Chapter 2

The Emerald Forest

A/N: Hello! Aldo7Aces here, and I'm just here to say hello! Well… probably not just that. Content warning and disclaimer! I don't own RWBY, the series belongs to Rooster Teeth. I am not profiting from this in any way. Alright, now that that's out of the way, I hope those of you that have progressed this far are interested in the story. I'm not that good at writing daily life stuff so that's a bad reason as to why the first chapter felt so choppy and rushed. I hope to improve over the course of this story. Content warning. I don't know how brutal I may get in some of the injuries. I've already written a book and if you want to hear a sample of it, go to YouTube and find my channel. You'll see what I mean. So, yeah, gore and stuff are common to me and I barely flinch at its description but I hope this story is tame in comparison to my book. Um… possible fluff/smut/lemon material. I've not yet really tried my hand at it before so we'll see how it goes. *Nervous chuckle.* But other than that, I hope you guys are entertained by my ideas, both here and (possibly) at my channel. I will allow you to continue.

I draw Amber King after front flipping and pump his top gauge until he's at his dispersed firing mode. I aim downwards in front of me to slow me down slightly with a wide blast form the pull of the trigger. I know I can't react quick enough to stop me from slamming into a tree, so that's when I decide to use my semblance. It's an ability that requires me getting injured. Sure, my Aura is protective but I can control how much it helps. I allow myself to be damaged slightly by the tree, enough to fully recharge Amber King's loaded battery.

I pull out one of the spare batteries from my pack and drain some of the energy from it, healing my body. I put it away and dust myself off before looking around. I see several people flying through the air above and nearby me, going further into the forest. Guess that means I've got more ground to cover. I jump down from the branch I'm currently on onto other ones beneath and reach the forest floor.

I turn the way everyone else is headed and run at a steady pace through the terrain. Two Beowolves appear behind me and are chasing after me at full speed. I switch my two-handed grip on Amber King so that I can reach into my jacket with my right hand and then my left. I attach him to my back again and they've almost caught up. I jump and spin to my left, directing my right foot to meet one by the throat, pushing him a little away from me towards the left, his partner dodging.

He growls and takes a swipe for my head. I block with my left arm and pull back my right, redirecting the absorbed energy into my right arm. My semblance not only allows me to direct the force of a blow into my energy batteries, but it allows me to use their energy, or direct the power of an attack into my own. I smirk and deliver my brass knuckled fist as an uppercut to his chin, earning an instant knockout judging by how sharply his head angles up.

He falls onto his back and his ally has recovered his composure. He's hunched over on all fours and uses his position to charge me with a claw swipe. I back handspring away from him and draw my gun quickly. I pump the top pump to switch to the constant beam firing mode and open fire on his vulnerable face. The beam burns his eyes and the Grimm uses its paws to protect the area from another blast.

I just aim for his chest and pump the top gauge twice to return back to the dispersed firing mode. I pump energy for the next shot with the bottom pump and kick off of the ground towards him. I place the barrel flat against his exposed torso and the trigger's pull creates a small energy field that bludgeons the Grimm's chest cavity.

He falls backwards to the ground dead and I dust myself off. I hear a girl's voice on a branch above and behind me, "Nice job with those wolves, Goldie!"

I turn and see a girl with long red hair, yellow eyes, and it seems that she's about as tall as Nadeshiko. I shout out to her, "Munsell Regent! It's what I do! Guess you're my partner!"

She nods and drops down from her position. She's wearing a skinny leather jacket that reaches only as low as the upper part of her back with metal plates over the shoulders, her sleeves rolled up over her elbows. Her jacket is unzipped, worn over a metal plate with two holstered knives on her back. She has an under layer of a skin tight, thin, red and black suit with padding along the arms and shins. She's wearing black shorts and active shoes with hollowed soles, fingerless black gloves on her hands. She stretches her arms behind her head and cracks the bones in her neck, popping her knuckles. She punches my shoulder and laughs, "I'm Terra Storm. Nice to be paired with a capable partner. Come on! Let's get going, Goldie!"

