Howdy folks, how's it going?
I'd make apologies about how long it takes me to update, but by now you've all probably learned to take whatever I say regarding that with a grain of salt.
Life's been hectic for me lately. But since the 3rd Volume of RWBY has been released today, I decided to post this chapter to celebrate and to make a surprise for you guys :) .
I'm certain some would've preferred if "Beneath a Broken Moon" got updated instead. I apologize, but this was the one I managed to get up and running in time.
That said, I'm glad my little stunt with Jaune last chapter was so well recieved. From the moment I came up with this fic, I had decided to make the dork the wielder of a champion's weapon, but originally I was going to go with Ezreal. But then I thought it didn't fit all that well, and I began considering other champions, like TF, Jax, Yi, and even the Donger at one point. Then I remembered that team JNPR is based on historical and mythological figures that crossdressed at some point. From there it didn't take me long to decide on Irelia.
That said, a few of you have expressed a wish/aversion for a RubyxJaune pairing. Let me assure/disapoint you. It's not gonna happen. They'll be friends, but that's it.
Also, obligatory shout out to Chaos Productions for his continued assistance in the making of my stories :).
Now, to answer a few of the reviews:
Leez: Your main point of concern has been answered above. Now about Jaune being a Stu, trust me, that's the last thing I want. The Jaune of this story went through a slightly different set of circunstances from his canon counterpart, but while he's somewhat more competent, that doesn't mean he doesn't have his own set of issues that need solving.
Pickle the chicken: Didn't see it coming, did ya xD?
You're right that there might be some similarities m8, but don't expect every one of them to be rocking those champions' weapons. A very long time has passed, after all.
Bonestar: That's something I still need to brainstorm about, to be honest. Vi would be the obvious answer, but you should've noticed by now I don't always go with the obvious answer.
Of course she did, it's rude for a guy to assume things about a girl's age xD.
Mistlettain:I've done my job well then.
Think of it this way. Enough time has passed that the continents of Runeterra/Remnant shifted to their current configuration.
Why Ruby remembered the Shurimans will be revealed in time.
Also, that woman was a recent memory, more specifically it's her mother, Summer. The cloak being red instead of white was a blunder on my part.
Xbox432: Most of the champions are long gone at this point m8, it's just that some were lucky enough that people continued their legacies. On your second point, this chapter should shed some light on the matter.
With an m16: Noticed the pattern, did you?
Well, I'll say this. The mid laner will be showing up shortly...
With that out of the way, enjoy the chapter :) .
/
The sun was rising on the horizon, bathing Beacon Academy with its rays, the pure light giving the already majestic building a sense of splendorous wonder for anyone who actually bothered to enjoy the sight. But for many of students, the new day also brought along anticipation.
This was it.
Today they would finally prove they were worthy of going down the path of the Huntsmen.
These were the thoughts in the minds of many of them as they woke up, ate their breakfast and prepared their gear for the trial ahead.
However, it seemed that not everyone was affected by this mood.
/
One of the advantages of Ruby's weapon of choice was the fact that it made "gear preparations" completely unnecessary.
However, due to the fact that she could feel her little sister's gaze boring into her back, Yang had some understandable trouble in appreciating said advantage.
The younger girl was patiently waiting for her while sitting in one of the locker room's benches, all the while petting that bird... Merle, Yang reminded herself, it had a name now.
"Soo... Ruby... Feeling ready?" The blonde asked with a somewhat forced smile.
"Yes."
"You know... I've heard that during Initiation, we'll be paired up and placed in teams. What if... we don't end up in the same one?"
"Won't happen." Ruby replied with a certainty that sent a chill through her sister's spine.
"A-alright... But how will you deal with the others? You..."
Yang hesitated on how to put it. 'Haven't talked to anyone besides your family and that Jaune guy since you were four?', 'Have this freaky feeling about you that makes people stay the heck away?', 'Are just plain scary?'.
"... Are not exactly a team player..."
