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I am making no money from this.

Also GIVE ME REVIEWS OUM-DAMN IT

Also TWO CHAPTERS IN THE SAME DAY, I'M ON A ROLL

Chapter 08: Noticing Senpai

Professor Goodwitch surveyed the class of first year students. It was the final lesson of the first week of term and thus it was time for a yearly tradition that she personally found distasteful, but saw the need for it as well. It was time to utterly break the new students' morale. After a successful initiation and only sparring with others on a comparable level to themselves, many first years began to develop an arrogant streak that could cost them their lives in the field. As a countermeasure to this, she brought in a team of older students at the end of the first week to ensure that they understood the difference in calibre between what they had faced and what was to come, and the extent to which they would have to push themselves to bridge that gap.

Surveying the newly-formed teams, she pondered which of them should be thrown under the proverbial bus for the sake of education. Emerald eyes peered over the top of her glasses at Team JNPR. No, they would not work. Nikos was a world-class fighter and Arc, while lackluster, had a truly impressive amount of Aura. They would still be beaten, but the first-years would be left thinking it was a fluke. Deciding that they would be unsuitable, she turned to Team CRDL, only to immediately dismiss them as a candidate. Their aggressive tendencies had already been noted, and their classmates would be too absorbed in the spectacle of their defeat to truly learn anything from it. She passed over several other teams of frankly unremarkable students before her eyes fell on Team RWBY, and it was here that she found what she was looking for. This was a team with varied capabilities led by a child prodigy who lacked experience. They would be well-suited for the demonstration. Realizing she had allowed silence to reign in her class for long enough, she cleared her throat and addressed the students.


Ruby Rose watched as Professor Goodwitch's eyes roved the class, seemingly staring into the very soul of each student. Her sense of apprehension grew with each passing second. While new to the school, she already knew how the disciplinarian operated: Straight to business with no theatrics. The fact she had apparently chosen the end of the first week to buck that trend seemed important.

"Well, students," the professor began, her voice demanding the complete attention of all, "I would like to congratulate you all on successfully completing your first week at this prestigious academy. However, it is time some of you were shown the truth of matters that you are yet to fully grasp. Many of you seem to be under the impression that the way you acquitted yourselves during initiation is proof that you are ready to be Hunters. This is simply incorrect."

Ruby gulped. The professor paused just long enough for nervous whispers to begin spreading through the room before continuing. "As you are now, you would be laid low by the Grimm. You are simply the raw materials from which Beacon Academy shall craft the swords and shields that shall guard the future of the Kingdoms. To make sure that this is thoroughly understood, I have enlisted the help of a team of older students." As she said this, the door behind the professor opened, and four individuals stepped out.

Ruby discretely activated her semblance, and her ability to process information accelerated to match the super speed she was gifted with. All four of them were Faunus. One was dark-skinned with short hair, with a weapon slung over his shoulder and tail wagging seemingly in excitement. The second student was a clash of vibrant colours, white and pink outfit, pink hair, and mismatched eyes. Following her was a student that was smaller than Ruby, wearing loose-fitting clothes and armour covered with sharp edges, and his pale yellow eyes seemed to hold the promise of mayhem. The final student to enter the room was simply gargantuan; a towering mass of muscle and armour with a ferocious face and a pair of swords that Ruby was almost certain were larger than herself slung over his back. Bringing her senses back to their normal levels, she returned her attention to her professor

"Students, I would like to introduce you to Team GRAP, a third-year team of students that have competed in the Vytal tournament, served beyond the front lines, and in this week alone achieved more confirmed kills than your entire class combined. Today, they will be sparring with a first-year team of my choosing."

"This is gonna be so cool!"

Ruby's hands covered her mouth as her eyes widened. The words had left her before she could contain herself. But how could she have helped it? The front line was the buffer zone between the influence of each kingdom and the uncharted territories that had been left to the ravages of time and the Grimm. Serving beyond the front lines meant taking the fight to the enemy and was considered the sign of truly remarkable skill and resolve.

Goodwitch smiled, in a way that promised nothing good. "I'm glad you think so. I think Team RWBY will be the perfect candidate to show what this year's new recruits have to offer. Team RWBY, make your way to the stage and quickly decide amongst yourselves who will be the first."