I nod and grin, "Of course. Let's go."

We run ahead together and she laughs, "Man, what a rush! I've been wanting to do stuff like this my entire life!"

I put away my knuckles, Amon and Barbados, nodding in agreement, "Yep! This'll be a great year!"

We keep going until two Ursi cross our paths. Terra draws two knives from a holster around her waist and grinds them together, "Goldie, I've got this one."

I tell her as I draw Amber King in preparation, "It's not 'Goldie', it's Munsell!"

She runs up to the first one and it tries to smack her away with the back of its right arm. She jumps up and stabs her knives into its limb. Terra jumps over and draws her other two back-sheathed knives. She stabs them into its throat and removes them before the other Ursa can claw her back.

She stabs one of her knives between two of its digits as it tries to claw her and she impales the other one through its vulnerable rib cage. She recovers her blades and tells me as I holster my rifle, "Told you I had it."

I shake my head and chuckle, "Alright, I'll take your word from here on."

She punches my shoulder again and we pick up our pace again.

We reach what looks like a crumbled temple and I can see fighting in the distance. A Nevermore in flight and a Deathstalker on the ground at a bridge. Doesn't look like a scrap I want to get involved with. I see a few large chess pieces that are colored black or gold but their numbers are few. We might be one of the last groups. I see Nadeshiko out of the tree line and call out, "Hey! Over here!"

Nadeshiko sees me and her face lights up with a smile that makes me blush a little. Carmine appears close behind her and I give him a salute. They come over and I toss them a black pawn piece and grab one myself, "Let's get back to the top of the cliff!"

They nod their agreement and we begin to sprint. We reach the cliff's end but in order to reach it, we have to get over a thirty-foot vertical climb. I think of a plan and tell Carmine, "Use your semblance to make a few hand and footholds. This'll be fun."

He nods and begins to create holes in the rock wall with the psychic objects he's making. He begins to climb and Nadeshiko follows behind him when he nears the top. I tell them, "Terra and I will stand guard while you guys climb. Then you guys can watch over us."

I hear a piercing howl nearby when Nadeshiko reaches a few feet up. I turn and see a tall Beowulf with different armor plating from the usual ones, giving an impression of being pretty experienced. I draw my laser rifle and switch it to fire focused beams. I fire one towards its head but the Grimm dodges with a quick sidestep. I pump energy through the battery into the containment chamber and I fire again, the beast dodging once more, growling at me.

It sets its sights on me and charges quickly on all fours and I attempt to block with my rifle. It slams its right paw down on my weapon and I can feel my arms pop in several parts of their joints. I'm about to deflect him but his other arm swipes beneath my legs, taking me out with my body slamming hard on the ground.

The Grimm picks me up by the head and pins my weapon to the ground with its left foot. I struggle to free myself from its grip but to no avail. I hear Terra yell, "I've got you, Goldie!"

I see out from between its fingers that she's at its other leg and she slashes its tendons. This earns a roar from the hostile and it throws me aside, to the rock wall and I slam hard. I spit at the ground as I get back up and watch while Terra dodges around.

There are small tendrils of electricity between her limbs and four knives. She kicks off of one to the other, using them like steps in the air as she throws and pulls them back, piercing the Beowulf's skin. It roars and spins, knocking her out of the sky with a well-placed blow. I sprint over to my weapon and prepare it for a dispersed shot.

I yell to Carmine, "Keep me covered!"

He draws his assault rifle and yells, "Of course!"

He opens fire on the Grimm and I watch as it sidesteps and charges for the cliff wall where Nadeshiko is still climbing. She's crushed under its left arm and she yells in pain. I sprint forward and it throws her down into the ground at its feet. I yell as I get close, "I've got you!"

It stands above us both and she's hurting on the ground behind me. It brings its paws down towards her body but I get in the way with my left arm, catching both. I can feel the pain in my arm and I know its enough for the battery to fill to the brim. I overload the shot with the energy from the Grimm's blow and I pull the trigger with the barrel at the beast's chin and blast its skull open. I ask Nadeshiko, "Are you okay?"

