Radiance

Chapter 1, Should Have Just Stayed Home

I do not own anything pertaining to the RWBY universe. No stocks, no stakes in RT, nothing. Don't even own any merchandise.

Hmm, they say the third time is the charm, correct? I was not happy with how the story was progressing, simply because of how out of character Blake was from the get go. I hope to rectify this and turn it into more of a slow boil type of story rather than bold, in your face Yandere from the rip.

As you may have seen, most, if not all of my other stories have been discontinued, with maybe two having the potential for updates in the future.

[RD]

'Breath in.'

High above the clouds, a white cloaked young man hunched in on himself as he concentrated on his breathing, doing his best to ignore the chatter around him. The mindless noise floated in one ear and out the other as he continued to fight an internal struggle that all of his ancestors before him waged war with as well. His stomach lurched once more as the minor turbulence of the large airship he was aboard rose in altitude before lowering once more, something it seemed to do quite frequently.

'Breath out.'

The short haired youth groaned lowly before reaching into the leather pouch sewn into the inside of his cloak to retrieve another mint leaf before lowering the thick, white scarf covering most of his lower face and placing it on his tongue and closing the pouch. The bitter, yet pleasant taste of Yerba Buena soothed the feeling of nausea enough for the blond to lean back in his seat and glance blearily around at those surrounding him before deciding it was futile.

'Breath in.'

Try as he might, the faces of those around him were so bland and forgettable they may as well have been black outlines in the backdrop. Perhaps it was only due to his discomfort, as he did catch quite a few flashes of bright colors every now and again as his azure eyes scanned the crowd, but his focus was quickly drawn back to his breathing when the flavor of mint was no longer enough to stave off his nausea.

'Breath out.'

Despite his excitement at finally having made it to the Kingdom that held the key to his dreams, Jaune couldn't help but scoff at the strange defensive nature of Beacon Academy. Why did each and every trip to the prodigious Academy have to be made by airship? Why couldn't Beacon be more like Haven in the fact it was located within the Kingdom proper and not the outskirts of Vale, high upon a set of cliffs? Perhaps as a way to prevent an all out siege from Grimm along the ground level?

'Breath in.'

Jaune found his thoughts wandering away from the defensive positioning of Beacon as he further gained control over his bodily functions enough to no longer be in danger of losing his lunch, as bland and tasteless as it had been with his rather meager funding. Glancing down at the pristine white armor resting upon his chest and the golden Arc family symbol engraved in the center of the piece of metal plating, the white clad knight of Arc descent couldn't fight the frown that appeared on his face before it disappeared just as quickly.

'Breath out.'

His left hand settled upon the sheathed blade resting on his waist, the cool, threaded pommel of the blade suffusing through his thin leather gloves and reminding him of the promise he made at his fathers grave on his twelfth birthday. The feeling of Crocea Mors at his side further calmed his nerves and allowed Jaune to sit a bit straighter than before, the white hood of his cloak rising enough to allow his azure blue eyes to stare out at the crowds around him once more.

'Breath in.'

Jaune couldn't shake the feeling he was being watched, he just couldn't tell quite where the feeling was originating from. In some moments, it felt like it was coming from right next to him while in others, the feeling was a distant tugging that only nudged at his awareness like a passing breeze. If there was one thing the Arc scion had learned during the trek from Amarila, his home village, to Vale, it was to know the feeling of being watched.

It was the Human and Faunus gazes that fell upon his cloaked form that gave him most pause, especially knowing there were some that allowed their eyes to linger perhaps a tad too long while one refused to budge all together. Grimm had been one of the many constants that Jaune had learned to deal with throughout his life, his sisters often bringing a leashed Beowulf home after removing their arms and toes before allowing him to practice his technique, all at the behest of his Mother.

All thoughts of concentrating on his breathing ceased as a brief flash of his mothers face raced through his minds eye before disappearing just as quickly, leaving nothing but a terrible longing for home in its wake. Despite wanting nothing more than to go to Beacon and become a man his deceased father could be proud of, Jaune couldn't help but feel incredible sadness at having to leave behind his six sisters and mother for four years to do so.

