RWBY 1. Chapter 1

**Author's notes  
><strong>**I apologize for the length of the author's not, it won't be so long in the future.  
><strong>**Okay so this story will be about team CFVY during their days at Beacon. I will be to keep it as in line with the canon as possible however five things may be out of sync. One is how Fox acts, obviously he hasn't talked yet so I don't know much about his personality other than what I've gleamed from appearance, body language etc. Two will be Velvet's weapon although I think that if I'm right about something the difference between the canon and my story will be small. You'll see what I mean when I finally get there. Third I'm assuming that RWBY will not go deeply into the team's past so I am creating my own for them based and what i can see. If they do go into it I doubt I'll be lucky enough to have them matched up. Fourth if Yatsuhashi starts acting like Hodor or something that definitely won't sync up with what I've got. Five is Fox's eyes and I'm a tiny bit indecisive about how to deal with them so far. There will be a few minor OC's simply because we have not met any other students that would have been attending Beacon during this time period.**

Since earlier than she could remember flying had been a part of her life. In fact a good brunt of it she had spent on a plane traveling between kingdoms for her parents work but even still one thing always managed to surprise her, a single realization she had every time she stepped onto an aircraft.

They were so slow.

It had seemed like she had gotten onto the plane heading for her first day at Beacon hours ago. In reality the time had only been about twenty minutes. But given that Beacon Academy could be seen from Vale she judged that the distance could simply not be far enough to warrant such a long flight. Even staring down at the landscape below which usually calmed her did nothing, if anything seeing how slowly the plane was moving was pissing her off more. Perhaps if she had gotten on the previous flight instead of sleeping in she would have had more people to talk to, she had assumed that nobody would be eager enough to go to school to wake up at such an hour, even for the first day. Apparently she was wrong.

"Excuse me," Coco turned around to see another of her soon to be fellow students behind her. He was one of the twins that she had seen and promptly decided to ignore upon boarding the plane. "I think I dropped something. My jaw."

Coco pulled down her sunglasses and gazed over them, eyebrows raised. The boy in front of her, like most hunters seemed to be these days, was dressed fashionably ambitious. Unfortunately for him Coco thought, he wasn't doing it very well. His black skinny jeans and tan jacket may have perhaps been alright, but given that his twin was dressed the same way but with an opposite color combination just made him look like he was trying way too hard to look 'cool'. The fact that he had also tried to coordinate his haircut - shaved sides, styled top and colored blue his brother doing the same except dyed red and styled the opposite way – did not do much to inspire originality. Sure not everyone was as… aware as she was when it came to style but even they should have been able to see that it simply wasn't working for them.

"Because you're hot," the hunter in training blurted out. Apparently he thought Coco did not get pick up line. What he didn't realize that what she was actually doing was considering whether or not he'd survive if he was thrown out the window. And if she cared if he didn't.

"I understand thank you," she said still not changing her expression. "I just wonder if you understand how bad that pick up line truly was."

"I err,"

"How about you save yourself some embarrassment and run along," Coco looked at the stunned boy. "Go on shoo."

Coco raised her glasses and sighed as the boy scampered back to his brother. She turned back to aimlessly glancing out the window and hoped that not everyone would act like that. For the first time since being accepted into Beacon the girl began to worry about who she'd be teamed up with.

* * *

><p>Yatsuhashi was surprised by the amount of people already in the assembly area. Up until now he had not really appreciated how many students would be in his year. The entire hall was filled with a sea of bodies, each more flamboyant than the last. As of that moment most of them had simply taken to talking in small groups of old friends. New to Vale however, Yatsuhashi didn't know anyone and contented himself with standing at the back alone. This also served another purpose, with his tall seven foot frame nobody would have been able to see passed him. He was sympathetic to this and didn't mind taking care as to where he stood.<p>

He took a few steps to the side to stand clear of the door and the torrent of students still streaming through. He took up position beside a female faunas. Knowing that his burly figure often intimidated people he smiled at her and asked. "Sorry is anybody standing here?"

The girl looked up, seemingly flustered by the sudden communication. She shook her head shyly and asked. "Do you want me to move?"

"No," Yatsuhashi said warmly. "I just didn't want to steal anybody's spot."

After a few seconds Yatsuhashi considered making small talk with the girl, but a sudden hush took over the room and he turned his head to the front to see what was going on. He saw the headmaster, Professor Ozpin walk onto the stage with a blonde woman he was unfamiliar with. When the silence completely died down and the students began to wait eagerly for what the man had to say Ozpin spoke, his voice calm and collected.

"I'll keep this brief, for we still have the initiation to go through. You have come here today not only because you have an aptitude for combat, but because this is the only job you can imagine yourself doing. Because the only thing you see when you look into your future is a career as a hunter or huntress. Now it is time for you to take the first, of many gruelling steps towards achieving that goal."

Professor Ozpin nodded, seeing that his words had the desired affect and began to walk off stage. The blonde professor stepped forward quickly to fill the gap left.

"If you will all follow the professors closest to you," she said. "We should be able to get the initiation started shortly."

