Small Issues
AN: A little later release than I had hoped for but it's here now. Strap in for a bit of fun and education!
Teammates
If there was one thing that Jaune Arc was used to, it was sleeping in a full room. Hard not to when he was one of eight children from his parents, it was bound to happen on occasion even as they were all at or approaching adulthood.
He sat up in his bed, feeling the strains from the initiation test on his muscles and joints as he stretched in the early morning sun. Some things from living on a farm just stuck and wouldn't leave for quite a while, if ever.
He looked over the beds where his team were sleeping, he let his mind assess them from what little he knew from yesterday.
Lie Ren, who just goes by Ren, is a quiet young man. Really, really quiet. He was observant but would only seem to speak as needed such as when directly spoken to or to chide or counter Nora, who is apparently his best friend since childhood.
On Nora Valkyrie… she was a hyperactive ball of energy… a rather short girl with strength that far exceeds what one would expect for her size. And while Ren was quiet and stoic, she expressed more emotion and spoke enough to more than make up for her best friend, though she would calm down when he asked… most of the time.
And Pyrrha Nikos. She unlocked his aura and helped to save him several times yesterday. Though, even if by accident, she got her 'revenge' by embarrassing him in front of the entire school with that little punch to the shoulder that knocked him down. But her kindness and understanding matched her skill in battle and that was something he could appreciate greatly.
"Is something troubling you?"
"Ah!" The blonde turned to find that nobody had moved- Nora still sprawled across her bed, Pyrrha laid on her side, and Ren flat on his back. But he recognized the speaker as Ren. "Y-you're awake?"
"I have been meditating for some time now." He still hasn't moved beyond his mouth as needed.
"W-wow, you're so… you… I thought you were sleeping."
"It also helps to keep Nora quiet." Ren smiled just a little.
Jaune glanced at the snoring ginger, recalling how loud and bubbly the girl is when awake. "I see." With that said, the blonde walks over to his belongings and pulls out his clothes for the day. "I'm gonna grab a shower real quick."
—
In the room of team RWBY, two girls had woken with the sun… and their usual activity levels not allowing them to sleep in much. Another was reading a book, though it was unclear if she had started it before initiation or had started it this morning and was already halfway through. The last one was still sleeping, unaware of a deep breath being taken next to her or the whistle being raised to the lips.
TTTWWWWEEEEEEWWWEEEEEEEWWWEEEEETTT!
Thanks to that 'alarm', Weiss fell out of bed as she woke up and panicked, landing on the floor tangled in her sheets.
It didn't take her long to figure out what happened, if Blake was smiling at her as if she had gotten revenge… while rubbing her ear, Yang was openly laughing, and Ruby held her whistle in hand with a proud smile.
"Goooood mooorning Teeeaamm RWBY!"
"Mornin' Ruby! Blake. Ice Queen!" The blonde chirps happily.
"What is wrong with you?!" The heiress screams at the young team leader.
"Oh come on, Weiss." Yang was quick to defend her sister, though the grin never left her lips. "The rest of us were already up, it was either you waking up that way or from us doing stuff."
Even with it being so early and disturbed, Weiss could see the logic in that. "And why the whistle?"
"Insurance that you'd get up."
Blue eyes glared at the blonde before the owner stood up with her sheets and dropped back into her bed with a huff.
That lasted a full three seconds before… TTTWWWWEEEEEEWWWEEEEEEEWWWEEEEETTT!
And Weiss found herself on the floor on the other side of her bed and the sisters laughing about it… again.
A few minutes later, Weiss had made her bed, though it was more from watching the others do it on their own than from any experience.
"Now what do we do with our free day?" The shortest girl asks, something that slightly miffed Weiss to find the night before, having to physically look up to Ruby with her raised boots off.
"I know I'm gonna decorate!" Yang declares as she pulls her bag from the cabinet and opens it to reveal that she had an Envision Dragons poster.
"You read my mind sis!" The youngest was quick to retrieve her own belongings and show off her own poster for DAK/A (Deaths and Kills/Assists). Almost as one, they both ran to either side of the window to put them on the wall but in doing so they found a small problem…
"Hey! Watch it!"
"Sorry Weiss!"
"Really Yang? That's my bed you stepped on."
"Sorry Blake."
Weiss pinched the brigade of her nose. "I have no idea how we are going to survive the week with them in here like this, let alone the rest of the school year."
As much as Blake didn't want to agree with her… "Yeah, there's no room to move."
And the sisters heard that, immediately getting ideas. "Bunk beds!"
"Huh?" "What?" The black and white pair ask as they didn't follow the train of thought immediately.
—
"What is going on over there?" Jaune had to ask as he rolled his shoulders after holding his arms up for so long.
The reason was because he and the rest of the team realized that the room didn't offer much in the way of privacy and if they needed to change clothes, the sole bathroom wasn't particularly ideal. So they took an extra white sheet they had along with a cable Nora had… for some reason, and erected a curtain across the room to divide boys from girls. And as the tallest of the team, Jaune had the duty of holding said cable up to proper height while Pyrrha fastened it in place.
