I rolled my shoulders, working the kinks out as I stepped out of the locker-room hallway. Most of the students had begun making their way to the elevated seating to one side of the room. My teammates and CFVY were waiting for me towards the far end of the arena. By the door to the training room. It'd been a pretty normal day so far. As I approached them, I could hear Goodwitch preparing to begin class. Which amounted to asking the students who wanted to take time to kick the tar out of the people next to them.

As I prepared to join my teammates, however, a single voice rose up.

"I want to fight him." The boy said.

"…Who?" Goodwitch asked.

"The idiot with the gasmask." The boy said.

"…" I turned around and looked up into the seating of the Sparring arena.

Up, in about the third row from the top, stood a young man with gray hair. I'd never actually had the chance to meet the guy face to face, but I'd met the company he'd kept in passing. It was the boy I had assumed to be Cinder Fall's teammate, one of them at least. A lean looking boy, with an imperious look of boredom on his face. He was dressed in dark colors, black pants and boots, a high collared gray shirt with padded shoulders and sleeves, and bracers on his forearms. His hair was shaggy, long and mostly swept back, save for a few locks he let cover part of his face. His expression was narrowed towards me that suggested he was either smugly intent, or constipated.

"…You want to rephrase that so you sound less like a dick-weed?" I asked

The boy continued looking smug, as he turned his attention to Goodwitch. Definitely smug, cocky would've been more overt, and infinitely more fragile. "Seems like I have his attention."

"Mr. Black, I must ask you to refrain from speaking to your fellow huntsmen and training so coarsely." Goodwitch answered, before turning to me "You as well Mister Six, please do not further antagonize him."

"He started it." I pointed out "I was just minding my own business."

"Quite." Goodwitch said, turning back the young man "If you wish to spar, I would suggest that you find another partner, Mister Black."

"Why?" he sneered, not taking his eyes off me "Am I picking on the Special Needs kid?"

"Kinda proving my earlier statement." I muttered, as I flipped him off and kept walking. At the very least Coco seemed amused, if her smirk was an indicator.

Goodwitch ignored me for once, and focused on the kid instead. "Mr. Six is currently undergoing remedial training. His Aura proficiency was found to be lacking, so he is being given time to correct it."

"So, he is the Special Needs kid." The kid said snidely.

I ignored him and approached my teammates and tutors, who were waiting patiently by the door. For what it was worth, Ruby was giving a pained look to the peanut gallery. Everyone else, however, had thicker skin. Weiss, Blake, and Yang just looked more annoyed and off-put than offended.

CFVY, meanwhile, was giving the kid the collective stink-eye. He was honestly just doing a really good job of making an ass of himself, and little else.

"Ignore him." I said, motioning to the door "We've got better things to be doing than listening to that clown."

Coco gave me a lopsided look, shifting between me, and the peanut gallery. She seemed to be looking rather intently at the one nut that needed a good cracking. "I dunno, kid. Something about him is rubbing me the wrong way."

"Hence why we're better off ignoring him." I said.

"What's the matter?" I heard the Peanut call from the gallery "You worried you suck at your job?"

Coco's gaze sharpened as she focused onto the stands. I spared a glance back up once more. The kid, Peanut, Black, whatever he wanted to call himself, had seemed to notice he had Coco's attention. He was looking down at us smugly. So, I guess, technically, he was just looking down at us.

"Hasn't he had a few weeks to get better now?" He asked "If you're doing it right, it shouldn't take him that long to catch up."

"Mr. Black." Goodwitch spoke once more "Ms. Adel and her team are the best among your year, and proven in their abilities. I am more than confident that she and her team are capable of getting Mr. Six up to par."

"You mean up to spar." I muttered.

I could collectively hear everyone around me groan inaudibly. Except Yang. She either managed to either catch herself, or sneezed in a funny way.

"And is there something wrong with testing that?" A voice asked.

Goodwitch's gaze shifted to the seat next to the boy's. To his teammate, who I was informally familiar with. Dressed in an outfit I found annoyingly similar to something I'd see in the Wasteland. Sturdy Jeans, belted with a litany of pouches, heeled leather boots, dusty leather vest, spaulders, and gloves. Her vest was open, revealing a top consisting solely of wrapped bandages around her chest. Also, confusingly just above the belt line. Her entire midriff was exposed between the two.

