"Jaune Arc, Nora Valkyrie, Pyrrha Nikos, and Lie Ren, please step up." Out of boredom, I lifted my hands to my head and cracked my neck. To my right, I caught Cinder's left eye twitch, which I assumed was from my actions. From what I could tell, I possessed an exceptional skill at pissing the woman off. Everything I did seemed to grate on her. Ignoring all of it with ease, I straightened my head, readjusted my hands, and cracked my neck in the other direction. "The four of you collected the White Rook pieces, and from this day forward, will work together as Team JNPR." The ceremony had been going on for a while now, as each team was given their own moment in the spotlight. At least Mercury and Mint seemed as interested in all this as I was. The grey-haired teen was bobbing his head, probably some song he was playing in his mind. Mint, on the other hand, was rocking on her heels and looking around, clearly trying to find something to occupy her attention. "Led by Jaune Arc!"
At Ozpin's words, Jaune locked up, his eyes snapping wide. His words couldn't be heard, but his mouth moved as he anxiously pointed at himself. The Headmaster nodded in response to whatever he asked, which was almost certainly a clarification that the man did not misspeak. Pyrrha supportively shoulder-bumped the blonde, who seemed dazed enough that he stumbled a step. That seemed to do enough to knock him out of his shock, as he allowed a dazed smile to cross his face. He then said something else, and his team walked off stage with him following.
"Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, and Yang Xiao Long, please step up." Emerald possessed the flat stare of someone who was not mentally present. Her hands were halfway tucked into her pockets, her thumbs tracing the edges. She had managed to collect her weapons, a far easier feat once the Gauel had fully dissipated, and I had watched it for long enough to see that there was a button on each handle to retract the chains. Cinder's eyes widened slightly at hearing the names of the team Ruby was on.
"A Schnee and a Belladonna on the same team?" She muttered under her breath, just loud enough that I caught it. "Such a thing is begging for inner team conflict." I hummed at the information. Blake certainly enjoyed prodding Weiss when she could, the knowledge that it might be a familial feud was interesting. When Weiss had been going on about her family, Blake had pointed out their 'controversial labor forces'. I wonder if her family was one of those affected.
"The four of you retrieved the White Knight pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team RWBY." Well, that was lazy naming if I had ever heard of it. "Led by Ruby Rose." And that only made it worse. The deadpan expression I spotted on my partner's face showed that she agreed with my thoughts. It was a good thing Ruby was socially awkward, otherwise that would be a recipe for a massive ego to form. Being the leader of a team named after you? I was gonna say it was a good thing none of her team seemed to care, except that Weiss clearly did, with how her face turned red and her clenched fists shook at her sides.
"Man, Bitch just cannot get over her own ego, huh?" I whispered so that Cinder could hear it. Thankfully, a light breath did escape her nose.
"She's a Schnee." She stated derisively. "So used to the silver spoon that she believes she's entitled to anything and everything." A snort left me in turn.
"Worst kind of rich asshole is the one born into it." I crossed my arms as we all waited for the newly formed Team RWBY to leave the stage. "They think 'effort' is getting everything they need for anything they want. Bleed for it." Amber eyes blinked once as they glanced at me, the slightest bit of respect within them. If she was about to say anything, she was prevented by Ozpin.
"Cinder Fall, Andrew Blaqreblu, Mercury Black, Emerald Sustrai, please step up." I blinked and looked over at Mint, who seemed equally as surprised that her name hadn't been called. There didn't seem to be any offense in her expression, only pure confusion. Which was fair, because there was no one left to be called up. Cinder nudged me as she stepped forward, and so I joined her, Mercury, and Emerald as they stepped onto the stage. Ozpin's brown eyes were filled with intrigue, which was nothing unexpected to me.
"The four of you collected the Black Queen pieces." The way those words left his mouth made it clear that was the part that interested him the most. There was probably some sort of mental aspect to the pieces, a check to see what you were naturally inclined towards, probably. "Thus, for the next four years, you will operate as Team FAME." Again, I caught how he spoke differently. "Led by Andrew Blaqreblu." I hardly blinked at the announcement, it not being the first time I'd been assigned to be the leader of a team. Though, I expected that this one would have slightly fewer responsibilities than the Royal Guard.
Cinder seemed to not take too kindly to it, as her jaw clenched. She didn't display her frustration in any other way, unlike Weiss who made it all but obvious. Leaving that for now, I turned my head back to Mint before glancing at Ozpin.
"What about her?" I asked. "Mint did her share of fighting the Gauel, we'll take her." The girl's green eyes widened with interest as she tilted her head. In contrast, the white-haired man sighed.
