Shattered Mirrors [PMMM/RWBY Fusion]

[Azecreth]

The first couple chapters will be crossposted over from FF.Net. After Chapter 4 the two versions will be running concurrently. Or something.

Primarily fusion style crossover, slight fix fic with other changes to mesh things together as best I can. First time posting a story, so hopefully it won't end terribly.

***

When she had woken up this morning, Ruby did not expect she would be in this situation, to put it mildly. Especially not after being in a full on bank robbery which she had bravely thwarted with the assistance of a Huntress of all people! But here she was instead, being lectured by the very Huntress she had fought with, and who had brought her here.

"I hope you realize that your actions tonight will not be taken lightly young lady," the Huntress, who had told her that her name was Glynda Goodwitch, said as she paced around Ruby with Scroll in hand, in the holding room she had been taken to in the aftermath of the rooftop fight. "You put yourself and others in grave danger."

The room was small, empty except for a metal table, two chairs, neither of which were comfortable, and a hanging lamp that cast light in different directions as it swayed about. Ruby sat in one, while the other was unoccupied. Crescent Rose had been taken for safekeeping, or something like that, in spite of her protests, and she looked down in as close to shame at the haranguing as she could feel, at least until that last sentence registered.

"They started it," she objected, since it was the truth.

Glynda continued on as if she hadn't heard what Ruby had said at all. "If it were up to me, you'd be sent home with a pat on the back..." Ruby lit up at the idea. "And a slap on the wrist." She punctuated that by slapping the table with her riding crop, causing Ruby to shy back with a yelp.

What came next was said with intense resignation, giving an impression that Glynda hadn't approved with what was about to happen. "But, there is someone here who would like to meet you," she said.

Ruby looked on with interest as older woman stepped out of the way of the now open door to allow a man to step in, with sunglasses sitting on the bridge of his nose, white hair, a mug, and a plate held atop his free hand.

"Ruby Rose," the man said to her from where he stood, before taking a few steps forward. And she continued to give him that curious expression as she heard the age, the experience in his voice, though that might possibly have been the hero worship. And he seemed familiar to her, though she'd only seen pictures. But she was sure she knew him from somewhere...

Eyes widened as he leaned forward to examine her closer and continued to speak. "You...have silver eyes."

That caused her to give the man a more quizzical look, perhaps wondering if he had a few screws loose since he felt the need to state the obvious. "U...Um."

And as seemed to be the appearing trend, the man went on as if she hadn't spoken, straightening back up in the process. "So, where did you learn to do this?" He gestured with his head to the Scroll behind held behind him, on which was displayed security camera footage of her fight with the robbers.

"S-Signal Academy," she replied with a slight degree of uncertainty. Was she being tested or something? And after what she'd done? Talk about unfair.

As it was, the man with the green scarf didn't seem to believe that. "They taught you to use one of the most dangerous weapons ever designed?"

Ruby was quick to add further explanation to her statement, lest she get in trouble with the Academy for lying, or something like that. "Well, one teacher in particular."

"I see, the man replied in turn, only pausing for a moment before he placed the plate of cookies he had been holding the entire time, and which had been filling the room with a scent that was hard for her to ignore, or resist, onto the table in front of her.

Ruby looked between the Huntsmen (since she had to assume the man was one), and the plate of cookies, before she gave in to desire. She cautiously reached forward and grabbed one off the plate, moving as slowly to eat it, before determining that they wouldn't object. At which point, she began to scarf them down like they would be stolen from her at a moments notice. Admittedly, they weren't the most amazing cookies she'd ever eaten, but with her sweet tooth, they would do.

"It's just that I've only seen one other scythe wielder of that skill before," the man said as he watched her eat away. "Dusty old Qrow..." The way he said it seemed loaded with memories, which Ruby would have commented on were she not eating.

As it was, Ruby replied almost immediately between bites, in spite of her mouth being full of chocolate chip cookie. "Oh, that's my uncle."

The casual revelation incited the man to give her a more calculating look, while Ruby realized what she was doing and swallowed, before brushing away crumbs with her sleeve. "Heh, sorry," she continued happily. "That's my uncle Qrow. He's a teacher at Signal. I was complete garbage before he took me under his wing, and now I'm all like 'woo-chaaa-haaa!'"

Her vocals were accompanied with appropriate gestures which the man ignored as he sipped at whatever was in his mug. "So I have noticed," he replied once she had finished, and placed the mug he had held on the table. "And what is an adorable girl such as yourself doing at a school designed to train warriors?"

It was a question Ruby had been asked before, and asked herself, and she had an answer ready as she heard it. "Well, I want to be a Huntress," she said with absolute conviction as the man sat down across from her.

"You want to slay monsters," he replied, in a way that was both a question and a statement of fact at the same time.

Ruby nodded, looking between the two Huntsmen. "Yeah. I only have two more years of training left at Signal, and then I'm going to apply to Beacon. You see, my sister's starting there this year, and she's trying to become a Huntress, I'm trying to become a Huntress because I wanna help people. My parents always taught us to help others so I thought 'Well, might as well make a career out of it, hehe. I mean, the police are alright, but Huntsmen and Huntresses are just so much more romantic and exciting and cool and gggha! You know?" Words essentially failed her at that point as her excitement overwhelmed her rational thought, leaving her to seek a response with a grin on her face.

Glynda wore a disapproving frown as she nearly stared at her, but the Huntsman seemed more considerate. "Do you know who I am," he asked at last.

"You're Professor Ozpin," she replied matter of factly as it came back to her. "You're the Headmaster at Beacon."

"Hm," Ozpin said with a slight smirk. "Hello."

Internally, Ruby was practically dancing, heart fluttering at the fact that she was in the presence of Ozpin himself, the person running the school she so desperately wanted to get into. She should probably have been freaking out, but for some reason she didn't. Maybe it was shock? Yeah, that was probably it.

"Nice to meet you," she greeted as calmly as she had said most everything before.

"You want to come to my school," he asked, shifting forward in his seat with his hands resting on the table, gazing at her intently.

Ruby nodded, speaking with all her desire, emotion, and lack of childish behavior that she could. Even she, with her professed inadequate social skills, could see that now wasn't the time to be squealing out like a fangirl. She had to leave a good impression for when she applied in two years. "More than anything."

Ozpin looked up at Glynda, who grunted and looked away from the two of them with her arms folded across her chest. He then looked back to Ruby, having apparently reached some great decision. "Well, okay. I think I can find a spot for you in this years incoming class, if you'd like."

Ruby's silver eyes widened as she took that in, and then she practically leapt across the table. "Oh thank you thank you thank you," she said rapidly. "I won't let you down sir."

Ozpin had to hold back a grin at her enthusiasm, but remained seated. "Very well then, we'll have the necessary paperwork delivered to you, and I look forward to seeing you with the arriving freshman class."

"Right." Ruby snapped a salute before realizing how silly that was.

Before Ozpin could go on though, Glynda cocked her head, as if hearing something, before she stepped closer to Ozpin. She nodded once to him, and he seemed to have some silent understanding at what she was trying to get across, which Ruby took to be a sign of how long they had worked together.

"If you'll excuse me Ms. Rose, I have an urgent phone call that requires my attention. Just wait here, if you would," Ozpin said as he rose from his seat and left the room, Glynda departing behind him, and Ruby jumped as the door slammed shut.

Ruby was left to sit there, looking around in confusion for a second before she was attracted to the sweets and finished off the last of the cookies in front of her. But once she had finished with that, all she could do was wait nervously, and wonder when she could leave. She wasn't still in trouble, was she?

No, I don't believe you are in trouble. Should you be?

The sound of someone talking came as a surprise, and Ruby looked around to make sure that she was alone before she searched for any loudspeakers or cameras. "That's weird," she said to herself. "I could have sworn I heard someone talking to me, but there's no one here."

That isn't totally true. Now she was really freaked out, but her confusion was soon allayed, and then restored, as a...thing, emerged into view. It was like a mix between a bunny and a cat, with white fur, long ears, beady red eyes, and a smile. Hello Ruby Rose.

At first, confusion and wonder at what she was experiencing right now. Then she registered how the creature looked, and her Semblance activated in a burst of rose petals as she swept the cat-bunny up in a hug. "Oh you're so cute," she exclaimed, before her rational side kicked in in protest. "Wait, how do you know my name? How are you even talking to me?"

Telepathy, the being explained, making no move to escape her hug. Most humans call me Kyubey. I've had my eye on you for a while Ruby. You're special.

"Well, I wouldn't say that," Ruby replied somewhat bashfully, leaving aside the thought of how awesome having telepathy must be, and apparently unaware that Kyubey had just admitted to either spying or stalking her. "I'm just doing the best I can to help people, like any other person would." She shrugged, index fingers tapping together to indicate her feelings.

Perhaps, but not every human can do what you can. You have potential, if you choose to make use of it. And I can help you do that.

"Really? How," Ruby asked, curious, and at the same time her mind was filled with visions of being a daring Huntress saving everyone. But at the same time, there was some healthy skepticism as well.

Kyubey abruptly twisted free of her hold and jumped across to the table, sitting atop it and looking at her with unblinking eyes. Simple. Make a contract with me and become a Magical Girl! His tail whipped about as he spoke in a cheerful tone.

Well, now Ruby was intrigued, her mind flashing to all the comics that she had read. "A Magical Girl? Like with powers and stuff? That would be so cool!"

Kyubey nodded and answered swiftly. Yes, similar to how they are shown in your culture. You make a contract, and get one wish. And in exchange, you get magical powers that you use to fight the creatures of despair. I think your species calls them Grimm.

Her eyes widened like saucers as she stared slack-jawed at Kyubey. This was almost too much to believe. A wish? For powers to fight Grimm and help people at the same time? How could she refuse that? "What kind of wishes and powers," she asked, trying to hide her enthusiasm.

Kyubey did notice though, taking some silent pleasure in that. Anything, he replied. So long as your wish can overcome the bounds of entropy. You could even change the entirety of reality if you had enough potential. The way he said that made it sound like he'd seen that very thing happen before. The powers depend on your wish, but they will, in general, make you better able to fight Grimm.

Ruby lit up all the more at that answer, while conveniently forgetting to ask what 'entropy' was. "Anything?" She seemed to get almost frantic, gesturing as her speech sped up. "Oh, I could wish for a lifetime supply of cookies, or to be an awesome weapons smith, or to be the best Huntress of all time! Gaaah, it's so hard to decide."

Kyubey cocked his head as he passively watched Ruby's antics. There is no rush, it is a big decision. You should be absolutely certain of what you want before you agree.

"Oh. Alright." Ruby settled down then with the drop in pressure. "So... what's the catch? I mean, I'm betting I don't just get a wish and awesome powers for free."

Oh, there's no catch. At least not what you would call a catch, Kyubey replied. When you contract, you just have to agree to dedicate your life to fighting Grimm. If I am not mistaken that was your plan anyway, so it won't be that different in the end. You will just be more effective.

Well, he did have a point, and she wouldn't mind being as awesome as he made the whole thing sound. The only hard part was deciding what wish she wanted granted. There were just so many things she could wish for, and she was unable to pick one at this moment.

"Ooooh, I just can't pick," she lamented. "I want to, but I can't make up my mind."

Don't be alarmed. You don't have to choose right away. I'll find you when you're ready to make a contract, Kyubey said from where he sat on the table.

Ruby breathed a sigh of relief, still glad to hear that. She just needed some time, that was all. "Can you? I mean, I'm going to Beacon and all so I guess that helps, but it's still a large campus, so..."

Kyubey seemed nonplussed by the question. I will be able to find you, he reassured her. Now then, if you have no further questions, I have other business that requires my attention.

"Nope, I think that's everything," Ruby replied before she started. "Oh, wait. So if you've been watching me for a bit, then why'd you only ask me for one of these contracts now?"

As he had to all her previous questions, it seemed that Kyubey had a response ready for that as well. Your potential wasn't significantly demonstrated until now, so it wasn't deemed necessary to approach you with the possibility of a contract.

"Oh." She would admit that that made sense, all things considered. She wasn't sure what he meant by 'potential', so she would assume it had something to do with magic, or maybe her Semblance or fighting skills. It was the only reasonable suggestion, anyway, but then again when did Ruby go for reasonable suggestions first of all.

Is your curiosity sated, Kyubey asked once more.

"Yeah. See you later then." She waved as Kyubey vanished back into the shadows and disappeared, leaving her to wonder hoe exactly he did that. But she didn't wonder for too long. She was far too busy considering his offer and what she wanted.

It was a once in a lifetime opportunity after all, and she wasn't going to pass it up.

***

The two senior Huntsmen watched through the window as Ruby departed at a skipping pace, her encounters for the day over. She seemed happy, and all the more reassured to have her weapon back.

"She doesn't seem to have contracted," Ozpin commented idly as he watched the red clad figure leave their line of sight en route to home.

Glynda nodded, yet she didn't seem happy nor angry about it. "I'm still not sure I approve of having him around when we talk to potential students. He always wants to talk to them after us, and it seems overly manipulative."

"True," the professor ceded with a slight nod as he turned away from the window. "But he would speak with them one way or another, and he is useful in identifying students who have particularly strong Semblances or Auras without tests. So it would be best to put up with him for the present"

Glynda sighed. "Very well. But I still think it's a bad idea."

Ozpin lapsed into silence and took a sip form his mug before he went on on the original topic. "We should keep an eye on Ms. Rose though. I expect we'll see great things from her in the future."

"Perhaps," Glynda replied skeptically, looking over at the Professor.

Ozpin moved to sit down at the nearby desk as she continued. "Leaving aside my disapproval at your decision to let Ruby Rose attend Beacon for the moment, I'm afraid we have another pressing issue to discuss."

Taking a sip from his mug, Ozpin placed it on the desk as he watched Glynda. "And what would that be," he asked curiously.

Glynda presented the scroll to him once more, with more security camera footage displayed on it for him to look at. "She is back," she replied, anger barely kept out of her tone.

Ozpin gave the footage a considering look. "You mean Cinder," he clarified. "How do you know?"

"The move sets and fighting style were all the same as what she used." The images ran through on the scroll, displaying the magical battle between the figure cast in shadow and Glynda. "And she spoke to me, just before she left. She told me to give you her regards, and that she looked forward to meeting soon." A frown indicated her opinion on that very well.

A hum escaped as Ozpin thought. "I see," he said at last. "Well, we knew this day would come eventually. What we need to do now is be patient and see what she has planned. If we act too hastily, we risk letting her escape to threaten Vale again."

While Glynda was willing to accept that, she was also in her position to act as Ozpin's devil's advocate, which she did now. "Are you sure that's wise? Cinder could cause a lot of damage between now and then, we're already seeing rising crime rates, and if she's in league with a thug like Roman Torchwick, I shudder to think of the consequences."

Ozpin leaned back in his chair as he considered his subordinate's question. "While true, it overlooks the damage Cinder could do in the future were she to escape. Sometimes, a small sacrifice now can prevent a much greater tragedy in the future. So for now we wait."

"Alright," Glynda agreed, however reluctantly. "If that is what you think."

Ozpin nodded, to indicate that it was, and he sat in thought for a moment before rising once more. "Now then, I believe we should be getting back to Beacon. There are still some matters to attend to before the school year begins."

He departed with Glynda then, to head back to Beacon. There was sure to be an eventful school year ahead, that much he could tell

 

[Azecreth]

Ch 2 - Welcome to Beacon

Beacon Academy, a school dedicated to trainings Huntsmen and Huntresses to fight Grimm and to serve the people, not necessarily in that order all the time. It was prestigious, the place all who sought that life style aspired to go, whether they be wealthy, talented, or not so much. It had rigorous standards, but if one could make it there, they would be set for the future.

And now the time had come for another school year to begin. Even now, airships arrived, carrying batches of students from across Remnant, all of whom had applied to Beacon and been accepted, some even from as far afield as Vacuo, which was not entirely unusual, though those students generally never amounted to more than a handful.

With the dying hum of engines, the airships came to rest in specially constructed docks that would allow the passengers aboard to disembark while they went about refueling and preparing for secondary runs. The crews were well trained, and went about their business as students emerged, disgorging from the boarding ramps onto the campus, experiencing it for perhaps the first time.

Among those departing were a pair of sisters, one two years older than the other with long blond hair, biker shorts, yellow gauntlets, and an orange scarf. The other had brown hair with a red cape, a gun slung to a belt on which also was pinned a silver rose, fastened around a black dress.

"Wow," Ruby and Yang said in concert as they looked about the campus. It certainly was beautiful, as provided by the groundskeeping staff. Large and majestic buildings, verdant lawns, well maintained pathways Here was hoping that they spent as much money on the teaching staff as they did on the decorations.

"The view from Vale's got nothing on this" Yang commented afterwards, with her arms folded across her chest, suitably impressed.

Meanwhile, Ruby's attention had been dragged away from the view by the people around her. Or more specifically, their weapons, as her love for blades, guns, and stabby-slicey things took a hold in a gasp of breath, the girl looking like a kid in a candy store. Which wasn't all that unusual an experience either, to be honest.

"Oh, sis, look, he's got a collapsible staff," she said, enthusiasm obvious as she attempted to direct Yang's attention so said person whilst feeling way too much glee than was appropriate for this situation. "And she's got a fire sword..."

Before she could go wandering off to find these people and ruthlessly interrogate them about their weapons, so she could improve Crescent Rose, she felt a sharp tug as Yang grabbed onto the hood of her cape, eliciting a small cry as it choked slightly. "Ow ow ow..."

"Calm down there little sis," Yang said, trying to placate Ruby before she did something crazy on the first day here. 'They're just weapons."

That was a mistake, as Yang realized a second later, her usual sense in these things blocked by being at Beacon for the first time ever. But it was too late. "Just weapons," Ruby replied with a sense of rightful outrage. "They're an extension of ourselves, they're a part of us!" The pure passion she had for those instruments surged forth as she practically squeaked in admiration while rising on her heels. "Ohhh they're so cool."

"Well why can't you swoon over your own weapon," Yang asked as she shifted to face Ruby. "Aren't you happy with it?"

Talk about an obvious question as Ruby removed and snapped her weapon to scythe form as she hugged it tightly. "Of course I'm happy with Crescent Rose," the girl replied, blade swinging a tad dangerously behind her with her movements, before she brought it to rest in a one handed grip in front of her. "I just really like seeing new ones. It's like meeting new people. Except better."

Yang grinned, always amused by her sister, and she reached out to pull her hood up and down, covering Ruby's face. "Ruby, c'mon. Why don't you go try and make some friends of your own?"

"Why would I need friends when I have you," Ruby asked curiously as she pulled her hood back.

"Well, actually..." Yang said nervously, voice picking up a rapid tone of explanation as she took a few steps back while some people headed her way, drawn by the long mane of hair and recognizable clothes. "My friends are here now, gotta go catch up, kay, see yah, bye."

She and her friends practically dashed off, leaving Ruby there dazed and confused. "Wait, where are you going," Ruby cried in protest as they vanished down the main thoroughfare. "Are we supposed to go to our dorms? Where are our dorms? Do we have dorms? I don't know what I'm doing." She was so lost right now.

A defeated sigh escaped her as she watched the familiar blond hair vanish in the distance. Stepping backwards in her daze, she couldn't help but trip on her own feet, which had it's end result with her crashing down amidst a pile of white suitcases. And those didn't make the most comfortable landing spot.

"What are you doing!" The angered cry battered her shaken mind as she recovered, suitcases clattering to the ground.

"Uh, sorry," Ruby said apologetically as she rose to get a view of whomever she had just embarrassed herself for.

Well, it was a girl, like herself, dressed all in white, with a rapier at her hip. Long white hair wrapped around in a ponytail, and a cold scowl on her face as she pointed at Ruby. "Sorry? Do you have any idea of the damage you could have caused?"

"Uhh," Ruby stammered as she picked up a suitcase and held it towards the intimidating presence.

"Give me that," the girl in white snapped as she grabbed the case away and opened it. "This is Dust, gathered at great cost in men and equipment by the Schnee Dust Company" she explained.

'Uhhh," Ruby muttered, rubbing her head as she worked to process this flow of information.

The girl continued on as she looked down at Ruby. "What are you, brain dead? Dust," she said as she pulled out a vial of red Dust to show. "Fire, water, lightning, energy." She seemed unaware of the fine particles spilling out around the shaken seal, permeating the air and creating a dangerous situation as it tickles Ruby's nose.

"Are you even listening to me," she asked, waving the vial with a hand on her hip. "Is any of this sinking-Hey!"

Ruby watched from where she stood, having gotten back to her feet in the meantime, as the girl in white spun about to confront the intruder, who had relieved her of the vial and was now holding it carefully. "You'd think a Schnee would be more careful when handling Dust," the girl dressed in black and purple, with a white shirt and black bow in her hair, said. "Especially the heiress to the company."

"Give that back," the irritated girl snapped, grabbing for the snowflake engraved vial. "It's Schnee property and doesn't belong to you."

Not doing as requested, the interloper currently facing down that wrath instead pointed out the slippage in the seal that was allowing Dust to escape into the air. "I think the maintenance staff would appreciate if you didn't blow a hole in the side walk."

"Do you even know who I am," the heiress harrumphed as she successfully snatched the vial away, glass clinking against the sole exception to her color scheme, a gray ring with intricate engravings that she wore on her left hand.

The brunette nodded, holding casually to a book in her other hand as she looked at her chromatic opposite. "Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, one of the largest producers of energy on Remnant," she replied automatically.

"Finally, some recognition," Weiss said with audible self satisfaction.

"Also known for their controversial labor policies and questionable business partners."

That self satisfaction turned into sputtering anger at the insult, as Weiss glared at the other girl. "Wha-? How dare you! That is completely and utterly untrue! I don't have to put up with this." With a huff, she spun about on her heels and walked off, followed by some men in suits wheeling along her things.

"Sorry," Ruby called with a wave at Weiss's back. "I'll make it up to you somehow, promise!"

Weiss didn't respond, obviously done with the conversation, and Ruby frowned as she watched her go. "Well, at least I'm not the only new person here," she said to herself before looking over. "So what's your..." her voice fell silent as she watched the mysterious girl depart, headed off in a different direction towards the school.

With a renewed sigh, she walked over and sat down on the soft grass, head bowed with her arms wrapped around pulled in legs. Well that had gone wonderfully, hadn't it. "Welcome to Beacon," she muttered despondently before pulling her hood over her head, wishing she could just vanish.

Eyes covered by red fabric, she was then unable to see the person approaching until she was spoken to. "Hey, are you alright?"

Ruby looked up at that point to see a young man standing before her with ragged blond hair, armor, and a sword in a scabbard, wearing a soft smile as he held an outstretched hand. "No," she replied, audibly depressed. "I kinda sorta got some people mad at me already, and my sister ran off with her friends so I have no idea where she is."

Before she could go on, she shook herself, remembering that she was supposed to be upbeat and happy around new people. Besides being hyperactive when not nervous, Yang kept telling her that she should be more, well, like her. "I'm sorry. I'm Ruby."

"Jaune," the boy replied as he helped Ruby to her feet.

From her new vantage point with her hood pulled back, Ruby could get a better look at him, and with it she realized why he seemed so familiar. "Wait, aren't you the guy who threw up on the airship?"

Jaune's embarrassment was obvious as a light blush lit his cheeks while he rubbed the back of his head and nervously laughed. "Hehe, uh, yeah. Sorry about that. I get airsick easy. Always have."

"Yeah, sure," Ruby answered with a light giggle of her own, imagining what Yang would do to him when she saw him again. Her sister had not been amused, to say the least.

"Hey, don't laugh at me," Jaune protested. "Motion sickness is a lot more of a problem than people let on."

Fortunately for Ruby, she was able to recover and stifle her laughter, though she couldn't totally dismiss an amused grin. "Sorry. I shouldn't have laughed at you. Just don't expect any mercy from Yang though. She's never gonna let you live it down."

Jaune sighed, shoulders sagging. "Of course not. Just wonderful. So much for my reputation. And here I was hoping to be the cool action guy."

"Yeah, you might have ruined that just a bit," Ruby confirmed with a grin as she watched the blond. "Still, I'm sure all that cool action stuff will get them to stop calling you 'Vomit Boy' eventually."

"I hope so," he agreed with more than a hint of sadness. "That's not exactly how I wanna be remembered. Jaune Arc suits me just fine. And it rolls off the tongue. Ladies love that sort of thing."

"Do they," Ruby asked skeptically, not that she had any experience in that sort of thing.

"Uh, they will," he replied in slight panic, hands raised as if to placate. "I mean, I hope they will. My mom always says tha...never mind."

A light chuckle escaped Ruby's lips before the conversation died on that awkward note, the red clad girl unsure how to pursue the talk. It wasn't like this sort of thing was a common occurrence for her.

So she defaulted back to an easy topic, specifically, weapons. "So, say hello to Crescent Rose," she said affectionately ads she pulled the weapon off her belt and shifted it to scythe form, letting the head slam into the cobblestone.

"Whoa," Jaune exclaimed as he leapt back, hands in a defensive posture. "Is that a scythe?"

"It's also a customizable, high impact sniper rifle," Ruby replied proudly, hefting Crescent Rose to better display her to the blond.

Confusion covered his face for a few brief moments as he eased up. "A what?"

She answered by way of chambering a round with a loud 'clack'. 'It's also a gun."

"Ah." His confusion faded away then to be replaced with provided understanding. "That's cool."

Lowering Crescent Rose, Ruby her near full attention on the boy. "So, what do you have," she asked with barely restrained eagerness. There was the sword, sure, but she bet it did something awesome.

"Oh, well, I've got this sword," Jaune replied, drawing said sword to appreciative sounds from his companions. "And a shield." He pulled out the shield then, holding it on display.

"Cool. What do they do?" Ruby examined the set of weapons, touching the shield only to activate some hidden spring mechanism that sent it flying from his hand, in turn sending him scrabbling to grab it as it bounced about.

Though scrabbling, it was more like a one man dance really, which Ruby watched in confusion as as the blond before her moved and spun, somehow missing his hold every time until at last he succeeded and ended up with sword and shield in a combat stance facing her once more. "The, uh, shield gets smaller, so when I get tired of carrying it, I can just put it away," he explained, like nothing had happened.

"But...wouldn't it weight the same," Ruby pointed out as Jaune did what he had just said, returning the shield to his belt.

"Yeah, it does." His shoulders lumped in sad confirmation, obviously not pleased with that fact.

That avenue rapidly fading with that kind of reaction, Ruby took the initiative, at least to provide some explanation as to why she asked. "Hehe, well, I'm kind of a dork when it comes to weapons. I did go a little overboard in designing her." Potentially the greatest understatement of the day.

Jaune practically froze though. "Wait, you made that?" It was hard to tell if he could be more incredulous.

"Of course," Ruby replied happily, before giving him a quizzical look. "All students at Signal forge their own weapons. Didn't you make yours?"

The blade rose as Jaune looked at it with a mixed expression. "It's a hand-me-down. My great grandfather used it to fight in The War." If tone was any indication, he definitely didn't consider it as impressive as the gun-scythe.

"Sounds more like a family heirloom to me," Ruby commented in return, trying to lift his spirits. "Well I like it. Not many people have an appreciation for the classics these days."

"Yeah, the classics," Jaune agreed hesitantly.

Before they could go on, the loudspeakers across the campus crackled to life. "Would all students please report to the auditorium immediately. The opening ceremony will begin shortly."

The announcement prompted the two of them to put their respective weapons away, and a quick scan of the area noted small clusters of people all walking in the same general direction. "Well, guess we should get going then," Ruby commented.

"Yeah," Jaune replied with a nod, and the two joined the flow of people that headed towards the main auditorium.

Arriving at the large building, they stepped inside to view a grand structure. It was large, with a high glass dome ceiling, and multiple levels of seating to accommodate the crowds of people. Meanwhile, the floor sloped slightly towards the large stage that dominated everyone's attention for the moment. A lot of money had been put into it, if appearance was any indication.

Entering also revealed that the building was full of people, milling about and conversing as they waited for the opening ceremony to begin. The two froze, searching the place while deciding what to do next.

Fortunately for the cape wearing girl, that question was answered for her as a cry of "Hey Ruby! Over here! I saved you a spot," drew her attention to where Yang stood, a waving a hand to stand out.

Ruby practically lit up at the sight of her sister, even if she still had some grievances, and she moved towards the indicated spot before turning back to Jaune. "Oh, hey, I gotta go. I'll see you after the ceremony."

"Hey, wait," Jaune called as she left, but it was no use. "Great. Where am I supposed to find another nice, quirky girl to talk to?"

Leaving that conversation behind, Ruby quickly sidled up to her sister. "So how's your first day going, little sister," Yang asked happily.

Ruby's irritation had returned, and she folded her arms across her chest as she glared silver at her sister. "You mean since you ditched me? Terrible! I was lucky I didn't blow myself up or something."

"Is someone being sarcastic," Yang asked in a teasing tone of voice.

"No, I'm not. I nearly almost exploded." To say Ruby was unamused by her sister at the moment was an understatement. As far as she was concerned, it was all Yang's fault in the first place.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry I ditched you," Yang replied as way of apology. "Still, it wasn't all bad, right?"

"Not really. I knocked over this crabby girl's luggage, and then she yelled at me. But then I met Jaune, so I guess it wasn't terrible," she replied in a single breath, unaware of the 'crabby girl' coldly ignoring her presence right behind her.

At the spoken name, Yang got a dangerous gleam in her eye. "Oh, and who's this Jaune? Is it a boy?"

Embarrassment flared as Ruby sputtered, stamping her foot. "No! I mean, yes, but it's not like that. He's just a guy I met, that's all."

Yang grinned upon seeing her sister so flustered, but she was glad in her own way. It seemed Ruby was listening to her advice after all. "Alright, if you say so/ I'm just glad my sister is fitting in." She then poked Ruby in the chest. "But I've gotta meet him before you go on any dates, alright?"

"Yyyang," Ruby cried, recovering from the push. "We're not dating."

"I know. Not yet anyway." Yang grinned, enjoying the banter. It was just too much fun to mess with her sister.

Before she could go on, her attention was distracted as a group of people moved to the front of the stage. She recognized two of them as Ozpin and Goodwitch, but there was a quartet she didn't recognize. They wore interesting outfits, a variety at that, one with a beret and a gunners outfit, another with a red dress, a third with a Prussian blue military uniform, and a fourth with a brown cloak and hood, a bow on her back. The quartet split into pairs, moving to opposite sides of the stage as Ozpin approached the microphone.

"Ahem," he began, tapping the microphone to make sure it worked before sliding his glasses further up the brow of his nose. "I'll keep this brief. You have traveled here today in search of knowledge. To hone your craft and acquire new skills. And when you're finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people.

But I look amongst you, and all I see is wasted energy, in need of purpose, direction. You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you to take the first step."

He stopped as the students assembled before him looked around, disquiet mutterings, and he glanced off to the side. Goodwitch nodded from where she stood behind him, and having confirmed whatever it was, Ozpin turned back to the microphone. "Now then, I'd like to yield the floor to a very special guest. Please give a warm welcome to veteran Templar Mami Tomoe."

He gestured off to the side and stepped back as scattered applause filled the air. One of the quartet, the blond, whom Ruby noted had a really funky hairstyle, that being twin drills at that, stepped up to take his place. She bowed respectfully to Ozpin, before facing the crowd.

"It's an honor to be here today," she began in pleasant tones. "And I would like to thank the staff of Beacon for giving me the opportunity to speak to you, the next generation of Huntsmen."

She looked about the auditorium as she spoke. "The path you have chosen is not an easy one. It will require hard work, determination, and sacrifice. You will find yourself learning things about yourself that you never knew. And at the end of the day, it will be for you to decide if this is the life you should pursue or not.

There is no shame in failure, and not in turning back. The life of a Huntsman, much less that of a Templar, is not an easy one. And for those of you who decide that this is not your future, then if you are confident that you gave it your best effort, return content to normal life. As Huntsmen are needed, so too are the average people they fight to protect.

As for those of you who choose to stay, and continue, then this will be a defining time of your life, and you will emerge all the stronger for it. Envision the person you want to be and strive towards it. You all have made the decision to be Huntsmen, to be humanities defense against the darkness. Shouldn't you work to be worthy of the trust and faith being placed in you?"

"I dunno Mami," the redhead off to the side interrupted, before chucking a half eaten apple into the crowd.

The target, distracted by her unfortunate best friend, was taken unawares as the unbitten part of the apple hit her head, earning her immediate ire. "Alright, who did that," she cried in protest. "They shall rue the day they assaulted the Great Nora!"

The redhead smirked, a small fang poking out below her lip. "I mean, come on. They can't even dodge an apple, and we're expecting them to be master Huntsmen? Might as well send them home and see if the next lot's any better."

"Now now Kyoko, I seem to recall you being quite a bit like them when you started out," Mami noted, looking over to her friend.

Kyoko snorted in disdain. "Please, I was never this hopeless. I just hadn't realized how awesome I was yet, s'all."

Mami nodded before looking back to the crowd. "Of course, but think of how many people like that are standing here today, untapped potential waiting to be revealed. We wouldn't want to deny them that chance, would we? Or are you afraid of a little competition?"

"Course not," Kyoko shot back as she stood nonchalantly. "I just don't want any of them to bite it cause they weren't good enough. But whatever. Not my decision." She was done with this conversation, such as it was, and wanted to get on to the free food.

Glad to have the interruption by her rambunctious comrade resolved, Mami leaned forward to speak once more, only to find Goodwitch beside her and going for the microphone as well. The stern Professor had listened to the exchange with increasing exasperation, and was now trying to keep things moving along before they got side tracked again.

Mami ceded her position without argument as Glynda took over speaking. "Thank you Ms. Tomoe for those inspiring words. I think she deserves a round of applause, for taking time out of her busy schedule to come speak to you today."

Another round of applause, more consistent and motivated than the smattering before Mami spoke, filled the auditorium as the Templar respectfully bowed. "It was no trouble, really," she replied, though she could tell saying as such wouldn't make a different.

Once the noise had settled down, Glynda spoke once more, turning to business. "Now then, you will all gather in the ballroom tonight after receiving instructions from designated guides. Tomorrow, your initiation begins. Be ready. You are dismissed."

That said, Glynda stepped away, bringing the opening ceremony to a close. Students began to mingle and talk once more, while waiting for directions.

"He seemed kinda...off," Yang commented form where she stood. "Almost like he wasn't there."

"Yeah," Ruby agreed, but she was more willing to dismiss it since there was no explanation. And besides, something else had a greater grab on her attention. Specifically, the girl now politely conversing with Ozpin. "But Mami was so cool! She seemed sweet, and nice, kinda like you except without all the violence and pranks. Just think, I could be like her."

Yang grinned as Ruby squealed in excitement, sparkles in her eyes. "That's right, she was a magical girl wasn't she. So, thought up a wish yet?"

Excitement rapidly deflated as Ruby slumped, shaking her head. "Nope. There's just too many good ideas. It's so hard to choose." And admittedly, Yang hadn't really helped there, contributing her own ideas once she had been informed of Kyubey's offer. So for now, Ruby remained uncontracted.

Reaching over, the blond patted her sister on the shoulder. "Well don't worry sis. I'm sure you'll think of something. Then you'll be the most awesome magical girl out there."

"Right," Ruby agreed, excitement picking itself back up with her sisters encouragement.

Such excitement was almost immediately quashed as a voice rang out from behind her. "What are you, an idiot?"

Spinning around, Ruby beheld the cold, disapproving visage of Weiss, and realized that she had been there the entire time. Confronted by that, she leapt back as her expression twisted into one of fear and panic. "Oh god, it's happening again."

Weiss ignored that though, as she continued to speak. "Why would any person in their right mind voluntarily choose to become a magical girl? Don't you know what that means? It means you have to fight Grimm for the rest of your life. No breaks, no vacations, no retirement. You will be a magical girl until you die. Even I don't want to do this forever."

"Who're you," Yang asked, moving to defend her sister from the verbal assault in the process.

