A/N: Okay so I'm gonna level with you guys about what's going on. I was hoping to get everything in order before I uploaded this chapter, but like always, life just likes to kick you when you're down and by "Life," I'm mean my bad habits which are draining me of my energy to write; however, this DOES NOT mean I'm discontinuing this story, I'm just readjusting its upload schedule. And for the record, these past few uploads were delayed on the schedule. Anyways, so instead of returning to my usual uploads of every other weekend, I'm going to change it to a monthly upload of one or two chapters at least, three if I'm feeling generous. So what does this mean for the next chapter? It means expect another chapter between August 27th and August 31st. I deeply apologize for the sporadic uploads, I'm doing my best to find a pace I'm comfortable with and so that it doesn't make my chapters feel rushed.
Also, this chapter is going to be slower and shorter because it mainly focuses on the characters and has little to no action, but you guys already knew that.
Recent Update log:
8/31/17 - A few fixes to the continuity of (my version of) Xenoverse because I fucked up... again. Minor grammar fixes as well.
8/16/18 - minor fixes and opening sequence added.
12/22/21 - Grammarly overhaul and removal of unnecessary bloat
Alright, that about wraps up everything I wanted to say, I hope you guys enjoy the chapter!
Disclaimer: I own nothing except my OCs, plotline, and concepts for the story. The rights of both RWBY and anything Dragon Ball (Z, GT, Super) related, including the music that I suggest listening to, go to their respective owners, and so on.
Chapter 6: Tensions within RWBY! The Badge and the Burden
Beacon Academy, Vale
It was 4 am when Manami woke up, and no she was not having a nightmare… at least not this time. She got out of bed, changed from her plain blue tank top and white pajama pants into her weighted training gi, grabbed capsule 1, and made it to the big open area near the landing pad within the next 5 minutes. Once she was certain that there was ample room, she activated the capsule and tossed it away from her; the capsule popped into a plume of smoke before it vanished and revealed the capsule ship, a replica of the spaceship Goku used to fly to Namek. She entered the ship and soon began training under increased gravity at her latest setting… x1000000 normal gravity; in truth, she lied about training under x1000 normal gravity simply because she didn't want to scare her family with how strong she really is without going Super Saiyan; after all, stories can be vague about someone's true strength. Anyways, this routine is because of 4 years of discipline ingrained into her system; rising early in the morning to train for about two or three hours in the heavy-duty Gravity Chamber, then having some R&R before finally going about on her Time Patrol duties. This time was not much different, training early in the morning in a heavy-duty Gravity Chamber then getting a half hour or so of R&R anyways. The only thing that was different was getting ready for classes after resting for a good while.
The three hours Manami had for training flew by very quickly; she had gotten used to training under x1000000 G's in 2 hours, granted all her muscles were very sore but nothing a Senzu bean couldn't fix and she practically had a limitless supply thanks to Elder Kai and Chronoa. The remaining hour after that, Manami pushed herself to the limit, moving as she normally would in a combat situation with the help of the training drones built into the ship and would tank her own Ki blasts. Soon a buzzer went off, signaling that the timer built into the ship's Gravity Generator had reached zero and was shutting it down. Once the generator was shut down, Manami quickly ate another Senzu bean made her way to the ship's exit, but what she found waiting outside was not what she had expected.
"Miss Aoi," Ozpin Greeted.
"Professor Ozpin, to what do I owe this pleasure?" Manami returned.
"I was just curious as to what this is exactly. I was going on about my business in my office when I looked out the window and saw this... large object, so I decided to investigate. I merely arrived about five minutes ago when I heard loud noises coming from inside," The headmaster replied before asking "May I ask what exactly is this… object and what were those noises?"
"This is a Capsule Corp. Space Ship, it's loaded with your basic everyday needs and a Gravity Generator which creates artificial gravity; interestingly enough, the Gravity Generator can be used for training, which brings us to your second question, the noises were me training," The Saiyan Huntress happily answered.
