So far, the reception has been positive. Thank you to those who left feedback on the previous chapters, really keeps me going.
To celebrate the announcement of the release dates of RWBY Volume 6 and the latest upcoming Ciaphas Cain novel (October 27 and September 1 respectively), here is the next chapter of 'To Survive and Prosper'.
EDIT: Fixed some grammatical and spelling errors and added a few footnotes to clear some things up.
Chapter 3
First Daze
"They say that victory comes from a small soul. If only those small souls have bigger brains."
-Gilbert Vermilion, Political Analyst
I woke up to the unholy noises of the scroll's alarm and Nora's sugar-induced yelling that would have broken any lesser man. While it did slightly irritated me, I was rather thankful for it because I otherwise might have overslept and ended up skipping the first day of class, and that obviously won't put me in a good position. I also have been trying to overcome this habit for a while now so maybe it's my chance to finally improve my sleeping patterns thanks to the class schedule requiring everyone to rise up early in the morning. But as someone who loves sleep, this was going to take some time to get used to.
And by the way, this was nothing compared to some of the more...let's say—unorthodox methods of waking me up from my mischievous sisters.
"Good Morning, Fearless Leader!" Nora greeted, already on her uniform. Little did she know how ironic her use of 'fearless' actually was.
So begins the first days of classes, where they would either be intriguing and provide helpful tips on how to be a Huntsman and reduce my mortality rate as one with any luck, or bore me into sleeping or watching the clock because I was sure that even Huntsman class wasn't immune to becoming as boring as normal classes. On the bright side, all I had to do was sit in one room in the safety of Beacon's walls surrounded by superpowered individuals, so it's still preferable than running, screaming and getting everyone to kill the Grimm for you.
I looked around and saw that Pyrrha was also dressed, though she still seems to be busy tidying her bed. Ren too was dressed, after he left the bathroom with a bath basket in his hand, meaning I was the only one who wasn't prepared yet. I got up and took a shower before putting on my uniform.
For breakfast I took some dumplings I took out from a Mistrali restaurant when visiting Vale yesterday. My visit to town turned out to be better than I anticipated; given Vale's reputation, I half-expected someone to randomly stab me or throw dust or maybe acid at my face in the middle of the street for no reason, thankfully neither of those happened to me yet. [1]
After I was done brushing my teeth and then taking my morning meal, I stood in the middle of the dorm and gathered everyone on the team for the first meeting of Team JNPR. Even after taking minutes of eating and bathing, Pyrrha was still making her bed, appearing to have no intention of stopping until every single piece of fabric is tidied up and is as perfect as her tournament records.
Since I don't want my ass open in combat, I needed to persuade my team to be useful and cooperative with my orders. Pyrrha was a great fighter, but from what I've seen she was too used to fighting solo as shown by her overconfidence with the Deathstalker yesterday; Nora's excited personality and strength mean she has the tendency to get aggressively reckless; and someone has to make sure Ren's somewhat limited stamina is managed wisely. If given proper direction, this team would be almost unstoppable and I don't have to worry much about myself, without it, working with these three would be chaotic at best.
"Alright, now that we are all here…" I cleared my throat, grabbing everyone's attention. "It's now our third day in Beacon and after yesterday's… events. I just wanted to say I am grateful to have you as my teammates."
"Why, thank you," Pyrrha covered her cheek with one of her hands while trying to sound polite about it.
"Aww~" Nora commented, sounding flattered by my words with a mix of her usual chirpiness. And Ren, just simply nodded at the notion.
I gave a faint smile at them before moving on. "But like The Gre—… I mean the Headmaster said, we need to learn how to coordinate with each other to make this work. We may have proven to be efficient individual warriors. From what I've seen and heard, Pyrrha is a famed champion, Ren is swift, Nora is a tough cookie—and I… am basically me."
"A brave hero who ain't afraid of no-nothin'!" Nora said in a somewhat sassy tone.
"Thank you, Nora," I responded, trying not to let her contagious enthusiasm get to me. "But they don't mean anything in the team if we don't take our roles seriously. All I'm saying is—"
I was interrupted by the loud sounds of various power tools coming somewhere from next door. Whatever it was, they chose a weird time to construct something at eight in the morning, when everyone was preparing for class. The noises suddenly stopped and I continued to where I left off. "All I'm saying that we should start working together as a team. Sure, we are pretty tough on our own, but we would barely count as a team if we just go do our own things without acknowledging one another. The academies have these teams for a reason, because if we are able to combine our abilities properly, we could prevail against anything that comes our way. So that's why we should conduct team-building exercises starting—" I was again interrupted. Only this time, it was a sound of a loud crash, followed by an angry yell from the ice queen of Team RWBY.
"I told you this wasn't going to work!"
I froze out of bewilderment for a few seconds before letting out a sigh. I knew this was something I cannot ignore. "We'll have to continue this later, right now as the leader of Team JNPR – my first order is to check out and see if our friends in Team RWBY are alright."
"We're ready when you are," Pyrrha nodded as the other two followed suit.
They followed me to Team RWBY's dorm, which was a few steps in front of ours. "Is everything alright?" I asked, knocking.
"I-It's nothing! Everything's fine, I have it all under control!" Ruby yelled. It didn't take a genius to know that she was panicking and lying rather blatantly.
"Good going then," I heard Weiss scoff.
Ruby was has having it hard, and by the sound of it, she's going to need outside help whether she want it or not, but was too shy to admit it since being a leader required you to look competent and she wasn't sure on what we would think of her. So I bluffed my way inside it, it was sure enough to have someone like her persuaded. "Look, we only wanted to help. If we're bothering you then we'll leave."
"Wait!" Ruby said before she opened the door, revealing that she was still wearing her cloak even in uniform. "Y-You can come in."
We went inside the dorm room and was surprised to see it looked like it was recently hit by a tornado. The beds were crumpled around at the floor with some books scattered all over the place, and even ropes hanging from the ceiling. The girls seem fine, however, aside from looking pretty disappointed with how their dorm room ended up becoming (I would also like to mention that Yang looked less distracting in a school uniform, looks like as long as she kept wearing those those I wouldn't be spending so much time appreciating her 'heart' if you know what I mean).
Pyrrha was shocked, but remained calm as if she already saw worse. "Oh my. What happened here?"
"We tried to make bunk beds, that's what," Weiss folded her arms, looking more irrigated than her other teammates.
"We may have tried to… do so by carrying one bed with ropes and the other with a pile of book," Yang sported a nervous grin.
That was when I started asking myself if these girls were seriously toying with me. What else did they think was going to happen? It's not like ropes and books have aura that makes them strong enough to carry beds with or without somebody lying on it. If they thought this was a good idea then I had every right to worry for them.
"So… what could we do to help?" I asked.
"Do we have time though?" Ren responded. "I mean it's 8:55 so..."
"Wait did you just say it's 8:55?!" Weiss suddenly exclaimed.
"Uhh… yes, I did."
"Classes start at nine, you idiots!"
I quickly checked the schedule on my scroll; she's right, five minutes and we'll be late for our first class and that was something we can't have. "Then we'll have to deal with this later! Quick, we have no time to lose!" I said, storming to class with everyone following me.
On our way as we rushed through the hallway, I couldn't stop thinking about the girls' attempt on creating makeshift bunks using ropes and books, judging from what I've seen earlier. "Improvised bunk-beds, seriously?!" I exclaimed at Ruby, I didn't want to yell at her but the mere thought of it was so baffling I felt like interrogating her about what was on their mind when making it.
"Well, we were almost finished decorating after we unpacked but then we saw that there wasn't room for beds, so I thought it was a great idea to make some bunk beds," she explained as if she was singing about it in a rather agitated manner.
That ended up raising more questions than I had. "You guys just started to unpack?! Didn't you have the whole evening yesterday?!"
"Geez, I don't know!"
