumble could be heard beneath her. The ground began to tremor as the girl's eyes widened in understanding. Her little rampage had destabilized the cliffside. "Uh oh." She felt the ground beneath her feet split with an audible crack. One moment she was standing flat on the ground, the next she was falling, falling down towards the forest below. With a heavy thud, she slammed down hard on the collected debris.
She looked up at where she had been standing moments before. A clean chunk of the cliffside had given way, most likely due to her losing control of herself. Weiss estimated that she had fallen a good fifty feet. Her body ached, most notably her left ankle, but it didn't feel like anything was broken. Her Aura had probably made sure of that.
If she had reacted faster, perhaps she could have saved herself from the fall with one of her glyphs, but that took concentration. It all happened so fast; she hadn't had the time to fully process what was happening, much less react to it.
With a hiss of pain, she looked over her ankle. Somehow, it had gotten twisted badly when she had hit the ground and was already starting to swell. Hopefully it was just a sprain. How wonderful, now she was going to look like even more of an idiot. Now where was her scroll, she had it in her pocket before she fell. As it was, she wasn't sure if she had enough aura to jump back up with her glyphs, or even if she could stand at all. Her Aura had probably saved her from serious injury in the fall, but it could only do so much. Having to call someone to come get her…how humiliating. But, like it or not, she wouldn't be going anywhere on her own. Weiss dug through her pockets, and found her scroll. When she pulled it out she realized it hadn't been as lucky as her. Aura could protect her from a long fall onto some rocks, but it didn't look like that extended to electronics.
Great…just great. Here she was, thousands of miles of home, stuck in the woods with an injured ankle, and no way to get help. The only thing which could make this worse is if the Grimm were still active. No chance of that though, the forest should have been cleared out after the end of the preliminary test. But, Grimm or no, she was stuck down here, and it was all her fault.
Weiss could feel moisture running down her cheek. Was she crying? The girl wiped her sleeve across her face angrily. No, she was a Schnee. Schnees don't cry. She sat up and looked down at her injured ankle. She'd have to something about that. Lying around and feeling sorry for herself would get her nowhere. If she was going to get out of this forest, she'd have to be able to walk. To do that, she'd need to fashion some kind of splint. Should be simple enough, the academy had gone over some basic first aid during her last year in Atlas.
After fashioning a makeshift splint using some branches found near the debris and a piece of cloth ripped from the slave of her dress (one more unfortunate causality), the girl shakily rose to her feet. She gingerly tested her ankle. It hurt, and would only get worse with time, but she'd be able to manage. Looking up at the cliff side, she could see where the ground had given way. If she could use her glyphs, this would be easy, but she was already running on fumes. Her aura managed to mostly protect her from the fall, but it would be some time before she'd be able to push herself. So it was going to be the long way. Looking back out at the darkness of the forest, she took a deep breath and limped forward. There had to be some way out of here, all she needed to do was find it.
ICHIGO
15 years later and he still couldn't defeat the old man. The young Vizard swore, every year he got stronger, Port would just get smarter. He was going to have several new aches and pains tomorrow to be sure. That isn't to say the old man wouldn't have some too. He may not have won the fight, but he made damn sure his opponent would need a few ice packs of his own tonight.
He noticed it was evening now. Some students were still wondering around campus, but most of them seemed to have left by now. He had always preferred the campus this way. During the day there were just too many people running around. The commons would grow loud and chaotic, hundreds of teenagers going to class, from class, or standing around and chatting while disrupting the flow of traffic. But this time of day held a type of serene calm he had come to enjoy over the years.
As pleasant as the current scene was, it was about to be interrupted. The young Vizard noticed a bright red blur dashing around the Academy grounds wildly. He may have only known her for a few days, but he had a pretty good idea just who that was. Before he knew it, the red comet stopped for a moment before homing in on him. With a sound like the screeching of tires, the red blur came to a stop in front of him, revealing a frantic looking Ruby Rose. "Ichigo!" She half shouted-half panted.
Oh boy, this wasn't going to be good. "What?"
"Weiss has gone missing!"
"Missing?"
"After class with Professor Port…" she looked down, turning her face from his. "…Weiss got angry with me, she didn't think I should have been made team leader."
Of course she did, it probably happened just before he had his own run-in with the girl. He remembered what his father had said earlier in the day.
…She thinks Ruby's attitude will hurt the team…
He couldn't say he didn't disagree. During their spar, he thought it was odd that the youngest member was made captain, and Port had seemed to second that idea. But, his opinion didn't matter. "She doesn't make that call you know, Ozpin does."
"I know." Ruby answered. "He overheard us and gave me some advice. To be the best team leader I can be."
"He knows what he is talking about, Ozpin made the decision for a reason." Even if Ichigo still didn't understand it.
"Thanks." A small smile crept across the girl's face.
"So, why do you think she's missing? She might just be blowing off steam somewhere."
"No, I've looked everywhere for her." Ruby answered. "My semblance makes me very fast; I've looked everywhere at least twice."
"Well did you try her scroll?"
"Well yeah, but it's not working! It just goals straight to voicemail."
Ichigo wasn't sure what to think. Wasn't it a lot more likely Weiss was just trying to avoid her? He almost left it at that. But then again, someone might be missing on campus. Someone he was (begrudgingly) responsible for. He might be able to track her down though, if she was relatively close. The young Vizard closed his eyes and breathed deep. The scent of a human was much less potent than those of the Grimm, unfortunate side effect of bathing. Artificial scents tended to get in the way as well. For example, the girl in front of him positively reeked of strawberries; likely from some type of soap or shampoo. Weiss was a bit different though. He hadn't been around her that much, but long enough to get an idea of what to look for. She hadn't really smelled like anything, except soap. Too clean.
"Uh, what are you doing?"
"Thinking." Not exactly a lie. He could pick up some of the other nearby students. None of them were what he was looking for. Damn, he had forgotten about that Grimm in that was still in forest, he'd have to take care of that soon. A breeze blew over from the direction of the cafeteria. Stir-fry. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. Wait. He was picking up something odd. Someone had discharged what smelled like about a metric ton of raw dust. The kind that was used in weapons. "Hey, you're quick right?"
"Uh…yeah?" His junior raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Why, did you think of something?"
