"Hey... Izuku, mind if we talk for a moment?"

Izuku turned his head to the side as Ruby approached him, a slightly nervous expression on her face as she twisted the toe of her shoe into the floor. It had only been a minute or two since they all had said their goodbyes following the end of the Leadership Council and, as usual, he'd headed off his own way to the dorms figuring that would be all he'd see or hear from Tenya or Ruby for the rest of the evening, or at least most of it if something didn't pop up. To have Ruby follow after him, with Tenya nowhere in sight, asking to talk to him... it was unusual, but he nodded his head and turned to face her.

"Sure thing Ruby, I'm not in any kind of hurry. What's up?" She cast some glances around as if looking for a sign of anyone. Biting her lip slightly she turned again to look at him.

"Let's take this out of the halls real quick. The classrooms are pretty empty so we'll be able to have a conversation in them." ... Izuku nodded slowly, admittedly now a little nervous about talking about something that Ruby deemed so private as to require a separate room, especially with a girl. Still, thsoe thoughts were discarded when he realized that Ruby seemed more generally tense and worried than flustered, as if the thing she wanted to talk about was serious. With that the two of them wandered around a bit before finding an empty classroom and slipping inside.

After they both took a moment to take off their backpacks, Ruby slipped up onto a nearby desk and folded her fingers in between themselves as she kicked her feet slightly, nervously chewing on the inside of her cheek as she tried to think of how to start.

"Izuku... listen, if you don't want to talk about this then it'd cool. I really wouldn't mind if you told me that it was too private or personal for you to talk about or if you just weren't interested. But... well, I think I'd have a lot easier of a time wrapping my mind around stuff going on with my team if I got a little more information, preferably from someone with a different perspective on things than what I've been able to gather." He blinked in some confusion as Ruby spoke, before a thought popped in his mind. 'I wonder...'

"So... ummm... do you mind if I ask you some stuff about Ka...tsuki? Like, from when you guys lived at Mountain Glenn and stuff? If not, then that's totally cool I'll understand but... well, I'm kinda hoping for a little help."

"Ruby, I haven't exactly been shy about telling you guys what my past was like. My history with Kacchan would hardly be the most personal thing I've talked about... even if it is a bit of a touchy subject." It felt weird to say that; he had been lying about his past to one extent or another, but for good reason. Still, he'd at least done his best to get the general feel and idea across even if he'd been mussing the details to keep people in the dark about his relationship with Toshinori, his nature as well and truly Broken and One For All. It'd be a bit awkward talking about Bakugou behind his back and Izuku figured that if he ever found out he might just pop a blood vessel, but he doubted Ruby would go about squealing when she's probably just as aware about that little fact.

With that Ruby nodded and took a bit of a breath, sheepishly scratching the back of her head. "Okay then... wow I barely even know where to start with all this. You two seem to have such a weird history that... I mean, where do I even start asking..." Izuku took a moment to think before looking up at her, a spark of an idea in his gaze.

"Well... how about you tell me what you already know or what you already have some idea about and then I'll see what I can do to answer it." Ruby nodded as she placed her hands in her lap, kicking her feet a little bit.

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea, thanks Izuku." With that Ruby just took a deep breath and looked at Izuku. "So... I mean, it seems weird to ask about stuff like this. It didn't even really cross my mind that I'd need to know anything about Katsuki when we first started on a team. I just figured he was a jerk; he was gonna go around and yell and cuss and just say all kinds of things and that I was just gonna have to manage that. I figured he was just becoming a Huntsman because that's the only thing his violent attitude was gonna let him be good at... huh, if I actually had to put words to it, I figured that he was just another Cardin." Izuku nodded; that seemed to be about his own team's and Yang's estimation of Bakugou as well and he couldn't exactly blame them... or at least it was Weiss'? Pyrrha didn't seem to like him either and Nora wasn't all that vocal on him, so he just figured that's what they thought about him.