I could only roll my eyes and decide to forget about it for a moment so I could focus in my classes. After leaving the residence hall, the classrooms were past the courtyard so went through it and I was able to spot Miss Goodwitch and the Great & Powerful Ozpin staring at us. Miss Goodwitch gave a 'you kids better not have caused any trouble' glare while Ozpin just calmly watched with his coffee. I could only chuckle as we passed through while I did my best to move on and put attention to what I should be more worried about:
Academics.
=o=
1. A reference to Vale City's notoriously high rate of knife, dust and acid attacks, which were the common methods of assault in city due to the ban on firearms from civilians and non-licensed Huntsmen.
We finally arrived at the classroom and class thankfully had yet to start. Team RWBY sat at the front row while my team took the seats behind them. The classroom contained a golden bust of a man and a blunderbuss/double-bitted axe being displayed above from the board, it even has several Grimm heads being displayed as trophies which was weird because last time I checked, you couldn't keep Grimm corpses as they evaporate after dying. [1] The whiteboard was already filled with drawings of various Grimm and their descriptions; I noticed Weiss immediately pulled out her notebook and already started writing down notes from the board in advance.
This was the part where I look at someone's weapon and be baffled by how it's designed, in this case, the blunderaxe being displayed. Normally, a blunderbuss mixed with an axe sounds reasonable on paper, the problem was he had to place the freaking axehead at the stock instead of somewhere on the barrel which would have been safer to use and could still be held as an axe. Seriously, trying to use that as a rifle could risk your arm getting cut unless you know what the hell you're doing, which you couldn't have been if you came up with that design. If this was the professor's way of showing his guts, then kudos to him. I just hope it doesn't influence his students into unironically thinking that could be a neat weapon to use and inspire them to make something as stupid as that.
A few minutes later a somewhat chubby old man with a huge mustache who resembled the golden bust entered the room. Everyone suddenly started to sit upright as he put his books on his desk. "Greetings, Huntsmen and Huntresses of tomorrow! I am Professor Peter Port," he introduced himself as he wrote down his name at the vacant space on the whiteboard. "I will be your professor for Grimm Studies, where you will learn about the wretched creatures that you will or may face—from the smallest parasite to the most fearsome of titans! Whatever you may call them: Monsters! Demons, Prowlers of the night! Yes, the creatures of Grimm have many names, but I merely refer to them as prey! Haha!"
He waited for a response, only for it to be delivered by nothing but chirping crickets. No really, I swear I heard crickets chirp after he said that. Though to be honest, I kind of admire his confidence at his age, giving me an impression that he really was the successful Huntsman he kept bragging himself, albeit a very awkward teacher.
"Uhh... And you shall too, upon graduating from 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 absolutely teeming with creatures that would love nothing more than to tear you to pieces! And that's where we come in. Huntsmen! Huntresses..." he gave Yang a wink with his brow while clicking his tongue, who responded with a groan. I do hope he was being playful because I wasn't a fan of old men flirting with younger women. Eugh.
"Individuals who have sworn to protect those who cannot protect themselves! From what, you ask? Why, the very world!"
"Eyy yeah!" Some random moron stood up while raising his fist while everyone just sat still silently. Naturally, he sat down in embarrassment once he notices there were a few eyes staring at him.
"That is what you are training to become." Port continued, "But first, A story."
And that's where he lost everyone. Just about when things were started to get interesting.
"A tale of a young, handsome man—me! When I was a boy..."
To make a long story short—literally in this case, this lasted for almost the entire class which was two hours, if you may ask. If there was anything heavier than his weight then it's my eyelids when he was telling his stories, it's that bad that even his own eyes look like they're always shut. You'd expect a class centered on learning the Huntsmen's sworn enemies should be informative and interesting, right? Well, Professor Port somehow managed to make it boring, which was something I didn't know was possible. And his tall-tales aren't even entertaining, at best they are just dumb that it makes you wonder if his accounts actually did occur the way he told them.
The only thing that was keeping me from falling asleep with this dull excuse of a class was watching Snow White getting annoyed by Rose Red's unladylike hijinks, whether it's by showing her a crude drawing of Professor Port (or Professor Poop as she calls him in her drawing. Genius) from her notes while blowing raspberries, balancing a book with a pencil while there's an apple above said book, snoring and the most damnable offense of all—picking her nose.
"The moral of this story? A true Huntsman must be honorable! A true Huntsman must be dependable! A true Huntsman must be strategic, well-educated, and wise!" Professor Port finally finished his story after telling it for at least a hundred minutes straight and we still haven't learned anything useful about Grimm or being a Huntsman. I think a better moral is that a true Huntsman shouldn't make their lectures long, boring and uninteresting if they expect their students to last more than a minute when fighting Grimm. [2]. "So, who among you believes themselves to be the embodiment of these traits?"
Without a moment's hesitation, Weiss raised her left hand. I felt like she was the only person who was wide awake during that moment. "I do, sir!"
"Well then, let's find out," Port faced the cage beside him. "Step forward, and face your opponent."
The fact that there was a live Grimm in class was enough to get me from hebetated to alarmed. I know students need to show some demonstrations of their skill but that thing could start attacking the class when it strays from the volunteer, and we're unarmed during these occasions. [3] I was starting to wonder that the only reason why we even had books in this class was just so we could have something to hit the Grimm with in case it got loose.
"Before you do, of course, you'll have to change to your combat gear. You will be given five minutes to prepare."
Weiss complied and left. She returned shortly with her rapier and her 'combat skirt' and went to the front of the class and faced the cage. Her team was cheering for her loudly.
"Gooo, Weiss!" Yang raised her fist.
Blake was waving a small flag that has their team name on it out of nowhere. "Fight well!"
Followed by their team leader, who was more vocal than the other two. "Yeah, represent Team RWBY!"
Weiss, annoyed by this, lowered her sword. "Ruby! I'm trying to focus!"
That made me wonder if her temper was that short enough for her to react like that. The beast was still in the cage and the least she could do was show some gratitude that her team, the same people she'll be stuck with for four years. And she's shutting them down for encouraging her. I was beginning to think that trying to make stupid and impractical makeshift bunk beds wasn't the worst thing about this team.
"Oh, sorry." Ruby sheepishly apologized. Weiss shook her head and returned her attention to the cage.
"Alright, let the match begin!" Port pulled out his ridiculous blunderaxe hybrid and used it to open the cage by smashing the lock. The Grimm charged out and reveals itself as a large boar-like Grimm—a Boarbatusk—or how my sister Rose likes to call them—bacon.
Weiss sliced the creature then rolled to her left, the Boarbatusk then turned back. "Haha! Wasn't expecting that, were you?" The professor remarked.
"Hang in there, Weiss!" Ruby advised.
"Or how about you Yang in there," a certain someone grinned. For the sake of my sanity and well-being, I'll pretend to have not heard that.
Weiss dashed towards the Boarbatusk, trying to stab its face. Unfortunately, her rapier got stuck in its tusks with Weiss trying to pull it out. "Bold, new approach I like it!" Port commented.
"Come on Weiss, show it who's boss!" Ruby cheered.
Weiss turned to her to glare which allowed Port's pet pork to swipe her rapier off to the other side of the room. I was having the urge to palm my own face, she being a far cry from the girl who managed to put a freaking Deathstalker at bay during the previous day. If the voice of her own leader happened to be her weakness then she is going to be a liability to her own team, and to by extension mine.
"Oh ho! Now, what will you do without your weapon?" Professor Port asked her as he continued to watch from the sidelines.
Weiss looked up and dodged just right in time before the Boarbatusk was able to ram her. She ran quickly to her rapier then slid to grab it. "Weiss! Go for its belly! There's no armor underneath!" Ruby instructed.
Hey, that's actually good advice. Now if Weiss thinks she's smart then she should—
"Stop telling me what to do!" she yelled instead. At that point, I decided that putting a palm at my own face wasn't enough and that putting it on the desk instead would do a more adequate job.
The Boarbatusk then rolls its body into a ball-like shape and launches itself towards the ice-queen. Weiss summoned a glyph to block the attempted strike. The boar was knocked back, exposing its belly. Weiss took the hint and used another glyph to leap to its stomach, stabbing it to death.
