I think that's the last time I say 'the next chapter will come out soon.' I'm not losing motivation or anything, but polishing the writing takes me a while :P . That being said, thanks for the patience y'all!
Now for the reviews:
Manatread: Got a laugh out of this one xD.
Yuuji Akira: Welcome back! Glad you liked that store scene too! And Blake and Sett will definitely have interaction during that issue, as they're both "faunus." But yea, I didn't want Sett's character to be one-dimensional by any means, so I tried adding more facets than how he's already written elsewhere. He'll still be cocky and aggressive for sure though. And I'm gonna be honest, I never even considered having Ruby react in that way. But now that you mention it, I might play around with that idea, we'll see. The weapons will be a surprise :)
JollieHotDog: With how much Sett loves his mom, leaving her money is one of many contingency plans of his
prometheus7987: Will do boss!
Disclaimer: I don't own League or RWBY. I don't know why I even have to say this. Would I have to take this fanfic down otherwise?
And without further ado, let's begin
He was blind.
At least, that's what he thought, with his entire vision being white. But after moving his hands around, he realized he could see himself.
Looking down at his form, Sett was a bit disoriented to see nothing but his own body among a sea of nothingness. This wasn't his weirdest dream by far, but it was still pretty trippy. Looking back up, he was surprised when he saw something had taken up the previously empty space.
Something… familiar?
In front of the pit champ was a massive creature, towering above him as far as the eye could see. White fur covered its long, serpentine body, with the color darkening to storm blue in certain areas. Although still large in magnitude, four comparably smaller limbs adorned the body, each one sporting clawed digits. Golden, gilded armor covered the front two appendages, as well as the back of the colossal being. On its snouted head was a similarly styled mask, covering most of its upper face.
Except for its eyes. Staring into the pit fighter's soul were two, lightning blue eyes, glowing as brightly as the sun. For some reason, the back of Sett's mind itched, as if it recognized the giant. But that was impossible: he'd never encountered anything like this in his life! Still, no matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't shake the feeling that he knew what that being was.
And then it spoke, its deep, silky voice rumbling in its thunderous volume.
'Hold fast, warrior. You shall not be alone for long.'
Alone? He wasn't alone. He had friends and teammates. What was this guy talking about? And why'd he call him a warrior?
Inexplicably, he felt his arms grow heavy, fatigue coursing through his muscles. Sinking to his knees, he struggled to stay upright. His mind became murky, his heart beat slowed, and his eyelids began to droop. Through half-closed eyes, he saw the strange entity begin to fade into the white abyss.
'Continue your journey, blessed one, and all will become clear in due time.'
Oh c'mon, that's the most cliché, stupid, lazy writing bull-
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The male member of team RWBYS abruptly woke up, his slumber coming to an abrupt end. Sett rubbed his face, unable to comprehend his sudden confusion. 'What just happened?' He felt like he just had the strangest dream. Like most dreams however, he could barely recall exactly what it was about.
Cracking his eyes open, the half-breed was greeted with the sight of sunlight breaking through the curtains. Turning his head to the side, he blinked when he saw the time. '... Might as well get up.' Shaking his head, the boy smoothly slipped out of bed, taking a minute to stretch. With his grogginess starting to ebb away, he made his way to the bathroom, quietly passing the… shaky bedding arrangement.
Despite the heiress's sole dissent the night prior, the team came to the decision to set up bunk beds. As for who got to use them, that was handled very civilly. Even though he supported the idea, Sett excluded himself, knowing that he shouldn't participate. This was due to a very simple reason: space. He was just too tall to comfortably fit in the bottom or top bunk. He'd probably hit his head just sitting up in bed. Besides, he didn't exactly trust being near a bed held up by books, let alone a bed tied to the ceiling. And for some reason, Weiss hadn't objected to his exclusion…
Back to the present, the brunette carefully closed the bathroom door behind him, before turning to the sink. The really clean, fancy sink. After admiring the amenities one more time, he began going through his morning routine. During his soothingly hot shower, he heavily debated if showers were the best thing this world had to offer. He'd never look at wash buckets the same ever again.
After he finished cleaning himself up, he put on his PJ's once more before leaving. Opening the door, Sett was a bit surprised to see Ruby waiting outside.
