Author's Notes
I'm starting to put more than I can handle on my plate. Between three ongoing fics (one on AO3), plans to write and publish a research paper, the need to make a proposal for professional services, and at least four different job applications, I'm wearing myself thin.
And that's not even all, but they are the most pressing matters.
But c'est la vie.
Chapter 37: These halcyon days
Jaune yawned, shambling down Beacon's halls towards the cafeteria, his stomach rumbling periodically to remind him of his mission. Around him people parted as he walked by. Good. He didn't think he had it in him to actively avoid people. Being tall has its plus, it seems.
It wasn't long before the cafeteria was in sight. Before he was savagely assaulted by feminine hands covering eyes, robbing him of his vision both physically and metaphorically.
"Guess who?"
Then again, when a cute girl plays an innocent prank on you, who was he to deny her such a trivial pleasure?
"Hey, Mytyl," he said, playing along the with lavender-haired girl.
"Hmmm…"
"Nope!"
"You're only half-right."
The hands retreated, causing Jaune to squint a bit as light renewed its effort. It wasn't even that bright. Was he really that tired? But more importantly…
He turned around. He was, indeed, only half-right. Mytyl stood in front of him in her school uniform, slightly to the left. She smiled impishly at him, rocking back and forth on her feet with her hands behind her, the bell on her hair chiming softly. Lumen hovered close by silently.
The half-wrong half of the equation was Ruby, who stood left of Mytyl, also in her uniform plus her omnipresent cloak. Her hands on her hips and a simpler, more sincere smile serving to contrast Mytyl's and suggesting the heiress was the mastermind behind their little joke.
Halfheartedly, Jaune put on an automatic smile. "Hey girls. I was going to eat something. Care to join me?"
"'Hey girls'?" Mytyl repeated with a raised eyebrow. "Sounds like something you're used to saying to your sisters. Don't know if a queen like myself likes such a casual form of address."
"Haha, right, right. My apologies, Your Fairyness."
"Jaune?" Ruby asked. "Where were you? You missed our Leadership class."
Jaune snapped his eyes open. Then let out a slow, grueling groan. "Damn it."
Ruby looked worriedly. "Are you ok? You look like you haven't slept in weeks."
"I feel like I haven't slept in weeks."
"Is Blake, isn't it?" Mytyl asked, her face set into a frown.
A nod. "She has been fixating on the Fang for weeks. And Goodwitch is on our case about it."
"She's not blaming you for it, right?"
"She's not," Jaune assured Mytyl, who gave him a hard stare. "But it affects the whole team. As the team leader, it's my responsibility."
"…I guess you're right," Mytyl conceded with a sigh. "I believe it's GV's turn to babysit Blake. You need to eat something and come with us to the team leader's room. We have homework." She pulled her hands from behind her and presented Jaune with two textbooks. Next to her, Ruby waved a small leather-bound notebook on her hand. That explains why Mytyl had to roped in Ruby into their harmless prank.
"We'll help you out!" Ruby chirped while pumping her fist. "Big sis Mytyl picked out what you're writing about."
"I hope you'll like it," Mytyl mumbled, more to herself than to Jaune.
"…Thanks," Jaune said genuinely. "Big sis Mytyl?"
Ruby beamed. Mytyl cough conspicuously. "GV convinced Ruby to prank Copen by upping the ante on the whole "Big Bro Copen' joke. And since I am Copen's twin sister…"
"Big sis Mytyl!" Ruby repeated brightly.
Jaune chuckled. "You'll make a brilliant big sis."
"I suppose I always wondered how having a little sister feels like."
"It's… an ongoing experience," Jaune explained, wincing at memories better forgotten. "Let's grab something to eat and get to work on our homework."
With that, Jaune continued his slow walk to the cafeteria, Mytyl and Ruby following closely.
-o-
"GYAH!"
Another swing, another miss. Kohaku stared dispassionately as Blake swung her sword at GV, who either dodge or allowed the blade to faze harmlessly through him.
"You can do it Blakey! Show that spiky-haired weirdo your grit!" Nora then leaned towards Kohaku and whispered. "Put my money on GV, Kohi. I love Blakey, but no way my archrival is going down like a chump."
Kohaku looked at Nora, then placed the palm of her hand on the ginger's face, grazing her nose.
"Boop?"
"Wind… did you feel a breeze?"
"Nuh-uh." Nora looked crossed eyed at the hand. "It does tickle."
Kohaku sighed.
"Still trying to figure out your Semblance?" Ren, sitting at the other side of Nora, asked as he watched Blake ran straight through GV with her sword. GV was decidedly unimpressed and so was Ren.
"I am. Pouring Aura into stuff is not working, so Copen hypothesized maybe I can generate stuff. A summoning type or elemental type or some other type or another."
"Oooh, I found mine by getting struck by lightning. Maybe if we throw you into a hurricane-"
"We're not throwing anyone into a hurricane," Ren said quickly, wincing as GV effectively backhanded Blake with his electric sword, sending the girl flying. "But she has a point. Kohaku, some propose Semblances manifest in times of dire need. Such was the case for both Nora and me. Maybe you're not meant to find yours until you need it."
