Yo again! Longer no time no see, right! Yeah, my bad. I couldn't just get this done in one sitting. Rather than writing out thousands of words, I was doing hundreds. Was really pissing me off, but I finished! I also got you guys a long chapter as an apology. Fun fact: The word count excluding the author's notes is actually 8008. I'm amazing right! Moving on, it's showtime!
Here at chapter four, you find a door! Behind it is the core, the core of the story's lore!
"Did you hear about Silva last week?"
"Bro, you should've been there! The party was crazy, man!"
"Is the weekend already over? Ugh. I want to KMS!"
The Beacon academy cafeteria. It was a huge room that held long wooden tables and benches that gave it a more homely feeling which contrasted the extravagant chandeliers providing ambient lighting and the tall windows on each wall. Not to mention the top of the line modern stalls serving close to gourmet food. Truly Beacon was the best of the best. Quality food wasn't the only thing found here though.
It was also a grand hub of gossip and chatter that was constantly populated and just as full of noise. If somebody wanted to know the latest rumors running about, then they would just need to come here. Overhearing her classmates chatting about while she ate her meal was a normal occurrence for Weiss. Earlier in the year she would've complained to no end of the unbearable racket, but like other aspects of her school life, she learned how to deal with the negatives.
Weiss took a glance over at the three girls she was currently eating dinner with.
A loud squeal of excitement cried out. "Yang! I can't get over how totally badass you were today!"
"I know. I really showed my stuff today huh." She said. Weiss could feel her ego coming out from her voice.
"Yeah! That move you did with your gauntlets was so awesome, especially the part where you back flipped and got both Blake and her clone mid flip at the same time when she tried to pincer you!"
The members of the team that she had been part of for almost a year.
"Ruby, I think you're forgetting that she knocked you straight out of the arena afterwards when you tried to do your 'Super Secret Stealthy Sneak Attack From The Back.' Also you don't have to name all your attacks, you know that?"
"Blaaaake!" A whine echoed out. "You didn't have to bring that up! She'll never let that go now!"
"What? How my absolutely adorable dork of a sister still names her attacks since she was twelve or how quick I knocked you out in our free for all spar?" Now Weiss could feel it suffocating her from how full it she was.
"See Blake, look at what you did." Now she was grumbling. "It was so much better when everyone forgot that I went out first."
The girls she could call her friends and could place her faith and complete trust in.
"Geez sis, no need to be so dramatic. At least you did better than our resident Ice Queen here. You know, with her little 'slip' and all."
Breathe. These were the people who she had fought, laughed, and suffered with during their first year here at Beacon.
"Oh yeah! You're right Yang, I mean can you imagine how it would feel to get beaten like that? I'm pretty sure I'd die from embarrassment."
The ones she had valiantly battled the White Fang with in order to stop their heinous and dastardly schemes.
"Right? I mean, if it happened to me, I would've been feeling pretty pathetic and clumsy like a chihuahua trying to ice skate if all it took to take a skilled Huntress like me out was a-"
"Enough Xiao Long!" Weiss erupted with a fierce shout.
That was it! This kind of slander could not be allowed to continue any longer! She had her frostiest glare, one that promised unimaginable pain on those that dared to anger or oppose her, set on that uncouth, belligerent, arrogant teammate of hers. "I believe you've made your point, inaccurate as it is, already."
"Oh hey Weiss~" Unfortunately for Weiss, Yang seemed immune to her glare at the moment. In fact, the unrepentant menace had that infuriating, smug smirk which only served to provoke her ever further. "Nice to see you joining in. It was getting pretty frosty in here with how harsh you were giving us the cold shoulder. Seems like somebody was being a sore loser."
"As if Xiao Long! I was only thinking of ways to exact my revenge." She exclaimed. "What you did was unforgivable!" She brought a hand to clutch at her chest. "You made me bring shame to the Schnee family name! For that, I will get justice for all the transgressions you've done against me!"
"All the what now?" Yang asked, looking puzzled. Ooh that fiend, how dare she! "Weiss, it was one spar. I kicked everyone's butt and showed that I'm the best like always. Just let it go."
"Just one spar?!" She said slowly in disbelief. "No. I've been tolerating all of your crimes till now, but that was the last straw! I'm done! What you did was even worse than the fact that Ruby has been using my credit card to buy those degenerate Mistralian 'comics' of hers." Weiss made quotation marks with fingers to show how she really knew what they were. The filth she saw her partner 'read' late at night when she thought nobody noticed was disgusting.
"WHAT!" Her partner squaked in shame and disbelief. Her face was as red as a tomato from embarrassment at her little secret being exposed no doubt. Good, the dirty little thief deserved it. "You know about that?!" Ruby's outburst went ignored.
