New chapter, more plot, you know the usual.
Edited by DragonManMax
Any and all feedback is welcome!
(Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY)
The Soldier's Battleground
ザー・ソールジュズ・バタルフィールド
Chapter III: New and Old
Jaune ducked slightly as an artillery shell landed near where he was sitting, a few other soldiers who were new to the frontline threw themselves onto the ground when the explosion went off. Having been on the frontline for a few months Jaune just raised an eyebrow at the act, if you were going to get hit by a shell then you wouldn't even know what hit you as death claimed its victims swiftly.
A few particles of mud landed in the trench, sprinkling Crocea Mors which he was cleaning, with grime. He grumbled at the nuisance.
"It's not like I enjoy cleaning my equipment because of oncoming traffic, frickin salesmen," Jaune grumbled, his slang was that of a soldier as he referred to the artillery fire.
After cleaning the grime off the blade, Jaune sheathed his knife and moved onto his rifle. But before he could properly clean the weapon a sergeant came up to him and cleared his throat.
"Sir, the new reinforcements have arrived, would you like me to brief them for you or would you rather do it yourself?"
Jaune looked up at the man and sighed. "Give me a moment to clean up and I will meet you there." The sergeant nodded before turning around and making his way down a trench leading to the rear.
'Is it too much to ask for some time to myself.' For a brief moment, the sound of sporadic gunfire ceased. 'Thank you.' Only to be replaced by explosions. Jaune shook his head as he stood up and started to make his way to the rear to rendezvous with the sergeant.
"Sir." A soldier saluted Jaune as he walked up to a group of men and women.
"We don't salute on the frontlines soldier, makes it easier for snipers to identify officers."
"Oh, I'm sorry sir." The young woman said with an apologetic voice.
"You'll catch onto the normal here soon enough." Jaune shook his head at the woman before turning to the rest of the soldiers gathered in the area.
"Welcome to the frontline everyone, I am Lieutenant Arc your commanding officer. Now, I'll be brief and try not to waste your time. Keep your heads down, the only time you should be sticking your head over the trench is when there is an attack incoming or your about to climb up over. Other than that, don't risk getting your head splattered by a random bullet. Besides that, let me ask you all a question: what weapons did you train on other than a rifle?"
He looked around the group before a random soldier raised his hand. "We were trained how to use a rifle, pistol and grenades sir."
Jaune directed the sergeant to grab a weapon that was leaning against the trenches wall. "Well lads you're in luck, we just received a nice shipment of Atlesian Chauchat machine rifles, it's a new machine gun that Command tried to make light enough so that one person could use it." light murmurs made its way through the crowd. 'Eh it's understandable, until recently the machine was a stationary piece of equipment that took a small crew to operate, but still,' Jaune smirked. "The truth of the matter is the guns a piece of garbage, and it's not uncommon for this weapon to jam, due to mud and grime getting in the magazine or bolt. So, my advice is to stick with your rifle until they fix this thing or we move out of these lovely trenches." This time the murmurs were a bit different as the words he said sunk in.
"Now, go get some rest, make sure to eat a full meal and at least try to get settled in. With that out of the way, welcome to the 198th Infantry Battalion." With that Jaune nodded at the group and began walking away. 'Now that that's done I should probably follow my own advice and get myself some hot food.'
As Jaune was making his way over to the mess hall, a young woman ran by him laughing.
"They're serving pancakes in the mess hall!" She turned around and motioned to a young man who was jogging behind her. 'Wait, hold on, that man looks familiar for some reason. Oh, he's the medic that helped me a few days ago!'
"Nora! Wait up!" The young man jogged over to the rather energetic young woman. "Why do you call them pancakes anyways? They're called flapjacks."
The young woman raised an eyebrow and scoffed, "Well, I want to call them pancakes so there!" The young medic just sighed with a small smile on his face.
"All right then, we'll call them pancakes. Now let's hurry up before they run out." The young woman threw her hands up into the air with a cheer before running off towards the mess hall. Having watched the rather amusing scene in front of him, Jaune called out to the young man before he got too far away.
"Yes sir?" Ren questioned, his gaze falling onto the blonde-haired Lieutenant a few feet away from him.
