Hey everyone! Back for another chapter, making a few changes to introductions, hoping it still shows the same core of the characters compared to canon, but I guess I'll see how that lands! Alright, time for review responses!
MereC55 Chapter 17: I like assertive Ruby too, though she still needs more time to grow into it. Thanks for the support!
AsynchronousTextureStreaming Chapter 17: Yup, finally at Beacon. And I can see what you mean about Weiss, but there's a reason for that, which will be better explained as more of her character is explored, I promise.
And without further ado, on with the story!
Disclaimer: RWBY is owned by RoosterTeeth
Remnant's Greatest Loser
Chapter 18
Lost Regrets
Once Jaune and Ruby got a far enough distance away, the crimsonette started to breathe in and out as deep as she could.
"Woah, Ruby you ok? I gotta say, back there you were-"
"Crazy... scary... outta my... mind?"
The half-blonde rubbed her back to help her calm down as she continued to gulp in air, slightly hunched over in the effort.
"I was gonna say brave, assertive, and amazing, but I guess those words work too," Jaune said with a small chuckle.
Ruby looked up at him with a weak smile, still panting slightly.
"Thanks... I guess. I just... I snapped when she called you weak and pathetic Y'know? I don't like it when you say stuff like that about yourself, it goes double for other people, even if it's strangers!"
Jaune felt a small smile grow at her words, touched by how loyal she was.
"I really appreciate that. Maybe... I should've gotten a bit angry in your defense as well? I'm sorry I didn't-"
"Nope."
Jaune stopped as Ruby held out a hand, getting her composure back by now, giving him a cheery smile.
"One of us had to keep our cool back there. If we both went off... well, we'd probably have had a reason to call her Crater Face if ya catch my drift."
She slammed a fist into her palm to prove her point, causing Jaune to laugh a bit.
"Y'know, that's definitely something Yang would do."
The two teens kept walking forward as Ruby fiddled with her cloak, more or less back to her normal awkward self.
"I-I mean, you're not wrong, and neither is she... sometimes. It's like she says: 'Some people just need to be put in check.' That Schnee girl had it coming, and we both know if it was Yang in my place..."
Both sweat dropped at the potential court case she would have gotten for catching a body-
"Oh crap! She's a Schnee right?! We use SchneeTome and SchneeFlix... You don't think..."
Jaune didn't finish his thought as they both looked up the Schnee's on their scrolls.
Realizing she was the daughter of Jacques Schnee, head of the Schnee Dust Company and owner of various other forms of business throughout the Kingdoms, both paled at the realization.
"J-Jaune... y-you don't think she uh... faked being sorry so she could turn around and uh... sue right?!"
Ruby was terrified that she almost threw hands with someone who was practically royalty!
"U-uhm, I'm almost ... 90% sure she won't sue you for that... I-I mean c'mon that would um... ah ha ha... be so p-petty right?"
Jaune was sweating a bit, tugging at the collar of his shirt to loosen it as he tried to calm himself, lest both of them reach crippling levels of panic.
"Let's... try not to jump to conclusions, like you said right? I'm sure it won't be as bad as we're thinking. Let's just... put this behind us and get inside yeah?"
Ruby put a hand on her chest and took a couple more deep breaths before nodding resolutely.
"You're right. Everything's gonna be fine, we just have to... uhm..."
They both looked around, realizing they... had no idea where they were going.
Before the anxiety could spike up once again, Jaune quickly came up with a solution.
"Let's follow the people! A big crowd heading in a similar direction would totally lead to the school entrance!"
"R-right, totally obvious! Follow the... big crowd of... p-people..."
While it wasn't as debilitating as when she was younger, Ruby still had a bit of Enochlophobia (fear of crowds), so while she continued to move forward, it took a fair bit of courage on her part to put one foot in front of the other to walk into it.
Jaune realized this a bit too late and inwardly kicked himself for forgetting at a time like this.
"It's alright Ruby, I've got you. Would it help if you had my hand to focus on till the crowd thins out?"
Ruby snapped herself out of her daunting ordeal and looked up at her bro bestie, gratitude surging in her silver eyes, her slightly shaking left hand clutching onto his.
"Yeah... thank you," she said quietly, closing her eyes for a moment to gather strength from Jaune and herself to keep moving, before a determined gaze broke through when she opened them again.
