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Writing credits go to Uzumaki Ricky, Monsterhuntergod, Sharad the hedgehog, and Traines on here, as well as Kima Whitehawk Jordan on Facebook. And a very special shoutout and thank you to 501awezome and Mega Ghost on Fanfiction.Net for all your support.
Tiger King and Dragon Queen
Volume 1 Chapter 25: Facing Off For A Badge
The halls of Beacon were filled with the sounds of marching feet. Not like a military march, but a far more disorganized and chaotic affair. The new teams were using their time before breakfast. Team JNPR, opting for the only original idea of not doing anything at all. Aside from posters put up impeccably by the manic power of a pancake bribed Nora. Who was happily eating as Ren served her some more from a small plug-in griddle.
"How did I do this time, Nora?" Ren asked, pouring more batter for pancakes on the griddle.
"Dey're dericious, Ren!" The hyperactive hammer wielder replied with her mouth full.
"What did I tell you about talking with your mouth full?" Ren asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Sowwy." Nora replied before swallowing.
"I wonder how the other teams are doing?" Pyrrha asked.
"Sounds like they brought a bull in from what I can tell from Team RWBY and SHDW are doing." Jaune groaned out.
Soon the head of Sylver popped in through the doorway. "Hey, Blonde Boy, you got a hammer I can borrow?" The wolf prince asked.
"My name is Jaune. And sure. Hang on." Jaune replied, looking through his bags.
"And I thought Azura was boring, you guys didn't do a damn thing." Sylver said after a quick look at the room.
As Sylver said that, Azura and Ember passed by the room. The five overheard their conversation as they passed. Sylver, noticing Azura, smiled and looked at him.
"Hey, Azu. Can I borrow your blowtorch?" Sylver asked hopefully.
"And light the entire floor on fire? I think not." Azura said. "Besides, you interrupted me as usual."
"Aw come on. I'll let you borrow my industrial wood glue." Sylver offered.
"Fine. It is in my toolbox, in the upper left corner. But do not use it to cook avocados again!" Azura groaned.
"You're the best boring Sōtora ever, but I make no promises!" Sylver yelled and bolted off, grabbing the blowtorch he asked for from Jaune before leaving.
"Is he always like that?" Ember asked as she watched him run off.
"More or less." Azura replied, "By the way, can you make breakfast Miss Ember? I have some work to do."
"Um… sure…" Ember said, more caught off guard than anything.
Azura gave a gentlemanly smile. "Thank you." He replied as he began dialing a number on his Scroll.
"Boss, who're you calling?" Zhan asked, passing by on his way to take a shower.
"Your silence would be greatly appreciated." Azura said in annoyance.
Zhan simply shrugged. "Fair enough." he answered, whistling a tune as he headed to the washroom near the locker room.
Azura then pressed the call on his Scroll. "Hello? Tony's Lumber? Hello Tony! About that favor you owe me…" He said, his voice trailing off as he walked away.
Meanwhile, after the wolf-blitzed moron had acquired all his supplies, most through less than dubious means, and arrived back. His team was hard at work making his grand master plan… made after he had only three hours of sleep, a slap to the face, and bashing his head against a corner post. However, the sad sack Wysteria was already attempting to throw a monkey wrench into his creative masterpiece.
"Sylver, there is zero way that this rope is going to hold up the beds." Wysteria said with concern, lightly flicking a rope holding up a metal bed frame.
"Don't worry so much, Flower Girl. This rope is industrial strength." He replied, waving off her concerns as he pulled out Azura's blowtorch.
"Ah good boss, you got the blowtorch." Hunter said.
"Oh, give me a sec, I'm using it first. Extremely important step." Sylver said, as he pulled out an avocado.
With the blowtorch, he began to cook it. This made the other three sigh at the antics of their team leader. However, soon another factor came in to cause havoc on the plan. Ruby casually walked in behind Sylver with a knowing smile.