Rover Tan suppressed a small chuckle at the girl's outburst. It was the girl that Artemis had been sure was too young to attend. She'd asked other students and found out the girl was allegedly a child prodigy who had been allowed to enter two years early. Clearly she still had plenty of childlike wonder left in her. This thought caused a small frown; that would be another thing that would need to be drilled out of these students. Gangrel had given his team strict instruction upon receiving this assignment- they were to give the same treatment that they had been given by Victoria Arc and Team VVID in this scenario two years ago.

As it was announced that her own team was facing them, he saw the girl's eyes light up as a smile split her face from ear to ear, and she raced from her seat to the edge of the stage faster than most eyes could track, unwittingly broadcasting her Semblance to the world. Rover immediately knew who would be facing her.

As the rest of her team made their way to the stage, the scythe-wielder climbed up and smiled at the older students. "I'll go first! Who wants to spar? Oh, which one of you is the team leader? I think the two leaders facing off against each other would be an awesome match!"

Gangrel gave her a genuine smile and nod of approval. "I'm the team leader. Kid, you've got some guts, which I like, but I've got a better match up in mind."

Rover knew what the next words would be before Gangrel turned to him.

"Rover, you're up."

The protective shield that encased the arena to prevent stray shots from hitting the audience had been activated by now, and Goodwitch was finishing up her usual reiteration of the rules. Meanwhile, Ruby drew Crescent Rose and deployed its scythe mode. Her opponent slid a gunmetal-grey protective mask over his face, but made no attempt to reach for his own weapon.

The Professor looked at both students, confirming that they were ready, before calling out. "Begin!"

Ruby launched herself forward with a burst of speed, intent on landing a solid hit early on. Crescent Rose swung in a wide arc… and hit nothing but air.

Using her momentum to run along the inner surface of the domed shield, Ruby returned to her starting position. Her opponent appeared to have remained in place despite the evidence to the contrary. Shifting her weapon to its rifle form and focusing her semblance, she was vaguely aware of the rose petals forming around her as she snapped off three shots in rapid succession. Then she saw it: Rover activating his own semblance.

The features of his body became blurred and indistinct as arcs of golden lightning coursed over his body, sparks trailing behind him as he casually sidestepped each of her shots. With a start, Ruby saw why he had been chosen to face her- he was just as fast as she was.

Realizing that this was not a battle she could win at range, she made to return her weapon to its close combat mode, right before blinding pain erupted in her jaw. Rover had rushed at her faster than she could track and swung his elbow upwards directly into her chin. Correction: he was faster than she was.

Crescent Rose flew out of her grasp as she sailed back into the shield and ricocheted off it. She staggered forwards, only to be brought to her knees by a tremendous blow to the back of her head. The strikes had been perfectly timed and fluid.

Ruby looked up in time to Rover flip his short-handled axe, which would have cleaved her skull if not for her aura, converting it into a short-barrelled shotgun which proceeded to discharge and throw her back into the shield again. Her adversary took a step back, allowing her a chance to stand. Daring to glance at the screen, she was horrified to learn that those three strikes had depleted a third of her aura.

"You're fast," Rover said to her. "But you need to learn how to use that speed. Let me show you."

Ruby frowned and dove for her weapon, only to see it kicked away before she could reach it. Rover then proceeded to literally run rings around the younger fighter, and Ruby briefly had a moment to wonder what the point of that was, until she realized that her lungs were struggling to pull in air. He was creating a rudimentary vacuum, and it was working too well. Then, as suddenly as he had begun, the attack stopped, and he skidded to a halt directly in front of her before charging. Ruby attempted to block the incoming strike, only to be left disoriented as the faster hunter literally ran through her.

Her ears left ringing by the sensation,she barely had time to comprehend what had happened before Rover, now behind her, landed a devastating kidney punch that floored her again. As Ruby laid on the floor, desperately trying not to be sick, he placed the barrel of his weapon directly to her temple.

"This is gonna hurt," he informed.


Yang looked on in horror that slowly gave way to rage as her sister was sent skidding across the floor, the final attack resulting in a resounding boom that left Ruby wreathed in smoke and ashes. Her opponent had used a fire dust round to finish the match.

"Ruby Rose's aura has dropped into the red. She is unable to continue," Goodwitch informed the class.

