Chapter 3

"Up, up, up!"

Weiss groaned, opening her eyes only to see the rest of the team groan as well. Percy was already on his feet, clapping a pan against a spoon… how in the world did he- never mind.

"Up girls, up! Good morning Team PRWBY!"

Weiss could already feel a headache coming on.

"What in the world is wrong with you?" the rest of the team collectively voiced their thoughts.

Weiss turned in her sheets, hoping to get some sleep, but Percy pulled them off her with a flourish.

"No, no, no more burrowing in your bedsheets! Up bright and early!"

Weiss managed a half-lidded glare at Percy, who shrugged it off, "Come on ice queen, we don't have all day."

Oh, how she hated that name.

Her hate pulled her out of bed, as she watched Percy go around annoying the others. Yang was definitely not a morning person, she concluded, as she watched the blonde walking around the room like a zombie.

"Alright, alright everyone! First order of business is: decorations!"

"What?" the group collectively groaned at him.

"I mean… we still have to unpack! Well… you guys still have to unpack."

"Ughh…"

Percy smirked at them, "Be grateful I'm taking the dreadful responsibility of forcing you all up to decorate."

Weiss chucked a pillow at him. It missed by a few feet, unfortunately.

With a collective yawn, the group began unpacking and decorating. Everyone had pictures, objects, books to put on the empty shelves and walls.

Before long, their room was looking presentable.

Except for the beds.

There just wasn't enough space for them.

"This… isn't going to work," Weiss said.

"It is a bit cramped," Blake commented.

"Maybe we should ditch some of our stuff," Yang suggested.

That seemed to be the only plausible option.

"Not happening!" Percy sing-songed, "Ruby, any ideas?"

"Bunk beds!"

Now that was an option that was… exciting. But something held Weiss back from the idea. Whether it was fear of her teammate's opinion of her or something else, she decided against the idea.

"That sounds incredibly dangerous," she claimed, her eyes roaming the room for another opinion.

"And super awesome!" Yang predictably backed her sister and fist pumped.

"It is more efficient," Blake said.

"All well and good, but where am I gonna sleep if you four have bunkbeds?" Percy questioned.

"Well, I believe our esteemed leader should sleep with the bed in the center. After all, there isn't really any space other than two bunkbeds and another bed in the center." Yang smirked.

Percy shrugged, "Beats sleeping on the floor."

"Shouldn't we put this to a vote?" Weiss questioned.

"I think we just did," Percy turned his infuriating smirk onto her.

After a while, they all finished the makeshift bunkbeds. Weiss had to say they did a pretty good job of it even without the proper materials.

"We have Grimm studies at 9-"

"What?" Weiss panicked, "Did you say 9? It's 8:55!"

She sprinted out the door, not wanting to be late and not checking if her team had followed.

"Monsters! Demons… prowlers of the night. Yes, the creatures of Grimm have many names. But I merely refer to them… as prey. Haha! Ha, ha, ha…"

Silence reigned in the room.

The boisterous professor continued, apparently ignorant of the mood on the room, "And you shall too, upon graduating from this prestigious academy. Now as I was saying, Vale, as well as the other three kingdoms, are safe havens in an otherwise treacherous world. Our planet is absolutely teeming with creatures that would love nothing more than to tear you to pieces. And that's where we come in. Huntsmen! Huntresses!" the professor gave a wink, as Weiss felt Yang shudder beside her.

"Individuals who have sworn to protect those who cannot protect themselves. From what, you ask? Why, the very world!"

"Ayyy-yep!" some random dude called out from the class, very clearly bored out of his mind.

"That is what you are training to become. But first, a story. A tale of a young, handsome man: me! When I was a boy…"

Professor Port was full of himself. Of course, the first class at Beacon had to be the most boring class ever. Weiss struggled to keep her eyes open.

Yang and Blake were dozing off, and Weiss was about to do so too. Percy, the odd one out of their team, was paying rapt attention to the professor for some reason. If he found something of note, perhaps she should take notes as well. Weiss trusted his judgement; he had yet to lead them wrong anyway.