"Impressive that you have a space-faring vessel but I am curious as to why the company brand is called 'Capsule Corp.'?" Ozpin asked.
Manami giggled a bit before answering, "It's better if I just showed you."
She then walked over to a panel on the ship's exterior; upon opening it, Manami revealed a button and then pressed it. Suddenly the large spaceship vanished in a plume of smoke; once the smoke cleared, in the ship's place was a small capsule, which Manami picked up and showed it to a visibly dumbfounded Ozpin.
"That's why it's called Capsule Corp. because they developed technology that allows virtually anything to be stored into a tiny capsule."
"I see, very impressive technology indeed."
"Yes, which is why I would ask you to never speak of this technology, especially not to the greedy snobs in Atlas, because if I'm right, they will reverse engineer this tech in their labs, they will eventually unveil it to the public, and the tech will eventually get stolen…" Manami began.
"…And will end up in the hands of those who would have ill intentions, like the White Fang, allowing them to smuggle anything anywhere, giving them the means to cause maximum damage in any location. Very well, Miss Aoi, you have my word that no one will know of this unless you deem it to be necessary," Ozpin finished.
"Thank you, now if you'll excuse me, I have to get ready for classes. See you, Professor."
Once again Manami vanished, leaving the headmaster alone near the landing pads.
"Well, it seems Glynda was right about Miss Aoi vanishing into thin air many times in our future. Oh well, we'll probably get used to it pretty soon."
Not a minute later and Manami was back in her room. She started preparing herself for her school day; the academy uniform was laid out and school supplies were ready. Long story short, Manami's morning was surprisingly quiet, no one had questions that first morning, no one talked to her during her small breakfast in the cafeteria (yes, she ate a breakfast proportional to a normal human's despite the fact she ate Senzu beans earlier; she needs to curb her eating habits because she would clean out the school's budget otherwise), no one knocked on her door after she returned to her dorm to decorate it the way she wanted. Surprisingly no one from JNPR, and neither Blake nor Weiss, had shown up to ask about her abilities; all in all, nothing worth noting-
*TWEEEEEEEEEEEEET!*
"What the hell!?" Manami voiced before facepalming at the realization of the noise's source, "Damn it, Ruby."
Manami was glad to get a room that was next door from Teams RWBY and JNPR's rooms but she is now irritated that Ruby still wakes people up rudely with that whistle of hers; seriously, didn't anyone teach Ruby anything while she was away at Toki Toki and Conton City? She looked at the clock to see that it was 8 am exactly which gave her thirty minutes to decorate her room and five to ten minutes to do a final check on her school supplies. What? She likes to be prepared. Anyways, fast forward about thirty minutes and her newly decorated room was very simple. The window had simple blue curtains and facing the window, the bed was on the right and her desk was on left, the desk itself had a desk lamp and her modified scouter, one wall had multiple bookshelves that were filled with books that she needs and likes making her collection rival even Blake's and the other wall was lined with photos of her families: half the photos were of her family on Remnant and the other half were of her family in Conton City.
Manami looked through her photos on the wall and her eyes fell upon two that mattered most to her. One photo was of her, Yang, Ruby, Qrow, Taiyang, and their favorite corgi Zwei during the past three months while the other was of her, Akane, Chronoa, Tokitoki, Trunks, Elder Kai, even Goku, Whis, and Lord Beerus during the celebration of a new timeline. She smiled as she looked one last look at the latter and thought, "I miss you guys. I hope I'll be able to see you again one day."