She nods, "Just… a little hurt."

I order Carmine, "Make a platform for her to get up!"

He nods and puts away his rifle, requiring his entire focus for such an ability. Another Beowulf like the last one appears and I help Terra up, "You good?"

She nods and picks up her knives, "Yeah, just a little shaken, Goldie."

I ask her, "What do those knives of yours do?"

She responds as we get ready for its attack, "Conduct energy currents like my semblance."

I nod, "Can you transmit the charge from one to another?"

She nods and I grin, "Fire three of them at my rifle and put one in front of it. This'll be good."

The Grimm charges us while she sets up her weapons. She fires electricity through three of them to my rifle and I aim it at the last one. At the pull of my trigger, a massive beam is unleashed that recoils my aim above the final blade. I grit my teeth and use my left arm to force the barrel back down as the large enemy approaches.

A wall of ice forms in front of it as it attempts to rush towards us and I turn my head to see Nadeshiko has one of her blades drawn. Carmine aims his assault rifle and unleashes fire as the bullets have stray projectile phantoms to make our opponent's time of dodging harder.

Terra yells from behind me, "You got it under control?"

I nod and concentrate as I fire the beam at the final knife, Terra looking at her knife to make sure the blade directs the energy properly. The thick beam of golden light acts as a pointer to follow the Grimm, slicing off its limbs as it tries to evade, directed by Terra's aim, the both of us somewhat laughing bewilderedly at the craziness of our idea working.

All is silent after it dies and we high five. Nadeshiko and Carmine cheer for us and we get to the rock wall. Carmine makes a platform for Terra while I climb the wall with Carmine's handholds. Now all we have to do is walk through some wilderness to the top of the cliff. We face no more opposition to our objective.

We're taken from the cliff's edge back to the school by some teachers along with a large group of other first-years. We arrive at the same hall as when we were first brought here for the opening ceremony yesterday. We're given orders to stay together with our partners with whom we recovered the corresponding pieces to which each pair acquired, Ozpin soon arriving back on the stage as before and explains the process of our team assignments.

He will call our names, we will join him on the stage, the others will applaud, and we will assume our positions in the crowd again. I stand still, not minding my legs going numb as he proceeds to list off around twenty something teams. My chest is welling up with each passing team and each of my team mates is reacting the same way. Other names that sound like they start off like one of ours make us practically jump. Carmine nearly yells "Yes!" when he mishears another person's name, only stopped by Terra clamping his mouth shut and telling him to shush while pointing at the pictures appearing on the screen above the stage.

It all builds up. Up until he reaches us. My heart tightens in my chest when I hear him call the first name. Not mine, sorry. Carmine has the pleasure to now act a fool. I'm extremely elated. We've made it. We're now officially students at Beacon.

"Carmine Grey, Nadeshiko Mila, Munsell Regent, Terra Storm. The four of you acquired the black pawn pieces. From this day forward you will work together as Team Regent, led by Munsell Regent."

Carmine wraps an arm around my shoulders while Terra punches me in one of them. Nadeshiko blushes a little and tells me, "Good job."

I blush and nod, "Thanks."

Everyone claps and we return to the audience. About another fifteen groups go by until he announces, "Russell Thrush, Cardin Winchester, Dove Bronzewing, Sky Lark. The four of you recovered the black bishop pieces. From this day forward you will work together as Team Cardinal, led by Cardin Winchester."

I notice that their armor is all very similar. Either they all shop at the same store or that's just a coincidence. My team claps and we watch as they clear the stage. Next group, "Jaune Arc, Lie Ren, Pyrrha Nikos, Nora Valkyrie. The four of you retrieved the white rook pieces. From this day forward you will work together as Team Juniper, led by Jaune Arc."

I clap just as I have been doing for the other teams, laughing with everyone else when we see the JNPR team leader knocked to the ground by Pyrrha.

