Chapter 8
AN: … Hey every sorry it's been so long since my update for this story. It's been… fuck! It's been damn near FOUR months since the last update! Okay, REALLY sorry for that, I've been dealing with a lot of annoying stuff since then and I haven't been able to sit down and write at all since then. But enough with all of that, let's just get to the story.
Three weeks after the ending of the last chapter
As Sam stood outside of his team's room he looked at his handprint that he burned into the door. "Hmm, I'm surprised that Ozpin hasn't sent for someone to replace this door." Sam said to himself, confused that the door hadn't been changed at all since Sam burned his hand into it. Pulling out his scroll from its pouch on his chest armor Sam decided to text Junior before he went to see if the rest of his teammates were ready for the classes they had today.
S: Hey Junior, how are the four new men doing?
J: They like it so far, they say that the stuff we have them doing is way better than the stuff that The Don had them doing
S: Good to hear
J: Anything else you want to know about boss or is that all?
S: No that's all, I've got class to get to in a few minutes so try not to send me any messages unless it's an emergency... and let the twins know that too so they don't send me unnecessary messages
J: Understood boss, have fun in class
S: Pfft, I hope I get to have some fun. Anyways, talk to you later Junior
J: Talk to you later boss
With that last message being sent Sam returned his scroll to the pouch he pulled it out from. "Well… time to see if the team's ready for class… I guess." Sam said to himself, not really caring if his team was ready for their classes or not. "Hey, you guys ready or what?" Sam said as he lightly knocked in his team's door. 'This is ridiculous; I walk inside my team's room without letting them know ONE TIME! And now I have to ask them if I can come in AND knock. So what if they were in their sleepwear. They were still asleep when I came in and I didn't even see anything… not like I would though… maybe if I was a normal teenager I would.' Sam thought as he waited for someone to allow him to enter his team's room. Pressing the side of his mask to the door to see if he could hear one of his teammates walking around Sam heard someone walking towards. Hearing the footsteps come closer Sam backed away from the door.
As the door opened Sam saw that it was Ruby who had opened it. "Hello Rose, is everybody up?"
"Do you really have to call me by my last name? I thought you trusted me S." Ruby said slightly confused as she hid behind the door.
"Trusting and liking are two different things Rose. I only trust you and Belladona right now, if I liked you two I would call you by your first names. Just because I trust you two doesn't mean I have to like you two… maybe some time down the road I will like you all and call you by your first names, but it will be a long time before that ever happens… if it happens." Sam said carelessly as he crossed his arms.
"… Well to answer your question, yes. We're all up, some of us just need to get changed." Ruby said as she looked into their room.
"Is that why you're hiding behind the door?" Sam asked with a raised eyebrow under his mask. After asking his question Ruby nodded her head nervously. Upon knowing this Sam let out an annoyed sigh. "Well just hurry up then, we have class soon and I don't want to apart of a team that can't make it to class on time." He said as he began walking down the hallway to his morning class.
Seeing her mysterious teammate walking away Ruby stuck her head outside of her team's room. "Hey S! You do know that we have Professor Goodwitch first right?" Ruby asked loudly as Sam had made some distance between himself and his team's room.
"I always do." Sam said in an equally loud voice as he simply continued walking without turning his head to Ruby at all. Once he heard a door close he looked back to make sure that nobody was watching him. Knowing that Ruby had gone back into their room he began walking faster to his class incase any of the other teams decided to leave for class as well. While quickly walking towards his class Sam started to remember some of the memories he had made with Ruby and Blake in the past three weeks. 'Hehe, you don't know this yet Ruby… but I'm going to get you back for making taste all of those different types of cookies. I'm just glad that Blake was there to keep you in check… you two may not be sooo bad… but I'm still pretty pissed off at what you did to me on day one of us becoming a team. Oh well… I still have time to prepare for when I get my payback… but rest assured Ruby… I'll get you for that~' Sam somewhat evilly thought as he made his way to class.
As Jaune stood in front of Cardin slightly tired Cardin let out a taunting laugh at Jaune while he had his mace rested on his shoulder. Gathering enough strength Jaune decided to charge Cardin to which Cardin merely stepped to side, dodging Jaune's swing. Once Jaune realized he had missed his strike he turned around to face Cardin with his shield ready, but by the time he saw Cardin it was already to late. Cardin had swung his mace and hit Jaune's shield sending Jaune back flying and without his shield. Refusing to stay down Jaune picked himself up, gripped his sword with both hands, and gave one last charge at Cardin with the hopes of hitting him.
Sadly Cardin had seen Jaune's charge and gripped his mace in a defensive stance with one hand on the grip and the other on the shaft of his mace. Jaune's strike only managed to hit the part of the shaft between Cardin's hands, and without much energy left in him, was able to be overpowered by Cardin easily. Knowing that he was in control of the fight at this point Cardin decided to knee Jaune in his stomach, knocking him to the ground and unable to keep fighting. Raising his mace over his head to deliver the final blow Cardin started bringing his mace down until a buzzer went off, signaling the end of the match.
"That's enough." Stated Glynda Goodwitch as she walked from the center of the arena towards the students below. "Students as you can see, Mr. Arc's aura has now dropped into the red. In a tournament style duel, this would indicate that Jaune is no longer fit for battle, and that the official may call the match." Glynda said to students below in a professional tone. "Mr. Arc it has been weeks now, please try to refer to you scroll during combat." She stated to Jaune as he pulled out his scroll. "Gauging your aura will help you decide when it is appropriate to attack, or when it is better to move to a more… defensive strategy." Seeing his scroll indicate that he was in the red, Jaune let out a defeated sigh. "We wouldn't want you to be gobbled up by a Beowolf now would we?" Glynda said somewhat worried for Jaune.
"Speak for yourself." Cardin disgustedly said at Jaune as he scrapped his mace along the floor before lifting it up, resting it on his shoulder, and walking off of the stage.
"Remember everyone, the Vytal festival is only a few months away! It won't be long before students from the other kingdoms start arriving in Vale. So keep practicing. Those who choose to compete in the combat tournament will be representing ALL of Vale." As Glynda finished her announcement the bell releasing the students for lunch rang.
Standing in the back of the crowd, unlike most of his teammates, Sam was able to see the fight due to him being taller than most of the other students. 'Aww come on Jaune, it's been weeks now and you're still getting your ass kicked… I really hope you get better Jaune… I can only watch you get your ass kicked so many times before it gets sad to look at.' Sam thought, worried for Jaune's lack of progress.
Looking out into the crowd of students headed towards the Dinning Hall Glynda saw the student she was looking for. "S!" She called out from the sparring platform. "Stay after class, I need to speak with you regarding your participation." Some of the students looked at Sam since Glynda had called him to stay after class, but those students quickly averted their eyes once the saw Sam as most of them were slightly afraid of him due to his height, choice of clothing, and usage of a robot voice instead of his actual voice.
When Cardin passed by him he made the mistake of purposely bumping into Sam's shoulder. Sam, knowing that Cardin purposely bumped into his shoulder, stuck his foot out in front of Cardin. In the large mass of students trying to leave for lunch Cardin was unable to see Sam's extended foot and tripped over it. He didn't trip over Sam's foot so hard that he fell to the ground, but rather just enough for him to stumble for a bit until he regained his balance. Once he regained his balance Cardin turned to face Sam with anger clearly visible on his face. However, not being one to stand down to a bully anymore, Sam merely puffed out his chest in a 'come at me' way to show Cardin that he was ready if he wanted to fight him then and there. Remembering his past fight with Sam, Cardin decided to just leave for lunch rather than fight Sam and risk getting beaten like he did when they last fought.
As the last students left for the Dinning Hall Sam made sure to let Ruby, Yang, and Weiss know that he was going to be fine and that his talk with Glynda wouldn't take very long. Once all the other students had left, Sam made his way towards Glynda, who was still on the platform now looking at him questioningly. Walking over towards Glynda Sam held out his hand to her. "Do you need a hand getting down Professor?" Sam asked, as he didn't want to come across as a rude student.
