...FLOCK TOGETHER
YANG POV
"You're late. Again."
Blake spoke in her usual mono-toned voice while keeping her deadpanned expression that she always wore when she's reading her books… or all the time.
"Well. It's a bit different this time. I ran into this new kid on the way here, literally. I didn't wanna be douche after knocking him down and just go. I mean I kinda did, but I did hear him out a bit."
Nora who was sitting behind me, suddenly had her ears perked up in excitement. She leaned in closer with her hand cuffing both my ear and her mouth at the same time then whispered… well, she tried to at least.
"Did you say new kid? This late into the semester? OOH, I wonder what's his story."
Seeing as how Nora's always at a 100, it doesn't surprise me the least bit when Jaune and Ruby overheard and jolted them into the conversation.
"You think he's one of those goodwill students that Professor Ozpin was recruiting? I thought those were just rumors… wait! Are you he's a HE?"
I smirked at Jaune and nodded, much to his disappointment.
"Sis! Sis! Did you see his weapon!?"
Of course that would be the first thing Ruby wanted to ask.
"Guys, were still in class."
Ren calmly protested.
"True, but I wonder which team he's going to be joining then?
Even Pyrrha's curiosity was piqued.
Soon, the small rumor mill that I inadvertently started turned into a full blown class discussion, and Oobleck was not happy about it.
"Ahem!"
All of us stopped our chattering at the same time the moment we heard Oobleck's not so subtle cough. We all shook our heads, cringing at the idea that homework tonight might be doubled… maybe even tripled, because of this 'misbehavior' as he would call it. All on top of an hour long lecture. Torture. Pure torture. I was about ready to zone out every word Oobleck will spit out, when lo and behold, Professor Ozpin and Professor Goodwitch barged in our classroom.
"Professor Ozpin."
Surprised, Ozpin's name was all he could muster at the sight of the man himself, to which Ozpin replied with a simple nod. He walked to the center of the room, twirling his cane before slamming it's tip on the wooden floor the moment he reached his destination.
"Good morning, students of Beacon Academy. I apologize for interrupting your class, Doctor Oobleck, but I have an announcement to make. I am sure most of you are aware that I have a program in this academy that allows less fortunate individuals, who exhibit great talents to become hunters and huntresses, to join our ranks as students. To give them an opportunity to learn, grow, and make a better life for themselves. Unfortunately, all of my invitations were turned down… well, all but one."
Ozpin shifted his gaze at the classroom door, urging who I assume is the student he was talking about, to come in.
"H-hey, ah, everyone. I wasn't really expecting to have an intro as grand as this professor..."
The new kid was tall and fair skinned with brown eyes. His hair was short and dark, messily layered on top, with the left side of his hair almost covering his left eye. He wore the typical Beacon Academy uniform with his own twist to it: suit unbuttoned, collars popped up, and his sleeves rolled up to his elbows. The knot on his necktie was loose and untucked, and to top it all off, he had a scarlet scarf lined with gold, wrapped around his waist twice over.
I leaned closer to Weiss and whispered in her ear… actually whispered.
"That's him, the new kid I was telling y'all about."
Weiss raised her eyebrow, then quickly shifted her gaze towards the new kid, examining him from head to toe. The more she looked at him, the more agitated she got.
"How barbaric."
The moment those words came out of Weiss's mouth, Professor Goodwitch stepped forward, just as annoyed as Weiss was.
"You'll have to forgive our new student here. It would seem, he is unfamiliar with our dress code. Worry not, we'll make sure he's up to speed with Beacon Academy's standards."
The new kid placed his hands against hips and flashed a smile that lit up the whole room.
"Nope."
Everyone was shocked at how straightforward his response was. To Goodwitch no less. But none were more surprised by his answer than Professor G, herself.
"Excuse. Me?"
Unfazed, the new kid simply shrugged his shoulders and smiled at her.
"The uniform looks so uptight and hot. I just added a little spin to it to make it feel more comfortable."
You can see the wrinkles in her face the way she's fuming in anger, but Ozpin stopped her from erupting on the spot.
"Now, now Glynda, he's not exactly wrong. Here. *cough* Why don't you introduce yourself?"
The new kid smiled at Oz then turned towards us.
