Roderick Hill
-----
Roderick knew for sure, no matter how many times he saw it, Professor Oobleck was a maniac.
Oobleck talked a lot like Port, but rather than spend all class pummeling them with exaggerated stories of his glory days, he actually did his job of passing on useful information.
However, there was only one problem: it came out like a dump truck.
The history professor zipped through the class in a white and green blur, running his mouth faster than anyone could keep track, and at one point, a pen flew out of someone's hand and hit another person in the eye.
It didn't help that the exchange students from Atlas, Haven, and Shade were here as well. Classes were already cramped before. With them around, it was like sitting in a sauna, and they were still in the middle of summer.
At least Roderick had his whole team and Team RWBY and JNPR with him; this was one of the rare classes they all shared together.
"Yes, yes, students," Oobleck said and zoomed in front of his messy desk. "The Great War came to an end during the Mantle, who you now know as Atlas, and Mistral campaigns into Vacuo to seize their Dust mines." After a sip from his mug, a burst of energy shot him to a landing of stairs between the front rows. "However, the King of Vale arrived to personally lead his army into battle to aid Vacuo and defeat the invading forces, finally concluding the ten year long war. Are there any questions?"
For the first time since classes started, Oobleck stood still long enough for Roderick to get a good look at him, and it would be an understatement to say that man was hit by a tornado.
A yellow tie dangled like a loose banana, neither shoe matched, and he had thick glasses that were impossible to see through. His clothes, untucked and unevenly buttoned, never met an iron before in their wrinkled lives, and he had a nest of jade hair that stood straight on ends as if it got zapped by a lightning bolt.
"Professor Oobleck," said a student. "Why did Atlas and Mistral want Vacuo's Dust mines?"
"It's Doctor Oobleck." He jumped in front of the student fast enough to scare everyone in the row. "And it was Mantle at the time, not Atlas. Mantle and Mistral knew that if they could conquer Vacuo's Dust mines, they would effectively cut off their enemy's supply of Dust, a crippling blow to not only Vacuo but Vale as well." He reappeared at his desk and held up a finger. "If it were not for General Laconia and a small band of soldiers defending the pass leading to the mines, it would've certainly been lost before the bulk of Vale and Vacuo's armies arrived to ensure its safety."
Three seats to Roderick's right, Alexander snorted.
"Anymore questions?" When no one answered, Oobleck continued. "Once the war ended, all four kings of Vale, Mantle, Vacuo, and Mistral met on the neutral island of Vytal north of Vale. There, they formed a treaty and planned for the future of Remnant. That's why, class, we celebrate the Vytal Festival every two years. It honours the occasion that founded the Huntsmen Academies and shaped our today as we know it."
"That's cool and all, Professor Oobleck," said Cardin Winchester of Team CRDL. He clasped his hands behind his head and propped his legs up on the desk. "But that's all ancient history. Tell us something fresh and awesome."
"Yeah, you said it, Cardin," said his teammate with the mohawk, Russel Thrush. "Oh, I know. How about that guy we heard about. You know, that guy who completed the impossible mission from way back in the day? That sounds cool."
Cardin smirked and gave him a high five. "What do you say, Professor? Did a student really pull that off? I mean, come on. There's no way one person could rescue five villages in a single day."
Chatter buzzed the walls, and a newfound interest infected the air.
Roderick rolled his eyes.
Oobleck propped himself against his desk. "It's Doctor Oobleck. I didn't earn a PhD for fun, thank you very much." He sipped his drink, glanced at the clock, and set aside the mug for the first time all class. "Since the hour is almost over, I suppose I can humour you until then."
To Roderick's left, past the stairs and in the next row over, Nora bounced while Ren tried to settle her down, but the usually mellow guy looked almost as excited as she was.
Pyrrha bit her lip and glanced back and forth between Roderick and Oobleck.
"Those rumours are inaccurate, Mister Winchester." Oobleck adjusted his glasses. "In actuality, it was the work of a fourth year team from four years ago who successfully rescued those villages. . . all at the same time."
The room went dead quiet.
"That's crazy!" Weiss shot out of her chair from the row down in front of Roderick. "Are you sure that's not all made up, Professor?!"
"It's Doctor," he said, "and I should know. I was the supervisor for that preposterous mission."
A jolt of excitement got the room up and running again.
Roderick sighed and rested his head in his hand. 'Here we go again.'
"Settle down, students." Oobleck motioned them to stop. "It's not something to get fussy about."
Blake raised a hand.
"Yes, Miss Belladonna?"
"With all do respect," she said, "that's something I find hard to believe."
