A man sits comfortably in his office, signing and editing a single page. Everything on his desk is extremely neat, not that there's a lot on there to begin with. There is the page he is working on, along with a single pen, tan coloured folder, and the coffee mug he's never seen without. The midday sun gleams down into the office through the clock window. It doesn't disturb him in the slightest. He gratefully accepts the warm embrace on his back. It keeps his entire body at a decently warm temperature with his upper back suffering for the pleasure.
The man houses a head of messy grey hair with small brown eyes. He has a pair of peculiar, small, circular, shaded glasses resting on his nose that are more suited for reading than anything else. His clothes consist of a green scarf wrapped around his neck with none of it showing, and a purple cross right where his Adam's apple would be. He also wears an unzipped black suit that covers a buttoned vest and green undershirt. He uses dark-green pants to cover his legs and black shoes for his feet. This man is the Headmaster of Beacon Academy. This man is Professor Ozpin.
Ozpin cracks a slight smirk after he weaves his signature into the final spot, finishing the work that is this form. He lets out a relieved sigh and leans back in his chair, grabbing his coffee and taking a sip. Not a second later a woman bursts through the door, filling the room with her assertive presence. Ozpin peeks above his dark glasses to look up at the woman. Her blonde hair tied is into a bun, but still neatly dangling around her face. Her white business shirt is complimented by her black business skirt, dotted with four brown buttons that keep it together. She has a black cape flowing behind her, though the inside of it is purple. The woman stares down at Ozpin, her green eyes glaring through her small oval glasses.
"You requested my presence?" She politely asks, her tone slightly lighter than the presence she emanated.
"I did. I need you to double check this, just in case. I trust it's a simple task, Glynda?"
Glynda looks down at the page, deducting that this is what Ozpin was referring to.
"Hm, nothing I can't handle."
Glynda picks up the paper, adjusting her glasses so she can read more comfortably. As her eyes scan the page they widen a bit.
"A new student mid-semester? You've never allowed this, Ozpin," she comments. "He won't have a team either."
"Yes, an oddity for me I realize, but I'm making an exception for this one," he replies, taking another sip of his coffee.
"I must ask why? What makes this student so special? Does he have a unique semblance? Superior fighting skills?"
Ozpin shakes his head.
"No, he's an above average student, from what his previous instructors have reported."
Glynda raises her brow, moving her glasses a bit.
"So… what's your angle here? Why accept him?"
Ozpin fixes his glasses, takes a sip of coffee and smiles.
"It's a promise, Glynda. A duty, if you will."
Glynda looks back down at the page, rescanning the information.
"Well, he does sound… familiar. Who is he exactly?"
Ozpin exits his chair, grabbing his cane and coffee as he extends his legs and stands in a single fluid motion. He turns around and walks towards his window, his little observation deck for Beacon academy – his academy.
"You'll know when you see him, I think. His resemblance is uncanny."
Glynda doesn't know exactly how to take Ozpin's remark. It's obvious that she knows whoever this student is in some way, but how does he know she'll instantly recognize him? Her intrigue is only on the rise now, and in the same light, it irritates her. The mystery of this new student creeps into her mind like all things she's unaware of. While one would think she'd be used to Ozpin's vagueness by now, her teacherly pursuit for knowledge still made that aspect of the man annoyingly unbearable sometimes.
"But…" She sighs. "Very well. I'll trust you. So, when is he due to arrive?"
Ozpin continues to gaze out the window, looking to the wilderness of Vale.
"It should be within a day now. However, I think it's only fair to send a welcome wagon for him. What do you think?" He asks, not looking back at the huntress.
"I… will defer to your judgement on that. So, do you have a team in mind to welcome him?"
Ozpin smirks.
"I do indeed."
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Beacon, the prestigious academy and focal point of Vale. It's the most prominent sight from the city and a place all people love. It's peaceful, quiet, and nothing could-
"THIS ISN'T FUNNY!" A girl screams, clearly whining about something – her higher pitch voice piercing through the halls of Beacon. "IF SOMEONE DOESN'T GIVE IT BACK IN THE NEXT FIVE SECONDS!"
The entire dorm room bursts out laughing at the woman's expense.
"THIS ISN'T FUNNY! AAAGH, YANG!"
"What?" Yang asks in between fits of laughter. "I didn't, hehe, I didn't do a thing."
"EGH! YOU'RE ALL UNBEARABLE!"
A white haired, pale woman storms out of one of the dorms. Her clothes match her perfectly, as her skirt, boots, and shirt are all white, the exception being her jacket which is an extremely light shade of blue that one could mistake for white, and the inside of her jacket being a tame red. Her blue eyes are lit up to basically red and her once pale complexion does the same. The most notable feature is a small, crooked scar down her left eye which nobody but her knows the origins of. At the moment her blue eyes held a raging fury and her once pale complexion is several shades redder. Her fists are clenched tightly to her sides and her wrists angling them towards the ceiling. Her stomping through the halls echoes, letting everyone know this girl in on the move, and no doubt furious.
"Weiss! Come on!" A long, yellow haired woman calls out, poking her head out from her dorm, the shoulders of her brown jacket and orange scarf poking out with her. Her loose, hair flows down her head. She has a massive smile on her face even while dealing with the overbearing, loud, and pissed off Weiss.
Yang shrugs and slips back into the room, closing the door behind her. She looks to her two roommates, Blake Belladonna and Ruby Rose. Blake is in her usual outfit, as is Ruby. The former has her black hair waving down her back which is complimented by an equally black bow tied on top of her head. Instead of a school uniform, she dons a white sleeveless shirt that doesn't quite cover her lower stomach, along with a black vest that loosely attaches near the middle of her stomach. She has a very short pair of white shorts that are accompanied by stockings that start as black but slowly transition to purple around the knees. Finally, she covers her feet with black, low-heeled boots.
Ruby, similarly to Blake, has lots of black. Her somewhat messier shoulder length hair is a black with an ever slight red tint that becomes more prominent on its tips. She wears a black blouse and skirt, with the skirt and sleeves having red trimmings at the bottom. She has black leggings to cover her legs with red and black boots to match. To finish it off, she has a red hood that goes down to her upper thighs being held to her by two silver crosses. Her black belt holds a silver emblem of a flaming rose on the left side, and several silver sniper shells on her right.
Ruby looks at Yang with her silver eyes with joy.
"Yang, ha, you really gotta stop annoying Weiss, as funny as it can be," she giggles.
Yang shrugs.
"I wish I could annoy her like that. If only I had thought of it before you had."
Ruby blinks and her laughter dies down quite suddenly.
"M-Me? I thought you did it."
Ruby and Yang share a blank gaze, blinking twice before they turn to meet Blake's amber orbs. She'd already calmed down. She darts her eyes between them rapidly, picking up on what they are getting at.
"It wasn't me, if that's what you're thinking," she clears up.
Ruby raises her hand to her chin in a pondering posture.
"Well, if it wasn't us… who was it?"
The girls all think on this for a moment, unable to get an answer.
"Maaaybe we should go after her?" Ruby suggests.
The other two nod in agreement.
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Weiss Schnee, the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, stomps around the campus of Beacon with the intention of going to the library. Her huffs and constant mumbling keep everyone away, for they don't want to risk a vocal bombardment, which is debatably more lethal than a conventional one when Weiss is the deliverer.
"Dolt! Just because she doesn't care about school doesn't mean I can't. Stealing my notes for tomorrow's test is just unforgivable. Unforgivable!"
