Chapter Text
Professor Ozpin was usually very good at giving his students plenty of notice. A change was coming to the class timetables? You'd know a week in advance. They were going to be serving different food at the cafeteria? You'd know a week in advance. A big event was coming up like a school dance or graduation ceremony? You'd know months in advance. Nobody had any worries about anything sneaking up on them, as they knew that Ozpin wasn't the kind of person to do that. Or at least... that's what they thought.
It had started slowly, with the first students waking up just as the sun was rising and seeing that they had been sent an email from Professor Ozpin on their scrolls. They were in for quite the shock as they read that an assembly would be held that morning in the main hall, and that every single student needed to be there within the next hour! They didn't know what to do, nothing like this had ever happened before. At first they assumed it was a prank or something, so they emailed back for confirmation. Upon receiving it, they completely freaked out.
They messaged and called their friends who were also awake to talk about what was happening. They then realised how many people were still asleep, blissfully unaware of the shit that Ozpin was pulling out of nowhere. They then sprinted from dormitory to dormitory, banging on the doors and informing people of the situation. It wasn't long before chaos and disarray had spread across the entire academy, every student was in a state of sheer panic. What would happen to them if they didn't turn up to the assembly? Nobody wanted to find out.
One of the first students to see the email was Weiss Schnee, heiress of the Schnee Dust Company. She was highly committed to her craft of becoming a world-renowned Huntress, and was consistently one of the top scorers in the school for exams. She had no time for nonsense, every day not studying or training was a day wasted. Alas, the same definitely could not be said for her team leader, Ruby Rose. When Weiss first heard that Ruby was the leader of the team, it had rocked her to her core. And months later, she was still bewildered by Ozpin's decision.
She had given Ruby plenty of chances to prove herself capable, but the younger Huntress was far too childish and naive to bear the responsibility of being a team leader. It didn't help that she was two years younger than everyone else, which was another thing Weiss didn't understand. What reason could Ozpin possibly have to let an inexperienced child into his school two years early? Perhaps Ozpin wasn't all he was cracked up to be, because he had made some truly asinine decisions. There was nothing Weiss could do about that, though.
At the very least, Weiss had managed to make Ruby believe that they were friends, even though that certainly wasn't the case. The last thing she wanted was for there to be drama in the team, especially since that had been a pretty big issue during their first few weeks together. To be fair, a lot of that was her fault, as she had brought her prejudices from Atlas with her without even realising it. Thankfully she had learned from her mistakes and had grown to consider Blake a close friend. The same went for Yang, she was quite fond of those girls.
"I'm not going to tell you again, Ruby. You need to get up now, otherwise we'll leave without you," Weiss warned as she tied her hair into a ponytail, doing the finishing touches on her appearance. When she first looked at the email, she had to re-read it twice to ensure that she was understanding it correctly. She was utterly shocked, even though Ozpin pulling stupid stuff like this was becoming an infuriatingly regular occurrence. When she told the others what was going on, Blake and Yang were hesitant to get up but eventually did so, and Ruby...
"Hnn, five more minutes," Ruby groaned as she rolled over onto her front, eyes squeezed shut and her pillow stained from how much she had been drooling. She had never gotten up this early in her entire life, and her body was rejecting it completely. Weiss shook her head and let out a heavy sigh, wondering how Ruby had managed to make it this far in life. What would she have done if she didn't have Yang looking after her all the time? She was glad that Yang was so supportive of her little sister, but sometimes it felt like a little too much.
"Don't worry Rubes, we won't actually leave without you. That being said, we do need to leave right now," Yang added, causing Weiss to roll her eyes as she was more than happy to leave without Ruby. Blake was standing in the corner facing away from the group because she was putting on her clothes, and she had a smile on her face. The bickering going on between the three of them was amusing to listen to, and distracted her from how tired she was. They had had their fair share of difficulties, but she couldn't imagine being on a better team.
Having had enough of this, Weiss huffed in frustration before storming over to Ruby's upper bunk bed and grabbing onto the bedsheets, throwing them off the sleeping speedster. She was wearing high heels and yet she still had to stand on her tiptoes to reach, which she was slightly embarrassed by. Ruby squealed and bolted upright as she turned to face Weiss, who was glaring at her with fire in her eyes. The message being sent was loud and clear, Ruby understood it perfectly. Yang placed one hand on her hip and shook her head, thinking that Weiss was being a bit too cruel.
