An Aura of Hope: A RWBY Fan Fiction

Chapter Twelve

I was in the biggest crowd I had ever seen. We were in an outdoor gathering area. I was constantly being thrown around and shoved. Sometimes I would get an elbow to the ribs or a knee to the stomach. It was painful, to say the least. Maybe this was why Mother and Dad never let me go see the protesters in the city when I was young. I kept apologizing every time I stepped on someone's foot or jabbed someone. Eventually I fell to the ground, and pain flared across my body as the feet of the people around me dug into my body. I squeezed my eyes shut. I heard the shouts at the people above me telling me to watch it and to get out of the way. Then a voice rose above the rest and said, "Hey! Let the poor guy get up!"

I felt the people stop kicking me and the noise all around me was pretty much silent. I opened my eyes and saw a guy about my age holding a hand out to me. I took it and he pulled me up. Apparently his wiry frame held some hidden strength. "Thanks," I said.

"No problem," he brushed back his brown hair with his fingers. "The name's Riker. Turner, to be precise. And I am talking to whom?"

His perfect grammar annoyed me. "I'm James Louis. I'm uh, new to crowds."

He chuckled. It was the kind of chuckle that you would expect from a drill sergeant or a teacher. Frankly, it was creepy. "I can tell. I'm pretty familiar with them. You see, I attended a military school before. Not only am I good with crowds, I'm good at bending them to my will." He smirked. "Hence me being able to get you up off the ground."

He was starting to bug me. "My hero. Tha-"

I was cut off by the squealing of a microphone being turned on. We all turned toward the stage and the noise slowly dropped to whisper level. Professor Rose was up on the stage along with another man who looked a little like me. He had golden blond hair and plate armor on his torso. His sword and sheath rested on his left hip, but I didn't see any shield. "Ahem," said Professor Rose. "Welcome to Beacon, first years."

"Sounds like she might be upset," whispered Riker. Oh if only he knew. But he wasn't the only one who noticed, and I wasn't surprised. She sounded absolutely defeated.

"I know you all must be very excited to be here at the best school for aspiring Huntsmen and Huntresses. It's always exciting for me as well as the other professors to see new students interested in protecting our world. Good luck to you all, and I hope for the fewest casualties from your class." She stepped away from the mic and walked away. The man stepped to the microphone with a falsely happy expression on his face.

"Right, uh, hi everyone. I'm Professor Arc. I'm the assistant head of Beacon and the tactics professor. Now, tonight you'll be sleeping in the dining hall. Tomorrow you'll be taking the Beacon Academy Initiation Test, or BAIT. Afterwards you'll be placed into teams of four that will stay with you for all four years you are here. You will have classes with them, bunk with them, dine with them, and fight alongside them. Each team will have a leader that will guide the team throughout your time here. Now, go! And good luck! Lights out is at ten o'clock!" Everyone applauded and he walked away. We began to diffuse out of the gathering area and into the courtyard.

I spotted Valerie on the way out and my heart skipped a beat. Then she was gone, and I couldn't see her anymore. When we were outside, I finally had the ability to move around. I didn't know what I was supposed to do, so I decided to go to see Professor Rose to see what we could do about Yang.

I went back into the gathering area after everyone was out and walked in the direction the two professors went. Eventually I came to the administrative offices. I passed the secretary's office, the mail room, the infirmary (where I saw a boy laying in a bed with a bloody bandage over a stump on his arm), the assistant head's office, and finally I came to the headmaster's office. There was a red slip of paper over the "master" that said "mistress." I knocked on the door. After a few seconds the door opened and I looked down a bit to see a puffy-eyed Professor Rose looking at me. "Hi, James. How can I help you?"

"I... I was wondering if you needed any help."

"With what?"

"Just... In general. If you want somebody to vent to, somebody to help look for Yang, somebody to help manage things while you investigate?"

She sniffled and fought back a sob. "I think that would be... Nice. Thank you. Come in," she said as she backed away from the door. I went in to find a full living area. The walls were painted black and red and the furniture was... White? I didn't really understand, but I went with it. I saw the professor grab one of the tables like she was going to make an attempt to throw it. She shook like a building with an explosion that just took out its foundation.

I walked over to her and put my hands on her shoulders in what I hoped was a comforting way. She turned around towards me, a bit shocked, and threw herself into me. She wrapped her arms around me in a tight hug and let her emotions go. I let my hands rest on her back as she cried heavily into my chest. She was crying out words that I couldn't really comprehend with her head in my chest. I couldn't believe that this little girl (okay she might be six years older than me but she still seems little to me) was the headmistress of a battle school. She was still growing emotionally. We stayed like this for about ten minutes before she collected herself and pulled away from me. "Thanks. I needed that," she said.

I looked down at my shirt, which was basically a wet towel now. "Sure. No problem," I said.

Then, she stood up straight, hardened her features, and matured five years right in front of me. "We need to save my sister. James, I won't be able to do it alone. I will need your help. Can I count on you?"

I thought about it. Sure, I wanted to help, but I had studies to keep up with now. Then there was the possibility of me becoming a team leader, and I would have responsibilities there. But then again, this was the woman who housed and fed me for three days and refused pay for it, for crying out loud. I owed her for the troubles I caused. "Yes, Professor Rose. You can count o me."

"My friends call me Ruby."

"Ruby, then." I smiled at her. "We'll do this."

She smiled back a fierce, pumped smile. "Yeah. Thank you James." She gave me a bear hug. "I'll be in touch. Now go to the dining hall. It's almost ten. And you have a test in the morning."

And with that, I left. I went back through the corridors I came from until I heard a quiet roar of people, and I figured that that's where I was supposed to go. My stuff would already be there thanks to the guards at the front gate. I walked toward the noise. It was coming from around the corner in front of me, which when I turned it, made me run headfirst into Valerie.

"Ow! Watch it!" she said. "Oh. It's you. Hi."

"Hi? Is that all you can say to me?" I asked.

"What else am I supposed to say? We aren't supposed to be friends, remember?" She looked on the brink of tears.

"Don't twist my words, Val. I never said we couldn't be friendly to each other. I just said we shouldn't hang out since you don't want to be with me the way I want to be with you." Now I felt myself about to cry.

"Don't twist my words either, James! I didn't say I don't want to be with you, I said that it wouldn't be smart for us."

"Whatever." I walked past her toward the hall and felt the tears start going across my cheek at the same time as I heard her first sob from behind me.