"Hey, Sylver. Whatcha doin'?" Ruby asked innocently.
"Working on setting up bunk beds." Sylver replied, slowly cooking his avocado.
"You know that's funny, cuz I also got that same idea. Mind if I use some rope?" Ruby asked with a sweet tone.
"Sure. Just wait until I'm done." Sylver told her, starting his welding.
"Thanks, Sylver." Ruby said and swiped a large roll of rope and skipped her way merrily out.
Sylver soon finished cooking the avocado, its skin black, and turned around. "Damn it, how does she always do that?" Sylver asked himself, realizing he's been duped.
Nora popped her head in. "Hey! You guys up for showing off the rooms in a contest after?" She asked.
"Hell yes, we are! We're gonna smoke your asses!" Sylver jumped to his feet in excitement.
"Oh no…" Dahlia sighed.
Some half an hour later, the teams of RWBY, JNPR, AZRE and SHDW had gathered in the hall. However, with the notable absence of Azura and Ember. Despite that, the teams breezed past JNPR and soon came to the half-constructed mess that was SHDW.
"We didn't finish because someone used the blowtorch for AVOCADOS!!" Hunter yelled, turning to look at Sylver.
"I was hungry." Sylver simply answered.
On one side of the room, the top bed was dangling precariously from the ceiling, over a bed that was welded to the floor for "security purposes." A fourth of the room was normal, one was clearly of western Valian/Vacuan decor, Sylver's, the one with the dangling bed, looked like he unleashed a wild animal in there, and Wysteria's had some flower patterns with vases of flowers.
"Leave a half-crazed madman to design the room and this is what you get." Weiss said, shaking her head.
"Now all we need is some wolf kennels and it will be paradise on Remnant!" Sylver said with pride.
"Where are we gonna fit those?" Hunter asked skeptically.
"Keep questioning my master plan and that's where your bed is." Sylver growled.
"Help me…" Hunter whispered to the other teams.
"Well, that was… enlightening." Blake said, as concerned about the mess as her white clad teammate.
"Alright, Wolf Boy. Prepare to get your socks blown off as our superior interior design." Yang said with a smirk.
"I'm so confident you're not gonna beat me, that if you somehow beat me, I'll eat Dahlia's hat!" Sylver shot back.
Dahlia looked offended, placing her hand on her cowgirl hat. "Stay away from the hat, hoss!" She cried out defensively.
"All the more reason to believe in my master plan." Sylver said with a wolfish grin.
Soon, the large gaggle went down the hall. To their surprise, while it bore a single resemblance to Sylver's bane to all interior reason being a dangling bed by a rope, it was far better. The room was clean, more than clean, and the ropes were far better tied. The other bunk was cleverly put together by the beds on top of each other with books slotted between them. It all still looked manic, but there was a method to it.
"Ruby you devilish little Delilah, you beat me. Dahlia fork over the hat." Sylver groaned out in frustration.
"Not if you want to still be a man afterwards." Dahlia sternly answered him.
"Hunter, give me your hat." Sylver said as he snapped his head to look at his other male teammate.
"Why me!?" Hunter exclaimed.
"Wow. It isn't an eyesore." Rena said.
"Better luck next time, Sylver." Ruby said as she patted his shoulder as he attempted to eat a baseball cap.
"Why are these things so chewy?" Sylver growled, trying his best to eat it. "Where did I put that blowtorch?"
"Guess that just leaves us then." Zhan sighed.
"Speaking of which, where's Azu?" Yang asked.
"He's being a perfectionist." Rena answered with her own belabored sigh.
Soon, the teams opened the door and were surprised by what they saw. A pair of perfectly crafted bunk beds with hand carved, mahogany bed frames. Each bed frame had a differently designed finish. One of the bottom ones, clearly Zhan's, had flames and blacksmithing tools carved into the finish of the frame. The other bottom one, clearly Rena's, was carved with designs of snow and images of ancient battles. The top one above Rena's, clearly Ember's, was decorated with a forest design indicative of the outer borders of Vacuo. Finally, was the last one, clearly Azura's, which was decorated with scenes of samurai battles with mountains and tigers.