"Then... I dunno, there was that moment after our own spar during the first week. I figured that, after beating him, I'd need to soothe his ego or something... like, if I didn't say 'Oh, you tried hard and you'll get me next time' that he'd just get even more sour about our team and just flip out. I know you said he respected strength, but I didn't figure that he'd take losing well..." Ruby's face scrunched up in thought. "He, of course, told me not to patronize him and that, of course, he was going to beat me next time. But that I needed to be more worried about being able to win next time myself, or else I would lose. Not his words exactly but I needed to clean them up." Izuku nodded before Ruby bit her lip slightly.

"I thought that if I told him I didn't care about beating him or winning that he'd cool down, that he'd take it as a sign that I'm willing to 'try' to be conciliatory and make our team work at least... and you know what he said? That if I didn't care about winning, that I wasn't fit to be a Huntress. That winning, always being victorious, being strong enough to be the best, that was what separated Huntsmen and Huntresses from people who needed rescuing from the Grimm."

Ruby frowned as he nodded along; 'that sounds like Kacchan alright.'

"After that... he just answered a question I'd been asking to try to get to know him a bit better our of the blue; the name of his weapons and... I dunno, it was weird. He didn't stop being a jerk but... well, he started listening to me and my orders more. Started actually participating as a member of the team.

"I think I get a picture Izuku but... well, straight from a source that knows him well... why does Kacchan care about being the best and winning so much? Why is that what defines his view of what a Hunter is?"

Izuku dipped his head a bit as he took some time to think. Really, the answer was scattered about in so many memories, but there was one that came to his mind in particular. In front of an electronics shop that had taken on a whole lot of stock in some Atlesian made televisions, a news report was playing; Toshinori had thrown himself into the midst of a dozen White Fang terrorists who had been holding people hostage, wanting ransom and safe passage out of the city in question. Despite how stacked the odds were and how dangerous it was... Toshinori had managed to take them all out and save the hostages all at the same time.

He'd been with Bakugou and his small group of friends at the time and he saw Bakugou's excitement reflect his own. That's when Bakugou said it; that to him, that was what a great Huntsman was. Someone who, no matter what odds were stacked against him, always won.

"Kacchan... he defines the world through strength. It's not that simple of course, there's a lot of layers to it, but like I've said before, that's the bottom line. And for him... well, in a world like ours, if you're going to be a Huntsman, you have to be strong. There's no two ways about it." When Ruby tilted her head slightly, he elaborated. "Mountain Glenn's been more acutely aware than a lot of cities just how dangerous our world is Ruby. That we humans... well, we live on borrowed time at best." Ruby grimaces as he said that, clearly in a mood to disagree but waiting for him to continue. "When Vale pretty much wrote us off... that really could've been the end of everyone. But... but it wasn't. Because someone strong came to save us. While Toshinori didn't do it alone... it can't be denied that if he didn't show up, I wouldn't have even been born... nor Kacchan, nor a lot of people from Glenn."

"For a lot of people, that strength gave us hope. Hope turned into inspiration... and a lot of people went to the combat schools after or took up survival and engineering because we wanted control over our own destiny again. For a lot of people... being a Huntsman meant being a strong Hero. For Kacchan, it was more than that." Izuku looked down at his own arm, a limb he'd regularly channeled One For All through multiple times. "It's not enough just to be strong... you have to be the strongest or at least be able to aim for it. Because that's the only way you can be sure you'll always win. That no matter what odds are stacked in front of you... whether they be the onslaught of the Grimm or dozens of criminals and terrorists... you'll always be able to beat them back. That you'll survive, that you'll have control... that your life is in your own hands."

"So... where you look up to Toshinori because of his place as the Symbol of Peace and Hope..."

"Yeah... Kacchan looks up to him as the #1 Huntsman, the man who'll never lose. For him, being that strong, having that power... it means a lot in this world, especially with how imperiled it is by the GRIMM. If you can't or won't aim for it, you're not worth as much in his eyes. Don't get me wrong; if someone was in need of help, Kacchan wouldn't waste a second trying to save them... but he'd look down on them for needing it."

"Well I don't get that. A lot of people can't help that, so why should he hold them to that standard?" Ruby asked, indignant, as Izuku just frowned a bit.

