Residuum
Blood 1.4
i
Under strict instructions to take it easy, Jaune sat beside Pyrrha at the lunch table awaiting Ren and Nora to join the group. Sitting nearby, Ruby, Yang, Blake, and Weiss all lounged around with them. Weiss was inspecting something on her scroll while the ever-silent Blake was reading a book. Ruby had her head on her arms while Yang was almost drooling onto the table, waiting for the food.
"So hungry," Yang complained, "Ugh, why is this taking so long?"
"I'm sure they're just making sure there's enough for everyone," Blake said, not looking away from her book.
"As long as there's cookies," Ruby mumbled.
"You're not getting cookies," Yang told her, making her whine, "Don't even try that puppy stuff with me."
"Aw. What're you, dad?"
"Would I be correct in assuming I would not like seeing Ruby on a sugar rush?" Weiss asked, snapping her scroll shut.
"I'm not that bad," Ruby said.
"She's the worst."
"Traitor!"
Jaune watched the byplay with part amusement and part hesitance, wanting to take part but unsure of what to contribute. It was one thing talking to Qrow, who was not one to get offended by something the blond said or did. Even Glynda seemed understanding, but he hadn't been anywhere near as crass as he usually was with Qrow.
"Perhaps after you've had dinner, Ruby?" Pyrrha chipped in, "After all, a Huntress does need to get all the nutrients they can with a balanced diet."
"Of course," Weiss agreed, "If you're going to be my partner, that includes eating right."
"So uptight," Ruby groaned, causing Weiss to glare at her.
"Food's here," Ren said, walking up with an enormous tray completely packed with an assortment of different foods for the group.
"Finally!"
"It's a smorgasbord!" Nora exclaimed, "They have so much stuff here!"
"Thanks for getting all of the food," Pyrrha said gratefully as she rose from her seat to help the boy set down the food, "You really didn't have to."
"Nonsense," the bubbly girl replied, "After what we did, we deserve to celebrate in style!"
"They even have steak! Oh, I love this place!"
Jaune looked at the food with curious eyes and slight apprehension. Apart from the breakfast that he had with Glynda, almost every meal he'd had in the past eight years had been something he had to find or cook for himself. He didn't even recognize most of the foods there.
He sat back, watching as everybody dug in immediately, grabbing a mix of everything. Yang and Nora had taken the largest portions, already mowing down their servings with great gusto. He watched as Ruby had a more moderate portion, though with the eyes she was making at the cookies it may have been less to do with her hunger and more to do with getting at those biscuits.
Blake, he noticed oddly, seemed to have a plate stacked with an assortment of different types of seafood. Jaune had eaten his fair share of fish over the years, mostly because they were the easiest to get his hands on, but even he didn't like the food as much as she seemed to.
"Jaune?" Pyrrha called, getting his attention, "Aren't you going to have any?"
"Oh, right," Jaune said, reaching out and copying his partner's plate exactly. Jaune watched as she ate, carefully paying attention to how she used her utensils. She was holding down her food using her fork, slicing it with the knife. Pyrrha seemed to notice his gaze.
"Is… uh, is something wrong, Jaune?" Pyrrha asked him, looking slightly flustered. Jaune just shook his head, looking back to his food.
Grabbing his fork, Jaune stabbed down on the meal with a little more force than was necessary, making a few people give him some odd looks much to his embarrassment. Soldiering on, Jaune grabbed a knife, awkwardly trying to cut it. He pressed down too hard, causing the plate to tilt and some of the contents to fly off, dropping into his lap and onto the table.
"Oops."
"Ugh, you barbarian," Weiss said, looking at the mess he made with disdain, "Look, have you ever had this before?"
"No actually," Jaune replied.
"Why not spare us the trouble of having to clean up more than we have to and have something you've eaten before," Weiss said to him. Jaune didn't want to tell her that he hadn't really eaten any of this food before.
"Would you like me to help, Jaune?" Pyrrha asked him, giggling. Jaune gave her a weak smile but shook his head. He was sure Qrow's advice about trusting his teammates didn't include making them feed him.
Weiss just sighed at his expression.
"Look," she said, "Maybe when we're all a little bit less tired, I'll show you the proper way to have steak, okay?"
Jaune seemed surprised at the offer but nodded nonetheless. This was really the first time she had been nice to him. Ruby, hearing Weiss's offer, spoke up.
"Ooh, me too Weiss, teach me too!"
"Ren, let's join those lessons! It'll be Weiss's treat!" Nora exclaimed. The light-haired girl palmed her face ruefully.
"I shouldn't have said anything," she said, making everyone laugh. Feeling a little better, Jaune reached for foods that seemed easier to eat.
"Hey! Those are my cookies!"
Once they had all eaten, the eight students decided to head to the ceremony in which they would be given teams. They already knew their partners of course, but they had been told there had been some unforeseen circumstances and the actual teams had to be a bit more carefully deliberated.
Glynda had told them that instead of a grand ceremony as usual, the team announcements would be held in a more private gathering. They had at first been confused as to why all eight were scheduled for the same time, but attributed it to all of them passing at the same time.
As they arrived, the group noticed both Ozpin and Glynda waiting for them. Ozpin was seated on a long green couch, his usual mug of coffee sitting on the coffee table situated in front. There was an assortment of furniture in the room, more than enough desks and chairs as well. The group noticed a total of three extra doors in the room, two at either end and one near the centre at the back.
"All fed and watered, I hope?" Ozpin asked. Nora was the first to reply, giddy as ever.