Still, something I felt I would see in the Mojave.

I will never understand fashion.

Cinder Fall looked beatifically at Ms. Goodwitch. "While my… teammate's candor leaves much to be desired, he has a point. Isn't part of additional training to ensure that the one being trained is at everyone else's level of experience?"

"That is correct." Goodwitch answered.

"-Then, wouldn't it also mean that, they would have to be tested to see what their progress has been?" Cinder asked "To make sure that they are both improving, and that their instructor is doing their duty properly?"

"…" Goodwitch paused as she scrutinized the two students. Idly, I noted that Cinder and her male teammate still had only a third teammate with them. A girl with earthy skin and pale green hair.

Goodwitch turned towards us, down in the arena. "Ms. Fall's reasoning is not incorrect. However, both combatants would need to be in agreement to the fight. Ms. Adel, do you believe Mr. Six is of a suitable level to be tested?"

Coco looked up at the stands in thinly veiled irritation. She was holding onto the boy's words when she shouldn't have been. "Honestly?... Yeah. If Six wants to get into a fight with him, I think he'd be fine."

"… Very well." Goodwitch said, her gaze shifting to me. "Mr. Si-"

"Hard pass." I answered, stepping past my teammates and reaching for the door to the side room. "I've got better things to do than entertain some dickhead who's clearly just trying to act demicky."

"Sounds more like you're afraid." The boy said, clearly just looking for whatever buttons he could press on me.

I'd heard better zingers from Hadrian and Billy Knight.

"Kid, of all the things you are worth right now, my time is not one of them." I said, turning back towards my teammates and CFVY. "You want to get into a dick measuring contest, go bug Cardin. You might actually stand a chance at that one."

The room, massive as it was, got so quiet I could've heard a pin drop. It was actually quite impressive.

I opened the door to the side room, and waited patiently to see what would happen next. I'd made it clear I couldn't give less than a shit what the boy wanted, and that should've been the end of it. All that needed to happen was for my teammates and CFVY to walk through the door. Then we could get on with actually doing something productive with our day. I was really starting to get a handle on how Aura was supposed to work. I wasn't proficient with it yet, not by a long shot, but the control over the meager amount I had was proving itself invaluable. My efforts seemed to be subtly increasing the amount of it I had as well, if only slightly.

Literally, my time was worth more than some arrogant prick.

But as the seconds passed, no one moved. Though I was starting to feel a lot of eyes on me.

I wasn't the one wasting everyone's time. Frankly someone should've started complaining about how they were wasting valuable sparring time with all the nonsense.

"… Mister Six." Goodwitch spoke, tone authoritative "While I am understanding of your situation, refusing to spar with Mr. Black purely due to his demeanor is not an acceptable reason."

"Oh, so when I kicked the crap out of Cardin and his pinhead friends for acting that way it was a problem. But now that I'm refusing to do it for legitimate reasons, it's still a problem?" I asked.

"No, it was a problem then as well. However, refusing to spar with Mr. Black because you view it as a waste of time is different." Goodwitch spoke "It would be a chance to test your progress, and prove that the remedial lessons are indeed helping you."

"Beneath me?" I asked "… Ma'am I beat the tar out of Cardin's team in a pitch-black room, and had previously bashed one of their heads through a window multiple times. The only thing beneath me here is that I'm not going to give rise to the taunting of…" I motioned a hand to the boy "Whatever-the-fuck yer name is."

"Mercury." The boy finally supplied.

"Yeah, him." I said "He's actively trying to goad me into fighting him, and while I'm not afraid of him, I can recognize when someone's just antagonizing me for the sake of being a jackass."

"Be that as it may-" Goodwitch started.

"Can someone please start fighting already!?" Nora shouted from a few rows down, Ren rubbing his brow beside her.