He had tossed around the idea of requesting they move to Vale with him, though the idea was quickly scrapped just as it formed. His Father's family, the Arc's, had long since been residences of the small village and had engrained themselves into the defensive forces of watchmen and guards alike. His two eldest sisters, Johanna and Juliana had become integral to the survival of Amarila, and no matter how selfish Jaune was, he wouldn't take away the livelihoods of his fellow Amarilans due to his desire to keep his family with him.

Clenching his fist tightly around the pommel of Crocea Mors as the airship lurched to the left harshly before correcting course, Jaune kept his lunch down successfully once again as he swallowed the mint leaf before reaching for another.

"Excu-" Whatever words were about to be said afterwards were muted when a minor bout of turbulence caused the bullhead to lurch, causing the person standing next to him to lurch into his side heavily, almost collapsing entirely upon his form. He was content to ignore the person and their lingering gazes, but having them sprawl out over his shoulder was perhaps not quite socially acceptable, even for him.

With what sounded like a hiss, the black and white clad form next to him was quick to remove itself from his body while murmuring an apology under their breath. Any thoughts of continuing whatever they were saying after having their words were cut off by the shaking of the motor vehicle seemed to disappear as azure found itself locked with amber.

"It's fine." Jaune did his best to dispel the fears of his neighbor, so to speak, when he finally broke his gaze away from them and returned to his forward facing position completely. Normally such a thing would have been a cause for concern considering just how closely they were sitting to him previously, but his heavily distracted state preventing him from registering their proximity.

Finding the need to vacate the premise all together after his stomach lurched powerfully once more, he rose from his seated position and allowed his white cloak to cover his body once more before making his way to where he knew the bathroom was located.

He didn't want to admit it, but the intense eyes of the dark haired female struck a chord within him. Something about her gaze made his hairs stand on end, but he couldn't quite figure out what. Jaune eventually chalked it up to his nerves and pushed it from the forefront of his mind, instead focusing on the path before him.

The clamor of activity and teenagers exchanging braggadocios tales preceded Jaune for quite some time as he stalked the passageways of the overly large aerial vehicle, paying no mind to any of the passersby as he did his best to keep his stomach from emptying itself prematurely.

Feeling the airship lurch once more, this time in a downward direction, Jaune steadied himself and moved further out of sight as he found himself near the docking bay, just another hallway away from the mens restroom. The sound of Glynda Goodwitch speaking broke the silence that had befallen the bullhead after the previous bout of turbulence, allowing Jaune to listen to the stern woman and her greetings in peace.

The sound of a young girl complaining about her knees, of all things you could possibly complain about, caused him to turn his attention to the two newcomers that strolled towards the docking bay with a keen eye, though he wasn't quite expecting both to turn to him at once as if they had seen a ghost.

The taller of the two had golden hair that cascaded around her shoulders and down to the small of her back, obviously well cared for and groomed daily. From her stance and the way she continued to tinker with her bracelets almost absentmindedly, Jaune was able to glean enough information to know she was a brawler. Her eyes and smile appeared wild and almost untamed, feral with a hint of civility.

The shorter teenager had shoulder length black hair with what looked to be red tips, dressed in gothic-lolita with a long, cascading red cloak around her shoulders much like his own, if not styled more like a cape with a hood than a true cloak. Nothing about the younger girl was telling, as far as her combat prowess went anyway.

Her young appearance gave Jaune slight pause, but his stomach quickly reminded him of his previous agenda and put him in motion towards the bathroom once more, all thoughts of the two quickly leaving his head.

The restroom was completely unoccupied, thankfully, allowing Jaune to empty the contents of his stomach in peace without disturbing those around him with either the smell of vomit, or the sound of said process of vomiting. Some people were audibly sensitive and started gagging upon hearing others gag, after all, and it would have been just Jaune's luck to turn a clean restroom into a scene straight from a C-rated horror movie.

