AN: Hey guys, if you haven't read my previous update already, I'm now back in college. So expect my stories to come at a slower pace but I'm going to keep trying, don't worry. And with recent stuff going on in RWBY, I thought this would be a good chance for me to update my Faiz story. Now…Showtime!
Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY or Kamen Rider Faiz.
Chapter 8: Friends
Makoto was in the forge of the weapon room late night, making upgrades to his sword. He would usually do it in his own dorm…until his team kicked him out for making them stay up too late.
"Just need to rewire this…carefully…" Makoto said as he made a few adjustments with the components in the hilt of his sword. He then looked at the clock to see that it was 1:00am. It didn't bother him, he was used to late nights before applying to Beacon.
He then took out his Faiz Phone and displayed a holographic display of his notes regarding this upgrade for his sword.
"Looks like, I'm almost done. Just need to see if this…" Makoto then twisted a wire before a spark emerged from the hilt, making Makoto jump back a little and drop his phone.
Makoto looked like he was about to curse before noticing his phone displaying a holographic blueprint that he hasn't seen before. His mind started to wonder how this blueprint got there until one thought hit his mind.
'Mom…'
Makoto's mother must've placed this in before she died. Makoto immediately cleared the table before grabbing his Driver and making adjustments to them.
(Play This Will Be the Day by Jeff Williams)
The song begins as Makoto looks over a cliff and in the bottom was a ruined facility with the Smart Brain logo.
[They see you as small and helpless. They see you as just a child. Surprise when they find out that a warrior will soon run wild.] As Makoto looks at the facility, in his shadow was the Wolf Orphnoch. He tightly grips the Faiz Gear in his hands as he remembered his mother's dying words.
As the wind blows past him, the title appears.
[Prepare for your greatest moments. Prepare for your finest hour. The dream that you've always dreamed is suddenly about to flower.] Kiba kneels before Dark Decade but there is obviously a troubled look on his face. Echo hides in the woods while gripping on to her weapons. Tiber looks at the city with his sniper before leaving his spot.
[We are lightning. Straying from the thunder. Miracles of ancient wonder.] We see an army of Grimm but they are replaced with an army of Orphnochs. We soon see Leo and Roman in front of a legion of goons. Then we see the members of Lucky Clover and in front of them is the mysterious CEO of Smart Brain. We soon see the members of Team MYTE in a circle, Makoto notices something before the four of them charged.
[This will be the day we've waited for. This will be the day we open up the door. ] While fighting, we soon see the four in their Rider forms fighting the Orphnochs.
[I don't wanna hear your absolution. Hope you're ready for a revolution.] Then we see the members of Team JNPR looking at a statue in front of the school. We soon see Team RWBY practicing their weapons.
[Welcome to a world of new solutions. Welcome to a world of bloody evolution.] We see Ozpin, drinking his coffee, with Goodwitch next to him on an airship.
[In time, your hearts will open minds. A story will be told…] We see each member behind their respective symbols. Then we move in front of Beacon and see every character one by one with the last one being Makoto.
[Because victory is in a simple soul!] We soon see Faiz practicing his sword before stopping when the title appears.
(The next morning in the Amphitheater)
Echo had an annoyed look as a sleep-deprived Makoto was sleeping on her shoulder and drooling on it. She then looked at Kiba and Tiber who both appeared to be whistling.
"Why am I letting this idiot sleep and drool on me?" Echo remarked, obviously sounding very pissed.
"You have the softest skin on the team." Tiber said with a light chuckle but that was instantly turned to silence as Echo gave her twin brother a deadly stare.
"And you have the biggest mouth." Echo muttered while trying to find her happy place.
Glynda was giving a lecture before seeing Makoto sleeping. She then had a scolding look on him.
"Mr. Inui?"
"Five more minutes…" Makoto said sleepily before Glynda calmly walked up to him and…
SMACK!
Glynda smacked Makoto in the face with her horsewhip, instantly waking him up.
"Ow! What the hell!?" Makoto said before…
SMACK!
"Hasn't anybody ever taught you proper language?" Glynda scolded, as the class except RWBY, YTE, and JNPR laughed.
Makoto looked around before realizing what he did and blushed in embarrassment. Glynda pushed her glasses up before looking down at Makoto.
"Well since you're awake Mr. Inui, perhaps you'd like to volunteer first."
"In what?"
"If you were paying attention, you'd know that I was just lecturing on Aura and its use in battle." Glynda said. "I was going to ask for volunteers to participate in a couple battles and it looks like you're my first 'volunteer', correct?" Glynda finished in a menacing tone which made Makoto half-scared to death.
"S-Sure, it would be my pleasure!" Makoto said, trying to regain his composure.
"Good, now to find you an opponent…" Glynda said as she scanned the room for willing volunteers. She kept looking before finding the right student. "Perhaps you'd like a chance, Ms. Rose?"
Ruby looked surprised but at least she was being forced like Makoto. She soon thought about it. She and Makoto saw each other fight, so a clear outcome is most unlikely. Fighting each other would be a first. But given that she didn't want to look bad, Ruby accepted.
The two got up and went to the center of the area before looking at each other. Makoto took out his sword while Ruby got her scythe. The two took a combat position as everyone started to watch with interest.
"Ready….begin!" Glynda said before Makoto and Ruby charged at each other. Ruby went for the first strike but Makoto ducked before punching her in the gut with an uppercut.
'Oh, I'm going to feel that later…' Ruby thought as she felt the pain. She then kicked Makoto in the face, making him stumble back a little.
Before Makoto can regain his composure, he sees Ruby charging straight at him. Just as she swung her scythe, Makoto barely ducked underneath Ruby before grabbing her by the waist and and throwing her to another part of the fighting area.
As they were fighting, the class looked up and saw Makoto and Ruby's pictures with a meter under each of the two pictures. Meanwhile Ruby landed on her feet before pinning the blade of Crescent Rose into the floor before looking through the scope and pulling the trigger.
Despite a lack of training in Aura, Makoto used his to take a couple of the shots as best as he can, causing the meter underneath Makoto's picture went down a little.
'Think, Makoto! Think!'
Makoto then ran and avoided the shots before using his other hand to transform his phone into its gun mode. Makoto typed a number and pressed Enter before firing at Crescent Rose. Ruby braced herself but the shot didn't seem to do anything to her or Crescent Rose.
Ruby shrugged before trying to fire again, only for Crescent Rose to shock her.
"Now's my chance!" Makoto said before running straight at Ruby and punching her in the face, making her fly and skid against the floor.
"Ow…." Ruby groaned as she sat up before noticing that Crescent Rose wasn't in her hands. She looked to see that it was still in its sniping position. Makoto noticed and grabbed it before tossing it to Ruby, surprising her and a few members of the audience.
"Hey, I'm not one to fight unfair but…" Makoto fired a few times at Ruby, making her use Crescent Rose to block them. "I can't hold much back here."
"Then I'll do the same." Ruby said before she charged and Makoto did the same. The two slashed their weapons against others' waists as they went past each other. The two then stayed in placed for a good time before…both of them fell onto the ground.
"Ow." Both of them said before looking at the meters to see that they were both near depletion.
"An adequate match, Mr. Inui and Ms. Rose." Glynda said as the two stood up and placed their weapons away. She then looked at Makoto. "I will comment that it was quite honorable for you to give your opponent back her weapon but remember that you cannot do it in a real fight."
"Yes, ma'm."
Glynda then looked at her Scroll.
"Alright, I think you two had enough, you can go back to your seats." Glynda said before Makoto and Ruby went back to sit with their respective teams. Glynda then looked at the clock hanging up to see that there was time for one more match. "Alright, can I have…Mr. Arc and Mr. Winchester up?"
The two boys got up and went to the fighting area while their pictures were on display with a green meter below each of them.
"Alright, you know the rules." Glynda said as she went to a safe distance. "You two may fight."
As they were fighting, both Makoto and Ruby were talking to their teams.