In one hand was a bundle of clothes, with the other rubbing her eyes. When she noticed Sett's raised eyebrow, she grumbled, still in the process of waking up. "Yang takes forever in the bathroom." Satisfied with her explanation, she slipped past him before claiming the bathroom for herself.
Shrugging, the half-beast moved to the closet to change into his uniform. Picking it out, he held out the top portion of it, examining the fancy piece of apparel. Truth betold, he didn't really mind the idea of uniforms. They did look kinda nice.
Except for the sleeves. Sett frowned at the offending pieces of cloth. He refused to wear anything with them.
'Good thing I bought new clothes.'
With that thought in mind, he put his uniform back on the rack, before pulling out some of his new clothes. Ditching his sleepwear for some black sweatpants, he then pulled on a white muscle shirt (nicely named, in his opinion) over his head. As expected, when he rotated his shoulders, he was pleased to feel the lack of constrained movement. Satisfied with the feeling of his outfit, he exited the smaller room, sitting on the edge of his bed.
With nothing else to do, Sett decided he'd spend time thinking about his… dream. The brawler just couldn't get it off of his mind. There was just something about it that nagged him, more so than other dreams he'd had. If anything, it didn't feel like an actual dream. So he sat on his bed, trying to make sense of the only thing he remembered:
'... Shall not be alone…'
What did that mean? Why did it even matter if he was alone? Was he going to need someone to watch his back? Help him in a fight? Granted, he liked the friends he'd made so far, but he was pretty confident he could get by just fine if he was on his own. That's not to say he didn't appreciate the company: he did. So far, each person on his, and Jaune's, team seemed pretty likable in their own ways. It's just that he'd been doing things on his own for most of his life. Regardless, how exactly was he alone? Ever since coming to Beacon, he'd been in constant contact with people. Did they not count or something? The half-breed continued to muse and ponder, until the sound of a door opening captured his attention. Turning around, he made eye contact with a fully uniformed Ruby Rose.
She blinked in surprise. "No uniform?" Ruby asked, although not in an accusatory way. While all students were given uniforms, it wasn't actually required to wear them, even to class. For such a prestigious academy, Beacon had a pretty relaxed dress code.
Sett shook his head. "Uh-uh. I'm not wearing anything with sleeves." There weren't many things he hated more than that.
"Oh, uh, ok. That's cool! I think." She said, a bemused smile betraying her mild confusion.
Smirking, he nodded his head at her, indicating her cape. "Right back atcha." Personally, that wasn't his style, but he approved of the personal touch.
She smiled in full at the compliment. "Thank-"
"zzzzZZZZ… zzzzZZZZ."
Oh yea. That's right. Everyone else was still asleep.
"Wonder how long till they wake up?" Sett said, thinking aloud. Figuring he was wasting his time thinking, the half-vastayan decided to just move on with his day. It probably wasn't important anyway: it was still just a dream, after all.
The team leader hummed in thought, before a mischievous gleam flashed in her eyes. "Well, we don't want our teammates oversleeping on our first day, do we?" With a cheery smile, she reached behind her and pulled out-
-a whistle.
"..."
'Ah, fuuu-'
FWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET!
With the rude awakening courtesy of one Ruby Rose, the rest of the girls irritatedly got ready for the day, before scrambling once they realized classes were about to start. While no one wanted to be late, this was especially true for Sett, who was very curious to see what class was like.
And so, after having spent the majority of the day in classes, it was safe to say Sett was… disappointed.
Math, science, history… all of that stuff was crap. Mostly because he had trouble keeping up with each course. And it wasn't for a lack of attention or interest, but rather because he never got a formal education. Yes, his momma had taught him all she knew, but that could only take him so far. Without the proper fundamentals in each topic, he was as lost as poor Jaune, who seemed to be struggling just as much, if not more.
Luckily for him, it seemed that one of his teammates excelled in each and every one of these classes. So when his team was on the way to a 'Grimm Studies' class, he took a moment to talk with Weiss in a one-on-one.
"Hey, Weiss." The two were walking behind the rest of their teammates, who were busy complaining about how boring the last class was.
"Yes?"
"You mind helping me out with the homework later? I'm not really understanding it, but you seem to."
Fortunately for Sett, his friend was all too happy to offer her expertise, given how he had recognized it. With that squared away, the two of them carried on with the rest of RWBYS, entering their last class of the day.
Unfortunately for Sett (and everyone else), this class was the worst class of the day. By far.
