Chapter 3 - Flaws
Soon after the team ceremony, the students were taken to their rooms. An escort guided both Team GRYD and Team MEAL down a hallway, then stopped in front of a set of doors.
"Team GRYD, you are here on the right," said the attendant in a kind manner, "and Team MEAL, you are here on the left. You will find all your belongings from the craft have been put in your rooms. You have free reign on where to put it all, just don't destroy anything."
"Party pooper." noted Reyson loudly
"You're free for the rest of the day, you'll be notified when dinner is ready. Classes begin tomorrow. Rest up, and welcome to Beacon."
The attendant left, and once alone, the two teams smiled at the other before quickly going into their rooms. Sure enough, the rooms were filled with their belongings. Some had more than others. In GRYD's room, there were several red and white bags. One's that Diana ran to with joy.
"Oh good!" she said happily, "It's all here, I was hoping they wouldn't leave one on the craft."
"How much do you need to survive, Red?" said Reyson perplexed by the amount of luggage, "What, do you have a dress for every day of the year?"
"Hardly, but I do have dresses for every occasion. Those are those bags over there."
"The rest?" wondered Yasmine
"Oh...you know...odds and ends. A girl's gotta live, right?"
She smiled before turning back to her bags. Reyson patted Glyph on the shoulder mockingly, "Your partner."
"I know." said Glyph bluntly
With a shake of the head, the rest went to their luggage to ensure everything was there. Both Glyph and Reyson had two simple bags, they were done checking quickly. Yasmine had a large square suitcase. Once opened, her clothes and other items were revealed to be perfectly packed, not a thing out of place. Diana took the longest, but eventually she got done. She turned and sat on her gear when she was finished.
"Ok, I'm done."
"About time." spat Reyson
"Hush Goldielox."
"Why you-"
"Enough." ordered Glyph, "Let's get it all situated. This is our room, let's make it look like it."
"Who takes what bed?" asked Yasmine
"Well, I think we should do it by-" started Diana with an evil smile
"Guys on the left, girls on the right," interjected Glyph, "you can choose whatever bed. No fighting."
"You are no fun."
"Nope."
Glyph looked to Reyson and pointed to the bed on their side that was closest to the door. Reyson shrugged and motioned to it. Glyph went to the bed and sat down, then began to unpack. The others did the same.
Across the hall, Team Meal was already situated in their beds, and had begun to decorate the room. The Lovers were putting up pictures of themselves together, Macro was decorating his side in military posters, and Leilani put up drawings that she had drawn. Then, she whipped out a sharpie of sorts from her chest sash and drew on the walls to connect all the pictures.
Macro saw this and nervously approached, "Uh, Leilani? I don't think they want you to draw on the walls."
"The guy said, 'free reign', just following his advice." she said with a smile
"Yeah, but that was for our luggage, that didn't mean we could write on the walls."
"Who's writing on the walls? I'm drawing on them."
"Leilani-"
"Oh let it go man," said Aaron, resting comfortably on his bed, "a little color never hurt anyway. When we're gone in a few years? They can paint over it! Problem solved."
"Besides," added Erin, "I think it'll make our place really unique. Hey Leilani, want to draw on our side next?"
"Yeah! You could connect our photos! Have it like a map of our lives."
"That sounds great!" said Leilani happily, "I'll totally do that next."
Macro looked at them all and shook his head, "Alright, I give up! I clearly am not going to win this one."
"It's nothing personal Macro, " said Erin kindly, "I just like the art. It's...freeing in a way."
"Beautifully said." said Aaron with a smile to his girl, making her blush
"Ugh, wake me when the love fest is over." Macro said lying on his bed
"That could be a while..."
"Shut up."
"On a side note, does anyone wish we had a better team name?"
"What's wrong with MEAL?" asked Erin curious
"I just suspect a lot of food puns from people with no creativity. I could already tell some of our classmates were anything but bright. It's deplorable."
"Maybe..." said Leilani looking for something in her stuff, "but it could've been worse."
"How so?" asked Macro getting up to look at her
"Well, if you rearrange the letters a little, we could've been Team LAME."
The others look at each other and realize the bullet they dodged.
"MEAL works." said Macro quickly
"Who doesn't love a good meal anyway? We're a testament to satisfaction!" said Aaron boldly and with gusto
"I've never had a problem with it." said Erin simply
Leilani laughed and headed for the door, "Good to know. I'm heading across the hall, I think one of my things got put with Yasmine's stuff, I'll right back."
She headed out the door and quickly knocked on GRYD's door. Glyph opened, up, which caused Leilani to jump a little. He eyed her curiously, which made Leilani turn away.
"Sorry to disrupt you," she said nervously, "could I talk to Yasmine?"
"Of course." he said with kindness, then turned inside the room, "Your sister is here Yasmine."
He stayed in the doorway until she came close and dismissed him, "Thank you. What do you need Leilani?"
