James Ironwood, General of the Atlesion military, was walking down the halls of Atlas Academy with an entourage of assistants following behind him. Each of them with forms that he had to fill out from his respective positions as not only the general, but as the schools Headmaster. The night was drawing close and he had to get in some rest for the next day but he still had some work to finish up before he called it a night. Everyone talked into his ear at once: one person talking about a request from the Council, of which he also had a seat in and another listing a checklist of errands for the next day.
However, something in particular caught his attention as he noticed a student breaking curfew as she slowly began to close the door to her dorm room. As he drew closer, he realized it was the Academy's newest addition, a tiger-Faunus, and she turned and was now aware of his presence. Ironwood raised his hand to stop his assistants, and they each took a step back as he stepped towards the girl.
"Samsara, may I ask what you are doing out past curfew?" Ironwood asked.
"I am sorry, sir," Samsara said. "I just couldn't sleep."
"That is no excuse to leave your quarters after hours," Ironwood said sternly but then examined her expression. She did seem tired but still lucid enough to think clearly. "May I ask what it is that is troubling you?"
"I just feel like I can't stay here," Samsara replied. "I feel something pulling me away from here and I have to go follow it."
"But the year has just begun," Ironwood countered. "Didn't you say that you always wanted to become a Huntress?"
"I did, and I still do," Samsara said. "However, this feeling will not let me sleep. This is the best way for me to get some rest if I were to personally go and deal with this myself."
Ironwood narrowed his eyes as he glared at her. He read the report on this girl: Samsara Ashram, the sole survivor of a town outside of Atlas that was attacked by Grimm. When she was discovered, she was described as a mess and talking about how that 'nobody believed her'. A child who attended an orphanage run by Atlas and was chosen to be a student at Atlas.
He had high hopes for her. When she found the help she needed in the orphanage and received combat training, the instructors described her as someone with a talent for combat.
"I would advise against leaving," Ironwood said. "It was by your instructor's references that allowed you to come to Atlas. Otherwise, I would have heeded the psychiatrist's words and perhaps have barred you from Atlas, for your safety."
"I am not crazy, General," Samsara said, offended.
"No your not," Ironwood replied and scratched the back of his head. "Forgive me, that was... inappropriate. What I meant to say is that if you were to leave, you can't come back to Atlas Academy for another year, or at all."
"I understand, General," Samsara replied. "But I can't control my Semblance and I have to follow where it leads me."
Ironwood heard of this so-called 'Semblance' that Samsara claims she has, it seemed outlandish at first but then again, from his own experiences, he has heard stranger ones.
"Again, I would advise leaving for now," Ironwood replied. "You have said in the past that these feelings subside over time. I would ask that you wait it out before you decide to leave."
"I am sorry, but my decision has already been made," Samsara replied.
"Alright then," Ironwood replied with a sigh and he stepped aside to let her go. "In the end, I cannot force you to stay. I wish you luck in your future endeavors."
Samsara was wary at first, she eyed Ironwood at first and kept a low stance but Ironwood remained calm. Slowly, Samsara stepped forward and when she made it past Ironwood, she sprinted for Atlas' entrance.
0-RWBY-0
Haiiden yawned silently as he kept reading through Doctor Oobleck's dissertation; his eyelids began to feel heavy as he tried his best to stay awake, since he hadn't had a good night's rest in a week due to his studying. In order to not endure this alone, he dragged Zed along with him, while Ren and Nora of Team JNPR joined to keep them company, especially since they were left alone while Pyrrha and Jaune continued with their secret lessons. When it came to schoolwork, Ren was always on top of it as he was the 'all-work-no-play' type of student, and it was because of this that he had always managed to reel in Nora and made her study as well.
Next to him was a plate of half-eaten pancakes that Ren had made; it turned out that he had made too many, as he anticipated that Nora would gorge herself on them, and while Nora seemed like she had a bottomless stomach, not even she could have eaten them all. So instead, the leftovers were given to HAVC, and Zed was noisily chewing on them as he began to feel bored after the endless nights of studying.
"You made these yourself, Ren?" Haiiden asked as he raised a brow curiously; surprisingly, the pancakes were really good, and he never expected someone like Ren to cook this well; even if they were something as simple as pancakes.
"Of course. When you have been with Nora this long, you realize that it is cheaper to make your own food than to buy it," Ren replied as he looked up from his textbook on his bedside.