Nora… was unideal for the situation, being too short to even reach his elbow when his arms are raised, without jumping. And Ren was skeptical that she'd put more than just the nail through the wall. So the longtime best friends settled for holding the curtain to take some of the weight off the blonde.
The others listened as the sounds of banging, sliding, and muffled yells drifted through the wall… and they didn't miss the blasts from a whistle either. That was hard not to hear, even through the well insulated walls.
"Perhaps they are rearranging their room." Pyrrha suggests, having helped her mother move furniture on occasion back at home.
"Yeah, sounds like it." Jaune agrees, more than familiar with the acts thanks to being part of a large family.
CRASH
"Think they'll be okay?" Nora looked a little worried about the commotion from across the hall, especially once she heard a bit of panic.
"They are Huntresses, I believe they can handle moving some furniture around their room." Ren finally speaks.
"I hope so."
—
"There we go! We have bunk beds!" Ruby cheerfully announced as the team stood by the door and looked upon the amount of open floor space they now had to enjoy.
Cabinets had been moved to the sides of the room while their desks are now on either side of the door. The corner shelves were left alone while the short bookcases were now between Blake and Weiss' beds under the window and next to Blake's on the other side. Various bits of the girls luggage were strewn around, sitting on cabinets and next to them on the floor- Weiss' white suitcases standing out in particular.
The biggest change were the beds with Yang's being put over Blake's and using a short stack of books between them to give the latter some headroom.
And Ruby's… was not connected to Weiss' at all, instead the bed was suspended by several lengths of rope and hooks in the ceiling… using some extra rope as a frame to hang a curtain made from a white sheet around her bed, granting the user some privacy. Luckily, those ropes did not interfere with the fan.
They had been allowed to keep their relics from initiation, the golden knight pieces sitting in front of the open window.
"I… do not feel safe sleeping under that." Weiss deadpans.
"It looks great to me!" Yang boasted as she crossed her arms.
"You had to lift the bed off your sister once already." Blake pointed out, making Ruby sweat nervously at the memory of that incident.
"Ehehehe! Whatever, it's done now!" The young leader tries to change the subject away from her accident. If she was going to say more, that ended when Yang threw her up and onto her bed before hopping up herself. "Yang!"
"See Weiss? Is this sturdy enough for you?" The bed swayed a little but little else, even with the rough movement of the sisters on it.
"I… suppose that will have to do." She relented, not seeing much to argue about that wouldn't involve a huge argument.
—
"Ugh! How did we forget about breakfast?" Yang grumbles as she waits in line at the cafeteria.
"You too, huh?" Jaune was in the same boat. Technically, everyone on both teams had forgotten about the meal while they dealt with things in their own dorms until breakfast was already over. So now they were all feeling famished as they awaited their lunches.
The large room was more colorful than most would expect, mostly because the students within were wearing their casual clothes or chosen mission gear, the latter primarily older students.
And by large, that meant that it could hold the entire student body and faculty which totaled to over three hundred people. Long wooden tables placed end to end ran the length with matching benches sat on polished marble floors.
Stone block walls held tall windows to allow for copious amounts of natural light and the entrance held equally sized wooden doors. The roof was held up by expansive arches, giving the populace plenty of room should any of them need to jump but mostly to help provide ventilation for so many in a single room.
The meal turned out to be pizza with a choice of toppings.
"Wait… you never had pizza before?" Jaune had to ask his teammate.
Pyrrha blushed as she looked down at the slices on her plate, unsure how to eat it without watching others. "My trainers always said that it wasn't on my diet plan… and I just got used to that."
"Why would you need a diet plan?" Nora asks before taking a huge bite of her meat laden slice.
"The plan is to maintain a structured balance to ensure proper nutritional intake along with exercising around my combat training." The Mistral Champion told them, but how she said it was as though it was a mantra that was drilled into her.
"Nothing wrong with that." Weiss agreed readily as she had gone through the same.
Ruby, Yang, and Nora looked at each other, wondering why they were so dedicated to that.
"Umm… we've eaten pretty much anything we've wanted and we're fine." Yang spoke for her family.
"You'd be surprised at how many pancakes Nora can eat." Ren adds.
"Reigning eating champ from our old school! Nobody's gonna break my records!" The short ginger declares loudly, more than enough to get nearly half of the cafeteria to look her way.
Admittedly, Weiss had seen Yang as she had dressed for the day and had taken note that the girl had plenty of muscle without being too pronounced and had curves that many women desired… and a chest that gave the Heiress jealousy. Ruby was much the same, just a slightly smaller package. Pyrrha had seen Nora too, the girl may be short but has curves and muscles that seemed almost too much.
Weiss and Pyrrha glanced at each other before shrugging. "I suppose… that we can stick to our diets while enjoying some indulgences." Weiss declared as she raised a fork and knife.