Kohaku eyes widened as Blake's threw Gambol Shroud, in its sickle mode, in an attempt to strangulate GV with the ribbon. Only for GV to catch the ribbon, pull, and yank a flying, wide-eyed Blake into his fist. Semblance-enhanced muscles. Azure Striker really was BS.
"I don't like the mysticism behind that explanation. I'm a woman of science!"
"You are?" Both Ren and Nora asked in wonderment.
"If I have to choose a team, I'm choosing team science. They're responsible for plumbing."
"Hard to argue with that," Nora conceded.
A buzzer brought their attention back to the arena, where Blake was a smoking heap on the ground while GV towered over her.
"Blakey! Noooooo! I swear I'll avenge you! Gun Volt! I challenge you to a duel!"
"Ha! No."
"You cannot avoid me forever!" Nora said, shaking her fist in defiance.
GV shrugged. "Won't stop me from trying. I have juice for another spar. Ren?"
"Sure, why not?" Ren said, making his way to the arena, pass Blake, who was dragging herself to the bleachers.
"You got this, Renny!" Nora shouted, fist in the air and the other hand cupped around her mouth. Before leaning towards Kohaku. "Double my money on Jeeves. Ren might be my man, but I ain't blind or stupid."
Kohaku quietly giggled at that. Blake, now sitting next to them, groaned.
"Look what the cat dragged in." Kohaku kept a saccharine, too-wide smile through the entire sentence.
Blake glared. "Are you not friends with Sun? Do you just spit racial slurs about monkeys every time you're with him?"
Nora couldn't help but frown at her teammates acidic tone. "Sheesh, what crawled up your ass and died?"
"The White Fang," Kohaku simply said, still smiling her fake smile. "The White Fang crawled up her ass and died, stinking her up to this day."
"Just because I'm willing to do something about the literal terrorists, I'm the bad guy?"
Kohaku scoffed. "No. That just makes you an idiot." Blake made to interrupt, but Kohaku quickly cut her off, raising her hand to halt the incoming response. "I'm not going to bother explaining the stupidity of being at Beacon when what you want is to be a vigilante. What makes you a bad guy is you dragging your team down in your crusade. If you want to go and die dout of curiosity, you do you. Just don't bring bad luck to your team."
Blake bit her tongue, each cat-related jab fraying her nerves. Fuming, Blake turned away from the brunette, focusing on Ren's evasive maneuvers as he did everything in his power to keep GV at shooting distance.
"…Also, it's your fault my sister sent me a strongly worded mail for not focusing on my studies."
And snapped back to look at Kohaku. "This is about you!"
"It's not," Nora said in a sobering tone that got the other two girls paying attention. "You must have noticed how you're running all of us dry, especially Jaune. We're not asking you to ignore the Fang, just… prioritize." Before Kohaku could react, she found herself in a crushing hug, courtesy of Nora. "Like how you hurt poor Kohi. Don't leave us Kohi! Who will I share Ren's pancakes with!?"
"Nora! I'm not going anywhere! I'm done following Blake!" That bought her freedom. "Also, you'd share your pancakes with me? High praise. Now I feel like I'm not carrying my weight in this friendship…"
"I should be doing research instead of wasting my time here."
Ignoring Blake's grumbling, Nora decided to change the topic. As long as she didn't leave their sight, Blake could do whatever she wanted.
"So, Kohi, you already asked your man to the prom?"
A flat look adorned Kohaku's face. "Prom? My man? What man? What prom?"
"Oh, you know," Nora singsonged. "Blonde stud with abs of steel and a sunny smile."
"OK, first, is a dance, not a prom; second, it's not like that. Sun is a friend. A friend. And third, even if he wasn't, you're the last person I want to hear that from, Miss Not-Together-Together."
Nora whistled culpability away.
"And that reminds me. Blake, Sun is being mopey. Do something about it."
Blake was caught off guard. "What do I have to do with that?"
"He's courting you!'
"No, he's not!"
"He is," Nora added. "You're just so into your vendetta that you haven't noticed Sun talking your ears off. Look, I have a video, Look"
She did. Several videos of Sun talking to Blake while the cat girl remained unaware. That broke Blake's scowl, feeling a bit of guilt over ignoring the monkey faunus so blatantly.
"He… doesn't have to do that," she said, her ears flattened against head.
"Then tell him," Kohaku shrugged. "He's a big boy. He can take a "No' as an answer."
"And then Kohi can swoop in and mend his broken heart." Nora gasped. "Brilliant!"
Kohaku was about to respond to that, but a shout from the arena stopped her.
"Nora! Tag team. You're in!"
Kohaku wished she had her scroll out, because the expression on GV's face was worth thousands of words.
"FINALLY!" Nora sprang into action, unfolding Magnhild in all its GV-stomping glory. "This is my time to shine!"
"NORA, NO!" GV yelled.
"NORA, YES! See you at the other side, Kohi!" With that, Nora jumped into the arena, ready to pummel GV.
Both Blake and Kohaku winced. Not even ten seconds in and Nora already swung Magnhild at GV, who in panic attempted to faze through the war hammer. And subsequently overheated explosively, sending him tumbling away, a good chunk of his Aura gone and his Semblance temporarily out of commission. And without his Semblance or wits, he was primed to block face-first the follow-up hit from Nora's titanic hammer.
