SAPR

by Scipio Smith

The First Step, Part Two (New)

The First Step, Part Two

After combat class came lunch, with a variety of options ranging in health as great as the choices had been at breakfast. Pyrrha clearly found the meat options, between chicken nuggets or hamburger, too heavily processed for her palate, and chose a salad; Sunset did likewise on more principled grounds, but she probably lost all of the benefits of a healthy lunch by having the dessert, an apple pie slathered in a thick layer of custard, school custard what was more, which meant that it was fluorescent yellow and at least twice as thick and gloopy as it ought to have been. Jaune went for the chicken nuggets and fries, while Ruby decided to have cookies for lunch and apparently nothing else.

It was a really good thing that she was fast.

Just like breakfast, Team SAPR shared a table with Team YRDN. Or at least, that seemed to be the plan as the two teams sat down together at one of the empty tables in the cafeteria, Team SAPR ranged upon the right and Team YRDN arrayed upon the left. Then they were joined by someone else.

“Hey, guys, is this seat taken?” Bon Bon asked as she sat down on the left of Yang, who sat at the end of Team YRDN’s line.

Yang looked a little surprised, but not put out. She said, “No, help yourself.”

“Great,” Bon Bon said, ignoring the fact that she had already sat down before being allowed to do so. She was swiftly joined on her own left by Lyra Heartstrings. No sooner had Lyra sat than she helped herself to one of the chips on Bon Bon’s plate.

“I mean,” Bon Bon went on, “just because we’re on different teams doesn’t mean that we’re not on the same big team, right?”

Pyrrha nodded. “We are all comrades, united in the light against the darkness.”

“I think it’s a great idea,” Jaune said. He got to his feet as though he’d been stung by a wasp. “Hey, Sunset! Switch places with me.”

“What? Why?” Sunset demanded.

Lyra snatched another chip off Bon Bon’s plate.

“Hey, Weiss,” Jaune called, as Team WWSR walked down the aisle between the two tables. He gestured to the empty spaces on Sunset’s right, and now, she understood why Jaune wanted to switch places. “First year table?”

“No!” Sunset snapped, her voice cracking like a whip.

Ruby looked up at her. “Sunset?”

“I am not having him sit with us,” Sunset snarled, pointing at Flash Sentry, who stood frozen in place, feigning discomfort.

“Sunset,” he said, “I know that our teams have gotten off on the wrong foot, but maybe if we-”

“This isn’t about our teams!” Sunset yelled. “This is about me knowing what you really are, and wanting nothing to do with it.”

For a moment, no one said anything. Then Weiss spoke, her voice clipped. “Thank you for the offer,” she said, the words sounding as though they were being dragged out of her with forceps, "but I believe we can find our own table and don’t need to trouble you. Come on.” She walked away briskly, her wedge heels clicking on the floor. Cardin sneered at Jaune as he walked past, but did nothing more than that. Flash looked apologetic, but said nothing more.

Sunset watched Flash his teammates, keeping her eye on him as he sat down opposite Weiss.

Lyra popped another of Bon Bon’s chips into her mouth.

“That was kinda harsh, don’t you think?” Jaune demanded.

Sunset ignored that as she sat down.

“What did you mean?” Yang asked. “About knowing who that guy really was?”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Sunset growled.

“Okay, fine, I won’t ask,” Yang replied, holding up her hands in a pacific gesture, “but he seemed to be talking sense to me. No need to make enemies on the first day of school.”

I’ll make as many enemies as I like, so long as I can be stronger than them when it matters, then I’ll be fine. And if you think Flash is so great, then maybe you should try dating him. Actually no, don’t, nobody is allowed to go near Flash Sentry.

If you think he’s any good then you’re a fool, but I still don’t want you involved with him.

Stay away from my boyfriend, blondie.

“Are we all sitting together now?” Blake Belladonna asked, in a tone that concealed whatever thoughts she might have upon the subject.

“Apparently,” Sunset grunted.

“Apart from Team Relationship Drama over there,” Yang added, jabbing a thumb in the direction of Team WWSR.

“At the risk of sounding uncharitable, I think that we may be best off without the presence of some of those people,” Pyrrha said, her tone laced with disapproval.

Blake and Sky sat down beside Sunset, opposite the other half of their team.

Lyra stole another fry from Bon Bon.

“Will you stop that?” Bon Bon snapped. “If you wanted fries, then why didn’t you get the fries?”

“Because I’m not supposed to have fries, you know that,” Lyra reasoned.

“Then why…” Bon Bon stopped. “Here, just have all the fries, okay?” She dumped all of her remaining chips on Lyra’s plate.

“Aww, thanks Bon Bon,” Lyra said warmly. “You’re a good friend.” She patted Bon Bon on the shoulder and proceeded to dig in.

Bon Bon rolled her eyes. “Anyone who wants to complain about their partner: this is what I have to put up with.”

Yang laughed. “So, you two know each other?”

“Yep,” Lyra said, in between eating fries. “We went to Canterlot Combat School together.”

“Along with Sunset, here,” Bon Bon added. “Surprised to end up at the same place like this, huh?”