"… Ms. Valkyrie, please refrain from interrupting." Goodwitch answered succinctly, before turning back to me "Mr. Six, I think this has been enough stalling. You may proceed to your lessons after sparring with Mr. Black. The point has been made that your progress needs to be gauged. While Mr. Black shall be reprimanded for his conduct, should he continue, he has made it clear he wishes to fight you. Under different circumstances, I would request him to find someone else, but yours are extenuating."

I looked up at Goodwitch for a moment. Funny that this was probably the closest either of us had ever come to having a civil conversation. She was also being completely unflinching on her decision, and was actually providing some reasoning for it. Anyone else under my circumstances would probably be thrilled to have a chance to properly test their skills, show that they're getting better. More than anything, I saw it as an annoyance, because I'd already seen my own improvements.

I also wasn't keen on fighting someone who was just trying to actively antagonize me. Not out of fear, but pragmatism. You don't waste energy on every idiot who runs their mouth.

Clearly, however, other people were more inclined to entertain him. Considering they would prevent me from training by virtue of training with me, it was a more polite way of trying to strong arm me.

"… You're not actually giving me a choice here, are you?" I muttered, then sighed through my nose "The sooner I beat his ass into the ground, the sooner you'll let me move along?" I clarified.

"Correct." Goodwitch answered.

"… Fine." I said, stepping away from the door, shifting my gaze to Mercury "I'll give you a minute. After that I'm getting on with my day."

Mercury looked at me smugly, and rose from his seat, and started down from the stands. Whatever his weapon, he would need to retrieve it.

As I would mine, now.

I gave my teammates and CFVY a nod. "This won't take long. A warm up will do me good anyway."

"Make him eat dirt." Coco commanded.

"You can't tell me what to do." I retorted snidely.

"I can." Ruby said, giving me a cheery smile "Kick his butt."

"… As you wish." I nodded, and began to trot back to the locker room.

It was a quick thing getting my kit together. I stuck with the weapons I'd been using for my nightly runs into Vale, and was glad I'd taken the time to put them back. Lever-shotgun, That Gun, Blood-nap, and Cattle-Prod. I omitted the Flare gun more for practicality than utility. I was starting to get a handle on Dust rounds, but not to the point I was going to fire them off for something like this. Since it had been slowly relegated to a Dust delivery system, my Flare gun was really only useful for a few things. Most favoring ambush and guerilla tactics. Something I got the feeling Goodwitch wasn't going to take so kindly to anymore. Not that she ever did in the first place. But there also wasn't much sense in going the extra mile this time. I'd needed to get close to Cardin undetected the first time. Now, I just needed to pummel an upstart brat.

Given everything I'd learned recently, it was all stuff that could be handled with a straight-up fight. One that I wasn't so afraid to approach properly armed anymore.

If Mercury got hurt, so be it. A little scar tissue never hurt- well, killed, anyone. I had better things to do than waste my time on him.

Plus, now I wasn't afraid to start shooting. An upside to having spent so much time familiarizing myself with how the people of this world fight. The psychos weren't the only ones shooting at each other.

I situated my gear and double checked everything was loaded. That would've been an embarrassing mistake to have happen, and carelessness leads to accidents. After making sure I was good to go, I closed my locker and walked back down the hall to the arena.

Mercury was waiting not far outside the hall leading into the arena. Apparently, he was already packing whatever weapon he was planning to use. He'd also chosen the side of the arena closest to the locker room. He was watching me with relaxed regard as I walked past him, a smirk on his face. A part of me had to wonder if it was supposed to be an effort to try and set me on edge. It fell flat. Frankly I put him in about the same category as the thugs who walked the main drag in Freeside outside the Strip. Two-bit knife artists who thought trying to bleed people for caps the on doorstep of the Kings and House was a good idea. Typically ended in them running away with broken bones, or dying on the sidewalk from laser burns.

The dumbass currently trying to pick my bones was not only barking up the wrong tree, but was doing it in front of Goodwitch. Along with a host of people who would, hypothetically, jump in to help me if it turned that way. Death wasn't on the table, but if the kid actually managed to be something bad, broken bones were always an option. Nora was always keen on legs at least.