The headmaster moves onto the last group, "And finally, Blake Belladonna, Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, and Yang Xiao Long. The four of you retrieved the white knight pieces. From this day forward you will work together as Team Ruby, led by Ruby Rose."

Everyone claps and cheers again, probably louder than before due to it being the final team assembled. Goodwitch appears again and tells everyone, "You will gather in the ballroom until we have all of your room assignments settled. You may eat lunch and dinner in the cafeteria but after dinner hours you will return to the ballroom until you receive your room assignments. Please, feel free to mingle amongst yourselves until then. You are dismissed."

Everyone begins to leave out of the ceremonial hall and Carmine places his hand on my shoulder and tells me, "I want you to meet some people."

He directs Nadeshiko, Terra, and myself through the mass of the other teams. We reach a small group of other people, eight in total. He tells me, "These are the two people I was talking to yesterday. Jaune, Ruby, this is Munsell Regent. My best friend."

Jaune stretches his hand out to me and nods, "Nice to meet you."

I take it and Ruby exclaims to me, "Pleased to meet another team leader!"

I chuckle, "Nice to meet you too."

We're the only ones left in the ceremony hall. Goodwitch appears and tells us, "I forgot to mention that the ceremony hall is closed. I assumed everyone would leave as soon as possible. You may remain outside if it doesn't bother you."

I nod, "Yes, of course, ma'am."

We leave outside and stay close to one of the entrances, our teams are gathered with each other and I talk to the others, "I believe introductions are in order. I'm Munsell, this is Nadeshiko, Terra, and Carmine."

Jaune introduces JNPR, "Jaune, Ren, Pyrrha, Nora."

Ruby introduces her teammates, "I'm Ruby, here is Weiss, Blake, and my sister, Yang."

I nod, we sit down and I ask Pyrrha, "So what do you do?"

Most of them are surprised, a slight raised brow, widened eyes. Weiss puts her thumb and index finger over the bridge area of her nose and sighs, "I am NOT going to explain it again."

Carmine tells me, "Dude, she's like a pro. Practically a celeb. How've you never heard of her?"

I shrug, "Move a lot. Didn't really pay attention to anything besides what interested me, but sure, if she's so gifted I applaud that. I understand what it's like to put forth a lot of effort for something. Guess I never thought I'd meet a celebrity so… hehe…"

She nods and asks, "Thank you. So where've you moved around to?"

I lean back and start listing the places off on my fingers, "Of the actual big towns? Croma, Auro, Indy, New Nex, Chambervault, and lastly, Ixmus. Several other smaller ones but…"

Their eyes open wider as I shrug off how much I've moved. I sigh and shrug, "Guess you could say I'm culturally diverse or well-versed in travel."

Carmine lightly pats my back. He knows how it feels for me to remember every one of my past schools. I ask Weiss, "So what about you? What do you do?"

She looks like she's about to become infuriated but she calms down after realizing that if I didn't know Pyrrha, I reasonably may not know about her either. She tells me, "I'm Weiss Schnee. My family runs the largest dust company in the industry."

I process that for a second and exclaim, "OH! That Schnee! I thought it sounded familiar. Nah, dust is practically useless to me now."

She's surprised and sounds almost mad, "What!? How can dust be useless to you!? It is by far the best material that mankind has ever harnessed!"

I grab Amber King by the stock with my right hand and my battery carrier with my left. I open Amber King's charge container and tell her, "My brother helped me develop these rechargeable batteries. No bullets. No need to worry about shells and cartridges or constant weapon maintenance. That's why."

She nods approval and asks me, "You guys developed those yourselves?"

I nod, "Yeah, but I guess someone else can talk about themselves now. I want to get to know you guys."

Yang speaks up, "Well then. I'm Yang and this is my little sister Ruby. She skipped a few grades to be here with us and our level."

Ruby yells at her, "Yang! I told you not to tell anyone!"

Yang chuckles, "Yeah sis, but they would've figured it out eventually anyway! Better to save the confusion."

Ruby pouts a little and mumbles, "I guess."

