RWBY: MRRN
VOLUME 1, CHAPTER 7: Who To Tell?
Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY. All rights go to Rooster Teeth.
"Mistral suffered many casualties during the war, but one nearly led to an early defeat," Doctor Oobleck explained to the class. Math and Nasser were sitting down beneath Pyrrha and Ren; while Math was listening to the lesson, having learned most of history from his mother and mentors, Nasser seemed to be barely paying attention to the lecture.
"Now, can one of you young scholars tell me which victory forced the Mistral army to retreat to their main city?" Oobleck asked. Math raised his hand and answered "The Battle of Kuchinashi Pass, which is honestly quite stupid if you ask me." Although he had said the last part quietly, Oobleck still heard him and was curious about what he meant.
"Mr. Kendrick, by what do you mean it was 'quite stupid'?" he asked with an interested tone.
"Well," Math started. "The Vale attacking force was comprised of fully trained warriors while the leader of the Mistral force, General Akakori, only had a handful of trained warriors; the rest were militia. The Vale army could only cross into Mistral from their position by going through a narrow path through the mountains. Akakori chose to setup his force there so they could suffer minimal casualties because of his army's lack of experience."
"So you think it was stupid of Akakori to fight the Vale forces because his army was mostly militia?" Oobleck asked.
"No, sir," Math answered. "His army held the position for three days until the Vale commander asked him to give them time to cross and prepare defenses. Because he let them do so, his army was annihilated and the Mistral's defending forces were forced to retreat. If Mantle soldiers hadn't arrived to stop them, Mistral would've fallen."
"Well, I can understand why you think that, Mr. Kendrick," Oobleck replied. "However, we must consider that Akakori valued honor in war, so he saw refusing their request as dishonorable."
"With all due respect, sir, I was taught that when you're leading an army in a war or battle, it's not your job to fight fair…it's your job to win," Math expressed. "You have to look after your own troops, not the enemy's."
"To an extent, that is true," Oobleck admitted. "Everyone has a different view on war. Moving on…"
Oobleck continued his lecture on most of the Great War that transpired in Anima, moving onto when the Vale army was forced to retreat after Mantle forces arrived.
"As we all know, there was only one circumstance in which the armies would call to a truce. Do any of you know what that circumstance was?" He called on Pyrrha.
"The only time opposing armies would call a truce is when Grimm entered the battlefield," she answered. "They would agree to a temporary ceasefire, fight the Grimm and then continue fighting."
"Correct," Oobleck responded.
"Everyone knows that," Gaspar Dorado interrupted. "There's nothing new about it."
"Mr. Dorado," Oobleck sternly replied. "Unless you're called on, do not interrupt my lecture." The Dorado heir rolled his eyes, thinking to himself "He's not going to tell me what to do." Before the lecture continued, Yang burst into the room, her eyes flaring with rage.
"Where is he!?" she demanded to know, not caring a bit about the class in session. Once she caught sight of Gaspar, she activated Ember Celica and slowly approached him, each step meaning certain pain and death for the Dorado.
"Ms. Xiao Long!" Goodwitch called out. "Control yourself. Now!"
"You saw what he did!" she responded to the stern teacher.
"And he will be punished for it," Goodwitch assured. "Now, please, calm yourself and I will handle this." Yang's breathing slowed down for a second, but ultimately gave in, deactivating Ember Celica and calmed.
"Mr. Dorado," Goodwitch called out again. "Come with me at once."
"I'm in the middle of class," Gaspar dismissed.
"Right. Now." Goodwitch repeated, with only disgust and controlled anger in her tone. Gaspar sighed as he got up from his seat and walked out of the classroom. Once he was out, he saw the three other faces of Team RWBY, each one of them angrily glaring at him. He believed that if left to them, they would tear him limb from limb.
"I'm sorry about this interruption, Professor Oobleck," Goodwitch apologized. "I assure you, this is a serious matter."
"Don't worry about it, Glynda," Oobleck replied. "And it's Doctor." Glynda sighed before taking the Dorado out of sight.
"What was that about?" Math wondered.
"Who cares?" Nasser spoke. "At least we don't have to deal with his smug ass for now."
"Language, Mr. Achdarr," Oobleck called out.
"Sure," Nasser replied with an empty tone. The lecture continued for a few more minutes before the bell rang, allowing the students to leave.
"I wonder what that was about," Ren wondered as he walked with Pyrrha and Math, Nasser having walked away from the group
"Have you seen his behavior, Ren?" Math asked the ninja member of JNPR. "He was bound to go too far someday. He's going to get what's coming to him, I hope."
"Well, I certainly hope he's being punished," Pyrrha agreed, disgust towards Gaspar. "Ever since he came here, he's behaved like he's the prince of Vale."
