Roderick Hill
-----
After Yang barged into his room and demanded help, Roderick spent the last two hours inventing a hundred ways to sleep without her noticing. Of course, none of them worked, but at least he tried.
Where was Cooper and Stiofan when he needed them?
"You should've asked Blake," Roderick said and rubbed his eyes. "She's better at this than me."
A's on every paper and an undefeated streak for class debates; nobody excelled at History better than her.
"Blake's too busy being Blake." Yang pointed a pen at him. "So, I got the next best thing."
There were two much better names he picked off the top of his head. "Weiss is the next best thing. After her is Pyrrha."
She leaned closer and batted her eyelashes. "But you're more fun to be around."
His eye twitched. "Hurry up, will you."
She stuck her tongue out and got back to work. "Do you know where the most famous battle took place during the third year of the Faunus War?"
"The battle of Fort Castle," Roderick said.
"Who won?"
"The Faunus."
"How?"
"With their natural night vision." He crossed his arms. "Done, yet?"
Her scribbling sped another notch. "One more to go. . ." She clapped the table. "And done!"
"Finally, I can rest—"
"Let's go out."
Roderick groaned his sorrows at the ceiling. "How about you leave and I get some shut eye."
"Come on." Those deceptively strong arms folded around his bicep and her ample bosom squished against his shoulder. "We used to go out all time when we were kids. Don't tell me you forgot?"
"Not today, Yang."
"I'll be fun." She flung her hands up. "Cause we're hitting up the club."
The imaginative beats of the club and the suffocating crowds pummeled the inside of his skull. "Clubs aren't my thing."
"As if." She slapped his opinion to the floor. "It's the best."
Guess this won't stop until he goes along with it.
Well, if they had to do something, then it'd be better if they gathered the rest of their teams and went to Vale together. The more the merrier, right?
Roderick typed a message.
"Hey," the energy in her voice suddenly went calm, "what do you think you're doing?"
"I'm gonna ask Stiofan if he can plan something with our teams. Maybe we can all hang out later in the week—"
Adrenaline shot through him at the sudden heat wave rising from the blonde seething at the teeth. "Yang, w-what's wrong?"
Yang crammed every paper and pen into her binder, and before the door banged shut behind her, she sent him a glare that promised nothing but pain in the future.
What the heck did he do?
-----
Walking into combat class the next morning should've been easy like any other day. However, after what happened the night before, it became one of the scariest things Roderick's ever done in his life.
For the whole class, lilac eyes burned the side of Roderick's head. The others picked up on Yang's mood and scooted further down the bench.
"Oi, mate," Cooper said and ducked closer from behind him, "what'd you do to Goldilocks over there? It's scarier than what Stephen and the bookworm have going on."
The question beat him with its hook shaped fists. "Honestly, I think I'm dead, man."
"Alright, students," Professor Goodwitch said and scanned the bleachers. "Because we finished the lesson faster than I anticipated, we have time for one match. Are there any volunteers?"
Yang's hand went stiff in the air. "I'd like a shot!"
Dread creeped into Roderick's stomach.
The professor fiddled with the extra large scroll resting across her forearm. "Okay, Miss Xiao Long. Now let's find you an opponent."
"Actually, I've been thinking," she grinned and rubbed her chin, "can I pick?"
Goodwitch rose an eyebrow. "Very well, if that is what you wish. Do you have anyone in mind?"
A shiver rattled Roderick's spine. Oh, please, no.
"As a matter of fact," Yang snapped and shot a finger in his direction, "I want him."
Old memories kicked in, reminding him of the terror she inflicted when they were kids. Now that they were grown up, the idea of going through it again made him consider transferring to another academy.
"Mister Hill," Goodwitch said, "do you accept Miss Xiao Long's challenge?"
The logic in him said run for his life, but that meant the word 'coward' would be synonymous to his name. His friends weren't any help either. They all stared, some more encouraging (border line pitiful) than the ones who thought they were about to witness a murder.
The professor's eyes narrowed behind her glasses. "Well?"
Was there ever a choice?
He nodded and hoped it wouldn't be as bad as he imagined. "I'm game."
Yang whooped and pumped her fist.
