Welcome to the next chapter of RWBY: Team DUSK, before starting the story. Let's answer some reviews:

TorrhenWintry: I did base his character off of Vali, but there are other things about his character that'll be revealed in future chapters. I thought that would be a great addition, I think that I read two stories where runes were mentioned, but it wasn't connected to the OC's semblance.

Clarent excalibur: I had a similar thought, it would be interesting seeing how two characters who don't talk interact with one another.

Beacon Academy

It was the next morning right after the Beacon Initiation after the teams were formed and the leaders for all those teams were handpicked by the Headmaster himself. Afterward, some students decided to rest in their rooms, while some celebrated their admission in their dorm's lounge. Inside the room belonging to Team DUSK, Sandra, surprisingly the most vocal among the team was still sleeping in her bed as the sun was rising.

She spent a portion of the time before going to sleep thinking about the situation that she was in.

First, she bumped into someone who annoyed her from their very first interaction with one another. Second, she ended up being partnered with someone from Vale who almost ended up prying into a past that she didn't want to relive. Third, the same person who bumped into her ended up crashing into her from the sky. And, last but most of all not least, she ended up being partnered with him and his mute partner.

"Well, if anything good came out of this. At least, I have a comfortable bed to sleep in."

Those were the thoughts running through Sandra's mind as she went to sleep, but at that moment, she started to hear three different voices, which stirred her consciousness.

"Do you think that it would be better?"

"I don't know. You think we should have done all this stuff last night?"

"We were all kind of tired from the exams to focus on doing stuff like this. And it would have taken us some kind to get it all done. And my partner was already asleep at the time."

"…."

"You're right, Hunter. It is a little too cramped for four people to live in."

"Should we do all this after school ends?"

As their conversation continued, Sandra's eyes started twitching as she was beginning to wake up due to their conversation, which proceeded without end.

"We should at least think it over beforehand or…."

"Would you two shut up!"

""Aaaaaah.""

Sandra shot up from her bed glaring at the two people doing the most talking. In response to her shout, all three of them reacted in a cartoonish manner. Sandra noticed in almost a second that the three of them weren't wearing their usual sleepwear, and instead, they were dressed in Beacon school uniform.

Both Daniel and Hunter were dressed in the male uniform, both of which consists of a black suit with gold lining, a blue vest, and a white buttoned-up dress shirt worn under it, in addition to a red tie, black pants, and a pair of brown shoes. But, it was noted that Daniel wore his silver pendant on the necklace, and Hunter, on the other hand, wore a small dark green scarf around his neck.

Alyssa was instead dressed in a female uniform, which consists of a maroon blazer with gold lining, a tan vest, a buttoned-up dress shirt, in addition to a red ribbon tied at the collar, a red plaid skirt, black stockings, and a pair of brown dress shoes.

Sandra also noticed that Hunter was holding up a notepad that he was writing in to talk to them, which he wrote in once again before turning it toward Sandra.

'Were we (or they) too loud?'

"Yes," Sandra replied immediately as she rubbed her eyes. "What are you three doing anyway?"

"We're talking about how we're going to decorate the room? We thought that we get in a head start walking about some ideas before asking your opinion."

Alyssa answered as she took a seat on her bed, which was positioned next to her partner, who, in turn, looked at her usual impassive look.

She didn't look at all interested in the status of their bedroom in the slightest and worried about whether or not it'll be livable.

"I don't care as long as this place is livable."

"So, are you going to get up and get dressed for the first day of school? Or are you going to skip?"

Daniel questioned with a little bit of snark behind them, which caused Sandra to roll her eyes.

"Well, I might as well. What time is it?"

Sandra reached her hand out, picking up her Scroll, a white collapsible communication device, all of them gained soon after their teams were formed. She pressed the diamond-shaped button, causing it to open, which revealed a translucent touchscreen, displaying the current time: 8:30 am. Sandra groaned realizing that she had to get out of bed and get prepared for classes.

"Ugh, give me a minute."

Sandra stated as she got out of bed, dressed in a simple purple sleeveless shirt and shorts as she picked up her school uniform before retreating into the bathroom. Leaving her three teammates to stare at her wearing the very same look on their faces.

"Well, at least we know she's less vocal in the morning."

"I guess she's not a morning person."

Both Daniel and Alyssa said as their attention was caught on the bathroom door where their teammate entered Hunter started writing on his notepad, which both of them noticed.

'Shouldn't we try to get along with one another? It would be weird if the four of us didn't connect more in the next four years living and working together.'

Reading Hunter's statement, both of them could understand that well.

"I think that all four of us can handle ourselves well in a fight," Daniel recalled how the three of them could handle fighting against the Behemoth during their initiation. "And we did manage to work together to kill that Behemoth as a team. But, that could be because she thought that'd be the last time we'd work together."

Once those words left his mouth, Alyssa, who would've still been her partner even if the four of them weren't a team together brought up a previous conversation with Sandra.

"I tried talking about basic things such as our previous combat schools, but…."