Ruby kept silent for a long moment, both her and the crow on her lap staring at the older girl and tilting their heads slightly with disturbing synchronicity.
"Can work with teammates..." She sounded almost perplexed by the statement.
/
On some other spot in the locker rooms, Jaune was collecting his blades from the locker. It was a good thing he and the ancient weapons shared a... connection of sorts, or else it was very likely he'd miss Initiation just trying to find the freaking right locker.
"You ready for this?" He asked the inanimate objects. A faint humming noise and a feeling of reassurance were his answer, making him smile.
Ever since he had first touched the weapons, Jaune knew that there was something about them. Whenever he found himself sad, angry or otherwise emotionally distressed, they had been a soothing presence, as if they were trying to console him, washing away doubt and fear. In battle,the blades sometimes moved even without his command to defend against an attack he hadn't seen coming, almost as if they had mind of their own.
And now he knew why.
His blades... Irelia's blades.
An echo of the ancient warrior's soul lingered within them. All this time, he had had his very own guardian angel. It had for some reason he couldn't fathom decided he was worthy of wielding her swords, to learn her fighting style. It had been there to help him whenever he needed it.
Weapon placed at his back, Jaune noticed a pair of girls talking close by. One of them was Whitey, and the other was a redhead wearing armor that reminded him of some illustrations he'd seen in very old books.
"... perhaps we could be on the same team?" Whitey was asking.
"That would be grand." Red answered politely.
What was this about teams?
As Whitey seemed to celebrate the success of some evil plot, Jaune approached the girls.
"Excuse me."
Both of them stared at him. Unnoticed by the blond, Red brightened slightly when she saw him.
"Hi, sorry for interrupting, but what were you saying about teams?"
They seemed somewhat surprised by the question.
"Well, Hunters work in teams of four people. So it's quite likely that during Initiation, we'll be sorted out pairs, and then in teams." Red supplied helpfully.
"I see. Makes sense, I suppose." Jaune nodded in understanding. "Any idea how this sorting works? Like, is it random or...?"
"I'm afraid I don't know." She answered apollogetically.
"Eh, no biggie, we just have to wait and see. Who knows, we might end up as teammates."
"That would be great." The girl replied with a smile, a lot more sincerely than before. This didn't go unnoticed by Whitey, who did not enjoy being pushed aside from the conversation.
"Excuse me. Do you even know who you're talking to?"
Jaune's eyes widened, and Red's smile thinned a bit.
"Ah damn, we haven't been properly introduced, have we? My bad. Name's Jaune. What are yours?" Calling her "Whitey" all the time would get old very fast.
"It's alright." Red relied, a barely noticeable tension in her tone. "I'm Pyrrha Nikos. Hey there."
"Weiss Schnee" The shorter girl replied, annoyed by his missing the point, yet obliged to return the courtesy. "And as it happens, Pyrrha here graduated at the top of her class at Sanctum Academy."
"No kidding?" Jaune asked, looking at Pyrrha with an eyebrow raised. "Congratulations."
"Thank you." The girl replied.
"...She's the four times winner of the Mystral regional tournament. A new record."
"That some sort of fighting competition?"
It took both girls a few seconds to process the question, for entirely different reasons.
"Uh, yes."
The blond gave a low whistle.
"Damn, you must be pretty good. We should spar some time."
"That... That sounds good." The redhead replied, her smile once again in full bloom.
"Rrgh... She's on the cover of every Pumpkin Pete's Marshmallow Flakes cereal box!" Weiss shouted while wildly shaking her arms, no longer capable of holding in her frustration.
"Neat." He said while looking at the girl in question, who thanked him and mumbled something about unhealthy food. "But what's that got to do with anything?"
"Do you honestly believe that you're in any position to ask to be her teammate?" The girl asked harshly, which earned a stern look from the champion.
"I didn't ask anything, but why not?" Jaune said neutrally, already guessing where this was going. Damn shame, she was cute.
"Why not? Pyrrha's a champion. The strongest amongst the new students! And you..."
