Coco awoke the next morning almost as irritated as when she had gone to sleep. The room had been filled with tension when they returned so Coco had gone to bed early. The others had done the same, though Coco thought she might have heard Velvet leave in the night. None of them were present the when she woke up. She exhaled in relief. The prospect of confronting them further didn't intimidate her, but the previous day had left her drained. Bacon, pancakes, and coffee, then confrontation.
The dining hall was half-full when she arrived. After loading her tray, Coco scanned the vast room for a place to sit, settling on the table where Teams AQUA and KNGT were eating. Azul Vapos came from a family of dust users; like the Schnees, but with less money and entitlement. Kura Kemuri came from an ordinary background, but she was one of the top Signal graduates that had started at Beacon this year. Both had been on Coco's short list before initiation. Of course just because they couldn't be teammates, that didn't mean Coco couldn't try to add them to her circle of influence. She shook off her irritation from the night before and smiled, waving as she approached.
"Hey Kura, Azul! Mind if I join you guys?"
Azul seemed lost in thought. But Kura glanced up from her bowl of oatmeal and returned Coco's greeting with a hesitant wave.
"Sure…" she said. She jumped as if she'd been shocked, turned to look back at one of her seatmates, then turned back to Coco. "The rest of your team sleeping in?"
Coco shook her head. "I don't know where they are to be honest," Coco replied, setting her tray down across from Azul. "I know Yatsuhashi does some solo training on Saturday mornings, and I've suggested Fox and Velvet do the same, but they were all gone when I woke up. For all I know, the other two are off screwing around somewhere. At this rate, I'll only be able to field half a team when they hold the qualifiers for the Vytal Tournament."
"The Vytal Tournament," Kura repeated. "That's…ambitious."
"Are you guys going to enter?" she asked, looking to both captains.
"Probably," Azul said, idly playing with a strand of her long blue hair.
"We haven't seriously discussed it," Kura said, gesturing to her team. "Not sure if we would make the cut, but we'll certainly give the qualifying matches a shot."
Coco chuckled. "So modest! Your team works great together."
Kura gave her an awkward smile. "That's kind of you to say."
"Anytime," Coco said. "If I could get Fox and Velvet to work half as well as your team, I'd say Team CFVY would be guaranteed to sweep the tournament." Coco took a long sip of coffee. She perked up as an idea crossed her mind. "Hey, I've got some training I want to do after breakfast, but after lunch do you guys want to head into Vale? There's a couple of cafes I've been dying to try out. I'll wrangle who I can from my team and we can all go together. We'll make an event out of it."
Kura's eyes widened. "Coco that's a really cool idea, but we have—"
"Training," a boy across from her replied.
"4v4 actually," Azul replied. "In fact, we're actually running behind schedule, aren't we Kura?"
A strange look flickered across Kura's face. "Oh gosh, we are! We'll catch you later Coco." Kura said, standing up. In the space of a few seconds, Coco was the only person left at the table.
That was odd, Coco thought. She shrugged, attacking the rest of her breakfast, her thoughts returning to her rogue team members. Maybe she could compel Velvet into whatever remedial activities she came up with, but judging from her performance so far Coco doubted that she would ever be a good fighter. And finding ways to persuade Fox continued to elude her. He couldn't be commanded, intimidated, or even bargained with. How did you negotiate with someone like that?
Coco rubbed her temples, massaging the beginnings of a headache away, then gulped down the last of her coffee. She'd think about this particular challenge later. Time to focus on herself.
Conditioning's out after the obstacle course yesterday, she thought, exiting the dining hall. I should probably hold off sparring as well. I'll knock out homework tomorrow, so that leaves brushing up on tactics and strategy. Coco grimaced, but turned towards the library crossing the courtyard.
As Coco crossed a junction in the paths, a group of students rushed past her towards the bullhead docks, almost knocking her over. One stumbled and dropped a bag she had been carrying. Coco turned towards her snapping; "Watch where you're—"
Kura looked up at from the bag she had dropped. Her cheeks flushed, then she snatched the bag off the ground and took off running. Coco watched her run and catch up with the rest of her team partway down the path. In the distance, Coco noticed several teams waiting for the next bullhead. Though she couldn't make out too many details she did notice one student with a massive shock of blue hair.
Coco clenched her fists. Velvet's cowardice, Fox's insolence, and now people were lying to her. This was not how she envisioned her tenure at Beacon.
Coco growled and punched a nearby column, putting enough aura into the blow to make a small crack. She screwed her eyes shut and counted, taking a deep breath after every number. When she had counted to five, she reached into her pocket, pulling out her scroll.
"Coco?" Yatsuhashi asked.
"Hey big guy, want to do me a favor?"
"What is it?"
"You up to spar?"
…
Steel clanged on steel as Coco blocked Yatsuhashi's great sword, his strikes driving her to the edge of the arena. Coco stumbled as he brought the blade down in an overhead strike, but she turned the fall into a sideways roll, rolled into a crouch, and sprinted around behind him, slashing his back. Yatsuhashi cried out, staggering forward and leaning on his sword. Coco pounced on him, reaching around his shoulders to press her sabre to his throat.
"That's match!" she said.
"So it is," he replied. Coco slid off Yatsuhashi's back as he stood. The two of them walked over to the wall and laid down their weapons. Coco tossed Yatsuhashi a bottle of water, he caught it, and they sat resting against the wall, drinking in silence for a few minutes. Coco stretched, letting out a satisfied sigh at the soreness in her muscles.
"Thanks big guy, I needed that."
"You did say we needed to practice more."
"That's not it. We do need all the training we can fit in, but honestly? I needed to blow off some steam."
"Oh?" Yatsuhashi asked, his voice neutral.