Rinsing his mouth out with the fresh tap water from the sink and biting into two more leaves of mint, the blond glanced over himself in the mirror and did his best not to scoff at what he saw. Standing just two inches over six foot, Jaune Arc would have been a rather imposing figure to behold if he didn't resemble a beanpole in the fact that he was rather streamlined as opposed to bulky like his Father, Julius Arc.

The fur lined white hood and cloak that covered his blond hair and clothing from view was one of the few constants in his life, his first cloak having been a gift to him by a woman he considered an Aunt years prior when he was still a child. From the moment he was given his first cloak, Jaune had quickly fallen in love with the accessory and almost refused to go a day without wearing the comforting piece of cloth. White and gold armor peaked out from beneath the cloak, as did the tall collar of the white turtleneck he wore beneath his cuirass.

Two black, leather belts crossed his blue jean covered hips and held two pouches each on either side of his hips, providing quite a bit of storage space outside of his pants pockets to use. One pouch was dedicated to keeping a large stock of mint leaves to help with his nausea while the rest held other little trinkets he had learned to use in a fight to tip the scales in his favor. Thick, black boots the same shade as his gloves covered his feet, armored around the toes and heel to prevent having his tendons sliced or toes crushed.

He may have been dressed like a semi-casual white knight, but Jaune Arc was known by his sisters and mother alike for being the most deceptive of all of the Arc siblings when it came to appearances. Gentle he may have been, but those who had gotten to know him knew that he had a vengeful streak nearly two miles wide, especially when it came to his siblings or goodness forbid, his mother.

Deciding that preening was senseless and that he needed to start making his way back to the docking bay, Jaune spun on his heels and began a slow walk back towards the middle of the airship with the rest of the students. The minutes ticked by quickly for Jaune as he went back to focusing on his breathing to keep his still aching stomach from acting up once more before finally, the Captains voice rang out and announced the airships arrival at Beacon.

When he finally made his way to the large bay he knew would act as the students exit, the doors were finally open to let loose the would be students upon Beacon. Feeling eyes upon him once more, Jaune made his way past the crowd and moved to his left, hanging on the edge of the steady stream of useless bodies.

'Finally.' The cloaked teen was listless as he moved forward, shaking off the effects of motion sickness with adept skill. Of course, it could have also been the large amount of concentrated mint he took for his condition, but that was neither here nor there. His mother had made sure to send him another large stash from his garden by hiding the leaves in his knife pouch. Brothers bless her pure soul, Joan was too good a woman for a terrible son like Jaune.

From the corner of his eyes, Jaune watched as the taller blond he had passed by earlier abandoned her younger companion to blend into the crowd of faceless figures, disappearing from sight completely. His gait slow, he was able to remain out of the way and out of view from many of the roving beings, keeping to himself as he made his way towards the auditorium at a pace more fitting a senior citizen with a cane than a young man not even in his prime.

Jaune couldn't help the small chortle that escaped him as he watched the melodramatic teenager throw herself backwards to the ground in either frustration or dizziness, causing her to knock over the rather expensive looking luggage that belonged to a prim and proper white haired young girl. The ensuing chaos was mind boggling, reminisce of something straight from the Arc household without an army of angry blonds chasing one another with weapons of potential mass destruction.

A sneeze that causes explosions? Perhaps it was the extremely volatile powdered dust that the white haired female was waving about carelessly in the face of the blackish red haired female. Either way, Jaune steered clear until he picked up a dreaded sound. A sound that haunted his dreams and nightmares alike.

The horrid sniffle.

He had done his best to valiantly crush the white knight within him beneath his heel despite his appearances, but his body was already in motion despite his minds protests by the time he came to his senses once more. By the time the knight was re-slain with his ashes scattered in the winds, he was already standing over the young girl, taking in her appearance while scanning her for any visible injury and finding none in turn. Tilting his head to the side, Jaune noticed that her eyes were the most peculiar shade of grey he had ever seen. It was only after the light caught her eyes correctly that Jaune discovered that her eyes weren't grey, but silver.