A stunned buzz filled the room as the shields were lowered. It was quite a shock to see a girl who had decapitated a giant Nevermore be soundly defeated in less than thirty seconds without even landing a single hit on her opponent.

Rushing onto the stage, Yang helped her sister up "Ruby! Ruby, are you okay? Talk to me, sis."

"I'm fine, Yang," Ruby mumbled, steadying herself with a strange look in her eyes.

Yang turned her attention to Rover, who had also exited the stage. "Hey jackass, what's the big idea?" she said angrily.

"Miss Xiao Long!" Professor Goodwitch warned.

Gangrel stepped forward, coming to his teammate's defense. "The big idea," he growled, "Was to make a point. Your sister ran down here showcasing her semblance, and I wasn't gonna ignore that. Anyone else would have struggled to combat her speed, but I let Rover deal with her because he was most suited to the task." He turned to Ruby. "As a leader, you need to learn how to best utilize your teams' abilities. It's one of the easiest ways to keep them safe."

"So that's what you were doing?" Yang smirked. "Just keeping your team safe? You're just a big ol' Momma Bear."

The silence was deafening as Gangrel took a moment to process the pun he had just been subjected to. "Squish?" he asked, turning to his partner, who was currently in the throes of a silent laughing fit.

"Yes, boss?" he managed to gasp out.

"Put her in the ground."

Perdu looked across the stage at the blonde brawler that was to be his opponent. She had deployed a pair of gauntlets that were fitted with shotguns and was currently sizing him up with a smirk. The Faunus almost shook his head in disbelief. Surely she didn't think being short was going to stop him, did she?

"Begin," Goodwitch intoned.

Perdu rushed forwards, forgoing either of his weapons as he closed the distance and ducked under Yang's left jab. Now with an opening, he threw a straight right that connected with her jaw and returned to his proper stance before swinging his left leg low to the ground, knocking Yang from her feet. The blonde recovered quickly and retaliated with a salvo of shotgun rounds as she rose back up. But Perdu, having guessed this was coming, sidestepped the attack and sent a spinning kick into her midsection followed by a knee to the face, sending her sprawling onto the arena floor, gasping for breath. Perdu took the opportunity to reach for Fixer, his bladed pistol. As soon as Yang managed to get back to her feet, a shot impacted her knee, buckling it. She made the mistake of clutching her leg in pain rather than keeping her guard up, and was promptly rewarded by a sharp pain across the face from the blade of her opponent's pistol. Then she noticed for the first time several strands of blonde hair falling to the ground. A familiar rage set in, and she let loose an angry howl as she triggered her semblance. With a new pool of power, she landed a devastating haymaker on Perdu, sending to the ground.

The reptilian Faunus took careful note of Yang's red eyes and burning aura. "So you've got a cool semblance. Me too." He gave a grin that displayed his needle-like teeth before he turned invisible.

Now with the freedom to move again, he got up and crept around the edge of the arena, making sure to keep his movements as inconspicuous as possible. If she caught sight of his still-visible outline, then his advantage would be lost. But he didn't have to worry, as Yang's rage gave way to confusion as she glanced around, looking for her opponent.

Perdu waited patiently for her eyes to return to their normal color, and the second that it happened, he covertly deployed Breaker and unleashed a hailstorm of bullets, eating up the Yang's remaining aura in seconds.

"Yang Xiao Long's Aura has dropped into the red, and she is unable to continue."

As soon as the words left Goodwitch's mouth, Perdu reappeared, nodding to Yang as he hopped off the stage. "Good game. You need to hold your Semblance for Xiao-Longer than that, though."

The blond laughed. "That pun was terrible."

"You'd be the expert."


Blake had watched the previous two matches while remaining as detached as possible. It was evident that Gangrel had grown into more than the rowdy kid from the orphanage that did Adam's bidding. He was a capable leader, but seeing Yang's temper had reminded her that Gangrel had one of his own. Taking advantage of it might be the key to leaving this with some of her team's self-respect intact.

She jumped onto the stage. "So who's next, then?" she challenged. "How about you, big guy? Are you planning from leading from the rear all day?" There would be no way he could ignore being called out like that.

Gangrel, however, only snorted. "I'm fighting the Schnee," he said flatly. "But since you're eager... Missy, go for it."