She pinched herself to keep herself awake, and she tried to listen to Professor Port's rather… boring lecture.

Weiss tried taking notes; she really did, but she soon gave up on it. Ruby was doodling in her notebook childishly, not even pretending to pay attention like Blake and Yang.

Weiss glanced over to see what she had drawn, and Ruby held it up, giggling. It was a rotund picture of Professor Port, except titled "Professor Poop".

She glared at Ruby, who didn't cease her giggling, and even Yang joined in on the joke.

Weiss rolled her eyes internally. Ruby was so childish.

The professor cleared his throat, "… In the end, the beowolf was no match for my sheer tenacity, and I returned to my village with the beast in captivity and my head held high, celebrated as a hero!"

He bowed, and several, slow loud claps came from Weiss' right. Percy was clapping sarcastically, but the professor either didn't care, or didn't know.

The professor nodded his head towards Percy in thanks as if he deserved the claps.

"The moral of the story? A true huntsman must be honorable-" Weiss glared at Ruby. The insufferable brat was now making a stupid face and balancing an apple on top of a book on top of a pencil. Couldn't she stop being so childish for once? This was why Beacon's age requirement was 17! Look what happened when you let an immature fifteen-year-old in!

"A true huntsman must be dependable!"

Ruby was making cuckoo ears at the professor, and she stuck out her tongue.

"A true huntsman must be strategic, well-educated, and wise!"

Weiss was nearly shaking in white-hot anger, vibrating in her seat at the combined irritancy caused by Ruby and the professor. She had to do something, something to get her anger out, otherwise it would combust and she h ad no idea where it would be directed to next. Percy? The thought of disappointing him made her nervous. He was their team leader, and had already proven himself a skilled combatant, unlike Ruby. Still, she practically raged in her seat.

"So, who among you believes themselves to be the embodiment of these traits?"

She whipped up her hand, "I do sir!", not caring about how conceited it made her look.

"Well then… let's find out. Step forward and face your opponent."

Weiss got up from her seat, drawing Myrtenaster.

Remember your training Weiss. Head up, shoulders back, right foot forward, not that forward. Slow your breathing and wait for the right time to strike.

"Go Weiss!" Yang cheered, while Blake held out a mini flag with the name of their team on it, "Fight well!"

"Yeah! Represent Team PRWBY!" Ruby cheered loudly, while Percy only had a little smile on his face.

"Ruby! I'm trying to focus!" she retorted hotly at the immature brat.

Almost instantly, the smile on Percy's lips turned into a thin line. His beautiful sea green eyes narrowed slightly at her.

And the weight of disappointment set in slightly.

Weiss grit her teeth and shook her head. She settled back in her stance, awaiting the professor's signal.

"Alright! Let the match," the professor pulled out an axe, "Begin!"

He swung it down and chopped the jail cell open.

The Grimm charged straight at her, and Weiss swung Myrtenaster, scoring a weak hit on the boarbatusk before rolling away from its charge.

It turned around, facing Weiss again.

"Haha! Wasn't expecting that, were you?" the infuriating professor commentated rather uselessly.

Expecting what?

"Hang in there Weiss!" Ruby cheered again.

Weiss flew towards the boarboatusk with a glyph, trying to end it quickly.

But her rapier got stuck in the tusks of the Grimm. She tried pulling it out, to no avail.

"Bold, new approach. I like it!" the professor wouldn't stop commentating like an irritant.

"Come on Weiss, show it who's boss!"

And the prepubescent Ruby would not stop cheering. She sent a look at Ruby, trying to tell her to just shut up.

Everything was grating on her nerves right now, even Percy's slight look of concern for her.

She wrestled away Myrtenaster, but it flew away from her and out of range.

"Ohoho, now what will you do without your weapon?"

She panicked slightly at the boarbatusk charging at her, and she rolled to the side, out of harm's way.

She sprinted towards her rapier, sliding and grabbing it before turning and facing the boarbatusk again.

"Weiss! Go for its belly! There's no armor underneath-"

"Stop telling me what to do!"

She only had time to glimpse the brief shock that crossed Ruby's face before the Grimm charged towards her, having rolled itself into a deadly ball.