Weiss approaches the library and pushes the doors open loud enough to make everyone look over at the woman. Weiss, not really caring about the attention, marches into the library and to the history section. She looks through the books in an attempt to find the material she would need to study. She already had all the notes she would ever need, but thanks to a certain teammate of hers she's going to have to make due. Furious at the thought she clenches her fists even tighter.
Suddenly a hand rests on her shoulder. Weiss turns around, ready to flip on whoever dares to touch her. She calms down a bit when she sees a warm pair of green eyes.
"Weiss, are you okay? You looked rather… agitated when you came in," she asks with concern.
"It's…" Weiss lets out a loud sigh. "It's nothing, Pyrrha."
Pyrrha Nikos, one of the most – if not THE most – talented student at Beacon Academy. Her apparel resembles that of a gladiator, having a dual layered, strapless top that switches between a darker bronze on the sides and a lighter bronze down the middle. The middle makes a slight V shape for the gorget around her neck, also bronze with a small emerald at the base. She wears long, brown gloves that go up a little bit past her elbows. However, her left arm houses a little more, with a brown circlet wrapped around her muscle and a bracer that covers some of her arm. The shirt doesn't quite make it down her entire stomach, leaving a sliver of skin between the shirt and her skirt. Her brown skirt isn't very prominent due to the fact that she has a red, ankle-length drapery that wraps around her waist which is held there by a brown belt with few decorations. Her legs are enveloped in bronze greaves that begins around her mid-thigh, showing little leg skin. Her feet are housed in a simple pair of brown and bronze boots. One of her most notable features is her long red hair that's tied into a pony tail. It is accompanied by a bronze circlet headpiece.
"Nothing ordinary make you this distressed. Is everything alright?"
Weiss sighs. Knowing there will be no way to escape Pyrrha she submits. The two take a seat at a nearby table, sitting opposite to one another.
"I just got mad. Yang, I think, though it's possible it could have been Ruby or Blake, stole my notes for tomorrow's history test and won't tell me where she hid them," Weiss explains.
"Are you sure you didn't just… lose them?" Pyrrha offers up with some caution and a hesitant smile, but the frown she receives in return was answer enough. "Hm… Well I assume you already know most of the content anyway, right?"
Weiss sits a bit straighter with a small smirk at the compliment, unable to help feeling a bit proud that her diligence in class is being acknowledged. She quickly puts on a serious face so it isn't quite as obvious.
"It's the principle of the matter! We're a team! We shouldn't be doing this to each other!"
Pyrrha takes a moment to think.
"Well, I can see where you're coming from. I would side with you in this case because they evidently have kept the joke running for too long," Pyrrha deducts.
Weiss brings her hands together and adopts an evil persona.
That just means I'll have to get back at them! The prank of all pranks! I'll show them what happens when you mess with WEISS SCHNEE!
Pyrrha stares at Weiss with a bit of concern. She looks so dastardly and evil right now. Suddenly Weiss stands up in a triumphant manner, yet she still hasn't said one word. Pyrrha feels nearly invisible right now to Weiss, yet the center of attention in the library. A good amount of people start to stare the two girls now. Pyrrha stands up and reaches out to Weiss in an attempt to snap her out of whatever trance she's in, but, in a blur, someone reaches her first.
"Ms. Schnee!" He shouts, startling Weiss which makes her fall onto her face.
"Ow!" She whines.
Weiss rubs the spot where most or the impact hit. She pushes herself up and turns around only to be met by a green haired man with oval glasses. A lazily tucked in white shirt with a barely tied yellow tie reside on this man, along with dark green pants and a mismatch colour for his shoes – one being brown and the other being black.
"Ms. Schnee! What were you doing here without your notes?" He accuses, speaking so fast it's hard to know exactly what he is saying.
"My… notes? Well Yang…"
Before Weiss can explain she notices a binder in the man's free hand.
"Professor Oobleck… you have my notes?" She weakly asks, slowly coming to terms that she may have been wrong.
"I do indeed. You seemed to have left them here at some point in the day. Perhaps when you were studying for tomorrow's test." Oobleck takes a long sip of coffee, sighs in relief, and then moves right up to Weiss' face. "And it's Doctor Oobleck."
Dr. Oobleck hands Weiss all her notes, which Weiss grabs immediately. She looks at the notes for a second, contemplating what this means.
So… they didn't hide it… and I yelled at all of them…
"Try not to lose your notes again Ms. Schnee. It would be terrible waste. Good day to you both," Dr. Oobleck waves before bolting off.
Pyrrha watches him leave, then returns her gaze to Weiss, who is conflicted at the moment. Pyrrha smiles and walks up to her friend. She once again places her hand on Weiss' shoulder, making Weiss break out of her trance.
"Seems like things weren't the way you predicted. Perhaps an apology to your teammates is in order."
Weiss cringes for a moment then relaxes.
"Well you don't have to rub it in my face," Weiss remarks.
Pyrrha smiles and takes her leave, exiting the library altogether. Weiss waits for Pyrrha to leave before looking her direction. She looks back to the binder and sighs. As much as she doesn't want to, she'll have to apologize to her team.
Weiss holds her binder under her left arm and strolls out of the library, making much less of a scene and attracting the average amount of looks she usually gets. She exits the library and looks around the campus grounds. There's no sign of her team, so she goes to the first place she would imagine them being: the dorm.
With this thought, Weiss immediately begins heading towards her dorms. She passes a few students training to hone their skills. She's interested in doing the same afterwards. Perhaps Pyrrha is free later on. She didn't seem to be doing anything at the moment, but there's a possibility she'll be busy. Blake might be interested in training, or really anyone in RWBY. Even Ren would be a decent option. Weiss doesn't have much knowledge of his combat abilities so fighting him could be a nice refresher.
With Weiss in her little dream world she fails to notice Professor Ozpin walk in front of her.
"Ms. Schnee," he greets.
Weiss snaps out of her world and looks up at Ozpin.
"Oh, hello Professor. Do you need something from me?" She pleasantly asks.
"I do, actually." Ozpin takes a gander of his surroundings. "Where's your team?"
"Oh… well I'm not sure. They should be around some-"
"WEISS!" A young voice cries out. "WEEIIIIS!"
Ozpin and Weiss look towards the source of the sound. Ruby, Blake, and Yang are scouring the courtyard for their runaway teammate. Ozpin lets out a guilty smile.
"Seems your team always shows up where they're needed," he comments.
Weiss turns to Ozpin and gives him a questioning look. She has no idea what he's talking about. Well, she gets the basis of what he's saying but the tone he used makes it sound like he had a deeper meaning than the current situation.
Blake is the one to notice Weiss and Ozpin looking in their direction. She taps Yang and points over at the two. Yang, in turn, alerts Ruby.
"Why is Weiss with Professor Ozpin?" Blake brings up.
"You think she's telling on us?" Ruby ask, shuttering at the thought.
"Come on Ruby! Who 'tells on people'?" Yang chuckles.
The three stay silent, deeply thinking about Yang's comment. They all look at each other a little worried.
"Maybe we should hurry over there," Yang recommends.
The three nod in agreement and jog over to Weiss and Ozpin. The professor and heiress smile at their approach.
"Weiss, I'm sorry but none of us took your binder! I swear! Please don't tell on us," Ruby begs in a voice that only makes Weiss and Ozpin confused.
"Tell… on you? You're such a child, Ruby," Weiss scolds, yet her voice is somewhat light hearted. "I actually think that… I might… possibly owe you all an… apology," she sheepishly admits, not daring to make eye contact with her teammates.