"Follow me." In a burst of speed, he shot off in the direction of the dust explosions. Before long, he arrived at what could only be described as a warzone. "Damn, look at this place." Everything had burned and charred. To Ichigo's nose, the place positively reeked of weaponized dust. He also noticed that a rather large chunk of the cliff face was missing. Shook loose by all the explosions? Probably. But what the hell caused this? Walking over to the cliffs edge, he looked down to see quite a lot of fallen debris, but no Weiss.
"Wow, you're really fast!" Ruby appeared beside him, slightly out of breath. Red rose petals falling behind her along the path she had taken. "Uh, Mr. Kurosaki what does all this…I mean…where is…" Ruby's eyes were as wide as dinner platters, looking over the burned out site in disbelief.
This was bad, really bad. Something wild had happened, and the girl who was following him was beginning to look panicked. He'd have to figure something out, fast. "What do you know about Weiss' weapon?" Ruby didn't answer. "RUBY!"
"Huh?" Her head jerked back to look at him with the same wide eyes.
"What do you know about Weiss' weapon?"
"What?"
"Knowing that might give me a better idea of what caused this." He explained with a hint of irritation. "Now, what do you know about it."
"Uh… it's a multi-action dust rapier." The redhead replied slowly. "Last night I was bugging her about it. She has a big case full of dust cartridges. I think she used one when she fought against you yesterday."
"Did she have blue, red, and yellow?"
"Uh, yeah actually." Ruby answered, surprised. "I thought it was weird, because most people just use the explosive ones. How did you know?"
"Lucky guess." The place reeked of dust, but only in those three varieties. Ruby was right; most hunters used black explosive dust for their projectiles. Dust in its raw elemental form wasn't used that often. Weiss was upset, she has the ability to use it, and doing so might have destabilized that ground over there… Wow, what an idiot.
"Uh…Ichigo?" He came out of his thoughts to see Ruby with that same concerned look on her face.
"Gimme a sec." The young Vizard walked over to the shear edge of the cliffside and leapt off the side, landing on his feet with a crash. Taking a quick whiff of his surroundings, he found what he was looking for. "Soap."
"Hey, did you find anything?!" He looked up to see Ruby atop the cliff looking down at the pile of debris, obviously worried. The girl really did seem to care. That was a point for her in his book.
"Your teammate blew off some steam, shook some rocks loose on the cliffside, landed down her and took off in roughly…" He pointed behind him into the forest. "…that direction."
"So she's ok?!"
"Well enough to wonder off on her own again apparently." Why didn't she just stay in place? That would make all of this a lot easier. Wasn't that one of the first thing they taught these kids? You're always supposed to stay in place. He supposed it really didn't matter. A fall from that distance wouldn't cause anything serious. All he'd have to do was track her down, and her recently found scent shouldn't be too hard to follow. Besides, it wasn't like there was…shit. There was still a Grimm left in the forest, and a larger one at that. "I can track her down here; go on back to the dorms."
"You can find her? Let me come with you!"
"No." There was already one person he was responsible for running around in the forest. One which still had at least one major Grimm in it mind you. He did not want to have to look after another one. Besides, anyone tagging along would certainly slow him down.
"I have to go! She's my teammate!" The redhead replied, pleadingly.
Ichigo fixed her with his best scowl. Ruby wasn't going to make this easy would she? "No, shouldn't you be getting your other teammates or something?"
The redhead hesitated for a moment. "I…I haven't told them."
"What." A member of her team was missing and she hadn't even told her other teammates? Wasn't sticking together the first thing they told these kids? "Well why the hell not! You could cover a lot more ground with three people than one!"
The girl turned away from him and began fiddling with her hands. "I'm responsible for this." She said with a quiet voice. "The only reason she was so upset was because I wasn't acting like a proper team leader. I thought…I thought it was my responsibility to go find her and apologize." When Ruby looked up, Ichigo could see the telltale shimmer in her eyes. She was about to cry.
"Your responsibility." He stated, not asked. To which she replied with a short nod.
"Call your locker." Ichigo said with a sigh, turning away from the girl and back towards the forest. Taking responsibility for yourself. As stupid as it was in this situation, he couldn't help but appreciate that.
"My locker?" Ruby replied, confused by his sudden shift.
"Yes. Your damn locker! Now get it here before I change my mind!"
"Yes!" The girl whipped out a holographic pad from one of her pockets and punched in her code. Seconds later, He could hear its approach. The rocket propelled equipment storage system crashed down somewhere behind her, creating a small crater on impact. For a second he worried about the ground shifting again, but luckily what loose ground there was seemed to have already been shaken free.
As Ruby excitedly opened the door, Ichigo called out to her. "Just grab your weapon and some ammo, don't worry about anything else."
"But, I'm still in my uniform and…"
"Your teammate is wondering around in the forest by herself and you're worried about what you're wearing!" For a minute there he had forgotten that he was dealing with a kid. Time was important now. With Weiss on the move, there would be a lot of ground to cover. He could still smell that odd Grimm he had picked out the day before, but it seemed to be in a very out of the way place. If she was making way towards the Academy, she shouldn't come anywhere near it. Her scent wasn't weak tough, he wouldn't be the only one to pick up on it.
"Ready!" leapt down from the cliff, aiming towards one of the nearby trees. Using her scythe, she caught onto one of the limbs and using her momentum from the fall, spun around it twice to bleed off speed before hopping down to the ground below.
"Good." He adjusted Zangetsu on his back and took deep breath. All he had to do now was follow the scent. "I'm going to be moving pretty fast, try and keep up."
WEISS
It had been hours since she had begun looking for a way out of this forest, but Weiss wasn't having any luck. The heiress knew what she was trying to find, but had somehow gotten turned around in the dense foliage. When they had left the forest after their initial test, there had been a simple, relatively flat area to travel through which led back towards civilization. Once there she had planned to contact someone for help. Unfortunately all she had come across where the sheer cliff faces which rimmed the majority of the forest. The pain in her ankle had been getting worse by the minute. Walking on it alone was no longer an option, so she had taken to using a sturdy branch as a kind of walking stick. That however, wasn't the girls' most pressing issue. The sun would be setting soon and when that happened, finding a way out would become almost impossible.
