Hey guys, hope I can keep updating like this but with Fallout 4 and other games coming out it may be sketchy when I can get chapters up (I also have other stories that need updating). Regardless glad you guys are enjoying this so far! For future reference, I'm taking a few liberties with Revan's age and looks but I'm trying to keep as close to original is possible while adding my own flavor in. Also I'm quite sure this will deviate from the main story of the show at several points (I'll try my best to stay relatively close to the episodes and story material) but I do need a bit of creative room.
Ruby slowly got back up while rubbing her slightly sore head, surprisingly enough the guy she plowed into hadn't budged an inch. From her perspective he was about Yang's height, and thanks to his robes that hid literally everything from her sight she couldn't discern anything else about him. He had an ominous presence about him, definitely mysterious because who really dresses like that without something to hide? Her train of thought screeched to a halt when she realized she'd just (literally) ran into this guy and hadn't even apologized and had just been staring awkwardly at the black abyss that was his face.
"Oh! Um… sorry about that. I really need to watch where I'm going, it's just I was in a hurry and I don't wana be late and…uh… sorry again!" Her social awkwardness rearing its head once more, despite her newfound friendship (mostly) with her teammates she definitely was far from being a people person.
"It's quite alright, I forgot today was the first day of classes." Revan took a moment to check his scroll while also analyzing the girl in his mind. 'She's quite young to be attending such a prestigious school, not even close to getting out of her teens. Most likely advanced years ahead due to special circumstances but why? She doesn't seem like the natural warrior type though, but then again looks can be deceiving.'
"Oh crap! I forgot I'm going to be late! Weiss is gonna-"Ruby began before a shout caused her to jolt in fear.
"Ruby you dolt! Where are you!? Class starts in three minutes!" Around the corner came the rest of team RWBY, Weiss glaring at her leader as they caught up to her.
"S…sorry Weiss! I was just in a hurry and… and I ran into someone! Literally!" Ruby was in her usual panic mode when confronted with conflict gesturing wildly to the man towering over her.
The group took a moment to notice the figure that had yet to move during the conversation, standing as if frozen in time while Weiss scolded their leader. Yang was the first one to acknowledge the person who her sister evidently had crashed into.
"So… Hi! Sorry about Ruby plowing into you, she tends to not think where she's heading when we're in a rush." While Yang was an extremely outgoing and social person, the man's demeanor as well as his attire was simply off-putting, making her slightly uncomfortable.
"It's quite alright, and while I wouldn't mind some conversation around here your class begins in approximately two minutes and thirty seven seconds." He tapped his scroll to signify his point, the group immediately grabbing Ruby and sprinting off to class with Ruby yelling back a polite "Bye Revan!"
The Motley crew had amused him greatly, they were definitely a colorful cast of characters and his curiosity was piqued. They were mere children 'Oh please, as if you're much older than they are' his inner thoughts lashed back. It was quite annoyance at times yet sometimes his inner conscience had something useful to contribute, so on occasion he listened in the hopes he wasn't insane. With nothing else to do besides study every aspect of this world on his scroll, he decided to sneak into the class as to not disturb the students, being able to gauge them without them knowing of his presence provided useful information. Cloaking himself with the force, Revan swiftly headed to the classroom finding instruction had already begun, he slipped into an isolated corner in the back of the room as to not garner any attention.
The professor began the usual first year lecture accommodated by a horrible joke that only one kiss-up attempted to laugh at, it was obvious this was going to be a long year for the freshman. The fact that Port loved to drag on about stories of his youth perplexed Revan to no end, surely their were lessons to be learned if one looked closely enough into the tales? Yet as the drabble continued it seemed there was nothing to be gained of value from the lecture alone, Revan deduced Port relied on students focusing more heavily on their texts rather than his words to further their knowledge. He noticed a steady rise of anger and frustration from the girl he'd deduced as Weiss from earlier, it seemed to be directed at Ruby for whatever reason.
