Hey everyone!
This is a brand new fic from me and the first one of RWBY that I'll do! I do have some ideas for it and will probably do some more.
That being said I'll probably release these chapters in between the Don't tell ones.
In any case, ill hope you'll enjoy it and don't forget to tell me what you think!
I have wanted to make some cool artwork for the fanfic, but sadly I don't have the skill for it. So I wanted to ask if one of you guys could help me with this and make some art for it! I'll really appreciate it and it would be a nice addition to the fic!
A\N - I don't own RWBY! Sadly...
A HUGE thanks to 'JRC1700' for agreeing to Beta so the fic will be even better! You are awesome! In more ways than one!
X-=-=-=-=-X
Chapter 1: A terrible idea?
It's not often that you realize that you've made a bad choice, at least not immediately after you've made it. And this just might be the worst he'd ever regretted making... provided he lived long enough to regret it. Right now he was far too busy being terrified to regret anything, the blonde boy was pretty sure he was going to die as soon as he hit the ground. But despite that, he'd liked to think that he was handling his situation in a calm, cool way.
"AAAHHH!" the boy screamed at the top of his lungs, as he sailed through the air. He uselessly flailed his arms, trying to learn how to fly... or to at least slow down his ever-so-frightening decent.
The noise of the wind in his ears was almost deafening, but that problem was quickly put aside. That was the least of his worries at the moment. He couldn't stop himself from reflecting on all of his mistakes in the last few days... What was he thinking?! Him? Jaune Arc, a huntsmen? He didn't have any sort of training, no special abilities! It was tragic. No, that wasn't right... It had been absolutely laughable to think that things would end any other way. Never mind what the few people he'd met would think of him dying before the first day of school. What he was really afraid of, was what his family would think of his actions. Running away from home, making up a fake background, just to get into school. He'd gotten accepted, no questions asked. He just hoped that his family wouldn't blame the school for accepting him.
By this point he was close enough to the ground, he figured he had seconds before being smeared all over a tree or a rock. He couldn't help but remember the last question he'd posed to the headmaster before being launched to his ultimate end.
Jaune closed his eyes and simply waited for his fears to end, before suddenly noticing a whistling noise. It grew louder and stronger, in an instant the boy's descent was suddenly reversed from the ground to a tree.
He opened his eyes when he'd stopped completely. Looking around, he saw that he was in a tree, pinned down by a red and gold metal spear embedded in his body.
"Thank you!" he called out to whoever saved him, in hopes that they would hear him.
"I'm sorry!" Jaune could barely hear someone yelling back to him. He didn't really understand what the person who'd saved him had meant.
"Well... I guess I'll just 'hang around'..." he spoke to no one, currently left to stew in his bad pun.
...
Jaune was currently accompanied by his savior, and new partner, Pyrrha Nikos. The redheaded girl was the same person he'd met before being launched into the forest. She'd arrived a few minutes after saving him, she'd even helped him down from the tree.
"I didn't do that much Jaune" she explained with a small smile. "If anything, I'd feared that I stopped you from managing the landing on your own..."
Was she serious? "Pyrrha, if you hadn't saved me I would be dead right now! I don't think any normal person could survive a fall like that." It was simply crazy to think that anyone could.
"Well maybe you would get slightly bruised if you're not prepared, or caught off guard... But your aura would protect you from most of the damage" the golden Spartan pointed out.
"My what?" he immediately asked, unfamiliar with this aura thing his new partner was talking about.
She simply giggled in response, before waving him off. "Come on Jaune, stop joking around." He was already making her laugh at the silliest things, just like she'd hoped for during her time at Beacon.
The redheaded champion waited a few more seconds, before her smile dropped completely. "Jaune you're... you're serious, aren't you?"
The blonde boy simply nodded in confirmation, his partner looked horrified at his answer. 'Is it that big of a deal?' Jaune thought, waiting for her to respond. He was already worried that he'd gotten in over his head. She began to explain to him what an aura was.
"Wait so that means... you haven't unlocked your aura yet?" she asked, only to receive a no in return.
"Is-is it that bad?" Jaune started visibly fidgeting, until she moved closer to him.
