Chapter 7: Second Life
Am I... dreaming?
No... I don't think I am.
But what is this?
I walk around aimlessly in a pitch black darkness, not even sure what I'm even trying to do. After a few moments, I reach... a window? At least it looks like one. I peer through it.
Woah... am I looking at a memory?
I place my hands against the glass and look inside.
The memory begins playing out.
After speaking with Blake last night, we headed to the student union, that is, the common room, for the freshmen. Entering the building, Goodwitch was busy passing out dorm rooms for each team. Pyrrha, Nora, and Ren sat in chairs against the wall, patiently waiting their turn.
"Noctis!" Pyrrha stood from her chair, waving for me to come to them.
"Team NNPR!" Goodwitch called out. Looking at Pyrrha, I shrugged before walking to the professor
Fidgeting in place, I handed over my Scroll to Goodwitch, whom synced it to a tablet of hers. Flashing green, the professor handed it back to me, and I glanced at the screen. It had directions to NNPR's room, and the passcode worked via near-field communication, meaning I only had to tap my Scroll against the lock of the door to open.
"We're here." Ren's monotone voice pierced my eardrums. The memory flashed around me. My teammates materialized next to me, and the light of the student union disappeared, a long dark corridor replacing the surroundings. Looking to the right, my Scroll beeped as I placed it next to the door handle. Across from us, light spilled out from underneath RWBY's dorm room. Loud, yet muffled shouting can be heard from behind their door.
With a deep breath, I shoved inwards, the door clicking open. Shadows covered the floor as I fully pushed in the door. The moonlight poked from behind the closed curtains across from the entrance.
"This... is our home, now... for the next four years." I remember saying. With a quick glance, I palmed the wall, flicking on the light switch. Stepping aside, I allowed for the rest of my team to file inside, getting themselves comfortable.
Nora ran for the bed at the northeast end of the room, relative to the entrance. Pyrrha took the bed next to hers. I glanced at Ren, and he shrugged, not particularly caring which bed he got. I took the northwest corner bed.
The rest of the night was a blur. Everyone unpacked their belongings, and some service students, probably juniors or higher, came by the freshmen dorms, dropping off uniforms. One of them took me away for a while, giving me necessary supplies, like pens and notebooks. He said that they were from the headmaster.
I went to sleep feeling terrible. I was still trying to cope with the fact that my old life was no more, but coupled with the fact that Ozpin could rightfully expel me for literally any reason, well, it sent me into a small bout of self-loathing.
The memory falls apart.
I back away from the window as the scene goes black. Pondering to myself on why it was so important to see this memory, another immediately takes its place. I look inside once more.
The scene begins with a view of the sky, but as the angle pans down, the horizon forms an ominous red contrasting with the black sky. There are no stars, and it seems like the sun is still out. A large castle-like structure is placed in the center of the scene, surrounded by natural formations of mountains.
What the hell is this...? A premonition?
As the angle pans even further down, I gasp as I notice someone resembling me standing in front of the building. He quickly begins walking towards the castle.
He climbs the stairs that reach to the entrance. Pushing inward with a grunt, my clone enters the building. The scene changes, viewing the man that looks like me from inside the castle. The red light from the outside spills inward. Torches that line the pillars at the side of the hallway light up one by one, forming somewhat of a pathway towards the end of the corridor. To a throne room probably.
He walks down the hallway with purpose, walking for quite some time before reaching yet another set of stairs. Climbing them, he reaches the top, to yet another set of large wooden doors.
He kicks them open this time.
The wood splinters, and his shadow reaches to the end of the room. He walks inside, and the door suddenly closes behind him. A chandelier hanging above the room flares to life, lighting up the throne room. At the end sat a familiar figure on a throne. She stands up.
Salem. An insane smile crosses her lips and she stands up from her throne. No words are exchanged.
My doppelganger's Semblance activates in an explosion of crystals. My mind races as more than one weapon orbits him. The wheel of weapons complete multiple revolutions as my eyes dart from left to right, recognizing them.
What the!? Crescent Rose... Myrtenaster... Gambol Shroud... Ember Celica... Magnhild... Miló and Akoúo... Stormflower...
And my sword...