"Like I said, my what? There's no way I've done anything bad enough to call it a 'crime' against you." Yang exaggerated her point by also making quotation marks. "Other than making you tr-"
"Ah zip it! I don't need to be reminded of it any further. If you claim ignorance as your defense then I shall bring the truth to light." Weiss rose from her seat and pointed imperiously at the accused. It was as if she was a prosecutor throwing out accusations and charges against the villainous suspect. "Your first crime is… hogging all the hot water every morning!"
The blonde looked disappointed, giving Weiss only a raised eyebrow in response. "Really? That's what you're starting with? Talk about a let down. So I use up the hot water, big deeeal. A girl's gotta take care of her looks, you know?" Yang shrugged. Shrugged! The fiend dared to brush her crimes off so casually like that! "But if all that cold water is what's giving you this frosty attitude, then I guess I can let you use some hot water to melt you down." She said with a cheeky grin.
Weiss refused to let it end so soon. She humphed and said, "Far from it. I said, crimes didn't I? Don't think you'll be able to get away with the second one as easily." She was back in her stance, ready to send her next allegation. "Xiao Long, the second crime is… your unhealthy addiction to playing those scroll games late at night!"
Yang just frowned at hearing that, looking completely befuddled. "Uhhh Weiss, what's wrong with that? It's not hurting you or anything. Plus I wouldn't call it an addiction." She said.
Weiss wasn't going to accept those weak denials. "Oh? I'll have you know that it does hurt me, in fact it hurts the entire team! Almost every other night since the start of the third semester at some ungodly hour after we've all fallen asleep, I wake up. And do you know what suddenly disturbs my beauty sleep?" She asks Yang with her head tilted to the side and a raised eyebrow, challenging her to give an answer different than what Weiss had.
"I don't know, could it be your nightmares of running out of money and having to live like the rest of us?"
Weiss wasn't amused. "Hardly, it's hearing you curse violently at the same game that you'll keep playing for at least another hour. Like clockwork, your addiction keeps me up and leaves me with less than the required eight hours of sleep necessary for a Huntress in training. As a result, that leaves my performance as less than perfect which affects both my academic and combat capabilities and in turn affects the team as a whole."
"Woah Weiss Cream, you're kinda blowing this up a little too much don't you think?" She said with her arms raised in a placating manner. "It's just an hour of sleep, nothing to get so cranky for. Plus, I don't play the same game every night. I just go on my scroll when I feel like it, so you can't really call it an addiction."
"No. You definitely have a problem with playing that one game. And I know it's always the same game because you'll always be moaning about 'rates' and not having enough 'shards.'" She said assuredly.
"Well that's because Grimm Shadow Legends isn't free to play friendly at all!" Yang banged her fist on the table. "The shards they give aren't nearly enough to get the champions I need. Rate up is a lie Weiss. It's all a lie!" She shouted out almost hysterically.
After realizing what she had done, she weakly laughed. "Ok, so maybe I'm a little too into Grimm Shadow Legends, but it's not that bad. I can stop whenever I want."
Ruby, ever the peacekeeper, tried to compromise. "Yeah Weiss, it's just a scroll game. We can just get her to lay it off some more. I think you're-"
"I found out your dirty little secret because of her scroll game." Weiss wasn't letting Yang get away with it this time.
"Absolutely right, and that justice should be sent as swiftly and brutally as possible!" She proclaimed. Her tune switched faster than Pyrrha's attitude playing games.
"Oí! Ruby, what happened to family sticks together?"
"I have no sister."
Yang turned her attention back to Weiss. "This isn't over yet."
Weiss snorted. "Of course not, we still have to go to your final crime."
"Are you kidding me? There's still more?!" She asked with wide eyes.
"This is the most heinous one of them all. You have done something unforgivable. An action so evil that only a Grimm could have done the same." She spoke solemnly, shaking her head. "Yang Xiao Long, you have destroyed the honor and integrity of combat. Your final crime is… tripping me when I was about to unleash my most devastating attack!"
"And there it is, what this is has all been about." Yang replied, not surprised at all. "The Ice Queen upset that she lost so easily against her amazing and gorgeous teammate in a spar."
"No you buffoon, it's what you did! There I was, armed with Time Dilation and Speed Glyphs ready to send a devastating thrust against your unsuspecting, unguarded rear and just when I was about to make contact… You turn around and stick your foot out!" Weiss shouts out with indignation. She slams the table with her palms for emphasis. "I collapse and smack face first into the wall like an utter fool. Never before I have been so utterly humiliated, well other than when Jaune sang to me with that dreadful guitar."
"Look Weiss, what do you want from me? An apology?" She asked honestly.
"What I want is what I am properly owed. Justice delivered to evildoers. A chance to get my vengeance." Weiss responds with narrowed eyes.
"Well it sounds to me like you want a rematch." Yang stands up and sticks her chest out in defiance. "So let's do this one on one, just you and me. That way, you'll stop being such a pain in the ass."
