I've worn a lot of crazy things. As a wastelander, that's just naturally par for the course. New clothes aren't easy to come by unless you make them yourself. Most often the best you can do is used the odds and ends you pick up to maintain what you've already got. Depending how often you do it, you can become a semi-competent tailor and cobbler.

But for the vast majority of situations, that's not entirely possible. So you learn to make do.

I've crossed the Mojave in everything from business suits and body armor to centuries old Power Armor and the most technologically advanced pieces of stealth hardware ever conceived. After a while you have to imagine that there's not much else you could wear that would surprise you. What more could you add on top of those things that would be more audacious?

The answer: You can't add anything.

But you can certainly strip it away and have the same effect.

I'd walked into the locker room, same as I had every other day we had PT. After the other day, a part of me was more gung-ho than before to get into it. Now that I knew what I needed to do to begin improving my aura, I needed to start making up for lost time. I'd already begun planning changes to my regiment to facilitate it. Replaced and added a few exercises to account for using my aura. If I didn't try and roll with it, I was only going to fall further back in that regard. Not good, for something so useful.

Except, when we'd arrived at the gym today, we were told today was going to be different. Our training clothes had already been swapped out, and we were to get changed and head to the gym in short order. I was a little off-put by the sudden change in direction from the regiment we'd spent weeks doing. But I didn't have any real reason to not play along with it either. As long as I could more effectively train my aura, it was more important to just grin and bear it.

I was more off-put, however, by what exactly I was expected to change into.

Resting on top of my usual workout clothes, were a pair of tight looking shorts. Something I'd expect to see on some of the male hookers hanging around Gomorrah. The ones that look like fetishized cowboys, not the whip and chain ones. The only true differentiation came from the color and length. They were a neutral grey, as much as my normal clothes were, with blue running up the seams at the sides. They were a smidge longer as well, and only a smidge. The Gomorrah guys had shorts that reached furthest down at their crotch. I at least had the decency of having the legs reach maybe an inch or two past that.

That was it. That was the whole uniform.

Judging by the reactions of the people I was expected to change around, this was what we were supposed to find. Except that not everyone was reduced down to my levels of… modesty. Some people had pants in a similar tight cut style to mine, but were at least slightly longer. Most others wore looser shorts that seemed more in the style of Boxer's trunks. Hell, some of them even wore shirts. A veritable host of different styles in an array of colors.

And I was stuck dressing like a stripper.

Terrific.

I had to wonder who I had the pleasure to thank for that.

"The fuck is this?" I asked, more just voicing my own confusion than expecting an answer

"I dunno, looks like a swimsuit to me." Jaune said from the locker across from me. "We're supposed to be swimming today."

"Yeah, I got the memo-" I groused "But what the fuck is with the clothing?"

"I'm pretty sure you got to choose what you wear." Ren said from his locker, about three down from mine "They asked us when getting our training gear in order."

"Well, I don't remember fillin' that part out." I shot back "Shouldn't that just mean I get nothing, or at least whatever the 'standard' suit is?"

"Um- I think those are supposed to be the normal ones." Jaune said, tucking his clothes under his arm, a longer and looser pair of yellow and blue trunks "Like, if you didn't put in an order?"

"… Why the fuck is this the norm?" I groused, ramping up the annoyance.

Jaune pondered it for a moment, then gave me a shrug, shutting his locker. Not like there was much more to be offered for it anyway. Other people in the locker room were in much the same situation I was, but didn't seem to be as perturbed by it. Hell, there were guys that had apparently asked for smaller suits. Weirdos or showoffs in either case, if I could say so. Assuming Jaune and Ren were being honest, and I had no reason to doubt them, then I had no one to blame here but myself. Should've read the paperwork more carefully.

Begrudgingly, I took my 'suit' and shut my locker. Turning and following the steady trickle of students to a row of changing stalls kept near the showers. Most of the time they didn't see any use, but I guess most of the male student population had issues with judgment. Even given what we were getting dressed in now.

Of note, the showers almost never saw use, and the locker room tended to smell a bit ripe after PT.

But I've walked through Vegas on a hot day, and there are some things even a gasmask can't filter out. I'm no stranger to Eau du Funk.

I stepped into one of the stalls and peeled out of my uniform, or what I hadn't already shed, anyway. Setting the clothes on a shelf as I held the swimsuit in front of me for a moment. Questioning if I really had to wear it.

Then I remembered other people were wearing them, and clearly weren't bothered by it. I knocked my hesitancy on its ass and squeezed into the suit. It kind of reminded me of the body suit I wore under my training leathers, or the Stealth Suits the Big Empty made. Tight, but comfortably stretchy.

The only thing left to take care of my helmet.

I peeled it off and inspected the interior before reaching a hand in. You can't wear a gasmask while underwater. That's common sense, really. At the very least, it would completely destroy the mask's filters, rendering it useless. But you were also effectively creating an air trap. Water pours in through the filters, the mask's seal around your face gives it no exit point, and it can only slowly drain back out the way it came in. Really, just a bad situation all around.

Also, if it had built in lowlight vision like mine, you might electrocute yourself with the power cell.

I'd had to wear my helmet while swimming before, and had learned how to modify it to keep myself from drowning. A couple simple changes: remove the filter and gasket that help it stay airtight to my head. I'd figured out how to easily remove and replace them some time ago, and learned to do the same when I had to go underwater. Granted, it was also much easier to just not wear it, but I wasn't about to give anyone the satisfaction of that.

I opened the filter housing, then twisted the puck out of its socket. After, I hid the filter among my clothes and reached my hand into the interior of my mask. There was a series of small clasps that locked the seal in place. Not the easiest thing to dismantle without the appropriate tools, but I had the practice to make it happen.

Of course, I did have a different option, but I didn't see a need for it at the time.

It only took a minute or two to dismantle everything, and it would take longer to put it back together later. As soon as it was done though, I belted my helmet back on and stepped out of the stall. Walking back to my locker I earned a couple of looks here and there, but was mostly ignored. Couldn't tell if that was a result of the scars, or my clothes either. There were at least a few others here with scars of their own, and I wasn't the only one wearing something rather… light. But it didn't really matter in the end.

Reaching my locker, I set my clothes in it and locked it back up. Last thing I needed was for someone to pull something funny and leave me to wander around in this. There were definitely people I wouldn't put it past either.

I waited a minute or two longer before heading to the gym. Partly because I had no clue where exactly they were going to send us for this to work. But also, because I figured it'd be the friendly thing to wait for Jaune and Ren to show up. It wasn't too long of a wait anyway; most people were in and out of the stalls after a minute or so anyway. Jaune and Ren wound up being about the average too.

What absolutely was not the average though, was what they came out as.

Jaune was wearing looser fit trunks, as noted, in shades of yellow and blue. Nothing particularly noteworthy about the clothing itself. What was surprising, though, was Jaune himself. While dressed in his uniform, or the white armor he used in combat he looked a bit out of place. Whether it was his armor being too big for him, or him just being a naturally lean person, I wasn't entirely sure. Seeing him now though, I knew for a fact it was definitely the former and not the latter. For someone who acts as nebbish as Jaune, he was actually pretty broad chested. There wasn't much definition to anything about him, but the presence was there. The early stages of a fighter's build. Given a few months more of training he would probably, loathe though I'd be to admit it, be what Legionnaires strove for. Not everyone can be Lanius, but anyone can shoot to be a praetorian.

