Hey everyone, I won't go into a lot of detail as to why this chapter was so delayed. I apologise for this and will try to get going more regularly. With that said, enjoy!
Disclaimer: RWBY belongs to Monty Oum and Roosterteeth
...Those eyes... Cold Emerald jewels... Burning with ferocity. A killing intent... They bore through my own... into my skull... The fear I felt in that moment... It was unparalleled by anything else...
His form was structured yet held something primal... The force behind his slashes and strikes... The scars inflicted upon my body. The pain experienced... My mind screaming in fear... Barely composed, battered and bruised he continued his onslaught...
Those eyes... they haunt me... the pure blood lust present in them... as we fought... Only for him to narrowly miss skewering me...
Ruby woke to find herself in a cold sweat. The birds singing as they bathed in the sun's rays. Haunted by visions of that fight. She was conflicted. Liking Adrian's company, his kind and caring side. Yet when he fought. A completely different person arose. Almost unrecognisable. His former self masked by a ferocious intent to harm and blood lust that could taint a whole army.
She slowly pulled the sheets off of herself, swinging her legs down to the bed's side. Ruby composed herself, adorning her usual bright disposition. The smile evidently masking the conflicting thoughts present inside her mind. She retrieved her crutches and stood up. She moved to exit her room.
The door slowly opened, lightly groaning. As quietly as possible with her crutches Ruby made her way down the hall to the stairs. Arriving at the top of the staircase, she placed one hand on the railing to steady herself she removed her crutches. Beginning her decent, Ruby slowly progressed down the stairs, stopping every few to move her crutches, carefully balancing herself as to not fall over. Ruby finally reached the bottom of the staircase and noticed that downstairs was void of life.
'Looks like no one's awake other than me yet.' Ruby thought to herself.
She made her way over to the lounge, leaning her crutches on an arm support while sitting down making herself comfortable. Ruby sat in contemplation of how she could possibly help Adrian. He seemed so troubled by everything that involved his parents, almost like he was chained down by their expectations of him.
'Adrian is a good person, I can tell that much. But I'm fearful of him, the way he fought me was unlike anything I've ever seen. If he lost himself to his mental battle and injured all these people it would be a truly frightening experience for all involved.' Ruby continued in deep contemplation.
'If anything as scared as I am, I need to help him if it's possible.' Ruby concluded silently.
The sun blinded Adrian as he stirred from his restless sleep. He wasn't fond of his current behaviour, worried for his impression on Ruby...
'Ruby's still on crutches, how can she get down the stairs?' Adrian questioned inwardly.
He peeled the sheets off of himself and silently dashed out of his room. The door swung at a fast pace. No sound followed. His hand on the side of the door, preventing it from swinging further. He looked down the hall and noticed Ruby's door was ajar. He quietly rushed down the stairs. Relief swept over him as Adrian saw Ruby on the couch, her crutches leaning on the side.
"Good morning Ruby." Adrian greeted, walking over and taking a seat next to Ruby.
"Ah! H-hi Adrian, have a nice sleep?" Ruby replied startled by Adrian's sudden presence.
"It was... okay I guess" Adrian answered, his voice deeper than usual.
Ruby took a clear look at Adrian. His emerald eyes dull, bags underneath them, his Turquoise hair an absolute mess. If anything he looked to have had the roughest nights sleep...
"Adrian. Give me a straight answer. What. Is. Going. On?" Ruby demanded sternly, her facial expression hardened leaving no room for argument.
"I... I simply don't want to trouble you with my problems... No one should have to..." Adrian replied brokenly.
"Look here mister. I asked for a straight answer, now I would like one" Ruby said, her silver eyes shimmering as Adrian locked eyes with her.
Averting his gaze, Adrian replied "I'm just a mess... I can't do anything that will make my parents happy or myself for that matter. I'm scared of myself and what I could become." Adrian answered, his emotions clearly getting the better of him.
Ruby looked at Adrian with a sad expression on her face. His face was in his hands, silently sobbing. She knew that right now Adrian needed someone to comfort him through his troubles, to be the light that shines in his darkness.
Ruby shuffled across the lounge closer to Adrian, unsure as to how she should go about helping him. Deciding a hug was best Ruby pried Adrian's hands from his fae and pulled him into a warm embrace.
