Ch. 9 First day of class
Thanks to everyone waking somewhat early, team RNJR had plenty of time to enjoy breakfast. They weren't the only ones but a notable portion of first year students were nowhere to be seen during the meal time.
Then again that was to be expected. If it wasn't for the fact that they went to sleep early, half of team RNJR wouldn't be willing to wake up early. Sure Jaune was cursed with the habit of waking at the asscrack of dawn and Ruby for all her pleading for more time sleeping would wake up on her own anyway. Ren and Nora however savoured the opportunity of uninterrupted sleep in a safe environment.
The next familiar team that entered the cafeteria was team BSMT. Jaune took the opportunity to wave them over to their table so he could catch up with Cocra and Maroon about what had happened during the initiation.
When Weiss noticed who's table they were joining her poker face cracked a little into a frown. She didn't really get as much sleep as she wanted and dealing with the two people she had a disagreement with two days prior wasn't something she was particularly looking forward to.
Blake took the opportunity to sit at the edge of the table. Team leader she might be, but that didn't mean she had to be at the centre of the conversation. Plus she didn't exactly have a full night of sleep. Sleeping in the same room as Weiss Shnee of all people wasn't exactly a relaxing environment. So far though she didn't seem so bad. From what she saw of her in the past day Weiss seemed more like a sheltered girl who simply wasn't aware of how things could be.
Case and point, Cocra and Maroon's relationship was a thing that got some attention when deciding the room layout. Weiss didn't seem comfortable around the topic, but also didn't say anything against it, despite the Atlesian high society's view on same sex relationships being less than favourable.
Blake couldn't help but be silently optimistic about her partnership with the Shnee girl. It would take time, but she could already see them working together as a team. As for Blakes past? She would probably try and keep that a secret.
Jaune in the meantime had the opportunity to tell the story of team RNJR's initiation and in turn received a comparatively uneventful retelling of Cocra and Maroon's initiation. The highlight of their story was a pair of Ursa.
It was then that Ruby decided to extend an olive branch to the girl who berated her when they arrived at Beacon.
"What about you Weiss? How did your initiation go?"
Unfortunately for Ruby this was something of a sore subject for Weiss. She wasn't about to admit that she had managed to almost get lost, then stumbled upon Blake finishing off some grim and didn't get the chance to interfere. Then her input on which way they should go took them around a detour so long that when they finally managed to get to the ruins there were only two relics left. She felt simply miserable when reminded of yesterday. But she had a decorum to keep up and she already made a fool of herself once in front of these two.
"It was fine. The Grim barely bothered us."
And that was about all she was willing to share. She couldn't help but feel thankful to Blake for remaining silent.
"Oh, well good for you."
Ruby cringed internally at the cold reaction from the girl. She felt like Weiss hated her and somehow it was all her own fault.
Barely anyone noticed how she seemed to grow smaller after the interaction. Jaune did though. He had been paying more attention to her ever since initiation ended, not that he was particularly aware of that.
=O=O=O=
Their first lesson almost began when team SWNY barged into the classroom in a hurry. Professor Port was already present but only raised an eyebrow at their noisy arrival.
His lesson was rather sleep inducing. Jaune managed to take notes from the portly professor's stories but even that kept him only barely awake. There were only a few people in the classroom that seemed to be alert and some were actually sleeping.
Ruby sat next to Jaune and scribbled furiously in her notebook. At first Jaune thought that she was taking notes too, but then she showed him some of her doodles featuring the professor. As the lesson went on her doodles turned to something more familiar to Jaune, that is weapon schematics. Ruby wasn't paying attention at all at that point. Not to the class or her teammates sitting next to her.
Jaune knew he could stare at her drawings all day, but endeavoured to take notes from the class instead so at least one of them had a complete set of them. Ren tried his best but with Nora sitting next to him he simply couldn't be relied on.
Weiss sat with her team a little further back. Cocra was trying to listen but was obviously failing to stay awake. Maroon had more luck with staying awake but was obviously struggling with the class material and kept missing the point of the lecture. Blake was simply reading a book and wasn't trying to even look like she was paying attention.
Weiss was diligently taking notes and just hoped her team leader's apparent disinterest in the class came from prior knowledge of the material and not actual disinterest in the subject.
