15

A/N: Volume 2 OP: "PEACE SIGN" by Jonathan Young

Winter break had been a very interesting experience for Shirou. For the first time since he had arrived on Remnant, he found himself with basically nothing to do. Even when counting his time on Earth, such downtime was a rarity as he had always been practicing magecraft, training, working at his part-time job, taking care of Fuji-nee, or any number of other things. Now, however, had been different. He still had plenty to do but what there was didn't take that long. Since they didn't have school to worry about, Ren had asked to help Shirou with the cooking more often and Ruby had insisted on sparring with him fairly regularly. He had also ended up fighting the rest of Team RWBY, starting with Yang, and while that had been an enlightening experience for all of them, those had only been one-off fights.

Other than that, Shirou didn't have anything to take up his time. He still regularly practiced his magecraft and he had extended the time he dedicated to it but that still only took a couple of hours. There wasn't much in the way of physical training he could do that he wasn't already doing. While it was nothing compared to his hours long, daily sparring with Saber; he figured that no one else wanted to devote so much time to training during their vacation.

It was four days into winter break that Shirou experienced something new. For the first time in his life that he could remember, Emiya Shirou was bored. He had contemplated asking Ozpin for a quick assignment but he knew that the Headmaster wouldn't agree to it for a number of reasons, chief among them being that Blake knew that Shirou didn't have any place to go and thus his absence couldn't be easily explained. He had even contemplated hitting up Coco to see if she was in need of a pack mule again before deciding that risking his sanity to try and save his sanity was an insane idea. That left reading ahead for his classes, an action that Weiss applauded while Ruby and Yang acted like he should be put in a straightjacket.

There was also the matter of Blake becoming increasingly moody and while Shirou knew why he also knew that he couldn't do anything right now. If she wanted to talk to him about it, she would come to him. Until such a time, he could only watch and make sure she didn't do anything self-destructive. Blake had also taken to studying with him more and just generally being more helpful which was a surprise, to be sure, but a welcome one.

As such, Shirou was extremely pleased when the last day of their break rolled around. While classes could be rather monotonous, at least they gave him something to do. Not that it seemed he had to worry about being bored today seeing as Ruby had just slammed a giant binder onto the table in the cafeteria as they were all eating there for a change (even though Shirou and Ren still cooked everything).

Ruby cleared her throat before gesturing to the table where Teams RWBY and JNPR, as well as Shirou, sat. "Sisters... friends... Weiss," Ruby began, ignoring the heiress' indignant shout, "Four score and seven minutes ago, I had a dream."

"This ought to be good," Yang said as she caught another berry in her mouth that Nora had flicked toward her.

"A dream that one day, the four of us will come together as a team and have the most fun anyone has ever had… ever!"

"Did you steal my binder?" Weiss suddenly asked as she looked at the cover the gigantic binder to see "Vytal Festival Activities, Property of Weiss Schnee" crossed out and "Best Day Ever Activities" written underneath in red ink.

"I am not a crook," Ruby said as she flashed her partner a double peace sign.

"What are you talking about?" Blake asked as she put away her notebook. She had claimed that it was her notes from last semester but Shirou was reasonably certain that they were her notes on the White Fang.

"I'm talking about kicking off the semester with a bang!" Ruby said as she pointed at her teammate.

"I always kick my semesters off with a Yang! Eh? Guys? Am I right?" Yang quipped, earning her a swift apple to the head and a "Boo" from Nora.

"Look, guys, it's been a good two weeks and between more exchange students arriving, the dance, our first mission, and the tournament at the end of the school year; our second semester is going to be great! But classes start back up tomorrow! Which is why I've taken the time to schedule a series of wonderful events for us today."

"I don't know whether to be proud or scared of what you have in store," Weiss said as Yang picked up the apple and threw it at Nora who quickly dodged, causing the fruit to hit some guy in the back of the head.

"I don't know. I think I might sit this one out," Blake as she hesitantly looked at her team. Shirou cast her a sidelong look as he continued calmly eating, wondering if he was going to have to have another talk with her.

"Sit out or not, I think that, however we spend this last day, we should do it as a team!" Weiss said as she nodded to herself before standing up. "I, for one, think that—" Unfortunately, Weiss was so caught up in whatever she was about to say that she missed Nora's warning and didn't notice the pie flying her way until it had hit her square in the face.