"As if Xiao Long, it's you who should watch out after I knock you flat on your rear."
At that moment is when Blake decides to cut in. "Ok you two, I think that's enough for one day. You both got your feelings out in the air, but I think it would be best if we finished it tomorrow. After all, we'll have combat class."
Yang hummed. "I guess you're right on the dot on this one Kitty Cat."
"Hmph, resolving this so late in the day does sound unlikely. And giving this brute her just desserts in front of an audience does sound satisfying. Thank you Blake." She was oddly being a supportive teammate.
"Nice one Blake! I thought they'd keep going all night like back when you had that fight with Weiss over the White Fang." Ruby praised. As if they would've gone that far. "It's kinda strange to see you playing the peacemaker though. You used to just ignore their fights by reading."
Blake shrugged. "What can I say? Being on the other end didn't look so appealing, and Yang would've just dragged me away and made me listen to her complain later. Ever since what happened last semester, I can't shake her off." She said exasperatedly.
"Awww Blakey, it's so sweet that you know me so well." She said sweetly before proceeding to bear hug the faunus tightly. Blake of course was resisting like a cat faced with water. "But if somebody hadn't been such a big grumpy, cold sourpuss and just trusted her teammates, then none of this would've happened."
"That's right! I mean because of all that, we were able to totally beat Torchwick and the White Fang, and foil their dastardly Breach plan." Ruby, the optimist, cheered.
Weiss was a realist however. "If by 'foil,' you mean 'prevent huge casualties and property damage.' Then yes, they were foiled because I remember that those ruffians still managed to blow a hole in the city."
She had everyone's attention now, thus also enabling Blake to break Yang's grasp. "Come on Weiss, you're making us sound less awesome." She pouted adorably. "I thought you were all about making sure that the White Fang was brought to justice because of, you know, them hating you for your… umm Schneeness."
Weiss sighed. "Yes Ruby, while I do hold a grudge against those terrorists for what they've done, that doesn't mean that I'll make light of what they have done and can do. Thanks to our efforts, we have completely defeated the White Fang in Vale, but was only one part of the whole conducting their sinister scheme. There's still the rest of them in Menagerie and where else that could someday come back and try something worse. Isn't that right Blake?"
"Yeah… that's right." Blake said reluctantly. Hearing Weiss's words brought a drastic shift in Blake's mood, Weiss could see that clear as day. Her bow was flattened, showing how she was lowering her ears in distress, her whole posture was more guarded now with how close she brought her limbs to herself. That wasn't including the obvious frustrated and worried frown marring her face. Now the fool was stuck in her head, probably thinking that she needed to do something again. It looked like she would regress to how she was during the last semester, now that wouldn't do.
"However…" Weiss emphasized loudly. "While we didn't prevent the Breach, we did stop it. With that, the White Fang's attack was finished. By us. Team RWBY and the huntsmen were able to save the day." Weiss sneaked a peek at Blake, and could see that her head was slowly rising. "Torchwick is still running around causing chaos around the city, the White Fang could come back, or somebody new could come out. It doesn't matter because if any of them dare to try something like that again, then we will be there to end their nefarious schemes. Isn't that right, Ruby?" She declared.
Ruby had been put into a daze by her partner's words. Hearing her name, she shook her head, "Y-Yeah! You don't have to worry Blake, it doesn't matter what bad guy stands in our way or whatever plan they're making because we'll put a stop to them. Together, as a team."
"...How could I almost forget? We are a team." Blake said quietly.
"Was worried there for a second, thought we might've needed a repeat intervention to get it into that stubborn noggin of yours." Yang joked with a grin.
"Once was good enough for me." Blake rolled her eyes. "And it's not like I'm that bad."
"Debatable."
"Totally."
"Uhh, yeah Blake. You sure are- Aren't! You sure aren't."
"Now I'm remembering why I was all for being by myself."
"Whatever you say, but let's stop it with all that depressing junk. We need to chat about something juicy. Ooh, I got it! Have you guys heard the rumor going around? About the new professor coming in?" Yang asked excitedly, always ready to talk about the latest gossip.
Ruby surprisingly chimed in. "Yeah! I did actually. I was talking to Penny yesterday, and she said that there was a new teacher just added to the school database. Apparently, he's going to be a part of Combat Class now." And how did Penny get access to the school's private database?
The blonde gave her sister a thumbs up. "Yup, you got it sis. From the rumors I've been hearing, he was hired super recently like not even two days ago. He's also supposed to be young. Like around our age."
Ruby had stars in her eyes. She swore she could feel them shine. "Really?! That's so cool! That must mean he's really strong and also has a totally awesome weapon."
"Jeez, what's it with you and weapons?" She asked for what was probably the millionth time. "That's not all there is to everybody. What if he fights using his bare heads, huh? You ever think about that?" Wow, her brute of a teammate actually raised a valid point.
