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LEAD

"Arrf!"

The sounds of a dog barking could be heard from within the room of team RWBY if one focused closely enough. Fortunately for the members, no one had noticed it at all, if the indication of there being no reports against them were any kind of indication.

After all, their neighbours were team JNPR, and they more than understood the necessity of keeping such a harmless secret.

Zwei wagged its tail excitedly, clearly due to a particular person's affectionate action.

Weiss Schnee couldn't help but led out a soft smile as she scratched the back of Zwei's right ear, her knees bended on both side as she tried to levelled herself to that of the small puppy.

It was definitely an action unbecoming of an heiress, especially one as prestigious as the Schnee. Surprisingly, Weiss didn't mind it as much as she would have thought...for several reasons.

One, there was no one else here beside Yang and Blake, teammates that she had entrusted her life with in battle.

Two, because Zwei was adorable.

Too adorable to ignore!

Wait, now that she thought about it...

"Hey, do any of you two know where Zwei went during our battle within the city of Vale?" she asked quizzically, momentarily stopping the movement of her left hand.

Yang looked at the heiress thoughtfully, before thinking back to the fight at hand. From what she remembered, or exactly because she couldn't remember, she was sure Zwei didn't show up with their instructor as he came out from the tunnel alone. They didn't quite see the small puppy until after their long period of rest, which was an entire day after the incident.

Okay, now that it was pointed out, even she had gotten just as curious as Weiss was.

"You know, you got me stumped on that one. Where exactly did Zwei go during that time?"

The two then stared at the puppy, and Zwei returned their gazes with the same innocent look that it had as always. It was only but for a moment, but the two sides continue their gazes, as if the two huntresses in training were expecting an answer out of the small dog if they simply looked hard enough.

To Blake, it was comical, yet she still wanted the conversation to be over, especially since it was about Zwei.

Blake then took another glance at the small puppy, her eyes squinting before it turned into an irritated frown.

She couldn't help it, it was just in her nature.

"Stop overcomplicating it. If I were to guess, Doctor Oobleck probably called it to warn the authorities, and it probably found the other teams along the way."

It was simple logical deduction. Looking at how events transpired and how exhausted they were at the time, it was relatively easy to dismiss the small dog's existence.

"Huh. That's...actually very plausible. Blake, how exactly did you figure that out so quickly?" Weiss questioned, alongside Yang who seemed to have the same question as well.

"Detective novels," she answered blandly before returning to her reading, which coincidentally did happen to be a novel pertaining to mysteries.

And so returned to the comfortable silence they had just before, only this time Weiss wasn't the only one playing with Zwei, as Yang decided to join in as well.

But just as it came, so as it went.

The sound of the doorknob turning got their attention, and right after the door was opened, something burst right into the scene as it tackled Weiss onto the floor, an unamused expression now adorned at her once she had gotten a better look at who it was.

"HEEEEEEEEELP MEEEEEEEE!"

Judging from the higher pitch of voice her leader was projecting, Weiss could immediately tell the situation was not as desperate as Ruby was trying to make it. One could assume she was wrong on this particular assumption, but she had known her partner for a while now, and she could tell when Ruby was being serious or was simply exaggerating things.

This was the latter.

"And pray tell, what exactly do you need help with?"

Instead of explaining, Ruby instead chose to continue being obstinate, clinging to the heiress like a youngling to their mother.

The things she would do to be a good partner.

"Guess I'll have to be the one to break it to you girls," an unsuspecting voice chimed in.

Turning, the three saw Jaune standing by the door, looking a bit awkward judging by the look of his expression.

They then noticed something a bit noteworthy, a giant backpack adorned on his back, leaving them a bit confused on what was going.

"So, you know how Ozpin called for Ruby earlier right?"

They all nodded in silence, having heard it once before from Ruby just before she left half an hour ago.

"Basically, Professor Ozpin wants us to get into a new program or something, I think it was called LEAD? Anyway, we're going to be swapping leaders for two weeks, but it's only for certain teams since it's you know... new. In this case, there's your team, mine, Coco's and...Cardin's," he stated the last one slowly, still not quite at grasps at what happened...or what he told his teammates before coming here.

Yeah, these two weeks were definitely going to be a field trip.

Yang blinked in realization, continuing to stare at Jaune's person before stating her observations.

"Does that mean—"

"Yeah, I'm assigned to your team. Coco is going to team CRDL, Cardin on mine, and Ruby is—"

"From a round of elimination, it's team CFVY," Weiss then turned towards Ruby, giving her an unimpressed look as she spoke.

"That's it? I was honestly thinking you were whining because you were sent to team CRDL. If anything, staying at team CFVY is an excellent chance for you to learn, especially for someone like you."

"Weiss's got a point there sis, what exactly is the problem? Do you...hate their team or something?" Yang asked, though it was merely a way to get her sister to respond as up to this point, her younger sibling still haven't said anything on the matter.

"What...it's not like I hate the idea or anything, in fact, I'm pretty excited! It's just...They're our seniors so they're automatically awesome already. That also means I'm going to be the one that's leading them now, and considering how big everyone else is..."

Hearing just enough, Blake chimed in, "Ruby...every one of us here are of higher age than you, and you didn't have any problem leading us. Up to this point, I think you've been doing a fine job."

Ruby couldn't help but beam at Blake's praise. After all, it wasn't often Blake would give out praises, even more so considering how quiet she was most of the time.

Even so...

"Yeah, but that's because it's you guys. You're like what, two years older than me? Team CFVY are three years, three years older than me, which means they're eighteen. That's like the time when someone officially becomes an adult, so it's like the difference between a late teen and a young adult. I can handle you guys but adults? They're like the ones that know what they're doing all the time, and I'm supposed to be leading them!?" Ruby practically yelled out, running through her hair wildly.

"Arrghh...what am I going to do, what if I embarrassed myself?"