"Let's do this!"
They strode into the surging crowd, making it to the entrance at last. The excitement that was somewhat muted by their earlier experience came surging back at full force. They looked around in awe at the school they would soon call home... provided they pass the Initiation of course.
Jaune felt Ruby physically relax once the throng of potential students dispersed, the lockers for weapons and Hunter gear one of the first things they saw, as well as what seemed like a cafeteria further down the hall.
"Hey you twwwooooo! I saved ya both seats!"
A certain blonde made herself known almost immediately, motioning them over, having brought food trays on either side of her.
Ruby waves at Yang, a big grin on her face.
"Hey Yang, we're coming! C'mon Jaune, let's-"
"Hold on a sec, we should probably kill two birds with one stone right?"
"Huh?"
Ruby blinked in confusion as Jaune pointed at the nearby lockers.
"You gotta put your weapon in your locker yeah? Looks like Yang already took care of that."
Ruby then noticed that her sister's weapons in her bracelet form weren't on her wrists.
"O-oh! That's right, totally slipped my mind!"
The red reaper sheepishly pulled her Crescent Rose from behind her cloak, about to find her locker to put it away when Jaune held out his hand.
"I can do it if you want. It'll be easier to hold my place at the table with both of you watching it right? Unless you don't feel comfortable with me holding-"
"-My baby? Nonsense! You're the only other scythe user besides me and Uncle Qrow after all," Ruby chirped, handing him her weapon in her compact form.
"I appreciate your thoughtfulness... definitely something I gotta work on while we're here."
Ruby rubbed the back of her head while Jaune shook his with a soft smile.
"You're fine, if my mannerisms are already rubbing off on you as it is, it won't be a problem at all. Now go on, I'll meet you both there in a bit."
Ruby realized once again what she was doing after the fact, though she wasn't as embarrassed this time, just letting out a small sigh as she went off to join her sister.
"Just don't take too long ok? We'll come looking if you do!"
Jaune chuckled as he waved her off, heading to the locker she was assigned to... which happened to be near a couple of talking girls.
One of them he recognized from earlier, the Schnee, and the other... only a vague recollection.
(Maaaayyybe I can just sneak past and they won't notice-)
"Ah, we meet again... Arc."
(Damnit.)
Jaune hastily put on a nervous smile as he continued to edge to Ruby's locker.
"Ha ha, fancy seeing you this soon Miss Schnee! I'm not looking to start any trouble, ju-just putting my friend's weapon in her locker for her-"
"Oh really. Rose has you run errands for her too? I suppose after her rather... menacing display earlier, I can't really blame you."
Weiss had an eyebrow raised at Jaune's skittish behavior, assuming he too was just as intimidated by the young Huntress as she had been.
(Maybe even for years since they seem so familiar with each other... he's probably been bullied a lot when he was younger, maybe Rose convinced him to come to make a man out of him? With his scrawny physique he certainly needs it.)
"Menacing? Intimidating? Just who is this Rose person," said a taller young woman with red hair in a ponytail, green eyes tinged with confusion.
"Is she strong?"
"She definitely is," Jaune said as he opened the locker to put Crescent Rose inside.
"W-well, at least to me she is, I don't think I'm qualified to really gauge how strong someone is just yet."
Jaune awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck like always, looking to the tall redhead.
"So uhm... I hope you don't think I'm being rude, but you look kinda familiar... have we, met somewhere before? N-not trying to hit on you or anything," he said as he noticed Weiss was about to speak with mild irritation on her face.
"You just seem familiar, but I can't quite place you."
Said girl in question looked a little hopeful at this, maybe this boy could be a friend, someone who didn't know who she was or cared for her reputation... like Weiss appeared to, although she supposed the shorter girl could have been much worse with her approach.
"W-well, you may have seen my face on... P-Pumpkin Pete cereal boxes..?"
She almost winced at this, almost hoping he didn't make a connection beyond that.
Jaune snapped his fingers at that.
"Oh that's right! Me and my sister tried to get 50 box tops together from those to get the hoodie but... even together we just couldn't manage to get them all. She ended up getting me the pajama set with a similar hoodie not too long ago through a sweepstakes instead!"