"So how was Ruby?" Echo asked, curious since the two were good friends and this is the first time that they fought.
"She's good. I can see why got here two years earlier." Makoto replied.
"I was half-expecting you going easy on her, considering how close you are with her." Echo teased, making Makoto blush and the other two to chuckle.
"R-Ruby is a remarkable girl. I respect her a lot as a good friend, nothing more and nothing less." Makoto waved off.
"Whatever you say, Inui. Whatever you say." Kiba said as he and the others pretended to buy that but Makoto could tell by their expressions.
Meanwhile Ruby rubbed the stomach that Makoto punched a little while ago.
"I'm so glad I didn't eat much of a breakfast." Ruby said as her stomach just stopped feeling pain.
"I have to admit, I did not expect Makoto to shock you through your own weapon." Blake said as she recalled the fight.
"I should've seen it coming in hindsight. Makoto and I modified his gun to shoot different type of things." Ruby said as she rubbed Crescent Rose in its concealed form to make sure that she doesn't get shocked again.
"And how are you feeling? That was good shot to the gut that he just gave." Yang pointed out, since she was an expert at punching things.
"Don't worry, Sis. I can take a few hits but next time, I'll make sure he doesn't get that chance." Ruby said confidently as she looked at Makoto talking to his teammates.
Weiss then looked at her.
"Were you holding back?" Weiss asked. "It wouldn't surprise me considering you have a crush on him."
Ruby immediately blushed and looked at Weiss.
"W-Where did you get that assumption!?" Ruby asked, trying to calm down a bit so that she doesn't cause a scene. "I'm too busy on studying and hunting Grimm!"
"It's a bit obvious. You two practically locked yourselves in the armory at weekends and some nights. You're nice to each other, you have the same weapon talk, and to top it all off, you're blushing." Weiss pointed out, making Ruby cover her face in her hood.
"Oh yeah? What about you and Tiber?" The hooded Ruby countered.
"What are you talking about?" Weiss asked with a calm face but she was blushing in her mind.
"You act nice around him, you're supportive of him, and-."
"It's called being a good friend!" Weiss denied but…
"I heard you talk in your sleep last night." Ruby said with a sly smile, instantly making Weiss blush. "I have to admit Weiss, for someone that claims I am a child, you certainly talk a lot about fairy tales more than I do."
"Oh what did she say? You have to give me the details!" Yang said as she and Blake looked at Ruby.
Weiss then covered Ruby's mouth, muffling her voice.
"Hey, let's just watch the match, alright?" Weiss said as she had a firm grip over Ruby's mouth.
Ruby finally gave up and was let go before she and the others watched the practice match. Right now, Cardin had his mace perched on his shoulder while an exhausted Jaune was in front of him, even leaning on his weapon as support.
Despite how exhausted he is, Jaune tried his best to charge…only for Cardin to jump out of the way. Jaune looked back before being smacked away by Cardin's mace, making him and his shield fly back.
"Ouch." Makoto cringed as he imagined that it looked like it hurt.
Now armed with his sword, Jaune charged and tried to attack before Cardin blocked the attack with the hilt of his mace. With their weapons locked in, Cardin stood up, now towering over the blonde leader.
"This is the part where you lose." Cardin said in a cocky voice but Jaune seemed defiant.
"Over my dead-!"
Cardin then kneed Jaune in the stomach, making Jaune drop his sword and fall in pain.
"Double ouch." Echo added, as she and everyone else saw Cardin over Jaune and was about to finish the him off but…
"That's enough, Cardin!" Glynda called as she walked up between them while everyone looked at the bars to see that Jaune's was deeply in the red while Cardin's was unaffected. She then worked on her tablet. "Students, as you can see, Mr. Arc's Aura was now dropped into the red. In a tournament-styled duel, this would indicate that Jaune is no longer fit for battle, and that the official may call off the match."
Glynda then turned to see Jaune was still on the floor defeat before noticing a sad look on Pyrrha's face. Makoto was also sad as he can relate to Jaune being at the end of the barrel of his team despite his leader position.
Jaune then sat up and pulled out his Scroll to see how low his stats were compared to his teammates.
"Mr. Arc, it's been weeks now. Please try to refer to your Scroll during combat. Gauging your Aura will help you decide when it's appropriate to attack, or when it is better to move to a more…defensive strategy. We wouldn't want you to be gobbled up by a Beowolf now, wouldn't we?" Glynda asked, prompting Jaune to learn from this match.
"Speak for yourself." Cardin added as he walked away.
Jaune just stayed where he was as Glynda walked up to look at the rest of the class.
"Remember, evertone, the Vytal Festival is only a few months away! It won't be long before the students from the other kingdoms start arriving in Vale, so keep practicing! Those who choose to compete in the combat tournament will be representing all of Vale!" Glynda announced, causing a few cheers in the crows.
Everyone had different reactions to the news as they were filled with excitement and anticipation. Yang was punching the air in anticipation, Weiss was shaking her fists with an excited smile, Ruby was shaking her entire body with enthusiastic energy while squealing softly, and the Setimus twins looked at each other before smiling and making bets.
"I bet I'll get more hits in than you! Along with us getting to Round 3!"
"You're on! Round 4!"
Kiba was silent while Makoto and Pyrrha looked sadly at Jaune who was hanging his head in shame over that humiliating defeat.
(Later at the cafeteria)
"So! There we were, in the middle of the night…" Nora started as she was trying to tell a story while the others were either eating lunch or doing something else.
Blake was reading her books, Yang was actually paying attention to Nora's story, and Kiba was writing in his Scroll seemingly uninterested in the story. The Setimus twins were having their own eating contest while Weiss was filing her nails
"It was day." Ren corrected her as he took another sip of his coffee.
"We were surrounded by Ursai-."
"They were Beowolves." Ren corrected once again.
"Dozens of them!" Nora said to a listening Makoto, Ruby, Pyrrha, and Yang while a seemingly distant Jaune with his food.
"Two of them." Ren corrected once more while Makoto noted and was concerned about how distant Jaune is. Ruby and Pyrrha noticed too.
"But they were no match…And in the end, Ren and I took them down and made a boatload of Lien selling Ursa sking rugs!" Nora finished while Ren just sighed.
"Jaune? Are you okay?" Pyrrha asked her leader.
"Huh?"
Jaune was snapped out of his thoughts before looking to see everyone staring at him.
"Oh, yeah! Why?" Jaune asked, trying to put his cheerful mask on.
"It's just that you seem a little…not okay." Ruby pointed out.
"Yeah man, you don't need to hide anything. We'll understand." Makoto added.
"Guys, I'm fine. Seriously! Look!" Jaune held his thumb up and forced himself to laugh while the others seemed unconvinced. He also noticed CRDL picking on a certain girl with bunny ears. He then looked back at Pyrrha.
"Jaune, Cardin's been picking on you since the first week of school!" Pyrrha pointed out. CRDL was starting to get a reputation of being bullies and pranksters but Cardin, their leader, loves to target poor Jaune.
"Who? Cardin Winchester? Nah…He just likes to mess around! You know, practical jokes!" Jaune said, not wanting to go into this.
"If by 'practical jokes', you mean 'cruel bullying' then yes, I agree." Makoto said, while Ruby nodded in agreement.
"He's a bully." Ruby pointed out while Jaune scoffed at that.
"Oh please, Name one time he's 'bullied' me."
Makoto, Ruby, and Pyrrha looked at each other before looking at Jaune.
(Few weeks ago)
Jaune was on his way to class as Cardin is going the other way down the hall. When the two pass, Cardin knocks his arm into Jaune and makes him drop his book, then continuing on his wary with his hands out as if daring anyone to challenge him.
"Ah, come on!" Jaune complained as he dropped down to pick up his books.
Pyrrha noticed this before walking over to help Jaune.
…
Jaune and Cardin are about to pass through a doorway, but Cardin clicks on Jaune's sheath and extends it into its shield form as he's going out, causing him to run into his own defense and have it blocking the exit.
"Come on!" Jaune complained.