"I was going to say this to her in private, but since you've drawn attention to it:" He turned to the black-haired girl. "Mint Chocolata, you displayed great skill during the Initiation Trial, made more remarkable due to your lack of a ranged weapon. However, you neither met a partner nor collected one of the relics, the two objectives set out for you. As much as it pains me to say, you have failed the Initiation." Despite how seriously he spoke the words, the short girl did not seem to be hurt by it. Really, all she did was offer an uncaring shrug. "How heartwarming to see that the news did not strike you too harshly. There is always next year, I take it?" The Headmaster asked knowingly. A smirk curled onto her face, like she had just heard a private joke, before she brought up a thumbs up. At his chuckle, she turned away, swung her parasol onto her shoulder, and sauntered off. I was a bit saddened to see that she failed, especially since she almost certainly would have gotten in had I not been here to screw up the numbers. But, she seemed fine with it, so I let it go.
"With that, all of this year's teams have been formed." Ozpin announced to close the ceremony. "The scrolls handed to you at the beginning of the ceremony are paired with dorm rooms assigned to each team. They act as keys to grant you access to your team's room, and each of you should by now have been sent a message on them describing which room is yours. Classes start tomorrow, so I encourage all of you to go to your new dorms and get settled in. Good day." Taking out the phone-like device that I had shoved into a pouch on my suit, I saw that the screen did indeed have a message displayed on it, reading 'Room 106'.
"You all got the message too, yeah?" I asked. Emerald and Mercury both took out their scrolls before giving out their own confirmations.
"Room 106." Cinder read aloud from hers before craning her gaze up at me. "How did you get assigned as leader instead of me?" She challenged instantly. "I am the one that gathered the relics, and coordinated a better battle strategy than you. The only area in which you contributed more was destruction wrought." She was very good at making the 'compliment' sound like anything but. I had a good feeling the biggest factor for me being the leader was Ozpin's favoritism of me, but I certainly wasn't going to say that.
"Sometimes the leader is just the flagbearer." I chose instead. "I'm flashy and draw attention, so eyes are gonna be on me anyway. Better that the strategist gets time to think, wouldn't you agree?" Another flash of orange passed over her narrowed eyes. Off to the side, Emerald and Mercury stood tense with their eyes wide.
"You are disgustingly capable at placation." Cinder seemed to force the words from her mouth. A shrug left me.
"Not the first team I've been the leader of." I revealed. "Wasn't the strategist of that one, either. I know my role."
"Is that your way of saying you'll leave strategy to me?"
"For the most part, but I'm gonna make tweaks if I have to." At my words, she almost snarled.
"As long as you keep in mind that any failures from 'tweaks' you make are your fault only."
"Never was a fan of misplaced blame." I agreed. "You ready to check out the dorm? I wanna get our shit sorted before we turn in for the night if we can."
"Lets." Just as I was quickly figuring, turn the topic toward efficiency and she would stop fighting. "I'm taking the first shower." The archer announced as she began strutting toward the direction of the ballroom. My eyes rolled, as I didn't give a shit what the shower order ended up being. I waved for the last two members of our team to follow along as I walked off after her.
We caught up to her easily enough, and the four of us stopped at the ballroom to collect our things before continuing on to the dorms. Once we reached the room labeled 106, Cinder held up the school-issued scroll to the doorknob, us all hearing a gentle whir and click to signify the lock sliding open. I hummed in interest at the mechanism while we funneled into the room. There was a window directly above a low-standing bookshelf situated across from the entrance, with red curtains. A brown carpet covered the floor, with a circular red rug that had a gold edge in the center of the room. Four beds lined the wall with the window, two on either side, all with the heads against the wall. The beds all sat in light brown bedframes, with white sheets and red blankets. The entrance was flanked by two wooden desks, each with a desk lamp on them and shelves drilled into the wall above. Two more desks extended to the walls, though sticking to the front half of the room. The divider between 'study area' and 'sleeping area' appeared to be the pair of doors that were opposite each other on the left and right walls. As the other three all claimed their beds, I walked up to the door on the right and opened it. I quickly discovered it was a walk-in closet, with wooden pillars to softly divide the space into quarters. On the left side, there were a total of ten sets of male uniforms, while the same amount of female uniforms hung off the right. Shutting it, I went across to the other door and opened that, finding out it was a large bathroom. There were two sinks, a massive marble countertop connecting them with a total of eight drawers underneath, not counting the swinging doors to provide access to the sink pipes. It honestly looked like two entire sinks that were fused to each other with a massive mirror on the wall above it. The lone toilet was clean, and was standard in make, while the shower, in contrast, was massive, with frosted glass to ensure privacy. There were two rows of towel racks, with four fluffy white towels already hanging off them.
