Hello, everyone! This is Umbra the Hedgehog signing back in! Yep, today's update is a double feature. Since this was all actually completed in just a couple group sittings, we figured it'd make sense to post them up at the same time instead of working on them one at a time. Now that we've covered that, let's keep the ball rolling!

NOTE:

-This is a collaborative effort between me, Noctis Gaelum and Alastar the hawk. We claim ownership over nothing except our own original characters.

SMWK

It wasn't long before Wyatt and Yang found themselves back at the main Beacon building.

I've spent more time in this elevator than actually doing what I came to do…

And already one of them was tired.

Wyatt sighed, having given up on trying to fix his damaged drill, before looking at Yang with a raised eyebrow. "We are about to face the Beacon headmaster and try to find a plausible reason why we shouldn't be expelled. Why are you still smiling?"

"Ah, don't be so stiff, ya big scaredy cat. Professor Ozpin's pretty cool. I don't think he'll be that harsh." Yang smiled at him, clearly very carefree. "He wasn't when my baby sister chased after a very charismatic Dust thief. We'll be fine."

Wyatt kept quiet for a moment.

"Excuse me, did you say that your sister stopped a thief?" He finally spoke again after realizing that. "Did she have something to do with the news report from yesterday about stolen Dust?"

She gave him the finger guns in response. "Bingo!"

"Isn't that illegal? I think it even has a name… 'vigilantism'."

She put her hands down. "I have a different name for it: awesome."

"I… oh, forget it. Arguing with you is completely pointless."

The room turned quiet for a moment.

"So… you have a super strong Semblance too, eh?" Wyatt eventually found the will to talk to her again, having trouble coping with the tension.

Yang wiped some dust off of her shoulder. "Hey, you saw it. You felt it. My Aura takes damage, and thanks to my Semblance, I can dish it back twice as strong. You didn't leave a mark on the gym wall because it was soft, you know!"

"That explains your Semblance. It almost mirrors mine. Every second I spend fighting, my strength keeps growing." He made a brief pause. "That is why I was so wary of attacking. I didn't want to go beyond three minutes on our fight because of that. The only time I actually tried to go further, someone almost died."

"Oh, so that's why you were pulling your punches." She rolled her eyes, an amused expression plastered on her face. "And here I thought you were just being a gentleman."

Wyatt smirked and crossed his arms. "You never know. I could have been doing both."

Yang raised an eyebrow at him, and right away, his eyes widened in surprise, suddenly realizing what he had done.

"Why did I say that?" He shook his head and put down his arms. "Forget I said that."

She just leaned against the elevator's wall. "If you say so, tough guy." Then she winked at him.

The elevator went silent again, and Wyatt resorted to just looking in front of him.

"Have you ever almost killed someone by accident? No, of course you haven't. You virtually parade your fist to everyone you see." He turned to her with a serious expression. "If you had ever done that, then you would be wary of lifting your arms, or even hugging your sister."

She said nothing in response.

Soon after, they reached the top, and the elevator doors opened. Ozpin looked at them from behind his desk.

"Mr. Whirlwind. I didn't think you'd be back so soon." That would have almost sounded like a joke if not for the neutral tone in his voice.

"I know, sir. Believe me, none of this is how I imagined my day would end up." Wyatt honestly looked sad.

Ozpin adjusted his glasses. "I'm sorry to hear that." He then turned his attention to Yang. "Miss Xiao Long. Thank you for coming."

"Sure thing, Professor."

Seemingly satisfied with her response, he looked at Wyatt again.

"Sir, I know this seems bad, and that my actions have caused a lot of destruction, but as ridiculous as this might be, you have to believe me when I say that it was all an accident." The boy took a seat opposite to his desk.

"I'm sure it was." He turned to Yang again. "Care to take a seat?"

"Allllrighty." She did just as the headmaster requested.

Wyatt decided to just keep quiet and let Ozpin talk before saying anything else.

"Now, you're probably aware of the reason I asked you to come." His unchanging voice was starting to scare the boy. "You managed to make quite a spectacle out of yourselves."