Ruby noticed as she was on the other side before helping Jaune.
…
Glynda and several other students were in the locker room, looking at the lockers.
"Each of you will be assigned one rocket-propelled locker to store your weapons and extra armor. Additionally, your locker can be sent to a custom location based on a six-digit code." She instructed.
Upon hearing this, Cardin smirked while he looked at Jaune inspecting an open locker. Cardin quickly pushed Jaune into the locker, closes it, and quickly pressed a bunch of random buttons on its pad.
"What!? No wait, wait! You've gotta get me out of here! Please! Don't! Don't! Don't do it!" Jaune protested as he banged his fists against the interior of the now shaking locker.
It soon launched upwards into the sky with a trail of blue fire behind. Cardin and Makoto watched as the locker soared across the sky.
"Aaaahhh, coooome oooonnnn!" Jaune complained from the locker.
Makoto sighed before leaving to find and help Jaune.
(Present)
"I didn't land that far from school!" Jaune tried to reason but the others seemed more focus on him now than before.
"You landed in a tree underneath a bunch of Beowolves." Makoto said, remembering what happened.
"Jaune, you know if you ever need help, you can just ask." Pyrrha said, trying to remind Jaune that they're all friends here that are willing to help each other.
"Ooooh!" Nora then got up with a diabolical smile. "We'll break his legs!"
"Dibs on the arms!" Echo said, agreeing with Nora's plan.
"Guys, really, it's fine!" Jaune tried to wave off. "Besides, it's not like he's only a jerk to me; he's a jerk to everyone."
They soon heard laughing mixed with cries of pain from a certain rabbit girl. They looked to see what's going on.
"Speak of the devil…" Kiba commented while Makoto just gave a low wolfish growl.
"Ow! That hurts!" Velvet said with her bunny ears being tugged on by Cardin. "Please stop…"
CRDL just continued laughing.
"I told you it was real!" Cardin said, finding a new target.
"What a freak!" Russel commented before Cardin finally relented and let go.
Velvet hid her face in her hands as she ran off in shame. Pyrrha and Blake had noticeable faces of disgust directed at Cardin while Makoto clenched his hand.
'I thought I told them to lay off…' Makoto thought, recalling his fight with CRDL as the Wolf Orphnoch.
"Atrocious. I can't stand people like him." Pyrrha said, who was obviously annoyed with this.
"He's not the only one." Blake added.
"It must be hard to be a Faunus." Yang said as she rested her head on her hand.
"Assholes…" Makoto muttered before Jaune got up and decided to walk away.
(The next day)
It was now history class and Makoto was reviewing his notebook while Kiba and Tiber were taking notes and Echo was trying to follow up on what the professor is saying due to his…hyper attitude.
"This is prior to the Faunus Rights Revolution, more popularly known as the Faunus War!" Professor Oobleck started as he showed a map to the entire class with a bunch of papers and articles attached and connected red marker lines. It heavily implied that Oobleck might be a conspiracy theorist. "Humankind was quite, quite adamant about centralizing Faunus population in Menagerie."
Oobleck was showing parts of the map before taking a sip of his coffee.
"Now! While this must feel like ancient history to many of you, it is imperative to remember that these are relatively recent events! Why, the repercussions of the uprising can still be seen to this day!" Oobleck then took another sip of his coffee.
"Great, as if he wasn't enough active." Echo quietly commented.
"How do you think he sleeps?" Makoto wondered.
Professor Oobleck then looked at the class.
"Now! How many among you been subjugated or discriminated because of your Faunus heritage?"
A few students, including Velvet, raised their hands. Makoto looked around and felt a little sad for them.
"Dreadful, simply dreadful! Remember students, it is precisely this kind of ignorance breeds violence!" Oobleck pointing out the active discrimination...before taking another sip of his coffee. "I mean, I mean, I mean just look what happened to the White Fang! Now, which one you young scallions can tell me what many theorize to be the turning point in the third year of the War?"
Weiss raised her hand.
"Yes?"
"The battle at Fort Castle!" Weiss answered.
"Precisely! And, who can tell me the advantage the Faunus had over General Lagune's forces?" Oobleck asked.
While Oobleck was looking for someone to answer while Cardin flicked a paper football at a sleepy Jaune's head, making him wake up.
"Hey!" Jaune said, getting Oobleck's attention.
"Mr. Arc! Finally contributing to class! This is excellent! Excellent! What is the answer?" Oobleck eagerly asked while Jaune seemed to be nervous as a response.
"Uhhh…The answer…The advantage…of the Faunus…" Jaune started nervously as he clearly had no idea. He then noticed Pyrrha trying to help by speaking through lips but he didn't seem to understand what she's saying. "…had over that guy's stuff…"
He soon saw Pyrrha cup her hands around her eyes and goes for the most obvious answer based off of that.
"Uhh…Binoculars!"
The class was silent for a few seconds right as Oobleck took another sip of coffee before everyone, except Jaune's friends, laughed at him.
Makoto and Pyrrha facepalmed while echo chuckled a little bit before being elbowed lightly by her twin.
"Echo…"
"Sorry."
"Very funny, Mr. Arc!" Oobleck said before turning to see Cardin laughing so hard that he was practically pounding his fist onto his table. "Cardin! Perhaps you would care to share your thoughts on the subject!"
"Well, I know it's a lot easier to train an animal than a soldier." Cardin said, showing off his discriminate personality.
This causes Oobleck to shake his head in disappointment.
"You're not the most open-minded of individuals, are you, Cardin?" Pyrrha asked as she sees Cardin as a typical all brawn but no brains type of person.
"What? You got a problem?" Cardin said, only proving Pyrrha's point.
"No, I have the answer!" Pyrrha replied, obviously having enough of this."It's night vision. Many Faunus are known to have nearly-perfect sight in the dark."
Cardin growled while Blake supported Pyrrha.
"General Lagune was inexperienced, and made the mistake of trying to ambush the Faunus in their sleep. His massive army was outmatched, and the general was captured." Blake added as she turned towards Cardin with an aggressive face. "Perhaps if he'd paid attention in class, he wouldn't have been remembered as such a failure." She said, subtly insulting Cardin.
Cardin was smart enough to figure that out so he got up and looked like he was about to fight but…
"Mr. Winchester! Please take your seat." Oobleck said as Cardin reluctantly complied while Jaune snickered at him. "You and Mr. Arc can both see me after class for additional readings." He scolded before taking another sip of his coffee.
"Ooohhh…" Jaune let out as it just wasn't his day.
"Now! Moving on!" Oobleck started, wanting to get on with the lesson.
Makoto couldn't help but look sorry for Jaune as did Pyrrha.
(Later in the armory)
Makoto was in his usual clothes as he continued working on his sword. He was thinking about Jaune and his relationship to Cardin. Soon Ruby came in, still in her uniform, as it looked like she just came back from class.
"Sorry, I'm late." Ruby apologized as she placed her stuff somewhere else. "I swear Professor Port just goes on and on."
"Mhm." Makoto said, too deep into his thoughts to notice her.
Ruby noticed and walked up to Makoto.
"Makoto, you listening?"
Makoto soon took grasp of what just happened before looking at Ruby.
"Oh sorry, Ruby. I was caught up in something." Makoto said as Ruby looked at his sword.
"Is it your sword? I can help with some modifications if you want." Ruby offered.
"Thanks Ruby, but it wasn't that I was talking about." Makoto replied as he placed his sword away and getting Ruby's attention. "It's about Jaune and what's been going on with him."
Ruby nodded as she understood. The poor guy is not only getting heat from all his classes but CRDL is another story. Sure, they like to pick on the students here but they love to target Jaune of all people.
"Yeah, I see what you mean." Ruby said as Makoto has his hand out.
"I have a few ideas for Crescent Rose. Don't worry, I won't hurt her." Makoto said, knowing how much Ruby loves her scythe.
Ruby nodded as she took it out in its concealed form before Makoto started getting some blueprints out. He laid both on the table and started drawing. "Anyways, Cardin and his thugs just piss me off."