Not bad for someone who cheated the system.

Ren, on the other hand, was closer to what I was expecting, but still a surprise. He came out wearing trunks not too dissimilar from my own but longer, reaching to his knees, and colored black and green. He wasn't as 'big' as Jaune, but made up for it in his own way. In some ways he reminded me of Fox, lots of lean, endurance muscle. But Fox would have him beat in terms of size, and likely muscle power, as well. That wasn't to say Ren looked weak by any stretch, but he was certainly smaller. Fox had the body of someone who trained to get caught in the heat of a fight. Ren had the body of someone who preferred to keep ahead of it. The kind of muscle you expected off someone who spent their time running the roads of the Mojave. Plus more time running from the things that lived on them. That wasn't a shot for cowardice either, most people would rather run than stand toe to toe with some of the wilder stuff in the Mojave. Standing your ground was an option for the insane fools, or the ones who didn't have a choice.

You wouldn't normally use the word svelte to describe a guy, but Ren proved the exception.

In return for my unspoken observations, however, they gave me strange looks.

The male representatives of JNPR returned to their lockers and we mingled into the crowd trickling towards the gym.

Likewise, I began mentally prepping myself.

I'd been having trouble… focusing, in gym recently. I personally wasn't a fan of it, and had no clue what was bringing it on. It'd been difficult when almost everyone was mostly clothed. It didn't take a dose of Mentats to know this was going to be infinitely worse if I wasn't actively being mindful.

So as the corridor from the male and female locker rooms converged, a fucked-up design choice, I chose to begin chatting with Jaune and Ren.

"So, we're swimming then… where exactly?" I asked

"Beats me." Jaune shrugged "I didn't even know we had a pool."

"If I had to guess, the gym." Ren answered "They seem to have built in equipment for plenty of different exercises."

"Sounds about right." I said, training my eyes to the ceiling as I felt them drifting places they shouldn't "They're able to raise and lower stuff like the obstacle course out of the ground, wouldn't be too surprised they've hidden a pool there too."

"Not to ask a dumb question either." Jaune said, motioning to my head "But are you… planning to swim with that on?"

"That's a silly question Jaune, not a dumb one." I answered "You should know the answer by now."

"You don't really think you can swim with that on, do you?" Ren asked

"Yes, I do, and I'll out swim you while doing it." I answered, heading for my locker

Ren quirked an eyebrow at me. "You realize you'll probably drown, right?"

"Bold assumptions." I shot back "You know neither my swimming abilities, nor my lung capacity."

Ren said nothing for a moment, then chuckled and rolled his eyes. Jaune still seemed perturbed, but less so than he'd otherwise be. On some level I had to imagine they were accepting that this was just par for the course by now.

We kept moving down the corridor until we were just outside the gym. It would normally take a moment or two for scents to work their way through my gasmask. With the filters and gasket removed however, my nose was almost immediately assaulted by the chemical sting of chlorine. Even before we entered, it would appear Ren had been correct.

We spilled out into the open air of the gymnasium, and found it once more transformed. Its vast floor space had been split open, revealing a massive pool of almost eerily blue water. Rubber mats and benches ringed the pool, and the handles of ladders poked up from the far and near sides. The floor of the pool, beneath the water, was flat for a third of one side, long ways. Then the depth dropped off rapidly, markers along its walls showing it reaching down as far as twenty feet. At that end of the pool, sitting at its edge, were raised diving platforms. Hanging from stanchions around the pool were life preservers. Both the ring-shaped kind that you'd see in some pre-war comics, and long rectangular ones that were flexible enough to bow slightly under their own weight.

I personally didn't have much experience with pools. The closest I'd ever come to one was the bathhouse in the Ultra Luxe. But I'd seen enough stuff around Lake Mead to recognize it.

The crowd reached the pool, spreading around it. Most seemed to be tempted to just jump straight in, but restrained themselves. We had class, whatever Port was going to throw at us came first, then people could have fun.

I spotted my teammates and the missing half of JNPR hanging around a bench near the shallower end.

Much like I'd predicted, I found my eyes tried to wander to things they shouldn't be. I fixed that by focusing on other things. Like this one lock of hair that'd been sticking out of Yang's hair, at the crown of her head. Thinking about it, I was almost certain it'd always been there.

Of course, it didn't help that their swimwear and mine shared a similar annoying attribute. Compared to the training uniforms we normally wore, these ones were less personal and… well, uniform. Despite being color coordinated to their preferred shade, they weren't exactly loose fit. The legs and sleeves varied between each of them, some lacking sleeves altogether, or were a two-piece like the outfit Yang had worn before losing our bet. Ruby and Weiss each wore one long body suit, Ruby's sleeves and legs reaching to her elbows and knees, Weiss's only covering her shoulders and a few inches below her waist. Blake, Pyrrha, and Nora all wore two-piece suits. Blake with shorts and sleeves that reached mid-way down her thighs and arms, baring enough of her stomach to show her navel. Pyrrha's cut short in the legs, the sleeves rendered to straps, stomach fully exposed up to diaphragm. The cuts made to emphasize her well-toned physique in an eye catching, flattering manner. Nora was the only one of three to try and keep the look as close to her original outfit as possible, despite its tighter nature providing a more alluring quality. Yang was in the former category with Ruby and Weiss, wearing a one-piece swimsuit. But it shared some qualities with Blake and Pyrrha's. tight legs that hugged her form, straps over her shoulders that took the place of sleeves. Cuts and angles that accentuated her form in an athletic, form fitting, and enchanti-

Wow, would you look at those overhead lights. I wonder, what wattage does it take to get them going?

Jaune, Ren, and me approached our respective teammates as they were in the midst of some conversation.

"-I'm telling you Rubes-" Yang said, clearly excited about something "-there's no way he…" Her gaze drifted up to us as we approached, drawing the rest of their attention with it. I couldn't help but notice Pyrrha and Nora both looked more surprised than my teammates. "… Really?" Yang asked, looking supremely annoyed "You're kidding, right?"

"About?" I asked.

"You're helmet." Weiss said, giving me a deadened glare "You can't seriously be swimming with that on."

Ah, so that's what this was about.

"Yes I can." I shot back "What, were you expecting I'd be unprepared for something like this?"

"Um… won't you drown?" Ruby asked, looking slightly concerned.

"Only if I can't hold my breath." I told her "Made sure it won't cause me any trouble."

"Holy cow!" Nora squawked, eyes bulging out of her head as she… well, quite blatantly, she was staring at me chest.

"Yes, I'm hairy." I said, unconsciously scratching one of my pale haired pecs "It's perfectly natural."

"I don't believe that was what she was referring to." Pyrrha said politely, seeming to have a better time fighting off whatever came over the two of them. "You have quite a number of… rather noticeable scars."

