Team JNPR's door slammed open, greeting them with the sight of Beacon's two teaching assistants, one enthusiastic, the other exasperated.
"Come on Jaune! It's time for some extra credit! Let's go kiddo, I hope you're ready for some pain, 'cause this instructor is a fan of learning by doing." Atin entered the room looking disturbingly chipper for someone about to spend two hours getting beaten up.
"Oooo, extra credit?! What's he gonna be doing?" asked Nora, jumping up from her bed.
"Beacon has a remedial combat course, where they bring in guest instructors to help students sharpen up their combat skills. It's usually not offered until a student is actually failing, but we were able to convince Goodwitch to let us bring him along, since this particular instructor is quite skilled."
"Uh...where is Jaune, actually? Ren, you did make sure to tell him ten, right? Tonight?" Max asked, noting the absence of the blond student they had come to drag into training.
Ren looked around nervously "He said he would be here, but I got the feeling he was worried about what the 'extra credit' would entail."
Max closed the door of the room. "Atin, go check the bathroom, I'll check the closet. Nora, be a dear and stand at the door, make sure he doesn't try to bolt?"
"Aye aye, sir!" Nora saluted Max, marching to the door before turning back to look around the room.
"Come out, come out wherever you are, Jaune. This is a very small room, and the longer you make us wait, the worse it will be for you. After all, your new teacher is so very excited to meet you, and he hates to be kept waiting." Atin kicked open the bathroom door, hoping to surprise the young man. The bathroom, however, was empty.
"Alright, let's check door number two," Max said, opening the closet. He shifted clothes around, but there was no sign of Jaune. "Hmm…"
"Well he isn't in here, and he isn't in the closet. Nora, where is Pyrrha?" Atin asked.
"The library," Nora replied with a grin.
"Ahhhh, the library, the least used facility on campus. Because why read a book when you have google? Or whatever Remnant's equivalent is." Atin looked around the inside, wondering just where their errant student was hiding.
Max looked around, looking for a shock of red hair or blonde hair. "Well, they were bright enough to not sit at any tables in view of the entrance," he noted. "Which means we have to put even more effort into finding him. We're already fifteen minutes late. Qrow will not be happy."
"For once, that is not actually our problem. He can take it out on Jaune. I'm just surprised that Pyrrha would help him hide from extra credit. I'll take the left side of the room, you take the right. And be ready to grab him in case he tries to book it. I am not gonna spend another 15 minutes playing tag." Atin started walking off towards the left, eyes glancing quickly down the rows of books. After a few minutes he saw them tucked away in the back corner, their backs to the aisle, Jaune doing his level best to hide behind a stack of a books. As he got closer he was able to hear what Jaune and Pyrrha were saying.
"Thanks, Pyr, I really appreciate your help," Jaune said, a book in hand.
"It's no problem, Jaune. Though I must admit, I was a bit surprised at your sudden interest to study for Monday's quiz," Pyrrha replied, a notebook open in front of her.
They don't know I'm here. Time for some payback for making me hunt for you Jaune. Atin grabbed a large book off the shelf and began slowly walking towards the table, doing his best not to make any noise. He got close to the table, and raised the book as high as he could, ready to drop between the two of them.
WHAM
The book slammed down into the center of table shattering the stillness of the library, and earning a shout of alarm from Pyrrha and a squeak of surprise from Jaune. "So, this is where you've been hiding Jaune. We are now twenty minutes late, and boy is it gonna be worse for you because of it. This instructor is not what I would call… patient at the best of times, and this is gonna test the limits of it." Atin grabbed Jaune by the hood, dragging him towards the entrance of the library.
Max walked up by this point, following the sound of a book being slammed. "Oh, good, you found him. Let's get going, the instructor's going to kick our asses bad enough as is," he said, turning back towards the entrance of the library.
"S-sirs?" Pyrrha finally stuttered out, her initial shock at seeing her team leader and partner being dragged out the door wearing off. She quickly stood up, jogging to catch up. "Excuse me, Mr. Max, Mr. Atin, what are you doing?!"
"Ah, Pyrrha. Evening. We're just escorting Jaune to his extra credit project for combat class. Don't worry, we should have him back in your dorm by one in the morning. If he'd just been ready when he was told, it would be twelve, but he decided to try and ditch." Max shrugged as they started walking towards the training arena.
"Extra credit? For combat class?"
"Quit struggling, it will only make breathing harder. And no, I will not let go. Dignity is a privilege, one you have forfeited, Mr. Arc. Here we are going out of our way to get you special combat training to give you an edge, and you try to rope a model student into helping you ditch. Really, lying to your teammate and partner, that's no way to go about things." Atin did his best to adopt a scolding tone while trying not let them see just how much fun he was having.
"Now, you go on back to your dorm room, Pyrrha. We have it from here," Max said, putting a hand on Pyrrha's shoulder and gently pushing her back towards the dorm rooms while he and Atin continued on with Jaune in tow to the training arena. "You can ask Jaune all about how much fun he had in training once he's back in the dorms himself later tonight."
Pyrrha slowly walked off after that, giving a confused sounding, "Yes, sir."
Max nodded to himself in satisfaction, looking down at Jaune as Atin continued dragging the student. "So, is there anything you'd like to say before we actually get there, Jaune?"
