"Miss Nikos, I presume?"
The girl in question, a tall redhead with a ponytail and clad in bronze armor, blushed at the statement"Ah, recognized me, have you?"
"What can I say, it's hard not to. Your face is practically everywhere." A shame I didn't find Ruby, but she's a great partner as well. Pyrrha Nikos is an expert in tournament combat, and she could be a prime companion for my schemes. I'd first need to find out if she'd ever go along with anything I had in mind though.
"Yeah, I guess so. I am on everything from TV shows to cereals." They started walking together. After a while the silence was broken by Pyrrha, "So, what's your name?"
"Oh, excuse my manners. I'm Violet Rose." He extended a handshake which Pyrrha accepted.
"Don't take this the wrong way, but you seem a little…"
"Young?" He gave her a sweet smile.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to-"
"It's nothing, I skipped a grade to get into Beacon."
"Wow, you must be really good at fighting then."
"It's not as big a deal as it seems. I'm sure you could have done it too."
"You flatter me, Violet."
Several more minutes passed in silent walking. Violet was thinking of a way to get to know her better. "So, why Beacon? I thought you were from Mistral."
"Well, I thought maybe I would go here to escape some of the fame. So many prying eyes. Didn't work out though, did it?" She chuckled to herself.
"I'm sorry to hear that, I didn't mean to."
"And besides, I did want to see what the rest of the world was like. I don't get to go sightseeing when traveling for tournaments. Are you from Vale?" She asks.
"I'm from Patch, but I've been to the city a lot. If you need a guide, just ask." He gave her another one of his well-practiced innocent smiles.
Pyrrha blushed, unsure if he was insinuating something more. Violet *was* staring at her intently. She wasn't sure what to make of it. Her thoughts were interrupted by a ruffling in the woods ahead. A duo of boarbatusks descended upon them. She swiftly took aim with her javelin, which seemed to transform into a sort of rifle. It brought down one of the grimm before they got close.
Violet turned his scythe around, the end of it opening up to reveal a knife sticking out of it. He dug the scythe blade into the ground, and pointed the knife end towards the charging boarbatusk, using the Mordred as a sort of spear. The creature couldn't correct its course in time. It skewered itself on his weapon, staying there for a few moments before dissolving into black powder.
That's when he noticed a third boarbatusk from the side. The grimm was charging at him, and it would be too late to dodge. However Pyrrha was already on it, launching her javelin at it with incredible force, knocking it aside. Violet took out his scythe and struck the grimm from above as it was recovering. A crunch of bone, and the wicked creature started dissolving as well.
"Thanks Pyrrha."
"Don't mention it, we are partners after all. Uh..."
"Right."
"So, you're only sixteen? Must be hard to be away from family already. I was distraught when I first had to be away from them for a tournament. And that was only for one week."
"Oh, don't worry about me. If anything, It'll be impossible to avoid it. I've got two sisters starting this year with me." he was beaming at her.
"I imagine they'll take care of you then. They must be very proud of you."
"Definitely. Though, I think it'll be the other way around. One of my sisters is a year younger."
"Two years ahead? She must be amazing."
"Oh for sure. She completely outclasses me when sparring. Though I'm more concerned with her fitting in here. She'll have a lot of material to catch up on, and might not be able to make as many friends." His expression grew more concerned.
Pyrrha took notice, "Are you alright? You know how those emotions are. Frowning like that will only attract more grimm."
"Ah? Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking."
"Were you hoping to get her as a partner?"
Violet's eyes widened a little, "It's not that big of a deal."
"That's not an answer. If you wanted someone else to join you, I'm sorry for getting in the way. It's just... how things were fated to be."
"Fated, huh?" Violet somberly looked at the sky. "Say, Pyrrha. Do you think the jump pads were rigged?"
"Rigged? What do you mean?"
"The launch pads launched us close by, yet I wasn't anywhere near you. I'm thinking that if I was Ozpin, I'd try to find the most compatible students and pair them with one another."
Pyrrha chuckled at that, "And you think we're the most compatible?" Is he really coming on to me or did I imagine that?
"No, I'm just thinking my little sister should make some more friends. Maybe it's for the best she has someone else as her partner. So don't worry about that thing earlier."