"Oh, yeah, those." I said "Well, you didn't assume I got this far with getting hurt a few times, did you?"

"A few!?" Nora squawked again, somewhere between awe, surprise, and amusement.

"Compared to some guys from the Mojave, yes." I said, giving quick glance down to my chest. "Though I'll admit, some of them are a bit bad looking."

"Where'd they all come from anyway?" Ruby asked innocently.

"Fighting mostly, though a few of them are from stupid antics of my own making." I admitted "Not something to be talking about in public though."

There weren't as many of them as there had been before I came here. Something to do with how I shrank on arrival. But there were still plenty of them. Old, star shaped dimples from bullet wounds. White, hairline slashes from blade wounds. Splotches of mottled pink and white skin from catching laser and plasma bolts, or just missing them. Then there were the gnarlier ones. Irregular, notched marks caused by claws from geckos and coyotes. Large semicircular punctuations from cazadores and smaller ones from bloatfly larvae. The occasional, long healed gash from the teeth of Yao guai and nightstalker alike. There was also, of course, the remains of the surgical scarring from my inaugural trip to Big Mt.

If I wasn't as good a healer as I was, I'd probably be a lot grizzlier looking than I was. But careful healing and judicious use of stimpacks kept the scarring minimal.

"Do any of them hurt?" Pyrrha asked.

I looked back to Pyrrha, and noticed that Nora seemed to be inching her way towards me. Her hand out and finger extended.

As soon as her hand was close enough, I flicked it aside. "No touching."

"Aww~" She whined, before smiling in a joking way. She backed off without losing the smile, noticeably letting her gaze drift to her partner. Her smile gained a more… appreciative edge to it.

If Ren noticed, I honestly couldn't tell.

"-To answer your question: -" I said, returning to Pyrrha "- sometimes, yes. But only some of the worse ones, and they're temporary more than anything. Pain's normally a good sign too, means the body's healing like it should."

"I see." Pyrrha nodded.

I nodded with her, before turning to my teammates. "So, any other obvious things we feel like pointing out?"

"… Why's your swimsuit so small?" Blake asked, clearly trying to make one last barb at me.

"Screwed up the paperwork and got the default swim suit." I shot back.

"… Really?"

"Seriously." I nodded "It's at least a reasonable excuse, and par for the course."

"But seriously, still with the helmet?" Yang asked.

"Yes, seriously." I asked back, focusing on that annoying curl of hair "Why are you so hung up on it?"

Yang scrunched her nose in something resembling a pout "No reason."

"Sure doesn't seem like it. In fact, why's Blake still wearing your bow?" I asked "You're going to give me shit for wearing my helmet, but Blake's the exception?"

Apparently having the gall to call the kettle black, or the cat Blake, Blake was still wearing her bow. It sat primly tied atop her head, its darker shade pairing nicely with her swimsuit.

"You know why I'm wearing it." Blake said, keeping her voice low.

"Yeah, and it's the same reason I'm wearing my helmet." I said, lowering my voice to match "I like my privacy."

"… How about we just drop it?" Yang offered, clearly miffed "I guess this really isn't the place to be talking about it anyway."

"No, no it's not." I nodded, glad to move the conversation along to newer topics "So what's the plan here, besides standing around in our underwear?"

"It's not underwear, they're swim suits." Ruby said, puffing her cheeks slightly "I'm pretty sure we're supposed to be swimming today, but Professor Port hasn't-"

"Attention students!" Port boomed.

'Ah, right on cue.'

Collectively, the present students turned, following the thunder of Port's voice. I found him quickly enough, since I'd already been rather proactively looking towards the ceiling.

I almost wish I hadn't been.

Standing atop the tallest diving platform, was Professor Port. As per usual, he was dressed so as to participate with the class. Perhaps his own way of encouraging the students. Frankly, it backfired in this situation. I don't think there was anyone in the student population who ever wanted to see him in a swimsuit. I'm pretty sure I saw Ruby physically cringe, a fair reaction to what Port was wearing. One universal, as I could see most of the students trying to suppress it as well.

To be fair, Port was in good shape for a guy his age. There are just some things that you can go without seeing in your life. Having had the misfortune to see many of them, I would know.

Port in a swimsuit was one of them.

He stood with a proud, wide stance. It only made things worse. "As the summer is continuing to grow-" Port boomed "-We thought it would be prudent to allow you students the opportunity to begin the swimming portion of your exercise regimen." He shifted his stance, drawing his feet closer together and setting his hands on either hip. Almost like he was trying to flex. "Today, you will begin with the basics. Practice your strokes, practice your dives, and improve your endurance."

"Guy, you're gonna give me stroke if you don't put some pants on." I muttered under my breath.

I couldn't help but notice Yang trying not to laugh.

"I encourage you all to use the time presented to you wisely, and focus on the areas you find yourself to be weakest." Port continued "By the end of this course, there will be an exam that will require you to swim in your hunting attire. I suggest, while enjoying the water, you take that into consideration."

"Psh, that doesn't sound so bad." I heard Nora chitter.

"Clearly you've never swam with an extra fifty pounds of gear."

"-There are flotation devices located around the pool, should they be required." Port finished "This class shall be more free form than our previous ones, but that does not mean you should slack. Work hard, train harder, and most of all: -"

"Stay vigilant." I heard most of the present class drone. Seems his little maxim had started to catch on.

With that Port nodded, and sprang off the diving platform. Flipping with an unexpected, weightless grace through the air, before careening towards the pool like a rocket. Crashing down with all the impact of one as well. Staying beneath the surface for several moments before resurfacing a couple yards from where he landed.

Most of the students took that as their cue to dive in. Some made a straight shot for the diving platforms, while others dove straight off from ground level. Clearly eager to put… that behind them as quickly as possible.

"… Welp, now I wish I was blind." I said, knowing that the image of Port was going to be burned into my head for the remainder of my unfortunate life.

"Yyyy-up." Yang said, looking like she'd just swallowed a bug.

"I didn't need to see any of that." Ruby said, sounding like she was about to heave.

"… I think we should just… get in the pool." Pyrrha said, clearly trying to find the strength to muscle past everything.

"Good idea, the bleach should help scrub the pain out." I said.

With decidedly hurried strides, our little group started towards the water's edge. An unofficial little race to see who could wipe out that little incident first. It came to an abrupt end, however, when my teammates began to slow down, and allowed JNPR to overtake and beat us to the water. Nora practically throwing herself into the clear waters.

My team on the other hand, splintered off after a few steps.

I came to a stop myself and turned back. I saw, in order of distance, Ruby, Yang and Blake, then, all the way at the back, Weiss. Standing with a pensive look of apprehension.

"What's wrong Weiss?" Ruby asked.

"N-nothing." Weiss snipped, though strangely lacking any of the usual heat it carried "I feel a little unwell. I believe I will sit out this class."

"Whaaat?" Ruby whined "But this is like, the most fun gym class we're going to have."

"Yes, but I've decided that I'm not going to participate today." Weiss answered primly.

