Chapter 23. Beacon Days 12

Chaos! Anarchy! War in the hallowed halls of learning, blood running in the streets!

It was a nosebleed, but still.

When she chose to grace Beacon with her enrollment, Weiss had an image of the prestigious Academy in her mind. An image where the most elite Huntsmen and Huntresses of not just Vale, but of all four Kingdoms would strive for academic excellence and exemplify the best qualities of their people. An image of warriors and scholars spending their days both in competition (with her leading) and coming together as a unified force against the Grimm (again, with her leading).

An image that was completely shattered by the sight of two boys howling like apes in the hallway, swinging their fists with abandon, p-pressing their muscular physique against each other in a classless competition of brutish strength. They were nothing like the men of Atlas high society.

Weiss wiped a bit of drool from the corner of her lips.

While there maybe some forgivable aspects to the display before her, the act as a whole was representative of Beacon's falling standards in recent times.

Fights outside of the arena, alcohol sold in secrets, students skipping their studies to go gallivanting in Vale… her justified absence on a particular Friday to search for Blake notwithstanding, of course. Weiss has even heard rumors of lewd and scantily-dressed women from the city sneaking onto campus to meet with a man during classes.

That one might be false because she has not seen any such thing.

Nevertheless, most of those acts did occur in truth and the last might just be a matter of time, thus proving her point. Beacon's morals was fast on track to hit rock bottom.

To think that this was the school from which the strongest currently-active Huntsman graduated. Surely, he would weep to see his alma mater reduced to a lawless den of loose women and drunken debauchery.

And it was all the doing of that beast, Jaune Arc.

Tearing her eyes away from the brawl, Weiss walked past the altercation. At the corner, she passed by Professor Goodwitch going the opposite direction. The thought of imminent justice coming for the louts brought a satisfied smile to her lips.

It vanished as team JNPR's storefront came into view. Or to put it more accurately, his base of operations.

She stopped at the threshold, taking in the scene. Her eyes widened upon seeing the mob swamping over the aisles. Lien poured across the counter as Ren, Nora, and Pyrrha rang up purchases without rest. The customers left laden with goods. On their faces, she witnessed a multitude of expressions. Joy and satisfaction, yes, but also hunger and avarice. Here and there, fights broke out among the store's impatient patrons waiting in line, or they would squabble over popular products like animals competing over a carcass.

If the barbarity out there was the result of Arc's influence, then this was the method by which he corrupted Beacon.

Look at them, arms full of chips, soda, ready-made meals, comic books, and so much more. Everywhere she looked, Weiss saw needless excesses, *smirk*, or the best approximation of such for those who have never tasted true luxury. All the temptations previously sequestered in Vale proper has been made available to Beacon, stoking the students' desires until they came to blow with their fellow Huntsmen and Huntresses. They have accepted pleasure and violence as a way of life.

Catering to the worse impulses of the masses, Arc distracted them from what truly mattered, the continual drive to improve and perfect oneself like she displayed each and every day.

But finally, today will be the beginning of the end.

"Weiss, you have perfect timing."

Squeezing through the crowd, Arc sported a wide grin as he greeted her. The beast knew not the fate that awaited him.

"Hello, Jaune. I'm surprised you haven't left for Vale yet."

"I was about to, but the morning rush hit. Actually, you won't have any experience dealing with this, maybe I should stay-" Pyrrha's voice rang out over the crowd.

"It's handled. Go meet your teachers, Jaune!" Arc called back.

"We can't throw Weiss to the sharks, they'd eat her alive. Just give me half an hour to get her ready."

Pyrrha bowed her head in apology.

"I'm sorry, but Melanie and Miltia was very clear with me on how important it was for you to rest and recover after what happened. They're waiting at the Vale Docks."

"Waiting?" His face paled. "As in, right now?"

"Yes, they've texted me and asked where you are." Very pale, now.

"Tell them I'm already on the Bullhead! Weiss, are you sure you can do this?"

"Please." Weiss scoffed. "I am the heiress to the SDC, a conglomerate that is a hundred thousand times larger than this rinky-dink-"

"OK. Great. No time, gottagobyeeeee!"

