As Evan rose out of his bed, he could make out the muffled noises of the other students waking up as well. Trudging over to his suitcase, Evan examined the contents inside. Inside were numerous amounts of regular civilian clothes, such as shirts of various sleeve lengths, pants, shorts, a pair of sneakers, etc. In addition there was his armor, a scroll with a note on it, and another Atlesian uniform.
Placing the scroll on a nearby nightstand, Evan got dressed. Slipping it on the uniform, Evan opened the door and headed down the hall to get some breakfast. As passed by one of the doors, he heard a loud shout emanate from inside, "There you are!"
Turning to his right, he saw Nora pointing at him accusingly. "You're the fiend that spoiled my amazing food fight. Don't think I haven't forgotten!" She exclaimed. Too tired and hungry to care, Evan just stood and took the insult. From behind, a black-haired man sighed as he quietly pulled Nora away from the door, allowing everyone else to exit the room.
"Curse you Ren! I was about to get my revenge!" Nora exclaimed as she was dragged from the doorframe. Quickly, two other students moved past Ren and Nora before they too left the room. The small group consisted of Nora, Ren, the red-haired girl from the cafeteria yesterday, and at the front of the group was a blonde man.
"Hey, there. Sorry about Nora. She can get very aggressive when she hasn't had breakfast yet. I'm Jaune. How about you?" The blond man asked.
"The name's Evan." The teen said.
"Well, Evan. How about we forgive and forget over some good hot food. What do you think?" Jaune continued.
"You had me at food. Sure, I'm down. Lead the way." Evan replied.
—-
As the group sat down at the cafeteria table, Evan grabbed himself a collection of bacon and scrambled eggs. Consuming the amazing food, he watched as Nora brought over an utterly massive stack of pancakes as she sat down opposite to Evan.
"You're going to eat all of that?" Evan questioned as he scooped up some more eggs.
"She does this pretty much every day. I've seen someone eat more than her when it comes to pancakes." Ren said with a bored expression.
"It doesn't seem like that much. I eat that much as a starter course for breakfast." Evan stated.
"You can't be serious. No one can challenge Nora's appetite." Jaune replied.
"You tell him, Jaune. I am the queen of pancakes. This novice of nothing can't possibly rival me when it comes to scarfing down flapjacks!" Nora declared.
"You wanna bet? How about this? If you win, then you can force me to do whatever punishment you wish to inflict on me for the rest of the week. But if I win, then you got to stop with the name calling, just call me Evan ok? Also, you aren't allowed to start or participate in any more food fights? Deal?" Evan explained as he extended his hand forward.
"Deal! Oh ho ho! You are going to rule the day you tried to dethrone the queen! Ren! Bring out some more stacks!" Nora yelled out as she gripped Evan's hand.
As Ren brought forth even more stacks of pancakes to both sides of the table, Yang slid down the table, sitting next to Evan.
"So, you really think you can beat Nora. Good luck with that! Always appreciate someone who's got the guts to go up against her. Although, I got to warn you, the last guy who challenged her was sent to the infirmary for three days. Hey, Blake you gotta see this!" Yang said as she turned toward the black-haired girl.
"After what I saw yesterday, Evan is going to undoubtedly win this contest." Weiss casually commented.
"Whaaat? No way! Nora's got this in the bag! What do you think, Blake?" Ruby exclaimed as she slid down the table, sitting next to Nora.
"I guess Nora will probably win. Just make sure I'm not stuck in the splash zone. Last thing I need is some bits of pancake and syrup getting in my hair or something." Blake said in a monotone voice.
As both sides of the table were filled with stacks of pancakes, Ren stood up as he judged over the event.
"Both contestants will continue to eat until they can't anymore. Whoever eats more in the allotted time wins. You have ten minutes. Ready? Three, two, one, go!" Ren announced.
Instantly, both students began to scarf down pancake after pancake. Nora initially pulled ahead by eating each flapjack whole. In contrast, Evan was eviscerating his food at a steady, yet slower pace. In the background, he could hear Yang cheering him on as well as Blake, although she was not nearly as loud about it. On the other side of the table, he could hear Ruby and Jaune cheer for Nora.
"There's no way she can keep that up, indigestion is going to be her worst enemy pretty soon. This isn't just an eating challenge, it's a test of endurance and how you need to pace yourself." Evan contemplated as continued eating.
As the minutes passed by, both contestants continued to fill their seemingly endless appetites.
"Three minutes remaining!" Ren stated.