"I'm sorry I forgot to ask you when you treated me a few days ago, but what type of medic are you?" Ren pondered the question for a moment before answering.
"Well, there are two categories of medics, one that operates on the frontlines and the other type those of which stay behind in the trenches to treat the casualties that are coming in and bring them back to the hospital. I'm of the former category, a combat medic."
"Wait, if you're a combat medic then why weren't you carrying a weapon when you were treating me?"
Ren pointed towards the young woman who was arguing with a cook. "For one, the battle had already moved on from where I found you. And secondly, I'd trust her with my life." Jaune looked over to the young and saw a grenade launcher slung over her back. 'Well that would ruin anyone's day if they got hit with that.' In the distance a distraught Nora came back with few pancakes on a tray.
"Ren! The cooks told me I couldn't take pancakes that they had already made, it wasn't like I was gonna take the entire batch!" With a practiced ease that spoke of experience, Ren ruffled the young woman's hair.
"And how many pancakes did they already have?"
The young woman shrugged. "Not that many, just a few dozen." Jaune internally blanched at the statement. 'She's…she's joking, right?'
Ren gave her a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, I'll go get you some more, wait here."
Seeing her best friend walk away, Nora turned to address the person next to her with a smile on her face. "Hello, sir! I am Corporal Valkyrie, it's a pleasure to meet you!"
Jaune lightly chuckled, 'She reminds me of my younger sisters, extremely energetic.' Jaune nodded at the young woman. "Lieutenant Arc, if you don't mind me asking, are you part of a grenadier platoon?" He motioned to the weapon on her back.
She grinned. "Yes sirree! This thing is great at making people duck for cover."
"Seems fitting for what the weapon does in battle, but remember sometimes the best offense is a good defense."
Nora's grin grew even bigger. "That's why I have this!" She pulled out a trench club from the bag hanging at her side. "It's quite effective at breaking knees. And if that doesn't stop the enemy then Corporal Ren will just patch me up." As she was finishing her statement, Ren came back with a stack of pancakes on his tray.
"Here, Nora, you can have some of mine." He placed over half of his pancakes onto Nora's tray.
"Ah thanks Ren!"
'If what she said is true, then I'm glad how much trust they put into each other, trust is something that is sorely needed on the battlefield.' Jaune stopped his thinking to address the two soldiers in front of him. "It was a pleasure meeting the two of you, but I'm sure you both have things that need to get done, and I need to go get some food before heading out." Jaune bid them both farewell before finishing his journey over to the mess hall.
After making his way through the line Jaune looked around for a place to sit down and saw his Captain a few yards away reading a book and enjoying her meal. As he was making his way over to her she looked up and made eye contact with him. "You mind if I sit here Captain Goodwitch?" She lowered her book and motioned with one of her hands to the spot next to her.
"How are you doing Lieutenant Arc? I heard you took quite the beating the last major battle we had." Jaune casually waved his hand.
"I'm all good, a few scratches won't kick me out of the battle ma'am. How about you? I haven't heard anything about you getting injured but still."
"Not a scratch, I unfortunately was not able to participate in the last battle as Major Ozpin had needed me to organize a few things." Jaune nodded slowly when he heard the major's name. Unlike most majors on the line, Ozpin tried his best to interact with those under his command as he said the first step to victory was teamwork, and if he could impart some wisdom or advice to help that cause, then he would. Jaune had fought alongside the older man a few times in battle, and while there would always be casualties, the major would always try his best to order his soldier in such a way, that would not only help keep casualties down, but complete the mission they were given.
Other than being willing to follow the man anywhere in battle, most of the soldiers under his command had associated the man with coffee as he was never seen without a cup in his hand. If an explosion happened nearby, he would simply put a hand over the top of the cup to keep out any dirt, and once the shelling was over, proceed to remove his hand and take a sip. Overall, he was a solid leader that everyone respected.
"Oh, speaking of which, that reminds me Lieutenant Arc, after reading the report on how you captured three enemy machine guns, the major wanted to reward you in some way. I know it's not much, but please take the day off and get yourself a hot meal in town, you've earned yourself a respite." Jaune shook his head and with a polite smile replied.
"Ma'am I wasn't the only one to capture those gun, and besides I got enough rest when I was in the hospital, so I'm fine."
