"Alright, you head on toward the wheelbarrows and grab the ammunition. If you spot Ruby, take shots at her and run back. Don't go for immediate knockout or you'll become an open target." Jaune said to Pyrrha, who nodded and turned the corner of the pillar, running out into the open and toward the closest wheelbarrow. The Atlesian Huntress gathered snowballs, carefully cradling them in under her chest when Jaune's voice echoed from the pillar. "TIME OUT! Time out, guys! Meet at the wheelbarrows!" he called out, the four teams heading to the wheelbarrows at his request.
"Ruby, where are the carrying bags?" he asked, Ruby putting up a finger before her eyes widened. "The bags! Hang on!" she said, speeding off toward the academy and rushing through the door. "I knew I forgot something! Stupid duffel bags!" Ruby muttered as she raced the halls, crashing into another figure in her blind search for the bags. "Ack! Sorry about that! You okay?" Ruby asked as she lifted herself off of Emerald, Mercury helping his partner to her feet. "You know there's rules are about running in the halls, right kid?" he said with a smirk, Emerald rolling her eyes. "Sorry, just in a hurry to grab some duffel bags for our snowball fight. You two want to join us?" Ruby offered.
"Would, but I can't do too much with this arm." Emerald said, turning slightly to show the bloodied bandages, Mercury's eyes widening and lips stiffening before he quickly turned his head, covering his mouth to feign coughing. "Whoa, what happened to you, Emerald?" the young Huntress asked, looking over the bandages, white mixed with browning red. "Uh… can opener accident. You gotta be careful with those things, they can bite back." Emerald explained, Merc lightly elbowing the back of her good arm. Ruby looked at the two before nodding in agreement. "Yeah, I cut hand once on one of those. It's why I like electric can openers more. They're so spinny." she said, laughing slightly before noticing the odd stares from Emerald and Mercury, her laughter turning into weak chuckles, an awkward silence holding over the three for a few minutes before Ruby cleared her throat.
"Wait, didn't I see you guys heading out the gate? When did you get sliced with a can opener?" Ruby asked, Emerald's eyes shifting slightly "I was opening a can for… a soup kitchen! Yeah, a soup kitchen! We were helping out those less fortunate!" Emerald said, tension for the criminal duo rising as Ruby rubbed her chin, looking in Emerald's eyes before smiling. "That's so nice of you guys!" Ruby said, Mercury running his fingers through his hair and letting out a relieved sigh.
"Anyway, I'd better get going. It's getting late and I gotta get the bags! Happy Renewal!" Ruby said, bolting off and leaving the lying Hunters in the halls. "...She bought it! She actually bought it! How did she? I mean, it was- man, this is gonna be easy, huh Merc?" Emerald said with an excite smile, stunned by Ruby's naivete. "...These are supposed to be the defenders of mankind… and she just fell for the worst lie." her partner replied, Emerald's smile dropping and turning into a scowl. "...Shut up, Mercury." she spat before heading for the dining hall.
Ruby scrambled into team RWBY's dorm, reaching under her bed and pulling out a set of four duffel bags, putting two straps to each shoulder, adjusting her black hat and batting a bit at the the puffball on top before flipping on her hood and running out of the room. Her run was hampered by having to carrying the bags, nearly tripping a few times as she made it back to the door where Jaune was waiting, grabbing two bags. "Everyone grab a bag!" Jaune shouted, throwing bags to Ren and Blake. "Okay, bags are in the game! Everyone resume position!" Ruby called as she ran back to her and Yang's tree. Blake and Weiss leaned against the wall, waving off Thunder Dragon and Masters of Remnant as they made their way back to their bases. "All ready?!" Ruby asked, waiting as the other teams confirmed. "All right! Snowball fight for real this time! One! Two! THREE!" she shouted, resuming the game.