She reminded him of one of his younger sisters, especially due to her manner of speech and dress, but beyond that, she reminded him of someone from his past that he hardly remembered, the very person who gave him his first cloak when he was little more than two years old. Jaune Arc couldn't help but compare the young, red and black clad female before him to the soft spoken aunt figure his eldest sisters and mother had told him stories of time and time again, a deceased woman by the name of Summer that had passed away a few days after Jaune's sixth birthday.

Scorning himself for once more bringing up the past, the blond stopped trying to compare the young girl before him to the many female figures responsible for shaping him as a person before offering her a hand up.

Had he known the chain of events his small offer of companionship would set off in the near future, Jaune would have turned on his heels and marched away from Beacon with as much gusto as he possibly could. It was all for naught, however, for the moment the young female sealed her palm into his, the fates had determined his future.

[TL]

Ruby Rose wasn't quick to admit it, but she was a young girl with a healthy fear for the unknown.

Fear was one of her most powerful emotions, if she were to be completely honest. Fear of being alone, fear of being helpless, fear of letting down her family. It was that fear of being alone that drove her to create her weapon and affectionately name it Crescent Rose. Ruby wasn't quite like the girls around Patch and was more interested in combat, weapons and getting stronger than other, more civil hobbies. It was due to this nature of hers that made bonding with those around her almost an impossible task all together, her list of friends being two.

Crescent Rose was one, and Yang was another.

It was not due to any lack of effort on her part, of course, but her ability to connect with those her age had been so lacking she was almost sure it was teetering in the negative numbers on some days. The young Reaper had learned to hide her loneliness behind a mask of happiness and bubbly persona years prior when her elder sister started asking rather specific questions, but some days made the petite figure question the point in maintaining her facade.

Being invited to Beacon early for her part in foiling the attempted robbery of From Dust Till Dawn had caused no small amount of hope to spring up within the young Huntress in training, especially knowing that this would be her chance to meet new people that weren't aware of her strange obsession with weapons or cookies.

The judgmental gazes of those at Signal hadn't quite left her feeling eager to mingle with the student body around her, though, despite her massive desire to at least meet one person to befriend and shower with her affection. It was due to this massive internal conflict that she felt that Ruby threw herself backwards in frustration, only to cause a chain reaction of legendary proportions when she knocked over the luggage of a silver haired passerby. After dealing with an irate princess who loved to shake volatile dust in peoples faces and the subsequent sneeze-plosion, she was content to wallow in her self pity.

Not only was she ditched by her sister for her useless friends, something Ruby was silently incredibly bitter about, she was also accosted and exploded by the first person she had come into contact with! Despite her fathers and sisters assurances, Ruby had an inkling of regret for leaving behind Signal early.

She left the comfortable, known, and admittedly lonely Signal for this?

A figure leaning over her broke her from her dramatics, causing her to look up at the tall being that blotted out the sun and cast heavy shadows over her entire frame.

His entire body was cloaked in white, from the large hood that covered his hair all the way down to his toes. There were minor frays along the edge of the cloak, indicating that it had seen service for quite some time. Her heart beat a bit quicker upon seeing the white cloaked figure once more, having been caught staring earlier when he had passed her by in the halls of the airship.

The cloaked figure tilted his head to the side in a show of curiosity, almost like a puppy, before Ruby shook away her initial shock and quickly latched onto the leather clad hand he had extended in her direction. The white cloak was parted slightly down the middle, revealing chest armor of the same color with golden accents that was held onto his torso by two straps over the shoulder. He wore a long sleeved turtleneck beneath his armor and had a long scarf wrapped around his throat and lower face, preventing Ruby from making out the details of his nose or mouth from her angle.

He was taller than most people Ruby had ever seen, standing at just above six foot by her judgment.

Her keen eyes locked onto the white sheath upon his left hip, two golden bars racing across the pristine surface near the middle before traveling up the weapon slowly. The royal blue wrapping around the blades handle was worn and held an imprint of the figures large hand near the middle, indicating actual skill in wielding the weapon as she made out the blue tint the palms of his right glove held.

