So, the dance is over, Darce and Blake are dating, and our heroes are receiving their first official mission! So much stuff! Please enjoy!
Ch. 33: I'm on a mission
Darce:
We all rushed to the door the moment Ruby opened it.
"What happened?!" Yang asked immediately.
"Um, well, uh...um, uha." She nervously laugh-stuttered.
She'd told us all about her fight with a "masked woman" last night, and that she was to be questioned today. Of course, Gray and I knew the situation better than her or the headmasters, so we were only really there for support. When Ruby finished telling us about the questioning, Weiss had her arms crossed in concern.
"That was a risky move." She commented.
'Oh, don't even act like that after you spent all that time pacing around the room and fretting about her.' Puck thought at her in my head.
"No, I think you handled it well." Blake interjected.
Yang put a comforting hand on her sister's shoulders.
"I hope so." Ruby meekly said.
"I'm sure everything will be alright, Ruby. Oh! I know what'll cheer you up!" Yang said and walked over to a brown cylinder on a desk.
"What's that?" Ruby asked.
"I don't know yet. Dad sent it to us, I thought we could open it together."
"Ooh! Something from home!" Ruby squealed, and practically teleported onto Yang's back to try and snatch it, but Yang held it just out of her reach.
The commotion caused the bottom to come off and something black slid out. It shook around on the floor for a bit before popping out and turning into an adorable corgi, staring at us for a second then barked twice. Everyone but Gray and me jumped for various reasons.
"ZWEI!" Ruby cried in joy.
Gray was staring in utter befuddlement, Yang looked happy, Weiss looked disgusted, and Blake jumped back in fear.
"He sent a dog?!" Blake asked.
"In the mail?!" Weiss demanded.
Ruby didn't answer on account of she was holding and cuddling her dog. I was adoringly scratching the top of his head.
"Oh, he does stuff like this all the time." Yang said dismissively.
"Your father or your dog?" Blake asked bitterly, suddenly on Ruby's bunk, "And, Darce, You will change your gloves and wash your hands before you come within five feet of me."
I dejectedly stopped petting Zwei and went to do so.
"Cough, pussy whipped, cough." Gray said from behind his fist, actually saying "cough" instead of pretending.
Yang snorted at the pun, but stopped at the combined glares of Blake and me (I kept the bathroom door open to watch and listen to the best part). Weiss looked over to Zwei like she would an insect.
"Are you telling me…" 3, "That this mangy…" 2, "drooling…" 1, "mutt…" 0. the change in her face was instantaneous: She was smiling like a loon and looking adoringly at Zwei, "Is gowing to be wiving wif us foreva? Yes he is, yes he is!"
"Please keep it away from my belongings." Her pointed glare in my direction told me that I fell under the purview of "Her belongings".
"Are we really already at the compromising stage of our relationship?" I asked sarcastically, walking back into the room.
"Would all first year students please report to the amphitheater." Prof. Goodwitch's voice suddenly said over the speakers.
"Well, we can't exactly leave him here while we're gone for a week." Weiss said.
"Look, there's a letter." Yang said and pulled out a paper from the package, "'Dear girls, I've got to leave the island for a few days, so I'm sending Zwei to you to take care of. Enclosed is all the food you should need. Love you both, Taiyang.'"
With that, dozens of cans of dog food spilled out of the cylinder and piled around Zwei, who didn't seem to mind.
"What is he going to do with that?" Weiss questioned.
'Wait for it.' Puck and I thought in stereo.
A can opener fell out of the package and bounced off of the corgi's head.
"Well, that settles it," Yang said, tossing the paper to the side, "Come on, Zwei will be here when we get back."
'No he won't.'
I followed Yang out, followed closely by Gray, then Weiss and Blake. Ruby, I noticed, took a few moments to join us, and was wearing a backpack.
Gray:
I walked into the auditorium with a bit of nervousness. I knew the drill by now, but I couldn't shake a sense of foreboding.
"Quiet! Quiet please! Prof. Ozpin would like to share a few words before we begin." Goodwitch said before Ozpin took the microphone.