Upon hearing Sam offer to help her get down from the platform she was on, Glynda was shocked. From what she had gathered from the reactions of the other students she had assumed that Sam was more along the lines of a bully due to the students mostly avoiding any and all contact with him. "Thank you S." Glynda said as she took Sam's hand and stepped down from the platform. 'Interesting, his hand is rather… warm, compared to that of a regular person's hand.' Glynda noted before she let go of Sam's hand.
'Oh shit, she probably noticed that my hand was warmer than most people's' Sam remembered, as the twins had told him that his hands are really warm in the past.
"Your hand was rather… warm. In terms of how warm most hands are S." Glynda said, as she looked the hand Sam used to help her get down.
"Oh that." Sam reached up and pulled on his chest armor a bit. "Tends to happen when your dress like how I do and keep your hands inside your pockets the whole time." Sam nonchalantly stated as a cover up for his hand being so warm.
"Hmm, that makes sense. Black clothing tends to draw more heat than other colors." Glynda stated in an 'as-a-matter-of-fact' tone. "But I will tell you that I did not hold you back from your lunch break to talk about the warmth of your hand, or about which clothing color attracts the most heat."
"I figured."
"The reason I held you back was because of your participation in these sparring matches I have you students participate in… or rather… your lack there of. Since you entered my class you have refused to spar with any of the other students and I would like to know why?" Glynda sternly demanded.
Sam let out a sigh as he begrudgingly walked to the platform and leaned his back against it. "I suppose my actions in this class do make me out to look like a students who doesn't care about this class, but allow me to explain why I have refused to spar with the others." Glynda looked at Sam and then nodded her head for him to continue. "…Thank you. The reason as to why I have refused to spar is because… well to put it bluntly… I don't need to. Now I know that I may have sounded extremely cocky with what I just
said, but I assure you… I'm not. I don't mean to come of as rude but if you want to know why I said I don't need to spar then you can go ask Headmaster Ozpin. I'm not very much of a fan of repeating myself, which is why I won't tell you, but I assure you that the Headmaster will tell you why… tell him that I'm okay with him telling you what he already knows about me."
"…Very well S. I'll go see the Headmaster and find out why you feel as though you don't need to participate in the sparring matches." Glynda stated as she walked towards the exit to go see Ozpin. "You are free to go to lunch now S, I have no more questions for you."
"Thank you Professor Goodwitch… let me get the door for you." Sam said as he opened the large door for her to exit first.
"Thank you once again S, now hurry off to lunch… I'm not sure how much time you have left before you have to go to your next class."
"Understood Professor." Sam said as he hurried to the Dinning Hall to grab some sort of food before his next class.
Running his way to the Dinning Hall Sam was able to make it there with enough time to grab a quick bite to eat before his next class. "I-*pants* I can't believe that I- *pants* made it here in time. Well… at least I made it here in time." As Sam opened the right door into the Dinning Hall he saw Velvet exiting through the left door. "Hey Vel…" Getting a closer look at Velvet, Sam saw something he had never wanted to see… and once he saw Velvet he understood why she was leaving the Dinning Hall when there was still some time left in their lunch break… she was crying. "…vet." As Velvet continued to walk down the hallway crying Sam began becoming enraged. The second he saw Velvet crying he wanted to make whoever or whatever had caused her to cry pay for what they had done. When Sam saw Velvet turn the corner on the hallway she was walking on he kicked open the door he had originally pushed open and walked into the Dinning Hall.
The loud sound of his foot kicking the large door open caused most if not all the students in the Dinning Hall to look at him. Once he felt that enough eyes were on him he sparked two massive fireballs into each of his hands effectively drawing the attention of everybody in the room to himself. "…Who?" He growled out.
Most of the students all exchanged worried looks between themselves, not so much because they were afraid of the man who had just kicked open the door and lit two massive fireballs in his hands… although most of them were, but rather because they were wondering who should be the one to ask what he meant by '…Who?'. Eventually one brave student from the back of the Dinning Hall decided to be the one to respond. "… W-what do you m-m-mean by Who?" The random student asked, deciding to ask the question sitting down instead of standing up and letting Sam see who had responded to his question.
Immediately after the student asked his question Sam spoke. "WHO THE FUCK MADE VELVET CRY!? THAT'S WHO!" As Sam yelled the size of the already massive fireballs increased and decreased until they eventually fell back the size they were when Sam made them.
"You mean that Faunus freak?" Somebody said with disgust. When Sam heard how that person had described he quickly snapped his head to the sound of the voice to find out who had dared to described Velvet like that.
"Cardin… I should have known from the second I saw Velvet run out of here." Sam had seen that the voice of the person who had spoken ill of Velvet came from none other than Cardin Winchester. "I'm gonna make you PAY for making Velvet c-" 'Velvet!' Sam, as much as he didn't want to, crushed the fireballs in his hands, reducing them to nothing but embers. Wiping the embers on his hands off on his pants Sam immediately pointed his index finger at Cardin once he got all of the embers off. "CARDIN! You are lucky that making sure Velvet is okay is more important to me than making you pay for hurting her and making her cry… but don't you think for a FUCKING second that that makes you safe. I… will… make. You. Pay!" Sam declared before kicking open the same door he kicked when he entered the Dining Hall. 'I'm coming Velvet.'
Quickly jogging down the hallway Sam saw Velvet walk down when she left the Dinning Hall he remembered that she turned a corner and followed the same corner she took. Turning the corner Sam saw that halfway through the hall Velvet was sitting down on the floor with her legs pulled close to her chest and her hands covering her eyes. Seeing Velvet like this broke Sam's heart, to see someone that treats him like a regular person in tears made Sam wish he had hurried up with his talk with Glynda. 'Oh Velvet… I'm so sorry that I wasn't able to be there to stop Cardin.'
Looking around to see if there was anybody else in the hallway besides Velvet and himself Sam saw nobody, meaning that he could turn off his voice modifier and speak to Velvet in his normal voice. Slowly walking towards Velvet as to not make much noise he managed to walk up to her without her noticing. As he got close he could hear light sniffles coming from her. Once he stood in front of her however, she slowly raised her head to see who was standing in front of her. "Oh *sniffle* hey S *sniffle* h-how are you?" Velvet asked.
"Oh don't worry about me Velvet I'm fine." He could see the shock of him speaking in his actual voice on Velvet face. "Yes, I know I'm speaking in my REAL voice but that's not important right now. How are YOU doing?" Sam wondered worryingly.
"Oh me… I'm… I'm perfectly fine." Velvet tried to put up front but Sam saw immediately through it.
"Velvet… you don't have to act all tough in front of me because you're older than me, I won't judge you for showing your emotions." Sam said sympathetically as he tried to kneel down to her height.
"It's *sniffle* alright S. I'm perfectly *sniffle* fine." She said. To try and prove that she was fine to Sam Velvet tried to stand up even though her legs were slightly wobbly. Upon seeing her try to stand up Sam placed both of his hands on her shoulders and pushed her down.
"Velvet, it's me… you don't have to lie to me, and don't try to stand up… I'll come down there with you." Sam said as he sat down beside Velvet on the floor. "Now please Velvet… tell me what happened in there… I promise that I'll be here for you." Sam said caringly. Upon hearing how caring Sam was towards her Velvet broke down, and the tears she tried to hold back came out as she hugged Sam's chest. Seeing Velvet like that let Sam know that he had to be there for her, so he returned her hug and then rubbed her back as she cried into his chest armor. After she finished crying she would only make an occasional sniffle here and there. When she looked up she saw Sam's looking back at her and he could see that her eyes were still slightly red and puffy. "Now… do you think you can tell me what happened back there, what did Cardin do to you?"
At the mention of his name looked down. "It was my ears." She said sadly. Knowing that Sam would ask her what she meant by this she continued. "I don't mean my human ears… I'm talking about my Faunus ears. When I walked past him and his team they wondered if they were real or not… Cardin decided to find out by pulling on them. Even after he showed his teammates that my ears were real he continued to pull on them despite me asking his to stop… he, along with his team, began to call me names and make fun of me while he pulled on them."