"Oh, uh," started Leilani now reverting to her previous composure, "I think mom accidentally packed one of my kits in your bag."
"That sounds like mom. Stay here."
Yasmine went to her side of the room, Leilani's eyes drifted towards Glyph, who was hanging something on the wall. As she brought her focus back to Yasmine, she saw Diana, who was wagging her finger at her in a standoffish way. This took her aback, but Yasmine came back before she could respond to it.
"Here you go, don't know how mom deferred from my plan." said Yasmine handing her a small pouch
"It's mom," Leilani responded with a joking laugh, "she never follows plans she thinks undermine her motherly duties."
"Yeah, I know. Anything else?"
Leilani looks over her shoulder to see the others in conversation, she leans in closer, "Do you want to talk about what happened?"
Yasmine's eyes go wide, and she quickly looks over her shoulder to confirm none of them are nearby, "I'll be right back."
She grabs the door handle and slams it shut, then guides Leilani down the hallway until she reached a spot they felt were safe from eavesdroppers.
"Talk about what?" asked Yasmine bossily
"Come on sis," answered Leilani with sympathy, "don't put up your guard with me. We both know you wanted to lead your own team. You know I wanted to be your partner just so you could be my team lead! I mean, Macro's cool...but he's not you."
Yasmine sighs and smiles, "Thanks Leilani."
"No problem, and I know you thought you had leadership in the bag after that Goliath thing. So...how are you now?"
"I'm mad, I'm very mad. I feel I've earned the right to be leader, not Glyph."
"Is it because of...?"
"I don't care about his past, I base my beliefs on present actions. It was my plan that helped take down the Goliaths, both of them even! Glyph came to me for the plan. So why is he leader and not me?"
"I don't know," said Leilani sadly, "do you think he won't be a good leader?"
"I don't know. I don't know him well enough." she replied honestly
"But what do you think of him?"
"I think he's a good fighter, an adaptable one. Blunt in personality, but well meaning."
"He clearly trusts your skills, you said he came to you."
"True. Look, I am mad about this, but there's nothing I can do about it now. None that I can think of anyway."
"Just don't be too hard on yourself, ok?" begged Leilani as she got her sisters attention, "You push yourself too hard at times. They'll see how great you are, everyone will."
"Well, for both our sakes, let's hope it's easier than last time." she answered briskly before walking away
Leilani stood there for a bit, looking sadly at the ground, then shook her head and followed her sister back.
The next day, classes began. One of the first classes of the day had both GRYD and MEAL in them. As they sat in their chairs, they noticed the teachers desk was empty. The area around it though was filled with charts, maps, and even Grimm sketches. Suddenly, the door was kicked open, and a man appeared in the doorway.
"Students! Welcome to Strategy Class! I'm your teacher, Lochen Target. Pleasure I'm sure."
As he strutted down the steps, the students got a better look at him. He had white jeans and red shoes. On his torso he wore a long sleeved zip up jacket that was also red and white. His hair was shaggy in look, but had streaks of red and white going all through it. He was young, early 30's at best.
He let them soak in his appearance for a while before clapping his hands together loudly to get their attention, "Now, I'm here to teach you how to think in the battlefield, and in sparring matches. I'll be the one hosting those. Lucky you! I know what you're think, "He looks young to be a teacher!" Well, you can blame my injury for that. I'd show you the scar, but it's kind of disgusting. Moving on!"
Lochen jumped over the desk and landed perfectly in his chair, forcing it to spin in place. After a few revolutions, he stopped and looked at the class dizzily.
"So...spinny..."
He shook his head to get his bearings back.
"Anyway, I'm here to teach. You don't like me? Blame Night for bringing me here. We were classmates of a sort, and he thought I could help you all. I think he's right, whether you do or not is up to you. But I would listen to me...I do have some experience when it comes to unusual battles. Heh...heh...heh..."
The class looked around nervously, unsure of what to make of their teacher. He then clasped his hands together to their attention.
"I say we start class with a pop quiz! I need two volunteers."
At first, no one raised their hands, then Yasmine put hers into the air. Lochen saw this and smiled as pointed to her.
"It's Yasmine right? "Chessmaster"? I've heard a lot about you."
"Hopefully it was good things." said Yasmine with an interesting tone
"From the people that mattered, yes. You'll be perfect for this. Now I need someone else. Someone...different in perspective..."
He scanned the class, and then eventually landed on Glyph, "Mr. Masterson! I've heard a lot about you too."
Glyph didn't say anything, just merely looked at his teacher, who laughed in response.
"Not much of a talker, perfect. Ok, you two come down here, bring a pen and paper."
The two got up and made their way down to him. He motioned to the desk, "Ok, I'm going to ask you a question. What I want you to do is write out your response on opposite ends of the desk, then I'll read them aloud for the class. Understood?"
"Yes Professor," said Yasmine and Glyph together
"Good," replied Lochen still smiling, "very good. Alright, your question is this. You're walking down a road, and a...let's say Ursa, appears suddenly in front of you. What do you do?"