"Yep! But I sometimes like to take out Ren for a treat," Nora added and she reached over and pinched Ren on the cheek, while he simply ignored her and kept his focus on his textbook. However, something else then caught his attention, as he turned to see that Zed had drifted to sleep again; his head propped up as he rested it on his palm. As a little joke, Haiiden then swatted his hand under Zed's elbow, which caused the fox-Faunus's head to fall-face first into his open book, the first volume of Oobleck's dissertation, which he was also reading along with Haiiden.
Zed took in a deep breath as he awoke suddenly and pulled back in his seat; he kept his eyes shut as the light began to burn them slightly. "Oi, mate, why do you have to do that?"
"I need you to concentrate, Zed. If one of us fails, then the rest of the team fails as well," Haiiden explained, while Nora jumped on her bed, which was evinced by the sounds of springs recoiling after each jump.
"Yeah, yeah," Zed answered, and he reluctantly resumed his previous position when he was asleep, but now his eyes went back to scanning the dissertation.
"Is that what happened to you? After you dropped out?" Ren asked.
"Yeah, even though this is our second year at Beacon, we unfortunately are not recognized as second year students, as per Ozpin's policies," Haiiden replied.
"Why did you leave in the first place?" Nora asked as she made a final jump on her bed, and took a seat as she landed right next to Ren. Unbeknownst to Haiiden, she quieted down for just a moment, as she remembered how upset Pyrrha was at this revelation, to the point where she didn't speak to him for a while, and this had made her curious. Haiiden thought silently to himself, he already tried to answer that question in his mind back when he visited his childhood home; Ozpin also asked that of him once, and even though he did give an answer, he realized he still didn't know the real answer after all this time. Maybe it was best to stick with the one answer until he thought of something else to say about it.
"I wanted to do good in my own way. I never understood the need to go to a Huntsman Academy if I already knew how to fight Grimm," Haiiden answered.
"That doesn't seem like much of a reason," Nora added, and for the first time, something that Nora had said had caught Haiiden off guard.
"I still remember the day he left," Zed joined in, his voice was low and wasn't filled with life as usual. "It was right after our mission in a village outside of Vale."
"A village?" Ren asked.
"Yeah, we shadowed a Huntsman who was also the village's sheriff," Zed finished. For a moment, Ren showed genuine emotion as he thought about this idea.
"Maybe something happened there that made you want to leave?" Ren pondered.
"I don't know, maybe," Haiiden answered in a low voice. The room went silent for a moment, and Haiiden was glad of this. He didn't want to think any more on the subject and just wanted to focus on his studying, as it was very interesting. For a doctorate, one must defend their thesis statement and evidence before a panel of experts, and answer the questions posed by that panel, and Oobleck did just that, much to Haiiden's surprise. Most who encountered the Doctor would think he was just crazy; someone who wasn't in control of their thoughts, and was just quickly bouncing from one point to another.
Yet this dissertation was clear and concise, and even thought-provoking, which was something that he never thought he would get out of something that Oobleck had written; it was almost an enlightening revelation about the nature of war, and the causes and consequences of every conflict from the Great War to the Faunus Rights Revolution. When Ozpin tried to teach Haiiden history as a child, it used to be his most hated subject, and Ozpin would often bring in Oobleck to assist. Maybe it was because of the mindset he had at the time that made him still hate it, but upon reading this, it actually got Haiiden interested in history for the first time. It brought the past to life for him, and was more than a collection of dates and events, but was a clash of ideologies and motivations.
Although he still disliked the studying aspects of his classes, he actually began to enjoy Oobleck's writings and made it seem like less of a chore.
"Can't wait until this semester is over," Haiiden commented with a heavy sigh as the fatigue and mental strain began to tax him, but a pang of relief swelled in him as he realized that the semester was almost over. "The next one will be much simpler, since we will mostly focus on the missions in the middle of the semester, and then preparing for the combat tournament for the Vytal Festival."
"So, what are we to expect from this mission next semester?" Nora asked, her gleeful nature returned as she jumped from her seat towards the table, and leaned forward with her elbows on the desk as she scanned Haiiden's study material.
"Not much; like I said, you shadow a certified Huntsman or Huntress. It's pretty simple," Haiiden responded, his voice sounded monotone and disinterested from the fatigue. "You will also be choosing who it is you shadow."
"What exactly do these missions entail?" Ren asked as he leaned forward in his seat.
"Mostly killin' Grimm," Zed answered; last year's mission was his favorite part of the year, however, it had been spoiled by his friend leaving shortly thereafter.
Ren wondered for a bit at the idea of choosing whom to shadow for his team's mission for the second semester, but it was months away, and he had other things to focus on. However, it would stay on his mind for a while, as this sounded like an interesting mission to participate in. "So, how will the fact that you are considered first years affect your missions?"
