28Ruby took a calming breath as she stood in the front yard of her home, nerves were coming and going the more she stood around and waited. On her back was the recently repaired Crecent Rose, back to standard hunter steel rather than the top-quality stuff from Arcadia she had before.
…before Hazel, no she wouldn't dwell she didn't need to start getting upset in front of her family.
Today marked the day that she, Yang and her mom would be traveling to Arcadia to begin her training with Jaune.
She wouldn't lie and say she wasn't nervous about the experience. Jaune was one of those talented people she'd heard about in the world. Like Pyrrha Nikos the Champion fighter of Mistral, and the Fanus Princess Blake Belladona who was said to be the best fighter to come from Menagerie in decades.
There were even rumors in the tabloids that Weiss Schnee was a Huntress in training! Ruby was sure that someone as famous and rich as her must be a super awesome hunter! Not to mention that Winter Schnee was likely training her.
Yet here she was, Ruby Rose, normal knees and socially awkward, going off to Arcadia to train with what she supposed was the strongest person of her generation.
'I know Yang is nervous, she's doing that thing where she does too many puns while talking about Arcadia and Jaune.' Rudy thought with a sigh, 'Hopefully Jaune isn't as intimidating as his semblance makes him out to be. He was normal enough when we met.'
And wasn't that a surprise to the young huntress! Jaune Arc, sole male of his family this generation and someone rumored to be so strong, acting like a dork right off the bat!
"What are you snickering about?" asked Yang as she walked up, over her shoulder was a drawstring bag, "I was worried you'd be shaking in those boots before we left." She said with a lopsided smile.
Ruby blew a raspberry at her, "Just thinking about stuff. Are you ready?"
Yang shrugged, "If it were for another one of those meeting, I'd be nervous. But training, with mom even? Not at all! This is something I'm used to, doesn't matter whose house we go to, training is training, and I've been doing that for years. You too sis, lighten up!"
Ruby smiled, feeling a bit of tension leave her, "That's a good point. I was overthinking it, Jaune is normal like us and training shouldn't be too different from school! Hey, we could even be friends, he's your age so you'll likely go to beacon with him!"
Yang's smile dropped a bit, "I don't know. He's a bit, all over the place. First a dork when we meet, then he's choking my mom the instant she shows up. Not to mention his semblance." Yang sighed, "Well, I guess it wouldn't hurt to try, we'll be there enough to give it some effort!" She finished with a smile.
Ruby agreed with a nod.
"Glad you to sorted that out, ready to go?" Summer asked from the front door of their house, Tai stood next to her with a smile. "Raven will be opening the gate any moment now."
"Girls," Tai started with a stern face, "behave!"
When he didn't continue Summer rolled her eyes, "That's it? That's all you've got. Honestly Tai." She said with a small smile, far too used to Tai being unable to be the bad guy with his girls. Especially when they hammed it up to get him to do what they wanted.
Tai looked at his wife with crocodile tears in his eyes getting a giggle from his girls. Summer patted him on the arm as she walked away from the house. Summer noticed that while not too visible, she could still tell that her girls were very nervous and tense about this training.
"Now I know this is a big change, but we're doing this so that we can be better prepared in the future! Remember the Arc's, have been kind enough to open their home to us for safety so let's be sure to thank them!" Summer rallied her girls with a grin.
"Yeah, and make Jaune realize we're not some weak girls." Grinned Yang with a clenched fist.
Summer sighed, "I don't think he believes either of you to be weak."
Yang glared to the side. "Maybe, but he wasn't exactly treating us like a fellow student and what he did to Raven…I need to prove to him that we're not some little kids that need his help."
Summer frowned but didn't comment, as in the strictest of terms she wasn't incorrect. Jaune didn't treat them as fellow students, but she didn't think it was because of a lack of respect but more of him not really being all that familiar with them. Naturally his quick actions against Raven didn't help his image with Yang who was used to being the big dog on campus and big sister.