Adrian didn't know how to feel, here was this girl who barely knew him, hugging him. Comforting him in his struggle. He slowly returned the gesture, hugging Ruby back. It was warm, caring. Something he thought he would never experience, the contentment of sharing something as simple as a hug. Internally Ruby's conscious was screaming at her to break away from Adrian, her fear surfacing. She held herself together, Adrian needed someone to be strong for him. The pair parted, Adrian wiping his face of tears and Ruby smiling softly.
"Now was that hard?" Ruby asked with a caring tone.
"No... Not really, thank you Ruby." Adrian replied, with a small smile.
"You're more than welcome Adrian, I want to help people. If you ever need to talk about anything i'm here for you." Ruby stated happily.
"Thanks Ruby, it means a lot." Adrian said calmly.
Ruby was happy that she had helped Adrian, it was what she loved to do. Help people.
The rest of the morning went off without a hitch. Adrian and Ruby prepared themselves for their last day at Signal before the transition between years. Both picked up their respective weapons. Adrian his daikatana and Ruby her gun-scythe. They left when the sun had completed a quarter of its journey, still fresh in the morning.
The duo walked for a majority of the trip in awkward silence, both still processing their earlier interaction. Both were embarrassed, and fearful. Ruby of Adrian and Adrian of his impression on her after breaking down infront of her. Adrian finally broke the silence.
"Hey Ruby, you're a weapon nerd right?" Adrian inquired.
"Yes... why?" Ruby answered, replying with her own question.
"I was just curious have you ever made a weapon before?" Adrian asked.
"Yes I have, the weapon I fought you with. I created it." Ruby replied.
"Oh, that's pretty neat. It's a very formidable weapon and has many applications in combat." Adrian said observantly.
"Yeah, I created it with the intention of it being versatile and allowing for multiple uses in battle." Ruby recalled.
The duo then fell into an awkward silence for the rest of the trip to Signal.
Adrian and Ruby arrived at Signal about a half hour after they left. The sun had barely progressed in its journey, still sitting a fair distance from the middle of the sky.
Ruby's crutches clacked on the pavement as both Adrian and herself entered Signal. The polished white architecture standing tall and proud. The sun's rays reflected off of the pristine surface, serving to give the building a blinding white hue. People paced in every direction, all seeking to fulfill their own agenda. Ruby was slowly finding it harder to move, she had no space that would allow her to use the crutches. The movements she made slowly became smaller. And smaller. Smaller. Ruby tripped lurching forward. She braced herself for the impact, but it never came.
Ruby felt an arm wrapped around her torso, preventing her from reaching the ground. Her crutches clattered to the ground. Ruby was pulled back to her feet, she turned around. Blushing when she realised Adrian had prevented her fall. Adrian bent down and retrieved her crutchsz
"You okay Ruby?" Adrian asked, as he handed Ruby her crutches.
Stabilising herself, Ruby stuttered in reply "Y-yes, I-i'm fine..."
Adrian nodded and cleared a path through the crowd of people, ensuring there wouldn't be a repeat. The duo entered Signal and made their way to the cafeteria, all the walking was starting to take its toll.
Adrian and Ruby arrived at the cafeteria to find it mostly unoccupied. They took a seat towards the front, sitting across from each other. Silence persisted as it all to commonly did with the pair.
"Whose your teacher for class this morning?" Adrian asked beginning the conversation.
"I have Professor Morn for combat class? What about you?" Ruby answered immediately querying Adrian.
"Well i checked the timetable I have, but apparently I'm supposed to make my way over to Headmaster Luke's office." Adrian replied.
"Really? I also have to see him just later today, do you know why?" Ruby said curiousity etched on her face.
"No, not a clue. Just have to see him to find out I assume." Adrian replied nonchalantly.
Their conversation was short lived as the bell tolled indicating the start of classes, or in Adrian's case a visit to the headmaster. The pair saying their goodbyes, they separated.
Adrian arrived at the headmaster's office to find both Gage and Rin also there, waiting impatiently. His teammates notice his presence and turn to greet him.
"I'm guessing you're both here to see him as well?" Adrian asked.
"Yeah..." they replied simultaneously sounding drained.
"We've both been here for a while now, he certainly is taking his time." Rin explained, looking rather frustrated. At her comment the door to the office swung open and the headmaster emerged.
"I apologise for the wait students, if you would please step into my office." Headmaster Luke said kindly.
