Chapter 24: Another Day

"Maybe when it's right for you, they'll fall..."

"Get your head in the fight, Vomit Boy," Nex said, slowing his sword-arm to a crawl. "Or someone will take it off you."

Jaune's blue eyes squinted, following the telegraphed path of Hrunting.

Painful.

Vomit Boy raised his shield.

Hrunting landed on Crocea Mors with the mewling of steel against steel.

Ugh.

Was it too late to go all hardcore on Jaune?

Just like that first day.

"Ha!" Jaune said, smirking. "Take that, Broody Face."

It was definitely a mistake. One should not block a sword directly. A more efficient way was to let the sword slide off the shield's surface at an angle.

"Good. You know how to hide behind your shield," Nex said, following up with another thrust. More force than usual. "Try to deflect this one. Don't just block it directly."

Hrunting slid off the tilted shield, but the blonde was awfully unprepared when Vigilance smashed into his sword-arm.

Jaune flinched, dropping Crocea Mor's blade on the stone of Beacon's courtyard. It landed with a resounding clang. "That was dirty. I thought you're supposed to use the shield to block."

The students passing through the central square regarded them with interest, before they probably concluded it was just a slow, friendly spar and promptly went on with their lives. Most of them were already dressed in their uniforms, but more than a few were still in their night clothes.

Morning began at six, with Jaune knocking on their door. The girls were still asleep, with the exception of Ruby. They changed into their uniforms and went for an early breakfast. Afterwards, they chose to kill time by training. The silver-eyed warrior sat cross-legged on the grass. Crescent Rose leaned against the nearby fountain, still stuck in its folded form.

Nex shrugged, smirking as the blonde bent over to pick up his sword. "The shield isn't just for defence, Vomit Boy. It's a weapon—a damn good one."

"Go, Jaune!" Ruby said, grinning as she waved her arms over her head. "I believe in you! Kick our leader's butt!"

Nex shot her a look.

Ruby Rose squeaked, returning to her still, lifeless state. She was trying to slow down her relative time—he had the bright idea to make her sit still while she used her semblance. Her face scrunched up, her shoulders stiffening as she probably tried to slow her breath. Rose petals swirled around her, but the silver-eyed girl hardly twitched on the grass. She seemed to be making progress, if not for the fact that she stood up and ran laps around the fountain every now and then.

"Alright, Jaune. Lesson number two for today's shield training," Nex said. "The sword and the shield are dual-wielding weapons. Try to coordinate your attacks between them."

Jaune nodded, although the twitching of his cheeks revealed he did not understand at all. "What's lesson number one?"

Nex bashed Crocea Mor's shield with Vigilance, casting it aside.

Hrunting crossed the gap, delivering a stab at Jaune's exposed throat.

To his credit, the blonde's sword moved to the beginnings of a textbook parry. One that was beaten—ahem, taught into him at Vale. Day two, to be accurate.

But still, Vomit Boy was too slow. As expected.

Jaune froze, Hrunting's tip poking the stubble on his chin.

"Lesson number one. In a real fight, people don't run their mouths unless they want to piss someone off," Nex said, smirking as the blonde's eyes lingered on the barrels. "Let's reset. Try to go on the offense. Lead with your shield."

Nex hopped away, raising his sword and shield into a beginner's stance. Not the one he engineered for himself, but the one civilians saw on combat school pamphlets. There really was no point in teaching Jaune a fighting style designed for Hrunting and Vigilance. Not when Crocea Mors was a different weapon entirely.

"We'll start slow this time," Nex said, sweat running down the back of his neck. "You're still accustomed to using the shield exclusively for defence."

Jaune copied his stance. He rushed in, raising Crocea Mors' shield above his head.

Vomit Boy was probably planning to smash his skull while slashing at his torso. Not a very good plan exposing his core.

But still, the strategy would have worked if they were both beginners, with the blonde leveraging his bigger size. It showed Jaune's brain was working.

Vomit Boy still had hope yet.

Their swords clashed.

He would strike with his shield and Jaune would try his best to parry. Hrunting would collide with Crocea Mor's shorter blade, repeating a pattern some dubbed as the rookie's triangle.

They descended into a slow, rehearsed dance.

Fifty-seven repetitions later, and Jaune was already panting as he held his sword and shield.

Nex glanced at his bracer. The near-invisible HUD displayed the blue numbers eight and thirty-seven. Classes began at nine. They had to rest for twenty minutes, before using the remaining three minutes to go to the classroom.