"Today we stand together, united. Mistral. Atlas. Vacuo. Vale." He gave a glance to each group as he called them, "The four Kingdoms of Remnant. On this day, nearly eighty years ago, the largest war in recorded history came to an end. It was a war of ignorance, of greed, and of oppression. A war that was about much more than where borders fell or who traded with whom, but about the very idea of individualism itself. We fought for countless reasons, one of which being the destruction of all forms of art and self-expression. And as you are well aware, that was something many could not stand for. As a result, those who opposed this tyranny began naming their children after one of the core aspects of art itself: color. It was their way to demonstrate that not only would they refuse to tolerate this oppression, but neither were the generations to come. And it was a trend that is held to this very day. We encourage individuality, expressionism, and unity through diversity. As I have said, today we stand together, united. But this bond cannot exist without effort. Which is why today, while the rest of the world celebrates peace, Huntsmen and Huntresses will work to uphold it. As first year students, you will be tasked with shadowing a professional Huntsman or Huntress on a mission. Some of you may be taken out of the Kingdom for several days. Others may work within the walls for the rest of the week. But no matter which path you choose, remember to be safe, remember your training, and remember to do your very best."
I saw Darce mouthing along with the headmaster's speech, it must've been an important moment in the show. Oh well.
"This is perfect!" Ruby said once Ozpin stepped away, "All we have to do is shadow a huntsman working in the southeast."
"Yeah, we'll follow them by day and give'em the slip at night." Yang said excitedly.
"Let's check search and destroy." Weiss suggested.
We walk to the corresponding section and looked over the screen.
"Here we go: Quadrant 5 needs grimm cleared out!" Ruby read off.
"Well, it's in the southeast." Blake agreed.
"Alright, let's sign up for it before someone else does." I commented.
Ruby quickly did so, tapping the mission and typing in our team name. Red text flashed on the screen:
MISSION UNAVAILABLE TO FIRST YEAR STUDENTS
"Wonderful." Weiss rich-person cursed and rolled her eyes.
"Any other ideas?" Blake asked.
"We mail ourselves there." Ruby said seriously.
"Alright, I've got the bubblewrap and Darce has the cardboard boxes. Anyone have stamps?" I said immediately. Finally, my time to actually contribute!
"Well, that's one option." Said the headmaster's voice.
Dammit!
He walked up to us from behind the screen while looking at his scroll-tablet thing.
"Unfortunately, we determined that the concentration of Grimm was too extreme for first-year students. It seems that particular region is rather popular. In fact, I have the sneaking suspicion that you four will make your way there no matter which job you choose."
Fuck, and I thought you were cool!
We all glared at Ruby, who nervously rubbed the back of her head.
"Whatever makes you say that?" She tried to half-lie.
"I'm still curious how you all found yourself at the docks last semester. I'm interested to know how you really learned about a 'hideout' in the southeast. And I certainly wonder why witnesses reported seeing robots and rose petals in a dance club some time ago." the headmaster gave each of us a pointed look.
Ruby tried to stutter a reply, but Ozpin cut her off.
"I doubt I'll ever find the exact answers I'm looking for. So how about this: instead of waiting for you all to break the rules, why don't we just bend them?"
He tapped his tablet a few times and the screen made a computer-y noise, which I took to mean we had the mission.
Nevermind, Ozpin's still cool!
"We won't let you down. Thank you, professor." Ruby said gratefully.
"Do not thank me for this. Teamwork and persistence have carried you far. But you must understand, the things that await you beyond the protection of the Kingdom will not care. Stay close to your Huntsman at all times, and do exactly as he says. He will be leading you on this mission, and he can have you sent back to Beacon, if he finds your skills to be unsatisfactory." He said and walked away.
We all glanced nervously at each other at his words. Ozpin popped his head back.
"Good luck." He said as a goodbye.
Darce:
"He has a weird habit of giving speeches that actually make me more nervous about whatever I'm about to do." Gray noted as we walked away.
"Yeah, that wasn't exactly uplifting." Yang added.
"But it's the truth." Blake said.
"It's going to be tough, but I know we can do it!" Ruby said, actually encouraging us.
"Hey! Team CVFY's back!" A guy yelled as he ran past us.
'Sweet! Hey, Puck, you should suit up and meet Velvet! She's super nice, you'd like her.'
'I know everything you know, remember? Besides, it'd take too long, and I'm tired.'
'Eh, fine.' I replied, not wanting to push him.
We walked up to team CVFY, Blake immediately going to Velvet.
"Velvet, are you okay?" She asked.
"I'm fine, I had Yatsuhashi to look out for me." She gestured to a large man who nodded back.