Before Cinder could conclude that I was going to take her 'first shower' dibs, I left the bathroom. Looking toward the beds, I found that the sleeping situation had fully been decided without my input or awareness, not that I cared. Cinder was in the far left corner, with Emerald taking the bed next to her. Mercury took the far right bed, leaving the one between him and Emerald for me. Shrugging indifferently, I tossed the duffel I had onto the mattress left as mine.
"I already peeked in the closet, there's no dresser." I informed. The two women of the team nodded to me, appreciating the information.
"That can be fixed over the weekend when we go shopping." Cinder suggested while collecting an assortment of shower products. "Only idiots would have brought more than a single bag's worth of belongings with them."
"I saw Weiss brought an entire crew of bellhops to carry in her stuff." Emerald snickered. "The thought probably never crossed her mind that she'd have to share a dorm with three other people."
"Hey, cut her some slack." I hummed back as I rifled through my duffel for something to sleep in. "She actually thought all of her shit would fit in one of these rooms in the first place, after all." The pair of Emerald and Mercury both sputtered with laughter. "Don't let her find the Beacon website, she'll leave the nastiest review about closet space." Their laughter continued through my partner locking the bathroom door behind her. I ended up deciding on another pair of grey sweatpants and a simple white shirt. "Aight, so beds have been decided. Any other form of dibs been called yet?" Mercury shrugged as Emerald shook her head.
"Okay, then. Girls get first call on the closet, but I'm calling my desk first." My tattoos glowed as I walked over from the beds to the desk right next to the room door. It was the first one to be seen when the door opened. An acoustic guitar appeared in my right hand when I finished the summon, held by the neck. To mark the desk as mine, I rested the guitar against the left side, facing the door. Without other belongings, that was the best I could do for now.
"You can summon things other than weapons?" The grey-haired teen asked stupidly.
"Why did you summon a guitar?" The pastel-green-haired girl questioned at the same time. Turning back to them, I strode over to my bed, moved the duffel so that it sat on the floor just off the foot of the bed, and flopped on my back onto the mattress.
"My Semblance, Summoner Magic, lets me summon things into my hands. The most use I get out of it is weapons, but it's not the only thing I can summon. I need to have a solid idea of what I'm summoning, as well as experience with the materials it's made of."
"And you decided to use up your Aura summoning a guitar to mark your desk." The dark-skinned girl deadpanned. I brought up my right arm to lazily wave it off.
"The only energy spent is in the process of summoning and desummoning. I condense my Aura into physical shape, and from there it's basically independent from me. Anything I've summoned, I can then forcefully dissolve, and if what I summoned happens to break enough, it'll fade on its own."
"Could you summon Lien?" Mercury wondered, which drew a glare from Emerald. I linked my hands behind my head and crossed my left ankle over my right.
"None that would hold up to any scrutiny." I grunted, earning the surprise of them both. "It's technically a form of creation, only it works at its best if I'm following a template. That's what makes it 'Summoner' Magic. Any Lien I create either fundamentally wouldn't be accepted by a bank, or would be an exact replica of already marked Lien."
"Which would be flagged in their system." The red-eyed girl sighed. "But back to my question, why a guitar?"
"I like music." Was my simple response.
"Great." The grey-haired teen rolled his eyes before similarly flopping onto his back. "Our team leader is an asshole who likes to make noise and tell people that they just 'don't understand' when they tell him to shut up." One of my eyebrows raised.
"Sounds like someone's got a problem with street performers." I pointed out.
"Damn straight." He voiced. "Uppity shits just claim street corners, bother everyone close to them, and get money from every pitying dumbass that feels sorry for them. Then they turn around and whine about it like it's everyone else's fault they're even more annoying bums."
"Oh, so you don't hate street performers, you hate people that you feel aren't putting in the effort." I realized.
"I do hate street performers, though I hate people who half-ass shit, too. Tell a street performer to get a day job and work to get a gig that means anything, and they'll bitch and moan about how you're 'stifling their creative talent'!" The last words were spoken as a mocking mimicry. I laughed at the display.
"Eh, I'm sure I'll turn you around to it." I spoke confidently. "I ain't one that takes donations, anyway. I just play."
"Yeah." Mercury snorted disbelievingly. "Sure." Cinder came out of the bathroom in a pair of black yoga pants and a shirt the same shade of red as her combat dress. She was meticulously taking a brush to her hair, a towel over her shoulders to keep her hair from wetting her shirt.
"I'll take the next shower." Emerald jumped up, her own collection of shower products in her hold.
"I'll go last." The grey-eyed teen grunted. "I take a while."
"That better not be because you jack off in there." I warned immediately.
"Hey!" He shouted, voice filled with outrage.
"While I know why your showers naturally take longer, Mercury, I am in agreement with Andrew." Cinder cautioned lowly. "If I catch any hint of you using the bathroom for anything other than its intended purpose, you'll be even less of a man than you already are. That goes the same for you, Leader."