Seeing her sister's nervousness pouring out, Yang felt it best that she consoled her sister in the best way she could.

She pulled Ruby towards herself, before embracing the younger sibling in a tight hug.

There were comments of embarrassment from her sister at the sudden action of Yang's, but they died down as Ruby now merely stared at Yang in bewilderment.

Yeah, some things never changed.

"Ruby. Just do your usual thing, it'll be fine...I promise." Yang said reassuringly as Ruby begrudgingly nodded, though no less nervous before.

"Besides, adults aren't what they are cracked up to be. I mean take Uncle Qrow for one," Yang said lightheartedly as she let go, smiling as Ruby returned her sister's attempt at lightening the mood.

"...Can you two perhaps get off of me now?"

The two looked downwards, finally noticing that they were sitting on the heiress, who was very much unamused at their current position.

Letting out a forced laugh, Ruby quickly got off her partner as she begun to zipped around the room, while Yang merely stood up, followed by an exasperated heiress.

"Now that this...episode is finish. I believe we have another issue that needs to be addressed at the moment," Weiss stated as she let out a tired sigh.

As Ruby went off to gather her belongings, the rest of team RWBY now turned to the only male in the room, or in this specific case, their current leader.

Jaune couldn't help but to react nervously by the sudden attention he was receiving, now trying his best to think of a way to establish his leadership in this new team.

"So...since I'm leader and all…"

"Ground Rules. Establish. Right now." All three said simultaneously as they gave him a deadpanned look, while Ruby gave him a thumbs up, having finished packing her stuff.

This was going to be an arduous two weeks, weren't they?

Cardin Winchester stood there, motionless as he stepped into his new temporary room, clicking his tongue in frustration as his 'new' teammates glared at him in quiet silence.

It wasn't as if it was unexpected. After all, he had treated team JNPR, or more specifically their leader, Jaune, poorly in the past, more times than he could have counted.

Despite the fact he had not done such a thing for a whole semester, it was only natural that they still held such reservations of him.

Still, liked it or not, he was involved in this little program of the headmaster's, and he had no intention of screwing it up.

He had fooled around way too much in his first semester at Beacon already.

Just as Cardin decided to break the silence, Nora beat him to it as she stated something right out of the blue.

"Hey, I want to break your legs."

...Great, now things were going to be even more difficult. Cardin looked to the side, not even giving them the courtesy of looking them in the eyes as he tried to direct them to what his objectives.

"You do know—"

"Yes, our leader Jaune has already told us the specifics of our new arrangements," Ren stated coldly, clearly not liking the whole situation.

Judging from the tone, he could already tell that none of them accepted him as the new leader, temporarily as it may be.

Damn it. What exactly did he have to do to make them accept him?

His eyes then settled on Pyrrha, who had stayed strangely silent up until now...and still was as she continued to stare at him intensely. However, Cardin had a feeling that while she wasn't fond of her, she was still giving him a chance before she decided on anything regarding the situation.

Tightening his fists in frustration, Cardin contemplated on what his actions should be.

No, when one thought about it, the solution was simple.

"I apologize for what I've done in the past, and for how treated your team in the past, especially to...Jaune."

He held no illusion that this would cause them to immediately forgive him of all his wrongdoings, even if they had no idea that he had once threatened their leader with blackmail once, barring Pyrrha.

However, it was a start, and hopefully...

Ren was the one who immediately responded, "Perhaps you should have stated your apology when Jaune was here."

Damn it all. Is this how it was going to be for the next two weeks?

Pyrrha noticed Cardin visibly stiffen from Ren's remark, as small as they were. Regardless, his words and reactions were more than enough to prove to her of one thing. It was the one thing she had focused on ever since he appeared at their doorsteps.

To give him a chance.

"Yes, he should. So, how about we make sure for him to be here when Jaune returns? I'm sure they have a lot to talk about," Pyrrha said in a cheerful manner, something that was not unnoticed by the other three.

"Ren furrowed his brows, "Like what exactly?"

"I'm sure Cardin here just...umm wants to befriend Jaune? Yes, that's why he spent so much time with Jaune during our first semester here, even if they weren't all too pleasant."

Cardin could feel his eyes twitching, both confused and irritation rolled into one as he let utter one single word for his response.

"What!?"

Nora, on the hand positioned herself closer to him before inspecting him from top to bottom, poking and jabbing him lightly just to wait for his reaction.

The former bully held it in, as irritated as he was at Nikos's action, or the hyperactive girl's curiosity, he would not do anything to further worsen the situation.

Satisfied, Nora finally relented, "Eh, so that was it? Well, you didn't have to be such a jerk like that you know. Pssh, between you and me, if you just wanted to be best friendo with Jaune, all you had to do was pretend you like nerd stuff. Trust me, it works."

Cardin didn't respond as he merely gave her look, one that implied he did not care about what she said at all.

"By the way, I still want to break your legs, but maybe just not as much," Nora proclaimed as she nodded sagely.

Ren, still apprehensive of such a claim, decided to sneak a glance at Pyrrha, who already foresaw this as she stared back at him.

She nodded softly, acknowledging his concerns but silently assured him that it would all be fine.

Ren focused back on Cardin, who seemed to be irritated at the current situation, yet did not violently react to it either.

Something had changed within Cardin, though that didn't mean Ren had forgiven him for how he had treated Jaune in the past.

Still, he would follow suit with the others and allow the former bully to prove himself for the next two weeks.

"Now that this is all sorted out, how about we leave Cardin to settle in first," Pyrrha chimed in, the two nodding as they stepped aside to allow him in.

As he stepped forward, the former bully could feel the apprehensive gazes upon him, and ignored it all the same.

Truthfully, he didn't really care much about their opinions, he just wanted to prove to himself that he was a stronger person, better than he was when compared to his first arrival here.

