Author's Note: This is currently the longest chapter I have written so far. Please review and favorite/follow. Please give constructive criticism.
Gray sat at his desk in the classroom. He was thinking back to memories of earlier in the day. Precisely when the others stood by his side as Ben said they were on his team. 'A team. Does that even matter?' he thought as he listened to the lecture.
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At the abandoned warehouse, Jimmy sat alone, contemplating his actions. 'In a moment of rashness, I made a decision that resulted in the worst possible outcome I didn't want. I should have done it myself,' in his mind, then flashed a picture of random enemies from his past and his university, 'All those fucking hyenas lurking in the background waiting for a chance to take me down since the past year. They were constantly nagging about how to crush him before word got out,' another image flashed, a distorted picture of Ben smirking and looking down on him, 'I'm not the same person I used to be. I won't be able to live with myself until I surpass Ben,' a final image flashed in his head, a distorted picture of Him smirking condescendingly, 'And that fucker too.'
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The math professor ended his lecture in cram school and told the class what to practice and study. Gray packed up quietly when Hugo and his friend passed by him. Hugo finally notices Gray wearing a Beacon uniform and notices Gray's excellent notes. "Hey, nice notes you got here. Mind if I borrowed this and got copied?" he asked disrespectfully as he snatched Gray's math notebook. Lily looked on from afar with discontent. And Gray honestly didn't care and agreed. "WOAH. These notes are perfect." Hugo's friend then responded, "Let me get a copy too. By the way, that loser looked fucking horrified. Haha."
Gray walked away uncaring and unbothered. Then someone caught a look at him: Wesley Song, a guy with glasses and light blue hair, wearing a male uniform similar to Lily's. And then to himself, he said, "What? Is that Gray Yeon? A long way from Atlas… I thought he got admitted to some science-focused university." A memory flashed in his mind from the past; in a fancy auditorium, a principal announced those with high excellence, one of them being Gray, 'Yeah, he was always on the elite road in front of the podium, winning award after award. How did he end up in Beacon, of all places? I'm sure someone like him never trained or wanted such a life. Was it because of that incident?'
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As Lily entered a bus, she noticed that she and Gray were heading in the same direction. 'Same direction and same bus… Seems like his innocent looks got his notes stolen from him. Urgh is like a child left by a river. Why does he keep weighing on my mind?' in her mind flashes an evil image of Hugo and his friend, 'Next time, I will keep him safe from the forces of evil! After all, I am deceptively strong,' laughing to herself, she thought, 'and then maybe I'll be able to talk to him too.' While she thought of this, she nearly fell over as the bus began to move. Barely catching herself from falling, she looks at Gray, 'I hope I can get to know him.'
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Back at Beacon, Ben and Gogo were in a common area talking with some other students when they learned of Gray brutally beating Dove. "Damn, Gray's even more of a fighter than you. And you got into three fights in a single day once." laughed Ben. "Honestly, it's because people think Gray is a pushover due to his appearance. Plus, that he's a pretty boy doesn't help, even if they witnessed the fight with their own eyes." "Probably. Now that he's defeated Cardin and technically team CRDL, I doubt anyone will try to mess with him whenever I'm gone. That's good since I've seen Eugene usually stick with him." "Yeah… but I wanted to be the one to kick Cardin's ass" "Ha. Like hell, you could. That dude'll crush you." "Oh, Please! I can crush that sonofabitch any day of the week!" "Anyways, I hope Jimmy Bae will stay quiet since we crushed Jack Kang and his posse." "Please, his gang was humiliated by us. That guy won't make rash decisions or plans for a while."
From afar, hearing this conversation was Phillip Kim. And Phillip was pissed. 'That Bastard Jimmy Bae didn't fight that fucking lion himself! Instead, he sent Jack Kang and crew to get Ben! Why the hell did he decide to copy him? Things aren't going the way I want. And now it seems like Gray Yeon might be a threat,' he then walked away frustrated, 'JIMMY BAE YOU OVERHYPED PIECE OF SHIT! Why Can't Things Go My Way?!'
