Hey, guys, GaeaChronos here. I cannot apologize even more for the delay in chapters. I originally intended for this to be released around October, but life had to come first. I'm still trying to get my shit together, but I wanna get something out before the end of the year. (UPDATE: I failed :P)
Also, IDK what went on with my SAO guild, but apparently I'm promoted to Sub-leader now.
Anyways, as per usual, on with the chapter!
P.S. Izu is love, and must be protected at all costs.
Chapter 8
Ruben Rose was currently lying in his bed, staring up at the ceiling for what felt like an eternity.
Ugh, just a couple more days, he thought with a grimace.
His bruises have long since healed, thanks to his Aura trying to speed things up. But, he still has not received any approval from Ozpin.
It was strange for the young leader to have some time for himself without being disturbed by an alarm.
Yes, for the first time in his days at Beacon, Ruben Rose was utterly, without a single doubt in the world, bored.
"Weiss~" he whined to the person in question, seated by the desk next to the bed below his.
"What?" she asked, looking up from her notes.
"I'm bored!"
"And what do you expect me to do about it?" she raised an eyebrow.
Ruben then stuck his head out the side of his bed, looking down at his partner.
"Entertain me!" he answered with a grin.
Weiss sighed.
"Ruben, I can't right now. I'm studying." she answered back, making the leader slump.
"But I'm bored!!!"
"Then go bother someone else. I don't have time to play."
"I would, but... Yang's kinda got her own thing, I don't really enjoy what she does. Blake is always off on her own reading, and I don't think I can handle Nora's antics, I'm not Ren. And as for Pyrrha, well, I can't say I know her well enough to know what she likes, other than Jaune."
"Speaking of Vomit Boy, why don't you go ask him?"
"He's... kinda avoiding me for some reason. Don't know why, though." he tilted his head, confused. The blonde leader had been trying to avoid him for the past few days lately. Ruben didn't know why, and it kind of stung. Jaune was the first real friend he had made since coming to Beacon. He really wanted to know what was bothering him.
"Now that you mention it, he has not been hitting on me for the past few days. Not that I don't appreciate it, but it is strange." Weiss mused, pausing her studying to stretch for a bit, which caught her partner's attention.
"Umm, Weiss? How long were you sitting there?"
"Hm? To be honest, I lost track. What time is it?"
Ruben looked down at his scroll.
"Um, five thirty, why?"
"Ah, then probably around three hours, give or take?"
Ruben' jaw dropped.
"You've been slumped over your notes for three hours?!"
"Yes. Is there a problem?" Weiss didn't understand his reaction. This was routine for her.
"Unbelievable." the young leader suddenly grumbled, coming down from the bed to his partner's side.
"What is it?" the heiress asked, wondering what got into her leader.
"You, Weiss Schnee..." he started, pointing at her. "... are coming with me!"
"... Excuse me?"
"You heard me. As your leader, I command you to come with me."
"Why?"
"We're going to Vale. Get some snacks, do a little window shopping, anything that isn't studying."
"Uh, yeah, no, I'm not doing that." she declined, about to turn back to her notes.
"Too bad. I could've sworn they were selling a BeyonDriver at a thrift store somewhere in Vale."
That made Weiss pause.
"... What?"
"Yeah. I was walking around Vale this week, and found they were selling some old Rider stuff at a thrift store Yang and I regularly check out. I never really got interested until I saw some of the shows."
Weiss's attention was now drawn to her partner, but she was trying not to appear interested.
Don't let him trick you, Weiss! her mind exclaimed. He's trying to get you to come with him! This is a trap! Even if Woz is the best thing to come out of Zi-O, he's trying to capitalize on that!
"Oh, well, guess I'll have to go there myself. They did say they'd get some new stuff today. Guess I'll check it out." he shrugged, making a show of turning around, and heading towards the door, slowly reaching for the knob.
And now, we wait, Ruben thought.
Three...
Two...
One...
"W-Wait..." he turned back to Weiss, who refuses to look at him in the eyes.
"... I... guess I could use a break and stretch my legs a little. I'm coming, too. But let's stop by that cafe afterwards."
Ruben just grinned, which deepened her scowl.