The redhead giggled at this information, while Weiss rolled her eyes at how juvenile this conversation was getting.
"Well I think that sounds just grand Mr... Arc was it?"
"O-oh, yeah, that's right. Jaune Arc. My sis says it's short, sweet, rolls of the tongue and ladies love it, but I personally don't get the appeal. You think she's yanking my chain?"
This caused the gladiator to start busting up laughing, and even Weiss couldn't hold back a snort, which she quickly hid behind a cough to cover up.
"M-maybe it could-heehee, g-grow on a p-person... I-I'm, P-Pyrrha, Pyrrha Nikos."
A broad smile that made her face glow brighter than her armor greeted Jaune as she held out her hand.
Jaune took it, showing her that he had a deceptively strong grip despite his... slimmer appearance.
"Good to meetcha Pyrrha," Jaune said with a bright smile of his own.
"You seem like you'd be really strong too!"
"Oh! Well um... thanks? I...-"
"Seem?"
The two teens looked to an incredulous looking Weiss.
"Do you really not know who she is?"
"Besides the face on the cereal, I don't."
"I-it's reeealy not necessary to-"
"Oh come on Pyrrha there's no need to be modest," Weiss said with a smug look on her face.
"You're talking to the-"
(oh no)
"Four time Mistralean Champion-"
(please stop)
"the 'Invincible Girl' herself!"
(and another potential friend falls to the wayside.)
Once Weiss finished, Pyrrha had switched to her own fake smile, resigning herself to her fate.
"It is as she says! The 'invincible' part is a moniker I gained after my second win in a row, though I don't see myself as such."
Weiss laughed a little at the continued modesty.
"Nonsense! You are simply amazing Pyrrha, no need to humble yourself to those beneath you! Own your strength, you more than earned it!"
Pyrrha's laugh was just as fake as her smile, which didn't quite reach her eyes, as Jaune noticed the sadness in them.
"Is it... lonley?"
Pyrrha and Weiss turned to the half blonde,confusion in their faces.
"W-what?"
Jaune cleared his throat a little with their piercing stares on him, but continued anyway.
"From what it sounds like, you've been strong for at least 4 years right? Never losing, always winning, no one being able to so much as touch you in a fight. How long has it been since you... had a rival? Someone you could fight as an equal? Isn't it lonely... waiting for someone that could beat you?"
"I-I..." Pyrrha was lost for words, her fake smile long gone, green eyes wide as Jaune's words pierced through her mind and heart like a javelin.
Weiss was flabbergasted at even the idea that anyone their age could even step up to Pyrrha, let alone beat her.
"And what? Are you saying that you could do such a thing?
Jaune put up his hands, quickly waving them in nervous denial.
"Oh no of course not! I'm sure I'd stand no chance as I am now! Y'see, I was born... frail. Everyone is born weak but... I was even weaker than that. Asthma, poor vision, food absorption deficiency..."
Jaune looked down as he said this, remembering the struggles he only recently overcame.
Now it was Weiss's turn to get pierced by his words, mouth slightly open in shock.
"B-but then... h-how are you.."
"How am I here?" Well... I had a lot of help. I worked hard of course but... I wouldn't have gotten strong enough to get here without the support of so many people. I can't explain it all now but-"
"Hey loser, what's taking you so long to- oh, here you are!"
The 3 of them turned to see Yang running up with a sunny smile on her face.
"She's one of my closest friends, like a sister really," Jaune whispered, gesturing to her.
"She along with Ruby were the first to believe in me, and help me get to where I am."
Weiss and Pyrrha just stared as Yang got close enough to grab his head and give him a small noggie, causing his locks to stick up all over his head once again.
"Are you really rizzing up the ladies over here? What, are Rubes and I not good enough for ya?"
"N-no, I was putting C-Crescent Rose away and got pulled into conversation, th-that's all I swear!"
Yang's grin grew wider as she looked up at the two young women.
"Yeah I'm sure it was. Sup, I'm Yang Xiao-Long, this guy's childhood friend and sister figure at your service!"
The other two girls blinked at the display before Pyrrha spoke up first, her smile more genuine due to the... unique situation she was in.
"I am Pyrrha Nikos, a pleasure to meet you!"
The gladiator put out a hand that Yang shook while Weiss spoke next.
