RWBY: Team DUSK

by HolyKnightX

Hailing from the four kingdoms, four aspiring huntsmen with different pasts, ideals, and goals enrolls into Beacon Academy. These four huntsmen-in-training finds themselves on the same team and living under the same roof as one another. Does this new team have what it takes to unite with one another as friends, allies, or even the family that one another needs?

12. Jaune's Pride, Pt 2

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

Altair97: Thanks. Yep, Daniel and Blake did share their special moment, before it was ruined by both Cardin and his gang, who suffered another wisecrack attack from Daniel. And all of it ended with Cardin blackmailing Jaune.

---

Jaune's Pride, Pt 2

"Alright, class," a voice could be heard echoing in the classroom accompanied by the whirring sounds from many weapons being worked on and tools being used. "Now what was the first thing that I told all of you the first day of classes? Miss Rose, what was it?"

"Huh, oh," Ruby seemed surprised that she was called out, but she soon became more energetic. "It was about keeping our weapons in top condition to prepare for any battle, Professor Mulberry!"

Inside of the classroom, which seemed more like a workshop instead of an actual classroom, all around the walls, there were numerous blueprints and tools aligned. All the students there ranged from Ruby, Weiss, Yang, Daniel, and Jaune. In front of them were all their weapons and tools resting beside them and their teacher stood right in front of them nodding his head at that answer.

Their professor Harold Mulberry who's in charge of Weapons Crafting and Upkeep in Beacon nodded his head.

"Good," Harold replied aloud. "I want you all to remember that it's always important to ensure that your weapons are kept in perfect condition. Most of you have gone through a great deal of effort in building your weapons at all your combat schools. It might sound weird to hear, but I want you to treat your weapons almost like your own child."

Some students in the room thought various odd things about treating a weapon almost as if it's a child. After hearing that comment, in particular, Yang couldn't help allowing a laugh to escape from her mouth as if reminded of something similar.

"Well, Ruby here is way ahead of you."

Yang teased as her sister seemed to cross her arms in a huff almost like a child.

"That's a good thing, Miss Xiao Long. To some, weapons might seem like things to use, but it's your lifeline when in a battle against the Grimm. It will experience wear and tear from continuous usage even if your aura is used along with it. So, like maintaining your health and body, it's important to ensure your weapons are in the most suitable shape for a battle to give the best performance. So, for the rest of the class, I want you all to do your examination of your weapons and perform any maintenance you see fit. But, if anyone finds themselves, making a mistake don't be afraid to come to me for help."

After being given the signal to start, the students started getting to work on their weapons and seeing whether or not they did have anything wrong with them. A lot of the students did have weapons that weren't too complex, so it didn't take them long to finish their examinations and get started working on them.

There were students whose weapons were much more complex than most, one of the notable ones being Ruby's Crescent Rose and Weiss' Myrtenaster. The two partners already looked prepared to work on their weapons after finishing their examination.

Ruby already starting to look through the barrel and mechanics after switching into Crescent Rose's rifle mode as she ensured that the bolt actions and shooting functions weren't misaligned. Since making Crescent Rose she'd already always ensured to be familiar with all the simple and complex functions to tell whether or not something was wrong with it in or outside combat.

After ensuring that there was nothing wrong she switched to its scythe form, then placed it flat on the table and a drill soon found its way into her hands. Ruby started tightening the screws of its scythe form.

"Hah, I think that is my favorite class," Ruby stated almost loving the various sounds of tools being used and also the feeling of working on her weapon. "What do you think bestie?"

"I think that you're too childish. We're doing nothing more than ensuring our weapons are fine. It's the most basic job as a Huntsman or Huntress."

"You're saying that Weiss, but I think your setup is a bit more complex than Ruby's."

Daniel pointed out as he began taking apart Vanir first before Retribution without looking as the magazine was on the table. Weiss' setup in question involved a varied set of magnifying glasses, a white mask, and a screwdriver. All in all, it looked like the most professional thing inside of the classroom at the moment.

"This is simply to ensure the best tune-up in class. Besides, I just want to ensure that Dust doesn't end up caught in the exhaust port and the rotation doesn't lag."

"I think that you're being a little too competitive Ice Queen."

Yang replied causing Weiss to roll her eyes while continuing to work on Myrtenaster.

At the same time, Yang reached inside her pockets and pulled out what looked like to be a hairband before fixing her hair so that she could tie it into a ponytail. As she was doing that Daniel found himself staring since that was the first time that he's seen her hair tied like that. Noticing him looking in her general direction Yang found herself looking back before a sultry smile formed on her face.

"What? Did you end up falling for me, Dani?"

Yang teased, but Daniel didn't appear to have fallen for that one and simply have his usual unfazed smile.

"It's nothing like that by a long shot," Daniel replied with snark, causing Yang to return the comment by sticking her tongue childishly at him. "I just think that this is the first time that I've seen your hair in a ponytail."

"Well, if I don't do this while working on Ember Celica, then my hair might end up getting in the way, you know. Do you think that it looks weird like this? Or do you prefer my hair untied?"

"Nah, I think that both styles look good on you since they give off a particular charm of their own."

"Hehehe, well, that's nice to know."

Yang seemed to have liked that compliment from him as the slightest hint of red could be seen on her cheeks. A reaction like that did cause Daniel to feel a little bit flustered until the moment that he felt a sharp pain originating from his right shoulder for an instant. Daniel didn't need to turn to face that direction to know what happened as it could've been only one thing and person.

"Weiss, did you just pinch me?"

Daniel asked as generally as possible, but he seemed almost amused that reaction came from Weiss.

But, the moment that he did, he noticed that Weiss looked more focused on Myrtenaster, and if wasn't for the fact that she was wearing a mask, he'd accuse her of pouting. A light breath seemed to have escaped from her mouth before Weiss lowered the mask so she could talk uninhibitedly.

"I think that you should focus more on checking your weapons' condition instead of talking to someone else."

"I'll have you know that I can disassemble, clean, and reassemble Vanir without looking," Daniel replied showing he did disassemble Vanir without looking earning an impressed look from Ruby who whistled. "But, would it be better if you were the person that I was talking to?"

Hearing that teasing tone from Daniel caused Weiss' cheeks to turn bright red and Yang laughed after seeing that reaction from her.

"I-If that's what you want to do, then I wouldn't be…opposed to that."

Weiss replied in a low enough tone that Daniel could hear what she said, but the most that he could get was her not being opposed to it. Seeing their interactions caused Yang to allow a cheerier laugh to escape her mouth as it was one of the things that she enjoyed seeing.

"What's so funny?"

Weiss asked.

"N-Nothing," Yang replied as casually as possible, however, on the inside she was "I've never seen someone so into another person, but won't admit it. I guess that's the price of being an Ice Queen. I wonder how long I can enjoy watching this before one of them finally has the guts the make the first move. I'm not the kind of girl who would steal someone's crush, but that doesn't mean that I won't keep me from messing with her a bit."

Yang laughed as she worked on her beloved shotgun gauntlets, ensuring they could shift back and forth into their active or inactive forms.

---

All four continued their conversation with each other and worked on making repairs to their equipment with a great deal of care. Near the group, Jaune was seated at his station with his sword and shield being right beside one another. Unlike all the students, he hadn't started working on making repairs to his equipment for several reasons.

One, his mind was still going back to the fact that he was still being blackmailed by Cardin who heard him and Pyrrha last night. So, Cardin was using that against him and making him do different things for him like doing his homework for him. And second, he didn't know what he could do in regards to performing maintenance on his sword since it was an old weapon from the Great War. Even the shield had some dings in it.

"What am I even supposed to be doing with this. Crocea Mors is already an old weapon and doesn't even match the others' weapons," Jaune thought as he did nothing but sit there at his workstation and stare out into the air. "I think that it might be better if I just leave to save everyone the trouble."

"Mister Arc. I see that you aren't that into the exercise."

Jaune almost jumped after hearing his teacher, Harold called out to him as he stood right in front of him. Seeing another one of his teachers catching him like this wasn't something that Jaune needed all the time.

"I mean, what could I do with my weapon compared to other students who have these cool and amazing weapons. Mine is just some hand me down from the Great War that my great-great-grandfather."

"That's great."

"Huh?"

"I said, that's great."

Jaune was surprised to hear the nonchalant comment from his teacher, which didn't appear to be dishonest or an attempt to make him feel better.

"What do you mean," Jaune asked confused. "I mean come, my weapon doesn't even have special features like Crescent Rose, which is a scythe and gun. Or Weiss' whatchamacallit, which uses different dust."

"I believe it's called Myrtenaster," Harold replied. "All students have the weapon that fits them that's one of the main things that you learn. Your weapon, aura, and semblance are all things that are a part of you. To find the thing that matches you and not someone else. I believe that your Crocea Mors is already an excellent weapon."

"How?"

"Well, you said that it was used in the Great War and that was a long time ago. I believe that just speaks volumes of the effort that was put into creating it to fight in a great conflict that lasted ten years. But, it remains in the hands of the new generation," Professor Mulberry stated crossing his arms looking at Jaune with nothing but confidence in his words without showing any falsehood in them. "Wait here, and I'll give the perfect equipment for maintenance."

After saying those words, Mulberry started walking over toward the cabinet inside of his classroom as he kept on rummaging through whatever was inside. Before long, he stopped going through the contents and returned right in front of Jaune at a moment's notice.

"Here."

The thing that the weapon's upkeep professor held right in front of him was a container, which said "Huntsmen's Oil" and a cloth. After seeing the items right in front of him, Jaune stared blankly at him unable to understand the meaning behind those items, but he took them off his hands.

"What am I supposed to do with these?"

"You're going to use those two to return some of the sword's former glory," Professor Mulberry replied strongly. "It is a good oil guaranteed to remove any kind of grime or rust on the blade and return the shine that'd once belonged to the blade. Even if your family did take care of the weapons, then it won't take too long to remove everything, but it's still going to be a difficult task. Mister Arc, this should be a personal task that you should accomplish so when you have the time keep doing this and return it to the same weapon used in the Great War. This will also be the first step for you to realize something. And part two for you to figure out what you came here for."