Apparently he could ignore it. Blake fumed as Artemis entered the stage, lowering her goggles onto her face.

As soon as the signal from Goodwitch was given, Blake drew her sword and rushed forwards. She feinted with a slash while at the same time activating her Semblance and leaping to the side; her shadow clone followed her feint through as she reached for her secondary weapon, before a ringing impact hurled her back against the protective shield. Picking herself up, she saw her opponent's rifle trained on her with the shadow clone nowhere to be found. Trying again, Blake sent a shadow clone rushing forwards while at the same time leaping into the air and preparing to bring her sword down on her opponent's head. A shot rang out, hitting her square in the chest, and Blake found herself struggling to her feet again.

By then, she had realized that these weren't lucky shots. Her opponent was somehow immune to her semblance. Throwing caution to the wind, she charged forward, shifted her blade into its pistol mode, and fired. Artemis retaliated by changing Hakai Suru to its naginata form and deflecting before sweeping low as Blake approached to force her to leap over the blade.

The two Faunus danced around each other, blades clashing at blinding speed, before Artemis managed to gain the advantage through a deft spin away from Blake's assault and a forcefully apply her weapon's blunt end to the back of her opponent's knee. As Blake staggered forwards, Artemis got the shaft of her weapon around her throat and choked her from behind until her weapon fell from her hand and Professor Goodwitch stopped the match.

"Blake Belladonna has been left unable to continue. Artemis Blush wins the match by default."

Before preparing for his bout, Gangrel shot Blake an apologetic look as she staggered off the stage, struggling to catch her breath. That had been the closest fight yet, and Artemis's victory would be a good lesson in the long run. But that didn't keep it from being painful.


Weiss Schnee fixed the brutish-looking behemoth across from her with a cold stare which he seemed more than happy to return. He had specifically said that wished to face her as if she was just another first year. However, he was about to learn the error of his ways.

"Begin," came Goodwitch's instruction.

Weiss drew her sword and moved gracefully around the perimeter, never breaking her form. Gangrel, whose name she had just learned, hadn't even bothered to draw his own weapons; a presumptuous mistake she assured herself he would suffer for. The two of them circled each other around the arena before she decided seize initiative, even if it was only in the theatre of psychological warfare.

"Do you intend to continue stalling? I thought this was what you wanted, or is an adversary who won't be bested by boasts and savagery a little beyond your scope? I can't say I expected much better." Her sweet tone did nothing to hide the venom permeating the words.

The Faunus simply shrugged off the barb before offering one of his own. "Who carved your face, Schnee? I'll buy 'em a drink next time I'm in Atlas." Weiss couldn't help but notice his accent. He was indeed a native to her homeland, if only the lower part of the kingdom.

"So that's the Schnee ancestral sword," he continued, nodding towards Myrtenaster. "How many Faunus have died on the end of it?"

Weiss let a cruel smile play across her lips and hissed her next words so quietly that only those gifted with the enhanced senses of a Faunus could hear. "Always room for one more."

Weiss saw Gangrel's eyes take on a wild look right before he vanished into thin air. She had only a split second to realize she had miscalculated before he reappeared behind her and his gargantuan fist planted itself between her shoulder blades, sending her staggering forwards and suddenly Gangrel was in front of her again, his left hand connecting with her right cheek and throwing her sideways. Myrtenaster flew out of her hands and rolled across the floor as her vision swam. She reached out desperately for it, only to see a booted foot crash down against the rotating chamber with enough force to bend it. The same booted foot then connected squarely with the bridge of her nose.

Gangrel fought through a haze of red, the heiress's casual comment having sent him into a berserk fury that he struggled to bring himself back from even as he unsheathed his swords and continued his onslaught. Weiss had taken to throwing up glyphs to shield herself from his attack. It was a powerful weapon in her arsenal against any other opponent, but she simply could not protect all angles at once, and wherever the glyphs failed to guard was where Gangrel struck from with powerful blows that sent Weiss reeling. The terror became more and more apparent in her face with each passing second.

he activated his Semblance again reappearing to her left, blades crossed over his chest, the right sweeping low and taking her legs out from under her, left swinging down catching her squarely in the throat in a blow that would have decapitated a lesser opponent, this was followed by a vicious kick in the stomach as he re-sheathed his weapons and proceeded to pin Weiss against the protective shielding by her throat and draw his hand back for as many punches as it took to end this-

"I forfeit! I forfeit!"