"It didn't turn out so well, did it?"

Daniel answered as he took a seat on his bed, which was positioned next to Hunter's.

"Well, I, at least got where she lived and what school she went to."

"Where?"

"She said she came from Vacuo and attended Shade Academy."

Hearing that response from Alyssa caused Daniel to realize something about their group, which neither seemed to realize at first and started suddenly laughing. In response to his abrupt laughter, Alyssa and Hunter looked at him wearing a stumped look on their face as their team leader continued laughing.

'What's so funny?'

Hunter wrote down his response, then presented it in front of his partner and leader, who saw the message.

"I'm sorry," Daniel calmed down from his sudden laughter as both of them stared at him wearing a bemused look on their face. "I just thought that it's weird that all four of us come from the four kingdoms on Remnant. I'm from Atlas. Hunter comes from Mistral. You're a resident of Vale. And Sandra came from Vacuo. Don't you two think it is a weird coincidence?"

Hunter and Alyssa got the gist of what he was saying, then realized the humor behind all that.

"If you look at it like that then it's a little weird. Once upon a time ago, all four kingdoms were at war and here we are four huntsmen-in-training each from the four kingdoms. That could also lead to some interesting stories from our past to share if either of you wants to."

Alyssa wanted to know more about the people she'd be partnered with for the next four years and Hunter shared the same opinion, which was elaborated as he nodded his head smiling.

Eventually, Sandra exited the bathroom fully dressed in her school uniform wearing her usual impassive and rude look on her face.

"Alright, 'team' what's the first thing we need to do?"

"And there's the sarcasm and rudeness that I'd expect from the Red Lancer."

"Watch it Bumper, you might end up with a couple of new holes."

Both Daniel and Sandra gave their official morning greeting to one another before Alyssa pulled out what seemed to be a schedule in her hands.

"Well, the first class that we have is Grimm Studies with Professor Port at 9:00 am. Then…."

At the mention of the time, both Alyssa and Sandra realized something weird about that time, in particular, which Hunter also picked up on.

"Wait, did you say 9:00?"

"Yea."

Daniel also caught up with the problem and let out a light nervous laugh.

"And you woke me up at 8:30?"

"That is also true."

Outside the front door, both the rooms of Team RWBY, which was next door to Team DUSK and Team JNPR which was in front of Team RWBY. At almost the same time that Weiss was running out of her dorm room, Sandra phased through theirs and started running. Something which immediately caught the attention of the two teams since neither of them knew what her semblance was.

"Bumper, you idiot! Why didn't you wake me up?!"

Daniel normally opened the door, then looked down the halls to see Sandra running forward.

"Because I thought you would've tried stabbing me again if I did that," Daniel replied. "And besides I didn't want to sacrifice either Hunter or Alyssa!"

"I'm less likely to stab them than you!"

"Well, that's good to know!"

Daniel again replied as Sandra ran off, but she said something that he couldn't hear from the distance, but Daniel assumed it was something foul.

"Having a little teammate trouble in the morning?"

He heard Yang questioning him from behind.

Daniel turned to see the first friends he made since coming to Beacon, Team RWBY (missing "W"), in addition to Team JNPR. He noticed that all of them were dressed in their school uniforms, but the youngest team leader still wore her signature red hooded cape. Yang stood closer to him with a single hand on her hip as she smiled lightly at him giving off her usual friendly presence.

"Yeah, kinda the same miscommunication between me and the Red Lancer since the time we first met. I wonder if the two of us will ever be able to talk without her threatening my life."

"Well, have you tried not calling her 'Red Lancer'? That might be a good start."

Blake questioned as she glanced in his direction with the slightest hint of joking sarcasm behind her words.

"Hey, I'll call her by her real name when she calls me by mine."

Daniel nonchalantly replied as he shrugged his shoulders at her suggestion.

"Uh, guys. Not that I don't like our usual banter, but shouldn't we be running off to class?"

Jaune pointed out noticing the current time on his scroll.

"Right, our current mission is to make it to our classes without being late!"

Ruby cheerfully declared raising her fist into the air as everyone else prepared to start running to class as fast as possible. Daniel couldn't help but chuckle at the enthusiasm displayed by them despite the chance they might be late for classes on the first day.

"Right, before this marathon started, I want to point out one thing," Daniel stated before turning toward all the remaining members of Team RWBY. "Those uniforms look good on you three."

His honest statement aimed at Team RWBY caused a reaction from Ruby, Blake, and Yang who all seemed more or less bashful at the sudden compliment.

"T-Thanks."

Ruby replied a little nervously since it was the first time that a boy complimented her like that.

"Y-Yea, thanks, I guess."

Blake replied similarly.

"I didn't think that Dani would be such a flirt."

Yang laughed it off, but she still seemed to have been caught by surprise at the compliment.

"Daniel if I hadn't gotten to know you in this short period," Alyssa started as she stared at him wearing a blank stare. "I'd say you were trying to flirt with them."

