Chapter 7

-3rd Person Shadow POV-

Shadow yawned as he had just woken up the morning after he found his squad. He still wasn't quite used to how soft the beds at Beacon were, being that Freos's cots were more hard and comfortable to his back structure. He figured that this new world would be his home for a long while, or even possibly forever. Making it last, he became close to Blake and team RWBY as a whole. As his stomach growled, he decided to get into his combat armor (in preparation for class today) and head towards the cafeteria.

On his way there, team RWBY was awaiting him, as it was not team RWBY anymore. It was in fact team RWBYS. Thereon, team RWBYS continued on to the cafeteria, got their food and sat down with team TJGJ.

Titus: "Wow..." Titus yawned. "Anyone else get a good ammount of shuteye last night?"

Shadow: "Yeah, I feel like the bed will take getting used to, but otherwise last night felt bliss."

Titus: "So what did you guys get for breakfast?"

GT: "I got this oat based meal. It's pretty good."

TJ: "I managed to snag a sort of toast with a syrup. It is definitely satisfies my hunger."

Shadow: "I got some eggs and bacon." The others looked at Shadow quizzically.

Jared: "I have these pan-filling cakes. I also have that syruppy stuff, it makes them much tastier. What about you, Titus, what did you get?"

Titus: "It's a bowl of ball-shapped chocolates and milk. I think they call it cereal."

Ruby: "This right here is known as a burrito. I love burritoooos." Ruby purred the last bit of "burrito" out very hungrily.

Weiss: "I, have an omlet with ham and cheese."

Blake: "I have a fresh tuna sandwich..."

Yang: "I got a mountain of pancakes with whipped cream and a strawberry on top!" Yang seemed excited to get started on breakfast.

Shadow dug into his eggs and bacon, taking in the exquisite and new flavors that of which he hasn't had before. He was told bacon was good, but not this good!

Titus: "Man, the other SBH are missing out... this food is so amazing..."

Weiss: "That stuff isn't the best for you, though. I wouldn't eat too much." Weiss took another bite of her omlet as if she was a princess having dinner with a foreign king.

Titus looked down quite disappointed, "thanks for telling me..."

The bell of Beacon Academy had just rung. All the students quickly emptied their plates into the waste-bin and started walking towards their respective classes. Team RWBYS and TJGJ were headed off to the eccentric Professor Port's class.

-3rd Person Yang POV-

Prof. Port: "Class! You've all shown me this year that you know what it takes to become a true Hunter or Huntress. Except for teams RWBYS and TJGJ. You two are quite new to Beacon, so you two will have a project you must finish by the end of class. You will be paired in groups of two and will be assigned to telling me what you think it takes to become a true Hunter or Huntress, and then COMPLETE that task. THAT will show me if you are ready."

Yang quickly thought through her choices for a partner.

Yang: 'Okay, I can pair with Ruby... no she needs to learn from someone else. Weiss... no. Blake... she's already by Shadow's side... what about that kid from last night... Jared..."

Yang looked over to where team TJGJ was at and saw that Jared was starting to walk towards one of his other three teammates. She decided that she desired Jared to be her partner, therefore it will happen.

Yang sidesteps into the path of Jared as he is walking towards his teammates.

Yang: "Hey, want to be my partner? I thought you might need some help as you are new to this world."

Jared leaned his head over to his teammates and saw they were already paired up. Yang noticed that Jared looked uncomfortable, likely because she's around. Jared took a breath and said...

Jared: "Yeah, sure. I could use the help." Jared smiled a smile of both nervousness and anxiousness.

Yang smiled at the fact that he accepted and got to work immediately with him.

Yang: "Okay... let me give you a brief history on what the creatures of Grim are and what the Hunters and Huntresses jobs are.

Yang explained what he did not know to Jared for the next thirty minutes. Jared listened with great interest at the tale of how this world came to be.

Jared: "It's still odd to me that in another universe people look the same as us... either that or my perception of reality changed when I entered this dimension."

Yang: "You're quite the brainy one, huh? Well I guess it's better than being dumb like me."

Jared: "The fact you can recite that much to me based off of memory shows otherwise." Jared flashed a smile after that comment and Yang blushed and thanked him for it.

Jared: "Well we really do need to start on the project now, considering we just lost half an hour to our competitors." Not but five minutes later, Jared came up with an answer. "So in my opinion, it takes a courageous, giving, strong and sane mind to become a Hunter or Huntress. You need to be willing to fight these terrifying forces known as the creatures of Grim. You must be willing to give your life to preserve the lives of the rest of humanity. You need to be mentally and physically strong in order to combat such forces without dying immediately or running away before you even begin. But lastly, and most definitely not least, you need to be mentally sane in order to not abuse your power and keep others safe instead of putting them at danger."