"According to Ozpin, many of the first year rules don't apply to us. So I guess we won't have to shadow a Huntsman, and if anything, we already took our mission for the year. The mission in the middle of the second semester will be considered extra credit." Haiiden then thought about the idea of extra credit. It could especially help his team in case they were falling behind, or if they thought their grades weren't up to their personal standards. Again, he banished the thought from his mind and tried to re-focus on his studies; he enjoyed his time with JNPR but with the constant questions, he realized he couldn't study while they were continually querying him.
After a while though, Haiiden was finally able to grasp his studies, and began to write frantically as he read through Oobleck's fascinating dissertation.
"I think I am finally getting this," Haiiden said to himself as he turned to Zed. He saw that he had fallen asleep, his head on his book and was snoring quietly.
The next morning, Glynda was holding another sparring match during her class; her gaze quickly transitioned between her Scroll and the two students who were fighting, Byeli and Velvet, while teams CFVY and CNBR silently sat together as they watched their respective teammates fight. Everyone in the class wondered how it would be to pit two Faunus together in a match, but nobody really expected how boring it would be. The skills of both Byeli and Velvet were amazing, however, as their agility made it difficult to land a hit on one another, since they didn't commit to full-on attacks before they backed away from a potential counterattack. Instead, they traded light attacks, and while most of them missed, some were close calls, but they were mostly near misses and grazes.
"They seem pretty evenly matched," Celise commented, her attention fixated on the fight between the two Faunus. Unaware that Cardin of Team CRDL was sitting above them with his gaze fixated on the fight. His eyes narrowed and he was nostrils flared as he continued to watch the match.
Byeli recoiled, placing her foot down on the floor as a brace to keep herself from falling backwards. When her foot finally stopped, she pushed herself forward and wound her arm up to strike down at Velvet, who in turn went low and rolled under Byeli's attack and quickly turned to fire an ice lance at her. Byeli quickly turned around, and saw the attack coming at her, and she batted away the lance with her staff, but to her surprise, as she deflected the attack she realized that Velvet had already launched a second lance at her.
Byeli managed to dodge out of the way, but it was out of instinct, and had no coordination behind it as spectators saw her stagger as she tried to regain her balance. Glynda always taught her class that it was the first successful hit that would determine the outcome of battle, and although Byeli wasn't hit, she let her guard down enough for Velvet to take advantage of the situation. She raised her hands up while a cool mist formed around her hand and she struck it down onto the ground, and with lightning speed the arena floor was turned to ice. This sudden change in the arena made Byeli lose focus further and slipped in an attempt to correct her bearing; while she almost managed to catch herself, she still couldn't find a good grip on the floor and was practically skating along the surface.
Cardin laughed at this display, which caught the attention of both CFVY and CNBR, but they didn't pay attention for long, as the match was beginning to get exciting. As they watched, they realized that Byeli wasn't the only one skating along the floor as Velvet rushed in towards her, each kick of her foot allowed her to propel herself forward along the ice. Her agility and balance allowed her to avoid falling onto the floor, and she gained enough speed to jump and kick Byeli in the chest; the force of which propelled her back over a dozen feet, as her body slid along the crystalline surface of the floor. The air crackled as Velvet threw some Dust into the air, and Byeli looked up to see a roiling cloud above her, the air crackled above her and suddenly, lightning shot down at her.
Byeli just barely managed to dodge the attack with a one-handed cartwheel, the ground broke behind her where the lightning struck and again, Byeli slid along the ice. Before long, she struck her staff down into the white surface of the floor, and the rod managed to embed itself through the ice and even into the concrete base of the amphitheater's arena; her eyes widened in surprise as she finally stopped moving and froze as if she wondered what she had just done. However, this wasn't the first time she was in a situation like this; back when she was doing her shows, there were many times where she was almost killed by one of the Grimm that was brought in, and when she managed to win, the audience was none the wiser to her slip up, believing that her peril was all part of the act.
Her mind reverted back into the battle, and she quickly noticed that Velvet was charging at her again; to counter, she shifted her body weight and swung herself around her staff to dodge the attack and quickly broke off the top half and embedded it into the ground as well. Once Velvet turned around to face her opponent again, she saw that Byeli had already jumped up onto her rods and had balanced herself between them. Velvet prepared another Dust attack, this time, fire emanated from her palms and she was about to throw it, until Byeli rolled forward onto the rod nearest Velvet; she landed on her left palm, and spun and used her right foot to kick Velvet's hand, throwing off her aim and the fireball landed among the spectator stands.
