บท 9: Alex's System Bound Involuntary Hunter School Slice Of Life Is Exhausting, As Expected. Part 4
Disclaimer: This is a work of fan fiction based on multiple existing anime/manga series. The characters and settings used in this story belong to their respective owners and creators, and no copyright infringement is intended. This story is purely for entertainment purposes and is not intended to infringe upon any existing intellectual property. I do not own any of the original works that inspired this fanfiction, and I fully support the original creators and their works.
-Story Start-
-Third Person POV-
Ruby Rose did not sign up for this.
Huddled up to the wall of the hallway of the empty dorms given the time of day, she sat hugging her knees, holding back tears.
Just earlier, she had a shouting match with Weiss regarding her validity as a Leader.
Her eyes twitched at recalling that "exciting" encounter.
Weiss's words stung, especially when Ruby was trying her hardest.
Claiming she'd be the better Leader, that she'd manage to reign in Alex's tardiness and make him cooperative... The works.
Barging in with those claims, with that pampered princess know-it-all attitude...
Hitting her in all the weak spots, especially her age.
But, maybe... Weiss could back up her claims and serve as a better leader...
'Damn it...' Ruby gritted her teeth as her figure trembled.
She didn't ask to be a Leader!
Hell, maybe Ozpin did make a mistake!
...It's not like she loses all that much from giving up the role.
To add salt to injury, Weiss was as opportunistic as could be, waiting for the ripe moment when Pyrrha wasn't there to calm things down...
At that thought, Ruby reached an epiphany, "If anyone should be Leader..." She mumbled with that distraught face of hers.
In her emotional turmoil, she had failed to hear the approaching footsteps, stopping right in front of her.
"Emotional breakdown on the first day of lectures? Must be a record." A dry, apathetic yet familiar voice caught her attention, lifting her head to be met with Alex's amber gaze.
'Just the boy I wanted to see...' She couldn't help but snark internally thanks to her emotional state.
"...Leave me alone, Alex." She sniffed, shooting him an impatient and indignant glare with those silver eyes of hers before sinking her head back into her knees.
He blinked, sighing in clear annoyance, making Ruby even more furious.
Yet...
He said nothing.
Her head still sunk into her knees, she hadn't managed to see what kind of face he was making, but she felt movement.
Feeling that he had sat beside her, his back to the wall as well.
...
Silence.
For a whole five minutes, they sat in complete silence.
Ruby was convinced the boy had fallen asleep, '...Insensitive' She panted internally.
What had she done wrong?
Her partner was cool and strong.
But it was easy, even for Ruby to see... That he didn't care.
Her other team member hated her guts.
No.
That was the wrong assessment.
It was worse than hate.
She didn't trust her capabilities, and that stung even worse than plain hatred or disdain...
At least Pyrrha was nice... And Yang was here too?
Lifting her head from her knees, a clear frown on her face and storming in self-pity, she turned to her asleep partner...
Only for her silver eyes to widen at his awake state.
Having felt her movement and sensed her gaze, Alex turned to meet her eyes.
No words left his mouth, he just kept that... Unreadable look on her, a thin line on his face.
Unreadable or lacking in any emotion whatsoever?
Ruby. Didn't. Know.
She's losing her mind...
"What do you want from me? Why act like you care?" She couldn't help but spit out venomously, glaring at Alex in a mix of defiance and bewilderment.
A moment of contemplative silence passed.
Meeting her glare head-on, he replied, "I want nothing. You're also making a mistake."
Her lifted eyebrow was a cue for him to answer her unvoiced question:
"You assume I'm acting like I care... I simply just don't care."
The young Rose couldn't help but be gobsmacked at that completely tactless and heartless admission.
As she processed it and was about to respond, "Y-You-"
Alex cut her off, "I won't act like I care, or try to placate you or even encourage you in some kind of fake act when it simply isn't genuine."
He paused, sighing, "But what I can do is listen to what's troubling you... And throw my two cents. Doesn't take a lot out of me, anyway."