"Why does everyone keep saying that," Daniel mumbled as he focused forward. "Now remember in this situation there's one important rule. You won't be fast, but you need to be faster than the person next to you. Now, on your marks, get set…."

[Go!]

At that sudden command, all of them started running off at full speed down the dorm room halls almost like a real marathon. The room doors in the halls started opening, revealing the students leaving for classes too, but a lot of them retreated inside their rooms after seeing the running first-year students.

"Whoa!"

"Watch where you're going?!"

The leftover members of Team RWBY and DUSK alongside the members of Team JNPR apologized when either of them nearly ran into someone exiting their room or walking in the walls. Due to their speed alone, it didn't take long for them to exit the door of the student residence in an over-the-top fashion, before picking up the pace.

Walking in the courtyard of Beacon, were both Ozpin and Glynda watching as their students were heading to classes at a brisk pace.

"Well, it would seem that the students are acclimating to the new school year just fine."

"We do have a lot of promising first-year students enrolling in school this year."

Both Glynda and Ozpin talked and walked side-by-side at a leisurely pace.

"Some of those 'promising' students wouldn't happen to be."

"Hahahaha, Daniel, what was that about being faster than the person next to you?"

"That wasn't you being faster than me, that was just you shoving me!"

Glynda let out an annoyed sigh as she noticed some of their first-years running to class at a less leisurely pace, which seemed to have turned into more of a competition. The entire group continued running forward as Ozpin let a laugh escape from his mouth as Glynda peered at her watch.

"Do you think they'll make it on time?"

Glynda's question when unanswered as Ozpin drank from whatever was in his mug.

After bursting through the front entrance of the school building, a lot of them made a sharp turn, with most of the members of Team JNPR breaking apart, leaving Jaune running with the others. Most of the second-year students who saw them running looked a little amused as if recalling something similar to the past. A lot of them were even cheering them on before walking off.

"We're almost there!"

"I'll be the first person there!"

Ruby declared as she seemed to speed forward ahead of everyone else leaving behind a trail of red rose petals, which appeared out of nowhere.

"Hey, Ruby using your semblance is cheating!"

Yang called out to her younger sister who seemingly cut the distance short.

"This coming from the girl who tried shoving me a while ago."

"But, that was an accident~"

Just as Yang said those words, she turned away from him wearing a wide smirk on her face as she chuckled.

"Then why'd you turn around before saying that?"

Before either of them could even come closer to the door leading into their first-period class, Ruby blew through it raising her arms out into the air and laughing victoriously. This instantly stirred confusion inside the classroom from all the students already as the others' running footsteps could be heard behind her.

"Hahaha, I made it first!"

Ruby energetically declared as she entered the classroom, while the others started following behind Ruby.

"Second."

Blake coolly said in a far less energetic tone.

"Third."

Daniel said as he slid into the room.

"Fourth."

Alyssa entered the classroom.

"Fifth."

Yang followed behind her.

"…."

Hunter walked through the door holding out six fingers instead of signing the words.

"*Huff* *Huff* Seventh."

Jaune followed behind them in seventh place as he breathed a little heavily after stumbling inside the classroom.

All the other students sitting in the classroom looked at the students entering wearing different expressions, all of which ranged from confusion or amusement. The students who didn't do either were Weiss and Sandra who were already seated in the classroom sighing at the actions of their teammates.

""Idiots.""

Both of them seemed to mutter under their breaths, but one person seemed actively amused by their actions.

"Ha-ha-ha-ha, what energetic students we have. I didn't think I'd find anyone this energetic to get the school year started with my class. What flattering dedication."

Standing beside them in front of the class giving them a cordial laugh was an almost overweight elderly man with well-groomed short bushy gray hair and a mustache; dressed in a double-breasted burgundy suit with a series of gold piping buttons, his matching pants were tucked into his long olive cavalry boots.

Their Grimm Studies teacher, Peter Port.

"Well, I believe that it's time that you all took your seat. My wonderful class is about to start!"

Professor Port declared as their arrivals started giving one another different glances before heading to their seats.

Blake and Yang walked up the blue highlighted steps taking their seats on the first level of chairs beside Weiss, who sent Daniel a questioning look. He could tell that it means, 'What was that about?' And in response to that, he shrugged his shoulders sending a slight chuckle causing the heiress to roll her eyes in response.

"Soooo, what do I win?"

Before taking her seat, Ruby stood in front of Daniel wearing a look of anticipation on her face.

"Well, because the 'Great Beacon Be Punctual Marathon' wasn't properly discussed beforehand by the competing parties involved. How about a complimentary pat on the head?"

Daniel jokingly questioned as he placed his hand on top of her head, causing Ruby to pout in his direction, which he still couldn't help but find adorable.

"Oh, come on. I was expecting something a little more."

"Right, you were the one who suggested it in the first place. You could come up with a better prize."

"Yang's right, Daniel."

Yang pointed out finding the entire race a fun way to start for the morning and Blake shared the same opinion.

