A.N: Welp, I'm already liking my new posting system. This is what I'm talking about though. I get this done a week into March, and I could've been sitting on this for weeks. Yeah, no thanks. So, enjoy chapter 27, everyone!
Chapter 27: Pride
"I still can't believe it's really you." Weiss Schnee admitted to a visibly embarrassed Charlie Magnolia. "Gods, how long has it been? I think the last time we saw each other was right before I started studying at preparatory combat schools, and you went to boarding school."
Charlie nodded. "Yeah, that was the last time." He replied. "Though...I've been following your career since, Weiss. I watched you on the Vytal Festival. Couldn't take my eyes off...wow that sounded creepy, sorry."
Team RWBY was currently sitting at a lunch table with the young man who was apparently an old friend of Weiss'. Ruby, Blake and Yang looked at this guy in utter disbelief. No way could such a neurotic looking kid be an old friend of Weiss'. "N-no," Weiss assured Charlie, "I know you meant well when you said that. Actually...it means a lot to know that even after all these years apart...you never stopped calling me a friend."
"Wait, I'm sorry, so it's true?" Yang could not help but voice her disbelief. "You are an old friend of Weiss? You?"
"Heh, yeah," Charlie rubbed the back of his head, "guess I haven't properly introduced myself, huh? The name's Charles Magnolia, 3rd Son of the Magnolia Family. I'm interning here at Atlas Academy as a personal assistant to Dr. Glen White. But you all can call me Charlie."
"And you know Weiss how?" Yang asked.
"The Schnee and Magnolia Families have long been close." Weiss explained. "Charlie and I practically grew up together, so it was kind of decided from the get-go that we would be childhood friends."
"Yep," Charlie nodded, "we played together all the time, with Winter...er, Specialist Schnee watching over us. Though, I was always something of a tinkerer. Because of that, most of my ideas of fun were boring. So, I ended up at more tea parties than I can count. Did get quite the appreciation for tea from those though...you know, when we actually had tea and not pretend tea."
"Oof, now that is emasculating." Yang muttered.
"So, when you say the Magnolia Family, you really mean…" Blake trailed off.
"Yeah," Charlie nodded, "my dad is Henry Magnolia, the current head of the family and president of the Magnolia Weapons Company. Like Weiss said, the Schnees and Magnolias have been close for years. We're talking all the way back to Weiss' grandpa, Nicholas Schnee."
"And you're interning here at Atlas?" Yang raised a curious eyebrow. "What, you're not trying to be a soldier?"
"Nah, the soldiers of the family are two of my siblings. My oldest brother, Phillip, is going to inherit the company." Charlie replied. "I never had a taste for battle. And as the 3rd son, there's no way I'm going to inherit the company, or anything of note, really. I did always have a talent for building things though, so I focused on that. And with that I somehow managed to get Dr. White's attention."
"Somehow? Don't be so modest, Charlie." Weiss frowned, making Charlie blush. "You're a genius. I remember when you built me a music box from scratch for my tenth birthday. You built it in your room, with a box of scraps."
"Not my best work, looking back. I've built way better stuff since then." Charlie replied.
"What do you build?" Blake asked curiously.
"Lots of different things." Charlie replied. "I mainly build equipment for Huntsmen though, whether it's weapons or gear. Though, I would like to make something capable of being mass-produced that the average person can use for self-defense."
"...You mean like a regular gun?" Yang deadpanned.
"Nothing's wrong with a regular gun, Yang. General Ironwood only has a revolver." Weiss pointed out.
"Cool, can't wait to see the bullets from his revolver bounce off my Aura when I punch him into submission." Yang joked. "Regular guns are fine, but nothing beats the specially designed stuff."
"Mmm hmm, nothing beats Crescent Rose." Ruby added.
"Yeah, well I'm talking more than just a regular gun. You don't see a lot of people use more high-tech stuff for self-defense because those are restricted solely for professionals. I'd like to try and dumb down the high-tech stuff, just a smidge." Charlie explained. "That way, more people can better protect themselves from the Grimm."
"I can respect that." Blake acknowledged.
"But, I do like making special stuff for various Huntsmen." Charlie admitted. "As much as I'd love to see one of my inventions mass-produced, there's definitely something to be said about making something specifically designed for one person. Makes it a bit more special, like it was made with love, you know."