"Oh. Well alright. If you say so."
Still, if it truly was rigged, he suspected that Ozpin would let them end up on the same team. Either him or Yang. I tried bugging Tai for info on how the teams are made, but he didn't budge. Said it was a huntsmen secret. The internet was full of contradictory claims. Maybe it changes every year, or they're intentionally putting out false noise to the net. In either case, he doesn't know what's ahead and he hates it.
His musings were interrupted by a growl from the forest. It was soon joined by a second one, and then a third. Pyrrha drew her javelin and shield, taking a fighting stance.
Violet readied the Mordred but hesitated to stand with her. "This is a dense forest, don't you think? We could get flanked without noticing like last time."
Pyrrha looked at him "That's true. Do you propose we run?"
"We're here to prove ourselves, so of course I won't run."
The growling was getting louder.
"Then what?"
"We should find a clearing."
She gave him a curt nod and ran opposite the direction of the growling. Violet followed until they found a clear patch of ground. They made their stand in the middle of it.
"So Violet, do you know what my my semblance is?" Pyrrha said.
"I'm afraid I've never seen you use it."
"You must have, I'm just subtle about it. You see, I can manipulate polarity."
"So you can alter the strikes in a duel just slightly? Brilliant." Violet said.
Pyrrha smiled, "Here though, I can be a lot more open with my powers."
The grimm caught up to them by now. There were 5 ordinary beowolves, led by an alpha. They slowly moved to encircle them while keeping their distance.
"I guess it's best to ask you now Violet, what is your semblance? I assume you've already discovered yours."
"And you'd be right. But I assure you, it'll be of no use against grimm."
"Still, it can't hurt to know. I'll have to know eventually."
"I think we should talk about this later."
"Don't worry if you don't have one. Plenty of Beacon students haven't discovered their semblance, even some graduates. It's not anything shameful."
"I said I'm fine." Violet was growing irritated. He focused on tracking the grimm that were slowly moving towards them.
Pyrrha didn't look too convinced, but decided not to press the matter further.
Once in position, the grimm charged all at once. When they came into range, Pyrrha started shooting from her rifle-javelin, downing one of them. Then she launched the javelin into the shoulder of a second beowolf, wounding it before using her semblance to retrieve it.
Violet spun his scythe up and picked out a grimm that was racing ahead of the pack. He charged ahead and struck it in the leg, immobilizing it. He jumped up and pulled the trigger. A dust explosion propelled the Mordred into the beowolf's skull, shattering it.
Pyrrha set her shield down and used her magnetism on it to push herself into the air. From there she threw her javelin into the previously wounded grimm, hitting it where the heart was supposed to be. It instantly collapsed. As she let herself fall, she retrieved her weapons and landed on top of another grimm, driving her javelin through its eye and killing it.
Absolutely amazing, Violet thought, she looks like she could take on the entire world by herself. In his awe, he was almost caught by the alpha's claw, just barely dodging it with a Mordred explosion. He spun his weapon and struck the alpha. It caught the blade with its claws. He made another explosion happen, yet the blade only got stuck in the grimm's hand.
The situation was made even worse by the other remaining grimm approaching him at an alarming speed. He tried to get the weapon out, but it wasn't budging. He made to abandon it and jump out of the beowolf's way, but he was too late. In a single hit, his protective aura was shattered, and he was flung several meters away. He then saw several shots go through the smaller grimm's back. It fell, and a panicked Pyrrha rushed towards him. "Are you alright?"
"I'm good, focus on the alpha. That's the last one." He got up and made some distance between him and the approaching creature.
Pyrrha's shots seemed to glance off the creature's bone plating. Although ineffective at wounding it, it had shifted its attention to her.
The alpha charged at Pyrrha, dragging the stuck scythe behind him, the hand made useless. Violet trailed the grimm, looking for an opportunity. "Can you distract him more Pyrrha? I'll try to make an attempt for my weapon."
"You got it." She fired off the last of her ammo in rapid succession, before throwing both her shield and then her javelin at it, using her semblance to accelerate them.
