She got nothing.
No. That's not right...
She got what she initially wanted, yes, buuuuut at the same time, she wasn't really satisfied with the result.
Even though that picture wasn't the main reason why she was even there in the first place, at least a clue would have been nice. But what she ended up with were sore limbs, a weakened aura (for the time being) and to top it all off—
"Yes, class! Believe it or not, I brought my legs to my chest, a feat I could only dream of doing again at my age, I wrapped my arms so tightly around my knees I became a cannonball! SOARING through the air before crashing into the dirty demon terrorizing the home I was commissioned to protect! The look the little boy of that family gave me, HAHA! I've never actually seen stars appear in a young lad's eyes before that day."
Class with Professor Port…from 11 a.m to 12, 'Oh brother…' Barely ten minutes had passed since she had stepped foot into the room and she was already feeling the consequences of her actions.
'Ughhhh.' Yang muttered incoherently, golden strands framing her table ridden face as others no doubt followed her example. Tilting to the left, Yang even saw the resident Ice Queen struggling to make sense of the teacher's ramblings, constantly swiping through her scroll to see if anything the older male spoke contradicted what he'd 'taught' before.
"Ack!" Feeling a sharp jab at her side, the blonde beauty sighed only a bit before gradually raising her head, letting it settle on her shoulder as she met the gaze of the raven haired teen beside her; the sidelong glance she gave doing little to hide her sun-kissed eyes.
"You know, it's not a good idea to sleep before combat class. You'll get sleep inertia." The ever diligent Blake advised, elbow returning to her desk to support her tired head as well. Yang groaned, it's gonna be a pain if she gets selected to fight again.
And she was hoping to get a rematch with Ren too. Bummer.
Peeking to her left again, Blake scanned the deflated expression of her teammate, knowing the look all too well on the courtesy of their energetic leader.
Blake stifled a laugh, "What's got you looking so miserable? You didn't come back too late last night, right?" Ms Goodwitch made sure to never let such an infraction slip even if a student messed up once. She could still vividly recall what happened the last time she got caught. She put her through the blender…and she got off easy.
Meeting the girl's gaze tinged with catlike curiosity, Yang flashed a less than convincing smile, eyelids falling shut as she lied through her teeth, "Yeah, the bullhead I was riding back in suddenly decompressed and we had to make a pit stop at the nearest station….an hour away."
"Ohhh, that explains the drowsiness. Counter argument though, your clothes had some rips in it. How'd that happen if the bull head simply decompressed?" The raven questioned.
'SH—she wasn't sleeping?!' Yang sat up slightly. Though rattled, she tried not to seem too alarmed by the girl's inquiry, "Oh! T-that's because something nicked my clothes at the station. Was gonna see if I could stitch it up later in the night but I was too tired, heh-hehe." Nailed it.
"Oh? I never knew you could sew. How come I've never seen you do it?" Interlocking her fingers as her elbows pressed against the cool wood, Blake's chin lightly nestled atop the newly made cushion, her long hair reacting in tandem with her subtle shifting.
'What is this? An interrogation? Just let me sleep woman!' "That's because I didn't really have a need to. It's not like it's a hobby or anything." Yang defended smoothly. She really did know how to sew, it's just that the act itself was boring.
"But wasn't Ruby complaining about a tear on her cloak last week? It bothered her so much that Weiss gave in and decided to sew it herself just so she wasn't complaining anymore." Yang's eyes fell slightly, the feeling of Blake's own golden devices akin to a watch tower, scanning her every word for any slip up.
But that wasn't gonna happen—while on this topic at least.
"When we were younger…I used to sew her cloak way more often because she was more reckless with her semblance. it got to a point where I held my ground and told her I wouldn't be doing it any more and if it ripped, she'd have to fix it herself."
This wasn't a lie. She really did say that. Not because she didn't want to help, but because she wanted Ruby to help herself and understand that she won't always be able to depend on her.
"I see…alright then." Blake finally relented, her head finding the desk as she gradually closed her eyes.
