AN: So, before we get started, I just want to address a common misconception from Ruby's introductory chapter. Cloud is not Ruby and Yang's brother, but he did grow up with them and they're his best friends.

I'm also really happy that people are liking this story already! It's really encouraging!

Also, RWBY Volume 9 was delayed again until 2023. Damn it.

Anyways, with all that out of the way, enjoy!

Introduction: Cloud Strife

"Alright, I think that should be just about everything," an eight-year-old boy with wild blond hair and blue eyes said, stuffing a bunch of clothes into a suitcase. His name was Cloud Strife. Today was the day that he'd be leaving to train with Zack. He struggled to get the suitcase closed, and zipped it up, letting out a pant of exertion when he was done. He reached over towards his dresser for the training sword Zack gave him, but a photograph caught his eye.

He picked up the photo and looked at it fondly. It was a picture of himself, Ruby, and Yang during their vacation to Gold Saucer last year, both his friends hugging his arms tightly with big smiles on their faces. He smiled at the photo, and placed it in his pocket. He grabbed his sword, and dragged his suitcase downstairs and out the front door.

In the bright sun of the early morning, he spotted the classic, black motorcycle of his guardian. The man himself was leaning next to the vehicle, doing some last-minute safety checks, a practice that the man had tried his best to teach Cloud the importance of.

Cloud strapped his bag to the side of the motorcycle, causing Zack to look up at him.

"You got everything?" Zack asked. He had spiky, slicked back black hair, and blue eyes so vibrant that they almost looked like they were glowing. He had an "x"-shaped scar on his right cheek, and was dressed in his old SOLDIER uniform. It consisted of a sleeveless black shirt, large black metal pauldrons, baggy black pants, and black combat boots. Strapped to his back was the largest sword Cloud had ever seen. It was more like a solid slab of metal with an edge than what most people would associate with a sword, with two holes near the handle to insert Materia.

It was the Buster Sword, Zack's most prized possession.

"Yup, it's all here," Cloud said.

"Good," Zack said, standing up and stretching his back out. "We should be good to go in a few minutes."

"Alright," Cloud said, before the sound of an engine caught his attention. Cloud and Zack looked to see a car pull into the driveway. The vehicle had barely stopped when the back door opened and two girls ran out, one eight years old and the other six.

The older girl was blonde, with her hair tied into pigtails, and the younger girl had black hair that turned red at the tips, with silver slit-pupils.

They were his best friends, Yang Xiao Long and Ruby Rose.

"Are you leaving now?" Yang asked as the sisters reached Cloud, their father getting out of the car at a slower pace than his daughters.

"Yeah, we were just about to," Cloud said.

"You dummy!" Yang said angrily, confusing Cloud. "You were really gonna leave without saying goodbye to us?"

"Well if you wanted to see me off before I left, then you have gotten here sooner," Cloud said in his own defense.

"Hey, that wasn't our fault!" Yang said, pointing at Tai. "Dad drives too slow!"

"Hey, I was going the speed limit," Tai defended.

"Yeah, slow," Zack said, prompting Cloud and Yang to laugh at his joke. Cloud noticed that Ruby wasn't laughing, and actually looked quite sad.

"Hey, Ruby, you okay?" he asked.

"Do…Do you really have to leave?" Ruby asked.

Cloud sighed. "Yeah, I gotta leave to train."

"B-but why do you have to leave?" Ruby asked again.

"Everyone has different methods they use to train people," Tai said. "This is Zack's."

"That's right," Zack said. "This was how I was trained, so it'll be the way Cloud will train. Travelling is a great way to gain experience you can't anywhere else."

"But I wanted all three of us to train together," Ruby whined.

"I'm sorry, Ruby, but if I want to become a Huntsmen then I have to follow Zack's lead," Cloud said. Suddenly, an idea popped into his head, and he held out his hand with the palm facing down.

"What are you doing?" Yang asked.

"Let's make a promise," Cloud said. "When we get older, all three of us will go to Beacon together. Deal?"

"Deal," both sisters said, placing their hands on top of his. After a few seconds, they wrapped their arms around him in a hug.

"Come back soon," Ruby said.

"I will," Cloud said, and the trio separated.

"So, you'll keep an eye on my house, right?" Zack asked Tai.

"Well, I was contemplating having Qrow watch it instead," Tai said with a smirk.

"Don't you dare!" Zack said, prompting the blond man to laugh. "You're the worst. Let's go, Cloud."

"Okay," Cloud said with a nod as he and his guardian hopped on the motorcycle. "I'll come back soon!"

"You'd better!" Yang called back as Zack revved up the bike and started driving. Cloud looked into the rearview mirror, and saw Ruby, Yang, and Tai waving goodbye.

He smiled and waved back until he couldn't see them anymore.