So far, Nora had destroyed three entire towers of pancakes, while Evan was at around two and a half towers. Suddenly, Nora's stomach started to rumble as she began to sweat. With each flapjack she ate, she looked more and more uneasy. Soon, it got to the point where she could barely reach her hands out to grab another one. As she laid her head and hands out on the table in exhaustion, Evan continued onwards. Pancake after pancake, Evan got through three towers as the table watched on in both awe and confusion. Ultimately, when the time was over, Evan had eaten four whole towers of flapjacks. As Evan stood in glorious victory, arms high above his head, Nora raised her head in acknowledgement.
"You win…this round…Evan. *burp*" Nora muttered out as she sat in defeat.
"Man…you did it…You did it! I didn't think it was possible! Whoo! Do you even have a stomach down there?" Yang exclaimed as she cheered on.
"It's alright, Nora. You did your best. You'll always be the victor in our hearts." The red-haired girl said as she comforted Nora.
"Now do you see what I mean? Evan's appetite is insatiable. There's no way he would've lost." Weiss stated.
"Yeah…I think so." Ruby replied as she sat there in stunned silence.
As the clock chimed, Yang turned to face Evan. "Sounds like breakfast is over. While it's cool that you won, I just hope you don't spill all that food during Goodwitch's class." Yang explained.
Confused Evan questioned with a confused and honest look across his face, "What do you mean? I'm still hungry after all that. I would have kept going if I had more time."
Yang's concerned smile soon morphed into a look of sheer bewilderment.
—
The seats around the ring were packed. In various chairs, he could see Sun, Neptune, Ruby, and the rest of her friends. As Evan sat next to two random students, he watched the battle continue. As the fight with Blake and Ren raged on, Evan was giddy with excitement. He was going to have the opportunity to fight some many different people. People with different skill sets, weapons, and fighting styles. Oh, it was all so exciting! As Blake used her semblance to create a fire duplicate to blast Ren away, the battle was over.
"Hmmm…That's a pretty powerful semblance. The ability to add an explosive aspect to your shadow. I wonder if-" Evan in the midst thought was cut off by Glynda as she called out to him.
"Mr. Anderson. Evan Anderson! *Sigh* If you could please come down and retrieve your weapons from the locker room, we can commence the next spar." Glynda advised in an irritated tone.
"Anderson? Is that my last name? Did Ironwood decide that? I guess it would be a little weird if everyone had one except me. Whatever, it's fight time!" Evan thought.
As Evan jumped down into the ring he passed by Glynda's desk, he entered an adjacent room. The room was large with various lockers throughout it.
"Ok. Last I remember, I placed my weapons in Locker 251. There it is!" Evan said aloud as he stood in front of his locker. After putting the combination in, Evan opened the door, seeing the white and black case. Opening it up, Evan saw two metallic gauntlets. Each one was coated with white paint. Both gauntlets had blue and black accents along the knuckles and the front side of the hand. Placing his hands in each gauntlet, he could feel the heft and weight of them as he held the gauntlets at his sides. Stepping out of the locker room, he saw Yang standing at the ready.
"So what are the rules here? I want to know how far each of us can go here." Evan inquired.
"We pretty much go until either of our auras are in the red. That's about it." Yang replied as she loaded her weapons.
"How's that going to work for me then?" Evan asked as turned over to face Glynda.
"Wait, you don't have an aura? How's that possible?! I thought that having an aura was mandatory to-" Yang pointed out.
"Mr. Anderson was chosen by trusted Atlas officials to attend Beacon. If they didn't believe that he was prepared physically to attend this school, they would not have sent him in the first place. While aura is most often needed to become a huntsman, there are no rules stating that to be the case. For this fight, Evan will lose if he surrenders, or if an outside judge, such as myself, believes that it would be best to end the fight prematurely." Glynda explained as she cut off Yang.
"But without an aura, I could do some serious damage to him. The shotgun shells alone could mess him up real bad." Yang added.
"Aww, I was really looking forward to this. Come on, cut me some slack, Yang. If there's one thing that I can do is take a punch." Evan asserted toward the blonde student.
"Fine. But you're getting the first hit off. I want to make this fight fair for both of us." Yang stated.
"If that's how you want to do it, ok." Evan replied as he got into a battle stance.
Launching himself forward, he sent a curved punch toward Yang's face. Taking the punch, her aura shimmered as she was pushed backwards. Keeping the pressure on, he moved forward, staying close to Yang. Throwing even more punches her way, Yang attempted to block and counter only to get sent further back by the blows instead. Keeping her distance, Yang ran around the edge of the arena to avoid Evan. Glancing at the monitor, she was surprised to see that her aura was already at 70%. Steeling her resolve, she rushed forward, she kept her limbs close as Evan sent a kick to her side. Seizing the opportunity, she delivered a punch to the gut as Evan's body shuddered from the blow.