"Weiss Schnee. Likewise."
Yang's eyes flashed red for a moment on putting a face to the name that Ruby described, before putting on a more... fake grin for the frigid girl.
"P-Money and... Weiss-Cream.. gotcha!"
Pyrrha blushed at the nickname, secretly hoping this meant that Yang would be another potential friend, since nicknames usually implied as such.
Weiss wasn't quite as happy however.
"Excuse me, that is not how I wished to be call-"
Yang interrupted her with a bark of a laugh.
"After the shit you pulled with Jaune and my sister earlier, be grateful that's all I'm calling you. I'm only being nice cuz you apologized. Don't push your luck, m'kay? Lest I give you a... demonstration on how quickly fire melts, especially since you're already sweating."
Yang's hair ignited briefly to prove her point.
Pyrrha looked between the two young women, curious but not enough to interfere, so long as it didn't come to blows.
Jaune sighed, hoping this wouldn't keep happening whenever they'd interact.
With the fiery blond's words, Weiss immediately put two and two together, and her posture went rigid as she nodded as stiffly as she did outside, feeling a very similar Aura to the one Rose emitted. (Those... sisters are truly dangerous!) Still, one thing she said refused to be ignored.
"Understood. T-tell me something please, Miss Xiao-Long."
Yang stared back impassively, but motioned for her to continue.
"Why do you call him 'loser' if you have such a strong bond?"
"I too am curious about that moniker," Pyrrha piped up. Wouldn't it normally be insulting?"
Yang and Jaune both shared a small smile at this, before the full blonde responded.
"Cuz that's part of who he is. It's what drives him to improve himself, learn from every loss and grow from it. And it's what..."
She looked at Jaune with a fond smile.
Inspires me to wanna be better too!"
Jaune blushed at the compliment as he hung his head a little in embarrassment.
"Aw c'mon Yang, stahp it already..."
Pyrrha and Weiss were stymied by this logic, feeling that in their own ways, this was the exact opposite of how they were raised.
"Alright c'mon Jaune, we'd better get over there before Ruby runs outta patience, get it?"
"Fair enough, though I can't overlook the crappy pun. Especially since you just proved you can do better!"
"Aw c'mon, just this once? I mean ya did get it right?"
"Yeah, and it's still not punny enough to be funny."
"Waaah you're so mean Jaune, gimmie a big sis pass, c'moooon!"
Yang cried anime tears as Jaune waved to the two still processing girls.
"I guess we'll see you tomorrow for initiation then?"
Pyrrha snapped out of it with a small smile.
"O-of course! Your philosophy is... intriguing and I'd like to learn more. And Jaune?"
Jaune looked back as he was leading the still crying Yang away.
"Yeah?"
"If I ever do get a rival that could beat me... I'd like it to be you."
Weiss looked at Pyrrha incredulously as Jaune's eyes widened for a moment, before a big grin spread on his face.
"You got it! I promise I'll be a worthy rival for you!"
Pyrrha felt a genuine big grin grow on her own face as she watched them walk away, a warmth growing in her chest at the interaction. She didn't understand what this meant, she just knew it felt... grand.
"Do you really think he'll be worthy of being your...rival Pyrrha? All the things he said... his physical limitations aside, I just don't see it being possible."
Pyrrha couldn't quite refute Weiss's skepticism, but still...
"His eyes Weiss. I saw no falsehood in them. Despite what he told us seeming too... incredible at face value... I find that I want to believe him.. believe in him even. Is that weird?"
Weiss found that her mouth was starting to go dry, most likely from all the jaw dropping moments she experienced in less than an hour.
( Here's hoping it won't get worse tomorrow.)
"I'll... try to reserve further judgement till I see for myself if he has... potential or not. Anyway, here's to us becoming partners tomorrow!"
With a curtsy, Weiss went on her way, while Pyrrha waved with a soft smile.
(Tomorrow should definitely be interesting.)
Meanwhile, in the cafeteria...
"Wha abbened," Ruby asked with a mouthful of strawberries before swallowing.
"Did you get lost on the road of life or something?"
"Or something," Jaune replied awkwardly as he and Yang sat on opposite sides of the shorter girl, digging into their not as fresh meals.