"She's the girl who's luggage I knocked over," Ruby explained, hiding behind Yang for protection in the process.

The brawler looked over the girl, something about her personality and the air she carried immediately setting her on edge. "Wow, you sure know how to pick 'em," she remarked once she had finished her appraisal.

Meanwhile, Weiss went on. "Besides, if you become a magical girl, you won't even be able to go to Beacon. Look around. Notice how the only magical girls here are the ones on stage? That's because they go to a different school, separate from the rest of us so they can learn things more relevant to them."

"Wait, how do you know all this stuff," Yang asked, out of suspicion and curiosity.

"That's none of your business," Weiss answered haughtily, arms clasped around her torso, a move that caused light to glitter off the ring she wore.

"She's heiress to the Schnee Dust Company," Ruby added from her position, to provide an actually useful explanation.

Accepting her sister's explanation, Yang rounded on the other girl, rich or not. "Well then, why do you care? It's her choice whether she becomes a magical girl or not."

Weiss simply shrugged, not visibly taken aback by the sudden aggression. "I just don't want to see a child like her throw her life away over some silly notion about being a hero, or a wish." Her gaze narrowed then, cold exterior sharpening in the process as she looked back. "I think the real question is why aren't you stopping her? Don't you ever want to see her again?"

"What are you talking about? Of course I'll see her again," Yang replied as she pulled Ruby forward, ruffling her hair a bit. "We'll just be separated for a bit, that's all."

Weiss sighed, shaking her head. "You just don't get it, do you? You know how many people leave the Templars alive each year? Zero. None. They all die. So unless you want your sister to be one of them eventually, I suggest you change her mind before it's too late."

"Thanks, but I think we've got it under control Princess," Yang retorted. "It's her decision, and I'm sure she'll make the right one."

Weiss harrumphed as she spun about on her heels. "I don't need to waste my time like this," she said as she left, brushing past Jaune as she left the auditorium.

"Thanks," Ruby commented as she emerged from hiding, watching Weiss's back as the heiress departed. Her smile had been replaced with a contemplative frown as she thought about what had just been said. It seemed there was more to this than she thought.

"No problem sis," Yang replied smoothly. "Now come on, let's scout this place out while we still can. It's gonna be a busy day tomorrow."

Ruby nodded in agreement with that suggestion as Yang began to lead the two of them for the exit. "Alright." Together they went to explore the campus, leaving aside the thoughts of magical girls and wishes for the moment. There would be time for that later.

Meanwhile, Kyoko vaulted down from the stage and proceeded through the crowd with a determined gait, until at last she reached the person that she had sought out. That would be Nora, the girl she had hit, though she looked recovered at this point.

"Aha, here for a second round," Nora asked as she spotted her nemesis, shifting into a variety of kung-fu stances, or at least things that looked like kung-fu. "You're not gonna beat me so easily this time."

Kyoko grinned, but instead of pulling out a weapon, she held out a sealed box of Pocky Sticks instead. "Here," she told the distracted girl. "Hold on to this for me. I'll be back to get it when you graduate, got it?"

"Got it," Nora relied with a mock salute as she took it, to be promptly stolen by her friend for safe keeping. She paused then, if for a few brief moments. "So why me," she asked. "I mean, obviously it's because I'm awesome, or some kind of secret conspiracy, Ooh, or maybe it's a lost relic. Is it a lost relic?"

Fortunately, Kyoko wasn't too overwhelmed, and she shrugged. "Just cause."

At that point, Mami called over from where she stood on stage. "Come on Kyoko, we have to be going."

"Yeah yeah, be right there," the redhead called back, before returning her attention just Nora. "Call it gut instinct, I guess. I think you've got some interesting times ahead. Now then, gotta go. Catch yah later kid."

With that, ignoring Nora's response, she moved back towards the stage, waving over her shoulder in the process. She'd done what she wanted to do, said what she wanted to say. Now though, she turned to more important affairs.

Now then, where was that free food at?

 

[Azecreth]

Ch 3 - Initiation Part 1

The night had passed in a timely fashion, and the day of initiation had arrived immediately after. The students of Beacon had been roused to life, fed, given access to their gear, and then shuttled outside in a practiced manner by the staff who had a significant infusion of coffee or natural energy to move them along. Fortunately the weather was good, and the sun was bright. so that would be one less thing to worry about.

And there were plenty of things to worry about already. In addition to being mentally and physically prepared, there had been many rumors about what initiation would entail. Things were never exactly the same every year, so siblings couldn't be relied upon, and speculation ran rampant. Some said it was a death course, others said mountain survival, and even more said it would be a giant free for all amongst the freshmen class, which comforted no one.

The only ones who knew for sure were Ozpin and Goodwitch, and they weren't telling just yet. As a result, nervous anticipation abounded as the student body assembled outside, was separated into groups, and was lead off by teachers into airships for transport, their destinations unknown. Those that didn't just walk where they were going anyway.

Ruby was in that particular group, and she trudged along while holding on protectively to Crescent Rose, looking about the group she was a part of. At least she had ended up in the same group as Yang, who was relaxed, if not eager, and that meant that she wouldn't have to face this alone. There was also Jaune, who seemed nervous as well. Then there was Weiss, who walked near the front of the group and whom Ruby avoided, and Blake, who she'd talked to last night, and who seemed disinterested in what was going on.

"Relax Rubes, this'll be a cinch," Yang said confidently, hoping to reassure her sister as they walked along. "I'm sure you'll blaze right through it, and I've got your back."

Ruby glared at Yang then, feet clicking on the cobblestone pathway. "Weren't you the one just telling me that I should 'get out of my shell' and try being on another team," she pointed out with slightly angry undertones.

"Well, yeah," Yang replied as she stroked her flowing mane of blond hair. "But I'm still gonna be there if you get in trouble. That's what big sisters are for."

"Yeah." The near sigh in that prompted the blond to pull up Ruby's hood, a difficult task as they walked which elicited a cry from the younger sister as she attempted to rectify her appearance.

Yang gave a warm smile as she patted Ruby on the back. "Relax, you're going to do fine. Have some faith in yourself."

Hood removed, Ruby sighed, glancing over at the nearby grove of trees that they passed along the way. "I dunno. I...Do you think I should have contracted? I mean, I might never get the chance again once this is over." Finished saying that she quickly glanced about to make sure nobody else had heard, which seemed to be the case.

Yang's vibrant smile diminished slightly as this issue came up again, the one they had discussed so often even before seeing Templars in person. For someone so previously gung ho to do it, Ruby sure vacillated a lot. "Listen Ruby, I think that you shouldn't contract until you find something really important to wish for, and definitely not when you're in a rush. There's no going back after all." She shrugged then. "Besides, Mami seemed pretty old, all things considered. There'll be other opportunities I bet."

"Yeah, you're right," Ruby agreed with a nod, her confidence buoyed if not restored by the reassurance.

Her own smile returning now that things had been settled, Yang stretched her arms behind her back, interlaced fingers supporting her head as she walked along. "Besides, what's the worst that can happen?"

Before Ruby could provide an answer to that, several scenarios springing to mind immediately, she was distracted as murmurs ran through the crowd. They had arrived at their destination, Beacon Cliff within viewing distance, and they were left to congregate and wait for a few moments as some last details where checked. They could see the Emerald Forest stretching out beyond the drop, and tension rose even more as the time drew near.

This resulted in general confusion and milling about before a voice cut through the hubbub. "Students, make your way over here and and take up your positions on these stone slabs. One person to each, in a quick and orderly fashion."

Responding, attention was drawn to the indicated stone plates that laid embedded in the ground near the edge of the cliff, with Professors Ozpin and Goodwitch standing nearer the edge and in front of them. Those instructions were rapidly followed, and soon all the initiates stood awaiting the rest of the instructions, some eager, some less so, but all ready.

The spectacles wearing Professor took a sip from the mug he held before beginning. "For years, you have trained to become warriors. Today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest." He gestured to the mass of trees beyond, to emphasize the point.

Glynda took over then, holding a large scroll in the crook of her elbow as she looked over the students. "Now, I'm sure many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of teams. Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates. Today."

"What?" Ruby whimpered, her heart plunging. It was hardly fair, at least from her perspective.

Ozpin picked back up then. "These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon. So it is in your best interest to be paired with someone with whom you can work well. That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years."

Ignoring the almost amused manner in which Ozpin dropped that bombshell, Ruby's panic rose as the gathered students digested this new information. God, this was terrible! She didn't want to get stuck with some random person for four years, much as other people in the line might be looking forward to it, or otherwise indifferent. She might as well just sign her own death warrant now and save herself the trouble.

Ozpin gave them a second, then continued as he had been doing before. "After you have partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest. There you will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path, containing several relics. Each pair must choose one and return to the top of the cliff. We will note that item, as well as your standing, and grade you appropriately." He paused, eyes narrowing in a cold gaze. "It is likely that you will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy anything in your path, or you will not survive. You will be monitored and graded for the duration of your initiation, but our instructors will not interfere."

That earned unpleasant rumbling and comments from the various members of the group, but once more Ozpin ignored any dissent as he looked them over. "Are there any questions?"

Jaune spoke up almost immediately when given the opportunity. "Yeah, um, sir..."

Sadly for him, he was ignored by Ozpin, for reasons unknown. "Good. Now, take your positions, and prepare your landing strategies."

The command was quickly followed, most everyone shifting to some sort of combat ready stance in preparation for what was to come next. Everyone except Jaune, anyway, who stood there with hand raised, still trying to get his question answered. "Uh, sir, I've got a question. So this 'landing strategy' thing, what is it? You're, like, dropping us off or something, right?"

Quite used to unassuming students who couldn't see the obvious as their comrades at the far end of the line were launched, it was a question Ozpin was willing to entertain once Jaune got the opportunity to voice it. "No," he replied, trying to hold back his amusement. "You will be falling."

Another student was launched then from the piston propelled slab, as if to emphasize the point. Jaune chuckled nervously as he rubbed the back of his head. "Oh. I...see. So, did you hand out parachutes for us and I missed it, or..."

"No. You will be using your own landing technique." It was a good thing Ozpin was the patient type, with how he had to repeat himself.

"Uh huh. Yeah. So, what exactly is a landing TechniIIQUE!" The last question Jaune had to present was cut off as he was sent flying with the others into the Emerald Forest, to begin the initiation.

Granted a momentary respite, Ozpin shifted to watch his students vanish into the thick layer of green as he sipped from his mug. He had high hopes for this group, some of the more outstanding personalities notwithstanding. But with Cinder's return, they would need all the talented Huntsmen they could get.

Meanwhile, Glynda had shifted her attention to her scroll, not wanting to waste any time in spite of the fact that this whole thing would probably take a while. "Camera network is online, we have full coverage of the Emerald Forest," she announced, looking over to Ozpin.

"Good," the headmaster replied with a satisfied nod, gaze still on the forest beyond.

Noticing that her boss wasn't looking at any one thing in particular, she joined him in that activity, scroll resting carefully in her grip. "Sir, if you don't mind my asking, why don't we ever launch all the students at the same time?"

Ozpin took another sip from his mug before answering. "To prevent midair collisions. And because I like to see how they each react to literally being thrown into a hostile situation."

Whilst wondering whether he just enjoyed seeing the possible fear on their faces, Glynda decided that there were some things she didn't need to know, and busied herself with checking the various camera feeds shown on her scroll. "I see."

Leaving it at that, Ozpin also looked down at the presented scroll to watch what happened. This was going to be interesting.

***

The Huntsmen sent flying all dealt with that immediate issue in their own unique ways, taking advantage of the environment, their weapons, and Semblances to come in for safe landings on the forest floor. Well, besides Jaune, who flailed about and had to be helped before he crashed. Otherwise, they all came down without incident, and began their task.

For Ruby Rose, that involved firing Crescent Rose several times in quick succession to slow her fall, before snapping open the blade so her scythe could snag on a thick tree branch. That transferred her forward motion into a loop, slowing her down even more before she continued forward. A few more times, and she landed safely on the ground.

But she couldn't waste any time, and once she had confirmed that she was in one piece, she took off. Her Semblance stayed unactivated for the moment as she focused on the task at hand and moved along. That meant finding a partner, and she only really had one person in mind.

Gotta find Yang, gotta find Yang, gotta find Yang. Trees, branches, and bushes whipped past as she ran along. Her eyes canvassed the landscape in quick, sweeping motions, seeking out familiar yellow while fearing that she would stumble upon someone else. She didn't want to venture out of her shell just yet.

So she ran along, only slowed by terrain and the weight of her weapon, but she was used to that by now. There were no Grimm to stop her either, so she was able to go along unmolested. She had to find Yang.

As it turned out though, something else would find her first. Hello Ruby Rose, Kyubey said as he emerged from nearby bushes just as she ran past him. Where are you going in such a hurry?

Attention drawn by the message, Ruby pulled to a stop and glanced down at the furry creature. "Oh, hey Kyubey. Sorry, can't talk, gotta find Yang." That said she dashed off again. She needed to find her sister before someone else did, and that took priority.

I see. I wish you luck in your search then, though I expect it won't make a difference, Kyubey commented, continually appearing along her path and leading Ruby to wonder if he had a Semblance related to teleportation.

Nodding, Ruby took a few more steps before something occurred to her, and she came to an abrupt stop. "Wait, how'd you find me? Could we find Yang the same way?"

Now sitting in front of her, Kyubey's tail flipped back and forth as he watched her with unblinking red eyes. I merely followed your magical signature. I could do the same for Yang Xiao Long, though I suspect your instructors will not approve.

Faced with the opportunity to ensure that she got her sister as a partner, without even contracting, Ruby was ready to beg at this point. "Come on, don't worry about them. Pleeeeease."

Kyubey at least appeared to give in, and leapt up onto her shoulder, tail wrapping around her cloak or a secure perch. Very well. With him ready, Ruby took off, all the more eager to find the person she was looking for.

Ruby picked up the pace thanks to Kyubey's directions and also to compensate for the increased weight she was saddled with, and the surroundings began to blur a bit with motion. So, we're not partners right, she asked as she ran along, getting used to pure mental communication. I mean, we did make eye contact and all.

I do not believe so, Kyubey replied from his spot. I do not attend Beacon Academy. There would be no point in making me a partner to a Huntsman, especially since I lack individual combat ability.

Oh. That was a relief. Not that there was a problem in general with Kyubey, but there'd be no point in getting his help to find Yang if they were already paired up. So why are you here then?

She could almost hear him shrug over their link. New students tend to find themselves in life threatening situations, which provides an opportunity for concluding contracts with higher potential.

I guess that makes sense, Ruby agreed after a second, even if the way he said that was a bit disturbing. It seemed like he had a one track mind as it were, focused on those contracts of his. At least he could be trusted though, and he'd probably saved someone, so she supposed it was alright.

Moving along, she trusted in her guide as she made her way through the forest. He was the best chance to find Yang, and while someone like Jaune or Blake would be decent substitutes, they couldn't quite replace her sister. She just had to hope she hadn't found a partner yet.

As she cleared a line of trees, she spotted something up ahead, an out of place color, and she skidded to a stop as she drew near. Was it, could it be? Her elation rose, a bright future in her eyes.

And then it was dashed. That was...white, not yellow, and as Ruby made the realization she tried to jump clear before the person could see her. Panic swelled, but there was nothing she could do as Weiss reacted, turned, and their eyes met.

They stopped and stared, neither moving as the air between them seemed to hang still. This moment, the two of them now trapped by fate or design, now stuck as partners for the next four years. It took them a moment to individually process that information, and the forest waited on their reactions.

Weiss moved first, gaze narrowing. "You," she nearly spat out, annoyance written across her tone.

Ruby chuckled nervously, the spell of silence broken. "Hey Weiss, I guess this means we're partners..." She was hardly thrilled, but she didn't have a choice at this point, so she might as well make the best of it.

Arms folded, the heiress harrumped as she spun about on her heels. "If they think I'm being a partner to a nuisance like you, then they're going to be sorely disappointed," she said before walking off.

"Wait, Weiss, where are you going? You can't just leave me here!" Ruby called after the departing girl, before sighing as her shoulder slumped. "Great..."

Kyubey stayed where he was, head cocked. I don't understand you humans, he commented as he watched the exchange. This attitude towards attachments is very contradictory.

Reminded of the white creatures presence, Ruby turned on him with indignation. "Kyubey, you were supposed to take me to Yang, not to Weiss!" It would definitely not have been her first choice as a partner.

I was, Kyubey replied as he hopped off her shoulder and to the ground. Weiss Schnee just happened to be in the way. You never said you wanted to avoid other people.

Ruby pouted, that answer hardly satisfying. "That should have been obvious! I wanted to be Yang's partner, not someone elses."

The implied shrug was even more obvious at that point as Kyubey padded about, before fixing his gaze on her once more with his slightly disturbing eyes. My apologies. If it is a problem, why don't you wish for a different partner then? It would be simple, and certainly within your magical potential.

Much as she simply wanted to escape this situation, Ruby reluctantly shook her head. "No. It's a silly thing to make a contract over. And besides, Yang did want me to get out of my shell. I guess this is the best way." In spite of that, she didn't seem all too enthusiastic, or happy.

Her attention was diverted at the sound of crashing underbrush, and she looked over just in time to see Weiss reemerge from wherever she had gone. She didn't look amused, or happy, or another other positive emotion, at all, but Ruby didn't care too much at this point. Perhaps she wasn't completely doomed after all. "Weiss, you came back!"

Walked past the red clad girl, Weiss stopped beside her. "Don't talk to me, don't get in my way. We'll be fine if you do. Oh, and the creature doesn't get to come with us."

Saddened, confused by that last rule, though also slightly excited, Ruby followed along as Weiss marched away. "Wait, you can see Kyubey too?"

The heiress snorted, not looking back. "Of course I can you dunce. Obviously he would try to contact someone of my skill and position." Superiority radiated off of her in waves, head tilted upwards as she walked along.

"So...why aren't you a Templar then?" Ruby asked, fingers tapping together nervously. She was violating the rule about not talking, but since she hadn't been chastised, she would keep going for as long as she could.

"That's none of your business," Weiss replied, ducking around a tree branch. "I just didn't feel it necessary. And you shouldn't either. Being a Templar is something no rational person should want."

It wasn't news to Ruby at this point, but she was left to wonder at this point why Weiss was so adamantly opposed to the possibility, even if it meant losing her as a partner. And should she be insulted or something? "Gee, thanks," she grumbled, dodging shrubbery.

Weiss sighed, turning to face Ruby as she stopped moving. "Look, I'm not telling you this for your sake. How do you think it will look on me if my partner chooses to contract before we even get out of the Emerald Forest, much less Beacon?" She didn't give her partner a chance to answer that before providing one. "Exactly. So don't flatter yourself."

"Oh." Ruby would concede that Weiss had a point, even if she didn't think that it was a very good one. And had she been insulted again? If she hadn't been looking forward to this before, she definitely wasn't now. It seemed even her partners advice came with backhanded insults! She'd try, but how was she supposed to put up with this for four years?

Falling silent, they continued onwards, away from the cliff that they had started on and towards the other end of the forest, Kyubey left behind to do whatever he wished. As they went on though, Ruby began to get the feeling that Weiss didn't know where she was going. Not that she showed it, but even Ruby couldn't miss it as they moved left, then right, not taking a definitive path towards the ruins Ozpin had said was their destination.

She held her peace, up to the point where they passed what she thought was the same tree for the third time. Or at least it was a similar one. "Um, Weiss, do you know where we're going?"

"Of course I do," the heiress replied disdainfully. "We were told to follow the path, so that's what we're doing. It's not that complicated."

Ruby looked around, only seeing trees and bushes. There was no sign of any indication of direction to be seen. "I...don't see a path," she pointed out nervously.

Weiss sighed, glaring back at Ruby as she moved along. "Well what were you expecting, a golden brick road? Look around, we're in the middle of a forest. I'm sure it's around here somewhere. Just give me a moment to get my bearings."

"And...we're lost. Great," Ruby said to herself as she watched Weiss pace back and forth, muttering to herself in turn. This wasn't exactly inspiring her with self confidence at the moment. And if this was a sign of the future, then a contract was looking a lot more attractive all of a sudden.

Then, as she waited, she noticed something...odd. A crackling in the underbrush and the sound of motion. And in the response, the hair on the back of her neck rose as she got a really bad feeling. She pulled out Crescent Rose then as she backed towards her partner, looking about the area at the same time. "Uh, Weiss..."

"What? Can't you see I'm..." Her tirade fell off as she looked at Ruby, before her own instincts kicked in and she became aware of the red gleaming at them from the underbrush. Quickly she drew Myrtenaster, shifting into a slight crouch as she stood back to back with her partner.

As if realizing there was no more reason to hide, the Grimm that had tracked them down emerged. They were Ursa, black with jagged bones protruding out of their forms, red eyes gleaming behind their masks. Young too, not that it made a difference to either Weiss or Ruby.

"I'll take this half," Ruby said, triggering finger itching as she aimed at the Ursa opposite of her.

"Alright. I'll handle the rest," Weiss agreed quickly.

The Ursa looked to each other and then roared, one of them lumbering forward. Ruby fired then, gunshots ringing out in quick succession. The Ursa reared back, vocal in its pain before Ruby dashed in, the follow up slicing a large gash in the Grimm with her scythe.

Meanwhile, Weiss moved as well, cylinders in Myrtenaster spinning before settling on ice. She sped forward and stabbed, jagged shards rising up from the ground to pierce the Grimm before she stabbed it as well.

Leaping back the two fought, scythe cutting and spinning as the air was punctuated by gunshots and elemental eruptions. Steel flashed in the air as the Grimm countered, and combat surged inside the clearing, Grimm dissolving and the ground suffering.

As they fought, their differing styles became apparent. Weiss was calculating, precise, technical. Each move and strike looked like it came right out of a textbook. Meanwhile, Ruby was fast, flashy, using her speed to dodge attacks and cut down Grimm before they could react, a blur of activity that shot about the clearing and left flower petals in her wake.

If it was just one of them, the Grimm would have had a chance. With two of them, wielding highly dangerous weapons, it was more of a foregone conclusion. At least, that was what one might assume as they watched Ruby used gunshot powered motion to rip the arm off an Ursa, or Weiss backflipping over another to strike at it from behind.

However, it was not entirely true, or even close to it. The two fought in isolation, Weiss ignoring the annoyance that she saw her younger partner as, and Ruby fought with a penchant for grandstanding to try and impress Weiss, while also working out her negative emotions. It was a volatile mix that would definitely have consequences if left as is.

But both of them were unaware of that as they continued to fight and whittle down the pack of Grimm, the sounds of their clash ringing through the nearby area. Neither of them was tired, yet, but this clash also didn't help them to reach the ruins that they sought, and drew valuable energy that could be more useful later.

Ducking under an Ursa strike, Ruby ran forward and behind it, leaping into the air and firing to propel her forward. Crescent Rose's blade caught and sliced through a tree trunk, and Ruby went airborne behind it as it began to topple. She followed this up with a flip, and spun her scythe before she fired again to propel herself downwards, feet slamming into the falling tree trunk. She landed with a thud as it slammed down, crushing the Ursa underneath it.

Weiss, for her part, tried to tune out the racket from behind her as she focused on her footwork and stance, running quickly through the lessons she had been given as she prepared to attack. Myrtenaster cycled, and as the Ursa moved to strike, she attacked first.

What she hadn't been expecting, and thus hadn't taken into account, was for another Ursa to intervene, swiping at her side, but she quickly adjusted to the altered situation. Her answer was swift, dodging to the side as she formed a glyph, which she landed on and used to propel herself backwards and out of harms way. A decent recovery, if she did say so herself, just as she had been taught.

That self satisfaction was ruined by a red blur who had managed to intersect her path in her own flight, and there were simultaneous cries as they were both sent tumbling, rolling, and falling over each other.

"Hey, watch it," Weiss said angrily as she picked herself up, injuries blocked by her Aura, and she leveled Myrtenaster once more as the Grimm advanced on the duo. "Be careful of where you're going when you're running around like that."

"Maybe you should watch where you're going," Ruby shot back as she hefted Crescent Rose. "You're the one who got in my way."

"I did not," Weiss snapped back as she resumed standing back to back with her partner. "You were on my side. And it doesn't help that you were running around swinging that thing like a maniac."

Ruby fired before replying. "I was not. You were on my side. And I was doing perfectly fine. You weren't even watching me."

"Why are we even arguing about this?" Disbelief at the stupidity of the argument was audible as a Glyph blocked an Ursa strike before she counterattacked with a jet of flame. "We need to get out of here and to those ruins before they overwhelm us."

Smashing aside an attack with a spin of Crescent Rose, Ruby looked about at the surrounding Grimm before getting an idea. "Watch out," she called before launching straight into what she had in mind. They had no more time to waste if they didn't want to end up Grimm food.

"Wait, what?" Preparing for another rapid series of blows, Weiss was cut off and taken by surprise as Ruby sprang forward, grabbing her arm and pulling her along as she spun Crescent Rose to the side. Added gunshots propelled the duo along, scythe gouging at the ground and acted as a motor of sorts for them. With that, and her Semblance, the teenager practically ejected them from the clearing and left the Grimm behind.

Of course, that ignored the other issues of such a strategy, and Crescent Rose slashed through trees, branches, bushes, and rocks with impunity in its rotation, Aura strengthened steel not fazed in the slightest. This resulted in some things falling, or being tossed at the two of them, and while they managed to dodge being squashed by a tree, they weren't so lucky with the smaller things.

"Ruby, stop!" Holding on for dear life and going along for the ride, Weiss voiced her protest and eventually managed to wrench her arm free, almost tripping as she slowed and came to a stop, whilst glaring at Ruby and brushing herself off. "What was that! You nearly got us both killed!"

Realizing her partner had managed to escape, Ruby halted as well, though not without a bit more collateral damage to their surroundings in the process. "Hey, I saved our lives back there," she contested as she shifted to face her unhappy partner. "You could show a little gratitude."

"Really? Tell that to the tree that almost fell on me, or my clothes." A gesture indicated the trail of destruction behind them, admittedly not as bad as it could have been. "I had everything under control, so I don't see why I owe you anything."

Ruby didn't believe that for a second. "Oh, sorry. It didn't look like it to me. In fact, it looked like we were about to be eaten by a bunch of Grimm. Next time I'll make sure to not save your life." Admittedly she was biased, but it was just her humble observation. Okay, not so humble.

Weiss harrumphed, folding her arms as she tilted her head upwards. "Of course a child like yourself couldn't see it. You haven't had any experience fighting the creatures of Grimm. And a Schnee always has a plan."

"Hey, I'm not a child," Ruby protested, stamping her foot. "I still got into Beacon, on my own skill and merits. Not because I was rich."

Weiss glared then, cold fury radiating off of her in waves, as well as condescension. "Well congratulations. Just because you know how to swing that scythe around and not decapitate yourself, doesn't mean you should be here. Beacon is for the best, the elite, and while I certainly qualify for that on talent alone, I don't think you happen to meet the same criteria."

"Oh yeah, well you're not that much better than me. I managed to get into Beacon two years early, so I have to be doing something right. So why can't you just accept that and stop trying to act like you're the best thing ever?"

"I never said I was the best. But it certainly doesn't make what I've said any less untrue," Weiss retaliated, before turning away. "Now come on. I want to finish this before it gets dark."

She stalked off, and after resisting the urge to take Crescent Rose to another horde of Grimm, Ruby headed off after her. She didn't get far before realizing that the distraction of the fight, their argument, and the running they had done, meant that they continued to be lost.

"Uhh, Weiss, we still don't know where we're going," Ruby called from a safe distance behind her partner.

The heiress was silent, but stopped, and Ruby halted as well, worried that she might get verbally lashed at again, though by now she was near to beyond caring. Instead, her partner sighed and with a gesture created a line of white Glyphs on the tallest tree nearby.

"Stay here," she said with not so hinted exasperation before moving off. Those glyphs provided a surface and boost, allowing her to ascend the tree, and a flipped black glyph stopped her at the top.

Ruby's neck craned as she looked up at the white figure perched amongst tree branches, looking about, and she found herself only slightly impressed. She could have done that, easily. She waited patiently though until Weiss came back down, landing gracefully beside the tree, then returning to her.

"This way," the heiress told her, and headed off in the direction of the ruins that they were meant to find. Ruby fell in beside her, and they quickly began to find their way through the forest.

They soon found a path, beaten dirt mostly, with some annoying bushes that scratched and grabbed at their clothes, but winding through the forest nonetheless, and it seemed likely that it was one of the paths that Ozpin had been referring to. Having found it they took it, following the winding trail along at a steady pace, dodging natural obstacles in the process. Birds chirped and animals rustled around them, the only noise as they proceeded along in silence.

Without any more attention from Grimm, and Weiss seemingly intent on ignoring her, Ruby found her thoughts wandering. Specifically, on what the future would hold, and what Yang might be up to at the moment. It had to be better than this.

Ah, there you are Ruby Rose. You certainly move fast. Her head snapped up, and Kyubey jumped down from a tree branch to land easily on her shoulder.

"Oh, hey Kyubey," she said with mixed emotions. Meanwhile, Weiss took a sharp breath and fixed her gaze ahead, firmly ignoring the white animal. "Yeah. Do you know how Yang's doing?"

She was in good health when I saw her, Kyubey answered, casual in manner for the moment. She has met her partner, Blake Belladonna. They're currently headed towards the ruins you are trying to find.

Ruby sighed in relief. "That's good." She could only imagine how the two were getting along given what she knew of both Blake and her sister, though she found herself being a tad annoyed at Yang for her luck.

The trio moved on, the forest with it's annoying shrubbery and slightly creepy shadows fading away into open clearing as the path became more beaten and developed, small stone markers showing that they were on the right track. Ruby chatted with Kyubey along the way, while Weiss and ignored the others.

It was not all easy though, stumbling upon more Grimm along the way, but none as much as the pack before, and the duo were easily able to take care of the Beowolves and Ursae that they stumbled across in singles, pairs, and trios.

They didn't talk during those fights either, merely fought what came at them, and though the Girmm seemed more rabid and violent, they were no match, and the group was able to move on along the path. Emotions festered, but neither wanted to address that at this point.

It might have just been her imagination, but something seemed...off, at least in Ruby's opinion as they drew nearer their destination. Not with Weiss, at least, beyond the usual, or the Grimm, but the environment surrounding them. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but it seemed to be shifting in the corner of her eye. Grass altered in height, tree branches moved counter to the wind, and strange things like that which she only caught a glimpse of.

She didn't mention this though as they went along. Doubtlessly her partner would dismiss it, possibly as an injury Ruby suffered or her imagination, and it didn't seem to be all that bad in consideration. Just weird. So it probably wasn't worth it.

So she kept quiet and walked along, carrying Crescent Rose beside her, ready to fight. Soon enough though the ruins came into view, with visible colors near it intermingling. That would be the other initiates that had been sent into the forest, presumably. It was heartening to see that they weren't horribly behind.

Upon seeing distant yellow with those there, Ruby lit up, Semblance activating as she sped up to reach and join her sister. "Yang!" she cried, distance quickly crossed in a blur of motion.

Weiss was left coughing, hand waving away dust and rose petals as she watched her partner go. She sighed, headed the same way in a more dignified pace. At least this trial would almost be over. They just had to get the relics, and get back. Simple.

She only had one question on her mind though as she arrived at the ruins and the collective group, rejoining her partner. "Is that girl riding an Ursa?"

***
In the deep dark of the woods, the shadows stirred. A malevolent force sensed the presence of its prey, those who provided it sustenance. Inky blackness dripped off its form, morphing into more Familiars, loyal servants, who surged forward to find the humans, and wreak destruction upon them.

The shadow moved forth then with misshapen limbs and twisted form, to find, and kill and feast on the beings in its domain. And soon, they would learn the terror that was a Witch in it's full glory.

 

[Azecreth]

Ch 3.5 - Initiation Part 2

Though the Initiation had begun, students flung off into the verdant green of the Emerald Forest to make their partners and their futures at Beacon, Professor Ozpin did not move from where he stood upon Beacon Cliff. His was the part of a silent vigil, cane and a Scroll held as he stared out towards the horizon, mind working beneath a calm exterior.

There was much to do, the affairs of the upcoming school year as well as the Vytal Festival that needed tending to. And that didn't begin to include the recent matters that had been brought to his attention, with Her return. The Huntsmen here would be important in the time to come, and he had to make sure they were ready for it. That was not something he could treat lightly.

He was not taken by surprise though as Glynda walked up behind him, still holding onto the large Scroll of hers as she flipped through camera feeds. "Our last pair has been formed sir; Nora Valkyrie and Lie Ren," she told him as she stopped beside him

Almost involuntarily she took on a sad frown, her teacher instincts giving her a gut reaction to that particular match. "Poor boy. I can't imagine those two getting along. Still, he's probably better off than Ms. Nikos." Displayed images switched from the former pair to the latter, of Arc and Nikos, to try and show what she meant.

"Hm," Ozpin commented wordlessly, glancing over towards her with a calculating look. He had his own opinions, of course, and while she might object, at the end of the day Glynda would still cede to his own. They would have to wait and see what happened before reaching a real conclusion.

The sad expression Glynda wore turned to one of disapproval as she considered the subject of Pyrrha's current partner. "I don't care what his transcripts say, that Jaune fellow is not ready for this level of combat." And she would know, since she wasn't exactly an old hand at these sorts of things.

For his part, Ozpin had noticed some discrepancies in Jaune's transcripts during the selection process, but had chosen to overlook them, at least for the moment. The boy had shown a desire to come and while this sort of thing normally wouldn't have been tolerated, he did come from a prestigious family, and so Ozpin was willing to let him be one of those who slipped through. It was a decision that could be easily rectified if he didn't prove himself.

Glynda continued to flip through camera feeds, a shrug inherent in her tone. "Well, I suppose we'll find out soon enough. At their current pace they should be reaching the temple shortly." With cameras having been deployed to cover every part of the forest, they would have more than enough data for when they had to review each students performance later.

In the process of moving through each camera feed, something caught her attention, which in itself wasn't hard. Specifically, a feed that appeared to have shorted out, leaving only static visible. That in and of itself would not have been amazing, if it weren't for the fact that it was not the only one to be like that. Several cameras were down, rendering a part of the forest completely unwatched.

"That's odd," she said, more to herself than Ozpin as her brow furrowed. Skilled fingers manipulated the Scroll as she tried to sort the issue out, quickly determining that it was a problem with the camera rather than the software before moving to locate a feed in the affected area that still worked.

Such a thing could not be simple coincidence, and if there was a threat she had to be aware of it now before any damage could be done. Rapidly moving through, she managed to locate one still operational, only for it to go black like the others just as she brought it up on the display in a frustrating turn of events.

Glynda held back a harrumph as she accessed the internal memory, winding back to the last recorded images before it had gone offline. But upon seeing it, her breath caught, a chill running through her bones. The image on the camera was grayscale, not by design, and there was a looming shadow in the corner, much too large to be a simple Grimm. That narrowed it down quite easily for her.

She looked over at Ozpin now that she knew it was more than a simple technical matter. "Sir, we have a situation." She held the Scroll up so he could see it, displaying the last recorded images. "There seems to be a Witch inside the Emerald Forest."

Ozpin turned from his musing to look at the Scroll, the shadowy figure displayed in a frozen frame for him to examine as he wished. "Indeed. Newly hatched, it would seem." That was concerning, given that Witches didn't tend to arise in the Emerald Forest. It was why this area had been chosen for an Initiation in the first place.

With what she had to do apparent, Glynda put away her Scroll, producing her Riding Crop instead. "I'll get Professor Port, and deal with it immediately," she told Ozpin as she turned around to head off and find the old Professor.

"Wait," Ozpin called, a hand stretched back towards her as she stopped. "I want to see how they handle it." If there was a fight, it would provide another opportunity to assess their talent. And if they managed to avoid the Witch, he wouldn't complain either.

Glynda rejoined him, arms folded as she directed a considering look his way, her disapproval apparent. "If that's what you think. But I strongly disagree with this decision. It's reckless, and puts the students in danger they aren't prepared for."