The trio entered the office and took a moment to get familiar with the layout as none of them had ever visited before now. Inside there were three antique looking chairs on one side of the desk, opposing them was a rather important looking swivel chair. The Headmaster motioned for them to take a seat and walked around the desk to his chair.
After everyonewas seated Headmaster Luke asked the group a question, "So do any of you know why you are here?" He queried adopting a serious tone. The trio shook their heads.
"We were hoping you would be able to explain that for us Headmaster." Adrian replied.
"Well I guess I'd better do that then, in short you three have been chosen to go to Beacon a year early." The Headmaster explained.
"Uh, what now?" Rin asked, speaking for all three of them.
"You three will be going to Beacon early, in one week's time." he repeated. The trio sat in silence, trying to take in what they had just been told.
"Just to peak my curiousity, how did we get selected to go early?" Adrian inquired.
"Ah, yes. If you remember how all those matches from that tournament were recorded, then those clips of all the students fighting were sent to Professor Ozpin." Headmaster Luke answered.
Adrian nodded, it only seemed logical for the best academy for huntsman and huntresses to scout for students to enroll earlier than usual. The more future hunstmen they trained the more people available to protect Remnant from the horrors of the world.
"That is all I called you here for, you are dismissed. You need only attend your last classes at this school, have a good day students." The Headmaster concluded.
Adrian, Rin and Gage exited the office still trying to contemplate the fact they would be going to Beacon early. The bell rang again signaling that next classes were about to begin. They made their way to Professor Morn's class for what would be their last lesson with him.
They were in the Arena improving their ability to manipulate their auras for use in empowering their hand to hand combat. Adrian and Gage were sparring, using techniques for manipulation that they had already been taught, as well as improvising, increasing the amount of aura in a specific area to reduce the impact.
Adrian launched a flurry of attacks at Gage. Left hook. Right jab. Right uppercut. All the strikes made contact, however not with the intended target. Gage blocked the attacks with unnatural grace, his aura condensing at the point of contact with Adrian's fists. His face hardening as he retaliated with his own barrage. Left kick. Right roundhouse. Left hook. Adrian stumbled off balance due to the impact of the first kick and was promptly hit by the second and third strikes directly. He landed on the hard earth, on his backside. Gage appeared before him offering Adrian his hand. Adrian clasped Gage's hand, which he uses to pull himself up.
"Thank you, Gage. Those were some powerful kicks." Adrian commented with a brief smile.
"No worries Adrian and thanks. Least I know I'm getting remotely stronger." Gage replied.
'Huh, that's interesting. Gage made no snide remark glorifying himself.' Adrian realised internally.
The bell tolled again.
"Alright students that's all for today. I hope all of you enjoy your break." Professor Morn said concluding the lesson.
At that all students in the class dispersed and mindless chatter erupted as everyone exited the Arena. There was no lesson scheduled for the third period for Adrian, Gage and Rin. As such the trio left Signal for the last time, each silently saying goodbye to the pristine white building that served to educate them and begin their journey toward becoming Hunters and Huntresses.
Meanwhile...
Ruby sat patiently outside of Headmaster Luke's office waiting to be called in. Her mind was clouded with doubt, worried as to why she was called to his office. Ruby's thoughts were cut short by the door creaking open slowly.
"Ruby, how are you today?" Headmaster Luke asked politely.
"Well headmaster, has your day gone by smoothly?" Ruby replied.
"It's been eventful Ruby, now let us get to the meaning of calling you here. If you would?" the Headmaster stated, motioning for Ruby to enter his office.
Ruby entered swinging on her crutches and took a seat in one of the antique style chairs lying her crutches on the floor. Opposite her was a wooden desk taht appeared to have been constructed by fine craftsmen, behind that a swivel chair, which appeared to be the Headmaster's. Headmaster Luke walked around the desk and took a seat in the swivel chair turning to face Ruby.
"Now Ruby, I must ask you first off. Do you have any idea as to why you're here?" Headmaster Luke inquired with a serious expression.
"N-no I h-haven't a c-clue H-headmaster..." Ruby stuttered in reply, trying to feign how scared she felt, failing horribly.
"My apologies Ruby, I didn't intend to scare you." the Headmaster apologised.
"You are here because of a rare opportunity offered to very few students that attend this academy. Those matches which you took place in were recorded and were meant for the student body to examine and identify where they needed to improve in their fighting capabilities. However, unbeknownst to all the student body those recordings were also sent to Beacon academy in case there were any potential candidates to be pushed forward and enter Beacon early." he explained.