"Aren't you the girl obsessed with her grades?" Blake asked, unable to suppress a small smirk "Wouldn't this be bad for them?"

"My grades are quite capable of accepting a day of missed work." Weiss continued "Besides, I believe I am quite physically capable."

It took everything I had not to bark out a laugh.

"Aww, but Weiss~" Ruby whined.

"No buts." Weiss answered, clearly trying to put an end to the conversation before any further arguments could be made.

Tough shit, you give me crap for wearing a helmet, I'll give you crap for being a wimp.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Hmm?" Weiss hummed, quirking an eyebrow at me.

"You said you don't feel good, what's wrong?" I asked, motioning to her "You seem to be standing quite fine, so it can't be anything serious."

Weiss's eyes widened slightly "W-well, um-... It's the air."

"… the air?" I asked, after letting it sink in for a moment.

"Y-yes, it's the smell, the pool water is making me nauseous."

"… So you're complaining about an upset stomach?" I asked.

"She's certainly bellyaching." Yang said under her breath.

"Yes, yes I am." Weiss said, trying to bolster her confidence.

I nodded, having heard her excuse. "Hm, I guess that makes sense. Chlorine isn't the most pleasant smell in the world. But I'm pretty sure that's not what's upsetting your stomach."

A flicker of uncertainty passed through Weiss's face. "What do you mean?"

"It's not the chlorine." I continued "It's the line of Brahmin crap you're trying to feed us."

Weiss's eye twitched. "I-it's not-"

"Really, you've got a stomach ache, Weiss?" I asked "You couldn't have come up with something more believable? Like: 'I skipped breakfast, and don't have the energy for this.' Or 'something's wrong with my shoulder, and I'm going to the nurse'? Seriously, you could've faked a limp and it would've been more effective than that."

For a moment, Weiss managed to maintain her composure, like an immaculate porcelain sculpture. Then the porcelain shattered into a dozen tiny little pieces. Her face fell, and she looked to the floor, defeated.

Apparently not enjoying the sight of her partner being verbally beaten, Ruby turned and walked to her. One of her slender hands finding its way to Weiss's shoulder.

"Weiss, what's wrong?" Ruby asked "You know you can tell us if something's wrong, right?"

"You expect as much from us at least." Blake said, dragging Yang along to help keep the conversation a little more private.

"Nothing. There's nothing wrong." Weiss lied, clearly trying to piece the porcelain back together.

"Snowflake, we know you're lying." I said, stepping closer "At the risk of looking like a hypocrite, spare us the song and dance?"

"I-it's not funny!" She shot back. Yet it still lacked any of the heat I was expecting. It was a bit more shrill, immature. Something that told me this was less of a serious issue, and more one she was just slightly embarrassed by.

Weiss's eyes darted fervently amongst us. Clearly looking for some kind of escape, but quickly failing to find one. Then I saw her lean slightly, looking past us. Her expression soured further.

Sparing a moment's thought to it, I turned around to try and see what she was looking at. Curiously, I didn't see anything of note. Most of the other students had already flocked to the water. Anybody who wasn't already in it, seemed to be getting ready to-

Oh…

No fucking way.

I turned back to Weiss.

"Snowflake-" I said.

Her eyes instantly met mine, and I could see some childish degree of discomfort beginning to crystalize in them.

"-Do you… not know how to swim?" I asked.

"…"

Weiss said nothing.

But watching the look of discomfort instantly blossom into one of childish fear was absolutely priceless.

I clearly wasn't the only one to notice it either.

"…"

Blake didn't say anything, but I could see her desperately fighting back a case of the snickers.

Ruby and Yang on the other hand, wore nothing but smiles. Yang's one of amused disbelief, and Ruby's of utter confusion.

"I-it's not funny!" Weiss protested, getting a little red in the face.

"… I'm going to borrow a phrase of yours for a minute here:" I said, bemused and befuddled "What do you mean you don't know how to swim?"

"I'm from Atlas, do you know how cold it is up there?" Weiss continued to protest "Why would I need a pool?"

"… So you would know how to swim." I shot back "Kind of important, given what you're training for."

"Well- where would I keep one, it would freeze!"

"… Well then-" I said, motioning to the building around us "Beacon must be blowing your mind right now, because clearly Indoor Pools don't exist where you're from."

Weiss's face turned red enough to match Ruby's swimsuit.

Blake's snickering was steadily growing into a chuckle, not too far off from outright laughter.

"W-well- I-I-"

"Snowflake." I cut her off "I'm from a wasteland, a desert wasteland, and even I know how to swim. You have no excuse."

"…"

At first, Weiss's face scrunched up into an indignant pout. Then her shoulders suddenly gave out, slumping in defeat, as the light went out of her eyes like a snuffed candle. She'd lost, and she knew it. Part of me wanted to take satisfaction in knowing that, for once, Weiss was getting a taste of humble pie. Except, it wasn't satisfying. More than anything, this was a very clear sore spot for her. Needling her about it was basically the same as bullying her.

Something my teammates must have picked up on. Despite having every reason not to, I couldn't help but notice Blake began to rather actively stifle her own laughter. Helped along by a gentle elbow-to-the-side from Yang. The smile on Yang's face shifted, changing to one surprisingly compassionate. "Hey, it's not so bad. At least you didn't jump in the pool without telling us. This is the wrong season to go Weiss Fishing."

Perhaps compassion was the wrong word.

Without hardly a word, Ruby turned back. She walked to her partner and put an arm reassuringly around her shoulders. "We're here to help Weiss, remember?" Ruby asked "It's part of being a team."

Weiss pursed her lips, looking to Ruby. For a moment, she looked more like a lost kid than a confident young woman. A positively jarring change given the way Weiss normally carried and conducted herself.

Ruby fixed me with a look, and I returned it with a nod.

Very rarely will you hear me admit that I was on the same wavelength as a teenage girl.

"… Alright." I said, motioning with my hand "Let's go."

"Go?" Weiss asked dejectedly "Go where?"

"The pool, snowflake." I clarified "You're not going to learn how to swim on dry land."

Weiss blinked, and the life immediately came back to her eyes. "Eh?"

"Yeah!" Ruby cheered, Her arm shifting to grab Weiss's "C'mon, me and Yang can teach you!"

"W-wait, what!?" Weiss sputtered, slowly being dragged forward by her partner.

"Well, you didn't just assume we were going to laugh at you then leave you to drown, did you?" I asked.

"B-but-"She continued.

"No buts, remember?" I said, mimic her tone "Yang, grab her other arm."

"Heck Yeah!" Unexpectedly, Yang complied, giving Weiss a devious grin. "Me and Rubes have been swimming since we were kids, this'll be easy."

Between her and Ruby, they almost lifted Weiss off the floor completely.

We started towards the water, and I began lecturing. "Lesson one: how to jump into the shallow end."

…

"This is stupid." Weiss complained, lying on her back "This is completely and utterly idiotic."

The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

She promptly sank like a stone into the pool water, flailing for a minute in its chlorinated depths. When she finally found her footing, she broke the surface sputtering and coughing like a stalled engine.