"Thank you Glynda, I'll keep that in mind," Ozpin replied as his gaze traveled back to the horizon, certain in his decision. If the students couldn't handle it then they would get involved, but until that time came they would continue to watch.

With a sigh, Glynda took out her Scroll once more and brought up the cameras to watch what was about to happen. Here was hoping Ozpin knew what he was doing.

***

Four pairs converged on the ruins that had been their destination, arriving at practically the same time. Some emerged from the underbrush while others came along the path that led there. There was no wildlife to speak of and no disturbances otherwise, which allowed them to peacefully gather together.

Blake and Yang stood before the large, yet crumbling, structure, giving it a look over to make sure that it wouldn't come down on their heads. A pointless worry in all likelihood, but they could spare a moment to do that, and to make sure that they were in the right place.

It was old, that much was obvious on first look. The shattered remnants of a cupola hung in the air, illuminating the area within via sunlight. Otherwise it was a circular structure, columns evenly placed to support the now removed ceiling. Well, those that had not toppled due to time. Vines were ever present, winding around columns and past bushes that had sprung up nearby.

"Guess this is it, huh," Yang commented, looking at her partner as a hand rested on her hip. It had taken approximately five seconds to figure out that she was the quiet type, but something like that wasn't going to bother her. If anyone was good at getting people out of their shell, it was Yang.

Blake gave a curt nod in return. "Looks like it."

Seeing no point in delaying any longer, Yang stepped forward to enter the ruins. Get the relic, head back, no sweat.

That plan was interrupted by a cry from behind that split the air. "Yang!" She only had a moment, but it was enough for the blond to prepare herself before she was tackled from behind. Fortunately, the red blur that was Ruby had slowed down just before reaching her and she was strong enough to keep from toppling over.

"Hey sis," Yang replied with a grin as she attempted to remove Ruby from the hold she had at the moment. "How's it going?"

Ruby groaned as she stepped back and let go, preferring not to think about this whole thing. "Ugh, you'll never guess who my partner is," she grumbled, hoping beyond hope that her sister would be persuaded to do something about it.

Looking past Ruby, Yang could see the figure in white advancing towards them, resolving quickly into a familiar face. Weiss didn't appear to be thrilled with this arrangement either, so that was something they seemed to have in common. "Actually, I can."

Yang also noted the white animal walking beside Weiss, the heiress still engaged in ignoring it, leading her to wonder what it was. Before she could ask though, she was distracted by another entrance, an Ursa crashing through the underbrush before it collapsed and the fall revealing people riding it.

"Aww, it broke," the girl riding it pouted, kicking the Ursa to see if it would stir back to life before she hopped off. Amusing, but there was definitely something wrong with that girl at first look.

The boy behind her groaned as he got off the corpse as well. "Nora, let's never do that again." The tone he had earned him some sympathy points off the bat.

Arriving, Weiss ignored those present as she walked up to the ruins, and looked them over with a critical eye. A moment passed before she announced her verdict. "I've seen better." In all likelihood she actually had as a result of her upbringing.

Meanwhile, the last group that had been missing arrived, Jaune stumbling out of the underbrush after Pyrrha, who was leading the way. "Oh, hey guys," Jaune called, waving at the rest as they joined the conglomerated group.

"Hey Jaune," Ruby replied, mood picking back up from the pain of her situation.

Concurrently, Weiss had to resist the frown that threatened to rise and display itself. Of course that imbecile would be the one to get Pyrrha Nikos as a partner rather than her. Such a waste of talent. But she managed to keep that hidden from sight. A Schnee did not show jealousy. Besides, there was no way she could be jealous of him.

"Well, looks like the gang's all here," Yang commented with a grin. Well, there were some others from the start missing, but these were the people she actually knew and that was the important part.

"Let's get this over with," Weiss said without looking back, heading into the ruins to pick up what they had come for. She was quickly followed by the rest, the other seven proceeding in and looking about.

The relics were easy to find, resting atop pedestals that sat equally apart from each in in a circle around the structure. The relics themselves were chess pieces, white and black, with some of them already missing. Presumably those had been taken by earlier pairs.

While Weiss stood calculating, trying to figure out the trick behind team selection if there was one, Ruby walked in, grabbing one without such consideration. "How about this one," she asked, showing the piece off to her reluctant partner.

Weiss resisted the urge to sigh as she walked up to the pedestal adjacent to Ruby's. "Fine," she agreed at last, taking the copy of the one Ruby had. It was as good as any.

Yang and Blake entered along with the rest, the blond giving her partner the chance to inspect the relics as she looked over at her sister. "You know, I don't think Zwei is going to appreciate you replacing him," she called, gesturing towards the white animal with them.

I am not replacing anyone Yang Xiao Long. The voice in her head surprised her, but she managed to contain that as she looked down at the only thing it could have come from. Hello. My name is Kyubey.

Yang snapped her fingers, understanding almost immediately. "Oh, so you're the one who wanted to make my sister a magical girl." She grinned, bending over Kyubey, who sat in front of her with unblinking eyes, tail flipping as he watched her in return. "I've just got one question. Why didn't you ask me?"

Kyubey tilted his head, giving off an air of curiosity. Your karmic potential isn't high enough, not like Ruby Rose's, he explained matter-of-factly.

"Ah well," Yang replied with a shrug. "Guess you're missing out." Leaving that be, she walked over to pick up the other relic, the one that matched the chess piece Blake had picked.

The others collected theirs as well, Nora chanting "I'm queen of the castle! I'm queen of the castle!" as she picked up a rook piece with Ren, while Jaune and Pyrrha got their own pieces. Soon all the pieces had been taken, and all that was needed to do was to head back to the Cliff.

"Shall we be going," Pyrrha asked, scanning the area once more. There were no Grimm, still, but one could never be too careful.

"Yeah, that's a good idea," Jaune agreed with a nod. He was eager to get this over with and remove any possible danger to himself. The nervousness he felt wasn't that well hidden, though he did make the effort. And given their location some modicum of caution was a good idea.

Yang added a nod of her own as she joined them in leaving the ruins. "We should probably stick together. There's no point in making things harder for ourselves." Of course, she also wouldn't mind the opportunity to show off if it arose.

Ruby smiled, falling in step alongside her sister. Blake came along as well, though she did not add her opinion. Ren and Nora came along in addition, the latter skipping along and singing. Even Kyubey took up his perch on Ruby's shoulder once more, observing everything.

I'll never understand you humans, he commented idly, tail flipping about.

There was no response to that, and Blake seemed to be ignoring Kyubey for the most part, much like Weiss had been doing this entire time. The heiress herself had caught up and moved to the front of the group, where she now conversed with Pyrrha.

The ruins fell from sight as they moved back into the Emerald Forest, following the path that had led them there in the first place for so long as it lasted. It would be the easiest way to Beacon Cliff, which made it the most desirable route for the moment.

Moving along, they were undisturbed, no attacks coming at them. The large group seemed to be scaring off the solitary Grimm, though it didn't preclude an attack by a large pack. But that had yet to happen, and the group was relaxed for the moment.

"Hopefully we will still get to be on the same team," Weiss commented to Pyrrha, without looking at Jaune. "It would help both of us." Of course, there was her own partner and Pyrrha's, to deal with, but she was sure that she could manage it.

Pyrrha seemed more ambivalent about the whole thing, but she nodded as she moved forward. "It isn't up to us, so we'll just have to see whether the staff agrees."

"I'm sure they will," Weiss replied confidently. It only made sense to match them up, though she had some doubts about the sanity of the Beacon teaching staff. But this would be their opportunity to prove her wrong.

Meanwhile, Blake began to notice something...off, as she brought up the rear of their group. She glanced about at the area surrounding them, noting the small things. The underbrush, the sounds in the air, as well as her own gut instinct that manifested itself as the prickling of hair on the back of her neck.

Then, a flash of black behind green, and her eyes widened slightly in alarm. Well, that was not good, to say the least. And she was quickly able to determine that that was not the only one there.

She moved up from the rear then and called to the others in a subdued tone, so as to not attract further attention. "Grimm. All around us."

The news fairly destroyed the effort to not alert the Grimm that they knew, conversations grinding to a halt as they glanced about. Some, like Pyrrha and Ren, readied their weapons, and the sound of machinery filled their as they prepared to fight.

In spite of this though, the Grimm didn't attack. The Grimm continued to follow them, on the sides and behind, while the group prepared to defend themselves. But there nonetheless was a response, their pursuers howling and snarling as they voiced their anger.

Yang grinned as she activated Ember Celicas, gauntlets shifting and whining as they powered up. "Alright. I've been looking forward to a good fight for once," she announced, already getting fired up.

"But why aren't they attacking," Pyrrha asked, weapons at the ready as she looked about.

Situating himself near the center of the group, Jaune clung to Crocea Mors as his nervousness came to the fore. "Um, I'm going to suggest we not fight the large pack of Grimm when we don't have to," he added, noting the fact that they had stopped following the path in their preparation for an attack.

Pyrrha nodded as she looked over at her partner. "Agreed. We need to keep them from surrounding us if possible."

With that decided upon they moved off, picking up the pace to try and keep ahead of the Grimm that threatened them. For her part, Ruby could have blazed ahead with her Semblance but she chose not to. If she was going to fight, it would be with her partner as well as her sister, even if said partner was ignoring her right now.

Trees flashed past as they sprinted, the Grimm keeping pace every step of the way. But they never moved to get ahead, and simply kept pushing the group along towards Beacon Cliff and the inevitable exit. It was a light at the end of the tunnel, and they were determined to reach it.

"They're leading us," Blake noted as she ran, Gambol Shroud ready to be used at a moments notice. It wasn't a hard deduction to make given how they were acting.

Weiss nodded in agreement. For all the annoyance that their first meeting had provided, she found herself with a growing respect for Blake. For her political opinions, she at least seemed competent. "But to where, and what," she wondered aloud, resolving at the same time to be ready regardless.

"Whatever it is, we'll just have to kick it's butt," Yang said confidently, still raring for the fight. She didn't enjoy running, but it made sense for the moment, and if there was a greater foe further on then she wouldn't feel bad.

So they went on, and as they did, the ominous feeling that they were charging into danger increased. There was the nerve wracking knowledge of the Grimm being so close yet not attacking, which had to indicate some intelligent design on their part. The other was the environment surrounding them. The grass took on a sickly green, but rather than shifting towards yellow it instead shifted towards gray. And the trees seemed to stretch, to grow more jagged, sharp, and old. It was not a comforting sight for any of them.

"Yang, what's up with the trees," Ruby asked as she looked about. "I mean, Grimm don't do this sort of thing, as far as I can remember anyway."

Her sister didn't get the chance to answer her though as Kyubey spoke instead, broadcasting his thoughts so that everyone in the group could hear him. This isn't the work of a Grimm. The current corruption you're seeing is the result of a Witch's influence. He seemed remarkably nonchalant about the whole thing.

That was not exactly the best news to hear, and Weiss shot a glare at Kyubey before turning her attention back to the matter at hand. "If there's a Witch waiting for us, then we need to be somewhere else. We are in no position to fight a foe like that." Blake nodded in agreement, bolstering her opinion of the girl.

"Aw, what's the matter Princess," Yang commented. "Afraid to get a little dirty?" It seemed that Weiss had said exactly the wrong thing to convince her that caution was the better option here.

That earned her an even colder glare. "Hardly. If you don't know what a Witch is, then I suggest you be grateful for that. They aren't something to be taken lightly."

"I'm, uh, gonna agree with her," Jaune chimed in. "I mean, I don't really know what a Witch is, but it doesn't sound good." He was firmly in the camp of exercising some prudence when it came to this unknown foe.

"I'm sure it'll be fine," Nora commented with a grin. "Maybe we can be friends. Maybe she'll teach us some magic."

Fortunately, Ren was able to keep his self control when faced with that. "Nora, I don't think it's that kind of Witch." Sadly, him saying that didn't make any difference in her mood as she quickly rebounded to a related topic, one that Ren fielded as well.

"So, I guess we just have to break through them before we get to the Witch." While Ruby supported her sister, she could see the wisdom in avoiding a fight if this thing was as dangerous as everyone else was making it out to be. Better safe than sorry, right?"

"I don't think we have the time for that," Blake replied, looking ahead. The corruption around them was getting worse, tree branches shriveled, almost looking like a demented coloring book. They were just lucky that the environment itself wasn't attacking them.

In motion, that didn't deter Yang. "Well, we won't know until we try." She prepared to spin left and ram through the Grimm that were blocking that way, with hopefully everyone else following along. They'd punch through and be home clear.

That opportunity seemed to come as they emerged into another clearing, the trees far to the sides to give them an open space. It would force the Grimm to either emerge into the open or stick to the trees, and that would give them some breathing room to maneuver and attack.

Before they could cross it though, the group was brought short by the sound of movement ahead, crashing underbrush and swaying tree branches that indicated something big was headed their way. With the situation they were in, it could only be one thing.

It was then that the Grimm chose to emerge, stepping out from the trees to reveal Beowolves and Ursi, the two working with a coordination they didn't usually have. None immediately attacked, but they moved forward to cut off any reasonable escape, a large amount advancing on the group as growls filled the air.

Almost instinctively the students circled up in response, confronting the advancing Grimm with their new partners at their side. No one attacked yet, taking a moment to size up the opposition for the fight to come. At the same time nervous glances were thrown towards the woods and whatever was there, clashing with the eagerness that some others displayed right now.

"So, any bright ideas," Jaune asked, sword and shield raised as he faced down a couple of angry looking Beowolves. He could already tell that this was not going to be fun.

"Fight, look for an opening, get out," Blake answered succinctly, Gambol Shroud at the ready as she faced down an Ursa with Yang standing beside her.

That was easier said than done, but there was no more time to think about it. As a mass the Grimm seemed to rise, casting their gaze towards the noise that had such dark foreboding and howling as one. And from the trees it, the Witch, emerged.

The creature that emerged was twisted, a shocking sight that earned worried looks from most of the people there, if not outright horrified expressions. It was an assessment hard to disagree with.

It was large, looming like a force of nature. The Witch seemed to be some grotesque mix between a bird and a three headed snake, an amalgam of parts that made no logical sense. Feathers clashed with scales, wings sprouted from it's back like arms, a feathered and long whiplike tail swayed, and the whole thing was colored in gray, white, and black, matching the environment surrounding them.

"Man, that's ugly," Ruby commented as she hefted Crescent Rose, the scythe fully engaged and the wielder ready to act. If appearances were anything then this would be a tough fight. While she was intimidated though, she wouldn't let it stop her.

For his part, Kyubey rested near the middle of the impromptu circle as he examined the Witch. It doesn't appear to be a very strong Witch, he noted, otherwise undisturbed by the information. It led Ruby to wonder if he could actually change facial expressions at all. Must have been a flaw of his species.

"Looks strong enough to me," Yang replied, her enthusiasm undiminished by the sight of the Witch that they had been led towards this entire time. Perhaps she was a bit too aggressive when it came to this.

Blake quickly scanned the Witch, already working on coming up with a plan. "It's Feral," she announced. That meant absolutely nothing to Ruby, but she assumed that she would learn more about it later. After all, there had to be other kinds of Witches if she was choosing to mention that in particular.

The Witch let out an unearthly screech and the Grimm rushed to attack at its call. The Witch itself also advanced towards them, the trio of heads snapping and hissing at them at the same time. The time for talk was over, now they could only fight.

It began with a clash of steel, fangs, and weapons fire as the two groups met. The Grimm had numbers, but the Huntsmen had Aura, Semblance, and firepower on their side. As one might guess, it went a long way towards shifting the odds in their favor.

Pyrrha stood tall and confident, picking off those Grimm she could with Miló before switching it back to sword form to meet the Grimm as they reached melee range. One could hardly expect less from her, even if most of the tournaments she had been in didn't involve Grimm in them.

Next to her, Jaune took on a more defensive strategy as he used his shield to block, throwing out stabs from behind it but not finding much success in that. It did keep the ones attacking him back though, which was less of a worry for Pyrrha as she fought beside him.

Besides the two of them, Ren and Nora were fighting as well, the two friends working in synch to combat the attacking Grimm. Grenades went flying to the accompanying sound of gunshots before Nora leapt in with a happy war cry and her hammer swinging. Ren quickly joined her, covering her back with time honed precision and swift grace.

Scythe planted on the ground, Ruby fired, shooting one Grimm after another as they came at her. Before they could reach her, she stopped shooting to lift Crescent Rose. Her Semblance activated, and she slammed into them with gunshot powered scythe strikes.

For her part Yang went straight for the Witch at a run, leaving behind everyone else. She was looking forward to this, and said as much to their opponent. "Alright tough guy, show me what you got."

Her reckless charge made it nearly there before the Witch spun about, and she suddenly found herself moving in another direction as pain flared in her side from the tail strike that slammed home. She flew, twisted, and came to a stop, her hair fortunately intact and rips torn in the ground from her landing.

But that didn't deter her. In fact, Yang seemed all the more eager as she got back to her feet. "Now that's more like it," she said as she rose. "Good thing I'm just getting fired up." The weak joke went unanswered to by her comrades on as she moved back in, ready to try again.

Weiss sighed as she watched the practically suicidal charge, though she managed to keep from pinching the bridge of her nose, smacking her forehead, or showing any other signs of exasperation. "Why am I surrounded by dunces," she asked, not expecting an answer.

She didn't stand idle though, instead cycling Myrtenaster's Dust chambers until Fire Dust slid into place. She sprinted forward before striking downwards. With the impact against the ground, a stream of red Fire Dust was discharged, cutting a blazing horizontal path away from her.

The wave of fire cut off the Grimm that were advancing on their left flank, a straight line that reduced the amount of area they had to defend. The creatures reared back, howling, as the wall of fire blocked their path. They moved to get around it, adding to the amount that Jaune, Pyrrha, Ren, and Nora had to deal with but at the same time reducing the amount of people needed to defend overall.

It wasn't totally appreciated though as Blake found herself having to jump back, lest she be caught in the trail of fire. Recovering, she glared at Weiss, a look that would make a Schnee proud. "A little warning would be nice," she said, before moving to aid Yang in confronting the Witch.

"Aren't you supposed to have some situational awareness in a fight?" Weiss shot back indignantly. Honestly, given what she had seen so far, her position as team leader was practically assured. Especially if this was the general level of competence amongst the freshman class. But leaving that aside, she came to help as well so they would at least have a chance.

Meanwhile, Ruby continued to weave her path of destruction, Grimm limbs suddenly finding themselves unattached as Crescent Rose spun and Ruby zipped around courtesy of her Semblance. She would admit that she might be showing off a bit, but now was the time to put out their full effort, and so they did.

With that in mind, she wasn't prepared for the rain of grenades exploding around her as Nora fired at the nearby cluster of Grimm, thuds filling the air. It was fortunate that she had super speed, or else she would have been in a lot of trouble.

"Sorry," Nora called with a wave. "I didn't see you there." It was hard to tell whether she was being sincere, but she probably was. Generally Nora, for all her silliness, wouldn't deliberately try to blow up someone on her side. If Ruby had to take a guess, anyway.

"It's fine," Ruby called, brushing herself off. She chose not to dwell on it and moved off, protecting her sister and her partner as best she could whilst trying to show Weiss that she was worthy to be here.

Yang had continued her brute force approach, though she had attempted some form of defense to compensate for the hits that the thing was giving her. Her Semblance burned brighter with each hit, and she had taken quite a few of those. Now she ran at the Witch, dodging the incoming tail swipe and firing with Ember Celicas as she moved.

Then the next problem presented itself as the enemy struck. The Witch's wings flapped, going faster and faster until it unleashed a rain of sharp black feathers, the projectiles raining down on Yang like it was a Nevermore and forcing her to quickly dodge lest she become a pincushion.

Still, her distraction gave Blake an opening and the quiet girl took advantage of it, dodging the flurry as she moved beside the Witch with leaps and rolls, occasionally generating a shadow clone to take a hit from that whip tail or provide her an extra boost to assist her as she attacked. Gambol Shroud flew out on its ribbon, allowing her to strike from different angles, and she made it a point to never stop moving as she kept up a continuous fire.

The Witch screeched once more as Blake and Yang took their toll on the thing and the storm of feathers ended. But there was no comfort as it acted in a different way now. Inky blackness seeped from the cracks in the things scales, and it collected, rippled, flexed, depositing itself on the ground in drooling streams. And there is coagulated, taking on familiar forms. Specifically, forming a trio of snarling Beowolves.

"Wait, it can make more of them? That's not fair," Ruby complained as she took out an Ursa that had been threatening Jaune.

Those would be its familiars, Kyubey explained, still unharmed through all of this. It doesn't seem likely that it can make more though given how young it seems to be.

It was a small comfort for them all. Pyrrha blocked an attack with Akoúo̱, claws reverberating off the shield before she counterattacked with an upwards strike from Miló, stabbing the Ursa in the gut and killig it. "Regardless, we need to do something before we are overwhelmed." Indeed, more Grimm were emerged from the treeline, summoned by their master's call.

Ruby blazed past another Beowolf, decapitating it with a gunshot powered slash before she looked over at the others. "I've got a plan," she announced with a mixture of happiness and seriousness, unsure which she should really feel.

"Please, enlighten us," Weiss commented disparagingly as she used a Glyph to dodge a flurry of feathers from the Witch. Whatever it was, it had better be good, and she prepared herself to shut down her partner for whatever inane idea was presented.

Ruby was not deterred by the brusque attitude, and she quickly explained after she finished shooting another Grimm. "Blake, distract it. Weiss, I need you to keep it in place and ready to make some of those Glyphs of yours." She then looked over at Jaune, Ren, Nora, and Pyrrha. "You guys keep covering our backs."

"What about me," Yang asked, right after she practically ejected a Beowolf from the clearing with a punch.

In return, Ruby grinned as she cocked Crescent Rose, spent bullet casing flying out to the side. "We're going to take this thing down."

The plan laid out, they got to work. Behind them the clash continued as the Grimm were held back from the rest of them. Blake took off then, continuing to hammer the Witch with every opportunity she got, even sword strikes if she could. Shadow clones made it easier, and she was silent as she fought.

Weiss would admit that this plan was hardly the best, but she went along with it. She followed the instructions she had been given, sending more lines of fire lancing to the sides of the Witch, acting as restraints to keep it confined to a single area. Of course, it restrained her allies freedom of movement at the same time, but she was confident that they could handle it. And if she was wrong then it wasn't her fault. Ruby should have been more specific if she wanted something else.

Ruby and Yang got to it as well, acting with a level of coordination that one would expect from sisters. While Ruby fired at the Witch, Yang moved forward, deflecting tail swipes with Ember Celicas and concurrent gunshots from them. She was stronger than she had been when this fight started, and it showed.

They traded places then, Ruby using her Semblance to dash ahead of Yang. Coming to a halt in front of her sister she spun Crescent Rose like a dervish, the huge blade sweeping through the air and intercepting the storm of feathers that came at them like an impromptu shield.

As the flurry of arrow-like feathers ended, Yang traded places with her sister. Her weapons motion arrested, Ruby planted Crescent Rose against the ground on a slant, and Yang used it as a springboard, the flat of the blade used as a platform to propel herself into the air. Rising, she was quickly joined by her sister, and she gave Ruby another boost with a punch to her boot, sending her even higher in the air.

Reaching the nadir of her ascent, Ruby found that Blake had at least clued in with what she had in mind, and had distracted the Witch for the better part of her journey upwards. Beginning to fall, she spun Crescent Rose and fired, the scythe blade aimed downwards as she plunged towards the Witch. And she succeeded in what she had aimed to do, snagging one of the heads and yanking it downwards.

They landed with a thud and a howl of pain, Ruby doing it a lot more elegantly than the oversized snake head. The scales protecting its neck punctured with the cutting blow, and the black liquid that could only be it's blood practically sprayed out, staining Ruby's cloak with dark ichor. Sadly, she hadn't succeeded in decapitating it, but it was a serious injury.

"Alright! Good job sis," Yang said, right before she blocked one of the other two heads that had moved to attack Ruby. As an older sister, she wouldn't allow that, and she made the point obvious as the head was sent snapping back. There was another cry of pain, and it was obvious that they were doing some damage.

Then an unexpected problem arose as Ruby tried to tear off the single head that she had under her scythe. Blake had been distracted by a couple Grimm, easily handled, but distracting nonetheless. As a result, Ruby wasn't expecting it when the attack came from behind. She dodged, but her hood was snagged on the third head as Crescent Rose was torn from her grip and she was hoisted into the air.

And things got even worse as she found herself rising hire, the Witch itself rising off the ground and into the sky. "Hey, put me down," she tried, struggling to get free before she quickly shifted to defending herself with her feet from the hissing snake heads as they tried to bite her.

Yang was trying to help but didn't really have the range to reach her, and Blake was trying as well but couldn't do any real damage from that distance. And everyone else seemed to be busy, Ren and Nora, plus Jaune and Pyrrha, fighting together. Well, except for one person. "Weiss, what are you doing?!"

Finishing up a series of flourishing stabs against an Ursa, the heiress turned her attention skywards, and she resisted the urge to show her resumed annoyance at the red figure in the air. "I followed your instructions and now I'm helping them," she replied. It made perfect sense to her, at least from an organizational sense.

Naturally, Ruby didn't agree with this assessment. "It doesn't look very held in place," she yelled, definitely not finding herself alarmed by this. She swayed in the air as she dodged another snap from hungry jaws, the jaws just barely clipping her boot.

"How was I supposed to know it could actually fly," Weiss shot back. She couldn't plan for every eventuality. And beside that, it looked too big to actually be able to go airborne even though it had wings. It was practically an abomination of nature as it was.

Frustration boiled over with the back and forth, everything else, and the fear of imminent death. . "Just help me already!" she snapped.

Taken slightly aback by the voiced anger, Weiss huffed as she walked over from where she had been, gaze still on the flying Witch. "Fine." She posed there, Dust chambers spinning about before they landed on blue Ice Dust. She spun herself and then stabbed forward and upwards, sending jagged shards of ice flying towards the Witch as her contribution to this fight.

The icicles flew through the air and slammed against the wings that held the Witch aloft. But they didn't punch through or shatter. Instead, they stuck in the dark flesh and the Ice Dust they were infused with began to seep out into the surrounding area, covering the wings in a lattice of crystalline ice.

With such a weight holding it the Witch began to drop from the air, much to Ruby's dismay. She didn't look forward to crashing either. That was, if it didn't shatter the ice in its struggles and start flying again, which would only renew a bad situation.

Blake's intervention was unexpected though. The Witch's fall had brought it into range, and with a series of shadow clone assisted jumps she rose into the air until she was level with the creature. Then she shot forward, Gambol Shroud ready, and slashed across the things back, hitting the base of its wings.

More black ichor sprayed out as the Witch screeched, and it was apparent that the wings had been rendered useless by the hit, given how they seemed to hang uselessly. That sealed its fate as it fell, and at the same time it let Ruby go in its pain. She was able to land relatively safely, though she took a hit to her Aura in the process.

The Witch didn't have it so lucky. It came down, just in the spot to meet Yang. The blond happened to be standing right beneath it, and as it fell, she punched it with all the force she could muster. Which was a lot, as one might guess.

"Don't. You. Hurt. My. Sister," she yelled, having caught the Witches third head and now pummeling it into the ground. Her eyes blazed red in anger, an anger scary for any who witnessed it, but it did seem to be effective as the head writhed briefly before falling limp, black liquid dripping out from it's broken scales and eyes.

Very impressive, Kyubey commented, still motionless somehow. It was like the Grimm were ignoring him, or just too distracted by the Huntsmen. You did better than I anticipated you would.

"Thank you," Pyrrha replied gratefully. It at least seemed like a compliment, so she would accept it as such. Taking it as an insult wouldn't really get them anywhere, so there was no need to do that.

The four in the rear were holding the line for the moment as the others dealt with the Witch, blades clashing and explosions going off as Nora had her fun. Ren and Jaune covered Nora and Pyrrha, though they got in blows of their own, especially Ren. And the Grimm did seem to be diminishing in numbers, though it was ever so slightly.

The Witch was not done yet, though one head fell limp and the other had trouble moving due to the cut on it's neck, and though it's wings were cut and could not fly. It was not going to give up so easily, and it made that evident as it's tail swept out once more, the creature flailing about with angry cries. It seemed retreat was not in its nature.

"Let's finish this," Ruby said confidently as she, Yang, Weiss, and Blake faced it down. A tough fight to be sure, but they were going to end it, now.

Weiss nodded before she slid forward, using a Glyph to vault over the Witch and send shards of ice lancing downwards, the spread of white freezing it in place, though it would not hold for long. But they didn't need long as the group attacked.

Shadow clones served as a distraction as Blake ran forward, firing at the Witch before Gambol Shroud shifted back to sword form and she leapt into the air, delivering another slash to the wings to be sure and following that up with blows to it's back

Meanwhile, Ruby ran to the side and intercepted the tail sweeping at them before it could hit, the downwards facing blade catching it in a hold as she pushed downwards and fired. It took a few shots, but eventually, with an accompanying screech of pain, the end of the tail was severed by Crescent Rose's sharp blade.

Taking advantage of that, Weiss struck again. Myrtenaster switched to Fire Dust as she attacked, springing forward and stabbing the middle head right in the eye. While painful on its own, the immediate discharge of Fire Dust killed it, black barely able to emerge as the inside of it's head burned. That left only the one, increasingly disoriented and erratic as it struggled against the cracking ice bonds.

But its erratic blows made it hard to get close to finish it off, lest they be hit by a writhing limb. Bullets slammed into it, but none seemed strong enough to finish it off, and though Weiss added to the ice holding it in place, it was still fighting them endlessly.

As Jaune fought, he glanced over to see the situation as it was, and in the blink of an eye he got an idea. "Ruby, trade places with Pyrrha," he called. "Trust me."

Ruby wasn't sure what he had in mind, but she nodded. "Alright," she replied as she zipped over, taking Pyrrha's place and fending off an incoming attack with Crescent Rose.

With Ruby in her spot, Pyrrha stepped back and looked over at Jaune, who was busy helping Ruby. "So, what's the plan," she asked. She would much rather be on the front lines than in back if there was nothing that needed doing.

Jaune looked over when he had a moment to breathe, directing his attention to her as well as the girl behind her. "Pyrrha, you need to use your javelin to take that thing out. Nora, give her a boost."

Pyrrha was still for a moment before realization dawned in her eyes, quickly grasping what he had in mind. "Alright," she agreed. With practiced ease she shifted Miló to javelin form and looked over to Nora to make sure she had heard and was ready.

"Got it," Nora added, bouncing on her feet as she gave a makeshift salute. She held Magnhild ready, the hammer swinging as she waited for Pyrrha to act.

"Yang," Ruby shouted to her sister, who already seemed aware of what was going on. This attack wouldn't work if the Witch got out of the way, or it was deflected by the scales. That didn't seem likely either, but better safe than sorry.

"Got it," her sister replied, rushing over and grabbing the snake, resisting its struggles as Blake chipped in with Gambol Shroud's ribbon to hold the final snake head in place. They weren't about to give it the opportunity to get out of this.

With the Witch pinned Pyrrha acted, tossing Miló towards Nora. This would have been an incredibly bad idea if Nora hadn't been ready, but fortunately she was. In mid flight, Nora swung, Magnhild connecting solidly with the butt of Miló and firing at the same time. The hit, as well as the accompanying explosion, sent it rocketing forward like an arrow.

It flew straight and true, a testament to Nora's skill with her hammer. Yang held on and then leapt back at the last second as Miló flew straight into the Witch's mouth, ripping flesh along the way before it punched out at the base of the creature's neck in a spray of black and shredded scales and feathers.

The Witch thrashed and hissed weakly before it collapsed, eyes bulging as a forked tongue lolled out. If there was any doubt as to what had happened and whether they had succeeded, it was answered as the creature began to dissolve, body fading away like the Grimm did and leaving only a light scattering of particles behind.

The fall and death of the Witch seemed to release whatever hold had been present over the minds of the Grimm, and the oncoming pack broke. They howled and snapped, but most of them chose to beat a retreat rather than throw themselves against the line of Huntsmen.

"Aw yeah, nothing to it," Yang bragged, Ember Celicas retracting back to bracelets as she grinned. 'That wasn't so hard." If she held some belief that that had been a difficult fight, she didn't let it show.

Pyrrha walked over to where the Witch had vanished, picking Miló back up and making sure that it hadn't suffered any damage from its journey through the snake and from the hammer. "You did a good job," she told Jaune as she returned to the group. "And you as well, Ruby. That was some quick thinking."

Ruby chuckled nervously as she folded Crescent Rose and placed the weapon back. "Heheh, thanks." Getting the compliment was a nice bonus, though she had only been acting in the moment.

Looking over, she noticed Weiss crouched down where the Witch had fallen, holding a glass tube with the mark of a snowflake on it at the same time. "Hey Weiss, what'cha doing," she asked as she moved to her side in a flash of rose petals.

Weiss didn't look back as she scraped glittering powder off the grass and into the tube. "Collecting Dust," she replied succinctly. "It just needs to be refined, and then it will make up a bit of what I just used to kill it."

Ruby nodded, impressed. "That's cool. I didn't know living creatures dropped Dust. I thought they just came from mines and stuff like that." But if anyone knew about Dust, it would be her partner.

"It does. But Witches release some Dust when they die as well. And I'm not going to let it go to waste." Weiss ended her explanation as she finished picking up all the white Dust she could, and a stopper went in to make sure none of it spilled out. She wasn't sure what type it would be, but it would be appreciated, that she could say.

The two of them rejoined the group then, weapons put away, and what wounds there were inspected to make sure they weren't serious. Fortunately none were, though all of them had taken some hit to their Aura.

"Aww, the cat's gone," Nora said with a pout, drawing attention to the fact that Kyubey seemed to have vanished at some point immediately after the fight had concluded. Doubtlessly she had had something interesting planned for him, and his disappearance was prudent on his part.

"I'm sure he's fine," Blake replied with arms folded.

Pyrrha looked towards the sunset before speaking to the rest of the group. "We should go before it gets dark."

There was no disagreement to that suggestion, and together they headed off for Beacon Cliff to finish this test. It had been a tough fight, but they had done it. Now all that remained was to see the result of their efforts.

 

[UrielAngeli]

This... is actually really good. It will be interesting to see which way you go with this story.

Weiss is a magical girl, isn't she?

Please keep writing!

 

[Azecreth]

Weiss is a magical girl, isn't she?

Please keep writing!

Click to shrink...

Maybe. But that'd be spoiling things.

And I plan to keep doing so, even if my updates end up being sporadic. Mused based writing is killer like that. But I've got some things planned out that I think people will enjoy.

 

[Azecreth]

Ch 4 - Team RWBY

The main hall was packed, the freshman class once more assembled after their various Initiation exams and now forced to wait for the results to come. Many were nervous, anxious, some were excited, some confident, others uncaring, and it made for a very muddled atmosphere at the end of the day.

Into this atmosphere the four pairs had entered, returned from their own exams and now left to wait for what was to come. It was not surprising, but it appeared that their encounter had made it so that they were some of the last to arrive. Still, they had plenty of time to mingle, and to tell their story.

After the fight with the Witch, they had all headed back towards Beacon Cliff at a sprint, no one wanting to take the chance of getting attacked again when they were walking. As it happened they didn't, but it was the intent that mattered the most.

Sprinting along, Weiss glanced at her companions as she quickly examined them all. In her training for being the eventual head of the Schnee Dust Company she had learned a lot of things. One of those was how to evaluate people and determine their character. And that was what she did now, with the inevitable consideration of how they might fit into the SDC.

The first was Pyrrha. She was everything her reputation said she was. Kind, a talented fighter, she was certainly reliable, smart, and lived the most up to the expectations that the heiress had.

Then there were Ren and Nora. Nora was eclectic, though she was a good fighter. She didn't quite seemed to have her head on right at the end of the day. But Ren on the other hand, he seemed to be dependable, could handle stress well, and he didn't speak when he didn't have something to say. She could definitely see him working for her at some point.

