Ozpin's decision to group the pairings of Weiss Schnee and Ruby Rose with Yang Xiao-Long and Blake Belladonna was rooted in logic everyone present could follow. He had grouped all of the new First Years students based off whatever set of relics each pair managed to retrieve and bring back to Beacon Cliff. In this case, the white knight pieces. He had done the same with Jaune and Pyrrha being teamed with Nora Valkyrie and Lie Ren with both pairs retrieving the white rook pieces.
The decision no one could understand or follow his train of thought on was why he had named Ruby Rose the leader of the newly recognized Team RWBY.
Most vehement in her displeasure out of all of them being Weiss Schnee. And she had no problem with making her feelings on the matter known.
"Ruby Rose nearly killed me during Initiation and I'm supposed to willingly take orders from her?" She jabbed a finger in Ruby's general direction. "Ruby Rose is the furthest thing this team has from a leader. She's incapable of making decisions, listening to others, or making any plans that don't end in utter failure. Not only is her ability to strategize already lacking but her intelligence and problem-solving skills should be under review as well as they are far from the Beacon standard. As her actions during the test proved. The only reason I wasn't killed by the Grimm was because of the actions of Pyrrha Nikos and her partner. Which, during that time, Ruby Rose offered no beneficial solutions to any of the problems she had been directly responsible for making. All she did during that time was make the situation worse with her so-called solutions and then go run crying to her sister as a child would. Completely abandoning me while she was at it and serving as a complete disregard for our previously agreed partnership."
Ozpin continued to sit in silence behind his desk, had allowed team RWBY into his office to hear any reasoning for or against Ruby Rose as their leader.
Weiss took a moment to visibly calm herself, place her hands behind her back, conduct herself as a proper heiress after an emotional outburst.
"I want to place a formal complaint and petition that Ruby Rose is to be immediately removed from her position as RWBY team leader, and have the faculty select a new leader from the remaining three of us." Weiss finished.
"I see. You've mostly certainly familiarized yourself with the Beacon Academy guidelines Ms. Schnee." He received a satisfied nod from Weiss. "Be that as it may, you're clearly working with an older version. What you want requires a majority of your teammates to agree with you. A vote of no-confidence from three out of four members of a team will cause an automatic dismissal of the current team leader and place all four members under review of a faculty board." Ozpin leaned back in his seat and adjusted his glasses. "And something that cannot happen without one of two criteria being filled." He held up one finger. "One, a period of sixty or more days has passed since initial formation of the team. After that period of time, a vote of no confidence can be called at any point and upon a majority, the team will be taken off the active roster, the current team leader dismissed from their position, Ms. Rose in this case, and all four members placed under review. If the situation is deemed severe enough, all four members can possibly be reassigned or even dismissed." He held up another. "Or two, upon the completion of or return from a field assignment and recommendation from a accompanying Huntsman to dismiss the current team leader." He dropped his hand, joined both in front of him. "With the second option, you won't need to either wait sixty days or have a vote in the majority. But only after an official Huntsman has deemed the situation dire enough to require such a thing."
"Then I wish to know when is the earliest possible mission for Team RWBY to take. With an accompanying Huntsman of course." Weiss recovered quickly after Ozpin correcting her had thrown her off balance. She was sure she had purchased the most recent addition, had prepared herself for any number of situations using the information within it.
"As missions are requests sent to the kingdom of Vale and then sent to Beacon Academy when necessary, I have no timeline to give you." Ozpin's gray eyes swept over the four members of Team RWBY as he spoke, from the concealed frustration of Weiss, the restrained Yang who glared at the Schnee, the mostly apathetic, if slightly annoyed, Blake, and finally reached a despondent Ruby. She hadn't met his eyes, any of their eyes, since entering his office. Her gaze was focused on the floor. "In the meantime, I think it would be best if you all see if you can work through your differences. Regardless of who among you four is the team leader, you will need to work with each other for the next four years."
He opened the elevator door from his desk.
"You're dismissed to your dorms and do try to get some rest. Classes start bright and early tomorrow." He gave them no more of his attention or time, a screen projected from his desk and he began reviewing it instead.
Team RWBY left him to his work.
Weiss refused to acknowledge the glare from Yang the moment the doors of the elevator closed, selected the bottom floor without a glance to either her or her sister. Blake had decided to take the rear of the elevator for herself, the corner farthest from Weiss.