I walked past Mercury and settled up across the room from him. I levered my shotgun off my back as I did, and rested it at hip level, just over That Gun. The barrel was pointed to the floor, a quick flick up would have pointed straight at him. I let my gaze drift up to Goodwitch.

Goodwitch looked down at us scrupulously "The rules remain the same as any other spar: Do not endanger the life of your opponent. Be mindful of your Aura. Obey the instructor." She looked at me rather pointedly with that last one. "Should either combatant fall from the ring, the match will end and the victor will be decided. Should either combatant's aura falls beneath safe parameters, the match will end, and the victor will be decided. Should either side forfeit, combat will cease immediately. Are there any questions?"

"Yeah, could you keep a stopwatch going?" I asked "I don't want to try and actually keep track of a minute while I'm fighting."

Goodwitch looked at me blandly. "The fight will be timed for grading, Mister Six."

I shrugged, turning to face Mercury "Just making sure."

Mercury shook his head. His gaze narrowed at me as he regarded me coldly. Like a snake, eyeing a tasty mouse.

Joke was on him. I was a rat, not a mouse.

The tension in the air grew thicker, as we waited for the go-ahead. I heard the overhead display blink to life, displaying our respective information.

"Combatants- set." Goodwitch spoke.

I let the tension leave me, let my body go loose. Mercury slid into a stance I didn't recognize, his expression challenging and unchanging. I exhaled a smooth breath between my lips.

"… Begin!" Goodwitch barked.

Mercury's legs began to glide forward-

My shotgun flung around front of me, held by the fore grip in my off hand. My right hand slipped down to That Gun. Pain old, sharp, and hot shot through my palm, up my wrist. Scarred ligament and broken bone grating against each other from a wound that never healed right.

I used my aura to clear leather with a speed I hadn't since the last time I went 'Hunting'.

Before Mercury had even made it a step, my pistol locked to my hip. A flash of VATs gave me time to aim. A trio of rounds sailed through the air, all nailing center-mass. Killing Mercury's forward stride.

The expression fell from Mercury's face, as his legs suddenly shot back to keep him from stumbling.

I shifted my aura into my legs, as That Gun slammed back into its holster. My head flicked up to the monitor for a fraction of a second, scanned Mercury's aura, and then snapped back to him. Allowed me to gauge how much the bullets had done to him. Then I shot forward on an aura-infused stride, shotgun swinging back properly into my grip.

Mercury's gaze locked onto me as he got his footing.

Right as I was within striking distance.

His eyes shot wide, one of his legs began to sweep up in a kick.

I slid my aura into my right arm, tightening it into a guard as I brought my shotgun up. His kick hammered into my arm and stung, but little else. My finger twitched, and the shotgun went off. Fire leapt from the muzzle, straight against Mercury's clothes, peppering him as the buckshot slammed into him at point-blank distance.

I could have hit him from further away, but I knew how destructive gunpowder was proving against aura. A single shotgun blast was basically the last thing I was going to be able to hit him with without things getting messy. I needed to make it count.

As it stood, Mercury's eye nearly shot out of his head from the hit, and his breath left him in a wheeze. The blast almost sent him off his feet again, but he managed to turn it into a retreating step instead.

Seamlessly, I stepped in after him. Turning the shotgun on its grip, bringing the butt of it around in an upward swing. Mercury's head slipped away from it, so I slammed it forward on the return motion. The butt of it hammered into the outer corner of his eye. The strike drew a hiss from him. He pivoted on his heel suddenly and his opposite leg came around in a kick. But I saw it coming, kicks are a hard thing to rely on. When used recklessly, they can be telegraphed from a mile out. So far, of the two strikes he'd tried, they'd both been kicks. The first I'd caught with a guard.

The second I didn't even allow that.

I dipped beneath the kick and countered with one of my own, a low and sweeping one. I hooked him behind the back of his supporting knee, and hammered in. Suffusing the strike with a sliver of Aura. I had to give him credit, he must've trained his legs well, because it felt like I was striking iron.

But his knee buckled anyway. Swore I heard something pop too.

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

Mercury felt his leg give out, and reacted instantly. An arm lashed to the ground, providing another point of stability as he continued to swing his kick through the air. Allowing it glide through as he tried to turn the motion into another attack. All he did was further telegraph himself, he should've abandoned the motion and dodged.

