I loved the reviews so much! Thank all of you who favorited and followed the fic and especially to MarxBlue for your heartwarming review. You made me smile for five whole minutes (quite a feat, honestly). Thanks so much guys. Now, as I said last chapter, the chapter will be broken into four sections. Team Cardinal's opinion of the program, Team Juniper's opinion, Team Ruby's and then the teams move in together. Also, for this fic, I will no longer be using the capitalized letters for the team names. Think you're ready for this? Enjoy!
All of the students made their way back to their dormitories, some hanging their heads in dejection over the partner they were given, some ecstatic over this change in teams and others somewhere in-between. Velvet's team attempted to cheer up the rabbit-Faunus about being partnered with Cardin, but the support did little to stem the nerves she was feeling. After all, the person who had bullied her for two years was now going to be living in the same bedroom as her for six months. There was so much that could go wrong.
Likewise, Cardin was feeling roughly the same thing, except instead of fear, he was feeling anger at being paired with a Faunus instead of someone he believed to be his equal. He glared at the wall across from him as his teammates packed their belongings away. The bunk beds, the four had decided, would stay since it had taken a lot of hard work to get them put together the correct way. Everything else was stripped bare of all items that didn't belong to Cardin. Dove huffed angrily as he tossed another fighting magazine into his suitcase, glaring holes into the next for another moment before throwing it over to join its comrades. Sky seemed a bit puzzled by what he wanted to throw away and what he wanted to keep, running a hand through his dark blue hair often. Russel was the only one that seemed to be fine with his partnership to the point of packing quickly an efficiently.
Cardin glanced to his partner, upset that none of this seemed to be affecting him. "Russel, what's got you in such a good mood?"
"Nothin' man." the green-haired boy replied with a shrug. "Just not as bummed as the rest of you about getting a different partner."
"We've been partners for two years!" the auburn-haired boy exclaimed, crossing his arms petulantly and leaning against the post to his bunk. "I don't see why they have to switch us up."
"Oh, come on." Russel snickered. "You're just pissed they gave you a Faunus as a partner."
"Not just any Faunus either." Sky agreed, pausing in choosing which pairs of underwear he wanted to get rid of. "The only Faunus you ever seem to really bully around here."
"She's a rabbit." Cardin shrugged. "Rabbits are always the prey, never the predator."
"So that is why you're sore about this." Dove chuckled, throwing his toothpaste and toothbrush into the suitcase and looking around for his shampoo.
"Like you're not sore?" Cardin shot at the brunette. "I saw the look on your face when you got that blonde from Team RWBY. What's wrong? Upset she can outdo you on the battle field."
"Hey!" Dove snarled. "No girl can outdo me on the battlefield. Got that, oh fearless leader?"
Cardin chuckled and raised his hands. "Yes, I hear you loud and clear, oh great bird of peace. That's probably why she would be able to kick your butt on the battlefield, man. You're named after a bird of peace!"
"Look, she won't even be able to get at me on the battlefield, alright?" Dove snapped. "Cause I'm faster and stronger than any chick in this school. Got it?"
"Whatever you say, peacekeeper." Cardin chuckled, Russel and Sky snickering behind the brunette.
"Yeah, whatever." Dove tossed his shampoo into his bag and slammed it shut, tossing it against the wall to await the time when he would be called by his new team's leader.
Things were going just as smoothly in the Juniper dorm room...
"...on a team with that chauvinistic pig!" The other members of Team Juniper watched in mild fright as Pyrrha paced before them, an expression of rage painting her features. Vivid green eyes glowed brighter than usual as she moved back and forth, throwing things into her suitcase absently while continuing to rant. "And to even think of pairing him with Velvet of all people? Cardin's racist against Faunus! That poor girl will be torn to pieces, chewed up and spat out before the first month is through!"
"On the bright side, you're paired with Blake." Nora told her. "Maybe the two of you can keep Cardin in check."