"Do you see where this is going?" he continued.
"I-I was c-chosen?" She stuttered.
"Yes, along with Adrian Kryta, Gage Vitale and Rin Osaka. You four were chosen from the student body to enter Beacon early." the Headmaster finished.
"..." Ruby was speechless, her mouth gaping unable to form any words to express herself. Her dream of going to Beacon, one of the most prestigious academies to ever exist was finally coming to fruition.
"I'm going to BEACON" she squealed, Ruby's face lighting up conveying her happiness.
"Was that all headmaster?" Ruby asked.
"Unless you have anything that needs to be reported to me, that is all Ruby." the Headmaster concluded.
"Thank you headmaster for accepting me into this academy in the first place." Ruby said graciously.
"Not a worry Ruby, now I do believe you have some celebrating to do. Go and enjoy the remainder of your afternoon, stay safe." the Headmaster replied saying farewell to a star student.
Ruby collected her crutches and made her way out of his office and began descending the stairs carefully. She reached the bottom and continued her trek, making her way out of the building, albeit slowly. Her face was one of pure joy, almost as if anyone caught frowning would smile just from seeing Ruby. It was almost as if she was radiating that same happiness around her giving it to everyone who passed her by.
Ruby reached the gates and took one last fleeting glance at the academy. She was going to miss the place, so many memories and experiences that pushed her to become better as a person and closer to her dream of being a huntress.
'I think I'll go shopping for dust and weapon equipment, it's a nice reward.' Ruby thought.
She continued her journey into downtown Vale carefree and happier than one could perceive.
Darkness quickly took hold of the Vale, the sky a raven blanket scattered with specs of light. Ruby was browsing intricate weapon catalogs in the shop From Dust to Dawn. While Ruby was searching for new gear, a group of five ill-intentioned men entered the store. The leader of the group ordered his goons to pilfer the store's dust no matter the type. As the goons roamed the store seeking to find the higher valued dust, one of them spotted an adolescent in casual clothing wearing a black hoodie and sporting some crutches.
Ruby was completely oblivious to the situation unfolding as she was listening to 'This'll be the day' by Weiss Schnee, her headphones blasting at full volume. She flinched as a finger tapped her on the shoulders. Turning around she saw a man in a charcoal suit with a red tie pointing to his ears, signalling for her to take off her headphones. Ruby complied, removing the headphones now able to perceive the world around her.
"Yes?" she asked, nonchalantly.
"I said put your hands in the air, NOW!" the stranger demanded.
"Are you robbing me?" Ruby inquired innocently.
"YES!" the man replied, his anger beginning to surface.
"Ahh..." Ruby said.
Dropping her crutches, Ruby launched a punch condensed with aura making contact with the would-be robber sending him hurtling towards the front of the store, colliding with vials that contained dust. Another man rounded the corner of the aisle to examine the situation and was rewarded with a young girl tackling him out the store window, shattering the glass on impact. The goon was out cold. His companions rose from their crouching position to peer out the window and observe the adolescent who just attacked one of their workmates.
Ruby deployed her scythe, the collapsible weapon extending to its full glory. She lent on the pole arm accommodating for her crutches which were still within the store. The unique looking man who she assumed to be their leader mumbled some order to the goons, to which they responded by running out through the door charging Ruby.
The first of the goons rushed forward with his blade attempting to engage Ruby amd distract her. Cresent rose whirled into action, the sharp edge of the scythe fracturing the sword causing the goon to stumble. Ruby brought cresent rose back in a reverse swing bludgeoning the first of her would be assailants. Left no time to recover from the initial engagement the two other lackeys launched a coordinated effort to bring Ruby down. Each attacking from a different angle. She met each strike they made with her own.
Her form began to faulter. Struggling. Scythe met sword. Sword met scythe. Ruby's defence was broken, the recoil from the final clash reverberating throughout her body. She collapsed under the pressure of the blow. Her assailants launched a final attack to end it all. Ruby could only watch in shock as they closed in, awaiting her fate...
I deeply apologise for how long it took for me to get this chapter out. My final exams have been closing in and I've been too caught up in then to write as much. As for the next release I believe it will take place sometime in two weeks after my exams have finished.
A shout out to Weissman again for helping with some of the development for later on. That said have a good day or night!