"Bravo! Bravo! It appears we are indeed in the presence of a true Huntress-in-training!" Professor Port remarked as if he didn't notice a few lethal blunders she did during that demonstration. "I'm afraid that's all the time we have for today. Be sure to cover the assigned readings—and stay vigilant! Class dismissed!"
At least the class ended with something eventful. I was starting to think that this class was scheduled first so that students who were missing sleep would be able to compensate for it.
Weiss angrily turned away before walking out. Sheesh, what's with her? I asked myself. Now, this is what I was worried about when I talked about team cooperation. While Weiss has shown that she could handle herself, she let her arrogance get the best of her. If she just listened to Ruby for a moment, the entire thing would have been shorter.
I know Ruby can sound obnoxious, but she was actually acting like what a leader was suppose to. Judging by the fact that Professor Port didn't tell her teammates to be quiet, cheering and giving tactical advice was actually allowed and she could have at least hear them out on the latter.
Thankfully, my team is composed of friendly faces and seemed to trust me, (I don't know much about Ren, but he seems fine), so it's easier to make them comply. That still doesn't mean that I didn't need to drill them, they still need to be taught how to properly work together as a team. Otherwise, I would end up having the same problem as Team RWBY. Gods, I am really worried about those girls. How did they even beat that Deathstalker together anyway?
=o=
1. They're actually taxidermy recreations of the Grimm he has slain. This is rather a common practice done by those who hunt Grimm for sport.
2. That or Jaune didn't pay attention to the Professor's accounts, which surprisingly provided some useful information regarding Grimm abilities and weaknesses as well as proper Huntsmen comportment that was worth taking notes off.
3. Although it's unnoticeable, captured Grimm in Huntsmen academies are implanted with shock restrainers which are triggered in case the creature gets loose.
As I left the classroom, I took out my scroll and reviewed the schedule to see where to go next:
Freshman Class Schedule (1st Semester) – Monday, Wednesday & Friday:
0900 – 1100 hrs. Grimm Studies (Prof. Port)
1100 – 1230 hrs. History & Social Studies (Dr. Oobleck, Ph.D.)
1230 – 1400 hrs. Recess
1400 – 1530 hrs. Dust Studies (Prof. Peach)
1530 – 1700 hrs. Physical Education & Combat Training (Prof. Goodwitch)
If you're wondering why they had to use the 24-hour clock the military uses, it's because they wanted to remind you that Huntsmen are essentially glorified soldiers—but due to academies' emphasis on individualism and diversity within colors, they didn't want you to feel like one in a military academy. [1]
The school provided me with some books vital for some classes so I went straight to the locker room and grabbed my history textbook and headed to the next class. On my way there, Cardin, the dumb jock haircut guy, rudely knocked my arm off while he was passing through and making me drop my books. "Hey!"
"Welcome to Beacon, bunny boy!" he laughed to himself as he walked away.
I glared at him for a few seconds before picking up my books and just went to class. Although what he did was uncalled for, he was not worth my time, I'll let him screw around until he loses interest or something. I just hope he doesn't end up becoming an actual problem, that would be annoying and I would actually have to waste precious willpower doing something over it.
I went to the classroom and sat next to Ruby. In contrast to the previous class, Team RWBY and JNPR were scattered around the classroom instead of sitting near together. The classroom looked like the room belonged to a very dedicated investigator or an demented conspiracy theorist rather than a professor from Sanus' finest academy. Either way, it had little regard for tidiness at all, with piles of books and paper littered everywhere on the front and some of the papers sticking on the walls while other books are stored in the two shelves, with varying degrees of organization. Instead of a board, we get a huge map of Remnant with some paper attached to it which were being connected to one another by red strings.
"Uhh, Jaune?" Ruby shook my shoulder while we were waiting for the professor to show up.
I decided to engage with whatever small-talk she had to offer in the meantime. "Yeah, Ruby?"
"Am I a bad leader?" The tone of her voice was glum compared to the cheerful demeanor she always bore ever since I helped her up back at that courtyard. It made me wonder if Weiss was really that harsh on her after last class.
Whatever the case, I did gave her some comforting words that every decent person would have told her. I needed to get her spirits up otherwise she wouldn't be an effective ally. "Ruby, it's only your first day as a leader, you still have a lot to prove before you can let people judge you. If you ask me, I think you're a great leader, you did a great job yesterday on getting rid of that Deathstalker with your team." I actually didn't see how Ruby and her team got rid of that bug though, since I was too occupied with the Nevermore to even watch her; all I know for sure is that she just did it. [2]
That seemed to encouraged her for a second but a shred of doubt inside her still remained. "I know but… what if Ozpin really did make a mistake—and I'm really not fit to be the leader of this team." The pressure of leadership was already getting the best of her. Nobody said that carrying the badge and the burden of a leader was easy which is why I was also worried myself. But if I was able to become leader than she had the potential to be one to, even if it's just The Great & Powerful Ozpin having very low standards.
"Look, Ruby, you're a really nice girl and you came here to protect people from Grimm, right?" I asked, and she responded by nodding. "Then just be yourself and lead by example. I can see the heart of a Huntress in you, you just need to let others see that so they could know what a Huntsman should be. Don't let someone like Weiss discourage you because she couldn't see that yet. Just give yourself a chance."
She pondered these words before she finally stopped frowning and shifted back to her usual cheerfulness, to an extent at least. "Well, I guess that made me feel better. Thank you, Jaune. I'll take your word."
"Anytime, Ruby. You know, I think it would have taken longer for Weiss to kill the Grimm if you didn't point out where its weak-spot was," I nodded. It's just a shame that I am mostly doing this to uphold my façade as a compassionate, if a little awkward, knight in shining armor. She was taking advice from someone who could have left an entire village to burn to save his own skin, and I believed she deserved much better than that.
Suddenly, a voice came to our attention. "Alright everybody, settle down!" A man with messy green hair wearing a pair of glasses said as he entered the room before sipping from his cup and trotting to the front.
"My name is Bartholomew Oobleck— DOCTOR Oobleck, please remember that. I will be your professor for History and Social Studies. Now, as Huntsmen and Huntresses you are tasked with safeguarding this planet from the Grimm, but what kind of Huntsmen are you if you know nothing about the world you are fighting for? That is why we are having this class." He was taking sips of his coffee for almost every two or three sentences. He looked around the class and turned his head at me. "You there! Stand up and introduce yourself."
I anticipated the professor noticing me at one point in the class but not this soon, so he was able to caught me off-guard. "Well I… umm…"
"Come on now, don't be shy!" He said.
I hesitantly stood up and introduced myself. "Well… my name is Arc... Jaune Arc… The leader of Team JNPR" I turned my head to my teammates as they waved.
"Thank you, Mr. Arc, please be seated," he said as I complied. "Now, does that last name remind you of something?"
Of course, Weiss was the one that raised her hand and stood up. "Harry Arc, also known as 'The Flash', a renowned war hero of Vale during the Great War, who was responsible for many of Vale's victories during the conflict."
"Superb! It seems that someone's been learning their history." Doctor Oobleck remarked before sending Weiss back to her seat with a proud grin on her face. "That is one of the many stories told in history, it shows you how rich the world of Remnant is. You see, Jaune here is the descendant of Harry Arc." He explained while I tried not to cover my face out of embarrassment. "It doesn't end with just him, Harry Arc's son and the son after him, also contributed something as well."
I've seen my family name pop up a few times in the history books, and this along with my reputation made me worry that this exact thing will happen. Thankfully, he stopped right there and did not bring up my Dad or me and my fiasco at Podunk.
"But enough about the Arcs! Their stories are for another day! Our first lesson will be the rise of the Empire that was and how it greatly influenced civilization today! I'm sure you have all learned this countless times before, but students tend to forget it after the end of their school year and history is not something you should forget!" he said before clearing his throat. "Now, as you know before there were the four kingdoms, there was once an empire that united Remnant… or most of it at least."
