Chapter 4

Here we go! It's Orientation Time!

"I have to admit, this batch of new students seems to be a mixture of arrogance and incompetence, with only a handful of them being competent for tomorrow," Issei said as he ate some cooked broccoli in the cafeteria with Emerald standing near him. He was observing many of the future students either showing off their 'skills' or telling how 'awesome' they were back home in their training academies.

"You not wrong. I can see the toxic masculinity and femininity. Most of them will probably be dead by tomorrow or drop out because Beacon and the other academies are nothing like their training schools." Emerald said as she counted some of the money she swiped from a rich bitch who didn't even notice a thief emptied her wallet.

"Well, at least there are some interesting people here in this group, that's for sure," Issei said as his left eye moved towards Yang and Jaune, who were chatting with each other, while Emerald looked at Blake and Weiss before the duo noticed that someone was missing from the group.

But before they could ask each other if they'd seen her, a red blur appeared between them, her silver eyes sparkling with amusement.

"Why, hello there. It's nice to see you both again, Emerald Sustaru and Issei Hyoudou." Ruby said, much to the duo's shock as neither of them was able to sense her approach them until Ruby put a finger to her lips and whispered in Issei's ear.

'I'd like to speak to you after lights out. May I meet you in your room around eleven o'clock?' Ruby asked as Issei then nodded before the cloaked reaper headed towards her sister and said something that must've embarrassed her since Yang began to lightly slap Ruby's arm with her fans, which made the girl laugh while Jaune looked embarrassed as well since he was tugging the collar of his bunny footie pajamas.

"Damn. That girl really knows how to pull a one-eighty." Issei said as he could tell that the girl he met earlier today and the one in front of him were two different women. One is a deadly force to be reckoned with, and the other is a tease for a sister who still cares for her sister.

Emerald chuckled as she patted his back. "Trust me, you get used to her personality switches after knowing her a while. She's both two personalities in her, and trust me when I say I'd rather see that version of her over the Huntress version since I still feel like I narrowly avoided death after she wiped the floor with me."

Emerald shivered a bit as she recalled seeing those silver eyes trained on her as if Emerald was the prey in front of a deadly silver-eyed wolf that was going to eat her alive. The shivering stopped when Issei placed a hand on her shoulder, which made Emerald sigh in relief as she thanked Issei for helping her.

Unfortunately, the moment ended when a certain professor came into the room.

"Ahem," Glynda said as Issei and Emerald backed away from each other before. Glynda merely sent a small glare at Emerald before clapping her hands to get the students' attention.

"It's ten o clock, which means it's time for lights out. You can continue your chats tomorrow since you'll need your sleep; otherwise, you'll die before you even become a student." Glynda said in an ominous tone, which sent shivers down many students before Glynda turned to leave and took Issei out of the room with her.

Emerald didn't quite want to leave Issei yet, especially if Ruby wanted to speak to him, so she followed him, activating her Hallucination and making a fake in a corner where no one could disturb her double.

After catching up to the mother-son duo, Emerald inwardly groaned as she didn't need a special hearing to hear Glynda talking to Issei as a doting mother.

"Did you already set out your clothes for tomorrow?"

"Yes, Mom. I also made sure my weapons were fully loaded and ready, plus I even had Professor Port look them over. I also scoped out the entire group and have a small list of who I would like to have as my partner."

"Please tell me one of them is not a certain mint-haired dancer?"

"Mom..."

"You know how I feel about that girl. I'm just worried she's trying to seduce and corrupt you again."

"Mom! Emerald isn't like that! Sure, she can be a flirt and a tease, but she's really nice when you get to know her. You gave Neo a chance, so why not Emerald?"

Glynda was quiet before she sighed. "Okay. If she does become a member of your team, then I suppose I can give her a chance."

"Thanks, Mom," Issei said as he hugged her, which made Glynda smile in happiness before she let him go back to his room.

Glynda smiled as she watched him leave the hallway before lightly tapping her left show to the ground.

"I already know you there, Emerald. You can stop hiding now." Glynda said as she blinked momentarily to see Emerald appear in front of her as if she had just been summoned into existence.

"How long?"

"After seeing your reflection momentarily after you stubbed your toe against that chair earlier."

Emerald and Glynda were silent towards each other as the professor spoke first.

"I don't know what your intentions are with Issei, but since he is willing to give you a chance, then I suppose I can do the same," Glynda said before her eyes sparked purple as she glared at Emerald, who seemed a bit afraid of the power in front of her until Glynda continued.