Yang continues, "I'm a thrill-seeker so if you guys ever want to do something risky and stupid, I'd be happy for an invite. You, Blake?"

The black haired girl shrugs slightly, "Not really. Boring life. I read but that's about it."

I chuckle, "Come on! No dark secrets? Aspirations?"

She gives me a light smirk and shakes her head, "No. What about you Jaune?"

He panics a little, "Wha- secrets!? No! None!"

Pyrrha chuckles, "Of course not, Jaune. She meant for you to talk about yourself."

He calms down noticeably, "Oh, yeah… um… nothing really. Boring. Well, actually I grew up with seven sisters so not that boring."

I nod, "Sure."

He points to Nora with one of his thumbs, "What about you?"

She smiles a little, "Ren and I grew up together. We're a pair. Well not a pair like a pair, but partners. I keep him out of trouble."

I can't help but smile and chuckle at that and I ask Weiss, "What else does royalty do besides count their Lien?"

She gives me a slight glare and tells me, "I practice for concerts and events. I sing."

I raise a brow sarcastically, "Smart, rich, and talented. Pretty good."

She gets a little annoyed and asks me, "Fine, what do you do, then?"

I shrug, "Fiddle with Amber King. Draw. Practice with my semblance and that's about it."

Weiss is surprised, "Draw?"

I nod, "Yeah, why?"

She shrugs, "I don't know. I just thought it'd be something else like stealing and arson. Why drawing?"

I tell her and the others, "It's just something that my mom loved to do a lot before. When she and Dad died, I was very destructive. My brother made me pick up a hobby and it turned out that drawing was the best fit for me. I didn't get into any more fights with other kids. I sat calm and made art."

Everyone's quiet until Carmine chimes in, "Yeah, the school saw his stuff and his art teacher asked if he could make a mural."

I blush a little when Ruby asks, "Do you have a picture!?"

I grab my Scroll and stammer, "Y- Yeah! Ri- Right here! Gimme a sec…"

I unlock my screen and make all of the applications disappear so they can see the image that is my screensaver.

Ixmus is a huge experimental technologies area so it only made sense to do something along that theme. The mural is two sleeping people. One's a guy, the other a girl. They're positioned in a yin and yang way and they have prosthetic body parts of white or black color. There's a line that is a heartbeat in the background with lines in the same shape emitting from it behind the two bodies. Everyone else is amazed by the image and Ruby exclaims, "That's good!"

I blush a little, and Carmine asks Nadeshiko and Terra, "You guys?"

Nadeshiko blushes at the sudden attention and Terra sits up. Terra tells us, "I do gymnastics but love gaming a lot. So one's my exercise and the other is my entertainment. I'll still do homework and stuff, just on my own time."

Nadeshiko speaks up after her, "I… read, too. I'm even writing a book."

I raise a brow, "Ooooo. That sounds cool. How many pages so far?"

She blushes, "Uhm… fifty-four."

I nod approval while Nora asks, "What's it about!? Ooo, is it like vampires!? A romance novel!? Ooo, maybe a-"

Ren interrupts her, "Nora. Let her finish."

She sits still and Nadeshiko tells us, "It's a sci-fi thing. The main character controls time and gets involved in a world of other people like him both good and bad."

I chuckle, "Sounds nice."

She blushes a little, "Th- thanks."

I look at my Scroll's time and it's approaching six. I get up and tell them, "I'm getting our room assignment."

Ruby gets up after and tells everyone, "I'm going too. Jaune, I'll just message you your team's room."

We walk over to the cafeteria and I ask Ruby, "So how old are you and Yang?"

She replies and follows with her own question, "I'm fifteen and she's seventeen. Why do you move around so much?"

I shrug as we near the building, "Ever since our parents died, my brother's been taking care of me. He's pretty good at helping people tap into their auras and semblances so he's been using it as a job to support us."

I continue, "It takes a while for them to fully control their abilities, so he would advertise in the next town and gather calls. The people would pay to have him add them to his plan and once he finished in one town, we'd move to the next. So we'd last a few months and after he'd finish teaching his last client in one town, we'd move to the next and the process would repeat. That's why I moved around so much."