He went on and taught about the birth of the Old Empire and their contributions to early history while it spreads its culture around Remnant by slowly conquering its neighbors, at least that's what I got, because I got lost at the middle of the lecture because he was talking too fast while zooming around the classroom like a madman that I got tired of catching up. I spent most of the class skimming at random pages in my history book for anything that might interest me.
"…by this age, the empire now controls one-third of Remnant. They would go on live another era of stability and prosperity before eventually meeting their eventual fall as what every civilization have to face. The fall is one thing that must never repeat at our kingdoms, that's why we as Huntsman, have a duty to fulfill." He then took a deep breath and paused before the school bell rang. "That's all for today, tomorrow we will discuss the Empire's finest hour to their eventual fall. Please study pages 16 to 23. You are dismissed."
With that, we stood up and left the class for lunch. All these lectures were making us hungry and we were given an hour and a half to eat and unwind, which is something I needed because I felt a little agitated after that, he just had to bring up my family to provide an example of one of Remnant's historical figures, don't get me wrong, my ancestors were cool and all but they just remind me of greatness and bravery that I cannot emulate myself, at least legitimately. It doesn't help that the professor seemed to recognize who I was and probably expects me to be as significant as them. [3] This, added with my reputation, makes this class somewhat troublesome.
=o=
1. Paramilitary if you want to get technical, and military time is used to familiarize students with it. On any other occasion, the standard 12-hour clock is used. This despite all of Ozpin's infamous aversion to regular armed forces.
2. Ruby had me freeze the Deathstalker while Blake distracted it. She then sliced off the gland before Yang punched it off the bridge.
3. Like most people, Jaune was not aware that his ancestors had to suffer the same dilemma he had to go through.
We were sitting down taking lunch, next to our closest allies, Team RWBY, and just by watching them it gave me more reason to be concerned as they were barely acting like a team at all. Ruby and Weiss were just ignoring each other while Yang is chattering about something in which Blake just responds with disinterested nods. As much as I want to help to make sure they stay useful to me, this was Ruby's responsibility; she's barely going to learn anything herself if I solve her team's problems for her. So I decided to put good faith in Ruby hoping that she'd finally be able to put her team back in track while I worry about my own, as I had a little training initiative planned earlier.
"Hey, Jaune. Is there anything bothering you?" Pyrrha asked, noticing my concerned expression.
"Oh, nothing in particular," I lied so I don't have to bring up our sister team's issue while eating in front of them. "It's just that I was thinking about the team-building exercises we were planning."
Nora was trying to say something with her mouth full, which was just as comprehensible as one would expect, it wasn't clear until she swallowed her food. "What's on your mind then, Fearless Leader?"
I would have told them then but this was private business with my team and I didn't want an outside party to potentially ruin it for me, like that a certain cardinal trying to get my attention by throwing small beans at me. "We'll discuss it later at the dorm, right now, eat up, you're going to need it."
"Okie-Dokie!" Nora went back into munching her sandwich.
After we were done eating, we gathered in the dorm and went on to plan for 'Operation: Golden Horse Training'. The three of them all lined up in the middle, paying close attention to me while I walked back and forth.
"Alright gang, ever since we found ourselves to be mutual holders of the white knight chess piece, I knew that if we want Grimm to fear us, we must put some practice on our dynamics as a team. So, the first thing we need is—" I stopped walking around when I saw Nora standing up straight while wearing a green army helmet, something I wasn't able to notice until then. "Uh, what are you wearing?" I asked, losing my confident tone of authority.
"Standard issue protective headgear, sir!"
I gave a puzzled look. I know what that is, obviously. Asking where did it came from would have been more appropriate. I turned at Ren for a more candid answer. "Oh, she just likes to dress-up sometimes. We got that from a dead soldier somewhere outside Vale."
So what they meant to tell me was that they once scavenged from a soldier, that was a little dark but I otherwise have no issue with it as I would have done the same. Everyone could use a helmet when exploring the wilderness. "Alright, at ease, soldier. You're just as fine yourself—no need for you to wear that." I said, sort of playing along.
"Sir, thank you, sir!" Nora discarded her helmet and went back to her usual demeanor. "…I mean, of course, dear leader! Anything you say!" she said, but not without a salute.
I decided to shrug it off and pick up where I left off. "Now, where was I? Ah, of course, the first thing we need is a place where we could practice in peace. We could only do so much in this room, and that's only assuming we somehow don't trash it. So, does anyone know where we can train?"
The room was silent for seconds, indicating that they had no answer. Well, we were only been here for three days and even if we spent most of our time here exploring the academy, we were still not sure of an available space to train. We would just have to find one then. "Nothing, then? Alright then, don't worry, we just need to scout a place, starting right now. Make sure it has enough space for us to train, and be sure it is a place where no one can disturb us, and remember: this is private JNPR business, tell no one about this, not even Team RWBY unless I say so. Understood?"
They all nodded. "Good. Meeting adjourned." We all went our separate ways to spend our own time for remaining minutes of recess.
When the bell rang, I immediately went to the Dust Lab to take Professor Peach's class. This time I became more wary in case some smart-aleck tries to make me drop it. I should learn to keep my guard up at all times especially when the time comes where I start to carry dust. Huntsman academy prides itself with individuality so much that they allow some students to act like undisciplined jackasses so long as they stay mostly compliant to the rules; and these are supposed to be the guardians of tomorrow. I'm starting to wonder if this is the reason why most of the world remain Grimmified even though we supposedly had the adequate power and technology to turn the tides around.
Anyway, since I seldom use dust, this was going to be the toughest subject in my opinion, at least when it comes to not watching the clock. I predict it to be something like science class, only that it's focused on colorful magic rocks.
"Students," A woman in her early to mid-thirties called. She had orange hair, was wearing some safety goggles and a lab gown "Welcome to Dust Studies. I am Professor Bonnie Peach, I will be the one guiding you into learning about these useful tools and teaching you how to use them. All of you had at least used dust at one point in your lives, so even if you don't consider yourself as a 'dust user', this subject will still be vital to you as a Huntsman, especially if you plan to compete in the tournament, where you are likely to face a dust user and want to know how to counter them." She then went to the chalkboard and started writing down 'Dust 101' "Now to start, please turn your textbooks to the introduction page."
She looked at the class and then noticed something when she adjusted her goggles. "My-my. Do my eyes deceive me? Are you Weiss Schnee? The heiress of the Schnee Dust Company?"
"Yes, I am, professor," Weiss responded as she tried to give herself a smile over the recognition.
"Oh. It's just I'm a huge fan of your singing. I'm also a staunch supporter of your father's company," Professor Peach complemented. She sings? I hope she doesn't shatter glasses or make birds explode when doing so. [1]
A proud grin entered Weiss' face. "Why, thank you, ma'am."
"If you don't mind, would you like to read the introduction here in the front?" Professor Peach invited.
Weiss nodded. "It would be an honor."
An heiress of a dust company whose fighting style seemed to involve heavy use of dust will likely to excel a subject based around dust? How shocking. I noticed that Weiss was getting the attention of every professor since Professor Port so far. I was starting to believe that this was going to become a running theme. [2]
Other comments made about her were much less friendly than mine, to say the least.
"Ugh, her again? I really cannot stand that skank."
"Yeah. When will she just fuzz off?"
"Never liked the Schnees. Damn rich bigots."
With that, I cannot help but feel sorry for her even though I still possess some annoyance over her stuck-up attitude that I could spend two whole pages writing about. But being an heir of a multi-million lien company[3] also had its downsides, which must be a huge pain to deal with.
This day's lesson was about the basics and origins of dust, something I already knew after studying it multiple times with Bleu.
When it was over, we went to our lockers to get our weapons for Phys-Ed/Combat Class taught by Miss Goodwitch herself. I had mixed feelings about combat class, while I do appreciate its practicality, I fear that I might end up getting picked for a match which I either have to make my undeserved reputation worse by winning, or disappoint my team and friends and expose myself as a sham by losing. The best case scenario is to get lucky enough not to get picked, but I don't know if I could count on my luck on one of these days.