Velvet caught herself, and went in to strike at Byeli, who dodged by spinning on the balls of her palm while she alternated hands in order to not twist it too much.
"Oh, this is getting fun," Celise commented with a grin as she watched two of the students in the stands patting out their smoldering clothes.
"Seems so," Coco replied while a grin fell on her face, as well as her own team as they watched Velvet. After a few more moments of the two Faunus trading blows and dodging each other's attacks, Glynda finally stepped into the arena and raised her hand.
"Enough," Glynda announced, much to the two combatants surprise, and they both looked up onto a giant screen that was hung above the arena which had their portraits on it. Underneath the portraits, were two bars that showed their Aura levels, and it was below thirty percent for both of the Faunus. "Good job,you two, however, I will call it a draw for now, as we are out of time, with no one clearly in the lead. Byeli, you'd do well to dodge Dust-based attacks in the future."
"Yes, Professor Goodwitch." Replied a very fatigued Byeli, as sweat beaded down her cheeks from beneath her messy hair. CFVY and CNBR descended from the stands to join their respective teammates; while CNBR cheered for their little Faunus, who managed to do well against a sophomore student, CFVY casually walked up to Velvet, and Coco put an arm around her and pulled her close.
"Velvet," Coco said with a bit of cheeriness and admonishment in her voice.
"I know, Coco," Velvet replied as she blushed slightly.
"Ms. Scarletina," Glynda said, as she suddenly approached in front of CFVY and focused her gaze on Velvet; who was almost intimidated by the gaze, but knew she had to keep eye contact. "I have seen you fight before, and although I understand going easy on the first years; you need to know that we do not coddle our students. They came here to fight, and we can't afford to pull our punches, as it were."
"I understand, Professor Goodwitch," Velvet replied and turned back to take a glance and couldn't help but smile at a now proud Team CNBR.
"Now that your critique is out of the way, I suggest you head to your next class," Glynda concluded but then her Scroll went off as she then received a call and she stepped out of the class. CFVY then nodded as Glynda turned to leave, while Velvet then had a thought, and she pulled Coco off towards CNBR.
"Guys," she said and pulled a camera from her bag just before stopping in front of CNBR. "Let's remember this moment!"
CNBR beamed as they looked at the camera and it snapped as the picture was taken. They all joined around Velvet to see how it turned out, only to see that the picture wasn't in frame, and neither was it focused. Everyone around Velvet all turned away and scratched the back of her heads, while Velvet kept her smile, although it wavered slightly. "Still working on my photography, guys."
"We know; send us a copy sometime," Celise joked and she turned with her team to leave the arena.
"Hold on, guys," Byeli said, as she sat down and wiped her face with a towel. "I need a few minutes to clean up and cool off."
" Ok, we will meet you at our next class, then," Celise yelled after her before she left with the rest of her team.
When Byeli was done with her break, she got up and began to make her way to her next class with a bit of a skip in her step; in her mind, she had just finished a sparring match that ended well. She couldn't help but smile, but either because she wasn't paying attention, or just wasn't looking straight as she ended up bumping into someone and only realized who it was until she looked up.
"Not bad, for an animal," Cardin commented with a grin, and he tilted his head at the tiny Faunus.
"Thank you," Byeli said with a smile; she knew that Cardin was trying to enrage her, but she had fought well, and she already proved herself. Cardin's grin wavered slightly, as this was not the reaction he had hoped to get from her, but he kept his temper nonetheless and he stalked towards her. Upon noticing his menacing demeanor, Byeli immediately began to feel uncomfortable but held her ground and tightened her fists.
"You know, I had thought about your little challenge regarding our rematch, and I thought I would take you up on it." He then reached behind him and pulled out his mace, then held it in both hands; the rest of team CRDL stood behind and grinned menacingly as Cardin pulled out his weapon. "Just you and me, next sparring class."
Byeli then remembered how she and Celise had challenged Cardin to a duel a while back. How instead, she fought Cardin's two other teammates: Dove and Russel, to prove to herself that she was worthy of attending Beacon. "You declined, remember? You had your chance, Cardin. I don't have anything to prove to you."