From that she glanced over at Blake. The girl was mysterious, with some beliefs she didn't quite agree with, to say the least. At the same time though, she obviously knew what she was doing. Perhaps she could overlook the political sentiments in favor of her talent. Perhaps.

Then to Jaune. He seemed...nice. Unremarkable for the most part. And in spite of that one showing, he didn't seem to be particularly useful. He'd probably be on the ground floor, but if it weren't for him trying to interact with her, she'd easily ignore him for the most part.

Yang was not too interesting. She was rough and tumble, honest with her opinions, more likely to think with her fists. She was loyal, sure, but that was more towards her sister, and her manner didn't exactly scream 'Respect for authority'. She just rubbed the heiress the wrong way, and that stood against any real cooperation.

Lastly, her partner. She undeniably had some skill with her weapon, and was certainly eager. She just also happened to be immature, a klutz, and unsuited for being here, at least at this point in time. Still, the white haired girl could deal with it, just as she had with all challenges in the past.

Once there, the Cliff was scaled without too much difficulty, those able to make incredible jumps carrying those who weren't to the top so they didn't have to climb up the entirety of the feature. That would include Ren, Pyrrha, and Jaune in the position of the latter.

At the top they were met by Goodwitch and Ozpin, the former looking not amused, while the latter was more guarded. "Students," Glynda said as she moved to stand in front of them all. "Please hand me your relics."

As they handed their relics over to Glynda one after the other, Ozpin turned his attention to them as well, speaking to the group as a whole. "Very impressive. Only a few can kill a Feral Witch on their very first day, without preparation."

"Heheh, it was nothing," Ruby replied with the light blush of embarrassment at the compliment. Getting the approval of the Headmaster meant a lot to her in terms of her belief that she belonged here.

"Don't sell yourself short," Yang added with a grin as she stood beside her sister. "It was a bit of a challenge, but nothing we couldn't handle."

Nora chimed in from where she stood as well, waving to the headmaster. "Yep. We beat that Witch up real good. But that's what it gets for challenging the Queen of the castle."

The corners of his mouth rose in a slight smile as Ozpin watched the posturing blond and the others behind her. "Is that so? Well, that's hardly the last challenge you'll face here at Beacon. I look forward to seeing how you handle the rest."

That said, he stepped away, leaving Glynda to finish up with them all as she put the chess pieces away with a wave of her riding crop. "Now then, I suggest you all report to the nearest medical station for a check up, before heading to the main hall to await the ceremony assigning teams."

"Sure thing," Ruby replied with a salute. Glynda stepped away to confer with Ozpin, while the rest of them headed off towards one of the medical station that had been pointed out to them before the Initiation. It wasn't too far away from Beacon Cliff, placed to be there for convenience in case someone got injured during the exam.

There wasn't really a need, but they went nonetheless, and once they had arrived they each were looked over by the doctors on call. Those doctors confirmed what they had known, that there were no major injuries besides some scratches and bruises. The Huntsmen just chose not to mention how many had been close calls to them.

As it stood, going there meant they could see those students who had been injured, though fortunately most of the wounds they could see as they walked by weren't overly serious. That was something of a blessing for those who actually cared, whose number did not include Weiss.

With that done, they were sent off once more to go to the main hall, to join with those people already there. And that left them as they were now, the group somewhat dispersed as they waited and talked with others.

"So Weiss, who do you think is gonna be on our team," Ruby asked excitedly, standing besides her partner who was exuding annoyance to no avail.

Weiss huffed, arms folded as she pointedly looked away. "For the fifth time, I don't know. Now leave me alone." Sadly, the efforts to remove Ruby from her vicinity didn't work, as one might have expected.

It was not helped by Jaune, though to her relief he had at least stopped trying to flirt with her and moved off to better things. She did not need that sort of thing at the moment when she was trying to concentrate. Not that she was even close to considering doing anything romantic with him of all people. She preferred someone handsome. Or competent.

"Hey, don't be like that," Yang interjected in defense of her sister. "You can't really blame her for being anxious. It's a pretty big thing."

Weiss would disagree with that notion, but she didn't say as much. "It's not going to get us answers any faster, so I don't see a reason to waste my time in something so trivial when I can't affect the outcome."

"Probably because it'll be the team you're with for the next four years," Yang countered as she took a step towards Weiss, grinning as she leaned forward with her hands resting on her hips. "Come on, you've gotta have a guess. So, who is it?"

With an inward sigh, Weiss gave in. At the very least it would get them to stop bugging her so she could focus on important things. "There are several students whom I wouldn't mind being on a team with that are of the proper status and ability for someone like myself. But I don't see why I should name them when you wouldn't recognize them anyway."

Yang shrugged, turning to face forward once more. "Alright, suit yourself. What about you Pyrrha?"

The redhead shifted to look at them as she spoke in return. "There isn't anyone in particular that I have in mind, I see a lot of students whom I would be more than happy to be in a team with."

Yang nodded in understanding. It seemed the champion was willing to accommodate whatever team she ended up on, at least to some extent. "Well, I hope I get on put on a team that knows how to relax and have a good time. There's nothing wrong with studying, but there's more to school than just that."

"You would," Weiss grumbled to herself. Yang was much too easy a person to read in the end.

At the same time, Nora was busy conversing with Ren. "Ooh, I know, we should think up secret team code names! Or calls, so we can always know where everyone else is."

Ren watched his friend and partner with a bemused expression. "Are we not using the same ones from the Initiation," he asked. He was still pretty sure it wasn't a sloth call, but he'd given up trying to convince Nora at this point.

Nora emphatically shook her head as she beamed. "Of course not silly. We used them already, so it isn't a secret anymore." It was, to his pleasant surprise, a good point, even if the concept behind it was still unnecessary. "I was thinking we could use a flamingo call this time! Ca-Caw1 Ca-Caw!"

"Nora, I don't think a flamingo sounds like that," Ren pointed out, to be ignored by his friend once more.

At last, much to the relief of a certain heiress, the ceremony began as Ozpin and Glynda stepped onto stage, the headmaster tapping the microphone to draw everyone's attention to himself. "Thank you all for the wait. Students of Beacon Academy, you have acquitted yourselves with skill, and have proven yourselves worthy of your place at this school. Congratulations."

There was a smattering of applause, some cheers, and the slight swelling of pride within Weiss' chest, before Ozpin went on. "We will now begin the announcement of teams. Please come up to the stage when your name is called, and stay there until you are dismissed."

Glynda stepped forward, Scroll in hand, to begin this stage of the proceedings. "Would Axel Lee, Marigold Hawke, Topaz Winters, and Gideon Cain, please come to the stage." Once the four had arrived and lined up, two boys and two girls with their names and pictures on the screen, Ozpin took over speaking. "You retrieved the Black Bishop pieces, and from this day forward you will be known as Team Magnet, under the leadership of Marigold Hawke." The name was displayed on the screen in turn, and there was polite applause from the crowd as they left the stage.

They were quickly replaced, and the ceremony went on in much the same way, with varying claps and the occasional shout, including from Yang for people she knew (Much to Ruby's embarrassment). It seemed to stretch on without an end in sight as one team after another was formed, the entire class filtering across the stage in staggered order. The only real eventual challenge was figuring out who would be the leader, as opposed to the teams themselves.

Nervous anticipation grew with time as well, and even Weiss would admit that she was growing a bit anxious to learn who she was teamed up with as the ceremony went by without her name being called. It was a feeling hardly helped by the bundle of energy beside her, who couldn't seem to calm down.

"...you will be known as Team Cardinal, under the leadership of Cardinal Winchester." Ozpin finished up the first of the last three teams as he had the rest, to applause and some posturing on the part of said team. Now it was down to the eight pairs that had been in the Emerald Forest, and there were plenty of wishes around as to who wanted their teammates to be.

It was a wonder soon laid to rest by Glynda as she announced the next group of four. "Would Jaune Arc, Pyrrha Nikos, Lie Ren, and Nora Valkyrie come up to the stage please." The group made their way as Weiss' heart sank, the two sisters beside her cheering them on. It seemed her hopes had been dashed, though she didn't show it to anyone.

Ozpin spoke once they had all arrived on stage. "The four of you retrieved the white rook pieces, and from this day forward you will be known as Team Juniper, under Jaune Arc." Now that was unexpected, both to Jaune himself and to his friends though they got applause nonetheless.

Dismissed, Pyrrha turned to Jaune, wearing a warm smile. "Congratulations," she told him, by all appearances sincere with that sentiment as she patted him on the shoulder.

Jaune was less certain but he grinned, somewhat sheepishly, in return. "Thanks, I guess." He only hoped that he was up to this now that he had been put in this position.

The four of them proceeded off the stage, and that left only the two pairs left. For her part, Weiss was holding out hope that things would still work out, while Yang and Ruby didn't really seem to care and Blake was indifferent to the point of being inscrutable.

With it obvious, they were ready as their names were called and made their way collectively up to the stage to stand before the crowd, who were as eager to see them as they were to finally get out of here.

Ozpin went on as implacably as ever. "You four retrieved the white knight pieces, and from this day forward, you will work together as Team Ruby, under Ruby Rose."

There was applause, but that was masked by the sound of shattering glass as Weiss' hopes were firmly crushed. Ruby Rose, her partner, had been made team leader instead of her. It hadn't even been Blake, someone she could have tolerated to some extent. No, it had to be the annoying member of the team.

For all that though, she let none of it show beyond a slight hardening of her exterior. She had been trained well, and an impenetrable poker face was part of that. If anyone suspected that she might be disappointed or angered, she would not give them any ammunition to further that suspicion.

Ozpin looked over the team with a gleam in his eye. "I look forward to seeing great things from you, Ruby Rose," he said in a tone that only they could hear.

Ruby had a moment to comprehend that before she was practically pounded on the back by Yang, earning a cough from her. "Congrats sis. I'm sure you'll do an awesome job." If anyone was going to doubt Ruby's ability to lead, it most definitely would not be her sister.

They were ushered off the stage once more as Ozpin stepped forward to speak to the crowd. "I believe that brings this ceremony to a close. At this point I would like to give you all another round of congratulations for making it this far. I am sure that your time here at Beacon will be well spent."

He stepped back then as Glynda took up speaking in turn. "You will all be sleeping in your dorms tonight. Team leaders should report to the tables outside immediately after we are done to get room keys. Classes will begin tomorrow, so I suggest you use the time you have left to get to know your new teammates. You will be spending the next four years with them, so it is in your interest to do so. And no, there will not be reassignments."

With that, the ceremony ended as Ozpin and Goodwitch stepped off the stage, leaving the student body to go about following the instructions that she had been given. There was still part of the afternoon left, and that would provide plenty of time to get set up.

Glancing over, Ruby seemed somewhat relieved to see that her partner wasn't angry, but the stony surface of emotionlessness that she found instead wasn't all too comforting either. Hopefully the heiress would accept it in time. "Well, I guess I can go get that room key if you guys want to get your stuff," she offered with a nervous chuckle.

"Sure thing," Yang replied with a thumbs up. There was no other objection, so Ruby dashed off in a flash of rose petals to go find the tables that the other teams leaders were going to.

While everyone else was distracted by that, Blake slipped away into the crowd to go collect her things. It left Yang looking very confused once she had turned around to find her partner gone. Weiss, on the other hand, was more impressed by the vanishing act.

"Man, how does she do that," Yang asked as she looked around for her partner, to no avail in that regard.

"I'm sure she'll be fine," Weiss replied as she spun on her heels, turning away from Yang. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go get my things." Without any further word she walked off, leaving Yang behind. She'd find them later, somehow.

Leaving them behind, the heiress walked with measured steps out of the main hall. From there it was a quick trip across campus towards where their luggage had been left near the ballroom. She already knew the way, and while it would have been easy to bring in some hired help to deal with it, she had chosen not to. Better to put the effort in herself and to refrain from overly ostentatious displays of wealth.

As she walked, Weiss tried to figure out what had just happened. There had to have been some reason that Ruby had been chosen instead of her. So what was it? It couldn't be talent, since while Weiss would concede that she had to have some skill to get into Beacon early, and she did use a very complicated weapon, she had put on a very poor showing in the forest.

So what was it? Was it the fact that she had come up with the initial plan that they had used? It hadn't even completely worked, and she would have come up with a plan herself soon enough. She just wasn't able to run on impulse like that. Information was key to her decision making process, even if it was a little amount.

For all her musing, she came up empty, and left it alone as she arrived at the luggage storage room. Through the piles of stuff and objects she moved to the small pile that had her crest upon the items within, the silver and white cases that marked them as hers.

She took a moment to examine each, to make sure none had been tampered with or opened. There was a fortune in Dust contained within, as well as her own prized possessions, and if someone had taken them then there would be hell to pay as a result. She would not let a thief escape their due justice, especially if they happened to be some sort of pervert.

Fortunately, there was no sign that anyone had messed with her stuff, and she loaded it back onto the trolley that had been used to take all her things here in the first place. She had no hope of actually carrying it all, so it was the only way she had of moving it in a reasonable manner. She might even be nice enough to let the others use it too, if they asked.

"So, you seem to be taking this well." Walking between buildings, she was surprised to find Blake beside her, the raven haired girl appearing seemingly out of thin air as she addressed the heiress. It was unnerving, and she wished she could replicate the display at the same time.

Weiss harrumphed, tilting her head upwards as she continued to push her cart. "Obviously. But I don't see why it should matter to you," she replied brusquely, hoping to avoid talking about this. Especially with her of all people.

Blake gave all the impression of a shrug as she kept pace. "It doesn't. I just imagined you would be angry with this decision to make Ruby leader of our team."

While Weiss indeed wasn't satisfied, she was hardly going to show it in public. "And what would make you think that?"

A calm answer was what she got in return. "The Schnee heiress not being appointed the leader of her team? It doesn't cast you in a good light."

"It's fine," Weiss replied. "Expecting complete success all the time is unreasonable. Even the Schnee Dust Company had to start from the bottom. So this will be a good opportunity to show my talents."

Certainly that was reasonable, and Blake seemed to accept it as such, though she also seemed a bit skeptical. "And what about your father? Is he going to have the same opinion?"

"My father," Weiss replied with more than a hint of defensiveness, "will understand once he learns that was put in this situation in spite of my best efforts." That was all she wanted to say on the matter, and so she pushed ahead in order to meet up with the rest of their team quicker.

Blake fell silent then, apparently satisfied, and soon enough they had met up with Ruby and Yang, both of whom were looking for them at the same time. It made things slightly easier as a whole.

Ruby beamed as she saw them and waved at the same time. "Hey guys," she called. "I got the room key." She displayed her scroll, where a passcode could be seen. "Give me your numbers so I can send it to you guys."

She dutifully recorded them as Weiss gave hers, and then Blake did the same. Once she had, she sent them the passcode, so they could use their own scrolls to unlock the door to the room. It was a much easier method than simply carrying around a key everywhere, with the inherent possibility that one might lose it.

"Now then, onwards team," Ruby called, pointing forward and walking off, much to the annoyance of her partner. At least Ruby seemed to be getting over whatever doubts she had had, or she was doing a good job at hiding it.

Together the quartet headed off, weaving amongst crowds of people that were engaged in the similar task of locating their dormitory rooms. Finding the building was, understandably, easy to accomplish. Locating the room within it was a bit harder, even if it was connected to the main building and the classrooms within.

They made their way to the third floor, Weiss forced to take an elevator thanks to the cart she had, which was mostly a result of the fact that no one else really wanted to carry her luggage for her and she didn't trust them to. Soon enough though they located their room.

Arriving, it was a pleasant surprise to see Jaune, Pyrrha, Nora, and Ren there as well, entering the room across from theirs. "Oh, hey guys," Ruby said as she and her own team approached. "I guess this makes us neighbors."

"Hey," Jaune replied with a grin as he stood outside the open doorway. "Yeah, looks like it." He seemed relieved to some extent, to have familiar faces in a room nearby. And it was a sentiment that Ruby apparently shared.

"Well, if you need anything, let us know," Ruby offered as she stepped up to their own door, tapping her scroll against it. The lock disengaged with a click leaving her free to open it. Meanwhile, it was an offer she could make freely, since it was the courteous thing to do.

Jaune nodded. "You too," he replied in turn before stepping inside, letting the door swing shut behind him.

With the conversation ended, Ruby opened the door and entered their room, the rest of her team following her. It was nice, with four beds, two desks, a view of the campus out the window and a nearby tree that would make for an interesting escape route. It was well maintained and there was no visible damage, though how much would accumulate over a school year was anyone's guess.

"Looks nice," Yang commented nonchalantly, giving the room a once over. It might be a bit cozy with the four of them, but they could manage.

Ruby nodded. "Alright team, first order of business; Decorating!"

It was not the easiest matter, to say the least. Each of them claimed their prospective corners and got to work, unpacking the stuff they had brought with them and putting it all away in some manner or other. Posters and pictures went on walls, clothes in dressers, supplies in desks, and the like.

Once everything had been unpacked, the team stepped back to look at the room itself. And it was most definitely a mess. There was stuff all over the place, and hardly any room to move therein.

"Okay, this isn't working," Weiss announced, her hands on her hips in disapproval. She knew for certain that she could not operate in this sort of clutter. She had to wonder why the room was this small when they didn't have enough room for all their stuff, but she doubted that they could do something about it.

"She's got a point," Blake agreed. She might be agile, but this set up wasn't viable. Not in the long term anyway.

Yang shrugged indifferently as she looked the room over. "Well, what do we do then? Unless we get rid of some of our stuff we'll have to get space from somewhere." It didn't seem very likely that any of them would do that though.

Ruby hummed in thought before a metaphorical light bulb went off. "Oh, I know," she exclaimed as she rose on her toes towards the ceiling. "Bunk beds!"

Weiss frowned, shaking her head almost automatically. "That's a silly idea." Were those beds even made to be set up like that? She certainly didn't want to risk it. Honestly, perhaps she could just pay the Academy for a bigger room. It would be worth the cost.

"Come on, don't be like that Princess," Yang countered as she teased the heiress at the same time. "Don't knock it 'til you try it."

Blake gave a curt nod after considering the idea. "It would be efficient," she conceded. That was true enough, though it was not enough to sway Weiss from her stance. How could she support something when they couldn't actually do it?

"Well, I say we put it to a vote," Ruby announced, opting for the democratic method. At that point Weiss knew she had lost and the tally quickly confirmed that, earning a cheer from their leader. Another failure of democratic principles once again.

Yang stepped forward then, gaze narrowing as her determination rose. "Alright then, let's do this."

Weiss sighed. "I suppose we should get this over with," she ceded reluctantly. She might not approve of the decision, but she would follow through on it. And then if it ended badly, she could not be blamed for the result.

With that, they got to work. One bunk bed was made relatively easily with the assistance of some hardcover books that had been graciously donated by Blake. Those were used as supports, so they could put the other bed that much higher and ensure that the person on the bottom bunk didn't hit their head when they were sleeping.

That left the other bunk bed. It was a more difficult task, since Blake wasn't willing to donate any more books to the construction project. But fortunately, or not, Ruby had quite a bit of rope to use instead. Why she had it, Weiss didn't know and didn't want to know, but she would not deny that it was useful.

It took some effort and more than a bit of argument between all of them on methods and actual implementation, but eventually they managed to hang the bed. It was raised up with the ropes fastened to the ceiling, and the heiress could swear she heard the creaking of wood from it as it swayed in midair.

Finished, Weiss stepped back as she kept her attention on their completed handiwork, a critical eye trained upon it. "That thing is a death trap," she proclaimed, disapproving gaze fixed on the bunk bed made by ropes.

"Dibs," Ruby called, speeding up onto that particular bunk. And somehow this was not exactly a surprise.

"I'll take the bottom," Blake added, gesturing towards the bunk held up by books. She probably wanted to watch after them, in case anything happened. Which was a silly consideration, but that was her choice.

Yang looked between the two beds before speaking up quickly after Blake. "We should sleep with our partners. So, I've got the top bunk."

The heiress had to repress a groan as she realized where that left her, as a result of her calculating nature. Well, it would work out, probably. "If that thing kills me, I'm going to torment you for the rest of your life," she warned her partner, in such a way as to leave no doubt that she meant it.

"Don't worry," Ruby called from the top bunk as she looked down at Weiss. "It'll be fine." Such bland reassurances didn't do much to console the heiress from that eventuality, but at last she resigned herself to her seeming fate. The things she did in the name of her education.

With the matter of sleeping arrangements settled, they turned to cleaning up and organizing now that they had the space to do so. Past the arguments of where things would go in the bathroom it didn't take very long to accomplish, and soon everything was in order, much to their collective relief.

Room arranged, Weiss moved on to the next thing on her agenda as she spun about and began to walk out of the room and down the hall. Her heels clicked on the floor as she moved away, intent on what she had to do.

Her partner didn't take it so well though, and Ruby called after her as she walked away. "Wait, Weiss, where are you going?"

The heiress looked back over her shoulder as she momentarily paused to answer. "I'm going to find my classrooms so I don't have to do it tomorrow between classes. Feel free to carry on with whatever it was you were going to do."

She walked on, catching something about 'team activities', or similar to that, but it didn't slow her down. There would be plenty of time for that later, and she wanted to start this school year off on a better foot than it had been on thus far. She had the room numbers written down, and she just had to find them.

Besides the occasional need to check the map she had been provided, it ended up being relatively easy. Most of the places she had to go were for general Freshman classes, and didn't take much effort as a result.

There were a few more specialized courses she was taking that were harder to locate, but she managed to do so as well. By that point though the sun had reached its nadir, sending orange light splashing across the ground. It had been a long day, but a lot had been done in that time, so she couldn't complain about it in and of itself. Certainly she could about some of the events, but at the very least she had made the best of it.

Engrossed in her thoughts and her task as she was, Weiss was not expecting it when her path was crossed by a familiar face. "Hello Weiss, a pleasure to see you once again."

Much as the heiress might have wanted to ignore the contact, she couldn't do that here. "Hello Albert. Likewise," she replied with a nod, her mask of courteousness slipping back on without even a thought, to compliment the aloof and cold one that she usually wore.

Albert Vehtner, the second son of the Vehtner family, which was one of the other major business conglomerates on Remnant. She'd met him at galas and parties before, had some pleasant conversations, but he hadn't been quite so important as the current head of the family and his older brother, which was understandable. That was why he was here, a junior at Beacon Academy, rather than preparing to manage his father's business. And he was important enough that she couldn't simply blow him off without repercussions.

"Do you have a moment," Albert asked, flashing her a warm smile. He knew how to play the game as well as her, though it did suit his appearance. He wore a cardigan and dress pants, just disorderly enough to give the impression that he wasn't too uptight about his appearance while still being formal. His hair was black and combed, and he cut quite the impression. She did a good job of not letting him affect her though.

"I suppose," she replied smoothly. She was guarded as to his intentions, but she was willing to hear him out.

Albert nodded as he led her out of the hallway, bringing her into one of the smaller classrooms that was off to the side. "Don't worry. I promise that this won't take too long."

Weiss glanced about as she followed him inside, the room less of a lecture hall and more of a standard classroom. It seemed he wanted some privacy for their talk and she wouldn't object to that, especially if what he wanted to talk about was important. "So what is it," she asked as she came to a stop near the door.

The junior turned back to face her, casual in his poise as he stood more towards the middle of the room. "Straight to business then. I like it. Me and some fellow students of...similar status, have arranged an informal group in which we share information amongst ourselves, which has been going for a year or so. We were wondering if you would like to join us."

Her gaze narrowed almost imperceptibly as she folded her arms. It was not what she had been expecting. "I'm not going to help you cheat," she replied with a cold veneer. "And I don't need your help either."

In return, Albert paused for a moment before chuckling. "Oh, no, my apologies. There appears to have been a misunderstanding. This group is more directed towards information on events involving students and the faculty, not classwork. Information is power after all, and having a handle on the flow of it can only be to our collective benefit. I'm sure you understand that, yes?"

He had a point, that much she would admit. It wouldn't hurt to be part of a group that knew what was going on at Beacon. Certainly it was something her father would have approved of and joined. But she couldn't leap immediately into something like that.

"And what would that information be used for? How is this group structured," Weiss asked, seeking more details before she made a decision in this matter.

He grinned, having anticipated this query in advance it seemed. "You can do whatever you want," he answered calmly. "We're more based around giving information to each other. Though I'm certainly not going to stop you if you want to act on anything you learn. As for structure, there isn't really one. We're all equals, beyond the year divide."

Well, that was some solace to the heiress. She was more than aware of the possibility of them learning about her activities, which she might not want depending on what happened. At the same time, if she were part of this group then it would provide the opportunity for her to do some damage control if the need arose. She could do the same for anything that was learned about her team as well. That would be useful.

But she wasn't ready just yet. "And suppose I was interested, why would I go along with a group like this? I could probably find out most of what I'd learn in your group on my own as it is."

"That's true," he conceded with a shrug. "For one, it's building up connections between us all, for later once we've graduated. For another, it's a common pooling of resources. We can learn more with our contacts working together than we can separately."

That didn't entirely sit well with Weiss as her glare deepened. "And this is just for the sake of doing it? You'll forgive me for thinking that this association is intended for more than the simple gathering of information."

Albert chuckled a bit, leaning against the teachers desk and still wearing a smile that still didn't increase her trust any more. "It is. But you should come and see it for yourself. If you don't like it, then you don't have to take part.

"Alright, I suppose I can go to a meeting," she said at last. She wasn't about to fully invest her trust in it yet, but she would go along until she could see it for herself. "But just one."

Albert walked back over, stopping beside the heiress and offering her his hand. "Excellent. I'll send you a text with the location and time of our first meeting soon. You won't regret it"

"Thank you," Weiss replied, meeting his firm handshake with one of her own. Somehow she wasn't surprised that he had her number, and she wouldn't inquire further "Is that all?"

"For now." He moved past her and through the door, back into the hallway. "See you later then Weiss." And with that, he was gone, headed off to do whatever it was he planned on doing.

Weiss stood there for a moment before exiting the classroom as well and moving towards her original destination. Well, that had been interesting. Certainly it would be worthwhile to see how it turned out, and either way she would be ready.

It was dinner time shortly thereafter, and while Weiss wasn't particularly hungry, she made her way towards the cafeteria nonetheless. She'd been raised well enough to not deliberately starve herself, and she even had another justification prepared if need be. After all, it was the first day, and while she knew the general times for dinner, she didn't know what the traffic patterns would be when dealing with students. Better to learn that now than regret it later.

On the other hand, that didn't take into account that such a thing could hardly be stable on the day before classes, but she ignored that flaw as she followed the helpfully placed signs towards the cafeteria. In the end it was better to have it than not.

At the same time, she ignored the looks she got as she walked along. It was only to be expected in this sort of situation. She was Weiss Schnee, and that would naturally attract a lot of onlookers. It was something she was used to, had been trained to cope with a long time ago, and this amount came nowhere close to bothering her,. In return she didn't give those onlookers any attention either.

"Hey Weiss," Ruby called as she waved from where she sat. She was with Yang and Blake, and all three had food. Somehow Weiss was unsurprised to see her partner with a bunch of cookies on her plate though.

Weiss ignored her for the moment as she walked past to get some food, picking up a tray in the process. Though she wasn't hungry she took a small portion of the main course and sides, making sure that she had a well balanced meal in the end.

She rejoined them once she had her food, sitting down in the only spot that was available, which happened to be right next to Ruby. And she was fairly certain that it was by design and not just chance.

"So, find the classrooms?" Ruby asked as she chewed on a cookie at the same time. It caused Weiss to shift slightly away to avoid the resulting cookie crumbs.

Weiss began to eat then, curtly nodding as she took measured bites, working through the main course and sipping from her water every once in a while. "Don't expect me to wait wait for you tomorrow just because you don't know where to go."

Ruby swallowed before continuing. "Okay Weiss. I'll make sure to get up bright and early so I can keep up with you."

Weiss somehow doubted that, if only because of the rigorousness of her schedule, but she would admit that in the first few days it was likely to happen. She had to let a routine settle in, and that made things uncertain at best. "We'll see," she replied tentatively.

The day passed on to night, and Weiss spent it looking forward to tomorrow. All in all, not a terrible day, but not the best either. School heralded a new beginning, and as she ate, she was determined that she would not waste it.

 

[Azecreth]

After much fanfare and challenges, the Beacon Academy school year had finally begun. Classes had entered session and students had begun the important business of figuring out who had gotten lucky, and who had gotten shafted when it came to teachers. Goodwitch landed resoundingly in the latter category, while someone like Peach landed in the former.

Meanwhile, someone like Port fell in the middle. He knew what he was doing and his assignments weren't easy by any stretch of the term. But he also had a tendency to ramble of his own accord. That was a good thing for people who wanted to, say, sleep, since his class was early in the morning.

Simply being early in the morning was no deterrent to Team RWBY though as they proceeded along school hallways towards class. Breakfast had been tasty, if marred by argument, and that argument had persisted as they headed to Port's classroom now.

Weiss led the way, shoes tapping on stone as she walked. "Yang, if your sister blows that whistle in my ear one more time, I'm going to throw it out the window," she said with her gaze fixed forward. "I happen to like being able to hear things."

The blond was calmer at the moment, dressed in casual garb as she ran damage control between the heiress and her sister. "C'mon Weiss, she said she was sorry." And the way said team leader was currently cringing showed that she meant it.

Weiss sighed to herself, aware as much through the repetitions that had been aimed her way. "I know that. But it doesn't help when she does it more than once." She liked to think she was a trained morning person, yet somehow Ruby had managed to wake her up every day thus far with a blast to the ears. The blame had to lie on lingering jet lag courtesy of her trip from Atlas and her partner's Semblance.

"Look, I'm sure it won't happen again. Right Ruby?" Effort was mixing with keeping her temper in check, something everyone else would have been grateful for had they known it was going on.

The team leader nodded fervently in response. "Yeah, I just kinda forgot before. But it won't happen again. Promise." She tried to force sincerity across to her partner, not enjoying the turmoil she had accidentally incited.

There was another mental sigh before Weiss gave in, around the same time as their destination came into sight. "Fine." She just wanted to get rid of this distraction before class began. Lord knew she had enough to worry about besides having silver puppy dog eyes aimed her way. She had to suppress a shudder at the mere thought of the image.

Ruby practically lit up as Yang grinned at her own success."Thank you Weiss," she said happily. "I won't let you down." Fortunately (from one perspective), she managed to refrain from hugging her partner in public.

With that matter temporarily settled, they moved inside Port's classroom. It was set up and styled as a lecture hall, rows of curved tables descending in intervals towards the front of the room, which sported a podium and large whiteboards and a blunderbuss axe mounted above. However, the size of the room wasn't entirely a surprise when one considered that this was a required class.

Noting the half full state of attendance at present, Weiss was silent as she strode down the steps and moved over to her assigned seat. Port had handed them out at the beginning of the year, and they were lucky enough to not be in the back of the room, but not up front either.

Once seated, she reached into her bag and pulled out a notebook and pencil, flipping it open to a clean page before placing it one the table. She was as ready as she could be. To her side, this action was mirrored by the rest of the team, though Yang rested her feet on the desk afterwards and Blake pulled out a small book to begin reading as well.

Jaune's team entered shortly thereafter, taking their seats nearby. The two teams had had breakfast together, so it had only been a few minutes since they had seen each other. Ruby waved to them, but soon had her attention drawn away as Port entered the classroom. His arrival caused Weiss to straightened up, and Yang stopped relaxing as she had been now that class was beginning.

In silence, Port walked down the steps until he stood in front of the class, the man's mustache as thick as ever and the man himself looking very pleased and eager to go. There was a momentary pause before he began. "Tell me students, what is the greatest threat that humanity currently faces?"

It seemed to be a trick question given how obvious the answer was, but some poor soul took the plunge anyway. "Um, the Grimm?"

"Correct!" Port grinned as he looked over the assembled students, like he had achieved some great success. "And which Grimm in particular poses the most danger to humans and Huntsmen?"

Pyrrha raised her hand after he had fallen silent. "Witches."

"Yes Ms. Nikos. Now then, can any of you tell me why Witches are such a threat to us?"

For both teams RWBY and JNPR, it was a ridiculously easy question. At this point news of what they had done in the Emerald Forest had spread throughout the entire school, and that was why Weiss spoke next. "They provide coordination and direction for Grimm packs. They also keep them from running, and can spawn more Grimm. And they're dangerous fighters in their own right."

Port was positively exuberant with the answer and with how this lesson had been going in general. "Excellent! I would expect no less from such talented and aspiring students. Though, I do notice that you failed to mention one of the Witches most important abilities. Does anyone know what that is?"

There was no answer, students drawing blanks since Weiss had done a good job of covering the basics of their abilities. What exactly she had missed, whether it be intentional or not, was proving somewhat elusive.

Port gave them a moment, before providing the solution. "Why, that would be the ability of a Witch to alter the environment surrounding it, turning it into a veritable stronghold from which it can launch attacks and detect any intruder." A fist rested behind his back as he pointed toward the sky, before returning to the lesson at hand. "And what are the two types of Witches that we know of?"

That was answered by another student. "Well, they're...Ferals, and Sirens. I think."

"Yes yes, fear not. That is the correct terms for both of them," Port replied, shifting his hands to rest on his hips. It seemed that he was on a roll. "Does anyone know the difference between these two types?"

This question ended up meeting only empty air. Some didn't know, and those who did didn't seem eager to share.

Port let it hang for a few moments longer as he looked about to see if anyone would cave and answer. When no one did, there was the flash of a frown across his face before he began again. "Well then, that will provide us as good a starting point as any. You may possess some knowledge, but you future Huntsmen lack the depths of experience that a true Huntsman like myself possesses."

He stepped back to the white board, grabbing a black dry erase marker before he began to draw. The first thing he made was a Grimm, a Beowolf to be precise. Next he drew another thing, a slender figure with long claws and fangs, over which he wrote the word 'Feral'. Lastly he drew an upside down dress topped with a bunch of gears, over which he wrote 'Siren.'

Finished with his endeavor, he turned back to face the class, letting them see what he had made. "Witches are dangerous foes, even for an expert Huntsman such as myself," he told them. "Feral Witches are the more common of the two types. They arise on their own or from a Grimm that has survived long enough to evolve beyond its original form. A Feral Witch is an irrational beast, driven by instinct and desire, employing only basic strategies, and it will not hesitate to attack as many humans as it finds unless the situation is against it to such a degree that even it can recognize it with it's feeble mind."

That was something Ruby and the rest could attest to based on their own experience. It didn't seem there had been a reason why, just a sudden attack. And even then it had found itself outmatched in the end. It was a comfort to learn that a majority were like this.

His expression grew more serious as he gestured to the drawing of the other Witch. "The other kind are what we call 'Sirens' They are much rarer and infinitely more dangerous than any simple Feral Witch. Unlike those, Sirens display above average intelligence and strength. They are smart, cunning, they will not blindly charge in but will use traps to gain an advantage in their favor. The Grimm they spawn are stronger as well. If you try to fight a Siren on your own, you will undoubtedly be killed."

For all his grandiose speech, the expression he gave showed that he was speaking with complete sincerity as he looked over all of them, and Ruby gulped when they moved over her. Alright then, no taking on a Siren solo. Got it.

After looking over the class though, Port suddenly lightened up, gesturing into the air as his other arm wrapped behind his back. "Fear not though, for with preparation, training, teamwork, and determination, even a Siren can be defeated. Why, I remember one time, back when I was a younger, much handsomer man....."

Entirely of his own accord, Port began to ramble, telling of the old days before he had become a teacher when he had apparently take on a Siren by himself with the assistance of some friends to help. Not that you would know it from the way he told the story, but that seemed to be standard fare for him.

In spite of how melodramatic he was with his rhetoric and how otherwise boring it was, Weiss still took attentive and thorough notes. Even if he was incredibly overexaggerating, there were still lessons to be learned from it, and those she would not miss.