"This might be what my dad meant about me thinking before I do something," Daniel murmured to himself before turning toward Ruby. "Well, since I did come up with the race in the first place. I guess that I should think about a prize for the winner. Since I don't know what you would want, the only thing that I can think of is money. Or I don't know what about cookies. Or even…."

Daniel said that last part without thinking not knowing what Ruby would want for a prize, but then he was stumped as stars sparkled in her eyes. Even he felt a little unnerved at the sudden enthusiasm coming from the younger black-haired girl.

"Yes! Yes! Yes! I want cookies. But, I'd prefer chocolate chip cookies the most!"

"O-Okay. I'll get onto that one later."

"Well, Daniel it seems that you found my little sister's weak point."

Yang jokingly said from her seat as Ruby took a seat beside her partner in the near end.

Daniel went to sit down in the row of seats above Team RWBY, where his teammates all were sitting, and took a seat beside Hunter.

"You are all childish."

Sandra said as she leaned back in her seat with both arms crossed.

"Yea, it was a little childish," Alyssa said as she chuckled a bit. "But, it was a fun way to start the morning."

"You missed winning a prize."

Daniel added as he crossed both his hands behind his head as he continued looking forward.

"You're saying I missed out on the chance to win cookies?"

Sandra said sarcastically followed up with an eye roll.

"Well, Ruby wants chocolate chip cookies, so I'll get her cookies. I'll also have to give Blake something since she won second place."

Blake's black bow started to twitch again, as she sat in between both Ruby and Yang but was able to hear what Daniel said. She didn't think that she would be able to meet people like him, Ruby, and Yang on her first arrival at Beacon Academy.

"I want to tell him that he doesn't need to go through this much for me, but…."

Blake said to herself as she continued to direct her attention forward without letting him realize she could hear their conversation.

She could tell that Daniel spoke in a low tone and if she stated outright that he didn't need to give her anything at all. He would find it odd if she was able to hear him, which is something that a human, Huntsmen, or not wouldn't be able to do using their normal sense of hearing. And in doing so might reveal that she was what Daniel has already thought she was.

"Monsters! Deeeemons! Prowlers of the night! Yes, the creatures of Grimm have many names, but I merely refer to them as prey! Ha-ha!"

Professor Port spoke in a tone showy tone.

He waited for a response from the students, but he merely got silence from everyone in the classroom, so much so that it wouldn't be odd if cricket could be heard in the background of awkward silence. Noticing that none of them reacted to his attempts at being 'dashing and heroic' in front of the upcoming students. On the board were some boards, which depicted the clearest possible depiction of all Grimm ranging from the King Taijitu, Death Stalker, Beowolf, Boarbatusk, Nevermore, and Ursa; in addition to accurate descriptions of them.

"Uhhhh," he coughed in his hand after noticing the endless silence. "And you shall too, upon graduating from this prestigious academy! Now, as I was saying, Vale, as well as the other three kingdoms, are all safe havens in this otherwise treacherous world! Our plant is teeming with creatures that would love nothing more than to tear you to pieces! And, that's where we come in. Huntsmen! Huntresses!"

Among walking around during his opening speech to the classroom, he stopped in front of Yang, then gave a playful wink in her direction. But, that only caused discomfort for the blonde-haired huntress, which didn't go at all unnoticed by Daniel who sat behind them.

"Careful teach, I think that huntresses here might be a little outside of your age group."

At Daniel's joke caused a stir of laughter from the students, Yang, who recovered from her discomfort, Blake and Weiss who didn't want to show it, and Ruby who laughed a little more. Alyssa who laughed a little too glanced to the side as she noticed Sandra turn towards the side shaking a little as if to hide her slight laughter.

"Something wrong, Sandra?"

"N-No, of course not."

Sandra said recovering from that moment while ignoring the light smile from Alyssa.

"O-Of course not, I didn't mean anything about it. I was just," Professor Port found himself stuttering a little. "On a more related topic. Individuals who have sworn to protect those who cannot protect themselves! From what, you ask? Why, the very world!"

"Yea!"

Suddenly, a random male student shouted invigorated about being able to protect the world, but after getting looks from his classmates, he sat back down embarrassed about his outburst.

He got off to a rough start, Professor Port managed to get one student into the speech, which healed a little bit of his pride as he continued with the lesson.

"That is what you are training to become," their teacher started before going off to another topic. "But, before I continue with the lesson. How about a story? The tale of a young, handsome man…me! When I was a boy…."

His class lesson diverged more onto an anecdote about his life as a young man, which involved something about the smell of cabbages and his wise grandfather. Most of the students couldn't hear anything aside from 'blahs' as his story seemed to continue with even Blake being uninterested in their supposed 'lesson', while Weiss was more attentive to the lesson and even taking notes.

"Please kill me."

Sandra muttered to herself as she tried her best in listening to the 'lesson' from their teacher.

Her teammates shared a similar mindset as it had nothing to do with Grimm Studies. As Professor Port continued, the thought of there being better things that they would be doing aside from sitting there. Hunter later started to write down a message on his notepad.