To say Weiss was upset was an extreme understatement as her brain racked itself with irritation. 'Urgh! That immature dolt! How did she get the position as team leader!? I've trained and worked my entire life to get where I am yet she gets skipped ahead for whatever reason and still acts like a child! Surely this had to be a mistake'? Her mind couldn't think of any fathomable reason she wasn't made leader, she was smart and attentive as well as an excellent strategist. She also paid attention in class while ruby was goofing off and wasting precious note taking time. Yang obviously had influenced her younger sister noting how the older sibling struggled to stay awake in class, how did she get accepted into the most prestigious academy in Vale?
At least Blake at least attempted to show interest in the class, or maybe it was genuine? It seemed impossible to decode her permanent passive demeanor which made the Heiress all more curious. Regardless, she at least understood the importance of a good education and put effort into class! She was determined to have a word with the Professor at the end of class to hopefully reverse the decision, better to get it out of the way now before they suffered in the long term. She finally found a vent for her anger when the professor asked if any of them thought they had what it took to be a huntress.
"I do sir!" She was eager to prove her skill as well as her capabilities to help show she was capable and able to lead a team.
As Port didn't have any objections, she found herself weapon ready in front of a cage with two glowing red eyes beaming from the darkness within. The Professor cut the lock with his axe unleashing a Boarbatusk that immediately locked onto her as its' main target. She rushed to meet the Grimm attempting to cut into its side, but found its armor too thick to penetrate.
"Ah ha! Didn't expect that one did you?" Port's commentary surely wasn't helping, but she attempted to remain focused. Ruby yelling out cheers wasn't helping either as she was trying to figure out a way to kill the beast. As the Boar attempted to ram her again, she tried a stab to the skull but this only ended up in Myternaster being caught between its' tusks. Her struggle ended abruptly as the Grimm overpowered her and tossed her weapon behind it. It attempted to trample her to push its' advantage, but she was able to roll to the side and run over to her rapier.
"Weiss, go for its underbelly! There's no armor under there!" Ruby cried out, she was in all honesty trying to help but Weiss was in no mood to listen to a leader she saw as unfit.
"Stop telling me what to do!" She snapped, causing Ruby to jerk back in surprise.
Weiss felt slightly bad at yelling at the younger girl, but she refused to be ordered around by some child. While she wouldn't admit it, the advice was helpful in the current situation and she put up a glyph as the Boar prepared to charge. The beast rolled into a tiny ball spinning rapidly, its momentum thrusting itself at her at insane speeds but thankfully she activated a glyph that acted as a barrier between the two. Unable to stop itself, the Grimm smashed into her glyph nocking the beast on its back giving her enough time to jump into the air and push off of a glyph to impale the beast in its unprotected belly.
The beast squealed its death throes and thrashed about for a short time before succumbing to its wounds, Weiss regained her composure and spared a swift glance at her team. Ruby was still in shock from her outburst while Yang was obviously upset at the heiress yelling at her sister. Blake seemed surprised at the outburst, a look of disappointment marking her face which for whatever reason made Weiss question her actions more than she should have. Thankfully the class ended swiftly after the Grimm had dissipated into nothingness, Weiss immediately left the classroom without even speaking to her team. Unfortunately while on route to speak with the professor at the balcony, she was intercepted by Ruby.
"Weiss what's wrong with you?" Her voice was laced with concern as well as a bit of irritation for being scolded for seemingly nothing.
What's wrong with me? What's wrong with you? You're supposed to be a leader and all you've been so far is a nuisance!" She stopped trying to hold back her frustrations, knowing it would come out one way or another.
Ruby only scoffed "What did I do!?" It did little to make her not seem childish.
"That's just it! You've done nothing to earn your position. Back in the forest you acted like a child and only continued to do so!" She knew it was harsh but it was obviously the truth, Ruby needed to grow up and quickly if she was going to make it here.