Pyrrha rushed out from the pillar and to the wheelbarrow, loading her bag with as many snowballs as she could. "Hey Pyrrha!" Yang shouted, catching the Atlesian champion's attention. "Snow's over, superstar!" she called, launching a snowball from each hand. Pyrrha's normally sharp reflexes were dulled by her confusion at Yang's pun, taking two snowballs to the face and hitting the snow. "Yeah! Got 'er!" Yang called, grabbing another two balls and charging for the front entrance. Pyrrha wiped off the snow from her face, moving to get up when she spotted Jaune gesturing his palm downward, Pyrrha quickly lying down on the cold, wet snow. Her partner scouted the area, looking until he saw and pointing her to the designated Tree of Defeat. Pyrrha quickly ran for the tree, Jaune turning his attention to the rest of the fight.
"Alright! There goes Pyrrha, now for Blake!" she shouted, rushing for Beacon's front entrance. "Yaaaaang! This is a war of attrition! You can't go marching off into enemy lines!" Ruby cried, trying to wave her sister back to their side. "Heh! I've already knocked Pyrrha out! I think I can take the Ice Queen and the Penguin!" her older sister called back. Blake looked up from her book, glaring at the boisterous blonde. "Alright, forget our plan of leaving the game. We're taking out Yang." Blake said, Weiss turning and nodding.
"So, what's the plan?" she asked, Blake pointing to the wall. "Place a black glyph here." the Faunus huntress said, running a finger along the wall to give Weiss a quick measurement. Weiss quickly nodded and set a black glyph onto the wall, Blake grabbing three snowballs and throwing them onto the glyph, the glyphs holding them in the air. "When I give the signal, change the glyph to launch them." Blake commanded, turning her eyes to the charging Yang. Yang stomped her way to Team Penguin, gripping a snowball in each hand when Blake shouted "Now!"
Weiss changed the glyphs to white, the halted snowballs accelerating toward Yang, who grabbed the first one in her hand. "Not the first time I had to deal with a ranged oppo-" She was immediately hit in the face with a second snowball. "Weiss! Finishing blow!" Blake said, tossing two more snowballs into the glyph and preparing them to fire. "Finishing blow!" Weiss shouted, firing the snowballs again at a high speed. "That was my face you stupid litt-" Yang shouted, before getting hit in the stomach, and once again in the face. Yang let out an annoyed yell and walked off for the Tree of Defeat.
"Hah! We did it, Blake!" Weiss exclaimed happily, hugging her friend in sheer joy. "Hahahaha! Don't get too excited, Weiss. We haven't won yet. There's still a chance we-" Blake began as she slipped out of Weiss' hug, a flurry of snowballs passing by their faces as Team Penguin separated, a snowball catching Weiss in the side of the head. "-could be attacked." Weiss said, finishing Blake's sentence as Ren and Nora charged out from where Yang had fallen, Ren mounted onto Nora's back with a loaded bag of snowballs. Team Penguin loaded another trio of snowballs, launching them straight for the two. Ren carefully positioned himself, bending his knees and softly digging his heels into his partner's back. "Sleeping Sloth Soundly Slumbers!" Ren shouted, Nora quickly dropping to her knees and Ren launching himself into the air, unzipping the bag and nearly launching half of the snowballs in one swing.
"Weiss! Down!" Blake shouted, pushing Weiss into the snow as she was pelted with a flurry of falling snowballs, Blake was launched onto her back, sliding several feet along the snow covered ground. "Blake! No! Stay with me!" the Schnee heiress cried out, lost in the energy of the snowball fight. She scrambled to brush off as much snow on her partner's coat, Blake grabbing her wrist. "Weiss… it's too late for me... Ren's blasted me with over twenty snowballs…" she said with faux theatrics, unzipping her coat. "I need you to keep fighting… to carry on the legacy of Team Penguin…" Blake said with a soft smile, taking off her jacket and putting it around Weiss. Weiss smiled back and pulled the jacket closer, Blake throwing the orange scarf around her neck. "I will. You get inside and warm up. I'll take care of Thunder Dragon." Weiss said as Blake got up, brushing her pants and heading inside with a shiver.