"Precisely." Pyrrha nods, though she lifted her slice by the crust as she had seen the others do before taking a bite with some pepperoni…
"Weiss?"
"What is it, Ruby?"
"Why are you cutting your pizza? It's finger food." The girl shakes her half eaten slice a little for emphasis.
"Because I do not eat 'finger food'. And I'd rather not risk staining my clothes." She pointedly stared at the sauce around Ruby's mouth. She stabbed a cut piece, plain cheese, and put it into her mouth…
The rest of the teams watched the pair for their decision… aside from Blake who had gone back for more with anchovies.
And they didn't respond with words, as both of them- after the first bite to get the taste- tore into the rest of their slices with increased speed. It was rather amusing to watch as Weiss tried to combine speed and dainty manners as she ate while Pyrrha soon had some sauce on her cheeks, which she wiped away with a napkin once she finished eating the crust.
"Can I have some more, please?" She asks with a blush.
"I would not mind sampling some of the other flavors." Weiss adds.
"Yes!" The three more excitable girls cheer and give a round of high-fives to each other and Jaune before Ruby and Nora ran up to the line for the order.
"Heh! This ought to be good." Yang laughs as she finishes her plate.
"What makes you say that?" Jaune had to ask.
"Besides getting to show 'high society' how good common food is?" She gestures towards Weiss.
"Yeah."
"We missed breakfast and we're hungry enough to probably put down a full pizza each. I wanna see what we got here so I know what to grab next time." She grinned.
"Hmm, that I can't argue against."
"Mine!" The shout drew the attention of the teams to where Blake had gotten ahold of an entire pizza covered with anchovies… and what looked like squid. And Weiss had reached over for a slice to try but the girl in black was protective of her meal, nearly hugging it. And it didn't help that Blake didn't have much that was nice to say to Weiss before.
"Are you going to settle them?" Jaune asks as he watches the standoff, which was odd because Blake had one arm around her tray like a wall as the other hand fed her all while she glared at the Heiress. He had seen his sisters be like this on occasion.
"Eh, I'll break it up if they go too far." The brawler shrugs but keeps an eye on them.
"Pizza time!" Ruby and Nora announce as they both come back with a tray in each hand, setting them on the table for all to enjoy.
And enjoy they did. True to her claim, Yang ate a full eight slices, with a preference towards the meat toppings, as did Nora. Ruby put down seven slices, having a sweeter taste and thus drawn to the ham and pineapple. Ren stopped at four topped with spinach as Jaune had six pepperoni. Blake stopped at six slices herself but picked off all of the toppings and ate those.
Pyrrha was a bit of a surprise, finishing a full pizza herself in total as she sampled different flavors… and wound up finding that she liked putting some crushed red pepper flakes on hers. Weiss couldn't take that kind of heat and settled with the ham and pineapple as her choice, though not without declaring that it was healthier thanks to the fruit and leaner meat. Still, it was a surprise that she finished five slices before she was full.
"How was that, Weiss?" Ruby asks as she stretches while they walked around campus.
"Ugh, I don't think my stomach can hold any more."
"Just so long as you don't puke on my boots." Yang laughs as she hops on a low wall, Jaune giving an embarrassed grin at the reminder.
"I'll try not to." The heiress rubs her stuffed abdomen in an attempt to settle it. "But how can you jump around like that? You ate more than me."
"What can I say? My family has a healthy appetite." The blonde tells her before jumping off the wall with a flip. "Murder on the budget though."
"Your budget?"
"Nothing for you to worry about, we get by."
The others shared glances, though it was Ren and Nora who understood the most as they had nothing but what they could scrounge up or whatever small stipend they got from their previous school.
The self tour of campus continued without incident, besides Blake lingering by the library until it was closer to dinner and the early spring air began to cool noticeably.
Dinner was uneventful as the students dug into their evening meal, though Weiss settled with a small salad.
Uneventful until a team of second year students approached them.
"So… you're the newbies who took out a Deathstalker and a Giant Nevermore during initiation?" A tall girl wearing shades and a beret declares as she walks up to their table, flanked by a tall, dark skinned man with shaggy red hair, covered in scars, and apparently is blind. On the other side of her is a much larger man with broad shoulders and big muscles. But those two drew most of the attention from the smallest member of the team, a girl with long brown hair and a pair of rabbit ears.
"Uhh… yeah?" Yang wasn't too sure about how this was going.
"Pretty good for rookies but you gotta tell us the details." The woman leaned down with a smile.
"And you are?" Weiss asks, not exactly thrilled by the lack of manners.
"Coco Adel, leader of Team CFVY (coffee)." She informs them smoothly, as if she was used to doing things this way, mixing a bit of rudeness with strong confidence and savvy. "And these are Yatsuhashi Daichi." She motions to the mountain of a man. "And Fox Alastair." She gestures to the blind one. "And Velvet Scarletina." She gives the bunny girl a strong pat on the shoulder.
Ruby and Jaune introduced their teams, impressed by the older students' attitude.