"It's just that they're so amazing. You can understand a lot about somebody from their weapon and how they use it. And there's no way he would be so lame, he's gotta have something outta this world!" Ruby scoffed and indirectly insulted martial artists.
Yang didn't miss that. "Hey! Are you dissing me and my sweet hand to hand skills now? The ones I used to wipe the floor with you?" She asked threateningly.
"Nooo...?" Ruby said weakly while looking away.
"That's it, come here sis!" The blonde proceeded to grab her sister and give her a fearsome noogie.
Ruby of course was opposed to this and flailed around to try and escape. "Ahhhh! Stop it! I'm not a kid anymore!"
"But you're still my little sis! As your big sister, I've got to correct you when you're being completely and utterly wrong."
Blake just decided to ignore them and continue the discussion. "From what I've heard, he got the job by fighting some first and second year teams. They say he left them all on the ground completely defeated all without a scratch."
Weiss was interested now. "Sounds like we'll have someone capable of improving our skills though I do wonder why he was hired in the first place, especially one so hasty and unexpected?"
Her teammate decided that her sister had learned her lesson, and joined back in. "Who knows, it's probably because Professor Goodwitxh works too hard, and they're giving her some help. Wonder what he's doing right now?" She wondered aloud.
An excited voice burst out from behind Weiss. "Oh! He's just puking his guts out in our bathroom."
The heiress jumped a little from surprise and turned around to acknowledge the familiar speaker. Weiss was met with that inexhaustible lightning rod of chaos Nora Valkyrie. She also saw that both Pyrrha and Ren were with her, carrying trays of what was no doubt their dinner.
"As invasive as ever I see, but can you elaborate on what you just said?" From what it sounded like, Team JNPR had somehow already met the supposed new addition and had developed enough of a relationship for him to be in their room unsupervised.
"It's exactly like I said. Our cool new teacher's assistant is stinking up our toilet from all those drinks he had last night." The trio took their seats at the opposite side of the table. The maniac scrunched up her face in distaste. "And after he said he wasn't feeling anything bad too! He's just probably trying to get away from Big G. What a nincompoop." She said before stuffing her face.
And here she thought Nora hadn't even known that the word nincompoop even existed. Life did hand out new surprises everyday whether they were pleasant or not. Speaking of unpleasant surprises, "Pyrrha, where is your buffoon of a leader? It's odd to see one member of your team missing." While Jaune certainly had gotten less irritating over the school year, his antics certainly hadn't.
Pyrrha gave her an exasperated smile. "I believe that Jaune is also trying to escape from Professor Goodwitch by using Cloud as an excuse. So he's most likely in our room hiding behind Cloud's illness until she drags them back."
Them? They both had done something to draw Professor Goodwitch's ire on a weekend? Jaune wasn't that surprising, but the new staff had only been here supposedly no further than the weekend. Weiss also hadn't missed how Pyrrha had referred to him as 'Cloud.' Curious. They were already on a first name basis, they were closer than she had thought.
Coincidentally, Yang voiced her thoughts to the group. "Damn, what's Vomit Boy done now? He's even got the new professor in it too. This has gotta be good!" She said with a grin. Yang then grew a puzzled expression while scratching the top of her head. "That name though. Cloud. Haven't I heard that before?"
Ruby took what she called her 'Super Duper Thinking Pose' which was just the dolt closing her eyes, sticking her tongue out, and rubbing her knuckles against the sides of her head. Honestly, this was her partner and leader. It wasn't long till she found the answer she had been looking for, judging from her wide eyes and arms raised in celebration.
She then proceeded to shake her sister back and forth in excitement. "Yang! Yang! Don't you remember? Cloud is the name of Jaune's cousin!"
Yang slapped her forehead in recognition. "You're right! We met him yesterday, but they didn't say anything about him joining Beacon."
This situation was getting too far out of hand for Weiss's liking. It seemed like there was quite a lot of context and information that she was missing. This conversation could not continue without further clarification. "Hold up, can you two explain what you're talking about? You two have met this 'Cloud' and he's somehow related to Jaune?"
"I would like to hear about this meeting too. Jaune hadn't mentioned that it happened, and I'm curious considering we only met his cousin this afternoon." Pyrrha asked as well.
"Really? Weird, but ok. Well, it wasn't that really special. We were going out into Vale when we saw them walking by. Met up with them, got some introductions, made some small talk, and then they went to talk to the headmaster. That was pretty much it." Yang summarized. While that did help, Weiss felt that the fiend was still neglecting significant details.
"The weird thing is though, Cloud said he was a mailman. He's not a Huntsman, and he came here to ask for Jaune's help in getting back a stolen package." Ruby added.
Weiss couldn't believe it and voiced her opinion. "There's no way that is true. A mailman getting hired to aid in a Huntsman's combat class for a prestigious academy like Beacon no less. It simply makes no sense."
