Cowboys of Remnant
A RWBY Fic by AndrewJTalon
DISCLAIMER: This is a fan based work of prose. RWBY is the property of Rooster Teeth and WB Animation. Please support the official release.
This first part written by Insomnius, who is a co-writer on many of these pieces.
"The next match will be between Cardin Winchester and Jaune Arc," Professor Goodwitch called out.
Jaune started a little, surprised that he was being called up on the first day of class. Although, judging from the slight glare that the Professor was sending his way, it may have been because he'd been dozing a little. It wasn't his fault, honest! He always got a little sleepy after lunch and he'd had to stay up late last night to give Orly a rub down because she'd been acting up during Initiation and the bed in his dorm had been too soft so he'd been having trouble getting to sleep and then-
"Now, Mr. Arc."
"O-of course ma'am! Right away ma'am!" He stammered, jumping to his feet and hurrying down to the ring.
"Good luck Jaune!" Ms. Rose called after him.
"Knock 'em dead, Cowboy!" Her sister, Ms. Xiao Long, followed up.
"You've got this, Fearless Leader!" Ms. Valk- Nora shouted. Yes, she'd be very emphatic about being addressed as Nora.
Now in the sparring ring, Jaune took a moment to loosen up, limbering up his legs and stretching out his fingers especially. He swept his poncho up over his shoulder to free up his gun hand and waited for his opponent.
Cardin Winchester was a big man clad in a suit of half-plate armor. Jaune, already a tall man himself, would have had to look up to meet the redhead's eyes and there was no way that Jaune's lean physique, developed by years of living on the road, would have matched up to the other man's slabs of muscle. The big mace he carried said he was a close-range fighter, but the Fire Dust crystal embedded in the head indicated he was more than just a one-trick pony. His
Don't let him get close then, Jaune mused to himself. And keep an eye out for any Fire attacks. Maybe I can-
"Hey hick!" Cardin's baritone rang out. "Try to put up a good fight!"
Jaune's eyes narrowed. "I'll do my best," he replied. "May the best man win!"
"Oh, I intend to," Winchester said with a smirk.
Well, I was polite, Jaune thought. Ma can't take fault with what happens now.
"Gentlemen, on my mark. The bout will continue until surrender, ring out, or Aura reduction to the red," Professor Goodwitch called out from the referee's stand. "Ready... BEGIN!"
Quick a flash, Jaune's revolver was out of its holster and he was fanning the hammer, sending all six Aura charged bullets screaming towards his opponent. The shots had been fired in such quick succession that the resulting bangs had all melded together into one report. To Cardin's credit, he took the shots head-on, not even flinching at the pain, and charged straight in. Jaune could see out of the corner of his eye that Cardin's Aura had taken a significant hit though, dropping by almost a fifth.
Couple more of those and I'll have this in the bag.
Slamming the cylinder of his S&W open, he dumped out the spent casings before placing it under a line of bullets on his belt. Sliding his thumb across the back of the bullets, he spun the open cylinder across his waist, loading a bullet into each chamber with the flick of his thumb. Less than a second later, he had his revolver reloaded and ready to go. He fanned the hammer once more, firing all six of the fresh bullets in less time than it had taken to load them.
Cardin was clever enough to not be taken by the same trick twice though. He continued his charge but leapt to the side as he did, barely avoiding Jaune's shots by a hairsbreadth. Taking his mace in both hands, the larger boy slammed it into ground and dragged it along for a few feet before lifting it back up. The floor of the ring distorted as a shockwave traveled towards Jaune but the cowboy didn't hesitate, jumping over the ground based attack while beginning another reload. That was when the fireball hit Jaune in the chest and knocked him sprawling.
Fortunately, his Aura had been more than capable of tanking the explosion, but the force had still sent him to the ground. More importantly though, the blast had torn his revolver out of his hands and sent it clattering out of the ring. As he clambered to his feet, the cowboy saw Cardin smirking at him from behind the smoking head of his mace.
Clever bastard.
Scowling, Jaune reached over his shoulder and drew Old Man Duke's gift to him: a steel-framed Winchester 76 lever-action shotgun loaded with customized Burn Dust rounds. It was a powerful weapon, but lacked the precision that Jaune preferred when fighting. Of course, sometimes overwhelming firepower was just what you needed.
Cardin's smirk was swiftly overtaken by a look of panic as he dodged out of the way of the pillar of flame that erupted from the barrel of Jaune's shotgun. Jaune could barely hear the exclamations of the audience over the roar of his weapon. He worked the lever, releasing a smoking shell and racking a new one, before taking aim and firing again. Cardin just barely managed to dodge out of the way of the second blast, but it was a close thing. The cowboy racked another shell and this time the shot he fired took Cardin in the chest and sent him flying out of the ring.
A buzzing ring sounded out as Professor Goodwitch called the match. Jaune lowered his shotgun, absently noting that the barrel was glowing a cherry red. Cardin got to his feet, groaning, but his Aura was still intact. Glancing over to the scoreboard, Jaune could see that Cardin's Aura Gauge remained over 60% while Jaune's hadn't dipped below 90%.
"A quick match," the Professor noted, as she fixed the crumpled arena floor with a wave of her riding crop. "Mr. Arc, excellent marksmanship, but you could stand to be more mobile."
"Thank you, ma'am," Jaune intoned, nodding to the Professor. "I think I've gotten too used to Orly doing the movin' for me. I'll work on that."
"See that you do."
He breathed a small sigh of relief and went to retrieve his pistol. while she turned to address his opponent. "Mr. Winchester, solid use of tactics but your maneuverability could use more work. Wearing armor is only effective if it actually protects you."
Cardin grit his teeth but thanked the Professor regardless.
