Team RRAYNBOW
A/N: SPOILER WARNING for the last episode of volume 6. It's just mentioned but just a head's up!
Behind all great teams is a great team name.
"Thank you to everyone who decided to attend to the first official meeting of the bestest team of hunters and huntresses!"
"In training," Weiss interjects.
"That's not what I said over the Argus comm channel and they didn't say no!" Ruby argues as if that's all it takes to claim the title.
"Does it really matter? We've been risking our lives out here like real hunters and huntresses so we might as well own it." Jaune does a fist bump with a proud Ruby.
"I'm with Vomit Boy," Yang seconds.
"That was just one time!"
"What? We're on an airship. I got plane nostalgic."
The collective groan was so loud, it could have taken down a lesser plane from sudden turbulence.
"Anyways, it's not like we're going to be graduating soon… or going back to classes at all." Blake steers back the conversation quick, having already built a high tolerance for her partner's puns.
"If it's just us then I don't see the problem with calling us that. But we should be more careful when throwing the titles around other people," Ren volunteers words of caution.
"You should listen to your wise friend there." Even Maria joins in on the conversation to drop some sagely advice. "You can get away with saying that without the proper documents to some backwater village but that won't work where we're going. Atlas takes its paperwork seriously."
"Can't we just forge our own licenses?" Nora suggests and nobody notices the odd timing of Jaune's coughing fit.
"You okay there, Jaune?" Oscar asks in genuine concern.
"Y-Yeah! Just!" He coughs harder. "Just accidentally choke on air, that's all!"
"Okie dokie, airy chokie!" Yang mocks him in singsong.
"I am never going to live this down, am I?"
"Sshh, Jaunie boy! Your coughing is distracting us from figuring out if we can forge stuff." Nora pats his back with exceptional force and Jaune swears that if he doesn't die from choking then Nora's pat would have killed him instantly if it weren't for his aura.
"You can," Qrow answers too easily. It's as if he knows this from experience. Knowing him, he probably even invented the art of forgery. "But not even the best papers can cover up the fact that you're just a bunch of kids."
"Teenagers!" Ruby corrects her clearly misinformed uncle.
"Still kids." He shakes his head. "Anyways, you were saying something, kiddo?"
"Something… Oh!" She claps her hands, the sound so loud that all eyes and ears were suddenly on her. "First post-mission official meeting! Now commencing!"
And so it begins.
"This is really happening? I don't have any binders with me to take down the minutes," Weiss grumbles as she compromises with using her scroll.
Although no one else seemed quite as... dedicated as Weiss was given her organized nature, everyone else respectfully listened to the impromptu post-op meeting.
"Right so! I think we should start with congratulating everyone for this mission's success!" Ruby encouraged everyone with her proud smiles. "We got the plane! So yay!"
There was a chorus of cheers. It wasn't that strong because they were all too exhausted but it was still pretty satisfying to hear.
"We also managed to stop ONE Grimm! But it's a Leviathan so that makes us super awesome!"
"Technically that was all you," Oscar points out.
"There is no 'I' in Team! Not in this team!" She pauses and mentally goes through all of their names until satisfied. "Yep! Definitely no i's!"
"Woot! Go Team!" Nora hollers.
"We did however also manage to mess up Cordovin's mecha which is gonna be a setback for Argus until it gets all its repairs done."
"That's still on you," Jaune teases.
"It was a team effort, thank you very much!" She glosses over that minor detail with the grace of a fish trying to swim on land. In her defense, she is much better at boosting morale. "Great job, everyone! Another win for the bestest team! We're so awesome!"
When Ruby starts clapping, everyone else can't help but join in the applause. Yeah, they were pretty awesome to pull that off.
"I know that we just won that fight and we're all tired but I think it needs to be said. We won this fight but it's not going to be our last, and we can't always win all fights. But we can try."