"It is Jaune..." was all she said, before a smile appeared on her features. "But it's noting that can't be fixed..." Her hand moved to his cheek and brushed the small scratch he'd received when he'd fallen. "Now close your eyes..." was the last thing Pyrrha said, before she started a chant to unlock his aura.
"For it is in passing that we achieve immortality. Through this, we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all. Infinite in distance and unbound by death, I release your soul, and by my shoulder, protect thee." While unlocking Jaune's aura, her hands began to unconsciously roam across his chest and arms. As soon as she finished the ritual, she felt a bit tired from the small ordeal.
"Pyrrha? Are you okay?" Moving quickly to support her, the blonde boy helped her straighten up. She moved back just enough to look him in the eye.
"I'm fine Jaune, more importantly, do you feel any different?" She looked towards him, as if expecting something.
"Something different-" The words got stuck in his throat, as a strange but familiar wave of power washed all over his body. "Is... is this my aura?" he asked. The redheaded champion nodded happily.
She was already happy with her partner. She couldn't wait to start her time at Beacon as just a normal huntress in training, at least as far as her team knew.
X-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-X
"What the hell is going on!?" Jaune all but screamed. He and his temporary team were busy running from a huge death stalker, while Pyrrha provided cover fire for them. Unfortunately it didn't stop said Grimm from advancing, only succeeding in annoying it further.
It was almost overwhelming to think of just how much weaker he was, even with his aura now unlocked. His temporary teammates Ren and Nora were jumping and moving in a rapid, flowing way. It almost looked as if they already knew where the creature was going to attack, then there was Pyrrha... Compared to Ren and his orangete partner, the champion was practically dancing, as she fended off the huge Grimm.
All while Ruby, and what was obviously her future team, were busy fighting off an even bigger flying Grimm that sported an almost deafening scream.
They were all simply amazing... there was no other way to describe it! Moving and attacking, dodging and working together, like it was the most natural thing in the world! And then there was Jaune, just standing around watching them fight. It made him feel... weak... useless... Just like he'd felt before he'd entered Beacon.
He hated it.
He wanted to change the way he was... to help people, that was his dream! But instead, all he ever did was stand around and hold his sword and shield.
'Damn it!' he thought, suddenly noticing that the scorpion Grimm was now targeting him. Maybe its instincts were telling it to go after the weakest of them, or simply because the blonde had caught its eye. It started charging at the blonde boy, snapping it's pincers in a menacing way, clearly meaning to frighten its new target.
A wave of bravery rushed through Jaune. He readied his shield for a hit, already planning his counterattack. He didn't get the chance, as Nora rushed over in front of him and slammed her pink hammer onto the Grimm's head.
'Hiisssssss' it roared in its anger and pain, rearing back.
"Stay back until we get it" the orangette said, transforming her hammer into a different weapon.
'Oh for Oum's sake! Can't I even get a chance to fight?!' The orange-haired girl finished transforming her weapon into a Grenade launcher, aiming it at the Grimm. By now it had recovered from her hit, sending its tail right at her.
"Whoa!" She immediately moved. The poisoned tip hit the ground with such force it cracked it, sending the girl flying back. She accidentally pulled the trigger on her weapon, her grenade launcher fired off a round behind her.
The explosion was big enough to lift Jaune into the air a second later. He wasn't feeling much pain, even if his ears were ringing from the explosion. This aura thing was honestly amazing, extremely handy too! How come he'd never heard of it until now?
The blonde boy looked down as Nora continued to jump around the Grimm, she was soon joined by Ren. 'Can't I do something too?!' He looked around, until his eyes locked onto a distant figure. Jaune saw Ruby... his first friend in Beacon, currently using her weapon to drag an enormous Grimm off a cliff.
'Ruby is so strong! Is it because of her weapon?' His eyes focused on the black and red scythe. "Crescent Rose", he let the name roll on his tongue. He could almost feel the power of the bladed weapon, emanating from its menacing appearance.
Jaune Arc's head started to throb. He almost wished he had a hunter's weapon like hers, maybe then he'd be as strong as the redheaded reaper.
His hands started to burn as he rapidly descended towards the Grimm that was no longer paying any attention to him. It was busy trying to dispose of his three fellow hunters-in-training.