Weiss turned her attention back to Thunder Dragon, eyes filled with a cold focus as she zipped up Blake's jacket and tightened the scarf around her face. She summoned a large white glyph. "You have brought the fury of the Schnee family heir upon you." Weiss stated as she lobbed snowball after snowball at the glyph, speeding them up and sending them sailing through the air. Ren weaved his way through the rapidly falling snowballs, Nora being pelted hard and sent to the ground. "Now try and dodge my flurry fury!" Weiss exclaimed as she kept throwing, the volley of snowballs flooding the sky. Ren grabbed a snowball in his hand as he got closer, dodging and grabbing a second snowball.
Ren made his way through the volley, pulling back and throwing a snowball through the glyph hitting Weiss in the stomach. He launched the second one, striking her in the face. Weiss got up, heading back into the school while she undid the scarf. "Weiss! Where are you going? Get to the Tree of Defeat!" Jaune shouted, running out from his hiding point to try and enforce the rules. "Final three!" Ruby exclaimed, charging after Jaune and Ren. Ren turned to face Jaune, pulling a snowball from his bag. Jaune stopped, reaching for his bag and grabbing a snowball as well. Ruby stopped herself at a point between them snowball in each hand, the three remaining Hunters staring down at each other, feeling the snow crumbling in their clutched hands.
Ruby got the first throw, getting Jaune in the chest early on, followed by a quick shot to the side from Ren. "Tactical retreat!" Jaune shouted, running away from the two as they aimed to hit him one more time. Ren and Ruby turned to each other, Ruby grabbing the snowball first and rearing back. The young huntress made the first throw, Ren quickly rolling away and throwing three snowballs, Ruby rapidly dodging them. Ruby kept grabbing and throwing snowballs, missing with each shot while Ren quickly managed to nail Ruby in the head. Ruby quickly went on the evasive as well, moving around each of Ren's throws and circling around the Dragon of Thunder Dragon and catching him with a shot to the back.
Now at 1-1, the two Hunters went back to back-and-forth attempts at getting that second shot and taking the lead. "Combat reengagement!" broke through the flurry as Jaune rushed out, catching both Ruby and Ren with snowballs to face. However, the attack left him wide open for a double hit, taking him out with hits to the chest. Ruby and Ren grabbed their last snowball, staring each other down as they circled each other. The tension in the air grew as thick as the snow, the Hunter's feet making a soft crunch with each step. Ren leapt forward, throwing his snowball only for Ruby to leap sideways. "You've entered my range! Hiiiiiyyaaaahhhh~" she shouted, throwing and getting Ren straight in the face.
"Yeah! Crescent Sun wins! I did it! I am the best snowball warrior!" Ruby yelled excitedly, people looking out from the door windows in confusion and annoyance. Ruby's cheering was cut off when she heard a low chuckle from behind her, turning to see Jaune laughing. "Heh heh heh, so you think you've won? But the snowball fight isn't over…" Jaune said, Ruby blinking and scratching her head. "...What? But Yang eliminated Pyrrha, then Team Penguin took out Yang, then Ren eliminated Blake, Weiss eliminated Nora, Ren eliminated Weiss, me and Ren knocked you out and I just beat Ren! How is the snowball fight still going?" Ruby asked.
Jaune grinned. "Because Yang only hit two shots to Pyrrha…" he said in an undertone, Ruby's eyes widening in shock and fear. "No…" she gasped out as Jaune jumped to his feet. "Now, Pyrrha!" he shouted, Pyrrha leaping out from the Tree of Defeat and throwing a perfect snowball. "Yang! You didn't pay attention to the RUL-" she cried as she turned and saw the snowball hit her dead center in the forehead, the red-hooded huntress falling back with a cry of "NOOOOOOO!" as she hit the snow. Pyrrha ran up to jaune, the two high-fiving in celebration.
"Yeah! We did it, Pyrrha! Masters of Remnant win!" Jaune said ecstatically as Ruby slowly got to her feet. "Pyrrha, how could you? I loved you! I went to all your tournaments! I bought your shoes, your trading cards, your collectibles! I ATE YOUR CEREAL EVERY DAY!" she screamed overdramatically as Yang picked her up. "C'mon, sis. Let's go warm you up before your heart becomes… Weiss cold."