"You're so mean to me, Weiss," Ruby pouted as she raised one hand to rub her eyes sleepily before letting out a long yawn. Was it even legal to force people to wake up this early? The sun hadn't even fully risen yet so it may as well have still been the middle of the night! Nevertheless, it didn't seem like she had much of a choice in the matter, and she begrudgingly hopped out of bed. Weiss opened her mouth to say how she really felt but then closed it again once she saw how Yang was staring at her out of the corner of her eye.
"I just want the best for you, Ruby. That's all," Weiss lied with a fake smile, not wanting this to devolve into an argument. It was sometimes challenging to keep up this façade, but she had to remember that it was worth it. Was the fact that she had to spend the next four years like this absolutely horrifying? Yes, but once she graduated she'd never have to see Ruby again, if she was lucky. She'd still like to hang out with Yang and Blake once her time at Beacon Academy was over, but it was sadly likely that they'd stay with Ruby, especially Yang.
Nodding her head and smiling back, Ruby opened her wardrobe and rummaged around for some clothes to wear. She was glad that Weiss was her partner, the two of them had gotten off to a rocky start but it had all worked out in the end. She was close with all of her teammates, but she and Weiss just had a special connection due to the fact that they were partners, they were the ones that had locked eyes in the Emerald Forest. The day that Weiss brought her a cup of coffee with cream and five sugars was when she knew that everything would be okay.
As she took out her school uniform from her wardrobe, she was blissfully unaware of the fact that Weiss was gritting her teeth with impatience behind her. Ruby's semblance was super speed, so why did she always take so long doing everything!? She took a deep breath and tightly gripped the handle of Myrtenaster which was clipped to her belt to calm herself down, it wasn't a good idea to cause a scene even though she very much wanted to. Letting out a few more yawns as she groggily got changed, Ruby wished that she could go back to sleep.
"Right, should we get going?" Blake spoke up once Ruby was fully dressed, double checking that the bow on her head was on properly. Most of her close friends already knew that she was a Faunus, and all the teachers had managed to figure it out, but it was still something she wanted to keep a secret from everyone else. Assholes like Cardin weren't the only problem, she also knew that people would start treating her differently once they knew that she was a Faunus, whether they were doing it subconsciously or not. She wanted to avoid that.
"About time. If we end up being late, the blame falls entirely on Ruby's shoulders and I'm telling everyone that it was her fault," Weiss declared as she opened the door of the dorm room and stepped out into the corridor. Ruby looked down at the floor and shuffled her feet in embarrassment, a faint "I'm sorry" leaving her lips. What Weiss said was true, and she couldn't argue against it, but that didn't mean that it didn't hurt. Yang could tell that Weiss' comment had made Ruby upset, and she knew that she needed to do something about it.
"Come on Weiss, you know that's not fair. It took Blake and I a while to get ready too, and you didn't tell us about the email immediately," Yang replied as she walked over to her sister and wrapped her arm around her shoulder to comfort her as the four of them made their way out of the dormitory together. Weiss silently scoffed to herself, that was just typical. Yang needed to stop bottle-feeding Ruby, it wasn't going to do her any favours in life. Ruby needed to learn how to be more independent and mature if she wanted to succeed as a Huntress.
Deciding to stay out of it, Blake remained quiet as Weiss pushed open the double doors of the dormitory and led the way outside. She could see a few students in the distance sprinting towards the main hall like their lives depended on it, which told her everything she needed to know. They were running late, just as she had expected! Her hands clenched into fists as she started running, she swore that Ruby was going to be the death of her one day. After glancing at one another for a second, the three other members of Team RWBY followed suit.
Guilt coursed through Ruby like a wave bombarding the shoreline, she felt extremely bad for making everyone be late. She promised herself that she'd find a way to make it up to Weiss, it was the least she could do. She was beginning to fall behind as Blake and Yang ran ahead of her, but luckily she had a solution for that. Activating her semblance, she burst into rose petals and zoomed forward, catching up with her teammates in no time at all. She kept going though, eventually reappearing beside Weiss as she wanted to talk to her partner.
"I'm really sorry, Weiss. If there's anything I can do to make it up to you, just let me know," Ruby said breathlessly as she wiped the sweat from her forehead, desperately trying to keep up the pace and run alongside Weiss. It was way too early in the morning for this! She panted heavily as she used up what little energy she had gained since waking up, but she wasn't going to stop. She was serious about being a Huntress, and she wanted to show everyone that just because she was two years younger didn't mean she was any less capable.
