AN: I have no plans on how to make this work. I have been trying since roughly two chapters ago. This is the worst scene when it comes to my writer's block, truly the stuff of my nightmares. I hate it. Either way, I hope I manage to make it enjoyable.
Anyways, enjoy the show, I apologize for the delay, between moving between states, getting a job and trying to get my life in order, I have had difficulty writing at all.
This chapter starts with rebuking Blake and then moves on to a team I have definitely neglected when I didn't intend to starting out... So hopefully I can remember that I do in fact have plans for these folks, who knows.
Have fun.
-Lambda38
Chapter 8: Warnings
I look up from my book as Blake enters my office, followed by all three of her teammates, to my slight surprise. I close it as I glance at the clock, confirming that she is in fact a little early.
"Professor," the Faunus calls, prompting me to nod and gesture at the group of chairs across from my desk.
"Please take a seat," I reply, waiting for a moment as the group settles in. "I can understand why Miss Belladonna's team leader and partner would insist on attending with her, but why are you here, Miss Schnee?" The white haired girl meets my curious gaze with an imperious one.
"She is my teammate. I need no other reason," she states.
"I see," I idly reply as my gaze turns to Blake. "You understand why I've called you here, do you not, Miss Belladonna?" The girl shifts uncomfortably before answering.
"I didn't inform anyone of what I knew, and in the process could have gotten people hurt," she replies somewhat stiffly.
"Quite," I reply dryly. "The gravity of the potential consequences do not seem to have occurred to you yet, so I suppose I might as well spell them out for you." The group across from me exchange glances as I stand and move to stand next to the window of my office. "Do you know what percentage Faunus make up in Hunter forces worldwide at the moment?"
"Fourteen percent," she replies nearly instantly, and I incline my head in acknowledgement.
"Part of the reason for that is racist morons overseeing tests for people who have skill but don't want to apply to the academies or even worse, because of the people who oversee admissions into the academies denying them entry in favor of humans," I say with some annoyance in my voice, the girls behind me listening with mostly no movement. "Over ninety percent of all Faunus Hunters are licensed by the Kingdom of Vacuo. It's hardly perfect there either. There are many who would like to limit Faunus recruitment or even ban it altogether. In Atlas and Mantle it is particularly true, with Vale coming in third." I turn to face the four for a moment. "Tell me Blake, why is it that, despite the laws demanding that equality be equal, most of the time people who discriminate against us are able to get away with it?" She thinks for only a few moments before meeting my eyes.
"Because there's never just one," she replies bitterly. "Even if there are only two or three racists in an entire organization, the majority of people are willing to look the other way because it doesn't affect them, and because of that they don't understand why or how it affects us."
"That is a part of it," I reply with a sigh as the sisters in the room exchange glances. "I'll be honest, I gave up trying to understand all the reasons a long time ago." I retake my seat and give her a reproachful stare. "Now tell me, if it were to come out that two Faunus Hunters in Training tried to stop a Dust raid by the White Fang had ended in a massive explosion which leveled several city blocks, how much progress would we lose?"
"Professor, that's hardly fair!" Yang objects loudly, while I watch as Blake's face pales, her mouth falling open as Weiss narrows her eyes.
"People aren't fair, Miss Xiao Long," I counter coolly, meeting her impassioned gaze. "There are many people who would like to see the Faunus prosper, just as many who would see us exterminated, and infinitely more who don't care so long as they aren't affected."
"But that's just stupid, judging people because of something they didn't even ask for!" She yells, her eyes flaring red for a moment.
"Preach to the choir," I comment dryly, folding my hands. "Do you understand what I am getting at Blake?" The black haired girl flinches as she looks at the ground in shame. "You are now one of the faces of Faunuskind, even more so than people like me due to your father. If you fail to work inside the system, a failure on your part, one that leads to casualties especially, could be exactly what anti-Faunus like the Silver Hand or the Union of Man need to push for more and more against us."
"With that said, Professor, there is only so much progress they can make," Weiss points out, drawing the gazes of her teammates.