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After a long day, the day finally ended, and the second day of classes at Beacon began. Two things were discussed throughout the morning. First was Gray's third victory against Cardin, and second was the fact that some students from a seemingly random university picked a fight with Beacon. The second topic was being discussed more because it's wild anyone would purposely pick a fight with Beacon. Many thought it was an exaggerated story because it was so unbelievable. However, both fights did one thing. They solidified Gray's place in the school. No longer was he seen as the skinny guy Ben Park carried into Beacon. Now, he was a force not to be reckoned with. "Hey, you're part of Ben's team, right? Is what this dude is saying true? Did that Gray guy beat the shit out of Dove with a book?" asked a stranger to Eugene as he walked the halls toward the mess hall. "Yeah. It's true I still get shivers of what he did. Even then, I still have difficulty believing it, and I was there for his fight against Cardin. As well as when CRDL tried to crush him," answered Eugene. "I still can't believe it," said the passerby. Eugene responded, "If you ever see him fight, you will believe it. He's unbeatable."
Suddenly, Gerard, as tall as he is, popped out of nowhere and chimed in, "Honestly, he's a petite weird guy, but. By the end of the fight, he made the guys from Yoosun run away. Gray Yeon," Gerard then trailed off as he was still groggy and left towards the mess hall. Eugene then spoke again as Gerard went, "Man, it's still crazy that the mad hound of Do-Eui High is here too." "Mad hound? That guy looks pretty quiet to be some hotshot," said the passerby; his friend chimed, "From what I saw from the past few days, all he does is sleep through many of the classes." Eugene responded to their skepticism, "What! You guys don't know the legend of Do-Eui High! Oh my." "Well, tell us about him then." "Ah, look at the time. I have to eat breakfast with my team later. Bye," said Eugene quickly, as he did not know any details.
While eating breakfast, RWBY and JNPR asked Ben, Gerard, Gogo, and Gray questions, with many people eavesdropping to hear their answers. "So four fights in a week, huh? You're quite something, Gray," grinned Yang as she then continued, "But as much as those assholes deserved that beating was what you did to Dove necessary? It honestly seems quite overkill." "Of course, it was overkill. He beat Dove into bloody unconsciousness, knocking out his teeth with a book," nearly screamed Weiss as she then continued her rant while looking toward Gray, "This is a prestigious huntsman academy, and for you to sully it with such violence. *hollow laugh* you're no better than a thug." Gray stopped reading his study booklet and looked at Weiss, angered by her comment. In his head, he thought of the past, himself panting with blood on his uniform as people looked at him with horror and disbelief, "You don't get it. You say I'm no better than a thug, but I'm not the one starting fights for no reason. Honestly, Weiss, you never understood what it's like to be in my position, picked on for no reason, and getting caught up in petty revenge. You never understood living in your ivory castle away from the real world." With that, Gray left Weiss red-faced in embarrassment as both refused to look at each other.
Feeling the tension, Yang asked Ben a question about the group fight that had taken place the day before. "So some random university students picked a fight with you guys? I mean, who's stupid enough to take on Beacon students? We're training to be some of the best huntsmen around," said Yang. Ben answered Yang's question, "Well, to us, they weren't some random delinquents. They were some assholes from Yoosun U," Ben sighed, closing his eyes and with his ears twitching in frustration, "Honestly, they were there for me, but sadly Gray and Gerard got caught up in it." "Yoosun U? Is that some sort of secret huntsman academy?" asked Nora. "Nah, Yoosun's a private university. A civilian school," answered Gogo. "Seriously!" exclaimed Ruby, "Wait, what do you mean they were there for you? What did you do to get on their bad side?" "Well, honestly, it's because a year ago, I pretty much beat up their top guy back in high school. However, the fight never really finished due to. Reasons," responded Ben, intentionally not revealing why he never finished the fight with Jimmy Bae. "Well, on the forum Shuttle Patch, everyone agrees you stomped Jimmy Bae," commented Eugene. "Neat," said Ben, smiling. "So, were they just a bunch of auraless bullies who thought they had a chance at beating you guys?" Asked Jaune. "Nah, they had aura, all right, and one had a semblance," answered Gerard. "Jack Kang. Weaker than me, though he is one tough motherfucker. Stronger than Gogo," added Ben. "Oh, shut up," pouted Gogo. "Hey Eugene, isn't Jack Kang's semblance something that makes his punches strong?" asked Rowan. "Yeah, on Shuttle Patch, it's unofficially called hyper-fists," answered Eugene. "Is there some chance they'll start targeting other students?" asked Pyrrha with concern for the others. "Probably, but Jimmy Bae doesn't care about attacking other students. He only wants to fight me," answered Ben. Breakfast then went on uneventfully, with the only thing lingering amongst the group and the students being that out in Vale, there are people strong enough to pick fights with Beacon.