"You mean like my music box?" Weiss asked.
"M-m-m-more like made with friendship." Charlie stammered, red in the face before regaining his composure. "But yeah, you're right, it's always more special when you're building something for one specific person. Makes it seem like you're protecting one particular life that you've become aware of through this transaction. To me, you can learn an awful lot about a person from the gear they want to help them in their job."
"And the more I learn about that person through the gear I'm designing for them...the more I want to make it the best design possible. Because through learning about that person...they become precious to me." Charlie admitted before adding. "That...must sound super cheesy, huh? But, that's how I feel."
"I actually think it's pretty awesome that you're able to connect with your clients like that." Ruby spoke up with a smile. "Don't feel ashamed of that, Charlie. The way I see it, that makes you cool."
"Whoa? You think I'm cool?" Charlie was shocked at this. "Weiss, your friend thinks I'm cool! That's...that's awesome! I don't know how to handle this!"
"Don't let it get to your head, Ruby thinks most people are cool. In fact, it's easier to count the people she thinks are uncool." Weiss admitted with a sigh.
"Okay, enough about you though, I want to hear more about Weiss." Ruby excitedly told Charlie. "Come on, spill the goods, Charlie!"
"Ruby, I'm right here, why do you want to hear more about me from him?" Weiss could not help but have a sinking suspicion of her teammate and best friend's intentions.
Ruby gave Charlie a mischievous expression. "So, any embarrassing childhood stories?" She practically had devil horns growing out of her head. "Weiss never wants to share those kinds of stories, even though Yang and I bared our souls to her and Blake."
"Which we never wanted by the way." Blake interjected with a deadpan expression.
Ruby ignored Blake. "Come on, Charlie! You've known Weiss for years, right? That means you have to know some embarrassing stories, yeah?"
"Charlie, don't you effing dare!" Weiss warned her old friend, who actually looked like he knew a few old stories and was actually considering telling them.
"...But Weiss, she thinks I'm cool, I don't want to ruin this." Charlie said pathetically.
"And I told you that doesn't amount to much!" Weiss yelled.
"Sheesh, why can't you people just eat your meals quietly for once." A familiar voice sighed. "Seriously, don't you have off-switches or something?"
Everyone turned to see Hansel Kobalt walking towards them, holding a plate of meatloaf. "Whoa, hey, the nice guy from earlier!" Charlie smiled happily at the sight of the guy who found his glasses for him, waving even though he was right in front of him.
"You've clearly not spent enough time with him, Chuck." Yang sighed.
"Heya, Professor!" Ruby said brightly. "What are you doing with that meatloaf? I don't remember them serving that."
Hansel took a seat across from his students. "Apparently the faculty's got some sort of themed lunch every day. Monday is Meatloaf Monday...and now I have Taco Tuesday to look forward to."
"Somehow, I can't picture the people of Atlas Academy having something so childish." Blake admitted. "That's just...totally not a military academy at all."
"Belladonna, I witnessed it, and I still can't picture it." Hansel pointed out.
"And you're eating with us and not the faculty because?" Weiss inquired.
"Wasn't too comfortable eating with them." Hansel admitted before adding in a slightly embarrassed tone. "And...I figured I should probably check up on you four, make sure that you're paying attention in class and all that. Er...classes are going well so far, right?"
Charlie then gasped. "EH? Wait, whoa, whoa, whoa! Professor?" He took one look at Hansel's appearance and doubted that, hard.
"Wow...that was a delayed reaction." Hansel noted.
"But...you're so young...and...young." Charlie pointed out.
"So I've noticed." Hansel deadpanned. "I turned 18 back in May."
"Also, while we're on the subject, I'm pretty sure Specialist Schnee introduced me to the other scientists as 'Professor', weren't you there for that?" Hansel continued.
Charlie laughed nervously, rubbing his head and realizing that Winter had indeed done just that. "Uh...sorry...I wasn't paying attention." He admitted.
"Wow, she really hit it right on the head with you." Hansel noted, eyes wide in surprise. He then bluntly added. "You really do march to the beat of your own drum, huh?"
Weiss sighed in resignation. "That's Charlie for you." She admitted. "He's been like this since we were kids. One time, his older sister, Zelda, switched places with Winter as a prank and to prove a point. She wore a wig and everything, really committed to the whole joke. Charlie, for the entire day, kept referring to his own sister as Winter."