'Phew. Finally.' Yang slouched slightly, glad that she chose the stoic pink haired girl for help instead of anyone else. Even though she was suspicious of her, she didn't drill her with a bunch of questions like Blake.
'Blake was hella perceptive, but,' Shifting her head, Yang peered at the quartet situated at the very back of the class, 'She's wayyy beyond that. It's kinda scary if I'm being honest.'
"Also, get up! If I can't sleep you can't either!" Yang whisper shouted to the resting teen, unaware of the slight twitch of the raven's bow before she cracked an eye open.
"It's not like we're learning anything anyways. I can't even remember the last time I took notes." Yang commented, arms folding underneath her chest.
"True dat." Ruby chimed from the right of her gothic teammate, eyes never once leaving her scroll and the sketch she worked on.
"Ruby! Don't encourage her delinquent behaviour." Weiss chastised during her note taking.
Throwing her arms in the air, Ruby scoffed at the teen's claim, "Well, whaddya want me to do, Wiess? I'd be a witch to have anyone endure this hour long torture!"
"I think being waterboarded would be more educational and better than this." Nora commented from a few rows upwards, much to Ren's indifference…for he was catching z's.
"Yeah…Nora and Ruby's got a point." That one rando agreed exasperatedly, peeling himself from his desk, "I don't even have a book for this subject if I'm being honest." Rando finished as well, jolting as his teammate rested a hand on his shoulder with a pitying gaze, "We all know it's because you don't got no money."
That rando scrunched his nose like he had smelt shit, "How do you even know this?"
With others joining on Ruby and Nora's original sentiment (and some others clowning rando for his financial well being), Port stuttered for the first time in the middle of yet another story, huffing a tad as he took in the class' general thoughts of his course.
Moving his hands from behind his back, Port folded them across his chest, "Very well then, young man! If my grandiose adventures of the wondrous tales of Professor Port do not entice you, allow me to rack that brain of yours with a query. Let's say you find yourself face to face with a Beringel in its resting place? What is your next course of action?"
"Would it be: A. Run away and hide.
B. Confront it in combat and try to escape
Or C. Come up with a strategy to beat it alone?"
Sitting upright, Rando coughed a bit into his arm at being put on the spot, standing from his seat a moment later in thought of the question. "Well professor, I'm no Pyrrha Nikos. So I'd most likely hide and slowly try to slip away like I've unknowingly spotted a mountain lion." Rando finished, the aforementioned prodigy coughing in the background a moment later, though it went ignored.
Smiling, Port nodded, allowing Rando to take his seat as he released a weary breath, "And, that, students, is how you lose your life!" Bringing his palm to the board, Port accentuated his point while also waking any students that were still sleeping.
At his proclamation, many questioned what exactly the rotund fellow meant, a certain blonde seen raising his hand in question, "But, if you can't hide from it, how do you escape it?" Jaune asked, bringing everyone's attention back to the teacher.
Port laughed, "You see, young Arc! A Beringel has the build of that of an ape! And while those demons usually travel alone, it is still ill advised to face off against one alone even THOUGH it is the best option you have!"
"For you see, students! Despite their large frame, Beringel's are stealthy creatures. If you've spotted one, best bet on my doctor's certificate its long since spotted you! And if you lose track of one….it will more than likely cost you your life. Why, I remember when I faced off against a hoard of them back in my day, haha. Good times."
"So…we shouldn't run and we shouldn't fight even though fighting is our best shot…I don't get it. How will we beat it?"
"Excellent question Ms Valkyrie! Does anyone know the best method to dealing with one?" Port questioned boisterously to the class, with a surprising majority mulling over how to go about doing this seemingly simple task.
"You know what's upsetting….I know for a fact he said how to do it plain and simple in one of his stories just nowwwwww." That one rando mewled, dropping his head on the table, his teammate patting his back.
The class went silent for a surprising minute or two, not even Pyrrha could answer the man's question as, contrary to popular belief, she has yet to fight a Berignel or many other Grimm for that matter.