Grimm Studies.

Call him a lazy person, but he was never late to any of his classes. There was a stark difference between being punctual and asleep and being late and asleep. The first could be forgiven, while the second would most definitely result into a detention.

"Let's continue this some time tonight," Nex said. He collapsed Vigilance and sheathed Hrunting. Right where it belonged. "We have class in a few minutes."

Jaune nodded, doing the same with Crocea Mors. "Right. Thanks for caring, Broody Face."

"Who says I care, Vomit Boy?" Nex said, grinning as he shrugged. "Just making sure Team Auburn don't end up missing the A. That's all."

"Right," Jaune said, spinning to face the fountain. He flinched. "Oh no. They saw me."

Nex shrugged, glancing at the rest of their teams. They gathered around a petrified Ruby. Most of them sat by the fountain.

Weiss flashed him a small smile—a smile he returned.

Judging from their loose stances, they had been watching for quite some time.

"Does it really matter?" Nex said, quirking an eyebrow. "Training shows that you're willing to improve, not that you're weak."

Case in point—him.

Being wrecked by his mother practically every day was proof of the concept. Or even being lectured on the more esoteric properties of nature's wrath, ending up with scalds and freezer burns. But still, those were probably the best days ever.

Jaune nodded, pursing his lips. Seemingly considering the words. He fastened his weapon to his belt, walking towards Yang and the rest of his team. The female blonde wrapped an arm around her male counterpart's shoulder. Jaune winced, but the smile on his face revealed it did not hurt at all. The orange-haired girl—Nora, if his memory was correct—slapped Jaune on the back. That one made him wince for real. The boy called Ren hung back by the fountain, his eyes lingering on his team as they gathered around their leader.

"Eeeeep!" Ruby yelped, springing from the grass. The rose petals around her exploded. Water splashed from the fountain, drenching everyone in a five-feet radius. "Oh, no. I swear I didn't mean it!"

Nex chuckled, even as the wet students glared at the poor, silver-eyed girl.

Well, he did warn her messing with her semblance could have some unforeseen effects. Not that the scene was amusing. Of course not. There was no way a bunch of soaked students chasing Ruby around was funny.

He reserved a spot for her in his heart, his brain already preparing a eulogy should her assailants manage to land the final blow.

Weiss marched towards him, probably because it was futile to chase someone who could move at imperceptible speeds. She stopped right next to him, fixing the merry-go-round a frigid glare.

Not entirely unexpected.

"It's not funny," Weiss said, crossing her arms. She was definitely pouting.

Nex shrugged, snickering at the look on her face. "It's kinda funny."

Weiss frowned, fidgeting with the splotches on her jacket. Come to think of it, she looked almost like how she did at the Huntsman's Respite when the storm hit Atlas. That was after classes had been dismissed. There was no way she was attending the school year's very first class while soaking wet.

Nex touched Vigilance, drawing on the dust inside the scabbard. "Here. I've got a trick."

"Unless that trick can dry my uniform in twenty minutes," Weiss said. "I don't think it's going to be useful."

"Such faith. It just so happens, Miss Schnee," Nex drawled with a very patient smile. "That I do have a trick like that. Come here."

Weiss spun, the gentle swell of her chest almost pressing into his. Flowers and baby blue wafted up his nose. She tilted her face, her eyes staring low—fixed on a spot somewhere above his chin.

Huh.

Maybe he had a couple of breadcrumbs, some stray toothpaste, or even a milk moustache. But there really was no point in worrying about it. It would probably disappear on its own, whatever it was.

Well, hopefully.

"Like this, Mr Shade?" Weiss said, her lips curling into a smile.

Was it coy?

It was definitely coy. For inexplicable reasons. Sometimes, the woman known as Weiss Schnee did the strangest of things.

Nex shrugged. Whatever. "Yep."

Pareidolia engaged, searching for the future where he dried her uniform. It extrapolated the circumstances necessary to achieve his goal, calculating it from the data on dust he already had and the stimulus filtering into his brain. Heat gathered over his palm, the fire dust like the touch of the afternoon. He waved his hand over her uniform. Steam rose from the splotches, the water dissipating into thin air.

Weiss gasped, staring at his hand. "That's physically impossible. No one can use dust like that. Not without a precision tool."

"What can I say, Miss Schnee?" Nex said, grinning as he lowered his hand. Her uniform looked like it came fresh from the laundry. "I can see the future. I just looked for the right one."

