After Ruby and Reno had regrouped, Nora once again led everyone to a pancake house she had discovered downtown. Ruby really wanted Reno to show off his gun since the others knew that he had a gun but knew that downtown wasn't exactly the best place to show off the gun. Yang decided to hang back to talk with Ruby, mostly just to grill her about her "alone" time with Reno. What kind of big sister would she be if she didn't tease her little sister about her not so subtle crush on the handsome redhead.
"Soooooooo how was your time with Reno~?" Yang asks, a slight smirk on her lips. Ruby blushed a bit.
"It was.. fun. We got the perfect gun for him," Ruby answered, looking down to hide her face and pressing her pointer fingers together.
"Just fun? Nothing special happened~?" Yang prompted, nudging the small leader, sensing that she wanted to say more.
"Weellll... Reno did some test shots and he got nearly 100% accuracy! I've never seen ANYONE that accurate with a handgun! He's as accurate as I am with Crescent Rose! He was just so cool and had the most laid back stance that made him even cooler!" Ruby gushes, no longer able to hide it, hoping that Reno wasn't listening. Yang just grins and hugs Ruby.
"Aw! My baby sis is finally noticing boys confirmed!" Yang says, hugging her little sister tightly.
"Yaaaanngg! Let go of me! You're embarrassing me!" Ruby squeaks, not being able to break out of the brawler's tight hold. After another squeeze, Yang releases the reaper and the two quickly catch up to the rest. The three teams enter the pancake house which fortunately wasn't too busy. They're brought to a large booth that sat six people on each bench comfortably. On the booth closest to the entrance left to right was Zack, Aerith, Yang, Weiss, Jaune and then Pyrrha. On the opposing side starting from across Zack, was Ren, Nora, Blake, Ruby, Reno and then Cloud. They decided to split the teams like this to further make friendships between the three teams. There was also some... match making going on. The teams make their orders and enjoy their time at the pancake house, Zack feeling a bunch of connections being made for his Digital Mind Wave.
~ The Next Day! ~
Team ZARC was up and ready for classes. Well, at least ZAC was.. Reno, not so much. They all had the uniform on, Reno wearing it loosely, just like he did with his ShinRa uniform. The group walks down to the cafeteria to have breakfast, noticing that neither team RWBY nor team JNPR were down. They all shrug as they sit and fill up their plates with food. Reno slowly starts to wake up and lets out one more yawn. The five minute warning bell goes off and team ZARC heads off to their first class: Grimm Studies with Professor Port. Aerith decides that their team would sit in the middle of class, having a feeling that Zack will have some hard time focusing on classes and figured that the middle would help Zack focus some but if he loses focus, it wouldn't be as noticeable. Just as team ZARC sits down, the bell rings as teams RWBY and JNPR enter the classroom and hurriedly takes their seats. A short man with a majestic grey mustache stands up from his seat behind the desk
"Monsters, demons, prowlers of the night. Yes, the creatures of Grimm have many names. However, I like to call them prey!" the stout professor says. After an awkward pause, he continues "And some day, you shall too. Our planet is absolutely teeming with creatures that would love nothing more than to tear you to pieces! But that's where you all step in - the young sparks of hope for humanity. Now that I have your attention, welcome to Grimm Studies. My name is Professor Port and here you will learn about the Grimm, all while hearing about my glorious days a young Huntsman!"
"This sounds like it might be a bore of a class..." Zack muttered to Reno, who nodded in agreement. Zack almost falls asleep during Port's story that he immediately launched into. While he was almost asleep, like a lot of the class, Ruby was doodling and starting to annoy Weiss indirectly.
"Now! A true Huntsman must be honorable! A true Huntsman must be dependable! A true Huntsman must be strategic, well-educated, and wise! Who here thinks they embody the traits of a Huntsman?" Professor Port asks, scanning the classroom. He spots a hand shooting up and smiles. "Ah, Miss Schnee! Please take five minutes to get ready!" After five minutes, Weiss returns in the clothes she wore during initiation, Myrtenaster in hand. Once Weiss was poised and ready, Professor Port takes his blunderbuss-axe and swings it down on the cage that he had pulled out from behind his desk. The cage opens and a Boarbatusk comes shooting out at Weiss in a wheel of white. The Schnee Heiress moves out of the way, lashing out Myrtenaster just to be on the safe side, but it simple just sparked off the bone armor.