"However, know that if you try anything such as break his heart, then I'll gladly make you sleep with the Grimm, and I don't care what organization you belong to; I will hunt you down. Is that clear?" Glynda asked as. Emerald didn't speak but nodded before Glynda left the hallway, leaving Emerald near Issei's dorm room.

Emerald let out a breath of air she didn't even know she was holding before sighing in relief.

"I am so glad she's not an enemy. Otherwise, I would never be able to sleep comfortably knowing she's my enemy." Emerald said as she looked at her watch and saw that it was ten minutes to eleven already. This shocked them, and she headed towards Issei's room, only to find him waiting outside for her.

"So I take it mom interrogated you?"

"More like threatened me, but yes."

"I love her, but sometimes she's way too protective of me."

"I can't blame her since the bitch who killed you is dead and manipulated you. If I ever met her, I would've choked her with my chains before gutting her like a pig." Emerald said as Issei blushed a bit. He then whistled at her.

"Damn. You make me want to kiss you even more now." Issei said as Emerald approached him with a sultry grin and then wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Why not tap first base in your room now that the helicopter mom is gone?"

"Emerald Sustari, are you saying that you want to make out with me and go against my mother? How bold of you!" Issei asked in disbelief. Emerald smirked at the question before using her piece of blackmail.

"Oh, and you don't want me to tell her about you and Neo going out for a few long 'lunch breaks?'" Emerald asked as she had followed Issei and Neo and knew that the two also had a few dates when Issei snuck out of the school at night to join her on her big nightly escapades.

"Fair point," Issei said as he picked up Emerald's bridal style and carried her into the room. He then placed Emerald on the bed, letting Issei drink in all of her beauty, thanks to the moonlight.

Emerald's chocolate skin glowed in the moonlight, and her mint green hair seemed to make her even more exotic in his eye. Before her crimson eyes, he was mesmerized by a mom, and then he spoke without thinking.

"I really want to eat you up," Issei said, which made Emerald blush at the comment before she spoke in a bashful tone.

"Then go ahead," Emerald said as Issei wrapped his arms around her head and pulled her up before their lips began to inch near each other.

Their lips almost met.

"Damn. This is really turning me on right now." Ruby said as she cheekily smiled at the two from the window, causing Emerald and Issei to separate from each other. Ruby's smile became a mischievous grin as she then slid in between the two of them.

"So, were you two about to do the deed?" Ruby asked as Issei and Emerald became red as roses before Issei shouted at her.

"No! Nothing happened!"

"Y-Yeah, he's right!" 'Even though I totally wanted to taste those lips of his ever since Neo spoke about their relationship and how she loved tonguing him to get a taste of him.' Emerald said in her mind as she was pissed off that Neo took Issei's first kiss and mocked Emerald every chance she could by kissing right in front of her face, sending her a grin that dared her to try and take Issei's lips.

"Uh-huh. Right." Ruby said before she then looked around the room and admired some of the decorations. "Not bad for your room."

"What was so important that you wanted to speak to me, Ruby Rose, or should I call you the Bloody Reaper?" Issei asked, having heard rumors from the Spider organization about the outside members of Vale since Neo had chosen to bring them in when they earned her respect and attention.

The Bloody Reaper was a legend itself on the part of well-known Hunters and Huntresses since the rumors spoke of a terrifying Huntress who was the reaper that brought death to all of her targets with silver eyes that struck fear into the hearts of even some of the strongest souls. This dual-sided scythe was known as Soul Eclipsor and was wielded by a true master who also specialized in marksmanship as well.

Also, the Bloody Reaper was a deadly force that came from the Branwen Clan and was even the daughter of Raven Branwen. Issei had trouble with the rumors since he didn't believe most of them since he thought most were hot air to inflate the Huntresses ego, but seeing the sixteen-year-old girl before him with a spider tattoo on her left arm where her shoulder was along with the emblem of the Branwen Clan.

"So you've heard of me? I'm flattered to know that Neo's newest member has heard of my reputation." Ruby said as she sat at his desk chair before Issei snapped his fingers. A barrier was formed around the room, shocking Emerald but not Ruby as she smiled in amusement at this before asking him.

"Soundproof barrier?"