There was a moment of silence, a moment of silent understanding. Everyone present here chose to be here, chose to fight together, chose to be better. This isn't just some group of kids running around playing pretend. This is a group of hunters and huntresses, and though young they may be, they won't go down without putting a fight.
"Now that we are officially back in the huntress business, there's still one more issue holding us back."
The pause that follows is tense, it's as if everyone is bracing themselves for an attack.
"We need a team name."
The tension falls apart just as quickly as it came.
"You've got to be kidding me." Weiss is the first to react violently or rather exasperatingly in her case. "After all that motivational speech you set up, this was your agenda all along? A team name?"
"She's right." Yang speaks up, "You should have started with that in the first place."
"I thought it was nice to point out that all our efforts are appreciated." Ruby catches the movement of someone raising their hand. "Yes, Blake?"
"I appreciate that you appreciate our efforts," Blake says with a small tug on her lips.
"Aww, thanks!" Ruby chirps. "See this is why Blake is best teammate."
"Excuse me, I am your sister?"
"Excuse me, I am your partner?"
The two other teammates protest in the same moment as if on cue. And before any further in-group fighting break out, the ever reliable Ruby saves the day with her smart people skills.
Ruby points at Blake. "Best teammate!" After which she points at Yang. "Best sister!" Then she points at Weiss. "Best partner." And lastly she points at herself. "Best leader!"
"Excuse you this is Team JNR erasure!" Nora calls them out.
Ruby gasps and hits her head for her mistake. "You're right. We should make the 'official best people titles' our meeting's second agenda!"
"What happened to the first?" Oscar asks, confused.
"It's happening right now!" She squeals in excitement. "We are now open for suggestions on team names!"
"Nora Valkyrie reporting for duty, Supreme Leader!"
"Actually, the leader role hasn't been decided yet but your initiative is appreciated." Ruby finishes that disclaimer and then sits down. "Alright, Nora. Let's hear it out."
Now it's Nora's turn to stand and stand mighty she did.
"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today because someone—" She glares at a certain blond of the group, the one with the shield. "—couldn't have a better name."
"Why are you looking at me?" Jaune came out here to pull his weight on this mission with his team and he's honestly feeling so attacked right now and by his own teammate no less!
"Of all the letters in the alphabet you just had to have J!" She looms over him and pokes him on the shoulder. Hard. "J! Couldn't you have picked a better letter?"
"Don't blame me like it's my fault!" He's pretty sure this was harrassment.
"So I was thinking all night and the best I could come up with was Team BRROWNYJ!" She pronounces it as 'brownie'.
"You spent all night just for that?" Weiss' comment goes ignored.
"The silent J is kind of pushing it honestly," Nora continues on her momentum. "I tried putting the J in front but Team JBRROWNY doesn't sound any better." It's pronounced as 'jehbrohnie'.
"Not much of a selection to work with." Blake grimaces. The second one is honestly just plain terrible.
"I tried! But the stupid letter J keeps ruining the harmony!"
"Thanks a lot, Jaune." Yang jibes at the poor innocent man who just had to have the misfortune of having a difficult first letter to play color scrabble with.
"Guys it's just a name!"
"And it's costing us an awesome team name!" Nora pokes him on the other shoulder so hard that he swears he could have been bruised. "So get yourself together, young man!"
"What do you want me to do? Change my name?"
"That's it!"
All heads turn to Ruby who was practically vibrating with an idea.
"You… You really want me to change my name?" He asks in disbelief, bargaining, and then acceptance. "I mean, I guess it's not impossible… There is a legal process for that although..."
"Yes and No!" She grins and claps once. "Nora!"
"Yes, captain!" The ginger shoots up and salutes.
"What can you work with if you use Jaune's last name instead of his first?"
"Jaune Arc… Arc, an 'A'?" She falls quiet as she considers the change with the working material. Her toothy grin looks almost maniacal. "That just opens up a whole world of possibilities!"
