Alright guys, Chapter 5! Action and (hopefully well written) comedy! Chapter 10 is all done which means I am starting to hit the end… and I also realize that I have to post Chapter 6 on Friday, which doesn't give me much time to write. So, I hate to do this, but I'm changing the schedule again and I will only post one new chapter every Wednesday. I'm so sorry to do this, I really am, but to give me time to write, edit, go to classes, homework, etc. it must be done. So, Chapter 6 Friday, 7 Wednesday, etc. Also, I was thinking of continuing this story in some way, tell me what would you think of somehow extending its lifespan, cause I have some ideas… As always, drop a review to tell me how I screwed up or a fav if you really like it! Enjoy!
Chapter 5
Saturday morning came as team RWBY stood where they had met with Nathaniel a few days ago. They chit-chatted about various things and waited for him to show up.
"You guys nervous?" Blake asked as she stood next to Yang.
"I'm more curious than anything else, especially after the meetings we had with him," Ruby said as she looked at her teammates. Ruby had been instilled with a new sense of confidence and yearning to learn from Nathaniel. She had talked more with Weiss and Blake and in turn they had started to open up a bit. Ruby and her teammates had seemed happier as Nathaniel walked up to them, wearing his combat gear without his hat but with black fingerless gloves.
"Good morning girls. Ready to go?" Nathaniel said to them with an air of confidence and anticipation.
"I guess. What exactly are we doing Nathan?" Yang asked curiously, noting his pose and the way he was talking.
Nathaniel grinned at the question, "Well, first we train and then I'll chat with your four. Now, your first training is simple," he said as he removed his trench coat and looked at them, "no weapons, just fists. Attack me."
Team RWBY looked at each other in confusion until Weiss finally shrugged and charged at Nathaniel. He ducked under her punch and tripped her up, causing her to fall.
"I will warn you girls, this is really going to hurt and all of us are going to have bruises by the end of this."
As he said this, Blake jumped into the air, with Ruby sprinting with her semblance right at him. He sidestepped and tripped Ruby, causing her to tumble and slide at least 30 feet while Blake slammed her knee into his chest. Nathaniel grunted at the impact, but quickly moved forward, punching her sides, grabbing her arm and pulling her over him, slamming her into the ground. Yang suddenly attacked him from the side, punching him squarely in his ribs. Nathaniel grunted again and slid back to recover from the pain. She moved at him, swinging at his head and sides. Nathaniel bobbed and weaved, hit her with five punches to her torso, kneed her in the gut and kicked her legs out from under her. He stood holding his side as the girls slowly got up.
"Well, that was fun. Again," Nathaniel said sternly as he looked over them. He was suddenly flung 20 feet forward and on the ground as Ruby charged at him again from behind, landing a solid hit to his back. Nathaniel rolled and quickly got back up, looking surprised at her attack. Yang and Blake double teamed as Yang ran forward and Blake jumped off her shoulders, aiming a punch right at Nathaniel. He countered by grabbing Blake's fist and throwing her into the ground hard then hitting Yang square in the jaw with a roundhouse kick. Weiss jumped with Ruby, grabbed her arm, whipped Ruby around and threw her right at Nathaniel, making him roll out of the way. Ruby quickly got back up and kicked at him, but Nathaniel caught her foot, lifted her over his head and slammed her into the ground. He turned to Weiss who ran at him; Nathaniel met her with a punch to the gut, making her double over and gasp for breath.
"Not too bad, not too bad. You four still nee-"he said as he was cut off with a punch to his jaw by Yang, sending him sliding back from the force of the hit. He looked at her with a grin and watched as each teammate came around her. Ruby whispered something in Yang's ear and then matched Nathan's grin, which slowly crept onto each of her teammate's lips. Nate's face changed from confidence to concern as he prepared his body for something painful.
Yang charged at him and slid between his legs as he swung at her face, standing up behind him and punching him square in the back. As he lurched forward, Blake kicked him square in the chest and shot him back. Ruby was already there to grab his arm and flung him against a tree. Nathaniel jumped off it and kicked Ruby in the shoulder before looking up and seeing the sole of Weiss's boot as it connected and shot him back to earth. He tried his best to get up as quickly as possible, but was quickly floored again by Ruby before he rolled away and stood up. Right as he stood up, he felt the full force of team RWBY: Yang connected with a solid punch to his jaw, Blake hit with a side kick to his stomach, Ruby kicked out his legs and Weiss hit an elbow to his forehead, sending Nathaniel on his back and unconscious.