He run at Salem without a noise. Suddenly, the scene glows bright, and it quickly begins hurting to watch. My clone's movements slow to a stop, and my thoughts go fuzzy as my vision goes white.
I wake up.
My eyes open. My body twitches as sleep paralysis slowly fades away. My breathing quickens, the rush of air through my nostrils audible. Struggling under the weight of the blanket, I twist and turn, falling unceremoniously out of my bed with a loud thud.
I flail around on the floor like a dying whale before realizing I'm finally awake, back in reality. Placing a hand on my chest, I wait for my heart to slow down before I take in my surroundings. Everything's back to normal. Back in NNPR's dorm room. I'm okay.
Lying still on the floor, I contemplate the scenes that ran through my mind. The harder I thought about it, the faster the dream fades from my mind. Shaking my head, I dismiss the dream as trivial, and stop bothering to remember the details. A bit of shuffling fabric catches my attention when I sit up.
Guess they're waking up now... Sorry about that, you guys.
I take a glance at the digital clock on the desk near the door. It reads '07:57'. No AM or PM. Remnant runs on 24-hour time.
Class starts at nine, I think... so we have an hour to get ready.
Everyone is still taking their sweet time getting up, so I take the opportunity to steal the bathroom first, snatching away my uniform. Looking into the mirror, I let go of a breath, happy that I'm back to my normal, 17-year-old self.
I guess I'll take this time to explain how my timetable works. Another service student came by last night, asking me to head up to Ozpin's office. The headmaster was surprisingly lenient towards me, letting me choose classes for the semester. I was required to take at least 6 classes each semester, so that I could graduate from Beacon.
Of course, I went with Computer Programming and Engineering as my primary course, and major.
"I'll start with something I'm familiar with." I remembered justifying to the headmaster.
We did have mandatory courses as well, such as Grimm Studies 101, Intro to First Aid, World History, Dust Chemistry, and Combat. There are also basic core classes, such as mathematics, language, and physical sciences, though rather than required by law, these courses are instead recommended... strongly recommended.
I not so subtly asked Ozpin what team RWBY's schedule was, to base mine off of theirs. With an eyebrow raised, he showed me.
On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, I'm taking Grimm Studies, Dust Chemistry, and Combat, ending at around 4- I mean 16:00 in the evening. For Tuesday and Thursday, I'm taking World History, Engineering, and Tactics. With only two days of instruction per week, my Tuesdays and Thursdays end an hour later, at around 17:00.
Fuck... I only have one real semester to get good, too. The more I think about, the more impossible it seems.
Stepping out of the bathroom, I roll my shoulders, testing the range of my uniform. It's stiff. I don't like it.
The rest of my team is still getting up, and Nora zooms into the bathroom after me, slamming the door closed, the rush of air kicking my hair up. Ren mechanically and methodically raises himself up from his bed. Pyrrha looks half asleep standing up, stumbling around like a zombie. With the exception of Nora, team NNPR is not made up of morning people, even me. Today was an exception.
"Hey, guys."
Pyrrha and Ren respond in kind.
"Good morning." Pyrrha's voice is quiet as she yawns, covering her mouth.
"So... um..." I begin, 'hming' and 'ahing', unable to put my thoughts into words. I'm bored. I really want to talk about something instead of sitting in silence for the rest of the morning as we wait for everyone to get ready.
"What's... what's your, uh, classes... today? We'll start with that, yeah." I pat myself on the back.
Pyrrha smiles, giggling somewhat. "Well, today I have Grimm Studies first, then Dust Chemistry next... and Combat class last." Pyrrha counts off her fingers.
I nod, not surprised. "That's great. Our schedules line up."
Pyrrha laughs lightly. She pushes the conversation forward, turning her attention towards Ren. "How about you, Ren?"
The boy fishes out his transcript from below his bed, unfolding it and reading off it. "Grimm Studies, Chemistry, Combat."
"And Nora?" I ask.
Ren immediately answers, perking up a bit, reciting off lines like a programmed robot. "Grimm Studies, Chem, Combat, as well. She had me memorize her entire schedule last night."
A ghost of a smile crosses my lips. "Hey, looks like we'll be all together."
Pyrrha returns the smile. "That is true."
