The Serpents' Shadows

Chapter 5

ACRONIAN:

It was after classes three weeks after Acronian's duel with Kilan, and Kilan had started a rumor that Acronian was hiding something, which wasn't far off the truth. Acronian had received numerous challenges, almost a challenge a day, from the first year class, all of them looking for a peek under his bandages. At first Acronian had avoided the battles, but Ozpin had received these request with an odd decision; "let them battle you, they are no match." The fights had all been one-v-ones, duels, and as he fought more and more, Acronian learned more and more about his fighting style. He used a dodge and attack style that used erratic movements and fluid motions; no one had seen anything like it.

Acronian hadn't talked to Safire since his run-in with her in the halls, he had seen her occasionally on his way to classes but the two avoided eye contact. Acronian kind of felt bad about turning her away; she seemed like a nice girl, but that doesn't change the fact that she openly stated her feelings about the Faunus.

In his free time he was studying monsters and other fighting techniques, and discovering what his eye could do. He did some research and found that a lot of snakes have a kind of thermal vision that makes it easier to stalk prey that was hiding and, with a few hours of practice, he could do it for about thirty seconds. It took a lot of concentration to focus his eyes the way it needed to in order him to switch to thermal vision.

Acronian was packing up his books and materials from the Grim studies class he was in, and a student charged him. Acronian caught the movement, but all too late. Even his little voice that seemed to pop up every once a while didn't speak up. The student was wielding a mace he had probably hid while it was some alternate form. The next thing he knew he was lying on a bed in the infirmary. He attempted to sit up, but his head hurt to much to move.

"Slow down there, Sally, you got beat up pretty bad. That kid got expelled for sure." A tall, slender boy in black who was bent over some medical devices. Black dress shirt, black dress pants, black dress shoes, black fedora, the guy was pale in comparison to the clothes. He turned around from the medical equipment and handed him a glass of green liquid.

"What's this? Who are you? How did I get to the infirmary?" Acronian asked.

The boy in black smirked, "Drink and I'll tell you." He replied.

Acronian took a few second to sniff the liquid and proceeded to drink it. It was a little bit sour at first, but it tasted sweet after a few moments. He downed the drink after just a few gulps.

"That was good, now who are you, and why are you here?" Acronian inquired, he could feel the pain in his head dissipating.

The boy sat down in the chair next to the bed, "My name is Tenzin Teal, I'm training to be a Medical Hunter. Y'know, a combat medic for the Hunters and Huntresses, you got pretty banged up in the halls when that kid Aaron attacked you. I think he was aiming for revenge from when you beat him in the arena." He said. Acronian did indeed remember his fight with Aaron, he was a slow-moving power player. Acronian remembered how all too easy it was to slip past him and strike him from behind.

Tenzin continued, "You're lucky that those bandages didn't come off; Professor Lucan was there to help you here almost as soon as it happened. They also explained that those bandages don't come off while I worked on your head, it was a little difficult but I managed." He said.

"So no one saw my head?" Acronian asked.

Tenzin nodded, "That is correct."

At that moment the door to the infirmary opened up and four girls came in at a very fast pace. "Acronian Valor!" The smallest one shouted.

Acronian looked their way, startled, "Yes, that's me. Could you keep it down, I just got attacked in the halls."

The same girl, small sporting a red combat skirt and cape, ignored Acronian and pointed her finger at him, "We challenge you to a battle."

Acronian wasn't actually all that surprised by the request; he had been anticipating a full team to come forward and challenge him. It didn't matter to him though; he had a plan.

"Nope." He said simply. The look on the girls' faces was priceless.

"Eh!" Another girl said, the one with blond hair, "But since you started accepting battles you haven't stopped." She said with disbelief.

"I said no," Acronian said, "Those matches were all duels, I don't think I'm ready for a 4 v 1 match. On top of that, those matches were private: not to be disclosed, so who told you?" He asked, narrowing his eye.

Three of the girls looked a little flustered at that question, all except the girl in white, who looked a little smug. "Ozpin himself allowed us to challenge you. He said that you have been in the background too much with private battles." She held up a piece of paper with a smile, "My friends didn't think of this, but this is a letter from the headmaster sanctioning this battle tomorrow at noon, in the public arena."

Acronian's eye widened, he could not believe this. A 4 v 1 has ridiculous odds, the chances of winning are too small. However, with Ozpin being the one to put the battle into play, there was no possible way out, so he resided himself. "Ugh, okay, fine. I'll battle you, I'm assuming there will be a compensation for the victor, yes?" He asked.

The last girl, wearing black and a bow, spoke, "Yes, if we win, you show us your face. If you win, Ozpin will put in arrangements for you to get a team. Currently you are a loner in stand-alone team VALR right now, yes? There are apparently 7 transfer students from the other academies, enough for two teams if we include you."

Acronian couldn't believe it, a team? Seriously? Now how was he supposed to keep his secret a secret? He shook his head, "I can't accept those terms, they're far too out of my favor." He said.

"You have to accept the terms, Ozpin said you would be expelled if you didn't accept." Ice-Princess said, "Acronian, Ozpin believes in your skills, why not trust him? He wouldn't be doing this otherwise."

Acronian had to think over it for a second, if he lost, he'd have reveal his secret, if he won, it meant there was a chance at hiding it, at least for a while. If he seceded, he would be expelled and never figure out why he was sent to Beacon. The only option was to fight and win... Acronian couldn't see it any other way. 'Damn that Ozpin...' He thought to himself.

"Okay," he said, "I accept the battle, tomorrow at noon we fight. Before that happens I want your names, I can at least ask that much."

The four girls looked at each other and the red one nodded, and she raised her hand slightly, "I'm Ruby, Ruby Rose." She introduced herself.

The white one curtsied, "Weiss Schnee."

The blonde fist bumped Acronian, "Yang Xiao Long."

The girl in black kept her distance, "Blake Belladonna."

Acronian nodded, "And who's the leader?" He asked.

Ruby raised her hand slightly again, Acronian nodded. He had figured out how the team names were usually put together, "Well alright then, team RWBY, see you tomorrow, noon sharp. Wouldn't want to miss the showdown, huh? Prepare yourselves, I won't hold back." He said.

Yang laughed in agreement, "Then neither shall we."

A/N: I apologize for not posting in a while, but my stories aren't coming as fast I would have liked them too. I'm trying to set a schedule so that my stories will come out faster.