"Let me assure you that rescuing five villages at the same time, nowhere near each other mind you, and succeeding is not only absurd but nigh impossible with such small numbers and equipment."
If it weren't for the glasses, Roderick would've bet Oobleck had a reminiscent look on his face right now.
"However, to Team RRYL (royal)," continued the professor, "it was simply a brave feat, and for us educators, it was dreadful—simply dreadful. To this day, I still wonder why Headmaster Ozpin allowed it."
"Was Team RRYL that good?" said a googly eyed Jaune.
"Prodigies; all of them." He snapped upright and stretched a finger for each name he listed. "Roxy Nihon, Yonah Folkvang, Laurence Bouvo, and not to forget the architect of this mad endeavor. . ."
Oobleck paused.
The single long breath he took completely drained the room, replacing it with a torture rack of tension stretching everyone to their limits. Students scooted to the edges of their seats, anticipation pried their eyes and jaws open wider and wider, the professor inhaled, and Roderick's heart drummed his ears.
"The leader who made it all possible," said Oobleck, "was Reynold Hill."
Like a bomb, the name exploded.
The class, mostly the Haven students, gasped as if they remembered it was a holiday and went into full meltdown mode.
No surprise there. Reynold was a famous Huntsman worldwide, Mistral especially.
Down below, Ruby and Yang shared a funny look before they puff their chests out and held their chins high.
"What's with those smug looks, you two?" Weiss said, arms crossed.
Yang shrugged and combed her hair. "Oh, it's nothing."
Blake's bow wiggled. "Come on, spit it out."
"Lucky, Rey." Ruby let out a big sigh. "He's going around living the dream."
A club of bewilderment bumped the two other members on the heads.
"You sound like you actually met Reynold Hill." Envy coated Weiss' voice. "Well, did you?"
"Met him?" Yang snorted and blew her lips. "The guy lived with us for a while when we were kids."
Every head swiveled towards her, and instant horror uppercutted Roderick.
"Yeah." Ruby leaned on the desk and cupped her cheeks. "Too bad he moved out with Rod after graduating Beacon."
Blake raised an eyebrow. "What does this have to do with Roderick?"
Roderick jumped halfway over the desk and forced Team RWBY to notice him.
"Uh, Ruby," he said. "Could you not—"
"Don't any of you know?" She jerked a mindless thumb at him. "Rey and Rod are brothers."
The needles of a hundred eyes pricked him, and Roderick made the mistake of taking a peek around.
Cooper, Nora, and Jaune stared at him like a boatload of lien; Blake, Ren, Weiss, and Stiofan's eyes were glazed over in utter disbelief; Alexander, well, he honestly didn't look like he cared, and Pyrrha wore a mirror reflection of the shock probably plastered on his face.
Call it bad luck or terrible timing, the bell rang.
Oobleck dismissed the class, and Roderick barged out the room with a swarm of his brother's fans hot on his heels.
-----
After he escaped and returned to the dormitory building safe and sound, Roderick knocked on Team JNPR's door.
Soft footsteps echoed on the other side, and the door swung open, revealing Pyrrha still in uniform.
"Hey," Roderick said. "You called?"
"I'm glad you came." She stepped aside. "Please, come in."
The first thing to hit him was the faint trickle of a flowery aroma followed by a burst of syrup and fried batter.
Roderick wrinkled his nose before giving the place a once over.
Other than personal decorations and the rodeo of what must've been Nora's side of the room, Team JNPR's setup was the exact same as his dorm room.
The beds lined alongside the wall opposite to the door while a single bookshelf sat under the window. All four desks filled the space on either side of the doorway, and the twin closets were across the room from each other with a washroom beside one of them.
What a relief. He kinda half expected they'd have an insane thing like Team RWBY had going on.
It was a miracle those bunk beds haven't squashed somebody yet, considering Ruby's bed dangled over Weiss' bed with loose rope and how Yang and Blake's beds were stacked together on books.
"If you're wondering where my team is," Pyrrha pushed open the window between the two tidiest beds, "Jaune went to train, and Ren took Nora someplace to burn off those energy bars she got from Cooper."
Roderick groaned and decided to have a word with his teammate once he returned from the city.
"Sorry about that," he said.
"No worries." She sat on the bookshelf and patted the spot beside her. "Come. The sunset is lovely this evening."
"So, is this why you called me over?" He propped his arm on the sill and soaked up the warmth of the incandescent world. "To watch the sunset?"
Her giggles cuddled his heart. "We haven't had the chance to hang out as much since school began. You know. Just the two of us."