"Don't need to worry about me doing that. Never been one for it." I bobbed my left foot to a rhythm that appeared within me for no reason.
"We'll see if your actions support your words."
"Nice to see you trust me so much." Even having known her for as short of a time as I did, I found myself unsurprised. "I've already called dibs on a desk. I figured you and Emerald should get first claim on closet space, so you can get your shit sorted now if you want." Cinder actually nodded approvingly at that. She spared a glance over at the desks, then picked her scimitars from her bed and walked over to lay them on the desk on the opposite side of the door from mine. Once that was taken care of, she grabbed her rolling suitcase and took it into the closet. She was out a moment later, clearly not bothering with unpacking yet.
"So," I figured starting conversation was up to me, "is Beacon the kind of place where we all get different class schedules, or is it uniform?"
"Exactly how little of Beacon do you know?" Amber eyes twitched.
"You know, I could've sworn I told you this morning that I was from outside the Kingdoms." I fired back. "Basically all I'm aware of is what's been made clear the past two days. It's four years, everyone's crammed into four-person teams, and it trains Huntsmen." Cinder let out a long sigh to calm herself down.
"Classes are uniform." She explained. "Breakfast is available from seven in the morning in the cafeteria. Our first class tomorrow is at nine in the morning, Grimm Studies with Professor Port. Then is History with Professor Oobleck at eleven. Lunch is from one in the afternoon to two, then Stealth and Security with Professor Greene until 3:45. Finally, from four to five, we have Combat Class with Deputy Headmistress Goodwitch. Our schedule on Tuesday shares our first and last classes, though History is replaced with Plant Science with Professor Peach while Stealth is replaced with Weapon Crafting and Upkeep with Professor Mulberry. The schedule with Professors Oobleck and Greene is every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, while the schedule with Professors Peach and Mulberry is every Tuesday and Thursday." I nodded gratefully at the rundown.
"Bit late of a start from what I've heard other schools have, but I appreciate having more of a morning." I commented.
"I share the sentiment. Starting class at seven in the morning would leave little time to get things done without waking obnoxiously early." The dark-haired woman hummed as she continued attending to her hair. Mercury grunted noncommittally from his bed, having pulled out his scroll and started fiddling with it. Realizing I was still in my armor, I called on my Magic, flashing the suit away. The action drew the attention of both of my present teammates.
"Where did your armor go?" Cinder asked first.
"Are those the clothes you slept in last night?" Mercury baffled second.
"My armor is wherever my summons go when I don't have them out. Don't really have an answer as to what that is. And yeah, these are the clothes from last night. All I did this morning was just summon my armor over them." A mildly disgusted look fluttered through my partner's face, but it did not linger for long.
We remained in comfortable silence until Emerald finished with her shower, wherein I stood up to get on with mine. As I grabbed the sweatpants and shirt I had chosen, I saw that the dark-skinned girl's sleepwear was a pair of green cotton short-shorts that matched her hair and a brown crop top.
Locking the door behind me just as the girls did, I tossed the fresh clothes on the counter. Checking around, I found a small basket that Cinder and Emerald had used to deposit their clothes and threw what I had on in there. The shower, thankfully, was easy to understand, with a knob in the center for output, then a knob on either side for hot and cold. Out of curiosity, I left the temperature as it was and turned up the water. Huh, so Emerald liked warm showers. I turned the pressure as high as it would go, then turned the heat up a bit. The pressure wasn't the most powerful I had experienced, but the shower in the Black Knight's compound was made for beings with much higher durability, so I shrugged and accepted it. Initiation hadn't pushed me any physically, so all I did was take a quick rinse before turning off the water. Figuring Mercury would be antsy waiting for everyone to take their showers first, I decided to towel off my lower half until I could throw on the sweatpants and step out. I could dry my upper body while sitting on my bed.
"That was qu-" The red-eyed girl cut herself off, and I instantly noticed that everyone paused once their eyes fell onto me.
"What?" I blinked. "Don't tell me you have a problem with me being shirtless while I'm drying off."
"N-no, it's not that, it…" Emerald seemed unable to focus enough to speak, her attention completely on my chest. Considering how the faces of all three of them were pale, I assumed it wasn't because any of them were mesmerized by my abs or anything like that.
"We're just realizing what 'outside the Kingdoms' looks like." Cinder breathed, amber orbs wide.
"How are you alive?" Mercury spoke up, and for once, the two women of the team seemed fully in agreement with his words. My eyebrows furrowed, and I glanced down at my own torso. Just like always, thousands of scars greeted me. Lacerations, mostly, but there were puncture marks, ruptures, and tears. Old stitch marks, jagged lines from once ripped flesh, a graft in one area from when I fought my mentor inside a hurricane of fire. The only areas untouched were my forearms and my face. My forearms due to my Magic, and my face due to my mentor having always gone for incapacitation rather than outright murder in our spars.