"It's also the most fundamental lesson when it comes to swimming." I said, letting the water drain out of my helmet as I completed another lap "Learning how to float."

We were keeping to the shallow end of the pool. Mostly because trying to teach Weiss by throwing her off the deep end would've been cruel. There was always a chance the sudden shock might force her to learn. But there was a much greater chance she'd just sink to the bottom. Given the evidence of her current performance, I was inclined to believe the latter.

Weiss regained her composure and stood up, face scrunched up in a grimace. Her hair wreathed her head in damp, darkened tendrils. "This is… idiotic!"

"You're learning, it takes a few tries." Yang said, shooting Weiss a sunny smile as she and Blake lingered near the edge. Yang standing navel deep in the water while Blake sat on the rim of the pool, legs dangling in. I couldn't help but notice however that Yang's hair, and her entire upper half for that matter, were bone dry.

Guess she didn't want to swim either.

"Remember, you're only floating on your back because there's air in your lungs. You need to keep your breathing steady, otherwise you're gonna sink." I said, rising to my feet in the pool. The water was about waist high on me, so about three feet deep. "Remember-"

"-Slow, deep breaths, I know." Weiss sniped.

"None of the sass either." I said brightly "It weighs you down."

Weiss shot me another pout, then took a deep breath and lowered herself back into the water. We told her once she could do this for a minute, we'd actually move on to the moving part of swimming. We'd been at it almost a half hour at that point, and we'd made some progress. But despite being a fairly learned individual, she was picking up on this rather slowly. Although considering she'd apparently known nothing about swimming until we'd dragged her into the water, I guess she was picking it up rather quickly. Learning to float on your back is one of the most fundamental and basic things to learn about swimming. It takes the least energy to do, and can be a lifesaver if you're stranded too far from land. But that didn't mean it was easy. If you couldn't keep calm, control your breathing, you wouldn't have the buoyancy to stay above water. Some people can struggle with that, and panicking out on open water typically only ended in drowning.

Unless you had a rebreather. Then, by all means, walk on the lake bed. You might find some lost Legion gold while you're down there.

Weiss was slowly getting it though.

As she relaxed into the water, her body eased beneath its surface. She closed her eyes and smoothed her features. The warm water of the pool began to splay and fan her snow-white hair around her, as wake from the other students traveled and washed over her. Most of her body was beneath the surface, only the upper part of her chest, shoulders, and head were above it. I could see her chest rising and falling in slow, deep motions. She was getting better at controlling her breathing. The water slowly washing over her chest with each exhale, then receding as she inhaled. Naturally rolling down the scant curvature of her form, and the pale blue and white swimsuit. She was a skinny thing, twiggy almost. I was going to need to consider giving her extra portions at dinner. But, it was fitting I guess, she was thin and flat as a board, now she was floa-

OH HEY LOOK IT'S NORA!

Without so much as a warning, Nora came plowing through the space Weiss had been floating. Arms that could toss around a thousand pounds like a feather cut through the water and hammered my white haired teammate. Slamming her beneath the surface like a nail being driven by a supersledge. Nora gliding through the space she had once occupied, arms beating the water in thunderous claps.

Ruby was close behind her, less than a foot away really, and closing the distance as quickly as she could. Unintentionally trampling her partner with the same level of care as Nora had. Fighting to keep pace with the tawny haired girl.

It came to a sudden end as they crashed into the edge of the pool. Yang scrambled to get out of the way, but tripped into Blake, dragging her in and sending them both into the drink.

Nora reached the edge first her hands slapping wet against the concrete.

"I win!" Nora squawked, her voice hoarse and breathy as she breathed raggedly.

"Wha~ no fair, I want a rematch!" Ruby whined, similarly heaving, slamming her tiny fists into the pool with a splash.

"You're on!..." Nora huffed, leaning against the edge of the pool "In a minute."

"I told you to take it easy." Ren said, swimming past me in a slow, relaxed backstroke "You're not going to keep winning at this rate."

"Oh… don't be… like that." Nora puffed, smiling as bright as I'd ever seen her.

"Hey, could you watch where you're swimming?" Yang said, grimacing as she pulled herself and Blake back out of the water. Yang's golden hair rendered a damp, clinging yellow, faint rings of red to her irises. Blake's hair had been made a glossy black that hung and clung to her face. Their previously dry swimwear had been rendered to a darker shade as well, giving contour to their grasp. Darkening in pigment further as they contacted the skin beneath. Giving shape and form as they-

Oh, wow, Blake's bow looks a lot softer than I thought it did.

"Sor-ry~" Nora huffed, giving up and letting her weight settle against the wall.

"You really should be more careful Nora." Pyrrha said, paddling up alongside…

"Um, what?" I asked, trying to process just what exactly I was looking at.

It was Jaune and Pyrrha, that much was easy enough to piece out. There really wasn't any mistaking vomit boy and his red-head partner. No, the surprise was in how they were approaching us. Jaune was standing upright in the water, walking beside Pyrrha as she swam. Pyrrha, as stated, was swimming. Not so strange.

Except for the fact she was wearing a life preserver and gripping some sort of board in front of her.

And Jaune had one of his hands under her, clearly supporting her.

My confusion must have been obvious enough, because Pyrrha looked at me and gave an embarrassed little smile.

"You can't swim?" I asked, giving Pyrrha a leery look.

"Y-yes." Pyrrha said, standing up while letting her gaze linger low "I didn't have many chances to try and learn as a child. Argus isn't quite the place to go swimming either."

"She asked if I could help her get the hang of it." Jaune said "She's picking it up pretty quickly."

"W-well, it's not as though I've never been swimming before. The river was just… colder and faster than I expected." Pyrrha looked up from the pool, her gaze traveling appreciatively to Jaune. "Though it certainly helps that I've got a decent teacher."

"Hey, I'm just trying to help you with something you're not good with." Jaune said, smiling "You've helped me a lot in the past, and as your leader, shouldn't I return the favor?"

"Hmm." Pyrrha hummed, an odd smile spreading on her face as her eyes lingered on Jaune. More accurately, I'd say they were drinking him in.

I got the distinct impression that not knowing how to swim wasn't the reason she had Jaune helping her.

"I guess not being able to swim isn't just an Atlas thing." Blake said, whipping and wiping pool water off herself.

"… I'm inclined to agree." I said, shaking my head "First Weiss couldn't swim and now- oh shit, Weiss!"

It was at that moment I realized Weiss hadn't come back up for air.

I waded through the water as quickly as I could, diving beneath the surface. It took a moment for the water to seep into my mask, granting me a second of clarity before I had to close my eyes. Weiss was on the floor of the pool, only under three feet of water. Her face was locked with a look of shellshock, eyes wide with surprise, and mouth hanging limply open. I didn't see any air bubbles coming out, so either Nora had knocked all the air out of her, or had exhaled in surprise.

I gripped her by her slender shoulders and hoisted her out of the water. Giving all the care you'd give a sack of flour. She broke the surface and immediately began coughing water. She doubled over, trying to breath, and I tried to keep her from immediately disappearing back beneath the water.