"True," I concede. "It would not be possible to modify the governments enough to be openly hostile to Faunus, but they could make things bad enough that we would have little recourse except fighting." The heiress scowls at my words, but nods. "And war allows for many things, many of which can be catastrophic for the losing party." Germany, I feel such pity for you. "So I can't simply stand by and allow you to act like you have nothing riding on your shoulders, Blake. If this happens again, I will make certain you and your team face the consequences, Ozpin's favoritism be damned."
"Ms. Chrome, if people are in danger, we have to do our job as Huntresses in training!" Ruby speaks up, looking at me with burning conviction. "We'll do our best to stay inside the system, but if it prevents us from helping people, then I will do what I have to, and I'm sure my teammates will as well." I stare at the girl, before chuckling.
"Just take care not to let your sense of righteousness outweigh your better judgement. Sometimes, helping the people you see in front of you means you're abandoning everyone behind you," I reply, fighting the urge to grimace. "In any event, I have said what I needed to. Be careful not to cause a scene, and if you must do something, report it to me if you don't feel you can report it to anyone else." The girls glance between each other as I speak, nearly making me huff. I'll need to look into their activities when I have the time. "I will be able to make sure none of you do anything particularly reckless, at the very least."
"With all due respect, Professor, wouldn't it also be terrible for Human-Faunus relations if you happened to go through such a catastrophic failure?" Weiss points out after a few moments.
"Yes, and no," I reply, tilting my head slightly. "While it is true that if I were to have failed in stopping the White Fang last night, it would have been a black mark on my record, I am a fairly unknown Hunter, and my failure would truly reflect poorly on Ozpin, since my greatest public accolade is that I am a Professor of Beacon." I glance down at my desk as I notice a notification appear on my scroll, humming slightly before returning my attention to the students in my room. "While I am certain that the Union of Man would slander me and try to push for something, most actual political movers would focus on stripping Ozpin of his political power rather than do anything to upset the already fragile balance." My gaze falls on Blake, who looks as though she is pondering something quite heavily. "Do you have something to ask, Ms. Belladonna?"
"What would you have done, in our place, Professor?" Blake asks slowly. I let out a sibilant sigh before giving her my answer.
"I would have let them steal the Dust," I state, getting four shocked and two horrified stares. I raise my hand to quiet them before they can speak. "In the time that it would take them to figure out which crates they were going to steal, I would sneak my way inside of their bullhead and hide until we reached their base of operations, then called for reinforcements from the Vale PD and Beacon in order to round them up." I meet Weiss's eyes and wink, knowing that she was definitely feeling some sense of betrayal at my earlier words. "From there, even if the Dust ignites, it is no longer solely on my shoulders, and most importantly, there won't be any civilian loss of life."
"But, Professor, how would you hide from a bullhead full of Faunus?" Weiss asks, eyes narrowed slightly, the others nodding. I shrug in reply.
"I have ways," I say simply, not budging as she huffs at my answer. "Regardless, I have said all I need to. Please excuse me, I have to meet with team NNPR."
"Right!" Ruby says, standing and prompting the others to follow her. "Let's go team, off to the dining hall!"
"I'm not feeling too hungry right now, Ruby," Blake replies as they make their way out of my office. "I'll grab dinner later."
"Oh, ok Blake. Where are you-," Ruby continues until the group let my door fall closed behind them, allowing me to exhale in exhaustion.
They will probably be the death of my sanity. I wish I could say everything I said was a lie, and while some wasn't, it's likely that, as a student of Beacon, it will be reflected poorly to Ozpin rather than Faunus kind. Neither is a good result, but some exaggeration shouldn't hurt.
I push myself out of my chair and check my scroll.
Thirty minutes til I am meeting with them. Might as well start heading out there, I think. I exit my office after stretching for a moment, making my way towards the Emerald Forest.
As I walk through the halls I pass by a closet and pinch the bridge of my nose as I hear moans and grunts emanate from it, before raising my arm and slamming my fist on the door several times.
"Get out," I call with annoyance.