'I need to do it like Ruby!' the boy thought. His hands burned, as if he was trying to hold a burning coal in his hands. His heart hammered in his chest so hard it may very well break him from the inside. 'It's... not... enough!' He could already predict the fact that he wasn't going to kill the Grimm, even if it was completely distracted. 'Faster...'
Ren was now in the middle of a full assault on the Grimm with Pyrrha. The Grimm kept its attention on the two of them. After all, they'd proven that they were legitimate threats. Its armored hide was now punctured with several bullet holes, along with a few noticeable marks on its legs. The two hunters barely felt winded, but for all their hard work the damage they'd done to the creature was barely noticeable. Things wasn't going great, they needed a plan.
The two hunters in training heard a whistling sound in the direction of the Grimm, but not emanating from the beast itself. Even the huge Grimm looked around in wonder.
It could never have expected a human-sized meteor to crash right into its back. It dented its armor and left a big crater around the area, sending wind and dust all over. The Grimm's pincers opened and shook for a few moments, before the creature ultimately collapsed into a pile with a weak screech.
Ren and the redheaded champion looked in worry at the Grimm, as if preparing for it to rise again. A few seconds after it started to disintegrate, allowing the two hunters to exhale the breathes they had been holding and relax.
"It appears we managed to defeat it" the black-haired boy said, putting away his weapons.
"Yeah we did, right?" Pyrrha asked, putting her spear away as well.
The boy nodded, looking over at the remains of the Grimm. "Nora really went all-out this time..." he reflected to himself.
"Your partner, right? Did you come to Beacon together with her?" Pyrrha questioned.
"Childhood friends... And yeah, we did" Ren answered, looking at the redhead. "It appears that you, Nora, Jeane, and I are going to be together on the same team." He offered his hand to her, she gingerly took it with a smile.
"It appears so, nice to formally make your acquaintance!"
She replied with the same, already having a good feeling about her new teammates. She always had to worry about whether or not the people she met were fans. Acting as if she wasn't an actual person, just "the champion".
If Ren was one of her fans, he hid it well enough. He didn't even bat an eyelid, nor did he try to impress her.
"Whaa... what happened?" asked a voice.
Looking to the source, the redheaded champion saw her future blonde teammate. He came out of the small crater where the Grimm had stood only seconds ago. He looked completely fine, outside of some dust on his clothes. It appeared that his Aura had taken most, if not all, of the damage. The blonde boy wobbled, as he was having trouble walking.
"What... what happened?"
X-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-X
After dealing with the Grimm who'd attacked them, the students arrived back at Beacon and were awaiting the announcement of their new teams.
The new students stood around a large platform, those who were called moving to receive their team name and officially start their time as hunters-in-training.
A few students were already in their respective teams, as the headmaster continued to call out names.
Jaune Arc couldn't be any more exited to receive his teammates. From what he could tell, it was obvious that his partner was going to be Pyrrha. His other teammates were probably going to be the cool-headed Ren, along with his childhood friend Nora.
He'd already gotten to fight alongside them against the Death Stalker, he'd even talked to them on the way back. The two had already proven to be interesting and a funny combination, as Nora kept insisting that she and Ren weren't together- together... Whatever that meant.
He could also see the girl he'd first met, as he walked off the bullhead. 'I think her name was Ruby...' He looked over to see said girl talking to a blonde beauty who just seemed to scream confidence, along with just how much out of his league she was. Said blonde girl was currently busy chatting with Ruby, all the while she was blocking a certain white-haired beauty from glaring at them.
Jaune immediately recognized her as Weiss Schnee. She was the heiress of the Schnee dust company, as well as the girl he'd made an absolute ass of himself in front of. 'Well, at least I can say that I've learned my lesson... Stay away from girls that I'm only worthy to dream about...'
The last girl was almost pale-skinned, wearing a slightly revealing outfit with a black bow on top.
They were all drop-dead gorgeous in their own way. An elegant and classic beauty, a blonde bombshell, a mysterious girl, and an innocent young girl. The blonde boy knew perfectly well he had no chance in hell with any of them, so he simply accepted that fact and promised to himself that said fact wouldn't get in the way of his time at Beacon.
