Chapter 12
The Night Before

Ruby wasn't too sure what she was supposed to do now. After the little revelation at the cafeteria, it had taken Hall half an hour to familiarize himself with Remnant's written language. After he did that, he immediately returned to Ozpin. Ruby wasn't too sure what they had talked about, since the two communicated through writing, and she didn't have a chance to translate anything. By the end of it, the headmaster gave Hall his own Scroll, and informed Ruby that she didn't need to follow the hall monitor around anymore.

At least Hall had the decency to tell her what he planned to do now, though that didn't amount to anything. Since he could read the language, the man decided to visit the school's library. And since he could communicate with messages on his Scroll, Ruby's translation ability wasn't needed anymore. This meant that she could return to her team and prepare for classes tomorrow, since they needed to set up house rules and such.

Which was why she wasn't sure what she was supposed to do.

Upon returning to their dorm room, Ruby saw her two of her three teammates in varying states of distress. Weiss and Blake were down, and she couldn't see Yang anywhere. They gave Ruby a half-hearted greeting, but judging from the way Blake listlessly flipped through books, as well as how enamoured Weiss was with her unpacked luggage, the red girl knew something had happened.

"Is... Is everything okay?" There wasn't much else she could do but ask.

"We had an argument with your sister." Blake answered the team leader, giving Ruby a listless glance before she turned back to her book. It had been a few hours since the argument, and her mind was just as muddled now as it was then. She tried to lose herself in her books, but all she saw were nothing more than words on a page. She was far too distracted, and finally decided to put her book down. "Don't worry about it. It was just a difference of opinions."

The look on Ruby's face told Blake that the girl would be worrying about it far into the night. Taking a soft sigh, she decided to alleviate her concerns, finally explaining what happened. "We were just arguing about the... hall monitor, I guess he's called. Your sister was worried about leaving you alone with him, since he attacked you before." Ruby flinched a bit at that, but continued listening. "I tried to explain that he didn't mean to, and that he deserves a second chance... What do you think?" The black-haired girl threw the question to Ruby, wondering exactly where she stood.

"Well, he isn't a bad person or anything. And it's not like he hurt me on purpose." Ruby honestly wasn't too sure what the big deal was. He was lost and confused and dumped into an unknown world. It wasn't that big of a problem that she was nearly... Killed. She nearly died. Sure, it was easy to ignore since she was unconscious in Valhalla for most of it, but... the girl let out a sigh, her hand falling to the spot in her stomach where she had been icicle'd. And yet, despite everything..."He's trying to make up for it, so isn't that enough? It was a bad situation for everyone."

"H-Hey, that's not fair! You're not supposed to turn my sister against me." Yang's sudden interruption marked her return to the room, her eyes falling to Ruby. She approached her sister, pulling the girl into another hug. "... Can you blame me for worrying about her?"

Blake shook her head at Yang's question, setting her book aside as she looked at the blonde. "No, I can't... But do you really think he'll try anything?" It was a blatant question, and one that she was sure Yang had asked herself many times over.

"No... Honestly, I don't." She was hesitant to answer, though she didn't know why. Yang wasn't proud enough to ignore when she was wrong, and she thought through everything as much as the rest of her team did. The only excuse she could muster was that she was scared for her sister, but hearing the words from Ruby had been enough to settle her mind. "So I guess I'll calm down for now." And her mind was settled enough to recall the argument from before. She remembered the words Blake had spoke, but more importantly, she remember how she spoke them. Yang couldn't help but wonder if her teammate was thinking about someone else when she talked about second chances. "And... Sorry about earlier."

"Don't worry about it." And just like that, it was settled. The girls all claimed a bed, resolving to unpack properly tomorrow. For now, they would brush up and take their long-awaited sleep.

"Atlas." Oobleck's voice was clear and concise as he read the word. It was a curious task, but not one he shied away from, as the man was eager to help this individual learn the words of Remnant. "Vytal. Vale. Mistral." It was also a simple task, where he'd simply read off the words Hall pointed out to him. The young man would then parrot them until he was comfortable with the term, and resume reading.

And read he did. From Ozpin's explanation earlier, Hall considered himself a scholar, and the rate at which he consumed books only lent to that assertion. The first two books he had read were children's books to acquaint himself with the language and grammar. The next was an information pamphlet on Grimm. Then metallurgy, then botany. Now, he was reading through a geography textbook with ease. Bartholomew could only wish for students as dedicated as this one; he had caught more than a few sleepers in his class before.

