Chapter 4: First Day
= I don't own RWBY (Rooster Teeth does), Elsword (KOG does), or any other references to other games/media/etc. =
= They go to their respective owners =
The boy who had just spewed out all of his breakfast on the Bullhead walked side-by-side Ruby, Charlotte, and Emil. Despite his seemingly attractive look, the girl responsible for his downcast, Ruby, was receiving a scolding from the other girl present, Charlotte. None of which even glanced at the boy's charms (if he even had any). He sighed as he reminisced about his embarrassing display on the air vehicle.
"Now go apologize to him. Understood, Ruby?" Charlotte said, as she finally finished her nagging, to which Ruby nodded and turned to the boy.
"I-I'm sorry," Ruby said, bowing. "It was the first thing that came to mind."
Before he could speak, Emil pitched in an apology as well. "We're really, really sorry!"
And once more, before the now pressured boy, Charlotte apologized. "I'm so sorry for what we did," She said as she folded her hands together, looking unconsciously deep into the boy's eyes. Without even trying, puppy eyes were bestowed upon the boy. "Will you please forgive us?"
The his face flared red as he thought how unfair she was being with those eyes. He immediately obliged, nodding his head. "Yeah, yeah, I-I got it. Don't worry, I'm not mad or a-anything, really..."
They all smiled as they looked at each other. Turning back to the boy, Charlotte tilted her head to the side.
"Then, to avoid any other mishaps from happening, what's your name?" She asked.
The boy cleared his throat, ridding the rest of his embarrassment from his throat. He swept his hair and gave the most handsome smile he could muster up. "The name's Jaune. Short, sweet, the ladies love it!" He said, a teeth shining towards them.
Each blinked once before Ruby spoke first, raising an eyebrow.
Folding her arms, she challenged his confidence. "Do they?"
Jaune began to sputter out his sentence out of in-confidence. "Uh, well, n-no, b-but I hope they will...- I mean they will!" He strongly defended, before weakly adding, "at least that's what my mom always told me..."
Charlotte hummed while smiling. "Your mother must be a kind lady then."
Jaune nodded. "Yeah! She...- Never mind..."
Emil rose an eyebrow. "What is it? Is something wrong, Jaune?"
Jaune shook his head. "I-it's nothing."
Ruby looked amongst the group as it soon grew dead silent. She wondered what they should talk about until an idea came to her head: a topic appropriate for students-in-training to talk about. She grabbed the shaft of her scythe and walked ahead of the group before spinning around.
"So, I got this?" She said, unsheathing her scythe, startling the group. Charlotte sent a stern look to her, to which Ruby apologized. "Sorry, did I surprise you guys?"
"You certainly did, Ruby." Charlotte crossed her arms. Jaune and Emil stared in awe at the craft.
"I-is that a scythe...?" Jaune asked, frightened by its size.
"It's...really huge..." Emil noted to which Ruby stood proudly, wiping her nose.
"It's also a high-velocity caliber sniper rifle!" Ruby added, hugging it as if her life depended on it.
Otherwise a gun," Charlotte translated for Emil and Jaune. Both adored its design as well as its wielder, who seemed to be too small to handle such weaponry.
"It looks really...intimidating..." Emil said, observing the sharpness of its blade.
"Yeah, I might have over done its design while crafting it," She said, frowning as it looked more strong due to its design rather than its output.
"Wait, you made that?" Jaune asked while Emil's eyes could only grow larger.
Ruby nodded as Charlotte gestured towards Jaune. "Didn't you craft yours, Jaune?"
Jaune bashfully looked towards his own. Shame immediately spread across his face as he slowly unsheathed his.
"No, it's a hand-me-down," He said. "My great great grandfather used it in the war. It's been part of the family ever since."
Charlotte, intrigued in such a family memento, walked closer towards the blade. "Is that so…? Then isn't it a family heirloom?"
Jaune didn't respond. His face grew beet red as Charlotte got closer. Never in his life had he felt so embarrassed to be next to a girl, despite living with seven older sisters. They were all beautiful sisters, so he thought he was used to such traits. Yet Charlotte, in his opinion, was far more eye catching that he ever imagined, especially up close. His face grew red as her crystal, blue eyes looked up to him. It felt like he could see all the amount of elegance held behind her tiny, fragile figure. Those eyes were a window to her living-
"Jaune?" Charlotte broke Jaune out of his musing.
He blinked once before stammering and looking somewhere else. "H-huh- errr...Y-yeah?"