"Oh Velvet… I'm so sorry I wasn't there to stop him." Sam said sadly as he looked at Velvet. He saw that her Faunus ears weren't as high up in the air like they usually were and decided to check if they were okay. "Velvet…" She tilted her head up to look at Sam. "Do… do your ears still hurt?" Sam asked, to which Velvet slowly nodded her head. 'Oh man I can't believe I'm going to say this!' "If you would like I could… rub… your ears for you. To make them feel better of course! I would never try to do something that would hurt you it's just…" Sam rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "I've heard from other people that my hands are rather soothing when I give massages. This wouldn't really be much of a massage since I'm just rubbing your ears to make them feel better but uhhh… uhh what am I saying!" Sam said bashfully.
Hearing the shyness in Sam's voice made Velvet give a light giggle. It's alright Sam, there's no need for you to get all nervous. Normally when people pull on my ears I just try not to move them much and they eventually heal on their own… but a rub does sound nice. Even though I don't know you as much… I feel as if I know you enough to trust you to not hurt me so yes. You can rub my ears, just… please be gentle, they still hurt from when Cardin pulled on them." Nodding is head in appreciation for Velvet trusting him enough to give her a light massage on her ears Velvet turned her head so that her ears would be facing Sam since he was sitting next to her.
Once Sam's hands made contact with Velvet's ears she gave a slight twitch but soon she then calmed down since it was Sam touching her ears and she knew that she could trust him. As he moved his hands over her ears he would mainly rub them in slow circular motions with his thumbs, as her ears weren't big enough for him to use his hands. He would gently slide his hands and thumbs up and down her ears and every once in a while he would focus on one ear specifically before attending to the other ear. However, ever since Sam touched her ears Velvet had noticed something about his hands that didn't feel normal. 'His hands are so… warm.' Eventually between the mix of his slow, gentle, and warm massage, and the silence of the hall they were in… Velvet began to slowly fall asleep. Being focused on making Velvet's ears feel better so much, Sam hadn't noticed Velvet's body slowly lean on to him until she was completely leaning against him on his shoulder.
"Vel-" Sam quietly whispered only to cut himself off when he heard her light breathing. As he looked over her body Sam could see that Velvet had fallen asleep on him due to the fact that her chest was slowly rising and falling and because her eyes were closed. 'Aww great, I either wake her up so I can go get some food… or stay here and let her sleep some more.' Sam looked down at Velvet's sleeping face and decided that she had been through a lot and could use the small rest. 'Well… looks like I'll be skipping lunch today… but if that means Velvet will be okay then I'm okay with that. Okay so when do I wake her up… we've both got the same next class together so I guess I'll wake her up when people start heading out to class then.'
After fifteen more minutes of sitting down at the same place so that Velvet could sleep in peace Sam looked down the hall and saw students that were coming from the Dinning Hall heading to their next class. "Well, I guess it's time to wake her up." Sam quietly whispered to himself. "Veeeeellveeet… Veeeeellveeet~" Sam whispered into Velvet's human ear in an attempt to wake her up. Not knowing that she was currently resting against Sam's shoulder, Velvet began squirming into the warmth she felt next to her… but little did she know, that warmth she was moving towards was actually Sam's bare arm since she was on his left. Still half asleep, Velvet subconsciously wrapped her arms around Sam's arm like a pillow since it was radiating warmth.
"Mmmm… so… warm." Velvet whispered, still in her half asleep state of mind. Upon hearing Velvet Sam was glad that she was still somewhat asleep and that he had his mask on, if not, she would have seen a light blush on his face due to her comment.
'Okay no more playing around, I'm sorry for waking you up Velvet but we've got to get to class!' Sam thought as he began rocking Velvet back and forth with his right hand since she was still clinging onto his other arm. "Velvet, come on Velvet get up. We've got to get to class." Sam whispered seriously. After a bit more rocking back and forth Velvet's eyes began to slowly open. As she opened her eyes she rubbed her them to wake herself up more, but Velvet still held onto the warmth that was Sam's arm, as she didn't want to let go of the warmth she had found. After rubbing her eyes Velvet had become fully awake, and when she saw that she was holding onto an arm she wondered who's arm it was… until she followed the arm and saw that it was Sam's arm.
"Oh no! Sam I'm so sorry I didn't… why are you laughing?" Velvet wondered, as halfway through her apology Sam began to laugh.
"It's- hahaha- it's perfectly fine Velvet. It's just that when you followed the arm you were holding and saw that it was mine; it was really funny to me to see you get afraid for a moment." Velvet, upon realizing that she was still holding onto Sam, let go of his arm quickly to try and regain some of her dignity. "Well I'm guessing you feel better now right?" Velvet nodded her head. "Perfect." Sam picked himself up off of the ground and offered his hand to help Velvet up. "Come on Velvet, if we don't hurry I think we'll be late for class."
Taking Sam's hand and getting up Velvet saw that down the hall were students leaving from the Dinning Hall. When she had left she remembered that there were people still eating, and now there were people leaving for class. "S… how long was I asleep for?" Velvet wondered as she looked up to Sam.
"Hmmm… if I had to guess… I'd say you were out for around fifteen minutes." Sam replied as he shrugged his shoulders. Looking over his shoulder to see if there were any students coming down the hall Sam saw that the students were still heading towards their classes. Remembering that they still had a class to get to Sam turned his voice modifier back on. "We should probably start making our way to class now Velvet… wouldn't want to be late now would we?"
"Yes, your right S. We should probably get going now before we end up late." Rubbing her skirt to get any dust off of it Velvet then began walking with Sam towards the hallway where the other students were. As the two entered the hallway the students around them either moved ahead or slowed down to stay away from Sam. Remembering how the two were treated when they went into the city Velvet just assumed that they were treating them like that for the same reason, but little did she know that the real reason for the students keeping their distance was because of what Sam had done earlier when he entered the Dinning Hall.
As the two walked together down the hallway towards their class Sam started to wonder if Velvet had even gotten a chance to eat lunch before the incident with Cardin which Sam was still going to make pay for. "Hey Velvet." Velvet raised he head to look at Sam. "Did you ever grab lunch before… you know… had your little run in with Cardin?"
"Not much since he stopped me before I could sit down. But I was able to eat a few of the vegetables and fruits I picked on my way to sit down before my run in with Cardin… Why?" Velvet wondered as she answered Sam's somewhat random question.
"Oh no reason really… just wanted to make sure at least one of us got something to eat." Looking at Velvet and seeing that she was probably going to say something regarding him not eating anything for lunch Sam quickly spoke up. "Don't worry about me Velvet. I think I can afford to skip one lunch break." Sam said carelessly.
"How did you not get anything to eat for lunch S?! What were you doing during your lunch break?"
"Well… I didn't get to eat lunch because I had two things to take care of. The first thing was talking to Professor Goodwitch about something regarding sparring class. The second thing… was you." As he said that he saw that Velvet developed a light blush before turning her head so Sam couldn't see her blushing. Knowing that she turned her head away from him Sam continued. "There was no way I could just go to lunch while you were hurt. You are the nicest person I've meet here at Beacon… and when I saw you leave the Dinning Hall in tears… there was just no way I could go and eat while you were hurting." Looking to Velvet again he saw that she still had her head turned away from him. "*sigh* Like I said before… Don't worry about me Velvet. I'll be fine, I can survive skipping lunch."
"… Well… thank you S. I'm happy to hear that you would do something like that to make sure I'm okay." Velvet said once she stopped blushing.
"Heh… anytime Velvet… anytime."
As the two made their way to their next class Sam held open the door for Velvet to enter the class. After the two entered the class their rather energetic professor greeted them. "Ah if it isn't my one of my brightest students and my most mysterious one. How are the two of you doing Velvet… S?"
"We're doing fine Doctor Oobleck, thank you for asking." Sam said, answering for both himself and Velvet.
"Thank you for addressing as a Doctor S. Not many people address me by that title, even though I make a habit of reminding them." Oobleck said as he looked out into the crowd of students in his class. "But what surprises me the most is that it would appear that you two have arrived together. Not to sound rude to either of you, but I never would have pegged you two to be friends."
"It's alright Doctor, but the two of us aren't friends yet." Sam corrected.