With a motion from Lochen, both Glyph and Yasmine headed for the desk. Yasmine immediately began writing her response, while Glyph simply looked at his paper. As Yasmine continued to write at a fast pace, Glyph slowly put his pen to paper and began to write. A few seconds later, he stopped and put his pen down to indicate he was done.
Yasmine noticed this and looked at him perplexed, but kept going in her own endeavors. After another minute, she put her pen down.
"I'm going to love this." said Lochen to the class, "Trust me, this will be good."
He turned and got the two papers from both Glyph and Yasmine. After about a minute, he began laughing hysterically.
"I love it when I'm right. Ok, first..."
He held high Yasmine's paper, making her become uneasy.
"We have Yasmine. Who unsurprisingly went into great detail about what she should do. In fact, she technically wrote two different scenarios based on the actions of the Grimm. I approve, thought and anticipation of potential moves is appreciated. Good job Yasmine."
He turned and winked at her, making her smile contently. Lochen then held up Glyph's paper, his smile getting wider as he did.
"As for Glyph, well...I'm just going to quote him directly."
He cleared his throat loudly, then went silent, making the class wonder what was going on.
"I don't know." Lochen quoted bluntly
This got a wide array of snickers from the class. Only a few didn't, including Macro and Diana, who knew something was up.
"You all laugh, heck, so did I. But the truth is...he's just as right as she was."
This causes the class to talk in confusion, Yasmine looked wildly from Lochen to Glyph, clear outrage in her eyes. Glyph remained focused on Lochen, his expression non-changing.
"Quiet! Quiet. Let me explain. Strategy is more than just preparation for a battle, or what you do in that battle. Strategy is about taking your own personality, and ability, and knowing what to do next. For Yasmine, her Semblance is literally her strategy, it works, it helps her make moves. Add that to her thought process of thinking many moves ahead, and she's almost always ready for battle. That works for her. In contrast, Glyph doesn't have that, so he has to plan around him and his abilities. Now you might think "I don't know" isn't an acceptable answer. But the truth is, it's as honest as anything you can ever say."
The class went quiet, for it was clear this was a true lesson. Lochen's serious expression helped seal this.
"'I don't know' means you're open to options, open to opinions. But also, open to what could happen next. I said an Ursa appears to them on the road. I didn't say it attacked them though. I didn't say it was angry, or hostile, I just said it was there. So why should Glyph know what to do? When all he's doing is looking at a Grimm? Get it?"
The students murmured at this. Yasmine looked away defeated at the explanation, Glyph remained still.
"We preach individuality here," said Lochen, still serious, "that goes to strategy too. What you do singularly, you can't do in a duo. What you do in a duo, you can't do in a four person team. You have to adapt and adjust and practice for what's to come. That's why you're in teams, and that's why you have these classes. Now, everyone other than Yasmine and Glyph, I want you to write a paper for next class about what you do if you were in a confrontation with a Grimm. This one is attacking you. And don't copy Glyph's answer! Because if you don't know what to do when a Grimm is attacking you? You're in the wrong line of work!"
Most everyone laughed at this, including Lochen himself. He turned towards his desk and gave an approving nod to Glyph and Yasmine.
"Good work you two, back to your seats."
They both nodded and headed back up. As Glyph sat down next to Macro, his friend patted him on the back in approval. When Yasmine sat back down with Leilani, her sister knew something was wrong.
"Sis?" said Leilani softly
"I don't want to talk about it. Not now." said Yasmine with no emotion, "Let's just focus on class."
Reluctantly, Leilani listened, and they all returned their attention to the lesson.
After the lesson, every leaves through the doors and splits off into the hallway. Yasmine walks faster than anyone to get out. Leilani runs in quick pursuit of her.
"Yasmine!" she cries out, "Stop!"
Yasmine avoids her at first, but Leilani uses her jumping ability to bound ahead of her and stop her against a wall. As she looks at her sisters face, she sees Yasmine's eyes are full of hatred, and she's muttering to herself.
"It's happening again...it's happening again..." she repeats to herself
"No it's not!" Leilani said pleadingly, "Lochen praised you! He liked your detail in the battle plan! Glyph gave the funny answer, that's all! Did you hear what he had to say about it?"
Yasmine stopped muttering and focused solely Leilani, her expression becoming softer.
"He admitted it was a trick question, and he said you just as right as Glyph was. No one had the better answer. This isn't like Sanctum, ok? Please calm down."
She took some deep breaths after hearing Leilani's words, and soon she regained her composure.
"I'm sorry." Yasmine said sincerely
"You have nothing to apologize for," Leilani said with a smile, "I know what this school means to you. You'll get what you deserve, but you can't these little things rile you up! This isn't like you Yasmine, you're stronger than this."
Yasmine nodded her head in agreement, "You're right, I am. Ok, ok. I'll be fine, let's get to the next class."