Ruby, Blake, and Yang all stand with raised eye brows and confused faces. They have no idea what Weiss is doing. Apologizing? Weiss? It's not often you see that happen. Weiss moves her hands in front of her, revealing her notes.
"I left these in the library, but I blamed you all for their disappearance." Weiss throws away the sheepish and timid act she has now for a more confident and Weiss-like persona. "That was my mistake and I'm going to live up to it. I'm sorry Yang, I'm sorry Ruby, and I'm sorry Blake."
Weiss' eyes move between her teammates periodically, waiting for a response from them. She was expecting some teasing or possibly even them being frustrated with her for blaming them so quickly. Weiss usually is the one to promote camaraderie and trust within team RWBY, but then she throws that all out the window in an instant. She realizes she's being a complete hypocrite, and she doesn't want that. As much as this apology goes against what she normally does, it's well deserved.
On the other hand, Ruby, Blake, and Yang aren't really sure what to do. They all have blank faces, making it hard to tell what their intentions or reaction will be. Weiss and Ozpin wait patiently for the rest of team RWBY to respond. Ruby, being the leader, decides to speak first. She walks up to Weiss and smiles.
"Apology accepted, Weiss."
That's all she says. No teasing, no jokes, no remark about how Weiss can be a drama queen or jump to conclusions. That's it. Just an accepted apology. A smile slowly creeps onto Weiss' face due to that fact. She looks at her other friends. Blake crosses her arms and smirks a bit, while Yang has a full blown smile on her face. The two are in agreement with Ruby's response and feel the same way.
"Well, I'm glad that little fiasco is over and done with. Wouldn't want anything to get in the way of your assignment," Ozpin comments, taking a sip of coffee once his statement is complete.
Three girls look to Ozpin with confusion, while Ruby looks at him with a great big smile.
"Assignment? We're getting a mission!?" Ruby squeals in delight, trying not to make a scene but the happy emotions running through her body make that extremely difficult.
"As I said, it's not so much of a mission… but I suppose you could call it that if you want to."
Ruby jumps in the air, sending one fist up.
"YEAH!" She shouts.
Yang quickly moves beside her little sister and rests her hands on Ruby's ever moving shoulders in an attempt to calm her down.
"Whoa, easy there lil' sis."
"So, what is this mission?" Blake inquires.
Ozpin takes another drink.
"Come to my office. I'll explain it all there."
Ozpin turns around and begins walking towards the main building of Beacon. The girls quickly follow him, Ruby still giggling about her new mission. Weiss shakes her head at Ruby's action.
"You're such a child. At least try to be more mature about this," Weiss lectures.
"Coming from the girl who threw a temper tantrum over some notes," Blake says under her breath.
"Oh there it is! I knew that was coming at some point! You know I thought we were more mature as a team!"
Ozpin sighs and takes a drink. He isn't showing it, but he is amused by team RWBY's diversity at the moment. Ruby, a girl who is overexcited for her first mission. Yang, who's trying to calm down her little sister – something Yang isn't usually doing. Then there's Weiss and Blake having their own mini argument. Even at this odd point, Ozpin is sure there's no better team for this task than team RWBY.
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The five reach Ozpin's office, his clockwork design ever moving, ever ticking. He takes a seat in his chair and calmly places his hands on his desk. Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Yang stand at attention in front of his desk. Ruby still has a smile on her face born from excitement. Ozpin surveys them all, staying silent and calm. RWBY starts becoming a little anxious at the silence.
Ozpin takes one more drink and sighs.
"We have a new student coming to Vale."
"Ooooh, who is-"
Blake covers Ruby's mouth, quickly shushing her. Ozpin clears his throat, starting again.
"As I was saying we have a new student coming to Vale. However, against my recommendations this student has decided to travel on foot rather than a ship. From the letter he sent me, he shouldn't be too far away now. I want you four to meet up with him at a nearby village, then bring him back to Beacon."
"So, what does he look like?" Yang cheerfully asks.
Ozpin smiles. He raises his coffee to his mouth but does not take a drink yet.
"You'll know him when you see him."
"That's not cryptic," Weiss mutters.
"There's a Bullhead waiting to transport you near the location he's expected to be. Please, make haste ladies," Ozpin calmly orders.
"May I ask a question Professor Ozpin," Weiss pipes up.
Ozpin nods, signaling her to go ahead.
"Why is there a student joining in between semesters? That's never happened in the history of Beacon Academy."
Ozpin smiles, remembering that Glynda asked the same question.
"Let's just say it's a necessary transfer. When he arrives I'll explain it."
Weiss furrows her brow, thinking that she really didn't get her question answered at all. Blake has a similar expression to Weiss. She can't deny that she's curious about this as well.
"You best hurry girls. You don't want to miss him," Ozpin suggests.
Ruby nods.
"Alright team RWBY! Let's go do our first mission! Yeah!" Ruby cheers, turning around and practically bouncing towards the exit.
Yang and Blake follow suite, while Weiss hangs back for a moment. She sighs in annoyance before joining her team.
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Fully armed just in case, team RWBY makes their way to the docking area. Ruby, somehow still chipper about finally being given a mission, leads the group. Weiss walks in front of Yang and Blake, who are side-by-side. The girls find a Bullhead fired up but stationary. They infer that this has to be the ship their taking for their mission. They all get in and take a seat.
"You're team RWBY?" The pilot asks.
Ruby nods.
"Yep, that's us!"
"Alright. Let's get moving then. Sean?"
"Yeah, I'm on it, sheesh," the co-pilot mumbles.
The four take a seat and stare out at Beacon. Soon enough the outer doors close, keeping their area much quieter. They feel the Bullhead rise into the air then begin flying. Weiss looks at her teammates, seeing if they're going to say anything before she does. Noticing they all seem to be distracted, she takes her turn.
"So does anyone else have a weird feeling about this?" Weiss asks.
"What? It's just a new student. Maybe he'll be your type, Weiss," Yang jokes.
"Ahaha, Weiss' type," Ruby giggles, covering her mouth.
"Shush you!" She snaps, staring at Ruby. She then turns her attention back to Yang. "And that's not what I meant."
"It is odd, I'll admit," Blake adds. "I mean, why couldn't he be here when we first enrolled? Why does he get to join now?"
"Guys, come on. He's just another student, not some special guest or something," Ruby says. "Maybe he got recommended here from Professor Ozpin himself."
"That's true. Ruby was able to skip two years, so who says Professor Ozpin can't accept a student after enrollment," Blake concurs.
Ruby and Yang nod in agreement whilst Weiss crosses her arms.
"Well… I suppose. We'll just have to see when we meet him."
Everyone stays silent for a moment before Ruby thinks of something.
"Do any of us even know what he looks like?"
"No, dunce. Remember the Professor said we'll know him when we see him," Weiss scolds.
"Well how does that even help?" Ruby retorts.
Weiss stays silent, her eyes moving from one place to the other.
"I don't know?" She shrugs her shoulders. "I was the one who pointed out the flaw in it, after all."
"So we just look for someone who looks like a Hunter. None of us necessarily look inconspicuous," Blake comments.
"Well, except for Jaune," Ruby corrects.
Weiss rolls her eyes and huffs.
"Don't even mention him to me right now."
Yang chuckles. "Lady-killer's still asking you out, huh?"
"It's almost every day now! I mean really, when will he take the hint? Yang, you must have dealt with a lot of boys. How did you deal with them?"