Meanwhile, Ruby had grown bored with story time since she'd noticed already how repetitive his tales ended up being. Instead, she had turned to doodling unflattering pictures and chuckling to herself occasionally as well.

Her sister wasn't much better in that regard though. At least Yang had refrained from doing anything so obvious. Instead, she was sleeping whilst pretending to be paying attention. And Blake had returned to reading her book too.

It was annoying, at least for Weiss, but she managed to ignore it at this point. After all, it wasn't as if her grades would be the one to suffer for this in the end. And she definitely wouldn't let them snag those off of her afterwards. She was not that charitous.

She was able to do that until Ruby nudged her, trying to draw her gaze to something the younger girl had drawn of their teacher, a grin on her face. That was met with a scowl as Weiss shook her head. "Pay attention," she hissed before looking back at Port, who was still going strong. Ruby pouted a bit, but let her be for now.

Once more Weiss found herself wishing that Pyrrha was her partner. If she, the champion, and Blake had made themselves a team, she even could have tolerated Ruby being in it as well. But thus far she'd seen little indication that her partner took this seriously, much less whatever had inspired Ozpin to make her leader.

Eventually Port got around to finishing his story. "....And with a last mighty blow, I caved in the foul beasts skull, ensuring my triumph! At which point I was able to return to Beacon with all the pride and fame that such a victory deserved." The class had a muted reaction to this, some glad that the story was over, while others were sad that it was over because it meant an to their relaxation

With his story complete Port seamlessly shifted back to the lesson at hand, like he had never gotten off track in the first place. "Witches are but a few of the foes you shall face as Huntsmen, and they are not the only ones worthy of your respect and effort in slaying them. But Witches will be the foes you will have to face if you are to decisively end a Grimm incursion."

This prompted a raised hand from within the ranks of students. "So how are we supposed to kill a Witch?"

Port guffawed as he heard it. "An excellent question, and one we will get into more later on in the year. Needless to say, the particular method depends upon the characteristic of the Witch you are facing."

It was a promise for a latter time, and it satisfied at least for the moment. With no objections or interruptions from another student, Port continued onwards while he had part of class left to burn. "Yes, truly you shall face all manner of beasts and creatures in this most noble, most vital of pursuits. The life of a Huntsman is dangerous, fraught with peril, but in the end it is the most rewarding, and those who manage to survive and thrive in it, are those who will endure the test of time to become legends."

Weiss was hardly doing this to become a legend, but that was more appealing to Ruby, at least insofar as she was paying attention. Of course fame was secondary to helping people, but it certainly never hurt. Just look at Pyrrha and how famous she was!

Distracted by that train of thought as she was, Ruby was taken by surprise as Blake's voice filled the classroom, not loud but firm at the same time. "What about magical girls?"

If Port was surprised he didn't show it. "Ah yes, our noble Templars. Destructive forces in their own right, though they would be heavily outnumbered without the presence of brave Huntsmen such as ourselves to back them up. They are capable of fighting a Siren by themselves, but even a Templar will have some difficulty, depending on the ability of the Witch in question."

Another glance to the clock confirmed that it was time for him to wrap up, and Port moved to his conclusion before he went over the limit. That would not have been a good start to anyone's day, and he did have classes to teach himself afterwards. So he managed to rein in his ego at this point.

"Now then, next class we will go over individual Grimm, as well as their abilities and how to fight them," Port announced. "You are dismissed." That was just as the bell rang, and the classroom began to empty, students grateful to have been released into the sunny morning.

Team RWBY exited as a group, moving out from the classroom in a varied mood. Ruby and Yang were enjoying themselves, Blake was satisfied, and Weiss was annoyed. It seemed to be becoming something of a pattern for the quartet.

"Maybe we should swing by the courtyard, relax a bit," Yang offered, fingers laced behind her head and serving as a support as they passed by groups of students. "We've got a few minutes before our next class."

Ruby nodded in agreement, though her partner was less certain with that choice and had her own opinion in the matter. "You can if you want. I'm going to go ahead. I have no desire to be dragged into whatever ridiculous thing you get into next."

Phrased like that, it was hard for the blond to not take offense. But it was Ruby who would speak up first. "Um, what do you mean?"

Weiss huffed as she glanced at the rest of the team, radiating her disapproval. "You realize that we're in public right? People can see you acting like idiots, and that doesn't exactly make me look good either." Honestly, if they could see themselves during Port's class they would have agreed with her.

'We're just having some fun," Yang countered. "Not all of us can be serious all the time, 'Ice Queen'."

Weiss bristled at the use of the nickname she had been given, directing her glare at Yang as her hands rested on her hips. "I'm not serious all the time. Unlike you apparently, I just happen to care about how I'm perceived by others."

It was antagonistic, and Yang responded in kind. "Yeah, being seen as a cold, stuck up snob is a lot better than being seen as an actual human being, isn't it."

In return, the glare intensified, as if the heiress was trying to freeze Yang in place, only to be fought off by the blond's fiery demeanor. "I don't have to put up with this," she said at last, spinning about and walking off towards the next class. It was the reasonable answer, in her mind, to dealing with the insults sent her way.

"Weiss, wait up," Ruby called, quickly moving to catch up after shooting a slight glare of her own at Yang for making the situation worse. She was trying here, and her sister wasn't helping.

Blake looked at her partner for a few moments before walking after them. "Smooth." She might not like the Schnees, and watching the display was more than a bit amusing, but Yang wasn't doing herself any favors.

Yang shrugged as she moved beside Blake. "Come on, you know I'm right." She didn't see a problem with what she had said, even if she was being a bit more honest than the Princess was probably used to.

Glancing off to the side as she walked along, Ruby could swear that she had seen Kyubey resting on a ledge near another student, but she moved on too quickly to confirm it as she tried to keep up with Weiss. It seemed that she was not the only one the bunny-cat had an interest in.

But she was more concerned with pursuing her partner before she could escape into the crowds. Semblance certainly made that easier to do, but whenever she used that she always risked running into people, and a humiliating tumble was just what she needed to make this day complete. So she kept from doing that for as long as she could.

She caught up just in time as Weiss entered the classroom that Goodwitch used. It was a large room with an arena type set up, with a stage that could be used for fights between people, most likely students. Certainly a good spot for the kind of class that Goodwitch was teaching.

Entering, Team RWBY would find the classroom partially filled, students standing with some regard to their teams near the stage rather than seated in the stands beyond. Goodwitch was nowhere to be seen, though she would doubtlessly show up in a few moments. That was how she tended to work and they would definitely notice it when she did.

"So, what do you think we're doing this time," Yang asked as she looked around the place. This was a combat class, but it didn't look like they would be doing any fighting today. At least, the lack of an active screen above the stage would indicate as such.

"Tactics, maybe," Blake offered as an answer. It was a possibility. But the only way they would know for sure was when Goodwitch told them.

Fortunately the truth was not long in coming as Goodwitch strode into the room, the sound of her heels on the floor sending out a distinct sound that attracted everyone's attention, if she had not earned it by her presence or entrance.

"Students, please form two lines standing next to your partner," she instructed, adjusting her glasses as she came to a rest in front of the stage.

Those instructions were rapidly followed upon the fear of earning her wrath, and soon two lines were formed. The class faced the stage with Ruby next to Weiss and Yang next to Blake. There appeared to be no apparent rhyme or reason to which line people were in beyond sticking with their teams.

They all looked to Goodwitch for direction now that she stood in front of them, and she provided it once they had finished. "Students, while combat may be an important part of being a Huntsman, it is not the only part that you all must be concerned with. As the Initiation exams showed, you are all skilled fighters, to some extent, so that is not something we will concern ourselves with at this time."

At that Jaune gulped. He could have sworn that Goodwitch was glaring at him with that caveat of being a skilled fighter. But he would also admit that it might have just been his imagination. Hard to blame him when she was very intimidating.

Goodwitch continued without interruption. "Instead, this class period will be devoted towards building up trust and cooperation between you and your partner. As students, a strong bond will help you to make the most of your time here at Beacon, and to ensure that you do your best in the future."

Weiss displayed no reaction, but Ruby almost inherently got nervous at the news. It was understandable, and she couldn't fault the Professor for choosing to do that. At the same time though, she couldn't help but be worried at her own chances of success and somehow further harming her relationship with her partner.

That was but one of several reactions that went across the student body, which Goodwitch gave a moment as she looked them all over. "First we will do an activity designed to increase the understanding between partners. You will all stand next to each other, and look into each others eyes for a minute. You may touch hands if you so choose."

That earned some muttering and low protests, but she was very much not dissuaded by that. "The eyes are the doorways to the soul. While you are looking, try and see what you can of your partner. It might help you to learn a bit about them. You may begin."

There was plenty more grumbling, but the pairs went to do it nonetheless under the Professors stern gaze. It seemed escaping this would not be happening. Whether it would be effective though was another matter entirely.

"Alright then," Yang commented to no one in particular as she shifted to look at Blake, who averted her eyes for a few moments before at last meeting her gaze. And with that, the two of them began their exercise.

Yang brushed her hair out of the way, allowing the raven haired girl to look into purple eyes, while ignoring the intent look that her partner wore in return. She could pick out vivacity, self certainty, a devious bent, and beyond that reliability. Well, insofar as she could take it from looking into her eyes and not past experience.

In turn, Yang looked into unflinching amber, to see what she might find there. Her partner was....smooth brown, that seemed like it wanted to pull her in. She was guarded, introspective, and yet more nuanced than she seemed, if the way her eyes flickered about was any indication.

"Remind me to never play card games with you," Yang commented after the minute had passed and the two broke away, each taking a step back.

Blake was nonchalant in return. "I don't gamble," she answered dismissively. And that caused Yang's wallet to breath a sight of relief. She had the feeling that Blake was deadly good at Poker, if she could be enticed to play it.

To the side, the other half of Team RWBY proceed to copy what everyone else was doing. "Let's get this over with. And we are not holding hands," Weiss commented as she turned to face her partner, arms folded across her chest.

"Okay. I mean, it's not like I wanted to do that sort of thing anyway," Ruby replied, tapping her fingers together in awkward embarrassment. This exercise seemed unnecessary, but she was willing to try anything to better understand her partner. "We'll be just fine without it."

They took a moment of mental preparation each and then began, Ruby's gaze directed upwards while Weiss looked down. One thought it silly, the other serious, and without any other recourse they did it nonetheless.

Blue met silver, and Weiss duly noted what she could. Ruby was driven, idealistic, quick on her feet yet not good with people. Which was ridiculous to think about since she had obviously taken this from facial cues, not by seeing into her soul or Aura or something. But Goodwitch had to have some idea of what she was talking about. Ideally anyway.

Ruby tried a lot harder, even if she felt weird with Weiss staring at her like she currently was. The blue of her eyes was...cold, sending a shiver down her spine. Her partner was sharp, calculating, yet majestic at the same time, even if she was all too obviously annoyed with what she was being asked to do. Well, Ruby supposed she couldn't be too angry about that.

The minute passed and they broke apart, neither entirely satisfied or having gained much by it. And for what they had gotten out of it, some faintest glimmer of understanding, it still seemed to be a waste of time overall. Perhaps that was to have been expected in the end.

Goodwitch looked around as the class ceased their examinations and began to converse amongst themselves, before she resumed. "Once you have finished that, please return to your lines." Once they had, she moved on to the next task that she had for them.

"Now that you have begun the process towards understanding, you will work to build confidence in each other. Next we will do the 'Trust Fall'. One partner will step forward and fall backwards. The other partner will catch them. You will then switch places and repeat the process."

With the instructions given they got to it, Goodwitch watching the entire time. Most people were lucky enough to not hit the floor during it, though accidents did happen. That usually earned a few laughs at the person responsible. And then it tended to be repeated when the positions were flipped. Other than that though, it seemed to be working out.

Yang did it without any problem, falling back and letting Blake catch her like it was nothing. Well, if one didn't count the wink she gave her partner once her fall had been arrested, but that was probably Yang just being Yang. Certainly it seemed that she had no issue trusting her partner.

On the other hand, Blake did have issues. They weren't exactly the most visible, but there was some definite hesitancy on her part, and she glanced over her shoulder more than once to confirm that Yang was still there, with the blond waving and grinning in return. Eventually though she went through with it, arms folded across her chest as she was caught by Yang.

"Pretty easy," Yang noted as they switched back and forth a few more times. Catching others was simple, and she had faith that Blake would do the same, for how standoffish she was otherwise.

"So, do you wanna go first or should I," Ruby asked as activity commenced around them. She didn't mind either way really, but felt that she should ask in case Weiss did care.

Weiss thought for a moment before providing an answer. "You can." To be honest, she wasn't sure Ruby would be able to catch her given the differences between them, even if her partner could lug around that scythe of hers. It wasn't the same thing, and she'd prefer to put off the embarrassment currently on display.

"Okay," Ruby replied quickly, taking a step forward and moving in front of Weiss. She was a bit nervous about being caught as well, but she was....reasonably confident that her partner would do so. She at least liked her enough to catch her, right?

There was only one way to find out, and she braced herself for impact as she tilted backwards on her feet. There was a brief moment of falling before she found herself being held by the heiress standing behind her.

She let out a sigh of relief that she hadn't realized she had been holding, as she smiled up at her partner. In return, the normally impassive expression narrowed in a piercing gaze. "What, did you think I would drop you," Weiss asked with a touch of anger as Ruby got back to her feet.

"No, of course not!" Ruby replied, waving her hands in front of herself as if it would be some sort of defense. "I just....you know..." She fell off, unable to adequately explain, or so it seemed to her.

Weiss harrumphed, head tilted upwards as she looked away. Honestly, the lack of faith was not that surprising. Ruby should have known that she would when obviously it would have made her look bad to not catch her partner. And unlike some people she was dependable, so it wasn't as if she had a reason to drop her. She liked to think that she wasn't that spiteful.

"Well, it's your turn now," she warned as she spun on her heels, glancing over her shoulder to make sure that Ruby was ready.

A nod from her partner, and she fell backwards like a plank, fully expecting to hit the ground or to hit Ruby and then hit the ground. Either eventuality was likely in her consideration, so she prepared herself for both.

As a result, she was pleasantly surprised to find firm hands grabbing her, giving way for a few moments before she came to a rest. It seemed she had underestimated the strength needed to use Crescent Rose. She was just glad to not be hitting the ground.

Ruby grinned as she looked down at her partner. "See, told yah." Weiss was heavy but it was nothing she couldn't handle. At least, as long as she didn't have to maintain this position for too much longer.

"So it would seem," Weiss agreed as she rose back to her feet, denying Ruby any sort of opportunity to drop her once she had caught her. That would have just been the icing on the cake, as it were. And Ruby was more than a bit grateful in return to have her burden lifted.

They shifted spots, repeating the process a few more times like everyone else with generally the same results. Neither was willing to slip up after they had done it once successfully, and the switching offered time for them to get their strength back in between.

Eventually Goodwitch stopped them as she brought their attention back to her. "That's enough," she called, bringing the activity to an end, and quickly they got back into their lines to await the next instructions she would give.

Those were provided in due time, after they had ceased moving and Goodwitch paced in front of them. "Very good. You have begun to get to know your partners, and trust them. This next activity will work to further that understanding even more."

It might have been obvious, but the knowledge of that did not deter her as she moved on into the last activity. "Pairs will now sit down back to back. Without using your arms, you will coordinate your actions and move to a standing position. You may begin when ready."

It was a deceptively simple task, relying both people involved to move in synch lest one of them slip and send both back to the floor. Undoubtedly it was more complicated than simply staring into each others eyes, and a bit different from a Trust Fall.

There was communal shuffling as pairs sat down and back to back, and soon the efforts to stand up began. This was accompanied by plenty of talking, grunting, plenty of falls, and eventual successes as one by one people managed to get to their feet, much to their relief.

Like their peers Blake and Yang did the same, sitting down so that black met yellow and ended abruptly. "So, how are we gonna do this," Yang wondered aloud, glancing back at her partner.

Blake considered the problem in silence before providing a response. "We go slowly and evenly. The easiest way to fall is to bump away from each other so we have no support."

Yang wasn't sure if the other girl was just clever on the uptake or what, but it was an idea that made sense. "Sounds good. On three then. One, two three!"

At her signal they began to rise, knees bending and feet shifting as they slowly moved. Yang found that Blake was a solid surface, her footing sure and her movements careful. It seemed like she had definitely done this sort of thing before, though the blond still didn't know that much about her partner's backstory to confirm it.

In return, Yang was a tad overzealous, pushing up more forcefully than Blake would have liked. But she adjusted to it, altering her actions carefully until at last, besides a few slips and one close call, they were on their feet.

"Nice job partner," Yang said with a grin, a hand on her hip as she shot her a two fingered salute from her brow. "Not a problem." Indeed it hadn't been, though she would admit that Blake had been pretty quick to counter what she was doing and keep them from falling.

Off to the side, Ruby and Weiss had begun as well, back to back with red and black meeting white and blue. "Okay. Move when I say," Weiss told her partner, taking command of the situation. "One step at a time."

"Got it," Ruby replied with a nod. She might be the leader, but she didn't want to make Weiss more angry with her. As a result she was willing to cede to her for the moment

Weiss braced herself, and got them started. "Step." She moved then and Ruby did as well, repeating herself as they began to straighten up. But they quickly ran into problems as they went, Ruby struggling as Weiss tried to go on.

"Come on," Weiss said acerbically as she waited in a stationary position for Ruby to get her feet back under her. "I don't see what's so hard about this."

Ruby grunted as she strained, trying to keep herself up. "You're heavy, and taller than me," she complained in return. She couldn't help it if it was true. Besides, most of her strength was in her arms from swinging Crescent Rose around. Her Semblance made it so that she didn't need amazing leg muscles.

The heiress was not exactly amused to hear that. "And how is that my fault? Just hurry up. We don't ha-"

Her reprimand was cut off as Ruby cried and her legs gave way, sending them both to the floor with an audible thud. It was immediately followed up by quick glances to see if anyone was watching before she grumbled to herself. "Honestly...."

Ruby brushed herself off before sitting back down. "You could help you know," she commented. "Isn't the whole point of this to work together?"

"I am," Weiss countered with a touch of defensiveness in her tone. "I can't be blamed for the failings of my teammates."

Something in that statement caught unexpectedly, and the heiress suddenly found herself faced with a sharp look from her partner. "But didn't you say earlier how you couldn't let me make you look bad? So why would you say one thing and not the other?"

Weiss froze as Ruby caught her in the unintentional trap of her own making. She had said that, hadn't she? The older girl chided herself as she quickly resumed a normal posture, seated once more. She'd have to be more careful about that sort of thing in the future. For now though, there wasn't much she could do. "Fine," she harrumphed at last.

Back to back once more, it was Ruby's turn to now take command of the situation since she had put her partner on the defensive. "Alright, so we'll switch off and cooperate."

"Got it," Weiss returned with a sigh. Together they moved, slowly ascending with Ruby directing the two of them and Weiss grudgingly going along, until at last they had made it and could stand once more. Admittedly with their own share of close calls, but they somehow managed.

Luckily, at least from a certain perspective, they weren't the last people to finish and they were able to relax as a result. Soon enough the exercise ended, and their attention was drawn back to the Professor.

"That will be all," Goodwitch announced as she looked over the class, the time they had left drawing to a close. "Your assignment for next class will be to sit down with your partners and speak with them, learn about them, their lives, their family, their ambitions for their time at Beacon, and anything else you care to discuss. I expect a page on your discussion, and what things you have learned about your partner that you didn't know before."

That earned mixed reactions all around, some not looking forward to it, some apathetic, and all sorts of things in between. That was especially true amongst Team RWBY, Weiss frowning, Ruby giving a nervous chuckle, Yang smirking, and Blake slightly frowning as well.

Goodwitch let them talk for a moment, before waving her riding crop. "You are dismissed."

With that said students began to filter out of the room, discharging back into the hallway. "We'll talk about this later," Weiss said quickly, before Ruby could ask her about their new assignment. She was not ready to do something like an interview right now if she had the choice.

"Okay," Ruby replied as she followed after her. She might be nervous about speaking when it came to herself, but learning about Weiss would be good. It'd help in dealing with her if she could learn more about her.

With that said they headed off to their next class in the day. Things were far from perfect, but only time would tell how it would all work out.

 

[Azecreth]

Ch 6 - Early Days

Oobleck was another of those teachers who had a mixed opinion amongst the student body. He was passionate about his work and definitely entertaining, but his attitude and near addiction to caffeine, specifically coffee, made him a bit exasperating to deal with. So he proved himself a divisive teacher when it came to popular perception.

This was displayed in full force as he talked in front of a captive audience, speculating and recounting events in rapid fire speed. He held a mug in one hand, sipping from it every so often and only fueling the speed with which he conversed one-sidedly.

"...Regrettably most of the records of the world before the presence of the Grimm were lost in the destruction of the Library at Cornitha when the Kingdom was overrun. However, it is generally believed that it was this time before the emergence of the Grimm that the Moon was rendered into its current state, during The War, which has had an indescribable impact on human civilization as a whole."

He stopped to take a sip from his mug before zipping across to look at another part of the class. "Fortunately the dominance of the Grimm against conventional military forces was soon brought to an end with the maturation of two developments. The first was Dust, discovered and experimented upon by scientists, it was found to give elemental attributes to weaponry. This would later be exploited by the militaries of the Four Kingdoms to turn the tide against the Grimm, under the aegis of the Schnee Dust Company, which has become the primary supplier of Dust on Remnant."

Weiss nodded, having heard this story before. The rest of her team were busy trying to keep up, with Ruby's only obstacle being the ability of her pencil to handle her Semblance. She didn't get everything down, but she got the skeleton outline of it, at least in her opinion.

"The other was the emergence of Magical Girls," Oobleck said as he went on uninterrupted. "Fascinating people with abilities far beyond those of normal humans and able to use Dust to further their own powers, they dedicated their lives to fighting back the forces of Grimm, and were a decisive factor in ensuring human survival on Remnant."

That was intriguing to Ruby, and it certainly gave credit to the importance of magical girls as a whole. Why else would they have had an entirely different school set up for them? Though Blake and Weiss seemed decidedly unimpressed.

A sip and a zip interspersed the continued commentary. "It was with this assistance that the Four Kingdoms were able to be consolidated on natural barriers, and have existed in a state of relative equilibrium with regards to the Girmm due to their inability to pierce the defenses of the existing kingdoms, and the inability of the Kingdoms to effectively expand outside their current borders."

There were many sad stories about that, of colonies lost in brutal slaughters and repelled Grimm incursions. There had not been a major attempt, one way or the other, in a long time though. The political will just didn't exist at the moment and no one could really comprehend how the Grimm worked to explain why.

"It was during this time period that the Faunus Rights Revolution was fought as a result of societal pressure and other various factors that we will investigate in detail later on in the year. For now, it should serve to say that it was a victory for the Faunus, whose implications have lasted to this day."

At this point there might be some who'd disagree with that, specifically Blake, but she maintained her silence. There was no use in attracting undue attention at this point in arguing what Oobleck was saying, especially this early in the year. Perhaps when they got to that section of the lesson plan and it was more appropriate for her to do so.

Oblivious to the feelings of his students, the Professor seemed no closer to ceding the floor than he had before. "Yes, this class will cover the great moments of our history, from battles to political movements. You will learn all the things you need to ensure that you can gain the most out of your education and to proceed onwards to your life as Huntsmen. History is important, and you would be wise to learn from it."

He was skirting the bell, but Oobleck managed to finish just before. "Now then, tomorrow we will begin our discussion of the Four Kingdoms in detail, starting with our own Kingdom of Vale. For next class I would like a short summary of what you know of the Kingdom of Vale, in particular the history of the nation."

Finished, he rushed off to go do...something, leaving the students to exit the classroom of their own accord and chat or otherwise do as they wished. Team RWBY gathered outside, JNPR passing by as they talked.

"So, now that classes are over, I've got some good plans on what we can do as a team," Ruby told the rest of them excitedly, waving a list she had written up sometime between Goodwitch's and Peach's classes. And there was a lot of ideas on it.

"Much as I'd like to," Weiss answered, "I want to get to know the campus better, not just the classrooms. So don't wait on my account."

Ruby had to catch herself before she pouted too much, a groan escaping as she frowned. "Aww, come on Weiss. How are we supposed to be a team if we never do anything together?" It seemed pretty simple to her.

And Weiss would admit that she had a point as she came to a stop, though she glanced down at her scroll at the same time. "It's not my fault that there are things I need to do," she replied. "If you prioritized a bit better and had a reasonable list, then we'd have time for that sort of thing."

"Hey, my list is reasonable," their team leader protested. "I just have a lot of ideas, that's all."

And that was exactly the problem for Weiss, who didn't look on a bevy of options such as that with amusement. "And when you can settle on a couple of those, then you can come find me. Until then, I have things to take care of."

"Okay, I'll do that," Ruby called with a wave as Weiss walked off. She had a long list, but it could be shortened down. She just had to find the best things to do on it. With that said she turned her attention to Blake and Yang before they could go anywhere. "So what about you guys?"

Blake folded her arms as she watched the two sisters. "There doesn't seem to be much point without the entire team here."

Ruby let out another groan, her shoulders slumping. 'Yeah, I guess you're right." Her disappointment was visible, and Yang could tell that it was really getting her down. Just when the blond was trying so much to get her out there.

Fortunately, she managed to come up with an idea before Ruby could simmer in her self doubt for too long. "Hey sis, don't you have to take care of Crescent Rose? It's been a while since you sharpened it." Which was true, what with them all being busy starting school.

It didn't take much effort to figure out that her sister was manipulating her, but Ruby lit up nonetheless. "Oh yeah, thanks sis. That's a good idea. See you later." With a wave, she headed off, activating her Semblance in a blur of rose petals as she vanished from sight.

The remaining two members of the Team RWBY watched their leader depart before Yang looked over at her partner. "I'm headed back to our room. You planning to do anything?"

Blake shook her head. "No." She didn't have anything she particular in mind right now. With neither of them busy, the two headed off back to their dorm room to spend a bit of time relaxing.

Meanwhile, Ruby made her way to the locker rooms where her gear was located. Not Crescent Rose, which she currently had with her, but rather her other equipment that she kept stored there for practicality reasons, since she had to come to the locker room before she went on assignments anyway.

Entering, she found the room sparsely populated, most of the students there collecting stuff from their lockers as they chatted with each other. Her Semblance deactivated as she came to a screeching halt in front of her locket, wind dying down as well when she slowed down. The code was put in, and a click heralded the disengaging of the lock.

The inside of her locker wasn't too amazing. She had her equipment, the things she needed to take care of her weapon as well as some generic other things. Certainly nothing too interesting, but she would get around to decorating it like she had the inside of their room later.

For now she retrieved the case that contained her tools from inside and moved over to one of the benches that was scattered about the place. She sat down and placed Crescent Rose off to the side before opening her toolbox, ready to get to work.

Inside the toolbox was everything she needed to take care of her baby, as one might expect. Grease and rags, spare gears, sharpening stones, screwdrivers, wrenches, hammers, and more. It was the kit she had put together when she had first made Crescent Rose, and it served her well now.

She picked out a screwdriver and with a hum she got to work. Red metal was stripped away piece by piece, each section thoroughly wiped down and inspected for fractures or other damage. Anything like that could be dangerous in a fight, so she was quick to locate any that had formed and deal with them accordingly

That took up the majority of her attention as she slowly worked her way through the casing and assembly, both the gun part as well as the mechanisms that allowed for it's collapsible nature. Her obsessive fixation was put to good use, ensuring that she didn't miss a single detail.

It was to be expected really, since she knew Crescent Rose like the back of her hand. She had to, and she was not going to settle for anything less than the best as she took care of it. At least it was easier than dealing with people. Crescent Rose never lied to her, or was difficult to understand. And that was just how Ruby liked it.

Engrossed in what she was doing, Ruby zoned out for some time, at least until she heard the sound of scraping metal. That prompted a panicked look about to confirm that it was nothing that she had done on accident. When she had confirmed that she hadn't done anything, Ruby turned her attention outwards.

She quickly located the sound of the noise as she found Pyrrha sitting nearby, sharpening Miló in it's spear form. The redhead seemed pretty intent, and Ruby spent a few moments observing her methodically scrape a stone along the blade before she noticed that someone was watching her.

"Hello Ruby," she said with a warm smile, pausing in her activity as she turned her attention to the young girl

"Hey Pyrrha," Ruby replied with a wave. "How are you doing?" She placed the wrench she was using off to the side as she shifted towards the redhead.

Pyrrha did the same, stopping so she didn't accidentally cut herself on her own weapon. "I'm fine. How are you?"

Ruby would admit that she was in awe of Pyrrha, to some extent. While she wasn't a Huntress, Ruby had seen all of her matches, all the big fights that she had had in televised tournaments. She hadn't gotten the chance to talk to her earlier, but now seemed to provide an opportunity even if she was nervous in her presence.

"Fine," Ruby replied nervously, her hands fiddling with some of the gears that she had removed from the scythe resting on her lap. She let the air fill with the sound of conversations from beyond, before speaking once more. "Hey, um, Pyrrha, can I ask you a question?"

Pyrrha quickly nodded, maintaining that warm expression of hers. "Of course." It was a relief to hear that for the team leader, who valued any advice that might be provided to her by the champion.

With her permission, Ruby began. "Well, first I wanted to say that it's an honor to meet you. I'm a really big fan, and you're one of my inspirations. I mean, I'm not sure why you wouldn't be, and you've probably heard that a lot, but it seemed like something worth mentioning."

Even though Pyrrha had doubtlessly heard those words many a time before, she still accepted them as gracefully as she would to anyone else. "Thank you," she replied with a grateful smile and a nod.

With that said, Ruby moved on to her actual question. "So...how do you, y'know, handle running a team? Cause I'm not very good at it. I mean, Weiss doesn't want to listen to me, and we're just not very good at the whole 'team' thing. I can't help but wonder if Ozpin made a mistake..."

Pyrrha placed Miló off to the side at last as she considered the question. "I think that if Professor Ozpin thought you weren't suited for your position, he wouldn't have put you in it," she replied, before going on. "As for managing a team, there's no easy way to do it."

Ruby frowned, not liking the sound of that. She was talking to Pyrrha to make it easier, not to highlight how difficult managing a team actually was.

Her fears were quickly allayed, as if Pyrrha had guessed what she was thinking. "It's tough. You can't stifle their creativity and control everything, but you have to be firm at the same time. A leader is supposed to guide their teammates, use their strengths for the benefit of the whole, and not lose sight of the end goal."

Ruby groaned as she took it all in. "But how am I supposed to do that when no one listens to me?" Sure, Yang did, but Yang was her sister, and Blake only listened when she wanted to.

Pyrrha took a moment to reflect on the situation of the girl she was talking to, before providing an answer. "If I had to guess, I would say that Weiss and Blake aren't used to you and your personality yet. They need time to adjust."

Hearing that was not the most welcome news, as one might expect. "Yeah, I guess," the younger girl agreed with a nod. "But how long is that supposed to take? It's been a few days already and nothing's changed."

That earned a calming look from the champion as an admission came. "I'm not sure. I don't know them like you do. You may have to be patient and wait for them."

Rising, she stepped over and patted Ruby on the shoulder, the girl's head tilted upwards as their eyes met. "You were the one to think up the plan to deal with that Witch, remember? And the one to make sure that the plan worked when the situation changed. That's not something to dismiss."

"Right," Ruby agreed with a nod. She drank in the praise, and her confidence swelled in turn, though she treated it as humbly as she could. "I guess I did do a pretty good job."

The fact that she was feeling better was a visible relief to Pyrrha, who lifted her hand away as she stood by the younger girl. "Don't worry. You're going to do fine. If you need any help, feel free to ask me. I'd be glad to help."

"Thanks," Ruby replied gratefully. The help would certainly be appreciated, if she could work up the nerve to take advantage of it. "So, how's your own team doing?" It was a distraction, but one that she felt was relevant in this situation.

Having apparently resolved that, Pyrrha returned to her seat. "It's going well. It's far from the worst team I've ever been in, and it's certainly colorful." With someone like Nora in it, that was practically assured.

"Oh. That's cool." Ruby fell silent as she returned to tending to Crescent Rose, unsure as to what to say. At the same time, Pyrrha also returned to sharpening her own weapon, and the sound of maintenance filled the air once more.

Soon enough Ruby finished to her own standards, and she began to carefully reassemble the casing of her weapon, as she glanced over at the girl next to her, watching as the redhead made sure that her blade was sharp enough to cut through practically anything, or at least that was the impression she got of the champion's intentions.

Placing Crescent Rose to the side once more, now it was her turn to step over to where Pyrrha was seated. "Do you...mind if I take a look at your sword?" she asked nervously, before waving her hands protectively to cover herself. "I mean, only if you want. It's just that weapons are my thing and a spear slash sword slash gun is really really cool." Her enthusiasm was obvious to see.

Green eyes raised, Pyrrha considered the request for a moment before answering. "Sorry. I can show you, but I'd prefer that only I handle it. Your weapon is your life after all."

"Yeah, that's true," Ruby ceded with a light giggle. "I know what you mean, what with Crescent Rose and all. I wouldn't want anyone to mishandle her. So it's fine. Just thought that I'd ask, since I've seen so many matches and that fight against the Grimm and the Witch."

Pyrrha nodded as she stood up, holding on to Miló. "I understand." She showed off then, doing a few slashes through the air with it in sword form, before shifting it to spear form as she spun it around. That would be followed with some swift jabs, before she changed it to gun form with another spin. The redhead aimed down the sights and turned so Ruby could get a good look, before relaxing once more.

For her part, the red clad girl was in awe, eyes sparkling as she watched the display. It seemed her fascination had taken over. "Wow. That is so cool." A few steps back and she hefted her scythe, letting the tip of the blade rest on the ground as she tenderly stroked the gun casing. "This is Crescent Rose, she's kind of my baby. Made her myself."

"That's impressive," Pyrrha replied appreciatively. She'd already seen that Ruby was skilled at using it as well, and she knew how hard a weapon it was to wield in the first place. Having a weapon whose blade faced the wielder tended to be difficult, and only a few could truly master it.

Ruby blushed a bit as she retracted the scythe back into carrying form. "Thanks." That said, she closed up her toolbox and placed it back inside her locker, before strapping Crescent Rose to her side. "Well, see yah." She closed the locker door before waving to the champion.

"Goodbye," Pyrrha returned with a nod before going back to her weapons, now working on Akoúo̱ instead of Miló. That said, Ruby departed the locker room, humming at the same time. All in all, not a bad day.

***

Down sparsely populated corridors Weiss went, undisturbed for the most part as she moved on her way. The occasional glance was given to her scroll, with the time as well as the room she was supposed to go to shown there just in case she forgot, though that was unlikely.

Time would not be an issue, since she was well ahead of the number displayed, a pattern ingrained into her to avoid being late to important engagements. That left her only issue as finding the room she was headed to, which wasn't that difficult in the grand scheme of things.

It provided a welcome distraction from focusing on the antics of her teammates, whom she could swear were deliberately trying to antagonize her. Well, Yang probably was actually trying to get a rise from her. But it didn't seem likely that Ruby was intentionally doing it.

As a result, getting that text from Albert between classes had been a godsend. She could use a break from the sisterly duo and the opportunity to recover. It was worth thinking about doing the same for Blake, but at the moment it was merely a thought that she left behind.

Soon she arrived, coming to a halt at the door marked with the number on her scroll. She then closed said scroll, returning it to her pocket so it wouldn't be a nuisance. A deep breath followed as she patted herself down, to leave the best impression that she could.

The room beyond was moderately sized, relatively speaking. There was a storage cabinet against one wall, a bookshelf against another, a piano in the corner, and chairs and small tables scattered throughout. Given that it was labeled as a 'Reading Room' it seemed well furbished.

Stepping inside, Weiss quickly noted the several people present. Albert was foremost amongst them, but she recognized others from meeting and functions. Names and dynasties were quickly put to faces, and she found that there was quite the representation here. Reporters, politicians, philanthropists, scientists. It wasn't all inclusive, but it was a good start.