The combat hall was already filled with almost every other freshmen team in school. I sat beside my team and waited for Miss Goodwitch. She entered a few minutes later and stood at the middle of the arena, making the chatter to fade with all eyes on her without uttering a single word.
She looked around the classroom for a moment before she began to speak. "Good afternoon, students, how was your first day of class treating you all? I hope you've found yourselves comfortable in your teams and classes. Now, let us begin the class you have all been waiting for."
Or have been worrying about.
"As some of you may have guessed, this is the most important class in this school, as it trains your physique, skills and tactical knowledge as you demonstrate them. As Huntsmen and Huntresses, you must always be prepared to engage in combat anytime, anywhere." She then pulled out a copy of the student's Beacon handbook. "Please refer to your handbooks for the guidelines written for the course."
We were given a few minutes to read the contents regarding combat training in our handbooks. After that, we were asked to stop and return our attention to Miss Goodwitch.
"In preparation, you will be given thirty minutes of warm-up exercises. We will need to make sure that your bodies are prepared to partake in combat training. To begin, I want you all to start by standing up and forming a line outside. You will run thirty laps around the courtyard."
And so it begun.
=o=
1. I take offense to that.
2. Well, I didn't get much attention from Professor Goodwitch in the next class so that would be the last time I irritate detractors with my charming grace for the day.
3. Calling the SDC multimillion is somewhat underestimating especially since we remained as the most valuable company for the past few decades even with a few hiccups here and there.
Editorial Note:
Since Jaune did not bother writing down the rules of engagement during combat matches in his accounts, I took the liberty to add them here as an excerpt. It should satisfy the curiosity of readers who wish to know more about the procedures of class duels among Beacon students.
"Rules of Training Matches" from the Student's Beacon Handbook
[This version was the one used in Jaune's first year at Beacon. The current version being used today is more or less the same, with slight differences.]
Matches will consist of two teams. Teams may consist of a single or multiple members. Usually, both teams must have a balance of quantity but if one member is proven to be too adept enough, then they are to be matched with more than one opponent that could range to an entire team depending on the participant's skill level or the handicap needed to maintain the balance of power between the participants.
The duration of the matches ranges from three-to-ten minutes. When the timer runs out, the team that holds the most aura combined wins. [1] Another method of winning is to deplete all of the opponents' aura to red (15% and below). Participants who wish to concede may do so by simply declaring oneself as such.
Be reminded that your performance during matches are graded.
Here are a few guidelines and regulations to follow during a match:
1. If a participant's aura is in the red, that participant must now exit the arena, their opponent must cease attacking defeated participants to avoid serious injury.
2. Participants who concede are automatically declared as defeated and should be refrained from being harmed.
3. Likewise, participants who conceded defeat is not allowed to attack their opponent after doing so.
4. Cheating of any kind will not be tolerated.
5. The participant's team may cheer for their team-mate(s) but are not allowed to interfere as with the rest of the audience.
6. Do not attempt to attack the spectators, even if they are protected by transparent hardlight during the match.
7. Explosives are only allowed limited use as it may cause too much damage to the premises and possibly injure spectators on impact. Non-Lethal explosives are allowed but must have proper verification by the professor before being taken to the arena.
8. Be respectful to your opponents, the match should be treated as friendly competitions, and as such, foul play and any other dishonourable and extreme methods will not be taken lightly.
9. Kindly follow all the commands issued by the professor with no exceptions.
10. No lollygagging. [2]
=o=
1. During team battles, teams have a separate aura indicator that measures all of the team member's aura into one. This was mentioned in an earlier section on the guidebook.
2. More specifically: Do not stall, thereby, making a mockery of the match. This was made more clear in later editions.
The warm-up exercises were tiring (especially for Ren) but I managed to get through them since Dad had to put me on the same thing. I had to go through push-ups, sit-ups, and some stretching. At least I didn't have to punch tree trunks hundreds of times; I still remember getting splinters from those things, somehow bypassing my aura. [1]
We were given time to rest before being sent back to the combat hall where the real action begins.
"Before we start selecting participants for the matches, will all of you kindly pull out your scrolls?" Miss Goodwitch commanded. "You may notice an app that says 'Team Data', tap on it."
I proceeded to do just that. My screen then started to display portraits of me and my teammates, each having its own green a full green aura gauge.
"As you see, you are now looking at you and your teammate's aura levels. You will be using this during combat situations starting today, I advise you to regularly refer to it during such circumstances."
So far, this was the most beneficial thing the school has given me. I always needed to keep track of my aura to make sure I wasn't close to becoming Grimm sandwich. I wasn't sure how it got the scroll to read its user's aura levels though, [2] but as long as it works, I really don't care how.
"Now that you all know how to keep track of your aura, let us finally begin the matches," Miss Goodwitch announced.
"Alright!" Nora cheered along with the other students who were excited to see some action while I hoped that I don't have to be randomly picked as I wasn't exactly on the mood on fighting despite the exercises.
"First off, I would like to introduce you to Umi Hisakawa," Miss Goodwitch gestured to a girl in a geisha attire, wearing a light-blue kimono. "She's a senior here in Beacon. She was selected to be your opponent for this day before you will be able to face one another. She will demonstrate some pointers to consider during battle." Miss Goodwitch continued as the girl pulled out a fan and cooled herself with it. "Would anyone like to volunteer?"
Several eager students raised their hands. "Very well." Miss Goodwitch said before picking out one of them. "Brook Lane of Team BFYR (Bonfire), please come to the stage at once."
"Oh, hell yeah!" he cheered with his 'Mantlian tough guy' accent, which made it sound like he meant business while he sported that 'raised by tough streets' look. Once at the stage, Brook pulled out his spiked baseball bat and began facing his opponent.
"This will be a one-on-one battle. You will be given three minutes to strike your opponent down until they are unable to fight. If the timer runs out and none of you have still fallen, then whoever has the most aura wins." Miss Goodwitch stated. "You have read your handbook, have you, Mr. Lane?"
"I have, Miss Goodwitch," he nodded, sounding polite for someone as hot-blooded as he is.
"Then I'm assuming you know the rules of engagement then?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"Good, then let us begin." Miss Goodwitch then leaves the stage before all the lights—save for the one on the arena turned off. Two screens appeared on the front of the hall, each showing one of the combatant's gauges, both of which are full.
"Hey, just so you know: I'm not gonna hit your pretty face, so don't worry." Brook flirted as he readied his bat. With overconfidence like that against a senior who presumably has more experience, it was easy to see how this match was going to end.
"That's a shame, I was hoping you'd be more of a challenge," Umi replied while still fanning herself as if he was nothing.
"Eh?"
"Begin!" Miss Goodwitch declared.
Brook held his bat with both of his hands as he started to charge at his opponent. Umi then fanned herself for a couple more times before revealing blades coming out of her fans. Surprised, Brook stopped when Umi started to throw the blades at him which he barely dodged and deflected due to the weight of his weapon. Umi then pulled out another bladed fan and proceeded to dash into Brook while spinning. Brook deflected her strikes but had trouble trying to counter her attacks due to her speed.
Brook was then pushed to the ground, looking at his aura to see that it's already at 71%. He then angrily jumps back and changes his bat to an assault rifle and fires at the senior. Umi used her fans to shield from the bullets while walking towards him. When his clip ran out, Umi stormed towards him as Brook quickly tried to change back to a bat while anticipating her next attack, only for Umi to swipe away his weapon up into the air before pulling a roundhouse kick in his face, knocking him again to the ground.
He went back up as swiftly as he could before he caught his bat while it was falling (and conveniently did not catch it on the spiked part.) He swung it towards her face which she blocked with both of her fans, Brook head-butted her knocking her back slightly, he then swung his bat when Umi dodged right in time and used both of her bladed fans to slice his back multiple times. Staggered, Brook continued to swing his bat before turning around and saw his face getting swiped by a fan and fell down on his back.