"That doesn't change the fact that Cardin needs to be kept in check!" Pyrrha groaned, not even stopping in her rant. "Why is he even still at this school? After all of the pranks and stunts he's pulled... he could have gotten Jaune killed on several occasions!"
"Yeah, but look at me, Pyrrha." Jaune chuckled, tapping his armor. "Still good. Still alive."
"No thanks to that machismo bully!" the redhead shot back, nearly squirting the toothpaste from the tube had she squeezed any tighter before throwing it into her suitcase. "And he could have gotten me killed had you not been there for me."
"Actually, he was trying to get me to throw the jar..." the blonde boy pointed out.
"Which would have gotten you expelled!" Pyrrha turned to them all, panting heavily, finally having packed all of her things. Sitting on her bed, she sighed and put her head in her hands. "I just don't understand why it has to be Cardin." she whispered.
"Hey, look at it this way." Jaune exclaimed. "At least you're partnered with someone who can tolerate you at the very least, even if you are on a team with someone you hate. I'm partnered with her royal highness, Heiress Schnee. She can't stand being around me!"
Worry flashed in Pyrrha's eyes. "Do you wish for me to have a talk with Weiss, Jaune? I can make her loosen up a bit..."
"Nah, it's fine. She wouldn't hurt me intentionally. I mean, look at what she did for Ruby. Even though she may not like people, that won't stop her from doing the right thing. I'll be fine."
"And Weiss really is just a big teddy bear inside." Nora agreed, bouncing on her bed, already packed, her bags sitting alongside Ren's. "A teddy bear covered in armor, grenades and several missiles ready to go off at any moment, but still a cute cuddly teddy bear."
Jaune laughed nervously at that before Ren spoke. "I think this team exchange is a good idea." he remarked, continuing to flip through one of Nora's magazines lazily. "It's a way to figure out suitable solutions to dealing with someone we can't stand. After all, I have to be partnered with Russel Thrush. Though somewhat of a brute, he is a relatively good person, even if he does hang out with the wrong type of people."
"But Cardin?" Pyrrha sounded close to tears despite her eyes remaining dry. "Why couldn't he have been put on a team with people bigger and more talented than him to take him... down a... notch..." Bright green eyes widened and a slow smile slid across Pyrrha's features. "Professor Goodwitch is a genius."
"Uh, what?" Jaune asked, suddenly puzzled by this strange turn of events.
"Don't you see?" Pyrrha giggled, passive demeanor firmly in place once more. "She put Cardin-someone who is obviously chauvinistic and racist-on a team with not only two Faunus, but three very powerful, intelligent women that can do for themselves without the help of a man. Goodwitch is absolutely brilliant!"
"Wow, you're right!" Nora shouted. "I mean, even though Team RWBY and us are the only ones who know she's a Faunus, Cardin's still on a team with her and she still is, so that will make it twice as worse, because he didn't know. And of course, she also gave him a Faunus for a partner, which would take his ego down quite a bit since she's not only a Faunus, but also the one that he's bullied since the very beginning of school..."
While Nora chattered on about what a perfect development of the team formation Professor Goodwitch did, the others continued the initial conversation. "What am I going to do about Velvet, though?" Pyrrha sighed. "She's Cardin's partner and she always acts so shy and vulnerable. She'll be torn to pieces, chewed up and spat out before the first month is over!"
"Well, that's why you've got Blake." Jaune encouraged her. "She's your partner, right? Perhaps the two of you could work together to take Cardin down a notch like you did that day in Professor Oobleck's class."
"You're right, Jaune." the redhead perked up immediately. "And Blake will also give Velvet someone to relate to within the team. Perhaps this could actually work."
"Great!" the blonde leader beamed. "Do you need help packing?"
Pyrrha giggled and nodded.
Which means you can guess how things were going in Team Ruby's room...
"Can you believe this?" Yang and Ruby rolled their eyes as Blake completely ignored the white-haired girl, continuing to pack. Weiss tossed another beauty product into her suitcase, continuing to rant. "To even consider putting me with that..."