"I know how you feel, I was picked on a little at Signal but I managed to scare those guys off."
"Yeah, well it cuts deeper for me." Makoto said as he inspected Crescent Rose and took down its measurements.
"How so?" Ruby asked, a little curious since she doesn't know much about Makoto's past.
"You know that I died before and became an Orphnoch because of that, right?"
Ruby nodded.
"What you don't know is that my mom made a deal with Smart Brain." Makoto said, surprising Ruby as she saw many times Makoto fighting Smart Brain.
"What kind of deal?"
"They needed her help with something and in return, they'll teach me how to control my Orphnoch side."
"How'd they do that?" Ruby asked, as she knew that Smart Brain wouldn't give him an easy time. "I doubt they give you private tutors."
"Let's put it like this; I'd rather go to an Atlas military school than go back there." Makoto answered and Ruby nodded, knowing that Atlas was a significant military power.
As Makoto was drawing, he couldn't help think of CRDL bullying on Velvet. It felt too similar regarding a certain even in his childhood during the Smart Brain training program.
(12 years ago)
A five year old Makoto and another boy were in a recreational area where they saw some of the older kids beating on a little girl.
"What's going on?" Makoto asked.
The other boy examined the bullying.
"I heard rumors that new recruits get beaten terribly as a welcoming present but-."
Just before he could finish, Makoto walked over to the group.
"Hey, what are you doing?" Makoto asked and the leader of the group turned and looked at him.
"Having a bit of fun, what's it to you?"
The beaten up girl looked at Makoto before Makoto shoved the leader.
"That's what is it to me." Makoto answered before he was met with a punch to the face. Makoto could feel the black eye onto him.
"Now, are you going to leave us to what we're doing? Or else…" The leader warned as he and the others got their fists ready.
Makoto looked at the girl before looking at the group. He let out a wolfish growl before tackling the leader.
(Present)
Makoto soon finished up his sketch and showed it to Ruby.
"This looks good." Ruby said before seeing a sad look on Makoto. "Makoto, is everything alright?"
"Yeah, just remembering some stuff." Makoto replied as he rolled up the blueprint. He then gave it to Ruby. "Let me know what you think."
Ruby nodded before noticing a new device on the table.
"What's this?" Ruby asked as she took it and examined it.
"That's just a prototype."
"What does it do?" Ruby asked with fascination as Makoto took it from her.
"Sorry, but I'd rather leave that as a surprise." Makoto said as Ruby unrolled the blueprint that Makoto gave her. She inspected it before smiling in fascination. Despite how Makoto is feeling, he really does know how to modify a weapon. "Oh and sorry I used the taser shot on you in the arena."
"It's a little annoying but I didn't expect you to give Crescent Rose back to me. You know that's my only weakness." Ruby pointed out since she was always dependent on her scythe.
"True but it's not like I wanted to fight you in the first place." Makoto pointed out as he recalled that he was "volunteered" by Glynda herself. "Plus…if I was going to fight you of all people, I want you to be at your best, got it?"
Ruby nodded as she shared a mutual feeling. If she was ever going to fight Makoto, it was going to be all out.
But as she looked at the blueprint, she soon turned to Makoto who was working on his prototype. Ruby was about to say something before noticing a look on Makoto's face. It was the kind that wanted this kind of distraction to avoid thinking about other things. Ruby remembered that look she had when she lost her mother.
"Makoto, is there something bothering you?" Ruby asked, now concerned for her friend.
"Huh?"
"Your face…I can tell something is wrong with you." Ruby pointed out as Makoto quickly switched his expression to a more enthusiastic one.
"What? Nothing is wrong with me." Ruby wasn't convinced as she still noticed the same feeling in Makoto's eyes.
"Makoto, you know I hate lies." Ruby said, making Makoto sigh in defeat. This girl was a lot smarter than she looks.
"It's just…it's CRDL." Maktoo said, saying the team name with a bit of venom.
"The bullies?"
"Yeah, just seeing them pick on Jaune and Velvet like that makes me so mad that I just want to…I just want to…" Makoto couldn't express his rage into words so he grabbed his sword and sliced off the head of a nearby practice dummy. "Do that…"
The head flew and rolled onto the floor before bumping into Ruby's shoe. She picked it up and looked concerned at Makoto who placed his sword back in its sheath. She never really saw Makoto so mad and she didn't want to, but he did raise a good point about CRDL. They were a bunch of jerks that needed to be taught a lesson.
Ruby placed the head away as she approached her friend.
"I know what you're saying, no one like a bully-."
"But we can't let them hurt us or others." Makoto said angrily as he tried to calm down a bit.
"Then doing something would help."
"Yeah…doing something…" Makoto quietly said to himself as he thought of an idea to deal with Cardin and his group of thugs.
Ruby then looked at Makoto and was convinced that something still isn't right with him. But she didn't want to pry so she decided to go back to work with him.
'Makoto…please don't do anything drastic.' Ruby thought as she feared that Makoto will take things to his own hand.
(Later at night)
Makoto was lying on his bed awake and staring at the ceiling. Kiba and the twins were sleeping soundly but not him. He turned his arm into its Orphnoch form and stared at it.
"Makoto, they aren't worth our time!" A voice echoed in his head while Makoto himself was trying to stay in the present.
"Please help!"
Makoto held his Orphnoch arm out as he allowed the memories to take root again.
(12 years ago)
Makoto transformed into the Wolf Orphnoch and started fighting the bullies as they took Orphnoch forms of various animals. Makoto's friend rushed in and helped the little girl up and escape. They were soon at a safe distance before the friend tried to rush in to help the Wolf Orphnoch but…
"Riotroopers, report to the recreation center! We have a code 12! Repeat code 12! Stop and detain all aggressors!" The speakers announced before a squad of Riotroopers rushed into the recreation center.
Two of them tackled the Wolf Orphnoch and handcuffed him before the other Orphnochs were given the same treatment. One of the Riotroopers that were holding the Wolf Orphnoch down, stunned him with an electrical baton and forced him to revert back to Makoto.
He was soon made to stand up along with the bullies. They presented them to a superior officer.
"What should we do about them?" A Riotrooper asked.
"Solitary confinement with no dinner. Now." The officer said and the Riotroopers started to escort them to their cells.
Makoto looked back at his friend and the girl that he saved. He smiled at them before being shoved away and escorted into his cell. On the bright side, his friends were safe and he wasn't the only one going to be punished for what happened.
(Present)
Makoto just sat up and clenched his Orphnoch hand.
"I'll be stronger than this…"
He soon looked at his belt and phone resting on the table. Makoto walked over it and held the Faiz phone with his Orphnoch hand and clenched it.
"I have to be."
(The next few days)
MYTE and the others were leaving their morning class before Makoto noticed Jaune talking things out with Cardin. Makoto has been doing his best to restrain his anger regarding Cardin and his team.
Makoto looked at the others to see that they were too busy talking to each other so Makoto quietly walked away from them and got a little closer to Jaune and Cardin. He tried to overhear what's being said before Pyrrha noticed him and approached.
"Makoto, what are you doing?" Pyrrha asked.
Makoto was a bit startled but held his cool as he tried to find an excuse.
"Oh well, you see…I thought I dropped something and…" Makoto tried to lie before Pyrrha noticed Jaune and Cardin talking. She then looked at Makoto.
"Makoto, I wasn't born yesterday. I can see what you're trying to do." Pyrrha said, making Makoto sigh.
"I'm sorry but it's just that something doesn't seem right. I mean Jaune practically had a target painted on his back for Cardin and now they're acting like the best of buddies." Makoto said, sensing how wrong this is.
"I know how you feel." Pyrrha added, catching Makoto's attention. "Jaune's been coming back to our dorm late the past few nights, he's barely around sometimes, and it always leads back to Cardin."
Makoto started thinking. This certainly seems suspicious. Jaune became "best buds" with Cardin, staying up late with Cardin, and barely being around his own team. Makoto had half a mind to confront CRDL as the Wolf Orphnoch.