"You're fine, Ruby. Just... don't do it again, please," Weiss eventually responded after internally debating with herself about what the best thing to say was. Pretending that everything was okay between them and that they were still friends was the most logical course of action, even if she was secretly angry at Ruby for her behaviour and attitude. In what universe was this girl team leader material? She quickly put an end to those thoughts to stop herself from getting riled up, but every day it got harder and harder to bury how she really felt.
Letting out a deep sigh of relief, Ruby was glad that had gone so well. Weiss was such a kind and forgiving person! She had definitely misjudged her, at first she assumed that Weiss was just a selfish and entitled brat that didn't care about anyone but herself, but that clearly wasn't the case. It had only been a few months but the four of them had already built such strong bonds and connections with each other. By the time they graduated from Beacon, Team RWBY would be unstoppable! At least, she really hoped that they all stayed together after graduation.
Watching the duo from a distance, Yang couldn't help but smile. She was immensely proud of her little sister for taking on the role of team leader with such maturity, especially since it came with a lot of pressure and expectations. She admired Ruby's tenacity and unwavering desire to protect others, it inspired her to be the best person she could be. Blake was glancing over at her with a light blush on her cheeks, she was developing quite a large crush on Yang but that was a secret she'd take to the grave as it was clear that Yang didn't feel the same way.
It had taken her a while to even realise that she had feelings for Yang, as she previously hadn't considered the fact that she was into girls. However, she had recently come to terms with her own bisexuality and was proud of who she was. Was it a shame that she would never be with Yang? Yes, it broke her heart, but she also knew that there were plenty of fish in the sea and that she'd eventually end up with someone who loved her back. She swallowed hard and shifted her eye contact away from Yang to focus on where she was going.
Once they reached the main hall and saw that they had made it in time, they all collectively thanked the Gods for having mercy on them. Given how busy the main hall was, it was clear that they were some of the last students to arrive. The place was bustling, and multiple discussions regarding why they had been summoned here on such short notice could be overheard. Ruby was quite overwhelmed by it all, but she took a deep breath to try and calm herself down. She never did well in crowdy, noisy places like this.
"I'm here, Rubes. Let me know if it becomes too much for you, okay?" Yang spoke softly as she rested one hand on Ruby's shoulder, quick to act because she was very familiar with how Ruby tended to get in these kinds of situations. Ruby nodded her head as she placed one hand on top of Yang's, her muscles already relaxing. Blake's heart fluttered at the sight, Yang had to be one of the best big sisters on Remnant. Weiss let out a quiet groan of disgust, why was a room full of people enough to get Ruby so worked up? She would not fare well out in the real world.
"Cutting it a bit close, don't you think?" Nora laughed as she made her way over to Team RWBY, her teammates following closely behind her. She didn't know when Ozpin would make his announcement but it had been an hour since the email was sent out, perhaps he was running late? Weiss was tempted to comment on Ruby making them run late but ultimately decided against it. She was also surprised that Team JNPR made it here before them, given that Jaune was their leader. Pyrrha must have been the one that got them here on time.
"I think cutting things close is our speciality at this point, given that we barely managed to make it to our first ever class on time. We were lucky that it was with Port and not Goodwitch, otherwise we would've gotten scolded hard," Blake giggled, making jokes about it now that she knew they weren't going to get in major trouble. Ren had his hands clasped behind his back and bowed to everyone as a polite greeting, as he was a man of very few words. Weiss waved at him in response but was staring directly at Pyrrha as she did so.
That was the girl that Weiss wished she had ended up on a team with. Everything about Pyrrha Nikos was just perfect, from her looks to her skills to her personality. In a perfect world, she would've been team leader and Pyrrha would've been her partner, with Blake and Yang filling out the other two spots on the team, but she was used to not getting what she wanted. She didn't much care for Nora and Ren, and Jaune... well, he could give Ruby a run for her money when it came to the award for most incompetent. Seriously, she and Pyrrha both deserved better.
"It's good to see that you made it, how did you all sleep last night?" Pyrrha asked with a warm smile, giving Weiss even more of a reason to believe that Pyrrha was far and away the best student at Beacon Academy. Besides herself, of course. And she supposed that Blake and Yang were up there too, as well as Team CFVY. But that was beside her point. Pyrrha had such grace and she was so polite to everyone she met, regardless of whether or not they deserved it. She had such good manners too, something that Ruby couldn't accomplish in her sleep.