Albert looked over as the door swung shut, and he broke into a wider smile as he laid eyes on the heiress. "Hello Weiss. I was wondering if you would show up," he commented as she made her way over.

"Of course I would," Weiss replied matter of factly. "A Schnee always keeps her word."

Albert gave her an apologetic nod in return. "Of course, of course. My mistake." He took a step back then, gesturing around the room. "Well then, welcome to our little group. Relax, make yourself comfortable. Can I get you a drink?"

"No thank you," Weiss answered dismissively as she looked about. "This is very informal," she noted after a few moments. To be honest, she had been expecting otherwise, or at least more signs of coordination amongst the people involved. But they only seemed to be chatting.

"Why not?" Albert asked in return. "We're all friends here, to some extent. At the very least we aren't actively competing" He paused to take a sip of water from a nearby cup. "We aren't exactly school sanctioned anyway, so there's no point."

"I see." Weiss made a mental note of this, her hands resting on her hips. It would be useful for future consideration and deciding whether she would join this group in the end. "Se what exactly do you do here?"

Albert shrugged, his smile diminished but still present. "Talk, relax, discuss current affairs, drink a bit, complain about teachers. Nothing unusual, I suppose."

That wasn't exactly inspiring, but it was added to as Alayna Corvanha, with short blond hair, blue eyes, and well pressed business clothes, stepped forward. "Honestly, we aren't doing that others wouldn't be doing. We just happen to have a firmer grasp on the flow of information than the overage person, and a better view of the whole picture."

The heiress directed her attention to Alayna as she finished. It seemed innocuous, but she'd had enough education to know that one did not gather information without intending to use it, even in spite of their claims to the contrary. "And what about starting or shaping rumors?"

To their credit, if either was surprised they didn't show it. "We could do that," Albert ceded calmly. "But we try not to, except in cases where it directly impacts us. Otherwise we just stand by and listen."

Weiss hummed curiously. She was starting to get it now, though she would need corroborating evidence. But it seemed to her that they were essentially a group of information brokers, manipulating and using what they knew as they saw fit. She just had no solid proof that they actively used what they knew.

It definitely made her conflicted though. Her trained, professional, business self was telling her to join, about the advantages and opportunities this could provide. Yet at the same time her moral, rebellious self was telling her to reject their offer and leave, that this was wrong and she should have no part of it. Both arguments were convincing.

So for the moment she made no judgment. She wanted to have as many facts as she could before she did. "And what would my responsibilities be if I joined this group?" she asked before adding to that. "Does this group even have a name?"

Albert chuckled. "Responsibilities? Not really. Though we'd appreciate it if you don't tell others about us without an agreement between all of us. It's just so we can have some level of isolation. We did the same when we thought of bringing you in."

That seemed reasonable, at least from one viewpoint. This sort of thing wouldn't really work if any old person could walk in. At the same time, if they were merely exchanging information then why the effort to keep it secret? It didn't do much to increase her trust in her hosts.

As Weiss wondered, Alayna spoke up. "As for the name, well, there isn't an official one. But we like to call ourselves Hermes." A strange name at that.

There was a chuckle as another member of this group joined them, currently sporting a purple shirt and vanilla pants. "Because where's the fun in having something like this if we can't put a little symbolism into it, right?" Jadis Novera commented.

"Exactly," Albert agreed with a nod as he shifted to accommodate the new speaker. "Anyway Jadis, Weiss, I believe the two of you know each other already?"

"We met at a charity gala in Mistral," Weiss confirmed as her attention shifted to the now present brunette. The two of them hadn't been on the best terms since then, but they respected each other and that was good enough. One could not get along with everyone, as if Weiss needed that reminder.

"Indeed," Jadis further confirmed. But she did not pursue that line of conversation, though she met the heiress' blue gaze with her own lime green one. "So I hear you were partnered with the scythe prodigy, and she was made team leader. What's it like?"

It was a topic that the heiress didn't necessarily want to face, but one she didn't shrink from. Indeed, she found an opportunity in it to test them and see how much they knew, with the benefit of it being a question she wanted answered. "Fine, though I will admit I'm a bit curious as to why Ruby was made our team leader."

There were shared glances before a response came, annoying, but not unexpected. "That's a difficult question right there," Albert admitted at last with a sheepish grin. "Ozpin likes to play his cards close to his chest, in spite of all efforts to the contrary."

Alayna spoke up next. "It might be a favor to her uncle at Signal. Apparently Ozpin and Qrow go back quite a ways, so there's bound to be some debts."

Jadis shook her head. "The SDC contributes a lot of supplies, money, and materials to Beacon Academy and Remnant as a whole. If this was about favors, then Ozpin would definitely owe the Schnees a lot more than some random teacher." She paused then, giving Weiss a considering look that held the barest traces of a smirk. "Could it just be that she's more talented than you?"

"Don't be ridiculous," Weiss snapped back indignantly. "She may have a deadly weapon, but her basic strategy involves running around really fast. She nearly killed me!"

Albert shrugged then. "Well, I'm not sure what I can tell you. We can look into it though, if you're willing to stick around and join us."

Weiss had to resist the urge to express her frustration, since it was all too obvious that this was going to happen. She could hardly expect them to hand out information like that for free, especially if it was so hard to get. She was businesswoman enough to know that.

At the same time, she at last found some real motivation. For one, she wanted to prove Jadis wrong. For another, she needed to know why this decision had been made. If there was some area she wasn't good enough in, some place she could improve, then she wanted to know. And short of asking Ozpin himself, this seemed to be the only way to find out.

"Alright, I'll join," she said at last. "But I'm only staying as long as I want to, understood?" She would not be trapped against her will if she could help it.

"Of course," Albert replied, grinning all the while like he had succeeded at some task, which he had. "I told you you could, didn't I? So welcome to the group." He offered her his hand to seal the membership.

"Thank you," she said courteously, taking his hand in a firm shake. Like the last time, she was determined to make sure that she didn't regret this.

"Glad you could join us," Alayna added with a smile and a salute of her cup afterwards. That was echoed by Jadis, who was not so obviously happy with her recruitment. Weiss didn't particularly mind that since she'd seen worse.

"So what now," she asked, arms folded across her chest as she glanced about.

"Well, you could sit down," Alayna offered. "Unless you've got somewhere else to be." She had followed her own suggestion and sat down next to a table with a pitcher on it.

Weiss took a seat as well, across from her, back straight and posture perfect. "No, there isn't," she confirmed. Nothing that she would consider important anyway, which was her main concern.

"I'm glad to hear that," Albert said, taking a seat near Alayna. "So, we should probably begin with getting acquainted with what's happened around Beacon thus far in the school year."

As he began Weiss leaned forward in her seat as she gave him her full attention. For her moral disagreements, this was sure to prove interesting.

***

Blake and Yang had arrived back at their room without difficulty and had settled in quickly afterwards. Blake had begun reading a book, some sort of fantasy romance novel, while Yang had begun listening to rock music with headphones on.

They were like that for some time before Yang sighed and turned the music off, closing her scroll. "S'pose we might as well get this over with, shouldn't we," Yang commented from her upper bunk. "That interviewing assignment, I mean." There didn't seem to be much reason to put it off.

Blake hummed, not turning her golden eyes from the book she was reading at the moment. "Sure."

With that agreement easily reached, Yang grunted as she hopped off of the bed, feet thudding on the floor in the dismount. She then walked over and retrieved a notebook and pen from the nearby desk. That was flipped open to a clean sheet of paper before she resumed her position on the upper bunk.

Resting on her stomach, she prepared herself to write. "Okay then, how old are you?"

The answer was quick and distracted, not too surprising for what it was. "Seventeen." Yang would honestly have been surprised if that wasn't the answer, or one year to either side.

Yang wrote that down and moved on. "Where are you from?"

That was a more hesitant answer, though it was only by a moment. "I'm from Mantle," she replied.

Yang chuckled as she glanced down at the raven haired girl. "Care to be a bit more specific than that? Mantle's a big place."

Blake shook her head as she looked up and to the side, meeting the blond's gaze. "No," she confirmed, before turning back to her book.

"Alright, suit yourself," Yang ceded with a shrug, writing that down. She wondered why it mattered so much, but if Blake didn't want to tell her then there little she could do about it. For now, anyway.

With that out of the way, she moved on. "Parent's names?"

If the last was unexpected, this part was a flat out surprise, even if it was apparent in hindsight. As it stood, Blake's answer was more tentative and subdued this time. "Actually, I'm an orphan," she said with a measure of openness that hadn't been there before.

"Oh." Yang wrote that down, a twinge of sympathy running through her. She knew what that was like, in part, and she felt for her partner. But there would be time enough to reveal that when it came time for her own interview, if she felt like mentioning it.

Blake seemed to catch her feelings though, and added to what she had said. "I got over it a while ago, so don't feel bad about it."

It would serve as a satisfactory reassurance, at least for now. Yang moved on then. "Okay. Got any hobbies then?"

There was a pause accompanied by the ruffle of paper, before Blake voiced a response. "Reading, drawing, exercise." It was a very short list, and Yang resolved to do something about that later on. It was hardly a way for a girl to live.

She paused, thinking, before going on. "What do you plan on doing once leaving Beacon?"

Another inherent shrug from her partner, before a response came from below her. "I'll become a Huntress. That's the whole point of being here, isn't it?"

"Fair enough," Yang admitted as she jotted that down. "I just figured you might want to do something besides being a Huntress. It's not exactly a job you can do forever, y'know?"

There was a brief silence, before Blake addressed what her partner had said, an interruption that left Yang wondering for a few seconds at the case. "Not really. It doesn't seem like something I should worry about when I'm not even a Huntress yet."

That was something Yang distinctly disagreed with, having plenty of her own plans for things she would like to do post Beacon, but she would save that for if Blake asked.

Another question to add to those already asked thus far. "So, any reason you don't get along with the Princess, besides her being generally annoying?"

Blake shrugged, though it was hardly visible from her partners current vantage point. "Because I don't agree with the things her family does, and I don't see how she can defend them when she knows that what they're doing is wrong."

That, Yang did not write down. While it certainly was noteworthy, she had the feeling that it was something that was better kept private. "Well, I can't say I know all too much about that," she admitted with a shrug. "And yeah, she's uptight and way too much fun to tease, but deep down she seems like a good person. I mean, she's stuck around with Ruby this long. That's gotta count for something."

"She's only still here because they won't let her switch to another team," the raven haired girl pointed out in turn. "Trust me. The Schnee family always has an ulterior motive. And I haven't seen anything to indicate that she's different."

Yang brushing her hair back as she let that matter be, not willing to pursue it further. "Alright then. Well, I don't have anything else to ask, so now it's your turn."

With that said, Blake put a bookmark in place so she wouldn't lose her spot, before closing the book she was reading. She then retrieved a piece of paper and mechanical pencil, and prepared to write. "Age," she asked, following the pattern that her partner had set up previously.

"Seventeen," Yang replied, flipping over to rest on her back as she relaxed. Posters surrounded her, and she kept her attention on those as she enjoyed the break.

"Parent's names?"

"Tai Xiao Long and Summer Rose," Yang answered, a technical truth that she would let stand, at least for now. She didn't want to go into detail at this point.

For her part, Blake was able to piece together some facts from what had been said, though she didn't comment on it. Instead she went on to the next part of the assignment, focusing on saving time. "Birthplace?"

"Patch." A bit more specific than what Blake had said. It was slightly more out of the way compared to Mantle in terms of geography. But Signal was there, so it wasn't exactly the boondocks either.

"Hobbies?"

Yang grinned as she counted on her fingers. "Listening to music, driving, working on engines, pulling practical jokes, clubbing, fighting, watching movies." It was a different variety of list from that of her partner.

Blake wordlessly noted it in shorthand. "Plans for after Beacon?"

Once more Yang was quick on the turnaround. "Become a Huntress, after that I might go into organized fighting, or working as a mechanic. Depends on how I get out of the business." She wasn't planning to take work too seriously, and she had many plans for afterwards.

When done writing, Blake returned to an earlier comment. "So, you're good with vehicles then," she asked. It might be useful to know if she ever had to take advantage of her partners skills, for whatever reason might arise.

Yang's grin widened, hands resting behind her head and against a pillow. "Yep, I'd say I'm pretty good at that sort of thing. Even got my own motorcycle, which I tuned up myself. I guess machines run in the family."

"Why do you say that?" Blake was willing to pursue the matter further so she could learn more about her partner, and by extension their team leader.

An unseen shrug from the blond. "Well, I've got engines, Ruby's got her weapons. We're just a pretty technical family, I guess. I just don't obsess over it as much as she does." Lord knew she was trying to change that, but it was hard work.

That made sense, and Blake put it on her list of things to remember. "Maybe you should show me your motorcycle some time."

"Sure thing." Yang didn't mind the opportunity to show off when it was presented to her. "I hope you don't mind a bit of speed though. Me and Bumblebee don't exactly take it slow, if you know what I mean."

"That's fine. Speed doesn't bother me." Blake was dismissive as she went over what she had written down. "I think that's it." She probably had enough to write based on this as well as what she had seen previously.

"Okay." Yang fell silent, and the two partners were left to their own devices. Blake reopened her book and began to read once more, letting the room quiet down. Writing the bullet points she had jotted down into a tangible paper could be done later.

After a few minutes Yang sent off a flurry of texts via her Scroll that preceded her getting off the bed, stretching for a moment before she got her shoes back on. "So I'm going to hang out with some of my friends. Wanna come with?"

Blake considered it for a moment, before nodding, her bow dipping in time. "Give me a few minutes." As far as the blond could tell, she was just going to finish up a few pages in her book, to the end of the chapter or something.

"Alright." Yang swung the door open and paused in the doorframe as she saluted. "Don't make me wait too long." The train would not wait, not even for Blake. She was just willing to be a bit more lenient.

With Yang gone, Blake put a bookmark in on her current page, and rose from her bed. Rather than heading for the door though, she headed across the room. Weiss had been very emphatic about people not touching her stuff, but this was a special circumstance, and it wasn't as if the heiress would find out anyway.

To the white snowflake emblazoned cases then, and latches were flipped open to reveal rows of colored Dust vials. She took one from the back, slipping it into her pocket before replacing it with one of similar color that she produced from a pocket. Synthetic Dust, not that Weiss would be able to tell just from looking.

With that done the girl closed the case and returned it to it's exact position, before moving after Yang. She had what she needed, at least for now.

 

[Azecreth]

Ch 7 - Learning Through Fighting

The time for Goodwitch's class had rolled around once more, students nervously assembled and waiting. This time they had good cause though. They had all been instructed to bring their weapons and that could only mean one thing; they would have to fight today.

For her part Ruby was practically in heaven, her head mounted on a swivel as she ogled the assortment of blades, bows, bombs, bludgeons, and guns. There was always something new to look at, and she was already eager to test her baby against everyone else.

The rest of her team was more subdued, but that wasn't exactly unusual. Her weapon nuttery was a bit extreme even when she had friends to balance it out. If the rest of them could be counted as friends at this point. She had hopes for that though she had yet to make up with Weiss. It was just hard to approach her, mildly put.

She couldn't keep from voicing her anticipation as she shifting around on her feet. "Hey Yang, do you think we're going to fight people today? Ooh, it'll be so awesome!" Her excitement was frankly overwhelming.

Glancing about, it was easy for Blake to confirm that Ruby was not the only one waiting anxiously. She had hardly expected otherwise as she shifted her attention back to their team leader, arms folded and bow perched atop her head. "That's what it looks like," she confirmed simply, leaving it at that.

"Well, this'll be fun," Yang added with a grin, flexing her arms a bit to show off. "I just want to know if it will be classmates or Grimm. I wouldn't mind the opportunity to trash either."

Weiss sighed as she kept her gaze on the stage in the front of the classroom. "Honestly, is fighting all you think about?"

Yang was undaunted as she flashed a smile towards the heiress. "Nah. Only when it looks like I'm going to do it," she teased. "Besides, what's the problem? It's not like anyone is going to get killed."

Sadly, Weiss had an answer ready for her. "Violence is the refuge of the incompetent. I prefer to spend my energy doing productive things rather than wasting it on pointless battles."

The corners of Blake's mouth dipped as she stepped into the conversation. "But what about that fight against the Witch," she asked. It was an occurrence that didn't line up with her reasoning.

"'Pointless' battles," the heiress clarified. "Protecting my own life is hardly pointless. Besides, it wasn't like we had a choice in the matter."

The frown persisted as Blake gestured towards the stage. "I don't think we'll have a choice here either."

"True," Weiss ceded with a nod. "But that doesn't mean that I have to look forward to it like some rabid attack dog."

The accumulated insults became too much to bear as Yang tried to keep herself under control. "Hey," she protested. "Watch it Princess. Unless you want to find yourself on a one way trip through a wall."

That didn't intimidate the white haired girl, but she found herself interrupted as Ruby stepped in to try and calm things down. "C'mon guys, let's not do this right before class. Please?"

Weiss harrumphed and shifted away, an approval even if it was condescending. Meanwhile Yang nodded, scratching the back of her head. "Sure thing sis. I guess I got a bit carried away there."

"It's fine," Ruby replied automatically, forgiving of her sister. Before she could go on though her attention was distracted by the arrival of their teacher.

The room quieted down as Goodwitch entered and made her way up to the stage, wearing her usual attire. It made Ruby wonder how many sets of that she actually had, or if Goodwitch was just able to wash her clothes by waving her riding crop. The young girl doubted that she would ever find out.

Goodwitch came to a stop in the middle of the stage and adjusted her glasses before she began speaking. "Students, today we will continue the process of getting to know your partners as well as learning to work with them. We will not, however, be doing exercises this time."

There were murmurs and sighs of relief at that, which Glynda proceeded to speak over as she went on. "Instead, you will each be sparring with your partner."

This certainly got a reaction in nervous looks, anticipatory grins, surprised whispers, and the like. Yang sent a thumbs up at Blake, while Weiss sighed and Ruby looked nervous. This was going to be interesting.

Goodwitch gave them a few moments before drawing their attention back with a cough as she moved on to describing what it was that they would be doing shortly. "Pairs will spar with each other and will be selected in a random order. Play fair but fight to the best of your abilities. The match will continue until one combatant is forced off the stage, concedes, or their Aura is depleted to zero. I trust you all understand that any fighting past that point will have serious consequences."

Indeed they did. Aura was a protective shield, and continuing to fight after it had run out risked serious injury. Naturally, that was something Beacon would be eager to avoid, since one might assume that Ozpin did not enjoy lawsuits or investigations.

Glynda did add one final note before wrapping up. "Please keep quiet during the matches. I'm sure the fighters would like to be able to concentrate on what they are doing." Active audience participation was not the most welcome thing it seemed.

She cleared her throat then as she produced her scroll, opening a list of the pairings in class. "First will be Pyrrha Nikos and Jaune Arc." Names and pictures, along with Aura status bars, appeared on the overhead screen in preparation of the fight to come.

Jaune gulped as he rose from his seat, Pyrrha standing next to him. Oh god, he was doomed, and that wasn't an exaggeration. He was more than aware of how stupidly outclassed he was against her. It might be a smarter idea just to forfeit now and save them all the time.

He jumped in shock as a hand patted his shoulder, and he looked over to see Pyrrha smiling warmly at him. "It's okay," she said comfortingly. "Just do your best."

"R-Right," he replied with a nervous chuckle. "My best."

Still unable to shake the feeling of impending doom, the pair made their way up to the stage. Pyrrha ended up on one side with Miló and Akoúo̱ ready, and Jaune opposite her with Crocea Mors raised.

"You may begin when ready," Goodwitch told them, heralding the start of the match.

Jaune blinked against the bright lights that shone down in his face as he sized up his opponent. So, what did he know? Well, she had a shield, a spear that could turn into a sword and a gun. She'd done plenty of tournaments, so she was more used to this sort of thing than he was by a long shot.

The more he thought, the longer the list of reasons he was screwed grew, so he just went for it. With a cry he charged forward, Crocea Mors raised for an overhead strike. That ended predictably as Pyrrha blocked before launching a counterattack of her own.

Jaune stumbled backwards as he defended himself, spear thrusts glancing off of his shield. Pyrrha advanced concurrently, continuing her attacks. The sound of colliding metal rang through the air as spear met shield, jostling it against his grip.

When the opportunity presented itself, he struck back. Pyrrha might have been a tad overconfident, or she might just be going easy on him, but the end result was that he was able to get a few hits in as well. Most of those were blocked, but it got his partner to pull back and prepare again.

Such elation he had evaporated as he found himself facing the barrel of a gun. "Whoa," he cried as he ducked, shield raised protectively before his partner fired. Bullets pinged and ricocheted, and Jaune was just glad that he didn't get hit. But it was proving difficult to do anything under the assault. Actively getting shot at was an experience that he didn't relish.

The attack soon ended, and Jaune poked his head up just in time to notice Pyrrha coming at him once more. He ducked again only to as suddenly find himself on the ground, his legs swept out from under him by Miló.

"Oww," he groaned. That could probably have been better handled, and hitting the ground hurt.

His time to think quickly vanished as Pyrrha swung, and he rolled out of the way, scrambling back to his feet. This was not a good situation to be in, since Pyrrha hadn't even used her Semblance yet. Well, he had expected that this would happen, so he might as well see this to the end.

He made a horizontal slash, which was deflected by Akoúo̱. He then managed to block another attack, before a shield slammed into his gut. It was more reflex that made him double over, since his Aura tanked the hit for him.

Doubling over gave Pyrrha the opportunity to act though, and she did. A bit of smooth footwork and Jaune once more found himself on the ground. It still hurt as much as the last time had.

At that moment he figured it was good enough. Admittedly, a point in favor of that was the blade currently at his neck that earned a nervous chuckle and the sound of metal on the ground as he dropped Crocea Mors. "I give."

Pyrrha smiled, offering him a hand. He took it gratefully and rose back to his feet, looking out to the audience and to Goodwitch, who looked less than amused. Then again, he didn't think that he had ever seen her happy.

"Good job," his partner said with a nod, sincerity evident. She might have just been humoring him, but it was appreciated nonetheless. Jaune grinned weakly in return, sheathing his sword.

Glynda tapped her scroll, removing the names and pictures form the overhead display as she spoke. "Thank you Ms. Nikos and Mr. Arc. Up next will be Marigolde Hawke and Topaz Winters."

There was applause as the two left the stage, passing the new combatants on their way back to their seats in the stands. Encouragements were exchanged as the two pairs moved besides each other, and soon enough Jaune and Pyrrha were seated once more with the rest of their team.

"Good job Pyrrha," Ruby said to the redhead in a hushed tone as the fight began below. "You too Jaune." It hadn't been long, but it had been interesting to watch. She did note that Pyrrha had been going easy on the blond, but didn't hold it against her.

"Thanks," Jaune replied with a hint of chagrin, since he didn't think he had done that well. That said, they all turned to watch the fight, with Marigolde using shotgun tonfa and Topaz using dual crescent blades. It was different than what any of them besides Pyrrha and Blake were used to seeing, so it garnered quite a bit of attention.

There was not much else to do at the moment so all of Teams RWBY and JNPR waited patiently, watching the fights and biding their time until their own turns arose. Some were intent and others more relaxed, taking in what they could of the fights and the people involved to try and learn what they could, even if that wasn't the point of the lesson.

Soon enough another of the four pairs was called as a fight wrapped up. "Next will be Nora Valkyrie and Lie Ren," Goodwitch announced, making the preparations necessary for the fight.

Nora cheered, leaping to her feet while Ren stood up more sedately. "Alright, we're gonna take 'em all down," she said to her partner as she headed down the steps.

Ren held back a sigh as he followed her. "We're supposed to be fighting each other."

Nora laughed as she skipped. "I know. That's what we want them to think. Then once they have let their guard down, we shall launch our epic plan!"

"What epic plan," her confused partner asked as they mounted the stage.

"Oh, you know. Just wait for my signal." At that point Nora came to a stop across from Ren, arms clasped as she waited for them to get going.

Goodwitch looked between them before nodding. "You may begin when ready."

Upon hearing that, Nora produced Magnhild, the grenade launcher unfolding into a hammer as she grinned. At the same time Ren produced StormFlower, settling into a combat stance. Unlike Jaune's fight there was no waiting time as Nora ran in, hammer swinging as she let a war cry rip.

Ren flipped out of the way, firing in the process. Nora tanked the hits and kept going, laughing all the while. The boy and girl were very much used to sparring with each other, to the point that it was practically choreographed. Nora was brash strength, a wrecking ball of destruction. Ren was a scalpel, a precision weapon.

That became evident as the fight went on, Ren darting around the battlefield and taking what shots he could. Meanwhile Nora followed after, explosions filling the air from grenades. For his part, he was trying to avoid getting hit, while she was having the time of her life.

A crater appeared in the ground as Magnhild slammed down, Ren just barely escaping with a backwards leap. He fired, pulling the trigger until the chamber clicked empty. Not exactly the best situation, but he was able to expel the spent clips before having to move as Nora flipped her weapon to gun form and fired grenades at him.

He took the opportunity to run in close, using the blades on StormFlower to unleash a trio of strikes. Nora blocked some before shifting Manghild back and forcing him to roll out of the way with a heavy swing.

There was practically a sonic boom as he stepped off and away to the other side of the arena, producing two new cartridges of ammunition in the process. Those he sent skidding along as he flipped over another swung, slamming StormFlower down on the upright parts before abruptly spinning to the side. He fired then as Nora deflected the bullets with a spinning Magnhild, before leaping after him once more.

"Well, this is pretty fun," Yang noted from her seat in the bleacher. "Definitely a lot more fun than your fight." She glanced over at Jaune though he pretended not to notice, instead watching the match below.

Weiss shrugged, arms folded as she tapped her elbow with her index finger. "It's like she's toying with him," the heiress noted as she watched Ren just barely dodging hammer strikes.

"Because I think that's what's happening," Blake answered smoothly. It seemed that way from her perspective anyway. Which might not be a surprise considering Nora's personality. Even during the fight against the Witch, she hadn't been as serious as Weiss and Blake herself had been, more comparable to Yang without the apparent bloodlust.

Back on the ground floor of the arena, Ren had done his best but his luck had run out at last. Nora was angling in with nowhere for him to go this time. Back to the wall, StormFlower once more out of ammo, and things were looking increasingly bleak. Even if Nora gave him a wink before she went for it.

Ren wasn't out of tricks though and he closed his eyes, focusing forward and, to the astonishment of those above, meeting Magnhild with the palm of his hand. Where it should have been slapped out of the way, there was a pulse of energy and it instead went flying backwards as a result.

Which would have worked out fine, except Nora was able to keep a hold of the weapon and spin instead. And before Ren could react, the other end of the hammer hit him from the other side. Not a problem with his Aura, until he slammed into a wall. That took the brunt of the hit, and he collapsed as his Aura dropped to zero from that and the accumulated hits he had taken earlier.

"The winner is Nora Valkyrie," Glynda announced, as if the obvious needed to be stated at this point. It was quite clear to everyone else watching.

Ren groaned as he rose back to his feet, Nora helping him up in the process. She maintained her upbeat nature in spite of the fight and Ren couldn't help but give her a light smile in return. For the effort and pain, it had been enjoyable to spar with her, he would admit. "You've learned," he noted as they moved to the center of the stage.

Nora skipped along as she retracted Magnhild back into carrying form. "Well duh. Did you think I was going to let you use that trick on me more than once? Not likely!"

"Fair enough," Ren admitted with a shrug as he holstered StormFlower. He could use the break after expending all that energy.

Meanwhile, Glynda announced the next pair that would be duking it out on stage. "Up next will be Yang Xiao Long and Blake Belladonna."

Yang grinned as she rose from her seat, looking over at her partner who was doing the same. "It's about time," she commented, having gotten bored of waiting for her name to be called.

Blake was silent as the two of them moved towards the stage, preparing herself for the battle ahead. As they passed Nora gave them a thumbs up, exuberant still. "Good luck you guys," she said as she headed upwards.

The duo arrived down on stage, setting up on opposite ends as everyone before them had. Yang settled into a fighting stance, legs spread and arms braced as Ember Celicas activated, her fists now covered in yellow. Blake on the other hand barely moved, though she did draw Gambol Shroud, but beyond that she made no effort to prepare.

"You may begin when ready," Glynda announced, almost unneeded at this point and merely speaking as a formality.

"Well, let's do this," Yang said as she moved to confront her partner straight away, advancing at a sprint.

Blake nodded. "Good luck," she said in return before reacting to the attack, ducking to the side as Yang punched and fired Ember Celicas at her. Bullets flew through the air in a spat of gunshots, though none found their target, and the black dressed girl recovered quickly enough to meet the gauntlets with Gambol Shroud's sheath.

Metal clashed as Blake redirected punches from the blond before unsheathing Gambol Shroud, blocking with both sheath and sword before she sprang away. Yang moved after, only to have to raise her arms in a block as Blake fired with the pistol she had before swinging the blade part to the side.

The blow hit and sent Yang stumbling, but it didn't take her down. She rapidly recovered, grinning as she got her feet back under her. "Now that's more like it," the blond said as she headed for Blake once more. Her hair seemed to be glowing, though it was subdued for the moment.

Blake said nothing, but she was a bit worried. She'd seen that fight with the Witch and knew that Yang could take quite a bit of punishment. If she was going to win then she would have to play this smart. Fortunately she knew how to do that.

That manifested itself as she flipped out of the way of a series of punches and kicks, letting a shadow clone take the blows before she opened fire once more with Gambol Shroud. Another side strike went out, only for Blake to watch as Yang blocked it in turn. Her partner learned fast it seemed.

Luckily Blake hadn't banked everything on that, and with her partners temporary distraction she struck with her sheath, forcing the blond back once more. A shadow clone appeared to strike from a different direction, and it worked as they wore her down.

She leapt away to avoid any retaliatory strikes, but she wasn't fast enough and was caught in her move. She could practically feel the impact run through her spine as she was sent tumbling from the glancing impact.

There was no time to relax though as Yang went after her, even as the brawler managed to dodge the leg sweep she attempted. A pity, but not unsurprising given who she was fighting. They met once more, gunshot powered punches redirected by sword and sheath clashing in quick succession. That was added to with the occasional kick, which naturally didn't do as well at blocking gunshots.

At last Blake slid back before she could be overwhelmed and turned this into a fight of movement once more. She sprinted about the stage, circling around Yang as shadow clones appeared periodically to confuse the brawler. She was just unlucky that her partner wasn't exactly slow either. But she was able to take advantage of it to attack from random angles, pelting the blond with gunshots of her own.

One clone vanished after another against fearsome hits as Yang fought back, her hair glowing brighter with each blow. Her Aura only seemed to be getting stronger, though checking her Scroll confirmed that it was in fact dropping, and Blake had yet to find a way to counter that. It was only a matter of time until she was overwhelmed.

For now she kited her, sprinting past to cut at Yang unsuccessfully with sword and sheath. She winced at a glancing blow in return from her partners kick which sent her stumbling once more. Her Aura was diminishing even with her shadow clones to take hits for her.

Well, perhaps now was the time for something risky to try and get a victory from this. At the very least she couldn't let Yang whale on her, and she had gotten a better idea of how their styles could compliment each other. Now she just needed to translate it to something that could help her win.

She quickly devised a plan that seemed viable and swung into action, charging towards Yang. Her partner threw out a punch to meet her oncoming sprint, only for Blake to dodge to the side. This wouldn't have been a problem for the blond, if a shadow clone hadn't dodged the other way and grabbed her wrist, arresting the motion of that limb.

It didn't entirely stop Yang, of course, though having two of her partner in such close proximity was a tad distracting. The other gauntlet clad fist lashed out at the real Blake, but it was deflected just before Gambol Shroud slammed into her gut. That doubled her over, Aura or no, and it didn't help when the other part of the weapon slammed into the back of her head, sending the blond to the ground.

Yang grunted, taking a moment to get her breath back as Blake positioned Gambol Shroud at the base of her neck, in what would otherwise be the set up for a killing strike. "Do you yield," she asked calmly, looking down at her partner.

"Hmm, nope," Yang replied as she acted. Her leg swept out as she twisted, batting aside Gambol Shroud as she forced Blake to move lest she be sent to the ground in turn. With Blake out of the way she got back to her feet, flashing her partner a wide grin as she punched her fists together. "Nice try though."

Blake shrugged. "I do my best." Her best had apparently not been enough though. She wasn't even sure that her partner had even been seriously affected by the hits she had taken. Well, she had to be, but at the same time it would only take one hit to ruin her own day.

Apparently she was really taking it serious now as she charged forward, thrown punches meeting nothing but air as she fired. In return Blake spun Gambol Shroud, deflecting the bullets before they could impact, and dropping a shadow clone in front of her to take the hits for her anyway. The clone still hit her from the recoil of getting punched, but it merely pushed her ahead as it vanished.

She spun about, firing in mid motion, which only served to make Yang push ahead all the more fiercely. Blake was running out of space and it didn't seem likely that her partner would let her get away at this point. That came to winding up at the edge of the stage, blades punched aside with fiery blocks before Yang moved for the finishing blow.

"I give," Blake said, bringing Yang's attack to a halt bare inches from her face. The raven haired girl barely flinched in response to that, a credit to her nerves.

Not visibly disappointed by the lack of connection, Yang stepped back and allowed her partner to move back from the wall. "What, not going to fight it out to the end?"

Blake shrugged as she sheathed Gambol Shroud, returning the weapon to her back. "There isn't much point in going on if you only get stronger the more that I hit you."

"You make it sound like I'm invincible," Yang commented in return. "Don't worry. I just like to make you work for it." She grinned, making her way with her partner to the center of the stage as she retracted Ember Celicas back to bracelet form.

Blake glanced over to the blond as she stood in front of the crowd currently giving them moderate applause. "I'll take your word for it." She wasn't going to pursue it to the end in a sparring match though.

"Yang Xiao Long is the victor," Glynda said, dismissing the image of the current students on stage from the overhead screen. "Up next will be Cardin Winchester and Russel Thrush."

At that, the two of them made their way off of the stage to be replaced by the new pair who laughed as they made their way past. "That was fun though. We should do it again sometime," the blond said as she looked back to her partner whilst walking up the stairs.

Arriving back in their seats, Weiss looked over at Blake as she nodded in approval. "Good job," she said to the girl, ignoring Yang for the most part. She didn't give compliments lightly, so Blake should accept it as sincere appreciation from the heiress, who meant it when she said it. At least there was one person on this team worthy of respect

"Thanks," Blake replied as she turned her attention to the match below. She didn't quite feel the same way but didn't let the heiress know that. There was no point in needlessly antagonizing their relationship, especially when she gained more by having the girl's trust. And with it, she'd be all the more ready to respond when her true agenda was revealed. So she kept her attention focused forward rather than sideways.

The fight below didn't last long, Cardin simply overpowering his opponent with brute strength, Overall Weiss didn't consider it very impressive due to being unable to take anything from it. Cardin was strong, but not particularly skilled.

The following pair was significantly more important though. "Next will be Ruby Rose and Weiss Schnee," Glynda announced as Cardin and Russell left the stage. Ruby hopped to her feet while Weiss rose in a more refined manner, displaying none of the enthusiasm of her partner. She had already said that she thought this was pointless and she held to it. She just didn't have a choice in the matter.

"Good luck," Ruby said to her partner as they headed down the stairs together towards the stage. She didn't particularly care who won or lost, as long as she got closer to proving to Weiss (and herself) that she was right for the job she was in.

"Keep it," Weiss replied as she walked behind Ruby. "I don't need luck." It was just common sense, since she didn't believe in chance or luck. Well, really, it depended on when she said it. Perhaps she did believe in the vagaries of fortune and fate, but she did not think they could control her.

Ruby shrugged nonchalantly. "Alright, if you say so." She wasn't going to make an issue of it. Weiss would regret it when she lost this battle.

Together the two moved on to the stage, their names and pictures displayed above them. Weiss moved off to the side, drawing Myrtenaster with a flourish then saluting with the blade, before settling into a textbook fighting stance. She was as ready as she could be.