"Um...I'm sorry?" Jaune weakly offered.
"Not yet you aren't. But you will be. By extension, so will we because we are now half an hour late, and our wonderful instructor drinks to pass the time. He also drinks when annoyed. You have will managed to make him both, which he is now drunk and angry, which will be taken out on us. So get ready, because this train has no brakes or mercy." Atin pulled harder than was strictly needed on Jaunes hood, dragging him along. Jaune's only recourse was to sigh and hang his head.
"I'm starting to get worried. It's one-forty, and we haven't even got a message from Jaune. Mr. Force said they would be back at one, right Pyrrha?" Ren shot Pyrrha a nervous glance where she was pacing back and forth in the center of their room.
"That's what he said, yes," Pyrrha replied with a sharp nod.
Nora, meanwhile, sat on her bed, nonchalant. "No need to freak out, guys, I'm sure everything's fine!" she said, her thumb flicking at her Scroll's screen.
"You seem rather calm, Nora," Pyrrha noted, her pacing coming to a stop.
"Well, I trust Mr. Max, I guess," Nora replied, looking up from her scroll and shrugging.
"...What about Mr. Atin?"
"...I trust Mr. Max…"
"That's not actually his last name. Mr. Atin. His last name is Winchester. Before you ask, no he is not related to Cardin, thankfully," Ren spoke up once again.
There came a gentle rapping at their door, which Pyrrha sprang to answer, where she saw Atin stepping back from the door to reveal Max, with Jaune slung over his shoulder.
"Right, here's your leader back, safe and sound," Max said, pointing at the groaning Huntsman-in-training. "And in one piece! Little guy had so much fun, though, he's managed to tucker himself out. Isn't that right, Jaune?"
"Ugggghhh," was the reply.
"You guys should probably get him into bed. Don't let him try to get up, he'll thank you for it later. Maybe spray some Febreeze over him, he stinks." Atin gave Jaune a little nudge with his hand, eliciting another pained groan the boy.
"Okay, so, who wants him?" Max asked, moving to get Jaune off of his shoulder. As his feet connected to ground, Jaune stumbled against the door frame, leaning heavily on it. "Oh, wow, he's actually standing under his own power...I'm actually impressed, Atin and I usually just lay wherever we fell for a few hours during the first day or two."
"Yeah. It was… interesting. Hey Jaune, can you hear us buddy? How many fingers am I holding up?" Atin held up two fingers in front of the poor Huntsman-in-training.
"What kind of training did you take him to?" Ren stood up from the bed, putting his shoulder under Jaune, helping Jaune over to his bed and setting him down on it.
"Let's see, some basic aerobics to start off, a run, basic strength training, and then he beat the shit out of us under the guise of teaching us the basics of fighting," Max replied, holding a finger up each time he listed something. "On the upside, though, we found out Jaune actually can throw a punch. Downside, the instructor barely felt it."
"In Jaune's defence, this is a trained Huntsman, and he did compliment him on his form, even if 'my niece punched harder when she was twelve' was said. Anyway he should be fine with plenty of rest and water." Atin began heading towards the door, eager to get off his own feet, so he could stop locking his knees to stay upright.
Max followed him out, closing the door on the way. Once the door was completely closed and they were around the corner, Max leaned against the wall heavily. "Holy shit, was that session worse than usual for the light sessions?" he asked, looking at Atin on the other side of the hall. "I think my bruises have bruises now."
"I told Jaune that Qrow was gonna take it out on all of us, and boy did he. I haven't been this sore since, ever actually. At least I knew how to punch when we started. Jaune nearly broke his fingers. Who doesn't know that you put your thumb over your finger to punch, not inside them?" Atin slumped against the wall, finally letting his exhaustion show.
They stayed like that for a bit, before Max remembered something. "Our room is the other way, isn't it? We're literally just two or three doors down from RWBY and JNPR, at the other end of the hall…"
"You are correct. However, I would suggest that floor can be extremely comfortable, and that we should just go to sleep right here. Maybe a kind student will drag us to our room. That open door policy has to be good for something." Atin reluctantly began trudging back around the corner, not even bothering to lift his feet as he made his way back to his room.
Max took a deep breath, slowly straightening back up to limp behind Atin. "I am so glad today's Sunday. I think I'm just gonna bake today. Fuck it. Cookies for everyone," he grumbled to himself.
"You do that. I'm making tacos. Two am is the perfect time for tacos after all. Think RWBY or JNPR will want some?" Atin grabbed the pan from the cabinets, eager for food.
"I dunno. Do you think Jaune could hold it down? Hell, is RWBY even awake by this point?"
"You underestimate how quickly the smell of tacos will wake people. And if you wake people up with the smell of tacos, you have to be ready to share. Unlike my roommate, who was a dick and did not share when he did it to me. Can you chop up some veggies? Gotta have fixings to throw on after all." Atin looked over at Max, surprised to see him heading for his room.
"Nah, I'm going to bed. Try not to cut yourself." Max closed his bedroom door behind him, leaving Atin alone in the main area.
"I'm not turning away anyone who wants tacos though, so good luck sleeping man." Atin began humming to himself, eager to share the joy of morning tacos.