"Care to elaborate on that. To my understanding, making friends isn't that hard of a thing to accomplish, especially with the way you two seem to act towards each other." Oobleck said as the remainder of the students arriving to his class took their seats. Surprisingly, Sam had taken a seat right next to Velvet. Normally he would take a seat in the back of the class and as close to the door as possible. "See! That is precisely what I am talking about." Oobleck exclaimed.
"What are you talking about Doctor?" Sam asked as he sat down next to Velvet.
"S, you do realize that you are sitting at the front of the class right? This is the first time you have ever sat at the front, and on top of that you are sitting next Velvet here." Oobleck gestured to Velvet with his hand as he said spoke. "You normally sit in the back and as close to the door as you can. To see you come up here is… surprising, to say the least." Upon finishing his sentence he zoomed in front of Sam in the same manner as he would when moving around his classroom. As he zoomed up to Sam, Oobleck noticed that Sam didn't flinch backwards like most students did the first time he would zoom up to them. Since Sam would always answer Oobleck's question correctly and never caused trouble, Oobleck never had a reason to zoom up to him.
"Oh, well if that's what you were talking about… then yes. I know that this is my first time sitting at the front of the class and I am fully aware of the fact that I am sitting next to Velvet." He said looking directly at Oobleck. "I have my reasons for sitting here… and I'd like to keep those reasons to myself if that is alright with you." Sam placed his hands on the table in front of him palms up to show Oobleck that he'd rather carry on their conversation any longer.
"Very well S. I respect your decision to keep your reasons to yourself. Now…" Oobleck zoomed behind his desk and picked up a wooden pointer. "… let's begin class."
As the class went on, Velvet began to notice certain things about Sam. While she, and a few other students, took notes… Sam, took none. Sam had no paper or pencil in front of him, and when Velvet tried to offer him some paper and her pencil to take notes he kindly declined her offer claiming that he will remember it all. Throughout the course of the lecture, students would change their sitting position, as sitting in the same position for long periods of time would make them sore. However, since the beginning of the lecture, Velvet had noticed that Sam had remained still the whole time. The reason why this had caught her attention was because Sam was sitting with his back straight from the start, he didn't change his position or move around at all. After awhile Velvet had thought that Sam had somehow fallen asleep with his back straight. Deciding to check if Sam had fallen asleep, Velvet waited for Oobleck to move to the side of the room in one of his sporadic movements before placing her hand on his covered shoulder and shaking him lightly. When she did that Sam turned his head to her and quietly asked her what she needed.
Due to his quick response to her shaking him, Velvet realized that Sam was awake the whole time and waved her hands in front of herself nervously as she told Sam that it was nothing. Shrugging his shoulder, Sam turned his head to face the map at the front of the class. After a couple of days in Oobleck's class Sam decided to keep his head pointed towards the map instead of following Oobleck, as he didn't want to be moving his head constantly to keep up with him.
"Yes, yes prior to the Faunus Rights Revolution more popularly know as the Faunus War. Human kind was quite quite adamant about centralizing Fanus population in Managery." Oobleck took a short break to take a sip from the cup that he was holding. "Now! While this must feel like ancient history to many of you it is imperative to remember that these are relatively recent events. Why thee repercussion of the uprising can still be seen up to this day." Oobleck paused to take another sip from his cup. "Now, have any among you been subjugated or discriminated because of your fanus heritage?"
Knowing that there were a few Faunus in the room, Sam looked around to see which ones had raised their hands. As he looked towards the back left from where he sat, Sam saw A Faunus raise his hand after a few seconds. Knowing that Velvet had been bullied by Cardin, Sam looked to her to see if she had raised her hand. When he saw her raise her hand Sam felt a bit happy to know that she wasn't afraid to admit that she had been bullied. He would have been sad had she left her hand down and stayed silent to her having been bullied. 'Don't worry Velvet, soon Cardin will never think to bully you again… I won't forget until I make sure he pays for what he's done to you.' Sam thought as he looked at Velvet's somewhat sad face when she raised her hand.
Upon seeing some of his students raise their hands at what he had asked them, Oobleck continued. "Dreadful, simply dreadful, remember students it is precisely this kind of ignorance that breeds violence." Oobleck paused to take yet again another sip form his cup. "I mean I mean I mean just look at what happened to the White Fang. Now which one of you young scholars can tell me what many theorists believe to be the turning point, in the third year of the war?" Oobleck asked out to the class. "Yes." Oobleck said, allowing Weiss to answer his question, as he had seen her raise her hand.
"The battle at Fort Castle." Weiss answered proudly.
"Precisely!" Oobleck said once he zoomed back to his desk. "Aaand who can tell me the advantage the Faunus haad over General Lagoon's forces?"
Seeing that Jaune had fallen asleep during Oobleck's lecture, Cardin decided to flick his paper football at the back of Jaune's head. Feeling the back of his head get hit by something caused Jaune to wake up annoyed. "H-hey." Jaune said upon waking up. Sadly, Jaune's outburst caused Oobleck to rush up to Jaune as he thought he was going to answer his next question.
"Mr. Arc, finally contributing to class, this excellent excellent. What is the answer?" Oobleck asked as he kept his eyes on Jaune.
"Uhhh… theee answeeeer... thee advantage uhhh the Faunusssss…" As he dragged his response on, Jaune looked behind Oobleck to see that Pyrrha was trying to help him answer the question by making gestures. "… haaad over that… guy's stuff. Uhhh uh b-binoculars!" Jaune triumphantly said as he thought he had answered the question correctly. Although immediately after his response the other students in the classroom began laughing at him. After hearing his answer Pyrrha face-palmed herself in disappointment because she had tried to give him the asnswer but ultimately gave him the wrong idea when he answered the question.
Upon hearing Jaune's answer, Sam slowly placed both if his hands over the eye holes on his mask and his elbows on the desk in front of him. 'Oh for fucks sake Jaune' Sam thought tiredly. After a few seconds he took his hands off of his mask, his elbows off of the desk, and resumed his original position of sitting wit his back straight.
"Very funny Mr. Arc." Oobleck stated as he zoomed back to his desk. "Cardin. Perhaps you would care to share your thoughts on the subject?"
Not really caring for the class as he had his shoes on top of the desk in front of him, Cardin decided to answer Oobleck's question. "Well, I know that's it's easier to train an animal than a soldier." Cardin said before Pyrrha spoke up.
"You're not the most open minded of individual, are you Cardin." Pyrrha said as she looked at Cardin scornfully.
"What, you got a problem?" Cardin responded back.
"No. I have the answer." Pyrrha stated proudly. "It's night vision. Many Faunus are known to have nearly perfect night in the dark." To which Cardin growled and turned his head away.
"General Lagoon was inexperienced and made the mistake of trying to ambush the Faunus in their sleep." Said Blake, picking up where Pyrrha had left off. "His massive army was outmatched and the General was captured. Perhaps if he'd paid attention in class he wouldn't have been remembered as such a failure." Blake said tauntingly, causing Cardin to stand up from his seat, angered and with his hand made into a fist."
Seeing this, Oobleck intervened. "Mr. Winchester… please take your seat." Finding Cardin getting into trouble funny made Jaune quietly laugh to himself. His laughing however, was heard by Oobleck, which made him zoom up to Jaune's desk. "You and Mr. Arc can both see me after class for additional readings." Hearing this caused Jaune to groan with regret. "Now, moving on. Ne-" Oobleck cut himself off as he saw that his class had ended. "Students it would appear that class has ended. Everyone except Mr. Arc and Mr. Winchester are free to go, I will see you all next class."
Once Oobleck said that the students could leave Sam quickly got up from his seat and started heading for the exit but ended up stopping in front of Velvet when she was still seated and putting her stuff away. "See ya later Velvet."
"Raising her head up to see Sam she saw that he was already ready to go since he didn't bring anything to class. "Oh okay, I guess I'll see you later then. And S…" Sam turned his head away from the door to see what Velvet wanted. "… thanks again for you know… making sure I was okay and everything. It meant a lot to me."
