I don't own anything.

I stabbed my pasta a little more viciously than I had to at lunch that day. I was sat in the cafeteria with Ruby on my left and Pyrrha on my right, the rest or team BASN and VLYR arrayed around us. Most of them were eating nutritious meals with lots of protein and stuff. My own meal, by comparison was rather lacking, though it was tasty. And since I didn't actually have to eat in the first place, I always just ate whatever I felt like.

A bout of laughter from a table to our left only made things worse. Team CRDL was sat there, laughing rather hard at something Dove had said and enjoying their meals. From their team, only Cardin and Dove had fought, both winning their bouts. And while they weren't that bad, it was clear that they were happy with their wins.

"I still can't believe you lost to him."

I couldn't help the twitch in my eye when Weiss brought it up again. It was maybe the fifth time she had done so. Quite impressive, since the class had only been two hours ago, and most of that time had been spent silently listening to a lecture on Dust. For a moment, I contemplated telling her to stuff it, but I decided against it. Ignoring her would probably annoy her more than anything I could say. So, instead I just shoveled another bite of pasta into my mouth.

"And then I went all Kapow and Haya and kicked the guy through the window. And then that Torchwick guy comes out there after I beat up his guys and he said, "Truly, you were worth every cent."" Next to me, Ruby was excitedly waving her arms about as she told Nora how she got into Beacon early.

Nora, meanwhile, hung on her every word while Ren and Yang just focused on their food. Yang, because she had probably heard the story before. And Ren because, well, he just looked a bit bored to be honest. He didn't mock the girl, though, and he even took the time to hum and nod at the appropriate moments. Maybe he was paying attention after all?

I couldn't help but smile at the scene. Team VLYR was getting on well, and I couldn't be happier for her. If only we could all be so lucky, though.

"What class did we have after lunch again?" Yang asked, polishing off the last of her chicken sandwich.

"Grimm Studies."

"Hmm, sounds fun." Little did she know, she would be eating those words soon enough.

We made it to Grimm Studies with time to spare, so we were able to take our seats at the back, much to Weiss' consternation. I felt a small smile creep onto my face at her annoyed glare. It wasn't very nice of me, but with people like Weiss you had to take your wins where you could get them.

It didn't take long for the rest of the class to show up, and soon enough the entire classroom was filled up. And finally, the professor showed up. Professor Port was a large man, a little bit shorter than me, but certainly wider, with broad shoulders and an equally large belly, the man looked like one of those strongmen, instead of the usual leaner build male hunters went for.

The gray hair, thick bushy eyebrows and large walrus moustache all it clear how old the professor must have been, and yet, he carried himself with all the energy of a man twenty years younger. The way he dressed only made that more obvious. The style was old school, a double-breasted suit and a thick necktie. And yet, it was in a bold burgundy with golden accents.

"Welcome students, to Grimm Studies!" His voice was much the same, deep and booming, reaching every corner of the classroom. "Monsters, demons, prowlers of the night. Yes, the Grimm have many names. But I like to call them prey!" Port guffawed. "And so will you, when you graduate this prestigious academy."

"This world is a treacherous place, the kingdoms are safe havens where humanity can thrive and grow, but outside the walls, life is not quite so simple. That, dear students, is why you are here. Each and every single one of you is here, aspiring to become huntsmen or huntresses. Brave warriors who beat back the tides of Grimm to grant others the safety they covet. That is what you will learn in this class. Here, I will teach you all about the foul monsters that plague our world. You will learn how to avoid their strengths and to exploit their weaknesses to keep this world of ours safe. Now let us begin with a story. A tale of a young, handsome man… me!"

And then it began. The story was hard to follow, not because the professor was too quiet, or talking too fast, but because it was so absurd. It was hard to separate the bits of wisdom from the exaggerations and the jokes Port slipped into his story. I tried my best to take notes, but unlike both Pyrrha and Weiss, I couldn't do it.

During a long tangent on some farmer's daughter he met and charmed, I drifted off, only to snap back to the story at the end of a battle with a group of Boartusk, having completely missed the important bits. Looking to my right, I could see Pyrrha's notes, a full page of neat script with bullet points on the main weaknesses of the swine-like Grimm and the areas it was most commonly found in.

Looking down at my own meager four lines of text, I wondered where it had all gone wrong. "The moral of the story is thus, a true huntsman must be honorable, dependable, well-educated and wise! Who here believes themselves the embodiment of these traits?"

"I do sir!" On Pyrrha's other side, Weiss was sat in her chair, back straight, shoulders back and arm stretched out above her. Somehow, I wasn't surprised that the white-haired girl had volunteered in class, she did seem the type.

"Well come on down then and face your foe!" Port boomed, gesturing to a rattling cage he had just dragged out from behind his desk. For a moment, I wondered how the hell I hadn't noticed it before now, but shook it off. I'd already missed enough of the lesson daydreaming, now was not the time to get distracted.