Stopping, he turned towards Pyrrha, his voice at a hushed tone as he whispered, "Hey Nikos...I still don't like you, but..."

Pyrrha shook her head, understanding his intention, "It's no problem. Rather, you should worry how you're going to guide us, Cardin."

Letting out a grunt, he spoke no more than he needed to as he begun unpacking his belongings, the atmosphere tense despite not being a combat situation.

"What a pigsty, though I gotta be honest here, I was expecting this," one Coco Adel commented as she let out a cocky smirk, having busted through the door of team CRDL.

Seeing the unknown girl at their door, Russel let out a snarl at the sudden intrusion.

"Who do you think you are!?"

Coco lifted her left brow in confusion, as if the question itself was so poorly worded she couldn't help but laughed inwardly. Of course, she didn't let any of this showed.

Because she needed to make an impression, and a show of dominance was certainly the one she was going for in the case of this particular team.

"Well, according to the new experimented program initiated by Professor Ozpin, also known as Leader Exchange and Designation, I am your current leader for the next two weeks, though I'm sure you already heard about that from your previous one."

The three vaguely remembered a comment of that type from Cardin, but they quickly dismissed it as they had ignored him almost entirely, not that they cared too much. What Cardin did was not their business, at least, not anymore.

And that was how it had been for the past few months. Ever since the end of the first semester, they had noticed a visible change in the guy, almost to the point that they could no longer recognized him.

He had become serious, much too serious for their liking. In fact, he had even lectured them once to get into a training schedule of some sort, likely to boost team performance at Beacon.

As much as he tried, the three had agreed amongst themselves that they no longer would follow their leader in anything, be it in the academy or even in the field. At most, they would only put up with his orders in order to put an appearance to others. Otherwise, Cardin Winchester was only their leader in name, and nothing else.

If anything, nothing had changed for them, whether Cardin was here or not had no effect on their lives here.

From a single glance alone, she had already decided that team CRDL was one gigantic piece of mess. Both figuratively and literally.

When she said their room was a pigsty, she meant it. Pieces of food bits scattered across the floor, clothing hanging around the room like no one's business, and worse of all, the smell.

It was unbearable, no two ways about it.

"First things first, clean this place up. Seriously, how do you boys live like this?"

She had lived in worse conditions before thanks to her training, that didn't mean that she didn't want to live comfortably when given the choice.

Right now, she certainly had more than options to do such a thing.

"And what makes you think you can order us around like that?" Russel yelled out angrily, taking a step forward as he put up his right fist, trying to intimidate her.

Coco gave him an unimpressed look, and before the punk even realized what was going on, she dug her heel deeply into his guts, sending him flying as he crashed onto the wall, the entire room shaking from the sudden impact.

"Listen here, because I'm going to say this one. I'm the one in charge now, and there's one saying that is absolute under my books, 'what's yours is mine, and what's mine is also mine'. This means that whenever one of you screws up, it means I have to correct you guys since you're my responsibility now. It doesn't apply to me since my actions are of my own, understood?"

"...and what makes you think you can abuse your position like this?" Dove voiced out, trying to turn the conversation in their favour instead.

Coco inwardly smirked, surprised that one of them was smart enough to realize that under normal conditions, a leader wouldn't be able to utilise their authority like this.

Too bad for them, she had more than express permission to justify her actions, courtesy of one Professor Goodwitch herself.

Contrary to what team CRDL believed, the staff at Beacon knew more than they let on regarding the boys' behaviours, and while they had tried their best to reprimand them, it just never stuck through.

Sure, they could simply expel and disband team CRDL, but it was because of a simple change that made them rethink their decision.

The leader himself, Cardin, which surprised her when she questioned Professor Goodwitch.

Not that it meant he would get away from her wrath for what he had done towards Velvet, but that could wait. Right now, she needed to focus her efforts on these three idiots in front of her.

"Oh, don't worry. Due to school rules, I can't harm you guys intentionally, but that only applies if the head honchos don't know what I'm doing. So basically, I'm given the job as disciplinarian, specifically for you three, and trust me, by the end of this week, you guys are never going to ever pull a stunt like what you did to Velvet, or to any of the other students."

Dove and Sky visibly gulped at the proclamation she had just given, and inwardly flinched from the domineering attitude she was showing. Still, they quickly dismissed it, believing it was merely a front, and they were still the stronger ones, with two against one as they decided to retaliate on what she had done to them.

The two now rushing towards her, Coco simply held a dangerous glint in her eyes, smiling at what was about to come.

"So, how about we start with how rude your greetings are."

Seconds later, sounds of pain could be heard throughout the hall of the dorm, before quieting down as silence simply followed along with it.

Ruby took a deep breath as she now stood before the room belonging to team CFVY, her nervousness showing as she simply stood there, not knowing what to do.

She waited while thinking of an idea on how to approach this. It can't be too plain of an introduction, but it can't be too awesome either. She had to approach this like a professional, yeah...that was definitely it.

Distracted by her own thoughts, Ruby did not notice the sounds of footsteps approaching, the door unlocked itself as it revealed Velvet at the other side of the door, smiling cheerfully at her junior.

"Hello Ruby, I suppose you're here for the leader program? Don't worry, Coco already filled us in on the details."

Velvet turned around, assuming Ruby would follow suit, only to notice that there were no motions of movement coming from the young leader.

She returned her focused onto Ruby, realizing that from the young girl's expression, and knew what to do.

In a way, Ruby too had problems with confidence, what with being the youngest one among her peers.

She could relate to that, even if the circumstances to them were different. However, Velvet knew Ruby was strong, and it was not because of her prowess in battle either. Still, it wouldn't hurt if she gave the junior a bit of a push.

She grabbed Ruby by the wrist, lightly pulling her into the room while Ruby did not quite registered on what was going on.