I carried my own momentum through, and swung my shotgun around like a club. I connected with his arm, robbed it of its the stability. He began to tumble, and his attack suddenly turned into a defensive roll.

It was already too late.

I shot to my feet and caught him as he began to curl into the roll, my knee driving into his curling stomach. The force sent him tumbling to the side. Using the momentum of my rise, I pressed forward. Following his tumble with a driving kick, pouring aura into the strike.

It punted him a solid fifteen feet. He tumbled maybe another five after that, and came back to his feet with the motion. I ran with him.

He came to his feet in time to find my shotgun kissing his forehead. A look of bewilderment on his formerly smug face. His eyes, an odd steely grey, locking on me for a moment before tracing the length of the barrel. He went cross-eyed for a second, before blinking and looking back to me.

A solid moment passed with my gun pressed to his forehead. He wasn't in immediate danger. The spent shell was still in the chamber. But I counted on him not realizing that, in the flurry of everything. I'd kept the pressure on, and it was actually a mistake on my part, not cycling the action, sloppy. But considering I wasn't going to risk shooting him any more than I had, it removed an unnecessary risk.

I waited, until the brat started to open his mouth, probably going to say something inane.

Then I thrust the gun forward a few inches. Jabbing it into his head.

Mercury went to step back and keep his balance, only to discover a crucial detail.

I'd walked him to the edge of the arena.

Which rose up from the rest of the floor a solid foot and a half.

His foot fell behind him, and I saw the realization on his face as the fall begin to lurch through him. His words devolved into a curt yelp, and he tumbled backwards. Landing on his ass directly outside the ring.

"… and that's how it goes." I said, flipping my shotgun by the lever loop, reloading it and sliding it back over my shoulder in a single fluid motion. I turned back towards the stands, and looked up towards Goodwitch. "Time?"

Goodwitch stood at the height of the stands, looking down over the students, to the arena. Her face was a cool, calculating mask. I expected her to begin harping on me, as she had any other time I'd participated in one of her classes.

Breaking the trend however, Goodwitch simply looked down to her scroll. "… Thirty seconds."

I nodded, looking as though I was mulling over how long the fight had taken. "Hm, ahead of schedule then… Satisfied?" I asked.

Goodwitch returned my nod. "An adequate display, against an opponent who clearly overestimated their abilities."

"Thank you." I said, giving a curt bow, and turning to begin walking back towards my teammates and tutors. I cracked my neck as I walked, working a kink out. My teammates all seemed quite pleased, and maybe surprised. I could tell by the look on Coco's face, best as she tried to hide it, she'd had different expectations. Of everyone who's seen the fight though, CFVY and my team were the only ones who even began to have an idea of what I could do when I tried. They'd never seen me step into a fight properly armed either.

I had to imagine anyone who didn't know me, which was most of the class, hadn't expected that.

Mercury clearly hadn't, and he made that known.

"Hey." I heard him growl behind me "We're not done yet."

"I beg to differ." I said, not bothering to turn and look at him "I gave what you asked for, and you couldn't handle me for more than half a minute. I've proven my point, take it up with Professor Goodwitch."

"Mr. Six did as requested, Mr. Black." Goodwitch spoke "While I do not appreciate his tone, he is correct. The fault lies with yourself, and your lack of preparedness. If Mr. Six wishes to return to his own business, I will allow it now."

I should've been happy, for once, to have Goodwitch on my side.

Nope. Still felt weirder than putting your shoes on the wrong feet.

I turned around and looked at Mercury over my shoulder. Silently goading him to try something stupid. Sometimes, the only way people learn was the hard way. Mercury had been adamant about fighting me, right up through my beating him. I wasn't expecting him to try and attack me while my back was turned, but it wouldn't have been the first time it happened. Not even on Remnant, given Cardin's friends had tried to jump me while I'd been relieving myself.

Instead, Mercury looked at me coolly, and smiled. "No, I suppose that's fair. I can see there's a pretty big difference between us."

"Hmm." I grunted "Better luck next time."

