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Pyrrha Nikos didn't know how to feel at the moment.
Jaune Arc was everything to her. He embodied her desires, he was everything she wanted. So she decided that he would remain in her life by any means necessary. She had succeeded in that endeavor, for a while. She promised herself that in her second year at Beacon, he would become her boyfriend, he truly meant that much to her.
Her plans were left in ruin after that fateful day. After everything, how could he not trust his friends, his teammates, herself with such a secret. She knew he struggled in class, and did everything to help remedy his lack of skill in combat. But to find out he was a fraud, a faker this entire time. He put not only himself, but his entire team in danger. Refusing to listen to excuses, she shut him out of her heart. It hurt like nothing else before.
After being kicked out, Jaune Arc simply vanished.
Pyrrha had come to realize that, yes, while Jaune was wrong for lying to get into Beacon Academy, she was in the wrong too. She should have listened to him, she should have tried to understand. He had always made team JNPR's safety the top priority, he did understand the responsibility given to him. She knew Jaune well enough to know that he could never put his team in any kind of danger.
Realizing too late, she had asked Professor Ozpin if there was a way to get in contact with her ex-leader. It was at that moment Pyrrha realized that finding closure was now out of reach. He was gone. She had fallen into a depression that only worsened with the passage of time. While not the only one affected by Jaune's disappearance, she was the one that took the news the hardest. It had taken months of comfort and reassurance from her friends and teammates that things would work out.
And now here he was, right in front of her once again. Jaune certainly looked different from before but it was him. She had so many things to say to him, and to apologize for. Right as she was going to say something, he had spoken first.
"Considering all of you watched me enter through a portal everyone here is aware of magic, this makes things a little easier. Hey old man, care to explain a little?" His head turned towards Zelretch expectantly. "Of course Emiya. You will be fighting alongside the two teams here in hopes of pushing back a threat that has been looming over this world for centuries." He gestured towards Ozpin before resuming. "I will be leaving you in his care, so be sure to get along." A knowing smirk appeared on his face. He was up to something again.
"I am afraid I need to get going soon so let's get to the most important details quickly." And there it was.
"The main threats to mankind here are similar to phantasmal beasts, so exterminate them with extreme prejudice. There is a second race that coexists with humans known as Faunus." He suddenly took a serious expression before continuing. "The people here are unaware of the existence of magic, believing it to be either fake, or a lost art. Emiya, as the Wizard Marshall, I grant you full permission to use your magecraft here. Secrecy will not be needed considering what is to come, however I will leave it to your discretion"
This certainly caught Jaune off guard. Secrecy was everything to a magus, himself excluded, and for the Marshall himself to disregard it meant that things were dire, or about to reach such a point. Just as he was about to ask one more thing, he got interrupted. "With that said I will be taking my leave." As Zelretch got up from his seat a portal opened beside him, he turned to Jaune once again. "Emiya, I highly recommend that you do not hold back. The people here are a bit more durable than you would expect. I will be sure to visit every once and a while."
Without another word, he left with the portal closing soon after.
'Man what have I gotten myself into this time? Rin was right, I really am a magnet for trouble.' He turned to his new acquaintances, giving them a smile. "So with that past us, how about we figure out how to proceed now that our resident "man of mischief" is gone." Everyone seemed to snap out of their daze at his words. Ozpin quickly answered. "I think that would be the right course of action. Team RWBY and PNR, you are free to leave. Professor Goodwitch and I have more topics to discuss with Mr. Emiya." He hoped that the former student in front of him could divulge information on this magecraft, as Zelretch had called it.
Pyrrha was about to argue with the Headmaster before being cut-off by professor Goodwitch. "I understand that you wish to talk with him, Pyrrha, but I think you need some time to rest, please." The message was clear, they were telling her she'll get her chance to talk to him, she just needed to wait. She sighed in disappointment, accepting the outcome. "Very well professor, please call me… us, as soon as possible." With those words Pyrrha began to leave the office with her friends following close. She took one last look at Jaune before the door to the elevator closed.
No one said a word the entire walk to the student dorms, it was only until getting to the wing where their dorms await them that someone spoke. "Hey if it's alright can we all talk in my team's dorm for a bit? I'm really confused right now, and I'm sure everyone feels that way too." Ruby suggested a group meeting, which was quickly accepted. With everyone in RWBY's dorm they waited for someone to ask about the obvious.
Yang asked what was needed. "So let's get it straight, vomit boy was on some world saving quest this entire time, and for some reason doesn't seem to remember any of us. Did I get everything?" She looked at her friends, confused as they were. "Actually it sounded like Jaune is a wizard too since that other guy said he can use something called magecraft. He also looked completely different from when he was last here." Ruby pointed out.
Unable to contain it anymore, her words poured out. "I don't understand how Jaune can not remember us, after everything we've been through. Maybe Zelretch did something to him to not remember. The first chance we have we need to ask what happened." Pyrrha appeared crestfallen with how her former leader reacted to seeing all of them again, or rather his lack of reaction.
Memories played in the Maiden's mind. The time spent together with the one that got away, the one she pushed away.
The way his eyes passed by her without pause, like she was a stranger in a crowd.
"I know that we left off on bad terms with Jaune but I at least want to make things right. To fix what was broken… or am I the only one that feels this way?" She pleaded to her friends. "You're not the only one Pyrrha, I want my friend back too. But does Jaune want that? Maybe he's pretending to not recognize us." Ruby was the one to answer her back, albeit sadly.