Ruby's snarling expression cracked, and she admitted, "I... I don't understand what's wrong with you! You say you don't care, yet here you are sitting here trying to help!" Her voice grew louder and more confused as she spoke.
It was at that moment, that for the first time in a while, a crack in Alex's expression was noticed, as he genuinely frowned, "You... You don't have to understand what's wrong with me. I can still try to help without caring."
"THAT DOESN'T EVEN MAKE SENSE!"
Of course, it wouldn't make sense...
It was the System's doing, after all.
Wasn't it?
...
Alex hadn't dignified her with a response this time, as he slowly fitted back his stoic expression in place.
Letting Ruby boil in her own emotions.
...
Another ten minutes passed by, and they hadn't exchanged a single word.
Until Ruby finally broke through the silence, "I think..." She hesitated, "That someone else should be the Leader." She admitted, playing with strands of her hair nervously.
"...Why?" Alex inquired with naught a smidgen of empathy.
Despite the lack of enthusiasm, Ruby answered his question, "I'm... I'm not fit to lead our team."
"How did you reach such a conclusion just from the first day of lectures?" Alex pointed out with a raised eyebrow.
Ruby frowned at that, "I can't reign you in-"
Alex cut her off, "You'd have to threaten me with Eternal Damnation for that to work."
Her eyes twitching, she continued unperturbed, "I can't deal with Weiss properly... She doesn't respect me as a Leader."
Lifting her head, she gazed profoundly at the ceiling, "Weiss suggested I hand over the role to her... I thought of that, but... I think Pyrrha fits the bill..." She shook her head, "I tried my hardest, but I didn't ask to be Leader."
...
"I think you two are being hasty. Especially Weiss." He suggested.
Ruby turned to him with a questioning look, as he gave his two cents, "She's quite manipulative, that Schnee Princess... I don't know how she infected you with this much doubt just on the first day, but your reasoning to quit being Leader is plain stupid and thoroughly inadequate."
"I would say, trust Headmaster Ozpin's judgment... But I don't really trust that guy myself with his shady salesman vibe... So just give it a little more time. If this Leader thing doesn't work out, then hand it to whomever... Just not me." He stated bluntly, pointing a thumb at himself.
Detaching his eyes from Ruby and directing his eyes to the ceiling in a contemplative manner, he added, "Though, if I were you... I'd talk it out with Pyrrha. She seems reliable." He shrugged.
...
A bitter smile formed on Ruby's face as she processed his words, "Maybe... I-I need to think about it."
Slowly, she rose up from her huddled-up position, patting her uniform off of any dust or filth despite the relatively pristine hallways, sighing her troubles away as she exhaled.
Turning to the contently sitting Alex, she brightened up slightly, "Let's go, we have class soon. You jerk." She added cheekily, extending her hand.
"Nah, I'm good. I'll sit here for a few more minutes, the cold floor's kinda nice."
Huffing and pouting, Ruby was not having it, so she...
Lifted him up in a princess carry.
"Unexpected, but not unwelcome." He muttered with a nod as he was being manhandled through the hallways, being stared at by the other students passing by.
Ruby, despite her rather shy demeanor, seemed to derive sadistic enjoyment from the situation.
Given her older sister's prankster personality, Alex supposed the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree.
-----------------------------
[PING!]
[Sub Quest - "Troubled Leader" Complete!]
[Issuing Rewards...]
[800 Untraceable Lien sent to Alex Andrite's Bank.]
[Calculating Performance...]
[Rough estimate... 4/10]
[PING!]
[Ruby Rose Relationship Progress += 5]
[Notice - Relationship Progress of Third Parties as a result of Quest Completion will periodically be distributed as Third Parties discover Quest Completion's Result.]
'...That was enough drama to last me a lifetime.' Alex sighed as he sunk his face into his hands during their very first Faunus Right's Revolution History Lecture.
