Professor Port's class had been an interesting experience. Most of the class had dozed off during his "lecture" as he told a heavily embellished story from his youth. However he had then brought out a live Grimm for one of the class to face. Weiss had volunteered, initially struggling and turning her frustration on Ruby, who had so far been nothing short of infuriating. She was sporadic at best, easily distracted and was a complete airhead. Weiss however, had a modicum of patience and decided to see if her leader would show more initiative in another class. While she had been far beyond attentive in Goodwitch's combat class, she had not been as impressive in any other classes. After shouting her grievances at her young leader, she had stormed off and now found herself skulking around Beacon, trying to calm down. Weiss knew that she would have to meet up with her team soon regardless of her current frustrations. Her team had be requested by Headmaster Ozpin to meet in the combat classroom an hour after her classes. While she would head that direction after a bit, for now she needed to calm down. Her directionless walking currently brought her to the outside of the school's infirmary, when her thoughts interrupted by a sudden commotion from within.
"GET AWAY FROM ME DEMON!"
A loud boom echoed through the hallway as the door the the infirmary was blasted open from within. Before Weiss could react, she was knocked off her feet as a black and red projectile collided with her. She and the figure tumbled to the ground. After getting her bearings, she looked at the cloaked figure that had landed on top of her. His features were concealed beneath a black and red scaled cloak, which apparently weighed a ton! She tried to push him off with a shout only to meet far more weight than she was able to move! The boy push himself up and looked over his shoulder, facing away from her, towards the door. From within, a new person emerged.
"Quite bothersome, I understand that you are not exactly comfortable with this but we need another blood sample. Ozpin was rather insistent that we perform a full medical evaluation."
The rapid pace at which this was said could only make this one person, Professor Oobleck. He stood before them, wearing his round rimmed glasses and white collared shirt. His ever present thermos in his hands.
"Not going to happen!" the boy shouted before bringing his hand up. There was a momentary blue flash in his palm before he brought it down, slapping his hand on the tiled floor. Weiss's world went white as the whole passage was rapidly filled with an incredibly thick fog. Someone grabbed her wrist and began running. By this point, Weiss had completely lost track of what was going on, allowing herself to be pulled along as her mind tried to process these rather abrupt developments.
After a bit, she felt open air on her skin as she was lead outside. She had be pulled outside onto a balcony off the main school building. At this point she had had enough.
"Let go of me you brute!" She yelled, breaking her captor's grip.
The young man turned to face her, before stopping. His large hood still remained in place, covering his face, he appeared startled before his posture become a bit more relaxed.
"Oh, whoops." he said, "I grabbed you thinking you were someone else. Sorry."
"Well at least you had the decency to apologize." Weiss said with an agitated huff.
"Well what crawled up your ass and died?" the boy responded, putting one hand on his hip, his body language just screaming sarcasm.
"Well I never..." Weiss responded to his rude language but before she could continue, she was interrupted.
"I doubt I am the first to ask you that question." The boy responded flatly, a teasing grin visible beneath his hood.
"I don't have to take this." Weiss exclaimed, as she turned around. Before she could walk away however, the boy grabbed her arm.
"Hey, it was a joke, sorry." He said in a more mild tone as she turned back to him. "I didn't mean to offend you."
After a pause, Weiss sighed. "Whatever..."
The boy let go, his smile returning. "Right thanks," He said before holding out his hand, "Rubeus," he stated, introducing himself.
"Weiss" she replied, grasping his hand and giving a quick shake. She noticed him flinch a bit at her introduction, but dismissed it. Taking the time to actually look him over, he appeared to be about her age, if not a bit shorter. His face was still mostly obscured by the cloak he wore. Despite what she first saw, the cloak itself was actually black. All along the article of clothing were small metalic red plates, making the majority of its outer surface red in color. His clothes were simple, and a bit more traditional Mistrailian than most wore, but not too different from what other students wore for their combat gear. Tired of the silence, she asked, "So why exactly were you running from Professor Oobleck?"
Rubeus lost his smile, "He said that Ozpin had requested blood samples. I am not going to give those two more of my blood. They took enough as it was."
"You blew up the infirmary to avoid them taking blood samples?" She asked with mild amusement.
"I don't like needles..." She heard Rubeus mutter quietly. Whether from the abruptness of everything or the irrationality of the fear, she let out a small giggle.
Rubeus heard this, "It's a legitimate fear!" he defended. This escalated her giggling into full blown laughter. It was infectious, as Rubeus soon joined her, their laughter rolling across the campus. After about a minute, they both brought their mirth back under control. However, the events of the day quickly came back to Weiss, bringing a frown to her face.
"So what's bothering you princess?" Rubeus asked, moving over towards the gated railing that encompassed the balcony.
"It's Heiress actually." Weiss corrected automatically.
"Alright then, Heiress, what is bugging you? Any normal person doesn't go from laughing their ass off to brooding without something bothering them."
"What's it to you?" Weiss responded defensively.