"Easy- I got you, I got you." I said, supporting Weiss as she stumbled to get her feet under her.

"How long were you going to leave me down there!?" Weiss sputtered weakly.

"Why didn't you stand up!?" I shot back.

Rather than argue the point, Weiss saved her energy for more important things, like breathing. While she focused on that all-consuming task, I began to walk her back to the edge of the pool. I couldn't help but notice Nora and Ruby looked surprised.

"What was she doing under the water?" Nora chirped "Trying to see how long she could hold her breath?"

"You slammed into her while racing Ruby." I groused, easing Weiss against the wall of the pool.

"… I did?" Nora asked, her eyes widening, looking to Weiss.

Weiss didn't say anything to her, or even take note of her. She just stayed doubled up on the wall. I couldn't blame her, what she went through was a pretty shitty experience.

Nora's previous mood immediately fell.

Ruby weaved around her previous racing partner and to her actual partner. "Are you going to be ok?" Ruby asked.

"… I'll… be fine." Weiss said, trying to regain her composure. She blinked, her eyes tinged red from the pool water, perhaps broken blood vessels too. Had to wonder how hard Nora had actually hit her. Neither one of them had been paying any attention to what was going on around them.

"I-I'm sorry." Nora said, muted regret plain on her face.

"… Watch where you're going." Weiss said coldly. I couldn't tell if it was because that was all she could muster, or because she was that angry. I probably would've been too.

"What you did was dangerous, Nora." I said, turning to her "You need to pay more attention. Even if it was an accident, in other situations this could have gotten much uglier."

Especially considering I highly doubted aura could handle little things like asphyxiation.

Nora's face fell, the energy she normally had ebbed out of her.

Then, without warning, she dove beneath the surface. Through the murky wake of the pool, I could see her brace herself against the wall, then kick off it. She disappeared quickly, only the faint churn of the water left to indicate she was in motion.

"… Where's she going?" I asked.

Ren stood up, looking out in the pool, roughly in the direction Nora had moved. He turned back towards us with a half-cocked smile. "You'll find out when she comes back."

I stared after Nora for a moment, before shaking my head. Weiss was still recovering, and I was probably going to make sure she hadn't been more seriously injured. Aura was good at avoiding that sort of thing, but considering how she'd reacted to getting hammered to the floor, I wasn't so sure all was right. Now I couldn't be so upset if she didn't want to swim, getting attacked out of the blue like that wasn't fun. I'd been attacked by lakelurks in the water before, you never imagine what that kind of situation is like until you're in it.

"You think she's going to stay under the whole time?" a new but familiar voice asked.

"I'd hope she's not that crazy, but Nora's a strange one." I responded, turning back to the concrete rim of the pool.

Coco was there, smirking down at me over the rim of her sunglasses. Her teammates were not far behind her, Velvet and Fox were vying for second place, while Yatsu was taking up the rear. I did my best not to focus any one of them too hard. But it was hard for unexpected reasons.

Mostly because Yatsu was seven some-odd feet of statuesque muscle. In a light green swimsuit that made Port's look modest to boot.

It wasn't that his teammates weren't noteworthy, just that Yatsu was that different.

"You're still wearing your helmet." Coco stated skeptically.

"Yeah, and you're still wearing your beret and glasses." I commented, still looking up at her.

Coco shrugged, pushing her sunglasses back into place. "It's kinda my thing." She smirked, cocking her head slightly.

I didn't fail to notice her head seemed to trail a nearby group of students, ever so slightly. How disconcerting.

I planted my hands on the rim of the pool and pushed up, climbing out of the water. I turned back to the water and came low enough to off Weiss a hand.

"You need a hand?"

Weiss didn't say anything, she just grimaced at me, then shook her head. She probably wasn't in any mood to start moving.

"Wow you are really hairy." Coco said, giving me a perturbed look.

"No, I'm not, I'm wearing a sweater." I answered, straightening back out.

Coco and Velvet both blinked, before giving me a look like I'd just sprouted a second head. Then the corner of Velvet's mouth tugged up in a smile, a few chuckles escaping her. Coco on the other hand just continued looking at me, stuck in the processing stage.

"So, you do jokes now?" She asked.

"No, that was sarcasm, got it with last year's fall collection. Pairs well with the sweater." I said.

This time I noticed Fox chuckle a little, while Yatsu rolled his eyes with a smirk. Coco just shook her head.

"Learn something new every day." Coco said "I wouldn't have pegged you for being a towhead either."

"I'm not a towhead." I shot back, flinging pool water off of me "I'm just a bit gray."

I regretted it the moment I said it.

Coco nodded, smirking "So you're gray under that thing, good to know."

"… Assuming the carpet matches the drapes." I backpedaled, as calmly as I could muster.

"There's another joke." Coco said drolly "…Well, you don't seem to have an issue with modesty, kid."

"Oh for the love of- I didn't choose this, it's just the default." I groused,

"Actually, you did choose it." Velvet said.

"Oh yeah?" I asked "Why would I choose this?"

"Well maybe you didn't want to." Velvet corrected, blushing slightly "But you didn't choose anything different, so you chose what the normal one was. Choosing to abstain is still a choice."

"…"

I wanted to argue with her, but I knew she wasn't wrong. Technically, even if I hadn't done it intentionally, by choosing to ignore this part of the paperwork, this is what I chose. Technicalities suck when you're the one they're being used on.

Being called on it sucked just as much honestly, and I felt my ears get uncomfortably warm for a moment. Avoiding wanting to make an ass of myself, I said nothing.

It might've worked too.

Then I noticed Velvet was looking at me funny, and Coco lowered her sunglasses again. She appeared to be scrutinizing me now.

"… What?" I asked.

"Is… is your neck turning red?"

"… What?" I asked, noticing that my neck was suddenly feeling war- uh oh.

Coco's eyes widened at about the same time Velvet's did. "Are you… blushing?"

"No." I said, about as convincingly as Weiss had complained about her stomach.

"Holy cow, he is!" I heard Ruby blurt.

I got the sense my teammates were starting to pay attention now too.

What followed was a moment or two of uncomfortable, for me at least, silence. Partly because everyone who was interested, was busy gawking. I on the other hand was too busy trying to figure out how to consciously regulate my blood pressure and direct it away from my head.

However, as Coco began to smirk at me, and I felt the warm continuing to stretch across my face, I decided it was better to just muscle on.

"… Ok, what are you doing here?" I asked, finally reaching my limit "I'm not going to assume you came over here just to poke fun."

"You don't know Coco very well then." Velvet said, casually ribbing her teammate.

"Extra credit, remember?" Coco said "We get more if you're actually doing it. We were going to make sure you knew-"

"That swimming is one of the best exercises a person can do." I said "Because it combines endurance, resistance, and aerobic training in equal measure. While also avoiding any of the potential joint issues posed by traditional training."

"…"

"You do remember that I train rather proactively, right?" I asked, slowly muscling the heat back out of face and neck. "Just because I didn't know to add aura into the mix doesn't change that."