"Yeah, I kinda miss this." The past memories of their time in Sanctum Academy played across the fiery sky. "Never thought it'd see you again so soon after I left Argus, but you sure surprised the heck out of me. Beacon was the last place I expected to run into you."
"Sorry about that. It was a last second decision, and I wasn't exactly sure how to tell you." Pyrrha drummed her fingers along the windowsill. "Besides, I much prefer it here. Not as many people recognize me. If I went to Haven. . . I can't imagine what my life would've been like without you there to keep me sane."
"A nightmare, I guess." He leaned against the frame. "Bet you're regretting not letting me win at least a couple of those tournaments now."
Her mouth twitched.
"What about you? Why did you decide to come to Beacon?" said Pyrrha. She nestled the side of her head into her palm and gave him a sideways look that could reduce any man to goo. "You always talked about it while we were in Argus. You never said why, and I didn't think to ask until now."
In the embers of the horizon, the cloak of night crept up on the light.
"I felt invisible," he said.
Pyrrha straightened and faced him fully.
"People look at me and they only see you or Reynold." Roderick touched his pendant. "That's why I moved back here—to get out from your enormous shadows and prove myself. For a fresh start."
"If I had known you felt that way," she said almost in a whisper, "then I never would've followed you. I'm so sorry."
He brushed it off. "Don't be. It's not like I hate you or anything."
"And I'm sorry about History. I should've done something to stop it, but it got so out of hand that I. . . I'm sorry." She crawled close enough for him to see the remorse glisten in her eyes. "If there's anything you need, anything at all, I'm here for you."
"It's fine." He pushed her back. "I'm used to it by now. People were bound to find out sooner or later, anyways."
The stares, the whispers, the endless questions about Reynold; they were a magnet that always found a way to reach him no matter how hard he fought to escape the pull.
"I should've known better, Roderick." She clasped his real hand between her own. "I should've let you win at least once during our matches."
"I'm actually glad you didn't go easy," he said. "Winning would've been meaningless if neither of us tried our best."
Pyrrha sighed and hung her head. "No, you're right. It would be insulting since you always gave me everything you had, our last match especially."
"And who's fault was that?" He chuckled and jabbed her arm. "You just had to go and make that bet. Where'd you go to get such a crazy idea, anyways?"
She blushed and looked away. "It makes me dizzy just thinking about it."
"By 'it' do you mean this?" Roderick brushed her bangs aside to reveal the bronze circlet hidden underneath. "Or are you thinking about what happened after that?"
"Wait," she stared as if he grew a new arm, "how'd you know?"
"Your expression. . . It's the same from that time."
"Oh." Her blush went three shades darker. "Uh, I-I've certainly gotten over it. I mean, I have Ren, Nora, and Jaune now. They've been very good to me."
"Actually, I've been meaning to ask," Roderick smirked, "how's it coming with Jaune? Make any progress yet?"
Pyrrha nearly fell out the window. "W-what about us? We're doing just fine. Thank you very much."
"Don't lie to me, Invincible Girl." He crossed his arms. "We all see the way you look at him. Everyone knows, so don't hide it."
"I have absolutely no idea what you're trying to say," she glared back, "Maverick."
Despite the daggers she aimed at him, he held his ground. "I know what you're really like when no one's around. Tell it to me straight—how you really feel."
They continued the silent clash a few seconds longer before Pyrrha threw her hands up.
"Alright, fine. I've been watching him lately, and he drives me crazy." She shot laser beams at a blue onesie laying on top of a bed. "He'll never get that girl."
Pyrrha paced the room.
"We train together on the roof, and it's like a dance I could do all night." She hugged herself and shuddered. "When I'm with him time just flies. It feels so divine."
Roderick sent Jaune his silent condolences at the mention of them training together.
Pyrrha growled and stomped the carpet. "Why can't he forget about that little girl in white? She doesn't care about him, and she's way too uptight."
Just like he did with Jaune, Roderick sent a silent apology to Weiss.
"Am I too tall or not his type? You know what? I don't care. I'm not giving up, so I'll get it right."
"You know, Pyrrha," Roderick said. "I think you can do it."
She beamed. "Really?"
He smirked. "Of course."
"But how?" She gripped her hair and stared in despair. "Getting close is my intention, but I can't capture his attention. I spend all my time wondering why, and nothing I do can catch his eye. He better figure it out—that I'm the only one or else I'll pout."
"Pyrrha." Rodrick shook every bit of sense back into her. "Get a hold of yourself. You're starting to rhyme like Cooper."
The irritation built itself brick by brick on her face. "What do I have to do to make him notice me?"
"Have you tried being direct?"