"Yang we do need his help." Ruby said quietly with her eyes clenched shut, "I don't like it but right now I'm weak, I need help, and he's helping us. I don't know if Lord Arc would have agreed without Jaune agreeing. I think he's the one who made this happen."
Yang's eyes softened at her sister's words while Summer's heart ached for her youngest's words. She hated that Ruby had to see the dark of the word in the manner that she did. She knew that it was good that she had some of that childish view of the world removed but it still hurt to see.
"You are not weak Ruby." Summer said softly, she would have continued but a portal opened in front of them in the middle of the yard. "It's time girls."
Jaune arc stared at the portal in front of him in the courtyard of their home blankly. He was wearing his hunter gear, blade sheathed over his right shoulder and newest addition; a metal and mechanical gauntlet was on his left hand, it went up to his elbow.
His sister told him that it was capable of storing two types of dust for usage. Jaune had mentioned offhandedly that he believed with his considerable aura, that utilizing dust spells might be a good idea for range. Two days later he had this, no name yet and no dust yet but he was getting acclimated to the added weight.
To Jaune's right was Saphron who was nearly pacing as they waited then further right was his father, who Jaune has not spoken to since their training disaster. He had no interest in speaking with his father if he were honest, he wasn't sure Beast would be nice if he did.
After a moment Summer Rose exited the portal followed closely by Ruby and Yang.
Jaune moved forward, "Nice to see you all. We've got the area ready to go." He greeted then gestured behind him.
Saphron walked up with his father right behind her, "Nice to meet you all. I'm Saphron Arc. I'll be around quite a bit while you two train. Yang, from what I understand you and I have similar styles, so I was asked to assist." She didn't sound put out by the task, but she didn't seem thrilled either.
Aurelius nodded, "Saphron will be assisting Yang and Jaune with training while the two of you begin. I have set aside some assignments as well for the three of them to take by the end of the week." With that he walked off not offering Jaune a nod or goodbye.
Summer must have sensed some of the awkward energy as she perked up with a polite smile, "Well, Saphron it is great to meet you, I've heard wonderful things about you. I know you'll be a great help for Yang."
Saphron returned the smile, "It's an honor to meet you as well Mrs. Rose."
"Let's go," Said Jaune as he walked off towards the manor.
The four women following behind him with idle conversation. Jaune wasn't all that interested if he were honest, he just couldn't find it in himself to think of anything other than training ever since his fight with his father.
As they arrived at the underground training room he moved to the side and gestured to the room. "This will serve the both of you well, no one outside of authorized military personnel and the Arc family can come here."
Summer agreed and put a hand on Ruby's shoulder, "Let's begin, we don't have all day!" She said with a cheer.
Jaune turned to Yang, "There's another room connected to this one that we can use. I don't know how much space they need but it's likely for the best to not distract each other." With that he walked towards the other room.
Yang frowned and turned to Saphron, "What's up with him, he wasn't like that last time we were here." Summer frowned at her question and was about to chastise her when Saphron smiled sadly.
"He is different, isn't he?" She said quietly, "He and father got into an argument about a week ago, shortly after you all met with them. None of us know what happened but Jaune and Father aren't speaking and Jaune's been training nonstop and isn't really interested in anything but training."
Summer frowned, "Will everything be alright?" She didn't want to voice how a fight like this could be disastrous to Arcadia if they didn't reconcile. Jaune was the future of this pseudo kingdom while Aurelius was the current.
Saphron sighed, "I'm sure it will eventually, Jaune's not the type to hold grudges but he's also been a loner for a long time, so I don't know when. Father is stubborn so who knows with him."
"Yang, let's go." Saphron said after a moment of thought. The two sisters said their goodbyes and went to their designated training areas.
"So you and I are similar?" Asked Yang to Saphron who smiled in return.
Saphron help up a fist, "You betcha! I fight with hand-to-hand combat primarily, though I utilize a sidearm for range and I have a short sword when I need something sharp. First thing I should teach you is to not rely on one form of combat ever!"