"Alright," Goodwitch played with the scroll, "you two have five minutes to prepare and meet me down here."
Once they left and entered the armoury conjoined to the amphitheater, Roderick followed close behind Yang all the way to her locker.
"Hey," he said, "what's with you?"
She barely gave him a glance. "Shut up, Roddy."
"Did I do something? Cause if I did, I'm sorry."
"Nothing happened." She punched in her locker code with more than enough force and pinched the top button of her uniform. "Do you mind?"
Roderick sighed and hurried to his own locker.
If Yang was the same as back then, the fight would be a mugging if he wasn't careful, and she would probably try to take control as soon as the bell rang. That aggressiveness could be his advantage. High risk, but going toe to toe without a plan against a pissed off brawler wasn't any better.
All geared up and ready to go, he checked his munition belt one last time before leaving.
The stands were pitch black, and a spotlight shined hot over the stage where Yang waited, shaking her body loose.
Goodwitch walked to the edge of the stage and gave them both a look. "Are you two ready?"
Roderick drew Rex and Yang transformed her yellow bracelets, Ember Celica, into twin shot gauntlets.
"Begin."
Yang sprung first and evading wasn't easy.
The punches came in bunches. Explosive shells flew from her gauntlets after each strike she threw. He swung Rex at the first opening. The blade cut air. His heart skipped. Low and away, she twisted at the hips. Knuckles cracked his ribs, emptying his lungs and shoving him several steps back. He didn't fall over, but the needles stabbing his side put him on a knee.
There was no room for a breather.
Yang went straight for him again. Roderick stabbed Rex into the floor, pulled the trigger, and rolled. The whip snagged her shins, tripping her on all fours. His boot met her side. She flipped up and shot behind her, bullet boosting a fist into his jaw. Stars danced around his head, and he found himself flat on his back halfway across the stage.
Gunshots rang, yellow blurring in the rafters. He raised his arm. His hand was empty. Terror spiked his chest as he searched for Rex, spotting it not far from his side. The gauntlets hurled whistling balls of light towards his position. His body kicked into high gear, evading the explosive trail bombarding towards him as he scrambled to Rex and changed it from sword to gun.
While in the air, Yang blasted herself side to side to dodge his shots. Rex pinged and ejected an empty clip. No time to reload. Roderick returned to sword mode and rushed in on her descent. Before she could find her footing, he put the pressure on, dodging her sloppy blows and handing out quick counters, and when her hair started glowing, his gears rolled into reverse.
Was that light her Semblance? Ugh. Now he regretted not asking her about it before.
Trouble chuckled out of Yang. Her eyes dyed blood red, and she slammed her knuckles together, bringing forth a wave of flame from her hair.
Crap, crap, crap, crap. . .
Yang shuffled faster than Roderick could backpedal. A torrent of shells sailed at him in waves. He sword-slapped them left and right. The heat drew more sweat from his brow, and the smoky haze sucked moisture from his eyes and poured acid into his lungs.
Tears blurred his vision.
Roderick wiped his face. Yang was gone. Yellow glinted from the side. He braced Rex, and her fist clanged against the blade. The impact was cushioned, yet it still had enough force to launch him high at the human equivalent of the sun already there, arm cocked and waiting.
It didn't matter if he used Rex as a shield or not. Her punch turned him into a meteor.
The stage sank under him, wood and tile scattered everywhere. He maintained consciousness despite his screaming spine and mushy limbs begging for relief.
Semblance gone, Yang oozed arrogance at the edge of the crater.
"Too easy, Roddy," she said loud enough to pierce the ringing in his ears. "I can do this blindfolded with an arm tied behind my back. Is this really all you got?"
The blood in him bubbled.
Unwarranted hate without any sort of explanation, getting forced into a fight, now mocking? What a way to treat a guy who stuck his neck out trying to understand what he did wrong and help her blow off steam. He was done being the nice guy.
As he sat up, his muscles groaned. He threw off his glove and compression sleeve, and drew Tyrannus from the inside pocket of his jacket.
Yang tensed, and a shrill came from the stands.
Weiss' voice shattered the silence. "Ruby, what in the world was that about?!"
"Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh!" Ruby said. "You never told me you had Tyrannus, Roderick! Did Rey give that to you?!"
Roderick drowned the weapon obsessed girl's excitement, changed the dagger into a big revolver, and fired a high caliber round, nailing Yang's shoulder and knocking her onto her butt.
Once he clambered out the crater, she kicked up to her feet and weaved past the rest of his shots. Guess he got lucky on the first try. He ran to buy himself more time and popped out the cylinder in Tyrannus, swapping it with another one from his munitions belt.
Regular rounds were useless against her speed and agility. He needed a bigger oomph.
Yang closed in on the safety gap between them. Roderick aimed for the ground and lodged a bullet in her path. Her puzzled stare made him smirk. He flicked his thumb up under a lever on the side of the revolver, and the bullet exploded, shrouding her in a flash of fire and smoke.
After several heartbeats and a moment to catch his breath, a hail of gunfire burst from the smoke. He rolled clear. She rocketed at him, eyes red and hair burning, and they exchanged blow for blow.
Something was off.
Unlike before, every move she made was a signal, showing him exactly when and where the next attack came from. He slipped past her punches, blocked her kicks, and when the opportunity popped up, he even swatted aside her fists to open her up and counterstrike.
The frustration snarled out of her.
Yang lashed out her heel. Roderick sidestepped, bashing his sword pommel against her skull. She fell over, and he fired his revolver. At the late second, she whipped away. The bullet skimmed the ends of her mane and embedded the tiles behind her. He dove as far as he could, and she gasped, lurching to safety right as he detonated the bullet. He got to a knee and aimed, but the horror tearing apart her face stopped him from squeezing the trigger.
What was she staring at?
The answer came in the form of several yellow strands piled on the ground; he nearly wet himself.
He twisted the switch on his prosthetic, hissing open a slot, and inserted a Dust vial from a pouch in his belt, colouring the lines on his arm a cold blue hue.
"You. . ." Yang burst in a flash fire. "Monster!"
Roderick worked double time to avoid her onslaught.
"Wait! I didn't mean to! Calm do—"
A slug to the gut sent him sliding and gagging near the edges of the stage.
"Enough, Miss Xiao Long," Goodwitch said. "That's the match!"
Yang heard nothing and kept going.
Roderick fought the urge to retch over the floor and glowered at the blonde storming towards him. He slipped a wild haymaker and pressed his prosthetic on her exposed navel.
"Yang," he activated the Dust in his arm and thought of a pun that would make her proud, "you need to chill."
A cold wave crackled and popped into existence, trapping her shoulder deep in a block of ice. She shook and struggled, but anything below her neck wouldn't budge.
"Roderick, what the gives?!" She stabbed him with a look sharp enough to make an Atlesian soldier weep tears. "Let me out righ—achoo!"
"Sorry," he took an exhausted breath, "but that's up to her."
Yang craned her head to the side and paled at the professor scowling beside her.
Goodwitch extended a riding crop from her boot. "The winner of the match is Roderick—"
"What?!" said several voices from the stands.
Roderick snapped to their Aura gauges on the monitors: Yang was in the orange, and he was in the red.
Goodwitch sighed and rolled her eyes. "By disqualification."
As nice as it was to know he won the match, Roderick found no glory in it. This was a loss. Yang used him as a punching bag, and he was lucky enough to survive long enough to dish out a DQ.
"Oh, come on!" Yang bobbed her head. "I won that fight—achoo!"
"Miss Xiao Long." The professor slapped her riding crop at the ice next to Yang's face and cracked it. "Do not ignore me and act on your own accord again when I decide to end the match. Are we clear?"
She gulped and shook her head so fast it could've popped off.
"Good. Now before I free you, you'll have to excuse me. I need to make a quick stop in my office." Goodwitch strutted away and waved at the stands. "Class dismissed."
-----
Leon Alexander Gates
-----
Huntsmen and Huntresses: the best and brightest warriors of Remnant, ranking higher than kingdom police and even military in terms of strength and skill.