“I suppose,” Sunset said.

“Oh, you three are all old friends?” Yang asked.

“I wouldn’t say that,” Sunset replied.

“It’s a pity that we couldn’t end up on the same team together,” Bon Bon declared. “Wondercolts Forever, right?”

Sunset raised her head up from her salad. “I’m pretty satisfied with the team that I have now,” she said. I mean, I might trade Jaune for one of you, but Ruby or Pyrrha? As much as I don’t like the risk of being overshadowed, I wouldn’t intentionally get rid of them for people much less competent.

Bon Bon grinned. “I’ll bet you are. Everyone wanted Pyrrha Nikos on their team, after all.”

“Every team here has its own strengths,” Pyrrha said.

“And its own weaknesses,” Bon Bon replied.

---

“What happened between you two?” Weiss asked, as she sat down upon an empty table. Her team followed her lead, sitting down around her.

Flash, who had sat down opposite her, realised the question was directed at him. “You mean with Sunset?”

Weiss glanced across the dining hall. She did not miss the way that Sunset Shimmer’s eyes kept flickering towards them. “Exactly,” she said. “With Sunset. It’s no great observation to say that she doesn’t care much for you.”

Flash sighed. “No,” he admitted. “No, she does not.”

Weiss waited for him to elaborate. When he did not, she prodded him, “Is there any particular reason why?”

“She’s a faunus,” Cardin declared. “They’re naturally bad tempered. Especially the women.”

Weiss rolled her eyes. “Is that really what you think, Cardin, or do you think that playing the boorish imbecile is a good way to go through school?”

Cardin looked at her, outrage in his blue eyes. “You’re defending those animals?”

“Not all of them, to be sure,” Weiss replied calmly. “The White Fang are quite despicable, and many of them do turn to crime of some description. But equally, many faunus work hard in the factories and mines as valued members of the SDC family.” Well, they were as valued as the human employees, at least, even if that wasn’t a particularly high bar to clear.

She thought for a moment about Laberna Seacole, the old racoon faunus who had raised her mother and her sister and Weiss herself… until she was thirteen years old and all the faunus staff had disappeared from the Schnee Manor. She had not been an angry woman, far from it; she had been a font of patience amidst her father’s temper and her mother’s… melancholy.

She pushed that thought aside. Nostalgia would not serve her at present. “In any case,” she added, “dismissing this as a case of an angry faunus doesn’t help address the issue at hand. Why is Sunset so upset with you?”

Flash frowned. He pushed around some fries on his plate with his fork. “We… used to be an item, at Combat School.”

“You dated a faunus?” Cardin asked, incredulously.

Flash nodded. “For a while.”

Weiss frowned. “She seems a little… lower class, for you.”

“For him?” Russell asked in suprise. “Are you some kind of big shot or something?”

“Flash’s mother is the Law Officer of the Atlesian Council, essentially the council’s lawyer,” Weiss informed their two Valish teammates. “That’s correct, isn’t it? You are Silver Sentry’s son?”

“That’s right,” Flash said, in a soft, slightly hoarse voice.

“And yet, you dated… someone like that,” Weiss said, phrasing it as delicately as she could.

“Mom wasn’t happy about it,” Flash admitted.

“Was that the whole point?” asked Russell.

“No,” Flash protested. “The point was… it doesn’t matter. All that matters is that it ended, and she… is sore about it.”

“That seems like a little bit of an understatement,” Weiss said. “I take it you are the one that ended things.”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because… of what she was,” Flash murmured, bowing his head.

“You made the right call,” Cardin said. “Dating a faunus like that… it’s not worth it.”

Weiss pursed her lips. Put like that, it sounded reasonable enough; Flash had broken up with his girlfriend, and she had found it hard to move on. But if he had dumped her because she was a faunus, why had he started dating her in the first place? Had he done it simply to toy with her affections for a while? Or had he thought that something, some affection, could bridge the divide between their races?

I had hoped that you might be one of the good ones.

I still hope that. I’m just not quite as sure as I was before.

---

“So,” Yang said. “What do we all think of school so far?”

Sunset looked down the line of her team. “You three need to pay more attention in Grimm Studies.”

“You were paying attention in Grimm Studies?” Lyra asked.

“Of course she did,” Bon Bon said, with a smile on her face. “She’s a teacher’s pet, aren’t you, Sunset?”

Sunset snorted. “Don’t blame me just because I work harder than you.”

“What’s there to pay attention to in Grimm Studies?” Yang asked. “Professor Port spent most of an hour telling a story about himself.”

“I must confess, it was not the most edifying start to the day,” Pyrrha murmured.

“I enjoy a good story as much as anyone, but that was not a good story,” Lyra agreed.

Sunset rolled her eyes. “Have none of you people ever been taught in the form of a story before? It’s one of the oldest teaching techniques in existence.”

“True,” Pyrrha allowed. “But parables are usually succinct.”

“I never said that he was a great teacher,” Sunset replied. “I’m just saying: he told a story about a boarbatusk that contained all the information needed to defeat the boarbatusk that he unleashed after he was done.”