All he had to do was wait for his name to be called.
"And for the next team... Jaune Arc, Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, and Pyrrha Nikos... Team JRWP!" the older man called out with a smile as he looked at the blonde boy.
...
'Wait, what?' The blonde boy looked around himself in confusion. It had just hit him who his teammates were, and apparently he wasn't the only one to be surprised.
After some time, the remainder of the students formed their respective teams. One group in particular were on their way to their rooms, currently engaged in a heated discussion.
"This is absolute bullshit!" the blonde bombshell, now known as Yang, complained... for the fifth time in the past hour.
"I know what you mean... But I thought that you wanted me to interact with people by myself" the youngest one in the group pointed out. "You know... like when you ran off on me on the first day?" she pointed out, with a touch of annoyance.
The group winced, as her sister scoffed. "That's not what I meant Rubes... I'm not complaining about not being on the same team as you" the blonde started to explain. "What I'm annoyed about was that we were supposed to already be together, then they simply decided to change things around for no reason!"
The second team was led by Ren, with Nora as his partner. Their teammates were Yang, as well as a black-haired girl known as Blake. Team RNYB for short.
Jaune couldn't help but be slightly disappointed at not ending up on the same team as Ren and Nora, they did seem incredibly nice. But at least he could take comfort in the fact that he had Ruby as his partner, as well as Pyrrha on his team! The only person he was slightly worried about was the white-haired heiress, as his first encounter with her was an excellent example of a poor first impression. Not to mention that he'd ended up being the team leader, of all things! There had to be a mistake! He was even considering talking to the headmaster, in the hopes of changing his decision. Ultimately he chose to keep everything to himself, in the fear he'd be expelled if they found out the truth about his fake background.
"Okay, this is our room" the black-haired Ren informed, glancing up from a piece of paper to the number on the door in front of him. He didn't sound remotely interested or excited, but that was apparently how he normally was according to Nora.
Jaune glanced down to his own piece of paper, as he looked around. "Well, our room is... We must have passed ours or something-" He never managed to finish his sentence, as someone grabbed the note from his hands.
"Let me see that, you dolt." Weiss looked over the number for a moment, then looked next to her, before stuffing it back into his hands. "It's here... Or maybe it's that you can't read, that you didn't notice something right in front of you?" She didn't wait for an answer, simply entering the room and ignoring any response he may have had.
"Ouch... She seemed nice, glad I dodged that bullet!" Yang offered with a cocky smile, Nora joined her.
Ruby offered her a flat look. "You know she's on my team..."
"Like I said... 'I' dodged that bullet!" she repeated for emphasis.
"You suck Yang..." the small girl pouted, crossing her arms.
"Weiss is not that bad, you'll get used to her in no time" the redheaded champion assured, trying to polish up her new partner's image.
"Didn't you tell me that you wanted Jaune to be your partner? And if not him, then anyone as long-mumf" Nora Valkiry tried to ask, forcing Pyrrha to shut her up as she dragged the girl into her room.
"I'll be back in a second" Pyrrha assured, as she closed the door behind them. The rest of the group shrugged, Ren was the first to break the silence.
"We better start setting up our beds, we'll meet up afterwords?" He looked up to Jaune, the blonde nodded in response.
'Well, all in all, it's not that bad... Could be worse...' Jaune thought opening the door to his new room in Beacon. He noticed Pyrrha's partner standing in the middle of the room with her arms crossed. 'Corrosion, it just got worse.'
X-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-X
Weiss considered herself to be a patient and respectable young lady. She was proud that she'd managed to get into Beacon and away from her family, or more specifically her father. He'd wanted her to remain in Atlas, so he could continue to have absolute control over her.
She'd trained herself, with a bit of help from her sister, until she'd been ready and able to get into this school. The only thing she really wanted was to get along with her teammates and prove that she didn't need to rely on her family name to get what she wanted, or to succeed.
Pyrrha Nicos was her partner now, and that was perfect! She was strong and easy to talk to. She wouldn't treat her any differently because of her own fame, exactly like she'd hoped.
...and then there were her other two teammates, a child and an idiot.