"Oh, really? Then I'll just have to challenge you now," Cardin said as he strode toward Byeli; his weapon in hand. It was at that moment that Byeli realized that she couldn't get out of this, as the rest of CRDL cut off any avenue of escape while they surrounded her on all sides. She was now alone with Cardin, and even though there were a couple of witnesses who could see what was happening, they were too afraid to do anything. Byeli drew her weapon and immediately stuck the rods together to make her signature staff and pointed one end at Cardin. Even though she had already beaten Russel and Dove in a duel before, but she had just gotten out of a sparring match, her aura levels were down, and most of her energy was drained.
Meanwhile, in the rest rooms outside of the amphitheater, Haiiden and Zed were using the facilities. Zed was finished and leaning against the wall next to the door while Haiiden washed his hands. "If only our facilities in the dorm were this clean; I could practically eat off that khazi."
Haiiden chuckled. "Didn't your mother teach you to wash your hand after using the 'khazi'?" he said as he turned off the sink and pulled a couple of paper towels from the dispenser.
"Naw, mate. But she did teach me not to piss on me fingers," he said with mirth in his voice and grinned.
The two left the rest room and heard a clanging coming from the amphitheater. Concerned, they looked at each other, and back at the door, which they tentatively opened and looked inside.
Inside the amphitheater, Cardin swung the mace horizontally at Byeli's head, which she dodged by rolling under the strike, but he had been watching her fight; he sensed a pattern and immediately turned and swung wide and to his right. She turned to block, and although both of their weapons made contact, his strength coupled with the weight of his weapon had sent her flying back into Dove. He did catch her, but he immediately threw her back into the fight, at which point she rolled once more as Cardin then swung at her head again. Panic then set in, as Byeli was spent after her fight with Velvet and she knew she couldn't commit to a full attack without it being turned against her somehow. The only option that was left to her was to play on the defensive, and hope to find an opening, or at least hold out until Professor Goodwitch returned.
Both of the spectators ran out of the amphitheater and past Zed and Haiiden, who were watching in horror from the entrance; the other students had fled mostly in fear, but to also look for the Professor as the ringing from both of Cardin's and Byeli's weapons clashing against each made the arena sound like a blacksmith's. Each hit was brutal, and it taxed Byeli further as her arms became heavier and heavier every time she put her arms up to block; and every time, Cardin would knock her staff out of the way to leave an opening. Out of desperation, Byeli swung her staff, while summoning every last ounce of her strength and guided his mace out of the way once she had blocked it; ifinally Byeli had seen an opening in his defenses, she took the end of her rod and struck him in the cheek.
Cardin staggered to his left, his eyes closed as he took in a deep breath, he had beaten this little Faunus before, but now, even when she was most vulnerable, he couldn't beat her. So with both hands he swung his mace again; this time, the heavy attack made Byeli lose grip of her weapon, and it was sent flying.
"Hold her," Cardin commanded and Sky tried to wrap his arms around her, while Dove and Russel each grabbed her arms; she immediately whipped her head back into his nose; she immediately turned and went low as she faced her the new enemy who joined into the fray, but while she was distracted, Cardin raised his mace over his shoulders and prepared himself, ready to swing down like a construction worker, driving a hammer down onto a spike. At that moment, Cardin hesitated as sparks from the arena floor distracted him, his swing a split second too late as Haiiden rolled back up and used the momentum to bring up his sword to deflect Cardin's attack.
Russel then jumped in after letting go of Byeli's arm, but he stepped too far forward, and Haiiden slammed him foot down on the other man's boot and brought his gauntlet into his nose, breaking it as blood sprayed all over the floor. Zed jumped into the fray as well, causing Dove and Sky to back away from Byeli as they took defensive positions, which was exactly what Zed wanted, and he stood protectively between Byeli and her attackers. Haiiden then took this moment of pause, and when Cardin wasn't paying attention, he pressed the tip of his sword to Cardin's chest.
"Let me guess: 'This isn't our business', right?" Haiiden asked, sarcastically.
"Yeah, yeah, we've heard that one before," Zed finished.
"You know, I always wanted to try my hand against you," Cardin remarked, and with a grin, he lowered his weapon which Haiiden eyed before he looked back up at Cardin.
"Likewise," Haiiden replied, nonchalantly, as he remembered how Cardin had greeted him at the start of the year. If it were any other situation, Haiiden would have had fun in a sparring duel with Cardin, however, the fact that he was again tormenting another student has made his mood rather sour. "If you ask me, Zed went easy on you, especially after what you did the Jaune Arc. Today, I'll remedy that oversight."
Haiiden heard a shuffle behind him, so in response, he shifted his body weight to quickly spin to the right, and with a quick twirl of his sword, he swung right as well, and deflected Russel's attack; he then quickly leaned back just a split after, narrowly dodging an attack from Cardin, as the head of his mace passed over his face. In order to give himself some room to think, with quick footwork as if he danced, Haiiden quickly backed away from his attackers, deflecting each hit as it came.