She smiled at her sister and moved down the hall. Leilani sighed in relief and followed her.
A few hours later, several students, including GRYD and MEAL gathered in the amphitheater. All the students waited for Lochen to arrive, and surprisingly, he simply walked in through the front doors.
"Hello students, happy to see many of you for the second time today." he said with a light tone as he approached the main stage.
Once on it though, he held out his arms wide and took a deep sniff of the air.
"Do you sense it? The tension, the anticipation, this stage I'm on, it's going to be the place where you can shine! Or, where you can fail miserably. Man, I love this part of the job."
He cackled happily as he spun in place to soak it in, but he stumbled after a bit and had to grab his left leg. Lochen winced at this but recovered.
"Any...anyway, welcome to dueling practice. You all should get used to this room and what's about to happen. For you will frequently be asked to practice here in various forms of combat."
The class murmured at this.
"Now, now, it's necessary. Because eventually, you'll be put on missions, actual missions, and these sessions are one of the best ways to ensure you're ready for what's coming. Now, given the space, you'll most often be doing 1v1 matches. But sometimes, like today...we'll be doing 2v2. On the screen over there..."
He motioned to a board that immediately lit up and showed various items and icons.
"Will be your picture and a 'health bar'. Once it get to the red? You are done, no excuses. You're fighting to win, but not to injure. Well, not too badly anyway, nothing wrong with a bruise here or there."
Lochen smiled at this and approached the students, all of whom had their eyes glued on him.
"So, who's first? Tag team match! But with a twist! No partners. Or, dedicated partners I should say, we'll keep you in your teams. So...Primrose Madonna..."
He pointed to a girl who happily stood up. She was tall, and had long straight blond hair. Her outfit was very stylish, and had an assortment of reds woven together elegantly.
"And...Elenor Rigby."
He pointed to a girl who nervously stood up. She was shorter, and had brown hair. Yet her attire was as bright as the sun itself, though her clothing was much more simple.
"Yeah, that'll work," said Lochen contently, "And your opponents? Oh...I know! Glyph Masterson and Yasmine Kaleido."
The students murmured as Glyph and Yasmine stood up. They looked at each other, then at their opponents. Primrose smiled evilly at Glyph, while Elenor tried to muster a smile, but failed.
"Ok, glaring part is over! Shall we get to the fighting?"
A few minutes later, the stage was cleared and set for the match. Glyph had his escrima ready, Yasmine pulled an object out from around her back. She clicked it and a dual sided lance emerged. Glyph eyed it curiously.
"So what's where they come from..." he muttered to himself
On the other side, Primrose wielded a poleax, which she shined up before reading her stance. Elenor though wielded two bladed tonfa on her arms. She took deep breaths as she readied herself for battle.
"Don't ruin my debut." Primose barked at Elenor
"I'll try not to." Elenor said meekly back
Lochen stepped forward and got their attention, "Remember, once you hit the red? You're done. If one of you gets eliminated before the other? That means your partner is on their own, remember that. Alright, and...begin!"
Immediately, Yasmine channeled her Semblance and began to analyze Primrose and Elenor, information began popping into her mind. She turned to Glyph after she was done.
"Primrose is good at mid range because of the length of her Poleax, I'll take her, you should take Elenor, her tonfa aren't much different from your escrima."
"Good advice." noted Glyph, "But don't lean on your Semblance from now on."
"Excuse me? My Semblance-"
"Look out!"
Yasmine turned, and reacted quickly as Primrose charged at them, swinging her Poleax. Both of them dodged and rolled out of the way. Yasmine rebounded quickly by striking at her with her lance. It connected and sent Primrose stumbling forward.
"Tell me you're better than that." said Yasmine coldly as her opponent righted herself
Primrose bared her teeth before charging again.
Glyph watched the two for a few moments, then focused on Elenor, who had not moved from her spot. He saw that she was studying him, waiting for him to make the first move. He smiled at this and bowed his head in respect. She smiled and did the same.
Now set, the two rushed at each other and did battle. Both swung their twin weapons fiercely at the other. Glyph kept special attention to the bladed end of the tonfa, but also focused on her movements. After a few back and forth flurries, Glyph spotted an opening and jabbed at Elenor with his escrima, sending out a round of dust that caused her to fall backwards. Instead of pressing the attack, he motioned for her to regain her footing and strike again. She happily accepted and charged back.
Yasmine and Primrose continued their dance as well. Primrose swung viciously with her poleax, but Yasmine would either dodge, block, or parry her attack with her lance. Several times she seemed to anticipate her movements to the very second they were launched, allowing her to react easily and counter every one of them.
The more the two battled, the more frustrated Primrose became. This caused Yasmine to smile, as she kept her gaze on her.
Meanwhile, Glyph and Elenor continued to fight in close quarters. Despite her nervousness at the outset, she was keeping up with Glyph, their weapons and strikes perfectly matching the others.