Having said those words, Professor Mulberry started walking off without mentioning another thing to Jaune who'd taken the oil and cloth in his hands. After staring at both for minutes, he sprinkled the oil around the cloth, then he started rubbing down the sword. Jaune found the entire task a little hard and tedious as he kept rubbing down several times in repeat as the muscles in his arms seemed to become tired.

Despite working on polishing the sword using the oil, it didn't look as if nothing was changing outside of how it looked before. He was doing the same task that the entire class period, but he managed to barely remove most of the grime that covered the blade.

"What am I even going to learn by rubbing oil around this dingy sword? I guess that it's just to show that it doesn't matter how much effort you put into something, it's just going to remain the same."

Jaune had a more bleak thought about the lesson that Profess Mulberry was supposed to be teaching him at the moment. After seeing that all his friends finished their weapon maintenance just fine, he found himself sighing out loud as he returned the sword into its sheath. Jaune went to return the oil and cloth to the professor, but he held out his hand refusing to take it.

"Take it with you, and continue working on it. I did say that this was going to be your assignment."

"What? But, I…."

"You can bring it back when you're finished with it. If you find yourself with some free time, then continue working on polishing your weapon. Trust me, this is possibly going to be the one time here that you are going to have an assignment where you can choose when it's completed. As Headmaster Ozpin said, it's up to you."

Seeing that there was nothing that he could say to get himself out of that, Jaune simply agreed to the task and he placed both items inside his school bag. After that was done, he found himself walking outside the classroom, but was stopped as he felt a hand on his shoulder. Jaune didn't know whether it was due to him not thinking about it or due to the situation involving Cardin, but he whirled around almost as if acting an attack.

"Ah…wait…."

"Jaune, it's me."

Jaune realized that it was Daniel who was casually standing behind him as Ruby, Weiss, and Yang who was also around him. All three young women looked surprised about Jaune's sudden reaction, Ruby looked a little worried as she noted his reaction was odd.

"Huh, I thought that Weiss was the only person who gave that kind of reaction when I did that. But, with hers, it's a little bit cuter."

"H-Hey."

Weiss didn't appear to like that comment as she nudged him hard using her elbow, while her cheeks were redder.

"So, Jaune is there anything wrong?"

Ruby decided to ask first.

"No, what would make you think that?"

Jaune tried ensuring that neither of them would think anything was wrong, but that didn't appear to work.

"Well, you've been more vacant in class," Yang stated before realizing that it was a normal thing for Jaune when it was a class that didn't involve Glynda. "I mean, that's normal, but it looks like there was something that on your mind the entire time."

"I don't think you have the right to tell someone else they act almost vacant in class, Yang," Weiss commented as she interjected into the conversation. "If you're going to remain here Jaune, then you are going to have to learn to remain focused in classes."

"Ah, Snow Angel is worried about me."

Jaune quickly turned into his flirty side around Weiss, causing the heiress to stare at him blankly.

"Jaune always surprises me how quickly you bounce when things like this are involved."

"Hahaha, thanks."

Jaune laughed nervously about that comment from Daniel but wondered if he looked a little irritated.

"By the way, there were two reasons that I stopped you. I already talked to Weiss, Ruby, and Yang about the first one," Daniel said before continuing with what he was referring to. "I thought about all three of our teams going out to the movies this weekend on Saturday after the field trip that Professor Goodwitch mentioned today in class to the Forever Fall. I'm going to talk to my team about it, and they're going to tell Blake. So, can you bring it up to Pyrrha, Ren, and Nora?"

"Oh, yeah, that sounds good," Jaune said almost like the idea of going to the movies before hearing his Scroll go off at that moment. After pulling it out from his pockets and seeing the caller ID, his expression notably faltered a bit, which didn't go unnoticed. It was another errand from Cardin after finishing both their assignments but took a lot of effort to complete his own. "I-I'll think about it, but I don't think that Pyrrha at least would talk to me right now."

"And that brings up the second reason."

Daniel pointed out seeing as Jaune mentioned Pyrrha.

"Did you and Pyrrha get into an argument with each other?"

Ruby asked.

"Uh, what makes you think that?"

Jaune asked feeling a lot of guilt beginning to build up within his stomach.

"I mean, she wasn't being her usual self during breakfast. Pyrrha's normally upbeat and greets all of us whenever we see her, but she barely reacted when we said good morning."

"She barely paid attention in the classes that I had with her, which isn't like her."

Both Yang and Weiss replied, causing the already preexisting guilt within him to build up more and more realizing how much his comment affected Pyrrha. So, hearing all their mentions of it felt as if he was being punched much harder than anything Cardin could hit him with.

"Did the two of you have an argument or something?"

Daniel decided to ask that straight question.

"Kinda."

Jaune simply replied without giving any details.

"Was it a lover's spat?"

Daniel asked jokingly realizing Jaune wasn't going to give anything aside from an impassive response, causing a laugh to escape from the sisters' mouths and Weiss' patent eye roll. Realizing Daniel's comment, Jaune's face at the mention of that turned bright red as he reacted.

"C-Come on, Daniel, it wasn't anything like that. It was a normal conversation between one another on the dorm roof…at night…alone," Jaune found himself at least mentioning somewhat of what happened to lead to Pyrrha's sudden change in demeanor. After mentioning that he and Pyrrha were alone on the dorm roof at night, Daniel's and Yang's expressions started turning more interested in that topic. "N-Nothing happened so stop giving me that look you too. Besides what kind of chance could I have with Pyrrha?"

"It's weird hearing this from the same guy who attempts to flirt with Weiss, who's a princess regularly," Daniel found Jaune's comment weird, which was a similar thought that had crossed Weiss' and Yang's minds after hearing that. "Aren't you selling yourself short Jaune? Pyrrha already said that you were an ideal leader after seeing you lead them against the Death Stalker. She sounded proud to have you as her leader and partner."

"Yea, probably not anymore. I was kinda a jerk last night," Jaune replied feeling unsure that he and Pyrrha could make up. "I got something to do, so I'll catch up with you guys later."

Jaune didn't wait for their response before walking off causing them to wonder what was going on with him lately since he was acting less and less like himself.

"I never thought I'd say this. But, I'm starting to get worried about him," Weiss pointed out, not knowing how to react to someone she's been hanging around acting this despondent right in front of her. "He's been acting a lot weirder than usual since he started hanging around Cardin for a few days."

"Well, we already know that he started acting like this because of Cardin."

Ruby started recalling all the times that Cardin started picking on him nowadays.

"So, if that's the case," Yang said already knowing what to do when it comes to dealing with a bully and punched her fists together. "So, Dani do you want to help me break Cardin's legs?"

"Not this time. I think that we should let Jaune handle this himself."

All three of them were surprised that Daniel of all people said that, most of all, Weiss who knew about what kind of trouble he used to get into for someone else.

"That's surprising, I didn't think you wouldn't intervene. I know that you're not afraid of getting into trouble so why aren't you intervening."

Weiss stated stunned and curious about his reasons.

"Jaune probably feels insecure and has started doubting himself lately. Some feel grateful when someone helps them out of a situation involving bullies or anything else like that. But, I learned in some ways that it might hurt their pride a bit. For Jaune, more so at this moment, helping out to him might make him feel as he's unable to solve anything without someone helping him. And that might end up hurting him more than what Cardin has done to him so far."

Hearing his reasons, neither of the three girls could refute that since it would be a similar situation they were in a similar position. At one point or another, there was a situation that they wanted to solve for themselves without no one helping them out.

"Yea, I can see that," Yang stated, but couldn't get over the feeling of wanting to help one of her friends either way. "So, we're just supposed to wait and see what happens."

"Not much we can do aside from that unless Jaune asks for help. It might sound cliché, but all we can do is be there for him when he needs us."

Daniel replied deciding to just let Jaune get through this himself, but he did want to give Cardin a good walloping.

"Fine, then. I can say that I'm at least looking forward to going to the movies on Saturday."

Yang replied in an attempt to find something good to look forward to.

"Speaking of, I need to head out into Vale to restock on some Dust."

"Yea, I think that I need to refill on some ammo for Retribution and Vanir. And collect some stuff for something else."

"So, we could go there together after school."

Seeing this as a chance for some alone time with Daniel, Weiss jumped at this opportunity believing that nothing at this point could go wrong. She thought that there was nothing that could get in the way, until—

"Oh, I need to get some more ammo for Crescent Rose too. So, I'm tagging along too."

Ruby spoke out loud as she cheerfully raised her hand in-between Daniel and Weiss causing a displeased look to appear on her face. She was looking forward to some alone time with Daniel, but it came to an end by her partner, causing her to want to lean against the wall depressed. Seeing that caused Yang to remain in the same spot covering her mouth using her hand in an attempt to suppress her laughter.

"Hahahahahahaha!"

Yang was unable to contain herself anymore, finding herself placing her hand on her stomach as she laughed out loud uncontrollably. Hearing her laughter almost started making Weiss feel worse about what had just happened, and Yang continuing to the point of tearing up didn't make things better.

"Is there something wrong?"

Ruby curiously and innocently asked after seeing their reactions.

"No, there's nothing wrong, Ruby," Daniel replied laughing wryly after noticing that Weiss was still depressed, and Yang was attempting to stop laughing. Even he didn't know what to say in this situation as it wasn't something he experienced before. "It just means that we'll have another addition."

"Hahaha, more like a third wheel tagging along."

Yang who seemed to be recovering from that laughing fit found herself breathing for a moment before managing to get out those words.

"I hate the fact that I can't hate you."

Weiss found herself uttering those words under her breath.

"Wait, was this supposed to be some alone time between you and Weiss," Ruby asked wondering if that was the case, surprising them that she realized that much before glancing over to Daniel. "Should I not come?"