"Nice to meet ya, but still, spill it. We wanna know what happened with those Grimm." Coco sat on the bench to show she wasn't going anywhere while lowering her shades to display the seriousness in her brown eyes.
"Well…. It's a long story." Ruby was a bit hesitant as nerves began to take hold.
"We have the time." Coco insists.
And so the first years took turns explaining their view of what happened as CFVY sat quietly and listened. But the when it came to how Jaune and Pyrrha found the Deathstalker, Fox began laughing, even Coco having a grin.
"What's so funny?!"
"You! Walked right into the cave when it has warnings outside!" The blind man chuckled. "And to think that when we found that cave." He gestures to Coco. "I told her only an idiot would go in there!"
As the pair laughed, Jaune hung his head in shame as Pyrrha was silenced by indecision on how to defend themselves. At least until the massive hand of Yatsuhashi patter them on the back. "What really matters is that not only did you make it out alive, but killed it so that nobody else could be harmed by it."
Jaune weakly laughed at that praise. "Yeah."
"And you decapitated a Giant Nevermore!" Velvet bounced in her seat, her shyness giving away to excitement. "That must have really been a sight to see!"
"Ha! You got that right!" Yang boasts with a wide grin. "We launched Ruby at it and she got the wedge in before I became the hammer and slammed through it!"
"I think we get it." Coco laughs, though puts a finger to her chin. "But then again… if Yatsu somehow can't cut through something, I guess we could try throwing Fox at it too."
"Hey!" The blind man protested, causing more laughter to erupt.
Coco was the first to calm down. "Anyway, we gotta get going, need to get some sleep or risk nodding off in math class first thing. But still, if you kids pulled off stunts like that during initiation, I won't say no to a spar to see how good you really are."
"Oh really?!" Ruby's eyes lit up from the acknowledgment.
"You betcha." She and her team stood up and began walking away. "Later kids!"
Velvet lingered a little as she had been the one to sit by Blake. "Nice meeting you." She says with a small wiggle of her ears as she bowed slightly.
"Looks like despite the rough start for today, things are turning out quite well now that we are being commended by the upperclassmen." Weiss preened herself.
"I just can't wait to see what they can do." Yang slammed her fists together.
"They would be an excellent gauge for how much we need to improve." Pyrrha adds, ignoring Jaune's worried gulp.
"Yeah! Let's hit them!" Nora stood up on her seat… only for Ren to grab her wrist and pull her back down.
—-
Sleep came easily for the teams, who ensured that everything was ready for the next day before early bedtime, led by Ren and to the surprise of all but one, Yang, who had already taken upon herself to be the team 'mom', if out of habit more than anything.
It was also the first real test for the newly 'assembled' bunk beds in RWBY's room, which much to their surprise, delight, and relief, did NOT fail.
But deep into the night, Weiss woke up.
There was no alarm, no need for the bathroom, nor a nightmare. It was just a sense of danger, like someone was glaring at her with thoughts of harming her.
Unfortunately, she was used to such stares but she still had to know where it came from. Especially at this time of night.
Laying on her back, she had a good view of the bed hanging above her, not only did she not see the girl who occupied it but she could hear her light breathing as she slept.
To her left, Yang was sprawled out across her bed and snoring. Thankfully it wasn't too loud at the moment.
Below the blonde, Blake was quietly sleeping with her head turned away. It was odd that she still wore her bow to bed but nobody was willing to question the decision yet.
Maybe it was just paranoia, having been dealing with how her father treated her has left its mark and it would take some getting used to the freedom.
She rolled over onto her side to face the wall… only to feel the eyes on her back once more.
—-
Teams RWBY and JNPR rose with the sun and donned the school uniforms for classes. Ren and Jaune have black suit pants and jackets with a blue vest over a white shirt. The red tie of a first year closed their collars while they wore brown shoes. The girls wore red plaid skirts, black stockings, brown, nearly black jackets with tan vests over a white shirt. Red ribbons held their collars closed while they too had brown shoes.
The biggest differences came in how the girls wore their stockings. Ruby and Pyrhha both wore theirs pulled up all the way, while Yang's stopped just short of her skirt. Blake pulled hers just high enough to cover her knees while both Weiss and Nora kept their knees exposed.
But they had to quickly get to breakfast and straight to their first class after that.
—-
Having their Grimm Studies first thing in the morning was something that normally got first year students excited at Beacon. An entire class dedicated solely to learning more about the creatures of darkness for which they were training to fight.
And then there was the teacher for the class- Professor Peter Port. A short and stocky man who was getting quite the gut, though given that he was in his sixties and possibly pushing into his seventies, nobody could fault him for putting on weight as he slowed down, especially for a teaching job that would keep him from getting around as much as he used to.
He looked the part of a professional, with his burgundy double breasted coat with gold buttons, brown pants tucked into his knee high boots. His hair is grey and neatly parted down the middle, thick grey eyebrows, and an equally thick grey mustache that hid most of his mouth.