"The name's Ezra Flyheight. You can just call me Ezra. I'm a native here in Vale, down by the outskirts. I wish I could have joined you guys earlier in the year, but.. ah.. circumstances.. So here I am. Looking forward to working with you guys."
A bit uptight, and somehow carefree at the same time. Totally different from his stuttering personality earlier.
"Thank you Mr. Flyheight." Ozpin continued. "As you all know, Beacon Academy functions in the idea camaraderie formed with the bonds you share with your teams. Unfortunately, we do not have the right amount of freshmen to place Mr. Flyheight into a separate team of his own. So in keeping with our traditions and not wanting Ezra here to be left behind, I have decided to put him as an 'extra' - a substitute or an honorary member if you will - to an already existing team."
The moment Professor Ozpin made that statement, the chattering that Oobleck stopped was immediately reinvigorated, with each person roaring louder than they did a second ago. I mean, how could we not? An extra body to a four-man team? That's an absolute game changer, for better OR worse.
"Nice. I wonder which team he's running to?"
I slouched back and crossed my legs under my desk, looking all excited. Blake doesn't seem to really care all that much, Ruby's ecstatic and jumpy of course - probably for all the wrong reasons, and Weiss… is still agitated.
"Well it doesn't really matter, but he better not be in OUR team."
Blake glanced back at Weiss, finally showing some sort of interest.
"Why's that? The more the merrier is how the saying goes right?"
Weiss sneered at Blake, diverting her irritation towards her.
"What?" Blake answered back. "I just don't like judging a book by it's cover."
Weiss seemed amused by Blake's reaction. She had the look of a spoiled child, ready to lay down the law the moment someone says anything that doesn't agree with her ideas. The classic Weiss look, basically.
"We have enough to worry about as a team as it is, we don't really need another person to mess up our chemistry."
I mean, she does bring up a good point, snarky as she is, and it seems it's not just Weiss who thinks about this whole situation that way. Looking around, I noticed JNPR and CRDL shared the same sentiment. I guess Weiss was the only one confident enough to voice out what everyone was already thinking.
"Calm down everyone. You all don't have to speculate about this any further considering I've already made the decision to which team young Ezra here should go to."
And just like that, the room was silent once again. So quiet in fact that you can practically hear our hearts thumping out of chests in anticipation. We all kept our eyes wide open, keeping them fixated at Ozpin, urging him to make the announcement. Seconds felt like hours, my throat felt parched, and my eyeballs dry, refusing to blink and miss the moment Ozpin made his announcement.
"I reviewed everyone's performance the moment they arrived at Beacon up until now, and then cross-examined it with Mr. Flyheight's data based on his profile from his past academic studies. With all that in mind, I've come to the conclusion that the team most suited for Ezra's skill set is Team RWBY."
Weiss jinxed it. Totally convinced that she absolutely, most positively did.
"NICE!"
Ruby, unable to contain herself, jumped for joy, as she carelessly leaned over the edge of her desk and yelled at Ezra, while she waved her hands erratically at the same time.
"Ruby calm down, you're embarrassing us!" Weiss protested. "Besides, I will not stand for this!"
Weiss stood up and crossed her arms, she did it with such speed and vigor that she practically demand everyone's attention without even saying a word.
"I object, professor! For all we know this guy doesn't have a lick of talent in him! He'll bring nothing but chaos with our team's already flimsy chemistry! With all do respect, I request that you send him somewhere else!"
Ozpin chuckled at Weiss's demands, he calmly collected himself then raised his hand, ready to counter her statements, but before he could say anything, Ezra stepped forward.
"So you're questioning my skills then?"
He asked with a grin on his face.
"Precisely what I'm saying."
She arrogantly responded without a lick of hesitation.
"So you're saying I'm not qualified? I'm assuming you're saying that as Team RWBY's leader then?"
Weiss stuttered at his remarks. She was already salty about the team's leadership situation, so what Ezra said hit her straight to where it hurts the most: her pride. Whether he knew that doesn't matter it's still a bullseye.
"Why you little..."
Ruby slowly sat back down, nervously laughing, while Blake decided to just walk to a different seat altogether, not wanting to be caught in the upcoming mess. Everyone looked at Weiss, waiting for the inevitable explosion that should be happening in 3...2...1.
"Who do you think you are!? Fine! I challenge you to a duel!"