"Nothing really, just want to help." The boy held his hands up. "I just find it easier to vent to someone you don't know sometimes. It gives you a fresh perspective."
"Well, if you must know, I am having problems with my assigned team." Weiss responded, crossing her arms.
"And those would be?" Rubeus motioned her to continue, turning back to look off the balcony again.
"Our leader is completely incompetent!" Weiss yelled. "She is immature, a total airhead, and has the most absurd set of priorities I have ever seen!"
Rubeus nodded, but said nothing, letting Weiss continue.
"She falls asleep in class, she doesn't try to keep her teammates in line, and she is far too young to even be here let alone leading a team! I should have been the leader. I could easily manage the responsibility!" Weiss raged.
"Sounds to me like you need to step back a bit." Rubeus said, turning to her once again.
"What?" Weiss asked confused.
"She is new to all of this,true, and sounds like she really doesn't know what she is doing." Rubeus said
"So you agree, then." Weiss said with a smug smile.
"Hardly," Rubeus said with a snort, surprising Weiss. "I think that YOU should calm down and get off your high horse."
"How is this my problem?" Weiss yelled angrily.
"I look at you, and see someone who has probably had a silver spoon in her mouth since she was born." Rubeus said, once again looking out across the grounds. "From day one, you were taught you were better, superior. That you always had to be perfect or the best."
At this, Weiss's expression softened just a bit.
"Well guess what, nobody's perfect." Rubeus said softly, looking down at the roof. "Everyone is different. Everyone has their own quirks, and true, some of those can be annoying as hell. But everyone still has something they excel at. Clearly Ozpin saw something in your leader that you haven't yet. Maybe you should stand back a bit and trust his judgement?"
"And if he is wrong?" Weiss refuted.
"Then he is, but it takes time to know that for sure." Rubeus replied, once again turning to face Weiss with a gentle smile visible. "Give your team some time to try and improve. I mean, that is what you are all here for right? For now, just be the best YOU can be, both in and out of classes. In my opinion, that's the best you can do."
Before Weiss could come up with a response the door to the balcony opened once again as Professor Oobleck stepped out.
"Mr. Rose, I am afraid that if you don't come with me willingly, I will have to use force."
"Sorrygottagobye!" Rubeus quickly said to Weiss before vaulting over the railing and disappearing beyond the roof's edge..
"Come back here this INSTANT!" Oobleck shouted, following Rubeus off the roof.
Weiss was left alone on the balcony with her thoughts. After a bit, a small smile could be seen on her lips as she turned to head back inside. As she opened the door however, she paused. Did Oobleck say "Mr. Rose?"
Headmaster Ozpin was currently standing next to the arena in the combat classroom with Glynda Goodwitch. The R B and Y of RWBY were sitting over on the bleachers, a short ways away. Oz noticed the slightly depressed mood that seemed to float around the team, particularly Ms. Rose, however it was not his place to step in for problems that may be nothing more than a simple spat. So instead he focused on his cup of cocoa as he waited for the others to arrive. Ozpin was a rather patient man. Most of his younger days were spent constantly moving, always doing something. Those times had left him with an appreciation for patience. His younger colleague however, did not possess such a view.
"Where are they? Oobleck said he would retrieve Rubeus almost an hour ago!" Glynda hissed at him, quietly enough that the gathered members of team RWBY could not hear.
"And I warned you NOT try and draw blood with a syringe." Bell said from his side, an amused smirk on her lips. Aurora had been with him most of the day, giving him a general overview of their world's culture. To say that it was barbaric would be an understatement. That was not currently relevant to the situation however.
"I believe we are still waiting on one member of team RWBY as well, so regardless we cannot begin the briefing."
As he finished this the far door opened and Weiss walked through. With her arrival, Glynda gave Ozpin a pointed look, prompting a sigh. He would give the team a minute to catch up, as currently Weiss and Ruby seemed to be discussing something of some importance. After the conversation concluded, every member of the team seemed to be in a much better mood. Taking this as his cue, Oz walked over to the team.
"So, gonna tell us why we're here teach?" Yang Xio Long asked, looking between Ozpin and Glynda.
"Indeed," Ozpin began. "Yesterday at approximately 10:34pm, we received two new applicants to our academy."
This made all of the members of RWBY more attentive.
"While under normal circumstances, we would have them wait until next year, the current situation won't really allow for that."
"So are you changing our team?" Ruby asked nervously. At this Ozpin chuckled.
"Hardly"
Glynda took over at this point. "For some time it has been established that a team of four is the optimal number to allow for the best level of efficiency and cooperation out in the field. No studies done have managed to disprove this. However at times a Hunter team needs backup from another team or the military, and must engage the enemy under less than optimal conditions while they wait for backup. We are proposing a reinforcement group to be attached to preselected teams that will allow for better first response in case of an emergency, as well as additional numbers during more difficult missions. Your team has been selected as the first team to try this new system."