If there was any doubt about this being one of the worst days of her life, they had long since been satisfied. The inside of this place was exactly as she remembered it from earlier in the week. A complete maze. It had been sheer luck that they had found the relic site the last time. Her sense of direction had gotten completely turned around. As it was, she had decided to stick close to the cliff side. To find the way out, she'd walk around the entire forest if she had to.
Soon, she found herself wondering into some type of clearing, although it wasn't a clearing in the usual sense. The area wasn't an oasis in the sea of trees; in fact it was covered with them. Splinters of wood littered the ground, the remains of violently cracked and split trunks and branches. Something had cut down all the trees. No. Cut wasn't the right word. Something had torn at them, crushed, cracked, split, destroyed them and in the process, created some terrible, splintery sheet across what was formerly the forest floor. Something had absolutely destroyed this section of the forest, and it looked like it had been done recently. What would do something like that? What could? Her pain momentarily forgotten, Weiss' mind filled with questions at what she seeing. Some areas seemed finer that others, as if the destruction was more thorough, more complete. As her eyes continued to scan the area, they eventually fell on something which made her blood run cold.
It was clear how she had missed it. The sun was almost set, and what trees still stood cast long shadows. Shadows large and dark enough to hide something equally dark. A creature of Grimm. A familiar chill ran down the girl's spine as the black figure raised its head, audibly sniffing the air. Grimm had that effect on people. Being anywhere near one triggered the bodies fight or flight response, and the more powerful the Grimm the more powerful the reaction. The difference between hunters and the rest of the population was a simple one. Can you withstand it? Can you face that fear or will you allow it to control you? As she was right now, Weiss Schnee was doing all she could to try and get out of there. She may still have Myrtentaster, but she couldn't fight it. Her aura reserves were all but dry, and she would have a hard enough time trying to do much of anything with her ankle the way it was. Fighting off the mounting panic, Weiss forced her body to move and shuffled as quickly as she could behind one of the broad tress circling the perimeter of the clearing. All she could do was hope it didn't find her.
A low growl began to emanate from the creature as it rose to its feet. Peaking from behind her hiding place, the girl could see it better now. The four legged beast was about twenty feet tall, twenty five if you counted the great many-branched horns atop its head. Its head looked vaguely like a deer... The white mask upon its face was skeletal, twin specks of golden light glaring through the eye sockets. She saw it's jaws open slightly, revealing row upon row of razor sharp teeth.
The Grimm looked back and forth across the tree line, searching for its prey. As its gaze fell upon her segment of trees, Weiss pulled her eyes away and pressed herself flat against the bark of the tree. It was getting dark. Why why why, did she have to be wearing white. The creature of Grimm shrieked in her direction. It hadn't needed to see her, its nose had done the work. Weiss heard the crash as the beast began to charge towards her. Was this it? Was this how she was going to die? The crashes closed the distance quickly, each great hoof crashing against the shattered remains of fallen trees. It came closer and closer, furiously bearing down on the frightened huntress in training.
"Weiss!" The girls blue eyes shot open. She had to be seeing things.
"Ruby?"
"Weiss!" She was almost taken to the ground as the red blur collided into her. "I'm so sorry for being a bad leader!"
"What? Ruby I…" What was going on? Where did SHE come from?
"Ah, sorry! What am I saying?" The redhead looked horrified. "Are you alright?! What happened?!"
"MOVE YOU IDIOT THAT THINGS GOING TO KILL US!" Weiss scrambled to her feet, a bolt of pain traveling up her leg.
"Are you hurt?!" Ruby jumped up and grabbed her partner, stopping her from falling back down. "Hey, calm down!"
Weiss didn't answer. Her mind was only focusing on one thing, the metric ton of hate that was bearing down on the two of them. "WE HAVE TO MOVE!"
"Oh, that Maricha?" the redhead questioned, pointing back towards the clearing. "Ichigo said he'd take of it."
"What?" Ichigo? He was here? Suddenly, she noticed that rumble had stopped. The beast was no longer running her down. Looking back to where the deer-like monster had been a moment before, she saw that Ruby had been telling the truth.
As they both looked on, they could see Ichigo had stopped the deer-like Grimm's charge in its tracks. His feet were dug into the ground, and his hands were clamped tightly around the beasts lowered horns. With a shout, he twisted around, yanking the Grimm's horns and pulling it with him. The powerful heave flipped it onto its back, slamming it down hard on the great splinters of destroyed trees. Wasting no time, their mentor pulled the great sword from his back and with one full swing, decapitated the monster. Almost immediately, it began to fizzle away.
"Woah! Did you see that!?" Ruby exclaimed. "He might be stronger than Yang!"
And just like that, it was done. Weiss knew she should be happy. She had just been saved from that monster. She was going to be alright. But, this wasn't what she wanted. She didn't want to be the one that had to be saved. It was humiliating. Here she had been, hiding behind a tree hoping against hope that someone would come out of nowhere and rescue her. Now that they had, the heiress only felt empty. How useless she had been and how Ichigo, a man who's name she had been cursing for hours, had not only recused her, but defeated the Grimm in a matter of seconds.
With a deep sigh, he replaced his massive sword on his back and began to walk back towards them. "Hey Schnee, you alright?" the elder student called out as he approached.
"Uh…yeah." She managed to squeak out, still trying to comprehend everything that just happened.
"That's good." He almost looked…relieved? Was he actually concerned for her? No, of course not. He was probably just happy he avoided having to deal with the fallout of her death. "I'm sorry."
"Huh?" That was…unexpected.
"Earlier I said some things I probably shouldn't have." Ichigo continued. "I judged you too quickly and lost my temper. Sorry."
"Hmmph." Weiss turned away haughtily. Suddenly, she was back to normal. "What about yesterday?"
The Vizard sighed. "No. That stands."
"What?"
"You are still very inexperienced." He explained. "You'll have to work at it so you won't drag down your teammates. But you know that already don't you?"
The heiress was silent. Ichigo was about to continue until she began to answer. "Yes." Now that was clearer than ever. She paused before continuing. "My father would never have allowed me to be put in danger." At least not truly in danger. He wouldn't flat out deny her wishes, but… "No doubt he expected me to give up being a huntress after a while. If I'm being honest, the first time I'd actually fought one of the Grimm was during the initiation test."
"The first time?" the older student cocked an eyebrow.