"Probably because that's the standard he holds himself to." There's a pause as he said that, something seemingly clicking behind Ruby's eyes as the words floated into the air. She settled back down, only a frown remaining on her lips. "Kacchan... I think that's part of the reason he looked down on my own dream. Back when everyone thought I was a Moon Child, I probably looked like a fool. Someone who looked up to Toshinori's feats of strengths and believed that he could be a Hero too, even without Aura."

"But... I mean... it's not..." He smiled kindly at Ruby as the younger girl seemed to fight to against the internal logic.

"Ruby... I've pretty well admitted to myself before that I was fooling myself then too. Heck... someone I really respected even told me so."

"Some Grimm just can't be beat without Aura. So no, I don't think you can become a Huntsman without it."

"I'm here now not because I proved anyone wrong about needing Aura to be a Huntsman, but because I managed to get... my Aura unlocked. That the doctors happened to be wrong. Kacchan... he's harsh, and mean-spirited... but he wasn't entirely wrong." Letting out a sigh as he placed his hands behind his head, Ruby nodding along.

"... I guess that explains why he was the way he was after your fight..." Ruby muttered as she looked off to the side, Izuku nodding along.

"For Kacchan... strength, being strong and aiming to be the strongest vindicates his existence... being beaten by me of all people probably made him feel like he was weak... that he was the sort of person he'd look down on."

"I don't owe you ANYTHING! You did nothing!"

"Well... that explains some stuff I guess." Ruby frowned as she nodded her head, puffing her cheeks up a bit in thought as she swirled the thoughts around. "There's still some stuff I don't get though: why does he behave the way he does? Why does he seem like such an angry jerk all the time? I mean, he's constantly slinging threats but it's not like he goes through with them a lot. He's a real... butt." Ruby seemed to cough a bit as she scratched the back of her head. "But he doesn't come off like Cardin... or at least, he doesn't most of the time." She brought her eyes up to meet his. "The only person he seems really hateful to is you... and I get why he might be so hateful to you. I mean, I don't 'get it', like, I don't get how he can act so horribly to you but still let you call him Kacchan or whatever other crazy stuff is going on in his head, but I think what you said gives me a better picture than before. I just don't get why he always acts like a jerk though."

...

Izuku almost shivered as a long dormant memory of, what he could only describe as, a 'female' Katsuki roared forward in his mind. He didn't remember much about her, as he rarely saw her after he and Bakugou had had their falling out but... but there was still some echo of a truly bizarre feeling. Of kindness mixed together with absolute, bone-chilling terror.

"Honestly Ruby... while Kacchan was never quite as... explosive as he can be now, he was always pretty harsh and blunt. Never really thought of what he was saying or cared for how people would respond to it. Usually you could tell between when he really meant to poke you in the eye and when it was just Kacchan being Kacchan... but you kind of have to get used to him to pick out the difference."

"Joy..." Ruby sighed as she shook her head, Izuku smiling as he chuckled.

"I feel for you..." Ruby smiled in response and... after a moment she lifted her head again.

"You know, I never got to ask you in specific." Izuku blinked as Ruby leaned forward, a slight grin on her face. "I wanted to ask you for a little while but one of us or both of us were usually busy with something else. You've said what Kacchan's philosophy is... and while you think his strength is amazing, I doesn't sound like you buy into the idea that winning is the most important thing in a Hero." He nodded in confirmation as Ruby smiled. "So... if Kacchan's ideal Huntsman is 'The Hunter Who Wins'... what's yours? Aside from the obvious; you can't just answer with plainly 'Toshinori'! That'll be cheating!" Ruby stuck her tongue out slightly; making it clear she was trying to move beyond the slightly more dramatic tone of the earlier conversation.

It was a pretty simple question to answer. Izuku straightened up a bit as he looked up at Ruby; even at his most nervous, he found that it was easy to feel determined or to smile when talking about his dream. Sure, he might feel sheepish afterward... but in the moment, there was a clarity that he could always readily draw upon.

"My ideal Huntsman is the one who saves people. To be the one who can protect those who cannot protect themselves. To lend strength to those in need, and give a helping hand to those who want to learn to stand up for themselves. Nobody left out or left behind." Ruby just smiled nice and wide at that,with a single firm nod.