[That was the tip of the iceberg, Master~! But I have to admit that was quite a mediocre performance!]
'Did you expect me to turn happy-go-lucky - "I'll save you! You're great!" Or something?' Alex snorted.
[Not at all! All is within my expectations. You're lucky she's a nice, strong girl. Otherwise, your 'attempt' if we call it that, would have resulted in the opposite.] The system's tone grew oddly serious and critical.
Alex hummed, 'No offense to her, but breaking down on the first week of school doesn't strike me as particularly strong.'
Turning to the silent and bored figure of Ruby who still looked slightly displeased.
His gaze darted towards the serious figure of Weiss who is trying to learn, but struggling due to Professor Oobleck's hyperactive yet contrastingly boring lecture.
'...Did she instigate it due to an ego thing?' Alex wondered in his mind.
Scrunching his nose, Alex shook his head, 'Bah, doesn't matter.'
'By the way... Are you trying to lecture me?' Alex inquired with a raised eyebrow.
[...]
He was met with silence from the System.
Huffing at the suspicious silence, he, expectedly, let it go.
Slumping back and attempting to snore through the lesson.
-----------------------------
Following the long afternoon lecture, the evening had come to pass.
The bleeding orange sky loomed over Beacon Academy, and with the approach of night, Prospective Huntsman and Huntresses slumped in exhaustion after a hard day's work.
...If only the curriculum wasn't so grueling.
Team RAWP was no exception to the grueling curriculum, as they slumped through the gothic hallways of Beacon toward their last lecture of the day.
However, their unified yet detached line-up was most telling.
Weiss walked contently alongside Pyrrha.
Whilst Ruby walked ahead of Alex, who, surprisingly, paced himself as he followed his pack.
Truly, a proud sheep.
Pyrrha had seemed to apologetically say something to Weiss, slowing down her walk considerably to check something on her Scroll.
"Don't walk too slowly or we'll be late, Pyrrha!" Ruby passed her by with a smile.
Pyrrha giggled, "What about him? If you don't carry him again, he'll be late as well." She pointed at the even slower Alex behind them.
Ruby deadpanned, shaking her head, "I've learned my lesson... Besides, he's kind of heavy." She complained.
"Don't you effortlessly swing a gigantic steel scythe?"
"Crescent Rose." Ruby corrected.
"Same thi-"
"Is not!"
"Sure." He conceded, for in surrender there is power!
...Or so Alex likes to tell himself.
Eventually, even with Alex's slow walk, he passed by Pyrrha who was...
Fake scrolling on her Scroll?
Lifting an eyebrow at that, he simply passed her by...
Only for her to speed up and walk alongside him.
She smiled, looking down at him as she was slightly taller, "Ruby told me... What you tried to do, I appreciate it."
His amber eyes met with emerald, as he sighed, "...Don't think I did much."
Pyrrha's eyes narrowed, as her voice trembled with slight anger, "Oh no, you most certainly did. You stopped me from serving Weiss a much-deserved tongue-lashing."
...
"I see." He nodded in understanding.
'When the fuck did I do that?' He wondered aloud.
She snorted, "You don't sound like you "See"."
'Did she figure me out or something?'
[...You do have a certain rhythm that's easy to figure out.] The System chimed in.
Ignoring Alex's internal thoughts, Pyrrha continued with a sigh, "You've been a much-needed voice of reason to our little Leader. I think she'll do fine on her own." She nodded strongly, pointing at Ruby suddenly accelerating her pace to meet with Weiss.
"Is she going to deliver the tongue-lashing then?"
Pyrrha made a so-so gesture, "Not sure. But she was determined to deal with it on her own... Somehow I'm relieved, I don't really like confronting others..." She smiled self-deprecatingly.
Alex shrugged, "It'd be better if she did it on her own, anyway... If you had served up the tongue-lashing, it'd probably only reinforced Weiss's point... Whatever it was she managed to find wrong with Ruby as a leader in a single day." His nonchalant tone had a hint of disbelief in it.
