Pov: Ryuki
"Professor Oobleck?" Weiss asked.
"Yes, I'm afraid those bags won't be necessary, boys and girls, seeing as you've opted to shadow a Huntsman on what is now essentially a reconnaissance mission. I can assure you, we will not be establishing a single base of operations; rather, we will be traversing several miles of hazardous wasteland and making camp in any defendable locations we may stumble upon. I packed all of our essentials myself, plotted our air course, and readied the airship. And... It's Doctor Oobleck. I didn't earn the PhD for fun, thank you very much!" He said.
"Uh..." was the noise we all made, except me.
"Come now, children; according to my schedule, we are already three minutes behind!...schedule!" Oobleck freaked out as he ran to the ship.
"Well, alright, then! Looks like we're going to save the world with Doctor Oooobleck- okay yeah when you say it out loud it sounds worse." Ruby said.
'It'll be fun.' I smiled.
"Save the world?" We heard behind us.
We turned around to see Nora and teamJNPR approaching.
"You're going on world-saving missions without us? I'm hurt... sad! Maybe a little hungry? That last one's not your fault, though, Ren..."
Ren simply crosses his arms and turns away.
"Sounds exciting. Where're you guys going?"
"Oh, just outside the kingdom..." Ruby said.
"Hey! So are we!" Nora said.
"Ren and Nora wanted to shadow the sheriff of a nearby village." Pyrrha said.
"We set out tomorrow." Ren said.
"Then you can party with us tonight! We're shadowing a crime specialist. All inner-city detective stuff. We get junior badges." Neptune said as he and Sun showed up.
Jaune seemed awestruck.
"We normally go to the city with you guys, which means stuff's always exploding and junk, so we thought this might be a better way to check out the kingdom when it's, you know... normal." Sun said.
"Well-" Ruby began.
"Four minutes, ladies and gentlemen!"
"Well, uh... Wish us luck!" Ruby said.
Later
We were all on the airship, waiting till we got to our destination.
"I guess I just never saw you as much of a fighter." Yang said.
"I admit I fancy myself more of an intellectual, but I can assure you, as a Huntsman, I've had my fair share of tussles." Oobleck said.
"Like the mushroom?" Ruby asked.
"Those are truffles." Blake said.
"Like the sprout?" Ruby asked.
'Those are Brussels.' I said.
"Besides, given my expertise in the field of history as well as my dabblings in the archaeological surveys, our dear headmaster saw fit to assign me to this particular... assignment!" Oobleck said.
"What does history have to do with this?" Weiss asked.
"Also who cares about the past?" Sydney asked.
"Why, what a preposterous question, you silly girls! Why, history is the backbone of our very society! And the liver! Probably the kidneys, if I were to wager." Oobleck said.
"And that means..?" Tatsumi asked.
"The southeast quadrant outside of Vale is home to wild forests and deep caves, but it is also the location to one of the kingdom's greatest failures!" Oobleck said.
"Mountain Glenn." Ruby said.
"That's right! It was an expansion of Vale... but in the end it was overrun by Grimm and fenced off from the rest of the city." Yang said.
"Correct! And now it stands abandoned as a dark reminder." Oobleck said.
"And a likely place for a hideout." Blake said.
"Precisely!" Oobleck said.
The ship landed and we all walked out of it to scout the area.
"Ladies and gentlemen! You still may be students, but as of this moment, your first mission as Hunters and Huntresses has begun! From this point forward, you need to do exactly as I say! Do you understand?"
We all nodded when Ruby's bag moved.
"Ruby! I thought I told you to leave all of your bags back at school." Oobleck
"But, uh, you hadn't told us to listen to you yet. So I didn't." Ruby said.
I face palmed when Oobleck spoke.
"She's not wrong... Very well, Ruby; leave your bag here, we can pick it up upon our return." Oobleck said.
"But I, well uh-" Ruby tried to speak.
"Young lady, what in the world could you possibly have in that bag that could be so important to bring it with-"
The bag opened and Zwei's head poked out.
"Get back in the bag." Ruby whispered.
Zwei merely barks in response.
"We're here to investigate an abandoned urban jungle teeming with death and hostility, and you brought... a dog?" Oobleck asked.