I deflate. "Ah, but my other classes are... electives. On Tuesday and Thursday, the only time I'll ever meet up is outside of class..."
At this moment, Nora pops out from the bathroom, a bit of steam rising through the doorway. She's in her uniform, and her ever present smile is plastered onto her face. I groan, heading to my bed and fishing for my Scroll under my pillow.
"So, who's ready for our first day!?" I block out Nora's enthusiasm, focusing on the backlit screen in my hands.
Suddenly remembering something, I rummage through my pile of stuff, trying to find an item I received. With a tiny 'aha!', I pull out a small plastic box. Inside held an IM card, allowing for global service across the CCT platform, gifted to me by Ozpin, after I explained my situation to him. It's weird how compatible my phone is to Remnant's technology.
Popping open the IM tray on my Scroll, I gently set the card down into the slot, making sure it's snug, before sliding the tray back in, locking it in place.
My Scroll flashes as reception is achieved. Three bars out of four, not bad. Unfolding a small piece of paper taped to the back of my Scroll, four numbers are hastily scribbled onto it, with four different styles of handwriting. A small winky face is drawn on the corner, Ruby's work, if I had to guess. Names are written next to each number, as a reminder of whose is who. Inputting them into my Scroll, I scratch my nose as team RWBY's Scroll numbers are registered in my contacts.
I glance at the three members of team NNPR... my... team.
It still feels so weird thinking about it...
I'll have to ask them for their numbers later.
Playing with my Scroll for a hot minute, I... wait. I wait for the rest of team NNPR to get ready. Ren slinks into the bathroom for around 5 minutes or so, and Pyrrha takes a little while longer inside. When they are all finished, and in their uniforms, the clock on the desk reads '08:23'.
"We all ready?" I stand up from my bed.
Everyone nods.
"Okay, we still have time for breakfast. We have about 30 minutes until our first class."
Nora jumps up happily. "Heck yeah! I'm starved! Let's goooooo..." Nora's voice quiets as she disappears in a cloud of smoke, running straight out of the room and downstairs to the mess hall.
Everyone looks out of the room.
"...We should follow her." Ren states. He sighs, shuffling towards Nora's bed. "I'll take her belongings."
Grabbing all of our necessary supplies, we begin heading out to the cafeteria. I close the door to our room and check the lock.
I direct my hearing towards RWBY's dorm room. It's silent.
Pyrrha walks up next to me. "Should we... wake them?"
With shaking shoulders, I chuckle quietly. "They'll learn their lesson soon enough."
Pyrrha leaves me be, catching up with Ren, who has two backpacks on his shoulders. Garnering a little sympathy, I walk up to RWBY's dorm room and not so gently slam my hand against the wood twice. I smile as muffled thuds can be heard, and even a bit of shouting when I strain my ears. Quickly backing away, I quietly run to the end of the hallway, rounding the corner as a door opens.
"Who the heck was that?"
I hold back my laughter.
Okay... Port's classroom should be right... here.
Lowering the school map, a large wooden door fills my vision. Looking side to side, I glance at NNPR to confirm. They shrug, and open the door without hesitation. Pocketing the map, I follow after them.
"...WE'RE GONNA BE LATEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Ruby's shrill voice pierces the air and slams into the four of us with the force of a jet engine.
Looking behind me, Ruby sprints at full speed, with Weiss, Blake, and Yang not far behind. Moving out of the way, Ruby, Weiss, and Yang run into the classroom, but Blake accidentally bumps into me, forcing me to grab onto her to prevent her from dropping to the floor.
"...That could've been a nasty fall."
Blake blushes a bit from my statement, and stands up straight, pulling herself out of my arms, mumbling a small apology before rushing into the classroom.
Looking back at my team, Nora waggles her eyebrows excessively. I glare at her.
NNPR enters Port's classroom, notably not out of breath, and takes a seat the row above RWBY.
"Welcome! Welcome to my class!" Port's loud booming voice allows for him to forgo the use of a microphone.
He greets everyone, and waits a few moments for the last students to file inside, before introducing himself.
"My name is Professor Peter Port, and I teach Grimm Studies 101, here at this prestigious academy!"