"You can do it Ruby," Yang hollered from the audience, much to Goodwitch's annoyance and Ruby's embarrassment. Facing Weiss across the stage, Ruby pulled out and deployed Crescent Rose, scythe blade snapping into place as she aimed it at her partner.

Goodwitch looked between them both before speaking. "You may begin when ready."

Weiss' gaze narrowed as she examined her opponent. This was her chance to understand why Ozpin had chosen her, even if it was only a little. Fighting her would be different than fighting by her side and would provide an alternative perspective, so she prepared to take in every detail she could.

In spite of that Ruby moved first, Semblance zipping her forward as she slashed at Weiss. The heiress slid out of the way, a Glyph aiding her backwards slide. She launched a rapid counterattack then, thrusting Myrtenaster forward with yellow Dust chambered.

A crackling bolt of lightning shot from the tip of the rapier, visible for brief moments before it faded away. Ruby had dodged with a twist to the side, but she could feel the heat of charged air against her back. That would not have been fun to be hit by. She reacted then, bringing the scythe to bear as she fired the gun at her partner.

That forced Weiss to move, Glyph assisted sprints taking her to the side before she could get shot. She maintained that for a few seconds before closing in, rapidly getting in range to unleash a trio of strikes. She then vaulted over Ruby before the other girl could respond, nailing the landing and turning to face Ruby once more.

The team leader was undaunted, and fired another shot before activating her Semblance. The scythe slash was wicked but Weiss managed to react in time, her brow set in determination as she came out of her evasive roll. With speed and a big weapon like that which could swat aside her rapier, it would not be an easy fight. But that was fine. All the more for her to take from it then.

She shifted stances then, Myrtenaster raised as she prepared to strike. Dust cylinders chambered to red before she accelerated towards Ruby, who knew what that could do. Which was why the younger girl sped forward in turn to prevent what was coming. As Weiss stabbed with her rapier, Ruby ducked and swung upwards, Crescent Rose catching the blade and redirecting it away.

The end result was a bolt of fire that flew upwards, tapering out before it could hit the ceiling. Meanwhile Ruby fired, the force of the shot driving her forward and enabling her to kick Weiss' legs out from under her. The heiress went down, grunting as she hit the ground.

Ruby rose in turn and brought her weapon up then down once more, slamming it into the ground next to Weiss. Or rather, where she would have been had the heiress not regained her composure and rolled out of the way. She got back on her feet, Myrtenaster ready, as Ruby hefted her scythe in turn.

The white haired girl quickly devised a new strategy to take advantage of her opponent's reliance on speed and quickly went to enact it. Dust chambers spun once more, this time settling on white Ice Dust. As Ruby shot towards her in a burst of speed Weiss stabbed the ground, triggering the expulsion of Dust. A thin film of ice spread across the floor in front of her causing Ruby to stumble, arms flailing as she tried to regain her balance.

With that shift in the situation Weiss moved. She jumped, forming a Glyph beneath her feet to act as a stable platform. From there she jumped to another, flipping in midair so she was facing the floor in the process. Aura gathered before she launched off, ready to hit Ruby and take control of this fight.

Sadly, it didn't work out that way. Ruby had caught herself with Crescent Rose acting as a support, and she used it to slide out of the way of the diagonal slash. It seemed the boots she wore were good for something after all.

Landing in a crouch, Myrtenaster's Dust Chambers spun as Weiss came about and stabbed the air, throwing another bolt of lightning at her opponent. Ruby jumped over it, using Crescent Rose as a pole vault and to give her more momentum as she fired downwards.

Forming a new Glyph, Weiss leapt up after her, a flurry of attacks unleashed in midair towards her opponent. Those were deflected by a spinning scythe before Ruby fired, slamming the butt of her weapon into the white haired girl's gut before delivering a following kick as she fell.

Weiss hit the ground as she tumbled, but quickly got back to her feet as she grabbed her rapier off of the floor. She struck as Ruby landed then, and the younger girl found a jet of fire slamming into her, bouncing off of her Aura but still dealing damage.

As the bolt dissipated Weiss moved in, following up just as she had been trained. She danced about Ruby on the wet stage, spinning and slashing as she dodged awkward scythe strikes. Getting in close was the advantage here, making it difficult for Ruby to use her weapon with its weight.

She dealt a few blows before her opponent caught on, rose petals left in her wake as she disengaged from this clash. That heralded a new tactic as Ruby moved in a blur, barely slowing down as she let momentum do it's work. Weiss was forced to dodge, and it did not prove an easy task with how fast her opponent was.

That brought on a new response as Weiss stabbed the floor. Rather than ice though, crackling electricity went along it. It was better than ice since that hadn't worked and the floor was wet, and it would throw her opponent off.

Ruby jumped once more though, shooting downwards before sending Crescent Rose in an arcing parabola towards the heiress. Weiss blocked as she stepped back out of the way, just as trained.

The fight was riveting, a real match as the two wove back and forth across the stage. It was easy to tell that they were giving it their all, blasts of elemental Dust lighting up the air as Glynda made sure that any outside damage was contained, though she was annoyed by it.

Coming up, Weiss took in deep breaths as she checked her weapon. She was running out of Dust, near the level where she didn't want to continue onwards. It would be cost prohibitive for little gain, so she brought up some new strategies based on her non usage of Dust. At the same time Ruby didn't seem low on ammunition, but she could more freely spend those.

She was determined to not go down without a fight, to get as much information as she could. A blue Glyph formed as she sped forward, forcing Ruby to react as she charged at her. Or she would have had Weiss not slid under Crescent Rose and gone for the wall instead. A flick of her wrist and a line of blue appeared there, which she moved on to, coming to a stop atop it as Aura gathered in the Glyph she was perched on.

The energy reached a maximum and she jumped off, practically rocketing over Ruby. A slash accompanied that as she moved in another direction, and she paused in her motion with another Glyph as she prepared to attack again.

Her routine was interrupted as Crescent Rose came flying at her, earning an abortive dodge before the rapidly spinning weapon could hit her. That left her open and she was unable to react in time as Ruby appeared beside her from a blur, kicking her. That would have been fine for the most part if it hadn't set her tumbling, and she grunted as she fell off the stage, heralding the end of the fight.

"Ruby Rose is the winner," Goodwitch announced as Weiss got back to her feet, less than amused. She sheathed her blade though as Ruby retracted Crescent Rose in turn.

Ruby smiled as she met her partner as the stairs, recovering from the battle. "Good match," she offered. Her partner didn't look too thrilled but she'd get over it. Hopefully.

Indeed Weiss was not amused, her mind struggling to figure out what she had done wrong, where she had gone astray that had resulted in her loss, and she was finding it quite difficult. "You got lucky," she announced at last as she headed up the stairs.

"Fine, be that way," Ruby grumbled to herself as she followed back up to her seat. At the very least her partner could have congratulated her for a good match in return. There was no need to be rude about it when it had been a friendly spar.

On the other hand, Yang was there to balance that out as she high fived Ruby. "Good job sis," she told her with a grin. She'd have been disappointed had Ruby not shown the Princess what was what.

Ruby grinned, even if it was a tad melancholic, in return. "Thanks Yang." There was enough there for Yang to notice though, and the blond resolved to do something about it when she had the opportunity. She was not going to allow this sort of thing to stand when her sister was involved.

Glynda had walked onto the stage at that point, and drew the attention of the class to herself as the fights and class itself wrapped up for the day. "That will be all. Remember, interview assignments are due next class. I expect you to have them finished. Dismissed."

With that she walked off, whilst the class began to disperse as well. Weiss rose almost immediately, turning on her heels and heading out of the classroom. She wanted time to think, to reflect on her own performance, and she could not do that when she was being constantly annoyed.

Her partner was not about to let her get away without saying anything though. "Weiss, where are you going? I think we should talk this out."

"I'm going to practice," Weiss called back to Ruby. "I'll be back to the room later and we can talk about it then." With that, she was gone.

Ruby sighed as she came to a stop, shoulders slumped. Again it seemed to be a case of one step forward and two steps back, which was incredibly frustrating to deal with and did nothing to bolster her confidence in herself. How was she supposed to manage a team if she couldn't handle this?

Yang came to a stop beside her, patting her shoulder. "Come on Ruby, let's go back to our room. She has to go there eventually, and then we can deal with this." One way or another. She would not let the Ice Queen keep messing with her sister.

"Right," Ruby agreed with a nod, and the three of them headed off for their dorm room. Together they would work this out. Finally.

 

[Azecreth]

Ch 8 - Arguments

The dorm room after classes was relatively quiet. Blake was, as usual, reading, with those books she finished added to the small pile she had. Yang was listening to music on the radio, and Ruby was currently working on some of her homework.

The sun sank in the sky beyond, the three of them waiting and letting time pass by. Blake and Yang had left the disagreement from before behind, focused instead on what they were doing. Ruby in the meanwhile was more worried about it, legs kicking idly behind her.

At last the most distinguished of them let out a groan. "Ugh, she's taking forever," the team leader complained. It had been some time but there was no sign of Weiss returning from her supposed training. At this point Ruby was wondering if she just planned to stay out all night, which didn't bode well for them talking.

"...Madoka Kaname and Sayaka Miki of the Holy Quintet were identified as part of the operation to..." Yang, noting her sister's annoyance, pulled out her earbuds and turned off the radio for a moment as she looked over at Ruby.

"Yeah," she agreed with a nod. "Wonder what's taking her so long." This had been her idea in the first place, so it not working out could only be blamed on her.

From her bunk, Blake shrugged as she turned a page. "Why are you surprised?"

Ruby turned her gaze downwards, across to her sister's partner. "Because we're partners," she answered like it should have been obvious. "You think she would want to be friends, or at least work with her team."

Blake held back a roll of her eyes as she gave Ruby her attention, at least for the moment. "She doesn't want to be a part of this team. At least she doesn't agree with how things currently are. I don't think she'll be coming back soon."

Ruby sank under what Blake was saying, her confidence issues resurfacing beneath it. Maybe Blake was right, maybe Weiss felt that way about her. She couldn't even command the respect of her team, so how could she be a leader?

Yang hopped down from the bed at that point, hands resting on her hips as she prepared to sally forth into the school once more. "I'll go find her," she told Ruby with a grin. "And drag her back if need be." And then she'd have a talk with Blake about not provoking her sister's lack of self-worth.

"Thanks Yang," Ruby replied with a smile. "Do you want me to come with you?" It might be easier that way, and she should really show some concern for her team members even if they didn't do the same. Maybe Weiss would think better of her if she showed that she meant it.

The blond gave a dismissive wave as she took a step forward. "Nah, I've got this. You just hang tight here." Ruby might not enjoy her methods of persuasion if the Princess didn't want to come with so better she stuck around the dorm room.

"Okay. Good luck," Ruby said as Yang headed out the door, returning to her homework. She had faith in her sister to manage things, if anyone could. That was how she was

Yang waved behind herself as she closed the door and moved out into the hall. With the rest of her team left behind she set off to find Weiss, as she had said. Her first destination then would be the gym, since the heiress had said she would be training. And if she wasn't lying that was the place where she would do it.

The halls were relatively empty, though not entirely so. People moved between rooms and activities, some headed for clubs while others went to their own after school activities. All to be expected from a place like this.

Yang strode forward with a confident gait, as comfortable as ever in this environment. She thrived in public, drank in attention, and she had no problem taking it easy when she wasn't doing the above. It was enough that she was becoming something of a familiar fixture in Beacon, but there was certainly no problem there.

"Hey," she said as she walked along, waving to people she knew as she passed them by. That was quite a few people, though not as much as it could have realistically been. What could she say? She was just naturally charismatic. Though the hair probably had something to do with it.

Her popularity had all sorts of benefits as well, at least for her. "Yo, Xiao Long, you gonna be at the rumble tonight," one of the sophomores called as she passed by.

Yang grinned, flashing him a thumbs up before he passed by. "You know it." Call it a college subculture, but a fight club style activity showing up in a combat school wasn't unexpected, and she fit right in with it.

"Awesome," the guy responded and was soon left behind as Yang moved along towards her intended destination. As fun as that was, it wasn't her major concern at the moment. She had to focus on her goal, and not get distracted from it.

At last she arrived, moving into the lockers that were a part of the general exterior of the gym. It was doubtful that Weiss was in here if she was training, but the blond considered it worth checking so she didn't miss her on the way in. Better safe than sorry.

As expected though, a quick look confirmed that Weiss was not in there. Her stuff was though, which limited the options that were available. At least Yang wouldn't need to go wandering the school to find her.

With that finished she moved on into the gym, walking past workout machines and exercise equipment as she looked for a certain white haired heiress. If Weiss was here she was not the only person in the room, with other students currently working out and practicing.

That meant there was another round of waves and greetings as well as some idle chit chat as Yang moved on. She didn't mind, and it didn't mean much time spent away from what she had come here to do.

Just as quickly she found who she was looking for. Weiss was currently in workout garb, wielding Myrtenaster as she danced between targets in some routine, stabbing and striking as rapidly as she could. Yang had to stand back and watch for a few minutes, lest she get the Princess ornery at her for interrupting her in the middle of a sequence or something.

"Hey," she said with a wave once Weiss had stopped for a breather. "You busy?"

Weiss wiped her brow with a towel, a fair bit of sweat worked up. Given how long she had been here though it wasn't entirely a surprise. "Yes," she replied succinctly.

That also was not really a surprise for the blond, who rolled with it when faced with the dismissive answer. "You know you can't just hide in here forever."

That earned a harrumph from the heiress, seeming to take offense at that statement. Then again, most people probably didn't accuse her of running from her problems, even in this oblique way, if Yang didn't miss her guess. "I'm not hiding. I am well aware that I can't stay in here all night."

The somewhat-happy mood diminished slightly, though Yang was not in full on rage mode just yet. "Really? It sure seemed like it, with how long we've been waiting for you back in our room." She folded her arms as she watched for a reaction, determined to get her to come with, one way or another.

"I told you I would be training," Weiss pointed out as she held Myrtenaster in a loose grip, making no move to leave. "You didn't have to wait on my account."

"I wasn't," the blond replied. "Ruby was. She wants to talk to you about what happened in class, among other things." That was understating it a bit, but it seemed she wasn't going to get Weiss to go along via exaggeration.

Weiss didn't quite roll her eyes, but it was obvious that she wasn't giving it that much thought as she prepared to go through another routine. "I don't see what there is to talk about. She beat me this time, that's all."

And now Yang was starting to get annoyed. Was the Princess really that dumb, or was she just trying to brush her off? Either way it wasn't going to work. "Come on, it's more than that and you know it. She's trying to be team leader and you just keep insulting and degrading her. She wants to know why, and frankly so do I. And you avoiding her is not going to solve the problem."

That earned another dismissive remark from the heiress, unsurprisingly at this point. "I am not avoiding her," she reiterated. "You make it sound as if I've never had a disagreement with someone."

"Well, the way you're acting sure makes it seem like you haven't," Yang shot back, drawing a fair bit of attention to this ongoing disagreement. She didn't mind too much though, since if there was anything that would sway the heiress into doing what she wanted, it would be the pressure of public appearance.

Weiss glanced about, not immediately objecting ti what had been said, before she straightened up from her combat stance. "Fine," she ceded at last. "I suppose my training can wait for later." It was clear that she was not happy with it though.

Still, it was better than nothing, and that was good enough for Yang. "Alright. I'll wait for you outside then." Presumably Weiss would want to change back to casual clothes before heading back to the dorm room. A reasonable concession given the situation.

Weiss grunted as Yang waved and headed off, moving past people as she headed out of the gym. Well, she could call that a mission well accomplished, with only escorting the Princess back to Ruby left. And there was no reason for that to not be the easy part now that she had Weiss' compliance.

Once outside, she took up a position waiting near the locker room exit, resting with her back against a wall. It was best to be comfortable, since she didn't know how long the heiress would take.

A few minutes later Weiss emerged, still visibly unamused but stuck into going along with this. She was clean and composed as usual, which spoke volumes as to how quickly she could recover. Yang was impressed with the turnaround time, having expected it to be at least a few minutes longer. But she supposed that it was just another of those useful business skills

"Let's go," the heiress said brusquely. Yep, nothing remarkable there.

Yang nodded in agreement nonetheless. "Sure thing." There was no point in sticking around here any longer.

With that the two of them set off back towards the dorm room. Yang led the way, though she wasn't going very fast on account of the person accompanying her. Weiss had a particular speed she moved at, and Yang tended to move faster than that. So she'd live with it.

Of course, the two of them headed somewhere together without the rest of their team earned attention, but no more than usual. Indeed, the bristling aura that Weiss was giving off served as an effective deterrent, though it was useless against the heat Yang was putting out in return. She liked to think there was a joke in there somewhere, but she was still working on it.

Back they went, soon arriving in the hallway that their room was located in. Other sounds made their way to the ears of both Huntresses, one of whom was ignoring the other, which seemed to be coming from JNPR's room. At least that team was enjoying itself, or simply not having the issues that this one was.

"Hey guys, we're back," Yang announced as she entered the room with Weiss in tow, to find the other two team members doing exactly what they had been doing when she left, though it appeared that Ruby had gotten more agitated in the process.

"Thank you Yang," Ruby responded almost immediately, beaming as she sat up once more. Her faith in her older sister was touching, causing the grin the blond wore to widen in turn. Yeah, she was pretty awesome.

The door closed behind Weiss, who stood there with arms folded as she looked about. Meanwhile, Yang walked over to her partner, tapping Blake on the shoulder. "Come on, let's get out of here," she said, gesturing out the door. This was a conversation best had in private.

Blake glanced over at the other two before nodding in agreement. "Alright." She marked her position and rose from the bed, surreptitiously slipping a vial of Black Dust into her pocket in a smooth motion as she got to her feet.

"Now, you two have fun," Yang said with a wave as she moved for the door, Blake following after. One way or another this was going to work out, and she closed the door before Ruby or Weiss could complain.

Rather than moving on though, she kept up a position outside even if it was against the opposite wall. Blake stood nearby, a hand resting on her hip as she watched her partner. "So what do we do now," she asked calmly.

Yang grinned as she watched their room. "We're going to stay out here and make sure that neither of them leaves without talking everything out." That was the way she liked to do things, and it was the best way to handle it as far as she was concerned.

An eyebrow rose as Blake shifted on her feet. "I don't think they're going to be happy with that," she pointed out.

Yang was unconcerned with that fact, indicating as such in her posture. "They'll get over it," she replied, dismissing that with a wave of her hand. Better to get them not actively fighting and annoyed her, rather than the reverse. Ruby deserved that much.

At least Blake didn't contest that, falling silent. A few minutes passed before she turned, walking down the hall away from the room without a word.

"See you later then," Yang called with a wave as she watched her partner go. She wasn't sure what she was up to, but it was her choice. The fact that she was going off on her own was a sign that it probably mattered.

Well, in the end it was none of her business she supposed. With Blake gone she turned back to watching the room and waiting. This had better work out, or else she was not going to be the happiest person in the dorm right now. One way or another, she would get them to settle things.

***

The door closed with a solid finality, leaving Weiss and Ruby together alone. Ruby was quick to climb off of the bed, and she waited at her bedside as she looked at Weiss. Now was the moment to begin, to do as Yang had suggested and work things out, to be a good team leader.

But in spite of that, neither said anything for a few minutes, simply looking at each other. Well, Ruby did, combating her nervousness. Weiss on the other hand looked merely disinterested in what was going on. It wasn't too hard to read her opinion on this matter.

At last Ruby mustered the courage, glancing about as she spoke. "So, uh, should we do that homework we have to do for Goodwitch's class?" It would be a good way to ease into things, hopefully.

The suggestion earned a shrug from Weiss. Perhaps it wasn't what she had been expecting, but to Ruby's relief she didn't reject the idea either. "I suppose." Even she recognized that they needed to do that homework eventually.

"Great," Ruby replied with a grin. She grabbed a paper from up on her bunk along with a pencil, sitting down at one of the desks as Weiss sat down at the other with her own paper. This was going to be interesting.

"Soooo, do you want to start, or should I," the team leader then asked, not wanting to offend the heiress when she was getting so close to making things up to her. It was a small gesture that would help things, at least in her mind.

The response she got in turn was swift and near monotone. "Age," the white haired girl asked succinctly.

Well, that certainly made things easier for Ruby to decide. "Fifteen," she replied casually, ready to get going with this whole thing.

Weiss scribbled that down in shorthand and moved on without sparing a moment for any secondary chit chat. "Hometown."

"Patch," Ruby replied with little space between the question and answer. "It's a small island off the coast of Vale." She felt like she should specify where it was since not many people seemed to know.

That was added to the paper in shorthand as the heiress glared back at her partner. "I know. I'm well versed in the geography of Remnant."

A nervous chuckle escaped as Ruby rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment, or a perceived version of it anyway. "Oh yeah, of course. I'm sorry, I don't know why I thought you wouldn't know. It's just that I always have to explain where Patch is and so yeah...." She fell off as she noticed that she had begun to ramble, her embarrassment redoubling.

Weiss merely gave her a judging look before getting back to the homework at hand, her thoughts enigmatic. Ruby had a feeling that they weren't all that nice. She'd have to try harder then.

"Parent's names," the heiress said without another word, moving on in this assignment.

To her credit, Ruby would like to say that she bounced back remarkably quick to answer the question that had been asked of her. "Summer Rose and Tai Xiao Long." She would explain if need be, but she had much the same inclination to leave things unsaid that Yang did. It was a sensitive subject for them both.

Fortunately Weiss didn't ask, merely writing down the names before moving on with what they were doing. "Hobbies."

Ruby tilted in her seat, legs swinging free as she thought. "Well, I like music, weapons, board games, some sports, reading." That was said before a laugh escaped, aimed at herself. "I guess I just like a lot of stuff."

Yet another lack of a response to that before the next question came in the form of a statement, the same pattern repeated. "Post-graduation plans."

For Ruby that was as easy as breathing, a question that she had answered many times and would most likely have to keep doing so into the future. "Become a Huntress and fight Grimm of course," she replied automatically. She didn't even bother listing alternatives, because to her there were none. One way or another she would become a Huntress like her mother.

Weiss finished writing that down before placing her pencil off to the side. "That's all," she announced, indicating that Ruby could get started whenever she was ready.

The younger girl took her pen in hand and sat poised to write as she watched her partner carefully. "Okay then. So how old are you?"

"Seventeen." The response was succinct, concise, much like how she had been talking earlier, and it gave Ruby the impression that she had had some training in interviews or something like that. It made sense, if not helping the atmosphere in the process.

Well, there wasn't much she could do about that, so she might as well go onwards and forwards. "Who are your parents?"

"My father is Asche Schnee," Weiss began with an intonation further indicating that this was something she had repeated often when she needed to do so. "My mother is Maria Schnee."

Ruby jotted that down and moved on to the next question on the list, heeding her partner's desire to handle this in a relatively rapid manner. "Alright, what kinds of hobbies do you have?"

That took a moment to get something in return, though it wasn't unexpected given how long she herself had taken. She supposed that her partner was merely thinking things over, that was all. "I don't have any hobbies," Weiss said, much to the other girl's surprise. "I take everything I do seriously, and I simply don't have the time for extraneous activities."

"Oh, um, okay." That seemed awfully depressing, not to mention boring, but Ruby supposed that she couldn't complain about it. Well, she could, though it wouldn't be appreciated on the receiving end. That just served to make it all the more aggravating.

She twirled her pen as she noted the lack of hobbies before moving on. "What do you plan to do after we graduate?" She had a suspicion, but some confirmation couldn't hurt.

Weiss subtly straightened up at that, interesting to Ruby though she didn't comment on it. "Once I graduate Beacon, I will become a Huntress until I can no longer do that, or until I am required to become the CEO and owner of the Schnee Dust Corporation."

Yeah, that had been pretty much what Ruby was expecting. But she couldn't just skip over the question even if she assumed she knew the answer. Besides that, it seemed that her partner was a lot more on the ball about the future than she was, beyond the bare basics.

At this point she was out of listed questions, and it looked like Weiss was prepared to be done, but Ruby wasn't about to let her go just yet. She had to talk to Weiss and work things out now, or else she never would.

With no time left to put it off, she took the plunge. "So, uh, why don't you like me?" It spiked her own nervousness, but she braced herself for the answer that she would get.

"Why?" Weiss asked in turn, brushing over any surprise that she might have felt in turn at the question. "Do you really want to know?" She met Ruby's gaze, the team leader repressing a shiver in turn.

"Yeah," her partner reiterated, not eager but still determined. She was going to make Weiss like her, no matter what it took.

The heiress sighed, hands resting in her lap as she gave this quite a bit of thought, if appearances were anything to go by. "You nearly blew me up, for starters. You and that sister of yours are incessantly annoying, you don't pay attention in class, and for being skilled enough to get into Beacon when you're only fifteen, you don't seem to be taking this very seriously. That's why."

"Oh." Ruby would cede what was being said to some extent, since there had to be some basis if it was coming from her partner. Still, she couldn't help but protest at least a little. "I'm still trying you know."

Weiss harrumphed, clasping her hands together though they stayed in place. "Not very hard," she shot back. "One time is fine, a couple I can accept. But when it happens over successive days, then that's when we have a problem."

"But I am trying! It's just hard getting used to being in Beacon after jumping grades. I'll work it out soon," Ruby protested, rising a bit from her seat in defense of herself.

"And that is why I think you aren't a good team leader," Weiss countered, cooling down as the argument heated up. "You can't handle how things are here at Beacon, and while you might, and I emphasize might, be a good team leader at some point in the theoretical future, you aren't now." Her head tilted upwards, eyes closing. "Honestly, I don't know what Ozpin was thinking. You would assume he was a good judge of character, but apparently not."

Ruby's annoyance was growing, much like that rage her sister was famous for, though she would not explode like her. But regardless, the emotions aimed at her partner were growing more heated every second. "Well, it's not as if you're any better," she returned, practically shouting as she rose from her seat.

"Excuse me," Weiss asked with an air of disbelief. It was all the more unexpected coming from Ruby, when the girl hadn't really acted like this outside of a stressful situation.

Having come this far, Ruby was not about to back down or stop. "Yeah. All you've done this entire time is try to boss me around, insult me, and completely ignore the fact that I'm supposed to be in charge. If anyone here is childish, it's you, because that's how you've been acting this whole time."

She might not know what the heiress was thinking, but she had a fairly good idea as the response to that came. "Hey, I did what I thought I had to do at the time. And unlike you, I've been preparing my whole life to be a leader. So at least I'm qualified."

Ruby was quick on the turnaround from that. "Well I'm sorry, but not everyone can be the next in line to a major company. Some of us have to take the time to learn stuff like this. That's what I've been doing, and you haven't been helping."

"I wasn't aware that it was my job to babysit you through this process." Well then, this was going well. Or not, but Ruby was beyond caring at this point. Now it was about venting, and she'd feel a lot better when it was done than she did now or before. She could pick up the pieces afterwards when she had a chance to think about it.

She stamped her foot on the ground, fists clenched at her side. "Yes it is Weiss. You're my partner, and partners help each other out when they need it. They aren't supposed to tear each other down when they're struggling."

Weiss seemed to be offended by that, but Ruby couldn't bring herself to feel bad about it. "Hey, I've helped out. It's not my fault that you find it hard to do things right."

"I'm doing my best. And that doesn't change the fact that you haven't been a very good partner." A small wish went out for Yang to be here to back her up, but Ruby knew that her sister would be a no-show. She had to handle this alone.

Weiss shrugged, arms folded across her chest at that point as she continued to grow colder in the process. "Well what do you want from me," she asked. "I can't look after you the entire time we're here. If you can't handle things, then it would be better for you to fail now before you drag the rest of us down with you."

Ruby pouted at that point, resisting the urge to stamp her foot once more. "Hey, why do you automatically assume I'm going to fail? Ozpin chose me for a reason, and if he has confidence in me then I don't know why you can't either."

"Ozpin isn't perfect you know," Weiss replied with a roll of her eyes. "It's entirely possible that he could have made a mistake. We don't know if he did or not."

For her part, Ruby chose to believe in the Headmaster, lest her own confidence abandon her abruptly. She had faith in him and his judging of character. "And what if he's right? What if he's right about me and you're just jealous that it isn't you? That's not fair, and that makes it as much your fault as mine."

"Me, jealous?" Ruby grunted at the implied laugh therein, though she didn't comment on it. "I'm rich, popular, talented. I'm a Schnee, and I certainly have no reason to be jealous of someone like you."

This time Ruby was the one to roll her eyes in response to something being said. "Yeah, sure. And yet somehow, in spite of all that stuff, you still aren't team leader. I mean, I don't really want the job to be honest, but now that I have it I have to do it as good as I can."

It made sense in her head, but it did not save her from a critical look directed at her by the heiress. "So I'm simply waiting until the task proves to be too much for you. That's how the business world works, and I see no reason for it to be different here."

While Ruby would admit that she didn't have business training like Weiss did, and her understanding might be deficient as a result, but she had the sneaking suspicion that that was not how it actually worked. "Um, Weiss, that makes it sound like we're competing," she pointed out with the slightest hint of nervousness, since she knew Weiss was more knowledgeable about this sort of thing than her.

"Aren't we?" Weiss answered in a less than promising manner. It led Ruby to wonder exactly where she was pulling that from, since there had been no indication of this being a competition thus far.

Ruby shook her head. "Uh, no? We're students. On a team. There's nothing for us to compete over in the first place!" She didn't think it was that hard to figure out, but apparently it was for her partner, which made it all the more frustrating.

Weiss' head tilted upwards in that still condescending expression of hers. "If that's your opinion, then so be it. You can have yours and I'll have my own, thank you very much."

Ruby took a step forward, emphatically shaking her head once more. "But it doesn't work if you do that," she replied. "You're my partner, and I can't have you competing against me when we're supposed to be working together. Then we'll both fail. Do you really want that?"

She wasn't exactly sure what, but something in there seemed to have given Weiss pause. Her spirits rose, confident that she was getting through to her partner and that this could be settled once and for all.

"I suppose not," Weiss ceded at last, with the barest hint of reluctance on her part. That earned a mental sigh from Ruby as she went on to clarify. "I do have a reputation to maintain after all."

Okay, so not quite the pure motivations that the younger Huntress-in-training had been hoping for, but it would have to do. "Thank you Weiss! And I promise that I will do my best to not let you down," Ruby said with all the energetic sincerity that she could muster.

The icy atmosphere began to diminish, though it was maintained to some small extent for now. "You had better. This is your last chance," the heiress said with all the force of a proclamation. There was doubt whatsoever that she was serious.

Ruby snapped off a salute, in half jest. "Got it." She had to now that she had decided on it and she would, one way or another.

"See that you do." Weiss nodded before turning back to her desk. There was a lull before she shifted once more, continuing onwards like the interruption had never existed. "And please do something about your sister. I can't focus when she's goofing off all of the time."

While Ruby was more than ready to let Yang defend herself, since she was really good at it, she nonetheless chose to speak up even if it jeopardized the progress she had just made. "I don't see what's wrong with that," she replied with a shrug. "That's just how Yang is."

"It's annoying," the heiress reiterated firmly. "This is Beacon Academy, one of the foremost combat schools on Remnant. If she wants to joke around and party, there are plenty of other places more suited to it than this."

The reluctance to get involved faded away as Ruby continued to defend her sister. Yang would have, had, done the same for her after all, so she considered it a sisterly duty. "Hey, you saw how well she can fight. She can be serious when she needs to be."

An eyebrow rose in a coolly skeptical look, not entirely a surprise if Ruby was to be honest. "And that time is when we're in class or at school?"

She might have had half of a point there, but it was also obvious that she was exaggerating, even from someone who wasn't the epitome of social tact. There was the difference in experience to take into consideration as well. "Trust me. Yang has her quirks, and she may do pranks and stuff, but she'll always be there when it matters."

"Of course you'd say that," Weiss snapped back, almost defensive in tone. "You're her sister." Which was true, though the team leader would deny that it had an overwhelming impact on her opinion with regards to this whole thing.

She plowed ahead anyways, nodding fervently. "Yeah, I am. I've known her a lot longer than you have, and that's why I can say it. If you aren't going to talk to her about it, then at least trust me.

Of course, that might not be saying much given how much Weiss seemed to actually trust her at this point, but she went for it anyway. And it seemed that Weiss recognized it too, which Ruby was grateful for, to say the least. "Can you guarantee that?"

"Yes," Ruby answered without hesitation. She knew her sister and would never doubt her, not even for a second.

A piercing look was sent her way before Weiss gave her verdict, tone hinting at a sigh in the process. "I suppose I can give her a chance as well, if she's willing to put in the effort. It wouldn't be fair otherwise."

Ruby grinned widely, replicating how she had looked when Weiss shad first accepted her own promise. "Thank you," she said to her partner, not needing to hide how she felt at all. It was a weight off of her shoulders and mind to know that they had finally worked things out.

At that point Weiss turned back around to her desk, picking up her pencil and beginning to scribble away. Ruby didn't mind too much, since the conversation was pretty much over at that point. Instead, she headed back to her bed after retrieving her stuff from the desk, to get to work on her homework and to write up that paper she had to do.

They were silent for several minutes before Yang returned, the door swinging open as the blond admitted herself, the blond wearing a grin. "So, you guys friends yet?"

Ruby looked up from her bunk bed, wearing a grin similar to that of her sister at this point. "Hey Sis," she replied with a wave before nodding. "Yep." It might not be perfect, but at the least they had an understanding. If only in her mind anyway.

"Hey, good to hear. I told you it wouldn't be that bad," Yang said as she moved over to her bed, though she didn't climb on to it just yet. She seemed happy, which made her sister happy in turn. Weiss might be reluctant, but the team was coming together at last.

There was a lapse in conversation at that point, replaced with the mere rustling of paper and scratching of pencils and pens. Yang at last got on her bed as well, pulling out a magazine. They had resolved their problems, even temporarily, though Ruby would have to talk to Yang about her joking later. Right now she merely contented herself with working on her paper.

"So where's Blake," Weiss asked after a few minutes, not looking back at the blond as she wrote in elegant script. While Ruby wasn't distracted by the question, she was at least glad that the other two team members could tolerate each other, as opposed to how the heiress thought of her and her sister.

Yang shrugged from her bunk, putting on her best impression of her partner in the process. "She left after you guys started chatting. I'm sure that she's around here somewhere."

"I see." Ruby could swear that she had heard some disappointment on Weiss' part but she was probably just reading too much into it. Weiss didn't strike her as the kind of person to get down over something so trivial, and it wasn't as if Blake wouldn't be around later. So it was most likely nothing in the end.

It seemed that Yang had noticed as well though, not earning any shock from Ruby in the process. "Why do you ask," she said as she leaned over the side of her bunk, grinning mischievously at the white haired girl.

"Curiosity," Weiss replied calmly, ignoring the looks being directed at her by the blond, whom Ruby thought might have gotten the idea that it was more than just that. But she certainly wasn't going to say it aloud. "Is that a problem?"

Yang propped her head up with the palm of her hand as her grin sat undiminished. "Nah, just wondering." Much to Ruby's relief, it seemed the both of them were willing to let the argument lie there and not go on further.

At that point the silence of homework returned as the trio got back to what they had been doing before. It was a mood that pervaded for some time, Ruby writing away as she considered the essay that she was working on. There was a lot she could write now, and she had plenty of time left as well, so she wads devoting her full effort to it with the motivation that she had been given to do so.

Eventually the door swung open to admit Blake into the room, the raven haired girl silent as she moved directly for her bed whilst giving everyone else merely a swift look. "Hey Blake," Ruby called upon seeing her, waving from her bunk in the process.

"The Ice Queen was looking for you," Yang added from her own position, turning her attention away from her magazine even if it was only for a moment.

Weiss huffed indignantly, somehow still not happy with the return of that nickname. "I was just wondering where you were. That's all."

