A loud clang of steel came as Niel and Yatsuhashi crossed blades. Dislodging one of his gun blades, Niel allowed his senior to drive his greatsword down as he dodged and swiped at Yatsuhashi's neck. The senior student shifted, only receiving a light blow. With a calm smile, he lunged with his blade, keeping his junior on the defensive.

Past them, Lukas and Fox were exchanging blows mixed with interchanging fire from their weapons. The lithe and shorter Fox maneuvered himself gracefully as Lukas threw himself headfirst, keeping his senior off balance with brute force and punishing strikes. However, Fox remained unfettered as he continued to whittle at his junior's aura.

Raiden, unable to use his rail gun against classmates, was parrying Velvet, doing his best to strengthen his melee and ensure he was not defeated as quickly. The gentle smile the rabbit faunus held as she wailed against his defenses frightened him as always. Her soft features betrayed the numbing blows she delivered.

Caelum meanwhile had his Weapon deployed in its MG form yet slung on his back. He fought with his ornate dagger in one hand as Coco swung her hefty bag at him. He dodged each strike before stabbing at her, landing a few blows before her playful smile realized he had cut one of her beaded necklaces.

With a piercing glare, she upped the ante, driving faster and stronger blows at him. With her latest thrust, her bag transformed mid-movement, and with one hand on the handle she fired the minigun at point blank. Caelum barely managed to move his face out of the line of fire before the beginning burst sent the weapon swinging wildly upwards in her single hand.

As she stumbled backward to regain control, Caelum shouted "Niel!" Two magnum rounds fired from Niel's direction, striking Coco on her hip and weapon. As she stumbled Caelum sheathed his dagger before drawing his pistol in his left hand and swinging his MG into his right. Firing the pistol at Coco who received a few rounds to her torso before shielding herself with her weapon, He pressed his trigger and swung the wave of automatic fire to his flank.

The rounds trailed across the ground and wall before finding their target. A few of the hip-fired rounds struck Velvet before she backflipped away. None too soon as she had created a copy of Yatsuhashi's blade and nearly overpowered Raiden.

Before Raiden could catch his breath Lukas called for him. "Nerd!" Indignantly, he responded to the call with a snap of his head, seeing Lukas had drawn Fox near to him. Without his range weapon and too far from his ally, Raiden acted promptly. He threw his halberd like a javelin.

Lukas barely dodged the heavy-headed weapon, leaving it to Fox who twisted out of its flight path in the nick of time, but also exposing his midriff to Lukas who gave a breathtaking strike with his bat.

"Owe ya one!" shouted Lukas, keeping pressure on Fox who was nursing his torso with the wind knocked out of him as Raiden ran after his discarded weapon.

Soon Caelum's MG ran out of ammo and Coco laid her own suppression down. With Velvet freed and chasing Raiden before he retrieved his halberd, Caelum intercepted her, forcing Coco to cease her fire. Soon she began running and firing at Raiden who was then assisted by Niel.

Niel threw one of his revolvers to Raiden as he entered a grapple with Yastuhashi, who surprisingly was poor at hand-to-hand. Without another choice, Raiden fired the large caliber pistol. The recoil felt as if it would snap his wrist and his shot flew wide but had Coco instinctually dodge regardless.

With his halberd grabbed and raised, he charged Coco intending to keep her locked in melee as he was advised to. Lukas soon found himself knocked back near Niel and found an opportunity to strike Yatsuhashis's back knee with his bat and give Niel the upper hand.

It was here that CFVY struck back. Fox took the moment to jump and in mid-air, Coco struck his feet with her handbag, launching him at Raiden who barely brought his halberd up to guard in time. The light-framed boy was knocked back as Fox fired shots at Yatsuhashi who through sheer strength, pried off his two opponents before tossing them into the round's path.

Caelum had meanwhile been preoccupied with Velvet who proved dangerous time and time again. As if mocking him she used a copy of his weapon against him. If he didn't know her better, he would have assumed it to be an intentional insult. Yet her innocent smile and confident eyes showed no malice.

The two MGs both had their bipod blades in their scythe-like forms as they locked in combat. Velvet acrobatically jumped over Caelum who followed her by swinging his weapon behind and blocking her strike. Soon he felt a looming presence over him as he sidestepped to dodge a crushing blow from Yatsuhashi. With his weapon pinned to the ground, Caelum became creative.

With his sidearm, he fired the remainder of its contents into Yatsuhashi's throat causing him to recoil into a backpedal. With his MG freed he kicked open the barrel release as Velvet swung at him. His wooden stock caught the blade as he grabbed the ejected barrel and with a quick upward swing, smashed the dislodged barrel's end into Velvet's jaw. With stinging tears and a whimper, the girl retreated with a hand nursing her face as Caelum pressed on.

His bipod locked into its bayonet form as he thrust at the retreating senior when a booming voice yelled out.

"That's enough!" it shouted.