“I suppose if every class ends with us getting to fight a grimm, then it won’t be a total loss, right, Ruby?” Yang said.

“That would be fun, at least,” Ruby agreed.

“That wasn’t actually…” Sunset trailed off. “You people are just here for the fighting classes, aren’t you?”

“Well it is a combat academy,” Ruby reminded her. “We aren’t going to defend the world against the grimm by knowing a lot of history.”

“You won’t understand the world if you don’t understand history,” Sunset countered. “That’s what Doctor Oobleck was trying to get across.”

“I understand the world just fine,” Yang declared. “I’ve lived in it for seventeen years, after all.” She stretched out her arms. “But how about that combat class, huh?”

“You were amazing, Yang,” Ruby declared.

Yang chuckled. “Hey, I’ve got nothing on either you or Pyrrha, at least on the basis of today’s showing.” She glanced at Pyrrha. “As expected of our tournament champion, right?”

Pyrrha looked as though she was about to sigh, but instead she said, “Without intending any disrespect to Russell Thrush… I have fought more skilled opponents.”

Sunset snorted. “Without intending any disrespect… but that guy sucked.”

“That’s not…” Pyrrha trailed off. She hesitated, and then brightened a little. “On the basis of today, at least, Ruby is the true huntress amongst us.”

“Yeah, I’m way tougher than that Thrush guy!” Nora proclaimed. “And you still ripped me apart anyway.”

“I… you were just unlucky,” Ruby said.

“Hey, take the compliment, I’ve got no hard feelings about it,” Nora cried. She wagged her finger in Ruby’s face, “but if you ever slow down enough for me to catch you, I won’t go easy on you just because you’re the boss’s sister.”

“But you’re not going to go too hard on her either, right?” Yang demanded, leaning forward and forcing Nora to lean back to stay away.

“Yang!” Ruby protested.

“I’m kidding,” Yang said, “and Nora knows I’m kidding.” Her eyes turned red for a moment. “Or am I?” she asked, before taking a bite out of her apple with a smug look on her face.

“You all performed well,” Ren said.

Jaune snorted. He was sitting at the end of the table with his head bowed, picking ineffectually at his chicken nuggets.

“Jaune…” Ruby murmured, but didn’t seem to know what to say.

The members of Team YRDN looked at one another awkwardly. “Hey, Sunset,” Yang said.

Sunset looked up from her salad. “Hmm?”

“Thanks,” Yang said. “For the locker room.”

Sunset… wasn’t sure how she was supposed to respond to that, in all honesty. So she just said, “Right.” And then got back to her salad.

“It’s only the first day,” Blake observed. “As Professor Goodwitch said, there is a lot of time for things to change.”

“So long as we all work hard and do our best, then we’ll all make it,” Ruby cried. “All the way.”

Sunset said nothing. That was… not an attitude that she had held to during her time under Princess Celestia’s tutelage, to put it mildly. In fact, she had been rather contemptuous of those beneath her.

“What are you studying for? Nothing, that’s what.”

But such sentiments probably wouldn’t go down very well here. Plus… she kind of needed Jaune to succeed, or at least to get a little better so that he didn’t act as a drag on the rest of the team.

So, as strange as it sounded, Sunset found herself in the position of hoping that Ruby – and Professor Goodwitch – were correct.

Even if all her life experiences and habits of thought to date dictated otherwise.

Jaune actually managed to come close to making Sunset reevaluate her opinion of him over the course of the afternoon’s classes, in which he almost made up for his poor showing in the morning. Straight after lunch, it was Plant Science, which took place not in the greenhouses but in a classroom, as Professor Peach genially explained that they would be starting off with some theory before she let them anywhere near any actual plants.

Sunset had never paid very much attention to botany; she had rather disdained it as earth pony work, beneath the dignity of a unicorn like herself, and no amount of lectures from Princess Celestia upon the equality of the three tribes or even on the relaxation that could be gained from growing things could move Sunset upon the subject. The closest she had ever gotten to interacting with plants was casting a growth spell on one to get through her last midterms before banishment. As a result, Sunset had very little to offer in Plant Science, and it seemed that Pyrrha was in much the same position. Instead, and surprising Sunset, it was Jaune who stood out in that class; once he got over his fear of actually sticking his hand up and answering, he had the answers to many of Professor Peach’s questions, and by the time their two-hour introduction to the class was up, there was no doubt about who Professor Peach’s new favourite student was.

“That was amazing, Jaune,” Ruby said. “How do you know so much about plants?”

“Your breadth of knowledge was very impressive,” Pyrrha added.

“It’s nothing, really,” Jaune said modestly. “It’s just that we grow a lot of those plants at home, either in our own land or by the neighbours, so I’ve seen a lot of what Professor Peach was talking about.”

“You had a large garden at home?” Pyrrha asked.

“Pretty big, yeah,” Jaune replied. “Although a lot of it is vegetables, so I don’t know how useful knowing about them is going to be in class.”