"There weren't too many injured, right?" Wyatt asked in concern.

Ozpin leaned on his desk. "Their Aura was very nearly depleted. Any more damage and they would have been badly injured."

"Oh." Wyatt looked down in shame. "I see. I'm thankful that there were no casualties at the very least." He then looked at Ozpin. "I will accept my expulsion, headmaster."

In turn, the older man just stared at him in silence for a moment before turning his attention to his other visitor. "Is there anything you'd like to say, Miss Xiao Long?"

"Only that fighting Smiley here was awesome!" She pointed at Wyatt as she said that. "A really… smashing experience! Eh?"

"Didn't you hear what the headmaster just said? We almost killed at least fifty people!" He turned to her, outraged at her lack of concern. "Seriously, be at least a bit more considerate of their feelings! They didn't even get injured while engaging in fights of their own; they were mere collateral damage! Wouldn't you feel bad if you lost an arm and that was the reason?"

"Don't get me wrong, okay? I'm not proud of that part." She looked at him in a similar manner. "…I'm just trying to focus on the positives."

Her complete change caught him off-guard, but before he could even process it, she suddenly smiled again.

"They're not dead, so it's a win." Then she turned away, leaning against her chair once more. "Wouldn't you agree, Professor?"

Ozpin took a sip from his mug. "…You're not wrong."

"But we can't leave this kind of mess unpunished, right, Professor?" Wyatt asked with a sad face.

As though in response, he put his mug down.

"…I expected this, Mr. Whirlwind."

"What?" He asked, confused. "Uh… what do you mean, Professor?"

"We check every aspiring student's transcripts very thoroughly. I know exactly what you can do." He shifted his focus over to Yang. "Both of you."

Wyatt looked at Yang too, feeling rather confused, before turning to Ozpin again, waiting for him to continue.

"How did your fight start? I'd like to know."

Yang pointed at herself. "I asked him."

"You taunted me." Wyatt corrected her. "And things kind of escalated. I wanted to knock some sense into you and teach you why I shouldn't have a sparring partner, and you kept pushing until I eventually gave in."

Ozpin offered a simple response. "I see."

Wyatt looked at him, visibly confused. "Professor, with all due respect, you sound awfully calm and understanding, considering the damages that your institution just experienced."

It took a moment before he explained why.

"…It's not the first time this has happened."

"What?" Wyatt could only ask, surprised by the headmaster's answer.

Ozpin took another sip from his drink before putting it down.

"Miss Xiao Long, what would you say is your specialty in the field?" His eyes were fixated on his mug as he said that, not looking directly at Yang despite addressing her.

"Oh, that's easy. Hand-to-hand!" She replied cheerfully. "Smashing things along the way. It's kinda fun like that."

The comment got a smile from the older man.

"And what about you, Mr. Whirlwind?"

"Close combat and disarming of threats, sir." He was much more serious. "If we're being technical, though… I suppose I fall into the hand-to-hand style of fighting too, sir."

Finally, Ozpin tore his eyes away from his mug to look at the two students.

"You're much more similar than you think."

Wyatt looked at Yang and tried to argue, but ultimately sighed and nodded. "True… our Semblances virtually mirror one another."

"And you also had a very evenly matched fight. Even without your teammates stepping in to control the situation, I think it would have ended in a draw."

Yang smiled confidently. "Nah, I totally would have won."

"My stamina would have granted me victory." Wyatt immediately argued with her assessment. "I'll admit I got carried away, but I still managed to remain composed. You just started swinging your arms with no rhyme or reason after your hair suffered a light cut. If the fight had gone on any longer, victory would have been mine."

She laughed at that. "No way."

If they weren't so focused on each other, they would have noticed how Ozpin was merely sitting back and letting the situation unfold, seemingly amused by the exchange.

"You've known me for less than a day, so I'm gonna let you know ahead of time, Smiley."

All of a sudden, her eyes changed from purple to red, much like they did during their fight.

"Nobody… touches… my hair." Her voice turned a lot more menacing, too.