Yang tilted her head, "What do you mean, one form of combat?" She asked as they arrived in the joint training room. Jaune was in the distance going through sword forms, his blade humming with aura with each movement.
"Well think about it like this," started Saphron and she moved close enough to the center of the room so that she knew Jaune could hear her words as well. "Some grim have thick hides, armor plating, or scales. In each situation they are more susceptible to a different type of attach. Non armored beasts would be more susceptible to slashing or stabbing as their thick skin and fat can absorb blunt attacks easier. Armor is better for blunt force attacks and scales are a mixture depending on situation."
Yang blinked a few times before she looked down at her collapsed gauntlets. "I only have my gauntlets and shotguns. Do you think I should add another feature?" She wasn't sure she would like changing Ember Celica, but it may be necessary to continue her growth as a future huntress.
"Both weapons you possess do essentially the same thing at different ranges. Add another weapon." It was Jaune that spoke up, not even stopping in his movements. As Yang was about to respond he continued, "I have a sword, my fists and semblance and now this gauntlet. The gauntlet is so that I can start to utilize dust for mid and long range. I may in the future add another weapon to further help, it depends on how things go in the field."
Saphron nodded, "Yes. Jaune doesn't have much field experience, but he has been reading reports from My Falcon Scout Division and the Tiger Vanguard Divisions." She explained to Yang.
"While the Divisions and even typical Pro Hunter teams operate as a cohesive unit it's preferrable if each operator has the ability to tackle every foe so as not to be a weak point in some situations."
Jaune's eyes darkened, "As I'll be a one-man division I should cover all possibilities." His aura darkened as Beast silently showed his agreement.
Saphron knew to take it from there before Jaune's frustration caused a scene.
She clapped her hands to gather the attention of the two blonds under her charge for the time being.
"So I'll be overseeing and assisting in training for the two of you while Ruby and Mrs. Rose do their own training. Beyond that the three of you will be doing assignments from the Tiger Vanguard Division for grim exterminations."
"These assignments will be Grim Hunts, starting with D up to hopefully B by the end of our time together." Seeing the confusion on both of their faces she took a breath and began to explain.
"While Grim classifications are typically taught at academies like Beacon, I'll give you a high level now. D-Class grim are the young smaller beasts like Beowolves who've only been around for a few months or less than a year. Class C are the older fully grown grim of the common variety, Elders or Alphas were either top of the C class or bottom of B depending on species. B-Class are rarer unique grim that had traits not found commonly, some have poison breath, anti-aura energy attacks, or physical enhancing rages…" Yang gulped at the descriptions and Jaune's eyebrows furrowed in worry. Saphron continued.
"…Finally A-Class, even more rare and often massive monsters that were to be avoided at all costs. Such as leviathans and goliaths, so old and powerful that even teams avoided them if possible. The only people in the world who could take them on were renown as the elite of the elite and we all know who they are."
Neither of the two younger hunters spoke for a while after the description, Saphron knew that they were likely reeling from the level of danger the world commonly saw from the grim. The only sound in the room was the swings from Jaune's sword.
Jaune finally finished his 500 slashes and managed to maintain his aura evenly throughout the entire exercise. He resealed his sword in the sheath and took a few breaths.
"What would you like for me to do sis?" He asked before turning to the other blond in the room, "Yang I'm not the best hand to hand but if you want, we can go a few rounds."
Yang grinned and slammed her fists together activating her Ember Celica, "That sounds perfect!"
Jaune stretched and took up a boxers stance while his aura flowed through his body evenly.
Saphron took a few steps back to get out of the way, "Ok you two, standard sparring rules. I'll watch and we can get a feel for where I can help from there."
"Begin!"
When Yang, Jaune and Saphron left the room it was the two Silver Eyes Roses left standing around the massive training facility.
Ruby was marbling at the sheer size of the room, "How many people do you think train here? It could fit half of the students from Signal in here!" She said in wonder.