However, instead of keeling over, Evan responded with a punch of his own. Her aura flaring up again, she leaped back as she observed her opponent. While mid-air, she noticed electricity begin to spark from his gauntlets. In an instant, Evan fired off a yellow energy blast. Unable to react in time, Yang took the blast head-on as she fell to the ground. Picking herself up, she watched as Evan stood there stretching his arms.
"I hope you're realizing that you don't have to hold back. If you do, I'm just going to wear you down. I want to see you at your best, so give me your best shot!" Evan called out.
In his hand, Evan charged up another yellow energy blast. Firing it out, Yang dodged to the side as stone and concrete split and flew outwards behind her. Sprinting toward Evan, she let out two bursts from her gauntlets. Holding his arms up, he tanked most of the incoming fire. Firing at the ground beneath his feet, she created a cloud of debris. Using her weapons, she propelled herself into the air as she leaped from above the debris cloud. However, realizing her attack, Evan looked upward as he let loose a large barrage of energy blasts. Powering through the pain, she activated her semblance and delivered a powerful strike to his jaw. Tumbling backwards, Evan laid sprawled out on the cold floor. The arena was silent as the seconds came and went. Yang, eyes wide with doubt and fear, muttered out, "E-Evan?" However, just as fast that he had fallen, Evan rose to his feet. Clutching his jaw, with a noticeable bruise from where Yang had landed her punch, Evan looked at Yang with an excited expression.
"Now that, that's what I'm talking about! Woo! What a rush! Gets my blood pumping!" Evan replied as he readied himself once more.
"H-How are you still standing?" Yang stuttered out, her emotions now replaced with utter confusion.
"I guess I'm just made with some tougher skin, I don't know. Maybe my aura works differently than yours." Evan lied as he shrugged his elbows.
"If you're still ok, let's keep this fight going. What do you say?" Evan continued.
"Unfortunately, this fight is over now. Miss Xiao Long's aura is now in the red as you can see." Glynda stated.
Staring up at the monitor, Evan and Yang saw Yang's semblance reduced to 30% as her aura on screen shined red.
"Darn it. Just when it was getting good. Come on, Glynda! Let me go another round with someone else. I got plenty of fuel left in the tank!" Evan claimed.
As Glynda looked at the clock, she turned back to the teen. " *sigh* Since we don't have enough time left for a proper match, how about we have you fight Miss Nikos. I'm certain a match with her should properly fill out the rest of the time that we have left. Miss Nikos, if you could please collect your weapons, we shall begin when you are ready." Glynda decided as she pushed her glasses back into position.
While Pyrrha went to grab her weapons, Evan could hear whispers in the crowd of students. The main thing he could make out was, "He's fighting the invincible girl?"
Confused, he shrugged it off as Pyrrha entered the ring. Her face was painted with a bored, almost sorrowful, expression. Pulling her sword and shield out, she rushed toward the teen. Swinging her sword toward his side, Evan attempted to roll out of the way only to get blasted with a rifle shot as Evan scrambled to his feet. Going on the offensive, Evan fired off an energy blast, only for the attack to be blocked by Pyrrha's shield. Pyrrha eyes were dull as she remained quiet, clearly in her element, as she launched the disc-like shield toward Evan. Striking the shield to the side, Evan watched as Pyrrha rushed him as she prepared her rifle once more. But before she was able to take the shot, Evan pushed the barrel of the gun away with one hand and immediately went in for an attack with the other. For a moment, he felt his gauntlet-covered hand begin to swerve and be pushed away from Pyrrha's stomach, but forcing his arm to go against the mysterious force, he delivered a solid gut punch to her stomach.
Stepping backward, Pyrrha looked down at the injury, more stunned than injured. The monitor showed Pyrrha aura at 95%. The entire room went eerily silent for a few moments before a myriad of whispers erupted in the seats. Facing the student, Evan inquired, "Can I ask you a quick question? So I keep hearing everyone refer to you as "the invincible girl". What's the deal with that? Do you have unbreakable skin as your semblance or something?"
Mild confusion and a glimmer of hope crossed her face as she replied, "Do…Do you not know who I am?"
"Am…Am I supposed to?" Evan questioned further.
As Pyrrha let out a small chuckle, Evan continued, "What's so funny? Was it something I said?"
Composing herself, she grabbed her shield as a big smile crossed her face, her eyes filled with newfound energy and life. "Oh, it's nothing. Forgive me, but what is your name again? It seems to have slipped my mind."
As Evan got into a fighting stance he stated, "Evan. Evan Anderson. You can just call me Evan, though."
"Well then, Evan. What do you say if we continue this fight?" Pyrrha asked.
"I couldn't agree more." Evan said with a smile.