I hear a yelp from inside and muffled cursing as the pair inside shuffle about, clearly unhappy with my interruption.
A few moments later, I raise an eyebrow as a pair of students exit the closet, one of the boys walking with a fairly distinct limp as the taller one meets my eyes with a glare and a huff as he crosses his arms. The taller one is a black haired boy of Mistrali descent, with his hair tied into a low ponytail and a sharp face holding a pair of bright orange eyes. The smaller dark skinned boy, whose uniform looks far more ruffled and untidy, has shaggy purple hair and light green eyes which swivel, doing anything he can to not look at me.
"Do you need something?" He asks angrily, face flushed as his black ponytail sways behind himself, the other boy cringing and moving behind him. "We were in the middle of something, if you couldn't tell."
"You have dorms, you have permission to use the bullheads to go into town and probably have enough to afford a love hotel," I state as I narrow my eyes at the Mistrali boy. "I and every other person at Beacon have no interest in hearing the two of you engage with each other."
"Oh please, it isn't like anyone is going to care that we're using this closet, all it has are cleaning supplies," the tall boy complains, making me pinch the bridge of my nose for the second time in too few minutes.
"Da-Darious, please don't anger the Professor," the other boy speaks up from where his face is buried into Darious's back.
"I don't care what your excuse is. Follow me," I order, walking briskly past the boys, and sending a warning glare over my shoulder as the larger boy tries to shrug off his compatriot and leave. The way he freezes under my glare and slowly falls in line behind me is most satisfying.
"Where the hell are you taking us anyways?" Darious demands. After a few moments of me ignoring him as we exit the building. "Oi, I asked where the hell we're going?!"
"Outside," I reply blithely, planning on how I'm going to incorporate them into training.
"You aren't going to hurt us, are you Professor?" The small boy pipes up.
"Don't even think about such stupid things Obsidian," Darious huffs. "Even if she tries, I won't let her touch what is mine." I chuckle at his boasts as we head for the bullhead pad.
"I won't hurt you, and if there are any Grimm around, I will take care of them as well," I reply, pulling out my scroll and sifting through it to get my Professor license for the pilot. "No, I'm not going to do anything to you, but you will be practicing with the team I have to meet with."
"Practice?" Darious scoffs. "We're part of a fourth year team, we don't need to practice with anyone who relies on a Professor." I ignore him as we continue walking. After a minute of the silence, he calls out to me again. "So what team are we training?"
"Team NNPR," I answer as we arrive at the airpad, waving down one of the bullhead pilots. "I need you to transport me and these students out into the Emerald Forest." The pilot takes a look at my license and then glances at the pair behind me.
"Sure, I can do that," she replies, giving me a wide smile. "Climb aboard and put coordinates in, I'll getcha there."
I nod in reply as she turns to enter the bullhead, a few moments before I move to follow, glancing behind me to ensure the two troublemakers are still following.
"Professor Chrome!" A fairly familiar voice calls from behind me, drawing my eyes to a smiling and waving Pyrrha next to an annoyed Natsuki. I eye the bluenette for a moment before glancing at Nora and Ren, who are discussing something quite animatedly behind the duo.
"Ms. Nikos," I call in return, walking past the duo of fourth years with me to stand in front of the team. "I didn't expect to run into the four of you on my way out. Most of the time, the people I train with are only just on time or late."
"That might have something to do with the fact that you constantly train with only a single team, but what should I have expected from a Professor a decade too young to take the title," Natsuki jabs with annoyance in her voice.
"Perhaps, Ms. Nakashima," I return evenly as the rest of the girls team falls silent, looking distinctly out of place. "I have secured passage into the forest, as well as some training partners for the four of you. Follow me." Nakashima scoffs as she follows me, shoulder checking the taller horny boy and making him react.
"You really are just asking for me to beat your face in, aren't you, you prissy bitch," he sneers as I enter the bullhead, doing my best to ignore the troublesome pair. I hear Nakashima enter the bullhead behind me without so much as a word to the boy as Obsidian quietly asks him to stop antagonizing her until we've arrived.