"Lady Killer over there was spittin' game, and it seemed a certain redhead was eatin' it up, calling him a rival of all things by the end of it."
Ruby choked a bit on her food as Jaune groaned into his plate.
"Dang it Yang, it wasn't like that at all!"
Yang just cackled while Ruby gave Jaune a mock surly look.
"Can't believe you'd flirt with other girls while you had my baby on you! For shame Jaune! Be better."
Yang's cackling turned into full blown laughter at the joke, while Jaune was left sputtering with nothing to say as a retort in his defense.
"Agh, I'm just taking all the L's today. What the heck am I supposed to learn from this?"
Ruby patted him on the back with a smirk as Yang's laughter died down.
"S'ok Jaune. Sometimes... you gotta just take it for the lulz."
Jaune raised an eyebrow at the statement.
"Do you even know what that means?"
Ruby shook her head with a big grin on her face.
"Nope, but it feels like it fits, so why not use it?"
Jaune could only shrug at this as he started to eat again.
"Fair enough."
The three teens fell into a comfortable bit of chatter for awhile after eating their fill, curious about what would happen for Initiation. Just as they began theorizing on what Qrow and Tai meant by 'landing strategies', A voice spoke up over the intercom.
All potential students, please gather in the auditorium, I repeat-
"Looks like that's our cue," Yang said jovially, putting an arm around her most precious people.
"Let's blow this popsicle stand!"
Jaune and Ruby both groaned automatically at her purposefully poor choice of words, but allowed themselves to be pulled along anyway.
"Eeeeyyyyy! Was wondering if we'd bump into you three sooner or later!"
"Indeed, it is rather... fortunate that we made it here at all, despite the detours."
Nora and Ren sidled up beside Jaune as the group of 5 continued their walk to the auditorium.
"Eeeeyyyy yourself Queen Pinkie, Green Tea. How's it going?"
Ren sighed as Nora chuckled at the nicknames.
"We are doing... well, Y-"
"Come oooon, what did we talk about last time?"
Ren immediately realized what she meant, but it still felt weird regardless.
"That I... refer to you as..."
"Yeah?"
"S-s"
"You got this Ren, we believe in you," Ruby chimed in.
"S-Sunny-"
"Almost there, and it'll all be over," Jaune said with a sympathetic look.
"Sunny... Sunny Dragon."
Yang's grin was almost as bright as said sun, giving the shy guy a thumbs up in approval.
Nora high fived her bestie with a whoop.
"I'm so proud of you Renny! Aren't nicknames awesome?!"
Ren blushed slightly in embarrassment, but couldn't deny the small smile he felt grow on his face.
"It just... takes getting used to."
Jaune patted his shoulder in solidarity, shaking his head with a fake put upon look.
"Trust me man, I've been there, believe me. It gets better and worse at the same time."
Everyone laughed as Yang grabbed Jaune for an impromptu noggie, rewarding the 'clever comment'.
As the potential students gathered, their eyes were drawn to the stage in front of them, seeing two prominent figures. The first one in the center, already beginning to speak.
"Welcome everyone. My name is Glynda Goodwitch, licensed Huntress, Professor of Combat Studies and Vice Headmistress of Beacon Academy. I will start this off by saying, how happy I am to see so many bright young faces this year."
Her normally stern face as she surveyed the crowd of youths, softened when her eyes fell on 5 youths in particular, whom she had met personally either because of Torchwick, or because she passed them in the Field Exam.
"Some of you, I have had the honor of testing personally, while most of you have come through a myriad of methods. Whether by scholarship, paid tuition, Field Exams, or other more... extenuating circumstances..."
Professor Ozpin felt a slight chill in the air at her words, fully aware she was calling him out, but appeared unfazed.
With a slight sigh, Goodwitch continued.
"Now that you are here, please understand that the final hurdle is what truly qualifies you, tomorrow's Initiation. It is held every year, and only those who pass that will become official students at this school."
At this, the teens voices began to rise in excitement, many of them looking forward to proving themselves worthy of becoming Hunters.
Before they could get too carried away, Goodwitch suddenly shifted her wand into what looked like a riding crop as she lashed into the podium, the sound carrying enough to quell the clamor of the room.