"Your mission was supposed to end a week ago, what happened?" Weiss asked, equally as concerned as Blake.
"N-nothing happened, it was just….there was just so many." She said and got a far off look, then snapped back, "Oh, but don't worry, you first years are just shadowing huntsmen, so you should be fine."
"Right." Gray and Yang said slowly.
"I should go. Be safe, okay?" Velvet said.
She waved goodbye and left, leaving us all even more worried.
"We can do this. We've never backed down before, and we're not going to start now."
"Right." Blake said, getting pumped in her own way.
"Besides, it won't only be us out there! We'll be fighting alongside a genuine huntsman!"
"Yeah!" Yang cheered.
"300 lien says it's Oobleck." I said quietly.
Ruby put a finger over my mouth and made a loud "shhh!" noise.
"This is a no negativity conversation." She Ruby-scolded.
"I'll take that action." Yang said, ignoring her sister's words. We shook on it.
Ten minutes later, as the rest of team RWBY looked at our huntsman with varying levels of shock and horror, Gray and I were smiling.
"Why, hello there!" Dr. Oobleck said excitedly, "Who's ready to fight for their lives?!"
"How…" Yang's voice was barely a whisper, "How did you know?"
"I'm just that good." I said with what most people would say was too much enthusiasm.
"Professor Oobleck?" Weiss asked, not believing her eyes.
"Yes, I'm afraid those bags won't be necessary, seeing as you've opted to shadow a huntsman on what is now essentially a reconnaissance mission." The doctor said in his normal quick speech as he paced in front of us.
As he continued his briefing, I smiled like a loon. Dr. Oobleck was one of my favorite teachers, not just because the show painted him well, but because I'd had time to actually size him up for myself. He put a great amount of effort in actually teaching his students, instead of just rambling on like Port, or being as strict as Goodwitch. I snapped back into focus when he leaned towards Weiss.
"And it's Dr. Oobleck. I didn't earn my PhD in fun, thank you very much!"
When he backed away, Weiss glanced over at Blake and me, something like confusion and fear evident in her eyes.
"Umm…" Weiss started, but the doctor interrupted her.
"Come now, children! According to my schedule, we are already three minutes behind...schedule!" And then he dashed over to the airship in no time flat.
"One day, I'll be that fast." I said wistfully to myself.
"You'd have to be a coffee addict like him, to." Weiss noted, then gave me an odd look at the face I made, "What?"
"I'm not a big fan of coffee." I answered, remembering the first time I tried the stuff.
"What? How can you not drink coffee and survive a place like this?!" She asked, shocked.
I looked around to see that Yang and Ruby were silently agreeing with her, but Gray and Blake were on my side.
"I'm just more of a tea person." I said, my hands raised defensively.
Yang eyed us and noted that all the tea-drinkers were...of a similar species.
"What, is not liking coffee a faunus thing?"
We all stared at her for a moment before Gray spoke up.
"Wow, Yang. We were just having a conversation about tea vs. coffee, then you had to go and make it all about race, didn't you?"
Yang opened and closed her mouth like a fish, recognizing the hole she'd dug herself. I decided to join in the fun.
"Tread lightly, Xiao Long." I said in a faux-threatening tone.
"Oh, come on! You guys have known me for months now! I'm not racist!"
"Guys, were supposed to be saving the world here, not bickering!"
"Saving the world?! You guys are going on world-saving missions without us?!" Nora shouted from behind us.
Her and her team were walking towards us, with Nora waving her arms dramatically.
"I'm hurt! Sad!...Maybe a little hungry? That last one's not your fault though. Ren." She glared over to her partner, who crossed his arms and turned away.
"Sounds exciting. Where ya' going?" Jaune asked with a wide smile.
"Oh, just outside the kingdom." Ruby answered
"Hey, so are we!" Nora cheered.
"Ren and Nora wanted to shadow the sheriff of a nearby village." Pyrrha added.
"We set out tomorrow." Ren spoke up in his usual quiet but confident way.
"Cool-" Ruby started, but was interrupted by Oobleck's call.
"Four minutes, children!"
"I think that's our cue to go." Gray chuckled, "Wish us luck!"
With that, we boarded the airship and set off for our first official mission.
Ooh, I wonder what surprises await them over in the southeast! Much of madness? More of sin? Horror the soul of the plot?
heehee, something like that.
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