“That sounds very lovely, all the same,” Pyrrha declared. “We have a garden at home, but I wasn’t… I mean that I didn’t have the time to get involved in it. Because of my training.”

“Of course,” Jaune said.

“We’ve got a garden, but it’s all just flowers, and Professor Peach didn’t mention any of them,” Ruby said. “But it was still nice to help Dad tend to them sometimes; it’s relaxing, isn’t it?”

“Yeah,” Jaune agreed. “It can really help take your mind off things."

He wasn’t able to carry his success from Plant Science into Stealth and Security, but then, nobody did particularly well in Stealth and Security; they spent half the class waiting for Professor Greene to arrive, only for her to reveal that she’d spent those thirty minutes infiltrated amongst the students, and none of them had noticed that there was an odd number of people in the classroom. Everybody left the class having to console themselves with the fact that it was only the first day of school and they had plenty of time to improve.

And then came Fieldcraft, a class designed to help them survive out in the field and not starve or freeze to death, and once again, Jaune showed a degree of skill and knowledge which, if it didn’t rise to the level of his burgeoning expertise in Plant Science, certainly demonstrated that it wasn’t a fluke either.

What was your dad actually training you in, during the time you were homeschooled? Sunset wondered.

Mister Arc didn’t appear to have been teaching his son how to fight - he hadn’t even told him what aura was - but Jaune knew his plants, and he seemed to have a fair idea how to survive in the wild. Had Jaune been trained as a medic? Had he trained to support huntsmen rather than to be one himself? But then what was he doing at Beacon?

Who are you really, Jaune Arc?

---

Jaune Arc stood on the rooftop, fighting with shadows.

He was wearing his armour, the weight seeming light upon his shoulders and chest; Crocea Mors was in his right hand, and his shield was upon his left arm. The moon shone down upon, the silver light of the broken orb illuminating the rooftop on which he fought with nothing.

He slashed at imaginary enemies, he thrust at imaginary foes, he sliced his way through armies of grimm that existed in his head. In his mind, he saw Lyra’s face, and the disappointment in the faces of his teammates when he’d gone down so easily; he heard Professor Goodwitch’s words echoing in his head.

He had to do better. He could do better. He would do better.

He grunted and panted with effort as he cut and thrust through the air, hacking and slashing, striking heavy blows that left him weary with exertion.

He heard the door leading up onto the roof open just a little and turned to look at it. He heard a squeak of alarm and saw a flash of silver in the shadows before it disappeared.

“Ruby?” Jaune asked.

There was a moment’s pause before Ruby emerged. She was dressed in her uniform, and there was an apologetic look on her face. “Sorry,” she said. “I didn’t mean to interrupt. I just… nobody knew where you were and… well, you forgot your scroll.” She held up the device.

Jaune sighed. “Thanks, Ruby,” he said, sheathing his sword in his shield. He approached her, holding out his hand to take the device. “I would have had to bang on the door to be let in otherwise, and I’m not sure Sunset would have appreciated that.”

Ruby giggled. “Maybe not, although… does that mean you’re planning to be out here for a while?”

Jaune nodded. “Probably.”

“It’s getting late,” Ruby reminded him.

“Yeah?” Jaune replied. “Then what are you still doing up?”

Ruby puffed out her cheeks in annoyance. “I’m fifteen years old, not five,” she protested. She fell silent for a moment. “So… you’re training up here?”

“Yeah,” Jaune confirmed. “I think I need it, don’t you?”

“You can’t beat yourself up about the first day of school,” Ruby protested. “it’s just one day.”

“One day when I was the worst in the class.”

“Not at everything,” Ruby protested.

“At the things that matter,” Jaune replied. “You said it yourself; we’re not going to beat the grimm with our knowledge of history, or Plant Science for that matter.”

“That’s not what I-“

“If I want to be a huntsman,” Jaune declared, “and I do want to be a huntsman, then I need to get better at what really matters.”

Ruby nodded, after a moment. “You’re right,” she agreed, “but you can get better, Jaune, I’ve seen it happen. I was a mess until my Uncle Qrow started tutoring me, and now… well, I’m not so bad, right?”

Jaune chuckled. “Right, you’re not so bad at all.”

Ruby’s face assumed a pensive expression. “You know, I don’t know very much about sword and shield fighting, but I bet that if you were to ask Pyrrha, then-”

“No,” Jaune cut her off before she could finish. “I’m not going to ask Pyrrha for help.”

Ruby frowned, now she looked confused.

“Why not?”

“Because this is my dream, what I’ve always wanted,” Jaune said, “and if I can’t do it then…” Jaune shook his head; he couldn’t let himself think like that. “I can do this by myself.”

If he accepted help with this, if he accepted that he needed help with this, then all that he was doing was proving his father and his sisters right when they said that he wasn’t cut out for this: not tough enough, not strong enough. He would prove them wrong. He was going to prove them all wrong.

Ruby’s face became concerned, but at least she didn’t protest any further. “Okay,” she said, her voice soft and quiet. “I… I guess I’ll leave you to it, then.”

“Thanks, Ruby,” Jaune said. “And for the scroll, too.”