Ezra reveled in Weiss' anger. He mockingly laughed at her while Ozpin looked at him surprised and disappointed at the same time.
"How about it Professor Ozpin? Will you set it up for us?"
Ozpin sighed, and paused for a second before eventually conceding to the two's request.
"All right everyone, to the sparring room we go."
Aaannd to the sparring room we went. Half an hour passed, and the two combatants stood face to face right in front of each other while Ozpin stood in between them explaining the rules.
"Just so we're clear Ms. Schnee, the outcome of this match will not change my mind at all."
Weiss completely ignored what Ozpin said, choosing to raise her weapon up instead. She lifted her shoulders squarely, and moved her right foot forward. The way she was sneering at Ezra made it very clear how eager she was to fight the new kid.
"It might not change your opinions professor, but it might change his. At the very least, he'll know his place."
Ezra sarcastically let out a loud laugh. He bent his knees and spread his feet equally apart. He pulled out his katana from his left side then held its hilt tightly with both his hands. Ezra shrugged off the smile on his face, then brought the blade of his katana parallel to his face, so close that you can see the reflection of his eyes on the blade.
"His form is perfect."
Blake, who sat right beside me, whispered to herself. She turned to towards me, and immediately, I can tell she was worried. About what, I have no idea.
"Oh don't worry, I'm sure it's nothing Weiss can't handle. Maybe. Weiss is strong, and Ozpin wouldn't recruit a savage. I'm sure he knows when to hold back."
I reassured her.
"True, but I'm not worried about Weiss, I'm worried about Ezra… call it… a gut feeling."
Whatever that means. Blake's not usually the type to show any sort of emotion, so seeing her all tensed and worried got me feeling the same way as well.
"Dance." Ezra whispered, seemingly to his weapon. "Shirayuki."
The instant those words escaped Ezra's mouth, the blade of his katana began to fog up, making it look like it was made of hardened snow. A whitish mist began to envelop him as well, though you can only see it if you squint your eyes. It was obvious that Ezra was manipulating dust to use ice as a form of weaponry, and Weiss seemed to notice as well.
"An ice user huh? Well, you're in for a surprise."
She arrogantly claimed.
"Ready. BEGIN!"
The instant Ozpin stepped out of the arena, Weiss immediately summoned her glyphs in a straight line, propelling herself forward at blinding speed, but Ezra reacted quickly. He tilted his body to the side, barely dodging Weiss's attack. He then hopped a short distance away while he slashed his sword sideways. Weiss reacted just as fast, using her open hand to summon a glyph to block his attack. She then rolled forward, allowing her to close in before Ezra could land and unleash a flurry of attacks, which he agilely dodge one after another.
"I don't get it."
Blake intervened. I looked at her all confused, quickly glancing back and forth between her and the match, not wanting to miss any second of the fight.
"Why's he dodging? Sword fights are nothing more than an intricate exchange of offense and defense. It may not seem like it, but it's somewhat turn-based. If he parried any one of those attacks, he could have easily countered, and gain momentum."
I'm not much of a sword gal myself, so I couldn't really tell, but Blake looks just as invested as I am in the match, and she clearly knows what she's talking about. If you ask me, Weiss is clearly winning. She continued to pressure Ezra, leading him into the edge of the stage with her stabs. She created a glyph right about hip height which she quickly hopped on to, launching herself up to kick Ezra in the face, but he quickly slapped the side of her boot before it actually made any sort of contact on his body. The whole exchange knocked Weiss to the ground. She quickly rolled and flipped herself back up, but not before Ezra closed in, putting him on the offensive. He slashed sideways once, then twice, then slashed up in less quicker than my eyes can follow, but Weiss expertly parried all three attacks effortlessly. However, in a curious move, Ezra hopped back allowing her to get the advantage back, and suddenly, what Blake was trying to say earlier started to make sense.
"Yoo, why would he give up pressure just like that?"
Impressed, Blake smiled at me for a quick second.
"Now you see what I'm talking about? He certainly has the agility, strength, and stamina to dodge Weiss's high speed attacks, so it's not because he's physically weak."
Ruby jumped in after overhearing our conversation.
"Lack of fighting experience then?"
Could be, but Blake has other thoughts.
"No. It's like he's protecting his sword."