"You're good, do people tell you that?" Glyph asked as they locked weapons during a particular flurry
"No, they don't." she admitted with a sad expression
"Well they should."
She smiled at this, but then pushed him away. Glyph charged again, and she raised up her tonfa, causing him to stop and hold up his weapons to block. But nothing happened. He lowered his stance slightly and saw her smiling. Suddenly, the balled ends of her tonfa dropped down and unleashed rounds on Glyph, sending him flying backwards.
At this time, Yasmine had an advantage over Primrose, who's health bar was dangerously low. As Yasmine approached for a final strike though, Glyph crashed into her, sending both falling to the ground. Glyph recovered first and helped her up, but Yasmine pushed him away.
"What was that?" she asked angrily
"I was surprised," he answered simply, "it happens. Now let's refocus."
"Good idea, I'll use my Semblance and-"
"No. Just focus on your opponent."
"Really? Cause you seem to need help with yours."
"Do not blow this out of proportion."
"If you'd let me do my job I can lead us to-"
"Look out!"
Primrose again swung at them with her poleax, but this time, though Glyph dodged, Yasmine didn't, and got hit square in the chest. She was sent flying into the nearby wall, lowering a substantial part of her health bar.
"Yasmine!" Glyph called out concerned
Before he could check on her though, some bolts stopped him cold. Both Primrose and Elenor were approaching him. Primrose with an evil smile, Elenor with caution.
"Too bad Glyph." said Primrose with fake sympathy, "Looks like you need to get a new partner. Make next time, it won't be a Faunus."
Yasmine heard this and tried to get up, but struggled. Elenor looked at Primrose with disbelief. Glyph meanwhile became enraged. He held out one arm and dropped the escrima in it. Primrose and Elenor watched as it fell. Glyph smirked at this and vanished.
Then, in a flurry of motion, Glyph appeared and disappeared all around them, beating them senseless with his other escrima. Eventually, he stopped and caught his other weapon from hitting the ground. As he put them both away, both Elenor and Primrose fell to the ground. A buzzer sounded to indicate they were both out of the match.
Clapping filled the air as Lochen approached, "Wonderful! Wonderful! Nice job. Your winners, by GKO, Glyph and Yasmine."
The students clapped in different capacities. Glyph went over to Yasmine to help her up. She reluctantly took it.
"You ok?" he asked
"I'm fine." she replied bitterly
Elenor got to her feet first, and tried to help Primrose, but was pushed away.
"Don't you dare touch me!" Primrose shouted at her teammate, "And what the heck is a 'GKO'?!"
"Glyph Knockout." said Lochen approaching them, "I thought it was appropriate. I'm surprised that wasn't used at Signal more often, given Glyph's battle record. Weren't you in that loss column Primrose?"
She scowled angrily, while Glyph gave a little smirk.
"Anyway, good job to you all. That was quality fighting. You're all dismissed. Rest up. That goes for the rest of you too! I'll be expecting some more great fights when you return in two days."
The class began to leave. The four on the stage were the last to go, with Yasmine bringing up the rear.
A little while later, Glyph, Yasmine, along with Reyson and Diana entered their room. Yasmine sat on her bed and looked at the ceiling, while Glyph carefully began to put his things away. Reyson and Diana approached him.
"That was epic man!" said Reyson proudly, "That flurry at the end? I thought my eyes were shorting out! But no, you're just that good!"
"I agree, that was something," Diana added with a smile, "next time though, hopefully we'll get to tag it up, partner."
"Up to Lochen." said Glyph
"You were good too Yasmine!"
"You don't need to lie." said Yasmine not looking at Diana
"Who's lying? You had Primrose handled until that crash with Glyph. You would've easily won-"
"Had it not happened?! I agree!"
"What's your problem?" asked Reyson
"Me? What about him? I tried to help him during the match and he wouldn't "allow" it."
"I accepted your help at the beginning, I took on Elenor just as you suggested." stated Glyph
"Yeah, but after that? You said, "No more Semblance usage". Like that was your call to make."
"I'm the leader, that is my call to make."
"Yeah, well, I'm not content with you being our leader!"
The whole room went silent. Glyph looked at Yasmine angrily, Reyson and Diana were looking on in shock. Yasmine stood up and approached them, pain in her expression.
"You have no idea the struggles me and Leilani have had. Being Faunus in this world. Back home? In Mistral? We had to fight for every inch of good fortune. My mom and dad own a shop. They're just as good as any other person in our city. The difference? They're Faunus, so we have to work twice as hard to get sales to survive. That was my childhood, working at that shop, thinking and planning to help my family survive, trying to make it to the next week, month, year."
The room remained silent, Glyph's expression softened as he heard the story.
"Then at Sanctum? Heh. I was the best student there. Aced the classes, won the battles! But to the teachers? It didn't matter. I was a Faunus. They would "overlook" my accomplishments for their more "pure" students. I would destroy them in class and in battle, but it wouldn't matter. Every honor I earned? Mitigated. Made insignificant. So I came to Beacon, to try and get a fresh start. For I heard Night was a fair man. Believed in all races, all opportunities. But what happens? I help us survive those mutant Goliaths...and Glyph becomes leader! How is that fair? How is that right? How is that not racism? Especially after what you did to your headmaster at Signal!?"