Yang was just in awe at how quickly and good-hearted this young soldier was even though he had only learned of just the CONCEPT of Hunters and Huntresses not but thirty five minutes ago. She was really starting to admire him now...

Yang: "Well... with that I think we have our winning answer. C'mon, let's go tell Professor Port.

The two got out of their chairs and walked up to Professor Port and tapped his shoulder. He turned around and asked...

Prof. Port: "Yes? Do you have an answer?"

Jared: "We do, to become a Hunter or Huntress, it takes a courageous..." Jared explained the rest to Professor Port. He was quite surprised to hear an answer from such a new person to the entire world they lived in. It was actually one of the best answers he's heard in years.

Prof. Port: "Do you have what it takes to test your theory?" Professor Port asked with a cocked eyebrow.

Yang: "I believe we do."

Prof. Port: "Well with that determination... you pass. A plus. Your theory is great and you never backed down from such a philosophical question of astronomical proportions. Congratulations."

Yang looked at Jared who seemed very, very surprised at what he heard.

Yang: "Hey, good work, champ! You managed to become smarter than everyone on your first day in class. How do you feel?"

Jared: "Like I should've been wrong and needed to try again... that answer doesn't even seem that good...

Prof. Port: "An answer to anything is only as good as the person who answers. Remember that."

-3rd Person Shadow POV-

Shadow: "How surprising that he already answered and got a perfect score... hmph. I guess there's a reason why he's my second in command."

Blake: "He is pretty smart."

Shadow: "Indeed. Let's finish up our project, eh? I think to be a good Hunter or Huntress, you have to be passively aggressive. You have to tackle all the tasks in front of you without giving up, no matter what. Never give up on a teammate, even if you have the potential to earn something that could make you the happiest man or woman alive. We fight the creatures of Grim for a reason, they threaten the whole of humanity or the Faunus. Humanity and it's sub-species comes first, no matter what."

Blake: "I like that. A very intelligent but physically and socially correct answer."

Shadow: "Thanks, Blake. That means a lot to me. Not a lot of people thought I was very smart or a good leader back in the Republic. Many were actually attempting to de-merit me and make me look weak and "not fit for the job."

Blake: "Well you're none of those things. You've shown me that. Now let's go turn in our answer, I'm sure Professor Port will love to hear it."

The two followed the same maneuver as Jared and Yang, calmly getting out of their seats to walk up to Professor Port and give their answer.

Prof. Port: "Well, let's see what you have to say."

Blake: "We believe that being a good Hunter or Huntress means being passively agressive towards every situation. You have to tackle..."

As Blake finished the statement, Professor Port smiled.

Prof. Port: "That answer was simply fantastic. Another great answer deserving of an A plus. Congratulations."

Blake smiled and hugged Shadow, which he gladly accepted as a prize for getting a good grade.

-Later...-

-3rd Person Jared POV-

Everyone had gathered in the main hall for two on two combat sessions hosted by Glenda Goodwitch. Team RWBYS and team TJGJ were there.

Goodwitch: "So, we will now be selecting the combatants for today. Keep in mind that once your bar goes red, you are out. Do not attempt to be a hero and do not attempt to go over the limit. You will be punished."

Jared watched as multiple people went up and fought. For a couple hours he watched people fight with all different styles and team tactics. Eventually, it came down to choosing members from teams RWBYS and team TJGJ.

Jared was about to walk over to one of his teammates to ask to partner up for the fight, but suddenly Yang sidestepped in front of him again.

Yang: "Hey, care to be partners? I kind of want to see how you fair on the battlefield from the other side, don't want to see you get beat too badly," she said with a slight playful tone in her voice.

Jared noticed that Shadow and Blake were stepping up to the pad so he quickly decided to go along with it and pair up with Yang.

Jared: "Yeah, sure. Let's do this!" Jared was excited to fight the enemies ahead of him. His tutor and "superior" Shadow and his girlfriend Blake. They are both targets of which he relished to fight due to the challenge.

As Yang and Jared stepped up to the stage across from Shadow and Blake, Yang whispered a plan into Jared's ear.

Yang: "Shhh, what's going to happen is I'll take Shadow and you take Blake. Be careful, she is deceptively fast for her size."

Jared: "Yeah, I'll keep it in mind. I'm ready. Let's go."