"But he is a good person, Professor Kobalt, don't mind his...inattentiveness too much." Weiss was almost pleading to Hansel.
Charlie looked so betrayed at that. "Weiss, that did not sound like a compliment at all." He complained, fidgeting with his ID card before catching onto another part of her statement. "W-wait, did you just say 'Professor Kobalt'? As in Kobalt? As in the Kobalt Family? As in Hansel Kobalt?"
"...That's exactly what she means." Hansel responded. "Last time I checked, I am Hansel Kobalt. Last member of the Kobalt Family."
Charlie took one look at Hansel and shook his head. "No." He said flatly.
"What do you mean no?" Hansel looked so confused.
"You're way too nice to be Hansel Kobalt." Charlie bluntly pointed out. "And Hansel Kobalt is...well, from what I've heard, Hansel Kobalt is…"
Ruby and Yang frowned slightly while Weiss just face-palmed at her old friend's stupidity. Hansel held a hand in the air, silencing Team RWBY, knowing they were going to say something to Charlie. "Okay, I'll bite, what have you heard about me?" He asked.
"Er...well, a lot of really scary stuff." Charlie admitted. "Hansel Kobalt is a monster who devours the hearts of his enemies. He'll make suits from their freshly peeled skin too. And he demands a virgin maiden as payment from the settlements he helps."
Hansel gaped at Charlie in disbelief. Then he looked at Team RWBY. All four girls were gazing at him with accusatory glances...even Ruby. "Don't look at me like you believe that crap!" Hansel yelled at them.
Hansel then face-palmed. "Unbelievable," he groaned, "what the hell kind of rumors are people spreading about me these days? I can live with the 'devouring hearts' and the 'peeled skin' parts because that scares the enemy too. But virgin maidens...Gods, I'll never hear the end of it from Glynda if she hears about that one."
"So...no virgin maidens?" Charlie asked sincerely.
"Do I look like I'm the type to demand virgin sacrifices?" Hansel shot back.
"I mean, sometimes you do, Teach." Yang joked.
"Not the time, Xiao Long." Hansel growled.
"So...you really are Hansel Kobalt?" Charlie gaped in surprise. "Wow...I've totally gotta adjust my reality if that's the case."
"Yeah, no shit." Hansel rolled his eyes.
"Er...well, I still think you're a pretty nice guy." Charlie offered. "You're just...a nice guy who happens to also be Hansel Kobalt."
"You might want to just stop talking before you dig yourself deeper into this hole, Charlie." Blake spoke up.
"What hole is he digging himself in this time." The current occupants of the table were drawn to a new person entering the conversation.
Weiss and Yang both gasped, recognizing the speaker. "Flynt?" Weiss said in surprise. "Flynt Coal? Right?"
Flynt grinned. "How's it hanging, Schnee?" He greeted, the tone of his voice showing that he indeed no longer had any beef with Weiss over her family name.
"Err...it's 'hanging' I guess." Weiss replied. She did not get street lingo...at all.
Yang sighed. "She means that things are going well, Flynt." She decided to cover for her teammate and her inability to talk in what can basically be described as 'commoner talk.'
"Heya again, Team RWBY!" Neon happily waved, flanked by the last two members of Team FNKI. "You haven't met our other teammates. These are Kobalt and Ivori."
Both silently nodded. Ruby could not help but sweat-drop at how quiet and reserved those two seemed compared to Neon and Flynt. "Whoa, a guy named Kobalt." Yang turned to Hansel to tease him. "Yo, Teach, distant relative?"
"No," Hansel said flatly, shooting Yang down in an instant.
Flynt gazed at Hansel with a look of awe as he took a seat at the table with the rest of his team. "I did want to catch up with the cool cats that beat us back in the Vytal Festival, but I also had to see it with my own two eyes." He admitted. "You're really their teacher, huh?"
Hansel gazed at Flynt without responding, wondering what Flynt's actual opinion on the matter was. Flynt caught onto Hansel's silence and the reason behind it, and gave him a reassuring smile. "Don't you worry, Teacher-Man, you won't get any judgement from us. I mean, sure, it's a little unorthodox, but if you're here in the position you're in, that means you deserve it, right?"