Summer hummed in thought, "I'm guessing that there used to be more Arcs in the past, or more people that would utilize this place than just their family and higher ranked personnel. Anyway, we need to begin."
Ruby snapped to attention and looked at her mother seriously, "Ok, what do I do?"
Summer smiled and sat on the ground and gestured for Ruby to do the same, "I think it's time I tell you what the Silver eyes are, no? Can't begin without knowing the what and the why after all."
Ruby nodded and Summer took a deep breath.
"It's an old story, one my father told me when I was a little younger than you. He and my mother weren't as well off as your father and I, so he was a bit more forthcoming about our history than I've been for fear of taking your youthful cheer away." Summer said sadly as she looked away while in thought of her parents.
"The story was that when the dark times came, no one could stand against the forces of evil that plagued the world. So strong and numerous were the grim that humanity lost hope of survival. Too few were the warriors of the world that humanity was near extinction. That was until a man was born, one who possessed such skill and ability for warfare that the tides shifted he alone could kill massive beasts and stop hordes. He trained dozens in the ways of aura and weaponry and those in turn trained hundreds more. In the span of a single generation the tides shifted."
"As you've no doubt guessed Ruby, that man was our ancestor and first Silver Eyed warrior. If you look into history, most legendary figures of the far past were silver eyes warriors. Men and woman barring our eyes born to fight the darkness and stand at the front of the armies of mankind to light the way."
Ruby was in awe of the story and looked down in thought, knowing that she was far from some legendary warrior like them. Summer poked her in the forehead and gave a smile.
"You are young and in times different than them, you're already magnificent." Summer assured her daughter before getting back to it. "The silvers eyes are a genetic trait, manifestations of our alignment to pure light aura the opposite of the darkness that birth the grim. With them come the ability to release pulses of pure light aura to petrify or even destroy grim instantly depending on the level of aura utilized."
Ruby blinked in shock, "You can do that?!" She shouted.
Summer nodded, "As can you, you did it before passing out in the field when you were attacked. It was how I found you, you had your initial release and destroyed the grim around. Silver Eyes don't awaken unless the user is in mortal peril, another reason I didn't tell you. I didn't want you to go looking for trouble to get them to work."
Summer stood up and a sign, "But now that they're awake we can train them." She pulled her daughter up and smiled, "But it will not be easy and will certainly be tiring. By the end of our training here I want you to be able to meaningfully activate your eyes at least on command. Though till you're a bit older I expect you'll only have one usage per day for a while. Use them too much and you won't be able to see for a while."
"Ok, how do we start?" Asked Ruby ready to get into it.
"At first you'll have to get into the headspace you were when it first happened, until you have a feel for it, you'll need to recreate that same emotion to get them to activate."
With that the two of them began their training. It would be a difficult road for Ruby to get her eyes to activate on command, but this was the first step.
The Schnee Castle, Upper Atlas
Weiss Schnee didn't really care about much in this cold place. The servants rarely looked her in the eyes, and she didn't really have friends that she would bring home to 'hangout' as others her age did. This castle, over one hundred rooms, dozens of dining rooms kitchens and even foyers was full of priceless art, artifacts and antiques that gave the home a feeling of opulence that anyone would die to live in.
But to Weiss Schnee it may as well be empty. None of this was of interest to her. Even her career as a singer was losing its draw recently. It was two years ago that she decided that she wanted more, she wanted a life outside of this castle and of excitement. She tried to find it in breaking the rules of her family, either by sneaking off to parties or trying to find a boyfriend that would piss her mother off.
That too lost its excitement after a while, she had her fun and certain rumors sprung up that gave her mother a heart attack and made her laugh but that didn't last long. She then decided to follow in her perfect sisters footsteps and become a huntress. It was a logical choice, her sister was, even before her rise to Supreme Huntress, a star of Atlas. One of the youngest Ace Operatives and spat in their fathers face by never coming back until she and mother did away with him. Something Weiss wished she could have helped with.