'If I was someone who was good at reading people's faces then I would say that the captains hardened just a bit.' Goodwitch considered the young man's eyes. "Take the day of Mr. Arc, Major Ozpin insists."'Ah the legendary voluntold statement! They phrase the sentence like they're asking you a question but in reality, are telling you to do it.'
"Very well Captain I'll take the day off, thank you for the offer." The Captain hummed in response before the two of them lapsed into a comfortable silence. The sound of men and equipment filled the air as Jaune tilted his head upwards towards the dreary sky and took in the noises. After a few minutes both he and Goodwitch finished their meals and stood up to put their trays away.
"Lieutenant Arc, the Major also wanted to tell you that there may be something happening in town and wanted you to check it out if you have the time."
"Understood, what am I looking for?"
"He said you would know when you saw it, I was not informed of what it was either."
Jaune shrugged. "Well, I'll keep my eyes open then, Captain." He saluted her.
She saluted him back before walking away, 'Bon voyage mon Capitaine, may whoever you lecture rest in peace.' Jaune rolled his right shoulder and cracked his neck. "I'm getting too old for all this excitement."
Jaune quickly made his way back to trenches and walked until he found a muddy tarp hanging over an opening in the side of the trench wall. After pushing aside, the tarp he stepped down into a rather cozy sized underground room. There were a few beds with small trunks located at the end of each of them. On a small desk sat a lamp and a few papers scattered about it.
"Ah I still have to over the new replacements papers." He sighed. "I'll do it when I get back. But first I might as well look the part if I'm heading into town." Jaune stripped off his muddy uniform and boots and grabbed his spares from the trunk at the end of his bed. Inside his trunk was a small locked box that contained a few of his more valuable possessions. One of which was his money. While every country had its own currency, the currency that was most used was called the lien.
Jaune wasn't the richest man in the world, but he made enough to live comfortably, putting aside the whole at war situation he was in.
"You know I probably should go to a weaponsmith and get Crocea Mors sharpened and properly cleaned. I have no idea where the shop is though, I'll have to ask around." Having finished changing and grabbing his family heirloom, Jaune made his way out of his underground room and out into the world above.
As he was making his way through the trenches he saw Corporal Ren organizing some of his medical supplies. He made his over to the young man and cleared his throat.
"Oh, hello sir, can I help you with something?" Ren had a calm but questioning gaze on his face.
"Perhaps, I'm heading into town and I was wondering if you knew where the weapons smith is?" Ren smiled.
"I do actually, Corporal Valkyrie and I went there recently. If you have a map on you I can show you where it is." Jaune nodded before reaching into the satchel by his side and pulled out a map of the town. After a few minutes of explaining, and pointing, Jaune figured out the location of the shop and bid the young man adieu before continuing his journey.
In the early years of the war most towns, cities and villages were evacuated to escape the devastation that was to come from the countless battles. However, two years into the war both sides of the Western Front lost the opportunity of flanking each other. Now, thanks to the force of modern weaponry, such as machine gun and field artillery, it was a suicidal venture to reside on open ground, thus completing the phase of mobile warfare. The soldiers disappeared in the safety of trenches and dugouts. But, it was also thanks to this that many brave souls have traveled back to their hometowns near the frontline. Granted, should any trenches be lost or close to, evacuations plans were in place to protect the people. This meant that Jaune spent a good part of an hour walking from the front before he reached the outskirts of town. In a few more minutes he found himself in front of the weapons smith shop.
"The Melodic Cudgel, a rather odd name for a shop, but whatever." Jaune opened the door, the chiming of bells reaching his ears as he entered the workshop. The inside of the shop was surprisingly homely with a few signs hanging off the top of the walls. "Neapolitan ice cream, I wonder what that tastes like." Jaune look around the interior of the store examining and documenting everything in a way only a soldier could before the sound of old hinges groaning garnered his attention. A rather young looking woman poked her head out of the doorway and made eye contact with Jaune.
"Oh, I guess the shop is open! Great!" She opened the door the rest of the way and stepped inside. She was carrying a rather large cloth gun case in her right hand.
'That case must be at least as long as she is tall,damn the hell kind of ordnance is she packing in that thing?' Jaune was mildly surprised but no emotion showed on his face. "Hello, my name is Sergeant Ruby Rose, it's a pleasure to meet you," she exclaimed with a chipper voice.