"I punched them, obviously," she responds happier than a normal person should when saying that.
Weiss' face changes to a thinking one, then a smile slowly creeps onto it.
"Don't! Don't punch Jaune!" Ruby exclaims.
"Oh fine," Weiss pouts.
Even when they don't talk, there is no silence. The shaking of the ship as it flies through the air, the small amount of wind that seems to be coming through a miniscule sliver of the door that has a high pitched howl. The girls aren't used to using this ship for travel purposes. In fact, this is the first time they've been in one. So far, this experience is going slightly better than their first airship ride to Beacon, especially for Yang, since she has a distinct lack of puke on her shoes. She'll take a barely audible noise over puke on her shoes any day of the week.
Ruby yawns and slacks into her seat, letting her legs move farther into the middle of the floor. Weiss sits perfectly straight and regal as she usually does.
"Place could use a window," Yang admits.
"This is for combat missions, Yang. Closed for transportation, open when people are exiting," Weiss explains. "Did you know they actually use to have windows for the passengers? It's not till ground combatants starting throwing explosives through the windows that they decided to be rid of them. Actually the-"
"Fine! I get it! No windows!" Yang cuts in, saving everyone from a lecture.
"Well I'm sorry for trying to teach you something," Weiss says in a snarky manner.
"I've learnt enough for the test, thanks. Don't need any useless information clogging it up."
"It's not useless!"
Ruby and Blake fold in on themselves as Weiss and Yang go back and forth. Blake's bow starts twitching a bit from the two loudmouths. Ruby attempts to block them out and think of something that might distract her. The first thing that comes to mind is her weapon, Crescent Rose, and its intricate design. Ruby did design it, after all. So she begins thinking about all the little nooks and crannies of the weapon, how it's pieced together, how it forms into a sniper and what the bullets are. All these details and more start occupying space in Ruby's thoughts. This leads to a new idea in her mind: what weapon could this new guy have? Of course she was interested in what this new guy would be like, but Ruby couldn't deny that her intrigue in his weapon excited her even more. How did he make it? Does it do anything awesome? Could he be another scythe wielder like her? All these questions made Ruby bounce – almost squeal – in excitement.
This giddiness didn't go unnoticed by her team. Yang moves beside Ruby and pulls her in close.
"Calm down little sis."
Ruby comes back to the real world, confused as to why Yang is hugging her.
"Yang… Yang," she whimpers, struggling to breathe.
Blake and Weiss can't help but smile at the sight. It's a humourous moment, even if it's one they've seen a few times before.
"Ladies! We're nearing the drop off point," the pilot shouts.
Yang lets go out Ruby and walks towards the closed door. Ruby takes a moment to regain her breath and brush herself off before doing the same. Weiss and Blake stand on the opposite side of Ruby and Yang, also ready. Soon enough the sides open, revealing the beauty of Remnant.
Surprisingly the area they're in seems rather peaceful for a place outside the city. Luscious and vibrant trees colour the landscape with their leaves. They can even see a few animals rushing through the trees in fear of the man-made machine. The Bullhead slowly descends onto the grass, flattening it underneath its heavy body of metal. Once fully landed, the girls hop out of the flying vehicle.
"We'll be here when you complete your mission. If, by chance, any Grimm show up then we'll be airborne in the area," the pilot informs.
"Right. Thank you for the ride!" Ruby happily says.
The girls take a few steps away from the Bullhead and towards the small village. It's not big at all, maybe a max of eight houses in a small area. There are some townsfolk out and about but now they're all staring at the girls with questioning looks, wondering what they could be doing in a quiet village like theirs. The majority of the men and women staring at the Huntresses look like farmers. It makes sense. To the left of the village – in sight of the girls – does seem to be what looks like a farm. They can even see a cow or two.
"Maybe we should ask the locals if they've seen our boy," Yang suggests.
Ruby nods.
"That sounds like the best way to get started."
"But we should try not to stir anyone up, just in case. Let's just ask around and get out of here," Weiss says.
The girls all agree and head out, taking a leisurely pace to the village as to not look like trouble. It's not the most foolproof plan since each member of team RWBY alone would stick out like a sore thumb in these parts. The farmers start whispering to themselves, asking each other questions.
Blake's ears twitch a bit. Ruby notices this and shuffles beside her.
"Can you hear what they're saying?"
"Somewhat, yes. Nothing bad. They're just confused why Huntresses are here," Blake whispers, her eyes darting between the farmers.
The four girls enter the village, all eyes still on them. Ruby, being the leader, decides to take the initiative and talk to someone. She breaks away from the group and walks towards a farmer with a happiness in her step. The farmer she approaches doesn't flinch or show any sort of fear of the Huntress in training. He was more curious than anything.
"Hi! I'm Ruby. Ruby Rose."
"Hello… I am Tanner. May I help you?" He shyly asks.
"We were actually wondering if you've seen a man lately? He would look similar to us."
Tanner shakes his head.
"No, nobody has passed through the village but you. There was a larger group that was near the outskirts, but they passed by a short while ago."
"Hmm," Ruby mumbles, taking in the information. "Alright. Thanks for your help. Take care, friend."
Ruby walks back to her team, who are all patiently awaiting their leader.
"So?" Weiss demands.
"They haven't seen any boy walking around here."
"So we finally can go look around?" Yang eagerly asks, stretching her back.
"Yeah, lets get moving. We'll split up to cover some more ground. If anyone finds him, or trouble, then call us on our scrolls."
Yang, Blake, and Weiss nod at the instructions. The four girls head in different directions, but all northern to the village. Ruby heads more to the left while Blake takes the right. Yang and Weiss stay in the area in between the other two – Weiss being closer to Blake while Yang is closer to Ruby.
Blake takes more into the forested area that she gazed upon during the landing. She liked these due to its familiar feeling. She spent a lot of time outside of the cities, scouring multiple forests. It reminds her of those days, even if that reminder has a darker side to it. She refuses to focus on that side of it, though. That was another life; one she won't ever embrace again. Even with that mindset, she can't help but think about those times with the White Fang. She's more nostalgic about the times when she didn't have to steal or hurt people, before they became the organization they are today.
Blake stops near a tree and leans on it. In front of her is a decent sized plain of grass with no trees whatsoever. Wind brushes over the grass like a paint brush, making the individual blades move beautifully. Blake smiles at the sight. She hasn't gotten the chance to see nature like this for a while – not since she joined Beacon. Sure, there was the few times they went into the forests for an assignment, but there was work to do. Then again, there's work to do now too.
Suddenly Blake's ears pick something up. She can hear someone… screaming? That's what it sounds like. Blake instantly starts running towards the source of the sound, which seems to be coming from the other end of the field. About halfway through the field Blake sees someone rush out from the forest. It's a Faunus boy with, like Blake, cat ears. He looks a little older than Blake by a few years. He has shaggy brown hair that almost makes his ears invisible, but Blake knows a Faunus when she sees one. He has an all black attire that doesn't allow any of his skin to be shown.
"HELP! HELP ME!" He screams maniacally as he clumsily sprints. "YOU! YOU HELP ME! PLEASE!"
The man trips over himself and falls on the ground. He doesn't stop, however, as he begins crawling closer to Blake. Blake rushes to his side and kneels down.
"Are you okay? What's wrong?" She urgently asks.
"A man… a man killed us! ALL OF US! My friends are gone… they're gone…" He whimpers.
"Who? Other faunus like you?"