Hearing this made Sam reach over her table and place his hand on top of hers. "Like I said before Velvet… don't worry about it… I couldn't just leave you there all by yourself. If I did I'd feel as if I were just as bad as Cardin." After saying this he realized that his hand, that was supposed to just be on Velvet's hand for a few seconds, was still on top of her hand throughout what he'd just told her. Taking his hand off of Velvet's, Sam murmured a quiet 'sorry' to her before he walked out of the classroom as if nothing had happened. The other students that were around him parted a way for him walk out of the classroom since they had seen what he was capable of doing when he went inside the Dinning Hall.
Walking down the hallways towards the Beacon Academy Statue Sam pulled out his scroll and called for his pilot to come pick him up quickly. Once he finished with his call he put his scroll back where he pulled it from and slowed down the speed at which he was walking since he knew that even at the speed the pilot flew at in Sam's aircraft it would take him some time before he got to Beacon. As he continued down the hallways Sam heard a familiar voice call out to him causing him to turn around. "Professor Goodwitch… what seems to be the problem?" Sam asked as politely as he could with his voice modifier on so that he wouldn't come across as rude.
"There's no problem S, I just wanted to talk to you about what Headmaster Ozpin told me about you." Glynda said, now standing in front of him instead of a few feet away like when she had called out to him.
"Very well." Sam said as he put his hands into his pockets. Looking past Glynda he saw that there was nobody walking down the hallways towards them. He also remembered that when he was walking down the hallway there was also nobody coming towards him so he knew that they were the only two in the hallways currently. "What do you want to talk about Professor?"
"It's about your participation in the sparring matches." Hearing this Sam lowered his head and let out an annoyed sigh. "Don't worry S, it's not what you think." Sam picked his head up and looked at Glynda with his head now tilted to the side in confusion. "When the Headmaster told me what you used to do I couldn't believe that he had let you into this school. But now I can see why you feel as though you don't need to spar with any of the other students. However, even after knowing this, I would still like you to participate in the sparring matches occasionally. I'm pretty sure that you do not wish for the students to begin wondering and demanding to know why they have to spar yet you do not… I'm not asking you to spar with the same frequency as the other… just… try and spar with them every once in a while so they don't start asking question."
After thinking about what Glynda had said for a bit, Sam came to a conclusion. "Very well Professor, I see your point. I will spar with the other students every once in a while, but I warn you… I will not be holding back. I will treat it as though it were a real fight… so be ready to call the match when things start to look dire for whoever has the misfortune of sparring against me at the time."
"I will S… I'm glad that we could come to an agreement without the need for the Headmaster to get involved in this." Glynda gladly stated.
"Likewise… is that all you needed from me Professor or is there more?… Because there's actually something that I need to take care of right now." Sam said with urgency.
"There is one more thing I would like to talk to you about S, although I can tell you that it won't take very long." Glynda reassured.
"Alright then… what would you like to talk about?" Sam wondered as he pulled his hands out from his pockets.
"I would like to thank you for saving the Headmaster. When he told me why he let you into the school I was shocked. I wouldn't have expected a person like you to put your life in danger to save the life of a person you didn't even know. I feel as though he would not be here today had you not saved him when you did… so thank you S." Glynda said sincerely.
"Think nothing of it Professor. I can see why you'd be surprised at the fact that I saved him, due to what I used to do… but I guess that just goes to show you I'm not completely evil so… your welcome. Now I don't mean to rude, but I really need to get going." Sam said as he glanced a few times down the hallways where he needed to go.
"Yes yes, I do suppose I've kept you long enough. You may go S… and I look forward to seeing you spar next time in class." Glynda said surprisingly happy.
With a quick 'thank you' being said, Sam turned around and began jogging down the hallway to where his aircraft should be waiting for him.
Making his way to the Beacon Academy Statue Sam saw a group of students all huddled and staring up at his aircraft, wondering why it was there. 'Glad to see that he made it on time.' Sam thought with a smirk on his face. As he walked towards the group of students one of them turned around to see who was coming towards them and saw that it was Sam. Seeing Sam walk towards him he started nudging the shoulders of the students that were going to be in Sam's way if they didn't move. Walking past the students with ease, due to the path they had clearly made for him, Sam saw that the ramp into his aircraft was already down for him. Positioning himself just below the ramp, Sam created a Jump Rune and threw it on the ground. Once it grew in size Sam stepped on it and was launched into the air. Raising his hands up to grab onto the ramp as he was launched into the air, Sam pulled himself up and into his aircraft. Paying no attention to the students on the ground below Sam walked into the cabin area of aircraft as the ramp was being pulled up. Looking outside through one of the windows Sam saw that the pilot had already started flying towards Vale City like he had been instructed. However, Sam had remembered that he had not yet given the pilot a new destination to fly him to. Making his way to the pilot's quarters, Sam pressed his hand against a panel next to the door to the cockpit that scanned his hand to see if he had the authorization to enter. Once the scan was complete the door slid open with a low hissing sound.
"Hey S, what's up?" the pilot asked, confused to see Sam in the cockpit as he rarely ever entered there.
"I need you to fly me to my club, the thing I need to take care of is over there." Sam said calmly.
"If I may ask S. What do you need to take care of from your club?" the pilot wondered, not taking his eyes off of the sky.
"It's alright. And the thing I need to take care of… is getting myself a drink. I've been dealing with a lot of shit today. Shit that I'm going to have to take care of one these days… but until then… I need a damn drink." Sam said slightly irritated at the thought of all the things he's going to have to take care of.
"Understood S. I'll hover over your club so you can go get your drink before I head off to the hanger okay?"
"Actually. I'm going to need you to stay hovering over my club until I return. I'm planning on just going inside and grabbing myself a bottle of rum. When I come back I want you to take me back to Beacon." Sam said nonchalantly.
"Why would you want me to take you back to Beacon. I thought you weren't going to be sleeping over there until you trusted your teammates." The pilot asked, confused as to why Sam would want to go back to Beacon.
"Oh I'm not going there to sleep. The rooftops of some of the buildings offer a really nice view, and I plan to enjoy my drink from there. I'm also going to need you to be on standby to pick me up when I'm done with my drink. I'm pretty sure you've seen where the airships land for the students right?" The pilot nodded his head in agreement. "Good, because that's where I want you to be on standby. You'll probably want to land my aircraft so that you don't have to be constantly hovering over that spot." Sam looked out of the cockpit and saw that they were already hovering over Sam's club. "Ahh perfect, we're here. Give me a few minutes, this shouldn't take very long."
"You got it S." Said the pilot as he began pressing buttons to lower the ramp for Sam.
Exiting both the cockpit and cabin area Sam walked so that he was standing on the edge of the ramp. Placing his hand over his hip, Sam created a Stop Rune and threw it down at the entrance of his club. After waiting a few seconds for the rune to become active Sam jumped. Once he hit the ground he waited for the momentum he created to catch back up with him and he was able to not flinch as much as he used to before. "Heh, looks like I'm getting better at dealing with the momentum." Sam said happily. Even from the outside of his club he could hear the blaring music coming form within, which only got louder when he walked inside. Smiling under his mask at just how successful his club had become, Sam remembered that he wasn't there to have fun like he sometimes would. Looking towards the bar he had found what he come for, and as he walked up to the bar only had to point at the bottle of Overproof rum he wanted and the bartender knew what he wanted.
As Sam looked out into vast amount of people currently in his club in an attempt to find either Junior or the twins he came up empty. Since he couldn't find any of the three he had decided to just text Junior to let him know what he had done.
S: Hey Junior where are you?
J: I'm at the club, why?
S: No I know that. I mean where are you in the club? I'm at the bar and I tried looking for you and the twins but I couldn't find any of you
J: Oh. Well the twins and me are coming back inside right now. The twins had to take care of a few guys that had one too many drinks and I went with them to make sure they would be okay
S: Oh okay. Well I just wanted to let you know that I'm going to be taking a bottle of rum from the bar
J: You do know that you don't need to tell me little things like that… right?