She blinked profusely upon seeing the other two members in the room, with Fox lying comfortably on the hammock, while Yatsuhashi was trimming...a bonsai tree, if she was guessing right.

There was another thing that caught Ruby's attention, and it was the stacks of paper scattered about on a small table, especially the one particular piece with letters she could not recognize.

"Welcome, Ruby. Though our room may not be to your liking, I hope you enjoy your stay here nonetheless," Yatsuhashi said in a calm manner.

Oh right, she had to make a response. Time to get her brain working...right about—

"Uh, yeah. Don't worry about it. I can even live at an underground bunker if I have to, not that this place is anything like that because I think thisplaceeissupercoolsinceit'ssodifferent—"she stopped, realizing her thoughts were all over the place.

Words. Why were words failing her right now?

She was Ruby Rose, someone who had fought tooth and nails with monsters of the night, and quite recently, survived her encounter with the Lycoan, the very creature that took many efforts of various parties to even take down.

Yet, here she was struggling to articulate her own thoughts.

Sometimes she wondered why was she so socially awkward? Urrggh, how was she able to make friends during her time at Signal again?

"...Perhaps you need something to calm you down. Please wait a moment, I'll prepare you some tea," Yatsuhashi stated as he stood up, before moving carefully around the room, going to a corner of the room.

Okay, that wasn't the worst...she believed? She just had to try harder. Onwards, to the next member of her new team!

Ruby quickly shifted her feet closer to Fox, who had not move even once since she entered, "Umm, hey there Fox? Seems like we're going to get to know each other for the next two weeks huh?"

He did not voice out a word, simply nodding to her statement, acknowledging them before he returned to what he was doing before; sleeping.

"Don't worry about Fox, he just need time before you're able to communicate with him. I'm sure before these two weeks end, you'll be able to hear his thoughts!" Velvet reassured, trying to keep Ruby's spirit up.

"Wow, you mean you guys can read his mind? Ooh, that sounds so cool, I wished I could do that with my team!"

Instead of discouraging her, Velvet chose not to deny anything, "Well, I hope you like your stay here at team CFVY."

Velvet watched on as Ruby went back into her bashful self, fidgeting around, clearly still a bit uncomfortable around them.

It was understandable, given their limited interactions. Rather, it was natural she would be nervous.

Velvet dwelt on the matter, thinking of a way to help Ruby loosen up around them. Perhaps...

"Oh! I can't believe I forgot this, but how are you feeling after the attack at the city? Especially your left shoulder..."

"Nothing a little aura can't fix! Though I gotta say I'm still pretty sore, and pretty tired. I...also don't think I'm going to see the city the same way anymore," Ruby said as she looked away, rubbing her left shoulder.

After what occurred, the bunny faunus could not blame her. While she herself had not bear witness to the unfortunate scene, she could still remember her first witness of death in the first mission.

It was quick. It was unexpected. It happened.

Those were not the most pleasant of nights following such an event. It took a lot of support not just from her team, but from the professors and her family as well…

"It's fine. It's okay to feel that way. I can't really say that it'll get any better, but if you want someone to talk to about it, then I wouldn't mind listening. I know I haven't been the most reliable senior, still... you can turn to me whenever you feel like it."

In her eyes, Ruby was strong. Much stronger compared to her during their first mission. Even if she was, she was still only fifteen, and also had a lot to prove, it would put a lot of burden on anyone, let alone her.

"Not the—!? Velvet, you are reliable, and was so awesome in that fight! I mean, how did you move like that? Even with my semblance, I doubt I could have lasted that long against that Grimm."

Realizing she was a bit too personal with the bunny faunus, Ruby took a step back as she let out another forced laugh, her eyes trained on the floor.

"Uhh, I guess it's probably awkward to say it now, but I look up to you a lot!"

"Thank you, but are you...sure?" Velvet almost couldn't believe it.

Her, of all people? She felt undeserving of such a praise, it wasn't as what she had done during the battle couldn't be replicated. Anyone could have done it, right?

Ruby nodded vigorously, as she begun her explanation, "Yeah! And it's not just because of the way you fight either. I really do admire how much you look out for us, even when you don't have to."

"It's not as selfless as you think. After all, I did make a promise with Goku," she reasoned, though her voice didn't quite convince Ruby, who shook her head.

"Maybe. But you wouldn't have agreed if you didn't want to, right? Plus, I doubt you would be asking how I'm doing if you didn't care so...thanks!" Ruby responded cheekily,

There it was, the admiring glint in Ruby's eyes, but she couldn't meet the young leader in the eyes, for she felt that she was not yet there to return those feelings back at her.

She was still the same old Velvet. While she realized her problems regarding her self-confidence, she had yet come any closer to overcoming it.

Still, she would try. Not just for herself, but for everyone that had supported her thus far, her parents, the professors, her team, her newfound friends and...

Goku.

She blinked, confused on why she had thought of him specifically. Maybe it was because she had met him just this morning for training?

She shook those thoughts away, "You're welcome Ruby. I know you would do the same for me as well."

"You betcha I would! So, I hope I can get along with you guys for these next two—no, not just that, for however long I will know you all."

It was a bright smile, one that suited Ruby perfectly.

Just then Yatsuhashi stood between them, his left hand holding a cup of warm team.

"I am sure we will. Come, enjoy some tea to sooth your nerves," Yatsuhashi beckoned as he handed the cup to her.

"Hey, thanks."

She blew on her tea in an attempt to cool it down. After several attempts, she finally placed her lips on the rim of the cup, drinking the contents slowly.

Ruby blinked, noticing something quite particular about it before relenting, now facing Yatsuhashi as a single question popped into her head.

"...So is this supposed to taste like plain water?"

Upon hearing such a response, Yatsuhashi took another glance at the tea he brewed, baffled by how Ruby believed its taste was akin to drinking water, while Velvet laughed softly at the whole situation. Unnoticed by the others, Fox let out a small grin, his eyes closed still as he continued to enjoy the wind blowing his way.