The alpha covered its face to intercept the projectiles, and he growled in pain as they connected with his other arm. At that moment, Violet jumped towards his scythe, grabbing it by the top and yanking it from the hand of the grimm. The alpha noticed him and made an attempt with his newly freed hand to attack him. He dodged barely in time, the grimm only managing a weak glancing blow to the leg, knocking Violet to the ground. The beowolf turned around and swung at him with the other hand.
That is when Pyrrha appeared behind the alpha, javelin and shield back in her hands. She stabbed through one of its legs, cutting the Achilles tendon. The creature stumbled, falling over.
However, before it could recover, Violet stood up and struck it down with a mighty blow from his Mordred, a fiery plume of red following its path as it cut through the neck, decapitating it.
"Say, we make a pretty good team. Isn't that right, Miss Nikos?" Violet was out of breath at this point. He was a little confused to see her expression be that of fear. The threat had passed, right?
"You're bleeding, Violet."
He looked down at himself, where a sizable red stain on his thigh was spreading across his clothes. "It's not as bad as it looks. It'll be fine."
"The hell?" Pyrrha was equal parts panicked and angry. "It's not nothing, there's an artery there. If you knew your aura was so low, why did you jump back into combat? We should call for evac."
"NO!" Violet screamed at the top of his lungs. "I'd rather die than let that happen." He gripped his scythe hard as he glared at her.
Pyrrha looked concerned, "Do you… have anything for that?"
"Of course I do, Pyrrha. Who do you take me for? Ahh," He fell over in pain. "My backpack. It has a first aid kit."
Pyrrha rushed over to him, searching through his belongings. Eventually, she pulled out a standard-issue army tourniquet. Violet pulled out the knife hidden in the Mordred and used it to cut away the fabric covering the wound.
Violet took the tourniquet from her hand and put it around his upper thigh, fastening it as much as he could. Pyrrha stepped in, to pull it further, and stop the flow of blood completely. She then used the contents of the first aid kit to clean the wound and bandage it.
"I know my aura reserves are less than that of most other huntsmen, so I figured I'd come prepared," Violet said in between pained breaths. He moved to remove the tourniquet. "I was right. The wound wasn't that deep, we probably didn't need the tourniquet at all."
Pyrrha sighed, "At least you're cautious on that front."
"What was that supposed to mean? Are you implying I'm reckless?" Violet grinned at her.
Pyrrha was not amused, "Yes, that's exactly what I'm implying. What do you plan to do now?"
"I'm going to that temple." He tried to stand up but Pyrrha pushed him down.
"In that state? You're hurt. Rest."
"Ugh, fine. But only a few minutes." He looks away from her, defeated.
Seeing his expression, she sat down next to him. "There's no reason to be so glum, you did very well. That was a serious amount of grimm. It would give a seasoned huntsman plenty of trouble."
"I know what I'm capable of. I could have done so much better."
"You don't need to prove anything to me, you know? I was told field exercises can get pretty ugly, pretty quickly. Especially for a first time excursion."
"I… I guess you're right." He stared at the sky for a while. "I wonder how Miss Princess is taking it."
"Huh? You mean the girl that was shouting on the airship?"
"Yes."
"You shouldn't hope for another person's misfortune, Violet. Before you know it, you'll become a bitter and hateful person."
He was confused at that. "But, she was so prideful and self-righteous. And something tells me she really dislikes the faunus."
"So what? People can and do change. That's why we're here, after all. To change things." She gave him a radiant smile.
His expression turned sad, "You have a strong sense of justice, I see. It's very admirable."
"I've been told that before."
"I hope to be able to see the good in people like you can. I guess we'll see what becomes of her." he smiled and shed a tear. "You know, you remind me of a certain someone."
"Let me guess, someone that you hoped would become your partner."
"You see right through me, Miss Nikos. I ought to be scared."
"Don't be silly, Violet. And will you drop the formalities? I'm just Pyrrha to you."
"Of course, Miss Nikos. Now let's get going." He attempted to stand up, with Pyrrha holding him by the shoulders. He tried a few careful steps to figure out his limits. Soon they continued on their way at a reasonable, if slower pace.