"I, uh..." Ruby tried to find a way out.
I was so worried for her that I almost walked towards her when Oobleck screamed.
"Genius!" She grabbed the dog and spun him around. "Canines are historically known for their perceptive nose and heightened sense of sound, making them excellent companions for a hunt such as ours!" Oobleck said.
"I'm a genius!" Ruby cheered.
Weiss and Yang both facepalm at their grinning leader. I walked over and patted her on the head, making her blush.
"So, what are your orders, Doctor?" Blake asked.
"Ah, yes, straight to the chase; I like it!" He let go of Zwei, but I luckily caught him in the air with my semblance before I set him down. "As you've been informed, the southeast area has been marked as a recent hot spot for Grimm activity. Now, there are several possible explanations for this behavior, one of which being... Grimm."
"Uh, what?" Ruby asked.
"Grimm. A creature of Grimm approximately one hundred yards from us at this very moment." Oobleck said.
"What?!" Yang
We turned to look like at the lone Beowolf wandering into the street. We all took out our weapons.
"Stop!" Oobleck commanded.
"Huh?" Blake asked.
"There are a number of reasons why Grimm will congregate in this particular area, the most likely of which will be their attraction to negativity: sadness, envy, loneliness, hatred. All qualities that are likely held by our hidden group harboring ill intent."
I looked at Satoshi who seemed to be staring at his arm.
"So... What now?" Ruby asked.
"We wait. We track. If this specimen leads us to its pack, that pack may subsequently lead us to our prey." Oobleck said.
"How long do we wait?" Blake asked.
"It's uncertain. Hours, days, weeks. Why, lone Grimm have been known to stay isolated from the pack for months - and there's the whole pack." Oobleck said.
"What?" Weiss asked.
"And now they've seen us." Oobleck said.
"What?!" Weiss yelled.
"AND NOW THEY'VE SEEN US!" Oobleck yelled.
"I take it tracking them is out of the question?" Ruby asked.
"An accurate assumption, yes." Oobleck said.
"What's the plan, then?" Yang asked.
We looked at Oobleck.
"Show me what you're capable of." He said.
"Cover your ears, Zwei!" Ruby said.
Tatsumi smirked as he activated his semblance and charged in with his flaming sword. Yang launched herself right after him, Blake following her. Ruby hopped up to a vantage point as did I and we gave some support. Weiss flew after the Grimm, Sydney turned invisible and I thought she left when I saw some Grimm randomly get hit, letting me know she was there. And then I saw a stray Grimm heading towards Satoshi. I aimed my bow when he charged at it and unsheathed his sword and slicing it in two.
I lowered my bow and aimed towards the others as they fought.
"Come on!" Tatsumi yelled as he sliced two Grimm at once.
The fight was over rather quickly with all of us and there being only five Grimm.
"Heh. Piece of cake!" Ruby said.
"Yeah, because you were on a building waiting to get a shot." Sydney said.
I used my semblance to throw a pebble behind Sydney's head.
"Do not celebrate yet, for I am certain this is the first bout of many. Shall we continue?" Oobleck asked.
We continued through the city and as we fought multiple Grimm, Oobleck was observing the surroundings. The more we went, the more exhausted we got from fighting.
"Excellent work, boys and girls! Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be any signs of criminal operations in this sector. Oh, well! Moving on!" Oobleck said.
I looked at Satoshi to see him getting visibly upset.
"Hey, Doc, y'know, I was actually looking forward to seeing a 'pro Huntsman' in action. Like, fighting, or at least, helping us fight?" Yang asked.
"Ah, but I am in action! Scouring the ruins of this once-great city for any signs of irregularity!" He turned to look at all of us. "Not every mission is filled with daring and heroism, girls. Sometimes it's just a heightened form of extermination! Remember, this is a job, and you all signed up for it. I do hope you understand that." He said.
"Well, yeah... O-Of course!"
"Hmm..." he said.
Later
I shot an arrow at a Beowulf as Satoshi and Yang beat and stabbed another one.
"Tell me, Yang. Why did you choose this line of work?" Oobleck asked.
"Huh? Well, to fight monsters and save-"
"No, that is what you do. I want to know why you do it. The honest reason as to why you want to be a Huntress."