She blocked it with a glyph before backflipping onto a glyph in the air. A cocky smirk graced her lips as she launched into the Grimm, Myrtenaster piercing its belly. She panted in exhaustion, turning back to her team.

Percy's lips were set in a thin, neutral line. Although he looked relatively proud of her, their team leader kept glancing towards Ruby.

Ruby had her lips in a frown; it was almost enough to make Weiss go over and apologize, but the anger from before rushed back into her after the fight, and she stubbornly refused. At least Yang and Blake cheered for her.

"Bravo! Braa-vo! It appears we are indeed in the presence of a true huntress in training. I'm afraid that's all the time we have for today. Be sure to cover the assigned readings, and stay vigilant. Class dismissed."

"Sheesh, what's with her?" Jaune commented. Percy set his lips in a slight frown, watching the rest of his team look at each other awkwardly.

Percy sighed, "I don't know. I'll go talk to her or something. It's probably something to do with Ruby again, even though I can see why Ruby's mannerisms grated on her nerves."

Pyrrha shrugged at him, "Can you really blame her? The lecture was pretty boring."

"Even so, I'm sure there was some useful stuff in it," Percy said to the incredulous looks of both team JNPR and team PRWBY.

"Oh yeah?" Jaune challenged him, "Like what?"

"I said there was useful info in his lecture. Not that I could find it."

"Tch. Clever," Pyrrha rolled her eyes.

Percy retaliated with a wink and a smirk at her. There was a brief flash of color as he did that, nothing more than a red tinge to the cheeks.

Before he had time to think on it, he saw Ruby bolt out of the classroom, and Percy quickly followed, having an inkling to what she was about to do.

"What's wrong with me? What's wrong with you? All you've been so far is a nuisance! You're not even old enough to be in Beacon? You're the reason we have a five-man team and not a regular four-man team! We would be perfectly normal if they hadn't put an insufferable brat into this school!"

He heard the two arguing around the corner, and he turned it, interrupting Weiss' rant.

"Weiss."

The ranting heiress turned towards him, an embarrassed look on her face.

"Ruby was only trying to offer help to you. You've been nothing but antagonistic to her so far, even though she hasn't even done anything to deserve such ire. She was only trying to help in the forest and when you were fighting the boarbatusk. Frankly, you are the one acting like a child," he pushed past the hurt look on her face, knowing he had to drill this in, "I understand having people tell you what to do is irritating; heck, I've been through it myself. But Ruby was only trying to help you out, so a quick nod or a gesture that signals you don't need it would be enough. You don't have to go ballistic every time she makes a suggestion. She deserves to be her; she isn't too young. Ruby and I fought off Roman Torchwick together, so if you kicked her out, you would kick me out too," he stepped towards Weiss, who took an instinctive step backwards, "We are a five-man team, whether you like it or not. Where some like you see it as a weakness, I see it as a strength, an advantage. So, would it kill you to at least try to be nice?"

Weiss widened her eyes, before nodding.

"So, apologize to her."

"Ruby, I apologize for being so antagonistic. I'll try to be nicer from now on."

"I accept your apology, Weiss."

Percy smirked, "Now hug it out."

He pushed them into each other, but unfortunately, they both caught the stray ends of his jacket and pulled him into a massive hug fest.

"I'll be the best teammate ever!" Weiss cheered, before Ruby rebutted her, "No, I'll be the best teammate ever!"

Yang and Blake came out of the classroom at that exact moment. They paused, and then turned to each other, smirking.

A flash indicated Yang had just taken a photo.

He groaned.

Percy winced for what it felt like the fiftieth time this month as the match revealed Cardin at 100% aura and Jaune's aura in the red.

It had been weeks, and Jaune hadn't improved. He was still at the bottom of his class.

Something had to be done about that. The Vytal festival was only a couple of months away now, and Percy knew Jaune didn't want to be an embarrassment to his team.

"Next match: Perseus Jackson vs Pyrrha Nikos!" Glynda Goodwitch announced.