Umi turned to the audience to give a bow as the buzzer and lights came back on. I wasn't exactly surprised at this outcome, but I don't think I could ever see pretty Mistrali girls in kimonos the same way ever again after witnessing this fight.
Miss Goodwitch stepped back to the stage. "Students, as you can see, Mr. Lane's aura has now dropped into the red. This would indicate that Brook is no longer fit for battle and that the official may call the match. After witnessing this, you should have now learned that you should not underestimate your opponents and that one's appearance can be deceiving."
"Hmph." Umi put one of her fans back to her sash and fanned herself again with the other. Brook made an embarrassed chuckle while he was still on the ground.
"Mr. Lane, you may now return to your seat." Miss Goodwitch looked at him before he nodded. He pushed himself up and trudged out of the arena while audibly grunting. "That was only the introduction to combat matches, while all of you may have proven yourselves to be worthy enough to be accepted into this academy, remember that you are still in training and that you have much to learn before you can be considered as full-fledged Huntsmen and Huntresses. Since we still have an hour before dismissal and Miss Hisakawa still has 96% of her aura left. Who else would like to volunteer?"
After the last match, the class became much more hesitant when volunteering that no one raised their hand, and instead just made glances at one another. Even the most overconfident and arrogant fighters had given up trying to challenge the deadly third-year geisha.
"Became wary after the last match, have you?" Miss Goodwitch commented with a slight smirk. "Good. Now you know why you should refrain from being reckless and being too overconfident with your abilities. Worry not, you are not going to face Miss Hisakawa in a duel, instead, you will be training with her while she demonstrates some pointers for combat. Matches will resume next month. For now, you will need to hone your skills first."
I felt that everyone took a sigh of relief after hearing that. Miss Goodwitch continued and invited another student to carry on the class. "Now, would Luna Mona of Team VILE (Violet) kindly enter the arena?"
The rest of the class had us learning about combat moves and tips. I mostly paid attention to the other students' fighting styles, in case I happen to face them, I would have a strategy. If there was anything I learned with Brook Lane's fight with Umi Hisakawa, that aside from being too cocky to think that he could match a seemingly harmless Mistrali girl who happened to be hiding plenty of steel beneath that elegant eastern silk, was that brute-forcing would always end with you getting the short end of the stick especially if you don't know what you're doing. You need to chose your next steps carefully, and when the situation is dire, then you need to think quickly while remaining prudent.
Eventually, the bell rang, marking the end of our first day at class. "Remember everything you've learned today, your future careers as Huntsmen will depend on it. I will see you all tomorrow." Miss Goodwitch said before everyone left the combat hall.
=o=
1. Probably because Jaune lost focus sometime during the exercise, thus, deactivating his aura.
2. The scroll is able to determine one's aura as long as it's in contact with the user. Since all physical apparel is connected to the user's aura, including various assortments of equipment, it will always read the user's aura until the scroll is distanced away from them.
The team and I spent the rest of the day looking for a vacant spot for team training. We've checked to see if students are permitted to use the combat hall to train after class hours, and it turned out that it was and it's also open during weekends in the afternoon but it was occupied by the every other team in the academy that we wouldn't have enough time with the arena ourselves. That and that were rumors that students literally fight over who gets the arena, and I don't think we'll get proper training in that kind of environment. We were allowed to visit the Emerald Forest if we wish, but we're not going to train there because I'm not that insane... yet.
We soon split up and went on doing our own things while still trying to look for a place. When we gathered in our dorm room later, Ren and Nora told me that the good spots were taken by other students, while Pyrrha said she was still working at it. I sighed and told them to resume this tomorrow and get some long-needed rest.
It was around ten o'clock, or 2200 hours if you follow the military time. I was sitting on my bed, updating this journal and reviewing the notes I have written during combat class and others based on observations of my teammates during their performance yesterday when Nora called me.
"Jaune?" she tapped my shoulder. She was wearing her pajamas which consisted of a black t-shirt that has a print that says 'boop' with her logo making up the second 'o' and a pink short patterned with white thunderbolts, which suited her, I guess.
"Yes, Nora, what is it?" I asked, putting down my notes for a second.
"Can you get me a glass of water? I know you might be busy but the fridge is empty; I would have told Ren or Pyrrha but they're both asleep and I don't want to bother them."
I would have asked if she could have done it herself, she's a grown woman for crying out loud, but I was patient enough to consider it, there wasn't any harm in doing it. As the team leader, it was my duty to look after my team. I felt like taking a quick stroll at Beacon during the night anyway. "Okay, sit tight, I'll get you something to drink."
"Aww~ Thank you, you're the best!" she said loudly while trying not to wake up the others before giving a quick hug.
I patted her back before letting go, she went back to her bed while I hid my journal and notes. I left the dorm with an empty glass cup on my left hand, slowly and quietly closing the door before walking to where I recall the nearest water dispenser was located.
As I was about to pass Team RWBY's dorm, the door suddenly opened causing me to stop out of instinct. Weiss walked out of the room and then stopped to say something. "Hey, Ruby… I always wanted bunk beds as a kid," she spoke in an amiable tone, which was something I wasn't used to hearing. I was happy for them though. Thank goodness to whatever that made them get along. [1] I was worried I had to deal with drama in a neighboring team for so long.
She closed the door and saw me on the hallway. Thankfully, it wasn't that awkward, I was wearing the new PJs I bought yesterday, which was simply just a black T-shirt and blue sweatpants, so she didn't have to suffer into seeing me in those onesies unlike Yang the other day. I kept the bunny slippers though, which she didn't seem to notice or mind if she did. She was still wearing her usual outfit, which led me to assume that she was on her way to the locker room to clean up and change.
It was rather rude to just pass her without saying something, sure our first impressions weren't good, but being uncivil would only infuriate her and I couldn't bear with an ice queen this late at night. She seemed to be in a good mood, so I thought it was appropriate to be courteous. "Hey," I greeted.
"Hey," she fixed her bangs with one of her hands while hesitantly making eye-contact. I could tell that she also wasn't used to being friendly with me but with the right circumstances, we could fix that.
"So… how are the beds?" I asked the first thing that come in mind that wouldn't be too much of a sensitive topic when bought up.
"We got real bunk beds now," she answered. "I wouldn't say Miss Goodwitch was happy when she saw our room in shambles though."
I slightly chuckled at that remark before remembering why I was out in the hallway. "At least you got what you guys wanted. Anyway, I… uh, gotta go. The Valkyrie needs her water." I stuttered, showing her the empty glass as I passed through her before I could make this encounter any awkward.
"Jaune?" she called.
"Yeah?" I stopped at my tracks and turned back at her to hear what she had to say.
"When Pyrrha said you'd make a great teammate… Well, I hope that she's right. You seemed to be a lot more capable than you look. Don't take this the wrong way, but if it wasn't for the skills you displayed, I would have thought of you as some unqualified idiot who somehow cheated his way into Beacon," she admitted.
Cheating into Beacon? What kind of warped alternate version of myself would go as far as to commit such an act? Not being accepted into Beacon would have been the most relieving thing that would've ever happened to me or anyone who wasn't insane enough. Either way, I'm glad that she was starting to appreciate me, even though I wasn't worthy of such credit.
"I just hope you continue on whatever you're doing that keeps your team afloat." she continued. "…and I mean it. Look, I'm sorry about how I acted earlier and I know our initial meetings weren't exactly ideal, I let my temper get the better of me. Now, everyone must think I'm sort of a snob."
I was able to understand where she was coming from, stress can bring out the worst of people, and it was apparent that her life wasn't as luxurious as it looked. "Must be rough being an heiress, huh?"
"Exactly. People wanted to live like royalty, but they do not know the everyday stresses and burdens as one. My father, for instance, for all his flaws, at least wants the best for us, but I could barely go a single day without hearing him yell because of what he had to go through daily. It doesn't help that people always seem to remember our shortcomings, but always forget when we do good."