Not exactly, but the idea was there.

Weiss arched an eyebrow. "That is a useful trick, indeed, Mr Shade. I'm getting really jealous of your semblance."

Admittedly, Pareidolia had its uses. But her glyphs were probably more versatile.

Weiss smirked, grabbing his tie. "Who taught you how to tie a tie?"

She tugged on the stupid thing, shifting it over his torso. Her trimmed nails brushed his neck. Well, it was probably not his fault. Certainly not since it was Ruby and Jaune who wanted to go fast.

Why did it even matter, anyway?

"I learned on my own," Nex said, shrugging. "I can't just ask anyone, can I?"

Weiss grinned. Her hot palms pressed on his chest. It was almost like she was leaning in—eyes half-lidded and all. Just like that one time at the hospital. Her heart pounded, racing through his extra pair of ears.

"You know you can ask me..." Weiss whispered, her breath flush on his chin—coffee and what was definitely salt on buttery croissants. "Right?"

He could have. But then again, she was still asleep. Far be it from him to wake a sleeping Mt. Weiss.

Yang whistled, butting her head between them. "Whoa. That's a neat trick, Broody Face. Care to do the same?"

Weiss flinched and hopped away. She scowled, her eyes drilling holes into Yang's back. The Mt. Weiss signature glare, even.

Nex sighed, glancing at the rest of Teams AXRN and SSBR.

They stood behind Yang, forming a line that would have made Atlas Primary proud. And that was saying something. Water dripped from their uniforms, tracking black spots all over the white stone.

Ruby scratched the back of her head. She grimaced, fidgeting behind the ghost-ninja as they brought up the end of the line.

"Alright," Nex said. Screw it. "One by one then."

It was twenty minutes well-spent.

"Monsters! Demons! Prowlers of the night! Yes, the Grimm have many names, but I merely refer to them as prey!"

Professor Port guffawed at something he alone found funny.

His head crashed into the wood.

Ruby followed his lead, slumping on his right.

But still, his partner's pen pressed on with its insane scratching.

How Weiss had the sheer willpower to listen to the man's inane ramblings was a mystery. She sat on his left, her heel gently sliding up against his calf. Apparently, it was already a routine for her. For them, even.

Blake sat one row below, a book propped open on her desk.

Grimm Studies was probably interesting, even useful. But his semblance failed to predict their professor would commit mass genocide as soon as class started.

Mass genocide of air and brain cells, that is.

"How are you doing this?" Nex murmured into his jacketed sleeve. Like the one from Atlas Primary, just a different colour. And way thinner. Probably because Vale was warm instead of cold. "There's no way you can write all of that."

Weiss moved her pen even faster. The scratching reached a crescendo, breaking into arpeggios that would have been right at home in his favourite bangers. "Immense concentration, partner. Honed on the gruelling battlefields of boardroom meetings."

Boardroom meetings did not work like that, but maybe his partner had a point. Now if only she stopped prodding his leg, then he could have fallen asleep and time-travelled into the next class.

But then again, Weiss would not be Weiss if she stopped.

And well, he was the master of tuning out people who gave long-winded lectures. It was a skill that saw him through Atlas Primary. And it would probably see him through the rest of this class.

Ruby's pen scratched something on a piece of paper, slower than Weiss.

Holy shit.

She was actually taking notes.

"Pshhht, Nex," Ruby said, grinning as she shoved a piece of paper into his face. "What do you think?"

Apparently, he was wrong.

It was a caricature of a certain portly, moustached professor. Curvy lines radiated from the man as he waved his stick-thin arms. There was some chicken scratch on the bottom—Professor Poop.

"I think my partner would be scandalized," Nex whispered, grinning at Professor Poop. He chuckled into his sleeve. "Best not show her. But your leader is proud. Very proud."

Ruby nodded triumphantly, raising her chin even more.

Weiss wrote even faster, fixated on Professor Port's embellished tale.

Blake turned a page on her book.

Ruby tapped her shoulder. She passed the caricature to Blake, blowing a raspberry.

Blake smiled, giggling as she stared at the paper.

Ruby grinned—a wide, milk-moustached smile that could have stopped time itself.

Blake passed Professor Poop on to Jaune and the rest of Team AXRN.

Snickers filled the air, even as Weiss' pen reached Ruby-levels of speed.

A lull came as her pen put down its last dot.

Finally.

Professor Poop stopped his inhuman rampage.