The heiress was so into her rant she didn't notice the blond boy tuning her out, nor the mischievous smirk he gave while glancing behind her.
"Morning, Ruby."
Weiss froze...
"Hi, Jaune."
… Then paled and broke into a cold sweat at the response coming from behind her, much to Pyrrha's confusion and Jaune's amusement. Slowly, she turned her head...
The girl with the mismatched eyes was standing there, that crow on her shoulder glaring at the heiress and the taller blonde slightly behind her, looking on in concern.
"Meanie." The red cloaked girl said in way of a greeting with a nod to the petrified heiress, then turned to the redheaded girl.
Ruby blinked.
Merle blinked.
Pyrrha blinked, suddenly feeling uncomfortable.
"... Don't know."
"Oh right, introductions." Jaune gave a glance towards Weiss, who was slowly positioning herself behind a very confused Pyrrha.
"I believe you're already acquainted to Weiss." He said dryly. "And this is Pyrrha. Pyrrha, these are Ruby and her sister Yang."
"Caw!" The crow cawed in annoyance.
"Sorry, and Merle."
"Hello." Pyrrha greeted in somewhat forced politeness.
"Yo." Yang greeted uncertainly.
"...Hi." Ruby greeted with her usual blank expression.
"Caw." Merle greeted with a wave of his wing.
…
…
Before the ensuing silence could reach truly awkward levels, the intercom blared an announcement summoning the new students to the Beacon cliffs.
"Well, let's get going then." The heiress spoke quickly as she made for the exit in haste, followed by a somewhat relieved Pyrrha.
Shortly after, Ruby also made her way to the exit. But as Jaune made to follow, a hand fell on his shoulder. He looked to the side to find Yang staring at him expectantly.
"How do you do it?"
The blond boy blinked in confusion.
"Do what?"
"Ruby... talks to you. She hasn't done that in years. How do you do it?"
'How can you stand being near her?' was the unspoken question, and Jaune picked up on it.
"We just talked." The blade wielder said tersely, as he shrugged free of her grip.
"True, Ruby has an... unpleasant feeling about her, but it's not her fault. She's actually a pretty nice girl underneath that blank face."
Jaune gave the older sister a look that caused her to look away in discomfort.
"It's just a matter of getting to know her. I made more progress than anyone else because I actually bothered to try. Perhaps you should get on with that?" He asked before turning to leave, the harshness in his tone causing her to flinch.
Part of her wanted to deny what he said. Part of her wanted to punch his lights out for that jab. Part of her wanted to scream in frustration.
But he was right.
It hadn't been Ruby's fault. It had been hers.
Now, she didn't know her sister.
And as much as she loathed herself for it, she couldn't find the courage to.
/
"It will be in your best interest to partner with someone you can work with..." Ozpin addressed the new students as they stood in a row at the edge of the beacon cliffs, most of whom where listening intently, faces tense with anticipation.
Yang glanced to the side, to find her sister looking at her, then at Jaune, who smiled in return, then back at her in apparent confusion.
"That being said, first person you make eye contact with will be your partner for the remainder of your time here."
"There's a flaw in that logic somewhere..." Jaune muttered, earning a "caw" of agreement from Merle.
After a few more instructions on how to proceed, Ozpin finished by delivering a warning.
"Lastly, I should warn you that our surveillance system has shown us that the Grimm all over the Emerald Forest have been showing odd behaviors since last night. They're being unusually restless and aggressive. I am certain it's nothing that you can't overcome, but do not hesitate even for a second, or you will die. Any questions?"
He was met with silence, and faces that ranged from determined, to excited, to nervous, to blank.
Many took stances.
Yang put on her aviator glasses.
Jaune took a deep breath to steady himself.
Ruby just stood there as Merle took flight.
With that said, and no questions from any of the initiates, the newest generation of Huntsmen and Huntresses where launched one by one into the Grimm infested forest.