"Yeah, I think so too." Ruby chuckled. "It's still so weird you think of Katsuki as amazing despite that but... well, I think I understand better now. Thanks Izuku, I think this'll help a lot!" With that Ruby kicked off the desk she'd been using as a makeshift seat and stretched out a bit. "Now let's get going! I've been meaning to polish Crescent Rose up this weekend and I'm not going to delay now that my business here is done!" Izuku chuckled as Ruby said that. Really, he wasn't surprised that something like that was on the agenda; from what he knew from talking to Ruby in the Forge and from talking to Yang, Ruby wasn't just a weapon nut in general but absolutely loved her Sniper-Scythe.

"Sounds like a plan to me Ruby." With that the two of them departed the classroom and, after taking some time to amicably chat on the way to the dorms, split off in due time. He was glad he was able to help... and he felt like he really settled a few questions in his own mind as well.

"Ah, Mr. Midoriya, welcome. I'm glad that you managed to make time in your schedule for this meeting. My own time usually tends to be tricky to work around so I do apologize for picking such an odd time." It was a little closer to evening than the last time he had come to Ozpin's office to chat, with the setting sun barely shining its light from the window of Ozpin's office. As he stepped through the open elevator door and into the office he just offered his Headmaster a warm smile as he shook his head.

"Oh, it's no problem at all Headmaster, really. If this was the time that worked for you then that'd be fine with me. I had time in my schedule, after all." The weekend wasn't going half bad after all and, with his more relaxed pace, he did have time to make the rather late rendezvous with Ozpin. As he was partway into the office he saw that Ozpin has two cups set out, one for each of them... though no hot chocolate has been preemptively poured into either one. He looked up at Ozpin and raised an eyebrow. "Do you not have any more hot chocolate, Headmaster?"

"I still have some leftover Mr. Midoriya, however... hmmm, how do I explain this." Ozpin rubbed his chin before an amused glint passed over his eyes. Accompanying that glint... Izuku could swear he saw a sign of Ozpin's age, as if the smooth skin around his eyes momentarily gave way to older, grayer and wrinkled skin. The illusion broke after he blinked and he shook his head, figuring he'd just imagined that. "When you get to be as old as I am, Mr. Midoriya, you find that indulging in the same thing day after day can be a bit tiring. It can make you sick of even the things in life you enjoy. You learn that, as corny as this expression may sound these days, that variety is the spice of life." Izuku nodded in some understanding as Ozpin waved him over to the table.

"You really aren't that old Headmaster Ozpin..." Izuku muttered slightly, the Headmaster just smiling at him for a moment before he chuckled.

"Of course, of course Mr. Midoriya." Ozpin set his cane to the side as the young man finally reached the desk. "With that in mind, what would you like to drink this evening?"

"You know..." He muttered while scratching at his arm. "After hanging out with Pyrrha for a while, I checked out some stuff about this Pumpkin Pete thing... and I found out they actually make a beverage. It actually sounds pretty tasty so I'm not gonna lie, I'm pretty curious." He felt slightly embarrassed that, in a meeting with Ozpin of all people, the Headmaster of Beacon and a very refined man, that he was asking him for some soda. He figured he'd get a scoff at his decision or just a roll of eyes...

But once again Ozpin surprised him when he opened up a compartment in his desk and a blast of cool air flied out that, even from his side, crept across the room. He pulled out several cans of Pumpkin Pete's Cola and set them on the table. "I assume you'd like yours cold, Mr. Midoriya?"

"... Headmaster? Do you just have beverages stashed all over this room in little hidey holes?" He asked, slightly perplexed at his own question. Ordinarily he wouldn't think to ever ask such a thing but... well, after Ozpin pulled some hot cocoa out of the wall last week and then he found out he had a mini-fridge built into his desk, he couldn't help but wonder. Ozpin just looked him dead in the eye, a surprisingly deadpan expression on his face.

"... I can neither confirm nor deny this accusation." With that Ozpin cracked open his own can of cold soda, some steam rising up as the warm air met it, before pulling out a Gungi board. "I do believe it's safe to assume that, after playing chess last time you were here, you'd like to play a round of Gungi, correct Mr. Midoriya?" Izuku agreed as he grabbed for his own can of the Pumpkin Pete's Cola, taking a drink of it...

