Professor Ozpin was bored. Many people would argue that he looked bored most of the time, but that was rarely the case. The aging headmaster was always thinking, always looking ahead to his next task, always planning something, never having the time for boredom. But today, Ozpin found himself in a rare moment of peacefulness. There was no paperwork on his elaborate cherry wood pedestal desk, no unread messages on his scroll, no contacts he needed to keep up with. Ozpin was at one of those points in time where all the things he needed to get done were out of his hands at the moment. And thus, he sat at his new desk with legs crossed, fingers tips tapping each other in front of his face, staring at the bare gray walls of the temporary school he had rented three months earlier. He was daydreaming of the future now, imagining the new Beacon Academy being built as he sat. A knock at the door brought Ozpin out of his reverie, and he blinked to bring his mind back to the present. "Enter." He said, uncrossing his legs.
The door creaked open, and Glynda strolled into the office. "Good evening, headmaster." She said in a crisp voice. "I have today's student reports." She set a clipboard of papers in front of Ozpin. "Are you feeling well?"
"Yes, I'm fine." Ozpin sighed. "I just wish I had more to do. I feel like I'm wasting time here."
"You could start interviewing candidates to replace Peter's position." Glynda suggested. "You can't keep teaching the class, with all your other duties." Glynda added. In the three months since Beacon had been destroyed, Ozpin had taken Kälte Schnee's offer and used the offered money to rebuild Beacon as fast as possible, and bigger than before. Construction was progressing quickly, but it would be at least another three or four months before Beacon would be usable by staff and students. And it would be another few months after that before the entire campus was complete.
At the temporary facilities that Ozpin was renting, he had remodeled the few buildings into basic dorms and teaching facilities. He made a deal with some surrounding restaurants so that the students could get free food, and Ozpin would pay them the cost in bulk, with a slight discount, at the end of the month, which both saved Ozpin money and made the restaurants more profits. The facilities weren't the best, but they were fairly comfortable and they worked for their purpose.
"Teaching the class doesn't take enough time to keep me occupied. I won't need to start looking for a replacement until the Academy is rebuilt." Ozpin replied with a shrug. With the loss of Professor Port, Ozpin had taken over teaching the lessons that Peter Port had once taught. Ozpin had been a professor before he became headmaster, so falling back into the flow of teaching had been a simple matter. "And the council meeting isn't until this weekend, anyways."
"Have you already drafted up the proposal?" Glynda asked. She was referring to the document that Ozpin was going to present to the Vytal Council, which outlined the use of huntsman and huntresses in wartime combat. The only wars that hunters have ever fought in were the large scale wars against Grimm in the far past, so utilizing them in war against other humans wasn't something that Vytal was prepared for. Hopefully Ozpin's proposal would be accepted, and he could begin recommending and sending over hunters to integrate into the Vytal military.
"Yes, of course. I finished it yesterday, using Tamamo's latest report. She says that the first group of students should start trickling out this week. I may take some of them with me to the Council meeting." Ozpin finished.
"Already?" Glynda said, surprised. "It's only been three months."
"If her reports are anything to go by, she's been running them hard, and a select group of them especially have risen to the challenge, with all their energy." Ozpin replied.
Glynda made an educated guess. "RWBY and JNPR. Or the former RWBY and JNPR, I should say."
"Mmhmm." Ozpin opened the appropriate files on his scroll. "Look at their progress reports. Every week they grow by leaps and bounds. In just months, they've basically made their progress at Beacon look like it was just an introductory lesson." He chuckled. "Maybe we should up the intensity of our lesson plans?" Ozpin joked.
Glynda clicked her tongue dismissively. "With all due respect, we teach more at Beacon Academy than just how to fight, headmaster. The lessons that Miss Mae has them going through don't involve a great many courses that we-"
"I know, I know. My point was that they are taking to this focused, specialized training like fish to water." Ozpin assured her. "Maybe we should give that option to senior students. They follow our curriculum until senior year, and then they are given the option to specialize. History, teaching, combat, research, whatever we have the facilities for."
"An intriguing proposition." Glynda admitted. "We would need to hire more teaching staff, at the very least."
"I get it, no need to beat around the bush. I'll look into hiring a replacement. In addition to changing our curriculum for seniors. At least it'll give me something to do." Ozpin said.