After about thirty minutes of walking and not seeing any grimm, they catch a glimpse of what appeared to be a temple-like structure on the horizon. As they approached it, however, they heard the sounds of battle.
They exited the forest and entered a clearing with the old temple just ahead. Next to it, they saw a massive scorpion-like grimm engaged in battle with about a dozen students. Ruby, Yang, Blake, and Weiss among them.
"A deathstalker!" Pyrrha gasped.
Violet took his Mordred out and transformed it into a scythe. He grit his teeth and started running. But before he could get very far, his cloak was caught by Pyrrha. "What do you think you're doing, Violet?" She gave him an angry glare.
"You're not gonna endanger Miss Princess, are you?" He said with a sly smile, and pointed at the battle taking place.
At this Pyrrha cracked a smile as well, and charged alongside him. She useed her shield and magnetism to jump onto the deathstalker and pierce one of its eyes with her javelin. As she did that, Violet spun his scythe up, and pulled the trigger, sending the blade of the Mordred straight through the joint of one of the grimm's many legs.
The other students, emboldened by the new reinforcements attacked again in unison. Yang's mighty punch seemed to displace one of the creature's pincers. Blake, Ren, and Ruby unleashed a barrage of gunfire on its stinger, causing it to go limp. Weiss unleasheed a torrent of ice dust that froze another one of its legs.
Nora's hammer struck in a similar manner to Violet's, hitting the Deathstalker head on. Its armor plating was too strong, however, and it only left a crack. That is, until Ruby showed up, a whirlwind of rose petals moving at an inhuman speed. Her masterful use of the scythe pierced the weakened spot with incredible strength. As soon as she did so, the beast's movements become erratic shortly before going dormant. The creature slowly began to dissolve as everyone started celebrating.
"Vio!" Ruby sprinted to hug him, almost knocking him down. "I'm so glad to see you."
"Likewise." he smiles and ruffles her hair, "You were so cool back there, my little whirlwind." he continues combing through her hair, as he looks over to Yang. She however doesn't look quite as happy. She points to his leg. "The hell happened to you?" As Ruby looked below her and saw the issue, she reflexively backed away.
Violet nonchalantly said, "Not a big deal, just a minor flesh wound sis."
"You'd say the same thing if your entire leg was cut off!" Yang approached him and gave him a light slap. "Who the hell let my little brother get hurt?"
"Uhhh… That would be me." a shy Pyrrha spoke up behind her.
Yang's eyes widened when she saw who she was facing, "Pyrrha Nikos? You. With him. Really?" she said in disbelief.
"I... guess so." she replied.
"Don't worry sis, I'm sure you two will get along just fine. She had a similar reaction when I did my usual… risk-taking routine."
"By that I'm sure you mean running straight into the jaws of an ursa." Yang said.
"It was only an alpha." Pyrrha was chuckling to herself.
They approached the ruined temple to find a collection of chess pieces spread out. So those were the relics he was asked to retrieve? Violet chuckled to himself and immediately went to look for a king piece. Finding a black king unattended, he grabbed it without thinking twice.
An aircraft soon arrived to pick them up and take them back to Beacon. Before long, the students were arranged with their partners and awaiting the announcement regarding the new teams. Violet saw that Ruby and Yang were put on the same team. He was not thrilled to see the icy princess with them. The Blake girl remained a mystery as well. She seems promising, and since she's on my sister's team, I could get close to her.
What truly baffled him was Ozpin's announcement that the newly named team RWBY would be led by none other than his fifteen year old sister, Ruby Rose. As much as he liked his little sister, she did not have an aptitude for leadership. Or really talking in general. What the hell is Ozpin thinking? His misgivings were lessened however as he noticed Weiss' shocked face. Maybe that headmaster does have a point, he thought, her pride needs to take a beating. Otherwise, she'll constantly try to walk over the rest of the team.
The time came for his team to be announced. He was joined by a certain Nora Valkyrie and a Lie Ren. He shook hands with Ren and exchanged pleasantries, before being interrupted by Ozpin.
"The name of the team shall be… PRVN, with Violet Rose as its leader." At that, Violet was overcome with a sense of triumph. Yes, things are going perfectly thus far. The world already seems a much smaller place, just ripe for the taking.