Eventually, Ruby accepted the offered hand with gratitude, allowing the cloaked figure to pull her to her feet. Brushing herself off, Ruby fought down her blush of embarrassment and motioned to introduce herself to the only person to stop and pay her misery any mind, only to notice that he was already on his merry way, not even bothering to wait for her to speak before he continued moving.

While she was grateful that he helped her up, the least he could have done was allowed her to know his name, or at least even learn hers.

"Hey, wait up!" Ruby shouted before her body was engulfed in a splash of rose pedals, appearing beside the cloaked figure in a split second upon activating her semblance, "You didn't even let me introduce myself!"

His slightly obscured face tilted to the left again as he shifted his body slightly to observe her better before he slowly shrugged his shoulders.

When he didn't speak up, Ruby huffed and crossed her arms while tapping her left foot upon the ground in irritation. "Well?"

"Well what? I'm waiting for you to introduce yourself." The tall figure tilted a brow before turning a bit more than before to face her from the side.

The blush of embarrassment came and went in a second before the scythe wielder placed one of her hands on her waist confidently while extending her other. "I'm Ruby Rose, Grimm slaying extraordinaire! Nice to meet you, uh..."

With a sigh, Jaune reached out and took her hand in a gentle grip, not finding the need to give her the macho-man grip as was common in most men. "Jaune."

"Jaune." Ruby repeated his name as if testing the way it sounded. It rolled off the tongue easily, that much was for certain, and it held a ring to it as she repeated the name in her head a few more times to memorize it, "It's nice to meetchya', Jaune! Thanks for the help back there..."

When he shrugged his shoulders again, Ruby almost decided on giving up on speaking to him before decided to attempt one final conversation starter. "This is my baby, Crescent Rose!"

The way he took a step back made her realize her mistake in displaying perhaps a bit too much enthusiasm over her weapon, but he leaned forward to get a better look after a second of silence, his azure blue eyes roving across the weapon and drinking in its details.

"A sniper rifle as well?" Jaune asked simply, pointing at the large magazine near the head of the weapon, "What a fascinating weapon."

"Oh, are you a weapon lover too?!" Ruby was ecstatic upon hearing his answer, usually having to spell out what her weapon is to those first seeing the beautifully deadly contraption, "Oh, oh! What kind of weapon do you use? I mean, I see that you have a sword, but-"

Jaune seemed to lean back and tilted his head to the right this time as he allowed Ruby's hyperactive chatter enter one ear and exit the other, holding a silent conversation with himself before deciding that it couldn't hurt to show her, especially considering she might end up being partnered with him in the future.

Reaching down, Jaune quickly unsheathed Crocea Mors and deployed its sheath into its Heater form, revealing his weapon as nothing more than a rather old sword and board made of the highest quality metals.

Two quick flicks of his blade demonstrated quite a bit of strength, the three foot slab of sharpened metal cutting through the air and whistling a tune Ruby found she could listen to for hours before the heater shield was collapsed and returned to his hip before sheathing the short sword.

"This is Crocea Mors, a weapon passed down from male Arc to male Arc," Jaune placed his left on the hilt of the weapon once more, relishing the comfort the weapon brought him, "Easy to handle, no complicated moving parts, fun to smack people in the face with."

Ruby couldn't help the giggle that escaped her upon hearing his last comment. Her silver eyes roamed his form once more before snapping back to his eyes, her silver pools of liquid mercury burying themselves deep in his oceans of blue. His handshake told her all she needed to know about him. It was a skill her father passed unto her and Yang, one that most Huntsmen and Huntresses eventually learn at some point in their career.

The fact that he was so gentle with his handshake spoke of his inner character, but the callouses she could feel beneath his gloves hinted at his prowess with his blade. This was someone who had worked hard with his weapon.

Ruby didn't have a problem with Jaune being her first friend, not in the least.