"I knew about the kind of effect they have on you and I thought I was ready for it." Weiss explained. "When we were all together, it wasn't that bad, but just now…"
"It's always worse when you're alone." Stated Ichigo. "If someone has your back, you have less to worry about. People feel safer in bigger numbers, it's a mental thing. That's part of the reason they put you guys into teams." That…actually made a lot of sense. Whenever she was frightened as a child, her first instinct was always to find someone else, usually her sister. It didn't matter if nothing else changed; just being with someone else was enough.
"That's right Weiss." Ruby added with a smile. "As long as you're with us, team RWBY will always have your back."
What was that all about? Since when did Ruby actually act like a leader? All of this was happening too fast. One minute she's on deaths door, the next her kid captain is giving her reassurance. She didn't know what to do. But there was one thing she did know. They deserved her gratitude. "Thank you, both of you. I'm sorry for dragging the two of you into this."
Ichigo sighed. "It wasn't your fault, there's no reason for me to be angry."
No reason for him to be angry? She could think of a few! "You and Ruby, you two never hesitated. When I was in trouble, you showed up and saved me, all I did was freeze up." How could they be playing this off like it was nothing?
"Don't worry yourself over it, that was only what, the third time you've encountered a Grimm?" her mentor answered. "It takes some people awhile to get over it."
What had happened in the time that she was gone? Ruby was acting something like a proper leader, and Ichigo Kurosaki of all people was being…polite? Had she somehow wondered into some bizarre parallel world where everything was opposite?
Ruby reached over and shook her arm. "You alright?"
"Hmm?"
"You uh, spaced out there for a bit." Her teammate had that concerned look on her face again.
"It's nothing." She waved it off. Now wasn't the time to think about such things.
"You good to walk?" Ichigo asked, looking down at her ankle.
"Yes, I'm fine, let's just get moving shall we?" As she took a step forward, a shot of pain ran up her leg. She stumbled forward with a hiss of pain.
"Weiss!" Ruby called out, reaching over to help.
"I'm fine Ruby." This was nothing. She had made it this far, she could make it back to campus.
"But…"
"I'm fine. Hey! What are you…?" Weiss could only gape in surprise as Ruby tossed her arm around her shoulder to help her stand.
"It'll be easier if I help you right?" "Besides, it's sorta my fault you're here in the first place. Isn't that what captains supposed to do?"
"Ruby…" She didn't know what to say. What was going on? Had her teammate always been this way? Had she been too quick to judge her? Could it be that behind that childish exterior was someone who cared enough about some girl she hardly knew, that she would run off into a forest and fight off Grimm to save them? Maybe. Just maybe she had been wrong.
"As touching as that is, I'd like to get some sleep, and watching you two hobble back over the next few hours doesn't sound that appealing."
Weiss felt herself being lifted off the ground. Had he just thrown her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes? "Whaa!" "Put me down this instant!" How dare he?! She began pummeling hic back with blows, trying vainly to escape.
Seemingly immune to her attacks, Ichigo looked over at her teammate. "You can keep up easily enough Ruby, follow me we're going to stop by a friend of mine."
"Uh…ok." She looked just as surprised as Weiss.
"I said put me down-AAAAAA!" The world around her seemed to blur. Everything bled together into darkness. The shear speed sucked the air out of her, leaving her shouts to die on the wind.
"We're here."
Suddenly, they stopped. The stop was just as violent as the start. They were in front of the medical building of the academy. Weiss remembered it from the orientation tour given during the first few days.
"The medical building?" asked Ruby, appearing beside him.
"I know a girl that works here." Ichigo stated. "She should be able to fix you up." He walked up the steps to the entrance of the building, Ruby following closely behind.
Going through the door, the trio walked into what must have been the waiting room. Rows of chair lined the wall, and a reception desk stood off to one side. Sitting behind the desk was a girl with long, straight, orange hair. She was wearing a long white lab coat over the standard school uniform. "Ah, Ichigo." A smile crossed the older girls face at seeing his arrival. Her face momentarily scrunched up in confusion upon seeing what he had brought with him. "And who is that?"
"A freshman I'm in charge of, busted up her ankle out in the forest."
"Oh, I see." The girl turned her attention towards Weiss. "Wait…" Her attention shifted back to Ichigo. "They have YOU doing that?"
"Yeah." At his response, the older girl burst out into laughter, barely keeping herself from falling out on the floor. Ichigo's face pulled into a scowl. "It's not that damn funny."
"I'm sorry." The nurse replied, wiping tears from her eyes. "Please just take a seat over there." She gestured towards a row of chairs lined up against the wall.
"Put me down, I can manage." Ichigo obliged, setting her down on her own two feet. Wincing, she limped towards the chairs and took a seat. Ruby came over and sat beside her, while Ichigo opted to simply lean against the door frame.
"This is Orihime." He explained to the two of them. "I've known her for a while now."
"Hi, I ruby." The girl replied cheerfully.
"Weiss Schnee." The other said politely.
"Pleased to meet you." The older girl replied with a smile. She knelt down to take a closer look at Weiss' injury. "So, how did this happen." She asked, sliding off the heiress' boot to examine her ankle. . "In spars, your Aura usually prevents injuries like this."
"I…uh." She couldn't just tell this woman how she had hurt herself. Falling off a cliff after throwing a tantrum? That would be humiliating. "It was an accident."
"Well, it doesn't look too bad." Either the older girl was oblivious or just didn't care. "Alrighty." She carefully grabbed Weiss's ankle and cupped it between her hands. After a few moments, a gentle orange glow began to emanate from the nurses' hands.
"It feels…warm." Weiss didn't know what to think about what she was feeling. The light was soothing somehow; the pain she was feeling just a minute ago was dimming quickly. It wasn't that her ankle was going numb. It felt more like the pain itself was being pulled out.
"It's my semblance." The young nurse explained. "Aura usually helps you heal yourself. I can use mine to heal others."
"That's incredible!" Ruby's silver eyes shined as she stared down at the warm orange light.
"Oh, it's nothing really…"
"Don't be modest." Ichigo called out from the doorway. "If it doesn't kill you she can put you it back together." He was quite for a moment before something seemed to cross his mind. "Schnee, there's something about you that's been bothering me."
Something about her that's been bothering him? What was that supposed to mean? "And what would that be?"
"You rely too much on the dust attacks with your weapon."