"You're not going to do something about that?" Blake asked, flinching with each near miss and certain hits Nora got in on the poor boy.
"Eh, GV could stand to be humbled. I'll wait a bit. What about you? He's your friend too."
Blake frowned. "Call me a vindictive bitch if you want, but after GV playing jailor these last few weeks, I'm going to enjoy the show."
Kohaku sighed. "Not a dog faunus," she muttered, before speaking up. "You do realize they are doing that because they don't want you expelled, right?"
Blake didn't answer. An explosion rocked the arena.
"Nora is throwing grenades. Guess that's my cue." Standing up and unsheathing her nameless sword, she spared Blake a glance. "Stay!"
Blake hissed. "Stop treating me like a house cat!"
Kohaku rolled her eyes. "Like I tell Sun. I'll stop treating you like a stereotype when you stop acting like one." With that, Kohaku made her way towards where GV was being pummeled.
-o-
"Boss… you think this is wise?"
Copen stood outside of the CCT, holding a data stick against the bright afternoon sun, as if figuring its arcane secrets.
He sighed and pocketed the little memory device. "Who knows?"
"You haven't even read what's inside…" Lola's voice was somber, worry clearly present in the synthetized tone.
"And I don't intent to. No matter how much I like to think otherwise, they're right. Mytyl is a big girl capable of making her own decisions. It's not my place to interfere in regard to this."
"And yet you went ahead and asked Master Kamizono for that report."
"…Mytyl would have never thought to ask Dad herself. I won't read it, but I think it might have some of the answers she's searching for."
"And if it hurts her?"
Copen sent Lola a questioning look. "What do you think?"
"She's strong. We just need to pick her up and dust off the dirt!"
Copen nodded. "See? Don't worry so much." Truth be told, he was apprehensive about this. But as much as he hated to admit it… everyone who told him that Mytyl, as a Huntress-in-training, needed to fight her own battles were right. But just because he was willing to allow that to happen, it didn't mean he won't be there if she needs the help.
"Yo, Tiger!"
Silently welcoming the company, Copen nodded at the approaching Team Rupee, albeit missing one member. Seems like at some point Yang, Weiss, and Pyrrha decided to come to the CCT while he was inside. Or maybe he arrived while they were inside.
"Good afternoon, Copen," Weiss politely greeted. "Fancy meeting you here. Business at the CCT?"
"A little of that. I called my father on business, but we also exchanged pleasantries. You?"
"I got a box!" Yang glibly said, holding a fairly big, but still manageable, white cardboard box above her head.
"I… see..."
"After class we took a detour to the post mail office to pick that thing before Ruby went to her Leadership class," Weiss explained. "then we accompanied Pyrrha to do a video call home."
"Mom and dad send their regards. They're excited to meet all of you at some point. You should expect an invitation during the holidays!" Pyrrha informed with a wide smile.
"Time might be tight these holidays, but we'll see," Copen said noncommittally.
Lola closed in on the box Yang held in front of her, her optics zeroing on it.
"Uh… Miss Dog-with-Fabulous-Hair?"
Yang deadpanned. "Really, Lola?" Then she looked at Copen, face still flat. "Really, Copen?"
"Hey, don't look at me. I've been struggling to make her stop calling me Boss."
"Boss's right. I'm my own, strong, independent ACP that needs no human to govern herself!"
Despite her best attempt. Yang couldn't help the amused smile from seeing the little bot reassert her free will. "Fair enough. So, what's up?"
"Oh, right! What's in the box? And why are you carrying it around?"
"Oh," Yang said, blinking at the question. Still kind of hard to think of Lola as capable of curiosity, if she was being honest. "Just stuff Dad sent Ruby and me. A few books, food, smaller boxes and tubes with smaller stuff. Personal items. The usual. Dad included a note saying I would regret it if I leave it unpacked. Knowing Dad, that includes leaving it unattended for a few hours and I rather not being on the receiving end of one of his pranks."
Weiss crossed her arms. "Is your dad blond?" – Yang nodded – "Is that like a blond thing? The pranking."
Pyrrha giggled. "Between you, Jaune, and GV, I can see it being a blond thing."
"Now that you mention it…" Yang trailed off in thought.
"Right, right. How to say this…" Lola paused for a moment, her little robotic brain quickly analyzing and identifying the best approach. "The hell with it. Yang… why am I picking life signatures from the box?"
Three set of eyes plus two optical devices all converged on Yang, who stared with wide eyes; first at her friends and then at the box, lifting it towards her ear to listen.
"Oh shit, I think you're right! The madman did it. He actually did it!"
"Yang," Weiss said slowly and deliberately, "If there are pet mice in there and you open that box in our dorm, I will kill you."
"Don't worry. It's not a mouse. Coincidentally, Copen, you're a bit of a nerd, right? The kind who reads Beacon's Code of Conduct and all that boring stuff given to us on week one, right?"
"I don't like your tone… but I suppose you're not entirely incorrect."
"Sooooo…," Yang said with fake innocence, "what's Beacon's stand on pets? I'm asking for a friend!"