"Well, there's such a thing as nepotism." Hansel offered. "Professor Ozpin is my mentor."
Flynt laughed. "Yeah, but Professor Ozpin doesn't strike me as the type to give into nepotism. I've definitely got more of an appreciation for the guy since the Vytal Festival. All that scrutiny, and he still managed to mitigate the damage that could've been done to Vale."
Hansel relaxed considerably at this. Something that did not go unnoticed by Ruby. "Point being, I ain't gonna pass judgement until I see that you're a crap professor or not." Flynt promised. "And that goes for the rest of the gang here."
Hansel nodded, somewhat appreciative of this. He then noticed Neon's ears twitch and a brief frown curled across her face before it vanished just as quick. "Something wrong?" He asked the cat Faunus.
"Oh, nothing, nothing's wrong." Neon quickly claimed in a tone of voice that clearly betrayed how nervous she was about telling the truth.
"You know, I'm actually pretty decent at spotting liars." Hansel deadpanned. "Especially when they're terrible at lying."
Neon's cat ears drooped at Hansel's blunt statement. Blake's ears drooped as well. She was actually starting to pick up on what Neon was so keen to hide from the professor. Hansel sighed inwardly, both the resident Faunus acting like this confirmed his suspicion. There was something going on that neither wanted to admit to. His eyes darted around the lunchroom to see people staring at their table, whispering with looks of hate in their eyes.
"What are they all saying?" Hansel asked calmly.
Neon could not help but whine at the Beacon Professor managing to catch her in the act. She heaved a sigh and responded. "A lot of different stuff, to be honest." She admitted. "'Can't believe we've gotta cater to those people.' 'The general did nothing wrong, it's Professor Ozpin who should be trying to set things right.' 'They're not real Huntsmen, like us.' That kind of stuff."
"I thought you said the cadets got that crap out of their systems here?" Yang pointed out.
"I said they got the whole 'Anti-Faunus' attitude out of their system through the education here." Neon corrected before heaving a sigh. "Look, don't think too badly of them for this. Most of the cadets here are good people."
"Could've fooled me." Yang muttered.
"A lot of the cadets here are Atlas patriots through and through." Flynt explained. "And to be honest, we're no different in that regard. We just also don't want to look down on you guys either, because we know y'all are cool."
"So what about the rest of them?" Ruby asked curiously, a bit put off by the behavior of the student body.
"Because they're pissed that Atlas' rep has taken a massive hit from the Vytal Festival." Flynt sighed. "Of course, I do understand why they're pissed. People should be focusing all the blame on that crazy bitch who started the whole thing, right?"
"The point is," Flynt continued, "there's a lot of tension right now, and seeing you all here...all it does is remind people that Atlas is now being looked at like we're the bad guys, and you Vale folk are the good guys. It's got a lot of people on edge."
"And, it's not just about the Vytal Festival." Neon admitted with a sigh. "Blame for Professor Ozpin for not doing more to prevent the whole thing in the first place. A general bad attitude towards others if they don't meet their expectations. And of course the occasional harsh words thrown at Schnee over her dad's shady stuff."
Weiss' face fell at this. "Sheesh, look in the damn mirror." Yang growled. "Here they are looking down on all of us, when they're the ones acting like pricks."
Yang almost rose out of her seat, only to be glared right back into her seat by Hansel. Yang flinched slightly from the glare. "Don't even think about it, Xiao Long. You throw one punch at those other students, not only is your name gonna get dragged through the mud again, but I'll make sure you're punished accordingly and expelled."
"You can't be serious, Teach!" Yang was in disbelief. "They're saying all that crap and you just want me to ignore it?"
"I do," Hansel nodded, "if you really think it's okay to beat people up just because they have an opinion or attitude that's different from yours, you're in the wrong business. You're no Huntress, and you're certainly no hero. You're a freaking psychopath with shotgun gauntlets."
Yang winced at Hansel's blunt assessment. "You can't just treat people as enemies for having what you think is the wrong attitude." Hansel warned her. "That 'moral outrage' is only gonna bite you in the ass if you make it a habit."
"But Professor…" Blake tried to speak up.
"But nothing," Hansel shook his head, "if you really expect people to have the same moral compass as you, you're going to live your life disappointed. That morally driven arrogance is only going to make things worse for you. So you might want to get off your high horse now before you ride off into the sunset of stupidity."