She's tells me in an understanding tone, "I know how you feel. My mom died before I can remember. Yang tells me Dad was crushed and he always gets a sad kind of face when I ask him about her. We grew up in Patch. My uncle helped raise us too. He's pretty cool. He taught me how to use my weapon."

She raises my interest with the last statement, "And what would that be?"

She pulls a rifle from its holster on the bottom of her lower back and holds it in her hands. She tells me with enthusiasm, "This is Crescent Rose. It's a sniper rifle and a scythe."

I chuckle, "That doesn't look like a scythe to me."

She moves her hand once and the weapon makes several sounds of moving metal on metal as the entire weapon unfolds in several locations until it unveils its true form, as she said, a scythe. I tell her, "That's pretty cool. I wish I could combine melee and range in one weapon but I would've had to sacrifice the battery system I use."

She asks, "What do you do for close range?"

I pull out Amon and tell her, "I have two of these for melee. Can I tell you my semblance as a secret?"

She replies, "Sure. You can trust me."

I tell her as I put my brass knuckle away, "I redirect the energy from attacks into my batteries or my own melee attacks. I also use the power as a way to heal others. So I don't worry if I get hit so long as I'm ready to hit back. Especially with Amon and Barbados."

Ruby's eyes are wide and she tells me, "That's cool. I just do things and move very quickly."

I take a guess, "Like super speed? That'd be convenient. So your uncle taught you how to use your scythe?"

She nods, "Yeah, he's a teacher at Signal but he took some of his time when he was able and taught me. It wasn't the easiest or nicest way to learn but it worked."

I nod and we're near the front of the line in the cafeteria before either of us even notices. I chuckle, "Man, it's nice to pass by time like this."

She nods, blushing a little, "Yeah. It's not often that I find someone as interested in weapons and stuff like me."

I nod, blushing a little at seeing her blush. She's actually kind of cute. I turn to look at the front of the line and attempt to refocus, "Yeah... so… did you like… uh… m- make! Make your weapon?"

She nods, "Yeah. All of the students at signal forge their own weapons. Did you make yours?"

I nod, "Kind of. I mean, my brother did a lot of the buying parts, tuning, and the general idea of it. I did the building and made the battery system on paper. He told me it looked like it would work and he helped me make the batteries. When we made the weapon's capacitor and I took aim… oh man… that was probably the most exciting moment of my life."

She nods and asks, "How long did it take to make it?"

I breathe and let out the air as a quick burst, "Man… I think probably… about two years. I've had it now for four years so it's been good for a while. Sometimes it needs tuning, though, so that's the only kind of maintenance Amber King really needs."

We reach the front of the line and there's a woman in a lab coat behind it with several folders in front of her and a computer in the middle of them. She looks up at me and states, "Team name."

I nod, "Uh, RGNT."

She nods and types a little into her computer, "The information has been sent to your scroll."

Ruby follows quickly after and she shows me her scroll, "Where is your room?"

I show her on my screen and she tells me, excited, "That's down the hall from mine and Jaune's teams!"

I'm surprised, "Cool! Can't wait to tell the others."

She texts Jaune his team's room number and we head back to the others.

I'm about to ask Ruby if she thinks it's a good time to eat dinner with them but my stomach growls first. I chuckle, "That's embarrassing."

She giggles a little and asks, smiling, "You hungry?"

I nod, "Yeah, actually. I think the others might be as well."

We reach the group and inform the others of the room assignments. I ask everyone, "Hungry?"

They nod and I snap, "Then let's get going."

Eating goes by slowly. About less than an hour. We're joking and telling stories for the entirety of the time we're there. Even Weiss is joking around. We finish having our fun at around ten and we decide to call it a day.

Each team heads for their room in the dorm and my group is the first to their room. I open the door and there're four beds aligned with each other. I shrug towards the blandness of it while Terra's the first to tackle her bed, "Man, I'm tired! Today was so crazy!"