'Huh, it's actually kind of hard to describe. It's oddly... tart? that's the word for it? But sweet too. The cold temperature and bubbly texture also feels pretty bracing. It's weird... but not a bad weird.' He took another drink as Ozpin set up the board, a slight smile on his face.

"I have to admit, I'm slightly surprised you like this game Mr. Midoriya. While Gungi is hardly the most esoteric game of strategy available, it doesn't quite have the long tradition associated with other more complex board games like Go or Shogi. What drew you to it, if you don't mind me asking?" He shrugged as he set his can aside.

"Hmmm... well, I just thought it was pretty interesting is all. Growing up it's a game that my mom would play with me a lot as well, so..." Ozpin nodded in some understanding as he handed Izuku his pieces to set up.

"Well I'm certainly not going to complain when a young person your age gets into a game like Gungi. Strategy, tactics, well thought out moves and considerations as to sacrifices and gains made by those sacrifices. It's an excellent game for young leaders such as yourself to sharpen their mental acuity in order to prepare themselves for the field. Though I'd often say the same of chess and the other aforementioned games." That earned a nod of ready agreement. After all to help with tactics and learning them when he was hanging out with Ruby and Tenya at the Leadership Council they'd taken to playing rounds of Gungi to help sharpen not only their minds. He would swear he felt slightly sharper almost every time he put his mind through its paces by playing that game.

"I think you can also tell a lot about someone by how they play a game like Gungi, Go or Shogi." Izuku tilted his head to the side as Ozpin smiled. "With chess, while the pieces are meant to represent people, it's a little more esoteric. The shapes of the pieces or their descriptors doesn't necessarily reinforce that idea. The pawn, a piece meant to represent the common human soldier, barely resembles the mark and, well, it's actively described to the player as 'a pawn'." Ozpin began to set out his own pieces. "While these other games usually stick to tiles with simple names printed on them, the names and the meanings attached bring a more clear picture to mind. The pawn is still referred to as a pawn... but you get a better idea of what that pawn is meant to represent knowing that you're using it to protect your samurai, your fortresses and your counsel." Izuku nodded as he got about setting up his own board as well.

"So, as I say, I feel like you can get a lot of good information about a person based on how they play games like Gungi. I remember many souls who have sat across from me with a board just like this between us and I've always been able to see little hints of themselves in their style of play. Are they risk averse, protecting their pieces and trying to sacrifice as few as possible while making gains? Do they throw their units to the fray, attempting to take as many pieces of value as they can early so as to have an easier time later? Do they draw their opponent into a trap, using certain valuable pieces as bait, even if it means possibly losing them?" Izuku nodded again, more slowly that time, as Ozpin looked up at him with a smile.

"Apologies Mr. Midoriya, just my ramblings I suppose. Shall we begin?" A quick nod before both looked down at the board. While Ozpin had placed out his pieces in a slightly more defensive posture, inviting Midoriya in to try to go on the offense, his important pieces were placed beyond a wall of lesser pieces meant to protect them or to go on the attack first.

Izuku's own board...

He brought his hand up to his chin and though carefully about how he'd set up his board.

He'd realized that if he was going to stand even a remote chance he would need to bait Ozpin out of his defensive posturing and into attacking him, with a trap waiting behind. Thus he'd arrayed his strong pieces, mostly, on the flanks of the board while keeping his weaker pieces forward and slightly more exposed. The plan was, hopefully, that as Ozpin would move to try to take advantage of that opening that, for all intents and purposes, looked like he was just leading in to soften his defenses up with weak pieces before bringing in the strong ones, Ozpin would go in on Izuku's week middle. Before long, his flanks would move in and start picking off Ozpin's important and, hopefully, exposed pieces.

The game began and Izuku set his plan into motion, making a move here and there as Ozpin answered in turn. The going was silent at first with only the sounds of various cans of soda being cracked open and clacking of pieces on the wooden board echoing in the room. After several minutes of the both of them going at it, Ozpin finally spoke up, momentarily pulling Izuku out of his game-induced stupor.

