That afternoon was tiring for Harry Potter. Compared to the excitement at lunchtime, and learning of Midoriya's secret talent, the classes in the afternoon were rather boring by comparison. Right now, he was trying to pick up everything he could from their instructor, Professor Oobleck. He was a messy man but Harry knew messier so it didn't bother him one bit. He talked fast so most of the students, mostly Percy, were left staring with blank faces. Thankfully, Harry was used to the high speed of Quidditch and listening for the golden snitch through whistling winds so he could understand most of it.

"Yes, yes, prior to the Faunus Rights Revolution, most popularly known as the Faunus War." Oobleck was saying. "Humankind was quite, quite adamant about centralizing the Faunus population on Menagerie island." He zipped around the classroom as if he had taken a Speed potion beforehand. Based on his mug in hand, it was distinctly possible. "Now! While this may feel like ancient history to you, it is imperative to remember these are still considered recent events in the world's history. The ramifications can still be felt to this day and if we are not careful they may well repeat themselves again. Now!" He slapped the table again, making Harry jump, "Have any among you experienced any form of discrimination due to your Faunus heritage?"

One Faunus student who Harry didn't know raised his hand, as well as the rabbit-eared girl from earlier today though she was slower to do so. Harry couldn't help but notice that she sat on the half of the class that looked much older than the side Harry sat on. Was this a mix of first year students and older ones? Whose bright idea was this to have that setup? Still, it reminded Harry of House-elves except from what he saw of Dobby, these Faunus were treated much better. Not that is saying very much, mind you. "Dreadful. Simply dreadful!" Oobleck shook his head. "Remember, students. It is precisely this level of ignorance that breeds violence. I mean, I mean, I mean this is what led to the White Fang as we know it today. Now!" He slapped the table again, this time Harry was already getting used to it. "Which one of you youngsters can tell me what many historians believe to be the battle that turned the war?"

Weiss was quick to raise her hands. "Battle of Fort Castle."

"Precisely. Who can tell me in exact detail what advantage the Faunus had over General Lagune's forces?"

Harry was startled when he heard a yelp nearby. Jaune was looking up, unaware of the noise he had made. "Hey!"

"Ah, Mr. Arc." Oobleck whirled to him. "Finally contributing to my class. Excellent, excellent. What is the answer?"

Jaune stammered, trying to come up with a coherent answer. Harry couldn't help but begin to feel bad for him. It reminded him of Neville in a way. "Binoculars?" He heard some people slap their faces in embarrassment while others laughed. What an idiot, Harry thought, his mental voice mimicking Hermione's to a T. He was really missing his old life now, his friends. God, he hoped an opportunity came up where he could get away.

"That was amusing, Mr. Arc. Now! Cardin, perhaps you could care to share your thoughts on the matter."

"Well, it's easy. It's much easier to train an animal than a soldier." Cardin called out. The Faunus in the room hissed at that remark.

"You're not the most open-minded of people, you know that?" Pyrrha asked, clearly disgusted.

"Oh? You got a problem there, Invincible Girl?" Cardin bit back, sneering a little.

"I think we all do, Cardin." Midoriya called out, not even looking his way.

Cardin had not forgotten the incident at lunch, seen as him flinching when Midoriya spoke up.

"Thank you, Mr. Midoriya." Pyrrha coughed into her hand. "Regarding the answer, it is night vision. Most living Faunus have near-perfect night vision." Cardin let out a growl but said nothing else.

"General Lagune was inexperienced and made the mistake of trying to ambush the Faunus in their sleep." Blake chimed in, a hint of pride in her voice. "His massive army was outmatched and the General was captured."

Oobleck nodded approvingly. "Precisely. Now! If he had paid attention in class, he wouldn't have been remembered as such a failure."

Cardin stood up, looking ready to fight. As one, Team DPHI stood up looking just as ready to fight. "You got something you want to say, bug guy?" Grif taunted.