Azura's part of the room where his bunk was had been decorated in a full eastern design, befitting a samurai. Zhan's was designed like a blacksmith forge. Rena's was very spartan in design, having little decoration outside of military design. Finally, Ember's was decorated in a country style befitting a farm girl.
"UUUUUUUUUHHHHHHHHH…" Yang said in utter shock.
"One moment, please. I am not satisfied with this last finish yet." The azure prince told them, working on finalizing the finish on his bed frame's carving.
"Azura, you don't have to be a perfectionist about literally everything." Ruby said with a sigh.
"Boss, how did you do this in half an hour!?" Zhan asked in sheer disbelief.
"Several caffé mochas, a bit of elbow grease, and hard work." Azura said before he finally stopped to inspect his work. "God, I hate putting swords flourished in wood. I much prefer ink."
"It's… beautiful…!" Weiss and Blake fangirled out in unison, in awe at the stylish coordination of the room as Azura got back to work.
"You know, if being a Huntsman or a samurai lord doesn't work out, you could be one hell of an interior designer." Jaune told the blue samurai with a smile.
"If it didn't work out, Mr. Arc, I'd be putting my wakizashi in my stomach." Azura gravely said.
Mercifully for all, Ember popped her head in through the doorway. "I got breakfast ready, everyone com… wha…?" Ember tried to say before being impressed by the room.
Finally, Azura completed the finish on his part of his and Zhan's bunk's design and stepped back with a smile. "There we go. Much better." He replied, admiring his handiwork.
"Alright people, let's go eat!" Yang said, grabbing Azura and dragging him out.
"Finally, I can get some hot sauce for this thing." Sylver said as he continued to chew on the hat.
Soon, the twelve arrived and sat down as Ember swiftly served up eggs, sausage, hashbrowns and toast. Soon everyone scrambled for drinks, sauces, and spices. In the chaotic jumble, however, Azura and Sylver noticed something. Weiss, as she quietly ate, gave side glances to Ruby before looking away. It was almost… a slight hint of annoyance with a pinch of jealousy. Normally the two princes would not think much of it from the haughty heiress, but throughout classes it continued. In the hall, between classes, during classes, it was clear Weiss had something going on in her head.
Finally, after Team SHDW, AZRE and RWBY finished Port's class, an impressive feat of mental fortitude for all, they struck. The two stopped Weiss from leaving, and Ruby turned around to question them, but Azura stepped up to address her.
"It is all right, Ruby. We just need to discuss something in private for a moment. It will not take long." Azura said with a smile.
"Okay. See you in Professor Goodwitch's class, Weiss!" Ruby said, waving to Weiss, leaving the heiress confused as Sylver closed the door.
"Alright Schnee, cough up the answers we want." Sylver said sternly.
"I have no idea what you're talking about." The Schnee heiress replied defiantly.
"Don't play dumb with me, only I can do that!" Sylver yelled, forcing Azura to step in.
"Sylver. Easy." The samurai lord told his friend.
"The only easy thing I'm having today is another round of your teammate's over easy eggs." Sylver growled.
Rolling his eyes, Azura looked at Weiss and addressed her. "Lady Schnee, we noticed the looks you have been giving Ruby all day. You seem like you are attempting to tolerate her despite being annoyed." He told her.
"I'll answer your question with a question then. Why was she chosen to be team leader?" Weiss asked him.
"Simple. She showed the qualities of a leader in initiation. She produced plans, directed you three to execute them, and led you four to success against the Nevermore. She also helped with leading the group against the Efreet." Azura explained.
