Residuum

Blood 1.4

iii


He had been right. Sharing a single bathroom with seven people wasn't anything to scoff at, and even with him and Pyrrha out of the way, the others had taken so long that they were already cutting it really close by the time it came for Ren's turn.

The matter was further complicated as his team had to take turns waiting outside the dorm for the sake of modesty as the others dressed in their school outfit. Jaune, having no idea how to wear any of these clothes, came out looking disheveled and unkempt. He already gave up on wearing his tie, having not even the slightest clue on how to do it up, and just let it hang loosely around his collar.

Thankfully, the blond had remembered to wrap his hands up when he first awoke. He had hidden them from sight up until now and it was a can of worms he did not want opened any time soon.

"I can't believe we're late on our very first day," Weiss said, trembling in anger. Yang just shrugged, taking another bite from her muffin.

"Hey, don't look at me," she said. Weiss narrowed her eyes at the blonde.

"I very much blame you," the Heiress snapped at her, "If you hadn't taken so long in there…"

"This beautiful head of hair requires some extra care to look so good, you know," Yang replied, shooting Jaune a dirty look. She had been upset to learn that despite the way his hair looked, he did pretty much no maintenance on it beyond a wash.

"I still don't get why we haven't gone to class yet. We're going to be in so much trouble," Weiss continued.

"We were already late by the time we left the dorm," Nora said, snarfing down another pancake, "If we're going to be in trouble no matter what, might as well be on a full stomach."

"Well said, Nora!" Pyrrha said, slicing her pancake with her coveted fork and knife technique that Jaune so furiously envied. The blond looked down at his own attempt at eating in a disciplined manner; his plate was a complete mess.

Pyrrha's exclamation made Weiss falter. Truthfully, the redhead did not come across as a rule-breaker to anyone, especially considering her spotless reputation as a fighter and unfaltering kindness and geniality. Perhaps it was due to that very same cheerfulness that allowed the champion to join the group. She seemed more excited in skiving off class with her friends than being an upstanding student.

"Well, I hope you've eaten your fill, because there's Professor Goodwitch and she doesn't look happy," Ren said, looking at the approaching teacher in apprehension. The entire group froze at his words, slowly turning to look at the woman with rapidly paling faces.

"Students skipping out on their very first class at Beacon," she said, looking extremely displeased, "And all to grab breakfast. I have never in my days seen such a display."

Nobody responded to the woman and none of them had the daring to take even another bite. They all knew that the first person to speak up would become a sacrifice, and not a single person wanted it to happen to them.

"Miss Rose?" the teacher called, "Do you have anything to say for yourself?"

Ruby froze like a deer in headlights, looking at the woman with wide eyes and cheeks bulging like a squirrel.

"Well?"

"Fowwy."

As Ruby's mouth opened, bits and pieces of the cookies she had stuffed into her mouth fell out, covered in her saliva. The entire table recoiled away from her in disgust, making her blush.

"Eww!"

"Ah get away from me Ruby!"

"Ew ew ew!"

Glynda just sighed, putting her hand to her temple in frustration. She opened her mouth to perhaps give them another reprimand but glanced at Jaune in his disorderly state and seemed to change her mind.

"I'll see you all in detention," she said, "And that is outside whatever punishment Professor Port decides to give. There is a reason we have made you into an eight-person team. You're all exceptional children, so please show a little bit more responsibility."

Glynda waved her riding crop, sweeping away all their food much to their disappointment.

"Run along now. I believe Professor Port's class is still in session for another hour. I'm sure you can catch the latter half of his lecture," she said, "I will see you after your classes today."

Dutifully, the eight rose from their seats and made their way to the classroom.

"I can not believe that just happened," Weiss said after a short bout of silence, "And on our first day as well. We made such a poor impression."

"No problem," Yang said, "Like Miss G said, we're exceptional. We'll make it up no problem."

"I hope you're right," Blake said, not sounding as convinced as Yang was, "I'm not so sure everything is going to go as well as you think."

"Why not?" Ruby asked, munching on yet another biscuit, "We'll be fine."

"Well, putting us in an eight-person team already makes us stand out," Blake said, "And we were given a bigger dorm as well. Some of our peers might be jeal- wait, did you steal a cookie?"

Ruby immediately stuffed the entire cookie into her mouth, chewing furiously.

"No."

"Regardless," Weiss said, "We're not doing this again. From now on, the only impact I want to have is a good one. No more late night parties, no more taking forever to wash our hair, and no more skipping class to eat breakfast!"

"Aw, I mean, a couple of times wouldn't hurt," Nora said innocently, making Ren pinch the bridge of his nose.

"Absolutely not," she replied, stopping as they arrived outside the classroom, "Before we go in... Jaune, fix your attire!"

Jaune just shrugged, not particularly caring for this clothing nor knowing how really to dress. He had copied Ren as best he could but it was far from perfect.

"Ugh, at least put your tie on properly!" she said, putting her hands on her hips. Walking over, she flipped up his collar and slung his tie around it, fastening it around the neck of his shirt properly. Jaune stood stiffly as Weiss straightened up his attire, not liking the feeling of someone else dressing him nor the way the tie felt constricting his neck.

"This feels uncomfortable," Jaune complained, pulling at his collar in hopes of loosening it.

"Well, you better get used to it," Weiss said, "You're technically my leader by extension, not to mention you managed to kill a fully-grown Deathstalker on your own. I won't have you looking so messy. It will reflect on all of us as well."

She turned, marching to the door and entering the classroom. The rest of the team followed her, Ren placing a commiserating hand on his shoulder before he followed behind them. Sighing, Jaune made to follow them.

The class was already well in session, most of them seemed quite bored from the Professor's lesson. It didn't bode well on Jaune on how much he might actually enjoy the class.

"Ah, finally here are you?" the teacher spoke up. He was a stout man, grey hair and a matching thick grey mustache adorning his face. Feeling the gazes of the entire class on them, the team seemed to wither slightly. Ruby in particular seemed like a downtrodden puppy and tried to hide behind her partner, but Weiss made sure to put the young leader at the forefront.

"Not to worry," Professor Port said, "I'm sure an exception can be made for extraordinary students such as yourselves. Though I believe some extra readings will be suitable punishment."

Jaune saw the looks on the faces of the other students in the classroom. They seemed pleased, some with nasty smirks on their faces. He could feel Pyrrha shift slightly at their attention, though he wasn't exactly sure why.

"Now then, as you missed my opening, grab a seat and listen!" the man said, gesturing to an open portion of the room, "Let it not be said that I am a man who will deprive his students of his marvelous tales of adventure!"

When he heard the groans around the classroom and saw some of those taunting gazes turn into glares, Jaune couldn't help but think that perhaps it might have been better to skip breakfast than deal with this.

"Monsters! Demons…"


Notes: Not much to say about this scene. Not a lot of plot significance in this, it's more for building up the personalities of the characters. For example, Weiss seems less irritated that she's not a leader here and has taken more of a team manager / caretaker role. And I just had to write a scene where Pyrrha was skipping classes with friends for the first time and enjoying the experience. She's adorable.

Thanks and leave a review! The next one will be good.

knuckz