Like the wind, the blond boy sprinted out of the store, leaving his biggest source of revenue in her hands.

Hehe. Hehehe. HeheHeHEHAHAHA!

Oh, this was rich. Her docility has paid dividends, giving her the perfect opportunity to destroy Arc's grasp on Beacon. A few subtle moves under the guise of her business expertise, and this cash cow will be poisoned forevermore.

Weiss strode to the counter. Well, she tried. There were entirely too many people in the way, and the steadfast way in which they pretended to not notice her was an insult that shall never be forgiven. She was not short.

The well-placed heel applied to a foot cleared the last obstacle between her and the rest of Team JNPR. Pyrrha waved in greeting.

"Hello again. Thank you for helping out today, Weiss. Can you take the next register? With four cashiers, we might be able to put a dent in this crowd."

"HA! Good one." Nora grumbled. "More will just keep coming."

Weiss looked left, Weiss looked right. There sure were a lot of people.

"Please, Jaune hired me on to be more than a… an employee." Her (pretty) nose wrinkled. "If you would like to reduce the number of customers, there is an easier way. May I have access to our office supplies?"

The likes of the White Fang thought of sabotage as a matter of explosives in the dead of night, all fire and destruction.

Pheh, insurance existed for a reason.

The successful saboteur knew differently and would instead seek to embed themselves within the target entity. Once there, they may wrought untold damage by a simple game of words and feigned innocence.

Oh, she'd never display outright insubordination, of course. Down that path lay discovery. However, the deliberate misinterpretation of a goal can provide a veneer of plausible deniability while she sowed discord and confusion. Do it well, and her enemy will be none the wiser until it was too late.

One rummage through the cabinets later found Weiss armed with a marker and a roll of blank price stickers. A quick glance around the store, and she moved towards her first target.

Velvet's Chocolate Chip Cookies appeared to be the most popular product judging by how many people were congregated around its shelf. She noted that the current price was listed at L20.00 per package.

Exorbitant, but not prohibitive. Time to change that.

As she worked, an unsuspecting hand beside her reached for the bunny-emblazoned bag, until-

*Slap*

-Weiss hopped up and stamped a new tag over the sign above the shelf, proclaiming that each package was now being sold at L30.00. The hand's owner ogled the sign, aghast.

"You're joking."

Weiss gave him her most cherubic smile.

"You must not know me. A Schnee does not joke." They have people for that.

"Well, I'm not paying this price. It's ridiculous."

Too easy.

"Oh, fine. Allow me to change that." Weiss uncapped her marker and scribbled on another sticker before slapping it on the sign. "There, 40 Lien looks so much better. Ta-ta."

Flicking her hair, Weiss walked away to her next target.

If it was popular, it received a markup. If she deemed it unhealthy or frivolous, that was an extra upcharge. Double, triple, quadrupled prices struck like Nora's grenades everywhere Weiss passed, leaving devastated bodies in her wake. Complaints rained down on deaf ears as she declared the new prices retroactive for the goods carried by the people standing in line, answering their protests with the oldest adage of mercantilism.

Take it or leave it.

"W-Weiss! Are you sure this is okay? Did you ask Jaune about this?"

Behind the nervous Pyrrha, Nora was biting her nails in trepidation and even Ren looked bewildered. Poor little lambs, left by Arc in the hands of the sleek and cunning wolf. For their innocence, she would show mercy after Arc was overthrown. In this moment, Weiss steeled her heart.

"This is a simple issue of supply and demand. Your store is always this packed, correct?"

Three nods met her question.

"Then, you have been going about solving it the wrong way. Increasing the number of employees and cash registers may alleviate the bottleneck of your operations, but it is a solution with many flaws. Too much money will remain on the table, and the additional employee expenses will lead to higher costs. Worse of all, it does not resolve the underlying imbalance that led to the overwhelming crowds. Raising prices will move us along the demand curve to reach equilibrium. This will reduce the number of customers, that is true, but it will also increase overall profits while minimizing the accompanying cost."