"Enough!" Oobleck shouted. "Mr. Winchester, sit down." Cardin glared at the teacher, but like Malfoy, he knew better than to mess with their teachers. "That goes for you too, Team Delta Phi Eta Iota." Slowly, and very reluctantly, the team sat down together. Jaune, as if he wasn't in enough trouble, started snickering at the situation. A sound that wasn't lost on their instructor. "Mr. Winchester, Mr. Arc. See me after class for additional readings." Jaune slumped in his seat. "Anyways, moving on!"

And the class continued onward as it once had. They were already hip-deep in readings so he felt bad about Jaune getting extra helpings. The painful class came to an end with the bell ringing. Harry packed his bags up and was amongst the first of the students to leave.

"Harry." Percy came up behind him, Midoriya and Grif trailing behind.

"What's this for?" Grif asked. Midoriya said nothing, watching them. Harry still wasn't entirely sure what to make of the green-haired boy; he seemed so Japanese it was almost amusing but he couldn't have been. He wasn't from Earth after all. Not to mention he was one of the most perceptive and suspicious people Harry had the pleasure of meeting. But from the few times they interacted, he seemed harmless and didn't try to kill Harry which was good enough for him. How sad was his life that was his criteria?

"Nothing." Percy said, a little too quickly. "Grif, go raid the kitchens for me please. We're going to be hungry tonight."

"What's the plan?" Midoriya asked, looking between the two.

"This is just us." Percy replied. "There's something I need to teach him about swordfighting from the last time he fought."

"Sure. Whatever. Keep your secrets." Grif grumbled. "I'm only the leader after all." He left. Midoriya cast them a suspicious look but followed behind anyways. Percy led the way to the area where Professor Goodwitch holds her classes. Percy hung back, locking the doors behind them.

"I'm rubbish with a sword but it can't be that bad."

Percy laughed. "I've seen dogs holding weapons better than you do. But that's beside the point." His mirth changed to a questioning one. "The first night here, you mentioned that you were a wizard, yes?"

"Keep it down." Harry looked around him, seeing if anyone was eavesdropping. He then looked back. "Why are you bringing this up?"

"Because you haven't used magic since Initiation, right?" Percy smirked at Harry's shocked face. "Come on. Do I look that dumb to you? There's no way a simple gun could blow the roof away like that." Harry simply nodded. "May I ask how you do that?"

Harry glanced around once more before rolling up his right sleeve. It was a leather rectangular pouch strapped on. Harry then pulled off the glove he started wearing recently. "This is the switch here." Harry explained, then jerked the wrist up. There was no click, just his wand shooting out from the socket. He grasped it immediately.

"Whoa!" Percy leaned back, his eyes wide. "That's fast."

"Just holding a wand and pointing it, leaves me open. I need to master speed. My godfather taught me how to do silent spells. Dunno if it's good enough for this crowd but it's a start at least."

"May I?" Harry saw nothing wrong with it so he handed the wand to Percy who looked at it. "It's a stick. You fight with a stick thinner than you."

Harry guffawed indignantly. "I am not that skinny!"

Percy waved him off, looking at it further. "Wow, okay. I've hung around a lot of magic in my life so I know what it feels like. This is like I'm holding the sun." He glanced up. "How is it made?"

"It is eleven inches of Holly containing a single phoenix tail feather."

Percy nodded at it, handing it back. "What would you do if it's gone?"

"Pardon?" In retrospect, Harry felt rather foolish at not even considering before what Percy had meant.

"If you got an oversized ape-man who snapped it in half, it fell into a ditch. What would you do then."

"I guess, nothing." Harry blushed. "I would need a sword to do it then. I can't do magic without it."

"You can't?" Percy sounded a little indignant at that.

Harry shook his head. "Can't is perhaps a bit strong. Wizards under the age of eleven are able to have bursts of magic where it just goes out and there's no control over it. I remember this one time in primary school, I had a teacher who was particularly nasty to me mainly because of some things my relatives told her. It got to where one day it just lashed out and I had to spend days denying any involvement in how her hair suddenly turned blue." Percy laughed at that. "It's not funny!"