"Uh," Daniel didn't know how to respond since there could be several things that could happen considering what his response would be. "If I say she can't come, then I might end up hurting her feelings. Leaving aside the arrow in my heart from seeing her look sad, I might end up getting punched by Yang for hurting her feelings. If I end up saying yes, then I might end up earning Weiss' ire. So, in situations like this, I'm screwed either way."

As Daniel was muddling through what he was going to say next, and preparing himself for the inevitable crossfire that would come from it. Weiss managed to recover from her wave of depression and emotions, she stood up professionally before sighing.

"It's fine. Ruby can come along too," Weiss replied much to her happiness as her partner became giddy from that. "I do tell you that you should act like a leader, and restocking on supplies happens to be one of the duties of one."

"Well, I dodged a bullet. I don't think that Yang would have let me off."

Daniel found himself sighing from relief almost as if he escaped from a death sentence.

"I wonder if she meant that," Yang wondered out loud staring at Weiss' expression, which seemed as if she were still disappointed about it. She turned towards Daniel and a giggle escaped from her mouth. "And Dani dodged a serious bullet. Despite being a looker with an equally good personality, I wouldn't have let him off that easily."

Yang's thoughts coincided with Daniel's since she would have hurt Ruby's feelings, then as an older sister, she'd fight for her younger sister. After all that, everyone went through their school day going through their usual routine before school ended there. As planned the trio composed of Daniel, Ruby, and Weiss found themselves dressed in their casual clothing walking in Vale.

---

"I'm going around town with my bestie and fellow team leader."

Ruby, cheerfully chanted as she walked forward without a care in the world.

Seeing her do that caused a smile to form on Daniel's face since he could always feel his mood brighten whenever she acted so carefree. As always whenever they visited Vale things were still bustling, and the people were still filled with nearly the same energy. But, the same couldn't be said about Weiss who was walking beside Daniel pouting a lot like a child who was unable to get what they wanted.

"Ah, come on, Weiss. Are you trying to act like Ruby?"

"I-I'm not attempting to mimic that dolt!"

Weiss responded as she stared at him embarrassed, causing him to laugh.

"Come on, is it that bad of a thing? Look at her, she looks as if she doesn't have a care in the world."

Daniel pointed out, noticing as Ruby was going to different store windows and peering inside to see if there was anything of interest to her. Her attention seemed most focused on whatever stores sold deserts and treats, which were displayed to attract the buyers' attention.

"I don't think that I could be that thoughtless about things like her about things. Just look at her acting like this in public."

"Hey, Weiss, Daniel, come look over here!"

Ruby called them over as she seemed to have found something of enough interest to catch her attention.

"Hmm, I wonder what caught her attention this time."

"Whatever it is, I hope it isn't anything idiotic."

Daniel looked interested in it, while Weiss sighed wondering what caught her partner's attention.

But, both of them walked forward as Ruby seemed almost completely enamored about whatever she was seeing on the other side of the window. After arriving there, Daniel found out that it was a pet store after looking at pairs of kittens on display and the sign. All the kittens still looked young with different colored fur ranging from black to white and some with spots, looking to play with one another and mewing.

"These little kittens are so adorable."

Ruby stated as she had her face pressed up against the window staring at the kittens.

"Oh, no wonder this caught your attention. All of them look adorable."

Daniel could find the appeal in the animals in front of him, but Weiss seemed to have stiffened after seeing all of the kittens in front of her. Her expression wasn't something that Daniel was able to register to cause him to remember a certain thing about Weiss. Weiss' eyes were twitching as she clenched her fists staring at the kittens who resisted in their basket, letting mews escape from their mouths.

"D-Don't do it, Weiss, not here in front of Ruby of all people," Weiss already knew what she was going to do, and she didn't want to do it, not in public. "Y-You called me over here just to look at these…small…furry…little." None of their words matched what she wanted to say about the kittens in front of her. Before long, Weiss noted one of the kittens looked at her before letting an adorable mew escape from its mouth, causing her to immediately gush. "…adowable wittle kitties."

Not caring about her image and how she would act in public anymore, Weiss leaned beside Ruby as both stood in front of the window as the kittens continued being kittens. Seeing the adorableness radiating from all of them, both of the girls practically had hearts in their eyes. Daniel couldn't help giving a lighthearted laugh after seeing how the two reacted after seeing the kittens.

"Well, no matter what, Weiss can never resist her love for animals."

Daniel said out loud after seeing what was happening in front of him.

He recalled all the times that Weiss would gush after seeing horses or other animals, but, of course, she couldn't have animals around her home.

"Ohhh, look at this white one with black spots."

Ruby said pointing at the spotted cat as it played with a black cat.

"Oh, he's looking right at me," Weiss said as if she realized or at least interrupted its meaning. "Does what mean this wittle cutie wants me to bring him home? I don't know if the school will allow animals, but I want to bring all of these little cuties home with me. I don't care what I have to do, I want to have all of you."

"D-Don't do it. Don't do it. Don't do it, Daniel. Don't spoil the mood," Daniels started chanting that to himself as his hand seemed to be inching inside of his pocket for his Scroll with the intent of taking a photo or recording this. "If you want a closer look, then…."

Before Daniel could even finish, Ruby and Weiss already did what he was going to suggest to them, and ran into the pet store to get a better look at the kittens. It was one thing for Ruby, but Daniel hadn't seen Weiss run as fast as that outside of combat. A literal instant later, he turned his head to see that the leader and partner already held the kittens in their hands and nuzzled against them.

"At this point, it feels as if I'm the one who's becoming the third wheel."

Daniel spoke to himself before walking inside of the pet store following behind them.

The two of them spent a little bit of time inside the pet store playing with the kittens, which the shop owner didn't mind at all. Daniel couldn't help his heart skipping a beat as he watched them with the kittens, being the happiest he's ever seen them before together like this. It was such that he did take some good pictures of them as they were mingling with the pets.

Though they strongly desired to bring the kittens back home to the dorms, Ruby and Weiss already realized they wouldn't have the time to care for young kittens. So, the two begrudgingly left the pet store saddened about the fact they couldn't have the kittens. It didn't make things better, but it at least gave them some relief that some young children were looking to adopt the kittens.

"Hah, I can't believe that I did that."

Weiss seemed embarrassed as her face turned after recalling what she gushed over the kittens like that.

"Ah, come on, Weiss it's not that bad showing things like that in front of people you're close to," Daniel pointed at his Scroll, showing a photo of her smiling beautifully as she held a white kitten in her hands. "Besides, this was a cute photo."

"D-Don't you dare show that to anyone! Especially, not Yang!"

Weiss demanded as she looked as embarrassed as before.

"Hehehe, come on that was fun, Weiss. I didn't think that you'd be fond of animals like that."

Ruby laughed as she smiled brightly at her partner who seemed to pout.

"How couldn't I like animals like that? Those small, adorable, fluffy, wittle…ahem," Weiss stopped herself before she started talking in baby talk again. "I like animals, is there a problem with that?"

"Nope! I think that it's great that my partner loves animals since that's one of the things that we can talk about," a cheerful and upbeat tone could be heard coming from Ruby as she thought about all the things that both she and Weiss could talk about. Weiss didn't want to admit out loud that she wouldn't have a problem with that. "At some point at Beacon, if the chance ever comes up, then maybe we could visit our home back at Patch. I want to show off my bestie to dad."

"Please don't. I don't think that I'd want to meet him if he's anything like you or Yang."

Instead of sounding snide, Weiss sounded almost lighthearted without being too much.

"I guess that you could say that dad would be a little more like Yang than me, but he's a good parent since he did raise me and her," Ruby pointed out talking about her father as if he was one of the most important people within her life. It was something that Daniel at least could understand, but Weiss almost couldn't understand that feeling at least. "Besides we have the most adorable little dog back at home."

Weiss found herself turning her attention toward Ruby after hearing that she and Yang had a dog back at home.

"D-Did you say a dog?"

Weiss seemed interested after hearing that Ruby and Yang had a dog.

"Yea, a corgi named Zwei. Zwei is one of the most adorable little things that I've ever seen in my entire life," Ruby seemed to be cheerfully recounting the image of her and Yang's dog in her head. "Oh, Daniel, you could come too. I think that dad would be happy to meet you too."

"Yea, I doubt that," Daniel stated much to her confusion not knowing how their dad would react to meeting him for the first time. "It depends on what Yang says or does when I meet him for the first time. Since if Yang acts the same way around me here as she does in front of your dad, then I might end up being at the bottom of his list of favorite people on Remnant."

"Don't worry, I'm sure that dad is going to like you," Ruby spoke with nothing less than her usual optimism. "Yang and I are planning on writing him a letter to tell him about our first month at Beacon. So, I'm going to make sure that dad is going to have the best impression of you."

"Is it going to mention him being fifty percent nonchalant and fifty percent snark?"

Weiss pointed out more jokingly as she looked forward without staring at Daniel's reaction.

"Is that all you see me as?"

"I forgot, you should add that he has a habit of flirting with Yang."

"I thought we were supposed to make him like me," Daniel pointed out as he could only imagine how their father is going to react after hearing that. "Leaving being on his least favorite person list, he might put me on a hist list. Also, have you been talking to Sandra since she says that a lot?"

"No, I do have eyes and ears of my own. So, I could tell that you and Yang have been getting quite chummy with one another lately."

"Well, Yang and Daniel are often seen joking around each other. But, Weiss are you just jealous that Yang is having fun with Daniel?"

Ruby asked causing Weiss' face to turn bright red, then started pulling at her cheeks using her hands, causing a whine to escape from Ruby's mouth.

"I'm not jealous, you dolt!"

Weiss replied seriously, but her cheeks were bright red.

"Awright, bwt let go of me!"

Ruby said waving around her arms as Weiss kept pulling her cheeks before releasing them, causing the younger girl to place her hands on her reddened cheeks.

"Ah, come on, Weiss. It doesn't change the fact that you're one of my favorite people on Remnant."

Daniel started out wrapping his arm around Weiss, bringing her into a hug causing her entire face to turn red from their close contact. She could practically feel her heart starting to beat faster as the heat started welling up inside of her body.