"You may take your seats, gentlemen," she said, dismissing them. "Ms. Nikos! Ms. Xiao Long! You two are next."
As the two young men trudged back to their seats, Cardin growled under his breath, "This isn't over, hillbilly."
Jaune side-eyed the armored redhead before murmuring, "You're right. I reckon it ain't."
Despite the fact he was a rugged cowhand, Weiss did appreciate that Jaune Arc kept himself clean, neat and tidy. He rarely shaved, but it suited him somehow. It made him look older, more mature.
So it was a shock to see him show up to breakfast with pink splotches on his uniform jacket. Pyrrha frowned as the blond young man sat down at his usual spot with his breakfast. His face was as calm and placid as ever though. Ruby leaned forward.
"Jaune? What happened?"
Jaune sniffed.
"It seems Mister Winchester thought ruining my laundry was a good practical joke," Jaune stated. Nora grinned.
"Want me to break his knees?"
Jaune appeared to give this serious thought. He then shrugged.
"Nah."
"A wise decision," Ren nodded. Nora pouted.
"His wrists?" She offered.
"Don't break anything on him until I say so," Jaune ordered firmly. Nora pouted, but nodded.
"Aye aye, Captain!"
Weiss shook her head, scowling a bit.
"He can't get away with harassing you, Jaune," Weiss sniffed.
"I agree, Jaune," Pyrrha added, "You should go to a teacher!"
Jaune huffed.
"When you've been on a few cattle drives, bullying's not something you pay much mind to," Jaune said with a shrug, beginning to eat his food, "Winchester's got his issues, but they ain't mine."
"Yes, but we don't like seeing you get bullied," Ruby pouted. Jaune shook his head again, sipping his coffee before he answered.
"My Pa and Mister Duke said there are only a few things a man should fight for. Some prissy jock who grew up with a silver spoon in his mouth thinking he'll put me in my place ain't one of them."
"O-OW! OW!"
A loud female cry filled the cafeteria. All eyes went to a young rabbit Faunus girl. She winced and cringed in pain as Cardin Winchester yanked on one of her ears, his other teammates around her and laughing.
"See? Told ya they were real! She's a genuine freak!"
Jaune's jaw was set like stone. He set down his silverware, wiped his lips with a napkin, and stood up.
"Excuse me," Jaune stated, his voice quiet but there was a fury boiling underneath it.
"Jaune?" Pyrrha asked. Jaune stalked right up to Cardin Winchester. The redhead looked over at him and sneered.
"What do you want, hillbilly?"
"You. Me. Outside," Jaune stated coldly. Cardin scoffed.
"Really? Want to try to fight me like a man?"
"Big talk from the coward picking on a lady," Jaune stated coldly.
Cardin growled. He let go of the Faunus girl, who scampered away. Cardin smirked and cracked his knuckles.
"You've been asking for this for a long-!"
Jaune threw a haymaker that knocked one of the redhead's teeth out. He staggered back, putting a hand over his cheek in shock. Jaune didn't stop there, grabbing his shoulders and ramming his knee into the bully's crotch. The other three members of Cardin's team swarmed Jaune, punching and kicking him. He was put down on the ground, even as he kept swinging his fists and kicking his feet.
Pyrrha intervened, punt kicking one of the boys right in the face and sending him flipping off Jaune. Nora and Ren were next, slamming the bullies back. Cardin was back on his feet, as was Jaune. Cardin roared in rage and charged. Jaune took the hit from the big Huntsman in training, but returned a punch right to his gut. Other students got up and surrounded them in a ring, cheering and shouting...
Telekinetic force swept over them, and both sides of the fight were pushed apart. The other students parted like the sea before a boat, as Glynda Goodwitch walked up. Her glare was a thing of legend.
"Students! Who is responsible for this fight?"
Silence fell. Glynda's eyes narrowed.
"Who threw the first punch?"
Weiss opened her mouth. Pyrrha moved to step forward. Jaune shot them both hard looks. It was harsh, commanding, manly-No! No no no! Don't think like that!
"But Jaune, he-!" Ruby tried, but Jaune shook his head.
"Quiet."
Ruby pouted at him.
Jaune sucked in a deep breath, and let it out through his nostrils. He stepped up.
"I did it, Ma'am," Jaune stated, "I threw the first punch. This is my responsibility, and I'll take the punishment for it, ma'am."
Glynda stared intensely at him. Cardin gaped at him in shock.
Glynda then slowly nodded.
"Very well, Mister Arc. Detention with me tonight. You'll be helping me with paperwork."
"Yes ma'am."
Glynda waved her riding crop, and the damage to the floors and furniture wrought by the brawl was instantly repaired.
"Back to your meals, all of you," she stated, before turning and walking off. Jaune looked around.
"You heard her, back to breakfast," he stated flatly.
"Nothing to see here!" Ruby ordered as well.
The group broke up. Cardin shot Jaune another disbelieving look. The Faunus girl blushed as she looked at the blond as well. Jaune pointedly ignored both of them, as he sat back down to resume eating.
"That was very kind of you, Jaune. Very brave."
All eyes went to Blake Belladonna, who was looking intently at Jaune.
Jaune nodded slowly.
"Like I said. there are only a few things a man should fight for. A lady is one of them."
"Even if she's a Faunus?" Blake pressed. Jaune frowned.
"What difference does that make?"
Blake gave him a very small smile, and returned to her ever present book. Weiss frowned in confusion at her teammate.
What was that about?
"Also friends?" Nora asked, a bit softer than usual. Jaune smiled.
"Of course."
Pyrrha's own smile became much softer at that. It made Weiss's hackles rise...
Because her idol wasn't paying any attention to her, of course! Th-That's all it was!
We'll be jumping around the timeline a bit as it was written out of order.