"Monsters! Demons. Prowlers of the night."
Out of all the classes, this one was the most tedious. The half-vastayan had nothing against the older man's enthusiasm, but he just wished he would cut back on the god-awful storytelling. Class was more than halfway over, and the professor was still going on about some 'heroic' deed. Granted, there was probably some hidden meaning behind Port's grandiose lectures, but Sett didn't care. They were boring as hell.
At some point, he'd given up on taking notes, deciding to just listen as the older man regaled some tale. Maybe that would help him understand what this guy was going on about.
"... But I, merely refer to them as prey, haHA!"
"..."
And with that, boredom took hold of his mind once more. Looking around, it appeared that the rest of his team felt pretty much the same way.
Except for Weiss. She was somehow diligently taking notes, raptly paying attention to the professor. Sitting right next to her, he could see that her notes were actually legitimate as well. How was she doing it? And what exactly was there to take notes on!?
Yang, despite being in the front row, was fast asleep. With her head lying flat on the desk, the only reason she wasn't called out was due to how absorbed Professor Port was with his own story.
Blake was reading a book, discreetly held out of sight of the teacher. Honestly, at this point Sett could go for some reading. Literally, anything would be better than sitting through this 'class.'
Ruby seemed like she was taking notes, until she held up her paper for her team to see. On it, was a crude drawing of Professor Port, or, 'Professor Poop.' The pit brawler and team leader snickered at that. He gave a thumbs up, failing to notice that someone didn't agree with his opinion.
"Ahem!" Noticing the flat look they were getting, the two members of RWBYS returned their attention to class. For two seconds.
The second Port began speaking, Ruby began goofing off. How could she not? For the entirety of the lecture, she couldn't figure out what this class was about. Was it about Grimm studies, or Professor Port's history as a huntsman? For the sake of her own sanity, she just had to occupy herself with anything else. That's why the red reaper wasn't focusing on class.
But the reason Sett wasn't paying attention was because he had noticed Weiss had abruptly stopped taking notes. Instead, the white haired girl was staring intently at her partner, though the pit fighter couldn't guess why. Sitting to her right, he couldn't see her currently glaring expression. It was only when she began shaking did he realize that something was up.
"Hey, Weiss-"
"So, who among you believes themselves to be the embodiment of these traits?"
Without a moment of hesitation, the ice queen instantly shot up her hand "I do sir!" She shouted, anger barely contained in her voice. The beast boy bastard raised an eye at that. 'Jeez, what's up with her?'
"Well then, let's find out." The professor gestured for her to rise. "Prepare yourself. Then step forward, and face your opponent." Turning to the caged Grimm behind him, his instructions became clear.
With aggressive enthusiasm, the heiress swiftly got up, leaving the room to get her gear. It was at that time when the murderous look on her face became clear for all to see. Though, judging from the lack of interest around him, it seemed Sett was the only one who really noticed.
A bit confused, he watched her retreating form. 'Ho boy, this outta be good.'
When Weiss returned, she was much more composed than before. Dressed for combat, she wasted no time in preparing to fight, a calm, controlled aura around her. Though, Sett had a sneaking suspicion it wasn't that simple below the surface. But hey, with any luck, maybe this fight would help blow off some steam for the young lady. And it seemed that the duel would commence at any moment now.
"Goooo Weiss!"
"Fight well!" Sett did a double take. Where did Blake get that flag?
Shrugging, he gave his own motivating words. "Take your best shot."
"Yeah, represent teeeaam RWBYS!" Ruby cheered, excited for what was to come. Suddenly, the heiress whirled on her partner, clear annoyance etched on her expression.
"Ruby, I'm trying to focus!" She scolded, shutting down the exuberant girl.
"Oh… sorry." Ruby quietly uttered, deflated at her partner's words. She looked down, a bit disheartened at Weiss's sharp rebuttal.
The rest of the team shared a look, enthusiasm having been drained by the strange display before them. The usually well kept and mannered Weiss seemed to be aggravated at… something. Though, if Sett had to guess, it wasn't really a something, but more a someone.
Before anyone could raise their concerns, the professor cleared his throat. "Alright. Let the match, begin!" Swinging his weapon, Port opened the cage, exposing a Boarbatusk to the classroom.