Jaune extended his hand to her. "Lieutenant Jaune Arc, I could say the same to you." The young woman stood near him and shook his hand before starting to rock on the balls of her feet.
Silence reigned over the room and he began to wonder if he should try and start a conversation to fill the silence. The sound of a zipper made him turn his gaze just in time to see the young woman pull out what looked like a rifle of some sort.
"So, I have this thing!" She pulled out a rifle that was almost as tall as she was.
"Is that an anti-material rifle?" The gun looked like one he'd read about some time ago, but having never seen one in real life he wasn't entirely sure.
"Yes, it is! Well it's a bit modified by yours truly, but its purpose is still the same. I call her Crescent Rose." Her voice had taken on an ecstatic tone.
"I read about it once, but I've never seen one until now." Jaune looked at the AMR with a curious face.
Ruby smiled, "So what weapon do you have?"
"I use the standard issue equipment, but I do have a knife that's a family heirloom," Jaune stated pulling out Crocea Mors from his satchel and showed it to the young woman.
"Ah a classic, it's nice to know someone likes to use the classics." She tilted her head as she appraised the rather simple weapon. As Jaune watched the young woman look at the knife he felt a tap on his shoulder. His gaze turned to a young woman who was even shorter than Miss Rose. The young woman motioned to both of the weapons and pointed towards the shop's counter.
"Are you the weapons smith?" The so far quite woman shook her head side to side.
'Is she not able to speak?' Jaune internally shrugged before getting back to the rather one-sided conversation.
"Do you know who the owner of this store is so we can…?"
His question was cut short as a man's voice was heard coming from the back.
"Neo! Where are you? I already told you we don't have enough money to buy ice cream so you better have not gotten any!" A man walked out of the back of the store and paused for a second seeing the three-people standing in the room.
"Oh customers, I'm sorry I didn't hear you come in. The names Roman Torchwick, how can I help you?" The man gestured towards Jaune and Ruby.
"My knife is just in need of some cleaning and sharpening is all." Jaune handed his knife over to the man. Roman grabbed the weapon and looked at the blade with a critical eye before handing it back to Jaune.
"Hmm shouldn't be a problem, I can have it done for you in about an hour or so. What about you Red? What's wrong with your weapon?" Ruby fidgeted under Roman's gaze.
"Actually, I was wondering if you sell maintenance parts for weapons, I just need a few to tune up my weapon."
Roman nodded. "Indeed, we do, Neo please show the young lady to the back for me will you." The short woman nodded before gesturing to Ruby to follow her. The two short females disappeared into the back of the store leaving Jaune and Roman alone.
"So onto business, the repair cost should be around this much." Roman threw out a number and finding it reasonable, Jaune pulled out his wallet and handed the man the correct amount of lien before handing Crocea Mors over. Roman took the weapon and walked to the back only to appear a few moments later with Neo and Ruby right behind him.
"I must admit I'm surprised you carry all of the parts that I needed, it's a nice change of pace!" Ruby was waving one of her hands around while the other one had a bundle of material in it.
"Please, I pride myself in taking care of my customers, if either of you are need of a custom weapon or anything please stop by here and I'm sure I can handle it." Roman finished his sentence with a flourish and tipped the hat that was on his head. Neo did something similar but it was more of a polite bow.
After paying for things she bought, Ruby and Jaune left the store together and found themselves outside. Jaune turned towards the young woman. "You feeling hungry? I'm coming back here in a few hours, so I might as well eat something as I wait."
Ruby smiled politely at him. "I think that's a great idea, but I have to meet up with my older sister, so I'll have to turn down your offer." She offered an apologetic smile. Jaune waved his hand at her reply.
"You're all good, I hope you get Crescent Rose repaired, I'm glad I to have meet you Miss Rose." Ruby and Jaune shook hands before parting ways.
"Well since I have an hour or so I might as well find a place to eat. I think the guys were saying they went to this one restaurant here, I'll have to find it and try it out." Jaune started to whistle a tune as he walked down the street enjoying the sights.
The hustle and bustle of everyday life surrounded Jaune as he made his way through the crowds, after a few minutes of walking, he turned down a side street and soon found himself in a area which was less crowded.