Word even spread to the teachers as Ozpin discussed it with Glynda. "Ozpin, the first thing I want to discuss is that yesterday, a fight broke out between students that ended with one of the students being brutally knocked unconscious with zero aura. Secondly, BWGE and GART members were involved in a group fight against some delinquents from a private university. What concerns me is that they all had aura, and some even had semblances. Never before did we have to worry about our students getting into altercations with civilians like that, maybe the odd criminal or two, but never civilians. And what bothers me even more is that they chose to initiate the fight, not our students." Ozpin pondered a bit at his desk before answering, "While the fight that involved Mister Yeon and team CRDL ended violently, it was in self-defense on Mister Yeons end, but I will want to talk to him later today to discuss his brutality. As for that fight, while it does concern me that civilians initiated the fight, from what I gathered from the students, it is apparent that the fight started from a long-standing feud between those students and Mister Park. And while they did have aura and some had semblances, they weren't that much trouble as those boys returned relatively unharmed. However, I want to speak with those boys to understand better what happened. So, for now, we will leave it at that. If more trouble arises, we will discuss it in more detail later. I surmise that will be all for now, as we have things to do and classes to teach Glynda." "If you say so, Ozpin, I will be off now."
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Time has passed, and Professor Goodwitch's combat class has started. "Today in class, we will begin combat training by fighting one another. Fights will be randomized. And we will begin now," said Professor Goodwitch as she tapped on her scroll pad. The presenter screen showed two images and names: "Jaune Arc vs Eugene Gale." Both boys got nervous as neither were good at fighting or had the proper training or skills. And both believe that the other will wipe the floor with them. The match begins, and both sides are given shouts of encouragement from their respective teams. Jaune rushes Eugene, and Eugene hides behind his riot shield.
Eugene accidentally trips Jaune and then runs away and begins to shoot Jaune blindly. Most shots miss, but some hit Jaune. Jaune uses his shield to protect himself as he moves forward. Jaune hits Eugene from his blindside. As Eugene fell to the ground, he held his shield to defend himself. Jaune began to hit him, using his sword as a bat. Eugene used his semblance to weaken Jaune, but unfortunately, Jaune had the upper hand as Eugene was on the ground. Eugene kept scooting backward as Jaune continued hitting until Eugene fell off the stage and lost by ring out. Both fighters felt embarrassed by the whole ordeal. Due to his large aura, Jaune was left in the green, while Eugene's aura went down to yellow.
Some were laughing, and others were stunned. JNPR and BWGE tried their best to show support. Professor Goodwitch was stunned slightly due to their immense lack of skills. Reorganizing her wits, she said, "Congratulations, Mr Arc, for your… victory. However, there were several mishaps in your battle. Firstly, how you wielded your sword was more like wielding a bat instead. Not only that, but you recklessly swung it around without much thought. Your swings were overly sloppy and needlessly wasted energy. Your movements were sloppy and unorganized as well. You fell over an accidental trip that should have been easy to avoid. Practice your swordsman skills, shield, and spatial movements for improvement," Jaune was visibly shallow as he heard what she said, "Now, Mr Gale. When first attacked, your instinct was to hide behind your shield. You should have prepared for the attack instead. You were lucky to have tripped Mr Arc but failed to use that opportunity for a successful counterattack. Instead, you ran away. While you were wise to shoot Mr Arc, most of your shots were missed. And when attacked again, you hid behind your shield in a remarkably clumsy manner, allowing you to get hit. You did successfully use your semblance. However, when you were on the ground, you did not try to trip Mr Arc; instead, you kept sliding back until you fell over," Eugene visibly deflated, "Do practice your marksmanship, shield, and spatial movements for improvement. Return to the lockers and your seats as we begin the next fight." Professor Goodwitch then prepared and repaired the arena from the scratches and bullet shots. Jaune and Eugene returned after putting away their weapons and sat at their seat, completely embarrassed.
