Disclaimer: RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and Monty Oum while Naruto is owned by Masashi Kishimoto.
Chapter 1: Those People Are Dangerous! - Second Part
After losing my band of admirers- my God I have admirers. How does that even work? -with much tribulations, and indications from a kindly passing through teacher, me and Ruby finally found the designated meeting point: it's a giant auditorium, with an open roof and what looks almost like a cathedral's entrance behind the dais. At least I think it looks like a cathedral, I never saw the actual thing in my life. Religion is not my thing.
...Is it why my life sucks so much? Naa, even if God or whatever its equivalent exists there is no way it would waste its time making the life of a nobody like me miserable. I think. I hope.
The interior is full of people: most are my age, but I see some that look like they're one or two years my senior. Students from previous years? No, what reason do they have to be here today? Wait I remember now: seventeen is the minimum age, but is not the maximum one. So older people can apply too.
The moment we enter the blonde menace calls out to Ruby, waving and yelling. "Ruby! Over here! I saved you a spot!"
I stiffen up. Please don't notice me. Please don't notice me. Please don't notice me.
"Oh! Hey, I-I gotta go! See you after the ceremony." Ruby tell me before leaving in a hurry.
"Sure. See you later." I smile and waver at her retreating back.
Like hell: I hope to never see you again. Thinking again, what kind of relationship there is between those two?
...I really, really don't want to know.
I walk in the opposite direction to put as much space and people as possible between me and the young, skirt-wearing psychopath and stand in the first free space I find. I end next to a group of guys wearing armors and a girl with a hood covering her face, leaving only her mouth visible. No one talk. Good, I don't want to either: I have more important things to worry about.
Like the people who heard me playing. How much did they like my performance? And how much do I need to worry? I sigh: stay calm Jin, look at it objectively. Those people, their first day in a new school, found a guy playing a catchy song with a guitar and liked it. And? And nothing: I was acceptable, not good or exceptional. It was hardly an event warranting a lot of attention when soon our fighting and survival abilities will be tested by the scariest and strongest Huntsmen and Huntresses of Vale, if not the world. A nice reprieve, just that. They will probably forget me soon enough. I really hope they do.
That's when I catch sigh of Yukihime again, arguing with someone I can't see because the students in the rear block the visual past her right side. Without even turning she points over her shoulder at me and say in a sarcastic tone: "-and talk about cute boys, like tall, blonde, and scraggly over there!"
Ehi, I am not scraggly! ...And I am not even blonde. My hand reaches up and fondles a blond bang of hair: I started dyeing my hair when I became a Chuunin. Partially because I hoped to make myself less recognizable to Grass Ninja after I blew up that forest, and partly because Linne-san told me it looked good on me.
Still, hearing the stuck-up princess calling me "scraggly" bugs me. Maybe I ought to repay the jab someway...
That's when the sound of a microphone fills the auditorium and my eyes are drawn to the dais, where Ozpin and the woman that showed up in the hologram on the Airship, Glynda Goodwitch, next to him stand. I stop and focus my entire attention on them. No, on him.
"I'll... keep this brief. You have traveled here today in search of knowledge, to hone your craft and acquire new skills."
Nope. I travelled here today because you blackmailed me with a video of my less-than-legal deeds (stealing from criminal is a blurry thing. In the Elemental Nations). And at the prison the people who I robbed, and their hired goons (so other prisoners and the guards) where waiting for me to fuck my ass. Maybe even literally if they feel frisky, which is frankly disturbing for a whole lot of reasons I am not going to think about. What I am going to do is: work the least amount possible beside the subjects that will help keeping myself alive and avoid any dangerous activity to the best of my skills.
"And when you have finished you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people."
Ahahahah-no. I plan to escape at the first opportunity, flee to the farthest kingdom, open a bakery and let other people protect me. The world is full of idiots willing to lay down their life for the greatest good, to protect the innocents and all that jazz: why should I deny them this pleasure? It's what they want!
"But I look amongst you, and all I see is wasted energy, in need of purpose, direction."
...What?
"You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far."
Seriously, what the hell. This isn't an inspirational speech, not even a poorly worded one. This is...this is something else.
"And it is up to you to take the first step." Finishing with those words Ozpin walks away. The blonde woman takes his place and tells the students something, but I am not listening. No, I am thinking hard about what the Headmaster said.