A quiet murmuring began in the crowd of students, the crowd anticipating this matchup. Percy and Pyrrha were tied at the top of the leaderboards, neither having a single loss just yet.

Percy stepped up onto the arena, his aura indicating green as he did so, and Pyrrha did the same.

"Good luck," he nodded in respect, and Pyrrha imitated him. Anaklusmos was revealed with a flick of his wrist, and he settled into his stance.

"Begin!" Goodwitch shouted.

Pyrrha darted at him, crossing left and right before swinging her sword-hybrid. He parried it with a ward, Riptide snaking out immediately.

Pyrrha turtled behind her shield. But it was a feint. Instead, Percy dropped low, sweeping her legs out from under her.

Riptide impaled into the spot she had just been in, before Percy's leg met Pyrrha's shield.

Oohs came from the crowd as she was sent flying backwards, scrambling onto two feet.

Not bad. Not bad at all.

Percy dashed towards her, Riptide feinting left, then darting underneath and scoring a strike on her leg.

He whipped around and bent to avoid the strike passing over his head Riptide, coming down on her exposed thigh for another devastating strike.

He back handspringed away, and the Pyrrha locked blades with Percy.

The demigod smirked. This was his territory, and he'd be damned if he let anyone take it.

With a flick of the wrist, Pyrrha's weapon was sent away, and Percy ducked beneath the shield she threw at him.

She opened her hand, and her weapon returned to her, as well as her shield.

Interesting… enchantments? Or something else… maybe her semblance.

He didn't have time to dwell on it as her sword changed to a rifle, and Percy summoned a ward shield, blocking the shots as he advanced.

Her rifle changed back to a sword, and once again she engaged him in combat.

They locked blades again, and Percy tsked. She hadn't learned.

He flicked his wrist again, and she was disarmed once again. This time, he didn't let her recover it, pressing the advantage and going essentially berserk.

Riptide came down on her shield with the full strength of an aura-enhanced demigod, and her defenses crumbled.

A boot to her stomach sent her reeling, but Pyrrha recovered admirably, parrying a slash by Riptide.

Percy's left hand clenched, and it came into contact with the hilt of a teal-tinted transparent ward dagger he had conjured.

She didn't see it coming.

He slammed it into her side as Pyrrha shouted a pained cry.

She instinctively slashed at him, but Percy dropped to the ground, giving her an old-fashioned uppercut, followed by a boot to the chest.

Pyrrha stumbled, momentarily losing her footing, and that was all Percy needed.

He pressed the advantage, tanking a few hits by Pyrrha, but ultimately not caring.

Riptide came onto her with the force of a car, over and over again. He went berserk as she couldn't hold up her shield anymore.

A feint towards her shoulder and a roundhouse kick finished her as she crumpled to the ground.

Instead of resting the blade at her neck and putting everyone on edge, he chose to rest it at her shoulder.

"I yield," she panted out.

"A-A dominating performance by Mr. Jackson," the professor stammered out. Even she looked surprised, her eyes wide in shock.

The leaderboards showed Percy still at 96% aura, and Pyrrha in the red.

The crowd went silent at his dominant performance. Probably because most of the bastards had bet on Pyrrha, the four-time Mistralian champion, to win. Not that it meant anything to him, he'd always been on top of his game.

Still, Pyrrha had been a good opponent, and a hell of a fighter.

He helped her to his feet and was surprised at the rather excited expression on her face, rather than downtrodden like he expected.

"Percy, how?" she gushed, "You are such a skilled fighter! Could we spar some time?"

"Why…" Percy was utterly confused, "Why are you so happy about all of this?"

He gestured to the silent crowd and back to a practically vibrating Pyrrha.

"Don't you see? I train my whole life and fight people over and over again. It gets boring when there's no one who can match you. And all of a sudden, you show up!"

The redhead beauty grabbed his shoulders, looking into his eyes, "So, would you care to spar with me some time?"

Percy felt a smirk grow on his face. No, no training. Something else, though. He had just the right idea.

"So…there we were, in the middle of the night," Nora continued with her dramatic tale.

"It was day," Ren amended immediately, causing Nora to narrow her eyes.