Wyatt huffed and looked away.

"Duly noted." He answered. "…I'd still win, though."

Yang suddenly laughed, her voice seemingly returning to its usual carefree tone. "Yeah, you wish."

He decided to remain silent, not even looking at her as she grinned at his annoyed reaction.

"It looks like you have similar ideas too." Ozpin made sure things wouldn't stay quiet for long.

"If you mean anger at one another, then I agree, Professor." Wyatt immediately offered a retort. "I'm not exactly sure what are you getting to. Yes, our powers are similar, but it seems to me that there's a very big, very clear maturity gap between us."

Yang had herself a brief laugh. "Seems to me like someone's all frowns and no fun."

"Better than being all jokes and no control."

That didn't even upset her. "Hey, I've done well so far. Can't argue with the results!"

Their brief argument was interrupted by Ozpin taking another sip from his mug, which also drew their attention back to him.

"Even now, you're not acting very differently from one another." He put it down. "I've had many students who were just like you. Young people who favored close-quarters combat over all else, so determined to become Huntsmen and Huntresses." He suddenly began to lean on his desk. "And all of them had an unspoken kinship that not even they could explain."

He seemed rather amused when he noticed the two teens' surprise.

"So many of them got to know each other better through their fights than they did through any kind of conversations. Even when they were facing someone for the first time, it was almost like every one of them could predict the other's moves, and they were willing to unwind fully because they knew their opponent would do the same."

Wyatt looked at him skeptically. "Professor… you talk like she and I knew each other from a long time ago, which is most certainly not the case, I can assure you. We simply had a fight. That's all."

"I know you just met today." Ozpin replied without missing a beat. "But you've shown that you have the same kind of connection that so many like you have had before… and I suspect that it might play an important role in your future here at Beacon Academy."

"Future?" Wyatt asked in surprise. "You mean we can continue studying here? We're not to be suspended, even?"

Suddenly, the headmaster surprised him with a smile. "On your first day? That seems… unwise."

Yang nudged him, clearly amused at his shocked reaction. "And yoouuuuuu were scared."

"I… I really don't know what to say…" Wyatt instantly felt much more relaxed. "Thank you, Professor. You really are a kind man. I promise, from this point on, I will be very careful when using my power."

Ozpin nodded in response. "I certainly hope so."

"So, will that be all? Because if so, there is a little something else that's kind of bothering me and I was wondering if I could ask about it."

He looked at the younger man curiously. "Feel free."

"You told us about some unknown kind of kinship forming, but I was wondering… do you know why that relationship forms in the first place?"

Ozpin looked at him in silence for a moment, as if he was trying to read his new student, before turning his attention to Yang. "What about you, Miss Xiao Long? Are you curious as well?"

"Now that you mention it, I guess I am."

In response, he surprised the two by standing up from his chair and heading for a window, staring quietly at the outside.

"Professor?" Wyatt spoke up again, not sure on how to react to his answer. "Is something the matter?"

Despite a lack of movement, Ozpin replied to him. "I believe I know the reason." His tone was completely unchanged. "Do you see what I see?"

Wyatt approached him, still unsure, and looked outside the window as well. Yang was quick to do the same, though she was much more confident in her approach.

"Umm… the school terrains, Professor?" He looked at the distance, and caught a glimpse of the city as well. "Vale?"

As he turned to look at Ozpin, he noticed that the older man was focused on one particular spot.

"Look again."

Turning to try and see whatever it is that he was seeing, Wyatt and Yang noticed something in particular.

The site of their very brief fight.

All of the students had cleared out the area. They knew their teammates were probably just waiting for them, but they couldn't account for the rest. Before either one of them could comment on how the damage seemed less severe than when they were asked to meet Ozpin, though, they spotted something on that same area.

"Is that Professor Goodwitch down there?" Yang asked, turning to the headmaster. "I thought she had left."

Wyatt tried to adjust his eyes, and although it was hard to spot, he could indeed make out the vague silhouette of Glynda Goodwitch.

"Why is she still there?"