Team SWNY was similarly divided into the one actually taking notes - Pyrrha, and the others. Yang tried to pay attention but gave up fairly quickly. Sky was still trying, and failing, to take useful notes but ended up with mostly gibberish. Cardin just sat back and closed his eyes, not even trying to pretend to pay attention. Then again he felt comfortable with ignoring this subject as he had been forced to read the material by his father before.
And so professor Port continued his lesson, somewhat aware that most of the class didn't pay attention to him. That was fine as long as they reviewed the notes of those that understood the subject. After all, before they would actually face the Grimm threat the written exams would make sure that they knew enough to survive.
But it wouldn't do, to leave the students to fall into a sense of false security. And so Peter Port liked to make his students battle a Grimm or two every lesson. For today Port had prepared a prime example of a Boartusk.
"It is a mark of a true huntsman to be honourable, dependable, strategic, well educated and wise. Now which ones amongst you believe to be the embodiment of these traits."
Weiss thought about it and almost raised her hand, but then she thought about the Initiation and elected to not bring attention to herself just in case their prior performance would be examined.
A few rows in front of her Ruby was covertly trying to get Jaune to raise his hand. The nudging and written messages in her notebook telling Jaune that he was dependable and honourable.
Jaune was just refusing to raise his hand at first, but then went on the counteroffensive. He started scribbling his own messages and telling Ruby that she was ahead of him when it came to strategy and education.
And it worked, Ruby immediately went defensive. Unfortunately the way she went about it made Jaune wince and wish he had just raised his hand in the first place.
What he saw was a written anxiety attack as Ruby listed every reason why she doubted herself, why she didn't think she deserved to be called a true huntress. Why she didn't deserve to be team leader.
Port meanwhile looked around the classroom. It wasn't unprecedented that no one would raise their hand. It wasn't that no one thought they themselves to be all that. It was often more about not wanting to be the nail that sticks out on the first day of school. And since it had happened before Peter had an alternative ready.
"Well, seeing as none of you think yourselves to be true huntsmen, let me assure you that by the end of your studies you will be. Now I have prepared an activity, but as there are no volunteers how about we go in alphabetical order. Mister Arc if you would please go get changed and bring your weapon."
"Yes, professor."
=O=O=O=
When Jaune came back to the classroom, most of his classmates had been roused from their slumber and were now paying attention to him. Jaune however was too distracted by Ruby's previous anxiety attack to focus on them. Or anything really, he was so out of it he nearly forgot to take his weapons out before entering the classroom.
Regardless, Jaune entered with Atra Aurora in hand and tried to refocus himself on whatever activity Port had prepared.
"Mister Arc! Good I see you're armed and ready, so let us begin."
With those words the professor revealed a cage housing the boartusk within it.
"I know for a fact you've faced worse during initiation mister Arc. However this one is perhaps trickier than what you've faced before. I hope you paid attention to my lecture."
As the cage flew open all Jaune could think of was how paying attention barely helped him. Jaune took a stance and the boartusk charged at him. He sidestepped the charge and swung against the Grimm's hide, his mind focused on the fight and drowning out his classmates.
Unfortunately for Jaune, that barely scratched it and threw him further off balance. While he regained his balance the boartusk charged him once again. Jaune would have tried to slash at its hide again but instead the voice of his team leader pierced through his focus.
"Go for the belly, Jaune! That's where it's the least armoured."
Jaune didn't hear any more of Ruby's cheering as he was forced to sidestep the rolling charge. This time however he held back his atack, instead waiting for the Grimm to charge him once again. This time though Jaune had a plan.
With his aura behind his strike Jaune stabbed his sword into the floor, crouching behind the makeshift barrier to interrupt the spinning charge. As Grimm and blade collided, the boartusk flew into the air over and behind Jaune, landing on its back.
That was the moment Jaune was waiting for. He sprung to action and fell with all his weight behind the hidden blade - Occultus Ferrum. With a squeal of a dying pig the boartusk's throat was pierced.
As the Grimm faded in the background Jaune calmly retrieved his blade from where he stuck it in the floor.
"Excellent, Mister Arc! I can already tell you have what it takes to be a true huntsman!"
Jaune simply nodded along to the professor's praise but looked back at Ruby and smiled at her. He would need to thank her properly later for the hint.
=O=O=O=
When team RNJR returned to their dorms after classes they could barely think. Sure Beacon was an academy for huntsmen, but they sure stuffed a lot of theory into their first day.
"Well team. As much as I know we would all love to take a shower and go rest, we have one more thing we need to do before that."
"But Ruby! None of the homework is due until next week!"