Oh, he was still being serious. "I've become aware of that, yes." That had been an issue of hers ever since her time back in Atlas. Had he been able to figure that out from just the short time they had fought?
"If you're going to be a good huntress, you're going to have to get better at direct combat, without using dust." Ichigo explained. "I saw what happened up on the ridge. That was the reason you didn't pull your weapon wasn't it? You didn't have any way to attack it."
Well that was half right. She did still have wind dust, but that really wasn't good to fight with directly. The real reason she hadn't drawn her weapon was because she had been a too afraid. Afraid of the massive murder deer about to run her down. Not that she'd ever admit that.
"Isn't that what you and Professor Port do all the time Ichigo?" Orihime questioned, not looking up from her patients injury. "You've been fighting him directly like that about once a week since you were a kid right?"
"Well, yeah." Their mentor replied.
"Kurosaki, do you think I'd be able to convince the Professor to allow me to spar with him too?" Weiss had made a decision. She would never be caught in this situation again. She wanted to be the one doing the saving, not the other way around. The first step to achieving that was to become a better fighter. If training directly with a professor helped Ichigo to be as strong as he was, then she wanted the same thing.
"You want to fight the old man?" He seemed surprised by her response. Ichigo closed his eyes and seemed to think for a moment. "I can figure something out. Meet me tomorrow where you talked to me and Port this afternoon." Weiss nodded back in response. "Well alright then. I trust you have things from here Ruby?"
"Yep, I'll get her back safe and sound!" the girl declared, giving him a thumbs up.
"Thanks for helping me out Orihime; I owe you one for this."
"It's nothing, don't even worry about." The young nurse smiled with a sideways glance.
Their mentor turned to leave. "Oh by the way Ruby, take care of your locker before heading back. Don't leave that thing sitting out like that." With that he left, the door swinging shut behind him.
Weiss watched him leave. "I just don't get him." She said with a sigh.
"Hmm?" Orihime questioned, not looking up from her work.
"Earlier today, he acted like a complete jerk." Weiss elaborated. "Now he's acting like some vague attempt at a gentleman."
The elder girl held a hand to her mouth, stifling a laugh. "That sounds like Ichigo."
"He acts the same way around you?"
"When we were on the same team, he would snap at us sometimes, usually when we did something stupid." Orihime explained. He can be a very…emotional person."
"Wait, you were on a team with him?" asked Ruby. Weiss found that surprising. Every indication had been that their crass mentor wasn't part of a team at all.
The nurses' smile faltered a bit. "Back in our first year. But, some things happened." She paused before continuing. "After that he just kinda went off to do his own thing."
"What happened?" questioned the Heiress. "I thought all teams the teams at Beacon stuck together all through school."
"It's not for me to say. That's something you should hear from him, if he even wants to talk about it." The light emanating from Orihimes' hands dimmed. "Alright, that should be good for now."
"It feels great." Weiss said aloud, turning her ankle with ease. "Is it completely healed?"
"Sorry, but no." Orihime answered, rising to stand. "I can speed it along, but I can't heal it completely. I'd be careful with it over the next few days."
"When will I be able to fight again?" Weiss asked as she gingerly stood. If she was going to improve herself, it was going to take a lot of hard work. The sooner she got started, the better.
"Eager to get back at it, huh?" The nurse smiled sweetly. "Two days should be enough to heal a break. Before that, try not to do anything too strenuous. You should be fine to walk around on your own though."
She had broken it? Well that would explain how badly it had hurt. What was really incredible was how much this woman could accelerate healing. Two days to heal a break? That was incredible. "Thanks for everything miss…" She suddenly realized she didn't know the girls last name.
"Just call be Orihime, and please feel free." The nurse answered. "Any friend of Ichigo's is a friend of mine."
After that, the pair left the medical building and began walking back towards the dorms. It was incredible how much Orihime had done to heal her in such a short time. She barely felt any pain at all along the walk back. "Ruby, thanks again." Weiss said after the pair had walked the initial part of the trip in silence.
"Hehe, it's nothing really." Ruby replied sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head. "After all, if I'm going to be the team captain, I have to look out for everyone right?"
"Yeah, I guess so." A small smile crept onto her face. Today had been terrible, all in all one of the worst days of her life. But even so, things might not be as bad as she thought. Maybe she had been wrong about Ruby. There weren't' many people who would go that far out of their way for someone they just met. It would've been easy to sit back and say 'she'll turn up eventually.' But Ruby didn't do that. If she had…well…better not to think about it. Then there was Ichigo. How someone could be as much of an ass one minute, then as helpful as he was the next, she really didn't understand. After tonight, there was a part of her that wanted to trust him, but there was a voice that kept nagging at the back of her mind. As if telling her that someone like him could attack her at a moment's notice, and dispatch her as easily as that Grimm. She really didn't want to think anymore right now though, it had been a very long day and all she wanted was her bed. "Oh Ruby, one more thing."
"Hmm?"
"Not a word to Blake or your sister."
ROMAN
He was nervous. That damn woman was going to get them all killed. If she wanted to run off to some Menos infested ruin and shoot the breeze with an international terrorist, then fine, but he wanted no part of it. Even though she had brought along the rest of her group, he had been forced to tag along as well. Bitch just wanted to watch him squirm.
"That's the fifth one Roman, enough." Warned a woman's sultry voice. "I'd prefer our guests don't choke when they arrive.
Torchwick put out the remnants of his last cigar with clear distaste. How could that damn woman be so calm? There were Menos Grande marching around outside. The whole place was overrun with them, and everyone who had lived in this decrepit ruin had died long ago. Now, were that the only thing to worry about, he may have managed it. But on this day, fate really seemed to have it in for him. "If you wouldn't mind." He began slowly. "Tell me again why you actually want to meet with the head of a militant anti-human group in the middle of goddam nowhere."
"I never took you for a coward Roman." The woman turned to look at him, her lips curled into an amused smirk. "If you don't want to be here, you could always wait outside."
Outside with the ten-story tall monsters. She had left that part out. Roman was no fool. When caught between a rock and a hard place, choose the side you could reason with, not the side which could crush you without noticing.
"No?" she questioned after he failed to respond. "That's a shame; Neo seems to having so much fun."