He essentially said he thinks us students lack a purpose, but aren't many of those who sign up for Beacon dreaming to become Huntsmen and Huntresses? I can accept that circumstance can force one or two people to apply without a real desire to do it, but they are pretty much that: isolated cases. Why would he believe otherwise? Unless he thinks being a Huntsman or Huntress is not a goal worth following. But that coming from someone in his position is simply ludicrous.
Not so ludicrous anymore if we assume the current Ozpin is a mask, however. The truly good ninja can fake for years being someone that they are not, like replacing a married man and living his life for decades for the purpose of spying another country, with the wife and kids being none the wiser.
And the bit about knowledge? Of course knowledge alone doesn't make one a warrior, but is he implying there is a type of knowledge that's dangerous to know about? Something life-changing? Or maybe it's hidden from the masses, known only to few adepts who don't want to share it? Information is power after all, especially if a secret can turn your allies and public support against you.
'And it is up to you to take the first step'. It's so clear he meant himself. Ozpin you bastard, what is your game?
I can't ignore this, not when my life is endangered. While the rest of the students are watching Goodwitch I step behind a pillar, making sure no one is looking at me. A couple of hand-seals, puffs of smoke (very reduced: pride aside I am good at not wasting excess Chakra) and two people step out: me and a average looking boy with a hoodie covering his face in shadows.
"Follow Ozpin. Don't let others see you more than needed. Don't dispel if others can see you." I whisper. He nods before walking towards the direction Ozpin disappeared.
Of all the Jutsu I learned the Shadow Clone is easy the most useful, aka the one that keep myself safer. It's difficult to imagine that I owe Naruto of all people for teaching me it, but hey I helped with his training. I even taught him some useful jutsu of my own.
Admittedly the idea of overwhelming an enemy with a rush of clones that are on fire could have been better thought out, but how was I supposed to know the memories experienced by the clones go back to the original? The kid didn't know either. There was no reason to scold us for that.
But it's precisely that little characteristic that made them a hella lot useful for scouting and investigation. Even if they discover him with a bit of luck they will think of a Teleport or Illusion Semblance when he dispels, leaving me scot free of any suspicious.
But an alibi never hurt, so while my close is occupied elsewhere I think I will see if I can't reduce a little the steel pole the Schnee Heiress has up her cute little ass with some well place humor. It worked with Hideaki. Plus I still want her Dust, so I walk up to her.
"You know, it isn't nice to call other people scraggly." I speak right next to her, causing her to jump in surprise and twirl around to stare at me, to which I answer with a confident smile.
"Oh, hey Jin!"
That promptly freezes in place. Slowly, very slowly I look up Weiss' shoulders.
Of all the people that she could have stand next, why she chose the two walking murder machines!?
"Hello Ruby." I greet back, desperately trying to not let any of my inner despair show up on my face. Even if the Tsunade-like's sly grin makes me want to just bolt away and-is that interest in her eyes? Oh God, please no. Anything but that!
"You! You can't just sneak up on me! Do you know who I am?" Yukihime shrieks.
"Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company." I say tilting my head. She looks smug. "And your point is...?" That makes her explodes into another rant about her family, which I promptly ignore. I don't want to do this, but impoliteness (to the wrong person) will get me killed so I hold out my hand to the blonde. "I'm Jin."
She shakes it. The force of her grip shows I was not mistaken about the 'freakish strong' assumption. "Yang, Ruby's older sister."
...
...What.
Seriously how does t-that even work?! W-Where is the resemblance? Wait, they are related? Fuuuuuuuu- this is so beyond unlikely that it is not even funny. And it wasn't supposed to be funny in the first place! How can the same woman give birth to them? It's like Uchiha Itachi mated with Tsunade Senju.
...BRAIN BLEACH BRAIN BLEACH BRAIN BLEACH GIVE ME BRAIN BLEACH HURRY HURRY HURRY! BRAIN YOU FILTHY TRAITOR DIE DIE DIE BRAIN BLEACH BRAIN BLEACH!
"Are you okay?" Yang asks with concern. "You got a little pale."
"Oh, it's probably some leftover from the travel." I massage my forehead, deciding the punishment for my traitorous brain can wait. "I have motion-sickness. I took a medicine against it but sometime it resurface later. Nothing worrying though."
"STOP IGNORING ME YOU DYED HAIR DIMWIT!"