"I apologize Weiss, but that seems to be the case. According to their words, the headmaster was the one who gave him the job." Ren finally spoke.
"In that case, since you seem to be the ones most knowledgeable about this, can you explain everything clearly. I'm getting a headache trying to piece it together like this."
Nora grinned maniacally. That wasn't good. "No problemo Weissy! It happened like this! On a dark and stormy night, there were two blonde bastards ready to tear apart the town when-"
"Someone other than Nora please." Letting her explain everything would just confuse the heiress even more. While the ginger's method of storytelling was certainly… interesting, the details within were usually exaggerated or misleading enough that one would wonder why they were hearing it in the first place.
The explosive maniac blew a raspberry. "I didn't know there were two party poopers here! Fiiiine, Pyrrha you can go explain it all to her, all boring like."
The champion had a small, amused smile. "It's no trouble, I've already done it once. Well, here's how it started."
From there, Pyrrha explained how they hadn't heard from Jaune the whole day except for a morning text to his late night call at a jail cell. Then how they picked him up with the professor to their proper introduction this early afternoon. It was quite a long and outlandish tale. By the time Pyrrha had finished, the trio had finished eating their dinner. Luckily, Team RWBY had already finished their food, for it would've gone cold otherwise from how little attention they would've given it. They were utterly captivated and struck speechless by the tale.
"So you're telling me our resident noodle, Sir Vomit Boy himself, went out and got wasted, got arrested, and put the moves on both of you all in one night?" The two females of Team JNPR nodded unsurely. "While you slept through all of that?!" She accused the sleepoholic. To which he just replied with a shrug.
"I refuse to believe it!" She shouted, making her opinion quite clear.
She was met with a chorus of nods from her team. "Me too! I can believe that he drank too much and got arrested, even how that happened, but Jaune having some serious game like that. There's no way."
Pyrrha remained firm in the truth of her outlandish story. "Trust me Yang, while that whole night... did have me questioning reality, it certainly happened."
Yang seemed equally as stubborn in her disbelief. "I just can't see it." She looked around, no doubt searching for a way to prove the champion wrong. She seemed to have found her way in the ginger bomber. "Nora! Tell me what's the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Jaune." She said quickly to give her target no time to think.
"Sexy." She quickly blurted out.
"..."
Everyone was completely taken aback. Most of all being Nora herself, judging from her wide eyes. It was quite a shock considering the general consensus was that Nora only had eyes for the lazy member of their team.
Although, Pyrrha's expression could give her a run for her money. Credit to her though, she quickly recovered and tried to break the awkward silence present. "L-Let me explain. According to Cloud, this isn't really new, apparently when Jaune is drunk and sees a woman, he becomes, umm how did he put it, a 'smooth playboy bastard that hunts both their hearts and bodies.' He also becomes extra aggressive towards other men if left alone."
Yang still looked like she was told that an update for her game would end up deleting all data and force her to restart. Hmm now, there's an idea to end her addiction. "A sexy drunk… I. I don't even. Vomit Boy?" She floundered, unable to find her words.
"While Yang gets over her world crumbling around her, can you tell us what Cloud is like? I've got an idea from your story, but if you wouldn't mind?" Blake asked.
"No, it's quite alright. The best way to describe Cloud would be… conflicting to say the least." Ren answered.
"Conflicting? Why do you say that?"
When it looked like Ren didn't know how to explain further, Pyrrha decided to lend a helping hand. "Here, I want you to imagine two blonde puppies, one short and one tall, but they look almost the same otherwise. Now have the short puppy's fur on his head be long and spiky, and there is a sword just as big as him on his back. For the tall one, give him shaggy fur and a shield and sword on his back." She described.
Weiss was confused on why Pyrrha had decided for them to think of puppies, but she certainly wasn't complaining. The image she had in her head was so cute!. She was imagining herself petting and playing with the dogs, saying how much of a good boy they both were. They were even play fighting with their tiny swords in their mouth!
"I've got it, but why are there two puppies if one of them is supposed to be Cloud?" Blake asked. While she did voice Weiss's own question, Blake's words also sparked the realization that one of the cute dogs was also the rude new teacher from Pyrrha's story. Ugh.
Ren responded. "Blake, trust me. It'll make sense once Pyrrha's done. I can see where she's going with this."
"Yeah girl! Let her do her thing!" Nora gave her support cheerfully.
"Thank you, I want you to imagine the shaggy puppy as sweet and happy as Ruby. Now make the other one moody and irritable, like Weiss when she doesn't have her morning coffee."
That was odd. It wasn't in Pyrrha's nature to blatantly tell such incorrect facts. It was ruining her concentration of the two nice puppies she conjured in her head. However, she did as the champion said. While the short one was now more unfriendly to Imaginary Weiss, there was no way she would give up receiving its affection. She was Weiss Schnee!