With that declaration, they left Nora to brew on her own. She was muttering like a madwoman as she fiddled with the letters she typed on her scroll. To anyone not in on the meeting, they could have mistaken her for plotting murder, the kind with an overly complicated method and a vengeance backstory. But really, she was just thinking of a color name. It didn't take long before she worked up another storm.
"I got it! Team RRAYNBOW!" She snaps her fingers. "We got Ruby, Ren, Arc, Yang, Nora, Blake, Oscar, Weiss, aka Team RRAYNBOW!"
Now all that's left is getting the approval of the rest of the members of the newly named team.
"That's actually..." Weiss pauses for dramatic effect and then smirks in endorsement. "Not a bad name."
"Rainbows are pretty awesome. I like it." Yang shows her approval the only way she best knows how, with finger guns. "Maybe we could even get it on a flag."
"Yeah! Wave that flag with pride, sistah!" Nora hollers and high fives with Yang. They then both do a low five, Nora with Ren, and Yang with Blake.
"Might as well march with it while we're at it, no?" Weiss suggests with a conspiring smirk.
"Yes! Definitely yes to all of that!" Ruby excitedly shakes her partner's shoulders. They both share knowing looks oblivious to everyone else being in the know.
"That's gay!" Yang shouts.
"You're gay!" Ruby shouts back.
The two broke into laughing fits and everyone else who was in on the joke (note: everyone) was smiling as well.
"Yes, yes, we're all very gay here," Weiss didn't have to say it in that posh tone but she just had to be extra about it. "Is there something else anyone would like to add on the gay agenda?"
Not to be outdone, Blake says, "Gay rights."
And that is how the rainbow was claimed by the gays and everyone agreed it was okay.
"You really outdid yourself this time, Nora." Ren smiles proudly. "It's a good team name."
"Well as long as you don't attack me anymore for the crime of being born with a name I didn't choose then I'll take anything." Jaune sighs. Let the name discourse end here or so he prays fervently.
"Oh my gosh! We're not just getting a color name but a name that has a bunch of colors in it?" Ruby practically squeals at the ingenious idea. "This is on a whole new level of awesome!"
"Yeah, it kind of fits." Oscar seconds with a nod. "A rainbow has all sorts of colors, right? Kind of like how we're all sorts of people."
It looks like everyone was adopting the new name with ease and fondness. Too bad Blake had to be the one to rain on their rainbow parade.
"Except we're eight people and the rainbow only has seven colors."
…
"Dammit, Jaune!"
So much for camaraderie reforged under a a new unified name.
"Okay I know you guys are just messing with me but I have feelings too you know!"
Nora was this close to whipping out Magnhild and smiting Jaune right then and there when Ruby intervenes with divine mercy.
"It doesn't have to be perfect." Ruby discreetly moves in between Nora and Jaune, just in case. Then she continues in her motivational speech tone, "I think it's kind of cool how a rainbow has seven colors but RRAYNBOW has eight people! That's like having one more person of awesomeness than the original!"
As the self appointed moderator of the meeting, Ruby tries her hands on conflict resolution.
"So let's put it to a vote. All in favor of the team name being 'Team RRAYNBOW' say 'aye!'"
"Aye!" It's a resounding consensus.
"Then it's decided. From here on out, we shall now be known as Team RRAYNBOW!"
And thus adjourns the first official meeting of Team RRAYNBOW…
Or so they thought.
"Hold it right there."
All heads turn to the unexpected objection. It's not one of them.
Qrow swoops in to steal their thunder with a smug smirk. "Where's our vote in this?"
"Uhh…" Ruby blinks. "W-What?"
"You didn't think just because we're adults that we'd miss in on the fun?" Maria laughs gleefully much to everyone else's confusion and trepidation. In the passenger seat, Qrow looks back and tips an imaginary snapback.
"How do you do, fellow kids?"
Before anyone could even process that, Nora's guttural scream cuts through the skies like lightning.
"How am I supposed to work with a Q?!"