I silently reach past the pilot and input coordinates from memory, silently taking the copilot seat and crossing my arms as the door between the cockpit and the cab closes, hearing the sounds of Nora and Pyrrha trying to distract everyone from the aggravating pair in the back.
I let out a tired sigh as I close my eyes, feeling the curious gaze of the pilot next to me.
"If I may, Professor, what are you taking these students out into the Emerald Forest for?" She asks after we take off.
"Training," I reply curtly, wondering if there is any way I could instantly resign from my position as Professor and go back to field work. Dealing with idiots normally results in me getting their license suspended, but I can't do that with students. It's irritating.
"What kind of training?" She probes, her tone of voice indicating she won't just give up.
"Aura training," I answer. "Specifically, how to force their Aura to move from their own body and into someone else, very violently." The pilot lets out a sound of awe.
"Like, an explosion?" She asks, excitement in her voice as the bullhead dips slightly.
"Not this time. This technique is more akin to a surgical strike rather than an explosion," I reply evenly, receiving a disappointed sound.
"I guess not every learning experience can be about the fun things in life," she bemoans, before extending a hand to me. "The name's Charlotte, but most people call me Charlie. What's your name?" I stare at her hand for a moment before accepting it, looking over at her and actually seeing her for the first time.
She has short black hair which frames an almost too pale face with deep black eyes, a chipper smile and a pair of orange headphones dangling around her neck, being the only aberration from her standard flight suit.
"Nice to meet you Charlie, my name is Alicia," I say, looking up and silently taking down the scroll number left on the dash. "How long until we reach our destination?" She glances at her control panel, before pulling back on the stick hard enough to almost send me tumbling out of my seat.
"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for flying with Charlie Air, if you look out the bullhead doors, you will realize it is time to jump out and deal with the small pack of Beowolves," Charlie states after pulling her headset on. "While I would love to help, I have been ordered to keep to myself unless asked otherwise by a Huntsman who knows what my plan is ahead of time. Sorry for the inconvenience."
I sigh as I get up, thanking the pilot before stepping through the door and over a recovering Darious. I lean out the side of the bullhead and see that there is a rather large group of Beowolves, and hum before hopping out, the Alpha of the pack seeing me jump and timing a jump to intercept me.
It takes a heavy swipe at me with its paw, and I stab it through its palm. My feet connect with its face a moment later, driving it back down to the ground a few meters below. Once we connect to the ground, I let out a large Aura Blast, shattering its head and propelling me into a jump above the pack, allowing me to sever the head of a lunging Beowolf.
A second later, another Beowolf is pinned to the ground by a red and gold spear, followed swiftly by the Mistralian champion, who lands with poise and shifts her spear into a sword as she deflects a Beowolf's paw with her shield before dispatching it. I look around me, and prepare to stab a charging Grimm through the face, when an energetic cry resounds as Nora storms down from the sky and crushes it with her hammer.
I blink as I watch Natsuki and Ren drop down from the bullhead, beginning to thin the herd with fairly impressive precision. I might not think much of her large sword, but Natsuki clearly knows how to use it.
I watch as the team proceeds to destroy the Beowolf pack, noting the corpses already dissipating in the wind as I sheathe my sword, glancing up to see the two fourth years looking down from the bullhead. I hum, before shouting up at them.
"Jump down here!" I order, narrowing my eyes as I glance around to make sure none of team NNPR are in any danger. After assuring myself that I don't need to bother with the small fry, I turn my gaze upwards again as Darious leaps out of the bullhead, followed swiftly by Obsidian, who lands and almost immediately collapses, groaning as he rubs his lower back.
I resist the urge to scoff as I look around one more time, taking out my gun and landing a shot through the last of the Beowolves, sending it to the ground. After a few moments pass, with Charlotte taking her leave, I nod and holster my weapon, and round up the students with me.
"Welcome to the Emerald Forest. It's good that the four of you have an interest in continuing to study your Aura," I remark calmly as team NNPR assembles, sending out a message to the number I got from Charlie's bullhead.