"I'm worried about the team. Don't get me wrong, you're great! You're a towering badass that gets better every time you swing your sword. Sure, you've got your flaws, but you work on them almost as much as Velvet studies. You'll be a great huntsman.
"But I don't think Velvet and Fox are ever going to hit your level, if they even graduate at all. They could be so much better—at least Fox could—but no matter what I say or do, they refuse to listen! It hasn't gone unnoticed. People are starting to shun us because we're running around like a bunch of amateurs." She clenched her fists until they shook. "I'm supposed lead this team. How are we ever going to accomplish anything great if I can't keep my huntsmen in line?!" She threw her hands up dramatically, letting them fall to the floor.
After a brief pause, Yatsuhashi said, "A salted field destroys fertile seeds."
Coco looked over at him and gave him a wry look. "This is the biggest reason I like you, you get me. It's the dead weights dragging us down, holding us back."
"You misunderstand. Despite Fox and Velvet's failings, your poor leadership is the greatest impediment facing our team."
The words came out objectively enough, but Coco still felt like she'd been slapped. For a moment her mouth hung open, processing the words. Then she glared at her companion, climbing to her feet.
"No, no, no, not you too. I've had enough of this crap from Fox, the last thing I need is for my one capable huntsman to start with this too."
Yatsuhashi looked up at her, a glimmer of contempt disturbing his usual placid face.
"I'd say it's the first of several things you need to hear. How else do you explain why we lag so far behind every other first-year team at Beacon? With few exceptions, the rest of the first-years aren't that much worse or better than us on an individual level."
"Exactly! But with you and me pulling all the weight—"
"You don't carry nearly as much as you think."
"Oh really?" Coco said, folding her arms.
"You're decisive and you lead by example when you tell us to train beyond the minimum. I'll grant you that much. But you're also arrogant, callous, selfish, and you drastically overestimate your skills—especially your fighting ability."
"I just beat you with aura to spare!"
Yatsuhashi stood, stretching out an arm. "I was holding back."
"Bull," Coco spat.
Yatsuhashi picked up his sword, examining it in an offhand manner. Then he swung it down into the floor, sending a shockwave through the arena that knocked Coco to the ground. She climbed to her feet, wincing as she massaged her head and backside, shocked by the amount of force he had put out.
"You rely too heavily on your aura," Yatsuhashi said, setting down his sword. "You win all your fights by enduring more hits than your opponent and striking back with brute force, giving you victories earned with instinct, poor form, and sheer will—not skill. Despite that, you still manage to win against better opponents. The only reason Fox can't beat you is that he can't take nearly the same amount of punishment that you can. It's a big part of why he resents you."
Yatsuhashi folded his arms, "You said one person beat you in your time at Sanctum. Who was it?"
Coco looked away. "Pyrrha Nikos…"
"Why do suppose that was? With all your extra work and that massive reserve of aura, why could you never beat her? Why was a girl a year behind you better?"
"I don't know."
"Because she can get out of her own head. We've never spoken, but you can see it in how she carries herself before matches, between rounds. Maybe she's excessively harsh like you behind the scenes, maybe she's nervous like Velvet. But you don't maintain that level of success for so long unless you can set aside your emotions and self-deceptions in training and in the ring."
Coco let out a harsh laugh. "Self-deceptions? I know I act like I'm money—I am—but I'm not stupid, I know I'm not perfect. So maybe I could be a better fighter, I'll get better the more I—"
"Do you think being a sloppy fighter is why you're having problems leading? Think about how you lead us."
"I lead the team like future huntsmen."
"And you lead us like minions, not teammates. How well do you know the team?"
Coco gave him a confused look. "Are you kidding? I know plenty about you guys, about our whole class. I researched everyone to scout teammates the night before initiation. Yatsuhashi Daichi:"
She held out her fingers and began ticking off points. "You learned most of your combat skills in the Daichi family dojo so you only spent one year at Signal before coming to Beacon, your family protects one of the largest enclaves outside the city of Vale, and the Daichi clan created some of the earliest dust-based artillery pieces."
Yatsuhashi smiled. "You read my Signal bio and searched the CCT network."
Coco grinned back. "Of course."
"Then tell me, how many siblings do I have?"
Coco opened her mouth to reply, then froze, her heart lodging in her throat. Her face paled. Yatsuhashi's smile faded to a look of unsurprised disappointment.
"I…" Coco said.
"Yes Coco. 'I'. Is that your favorite word? It must be. Everyone and everything around you is just a stepping stone to your own personal goals—or an obstacle. You may know everything about our academic histories and fighting styles, but have you ever made an effort to actually know anyone at Beacon? To ask Fox why he came here? Or Velvet, or me? If you had, you'd still have challenges. You'd still butt heads with Fox, but you'd be able to work together. Velvet might be braver, she might not, but at least she wouldn't feel threatened all the time."
"Are my words really so harsh?" Coco asked, her voice cold.
"They are when she thinks you're a racist."
"What? Why would she think that?" Coco asked, though a sinking feeling grew in her stomach.
"Think about it: Pretend you're the only faunus among the all the new students, and not an imposing one like a bear either. Your skills are unpolished. You get partnered with a girl who wants nothing to do with you, who berates you at every turn far harsher than she does the boys on the team—human boys. On top of that, she fails to recognize any improvement in your skills or any positive contribution you make to the team. Even if you weren't a faunus, that would be a pretty hostile environment to live in, wouldn't you agree?"
Coco suddenly felt very heavy, the sinking feeling spreading up from her stomach through her entire body. She leaned against the wall, sliding down it to sit on the floor. Yatsuhashi stood over her, engulfing her in his shadow.
"If you actually care about anything beyond your own petty wants, take a long look at how you're actually perceived, not how you want the world to perceive you."
With that, Yatsuhashi left Coco alone in the empty arena with her thoughts.