Blake unsheathed her katana, holding it at an angle in front of her in her right hand. She kept the cleaver that also served as the sheath in a reverse grip in her left hand, held slightly behind her. Her feet slid back into a low fighting stance, distributing her wait between the balls of her feet. As Blake settled into her combat stance, she held her place as Cheshire bounced back and forth between his feet, metal claws held out low to either side. He occasionally clicked his claws together to produce a shrill ringing noise, which rang throughout the room and made it hard for Blake to hear clearly.
Blake was patient, and tolerated the piercing ringing echoing throughout the room, waiting for an opening. And then she saw Cheshire hop just a little higher than normal in his bouncing, just an accidental little bit of strength put into his muscles that kept him in the air just a hair longer than usual. This was exactly the kind of opening Blake was waiting for, and she threw Gambol Shroud's katana at Cheshire, the blade folding in as it spun at her instructor. Cheshire made to dodge, but that extra bit of distance to the ground made his leap backwards more a stumble than evasive maneuver.
To compensate for his poor retreat, Cheshire disappeared, leaving only the purple haze that was immediately dispelled by the spinning Gambol Shroud cutting through it. Blake had anticipated this, and leapt up into the air, twirling around with her feet towards the ceiling and head down, spinning Gambol Shroud with its ribbon around her as fast as she could in a defensive maneuver. The spinning blade and ribbon proved an effective defensive against Cheshire, who had reappeared a short distance to Blake's right, but had to immediately retreat again to avoid the spinning blade.
As Blake landed with Gambol Shroud in her hand once more, Cheshire took the momentary opening and leapt at Blake, swinging his right claw up and to the left towards Blake's hip. Blake brought her cleaver up against her side, the thick metal sheath easily stopping the triple bladed claws. Blake countered by bringing her katana down at Cheshire, not expecting it to hit but instead expecting to force a retreat or block. Cheshire chose to block, bring his left claw up with the blades pointing at Blake. The katana slid between two of the claw blades, and Cheshire took advantage of the trapped katana and twisted his arm to throw the blade out of Blake's grip.
Cheshire smiled when he disarmed Blake, knowing their fight was soon over. But to his surprise, Blake had a determined grin as well, and withdrew her now empty hand backwards, as if pulling something. As Blake's arm pulled back, Cheshire's eyes widened as he noticed the black ribbon that she had wrapped around her wrist as she landed earlier, tying her katana to her. Blake's sudden jerk of the ribbon whipped her katana right back around, and as she stepped back to increase the pull the katana flew past her left side, behind her. Rather than catching the katana, she spun and leapt forward at Cheshire, the motion putting more force on the ribbon, and the ribbon spun back around her right side towards Cheshire once again.
Blake cart wheeled over the fast moving ribbon, allowing it to spin past her and around Cheshire. Blake stood with a triumphant grin on her face as her katana wrapped itself around the stunned Cheshire, who was unable to disappear with the ribbon wrapped tightly around him. This was the first time Blake had ever beaten her instructor in their three months of training, and she couldn't keep the excited, predatory grin off her face.
Cheshire stared down at the ribbon wrapped around him for a moment before he burst out into laughter. "You did it!" He roared with laughter. "Magnificent. I knew you could do it." Cheshire congratulated.
"You knew I could do it?" Blake asked questioningly, her delighted grin still on her face.
"I wanted to graduate you last week." He explained. "You learned everything I could teach you, passed all my tests. All that's left is for you to take your experience and apply it. Which will only make you stronger. But Tamamo wanted to wait until you beat me in a fight."
"Why's that?"
"Something about not wanting you to think we were just ushering you out or something. I wasn't listening." He said, unwrapping himself from Gambol Shroud.
"I suppose that makes sense." Blake admitted.
"Does it? Sounds mad to me." Cheshire said while slipping his claws back into his pants pockets.
"I have to ask," Blake started, "Ever since my first lesson, I've been trying to figure out how you keep those long metal claws in your shorts. It doesn't make any sense; it doesn't look like they should fit. How do you keep them in there?" Blake asked.
"It doesn't make sense?" Cheshire asked, looking at his pockets. "It makes perfect sense to me. I put them in, and when I need them I take them out. If it doesn't make sense to you, maybe you're a little mad, too." He said with a smile, pulling his extravagantly large silk top hat out of his back pocket and plopping it on his head.