I turn back to Weiss. "It's rude to yell at other people."
Like pouring oil on a fire. I feel a headache coming.
You are a Shadow Clone of Jin Araya, complete with all his abilities but only half the Chakra. You are under a Henge that make you appear like an extremely normal, and thus forgettable, boy and you are stalking Ozpin, Headmaster of Beacon and possible Kage-class fighter. A suicidal mission, but you are going to dispel anyway in a few hours if nothing happens to you first.
You try to not think too hard about that, telling yourself that you will simply become one again with the Original since the memories of both will fuse together. An existential crisis is the last thing you need now. The Original, or Boss as you like to call him, needs to know what is going on inside the Headmaster's head. For his sake, you will find out.
Luckily save Ozpin the hallways are almost desert and a few placed Henge into various normal objects, like a potted plant and a statue, remove any suspicion from the occasional passerby. If this was an assassination you have no doubts Ozpin would have already caught you, but since you only want to quietly observe from afar you manage to pass under his radar.
Until he enters inside a room and closes the door. Uhm...judging from the room's position there should be a window nearby. You step outside the nearer one, Henge into a gecko and with the help of Chakra start climbing the wall. Normally there is a limit to the form and dimensions one can imitate with the Henge, but since you are made entirely of Chakra your body is a lot more malleable. Once you reach the window you believe shows the room Ozpin entered into you peek inside. Jackpot: your target is there. The room is a normal-looking study, with a bookcase, a desk and a shelf filled with trophies of something. Ozpin is busy feeding an aquarium full of fishes.
...Very ugly and mean-looking fishes, with beady eyes and are those fangs?! As you gape you see him tossing something inside the tank, the ugly beasties converging on it and start munching like starved dogs. You can't see well but the thing is pink on one side, the rest dripping with a red, sticky liquid...
Dear God Above please don't let it be what you suspect it to be.
"Good boys." Ozpin chuckles, the sound sending a shiver down your spine. "Eat, eat to your heart's content. Were you that hungry? Sorry about that, you know how difficult it is to find the type you like." He picks another piece from the jar next to the tank and drops it into the water. "He protested, at first, but then he became very...complacent."
Dear God Above it's what you suspect it to be! He murdered some poor bastard to feed his flesh to carnivorous monster-fishes! He's a psycho!
Having finished Ozpin puts the lid back on the jar and sits at his desk. He fiddles a bit with his cane before rotating a full 180° the head of a paperweight shaped like an Ursa.
Clack!
A trapdoor opens in front of the desk. He rotates the Ursa's head back into place and it closes without making a sound. "Good, it still works perfectly. I would hate if it were to jam the moment I need to send someone there."
Where? A torture chamber? A furnace? A tank full of a-acid?
"Speaking of which, this year we had a lot of recruits." He passes a finger over his cane. "A lot of promising, talented recruits. So eager to prove themselves, so eager to please...Muhahahaha!" He starts laughing, a sound no sane person should be capable of. "Perfect. Simply perfect. If only they knew, what I have prepared for them. I can't wait to show them. Muhahaha!"
T-This is big! The Boss needs to know. Now! You make an handseal, mentally praying for the boss' safety, and dispel your existence.
One second after the clone went away. Ozpin is still laughing when the door opens, a displeased Glynda storming inside.
"Ozpin, didn't I tell you to stop acting like some sort of cliche action movie villain when you're alone? What would the students and the other professors think if they find out?" She sternly chastises him.
He rolls his eyes. "Come on Glynda. Can't I have a bit of harmless fun in my free time?"
"This is not your free time." She turns to the aquarium. "What's in the jar?"
"Their favourite: seitan with tomato sauce. Exported directly from Yamato. It wasn't easy getting it, my usual supplier increased the prices: I ended up promising to find him a ticket for the next match of the Vale Lions in exchange for a discount."
"Can't you simply give them rice?"
"Goodwitch! I am appalled!" He raises his eyebrows. "They're vegetarians, not trashcans!" His hand shoots for the miniature Ursa and rotate the head.
Only for Glynda to sidestep, completely avoiding the trapdoor. "The emergency exit again?"
"No this is the Road to the Unmentionable Place!"
"No, this is an emergency exit made to escape in case of arson. Stop being a buffoon and come with me: we need to finish setting up the test for tomorrow."
"Spoilsport." Ozpin grumbles.