"Yep. No one can hear us at all, and it won't allow anyone to enter the room unless I say so. It's a special trick I picked up when I touched a member that could create a powerful barrier that absorbed physical attacks but also sound, which led me to test out my version of it. Unlike the previous version, I can extend it to a room I am in and prevent others from listening in, even if bugs are planted in the area. However, this barrier also allows me to extend it to cover all of Beacon; the problem is that the larger of a barrier I make, the more aura it uses from me, which is why I don't use it very often." Issei explained as Ruby was impressed by the tricks that the boy may have up his sleeve, especially if what Neo told her about Issei was true, then they would get along better than she thought.

"Interesting. And I've heard of your Sacred Relic, but you aren't showing it to me. Why is that?"

"Trade secret. If you want something, then you'll have to tell me if it's worth showing it to you. Fortress is just one of the tricks that Copy Soul that I'll show you for how." Issei said as he knew not to show his full hand from what Junior had told him when he was learning how to keep secrets and tell half-truths and lies to deceive others when he needed to, not that Issei wanted to lie to Glynda. Still, it was the only way to train more in the forest and Vale when Neo invited him out for the evening.

Ruby smiled at this as she nodded approvingly in his direction before leaning back in her chair and continuing.

"That's good. It tells me you have a good head on your shoulders. Just make sure you know who your real friends are, and you'll be fine. Trust me when I say that I've met people who pretended to be my friend just to leech off of me like some damn parasite." Ruby said as she narrowed her eyes as if recalling the times those leeches tried to act like they were friends when all they were was a waste of space and time.

Emerald was still frightened, knowing Ruby's reputation, before Issei calmed her down by placing her head on his left shoulder, making Emerald feel safe as he wrapped a hand around her arm. Emerald always felt like she could never truly trust anyone due to her time in the streets and Spider since people were always after something. Each member of Spider was loyal as a family, which made Emerald happy since she was part of that same family, but with Issei, she could tell that all he longed for was for someone to trust and open his heart to them.

Neo was the first one since the two were similar in a way. As Emerald and Issei spent time together on missions, they became closer, as thick as thieves, and watched each other back. In fact, Issei even took a bullet for her one time when Issei invited her to a nice dinner with just the two of them, which was ruined thanks to the White Fang trying to get some quick cash from the locals.

'And to think I still fell in love with that same dummy, ' Emerald thought. She still felt guilty for Issei taking that bullet for her until he reassured her that he would've done so to protect her since they were partners. And on that day, Emerald felt something towards Issei she had not felt in a long time.

Warmth and Love.

Warmth when she was around him and how he made her feel special when they fought together and chatted about anything, and love when Emerald felt strange noticing things about Issei that even Neo didn't know about when they went on missions together, so when Issei took that bullet and reassured her with those words, she learned that she had fallen in love with him.

The lovable dummy said that she would protect both his Soul and heart from those who would try to use him, even if she had to make a deal with the Brother God of Darkness to protect him.

"So what's this about? Is it about a new crime boss or gang trying to usurp Neo of her territory?" Issei asked as Ruby reached into her assets and pulled out a small device before seeing Issei turning his head away with Emerald glaring daggers at her.

"What the hell were you doing?! Who keeps something like the information in their chest?" Emerald yelled before Ruby tilted her head and replied with an innocent tone.

"My mom told me that if I needed to hide anything, then put it in a place no one would ever check, so she suggested my chest. Why are you so flustered? Is that not where you hide extra money or bullets when you're on a mission?" Ruby asked. Issei could tell that Ruby may be a deadly force to others, but it seemed her mother was an odd influence on her social skills.

"Uh, I don't think even my mother or Neo does that," Issei said as Emerald then grabbed him by the shirt and shook him.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean? Why did you leave me out of it?!" Emerald yelled as Issei stuttered his reply.

"W-Well, I r-remember when y-you had th-that dagger in your c-chest that one time," Issei said as he was then begging her to let him go before Emerald stopped as her face became atomic red as she recalled the time she did pull a knife out of her bust to take care of some bindings Emerald was in one time when she got kidnapped one time back in her early thieving days.

Issei shook his head before Ruby snapped her fingers to get their attention.

"I hate to break up your little argument, but we've got some business to discuss," Ruby said as she placed a small disk-like device on the floor in front of them. The device opened up to reveal a hologram of the Forever Forest.

"A couple of hours ago, a massive dark aura emerged from the cliffside of the Emerald Forest, where a massive dark aura was empowering the Grimm. I headed there to investigate earlier and saw a symbol that I fear has returned." Ruby said as she then showed the symbol as an eye made of black blood, with a crimson iris at the center of it, and blood-redd tears came out of the bottom.

And the blood spelled a terrifying message to those who read it.