"Yeah, well, you wouldn't have been my first pick if literally anyone else could do it," Natuski complains, sneering up at me. I level her an unimpressed stare, which she returns with a glare.
"Ms. Nakashima, what did I do to gain your ire?" I question. I know I am far from her favorite person, but our first interaction aside, we haven't spoken, and I'd prefer not to attribute this to mere racism. It is likely, but assumptions lead to misinformation, and that can lead to people dying at the wrong times. "I haven't singled you or any of your compatriots out in class, nor have I done anything to you. Why do you insist on being quite so disrespectful?"
"Oh?" She scoffs as she does her best to glare down her nose at me, which leads to the amusing image of a girl nearly a foot shorter than me tilting her head back quite far. Her team seems quite uncomfortable with my inquiry, however. "You got your license in the Kingdom known for its corrupt Huntsman exams, have next to no information about what your accomplishments are, come out of nowhere and expect to be treated with respect? I have no respect for a cheat with no experience in actual Huntsman work." I have to cough to repress the laugh which wants to burst out of my chest.
Oh, that is a rich accusation, I think, closing my eyes and marshalling my appearance to look like I'm in deep thought. Still, that isn't it. Disrespect has a lot of expressions, but from her reactions to me, and even from her glare, I doubt that this is all there is to it. Oh well, time for yet another investigation.
"Well," I reply, eyes shining as I level a stern look towards her. "Ms. Nakashima, that is quite the story. I'll be sure to take it into advisement. Having said that, you all are here for a reason, are you not?" I look at each of the other members of her team in turn, getting nods and small words of agreement.
"Personally, Professor, I was looking for some critiques on my technique when it comes to the Aura dispersal technique you taught us," Pyrrha pipes up. "I've managed to produce it multiple times in a row without feeling tired, but I can't help but feel I'm being a bit wasteful."
I nod at the comment.
"Very well. I will teach each of you in turn. In the meantime, you are to spar with the two volunteers behind me," I inform the other three, ignoring the sounds of surprise and indignation behind me. "They are a pair of skilled fourth years, so make sure you don't get too careless."
"Oi, you gonna let them spar us while we're unarmed?" Darious calls angrily, grabbing my shoulder and trying to make me turn and face him. I glance at him over my shoulder coldly.
"Call your weapons out here. You should have already done it. Having said that, no," I answer, turning back to Natsuki, Nora, and Ren. "You three will be sparring using only Aura techniques. If I see you using your weapons, I will join in and face you alongside Mr. Darious and Mr. Obsidian." Natsuki looks like she wants to punch my face in while Nora looks excited, and Ren's calm passiveness betrays a hint of nervousness.
"You can't be serious!" Natsuki objects, receiving a smile from me in return.
"Have fun, you five," I say as I walk past team NNPR, hearing the sounds of two lockers landing behind me. "Ms. Nikos, please follow me." I hear her follow me after a few moments of silence.
"Well then, the Professor interrupted us, so I'm feeling a bit pent up," Darious says with audible menace. "Don't blame me if you end up getting hurt."
"We'll-I'll go easy on you," Obsidian assures them.
"Please do not underestimate us," Ren replies quietly as I walk into the woods, finding it slightly harder to hear them.
"Bring it on!" Nora shouts jubilantly, her voice underlined by the sound of Natuski cursing.
We continue walking as the sounds of a fight break out, and I hear Natsuki let out a large grunt of pain before hearing a tree breaking behind us, much to my amuseme-professional approval of good training technique.
"Professor, is it really wise to have gone so far from the rest of the group?" Pyrrha asks after the sounds of combat dim in the woods.
"They will be perfectly fine. Their numbers alone mean that most Grimm would hesitate to attack, and even if stronger Grimm do approach, I'm confident that Mr. Darious and Mr. Obsidian will be more than sufficient to deal with it if your team provides good support," I answer, stopping in a small area between the trees, turning back to Pyrrha. "As for you and I, I have confidence that you will be able to survive long enough for me to protect you if it becomes dangerous."
"Understood, Professor," Pyrrha replies, though she doesn't seem convinced.