"I was in the library," Blake explained calmly, and Ruby nodded in understanding. It was the most likely place she'd be based off of what her team leader knew about her, so she had no reason to doubt it. It explained why she had taken so long as well.

Weiss rose at that point, placing her pencil down as she turned towards where Blake rested. "Have you had dinner yet? I was planning to get some now"

"No," Blake answered disinterestedly. Which Ruby wasn't surprised by any more, though Blake made no effort to elaborate on that further either.

Weiss moved towards the door then, though not in any sort of hurry. "Well then, I see no reason why you can't come with." That was at least a tad presumptuous, but it was effective as well as Blake got back up and moved to join the heiress.

"Alright," she agreed without complaint, much to Ruby's shock and relief. She hadn't expected Blake to give in so easily, but she was glad that it hadn't turned into another argument, her obsessive worry it felt like these days.

At that point the heiress glanced back at the two sisters, seeking their attention and opinion. "What about you two?"

Ruby hummed, feet clicking together in idle thought before she shook her head. "Nope. I want to work on this right now." Much as she might not want to, she had just made a promise she couldn't renege on. "Can we practice together later though?"

At the same time, Yang concurred with what she had said. "I'm going to eat later. You guys go on."

Weiss didn't immediately leave, instead walking over to the bed and rising up to see what Ruby was working on. Ruby shifted so her partner could get a better look as she glanced over, grinning as Weiss noted the actual essay rather than, say, comic books she could have been reading.

"I don't see why not," the heiress decided as she returned to her starting spot, voice somewhat softer than it had been for the duration of their argument. "Goodbye." With that she left the room, Blake following behind and leaving the sisters alone.

Ruby hummed as she turned back to her essay, writing down another sentence of what she now knew about her partner. It had been a lot of work, all told, but it had not been an entirely bad day. She had made progress, and she would not let her partner down. That much she could resolve.

 

[Azecreth]

Ch 9 - Sudden Truths

"Morning everyone!" Ruby grinned as she waved, seated at a table in the dining hall with a bowl of cereal in front of her. The greeting was directed to her next door neighbors as Team JNPR sat down across from them.

"Hey Ruby, Weiss, Blake, Yang," Jaune said in return, placing his own food on the table as he took a seat. This was echoed by Pyrrha, Nora, and Ren as they all joined him to eat their own meals. There was a varied assortment to eat, cereal, fruits, meat, that sort of thing.

It had been a couple of weeks since school had begun, and Ruby was fairly satisfied with how it had gone. Blake was still relatively aloof and Weiss hadn't changed that much either, but at least they were gelling as a team now, much to her satisfaction.

And as they had grown together, Ruby liked to think that she had grown as well. She'd managed to catch up to Beacon's school material, and was now able to cope with Weiss better as well. Blake was more worrying, but as long as Yang was content then she wouldn't push too hard on that subject. For now anyway.

But now it was the weekend once more, and they could enjoy themselves free from the burden of school. Ruby was definitely looking forward to it, though she was currently managing to restrain her enthusiasm. It probably would not last as the day went on, but she could hardly be blamed for that. She was young, and free time was very valuable to her.

"Sleep well," Yang asked, taking a moment from eating as she looked across the table. Her rest had been well, but she said it more for the reaction she would get than for her actual curiosity and concern.

And the particular response she was seeking, she got. "Ooh, I had this great dream," Nora exclaimed, and without hesitation she launched right into recounting the tale. "It was a dark and stormy night..."

"It was daytime. And cloudy," Ren interjected, translating what Nora was saying for the group. It was the same old task, so the rest of them were used to it at this point. It did make for a funny duality as she exaggerated things and he made them mundane again.

And that lack of surprise made it easier for the rest of them, and allowed Ruby to tune out the story that Nora was telling. Instead, she looked across the table to her fellow team leader. "So, doing anything fun today?"

Jaune gave a nervous chuckle at that, glancing over to his partner as he answered. "Oh, you know, doing homework, sparring, stuff like that." Ruby knew that he'd been having some trouble from their conversations and his showings in class, but if he was getting a handle on it or getting help, then she wouldn't have any problem with that.

"Alright," she replied with a nod, picking up a spoonful of cereal. "Sounds like fun."

Weiss sighed, her efforts to impart proper etiquette to Ruby not working in spite of her best efforts. No one paid attention to her sullen complaint though as the conversation went on. "So what are you planning to do today," Pyrrha asked.

"Omm, we're going to Vawe," Ruby mumbled past her full mouth, attention fixed on the redhead and not her disapproving partner. It had been a recent decision for all of them, from this morning, but she didn't mind.

At that point Weiss interrupted to provide some explanation, lest the champion get the wrong idea. "There's a ship arriving from Vacuo with a few teams for the Vytal Festival. We're going to meet them when they get here."

"Cool. Maybe we should come with," Jaune offered. It seemed well intentioned, even if it also served as an excuse to get away from his work. At least to Ruby, but she was willing to allow the rest of his team to handle it, since they would rightfully have the most influence. She didn't mind either way really.

"Perhaps when we're done with all our other activities," Pyrrha replied, shutting him down for the moment. Well, it would save some people a bit of trouble, and it was probably a reasonable decision anyway.

Swallowing her latest mouthful of cereal, Ruby emphatically nodded in agreement with that statement. "Well hopefully we'll see you guys later then." She wouldn't rule out the possibility, given how long the day was. One could always hope.

"...so I cast him down and smashed the Grimm in the name of the Mad Queen!" Nora interrupted by sheer volume, rising from her seat to dramatically gesture to the ceiling as she took over the conversation once more.

Ren sighed as the story finished, providing his usual disclaimer to it. "Same dream as the last time." Really, it seemed that Yang was the only one who actively enjoyed Nora's exaggerated tales, not that that was too much of an issue.

"Oh yeah, did you ever hear from that Templar again," Ruby asked Nora, legitimately curious about this. She would admit that she was a bit jealous of the girl. She wished that she had had the opportunity for personal interaction with a Templar during Initiation. Lucky Nora.

Nora shook her head at that, energy undiminished. "Nope. But I'm sure she's busy fighting Grimm." That seemed like it would be true enough. Who knew when a Templar had free time in the first place? It definitely seemed like a busy job to have, so no contact was understandable.

The conversation shifted as Yang spoke up then, her focus directed to her fellow blond. "Cardin still giving you trouble?" That was another story they had heard, though it was not one that was static either. And she liked to keep informed and take care of her friends, which was why she was asking. There was no doubt in any of their minds on that fact.

The response came quickly on Jaune's part. "Nah, it's alright. Everything's working itself out." Admittedly Yang probably wouldn't have been needed anyway had it been the case what with Nora there to provide physical force, but it never hurt regardless.

"Alright. But if you ever need it just ask," Yang ceded, letting the matter lie. With how popular she was, it was hardly a question of her finding out if something did happen. And then things would probably become less than pleasant, at least for Cardin.

The conversation would drift on into idle chit chat, both teams discussing the activities they had planned and happenings around the school. This was quite the fruitful discussion, what with the resources of Weiss, Yang, and Pyrrha to draw on. Just another benefit to being popular, connected, and high society.

But it came to an end soon enough as Team RWBY finished their individual meals. "Well, see you guys later," Ruby said as she stood up and moved away from the table, to go put her empty tray near the trash. It had been a good breakfast, but now it was time to get moving.

"Bye," Jaune replied with a wave as the quartet filed out of the cafeteria. At that point the first stop was their room to collect some things before they headed down to the campus grounds so they could get on the airship to Vale.

Of course, when Ruby arrived she took her wallet, and made sure that Crescent Rose was with her. She was not about to go anywhere without it. "So Weiss, do you know when the ship is arriving?"

She looked expectantly to her partner, who also had picked up what she needed from their room. "They're supposed to make port in a half hour or so." Though with how shipping could be because of the Grimm, it could be a wildly wrong estimate. They wouldn't really know until it got there and they could see.

"I'm surprised you don't have a better idea of their current schedule," Blake noted aloud. It was also a seemingly reasonable claim, albeit a provocative one at the same time.

Weiss harrumphed, folding her arms as she shifted towards Blake. "Just because I'm the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company doesn't mean I can simply ring up some random ship to ask what their schedule is without a good reason. It would be irresponsible of me."

"It will save us time," Blake noted, but she didn't really push beyond that. For that Ruby was grateful, since the arguments between Blake and Weiss always seemed a bit worse, a bit more vicious than her own disagreements with the heiress.

Weiss was not as easy to let it go, if only out of some apparent desire to get the last word in. "I am not going to abuse my position like that. If you have something that you'd like to do, no one's making you come with."

Blake averted her gaze, still attempting to disengage from the conflict. "I don't," she admitted smoothly. That seemed to be it, as she looked over to Ruby for the team leader to move them on now that they were ready.

Taking it as a victory, Weiss rejoined the two, while Yang grabbed what she needed and did the same. Once they were gathered, Ruby shifted onto her tip toes as she pointed out the door. "Alright then, forward Team RWBY!"

The heiress rolled her eyes at that, but nonetheless the four team members left their dorm room to get on their way. It was a swift trip down to the landing site, where they boarded the airship to travel down to Vale.

The trip was fairly rapid, the airship loaded with people going down to the city for the weekend. Team RWBY might not be the only ones to go there, but it was a good guess that they were the only ones headed to this particular meeting. Well, one would assume anyway. But otherwise they were indistinguishable from everyone else there.

It was a casual trip like always. Once again the time was taken by chatting and discussing various topics, both amongst Team RWBY and with the other travelers. Team CFVY were also included in that number, and it was always fun to talk with the upperclassmen as they rode the ship down.

And that was what happened as Yang ended up speaking with Coco about clothes and boys as well as other things. Ruby ignored those more embarrassing topics as she waited anxiously for them to arrive. Besides the ship there would be plenty of time for shopping, and she was looking forward to that.

On the other hand, Blake held herself aloof, and Weiss also kept relatively to herself. So the journey would pass in quick minutes and they would soon arrive at their destination.

The airship came in for a landing, struts extending to settle them on the ground before the ramp dropped down. Once it had entirely made it to the ground the current occupants would exit out to the paved ground waiting for them. Team CFVY would depart on their own business while RWBY would gather now that they were here.

"So, straight to the docks," Yang asked as she looked towards her sister. She didn't really care either way, now that they were in town. She could have fun regardless of the decision.

"Yep," Ruby confirmed with a nod. If they only had a half hour or so then they couldn't really waste time. They still had to actually walk to the docks. But afterwards there would be time for more leisurely activities.

With that said and no complaints they headed off, leaving the landing zone and moving off into the city itself. It wasn't difficult to find their way, since they had been here before even if some of them hadn't lived here And getting to the docks was comparatively easy as well. All in all, they could handle it without difficulty.

The city itself was busy, as it tended to be on days like this. It was a weekend so people were out and about Vale, seeing the sights and moving with a lack of clear intent as they flowed along sidewalks. This was joined by the crowd from Beacon as well as travelers from other kingdoms, merely adding to the crowds. It wasn't the nightlife but it was hardly empty.

Ruby walked along with a spring in her step, simply enjoying herself at the moment. Their purpose here would not get in the way of that even if Ruby was not the most social person She just couldn't contain herself right now.

The same could be said for Yang as well. She walked with a smile on her face and a slight sway in her step, enjoying being out and about. If anyone had a problem with the crowds it was not her.

Even Weiss seemed a bit more eager, though she continued to walk with poise and grace, her head held high. It was no surprise, not for those who had gotten to know her through her cold and abrasive exterior. She had to keep up a good impression in the public eye, at least in her mind.

As for Blake, well, she was as calm as usual. For her approval at this activity, she didn't show any particular enthusiasm for it. Still, she didn't seem like she was going to leave either so it would have to be good enough.

"Maybe we should see a movie later," Yang noted as they walked past a theater at that exact moment. "I hear that time travel one is pretty good."

"No thanks," Weiss replied with a shake of her head as she glanced at the poster of the movie they were talking about. "The premise seems cliched, and I doubt it will be worth the money."

Yang grinned as she looked back at her teammate, ready for this argument. "Come on Princess," she countered with more than a hint of teasing. "How do you know you won't like it if you don't watch it? Besides, just because it's cliched doesn't mean it won't be good."

Still Weiss held firm, perhaps exacerbated by the use of the nickname that Yang liked to tease her with. "I have a fairly good idea of what I like, and I can always save myself some time by getting it after it comes out on video later."

The argument would go on as Weiss defended what she saw as 'high culture' and Yang fought against it, and Ruby only paid it a bit of attention as she led them along towards their destination. They passed down along a few more streets before something caught her eye, bringing her up short.

"Hey, what's that," she asked. That drew the attention of her team to what she was looking at, and they stopped as well. It seemed that this trip would be a bit more interesting than anticipated.

Down the street there was a section cordoned off around a storefront, with a cop car or two parked nearby. The storefront itself was in shambles, the large glass window shattered and shards sent onto the sidewalk. A couple cops milled about, examining the scene and interviewing witnesses as they went about their jobs.

"Looks like a robbery," Blake noted as they approached. That earned general agreement from the rest of the team, for they certainly couldn't argue against it. Indeed, Ruby was brought back to that attempted robbery she had been a part of a few weeks ago. Was this the same group?

Coming to a stop, the team watched the cops go about their business as the lawmen conversed with each other."That makes the third Dust shop this week," one commented, him taller and with black hair. "And the same pattern too. They only took Dust, no money."

"Yep," his partner confirmed, the both of them currently looking towards the store though they remained close enough to hear. "Who do you think did it?"

The cop shifted on his feet, glancing down at a notebook he held in his left hand. "Probably Torchwick. He's been pretty busy recently." That caught Ruby's attention, confirming her suspicions from before.

His partner would add to that with a shrug. "Him or the White Fang, I guess." At that point the team leader was eager to hear how they planned to take the thief down, if only for her own personal vendetta after he nearly blew her up.

"So, what do you think we should do about it?" Her anticipation grew as they began to discuss what she was wondering. It was sure to be interesting.

But her hopes were dashed in the end as the cop closed his notebook. "I think we don't get paid enough for this." And with that the two of them walked off out of conversation range, and leaving Ruby very dissatisfied.

Weiss harrumphed as she turned away from the scene, tilting her nose up as a general expression of her opinion. "I hope they bring them to justice soon," she proclaim, disdain laced in her tone. Considering her upbringing, it was hardly surprising.

"'They'?" Blake turned to examine Weiss with a critical eye. "What if it was Torchwick? You shouldn't leap to conclusions when we have no proof of who actually did it. The White Fang might not have been involved."

"What does it matter," Weiss asked as she shifted to face Blake, letting her hands drop down and rest on her hips. "Torchwick or the White Fang, they're all criminals that should be brought to justice for their crimes. That's just fact, not leaping to conclusions."

Yang shrugged as she glanced back towards the store. "Well, there's nothing we can do about this. I guess we should just let the authorities handle it."

"Yeah," Ruby agreed, though not without a bit of reluctance on her part. She did want to help out but she just didn't know how to go about it. She wasn't even sure where to start. So while she didn't like it, there was no choice but to let the cops handle it. Somehow.

It was enough for both Blake and Weiss to drop the issue, though the heiress did emit a sense of satisfaction with how things had ended. "Well, shall we be going?"

There was no disagreement and the group continued on their way. In spite of that they couldn't leave behind what had happened, though it festered out of sight. There was no real reason it should have, but it merely added to what had gone on thus far and the burden there.

But with that past them the trip was otherwise rapid. Stores shifted in flavor and tone as they neared the seashore, to reflect the new scenery. It was a nice change of pace, though ocean based Grimm could always be a worry. Here though, there was no fear of that.

At last they arrived at the docks, with ships and vessels offloading goods there as workers bustled about. Beyond the cargo ships themselves there were passenger vessels and more in wait. They were built with safety in mind, for they had to, and even then there were still some empty docks, though whether they were supposed to be occupied or not was another matter.

So Team RWBY walked on past the cargo ships to the passenger vessels, and moved down the rows as they searched for their destination. "Hey Weiss, what was the name of that ship again," Ruby asked as she led her team along on their walk.

"The Costa Ricosa," Weiss answered as her neck tilted slightly upwards in an effort to see the names on the ships. It wasn't hard, just time consuming.

Yang gestured to all the ships at that point as she followed behind her sister. "I don't suppose you know which dock it's at? Otherwise we might be here for a while."

At that point Weiss sighed, indicating that she was beginning to get annoyed by the questioning. "Dock 3," she replied before adding to it. "Was I the only person to bother looking up where we would be going?"

Yang shrugged in return, not exactly bothered by the possibility of any accusations that might come her way. "Well, this was your idea Ice Queen," she pointed out, as if that explained everything. Which it kinda did, if Ruby was honest.

And it did indeed get a reaction as the heiress indicated her displeasure with a slight increase in her step, forcing the rest of them to try and keep up with her in turn. "Really," she grumbled loudly, not hiding her feelings. "The lack of school spirit and pride, as well as kinship with your fellow Huntsmen, is appalling."

Ruby was about to answer that, but Blake managed to do so first. "She just wants to spy on the arriving teams for when we have to fight them in the festival," she noted. Even Ruby didn't have to try hard to find the silent judgment in that statement, which seemed primed to precipitate an argument between the two.

"What?! That is...That's besides the point!" Weiss sputtered indignantly as she waved off the accusation. "Whether we get something useful out of this is secondary to our duty to these teams to be good hosts and representatives of Beacon. That's all."

Ruby would admit, getting some extra information to begin early planning for the Vytal Festival would be nice. But she wasn't about to turn to subterfuge to get it. Well, not yet. "Yeah," she partially agreed. "We'll be fine without any help. Now let's go find that ship." She headed on with Weiss, intent on locating the dock and the ship.

Meanwhile, Yang fell back to converse with her partner. Understandably, her curiosity had been piqued by the conversation and she had no problem with inquiring further. "How did you know?"

Blake was nonchalant in her answer as she followed behind their team leader. "Common sense." She said that without looking at Yang, focused forwards. "She was raised to take over a business and part of that is getting as much information as you can to make decisions, even if the methods aren't particularly moral."

It was a conclusion that was cynical and yet also made sense at the same time. Especially with how wary Blake had been of Weiss thus far. "Was that it?" Yang had the suspicion that there was more to it.

But if there was, Blake was content to remain cryptically enigmatic. "You can hear all sorts of things when you're quiet and listen."

Yang gave a thumbs up in return, indicating her understanding. Certainly she was not one to underestimate the width and reach of the rumor mill. "Got it. Don't worry, I know a thing or two about that works."

"I know." Yang was hardly unfamiliar, and it was too simple to hear all sorts of rumors about her. The blond seemed to flaunt that and revel in the attention she stirred, which was hardly a surprise to anyone who knew her. And it seemed unlikely to change.

Their conversation was interrupted from the front as a voice called out. "Here we are," Weiss proclaimed as she gestured to the berth that they had arrived at. Past the wooden pier where the boat would dock and the concrete therein it rose slightly, before continuing on to visitor centers for arriving travelers. Just a regular port at that. Blake and Yang cut off what they were saying to each other as they hurried forward to join her.

At the moment the berth stood empty, but that would rapidly change due to the presence of the ship slowly pulling in from it's position nearby. It would take several minutes, but compared to the possibilities it was a short time to wait.

As time passed and the ship maneuvered in, Ruby found herself growing increasingly excited. She had to resist the urge to bounce on her heels, or to wring her hands, or sing, as she waited anxiously. She was looking forward to meeting the other teams, and seeing what weapons they had.

Eventually the ship managed to arrive, slowing to a stop inside it's prepared berth. At that point the quartet advanced forwards along with the rest in the small crowd, ready to meet the other teams. It had been long enough, but now at least they could get this over with.

Before they could reach the end of the pier though, a cry arose from on the ship itself, near where they were. "Get him!" "Stop right there!" That earned confused looks between the various team members before they sped up into a jog. Something was happening, and they wanted to find out what.

Drawing closer, they were able to see someone appear on the deck railing, a guy with sand blond hair eating a banana. He waved to someone else on the boat before jumping off the ship, using his tail to end up on a light post.

"Thanks for the ride," he called back jovially to the two men in suits who appeared where he had just been. "Catch you later!" And with that he began to jump away from the ship and the docks.

Naturally, the two crewmen were not happy about that fact. "Somebody get that stowaway," they yelled as the ramp on the boat began to lower to the pier. It definitely explained why he was running away so fast to everyone watching.

Now that left Ruby in a dilemma. They didn't have any responsibility to be involved, but they couldn't allow a criminal to escape if they had the ability to do something about it. And from the look of things it seemed that the Port Authority couldn't handle it as they were focused elsewhere.

In the end Weiss chose for them. "Well? Come on, we have to stop him," she said, before running off. And somehow that became the party decision, as everyone else ran after her. It seemed that the chase had begun.

That was how it lasted for a few few seconds or so, before Ruby mentally slapped herself. If she was going to do this then she wouldn't hold back. This stowaway was not going to escape, not if she had something to say about it.

With that decision made she activated her Semblance and rushed past everyone in a blur and a shot of rose petals. It might be going overboard, but she didn't care. This was just the easiest way to catch this guy, and nothing more.

Her surroundings flashed past in a blur, but for Ruby that was no problem, her eyes darting about as her reaction time rose as well as her ability to process what she was seeing. After all, it wasn't just her speed that got increased, but the things that would let her operate effectively at that speed. Thank goodness for Aura.

Sadly it seemed that the guy was more observant than she expected, as he noticed her coming up behind him then. And that seemed to motivate him to stay up and out of reach, understandably. It made things more annoying, but she didn't really want to break out Crescent Rose for this. It would be overkill and she wanted to avoid the property damage.

Still she pursued, seeking the opportunity to get up to him. Somehow. Eventually he would run out of space and have to come down or be trapped up there. And either way was fine by her.

Running as she was, she grinned as at last he hit the ground, and put on a burst of speed to catch up and clobber him. But in the process, she almost missed the banana peel as it was thrown down right in her path. She dodged, of course, but not far enough. Instead her foot clipped it and sent her spinning on the next step.

"Whaaaa-" A cry escaped as Ruby spun, feet kicked out from under her in that first step and sent tumbling as a result. Fortunately her Aura absorbed the damage as she rolled along the ground, but it was definitely a blow to her pride.

She was barely able to hear it over the obvious distractions, but she swore she could hear him apologizing before the Faunus ran on, barely taking any time to stop. Well then, the sentiment was appreciated all told, though she was a bit too battered to care.

"Oof!" Her tumble was abruptly terminated as she slammed into something, earning a groan as she sat facing upwards. Her head spun as she rested in place, wishing that the sky would stop turning soon. Well, that had been fun, but it was definitely not something that she wanted to repeat.

There was silence for a moment before whatever she had collided with spoke up. "Oh, are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Ruby groaned in return, her head still tilting to and fro as her eyes spun in slow circles. "Just a bit dizzy, that's all." Something of an understatement, but her condition was rapidly easing. She would be fine in a minute or so.

"Sensational!" That was...weird, in comparison to other things that could have been said, but she let it pass. Priorities and all. This person had acted as a brake after all, so they couldn't be too bad.

The spinning subsided to a gentle sway soon enough, and she was about ready to give a shot to sitting up if nothing else. But before she could do so she heard the sound of feet running up. Given the situation, it wasn't hard to guess who that was.

"Ruby, are you okay?" That voice was her sister, and Ruby braced herself for what would come next. Yet somehow it was bearable as the three emerged into her field of vision, the other members of her team looking down at her with varying degrees of concern in their expressions.

"I'm fine," she reiterated, before lurching into motion. With a grunt she got back to her feet and brushed herself off, pretending that it was nothing. "He tripped me, you know?"

At that Weiss scowled, gratitude for her team leaders safety hard in coming. "Now look," she complained as she gestured about. "He got away!"

For the moment Ruby ignored that fact, instead turning to the person who had helped her. What she found was...interesting. It was a girl, taller than her, with orange hair and green eyes to go with an odd dress. It wasn't anything in particular, but there was just something unsettling about the way she stood there looking at them all.

She proceeded on regardless though, since it was only fair. "Hey, uh, sorry for running into you," she apologized with a chagrined look. "I didn't mean to."

There was a pause before the girl answered her. "Do not worry," she answered Ruby, loudly. "I am unharmed."

"That's good." At that point Ruby took a step back to join the rest of her team. She considered what to do next, before opting for the simple choice. Introductions, specifically. "Well, I'm Ruby. It's nice to meet yah."

"Weiss," the heiress added indifferently as she caught on.

"Blake," the eponymous girl said, arms folded across her chest.

"And I'm Yang," the blond finished, waving like she was in some sort of commercial.

"Salutations!" The usual greeting was not what had been expected, certainly not by the four of them. But they merely exchanged glances and said nothing. "My name is Penny."

Ruby bowed, slightly, as she memorized the name. "It's a pleasure to meet you Penny." She wasn't sure if they would ever meet again, but there was nothing wrong with leaving a good impression when she had just met someone new.

Though she felt that, others in the group differed. Specifically Weiss, who stepped forward as she inquired of the girl in front of them. "I don't suppose you've seen the hoodlum we were chasing after just now, have you?"

Penny directed her attention to the heiress, blinking a couple times before she answered in apparent confusion. "I'm sorry. Who are you looking for?"

Weiss sighed, taking another step closer. "The monkey vagabond," she reiterated in a tired tone. "That Faunus lowlife from the ship that just docked, the one who tripped my partner here." She gestured back to Ruby at that, to say who exactly it was who had been tripped as if the girl she was talking to didn't know.

"I understand," Penny replied with a startling seriousness and a determined expression. But whatever hope that might have inspired, it was as abruptly smashed as it had been raised in the first place. "I did not see him."

Weiss grunted to herself before harrumphing definitively, shifting onto another leg as she grumbled. 'Wonderful." She then stepped back, letting Penny off the hook as she returned to ruminating on her problem.

"Well, we'd better be going then." Yang's comment was unexpected and yet not entirely unwelcome, given that it prevented the descent into awkward silence. And no one complained either, since they did have to get back to the boat to meet with those teams like they had said they would. It was what they had originally come for, and with the Faunus long gone there was no point in delaying.

Ruby waved as they turned and headed off, prepared to retrace their steps to the docks. "Goodbye friend," she called with a smile. That had ended relatively well.

So they went on their way, points of tension rising as Blake practically bristled in annoyance. This was directed at the oblivious heiress, yet the two sisters were able to pick up on it. Well then, this was going to end well.

"So, she was...interesting," Yang noted as she led the way, with Ruby making up the rear. And it was something she could agree with given her previous thoughts, much as she might not want to

"She was nice," Blake replying, belying the emotions that she might be feeling and yet suppressing through sheer will. Ruby was actually a bit envious of that ability.

Still, Weiss let her annoyance shine on. "I'm just disappointed that we couldn't find that piece of riffraff, even though we had someone with a speed-"

Her comment was interrupted by a cry from behind as Ruby was grabbed in mid step and spun about. "Eep!" She would admit that she was a bit scared as she found Penny there, staring intently at her and proving quite unnerving in the process.

"What did you say to me?" That was said in a serious tone, leaving Ruby worried that she had offended the girl. Which was something she definitely didn't want to do. And it seemed that the rest of her team wasn't about to help as they looked dumbfoundedly at what was going on.

So Ruby went into panic mode. "Me? I don't know, um, I'm not sure-" Better safe than sorry, right? Even if it was just because of that appearance rubbing her the wrong way.

Fortunately, or not, Penny elaborated as she leaned closer. "You called me friend. Am I really your friend?" Chalk that up on the list of odd questions today, as the interview happened in plain view on the sidewalk.

"Ummm," she had to think quick given the situation, and her team was of no help. Here she was on her own. "Yeah, sure. Why not?" There couldn't be any harm to it, right?

It seemed that that was the right answer as she was released, Penny stepped back as she smiled and gestured upwards with both arms. "Ha-hah, sen-sational!" Before anyone could stop her, she went on. "We can paint our nails, and try on clothes, and talk about cute boys, and..."

Ruby kept her attention on Penny as Weiss sidled up to her. "Was this what it was like when you met me," she asked nervously, things somehow making a lot more sense now.

After a moment, Weiss shook her head. "No. She seems far more important than you."

Since trying to dodge or avoid the person they were currently talking with had come to naught, Yang went with the alternative, hoping to placate her or change the subject. "So...what are you doing in town?"

It worked, as Penny shifted to look at Yang. "I'm here to fight in the tournament," she said matter of factly. Now that was interesting, mostly because she didn't seem to be the type that would be fighting anyone. By appearances anyway.

"Wait, you're competing in the tournament," Weiss asked incredulously. Ruby would admit that she was surprised too, but she wasn't as vocal about it.

Penny nodded, giving off a one armed salute which was very out of place. "I'm combat ready," she proclaimed, and Ruby wasn't sure whether to believe her. Still, if she was competing then it was probably true.

And, finding something that offered a common interest, the team leader pursued it. "That's nice," she commented. "What weapon do you use?"

"Oh, I cannot say," Penny replied, shaking her head slightly and after a delay, almost like it was an afterthought. "Father said to not show anyone until the tournament starts."

Leaving whatever that meant aside and Ruby's disappointment, Weiss spoke up as she moved on to a different topic. "So you're not from Vale then?" Hardly unusual if that turned out to be the case. And if she had only arrived recently that made it easier to figure out where she was from.

Or she could simply say it. "Nope. I'm from Atlas." Well, that was one way. It was also hardly odd, and certainly what Weiss would have guessed. But then again she was from Atlas so she was biased.

"And you're sure you didn't see the Faunus from the boat," Weiss reiterated, returning to that old topic. It was all Ruby could do to wave and attempt to subtly indicate that this might just be a bad idea, but if the heiress saw she didn't do anything to change her course.

"I am positive," Penny reaffirmed. She seemed indifferent to the whole affair, but that was unremarkable when one took everything into consideration.

Then, what Ruby worried about happened as Blake moved from behind Penny to face her teammate. "Can you give it a rest? He's long gone by now. And why do you care so much anyway?"

Weiss directed her attention from Penny to Blake, defenses rising when faced with the attack. It would have been hard to expect otherwise. "Well excuse me for caring about law and order," she answered indignantly. "Stowing away is a crime, and that lowlife should be held accountable."

Ruby blinked, breath catching in a nervous chuckle. This was...she wasn't sure how to deal with this just now. "You make it sound like he killed someone," Blake pointed out. "We have no details as to why he did what he did. There could have been a good reason."

"It doesn't matter," Weiss retorted. "If we let this sort of thing go unpunished, who knows what might happen? Besides, he'll probably just end up with those White Fang trash anyways."

At that Blake snapped, and Ruby braced for the storm that came following it. "Can you stop saying that? Stop calling him trash, or vagabond, or a hoodlum. He's a person."

"I'm sorry," Weiss shot back. "Would you prefer for me to stop calling a lamp post a lamp post, or a trash can a trash can? Using a different name isn't going to change the fact that they're criminals and terrorists."

Things only escalated from there, as Ruby watched the flames roar higher. "Stop it! Those are generalizations and you know it. I would expect the head of a major business to be more tolerant."

"I am tolerant. But you can't deny that Faunus groups like the White Fang aren't exactly going out of their way to prove me wrong, now are they? Or should I point out the robberies, kidnappings, and murders they commit."

"They only do that because they've been forced to by ignorant brats like you, who can't see past what's in front of your face."

"Hey! I'll have you know that I'm very well informed on a variety of subjects. People don't change, and I expect that it won't be any different for that ruffian we were chasing. It's just a matter of time."

"Ugh!" At that Blake threw her hands up and marched away, apparently disengaging from this argument. But things had gone too far to simply be left to hang like that with all the baggage that had accrued. They were in this now.

And Weiss pursued as part of that. "Hey, don't walk away from me. I am your teammate."

"What you are is a-"

Ruby and Yang sighed as they stood next to each other, watching the scene as the two argued. "This is not going to be fun," Yang noted, and Ruby could only nod in agreement. No it was not.

***

The group had arrived back in their dorm room much more disunified than they had left it. The argument had continued onwards, only stopped momentarily as they met the teams from the boat, and even then the enmity between the two was obvious. And it had pretty much immediately resumed once that was over.

Now they were back in their room, and Yang and Ruby had settled down next to each other as they watched the argument, still at a loss for what to do. Interfering seemed like it would make things worse, but if it went on like this who knew how long it would last. It didn't look like they would burn themselves out any time soon.

"So you DO agree with me," Weiss said with some triumph in her tone, uncaring to that fact that she and Blake were probably audible from beyond this room itself. She was on the offensive and it would stay that way.

"That's not what I meant and you know it. Don't go interpreting facts to suit your own agenda." Even the most taciturn of them was getting into this, an unusual change of pace.

Weiss sighed then, shaking her head as she rested on her bunk, across from where Blake sat. "I don't understand why this is causing you such a problem? It's the truth. Deal with it."

"That is the problem," Blake returned. "Blind ignorance and stupidity are what is ruining Vale."

Weiss rose from her seat, advancing slowly as Ruby and Yang watched, with the former still uncertain if she should act somehow. "Yes, let's talk about ignorance. You realize you're defending an organization that quite explicitly hates humanity, don't you? Bombings, killings, threats, the Faunus of the White Fang are pure evil."

"There's no such thing as 'pure evil'," Blake retorted as she rose from her seat in turn "Why do you think they hate humanity so much? It's because of people like Cardin, and people like you that forced the White Fang to take such drastic measures. Or do you want me to list all the examples of peaceful demonstrations broken up by human supremacists, racial violence, or the way Faunus are treated by YOUR company?"

"People like me?"

"You're discriminatory!"

"I'm a victim!" The sheer offense and disbelief, was palpable in the air as the two edged even closer, and Ruby slowly reached for Crescent Rose on the off chance that it got physical. And it seemed all too likely to at this point.

With a temporary silence caused by that outburst, Weiss went on. "Do you want to know why I despise the White Fang? Why I don't particularly trust the Faunus?" Slowly she paced about, moving to the window, and Ruby relaxed a bit more.

"It's because they've been at war with my family for years. War, as in actual violence and bloodshed. My grandfather's company has had a target painted on it's back for as long as I can remember. I've watched family and friends disappear. Board members executed, trains and warehouses ransacked and burned to the ground. They even tried to abduct me and my sister for ransom. And every day my father would come home furious. It didn't exactly make for an easy childhood. So you'll forgive me if I don't feel any shred of sympathy for a bunch of liars, thieves, and murderous psychopaths."

….Well then, Ruby frowned, sympathy going out to Weiss at that moment. It certainly couldn't have been easy, and she couldn't imagine having to deal with that sort of thing on her own. "I'm sorry," she mumbled, as if it could help.

Yet the other girl was still having none of it. "And what about the Faunus, living in poverty and being discriminated against? Does how you've been treated justify that, when they only acted against an injustice being committed against them in the first place?"

"Yes," Weiss answered brusquely. "I am NOT going to go cry myself to sleep over what happens to that terrorist group, and I suggest you do the same. They've chosen their path, and as far as I'm concerned they'll get whatever coming to them. Even if it means arresting and hunting down everyone in that group."

"But that's not going to solve anything! Especially as long as bigotry and prejudice exists amongst the human population. What about all the innocent people that would get swept up in something like that. You can't tell me you're okay with that."

Weiss harrumphed, folding her arms as she turned her nose up at the very notion. "That's what they get for being associated with those criminals. They should have known better."

"And attitudes like that are why we had to do something!"

Dead silence fell, the rest of Team RWBY staring at Blake as she slowly backed away from Weiss with wide eyes, who was doing the same in turn. No one said anything, as they all took in what had just been said, and the implications of it. It had been a mere slip of the tongue, but even Ruby knew that things would never be the same.

"I, uh, I..." Blake began before she bolted, making a quick dash before she jumped out the open window, the quickest way to the ground.

"Wait!" Ruby called as she rushed after Blake, only to watch as their teammate ran along the grounds, away from the building and not once looking back. Ruby watched for a moment or so before looking back at the rest of her team, Weiss angry, Yang concerned, before she shook her head. For the moment, at least, Blake was gone. And there was nothing they could do about it.