"It must've been pretty bad for Yang to just burst in the classroom and almost go berserk on him," Math added.
"Well, I have combat class next," Ren spoke up as he broke off from the other two. "Take care." Math and Pyrrha continued walking quietly for about a minute before the swordsman broke the silence.
"How's Jaune doing?"
"He's doing okay," she replied. "I just wish he would…well, that he wasn't struggling so much."
"You've noticed that, too?" Math asked. "I thought I was the only one."
"No, you weren't," Pyrrha confirmed. She stopped talking after that, allowing Math to move onto another topic.
"Hey, Pyrrha?"
"Yes?"
"When we first met, I…I didn't know you were," he stated. "I never got around to asking that I hope you weren't…well, offended that I didn't know who you were."
"No, no," Pyrrha replied hastily. "I wasn't offended at all. It was nice to speak to someone casually…to be honest, Math, I really like being around you." Math swore he could feel his heart skip a beat after that statement.
"You enjoy being around me?" he asked with a bit of nervousness in his voice.
"Of course," she replied with a smile. "You're kind, funny, generous, and easy to talk to, even though you are a bit of a loner…I'm sorry."
"For what?" Math asked. Pyrrha blushed a little.
"For calling you a loner," she replied.
"Don't be. I am a loner…maybe too much of a loner."
"What do you mean?" she asked with concern.
"Pyrrha, I don't know if I can be the leader Ozpin needs me to be," he confessed. "I know how to fight, I know how to use a sword and shield, I know how to be better around people…" He stopped himself, realizing he was probably very close to giving away his condition.
"Be better around people?" Pyrrha asked. "You weren't good with people back then?" Math shook his head.
"Honestly, no," Math answered. "I really struggled being around people back then. I've gotten better, but I still struggle with it. A part of me just worries that I may not be cut out for the role that I'm expected to do." He felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked over to see Pyrrha with a supportive smile.
"Being a leader isn't a small responsibility, Math," she explained. "It takes time for people to adjust to this. It's still taking time for Jaune to adjust to being leader, just like you, but I believe in both of you."
Pyrrha's smile turned into a blush for some apparent reason, making her look away. The autistic swordsman wondered where the blushing came from until he realized he had unconsciously put his hand on hers and immediately retracted it.
"Sorry about that," he apologized.
"It's okay," she replied. An awkward silence followed, broken shortly by Math.
"So, I'll see you at lunch then?"
"That sounds lovely," she replied before walking off, saying "Goodbye," and waving at him as she did.
"See you," Math replied. He smiled for a little bit before feeling a crumbled-up paper hit his head. After it bounced off, he grabbed the paper and opened it up; it read "You like Pyrrha!" with several hearts around it. He turned to see Nora giggling from behind the corner.
"Very funny," he called out. Even as he walked away, he could hear her chuckling at Math's obvious feelings for the redhead warrior. To tune out the noise, he put his earbuds in and started listening to Voyage.
-0-
"Your son has been receiving complaints about harassment, threats of physical violence, and now he was caught vandalizing one of my teams' dorms, Mr. Dorado," Ozpin told the CEO of the Dorado Mining Company. "You must understand that this is something I cannot allow to go unpunished."
"Professor Ozpin, with all due respect, you let a lot of things slide," Richard replied.
"Because I understand the difference between making mistakes growing up and poor and unacceptable behavior," the Headmaster spoke. "No matter what warnings your son has received, he does not give up the mindset that he is above the rules and keeps making trouble at my school."
"I will speak to my son about this," Richard replied. "However, if you need to punish him, please keep it to a minimum."
"Keep it to a minimum?" Professor Goodwitch asked. "What Gaspar has done cannot be responded with a minimal punishment. He has simply-"
"Glynda, please," Ozpin interrupted, insisting that Glynda remain cool. Richard could be heard sighing over the scroll.
"What Gaspar has done IS indeed unacceptable, but you must understand; I am in the middle of a crisis right now that may determine my company's future."
"A crisis?" Professor Kura asked. "Is this about the stolen Dust that was found in a warehouse over a week ago?"
"Yes." Richard answered. "The warehouse was under MY name, so people are starting to think that I'm involved with the recent Dust robberies. I've got the Vale Council, the VPD, and my own board breathing down my neck and watching my every move. Any action taken against Gaspar can be used against me. I'm sorry that my son is causing you trouble, but right now, I need to consider my company's reputation."
"Mr. Dorado, I'm sorry you're in a crisis, truly I am," Goodwitch replied. "But you cannot simply ask us to just give Gaspar detention or extra homework when we must give him a proper punishment."
"He will receive it," Richard assured. "I promise you, once this crisis is cleared up, then do what you must and I will support you. I will give you the money needed to repair the room, but that is the best I can do for now." Mr. Dorado then hung up, ending the call. Professor Kura sighed in frustration.