"It really is." Percy calmed down. "Okay, so you can do it, it's just not good. We can work with that. While that teacher kept droning on, I had an idea in class. You can thank Midoriya for it, man that kid is sharp. You don't exactly want to advertise yourself as a wizard here so it must be something that can be mistaken for Dust being used but strong enough that it guarantee you the win."

"Okay. That makes sense." Harry replied. Wandless magic. That was something Harry dreaded doing. He remembered how Hermione tried teaching him how to do during their OWL studies but he could never do it well. Then something occurred to Harry. "What about your sword? Do you have a plan for it if it gets lost."

Percy smirked, not like the cocky ones he did before; this one seemed mirthful as if it were an inside joke. "That was been taken care of for a long time." Percy reached into his breast pocket and pulled out his ballpoint pen. Harry stared at it. Percy gripped the top of the pen and pulled it open. To Harry's astonishment, the pen grew in size, widening at Percy's hand, lengthening. In the pen's place, Riptide reflected the lights above. "This is more than just a sword. It's made of Celestial Bronze, capable of cutting through stone and metal better than other metals. And if I lose it," Percy tossed the sword into the stands, clanging against the seats as it landed. Harry waited a moment, wondering what would happen. Percy then reached into his breast pocket again. And he pulled out that same pen.

"That's just not fair." Harry blurted out. "You get a sword that returns to you at any time."

"You got actual magic on your side." Percy pointed at Harry's chest. "And you're complaining that I can use a sword?"

Harry wanted to bite back but it only took a moment of thought to understand what Percy said. "Fair enough."

"What I thought." Percy said, pocketing his pen. "So, how do you use magic?"

"Observe." Harry lifted up his wand, pointing it to one of the benches nearby. "Wingardium Leviosa!" Harry waved his wand, pointing it to the bench. Upon command, the bench lifted up 5 feet into the air and hovered for a moment lowering it. Harry looked back at Percy. He watched it all, his eyes wide.

"Is that it?" Percy asked.

"Of course not." Harry said, more indignant than he intended it. "I know a variety of spells that can do various skills. This one is my last resort." Harry whipped his wand around again. "Expecto Patronum!" Silver mist came from the tip of his wand, a large silver stag standing where it was. Percy walked to it, fascinated. He tried to place a hand on its snout but his hand passed through it. "This is a Patronus. It is a spell that collects the most positive of emotions in one place and uses it for defense or attack."

"How does it work against Grimm?" Percy looked back. He looked very curious now and a little fascinated.

Harry smiled at the memory. "Very well. Give it a minute, I could wipe out an entire pack. Made me realize these creatures must be pure negative emotion or energy since they dissipate."

Percy watched as the Patronus dissolved. "Well, that is a relief. Why do you say the words and that fancy waving around? Looks complicated."

"It's more than just fancy waving and words. It's control over the spells itself."

"Is it?"

"Aye. The word is the intent of what is done and the wand collects magic into one place, strengthening the spell itself."

"I suppose that makes sense." Percy murmured then continued. "Can you alter it at all?"

Harry nodded. "Like I said, my godfather has started teaching me about non-verbal magic so it gives me a bit of an edge."

"But you still need to think the word. Is Latin the key here?"

"Pardon?"

"Spells didn't just come into the world." Percy explained. "Magic needs control but also intent. Where I come from, words have their own power. Have you tried using other languages?"

"Uh, no?" Harry felt more foolish that he'd never considered that either.

"That's alright. Let's just stick with what we know. Latin seems to cause it. Wingardium Leviosa basically means making things fly in English. Have you tried using other words then, creating your own spells?"

"If I could do it right, I would. There's a reason we're taught magic for control."

Percy scoffed at that. "Not everything can be learned from school, you know."

"I gathered that. You've had a rough time in school, have you not?"

Percy shrugged. "Depends on your definition. How much do you know of Latin?"

"I know enough after the classes I've taken."