"I have to admit Mr. Midoriya, this was a slightly more complex maneuver than I had seen coming at first." The young man felt a dry spot form in his throat when he realized that Ozpin's pieced his gambit together, the Headmaster just smiling as he moved another piece. "I hadn't figured you'd go for something so risky; risking your pieces in such a manner in order to secure an advantage like this... well, if I fell into it at any rate." Midoriya sweat a bit as he moved another piece, trying to maneuver around whatever Ozpin had in mind while still trying to play to his own strength. "If I may ask, what exactly brought this about? Why not play more carefully and try to peel at my defenses or, well, going straight for my defenses and trying to break them down."

"... You're better at this game than I am, I'm pretty well aware of that. If figure your defensive posturing meant that you'd see either strategy coming; that you'd be able to survive a war of attrition or a direct assault... and I want to win, Headmaster. It might just be a game, but I do want to beat you, to get better." Ozpin smiled at that, moving another piece. "So I had to take a big risk and try something a little more underhanded. Something tricky. If my strategy paid off then I could beat you without too much to worry about..." Ozpin nodded as Izuku moved another piece, the man clearly approving.

"I can't say I could've said it better myself, Mr. Midoriya." A relieved smile formed as he paid out the compliment, pieces continuing to move into place as Ozpin leaned slightly forward on the desk. "Planning and strategy are often fundamentally overlooked parts of the Hunter's career. Being able to think of ways to get your team and subordinates through dangerous situations safely while protecting as many lives as possible... it's hard work and takes a sharp mind to find even the most narrow way of claiming victory from the jaws of defeat. Men like Toshinori or Enji might be in the headlines for their feats of strength or courage, but it's the way in which their minds work, the thoughts that go into their heroics, that make them capable of achieving victories on such grand scales. Strength is a big part of it too, do not mistake me, you need power to do what they do... but if they just threw that power around carelessly, well, I don't think you need much imagination to know how much could go wrong."

Izuku nodded his head; he was very familiar with the power of One For All at that point and Toshinori himself had talked to him about being careful with it. It was a potentially dangerous tool as well as one that could save many lives... but he had to think about how he was using it, think about controlling it. As much as Toshinori had taught him physically, he had also trained Midoriya mentally, preparing him for the burden of Heroism that came with being the Symbol of Peace. That need to smile even when he was scared. That need to protect people not just from the Grimm and people who'd harm them, but also from his own power.

Teaching him what it meant to be a Huntsman, a real Hero.

"Yeah, I definitely get that." Izuku said with resolution as Ozpin clapped his hands together, momentarily surprising him.

"I knew you would Izuku. You have a mind for this stuff on top of the heroism that Toshinori sees in you." He blushed and smiled in response, completely blown away at having been paid such a compliment by the Headmaster. "In my line of work... well, I don't go out nearly as often as I used to of course. Nowhere near as often as Toshinori even. But I'm here in this tower, managing the pieces on the board that is Remnant; I put out assignments, I work with the Governing Councils, I guide the youth... well, you can imagine." Izuku nodded as he moved a piece. "It's not the work that gets the limelight but... well, I consider it vitally important work myself." Another nod, a little more slowly that time, as Ozpin moved a piece.

"Tell me Izuku, I'm a bit curious myself; what do you think is more important to the Hunter's profession. The work of men like myself or the work of men like Toshinori?"

...

'OH GODDESSES WHA-'

The boy's panic cut off as Ozpin raised a hand. "There's no right or wrong answer of course. I'm not fishing for an answer one way or another. I am curious however... and given the depth of your thoughts you've shown from our previous meeting and your essay, I am curious as to what your thoughts on this are. Would you care to indulge me?" Izuku looked down at the board for a moment as he let his mind wander.

"Honestly sir? This question's kind of like asking if your limbs or brain is more important. Without the limbs, the brain can't do anything and vice-versa." For a moment Ozpin's was frowning slightly as he nodded. An equivocal answer wasn't what he was looking for, more likely a declaration of purpose was. Which, he certainly had in mind but he'd thought he'd start with the obvious. "But it's more than simple anatomy, right? This whole business between Hunters and The Grimm. In the end... it's about people. Don't get me wrong sir; what you do is absolutely invaluable. People like you are part of what brings up new Hunters and what directs them to where they're needed... but Toshinori is what gives people the hope that there's a use to being a Hunter."