Not everything she said were lies, either. In establishing this storefront, Arc likely based his inventory's prices on that of the market. The market in Vale, that is, where a given area may have dozens of convenience stores competing in close proximity. In Beacon, those numbers could stand to be higher. Not 'double the prices' high, which will not so much reduce demand as shove it off a cliff, but she won't tell these three that bit of information. Seemingly well-meaning but obtuse thinking like that was how a corporate saboteur succeeded in ruining an enterprise.

"I'll take five bags of Velvets, please."

Blinking, Weiss turned to the madman who wanted to shell out L200 for mediocre cookies. Those were the kinds of prices people like her paid for artisanal-made snacks.

That student was not the only person to have lost their senses. The display case of sandwiches and ready-made meals have been emptied, the shelf that used to be stocked with bunny-branded cookies stood bereft of a single bag of the twice-overpriced goods. For every person that returned their desired purchases, ten more carried on as usual.

Before her brain could reboot, Nora's arms wrapped her in a crushing hug.

"Oh. My. Oum! You just made more money appear, like magic. Ripped it right out of their pockets. Are you a business wizard, Weissy?"

That was not her intention! They were supposed to balk at the price and forego their indulgences. How did they have the Lien for this?

"Perhaps I have overstepped my bounds. I am new here, after all. Let me just take those price tags back…"

Vainly, her arms flailed in the iron grips of Valkyrie.

"No, no, you have done a wonderful job. I must admit, I did not expect such a result." Pyrrha gushed, beaming in satisfaction. "Jaune will be very happy to hear of your sharp insight and acumen."

Ren, on the other hand, appeared even more expressionless if that was possible.

"Yes. Well done…*sigh*"

A visual scan of the store's activity showed her adjustments has led to an immediate loss of almost ten percent in customer volume. A substantial number on its own, had it not increased sales at least twofold for the other ninety percent. The outcome was a massive increase in profit, because these men and women considered the time and distance to Vale, and found that they would rather pay the higher prices.

It was a matter of supply and demand, and Arc had a monopoly. A price hike was the best thing she could have done to bolster the store, and Weiss did it with barely a thought. By instincts alone.

She might be more suited to business than she knew. Her father would be proud.

The thought filled Weiss with shame.

-o-

Her first plan might have failed, but Weiss had plenty more!

Okay, so she had one more.

Raising prices was an indirect way to reduce sales. Now was the time to take direct measures and install inconveniences to disrupt the customer experience. A good business understood the value of a seamless flow, removing obstacles both physical and intangible from their shoppers' way. Reverse the process, and Weiss can induce anger and frustration in the store's customers, while dampening the effects on revenue created by her last plan.

It helped that Arc's best products were dominated by junk food. They came with ready excuses for her action.

"You've purchased more than enough. Put the rest back."

"But, Weeeeiss."

"No buts, Ruby. You have ten, ten, packages here. That is nine too many." Ruby grumbled.

"Jaune always let me have as much as I wanted."

And Jaune was a terrible beast in the guise of a man who turned Ruby into a pet assassin, so the girl's argument lacked persuasion. Crossing her arms, Weiss gave Ruby her sternest look.

"Too many cookies will ruin your appetite for lunch, not to mention its effect on your workout regimen. Can you run an extra twenty miles this evening?"

Ruby shuffled her feet. She looked anywhere except at Weiss. Finally, she spat out a petulant 'No'.

"I rest my case. Put them back and… and you may have two packets."

"Ughhh. Yes, mom." Silver eyes widened, and a red blush suffused Ruby's face. "I mean, I mean- hey look, a distraction!"

A burst of petal put Ruby before the shelf, and she threw eight packages back in a haphazard pile. Another burst returned her to the counter, whereupon she slammed down the Lien cards and snatched up her purchases. A final use of her Semblance carried her out the door, an embarrassed whine audible as she zipped away.

Weiss stared after her leader, jaws hitting the floor. Beside her, Pyrrha leaned over.

"Are you okay?"

"Tell me you caught that on video."

"I'm sorry, it was so sudden."