"A-Alright, I got it! The store is right there, so let's finish our business before leaving to do whatever!"

Weiss said before getting herself from Daniel, turning her back toward him as a faint smile appeared on her face.

---

It didn't take long for her to entire the store named, "From Dust Till Dawn", with Daniel and Ruby following behind her where the old man running the shop stood behind his desk. After seeing them, one, in particular, Ruby a faint smile appeared on his face as he raised his hand.

"Oh, how're you doing, young lady?"

The old man shopkeeper said as Ruby allowed a sound to leave her mouth.

"Hey, I'm fine. What about you?"

Ruby said returning the greeting as she waved her hand.

"I've been fine, but I managed to get my shop set back up after all that happened."

The shopkeeper replied causing Daniel and Weiss to become surprised.

"Wait, how do you two…?"

"Oh, right. Weiss, do you remember the time that Ruby said she stopped Roman Torchwick from robbing the dust from a store?"

Daniel replied causing her to remember that Ruby did mention that she stopped a Ruby, but she never told them what the store's name was. After being reminded about her accomplishments resulting in her enrollment into her dream school, Ruby found herself looking proud as she took a heroic stance. Seeing that Daniel nearly burst out laughing, while Weiss stared at her leader/friend with an odd look.

"You're childish."

"But, this is so cute."

"You're not Yang, so don't enable her."

Daniel laughed to himself as he pulled out his Scroll to take a quick photo of her stance moments before getting out of it. It didn't go unnoticed as Ruby was wondering what he was doing with the photo, not that she minded that it was taken in the first place.

"What're you doing?"

"Nothing."

Daniel replied, turning so Ruby wouldn't be able to tell what he was doing, but it only stirred her curiosity as she started moving to see what he was doing.

Reacting to this, Daniel moved as he seemed to be typing something using his Scroll's on-screen keyboard, but it only caused her to wonder even more. She kept moving faster and faster in an attempt to see his Scroll's screen, however, he was being persistent. Weiss started ignoring them as a pouting Ruby finally jumped on Daniel's back as he kept laughing heartily.

"Come on, show me what you were doing?"

"Nope, not until I'm finished."

"Just tell me already!"

Ruby was hanging on Daniel who still seemed to be on his Scroll doing whatever he was hiding from her.

"Ignoring these two," Weiss said as she reached into the pocket to pull out a list. "Could I have this list of Dust?"

After receiving the list from Weiss, the shopkeeper read through the list surprised about the specifics added onto it. But, he of all people would recognize that Weiss is the heiress of the Schnee Dust Company so it wouldn't be odd for her to know all this.

"I'll be with you in a second. It'll take some time to get what you ordered."

"That's fine."

Weiss replied as she waited for the shopkeeper to get what she ordered.

At the same time, Daniel stopped struggling as Ruby was still riding on his back, then held his Scroll out in a way that meant she could take it. After seeing that, she got off his back and took the Scroll in her hands as he started walking off whistling.

"Now, what did he do, huh," Ruby said before noticing that the text message was opened up but noticed that the one he texting. "Yang?"

---

Me: Yo, what ya doing?

Yang: Nothin' Dani, did ya miss talking to me already? 😉

Me: Eh, I could do without it that a lil bit longer.

Yang: Jerk. 😜 So, what're ya'll doin' now?"

Me: Just reached the store. But, here's a surprise.

Yang: Oh, what would that be?

Me: Here's a photo of our future Heroic Huntress.

Yang: Iyah! My lil sis is so adorable. I'm going to give her a special hug when she comes back. 😍😍😍

---

"Daniel you texted it to Yang?!"

Ruby asked embarrassed as she started chasing after Daniel who went browsing into the store's product meant for weapons. He didn't appear to be as reactive to the question as he was going through various things to pick all the correct items to purchase.

"Yea."

"Why?!"

"I thought she had the right to know when her sister is being adorable."

Daniel replied laughing as he checked out the gun cartridges for Vanir and shells for Retribution, ignoring the fact that Ruby was 'glaring' at him while pouting.

"Do you have any idea what a 'Yang Hug' is," Ruby asked as Daniel continued skimming through items. "Hugs from my big sister always gave me the warmness that I wanted, but sometimes Yang doesn't know her strength. At one point, she almost suffocated me after wrapping her arms around me. And came closer that she had hugged me into her chest. So, now I'll have to be careful when I go back."

"I'm sure that Yang isn't going to smother you."

"Well, I'm going down," Ruby said smiling mischievously as seeing that Daniel's Scroll wasn't locked, meaning she could access it. It was then that she started writing a text that she had sent to Yang as Daniel all but finished picking out cartridges. "I'm taking you with me!"

"Wait," Daniel after hearing that and the faint sound of a text being sent out. "What did you send to her?"

"Catch me and find out."

After sticking out her tongue out toward Daniel, Ruby vanished in a trail of rose petals at an initial speed that he'd be unable to match. The moment he turned the corner, he looked to find that she was still sticking out her tongue at him, and even doing a raspberry before vanishing again. Daniel knew he wouldn't be able to chase after her in a store like this, but pressed his back foot on the ground behind him. As a runic array was drawn underneath his foot before vanishing.

"Come on, Daniel, you aren't even trying!"

Ruby teased as she stuck her tongue out at him, causing Daniel to smirk as he rushed at her causing her to let a smile grace her face. She used her semblance to move past her, but the second that she stepped on the runic array, she was sent into the air. It wasn't enough to force for her to be sent to the ceiling, but enough for Ruby to be propelled off the ground.

"Waaaah, what was that?!"

Ruby asked as she started descending back toward the ground, but was later caught by Daniel who held out his arms and caught her. Seeing that she was caught in Daniel's arms almost like one of the princesses that she'd read about in the stories Yang read to her, caused her cheeks to turn red. Daniel almost couldn't help staring as it was almost too cute to ignore.

"Ahem!"

Both of them stopped after hearing someone calling out to them out, they turned their heads over to see Weiss tapping her feet on the ground wearing a dangerous smile. After seeing that, Ruby jumped out of Daniel's arms in a little instant and stood beside him looking awkward.

"Would you believe that we were playing an elaborate indoor version of tag?"

Daniel asked laughing nervously as he stared at Weiss' eyes, which looked as if they could freeze the entire room.

"Knowing you two, I could believe that," Weiss said sighing after recalling what she witnessed. "If both of you are finished doing whatever that was, then get whatever you were planning on buying. I don't feel like waiting for two of the childish leaders inf Beacon."

After saying those words to them, Weiss walked off in a huff as she headed to the store counter to continue finishing her own business.

"Uh, she's right. I'm going to go get what I planned on getting," Ruby stated as she started moving to go towards the alley with what she was looking for, but not before passing Daniel his Scroll while giggling. "Here you go."

And with that, Ruby left to finish her own business and vanished leaving behind a trail of rose petals.

"Alright, what did send to Yang," Daniel asked going through the texts that Ruby went to Yang. "…."

He stared blankly after reading the texts as a crooked smile appeared on his face.

---

Me: Do you think that I deserve special for sending the photo?

Yang: My, isn't Dani being naughty for requesting that. 😜

Me: So, it is that a no?

Yang: No, it means I might give ya an extra special one. 😉

---

"I guess I had that one coming."

Daniel stated to himself already imagining what an extra special hug from Yang would feel like as he retrieved the items that he was looking for.

After retrieving and paying for the items, Daniel, Ruby, and Weiss decided to spend the rest of the evening eating together at a cafe. Seeing the almost blasphemous coffee her partner ordered, Weiss found herself almost giving her a serious lecture about it. At least, it would've happened if Daniel hadn't stopped her moments after the first words left her mouth. So, from there, the three spent their time inside of the cafe and talking about random topics before deciding to head back to Beacon.

It was at that moment, that Daniel and Ruby recalled the 'present' they received from Yang, which became apparent as she found them. Having caught them within her sight, the blonde brawler wrapped her arms around them. Daniel was thankful that he wasn't hugged into Yang's chest since Weiss would've exploded after seeing that, it didn't change the fact that he and Ruby were almost suffocated because of that hug.

---

The next morning, their classes continued, but there were more differences than everyone noticed that Jaune had begun spending a little too much time around Team CRDL. It was obvious to anyone that it wasn't in the friendlier sense as all of them could tell that it seemed more forced. But, it surprised the others that Pyrrha hadn't brought up any of it to them despite being the one who supported Jaune.

However, she was simply remaining silent about the entire thing without even mentioning it to them (of course, it wasn't known to them about the nature of their conversation). But, Jaune and Pyrrha not interacting felt a little bit odd for them since the two were close the first time they met. Of course, it wasn't something that could even get involved with as the reasons behind it weren't known or understood. But, that didn't stop two people, in particular.

At the moment, Team DUSK's two girls found themselves sitting outside on a bench in Beacon's courtyard as their two men temporarily split off. The two of them hadn't said a single word about anything at all, Sandra simply lounged back in her seat as Alyssa seemed to be going through social media.

"Ugh, I never thought that I'd say this."

Sandra sighed as she leaned up and looked forward obviously irritated about whatever she was going to say.

"And what would that be partner?"

Alyssa asked putting down her Scroll for a moment.

"It kinda feels weird that the awkward blondie and peppy redhead isn't talking."

Alyssa was surprised about her response since based on the first time that they met, Sandra wasn't the kind of person who'd say that. But, as the two started getting to know each other, she realized that there was a part of her that does care about people. Alyssa did also noticed that she would get involved in conversations at a point, but it would be simple responses.

"Well, I never thought that Sandra would say that."

"I blame you and Daniel," Sandra simply pointed out. "The old me wouldn't have cared. But, now there's this odd feeling that doesn't feel right when the people around me don't get along like normally."

"The old you didn't have friends, and a team to look out for you," Alyssa stated almost laughing lightly. "Come on, Sandra that's called being a part of a friend group. It's natural to be worried when two of your friends aren't getting along. I know that you might not be the most friendly person, but did you not have any friends at Oscuro?"