"You can't call him an oaf anymore." Ruby pointed out. "Pyrrha's been training him up on the roof for years."
Blake felt a stab of jealousy at Jaune's private lessons with Pyrrha, but kept her thoughts to herself. Something in her face must have given her away because Yang grinned and nudged her. "Something wrong with the idea of Jaune getting private one-on-one with your girl, Blakey?" she asked with a grin.
"She's not my girl, Yang." the brunette replied with a sigh.
"Well, there's potential for her to be now." the blonde countered.
"I'm not going to date my partner." Blake sighed. "Dating my partner is just asking for trouble. What if things don't work out? Then the team could be torn apart. Trust me, dating your partner is just bad news."
"I agree." Weiss huffed. "Just imagine if Ruby and I had begun dating. That would have been disastrous!"
"Please stop." Ruby groaned, covering her ears with a blush. "I wouldn't want to date Weiss anyway. I enjoy being her friend, but she probably has some super high standards for the person she dates."
"And Nora meets those standards how?" Yang chuckled, earning a dirty look from the heiress.
"Every rule has an exception." the white-haired girl huffed, shutting her suitcase neatly. "Are you all packed?"
"Yeah." Yang sighed, slamming her suitcase shut. "Not like I wanna be. I can't believe I got stuck with that stuck-up bimbo from Cardinal."
"Dove?" Ruby snickered. "Yeah, he's almost as bad as Cardin. Always instigating Cardin bullying poor Velvet. Hard to believe Russel and Sky are actually somewhat decent people."
"Speaking of Velvet, how's she going to survive with Cardin as a partner?" Yang mused, concern coloring her features.
"Even I feel sorry for her." Weiss sighed, a small flash of worry flitting across her features as well.
"I hope she survives. I mean, she's got Pyrrha and Blake."
"Remember, Velvet's extremely powerful." Blake reminded them all. "Remember what happened last time in the Golden Forest?"
"Oh yeah!" Yang exclaimed excitedly. "I can believe she took out that entire group of Ursai on her own. And in less than twenty minutes, too!"
"Well, it does help that she is a dust mage." Weiss agreed.
"I'm quite certain her weapon helped out too." Ruby piped in, remembering the trip fondly. She got to show Weiss how powerful she was on her own by defeating a pack of beowolves.
"See?" their brunette member smiled. "I'm sure she'll be just fine with Cardin as a partner. I believe it' Pyrrha we need to worry about."
"Yeah, there will be nothing stopping her from noticing your crush on her." Yang snickered.
"That, and she may attempt murder on Cardin for all of the chauvinistic and racist snipes he tends to make. I'm certain he'll be dead before the first month is over if I'm not careful."
"If you're not careful?" Ruby asked.
"Yes. She's my partner now." Blake explained. "And as her partner, it's my job to make sure she doesn't get into trouble, just like I do with Yang, Therefore, I need to watch the way Pyrrha responds to everything Cardin does or says, otherwise she could end up expelled if I'm not careful enough."
"If you ask me, it sounds like another excuse to stare at her." Weiss smirked, Blake turning her head to glare at the heiress.
"I don't want another reason to stare at her." the brunette huffed. "I want less reasons to stare at her so that she doesn't begin to question the constant eye contact."
"More like constant visual undressing." Yang chuckled, receiving a pillow thrown at her head, everyone's favorite way of responding to one of her jokes. "Hey, I'm just saying." the blonde laughed, tossing the pillow back to her former partner. "After all, I will admit that she does have a nice body."
"I don't want her body." Blake muttered, earning her a doubtful snort from Ruby and Yang and a skeptical glance from Weiss. Finally, all bags were packed and set against the wall, the four girls lounging on their beds for a moment.
"I just hope everything goes okay." Ruby sighed, putting her head in her hands. "I don't know what I think might be going to happen, but I don't want any of you to end up hurt."