Darn it. The most wonderful piece of blackmail to have ever dropped in her lap, and she cannot prove it happened. She estimated its worth to be at least a week of good behavior, with a reveal to the rest of the team that would have caused Yang to either laugh herself sick or despair that her role has been supplanted.

Sighing wistfully, she watched on as Nora called for the next customer, one who earned an immediate scolding from Weiss.

"There is a limit on those chips. Two bags only."

"That's bull, I know for a fact that wasn't a thing yesterday."

Weiss resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She pasted on a service smile.

"Too much oily or sugary foods can have an adverse effect on your health, so this is the new policy of Juniper Berries that applies to everyone. No exceptions." Besides her should she ever make a purchase here, of course. Seeing the girl about to argue, Weiss used her go-to line for everyone else so far. "Take it, or leave it."

Pyrrha flinched, as she had every time Weiss made this ultimatum.

"I-I think we can ease that rule. The customer is king, after all. Right, Weiss?"

The what is what?

Weiss' incredulous stare was met by Pyrrha's guileless eyes. A moment stretched on to ten seconds before she realized that, yes, Pyrrha was serious. The girl spoke nonsense with such certainty that Weiss had to mull over the words.

The conclusion she came to was this: if there was a ruler involved with this business, it would be Weiss herself. As she knew from the start.

"Who told you this…this joke?" Nora was the one to answer.

"Boss Jaune did. He said that this is how customer service worked."

Was that the secret to his influence, kowtowing to any and all no-name students who walked through these doors?

Little wonder that their egos inflated like balloons, and order broke down within this school. Met daily with instant gratification and undeserved respect, the students believed themselves entitled to privileges that Beacon never gave them.

The solution to their hubris was a firm hand.

"You have not sufficiently changed my mind. My order stands."

Cursing under her breath, the latest and last from a long line of dissatisfied customers departed. The few remaining patrons browsed at a careful pace, weighing the pros and cons of their choices in light of her draconian measures.

Or rather, Arc's draconian measures. Therein lay the beauty of her plan, for Weiss spoke in his place, with his voice, under his full backing. The foolish plebeians cannot be trusted to control themselves in the face of sky high prices, so implementing rules and shaming them for their gluttony must suffice. In time, they will learn to hate Arc and withhold their Lien out of spite.

*Skreeeeeek*

A boy with a mohawk-haircut, Russel Thrush, slid to a stop at the entrance, looking around the store with wild eyes. His face lit up in joy as he spotted his objective.

"Oh, hell yes! You actually have some left."

He ran over to the drinks display. Opening the glass door, Russel scooped can after can into his arms.

"Hey!" Weiss chided. "Those are limited to two cans each person."

"Whuh- no, that's more than fair. Sorry about that, I got a bit too excited." He replaced most of the cans in his arms before making his way to the counter. "These chips also have a cap, right? Good, good." Two bags of chips were added to his stash.

Weiss quirked an eyebrow.

"Why do you say that? Not many had the same opinion as you. Most were quite miffed at not being able to buy as they liked."

"Yeah? Well, they're the reason I don't come here anymore." Ren nodded.

"I did noticed that you and many others have not been around lately."

"They probably had the same problem I did. You're always out of the good stuff, so I go to Vale for my brands. But my buddy texted me and said you had some left today and- Ooh, get me that chocolate bar, too. And that copy of X-ray and Vav issue 154? Thanks, guys."

True to his words, the snacks Russel left the store with has proven very popular with the previous customers Weiss encountered. More than once, she had to send out Nora to stop them from clearing the shelves.

A pit opened in her stomach as she witnessed more people come in, making a beeline for the same shelves that bore her new signs dictating their purchase limits.

"Foxy, it's been a while! Just these instant coffee?"

"Yes. Will this be in stock tomo-"

"-three containers each. I'm sorry."

"Yeah, leave some for the rest of us-"

"Please make an orderly line, we have plenty more of Velvet's Cookies for everyone."

No, no, no, no, NO! What she thought to be the death knell of this place was a mere break as the rumors made the rounds. The greedy hoarders have departed, but old customers descended in a tireless wave, laughing and cheering for what they saw as a change for Juniper Berries in a positive direction.

Everywhere she looked, Weiss saw happy faces. It sickened her.