Nine years later…

Cloud sat on a bench in the locker room, looking at the photo of himself and his, Ruby, and Yang's trip to Gold Saucer. After all these years of training, all that travelling, it was frankly miraculous that this flimsy little piece of paper had survived, but it had since become one of the young man's most prized possessions, along with the massive sword placed next to him.

The Buster Sword. He was surprised when Zack gave it to him out of the blue like he had, since it had meant so much to his mentor, but he was nevertheless grateful.

Cloud had changed a lot in the last nine years. Where once he was a scrawny boy who was short for his age, now had grown into a tall, well-toned young man. His combat outfit was a copy of his mentor's SOLDIER uniform, but with only a single silver pauldron on his left shoulder instead of two black ones.

Cloud heard footsteps approaching him, and looked up to see Zack walking towards him. After nine years, his mentor was starting to grow a few gray hairs, and was getting a few more wrinkles on his face, but otherwise looked the same. His weapon was different, however. The sword on Zack's back was just as big as the Buster Sword, but looked sleeker and had obvious mechanisms attached to it.

"Whatcha looking at?" Zack asked. Cloud handed the photo to him, and Zack chuckled upon looking at it. "Oh yeah, I remember that trip. On the car ride home, you fell asleep holding that Ursa Major plushie you won."

"Out of everything we did on that trip, that's what you remember?" Cloud asked, his cheeks lighting up in embarrassment.

"Of course it is," Zack said with a laugh before handing the photo back to Cloud. "You really think I'd miss out on prime blackmail material like that?"

"You're the worst," Cloud said.

"I know," Zack responded with a cheeky grin. "Now come on, it's almost time for your match."

"Right," Cloud said with a nod, putting the picture back in his pocket and strapping the Buster Sword to his back.

The two of them walked down the hallway, eventually reaching the entrance to the arena where the match would take place.

"So, your last opponent is Pyrrha Nikos," Zack said. "You remember how she fought in her other matches?"

"Yeah," Cloud said. "She's got a sword and shield, and her sword can turn into a javelin and a rifle."

"Good. What about her Semblance? Have you figured out what it is yet?"

Cloud shook his head. "Not yet. If she has one, I don't know if she's used it. It could be something passive, or just plain subtle."

"So, you're gonna have to make sure to be extra cautious," Zack said. "You nervous?"

"If I was nervous, I would've lost in the first round," Cloud responded confidently.

"Ladies and gentlemen, it's the event you've all been waiting for: The Final Round of the 20th annual Mistral Regional Tournament!" The announcers voice suddenly called out over the loudspeakers, prompting an uproar of applause from the crowd.

"Moment of truth," Zack said.

"Our first challenger is a young woman who needs no introduction," the announcer continued. "Give it up for the three-time reigning champion, the Invincible Girl, Pyrrha Nikos!"

Cloud practically had to cover his ears to protect them from the truly deafening applause that resulted from the announcement of his challenger's name. He watched as a young woman with brilliant red hair and vibrant green eyes jogged into the arena, waving at the excited crowd. Her long red hair was pulled into a ponytail, with a bronze headdress helping to hold it in place. She wore a bronze chestplate and leg armor, a black A-line miniskirt with a red sash wrapped around her waist and trailing behind her, and black high-heeled boots.

She certainly looked every bit like a champion.

"And our second challenger, an underdog favorite who has dominated in only his first year of competing: Give it up for Cloud Strife!"

Cloud jogged out into the arena as well, noting that while not as loud as Pyrrha's, he had an applause of his own. The two young warriors approached the center of the arena, and Pyrrha offered her hand to shake.

"It's very nice to meet you," she said.

"Likewise," Cloud said, accepting her offered handshake.

"That uniform is from SOLDIER, right?" Pyrrha asked.

"Yeah, it is," Cloud said.

"Oh, interesting," Pyrrha said. "I've never met anyone from Midgar before."

"Sorry, but I'm from Patch," Cloud said. "My mentor is from Midgar, though." He gestured behind him towards Zack, who was still watching from the entrance.

"Kick her ass, Cloud!" Zack shouted in what Cloud assumed was supposed to be encouraging. Cloud just rubbed the back of his sheepishly.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Pyrrha said, her eyes widening in concern. "I just assumed because of your uniform and all."

"Don't worry about it," Cloud said. "I would have made the same assumption, too. But, I didn't come here to talk about fashion, I came here to fight, and I'm hoping you'll be a good challenge."

Pyrrha just stared at him with wide eyes for a few seconds before she laughed lightly, lightly holding her hand over her mouth. "I think I can do that."

"Good," Cloud said.

"Well, good luck," Pyrrha said.

"You too," Cloud said. "But don't hold anything back. I want you to come at me with everything you got."

Pyrrha looked surprised for a second before smiling brightly. "Will do."

The two of them turned around and walked to opposite sides of the arena.

"Challengers, ready your weapons!" The announcer shouted. Pyrrha reached behind her and drew her shield, strapping it to her left arm, and holding her sword in her right. Cloud reached behind him and drew the Buster Sword, but instead of getting into a battle stance, he held the weapon in front of him, resting his forehead against the side of it.

