The new teammates Violet found himself leading were an intriguing bunch. Lie Ren was a mature, quiet, and straightforward kind of man from Mistral, though he wasn't completely humorless. He felt like the two of them had already reached an understanding on everything the moment they met and shook hands. Lord knows people like him are desperately needed in this academy, especially considering the sort of person Ren's partner was.
"PANCAKES!" A banshee shriek interrupted Violet's sleep in the team dorm room. The culprit behind such a rude awakening was none other than Nora Valkyrie. "HURRY UP EVERYONE, THEY HAVE PANCAKES IN THE CAFETERIA. WE CAN'T MISS THAT!"
Nora Valkyrie was the complete opposite of Ren. She was loud, immature, had wild mood swings, and no tact. He recalled her loudly suggesting to Ren that they cheat the partner selection process in front of everyone yesterday. Hell, maybe they did do it. That part was even more confusing. How were the two of them seem so close to each other?
Nora was violently shaking a sleepy Ren, "Nora, we've got 2 whole hours before classes start."
"But if we don't hurry the pancakes will run out, come on Ren come on come on come on!"
"Fine, I'm coming with you."
Arriving in the cafeteria, they found it to be almost empty, and Nora could satisfy her sweet tooth without more whining. As they were eating, Pyrra outlined their schedule, "Okay, so first order of business today is grimm studies. After that, we have sparring, and finally history."
"History? Boooring…" Nora slouched in her chair.
Violet sat down at the table, "Hey there, history is very important. You need to know how the world worked to understand it as it is."
"What use is that? I can hit monsters all the same."
"You know, in the past huntsmen were called upon for war against other countries. How would you know who to support in such a situation?"
It was Pyrra that answered, "There won't be another war, Violet. The great war was 30 years ago and there are no signs of such a thing on the horizon."
He chuckled at that, "I didn't know all those terrorist attacks by the White Fang were so long ago. I must be losing my sense of time."
"That's nothing at all like a real war."
And yet, they're stealing enough dust to arm a whole city, he thought "Not yet. But this is one way wars can start."
"Please don't say such terrible things." Pyrra protested.
"Thinking such things also serves to attract grimm, you know?" Ren added.
"Believing everything is fine won't magically make it so! What about rampant faunus abuse? What about Atlesian meddling in Vale? The world is full of injustices that people don't pay attention to because we're taught to suppress our emotions."
"Well, that's certainly a way of looking at it." Ren said, "It's not nearly as bad here in Vale though." Nora nodded at that.
"All the more reason we should care about such things. We're the ones capable of helping."
"Aww, my little firebrand is at it again." The teasing voice of Yang came from behind him.
"You don't even know what that word means, sis."
"You taught me last week, don't you remember?" She addressed the rest of team PRVN, "Don't worry guys, he always made a lot of fiery speeches. Even as a little kid." She ruffled Violet's hair.
"Will you stop it? And they're perfectly reasonable objections to the state of the wor-"
"Whatever you say, little bro. Just don't beat up some poor guy that disagrees with you, ok?"
"I think his conviction is admirable." Pyrra says, "Even if I'm not sure where you're going with this. We're doing the most we can as huntsmen."
"I'm just-"
"He's just mad that huntsmen aren't allowed to do whatever they want, isn't that right Vio?"
"Yang, you're the last person that should be lecturing me on that. Didn't you trash a club last month?"
"They started it, Violet."
"A likely story."
"You did what?" Ren said.
"I want to hear more." Nora shouted, "Come sit by me!"
Breakfast passed with Yang telling everyone how she rightfully trashed an asshole's dance club, suspiciously omitting the presence of alcohol in her system and everything she did to provoke them. Oh well. He was a shady guy, but he did get Violet a fake ID when he was fourteen, so he didn't totally hate him.
Their first class was on grimm studies. It seemed like an interesting class with a veteran huntsman supplementing the important material with his stories of great hunts. That is until it became apparent Professor Port's tales were more boastful than educational. Not that he cared much, he didn't come here intending to fight grimm. The rest of the class seemed to catch on as well, and some people were already falling asleep.
The second class was sparring. Although it was only the first class, and they mostly talked about sparring rules and etiquette, they made room for one demonstration spar between Pyrra and the teacher, Glynda Goodwitch.
Even though it was likely intended as an exhibition match between a 1st year student and a professor, the outcome of the fight was uncertain. Pyrra was after all an undefeated champion of many tournaments.
In the end Professor Glynda just barely won the fight. It was to be expected of a veteran huntress, though he couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.
History class, he was most curious about. He heard this was a more open-minded school, but he wasn't sure how much that distinction meant. He didn't expect to find out much about him during his first class but they were already well into the material, owing to Professor Oobleck's endless caffeene-induced energy. They were already discussing the great war.
He seemed to not be too biased, but he could tell that this class would omit most of the atrocities of history and the contemporary world. Even now, he skirts around the parts that mention Vale becoming a defacto satellite of Atlas. It is to be expected. It could have been much worse, he thought, but it's still a sick maintenance of the status quo! And I will not stand for it. No, I will tear down this world and build a new and better one in its place.