All eyes turned to the stands where Port stood, hand on mic. The 'portly' man had an obvious grin under his bushy stache when he tapped his wrist. "You will find that it is already fifteen minutes past the end of the school day. If you wish to continue, please reserve these training grounds yourselves. For now, our session for today is done."

Caelum, panted, controlling his breath till it steadied. He took a glance around to see the state of their arena. Velvet was now on her knees nursing her sore jaw with him seemingly ready to impale her. Behind him, he saw Coco also breathing heavily with her minigun aimed at his back and Fox having already closed half the distance to him.

Yatshuhashi was coughing on one knee, His composure held yet clear that his throat had suffered from Caelum's attack despite aura. Behind Yatsuhashi both Niel and Lukas were on the ground, relaxing, it was clear they were charging the large senior before the end of the spar had been called. Finally, Raiden had surprisingly found his way nearly in between Coco and Fox, having tried to intercept and prevent them from interfering with Caelum.

It wasn't a victory but their first draw with their seniors. The clear progress drew laughter from the exhausted teammates on the ground as Raiden slumped against his halberd. Keeping his usual indifference, Caelum picked up his discarded weapons as team CFVY felt a sense of pride in their juniors. Even Velvet managed to between stinging tears before her team realized their precious partner's dilemma.

Coco was accompanied by Fox and Yatsuhashi, all wearing stern expressions as she began telling Caelum off for "hurting such a precious creature." In embarrassment, Velvet urged them to stop as Caelum stepped aside to her, and with a small bow, apologized before reaching into his pocket and drawing some cream and a bandage.

He quickly treated the flustered girl before asking if she had bit her tongue and pressed a thumb against her jaw. Checking for tenderness and prying it open so he could look inside the flustered faunus's mouth. Coco was quick to rip Caelum away and begin scolding him as his team watched, shaking their heads. Port soon disrupted the arguments and dismissed team CFVY, wishing to have a word with team CRLN.

The four boys sat in varying poses as the professor paced around them in a circle. "Good show! Good show I say! Not only have your grades been rising but your teamwork has improved. I'd dare say you may have even beaten your seniors if time had not dragged on too long!"

The boys in their exhaustion gave varying forms of acknowledgment in grunts and hands raised in the air, sluggish yet celebratory. Seeing their tired forms, Port deigned to leave them to themselves for the day with a final congratulation.

As the boys gathered themselves, Caelum was the first to stand and begin walking away. Lukas called out to their leader as he slung his weapon across his back. "More training? After all that? Sure a nice nap isn't in order?"

Caelum threw a dismissive hand in the air. "I'll see you all later, I have mail to retrieve. Make sure Niel showers before he falls asleep. He's not in the woods anymore."

A tired groan came from Niel, his only form of indignant response as his muscles screamed from having to wrestle against Yatsuhashi as Raiden and Lukas laughed. The training hall's doors opened and closed behind him as an unexpected voice called out.

Sparing a glance, Caelum turned to see Coco waiting on the wall with crossed arms and legs. Kicking herself off, she strutted next to him and threw an arm around his shoulder. "Got a moment to spare charmer?"

Caelum, showing respect for his senior, bit his tongue and gave a curious tilt of his head. "May I ask what for Ms. Adel?"

Coco dug a knuckle into his head and drilled it, irate at his response. "I told you to call me Coco, I'm not some hag for you to say, Miss."

Caelum endured her knuckles grating against his skull and repeated himself. "Then may I know why Ms. Coco?"

Coco released him with a groan. "I swear, who raised you?" At his silence and empty expression, Coco moved on to avoid any uncomfortable topics. She flipped one of her bangs behind her ear as she threw a hand onto one hip and pointed an upturned finger at him. "Come with me, Thought we'd talk. Senior team leader to junior team leader. I'll get you a drink too."

Looking at her extended digit, Caelum glanced up at her confident expression. "Can I refuse?"

Without missing a beat, Coco kept her kind expression and with both hands on her hips replied, "Not if you want to stay conscious, kid."

With the declaration made, Caelum accompanied his senior to one of the many vending machines within Beacon. As she purchased his aforementioned drink, Caelum sat on a bench and took in his surroundings.

He had yet to explore really any of Beacon besides the places he frequented. Class, the training grounds, the cafeteria, and gym. As he looked down and out from the terrace they were on into the school's courtyard he wondered when was the last time he felt the urge to explore. It probably hadn't been since he was much younger and explored his family's manor.

Soon a cold beverage pressed against his neck, disrupting his thoughts. Barely stopping himself from reeling at the cold sensation he looked to his side to see a displeased Coco.

"Doesn't it get tiresome always being so reserved? Never speaking or acting how you feel?" she complained.

"What did you wish to speak about?" he asked calmly, taking a small sip of the beverage.

Coco plopped down next to him and took a swig from her own with a satisfied gasp. Crossing her legs she raised her drink. "First off kid, congratulations on you and your team's hard work today."