Even as the heat grew, Weiss refused to acknowledge anything was wrong.
She was in the right. Ruby Rose had nearly killed her after all, had proven herself to be an awful partner when she had abandoned her after causing the mess with the Nevermore in the first place. If Pyrrha's partner didn't have such a useful Semblance than it was likely she would have been injured, possibly even killed during Initiation.
All because Ruby had gotten in the way, had refused to let her fight the Grimm without her assistance, refused to acknowledge any of her mistakes since coming to Beacon.
"Are you seriously going through with this?" Yang broke the silence in the elevator, Ruby tucked into her side, had buried her face in Yang's jacket with shaking shoulders.
"I have no idea why you have no problem with being led by a child but I refuse to mindlessly follow that dunce." Weiss's hands went to her waist, one settled where Myrtenaster rested on her hip. A calculated show of force towards Xiao-Long and a statement to Belladonna if she had any ideas herself. The blond had already shown herself to be volatile in their few interactions in the past, wouldn't surprise her if she decided to try and strike her in such a confined space. Her partner was an overall mystery but her lack of support during the meeting had placed her as an enemy.
"I told you already. Her name is Ruby. Use it." Once more, her eyes flashed red because Weiss insulted her little sister. She was restraining herself only because she didn't want to leave Ruby. If she let her temper loose, she wouldn't stop beating Weiss once her Aura ran out.
"Of course. How impolite for me to not use her name." Weiss rolled her eyes at Xiao-Long's threat. "As seemingly the only one mature enough on this team to recognize the problem, I'll call the child by her name from now on." She caught a hint of silver eyes from Yang's side. "What do you think Ruby? Are you anywhere near ready for the position Headmaster Ozpin gave you or can I count on your vote in sixty days?"
Yang tightened her hold on her sister, shot a glare to Weiss before she deemed her a lost cause and turned her back on her. Making sure Ruby was alright was more important than dealing with a brat like her. Blake only continued to silently watch from the corner.
Whatever her opinion on all this, she kept it to herself.
Weiss huffed before drawing out her Scroll. She had better things to spend her time on than dealing with any of the three with her.
Team RWBY waited for the elevator to descend in an uncomfortable silence, broken up only by Yang's hushed whispers to Ruby, her muffled words in response. Once they had reached the bottom, Weiss marched out on her own, Yang left with Ruby at her side, and Blake hesitated once she had stepped outside the elevator.
Her partner was occupied with her little sister. Understandably so. Even as an only child, she could understand what Yang was going through. Schnee had been out of line to ridicule her sister like she had, didn't need to immediately demand a meeting with the Headmaster once Ruby Rose had been named team leader over her.
On the other hand, she wasn't blind. Weiss Schnee wasn't entirely wrong.
She chose to speak with Schnee.
"Come to your senses at last Belladonna?" She already regretted her decision.
"I just wanted to speak with you without Yang around. She's too emotional to involve in any of this right now." Blake kept herself far enough away from Schnee that she wouldn't be tempted. She crossed her arms as well. "I don't agree with the way you handled this but I won't just say that you're wrong because you have a less than civil way of saying it."
"I…Thank you for seeing my point." Weiss seemed to have to physically stop herself from a retort as she spoke through near gritted teeth, likely biting her lip from the look on her face. Blake repressed a smile of satisfaction at getting a Schnee to thank her. She regarded her with a cool gaze, seemed to have control over herself once more. "Since you agreed with me, if you don't mind me asking, why didn't you say as such to Ozpin."
"Just because I agree with you about Ruby doesn't mean I agreed with everything you had to say." Blake wasn't surprised at the glare she earned.
"I think you should explain yourself more Belladonna." She was surprised Weiss wasn't stomping her foot. It would fit the petulant child look she had at the moment.
This was one demand from a Schnee she would gladly comply with. Schnee would have heard what she had to say regardless of what she wanted. This was the only reason she was even bothering to speak with her.
"You were still out of line. Saying she wasn't ready to be team leader was one thing but you didn't need to call her a child or try to say she doesn't belong here. She met the standards to enter Beacon like anyone else." Blake looked out over the campus, the setting sun not only bathing it in a sea of orange and reds but bringing the chill of the night with it as well. With her Aura still not refilled after Initiation and her current outfit, she could feel it more than she liked. "Unless you plan to bully her into agreeing with you in the vote you want to call, I would suggest you listen to what Headmaster Ozpin had to say. Regardless of which of us is team leader, we still need to work as a group here at Beacon. Any personal feelings we have towards each other need to be dealt with before they become a problem."