"Now you complain about my family's products? The Schnee Dust is the best in the world!"
"On that, I agree. But-" I raise up the pamphlet. "Isn't 'DUST for dummies and other Inadequate Individuals' deliberately offensive? And if I am not wrong it was you who shook a half-opened vial of Dust like it was a garden hose." This elicit a giggle from both Ruby and Yang. Weiss fumes even more. "You see-"
Then they hit me. My clone's memories. Let's see what he finds...oh.
Oh.
Oh for the ghosts of the First and Second Hokage.
"Jin? You paled again." Ruby asks with concern. "Your motion sickness again?"
"Y-Yes." I shakily reply. "Stronger this time. I better go to the restroom. Bye! See you this evening!" Without waiting for their replies I leave in a hurry, running until I find a restroom.
I enter. Nobody: perfect. I enter inside the further stall from the door, close the door, put a seal to make opening it impossible and cast a Wind Jutsu to mute all sounds round me.
I sigh.
"AAAAAAAHHHHH!"
Then I freak out.
"HALF OF THIS SHITTY COUNTRY'S CRIMINAL POPULACE WANTS ME DEAD!"
Sbam! Crack!
"A KAGE LEVEL PSYCHOPATH WHO FEED DEAD PEOPLE TO THE FISHES IN HIS AQUARIUM HOLDS ME HOSTAGE!"
Bam! Bam!
"THE TSUNADE AND ITACHI OF THIS WORLD ARE FEMALE AND SISTERS TO EACH OTHER!"
Wam!
"AND I AM A GODDAMMIT GREEDY MORON THAT DON'T KNOW WHEN TO SHUT UP THAT WILL BE LUCKY IF HE ENDED UP DEAD INSTEAD OF WORSE!"
Crack!
"WAAAAAAHHH! I WANT MY MOTHER! I WANT MY FATHER! WAAAAAHHH! I WANT KATSURO TO BE HERE AND TELL ME HOW TO RESOLVE THIS GODDAMNED MESS BECAUSE I CAN'T SEE A WAY OUT!"
CRACK!
I throw up all the contents in my stomach in the toilet. I remove the seal and stagger outside to the washstands. Another person is there, a blond guy with white armour looking at me with wide eyes. But honestly I don't care.
"Are you okay? You look sick." No shit genius.
"Motion-sickness." I wash my sweat-covered face and my dry throat.
"You too? I was sick all the time on the Airship. Luckily I followed my mother advice and brought a paper bag with me."
"Good for you." I snark. Go away idiot, I am not in the mood.
"Say, what do you think will be the test tomorrow? Do we need to make special preparations?"
"Oh, they will probably toss us inside a pit full of Grimms and see who survived." And I will not be surprised if I'm right. Those fishes don't feed themselves after all.
"W-What?!" He screams. "I-Isn't that i-illegal?"
"You don't know? It was in the papers we firmed." I give him a crooked smile. He steps back. "Beacon is not responsible if any of us kick the bucket, no matter where, when and how it happens. Look around you: this is a school to train people to fight Grimms. Do you know how many old Huntsman there are in the world?"
He shakes his head.
"Not many. Not many by a long shot. This is a bloody job and they don't need weaklings to slow them up: so the faster they go down the better." I eye the sword to his side. "You asked if we need to make special preparations. Do you know how to use that sword?"
"Y-Yes?"
"Then make sure it's sharp. Because tomorrow the line between your healthy and dead body will be determined by how fast you can kill a Grimm with it!" I roar.
He runs away. Smart guy.
Turning back to the washstand I pass a wet hand over my hair, my bloodshot eyes looking back at me from the mirror. "A lot of people want me dead."
I clench my fists.
"Fuck them." I snarl. "I survived Orochimaru. I survived Anko Mitarashi. I survived the Oto-Suna Invasion. I survived two years under that Perverted Sage. I am going to die. I don't want to die. I will not die. Like I said to Katsuro many times..."
I wipe out a Dust handgun from the seals inside my sleeve and point it at my reflection.
"When you can't run from a problem, you need to kill it first before it can kill you."
A gasp draws my attention. I turn to see a group of students frozen in the act of entering the restroom, pale faces and wide eyes staring at me as if I am a ghost.
"Need something?" I snarl.
They run away. Smart guys.