"Finally, I want you to have the dogs run around in a circle chasing each other's tails aggressively like they're trying to prove which one's top dog. Occasionally, they'll stop and play with each other like best friends, but they'll always go back to chasing the other's tail."
"Aaand now I'm lost. What were you trying to explain again?" Yang asked.
"That was Jaune and Cloud."
"That makes more sense, so you were trying to explain their relationship and how they were individually at the same time? Well it was interesting to imagine." Blake said.
Hardly. Knowing who the dogs represented downgraded their cuteness exponentially, now they seemed more like pests rather than pets. What a disappointment. Well it had been nice while it lasted. Luckily, she still had an album full of Zwei pictures to cheer her up later.
"Hey Weiss! Hey Weiss! Is it true? The ultra rare, never before seen prize from your dad's company for the Exhibitional!" Nora, the chatterbox she was, asked quickly as a bullet.
Weiss sighed. Ah yes, how could she forget? With the Vytal Festival, came not only the tournament, but a number of other attractions and events meant to bring in more entertainment and profits. Such as the famous Vytal Festival Exhibitional. To put into simple terms, it was a glorified talent show. Students from every year across the each academy would go on a huge stage and perform live in front of hundreds and a panel of judges. They could go as a group or solo as long as they had something entertaining to show. Each performer was graded on both the judges score and the audience's adoration. There was only one winner, and with it came a grand prize. Each Exhibitional was sponsored by a different company, they paid for the preparations and provided the grand prize. This year, the SDC managed to secure the opportunity.
She put one elbow on the table and cupped her cheek. "Knowing my father, then I would have to say that the prize isn't fake by any means." Say what you will about him, but her father was no fool. He knew how important this event was, and thus wouldn't take any risks with creating any unfavorable situations. Whatever he had promised was certainly going to be kept.
Yang whistled. "Woah. That's pretty sweet. Kind of makes me feel like I should sign up, but I also don't know what I would really do that would wow everybody."
"I know right! Last time there was a really mysterious magician who made it seem like he had multiple semblances with how cool his tricks were, and he came in second! Second place! I'm just a girl with normal knees! I don't know how to compete with that!" Ruby cried out.
"That is a pretty fair argument, so a shame for you. On the other hand, we do have among us a famous singer who has been onstage numerous times and has a solid chance of winning."
Of course, all eyes were on her. As they should, but she couldn't meet their expectations this time.
"Sorry to say, but I can't take part in this year's Exhibitional. Due to the SDC sponsorship, there would be issues if I competed such as complaints over tampering, unfair advantages, or rigged results."
"Seriously? Makes sense, but that's pretty lame." Yang complained on her behalf.
Weiss agreed. If she had any interest in taking part, then she was sure that she would have complained over the injustice of it all. However, Weiss had enough of performing in the spotlight, she for now would just prefer to be a spectator. Her time would come in the tournament.
"I am curious who we will see this year. All the top performers from the last one have already graduated." Pyrrha said.
"How many new guys do you think will be on?" Ruby wondered.
Not many Weiss imagined. There was no preliminary or way of narrowing down the number of participants. The reason being that once you signed up, you were going to perform once on that big stage in front of everyone. That anxiety and fear of inadequacy were common deterrents from making many people sign up. That's why those who did perform were entertaining because they had confidence in their act and put in the work to show that they had a chance of winning such a renowned event.
"Who knows? But it's getting late, I think it's about time we head back to the room."
"Blake's right, we should get ready for school tomorrow. We'll see you guys in class! Tell Jaune I said good luck, and that he still owes me those apology cookies!"
At that, the two teams split it up for the night with each of them going to their respective rooms. Each of them started on their own nighttime preparations, they had a big day tomorrow after all. But one thought that had been nagging in Weiss's head while she was brushing her hair was what that blonde dunce was up to. He hadn't shown up at all during dinner, so that meant he was still stuck with Professor Goodwitch. She was curious about what terrible punishment he was being put through. Oh well, it's not as if he hadn't deserved it.
o()xx[{::::::::::::::::::::: o()xx[{:::::::::::::::::::::
Jaune sneezed.
That was weird. I wonder if somebody is talking about me? He thought. Probably not considering how late in the day it was. People were probably chilling out in their rooms right now, playing with their scrolls, getting ready to go to sleep, or Brothers knew what. Jaune wished he could be doing the same rather than this torture he was being put through.
"Oi, Jaune! The hell are you staring into space for? You think you're going to see a shooting star and wish a miracle to get us out of this? Not gonna happen, so get your head out of your ass and get back to work."
"R-Right, my bad Cloud!"