'When is the class going to start?'

Hunter raised his notepad and then pointed it toward Daniel who merely shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know, but this doesn't seem like the best class to start with."

"Let's just hope that isn't always going to be like this."

"Ditto."

It was one of the things that all of them including Sandra were able to agree with.

Meanwhile, in front of them, Ruby was paying attention the least attention to Port's anecdote as she showed Weiss a drawing of Professor Port signed 'Professor Poop'. She jokingly blew a raspberry causing Blake and Yang to laugh, but it seemed to have stirred some irritation from Weiss as her partner/leader continued doing various childish and distracting things.

"In the end," Professor Port continued. "The Beowolf was no match for my sheer tenacity, and I returned to my village with the beast in captivity and my head held high, celebrated as a hero! I know you're all wondering what the moral of this story is. A true Huntsman must be honorable!"

Ruby balanced an apple on a book with her pencil held only by her finger while making a silly face.

'Where'd that apple come from?'

Hunter wrote on the notepad, which he showed to Daniel who shrugged his shoulders but was impressed that she could balance a pencil on her finger while a book and apple were on top of it.

"I don't know, but that's kind of impressive."

"Daniel, I think you're girlfriend is going to blow a fuse."

Sandra pointed out, wanting something to take her attention from their instructor.

"Not my girlfriend. But, I can see that."

Daniel was becoming a little worried about what might happen next between them.

Ruby continued doing more and more childish antics, which continued to stir more frustration inside Weiss, who narrowed her eyes and ground her teeth. Hearing Professor Port continue to list out the various traits huntsmen all must follow only stirred Weiss even further until he turned to all his students.

"So, who among you believes themselves to be the embodiment of these traits?"

Professor Port called out to the students as Weiss rose her head without hesitation.

"I do, sir!"

"Well, then, let's find out," Professor Port called out as he motioned his hand toward the cage beside him. "Then go prepare yourself for combat and face your opponent."

"Uh, how long has that been in here?"

Alyssa questioned as she noticed the red eyes peering outside from the shaking cage.

"I think I might start liking this class. If the classes have us fighting Grimm."

Sandra honestly thought that it would be interesting to fight against Grimm, while in classes instead of outside the classroom. Daniel didn't pay attention to what she said and was instead more worried about the current status of Weiss who wasn't acting in her usual calm manner.

Weiss stood from her seat and without glancing toward her team, she started walking outside of the classroom to get dressed in her combat attire.

"Uh, Daniel, don't you think Weiss is acting a little odd?"

Yang questioned as she turned around in her seat so that she could properly see and talk to him.

"Yea, but I'm sure that it's nothing to be too worried about. It's probably just first-day jitters."

Daniel replied almost trying to sound convincing.

"You're probably right. Weiss seems like the kind of girl who would go through that."

Yang lightly stated as she turned back around, but it didn't take long for Daniel to guess the real reason for Weiss acting the way she was.

"I guess, she's a little sore about not being made the leader. And seeing Ruby acting like that in class irritated her a little. That would be the typical response of someone if you grew up in that kind of environment. I just hope this doesn't end up going south for them."

Daniel thought as Weiss re-entered the classroom dressed in her combat attire, in addition to having her beloved Myrtenaster. She stood in the wide-open area in front of the classroom as Professor Port retrieved his weapon, a battle axe mounted on the wall then approached the cage. All the class looked forward in anticipation of Weiss' fight against whatever Grimm that the professor trapped inside the cage.

"Goooo, Weiss!"

"Fight well!"

"Yeah, represent Teeeeam RWBY!"

All her team cheered her on with Blake even waving around a small flag that said 'Team RWBY' on it, Weiss didn't pay any heed to what Yang and Blake said, but snapped at Ruby.

"Ruby! I'm trying to focus!"

Weiss snapped causing Ruby to falter back a little agreeing to her request, which didn't go unnoticed by Daniel.

"Alright! Let the match…begin!"

After declaring that, Professor Port brought down his battle axe to the lock, then the Grimm, a Boarbatusk rushed at its first target, Weiss. Amid its charge, she slashed her rapier in the path deflecting its charge, before rolling to the side and gaining some distance from it. At the same time, the Boarbatusk stopped for a moment, then it appeared to be studying Weiss as well.

"Ha-ha! Wasn't expecting that were you," Professor Port said. "Most might think that the Grimm are unintelligent creatures, but I'm sure that most of you could tell from the initiation that isn't always the case. Out in the world, it is common to find Grimm able to think and plan as much as a normal human. So, you must always remain vigilant in battle!"

At this point, the students were now listening to Professor Port who was now sounding like an instructor teaching Grimm studies.

"Hang in there, Weiss!"

"Ignore her, Weiss. You can do this yourself!"