"Now, we are not going to go over any material today; the first day shall be mostly about getting to know about my class, and the topics I will be covering over the course of the semester."
"Grimm Studies... well the name is self-explanatory. Grimm Studies 101 is a course on the study of Grimm! And the nature of Grimm, their physiology, their biology, their history. However, this class is not an in depth look at the Grimm. No, it is only surface level deep! As noted by the 101, this is an introductory course..."
Nodding along to Port, he directs us to the paper in front of each student, passed out beforehand. It's a syllabus, and he spends quite a lot of time on it. After answering some questions, he spirals down a tangent, and begins telling his story as in canon. He paces back and forth from one end of the classroom to the other.
"...Now as I was saying, Vale, as well as the other three kingdoms, are safe havens in an otherwise treacherous world. Our planet is absolutely teeming with creatures that would love nothing more than tear you to pieces. And that's where we come in."
Port strokes his mustache, watching the room, a la Brock from Pokémon. "Huntsmen. Huntresses. Individuals sworn to protect the innocent. Individuals sworn to protect those who cannot protect themselves."
Ruby starts drawing on a piece of paper. Weiss looks a bit irritated with her leader's antics.
"A true huntsman must be honorable."
Ruby shows a crude drawing of Professor Port, dubbed 'Professor Poop', to her teammates. Yang breaks out in subdued laughter, Blake's lip twitch into a tiny smile, while Weiss's expression darkens even more.
"A true huntsman must be dependable."
Ruby balances a book with the tip of her pencil, puckering her lips and crossing her eyes. Yang's laughter grows louder.
"A true huntsman must be strategic, well educated, and wise."
Ruby picks her nose.
"So, who among you believes themselves to be the embodiment of these traits?"
Having enough, Weiss snaps, her face glowing red hot. She slams the desk and raises her hand into the air. "I DO SIR!"
Port raises an eyebrow, a bit bemused at Weiss's outburst, before he turns around, walking towards a rattling cage. He gestures for Weiss to step onto the lecture stage.
"Well then. Let's test your skill. Come forth, Ms. Schnee."
Weiss steps up to the plate.
"Let me explain the intention of this test." Port begins.
He points at Weiss. "You, Ms. Schnee, will have the opportunity to display your prowess to your fellow peers. Today, you will fight a Grimm."
The lecture hall explodes into hushed conversation.
Weiss does not complain. She stands tall, taking out her Scroll and calling her rocket locker. Within a few minutes, she is in her huntress outfit, and still a bit incensed in temper. She glares at Ruby one more time before unsheathing Myrtenaster, holding it skywards, close to her chest.
Team RWBY (minus Weiss, of course) cheers her on. Yang whoops loudly, pumping her fists in the air. Blake waves a dark red pennant, with RWBY emblazoned on it. Ruby just flails her arms around in an attempt to cheer.
Weiss grinds her teeth in annoyance, and lowers her sword, readying herself for what Port has in store for her.
"Is the combatant ready?" Port asks, raising up his blunderbuss weapon up.
"Yes." Weiss answers curtly, sliding a foot back and lowering her body closer to the ground. She points Myrtenaster at the cage.
"Alright. Let the match, begin!" Port lets his axe fall, the sharp edge of the head slicing through the lock like a hot knife through butter. The cage door falls forward onto the floor, the vibration causing my teeth to chatter. I grip my desk in anticipation. Though I know that Weiss will win the battle, I still feel a bit anxious.
The Boarbatusk springs out of the cage, charging towards Weiss. She proceeds to dodge, and everything goes along with canon. However, the close calls she makes doesn't make me feel any better.
"Noctis." Ren catches my attention. He then points to my hands, and I notice that I'm gripping the edge so hard the wood is splintering. Blinking, I let go of the desk and start playing with my hands instead.
Why the hell am I so nervous?
Weiss loses her rapier in her scuffle with the Grimm, and she yells at Ruby for distracting her. Weiss is immensely agitated, and tanks attacks that even I would dodge in her situation. The Grimm charges her once more, and Weiss calls upon her Semblance, the glyph stopping the Boarbatusk in its tracks, flipping it over. Forming another glyph above her, Weiss jumps up, her feet sticking to it. Pushing forward, she skewers the Grimm as it dies with a pitiful squeal.