"The honest reason? I'm a thrill-seeker. I want to travel around the world and get wrapped up in as many crazy adventures as I can. And if I help people along the way, then that's even better. It's a win-win, y'know?"
"I see." Oobleck said. "And what about you two?"
"Us?" Satoshi asked.
"Yes." He said.
"I… I don't know." Satoshi said.
"Very well. And you, ms. Suni?" Oobleck asked.
'I did it to help others who can't defend themselves. Even if I have the disadvantage of not having an aura, that doesn't mean I can't try.' I said.
"Interesting."
Later
We all met up again.
"Anything?" Tatsumi asked.
Satoshi shook his head.
"Should we keep going?" Ruby asked.
"Nope! I believe that will have to do for today. It's going to be dark soon. You seven, set up camp in that building. Oh, and please do make sure there are no more of those... creatures. Team RWBY's leader and her girlfriend and I are going to secure the perimeter. Come, Ruby and Ryuki."
Pov change: Satoshi
Later
Sydney was invisible away from the others. Tatsumi was resting his eyes. Yang and I were resting by the fire while Blake and Weiss were feeling the warmth of the fire.
"I can't believe we didn't find anything..." Yang said.
"We've always been fortunate enough to be in the right place at the right time. I guess we can't always have luck on our side." Blake said.
"That's not what I meant." Weiss said.
"Huh?" We asked.
"Earlier, about... upholding the legacy. There's more to it than that." Weiss said.
"Yeah... No, me too. I mean... I don't know." Yang said.
"I don't know, either. I know what I want to do, but I figured I'd always take things one step at a time." Blake said.
"I didn't join to fight evil or anything like that." I said.
"Huh?" Yang asked.
"I didn't join to save the world. I did it to save Ryuki. I couldn't stand to see her starve or beg for money. I couldn't stand seeing people, both human and Faunus, bully and beat her because of our eyes. I couldn't stand the people who tried to take advantage of her."
The others were quiet and I looked down to see my arms had black lines.
"Back at the club, when junior said he knew you…" Yang said.
"He offered me a job if Ryuki became an adult entertainer." I said.
"That's… awful." Weiss said.
"I'm sorry Satoshi." Yang said. "But they don't represent all of humanity and Faunus. You've seen that."
"Yes I have, but that doesn't mean I've forgotten." I said as the lines went away.
"Well at least you weren't treated like a star student." I heard.
Sydney appeared next to Weiss and sat down.
"When I was in vacuo, I was one of the best students which meant three things: high expectations, strict parents, and no friends. They didn't even care that I was a Faunus until I found out the truth. I found out that my friends were friends with me simply so that I can give them help with homework. That made a very bad childhood. My parents told me that it was good because that way, I could sabotage the competition by giving them false information. I couldn't stay there any longer, so I secretly transferred to Beacon and here I am."
"What about you Tatsumi?" Blake asked.
"I joined because I wanna look cool." Tatsumi said.
We chuckled when Oobleck, Ruby and Ryuki showed up.
"Ah, wonderful; a textbook campfire!"
"Fire! So... warm..." Ruby moaned.
Ryuki sat down next to her and sighed in relief.
"Very good! Eat your dinners and hurry to bed. We have a lot of ground to cover tomorrow and we'll need you to take turns keeping watch over our temporary abode. Any volunteers for first watch?" Oobleck asked.
"Yo." Ruby said.
Ryuki raised her hand too.
Oobleck rushed off, and Ruby and Ryuki got up to go over to their lookout point.
"Hey, did Oobleck ask you why you wanted to be a Huntress? I mean... what did you tell him?" Yang asked.
"Hmm... No, he didn't. Weird. Oh, well; good night, guys!" Ruby said as she and Ryuki walked up to the lookout.
We all just didn't think about it and got into our sleeping bags and fell asleep.
Pov change: Ryuki
We sat down and watched as the moon rose. Everyone was asleep now and we were the knights against the darkness so to speak. Zwei walked over and sat next to us and whined when he heard a growl in the distance. Ruby scooted over and rested her head on my shoulder.
"Don't worry. Things will be better tomorrow." Ruby said.
I nodded as we began our watch.