And so it went, the days going by as each team adjusted to their new leader, and vice versa as well with each leader attempting to bond with their teammates in their own way.

"You see, Ruby. What you lack in your fighting style is a stable foundation, as I think your stance leaves a lot of holes for an opponent to exploit," Yatsuhashi explained, sheathing his sword after just tripping Ruby in mock combat.

She, in turn pouted, not from being bested or anything, but because of how easily his senior was able to do so. One moment they fought, and another moment later, she found her butt planted firmly onto the cold floor.

"No offense or anything Yatsuhashi, but I don't think I'll ever need it. Crescent Rose and me are way better at speeding through things in a fight and attacking them as quick as possible. In fact, it's what I'm good at back in team RWBY."

Yes, though Blake boasted great agility in combat as well, but the cat faunus was more of an opportunity seeker during fights. In reality, she was the one who usually got the first hit in actual fights. Some would probably call it reckless considering she was the leader, but having fought several battles whether it be Grimm or Professor Goodwitch's classes, she was sure she had made the right choice.

"Indeed, but learning a defensive stance wouldn't hurt either. After all, losing our weapons in the midst of a fight of a huge detriment to us, even more so considering our weapons are made specialized to our needs."

However, she did admit Yatsuhashi had a point. Remembering the recent battles she had been in...yeah, it probably wouldn't hurt to learn a way to reduce the chance of losing Crescent Rose in a fight.

"...Okay, I might have dropped my baby more times than I like to admit. So, got any tips on how to avoid that?"

Yatsuhashi smiled, glad that their new leader was not arrogant despite her recent achievement.

"Yes, first place your foot here..." Yatsuhashi begun explaining in detail as Ruby nodded along, seriously listening to his advice.

Velvet sneak a glance to her left side, smiling as she noticed the expression on the young leader. Right after that, her focus redoubled as she noticed Fox jumping towards her, his blades at the ready.

An instant before they struck, she immediately sidestepped to her right, completing evading his attack.

Retracting his arms, Fox stood there silently, before turning towards Velvet, not saying a word.

Outwardly, at least. Unbeknownst to almost everyone outside of their team, he was actually the most talkative in the group.

"That was a bit different than how you usually moved, have you been taking extra classes?" Fox projected cheekily, his thoughts completely opened to her.

If one were to battle Son Goku on a regular basis, then they certainly needed to constantly improve in order to keep up with him, especially so considering how adaptive the monkey faunus was. Even if the improvement was minuscule, she too could feel the effects of their training, something she was more than grateful for. Her recent battle played no small part in her growth either.

Right, it had been some time since she trained with her team, hadn't it?

"Kkhh!"

One Dove Bronzewig uttered out, clenching his teeth tightly as he took another step forward, beads of sweat dropping from his cheeks.

"What's that? Am I hearing one of you complaining about training, of all things?"

"Training, you're basically trying to kill us!" Russel argued back, using every burst of his energy to even speak.

By killing, they were referring to the insane training method she had whipped out for them.

It was a simple training of endurance, having them run ten rounds around the school. Usually, this type of exercise would be no problem for any student at Beacon, even if they were the least athletic among them.

However, she had added a little something to make it a bit challenging...

A human sized boulder.

Yup, just that. And by strapping ropes to the three boys, they were now forced to run around, dragging the thing with them.

They were lucky the thing was attached to all three of them, instead of each one of them pulling it individually. If she hadn't, she was sure they would be here all day.

"Oh please, you guys are training to be huntsmen. Heck, I've seen Velvet pull this off once, and you're telling me you gents can't achieve the same thing?"

Okay, she was exaggerating a bit, since she had never seen Velvet done such a thing, but she doubted anything else she said would motivate them.

Still, the three members of team CRDL looked pitiful to say the least, an exhausted expression adorned on them as they said nothing, feeling that it would be better to preserve their strength.

She sighed, realizing this was merely the third day of this whole leader exchange thing and they still had a lot more to go through.

While she had succeeded in making them follow her orders, she still couldn't really call them a decent team yet, heck, not even an average one.

If they were merely terrible in battle, she wouldn't mind so much...but their attitude in anything was what really irritated her to no end.

It might be contradictory to say considering a lot of people viewed her as a party girl, but she's really not. Coco was like any other teenager her age, she liked the little things in life, she also like the big things in life, specifically she loved fashion.

She enjoyed looking good while doing...anything really. This did not mean she took her time here at Beacon as a joke, knowing what she came here to do, what everyone came here to do.

And then there was team CRDL, treating as if every day here was a joke. Like nothing here should be taken serious, whether it be academics or even training.

It was an insult to every person who had strived to even enter Beacon Academy.

Truthfully, what they're doing right now wasn't so much physical training, but more to the side of attitude adjustment, which these three sorely needed.

"Ah ah ah, what should you call me again?"

"...Leader," The three spoke simultaneously, though it was almost at the levels of a whisper.

"Good. Now suck it up, and get a move on...or maybe you want bullets ramming right through your sorry behinds," she warned them, a dangerous look in her eyes.

Realizing the potential danger they were in, they redoubled their efforts as they got a move on, shifting the position of the rock ever so slightly.

Onlookers stared at the scene with mild interest, before going back to whatever they were doing before.

Coco couldn't help but roll her eyes at the scene, but continued to maintain her cool as she continued observing her new team, following them from behind.

She could honestly say she didn't care whether or not they stuck it out, it just meant that they were never supposed to be huntsmen.

It was as simple as that.

Cardin could feel himself twitching, his body almost to the point of exploding rage as he continued to hold back his anger.

"Poke."

And this was the primary reason why. For some odd reason, Nora had deemed it necessary to disturb him out of sheer boredom during one of the classes today, or in this case, Oobleck's class.