"Okay. So the basics. Water. What is the Latin word for water?"

"Aquamenti!" Harry waved his wand for that. A jet of water spurt out. To Harry's shock, it froze in midair, flying to the bathroom and disappearing. Harry looked to see Percy holding up his hand. "How did you do that?"

"That's a long story that I'll explain later." Percy said. He tried to keep a straight face but Harry could see his shoulders sag for a moment. Whatever it was bothered him, a lot. "How about fire. What's Latin for fire?"

"Ignis." Harry said. It then hit Harry what Percy was driving at. Intent and control. Harry looked to the tip of his wand. "Ignis!" To Harry's delight, a small flame burst on the tip of his wand. It was a tiny red flame, but a flame nonetheless.

"Nice!" Percy started clapping in congratulations at that. "Try and make it bigger."

"Ignis maxima!" The flame got bigger on his wand, the flames flicking against the grey walls. Let's see. Harry pointed his wand to the wall and a small wave of flames flew forth. But as they reached the wall, it fizzled out and died. "What happened?"

"You need to concentrate further on it." Percy placed a hand on Harry's shoulder. "That was good. Let's head back before our friends begin to wonder where we've gone." They trudged up the hallway in silence. "Harry," Harry looked back, "Let's make this a night-time session. I want you to get to where the wand is a last resort, okay?"

"Got it!" Harry replied. He would work as hard as it could, even if it drove him to exhaustion, to get it right.

Izuku Midoriya could not figure out his teammates at all. That was the main thing running through his head as he did body curls one morning in the gym. He wanted to get to know them well, much like it took him time to befriend the students in Class 1-A. But for this team, it was like an invisible barrier, a rift was always present keeping them separate. 'Loyal, kind, great swordsman, sarcastic, cold.' Midoriya thought to himself repeating each word with each curl, sweat dripping down his bare arms already. Those were the words he could use to summarize Percy Jackson. It wasn't a name he saw in Remnant often so he had his suspicions about where he came from. Atlas, maybe? No, Vacuo based on his tan. Of his teammates, he felt like they knew each other the best. He was an incredible fighter and Midoriya wanted to push his body further if he was to even somewhat compete with that skill. But despite that, whenever Midoriya would ask about his personal life, Percy would clam up and give the most generic answers he could.

Harry Potter was rather clammy too, but it was more natural as if he's been used to being alone for a long time. They didn't interact much but the times they did, Harry was probably his favorite. He was studious much like Midoriya was and despite not being strong at all, he was trying to do better. Harry reminded Midoriya a little of himself before UA, and secretly wished him the best of luck. Though one thing bothered him; if he was from Remnant, how come he had an English accent?

As for Grif, he was just a straight enigma. He was lazy but put in so much effort to be lazy he could finish his work better than even Midoriya. As for asking about his past? "Keep your nose to yourself, thanks." That was what Grif would say every time. And being leader, DPHI was getting a reputation already. Teams would try and avoid them as much as they could, whispers were heard behind their backs. Midoriya was used to it back when he was Quirkless so it was easy to avoid their glances. And yet, Midoriya wanted to think of him much like what other students thought of him, he couldn't bring himself to. It was kind of like Shoto Todoroki's place, where he just refused to open at all. And something told him that Grif had some very interesting stories to share.

Midoriya let out a breath, dropping to the ground, wiping himself down with a towel. No matter, he'd work it out later. He put his shirt back on, before getting the sense someone was watching him. He looked up. It was a group of girls who were giggling before they stopped, returning to their workout. What were they laughing about? It was just a workout. "What were they staring at?" He shrugged, walking off.

On the way, he saw Jaune trying to do some skull-crushers and failing badly. He grunted, the grip slipping slightly. In an instant, Midoriya rushed forward and caught the weight just as it was about it hit him in the head. "Whoo." Jaune said, dropping the other weight onto the floor. "Thanks. My Aura could've handled it."