Caelum cocked his head as he looked at her outstretched drink. Coco shook the container as he hesitantly raised his own for her to knock against. "Thank you?" he said eyeing her suspiciously.

Coco snickered at his glances. "See something you like?"

"If I'm to be frank, I'm curious as to why you are so friendly with me and my team. There's no reason for you all to interact with us more than necessary."

Coco gave a harsh slap to his back, another instance he simply weathered with little to no reaction. "You're too stiff you know? No style, No fun. It's a real shame and I even bet it's a drag for your team."

"I'll take that under notice."

Coco began swinging her foot back and forth. "But that's just how you do things isn't it?" Caelum remained quiet as she continued. "We're all different huntsmen ya know? Different backgrounds and goals. But you and I have it worse. We're leaders so we have little to learn from other than those who were leaders before us."

Caelum nodded, understanding her words and drawing a grin from her as she proceeded. "That's why I want to give you some advice. You all performed well today. Your teammates are all growing and I can see it in you as well. You've started delegating more tasks but still try to control the entire battle. You're not trusting your teammates to hold their own."

"Can they?" he asked immediately, little to no faith in his words.

Coco snickered. "They will one day but will you trust them to do so? It took me a while to realize that myself. I'm not the most eloquent with these things so I'm just trying to say learn from my experience okay?"

Caelum glanced at her briefly before nodding. "I appreciate the concern and advice."

Coco placed her chin atop a hand as she leaned forward, watching him as he stared out into the courtyard. Lost in thought Caelum felt a sensation poke his cheek. He turned to see Coco's finger pressing against it. Seeing him raise a brow, she grinned at his confusion. "You're an interesting kid, you know that?"

Caelum shrugged a shoulder as she pulled her hand back. "You know I don't give this offer to just anyone. If you ever need someone to confide in or a bosom to lean on, I can be there for you. Team CFVY approved and rated five stars by our precious Velvet herself!" she boasted. "Just try not to cry on the designer clothing or it'll stain, alright hun?"

Coco laughed to herself briefly before realizing Caelum wasn't joining in. Instead, he held the same expression as always. "I'll keep your offer in mind."

"Responding so seriously makes it awkward for me you know?"

"I'm sorry for that."

Coco sighed aloud. "Come on throw me a bone here. Can't you fake a smile for little ol' me?"

To her amazement, Caelum complied. He threw a natural smile her way, had it not been for the vacancy of his eyes she'd never been able to tell he only did it at her request. "Like that! Why don't you smile more? I bet you'd even be popular around here like your teammate Lukas!"

Caelum's fake smile faltered as she asked why. To him, it felt unnatural to smile seamlessly without reason. To do so without being happy was pointless. You needed to be happy and happiness had to be earned.

Seeing his smile dissipate, Coco pestered him further. "Come on! It couldn't be that bad, right?"

Caelum's expression flattened. "That bad, right?" The words felt mocking. It wasn't her fault. She didn't know. Yet memories flashed in his mind, reasons he couldn't smile. Not yet. Years of situations where one couldn't just smile let alone a someone as he was. Faces turned into grisly reminders of mortality that would haunt him for years with his only escape being further punishment upon his return.

With a glare on his face, Caelum stood abruptly. Coco watched him in confusion as he excused himself without a further word. She watched as he left, canning his drink. She was unsure just what it was but knew she had stepped on a landmine. Coco restrained and reassured herself, ever persistent. She wasn't one to give up and there were at least two more years they would be students together. Two years that she could get the mystery to unveil itself.

Caelum, having taken his leave did as he told his team and went to retrieve some mail he had expected. At Beacon's postal office, he had a single letter. Calming himself he left the premises and read the contents. His eyes narrowed. For a task such as this, he would need some help and to call in a favor.

Inside team CRLN's dorm room, the three boys idly discussed amongst themselves. Lukas was driving the chat with an obvious starter. "You lads agree Hyalus is strange right?"

"Yup" nodded Raiden as he thumbed across his scroll.

"Obvious to everyone isn't it?" asked Niel sarcastically.

Lukas sat up in his bed, shaking his head. "I mean there's more to it than just that. Say's he's from Mantle but he's clearly not destitute with all that ordinance he throws around. His equipment, mannerisms, his speech."

Niel and Raiden exchanged glances, turning to Lukas they nodded in agreement, setting their items down as they listened in more intently.

Lukas leaned forward raising a finger. "I've had to sit through some banquets and balls with Vale's upper class with my dad. Caelum reeks of the same high society nonsense."

He didn't get to expand upon the thought as all their scrolls rang. It was the man in question asking for them to come with him to Vale finishing the request with an addendum. "This requires the utmost trust, discretion, and secrecy. If you cannot commit to all three then please stay behind" The boys looked at each other, their curiosity piqued.

"See what I mean by suspicious?" scoffed Lukas.

-Chapter End-