Copen and Weiss rolled their eyes while Pyrrha giggled. Nevertheless, Copen answered. "They're not permitted…"
"~I'm sensing a but~" Yang singsong, her head tilted sideways and looking at Copen with big eyes, a wide grin, and barely restrained excitement.
Reluctantly, Copen's shoulders drooped along with his head, a heavy sigh signaling his incoming defeat at the hands of sheer serendipity. He droned, "If the pet has its Aura unlocked and the student can convincingly show that the pet is capable of assisting a Hunter in their job, the student can fill a Hunter Pet-in-Training form and receive an exception."
"Score!" Yang cheered, holding her hands and box above her in glorious victory. "Thank the gods for eight years old Ruby and her insane, harebrained ideas!" Bringing the box back to chest level and hugging it tightly, she radiantly looked at Copen and canted her head in a genuine, if slightly mischievous, smile.
"Thanks, Lil' Bro Copen!"
Weiss and Pyrrha took one step back each, as Copen's right eye twitched violently and his neutral scowl threaten to morph into a full-blown grimace.
"Remember your blood pressure, Boss!"
He took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm. "Right. Thanks, Lola." He looked at Yang. "Yang… when did you turn eighteen?"
She blinked, not expecting the question. 'Uh… back on July."
Copen brought his temper back in order. "You win this time. But I warn you, my sister knows Jaune and GV and I swear I'll squeeze every last bit of knowledge on how to be an annoying little brother if you call me that again. And I can win against you in battle."
Yang's face drained, her mind tallying how many hairdos have fallen victim to GV's hair-dye sponsorship. Between GV and Copen, she wasn't willing to bet her hair on her Semblance and temper pulling a win against those two.
So, she wisely nodded.
Yang's terrified face had Pyrrha laughing and Weiss smirking. Salvaging whatever dignity remained, Yang said the first thing that popped in her mind. "We should go. Zwei is probably getting bored in here." She lifted the box to emphasize her words. The quartet nodded and began to make their way to the dorms at a leisure pace.
"So, when exactly was your birthday and why didn't we celebrate it?" Pyrrha asked, looking curiously at her partner.
"O-oh, that." Yang frowned. "It was the day before our day at the beach. Growing up there wasn't much time for birthdays for a few years after mom died, so I got used to not having them early on." Realizing the mood of her words, she shrugged and smiled. "I'm not into big birthdays anyways, nor do I particularly like to celebrate them. Ever since Ruby realized her own birthday is in All Hallow's Eve, there hasn't been a single year where she doesn't spoil the experience. It has soured my own enjoyment. So, I like to keep it simple and among family. But enough about me, what about you, partner?"
Yang ceded the stage to Pyrrha, who fidgeted nervously. "27th this month. I do like to celebrate, and since my family won't be here, I was hoping we could go somewhere as a team?" Her voiced lowered into a whisper towards the end.
"Hey, hey, no mouse-speaking. You want a bday P-Money? I'll give you the best damn bday! Just say the word. Is this punk invited?" She gestured at Copen. "I can punch him if he's not and he's bothering you."
"How violent," Copen and Weiss said in unison.
Pyrrha chuckled at that. "It's okay, I'm not sure what I want exactly, but I'll keep everyone informed." She then switched the topic. "What about you, Weiss?"
"May," Weiss said without much fanfare. "I'm in Yang's camp. Not much to celebrate back home. It was always just me, Klein, and Winter – if she was home. Sometimes Whitley earlier on, before father sank his fangs on him," she ended bitterly. "What about yours and Mytyl's, Copen? I'm guessing Mytyl is big on celebrating."
Copen nodded. However, while his face rarely emoted as it is, it became even more unreadable this time. "November 7th. We do celebrate, though early on it was more celebrating Mytyl lived one more year than anything else."
"Sheesh, our birthdays are a mess," Yang muttered. "Where is Jaune when you need him? I bet his birthdays were downright cozy."
"Don't get me wrong. Nowadays we do celebrate normally and Mytyl has always been fairly optimistic for the most part, so it wasn't that bad. But there still was a gloom and doom undercurrent to it. Still, I would say that, overall, my enjoyment is a net positive. Mytyl's is an even bigger net positive."
It wasn't long until they reach their dorm's wing.
"You should print your pet's permit as soon as you can and give it to Miss Goodwitch."
"Thanks, Copen," Yang said. "You're a lifesaver. Knowing Ruby, she probably would have done something crazy, like smuggling Zwei on a mission." She lifted the box and cooed at it. "You heard that, Zwei. Soon you will be a hunt dog." She gave a shit-eating grin at her audience. "Eh? Eh?"
Pyrrha's smile strained.
"You're a horrible human being," Copen stated.
"Oh god, you have a dog in there!?" Weiss was suitably horrified. "How!?"
"It's a small dog," Yang defended herself, holding the box close and twisting her body to protect it against the three Hunters-in-training.
"Yang…" Pyrrha said, no longer smiling. "We saw inside the box. There was no dog."
"He's probably inside one of the tubes."
…
"HOW!?" Weiss repeated.
"Dad is, and I cannot overstate this, a very, VERY experienced packer."
Weiss's head creaked in Copen's direction; her face frozen in absolute terror. "It's your maid's color box all over again!"
Copen brought a hand to his chin in thought. "So, it's a learnable skill. Fascinating. Lola, make a note. Learn the secrets of packaging."