She scowled as she stared to her right, glaring at her team leader and his partner. The blonde boy was busy trying to keep his eyes open as their teacher continued to lecture. The girl next to him on the other hand, looked as if she had too much energy to stay still.
'It's only the first class, and I'm already dreading the rest of the year...' The white-haired heiress nearly hit her head on her table, but refrained from damaging her image or making a fool out of herself.
Ruby Rose was exited about her first class, even if she was sure that she probably wouldn't remember any of the things the teacher said afterwards. The girl was practically buzzing, vibrating from trying to contain her enthusiasm.
Ruby was obviously a bit disappointed at the fact that she wasn't going to be in the same team as her big sister, but took comfort that she'd still be with her first friend at Beacon. Looking to her side she saw her partner Jaune, sitting in a slack pose and obviously tired. She wasn't sure exactly what to think about what she'd seen in the Emerald forest... It was too bizarre to even describe.
As she was dealing with the Neramor, finishing it off, she'd been the only one who'd looked down and seen what had actually happened to the Death Stalker. She'd noticed that her blonde partner was currently up in the air, but not by choice it seemed. The young girl was about to try and do something to help him, despite knowing that she most likely would be unable to reach him in time.
Then she saw something happening in the distance, as the boy's body suddenly became enveloped by a weak golden light. Then the light morphed into to a different, and very familiar, shade of red. He suddenly started to slowly descend, before gaining an incredible amount of speed. He'd already become a blur, before ultimately crashing down upon the huge Grimm and effectively ending it.
She was glad that her partner was so nice and easy to talk too, even more so with just how socially awkward she was.
The class continued with some of the other students talking and whispering to their teammates, as the rest took notes or simply took the time to rest from their ordeal in the Emerald forest. After what seemed like an eternity, class ended with a loud ring. The students nearly fled the classroom, many of them exited for the next class. It was to be expected, as the next subject happened to be the very thing most wanted to excel at.
"I'm so fired up!" The small reaper was jumping around her and her sister's teammates, as they all moved together.
"I know what you mean sis, I've been itching for someone to bash around the ring!" Yang agreed.
Nora moved next to her, before wrapping an arm around her blonde teammate. "I feel you sister! I can't wait to break some legs!" the orangette exclaimed, sporting the most innocent and vicious look on her face.
"Are you that bloodthirsty? It's only our first combat class!" Weiss tried to understand what the big deal was, as she'd noticed just how much tamer she was compared to her teammates.
"It's not that, Ice Queen" Yang responded, promptly ignoring the annoyed look Weiss shot in her direction over her new nickname. "It's because this is our first class where I can show that I'm serious about my training, not to mention that I'd like to attract strong people to challenge me!"
Everyone looked impressed with the blonde girl's response, even as Weiss looked conflicted and uncomfortable. "I see, then I apologize for assuming the worst of you and-" she was about to continue, before the blonde bombshell interrupted.
"...but more importantly, I need to vent about not being on the same team with my little Rubs!" Yang finished with a smile, cracking her knuckles in a menacing way.
"I take back everything I said... you ARE just as bloodthirsty as I assumed" the white-haired girl sneered at the blonde.
"Oh, I love you too sis!" Ruby declared, teleporting next to her sister and hugging her.
"Don't encourage her!" the heiress huffed, feeling a migraine coming on. Looking next to her the girl glanced at her partner, who seemed to be giggling at the behavior of the youngest girl in the group.
...
Finally the teams arrived at their combat class, taking their places around the center. Their blonde teacher was already standing in the middle of the ring. Glynda Goodwiche was scanning the faces of her new students, as if trying to memorize them all.
She waited a few more seconds for the last handful of students to enter, before she started speaking. After a short introduction, the older blonde woman started going over the rules for spars.
Jaune was standing next to his teammate Pyrrha and his partner Ruby. The latter was almost jumping, trying to get a better look at the ring. He certainly wasn't as excited as she was.
And how could he be? He'd only now realized just how large the gap between him and his friends was. 'What was I thinking?' he kept pondering to himself. He'd planned on figuring out a way to train himself when he had some spare time, maybe check up on the other students. But after seeing some of his classmates fight each other, he guessed that he was probably the weakest one in his class... No, that wasn't right, in the entire first year!