Zed, fully armed, managed to deflect an attack as the edge of his karambit caught Dove's sword, and guided it out of the way as he also leaned to the side. Although they weren't murderers in any respect, Zed could feel the tension in the air as CRDL was clearly out for blood. He then jumped back as Sky then thrust his halberd at Zed upon seeing a potential opening. Distance was Sky's weakness, if he could at least stay within arm's length, then Sky couldn't use his halberd correctly; so Zed grabbed the shaft of Sky's weapon, and pulled him towards himself as he punched him on the bridge of the nose; Sky then staggered back. After a split, Zed preemptively pulled his arm back again, and with his karambit in hand, deflected Dove's counter. Sparks flew as both of their blades scraped against each other, and Zed pushed him away and again, went to attack Sky as he perceived him to be the biggest threat.
Haiiden twirled his blade in front of him to throw off his two opponents as they both charged at him; Cardin raised his arms and swung down and to the left at Haiiden, who then deflected it by swinging his sword to the right and left a wide gap in Cardin's defenses. Cardin then let out a growl of frustration, as tried to swing again to counter, but was swiftly kicked to the ground by Haiiden, but in doing so, he left himself open for an attack from his left by Russel. Russel went in, daggers in both hands, and went to attack for Haiiden's exposed left side; but to his surprise, Haiiden twirled his sword in the air and let go, only to suddenly catch it with his left arm and he swung at Russel and forced him to abandon the attack and to go on the defense. For added measure, Haiiden used his heel and kicked Cardin in the head, knocking him to the ground, before switching his attention fully onto Russel while Cardin got up.
Byeli noticed how this time, Zed's eyes weren't orange, if anything, she would have guessed that he was having fun during this fight; although his face didn't betray that. Sky managed to get the distance that he needed to make use of his halberd, and began to thrust at Zed relentlessly. While Zed did manage to quickly lean back and out of danger, he realized that he couldn't divert his attention away, in case Sky were to land a lucky hit. At that moment, Dove rushed in to attack, and Zed considered the situation he was in and out of sheer luck, he moved out of the way and Dove ran into Sky's attacks; upon noticing, Sky immediately abandoned the attack in order to not hurt his teammate.
"They don't have any synergy; there is no coordination in their attacks as a team," Zed realized and he brought his elbow down onto the head of Sky's halberd and, coupled with Sky's weight, he lost his balance, and the head of the halberd embedded itself onto the arena floor. Dove hesitated for a moment as he saw that his teammate was now weaponless, but then snapped back to attention as he realized Zed had was now charging him. Forced on the defensive, Dove instead narrowly blocked every attack that Zed threw at him with his karambit. Like a double edged sword, it took precision to block something as large as a sword with something as small as a karambit, but it also took coordination to block a karambit with a sword as well. Attacks came from left and right, up and down, which left Dove guessing where the next strike would come from, until finally he slipped up, and Zed thrusted his fist into the bridge of Dove's nose, bloodying it, and leaving him on the floor as he then reverted his attention back to Sky.
Sky was trying to remove his halberd from off the arena floor, when he noticed Zed charging at him head on; he quickly pulled back and readied his fists for a head on attack but instead, Zed ran up the length of the halberds shaft while using his Faunus nimbleness to make sure it didn't budge. Once he reached the end of the shaft, he jumped off, and flipped back in the air and twisted around while in flight before landing in a crouch on Sky's shoulders. With Sky's head between his legs, Zed proceeded to punch him repeatedly in the face, with quick succession, until Sky was down for the count.
Haiiden already began to feel the fatigue set in, he had been mostly on the defensive after Cardin got back up, his attacks got heavier and his swings wild and unpredictable. Coupled with Russel's quick attacks with his daggers, and the fact that he stayed up all night studying, had put him in a serious disadvantage. Cardin then swung down at him, but managed to block with his gauntlet, which still held his sword, and with a grin, Haiiden dropped his blade into his open right hand and swung back to block an attack from behind by Russel.
"Zed, really? During a fight?" Byeli asked with a sheepish smile as Zed began to flirt with her.
"Why not? Haiiden can handle this," Zed said with a reassuring smile.