Growling in anger, the beast locked onto the first thing in front of it, charging head first at Weiss. Even with its swift acceleration, the rapier user was quick to react, dodging the stampede while slashing at its face. To her slight annoyance, her attack simply skidded off the Grimm's mask.
Coming out of her roll, she took a moment to ready herself as the Grimm slowed to a halt, unfazed by her attack. Turning around, it glared at her, as if sizing the girl up.
"Haha! Wasn't expecting that, were you?" Port called out, trying to make his student think. The only thing he achieved, however, was souring Weiss's already foul mood, evident in her deepening scowl.
Worried for her partner, Ruby called out to her. "Hang in there Weiss!" Just when Sett thought her frown couldn't get any angrier, it did.
The Grimm let out another snarl, before charging once more. Seeing her previous attack was ineffective, Weiss opted for a head on strike, expecting to meet the Boarbatusk head-on. Maybe she could pierce its mask with a perfectly angled stab. Just as the two were about to collide, the Grimm suddenly whipped its head to the side, hooking Myrtenaster in its tusks and catching Weiss off-guard.
"Bold, new approach! I like it!" Was he talking about the Boarbatusk, or Weiss?
Shocked at the move, Weiss tugged at her weapon, struggling to retrieve it from the monster.
Seeing as the tug of war was getting nowhere, Ruby called out to her partner once more. "Come on Weiss, show it who's boss!" Unbeknownst to everyone else, annoyance flared up within the fighting huntress-in-training, causing her to snap her furious gaze at her partner.
Just when she was about to retort, the Boarbatusk took advantage of her weakened grip, courtesy of her distraction. With a mighty yank, it ripped the rapier out of her hands, tossing it far behind itself. Now free to attack, the Grimm slammed its tusks in an upwards slash, hurling the heiress several feet back.
"Oho, now what will you do without your weapon?" Recovering from her dazed state, Weiss narrowly dodged impalement, leaping out of the way of the charging creature. Not having expected that, the monster collided with the wall, flipping onto its back from the impact.
Taking advantage of its disadvantaged state, the combatant ran to the other side of the room, sweeping up her weapon in one smooth motion.
'Ok. The armor at its front is too difficult to penetrate. I need to find a more vulnerable point. Maybe its underside?'
Having been observing the fight closely, Ruby determined that now was the time for a bit of help. Sadly, this was the last thing her partner wanted. "Weiss! Go for its belly! There's no armor underneath-"
That was the straw that broke the camel's back. Whipping around, she glared daggers at her supposed 'team leader.'
"Stop telling me what to do!" She shouted, her voice filled to the brim with anger.
Ignoring the hurt look on Ruby's face, Weiss refocused her attention on her enemy. Zeroed in, she did not panic or pre-emptively move this time, waiting for just the right moment to act. Right before the Grimm barreled into her, she cast a glyph, rebuffing the Boarbatusk onto its back. Seizing her opportunity, the heiress summoned another glyph, determined to finish this pest. Propelling herself at the helpless monster, she easily penetrated its unprotected hide, cutting through its entire body and ending its existence.
Sett would've clapped, were he not concerned with more pressing matters.
"Bravo! Braaavo!" Port, on the other hand, had no such reservations. "It appears we are indeed in the presence of a true huntress in training."
"But, I'm afraid that's all the time we have for today. Be sure to cover the assigned readings, and stay vigilant." Well, at least class was over. One good thing is better than none.
Without so much as a glance to her team, Weiss stormed off, giving no one a chance to talk to her. As the students began to fill out, Ruby nimbly slipped through the crowd, trying to catch up to her partner.
For once, Jaune looked at Weiss without a clouded mind. "Sheesh. What's up with her?"
'That's what I'm gonna find out, Jauney boy.' Pushing his way through his classmates, he made sure to keep a safe distance behind his friends.
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Jeez, much ground could Weiss cover? He felt like he'd walked a mile already.
Eventually, when the trek came to an end, Sett made sure to make himself unnoticed. Though, judging by how… intense the two were, they probably wouldn't have noticed either way.
"What's wrong with me? What's wrong with you?" Weiss accused, having had enough of this dunce. Ruby narrowed her eyes, growing frustrated with Weiss's uncalled for hostility. "You're supposed to be a leader, and all you've been so far is a nuisance."
"A nuisance? What did I do?"