S: Yeah I know, I just still feel like I should let you know so that you don't have to worry about having a missing bottle. Anyways I'm gonna get going so just order something for yourself and the twins if any of you start get hungry. I'm going to go enjoy this bottle of rum so I'll talk to you later
J: Okay then, talk to you later boss
Putting his scroll away Sam made sure to thank the bartender for giving him the bottle. As Sam turned his back on the bar with the intent on leaving… he stopped. The reason for Sam stopping was because of a certain man sitting at his bar. When Sam turned around he got a look at the man's face… or what would have been his face had he had one. All Sam saw when he looked at the man was complete darkness save for two glowing red eyes. Deciding to find out who this mysterious man at his bar is, Sam placed his bottle of rum on the bar table, and leaned his back against the bar table. "Well hello there Mr. Red Eyes. What brings you here?" Sam said as he looked out into the crowd of people dancing as to not bring attention to the two.
Looking to his right to see S, the man replied. "I haven't heard that one before, and would like to not hear it again ever again."
Motioning for the bartender to bring him two glasses and a bottle of vodka, Sam began making two of his drinks within the man's sight. Once Sam finished making the drinks he slid one over to the mysterious man. "Fair enough. Well why don't enlighten me as to what I should call you?"
Finishing off his drink the man looked at the one Sam had slid to him and picked it up. "Fifty percent Overproof rum and fifty percent vodka huh… Eh, I've had worse. Ever been to Oasis in Vacuo? They make a drink that'll definitely put you or your ass."
"Pfft, I'd like to see them try." Sam said as he reached behind the bar to grab a straw for his drink. "It'll take one hell of a drink to put me on my ass. Now… I don't believe you've told me what I should refer to you as." Sam said as he took a sip from his drink.
The man looked at Sam quizzically. "That… isn't something you need to know." The man took another drink, still facing the bar and not towards Sam who he was now talking to. "How about we talk about you instead S, that's what they call you isn't it?"
Sam noticeable tightened the grip he had around his glass in anger before calming down, releasing his grip, and taking a long sip of his drink. "You know… I've never talked to you before… so there's no way I've told you to call me that. So that raises the question… how do you know about me?" Sam said in a slightly threatening tone.
"No need to worry about that, but this place… this place is yours isn't it. From what I hear you haven't been around for quite awhile. What could have taken you away from such a… lovely, business? Surely something very important I'm sure. I've also heard there was some damage done to this place some time ago, looking around now everything seems to be in shape." The man said in slight surprise at the state of the club.
Still refusing to look at the man as to not alert his men that were walking around the club, Sam responded. "You know… you seem to know a lot about me for somebody I've never talked to before. And you seem to ask a lot of question as well. Hmmm… how about this… you play nice… I play nice. How does that sound to you?" Sam proposed as he finished off the last of his drink. Not realizing that his past sips were so big he refilled his glass with the bottle of Overproof rum he had next to him.
"I know a lot of things S, after all I wouldn't be good at my job if I wasn't. For instance, I know that your friend, Hei Xiong, who is busy waving you down behind me got his ass handed to him awhile ago, by a little girl if my sources are right. They are right, and the girls, Melanie and Militia, didn't fare much better. They're pretty cute, I'll give them that… but not my type sadly." The man said as he took another sip from his drink. "By the way… I always play nice, whether I'll extend that to you remains to be seen, right S?"
Surprised at the fact that the mysterious man knew that Junior was signaling Sam, he spoke. "Your very observant aren't you. Yes, Junior, or Hei Xiong as you like to call him, is waving me down… although I'm not sure why. I'm pretty sure it has something to do with you, but I'll just let our little conversation here dictate whether I should be worried or not. You're sources are correct… I cannot lie. And if you play nice." Sam took a sip from his new drink. "Then I see no reason for me not to."
"Of course I am, it keeps me alive after all. Besides that I'll just say this, you could be the nicest person on Remnant, that doesn't mean a thing to me. If enough lien is passed through the right hands… well… I'm sure you know where I'm going with this, don't you S? You know just how loud lien can talk, right?"
After hearing this, Sam let out a short laugh that caused his shoulders to rise and fall. "That. I do. I don't know about you, but to me… lien is not an object."
"Everyone says that once they are out of the business, though that didn't exactly stop you from taking more of the… shady jobs now did it? But… I guess all that changes once you join Beacon now doesn't it S?" The man said as he knocked back the last of his drink, stood up, and straightened his jacket that he was wearing. "As long as you don't cross paths with me out there, we'll be fine." He started waling towards the exit before he stopped. "I almost forgot… that girl's pretty cute. Though she's not exactly my type. I always found rabbit Faunus to be a little … skittish. Anyway… see you around S." He said as he walked out of the club.
Once Sam saw the man leave he began to think about what he had said. 'Hmmm… whoever that guys is he sure knows a lot about me… almost too much. Damn, the fact that he knows that much about me is not good… but I guess he won't cause me trouble as long as I stay out of his business. Regardless, I gotta find out how much it'll cost to keep him silent about all the stuff he knows… I don't like the fact that he knows so much about me… and I really don't like the fact that he knows about Velvet. I don't care how much it'll cost, if it keeps Velvet out of this… I'll pay whatever price he wants.' As Sam finished with his thoughts he looked at his scroll to see the time. Once he saw the time he knew that if he wanted to enjoy his bottle on the rooftop of Beacon he would have to get there immediately so that he could also get back in time to get to bed.
Putting his scroll back into its pouch on his chest armor, Sam pushed himself off of the bar with his elbows. As he looked out into the crowd of people he saw Junior and the twins walk towards his hesitantly. He saw that the three were looking around like they were looking for somebody, and Sam had a feeling that the person they were looking for was the mysterious man that had just left. Once the three approached Sam they no longer had the hesitant look on them that they had when they were walking towards him. "…Hey Sam…" Junior said as he looked around the bar area as if he was looking for someone. "… what happened to that one weird guy you were talking t-" Junior wondered before getting cut off by Sam.
"Look Junior I'm sorry for cutting you off and all but I really have to go!" Sam urgently said before looking around to see if anybody was looking at him. Once he saw that nobody was looking at him he quickly raised his mask enough for him to uncover his mouth, knocked back the remainder of his drink into his mouth, covered his mouth with his mask as quickly if not quicker than when he had uncovered it, and slammed the now empty glass on the bar counter behind him. "The guy you're talking about already left a few seconds ago. I need to get to Beacon right now if I'm going to enjoy this bottle from the rooftops." Sam said as he raised the bottle he spoke of before lowering it down so that it dangled in his hand by the upper portion of his thigh. "Just hold on to whatever you're going to tell me for when I get back. I shouldn't be out for long." Sam said as he looked at the exit.
"… Alright then. I'll talk to you when you get back." Junior said understandingly as Sam began making his way to the exit.
Upon exiting the club Sam saw that his aircraft was still hovering over his club like he had instructed the pilot. Quickly summoning a Jump Rune below the lowered ramp, Sam stood on top on the rune as it grew in size. Once the run became active Sam raised his left leg and stomped on the run once causing it to launch him up into the sky. Grabbing onto the lowered ramp like he had done when he was at Beacon, Sam pulled himself up with one arm, as his other was busy holding onto his bottle of rum. Once he successfully pulled himself into his aircraft he began making his way to the cockpit. Upon entering the cockpit, Sam started talking to his pilot. "Hey man, thanks for waiting. I started talking with some guy I just met and that kinda took up some of my time."
"No worries S. Although I would sit down if I were you. I'm going to have to punch it if I'm going to get you to Beacon for you to enjoy that bottle of yours." The pilot said as he started flying towards Beacon.
Taking a seat in the co-pilot seat next to the pilot, Sam strapped himself in as his aircraft picked up speed. "Thanks for the heads up. You remember what I told you to do when we get to Beacon right?" The pilot nodded his head in agreement. "Good… I would tell you to let me know when we reach Beacon if we weren't already here. Damn… when you said you were gonna punch it you weren't kidding huh?" Sam said in amazement, as he could see that they were going to be touching down at Beacon in a few seconds.
"Well I did tell you that I was going to punch it. Anyways…" The pilot said as he hovered over the Beacon Academy Statue for Sam. "… you can get off here. I'm going to go set her down and wait for you."