* * *

><p>It was when Velvet was already in the air that she realised she did not in fact have a landing strategy. With the air whipping across her face and the ground coming closer at an all too rapid rate, she struggled to think of one in her blind panic. Had she known that the first thing they'd do when arriving at Beacon would be being thrown a few hundred metres in the air, she certainly would have made time to practice it.<p>

She saw an outstretched branch looming out of the canopy and an ill formed thought entered her mind. She prepared to jump from it and the moment her feet reached the wood she tried hopping. In theory transferring her momentum in such a way was a good idea, but when the branch snapped beneath her feet with a resounding crack and she continued to move towards the ground she realised that the idea had not quite transferred to real life as she had expected.

Velvet begun to spin quite literally head over heels and crashed into the canopy. She quickly raised her aura shield her body, protecting her from the many lacerations the outstretched branches would have caused. When she finally hit the ground the trees had slowed her fall enough that her aura managed to save her from the brunt of the force. That didn't mean the impact didn't hurt. The girl continued forward until her bouncing came to abrupt halt when she slammed into a tree. She gasped as the wind got knocked out of her and began coughing hard stopping only to lean down and deposit her breakfast on the ground beside her.

When Velvet was done throwing up she wiped the vomit from her lip and leant against the tree, resting momentarily to catch her breath. Above her she watched as students continued to fly in the air. She heard the shrieks of joy they made as they blasted forward - unlike her they seemed to be taking pleasure in their brief journey.

A snap sounded and drew Velvet's attention in front of her. She looked up just in time to see a large green figure break through the trees and skid to a halt in front of her. The man looked up and smiled.

"Hey," He said. Then with a concerned face he stepped forward and asked. "Are you okay?"

She looked beside her at the large pile of vomit and blushed. Velvet stood up quickly and dusted herself off. "Hello. Umm yeah I'm fine, just got a little…"

"Airsick?" he asked. He was obviously trying to be helpful but his joke just flustered the faunas even more.

"No I umm," Velvet smiled weakly, realising how bad she must look. "Dizzy. I'm Velvet by the way."

"I'm Yatsuhashi," the man said. "I guess we're partners then?"

* * *

><p>Fox hit the ground quietly and listened, allowing the noises of the Emerald Forest to become familiar to him. When he was confident he could identify any sound out of place he continued, knowing that a break in its rhythm would be a sign that something was amiss.<p>

It was only five minutes later when he heard fighting in the not so far distance. Fox focused his aura around his ear to sharpen his hearing, a technique few were aware of and even fewer were taught. It was easy to identify the ursai from their heavy footsteps. The person who was fighting them however he could not identify. That did not surprise him, he had been introduced to a number of students today and it would take time to separate their sounds and learn to associate them with their makers.

For a moment he wondered whether he should help the girl out. He knew it was a girl from the sounds she made and her heels. On one hand it was a person fought in heels, an impractical choice which made him apprehensive. On the other hand she was directly in his path and if the yelps from the Ursai were any indication she could hold her own in a fight. Deciding he was simply wasting time being indecisive he made his way forward.

When he reached the clearing he could more accurately make out the number of Ursai that was attacking his peer. Four of the larger Grimm had already been taken out and six more of the beasts had the girl surrounded. Fox considered helping her out, but if she couldn't take out a few Grimm he realised, he didn't want her on his team. He could learn a lot more by simply observing the fight.

She moved well, Fox had to give her that. There was no wasted movement when an Ursa made a swipe at her, she quickly spun around its arm and struck out at it with her bag. It made for an unusual weapon, but as she systematically fought and killed the remaining Grimm Fox decided that it was in fact effective.

"You could have helped," she panted and looked up. "Sitting back wasn't very gentlemanly of you."

"I wanted to know if you were worth saving," Fox replied. "Or if I should have just continued walking."

"And?"

"You'll do,"

The girl smiled and crossed over to him. "I'm Coco by the way."

"Fox,"

"So we're partners now," Coco frowned and quickly took off her sunglasses. "What's up with your eyes? You're not blind are you?"

"My vision will not be a problem," Fox pushed passed his new partner and continued walking. "Come on, let's go."

"Well aren't you just mister sunshine,"

* * *

><p>"Yatsuhashi," Velvet whispered. "Do you hear that?"<p>

Yatsuhashi turned around concerned. He knew from experience that faunas had heightened senses. He trusted Velvet would definitely be able to hear danger before he did but he strained his ears anyway, listening for anything out of place. It was when he heard something, something he could not place and barely made out that he asked. "What is it?"

It made itself known when it smashed through a nearby tree trunk and slammed into the ground where the two had been standing. The partners barely managed to dodge the Taijitu, leaping out of the way. Yatsuhashi was the first to recover. He moved quickly to the snake which was disorientated after slamming its head into the ground, and raised his sword above his head. Before he could bring it down the white snake slammed into him, sending the hunter skidding across the ground. He jammed his sword into the dirt to halt his movement. Upon stopping he yanked it out of the ground and resumed his assault.