The classroom has a set of rising tiers, each of them split down the middle by a set of stairs and flanked on both ends by stairs as well. Each tier held a desk that ran the length of each section as well as a bench for the students to sit. At the front of the room, the Professor's desk sat in the middle… with a bronze bust of himself next to the large blackboard. Above the board, numerous diagrams of various Grimm were hung. On the wall behind the students are mounted taxidermy heads of Grimm.
Everyone took their seats before the bell rang, not that there were any assigned seats, and the teacher began.
"Welcome! Welcome to your first day at Beacon, it gives me great honor to host your first class at our prestigious academy." The man was loud and a bit boastful, yet said everything with genuine pride and honesty. "I am Professor Peter Port and will be instructing you in the best methods for hunting Grimm no matter where you encounter them! After all, this is why it is Grimm Studies, haha!"
The attempt at humor fell rather flat and he noticed that by the perplexed looks he was getting.
"Hmm, now can any of you tell me what is the most common variant of Grimm in the region of Vale?" Many of the students raised their hands to answer. "You there, what is it?" He points to Yang.
"Beowolves." The blonde responds with a smile.
"Correct! Though the Nevermore are just as numerous, even if most of them are small and weak, that only makes them harder to get counted accurately."
Many of the students took notes on that bit of information, much to the approval of Port.
"Now, to help you visualize such things, I shall regale you all with the tale of one of my early hunts when I was about your age." The Professor began as he slowly paced in front of his desk, occasionally running his hands over the weapon set on a stand on his desk. A blunderbuss with a pair of large axe blades set into the stock. "Many years ago, I had been tasked with ridding a farm of Beowolves that had been terrorizing the residents night after night. Naturally, I dealt with the beasts easily yet even before I could report to the farmers of my success, I had been besieged by a flock of small Nevermore and found out why their flocks are called a Murder…"
The story continued and while there were points that were quite enlightening, and notes were being taken on them, the fact that it kept going on… and on… and on… and on made attention strain to stay on track.
Weiss was somehow writing down every word while Pyrrha, Ren, and Yang managed to jot down key parts. Blake, Nora, and Ruby struggled between listening intensely or writing notes… though Blake was more like Jaune, struggling to write anything since he was more caught up in the story but she wasn't interested. But for Weiss, she began to notice as Ruby tried to entertain herself, doing things like doodling, balancing her pencil, and such… much to the ire of the Heiress. Adding to that, the fact that Yang wasn't discouraging the behavior, even laughing at some of it, the rest of the students who were so willing to do much of the same as her 'leader', and that Professor was so caught up in his tale that he wasn't calling out the disrespect.
And for someone who took their studies very seriously, this was unacceptable.
"A Huntsman must be diligent, resourceful, and always vigilant alongside their bravery and sharpened skills." Port concluded his story, though adding to Weiss' frustrations was that she had been so distracted by the antics of others that she had missed the last bits. "Now, which of you believe that you have the makings of a true Huntsman?"
Weiss stood up with her hand raised, her combined anger and desire to prove herself overriding her usual decorum. "I do sir!"
Peter had seen several other hands rise but the outburst drew his attention. "Hoho! Now that is the kind of enthusiasm I like to see! Go and prepare in your mission gear and take up your weapon! You will demonstrate your skills right here in the classroom!"
"Yes sir."
A few minutes later, she was changed and held Myrtenaster in hand, watching as Professor Port stood by a cage built into the wall, the steel bars thick but were rattled by something within.
"Now, be ready for anything at any time! Constant vigilance and preparation will save more than just your own lives!" The elder man called out to the class before getting a nod of confirmation from Weiss. "Ready… begin!" And with that, he swung his axe into the lock on the cage door, easily breaking it and allowing the creature to come bursting out.
Said creature turned out to be a Boarbatusk, a Grimm bearing a close resemblance to a wild pig… in terms of general appearance.
Black skin, bone white mask for its face with some red lines, a pair of long curved tusks, four red eyes, and a bunch of boney white plates across its back and sides that served as armor. Standing at just under four feet tall at the shoulder, it lacked the intimidation factor that Beowolves and Ursa have thanks to their size. The Boarbatusk doesn't even have claws, but hooves instead.
The beast charged right at Weiss, swinging its tusks at the girl in an attempt to gore her, missing as she dove to the side and rolled to her feet.
"Alright! Go Weiss!" Yang cheered as Blake sat silently watching.
"Alright Weiss! Show it who's boss!" Ruby pumped her fists as she rooted for her partner.
Schnee glared at Ruby before dashing in to stab it through the head, only to find out that the Grimm knew its own strengths better than she did. Before the blade could make contact, it shifted its head to catch the weapon behind the tusks, locking it in place as they fought for control over it. The struggle ended as the Boarbatusk jerked its head and threw Weiss to one side of the limited arena before tossing the sword the opposite way.
Port had some words to say about the initial attack. "Oh? A straightforward attack? Quite bold!" And when the Grimm countered, he was just as 'helpful'. "Oh? What will you do now without your weapon?"