"That's just it. you've done nothing to earn your position." That silenced the red reaper, who could only stare in shock. "Back in the forest, you acted like a child, and you've only continued to do so."
"Weiss, where is this coming from?" Asked a hurt Ruby, upset and confused. "What happened to all the talk about, working together? I thought you believed in acting as a team." After their moment with the Deathstalker, Ruby had thought things were cool now. Weiss had seemed pretty sincere when she said she wanted to work together, so what gives? The heiress sighed, closing her eyes.
"Not a team, led by you." Opening her eyes, condescension filled her gaze. "I've studied, and trained, and quite frankly, I deserve better." Turning her back, she let out one last heated remark. "Ozpin made a mistake." And with that, she walked away, uncaring of Ruby's attempts to catch her attention.
"Weiss, wait! I…" The poor girl dejectedly sighed, saddened by learning how her partner truly felt. Things were just starting to go well for the young girl too. Seeing her standing limply in defeat, Sett would've intervened, had someone not beaten him to the punch.
Having seen the headmaster (where did he come from anyway? Sett hadn't noticed him at all) make his presence known to the caped crusader, the pit fighter discreetly moved to follow his other teammate, not wanting to interrupt a very necessary conversation.
Weiss breathed a calm breath, taking in the soothing sunset as much as she could. After such a frustrating day, she needed something like this.
Standing on the rooftop of one of Beacon's many buildings, the heiress was enjoying the fresh air. She had the whole place to herself, which was good: the isolation is just what she needed. But there was just enough ambient noise to keep her from being too secluded. And with the decent view from her vantage point, this was an acceptable place for her to relax after such a trying day. Or, more accurately, after such a trying few days at Beacon.
Hearing footsteps behind her, she turned around.
"Oh. Hello, Sett."
Honestly, she had been hoping that Professor Port would've showed up, someone she could bring up her concerns to. But she wasn't going to complain. Anyone was better than her… partner. Weiss grinded her teeth just at the thought of that imbecile, before forcing herself to stop. Even though he wasn't a professor, at least Sett would understand her vexation, right?
He'd walked up to her by then, an unreadable expression on his face. Before she could say anything to him, he beat her to the punch, his tone sharper than usual.
"Hey. Do you hate Ruby?"
Huh?
"Wh-What?" Weiss stuttered, unable to comprehend the out-of-nowhere question.
"I said, do you hate Ruby?" He repeated, his neutral expression unchanging.
"I-No." Weiss leaned back in confusion. Where was this coming from? "I mean, she's annoying and childish… but I don't hate her." Which that was true: they had their differences, but Weiss didn't think they called for something as strong as hate. That emotion was reserved for the more, unsavory, individuals in her life. And as infuriating as Ruby could be, she was by no means malicious in any way.
"Really? Cause from what you said earlier, it sounds like you do." Sett crossed his arms, unconvinced. "And the way I see it, the only one who's been a 'nuisance' is you." Ice blue eyes widened in shock at his blunt words, before narrowing, realizing the implications of his statement.
"Y-You were eavesdropping on us!?" She shouted, outraged at the revelation. The heiress thought that the hallway she was in was deserted, except for herself and Ruby. She mentally scorned herself for her lack of awareness.
"Yea." He plainly stated, unbothered and unashamed by his actions. Weiss scoffed, peeved at the audacity of her teammate.
"Well, if you heard what was said, then I shouldn't have to explain myself." She snidely declared.
"I think you do. Why the hell are you giving so much attitude today?" Sett questioned, already knowing the answer. She huffed at that, irritated by his dull question. Apparently, she was the only one who realized how she'd been wronged at this academy. How could no one else see that she should not be on a team led by someone like Ruby?
She glared at him, digging her nails into her palm in frustration. "You know why! Because Ruby shouldn't be team leader! If anyone should lead, it should be me." Weiss paused, taking a breath to calm herself. She was getting too unruly, even if her case was justified. "You saw my skill in class and initiation. You know how capable I am. It's not fair that someone less qualified is leading, especially at a distinguished academy like this."
"So, being a jerk and whining is gonna do something about it?" Sett ignored her cry of indignation, choosing to continue calling his teammate out. "The way I see it, all you've proven is you can't stand it when something doesn't go your way. You're acting like a spoiled kid who didn't get the toys she wanted."