After doing one final check of her supplies, Manami headed to her first class of the day which was "Grimm 101" with Professor Port. She arrived about ten minutes early to find the classroom nearly empty with a few students already in their seats while a slightly overweight man with grey hair and mustache, wearing a double-breasted burgundy suit with gold piping and buttons, black pants, and olive shoes was finishing putting up pictures and information of several Grimm sub-species. Manami took a seat in the center back on the professor's right, took out a notebook and a pencil, and started taking notes on the Grimm; she may have killed a few Grimm in the past, but Manami still doesn't know much and it's been four years since she encountered one, well a normal one anyway. Once she was done she looked up to see that the class is nearly filled with 8 spots remaining before looking at the clock to see it was 8:58 am. Suddenly the door slammed open with Teams RWBY and JNPR entering out of breath and looking like they actually ran to class last minute. Once everyone was in their seats the class had finally started.
"Monsters! Demons… Prowlers of the Night. Yes, the creatures of Grimm have many names. But I merely refer to them as prey," Professor Port began.
The class said nothing at the professor's joke and Manami merely shook her head at the attempt. She had to admit, even Yang's puns were better than that.
"Uhh, and shall too, upon graduating this prestigious academy. Now as I was saying, Vale, as well as the other three kingdoms, are safe havens in an otherwise treacherous world. Our planet is teeming with creatures that would love nothing more than to tear you to pieces. And that's where we come in. Huntsman! Huntresses…" Port said while clicking his tongue and winking at Yang at that last part.
Manami caught this and her ire was immediately ignited; she had enough perverted old men in her life and right now she really is hoping what Port did was just a one-time thing.
"Individuals who have sworn to protect those who cannot protect themselves," Port continued, "'From what?' you ask? Why… the very world!"
"Eyyy-yeah!" a student suddenly yelled out; Teams RWBY and JNPR looked back to see that student while Manami looked to her lower left. It took a second for the boy to realize the attention he garnered before sitting back down in embarrassment and the class continued onward.
Port continued once more, "That is what you are training to become. But first, a story. A tale of a young, handsome man. Me."
It was it this point Manami groaned silently while somewhat listening to the story, "Great, it was bad enough that I had to listen to the old man and his ego back at the Time Nest and now I have to go through something similar in this class; it's a good thing that Port's not egotistical like the old man otherwise I would drown him out completely."
The Saiyan of Remnant glanced at Team RWBY and what she saw made her disappointed. Ruby drew a picture of the professor except he was very bloated, had a few squiggly lines to indicate that he smells, and was titled "Professor Poop." This made both Ruby and Yang laugh a bit too loudly as Professor Port cleared his throat to get their attention.
"In the end, the Beowolf was no match for my sheer tenacity. And I returned to my village with the beast in captivity and my head held high. Celebrated, as a hero," Port concluded his story before bowing and added, "The moral of this story?"
As Port continued the class, Manami noticed Weiss getting angrier and angrier at Ruby's actions
"A true huntsman must be honorable." Ruby was balancing an apple on top of a book which was balanced on a pencil which was held up by her index finger while making a silly face; Manami didn't know whether to be disappointed with her sister's antics or be impressed that her sister can balance all of that with one finger, so she just kept a stoic face the whole time.
"A true huntsman must be dependable." This time Ruby was pretending to be asleep… really?
"A true huntsman must be strategic… well-educated… and wise!" Now Ruby was picking her nose… again, what did her family teach her? Especially Tai and uncle Qrow… on second thought, that last part already answered Manami's question. As her thoughts returned to the matter at hand, Manami saw that the Ice Queen was boiling in rage from her partner's actions.
Professor Port finally asked, "So, who among you believes themselves to be the embodiment of these traits?"
What happened next made Manami very disappointed; Weiss raised her hand and yelled out, "I do sir!"
Port saw this and replied, "Well then let's find out."
The professor turned his head to his right and the class followed his gaze to find a cage… wait how did that get there? And is that cage shaking?
Port announced, "Step forward, and face your opponent."
A few minutes later, Weiss was in her combat attire, with Myrtenaster drawn, in front of the class to face what was in the cage.
"Go, Weiss!" Yang shouted.
"Fight well!" Blake cheered as she waved a flag… wait, where did she get that?
"Yeah, represent Team RWBY!" Ruby added.