"Good luck Weiss." I told the girl as she slipped past me to get down to the professor. Instead of thanking me, though, she just scoffed and bumped her shoulder into my own making it more than clear where I could stuff my luck. Next to me, Pyrrha seemed to bristle at her attitude, but I just shrugged at her with a little smile. I didn't exactly know why Weiss was acting the way she was, but I wasn't about to let it bother me.

When she got down to the stage, Port readied his weapon, some kind of double-bladed battleaxe with a blunderbuss as the handle. It didn't look like it was Mechashift, but it had clearly been made in a time where people had started experimenting with trick-weapons. Probably from the same era as my own shield.

"Prepare yourself!" Weiss dropped into a fencing stance, her own weapon, a silver-colored rapier with a multicolored revolver magazine in the hilt under the blade. With a mighty crash, the professor brought his axe down onto the cage's lock, letting the door fall open. The beast locked inside, a Boartusk, slowly crept its way out, gleaming white tusks on display as it breathed out in heavy pants.

Boartusk

Level 33

When it spotted Weiss standing across form it, the black and white boar charged, lowering its head as it gathered speed, ready to gore my teammate. At the last second, Weiss hopped to the side and slashed her rapier down the creature's side. Sadly, it did little to no damage, simply skittering off the thick, segmented, bone armor that covered the Grimm.

Its charge having failed, the Grimm tried again, running at the SDC heiress full tilt. And so, the cat and mouse game began. The Boartusk would charge at Weiss, and like a matador, she would hop to the side at the last possible moment before trying to damage it. While the Grimm hadn't managed to land a single hit yet, Weiss hadn't actually done any damage either. All of her hits had been on heavily armored parts of the monster, areas that her precision weapon couldn't damage.

Taking a look at Pyrrha's notes, I checked the weaknesses quickly, hoping to give Weiss a leg up. While the Boartusk is heavily armored, it has very little armor on its underside. It is speculated that this is to allow the creatures to curl up and roll, allowing them to do devastating damage in exchange for a weak spot that is relatively easy to defend as long as they stay close to the ground.

"Weiss! Flip it over! Its belly isn't armored!" My shout rang out over the whole arena, and Weiss looked over at me from down on the stage. In doing so, she took her eyes off of the Grimm, and it crashed into her, sending the white-haired girl sprawling and taking a chunk out of her aura.

"Ohohoh, don't get distracted now!" Port chimed in from the side of the stage, calmly leaning on his desk while Weiss got back up.

Even from all the way in the back of the class, I could see the way Weiss' eyes flashed with anger, those blue eyes once again forming chips of ice as she glared at me. "Don't tell me what to do!"

The Boartusk was moving towards her again, this time not running, but rolling. The monster had curled up into a ball, and was moving across the stage far faster than it had before. Before it could get close, though, Weiss flicked her rapier forward and activated one of the dust cartridges in the weapon.

A thin layer of frost spread out over the stage, and in front of the Boartusk, a small icy ramp appeared. The Grimm, having lost traction couldn't get out of the way, and it was launched into the air. Now unable to control its path, the Grimm was helpless to avoid the glyph that suddenly appeared in mid-air, arresting its momentum immediately. The Grimm fell like a sack of bricks, landing on its heavily armored back and exposing its vulnerable belly. Before it could roll over, Weiss shot forward and stabbed her rapier through the monster's throat, killing it instantly.

"Well done! Very well done indeed!" Professor Port clapped loudly for my teammate as the Grimm began decomposing into motes of black dust. Weiss preened at the praise, immediately standing straighter, any exhaustion from the fight dissipating at the teacher's kind words.

"Good use of Dust to force its course into your semblance, and then a swift execution in its moment of weakness. Good work Miss Schnee. Unfortunately, that's all we have time for today class. I will see you all on Thursday!"

Even with many of the students lethargic from the long-winded story, everyone quickly grabbed their gear and made their way out of the class. Out in the hall, team VLYR and my own gathered to head over to our next class, History. We were all ready to go, but just as we set off, I noticed a sudden lack of Ms. Prim and proper.

"Hey, I think Weiss is still grabbing her stuff. You guys go on ahead, I'll wait for her to finish so she doesn't have to go alone." I told them. I might not be on the best of terms with Weiss, but she was still a teammate, and it would be pretty shitty of me to force her to find the History classroom all on her own.

"Oh, I can wait with you if you want?" Pyrrha asked as VLYR got moving, Blake not far behind.

"Nah it's fine. Just save me a seat, yeah?" I waved her off. And despite the little frown pulling at her lips, Pyrrha nodded and moved to catch up with the rest of the group.

Moving over to the wall, I dropped by book bag onto the floor and took out my scroll to check my messages while I waited. I didn't get far, though, as voices from the classroom grabbed my attention instead.

"Sir, do you know how the teams are formed?" It was Weiss, she had stayed behind, not because she was still grabbing her bag, but to talk to the professor instead.

"Hmmm, oh yes. Teams are always formed during initiation, the way partners and teams are chosen varies from year to year. As you no doubt recall, this year it was eye contact that decided your partner and the kind of chess piece you retrieved which determined your team." Port explained.