"Sooner or later, Gaspar will learn about this," he informed. "When he does, he'll make our lives hell. He'll believe that he can do whatever he wants and he'll just get a slap on the wrist."
"I am as frustrated as the rest of you," Ozpin claimed. "However, Richard Dorado is a very influential individual in Vale. Punishing Gaspar now may lead to…severe consequences, consequences we cannot afford."
As much as Kura and Goodwitch didn't want to admit, Ozpin was right. Richard Dorado had the influence and status to make things very hard for the Beacon staff. For right now, they had to simply deal with Gaspar.
"Glynda," Ozpin called. "Can you bring him in please?" Goodwitch nodded and entered the elevator. After about two minutes, Goodwitch returned with Gaspar by her side. As soon as the Dorado heir saw Ozpin, he smirked condescendingly.
"Sit down, Mr. Dorado," Ozpin instructed. Gaspar walked with his usual air of arrogance and self-entitlement as he approached the Headmaster's desk, not once losing his condescending smile even as he sat down.
"I just finished speaking with your father," Ozpin started. "He is disgusted by your behavior and will speak to you about this. But as of right now…" He pulled out several pictures and placed them in front of Gaspar. Each of them showed angles of a vandalized room; the bunk beds were toppled, clothes and Dust were spread everywhere, and the window had been smashed.
"What is the meaning of this?" he demanded to know. Gaspar shrugged.
"I asked Yang to go out with me and she punched me through a wall unprovoked," he lied.
"Really?" Ozpin asked, his tone full of doubt. "I spoke with Yang earlier. She said that you harassed her about going out with you and you wouldn't leave her alone. You then proceeded to insult her friend and then call her…" he coughed. "A bimbo."
"Because she is," Gaspar responded. "Honestly, Professor, I don't know why you let her stay here."
"Because unlike you, she actually worked to get into this academy," Kura calmly told the Dorado. "You only got in because of your father's request for it, so do us a favor and don't tell us who should be allowed to stay here."
"Let's not change the topic, please," Ozpin gently told Kura. As soon as he met eyes with Gaspar, the calm and gentle presence he usually possessed turned stern.
"You vandalized Team RWBY's dorm simply because Ms. Xiao Long would not date you," Ozpin stated the obvious truth. "Your punishment will be-"
"There will be no punishment," Gaspar interrupted. A loud crack was heard; Goodwitch had snapped her crop on the table near the Dorado.
"You will not interrupt the Headmaster again," she warned as she slowly brought it back.
"As I was saying," Ozpin continued. "For your vandalism, you will receive six weeks of detention and give Team RWBY a proper apology." Gaspar laughed.
"Do you honestly think my father will allow it?" he asked. "It's obvious you're lying about it."
"No, he's not," a voice replied, one belonging to Richard Dorado. Before the meeting had started, Professor Kura had activated his scroll and hid it in his pocket, allowing Richard to hear the entire conversation of what happened. For once, Gaspar's arrogance and egotism faded away and was replaced with an expression of fear. Kura pulled it out of his pocket and showed the name "Richard Dorado" to the student with a smirk on his face.
"Father!" he gasped. "How much-?"
"I heard everything!" he replied. "How dare you act this way, to behave so arrogantly and ignore Ozpin's warnings…and don't bother lying. Ozpin told me everything!"
"Father, it wasn't my fault!" he claimed. "Yang wouldn't-"
"Yang wouldn't date you, so you decided to vandalize her team's dorm!?" Richard replied. "This is completely unacceptable! The Headmaster has decided your punishment and you will go through with it."
"Father, no!" Gaspar pleaded, but his father wouldn't have any of it.
"You brought this on yourself!" Richard replied angrily. "I raised you better than this and you WILL start shaping up, no matter if you want to or not! You will spend the next six weeks in detention and you WILL apologize for what you did. Do you understand?" Gaspar tried to think of something that would get him out of this, but he couldn't come up with anything.
"Yes, sir," he replied, lowering his head in defeat.
"Good," Richard replied. "I better not hear of this again." With that, Richard hung up and Kura put his scroll away, still having his smirk on his face.
"Still wish to press your luck?" he asked the Dorado heir. Gaspar glared at the teachers and wished he could say something in retaliation, but after his father's scolding, he knew that anything at this moment could lead to worse punishments.
"Fine," Gaspar snarled. "Yang's not that great anyway."
"One more word and I'll make it eight weeks," Ozpin threatened. Gaspar was silent after that.
"If you have nothing to say, then that will be all, Mr. Dorado." Gaspar growled in defeat as he left the office, completely devoid of the arrogant aura he had possessed when he first came in here.
"This will not stand, Ass-pin," he whispered. "No one gets away with punishing me."