Weiss didn't want to show it, but she was getting irritated more and more, which stirred her to rush toward the Boarbatusk at a high-speed. As she arrived in front of it, she thrusts Myrtenaster forward, but the Grimm amazingly caught it by using its tusk in an attempt to steal it. Noticing this, Weiss continued to hold onto her rapier knowing its intentions, but this caused the Boarbatusk to swing her around in an attempt to force it out of Weiss' hands.

"Bold, new approach. I like it!"

"Come on, Weiss, show it who's boss!"

Ruby continued to attempt to cheer Weiss on, but this wasn't accepted so she glared.

However, it was that small window that allowed the Boarbatusk to force Myrtenaster out of Weiss' hands, then in another direction far from her reach.

"Oh-ho! Now, what will you do without your weapon?"

Professor Port continued to speak as if the fight was a matter of fact, but his hand was still on his weapon as if he were prepared if anything happened.

Weiss turned in time to see the Boarbatusk rushing toward her again, which caused Weiss to roll out of its path in time to keep from being trampled. Since it didn't hit its intended target, the Grimm boar ended up crashing into an unused desk, giving Weiss the chance to grab Myrtenaster.

"Weiss! Go for its belly! There's no armor underneath…."

"Stop telling me what to do!"

It was this that caused Weiss to turn and shout toward Ruby, who looked a little stunned about the outburst, with Blake and Yang sharing the same look.

"Alright, the spoiled princess is starting to get on my nerves."

Sandra said as she leaned back in her seat, not caring about the fight anymore.

"Weiss," Daniel exclaimed causing Weiss to flinch, including the other people and the friends he's made since for them it was the first time they'd heard him raise his voice like that. "You've got to calm down and think about the fight! You're not up against an instructor who'll hold back, but a Grimm who'll maul you!"

Daniel didn't want to shout at Weiss like that, knowing that she's had enough of that in her life, but in this certain situation, he thought that it would be enough to make her see some sense. Weiss seemed to have taken that to heart as she looked to see the Boarbatusk leaping into the air, rolling into a ball before it started spinning at high-speeds in the air, building up more speed and momentum. It then rushed toward Weiss who stood prepared for it, then summed a glyph, which blocked the Boarbatusk's charge causing it to stagger backward and landed on its back.

Reacting quickly, Weiss leaped into the air, creating a black glyph, which she stood on top of and remained there until it turned bluish-white, then propelled her forward. Taking Ruby's previous advice, she stabbed Myrtenaster into the stomach of the Boarbatusk, pushing it against the ground as Weiss allowed a tired breath to escape from her mouth.

"Bravo! Bra-vo! It appears we are indeed in the presence of a true Huntress-in-training," Professor Port said with Weiss barely paying much attention to his words at all before he looked at the time. "I'm afraid that's all the time we have for today. Be sure to cover the assigned readings, and…remember, stay vigilant! Class dismissed!"

Having said those words, Weiss was the first person to exit the classroom without paying attention to any of her teammates. But, Ruby didn't leave it at that, she quickly rushed down the stairs and went after Weiss who ran off ahead of them.

"What's wrong with Weiss?"

Jaune questioned, even though he could tell there was something up with her.

"Yea, I really that we were getting along as a team. I didn't things would start falling apart this early."

Yang added as she joined the others.

"Well, I think that it could be due to Ruby being chosen as team leader," Blake thought back to the replies Weiss was giving their young leader. "She could be upset that she wasn't chosen as the leader."

"Yea, I can see that. Weiss would be the kind of person who'll be upset about that."

Yang recalled all her interactions with Weiss, so it wouldn't be odd that she was upset that she wasn't chosen as the leader of Team RWBY. She didn't notice it at first since she was too focused on being ecstatic about Ruby being chosen that she didn't think about how anyone else would've reacted to it.

"Of course, the spoiled princess is mad that she didn't get what she wanted," Sandra sighed crossing her arms in an uninterested tone. "Just let her gripe about it."

"You can't fix a relationship just by leaving it alone and hoping that it fixes itself. Weiss is a part of our team and we all live in the same room, so we'll need to get along with one another."

Yang replied to Sandra as she crossed her arms and stared at her.

"Yang's right, even if there are some things that I disagree with. We have to live together for the next four years."

Blake added afterward agreeing with Yang.

"Whatever, it doesn't concern me either way. I don't like entitled people who think that everything should go their way. I don't know why the princess didn't remain in Atlas if she wanted to get her way all the time."

Sandra coldly said as she spoke in an almost mocking tone.

"What seems like a good situation to others might be unpleasant for someone else."

"What?"

Alyssa asked hearing most of what Daniel mumbled out and wondered what that meant, which was a feeling that all the others around him shared.

"Oh, nothing, I was just mumbling to myself," Daniel laughed it off as he merely glanced toward Blake and Yang. "Hey, Blake, Yang. I know that Weiss may appear a little difficult at times, but she has a little trouble getting along with other people due to certain circumstances. So, could you be a little more patient?"

Both of them could tell that Daniel cared a lot for Weiss and it sounded like something that he would ask of someone for someone else's benefit.

"Well, she is our teammate and roommate, so that would be a given."