This flared up Glyph again, and he shook with anger. But eventually, he calmed down, and calmly approached Yasmine.
"You want to be leader?" he asked simply
"Yes." she said confidently
"Then you're leader."
He began to walk away, Yasmine balked at him as he tried to leave, "Are you kidding me? This isn't a joke Glyph!"
"I'm not joking."
"You might as well be. Because everyone in this school knows how good you are, and they'll never see me as leader, even with your endorsement."
"Are you suggesting, what I think you're suggesting?" asked Reyson, and intrigued look growing on his face
"Yes. Glyph? I challenge you to combat for the right to lead GRYD."
No one moved, Glyph just looked at the nearby wall, expression emotionless. Finally, he turned to face her.
"Fine. On one condition though." he said clearly and concisely
"Name it."
"I don't use my Semblance."
"They won't take me seriously if I beat you without it!" exclaimed Yasmine
"Yes, they will. Because they know, you can't beat me when I use it. I proved that today. I will give you all I have, they will know it. I will not hold back, you have my word. If you beat me, you lead GRYD. Yes? Or no?"
Yasmine stared him down, then nodded, "I agree to your terms."
"Good. Our duel will be in two days when the class returns. Fair?"
"Fair."
"Good." said Glyph, before he walked out the door
Reyson and Diana looked at Yasmine with mixed emotions, each wondering how this had happened.
Two days later, Yasmine walked the hallway leading to amphitheater, Leilani was next to her, eyeing her sister with fear and sadness.
"You can still stop, you don't have to do this!" she said begging
"Yes I do." Yasmine replied defiantly
"What happens if you lose? Have you thought of that? What will you do then?"
"Fall in line, like they want me to. At least I'll know I'm not worthy."
"Dang it, Yasmine!"
Leilani pulled her sister around to face her, tears coming out of her eyes.
"Don't do this! You've always done this when it comes to the hate between humans and Faunus, pushed yourself to the limit to prove something that won't change things! Do you really think anyone here will look at you differently if you beat Glyph? It won't! They'll just say you're an 'angry Faunus" instead of a regular one. It won't change anything."
"Maybe. Maybe. But if I don't at least try this? I won't be able to live with myself. It's just like the store Leilani, having to go the extra mile, win or lose. Last time I checked, we won more than we lost. Right?"
She smiles at Leilani, and her sister chuckles and wipes her eyes, "Right."
"I'm glad you're here for me Leilani, but this is something I need to do. Not for you, or our family, or all Faunus everywhere. For me. I need to know I can do this, or at least try to do this. Win or lose, things will be back to how they were before. I promise. Ok?"
Leilani nods, Yasmine again smiles at her before turning and heading into the amphitheater. A few seconds later Leilani follows.
In the theater, Lochen is already there and looking at the ensemble of students.
"Well," he said clasping his hands together, "it's going to be hard topping last match, but we will try! In fact, I sense multiple matches today! So...who to go first?"
"Professor," said Yasmine standing up quickly to get his attention, "I'd like to request a match."
"Enthusiasm! Love it! Ok then, you're on. Who to put you against...?"
"I'd like to challenge someone to a match if that's alright."
Lochen looked at her curiously, but soon nodded, "Call your shot."
"I challenge Glyph."
The students erupted at this, only the members of GRYD and Leilani didn't react, but merely looked at them. Lochen meanwhile had become deadly serious in expression, especially when Glyph stood up to meet the challenge.
"Glyph," the professor said with clear intent, "while I'm fine with this, I will not enforce it. If you say 'no', you do not have to fight."
"I accept the challenge." Glyph said without hesitation
"...fine. To the stage."
Yasmine and Glyph made their way to the lower area, every student had their eyes fixed on them. Lochen especially had his gaze focused on his students. As they entered the stage area, the lights are lowered, he stepped in between them so that he can speak to them privately.
"I can guess what's going on here," he says quietly to them both, "settle what you need to. But remember, you're part of a team. Don't let this be the thing that breaks it."
"It won't." Glyph said confidently
"Agreed." said Yasmine just as confident
"Good. I'll hold you to that," warned Lochen, "begin when you're ready."
He quietly walked off the stage, the room itself becoming deadly quiet as Yasmine and Glyph drew their weapons, and readied themselves for each other.
"Win or lose," said Yasmine, "I thank you for this."
"I'm sorry this had to happen." answered Glyph
"...so am I."
Yasmine quickly activated her Semblance, and began scanning Glyph. He held still as she did so. Eventually, she stopped it and lowered her guard.
"You knew I would do that, why not try and stop it?"
"To prove a point."