"Don't rely on it so much." Midoriya said, lowering his weight. Jaune got up, packing his packs hastily. "Are you okay, Jaune?"

"Of course, I am. Why wouldn't I be?" He chuckled unconvincingly.

Midoriya stared at him with a deadpan look. "You're stuffing the weight into your bag."

"Huh?" Jaune looked down. He was indeed trying to make off with one of the weights, his water bottle next to it. "Oh, I'm a doofus." He said, replacing the bottle. He looked back to Midoriya. "No really, I'm okay. I just got myself into some trouble."

Midoriya couldn't help but feel concerned. "What is it? You can ask your teammates for help."

"There are certain things you got to do alone." Jaune said. "I've got a team now, and if I fail, I'll bring them down with me. Getting them involved might really hurt them and I won't let that happen."

Midoriya felt himself frown at that. "I get that."

"You do?" Jaune blinked.

"Yes. I would get myself hurt all the time while training to get here at Beacon. If you tell someone something sensitive or damaging, then it drags them into something they never expected or wanted." Midoriya rubbed his left arm. "And yet," he added, "There might come a time where that secret held will make you a liability, a problem that must be solved and get your friends hurt." His mind flashed back to the Training Grounds, where his arms broken prevented him from helping his classmates from helping to fight the villains and got both Kacchan and himself caught by villains. If his arms were fine, would it have turned out differently? Shaking himself from these thoughts, he placed a hand on Jaune's shoulder. "I would advise you to learn the difference and to do the right thing."

Jaune looked down in thought as Midoriya left. "That was a good thing to say." He looked to see Blake standing in the corner. She was wearing a black sports bra and long pants, a bag at her side.

"It's the truth." Midoriya said, walking to the shower. The rest of the morning passed with his regular routine (minus waking Grif up, that was Harry's turn this time) until the time came to reach the Airbuses. It may have been a Saturday now, but that didn't stop Beacon's teachers from giving extra work, in this case a field trip to Forever Falls. When prompted, Midoriya got onto the nearest Airbus. Percy, Harry and Grif were already on board waiting.

"What took you so long?" Grif asked breezily.

"Training." Midoriya answered as the doors closed shut. Harry and Percy exchanged humorous looks. That simple gesture made Midoriya a little sad in his heart. They were supposed to work together and yet these two paired together like peas in a pod yet won't let anyone else in. The trip passed quickly with Midoriya talking with Ruby about how her Quirk (Semblance, Midoriya reminded himself) worked. Midoriya had the idea of using it to create cyclones for distraction when the Airbuses landed and the hatches opened.

"Oh great. I'm home." Grif grumbled, walking out. Before them was a sea of redness, broken up only by brown sticks protruding from the ground. Murmurs broke out amongst the students about this forest's beauty. There were smug looks on team CRDL's faces, particularly Cardin. Something about it set alarms off in Midoriya's head but kept silent.

"Yes, students, the forest of Forever Fall is indeed beautiful," their guide, Professor Goodwitch said, "But we are not here to sightsee. Professor Peach has asked all of you to collect samples from the trees deep inside the forest and I'm here to make sure none of you die while doing so." A shiver went up Midoriya's spine. It was like being around Aizawa except she was far colder and blunter than even him. He shuddered at the thought of them teaching together. He heard a bump behind him and looked back. Jaune, who was carrying all of the jars for the class, bumped into Cardin. The taller boy glared at him but Jaune simply whistled. "Each student is to collect one jar of sap. Remember that this forest is rife with Grimm so always stay by your teammates. Any questions?" Someone raised their hands. "Yes, Blake?"

"What is the purpose of the jars?" She asked.

Midoriya knew it, Peach explained it to him in detail, but Goodwitch beat him to it. "The sap has many uses and benefits. Historically, it can act as attractant for Grimm which Huntsman have used to wipe out nests at a time. It has been recently discovered to have medicinal benefits, healing even the most severe wounds in mere hours." Blake nodded, satisfied with the answer. "Alright. Rendezvous back here at four o'clock. Have fun!"