The four girls regrouped about 5 feet away and waited for him to move, yet he didn't.
"Did we just kill our mentor?" Blake asked the group.
"Possibly," Weiss said slowly as she stared at his motionless body, causing Yang to run to him.
"Ozpin is really going to kill us," Ruby said, trying to lighten the mood as they walked to him. Right as Yang got to him and pulled on his shoulder, Nathaniel held up his hand to the group. He got up slowly, put his arm over his stomach, spit out some blood and looked at the four of them. A smile came across his face and nodded to them, "I haven't had that good of an ass whooping in a long while. Fantastically done ladies, that is what I was looking for from all of you. Now, let's sit, I really need to sit," he said, much to the team's delight and laughter as they walked over to where his trench coat was and sat down on the ground.
Nathaniel leaned his head against a tree as he talked, "That was really good work ladies. You saw what needed to be done and worked together. More importantly," he said as he motioned to Weiss, "you listened and executed your leader's orders perfectly. And your leader," he said as he looked at Ruby, "did a great job of realizing the situation and coordinated a perfect attack. You," he said as he turned to Yang, "stayed focused and you," he turned to Blake, "used your agility to try and combine with Yang. Ruby used Yang to lead the attack, which made sense, and then everyone else did their part. At first, you four decided to attack whenever, but when you united and came up with a great plan, you kicked the shit out of me. On top of that, your second attacks required no communication, which is a huge improvement. If you can keep tag teaming like that without being told to, you four will be unstoppable," he said as he looked over the four of them. They were all smiling at him and he couldn't help but feel proud of himself; a week ago, they were almost killed, now they had bested him.
"Just keep working on what I have told you guys, and everything will fall into place, okay?"
They all nodded and got up as Yang and Weiss walked over to him to help him up. He gave them thanks and threw his trench coat back on as he watched them walk away happy and cheering. He couldn't help but smile as he walked back to Beacon slowly, hoping his bruises would heal over time.
A few days later, he heard a knock on his door as he was cooking himself some dinner for the evening. He and the team had healed up since their training day and he was looking to more relaxation as other knights had been assigned missions. He walked over to the door and opened it to a mad looking Weiss.
"Ah! Hello Weiss, how are-" he started to ask as she stormed past him into his room fuming.
"Ugh! I can't believe Blake would get so mad over something so little!" she yelled as she sat down on his couch, finally looking around and taking in his place.
"Wow, this is actually nice," Weiss complimented.
"Why thank you Ms. Schnee. Now what seems to be the problem with Blake?" he said as he walked over and sat next to her on the couch.
"Blake got upset because I wanted Neptune to stay the evening but didn't like the idea because Sun never could," she said upsettingly, crossing her arms and legs in frustration.
"Wait, why can't Sun?"
"To be frank, he can't blend in and look like a student…. Also, I happened to get my hands on another male uniform…"
"Ah, that's where Jaune's uniform went," Nathaniel said with a smirk as he remembered Jaune asking him about his missing uniform the day before.
"Yeah, so she's upset about all of it."
"Hm, well, best I could say is-" he started before he heard another knock at the door. He got up, walked to his door and opened to Ruby, who was looking sad.
"Aw, Ruby, what's the problem?" he said, looking down at her tear-filled eyes.
"It's Yang… She's not listening to me!" Ruby said as tears ran down her face and huddled next to Weiss on his couch, who patted her shoulder without showing concern or any emotion.
"Um, okay, give me two quick seconds and then I'll help both of you," he said as he ran to the kitchen and threw on two extra pieces of chicken to go with his, which he took off because it was done. As he came back in and was about to say something, there was another knock.
"What the bloody hell," he said to himself as he opened the door to Blake, looking upset.
"Before you even start, Weiss is here, so just sit down and no one says a word to each other," he said, looking back at Weiss who now looked doubly upset as Blake sat next to Ruby. Nathaniel threw on a cut of tilapia when he heard a light rasping and saw Yang standing in his doorway. He sighed, motioned to the couch where she sat next to Blake and threw on one more piece of chicken. Finally, he returned, closed the door and stood in front of him.