"Weiss where is this coming from? What happened to all the talk about working together? I thought you believed in acting as a team?" The young girl's voice was less confrontational and more saddened now. She seemed legitimately upset at the sudden clash between the two when she thought they were working things out.
Weiss simply turned around and walked away "Not a team lead by you, I've studied and trained. And frankly, I deserve better. Ozpin made a mistake. "Her voice was cold and harsh as the dark nights of winter itself, never giving her leader a second glance as she left her behind.
Revan took note of the internal conflict obvious within the team, he could intervene but for now he will simply watch. Most likely the professor will sort out Weiss while he saw Ozpin heading straight for Ruby. If they are unable to settle their differences he would need to take note of this, such divisions could be exploited to his advantage should the need arise; it did scare him a bit how much he had taken after Kreia. He couldn't say her teachings were necessarily wrong, manipulating those around you to serve your purpose often gained the desired results, but he often wondered if he was truly human on the inside or just another calculating killing machine like HK-47.
He brought himself out of his thoughts and resumed searching the internet through his scroll, he needed a steady source of income independent of the school. While he despised the phrase, he had to admit normal civilian work was for the lack of a better term "beneath him"; not to mention it would make him easier to identify and track when his inevitable enemies began to search for him. Unfortunately it seemed bounty hunting wasn't legal on this world to his knowledge, so he decided he would need to delve further. Thankfully it was quite easy to access public records on known criminals, it would only be a matter of time to find the biggest players in the underworld here.
Roman Torchwick was high on his list, he had become infamous for a string of robberies that seemed to have no purpose, yet he was organized and efficient evading police at every step. It was obvious he was working for someone, the fact he never took money but always stole every piece of dust he could find shows foresight he doubt the man had. Revan decided he wouldn't kill Torchwick should he meet him, his employer at this rate would soon hold a vast amount of power, such influence he could cipher for his own uses. While on route back to his room, he made a list of lower level mob bosses and crime gangs he would begin to exterminate. While not big players on in the kingdom, their losses would send ripples to the bigger fish in the pond that something new has arrived; something they could utilize should they gain its favor.
As he returned to his room Revan decided he would take a shower before spending the rest of the night planning his next move. Over the years he'd adapted techniques to control his bodily functions such as odor and other necessities, it was necessary during long campaigns when such facilities were out of reach. These weren't a permanent fix and he had to admit a shower helped clear his mind and refresh his body, only now did he notice the problem; he had no shower in his room. Immediately bringing up his scroll he sent a message to Ozpin.
"I noticed my room does not contain a shower or rest area, does your school use a public cleaning facilities?" He was in no mood to dance around the question, he had plans to set in motion and such a trivial thing wasted precious time.
Within moments he received an answer "Forgive me I forgot to tell you, that room hasn't been used in years and so we never updated it to the current models. I'm afraid you will need to borrow a student shower in their dorms, I'll put in a request to add a bathroom to your residence as soon as possible.'
He was definitely not pleased at the answer, this would undoubtedly complicate things. Revan planned on as little contact with the school staff and students as possible, but it seems fate had other plans. Knowing the staff would either refuse him or monitor him too closely for comfort, he immediately began thinking of alternative methods 'I could just ignore it for now… no I can't afford to be worrying about such trivial things while out on a mission. But who could I ask? My appearance is admittedly off-putting to the point of intimidating the students, I doubt any would even speak to me about… wait! That girl, Ruby I believe her name was? She seemed genuinely kind and innocent enough.' It wasn't the perfect plan but it was all he had, though he was quite annoyed he had to thoroughly think about such a minor matter he set out to find the red cloaked girl.
Ruby had been wandering the halls for several minutes after talking to Ozpin, his advice had made her reevaluate how she was going to lead the team from now on. Looking back she did admit she treated it little more than a fancy badge to wear, or some big title to brag about. She never considered the responsibility that now lay on her shoulders, now she had to figure out what to do going forward. She'd definitely need to talk with Weiss later to resolve the situation, they couldn't be enemies for the next four years could they? Ruby would hate to lose a possible friend when they'd only recently mended things between them, she was taken out of her thoughts as she noticed the sun beginning its descent across the horizon. She decided it was time to head back to her room and prepare for tomorrow, although the bag of cookies she had stashed did seem appealing.
