This chapter takes place more or less around the 15th and 16th episodes, but does not involve the canon events.
Thunk, thunk, thunk.
"Good work," Goodwitch spoke monotonously, making it incredibly obvious that she was far from impressed with their 'good work'. Perhaps the thunks were too few and far between. It couldn't be helped; marksmanship was not their specialty. The students she had assembled for this supplementary class were all Hunters and Huntresses with no long range form for their weapon, something that she admittedly considered a fatal disadvantage.
Cammo grumbled angrily, sweating hard after close to an hour of constant running and shooting. "Its not like everyone is as frail a fighter as you when it comes to QCQ."
"What was that, Ms. Deuce?" Goodwitch said with a low growl. Beneath her words was an arctic breeze, freezing the saucy student in place. Perhaps it wasn't so much her tone as it was the way all of the dozens of levitating targets swiveled to face her along with the professor. It reminded her somewhat of Quincy's snake nest-like harness, always looking around for a victim, straying from the gentle mood of their wielder.
She took aim and fired rapidly, striking two marks a good three centimeters off center.
"Twenty-four shots, two hits..." their instructor sighed. "This is going to take far more work."
"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU EXPECT FROM US?" Cammo burst furiously. Ahab had only just realized, but the girl seemed to have a penchant for shouting, screaming and generally being loud. It was powerful enough to make him grimace; her angry voice still rang clear and was easy on the ears, but it attracted to much attention to their team. Feeling those gazes on him... he shivered at the thought.
"I expect you to have more than just two options in combat. A Huntress should be able to adapt to any situation and be prepared to fight any enemy. That's why I have equipped you with standard issue firearms for training. Learn to shoot with these and broaden your horizons."
Ahab glanced around. Besides himself and Cammo, there were only a few other students without ranged weaponry: Jaune Arc and Cardin Winchester, as well as four or five others Ahab couldn't put a name to. In addition to the many first years, an immense second year with a black crew cut was standing near the back of the class.
"Let's take a quick break now," Goodwitch declared. The students collapsed where they stood (with the exception of the second year), struggling to sit up at the very least. Ahab called to Cammo weakly.
"I'm not too sure about this class..."
"Yeah, you're telling me," she snorted. She let the Tommy gun she had been firing fall to the dirt, rolling her shoulder and wincing in pain. "Honestly, what's she expecting me to hit with such a low accuracy weapon?"
"No, not that. It's just... they're kinda singling out the exclusively melee kids..."
"...like we're the special needs kids." She spat on the ground and cursed. "There's no need to carry one more weapon. Nemean Grin is all I really need to take down anything that tries to pick a fight with me."
Ahab shrugged in agreement. He didn't need to keep his distance from anyone - thanks to his hyper regeneration he could simply charge through projectiles and engage from close quarters. Sure it hurt, but...
He glanced down at the simple machine pistol. As much as he appreciated the generosity of Beacon Academy, it just didn't feel right in hands. Feeling the smooth back strap in his palm, running his fingers around the grooves subtly, he just couldn't use it the way Blake used Gambol Shroud. That graceful, pinpoint accuracy that he had witnessed didn't come naturally to him as it did to the others, who had been fighting with firearms for much of their lives. Rather, it didn't give him the same experience he had trained himself for with Titanium Vengeance.
How could he say it... didn't most people refer to weapon mastery as using one's weapon like another arm? The rattling metal in his weak grip felt more like an enemy than the target. He didn't get the same connection with the pistol that he did with his own weapons. His eye twitched in fear. Had he messed up by training with his strange, screwed up weapon? Had he ruined himself for guns by learning with his body?
As Ahab collapsed into his insecurities, Cammo fumed.
"Goodwitch. Heh. More like Goodbitch."
She chuckled. That wasn't a half bad pun. She couldn't share this with Ahab though, he was too straight laced. Maybe Eido. He had a certain appreciation for wordplay and vulgarity, as well as a certain depreciation for Goodwitch. 'She's too strict,' he had explained. 'She always catches my tampering.'
Pause. Maybe she shouldn't involve herself with Eido's projects too much. She could be tried for aiding and abetting.
Staring at the useless firearm, abandoned on the amphitheater floor, she bristled with rage once again. Why did she need to compromise herself to fit some ideal Huntress mold? Not even Goodwitch could fully understand the effectiveness behind each student's individual style. Why did she think she could somehow improve Cammo's technique with her textbook methods?
She could accomplish anything with her strength. Her talent was her lifeblood. She didn't need a 'ranged combat option', and she certainly didn't need an instructor. What she needed was a challenge. A test of her power.
She wanted a mission more than anything else. That's why she came to Beacon. She was already strong enough. She just needed a campaign platform.
Meanwhile, Goodwitch spoke to Yatsuhashi in a hushed tone as he lay an assault rifle down to the earth. It seemed as if it weighed less than a sheet of paper in his hands, but the heavy clang as it struck the ground revealed its hefty weight.
"Mr. Daichi, I realize that this isn't your forte, but you need to at least try to advance in this course."
He nodded in understanding, but she frowned. He was far too casual about this, considering that all the second years had already grasped marksmanship to a T. He still ignored long distance combat altogether. It was upsetting for her, because in all other respects he was a model student. Simply refusing to use a ranged weapon was a ridiculous reason to be a problem child, but she had a quota to maintain.