Haiiden was left in a losing situation, either he stayed in a stalemate that wouldn't last long as he began to lose strength from holding back the combined might of Russel and Cardin, or he would attempt to knock one back and alternate his attention between the two. It was worth a shot in his mind, so he pushed Russel away, unaware that he didn't add enough force behind the shove before he turned his attention to Cardin. He kneed Cardin in the stomach and forced him to the ground, but at that moment, he felt a sharp pain in his side and he let out yelp that echoed in the arena.
The first successful strike was what determined the outcome of a battle, it allowed one to guess and manipulate their opponent's movements; that was what Glynda Goodwitch had taught them. Zed immediately turned around, his eyes widened in horror as he saw that Russel's dagger had plunged into Haiiden's side. Out of desperation, and adrenaline rush, Haiiden then moved his left arm back into Russel's stomach but then Cardin grabbed him by his shawl and lifted him into the air. Haiiden, however, flipped his sword so that he held the blade in his head and clubbed Cardin in the head with the cross guard; as he fell to the floor, Haiiden staggered on his feet as he tried to stay balanced. At that moment, Russel went in to attack Haiiden again and he moved his sword in to block the first dagger, then rolled inward to elbow Russel with his gauntlet again.
His motions were now more choreographed, and easy to guess, as Russel caught his arm and plunged his second dagger into the slit in his gauntlet. Zed's eyes flared with anger, emanating an orange glow as he slowly approached the battle; first it was a simple trudge forward, until it exploded to a full on charge as he yelled out and jumped, ready to attack his opponent from behind. However, a wave of air repulsed in the middle of Haiiden's position, and Cardin, Russel, and as well as Zed, were launched away from him.
"That's enough!" Ordered Professor Goodwitch, as another student followed behind her, whom Zed recognized was one of the spectators who went to call for help. Haiiden then fell to the floor as he held his side which still had Russel's dagger inside of him.
"Mate!" Zed yelled and tried to rush to his friend's aid, before he was cut off by Glynda, as well as a pair of the schools medical staff who came in with a stretcher.
"Enough, Mr. Ignis!" Glynda ordered.
"But - " Zed said frantically, his eyes turned back to their normal green, but instead were filled with fear.
"The school's medical staff will see to him. You can see him after, but in the meantime we will get to the bottom of this. Student's testimonies, as well as camera footage will allow us to know what happened, and we will administer proper punishments," Glynda finished and she snapped at the medical staff before she turned her attention to Team CRDL.
"As for you! CRDL! Turn in your weapons, and return to your dorm! I will escort you to the Headmaster's office personally." She finished, and stood ready, and withdrew her riding crop from its holster against the side of her calf and wielded it at the group, in case either of the students tried anything.
Zed watched as the medical staff attempted to put Haiiden onto the stretcher, but he refused to lie still as he insisted it was fine. It wasn't until Glynda came and struck him with the riding crop, did he finally relent, and lay on the stretcher. Before long, all of Team CRDL trudged through the arena to its exit, but then Haiiden called out to Russel suddenly.
"You forgot this," Haiiden said through his teeth as he pulled out the blade that was in his side and threw it at him. He caught it, and glared at him fiercely as he waited for the second one; the medical staff urged Haiiden not to move at first, but he ignored them and with a heave, he pulled out the second dagger from his gauntlet and threw it towards Russel again. After he caught it, he began to scan the daggers but then he recoiled with surprise as he realized that the first blade had blood on it, and was further surprised to not see any on the second one.
"How is he, nurse?" Ozpin asked as he stepped into the school's infirmary, but not before moving out of the way to allow Oobleck and Port to leave the infirmary. Although he did come in for one specific patient, he still made an effort to look at each individual student, and gave them ample attention before moving on to the next.
"Which one, Headmaster?" the nurse asked with a clipboard in hand, having scanned each male name to pinpoint to whom he was referring; especially since quite a few had been brought in.
"You know which one," Ozpin said with a slight chuckle before he stopped in front of Haiiden's bed. To his side, Zed was sitting anxiously and twiddling his thumbs in front of him.
"He will be fine," the nurse stated and bowed before she turned to leave the Headmaster alone.
"Always the one for theatrics and drama, aren't you, Haiiden?" Ozpin commented and sipped from his cup, which seemed fresh from the subtle steam that it emitted.
"Well, Cardin was bullying again, someone had to stop him," Haiiden retorted.
"Of course, as we must look out for each other; I am not admonishing you for what you did," Ozpin replied and his facial expression softened.
"Almost feels like it," Haiiden whispered to himself and turned away.
"Are you going to expel CRDL?" Zed joined in, his fists tightened now, but he didn't look up from Haiiden's bedside.