"What the hell is-" he started before all four of them broke out talking at the same time that turned to yelling. Nathaniel just watched and listened as they threw simple insults and yelled at each other. He sighed as he turned, walked back to his kitchen and prepared their meals, shaking his head and smiling to himself, A group consisting of all girls… great job Ozpin he thought as the yelling got a tad bit louder and the smacks started to fly. He shook his head as he plated the chicken and fish, spreading cheese and then a simple tomato sauce. He complimented it with green beans that had been cooked in the tomato sauce and with small bits of onion.
"Dinner girls!" he yelled over them while setting out their plates, causing the four of them to come to his table quietly thus requiring him to grab two extra chairs. He stood in the corner and ate slowly as the four sat across from one another and ate, staring each other down.
"This is nice, a quiet team dinner with no problems at all… I also love how the first time you four come to me, it's because of problems, not a simple 'Hey Nate, how's it going?' or 'Wanna chill?'" he said sarcastically with a smile as they continued to stare at each other. He sighed at what was going to be a long night, sat his plate of food down and grabbed cups.
"Drinks? I have water, obviously, but I also have sweet tea."
They all mumbled tea in response as he got it out and poured some into all the cups and set it in front of their plates. Right as Weiss was about to cut back into her chicken, Nathaniel stood behind her and smiled at the four of them.
"Okay, simple rule: Weiss got here first, she tells me the rest of her problem. Then Ruby, Blake and finally Yang. No interrupting or anything like that, okay?"
They all nodded as he looked down at Weiss, "So Weiss, anything else?"
She shook her head and he looked at Ruby, "Okay Ruby, what happened with you and Yang?"
Ruby looked at her sister then Nate, "Well, it started today as Yang and I were talking about school. And then she stared off and I went off on her saying how she needed to listen to me and then she replied that she didn't because she was the older sister, which I countered by saying 'Ha! You were listening!' and then she hit me and…" Ruby cried small tears that Nathan could tell were fake as he looked over at Blake, who started talking over Ruby's semi-fake crying.
"Weiss as always has to have things her way, especially when it comes to our boyfrie-"
"Not true!" Weiss yelled, standing up but just as quickly being forced back down by Nathaniel, who pressed on her shoulders firmly, silencing her.
"Now you see why I stood behind you. Continue Blake," he said as he looked down at Weiss with a smirk, which she responded by sticking out her tongue at him, which he copied.
"She thinks just because she can sneak Neptune around she can do whatever with him," causing Nathaniel to raise an eyebrow, "which isn't fair to me. Why couldn't you have gotten another stupid guys uniform? Anyway I'm done," she said as she looked at Yang.
"Well, that was… interesting. Yang?" he said looking at her beautiful face that was properly shaped by her golden locks.
"I dunno, I just wasn't paying attention to Ruby, then she yelled at me, then I hit her, then she stormed off and now I'm here eating some awesome chicken." She said, nodding as she took in another bite.
"Well, thank you for the compliment. What made your mind wander and cause for you to stare off into the distance?"
'Nothing really," she said, avoiding contact with his hazel eyes and played with her food.
"Bull, you were thinking about N-" Ruby started before Yang slapped her upside the head and gave her a deathly glare, causing Ruby to hold the back of her head and semi-cry again. Nathaniel stood back as all four started at each other again, causing him to shake his head and wait.
"Enough!" Nathaniel yelled, causing all four to quiet down and turn to him.
"Weiss, it is somewhat unfair that you're trying to sneak Neptune around when Blake can't with Sun because the festival ended. Maybe you two could go on a mission to grab an extra uniform? Also, thumbs up to you Blake for being more open," he said, smiling at Blake and giving her a thumbs up as he walked over to Ruby and Yang, "Remember Weiss, you have to be fair and not expect to get everything," causing Weiss to hang her head.
"Ruby, if people have wandering minds, then they will wander about," he turned to Yang with a smile, "anything. Yang, she is your leader and you should listen to her as I have listened to you four this evening. Ruby, good on you being leader and wanting to assert that. Yang, work on your wandering mind," he said as he moved away from the four, making each look at each other.