"Hey, we'll be fine, sis." Yang beamed up at the redhead. "After all, none of those other leaders could ever compare to you."
"I'll say." Weiss snorted, earning a momentary glare from Yang.
"Weiss has a point." Blake agreed. "None of them tend to think the way you do. Though your ideas may seem crazy, they almost always work out perfectly. And you have us on a good training schedule too, so I think you'll be a wonderful leader for... what's your team's name again?"
Ruby blushed and muttered, "Rainshine Swimhorse."
"Wouldn't seahorse have made more sense?" Blake asked, eyebrows furrowing in confusion.
"That's what I said!" Ruby shouted, throwing her hands up in the air. And Sky agreed with me, too.
"Whoa, he actually agreed with you on something?" Yang asked in awe. "Maybe you're right and he's not that bad after all. Though, if Dove pushes me-."
"You won't be able to return to being my partner, which would make me feel sad and lonely." Blake interjected smoothly, ears twitching as her head turned to the door. "It's time for us to move. All the other leaders are heading to people's rooms and looking for the members of their new teams."
"Well girls," Ruby grinned. "I wish you all good luck. Hopefully we all survive this without too much pain and suffering."
"I wish." Weiss grumbled, accepting the hug the redhead offered her. Blake opened her arms and Ruby jumped into them, letting Blake pick her up for a moment before putting her down. After giving the cat ears a soft scratch, Ruby accepted the bear hug her sister inevitably gave her, Yang squeezing tight and giving her a soft smile when it was finished.
A knock at the door sounded and Blake opened it to find Maccato standing there with his bags, smiling at her sheepishly. "Sorry if I was interrupting." he murmured.
"We were just beginning to head out, actually. Blake told him. Come in and make yourself comfortable. Yang, Weiss, should we get going?"
"I guess." Weiss sighed, rolling her eyes as she grabbed her bags and began lugging them across the hall to Team Juniper's room where Nora, Ren and Pyrrha were just leaving. Pyrrha waved to Blake and the Faunus smiled, nodding to her before grabbing her own bags and waving to Ruby.
"Ready to find Cardin's room?" the famous athlete asked when Blake approached her.
"Might as well." the brunette sighed. "Can't put it off forever, right?
Pyrrha nodded with a melancholy sigh and the partners began walking the halls to the other side of the dorm, looking around for Team Cardinal's dorm room.
Glancing around, Blake spotted Velvet and waved the other Faunus over. The lighter brunette looked relieved to see her two nicer teammates before her new team leader and she hurried over, smiling shyly at the pair.
"Have either of you seen Cardin?" She asked calmly.
"No." Pyrrha grunted, glaring around. "My guess is that he expects us to come to him ourselves, the pig. Come on, the doors should still have the team names on them. We'll find it that way."
Blake nodded and hoisted her bags up, grabbing one of Velvet's heavier bags as well, much to the mage's gratitude. Following Pyrrha through the corridors, Blake glanced around for the old Team Cardinal bedroom.
"Found it." Pyrrha called from further ahead. "I had to remember that Cardin had been listening in on the conversation Jaune and I had been having on the roof that one night. Then I estimated the route and distance and found the door. Shall we knock?"
Blake shrugged and lifted her hand, slamming her fist sharply against the door three times before trying the knob and finding it open.
"Could've left it open for us." She spat, making her way inside to find Cardin lounging on ths bottom bed of one of the bunks.
"Took you girls long enough." Cardin sneered, glancing up as they entered.
"Not like you were any help." Blake growled, tossing her bags to the floor before slowly setting down Velvet's bag too. Turning to the other girls, she asked, "Who wants which bed?"
Velvet and Pyrrha glanced to each of the beds and cocked their heads at the empty bunk.
"I'll take the top if you want the bottom, Pyrrha." The Faunus told the athlete.
"Sounds grand, Velvet." Pyrrha replied with a smile, setting her bags beside the bunk as Velvet did the same on its opposite side.
"Whoa, what do you think you're doing?" Cardin called.