"I am perfectly aware of that. I didn't suggest her expulsion after all. I simply think she's not fit to be our leader." Weiss seemed set to stand her ground. "No. I know we can perform better without someone like Ruby Rose leading us. She's a child. We can all be adults about this and she can try to grow up and do the right thing. Being team leader isn't something she's ready for, not mature enough."
"And you are?" Blake had only agreed with her initial thoughts on Ruby but that was all. If the alternative was having a Schnee in charge, she would back Ruby as long as she didn't do something to get them all killed.
"I frankly believe I'm overqualified for the position." Weiss seemed affronted that any other idea existed. "I'm not only the heiress of the Schnee Dust Corporation but I am an exceptional Huntress without her in the way, able to excel at any course offered at Beacon Academy, more than likely one of the stronger students here if not the strongest with the exception of Pyrrha Nikos, and I'm simply smarter than her. There is nothing special about Ruby Rose except for the fact she was admitted to Beacon early. Likely on a fluke judging by her performance so far." Blake couldn't help but think of a child with the way Weiss turned her nose up, adopted a stance that mirrored her picture of a Schnee she had in her head all her life.
Snobbery. Reeking of elitism. Undisguised prejudice. Entitlement. She was everything she envisioned her to be.
And it was all clearly a show.
"For all you're talk of being mature, you're acting like a child. You didn't get what you wanted so you're just going to throw a tantrum until you do?"
Weiss had nothing to say in response. She didn't glare at the amber eyed girl and didn't stubbornly look away either. She seemed to be considering what she had said, what Ozpin had already told them.
Blake had nothing left to say. She headed off to the First Year dorms. It was cold and she wanted to unpack her bags.
"Blake." The bow wearing student turned at the call of her name and was presented with a rare sight. Weiss looked uncomfortable under her teammate's gaze, didn't have the haughty air she had come to expect from the heiress of the SDC, didn't hold herself up like she was better than everyone else. She looked like a girl who didn't know what to do next, a girl who knew she had acted in the wrong. "I didn't mean to say some of what I did…I'll speak to Ruby about all of this…Tomorrow…I'll talk to her…"
"You don't have to tell me what you're going to do. Just do it." Blake turned and continued on her way.
'Seeing a Schnee uncomfortable like this wasn't as fun as I thought it would be.' Seeing them like it almost made them seem normal.
Blake continued on her way.
Yang and Ruby were either at their dorm or would be there eventually. She would see where her partner stood on all of this once she had a chance to calm down and, if Weiss was a woman of her word, had seen her sister get an apology. She didn't want to have a conversation with her while she was seething with fury.
And, as much as she personally didn't like it, Schnee hadn't been wrong. Ruby was not only younger than everyone else at Beacon but she didn't seem to have what it took to be team leader from what Blake could piece together from what she knew. The Nevermore had likely been roused by something she did, a Grimm that big and old rarely bothering the kingdoms alone. Blake didn't want to praise her but Weiss Schnee was more than capable of evading a fight she couldn't win with what she knew of her abilities. Her losing her weapon and being trapped in the Nevermore's grip had likely happened because of something Ruby had done.
That girl was the same one that had sneezed and caused a Dust explosion before she had even stepped foot in the Emerald Forest.
Blake shook her head at the mess all of this really was in the end. She had come to Beacon to do good, to change what she had done in her past, and had seemingly just committed to wasting four years. Her team was made up of a child that was in charge of her, her sister who seemed to be either coddling or overprotective, and a Schnee that she may have to admit she had the most in common with. A Beacon dropout would get too much attention, draw eyes to her she didn't want. It was better to just tough out the next four years but they would try her patience. It seemed like her choice to come to Beacon was looking more like a step back than the step forward she thought it would be, the start of something new.
"Isn't my fresh start just off to a great start?" She was depressing herself the more she thought about this.
"Finally!" The voice behind her nearly made her jump straight up. "I thought we would never find you!" She barely stopped herself from drawing Gambol Shroud from her back as she turned around.
'Don't panic. Don't be rash. Just say they don't know you.' She had to calm herself down.