What she hadn't expected was to see the man in black from earlier heading towards her as she turned to her hallway.
"Ah Ruby I believe it was? I was looking for you, it seems I need to ask a favor of you." He seemed genuine enough, though what could he possibly want from her?
"Um sure? Watcha need Revan?" She was thankful she recalled his name as she really didn't want this to be even more awkward than it is.
"It seems the room I was provided with was not equipped with the proper hygiene facilities, so I must ask if I could use yours for the time being. I promise not to disturb your teams' belongings, nor do I plan on simply showing up unannounced should I need it in the future." He was straight to the point, almost creepily so. His tone suggested a strict lifestyle as well as getting straight to the point rather than dance around the question.
"Oh your dorm doesn't have a bathroom!? Weird, I doubt the girls will mind as long as you don't use up all the hot water" She gave a mild shrug believing her team really wouldn't mind, it was only a bathroom after all.
"Of course" out of habit Revan gave a short bow to the girl and headed inside.
The room was interesting to say the least, the bunk beds looked quite unstable to say the least held together by mere rope and other accessories. Nothing seemed to match as in one corner there was a calming picture of a peaceful woods, while the other had a poster of some band named "Achieve Men". Before entering the bathroom Revan found felt the girl tap on his shoulder, he turned to see her sheepishly trying to address him.
"Um, I uh… do you want me to take your clothes?" She immediately turned red noticing how bad that sounded and panicked. "Gah! I didn't mean for it to come out that way! I mean uh, since they didn't give you a bathroom I mean we have a washer in the next room in case you uh… needed to… ya know." It was taking all of her self-control not to crumble in front of him which he did find quite amusing.
"I'd appreciate that Ruby, I admit I hadn't even thought about the status of my clothing, appreciate the thought." She couldn't see it but he was smiling at the shy child, she was so innocent and young it was quite adorable if he was honest with himself.
While entering the bathroom he found himself glancing at every corner and crevice in the room. He knew it was paranoid to assume they'd have cameras or surveillance equipment here but a combination of assassination attempts and Kreia's teachings had instilled a strong since of distrust and caution whenever he entered somewhere new. He tried his best not to be like the old Jedi, he respected her a great degree and he always learned something new when they spoke; but even he couldn't bring himself to her level of backstabbing and manipulation. It was true he often worked behind the scenes pulling the strings, but he had a circle of trusted friends and allies who he would gladly risk his life for and they would for him in turn, Kreia saw such things as weakness and would turn her back on any ally she saw no use for.
Revan undressed and folded up his clothes into a neat pile, hanging his arm outside the doorway with his belongings in tow until he felt the weight lift from his hand. Of course he didn't give the girl everything, he kept his mask on the counter as well as his two lightsaber hilts just in case. Within minutes he could feel his body thanking him graciously as the warm flood crashed against his skin, it had felt like ages since he last had a real shower or any time of comfort. Managing an empire will leading armies across the galaxy leaves little time for himself it turns out. While cleaning took relatively little time, he felt to indulge in an old habit he picked up years ago. Sitting down as the warm rain descended upon him, he took a meditative pose and cleared his mind; he always found the sound of water meeting the ground soothing to his ears. Even before he was a knight when it rained he would always go outside or sit near a window and concentrate on the sound of rain pattering against the window. For the first time in years he was able to truly be at peace with himself, allowing his mind to wander and his body to relax.
Ruby was sitting on her bunk, contemplating how to burn time while munching on a cookie from her stash. Revan's clothes were in the washing machine, she had no idea where Weiss was, Yang had gone to the gym to work off her frustration at Weiss, and Blake had gone to the library to pick up books to read. She contemplated simply going to sleep early and deal with the issue tomorrow, but this certainly wouldn't do. She couldn't just put her problems off until later, she was a leader now and needed to act like it. She promised herself that once Revan was done she would get to studying for her classes to show Weiss she was serious about her time here at Beacon.