And so, this prolonged silence mixed with a variety of whispers continued, filling the spacious room in an awkward lock between teacher and students to see whichever one would break first.
"Yosukeeeee…dya know the answer?" Aria drawled, head still glued to the cool wood of their conjoined seat.
The blue haired boy shook his head, "I'm afraid not, even though we've fought one before, I'm unaware of the 'best' method. Perhaps Saya knows." Shifting her focus, Aria's cyan orbs found the calm gaze of the shorter pinkette who nodded at the question the girl was sure to ask.
"So, you're gonna answer it?" Saya shook her head, instead turning to glance at the leisure form of her brother who's eyes still had yet to open since class began. "Toño knows."
"Don't hold your breaths, I don't feel like talking." He replied, smooth phalanges interlocked behind his head with his eyes still closed.
"Tch, useless."
"Shut up."
Yosuke chuckled, his cerulean gaze flitting to the shorter girl's apathetic pink ones, "Well, It seems you're left with no choice then, Saya the all knowing." Rolling her eyes at the pun, the girl in question released a silent breath, lazily raising her hand after a moment of self deliberation.
"Ah! Ms Yuki of Team STAY. What say you?"
"Beringels are strong, stealthy and extremely durable. However, they lack speed due to their size." Saya began, "The best way to win is by attacking from the inside. Fire and ice dust work the fastest when used in tandem."
Yosuke nodded in understanding, 'So it truly was the best strategy... I was unsure of whether that was the case since I haven't done extensive research on Grimm tactics.'
"Well said young lady." Port's mustache wiggled, proud that a student actually paid attention to one of his stories…he was almost moved to tears.
Waltzing back to his desk, Port's voice echoed to all within the room, an honest majority actually seen paying attention to what the man had to say, "Did you hear that, students? If you are to ever encounter a Beringel, NEVER turn your back! Especially within a forest where it's easy to lose sight of them." Port taught, firmly placing his gaze onto that one Rando, "But, don't rush in either. Instead, devise a plan to get it to open its maw while keeping it at a safe distance. If you aren't confident in your combat skills then make sure to keep a vial of fire and ice dust on your person at all times."
"When you see a chance, imbue it with your Aura to temporarily increase its range AND potency before HURLING it into the beast's maw and watch as the Grimm's head explodes in a magnificent spectacle of ice and fire! Wahahahahaha!"
"...Wow, I never thought you knew so much about Grimm." He always told them stories of his travels instead of actually teaching. But how were they supposed to know those stories weren't just him bragging? And, what does he mean imbue with aura?
"Huh, I might actually start taking notes now." Ruby whispered to herself, looking at her finished sketch with a cute grin.
She drew a walrus.
"Ah, speaking of Grimm, this reminds me of a time when I blah blah blah blah blah blah blah."
-.-
-The night before-
Moving onto a more interesting setting, night had come rather fast for the citizens of Remnant, the city of Vale aglow with beautiful neons that hung off the sides of several buildings; commercial and residential alike. Not many cars or pedestrians occupied the roads seeing as it was approaching midnight.
Whistling a tune, the ever sarcastic ginger thief rode atop the roof of a massive dump truck with a liberating nonchalance, the vehicles trailing behind him all seemingly headed in the same direction.
"Neo~ come here for a moment." Letting his cane hold the majority of his weight, Roman smiled as the shorter woman appeared before him in the blink of an eye, a mischievous smile stretching across her face while introducing herself with a comical bow.
"You look away for one second and miss all the fun, a tragedy." Rounding yet another corner, the duo finally happened upon their destination—it was in shambles. Bits and pieces of it scattered here and there. It was as if a bomb went off within the underground club.
Again, Roman whistled, this time he was surprised, "Sheesh." his shorter partner silently mirrored his movements as he twirled his cane.
"No, don't tell me that! What do you mean she's 'nowhere to be found?!' Her hair was LITERALLY glowing!" Redder than Roman's cane, Junior cursed through his scroll as countless workers excavated through the rubble, bits and pieces of stone, glass and whatnot all tossed into one of the hired trucks.