Jaune then started to leave CRDL and went back to his friends.
"Hey guys." Jaune greeted as if nothing happened.
"Hey Jaune, why were you talking to Cardin?" Makoto asked.
"What? I can't talk to a bud of mine?" Jaune asked, a little offended but Makoto and Pyrrha were giving looks of doubt. "Look, I know how bad Cardin and his team can look but he's a nice guy when you get to know him-."
"Hey, there's the freak!" Cardin's voice rang.
The three teens turned and saw CRDL picking on Velvet again. Cardin made her drop her books and when Velvet bent down to pick up her books, Russell pushed her down. The team laughed at that before leaving for their next class.
"Yeah, a real nice guy." Makoto sarcastically responded as he now had a full mind to confront team CRDL.
"Come on, we should probably leave and get ready for our next class." Jaune said as he wanted to drop the subject entirely. Pyrrha reluctantly nodded as she and the others left. Makoto, on the other hand, just stared at CRDL with a hostile look as he clenched his hands with one transforming to its Orphnoch form but only for a brief second before changing back.
Makoto then relented before turning back and walking away from the scene.
(Later at night)
Team CRDL entered their dorm and filled with laughs as they had a fun day of bullying others.
"Did you see her face!?" Cardin laughed as he sat down on his chair.
Before any of them could answer, a new yet familiar voice spoke up.
"I did and I wasn't pleased."
Everyone turned and saw the Wolf Orphnoch looking at his claws before he looked back at CRDL with his menacing face. He started to approach them as CRDL were regaining themselves from shock.
He soon pounced on them and tried attacking each of them as he jumped to each member, one at a time to avoid being hit. Team CRDL shrieked in terror as the Wolf Orphnoch was still delivering the massive beating that they deserve, The Wolf Orphnoch then noticed Cardin trying to run away before grabbing him by the leg and dragging him to meet his face.
The Wolf Orphnoch saw how fearful Cardin look. So much so that it look like he was about to shit himself.
"I warned you what would happen last time, didn't I? Now you're going to get what's coming to you!" The Wolf Orphnoch was about to attack but…
"What's going on over there?" Glynda's voice rang through the halls as she started to approach the CRDL dorm.
"Damn!" The Wolf Orphnoch recognized the voice but luckily she wasn't close to the area yet. The Wolf Orphnoch made haste as he reluctantly let go of Cardin before looking back at his fearful expression. "Consider yourselves lucky…but next time…not so much."
The Wolf Orphnoch then made his exit by jumping out the window and climbing up onto the roof. He stayed there to hear CRDL's reaction.
"That monster's insane!" Sky said as he and the rest of their team try to regain their composure.
"I don't ever want to see him again!" Russell said, agreeing with his teammate.
Cardin knows that they need to get rid of that monster but it looked like they can't as the Wolf Orphnoch was just too damn agile before he came up with an idea.
"Maybe next time, I'll order that pipsqueak, Jaune, to take him on for us!" Cardin decided, earning agreement from everyone on his team.
"Great idea!" Dove said before Glynda opened the door and checked on CRDL.
To the Wolf Orphnoch outside overheard every single world.
'Now that sounds like the Cardin that I know.' The Wolf Orphnoch thought as it sounded like Jaune was hanging out with Cardin not on purpose but by force. But only one question remains; how did they convince Jaune to work for them? 'I have to learn more about this.'
The Wolf Orphnoch soon turned back to Makoto. Makoto went back to an open window near his dorm and saw Jaune walking back to his.
"Jaune." Makoto called, immediately getting Jaune's attention.
"M-Makoto! What's up?" Jaune said, slightly surprised but quickly tried to regain his composure.
Makoto, however, kept his serious face.
"Jaune, cut the bullshit. I know Cardin has you on a leash." Makoto said, making Jaune even more nervous.
"Huh!? Wh-What are you talking about? I'm just buddying up with Cardin. We're really getting along, just-."
At this point, Makoto had enough with lies so he grabbed Jaune by the collar and pushed him against the wall with a very pissed off look.
"Jaune, talk!" Makoto said while also trying to keep his voice down so the other students can sleep.
"…f-fine." Jaune said, not wanting to press Makoto's buttons even further.
"No bullshit here, Jaune! Why are you taking orders from Cardin!?" Makoto interrogated.
"I'll talk. Just please don't tell anyone." Jaune requested as Makoto finally let go of him. "I-I cheated to get into Beacon and Cardin knows."
Makoto was slightly surprised that Jaune cheated but he felt more disgusted that Cardin was dirty enough to blackmail Jaune to being his slave.
"Blackmail? That's low." Makoto said as he shook his head at that.
"So how did you figure?"
"Hold on, I'm guessing in about 3 seconds, you're going to get a message Cardin to kill some wolf monster in 3, 2, 1…"
RING!
Jaune's Scroll got a message from Cardin. Jaune decided to look into it to see if Makoto was telling the truth.
"Hey Jaune, I have another favor to ask. There's this wolf monster that's been hassling us recently. How about you do your friend a favor and take care of the situation for us? Thanks, I knew you'd take one for your friends." Cardin's voice said.
"Hmph, some friend he is…" Makoto muttered, seeing that Cardin is basically sacrificing Jaune to the wolf's den. On the bright side, Makoto lives in and owns that wolf's den.
"Wait, what wolf monster?" Jaune wondered before the recorded voice continued going.
"It's big, grey, and definitely looks like a monster. Can you take him out for us?" Cardin asked, making Makoto grit his teeth.
"If he wants a monster, all he has to do is look at a mirror." Makoto mumbled himself quietly so he doesn't alert Cardin.
"Do you know what he's talking about, Makoto?" Jaune quietly asked Makoto but he didn't get an answer. Jaune sighed before looking back at Cardin. "So how am I supposed to find the monster?"
"I'm sure you'll find a way…Don't forget…I can still Ozpin the truth…You wouldn't want that to happen do you?" Cardin said, threatening Jaune once more.
"Jaune-."
"No…Don't worry…I'll take care of it." Jaune said, seeing that he doesn't have much of a choice.
This caused Cardin to have a big smile on his face.
"You see? I knew I could count on you. Well, see ya…wouldn't want to be ya." Cardin said, emphasizing the last part before hanging up.
Jaune then looked at Makoto.
"Makoto, please don't tell anyone." Jaune requested, not wanting to bring others to his problem.
"Uh…"
Fearing the worst, Jaune went for a last ditch effort to earn Makoto's trust. So he bent down, hugged Makoto's leg, and started begging.
"Please, don't tell! Please, I'm begging!" Jaune begged as quietly as he can while shaking his head with a look that said that he might cry.
"Jaune, get a hold of yourself!" Makoto shouted as quietly as he can while attempting to shake Jaune off his leg but it was no use.
"Please! Please!" Jaune begged as he didn't seemed to let up any time soon.
While Makoto was attempting to shake Jaune off, the noise they made was enough to wake Ruby up.
"Ugghhh…" Ruby groaned as she took her sleeping mask off and rubbed her eyes. She tried to go back to sleep but can't so she decided to investigate what was causing the noise.
Ruby then poked her head out her door to see Jaune begging and hugging Makoto's leg while Makoto was trying to shake him off.
"Please don't tell, Makoto!" Jaune continued begging, only to end up with a usual response.
"Jaune, you're embarrassing yourself right now!" Makoto scolded.
Ruby seemed entirely confused by this scene and decided to inquire what's going on.
"What are you two doing?" Ruby asked, wanting to know the situation.
Makoto noticed her and just shrugged while Jaune kept begging.
"Please! I'm begging you!"
"If I said yes, will you please stop!?" Makoto said, finally giving in and complying with Jaune. He didn't have all night for this.
"Yes! Please!" Jaune said, finally paying attention to Makoto.
"Okay! Okay! Jeez! I won't tell!" Makoto said, massaging his forehead as best as he can while Jaune just hugged Makoto's leg again but this time it was out of gratitude
"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" Jaune said while Ruby just looked confused as her question was still left unanswered but she did notice Makoto's answer.