Jaune shook off the distractions in his head and continued with his share of the task. Their little stunt yesterday caused a lot of work, stress, and damage for Beacon and its staff as Professor Goodwitch put it, but she had explained in a far, far more lengthy and angry scolding with no shortage of words to describe how idiotic their actions were. That was the nicest way he could put the tirade and lecture she had given them. Listening to that alone made him think about officially joining the church to ask the Brothers for eternal forgiveness. It was enough to probably make even Cid prostrate himself.
"How much do we have left until the check in text?"
"About 12 minutes."
As if hearing that lecture wasn't bad enough, she still had given them a punishment so evil, so excessive, so infuriating that even a Grimm wouldn't have thought of it. She led them to Professor Port's classroom and told them they were to clean all of the classrooms for every teacher he had tomorrow. Simple, right? Then she gave them toothbrushes and said that was their only tool. Sure they could use soap, cleaning solution, and disinfectant sprays, but they couldn't use a mop, broom, or any of that! All they had was a toothbrush each. It got worse too. She said they had to do a deep cleaning, that it was overdue for a field day. What that meant was they had to take out all the furniture out of the classroom, clean it and the room, and then put it back. For all of them.
"Desks and chairs are all good."
"Great. All the dirt and dust is on the floor."
Jaune hadn't known that the rows of seats in the Combat class arena could be taken out, but he for sure cried once he found out. And they had to take them out, to prove it, they had to take a picture of both the empty classroom and all the furniture and send it to her. That also wasn't including the stupid accountability texts they had to send her every half an hour. All they had to send was something along the lines that they were still alive and working, but she warned them to not forget, or she would come find them. What she hadn't said was the absolute bullshit that happened when she did.
"We're out of Windex. How do I clean all these windows?"
"Just throw soapy water at them and wipe them down. It's almost ten, I've already lost all my fucks."
Two hours had already passed, they were in the middle of doing the history classroom with Grimm Studies already done, and they had forgotten to do their latest text. That was their first mistake. Not even five minutes later, did they get a message from the instructor saying that they left behind something in the Grimm Studies's room. Obviously confused, the two went back only to find the once pristine and clean classroom all messed up with more dirt and dust with the professor waiting by the teacher's desk. Upon seeing their jaw dropped faces full of despair and frustration, she left with only a passing remark that if they forget to send an accountability text again, then she'd force them to start all over again from the beginning. Yeah, it was pure hell. Normally, one would think that would be the worst part of the story, but nooo! Truly, there was no higher power out there smiling down on them, the Brothers are probably some assholes for letting this happen!
"It's nine-thirty, I'm sending the text."
"Help me with brushing the floor when you're done."
Eventually, they took their only allowed break to get some early dinner to eat at the room, but then Cloud started feeling sick and was glued to the toilet, emptying his guts out. Jaune, being the helpful and nice person he was, did what he thought was the sensible and humane thing and stayed with him and tried to get him to feel better. That was his second mistake. At some point, Cloud did get better, and they went back to the professor to check in and go back to cleaning. When they went to the arena where she'd said she'd be, they witnessed the room in even worse condition than before with the seats thrown about everywhere and piles of dirt and debris littered about. In the center stood the culprit and sadist. The conversation they had still caused him pain.
"Professor, w-why did you do this? We didn't do anything wrong."
"Oh, Mr. Arc?" She asked with mock surprise. "You're claiming innocence despite the fact that you didn't make the deadline I explicitly gave you. I warned you there were consequences for your actions."
Cloud responded, anger and frustration clear in his tone. "The hell?! That doesn't make any sense! How were we supposed to make that deadline when I was puking my stomach out? I couldn't leave the bathroom at all! We even sent a text and a photo as proof, did you 'just happen' to not see it?"
"Watch your tone. I did in fact receive the message. However, your condition only accounted for your absence Mr. Strife. There was no reason for Mr. Arc to not be here at the deadline."
"What do you mean 'no reason?!'" Usually, Jaune wouldn't raise his voice and talk back to the professors, but the stress of the day was making him reach his limit. "Cloud was suffering and clearly needed help to recover. Did you want me to just leave him behind and come straight here?" Jaune asked rhetorically.
"Yes. Yes I did Mr. Arc." Upon seeing his stunned face, she explained further. "I gave you a time that you were to be back no later then. At no point in time did I say that you could disregard those orders to help your cousin." The professor stared into his eyes with extreme intensity. He couldn't look away at all. "You are training to be a Huntsman, someone who must always have the mission first in their head, and do everything to see it done, no matter the cost."
Jaune's words were lodged in his throat. He understood what she was saying, but to apply such a lesson so harshly was so unexpected, yet fitting. Jaune could only nod in response. Cloud was being strangely silent after hearing her explanation. He seemed to be out of it, lost in his thoughts.
"It seems you understand. I'll leave you to your duty. You already know my expectations. Do not force me to punish you a third time, you'll be here all night if we have to."