The Witch shall return.

Darkness will cover the world and bring back what was lost to us.

The Warlock shall fall, and the Rabbit shall feast on his blood for betraying his beloved.

This is our message, so says the Cult of Grimm.

The trio were shocked to see the message as Ruby closed the image before speaking to them.

"And that's why I'm terrified since I've heard of this cult. I only know a little bit about them, but what I do know from my mother is that the Witch actually wanted to bring magic back to the world when the Brother Gods abandoned the world back in the old days. Still, these cultists are a bunch of psychos who won't even hesitate in killing in the name of the Witch." Ruby said as she clenched her fists after hearing about them from her mother until Issei asked.

"But what about the ones known as Warlock and Rabbit?" Issei asked as Ruby replied.

"I know the Rabbit, but she goes by Bloody Rabbit or Alice since she's the craziest and the most loyal member of the cult. According to the reports about the group, she's the second in command, but her skills are nothing like I've seen, and this is coming from a silver-eyed warrior." Ruby said as she pulled out a photo and showed it to them.

The girl herself had black eyes with crimson red irises similar to that of a Grimm, and her smile was sinister despite her looking around Ruby's age. His silver hair was tied in a ponytail with a large ribbon on top of it all, allowing the trio a full view of her face.

Alice was wearing a soft black evening dress with a big heavy skirt. Her upper body was dressed in a lace-embellished ribbon and a short tailored jacket. Her hands were donned with long lace gloves, not exposing any bit of skin outside, and a large umbrella was hanging over her shoulder.

"Huh. She looks like a goth version of Neo. Got to say she's got some style, I'll say that much." Issei said as Ruby pouted at the point since the reaper felt like her style was taken from her before Ruby then moved to another image.

"She's deadly in combat with weapons and kind of seems to enjoy horror and making her opponents afraid of her. Her Semblance is actually terrifying since she has the power to bend Grimm to her will. Even a Titan Grimm can become a pet of hers, and they obey her every command, but her Semblance is far more dangerous than one thinks." Ruby explained as she showed a video of Alice laughing with glee as she watched a pack of Beowolves kill a whole village. She pulled out a bow, but when she pulled the string back, the arrow became a deadly shadow arrow that struck a fleeing villager before they became a shadow Grimm humanoid before the former villager attacked the others.

Issei and Emerald were shocked by this before Ruby closed the image.

"T-That's impossible. One can't become a Grimm, right?" Issei asked as Ruby explained.

"The arrows she uses are made with a special liquid that corrupts its target and turns them into pawns. It's a fate worse than death because the converted humans are more Grimm than human, meaning the only way to free them is to kill them." Ruby said, as she had, with a look on her face before looking at them both.

"So you're telling me she's here in the forest? But why?" Emerald asked as Ruby shrugged her shoulders.

"Your guess is as good as mine, but you need to be careful when going into the forest tomorrow. Whatever Alice was doing, there was not going to be anything good. I know her, and from what she told me when I clashed with her is that she only cares about bringing back the Witch, but I don't know who the Witch and I haven't found anything to help me understand what this means for her ultimate goal." Ruby said as she sighed and leaned back into her chair some more until she looked at them both before asking Issei with a timid look.

"Can I stay here for the night? I wouldn't say I like being surrounded by many people. I trust you after what Neo told me about you being kind and gentle," Ruby said. Issei was surprised by this before something clicked in his mind.

The face that Ruby had on her face matched his own when Raynare killed him back in his world.

"You loved Alice, didn't you?" Issei asked as Ruby's face fell, much to Emerald's surprise. She had always seen Ruby as a strong woman, but seeing her face fall into a moment of despair made her remember that underneath the title Ruby had created for herself, Ruby was still a sixteen-year-old girl.

"Luna. I loved Alice when I knew her as Luna."

"And she betrayed you in the worst way, right?"

"...Nearly killed me after revealing herself as a member of that damn cult," Ruby said as her knuckles were white as paper before a warm hand was placed on her own; she then looked up to see Issei in front of her before he went in to hug the broken girl.

Issei didn't need to say anything as Ruby slowly wrapped her arms around his neck and cried into his chest, her cries being muffled while her tears soaked his shirt. Issei could tell that the emotions that Ruby felt were the same ones that he felt the day Raynare betrayed him and hurt him in more ways than one.