"Embrace your dreams," he said quietly to himself. "And no matter what happens, protect your honor as SOLDIER." He flipped the blade so the edge was facing Pyrrha, and gripped it tightly with both hands, the Buster Sword held in front of him.

"Fight!"

Neither combatant missed a beat, charging at each other with weapons raised. Cloud brought the Buster Sword straight down, slamming it into the floor. Pyrrha sidestepped at the last second, and swung her sword diagonally. Cloud let go of his weapon, leaving it embedded in the floor, and quickly dropped onto his back to dodge the attack. He curled up, pressed his palms into the ground under him, and sprung up, launching himself at the champion with both a double-kick. Pyrrha quickly raised her shield to block, and the impact sent her skidding backwards several feet, and she threw her shield like a disc.

Cloud quickly pulled the Buster sword out from the ground and swung it wildly to knock the incoming shield away, and ran towards Pyrrha. She quickly transformed her sword into a rifle and fired at him. He brought up his sword, using the wide end to block the bullets.

As he approached, Pyrrha quickly transformed her weapon back into a sword and swung from Cloud's left, so he swung his Buster Sword to deflect and swung towards his right. Pyrrha's eyes widened in surprise before the attack hit her in the shoulder, knocking her back and drawing a surprised gasp from the crowd.

Pyrrha quickly recovered, narrowing her eyes in confusion at Cloud's sword for some reason. Cloud decided to capitalize on her distraction and swung his weapon down at her. She stepped out of the way and slashed him several times in the chest with her sword, before kicking him in the stomach. He doubled forward, and she rolled over his back and ran towards her shield.

Cloud growled in frustration, and focused his Aura in his sword, causing it to glow blue. With a roar, he swung it downwards, launching a wave of energy at Pyrrha. She rolled to grab her shield and ducked behind it, blocking most of the serious damage but still being knocked backwards.

Cloud looked up at the display, and saw that both of their Auras were in the yellow, dangerously close to red, and thus elimination.

"You think you got enough in the tank for one more attack?" Cloud asked.

"I do," Pyrrha said.

"Me, too," Cloud said. He changed his combat stance, holding the Buster Sword in one hand parallel to the ground, with his other hand extended towards her and his stance wider. "Let's finish this."

"With pleasure," Pyrrha said, holding her shield out in front of her and her sword at the ready.

After a few seconds, the two warriors charged at each other one more time. Pyrrha attacked with her sword, but Cloud quickly spun in a circle, swinging his sword wildly as he did, knocking Pyrrha's sword away, and slashing her across the stomach. Her Aura absorbed the impact, but fizzled out afterwards, and she fell backwards onto the ground. Cloud looked up and the Aura meter above their heads confirmed that Pyrrha's Aura had indeed completely depleted.

A hush fell over the crowd.

"I… I can't quite believe what I'm seeing, folks," the announcer said. "But, it seems that Pyrrha Nikos has been defeated!"

Cloud walked towards Pyrrha, who was still on the ground. She looked up at him on hearing him approach, and reached down to offer his hand. She looked at him in surprise for several seconds, before she smiled and accepted his offer. She took his hand, and he pulled her to her feet.

"Are you alright?" Cloud asked.

"Yes, I'm fine," Pyrrha said. "That was an incredible match. Your sword technique is truly impressive."

"Thanks," Cloud said. "You ain't too shabby yourself."

Pyrrha giggled at the praise. "I was wondering, what's your sword made of?"

"Don't know," Cloud said. "Never really thought about it. Why?"

"Oh, um, no reason," Pyrrha said nervously. "It's just, um, really well-built."

"There you have it, folks!" the announcer shouted. "The winner of this year's Mistral Regional Tournament is Cloud Strife! Who could have predicted such a stunning match?"

Suddenly but slowly, the audience started to clap for Cloud's win. Pyrrha smiled, took hold of his hand, and lifted his arm up in the air to celebrate his victory.

Within seconds, the arena erupted into thunderous applause.

Zack watched with a proud smile on his face as Pyrrha and Cloud celebrated the latter's victory, the crowd on their feet in applause.

"Good job, Cloud," he said to himself.

He had suspected it for a while, but this victory had confirmed it.

There was nothing else Cloud could learn from him.

It was finally time for his student to attend Beacon Academy.

AN: I hope you all enjoyed! I don't really have much to say about this chapter, except to point out the obvious that in this version, Zack is around Tai and Qrow's age, and is the one that raised Cloud.

And as Pyrrha stated in this chapter, Midgar exists in Remnant here as a fifth Kingdom. We'll be getting into a little bit more of the politics of how that works next chapter.

Speaking of next chapter, we'll be meeting two characters in the next introduction: Weiss Schnee and Reno!

Thank you very much for reading, and I'll see you all next time!