Undoing himself from the co-pilot seat, Sam exited the cockpit and made his way to the ramp so he could exit his aircraft. As he jumped out of the aircraft he noticed that there were no students out, as the sky was getting pretty dark. Hearing his aircraft heading to land he decided to make his way to a nearby rooftop. 'Oh shit, I don't even know if Beacon allows the students to carry alcohol on campus… I'd better take get onto the rooftops now before someone sees me.' Sam thought before creating his whip with his left hand since his right hand was holding the bottle. Looking for a good rooftop to enjoy his bottle from, Sam eventually found a rooftop with a view of the Beacon Tower. Picking that rooftop for his location he threw out his whip to latch onto the edge of the rooftop.
Once he saw the other end of his whip latch onto the rooftop, Sam yanked on his end of the whip causing the distance that he had made from throwing out his whip to shrink. As he flew through the air he made sure to jerk his legs to the side because he was going to be using his legs to roll himself onto the roof, as both of his hands were now occupied. Once he reached the rooftop he sucked in a breath as he knew he would impacting hard since he couldn't stop himself with his other hand. Rolling onto the rooftop, Sam made sure to keep his bottle from breaking, even though doing that caused his to hit himself on the rooftop a bit. Propping himself up on his elbows he saw that his whip was still attached to the rooftop and not at his side like it would have been had he remembered to detach the other end of the whip. As he stood up he caused the whip to stretch in length before he flicked his wrist, causing the end of the whip that was attached to the rooftop to detach itself and retract back to its original length that reached down to the middle of Sam's shin. Once it retracted Sam moved the whip over his ribcage and let it go where it evaporated into wisps of fire like everything else he created, save for his fireballs.
Looking around Sam saw that the place he had pulled himself up to was accessible to the other students. Not wanting to run the risk of a student coming up to where he was and seeing his with a bottle of rum, Sam looked for a more secluded place to enjoy his drink where a random student wouldn't see him. As he looked around he saw that above the entrance to the area he was at was an actual rooftop with shingles on it. Checking the door to make sure no students were headed up to where he was, Sam took his hood off and placed the bottle in his hood. After making sure that the bottle wouldn't move as much Sam jumped onto the railing of the actual rooftop and carefully pulled himself up so that there wouldn't be the possibility of the bottle falling out of his hood and smashing against the floor. Once Sam positioned himself with his elbows resting comfortably on his knees he unscrewed the plastic top that was on the bottle, lifted his mask up to reveal his mouth, and began to drink with the calming view of the night sky and light green lights coming from the Beacon Tower in the distance.
As Sam was enjoying the nice and quiet scenario on the rooftop he heard the sound of footsteps coming up the stairs towards the open space below him, so he quickly lowered his mask down to cover his face completely. '… Great. And here I thought I would be able to enjoy my bottle in peace.' Sam tiredly thought as he moved onto the other side of the roof where he could hear whoever was coming up, but couldn't see them or them him. 'Hmmm… I wonder who's coming up here at a time like this.' Sam wondered once he got on the other side of the rooftop. 'Well let's just wait and hear.'
As Sam listened closely he could hear two people enter the open area due to the timing and sound of the footsteps he figured out that it was one male and one female walking, and due to how many foosteps he heard he could tell that the two were walking towards the edge before he heard the footsteps stop. "Pyrrha I know I'm going through a hard time right now but I'm not that depressed." Sam recognized the male's voice to be Jaune's and he presumed that Jaune was looking over the edge as he spoke about the hard time he was going through. And as Jaune spoke Sam was able to identify the unknown female to be his partner, Pyrrha. "I could always be a farmer or… something." Jaune said with a slightly sad tone.
"N-n-noo!" Sam heard Pyrrha say before he heard her move to presumably pull Jaune away from the edge, as Sam couldn't see the two and had to make guesses at to what they were doing from his spot on the other side of the rooftop. "That's not why I brought you up here. Jaune, I know you're having a difficult time in class… and that you're still not the strongest of fighters so… I want to help you." Pyrrha said enthusiastically.
'Oh great idea Pyrrha, point out the guys flaws. That will totally make him want to accept your handout' Sam thought sarcastically upon hearing what Pyrrha had told Jaune.
"… W-what?..." Jaune asked dejectedly.
"We can train up here after class where no one can bother us." Pyrrha continued on in her still enthusiastic tone.
"You think I need help?" Jaune wondered in a miserable tone.
"N-no… no. That's not what I meant." Pyrrha tried to clarify in a less enthusiastic and more serious tone.
"But you just said it." Jaune said, referring to what Pyrrha had said about him.
"Jaune… everybody needs a little push from time to time. It doesn't make you any different from the rest of us. You made it to Beacon. That's speaks volumes of what you're capable of." Pyrrha stated in an attempt to raise Jaune's spirit.
"… You're wrong *Sigh* I-I don't belong here." Jaune said dejectedly.
"That's a terrible thing to say, of course you do!" Pyrrha said disappointed at Jaune for thinking that he didn't belong at Beacon.
"No I don't… I wasn't really accepted into Beacon." Jaune revealed dejectedly.
"… W-what do you mean?" Pyrrha asked confused at what Jaune had said.
"I mean I didn't go to combat school. I didn't pass any test. I didn't earn my spot at this academy… I lied." Jaune stated in defeat. "I got my hands on some fake transcripts, and I lied."
"What… but, why?" Pyrrha asked.
"Cuz this is what I've always wanted to be. My father, my grandfather, and his father before him were all warriors. They were all heroes…. I wanted to be one too…. I was just never good enough." Jaune said despondently.
"Then let me help you." Pyrrha asked sympathetically.
"I don't want help, I don't want to be the damsel in distress, I want to be the hero." Jaune said angrily as he snapped at Pyrrha.
"Jaune I-" Pyrrha attempted to apologize until Jaune cut her off.
"I'm tired of being the lovable idiot, stuck in the tree while his friends fight for their lives; don't you understand… if I cant do this on my own… then what good am I." Sam carefully peaked over the rooftop to see what was going on between the two. As he watched the two he saw Pyrrha attempt to reach out to Jaune but he stepped away before she could. "… Just… leave me alone. Okay." Jaune asked. Not wanting to risk getting caught any more than he already did, Sam went back to hiding completely on the other side of the rooftop.
"If that's what you think is best." Pyrrha sadly said as Sam heard her walk away and exit the open area.
'Hmmm… I feel like I should feel bad for Pyrrha given what just happened to her… Ughh did I seriously just think that I should feel bad for her! What am I thinking… I fucking hate her!' Sam thought to himself once he heard her go back inside. Sam was eventually pulled from his thought as he heard the laughter of the person he had yet to make pay for his actions.
"… Hehehe oh Jaune." Cardin said evilly. Hearing Cardin's voice caused Sam to subconsciously tighten his grip around the neck of the bottle he had yet to finish in anger.
"…Cardin!" Jaune stated in surprise upon hearing Cardin.
"I couldn't help but overhear you two from my dorm room. So, you snuck into Beacon huh. I gotta say Jaune, I never expected you to be such a rebel." Cardin said in a calm yet shocked tone.
"Please Cardin, please don't tell anyone." Jaune said as he begged Cardin to not reveal his secret.
"Jaune, come on. I'd never rat on a friend like that." Sam could hear Cardin's footsteps and he presumed that he was walking towards Jaune.
"A… a friend?" Jaune wondered as to why Cardin referred to him as a friend since he had always picked on him. After Jaune said that Sam could hear what he guessed to be Cardin wrapping his arm around Jaune's neck due to Jaune's grunts of discomfort and footsteps.
"Oofcourse… we're friends now Jauneyboy. And the way I see it, as long as you're there for me when I need you. We'll be friends for a loooong time." Sam could hear Jaune drop to the floor by the sound of his knees hitting the ground and his gasps for air due to Cardin's arm being wrapped around his neck for some time. "That being said. I really don't have time to do those extra reading Doctor Oobleck gave us today. Think you could… take care of that for me buddy?" Jaune remained silent. "That's what I thought… don't worry Jaune… your secret's safe with me." Sam could hear Cardin walk away as he spoke. Sam guessed that since he hadn't come from the normal entrance like where Jaune and Pyrrha had come from, he figured that Cardin's dorm was below the open area and that's why he was able to make it there so quickly. As Sam heard Cardin's footsteps get farther and farther away he eventually heard him drop down from the ledge to what Sam presumed to be his team's room, leaving Jaune on the floor of the open area.