Ruby nodded. “You know we’re all here for you, right? For anything you need, all you have to do is ask.”

“I know,” Jaune replied. That’s one of the reasons why I can’t ask.

Ruby turned away and walked back towards the door. In the doorway itself, she paused and looked back at him. “Hey, Jaune?”

Jaune looked at her. “Ruby?”

“Good luck,” she said. “We’re all rooting for you.”

---

Pyrrha walked into the dorm room. “I got your text, Ruby; you said that you found Jaune?”

“Yep,” Ruby said. “And I gave him his scroll, too, so he can get back in.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” Pyrrha said, “but he didn’t come back with you?”

“Obviously not,” Sunset said, as she kicked off her shoes and sat on the bed. She opened up her own scroll.

“No, I mean, of course he isn’t here, but…” Pyrrha trailed off for a moment. “Where is he, Ruby?”

Ruby hesitated. “I… I’m not sure that he’d want me to tell you.”

Sunset blinked. “Why not?” she demanded, looking up from her scroll and at the youngest member of their team.

“Because… I think Jaune just wants to be alone right now.”

“Alone where?” Sunset asked.

“Sunset, that’s enough,” Pyrrha said mildly. “If Jaune wants to be left alone, then we should respect his wishes. He’s not in any trouble, is he, Ruby?”

“Oh, no,” Ruby assured them both. “He’s fine; he’s just… he doesn’t want to see anybody else. He’s just… a little embarrassed about what happened today, in combat class.”

Pyrrha sighed. “He has nothing to be ashamed of, nothing at all. Anyone can be defeated by a sufficiently skilled opponent.”

“Says the girl who has never lost a fight,” Sunset muttered.

Pyrrha looked at her. “That doesn’t mean that I can’t lose, and it doesn’t change the fact that Jaune has nothing to be ashamed of.”

“I could dispute the fact that there is nothing to be ashamed of in losing to Lyra Heartstrings, but instead, I’ll just say that hearing you tell him what you just said might seem a little patronising,” Sunset informed her.

Pyrrha looked a little upset to hear it. “Do you think so?”

“Yes,” Sunset declared. “Because it is patronising.”

“Oh,” Pyrrha said, a crestfallen look upon her face. “I… I see. In that case… it’s probably for the best that he wishes to be alone then.”

Pyrrha and Ruby started getting undressed for bed, for it was that late. It was that lateness of the hour which made it so surprising that Jaune was still wherever he was; Sunset hoped that he wouldn’t come in late and blunder about the dorm room and wake her up with his racket while he got ready for bed in turn.

In any event, while the other two girls changed, Sunset was on her scroll, looking for any information about Jaune that might explain how he was so good at some subjects and so terrible at others.

Yes, she could have just asked him, but then he’d know that she was curious; and besides, he might choose not to answer some questions, in the same way that Pyrrha hadn’t brought up the fact that she was an actual princess – by certain interpretations, anyway. It was much more reliable to just look up objective information about the boy.

The trouble was that there wasn’t a great deal of objective information out there to be found. Jaune Arc was, to all appearances, a complete nobody. A nobody about whom no one had heard before he had arrived at Beacon. There was no report on his arrival at school, no one was breathlessly collecting information about his doings, he was a man utterly and completely anonymous. There were records of an Arc family, or at least there were records of various Arcs graduating from Beacon, but none of them seemed to have achieved renown after graduating. Once they left the school, they became, just like Jaune himself, anonymous.

If there were any clues as to who Jaune Arc was or how he had managed to come to Beacon despite knowing nothing of aura, then Sunset couldn’t find them. The only thing that she could possibly say after her dive into the name Jaune Arc and anything connected with him was that he was a little more pretentious than he let on: his sword was called Crocea Mors, which turned out not to be a name plucked from thin air but actually the name given to the sword wielded by Jaune of Gaunt, Duke of Westmorland, fourth son of King Edward Farstrider. Considering that his namesake had been known as the finest swordsman in the Kingdom of Vale that his father had created, it demonstrated that Jaune had big ambitions, if nothing else.

And that’s a good thing. Big ambitions are nothing to be ashamed of.

I just hope he can fulfill them, for all our sakes.

And who knows? Perhaps he’ll turn out to have an unexpected knowledge of ancient history, too.

As Ruby and Pyrrha brushed their teeth and got to bed, Sunset kept on searching. She hadn’t thought much about it last night, but breakfast had reminded her about the R in Team STRQ, the name which had had such an effect on Ruby as she was telling her sister about the markings on the wall.

A search for Team STRQ revealed that they were no ordinary huntsman team, distinguished only by having once occupied SAPR’s dorm room and by two of them having gone on to become Ruby’s parents. No, Team STRQ had distinguished themselves as early as their first year, when Mountain Glenn had fallen to the grimm. As hordes of grimm, fresh from devouring the new settlement, poured through the forests of the southeast towards Vale itself, Professor Ozpin had led out the huntsmen of Vale to meet the grimm before they could annihilate the outlying towns and farming villages, meeting the forces of darkness at a place now called Ozpin’s Stand. Huntsmen and huntresses in training, students brave enough to volunteer, had gone out with Professor Ozpin’s force, forming a second line of defence to the rear. Except Team STRQ had somehow found themselves in the front line, where they had not only survived the grimm but been credited with holding a section of the defences through which the grimm might have flooded otherwise. Following that, they had gone on to graduate with more missions under their belt than any other team in the history of the academy.