/
As Ruby dashed through the air, her body limp and Merle keeping up beside her, a single thought crossed her mind.
Find Yang. And if possible Jaune. She refused to be in a team without her sister. And while she could work with others, Jaune wouldn't shy away from her like everyone else.
He was a friend, after all.
Soon, her descent began.
Her pupils shrank.
Her eye began glowing.
And soon, the sounds of hundreds of flapping wings and screeches filled the air...
/
'Alright Weiss, keep it together.' The white-haired girl thought to herself as she used her glyphs as a ladder to gracefully descend towards the forest floor.
Her entrance in Beacon Academy was supposed to have been the first step in showing everyone that she was more than just the heiress of the Schnee Corporation. That Weiss Schnee was her own person.
But things haven't been going her way.
Mainly because she crossed paths with that little psychopath every damn time.
She shuddered as she remembered the little menace that held a scythe to her throat, and the unnerving feeling she released... it just wasn't natural.
A rustling of the leaves on a nearby tree made the girl jump.
'Get a grip, Weiss. She's not anywhere near here. Just stay calm, find Pyrrha, and go from there...'
Yeah, stick to the plan, and things would go better. She was sure of it.
The Universe replied to that certainty by having a murder of crows slam into the ground directly in front of her, the frenzied cawing drowning out her panicked shriek as she jumped back in fright.
Weiss gawked in shock, as she raised a trembling finger to point at the sight in front of her.
No... No way she was this unlucky.
Standing in the middle of the dispersing flock was the little monster, staring around the clearing in search of something.
The last remaining bird landed on the small girl's shoulder, before looking directly at the heiress.
Please, no.
"Caw." It uttered in displeasure.
Her head turned, and mismatched green and silver met icy blue.
…
…
"...Partners."
With that said, the red cloaked girl walked past Weiss and grabbed the collar of her dress, dragging the shell-shocked heiress along.
Merle squawked in a regretful manner.
/
As he dashed through the air, Jaune considered his options.
He was supposed to partner up with someone. Ruby was the first to come to mind. She was pretty cool despite how quiet and unnerving she was, and as he had said to her, those without all of the fancy training should stick together. He also still had so much he wanted to ask her. Seriously, what where the odds that he'd find such a treasure trove of information by coming to this place he disliked on general principle? He'd learned more about the ancients in a few hours of talking to the unusual little girl than in the six years before that!
Pyrrha could be another option. She seemed like a nice girl, and if Weiss' babbling was any indication, she was a very capable fighter.
And... That was it, actually. He couldn't help but feel that it was kinda sad that the only two people he'd actually got a good impression of were the outcast and the superstar, even if it was just the first day.
As the ground neared, the blond shifted so he'd land feet first. Simultaneously, the blades sprang to action, moving beneath him in order to provide him with a place to stand. From a realistic standpoint, the weapons that hunters favored were impractical to say the least. And to the casual observer, his blades took the cake. Bad enough they had no handles, how could he possibly use four at the same time?
The answer was the whole basis of the Hiten Style, something that admittedly took him a while to figure out.
His will.
It was what allowed him to slow his descent and glide into the woods like he was riding an overboard.
He hit the ground with a satisfied grin.
A perfect landing.
"Gggrrrrr..."
…
...Smack-dab at the entrance of a Beowolf den, where about four of the creatures where glaring at him.
God dammit.
"I don't suppose you fellas would happen to be of the tame variety?"
The nearest Grimm answered by charging at him, a move that was quickly mimicked by the others.
"Can't blame me for trying..." He muttered as he took a combat stance, weapon floating at his side.
The beast pounced on the blade wielder, jaws open wide and aiming squarely at his throat.
With a twirl, Jaune sidestepped out of the monster way, even as at his command two of his swords detached from their formation and moved forward in a cross slash, parting the Beowolf's head from his shoulders. Part of him noticed how it still tried to bite him for a few moments before the beast registered it was dead.