Weiss turned to her partner and scolded her, "Ruby, I'm trying to focus!"
Manami narrowed her eyes at that, "What's going on with you Weiss? Why berate my younger sister and not Blake or Yang?"
Everyone's attention was back on the cage as Professor Port announced, "Alright. Let the match, begin!"
Port then broke the lock on the cage, allowing the door to fall to the floor and reveal a Boarbatusk inside. It growled at Weiss and then charged at her, but Weiss was quick to sidestep the attack and slash at it. Unfortunately, her rapier's blade just bounced off. As the Grimm turned around to face her, Port commented, "Haha, wasn't expecting that were you?"
"Hang in there Weiss!" Ruby shouted.
Weiss on the other hand she charged the Boarbatusk only to have Myrtenaster stuck in between its… well, tusks.
Port commented, "Bold, new approach. I like it!"
Weiss heard her partner cheer, "Come on Weiss, show it who's boss!"
Said Ice Queen was about to reprimand Ruby, but the second she took her focus off the Boarbatusk was the second she was disarmed. Myrtenaster was tossed to the other side of the room and Weiss was knocked back. Manami continued taking mental notes as she watched, "Too much anger is driving Weiss's actions right now, and it all seems to be related to Ruby…"
Meanwhile, Weiss managed to get around the Grimm to retrieve Myrtenaster when Ruby gave some advice, "Weiss, go for its belly! There's no armor underneath-"
"Stop telling me what to do!" Weiss shouted angrily.
To say Manami was shocked, disappointed, and a bit angry is an understatement. From what she saw, Weiss's anger seemed to be unprovoked at first but something related to Ruby was causing it; even though she is younger, Ruby's earlier actions are childish and that's fine to some extent because in some cases, such as having fun and joking around with friends, it's funny and cute but constant immaturity is unacceptable. However, Weiss's anger couldn't be caused just by the young Rose's antics alone; Manami had a feeling what it is but wouldn't jump to conclusions just yet, not without confirming the source. As the "match" ended with Weiss impaling the Boarbatusk in the belly, the class finally ended and everyone left with Manami being the last one. She exited the classroom to see Ozpin watching the end of Ruby and Weiss's "talk."
"…I thought you believed in acting as a team," Ruby said.
"Not a team led by you. I've studied and trained, and quite frankly I deserve better," Weiss rebutted then turned around and stated, "Ozpin made a mistake."
As Weiss left after she said that, Ozpin walked up to Ruby to guide her with this problem while the Saiyan of Remnant used instant transmission to discreetly catch up to the Ice Queen. Manami surprised the Schnee heiress for the second time when she materialized in front of Weiss, who was now a bit scared realizing that Manami had heard their… conversation.
"I need to talk to you Weiss," Manami announced in a monotonous, yet serious way.
Weiss was now very nervous because when a person says that they need to talk in a serious and singular tone, it's very important and they weren't messing around; it doesn't help when that person is the older sister of someone you yelled at. She gulped and nodded at the new student counselor's request; the latter of which had led Weiss to a balcony overlooking Beacon's commons area for a more private talk between student and counselor.
"Ah, sunsets," Manami stated as she leaned on the railing then asked, "Beautiful, aren't they? In a calm, peaceful way?"
Weiss was taken aback by her calm question, but looked at the sunset nonetheless; it was moments like these that the heiress never put much thought into, but even she had to admit, it was a nice and peaceful sight to behold. Weiss gave a light smile as she said, "Indeed it is…"
"So, Weiss, why are you so angry at my younger sister?" Manami asked in a calm, professional manner.
Knowing she was possibly on thin ice, she answered honestly yet respectfully, "Ruby's been acting so childish, not just now but also back in the forest yesterday, yet she was chosen to be a leader. I believe that Professor Ozpin has made a mistake and that I should have been the leader of Team RWBY."