"Svsod."

If only his ability to speak the language matched his ability to read it. Oobleck shook his head at Hall's attempt, looking at the young man as he repeated the words. While it was fulfilling to teach a student, it was disheartening to see absolutely no progress.

"Atlas."

"Svsod."

And that's when Bartholomew noticed something odd. The sounds that Hall had made were ... wrong. Not in the sense of him being incorrect, but rather the fact that it didn't match the motion of his lips. By all accounts, he should at least be speaking something with two syllables, but it didn't match up in the slightest. This time, he took out his Scroll, pointing it at the young man urging him to speak once more.

"Again. Atlas."

"Sihwy. Akdcz."

And now it made even less sense. He was sure the man tried to parrot both words, but if that was the case, why did Atlas sound so different from the first time he uttered it? Did it have something to do with the fact that he came from another world? After all, while he wasn't present for the explanation, he had heard all he needed to from Ozpin. And based on what his Scroll told him, whatever fueled him in the previous world was converted haphazardly to Aura, with the machine spitting out garbage instead of an aura level. This was intriguing information, and Bartholomew decided to share it.

"Whatever your equivalent of aura is, it seems to be interfering with aura." Oobleck started writing on an empty notebook, his gaze fixed on the odd readings on his Scroll. "You should read up on aura and see if you can't figure out why." Of course, he wanted to help, but the teacher had no idea how aura was involved, only that it was related to whatever else Hall had. And he had been present when Hall was tossing icicles, so he knew the young man had something else besides aura. Passing the note to the young man, Oobleck took one of the many books laid on the shelves and handed it to him.

"This should help with your readings. In fact, I recommend you collect your books for the day. It is getting late, and your duties as hall monitor begin tomorrow. I trust Ozpin has informed you of them?" Bartholomew turned to communication via Scroll, quickly typing the words as fast as he could normally speak, before giving the young man a curious glance.

It took a moment for the Scholar to comprehend the words, but he finally gave the professor a nod in response. Gathering his books, he was escorted out of the library, as Oobleck led him to his room, assigned by the staff. It was closer to the quarters used by the faculty rather than students, and was suspiciously close to the headmaster in particular, but the Scholar acknowledged it as them keeping tabs on him. Not like he would do anything.

At least, not until he figured out how Aura and Spiritual Power were related. It seems tonight will be a sleepless night. Hopefully, he still didn't need it.

It was a sleepless night for more than one person. A certain young heiress was currently in the midst of watching her teammates sleep, her vision flickering from Blake to Ruby to Yang, only to rest on her own hands. Something had been gnawing at her for the past day, and while it was suppressed by the argument from earlier, the silent night did nothing but bring out her worries in earnest.

Granted, the argument didn't help either. Weiss was certain she recognized the odd face that Blake made. It was a familiar sensation, born from something she knew intimately: self doubt. She had no idea why the girl had that look, since she was the most well-adjusted member on the team. Ruby was still so childish, even with her new task of acting translator, and Yang had proven to be more impulsive than anything else. Of course, it was hard for Weiss to say if she was better, but at least she tried to keep it under control. That's how she had been taught, and it was through discipline that she managed to stay clear headed when everyone else on the team was so obviously disturbed.

And all that brought her mind back to the big question. Why was she not made leader? Why was it that Ruby was somehow qualified when she was not? Was it truly based on her meeting with the odd man? That was the only logical explanation she could think of, but the girl couldn't believe Ozpin would make a decision that lasted 4 years based purely on a chance encounter.

Even now, as she looked at the sleeping girl in her bed, all she saw was a child. She was unkempt, had no grace while she slept, and even made these odd giggling sounds every so often, no doubt the result of whatever childish dream was currently entertaining her. And even if Weiss wasn't qualified, surely there had to have been a better choice than Ruby? Maybe not Yang, but the girl felt that, at the very least, Blake was a better decision.

But that doesn't matter anymore, does it? The decision was already made. Letting out a tired sigh, Weiss tried to push her thoughts aside, settling back into her bed. Hopefully, her classes tomorrow would make her forget how silly Ozpin's decision was. Who knows, maybe Ruby won't be a child for once, and show some leader material.