"Go for its underbelly! There's no bone armor there!" Ruby calls out to her teammate, just wanting her to do the best. Weiss grit her teeth at one, how she forgot that simple information and two, how her.. immature.. team leader was telling her what to do. Instead of lashing out like she would like to, Weiss takes the opportunity of the stunned Boarbatusk to knock it onto its back, using a glyph. She uses another glyph to propel herself forward and impales the Boarbatusk through its underbelly.
"Bravo! It appears we are indeed in the presence of a true Huntress-in-training," Professor Port praises. Weiss has a look of satisfaction on her face and holds her head up high in pride. Port then dismisses the class and Ruby goes to Weiss out in the hallway.
"Good job Weiss!" Ruby says happily, however, her smile fades a bit when an icy glare is focused on her.
"You're lucky you didn't distract me with your shouting. If you really think you're a leader, then perhaps you should act like one," Weiss says, her frustration from earlier seeping out into her words.
"Hey! That's uncalled for! It's only day one. I obviously don't have it down pat. Why are you being so nasty? You were fine yesterday..." Ruby says.
"Because honestly, I should have been team leader. You're immature and reckless!" Weiss says. Zack had stayed behind to check on Ruby and Weiss when noticing the two didn't follow everyone else. He frowns hearing Weiss and he approaches.
"Hey now, no need to be so rude! You could at least give constructive criticism instead of just tearing Ruby down! Your attitude is uncalled for, heiress or not. Yes, Ruby can be immature but keep in mind, she's only 15. Also, ANYONE can be immature," Zack says, trying to diffuse the situation before it could get worse. Weiss looked at Zack with a mix of shock and annoyance. Zack just crosses his arms over his chest, and just stares Weiss down, waiting for her to give in. Weiss eventually gives in with a sigh. She turns to Ruby.
"Look, I'm.. sorry. I just really wanted to be team leader but clearly Headmaster Ozpin saw something in you that made him deem you worthy. I'll try not to be so harsh with my words as long as you try to act more like an actual leader," Weiss says, the apology genuine. Ruby smiles.
"Apology accepted! I'll try my best but like Zack said, I am going to be a bit more immature than everyone else. But I will do my best to prove that I am worthy of the title!" Ruby says. Weiss smiles a very small smile.
"Well let's get to Professor Oobleck's class then? Wouldn't be wise to be late," Weiss says. Ruby nods in agreement and heads off to History. Zack made to follow but had heard Ozpin approach and once more stayed behind. He turns and looks at the headmaster.
"Great work Mr. Fair. I'm impressed with how quickly you were able to diffuse the situation. For a moment, I thought Miss Schnee was going to tear into you next," Ozpin says, a hint of amusement in his voice. Zack chuckled lightly.
"I didn't want my friends to fight and I guess you could say I try to be diplomatic whenever possible, despite my love of fighting," Zack says, rubbing the back of his neck. Ozpin nods.
"That's a good skill to have. Now I suggest you run off to your next class," Ozpin says, sipping his hot chocolate. With a nod and playful salute, Zack dashes off to History. He makes it in time and plops down next to Cloud just as Professor Oobleck started his lesson and zooming around. This lesson at the least was easy enough to stay awake during, due to the fact that Oobleck was constantly moving. The green haired professor suddenly stops.
"Now! Who can tell me why the Faunus had the advantage during the war?" Oobleck asks, scanning the class for any unwilling volunteers. He looks for a student who seemed to think slacking off was permitted in his class. "Mr. Winchester! Please answer the question!"
"Cause animals are easier to train," Cardin smirks, his anti-Faunus prejudice out in the open. This causes Zack to growl slightly, not liking this kid's attitude. Cloud just puts a hand on the ex-1st Class SOLDIER's shoulder to make sure his friend and leader didn't do something stupid.
"Actually, it's because most Faunus have night vision," Pyrrha supplies, glaring at the obvious bully.
"Also, General Lagune attempted to ambush the Faunus army in the middle of the night, only to be captured after his army was defeated," Blake adds in, also glaring at Cardin.
"Correct Miss Belladonna and Miss Nikos! Mr. Winchester, you will stay after class for a few minutes," Oobleck states, obviously displeased with CDNL's leader and his attitude.
~ Miniature Timeskip! ~
Teams RWBY, JNPR and ZARC were all seated in the large room that was to hold their Combat Class. Everyone was excited for it as it chance for all of them to hone their skills while simultaneously showing off without the chance of dying. Despite the fact that Glynda would be the one teaching the Combat Class, the excitement did not deter.