"There's a reason symbols of meaning... it's because people need hope. People need to be inspired, to feel like that if they give their all to a cause, that if they help each other and become better people... that there's a reason for it. That there's hope behind those actions. That's what Toshinori gives to people; he gives them purpose, he gives them a reason to keep moving forward even when things look dark." Izuku looked up to Ozpin, a slight gleam in his eye.

"Headmaster, you plan the best for people so that they can live to see tomorrow... but Toshinori brings out the best in them. He inspired them to go above and beyond what they can be, even in your own plans. I think... I think that kind of inspiration and hope... it can't be undervalued, especially with Remnant the way it is."

Ozpin studied Izuku for a long moment before, slowly but surely, a serene smile formed on his face. Izuku would swear he muttered 'Guess you were right Toshinori' as he took a drink.

"Thank you Mr. Midoriya. That answer is very reassuring. It's good to know that the mantle of the Symbol of Peace and Hope will be in good hands in the future." His eyes shine slightly as Ozpin said that, a wide grin once more on his face as he bowed his head to him.

"Thank you Headmaster! I appreciate it!" Ozpin chuckled as he waved it off.

"Think nothing of it young man. Anything I can complement of that answer came from you, not from me." Midoriya just nodded again as Ozpin looked to the clock. "Hmmm, it's getting a little bit late. We still have a bit of the game to play out but I imagine it won't take too much longer. Now then, Mr. Midoriya, I do believe I've been quite rude in hogging most of the conversation from these past two meetings. Tell me, is there anything you'd like to ask of me?"

"Sir, I remember during my first night here, a few of us students were wondering if there was any guiding principle for the way teams were chosen at Beacon, due to the secrecy around it. I remember saying from my analysis I could only conclude it seemed rather random. The others were surprised and argued it couldn't be that and the best argument I could come up with it may be due to spontaneous Huntsmen team-ups in the real world being mostly coincidental too, barring cases like teams staying together or special cases like the Iida family line. So it acting as a way to prepare us for the real thing, as well as a test of character. Specifically after being made a team leader, I do wonder if there is more to it though?"

There was a gentle smile on Ozpin's face as he looked at Izuku, and he could practically 'feel' the wisdom pouring from his eyes as he took a careful drink from his can of soda. Honestly, as Izuku felt the age-old knowledge of the man wash over him from his gaze alone, he felt a little silly even asking that. Of course there was something more to it, he was just being completely and utterly-

"No, you were right Izuku, it's pretty much random."

He had to resist the urge to face palm right then and there.

"O-Oh, right, like I said, I figured that was it." Izuku mumbled, trying to get back onto a track where he wasn't feeling sheepish for having brought that up. "S-So... ummm... were my guesses right or... what?" He saw Ozpin think for a moment as he brought his hand to his chin, gripping it slightly as he seemed to think.

"Well your reasons are very sound ones and ones that do lay as an underpinning to my thought process. However, there's something even more profound that stands as the guiding principle... something I have a great amount of weight invested in, Mr. Midoriya." He swallowed a lump in his throat as the tone of voice changed to something more grave, as if he were speaking of something great, holy and powerful. Still, that weight in the room lifted as Ozpin just smiled. "But I think that's a topic of conversation for another time... it will be interesting to hear the future Symbol of Peace's thoughts on the matter." Izuke moved to speak but, before he could really argue, Ozpin tapped his wrist, as if pointing to a watch, and he remembered that they both were pressed for time. Another time, then.

"In addition, sir, there is something that's come up the earlier today. I've been made the treasurer of the Leadership Council, which is pretty much a club where Tenya, Ruby, and I work on being better leaders, come up with ideas or tactics, and help each other with problems. Even Coco Adel, leader of CFVY, is considering membership! Sorry, I got off track explaining..I was wondering if there was any kind of small stipend for school clubs or any kind of procedure we needed to undertake."

Headmaster Ozpin nodded his head as he finished another can of soda, a small grin on his face as he did so.