I could've sworn I saw Coco at a loss for a moment, dropping the normally cool air she had. Small victories for me. But then Fox cocked his head towards her, and an amused smirk worked its way onto her face. Coco shrugged. "Look out Fox, you might have some competition."

"Ain't a competition if he can't keep up." I shot back.

Making the first noise I could ever recall him making, Fox snorted out a small laugh. Whether it was derisive or out of amusement, I couldn't tell.

"But, hey, that's you." Coco continued, moving on "If the coolest hunters on campus and a pair of cute girls come to check up on you and all you can do is brush them off, Guess it's your call."

"Really?" I asked, making my voice sound stuffy and posh "Forgive me, I didn't know I was in the presence of such elites. Please, take a seat by the pool side while I massage your ego."

Coco's smirk gained a slight hitch in one corner, one of what I could sense was genuine amusement. Likewise, the rest of her team were clearly amused by our exchange. I could see Velvet almost tittering with laughter, and the smirk Fox wore betrayed some semblance of enjoyment. The only tough sell was Yatsu, but there was a light in his eyes that told me he was at least glad to be present.

"Okay Wiseass, we'll leave you alone if that's what you want." Coco said, conceding gracefully.

"Who said anything about leaving?" I asked, having regained control of my faculties for the moment "You can stick around if you want, we're all training anyway. We all might have secrets, but it's not like knowing how many laps I can swim is that big a deal."

"Oh yeah, and how many laps can you swim?" Velvet asked, rolling her eyes. Said eyes promptly widened, as she seemed to realize she said that out loud.

"All of them." I said snidely "A silly question, really... still, if you guys want to hang around, I don't think anyone here is going to tell you to leave." I thumbed to my teammates and JNPR "We're all misfits here."

"Wow, way to out your friends, Six." Yang called from the water.

'Outing them would've been saying that Weiss and Pyrrha can't swim.'

"The point stands though-" I continued "Assuming you don't mind hanging out with your less-than-cool underclassmen, there's no reason for you to leave."

Coco looked at me for a moment, lips pursed, expression a cool mask of thought. As though she was genuinely contemplating whether or not hanging with us would negatively impact her reputation.

Then another gaggle of students walked past us, and I saw her eyes track to them appreciatively. Her lips quirked back into a smirk.

"Well… I don't think hanging around for a few minutes would be so bad, right boys, V?"

"Hm." Yatsu grunted, and Fox's head bobbed in acknowledgement.

"R-right." Velvet nodded, her face flushing slightly. Not sure why she was, she hadn't done anything to really warrant it. Maybe she was self-conscious about her swimsuit? But unlike mine, it was a custom job. A brown two piece, trimmed at the edges with either a bright yellow or faux gold. Her body was trim and lithe, hard to notice beneath her usual uniform. Slender-toned arms and legs, lithe stomach, pert-

OH HEY IT'S NORA AGAIN!

Mid-stream of thought, Nora returned, colliding with the pool wall right beside Weiss. Colliding was too strong a word for it though. Flopped would've been more appropriate.

She came up, gasping and sputtering for air worse than Weiss had been. Poor girl almost looked half drowned, color drained from her face and orange hair clinging to her in a darkened mop. She doubled over on the wall, coughing in watery, gurgling fits. Each exhale spewing what I could only assume to be pool water across the concrete. Her shoulders heaving with exertion.

Her sudden arrival took most of us by surprise. Weiss and Ruby sidestepped after Nora had surfaced, taking a few steps away from her.

As if today hadn't already been full of enough surprises, Ren immediately shot up from his post. He waded through the water with surprising speed, and was with Nora rather quickly. The girl shaking like a leaf as she greedily gulped down air, and retched up water in its place.

"T-that was… TERRIBLE!" Nora crowed; voice as unsteady as she looked. Even as she shook and retched, she uncurled just enough to turn towards Weiss, fighting back her body's desperate pleas for air. "I-I'm so sorry." She sputtered out, eyes red, either stung by the pool water or from the pressure of her coughing fits.

"W-why would you do that!?" Weiss asked, obviously more concerned by the fact Nora had nearly drowned herself.

"I w-wanted to k-know what I did to you." Nora stuttered, leaning back against the wall "I-I'm sorry."

For a brief moment, Weiss seemed to relax, her face losing the haggard edge from her near drowning. What replaced it was a softened, muted look of understanding, perhaps even gratefulness. It was gone just as quickly as it came though. Immediately re-sculpting itself into an annoyed, indignant mask. "Don't use me as an excuse to drown yourself!"

"Sorry." Nora repeated weakly.

I had to side with Weiss on this one. A stupid move on Nora's part, but I could at least understand the intent.

"Assuming that's all out of the way, we should probably get back to swimming." I said, addressing everyone "We've only got so much time before Port calls it a day." I turned back to Weiss "You got enough of the basics to keep practicing?"

"I-I'll be fine." Weiss snipped.

"You sure?" I asked "Considering I had to dredge you off the bottom of the pool-"

"That was different!" She snapped.

"You sure about that?" Blake asked snidely "I think that's why he's asking."

"What, can she not swim?" Coco mused, smirking.

A silence fell over everyone present. The fact that none of my teammates bothered to refute her served as an answer.

"… Wow, really?" She asked, blinking.

"Yeah, that was basically my reaction too." I agreed.

Weiss shot both of us a look that screamed 'shut up'. Shame it was cut by the fact that I could see her ears turning red. Her face scrunched up again into a pout. She then folded her arms against the wall again, and buried her face in it.

We let her stay like that for a moment, before Ruby came up close and put a reassuring hand on her back. At least I assumed it was supposed to be reassuring, otherwise that would just be awkward.

Likewise, I knelt down.

"Weiss, do you not feel comfortable continuing?" I asked.

Weiss didn't even look up, but the way her head rolled against her arms came as incredibly honest 'No'.

"… Do you still want to learn though?"

A moment passed again. Weiss clearly contemplating whether or not learning how to swim was worth looking like a fool for a little while. But she was a smart cookie, she had the grades to prove it and everything. Just because you look stupid starting out doesn't mean you just give up. If anything, she was just mildly afraid of nearly drowning again due to someone else's carelessness.

But… maybe I had a solution. Or at least, a way to make this easier.

I just wish I didn't have to use it.

Her head pivoted in a nod, 'Yes'.

"… Alright." I said, standing back up "-Wait here, I'll be right back."

I turned around and quickly started back to the locker room.

The corridor back was empty by this point, so I didn't have to dip and weave around anyone to get where I was going. I did nearly slip once or twice, wet feet and all, but I've got the reflexes to keep upright. I re-entered the locker room and trotted over to my locker. I tapped the combination in and opened it, revealing my plethora of equipment. I had to rummage through it a little bit to find what I was looking for. It'd been a while since I'd had to use it last, but it was a surprisingly useful little gadget. I always made sure to keep it on hand after the business at Lake Mead with the Lady.