At least he could take some comfort in the fact that his teammates were strong enough to help him get better. According to Ruby, and Ice Q-Weiss, Pyrrha was some big-shot tournament fighter. Allegedly, she was currently undefeated in the ring.
He glanced at her and smiled. He knew from their first meeting that he could probably ask her for some help, seeing how nice and friendly she'd been. The redheaded champion had obviously noticed him looking, as she'd smiled back at him.
He'd be fine... Jaune was sure of it! He only needed to stay quiet and not draw any attention towards himself.
"Now the last match of today will be... Cardin Winchester and..." Glenda passed over the students, as if searching for someone in particular. "Jaune Arc" was all the blonde teacher said.
"Alright! Time for my partner to shine!" The little reaper started nudging the blonde foreword, the rest of the group shouting their own encouragements at him.
'Well... so much for lying low.' He just smiled at his team, before moving forward. The young Arc moved with slow, heavy steps. He passed his team, after giving them a smile. His face immediately contorted into a slightly panicked expression, as he'd finally arrived at the steps that lead to the top of the ring.
'It's fine... it's just a spar... Not like anything is going to happen, right?' He kept trying to reassure himself that this was still only the first day, he was certain that nobody was expecting him to be all that impressive.
The blonde boy noticed the blonde teacher, a few feet from her stood his opponent.
"Took you long enough! I was about to fall asleep!" the boy barked, smirking at Jaune.
"Yeah, sorry about that..." the blonde responded. He scratched his head, not really sure what to say.
"Kick his ass Jaune!" Yang called. She, Nora, and Ruby cheered him on from the sidelines.
Cardin's response was to look angrily at his blonde opponent. 'Oh, come on! She was the one who said it, not me!' Jaune was already regretting what was going to happen to him, and it hadn't even really started yet.
"Oh... I'm going to enjoy this!" Winchester tightened his grip on his weapon, lunging forward towards his victim.
Jaune's instincts flared up, he tried to use his shield to block the attack. Unfortunately he didn't account for the power behind the blow, as he got bashed aside as if he was nothing. His team fell quiet as he fell on his back, his shield knocked aside.
"Ouch... that's going to leave a mark." Yang winced, her sister looked slightly worried.
"Somehow, I'm pretty sure this is your fault..." Weiss declared, as the rest of the group stared at her. She did feel bad, especially when Ruby pouted at her.
"Ahh... whups?" She tried to sound as innocent as she could, but failed as her little sister didn't look all that convinced.
By this point Jaune had gotten back up, clutching the arm that that held his shield. His hand shook in pain. The blonde boy saw a small chunk of his Aura fall from his bar, leaving him with slightly more than half left.
As he'd gotten to his feet Cardin had moved closer, wearing a wide and victorious smile. "Well, that was easy... Maybe you'd better just give up and run back to your little girlfriends, maybe they can give me a better challenge!" The bigger boy started eyeing the blonde's teammates, focusing on one of them.
"Just wait until I get my hands on you Winchester!" Yang threatened, her eyes starting to change to red.
"Don't worry you'll get your-" The boy looked at Jaune as he scowled at him. "You're still here? I thought I told you to get lost..." Jaune didn't respond, only preparing his sword. "Fine... I'm tired of looking at your face anyway..."
Jaune could only stare as the boy started moving again, a much more menacing glare on his face. Fear flared inside of him, his mind going a thousand miles an hour, as if he was preparing for the hit.
'Move...'
Something whispered inside his mind. A voice so very familiar, and yet so easily forgotten.
Could he make it, could he move out of the way? Could he actually win? No, he couldn't... 'I bet Ruby could...' his mind suggested, as a vague image of his partner appeared in his mind.
"Now stay down!" the Winchester boy's voice called out, already swinging his mace down at the blonde's head.
Something flashed, everyone looked wide-eyed at the two boys in the ring.
X-=-=-=-=-=-X
Well, that was the first chapter!
Don't forget to tell me what you think!
PS: If you want to read some of the best RWBY fics I've seen then look up "Coeur Al'Aran" trust me you won't be disappointed!
I'll see you all next time!