Gangrel's world was brought back into sharp focus by her wavering voice. As the blood stopped pounding in his ears, he took a long look at his opponent and finally noticed the tears streaming down her face. Setting her down, he stepped back on legs that no longer wanted to support his weight as waves of disgust washed over him. He didn't even hear Goodwitch proclaim him the victor as he turned away from the young woman he had just brutalized. It took a supreme effort to force the emotion out of his voice when he spoke.

"Get the fuck away from me Schnee, for both of our sakes."


Team GRAP made their way back to their dorm room. Three of the members happily discussed the preceding events, while Gangrel was silent and painfully aware of the looks Artemis was giving him when she thought he wouldn't notice.

"But seriously, though." Squish turned to the Cat Faunus. "How did you even deal with those shadow clones?"

Artemis smiled. "My Semblance lets me see Aura; theatricality and deception are powerful agents to the uninitiated."

"Excellent choice in pop culture references," Squish commended.

Any further conversation was cut off by a gust of wind that scattered rose petals everywhere, and suddenly Ruby Rose stood before them. "Hey, can we talk?" she asked nervously.

Gangrel forced himself out of his thoughts. "What's up, kid?"

"IwaswonderingifyourteamcouldhelptrainmyteamthewayyouallfightissocoolIwantteamRWBYtobeabletodowhatyoudo."

Gangrel cocked his head at the verbal barrage. "Rover, shoot her again and see if she makes more sense afterwards."

"I'm sorry." Ruby sighed and made an attempt to repeat herself, making sure to not get overexcited. "I was wondering if your team could help train my team. The way you all fight is so cool, I want Team RWBY to be able to do what you do!"

"Ruby, have you lost your mind?" Yang Xiao Long roared as she came into view. Weiss remained behind her, choosing to keep some distance between herself and the older students. Blake seemed to be shooting the heiress some baleful glances as well.

"But-" Ruby began, only to be interrupted by her sister, who pointed at Rover.

"He used super speed to phase right through you, punched you in the kidney, and shot you in the face at point-blank range with a dust round!"

"And it was awesome!" Ruby gushed, getting a laugh from Team GRAP.

"Y'know what, I say we do it." Rover looked to his team, seeing if any shared his opinion.

Predictably, Artemis was the first one to come to his side. "You're the kid they let in early?" Seeing Ruby nod she continued "Yeah I agree, no offence but you'll need all the help you can get, even if you have got the raw talent"

"If you're doing anything with my baby sister, I'm gonna be there." Yang placed an arm around Ruby's shoulder.

"Cool." Perdu smirked "Maybe you'll learn to appreciate my mastery of puns."

Gangrel looked from his partner to the blonde and sighed. "Sweet fucking Oum, just kill me in my sleep. It'd be kinder." He shot Blake a look that clearly said help me out here, which she promptly ignored.

"I think learning from students with recent experience in the tournament and the real world is a great idea." Unbelievably, Blake had the cheek to smile right at Gangrel while she said that.

Weiss seemed to fold in on herself at this, sending pangs of guilt and shame through Gangrel's psyche. He realised it would be fruitless to argue the point, however, and simply resigned himself to the task. He couldn't even have a week before everything went to shit.

Author's Notes:

Notice: As of March 2017, this story is being proofread chapter-by-chapter by Air Force Muffin, so a sudden increase in typos from one chapter to the next means the chapter hasn't been proofread yet.

Thank you to MangaReader88 for their review of the last chapter.
Okay this one was a lot of fun to write, I needed a way to introduce the rest of teams RWBY and GRAP to each other and thought was a fun way to do it, students from different year groups face each other in the Vytal Tournament so it makes sense for the professors to show the younger students exactly what to expect.

The title comes from how I imagined Ruby reacting to the older students. This is the same person who asked Goodwitch for an autograph.

And yes, Rover has super speed, but he uses it differently than Ruby. In simple terms, Ruby is a marathon runner while Rover is a sprinter. He has a higher top speed and can accelerate faster, but has nowhere near as much stamina. Furthermore, Rover knows how to apply super speed more effectively. I watch 'The Flash' and that is the standard I hold speedsters to.