Granted, he was bored too, but he refused to admit it, nor would he play along with her.

"Come on, Cardiac. You got to respond or this wouldn't be fun otherwise,"

"Why you—"

Noting a disturbance, Oobleck decided to deal it in the best way he could, "Ah yes, Mr. Winchester. Would you like to explain to the class in which campaign did the Great War ended at?"

Damn it. He was no good with history before, and he was still struggling now. The numbers of campaigns that were conducted during that war were numerous to say the least. The only thing he could recalled was that every one of them were recorded with names in relation to the four kingdoms.

If he just gave a general name, then Oobleck would probably explained it more in detail and consecutively continue the lesson along. Thus, the chances of him getting it right were one out of four.

As hard as he tried to think up of something, the answer eluded his grasp.

Screw it, why was he thinking so hard on this? At worst, all Oobleck would do was lecture him.

"It's..."

There was a tug on his wrist, his eyes turning as he noticed Nora holding a small piece of paper.

It was read as 'oucaV', which obviously meant the true answer was Vacuo. Despite the letter being upside down, he could tell from the crude handwriting that it was the energetic girl who wrote that answer.

But then, he took another look, noticing Ren was staring blankly right at him, as if motioning him to get on with it.

"Oucav campaign," he stated flatly.

Yes, he could have simply given the correct name. Upon further thinking however, he also realized that this could be a way for Nora to stop bothering him, no matter how temporarily since he could not take any of her antics any longer.

So, he went for it.

"From your answer alone, it seems you were listening. However, that does not mean you get to toil around it either. I expect a written essay to be given by the end of the week. Now then, moving along—"

Thus, Oobleck's lesson continued along, moving at full speed, to the point that most of the students here were still struggling to comprehend his lessons despite this not being the first lesson.

Oh well, it was the same old story for him.

"Pfft."

The former bully turned to face the source of the laughter, having known who it was. There Nora sat, a smug attitude radiating from Nora, her face immensely satisfied by his performance just now.

"That was terrible Cardiac, you should have prepared a comeback or your joke won't work, but I give it a grade O for attempting it."

"Nora, you need to learn when to admit you've done an actual mistake," Ren added in, his comment flustering Nora as she quickly tried to refute his statement.

"Don't listen to Ren! He doesn't know what he's talking about, of course I did it on purpose, because there's no way I would ever slip-up like that! Mistakes, what are those? Right Ren~?"

The silent teen merely gave her a blank stare, as if this was a regular occurrence in their everyday lives.

So, that meant the hyperactive girl was actually trying to help him just now. It was only because of an accident did she flip the paper upside down.

He was no longer annoyed with her, but he kept it to himself as he let out a huff, leaving the two to continue their restrained back and forth.

Phyrrha however, merely smiled at the scene beside her, a soft smile accompanying her gaze.

She initially had second thoughts on giving Cardin a chance, but was glad that her judgement wasn't wrong.

So far, it really did seem like he was trying to actually connect with them, though problems still remained on that front. She knew he was at best, putting up with them, with him still being distant and impulsive at times, but that was expected.

The girl wondered, if circumstances allowed it, was it possible to actually befriend the former bully?

There were a lot of problems with that from both sides, but it would be a soothing thought if it did happened. After all, if possible, Pyrrha didn't want to make more enemies at Beacon, as she would just like to live here peacefully with her team, especially with Jaune.

Strangely enough, she could actually see Jaune and Cardin being friends now, genuine ones at that.

Jaune could feel himself struggling to move, not because he was physically stopped by anything, but more so of the fact he was comprehending the fact he was living alongside three girls his age in the same room. By himself.

It was already the fifth day, yet he still found himself having difficulty in adjusting to his new environment.

Sure, they were friends but it was mostly by association. It was Ruby who was the one that tied them all together. If they were left to their own devices, he doubted any of them would actually associate with him, maybe barring Yang out of the three of them.

He could still remember the yelling that ensued from the misunderstanding at his second day here, and it was about a shaver of all things.

The worst part was, it was Weiss that had voiced out her problems as she argued that he shouldn't have placed it in the bathroom cabinet as she too was using it, and in opening it, naturally would find his own belongings in it too.

He, on the other hand reasoned that it was more than appropriate, seeing as the item in question was separated into four sections, obviously to accommodate four people in a living space.

And that was how Weiss was now giving him the cold shoulder, not even dignifying him a single response, no matter what he tried.

Blake, on the other hand...

Well, let's just say trying to bond with her was difficult in its own way and left it at that.

To him, the most surprising of all was Yang. For some odd reason, she was acting a bit despondent if he could word it correctly. While she certainly didn't ignore him, he could also see the signs where her responses were restrained in a way, unlike the interactions he had with her before. Still, she was the most encouraging one out of all of them.

All in all, not to a great start.

Still, he could see some way of salvaging the situation. It wasn't as if it was completely hopeless.

Yeah, he definitely could! He was Jaune Arc, the guy who survived living with seven sisters in the same household and something like this was definitely not going to stop him.

That being said, he needed a way to connect with them, maybe hobbies or something.

Blake, who had been sitting comfortably on her bed for the past hour, was unaware of his internal dilemma, having been enjoying her book too much to notice.

Rather, she quite enjoyed the silence, seeing that Yang and Weiss had gone out for some grocery shopping. it was also a good opportunity to do something she been putting off for the past week.

Placing the book to the side, she called out to the blond leader, "Hey Jaune, you mind throwing that ribbon roll to me?"

He blinked, his eyes trailing to where she pointed as he noticed said item at the edge of his bed.

Grabbing it, Jaune tossed the roll towards Blake as she caught it with upmost ease. Without missing a beat, the cat faunus unroll it as she begun to wrap it around the hilt of her katana.

Normally, her weapon would be in her locker for safety reasons, but she had brought it back with her to their dorm for this specific reason, to replace the one that she had lost in their last battle.