"Uh huh." Blake chuckled, staring at the ridiculous hat that couldn't possibly have fit into his pocket. "Maybe I am."
"You wouldn't be the first. Being mad has its comforts." He chuckled. "Anyways, I'm proud of you. Go see Tamamo. She'll have the plans ready to send you off."
"Do you know where I'm going?" Blake asked as she sheathed her weapon.
"No idea. I prefer not to get involved in the politics of things."
"Alright then. Thank you for all your help, Ches." Blake said sincerely. "I'll be sure to make you proud."
"Of that, I have no doubt." Cheshire replied. "Farewell, Lady Belladonna. I wish you the best in your endeavors." Cheshire Fry bowed at the waist, removing his hat and bringing it to his chest in a salute. He held the pose for only a second before disappearing in front of Blake for the last time, leaving Blake alone with the faint purple haze and his approval.
"Farewell, Cheshire Fry." Blake said before leaving behind the room that had been her life for the last three months.
Weiss was studying in the fortress' three story library, making sure she had memorized a book of tactics and strategies that she had found extremely helpful during her first month of training. This was only review to her though, because even though she told herself that she was studying she knew in the back of her mind she had read this book so many times she had it memorized verbatim. Weiss couldn't help but try to figure out what had happened to her and her friends over the last few months.
Weiss told herself she had secluded herself from her friends by necessity, and that her studies had left her no time to socialize. She knew that was just an excuse, because she had consciously made a willing decision to spend most of her time studying alone. The extent of her social life at the fortress was limited to the dinners they had shared, but even those had stopped after the first month, with everyone focusing on their own training.
Blake had spent a majority of her time training in either the forest surrounding the fortress, or training in one of the combat rooms. Even Velvet, who shared a room with Blake, barely saw the cat faunus anymore. Weiss had tried to put more effort into maintaining contact with Blake than with her other friends, especially after Velvet had confided in Weiss that she suspected Blake was having nightmares every night. Weiss' efforts were in vain, as Blake brushed off Weiss' concern, saying they were just some bad dreams once in a while. On top of that, Weiss had taken Blake at her word and not pursued the matter further. Velvet had promised to keep an eye on Blake for Weiss, but Velvet was so preoccupied with trying to care for Blake that she soon stopped telling Weiss how Blake was holding up.
Nora was doing no better; her cheerful attitude that had been her default setting had long since disappeared into her friends' memories, leaving only a quiet, focused, and determined Nora behind. Weiss had noticed that when Nora was actually standing still, she spent her time sewing and stitching together a small, stuffed plushie the size of her hand that looked like Ren. Everyone always knew where Nora could be found, but Nora was never in any mood to engage in socializing. Nora was nearly constantly training, constantly getting stronger and more powerful. Weiss didn't think that Nora had spoken more than a few sentences to anyone besides Kani in the three months she had been here.
At their initiation Nora had already contained enough raw power to defeat the great warrior Kani, and under her tutelage Nora's technique and skill and skyrocketed. Nora was now a huntress of such ability that she could single handedly take down any other group of students who would risk sparing with Nora. After Nora defeated six other students at once on her own, word had spread and none of the other students would spar with her, leaving Nora to spend hours, even days at a time in the forest searching for the most powerful Grimm she could find. Nora had trouble finding any Grimm the last month though, as she seemed to have hunted the forest clean.
Jaune and Pyrrha had also put together a concentrated effort to help Nora, but she had turned them down flat, not even bothering with pretenses and excuses. She secluded herself away from her former teammates, most likely because it hurt too much to see them together while she didn't have Ren. This rejection stung the couple deeply, and they had in turn retreated from Nora, losing contact with her. Weiss maintained regular contact with Jaune and Pyrrha, mostly because they were also learning strategy from Denarii in addition to their lessons aura control and use from Vimentis. Weiss often practiced and ran exercises with them in the map room, having mock battles with each of them as commanders of their respective simulated armies. Even this though wasn't very much interaction, with each of them more interested in winning than socializing. Most of their conversations were suggestions, critiques, and discussions regarding tactics and strategy, but at least it was some form of conversation.
Weiss gave up on pretending to study and review and closed her book, pinching the bridge of her nose as she closed her eyes. She heard footsteps approaching the table she was sitting at. "Headache?" a deep voice asked.