"What the hell kind of analogy is that?" Yang looked at Hansel in disbelief.
"My kind, you gotta problem?"
Weiss, meanwhile, continued to wince at the harsh language. She was now actively trying to listen in, and was hearing all the awful things people were saying about her company, her family name, her, everything connected to the Schnees. And it was all starting to wear on her, something Blake noticed. "Weiss?" She asked carefully, concerned for her friend's wellbeing.
Weiss's hands tightened into fists. "Maybe...maybe we should just eat elsewhere?" She suggested.
"Oh, come on, Schnee, don't be like that." Flynt said, concerned for her.
"No, we don't want to cause trouble. That's the exact opposite of why we're here, isn't it?" Weiss pointed out. "We'll finish our lunches somewhere else…"
"Don't you dare run from this crap, Schnee." Hansel warned her. "You don't have to run from it, nor should you."
"Professor…" Weiss said, looking at Hansel in shock.
"You run from this nonsense, you're giving them exactly what they want. The satisfaction of seeing their words hurt you." Hansel told her. "So stand your ground."
"And show some damn pride in yourselves, all of you." Hansel was now addressing the entirety of Team RWBY. "You're students of Beacon Academy, and you're my students as well. So be proud."
Flynt and Neon could not help but smile at Hansel's words of encouragement. Flynt's judgement of Hansel was right on the mark. He did belong here as a teacher.
"So what then, we're just supposed to sit here and listen to it all?" Yang demanded.
"I expect you all to be mature and not let a bunch of idiots break you with harsh language." Hansel responded. "You can't be a Huntress if you lose to a bunch of mean words."
Hansel saw how uncertain Team RWBY still looked and sighed. "This is about being the adults in the room and being committed to improving relationships between our kingdoms. If you let words break you or actually hurt people over those words, then this mission will fail."
"But," Hansel continued, "I promise you this, if any of these students physically try to assault you, you are well within your rights to fight back. I'll give you my full support, and even take responsibility if I have to. But only after they throw the first punch. Do not escalate the fight yourselves."
"But until that day comes, if it does come, stand tall, be proud and do not let all this crap break you." Hansel ordered. "This is what the real world is like. You've got your semi-decent people, and then you've got assholes who say stupid shit for whatever reason."
Yang gave Hansel a deadpan expression. "Okay, Boomer." She said, sticking out her tongue.
Hansel gave her his own deadpan expression. "You know that throwing out insults like that proves I'm right, yeah? Also, that joke does not fit...like at all."
Yang just pouted at Hansel's statements. Ruby could not help but smile slightly. Moments like these were when she understood what Glynda had meant about Hansel's better qualities. And so, with a little bit of effort, they managed to get through their lunch break while tuning out the glares and harsh words from Atlas' cadets.
Then, as lunch winded down and Team RWBY began to pack their things, a man dressed up in an Atlesian uniform walked up to them. "Team RWBY, yes?"
"That's us," Ruby responded, "is there a problem?"
"Oh, nothing like that, I just had to inform you all that a package from Patch Island arrived at your room during lunch." The man explained.
"Patch Island?" Yang was surprised to hear that. "Dad sent us something?"
"YAY, something from home!" Ruby excitedly squealed before speeding out of the lunch room.
"Aww crap," Yang muttered, "we better run after her to make sure she doesn't cause any chaos."
"It was nice talking to you all, Team FNKI!" Weiss kindly told her old foes before running off with Yang.
"Er...hopefully we'll get another chance to talk." Blake awkwardly added before running after her friends.
Charlie awkwardly waved goodbye to his new friends, particularly Weiss. "Er...okay, bye." He said, a little upset that he could not do it properly due to them running after their hyperactive team leader.
Hansel folded his arms. "What the hell? How did Rose and Xiao Long's dad manage to figure out where their room was so quickly?" He wondered. "We've only been here for a day."
With curiosity overtaking him, Hansel heaved a sigh, deciding he had a little bit of time to kill before returning to his investigation. And so, he calmly walked after Team RWBY, making his way to the dorms.
Later, Ruby skidded to a stop in front of her temporary dorm, excitedly reaching for her key card to open the door but found herself fumbling about due to just being that excited. This gave her teammates the opportunity to catch up to her. "Geez, Ruby!" Yang panted, doubled over from chasing after her for who knows how long. "The least you could do is give us a little warning before speeding off like that!"