It was like she was some drill instructor from hell. She was giving the toughest of love possible. But hours later, they were finally, finally on the final classroom. They were so close to the end, Jaune could see the light at the end of the long, grueling tunnel. As soon as they finished, he was ready to take a nice shower and pass out. He didn't even care if he reached his bed before falling asleep.
"We might actually finish before ten. All we have to do after this is just bring the furniture in and wipe them down. I feel like I'm getting my second wind!"
"Don't get too excited. We've already been screwed over twice, third time could be the charm." Cloud warned, clearly trying not to jinx them.
"I think I would just scream if it happened." Jaune groaned. "Hey, Cloud."
"Yeah, Jaune?"
"Did you ever think we'd end up like this especially when we first met?"
Cloud snorted. "Did I think that I would be teaching some snot nosed brats how to fight, you being one of them? No, and if we're going that far back, then hell no. I thought you would just annoy me to death with your constant whining."
He then put a scared expression on his face while making his voice a higher pitch. "Your sword's too heavy, Cloud! I need a phoenix down Cloud! Cloud, you gotta help me out, I accidentally walked in on the girls changing! Cloud, for the love of the Brothers, give me a phoenix down, this Tankceratops is crushing my ribs."
"That's a terrible impression." Jaune deadpanned. "And what about you huh?"
"What about me?" He challenged back. Yeah. There was no way Jaune wasn't going to get him back.
Jaune coughed and cleared his throat. "Look at me! I'm so cool and mysterious all because of how tall, dark, handsome I am. Oh wait, I'm none of those things! I'll just replace it with cockiness, edge, and angst, that'll work! You want to know about my problems and help me out? Well, you can just fuck right off! I'll do the same with yours! That shows just how strong I am." For his impression, Jaune said all this with a scowl, he squared his shoulders, deepened his voice, and squatted down to look shorter.
"And you called mine bad. Who are you trying to convince with such an awful performance?"
"You're just being a hater." Jaune scoffed. His expression grew serious. "So we head back out to Vale tomorrow, but for business this time."
"Yeah. It's like I said yesterday, I've got a place we can start our search."
"That's good. Maybe we'll get lucky for once."
"Don't count on it."
The two then focused on cleaning, working in complete, comfortable silence. They soon finished sweeping the floor, and started to bring in the desks. They were so close to the finish line, Jaune was pushing past his weariness to quickly bring in the rest of the furniture.
"Hey Jaune…" Cloud broke the silence, but his voice was quiet and careful, a tone that he rarely used. "Do you… remember? Have… Have you?" He asked hesitantly.
"Have I what?" Jaune rapidly interjected. "What is it you're trying to ask me?"
"N-nevermind. Just forget about it."
Jaune just hummed in response. Acting as if he didn't know what his fellow blonde was trying to ask. As if he could forget, but he was thankful that Cloud still wasn't comfortable with talking about his feelings and vulnerabilities because he wasn't sure he could find a proper answer to that question. The one he had been sure of before seemed so shaky to him now after all he had been through. It made sense though.
Wouldn't one's worldview and beliefs be completely reshaped once they had been put onto another one?
o()xx[{::::::::::::::::::::: o()xx[{:::::::::::::::::::::
Two idiots were sitting by the counter in a shady bar in the dead of the night. They had been taking shots of the local whiskey to enjoy the night. It was a good thing they hadn't had a contest because the huge pile one of them had was three times the size of the other and made it the whole scene look comical. Even more so, considering they were still only tipsy at this point.
"Listen, I've got something… weird to ask? I-I need you to pay attention."
"Yeah, no problem!"
"No, I'm serious. I really need you to listen."
"...Alright."
"I want you to imagine a fighter. Somebody who takes care of both the monsters and people in his way. The bad guys who are trying to stop him. He's fine. He's strong. Until he gets hit in the head too hard.
"..."
"Now this great fighter is confused because his head is all screwed up. His memories are all messed up and don't make sense. He's slipping, and soon he's losing his sense of self. The bad guys don't stop coming though. What I'm trying to say is… What is it that will fix the fighter? What will give him the strength to keep fighting?"
"...That's pretty deep. I'm… not sure what to say."
"I warned you. I don't know what I was expecting though."
"Just because I don't have an answer now, doesn't mean that I won't have it later."
"I guess you're right. Ok, then please promise me you'll give your answer. One that you wholeheartedly believe in."
"I promise. Whether you like it or not, I'll give you my answer."
"Looking forward to it, for both of our sakes."
OOOH! Plot! Mysteries! A blonde's suffering for our amusement! All things this story has! Sorry that I had to drop this exposition chapter on y'all, hope you guys were entertained by it. Have to start up the next arc somehow now that we're done with the prologue. Weeell almost done, next chapter will be the last one. I'm curious if y'all will catch all the little things I've hidden. Hehehe. Now as usual, I need you guys to review. They give me strength and motivation to keep writing! Might get the next one done sooner if I see it, who knows~ Have a good one!