"There are a few procedures that need to be handles. First and foremost Mr. Midoriya, as you can imagine, there's a lot of excitement for starting up clubs whenever people come to a new school and many look for official school support in order to be able to fund things like trips or equipment that they might need. If I recall the Book Club has a stipend that they dedicate to buying their members the new books they read every week. However... with that stipend comes, of course, people who wish to abuse it. They try to start up some new club and then immediately go for the money in order to make a tiny profit... this behavior is of course heavily discouraged and punished when discovered, but to try to prevent people from doing so, we usually stipulate that a new club must meet continuously for five weeks as part of earning a stipend for their activities."

"From there it's a pretty simple matter of figuring out... well, what exactly you want the stipend for. Book Club uses theirs for books, unsurprising, the various Sports Clubs use theirs for equipment or arranging for small games from teams from outside of Beacon and Vale, et cetera. So figuring out what you'd actually use a stipend for would be a good thing to put down on the form. In addition, the stipend is on a per-member basis rather than just an overall, one-size-fits-all basis, so the more members you'll have the more you'll have to work with. Given that so far it's you, Mr. Iida, Miss Rose and Miss Adel, I doubt I'll have much trouble allowing for a stipend once you've gotten the official requirements out of the way." Izuku nodded as Ozpin said all that and wrote it down on a small note, putting it in his pocket.

"Thank you Headmaster! I'll be sure to remember all this!" Ozpin gave a nod as he placed the remaining cans of soda away in the mini-fridge in his desk.

"I'm sure you will Mr. Midoriya. Now then, I do believe it's late enough. I wish you a fine evening Mr. Midoriya, and thank you for visiting." Izuku quickly thanked Ozpin for having him at all and then departed. It had been a long day and he was ready for some rest himself.

"Alright, let's try the maneuver one more time! After that, I think we're good!" A firm nod comes from his partner as Weiss and Nora sit off to the side, watching with some interest as they see his and Pyrrha's progress when it came to their own combination move.

As he lifted up the finger guard of Emerald Gust to crack his knuckles, very much sore from having put himself through his paces in trying to get the move down 'perfect' he and Pyrrha got back into position on one side or the other of the Atlesian Droids they'd both been wailing on to try to get the move right. "Alright, on the count of three?" Pyrrha again nodded as she swung her blade around and readied her shield. "One, two... AUTUMN BELL!"

With that the both of them rush into motion, the droid in front springing to life as it stood defensively, ready to head the two of them off as they charged at it. Before it could even move to either guard, dodge or parry, Pyrrha immediately jumped over to the other side of it. The machine turned to face her, trying to get a handle on the both of them at once. It's split decision was its downfall as Pyrrha brought her shield up and Izuku reared his first back.

BWOOOOO~O~O~O~O~ONNNNNNNNG~

The sound of the machine's head slamming into the metal of Pyrrha's shield echoed throughout the training hall as his fist crashed into its side, the machine's stance seemingly going off the fritz as its hardware was buzzed by the shock of the strike. Immediately after Izuku and Pyrrha followed up with a series of hits, the machine far too stunned to respond to either of their movements. Soon enough the machine fell and the both of them, breathing somewhat deeply after all their effort, grinned at the fruits of their labor.

"Well, I'd certainly say that looked like advertised, wouldn't you say Nora?" Weiss commented with a small smile, politely clapping at their efforts as Nora just nodded enthusiastically.

"Totally! But now I want to slam something against's Pyrrha's shield with Magnhild! Think we can try that another time Pyr?!" Nora was getting more and more excited though Pyrrha's gaze went a bit thousand-yard stare as if she had imagined just what would happen.

...

They all involuntarily shivered at the thought of what might happen to Pyrrha's shield arm if it tried to take a direct hit from Magnhild.

"Sure Nora... but maybe sometime down the line." Pyrrha unconsciously moved her hand over to rub her shield arm as, slowly but surely, she placed her gear on her back. As all of them just got ready to head back to the dorms, He and Pyrrha grinned at each other. While Autumn Bell didn't have the sheer destructive power of Weiss and Nora's combination, when fighting up against a potentially dangerous foe 2v1, it would be a great opening move to put them on the back foot.

That thought alone got him a bit excited. It really did feel like things had started moving forward for his team.