"You need to pick up a ranged weapon soon. All of your peers have learned to diversify their tactics, but I'm worried that your specialties are a touch too... straight forward."
He nodded again. Goodwitch groaned in frustration. Obedient as he was, she would get nowhere with his stubbornness.
"Fine. We'll just have to continue sending you to supplementary classes. It's a shame, but until you reach the level of your teammates I can't let you advance."
A final nod. She stormed off, visibly disappointed. Cammo snickered at her sullen face, a welcome sight for sore eyes.
"Don't worry about Goodbitch," she advised the huge second year, recycling her last joke. "You look pretty damn strong. I'm sure you can handle yourself in a fight."
He nodded. Dust, was he mute or something?
"Hey Ahab, meet... Daichi?" she asked, prompting explanation, but he replied once again with a simple head gesture. At least she knew his neck wasn't just on a hinge, waving in the wind; he shook his head no this time. She motioned for him to elaborate, but he remained silent, staring down at her seat on the amphitheater floor. Giving up, she unlocked her Scroll and quickly made her way to the student roster.
"Yatsuhashi?"
He nodded.
"Hey Ahab, meet Mouthless." She grabbed Ahab's shoulder and drew him closer to introduce her stammering leader to Yatsuhashi. The second year frowned at the nickname, but let it slide.
"He-hehehehehheeeeey," he stuttered, transforming his frightened greeting into an awkward laugh. Realizing that this option was not much better, his face fell and he curled up into a ball.
"Really, this again?" Cammo sighed at the boy's trembling. "Whatever, this is Ahab, my pitiful team leader. I'm Cammo."
He nodded his usual soundless greeting. Seriously, what was wrong with his voice? Cammo chuckled at the thought of the enormous upperclassman opening his mouth and revealing a squeaky, prepubescent speech pattern entirely unfit for a man of his proportions.
In spite of her curiosity, she didn't pry. Something told her he wouldn't answer.
"You're a friend of Coco's? On team CFVY?"
He nodded.
"Wait, who? H-h-how do you know that?"
Cammo whirled around at the annoyingly breathy Ahab. On second thought, it would be more amazing if that huge second year could manage to mimic Ahab's childish whispering. Dust, sometimes he really got on her nerves. Then again, looking closer at that adorably fragile kid just made her heart melt a little.
What the hell? Maternal instinct? From herself of all people?
Disgusting.
"Well, obviously I know who the big players at Beacon are. Of the many teams currently training here, CFVY is one of the strongest, flashiest and overall best known of them all."
"Eh?" He didn't know. Maybe that thin hood blocked out a lot more information than she thought. Of course, being as socially isolated as he was, he probably couldn't tap in to the mainstream data flow like she did. More like he was hiding from it, actually.
"I actually met up with Coco earlier this year. Sometime after our battles with team RWBY, I think." Yatsuhashi raised an eyebrow at this and cocked his head ever so slightly. Cammo mentally pumped her fist. FUCK YEAH, A REACTION!
"She wasn't too interested in underclassmen," she continued. "I did manage to convince her to answer a few questions, though." Thank god she had, too. Coco wasn't the most accommodating person at Beacon, and she had seemed earnestly irritated by Cammo's careful probing. It apparently didn't take much to rile her up. Of all kinds of people, Cammo hated standoffish types the most. Probably because they reminded her of herself.
Yatsuhashi nodded understandingly. Interesting how one simple gesture could be used for so many occasions. He knew his own leader's personality just as well as Cammo knew hers, so he sympathized with the (he thought) ridiculously short girl.
"Yeah, I know right? Is she always like tha-"
"Okay, back to work!"
'Dammit Goodwitch, I was doing my thing! Don't interrupt me when I'm doing my thing!' Cammo cursed internally. Externally, she rolled her eyes and gave the second year a polite smile.
"See you around, I guess."
He nodded.
"Yeah, you too." She dragged her feet all the way to the discarded Tommy gun and picked it up. Ahab grabbed the machine pistol and took aim.
"Start!" Goodwitch exclaimed, and the targets buzzed about her once again.
Because Yatsuhashi has only made one or two appearances so far, I just went with the typical silent warrior archetype. If anyone has a problem with it, you're free to complain. That's just how I see him.
Come to think of it, team CFVY is pretty close to team ECQA in terms of character design. Yatsuhashi = Quincy (op giants), Fox = Eido (slender cool guys), Coco = Cammo (petite queen-bee types) and Velvet... well, she and Ahab are very similar under the surface. I swear this wasn't intentional, I guess its just how the character types spread out for most groups of four.
What's this chapter for? Well, it was just kind of bothering me how obviously bullshit the weapons system was like in the RWBY universe. BYOW? Really? Where's the tactical advantage of training only some students with custom overpowered weapons and others with "family heirlooms"? I know that most other authors on this site have confronted that issue (all of the alternate Jaune stories that have him specializing in additional weapons besides his sword and shield, or give Crocea Mors new abilities), so I just thought this was another way Beacon might maintain a reasonable minimum of at least one melee and one ranged option for every student.
Besides that, introducing team CFVY to team ECQA's scope of understanding. Or at least Ahab's scope. Also, Yatsuhashi is cool.
Thanks for reading as usual. If you have any suggestions, complaints, etc on the story, be sure to leave a review. Have a good day and I hope you feel like a good person. Y'know, just the usual passing praise.
My AN's are too long.