Sunset learned who the R in STRQ was: Raven Branwen, sister to Qrow Branwen, the Q in STRQ. Ruby had referred to him as Uncle Qrow. Clearly, the team had stayed close after graduation; it wasn’t surprising that a family friend who was around all the time would become an honorary uncle figure to the children. But why was it Uncle Qrow but not Aunt Raven? Had she died, like Ruby’s mother? Did they not talk about her out of respect?

“Sunset, would you please turn that off?” Pyrrha asked.

Sunset looked at her. “Why?”

“Because the light is a little disturbing when we’re trying to sleep,” Pyrrha explained.

“You’ll just be woken up when Jaune gets back anyway,” Sunset informed her.

“Perhaps,” Pyrrha conceded, “but in any case, would you mind turning it off? There are studies that show that the kind of light emitted from scrolls and such like reduces your ability to sleep after looking at them,” she added.

“Really?” Sunset muttered. “I’ll… okay, I’ll turn it off.” She could find out more about Raven Branwen, who was probably dead somewhere, another day.

In the meantime, reading about Team STRQ, she kind of wished that another great wave of grimm would descend on Vale so that Team SAPR could prove themselves just as Team STRQ once had.

Somehow, we will prove ourselves just as great.

You’ll see.

They’ll all see.

---

The next day marked the first leadership class for Sunset and the other team leaders; while their teams had a free period to get started on some of the homework that they had already received, they had made their way into one of the lecture halls.

Leadership was held in one of the smaller halls than those in which they had taken History and Grimm Studies the day before; all the lecture halls at Beacon were much larger than they needed to be for the volume of students, because they all needed to accommodate the visiting students from Atlas, Haven, and Shade Academies for the Vytal festival who would begin arriving in second semester. For now, that meant that there was a lot of space to spread out and choose where to sit. That the class would expand starting next term was as true for Leadership as it was for any other class, but in Leadership, the expansion would be on a far smaller order, and thus, the classroom was comparably smaller: from halls that could hold two hundred students to one that could seat perhaps fifty. But for now, it was just Sunset, Weiss, Yang, Blake, and a few other people who were even less relevant left to scatter themselves across the length and breadth of the lecture theatre. Yang took a seat next to Sunset, which Sunset found rather unnecessary, while Blake Belladonna of BLBL sat herself up in the far corner, high above the rest. While she waited for their professor, she got out a book and started reading. Weiss Schnee sniffed as she walked past Sunset and Yang and seated herself alone on the next bank of desks along.

How in Remnant do you have the nerve to be snooty with me when it’s your team that’s caused all the trouble so far?

Professor Goodwitch arrived a moment later. “Good afternoon, students,” she said, her heels clicking upon the floor as she strode behind the desk, “and welcome to Leadership. In this class, I will endeavour to assist you as you navigate the leadership and management of your teams. Yes, Miss Belladonna?”

Blake had raised her hand. “Professor, can you tell us why we specifically were chosen as leaders?”

“Because, Miss Belladonna, when confronted with a particular obstacle during Initiation, as each of you were, you devised a plan to overcome that obstacle and were able to execute that plan with the support of others. You are not leaders yet, any of you, but you each have the potential to become leaders, if you are willing to work hard and apply yourselves. As with every class, innate potential is no substitute for hard work. Now, a question to each of you: from whence does the authority of a leader derive?” Professor Goodwitch paused for a moment to let the question germinate in their minds. “Miss Shimmer?”

“From the authority of the person who appointed that leader,” Sunset said. “Flowing upwards in a chain.”

Professor Goodwitch raised one eyebrow. “A very Atlesian response, Miss Shimmer. Miss Xiao Long?”

Yang was silent for a moment. “From the fact that your team likes you enough to follow you, I guess.”

“Hmm,” Professor Goodwitch murmured. “Miss Schnee?”

“From strength of character, Professor,” Weiss declared primly. “A true leader leaves those beneath her with no choice but to follow; she compels their obedience by force of will.”

Professor Goodwitch pushed her glasses back up her nose. “Miss Belladonna?”

Blake frowned. “A mixture of what Sunset and Weiss said: a leader can lead by relying on the authority that appointed them to lead, but there are times when they have to rely on compulsion to force the obedience of those beneath them, either emotional… or physical.”

“You think that a leader should lead by physically intimidating her subordinates, Miss Belladonna?” asked Professor Goodwitch.

Blake hesitated. “It happens,” she said.