"Yang…" Blake spoke up. "I don't...I don't think Ruby's listening."
"She's too excited...as usual." Weiss added.
Ruby let out a squeal of delight as she finally managed to get the door open and sped inside. "Well, we might as well see what Dad left us this time." Yang managed to straighten up.
Ruby had already grabbed the package. It was cylindrical in shape and she was already desperately trying to open it. "Open up, package!" Ruby pleaded. "Release Dad's present!"
"...No matter how much she matures, she is always going to be a five-year-old at heart." Weiss lamented as the rest of Team RWBY entered the dorm. Blake shutting the door behind them.
Ruby then finally managed to get the top of the cylindrical package opened. "Ooh, what's inside?" Ruby eagerly wondered. "What did Dad send us?"
Yang forgot how frustrated she was with Ruby's energy and leapt right to her sister's side. "I wanna see, I wanna see!" She squealed as well as a large black mass suddenly fell out of the package.
The mass then unrolled into a living, black and white, quadrupedal creature. Said creature looked up at Team RWBY with big, happy, loving eyes and its tongue flailing out of its mouth. The adorable corgi and family pet, Zwei, barked at the quartet.
Team RWBY all let out sounds of shock. "ZWEI!" Ruby, Yang and Weiss excitedly exclaimed.
"NO!" Blake yelled in horror at the sight of her old nemesis' return.
Zwei happily barked at everyone while Ruby scooped him into her arms. Blake instinctively leapt onto the nearest bed like a cat, staring at Zwei with a look of fear. "Why in the world did your dad have to send him in the mail again?!" She demanded.
Yang laughed as she rubbed Zwei's ears. "Dad probably has some business off the island like he did before." She pointed out. "It can't be helped."
"Actually, it can be helped!" Blake incredulously yelled. "Do shelters mean nothing to your family?!"
Zwei continued to happily bark in the presence of his four favorite people in the whole world while Weiss and Ruby excitedly snuggled him. "Oh I've missed you!" Weiss said in a cutesy tone of voice. "Did you miss me? Oh yes you did! Yes you did!"
At that moment, Team RWBY heard a familiar voice outside of the dorm room. "Everything okay in there?" Came Hansel Kobalt's voice. "Why does it sound so damn chaotic?"
All four members of Team RWBY went pale while Zwei just wagged his tail. Was that a new friend outside?
"Aww crap, it's Teach!" Yang hissed fearfully. "Hide him! Hide him!"
Outside the dorm, Hansel frowned, hearing all the chaos inside the dorm room. "Seriously, what in the world is going on in there?" He muttered to himself.
Then, Weiss opened the door, revealing everyone standing with very forced smiles on their faces. Ruby was holding her pack with her hand hovering over the top. Blake was sitting at the foot of a bed with a noticeably tense expression, trying to read a book. And Yang was simply leaning back against a wall with a big grin.
Hansel heaved a sigh. Something was definitely wrong. "Okay, what happened?" He asked.
Team RWBY just laughed nervously in response. And so, Hansel gave them his default response in idiotic situations such as these: his deadpan gaze. "Alright, let's try that again and pretend you four aren't weird." He told them. "What's going on here? Does this have anything to do with the package Rose and Xiao Long's dad sent them?"
Yang let out a very forced laugh. "Oh that? That was actually a mistake."
"...A mistake?" Hansel raised an eyebrow at Yang.
Yang's forced laugh continued. "Yeah, Dad accidentally sent us a bunch of dirty magazines. I think he meant to send them to Uncle Qrow."
Weiss and Blake both looked sick at the mention of dirty magazines, a bit miffed at her dirty mind. Then again, that dirty mind was the only thing helping them at the moment. Ruby just laughed nervously, nodding her head in agreement at Yang's claim. Though she was turning red at the thought of her dad and Uncle Qrow sharing smut with each other. It was bad enough that her young mind could not handle it. It was worse when it was people she knew.
Hansel looked at Yang like she had grown a second head. Make that three heads. "How do you accidentally send your own daughters dirty magazines?" Yeah, he was definitely not convinced by that. It just sounded too damn ludicrous.