Without so much as a hitch in my stride, I walked back over to my waiting teammates and tutors. They looked pretty pleased with how things turned out.

"Nice job, Six." Ruby nodded.

"It wasn't much." I shrugged, motioning to CFVY "Especially given some more recent fights."

"So, what was that?" Coco asked, walking through the door as Yatsu opened it "You pulling your punches whenever we're sparring?"

"Naturally." I said snidely "It helps that most of what we've been doing doesn't involve weaponry. I'm no slouch, fighting unarmed or with melee weapons. The same applies to guns. Considering most people can't outrun bullets, they tend to work better."

"Which is why you haven't used them until now?" Velvet asked, slightly confused.

"No, I haven't used them until now because I was concerned about accidentally hurting someone." I said, filing into the side room "I can moderate my own strength on-the-fly better than how fast a bullet leaves the chamber."

"Well then, maybe we should stop going so easy on you." Coco said snidely, as everyone entered and Yatsu shut the door. "Maybe having a few rounds of armed sparring will be better, if we're not challenging you enough."

I pretended to consider the idea "… Nah, I'm good. Besides, I'm not wearing the right armor to deal with getting shot at."

"Sounds like you're just afraid of an actual challenge." Yatsu said rolling a shoulder as he walked up

"Pft, fat chance." I said, squaring up with Fox. "Speaking from personal experience: getting shot sucks."

…

Training came and went fairly quick. Funny how times flies when you're busy trading blows, barbs, and pleasantries. I wound up going a few rounds with Fox, then traded him out for Velvet. After eating dirt a few times, she asked Yatsu to step in for her while I rinsed my mouth out. It was an oddly nostalgic experience sparring with him. Reminded me of the times I'd gotten closer to some less-than-friendly Supermutants than I was comfortable with. Made for a good refresher course on fighting people larger than me. He even wound-up trading out for Coco towards the end, just to give her a crack at me. She actually did better than I thought she would, given she was still fighting in those ridiculous lady stilts.

As our time started to wrap up however, we started to file back out into the main arena.

"So, you've been shot before?" Velvet asked curiously.

"A couple times." I said "Sometimes the only way to get good at something is trial by fire. It just so happened that was how it's played out for a lot of my fighting experience."

"That explains why you were so much armor at least." Coco said narrowly "If you'd only listen to my advice about the color though."

"Oh, don't start that shit again." I said "Not unless you want me to start griping about how impractical your choice of footwear is."

"I seem to remember my heels hitting you." Coco said.

"True, but I remember knocking you off them a few times as well." I countered.

"Well I-" Coco began.

"*ahem*" Velvet cleared her throat.

"…" Coco nodded to me "Good fight."

I chuckled "You as well."

I also couldn't help but notice the smiles and smirks on both of our team's faces.

We all exited the side room to the arena, and Fox locked it up behind us. We'd timed ourselves well, it seemed, as class was indeed wrapping up. The students who'd been watching from the upper levels had begun to funnel back towards the locker rooms. I could see Goodwitch, still at the uppermost portion of the seating, finger gliding over her enlarged Scroll. Probably setting grades and notes for the students that'd actually made a decent showing.

Notably however, was a trio of students, who descended the stairs and approached us.

"Don't look now, but here comes trouble." I heard Yang mutter.

"I've seen worse." I muttered back, before acknowledging the newcomers. "Hey Cinder, how you doing?"

Cinder Fall smiled at me primly "I'm doing quite marvelous, actually, thank you."

Cinder Fall stood, still dressed in her cropped outfit, with her two teammates. Mercury, who was looking at me blandly, and the green haired girl, whose name I'd yet to learn.

"… Oh, hey, I remember you!" Ruby said brightly "We bumped into each other in the hall a few weeks ago."

"You did?" I asked, looking to Ruby. Something the rest of our teammates did as well.

"When I went back to the library to get my board game." Ruby said, looking to Cinder "How are you guys settling in?"

"Quite well…" Cinder paused for a moment "I don't believe I got your name the last time we met."

"Oh- uh- right-" Ruby stuttered, before gesturing to herself and our teammates "My name's Ruby, this is Weiss, Blake, Yang, and uh…" Ruby paused and looked at me "How'd you meet them?"