"Someone who is loud, rude, and disrespectful every single waking moment of the day? Someone who continually interrupts class with incessant comments and childish behavior? Someone who is as likely to get herself killed as the rest of us?" Weiss pressed, catching the princes slightly off guard.
"You take that back about Ruby before I send your prissy ass back via airmail, you…" Sylver growled before Azura shoved him back away from Weiss. "What the hell, Azura!?"
"Let me handle this, Sylver. I know how to get through to her." Azura sternly told him.
"Fine. But I'm not gonna like it." Sylver growled before he stormed out of the room.
Azura took a deep breath before looking at Weiss. "Lady Schnee, Ruby is still younger and more inexperienced than us. Not to mention that it is only her first day. No one is born a great leader. If she is to live up to the expectations placed on her, she will need time, support, and constructive criticism to help her reach her potential. Instead of being angry that she was chosen instead of you… try to be the best teammate you can be to help her become the kind of leader you think she should be." He explained.
Weiss clenched her hands into fists. "That's it? Help her? Help her when I haven't gotten any help to get where I am? When I had to work to get out of the oppressive hellhole, I'm supposed to call home? The tyrant that is my father!? Why should I help her when no one has ever done anything to help me!?" Weiss roared at him.
Azura's eyes briefly flashed yellow as Weiss felt a wave of what could only be described as intent to cause bodily harm. Behind the azure shōgun, the image of an azure-blue tiger wreathed in lightning appeared. Its electric yellow eyes glinted as it snarled silently at the Schnee heiress.
'What was that…?' Weiss fearfully thought and instinctively took a step back away from him.
Seeing her fearful reaction, Azura took a deep breath to calm himself. "My apologies, Lady Schnee. I went too far with that. But, if you are not willing to listen to reason, I will have to use more heavy-handed methods to get you to listen." He apologetically told her.
"No… I guess I might have deserved that. I didn't expect it to come out so suddenly. I don't… I don't like talking about my past." Weiss answered apologetically, looking away in shame.
"Still, I should not have gone that far. As to why you should help her? To give her the chance no one else gave you. If you feel you have been treated unfairly, then meet Ruby halfway and give her the chance you were never given so that she can do so in turn with you." Azura told the snowy heiress, having sufficiently calmed himself down.
At first Weiss did not say anything. Azura's words hung in the air for far longer than he would like them to. He was about to say something when he got a better look at Weiss's face. Her face was contorted into a very contemplative look. Restraining his desire to speak, Weiss finally spoke up.
"You didn't have to do this for me…" Weiss said to him.
"I am simply following my own advice. I am giving you the chance that so few gave me outside of my family. The chance to show that I am more than just my name and status." Azura told her sympathetically.
"Thank you, Azura… I have a lot to think about. And I probably shouldn't keep my team waiting too long." Weiss answered him respectfully, even giving him a small nod.
Azura nodded back and opened the door for her. "Nor should I with mine. It would not do for a team leader to be late. After you… Weiss…" the blue prince said, stepping aside and bowing.
Weiss's eyes widened at hearing her own name uttered by the young lord. However, she then gave him a small smile, knowing Azura enough he did not like hanging on to things that were hard for him. With that, Weiss then hastily left to rejoin her team. To the surprise of the rest of Team RWBY, Weiss did not make much of a fuss for the rest of the day. This shock hit Yang and Blake harder than Ruby, who was more than happy to not get yelled at or scolded by the white-haired aristocrat.
This gave Weiss cover to go into her own thoughts for the rest of the day. After her outburst, it felt like the dam that kept her more unpleasant memories had burst wide open. Occasionally her team would see her wince, or bite at her lip uncomfortably. However, no one else had the courage to ask her, more keeping a respectful distance. Everyone could see Weiss needed some time to work through some things.
Finally, after a long day had finally ended, the teams and the partners within teams went their separate ways. Weiss for her part headed back to their dorm room to collect her shower supplies. A nice, hot shower after a long day like this was exactly what she knew she needed. However, when she arrived back, she was in for quite a surprise.