Blake replied smiling a little in his direction.

"Hahahaha," Yang lightly laughed as she wrapped one of her arms around Daniel's shoulder. "You and Weiss say that neither of you has a thing going on, but then you two act, and sounds like something is going on."

"Heh, isn't that something that you normally do for your friends?"

Daniel countered as he got out of Yang's grasp, then started walking toward the door.

"I'll meet you guys later after taking care of something first."

He waved toward his team, and both Hunter and Alyssa returned the response, while Sandra merely didn't even give a single inkling that she cared.

After momentarily separating from them, Daniel started walking down the halls for a short couple of minutes until he found Weiss standing outside on one of the balconies of Beacon Academy. He noticed Weiss stood around as if she were contemplating herself in silence.

"Are you alright?"

Daniel asked causing her to flinch a little to the surprise of his arrival.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd think that you love sneaking up on me, Daniel."

"Well, it does give me some good reactions from you for a change."

Daniel replied noticing that she was a little calmer compared to before as he started walking closer to her, before a more somber expression formed on his face.

"So, about what happened in class?"

"What? Do you mean me acting childish and yelling at Ruby?"

"Well, that too, but I think that you've already thought about it enough," Daniel replied jokingly before going to a more regretful one. "I meant about me yelling at you during class."

"Oh, that," Weiss replied as she placed her right hand on her left arm and then glanced to the side. "You don't have to apologize for that. I did deserve that wake-up call. Ruby was trying her best to support me during that fight and I didn't want to listen. So, you don't have to feel bad about it."

"Well, I thought that you've had enough of someone yelling at you for a lifetime. So…."

"Hahaha."

Daniel stopped as Weiss laughed a little much to his surprise, which caused him to stare at her oddly.

"What's so funny."

"Nothing, I never thought that I'd hear a Norden being this worried about something. Isn't your family the kind of people who'd rush forward without considering anything," Weiss smiled lightly as she turned toward him. "I talked to Professor Port a while ago, who gave me some good advice. So, I'm going to apologize to Ruby the next time that I see her, and I'm going to work to be a better teammate and also a good friend."

Daniel smiled after hearing those words from Weiss who seemed to have taken whatever Professor Port said to her before he arrived here.

"Well, that's good to hear. You know my mother said something to me once."

"And what would that be?"

"A leader doesn't make the team. The leader learns from their team as much as the team learns from their leader. There might be some ups and downs, but those times might not last long and it won't be long until the team could end up becoming your second family."

Weiss heard those words and smiled a little bit.

"Yea, that sounds like something she'd say. You can head back if you want, I want to stay here for a little longer."

"So, do you need some company?"

"No, I'll be fine. Thanks, Daniel," just as he was going to leave, Weiss stopped him from leaving. "By the way, the way, you're down to one more request."

"Huh, but we didn't end up on the same team?"

Daniel was confused since he technically couldn't complete the second request since the two of them weren't on the same team as one another in the first place.

"I know, but during that mission, you did save me from falling. And today, you did make me see reason during that match against that Boarbatusk. So, I'll consider the second request over and done with."

"Just one more right, then?"

Daniel questioned wearing a smirk on his face.

"Yea, one more request. But, that'll have to wait for another time."

Hearing those words, Daniel allowed Weiss to remain there so she could further contemplate things.

He returned to his dorm room holding his scroll in his hand, then started contemplating what he was going to do with his teammates.

"Alright, Daniel, now what are you going to do with your team."

Daniel pressed his scroll against the door, which caused a notable unlocking sound as he entered the room.

"I'm back."

"Hey, so what did you have to take care of?"

Alyssa who was sitting at the desk going through the reading assignment that Professor Port assigned them and Hunter worked on the other beside it.

"I needed to talk to Weiss for a bit."

"If you never let the princess handle her problems, then she'll keep being reliant on others."

Sandra said from her bed as she seemed to stare at a book in her hands, which seemed to be their assignment.

"It's not like I solve all her problems. Besides, if I see a friend in trouble, then it isn't in my nature to leave them."

Sandra seemed to think about the words that he said but didn't come up with another response as she appeared to be more focused on the book in her hands. After noticing the sudden silence that soon overcame the room, he walked over and took a seat on his bed.

"Hey, guys, I want to have a serious talk about something."

He called out, gaining their attention, causing Alyssa and Hunter to set a marker on the spot that the two of them left off on. Both soon took a seat on their beds turning around to face Daniel who called them with vested interest while Sandra remained in her previous position. Despite this, Sandra was paying attention curious about the words that were going to come out of his mouth.

"Look, I know that we come from different places," Daniel started by recalling the fact that all of them are from different kingdoms. "So, we might all have different ideas and customs that one another might not either agree to or like. And based on what happened between Ruby and Weiss, I want to know whether or not either of you has a problem with me being the team leader?"

Daniel's question to the three of them caused certain thoughts to enter their minds about him being their leader. It took some time for either of them to speak up. As she did that, Hunter started writing in the notepad in his hand.