"Well… this is quite the predicament you've gotten yourself into isn't it Jaune." Sam said as he stood up and walked over the rooftop he was hiding behind.
Seeing Sam walk over the rooftop towards him made Jaune jump in surprise, as he thought he was now the only person out in the open. "S! W-what are you doing here?" Jaune asked in fear.
"Well…" Sam started as he slid down the rooftop and landed on the ground with a hard thud. Once he landed he stood up to his towering height and brushed off his shoulders with his left hand as he was still holding onto his bottle with his other hand. "I, was up here first, and I should actually be asking you the same thing… but after everything that just happened… I already know the answer to that question." Sam said in a mischievous tone towards the end. "But I suppose I should answer you're question, even though I have no reason to. I came up here to enjoy the nice and quiet scenery… plus I wanted to have a drink." Sam raised his almost empty bottle up to show Jaune.
"… Oh. W-well I guess you heard everything then." Jaune said in a tone that was a mixture of fear and sadness. As he looked up to Sam he saw him nod his head. Feeling defeated, Jaune dropped down to the ground with his arms propped on his kneecaps. "Great… and here I thought I just had to worry about Cardin knowing that I faked my way into Beacon."
"… You think you need to worry about me knowing your little secret?" Sam asked as he leaned up against the wall behind himself with his left foot pressed against the wall.
"What do you mean… are you saying that I don't need to worry about you knowing my secret?" Jaune asked as he looked at Sam with his head tilted in confusion.
"Do I need to spell it out for you Jaune? Of course you don't need to. I'm not like Cardin… and you better not have been comparing me to him when you said 'Great… and here I thought I just had to worry about Cardin knowing that I faked my way into Beacon.' I am nothing like that asshole." Sam said threateningly as he pushed himself off of the wall he was leaning on.
Seeing Sam push himself off of the wall made Jaune scoot backwards in fear. "N-no that's not what I meant." Jaune lied. "I just thought that you would hold it against me."
"What… you mean like Blackmail?! Jaune, I have absolutely no reason to blackmail. There's pretty much nothing that I would need from you… oh… and your secret is really safe with me." Sam reassured as he walked over to Jaune and offered him his hand to stand back up.
Seeing Sam's hand stretched out to him, Jaune looked between his hand and Sam himself a few times before eventually taking his hand and pulling himself up off of the ground. "Are you serious?" Jaune asked Sam, to which Sam nodded his head in agreement. "But wh- oh yeah… you're… not… like Cardin."
"You got that right." Sam declared as he backed away from Jaune. "I'm nothing like that wimp. He may try and act all tough and shit, but he is nothing but a twig compared to me." Sam crossed his arms as he spoke about his strength compared to Cardin's. Sam eventually felt no reason to stay at Beacon any longer and began walking towards the edge past Jaune, with the intent on jumping off and leaving to his club.
'Hmmm… he said he's not like Cardin… so would he?' Jaune thought to himself as he looked at Sam walk towards the edge. 'Well… here goes nothing!' "S wait!" Jaune said loudly, catching Sam off guard and making him turn around immediately to face Jaune.
"What do you want Jau-"
"Can you please train me to fight!? Please S!" Jaune asked in an almost begging tone.
"Why?" Sam wondered, as he looked at Jaune as if he were analyzing him. Sam didn't really have a reason not to train Jaune, he'd just rather not do it and keep more time in the day to himself.
"Because… you said you weren't like Cardin. Cardin's a real jerk to me and pretty much everyone else… except you though. I've seen how you act. You don't really care for anybody but Velvet... so it's not like you're a bully like Cardin. And since you don't really care for anybody else I figured you wouldn't be against training me." As Jaune went on he gradually became more and more confident in the way he spoke. "… I heard about how you fought Cardin in the Dinning Hall. He couldn't even land a hit on you! I'll admit, when I first heard about it I thought it was just a lie… but today when we were leaving for lunch I saw the look in Cardin's eyes when he tried to fight you. He was actually afraid of you! I couldn't believe that somebody like Cardin would actually be afraid of someone… and he is. Look I know you probably have no reason to train me to fight… and that you and I have never even spoken to each other before this bu-"
"Alright." Sam said calmly as he crossed his arms over his chest.
"… What?... D-did you just say alright?" Jaune wondered in excitement.
"Yes I said alright. While you were going on about why I should even bother to train you I remembered something. The short version of it is that I, the person that Cardin apparently fears… used to be weak like you. I was actually in a situation very much like the one you're in right now actually." Sam admitted as he looked to the shattered moon.
"You… you used to be weak… l-like me?" Jaune asked in shock as he stared at Sam.
"Yes… when I was young I used to be weak like you… and I did the exact same thing you're doing now. I asked for help. Jaune, I know what it's like to be weak and ask someone strong for help. The only reason why I'm actually going to train you is because the person I asked for help said yes. You… you remind me of myself in that sense… and now I know what the person that helped me felt like. So I will help you… as he helped me." Sam turned to Jaune to see his face light up in happiness due to Sam agreeing to train him.
"Oh man thank you so much S, I promise you won't regret this." Jaune exclaimed happily.
"Don't mention it Arc… I'm serious. If I'm going to train you then I'm going to set up some rules for you… and you are going to follow said rules whether you like it or not… understood?" Sam declared seriously as he moved to stand directly in front of Jaune, almost towering him due to his own height. However Jaune didn't show any signs of fear even with Sam standing in front of him. After hearing Sam finish, Jaune nodded his head to show Sam he understood. "Good… now. Like I said before, I'm going to set down some rules for you… and you will follow these rules to the letter or else I will seize my training. I only have two rules so it shouldn't be very hard for you to follow them. The first one is that you will not speak of me training you to anybody; I do not care who they are. The second one is that you will not doubt or talk back to any order I give you. You follow those two rules and I will train. By the end of your training I guarantee you that you will be one of the strongest fighters here at Beacon. So… will you follow my rules Arc?" Sam asked as he extended his hand to Jaune. Jaune thought for a second as he looked at Sam's hand, and after he finished thinking he grabbed Sam's hand and shook it.
After a brief handshake the two let go of each other's hand. "… Perfect." Sam said as he let go of Jaune's hand. "As of right now Arc, you will be training under my wing. And although today is almost over, I would enjoy the rest of the day today if I were you. Because as much as I'd want to start our training right now… I'd rather be getting ready for bed." Sam turned away from Jaune and faced the edge of the open area he was at. "We will meet here tomorrow at seven a'clock in the afternoon to discuss what time to what time you will be training… oh… and if you're wondering when you will be training I will answer you that right now. You will be training every single day once we figure out the times… if for some reason you cannot train one day I will double up your training the next. Do you have any questions Arc?" Sam asked as he looked over his shoulder to see Jaune shake his head 'no'. Sam could see that Jaune was slightly nervous once he told him how frequent he would be training him. "Good. Well… goodnight Arc, I will see you tomorrow… I better see you tomorrow. You are free to go Arc." Sam said as he turned his head around to look off into the distance of where his aircraft should be.
"Oh okay… uhhh… goodnight S." Jaune said as he walked over to the door to go back inside. "And once again…" Jaune started as he stood by the door. "… Thanks." All he heard from Sam was a light grunt he presumed to be Sam's way of saying 'likewise'.
As Jaune went back inside and Sam stayed outside, only one thought went through both of their heads. 'What did I just get myself into?'
Hey everyone, like I said in the AN, I'm sorry it's been so long since I've updated this story.
There's also something I'd like to let you guys, and or girls, reading this story. I will be leaving on the 28th of July for basically 2 months. I won't be able to write at all during that time, and even after that I will need some time to get everything situated.
I will try to write the next chapter for this story before I leave so I can give you readers something before I go… but I'm not sure if I'll be able to or not.
Anyways I just felt that I should let you all know why there won't be any new chapters during that time. Like I said… I'm really sorry for this, but I can't do anything about it. Hopefully you'll understand.
Anyways
Singe out-