Each team went their separate ways. Midoriya watched, frowning, as Jaune went off with Cardin and his team. Judging by Jaune's fearful look and Cardin's sneer, it reminded him of Bakugo and himself in recent years and it bothered him immensely. "We need to do something."

"What?" Harry asked, noting his concern and looking back.

"Jaune with those boys. Something tells me things are about to go very wrong."

Grif scoffed at that. "He's the leader of the team. If he can't take the heat, then he shouldn't be in the forest at all."

"That's not what should be!" Midoriya said as they reached a cluster of trees distant from the rest of the crowd. "He's our friend. We need to help him."

"You mean you need to help him." Grif said, taking one of the blades and scrapping the bark. "Fuck him really."

"What's your problem, mate?" Harry asked, stepping next to him. "He's been nothing but nice to us, and you're making an arse out of yourself."

"He's the leader of his group. If he can't lead him well, then he hasn't earned it." Grif grunted.

Percy opened his mouth to protest it but closed it again. He settled with, "Yeah, and you earned it."

Grif grunted. "I don't want the position so you doing the work for me has been nothing short of paradise."

"What is it with you and leadership?" Midoriya asked, taking the blade away from Grif. He barely protested when it was out of his hands nor when Midoriya started scrapping for him. "You have no problem with your inferiors but when someone above you gives orders, you can't take it well. Just tell us why. We're stuck with each other." And I learned a trick or two from Bakugo, Midoriya mentally added but didn't voice that out loud.

Grif glared at each one of his teammates then sighed. "Okay, fine. You want to know something about me? I'm sick of being shot at or stabbed at or whatever. Bullshit comes my way."

"No one shoots at you." Harry said, "I mean, outside of class."

"Well, it's an everyday thing for me." He said, then pointed to a spot on his large belly, bulging under his orange breastplate. "Did you see the spots here?" Midoriya nodded. When they undressed Grif so he could take a shower, Midoriya did notice little dark spots and indentations in his belly that stood out painfully. Midoriya remembered being concerned about seeing those. "Well, those are buck shots from Sarge."

"Wait, you were in the military?" Midoriya asked. That was new information. And if what Grif said was true (and Grif is prone to lying so that is suspect at best), it was worrying.

Grif grunted, his voice lowering. "We were the worst fucking military in the galaxy which was run by fucking assholes and stupid machines. Worst of all was the people I got stuck with and their stupid emergency plans for extreme circumstances. My unit has a whole list of them before I got out of the military. One of those 'plans' was Emergency Plan 11. You know about that?" Midoriya shook his head. "The only reason I'm alive now is that Donut shot me in the heart and couldn't initiate the rest of the plan. Turns out getting construction-grade steamrollers that are meant to grind me to toothpaste shipped out to war is a fucking hard thing to do."

Midoriya stopped scrapping, his eyes bulging in their sockets. How was Grif still alive if what he said was true! "Are you sure that's what happened?" Harry asked, trying to be placating but behind his glasses, he too looked surprised. "As in, are you sure it wasn't some kind of misunderstanding?"

"Don't believe me? That's fine." Grif said. "I don't care anyways."

"Grif, we didn't…" Midoriya stopped talking when he scrapped to the inside, red sap pouring out. "Grif, hold this glass please."

"Like hell I will." Grif said, setting the jar at Midoriya's feet. Though the sap did drip in just fine.

Not another word was said for a long time as each took their turn scrapping and collecting. It was when they filled the third jar that Percy broke the silence. "Does that happen a lot?" He asked, "I mean, your unit threaten you."

Grif scoffed. "It's a sick day or when someone's possessed when they don't threaten me, and when they are possessed, they threaten to kill me harder. One of my favorite threats Simmons gave me was this," he coughed then started talking again in a thick accent, "'Wish that Grif was dead, put a bullet through his head,' ah shit, I forgot the rest of the song."