The man nods.
"All of us. There were… oh god… maybe nine of us in total," he painfully recollects.
"And you're the only one?"
The man nods, sniveling. Both Blake and the Faunus boy's ears pick up someone coming closer to them.
"Oh god that's him!" He shouts, running away.
Blake turns around to watch the Faunus run away but quickly turns back to see who is coming.
A young man slowly walks out of the forest. He sports an olive green jacket that loosely hangs open. There are four covered pockets, two on his chest and the others were normal pockets that jackets usually have. The collar is raised, covering some of his neck. There revealing a black shirt underneath it. At the end of his sleeves are his hands which are covered with black, fingerless gloves. He covers his legs with blue jeans and his feet with black running shoes. Blake notices a grey belt that has a weapon attached to it. A long black sheath with what seems like a golden phoenix running down it. The handle seems to be black with a white rayskin to cover it, and a golden guard to separate the blade from the handle.
The man crosses his arms as he slowly paces towards Blake. He doesn't have a serious expression at all. He's actually smiling right now as he watches the Faunus run away.
"You know, you're not much a team player when you abandon your friends like that!" He shouts.
"You! Who are you?" Blake yells. "Are you the one who killed the Faunus? Why? Just because they were faunus?"
The man shrugs, making his way closer to Blake but not intending to cross paths with her.
"Well… I suppose you could put it that way, yes. Oh, and I suppose you can call me Slater if you need a title."
Blake clenches her fists in anger. Slater finally reaches Blake's position. He does nothing with her – to her. He just continues on his way. Blake turns around and grabs his shoulder, stopping him. He looks down at her hand then looks over his shoulder.
"Are you going to stop me?" He calmly asks. "Are you one of them?"
"I am… and I won't let you hurt him."
Slater lets out a tired sigh.
"I don't think you underst-"
Blake throws a punch at the back of his head, but he tilts it the side, dodging the fist by a mere hair. He grabs the hand still resting on his shoulder, spins around, and thrusts his fist into her stomach. Her body wants to fly back but can't since he still has a hold of her hand. He pulls her back just to meet a swift kick to the chest. He lets go once his kick is executed, letting Blake fall back onto the grass. Blake shakes her head and quickly rolls onto her feet. She squints her eyes at her target, fury coursing through her at his ignorance and racism. She wasn't going to let him get away with the murder of Faunus.
"You know I think we started on the wrong foot. Maybe we can-"
She grabs hold of Gambol Shroud and swings it at him in its clever-like form. She spins around and slices diagonally, but he easily sways his body away from the attack. Blake continues her momentum and her attacks, each coming down upon him in a diagonal manner. He dodges all these attacks in the same way, until Blake changes up her tactics. She uses her semblance to send a clone right at him. Thinking it's her, he stumbles back, losing his balance. This gives Blake the chance to finally connect a good combo. She jumps in the air, spins and kicks his cheek. She quickly lands on the ground, gets her body low to the dirt, and sweep kicks him. His legs are lifted off the ground and sent to his right. With this small moment Blake pushes off the ground and shoves her heels into the side of his ribs.
Slater flies through the air and approaches a tree. Blake speeds towards him, ready to finish it off with one clean cut. However he manages to recover and bounces off the tree like a spring right back at Blake. Blake splits off from herself, leaving a shadow version of her to take the hit. The punch goes right through the shadow. Slater uses the momentum of his punch to turn himself around to face Blake, who is already ready to brawl again.
He skids across the ground to slow himself. Once he comes to a complete stop, he stands up straight.
"I have to admit, I've never seen a power like that before. This may actually be trouble."
Blake cringes. She pulls out a smaller black katana out of the clever, but still holds the clever in her left hand. Surprise takes over Slater's face. He points at her, smiling.
"That I didn't see coming either."
Blake bolts off her right foot to attack. Slater, in turn, runs towards her. The two meet in the middle within seconds. Blake goes for a double slash, but he completely avoids the attack by jumping over her. When he reaches the right height, he spins around and extends his leg delivering a solid roundhouse kick to the side of her head. Blake's body flies to the side, slamming into a tree near the edge of the field. She gets herself up right away and looks at the tree for a moment. The tree is large enough for her to be covered easily. The perimeter is at least four times Blake's body and far taller than her. She slices the base of the tree then runs behind it.
Slater stares at this predicament, unsure on how to respond to this.
"Does she have a problem with trees?" He comments.
Blake quickly comes back around the tree, going full sprint at him. He notices that the band on her arm is extending while she runs, rooting back to the tree. He gets ready for anything, since he's not sure what exactly she's planning to do. He raises his left hand a bit just in case he needs his weapon.
Blake makes it halfway towards the man before stopping. She slides a bit and lowers her body as close to the ground as she can. She pulls her hand as far forward as she can until she hears a snap. The tree shoots off of its base and swiftly closes in on her opponent. Slater's eyes widen as the trunk approaches him. He instantly raises his hands and braces for the tree. The bark slams into his hands, bending his elbows outwards. The force of the tree pushes him back a foot or two. He bends his torso down and spreads out his legs to spread out the weight. The tree comes to a full stop as it rests on his upper back. His face goes red; he clenches his teeth, and his arms are flexing to the fullest under the pressure of the oversized tree.
He lets out a breath once he's completely stable. He looks up at Blake and smirks.
"Nice… I'm actually impressed. So… do you want it back..?" He playfully asks with a hint of struggle in his voice.
Blake doesn't respond with her words. Instead she starts up for another attack. The man rolls his eyes at her action. He bends down as low as he can, then uses all his might to extend his legs and arms.
"Hiya!" He shouts as the tree leaves his hands.
Knowing Blake is on the way, he jumps up into the air and lands on the very same tree. Blake extends her leg and performs a sliding turn. Before her body comes to a stop she changes her blade into a variant of a kusarigama melded with a pistol. Blake pulls back her arm then throws the weapon, firing it at the last second to increase its velocity. The blade extends past the tree but not close enough to hook on.
Slater looks at the blade with a questioning look. It's not until he notices the string attached to it that he understands her plan. Blake manipulates the string so the blade pierces into the tree. She leans back so the string is stressed then let's go. The force sends her soaring into the air and to the tree.
"Clever… did the same thing she did with the tree but with herself. This girl's more than I originally thought. Hm…" He whispers.
He moves his hand beside him and flexes his hand a bit. His sheathed sword swiftly connects with his hand. He grips it tight but keeps low, making sure the air doesn't knock him off at this height. He can feel that the tree has a bit more time until it starts plummeting back to the ground.
Blake soars through the air until reaching the edge of the tree. Her opponent is closer to the green leaves, which makes him slightly cornered. Blake grabs hold of her weapon and extends it back into a sword. Blake bolts towards him, slashing the tree as she runs. It falls apart into smaller pieces after each step she takes. Large circular pieces of the tree trunk starts falling down to the ground. Slater observes his surroundings, noticing the placement of the various pieces of dotting the sky.
"Seems like platforms to me. I always see things as glass half full," he mumbles.
Before Blake can attack him he jumps off the tree towards one of the platforms. Blake slows down and looks down at him. She switches her sword back to the kusarigama-gun mode only to start shooting at him.
"Ah!" He shouts, dodging the bullet and jumping to another platform. "That's unfair!"