Her actions today should have harmed Arc, dashing his reputation against the rocks and leaving the boy destitute. Instead, the store received its second wind for the day.

Though, these patrons weren't fighting as often, content with having received some of their favorite goods rather than leaving empty-handed. The quantity caps have also induced them to branch out their purchases to other items, spare Lien being spent on necessities rather than further temptations. Shelves were being emptied and restocked evenly across the board, and traffic flowed smoothly. No doubt, this day would end as one of Juniper Berries' most profitable, its business model far more sustainable than before.

She gave one last sigh of despair, then straightened her back. A smirk made its way onto her (lovely) face. To anyone else, Weiss looked like the cat that caught the canary.

Where one plan failed, another took its place. Today's outcome may be outside her predictions but, if seen from an objective point of view, it was a success by all conventional metrics. Own the victory, and Weiss can use it to establish her bona fides in the field of business, proving to Arc that he should rely on her in all matters relating to his revenue sources.

Weiss Schnee will be irreplaceable going forward.

This was her intention all along, and no one can prove different.


At that time, in the Headmaster's Office

Was there something in the water?

Ozpin has heard the joke throughout the years from exasperated staff, bewildered visitors, and any numbers of concerned parents, but it had never been as suspect as with this batch of students. The sheer improbability of these past few months was to the point that he almost reconsidered the proposal from five years ago of bringing in those Atlesien researchers to test the aquifer.

Even Team STRQ needed the full four years before they ran into their first logic-defying situation. Most of their time was spent in schoolyard shenanigans, which Ozpin would be the first to say was a proud hallmark of his Academy.

Looking at the files again, Ozpin shook his head. Two major incidents in the first semester so far, three if they counted Ms. Xiao-Long single-handedly picking a fight with the entire Xiong Family at the end of summer. All of which involved said student, he noticed, but that had to be correlation and not causation, right?

She played a minor role in the two recent events to his understanding. Unless, she was the mastermind hidden behind the curtains all along…

No, he can't see it, not with her.

Rather than Ms. Xiao-Long, it had been Blake Belladonna and Roman Torchwick who served as the main catalysts for the events at the Docks, where Team RWBY's search for the runaway teammate led to pitched battle against Vale's biggest Dust-heist operation, ending in a huge explosion. Plus a second, earlier blast nearby which they denied involvement or knowledge of. Ozpin had his doubts on that.

Now, this. Three students in a detention assignment, as mundane an occurrence as it gets. He thought he was being clever, bending the rules to save them from the dreary boredom of sitting still in a classroom. What they did was not all that bad in his eyes, the result of a mere confluence of bravado and tension which cropped up each time the Vytal Festival came round.

He had little room to talk, himself. If starting a fight over silly rivalries was a crime, then Ozpin was the world's worst repeat offender.

Tracing a hand along his neck, he recalled a certain night that began with a last slice of cake and ended in sabers at dawn. And a new host.

The one time a king's decapitation preceded his reign, Bart would be in stitches if he knew.

In any case, he had the brilliant thought of setting up a more dynamic sort of detention where the students can stimulate their minds and learn from the experience. The sewer system beneath his school had taken on a life of its own, with all manners of interesting sights. He envisioned the punishment to be a jaunt through what could very well be called Beacon's History and Art Museum. The students would get a chance to explore and find their own hidey-holes in the best tradition of Beacon's more intrepid sort from years past.

Add the possibility of strengthening their bonds in the name of international cooperation, and Ozpin predicted a productive and enjoyable time all around, infinitely superior in terms of results over a dull punishment that would leave their potentials stagnant. Why, the hours would just fly by.

There was also a small hope that they might locate his old lounge in that maze, thus allowing him to recover his favorite couch.

And, and, they might have the opportunity to see a rare Grimm, albeit a young and weak specimen, and kick its rear up and down the block. From such experiences were lifelong friendships made.

That Team YAM met a giant crocodile…alligator… whatever that thing was classified as, and had to fight for their lives, was outside of his expectations.

Bad intel. No support. Outclassed. It had all the elements of a Huntsman's tragedy.