Pyrrha blinked, her eyes wide.
Alex lifted an eyebrow in question.
"It's just... I think that's the longest string of sentences I've ever heard you mutter."
"Is my prize a vacation?"
Pyrrha barked a laugh, "Hah! It's just the first day we're officially a team you know! We've got a long way to go!"
"...Tell me about it."
At that, Pyrrha frowned, "You don't want to be here, don't you?"
That wasn't a question, he surmised.
It was a statement.
That he answered with the truth, "Correct."
"Why don't you? Not that I have anything against you, I think you'd be an amazing huntsman given your capabilities and it'd be a complete waste if you didn't become on-"
He cut her off with a wave of his hand, "Yeah, yeah. I get it. I'd probably hate Alex if I was in your position too."
Turning a corner, they passed through a wall of glass, showing the captivating sunset beyond Beacon Cliff.
"Simply put. I'm forced to be here." He stated with no change in expression, clearly not wanting to elaborate further.
Pyrrha lowered her head in thought at that revelation.
"Do you need help? I mean... Given your Semblance and Monstrous Aura, what can force you?" She revealed her thorough confusion, lifting her head to meet with Alex's neutral amber gaze.
"No. I don't need help. As for what can force me... A God?"
[Huh?] The System squeaked in surprise.
"A God?"
"A God."
"You're joking."
"I am not." He had the straightest, most chiseled, and serious countenance in existence at that statement.
...
She sighed, shaking her head in disappointment, "There's a limit to a dry sense of humor, Alex."
He shrugged nonchalantly.
"Whatever... It's just the first day, I hope you grow to trust us enough to tell us. I'm sure all three of us and Team YRBN would be willing to assist you out of your debacle."
'Trust, huh.' He fiddled with the term.
...
"Touching, given I only know you guys for less than a week," Alex admitted with a straight face, yet the look he set on Pyrrha held more... Weight.
Something she managed to notice, she smiled lightly, "We've fought together, and we're sleeping in the same dorm room. We're a Team. In my book, we might as well be long-time friends."
"...Odd way to term it, but sure." He nodded, accepting Pyrrha's viewpoint with a tiny, tiny smile forming on his expressionless face.
It seemed, at least to Pyrrha, that Alex had not completely closed off his heart.
Even with that bored, detached gaze, there was something more.
Maybe, just maybe, they all could be a proper Team.
The two of them arrived at the lecture room, a couple of minutes behind schedule.
Pyrrha wasn't aiming for perfect attendance, so, in her mind, this was well worth it.
...
Unbeknownst to Alex, the System was greatly troubled...
[How could he have... He shouldn't be able to reveal his circumstances!]
It headed to the restriction that SHOULD have been imposed upon Alex.
-Debuffs-
↓
- Show Your Hand-
- Thou Shan't Not Reveal Thy System -
...
[Thou Shan't Not Reveal Thy System.]
[Double Negative...]
[FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK!]
System discovered a most critical error...
[...]
Luckily for the System, Alex wasn't bored nor interested enough to actually read through his status.
Nevertheless...
[It's only a matter of time until Alexander figures it out...]
To Be Continued!
-Author Note Start-
Wow.
You guys smashed that goal.
Not gonna lie, I meant I only had to get 10 Reviews for the rating... Not another 10 Reviews.
But a dub is a dub so I'll take it! Thank you!
On that note...
Hope the chapter was to your enjoyment!
I feel that it is important to note that I, usually, unless something very drastic or transformative happens to characters, handle their development in a "Seed planting" manner.
This chapter was the planting of a few.
Particularly for 2 characters.
The third one is gonna be next chapter.
What that means is... They don't immediately change their attitudes.
They try if they want to. But yeah.
Apologies for the subzero turtle pacing.
I just need to set up the dynamics properly before I use my 4th dimensional ability as the Author to accelerate time to the juicy events (Original or Canon).
Anywho!
Love you guys and cya all later!
Bu Bye!
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