-LINE BREAK-
"So, you mean to tell me there are types of Grimm that are not only resistant to Dust, but also come in different variations?"
These were the words that came out of Blake Belladonna upon hearing the armored stranger's explanation.
She had the luck of running into him again in an alleyway when she heard a strange sound while passing by.
"... Basically." the stranger shrugged, reaching for a flask on his belt, only to stop when he was about to drink it, as if suddenly remembering he had a helmet on.
"Right. Can't drink with this on."
After putting the flask away, he turned to Blake.
"Is that all you ambushed me for? Cause I really need to get going." he asked. The black-haired member of Team RWBY did not miss the "preferrably to the nearest bar" he grumbled quietly.
"Just one more thing." she said as he was about to leave.
"Alright. Shoot."
"You were fiddling with your belt when you were fighting that... "Unique" the other day. Why is that?"
He sighed.
"Of course that's what you'd ask. This-" he tapped the belt on his waist "-is called an "Aura Driver"..."
-LINE BREAK-
"And you thought I made it up!" Ruben declared smugly, both his arms carrying bags of merchandise.
"Sh-Shut up! Given the context, it's only natural for me to think you were leading me on!" Weiss shot back, carrying her own bag.
They were just on their way back from the thrift store. When they arrived to check it out, to say Weiss was surprised was a bit of an understatement. The store not only carried what Ruben was referring to, but carried even more than what she expected.
How did this even get past me? She thought, looking around. That was when she realized this was the part of town she doesn't frequent. It didn't really have any establishments that would normally catch her interest.
"By the way, Weiss," her partner started "you sure it's fine for me to have these? I mean, I could pay for it myself, not that I don't appreciate it, but is it really okay? I'll pay you back some time later."
"Nonsense. Think of it as an apology for what happened to your scope."
"Oh, that? That was nothing. You didn't have to- OOF!"
Their conversation was cut off with the young leader bumping into a woman passing by.
"Ruben! Oh, my goodness, Ma'am, we are so sorry- Oh my God, Blake! Come on, Ruben let's help her up!"
Upon recognizing who it was, the pair immediately went to help their teammate up, who was down on the sidewalk from the unexpected impact.
"Guys, it's fine, really. I just didn't expect you to be there when I exited the alley." she assured, getting back up and brushing herself off.
"What were you doing in that alley, anyway?" Ruben asked, picking up some of the merchandise that fell from the bags, his eyes slightly widening in panic when the Aura Driver was among the dropped stuff.
"Oh, I was just throwing a paper cup away. Here let me help." she reached down to help him pick up some of the merchandise.
"You guys went out shopping, or something?" she asked.
"Something like that." Weiss answered, reaching down to help. "Ruben here dragged me out of the dorm for a walk around Vale."
"Hey! You were pretty exc-" he was cut off by Weiss clasping a hand over his mouth.
Blake looked in confusion.
"I just... when he said he was gonna stop at that cafe we went to the other day, I got pretty excited! The food there was pretty good! This one just likes to rub it in that I liked it there!"
"... Right..." Blake then went down to pick up another toy, when she recognized one of them. It was red, with black accents, and looked much newer than the other ones he purchased.
"Oh! Umm, mind handing that here?" Ruben requested, a bit of a stutter in his voice.
"Uhh... Sure." she handed it to her leader, who grabbed it, perhaps a bit too quickly.
"Say, Blake," Ruben started, seemingly desperate to divert his teammate's attention "Wanna come with? We'll get you that milk tea you like!"
"... Okay..?"
What is up with him?
"Cool! Cool, I mean, uhh, cool. Come on, let's go!"
And with that, he marched off, leaving the two girls to catch up.
"Ugh, don't go crashing into other pedestrians, you dolt!" Weiss said, rushing after him.
Blake followed shortly after. That was when she recognized what that red thing was.
It looked like a compacted version of what the armored figure she ran into was wearing.
But why would Ruben have something like... that...
Wait...
His frequent outings at night...
His bruises...
His apparent run-in with a strange Grimm a while back...
No way...
NO WAY!!!
-LINE BREAK-
Jaune Arc was walking around Vale, with no real direction to where he was going.