She found herself curious about the new guest, she'd never given it thought to it before but he was quite the mystery. He was obviously not a student since she never saw him in any of her classes, nor was he a teacher because of said reason. His clothing was also extremely weird, she couldn't recall seeing a speck of skin underneath all of that black. He spoke somewhat rigidly which was pretty uncommon here, Weiss was similar when she arrived but her family was from Atlas so it made sense. Now that she thought about it, she really knew nothing about the person she'd just allowed into her team's dorm and use their bathroom; which when she put it that way made her sound really dumb. 'Maybe I'm too trusting? What if he was trying to hurt one of us?' She knew it was preposterous, but in the future others may not be so benevolent in their intentions. She could only hope she was a good judge of character when it came to these sorts of things.
After some time had passed, Blake and Yang had returned from their activities. Both were surprised to see Ruby of all people laying on her bed with a book and a cup of coffee in front of her, neither expected her to be studying of all things without Weiss prodding her on.
"Hey Rubes, watcha doin there?" Yang inquired.
"Just studying for tomorrow, I don't think Weiss will let me copy her notes." The young leader responded, her eyes never leaving her book.
Before Yang could follow up Blake interjected "Wait, Weiss isn't here? So who's in the shower?" Yang just now seemed to notice the sounds of running water.
At this revelation Ruby immediately jumped out of her bed and headed towards the laundry room "Oh thanks Blake! I'd almost forgotten! His stuff should be done by now." While she was collected items from the dryer, the older teammates stood shocked with a bit of concern.
"His!?" Yang was about to explode at a stranger, a guy no less that had come into their room and was using their shower with Ruby alone in their dorm.
"Yeah Revan said his room hadn't been built with a bathroom cause it's old or something so I said he could use ours!" Ruby obviously didn't catch the undertone of Yang's protective frustration.
"Revan?" Blake took a moment to try to see if she could remember this person. It took her a while but she did recall Ruby calling that name out as she was being dragged away by Weiss. "You mean that guy in black from earlier?"
"Yup!" Ruby responded with her usual gleeful tone as she pulled out neatly folded robes and clothing and headed towards the bathroom door.
"And why exactly do you have his clothes?" Yang was still extremely distrustful of this new person she knew nothing about.
"Well he doesn't have anywhere to clean his outfits so I offered to use ours." Ruby stated as if it was hardly a question worth asking as she knocked on the door. "Hey Revan, I got your stuff here if you're done in there."
"I appreciate it Ruby, a hand swiftly reached out and grabbed the folded clothing and sunk back into the mists of the bathroom. Blake and Yang tried to get a glimpse inside but somehow the room seemed to be filled with steam, while it wasn't unusual for steam to build up during a hot shower it never cloaked everything inside.
Within moments the door opened, the fog almost eerily escaping from the confines of the room. The man's dark figure slowly emerged from the sea of white, cracking noises echoed as he twisted his neck and back to work the kinks out.
"I appreciate the kindness you've showed me Ruby, I won't forget this favor anytime soon." His voice sounded sincere, although none could see his face his tone sounded genuine enough.
"Oh its fine Revan! My parents always taught me to help people so it's no big deal, glad to be of assistance!" Her innocent smile coupled with her youthful exuberance never ceased to be disarming to those around her.
"While it seems insignificant, such kindness is a rarity in these times and I promise I won't forget it anytime soon. Should you need anything from me, I'll do my best to aid you however I can." Sure it was a small act, but Revan knew few who would offer him any sort of aid currently should he ask; yet this young girl simply let him into what was basically her home and trusted him without question. Such qualities were not to be disregarded nor ignored, also a bond of trust and cooperation could be built upon these first meetings.