Charlotte, confused towards his reaction rose an eyebrow and began to touch her face. "Is there something on my face?"
Jaune turned to her and shook his head while waving his hands. "N-no, i-i-it's nothing like that. Nothing like that at all."
"Is that so...?" Charlotte said before sighing in relief. "I thought there was, given that you weren't responding."
Jaune scratched the back if his head bashfully. "Oh, w-what was it that you were asking?"
"It wasn't me asking anything," she clarified, pointing towards Emil. "Emil asked a question."
He turned to Emil immediately and bowed. "Oh, I-I'm sorry for dazing off."
Emil shook his head. "No worries, Jaune. I was just wondering if you had a shield, too."
Jaune stuck his index finger up. "Oh, yeah, uh, I-I do." Jaune brought out what seemed to be a sheath, which soon expanded into a white shield. "It's right here."
"It can contract...?" Emil whispered to himself. "Zelos sure would like that..."
"Did you say something, Emil?" Ruby asked.
"Ah, no, it's nothing..."
Ruby shrugged and went back to observing the shield. The moment she poked it, the contraption lost control of himself. It began to bounce around. Jaune attempted to catch it while the blasted shield bounced towards Charlotte direction. Hoping to catch it in time, Jaune reacted as quickly as possible; however, the poor boy lost his footing, resulting in an unfortunate outcome. Time slew down as the two watched each others faces come closer and closer.
*THUD*
"Charlotte!" Ruby shouted as she ran over towards them. Emil followed suit.
"Jaune are you o-..." Emil came to a stop, as did Ruby. They only observed the spectacle in front of them.
Jaune ended up on top of Charlotte, covering almost the entirety of her body. They both moaned as they began to open their eyes.
"...Huh?" Was all that came out of Jaune's mouth as his mind attempted to process what was going on.
"Eh?" Charlotte unknowingly observed every bit of Jaune's face.
"Uhhh…?" Ruby began as she looked at both of them. "Any day, now...?"
Hearing what Ruby had just said, the two immediately separated from each other, sitting on their legs with the hands clenching down on their knees.
"S-s-s-s-sorry!" Jaune said, his face set ablaze.
"I-I-I should be apologizing!" Charlotte said, her face as red as a tomato. "If o-only I was aware of my surroundings...!"
Ruby and Emil sighed as the began to apologize back and forth. Deciding to put an end to this cliché event, Ruby spoke up.
"Why does it retract, Jaune?" Ruby asked, garnering the boy's attention.
"H-huh?" He looked towards his shield and reluctantly picked it up, still silently apologizing towards Charlotte. "W-well, umm, it's so that I-if I get tired of holding it, I can just, y'know...put it away like this?" He demonstrated what he meant, retracting the shield into its thinner version, sheathing the sword within it and placing it into a holder around his hip. Ruby and Emil sweat dropped.
"Wouldn't it still weigh the same...?" Ruby asked.
Jaune, realizing that was true, immediately cleared his throat. "W-well, yeah...it does..."
Emil crossed his arms as he thought about its use. "Well, if you think about it, at least it allows you to carry more thing, right?"
Jaune pointed towards Emil and nodded. "You're right about that..."
Charlotte, finally regaining her composure, stood up with the aid of Ruby. She patted the dust off of her clothes as she used her right hand to grab her left arm, standing as close to Ruby as possible. "I-in any case, what about you, Emil?"
Emil hopped a little. "O-oh, me?" He repeated. "I-I mean...I have this." He unsheathed the sword at his hip, wielding it reverse-gripped and holding it out in front of him.
"Meh..." Ruby said. "It's pretty... bland."
Emil sheepishly nodded. "S-sorry..."
Feeling guilty for bad talking about someone's weapon, despite being a weapon fanatic, Ruby began to apologize. "Sorry! Uh, y'know, y-your guys' weapons are actually pretty cool! Not a lot of people have a thing for the vintages, so you guys wielding it is pretty cool! I mean, getting this far into school using only those swords is really impressive!"
Charlotte nodded. "Design doesn't matter when you're up against a skilled swordsman," Charlotte added.
"O-oh, no, I'm not that skilled, hehe..." Emil modestly said. "I mean, my weapon doesn't really give an intimidating feel from me, so...yeah..."
"Y-yeah, I-I'm not so skilled, either," Jaune replied. "I-I've only gone against my instructor with this. I'm not that skilled, so, hehe..."