All our eyes now focused on the match with a new perspective, and watched Ezra's blade as the fight continued. Weiss ducked down and waved her sword down at Ezra's feet, which he easily jumped over. Instinctively, he slammed his katana down towards Weiss, but predicting that that might be Ezra's next move, she strategically placed a glyph right above her, knocking Ezra off-balanced, and causing him to slip. Weiss capitalized and pushed forward, running at him at full speed, but Ezra twisted his whole body as he was falling down, catapulting his heel towards Weiss's face, knocking her down just as he fell down.
"You'll pay for that!"
Weiss yelled.
"Bring it, princess!"
Ezra yelled back.
The two of them rose up at the same time and ran towards each other, but Weiss cleverly stabbed her weapon on the ground, summoning wall of ice right in front of her. She then gracefully twirled backwards and summoned two more glyphs behind her and launched two ice spikes towards Ezra as he was vaulting over her ice wall.
"Tch."
Upset that he was caught off guard, Ezra tightened his shoulders and rammed it against one of the ice spikes, taking a big hit causing his aura to shimmer. He then leaped forward, and rolled to dodge the other, allowing him to close in on Weiss instantly. The two of them engaged in an intense exchange of dodging and parrying each other's strike, locking themselves in what seems like a dance that would never end.
"They're evenly matched."
I accidentally said out loud, completely in awe of the two's duel, but Pyrrha behind me whipped me back to reality.
"I wouldn't be too sure about that."
I looked back at her, shocked, and then glanced back at the arena, and this time, it seemed like Weiss finally had the upper hand for good. Ezra's insistence on not blocking has finally caught up to him. His dodging made Weiss realize that she could easily bait him into moving into spots where his balance would be off, or the angle would be too tight for a counterattack. Eventually, the constant pressure Weiss was putting on him forced him to block, and the moment he did, Weiss cocked her hand back then slammed Myrtenaster as strong and as fast as she possibly could, hitting Ezra's blade just at the right angle that it broke it in half, knocking him on the ground at the same time.
"How about that Ezra. I win."
An exhausted Weiss pointed her sword at the back of Ezra's head, who had his right knee on the ground, crutching his whole upper body up with his broken katana.
"I wouldn't move a muscle if I were you Ms. Schnee."
Ozpin's voice echoed throughout the silent arena. He made his way slowly to Weiss then placed his hand softly on her wrist, forcing her to lower her sword. He then carefully pushed her back then urged her to turn around, and what she saw behind her made her jaw drop.
"W-when… H-how?"
Everyone in the arena was curious as why Weiss was surprised. It wasn't until we saw a pillar of ice protruding from the ground where the other half of Ezra's blade landed. Judging from the trajectory of the ice pillar, it was pointed directly -mere inches- at the back of Weiss's head. Ironically, it's the same body part she pointed her weapon at when she claimed her victory.
"I proclaim this match as a draw."
Ozpin announced to the audience. He then looked at Weiss and lowered his voice, not wanting anybody to hear. Too bad the movement of his lips was obvious enough that I was able to read what he was saying.
"He's not so talent-less after all, isn't he, Ms. Schnee?"
Weiss stood there stunned. To say that we were worried was an understatement, but to the three of us' surprise, she quickly composed herself and helped Ezra up then shook his hand, almost congratulating him. Even the new kid himself was shocked.
"WEISS!"
Without me and Blake realizing, Ruby already went ahead and jumped down the bleachers and ran towards Weiss with her arms wide open. I looked at Blake, saw that she had the same kind smile on her face that I had. By the time me and Blake jumped down and landed on our feet, Ruby was already congratulating Ezra.
"WOW Ezra that was so COOL! How'd you do it!? Is it your semblance!? Your weapon!? OOOH! Please say it's your weapon!"
Ruby had her fists clenched up to her chin, with her larger than normal eyes, fixated at Ezra, who to my surprise wasn't too bothered about my little sister's enthusiasm.
"Yup, sure is! It's a combination of both actually."
Ezra lifted his katana and pointed it Ruby, oddly enough however, he was only holding the katana's hilt. The blade itself was missing. He looked at Ruby, who stared at his weapon with a look of curiosity so intense that only a 2 year old can match it, then grinned.
"The blade itself is made out of dust."