The second one tried to hammer its claw down on his head. He brought his arms up to block in a shielding motion, the remaining blades coming along for a cross parry. Either not caring or unable to stop the momentum, his opponent effectively lopped off it's own arm. Like water flowing throw a rock, Jaune spun to stand behind it, the first two blades slicing the beast in two as they flew to rejoin their siblings.
He didn't wait for the third one to come at him. He dashed towards the beast with enough speed catch it off guard, and with his arm making the motion of a palm strike, willed all four blades to impale themselves on the creature's torso. The Beowolf staggered backwards and roared in a rage, even as it tried to reach its prey. Jaune calmly splayed his fingers, and like a blooming flower the four blades separated, tearing the Grimm apart.
He turned to deal with the last one...
A loud bang rang out, and he found it falling at his feet, a large hole going through its skull. The beast still crawled towards him, it's single remaining eye glaring hatefully. He responded by beheading the thing.
Jaune looked in the direction the shot had come from, and dark blue met vivid green.
"Hello." Pyrrha greeted, as she rested her gun-turned-spear on her shoulder. "Sorry to intrude. I thought it best not to take any chances."
"No problem." Jaune dismissed with a smile. "Better him than me."
"Indeed." She replied with a smile of her own. "I suppose this makes us partners."
"Seems that way. And I was just thinking you'd make a good partner too. Guess I'm lucky."
The blond missed the slight blush his words caused on the red haired girl entirely.
"S-so, let's work together from now on, then."
"You got it, partner."
The duo nodded at each other.
"Well, now." The blond began as he looked at their surroundings. "We where lucky. These guys were pushovers, but they're the runts. The rest of the pack can't be too far from here. We could probably take them, but that's not what we're here to do. We should get moving."
Pleasantly surprised by her new partner's assessment, the champion nodded her approval.
"Sounds reasonable. I must say, Jaune, you seem quite experienced at this. You handled those Beowolves perfectly."
"Meh." The blond replied with a shrug. "When you spend so much time traveling through the limits of the kingdom, you learn a few things."
Pyrrha considered those words then watched curiously as his blades sheathed themselves at his back.
"Is that your semblance?" She asked with obvious interest. "Some sort of telekinesis? Or magnetism control?"
"Eh, yes and no. It's kinda hard to explain..."
Before he could start, a series of howls echoed in the distance.
"Aaaand that would be our cue to leave."
Pyrrha blinked in confusion as Jaune's mood shifted from laid back to depressed.
"For once, just for once, I'd like to take a walk without being immediately beset on all sides by murderous Grimm..." He muttered somberly.
What a curious, interesting partner she got.
/
As Yang landed on the Emerald forest, she honestly did not know what she should do.
A part of her wished for nothing more than to find a partner, any partner really, that wasn't her sister.
But as quickly as that thought crossed her mind, guilt made itself known to the older sister.
'What am I thinking? Ruby's my sister. I have to find her.'
'Then again, Ruby's more than capable of handling herself...' That part of her whispered.
The blonde shook her head.
'No, I have a responsibility. I must keep and eye on her.'
'Must I really? She doesn't care, she never did.'
'No, that's not true. She has people she...'
'Yes, people like Jaune. They "talked". One day here and some schmuck from out of nowhere manages what I never could. Get silent, terrifying Ruby to open up. She doesn't care...'
'But what right do I have to be angry? My selfishness is the reason she ended up like this. It was MY fault!'
So caught up was she in her turmoil, that Yang didn't move from her spot for a while. Then, a rustling came from the bushes in front of her.
"Ruby?" She asked, her tone uncertain, expectant and frightened all at once.
An Ursa came roaring out of the bushes, charging directly at her. The blonde reacted immediately by punching it in the face, sending the massive beast flying backwards.
"I'm reeeeally not in the mood for this, big guy..."
The Grimm rose unsteadily, shook it's head and then roared loudly.
Yang prepared to fight, but then she heard another rustling behind her. Quickly she ducked, which allowed her to dodge a second Ursa's strike.