"As such, the two new applicants will be placed in the RWBY Reserve Unit." Ozpin finished, looking at the responses of each person on the team. Ruby seemed both excited and nervous, the prospect of becoming an elite team probably causing such. Weiss seemed accepting, simply understanding the basic logic of it all. Blake was difficult to read. She seemed indifferent, however there was a noticeable tension about her. Yang simply wore a large grin, and was doubtlessly excited.
"One of the two members is here," Glynda said, motioning for Bell to step forward. "This is Aurora Bell."
Bell approached the team. "Hello there, as Professor Goodwitch stated, I am Aurora Bell. It's nice to meet all of you." She said with a polite bow.
"Ms. Bell completed her initiation this morning, we are waiting for the other to arri-"
As she said this the door was slammed open. In strode a very rugged looking Oobleck. His glasses were cracked and his hair was clearly singed. Most of his polo shirt had been burned away or ripped to shreds. Behind him, he was dragging a smaller figure by the collar of his robe.
"I have brought the requested individual Headmaster!" announced Oobleck as he pulled the young man behind him towards the group. As he said this an equally worn looking Peter Port followed him in, straining to carry a red and black bundle of cloth. As they came near, Oobleck laid the boy done gently, while Port unceremoniously dropped the bundle. It dropped like a bowling ball, and upon impact, cracked the floor tiles.
"You will have to forgive my tardiness but the boy was adamant on avoiding the physical. I was forced to bring in Peter's assistance when his strategy changed from flight to fight." Oobleck said, addressing Glynda and Ozpin.
"And what a battle it was!" Port chimed in enthusiastically. "He was quite formidable at first. His abilities are astounding! A true Huntsman! Truth be told, before he passed out, I thought he may have actually been trying to kill us!" He finished with a hardy laugh, what remained of his moustache bobbing with his mirth.
That comment wasn't missed by anyone, especially Ozpin. The boy was clearly powerful. Not just anyone could avoid two fully trained hunters for almost an hour, let alone nearly beat them both once they caught up with him. All of team RWBY were staring at the boy with wide eyes, while Bell just had a hand on her face while slowly shaking her head.
"Wait, our other reserve member is Rubeus?" asked Weiss.
"You know him?" Blake questioned her teammate.
"I talked to him just a little bit ago. He was running from Oobleck." She said, not looking away from the boy sprawled out on the ground. Finally getting to see his face, she was a bit startled by the striking similarity he had to her own team leader.
Ozpin just sighed before addressing Bell.
"Ms. Bell, do you think you could wake him while I brief team RWBY?"
With a nod Bell removed her hand from her face and went over to Rubeus. She began looking through the various vials on his belt.
"Since your team was selected for this new initiative, we wished to have you here for your new member's initiation. Due to time constraints, for both myself and Professor Goodwitch, Bell has already completed her's. Rubeus however will be going through his momentarily."
Looking over to Glynda, Ozpin continued.
"Since all of the artifacts were have already been removed from the Emerald Forest, it would be much faster to simply have him provide proof of his skill. Therefore, you will select one of you to be his entrance opponent."
This caused quite the reaction from Yang.
"I VOLUNTEER!" She shouted loudly as she sprung up to her feet.
Before any of the others could object a loud groan came from where Rubeus had lain. Bell was returning the stopper on a vial as she returned it to its place on his belt while helping Rubeus sit up. He slowly looked up at her with a groggy expression.
"Did anyone get the number of that cart?"
With a small chuckle and a slight smirk, Bell simply responded, "No, but you could asked these nice gentlemen." while motioning to Port and Oobleck.
Upon realizing who was standing nearby Rubeus seemed to become more alert. With a groan and a glare, he turned to look at Ozpin.
"Why did you send your attack dogs after me again?"
Ozpin simply met the glare with his usual expression. "I think that 'attack dog' would be an inappropriate descriptor for two of my teachers."
Rubeus broke the glare after a moment and sighed. "Whatever, so why did they drag me here?"
"Ruby, They wanted to introduce us to our new team today." Bell reminded him.
Remembering the message he had recieved on the magical glowing piece of glass Ozpin had given him last night, he turned back to the gathered group of students. "All girls...Just my luck." He thought to himself as he finally stood up and walked over to the group. Holding his hand out to address the standing blonde, he greeted her. "Ruby Rose, nice to meet you."
And there is the next chapter. Up next we actually get to see Rubeus in combat. Now I am sure there are some concerns after the chapter regarding how powerful he actually is considering it took both Oobleck AND Port to finally wear him down. Next chapter should put most of those to rest. We also see that although in the last chapters Rubeus has been rather mature, he is still 15 and thus still has some rather sporadic moments that we all know kids of that age are prone too. He is definitely more mature that Ruby is.
Again, I have a life outside of games and writing and so this will be published rather slowly. I only have enough time between other obligations right now to write a few sentences, if that. So I apologize for the slow progress and for making you wait.
I am still trying to get use to the longer bits of writing so the chapters are unfortunately short for now.
Until then don't forget to review!
See you all when the next chapter is done!
PEACE!