Standing up with difficulty, Weiss's face is drenched in sweat as she removes Myrtenaster from the decomposing corpse and sheathes it back to her waist. Putting on a façade of strength, she shakily backs away from the dead Boarbatusk. stumbling a few times and almost falling onto her back.
The students in the class clap hesitantly, and Port congratulates Weiss.
Port looks at the clock at the back of the room. "Well, I'm afraid this is where we will leave off for today. Next class, I will start lecturing, so bring your books, students!"
Weiss somehow looks angrier than before, and stomps out of the room, pushing some students out of the way. Ruby looks guilty, and Yang tries to comfort her, rubbing her back. Blake sits in her seat, awkwardly unsure of what to do. I look back at my team, and they start standing up, ready to leave. I reluctantly follow in their footsteps, only looking back to see the three girls' expressions.
I look away. Their expressions hurt me to my core.
"Beacon is so different from Signal."
"Feeling the burn?" Yang smirks, placing a hand on the cafeteria table. Ruby forms a tent with her hands and hides in it.
"College is extremely different from high school, ya know." I chime in, sitting across from Ruby, Blake, and Yang. My team is sitting next to me. Weiss and Pyrrha are missing from the table.
Ruby lifts her head up, her arms still hiding her mouth, and thus muffling her voice. Her eyebrows do the talking instead. "Yeah... I have so much free time now! It's just... weird!"
"Most of your learning'll be done outside of the class. Self-studying and all that. The professors might give out the odd homework once in a while, but we're expected to learn the material ourselves." I inform her.
Ruby pouts, her eyebrows furrowing. "That doesn't mean I have to like it..."
After a brief moment of silence, Pyrrha enters the cafeteria, an unreadable expression on her face. She sits down next to Nora at the end of the table as all six of us stare at her.
"Where were you?" I decide to initiate.
"I was speaking... well, I was trying to speak to Weiss." She makes herself comfortable on the bench.
"Didn't go so hot, then?" I infer from Pyrrha's face.
Pyrrha shakes her head, closing her eyes slowly. "I thought I would speak to her as a friend, but... she wouldn't even respond to my prompting." Pyrrha looks guiltily at Ruby. "I'm sorry, Ruby. I tried."
Ruby deflects her apology, rubbing her hands together. "No... I should be sorry. I shouldn't ask you to do something that I should do myself. I made her angry."
Blake joins in on the conversation. "No, Weiss isn't entirely blameless, either."
"What do you mean?" Ruby tilts her head in confusion, looking at Blake.
Blake coughs into her fist, a bit embarrassed at having everyone's attention directed at her. "What I mean is, Weiss let her temper get the better of her. And not to mention, back when teams were formed last night, she was shocked when you were named leader."
"And she was clearly upset with that decision, and you could tell if you looked at her face." Blake finishes.
I rub my chin in thought. "That makes a lot of sense. When you were goofing off in Port's class-" Ruby visibly turns a few shades of red darker.
"Weiss probably thought that you were unfit as the leader of the team. And your actions reaffirmed her opinion on you: that you have done nothing to deserve your position-"
"But I have!" Ruby interrupts me loudly, slamming her hands onto the table. "I beat Torchwick; and Miss Goodwitch saw it!"
I hold out a hand to stop her. "That's the thing: Weiss doesn't know that. All she knows is that you're some random goofball who took what she thinks is her rightful place as leader of team RWBY."
Ruby lowers her gaze, and she wipes at the crooks of her eyes. "Weiss... she... she really hates me... doesn't she?"
Pyrrha shakes her head, and speaks to try and console Ruby. "No, she doesn't... hate you. That's a strong word. I'd say that... she just dislikes your nonchalant attitude towards things."
"I care, though! I really, really, really care! I know that I was given a privilege to even have the chance to come here... I know that going to Beacon at 15 is almost unheard of... But I want to be a huntress! That's been my dream ever since I was a little girl!" Ruby protests.
Yang gives out some advice, rubbing Ruby on the shoulder. "Look Rubes... you'll just have to speak to the Ice Queen yourself. Explain your position. Apologize to her. She'll probably forgive you when she cools down."
Ruby hides herself behind her arms again. "'Probably' isn't good enough..."