I spent the few hours before sleep time exploring the school further: only the main building, the other separated facilities weren't open yet. I could have snuck out or sent a Shadow Clone, but it would have a waste since I would be able to freely do it after passing the initiation (dying wasn't an option), not to mention I didn't want to be found out: as expected there are many cameras and microphones around, I need time to make a clear map of their blind spots.
What I did was placing some Hiraishin kunai in strategic places: secluded enough that no one would see me materializing by thin air but also near enough certain facilities like the cafeteria and the armoury. I hid two kunai near an emergency exit and a closet, while I wrote a formula on a wall outside before covering it with a plotted plant. I also wrote the formula on my equipment locker: I am wary about leaving Ibaraki Doji and the scrolls with all my weapons away from me, but I would look suspicious if I don't the same as the other students. At least this way I can summon the locker if ambushed: I don't care if those things have rockets that can deliver it however I want, I am not putting my stuff near something flammable and/or explosive that I can't time-freeze outside reality in another dimension.
Of course I keep some kunai and a seal with a gun on me. Ninja always have a weapon with them. Technically it counts even when unarmed because a Shinobi's own body is considered the most efficient weapon, but I am more comfortable with one foot of thick, reliable and keen steel ready to be grabbed and swung at a moment notice.
Then I decided to take a shower.
That is why I am currently waiting near the shower room for the other boys to finish, hidden inside the shadows of the hallway to avoid questions about my decision. I don't want to waste time explaining why I am not fond of the idea of getting naked near others.
I sigh and step out of the shadows once the last boy left. I enter, remove my clothes and put them into a basket. I unseal my bath's stuff, step into a shower and turn on the hot water.
"Aaah..." I breath out as the heavenly liquid sooth my tense muscles. When I star washing my body I can't stop my lips from setting into a frown.
It's always there: a straight, angry red line that starts below my neck and continue up until the navel. The one who started it all, the cause of all the misfortune in my life. The operation scar from when Snake-face opened me and messed up with my Chakra coils. Messed up so to speak: it was widely accepted Tsunade-sama is a better medic than him, but he was no slouch either. Considering the alternative was death I shouldn't complain. Too much.
However, it isn't the only one: burns from overly hyped Fire Element users, scars from kunai and other cutting implements, scars from grinding implements, bite marks from the fucking snakes and a particularly nasty splotch of discoloured skin from when I met an acid-using ninja. I will admit I shamelessly enjoyed stuffing the fucker's mouth with explosive tags before kicking him, tied and all, into his comrades. And let's not talk about the many times I broke my bones.
My face is free of such signs, but it should come as no surprise: hitting the center of the body is easier than hitting the head. What's surprising is that many of the ninja that I know with a scar on the face freely admitted they got it not during combat, but after doing something stupid during training. I never understood why.
Now, I am in no way or form vain. It's just that the sight reminds me how many times I came close to death and permanent dismemberment. A grim reminder, and one more reason to choose peace and anonymity over war and fame. Having my liver replaced was enough.
Yes, my liver. Some people seriously think that it is enough to take the antidote when poisoned to get up no worse for wear. Idiots, the whole lot of them. I thank Heaven for medic-nins.
I finish drying up and wear my bed clothes: a long sleeved form-fitting white shirt with a high neck and slightly loose black pants to conceal my kunai. On the feet, slippers.
I calmly fold my day clothes and walk into the great hall that will serve as dormitory for all potential students until tomorrow.
Yes, they are going to make us sleep all together in one place. It's like they put up a big sign on which is written "If you want to reduce the opposition, now is the time! Body removal is on you: don't get caught in the act without enough money for a bribe if you don't want to be expelled."
Okay maybe I am exaggerating. I am still going with one eye open, kunai in one hand and a gun in the other though.
Many of my fellow first years are already in their night attires when I enter the ballroom, and there is an astounding variety of them. There is also an astounding amount of people ogling their counterparts of the other sex without an ounce of shame. I roll my eyes in mild disgust as I walk near a group of shirtless guys doing lame poses, probably to impress the girls.
I look the other way, and almost freeze when I meet Yang's gaze, dressed in an orange tank top and black shorts. And she is leering: probably at the guys behind me, but her expression doesn't change when I wave at her with a strained smile and she waves back.
D-Did she just purr?! Oh hell no. I will be not eye-candy, not for her.
I walk away a bit more quickly than before. I reach my sleeping bag and with a groan sit down. I take out my personal Scroll and the one they gave to each student after Ozpin's speech and consider carefully.