"Oh, don't be like that!" Ruby said, smacking the backs of both boys. "You guys are hugely handicapped! Wait 'til we get sparring with other people; maybe you'll swamp those guys with just swords and no projectiles!"
"As you've said to us, Emil," Charlotte added, "From the smallest seed grows the biggest tree, right?"
The two boys looked to each other and smiled, fist bumping each other.
"Right," Emil said, nodding. "We can do this, Jaune!"
Jaune nodded, his eyes now burning with the desire to succeed. "Yeah!"
"By the by..." Charlotte said, now taking the time to look around. "...Where are we?"
"Huh?" The other three said in unison as they looked around. Realizing that they were completely lost, they looked to each other for answers.
"Maybe there's a directory...?" Jaune suggested. They looked around and saw no such thing.
"Well...what about another building?" Emil asked. "From there, we could ask a teacher or hall monitor where we are." They looked around and saw no such thing either.
"Umm...what should we do then...?" Charlotte asked as they all began to walk in one random direction with each other.
Ruby shrugged, giving up on the option to improvise. "I guess we're going this way?"
Charlotte's group finally found where the opening ceremony was going to take place: within the main hall of Beacon. The structure was in the shape of a dome, its details carved and designed to look like a cathedral with walls adorned with pillars. The first years awaiting their first day at the academy all stood around the stage that was at the front of the main hall. The size, design, and amount of students within the building astounded Emil.
"This place looks amazing..." He said, taking in each detail of the room. "So flashy..."
"You're right about that," Jaune agreed, overwhelmed by the design of the academy. He also wondered why a school would take the time to make itself as extravagant as possible.
The two girls, Charlotte and Ruby, searched the crowds for their older sister. A familiar voice caught their attention as the girl in question shouted out to them.
"Charlotte! Ruby!" Yang called out to them. "Over here! I saved you guys a spot!"
They nodded and turned towards Jaune and Emil.
"Sorry, we gotta go," Ruby said.
"Perhaps we'll see each other again after?" Charlotte asked.
Emil nodded. "Sure."
Jaune stammered, surprised that a girl (sadly for the first time) wanted to talk to him once again. "Oh? I-I mean, uh, well, um, yeah sure, w-why not?"
"Alrighty, then!" Ruby nodded and grabbed Charlotte's hand. "C'mon, Charlotte."
Charlotte nodded and waved to the boys while being pulled away from Ruby, smiling. Emil smiled back, waving "farewell" as well. Jaune was rather reluctant to let her leave, but then again, family comes first.
Jaune sighed and turned towards Emil. "So, where should we go?"
Emil shrugged, pointing towards an open spot at the front. "How about over there?"
Jaune nodded and both headed towards the front, unaware of the look a red-headed girl was giving them.
"S-sis?!" The girl heard, turning around to see a boy with the same colored hair, albeit styled to be rather spiky. His face turned red as he scratched the back of his head while sheepishly apologizing. "Oh, uh, sorry, got you for someone else..."
She stared at him before smiling. "It's okay. Did you need something, though?" She asked.
He cleared his throat and regained his composure. Though he didn't really have anything, he decided he might as well just ask the first thing that comes to mind. "Oh, uh, well actually I can't really find anywhere else to be, so do you mind if I just hang around here?" The boy asked.
Her eyes sized him up and observed his facial features, wondering if there were any ulterior motives. Realizing there was none, she nodded. "Sure. I don't mind."
"Okay. Thanks," He said, as he turned towards the stage and folding his hands in front of him.
Meanwhile with Charlotte, Ruby, and Yang, the girl trio exchanged greetings.
"So, how was your first day so far?" Yang asked, hoping for a positive answer. However, the two younger girls only narrowed their eyes at her, giving her a bad feeling.
"The only eventful thing, perhaps, was the part where you ditched us," Charlotte said, dead-toned. "After that, nothing really happened." Ruby nodded in agreement and placed her fists on her hips.
"How could you leave us?!" Ruby cried, pouting. Yang sighed and patted both of their heads.
"Hey, I was hoping you guys got to know Emil better, y'know?" Yang said. "I was also hoping you guys at least made some friends."
Charlotte and Ruby thought about Jaune at that point. They nodded as they looked at each other.
"Yeah, we did make sort of an acquaintance," Ruby said.
Yang clapped her hands together. "Really?! I knew you guys could-"
"It was Vomit Boy," Ruby interrupted, to which Charlotte karate chopped her head.