Professor Goodwitch then received the following two combatants, "Ben Park vs. Yang Xioalong." "Try not to get embarrassed," playfully said Yang. "Don't worry; it's not me who'll get embarrassed," playfully said Ben back. Ben walked directly to the stage instead of the lockers. "Mr Park, aren't you going to get changed?" "Nah, I'm good, plus my huntsman clothes are just casual clothes, so there's no real difference between this uniform and that." Professor Goodwitch said nothing else as they waited for Yang. Both got ready. Yang got into her fighting stance. But Ben was standing, almost like an immovable stone pillar. Pyrrha became immensely focused, noticing that Ben held himself in a way that screamed experience, 'the way Ben is standing. While it looks like he's not caring, it is quite the opposite; that's not the face of overconfidence. That's the face of someone who's seen real battle.' To Yang, how she saw Ben made her feel like she needed to give this fight her all, 'He's just standing there. But what is this pressure I'm feeling? I can't give him a single inch of breathing room.' Yang's stance became more focused.
"Begin," yelled Professor Goodwitch, and the fight began. Yang held her stance as Ben started to walk to her. And then, she immediately rushed in and went for a gut punch. The moment it landed, she shot him with her gauntlet, pushing Ben backward. He went for a swing, but she dodged under it and began to rush into him. This gave Yang an immense boost in confidence as she went on the offensive. Landing hits on Ben as he left himself open. Then Ben sent a haymaker towards her stomach. She blocked it with her hands, but that slow, simple punch sent her flying backward. 'WHAT THE HELL!' she thought in shock as she saved herself from being ringed out. At this point, Ben finally got warmed up and went in for the offense. Yang shot at him, but now that he was thoroughly entranced in the fight, he dodged her shots. Yang then blasted off towards him, going for a flying punch. As she shot-punched him, she felt something hit her cheek, and she was sent down toward the side of the arena. At this point, Yang looked up and saw a smiling Ben, which promptly pissed her off, setting off her semblance. In an eruption of fire, Yang flew toward Ben, rushing in for a flurry of punches, and Ben responded in kind. Both punched each other with immense strength, but Yang let herself get hit with attacks that lowered her aura immensely while Ben dodged and weaved through her attacks. Suddenly, she saw a punch hitting her face with immense speed and strength. 'A stone pillar?' she thought before her vision went dark as she suddenly felt herself hit a wall.
When Yang rushed at Ben, Ben activated his semblance and started to fight her into a brutal slugfest, avoiding any real hits that could lower his aura immensely. 'She's strong, but,' he hit her with a punch that made her stagger for a second before their slugfest continued, 'I'm stronger.' In an instant, Ben threw a heavy punch at her face, hitting her. It was so strong that it sent her into a wall, reducing her aura to zero and knocking her out. Yang showed no more aura on the screen, leaving Ben in yellow. Professor Goodwitch immediately rushed to Yang's side to check if she was alright. 'Aw shit! I think that was too strong.' nervously thought Ben as he looked at Yang in her unconsciousness. Professor Goodwitch felt relieved as Yang eventually opened her eyes, and she helped her up. "Ow. My face," she put a hand up to her now swelling cheek. "Are you all right to stand, miss Xioalong?"