Now that Weiss was disarmed and sprawled on the ground, the Boarbatusk took this as its moment to really strike and used its special ability- tucking its legs in and curling up, it was able to roll at the girl with surprising speed, far more than should normally be possible. The girl rolled herself out of the path just in time and let the Grimm slam itself into the wall where it stopped and uncurled so it could turn itself around.
Weiss jumped to her feet and ran for Myrtenaster, though the Boarbatusk was smart enough to recognize what she was doing and rolled at her again, turning this into a race for the sword with the Grimm being faster but having a further distance to travel.
The human managed to drop to the floor and slide to her rapier just as the Grimm reached her, barely missing its target and circled around to attack Weiss again.
"Weiss! Go for its belly! There's no armor there!" Ruby shouts her advice.
"An accurate assessment, Miss Rose. That would be the best place to strike this Grimm IF someone could stop its charge." Port acknowledged, though he winced at Weiss' retort.
"Stop telling me what to do!"
Yang's smile faltered as she saw the anger on Weiss and the shock on Ruby, figuring that there would be some hiccups as they began to work together but nothing like this.
As the Boarbatusk drew close, Weiss created a Glyph to act as a shield that the Grimm slammed against hard. Hard enough that it was stunned and uncurled to lay on its back. Before it could get its bearings again, Weiss crafted another Glyph in the air above her, which she jumped onto before diving at the Grimm to sink her rapier deep into the beast, entering the lower belly and angled to go through its chest where its 'heart' and 'lungs' are.
The beast let out a final few squeals of pain before it went slack and began to vaporize, leaving Weiss kneeling on the floor alone.
"Hoho! Well done! Well done indeed!" Port led the applause for Weiss among the class, noting that her own team didn't participate in the congratulations, looks of concern on their faces… some more than others. "We do in fact have one with the makings of a true Huntress among us!"
The Professor walked over to the cage and closed the door, hitting a switch that pulled the cage back and a section of wall slid down to fill the hole. "Now that has concluded, Miss Schnee, you may take your seat-" DING-DONG! "Oh? It seems that class is over already. Not to worry, we will have the rest of the year to continue. Please read pages twelve through thirty-two and write a summary of the contents!"
The students quickly made note of the assignment as they packed their bags, but few were as confused as Team RWBY… though to be more accurate, it was the RY of the team who were confused as Weiss stormed by and grabbed her bag before marching out the door.
—
Things in other classes didn't seem to improve Weiss' mood. Botany class with Professor Thumbelina Peach was interesting despite that she only went over the curriculum to come which would include going over the various edible plants that they could find in the wilds and their preparation as required.
Professor Ann Greene taught Stealth and Security. This was probably the most interested Blake looked all day while Nora gave Ren knowing looks and a few comments that he'd ace this class with 'his stealthy ninja skills'. He did not refute that.
Professor Harold Mulberry taught Weapon Crafting and Upkeep and Ruby could barely stay in her seat thanks to her excitement. And thanks to the subject of the class, they were allowed to bring in their weapons and both of their maintenance kits- one for at home and one for the field.
The man would go around to each student and weapon, asking questions about the designs and how they fight, offering a bit of advice on occasion on improving the care for their weapons. As if that wasn't in depth enough, he promised that he would be working with everyone one on one for more critical examinations.
He did seem quite interested in Crescent Rose and its inner workings, much to Ruby's delight.
Math class wasn't everyone's preferred subject, taught by Professor Rayan Khadeer. The man would be ensuring that everyone knew the ins and outs of algebra and geometry, not to mention money matters as it was possible that the students could start being paid for missions they undertake soon.
Doctor Bartholomew Oobleck was an odd man. Tall and wiry thin, he made Ruby look dull as he almost seemed to refuse to stay in one spot for more than a few seconds, zipping back and forth across his classroom and from the board to the desks faster than most of the students could sprint. And his speech came just as fast, though his words were clear as he spoke, it was more of a matter of processing what he said at a similar speed.
Even Weiss couldn't keep up writing her notes, falling into using shorthand abbreviations while others simply wrote what they could catch and relied on retaining his history lessons by ear.
And they learned to not address him as Professor Oobleck, the man had made sure to stress that he has a PhD in history with minors in archeology, as well as just wanting his students to be correct, so he insisted on using his title of Doctor.
Combat class was headed by Professor Glynda Goodwitch where they would constantly be pitted against each other so they could deal with threats other than Grimm like bandits or rogue Huntsmen who had turned to crime. She would also lead the teams out into the field for regular Grimm hunts and environmental combat training as well as offering advice on how to use tactics and their various Semblances.
For electives, the teams would split up, Blake running off to Literature Appreciation, Weiss to the Dust Labs, Ruby went to The Forge to make new parts and bullets, and Yang went to Flight Training. Ren was taking a culinary class, as was Jaune. Meanwhile, Nora and Pyrrha found themselves in the small singing group simply because they had randomly chosen it when deciding classes.