He pushed a button near the katana's guard, causing the bottom portion to drop like a magazine on a pistol. He swiftly caught the empty cartridge, and elegantly switched it out with another container he pulled out of his pocket without us noticing.
"...and then add my semblance here, and presto!"
Ezra pointed his katana upwards. He closed his eyes, as he inhaled a huge chunk of air, then slowly exhaled causing the actual blade to materialize. It was like moisture quickly freezing into the shape of a blade.
"So that's why you didn't want me to make contact with your blade."
Weiss commented from the back. She had her arms crossed, her hips slightly bent to the side, her foot constantly tapping the floor, and.. yep, still wearing that same irritated look.
"Moisture control?"
She guessed, but Ezra was quick to correct her.
"Nah, heat manipulation. Absorption to be more precise. Absorb enough heat using my semblance to create a cold spot right on top the hilt, then use dust as a catalyst to materialize the cold."
Fancy.
"That's freaking awesome, Ez! You don't mind if I call you Ez, do you? I-I'm Ruby Rose by the way, I'm Team RWBY's leader. Nice to meet you!"
Ruby offered her hand to Ezra to which he more than happily accepted.
"Ah of course. You're definitely the leader type."
Ezra's obvious sarcasm was clearly aimed at Weiss. Blake moved in a bit closer and extended her hand out ignoring the annoyed Weiss along the way.
"Blake Belladonna. Getting a draw from Weiss Schnee is no easy task. Impressive. I'm not much of a talker, but I'm looking forward to learning more about sword fighting with you. You have talent."
Ezra blushed for a second, placing his other hand behind his head while he shook Blake's hand with the other.
"Weiss Schnee. Like Blake said, you definitely have talent. You'll be a good addition to Team RWBY, but don't get the wrong idea! One slip up and you're off the team!"
He laughed at Weiss's remarks as the two shook hands once more. Looking at the them now, it's pretty obvious that they bonded a little during their match. I mean their relationship is already leagues better than their stand off at the other classroom half an hour ago. I get the sense that they're a bit competitive against each other now, and not confrontational, maybe rivalry is a better way of describing it, but I digress, seeing as how it's my turn to introduce myself.
"What's up new kid! Didn't expect to bump into you this soon."
The instant Ezra looked my way, his jaws immediately dropped halfway, and had his eyes fixed at my face. He had his hands closed to his chest, while he stood there frozen like a statue.
"You know, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you were staring at me earlier too."
I jokingly said out loud with the intention of breaking the tension between the two of us, but to my surprise, he chuckled and simply went back to his normal cheery self. He inched his way closer and flashed an innocent smile at my direction.
"Y-yeah, yeah. I guess I am. Okay, okay, the first one was accidental, I couldn't help it. Imagine bumping into someone on your first day, and the person you happen to bump into was a woman as beautiful as you. I mean, can you really blame me if I froze up on the spot?"
It took a me a moment to process everything he said, but it made me giggle without really thinking about it. I closed my eyes and shook my head while I extend my hand to him.
"That's sweet, Ezra. Thank you."
I opened my eyes and quickly flicked my head sideways, forcing my bangs to sway to the left. I looked at his innocent face and laughed while he grabbed hold of my hand.
"And the second time?"
It felt like he's begging for me to ask and pry, so I did.
"Well it's because I'm surprised. I wasn't expecting to have an opportunity to correct the biggest mistake I almost made today."
I didn't really notice it at first, but we've been holding each other's hands longer than your conventional handshake.
"Which is?"
And with the softest tone I've ever heard from a man, Ezra replied.
"Not asking your name."
It was clear that our whole conversation was a setup to get to this moment, but for some reason, I don't really mind getting baited like this.
"Yang. Yang Xiao Long."
We gazed into each other's eyes, both of us not wanting look away. All of a sudden, the noise, the scenery around us, even the smell, all of it, started to fade away and the only thing I could really see… could only really feel was Ezra…
UUUPP until Ruby decided to wrap her arms around our necks.
"Oh guys this is going to be so exciting! I can already tell you'll fit in just fine Ez!"
Ezra's grip on my hand slowly loosened. He grabbed Ruby's hand and untangled himself from the three way knot Ruby created with me in it then laughed.
"...birds of a feather flock together, I guess."