I can't help but agree with her. I've seen a few individuals being portrayed based on one of their actions, and people think they've become experts of that person when in reality, there was more to it than that. Some impressions are going to last longer than others which is why I am very anxious about my reputation and how it could affect the Arcs as a whole.
She then took a deep breath and looked back at me. "I think I'm getting carried away. All I'm saying is… thank you for understanding. I guess Pyrrha was lucky to have you all, huh?"
Maybe. I subtly looked down at that. I don't know if getting paired with and being led by someone like me was beneficial for her.
"It was my pleasure… Snow Angel." I slipped out a nickname out of habit. I realized this and then smacked myself as I wasn't supposed to call anyone with sardonic nicknames as they could contradict my charade as a somewhat wide-eyed altruist.
"Jaune, people call me a lot of names but that's probably the worst one yet," she remarked with slight irritation, although thankfully not noticing that I acted snide for a second there.
"Sorry. I didn't know what came out on my mind." I sheepishly apologized.
"But still, thank you. I really needed to get that off my chest."
"You're welcome." I nodded.
We smiled at each other before going our separate ways. It was actually nice to have a chat with Weiss while she's not acting like some anger-management attendee. But I should remember that this was only one time and she was in a better mood, as far as I know, her cold heart was still far from melted. Still, I consider this a step-up from our previous interactions and hope that the belligerence between us is eventually shaken off so we could finally act like allies and not like children squabbling over petty things.
=o=
1. After Grimm Studies, I was given a talk by Professor Port. He convinced me to savor what I had and continue on what I do best as a huntress instead of complaining about not being chosen as a leader. Say what you wish about Professor Port and his tall tales but he knows exactly what he is talking about, and I highly respect him for that.
It was Thursday, apart from the class schedule being somewhat different and that professors were now giving us homework—much to our chagrin, it was just more of the same day. Yes, that meant Professor Port spent the majority of his class telling his stories again and it was just as entertaining as one may have guessed.
It was recess and I was done taking lunch. I went to the library to study some notes while working on my team's strategy and tactics. Since I study better with fewer people in the room, I headed to the private section of the library where only a few visit. I found that place by simply wandering around, I believed that most students don't knew it even existed.
As I entered the private section, I almost dropped my notes when I saw Blake, who was just as startled as me that she stood up and stopped whatever she was reading and quickly and almost instantly covered it with her other books. "Blake?!" I screamed.
"Jaune?! Wha-What are you doing here?" She held one of her books tight on her chest.
I tried my best not to panic as it would only escalate the situation. I wanted to make sure she didn't get the wrong idea and that this doesn't become the first thing that come to mind when thinking about our interactions together. "I-I didn't know you were here! They said this place was always empty!"
Seeing each other shocked us both so much that this did not go unnoticed by other people in the library. "Could you two lovebirds keep it down?! This is a library," An annoyed student called from the main section.
"Sorry!" I said while lowering my voice, trying not to scoff at the 'lovebirds' remark. I looked back at Blake who was flushed and still was clenching her books. She was the one I knew the least from Team RWBY. Judging by her demeanor, she seemed to be introverted, preferring the company of her books than people, so I knew that I would only be bothering her with my presence. "Look, I'm very sorry, If I'm bothering you then I'll just go."
I turned back and was about to leave until I heard her call me, which then put me in a halt. "Wait! It's okay. I'd be selfish if I keep this place for myself."
Good to know that she didn't mind sharing, a quiet place to review my notes was all I'm asking for. "Oh—umm… Thank you." I said, slowly walking back inside.
"On one condition," Blake gestured with her index finger before using it to draw a line on the floor. "You stay on that half, I'll stay on this; that way, we couldn't bother each other, got it?"
I really couldn't find a reason to say why not, Blake wasn't the type to bother which was why I didn't need to worry about her. "That seems fair."
We spent our remaining free-time reading our own respective things, not minding one another, but I was having a hard time concentrating for some reason no matter how much I try to focus on my own notes. I didn't know why, but all I could say that there was something stinging my own senses. When I thought about it, my conscience directed me toward Blake, not herself, but oddly enough—her bow. I didn't know why I'm having suspicions over a girl's accessory. Sure, it looked too huge that it made her look like she could be mistaken for having cat ears, but aside from that, there was really nothing to it. As far as I concerned, it was just a bow, one that kept taunting me with its mere sight, that is.
I was starting to get irritated at my own mind being paranoid over a piece of headwear, so in an attempt to get it off, I brought it up. Hoping I might get something from it and then move on to my life. "Hey, Blake. I just wanted to say—uh, you have a really cute bow."
Well, that's could have been better but it's a start at least. I should be thanking my mother and seven sisters for teaching me one of the most important skills of all: The ability to communicate with women. I pretty much grew up to be confident around people of the opposite sex, thus talking to girls outside my own mother doesn't feel alien to me. Other boys tend to be either lacking confidence or acting too confident that they would wind up repulsing anyone with common sense.
"Thanks? I guess," she confusedly looked back to me before looking down and adding. "You know, this might sound a little weird but—it's a part of me. I don't think I could show myself without it."
She sounded a little too passionate over a huge bow but from what I've seen from her so far, that could be just Blake being herself for all I know. "Hey, it looks good on you, but I think you'll look just fine without it. After all, people say that beauty comes from its natural form." I pointed out, and yes, I know how corny it sounded but it helps enforce my awkward nice guy persona.
"You don't know that, trust me," she responded somewhat bluntly, looking like she's aggravated at what I just said.
I wasn't sure what she meant by that, I thought she was just being timid and needed some boost in confidence. I tried doing just that. "Maybe not but you won't know your own beauty if you keep hiding it from yourself."
It turned out that might not have been the best response. She gasped at me with her eyes widening. I looked at her confused, there wasn't anything I said that was remotely offensive, and I made sure I was careful enough not to. "I'm sorry, was it something I said?"
She was glancing down, almost as if she was avoiding my gaze for a second. "No—it's nothing, just please stop talking about it."
Of course that didn't help me figure out what was wrong at all. But whatever it was, I wanted to apologize for it. "Look, Blake, if I said something that hurt you then I—"
She raised her hand in front of me. "Don't. Look, I know you mean no harm and have no reason to apologize—I just… I…I don't want to talk about it."
"If that's what you wish." I went back to studying my notes. If she's not comfortable talking about this then why bother, though she could at least tell me what was wrong.
Blake sighed and looked at me shamefully. "I'm sorry about that. I don't think you're a bad person especially after seeing that you're one of the nicer people I've met."
Sadly, I don't think I could agree with her on that. It was only smart to make sure you're on everyone's good side.
"I just need to think about what you said," she said before looking back at her book, and I still have no clue on what she upset over so I can't exactly help her with it. All I could do was respect her decision to not bring it up any further.
We went back to minding our own business until the bell rang and we went back to class. I finally got to talk to Blake for once and it was a bit of a mystifying experience. Then again, this was Blake, I didn't know much about her compared to her teammates; she was like the only person on this circle that I never properly met on the first day. I'll learn more about her soon enough. I had more important things to take care of.
Classes for the day were finally over. Spending seven hours of lectures after years of being home-schooled in the comfort of a familiar environment was something I still have to accustom myself with. I left the classroom when I heard Pyrrha call me, I turned around to listened to what she had to say. "Hey, Pyrrha. What's new?" I asked.
"Jaune, I think I may have found a place for us to train," she said which was something I wanted to hear.
Finally some great news, I thought. We didn't have to spend another day going around circles just to find an adequate space. "Really?! Great! Let's notify Ren and Nora."
"You summon us, brave leader?" Nora instantly popped out of nowhere, startling both of us, with Ren catching up as he panted.
"What seems to be the issue?" he said, leaning at the nearest wall.
"Good news, Pyrrha found a spot, we can begin training right now," I told them, displaying them a face of gratitude now we are finally able to take the next step as a team.
Nora made an ecstatic grin. "Really?! Oh, finally! We are going to have so much fun training with each other!"