Yang quickly brushed that off and continued to play along with the lie. "Oh he does stuff like that all the time. He has a bad habit of getting a little careless and airheaded. One of those quirky, lovable, eccentric traits, that made Ruby's mom fall for him. That kind of thing."
Zwei then barked inside of Ruby's bag. Team RWBY went pale once more, like the shadow of death was now looming over all of them. Hansel was now looking at the entire team like they had all grown three heads, for a grand total of twelve.
Blake then spoke up. "Umm...woof." She said, trying to imitate a dog and failing miserably. "Er, sorry Professor, I'm practicing my animal sounds...and throwing my voice."
Hansel really should have just called them liars and demanded the truth...but he was just way too baffled by the situation to do so. This gave Yang the opportunity to go for the kill and to get him off their back. She smirked, knowing just how she was going to do so.
"Hey, I have an idea, Teach." She spoke up. "Why don't you take the magazines? Boys your age like that kind of stuff, don't they?"
Ruby, Weiss and Blake looked at Yang in shock while Hansel turned red in embarrassment. Yang's smirk became a full shit-eating grin. She had him right where she wanted him.
"Don't worry," she continued, "I think the magazines are brand new, so I don't think any of the pages are stuck together…"
"No thanks, I'm good!" Hansel said quickly. "Just throw the damn things away. Maybe burn them for good measure."
And with that, Hansel walked out of Team RWBY's dorm, fumbling with the door and failing to fully shut it. The girls all heaved a sigh of relief. "That was close." Blake muttered.
"Yang, for once your filthy mind came in handy." Weiss noted.
"Yeah, but at Beacon's next parent-teacher conference, something tells me Professor Kobalt won't be able to look at Dad without judging him." Ruby noted.
The adorable reaper heaved a sigh. "We...may owe him an apology for the shot we just took at his reputation."
"Hey, I didn't see you three coming up with anything better." Yang defended herself. "It was the best thing I could come up with on the spot."
Zwei barked inside of Ruby's bag once more. Yang groaned at Zwei's behavior. "Ugh, and he wasn't helping." She added.
"Don't be mean to him, Yang." Weiss defended her favorite furry friend's behavior. "He's just really excited to see me again, that's all."
Zwei continued to bark before forcing his head out of Ruby's bag. At that moment, Team RWBY heard someone clear their throat. They turned just as the door to their dorm opened once more, revealing Hansel once again. He was gazing particularly at Zwei.
At that moment, Hansel's embarrassed exit, as it had led to him being unable to fully shut the door properly, had done more harm than good to Team RWBY…
Ruby let out a small eep before leaning down to Zwei. "Get back in the bag." She muttered to the dog.
Hansel sighed, palming his face before glaring at Team RWBY. "I knew it." He groaned. "I knew I heard barking."
Hansel gazed at each member of the team with an accusatory glance. "What in the world were you four thinking, letting a dog stay at a military base?" He demanded.
Team RWBY all looked at each other with worried glances, wondering how they were going to handle this. Yang then spoke up, taking the lead once more. "Well, it's not like we had a choice, Teach." She promised. "Dad sent him to us in the mail."
Oh sure, that totally made sense, said no one ever…
That left Hansel with more questions than answers. "He sent a dog?" He had to confirm that. "In the mail? How?"
Yang laughed nervously. "He...does stuff like this all the time."
Ruby then spoke up. "The thing is, Professor, Dad only sends Zwei in the mail when he's going off the island. We can't just send him back!"
"Please don't talk about mailing a dog back like it's normal." Hansel groaned. Of all the reasons he wished he could leave this nightmare of a teaching job, mailing dogs was probably at the very bottom of a long list.
Ruby was not done stating her case though. "If we sent him back, he'd be all alone with no one to take care of him." She whimpered slightly at the thought of her beloved corgi being home alone like that. Even Zwei got lonely, after all.
This seemed to strike a chord within Hansel. His expression suddenly softened, much to everyone's surprise. "I...I see…" He muttered, his eyes betraying sincere empathy he had for the situation. "That's...too bad…"
Team RWBY looked at Hansel in shock while Zwei just kept smiling at Hansel, still wondering if this man was a new friend and playmate like the super nice white-haired girl with the scar over her face and the cat girl.
Hansel then sighed. "Look, this isn't an animal shelter." He reminded them. He then sighed once more. "Though...I guess you four would be better behaved if you had your pet to take care of."