"Will do, Boss!"
"Cope-!" "Dr. Copen! Lola! Friend-Dog Yang"
"Hey!"
Weiss's cries of despair and Yang's rightful indignation were drowned by overexuberant greetings.
With his hand already in his chin, it didn't take Copen much to switch to pinching his nose. "For the umpteenth time, Penny, I'm not a doctor."
Penny stopped her sprint in front of the group, excitement written all over her face. However, she wasn't alone. Trailing her was a girl with short, asymmetrical hair, dressed in a blue skirt and white button-up shirt and boots with golden accents. A blue beret rested snugly on her head.
"Penny, you know very well you're prohibited from interacting with unauthorized individuals."
"This is Ciel," Penny hopped to the side and revealing Ciel Soleil in all her glory. "She's my partner, chaperone, and leader of Team Campfire. Say hello, Ciel."
Ciel crossed her arms. "Penny, you're going against direct orders from Headmaster Ironwood."
"That's her weird way of saying hello." There was something fundamentally wrong about Penny calling anyone 'weird'.
"Miss Polendina!"
"Chill, Ciel. This is Doctor Copen! I'm sure he's more than authorized to engage in fruitful intercourse."
Yang gaped. Her box yipped. Weiss choke on air while Pyrrha covered her mouth and muttered "Oh my…"
Copen just stood there, nursing a headache. "Penny, do you-"
"Know what the word 'intercourse' primarily refers to in most contexts? Yes. I do! So doctor, how was my first use of a double entendre? Was it spectacular?"
Yang laughed. A big hearty laugh aided by Penny's childish sense of wonder. "You got me there for a sec, Penny. Nine out of ten, please use that same prank in front of his sister."
"Will do!" Penny saluted.
"Miltia and Melanie are horrible influences," Copen groused.
"Big sis Miltia and Big sis Melanie have been pivotal in my adaptation to popular jargon. It's how I learned the word 'chill', which commonly refers to the process of cooling objects, can also be used to refer to mitigating the ire or distress of a person."
"Penny… who are Miltia and Melanie?"
Penny maintain the same wide grin as she addressed Ciel. "No one- Hic!" She hiccupped.
"Penny…" Ciel repeated, her professional mask crumbling.
"Chill, Ciel!"
It was a blink-or-miss moment, but for the briefest of seconds Ciel's hands motioned to strangle Penny – for all the good that would do – but ultimately her military upcoming triumphed. Resigned, she decided she might as well roll with the punches.
"So, you're the infamous Doctor Copen?"
"Infamous?" Weiss asked.
"Why do people keep giving me that title? I'm not a doctor."
Ciel sent him a sympathetic look. "Headmaster Ironwood and Doctor Pietro Polendina might have gone on record saying you not having the prerequisite academic background is merely a formality given your contributions to the field of autonomous combat assistants." She sent a look at Lola. "And just from a brief glance, I'm inclined to agree."
Penny explained. "Oh! Ciel is referring to the military grapevine. Somebody overheard that, then spoke about it over a water cooler, and it filtered down to the Atlas students."
"So much for military confidentiality," Copen lamented.
"Well…" Weiss said. "Considering you're planning to showcase Lola's and Lumen's capabilities in the Vytal Festival, I don't think there was any expectation in regard to confidentiality."
"Wait!" Penny suddenly yelled, encroaching on Weiss's and Pyrrha's personal space. "I don't think we've been formally introduced. Where are my manners!?" She extended a hand. "Hi, I'm Penny Polendina."
"Weiss Schnee."
"Pyrrha Nikos."
Both Huntresses flinched upon experiencing Penny's iron grip.
"Sensational! My circle of friends has increased by two!" She turned to Ciel. "I'm getting pretty avid at making friends. I hope we can share more memories."
"That'd be nice," Lola spoke up. "By the way girl, where have you been? Aren't you supposed to be at Beacon?"
"I am, but I'm in second year and General Ironwood is constantly requesting my presence on his airship. I'm only here today because I was at the CCT talking to Jason and Eve."
"Who and what?" Copen asked.
"My other teammates!"
Lola gasped. Or mimicked gasping. "You were at the CCT and you didn't say hello?"
"I wanted! But I had to convince Ciel and by then you already left!"
"She didn't convince me," Ciel crossed her arms in annoyance. "She ran away, yelling she would ask for forgiveness later rather than permission now."
"Another of the Malachite's words of wisdom?" Yang asked.
Penny beamed and nodded.
"Well, since you're here, wanna grab some early dinner and tell me all about your Beacon Experience. I hear we're the bomb."
At the mention of the word dinner, Yang's box jolted on her hand.
"Shouldn't you feed your box first?" Penny asked, pointing at the box in confusion.
"Nah. He'll be fine. Knowing Dad, he's sitting on a mountain of food and he's just acting spoiled."
The box nudged her aggressively.
"Shush you," Yang shook the box. "Let's get going! The food won't wait for anyone."
"Yes! Let us. You are coming, Ciel?"
The dark-haired girls sighed. "I cannot make you get back in the ship, can I? Might as well make sure you don't sneak into Vale again. And I suppose I can enjoy a fruitful conversation with distinguished company such as the Dust Princess Weiss Schnee and the Arms Prince Copen Kamizono."