"Blake, I should have thought ahead and gotten two of Jaune's uniforms," Weiss said, causing Blake to giggle, "You wanna go grab an extra uniform?" she asked with enthusiasm.
"Sounds great," Blake said with a smile as they both got up and ran out the door.
"Ruby, I'm sorry for not listening to you and for hitting you, I should listen to you more," Yang said while nudging Ruby's shoulder.
"I'm sorry for getting as upset as I did Yang," Ruby said with a smile as the sisters hugged and walked out of Nathaniel's place. He smiled at what had transpired, closed the door behind them and walked back to the kitchen, cleaning up. Glad to know they are actually listening to me he thought as he wiped the plates off. As he finished he heard another knock, causing him to grab one of his knives: All of them are gone… who else could it be? he thought as he slowly approached the door and opened it, revealing all four members standing there looking at him then his knife. He awkwardly put the weapon down and stammered out, "I thought you four would've been long gone."
Yang looked at him with a smile and said, "I speak for all of us when I say thanks for listening to us and also for the food. It was really delicious." The others nodded and added their own compliments.
"Anytime girls, that's what I'm here for. Have a good evening," he said as they said their good nights and ran off. He watched them run, went back inside, closed the door and crashed on his bed.
"Nate, leave her, we got to go! Nathan!" Adom yelled, shaking his team leader by his shoulders. Nathaniel looked up at Adom, tears running down his face and slowly nodded, setting Rayne back down on the grass and crossing her arms. He leaned down, slowly kissed her forehead, got up and looked at both of his teammates.
"L-lets go," Nathaniel said quietly, grabbing his weapon and running back to Beacon with his teammates right behind him. 30 seconds later, an Ursa jumped up and pinned Taliesin. Adom quickly stopped, drew his spear and stabbed at the Ursa, with Taliesin stabbing it from below and Nathaniel helping. Finally, it died and the two rolled it off Taliesin and he quickly got up.
"What the hell is going on?! Why are there this many here?!" Taliesin said as the continued to run.
"I don't know Tal, I don't-" Adom was replying before a Beowolf jumped from a tree and slammed him to the ground, clawing at his chest and face. Adom screamed in agony as he tried to stabbed the Grimm.
"Adom!" Taliesin yelled as he turned back.
"G-GO!" Adom yelled in pain as Nathaniel grabbed Taliesin and threw him forward.
"He's gone Tal! We got to move!"
They both continued to run until they were forced to stop: a mass of Grimm stood in front of them, eyeing them down. Taliesin brought his blades out and Nathaniel readied his weapon. They charged at the two of them, running headlong into spinning blades and bullets as Nathan and Taliesin did their best to hold out. An Ursa Major came through and swiped at Taliesin, causing his right arm to be nearly severed while an Ursa Minor swiped at his legs, causing him to fall down. Nathaniel jumped and landed over his teammate, slashing and swiping Grimm that were coming for his teammate. The Ursa Major swiped again, causing him to jump on it and stab downward on its head.
They both heard an explosion as Nathaniel looked and saw other Hunter's come, including Headmaster Ozpin. The Grimm attacked them, with Nathaniel still slashing at passing Grimm until all were gone. Ozpin ran to Nathaniel, who was kneeling next to his teammate and saw the extent of Taliesin's injuries; a nearly severed right arm, gashes on his chest and neck and bleeding from behind his legs. He was gone and then Ozpin looked down at Nathaniel, who was one of the best students at Beacon and placed a hand on his shoulder. Nathaniel looked up with lost, broken, soulless eyes at Ozpin, who kneeled next to him and hugged him tightly.
Nathaniel sighed as he looked out the window that was pattered with water, the shadows running down his body slowly. The rain had gone on all night and woke him from his memories, his nightmares. He stared out at the trees, which swayed in the wind, lost in happy and bad memories from his past. He was wearing his typical sleep wear, a long sleeved blue shirt and black pajama pants. He walked away and moved over to his bed, hoping someone would knock on his door to comfort him, but no one came. He didn't want to go and disturb team RWBY over matters like this, they needed to focus on school. He laid down and fell back asleep quickly, hoping no more nightmares would bother him.