"You all look like this is your first time seeing scars."
"Andrew, do you know how serious it is for a Huntsman to have scars?" My partner's voice was light.
"They hunt Grimm, don't they? Wouldn't scars be normal?"
"There is a saying in Huntsman culture." Cinder spoke slowly. "'Even the smallest scar is a tragedy'. The only way for someone with Aura to get a scar is if they fought beyond the point that theirs broke, or if something struck them so hard that it overwhelmed their Aura. In either case, it means they were in a situation they were lucky to make it out alive from." My eyes widened.
"How did you…?" Emerald whispered. Well, it felt rude to leave them in the dark, and it wasn't like it bugged me.
"My training." I answered easily. "The guy that taught me how to fight was real simple with his instructions: Don't Die." Somehow, all three pairs of eyes widened even further at the explanation. I waited for a few seconds for any more questions to be asked, but they all seemed content to remain stuck in shock. Shrugging, I didn't bother with putting on the shirt as I went over to my bed and fell back onto it. "Alright, if Twenty Questions is done, imma hit the sack. I'm gonna explore Vale after class tomorrow, if any of you wanna join me." A series of dazed rejections greeted me, so I shrugged once more, figuring each of them had already seen the sights, and closed my eyes.
As it always did, sleep came easy, and waking up came easier. My eyes fluttered open, and the first thing to greet me was a drowsy feminine groan.
"Noooo." Emerald's face twisted, as the act of opening my eyes meant that their glow struck her in the face. "Whyyyyyy." It seems she fell asleep facing me, or turned in my direction while she was out. I sat up and cracked my neck, then my hands. It was the beginning of a small routine I had, to loosen my body and get myself ready. In an attempt to not rouse the other male of the team, I only spared him a glance to confirm that he was in bed. His own groan filling the air showed he was as easy to wake as his partner was. Snorting to myself, I got up and went over to the rug, as it was big enough that I could do some stretches.
"You know, it's incredibly rare that I am not the first one to wake." Cinder's voice greeted me as I twisted left and right to stretch out my spine. I hummed to let her know I was listening. "While I am pleased to know that I am no longer the only one who takes advantage of the morning, I rather dislike being woken up."
"If I could control the brightness, I would." I informed without pausing in my stretching.
"I assumed. Which is why I'd…appreciate it if you bought a sleep mask as soon as you are able." She stated while getting out of her bed and standing to my right, mimicking my stretches.
"Oh? That's a bit more polite than you were yesterday. I catch you at a bad time?" I wondered while we both folded in half, pressing our chests to our knees while standing. I had to bite my lip from laughing when I saw the half-asleep Emerald drowsily sitting up. Her hair was messed up from sleeping, but her condition was irrelevant when her eyes passed over us, laser-focused on Cinder's ass, and remained stuck there while her jaw drooped open.
"I had…a particular way that I wanted yesterday to go." My partner admitted, her arms hugging her legs so that she could remain in position and coincidentally blocking her from seeing Emerald's stare. "Mint was supposed to be the fourth member of our team, and my partner. That you disturbed that, intentionally or not, had me quite vexed. I am one for my plans, and so you disturbing those plans at nearly every turn only worsened my mood."
"Ah, I getcha. Slept off the rage, right?" I winked at Emerald before I straightened, then lifted my right leg straight up, hugging it to my chest with my arms. Cinder paused for a moment, clearly surprised by my flexibility, then copied me. I wonder if my partner caught the heavy gulp that sounded behind us.
"Quite." She confirmed while holding the position. "So long as you do not prove deserving of it, you're not likely to see me as irritated again. I encourage you to not deserve it." The dark-haired woman led this time as she lowered her right leg, then brought up her left. I did the same, and caught a glance of Emerald's face being bright red.
"I'll do my best." I chuckled. "Just as long as you promise to not break out the leather if I do something wrong." While Cinder's head tilted in confusion, a choking noise sounded from behind us. At the sound, amber eyes twitched and my partner returned to standing normally. She placed her hands on her hips and turned to Emerald, who was coughing up a lung.
"Emerald, it's only the first day. I think it would be in your best interests to stop pretending to be sick, it might still be early enough to replace you with Mint." The archer warned. Laughing, I rested a hand on Cinder's shoulder.
"I'm sure she's fine. How about we go and get breakfast, she's probably just thirsty." The green-haired girl's coughing worsened. My partner sent one last look at the dark-skinned girl.
"I will see you both in class." She declared, hidden threat in her words, before she went into the closet to change.