-0-
Math was on the rooftop of the dorm building, practicing his sword-and-shield combo while he had his earbuds in to drown out any outside noises. It was already late, but he had the day off tomorrow, so he didn't really bother to pay attention to the time. He pushed his shield forward with immense strength before finishing with a wide, upper strike of Claiomh Solais.
His training was interrupted when he saw the door open; his cousin walked through the door and greeted Math with a fist-bump as the swordsman took out his earbuds.
"Hey, man," Robin greeted. "How are you doing?"
"Doing fine," Math replied. "You?"
"Well, I think I'm on some 'friendlier' terms with Coco Adel," he answered with a smirk.
"Coco Adel?" the swordsman asked. "The leader of Team CFVY, right?"
"She came by while I was training to say thanks for lending a hand to Velvet," he explained. "I think I may have a chance with her."
"You're serious about having a relationship with her or would it just be a flavor of the month?" Math asked. "Many girls in the past have been just a flavor of the month."
"Hey, I've had serious relationships before," Robin replied. "I just haven't been looking for them until now."
"Well, if you're serious about being with Coco, then I hope you two make a good couple."
"Thanks." Robin smiled at his cousin and shook his shoulder. Math's expression became more solemn, which the archer immediately noticed.
"What's going on?" he asked his autistic cousin.
"There's something I've been thinking about," Math started. "As of right now, the only people in Beacon who know about my Asperger's are you and Ozpin. I…" He paused for a moment and sat down against the wall.
"You feel like you should let some others know?" Robin asked as he sat next to his cousin.
"I want to trust Ruo-Jian and Nasser with this…Pyrrha too, but…I don't know how they'll react when I explain that I have a…condition. We both saw how most of Aurum Academy reacted."
"The people there were just assholes," Robin replied.
"Yeah, well, several people here are assholes as well. Gaspar Dorado, Cardin Winchester…if the wrong people found out about this, they could make my life hell. For all I know, the people I want to tell could immediately think the same things that many others thought of me. I want to tell them, but…I'm afraid."
"You're afraid that they'll judge you for it," the archer deduced. Math was often a friendly and open person, but the one thing he had always tried to avoid talking about was his Asperger's, one small thing that made many people believe he had no worth as a Huntsman. It was something that always scared his cousin because of the bullying he endured and lack of faith in him from many.
"Math," Robin started. "Out of those you want to tell, who do you trust the most?" Math thought for a minute; the top three candidates were Pyrrha Nikos, Professor Alan Kura and Ruo-Jian Bai Hu.
In the time he knew Pyrrha, he knew her as kind, sweet, caring, nurturing and down-to-earth. She offered a smile to all her friends and always managed to find a way to cheer them up. She had never shown any ill will towards the Faunus, meaning that she may not hold prejudice against those who are different. She certainly wasn't judgmental towards Jaune, who was technically Team JNPR's weakest fighter.
Ruo-Jian Bai Hu was his teammate. He was often the one to be the most realistic and the one to remind others to put their studies over fun, sometimes to everyone's annoyance. Despite this, he was a Faunus, a species hated and prejudiced by humans; to him, he would possibly be understanding of what it'd be like for Math since he too had been mistreated for something he couldn't control.
Professor Alan Kura had easily become his favorite teacher. Unlike the hyperactive Oobleck or boring Port, Kura was easily a very intriguing teacher. He had always gotten on Gaspar Dorado and Cardin Winchester whenever they showed prejudice against the Faunus, implying that he had an accepting nature. Perhaps he would be accepting of Math's condition.
"Out of the top three…" Math paused to think between the three people he would likely trust with this information. "I think…it would have to be Pyrrha."
"Pyrrha?" Robin clarified. "Are you sure it's not just because you have feelings for her?"
"I'm sure," Math replied, enjoying that his cousin wasn't taking this opportunity to tease him. "We've seen how Pyrrha is. We've seen her act friendly towards everyone, including the Faunus…well, except Gaspar and Cardin, obviously. I want to believe she has an accepting nature."
"And she does from what I've seen," Robin agreed. "Are you sure she's the one you'd want to tell first? Out of everyone here?"
"I'm sure," Math answered. Robin reached out his hand and put it on his team leader's shoulder.
"Your Asperger's has never been something you've been open about," he started. "I understand why, but it may help you to tell someone else about this, someone you know you can trust." Math exhaled a heavy breath, considering Robin's words.
"I hope you're right, Robin," the swordsman replied. "I'll…I'll tell Pyrrha when I can."
"Alright," Robin replied as he got up and went to the door. "Don't stay up too late."
"I won't," Math replied to his cousin. With that, the redhaired archer went inside.
The brown-themed swordsman sat there, thinking heavily about the conversation he had with this cousin.