The occupation was established along with the Huntsmen Academies after the Great War with the hopes of creating elite warriors whose sole purpose would be to combat The Creatures of Grimm, a ravenous, destructive force that covers the majority of Remnant. While referred to simply as Grimm in the common vernacular, for as long as humanity can recall walking the surface of Remnant, these wicked beings serve as the greatest foe to mankind.
However, there is one legend long before Huntsmen, before the formation of kingdoms. It was said those born with the silver eyes were destined to live the life of a warrior. The Creatures of Grimm feared those who bore the silver eyes, for the amount of power they possessed was enough to strike a Grimm down with just a single glance. They were warriors known to be among the best of the best to have ever walked Remnant. . .
The door hinges creaked.
Alexander lifted his nose out of the old book Roderick lent him.
"Come on, Velvet."
"Coco, wait!"
A woman wearing a beret and sunglasses strutted into Alexander's infirmary room, and the photographer with rabbit ears was latched to her leg, dragged along the floor as an oversized accessory.
"So, you're the guy I've been hearing a lot about, lately." She flicked a caramel lock of hair from the side of her face and lowered her sunglasses to reveal an intrigued, mocha coloured gaze. "Alexander, right?"
He nodded.
"I'm Coco," she reached down and lifted the squeaking photographer by the scruff of her uniform jacket, "and I believe you already know my teammate, Velvet. You remember her, right? She told you about the muffins."
Velvet shrunk under his gaze, and she probably would've scurried out the room if Coco didn't hold her in place.
"Thanks for helping my friend here from those bullies a while back." Coco's mouth stretched the same way it does for Cooper whenever his ass had a dumb idea. "And I gotta say, Velvet hasn't shut up about you since."
"Coco!" Velvet blushed. "I told you it's not like that!"
Coco laughed and slapped Velvet's ass, causing another squeak.
"Go get him, Muffin." She winked before pushing up her sunglasses and strutted out the room. "Treat her well, kid."
Velvet moved to the nearest chair and squirmed in her seat, eyes flickering from the floor to him every few seconds.
"I heard about the Grimm attack at Forever Fall." She rubbed her arms. "I hope you're feeling better."
It wasn't a surprise she didn't know what actually happened. Everyone outside of him, Jaune, and Team CRDL were oblivious to the truth.
"I wanted to give this back." She pulled a neatly folded golden cloth from her pocket. "Don't worry about cleaning it. I already washed and ironed it for you."
Finally. What took her so long?
"I would've returned earlier, b-but, um. . ." Velvet's breath shook. "You're scary."
He snorted. "Is that so?"
"I can never tell what you're thinking," she said. "And you seem grumpy all the time."
"Not grumpy," he said and covered a yawn. "Just tired. See."
Velvet looked him dead in the eyes for the first time, straight face as if she didn't believe him. The sides of her mouth suddenly cracked, and a tiny giggle played from her lips.
"Coco, was right. I feel better talking to you." She placed his handkerchief on the bedside table and waved goodbye. "I-I better get going now. Enjoy the treat."
What treat? He grabbed the cloth. To his surprise it was solid; a letter and chocolate bar were hidden inside the folds.
The letter read:
Since I'm not very good at speaking to people, I wrote this to show my appreciation for what you did in the dining hall. Other than my team, no one had stuck up for me before. I'm really happy to know someone out there was willing to help me: a Faunus.
I'm sure you already found the chocolate bar I left for you in the handkerchief. Noticed you staring inside a vendor from when we first met. Wasn't sure which one you liked. Hope you like milk chocolate. It's my favourite. Think of it as a thank you.
Get well soon.
Velvet.
The door hinges creaked again.
This time Roderick stumbled inside, breathless and wild eyed as if he was out there fighting a war.
"Hey, man." He shut the door and closed the blinds on the window. "Don't mind me. I'm just gonna hide out here for a bit."
Yang's voice banged the walls, spraying buckets of curses at Roderick quaking in his boots.
Alexander grunted and bit the chocolate bar. "You blow off a date with Xiao Long or something?"
"Haha, very funny." Roderick ducked behind the bed. "It's a long story, and I don't even know the half of it. She just got mad at me for some reason. Girls are weird, man."
Alexander scoffed and read the letter one more time as he continued munching on his treat.
That was something they could agree on.