"I spent a majority of my time alone," Sandra replied much to her partner's surprise. "In the desert, surviving in an environment like Vacuo means either traveling with as a tribe. Or alone without worrying about the extra baggage of caring about someone else. It might not seem to be the way that people from the other three kingdoms agree with, but that's what it means to survive there."

"Come on, you couldn't have been alone that entire time," Alyssa said almost sadly unable to imagine living in the harsh conditions of Vacuo alone. "Didn't you at least have a family? I mean, a child couldn't survive…."

"I might be more comfortable talking like this with you, but I don't want to about my family," Sandra at this moment seemed more hostile than usual. "I don't have good memories with that tribe."

"Alright, I'll drop it," Alyssa said in her usual gentle tone, but she was almost surprised about the hostility that her partner had toward her family or tribe. "So, did she belong to a tribe or something? I heard that tribes travel with one another to increase their survival, but she doesn't sound happy about them."

Alyssa surmised as Sandra looking forward looking almost depressed rather than angry.

"So, what's the reason that you decided to become a Huntress?"

Alyssa asked deciding to change the subject, causing Sandra to return to a more neutral personality and lean backward, staring at the sky.

"I wanted to prove a point to someone."

Sandra replied, causing a smile to appear on Alyssa's face.

"Well, I guess fate did bring us together," Alyssa stated as she smiled at Sandra. "My reason was kinda similar. It did start for about the same reason as anyone else, but then I wanted to prove that I could become a huntress. I want to get to know about my partner's past. So, the time that you tell me about the reason that you wanted to be a Huntress, then I'll tell you mine."

"Good luck with that. It isn't something that I ever want to share with someone."

Sandra started laughing lightly, which Alyssa mimicked.

"I'll have you know that I'm stubborn."

"Yea, I kinda got that from literally the first time that we met."

Alyssa and Sandra shared a rare moment, where the two of them could share in a laugh like this for some time in peace. But, that lasted for no longer than a minute.

"Well, it looks like the two girls of Team DUSK without the two other guys."

A familiar voice came to their ears as they noticed Cardin and his team as always practically glued to his hip.

"And look at you, always joined by your cronies."

Alyssa pointed out as Sandra didn't appear to even register Team CRDL's presence in the slightest.

"I'm sorry did we interrupt your little girl talk."

"No, but shouldn't you return to yours?"

Sandra snidely questioned out as she stared at Cardin, which caused an immediate reaction from them as it was obvious a confrontation would start.

"Shouldn't you guys be far more concerned about working on your teamwork instead of just personifying the bully cliché? I'd be a shame if your group embarrass yourselves in the Vytal Tournament if you weren't prepared."

"Hah, I'm sure that our group can handle any of the useless teams from here and from any of the other schools."

Russel answered Alyssa as he looked confident if not cocky.

"Yea, I'm sure that a team who needs their entire group to pick on someone weaker than them will do just fine in a tournament where the best trainees gather," Alyssa countered crossing her arms, as she started clenching one of her fists and smirking dangerously. "I happen to be experienced in showing bullies where they stand out on the pecking order."

"I was starting to get bored either way," Sandra said standing to her feet with Alyssa following behind her. "And I can see four punching bags right in front of me."

"Alright, I don't mind messing up those pretty little…."

---

"Hey, which one of you is Cardin?!"

A sudden voice caught their attention as they turned to see a woman a little older than them if not by a year, she had short dark brown hair with wavy locks, dyed a lighter shade. She was dressed in the same school uniform as them but wore sunglasses and a beret. Neither Sandra nor Alyssa knew her, but for some reason, there was a good bit of hostility directed at Team CRDL.

"Who's askin'?"

Cardin asked back, which was a good enough answer for the woman as she started approaching them. It was as a result of her glasses that made it difficult to see her expression, but her body language was hostile.

"Look, if you want trouble, then I can…aahh?!"

Before Cardin could finish and touch her, the woman immediately grabbed his hand and put him in an arm lock. It immediately surprised Alyssa and Sandra who watched the entire thing.

"What the hell are you doing?!"

Cardin asked as his teammates looked almost too scared to get involved.

"Who do you think you are bullying Velvet?!"

The woman questioned as she looks to put much more strength in the hold as she tightened her grip on his wrist, and shoulder causing a hiss to escape from his mouth. Seeing that his teammates weren't getting involved at all, Cardin looked over toward them for support.

"What're you waiting for?! Get her off me!"

Cardin demanded as the three of them looked to have started moving to do so, but a single look from the woman stopped them from moving.

"Move, and I'll hurt you guys even more than this."

Hearing that serious threat caused them to back off without showing intention in intervening despite their leader's current predicament.

"Do these guys have any kind of loyalty to one another?"

Alyssa thought, which Sandra also asked herself in her head.

"I was wondering why Velvet was being quieter than usual whenever I saw her in class or our dorm. Of course, when I asked her about it, she didn't mention a single thing," she said as she continued talking. "So, I began asking around to see if anyone was messing with her. It was then that I heard from someone that from time to time that your team was bullying her."

"Ouch, ouch, ouch, knock it off!"

Cardin seemed to be in greater pain as her grip was increasing more.

"Coco, wait!"

At that moment, Velvet came running up as she witnessed what was happening, causing the woman now named Coco to pause.

"Look, if you bully her again, is going to be the last time."

Coco threatened as she let go of Cardin who walked away at a brisk pace, in an attempt to get away from her.

A sigh escaped from her mouth as Velvet arrived in front of them looking a little complicated about the situation, it was then that she noticed Coco turned to face her.

"Velvet, you could've told me that you were being bullied."

"I know, but I didn't want to get bother you, Fox, or Yatsuhashi."

Velvet replied a little bit nervously as she seemed to hold her arm unable to stand straight.

"Come on, I can't let anyone bully our adorable bunny."

Coco stated a bit jokingly in an attempt to make her feel better, which seemed to have worked before the Faunus noticed they weren't alone.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Alyssa, Sandra. I almost didn't notice you until…."

Velvet tried apologizing to them for not noticing them, but Alyssa waved her hand.

"No no no, it's fine. So, is this your leader or a member of your team?"

Alyssa asked after noticing Coco was looking at them with some interest.

"Yea, this is the leader of Team CVFY."

"My name is Coco Adel, a second-year student here," Coco introduced herself before titling her sunglasses down a bit. "I remember you and your friends made a big impression during the initiation into Beacon. You guys earned a reputation among the school because of what you did there. I also heard that you became friends with Velvet so that also improved my opinion of you too."

"Thanks, my name is Alyssa King."

"And I'm Sandra Skye."

"Well, I'd love to spend some more time talking to you lovely ladies," Alyssa and Sandra didn't know what to think about that comment, but the former had an idea of something. "But, I had some plans on going shopping in Vale at one of my favorite stores. Unless you want to join me."

"Coco."

Velvet sighed realizing where Coco was going with this.

"Uh, no we're kinda busy too. And we're kinda going to handout out with our friends on the weekend too."

Alyssa replied.

"Well, that's a shame. Next time, I hope to meet your team and friends to get to know the people who Velvet here befriended. Alyssa," Coco have them one more farewell before looking at Sandra for a little longer. "Sandra. So, Velvet would you mind helping me shop?"

"Okay, I'll see you two later."

Velvet gave her farewell and waved her hand before leaving with Coco.

"Is it me, or did it feel as if she winked at me behind those glasses?"

Sandra asked not understanding how to feel after that since it was clear that Coco was flirting with them.

"Well, at least we know what team she swings for," Alyssa stated laughing before noticing Sandra's expression at that moment. "Sandra are you flustered?"

"N-No, I'm not flustered."

"I think that you're flustered."

Alyssa started getting prodding more into Sandra as she seemed to be avoiding it.

"This is the first time that a girl tried hitting on me. So, of course, I'm surprised about that. Ugh, forget it."

Sandra said as she started walking off without paying Alyssa any mind, while the blonde followed behind her as a laugh escaped from her mouth. Hearing her partner laughing at her reaction caused Sandra to allow a groan to escape from her mouth.

---

Inside the same dorm room where Teams RWBY, DUSK, and JNPR all had resided, Daniel found himself walking down the hall. He was dressed in his usual pajamas and slippers as he began whistling to himself as he carried around a water bottle in his hand. It wasn't long until Daniel noticed that Ruby and Jaune, as the former stood up from off the ground. After turning around to go back into her room, she turned to see Daniel and waved.

"Night, Daniel."

"Goodnight, Red Hood."

After saying goodnight to one another, Ruby went back inside of her dorm as Jaune stood up from his seat with a sigh escaping from his mouth.

"Yo, it's been a while since we last talked."

Daniel pointed out as he arrived in front of him.

"Yea, sorry about that," Jaune said apologizing about that as he looked toward his dorm room. "Ruby and I were talking about what it meant to be a leader. And it made me realize that I was a serious jerk to Pyrrha."

"What did you talk about on the roof?"

"Right, she saw that I was struggling in clashes and offered to help. But, I turned her down."

"You do realize that several people would run over each other for the chance to hang out with one of the best students to come out of Mistral. I mean she won a regional tournament four times in a row. Pyrrha's strong, pretty, smart, and she's one of the nicest people here."

"You know saying it like that makes me feel a lot worse," Jaune pointed out already feeling down. "What should I say to apologize to her for what I said?"

"Well, it's a common rule to apologize to a girl whenever you're in the wrong. My mom taught me it was important to bow your head and apologize when you know you were in the wrong."

"Yea, my parents always told me that I should own up to a mistake too. I just…," Jaune was stopped as a heard a message from his Scroll and looked to notice that it was another request from Cardin. "Uh, I have to."

"Jaune, can I be straight with you?"

Daniel asked as Jaune seemed to become more reserved after reading that text.

"Yea, what is it?"

"Is Cardin blackmailing you with something?"

"W-What, uh, I mean…yea."

Jaune didn't have it in him to keep that secret as Daniel seemed to have already figured that out.