Blake paled while the rest of Team RWBY's eyes lit up. "Just make sure to keep an eye on him and to keep him in the room. Like I said, this place isn't an animal shelter. It's a military base." Hansel was quick to lay down ground rules like a strict dad. "Oh, and I'm not taking care of him. Feeding, walking, taking him out for bathroom breaks? That's all on you four."
Ruby squealed in delight, wanting to embrace Hansel but remembered it would be improper to. "Oh thank you! Thank you!" She squealed.
Hansel sighed, rubbing the back of his head. "Geez," he muttered, "you would've just kept pestering me until I gave in anyway."
Zwei then leapt out of Ruby's bag and ran up to Hansel. Hansel looked at Zwei. "What?"
Hansel knelt down, getting his face at Zwei's level. "Something you want to say to me?"
Then, much to Team RWBY's shock, Zwei let out a happy bark and licked Hansel's face. "No...freaking...way…" Yang could not believe what she was seeing.
"I guess...Zwei likes everyone." Blake added.
While Team RWBY was forced to confront a shocking reality, Flynt Coal led his team to confront another team before the next class began. "Gra." Flynt addressed the leader of the group with a glare on his face. "We need to talk."
Gra Steinn turned and smirked at Flynt, showing off his youthful, handsome face with long gray hair that reached his back. A silver bow was strapped to his back. Beyond that, he wore the standard Atlas Academy uniform.
"Is there a problem, Flynt?" Gra asked curiously.
"Don't play coy with me, Gra." Flynt folded his arms. "Neon told me that it was your team that started talking that crap about Team RWBY. You instigated that whole thing."
Gra scowled. "I didn't realize Neon was such a snitch." He noted, looking at the cat Faunus.
Neon, however, did not flinch. She scowled right back at Gra. "I'll be a snitch if I know that people like you are harming our academy's efforts, Gra."
Gra chuckled. "Spunky as always."
"Just tell me why, Gra." Flynt demanded. "Come on, we go back how far? You can tell your old buddy."
"Well, when you put it like that." Gra sighed. "To be frank, Flynt, I can't stand Atlas bending over backwards to accommodate the people from Beacon Academy."
"We're trying to fix our kingdom's reputation, Gra." Flynt reminded him. "You can't hinder that effort!"
"Even if that is true, bending over backwards like this is only going to breed resentment, Flynt." Gra claimed. "Treating them like royalty is only going to leave us worse off. I'm just reminding our classmates that the Beacon students aren't perfect."
Flynt sighed. "Don't give me that, Gra." He said, "You're lying, I know you are. You can't stand the fact that they're all getting all this attention. Whether it's from the media, or from the academies."
Gra turned away from Flynt. "My team is the strongest team in Atlas Academy, Flynt." He reminded Flynt. "The strongest team in all four academies. Were it not for those blasted Grimm making us ill, we would've cleaned house in the Vytal Festival. And you know what else? The damage that woman caused would've been nonexistent had we been there."
"You can't seriously believe your own hype that much, Gra." Flynt denied. "And you better not spout off that crap in public! That's an insult to the people who died during that attack and you know it!"
Gra fell silent for a moment before making a single vow to Flynt. "If given the chance, I'll put them in their place, Flynt." He promised. "We all will."
"They want to foster cooperation? Well, regardless of any personal reasons, I happen to be of the belief that the best way to do that is to remind people of the pecking order in the world. You keep bending over backwards for those people, you're only going to inflate their egos and leave Atlas weak-hearted." Gra claimed.
"I told you not to give me that self-righteous crap, Gra." Flynt reminded him. "That's not you and you know it. We both know this is all for you."
Gra ignored Flynt and left Team FNKI with the rest of his team. They were Team GLDN, led by their fearless leader, Gra Steinn. This team also includes three other members: Lutin Rouge, Dollie Grass, and Nezha Zise. They were Team GLDN, one of the strongest teams in Atlas Academy.
And they had Team RWBY in their sights...
A.N: Me oh my, are those the inner-workings of conflict I spy? Wait, I'm the author, why am I asking that? I definitely think the highlight of this though, was the return of Zwei, along with a lot of humor at poor Hansel's expense. Hope everyone enjoyed this chapter. I'll see y'all next time.