"How dare you!" Weiss gasped, infuriated that Sett would say these things. "That's not even remotely true!" She declared, looking away from her teammate. When she looked back and noticed his deadpan look, she faltered slightly, quickly breaking eye contact. "Well… that's not entirely true."
"Right… and my old man's a great dad." Sett said, voice dripping with sarcasm. "Look, you didn't get what you wanted. So what? You think you're gonna get anything you want if you 'deserve' it?"
"Yes! I mean, that's how it should be."
"..."
"..."
For a few moments, he simply stared at the ice queen, who was growing uncomfortable at his unwavering gaze.
"What?" She snapped, her patience nearly running bone-dry.
"You're kidding, right? You can't be serious." Sett said, looking at her in disbelief. He'd hoped that she would be less naive than that.
Weiss glared at him. "Of course I'm serious! Why wouldn't I be? There's nothing wrong with what I said." The continued look of skepticism, however, begged to differ.
With a weary sigh, Sett said what needed to be said. "Hate to break it to ya, but there's plenty wrong with that. Even if there wasn't there ain't no way that mindset's worked out for you."
"And just what do you mean by that?" Weiss heatedly asked, glaring at her teammate.
"That's exactly what I mean. Remember what you said last night? Back at the store, you told me a lotta people have made your life difficult. Did you always get what was 'rightfully yours' back then?" She froze, not expecting him to bring that up.
"Well, I- no, but that…" She snarled in frustration. "Argh! What's your point?"
"The point, princess," She narrowed her eyes at that, disapproving of that nickname. "Is that you pushed on even when things weren't going the way you wanted. So why can't you do that now?"
"Because the next four years are the most important in my life!" Weiss cried out, stomping a foot on the floor for emphasis. "I came to this academy because I want to become the best huntress I can be, so I can't afford to let someone as bad of a leader as Ruby hold me back!" To be fair, the half-breed couldn't fault her for that. There was nothing wrong with trying to be the best you can be.
But that didn't mean she was right in antagonizing Ruby. "Weiss… it's been one day. One. Don't you think it's a bit early to make that kind of judgment?" Besides, Sett thought Ruby was doing just fine.
"No!" Although, as she said that, a small part of her questioned if she truly believed that. "Ever since we arrived at Beacon, she's constantly shown that she is not leader material. "
Sett let out an amused huff at that. "Really? Cause if I recall, she was the one who made the plan to kill the Nevermore, right?" Counting on another finger, he brought up a few other examples. "When nothing was working against it, she rallied the rest of the team pretty well. This morning, she made sure y'all woke up in time for class. And she was giving solid tips in Port's class too." With each instance listed, it was clear that the Schnee became less and less sure of herself. But of course, her ego overrode any logic, trying to refute any notion of being wrong.
"I didn't need her help!" Weiss curtly claimed, her pride blinding her to the simple facts. But it was only for a moment, as even the heiress could not fool herself for long. "... But, I suppose she did… alright, in those aspects." She'd concede on that point. Perhaps she had been a tad bit overzealous in her judgment. Sett smirked, pleased to see he was making progress.
"See? Not so bad of a leader, is she?" Sett said, the silence from Weiss speaking for itself. "Hey. If you're still not convinced, just give her some time to prove herself. A few more days, maybe a week at most. You might be surprised with what she could do, if given the chance."
"And what makes you so sure of that?" Even though she realized she may have been rash, Weiss was still doubtful of the faith Sett was seemingly putting into Ruby's potential.
Hearing her question, Sett's smirk slowly disappeared, replaced by a knowing smile. "Because all I needed was one chance to prove what I'm capable of." She tilted her head, prompting him to explain himself. Glancing up, the Runeterran took a second to discreetly prepare himself. "Weiss, before I came to Beacon, I was in the, ah, business of prize fighting."
The Schnee blinked at that. "Oh… and why is that?" Truthfully, she'd thought he came from some combat school, just like nearly everyone else here.
"Long story, not really important right now." He said, hoping Weiss wouldn't get too hooked on that piece of info. "Anyways, it took me a while before I was given a fight by the people in charge. No one really wanted to risk losing business by sponsoring a no-name contender." Why would they, when there were plenty of already reputed fighters? Making any one of them the main attraction seemed like the most sensible idea. But they all learned pretty quickly that he was the main event.