"I fucking hate you." Emerald gasped as soon as she managed to catch her breath.
"You made it so easy." I smirked back.
"You're an asshole." She spat.
"Bet you'd love to tongue hers." My grin broadened when her face turned a brand-new shade of red. Laughing uproariously, I grabbed my duffel and went into the bathroom to change.
Grimm Studies with Professor Port was…a thing. Half an hour into the class, a third of the students were asleep, and I didn't think that had anything to do with it being morning.
"Is he senile?" I whispered to Cinder, who sat to my left. She wore the female uniform, which consisted of a red plaid skirt, a white blouse, a brown vest, and a black jacket lined with gold. A small red bow at the collar completed the image, and though several of the girls in class wore some kind of accessory with the uniform, she did not. I was dressed in most of the male uniform. It was made up of a white dress shirt, black trousers, a red tie and a blue vest under the same black jacket as the women's. I had not bothered with the jacket or tie, and my dress shirt was both untucked and had the sleeves rolled up above my elbows. Even without considering that I wouldn't be able to cast spells, I just never felt comfortable when my tattoos were hidden. Of course, that drew a lot of attention to me, as my tattoos were twin black stripes that went from my elbows to my knuckles, ending in points both ways. Towards my elbows, the stripes split to curl under my arm and mirror the top, though ending at my wrists rather than continuing to my palms.
"…I fear he might be." She shuddered. Half an hour into the class, the pot-bellied Professor Port had done nothing but talk about his 'feats' before he became a teacher. I had wondered at first if it was just a way for him to show the students that his experience was valuable. As he explained how he supposedly cut an Ursa Major in half with a head of lettuce through brute force, I was instead wondering what drugs he took before class started. My knowledge of what a fully trained Huntsman was capable of was naturally lacking, but I didn't think that any person on Remnant could pull off the feats he was claiming.
Mercury, on Cinder's left, had pulled out his scroll and started playing games on it about ten minutes in, and I felt confident he would not get caught for it. Even when taking into account that he wasn't making any attempt to hide it, with his elbows on the desk holding the device in front of his face for all to see. Emerald was on my right counting the contents of the wallet she had stolen from the sleeping student on her right. There were a couple gift cards, a membership card for what looked like an arcade, a credit card, and what looked to be around 50 Lien. Cinder, the poor soul, had pulled out a notebook when class started and transcribed Port's stories for a solid fifteen minutes before she realized she was driving herself insane and gave up. The man had not paused in his storytelling even once, and had utterly steamrolled through any attempts to ask what the giant metal cage that was rattling angrily was.
"Mr. Blaqreblu! Thank you for volunteering!" Every student in the room straightened in collective surprise, most of them looking like they had no idea what was going on. Unfortunately, that included me. I spared a glance to my team, only to find that even Cinder was lost as to what I had 'volunteered' for. In fact, the only person who didn't look confused was Weiss, who was instead snarling with rage as she gripped her desk so hard that the wood splintered.
"Um, what?" I asked.
"Professor Port!" Bitch shouted immediately with one arm raised straight into the air. She continued without being called on. "I fail to see how Andrew Blaqreblu possesses any of the traits you just described! I would be a much better example for displaying the traits necessary for a Huntress!"
"You very well might, but it was Mr. Blaqreblu who was selected, Ms. Schnee!" The man jovially countered. "Come down, boy! Thankfully for our class time, I know you possess no need to go to your locker for your weapon!" We had lockers? I hadn't been assigned a locker. Shaking the confusion away, I stepped out from my seat and strut down the stairs of the amphitheater classroom until I was on the floor next to the mustached Port. He gave me a thumbs up, then finally went over to the cage with his weapon in hand. His weapon being an idiotic combination of a blunderbuss and a double-sized axe where the axe blades were on the stock of the gun. I was honestly shocked that someone let him have that as a weapon, as it ran the risk of misfiring into him if he used it as an axe, and threatened to cut his arm off when he used it as a gun. He held it by the barrel as he lifted it above his head.
"A proper Huntsman is always prepared! For the match to start!" He declared before swinging down, cutting off the lock. Instantly, the door to the cage burst open, and a Grimm stumbled out, clearly surprised that the resistance disappeared without warning. It was a simple Boarbatusk. I blinked.
"Your Huntsman test is this?" I absolutely had to question as the boar-like monster zeroed in on me, squealing furiously as it stomped the ground in preparation to charge. "One Boarbatusk?" It launched itself, curling into a ball and spiraling at me hatefully. Ruby shouted in panic, only to freeze when I reached up and caught one of its tusks before it could hit me. The sheer momentum it had built up worked violently against it, as its body forcefully uncurled against its will and snapped forward. Quite literally, there was a loud crack as its bony spine failed to withstand such an instantaneous stop and collapsed inward. I allowed the fading husk to fall to the ground as I kept my quizzical gaze on the stunned teacher. "You realize I killed like thirty of those things yesterday, right?" After a moment of staring, Port bellowed out a deep, belly-shaking laugh that I could tell was slightly forced.
