RWBY: Take a Deep Breath, Deep Breath

CHAPTER 1

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A/N: I don't usually say this, but thanks, RandomAsian, for liking my posts. Seeing them is making me MOTIVATED to write more. Also, doing a degree sucks. There are just so many things to manage; I was never the time-management type to begin with.

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It felt like he was melting, dissolving into the sea, piece by piece.

His body.

His mind.

Even his spirit.

And yet, his consciousness held on, clinging tightly as waves crashed over him strongly.

He looked up, only to see a breathtaking sight.

A dark, endless sky stretched above him, glittering with countless stars. Each one shimmered as if calling out to him.

" ah."

He knew of the place, even though this was the first time he had stepped foot in this place.

It felt like home.

Where he belonged.

Then a voice echoed gently behind him.

"Oh dear."

He turned, but there was no one there. Only a blue butterfly fluttered in the air. For a moment, he thought he had imagined the voice.

He glanced around.

"No, you are much correct, Clerval."

The butterfly’s wings shimmered as it spoke. His name... Clerval? He couldn't remember, but it felt right.

Who... ?

"I am Philemon. A dweller in the rift between consciousness and unconsciousness of all souls. I am you. You are me."

The words made no sense.

And yet, they did.

This place is the Sea of the Collective Unconscious. Where all life begins and ends.

So… had he died?

"Not quite. For death is but the next journey."

Something stirred in his soul, like a flame reigniting.

"It seems you are waking up in reality."

Philemon said softly, circling him as motes of blue light trailed in the butterfly’s path, showering Clerval in a gentle, comforting glow.

"Until we meet again, Clerval. And remember—I shall always watch over you from within. Till we meet again..."

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Inside the Bullhead heading towards the large castle-like structure at the edge of Beacon's Cliff, an atmosphere of both excitement and anxiety from the Huntsmen-to-be applicants filled the helicarrier.

Countless people around the world have applied to such a grand school for a single reason. To be officially recognized by the Kingdoms as a high-quality Huntsman for the betterment of Remnant.

To do so, one had to complete their education in this very Academy.

Especially in Beacon Academy, where graduate Huntsmen are considered the best of the best in the whole world in terms of skill and prowess, it is no surprise that most would kill to gain a chance to be accepted.

However, it is also the slim chance to be accepted that some of the less confident individuals in the Bullhead found themselves fidgeting, second-guessing their abilities, or staring out the window in an anxious silence.

In the middle of all the excitement, anticipation, and stress, an ash blond with unkempt hair tousled and arms crossed lazily over his chest, who dozed on a seat away from the rest, suddenly stirred awake in a panic.

With a deep gasp, he opened his eyes, staring wide-eyed at the metal ceiling above him. His hand instinctively clutched at his chest as he calmed his rapid beating heart with slow, deep breaths.

No one helped, granted his presence was so minimal that most hadn’t even noticed him there to begin with.

Once his heart had smoothed out, he resisted the urge to vomit as he breathed in and out, slowly, to collect his thoughts.

Clerval Greyson.

That was his name, at least that's what he could recall in his blurry memories; it was like traversing through a murky fog with no sense of direction.

All he could remember was his name, what he looked like, a vague background history of himself, basic motor functions, a common understanding of this world, and...

His hand reaches out for the necklace around his neck, fiddling with it. A strange warmth bloomed in his chest as he tightly gripped it.

This blue butterfly necklace. It was a gift, but he can't remember who gave it to him. All he knew was the fact that letting it go would be a mistake.

He surveyed the interior of the Bullhead, recognizing the emotions lingering in the air before his attention was drawn to the window in front of him.

Beacon Academy... It looks like he wanted to be a Huntsman, seeing that it corresponds with the current timeframe of Beacon's required on-site test.

Theoretically, he should have some form of belongings...

He reached under his seat instinctively, his hand brushing against the rough texture of old leather before pulling, revealing a worn-out backpack filled with items.

Opening it, he dug through it as his mind briefly filled in the blanks of the item descriptions.

The bag was mostly empty, except for a few exceptions, such as clothes, hygiene products, his Scroll, music player and earphones, and a few radiant-cut gems of various colors.

His eyes frowned as he compared them. They differed from normal elemental Dust, the radiant-cut gems had more of a glow and were more vibrant.

Agi, Bufu, Zio, Garu, Kouha, and Eiha Gems. He had never heard of them before, yet he knew how to use them. There was no such thing as Light and Darkness elemental Dust.

Deciding to keep them in their respective places for now, he checked his Scroll, unlocking it without any password needed.

Looking through the contents of the hardlight-constructed screen, he sighed before keeping it in his pockets; it was empty as if brand new. There was nothing in there that would help his blurry memories at all.

With nothing else better to do other than wait, he brought out his music player and earphones to enjoy some music. Hnn, flipping through the music selection, the upbeat tunes with depressing lyrics really fit his tastes.

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Blending into the crowd spearheaded by a red-haired girl, he followed the majority of the Huntsmen-to-be into a large amphitheater where they were supposed to rendezvous.

Waiting for a good ten minutes, the headmaster and vice-deputy of Beacon Academy finally turned up to give their speeches. The headmaster, Ozpin Woz, if his memory was to be believed, spoke about knowledge, self-discovery, and hard work.

Meanwhile, the vice-deputy, Glynda Goodwitch, simply stated that they will be staying in this exact amphitheater for the night, with the on-site test scheduled tomorrow.

Both speeches were vague and short; he did not expect so much free time in between the next day and the current situation. So did the other applicants, as they started to walk out of the amphitheater with the intention of exploring Beacon Academy.