“That does not make it good practice,” Professor Goodwitch replied, the mildness of her tone concealing the sting of her rebuke. “You have all grasped some part of the truth,” she said, as she picked up a piece of chalk and began to write on the board. “A good leader will, ideally, be popular with those that they lead, but a leader who prioritises their likeable image may hesitate to make the tough decisions in an emergency, and one can be liked without possessing authority. Equally, in ordinary circumstances a leader may be able to rely upon deriving their authority from a chain of command, but in the field, when higher authority feels very distant and tempers begin to fray, an appeal of such nature may hold less weight than a more personal consideration. A good leader must command respect and obedience in their own right. All of which being said, there is no one right way to be a leader, although it must also be noted that there are several wrong ways.”

The class continued with a notable lack of teaching Sunset how to get people to do what she wanted. While more overtly harsh and prickly than Princess Celestia, Professor Goodwitch still seemed to be more of an advocate of the school of persuasion – or rather, the idea that people should want to follow their leader – than the school of compulsion. It was… a little disappointing.

Sunset rejoined her teammates for Legends of Remnant, where Doctor Oobleck was back to explain the significance of this particular class.

“Vale, Atlas, Mistral, Vacuo,” he said. “Here at Beacon, we have students from all four kingdoms, nations separated by great distance, each with their own proud history and culture. But if this era of peace in which we live is to continue, we must not forget that we have more that unites us than divides us: humans and faunus alike, we share a common heritage, physically and, more importantly, culturally. In this class, we will study this shared cultural heritage, as well as some of the ancient history of our world at the time in which these stories originated.” He drank some of his coffee. “Please open your textbooks to the first story in the collection: the Warrior in the Wood.”

Sunset opened up her collection of fairy tales of Remnant.

“Would anyone like to read?” Doctor Oobleck asked.

When nobody else seemed particularly eager, Yang raised her hand.

“Excellent,” Doctor Oobleck said. “Carry on, Miss Xiao Long.”

Sunset had to admit that Yang had a good voice for reading stories; judging by what Ruby had said – and it made a lot more sense now that she knew about the death of Ruby’s mom – she’d had a lot of practice at it. Her voice was soothing, gentle; she read stories in much the same way as Princess Celestia had used to read Sunset stories, as lullabies in prose that stroked the ears and calmed the spirit. Ruby seemed completely engrossed in it, and she wasn’t the only one. Even Sunset had to remind herself that this was a class, not storytime, and tried to take notes even though she wasn’t entirely sure what she was supposed to be taking notes on. What was the point of this story? The importance of being brave? Man’s need to destroy the environment? What was this story supposed to be saying?

She skipped ahead to the ending in the hopes that it would make a little more sense.

“I fell in love with her the moment I saw her silver eyes.”

Sunset blinked.

Silver eyes. There it was, the last line of the story, sitting there so emphatically as though it was of great importance.

Silver eyes.

Sunset glanced at Ruby. She didn’t notice - she was too engrossed in the tale and in Yang’s telling - but Sunset could see her eyes, her silver eyes, those eyes that gleamed with a colour unseen in Remnant or Equestria.

That has to mean something.

Doesn’t it?

At the end of that particular class, as everyone was packing up their books and notes, Doctor Oobleck said, “Miss Rose, Miss Shimmer, please stay behind after class.”

Sunset and Ruby glanced at one another.

“Did we do something wrong, Doctor?” Sunset asked.

“Nothing to worry about, Miss Shimmer,” Doctor Oobleck said. “All will be revealed in good time, don’t worry.”

The fact that he didn’t just out and tell them what was going on meant that it was hard for Sunset to take his advice. "Don’t worry", he said, but how could she not worry when she’d just been asked to stay behind after class for reasons that she couldn’t understand?

She wondered if Ruby had done something, and she, Sunset, was being punished as her team leader for failing to stop it, but she couldn’t think of anything that Ruby had done in the two days they’d been here that would have warranted punishment either.

Whatever the reason, Sunset and Ruby remained seated when all the other students left; Pyrrha and Jaune gave the pair sympathetic glances. Then Doctor Oobleck left, leaving Sunset feeling even more confused than she had been before.

They were left alone in the lecture hall.

Sunset glanced at Ruby. “Any ideas?”

Ruby shook her head. “I thought you might know.”

“If I knew, I wouldn’t have to ask,” Sunset replied. She clasped her hands together and felt her ears twitching a little with uncertainty.

The door into the lecture hall opened, and Professor Ozpin entered, followed closely by Professor Goodwitch.

“I apologise if I’ve made you nervous,” Professor Ozpin said, his tone apologetic but at the same time amused as well. “I thought this might be a little less nerve-wracking than calling you up to my office.”

Sunset got to her feet. “Professor Ozpin,” she said, “I wasn’t aware that either of us had done anything that deserved being called to your office.”

Professor Ozpin chuckled. “On the contrary, Miss Shimmer, you have reminded me of my duty of care to my students, to Miss Rose in particular.”

“Me?” Ruby said. “But I… I don’t understand.”

“Miss Shimmer informed me that you were… uncomfortable in the locker room before combat class yesterday,” Professor Goodwitch said.