I chuckle at her behavior and sit down on the edge of mine. I'm the first out of us that begins to take off their armor and I look at my squad mates. They're each doing their own thing, throwing their belongings next to their beds, changing out of their armor, hanging up their new uniforms in the closet.

Nadeshiko pulls a towel out of her bag and several bits of clothes and Terra peaks from where her head is resting from her arms, "Dang it... I should've showered first. I got next."

I chuckle, "You guys go ahead. I'm going out for a walk."

I've taken off my armor completely and reach into my bag for a pair of sneakers. I close the door behind me and walk out into the hall. I see Ruby turning the corner out of the hall towards the stairs at that end and basically run after her, slowing down when I reach the end to not seem like I'm weird or whatever. I catch up to her and exclaim from a few steps behind her, "Hey, fellow team leader!"

She turns around and smiles, "Hey, Munsell!"

I nod and walk down the steps with her and ask, "What are you doing?"

She shrugs, "Thought I'd just go out for a walk. Want to get familiar with this place a little so I'm not confused tomorrow, hehe. What about you?"

I scratch the back of my head and tell her, "Just wanted to catch a breath. Can't believe I'm here."

She nods lightly and looks forward, a little dazed, "Me neither."

I chuckle at her reaction and joke, "Guess you must think you're some big hotshot jumping a couple grades, huh?"

She turns to me and her cheeks are extremely red. Her expression is somewhat embarrassed and she exclaims, "No! N- That's not…! I didn't-"

I chuckle, "Calm down, Ruby. I was just messing with you. Sorry."

She waves it off after sighing, "No- I mean… you're good. I just don't feel comfortable with how this turned out."

I'm confused, "What do you mean?"

Ruby holds her left arm by around the bicep with her right hand as we reach the door that leads outside to the school grounds, "I didn't expect to be a leader. I don't like how today started. And… uhm… can you keep a secret?"

I nod, "Yeah, of course, whatever it is."

She continues, "I don't think I belong here. Everyone else is so… in control. They know what they're doing and they're just… ready."

I shake my head, "You're wrong."

She's surprised by my response, "What do you mean?"

I continue as we walk around outside, "Well… I don't know what in the world I'm doing. I never expected so much out of today. It was so exciting yet… scary, y'know? I wasn't in control. I was just… reacting. I wasn't ready for what came my way and I just did my best to handle it all. So I guess my advice to you would be to do what you think you should and what comes naturally. If it fails… then that's why we have team mates, right? To help us become better."

She looks at me kind of awed and I blush, "Did I say something wrong?"

Ruby shakes her head, smiling, "No… it was pretty nice, really. It's… How are you so good at talking and art and making people feel better about themselves… and stuff?"

I turn to her before she says the last part and she turns away from me at the same time she adds the last two words.

I chuckle and shrug, "Dunno. Just… don't like to see a friend hurting… you're a good person, Ruby. Your heart's in the right place."

She turns her head my direction and asks a little weakly, but happy, "You really think so?"

I nod, "I know so."

She hugs my right arm while leaning her head against my shoulder and I feel myself tense up a little and blush. We walk around outside like that for a bit and my body calms down until we're close to one of the ridges of the school looking out over the town and beneath the moon and I ask Ruby, "Would you like to sit down like this or…?"

She realizes that my arm is still in her grip and she's leaning her head against it. Ruby becomes… well… ruby in the face. She exclaims, "Oh, s- sorry! Was I like that the whole time!? I didn't know-"

I chuckle and sit down, grabbing her hand and pulling her down gently, "I didn't mind."

She blushes a little more (than I thought humanly possible) and sits quietly. She asks me a little after the blood has left her face, and she seems to have calmed, "Why do you want to become a Huntsman?"

I sit with my hand holding up my chin and tell her, "I've been around to several different places and just seeing all of the different people has influenced me a ton and I want to keep them safe. So, being a Huntsman is just the way I can do it."

She nods, "Me too. Well, except I'll be a Huntress. I mean, I want to help people. So I guess we're going to give it our best!"