Weiss looked up to see Denarii walking towards her, cup of coffee in hand. He held the coffee out to Weiss. "No, just thinking about things." Weiss answered, gratefully accepting the cup of coffee. "The last few months have been full of changes. It's been a lot to take in." She sipped her hot drink.
"I can imagine. You're so young for what you're going through. You and your friends are still basically children." Denarii said with a chuckle, sitting down across from Weiss.
"We're not that young, are we?" Weiss asked. "I'm almost twenty."
"Twenty years old, and soon to be in control of an army. Most newly recruited soldiers are older than you, Miss Schnee." Denarii said meaningfully. "You will have more challenges than any other commander, because of your age. You are part of a new generation and new breed of hunter, one trained for a war against humans rather than monsters."
"A type of hunter that shouldn't need to exist." Weiss pointed out.
"It is… unfortunate." Denarii admitted. "Which is why I am here to give you your final lesson."
Weiss straightened up. "My final lesson?"
"Yes. You are ready to graduate our training." Denarii answered. "And that is the reason for this final lesson. Question, Miss Schnee: What separates us from the Grimm?"
"We have souls, and they do not." Weiss answered, finding the answer obvious.
"An easy enough question. We have souls, and the monsters do not. So the real question now is this: What separates you from Vacuoan soldiers?" Denarii asked, crossing his fingers.
Weiss opened her mouth to answer, but closed it again, thinking. "As sentient beings with souls, I suppose the answer would be 'nothing.' But we are separated by what we are fighting for."
"Exactly. You and your enemies are both people. You both have family, friends, favorite foods, hobbies." Denarii explained. "And your own soldiers as well. Can you kill someone, knowing that? Can you order men into battle, knowing that hundreds, thousands could die? Each soldier a person with their own life, their own story to be told? The pieces on your chessboard now aren't made of wood anymore."
Weiss stayed quiet, contemplating her instructor's words. Could she kill? Yes, she had killed soldiers while defending Beacon, but that was a fight for her life, self defense. And her own soldiers? As Denarii said, they weren't pieces on a chessboard, or simulated dots on an electronic map. Each chess piece and dot was now a life she would hold in her hands. But Weiss focused on why she came here in the first place. Beacon. Lie Ren. Yang Xiao Long. And most of all, Ruby Rose. "Yes." Weiss said, her voice cool as ice, as hard as stone. "I think I very well could."
"Good. You will need that resolve in the times to come. Your first battle will be a learning experience, something I cannot teach you. The final touch on your training." Denarii added, standing up. "But this is something you must consider on your own time. For now, you need to go see Tamamo. You are done here, Miss Schnee. You will be shipping out today. It was a pleasure training you." Denarii brought a fist up to his heart in salute. "May all your battles end in victory."
Weiss stood and returned the salute. "Thank you, Instructor."
"Just Denarii, now." Weiss' former instructor said with a small smile. "Now get moving. Don't wanna be late."
"Yes, sir."
Blake was climbing the stairs to Tamamo's office, anxious to get out of the fortress and into the fight. As she neared the top Blake heard footsteps approaching from the left end of the hallway, and turned to see Nora determinedly making her way towards Blake from the other end of the hall. "Afternoon, Nora." Blake greeted.
Nora nodded in greeting, her facial expression unchanging. Blake wasn't offended at the lack of verbal response, she knew that Nora wasn't one for words in the last few months. They both continued side by side to as they walked, and Blake began to suspect that Nora was also going to Tamamo's office. "Tamamo's office?" she asked. Nora nodded again in confirmation.
They continued in silence, reaching Tamamo's office after a short walked. Blake knocked on the door as she heard a voice behind her. "Hello, Blake. Nora." They both turned to see Weiss ascending yet another stairway from another direction. "I take it you're both seeing Tamamo too." Weiss said, more statement than question.
The door opened before they could respond, and a smiling Tamamo opened the door. "Greetings everyone. Strange that you all arrived at once, but convenient. Come in." She stepped back into her office and sat down at her desk as the three girls followed her sat stood in a line in front of her desk, Weiss in the center with Blake to the right and Nora to the left. Nora was gently stroking her plushie of Ren with her thumb, which she had clipped to her side with a metal clip. "So you beat Ches in a fight, huh?" Tamamo asked, looking at Blake.