"I knew it… and here I thought I would stop being right all the time," Manami thought then turned to the heiress and said, "Really? Forgive my bluntness Weiss, but from what I've seen from you are nothing but the actions of a spoiled brat."
"Excuse me!?" Weiss's pride and anger were now speaking, "I've studied and trained to get where I am and have shown nothing but the exceptional, yet I'm not fit to be leader!?"
"No, you are not, Weiss. Because, one, you are just proving my point by yelling at me out of anger; two, what you displayed back in the classroom was not exceptional skill, but recklessness; three, Ruby gave you the advice to help you in that fight, advice that you took but did not thank her for it; four, she was exceptional enough to be moved two years ahead by Professor Ozpin himself; five, she came up with the plan to kill the Nevermore and lead you to victory against it; and finally, six, it has only been a day since initiation, it's too soon to say that a mistake was made," Manami calmly rebutted.
Weiss calmed down a bit after hearing her counselor's points, not by much, but just enough to listen to reason. Manami pinched the bridge of her nose before continuing, "Look Weiss, it is true that Ruby is acting immature right now, and as her sister, I plan to correct that very soon but remember she is two years younger than us. I suggest that you give this team arrangement a bit more time; I believe that it will work out for the better."
The Schnee heiress was now calm enough to ask, "And how do you know this?"
The Saiyan smiled as she answered, "Because I went through the same exact thing 4 years ago."
This info bomb caught Weiss off guard, "What!? How!?"
"Long story short, I was asked to help protect a hidden city when I was 13, and the leader of the team I was on had acted similarly to Ruby when I first met her. I was thinking the same way you are right now, but what was different is that I kept my thoughts to myself and honestly I'm glad I did."
"Why?"
"Because the team arrangement I had worked out so much that all the major threats to the city were eliminated and I made friends and memories that mean more to me than any amount of money and jewels ever will."
Manami stepped closer to Weiss and put her left hand on Weiss's shoulder as she said, "Weiss, all I'm saying is you should give her a chance to show that she could be a great leader. While you're at it, use the skills you learned to help and guide her; Ruby may be a prodigy but she still has a lot to learn, and so do you. After all, in order to lead, one must first learn to follow…"
At last, Weiss was beginning to understand; she looked back on her own actions and compared them to Ruby's. While most of her actions seemed childish, Ruby had shown more qualities as a leader in the time of need; Weiss on the other hand had only shown individual skill. She looked up to Manami and sighed, "I'll give her the chance she deserves; I have been nothing but a nuisance and I need to fix that."
Manami smiled as turned to leave, "That's all I ask Weiss."
However, before she could leave, Weiss finally popped the question, "Before you leave, can you tell me what was that you did yesterday against that Geist and what did you mean you protected a city 4 years ago?"
The Saiyan stopped in her tracks, she knew this was coming but now was not the right time to explain. She turned back to Weiss with a sad smile and answered, "What I did yesterday was a story in of itself and your second question goes hand in hand with the first; it would take too long to explain right now and I would prefer explaining to both your team and Team JNPR all at once. Besides I'm not comfortable telling what happened to someone I meet two days ago. Sorry Weiss, but you're going to have to wait a bit longer before you hear my story."
Weiss nodded, seeing her counselor's smile told it all. It was very likely a long story and a taxing one at that, one that is very personal. Besides that, the Schnee heiress had something to do as well. Manami finally left to go to her dorm leaving Weiss alone on the balcony. Later that same night, Manami left her door open just by a tiny crack, but it was enough for her Ki-enhanced hearing to listen in on Weiss's apology.
"Just know, that I am going to be the best teammate you'll ever have," Weiss said.
Ruby's Saiyan sister smiled as she shut her own door to prepare for bed and thought, "Yes you are, Weiss. Yes, you are."
A/N: Okay not much else to say here. Leave a review of what you guys thought and point out anything that that needs improvement; every constructive review helps me build up this story. See guys at the end of the month for another chapter!
Next Chapter: A Leader's Secret! Jaunedice.