Having lost his train of thought, Jaune proceeded to observe what she was doing instead, his eyes carefully following the movement of her hands.

Noticing, Blake momentarily stopped what she was doing as she addressed him, "Yes?"

"You're kinda doing it wrong Blake," he pointed out.

"No I'm not, this is how it's done. And I've been doing it like this for years now."

Jaune put up both his arms defensively, "Okay, maybe not wrong per say but I do know a knot that's tighter than the one you're trying to do."

She raised her brow, an indication that she did not believe him at all. Jaune couldn't blame her, since she had never seen him doing such a thing.

Well, when one lives with seven sisters under the same roof, one tends to pick up a few things here and then.

In this case, he knew how to tie a piece of fabric around something. There was a surprising number of ways in tying something, which he still remembered by muscle memory alone.

"Alright, teach me then."

He suddenly found himself grabbing the edge of the bed, gripping the fabric tightly, almost not believing what he was hearing.

"Uh, you're sure?"

Blake shot him a questioning look, "So you want to or?"

"Sure. Just give me a—AH!" he screamed, losing his hold as he fell onto the ground, a giant thump accompanying it.

She looked downwards, and saw Jaune's face hitting firmly on the ground, his body positioned in uncomfortable ways. "You alright?"

"Yeah, just give me a second," he replied back, while Zwei licked his cheeks as he tried to get back up.

She merely gave him a bemused smirk in return.

Yang Xiao Long let out a quiet hum as she felt the wave of heat coming from the pan, despite the power having been turned off for several minutes now. Grabbing a plate with her left hand, she picked up the scrambled chili-eggs from the pan as she carefully placed them on it as she turned around, looking for a place to sit.

Currently, she was in the cafeteria kitchen, joined by a certain friend of hers.

Goku let out a satisfied burp as he finished another dish, with empty plates stacked upon one another positioned right beside him.

She took a seat right beside him as she placed the last dish she whipped up for the afternoon, Goku immediately thanked her once again before chowing down with vigour.

"Sho, hawws leeving wiv Jaunne bheen going?" he asked, chewing his food.

If she was anyone else, they would had been disgusted with his table manners, but she wasn't, at least not after the many times she had done this bit.

Rather, it was a routine at this point.

"Goku, swallow first."

He did, and proceeded to pound his chest loudly from the immediate action. Rolling her eyes, she handed him a bottle of water, knowing that this would happen.

Upon gulping it down, the monkey faunus felt a lot better as he let out a thankful smile, "Whew, thanks for that Yang."

"No prob. As for your question, well...let's just say Jaune's trying his best I guess."

"How come?"

"Let's see, Weiss is pissed at him, like even more than usual. For Blake, don't know what happened there but...it seems like they're getting along now?"

She could recall the scene yesterday, where Jaune was discussing something with her partner, who was holding Gambol Shroud with interest.

"Eh! Here I thought you guys would be getting along. I mean, Jaune's our friend right?"

She paused, trying to form her words carefully, "Not everything's that easy Goku. Knowing about and living with someone are completely different. You can fine with someone else since they're both friends, but their tune changed the moment they lived together. At that point, you're kinda forced to see the worst parts of your friends, and well sometimes they just can't accept that aspect."

"Oh...but I think it should be easy though since they're friends already. Sure, you mighta seen someone's bad points, but who doesn't have any of those? I mean, I still like you a lot, and I've seen you done that thing with your muscles—"

She quickly interrupted, knowing what he was implying, "Okay, stop there. Seriously, this is the second time you have dirt on me, and here I thought you were just doing your own thing most of the time when we were back at Patch."

"Ehehe, you just never really noticed, that's all."

Apparently, she really didn't.

Now that he thought about it, he might as well ask about something else he was curious of.

"Oh yeah, how's Ruby doing then?"

Thinking of his question for a bit, Yang let out a knowing smile as she gave him a somewhat vague answer.

"You'll have to ask her that yourself then since it's not very far away after all."

After all, it wasn't as if he didn't want to see her younger sibling.

Goku nodded in understanding, and stood up from his seat as he started to wave goodbye.

"Welp, guess I'll go see her right after I go visit Ozpin. He said he had something to ask from me again."

"What for?"

He tilted his head, thinking up of an answer, "Dunno, but lately I feel whenever Ozpin wants something from me I always have to go to his office first."

"Get a Scroll then, because this is just going to repeat every time Professor Ozpin calls for you," she argued, still wondering how he was able to live so comfortably without the ease of technology.

Then again, this was Goku she was thinking about.

"Nah, I still got no clue on how those things work so that's not going to work."

Letting out a sigh, she waved him goodbye as well. Just as Goku was about to leave the room, he turned, facing her once more.

"Hey Yang, are you alright?"

She blinked, not expecting the inquiry coming from him, "I'm fine, don't know what you're talking about."

Goku placed his right index finger as he bent over, giving her an incredulous look, "Hmmm...I'm not very good at knowing when someone's lying," his eyes now trained on her as he continued on, "But I do know you, so I can tell you're holding back something."

Yang flinched from his assessment, for she knew he was right. It was impressive in a way, and she doubted anyone else would pursue this matter if she simply waved it off as having an off day or something.

Not Goku though, evident by what was transpiring right now.

"Didn't we just promise to each other ta not keep secrets anymore?"

There was a momentary silence between them, but was broken almost immediately as she "Y-Yeah, you're right. It's just I'm… still thinking of my mom. I just don't know what I'm supposed to do anymore. I know where she is, at least a general area, but the way she worded it, it was like spitting on my face that I'm not strong enough."

It just didn't make sense, and it frustrated her to no end. As much as she wanted to just run out and find her biological mother right this moment, she knew it wasn't as simple as that.