"Good thing Weiss didn't hear that. She'd kill you for that one." Jaune said as the others headed in and took off their coats and gloves, Jaune setting his yellow and green striped hat with a green puffball on a hook. "So, hot chocolate and gift exchange in ten, right?" he asked, the rest of his team, Ruby and Yang nodding in unison. "Cool, see you guys in ten. Seeya Ruby, Yang." he said, waving to them before heading for Team JNPR's dorm.
Within minutes, the two teams had met in the dining hall, basking in the soft glow of the Renewal lights and the warmth of the brick fireplace. Team CFVY walked around the hall, carrying trays loaded with mugs of hot chocolate and bowls of marshmallows in the center. They handed out mugs to students, offering them at 3 Lien for a mug and 1 Lien extra for marshmallows. "Hey Merc. You and Em want some hot cocoa? And I don't mean me." Coco asked with a playful wink. "Sure thing. Two mugs." he said, Coco setting them down on the table and putting out a hand Mercury paid up and turned to face Emerald. "Here's to Renewal, eh?" he said, the two clinking mugs together and taking a careful sip. Mercury grabbed the small wrapped rectangle in front of him, unwrapping it. "Oooh, 25 Lien giftcard to Burgershire! Thanks, Em!" he said. Emerald smiling and taking another sip of cocoa.
"No problem, now let's see what you got me…" she said, unwrapping her present to find a six-pack of neon green cans emblazoned with the words "Emerald Splash" in slanted, whooshing letters. "Eh? Ehhhh? Doooyaliiiikeiiiitttt?" he asked, pointing at her with double finger guns. Emerald growled at her partner, gripping down hard on the can and rearing back to throw it at him. Mercury made a run for it, laughing as the can hit the floor and Emerald grabbed a new can. "These cans are going straight down your throat, Merc!" she shouted, chasing after him and throwing another can.
"...He went out of his way to find this one soda that shared a name with his partner. He had to go to several stores to find that soda." Blake said bluntly, looking up from her book at the chaos. "Well, you have to admire Mercury's tenacity to find it." Weiss said as Coco and Velvet walked up to the table, "Happy Renewal, Team RWBY! Happy Renewal, Team JNPR!" Velvet said with a friendly smile, setting down mugs around each team member, pouring marshmallows into Jaune's mug. "Aww man, how come I don't get marshmallows?" Ruby whined, Coco turning her head to the young huntress.
"Look, you're getting these hot chocolates for free because Renewal's a season of giving. But these marshmallows are expensive and I'm not giving marshmallows for free." Coco said, Ruby pouting in annoyance. "Jaune gets marshmallows…" she muttered, Coco letting her sunglasses fall so she could put her dark brown eyes up against Ruby's blue eyes. "Look, start dating Velvet and then you can get free marshmallows." Coco said, Velvet turning a deep red. "C-Coco! Don't go telling everyone!" she exclaimed, Jaune choking on his hot chocolate. Coco chuckled and put Velvet in a headlock, ruffling the bunny girl's hair with her free hand. "Aww, lighten up, Vel! It's just a joke!" Team CFVY's leader replied, patting Jaune on the shoulder. "You doing alright, loverboy?" she asked as Jaune finally regained his breath.
"Wow… I didn't know you guys were dating." Ruby said, Velvet struggling to get out of Coco's grip. "W-well, it's not really, -Ow, leggo- s-something Jaune and I like to spread around…" Velvet said, Jaune quietly nodding. "Don't know why these two are so hush-hush about the whole thing. They're so adorable together! It almost makes me want to vomit, it's that cute!" Coco exclaimed, letting go of Velvet's head. "Anh… a-anyway, don't let us get in the way of-" Velvet said, trying to change the subject only for Ruby to reel her and Jaune back into the topic. "Wow, my best friend and Blake's best friend are dating! When did it start? Do you go to dinner together? Do you hold hands in private? Tell me stuff, Jaune! I need the stuff!" Ruby exclaimed, Jaune and Velvet both trying to hide their reddening faces.