"In any event, you wanted to improve your technique with Aura dispersal?" I prod after a moment, garnering a nod. She holds up her hands and closes her eyes, taking a deep breath as her Aura pulses momentarily, and my eyes widen as I see the burst of Aura from her palms.
She repeats it after a few moments, allowing me to push past my surprise and study her grasp of the technique. After a few moments, her Aura slows once again and she opens her eyes, which I meet with a narrow gaze.
"Alright then. Ms. Nikos, I would like you to use the technique against me," I state, making her eyes widen as she takes a step back.
"Professor, isn't that-!" She tries, before I jump back, taking a ready stance as a smirk falls upon my lips, leaping at the girl, and watching as her visage turns to steel, hands rising to meet my lunge.
I thrust my arm forward, a Splinter prepared to dive into her Aura, which she meets with an open palm, my technique being refracted outwards by a somewhat precise, if sloppier dispersal of her Aura.
She wastes almost double the amount of Aura she needs to for my attack, though I'm sure she'll get better as time goes on and she gets in more practice, I think as I launch a kick for her side, preparing to hit her with a small Aura Blast. She maneuvers her body so that she can meet my foot with the back of her fist, another sloppy dispersal mostly diffusing the force of my Blast, though she is sent into a stumble by what gets through. I should probably advise her and Ren to practise with each other. They're probably the only ones outside of team RWBY and CFVY who can actually perform at this level.
I give her no time to rest as I move to slam a fist into her gut, preparing to send her onto the ground with a Blast, when she shocks me again with a dispersal centered around her sternum when my fist collides.
She can perform a dispersal on other parts of her body? I think with a near manic grin. Only Glynda has managed to reach that level of competence. You truly are a prodigy, aren't you?
Nonetheless, she does stumble backwards, but manages to catch herself before she falls to the ground. I take a step back and drop my stance, closing my eyes and taking a deep breath, so as to not fall into the old pattern I had with my mentor.
Nobody is ready for that.
"Exceedingly well done, Ms. Nikos," I praise with a genuine smile, silently recalling how the dispersal around her chest reacted, as she slowly lowers her guard. "You waste a lot of Aura in combat, but your ability with this technique is beyond even my most optimistic expectations."
"Thank you, Professor," she says, smiling politely, though I spot a glimmer of pride behind her eyes. "Though, I noticed that the second and third hits you landed were much harder to block than the others. Did you alter your strikes after I blocked your first attack?"
"Correct," I answer slowly, still thinking on how to improve her ability with her Aura. "At first, I merely wished to see if you could use the dispersal technique in combat, but after that, I used small Aura Blasts in order to see if you could use the technique to block stronger attacks. You did quite well to blunt my attacks as much as you did." She nods at my words. "Having said that, you have room for improvement. If you'll take a seat, I'll teach you some of the techniques my old mentor used on me." I move to a tree, taking a seat between its roots.
"What about the rest of my team?" She asks, taking a seat in front of me.
"I will test them and give them advice, perhaps in another meeting, or if I have time after I am done teaching you," I reply. "For now, focus on using the dispersal technique on your shoulder blades. Alternate between them as you listen, and stop once you've dropped to twenty percent of your Aura." I wait for a moment as she begins, before speaking up. "Alright then. Most students already know how to use random combat to improve their Aura control, however there are some finer points which can't be used so easily."
AN:Heya. I wrote most of this because….Well, because I know how long I will take otherwise.
Anyways, I have a Discord with my friend RadiTheCrusader, you are welcome to join, have fun with us, occasionally we actually talk about fanfiction. So, if you want to join, the code shall be here.
DC: 2cnQk5R
Feel free to hop on in, we are an interesting bunch of madlads and insanity.
Moving on, I am going to be focusing more on Huntress of Vacuo for a while. I am going to be releasing an update for that by the end of the month and if everything goes well I am aiming for monthly updates from there.
Regardless, have fun, stay frosty, review and tell me what I've done wrong, done right, or if you are just happy to have an update. See ya.
-Lambda38