"Getting settled in." Pyrrha replied, not even turning to him as she laid out her sheets.
"I'm leader, I decide where everyone sleeps." The auburn-haired boy stated.
"Too late." Blake told him, stepping up easily to begin making the bed above his. "It's already been decided."
Cardin rolled his eyes and gazed around at the trio of females, unable to help the grin that settled onto his face. "Hm, I guess this isn't going to be so bad." He murmured softly.
"What makes you say that?" Blake asked, hopping from the top bed and landing easily on her feet.
"What could be bad about staying in a room with three beautiful girls under my command? Even if one them is a Faunus." He shot a glare at Velvet, who recoiled immediately.
Blake placed a hand on the smaller girl's shoulder as Pyrrha stated, "You neglected to notice an interesting fact, oh great leader."
"Oh yeah?" Cardin chuckled. "What?" Did I forget to mention that you'll all be fawning over me by the time these six months is over?"
"What an interesting exaggeration of a disgusting unreal truth." Blake deadpanned, beginning to help Velvet unpack.
"No." Pyrrha said in reply to the auburn bully. "You neglected to take in the fact that all of the girls on your team have one reason or another to hate you."
"What?" Cardin demanded, standing.
"You bully me." Velvet told him, sending Blake to pack her own things, saying, "I can take it from here."
"You threatened me and bullied Jaune." Pyrrha added.
Cardin turned to Blake, who was beginning to unpack her vast collection of books. When she glanced back, the dark brunette shrugged. "Ruby is Jaune's friend, so you made my leader unhappy. And I'm not particularly fond of the way you treat Faunus."
"Ugh, another animal-lover." The leader scoffed, flopping back down on his bed. "Whatever. When you girls see how much of a warrior I am and realize that you need me to survive, you'll be battling each other for my affections."
"Or which one of us gets to deal the killing blow." Blake monotoned, gaining a sidelong glance from Velvet and a nod from Pyrrha. Cardin glared at them all with a curled lip before turning over and staring at the wall, leaving the girls to finish unpacking.
Once finished, Blake glanced around and grabbed a pair of headphones she'd bought in Vale last year, plugging them into her scroll before four-way-calling the scrolls of her friends. It was a few minutes before any of them picked up and when they did, they sounded strained.
"Hey Blake." Ruby sniffed.
"What's up, Kitty." Yang asked, her voice coming in sharp.
"What do you want?" Weiss demanded.
Blake sighed and said, "Let's start from the beginning. Ruby, what's wrong?"
"I've never been in a room with nothing but boys before." The team leader replied. "They all stink. And they put up a poster of half-naked girl right across from my bed. And Maccato's partner, Hanai Blowfish? He yelled because he had to sleep under my bed."
"Want me to come over there?" Weiss demanded. "If I could sleep under your bed for two years and not die, he can do it for six months, the disgusting worm."
"Ruby." Blake said calmly. "Inform him that if there is anymore trouble, three very angry nineteen-year-olds would be more than willing to teach him respect."
"But what if he calls me a baby and degrades me as a leader because I can't solve my own problems?" The redhead murmured. "I don't want to look weak. I want them to follow me."
"Fine. Don't tell him." Yang ordered. "But the next time something happems... tell us."
"Alright."
"Moving on." Blake stated. "Yang?"
"Dove's being more of a chauvinistic pig than normal, to quote Weiss at one point or another." The blonde replied and it was clear she was gritting her teeth. "I'm considering taking him up on that offer to go for a nighttime spar with each other to see who's better."
"Don't do anything rash without a witness there." Blake commanded firmly, but not unkindly. "Take Ruby if possible. If not, take Weiss. Anyone who is a reliable witness who will still tell the truth."
"Good idea." Yang agreed. "Nice thinking Kitty."
"Don't call me that." Blake sighed. "Weiss?"
"Men." The heiress replied.
"Gonna have to give us a little more than that, princess." Yang told her.