"I met Cinder while doing grounds work." I supplied, before looking to her teammates "Hadn't met the other two until now."

"Oh… well, we're team RWBY." Ruby said, finishing her train of thought.

"Plus one." Blake added snidely.

"A pleasure." Cinder answered, voice velvety "You may call me Cinder Fall" She motioned to her teammates "I believe you've already been introduced to Mercury by now."

"Hm." I grunted "Knows how to make a first impression."

Mercury grunted in return, still looking at me blandly.

I looked away from him to Cinder's other teammate. The green haired girl. Her eyes were a decidedly bright shade of red, and her skin an earthy shade of brown. Her green hair cascaded down around her head in a uniform way, almost like a helmet, the front cropped in a V for her to see through. The only exception, were two long, thin locks that notably reached down to the small of her back. She was wearing a strappy croptop, with a green… what was the piece called that holds the chest? Not a bra… bustier? What would the shorthand for that be, bust?... is that where the phrase for-

Off-topic.

She wore a strappy white and green crop top. She wore white pants that weren't dressy enough to be fancy, nor sturdy enough to be jeans, just somewhere in the middle. Over them though, she wore a pair of belts that crossed over to a pair of pouches at the small of her back and, bizarrely enough, chaps. Leather chaps, dark brown and the kind you'd see in a pre-war western. Which then lead down to a pair of strappy black heels. An obsession that was only beginning to annoy and confound me.

"And you would be?" I asked, politely.

"Emerald." Emerald answered brightly "Nice to meet you."

"Likewise." I nodded, looking around "Hate to state the obvious, but you seem to be down a man. Everything alright?"

"They're… running behind." Cinder said "They had some personal business to take care of in Haven, and said they would join us when it was finished."

"That's strange." Yang said "I thought half the point of teams was to help each other."

Cinder's gaze drifted to Yang "They did not wish for us to help, so we obliged."

"Hate to interrupt. But we've all got other classes to get to, is there something that you needed?" Coco said, cutting in before giving Emerald a once over. A smirk coming over her face. "By the way, love the outfit, kid."

"Thanks." Emerald said, drawing the word out somewhere between appreciative and cautious.

"There is indeed, Ms... Adel, I believe?" Cinder asked.

Coco's brow rose a little. "That'd be me." She nodded.

"I see." Cinder said, looking over her teammates "I believe, then, that these would be your Teammates? Yatsuhashi Daichi, Fox Alistair, and Velvet Scarlatina?"

Coco's brow rose further, and I noticed her teammates seemed off-put. Having a stranger know you by name is a bit disconcerting. "That we are, Team CFVY.

Cinder seemed to notice this, and softened. "I realize that what I said was off-putting. The Headmaster of Haven, Professor Lionheart, told us of you when we were leaving for the festival. That you were a promising team of First Years, last year, and you'd be trouble."

"Really?" Coco asked, a pleased smirk stretching onto her face "Hadn't realized we'd gotten that big."

"Says the girl with her own fan club." Yatsu muttered, about as softly as an idling reactor.

"A pleasure to put names to faces." Cinder said, before focusing back onto me "However, we do have some business to tend to, and hope not to take more of your time than needed."

"And that would be?" I asked.

Cinder smiled at me, before looking to Mercury.

The boy continued to look blandly at me for a moment, before sighing through his nose. "Wanted to say sorry for being a jackass… Sorry for being a jackass."

"… Uh huh." I said, as blandly as I could, before motioning to Cinder "Was that your idea, or hers?"

Mercury cracked a smirk at that. "Told you he wouldn't buy it."

I shrugged "Might've if you'd sold it better. You talked a lot of shit."

"Language." Both Weiss and Velvet said, in sync. The two immediately looked at each other, which apparently got a chuckle out of Cinder.

"Mercury went a little… overboard." Cinder said "He wished to see how you fight. I did not expect him to act the way he did."

"It wouldn't have worked either, had neither you nor Goodwitch intervened." I said "It takes a lot for me to reach the point where I'd be willing to fight someone purely out of anger."