"Impeccable display, Mr. Blaqreblu!" He congratulated. "You don't even register them as a threat, just like a true Huntsman! You may very well be following in my footsteps! Be sure to let me know the first time you invoke a Grimm to kill itself upon witnessing you in your glory!" A shudder went through me at the thought of being similar to Port.
History with Professor -sorry, Doctor- Oobleck should've been what had my attention today. The other night, I only managed to get around four hours of studying in the library before Witch decided that enough was enough. I spent the majority of the time pouring over Grimm types, then Dust, while only passingly touching on history and faunus. Considering Port's class was nonsense spread over an hour and forty-five minutes, Oobleck's class should've been what I learned the most from.
Technically speaking, the man was giving out a lecture on history. He was also doing that while speaking at Mach 5. Cinder had not stopped in attempting to take notes on the lecture, having already completely filled four pages. She also had her scroll on the desk, set to record the green-haired Doctor's rapid speech. Mercury simply gaped at the man who seemed to drink coffee in place of breathing as he zipped across the platform as though to ensure that he met the eyes of every single student in the room. No one was capable of sleeping in this class, everyone desperately attempting to catch even every tenth word out of the man's mouth. Emerald was still reading through the syllabus, the twenty-five-page packet that it was. She had either given up on the class entirely or had given up on keeping up with this lesson. Granted, Cinder was doing her damnest to transcribe every word out of the teacher's mouth, so the red-eyed girl would likely have better notes than anyone else to work off of. In the meantime, I neither remembered where he had started nor could tell where he was in his lecture. For all I knew, he had already gone through the textbook.
"Mr. Blaqreblu!" The Doctor seemed to finally pause for a moment. I straightened. Unlike Port, I didn't think Oobleck was about to throw a Grimm at me and call it a lesson. "I am aware you hail from outside the Kingdoms!" My eyes narrowed in suspicion.
"Yeah. What about it?" I challenged.
"If it is not too private a question, is that due to your family choosing to live outside of any Kingdom's influence or due to lacking the financial ability to support yourselves?" Well, shit. Ozpin, Glynda, and I hadn't gone over that part of my alibi. I would need to relay the information with them later so that they don't ruin the illusion.
"Never thought to ask, though I'd wager it wasn't by choice. My parents got killed by a mercenary when I was young, pure chance had me stumble on a Huntsman who took care of the merc before he could take care of me." It was enough of a half-truth that it would be easy to keep the lie going. The entire room seemed to suck in a breath.
"I see. I apologize for not having the foresight to ask you about this matter privately." The man bowed his head. "Once Headmaster Ozpin informed me of your status, I had thought that it might be a good opportunity to demonstrate to the other students how much of a luxury it is to be able to live in a city such as Vale. I hope that I did not dredge up any bad memories with my thoughtless question."
"Nah, you're good. Got over it a while back." The man seemed so heartfelt, I couldn't help but assuage his concern.
"I am grateful. While I am your History professor, class, please let this be a lesson to consider how your actions may affect someone else. It is only due to Mr. Blaqreblu's emotional maturity that I have not offended, and for that, I am lucky." Oobleck allowed another moment of silence for the students to take his words in before he resumed his ridiculously quick tirade.
"Psst, hey, Andrew." Mercury whispered over Cinder's hunched form, the woman having already returned to doing her best at keeping up with the Doctor. I looked over to see a mildly perturbed look on his face. "Do, uh, do you know the name of the merc that went after your family?"
"Nah." I shook my head slightly, which for some reason got his face to twitch just the slightest. "He was a ginger, though. Green eyes, had the sleeve on his right arm removed to show a sleeve tattoo." That even more oddly got the grey-haired teen to relax a bit.
"Gotcha." He chewed on his lip for a moment, thinking up a way to not end the conversation on an awkward note. "You said you met a Huntsman who took care of him?"
"Scared the piss outta him." I nodded. "The Huntsman I met apparently had a big name in the underground. Once he saw that the Huntsman felt like taking care of me, he fucked off and I never saw him again. Figured that he went back to his circles and slapped a big ole 'don't fuck with this kid' sign on my name." That brought a further relaxed nod from Mercury.
"Good to hear."
Stealth and Security with Professor Greene was something I found fucking hilarious. Just like Port and Oobleck, Greene ended up calling me up as an example. I'd have called it an uncomfortable pattern had I not already figured out why she was singling me out.