Yang listened raptly, her violet eyes focused intensely on Nora and her story as Blake ignored the entire thing and read her book fondly.

"We were surrounded by Ursai…"

"They were beowolves," Ren interjected her tale again.

"Dozens of them!" Nora exclaimed, putting her hands in the air for emphasis.

Ren sighed at the energetic girl, "Two of them."

"But they were no match! And in the end, Ren and I took them down, and made a boatload of lien selling ursa skin rugs!"

Ren sighed in exasperation again, "She's been having this recurring dream for nearly a month now."

Jaune looked downtrodden, picking at his food.

Percy narrowed his eyes. It must have been something to do with that bully, Cardin.

"Jaune, are you okay?" he called the blond out of his reverie.

"Huh? O-Oh, yeah, why?"

"It's just that you seem a little… not okay," Ruby echoed his sentiment.

"Guys, I'm fine," Jaune said, suddenly under the scrutiny of all eight skeptical gazes.

"Seriously," he said, "Look!"

The blond gave an unconvincing smile with a thumbs up.

"It's something to do with that bully Cardin, isn't it?" Percy said, watching Jaune's face for a reaction.

Jaune winced in response.

"He's always going around bullying everyone and being a jerk in general. Tch. What a loser. If you ever need help, you can just ask."

"Ooh!" Nora jumped up from the table, her eyes shining with mischievousness, "We'll break his legs!"

"Guys, really! It's fine. Besides, it's not like he's only a jerk to me. He's a jerk to everyone!" Jaune protested.

They all turned their gazes to a laughing Winchester pulling a faunus' ears.

"Atrocious. I can't stand people like him," Pyrrha glared at him.

"He's not the only one," Blake commented angrily, while Yang narrowed her eyes at the bully.

Knowing what it was like to be bullied, Percy decided on a course of action.

He stood up from the table, drawing the gazes of his teammates and team JNPR.

"Huh? What are you doing?" Jaune hissed at him, only to be ignored by him.

"Setting things right."

Pyrrha watched nervously as Yang hissed, "What is he doing?"

Percy approached the larger boy, grabbing his wrist and pulling it away from the faunus girl. He stepped between the two of them.

"Cardin. Cut it out," the raven-haired teen stated coolly, his sea-green eyes boring into Cardin's.

"Or what, upshot? You hit me?" he scoffed, "As if you could,. Faunus are less than human, they don't deserve to be huntsmen. They aren't people, and that's a fact." Cardin Winchester laughed in his face.

Percy narrowed his eyes.

Cardin suddenly began to whimper, and a loud crack was heard before the entire cafeteria.

"Did he- did he just crush his wrist?" Ruby asked. No one responded.

Silence permeated throughout the cafeteria, as the bully yelled at him, "I'll kill you for that!"

He swung wide, and Percy ducked calmly out of the way before landing two taps on the back of his knee. He swept his legs out from under him, and with a flick of his wrist, his sword Riptide extended.

It came with a hiss, the golden blade practically humming with energy as it tickled the bottom of Cardin's chin.

"Do not mess with me, Jaune or my friends, or anyone else in this school. Stop bullying others, and work on yourself. You are, quite frankly, an immature, bumbling idiot that doesn't deserve to be in this school in my opinion. In time, you may change that."

He looked up, pointing with his sword at assisting perpetrators, team CRDL.

"That goes for you three as well."

Team CRDL collectively gulped in fear.

Percy gave them one final nod before capping his sword.

That was awfully brave of him. Pyrrha felt slightly ashamed that she herself didn't stand up for the faunus.

"Are you alright?" he asked the bunny girl, who replied with a nod, and after a few quick gestures and quiet words exchanged between them, headed over to their table.

"Mr. Jackson!"

Pyrrha widened her eyes as Glynda Goodwitch strode into the room, her crop in her hand and her eyes blazing with fury. The entire table looked worried for him. Ruby bit her lip, and even Blake looked up from her book, her eyebrows scrunched. Professor Goodwitch was not someone you wanted to cross.