Shirou was honestly not entirely certain what happened next. After Weiss had been hit, food started flying everywhere as the saner students started to flee the cafeteria. He honestly didn't pay much attention as, after living with Fuji-nee for as long as he did, he knew when to just keep his head down and let the craziness play out. When he finally did look up from his food, he saw that Team JNPR had created a fort out of a bunch of tables at the far side of the room, Nora standing atop of it and chanting "I'm queen of the castle", while Team RWBY stood closer to him, Ruby looking as if she was leading her team into a war.

Interestingly enough, despite the rest of the room being a disaster area, the place around the table they had been sitting at, along with the remains of the food Shirou and Ren had made, was completely pristine.

What followed was the most impressive food fight Shirou had ever witnessed (which, admittedly, wasn't that impressive when it was also the only food fight he had ever witnessed). As he continued to calmly eat his breakfast, Shirou couldn't help but ponder the frightening amount of headway they'd make if they put this much effort into their training. The restraint and precision on display were also impressive as the area around his table remained undisturbed. While Shirou had no interest in joining in on the battle, it was clear that the others wished that to not be the case.

"I'll tell you the best place in Vale to get cookies!" Ruby had said in an attempt to bribe Shirou when she was near him.

"I don't like buying food that I can make myself."

"I'll teach you martial arts!" Ren had offered.

"I'm fine with my current skills."

"I'll let you ride Bumblebee!" Yang tried, referring to her motorcycle.

"I have no place I wish to go and joy rides aren't my thing."

"I'll break someone's legs for you!" Nora said.

"Nora!" Ren said, cutting off Shirou's response.

"I'll give you my copy of Ninjas of Love!" Blake said.

"I don't read smut." Blake whirled on Shirou, eyes full of righteous indignation as the redhead obliviously sipped his tea, but her attempt to strangle him was cut short when Jaune, of all people, charged at her and knocked her away with a stick of salami.

"I saved your life!" the blond said proudly.

"Meh," Shirou shrugged before turning back to his food.

Next was Weiss. "I'll buy you a mansion!"

That actually made Shirou look up. "What on Earth would I do with a mansion?" Shirou cringed internally at the slip of tongue but thankfully didn't have to try and cover up his mistake as Nora chose that moment to smash Weiss into a pillar was a watermelon-on-a-pole.

The fight raged on as both teams conceded that Shirou was going to be a non-combatant. Everything changed, however, when the redhead suddenly stood up. Both teams immediately froze in place as they watched with rapt attention as their mutual friend collected his garbage and took it over to a trash can that was miraculously still standing before making his way out of the building.

"Mister Emiya! What on Remnant is going on in there‽" Glynda Goodwitch demanded as she rapidly approached the cafeteria, Ozpin languidly trailing behind.

Shirou looked back into the war zone to see Ruby charge toward Team JNPR with her Semblance, the wind coming off of her dragging the debris from the fight along.

"Team RWBY is going on," Shirou said simply as he turned his attention back to the teachers. Glynda looked like she was stuck between confused and indignant but settled on indignant as Ozpin nodded as if that explained everything.

"I swear, I'm going to go grey at this rate," Glynda muttered angrily to herself before pressing on into the remains of the cafeteria.

"Shirou," Ozpin called out after the two had passed. "Do try and have some fun. This peace won't last forever." Shirou whirled around, ready to demand that the headmaster tell him what he was hiding, but Ozpin was already gone.

OoOoOoO

General James Ironwood took a steadying breath as he tapped the digital screen next to the door of Ozpin's office. His relationship with the ever enigmatic headmaster of Beacon had always been a tense one and he knew perfectly well that his recent action of bringing part of his army to the academy wouldn't win him any points. Regardless, he'd just have to try and convince him that this was the best way to keep the peace. Ironwood would never understand why Ozpin was so intent on playing this weird game of chess with Salem instead of just knocking down her front door with the largest army in the world. Of course, Ironwood couldn't seem to understand many of Ozpin's recent decisions.

"Come in," Ozpin said from the other side of the door, the voice authentication program opening the door automatically.

"Ozpin!" Ironwood said with a smile as he entered the other headmaster's office. The location of the office at the top of Beacon Tower, along with its exposed gears in the walls and ceiling that worked to turn the hands of the tower's clock, always struck the general as rather strange but it was one of the minor mysteries that he had learned to live with.

"Hello, General," Ozpin greeted as he stepped in front of his desk, his hands folded behind his back.