Midoriya watched more intently than ever. Grif was usually just pure sass but something in his voice was different, almost nostalgic and sad. What he said was so absurd, even Midoriya had a hard time believing it, yet at the same time, it definitely explained how Grif was able to handle so much physical pain. And for the first time ever, Midoriya felt pity for Grif. Determination filled him and he gripped his fist, the nails digging into his flesh. "That's not us."

"Huh?" Grif asked, looking up.

"Your unit," Midoriya clarified. "It sounds horrible to be around them. But you're with us now and you're my partner. It doesn't matter what happened before, we're in this together. We'll save you no matter what."

"Sure." Percy said, nodding. "And you can handle your own. If nothing else, you'd make a good meat shield."

"Percy!" Midoriya shouted.

Percy laughed a little at that. "Kidding. Kidding!" He smiled, a genuine one. Midoriya was beginning to worry if he couldn't do that. "If you can hold your own with us, then I've got no problems here." He looked to Harry. "How about you?"

Harry didn't say anything for a moment before sighing. "Still don't know what to think of you, aye. But we are stuck together so might as well make the best of it."

Grif looked from one teammate to the next. "You're just pulling my leg, aren't you?"

"No, we're not." Midoriya answered. Before Grif could make a comeback, there was loud shouts coming from nearby. They looked to see most of the members of CRDL running by. The alarms that went away for a time came back with a vengeance. "Ursa! Ursa!" They were shouting.

"Come on!" Midoriya shouted, rushing to them nearby. His teammates ran behind them, Grif being the slowest. By the time they reached the boys, Yang had already gotten to him. "Big Ursa." The one gripped by Yang was saying.

Ruby stepped up to the plate. "Yang! You and Blake go get Professor Goodwitch."

"You two, go with them! There might be more!" Pyrrha said to Ren and Nora who simply nodded and ran off.

Ruby as she was leaving then noticed DPHI arriving. "You guys! Watch our backs in the clearing. Make sure no Grimm sneak up on us."

"You got it!" Midoriya answered.

"Stay back and let the others fight. That's a fine plan." Grif said, unfurling his oversized weapon. Percy and Harry both got out their swords and watched as Ruby and Pyrrha got to the clearing. DPHI spread out, looking all around them. Midoriya kept his ears out for any rustling. There was a sudden rush, and Midoriya looked behind him. An Ursa was charging at him now. Midoriya turned back, ready to punch when an explosion hit its face, making it disintegrate. Midoriya looked back. Grif was standing there, the barrel of his gun smoking. "Uh, you're welcome." Grif said, and even without seeing his face, Midoriya could hear his smugness.

"Behind you!" Midoriya saw another beast trying to hit Grif. With a flash of lightning, Midoriya jumped forward, rotating his body to do a roundhouse kick to its gut. The explosion knocked the beast on its back but not killing it. Grif took the chance, pointing the blade's tip into its belly and puncturing it. The Grimm dissolved to ashes.

"That was good teamwork." Pyrrha said, leading the group back down the hill. Ruby and Weiss were behind her, looking interested in the day. What surprised Midoriya the most was Jaune and Cardin; Jaune looked rough but was smiling broadly. Cardin had sap splotched over his armor and was looking shaken. "That was also a really good kick, Midoriya."

"Um, thanks?" Midoriya asked, rubbing the back of his head.

"Let's get back to Professor Goodwitch." Weiss said, looking at Jaune with something that Midoriya thought was respect.

When they did get back, Goodwitch was watching the students imperiously. "I'm glad that none of you have died today." She then glared to Cardin. "As for you, Mr. Winchester. I had heard some interesting tales from your teammates. You and I should take this up with Headmaster Ozpin."

"Yes, ma'am." Cardin said, his voice subdued. Midoriya ignored his friends around him laughing and clapping each other, choosing instead to watch Cardin and Goodwitch get on the main Airbus. He was more subdued than he ever was, making Midoriya wonder what happened on that hill and looked forward to hearing the story. And yet, he could not help feeling things would only go from bad to worse for Winchester.