"Actually maybe you could be helpful" Turning to the door Revan spotted two of the girls from earlier, the one dressed in Yellow was practically beaming at him while the one in black attempted to look passive; but he'd been trained to see the caution in her eyes.
"I assume since you're here you're friends of Ruby's? While my debt is to her I don't see why I couldn't help you." He knew he had to tread carefully here, they were unknowns and could tip the situation against him at any time. He now remembered them from earlier, in fact the blonde had addressed him directly when Ruby ran into him.
"Actually we're her teammates and I'm her Sister! So maybe you could tell me what the hell you're doing in our dorm using our bathroom and having my sister clean your dirty laundry!? We're not a day care ya know?" She didn't even try to hide her distrust towards the newcomer, not that he expected anything less.
"Well I'm currently a guest here but it seems Ozpin never informed me my dorm doesn't have a bathroom installed because it was never really meant to be used. So, I remembered Ruby from earlier and found her while walking the halls. She seemed fine with allowing me to use your shower and offered to clean my clothes without my asking, I already told her I don't plan on simply barging in here whenever. If she decides to not allow me entrance, then that is her decision and I will seek someone else." Revan put everything as delicately yet plainly as he could, they were too tightly knit for deception, and while such attitudes normally would irritate him the girl was related to the leader and starting conflict now would only be detrimental.
"A guest huh? From where exactly? And why not ask a teacher or something? And what's with the getup? Got something to hide?" Yang refused to drop the subject, she was prepared to pounce on this guy at any given moment, while from the corner of her eye she saw Blake's hand slowly reach for her katana.
"Yang!" Ruby cried out in protest, obviously not favoring the impromptu interrogation taking place in their room.
"It's quite alright Ruby, I can't say I'd be any different in her situation. For now let's simply say I'm from very far away, to answer your other questions I doubt the other staff would lend me their rooms as we aren't on the best of terms right now. My clothing is more of a personal choice, it reminds me of who I am and what I fight for." He wished to give more informational answers, but he knew so little of the planet he'd be a dead giveaway. Revan had barely any knowledge of the other kingdoms besides the fact they exist, so using them as a scapegoat was out of the question for a native. Yang was about to continue but was cut off by her younger sister.
"Ok that's enough!" Ruby rarely used an authoritative tone, which surprised everyone when she finally put her foot down. "Revan has only been nice to me so far and he needed help so that's what I did! Didn't dad teach us to always help people Yang?" The blonde immediately fell into a more saddened state at the scolding, the lesson obviously hitting hard. "He's done nothing so far to make me think he's up to no good, I know I should've probably told you guys ahead of time but it's a bit late for that now. I promise we can talk this over later ok? For now it's getting late and I really need to get ready for tomorrow, so can everyone just chill?" The tension in the room slowly degraded, despite her social awkwardness and meek demeanor it seemed Ruby could diffuse a tense situation when the need arose.
Sighing in defeat, Yang stepped into the room with Blake following suit so the doorway remained open "Fine, but we are definitely having a chat about bringing new people into the dorms!" Her pride refused to go down without a fight while Blake simply grabbed a book and got into her bed. Revan nodded with appreciation to the girl, as he left he decided to leave her with a final farewell.
"Ruby"
"Yeah?" She turned back from her bed while the others pretended not to avert their eyes to him.
"Every legend started as a whisper, and every master began as an apprentice. You have what it takes to become a true leader, simply allow yourself time and your actions shall speak for themselves." With that he swiftly turned and left their line of sight, Ruby slightly encouraged by his words of confidence while the other two were trying to figure out how to feel the guy.
Holy hell that was a long one, sorry if it dragged on a bit but I wanted to fit all of this into a single chapter. If Revan sounds a bit robotic that's intended, not counting Wolfe he hasn't spoken casually to someone in a very, very long time. Especially not teenagers on some new world he's never heard of, I know not much happens action wise but I wanted to introduce the characters to one another and get some development going. Really hope you enjoyed so far as I really love writing this!