I found my rebreather tangled in the remnants of my Parkstroller outfit and weighed down by my four remaining frag grenades. I gave it a quick once over, and swiped a little grime off the inside with a loose bit of cloth. This would certainly keep things moving. Probably should've just started with it, but I hadn't realized it was going to be this difficult to teach Weiss to swim.

Granted, I also should've known better considering my own personal experiences with this place.

Satisfied with its condition, I shut my locker and headed back out to the pool. By the time I got back, CFVY had decided to join in, and had started getting into the water. Yatsu was already in the water, but the shallow end only seemed to reach about mid-way up his calves. Fox was along another of the pool's walls, and appeared to be ruminating beside Ren. Neither spoke to the other, but really, that would've been absurd for either of them. Nora was busy collecting herself beside Ren, not quite looking like she was half drowned, but looking ready to puke. Jaune and Pyrrha had decided to take another lap, and were already half way out across the pool. Which left all my teammates, plus Velvet and Coco, congregated about where I had left them. Yang and Blake had climbed back out of the water and seated themselves on the edge, with Yang ringing the water out of her hair. Ruby was with Weiss, and the two of them were making idle conversation with Velvet and Coco. Or rather, Ruby was making conversation with them, Weiss seemed more interested in the pool's tiling.

As I approached, the four of them looked back to me. There was a clouded, uncertain look in Weiss's eyes. She wasn't comfortable swimming to begin with, and this little incident hadn't helped with that.

I kneeled back down and held the rebreather out to Weiss. "Put this on."

Weiss eyed the rebreather in confusion, before rising up to look at me instead.

"Just humor me, would you?" I asked.

For a moment more, Weiss stared at me, then at the rebreather. When it passed, she took the yellowed piece of steel and tubing. Scrutinizing it with the intensity she did anything that I offered her.

"What is that?" Velvet asked, eyeing the mask in Weiss's hands curiously.

"A rebreather." I explained "An oxygen scrubber built into a face mask that lets you breath underwater and in hazardous environments."

Velvet's eyes went wide, so did Weiss, Ruby and Coco's, frankly. Velvet turned to look at me, clearly intrigued. "Where did you get this?"

"Don't worry about it." I said, nonchalantly pushing the conversation along "Just slip it over your head, then hit the switch on the side. Make sure you've got it where you want it first."

Weiss grimaced at me, but complied, slipping the loop of tubes and steel over her head. The scrubbing tank resting behind her neck and the mask more than ample enough to cover her mouth and nose. Her hand reached up to the tank, feeling for and finding a switch set to one side of it. With a hiss, the tubes began to contract, and the assembly tightened to her. The mask making a perfect seal to her face.

Her eyes crinkled in the corners, something akin to discomfort.

"Eugh, it's musty." Weiss groaned, looking back to me "Is this really necessary?"

"If it keeps you from drowning while learning to swim?" I asked "Consider it like training wheels. Stick your head underwater, you won't need someone to fish you out this time."

Weiss's eyes narrowed in a pointed look, just as the tops of her ears began to turn red.

Then unexpectedly, she dipped her head beneath the water, and stayed there.

We waited for her to come back up for air.

Ten seconds.

Twenty.

"… Is she alright?" Velvet asked.

"Pretty sure, I've used it enough, it's a pretty fool proof device." I answered.

Thirty.

She came back up at forty, surprise evident in her eyes.

"Wow." Velvet said, summing up their thoughts rather succinctly, in my opinion.

"Now, you have no excuse not to learn." I noted, looking at Weiss "Finish learning to float, then you can move on to the more practical strokes."

Weiss looked at me for a moment, and I expected her to come back at me with something biting. If not biting, then perhaps a little toothsome, something to the effect of 'Why didn't you just give me this in the first place?'.

Then she surprised me.

"Thank you." Weiss said, eyes still down and the tips of her ears turning red. "This is… something I know I need to learn."

"… Did… did you just thank me?" I asked.

The red on her ears took a brighter shade. "Don't get used to it!"

"Hmph, whatever you say snowflake."

"Snowflake?" Coco asked, though more in confusion than a question.

"Well, isn't that nice of you." Yang said from her seat, giving a smirk I was learning to recognize

"… Don't you dare ruin this." I said.

"Aw, don't be like that." Yang teased, her smirk only growing "Because of you, now she can breathe easy."

Everybody within earshot groaned. Ruby groaned, Weiss, groaned, Blake groaned, Coco, Fox, and Velvet groaned. I'm pretty sure some of the passing students groaned too.

"Yaaang~" Ruby whined.

Yang beamed proudly "Hey whatever floats her boat, right?"

"Stop that!" Weiss snipped.

Yang's smile only continued to grow. She slid from her seat and back into the pool. Her swimsuit causing her more buoyant-

That's enough out of you.

Yang turned to face all of us, giving a big, toothy grin. "But hey, because of Six, now things should go… swimmingly."

Rather than vocalize their disgust, the resulting damage of the pun caused everyone to be rendered temporarily mute.

Unfortunately, my mouth didn't seem to get the memo.

"I'm pretty sure she'd have gotten it eventually." I said "It's not like I took some sort of dive to make it happen."

Everyone immediately turned their attention to me. I could feel the hate wash over me like the shockwave from a grenade.

It wasn't on purpose.

Yang's smile popped open with a laugh, growing jovial and more full of life.

"There it is!" She beamed "You never let me drown, Six"

"Don't start heckling me." I groused "Sink or swim I'll- shit."

"Please stop encouraging her." Weiss asked.

"I'm not doing it on purpose!" I shot back.

"You all need to lighten up, or you might have stroke." Yang said.

Having heard that joke turned around on me, my mouth, once again, acted without the permission of the rest of me.

"You're only joking about it because you're clearly a natural born swimmer." I said "Unfortunately, we don't all get to be born with natural flotation devices, now do we?"

"… Huh?"

My brain caught up with my mouth about two sentences too late.

Everybody who'd been paying attention either instantly snapped to look at me, or did so in slow, bewildered fashion. Eyeing me like I'd… well, frankly, said what I'd said. Which itself was more than cause enough for everybody to shut up.

Yang's mouth popped open, and her cheeks flushed. Her lavender eyes alight with absolute bewilderment by the sudden turn of the conversation. She blinked once, twice, then shook her head and looked down at herself.

The flush of her cheeks erupted to cover her whole face.

My chest started itching suddenly, and it wasn't because of the hair.

A moment more passed with the silence hanging in the air like a lead balloon.

Then Coco started snickering. I spared her a glance, and found her trying to stifle laughter.

"You're looking a little red there, kid." Coco snickered; mouth drawn up in a smirk.

I looked down at myself.

The upper half of my chest was bright red.

This was the reason why I wasn't nice to people.

"…I'mma go fall off a cliff now." I said, gesturing to the highest diving platform. Then promptly turned, weaved around Coco and Velvet, and began walking at a brisk pace. Jumping from some place high-up seemed appropriate at that moment. More so if I could land head-first. It would keep me away from them for a little while. Maybe give them time to forget how stupid I was. There was little chance that running away would solve anything here. But a little distance might help make it seem less… bad.

Unfortunately, they knew where I slept.

There was no true escape from this.