Yet, they managed to turn things around, murdered that Grimm, and came back with everyone alive.

Ozpin smiled as he took a sip of coffee, a spark of pride in his chest. It withered as he returned his gaze to the stack of papers on his desk.

The battle against the Deathmauler have also led to international fallout.

The students weren't to blame, no. They dove headlong into danger as youths were wont to do, but the circumstances themselves were beyond anyone's control, them and him included.

The complaint Headmaster Theodore lodged said otherwise. One of his favorite students almost met her end on Beacon grounds, and the man placed the blame squarely on Ozpin.

It had since filtered out to the Council, raising grumbles and bringing up silly suggestions like having James' robots patrol the school top to bottom among other security measures. Surprise, surprise, the Atlas headmaster already had the extra robots for that in storage on his ships. James was most eager to bring his school's way of doing things to Beacon with a machine on every corner.

Hahahahaha, no.

Blatant and uninspired power-jockeying such as this came part and parcel with the Vytal Festival, but it wore on Ozpin all the same. The problems were mounting against him a lot earlier than the last time Beacon hosted the festival, and the demands more shameless than usual due to the unexpected events occurring back to back.

Everyone and their mother had an idea of how he should run his school, the chief of which always seemed to involve him ceding control to the person who suggested it. Carrying lifetimes of experience as he was, influential as he was, talented as he was, Ozpin can only fend off so many of these schemes at once no matter the mediocrity of his opponents.

Because in the end, he was nothing more than a simple man, humble and overworked. What would he give for a moment's peace?

Slumping in his office chair, Ozpin swung a leg over the chair's left armrest, and leaned his back over the other. His arm went over his eyes, plunging him into a calming darkness.

Like this, he could not see the paperwork. Out of sight, out of mind, Ozpin sighed and for this moment simply let himself be. The students, the faculty, the headmasters, and the Vale Council vanished from his thoughts. They'd return later, once he had his fill of rest and solitude.

His breathing evened out, and Ozpin lounged for the first time in years.

Now, if this break could continue for a week, he would be happy.

Seconds and minutes ticked by, the sound of their passing amplified by the clocks that dotted his office. He never failed to find the grinding gears and moving hands soothing. A gradual change overtook his tired form. The tense shoulders dropped. His foot set on the armrest began bouncing in an unhurried beat. The frown on his face softened to a thin smile.

The many problems drifted in and out of his consciousness from time to time, but he saw it all at a remove as if it were someone else's burden to bear. It gave Ozpin perspective. Allowed him an impassive assessment.

He spotted the pattern.

The smile widened a touch. It did so again a second later. Then, once more.

It took on a shape that one student would find very familiar, a wide smirk that spoke of a man who has stumbled upon a way to solve all his problems. A brilliant solution, or an idiotic one that couched itself in the cloak of a good idea.

It did not matter. If there was a better plan, it should have made itself known.

Ozpin bounded from the chair in one motion. He swept a hand over his desk, sending dozens of pieces of papers to the floor. A few taps on his scroll brought up a holographic screen over the desk, showing the schedules of all courses over the next few weeks. Within that sea of information he found what he was looking for, a week chock-full of boring and inconsequential lesson topics that did little more than kept the students occupied during school hours as the faculty devoted their efforts towards preparations for the Festival.

Occupied, but chafing. Days of inane tasks that no doubt will lead to the inevitable nights of adventure, as if the students were trying to make up for the lost time. Adventures that will then prompt outcries from the various busybodies. Ozpin could see the ceiling-high piles of complaints ready to be placed on his desk.

That won't happen. Not anymore.

He was done with being a reactionary. As the master of Beacon, it was high time that he seized the reins and preempt this madhouse.

Everyone, from student to staff to James to the Council, was about to get a mountain-sized distraction dropped on them next week.

And Ozpin will get his well-deserved break.


Author's Notes: Thus begins Weiss' tale of failing upward in business, her affinity for profits knowing no bounds as befitting a Schnee.

Drama queen Ozpin working hard to be lazy.

Next chapter begins our practice in writing a mini-arc. Three to four connected episodes, maybe.