"Heiress! Heiress!"
Instead of shouting, Copen put forth all his years of entrepreneurship. "I'll pay you ten thousand lien, cash, to never call me the 'Arms Prince' again. Or any kind of Bro or Doctor."
Penny internally cheered at successfully achieving her first lunch with her Beacon friends.
-o-
"~And the ice cube goes swhoop!"
"KYAH!"
Cardin looked up from his lap scroll as Marina shrieked, just short of launching herself out of her seat. His fellow team leader squirmed uncomfortably, desperately clawing the nape of her neck. Behind the girl, Mytyl stood with a catlike smile, mischievous eyes, and the murder weapon on hand – the ice cube.
"If you came to interrupt my inspiration, you better have brought me something."
A wrapped burger flopped limply onto the desk after whacking him on the head. He'll admit, he wasn't expecting the butterfly-themed classmate to actually deliver. Along with Mytyl, Ruby and Jaune began placing a banquet worth of food on the table and on the floor, leaving enough space to allow them to work comfortably.
Mytyl unwrapped her own meal, eagerly taking a bite of the unfortunate sandwich. "We are going for the long run, so we brought seconds and extras to hold us through a zombie apocalypse."
"But only a small one, so don't go too crazy," Ruby pointed out, moving towards the cabinet where the school's lap scrolls were stored.
Cardin grunted, going back to pouring over his lap scroll. "Fancy of you to join us, Arc. Was beginning to believe you considered yourself too prodigious for us mortals."
"Or that you chickened out. All Cardin. I just envied you," Marina pointed out, back from her altercation with the ice. She glared at Mytyl. "I'm taking your fries for that!"
"Not my fries!" Mytyl cried. Only to immediate pick another one. Her bell jingled as she reached for the fries.
"How did you sneak on me with a bell?"
"Hmm? Oh, besides the bell being rigged to sound softly, my maid taught me how to move without making it sound. Look."
She moved her head in a hypnotic patter, yet the bell remained quiet.
"You're weird."
"My maid is weird," Mytyl defended herself against Marina's baseless accusations before looking at Cardin. "So, any progress?"
"Halfway done. Pretty easy assignment once you figure out who you're doing the report on."
Setting the lap scrolls on the table – one for each of them – Ruby cheered. "Yes! This is why Ozpin is my second favorite teacher after Goodwitch. Interesting lectures. Nice workshops. And easy-peasy homework."
Jaune nodded. "The trifecta of a good class. So, what are we supposed to do?"
"You would know had you gone to class…"
"Ignore him." Mytyl flicked a fry at Cardin. Just for good measure. "We're supposed to pick a combat-related historical event and analyze the actions of one of the leaders involved. What we would have done differently - both at the time and with the benefit of hindsight. What events they didn't account for that derailed or could have derailed the plans as well as what events occurred that benefitted them. That sort of things. It's pretty open-ended."
"Yep," Ruby popped, the keyboard clicking away as she took a drink of soda. "Who are you guys analyzing?"
Marina shuffled through her papers. "Let's see… name, name, name. Ah! Here we go. James…William?"
"Hm?" Mytyl munched on her food, swallowing her current bite before speaking up. "That's a pretty old-fashioned name."
"It's from the Great War, before the color naming rule was created. History has him as the Mistrali officer in charge present for the first altercation between Vale and Mistral. I'm more interested on the circumstances than the person, to be honest."
"What about you, Cardin?"
"Ozymandias the Indomitable."
Ruby and Jaune looked on blankly. "Why does that sound familiar?" Ruby wondered out loud.
Mytyl answered. "Because history better remembers him as the last King of Vale. I don't know if it's pride, ambition, thirst for knowledge, or foolishness that made you choose someone like that."
"I cleared it with the professor. He seems extremely excited to see what I come up with."
"Too excited, in fact," Marina pointed out. "What about you three?"
Mytyl smirked. "General Abe. The Atlesian commanding general during the Faunus War. Would have chosen General Lagune but given how much the guy is criticized for effectively losing the war, I thought it too easy."
She passed Jaune a book. "Here Jaune. I marked the page with my pick for you."
Jaune flipped through the history book to the page Mytyl marked. His eyes widened upon reading the title of the section.
"Colonel Julius Arc…" Jaune was at a loss for words.
"I read a bit of his achievements," Mytyl admitted, avoiding looking at Jaune. "He was known for always being the first soldier in the battlefield and the last to leave. It's unorthodox behavior for a commanding officer, but I thought it very interesting." As Jaune's silence stretched, she began to get nervous. "I-if you don't want to write about your ancestor, we can switch!"
"Huh? Oh, no. It's ok. I was just surprised." Jaune smiled. "Dad always told us stories about the Arc's lineage as Hunters and soldiers. But he told them as if they were fairy tales. I agree; it'll be interesting to read of my great-great-grandfather's achievement from the eyes of history rather than family. What about you, Ruby?"
Ruby proudly held the small leather book on her hand. "Dad sent us stuff from home today and just in time. I cleared with Professor Ozpin and he gave me a thumbs up. The leader I'm writing about is… Summer Rose."
"…"
"Really?" Cardin asked the question no one dared.