"Tell what?" Ruby asked, immediately gaining Jaune's attention as well as Makoto's. Jaune soon got off Makoto's leg and stood up to face Ruby.
"Oh umm…It's nothing important…" Jaune said, trying to throw her off but Ruby didn't seemed convinced.
Makoto sighed.
"Jaune, she's going to find out either way." Makoto pointed out, seeing that Ruby saw enough to keep this whole thing in mind.
Jaune looked uncertain but he knew that Makoto was right. There was no way to get Ruby out of this now.
"Yeah…you're right…" He said, giving in.
Ruby then walked up to the two guys.
"So what's up?" Ruby asked.
Jaune sighed as he prepared to explain his whole situation.
"I'm being blackmailed by Cardin." Jaune explained, surprising Ruby.
"What!?" Ruby exclaimed, trying to be quiet as well as she remembered that people were sleeping.
"Jaune said something that Cardin shouldn't hear and now Jaune has a collar placed on him by Cardin." Makoto explained as Jaune pressed his back against his team's door and slid down to the floor in depression.
"I'm a failure." Jaune lamented, feeling nothing but regret and sorrow.
Makoto only looked at him but Ruby…
"Nope!" She said, catching the two guys by surprise with her answer.
"Nope?"
"Nope! You're a leader now, Jaune. You're not allowed to be a failure." Ruby explained, but Jaune seemed unaffected while Makoto nodded in agreement.
"Ruby's right. You now have a duty to uphold. You can't be doubting yourself especially now." Makoto added.'
"But-."
"Look, no one is perfect. We all made mistakes but we have to learn from them." Makoto said, knowing from experience.
"That's right, the three of us are team leaders. We have to place our teammates ahead of ourselves. There's no room anymore for second guessing. Ozpin picked the three of us for a good reason. You just need to find that reason yourself, Jaune." Ruby said as she remembered being in a similar situation.
Jaune just stared at his friends.
"Your team deserves a great leader, Jaune…and I think that can be you." Ruby said before yawning a little. "Have a good night, Jaune. Goodnight, Makoto." Ruby said as she was about head into her dorm.
Jaune went to his dorm as well before Makoto stopped Ruby as he needed some help with his situation.
"Makoto?"
Makoto decided to just be blunt and straight up explain what's been going on.
"Cardin also wants Jaune to take out the Wolf Orphnoch…me." Makoto said, making Ruby's eyes widened as her attention was immediately taken.
"What!? Why would Cardin want you dead?" Soon a thought then came to Ruby as she started thinking about it more. "Unless…"
"…" Makoto was just silent before Ruby finally placed two and two together.
"Makoto…please don't tell me you have been abusing your Orphnoch powers! Is that the reason I found you in that state you were in a while back!?" Ruby questioned but tried her best to stay quiet as people were still sleeping.
For Makoto, he had no excuses. He used his powers against CRDL, end of story. But he wanted to explain his side of it.
"It was two times that I did. I told you before, Ruby." Makoto started. "I hated seeing those jerks pick on and abuse innocent students like Velvet. It sickens me to my stomach and the more I think about it, the more I'm tempted to…well, you saw at the forge."
Makoto seemed to regret what he did but it was a little. He seemed to be a little more regretful that he must seem like a jerk to Ruby for using brute force like that.
"Makoto…please tell me this was just a onetime thing." Ruby requested but it just made the guilt a bit harder for Makoto to swallow.
"Second…the first was before you first saw me in that form. Like I said, I couldn't stand discrimination. I just-." Before Makoto could finish, Ruby hugged him to console him. He was caught offguard because he was expecting a scolding or a slap to cheek. A hug was the least he would expect.
"I completely understand your reasoning…but it's not the way to solve the situation." Ruby said softly as she was trying to console her friend.
"Is it? I could never stand injustice. And even if I told the professor, it wouldn't stop Cardin so easily."
"But, don't forget you're hiding your powers for a reason." Ruby pointed out before remembering the near-death state that Makoto was in after using his Orphnoch the form the first time she saw it. "You can't risk having your secret revealed and most of all…you can't risk your health condition…"
Makoto didn't say anything as he couldn't find an argument for that. It was his responsibility, which was a fair point.
"Heck, you nearly died the first time I saw you like that." Ruby brought up as Makoto remembered as well.
"I know, Ruby…and you're right. And while we have to deal with my situation, we should deal with Jaune's first. He has it worse than me."
"Okay, any ideas?" Ruby asked, seeing Makoto thinking.
"A couple, yeah." Makoto said before thinking of a plan. "Listen, at the field trip tomorrow at Forever Fall…"
(The next day)
Teams RWBY, MYTE, JNPR, and CRDL are now at the forest of Forever Fall as Glynda gives precaution on the reason for being here.
"Yes, students, the forest of Forever Fall is indeed beautiful. But we are not here to sight-see. Professor Peach has asked all of you to collect samples from the trees deep inside this forest, and I'm here to make sure none of you die while doing so."
"What a cheerful thought." Makoto sarcastically said in a low tone but Glynda heard that.
"What was that, Mr. Inui?" Glynda said with a sharp glare, making Makoto slightly intimidated.
"N-Nothing." Makoto said while trying to keep his cool demeanor.
Glynda then turned her focus back at the class.
"Each of you is to gather one jar's worth of red sap. However, this forest is full of the creatures of Grimm, so be sure to stay by your teammates. We will rendezvous here by 4 o'clock. Have fun!" Glynda said before allowing the students to disperse and collect sap.
However, Jaune looked like he was trying to sneak away but Cardin noticed this and grabbed Jaune by the neck. As Jaune was unwilling being brought to CRDL's heel, Makoto and Ruby looked at each other before nodding.
"Hold my jar, I'll be right back." Makoto said as he tossed his jar to Echo. He then went deeper into the woods before Ruby joined him.
"I hope you know what you're doing." Ruby commented as Makoto transformed into the Wolf Orphnoch. He then nodded at Ruby before climbing up the tree and started parkouring through the branches.
Ruby went deeper into the woods, following the Wolf Orphnoch…but Pyrrha noticed the gray wolfish creature.
'What is that!? It looks nothing like a creature of Grimm!' Pyrrha thought before noticing that it was heading off in Jaune and CRDL's direction so she decided to follow.
Meanwhile, the Wolf Orphnoch was on a branch and saw that Team CRDL was making Jaune fill up their jars of sap while they were either resting or goofing around.
"Lazy asses…" The Wolf Orphnoch muttered as he tried to overhear what was being said.
"Hey great work, Jauney boy! Now that wasn't too hard, was it?" Cardin said as Jaune rested the jars on the ground before sitting down. He didn't look good.
"I think I'm allergic to this stuff…" Jaune said, sounding dizzy but Cardin and his team didn't seem to care.
"Greeeeat, great, great. So, Jaune, I bet you're asking yourself, 'Why did my buddy Cardin ask me to collect six jars of tree sap when there's only five of us?"" Cardin started before the Wolf Orphnoch decided to make his move.
He then jumped down and faced them.
"I'm guessing it's not a souvenir to take back home." The Wolf Orphnoch sarcastically said.
CRDL seemed shocked with fear.
"The monster!"
Jaune also seemed equally afraid since not only does the Wolf Orphnoch seemed intimidating but it looked like he was ready to kill someone.
"Jaune, there it is! That's the monster! Kill it!" Cardin said as he pointed at the Wolf Orphnoch, reminding Jaune what he was "asked" to do.
"M-Me!?"
The Wolf Orphnoch then turned his attention towards Jaune. Jaune was frightened at how fierce the Wolf Orphnoch looked up close.
"Uhh…" Jaune started but he couldn't find the right words to describe his fear right now.
"Out of my way, kid. This is between me and them." The Wolf Orphnoch and Jaune, even downright scared, seemed defiant.
"I-I can't let you."