All her mental preparation went out the window when she saw who the girl that had snuck up on her was. Nora Valkyrie smiled at her, Pyrrha Nikos at her side.
"Hello. I don't think we've been properly introduced." Pyrrha Nikos held out her hand. "I'm Pyrrha Nikos. And you are?"
"Blake Belladonna." She was more than a little awestruck to shake hands with a girl as famous as Pyrrha. She was just glad she didn't stammer or trip over her words. "I'm sorry but why were you looking for me?"
Pyrrha's welcoming smile became strained, even Nora's smile dimmed.
"We kind of…sort of…maybe heard what Weiss said." Nora's answer shouldn't surprise her.
"Oh…" Blake didn't know why she was embarrassed. The Schnee was the one who had nearly screamed her demand to talk to Ozpin across campus. She shouldn't be surprised people knew. "We just finished talking to Ozpin actually."
"Really? Would you mind telling us what's happening?" Pyrrha asked while Nora walked ahead, both seemed set to walk with her to the dorms.
"He just told us nothing could be done for sixty days." Blake told them the truth. "After that, three of us would need to agree in a vote of no confidence to have Ruby replaced with someone else, he said it would be up to the faculty to review everything and pick someone new."
"Well…I hope everything works out." Pyrrha shook her head. "This all just seems like such an overreaction. I'm sure Headmaster Ozpin has a good reason for picking Ruby out of the four of you. He wouldn't give her the responsibility if he didn't know she could handle it." Blake didn't know if Pyrrha was being polite about it or earnest in her feelings.
"People are allowed to make mistakes." She didn't want to say anything else about the situation with Team RWBY. She actually had her own question she wanted answered from one of these two, figured now would be the best time. She looked to Pyrrha, nodded towards where Nora marched ahead of the two. "What did Nora end up doing with that Deathstalker's stinger?"
The hammer wielder had been absurdly proud of her trophy last she saw of her, happily hoisting it above her head in a not unimpressive display of strength the entire time they headed back to Beacon Cliff from the ruins. She had also cheerfully proclaimed herself as the new queen of the scorpion stingers.
"Ah. That. It's…quite the sight. Isn't it?" Pyrrha laughed. It wasn't very natural. "It's just sitting on the floor for now, maybe shoved into a corner. Just out of the way while we're all still unpacking. Nora wanted to make it into a door knocker but it was…slightly too big." Her laughter was definitely strained there. "She's thinking about making it into a table now. Well, she did after she broke one of the desks with her hammer to make space. And to get the parts she thinks she needs."
"I see." Blake looked to the cheerful Nora walking up ahead. It didn't seem like she had much of a care in the world.
'Angry is better than chaotic.' Blake could suddenly find some benefits to being part of RWBY now.
"I'm sure it'll be…unique." Pyrrha's smile was definitely strained, her voice too chipper to be anything but forced. "Jaune is excited to see what she makes out of it."
"Jaune. He's your leader, right?" Blake had seen the blond while he was fighting the Nevermore with the rest of what would become RWBY and JNPR once the Deathstalker had been dealt with. Beyond him using swords, she knew nothing else about him. "What is he like?"
"Oh Jaune is just great. I believe he's a natural leader." Blake couldn't help but stare at Pyrrha. The champion looked like she was blushing, definitely wasn't pretending to like her leader. "He's an amazing partner with a fascinating outlook on things."
Blake didn't want to say anything but she had to be sure they were talking about the same person.
The only other thing about Jaune that she could remember clearly was that he had been the one wearing a onesie the night before Initiation. A bright blue onesie with a bunny's face on it. With bunny slippers.
She had to be sure Pyrrha and her were talking about the same person.
"He certainly had interesting pajamas." Blake was more alarmed when Pyrrha's blush seemed to only grow.
"He does, doesn't he? They're rather adorable." Pyrrha giggled and Blake didn't know if her world shattered then or she had hit her head during Initiation.
"Sure…" Blake wasn't sure if Pyrrha was listening to her still, the girl seemed more focused on whatever image was in her head.
She felt Nora elbow her in the side.
"Yeah, she gets like this about Jaune." She had the courtesy to whisper as Pyrrha daydreamed. "Don't tell her but I think somebody has a crush."
If was official, Blake no longer knew what was going on. The longer she stayed at Beacon, the longer it seems like she was in some other world.