The two got into their stances preparing to fight. Jared noticed Shadow whispering something into Blake's ear. He figured something was up. He dismissed the thought quickly though as he would pay too much attention to it instead of the fight.

-Five-

Jared's heart starts to race...

-Four-

His body starts to fill with adrenaline...

-Three-

He clenched his fists tightly then let it go in preparation to grab his katanas.

-Two-

Jared took a deep breath...

-One-

He let it go as he began to reach for his Katanas...

-BEGIN!-

His hands had already drawn his Katanas by the time the fight had started. He saw Yang charge directly towards Shadow and wished her luck. Jared quickly noticed out of the corner of his eye that he had overlooked the speed of Blake and dodged an impending attack. He quickly recovered from the dodge and launched a counter. She flawlessly countered it and vanished into thin air. Seeing this before, he turned around to see Blake swinging down hard above him. He crossed his swords and attmpted to get closer to Blake and knock her off her feet. He managed to get close enough to kick her feet out from under her and point his sword toward her neck. He heard the buzzer as her life meter quickly fell to red. He turned around to see a horrifying sight...

-To Shadow's Third Person POV one minute earlier.-

-BEGIN!-

Shadow quickly took out his dual DC17Bs and attempted to fire at Yang. She swiftly dodged the plasma bolts hitting the inpenetrable stage, made to withstand any kind of attack. She managed to get close enough and land a hard blow on Shadow's right cheek. The impact force sent him flying back to the other side of the stage. He got up, feeling extremely enraged from the blow. He suddenly erupted into black flames and his face turned to a snarl., as twin blades came out of the cuffs of his armor and he went straight for Yang. Yang unthinkingly ran right up to Shadow and attempted to hit him in the gut. She was surprsied however to find that Shadow hit her wrists and knocked her off balance. Shadow took this to his advantage and knocked her onto her butt. He quickly ran over and started to punch her as if he was a boxer. He heard the buzzer sound but his range deafened him and continued to attack... unknowingly beating Yang to within an inch of her life...

-Third Person Jared POV-

Jared turned around after defeating Blake, who complimented him on his swift victory. He turned around to see the horrifying sight of Shadow on top of Yang beating her after the buzzer had already rung. Seeing Shadow in a rage like this sent Jared into a frenzy having him run straight towards Shadow with his DC17M interchanged into it's grenade launcher form. He fired a grenade near Shadow so that he would be knocked off of Yang. He then sheathed the 17M and re-deployed his dual Katanas and ran towards Shadow. In an X-like shape he crossed his swords over his neck and yelled at him.

Jared: "It's OVER! Quit FIGHTING! Calm the HELL down! You almost killed Yang! How the hell could you do this? We're not fighting to kill anymore, we're fighting to defeat them!"

Suddenly Shadow's tense and snarling face was diminished to a near shame face as his flames faded away. He quickly apologised and pushed Jared off of him. He quickly ran out of the room towards outside where no one could see him rant about how idiotic he must've felt.

Jared walked over to Yang and sympathetically asked...

Jared: "Are you okay...?"

Yang coughed and replied with a somber, "yes... but it would be better if I was helped home."

Jared took the hint and helped her to her feet. The two began to walk off, as Glynda Goodwitch used this battle as an example of what not to do during tournament duels or duels in general. She stated that the students in the black armor were new and did not know until now. The two continued to walk in silence until Yang spoke up.

Yang: "Not many people can take down Blake so soon and so easily. You really are quite strong both mentally and physically..."

Jared blushed at this compliment and thanked her quickly. The two conversing every now and again on the way to Yang's dorm soon made it there.

Yang: "Well thank you for helping me to my dorm. I'm sure my teammates are itching to help me back into health. I think you did great out there and would love to fight by you again... soon.

Jared: "Thanks... I promise that won't happen again. I will make sure of it."

Yang thanked him for his attempt to try. However just before he was about to turn away Yang said his name.

Yang: "Jared?"

Jared: "Yeah?"

Jared turned around to see Yang leaning in to kiss his cheek.

Yang: "Take care and get some good rest. Tomorrows the weekend so I hope see you around..."

Jared was blushing intensely as he said: "Sure... no problem Yang. Have a good night."

Yang smiled as she walked into the dorm and closed the door. As Jared walked away he heard the yelling of team RWBYS minus Shadow and Blake whom were elsewhere.

Jared was both anxious and happy after his second day. He knew that his quest was far from over and there was still much to do.

He was ready for it, though.