"They're smelly and loud and rude and obnoxious... they're Yang with less hygiene and worse manners!"
"Hey!" The blonde shouted.
"Weiss, you're going to have to deal with that." Blake told her soothingly. "Boys stink, boys are loud and they're definitely rude and obnoxious." She shot a glance down at her bed, beyond which, Cardin was probably still sulking. "How are you coping?"
"I asked Jaune which bed was Nora's and buried my face in it for ten minutes." The white-themed girl responded.
"Wow, that's really mature of you, Weiss." Ruby said in surprise.
Then Weiss continued. "Then I kicked them all out of the bedroom."
"And that's the heiress we know." Yang chuckled.
"Weiss, it's their bedroom too, you can't kick them out of it." Blake sighed. "Let them back in. You don't have to apologize, but at least let them back in and explain why you kicked them out. If they give you trouble and Jaune can't tame them, threaten to bring in Yang."
"Fine." Weiss huffed, crossing her arms in the new Jabberwauk Padfoot dorm room.
"What about you, Blake?" Ruby asked, knowing the brunette was going to hang up had she not said anything.
"We took Cardin down a peg by telling him that, even though he was delusional about us needing his help in anything aside from how to ask out the snobbiest most close minded men in the world, all three of us had a reason to hate him."
"You go, Blakey!" Yang cheered.
"And Pyrrha?" Weiss asked.
Blake looked up to check the redhead, finding that both she and Velvet were doing the exact same thing she was. "She's most likely talking to Juniper right now. Velvet's doing the same with her team as well."
"Hey, maybe you can lay on the moves tonight." Yang urged.
"No, Yang." Blake replied. "Good night, all of you."
"Night Blake!" Ruby signed off.
"Good night, Kitten." Yang chortled before signing off.
"Try not to kill him without me there and don't try laying any kind of moves on Pyrrha without a member of Ruby or Juniper present to mediate the situation." Weiss ordered.
"You got it, Princess." Blake agreed.
"Good night." And Weiss ended the call between them. Removing her headphones, Blake sighed and grabbed one of her novels and a candelabra, opening the book and beginning to read. Losing herself to the world, the brunette let the story within the pages engulf her.
So enthralled by the pages was she, that she didn't notice Cardin stand and turn to watch her. The auburn-boy cocked his head and his eyes trailed along her body, finally coming to rest on her bow.
"Hey, Belladonna." he called to her, getting her attention. The book was lowered slowly as Blake turned her attention to him. "What's with the bow, you always wear?"
"I like it." Blake replied, watching him warily.
"Yeah, but you're always wearing it." Cardin pressed, eyes not straying from the ribbon. Blake forced her ears to remain still so as not to give away her secret. "Why not take it off?"
"Because I like it." Blake repeated, eyes never wavering from Cardin.
"As your leader, I order you to take it off." the auburn boy commanded, smirking at her as if he'd won.
"As your teammate, I'm saying no." the brunette replied.
Cardin's lip curled and he reached up, making for her bow. Blake's hand shot out quickly, her amber eyes glaring into his as her grip became painfully tight. Both Velvet and Pyrrha had frozen below, both looking torn between whether to help Cardin or defend Blake.
"You are our leader." Blake hissed, her monotone becoming eerie as she kept her gaze focused on the furious blue eyes in front of her. "That does not give you the right to treat us like dirt. It does not give you the right to make decisions for all of us without our say. And it does not-." She bent his wrist at an uncomfortable angle, eliciting a grunt of pain. '-give you any right to touch our personal belongings without our permission. Now get off my bed."
She threw Cardin's wrist back at him and Cardin growled, rubbing his wrist before slowly climbing back down, growling under his breath. Pyrrha sent Blake a smile and Velvet stifled a giggle as the trio went back to what they were doing, nothing but snarling and grunts being heard from Cardin for the rest of the night.
How was it? I know it's a lot to take in all at once, but hopefully, you guys enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it (cause it was FUN). And you know, don't forget to drop me a review!
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