Suddenly, all of the debris still present on the area started to float into the air.

"She makes it her job to take care of any property damage that takes place within the academy."

Right on cue, every single piece of wreckage started floating towards where the gym used to stand, somehow managing to come together exactly the same way they remembered it. Once the building reassembled itself, they were surprised by the results.

"All that destruction… cleaned up and put back together, like nothing ever happened…" Wyatt was unable to hide his amazement.

Yang was equally impressed. "That's just… amazing."

"It certainly is." Ozpin nodded. "Her Semblance comes in handy when fights get too… extreme."

Noticing the two youths were at a loss for words, he decided to get to the point he was trying to make.

"You're afraid that a friendly fight might become too extreme, aren't you?" Without even looking, he knew he had gotten their attention. "Out in the field, fighting the creatures of Grimm, you fear nothing, but during a spar with a friend or teammate… you hold yourselves back."

"We have to, Professor. No offense, but these…" He raised both of his fists. "…aren't exactly things we can 'take off', and when your fists are your weapons, you are the weapon."

"You are correct." Ozpin nodded once again. "But that's exactly why you did what you did today, isn't it?" Then he finally turned to the two, focusing specifically on Yang. "You knew he would be able to give you a fight without holding anything back, didn't you, Miss Xiao Long?"

"Well, I don't just challenge anyone, you know?" Yang's carefree attitude made a spontaneous return again. "He fit the sketch perfectly."

Wyatt scoffed. "What 'sketch', exactly? Grumpy? Cold? Distant?" He suddenly stopped, as if he had just realized what he was doing. "Oh, sorry, Professor. Please continue."

"Thank you, Mr. Whirlwind." With that, the headmaster resumed his explanation. "I don't claim to know exactly why, but that is my theory. Many Huntsmen and Huntresses who specialize in close quarters combat tend to do so because it's a perfect fit for a combination of combat experience and great strength, but unless they're on a mission or fighting off the Grimm, they tend to hold back and not display their full power to make sure they don't damage anything unnecessarily." He turned away from the two, focusing on the rebuilt gym. "Except when they meet someone who's just like them. Perhaps they don't feel like they live in a world that's far too fragile for them anymore, and they are free to show their full potential to a fellow Huntsman or Huntress who can take their efforts on equal ground."

Wyatt took those words to heart, and looked at his fist while thinking to himself.

"Someone like me…" He smiled and closed his eyes. "The fight was, in a way, liberating. Maybe a part of me didn't want it to end because of that…"

"There you go. Now you know how I felt." Yang commented before punching him in the shoulder.

Ozpin adjusted his glasses. "Well, whatever it is that causes it, I think it's already taking effect."

"Thank you for clarifying things, Professor." Wyatt smiled at him. "Are we free to go?"

"Of course." He finally looked at his student again. "Unless there's anything else you would like to bring to my attention, Mr. Whirlwind." Then he turned his attention to Yang. "Or you, Miss Xiao Long."

"Nah. I had my fun. Thanks, Professor."

Seemingly satisfied, Ozpin sat down again. "In that case, I believe we're done here." Then he turned away, reaching out for his mug. "I hope the two of you will make it to your first class in time tomorrow."

"Thank you, Professor. We will." Wyatt gave him a small bow before turning around and heading for the elevator.

Yang was quick to follow, giving the headmaster an equally quick gesture before leaving.

As the elevator doors closed in front of the two, Ozpin made one final comment.

"Now I'm certain that this will be an interesting year."

Meanwhile, at ground level, the other members of Teams RWBY and SMWK were waiting just outside the building entrance. Some were sitting down, some others were standing up, and a couple of them were leaning against a wall.

Maza looked around, occasionally paying attention to the elevator in which Wyatt and Yang went not too long ago. "They've been there for a while now. Do you think Professor Ozpin got mad at them?"

"Ozpin? Nah, I'm sure he's just talking with them like he did with me." Ruby didn't look too worried.

Weiss brought a hand to her face. "I can't believe they did that. What were they thinking?"