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Weiss passes by a few trees and bushes. She still has yet to find anyone and is getting slightly annoyed. She's about to complain to herself until she hears a gunshot. She quickly looks towards the source of the noise. Unfortunately the trees block her sight. Weiss jumps into the air, then uses a glyph to get even higher. She lands on top of the tree and stares into the sky. She can see Blake and another person fighting on bits of trees.
Weiss jumps off the tree and starts sprinting towards her teammate's location.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Blake keeps the heat on Slater with her gun; she doesn't give him a second to rest every time he switches to a different platform. However, she does note that he's running out of places to run. He realizes this too. Slater jumps on one to the left of Blake. Before she can turn to him he launches off his dominant foot and rushes her. Her pulls his hand back only to extend it right into her cheek. Blake follows the motion of the punch and begins falling from the sky. She looks down at the ground to see how much distance she has – which is very little. Before she can attempt to save herself an unknown figure dashes at her, grabbing Blake and landing softly on the ground.
Blake looks at her savior – Weiss.
"I thought we agreed to radio our teammates if we ran into trouble?" Weiss reminds.
"I… got caught up," Blake admits.
"Hm… Well no doubt Yang and Ruby saw your little stunt in the air. They'll probably be here soon," Weiss says, putting Blake down. "But we should be enough to finish this."
Slater waits for the last second before jumping off his platform. A cloud of dust erupts as a result of the tree crashing into the planet. He spins in the air and lands gracefully in a kneeling position. He looks up at the two girls but pays a little more attention to Weiss.
"A human? Why would a human be with the Faunus?" He asks himself.
He pushes off his knee to stand up straight. Weiss and Blake pull out their weapons – the clever and sword for Blake, and Weiss' signature rapier, Myrtenaster. She holds it around waist level in front of her, pointing it towards her opponent. Slater moves his left hand to his side. In an instant his holstered weapon moves right into his hand. He grips the sheath a miniscule distance from the guard, the blade pointing towards his back.
"You know, we could all just forget this ever happened and just part ways? Huh? Huh?" He offers, making a slight joke of it.
Blake cringes at his remark which does not go unnoticed by Weiss.
"Who is this guy? What he do?" She whispers.
"He murdered an innocent group of Faunus in cold blood."
"Hm…"
"What? Do you not care?" Blake accuses, turning her head to her partner.
"As long as they weren't White Fang, I suppose. A murderer's a murderer. Let's take him down."
Blake lets out a smirk.
"Thanks Weiss."
Weiss moves her weapon around shoulder level then dashes towards Slater. Blake bolts towards him a moment after. Slater remains still everywhere but his arm. He lifts the sheath up to effectively block her attack. Weiss uses the momentum to her advantage, moving her hand over her head in a small circle shape to bring the sword down on the opposite side. Slater calmly moves his arm slightly above hers, blocking her second attack.
Not allowing her to pull off a third, he quickly punches her with his free hand. She stumbles back a bit, but that doesn't grant him a break. Blake swoops in from the side, bringing both blades down upon him. Right as he notices he turns towards Blake, moving his sheath horizontally to block both blades. The two struggle for a moment but Slater ends up pushing the swords back, leaving Blake open to an attack. However, Weiss comes in from the side with a lunging strike. Slater twitches his wrist and lets go of his sheath causing the weapon to spin around like a wheel. He then begins to turn his body around, falling to one knee as he does this. Once his head is facing Weiss he grabs his falling sword with his right hand - the blade still facing the opposite way it should. He moves his arm left and high enough to block the attack. Weiss' attack is nullified as the point hits the sheath.
Weiss and Slater stare at each other for a moment – she looking down at him and him looking up at her. Weiss attempt to make the first move but Slater is ahead of her. He turns his wrist, making the sheath push her weapon away from him. He quickly stands up, wraps his hand around her waist, spins around and throws her at Blake. Blake isn't ready for this so his attack works. Weiss tumbles on top of Blake, leaving them both on the ground.
Slater sighs.
"Are we good now, or-"
Slater's ears pick up a sound coming from the forest. He turns around and sees a yellow blur coming right at him. He jumps back, dodging a punch from Yang. Not a second later Ruby slides in beside her sister, Crescent Rose ready for combat.
"You two okay?" Ruby she hopefully asks.
Weiss nods as she picks herself off Blake.
"I'm fine."
"Me too."
The four girls get in a line, all of them staring at Slater. Slater scans all of them, slight concern on his face. He lets go of his sheath which attracts back to his hip. He rubs the back of his head and chuckles.
"Huh… it's like they're coming out of the woodwork. I can say that? I mean a forest has trees, which is wood. So I suppose the wood works. Ha… damn, I'm clever."
Slater slowly moves one leg behind him and his other more forward. He moves his hand towards his weapon, tightly gripping the handle of his blade. He slowly pulls the blade out, allowing the metal to take in the air around it. The black metal reflects some of the sun off of it as it reveals itself. Once the sword is out of its home he wraps his other hand around it, pointing it towards the girls at shoulder level.
"Be careful. He's good, but I think we can overwhelm him," Blake says.
"Wait, who is he? What happened to finding the new student?" Ruby brings up.
"We'll find him. He might have been attracted by the fighting. But right now we need to take him down!" Blake growls.
Ruby stares at Blake with concern. She isn't normally like this, but Ruby didn't see what happened at the beginning. She trusts Blake, so there must be a reason for this.
"Right. We do this as a team," Ruby agrees. "Fast and hard girls. Lets go!"
Yang smirks.
"Fast and hard is the only way I do things."
Yang activates Ember Celica, the guards extending around her fists, and charges in first. She begins firing shells at Slater forcing him to move out of the way. He slides backwards but keeps his eyes on Yang. She throws a punch as soon as she's in range. Slater moves one hand from his sword to push the punch away from him. Seeing an opportunity Yang thrusts her free hand under hers and Slater's, punching him in the gut. The impact forces him to slide across the ground. Yang pushes off her leg to attack again.
Slater, surprisingly, sheathes his katana before Yang can reach him. He puts his fists up and prepares for the brawler. She throws a hook which he dodges, countering with a quick jab to the face. Yang recoils slightly but gets right back into it with a few sidekicks. Slater blocks both kicks with his arms and ducks under Yang's following punch. He sends a torrent of his own punches to her stomach, uppercuts her jaw, then hits her chest with a haymaker.
Yang is forced away from him, but Ruby is quick to follow. Using her blinding speed, she attempts to finish it in one shot. Slater barely has any time to react. He cartwheels over the scythe, the tip of his nose touching the blade of Crescent Rose. He gracefully lands, grabs his weapon and swipes to his right, blocking an attack from Blake. Weiss comes in from the other side but Slater easily moves his sword to meet hers. They clash, the sound of metal filling the woods. Slater pushes Weiss to the side, spinning around and plummeting his heel into her back. He turns around and holds his blade right in front of him to block Ruby. Ruby spins the scythe around her body forcing Slater to block the oversized weapon.
He's too busy to noticed Blake come in from the side. She brings her sword up, slashing at his stomach. He recoils at the attack then jumps away from his opponents in an attempt to get a breather. While in the air Ruby turns to Weiss.
"Weiss! The ground!"
Weiss nods. She swirls her blade in front of her a little before stabbing the ground. A thin sheet of ice covers the ground around Slater.
"What the..?"
Slater lands on the ice, sliding across it with little to no balance. Yang swiftly comes in from behind and strikes his back, shooting her weapon as she hits him. Slater really feels this one. His back almost feels like it's on fire. It distracts him so much that he fails to see Weiss is also in the air with him. She creates a glyph to face him, then springs off of it. She passes right by Slater, slicing him once. She creates another glyph to bounce off of. In a mere second half a dozen glyphs form all around him. Weiss stylishly moves between all of them, hitting Slater each time causing his body to ragdoll in the air. He cringes at each hit, hating the fact that he's powerless to defend himself from this attack.