"It is something bad enough for you to do whatever he says?"

"Yea."

"It wouldn't have to do anything that you may or may not have anything to do with how you entered Beacon using not the most honest methods?"

"Alright, how could you have even figured that out?"

"The first time we met," Daniel replied much to his surprise and shock as Jaune slouched lightly. "You didn't know that students forge their weapons, which is one of the first things that we learn. You also didn't seem to know about aura or…."

"Alright, alright, I get it. I tried hiding that the best that I could, but you ended up seeing through me," Jaune said in a slightly depressed fashion. "You must think that I'm a loser or something?"

"Nope."

"You know you sound a little like Ruby when she said that to me."

Jaune was reminded of the conversation that he had with Ruby moments before Daniel arrived to talk to them.

"Jaune, I don't think that you're a loser," Daniel stated causing Jaune to doubt himself. "It might have been a little reckless to come without the basics. I mean, you came here without and was launched into a Grimm-filled forest. But, I think that it was brave to come and prove that you could become a Huntsman."

"Thanks, but how can I compare to you two as a leader. I mean, Ruby is two years younger than me, but she can swing around that massive scythe around without it looking hard at all. And you can pretty much wield your sword and fight without it. I came here wanting to become a hero like everyone from my family, but everyone around me is leagues above me."

"Yea, because we trained. Jaune do you think that we didn't train and woke up badasses?"

"W-Well, I mean, no. I guess that it's kinda stupid to think that."

Hearing that nonchalant question from Daniel caused Jaune to look forward surprised since it did kinda sound a little dumb to believe that.

"Ruby once said she couldn't even use Crescent Rose the first time she made it, but she gained help and worked hard to use it the way she does now. I couldn't even use Retribution the first time, when I pulled the trigger either it flew out of my hand, or I was blown backward," Daniel replied causing Jaune to laugh at that last part. "We all worked hard to come this far, even Weiss and Pyrrha. Jaune, you have the potential to be a good Huntsman and a leader."

"You and Ruby believe that I can do this."

"Jaune, you're one of my first friends. No matter what anyone tells you, you're a good and honest guy who would never give up. Cardin picks on people weaker than him. Just look at what you did without training, fought a Death Stalker, and led three trained people. More than anyone, the person you should be asking that to yourself."

After hearing those words, Jaune was reminded of the words of encouragement that he heard thus far from both his friends and teachers.

"Here, I think that you need this more than me," Daniel said as he handed Jaune the water bottle. "Cardin bullies people who won't fight back. So, if you fight back and show him you're not a pushover, then he'll back off. Try and get some sleep, we have a field trip tomorrow."

"Right, thanks, Daniel."

Hearing those words from Jaune, Daniel entered his bedroom as the blonde stared at the bottled water inside his hands. A sigh escaped from his mouth as he opened the bottled water, breaking up the seal, and started drinking from the cool contents. After seeing the people and friends who have been attempting to make him see his worth, a smile appeared on his face. But, his mind soon started going over to what he was going to do about Cardin.

---

The next morning, the students consisting of Team DUSK, RWBY, JNPR, CRDL found themselves inside an entirely new location. It was a mountainous area where several cliffs could be seen from the Bullhead that the students took there. This location was composed almost entirely of forests that had red-leafed trees, which nearly colored the entire area almost the same color.

Glynda stood before her student as some marveled at the sight that was right in front of them. It was something that even she wanted her students to enjoy the moment before continuing to the reason they were brought here.

"Yes, students," Glynda started as she looked around marveling at the beautiful color. "Forever Fall is indeed a beautiful forest that makes the perfect spot for sightseeing. But, that's not the reason that we're all here right now. Professor Peach asked you all to collect samples from the trees deep inside the forest, and I'm here to ensure that none of you die while doing so."

Almost all the students had experience in dealing with a forest infested with Grimm, but it was reassuring to know that their professor will back them this time. The reason that these students were chosen for this task was due to the fact their teams performed well during the Beacon Initiation compared to other teams.

"Each of your teams has a case meant to hold six jars, four of them will be used to collect sap from the trees in their particular area. But, you can will two others can be turned into for extra credit or to take as Professor Peach describes it as being rather edible," Glynda revealed causing the students with a sweet tooth, Ruby and Nora, in particular, to love the sound of that. "However, please remember these forests similar to the Emerald Forest will be filled with the creatures of Grimm. So keep that in mind, and remain near your teammates. We'll rendezvous in this same location at 4 o'clock. Have fun!"

"Yes, let's get this started."

"This is going to be so cool!"

Both Yang and Ruby seemed excited about this field trip since it meant that they could explore a new location. More so, since the location itself was beautiful, it would be a perfect location for them all to take photos. As their groups all started heading in other directions to collect sap, Jaune moved to follow his teammates too. But, before Jaune could even join them, he was stopped as someone grabbed his arm.

He didn't even need to turn around to see who it was as he was familiar with the pressure on his shoulder, which was confirmed as he heard them talk.

"Come on, buddy. Let's go!"

Cardin said as he started dragging Jaune off in another direction.

"Wait, I'm supposed to follow my team."

"I mean, you could," Cardin said feigning hurt feelings before pulling Jaune closer to him. "But, I could also have a little talk to Goodwitch about our little secret."

Jaune after hearing that didn't have many options at the moment since Glynda was standing beside them simply observing her students' actions. He recalled the words that he heard from Ruby and Daniel, but at the moment it wouldn't do him any good if Glynda ended up getting involved.

"…."

Jaune turned his attention towards Pyrrha who seemed to have been waiting for him.

"…?"

Jaune lowed his eyes and sighed for a moment as he just decided to follow after Cardin seeing no reason for him to cause anything now. Seeing that, Pyrrha sighed as she turned around to follow the rest of her team who were all proceeding forward to the forest. Jaune and Team CRDL walked in the opposite direction as Glynda wondered what was going to happen.

As Teams DUSK, RWBY, and JNPR were all heading in the direction to collect their sap samples, Hunter pulled a bit back walking beside Pyrrha. After standing beside, Pyrrha who carried the case in her free hand, he started to sign and started a conversation.

'Are you alright?'

"Yes, I'm fine, Hunter. It's just that, I thought that Jaune and I could rely on one another as partners."

Pyrrha replied sadly as Hunter started signing again.

'You must like Jaune to end up like this. You never reacted like this to anyone else.'

"Huh," Pyrrha stopped for a moment as her cheeks turned red after reading that. "N-Not, in that way, I-I mean we are partners so, of course, I'd want to help him."

Hunter started smirking and chuckling lightly after hearing that from Pyrrha as she almost pouted.

"You're becoming more like Daniel."

'Well, partners have a way of changing people…for the better at least. I know that Jaune is going to come back to the place that he belongs. So, think of this as a temporary thing.'

Pyrrha couldn't help smiling at the growth that Hunter had after becoming a student at Beacon and becoming a member of Team DUSK.

"Yea, I'll wait for that. I just hope that Cardin isn't dragging Jaune into anything dangerous."

Pyrrha said as she and Hunter kept walking up to catch up with their teammates.

As Daniel was walking beside the members of Team RWBY, while carrying their team's case, he turned his head to see that Blake was looking around the forest. It didn't appear as if it was in the sight-seeing sense, but instead, she looked a little more cautious.

"Is there something wrong Blake?"

"No, it's nothing. It's just that I've passed by here once before a long time ago," Blake revealed surprising him about that. "And I know how dangerous this place can be with the Grimm around."

"I see. Well, I'm sure our group can handle anything, and besides Glynda is here too."

Daniel replied, deciding to leave it at that without bringing up anything else.

"Hahahaha, w-what?!"

Amind Daniel's and Black's conversation, Yang found herself laughing after Alyssa seemed to have told something to her, which caused her to react like that.

"Yang, what're you laughing about now?"

Blake decided to ask after looking over to see her partner laughing.

"I-It's nothing. It's just something that happened to a certain person here yesterday."

Yang managed to get those words out, while she was still laughing about whatever Alyssa told her.

After hearing that it had something to do with what happened to one of them yesterday, everyone started looking around to see who it could be. But, there wasn't a notable reaction from anyone around them until there was that pause of realization.

"Wait."

After Sandra realized something, then narrowed her eyes after recalling what happened yesterday, which caused her to fume from anger.

"Did you tell her?!"

She shouted as she narrowed her eyes at Alyssa, which was enough of a sign for everyone to realize that whatever had happened involved Sandra.

"It was just a little bit of gossip between two friends."

"Don't worry, I'm not going to tell anyone. But, I didn't think that Sandra attracted that kind of attention."

"I don't believe you," Sandra said flustered, not believing that the blonde there could keep anything like that a secret. It was the first time that any one of them had seen Sandra reacting like that but did notice it wasn't being revealed to them by the blondes. "Ugh, I hate both of you!"

Sandra started walking off up ahead of the rest of them and stomping without caring about making any noise.

"Uh, would either of you mind explaining what just happened?"

Daniel asked looking to the Blonde Duo for an answer, but Alyssa and Yang glanced toward one another before a laugh escaped their mouth.

""Nope, it's a girl's secret.""

"Alright, no need to say any more than that."

Daniel replied to the oddly perfectly synced response from Alyssa and Yang but knew that a "girl's secret" wasn't anything that he needed to know.

"So, what does Professor Peach want with tree sap from around here?"

Nora asked.

"Well, there are several purposes for the sap from trees, but I think that Profess Peach wants to use the sap for a more medicinal purpose. It can be used to treat wounds and rashes, more based on how someone prepares it for that use. But, as Glynda said that it can also be eaten and even made into syrup."

Pyrrha explained, sparking excitement from Nora who's eyes practically sparkled.

"Alright, Ren can we take some home and make some delicious syrup for pancakes?!"

Nora asked excitedly looking over towards Ren, who stoically nodded his head agreeing with his partner's desire, which caused her to almost bounce around looking forward to it.

"Weiss, can we take some back too?"

Ruby asked looking over toward Weiss.