"The first week of your Combat Class will be to access your combat level and skills. When you are fighting someone, you will be fighting by tournament rules. That means once your Aura is in the red OR you are knocked out of the ring, the tournament will end. It can also end should someone yield, be knocked out or if I deem the fight unsafe to continued," Glynda says. She pulls out her scroll and runs the random pairing program, which was displayed on the rather large screen behind her. Soon enough, Zack's profile and Pyrrha's profile were shown on the screen. "Our first match will be Mr. Fair and Miss Nikos. You both have five minutes to get ready and come back."
"This should be fun!" Zack grins at Pyrrha who nods enthusiastically. The two head off to get changed. Pyrrha was curious as to how she would do against Zack after her talk with Cloud in Crafty Supplies. Five minutes later, Pyrrha and Zack return and are on opposing sides of the ring. Zack was in his 1st Class SOLDIER gear, the Buster Sword on his back. Pyrrha was in her Grecian themed armor, Akoúo̱ on her left arm and Miló in her right hand. Glynda gives the two the okay to start and the two immediately charge, Zack drawing the Buster Sword as he ran.
Zack brings the sword down in overhead cleave, Pyrrha blocking it with her shield, sparks flying at the contact. Pyrrha goes to swipe at Zack's unprotected midsection with Miló, only for the wolf-faunus to start pressing down against Akoúo̱ with his superior strength. Pyrrha in turn, uses a small bit of her Semblance to help push the Buster Sword off her shield as she was starting to lean backwards. She backs up to regain her footing. Zack gains his and he launches another attack, this time a downward diagonal slash going from upper right to lower left, only for his sword to just barely miss Pyrrha. Frowning, Zack immediately launches again, this time going from bottom left to upper right. Pyrrha had once more activated her Semblance a bit and then moves to the side and thrusts Miló into Zack's side. The raven-haired male grunted a bit as the javelin hit him. After a few more test attacks, Zack realized that he wasn't going to get anywhere with the Buster Sword so he leaps backwards to avoid getting hit by Miló again. He puts the Buster Sword in the ground, having some instinct telling him her Semblance was similar to his magnetic holster.
Pyrrha sees Zack backing up and takes that chance to switch Miló to rifle form and starts shooting at Zack. The wolf-faunus dodges and rolls his way towards Pyrrha, a bullet nicking him here and there. He activated his Semblance and three portraits of Ruby line up, the phrase "Speed Is Key!" flashing for a moment as he finally gets in melee range. Letting his Semblance take over and not giving Pyrrha too much of a chance to fight back, Zack starts his attack. His fists and feet go flying, barely visible as he pummels the Grecian themed Huntress. Due to his MAKO and Aura enhanced strength, the ten second attack dealt a decent amount of damage on Pyrrha, her Aura far under his as she had no way of blocking the attack. Glynda noticed this one of Zack's possible combinations and had secretly filmed it for Ozpin, glad that it did not endanger Pyrrha and also glad that Pyrrha had a very large Aura supply and could handle such an assault.
When the assault was over, Zack had to back up, panting a bit as the intensity of the speed was a little tiring. Pyrrha took that opportunity to attack again, swiping left to right at Zack's abdomen. Zack takes the hit, only to grab Miló in attempt to rip out of Pyrrha's hand. He then gets bashed by Akoúo̱, causing him to stumble backwards. Pyrrha had kept her grip on the javelin and advances again. Zack saw her approach and feinted a grab at Miló, causing the redhead to move lunge forward. The spiky haired male stepped to her left and quickly sent a harsh kick to her back, sending his opponent spiraling to the ground. Pyrrha glanced at her Aura and saw she was in the orange almost red whereas Zack had just got to yellow. In last ditch attempt, Pyrrha used her position on the ground to chuck her shield at Zack's legs, only for him to jump over it. She was on one knee at this point and held her arms up in a block to block the punch Zack threw.
"Match Over! Mr. Fair is the winner as Miss Nikos's Aura is in the red. I believe you have met your match Miss Nikos," Glynda says. "I have no criticisms to give you at the moment, so please go change and take your seats when you return." The two nod at her words. Zack offers a hand to Pyrrha and helps her out.
"Wonderful match Zack!" Pyrrha says, happy that SOMEONE could actually beat her.
"You're not mad?" Zack asks, as they each went to retrieve their weapons.
"Of course not! I'm actually glad I met someone who could beat me," Pyrrha answers as she walks out with Zack. Neither saw that the next match-up was Reno vs Yang.