"I'll be fine, just… just a lot of pain." After ensuring Yang was alright, Professor Goodwitch spoke, "Congratulations on your victory, Mr Park. You and Miss Xioalong fought an intense battle. Now, onto your mishaps in the fight, Mr Park; you left yourself wide multiple times, allowing Miss Xioalong to get in numerous hits. There were also times when your punches weren't as fast as they could have been, making you miss them. It was evident that it took you a while to start fighting seriously. As for your fighting style, it is evident that while you do have experience under your belt, it is pretty clear you heavily rely on your strength to make up for your lack of finesse and technique. Practice more hand-to-hand techniques and be always ready to fight to avoid needing to warm up during the fight. That will be all you need to improve," Professor Goodwitch then turned her attention to Yang, who now had a visible bruise on her face, "Miss Xioalong, you fought well, but you did leave yourself open at times in the fight and took attacks that left you wide open. When your semblance activated, you used more risky maneuvers, leading to defeat since your rage made you easy for vital attacks. For improvements, learn to channel your anger so that it doesn't overtake you and practice avoiding unnecessary blows. That will be all for you two, but Miss Xioalong, visit the infirmary after class." Professor Goodwitch started repairing the arena as Ben and Yang returned to their seats. "Holy crap Ben, that punch was something else," said Yang massaging her cheek. "Sorry for knocking you out; I didn't think I was that strong," sincerely said Ben. "Ha, you ass," laughed Yang as the both of them reached their respective seats.
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The next combatants were chosen, and one of the competitors caught more people's eyes: "Pyrrha Nikos vs. Gerard Jin." Everyone wanted to see how perfect the invincible girl was. Gerard awkwardly smiled as he thought, 'Just my luck. I have to fight someone considered the strongest freshman in Beacon.' Both went to the lockers to get ready.
Entering the arena, both went into a fighting stance. Then the battle began, with Gerard activating his semblance and rushing in to get a kick into Pyrrha. The kick was aimed at her face, but Pyrrha was able to block it with her Akoúo̱ while simultaneously shooting Gerard point-blank in the chest, with Miló sending him back. He landed in a roll as Pyrrha began shooting at him, with all the shots hitting him, and he did what he could to block them. Gerard ran full speed with another kick to force her into close combat quarters. Pyrrha then switched Miló into sword mode and parried his kick with Miló. Gerard tried to shoot her with his right leg as he was parried, but she was able to block it with Akoúo̱, making her slide back slightly. Pyrrha went in on the offensive, attacking Gerard with Miló making precise attacks that wasted little energy. Then, by accident, using Akoúo̱, Pyrrha revealed Gerard's scar to herself.
This triggered Gerard immensely as he went berserk, ignoring the pain from her attacks. This caught Pyrrha off guard for a second as Gerard head-butted her and then kicked her away in the stomach, launching her back. Pyrrha landed on the ground and rolled onto her knees. She looked up as Gerard was in the air with a kick, aiming to drop it on her face. She dodged out of the way and backed up to get space between them. Then, acting as if nothing had happened, she rushed into the offensive again, this time attacking with even more ferocity, not giving Gerard any breathing room to react until he was on the ground, facing her. At this point, Gerard calmed down while staring at Pyrrha's Miló. With that, Professor Goodwitch stopped the match as Gerard's aura was in red, and he was in a position where he could no longer fight. "Congratulations to Miss Nikos for your victory." Pyrrha put out a hand to help Gerard up, and Gerard took it smiling, "Man, you are invincible." Pyrrha responded, "If I were invincible, I would not have been hit; it's been a while since someone has done that. You have a lot of skill." They both walked toward Professor Goodwitch, and she then began to talk about their fight, "Miss Nikos, you fought excellently, and there is nothing I could say for you to improve on. Continue practicing and improving your skills to greater heights. Now, Mr Jin, you faced an uphill battle against Miss Nikos, but throughout the entire fight, I noticed that you purposely did what you could not to use hands, arms, or fists. For improvement, use your arms more in combat and practice your leg movements and attacks. And that will be all for you two." They returned to their seats as Professor Goodwitch prepared the arena for two more fights.
Two more fights passed, and then class ended, going into lunch.
Author's Endnote: I did not know how to end the chapter properly, so the ending was lackluster. However, this chapter shows a bit of where the characters stand when compared to each other. Pyrrha, Ben, and Gerard/Yang are in order from strongest to weakest regarding fighting. It's probably a bit controversial, but I think it makes sense.