"For the love of—YES! The twins are alright, who do you think fought through this mess? Anyways, find that girl…" Finishing his conversation with whoever, Junior hung up his scroll for the 5th time that night, already moving to dial in yet another of his contacts, whose scroll echoed a tune to his distant right.
Surprising, the bigger man released a shaky breath, his fingers reaching the ends of his temple as the stress of the night began weighing on his mind.
"Oh, how kind of you to show Roman, did you throw your phone down the drain as well?" Swatting a deal of rubble from a seat, Junior poured himself the last of the contents of whatever bottle that wasn't broken with Neo doing the same with her seat off in the corner.
Taking a look around the place, Roman couldn't help himself, "What storm passed through here?" he snarked.
Reaching into his coat for his flask, Junior rested an elbow atop the cracked counter, "Some blonde trashed the place. She was after info about you." grimacing as he recalled what took place, he turned the bottle to his head before lowering it with a grunt.
"Oho?" Roman leaned over the counter with a smirk, "Do tell."
Junior grumbled at the man's nonchalance, taking a swig of his beverage, "I don't know what she did to me, but now she knows about your plan to raid the shipment later on in January. She was after somethin' else too, but it's not relevant." he finished.
Roman nodded slowly, his lips quirking up with mild interest, "I see." Looking around the place, he saw junior's lackeys searching through the rubble to salvage whatever was left of the place, "Though I can't exactly call them a benchmark, she must be pretty strong if she managed to outdo those two." he gestured towards the twins directing the cleanup, earning him a glare.
Narrowing their eyes, Militia took a step forward, "Melanie, is he saying what I think he is?"
"I think he is, Miltia." The other scowled.
With their minds already made up, the twins were about to lash out, however, along with the sound of glass shattering, the obstruction of a pink and white parasol opened before them, obscuring their view and stopping their advance in its tracks.
The umbrella closed to reveal a smirking Neopolitan who's heterochromatic gaze looked up into their cyan orbs with colorful mockery. She was practically begging them to make a move, if her growing smirk was any indicator. Reluctantly, the twins backed down and walked away.
Junior looked around the place with a sigh, "She wasn't really that strong, but she was tricky to deal with. If that semblance of hers wasn't a physical amp, Melanie and Miltia could've taken her out by themselves."
"So, she was a huntress then?" Theorizing to himself, Junior quickly shook his head, dismissing the idea. "No, she came alone. By the looks of it, it seems she did it all on a gamble." Which made his loss even more humiliating.
Just then, junior's scroll pinged. Taking it out, he read the information he'd received before addressing the ginger thief with a frown, "My sources are telling me she's a huntress-in-training at Beacon-"
Before the man could finish his sentence, Roman quickly hid his face, barely able to hold back his chuckles, "Now that's just embarrassing. All this was done by some little girl?"
"Shut up, don't forget when that girl in the red jacket or whatever had you running with your cane tucked between your legs last year." Junior shot back, "What was her name again? Ruby Rose?"
Roman rolled his eyes, snorting, "I wasn't running from her, I was getting out of the witch's range. You know how hard it is to deal with her once she gets a hold of you."
"Anyway…My sources also say that the blonde is a member of a Team called RWBY. It seems like your little miss red riding hood and the Schnee heiress are also a part of it. There's also another girl called Blake Belladonna."
Bringing his flask back to his coat's pocket, Junior pivoted on his seat, the tense air between the twins and Neo feeling so thick it could cut through steel…it brought an idea to the business man.
"I have a favor to ask. If you do this for me, then, I'll give you any information you want for free." Junior said, raising two fingers, "Only two times. Any more than that and I'll risk losing too much money."
"Now that's how you ask for a favor." Roman chuckled and lifted his hand, the flask that Junior had stored into his pocket now dangling in his grasp, "What do you need?" He asked.
Junior didn't even bother wasting his breath questioning the thief's sleight of hand. Roman was the type of guy to steal anything from you even when you're looking.
Eyeing the three girls, he glanced back at the ginger in the bowler hat and voiced his proposal.