"I knew that sir. I was wondering how exactly they are formed, more specifically how team leaders are picked and if anything can be done to change that?"

I couldn't help but frown at her question. I knew that Weiss wasn't exactly my biggest fan, but to want me removed as leader, or even to change teams. That seemed a little extreme.

"The leaders are chosen by Ozpin, and in all the years I have known the man, he has never steered me wrong. And unless something truly extreme happens, there is nothing that can be done to change the teams." Port explained, his voice quieter than I had ever heard it before. When Weiss didn't immediately respond, he asked, "What brought this on my girl? Has something happened?"

"Not… Not specifically sir. It's Jaune sir, our team leader." I froze in place. "I just feel that out of all of us, he's the least suited to lead. He hasn't done anything, among us, he's the weakest fighter, he's not the smartest or the most diligent either judging by how little he pays attention in class. I just wonder if headmaster Ozpin didn't make a mistake."

The silence was filled with the rhythmic thump-thump of my heart hammering in my ears as heat poured through me. I knew that Pyrrha was probably stronger than me, judging by how she'd fought against the Deathstalker. Blake too, her spar had gone far better than mine during combat class, and she had won her bout handily. If I was honest with myself, Weiss was probably stronger than me too, although I didn't know by how much.

And sure, I had lost focus during Port's class. But I had done a fair job in Chemistry. Where did she get off deciding that I wasn't a good leader before I even got the chance to prove myself. It made me angry. I hadn't been sure why Ozpin had chosen me as leader during the ceremony, but it had filled me with pride either way. Dad had been the leader of his own team at Beacon all those years ago, and I was happy that I could follow in his footsteps. And Weiss wanted to take that away?

I took a deep breath and counted to ten, trying to calm myself down.

"Miss Schnee, it's only the first day. Mr. Arc might not be the strongest right now, or even the smartest or most capable. Although I'm not certain that that is even the case." I could almost see the way Weiss scoffed at that in my mind's eye "You are here at a school to grow. To make mistakes and learn from them. You, Miss Schnee, might have precious little to learn about being a leader, having been trained to be just that in the past. But have you ever considered that there are lessons for you yet? That there are things you could still grow in?" Port asked, his voice low.

"That, perhaps, is the first lesson you will learn here at Beacon today. I see a girl standing before me who has spent her entire life getting exactly what she wants."

"Excuse me!" Weiss broke in, but Port ignored her, simply continuing on.

"Instead of fretting over what you don't have. Savor what you do. Don't lament the fact that you were not chosen to be the leader of your team. Instead, learn to become the best teammate you can be. Because I can assure you, Miss Schnee, that after this display, that is something you still have yet to learn. True knowledge lies in knowing that you know nothing, for that is when you can start learning. I daresay that Mr. Arc is far further along on that journey than you, yourself are." Port finished. "Now if that is all?"

Weiss didn't respond, but I could hear her heels clicking on the tiled classroom floor. I moved away from the door, setting my bag down a little further before looking back down at my scroll. Weiss, who opened the door only seconds later was none the wiser that I had heard the entire conversation she'd just had, and simply seemed surprised to see me.

"Arc? What are you doing here?" She snapped out.

"I saw that you weren't with us, so I decided to wait so you didn't have to go to history alone." I told her, doing my best to keep my voice level. She looked dumbstruck, almost like she couldn't believe that I was actually doing something nice. My anger spiked again, but I shoved it down. Getting into a fight here wouldn't change anything, if anything, it would only make things worse.

Just like my family, she didn't believe that I could do it. And just like them, I would prove her wrong. I'd just have to become the best damned team leader in the school and show her. "Come on, we don't want to be late." I told her and walked off.

A/N: Hello again! I hope you guys enjoyed. As always feel free to leave a review if you have any feedback or questions for me.

Some people were a little concerned that Weiss is being an absolute cunt at the moment, and she definitely is right now. But, to be honest, she was the same in canon at the start. I just rewatched volume 1, and she was just as bad. Just like in canon, she will calm down soon enough, and Jaune will find a way to win her over.

As for people asking me to level up Jaune's Vigor, I'll tell you this: I am making him level up in a way that makes sense to him, not to me or you. For us, it's obvious to level up Vigor, as it's an important stat in the souls games. To him, though, it's simply a shitty version of his aura. After all, his aura bar needs to be completely depleted before he can take any damage to his HP, and he gets twice as much aura per level in Mind as he does HP for a level in Vigor. To him, if he runs out of aura, he's already lost basically, since putting a point in Mind is twice as effective as putting a point in Vigor, it makes more sense to Jaune to focus on that instead. While we know that people like Tyrian are out there and can turn his aura off, he doesn't, so he doesn't actually have a reason to level up Vigor. That's complete metagaming, as I would be leveling up Jaune's stats in a way that makes sense to me, as both the author and someone who has a lot of experience with the souls games, not someone like Jaune who has played video games, but nothing like the souls series and doesn't know about some of the threats that he isn't preparing for right now. I hope that makes sense.

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