There was Ruby with a large stack of books, a notebook, and already hard at work. It did not take much for Weiss to realize she planned for a long night of studying. This further confused Weiss, not taking Ruby as much of a studier. She excelled in so many of the classes almost effortlessly, why would she need to study? It was then that the words of the blue samurai crept back into her head.
'I can't do this. I can't confront her now. I should take my shower… But what if I don't get my chance later… damn it, Azura. Why did you have to make this so hard?' Weiss thought to herself. 'Here goes nothing.'
With a deep, quiet breath, Weiss stepped towards Ruby. "Hello, Ruby. Is everything all right?" Weiss asked in a far softer tone than usual.
Ruby nearly jumped up at that. "Weiss? I didn't hear you come in…" She told her partner.
"I'm sorry about that. I have very light footsteps." Weiss said as she looked over her team leader's supplies. "Getting some studying done?"
Ruby nodded. "Yeah. I figured that, if I'm going to be a leader, I should start taking things more seriously. I'm a team leader now, and leaders aren't allowed to fail. If they do, they drag everyone else down with them." The red reaper replied determinedly.
That put a bit of a smile on Weiss's face. "What brought this on?" Weiss asked, somewhat surprised.
Ruby smiled back a bit. "I had a talk with Coco from Team CFVY earlier today and she told me that." The rose reaper explained as she stretched out before preparing to get back to work.
"That's… surprisingly good advice." Weiss answered. "As good as what I got earlier…"
Ruby was confused upon hearing that. "What was that, Weiss?" She asked her partner.
"May I… sit down?" Weiss asked with a hint of nervousness.
Ruby, caught off guard, moved over a bit. "S-sure…"
Weiss sat down next to her and cleared her throat a bit. "Azura, Sylver, and I talked earlier when we stayed behind. Well, talked isn't the correct term. Arguing would probably be more apt." Weiss said with a regretful sigh.
"Is everything okay between you and those two? I can talk to them and ask them to go easier on you, if you want…" Ruby offered.
"Azura yes, Sylver… that's a bridge to cross later. You don't have to do anything. Honestly, I deserved to be yelled at a bit… after all I've done." Weiss mournfully said, slowly turning her head away from Ruby.
Ruby placed a hand gently on her partner's hand. "Weiss… it's okay. I understand. I haven't really been acting like much of a leader today. But, from now on, I promise I will. I'll do my best to live up to your expectations of what a good leader should be." She told her teammate with a smile.
"I haven't exactly given you much reason to. Honestly… My performance as a partner and teammate isn't much to write home about. If I'm honest… I've failed." Weiss said, which caught Ruby squarely off guard.
"Weiss…" Ruby said sympathetically.
Weiss turned to face her with a determined look. "From now on Ruby… I will not fail you. I want to give you the chance no one gave me. To be the best partner and teammate I can. No matter how many times I stumble and fail." Weiss said, looking Ruby straight in the eyes.
Ruby then surprised the Schnee heiress by pulling her into a hug. She then pulled back a bit without breaking the hug and gave her a smile. "Thanks, Weiss. Let's work together and help each other get better." She told her white-haired partner.
"On the condition of no more hugs for now… I'm not ready for that yet." Weiss nervously said.
Ruby nodded and broke the hug. "Fair enough. Sorry. I should get back to studying." She replied, getting ready to hit the books again.
"So, Blake, how does that compare to those novels of yours?" a familiarly bombastic voice asked.
"Honestly, it reminds me of a scene from one of them between two best friends." A more stoic, but amused voice replied.
"How long were you two spying on us!?" Weiss snapped at the black and gold duo walking through the door, a blush of embarrassment on her face.
Blake smiled slightly. "The whole time." She told her teammate.
"I can't show my face in public ever again." Weiss said with her face going full red and putting it in both of her hands to hide her face.