Regardless, as she walked the halls of the cold and empty castle, she's been forced to call home she wondered if her plans to leave Atlas would actually work. She, telling no one not even her sister, applied to Beacon and sent a message to the staff pleading with them not to contact her family but her directly with the results when they came in. She would leave this place and be Weiss, a huntress in training in another kingdom and start a life in the warmth of obscurity rather than the cold of fame she lived in now.
Weiss stopped at the large double doors of what was once her father's, now Mother's office. She hesitated, a habit from when that man occupied this room rather than her mother, then opened the door. Before she would have to knock and state why she was there then wait to be permitted to enter by him, her mother firmly stated that none of her children should dare hesitate from coming to see her and she would no matter what allow them in.
Walking into the office she noticed that Whitley, Winter and her mother were already inside. She was, as always, the last to arrive, another silent rebellion to this place.
"Ah Weiss good we can start." Willow said with a smile. "I do not know if all three of you are aware but there is a new player in the game." She began typing into her computer. "The Arc family, whom you all should be aware of, the sole son of the current head has made some waves in the international hunter community after Ozpin himself declared him A-Class with the likelihood of achieving Supreme status soon."
The only one of the three not surprised to hear this was Winter who stared at the image of the young man on the screen dispassionately. She was likely made aware of the situation by Ironwood himself, Weiss suspected that the two of them rarely didn't go the other for every little thing these days.
"This means that Arcadia, what was once our little vacation home, is now likely to be elevated to a fully-fledged kingdom. Before that happens, I want to meet this Jaune Arc and get a read of his character, someone of such distinction cannot be ignored."
Weiss blinked a few times, "So what do you want us to do?"
Whitley smirked at her, "Well based on some rumors maybe she wants you to 'persuade' him to come to Atlas." If there was one person who loved all the drama of this family, it was Whitley.
"Whitley!" Shouted a scandalized Willow.
Winter rolled her eyes and gave a light whack to his head, "You know that those rumors weren't true."
Weiss glared, "Oh and what makes you say that! You don't know what I do at all times."
"Sure, and you being red in the face when Slate asked you to dance gave the impression of a woman with that much 'experience'." Winter said flatly.
"He is a very high standing Huntsmen who is-" Sputtered Weiss before rolling her eyes and glaring away. "Whatever."
Willow having gotten herself under control continued, "No, we will not be doing anything of that sort. I just want us to take a nice family vacation to the Black Diamond Resort this summer and get a feel for his character. Nothing more, nothing less."
"It'll be crucial he have a good impression of us." Added Winter, "Arcadia is a treasure trove of rare and valuable resources, the partnership we could have could be incredible. The current head doesn't entertain such things, but Jaune may if he views us favorably." She said will looking intently at the image of Jaune on the monitor.
Weiss narrowed her eyes towards her sister, "Maybe we should be worried about you acting scandalously, Winter. I haven't seen you show interest in anyone outside Clover, though we all know that was a complete failure when his tastes were made known." Weiss still felt a bit of glee at her perfect sister failing to charm her desired crush. After succeeding at everything she'd ever tried it was nice to see her fail for once.
Winter glowered at her, "We do not talk about that man in this house." She grumbled.
Willow nodded, "Agreed. With that we are done. I'll let you all get back to what you were doing. I unfortunately have much work to do tonight." She said with a sigh as she looked at her email inbox and forty unread messages.
Weiss muttered a goodbye and quickly left. She was sure that their trip to Arcadia would be more than lounging at the beach like normal, but she felt that it could be the excitement she was looking for.
Hall of Heroes. Home of the Nikos Family. Mistral.
The sounds of training swords clanging over and over was heard throughout the training halls. Two figures were clashing dozens of times over in the center of the room. Both female but one was more mature in looks while the other was youthful and vibrant.
Pyrrha Nikos was the Champion of Mistral, the Rising star of their Kingdom and for a while the widely considered best of the best of her generation. She had already been given a C-Class rating, unheard of in someone who was not already a pro.