"Please, drop the formalities," Ironwood replied as the two approached each other and shook hands. "It's been too long. And Glynda! It has certainly been too long since we last met."

"Oh, James!" Glynda said with a false cheerfulness before dropping the act almost immediately. "I'll be outside."

"Well, she hasn't changed a bit," Ironwood quipped as he watched the blonde teacher leave.

"So, what in the world has brought you all the way down from Atlas?" Ozpin asked as he turned back to his desk and prepared two cups of some brown liquid from an ornate kettle. "Headmasters don't typically travel with their students for the Vytal Festival."

Ozpin handed Ironwood one of the cups which the general graciously accepted, his gloved right hand clinking as he grabbed it. Ironwood had hoped that Ozpin was serving coffee for once but his hopes were quickly dashed by the smell. Ozpin's obsession with hot cocoa was another oddity that he had learned to live with but it gnawed at him more than it should.

"Well, you know how much I love Vale this time of year," Ironwood said as he produced a metal canteen from his coat pocket and added it to the beverage. "Besides, with you hosting, I thought that this might be a good opportunity for us to catch up."

"I can certainly appreciate the quality time between friends, however, the small fleet outside my window has me concerned," Ozpin said as he walked around his desk and sat down, picking up his cup.

"Well, concern is what brought them here."

"I understand that travel between kingdoms has become increasingly difficult."

"Oz, you and I both know why I brought those men."

Ozpin took a sip of his cocoa before continuing, "We are in a time of peace. Shows of power like this are just going to give off the wrong impression."

"But if what Qrow said is true—"

"If what Qrow said is true, then we will handle it tactfully. It's the Vytal Festival. A time to celebrate unity and peace. So I suggest that you not scare people by transporting hundreds of soldiers halfway across the continent."

"I'm just being cautious."

"As am I."

"If you're being cautious then what's all this about letting some kid— Emiya Shirou, I think his name was— who Qrow found in the middle of nowhere in on some of Remnant's biggest secrets?"

"Shirou is trustworthy and capable. He's already proven himself useful by gaining intelligence, saving lives, and helping to prepare us for the future; often all three at once."

"But do you really think it's wise to trust him? You know nothing about him. For all you know, he could be working for Salem as a spy."

"I can assure you that Salem doesn't even know that Shirou exists. Even if she did, he would just be yet another Huntsman that I'm using as a pawn and would require no special effort. There's a reason why I've only given him low-key assignments. The longer Salem doesn't suspect anything of him, the better.

"As for not knowing anything about him, I know plenty. Possibly even more than he knows himself. His appearance, while not necessarily expected, was no accident. It was in the best interest of everyone if I told him everything he needed to know."

"What are you playing at, Oz?" Ironwood asked as he narrowed his eyes.

"Just a game that's gone on for far too long that I hope to bring to an end soon. Which is why we will continue to train the best Huntsmen and Huntresses we can."

"Believe me, I am," Ironwood said as he turned to walk away. When he was halfway to the door, he stopped and looked over his shoulder back at Ozpin. "But ask yourself this: Do you honestly believe your children can win a war?" he asked before making his exit.

"I hope they never have to."

OoOoOoO

Ruby Rose and Emiya Shirou once again found themselves in the sparring hall facing each other down. Unlike the first time they fought, they were completely unarmed and assumed basic defensive stances while the slowly circled each other. Knowing that it would leave her open, Ruby slowly closed her eyes and took a deep breath even as Shirou charged forward.

The past couple weeks of training with Shirou had been very enlightening to Ruby. There wasn't really anything he could teach her about using a scythe and, as such, they had very rarely sparred with their weapons. Instead, Shirou had been teaching her the various strikes and takedowns that he knew. While Yang and Taiyang, their father, had tried to teach her hand-to-hand combat for years, their kickboxing lessons had been something that she had never been good at. The mindset for kickboxing was simply countercurrent with the one she needed to use her scythe and the muscle build was also all wrong. Shirou's style, however, was a much better fit for her. While he continued to insist that he wasn't a martial artist (and Ruby was inclined to agree when she compared him to Ren or even Yang), his almost startlingly vast knowledge of how to dismantle people was useful in finding techniques that suited Ruby's build and stature. His focus on taking down the target as efficiently as possible made it very easy for her to create openings to retrieve her weapon.