"I'd be better if our team goes for the extra credit? All you ever do is almost fall asleep in class all the time."

Weiss replied not phased by the sad expression that Ruby.

"I was studying all night, and sometimes classes can be so boring."

"Don't look sad about that Ruby. I don't mind sharing the red sap we collect from here."

"Really?! Thanks, Daniel!"

Ruby returned to her cheery demeanor as Weiss stared at him.

"Daniel, don't spoil her."

"Come on, who wouldn't want freshly made syrup on pancakes?"

Weiss didn't give a response to Daniel's counter since that did sound good.

The group stopped at a certain location, where several trees were spread out. It looked like the perfect place for them to all harvest red sap from the trees around them. Looking around for a spot, the group started spreading out with the same tool in their hands meant to extract the sap from the trees.

After kneeling in front of varied trees, those in charge of extraction jammed the tap inside the trees, then placed the jars underneath them. Seconds later, the red-colored sap started being drained from inside of the trees through the taps into the jars underneath them.

"Alright, everyone, now remember the most important thing about filling these up."

Daniel said as he waited for his jar to be filled up.

"And what would that be, Daniel?"

Weiss asked.

"Keep all your filled jars away from Nora."

Daniel jokingly stated, but it was something that everyone around them could agree with.

[You're right.]

Everyone aside from Nora replied the peppy girl allowed a sad groan to escape from her mouth seeing that she would be unable to get a sample of the red sap.

"Also, I think that one or two of us should be in charge of looking out for Grimm. She did say that Grimm could be in this area too like the Emerald Forest."

Ruby suggested as she finished filling up one of the jars, which she placed inside of the case.

"That's a good idea. Hunter, Sandra, can you take care of that? Hunter, you take that side there."

"Sure thing, it's better than standing around here filling up jars."

Sandra stood up tossing her filled jar to Alyssa who caught it and placed it inside their case as Hunter nodded his head. She took one side near the group, and Hunter took the other side as both seemed to be scanning the area in case Grimm showed up.

"Blake, can you help them out?"

Ruby asked.

"Alright, Ruby."

Blake nodded as she moved into a spot where she could cover another area so neither of them would be blindsided looking in another direction.

---

As their group was filling up their jars, Team CRDL was situated on the summit of a nearby hilltop looking over in the direction of the group. Jaune, who was forced into gathering the sap for the five of them, in addition to also an extra jar he wondered the reason that the team of bullies was focused on his friends. Previously, they were simply resting against the trees without lifting a finger. Resting beside them was a box that had a "W" on it, but it seemed as if a buzzing sound could be heard from it.

"Cardin, what're you doing?"

Jaune asked wondering the reason Cardin was looking at everyone.

"Payback."

Cardin replied seriously as he stared at one person, in particular.

"Payback," Jaune wondered who he was talking about, looking over to the ground to see who Cardin directed his intent towards, but noticed that it was toward the sole redhead. "Pyrrha?"

"That's the girl. Red-haired know-it-all thinks she's so smart. Alright, boys last night Jaune managed to round up an entire box of Rapier Wasps," Cardin stated causing Jaune to recall that odd request from last night. "And now, we're going to put them to work."

"What're you planning on doing to Pyrrha?"

Jaune asked in a more worried tone after recalling how dangerous it was to collect all those wasps without even a single sting.

"Not me, you."

Cardin said as he tossed the extra sap-filled jar to Jaune who caught it in his hands.

"Based on the essay that you wrote for me, these nasty little things loooove sweets. So, you're going to toss this sap at her. Or I'm going to have a little talk with Goodwitch, and have you sent back to whatever you came from. And hey, if you pull this off, then we'll be real friends, right?"

"…."

Jaune looked at the sap in his hand, then over toward the place where all his friends, his real friends were.

"Hahaha, just imagine the reaction to the wasps flocking around her."

Russel stated as he imagines Pyrrha's reaction.

"And who knows, maybe the wasps will spread to the others," Dove added as Jaune narrowed his eyes. "Those losers from Team RWBY and DUSK all think they're better than us. Even though, one of their teams is being led by some brat. And the other is the son of a Faunus, what's up with that."

"Shut up."

"Huh?"

Dove almost thought he misheard something as Jaune said something under his breath.

"I said, shut up," Jaune said as he tightened his grip on the jar. "Don't talk about my friends like that. Every one of them is leagues better than either of you, and I'm not just talking about when it comes to fighting. There's not a single person down who needs to pick on someone weaker than them to feel strong. Cardin, you'll never be half the leader that either Ruby or Daniel is. So, go ahead and tell Glynda. I'd rather be kicked out of Beacon than to betray my friends!"

Jaune shouted that last part as he threw the jar-filled sap at Cardin, causing it to break open on his armor, which stained his front armor. At the same time, Skye, for whatever reason hid behind Dove, who shoved him off him. After seeing that his armor had been stained due to the sap, Cardin clenched his fist as he glared at Jaune.

"Now, you've done it," Cardin glanced over to Dove and Skye, taking it as a single to keep Jaune from leaving, he was caught by them and held in place. "You're going to regret not taking me up on the offer!"

"Urgh!"

Jaune groaned as Cardin punched him in the stomach pushing him backward as he fell to the ground, but even after that he didn't back down. He stood up knowing that if he left, then Cardin and the others might go along with their idea, and release the Rapier Wasps. So, Jaune instead took the beating as his teammates watched it occur laughing to themselves for almost over a minute.

"…hah."

Jaune breathed out as his eye and cheek were bruised from the punches.

"You know, that wasn't smart, Jauney boy," Cardin stated as he picked up Jaune from off the ground by his collar. "I'm going to send you back to mommy in teeny tiny pieces."

"I don't care what you do to me," Jaune said staring directly at Cardin without showing the usual fear that he did in the past, almost surprising the bully. "But, you are not messing with my team."

"What? Do you think talking like that makes you tough? You think you're a big strong man now," Cardin said as he had reeled his fist back for a genuine punch that he was sure will knock him out. "Well, then see if you can take this."

Cardin watched looking forward to seeing the fear in Jaune's face, but there wasn't anything like that, instead, the blonde smiled without fear. After seeing someone who wasn't afraid of him, Cardin thought back to the time that he was looked down on by Daniel, Pyrrha, and Coco.

"Who the fuck do you think you are?! You cheated your way into Beacon, and managed to pass! So, what makes you think you're better than me?! You're just some loser who can barely fight."

"Even then, Daniel said…no, I'm more of a man than you."

Seeing the defiant smile on Jaune's face and that comment, Cardin grit his teeth, and went to punch him. Jaune wasn't afraid of taking a punch since he realized what his friends were trying to tell him the whole time. And all of the fear that he had toward Cardin vanished as if it wasn't there in the first place. Just as Cardin's fist connected, Jaune felt a sudden change within himself as a sudden flash of light covered the area.

"Ouch, what the hell was that?!"

Cardin let go of Jaune as he fell to the ground.

Despite punching Jaune, Cardin was the person who was hurting at the moment almost as if he punched a brick wall. Jaune himself looked surprised as he noticed his hands were glowing the same color as his aura, he didn't feel the impact from that punch, and all the wounds he suffered were healed.

"Let's see how much of a man you are…."

Despite being the one hurt, Cardin was moving in to punch Jaune as his team seemed to stand up too.

Growl.

Team CRDL turned around to see that Grimm was walking up to them, and Ursa, no it was much larger and armored than a normal one. Standing in front of them was an Ursa Major. After seeing the size of the Grimm, the members of Team CRDL aside from the leader started running away.

"That's a big Ursa!"

Russel shouted as he and the others left behind their team leader.

The Ursa Major turned his attention toward Jaune and Cardin, both of whom looked surprised after seeing that a Grimm. But, between the two of them, the Ursa Major turned its attention toward Cardin who seemed much more scared than Jaune. Cardin to defend himself prepped his The Executioner, but the Ursa Major slapped it aside in another direction from the leader who was looking more scared as the Grimm roared at him.

---

At Daniel, Ruby, and the others were gathering the red sap from the trees, they were all interrupted after hearing a Grimm's roar. Most of them could tell that it didn't sound that far from where they were standing, so they started to prepare themselves.

"What kind of Grimm could that have been?"

Ruby asked.

"It sounded like an Ursa."

"How do you know that?"

"It's a very distinct roar."

Daniel replied as he stood beside Ruby, who was looking in the same direction as the source.

"It didn't sound that far from here. I'm kinda worried since we haven't seen Jaune yet."

Yang stated as even she started being visibly worried after hearing the Ursa Major's roar reaching their ears.

"Ursa! Ursa!"

It was then that they could see the members of Team CRDL without their leader running over towards them, wearing a terrified look on their faces. As Dove and Sky passed by them without paying either of them any mind, but Russel ended up running into Yang. Despite Russel running into her, Yang didn't even budge as Russel fell backward on the ground instead. Hearing that there was an Uras involved, she picked up Russel without caring about his condition, instead was more concerned about Jaune.

"Where is it?!"

"Back there! It's got, Cardin!"

Russel replied scared about the situation as he pointed them towards it, then started running as Yang let him go.

"These guys seriously left behind their leader," Sandra asked before realizing that Jaune wasn't running towards them unlike Russel and the others. "Shit, Jaune is in the same place as Cardin, and that Grimm."

"I'm going after him!"

Pyrrha declared deciding to go assist her partner.

At that moment, everyone there became more alert as the two leaders already gave orders to their respective teams, who seemed ready for it.

"Yang! You and Blake, go get Professor Goodwitch!"

"Sandra, Alyssa! Back them up," Daniel called out to them before continuing. "Ursai is one of the main Grimm types who tend to hunt in pacts, more so, if an Ursa Major is involved. So, there could be more Grimm in the area! Hunter, do you mind coming and backing us up?"

"Right!"

"Got it."

Alyssa and Sandra replied while Hunter nodded his head in agreement.

"Nora, Ren! You two go too, I don't want either of you to be here alone."