Maybe that's because she's as strong as an Ursa and can teleport herself out of trouble. Looking around the room, he noticed those two kids Cinder had brought with her; the dark skinned girl with the green hair, and the boy with grey hair and mechanical legs. They shared the same type of smirk as their employer; they thought this whole thing was funny. He would have to wait and see their reactions when their guests finally showed up. Somehow, he had a feeling they wouldn't find their situation quite so amusing after that.
"Miss Fall, they've arrived". A voice called out over a handheld radio.
"How many?" she replied.
"Just two, our contact and some old man."
So he had come after all. The career criminal had been holding out hope that this had all been some kind of bluff. Damn, he really wanted a smoke right now.
"Send them both up." The woman rose from her seat and smoothed out her dress. "I shouldn't have to tell you this, but do be on your best behavior." Her glare left little to the imagination. You screwed up, you would die…painfully.
Cinder had never bothered to tell him why, but for some reason this meeting seemed to be very important to her. Seems like he was about to find out though, unless she made good on her threat to send him out.
It wasn't long before their visitors arrived. The first to walk into the room was someone Roman was quite familiar with. Adam Taurus, an officer in the White Fang. Scarlet hair and that cheesy mask; He'd recognize that one anywhere.
When the second man walked through the door, Romans fears were confirmed. He was dressed head to toe in varying shades of grey. Grey trench coat, ballistic vest, combat boots, the wolf Faunus looked like he was returning from some hellish combat zone. The man was old, Steel grey hair pooled around his shoulders, and matching lupine ears rose up on either side of his dark tricorn hat. His only eye was a bright iceberg blue; the other was covered with a black eyepatch. On his arm was one of the oddest looking contraptions Roman had ever laid eyes on. Attached to his forearm was some kind of piston assembly, a faint tuft of steam escaping from some partially leaking valve. Jutting out from the end of assembly was a blade attached to the end of large metal stake. Roman had no doubt that whatever that was; the old man could probably kill him with it.
"Djura, the great grey wolf." Cinder introduced the new arrival.
The elder Faunus focused his one good eye on the woman before him. "And you must be Cinder Fall." The man's voice matched his age, it was soft, raspy, but it also held a strength which demanded obedience. "Before we begin, there's something you have to do."
"And what is that?"
"Call off that pink hellion giving the Menos fits."
The woman grinned. "Now why would I do that when she's having so much fun?"
"Those beasts are relatively peaceful, no sense in riling them up."
"Peaceful?" Roman interjected. "They're Grimm. They'd love nothing more than to bash this building down and kill all of us."
"Not always." Djura answered, never taking his eyes off the woman before him. "It is…unwise to heap every member of a species into the same basket." A single ice blue eye locked on smoldering gold. There was no room for argument. "They're anxious, any more of this and they made stampede. Now woman, are you going to do as I ask, or am I going to have to bring her here myself?"
Holy shit. Nobody talked to Cinder Fall like that. That was incredible. What was even more incredible was how the man who said those words wasn't currently burning alive.
"Roman, send a message out to Neo and tell her to come back." Momentarily stunned, it took him a moment to respond. When he finally snapped out of it, he relayed the message out to the girl in question. He wouldn't need to be told twice to comply. That man made him nervous, anything to keep him calm would be done gladly. Cinder bothered him as well, but in a completely different way. Roman Torchwick was no coward. He was not afraid of Cinder Fall, just smart enough to know not to cross her. Life was easier when an incredibly dangerous woman wasn't trying to turn you into a pile of ashes, and that woman was as dangerous as she was beautiful.
A few months ago, she had appeared out of seemingly nowhere. He hadn't found someone yet who knew where she came from or if Cinder Fall was even her real name. Shortly after her arrival, she had begun to systematically take control over Vale's criminal underworld. Some had challenged her rise to power, yes, but most of them had been swiftly dealt with. There were times where he could swear the woman could ignite someone with a glance. More than a few of his men had suffered a similar fate. Yet, even so, it couldn't be said that he feared her.
Djura however, that man scared him. Cinder was a businesswoman. She could be bargained with and payed off. The old Faunus was nothing like that. He cared little about money outside of what the White Fang needed to operate, and he cared even less about power, a fanatic to the core. He couldn't trust that. The old wolf was tied to riots, fire bombings, and assassinations. The old wolfs' stance was clear, stand against the Faunus, and you would be made example of. He hadn't needed Cinder to tell him to behave himself for this meeting. No, he was smart enough to know that their hand, whatever it was, would need to be played as carefully as possible. Thankfully, that was something Cinder excelled at. She had a silver tongue when she needed it, this would undoubtedly be one of those times.
He had to wonder though, why go to the White Fang? Perhaps they needed more muscle for the larger jobs, but going straight to the damn White Fang seemed more than a little excessive. Getting their help would likely mean a massive increase in firepower, but why? The docks weren't that heavily guarded. Unless she knew something he didn't. If so, it wouldn't be the first time she had kept him in the dark.
"Thank you." The old Faunus gave a brief nod once the pink themed girl in question teleported into the room.
"I trust we can proceed now?"
Grey lupine ears flicked once as Djura looked her over. "Why is it that humans like you wished to enlist the help of the White Fang, and for petty crime at that?" He didn't seem happy. "There have been many people who have attempted to speak with me, but you are the first to do so by directly threatening my subordinates." His eyes darted quickly over to the still frozen form of Adam.
"Well, we had to get your attention somehow."
"You certainly have it."
Cinder settled back against the couch and folded her arms across her chest. "It is my understanding that the White Fang has been known to take on mercenary work from time to time."
"In the past, yes. In our early days such things were necessary. It takes money to run an organization after all. But those days are behind us now. The White Fang is an organization of change, not something to be auctioned off to the highest bidder."
"Well That is a shame." She sighed audibly. "And here I was thinking I had found a job you might be interested in."
"Oh?" the grey wolf raised an eyebrow. "And what makes you think that?"
"It involves the Schnee Dust Company or more specifically, robbing them. There is a 100-ton shipment of dust coming in 9 days from now. I need it."
"What makes you think we're interested?"
"Considering you're history with the Schnee Dust Company…"
"We do not hate Schnee." Djura interrupted. "And regardless of their reputation, Schnee does not hate us."
"Really now?" the woman questioned. "Their records say otherwise. Inhonest business. Unfair labor practices…"
"All of it terrible." Djura interrupted once more.