Not only that, there was also one other thing that Shirou had been teaching her. It was something he called "killing intent" and was the very thing he had used to stun her in their first fight. In hindsight, he had also used it against Roman and Neo to little effect and had used it against Jaune back before their initiation test. She had brought that up with him when she remembered it and she found the embarrassed expression on his face as he explained his mistake to be adorable.

This "killing intent" was something that Ruby was struggling with which was a new experience for her. Even if it was fake, as Shirou assured her when she had asked if that meant Shirou wanted to kill her, trying to give off the impression that she was going to kill someone was extremely difficult for her. Simply put, she couldn't even imagine hating someone enough that she wanted to kill them and just the very idea of her killing someone was absurd. When she had explained this to Shirou one day, the smile he had given her left her with a very warm feeling in her core.

Still, even with her difficulties with it, Ruby still had to practice it. As such, when the count of Shirou's footsteps put him in the perfect spot, Ruby's silver eyes snapped open as she glared at the redhead and tried to focus all of her will onto him. He didn't even so much as blink but her failure there didn't stop her from successfully deflecting the palm strike he had aimed at her solar plexus before trying to sweep his forward foot out from under him. He saw through her choke slam set-up, however, and had hopped to avoid the trip while bringing his back leg around in a crescent kick that caught her in the side of the head.

Ruby stumbled to the side and ducked down purely on instinct to dodge Shirou's follow-up roundhouse kick. She tried to go for another leg sweep but was forced to eat a backflip kick to the jaw as Shirou easily predicted her move. She threw herself to the side to avoid whatever Shirou's follow-up was and was forced to backpedal after she came out of her roll to avoid a dropkick. Stunned as she was, however, she was too slow as the attack collided with her chest rather than face and sent her sliding to a stop on her back.

Ruby blinked the stars out of her eyes just in time to see Shirou's hand reaching down to her. With a small smile, Ruby grabbed the offered hand and rose to her feet. She let out a low groan as her body felt sore all over from the beating she just took. At least she was improving. The first time they had done this, it had taken about half a day for her to shake off the lingering effects but now she could already feel the discomfort fading.

"You did well today," Shirou said as he walked over to the bench where their water bottles and hand towels awaited. Ruby took pride in the fact that the older boy's casual clothing— a white, long-sleeved shirt with blue sleeves and blue jeans— were more ruffled than they usually were.

"Thanks but I still can't get that killing intent thing down," Ruby said as she took a sip of her water.

"You're getting there, though. While the effect was minimal, I could certainly feel a pressure coming from you. At that level, it could certainly be used to unnerve most people but it's unlikely to help you in fights."

"How was my fighting?"

Shirou took a drink as well, using the pause to word his answer. "You've got the basic movements down well enough and you've mastered the theory but your biggest flaw is still there. You rely too much on your instincts when you fight and those instincts aren't good enough to carry you through any fight against an opponent of equal or greater skill. You need to actually plan more and not just your moves but the most likely moves your opponents will take. I know that you have the mind for it— your plan to takedown the giant Nevermore proved that to me— you just need to be doing that constantly."

Ruby hummed for a moment as she and Shirou put on their jackets. "That sounds like a lot of hard work."

"It is. The results are well worth it, though."

"I believe you. So… Have you heard about the dance coming up?" Ruby asked as they started to make their way out of the training hall and back to their dorms, the snow crunching under their shoes.

"I'm aware of it. Why do you ask?"

"Oh, no reason. I was just wondering if I'll bother to go or not. I've never been able to dance."

"I don't plan on going. I never bothered learning how to dance, either, and my time is much better used on other tasks."

"I kinda figured you'd say that. You really are a workaholic, Shirou."

"Perhaps. I just like being busy is all. If I'm not doing something productive, I feel like I'm wasting my time."

"Is that why you didn't join in our food fight yesterday?"

"Pretty much."

"You don't think having fun with your friends is productive?"

Shirou quickly took a long drink of water in order to buy time to compose his answer. He didn't want to lie to her but telling her the truth would lead to far too many questions. "I… wouldn't say that. It's… complicated. That kind of thing just isn't my style."

"Then what is your style?"

Shirou brought his water bottle halfway up to his lips before stopping. Doing that twice in succession would be too obvious. "I… can't… really… say. I've never really taken the time to do anything like that. Well, there was once but that was a really special occasion."

"You mean you've just been training and studying since you were a kid?"

"Pretty much."