"But when I got that chance, I made sure to make the most of it. Beat that bastard senseless, made the crowd happy, earned myself a nice bit of coin." Weiss scrunched her brow at that. Coin? Did he mean Lien? There were coin forms of lien, but their value was pretty low. And she doubted that he got paid a small sum for something that sounded like an exhibition match. Maybe it was just a euphemism? Realizing Sett was still talking, she shoved that thought aside, refocusing on what he was saying.
"-Wasn't till my fourth match did people take me seriously. Ever since then, I haven't lost a fight, and I've made a good amount of money for my ma and I." He finished, careful to hide the small amount of guilt from his voice. He didn't regret what he had done, but for the thousandth time, he wished he didn't have to lie to his momma about where he got his money.
To his relief, Weiss seemed none the wiser of his inner turmoil. He watched as she connected the dots, making sense of his little story. "... So, you want me to give Ruby a chance, somewhat like your former bosses did for you? But over the course of the next few days in this case."
Sett grinned. "Spot on. Like I said, give this whole leadership thing some more time, alright? Then you can say for sure if Ruby's got what it takes to lead." Weiss frowned, internally debating if her next course of action should be doing just that. 'A few days couldn't hurt, I guess. It's not the worst suggestion, anyways.' And as much as she loathed to admit it, she hadn't exactly been the best teammate either…
She sighed, unable to think of any better idea. "Fine. I'll give Ruby some time to see if she'll get her act together. Happy?" Judging by his look of approval, he was.
"That's all I can ask for, Weiss." Satisfied with his work, Sett turned around, leaving his teammate on the rooftop in peace. The sun was still up, and he had to take care of a few things before tonight. Still, he was glad he was able to get through to his stubborn friend.
As he walked away, Weiss stared at his retreating form. Now that their talk was over, she couldn't help but get caught on his claim to be some kind of prize fighter. While she didn't doubt that he was one (his build spoke for itself), there was something about it that seemed strange to the heiress. When he was speaking, she noted that Sett seemed strangely displeased with something.
Now, most people wouldn't have noticed, but Weiss was certainly not most people. Having spent her life with the Atlas elite, she had learned to read individuals quite well. Whether it be through language or non-verbal communication, not much escaped her notice anymore. In this case, while Sett didn't sound abnormal, there was an instance when his expression flickered from its usual, confident state. A slightly-raised brow, a thin-lipped frown, and downcast eyes: the look of a rueful person. What was that all about?
Weiss chastised herself at the thought: it wasn't really her business, and she didn't want to disrespect Sett by prying. Besides, she was probably making something out of nothing. Still, it did seem a bit peculiar.
But that could be contemplated later. For now, she'd think about what Sett had said, and enjoy the beautiful sunset.
Strolling through one of Beacon's buildings, Sett glanced at the room number before opening the door. For a moment, he stood in the doorway, enraptured by the pure silence that greeted his entrance.
'Well, it's a library. The hell was I expecting, an encore?'
Ambling in, Sett wandered around for a bit, gathering textbooks before sitting down at an empty table. Placing the books to the side and pulling out his assigned work, he wasted no time in getting it done.
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"Ugh."
Or, more aptly, he wasted no time in trying to get it done. Because for all his efforts, determination was useless when he had no idea what he was doing. For a brief moment, he considered finding Weiss for help, before quickly shooting that idea down. Although she did agree to help him, Sett didn't want to bother his teammate right now. She had more important things to do than be his tutor. Resigning himself to what was going to be a long night, Sett began flipping through a math textbook before voices caught his attention. Familiar voices.
When the sources of the two voices entered his line of sight, he blinked in surprise. Honestly, he kind of expected to see the boy in a place like this. From the little he knew of the guy, it fit him pretty well. The girl? Not so much.
Dragging her feet, the ginger haired girl pouted to her best friend. "But Reeeeen, that's so booooring!"
"Boring or not Nora, you still need to finish- oh, hello Sett." Noticing the brawler, Ren dipped his head in greeting, while Nora waved excitedly, skipping over to the seated student. Following after the energetic girl, the stoic member of JNPR looked apologetically at Sett. "May we sit here?"
Waving a hand to ease his concerns, Sett replied. "Be my guest." Plopping down next to him, Nora groaned as Ren urged her to do her homework, who sat across from her. Looking for any reason to do anything but that, the ditzy girl's gaze lazily roamed around the room. Unfortunately for her, there wasn't anything that really stuck out: a few other students, a lotta books, bookshelves, tables, a pair of furred ears, a-
Wait. Her hyperactive brain came to a full stop.