[RD]

Blake wasn't sure what she was expecting when first arriving in Beacon, but this was not it. Deciding to cut ties with the White Fang had been hard, but it was necessary when the violence continued to escalate. Adam, her partner and former lover, had become a psychotic monster, cold and cruel to those beside and beneath him.

It was saddening, watching the organization created by her father and mother fall into such a state. It was enough to make her sick, just thinking about it. That was how she found herself miles in the sky, currently on her way to attending a four year vocational school that teaches impressionable teenagers how to kill monsters.

Perhaps there was more to her decision to joining Beacon, but she hardly desired to admit that she was looking for someone. Not anyone in particular, either, but... someone. Blake couldn't handle the sadness that came with being alone, not after having spent the better part of four years obsessively loyal to Adam Taurus.

That wasn't correct either, now that she was being honest with herself. She could handle the sadness easily, as her books provided her much needed escapism whenever she found necessary. It was the lonesomeness that she couldn't handle.

It was a sad truth, but one Blake had no problems admitting. Her mother, Kali, had much the same issues when she was younger, though the elder Belladonna was quick to teach her daughter everything she knew once Blake had reached maturity in controlling her urges, months before the young Faunus had left home and joined the Fang full time.

Another sad truth that Blake would admit is her... slightly obsessive personality. It was something that every Belladonna before her struggled with, and something her children would come to inherit as well. It was this obsessive nature that led to Kali seducing Ghira, as the two politely called it years after the fact. Blake was more than sure that seducing was putting it nicely, as Kali never took no for an option from the man.

Taking in a deep breath, Blake enjoyed the smell of the fresh air and the faint hint of flowers and iron. Her bow twitched once as the sound of deep, steady breathing reached her feline ears before her human appendages could pick up on the noise.

The smell of flowers and iron grew stronger as she neared the open door to her right, only looking in for a moment as she motioned to continue on her way. Something caused her to pause, something made her eye the white blob a bit closer as he rested his back upon the wall of the small alcove.

After a few moments of staring, Blake was able to make out what appeared to be a short sword peaking from the part of his cloak, thus dashing her thoughts before her eyes continued to rove over his body. After he reached out and placed his left hand upon the pommel of his weapon, however, Blake was able to make out what appeared to be a knife hidden on the underside of his arm, held in place by two straps and concealed by his gloves.

Why would someone dressed like a knight wield a kunai, of all types of throwing knives available on the market?

At first, he seemed to be meditating or resting in peace until Blake came to stand next to him, glancing downwards every few seconds in confusion. Just what was it about the blond that kept snagging her attention?

Despite 'falling over' when the turbulence initially hit, the figure showed little interest in speaking or maintaining eye contact for more than a second or two at most. In fact, he almost seemed unnerved by her staring once Blake straightened herself up.

Falling into those azure blue eyes, Blake felt something calling to her from beyond the surface of his twin oceans, only for them to turn away as quickly as they locked with her own. When he got up and dismissed himself, amber eyes watched with keen interest as he stuck to the edges of the crowds, even blending in and disappearing from sight a few times in the crowds. The way he rolled his feet as he padded out of the room the two shared with a few other students was oddly familiar to her, but once more found herself unable to place where she had seen such a gait.

Blake stalked the cloaked figure from a dozen feet back, keeping out of his peripherals at all points, all while going over what she remembered of her mothers lessons from so long ago. Blake was a Belladonna, whose women were know for being... clingy whenever something caught their eyes. She couldn't be certain, but he bore more thought than the rest of the mulling crowd and perhaps could keep her mind occupied until she either found a more suitable target, if she could.

There was one thing Blake had always wished for when her eyes closed at night, and it was to have someone to love her as hard as she loved them. Her desires had been projected unto an undeserving target once, she was loathe to make the same mistake again.

She had always dreamed of finding her own Ninja of Love, and in that moment, Blake was sure she found him, she just didn't understand why her ninja was running around dressed as a knight. She would have to do reconnaissance and keep watch from a good, safe distance, but Blake had a feeling any questions she had about the figure in white would be answered within the next few days.