"Right, right," I nodded before turning back to my partner so we could finally get this over with. "Pyrrha, would you lead the way?"
"Of course. Follow me," she nodded.
We followed her as she lead us to what would be Team JNPR's training spot. She took us to a series of stairs in the top floor of the residence hall, which then led us to a rooftop. It was an empty space save for some black pipes placed around and a pair of air-conditioner units standing near the walls between the entrance. While it was spacious enough, the parapets were too short that they're barely a foot tall, which could risk any of us falling if we're not careful, so we had to limit acrobatics during training just to be safe. Still, it was better than nothing.
Pyrrha turned at us as soon as we arrived at the rooftop. "So what do you think?"
"It's good enough," I answered. "The problem is that we could fall given how short the walls are, but aside from that, this will do just fine, we just have to be careful and avoid jumping too much."
"Sounds reasonable," Pyrrha said.
"So, where do we start?" Nora bounced before stretching her fingers.
I took a deep breath and thought for a few seconds before beginning the session, this was the moment I was preparing myself for. "Alright, so we are here not only to practice our skills but to make sure we could work as a team."
"And don't forget: We're also here so we could help you unlock your semblance!" Nora added.
I would have forgotten about that had she not reminded me about it, which I wish she didn't since I didn't want everyone worrying about my semblance. So I needed everyone to know that it wasn't a priority. "Oh right, that too. But first, we have to establish your combat roles so we can begin."
I first turned to Ren. As blank as his expression was, he was doing his best to show that he was paying attention. "Ren, since you're the most mobile of all of us, you'll be the recon of this team. Since You have limited amounts of stamina, do your best to make each one of them count."
He gave me a single nod. "Got it."
"Nora, your weapons pack a lot of punch, so you'll be in charge of demolition and be our heavy damager. You'll have to follow my instructions to make the most of it."
"Understood!" She bounced into a straight stature before saluting.
"Pyrrha, since you're the most skilled here and have the most flexible combat style, you'll be in charge of the front-lines and the main offensive." I told her. And unofficially, I need her to be my bodyguard on the battlefield. As long as she stays beside me, then my own life shouldn't be an issue at all.
"What about you?" Pyrrha asked, which was exactly one of the questions I expected to hear.
"I'll mainly act as support since I issue orders, but I'll help if I can." Which by that, I mean if an enemy has gotten too close and I have no other choice. I'll mostly stay at the sidelines, providing supporting fire—if I had a gun, which I would have brought if I didn't blow my money on clothes, so I had to save some money until I could buy one or maybe find one lying around.
"So, any questions?" I clapped my hands and looked at my team who all responded with silence, which I will consider as a no and move on to the next part of this introduction. "Now that's settled, let's move on to some of my personal advice during combat." I cleared my throat. "First off: Don't fight fair."
"Isn't that against the rules?" Pyrrha inquired.
"Good question, I'm talking about fighting Grimm. Of course, during friendly duels with fellow Huntsmen, we have to fight honorably and abide by the rules," Though, if you ask me, I'd say that unless your opponent is a respectable friend, I still think you need to do what you need to do win while making sure it was compliant enough for the rules, get through loopholes when necessary. I'm sure that the opponent has the same idea. I continued, "But the Grimm lacks the concept of honor, rules, and cannot be reasoned with, they want you dead as soon as they feel you, so do everything you can to get rid of them."
They look like they were taking a few seconds to process all of this but they seem to get the point as they were smarter than they look, thankfully.
"Next is during combat matches and other forms of competition: When on the offensive, we need to find a way to signal each other without giving away our attacks. Calling our attacks would only give the enemy a chance to react especially if they're familiar with us. So, are there any suggestions on how we could call each other?"
Nora then raised her hands. "Oh! Oh! We could use animal sounds as codes!"
I felt both my brows rise. "I'm sorry, what?" Her answer was odd that I have to ask if I heard right. I never heard of someone doing that before, and even if I did have several years of proper experience at fighting, that would still sound no less strange to me.
"As silly as it may sound, I'll have to second her on that," Ren chimed in. "It leaves the enemy confused at the noise while it signals your allies. It's also how we ended up as partners, believe it or not."
I thought about it for a moment before realizing that it might not be a bad idea in practice. "Interesting. Mind giving an example?"
"Here is the sound of the sloth! It helped me and Ren get together as partners." Nora said before demonstrating the sound. "Qrr-aa! Qrr-aa! Qrr-aa!"
I kept giving confused looks at the strange noises my teammate just made but maybe that was the point especially if I assume the role of an opponent. I was convinced to accept it since Ren was correct so far and it was audible enough to our teammates. "Okay, that could work."
"I still doubt that sloths sound like that," Ren commented.
And then I moved to my next advice, "And last but not the least: Don't be afraid to run away from battles you know you can't win. When people hear this, they might call you a coward, but there is a difference between cowardice and caution. As Huntsmen, we needed to be in the best fighting shape possible, we can't waste ourselves on hopeless battles when we still have a lot of lives to save," I said, trying to speak in a manner that they would expect to hear from me while staying true to my own word.
I needed my team to follow my example of not disregarding your own life. Just because this team is full of skilled fighters, it didn't mean the odds were always with us. After all, we were still Huntsmen-in-training. "Got it?"
They all mused for a moment until Ren stepped in. "I concur."
"Wise words, dear leader!" Nora followed.
Pyrrha chimed in. "You're doing well, Jaune. Keep it up."
I smiled. I'm happy to know that my teammates trust me so far. But at the same time, I can't help but feel ashamed of persuading them to a strategy that I actually made for them to emphasize my own safety. The only way to repay them is to make sure they don't get themselves killed while carrying it out. "I'm glad you could understand. Now, onto exercise!"
We spent almost two hours exercising and practicing. It was actually a nice experience. Being able to train with your teammates while getting to know them a little better.
After we were finished, Pyrrha and I stood at the center end of the rooftop, admiring the view together. Ren was exhausted, sitting at one of the AC units, and Nora was bouncing around, still full of energy as she usually was.
"Gee, that was fun! I'm very glad to be in the most awesome team in Beacon! Oum be praised!" she raised both of her hands up.
We both confusedly looked at her. "I'm sorry, but who's Oum?" I looked at Pyrrha who answered with a shrug before looking back at Nora.
"I… actually don't know. Really, it just suddenly came to my mind. It's weird! It's not like I took any coffee lately, Ren never let me have any coffee." Nora answered, I'd say she's lying but she sounded as genuinely confused as us.
"Well, whoever he is, he sounds like a cool guy." Ren of all people remarked, still sitting down.
We all then put our muddled stares at him, that wasn't something you'd normally hear from him.
"What?" he responded.
"Oh, I mean Oum-nissiah. Yes, praise The Omnissiah, for the Machine God has guided the system into binding us together!" Nora corrected, not that it made any more sense to it. [1]
"Indeed. Praise be The Omnissiah," Ren followed with his usual tone of voice and expression.
Pyrrha and I looked at each other and laughed the whole thing off. We put our gazes at Beacon's scenery during sunset. She suddenly held my shoulder, I turned to look at her emerald eyes and saw the sunset shine on her. I struggled not to blush at the stunning image. "We won't let you down."
They definitely won't because I have faith in them, something that I could not say the same for myself." I know."
I looked back at the sky as the four of us watched it transition from day to night. A beautiful undefeated champion, a ying of joy and energy, and a yang of logic and tranquility; all being led by a pathetic, lying blond who was unfortunate enough to be put himself into this crap. As one bumpy ride this year was going to be, at least I know that I will be able to depend on the people I'm going to be stuck with for a while.
=o=
1. At some point before attending Beacon, Ren and Nora were once part of the "Cult Mechanicus," an outlawed techno-religious movement infamous for their questionable experiments usually involving machinery and cybernetics. Thankfully, Ren and Nora was able to leave the cult before having any of their body parts torn off for 'augmentations,' though they seem to have kept some of the beliefs of that dogma.