Nex drew a deep, deep breath.

Who knew sitting on a chair could be so fucking exhausting?

Beacon was truly a microcosm of Remnant, with—

"The moral of the story? A true huntsman must be honourable!"

"Ugh," Nex said, his chin crashing into the desk. "I thought he was done."

Weiss Schnee's pen resumed its frantic writing, his partner probably taken by surprise.

"A true huntsman must be dependable!"

Blake Belladonna closed her book, placing it under her desk.

"A true huntsman must be educated! Strategic! And wise!"

Ruby Rose stared holes into the ghost-ninja's back, a frown tugging on her lips. It was a far cry from the grin she wore moments ago. She glared at Professor Poop before she crumpled the doodle and shoved it into her skirt's pocket.

"Who among you believes themselves to be the embodiment of these traits?"

Ruby raised her hand, jumping from her seat. "I do! Well, I hope I do, professor."

Professor Port grinned under his moustache, gesturing at the cage behind him.

The bars shook, red eyes glaring at them.

One Boarbatusk.

Alone.

Definitely not a threat to the average huntsman, but probably a threat to huntsman trainees, unprepared in class as most of them certainly were.

Jaune had Crocea Mors. He had Hrunting and Vigilance under his desk. Ruby had Crescent Rose, the scythe hidden under the hood over her uniform.

But if the students panicked, then it had the potential to turn bloody.

Pareidolia buzzed, snapping away the darkness. All stimuli rushed into his brain. Calculating every possibility, funnelling those possibilities into his muscles.

"Very well then," Professor Port said, leaping to the side. "Step forward and face your opponent!"

Ruby dissolved into red petals.

The Boarbatusk rolled out of the cage.

Crescent Rose clicked, unfolding into its complete form.

The silver-eyed warrior stared down the monster, her crimson scythe in hand.

"Go Ruby!" Jaune said, his voice somehow more high-pitched. "Team Auburn believes in you!"

"Yeah!" Nora said, the grin on her face practically audible. "Go break its spine!"

"That's my sister!" Yang said, elbowing the ghost-ninja. The one sitting beside her. "Hey Blake, gonna cheer your partner on?"

Blake shook her head, her hands wrapped around her book. "I don't want to distract her."

Bone crunched under steel.

Ruby twisted away, flipping Crescent Rose.

It howled.

The Boarbatusk rolled through the shots.

Ruby twirled, her scythe's tip cutting its stomach.

The monster growled, sprinting at the silver-eyed warrior with extended tusks.

"I wonder what just made her so motivated," Weiss said.

Nex shrugged, loosening his grip, brushing the triggers under his weapon's guard. A single squeeze and Hrunting and Vigilance would be deployed. In its full form, even. Well, only if it was necessary. "Who knows? I'm not exactly an expert on people."

And that was the truth.

He certainly had no clue as to why Ruby was suddenly so motivated to participate in Professor Poop's class. A few moments ago, she was doodling his face into a mocking caricature. A good one, but a mocking caricature still. One that would have definitely scandalized some celebrities in Atlas.

"Do you want to ask her?" Weiss said. "You are our team leader, after all."

"Nope," Nex said. "It's up to her if she wants to tell us or not."

Weiss smiled, even as she fixed him a look. "Yes. I suppose it doesn't matter, as long as she participates more in class. And so should you."

Nex shrugged. Nope. "Maybe in the far, distant future."

Maybe after they graduated.

Weiss heaved a sigh, turning towards the stage.

A squelch hit his extra pair of ears, the Boarbatusk's entrails spilling all over the brown floor.

Ruby hefted Crescent Rose over her shoulder. Apparently, she located the monster's weak point—its unarmoured stomach.

She spun, staring at them as she folded her scythe and placed it under her cloak.

Her grin flipped into a frown.

Weiss clapped, shooting him a look. Her knee even nudged his.

Nex shrugged and copied his partner—nothing to lose there.

Blake closed her book, clapping a grand total of three times. A slow clap, even.

Team AXRN definitely clapped and cheered louder than the three of them did.

"Bravo! Bra-vo! We are indeed in the presence of a true huntress-in-training!

The rest of their fellow students broke into an applause, following their lead.

But still, they probably clapped more because of what would most certainly come next.

"And that's all the time we have for today. But be sure to cover the assigned readings. Dismissed!"

Great.

The frown on Ruby's face deepened as she jogged out the door.

Alone.

Nex sighed, sinking into his chair.

Troublesome.