There were multitude of hurdles she needed to jump across, ranging from leaving her teammates to her current lack of strength.

This was why she was still thinking of how to tackle these problems in the first place.

"Hmmm, you want to train with me and Velvet then?" he asked casually.

...

There it was, the one thing she actually had an answer for.

"Thanks but no can do," she stated firmly.

"Why not?"

He was simply befuddled, not that Yang could blame him.

Up until now, she had never went to him for training, eventhough she knew Goku would be more than excited at the prospect.

It was only—

"Because we're rivals. I know that you're stronger, still are from what I can tell. That doesn't mean I'm going to ever stop training, until… we get our rematch one day. So until then, I don't want to rely on you for my training. Heck, working together and having fun, I've got no problems with that. Maybe one day I'll turn around but for now, I'm sticking to it," she emphasized strongly at the last part.

This was something she had decided ever since her fight with him, and it was also the one thing she refused to change, no matter what.

Her expression softened, "So don't worry about me, I'll figure something out...I just need more time to figure things out but if I do got some other problems, I'll definitely let you know okay?"

He stared at her, looking at her seriously as he tried to discern her true thoughts. After several seconds of observation, he was satisfied as he nodded in understanding before heading to his next destination.

"And Goku? Thanks for worrying. Again."

Her best friend simply let out a toothy grin as he walked out, leaving her to her own devices...

Until she realized that there were still mountains of dirty plates on the table, and let out a dissatisfied roar.

"GOKKUUUUUU!"

"Oz, are you being serious at the moment?" one James Ironwood uttered, standing right before the headmaster of Beacon Academy.

Ozpin, however took it in stride, "I always am James."

"Right, then tell me why did you initiate a redundant program such as LEAD in such a time of crisis?"

"Redundant? I wouldn't think so. If this proceeds as how I predicted, then I'm planning on implementing it on the curricular from now on. Speaking of, how has it been proceeding so far Glynda?"

They both turned to the only person who had not spoken since Ironwood walked in.

Her expression unchanged, Glynda merely stated her observations for the past week, "From what I've seen, each designated leaders are still struggling with the change in team. What can't be denied is that dynamics of each team have shifted significantly, whether that is good or not remains to be seen."

"Interesting, thank you for that Glynda. I certainly look forward to next week, don't you James?"

Steeling his gaze, Ironwood slammed on the desk hard, "Cut the theatrics Oz and let's get to the heart of the matter...Merlot."

Ozpin went silent at the mention of his name, letting out a tired sigh as he finally responded.

"Indeed, and it's a name all of us have not heard of in a long while."

"That's because we thought he passed away during the fall of Mount Glenn, and thanks to Qrow..."

"We know he is very much alive. I agree with James, what exactly are we going to do about this?" Glynda added in.

"Oz, please do not consider we simply wait and react, because not only do we face danger from the inside, but now a supposed madman is returning from the grave, and whatever he is up to, it can't possibly be of any good. All of us know of how Merlot operates, and I doubt he's changed his way with this suspicious timing."

"...You're right. While I would rather observe his next move, and if possible have a talk with him. Right now, we need to consider the current situation. As such, a proactive approach would be our best course of action."

James was elated at what he was hearing, "Good. Now all we have to do is mobilize, then the Atlas military—"

"—will not be necessary. With all due respects James, I have my own plans on how to investigate the matter. Of course, your input would be much appreciated."

It was a compromise, one that Ironwood honestly was hesitant to agree with, but knew that Ozpin would not budge any further. So, with a great bit of reluctance on his part, the general relented as he voiced his approval.

"Good, we'll discuss this in more detail at a later time, seeing as our guest has just arrived."

As if on cue, knocks of glass could be heard throughout the entire room, causing both Ironwood and Goodwitch to stare at the window, noticing young Goku somehow clinging to the window of the headmaster's office.

Ozpin however, let out a faint smile as he simply pressed on the switch, turning on the mechanism to the window.

"I'm going to guard someone for a while?"

After being reprimanded by Glynda for his actions, Goku now found himself standing in the middle of the room, with varying degree of scrutiny from the three adults.

"A good change of pace don't you agree? From a security guard to a bodyguard," Ozpin commented rather offhandedly.

"Okay...but why?"

He didn't exactly mind the sudden job change, that however, didn't mean he wasn't curious of the reasoning behind it.

Ozpin simply gestured to Ironwood, who proceeded to explain instead.

"It is because the person you'll be in charge is important to both I and a brilliant friend of mine. Currently, she is lacking in terms of protection due to current complications. Hopefully, those problems will be fixed but until then, I would like to entrust you for her safety."

He didn't even hesitate in his answer, "Sure, leave it to me!" he boasted confidently.

He then looked around for the person he was supposed to protect, only to realize there was no such person.

Goku blinked, scratching the back of his head as he asked the three adults in the room, "Where is she anyway?"

The door suddenly opened itself, revealing the figure of a young girl. All Goku could focus however, was the familiar pimple on her face and the pink bow on the back of her head.

"I apologize for being late. It seems that in my haste coming here, I have instead arrived later than the designated time. Is this what people call as being tardy?" she questioned, more to herself than the others in the room.

"Penny?"

She squinted her eyes, registering the face of people who had called out to her and shortly gave him a bright smile, "Salutations, Goku!"

From the short interaction, Ozpin deduced the two already knew one another, but nonetheless introduced her to him, "Her name is Penny Polendina, and she is the person you'll be protecting for the time being."

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If you noticed, the formatting for this chapter is a bit different. So, if possible please tell me if you have any problems with it, because honestly, it's a bit more comfortable to write this way compared to before but I'm still trying to find something that works.

So, yeah…as you guys know, this COVID-19 situation is quite serious right now, though I should have stated that on the last chapter. Unfortunately, I don't think it's going to end any time. Even so, please stay safe inside guys, and hopefully we can all endure through this difficult time.