'-The times that it has happened, don't normally end well for either party.' I refrained from saying

"So I noticed." Cinder said "Either way, I wanted Mercury to apologize for his… words."

"Well, that's a lovely sentiment." I said, looking sternly at Mercury "It's a shame that it's only that. Words without true intent tend to ring a little hollow."

"Hmm." Cinder hemmed.

"In the end, it doesn't really matter." I said "I appreciate the effort but…" I winced a little as a sudden, sharp pain jolted through the front of my head. I reached a hand up to my forehead, technically my helmet, and rubbed ineffectually at it. "… ow."

That earned a look of confusion from Cinder and her team. Not without reason, considering it came out of nowhere.

"Something wrong Six?" Ruby asked.

I shook my head. "I'm fine, just a sudden headache is all. No clue where it came from."

"Hit your head or something?" Emerald asked, giving me a curious look.

"Yes, but that's not where headaches come from." I said.

Emerald nodded, but continued scrutin-

"OW." I intoned again, as a much more noticeable migraine rolled from the front of my head to the back. Then bounced off my skull and started back the other way. Ping ponging around in my skull like it owned the place.

"Six?" Ruby asked, a little more concernedly now.

"Still just a headache." I said, bracing my hand more flush against my helmet. "Probably got dehydrated and it's catching up now."

"Are you sure?" Emerald asked "Perhaps you should carry some water with you then."

"I do actually, hold on." I said, and pulled my trusty Vault 13 Canteen out of my pocket. I took the cap off, uncorked my mask, and took a swig. I took several long gulps from the waters of life, then pulled back for air. "Ahh- better."

Almost miraculously, I felt the headache begin to ebb away.

Water. Lakelurks piss in it, a lot of things do, but there's no substitute.

Cinder and Emerald continued to look at me, in confusion. Something a few other people were doing in my peripheries.

"Right… well, it appears that this has been a waste then." Cinder said succinctly "Mercury won't apologize, and I can't expect you to act as though he has."

"Eh, wasn't looking for one anyway." I said "Like I said, I'm not going to hold a grudge over him acting like a clown."

"Thank you." Cinder said, smiling "Perhaps the next time we meet, we can avoid… unnecessary confrontation first."

"That'd be nice, I prefer not having to get into fights with acquaintances." I said.

Cinder flashed me a, vaguely sultry, smile before turning on her heel and starting towards the locker rooms. Mercury flashed me a smirk and followed suit, While Emerald gave me an inquisitive look. Her eyes lingered on me a moment, before flashing over to Ruby.

Then they drifted up to the ceiling.

"… Is that a red balloon?" She asked.

"…" Confused, I craned my neck up to the ceiling. Aside from the lights and rafters far overhead, I couldn't say I saw anything. "… I don't see anything."

I heard someone that sounded like Ruby shuffle beside me "Yeah, I don't- wait… what's that doing there?"

I looked down from the ceiling, toward the voice, that was indeed Ruby, and found the others looking at her as well.

"There's nothing up there." I said, confused.

"Yeah there is." Ruby said, looking to me, before craning her head back up. "It's right… Where'd it go?"

I looked quickly back up to the ceiling. Just to confirm that a red balloon had not, in fact magically appeared. Satisfied by the lack of crimson latex in my immediate vicinity, I looked back down to Emerald. "What're you-"

She was gone.

In the exchange of trying to figure out what she was talking about, Emerald had rejoined her team. Still walking towards the locker room.

"… Did she seriously just pull a gaffe on us?" I asked.

I stood there a moment longer, as Ruby tried futilely to convince everyone there was a balloon somewhere. Because the idea of her eyes playing tricks on her was clearly impossible. But, she gave it up after a moment or two, seeing that no one would believe her. With that settled, we started back towards the locker room once more.

"… Well, aren't you popular with the ladies?" Coco ribbed.

"Pff, yeah, right." I said "Because clearly I go out of my way to befriend you lady-folk."

"She has a point." I heard Blake say "Most of our social circle are girls."

"That just makes it a coincidence." I shot back.

Coco chuckled "Keep telling yourself that, Ladykiller"