I nod, "That's the attitude."

We sit there for about a half hour and eventually get up to go. We return to our respective rooms and when I enter mine, Nadeshiko and Terra are having what must've been a long conversation until I arrived, both of whom are in their sleeping clothes. They look at me and stop and I can hear that the shower must be currently occupied by Carmine. I close the door completely behind me and ask, "Did I interrupt you guys? I could put on headphones or something."

Nadeshiko shakes her head but Terra pipes up, "Actually, could you answer a question for us?"

Nadeshiko immediately turns red and tells her, "No! Don't ask him!"

Terra waves off her plea and asks me, "What do you look for most in a girl?"

I'm surprised, caught off-guard, "Wha?"

Terra continues while Nadeshiko becomes progressively redder in the face, "Like, what do you look for the most? Like, her brain, her personality, or… her boobs?"

I begin to blush, "Wai- hold on! Where'd this all start!?"

Terra just shrugs, "It just came up. Well… not about you, just guys in general. So what is it?"

The shower is still running, Terra looking at me quietly. Even Nadeshiko is quiet, awaiting my response and I shrug and scratch the back of my head, "Well… it comes to more than just that. I mean, it sounds like a lie to girls if a guy ever says anything except looks. To other guys they might say that you can't 'do her brain'. I mean, to me… it's gotta be… her laugh."

Terra raises a brow, "Laugh?"

I nod, "Yeah."

I sit down on my bed and Nadeshiko asks, "Why?"

I reply as I get my shower stuff out, "Well… it's really a gauge about how genuine a person is. If you can really get them to laugh a lot, then that means you have a potential relationship or the relationship is great. I just love the thought of saying something that sounds normal to me but the other person just bursts out in laughter. Sure, I won't just date a girl just because she has the 'perfect' laugh. It sounds shallow but she has to be someone I wouldn't mind associating myself with. I know it sounds bad but it's human nature. I just like to put it out there. You, Terra?"

She shrugs, "I usually go for handsome guys but not the jerks. I like the nerdy ones. Y'know? Like the ones that you'd never expect to go to a convention for a show they like dressed as their favorite character. Those guys. You, Nadeshiko?"

She turns red and stammers, "Bold… bold ones."

Terra chuckles after two seconds of silence, "Oookay…? Like how?"

Nadeshiko turns a little more red and says lightly, "Like… like… like the ones that make the first move… I guess?"

Terra's confused, "You 'guess'? Wait… Have you even been asked out by a guy before?"

I'm starting to get a little uncomfortable with Terra's questions toward Nadeshiko who's become pale everywhere but her cheeks. Her eyes dart towards me almost every time either of us move or shift and she responds, "Ye- Uh—Of course!"

Terra doesn't seem to believe her, "Really? What was the last guy's name?"

Nadeshiko stammers and I cut in before she responds, sighing before I begin, "Terra… that's enough. She's obviously uncomfortable. So what, does it matter? I haven't asked a girl out before. I also think that if no one's asked Nadeshiko out, then they're missing out. She's great. So don't continue making her feel bad about it, alright?"

Terra's eyes open wide and she looks at both me and Nadeshiko. Terra exclaims, "Oh—sorry! I didn't realize-! I'm sorry. I didn't notice I was making you feel uncomfortable! I usually miss out on signals…"

Nadeshiko is slowly returning to a normal skin tone and sighs, "It's okay… you're good."

The shower stops and I tell them, "Well, I'm gonna shower after he gets out and then hit the hay. You guys got your schedules, right?"

They nod and show me from where they are on the beds and I nod, "Alright. Then I'd recommend you guys catch some Z's so that we can wake up bright and early for class tomorrow."

They nod their agreement and Carmine emerges, flopping onto his bed and tells me, "Your turn."

I nod and step into the shower and by the time I emerge, the others are asleep. I slide into my bed and just wonder at how I got here. Sleep is welcome so that I can relax from all of what happened today. Not just for me, but for all of us.