Nora and Ren nodded their heads as the entire group split into two with their respective weapons all either prepared or activated. Both teams started running toward their respective locations at the highest possible speed that either of them was capable of.

---

Everyone from the first group arrived at the location where Jaune and Team CRDL were, to find that Cardin was at the Ursa Major's mercy. His weapon was away from him, and he was attempting to get away from it.

"Crap! Crap, crap!"

"No!"

Even if Cardin was a jerk, they didn't want him to get killed by a Grimm, so everyone was prepared to make their move to save him. Just as the Ursa Major was going to swipe at him, Jaune stood in front of him with his shield in his hand and sword in the other, blocking it using the shield.

"Urgh!"

Jaune seemed to have been struggling at the Ursa Major was attempting to push on him using its weight, but he was still fighting back.

"Jaune."

Weiss had Myrtenaster prepared in her hands to move in to assist him, but Pyrrha stopped her using her hand.

"Wait."

"What, Pyrrha?"

Weiss seemed confused about Pyrrha's sudden movement in stopping her, but didn't give a single response and instead looked forward.

"Pyrrha wants to give Jaune this chance to prove himself," Daniel said as he placed a hand on Weiss' shoulder, a comment that caused her to lower her rapier. "If anything happens, one of us can jump in and deal with it."

Daniel's words caused the stances of Ruby and Hunter to also be lowered as the five simply watched the battle.

Having managed to get from underneath its paw, Jaune slashed at its stomach, angering it enough to become far more ferocious. It ended up knocking him backward, but Jaune blocked it using his shield in him, with the Ursa in hot pursuit of him. Reacting to this, he rolled aside avoiding it, just to be knocked over towards Cardin after it got in an attack on him. Before rushing, taking a quick look at his aura reserves using his Scroll, which was attached to his shield's back, noticing that it was in the red.

"I can't run since this Grimm will kill Cardin if I run," Jaune said recalling the lesson he received from Glynda and thinking of a tactic that could help. "If I can at least catch it off guard, I could at least one good hit in."

Holding that plan in his head, Jaune prepared himself as he charged for the Ursa Major, which charged back at him. As the Huntsman-in-Training, and Grimm close enough to each other, the monster was the first one to make the first move. Its large paw was already moving to swipe at Jaune from the side, and reacting to this, he moved his shield to block it.

"It's a good defensive plan, but the shield's angle is off."

Pyrrha said as she raised her hand, a black light appeared around her hand as she pointed it towards the shield, which covered it. At the same time, the shield was raised upwards blocking the Ursa Major's claw, knocking it off balance, then Jaune took this chance to cut off its head using a strong swing. What happened didn't go unnoticed as Daniel, Ruby, and Weiss witnessed what Pyrrha did.

"Uhhh…what?"

Ruby uttered in confusion after seeing what occurred.

"How did you…?"

"Well, Ruby has speed, Daniel has his runes, you have your glyphs, and Hunter control projectiles," Pyrrha said as she continued. "My Semblance is Polarity."

"Whoa, you can control poles."

Daniel almost busted out laughing after hearing that but kept it in since Jaune still hadn't noticed them.

"No, you dunce! It means Pyrrha has control over magnetism."

Weiss corrected, feeling annoyed about that response, causing Ruby to nod her hand.

"Magnets are cool, too…."

"So, what happened to skip two grades, Ruby?"

Daniel joked snickering as Ruby glared cutely at him.

Seeing that things ended there, Pyrrha turned around to leave without making their presence known to Jaune as the Ursa Major started vanishing in black smoke. Already realizing her intentions, Hunter started following behind her with his bow already returned into its inactive state.

"Wait, where are you going?"

"Yeah! We gotta tell them what happened!"

Weiss and Ruby seemed confused that she was leaving without saying anything.

"We could," Pyrrha said as she turned around to see that this was something that Jaune needed. "Or perhaps this could be our little secret?"

Realizing her intentions, Ruby and Weiss smiled at each other before walking away, leaving Jaune to relish at the moment. Before walking off himself, Daniel took one more look to notice that Jaune was walking over to help the person who tormented him back to his feet. It didn't take long for them to leave the area before Jaune noticed all their presence.

"You are the better man, Jaune."

Daniel stated as he walked away from the area.

"Holy crap, Jaune!"

Cardin looked surprised about what happened and even appeared impressed, but Jaune didn't give him anything aside from a serious stare.

"Don't ever mess with my team, my friends ever again," Jaune said strongly staring directly at Cardin. "Got it."

Cardin looked intimidated about that, but even then he nodded his head in agreement.

Seeing that Cardin agreed to that, Jaune started walking back to the place that he belonged, where his team and friends were. Feeling confidence building up within himself, he allowed a smile to form on his face and looked at the Crocea Mors' sword. Jaune listened to what Professor Mulberry said and continued to polish the blade when he had the time, and he could see the difference compared to before.

"I'm starting to get what he meant after that," Jaune noted after comparing the blade to himself before sheathing it again. "Anything change, and become better before."

Jaune continued walking back with reignited confidence as Cardin remained in the same spot thinking about the events that happened.

---

Glynda arrived one scene after being informed about what happened, from those who'd reported the Ursa Major, and from Jaune who fought it. The second group consisting of the others did run into a group of Ursa, but they were able to quickly take care of them. So, the four teams managed to collect the red sap samples that they'd already gathered and managed to complete their assignment for Professor Peach without any trouble at all.

Jaune received praise from Glynda for protecting Cardin and fighting against the Ursa Major, even managing to kill it alone. Of course, Russel, Sky, and Dove earned a strict lecture about abandoning their team leader, but Cardin didn't react to it at all. Seeing him in such a state was similar to what Jaune had been the entire time, making them wonder if the events knocked him down a peg.

Glynda looked at this as a lesson for her students to learn about what it means to be Huntsmen. And soon enough, all four teams returned to Beacon on the Bullhead.

---

It was nighttime and Jaune found himself pacing back and forth on the roof as he thought about what seemed to have been an apology. He found himself repeating several words from time to time until trying to think of something else to say. Jaune could still recall all the messages of support that he was receiving from his friends telling him to make up with Pyrrha. But, the ones that got him stumped most were those he received from Daniel and Yang, which seemed to have been bordered into something else.

"Um, hey, Pyrrha, I, um wanted to say…."

"What would that be?"

"Ah, Pyrrha!"

Jaune jumped as he heard a familiar voice behind him, in addition to the sound of the door opening. He turned to see that Pyrrha was standing there with her usual smile and wave facing him.

"No Cardin tonight? And here I thought that you two were becoming best buds?"

It was clear for even Jaune that Pyrrha was teasing him, but that didn't change what he wanted to tell her.

"Pyrrha," Jaune started as he turned to face her, and bowed his head surprising her. "I'm sorry about all that I said and did. I know you were trying to be nice to me, and help me with everything that I was struggling with. But, I got stuck in my pride and wanted to handle everything by myself. Even though, everyone was telling me that it was alright to rely on others sometimes. And learning from my mistakes, but…."

"Jaune! It's okay," Pyrrha said smiling showing no hint of anger or depression as she turned toward him. "You do know that your team misses their leader. You should come down! Ren made pancakes! No syrup, though. I think that Daniel might have been right when he told us to keep it from Nora!"

"Wait," Jaune called out stopping Pyrrha from leaving the dorm roof. "I know that I don't deserve it after all that I said, and that happened. But, could you still teach me how to become a better fighter? I want to show everyone, that I belong here. And I want to prove to myself that I really can become a hero."

Pyrrha didn't turn around to face him, instead, she smiled as brightly as possible without letting him see as those words were something that she wanted to hear. As her expression turned more neutral, she turned around, then approached Jaune before shoving him to the ground without warning.

"Hey, what was that for? I said help me train, not become my new bully."

"Your stance is all wrong. You need to be wider and lower to the ground," Pyrrha instructed him as she held out her hand to assist him to his feet. "Let's try that again."

"Right," Jaune said as he stood back to his feet. "So, you wouldn't have received some weird texts from Daniel or Yang, too, right?"

"I did," Pyrrha said giving a faint blush after recalling the messages from Yang, in particular. Although, it was embarrassing, reading those messages did make her happy. "It came to Beacon to fulfill a dream that I had for a long time, and I'm happy that I was able to make such good friends here as well. And most of all, I'm happy I have someone like you as my partner and leader."

Hearing those heartfelt words from Pyrrha accompanied by the smile sent in his direction, caused Jaune to turn a little bashful.

"Yea, same here," Jaune said before recalling something else. "Right, so, um, Daniel and the others planned on heading out to the movies on Saturday as a whole team outing thing."

"Jaune, are you asking me out?"

Pyrrha asked almost jokingly, which Jaune took seriously, causing him to wave his hand nervously.

"N-No, I mean, as in our team joining theirs at the…."

"I would love to spend time with our friends together at the movies," Pyrrha interrupted him seeing how bashful he was getting at that moment. But, at that moment, she stood in a stance in front of Jaune who was looking a little bit confused. "Before leaving, I want to instruct you about how to make a proper stance. So, follow my lead."

"Right."

Jaune stood there in front of Pyrrha, then tried to mimic the same stance she was making, but noticed that it was a little bit rugged. Seeing that, she smiled before getting out of hers to correct his stance, which was more accurate considering their similar weapon choices. So, using the light produced from the buildings, and the moon above them, the two continued training on the roof for a time. For two reasons, in particular, they found a warm feeling raising from their chests as they spent time training on this roof alone.

---

A/N: Well, this is the end of the next chapter of RWBY – Team DUSK, I do apologize for yet another late update. It was the conclusion of Jaune's issues involving Team CRDL, their leader seemed to have been taking L's so far. There's also the introduction of Coco Adel, Team CVFY's leader, who didn't like the fact Velvet was being bullied, then met Sandra and Alyssa.

Daniel went on a little outing with Ruby and Weiss, the latter showing her love for animals and the introduction of Coco, the leader of Team CVFY. And near the end, Jaune and Pyrrha, of course, made up.