"Hehe, yeah," Ruby bashfully answered, realizing how awkward it was to write about her mother in that light. "Dad recently found this journal Mom kept as leader of Team STRQ. Figured since I'm at Beacon leading my own team, I could learn from her. And Professor Ozpin agreed; said looking into the achievements and battles of a smaller, more personal figure – such as the leader of a team of Hunters – could provide some contrast to the 'bigger-than-life' figures from history."
"Well, I think it's neat," Mytyl said. "Must admit it makes me a bit envious not to have a kickass ancestor I can do my paper on."
"That's not always a good thing," Cardin muttered, going back to his work after finishing the burger Mytyl assaulted him with.
Ruby looked around the leader's room. Other than a few older students lazing around, the room was pretty empty. "Where is the rest of our classmates, anyways?
"Probably playing catch up to you and your teams."
"Huh?"
"What Marina means is that RWPY, KVKC and my team are the favorites to get a spot on the Festival," Cardin answered. "Everyone else is competing for the last spot, putting some last minute training and studying to get it. Ozpin's assignment can wait a little. Although it will probably go to JNBR. They'd be my pick if I was a betting man."
Marina nodded. "Yours and Mytyl's team are the undisputed top and Cardin's is, overall, a better and more well-rounded team than the rest. However, Jaune's team has Nora among the top five combatants, Ren and Blake among the upper half, and Jaune as Ozpin's favorite tactician."
Jaune shrunk at the indirect praise.
"What about your team?" Mytytl asked.
"MRNN is not interested in the tournament and we're pretty low on the pecking order to have a chance. Woe is us." Marina didn't look particularly bothered.
Light conversation continued as the five team leaders worked on their essays, occasionally taking a break to snack or point out an interesting factoid about their chosen topic.
"Jaune, you mentioned your father and mother weren't keen on you becoming a Huntsman, right?"
"That's correct."
Mytyl frowned. "But with how storied your family is, you would think they would welcome someone to carry the legacy."
"Dad isn't exactly orthodox. The Arc are from Vale and lived and died for the kingdom, but he fell in love with mom, who's from Mistral, and moved there. He's proud of being an Arc and upholds our family's legacy, but he… well, he has seen things throughout his career as a Huntsman and he doesn't want that life for any of us."
"And what about those seven sisters you like to flaunt?" Mytyl asked. "Didn't any of them want to be a Huntress?"
"Not like me. The majority of them remained on the fairy tale stage of Dad's stories and are content with their life in Domremy. In fact, they agreed with my parents that I am being dumb for wanting to be a Huntsman and expected me to come back home months ago. Still expect me to come home. Only Saphron and Teazle – that's the second oldest and youngest, respectively – supported me in some way."
"Wait." Mytyl took few seconds to parse through the information and recollect her thoughts. "Jaune, they expect you to still go home?" – Jaune nodded – "Haven't you called them and tell them you're in Beacon!?"
"Stone-cold heart, Jauney-boy."
Mytyl switched between staring at Jaune – who was making himself small – and Cardin – who looked disinterested in carrying on with the conversation as he gave his essay the finishing touches.
"Jaune! That's Cardin Winchester calling you off. Cardin! Winchester!"
Cardin looked up and frowned. "Hey, I resent that!"
"I did tell them!" Jaune defended himself. "I told Dad and Mom, who claimed I was lying. So, I didn't bother telling my sisters so they could call me a liar too. I was always the goofy brother back home. They don't think I belong here. Only Saphron knows."
"It's September! That's half a year since Beacon started! They still don't believe you?"
Jaune squirmed. "I haven't talked to them since. I just assumed they think I got a job in Vale and stayed here."
"Stone-cold heart, Jauney-boy."
"Shut up, Cardin," Mytyl snapped. "Jaune. You're not stupid. You cannot avoid them forever. What's your plan?"
"I don't know. If I participate in the Festival, they will find the truth. But I'm not sure what to do."
Something clicked on Mytyl. "Don't you want to participate in the Festival?" Jaune's silence was telling. "Why?"
He sighed. "Is not that I don't want. It's… I don't feel strongly about it. And I'm sure neither does Blake and Ren. With three of us not caring either way, is it right to take that spot from a team who wants it more?"
"… 'and if I don't appear on the tournament, I don't have to deal with my parents.' You forgot to say that."
Jaune flinched at Mytyl's harsh words.
Looking at the budding argument from the side, Ruby decided to speak up. "Jaune, I don't presume to know your family or about your problems. Even after Mom died, there was no doubt I was to become a Huntress. It's basically the family's business." She looked down at the journal she's been pouring over the last few hours. "However, there is no guarantee you can just delay one more day. Sooner or later it will be too late. It's my hope you won't regret your decision."
With that, Ruby refocused on completing her assignment, allowing herself to become absorbed in her and her mother's note. If Jaune realized that she spoke from experience, it was lost on Ruby.
Mytyl closed her lap scroll. Whatever was left to do, she can finish it later in no time. "Jaune, for what it's worth, I think you're an amazing Huntsman-in-training. All you are lacking is faith in yourself and part of that is standing your ground against your parents. I truly hope they realize you belong here."
'More than some of us.'