The Wolf Orphnoch watched Jaune pulled out his sword and shield. The Orphnoch then decided to grab Jaune and toss him down a hill before following.
Meanwhile, Ruby was hiding in a nearby bush before adding a silencer to her sniper rifle and fired, putting down several trees which blocked the view.
"Whoa! What the-!? We're blocked out! I can't see what going on over there!" Cardin said, unaware that one of the crashed trees landed on one of the jars, spilling sap all over Cardin's armor.
Meanwhile the Wolf Orphnoch continued to follow Jaune as Ruby was watching from afar. The two soon stopped before adopting combat stances.
"This is your one and only warning. I don't want to hurt you." The Wolf Orphnoch said before Jaune charged.
Pyrrha then arrived at the scene as Jaune tried to bash the Wolf Orphnoch with his shield before pinning him down. Before Jaune can finish him off…the Wolf Orphnoch reverted back to Makoto.
"What happens now, Jaune?" Makoto asked, looking at Jaune and Pyrrha's reactions.
Jaune had a shocked look on his face as well as Pyrrha at what they just witnessed. Jaune quickly got off of Makoto as he backed away as Makoto then stood up.
"M-Makoto!?"
Makoto nodded as he got up before showing his Orphnoch claw.
"You told me your dirty little secret. Here's mine, I'm not human." Makoto revealed, obviously shocking the two.
"Wh-What the heck are you then!?" Jaune asked.
"I'm the Next Stage of Evolution…I'm an Orphnoch." Makoto said, remembering what he was told before sighing. "That's just the official title though."
"I'm so confused right now." Jaune said and Makoto couldn't blame him. This was a lot to take in.
"I'll explain everything later." Makoto said before Jaune realized something.
"So…you're the one who's been messing with CRDL?" Jaune asked, making Makoto nod.
"I am…after they've been messing with Velvet."
"Velvet? You mean that Faunus the other day? The one with the bunny ears?"
Makoto nodded once again.
"It makes my blood boil every time I see it happen."
"But why as…that monster?"
"It's the only way to hide my identity." Makoto said, reminding the obvious.
"But…there has to be another way to handle the situation." Jaune said, making Makoto scoff lightly.
"Look who's talking." Makoto said before trying to calm down a little. "Anyways, what are you going to do since Cardin wants you to put my head on a pike?"
"But…you're my friend, Makoto. I can't bring myself to do that." Jaune said, seeing it as an obvious question.
"I know you can't, Jaune." Makoto said before…
ROAR!
"What was that?"
"Sounded like an Ursa."
The two guys went to investigate and when they got there, they found Team CRDL face to face with a giant Ursa.
"How-?" Makoto started before noticing the sap on Cardin's armor. "Oh no…the sap! The Ursa must've smelled it from here!"
"That's a big Ursa!" Russell said before he and the other members of his team fled except for Cardin.
Cardin tried fighting but the Ursa easily disarmed him. Makoto then spotted Ruby and signaled her to go back and tell the others. She nodded and left while Pyrrha decided to do the same thing.
"We have to do something!" Jaune said and Makoto agreed. Despite everything that happened before, Makoto promised himself to help anyone in need…even if that person in need is Cardin.
"As much as I hate to say it but…we have to save Cardin." Makoto said before the two rushed in.
(With Ruby and Pyrrha)
"Ursa! Ursa!" Russell yelled as he and his team arrived near the others.
WBY, YTE, and NR immediately paid attention to that.
"What!? Where!?" Yang asked first.
Russell pointed where he and the others came from.
"Back there! It's got Cardin!"
That's when Ruby and Pyrrha emerged from the woods. Yang noticed and immediately went to Ruby before Weiss and Blake joined.
"Yang!" Ruby recognized.
"Ruby! Where were you!?" Yang asked but Ruby brushed it off as they had other things to worry about.
"Doesn't matter. I need you and Blake to go warn Goodwitch about the situation!" Ruby ordered, making Yang and Blake nod before leaving. Ruby then looked at Weiss. "You're with me!"
Weiss nodded in response as Pyrrha gave her own orders to Ren and Nora.
"You two go with Blake and Yang. In case if there's any more coming." She advised as the two went after Blake and Yang.
Meanwhile, YTE noticed the situation and Makoto not being around. They were starting to think that both things were related.
"Echo, you saw Makoto last, where was he?" Tiber asked his twin.
"I don't know. Boss said that he'd be back but it's been a while now." Echo pointed out while Kiba started thinking before realizing it.
'Inui, you better not be where I think you are…' Kiba thought before looking at the Setimus twins. "I think I know where he went. Go with the others."
Kiba then joined Ruby, Pyrrha, and Weiss.
"Come on, let's go!" Ruby said.
(With Makoto and Jaune)
Makoto and Jaune were fending off the Ursa as it was putting up a fight. Makoto and Jaune charged at it before the Ursa smacked them away with its claws.
"He's right, this Ursa is pretty big." Makoto remarked as he and Jaune were guarding Cardin.
ROAR!
They heard another sound and looked to see an Ursa Orphnoch, who seemingly seems attracted to the sap on Cardin's armor as well. Jaune seemed alarmed.
"Whoa! What is that!? I've never seen or heard about this type of Ursa Grimm!" Jaune said while Makoto just gritted his teeth. He then looked back at Jaune.
"Jaune! Stay back! I'll take care of this one, while you can take care of the other Ursa." Makoto said as he charged at the Ursa Orphnoch.
"But…I can't do this by myself!" Jaune said, not feeling confident about being left alone but it didn't change Makoto's mind. He did look back at Jaune.
"Yes, you can! Ruby and I already told you, you need to stop doubting yourself! You're stronger than you look!" Makoto said before running up to the Ursa Orphnoch and tackling it deep into the woods.
"Makoto!" Jaune called before the Ursa started to charge at him. Jaune then used his shield to push against the large beast. The others soon arrived with their weapons ready and were about to intervene but…
"Wait!" Pyrrha said but Kiba just went after where Makoto went.
"I'll help Inui!" Kiba said before he was gone from view.
Meanwhile, Jaune slashed at the Ursa's stomach, causing it to lash out and try to crush him. He rolls out of the way and jumps over its swipe at his feet, but he is unprepared for when it launches a claw at him in midair. He lands far away, yet is immediately back on his feet and passing Cardin as he charges again. The Ursa knocked Jaune when he tried a leaping attack, and he looks at the Scroll in his shield to find out that his Aura level is in the red. He grew angry again and starts to run at the Ursa as it also begins to dash towards him.
Right, when they were about clash, Pyrrha saw that Jaune has left himself completely open to the Ursa's attack, and gathered dark energy in her arm before using it on Jaune's shield. Just as the Ursa is about to hit him, the glow surrounds Jaune's shield and makes it lift up to block the swipe. Jaune uses the surprise defensive move to lean on the ground, pushed his shield back up, and swing his blade right through the Ursa's neck. The head falls to the ground as the body slumped onto the ground.
Pyrrha dismissed the energy and smiled.
"Uhh…What?" Ruby let out, not believing what she just saw but was amazed like Weiss.
"How did you-?" Weiss asked.
"Well, Rubyhas her speed, you have your glyphs. My Semblance is polarity." Pyrrha answered, explaining the power she has from her Aura.
"Whoa, you can control poles…" Ruby said, making Weiss mentally facepalm.
"No, you dunce! It means she has control over magnetism!" Weiss clarified.
"Magnets are cool, too…" Ruby remarked before remembering something. "Wait, where's Makoto and Kiba?"
(With Kiba)
'He better not be dead!' Kiba thought as he ran down a hill and continued at the end before hearing…
"COMPLETE!"
Kiba then ran towards the source of the sound before placing his Gear on. He immediately took out his phone and typed 0-0-0 before pressing Enter.
"STANDING BY!"
"Henshin!"
"COMPLETE!"
Kiba transformed into Orga as he ran. Orga continued running before seeing Faiz dealing with the Ursa Orphnoch. Faiz noticed Orga just as the Ursa Orphnoch was about to smack him.