He had told Pyrrha.
He told her the truth.
About his lies, his cheating, everything.
He could see the disappointment in her face as he said it all.
"What am I even doing...?" he sighed out.
Why did he even think of faking his way into a combat school? It was easy to lie in your transcripts, but skills were something else.
He wasn't a world-renowned fighter like Pyrrha, or a scholar like Ruben, nor was he a rich heir to a big-time business like Weiss.
He was just plain old Jaune Arc. No experience, nothing special to his name, heck, he didn't even have his Aura until Pyrrha unlocked it for him.
Pyrrha already did so much for him. Taking him in as her partner, continuing to believe in him, and even offering him a helping hand when dealing with Cardin.
He didn't deserve her as a partner. Not a failure like him.
"I'm sorry, Pyrrha... everyone..." he said. to no one in particular, his voice cracking at the end.
"My, having troubles, are we?" a voice called out to him, drawing his attention.
Turning to the source of the voice, he saw a cloaked figure in an alleyway. Even from a distance, he could actually feel the glowing gaze of their yellow eyes burn into him.
"Wh-Who are you?" Jaune asked, hands ready on his weapon.
"Now, now, no need to be so hot-headed. I'm a friend, Jaune." the figure said with a feminine voice, holding her hands up in surrender.
"How do you know my name?!"
"Oh, I know all about you. Jaune Arc, the boy who faked his way into Beacon, who, despite not having his Aura unlocked yet, passed initiation. The boy who, despite having no combat experience, managed to lead a team into victory against a giant Deathstalker."
"How did you..."
"I have my sources. But I must say, it must have taken quite a bit of courage to pull off such a stunt. I'm impressed."
Jaune looked away.
"It wasn't anything special. Not even courage. I cheated my way in, and now I'm paying for it. I mean, how can I be hero? I'm a lying cheater. I just wanted to be a Huntsman so bad, I even went and faked my way in.
That wasn't courage. I was just being a coward. I was just too scared to accept the truth. That I could never be a Huntsman."
"And yet, here you are. A student at one of the most prestigious combat schools in Remnant. And a leader of your own team, on top of that."
"I just got lucky-"
"Leaders are not chosen out of luck, Jaune. Ozpin must have seen something in you. You're a natural born leader, if Ozpin chose you over someone like Pyrrha Nikos, of all people."
"I..." Jaune did not know what to say. Little by little, this cloaked stranger was convincing him that he made the right choice.
"But, still, a lie is still a lie." he looked down, insistent.
"True, but that just means you're willing to do anything to reach your dream."
"..."
"The end justifies the means, Jaune."
"... But, I'm not good enough."
"Of course, the skill gap is something you need to work on. But that may take a while at the pace you're going..."
"I know, but-"
"That's why I have something that could help with that."
"Are.. Are you offering me drugs..?!"
"... What...? No! What do you think I am?!" the figure said, genuinely offended.
"Well, it makes a lot of sense that you're trying to offer me something illegal with how you're buttering me up, and you're standing in a dark alley in the middle of the night, offering some, admittedly very helpful, but suspicious life advice when I'm right at my lowest point. So... Am I wrong?"
The cloaked figure sighed.
"Look, do you wanna be a hero or not?"
"I don't see what that has to do with-"
"Answer the Goddamn question. Yes. Or. No." the figure approached, eyes glowing menacingly.
"I-uhm, Yuh-yes...?"
"Was that a question, or a statement?"
"Uhh, a statement. I mean, YES!"
"Good." the figure then proceeded to thrust an object into Jaune's chest, startling the blonde. The object then began to root itself into Jaune's chest, a violent red glow emanating from the object.
Jaune began to scream in pain as the strange object began contorting his body horrifyingly, as black vines started emerging from the object lodged in his chest enveloping him in a stringy black cocoon.
The figure stepped back, watching the spectacle.
"Oh, this will be good." she smiled, amber eyes glowing with excitement.
And that's about it! I'm not gonna restrict myself to a stupid schedule anymore, as that only worked out for a short while. So I'll just release chapters when I can.
GaeaChronos is out. Peace!