Ruby hesitated for a moment. She bowed her head, and looked a little embarrassed. “I’m sorry for-“

“There’s no need to apologise, Ruby,” Professor Ozpin said, in a voice that was laced with regret even as it seemed to be trying to approach a certain grandfatherliness of manner. “Rather, I should be the one apologising to you. I chose to admit you to this school early. I should have given more consideration to what that meant.”

“It’s just that I’ve never had to get changed with a lot of boys watching me before,” Ruby admitted, “and I didn’t really want to go in the showers afterwards, because, well… Sunset was really great about it yesterday, but-”

“But I’d hoped there might be a better solution than me trying to shield Ruby from view with my own body,” Sunset added.

“Indeed,” Professor Ozpin said. “Fortunately, the locker rooms at Beacon are very large and very extensive. At present, the rooms and showers for the first year students are much larger than they need to be, but that will not be the case once the visiting students arrive. However, as the first-years do not take any classes with the third-years, I think that it will be acceptable for Miss Rose to move her equipment into the third-year locker room and use the showers there. You will be alone, but you may find it preferable to being observed by boys and girls two years older than yourself.”

“Yes,” Ruby said, in a high voice. “That sounds… a lot better. Except… maybe… could Sunset be there with me? I trust her, and then I wouldn’t be completely by myself.”

The two professors glanced at one another. “That would be possible,” Professor Goodwitch said. “Do you have any objection, Miss Shimmer?”

Yes, I’m going to miss the scintillating conversation in the locker room. “No, Professor,” Sunset said. “Although…”

Ruby looked at her. Professor Goodwitch raised one eyebrow. “Although, Miss Shimmer?”

“If I’m going to move as well, then it might make sense for the whole team to move,” Sunset said. “That way, I can keep an eye on everyone and outline strategies in the locker room before a match.”

“An interesting proposition,” Professor Ozpin said quietly. “What do you think, Ruby?”

“I… I’d like that,” Ruby said. “Jaune… Jaune would never do anything… like that, and Pyrrha’s really great. If they don’t mind, then, that would be great.”

Professor Ozpin nodded. “Glynda, if you wouldn’t mind making the arrangements?”

“Of course, Professor Ozpin,” Professor Goodwitch said. “If you two will come with me, then we can round up Mister Arc and Miss Nikos and get your lockers switched along with all of your equipment.”

“Yes, Professor,” Sunset said.

“Thanks, Professor Ozpin,” Ruby added.

“No thanks necessary, Miss Rose,” Professor Ozpin assured her. “I hope that your four years here at Beacon will be instructive, but also enjoyable. Miss Shimmer: good work.”

“What team leader wouldn’t take care of their own, professor?” Sunset replied.

Professor Ozpin smiled faintly. “Quite so, Miss Shimmer.”

“Now, if you’ll both come with me,” Professor Goodwitch insisted.

As they began to follow Professor Goodwitch, Sunset muttered to Ruby, “Hey, Ruby, why did you want me in the third-year locker room with you?”

“Because it’s like I told Professor Ozpin,” Ruby said. “I trust you, Sunset.”

'I trust you.' When was the last time anyone had told Sunset they trusted her? Flash might have, it was hard to remember, because when she thought of Flash, all of her memories became obscured with this cloud of anger. Not even Princess Celestia had really trusted Sunset, not really.

Hearing that from Ruby…it made her feel things.

Even if she couldn’t rightly say what those things were.

Because they weren’t quite like anything she’d felt before.

Comments

[JMP]

Hmm. Ruby being anxious about the locker room makes sense. Cooed teams and dorms is one thing, but it is a little strange for mixed locker rooms too.

[RedDog5207]

Sunset learned who the R in STRQ was: Raven Branwen, brother to Qrow Branwen, the Q in STRQ. Ruby had referred to him as Uncle Qrow. Clearly, the team had stayed close after graduation; it wasn’t surprising that a family friend who was around all the time would become an honorary uncle figure to the children. But why was it Uncle Qrow but not Aunt Raven? Had she died, like Ruby’s mother? Did they not talk about her out of respect?

Shouldn't that word be "sister"? Not "brother"

[Voltaje]

I kind of just realized that team SAPR looks like a perfect equestrian heard XD, strong females that fight and lead, and Joune the protected male.

[The Scarlett Mare]

“This isn’t about our teams!” Sunset yelled. “This is about me knowing what you really are, and wanting nothing to do with it.”

Sunset, what happened to calm and composed?

[The Scarlett Mare]

“Perhaps,” Pyrrha conceded, “but in any case, would you mind turning it off? There are studies that show that the kind of light emitted from scrolls and such like reduces your ability to sleep after looking at them,” she added.

You sound like my mom
I don't like it
it's true though

[The Scarlett Mare]

Yes, I’m going to miss the scintillating conversation in the locker room. “No, Professor,” Sunset said. “Although…”

Felt that

[RDDash]

“I mean,” Bon Bon went on, “just because we’re on different teams doesn’t mean that we’re not on the same big team, right?”

Right, if Bon Bon is anything like Emerald they really shouldn't trust that snake.

[Generic1]

Botany is useful for medicine and poison.

[Widow Peak]

I love how Sunset is suspicious of everyone and everything. Even Jaune can not escape!