"Ruby! It's rude to pry in other people's personal lives! ...But really, Velvet. Jaune? I mean, I know I mentioned last year that you didn't have a boyfriend, but you go with Farmboy?" Weiss asked, Jaune pulling himself out of his hood. "Hey, it's not like either of us went out of our way to date someone because we were lonely. Velvet's nice! Also, I saved your life! Can't you not call me Farmboy?" he asked in annoyance, Weiss giggling a bit. "It's just a nickname, Jaune." she said, Pyrrha patting Jaune on the shoulder. "Well, Jaune, I think it's… wonderful that you found someone that makes you happy." Pyrrha said in a comforting tone.
Jaune smiled, feeling the heat in his face drop. "Thanks, Pyrrha. Anyway, let's get to unwrapping our presents, who wants to go fir-" he said, Ruby immediately grabbing the closest present for her. "Me! ME!" she shrieked excitedly, ripping up paper. "This one's from Nora! Ooooooh~" she said, seeing a box of lifting weights. "You gotta work on your arm strength, Ruby! Your whole team's got some bone arms! Not real guns like we have on Team JNPR!" Nora said, flexing her arms and showing off her muscles. "Oh, it's on, Valkyrie!" Yang exclaimed, slamming her hands on her table. She began counter flexing Nora while Coco studied their biceps, Ruby dropping her head onto the table. "Why do you have to be my sister?" she asked, muffled by the table.
Weiss grabbed a gift from the table, taking a moment to look at the tag. "This is from Blake." she said, carefully unwrapping the box and seeing the logo for Style Under Pressure. "No… you didn't…" Weiss said, opening the box to see a pair of amethyst earrings. "Oh wow! Blake, these are… how much did- you didn't have to!" Weiss stammered, alternating at a loss for words and admiring the earrings. "You better wear those, I didn't waste my book budget for you to just gawk at shiny rocks." Blake replied. "Your book budg- Oh! Speaking of!" the heiress said, rooting through the pile and pulling out a box wrapped in purple paper with black cats printed on it.
"...Am I going to hate it as much as I hate the paper?" Blake asked, adjusting her beret slightly. Weiss shook her head as Blake unwrapped her gift, finding a card for Tukson's Book Trade. "Huh… Tukson's, eh? I didn't see you go there when we did gift shopping." Blake said, Weiss smiling and giving another her familiar false laugh. "Ooooohohohohoho~ I went there myself while you were shopping for Ruby's gift. I'll admit, I've had… difficulties with Faunus in the past," she said, the table going somewhat quiet. "But Tukson and I got along quite nicely. I went a bit over the planned amount, but I had been saving on other gifts, so I figured 75 Lien wouldn't be too bad." she said, Blake smiling and pocketing the card.
"My turn, then!" Yang shouted, pulling away from her flex-off with Nora and reaching for a nearby gift only to get a rectangular box shoved into her hands by Coco. "Happy Renewal, boxing buddy!" she exclaimed, pushing up her sunglasses. Yang tore away the package in one swoop, tossing aside the cover of the box to find a black t-shirt with a design of Yang throwing a burning uppercut in the center, black shorts with yellow lining, pair of yellow grappling gloves and a black mouthguard. "Oh, sweet! New boxing gear! Thanks Coco!" Yang said, putting on the gloves. "Yeah, shame Boxing Club's going on hiatus for awhile, what with missions and with organizing the Spring Maiden Dance." Coco explained.
"Huh? Spring Maiden Dance?" Ruby asked, pulling her head up. Velvet nodded. "The Spring Maiden Festival is an event on the off years of the Vytal Festival where students from the other three academies visit a Kingdom in the spirit of international unity. The host Kingdom's academy holds a ball, the Spring Maiden Dance. Vale is going to be hosting and Coco volunteered our team to put the Dance together." she explained.