"I think we should head to bed and try to rest. Maybe tomorrow we can get some answers from Jaune." Ren spoke up seeing that the conversation was going nowhere.
They quickly left the dorm without looking back. Returning to PNR's room. Try as they might, sleep did not come easily for anybody.
Her eyes slowly fluttered open, the sun's rays entering through the cracks of the window shades. With a stifled yawn she sat up, throwing her legs over the bed's edge. Looking, she found herself to be the only one in the room.
"I overslept?" She asked aloud. Turning her head, she found a note on her desk. Picking it up she read what was written.
"Nora and I left to get breakfast, we'll be back soon with food for you, so please wait for us to return." The ever considerate Ren left the note. Without much else to do she started her morning ritual, starting with light stretches before showering. As soon as she was finished with dressing herself, the door opened with Nora rushing in followed by Ren.
"Morning Pyrrha! Hope you got the sleep you needed, we also brought you some food." Nora exclaimed loudly. Looking to be in a better mood after yesterday's events. She looked to her other teammate. But before anything more could be said the sound of their scroll alerted them of a message being received.
Looking at her own scroll the Maiden saw it was from Professor Goodwitch.
[Please report to the combat arena in the next twenty minutes.]
Looks like food will have to wait.
"Alright you two let's not keep the professor waiting" She received two nods of approval. They walked to the classroom with haste, joined by team RWBY along the way. When they entered the classroom the first thing she noticed were the Professors standing in the middle of the arena. Next to them was Jaune, dressed in the same clothes as the day prior.
"Good morning students, Mr. Emiya here had an interesting idea during our discussion yesterday. He wishes to spar with a team to gauge your combat skills first hand." Ozpin announced in a cheery voice, excited to see what Jaune had learned during his time in another world.
"I apologize for the inconvenience, but I need to know where we stand in terms of combat abilities. If things are as dire as the Headmaster had described to me then this will help me better integrate with fighting alongside all of you." Jaune calmly explained himself. "So, which team would like to go?" Looking at the group of students, waiting for one of the leaders to volunteer.
"You think you can actually fight an entire team by yourself?" Weiss questioned him with a haughty tone. He simply smiled at her before speaking. "Trust me. I am plenty capable of fighting more than one person at a time"
The Headmistress decided to make the choice for the students. "Then let us put that to the test Mr. Emiya. You will fight team RWBY." She began to leave the arena, followed by Ozpin and PNR.
With nothing more to be said Team RWBY left to the lockers to gather their gear. The two teachers and group of students found themselves seated, waiting for the showdown. Team RWBY emerged from the locker room heading directly towards the arena.
Ruby Rose proudly led the team. She wore a red long-sleeved shirt with a black corset over it, a red skirt that reached just above her knees, black stockings that covered her entire leg, and black boots with iron covering the toes. A black belt that had two magazines on the left hip, an iron rose on the right. And to complete the look, a long flowing red cloak with the hood down. Something rectangular can be seen outlined underneath said cloak.
Weiss Schnee followed right next to her leader, her snow white hair was tied in multiple loops ending with a ponytail facing the back, adorned by a tiara. She wore a white sleeveless dress that faded into a light blue towards the hips, then back into white reaching to the end of the skirt that ended at her mid-thighs. Pure white gloves that reached her elbows. A gray long sleeved jacket sat on top of her shoulders. She wore light blue high-heeled boots. And a white belt wrapped her waist with cylindrical cartridges adorning it. A rapier sat on her right hip.
Blake Belladonna closely followed behind Ruby, her long black hair flowed freely with a distinct set of cat ears proudly on display. Wearing a purple shirt and a black jacket. A pair of black pants with white accents hugged her legs, with Black boots to match. A sheathed sword layed on her back.
Yang Xiao Long strutted in confidence beside her partner, long blonde hair tied in a simple ponytail. A bright yellow shirt hugged her torso, with loose black pants. She wore a long brown coat, its sleeves rolled up to the elbow, with the tail ending at the knees, matching with her brown boots plated with iron at the toes and shin. Black combat gloves wrapped tightly around her hands and wrist for support with round balls of metal sitting above the knuckles. Finally she wore large yellow bracelets that seemed able to expand.
They walked onto the arena to fight their former friend. It was rather exciting, they are about to figure out how much Jaune had learned while away from the Academy. Professor Goodwitch's voice demanded their attention. "The rules shall be simple, you are eliminated if knocked out of the arena, or if your aura has reached below fifteen percent. You will begin on my mark."
"Good luck Jaune!" Ruby shouted at her opponent. He responded in kind. "Good luck as well, along with the rest of your team. Don't hold back on me." A confident smirk appeared on his face.
The Professor's arm swung down, marking the start of the battle.
"Begin!"
Wow I was NOT expecting this story to receive the kind of attention it did. I honestly thought only a few people would look at it and proceed to ignore it… well nonetheless I want to thank all of you for the support.
But man, I am a little disappointed with myself with how this chapter turned out. Oh well, I should've expected it to be challenging. What really got me stuck was figuring out what team RWBY should wear. I figured I would try to give them new gear rather than the one in canon, even if it's badly described, I only hope all of you understood what I tried to convey very poorly. That said, I am REALLY excited to get into combat in the next chapter, alongside dropping hints of what Jaune had experienced in the Fate universe.
I only hope work doesn't get in the way of writing again (I work full time at a restaurant, but I do like the challenges it brings). Next chapter should come out sooner since I know what I actually want and can plan appropriately for it. With all that said I will see all of you in the next chapter. Thank you for your time, have a nice day!