And that was on top of having to make sure that they stayed on top of their personal training and training as a team.
It was a good thing that they only had four classes a day on an alternating schedule, each of them being an hour and a half long. The hour long meal times not only gave them time to eat their fill but time to relax or get some extra work done as needed. Plus they usually would have the weekends off so long as their classes didn't plan for anything.
But with only three days into the classes, some tensions ran high, quite notably a certain heiress. That Friday afternoon after their last class, Weiss stormed out, not even slowing down after ramming her shoulder into Ruby's and nearly knocking her over.
"Go find out what her problem is or I'll give her a problem." Yang insists as she stands her sister upright and takes her books for her. Blake certainly didn't look ready to help but she did stare intensely at the retreating Schnee.
Ruby ran through the halls, following the telltale white ponytail through the crowd until it disappeared around a corner. Luckily, this pathway wasn't being used much at the moment which gave the two some degree of privacy.
"Weiss!" The young girl called out with a wave of her arm now that she was free of the crowd.
The girl in question hadn't gotten too far but hearing her name yelled made her spin on her heel. "What do you want?!"
"What's wrong with you? You've be-"
""What's wrong with me?' No, it's what is wrong with you?!" The irritation in her voice was clear, as was the glare from her blue eyes. "You're supposed to be a leader but all you've been so far is a pest."
Ruby looked dejectedly at the floor until her own temper spiked and spoke for her. "Ugh! What did I do?"
"That's exactly the problem." Weiss points a finger at Ruby. "You've done nothing to earn your place! Out in the forest you acted like a child and you've only continued to do so!"
The younger girls' own anger gave way to shame from the verbal beating, unable to maintain eye contact with her teammate. "Weiss? Where is this coming from? What happened to all of the talk about working together? I thought you believed in acting as a team."
Weiss closed her eyes and took a deep breath through her nose as she forced herself to calm, but that only delayed the disappointed glare she gave Ruby. "Not a team led by you." She used the girl's silence as an invitation to continue. "I've studied and trained long and hard to get here." Memories of the grueling combat practices flooded her mind, from her instructors pushing her to have perfect posture with every technique and strike, the near constant thinly veiled dissatisfaction of her choices from her father and brother, the perfection demanded by her academic tutors…
She turned around and crossed her arms so she wouldn't have to look at Ruby. "And frankly, I deserve better! Ozpin made a mistake." With those final words, she marched away leaving a silenced Ruby behind, unable to say anything or even to follow her.
Just about the corner, Yang and Blake listened into the argument, the former clenching her fists and about to step out when a much taller figure walked by.
"Hmmm… that didn't seem to go so well." Ozpin commented before taking a sip from his nearly ever present mug of hot chocolate.
Ruby barely looked up to see who it was. "Is… is she right?"
Ozpin smiled. "That remains to be seen." Those words got her to stare at his face. "Ruby… I've made more mistakes than any man, woman, or child on this planet. I do not see appointing you as leader of your team as one of them."
Behind the corner, Yang relaxed her fists as she listened. Beside her, Blake leaned against the wall seemingly disinterested but her ears were still trained on the man. "Go check on Weiss." The blonde whispers. Blake gave the back of her head a glare before rolling her eyes and slipping away to another hallway that she knew connected with the balcony nearby.
"Of course, you could always prove me wrong in that regard." Ozpin adds with a small shrug. "But I don't think you want to give in so easily just because of a few words from someone who barely knows you.
Being a leader… it is not for everyone, the burden does not sit well with many but there will always be a few who rise to the challenges, either by taking on the decisions themselves or inspiring others to take the risks together. The best ones find a balance of those options, I've found."
"But I…"
"It hasn't even been a full week since you arrived at Beacon, any of you. Things like this happen to every team… in varying degrees. Very few have a team that cannot work together.
But the most important thing about being a leader, in any situation, is to be always giving it your best. If you do not, how can you expect those you are leading to do their best?"
Ozpin turned away but only took a step before taking a deep breath. "You may be young and it was I who gave you a great responsibility… but I suggest that you take some time to think over this advice." With that said, he walked away, pausing only for a moment to nod to Yang as she had heard everything but did not interfere.
Meanwhile, Weiss nearly stomped her way down the hall until she found a balcony with a wrought iron railing that overlooked a small part of the grounds but most importantly it allowed for fresh air to sweep through the school. The benches also encouraged students and faculty alike to enjoy the peaceful atmosphere for at least a short while.
But she wasn't alone as she thought she'd be. "Professor Port!"
"Ah, Miss Schnee!" The portly man greets her warmly. "And to what do I enjoy this pleasure?"
"I, I enjoyed your lecture," She made that up on the spot hoping that this would be a good distraction from earlier.
"Of course you did! You'll be turning out to be a fine Huntress!"
"You really think so?"
"Most surely." But he hasn't been a teacher for nearly forty years and not picked up on when a student was having trouble. A bushy eyebrow raised as he asks. "But something is troubling you?"