"May I ask you why you are threatening a student with your sword in the middle of the cafeteria?"

"Ms. Goodwitch," he started smoothly, looking utterly calm in front of the furious professor, "out of context, everything can seem out of proportion. Cardin Winchester and his team were wrongfully abusing a student of the school due to the fact that she is a faunus. As such, since such bullying had been persisting for weeks now, I decided to step in, since the faculty apparently lacked the wits to do so."

The professor's eye twitched dramatically, "And you believe threatening and breaking a student's wrist was the correct course of action?"

"Only after I graciously offered him an alternative path, and he declined," Percy nodded sagely, and then pretended to examine his nails, leaving Yang giggling and Pyrrha with a little smirk on her face.

He was bold, that was for sure. Most people were afraid of the strict Miss Goodwitch, but not Percy, it seemed like.

"I do hope you know such behavior will be met with severe consequences," Ms. Goodwitch stated in clear anger at the nonchalant teen, only to be rebuffed by him.

"I believe our esteemed headmaster would disagree."

The professor widened her eyes before turning around to see Headmaster Ozpin sipping his coffee.

"I would." Ozpin decided to humor him, smiling at him.

"Oh, and by the way, esteemed headmaster, can I get some of that coffee?"

Pyrrha spat into her drink when he said yes.

"What were you thinking?" Weiss practically snarled at him.

Percy sighed; the two teams had gathered in PRWBY's dorm to simultaneously shower him with praise and also rant at him.

"Oh, come on guys, I knew I wouldn't get expelled. And the coffee was really good, by the way. Apparently, they have a special brew that's top secret…"

The two teams collectively glared at him, and he fidgeted a little, holding his hands up in self-defense.

"And why is that, hmm?" Pyrrha questioned him.

"Not the coffee," she amended, glaring at him when he made to answer.

He sighed.

"In the same way you wouldn't get expelled. Because of combat prowess. At most, it would be a suspension for a week, at most."

"And that's a whole lot better," Blake drawled out, glaring at him.

"Look, I don't know about you guys, but I stand up for what is right. I'm not afraid of being suspended a few days if it gets a bully off someone else's back. I know firsthand how it feels being bullied: you feel like there's nowhere else to go to turn for help, even if it isn't necessarily true. And I'll be damned if I leave someone else to the same fate."

"That's our Percy!" Nora cheered, Ren nodding after her far more calmly.

Yang cracked a smile, "We forgive you Percy."

"What? I wasn't supposed to be blamed in the first place!" Percy grumbled, the rest of them chuckling at his expense.

"Now, don't you all want the secret code to the coffee brew Ozpin gave me?"

"Oh my god yes, yes, yes!" Ruby practically shouted, before Percy muffled her with his hand, "Shh… we don't want anyone else hearing…"

He looked around as if he thought someone was around the corner, and gestured for them to lean in.

"You look like you're about to deal crack," Yang commented. Poor Pyrrha choked in disbelief that Yang would say such a thing, while Blake only shook her head.

"What's crack?" Ruby asked innocently, only getting confused when the rest of the group shared looks in silent agreement that they speak about it lest they corrupt Ruby. Except Yang, who only grinned, before Percy glared at her.

Oh, poor, poor Ruby.

"It's… not important. Anyway, yes, Yang," he shot her a look, but the blonde only smirked at him in response, "it is a little like that. Genuinely. Now, never tell anyone about this, but the coffee is divine. The code is Master Brew."

Ren nodded sagely, "I will be sure to keep Nora away from it."

"Hey!"

Percy shot him a look, "That would be best."

Gods know how hyper Nora would be once she got her hands on that coffee.

AN: Before anyone goes crazy on the Ruby bashing earlier in this chapter, remember that it was written from Weiss' perspective, and so Ruby would appear more childish and irritating to her because Weiss doesn't like her already.

Join my discord!

Discord links

FFN (remove spaces): discord . gg / M4yMguEz2J

Wattpad: /M4yMguEz2J

How'd you like this chapter? Review, comment, favorite, follow, vote, but only if you enjoyed! It helps motivate me to write more.

'til next time!

-thann3