A PAIR OF FURRED EARS!?
"Uhhh, Nora?" Waving a hand in front of her face, Sett grew bewildered as Nora continued to stare at him. That feeling only grew when awe began to fill her expression.
"..."
"ARE THOSE DOGGY EARS!?" She yelled, causing the boys to cringe at her volume. Before they had a chance to recover, she was up in Sett's face, hands twitching in excitement. "I didn't know you were a faunus. That's sooo cool! Those are real ears, right? What kind of Faunus are you? Dog? Wolf? Oh, do you like scratches? I hope you do. Can I scratch them? Please?" Spewing words at a mile a minute, Nora failed to notice Sett's nonplussed look. Though, even if she did, it probably wouldn't have changed a thing.
Ren sighed, knowing there was nothing he could do. Whenever she got this excited, nothing in the world could stop her. Not even him.
Sett seemed to realize that when he noticed Ren's inaction. "I'm a wolverine faunus, actually." He responded, not sure how else to react. "And yea, scratches behind my ears feel pretty good." The half-breed sweatdropped when the bubbly girl's grin grew tenfold. As the boy wondered if he should have revealed that piece of knowledge, something clicked in his mind.
With a semi-regretful expression, he shrugged. "I would let you scratch 'em, but you seem kinda busy." He noted, gesturing to her papers. "With your homework and all that."
Reminded of the reason why she was in the library in the first place, Nora's excitement was quickly replaced by glum, her smile dissolving into a frown. Stupid homework, stupid school, stupid Professor P-
"But…" Sett drawled out, catching her attention in an instant. Her partner's eyes widened ever so slightly, catching on to the brunette's plan. "Once you do your work (correctly, Ren added), I'll let ya feel 'em." With the way her eyes lit up, you'd think he just told her she'd won a million lien.
"Deal!" She stated, without a moment of hesitation. With enough motivation to move a rock, she began to diligently read and write, her mind focused on the end goal. The pit champ watched for a second, smiling. Was he good, or what?
Looking over to her partner, he gave a thumbs up when Ren mouthed a quiet 'thank you.' Just when Sett was about to resume his studies, another idea popped into his mind. "Hey Ren, you mind giving me a hand with this?" He asked, pointing at his own worksheet. The guy seemed pretty smart. With any luck, he could get this done tonight after all.
Fortunately for him, the quiet boy did not seem to mind. "Sure." He replied, coming over to sit on his other side. "Where would you like to start?"
And so, for the next few hours, they worked. Ren, having already completed his assignments, was happy to help Sett study. It was only fair, since the guy had helped him get Nora to do her's. Speaking of which, it didn't take long for the gal to correctly finish her assignments. This didn't surprise Ren, as he knew Nora was by no means dumb. She just usually lacked focus or incentive to do certain things.
After getting a fair amount of work done, as well as receiving a ton of ear scratches (he thought Nora would get bored after a few minutes. Boy, was he wrong.), Sett decided it was getting late. It was nearly midnight, and he still had classes tomorrow. Bidding the two other students a good night, the half-breed took his leave, making his way back to his dorm.
As Sett reached his destination, he paused just outside his team's room. He put his hand on the door knob, careful not to turn it just yet. After all, he didn't want to walk in just yet…
"Just know, that I'm going to be the best teammate you'll ever have."
Music to his ears, baby. Music to his ears. It sounded like the heiress was warming up after all.
After remaining outside for another minute, he smoothly opened the door, eyes meeting a pair of silver and ice-blue ones. He waved, entering, before getting ready for his night time routine. When he was stepping into the bathroom, he felt someone tap him on the shoulder.
Turning around, he looked down at a flat stare. "How much of that did you hear?" Weiss whispered, a questioning look in her eyes. Though, she had a feeling she already knew the answer.
"Hear what?" Staring back he quietly gave her an answer. Though, his shit-eating grin easily gave him away. As Weiss rolled her eyes, Sett chuckled, before closing the bathroom door behind him.
That's it for now, but I just want to say thank you to everyone who reads, reviews, or keeps up. The simplest way to put it is, support in any form is greatly appreciated.
So, thanks for tuning in! See y'all next chapter