Do I pay an expert to search for possible bugs and shadow programs or I take the safe route and smash the school Scroll with a hammer? "But where do I find a hammer?" I wonder aloud.
"I have one!" A bubbly voice says next to me. I turn around and see an orange-haired girl dressed in pink and white. "Ah! But Magnhild is mine. You can't have it!"
I spend a few seconds finding the right words. "...I am not going to assume what a 'Magnhild' is, but rest assured I am not interested in it. I was just wondering where to find a hammer. The normal kind, you know the type used to hammer down nails?"
"I use Magnhild to hammer down nails!"
"And that's why you are not allowed to help with the repairs anymore." A boy with magenta eyes says as he sits next to the girl. Curiously on his black hair there is a streak of the same color of his eyes. He looks at me. "Don't mind her: she is talking about her weapon."
"Ren! You're back!" Her tone is now positively chirpy. Then she turns towards me and raises a hand. "Hi! I'm Nora!"
Let's see. Hyperactive? Check. Bubbly personality? Check. Attention span of a squirrel? Check. Loud? Check. A probable streak for disasters? Check.
She is so similar to Naruto that I can't help but smile. "Jin."
"Ren." The boy introduces himself. His face doesn't show much emotions, I think he's one of those people who have problems expressing themselves properly. That, or he is compensating for his excitable friend.
I will not go so far as to classify them as normal people, because there is probably no completely sane person in a range of miles except me, but it's good to meet someone I can relate with.
Further conversation is however interrupted by a commotion nearby. I almost facepalm when I realize who the culprits are.
Ruby and Yang. Having a literal catfight in front of the girl with black hair and bow that interrupted Weiss and Ruby's argument. Wait a second: her sleeping attire looks awfully similar to a yukata. What is a dress from my dimension doing here? Coincidence? I mean, it is possible. Maybe there is even a culture similar to my own somewhere here on Remnant.
Definitely worth investigating.
Any plan for relieving my home-sickness is promptly shot down the rain when, as expected, I see someone approaching the sisters with an aura that promise a severe scolding for disturbing those who want to sleep.
Weiss Schnee.
I need to stop her from setting off Ruby or, God forbid, Yang. I don't want to be involved but it's better that Yukihime unload her bad temper on me that the local pair of murder-machines.
"Sorry guys, but I need to take care of something." I say to Nora and Ren before standing up and following the heiress. Well I say following but a ninja doesn't follow.
He stalks.
"What in the world is going on over here?!" Weiss says as she storms on the scene. "Don't you realize some of us are trying to sleep?"
Ruby and Yang stops and turn to face the newcomer. Only for the eyes of all three to widen.
"Oh, not you again!"
My turn. "She's right. Please keep your voices down."
The image of Weiss letting out a cute 'eep' and turning around to stare at me with pupils the size of saucers will be forever be imprinted into my mind.
"You!" She points an accusingly finger at me. "Stop sneaking up on me!"
"I assure you I did nothing of the sort." Big, fat lie. "You just didn't realize my presence until now."
"As if! Why are you even here?"
"The same reason as you." You look at Ruby and Yang. "I will not inquire about the details of your quarrel, but please keep it quiet." Normally scolding them is the last thing I would do, and only under threat of death from Anko, but such a minor argument shouldn't have horrible consequences.
Both look embarrassed, while Weiss is fuming silently and without a shadow of doubt think of suitable retort.
"Ah!" And of course Ruby dear once again changes the pace. She grabs my arm and drags me in front of the golden-eyed girl, who I notice only now has a book in his hands. "This is Blake: she likes books!"
Call it a hunch, but I suspected as much. "Hi, I'm Jin." I reply with an embarrassed smile. Her answer is a faint tilt of the head. A girl of few words. They're always the most dangerous ones, because you don't hear them approaching until you are dead.
"Don't ignore me! I am not done with you!" Please Yukihime, just stop and go away.
I raise both my hands, hoping to placate her. "I swear, I am not ignoring you. Look-" I turn to each girl in turn. "Why don't we let all the tension go away and talk about something else? A topic we can all enjoy?"
"You can all shut up. I will enjoy that." Weiss declares imperiously.
Not. Helping.
"I have an idea." Yang's voice takes a mischievous quality as her leering grin from before comes back on her face. As she steps near me I stiffen but don't dare move.