She again eyed him curiously, but decided to not think too much on it. When she felt confident, she rushed him and begin swinging at him with her dual-sided lance. Glyph managed to dodge or block all of them, then began to retaliate. But to his surprise, she dodged and blocked all of his attacks. He looked in her eyes and saw that they were glowing slightly, meaning her Semblance was once again in use.
The two continued to duke it out, each wanting to land the first blow. Eventually, Glyph missed a strike, allowing Yasmine to land a combo strike with her lance. With a kick to finish it, she pushed Glyph back a few feet. Yasmine smiled as she relished the accomplishment. Glyph even chuckled at this.
"Ok," he said with a nod of appreciation, "predict this."
With a sudden move, he threw one of his escrima at Yasmine. She dodged it, but in doing so left herself wide open to attack, which Glyph capitalized on. Even with one escrima, he held his own against her, even at times grabbing the lance with one hand, while dealing damage with the other. Glyph responded to her opening attack in kind, and soon landed several hits of his own. Even returning the favor by kicking her back a few feet, which allowed him the time to grab his other weapon.
This time, it was Yasmine who smiled and laughed, "Ok, I deserved that. But now you have my full attention, and not just mine."
She pressed a button on the handle of lances, they began to shift and break apart, and soon, four drones emerged and hovered around Yasmine, who now suddenly looked a lot more confident.
"I wondered when they were going to show up." said Glyph readying his stance
"I needed them in the forest, I don't always need them in duels." she said looking at the drones, "This is one of the exceptions."
"Honored, your move."
With a motion, she sent two of them at Glyph, while the other two continued to hover around her. Once closer, the two drones opened fire on Glyph, and he had to run to avoid their bullets. Using her Semblance, Yasmine began to study Glyph, and eventually knew where he would go. With that, she opened fire with her other drones, pinning Glyph in place and making him get hit by some of the drones attacks.
Though he winced in pain, he didn't give up. Instead, he used the opportunity to jump at the drones nearest him, which caused them to break their attack. Now free, he let lose a volley on the closest one, stunning it temporarily. He quickly threw one of his escrima up, grabbed the drone, and threw it at its brother. Now both stunned, he grabbed his other escrima and used the two like bats to smack the drones away, making them land at Yasmine's feet.
She grimaced, and with a flick of her hand, recalled them and turned them back into a lance. With the others still hovering around her she charged at Glyph.
The two locked into combat, and tried to one up the other. Glyph constantly had to dodge attacks from three different angles, but he did so. Yasmine meanwhile had to deal with Glyph constantly changing his fighting style. Every time she felt she had him pinned down, he would switch things up, making her Semblance useless.
Both Yasmine and Glyph landed blows on the other, this was almost a war. One of attrition. It didn't matter how many blows one landed, it was about standing up after them.
Eventually, Yasmine's defenses opened up, and Glyph struck at her remaining drones, taking them offline. She again recalled them and reformed her other lance, combining it together to rebuild her weapon. Now united, she renewed her attack on Glyph. Blow for blow they matched each other. Yasmine had reach, but Glyph had more fluid movements. Back and forth they went, each trying to prove something to themselves, and to the other.
Glyph swiped at Yasmine with one of his escrima, then used his other one and jabbed it on the ground, making it rocket up with incredible speed. Yasmine dodged both, but it broke her concentration. This allowed Glyph to knock away her lance, and with his remaining escrima, deal the final blows that end the contest. With an uppercut from his weapon, he sent her flying into the air, and then crashing onto the ground.
A buzzer sounded, and the reality of the match set in. Glyph fell to his knees in exhaustion. Yasmine breathed heavily from the fight as well. Neither could get to their feet. Footsteps filled the air, Lochen, Leilani, Diana, Reyson, and Macro soon arrived. They checked on them both.
"You two alright?" asked Lochen concerned
"Fine." said Glyph, voice heavy from exhaustion
"Just tired." added Yasmine as Leilani and Macro helped her up
"You guys know how to put on a show." noted Lochen, still concerned, "I trust this won't be needed again?"
"No, it won't."
"Just one more thing to do." said Glyph
He shook off Reyson and went over to Yasmine, who was looking at him with a blank expression. He returned the look. But then, he grabbed her hand by the wrist, and raised her arm into the air. A clapping began, it grew louder with every passing second. Eventually, students began to cheer and whistle for both Yasmine and Glyph, even chanting their names. This made Yasmine smile, and even tear up a little.
"Thank you." said Yasmine sincerely
"You're welcome." said Glyph with a nod, "Now if you don't mind. We need a team meeting."
He lowered her arm and put his hand on her shoulder and then vanished with her. He came back a second later and did the same thing to Reyson and Diana. The others looked around frantically for them. All except Lochen, who smiled and shook his head.
"That kids got style. Alright, don't worry about them. Worry about yourselves! Because you guys have to try and top that! Who's next?"