"Gonna take more than th..." The blonde went quiet as she noticed something floating in the air in front of her, gently descending towards the ground.
A single strand of golden hair.
The girl lowered her head, her beautiful golden locks hiding her eyes from view.
With all that she was going through, with all the crap she had to suffer through, and this fucking monster still had gal to...
Touch.
Her.
Hair.
That was the last fucking straw.
The air around Yang seemed to grow hotter. Flames seemed to flow from her golden mane. The lilac of her eyes bled away, giving place to furious red.
"RaaaaAAAAARRRRGH!"
With a bellow that easily rivaled the monster's earlier roar, the berserk blonde charged towards the Ursai. Surprised, the smaller of the beasts didn't even have time to react before a devastating uppercut crushed its jaw, the resulting explosion killing it instantly, and sent it flying away. It landed a fair distance away from the scene, crashing through a couple of trees and landing on its head.
Yang would never know this however, as she immediately turned her attention to the remaining beast. The larger Ursa tried to swipe its claw at her, but she merely tanked the hit, grabbed the monster's arm with one of her own, and then delivered a punch to its chest, throwing it back with such force that its arm was ripped right off. The dazed beast barely had time to recover before the enraged huntress was upon it, delivering a flurry of strikes, flesh tearing and bony plates shattering with each furious blow. Unable to withstand the onslaught, the Ursa fell backwards, but Yang was far from over. Moving so she was somehow straddling a monster over two times her size, she cocked her fist and punched the struggling Grimm square on the face.
And again.
And again.
And again.
And again.
"That's enough!"
The blonde looked up, and blood red met weary amber.
"It's dead." The black haired girl said neutrally. "Don't tire yourself out needlessly."
Breathing heavily, her eyes returning to their normal color, Yang looked down, staring at the devastated ruin that had once been the Ursa's head, which was already beginning to dissolve.
"Sorry about that." She said in an embarrassed manner as she rose. "This son of a bitch caught me in a bad mood."
"I can see that." The other girl replied. "I heard the roars and was near enough to come check it out. Seems you had it handled."
"Pft, Yeah. It's gonna take more than these overgrown teddy bears to bring me down."
The other girl did not answer.
"Sooo, we made eye contact. Guess that makes us partners, then? I'm Yang Xiao Long, by the way."
Yang felt a brief rush of satisfaction, followed immediately after by a wave of shame.
"Blake Belladonna. And so it would seem."
"Alright, then, let's head North then?" This girl seemed like the serious type, and Yang wasn't really in the mood to joke around.
The other girl simply nodded, and the duo began to walk.
"Say." The blonde started, her new partner raising a brow at how uncertain she sounded. "You wouldn't happen to have seen a girl with a red hood, would you?"
Now, it was Yang's turn to raise an eyebrow as the black haired girl froze, then stared at her with a paling face.
"Ragged orange scarf? Mismatched eyes? Always with a crow on her shoulder?"
"Uh, yeah?"
"You know her?" Blake asked, with a tone that indicated she really hoped not.
"She's my sister."
Loosing any pretense of calmness, Blake's bow somehow seemed to droop, and she let out a long, fearful whimper.
It would seem that Ruby had been making an impression.
/
Far below the forest where the students where now partnering up, something was asleep.
It had been asleep for millennia now. And why should it not? There had been no prey in the outside world that its brethren couldn't handle. Nothing that would warrant its involvement.
But now, for the first time in millenia, something caused it to stir from its slumber...
A smell...
A familiar smell...
A low rumble shook the cavern as it hissed angrily, and then returned to sleep.
For now...
/
And that's that.
What did you guys think?
Next chapter we'll see more forest shenanigans, some fights, and then we'll find out what's slumbering beneath the earth...
But to save everyone the disapointment, I'm not gonna post a schedule this time around. It will be out when it's ready. For now, know that I will be working on both BBM and that DxD fic I mentioned.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a RWBY episode to watch.
Cya all on the next one :) .