Just as the four members of Team RWBY opened their mouths to respond, a silence fell over the crowd. Everyone turned to face the stage where they saw Professor Ozpin approaching a microphone at the front of the stage, his shoes tapping against the floor. Ruby gently squeezed Yang's hand that was still on her shoulder, feeling immense relief wash over her. Now that the noise had died down she felt like she could actually breathe again. Everyone was anxious to finally find out what was going on, since it hadn't been disclosed in the email.
"I look around this room and I see students that I fear have grown complacent, which is a very dangerous thing to be on Remnant. You need to always be on your guard, ready for any sudden challenges that come your way. That is why I arranged this assembly on such short notice, to see who was on high alert and who had gotten too comfortable because they thought they knew what to expect from me," Ozpin explained as he pushed his glasses up his nose, his words causing some students in the crowd to murmur amongst themselves.
He didn't bother shushing them as he knew that his next words would catch everybody's attention, regardless of whether they were listening or not. Being the only one of her teammates and friends to be nodding her head, Weiss perfectly understood where Ozpin was coming from. She had been annoyed with him at first for pulling this out of nowhere, but his explanation made complete sense. A true Huntress needed to never let her guard down and to expect the unexpected at any turn. That was something Ruby Rose didn't seem to comprehend.
Weiss may have agreed with Ozpin's actions, but it was clear from the looks on their faces that most of the other students did not. Ozpin blamed himself for that, it was partially his fault that they had gotten to this point where they felt they had a sense of security. But they weren't going to be able to beat Salem like that, so he needed to fix this problem and fast. This announcement was going to be extremely unpopular and he was well aware of the fallout that could come from it, but he also knew that it was something he needed to do.
"For the next month, the teams will be mixed up slightly. This is to assess how well you react to a sudden change and to see how well you adapt to having brand new teammates," Ozpin continued, and the crowd erupted into roars and protests immediately. He raised one eyebrow and stood in silence as he waited for the chaos to die down enough for him to carry on. Ruby's heart skipped a beat, was this real? No, no! No no no! This couldn't be happening! She loved her teammates so much, she couldn't imagine being on a team with anybody else!
What if she ended up with Cardin Winchester or someone else absolutely deplorable? She was on the brink of a panic attack, her heart was beating so fast she feared it might burst out of her chest. Why was Ozpin doing this? Weiss was intrigued but cautious, this could go really well for her but it could also make her situation even worse. What if she lost Yang and Blake, the only two people on her team that she trusted and that kept her sane? But she could also end up with Pyrrha or someone from Team CFVY, so she didn't want to just assume the worst.
Furious at Ozpin for doing something so stupid for seemingly no good reason, Yang clenched her free hand into a fist. No matter what happened next, one thing was for certain: there was no way she wasn't staying on a team with her sister. Ruby needed her, and it was her responsibility as the big sister to be there for her. Blake started off irritated by this but quickly got distracted by Yang's bulging muscles, she was so unbelievably strong! She would let Yang carry her and step on her any day of the week... what was happening, again? She had forgotten.
"How it works is simple. Two people from two different teams will swap places. One of these people will be a team leader. For example, Velvet Scarlatina could swap places with Cardin Winchester. Cardin becomes a part of Team CFVY while Velvet becomes the new leader of Team CRDL. After a month, the teams will all go back to normal," Ozpin finished, only for the cacophony of noise to get louder and more incoherent. It was sad that they couldn't see that this decision was for the best, they were acting on instinct instead of thinking about it logically.
From the noise of the crowd to the panic running through her mind, Ruby was barely holding herself together. Her knees were wobbling and her legs could buckle at any moment, which wouldn't be good. The four members of Team JNPR couldn't believe what they had just heard, none of them were in favour of this. In fact, Weiss seemed to be one of the only ones who was okay with this. Velvet's face had gone green from the mere thought of being with the most racist students in the school, she prayed that wouldn't actually happen.
"I think the teams should stay as they are right now. There's no need for any of this," Jaune muttered under his breath, not nearly brave enough to yell that at Ozpin even though he knew so many others felt the same way. Nora and Ren looked at each other with sad expressions, they had been together since they were children so they couldn't bear the idea of being away from each other. Pyrrha shook her head and sighed, it was difficult to stay positive when the situation was getting worse and worse with each passing second.