"I did." Blake answered with a small grin.
"And I suppose each of you have received your final lessons from Kani and Dani as well?" Weiss and Nora nodded. "I guess there's no reason for me to keep you here then." Tamamo pulled open a desk drawer and pulled out her scroll. "I'll let Ozzy know you're on your way once we're done here, then." She said. "Do any of you have anything you need to pack?" All three girls shook their heads 'no.' "I see. I'll let the caretakers know you'll be leaving soon." She typed some things into her scroll.
"As soon as possible." Nora added.
Tamamo looked up at Nora, then down at Nora's plushie. "As soon as possible." She agreed. She typed a few things into her scroll before closing it. "The caretakers will be waiting for you at the landing pads. I wish you wouldn't go joining this war, you know."
"We have to." Weiss said.
"I suppose you must see it that way." Tamamo said. "As much as I hate to see you go, you've made your decisions. Who am I to try to convince you otherwise." She gave a small wave goodbye as she escorted the trio to the door. "I'm glad you were such good students. Give Ozzy and Glynda my regards." After they said their quick goodbyes, Tamamo closed the door behind them.
"I guess we're the only three leaving." Weiss said.
"Yeah." Blake agreed.
"Blake!" A voice called from behind them as they exited the fortress doors. Weiss, Blake, and Nora turned around to find Velvet jogging towards them. "Where are you going?" She slowed to a stop in front of them, breathing a little harder than normal.
"We finished our training." Blake explained. "We're getting sent back to Professor Ozpin for deployment."
Velvet's eyes watered up slightly. "You're leaving?"
Blake stepped forward as Weiss checked the time and Nora watched emotionlessly. "Yes. I'm sure you'll be done soon too, and we'll all meet up again." Blake pulled Velvet into her shoulder as she hugged her. "I'm sorry I've been such a bad roommate these past few months."
Velvet just sniffed into Blake's shoulder as a few tears fell, leaving a faint dampness on Blake's shirt. "I'll walk with you." She said. Blake nodded and the four girls continued on their way to the landing pad. Weiss led the way, with Nora a few steps behind her and Blake and Velvet at the rear, holding hands. There was no small talk or conversation as they walked, as Velvet was content to just be with Blake.
They arrived at the landing pad in short order, where an airship was already prepped and ready to go, and the pilot waiting patiently in the cockpit while some other caretakers refueled and did a final inspection of the ship. One caretaker saw them and hurried over, giving a quick bow as he came to a stop. "We're ready when you are, ma'am. Just the four of you?"
"Three of them." Velvet corrected. "I'm just here to say goodbye."
"Yes ma'am. We'll get everyone off the pad so we're ready to leave as soon as you wish." He jogged back to the others, shouting orders.
Nora said nothing, just nodded once to Velvet before walking over to the airship and hopping in and seating herself. Weiss gave Velvet a hug as she said her goodbye and wished Velvet luck, then walked over to the airship to give Blake and Velvet some space.
"Come here." Blake said soothingly, pulling Velvet into another embrace, Velvet's head resting on Blake's chest as Velvet's ears tickled Blake's cheek. "You'll be fine, okay? You're strong."
"Not as strong as you." Velvet responded, clinging onto Blake.
"Everyone is strong in their own way." Blake said, stroking Velvet's hair.
"That's really not the point here." Velvet laughed tearfully. "But you should go, before we get caught up in a long goodbye." Velvet wiped her eyes with the back of her wrists. "Bye, Blake. See you soon." Velvet stood on the tips of her toes and kissed Blake on the cheek.
Blake gave Velvet a peck on the cheek in return. "Bye, Velvet. I'm sure we'll see each other again soon. Tell the others we said goodbye too." Velvet stepped back with a nod and clasped her hands in front of her as Blake waved goodbye and stepped up onto the airship. "I'm ready." She yelled to the cockpit.
"Aye aye." The pilot called back. He began flipping switches and pressing buttons, and the engine roared to life in response. "We have takeoff." The pilot announced over the speakers as the ship ascended into the air. There was a brief pause in movement before the engine's rear jets kicked to life, propelling the airship forward towards the horizon.
Velvet was standing on the ground by the landing pad, watching the ship shrink in the distance. "Bye, Blake. I love you."