Leaping forward, he pulled his fist back to deliver a powerful blow to the female teen. As she blocked the attack with her shield, Pyrrha pushed Evan back with her shield. Running forward she brought her sword down on Evan, only for the male teen to sidestep the weapon. Quickly, Evan sent a punch flying towards her face. The same bizarre force overcame his hand again, only for Evan to push through and deliver the blow. As Pyrrha's stance loosened, Evan began to move his leg to sweep Pyrrha off her feet. Instinctively, Pyrrha pushed the stock of her gun into Evan's face to stop the teen from continuing.
With Evan disoriented, Pyrrha swung her sword into his side. Taking the attack and his feet firm on the ground, Evan kept standing as he slid across the floor. Keeping his eyes on his attacker, Evan kept his distance as he charged an energy blast in each hand. Sending both attacks forward, Pyrrha dodged the first blast and blocked the second as she closed the distance between them. As Pyrrha took aim, Evan pulled his hand back as the remaining energy blast that Pyrrha avoided flew backwards nailing Pyrrha from behind. With Pyrrha pushed forward from the blast landing, Evan sent his knee upwards into her chin. The blow sending Pyrrha flying, she reoriented herself mid-air as she landed on her feet. Both fighters prepared themselves once more before a voice caused them to cease.
"That is enough. Class is now over, and you all have more courses to attend today. Please be sure to place your weapons back into your lockers before leaving the class." Glynda interjected.
As students walked out the door, Evan and Pyrrha looked up at the monitor. Pyrrha's aura was stated at 75%.
"It's over already? Well, what can you do, I guess. Man, that was a great fight! Good form back there. I really felt that swipe attack from the side. I hope you enjoyed that as much as I did." Evan exclaimed as he rubbed his side.
"It was enjoyable. If you'd like, you could come over to my team's dorm sometime to relax and unwind. It seems that you're a bit sore from today's matches." Pyrrha replied.
"Totally! I don't have much else planned today. Just let me know when. Is that ok with you?" Evan said.
"That sounds delightful." Pyrrha added.
—-
As Evan left the class, he walked out into the hall to see Sun standing nearby. As the monkey faunus sweeped his arm over Evan's shoulder, he proclaimed, "Dude! You were insane out there! I've never seen anyone land a single hit on Pyrrha, let alone multiple!"
"Oh thanks, Sun!" Evan replied.
"No problem. Also, after seeing how you did, I was wondering if you would be interested in kicking some major butt with me and Neptune!" Sun continued.
"What do you mean?" Evan questioned as they walked down the hall.
"Well, you see. Last semester, Blake, her friends, and I fought this guy named Roman Torchwick and a bunch of goons working for the White Fang. I've overheard that they're planning on going out into Vale, later on this week, to go investigate and try to stop them for good. I've already told Neptune about this, and he's willing to help. With you on the team, we could definitely deal some real damage to the White Fang and Torchwick. What do you say?" Sun elaborated.
"Maybe this is my chance to finally do some good in the world. Make my mark as a huntsman in training. With all of us working together, this will be a walk in the park!" Evan contemplated the offer.
"Count me in." Evan agreed.
"Awesome! I'll swing by your dorm to let you know when we're meeting up with Team RWBY. See ya around, Evan!" Sun announced as he sped down the hallway.
As Evan entered his room again, he sat down on one of the beds as he picked up and examined the note left on the scroll:
While you'll be attending Beacon, most of the people there will have their own personal scrolls. You can use your scroll to communicate with any new friends that you make while at Beacon. I've also added Penny's scroll number in case you wish to text or talk with her. I hope you're enjoying Beacon.
Sincerely, Pietro Polendina
Activating the scroll, Evan found his way to the texting application where he found Penny's number already there. Sending a text Evan replied with, "Hey, it's Evan. I just got to Beacon Academy the other day. I met up with Ruby and her friends yesterday. They told me how you guys met last school semester. I was wondering if you wanted to meet sometime this week."
After a minute or two, his scroll vibrated as he got a text from Penny. "Salutations, Evan! I'm so glad to hear from you! Ruby Rose has been such a good friend! We did so much last semester! I should be free to meet up with you later on this week. I'll keep you notified on when we can talk."
Placing the scroll back on the nightstand, Evan swore to himself, "I promise that I'll make you guys proud. Everyone's given so much to me in order for me to be here now. Once we take down the White Fang, I'll return the favor!"
—-
Hi! I've been so pumped up lately with writing that I was able to get this chapter out, ahead of schedule! Don't expect this for every chapter moving forward, though. I would say the next chapter will be out sometime in the middle of next week. I was a little nervous about the length of this chapter at first, but everything seemed to work out in the end. As always, please leave your thoughts on the story, characters, and everything else in the reviews.