"Aw come on, Ice Queen. You don't have to be afraid to melt that cold facade around us." Yang replied playfully.
"Sis, I was just about to get back to studying." Ruby whined in annoyance.
"Why not let us help too?" Blake offered with a small smile on her face.
"Come on, Ruby. I got an idea on how to get this study party off with a Yang. Let's go get Team AZRE. Bare minimum, we can get Azura's party snacks." Yang said with a smile, which immediately perked Ruby up.
"Alright! Good idea, Yang!" Ruby told her sister before looking at her partner, "What do you think, Weiss?"
Weiss smiled a bit. "I think that's a lovely idea." She nervously replied, still embarrassed.
"I'll get Weiss ready for the big shindig." Blake said simply, sitting down next to Weiss.
With that, after Weiss was ready with help from Blake, our quartet of heroines made their way to Team AZRE's room. To their surprise, they saw all of them already not only dressed in their pajamas, but also with their school supplies out. Ready to hit the books. All but Azura, who was missing.
"Where's Azu?" Yang asked.
"The boss is in the dorm kitchen making some late-night snacks. Brain food to help us study." Zhan told the quartet of young ladies.
"Are you all okay with an inter-team study party?" Blake asked the majority of Team AZRE.
The incomplete team looked at each other before looking back at the four.
"I already know I'm going to get outvoted, so sure." Rena groaned.
"Well, that was easier than expected." Weiss muttered.
"Let's do this!" Ruby yelled.
"You guys stay here; I'll get the big man." Yang said with a smile.
"Don't ruin the snacks, please." Ember warned.
"Don't worry. I wouldn't." Yang said with a giggle.
"We're going too. You and Azura will need help carrying the snacks." Blake told her partner.
"Alright, but don't interfere with the master at work." Yang said with an evil smile.
Team RWBY then headed for the dorm kitchen. To their surprise, Azura was cooking up a light snack. Not enough to overstuff anyone. Mostly some tea cakes, tea, and some eastern snack foods. To Blake's joy, there were even some seafood dishes.
"You know, you're going to make a good house husband for someone someday." Yang said with a smirk.
Azura jumped a bit as he turned to look at Team RWBY, a light blush on his face. "O-Oh! Hello, girls. I am just lightly grilling a little fish for my team's study session and making some sushi, tea cakes, and things like that." He explained.
"Well plans have changed a bit. It's an inter-team study party now." Yang said, beginning to sway her hips as she sauntered over.
Azura was surprised by that. "I-inter-team? But I only made enough for the four of us…" He nervously told the bodacious blonde brawler.
Yang soon reached him and pressed her chest up against him. "Why do you think we're here? To give you a helping hand to make more." she said with a seductive smirk.
Azura gulped nervously. "U-Um… I…" He stuttered out, backing up against the stove as Yang stayed pressed against him, the blonde beauty reaching over and turning the temperature down so that the fish would not burn.
"Careful, tiger. If you can't take the heat, you'll burn." Yang teased, pressing herself even more against him.
Azura trembled a bit as he nervously took a deep breath. "I… I suppose I can make some more… e-enough for four more people…" He stuttered out.
"There's no I in we, big guy. You'll be getting some help. And I know you're dying to try some of my cooking." Yang said with a confident smile.
Azura gulped, blushing redder as the color spread across his face. "O… okay…" He nervously replied.
"Alright let's get going! Girls, get prepping! We got some snacks to make!" Yang yelled to the troops.
"YEAAAHH!!" The other three girls yelled as they donned aprons.
As Yang broke her proximity to get her own apron, she gave Azura a wink before blowing him a kiss. Azura turned away and sighed. "That woman's charms and body should be registered as lethal weapons…" He muttered, trying to calm his nerves as the five got cooking.
To Be Continued…
And there you have it, ladies and gentlemen. Chapter 25 is officially in the history books. I hope you enjoyed reading it. Aloha and good night!