"You mean Jaune, yes?" She corrected as the red headed girl rubbed her head while nodding.
"Sorry..."
"Oh?" Yang said, raising an eyebrow. "How do you know his name?"
"We both spoke with him," Charlotte said, while patting Ruby's head in forgiveness. "He's a rather interesting character."
"That so...?" Yang said, slyly smiling and rubbing her hands together. Charlotte, feeling a little bit wary, narrowed her eyes.
"...What?" She asked Yang, to which the girl shrugged.
"I dunno?" Yang sarcastically said. "Anything interesting about this Jaune?"
Charlotte sighed and smacked Yang's arm, though the latter didn't feel a thing and chuckled. Ruby, beginning to hear murmuring arising, looked towards the front of the stage. Seeing what was going on, without taking her eyes off the action, she pulled on Charlotte's sleeve.
"Charlotte, look," Ruby said, gaining Charlotte's attention. "It's those two from before." Charlotte turned and looked towards where she was looking, as did Yang. An interesting duo was at the front, arguing amongst each other.
"Quit talking, you white-headed nuisance!" The green haired boy, Sync, snarled towards his mistress, Weiss.
"Hey, you don't need to talk like that!" She said.
"And you don't need to talk to me, either!" Sync retorted.
As the two continued to argue, Yang whispered to Charlotte and Ruby. "You know them?"
"Yes," Charlotte said, pointing her finger towards Sync. "That is Sync, the butler of Weiss. Weiss is that girl, the heiress to the Schnee company."
Yang hummed in realization. "Did she really have to bring her butler...?"
Charlotte and Ruby shrugged as the action ensued.
"Alright, I've had enough of your crap, brat!" Sync said, butting heads with Weiss now.
"Well, it appears we share the same sentiment!" The heiress snarled as she, too, began to apply more force towards her push. However, Sync's was clearly overpowering her.
"I swear, the first chance I get, I'll-!"
"Enough."
Sync and Weiss stopped and turned towards the source of the voice. Upon the stage was the woman who gave her speech on the Bullhead, Professor Glynda Goodwitch, an authoritative air floating around her. Both immediately straightened their postures as if a general had just entered the room. The woman sighed as she narrowed her eyes at the duo.
"He's just as you both are..." The lady murmured. She cleared her throat. "Cut it out, you two. I will not tolerate anymore disturbances, understood?"
They both nodded. "Yes, ma'am," Both said in unison. Professor Goodwitch nodded in approval.
She backed away from the front of the stage as an old man, wise and stoic, passed her while giving a nod. The old man, otherwise the Headmaster of Beacon, Ozpin, tapped the mic twice before clearing his throat.
"Thank you, Professor Goodwitch, for settling matters," He thanked to the witch-like professor, who nodded. He turned back to the crowd of students. "I'll keep this brief...
you've come to this prestigious academy in search of knowledge. With that knowledge, you hone your craft and acquire new skills. When you've finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people."
Ruby looked between Yang, who only shrugged with half lidded eyes, and Charlotte who smiled towards Ruby, agreeing wholeheartedly to the Headmaster's speech. Well, for the first part.
"However..." He continued, garnering more student's attentions as some were asleep, expecting they'd hear the same thing about protecting the kingdoms and whatnot. "All I see is wasted energy in need of purpose. In need of direction. If you believe that knowledge will free you of this...you are sorely wrong. Your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only get you so far."
Ruby and Charlotte looked towards each other, eyebrows raised as to why he would even say such things.
"It is up to you to take the first step," He said. He turned away from the microphone and made his way off the stage as Professor Goodwitch walked up to the microphone.
"You will gather in the ballroom tonight," She said. "Your initiation begins tomorrow. Be ready. Dismissed." Professor Goodwitch proceeded to follow Professor Ozpin soon after her dismissal.
Yang scratched her head, her face contorted with confusion. "He seemed...off."
"It's like he wasn't even there..." Ruby added.
Charlotte looked back towards the stage before noticing both Sync and Weiss walked off, oddly enough in the same direction. She then realized Jaune and Emil were heading over towards them.
"So...where's...the ballroom?" Emil asked.
The others looked amongst each other and shrugged.
"I guess we follow the crowd?" Yang said. The group agreed and followed wherever the crowd was going to take them. Yang elbowed Charlotte, cocking her head towards Jaune. Charlotte sighed and smacked her arm once again, only this time with a bit more force.