Outside, in the grassy fields, Glyph emerged with Reyson and Diana in tow. Yasmine was resting on the ground, though was sitting up. Both Reyson and Diana were still surprised by what happened, and thus looked around to get their bearings.
"Well, that's one way to ditch class." Reyson said approvingly
"We're not ditching class," said Glyph, joining Yasmine on the ground
"Then what are we doing, partner?" asked Diana confused
"Talking things out. We can't keep doing this. Not with what needs to be done."
"'What needs to be done?'" repeated Reyson
"Why do they put us in teams? Why do it randomly? Why not just assign? Why put chance into it?" Glyph asked them
"To force bonds." answered Yasmine
"To create bonds. Ones that happen by living with one other, fighting alongside one another, or with one another."
"Poetic," said Reyson sarcastically, "but what's your point?"
"My point is this. Every single one of us has a flaw. A big one. So does every student in that school. They put us in teams, they make us have partners, so we can work past them, overcome them. Else we'll die out there."
"Again, poetic," said Diana smiling, "but you're still not making sense partner. What's our flaws?"
"I've seen you work that whip Diana." Glyph said looking at her "It is elegant, beautiful even, but you leave yourself open. A smart opponent can dodge your attacks with ease."
Diana thought about it and shrugged in agreement. Glyph then turned to Reyson.
"You, you know what your flaw is."
"My stunning good looks?" Reyson joked with an evil smile
"Your rush into battles, you don't think. You'll get yourself killed before you ever satisfy your lust for battle."
"You say that like it's a bad thing."
"Yasmine."
"Yes?" she said, interested to hear his thoughts
"Your Semblance is a gift, a great one. But you think too many moves ahead. Focus on the immediate move, not the one minutes from now. That's how I beat you, I kept confusing you, made you see things you didn't know I could do before. You said yourself that was your only flaw, your Semblance can only show you what you know. You don't know all my styles, just like you won't know everyone's style that you face. Focus on one move at time, and you'll be near unstoppable."
Yasmine looked at the ground in quiet reflection at this. Meanwhile, Reyson got Glyph's attention.
"What's your flaw, oh wise leader?"
"Mine is similar to Yasmine's. My Semblance is a gift, but also a burden. I get...complacent...if I use it too much. I don't evolve, and that can be fatal. And before you ask, yes, it was a factor in what happened at Signal."
No one spoke at this, Glyph had never spoken about that part of his past to them before. Glyph didn't let it deter him though and again got their attention.
"Things only get harder from here. I need to know I can trust you all. I didn't want to be leader. I wanted Macro to be on my team so he could be leader. He's better suited for it."
Yasmine smirked at this, as Leilani said the same thing about her.
"But I am the leader of GRYD now, and if we're going to survive as a team, we need to trust each other. Ok? Not just in battle, but as roommates, and as friends. Please."
They each looked at each other, then slowly nodded.
"I will follow you Glyph." said Yasmine with sincerity
"You didn't even have to ask for me, partner." said Diana with a snicker
"Ah, what the heck." added Reyson after a pause, "You're some of the few who put up with me. What could go wrong?"
Glyph laughed grimly and shook his head, "A lot. But we'll deal with that when the time comes. Thank you for trusting me. I'll be sure to return that trust."
They all nodded and just basked in the silence as the team was now finally whole.
Later, long after darkness had fallen, in the Headmaster office, Night himself was looking out at the campus. A knock came at his door.
"Come in." he said firmly
The door opened, and Lochen entered, he had his childlike grin on his face as he approached him, "Been a while since I've been called to the principal's office."
"You're lucky I didn't chew you out in front of the school."
"Oh please, you're not Squire, you wouldn't have done that."
Night spun around to confront him, "What were you thinking? Allowing that match to happen? Do you know what could've gone wrong?"
Lochen's expression became more serious, "I knew exactly what could've happened, but I also knew what WOULD have happened if I didn't let them go through with it. You could tell from one look in their eyes, they needed that fight. Especially Yasmine. She felt overlooked because you assigned Glyph as leader and not her. So technically, this fight is your fault."
"Don't you dare turn this on me!" barked Night angrily
"I'll turn it on who I want to." said Lochen not backing down, "You brought me here because of my experience, not just because you felt sympathy for me. Part of my "experience", is knowing how people are thinking. I did it at school, and out there in the real world. It was part of the reason I didn't die that day. And guess what? I was right. I saw GRYD talking and laughing afterwards like they were a family, not a bunch of kids who hated each other. So I win."
"This time you did," warned Night, "next time you may not be so lucky."
"Funny thing, Kendall. The only unlucky one was you. Because I seem to recall you having such an issue with one of your members on KGHT. To my recollection, that didn't end so well, did it? Imagine what would've happened if you two got it out of your systems early on, instead of letting it stew for years."
Night's eyes bulged, and his breathing quickened. But he then hung your head in shame and looked away, "I guess we'll never know. You can go now."
"Whatever you say, Headmaster."
Lochen left the room, leaving Night alone to look at the world.
*credits*