"However, what you have heard about death happening during Initiation is... very real. We may do our best to prevent it, but it can still happen, hence why those waivers are being passed around as I speak. This is no game everyone. You do not become a Hunter without risk of being hunted yourself. You'd do well to remember that."
Jaune knew the risks, faced death himself even. But he was stronger now, and he would only get stronger still, alongside his friends, family, teammates, and whoever became his partner. He noticed a student walk up to him, probably at least a second year, who had long brown hair in a ponytail, and... more noticeably, rabbit ears growing out of her head. She was wearing what appeared to be the Beacon uniform, holding out a waiver for him to take.
"Thank you miss," he whispered, taking the time to shake her hand briefly much to her surprise.
"I hope to join you here starting tomorrow."
The girl smiled shyly at him, shaking his hand firmly in return.
"I'm sure you will. Good luck!"
As she walked away, both Ruby and Yang lightly elbowed Jaune in the ribs.
"H-hey, it's not my fault she came up to me!"
"We didn't say anything," The sisters whispered in unison, Yang snickering and Ruby mock pouting.
"Then why..."
This time, both of them gave different answers.
"Cuz it was funny getting a reaction out of you," Yang said softly, shrugging as if it was obvious.
"And I just... well...I saw Yang doing it and... it looked... fun?"
Ruby poked her fingers together, looking guilty while stealing glances at Jaune from beneath her hood.
Jaune sighed, shaking his head as he began to read through and sign the form he was given.
"Just... take it for the lulz... right?"
Yang chuckled an affirmative as she got her own form, while Ruby mumbled a half hearted "y-yeah" as she took hers.
A stage whisper from behind came in clutch in a way he didn't expect.
"Don't worry golden boy, I gotcha covered with a little payback!"
"Wha-"
And before anyone could move, Nora lightly sent a spark of static shock to each of the unsuspecting girls, who made surprised yelps before covering their mouths, almost catching everyone's attention.
They both whirled around in surprise, only to see said girl concentrating very hard on reading the fine print of her form, which Ren (begrudgingly adding to the coverup) was helping her with.
Jaune decided to keep this one to himself for once, glad the boot was on the other foot this time.
(Guess I owe someone a stack of pancakes.)
After a few more minutes, everyone had signed their waivers and they were in the process of passing them back to the students going around. Goodwitch began to speak again as all the forms came back.
"All finished then? Alright. Before we end things for the night, Professor Ozpin would like to have a few words."
Goodwitch stepped back as Ozpin took her place on the podium.
"Thank you Professor Goodwitch, and thank you, prospective students, for taking the time, dedication, and bravery to come this far."
Ozpin takes a moment to survey the young adults as Goodwitch did, though instead of a stern gaze, his was a more... empty one, as if he's done this routine... far too many times, even more than his physical age would suggest.
When his eyes landed on two specific youths, his gaze sharpened, a flicker of a smile growing on his face for as long as it takes one to blink, before it's gone.
"I am Professor Orville Ozpin, Headmaster of Beacon Academy. I assure you my message will be brief, but impactful nonetheless.
I see... vast potential in this room. But only a select few, will be able to fully utilize it. And even then, fewer still, will live long enough for that potential to make a difference.
This is not said to discourage, but to empower, to motivate, to prove this statement wrong. The older one gets, the harder it is, to see the forest for the trees, to put your all into making things better, without even considering the idea of sacrificing others for the greater good. So... I implore you all. Do that good now, while you still know who you are, before the world makes you weary, bitter... lost in regrets."
Everyone in the hall was captivated by this speech, not even Goodwitch was expecting the older man to speak like this, thinking he would go with the tried and true rhetoric.
Ozpin rapidly blinked for a moment, his eyes gaining and losing focus, before he took a handkerchief out of his coatpocket and wiped at his eyes.
"Ahem, excuse me I... I forgot myself for a moment. That will be all from me."
Ozpin strode out of the auditorium at a carefully measured pace while Goodwitch walked to the podium once again, looking slightly flustered.
"Yes well, thank you for the speech Headmaster. Tonight, all of you will be gathering in the ballroom, where you will rest until Initiation in the morning. Prepare yourselves as best you can. Dismissed."
And that's it! Initiation officially starts next chapter, and I'm actually pretty excited for it, hope you all are too! Read and Review, let me know what you think! Peace!