He looked around, scanning the room for possible exits. Great Grey Wolf or not, if he kept interrupting her like that than this place was going to go up in flames real soon.
"My people have suffered, but it is not due to hate." The elder Faunus continued after a pause. "It is not hate that put us where we are." His expression hardened. "It was indifference." The old wolf stood began to pace around the room, his gaze lazily moving between the occupants of the room. His eyes briefly locked with Roman's, considered him for a moment, and moved on. Apparently he wasn't considered a threat. For a brief instant, Roman couldn't decide whether he felt relieved or insulted. "You can't vilify a business for pursuing profit, that's their entire point of operating. The injustice done to my people had two causes, the pursuit of profit which lead to worsening conditions, and the indifference which allowed them to stay in place. Nobody cares what they do, or at least not enough to matter." He halted, just short of completing a full circle around the room. "Tell me, which is more evil? A man who purposefully wrongs another or the one who could stop it, but refuses to act?
"Neither holds more blame than the other." Cinder answered quickly.
"I agree. We hold them accountable, but the blame is shared among many more." The old wolf answered, turning his attention back towards her.
"So, I would hold as much blame as Schnee?"
"Perhaps."
"If that's true, then why aren't you trying to kill us?" Damn it woman, don't give him any ideas.
"What good what that do?" The wolf responded flatly.
"One more guilty person would be dead." She answered with a wave of her hand.
"Hmmph." "That level of guilt doesn't justify being killed. If we went around killing everyone, we wouldn't be any better than them, we'd be worse. Like I said before, it would be unwise to group all members of a species together."
"I see."
Djura's one blue eye narrowed. "I came here because you claimed you have something to offer. If you do, let it be known. But if you're goal was to bribe us into helping you because of the jobs tie to the Schnee, then I think we'll be going."
"That is a shame really. Here I am with a supplier of Atlesian Military Tech and nobody to share it with."
That stopped the elder Faunus in his tracks. He slowly turned back to look at the now smirking woman. "…Continue."
"I have contacts in the Atlesian Military. It might be possible for me to…acquire some supplies from them. I'm sure there's something that could be of use."
"You." Djura suddenly turned to look at Roman. "You're the one that's been smoking." What the hell, why was he being singled out all of a sudden? "My nose isn't what it used to be, it took me a minute to figure out who it was." Seriously? That's what that stroll around the room was for? Did this guy not feel threatened at all!? "I hate the smell of tobacco."
"Roman, leave." Her tone left no room for argument. Before he knew it, he was making his way out the door. As the door closed behind him, he could make out Cinder telling Mercury to open a window.
Wonderful, out with the giant monsters. Preemptively grabbing a cigar from his coat pocket. Lighting it, he made his way down the long staircase, away from the terrifying woman and the international terrorists. Squinting, he stepped out into the light. Looking out at the ruins of Mountain Glenn, he could see that Djura had been right; Neo had been giving the Menos fits. He recognized some of the buildings which had remained standing over the years had been recently demolished. Some of the massive elephant-like Menos were pacing back and forth anxiously, as if awaiting the return of their small pink tormentor. Taking a drag from his cigar, he remembered what the old wolf had said about those monsters.
"It is…unwise to heap every member of a species into the same basket."
What a ridiculous thing to say. The Grimm were mindless beasts, the lot of them. Running on pure instinct and nothing more. Maybe the great Djura was starting to lose himself in his old age. Why would some old Faunus care about whether or not Grimm, no, MENOS FUCKING GRANDE were being harassed. Did he not understand how Mountain Glenn had ended up like this in the first place? In all their wisdom, the cities had tried to expand outward and create a new great city. It had worked decently enough for a while, but eventually the Grimm were just too much for the towns defenders to handle. Thousands had died. Why? Because the idiots in charge had done something stupid. Of course those who came up with the idea weren't among them. Those who had convinced the settlers to take the chance had all stayed back in the safety of Vale or Atlas. The ones who made the call to seal up the tunnels did so remotely. That was how the world worked. Those in power call the shots for everyone else, but don't expect them to be there when shit hits the fan. The Grimm were a force of nature, it was a damn miracle there were as many stable cities as there were. Grimm were all the same, creatures of darkness with one solitary goal, the extinction of humanity.
He couldn't have been standing there looking at over the ruins for more than ten minutes before he heard the click of footsteps behind him. Well that was quick. The two Faunus exited with neutral expressions, and not a single explosion. Well, at least negotiations hadn't turned violent. After giving some silent order to the to the other one, The older Faunus moved towards where Roman was standing, stopping beside him to look out at the debris of the failed city.
"It's beautiful isn't it?" Djura said after a moment.
"Pardon me?" Roman answered. Beautiful? What part of this place could ever be described as beautiful?
"Beautiful view."
"That's not how I'd describe it." Why was the wolf talking to him? The two of them needed to go away already; this was bad for his health. On reflex, the career criminal reached into his jacket for another cigar.
"It is a desolate place." The elder agreed. "But that doesn't mean it is an ugly one."
"What do you mean by that?" Roman answered, pulling out his lighter.
"I'm assuming you know what happened here?" The old hunter's one blue eye turned to focus on him.
"Enough to know it was a mistake." Roman felt a chill run down his spine as he made eye contact. He hoped what he was saying wouldn't upset the elder Faunus.
Grey lupine ears twitched at the sound of heavy footsteps. Quickly shifting his gaze, Djura focused on a Menos which was beginning to venture a bit too close for Romans' comfort. After a moment, the wolf Faunus looked back at him. "That one won't be a problem."
A Menos won't be a problem? What the hell is that supposed to mean? Roman was beginning to think his initial theory of the old man being off balance might've been close to the mark.
"Believe it or not, I was one of the huntsmen tasked with the evacuation of this place."
Now that was interesting. "Sounds unpleasant." Not for the first time, Roman couldn't help but wonder just how long the old wolf had been alive.
"Indeed."
He waited for the elder Faunus to continue, but apparently that's all he was going to get. After a pregnant pause, Roman spoke. "I don't see it. How could the destroyed remains of a settlement like this ever be considered beautiful?" With a click of his lighter, he lit the cigar.