"Ruby. You did nothing wrong. You deserve to be with someone who loves you for who you are and accepts you. Alice betrayed you, but you must not let her win. Allowing her to toy with your feelings and mind will only let her win over you again and again. She's the enemy, and you don't owe her a damn thing." Issei said as Ruby looked at his eyes and asked,

"How? How did you get over it?"

And the answer shocked her.

"It still hurts to this day. Granted, Raynare no longer haunts me, but the scars are still on my Soul. However,. However, I refused to let her control me, so I had some help from people I trusted, and I was able to open up and heal. Time heals all wounds, but only if you allow it to. Let go of those memories, Ruby. Let go, and they'll no longer chain you down."

Issei's words rang in her head as she recalled her mother, Summer Rose, speaking to her as well about her feelings towards Luna after learning who she really was.

'If you allow her to continue holding a piece of your heart, then she will continue to consume your life. So until you're ready to let her go, the ghost of Luna will continue to haunt you. Forgive yourself and love yourself so you can finally be free.'

Ruby sniffled a bit as she smiled at the memories of her mother, sister, father, uncle, and friends back in Patch. A sense of relief filled her heart; she truly felt free now.

"Thank you, mama."

Ruby whispered as she fell asleep in Issei's arms. Then, Issei moved her to his bed and asked Emerald to move as well. Emerald smiled at the sleeping girl and smirked at Issei with a teasing grin.

"So you are going after the girls of Spider, yes?"

"Emerald. Don't ruin the moment with useless accusations." Issei said as he held Ruby's left hand, who squeezed his own while Emerald snuck a photo of the two and sent it to Neo.

'This year is definitely going to be interesting,' Emerald said. She then looked at Issei's back and smiled before vowing to herself that she would always stand by his side and watch his back.

And thus, the night that was filled with fear and anger was now filled with warmth and comfort.

Emerald Forest.

"So this orientation will fill the forest with the students you spoke to me about?" Changeling asked as Alice smiled and nodded.

"Yep, and the fun part is that this Chaos Jewel will absorb their despair and fear once they learn that the forest will be filled with nothing but death once my pets eliminate them," Alice said as she patted the head of the Titan, she was sitting on top of while Changeling was amazed that a small human was able to control the lesser Grimm.

Now, some may ask why Changeling isn't under her control. That's because she's an Elder Grimm with a stronger mentality. Salem ensured the mind tricks of others would not control any of her creations, using magic to allow her creature creatures' minds to develop an unbeatable will independently so that others beneath them would not manipulate them.

"Intriguing, and does this jewel also enhance the Grimms' powers?" Changeling asked as Alice did a so-so motion.

"I'm afraid that the Grimm can only gain physical enhancements as well as regeneration, but the problem is that the more chaos energy I use from the jewel, the faster it'll run out of power. This is why I have to be careful how much power I release into my pets, and to take care of this, I made sure only to select my personal five favorite Grimm from my collection to wreak havoc." Alice said giddily as she imagined the dead people under her Grimm, while Changeling smiled as the Elder Grimm looked at the jewel.

"Fascinating. I look forward to seeing your pets tomorrow. For now, I need some sleep; for tomorrow, I hunt." Changeling hissed excitedly, then vanished into the Darkness while Alice let out a sigh of relief.

"Boy, I am glad that crazy Grimm is gone. I thought Changeling would try to kill me," Alice said, looking at her jewel and smiling.

"Maybe I can convince an elder to be my bodyguard if the Elder takes too much pain for them to handle my semblance," Alice said, grimly imagining that if she succeeded, she'd have a powerful new pet to play with and kill her father.

Orientation will be a memorable but horrifying day when the hero and his group are about to face their first encounter with the Darkness.

Scene!

I hope you all like it. I wanted to expand more on Ruby by saying that she may be more mature than the canon Ruby, but she's still a teenager, so she's sensitive to her emotions, especially to someone she actually loves and cares for.

Ruby and Issei will bond, but their relationship will be more of a brother and sister bond, while Issei and Emerald will be partners, but their teammates are to be determined since I have some ideas:

Cardin and Dove.

Amber and Vixen( I know one's a DC girl, but she'll be a special case.)

or some other duo you all have in mind.

I'd love to hear your ideas since Team JNPR and RWBY are strong contenders. I would also like to hear from the others since having Amber and Vixen will be amusing, as will my plans for Cardin and Dove. However, I would like to hear your feedback first before I go for it.

I hope you all enjoyed it. See you next time; oh, and I have an announcement for the Ben 10 and the Infinite Stratos stories. I'll be doing both at the same time, so be prepared for them both. Ta-Ta!~