"I can't." She groaned and threw her head back. "Right now, he's more interested in Weiss. He doesn't see me in that way, so I'll get rejected if I confess now. That's why I have to wait until he realizes the girl is ice cold—it's not meant to be. She doesn't see the things I do, and I see more in him than any of you."
Pyrrha's fame was also a double edged sword when they were still living in Argus. Her talents and reputation formed a boundary of intimidation and a belief that nobody was worthy of being near her. People couldn't see past the label of Invincible Girl, costing her a great amount of loneliness in Sanctum.
Roderick was the rare few who saw past the nickname and met the beautiful girl he's lucky enough to call friend, and the same goes for her partner. Jaune didn't know her when they first met and treated her like a normal person. To Pyrrha, he was the one for her, and Roderick would do anything to make it happen.
That's why for her sake, he couldn't let this slide.
"Before I do something crazy, I gotta ask," he said and raised a finger. "Is he really worth it all?"
She gave a firm nod. "Anything to make him my own."
"We gotta make it right while we got time." Roderick grinned and dinged a metallic finger on her circlet. "Get ready to swallow your pride time and time again. Cause we're gonna do whatever it takes to make that dream of yours come true."
Utter joy broke her face. "You'd really do that for me?"
"There isn't anything I wouldn't do for you," he said.
She trapped him in a bone crushing hug. "I don't know how to thank you enough!"
"You can start . . . by letting. . . me go. . ."
"Right," she dropped him and fixed his collar, "I'm sorry."
"It's alright," Roderick moved to the door and paused at the threshold. "Since this calls for a celebration, I'm gonna get a bite. Want anything?"
Pyrrha watched whatever daydream she was having on the ceiling. "I think I'm good."
With that, he left, letting his mind wander over the possibilities of how he could pull hooking those two up.
Beep!
Roderick checked his scroll and read the message Cooper sent.
Need anything? Like Dust or snacks? Pay me back later. With interest.
Roderick scoffed and typed his response as he went around the corner and bumped face first into someone.
"Oof, sorry about that," he said and rubbed his nose. "Wasn't looking there, so I didn't see. . . you. . . uh. . ."
Whatever train of thought he had crashed.
Roderick may have been surrounded by pretty girls most of the time, but this woman took the cake.
She was older, definitely a fourth year, and taller than him by a bit like Pyrrha. The sheen of her flawless skin was fresh snow on a sunny day that gave Weiss a run for her money. Satin ash black hair cascaded over half her face, leaving her one eye to twinkle gold, and the way she smirked resembled Blake whenever she was amused.
To top it off, he imagined a crown on her head because if he combined Yang's heat with Pyrrha's championship reign, then she was the queen of fire.
The woman perused the entirety of his face.
Roderick kept himself from sputtering out in a Ruby-like mess, and he raked his brain, filtering out any crazy ideas that Nora would have.
"Hey, back off." A girl with a dark complexion, short mint green hair, and red eyes shoved him. "Are you alright? Can't believe someone would walk right into you."
A third person strolled up behind them, a pale guy with grey-silver hair and a cocky grin.
The three of them wore matching black jackets with grey hems and a white band on their left arms; Haven students and teammates, probably.
"Totally didn't see that coming," the guy said and crossed his arms. "You could've dodged that."
The green haired girl growled. "Shut up."
"Emerald, Mercury, that's enough," said the woman without breaking eye contact.
A chill crawled up Roderick's spine.
Her voice was lighter than a feather and smoother than silk, yet it was steel, sharpened to a fine edge.
The two immediately shut up and shared puzzled glances.
"Don't mind them. They can get a little carried away sometimes," she said and touched her chest. "It's nice to meet you. I'm Cinder. Cinder Fall."
Roderick gulped at how she suddenly closed the gap between them.
"H-hi there, uh, Cinder. I'm Roder—"
"I already know who you are, Roderick Hill." She hummed and playfully stroked her chin. "You're the Maverick of Argus, who fought in four consecutive Mistral Regional Tournaments, starting when you were thirteen years old. And despite placing second each year behind The Invincible Girl, Pyrrha Nikos, you managed to land a blow against her, a feat no one has ever managed to accomplish. Might I say," she batted her eyes, "I'm a big fan."
Roderick blinked, opening and closing his mouth like an idiot, and Cinder's friends even stood there equally stumped themselves.
"I'd love to stay and chat, but there's somewhere I need to be." She brushed past his shoulder. "I hope to see more of you around, Little Eagle."
Emerald and Mercury jumped to life, and Roderick couldn't stop watching until they turned the corner and escaped his sights.