Jaune walked in-front while Ruby covered his back as they steadily progressed through the forest.
Behind them, a lone Weiss tagging along with a pout.
Weiss was not having a good day. Her honor was not restored, and the girl which helped her through her dishonor was a friend of her dishonorer.
And she had stolen her partner off of her!
As a Schnee, there was no way she would let his sleights without repercussion. That damned omega had better count his days because once she could rope him around her finger, she would relish in torturing him forever.
Suddenly, Ruby stretched her hand behind. Her open palm told Weiss to stop where she was.
"Grimms," her explanation succinct.
"Perfect," Weiss readied her rapier and stepped forward past the two. "Time for me to show my worth!"
In a glimpse of a sight, Weiss could see three creatures lurking behind the trees.
She strutted forward confidently, her weapon at her ready and loaded with dust. She looked behind her and watched Jaune and Ruby following her movement.
Not like she needed them, but it was nice of them to cooperate with her.
The first grimm near her was a lurking wolf type, the kind woth sharp claws and sharper fangs. Following behind the wolf was a pair of smaller bear grimms. They had not noticed Weiss yet, which was prime for her to capitulate on their collective mistake.
She slid the chamber of her rapier into the red color and leapt from the side of a tree and pierced the wolf grimm through its eyes.
Confirming its mortal wound, she went for the sure kill by pulling the dust trigger.
The way dust worked differ between its users. Some install them in their combat gear to enhance their firepower. Another would carry them in a medium to release them en masse. For Weiss, she preferred a more flexible option.
In a time no more than a second, the inside of the wolf had engulfed with fire before imploding to nothingness.
The two bears then took notice of their immolated friend, but Weiss had already prepared for that.
When the bear grimm to her left pounced at her, intending to gnaw her flesh off of her, an ice pillar bursted forth from the ground and kept the grimm in-place. Just enough time for her to use the newly-created platform to slid upward and spun herself above the grimm to her right.
Landing softly behind said grimm, she switched the chamber in her rapier into green and thrusted her blade forward.
The resulting damage was a blasted large hole where the head of a bear was supposed to be.
Continuing her streak, she leapt above the bear. Using the disappearing grimm as her platform, she added a vertical spin to her jump before piercing the head of the final grimm with a precise impalement from above.
Landing on the grimm, she pressed the blade deep and through the head of the grimm.
Effectively killing it, the grim silently dispersed itself into miasma.
Landing on the ground, she looked at Jaune and Ruby.
Brushing her hair aside, Weiss confidently smiled. "That was a piece of cake."
That was when something unexpected happened.
Under a fake pretense of calm, letting down her guard would lead her to a dangerous predicament.
Not noticing the rustling of the bushes behind her, it was too late for her.
Weiss turned around and found a wolf's maw opening wide a few inches before her eyes.
On any normal circumstances, Weiss would be able to do something lethal to it. She had practiced a hundred outs for her situation. She was just one step too slow to execute them.
However, it was not as if she ran out of option. She had one way, but she preferred something else with elegance. All she could do right now was aim below its head and close the mouth.
She hastily leaned back half a step before launching a single vertical kick upward.
Her right leg made a single straight line, and slammed the lower mouth of the wolf together with its upper part.
Not holding herself back, she consciously let herself lay against the ground. Putting both of her hands as support behind her head, she desperately turned to the one person who could get her to safety again. The wolf above her, she launched the wolf behind her with another kick coming from the wolf's behind.
Either she lose the fight, or relent her pride. The answer was obvious.
"Jaune!"
There was desperation in her yell.
To her relieve, Jaune had the proper response.
Anticipating her near-miss, Jaune was ready with his sword. "On it!"
The wolf was catapulted with such force that it helplessly spun in the air.
Against an airborne target, all Jaune had to do was rest his sword behind him.
Imagining a vivid stroke of brush cutting the wolf in the middle, Jaune had his course already set.
His sword met the start of the line, and he completed what he started as they met their ends.
As if she was there all along, Ruby came out from behind a tree. It seemed there was another grimm out of their sights and she had cleaned after Weiss' leftovers on her own.
Ruby, who was hiding her involvement, celebrated. "That was cool, Weiss!"
Jaune nodded. "Attagirl, Weiss."
Hearing that, Weiss couldn't help but boast a little. "Well of course. It is expected of me, you know."
Happily, Ruby chimed in. "Team RWJ is not a bad name, don't you think?"
"Oh, I like that," Jaune said. "And we kept that naming sense of Rogue too."
Then, as if she was out to scare them, Pyrrha fell down from the thick leaves above and landed feet first before Weiss' eyes.
Weiss, who was spooked beyond her mind, let out a breathless shriek as she fell down.
"Then that'll make us Team RWPJ," she happily stated, ignoring what had just happened with Weiss. "Of course the P is silent, but I'm okay with that."
Startled, and now on the ground, Weiss looked up and into her optimistic pair of green.
There was a time when Weiss had seen Pyrrha as a sort of a hero. A competent huntress of her own right, gifted with both physical and semblance prowess. One could say she was a combat genius.
But now, seeing how her mind was off to somewhere she knew very well, she had her reservations.
"Were you trying to scare me to death?"
It was at the least expected of her to complain, but the questioned didn't need to answer that.
For Pyrrha's gaze didn't meet Weiss'. Far from her. They were focusing on a pair of calming blue behind Weiss.
Weiss looked behind her, and Jaune was indeed locking eyes with her.
Her mind knew where this was going, but even she wasn't able to process the development that was happening before her eyes.
Her hero figure... would also be Jaune's partner!
To all of this, Jaune could only sheepishly chuckle.
Unsure of what to say, Jaune scratched the side of his cheek in a bashful manner.
There was something that tug Weiss' strings there, but she'd rather dismiss it.
Ruby, who was in for Pyrrha joining the gang, couldn't be happier and hug attacked Pyrrha from behind her.
He was unsure of what to say, but it wouldn't hurt to voice his question out loud. "Does this mean I have three partners already? That's wild."
To all of this, Weiss could only massage the bridge of her nose in frustration.
She had another thing to write on her bucket list after enslaving Jaune, and that would be telling the principal about his insane and ineffective ways.