"Hmm if I remember correctly the restaurant should be around this corner and a few blocks down." As Jaune turned the corner a female with a red ponytail caught his eye.
'She looks a bit lost, I wonder what she's looking for?' Since he was already in her direction he decided he would ask her directly instead of wondering why she looked lost.
"Excuse me miss? You seem a bit lost, if you don't mind me asking, what are you looking for?" The young woman looked at Jaune and he was meet with some very green eyes.
She offered the young man a polite smile. "Oh, no it's fine, I wouldn't want to waste your time."
Jaune returned the smile. "No, it's fine, my mother always told me 'strangers are just friends you haven't meet.' By the way the name's Jaune Arc, a pleasure to meet you." He extended his hand out.
The young woman regarded the young man in front of her. 'He sounds genuine, I'll see what his intentions are.' "Pyrrha Nikos. As for what I'm looking for, I was trying to find a restaurant that was supposed to be around here, but I can't seem to find it." As she accepted the handshake she looked directly into his eyes and waited for his reaction.
"Well the only restaurant that I know of around here is actually just a few blocks away, I was just heading there myself, and I can show you the way."
'He didn't react to my name in any special way, and he saying he's going to the same place doesn't sound like he just wants to follow me.'
Pyrrha smile turned genuine, "If you wouldn't mind, please lead the way."
"Follow me then." The two of them traded small talk as they made their way to the restaurant.
"Wait you're saying you have seven sisters?! That's crazy!" Pyrrha looked at the young man with a surprised face.
"Yes, I know it sounds crazy, but I love them all just the same." Jaune chuckled at her reaction. "Oh, we're here, nice I was starting to get hungry." Jaune walked ahead of Pyrrha and opened the door for her. "Miss Nikos." He gestured to the inside.
"Why thank you, kind sir." Pyrrha gave him a smile.
"Please, thank my mother, anyways let's get some food." Jaune closed the door behind himself and walked behind Pyrrha as she made her way to an empty table. After sitting down a waitress walked up to their table.
"Hello, my name is Rebecca and I will be your waitress for today." Jaune looked at the young girl and noticed she was a wolf Faunus. 'Huh, who knew?' Not having anything against Faunus, Jaune's thoughts on the matter ended. His thoughts on what dish to get; however, continued.
"Actually, this is my first time here, so what dish would you recommend?" The waitress pondered on the question for a moment before pointing at a dish on the menu.
"I would recommend Crescent City Fettuccine, it's one of our most popular dishes." Jaune looked at the pasta dish and ordered it immediately.
"What about you miss?" The waitress turned towards Pyrrha.
"I think I'll try the Tournedos of Beef with the Creole Stuffed Potato as a side." The waitress nodded and jotted down both of their orders before walking away to tell the staff hiding away in the kitchen.
"So Pyrrha what brings you to this town? This area is fairly close to the frontlines; most people don't come here because of the danger that is involved."
"I'm here to see how the military is doing and see if there is anything I can do to help."
Jaune curtly gave his response. "Oh, how nice, they do care about the little guys."
Pyrrha just sighed. "I just hope I can be of some help to the troops on the frontlines."
"Well considering the last weapons, we got from Command jammed at almost every convenience, everyone who has been in the war tends to stick to the reliable Springfield rifle as their go to weapon. They did attempt to field a semi-automatic rifle for use a few months back but the slightest amount of dirt makes it inoperable so we don't use those rifles. Perhaps you could do something about that." Jaune asked the young woman with sarcasm laced in voice.
The conversation was discontinued as their food arrived and the both of them spent the next few minutes enjoying their meals. Pyrrha regarded the young man across from her with a curious gaze. He was polite and hearing him talk made it sound like he had a good amount of experience on the battlefield. And seeing no hostility in his eyes when he talked with the Faunus waitress showed that he wasn't a racist, or at least he didn't mind them, which reminded her of a question.
"Excuse me, this may sound rather odd, but what is your town like?"
Jaune paused his eating to answer her. "Um nothing much, really. It's a rather small town located in the countryside, we've got mostly farmlands and the like there, as for the people nothing really comes to mind except that everybody knows everyone else and we try to help each other out as much as we can when someone else is in need."