"I don't know about customs or ideals, but I have no problem with you being the team leader," Alyssa spoke first. "Even before I enrolled in Beacon, I never thought that I was cut out to be a team leader. To me, a leader needs to be someone who can think calmly and assess a situation to come up with a plan. And inside of the Emerald Forest against the Behemoth, you showed that despite not knowing either of us for that long. Leaving that aside, I have no problem with you being the leader of Team DUSK whatsoever."

Daniel didn't need to analyze everything that she said, Alyssa spoke to him in a clear and honest tone, which had nothing but her true feelings on the matter. Hunter tapped onto the notepad causing a notable sound that caught Daniel's attention, then he started reading the message.

'To be honest, I didn't know what to think about you the first time that we met. But, since Pyrrha can see the good in people, I thought that you were a too person too. And it was during the initiation in the Emerald Forest that had made me glad that I was right. You didn't make fun of me for not being able to talk or for being a Faunus, but you instead treated me the same way that Pyrrha does. It might take me a while longer, but I want to be a good friend and partner for you.'

Hunter gently smiled as he showed him the notepad, which he wrote on.

"Same here, Hunter. I also plan on learning to read sign language from Pyrrha since I do want to know a lot more about you. I have the same opinion about Alyssa and Sandra."

Both Hunter and Alyssa smiled at his words before Sandra herself sighed, then closed the book in her hands in a fashion that caused a notable sound.

"Well, I guess that I should speak my mind, right?"

"I mean if you want to. It's not like I'm forcing you or anything."

"In terms of combat, I might…and this is a slim might not have a problem with you being the leader, which makes working you a little less tolerable," Sandra said as she turned to face Daniel and looked him in the ears without a single ounce of anything but determination behind them. "Leaving aside the fact that you bumped into me twice. I'll be blunt, I don't like Atlas, the capital, or the people who come from there. Did something back happen to me because of the people there, no? I guess that you could call it an issue with customs. In Vacuo, we live on the rule that if you can survive there, then you're welcome. In Atlas, based on the princess, it appears that you've given everything that you can get whatever you want without doing anything."

All three of them could understand the words coming from Sandra since unlike Atlas, Mistral, and Vale, there are harsher conditions in Vacuo, which is in a sense a desert where everyone needs to survive the harsh land.

"So, if you want to earn my trust and want me to see you as a leader, then you'll have to prove to me that you're worthy of both of them."

Sandra spoke to him in a more honest tone compared to the cold and indifferent one that she's spoken to him in their initial encounter and the others afterward. Even Alyssa was surprised about how honest Sandra was being in this situation not thinking that she'd share this much about her ideals.

"I can understand that. Alright, if that's the deal, then I'll prove that I can be someone that you can trust."

Daniel replied showing a genuine determined look on his face taking wanting to become someone that Sandra can trust seriously.

"Well, whatever, I said my piece, now leave me alone."

Sandra said, but the three of them could tell that there was the slightest tug at the corners of her mouth as a light genuine smile formed on her face.

"Alright, since we got that covered. How about we think about ways to make up our room?"

"That sounds fun."

Hunter picked up his notepad, then wrote something down on it, and showed it to them.

'What about bunk beds? That might open up a little space for us.'

"Huh? Bunk beds."

"We're not doing bunk beds."

Sandra pointed out as she looked away from her book.

"Why not? We could decorate the entire room using a mix of our ideas. Besides, bunk beds could bring our little team together."

Alyssa replied as she turned toward Sandra.

"But, that sounds childish. How would we even make bunk beds using these?"

"We could brainstorm a couple of things?"

"Everyone in this room made weapons that can transform, I'm sure that we can think of something. Besides, your leader did a couple of jobs in Mistral that might help."

'We can at least talk about it, right?'

Hunter wrote on his notepad, then turned it toward Sandra who read it and sighed.

"Fine, whatever. It doesn't seem like it'll get any quieter until we finally get this over with."

Sandra agreed as she sat up from her bed and faced her teammates who were adamant about coming up with ideas for their bedroom. All four of them then started talking things through with even Sandra adding in some personal ideas about the room despite initially saying that it didn't matter to her.

A/N: Well, this is the end of the next chapter of RWBY – Team DUSK, I apologize for the late update in all the stories. I was going through some difficulties writing, but I believe that it won't happen again. Now, in this chapter, there were a lot of interactions between Team DUSK with Sandra being the far most reluctant among them most of which involved decorating their room.

There was some fun moment between all three teams in the morning during the "Great Beacon Be Punctual Marathon", with the young Ruby Rose in first place, Blake Belladonna in second, and Daniel Norden in third place.

Then it went onto the drama between Ruby and Weiss about the status of the team leader, with Daniel having a talk with the latter about it.

Afterward, Daniel had a talk with his team about how they all felt about him being the team leader, which caused different but positive responses from Hunter and Alyssa. For Sandra, he needs to do a lot more if he wants to earn her trust, however, there is a deeper reason for that.