"Maybe Wyatt was angry and Yang just pushed him further." Maza suddenly frowned. "He's been having a bit of a hard time accepting us as his teammates."

Kale sighed at that. "Yeah… he didn't want any teammates. At all."

"That doesn't make any sense." The last member of Team RWBY, Blake Belladonna, was completely blunt with her thoughts.

"Welcome to my skin, Blake." Set responded. "And we live together. If you could hear him snoring…"

Maza tilted her head, confused. "But it's our first day."

"It's just a joke, cupcake. He looks way too serious to be the snoring kind anyway." He quickly retorted.

Ruby chuckled at that, and Kale soon followed suit.

"That explains a lot, actually." Weiss spoke up again. "I reached out to him so that he could think about being on a team with me, and he completely rejected me."

Kale turned to her. "He did the same thing when Maza said that they were partners. He even tried to talk back to Professor Ozpin and Professor Goodwitch when they said we'd be made into a full team."

"Ouch." Ruby actually winced at that. "Not the best way to start the semester, right?"

Set rolled his eyes at that. "Tell me about it. Our first interaction wasn't exactly friendly banter. In fact, it was quite a heated little discussion… and by 'heated', I mean 'more intense than a forest fire'."

Before anyone else could comment on that, Maza raised a hand.

"B-But don't think poorly of him. Deep down, he is a good person. He just needs a bit of time to come out of his shell."

The group stayed quiet for a moment, not sure how to take the Faunus girl's affirmation.

"Well… we might actually be off to a good start." Kale eventually broke the silence. "He did say something about Yang earning his respect before Professor Goodwitch showed up."

All of a sudden, Ruby had a big smile on her face. "Yep, that sounds like Yang. She's really good at making friends."

Soon after, the elevator doors finally opened, which got the entire group's attention. Wyatt and Yang stepped out to meet with their teams.

"I think we should stay away from each other from now on, Miss Xiao Long." Wyatt immediately addressed his companion.

Ruby blinked a few times. "What?"

"It's clearly dangerous for us to interact." He continued. "We destroyed a gym! I think that is proof enough of that, don't you?"

Yang smirked at him. "Does that mean you didn't enjoy our playdate?"

Wyatt found himself groaning in response.

"Do you really need to turn everything into a joke?"

Maza immediately got worried. "Oh, boy… we'd better stop them before they fight again."

She quickly approached the two, the others following immediately after.

Yang remained unfazed. "Look, sunshine, we both heard what Ozpin said. You can deny it all you want, but I'm sure we're going to be great friends." She crossed her arms. "You can stop talking to me, but you can't stop me from talking to you."

"If you wanna get through to him, you better have the patience of a saint, Dynamite." Set took the opportunity to make a snarky remark. "Trust me, we've tried."

That managed to get the two brawlers' attention.

"How did things go up there, Yang?" Surprisingly, Blake was the next one to speak up.

Just as she was about to answer, Wyatt interrupted her.

"It appears that Miss Xiao Long and I have… some things in common."

"Oh, you mean like how you both like to punch stuff?" Ruby asked, completely unironically, which got Weiss to facepalm again.

"…Yes." Wyatt eventually replied, looking equally as annoyed as the white-haired girl. "The kinds of things that could be devastating in a clash, as you saw earlier. Professor Ozpin told us that this kind of situation has happened before."

Maza's eyes were wide open as she smiled. "Cool."

"Yep, but Smiley here's not having it today." Yang turned to Wyatt and gave him a friendly nudge… which, to him, felt like getting hit in the arm by a rock. "C'mon, just give me a smile already."

As soon as he recovered his footing, he sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Look. I will try to put it as simply as possible." He let his hand drop down. "We are Huntsmen and Huntresses. Do you know what that title means? It means we are the line of defense between humanity and the monsters outside. 'Friends', 'chilling out' and 'loosening up' are for civilians! We gave all that up the moment we picked up our weapons."

She merely pretended to think about it before giving her answer.

"…Nah. I don't buy it. Try again."

That got him to look at her again, eyes wide open. "What?"