"Kiba, could use some help here!" Faiz said before Orga took out his sword and transformed it into its rifle mode and fired, hitting the Ursa Orphnoch in the chest. It stumbled back in pain while Faiz took advantage of the timing by slashing the beast multiple times in the chest. It looked worn out before…
"EXCEED CHARGE!"
Faiz turned and saw Orga with his powered up sword. He then used it to lift the Ursa Orphnoch up in the air.
"Inui, now!"
Faiz nodded as he immediately attached his flashlight onto the side of his ankle. He then inserted his chip into it.
"READY!"
Faiz then pressed Enter.
"EXCEED CHARGE!"
Faiz then did a quick dash before going airborne as he then delivered his patent Rider Kick right through the Ursa Orphnoch as it disintegrated in defeat.
Faiz landed safely on the ground before Orga walked up to him and the two reverted back to their civilian forms.
"How did you end up like that?" Kiba asked.
"It's a long story, but let's just say that I had to help Jaune." Makoto said before remembering before. "Speaking of which, I should check up on him."
The two made their way up before seeing Jaune confront Cardin.
"Don't EVER mess with my team...my friends EVER again...Got it?" Jaune said threateningly, making Cardin freeze.
Makoto and Kiba walked up to the three girls.
"What'd we miss?" Makoto asked.
"You won't believe it but Jaune-." Ruby started but…
"Defeated the Ursa Grimm by himself." Pyrrha lied, not wanting them to know about this.
"Really? I'm proud of him." Makoto said while Ruby looked at Pyrrha.
"Why?" Ruby quietly asked.
"I think we should just keep this our secret" Pyrrha explained before walking back to the others while Jaune looked athis friends with a grateful expression as he caught up to them.
(That night at Beacon)
"So…we're cool that I'm not human?" Makoto asked as he, Jaune, and Pyrrha were having their own private discussion on the roof.
"We promise we won't tell anyone." Pyrrha assured.
"Just as long as you keep your promise not to tell anyone my secret." Jaune added, making Makoto nod.
"I can do that." Makoto replied.
"So what's it like?" Pyrrha asked, being curious of the Orphnochs.
"Not bad…except I do have a shortened lifespan. At this point, I'm supposed to be dead." Makoto said, immediately shocking Pyrrha and Jaune.
"What!?"
"Then how are you still alive!?"
"I take injections. It's basically like a drug to me except I'm not addicted to it." Makoto said, remembering to resupply soon.
"Does anyone else know?" Jaune asked which Pyrrha was also wondering.
"Ruby and the rest of my team." Makoto answered. To Pyrrha and Jaune, it'd make sense that YTE knew about their leader's secret but Ruby?
"How did Ruby know?"
Makoto blushed as the image of Ruby being in nothing but a towel came to his mind.
"That's…another story for another day." He said as his blush vanished and looked at Jaune. "So Jaune, what will you do now?"
Jaune thought about it before coming up with an answer.
"Like you said, I'm not weak…but I'm not strong enough to be a leader yet." Jaune answered.
Makoto smiled before looking at Pyrrha.
"Then you should train then." Makoto said, making Jaune look at Pyrrha as well. She is a champion and one heck of a fighter, so Pyrrha is a perfect candidate for a trainer.
"…Pyrrha?"
"Yes, Jaune?"
"I know I don't deserve it after all that happened but...would you still be willing to help me...to help me become a fighter?"
Pyrrha seemed to be thinking about it.
"He's going to need a lot of help." Makoto added, bringing up good points…especially since Pyrrha helped Jaune in his fight against the Ursa.
"Well...what do you say?" Jaune asked, feeling a little nervous.
Pyrrha goes up to Jaune and pushes him to the ground.
"Hey!"
"Your stance is all wrong. You need to be wider and lower to the ground." Pyrrha said, immediately beginning.
"Good luck, he's going to need it." Makoto said with a smile before leaving.
"Same to you for Ruby." Pyrrha said, making Makoto blush.
"S-Shut up!" Makoto said as he was soon gone from view.
He went to his dorm to find Ruby waiting next to the door.
"Ruby?"
Ruby looked at Makoto.
"So how are things with Jaune?"
"Things are looking up. I'm happy that Jaune is starting to gain more self-confidence." Makoto said, making Ruby smile at the news. Who knows? Maybe Jaune can be the leader Ozpin chose.
"That's good but…I need you to promise me that you won't do stuff like that again." Ruby said, remembering what happened regarding the Wolf Orphnoch.
Makoto said nothing as she had a point. He did start this with his Orphnoch powers.
"Makoto…I know you want to stand up for innocent people like Velvet…but there must be an alternate solution." Ruby said, making Makoto look at her.
"Then what would suggest?" Makoto said, wondering what kind of idea his friend has.
Ruby smiled.
"I'm glad you asked."
(A week later)
Velvet was walking across the hall after finishing one of her classes, with a few books in her hands. Makoto and Ruby were nearby and looked at each other.
"Are you sure about this?" Makoto said, looking a little nervous as Ruby asked him to take a more direct route which was to interact with Velvet as Makoto and not the Wolf Orphnoch.
Ruby nodded before Makoto started to approach Velvet before he saw CRDL approaching them. As a response, Makoto hurried and got to Velvet first.
"Can I talk to you?" Makoto asked before CRDL confront him, seeing that he was taking their target away.
"Hey! Where do you think you're taking her?" Cardin asked with an annoyed look while Makoto glared at him as a response.
"Anywhere but here."
Cardin grabbed Makoto's arm and he looked angry before knocking Cardin out with a single punch.
Velvet was stunned by what she saw as she dropped her books out of instinct. Makoto then looked at the rest of CRDL. He looked ready to kill and would do it.
"You guys want some as well? Because I promise you I won't hold back."
CRDL ran away with their knocked out leader. Makoto looked down at Velvet's books and picked them up.
"Here." Makoto offered.
Velvet felt déjà vu as she remembered the Wolf Orphnoch doing the same when they met.
"Here." Makoto said, immediately snapping Velvet out of her déjà vu.
"T-Thank you and sorry." Velvet apologized. "I had a weird case of déjà vu just now." She then looked at Makoto. "Who are you, anyways?"
"I'm Makoto Inui, nice to meet you." Makoto greeted nicely as he let his arm out.
Velvet was hesitant on shaking his hand but something in her mind told her that he means no harm. After a few seconds, Velvet accepted his handshake.
"Nice to meet you." Velvet replied as she shook the hand. "M-My name is Velvet Scarlatina."
"Nice to meet you, Velvet." Makoto said with a genuine smile. "I hope we can be friends."
"Y-You mean it?"
"Of course!"
Velvet smiled as she made a friend outside of her team.
"Just promise this…if you're in trouble or ever need help…just open up and tell me. I'm willing to help as well as my friends and the rest of my team." Makoto assured, shocking Velvet even further. Not only does this person want to be her friend but also someone to look out for her. This was too good to be true.
"O-Okay, thank you very much!"
RING!
"We'll talk later, Velvet but…I think you have a nice accent." Makoto said, making Velvet blush.
"T-Thank you! B-Bye Makoto!"
"Bye! It was nice meeting you." Makoto said as he approached Ruby while Velvet went to her next class. "So how did I do?" Makoto asked.
Ruby smiled as Makoto made a friend instead of just protecting. He could be rough around the edges but he's getting there.
"Absolutely." Ruby said as the two walked down the hall. "See? You don't have to solve everything with your powers."
"Yeah, you're right. It was just…force of habit."
Ruby looked at Makoto in curiosity but decided not to pry. The two just went to their class.
AN: And finally, I am done! Also, my spring break just started so I'll try to get one more chapter out before the week's done. And if you noticed why this chapter long than the others, it's because there's enough RWBY episodes for me not to hold back.
So, you guys know the drill. Be sure to review or message me with questions or comments regarding the story. And don't be afraid to check out my other stories as well. Alright, I'm done, goodnight.