We all sit in an awkward silence as the conversation dies down. Nora and Ren are still stuck in their little own world as we wait quietly. Luckily, looking at the clock, it's almost time for our second class.
"Ah, we have Chem with Coffey, next. How about you guys?" Yang inquires.
I grin. "Same here. For all of us." I gesture to my team.
Yang returns my grin with full force, punching the air. "Alright! That's luck if I've ever seen it!"
I chuckle half-heartily, a bead of sweat falling down my cheek. "Yeah... luck..." I mumble softly. Totally not rigged. At all. Nope.
Ruby sighs. "Will Weiss even be there?"
"Most definitely. Dust is her speciality. Remember that lecture she gave you when you met her?" I tease Ruby, causing her to blush.
"She was being a jerk about it, though!"
I laugh, disengaging. "Yeah. She'll show up. If she doesn't, I'll eat my hat."
Ruby frowns. "You don't... have... a hat...?"
...
"It's an expression."
Sure enough, Weiss does show up to class. Albeit later than everyone else, and she sits the seat furthest away from Ruby as possible.
The class proceeds as normal, as normal as first days go. Coffey introduces herself, explains the class in detail, and goes over what we will learn over the course of the semester. Nothing too special. She doesn't particularly stand out as professors go, but my gut feeling tells me she'll be a good teacher regardless. Her personality is quite infectious, and I find myself laughing along to some of her jokes.
Ruby takes glances at Weiss every once in a while, and every time Weiss even looks in her general direction, Ruby stiffly turns around, her cape fluttering a bit.
It seems that every hour, something happens that makes Weiss despise Ruby even more. At this rate, Weiss might actually hate her team leader.
I don't wanna stick around when that happens.
And finally... Combat class. Hoo boy. I am not looking forward to this.
Everyone around me is in their huntsmen gear. Grasping at my glove, I nervously follow after my team.
Opening the door to the arenas, Professor Goodwitch greets us with crossed arms. The entirety of the freshmen population steps through, and huddles around the area below the arena. Goodwitch steps onto the arena, and clears her throat.
"Students."
Everyone freezes. It seems her reputation precedes her.
"As you know, my name is Glynda Goodwitch. I am the professor of combat here at Beacon, and it is my job to whip all of you into shape to become full fledged huntsmen and huntresses." She slaps her riding crop into her hand, her Aura flashing.
"It will be hard. It will be difficult. But you will thank me when you graduate from this academy."
"And we will begin lessons. Today." Goodwitch looks around, and points her riding crop at a random student.
"You." The student lets out a small sound.
"And you." She points to the girl sitting next to him. She shrinks into herself.
"Follow me to the arena." Goodwitch orders. They hesitate.
"Now." Goodwitch's assertive tone freezes the air, and slapping the crop against her hand doesn't help, either. The two students stand up straighter, and run up the stairs towards the arena without being ushered. Goodwitch is truly goddamned scary.
Goodwitch steps up between them, facing us. She has them standing opposite from each other, a few meters apart from each other, where they would have to shout to talk to each other.
"We will begin with a tournament style duel. For this class, you will be responsible for your own teaching. I will merely act as an advisor, and tell you what you are doing wrong."
A few murmurs arise from the freshmen.
"Names, please." Goodwitch asks the two students.
"Pearl Miellat./Samuel Celadon." The girl and boy reply respectively.
Goodwitch taps on her Scroll, the large screen above the arena flaring to life. The names given flash on the screen, with the mugshots of the two students appearing next to them. Two Aura bars appear below their names. The bars slowly fills up red, then yellow, and finally green, as they meet in the middle.
"Ms. Miellat. Mr. Celadon. You will be fighting each other." Goodwitch states bluntly. The two students nod hesitantly.
Goodwitch backs away from the center of the arena. "The rules are as such: When your aura is in the red, you lose. When you are knocked out of the ring, you lose. All strategies are fair game."
Pearl readies her weapon, a bo staff of sorts, and twirls it around before holding it behind and deliberately holding an open hand towards her opponent. Shane unfurls dual kukris from his back, holding one over his head and the other in front of him.
"All combatants ready?" Goodwitch stands at the far end of the arena, to keep from interfering.