"I said I don't buy it." She smirked at him. "And something tells me that neither do you."

"I just… oh, forget it." He started to walk away. "Just give up. We are not going to become friends."

He didn't get too far before Yang suddenly jumped up in front of him.

"Don't buy that either!"

Before he could say anything, Weiss spoke up.

"Alright, it looks like this is going to go on all night unless someone does something about it." Then she walked up to the two. "Unlike what you may think, we don't have that kind of time. How about we just leave this here and go to sleep before you two get yourselves in even more trouble?"

Wyatt looked at her for a moment before turning to Yang. "Will that work for you?"

"Yeah, sure." She replied, still smirking. "We've got a whole year ahead of us, buddy."

He visibly shook before answering. "I'm not your—"

"Yeah, I know."

He said nothing in response. All he could do was look at her quizzically.

Once again, it took a moment before someone broke the uncomfortable silence.

"Sooooo…" This time, it was Ruby. "…who's ready to go to sleep?"

Set howled a yawn. "Boy, I was thinking the exact same thing, Hoodie."

"Okay then, let's do it." Kale stretched his arms out for a moment. "I think we could all use a break."

"See you tomorrow, Ruby!" Maza waved goodbye before leaving, with Wyatt following her wordlessly.

Ruby waved back at her. "Bye!" Then she started to make her way out, Weiss and Blake following her without another word.

Before Yang could do the same, she turned to look at Set.

"Hey, you."

He turned to her in response. "Yeah?"

"You're the team leader, right?"

He replied nonchalantly. "That's me. Next question."

She started walking in his direction.

"You know, for a guy who can't stand his teammate, you sure were quick to lay the blame off of him." Then she started chuckling. "You did a pretty good job taking control of things, too. If we hadn't been so stubborn, I bet it would've worked."

He shrugged. "Meh, it's no big woof. Any of my teammates would have done it too. I guess I just acted faster than them."

That got another chuckle out of Yang.

"Just like Ruby." She took a moment to examine the Faunus boy. "I guess team leaders just have that in common."

"…Never been one to call myself a leader. I'm more of a scout or a strategist." Set smiled at his own words, almost like an innocent child. "A leader takes people places. A teammate discovers alongside them. That's what I believe."

She gave him a smirk, just like with Wyatt. "Heart of a poet, huh?"

He looked at her and raised an eyebrow.

"I'll take that as a compliment." Then he smirked back. "I think it's high time we leave."

"Yeah, me too." Suddenly, she surprised him with a very light punch to the cheek. "Good luck, hotshot."

As she walked away, he muttered something to himself.

"…Thanks, hot stuff."

He smiled slightly, amused by his own comment…

"Wow, that was quick."

…only to be startled by the presence of his brother.

"Whoa! Woof, man! Don't scare me like—" It took a moment, but he soon realized what he had heard. "Wait… what was quick?"

"You like her, don't you?" Kale asked, much more genuine than one would expect from such a question. "I mean, I'm not judging you or anything, but it's just our first day. I didn't think you'd be into someone until next semester."

Set's tail started wagging a bit.

"Dude… you saw her. You saw the same stuff I did. She. Is. Awesome. The kind of awesome I would bark at…" All of a sudden, he stopped. "Wait, that sounds wrong. You know what I mean."

Kale chuckled at that. "Yeah, I know what you mean."

"Anyway, let's get going. I could use a snooze, and Foxy and Chess Rook are far ahead already. We better catch up." Set patted his brother on the shoulder and started walking away with a noticeable smile.

Kale was quick to follow. "Right behind you, fearless leader."

Here we go. That's the second part of that little sequence. We don't really have any new names to explain here, and to be honest, it's kind of hard to comment on what just transpired here. In all seriousness, though, writing this was a fun process for all three of us, and we're just hoping that it was just as much fun to read.

Now that the first night has finally gone by, it's time to get to one of the most complicated parts of any school or college: a freshman's first day. How is that going to turn out? Stay tuned if you want to find out.

This is Umbra the Hedgehog signing off.