"Ruby!" She shouts, alerting her teammate.
Weiss' momentum stops close to Slater. She spins around to get some speed and kicks him towards the hooded girl. Ruby sprints towards Slater, shooting her gun to pick up her speed.
"Damn…" Slater huffs.
He grips his katana harder than necessary with frustration. He turns his body around, flips the blade to point to the ground, and tucks his body in. Ruby shoots her last shot then slices at Slater. His katana clashes Crescent Rose, a shriek erupting from the metal. Ruby fires her gun again while turning her body around. The movement throws Slater towards the forest. He crashes through one of the trees and collides with another, his body flopping onto the ground and his sword leaving his hands. The first tree slowly begins to free fall. Lucky for Slater, the tree falls towards the girls, and not on top of him.
Slater coughs up some saliva as he pushes himself onto his hands and knees. He shakes his head a bit to regain his composure.
"Huh… nobody yelled timber," he remarks with a disappointed tone.
His gaze moves up a bit to see his sword lying ahead of him. He leans over and grabs the hilt, then rises to his feet. His breathing is heavier than normal, though not to an extreme amount. He then feels a drop of sweat fall from his brow and onto the ground. He shakes his head and looks up at his opponents.
Ruby, Yang, and Blake reload their weapons and get set for another round.
"Shouldn't we be focusing on finding the student? This is going on for too long," Ruby inquires.
"No time to talk! He's coming!" Yang shouts.
Slater lowers his blade so the tip hits just touches the soil. Slater leans forward and puts one foot in front of the other. He moves his body back then storms off his back foot, sprinting towards the girls as the tip of the blade leaves a precise line through the earth. Ruby manages to keep up with speed of her opponent. She can tell he's heading for Weiss. Ruby spins Crescent Rose around her then pierces the ground in front of Weiss. With a tight grip on her weapon Ruby hoists herself in the air, spins herself around the handle like a gymnast, then shoves both feet forward to stop Slater dead in his tracks. Slater catches her action and acts to counter it. He weaves away from her feet with not a second to spare. He spins his body around and slices at her back, forcing her onto the ground. He keeps moving and goes for another hit on Blake, but she manages to barely block it.
Weiss realizes the situation and comes to help Blake. Slater turns around, blocking her attack, then spins back to deflect an attack from Blake. The two girls keep the pressure on, not allowing a moment's break. He pushes Weiss back then cartwheels through Blake's two weapons. He lands behind her, circles his body around and hits her with an upward diagonal slice. Weiss slides right under her and pummels Slater's chest with the tip of Myrtenaster. Slater tumbles over himself but recovers within seconds. Yang darts at him and delivers a flurry of attacks, forcing him back with every hit. She finishes with a clean hit to the stomach then a powerful uppercut that sends him into the air.
Slater whirls in the air for a second. He manages to stop himself in midair. He winds up his arm and throws his katana at Yang. She hops to the side, dodging it with ease.
"Was he even trying to hit me?" She whispers.
Yang pushes the thought to the back of her mind so she can continue her attacks. She jumps into the air and throws another her signature punch at him. Slater opens his palm to cushion Yang's punch. He then slides his hand down and firmly grasps Ember Celica. He brings her over his shoulder and tosses her to the ground. A loud and satisfying thud echoes when Yang hits the ground.
As soon as Slater hits the ground, Yang bursts out from the crash site and attacks him. Slater raises his fists due to his lack of weapon. He throws a punch which Yang pushes out of the way. She follows up with a left-right combo. He swerves past the left then weaves under the right. As he ducks under it he hooks her abdomen making Yang growl at the pain. She brings her knee into his stomach, doing some damage to his already hurting body. Slater clenches his teeth to distract himself from whatever discomfort he's feeling at the moment. He backs away from her then pushes off her knee to get some distance. As soon as he lands Slater rushes back in, throwing a straight punch. Yang readies herself and decides to throw one right back at him. Their two fists collide, almost creating a small shockwave. Yang fires her gun giving her the edge and pushing back Slater's hand. Yang winds up a left punch and Slater counters the exact way she did, by punching her punch. The two fists collide once more. Yang fires her gun once again, pushing back Slater's other hand.
Yang smiles, using all her might to push back Slater. He slides his right leg back and locks it in place so he doesn't get pushed back. He, remarkably, begins to gain some ground, pushing his fists towards Yang, and in turn, pushing her fists back. Yang manages to even it out once their fists meet in the middle. Their arms are shaking, their faces are red, and their legs are dug deep into the ground.
Weiss and Blake start to go in to aid their teammate but Ruby moves in front of them.
"Ruby? What are you doing?" Weiss exclaims.
"I'm saving you," she says, turning her attention to Yang. "I think Yang has this. If she starts losing then we'll move in."
Neither Weiss nor Blake have any idea why Ruby thinks Yang can do this on her own, but they see the passion in Yang's eyes right now. She's having the time of her life right now.
"You're not bad… I'll admit," Slater compliments between breaths. "But I… really can't let my reputation be ruined… Being beaten by a girl… would just be so embarrassing."
Yang snickers.
"Losing to a boy would be embarrassing for me."
Slater chuckles at her response, though not letting his body relax at all.
"Fair enough."
Yang starts to bring her left knee into his stomach. Slater notices this and diverts his hands to push the knee back down. He instantly ducks, just missing Yang's fists crushing his head. Slater thinks of something that might put the brawler down for good. He spins to his right, slams his left hand into the ground and grips it tight, lowers his upper body, then sends his foot crashing into the bottom of Yang's jaw. She tries to keep stable but the force is too much for her. Yang is shot into the air within a second. Slater springs into the air after her. He reaches her altitude, their faces meeting. He grabs the side of her face and flips her around so her feet are now at his head. He pulls her in, grabs her feet, and wraps his legs around her neck.
"Yang!" Both Weiss and Blake shout.
Slater and Yang start plummeting to the ground.
"It's over!" Slater shouts as he piledrives Yang into the ground, her head denting the earth around them.
Slater waits a moment then backflips away from the body. His feet hit the floor and keep him standing, despite his now heavy breathing. He wraps one hand around his waist where Yang kneed him. He shakes his head as he walks around Yang's body, approaching the other three girls.
"Your friend is down. I think we…"
Slater stops talking when he starts feeling something. An eerie feeling starts filling his body, effecting him to his core. Almost like butterflies when one is nervous. He notices Ruby take a step back which puzzles him.
"Why is she… she isn't looking at me… so…"
Slater slowly turns around to see a fiery aura erupt from Yang's body. Her hand push against the ground, releasing her head from the tomb Slater forced it in. She cartwheels onto her feet then intensely stares at Slater with blood red eyes. Her hair starts changing into a more golden form than it's yellow one.
"What the… what's happening?" He questions.
"Ruby?" Blake asks, extending her name. "What's happening?"
"It's her semblance. With each hit she gets stronger, and she uses that against her enemy. This is the time! We take him down now!" Ruby declares.
Weiss and Blake nod. The three girls rush Slater, who isn't even paying attention to them right now.