Djura sniffed the air, his nose crinkling in disgust. "Put that out." Goddamit, how had he already forgotten that? After Roman begrudgingly put out yet another cigar, the wolf Faunus began. "When this city was built, man took a step too far. They believed themselves capable, capable of taming the wild and bending it to their will. For a time, they were. But in the end, all it ever takes is a single bad day." The elder Faunus looked down and kicked the smoldering remains of Roman's cigar off the balcony, watching it fall to the rubble below. "When that day came, the city fell and its people died with it."
"So you agree with me then, you think it was a mistake."
"No." Djura replied flatly. "Hiding behind walls is no way to live. I respect their courage for attempting to expand."
"Is that why you think it's beautiful?" An odd way to look at things. Bravery was nice, but a big pile of money, some brandy, and a chance to finish a damn cigar would go a lot further in his eyes right now.
"Bravery is something to be praised, yes, but that is not what makes this place beautiful." Out of the corner of his eye, Roman could see the Menos which had drifted closer a minute ago begin to wander back towards the herd. "This place serves as a reminder."
"To what exactly, mortality?"
"No, Mountain Glenn has another lesson." "It doesn't matter how well planned something is, it doesn't even matter how competent the people in charge are. This was a thriving city, and despite all those plans and soldiers, almost every citizen died. Mountain Glenn serves as a reminder. In a world like ours, you are never truly in control." The old grey wolf turned to leave. "Remember that."
"I'll do just that, thanks."
With a nod, the elder Faunus turned away and rejoined his colleague. Before leaving, he stopped and turned back. "That woman you're with, she'll learn that for herself sometime soon I think."
With that, the wolf Faunus disappeared down the stairs, followed closely by their red-headed informant. What was that supposed to mean? Cinder would know for herself that she wasn't in control? As much as he would love to see the look on her face when that happened, he couldn't help but doubt the man's words. She was perfect. Always one step ahead, at times he could swear the woman must be psychic. He had seen many a man try to take her down over the past few years, and not a one of them came anywhere close. That's why he was here, working for the woman who had stomped out any competition in her way. The winning team was always the best team, and now that Vale's most wanted had left the building, this member of the winning team was going to enjoy a good smoke.
Huntsman Profiles
-The following data is pulled from the Beacon Academy Huntsman database. Here, the parameters of a huntsman/huntress are recorded and scored. A value of 5 is set as the base level expected of an average full-fledged huntsman/huntress. The highest value (10) will only be given to those who push the boundaries of human achievement.
Profile: Weiss Schnee (Stage 1 Classified)
ID #: 0495
Occupation: Freshman level student at Beacon Academy
Previous Occupation: None
Strength: 3/10
Skill: 5/10
Speed: 4/10
Intelligence: 7/10
Experience: 2/10
Rank: T (Trainee)
Team: RWBY Partner: Ruby Rose
Heiress to the Schnee Dust Company. Formerly of Atlas, Miss Schnee reached out to the staff of Beacon to become a student here instead of her home school, the Atlesian Academy. The younger of two children. Shows above-average ability with her own specialized weapon, but is lacking in terms of actual combat experience. Exemplary grades apparent in transcript.
Confirmed Slayings: Grimm: 1 Nevermore (assisted)
Profile: Ruby Rose (Stage 1 classified)
ID # 0500
Occupation: Freshman level student at Beacon Academy
Previous Occupation: none
Strength- 3/10
Skill- 5/10
Speed- 6/10
Intelligence-5
Experience- 3/10
Rank T (Trainee)
Team: RWBY (captain) Partner: Weiss Schnee
The second of two daughters born to current hunter Tai Yang Xiao Long. Daughter of former hunter Summer Rose. Miss Rose was allowed entrance into the Academy two years ahead to schedule with the backing of the current Headmaster. Has an older sister, Yang Xiao Long who also attends Beacon Academy in the same year.
Confirmed Slayings: Grimm: 1 Nevermore (assisted)
I can hear it from here. WHO THE HELL IS DJURA?
Well, when I was putting everything together, there was a blind spot in the cast I needed to fix. Who are the guys in charge of the White Fang? To this point, I don't think we know. So, I needed a guy to fill that void. To me, the White Fang is a very powerful group and should be represented as such. In canon, Cinder shows up with her new powers and starts bossing people around. Here, she isn't so lucky. She still threatened Adam, but that was to get to Djura. Djura is a guy I've put together over the last few months. He is somewhat loosely based on an NPC from the game Bloodborne. In many ways, this is purely cosmetic. He is an older hunter, but an extremely skilled and wise one. I'm excited to tell his story in the chapters to come.
The main point of this chapter was to fix the rift between Ruby and Weiss. I think the method with which this was handled in canon was a little too easy. Here, Weiss learns to trust Ruby because she came to help her. It is because of Ruby's' actions that Weiss may come to respect her as a leader. The same could be said for Ichigo, but he has a bit more ground to make up.
I was toeing a fine line with Weiss in this chapter that I hope I did correctly. I despise the idea of using a character solely as a damsel in distress. Since I needed her to be in a significant level of danger for the overall plan to work though, I had to make some compromises. To offset this, I used one of her most prominent traits, pride. She was placed in a situation where she could rely on someone coming to save her, but she didn't. Weiss took matters into her owns hands and tried to do it herself. The only thing which stopped her from actually pulling this off was a big badass Grimm she probably couldn't have handled by herself on a good day. Weiss is not and will not be the type of person to rely on others to get her through the day. None of the members of team RWBY will be. That makes for a boring story. Ichigo is powerful, and will most certainly help them out when things get rough, but he will not be the sole answer to everyone's problems when something bad happens.
Also, Orihime appears! I liked her in Canon, but her abilities were a bit too much for me. The ability to negate reality was Dragon Ball esque and didn't sit well with me. She does not have a way to attack directly, and she does not have her shield. However, in a school like Beacon medical professionals will be needed. Giving her the ability to heal others using her semblance is as overall useful as it is fitting for her character. Orihime is not a fighter and never has been. Her healing ability is powerful, but that being said, don't expect any miracle cures from her. (i.e. people getting cut in half, losing limbs, heart/brain getting pierced)
Once again, I am in no way moving forward with a pairing in mind. Feel free to spitball things you think may work. Right now it seems a lot of people like Blake.
As always, feel free to ask me a question if you have any. I will try to get back to you when I can.