"Ohh, that food was the best!" she said, "Ren and I haven't eaten like that in… well, forever!"
"You are training to be the protectors of tomorrow," Glynda said, "The school spares no expense in making sure you have everything available to you in order to help your growth."
"Now, I'm sure you were wondering why we have called all eight of you here together," she continued, "Traditionally, teams are comprised of four students each. This will also be the case for you as well. However, your initiation gathered some… attention. Thus we will also be introducing something a little bit different this year."
Jaune noticed something slightly off about her, something he wouldn't have recognized if he hadn't spent some time with her before. She seemed displeased about something, though he had no idea what.
"Firstly, your teams," Ozpin said, "Jaune Branwen, Nora Valkyrie, Pyrrha Nikos, and Lie Ren. You gathered the rook pieces and will be henceforth known as Team Juniper, led by Jaune Branwen."
Surprised at his election as the leader, Jaune gave Glynda a disbelieving look. After he pretty much went off by himself, he wasn't so sure he'd have anything to do with leadership, not that he had any hopes for it in the first place. The teacher looked back at him calmly, not giving anything away.
"Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, and Yang Xiao Long. You gathered the knight pieces, and will form Team Ruby, led by Ruby Rose."
Weiss looked shocked at this, as much as Ruby did. Yang grabbed Ruby in celebration, giving her a tight one-armed hug.
"Now, as I said, there is something different we're trying this year," Glynda spoke, "You will still have your own separate teams as Professor Ozpin has told you. However, due to your exceptional performance today, we have decided to also put your two teams together in a super-group, for which leadership will be shared by both Ms Rose and Mr Branwen."
The group looked at her in bewilderment. Even Jaune, who arguably knew the least about Beacon, had been told by Qrow how the teams were set up. He hadn't exactly known what to expect, but he still didn't anticipate this.
"But… why are we being put together?" Weiss asked, seeming the most shocked.
"That is a lesson you'll have to figure out for yourselves," Ozpin said.
"Are we the only students that is taking part in this new group?" Blake asked, ever the perceptive one. She understood that this would make them stand out amongst their classmates if that was the case, and not necessarily in a positive way.
"Yes," Glynda replied, "The reason why we called you to this location specifically is because this will be your living quarters. For both teams."
"What!?"
"This is your common room, so to speak. The doors at each end are separate bedrooms for each team, and the last door is a communal bathroom," the blonde teacher explained, "Your classes begin tomorrow. I suggest that you unpack and perhaps get some rest."
Evidently not answering any more questions, both adults left the room, leaving the eight teammates alone to stew in their thoughts.
"Well," Yang said slowly, "I guess technically we are being praised right? We were so awesome together that they decided to not split us up."
"Ooh, we should come up with superhero names! And a team name!" Nora said, clapping excitedly. Weiss seemed the most flabbergasted; Jaune shared her sentiment.
"Well," Pyrrha said, sounding oddly cheerful, "I can't say that I particularly hate this arrangement. I'm sure we'll all be the best of friends!"
"Exactly right, Pyrrha! And as team leader, my first order of business is to have a house-warming party! Isn't that right, fellow team leader?" Ruby shouted, nudging Jaune.
"Huh? Oh," was all Jaune could say as the several members ignored him and cheered along with Ruby. Ren walked over to the blond, the two of them being the only males. Jaune just then noticed the horrified look on his face.
"Ren?"
"I don't think that you realize what this truly means, Jaune," he said, watching as Nora and Yang snuck out to presumably grab party supplies, "We're going to be sharing that single bathroom with six girls."
"Uhh…" Jaune had no experience in sharing bathrooms with anyone, let alone girls, but apparently Ren did.
"Jaune… we're screwed."
Notes: And I'm back. I had some ongoing health problems I'm dealing with, mainly in my hands.
I'm guessing this is probably not the first time there's been a fic where they've decided to put JNPR and RWBY into an eight-man team. Many stories usually have them be very close friends but there is an official distinction in this. When Glynda said their teams are put together in a super-group, that's 'super' as in 'superscript'. There's no singular leader obviously. JNPR and RWBY still exist, and then there's also JNPRWBY. In case it hasn't come across, Ozpin and Glynda are less than happy about this.
Now, I want to address chapter lengths. Firstly, the structure of the chapters. We're currently in the 'Blood' arc. Under 'Blood', the chapters for 1-1, 1-2, 1-3... 1-x. Each chapter contain scenes from i to iv. After 1-x is finished, we are then on 2-x. After that, 3-x, 4-x etc... until the Blood arc is done. Then we move onto a differently named arc and are back at 1-x.
It's like this:
Blood:
1-1: scene i, ii, iii, iv; 1-2: scene i, ii, iii, iv, ... 1-x: scene i, ii, iii, iv;
2-1: scene i, ii, iii, iv; ... 2-x: scene i, ii, iii, iv;
x-x: scene i, ii, iii, iv;
New arc:
1-x: scene i, ii, iii, iv;
x-x: scene i, ii, iii, iv;
The length of each scene is currently at 1000 words and above, occasionally dipping over 2000 words. This will remain the case until I'm finished with the 1-x's. Once we go into 2-x and beyond, you should be seeing a decent increase in the length for each scene. At that time, update rate will obviously slow down. In case anyone is wondering, 1-x ends at 1-6, after which 2-x starts. So if you're waiting for lengthier updates, it'll happen once we're out of the very beginning of the story (i.e. after 1-x is over).
Anyway, thanks for the support, and leave a review!
knuckz