He hears them at the very last second. He drops to the ground to avoid a killing blow from Ruby's scythe. Blake shoves one sword towards the ground. He spins his body around, just dodging the blade. Weiss comes from the other side but that only aids Slater. He bounces off his back and lands his feet on Weiss' shoulders. He uses them as a springboard – knocking Weiss over in the process – to launch himself over Blake and into a series of backflip. He continues this until he flips over his sword. He executes one more flip but kicks his katana into the air with his feet. He lands on his feet then raises his right arm – catching the katana.
He spins it around him then gets into a fighting stance.
"By the sounds of it, they want to end this now. I think they're about to get serious."
Yang attacks first. She throws a haymaker at him which he blocks with his blade. However the momentum and strength of the punch still sends him flying back towards the forest. He manages to regain his bearings in midair. He thrusts his sword into the ground to slow himself down, and soon come to a complete stop. He shakes his head then runs towards the group.
"I can't be on the defensive here. I'll definitely lose, not that my chances are looking fantastic right now."
Once again, Yang charges in first. The terrifying look in her red eyes almost makes Slater shiver. He slides under her, tripping the golden haired warrior. He gets back to his feet and goes for the remaining three. Ruby uses her semblance to move at amazing speeds. She moves right past him then uses her gun to redirect herself towards Slater's back. Slater doesn't even notice Ruby's attack, so he takes the full force of her scythe, flipping him onto his stomach.
He pushes himself onto his feet only to be hit by Ruby again, falling flat on his back this time. Slater notices a pattern already and comes up with a plan. He flips onto his feet, turns around, and extends his arm out. Ruby tries to rush in again but her speed makes it difficult to dodge him. Slater clotheslines Ruby. She nearly loses consciousness from the sudden stop at her tremendous speed. She drops her scythe and bounces across the ground, finally stopping when she collides with a tree.
Yang sees her little sister tumble across the ground like a ragdoll until hitting the tree. Ruby's eyes are squeezed shut; her face twitches from the pain she's experiencing. She clenches her fists as tight as she can, nearly drawing blood. She looks over at Slater who is fighting off Blake and Weiss. She can't help but run into that battle.
His katana bounces between the two girls fluidly, keeping each of them at bay. However, they have the upper hand. Slater holds back Blake's cleaver, struggling to keep it at bay. Blake moves her other blade to try and stab Slater. He sees this and manages to slip out to the side, away from both of Blake's weapons. Weiss is quick to follow, swinging her rapier with precision and skill. She keeps the pressure on, taking steps towards him and attacking while Slater moves back as he defends.
He collides with her sword then steps close to her. He grabs her weapon hand and stares into her eyes once more. Weiss can't seem to read him at all, neither his fighting style nor his intentions. He pushes Weiss blade completely to the side and attempts a horizontal slice. She elegantly flips over it then goes for a lunge. She connects, slightly pushing him back but not enough to move him out of range. She spins around and goes for a slice to his neck. He bobs to the side, grabs her face, and then throws her at the incoming Blake. Weiss creates a glyph for her to bounce off and spring right back at him. He barely dodges the lunge. Their bodies are so close he can smell her shampoo. Even a piece of Weiss' hair brushes on his chest.
Blake attempts to attack afterwards but is overshadowed by the bullet that is Yang. She zooms past her and connects her fist with his cheek. It feels like some sort of shockwave right beside his face. It starts moving on his own, sending him into a tailspin away from the girls. Yang jumps into the air and shadows over Slater.
"YAH!"
She thrusts her body down, plummeting her fist into his stomach, then planting him in the ground. A large cloud of dust erupts, but Weiss and Blake can still hear conflict from the cloud. Both Weiss and Blake watch the cloud. Their bodies move up and down slightly as a result of their fatigue. Weiss hears a quiet whimper and tracks the source. She sees Ruby, who is slowly starting to get up.
"Blake… Ruby!"
Blake turns her attention to her fallen leader. She nods at Weiss then runs to Ruby's aid. Weiss keeps her attention on the dust cloud. It's slowly dissipating, but not enough to reveal the two. Suddenly Yang flies out of the dust. Weiss readies her blade and starts walking towards him.
The dust finally clears. Slater is on one knee, using his sword as leverage to keep his body up. Pain is beating through his body, similar to that of his heartbeat. His breathing is extremely heavy, so much so that anyone could hear distorted phlegm that disrupts his breathing pattern. His entire body us heaving up and down at each breath.
"D-Damn… this isn't looking good. I think I've done more overall damage but… it's spread out between four people. They have enough juice left in the tank. Maybe… I still have one last thing I can try," he says, drifting his eyes to his blade. "But even that's a little overkill…"
Blake picks up Ruby and slowly brings her back to where Weiss is.
"Thanks Blake… but I think I'm alright."
"He's down," Weiss interjects. "If we're going to finish this it should be now."
Ruby takes a gander at the downed Slater. She nods her head and looks at her teammates.
"Alright, let's finish this."
Ruby activates her weapon and charges straight in. Weiss and Blake move around the two sides. Yang suddenly bursts out from the forest, soaring in the air. She hovers over him once more and forces her fist down upon him. Slater sees he's basically trapped. Going backwards would still allow Ruby to get him, and any other way is blocked off. He raises his blade, ready to make one last ditch effort.
Before he can do anything someone suddenly appears in front of him. He looks up at him, trailing past his dark green pants and a cane to his black suit jacket.
"Ozpin?" He whispers.
The entirety of team RWBY stumbles over themselves when they see Ozpin calmly standing in front of Slater. Blake and Weiss easily stop themselves, albeit sliding a bit. Ruby turns Crescent Rose around and fires in the other direction, slowing her velocity down. As soon as Yang sees Ozpin, her eyes and hair revert back to normal. She looks around to think of a way out but is cut off when a black band wraps around her arm. She follows it down to Blake, who pulls Yang away from Ozpin and Slater. Yang makes a less than subtle landing a top a few trees.
"You know girls, this isn't what I had in mind when I sent you on this assignment."
All the girls finally come to a halt, other than Yang who walks out of the forest as she brushes herself off.
"What are you doing Professor? We could have hurt you!" Blake questions.
Ozpin closes his eyes and chuckles.
"I was perfectly safe, don't worry."
Team RWBY regroups in front of Ozpin, who is, in turn, in front of Slater. The girls all have somewhat confused faces at the moment. None of them know what's happening right now.
"Professor, who is this guy?" Yang asks, still somewhat itching to fight him in his weakened state.
"This," he starts turning his head towards Slater. "Is the student you were supposed to meet with: (Y/N) Slater."
Every girl's jaw drops, their eyes go wide, and their faces go pale. They all drop dead on their faces.
Thanks for reading everyone! This is my first taste of being in the RWBY fandom, as I just got into it a few weeks ago. I really love it, so I think I'll do well with the whole universe of RWBY. I'll try to stay canon the best I can, but I also won't. I'm a believer that one person could change an entire story, so there will be points where something completely different from the show will happen in this story. Oh, and this takes place in between volume one and two, just so you know.
So, this will actually be a reader x story, but the problem is I haven't decided who the romance will be. With no other options, I turn to you! Who do you want to romance? I would prefer to keep it with just Ruby, Weiss, Blake, or Yang, but if there is an overwhelming demand for someone else then I may consider it. So, leave a comment/review on who you want to romance. Remember that I am on three different sites, so just because there are more requests for, let's say Ruby, on the one you use doesn't mean there isn't more for Yang on a different one. So make sure to leave who you want! I'll decide by next chapter!
Questions? Comments? Concerns? Advice? Requests? Send me a message! See ya!