"Uhh… you okay there, Violet?" Pyrra said next to him, "You were frowning."
"Oh, was I? Sorry I was just deep in thought." he relaxed and tried to follow Oobleck's lesson.
After lessons were over, Violet took an airship to Vale, with the excuse that he needed to say goodbye to the friends at Signal, who he suddenly left. It wasn't entirely dishonest, he was going to pay them a visit, though that's not all he'll do.
He went to the shady part of town, a blue-haired young guy with a suitcase following alongside him. Azul was a friend from his days at Signal who was sufficiently convinced of Violet's worldview. He would be his security for today.
People rarely walked through this part of Vale. In fact, they avoided it like the plague. And it might as well be the plague. The people on the streets were malnourished and some of them looked visibly sick. Drug dealers and addicts acted in the open, everywhere he looked there was nothing but filth and decay. Both Vale and Atlesian police avoided it as much as possible. Those types of people tended to disappear here.
His thinking was interrupted by a beggar, "Please, spare some change. Help a buddy out, will you?" A cat faunus was asking him for money. It was a boy in his early twenties, yet he looked absolutely miserable. He wore dirty, torn clothes and had an unshaven face. His body was atrophied and he smelled awful.
Azul gave Violet a look. He sighed before dropping the beggar a 20 lien note. The boy looked at Violet with a huge empty smile, almost as if he were a deity. He couldn't bear to be in his presence anymore, so he quickly left.
"Sometimes I don't get you Vio. You say you want to help the less fortunate yet you seem almost repulsed by them. You probably wouldn't have stopped if it weren't for me, I've seen it before."
"Don't be an idiot." Violet's voice was resigned, "You know you simply can't change the world like that." He turned around and pointed at the beggar some 50 meters away by now. Another man was next to the boy now, wrestling with him. He took the note from the faunus and kicked him in the stomach before running off.
"We have to stop him. Come on," said Azul.
"Only if we kill him."
"Huh? Why?"
"It's no use otherwise. Nothing changes. Little changes even if we kill only him. One day, I will tear this place apart. I will have an army at my beck and call that shall cleanse this world of evil. Only then can anything new be built. We're almost there, let's go."
They walked into a nondescript building in the ghetto. In truth, it was an illegal gambling ring. He just learned about it a few days ago, and it was the perfect place for him to get funds from overconfident people. His young appearance also aided him there, as most saw him as an easy target.
"So who's today's match, Violet?"
"Don't use my name here, alright?" He looked around the place, seeing everything one would expect from a gambling house. From roulette tables to slot machines. He, however, was interested in something more… skillful.
The interior of the place itself was disgusting. It smelled of cigar smoke and cheap perfume. The kitsch flashy lights and scandalous dancers made him want to gag. He'll remember to blow this place up for sure.
"It's apparently some small-time Atlesian aristocrat. Rich and prideful, a perfect combination."
"I see. How'd you even find this place?"
"Glaston lives nearby, so he's arranged a match for me." He arrived at the table where the fateful match would take place soon.
"Fifty thousand lien, per the agreement," Violet said as Azul unlocked his suitcase and presented it to the man, who was a little surprised that the kids actually had the money. The nobleman laughed, "Very well then, I'll enjoy ridding you of your parent's money. Remember, no takebacks here. This isn't your high school chess club."
The game started, and the proud nobleman went for a beginner's trick, the scholar's mate. Violet took insult at the man, but he remained calm and he took advantage of such a weak opening to create a solid position. After his opponent blundered a knight a few moves later, the game was practically over.
"You got lucky, that's all." The man said in disbelief.
Violet gave him a mocking smile, "There's no such thing as luck in chess." He turned to his companion, "Pick up his money and let's leave."
"Quitting while you're ahead, huh? Scared of me, are you? That trick didn't work on you, so what? My intellect is great enough to win in an even battle."
"Hmm… On second thought, if you have enough money we can go double or nothing. I'm not scared. You're just a sore loser." He smirked.
The man agreed, and this time he tried playing without tricks. Still, Violet played a textbook game, and a few minutes later he easily promoted his pawn into a queen before his opponent's pawns even made even half the journey.
"Wasn't that a bit too risky, Vio? He looked as if he was gonna fight you the second time."
"That's why I had you, right?" In any case, we should go to more reputable places where they can't threaten us. Although, I think I've already got enough money to get things started. Over three million lien in cash. Not a bad haul for two years, huh?"
"You're done?" the boy asked in disbelief.
"Yeah, there's no point anymore. How are things going at Signal?"
"Well, my grades have-"
"That's not what I'm asking." Violet said, "You'll have to continue the work in my absence. There are some excellent people there, and I need you to lead them. I'm counting on them to join me when the time comes. And I think it will be soon."
"Wow. You're serious about that. The whole revolution thing, I mean."
"I've never made any indication of the opposite. Be careful out there, alright?"
"It still doesn't feel real. You really think a bunch of adolescent combat academy students can take down Atlas?"
"Of course. If not you, who else?"