"Yes." Pearl and Samuel reply simultaneously.
"Very good." Goodwitch sets a timer on the screen for five minutes, and nods to the two students. "You may begin."
Pearl attacks first, causing Samuel to defend. I divert my full attention towards the two students, trying to understand the moves that they perform. The two of them test each other's limits and boundaries, before picking up the pace and fighting a real duel.
It's frightening how well they can fight. These are 17-year-olds for Chrissake. How the hell can I even catch up? And they aren't even serious right now, cause this is only training.
I try to pick up their mistakes during their bout, and surprisingly, I do pick up a good amount. Samuel is sometimes too aggressive; his Aura is gradually chipping away. Pearl disengages too quickly; she doesn't press her advantage. Etcetera, etcetera. It's quite weird. It's like my mind is working overdrive.
I also notice that Samuel has used his Semblance already. It seems that he can manipulate water, fitting, considering his name. His Semblance does have limits, though; he can't magically conjure up water, he has to find a source. And, disgustingly, his source is... his sweat. Yeah, that's right, he uses his own sweat for his Semblance. And probably anyone else's sweat if he tries to.
Pearl's revulsion is easily visible as she notices droplets rising from Samuel's face. She jumps away, and quickly splits her staff into two batons. Handholds sprout perpendicular from the sticks, forming tonfas. Looking closely, the tonfas have small holes in them, possibly barrels for a gun.
Samuel predictably slashes at Pearl with his kukris, and she blocks with a punch, the tonfas protecting her forearm. The tonfa smashes into Samuel's jaw, and she presses a trigger, firing a pistol round, I think, and knocking Samuel off balance. Finally pressing her advantage, Pearl dances around him, slapping him silly and dazing him. Samuel's Aura is in the orange-green; a few more big hits might finish him. Pearl steps away for a second, reforming her tonfas back into a staff. Winding up her attack, she slams an Aura coated staff against his body, sending Samuel flying into the air, and out of the ring. Match over.
Pearl is visibly winded, and she drops to a knee, using her staff as support. Samuel is convulsing on the floor, his kukris still in the arena. Goodwitch makes her way to Samuel's prone body, checking for any major injuries. Helping him up, Samuel groans as he clutches his jaw and stomach, hobbling back towards the bleachers in shame. The students in the bleachers are completely silent, waiting for Goodwitch's judgement.
Surprisingly, she points out the same thing that I thought the two students were doing wrong. Maybe this 'Tactics' thing might work out...
Goodwitch steps to the center of the arena, intent on lecturing. "Now, students, you must understand that there are two levels of Aura. Passive and active. Your passive Aura does not protect you from fatal injuries, but can provide some levels of healing. Active Aura is Aura you bring out willingly, and even project outwards with enough training."
"This active Aura is what I will be trying to teach you over the school year, and even beyond that." Goodwitch looks at Pearl, who is up on her feet, her exhaustion mostly gone. Goodwitch gestures towards the girl.
"Ms. Miellat here has demonstrated amazing potential in Aura use. Those with eagle eyes would have noticed that she powered up her last strike with Aura." Pearl blushes a bit at the praise, smiling nervously.
Wait... was that supposed to be hard to see? Her staff was friggin' glowing!
Goodwitch moves on, and explains the schedule for each week.
"You will train here every time you come to class. You will fight with your peers, and I will supervise your training. You may come up with your own training regimes, ranging from one on one duels to team-based exercise. At the end of every week, starting from next week, I will test you. I will pit students against each other in tournament style duels as shown today. Any questions?"
Goodwitch is met with complete silence.
"Very good." She looks at the clock. "You are dismissed."
The crowd of freshmen slowly break up as everyone makes for the exit. I look at my team, and they nod at me. Team building exercises it is, then.
...
I am not looking forward to tomorrow.
A/N: A slow chapter, now. I want to flesh out the setting and the mechanics and stuff. I also want to set definite rules for Aura and all that.
Also...
Two more OCs yayyyyy... Yeah, I'm not sure if these should be one off characters or not. They won't be a crucial part of the story, sometimes they'll show up for fights and stuff but I think that'll be it.
I'd like to see what you think. See you in the next chapter.