The two of them fell into an awkward silence as Ruby stared at her friend, her eyes full of confusion, concern, and compassion. She couldn't even begin to imagine what it would be like to go through life without having fun once in a while. What in the world happened to make her friend that way? To be so willing to help her and anyone else with their problems but never take any time for himself?

"Then maybe we should do something together," Ruby said after a while. "Maybe we could all go watch a movie or something this weekend. You and me and the rest of my team."

Shirou was silent for a moment as he gave the younger girl an appraising look from the corner of his eye. At length, he replied, "Maybe we will."

It wasn't an affirmative but it would do for now. Ruby didn't know why her friend was so resistant to the idea of having fun but, whatever the reason, she knew that she didn't like it and that, if Shirou wouldn't save himself, then she'd just have to save him instead.

A/N: So, I've received a number of comments regarding a particular part of the narration back in V1C10. Specifically, some people have taken umbrage with the statement that Archer never encountered anything quite like what can be found on Remnant. Allow me to clarify that statement. It had nothing to do with power. Rather, by my estimation, Archer never fought anyone who used an umbrella as a weapon or someone who used a cane that doubled as a flare gun. Similarly, I doubt that he fought anyone who has a constant force field up. Whenever Archer fought someone, if he slashed their neck, they were probably dead. This is not the case on Remnant thanks to Aura. That's what I meant by that statement.

Also, to reiterate just in case, I'm ignoring FGO because I hate it.

I decided to not describe the food fight because I couldn't top canon and it'd just be a repeat anyway.

On a brighter note, the omake are back! Have one!

Omake 5

Team Responsibilities

Before V2C2

Emiya Shirou dismissed Kanshou and Bakuya as the klaxon blared, signaling the end of the match. He honestly didn't need them for this fight but, for the sake of the other person's pride, he decided to use his "Semblance."

"That was a good match," Shirou said to Weiss Schnee, who was getting to her feet as Shirou approached. The rest of Team RWBY also came onto the arena where they had been fighting.

"Hardly. I didn't land a single hit on you," Weis said somewhat bitterly. Ruby Rose gave her partner a sympathetic smile and pat on the shoulder.

"Maybe but your wide variety of options for both offense and defense kept me on my toes. You even nearly managed to trap me in your ice once or twice."

Weiss shook her head, "Even so, I'm disappointed in my performance. I could tell that you were holding back that entire time."

Shirou smiled bashfully as he rubbed at the back of his head, "You're right, I was, but don't let that get to you. I've been fighting on my own for basically my entire life and, even now, I don't have a team to back me up. You, however, are different. The large number of abilities that your Semblance grants you make you an incredible asset to any team. The number of combination attacks available to you are simply staggering."

"Shirou's right," Yang added as she patted Weiss on the back. "We wouldn't be half the team we are without you!"

Weiss looked at the smiling faces of her team before smiling ruefully and saying, "Even so, it would be nice if I was able to rely on my own strength every now and then."

"Don't be absurd," Shirou said sharply, much to everyone's surprise. "On our own, there's not a whole lot that we can do. It's only by working together and relying on our friends and allies that our goals can be accomplished. I honestly envy you. For all of the power and skill that I have, I simply don't work all that well with a team. The potential for my powers to be used in conjunction with another's is incredibly limited. You, however, are the exact opposite. Your greatest strength lies in working with your team."

Weiss looked thoughtful as the others voiced their agreement. The notion that Shirou was saying was completely at odds with what she had been taught all of her life. To stand on her own two feet and rely solely on her strength to overcome all adversity. That was the lesson that her father had drilled into her for as long as she could remember. And yet, despite that, her best performances so far had been when she was working alongside someone. While she was confident that she could have taken that pack of Beowolves that they encountered in the forest on her own with some difficulty, working alongside Ruby made it a breeze. Then there was the giant Nevermore. Even at her current level, she doubted that she could have handled it on her own.

Maybe that was something else that her father was wrong about.

Smiling up at the rest of her team, Weiss nodded. "You're right. It's my responsibility to take care of my team and they'll take care of me in return." Blake nodded at her words while Yang gave her a thumbs up. Ruby just hugged her outright. "In fact, I think I already have some ideas on how we can use my Semblance…" Weiss began as she pushed Ruby off of her.

"I'll leave you girls to it, then," Shirou said before walking off.

It had only been for an instant but why did Shirou look so sad when he was leaving?