"There was a fight, and someone took it too far; I see no need to expel anyone, however, there will be some disciplinary action," Ozpin answered.
"They attacked Byeli, and stabbed Haiiden!" Zed knocked his chair over as he suddenly stood up.
"Remember who it is you are speaking to," said Glynda suddenly as she entered the infirmary and kept her gaze on Zed as she stalked over to Ozpin, and stood at his side.
"It's alright, Glynda. His reaction is understandable. You two always fought together, and often into fought when the odds were clearly against you," Ozpin pointed out, and for a moment Zed calmed down, and his grin appeared again.
"Well yeah, just me and Haiiden all the way," Zed commented.
"What about your other teammates?" Ozpin asked in jest.
"Them too," Haiiden added.
"If I may ask, where were they in all of this?" Ozpin then asked with a raised brow.
"Oh, Vaughn contracted some kind of bug, and stayed back at the dorm, while Cecilia took care of him," Haiiden answered, his head held high as he accounted for his teammates.
"Ah, and how do you feel everything is going on with your team?" Ozpin continued to ask, and it felt for a moment that Haiiden was being interrogated.
"Eh, it's alright I guess, not exactly sure how to describe the team dynamic, but we manage," Haiiden answered.
"I see; I ask since Cecilia and Vaughn always have each other's back, as brother and sister. From what I was told, Zed was… distracted, and left you to fight two on your own," Ozpin pointed out, however, to him it was just a simple question, while Zed took it as an accusation.
"Mate, I said I was sorry," Zed immediately replied and turned to Haiiden.
"I'm used to it by now, I really don't mind," Haiiden reassured him. "It's not as bad as it seems. The only reason why I am here is that the nurse wants to make sure I will be fine. Honestly, the pain is already gone."
"No doubt because of your Aura," Professor Goodwitch commented.
"Well, if everything is really alright, then I guess we have nothing more to discuss; rest easy, Haiiden, once you are well, it's back to your classes," Ozpin said with a hint of mirth before he turned to leave the infirmary, but as he left, Zed continued to hold his head down, and couldn't look up at Haiiden.
"Zed, I said it was fine, really, if anything, I am to blame. I was tired, and thought I could take on both," Haiiden got up with a grunt so that he sat on his bed, all while leaning back on the headboard to brace himself.
"You always had my back, and yet when you needed me, I wasn't there," Zed said softly to the point where Haiiden almost didn't hear.
"Well, it's the 'Zed' I know. If I didn't have fun every once in a while, then I wouldn't hang out with you," Haiiden said, this time with a genuine chuckle and hoped it would be enough to cheer him up. For a moment it did, but he still held his head down, at least until another person came in through the door, or rather 'persons'.
"Oh come on, it doesn't look that bad," commented Coco as she eyed Haiiden from top to bottom. "Nothing you never received before in the field, right?"
"It honestly doesn't feel as bad either; Doctor says I should be able to leave in a few days," Haiiden replied, pulling the second volume of Oobleck's dissertation, that had been brought for him, into his lap. "Besides, it will give me some time to study without interruption."
"What did Headmaster Ozpin say about what they will do with CRDL?" Velvet asked.
"They will not expel them," Zed said with a slight hiss in his voice.
"Ah, whatever. They're all talk anyway," Coco responded, which Zed responded with a smile but then noticed movement behind them as someone peered through the door to the infirmary.
"Hold on guys," Zed said before he got up and walked out of the infirmary. Once he closed the door, he turned around to face the little Faunus girl, Byeli.
"Hey. How is he?" Byeli asked.
"Haiiden? He's a trooper; trust me, he's had worse," Zed said with a grin while he popped out his fox ears and wiggled them at her, which made her giggle. They both stood in silence in front of each other for a moment, and Zed began to scratch the back of his head as he thought of what to say. "Hey, I wanted to ask if you'd like to go out for some tea some time; I know a nice little place in Little Menagerie."
"Zed, are you asking me out?" Byeli asked as her eyes widened.
"Well, yeah," Zed answered, but his grin wavered slightly as Byeli stared at him, intensely.
"Do you always ask out girls when your friend is in the infirmary?" Byeli finally asked, and couldn't help but laugh.
"That's nothing. Once, I chatted up a couple of birds in an alley while he fought against four guys …"
(AN: Both "samsara" and "ashram" are Sanskrit words with meanings in both Buddhism and Hinduism. However, this does not break the color rule, as a lot of people don't know that "samsara" is also a type a extremely high quality porcelain that is translucent. Samsara's color is demonstrated in her porcelain skin.)