She was pissed at me slipping past the Beacon alarms. Mostly because she couldn't even understand how. And being victim to her passive aggression was proportionally hilarious to me because of that.
"Now, some of you may be asking: why should I learn about stealth and security? I'm training to be a Huntsman, when would I ever sneak up on a Grimm?" Professor Green questioned for the class. I was currently standing next to her at her request, my arms crossed over my chest and a smirk on my face. "Thing is, most people don't realize that a significant amount of your jobs as a Huntsman will be security work. You'll be protecting something, or someone, from Grimm, bandits, or other unsavory individuals. Or you might be infiltrating a terrorist's base. Heck, even search and destroy missions might have you deal with Elder Grimm you won't be able to beat in a straight up fight. Learning how to be sneaky, as well as understanding how security might operate, will come in handy far more than you realize." The Professor was a woman of average height and skin just a few shades off black. Her eyes were a bright pink, and she had shoulder-length black dreadlocks tied up in a ponytail. She wore a yellow tank top, revealing her muscled arms, and black combat pants with yellow lining. Her pants were tucked into solid black combat boots, and her weapons appeared as a set of gauntlets and greaves. They were all stripped yellow and black, akin to a bee, with the greaves possessing blades that went along the front of her legs and over her shoes. The gauntlets covered the backs of her hands and knuckles, each with a small barrel being seen from between the first and second knuckles. I didn't see what kind of ammo they used, but the projectiles had to be tiny.
"To demonstrate this, we'll use Blaqreblu over here as our stand-in for a terrorist today." She announced, which earned a wider smirk from me.
"Wow, Prof, making the orphan from outside the Kingdoms play the part of a terrorist? Stereotyping much?" I couldn't remove the grin from my face, which took all the umph out of it.
"In this hypothetical, our scum of the day managed to infiltrate a center of information. They didn't set off any alarms, but were caught on the cameras inside using a speed Semblance which emanated light." Oh, wow. She was laying it on thick. I struggled to keep myself upright as I bit my lip to suppress my laughter. "Anyone care to take a guess how our little weasel did it?" Several hands raised. "Ms. Fall."
"Are there any signs of forced entry?" My partner dug for information. The teacher shook her head.
"Every door and window was locked, the skylights were untouched, none of the cameras watching the exterior were altered, and there were no signs of damage to the building." Beacon's security guard elaborated. "Mr. Arc."
"Is there a basement? Some way for the, uh, target to come from underneath?" He seemed hesitant to call me a terrorist, which did not help my ability to reign in my laughter.
"Nope. No signs of any entry from underground, so there's no way that the prick dug a tunnel or anything like that." Around half the hands lowered. "Ms. Schnee."
"You said that the vagrant used a speed Semblance which emanated light." Oh, Weiss definitely realized that Greene was talking about me. "Are you certain that is what it was? What if they possessed above average speed and their Semblance generated the light?" The teacher's pink eyes blinked.
"Where's your head going, Schnee?" She encouraged.
"If we assume that the scoundrel is simply unnaturally fast, then that opens up the possibility that their Semblance supported their infiltration of the building." The Heiress analyzed.
"And what kind of Semblance do you think could do such a thing?"
"Well," Jaune answered, "my brain immediately goes to teleportation." I stopped being able to stay upright, bending over and clutching at my stomach as I choked on my laughter. Vomit-Boy was more than on the right track, and he didn't even seem to realize why that was a big deal.
"It's not teleportation, though your input is appreciated, Mr. Arc." Greene shot down immediately. "The prick's Semblance only activated when they moved vast differences, nearly instantly moving between areas of the building or between floors. It was during those bursts that the light appeared." The eyes of my team all locked onto me, all undoubtedly having realized as Weiss did that the example was not hypothetical. A glare from Cinder made it clear that I was going to have to explain how I did what Greene was describing.
"Professor Greene," Blake raised her hand, "I'm not sure any of us are going to figure it out with that information. Could you please tell us the answer so we know what you're getting at?"
"When you all graduate and become professional Huntsman, situations just like that are things you'll have to figure out yourself. You won't have someone who magically knows all the answers then, so I won't give you any outs in my lessons, now." The teacher proved she could bullshit with the best of them, and the confidence in her words was what broke the dam I had been holding back. Most of the classroom groaned, some barely audible mutters complaining about how 'Greene was a hard-ass' and other such things because they didn't understand why she wouldn't let them 'start the year with something easy'. She refused to budge on the matter, only myself knowing because she didn't know the answer and hated it. It turned the class into nearly two hours discussing how someone who 'couldn't teleport' could break into a 'center of intelligence'.
Then, finally, it was Combat Class with Deputy Headmistress Glynda Goodwitch.
Next Chapter: Test Your Metal