"Isn't spring a few months off? How long does it take to prepare a dance?" Ruby asked, Weiss shrugging. "You'd be surprised, Ruby. One of my mother's friends spent a year and a half preparing their daughter's wedding. It was quite the opulent affair, with a cake that was taller than you… which, admittedly isn't difficult." Weiss said with a smirk, Ruby growling at her as Jaune grabbed two presents. "Wow, Jaune. Feeling a bit greedy tonight?" Nora asked, Jaune shaking his head. "One's for me and the other's for Velvet. Couple's trade?" he asked, handing Velvet her gift. The rabbit Faunus nodded, blushing slightly. "R-right. Couple's trade." she said with a smile, the two opening their gifts at the same time.
On the surface, both were black hooded jackets, but once unfolded, the difference became obvious. Jaune's had the design of a smiling rabbit face on the chest while Velvet's had what looked to be holes the hood. "...Velvet, you put a bunny on Jaune's hoodie." Blake said matter-of-factly. "Ah… w-well, I'm going to be away on missions a lot, so I thought Jaune would want something to keep me in his thoughts while I was away." Velvet said, Coco grabbing from behind in a big hug. "Aww, that's so cute. Here comes the huggage!" she said, Velvet struggling to escape. "Coco! Stop it! Y-you're embarrassing me!" she squealed, turning red as she tried to wrench her waist free from Coco's grip. "I'm the Hugginator, and I'm assigned to take you out!" Coco replied as Velvet finally slipped out.
"Uh… Jaune… I think Velvet's hood has holes in it…." Ruby pointed out, Velvet chuckling and putting it on. As she flipped on the hood, her ears went through the holes, sticking out comfortably. "Ah! It fits perfectly! Thank you, Jaune!" Velvet said, quickly hugging the blond Huntsman in joy. "Heh, took me and Ren a while to make them fit, but it was worth it." he said, returning the hug gingerly before the two quickly separated, Velvet pulling her hood down to cover her face. "A-anyway, Nora, how about you have a go…" Jaune said, clearing his throat slightly. Nora grinned and grabbed a gift, tearing off the paper.
"This one's Ren and it's… a hat… you got me a hat." Nora said, looking at a knit winter hat in her hand. "Mhm. I've been taking up knitting. It's been a very calming hobby and I wanted to share the fruit of my labor." Ren said with a serene look on his face as he unwrapped his gift from Nora. "Y'know, I've been actually needing a hat." She said, putting it on her head to reveal that the hat was shaped like a deer with little wooly antlers. She casually batted at the two fake antlers with a smile. Ren found inside the wrapping was a box of toffee from a local Vale sweetshop. Ren smiled and opened the box, unwrapping a piece and taking a bite. "Thanks Nora, Happy Renewal." he said, Pyrrha looking at her presents and thinking on which one to choose.
She grabbed the box from Jaune, opening it to find a camera inside. "A camera?" she asked, Jaune nodding. "Yeah, you talked about how you wanted a hobby outside of fighting and I thought photography would be something you'd like. Velvet helped me pick out the camera." Jaune said, Pyrrha looking at the camera and smiling. "Wow… thank you, Jaune. I'll give it a try." she said, opening the box and pulling out the camera. "It should have some rechargeable batteries in the box, so maybe we can start your collection with a Renewal photo." Velvet suggested. "Great idea. Velvet, think you can help with setting up a timer and stand?" Pyrrha asked, getting up from the table to get a good shot of the group and Velvet following after.
The two teams left the table, finishing their hot chocolates and heading to a large couch set up on the wall, Velvet and Pyrrha setting up the camera and stand. Ruby and Jaune sat next to each other in the middle of the couch, their teammates moving into place across the table to their left and right, Yang and Ren taking the ends of the couch with Nora and Ren leaving a space open for Pyrrha. Once the camera was set, Pyrrha took her place on the couch. "5… 4… 3… 2…" Velvet slowly counted down when Coco dove onto the couch, screaming "Banzai!" as she crashed onto them. "Coco! Get out of the shot! Ah! This is a terrible first photo!" Velvet shouted over the screams of the two teams as Coco landed on them, many scrambling off the couch as the camera flash and the first photo was taken.
"I hate Renewal…" Jaune muttered among the pile of body.