This was unheard of, no Professor at any of the Huntsmen Academies had ever done something like this. Pyrrha wondered if Ozpin had been possessed by a Grimm or something, because this was completely out of left field and wildly out of character for him. Unless they didn't know Ozpin as well as they thought they did? Perhaps this was what he was really like and he had been hiding his true colours until now? Either way, she heavily disagreed with every single aspect of this plan. How did the other teachers feel about this?
Looking around nervously, Blake wondered what the best outcome to this would be. She dreaded the idea of being a team leader, as she definitely didn't consider herself capable of being a leading figure. She also didn't want to be separated from Yang, even though she knew it would be healthy for her to spend some time away from her crush. That way she could try and move on from her, though absence just tended to make the heart grow fonder. Also, what if she ended up on a team full of assholes? There were so many ways this could go wrong.
"Let's get started, shall we? First, Ruby Rose will be swapping places with Pyrrha Nikos. Ruby will become part of Team JNPR and Pyrrha will become the new leader of Team RWBY," Ozpin declared after clearing his throat, causing Weiss to do a double take. Had she heard that correctly? She had to pinch herself to make sure she wasn't dreaming. She was going to be on a team with the Pyrrha Nikos? And Pyrrha was going to be the leader? She had originally wanted herself to be the team leader, but this was even better! She was so happy!
While Weiss was extremely excited about it, Pyrrha did not feel the same way at all. She didn't want to be a team leader! It wasn't her style! She regularly trained Jaune but that wasn't the same, as that was just one person and it was always done in a safe and secure location. Being responsible for three other people on the battlefield was too much pressure! Yang had heard enough, and her eyes turned a burning shade of red and her long golden hair started glowing. That was it! She was going to do whatever it took to ensure that Ozpin reversed this utterly incompetent decision!
"It's okay, Yang. I'll be with Jaune, Nora, and Ren, and I trust them completely. Our dorm rooms are also directly opposite each other, so you'll be able to see me whenever you want. Besides, it's only for a month," Ruby whispered with as much confidence as she could muster while squeezing her sister's hand, reassuring her that she was okay. She was also concerned that Yang could get kicked out of Beacon if she caused too much disruption and uproar over this, so she needed to ease her worries before that happened.
At the end of the day, it could've been a lot worse. At least she'd still be on a team with people she considered her friends, even if she wasn't nearly as close with them as she was with her actual teammates. Letting out a resigned sigh, Yang's eyes turned back to their regular lilac colour. She still despised the fact that this was even happening, but Ruby had made some good points and she couldn't find it in herself to argue with her. This would hopefully be over before they knew it, then everything would go back to normal and they could forget all about this.
Blake believed that all of this was pointless and a complete waste of everybody's time, but Pyrrha becoming the new team leader was far from the worst case scenario. As far as she knew, Pyrrha didn't have any experience with leading, but neither did Ruby and she had done a great job so far. It was a little strange since Ruby was two years younger, but she admired her and always looked to her as a source of optimism and hope. She'd miss Ruby a lot, but it was only going to be for a month and she was sure that Pyrrha would do well in the role.
As Ozpin continued listing all the people who were going to be swapping places, the crowd didn't get any calmer. Just about everyone was opposed to this, but Weiss couldn't see what all the fuss was about. This was a smart move on Ozpin's part, and she wasn't just saying that because she was biased against Ruby and had always dreamed of being on a team with the champion of Mistral herself. This was going to be the best month of her life! If only it was a permanent change... ah well, she could deal with that problem at a later date.
"I love you so much, Ruby. Even if you're on a different team, I'll always support you and be here for you," Yang said before leaning down to give her little sister a loving kiss on the cheek. Ruby's face flushed a bright shade of red, that was so embarrassing! Thankfully, everyone else was too busy screaming at Ozpin to notice what Yang had just done. Except for Weiss, who saw exactly what had just occurred and rolled her eyes at it. Maybe this was what Yang needed, perhaps she'd finally see that she should stop babysitting Ruby 24/7 and focus on herself for a change.
"I love you too, Yang," Ruby replied before glancing over at Jaune, Nora, and Ren, her new teammates. Jaune was socially awkward like her and they were good friends already, so she'd get along well with him. Ren barely spoke so she wouldn't have to worry about him suddenly striking up a conversation with her when she just wanted to be left alone. Nora... was definitely the outlier. She was a storm of chaos and unpredictability, which was terrifying. Everything she did would probably give her a panic attack, which...
Oh Gods, this was going to be a disaster, wasn't it?