"Very good daughter!" The older woman shouted as their stopped their training, "I can barely believe it, but you improve with every spar we have! Though I need to run, your father and I have to get to our errands, we're nearly out of food!" She said with a laugh.
Pyrrha smiled and waved goodbye, "Thank you mother! It was nice for us to train together again."
It was rare that she trained with either of her parents these days. She was frequently sent to matches, or sponsorship meetings. What was an offhanded comment by her to be the face of a cereal after a tournament win turned into a full-on modeling career and entire line of sponsored apparel and food, like Pumpkin Pete Cereal which was a guilty pleasure of hers.
Recently she'd pulled back from the press and told her parents she wanted to stopped being as public as she got ready for Beacon. Something she decided on when the fame became too much for her and she nearly had a panic attack when going out for a desert one afternoon and was swarmed by fans and press.
She needed to get away from Mistral. She needed to start over in another Kingdom, she considered Atlas, but she wouldn't do well in that level of cold. Her parents, to her surprise, completely supported her and were very encouraging in her desire to leave for a while.
Though the fame was a big reason, silently in her head there was another. After she received a rating, many in Mistral were looking to her to rise not only to A-Class in the future but to even achieve the lofty title of Supreme. While she too dreamt of being in the same ranks of Oz the Almighty, Gladius of the Dune, Winter Schnee and Summer Rose. It was a far-off dream she'd need nearly a lifetime to achieve.
That didn't stop people from pressuring her about it. Mistral hadn't had a supreme hunter since Hazel, and he was sorely missed. She had potential and now they were beyond suffocating. It went beyond just the random people it was even the pro hunters that came to her matches and even the Headmaster of Haven's comments left her reeling from the pressure they knowingly or unknowingly placed on her.
Thus her decision to attend Beacon. A different Kingdom that while she was sure has heard of her, she wouldn't be as much of a star as in Mistral. Hopefully there she could be normal again, or at least more normal. Unfortunately that was a year away, she'd already been accepted early by the headmaster after applying two weeks ago.
That was when she learned of the only other early acceptance. Jaune Arc. Only son of the Arc family and Heir Apparent to Arcadia. He'd made waved ever since he was declared A-Class and soon to be Supreme. She wouldn't lie and say she didn't feel relief when someone her age stepped up before her. It was nice that she wasn't the center of attention for this generation at the moment.
Perhaps she should ask her parents if they wanted to go to the Sand Pearl in Arcadia this summer. She could perhaps get a chance to meet this Jaune Arc prior to their time in beacon. She wanted to speak to perhaps the only other person to feel the pressure of being the next big thing, perhaps they'd be friends. It didn't hurt that he was quite cute either, she thought giddily.
Sorry for the wait. If you read my other story The Honored One, you'll know that my laptop is a POS, and I needed a new one. Well...I literally just got a new one last week. It wasn't a money issue more I was busy, and it wasn't a priority. I do this as a hobby after all so it's not like money was on the line if I don't write. I love it but it's not my main source of fun. I've been playing Pokemon Unite, Black Myth Wukong, and Now Warhammer 40k Space Marine 2. All of them fun and time sucking.
Anyway. This was a transition chapter, intros the training. And intros two more main characters and love interests. Pyrrha and Weiss. As you know if you've read my stuff, I'm not huge on romance but I do like the pairings in Ruby, sue me lol. Now Jaune's final pairing hasn't been decided. I'm willing to take suggestions. Weiss and Pyrrha are my main choices, I could hear out a Winter, cause older women are very nice, or idk Blake is out Yang is a maybe if there's a good reason but yeah, it's really those two. Ruby is a likely not due to me seeing them more as best friends who have each other's back no matter what.
What do you think of the characterizations of Weiss and Pyrrha? Hopefully I did them justice for the circumstances of this universe.
Next chapter will be bit of a time skip to Summer where paths converge, and the Battle of Arcadia begins. Spoilers in the title lol.
Please let me know what you liked, hated or felt meh about.