"No Nora, not homework. Though it will probably come up later. No! What I had in mind is our first official team meeting!"
"That does seem like a good idea. We barely know each other after all."
"Right… While Jaune did a wonderful job of introducing us on the battlefield we don't really know more than names… Jaune, since this is your fault why don't you start."
Jaune looked at Ruby and opened his mouth to protest, but thought better of it.
"Well… My name's Jaune Arc. I have seven sisters and grew up in a settlement outside of Vale propper. I didn't go to any combat school, instead I took up a blacksmithing apprenticeship under Cobalt Fèvre. As of about a month ago I am legally considered a master blacksmith. That was also the time I unlocked my semblance - Arsenal. When I create a weapon, saturate it in aura and name it, it becomes a part of me. My semblance teaches me how to use my weapons and lets me store them in my aura. So far not many people know about my semblance so I'd appreciate it if you kept it a secret for now. Never know when a trump card like that might come in handy… Why don't you go next, Ruby."
A part of Jaune meant it as a bit of a payback, but another part of him realised that making Ruby tear off the proverbial band aid as soon as possible would be a good idea.
"I'm Ruby Rose, um… Hi? I uh, grew up on Patch with Yang and my dad. I went to signal and my favourite subject was Weapon studies. My semblance is Petal burst and it makes me go really fast. I uhhh… I'm a good shot and good with mechashift? I don't know what else… I'm not that interesting."
"Not interesting, says the girl who got into Beacon two years early by personal invitation by headmaster Ozpin." added Jaune as a way out for Ruby.
"Hey! Anyway Nora, why don't you go next."
"OK! Nora Valkyrie is the name. I've been together with Ren for a long time now and we're both from Mistral… We… We are also both orphans…"
There was a moment of pause while Ren put a hand on her shoulder as she collected herself.
"I'm pretty good with a hammer and LOVE explosions. That's why my weapon shifts to a grenade launcher. My semblance lets me absorb electricity, makes me stronger and faster! Ren, you're last up."
"My name's Lie Ren, Lie is the family name. My semblance lets me mask emotions of myself and people I'm in physical contact with."
There was another moment of silence before Jaune and Ruby realised that Ren was done with his introduction.
"So uh, next point on the agenda - morning bathroom schedule, so that we don't end up being late to class. I propose that today's morning be taken as a precedent!"
Jaune chuckled as Ruby got into the serious team leader persona. He couldn't help but wonder if Ozpin knew it would end up like this when he designated Ruby as leader of team RNJR.
"Jaune wakes up early apparently so he can have the first slot up until 6:30. Then I take the 6:30 to 7:00 slot and Ren and Nora can divide the 7:00 to 8:00 however they want. All in agreement say aye!"
"AYE!" exclaimed Nora immediately!
"You realise the only solid slot is yours, right? Anyway I'm in agreement."
"I suppose you two will wake me up at seven then?" added Ren, glancing at Nora.
"If you would. Neither me nor Jaune are familiar enough with Nora to make waking her up painless."
"Very well, I'm in agreement as well then."
Ruby looked at her notes for the meating and grimaced a bit when she saw the next topic.
"Right, next topic - casual nudity. I didn't think this was something that needed to be said but please avoid nudity in the room. You two especially, if you could take your clothes to the bathroom with you and get dressed before leaving please."
Jaune nodded along with Ruby.
"Wait, I don't get it. We're going to be rooming together for the next four years; we're bound to see each other naked eventually."
"Nora… Look, take it from the man with seven sisters, accidents are inevitable, yes. However there is a difference between an accident and you coming out of the shower in just a bath towel and getting changed with me in the room. I nearly had a heart attack this morning."
"And it's embarrassing for me too, Nora. Plus if Yang found out that a boy got naked while I was in the room I can not guarantee his safety, so casual nudity is out for all of us and that's that. Come to think of it, let me address this too while we're at it just in case; no sexual activities while uninvolved people are in the room. I'm the youngest here so I'll assume I don't have to explain further."
And just like that Jaune nearly had another heart attack. Sure, he agreed with the rule, but that it had to be said was… well… Plus now he really had to reign in his imagination.
"Put a sock on the door, got it!" exclaimed Nora.
Had Jaune been drinking he would do a spit take.
=O=O=O=
Author's note:
More slice of life focused on character development. I hope I managed to capture the comedic timing, especially in the last part. Anyway, look forward to next week's chapter: Ch. 10 Team dynamics