"Yang?" I ask, very concerned with her intentions.
"Long sleeves? Tsk-tsk, what a crime." She steps in front of me. "Don't be shy and show us the goods!"
And then she grabs the lower edges of my shirt and pulls it up.
My brain comes to a halt.
I idly register the many gasps of shock.
I idly register Yang paling as her expression turns into a horrified one.
But in truth the only thing I am aware of are my hands abruptly pulling my shirt down and my legs taking me a step back.
"Can you please mind personal space?" I hiss, strangely not caring one bit about inciting the wrath of the local Tsunade.
Ruby has both hands over her mouth. "J-Jin...what..?"
"Souvenirs from my training." I reply curtly. Some of them are, so I am not lying.
"T-Training? What kind of training did...that?!" Weiss asks.
"Oh, it's simple." I reply with a fake smile. "You know the things that teachers are supposed to do? Testing your abilities in a controlled environment, pointing out your flaws, teaching you the correct way to do things and all the rest?"
Blake shakily nods.
My smile falls.
"Well, the first thing that my teacher did with me was to tie me up, toss me into a pit of living snakes and tell me I have ten minutes to get out. That's all. And yes: the serpent were poisonous. Not a very strong one, not even lethal, but when you have dozens of the little fuckers plunging their fangs into your body you feel it. I managed to get out after five minutes, after which they had to get me to the hospital. My teacher was a psychotic, sadistic bitch that should have never be allowed near children and any other living being save mass-murderers. Me and the others weren't her students, we were her fucking slaves: not only we were subject to horrifying and half-baked training regimes that with all probability she thought while drunk, she also forced us to wash her clothes, clean her apartment and cook for her. Among other things. Illegal you say? I wish, I wish! The truth is that they didn't care: not my parents and surely not the higher-ups! They only needed the strong ones and who care about the weak ones!? Who care if they die? One less mouth to feed! Quit? That's the thing: I couldn't! I didn't have that option, because I fucking need to be strong! Did you see the big scar, the red angry line? The cause? A maniac with a scalpel when I was six years old! It's all his fault, it's all his fucking fault! So excuse me if I am a little edgy with my body. Excuse me if I can't help but remember all the crap I went through every time I look in a mirror! Remember why I can't have nice things because a bastard destroyed my future and-"
"STOP!" Ruby yells as she hugs me with a strength belittling her lithe frame and buries her head in my chest, sobbing. "Stop. Stop. Stop. Please Jin, stop. Stop. Please..."
My rant interrupted I finally become aware of the aghast looks on Weiss, Yang and Blake's faces. Not only them, the students around us who were near enough to hear me are looking with expressions that go from shock to fear to pity.
Fucking pity.
"...Sorry, I went to a dark place." I reply evenly and pat Ruby's head. Then gently but firmly remove her arms from around me and turn around. "Sorry for ruining the atmosphere. I will be on my way."
"Wait!" As Yang grabs my sleeve I turn to stare at her with an expressionless face. "Look, I...I'm sorry."
I nod. "I wish to stay alone for now." I reply before walking away.
When I reach my sleeping bag my face must has shown my inner turmoil because Ren puts a hand over Nora's mouth before she could speak. "Do you need anything?" He diplomatically asks.
"A good night of sleep without being disturbed and I will be as good as new. Maybe."
He nods and hushes Nora away. I go inside my bag and let my head rest on the pillow. Unseen my right hand grab a kunai while the left one grab a gun.
I close my eyes.
...
...
...This will be a long night.
Jin Araya, ex-ninja of Konoha and now student a Beacon Academy, will not be the only one to spend a long time awake and have a troubled sleep.
A young girl with eyes of silver bemoans her new friend's fate and swears she will do everything in her power to lessen his pain.
A blonde haired young woman considers for the first time that, maybe, relationships aren't as simple as she thought.
A girl with hair and skin of snows gently caresses the scar over her left eye, begrudgingly admitting hers isn't the only hard path.
A golden-eyed girl rests a hand over her bow and recognizes the fact that she and her kin aren't the only ones who suffer.
Outside the moon shines mercilessly for both saints and sinners.
I received concerns about the sudden mood whiplash. My answer is: don't worry, this story is still humor. Pieces like this will be present due to plot, but they will be few and far between. Next chapter will humor all the way for a long time.
Look forward to the poll.