"Y-yes sir." She wasn't used to admitting faults, let alone to an authority figure like a teacher. "I… well… I think I should have been the leader of Team RWBY."
Port stared at her for a few seconds before responding. "That's preposterous." He stated flatly.
"Excuse me?"
"I've known Professor Ozpin for many years and he's never steered me wrong." The man easily counters.
"So you'll just blindly accept his decision even after seeing how exceptional I am?!"
"Firstly, my trust in Ozpin is born from our years working together and he's done nothing to prove that trust is misplaced." He began. "Second, your exceptional performance in the classroom is only matched by your poor attitude."
"What?! How dare you!"
"You heard me." Any joviality was gone from his voice as he was completely serious yet held an air of understanding, a vital lesson he wished to pass on. "And you've just demonstrated that poor attitude to my face."
Despite her initial reaction, Weiss was quick to back off her aggression.
"I see before me a girl who was born into privilege and as a result got exactly what she wanted."
"That is not even remotely true." She was quick to counter, crossing her arms and looking away.
Port's silent stare and slight quirk of an eyebrow was all of the response she needed to rethink that answer.
"Well… not entirely true." She tried to dismiss with a small wave, yet her tone suggested that she still wasn't being honest, even with herself.
"Just because things did not go the way you'd like, do you really think that throwing a tantrum would make those in power to rethink their decisions and place you in charge?" He could see the regret in her while being as he spoke, her past actions coming to light in her own mind and the shame that brought her.
And that made him smile beneath his mustache.
And he continued with his lecture, but it now has a new message. "Instead of fretting about what you don't have, deserved or not, savor what you do. Strive to hone your skills, perfect your techniques, and most importantly- try to become the best person that you can be.
It is not always easy to change oneself from how we were, once we recognize a flaw. But acknowledging that it exists is merely the first step… but working to mitigate that flaw will do wonders for those around you who see you try, and they will help you complete that journey."
By the time he was done, he could see that his student had brightened considerably from the encouraging words AND that she was already considering them carefully.
With his piece done, the aging teacher walked away to leave the Heiress to her thoughts, idly noting that she had moved to sit on one of the benches and watch the sun set. Yet as he entered the building, he saw that Blake had been listening to their conversation and she too had been lost in thought, surprised that he had found her while not even trying to be stealthy in the slightest.
—-
A few hours later, and grateful that it was the start of the weekend, Weiss returned to her dorm. She tried to be quiet once she saw that the other girls were sleeping.
Yang seemed to be in her usual sprawled state, Blake had a book nearby… as usual. Ruby, had a light on within her little tent.
Opening the curtain, Weiss found that Ruby was sleeping. But it was how that really got her attention- in front of her were an open textbook, a notebook, and a second one that was half filled with the history assignment. Even her pencil was still in hand ready to write.
Quite honestly, the sight surprised Weiss, seeing that the girl was trying to work through the night. It also helped that the memory of Yang telling her that she had spent the last two months trying her best to help her sister cram two years worth of knowledge just so that she wouldn't be so far behind at Beacon. It had been something that she had initially dismissed at the time but now seeing this…
And Ruby was shaken awake. "Weiss!? I-I-I'm sorry! I-I was working but fell asleep-" She was silenced by a cold hand over her mouth.
"How do you take your coffee?"
"Eh? What?"
"Coffee?"
"Cream and five sugars!"
Weiss walked out of the room, leaving a rather confused Ruby to stare at the door. In short order, Weiss had gone to the students small kitchen in the building and made two cups.
It was also the full extent of her knowledge of a kitchen.
Returning to the room, Weiss found Ruby sitting on her bed but now with her books stacked next to her. Setting the cups on their desks, she waved to the younger girl. "Come on down and I'll help you finish that." Ruby was understandably confused but complied, taking a sip and surprised that it was done how she liked it.
"This is really good. Thanks."
"You're welcome, Ruby."
"Umm… you said something about helping with this?" She points to her books on the desk.
"Yes, I'll help you with it." Blue eyes closed as she smiled. "Besides, I saw you made a mistake."
"Wh-what?! Where?!" Ruby scrambled to open her books again and read through the report she had started.
"Right here. The Emperor of Mistral at the time was a woman. You had her name right though, Hinata Yamakaze."
"Doh!"
Unknown to either of them, Yang was watching them from her bed with a smile. And by the time Weiss and Ruby finished just over an hour later, a little after midnight, the report was finished. And when they went to bed, for the first time all week since they became a team, Weiss didn't feel scathing eyes on her back.
AN: So, how was that for finishing off the first week at Beacon? Monday was the arrival and initiation, Tuesday was a rest day, Wednesday through Friday were classes. And for classes, we went with looking into what Professor Port offers first but the others will have their time to be visited. And yes, having Pyrrha and Nora singing is a little nod to Ice Queendom. As for the talks between Ruby and Ozpin and for Weiss and Port, I tweaked things up a bit, I hope you all like the changes.
Reviews are welcome!