He personally moved to the locker rooms where their larger luggage was already neatly stored, courtesy of Beacon's staff. Looking for his numbered locker, he passed by a worried black-haired girl with red tips who dashed towards her designated locker with a blonde in tow before finally locating his luggage.

As expected, the luggage in the locker was minimal at best. Opening it with a zipper, he looked through the rest of his belongings.

More spare clothing, stationery, empty books, daily necessities such as his identification cards, some cash money...

And two weapons meant for combatting the Grimm.

One was a black longsword. Its design was so bland and uninspiring that one might think that it was a mass-produced product. He squinted as he gave the sword a quick check.

From the looks of things, it was as if the sword had never seen live combat before, from the sword edges and the perfect condition of the handle and blade.

As he unsheathed the blade of the sword to test its weight, he felt a sense of familiarity once he gave a quick few swings. This was interesting; it seems that he had some experience wielding it.

He sheathed the sword and placed it back into his locker before moving onto the remaining weapon in his arsenal.

It was a silver gun inside a holster. Unholstering the gun, he inspected the firearm, only to realize that it was something akin to a toy or item.

It didn't have any means of firing a Dust bullet. He double-checked it; there was no mechanism built-in, and the magazine couldn't even be released to load a bullet.

Instead, it held something that glowed in the dark. A familiar shade of blue, similar to the butterfly necklace of his.

A little embossing was etched on the shell of the magazine, perhaps it was the name of the gun?

He had no idea what it was, but he felt that it was something important, so he carefully inserted the magazine back into the gun-like item.

His fingers instinctively caressed the gun barrel where the words "F.O.O.L." were engraved. Holding onto the gun, Evoker was its name he suspects, just like his longsword, a wave of warmth arose in his chest.

This was... something precious. That, he knew, but he didn't know the reason.

Pointing the Evoker straight at the locker walls, he hesitated as his finger rested on its trigger before putting more pressure to pull it back.

...

...

...

Nothing happened. There was just a soft sound of a click. As expected, it was a dud.

But just holding on to it made him feel a sense of security, so he decided to wear it at the side of his hip.

Anticipating questions about why he was carrying a firearm in public, he mentally rehearsed his answer that it was just a toy.

Still, he hid the gun by sliding the holster deeper into his jacket to avoid the question being asked in the first place before he locked his locker.

His intended questions were already answered, so there was no other need to stay here any longer. The day was already darkening, so he made his way to the cafeteria for some food to end the day.

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His sleeping neighbors that rested beside him were... rather eccentric, to say the least.

"Hey! Can you hear me? Hellooooo~? I know you're not asleep yet, sleep neighbor! Hey, hey, hey!"

He tried to ignore the overexcited girl by ignoring the constant poking at his side, but clearly it was not working as the rate of poking intensified.

A black-haired teenager with a strand of pink hair next to the eccentric girl rose from his sleeping bed with a sympathetic look as he advised.

"Apologies, but I suggest you respond with something. Ignoring Nora doesn't typically end well."

The girl, Nora, giggled as she continued poking at his side.

"Renny, you silly goof, you should have said it inside, not out in the open! What if someone wakes up because of you?"

... 'But everyone in the vicinity is already awoken by your pestering,' is what he thought before he opened his silver eyes to meet her emerald ones.

"Clerval Greyson."

That was all he said as a bright smile donned her face.

"Good evening, neighbor! Nora Valkyrie's the name! Oh, and this is my bestest best friend, Renny!"

"Lie Ren. Sorry for the inconvenience."

The two greeted him, he replied with a simple nod before closing his eyes to end the day.

...

The poking continued, prompting him to crack his eyes open again with a soft sigh as his neighbor rambled on. It seems that the night was still young.

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Eventually Lie Ren had to physically drag Nora off him, urging her to sleep since it was already midnight and they needed to be at full attention for the test tomorrow. Pouting, she gave him one final poke to the side before begrudgingly turning in for the night.

Other than the loud snores from Nora, the night was as peaceful as it could have been.

Clerval woke up the next day early before dawn with an annoyed groan. It seems that this body had a habit of waking up early in the morning because he loathes the tired feeling of not enough sleep.

Nonetheless, he got up from his makeshift sleeping spot of just a rolled-up jacket as his pillow and a towel as his blanket. Clearly his mind was already awake; there was no point in wasting time trying to head back to sleep.

Carefully maneuvering his way past sleeping bodies as quietly as possible, he grabbed a pail and his hygiene products to freshen up before moving to the cafeteria for food, walking past a black-haired girl with a ribbon on her head who was heading back to the amphitheater holding onto a steaming hot cup of tea.

His breakfast was light. A steaming hot cup of black coffee and some bread and jam.

Mmhm, coffee. Truly, caffeine is the work of god, nothing beats it. Taking another sip from the nectar in his hands, he breathed out a sigh of satisfaction, looking at the coffee machine with a warm expression.

He had... 47 Lien on hand with another thousand in the bank. Since he was going to be here for another four years, maybe it wouldn't be that bad of an investment?

All things had to end, unfortunately, as his cup of coffee deposited its last drop into his mouth. Looking at the clock on the wall, it was close to eight o'clock in the morning. Initiation doesn't start till twelve o'clock, meaning he still had plenty of time to kill.

Perhaps he should get used to handling his weapon? Yes, that was a good idea. With a nod, he went to retrieve his longsword. There should be a dicsrete open space near the amphitheater, that would be a good place to momentarily train.