Pyrrha listened attentively to Jaune as he further explained his home town and if she were being honest, it sounded like a nice place to live she also took notice of the fact that Jaune said neither faunus nor human merely people. Granted if one were to grow up in an environment with little to no regard as to what race you were, then his views and how he treated the faunus waitress made a lot more sense now. Both of them continued to ask questions back and forth and every once in awhile, laugh at something the other person said.
All in all, it was a rather relaxing time, for Jaune he could forget about the horrors of war and just relax, and for Pyrrha she was able to drop her facade that she had to put on for so many people and just be herself. Both would later look back on this moment with fondness.
The happy atmosphere died down when Pyrrha looked at her watch and saw what time it was. "Dang it, I'm so sorry to cut this short, but I need to go, I wish we could talk more as this has been an eventful time."
Jaune smiled. "You don't have to be, it was a wonderful meal that I'm glad I got to share with you. I do hope you have good fortune in your endeavors."
Both paid for their meals with Jaune attempting to pay for Pyrrha's as well, to which she politely declined. Having left the restaurant, they bid each other farewell before parting to head to their respective destinations.
Jaune looked down at his watch and was pleasantly surprised that a few hours had passed since his visit to Roman's shop. He made his way back to the shop to see if his weapon was ready for pickup
When Jaune opened the shop's door he was greeted by a smirking Neo and a groaning Roman.
"Damnit Neo, I know we just got some revenue from the last customers but why did you go out and spend all that lien on ice cream!"
Neo's smirk just grew bigger and she shrugged at the rather frustrated looking man.
"Of course you'd say that." Roman drawled before pinching his nose and exhaling slowly.
Jaune cleared his throat to alert the two individuals to his presence. When Roman's gaze fell onto the young man he smiled.
"Ah you're back, I assume to pick up your weapon. I was able to clean and sharpen the blade with little difficulty, but I must ask." Roman paused briefly to hand over Crocea Mors to Jaune. "Do you know the person who crafted such a fine piece? The quality of the metal is outstanding to say the least."
Jaune shook his head. "I'm sorry but I don't know the answer to that question. My ancestor received the blade as a gift from someone but that's all I know."
"Not a problem my boy, I was just curious is all." Roman waived his right hand dismissively.
"Thank you for the repair, perhaps I'll stop by again if I need a weapon sharpened." Jaune bid both the two of them goodbye before exiting the shop. After the door closed, Roman's face turned to one of contemplation as he pulled out a small pouch from his pocket and gazed at the contents inside.
Roman examined the metal dust that came from sharpening the unique blade. "Interesting, very interesting."
As Jaune was coming out of Roman's shop he spotted Major Ozpin and Captain Glynda walking down the street. Ozpin motioned Jaune over and after saluting each other proceeded to walk once again.
"Lieutenant Arc, how has your day gone thus far," Ozpin inquired looking at the young man.
"It has been going very well sir, I was able to get some maintenance on my knife and share a meal with a wonderful young lady."
Ozpin took a sip from his ever-present coffee cup, "I see, well I am glad you were able to relax, but unfortunately we must get back to business. Captain Goodwitch and myself are headed to a showcase that the higher-ups have planned. I wanted to see the weapons my troops may be receiving."
"May be, sir?" Jaune asked politely.
"Well, if the weapons are unable to operate properly in the mud and grime then I won't be rushing to get my soldiers outfitted with them." Jaune understood the logic and nodded his head.
"Ah, looks like we're here." On the outskirts of the town a simple firing range had been set-up with what also looked to be an obstacle course as well.
"Um sir, I understand the firing range, but what's the point of the obstacle course?" Ozpin smirked behind his coffee cup.
"That my boy is why you are here." Ozpin pointed to the scene in front of him. "You are to be competing against her." His finger landed on a rather familiar red head. "Her name is Pyrrha Nikos, a prodigy by all rights, who has decided to use her abilities to help in the war effort by joining up. I must say, I do so hope she knows what she's getting into, as both you and I know how fighting can get."
Jaune's gaze drifted over to the young woman who was talking with another major, probably her superior.
"I'm competing against a prodigy? Just my luck." Jaune sighed, he wasn't sure yet if his day just got worse or not.
Ozpin just took another sip of his coffee and grinned.
Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed it!