"If you need my help, you know how to find me. I need to go." Collecting her stuff, Mytyl made a hasty retreat.
…
"Is it knightly to displease your queen like that?
Marina sighed. "Seriously, Cardin?"
"For what's worth, my money if I was a gambling man is still on you and your team, Arc."
-o-
He would never say it out loud, but Copen kind of liked his team's and Beacon's commitment to the craft of melodrama.
"She just kept hammering over and over and over, never stopping, always laughing."
"There, there. Everything is ok now. The Big Bad Ginger cannot hurt you now."
Copen's scroll vibrated. Taking a look at the message, he knew there was such a thing as divine providence.
"The Big Bad Ginger text me to tell you she knows where you sleep."
GV, resting on his bed, let out a low pitched sound while Kohaku, sitting next to him, petted his head in a futile attempt to console him. The door to their dorm opened and for a second Copen considered the chances of Nora breaking in and haunting Gun Volt.
Alas, it was not meant to be. "Hey sis, how did the leadership class go?"
"It goes," Mytyl informed them, working on taking off her shoes while Lumen floated to rest on her bed. Then she took a look at GV. "What's up with him?"
"He fought Nora," Kohaku informed her leader. GV continued his low pitch sound, now upgraded to groan. "It went as well as you expect. Had to carry him here. Turns out continuously overheating zaps him out of any strength whatsoever."
"I cannot feel my limbs."
"Shouldn't you go to the infirmary?" Mytyl asked. There was something to be said about leaving a spar not feeling your body.
"Nah. It's ok. I think I'll just sleep it off." How he managed to say that with a straight face despite the lack of locomotive functions mystified Mytyl. But in the end, she supposed GV knew his own Semblance better than her and she really wasn't in any position to criticize anyone because of their Semblance's drawback.
Instead, she collected a change of clothes and went to take a short bath. By the time she came out, Kohaku had returned to her bed, but not before burying GV alive in a tomb of pillows and sheets. Below it, a guttural groan could be heard.
Mytyl jumped on her bed and decided to browse the net a bit before calling it a night. Her browsing was interrupted by a message.
Big Bro: Here's the report Dad gave me. Like promised, haven't look at it.
Report_
She frowned.
'SED? Isn't that Sumeragi's proprietary file type for confidential data?'
She side-eyed her brother, who was on his tablet, lost in one of his projects. Like if he hadn't just sent her a highly confidential document. One she had no way of seeing, much less decrypting, on her phone.
'Unless…'
She was quick to type a message on her scroll and send it via the scroll's short range functionality.
CyberDivaXD: Lumen, can you decrypt and read the document Copen sent?
CyberDivaXDmini: Of course, Lady Mytyl… also CyberDivaXDmini? Really?
Without giving her a chance to respond, a written document popped on her screen. Mytyl gulped.
And began to read.
Author's Notes
A fluffy chapter to further develop the characters. Kind of. I don't have much to say, though, so let's do a rundown.
These halcyon days: I like the word halcyon, even if I'm not being completely truthful with it.
Blake: Being a bit harsh on Blake this chapter, but she is quite the karma Houdini in canon. Wanted to make sure the same doesn't happen here. Not entirely, at least.
Birthdays: Kind of sad we know official birthdays for Yang and Weiss. Wanted to make Copen and Mytyl older. Oh well. Pyrrha's birthday is not official but was teased to be that day in a tweet. Also, I'm lifting Ruby's behavior during her birthday from RWBY Chibi.
I chose November 7th because A) It's in Fall and B) The importance of the number 7 in ASG.
Ciel Soleil: She's barely a character in canon, so here we explore a bit more of her. And given the increased importance of Penny's team as a whole in this story (as a result of the changes I'm planning for the format of the Vytal Festival Tournament) I want to elaborate on Ciel as a person.
Team Campfire: Speaking of, I drop the names the other two members of Team Campfire. Since we don't know anything about Penny's team in canon, including the name, I had to get creative. Jason and Eve are not OC. But they aren't RWBY or ASG characters either. Do you know where they are from?
Nora: Alas, poor GV. We knew him well.
The ice: "Many years later, in front of the firing squad, colonel Aureliano Buedía was to remember that remote afternoon in which his father took him to meet the ice" – First sentence of "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel García Márquez. Translation by me.
Why do I bring up this quote? Besides being one of my favorite sentences in any story, from one of the most important books ever written in latinamerican literature, it is a showcase of how the smallest of things can be a reference to something else.
Leaders: A couple of interesting decisions here. Summer Rose needs no introduction. The historical figure of James William was vaguely named after Jamestown, Virginia; the first US colony. General Abe after Abraham Lincoln. In case your US history is spotty, he was the president during the American Civil War, which resulted in the abolishing of slavery (but not racism). I know in both of these cases I sort of flipped the script a bit, but eh. And Julius Arc after Julius Caesar, the real owner of probably fictitious Crocea Mors.
Teazle: So ultimately I decided to name Jaune's youngest sister Teazle, after the plant. Some types of teasels have purple flowers. The name is cutesy and that's the extent of my decision.
If you look at the Arc's family photo, she's the spiky-haired sister dressed in purple, sitting above Jaune. As a reminder, I'm assuming Saphron is the upside-down one.