Velvet saw her new partner rush forward and drew her bow, fumbling an arrow onto the string. She set herself to the task of distracting the black head. It was a task easily accomplished with her practised aim. The moment he arrow passed through its right eye. It let out a loud hiss and darted at Velvet. She had anticipated the manoeuvre and quickly somersaulted above the strike, landing easily on the creatures head.

Knowing that unlike her mother, Velvet could not fire her bow on the move, she stowed it behind her back with her right hand. Her left hand she used to grip the Taijitu above the left eye just before it started thrashing about in an attempt to dislodge her. For the moment she held on and drew an arrow with her free hand. She brought the shaft down through the Grimm's last working eye. The being let out a terrible, guttural wail and before its erratic movement got the better of her the faunas jumped off to the safety of the ground.

Yatsuhashi looked up having just defeated the white head to see Velvet land smoothly on the ground. He noted with approval that the beast had had both its eyes pierced. Avoiding the blind strikes the beast was making Yatsuhashi crossed the distance between them and brought his sword across the King Taijitu body with a final slash. It let out a defeated moan and dropped uselessly to the ground.

"Are you okay?" Velvet asked walking through the clearing and over the now disintegrating bodies. "The blood, are you hurt?"

"I'm fine," Yatsuhashi looked down at his body and attempted to wipe some of the blood off. "It's not mine. What about you?"

"I'm good," she let out another weak smile. "Wasn't expecting to do that on our first day either."

"Aww you two are so cute," a woman's voice cut through the clearing and the two snapped their heads around. Beside the remnants of a tree stood two figures of roughly the same size, the female of which was currently talking in a dry yet somehow friendly voice. "You aren't going to kiss now are you?"

Velvet felt the heat rush to her face and quickly turned away, seemingly finding interest in the dirt as the two approached. Yatsuhashi just smiled awkwardly and scratched the back of his head. "We may have gotten caught up in the moment. I'm Yatsuhashi by the way and this is Velvet."

"Coco," the brunette greeted simply. "And the talkative one here is Fox."

"Hello," Velvet finally said. "So does this mean that we're a team now?"

"Ozpin did not mention how the teams were produced," Fox said with a surprising amount of venom in his voice. "He only talked about the partners."

"Well even if we aren't," Coco interrupted. "It'd be better to stick together. Strength in numbers means I don't have to roll around in the mud as much."

"And we couldn't have that, you might ruin that snazzy outfit," Fox ignored the daggers being glared at him and continued walking forward passed the group. "Are you coming?"

With some reluctance the group followed, although all of them hung back a little from Fox. Whether this was a subconscious reaction or on purpose Yatsuhashi could not tell. He sped up his pace a little until he drew level with Coco.

"Hey Coco," he said in a low voice. "Did you notice his eyes?"

"Yeah," she said looking up at him. "When I asked he didn't say much about them, only that his vision 'wouldn't be a problem'. I couldn't tell if he was being sensitive about it though or just his normal grumpy self."

"He doesn't seem blind," Velvet piped in. "It doesn't seem like his walking into trees or anything."

"I'll have to ask him about it," Coco said. "If I'm going to be stuck with him for the next four years it'd be good to know whether or not he can actually see."

**AN - Reviews are encouraged. I should have the next chapter up soon, maybe even later today.**

**I updated it to add line breaks because I was silly and they didn't copy across. Thanks to the reviewer who pointed that out, FlamingGinger06 you have my love. Sorry for those who had to read it without I will certainly not be making that mistake again.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Authors Notes  
>Okay so I know that it has been a little fast paced but I'm just eager to get to the things I have in store. If you would prefer me to slow down the story a just tell me I am more than open to feedback. Fox is a bit more angst in this chapter than I'd like but this story is a lot more about character growth than anything else. Thanks to FlamingGinger06 I think it was for telling me about the linebreaks, they didn't copy over and made the story a lot more confusing. Sorry for those who had to read it without them. This chapter is a bit shorter than I'd have liked but I just felt that it came to a natural stopping point. I'll get the next one up shortly. Can't remember what else I had to say so please enjoy. Oh wait loving the amount of views, follows favs and reviews I'm getting. I realise that its probably more about the characters I've got in there than the actual quality. I hope though that you'll enjoy it for I'll be trying my best to you know, make it enjoyable.<strong>

* * *

><p>"It appears that the recruits are moving at a much slower pace than we expected them to," Glynda was looking down at her scroll. Ozpin who stood beside her at the cliff had a similar one in hand. "It appears you were correct sir, their navigation skills are quite below par. Many of the students have even become lost and are wandering around in circles."<p>

Ozpin took a sip from his coffee mug and sighed. He had predicted this - surely he shouldn't be so surprised. But the students, his students were aspiring to become hunters, a job that would take them out far into the wild. Surely the combat schools that had fed the majority of the students into academies such as his should teach them even the most basic of navigation skills. Now he knew that his own professors would have to spend the time to teach them those skills, time which could have been spent teaching other, more important things.

"Next year we will have to make them arrive here even earlier," Glynda continued. "The other professors will not like that, but it's better than having students traipse around the forest after dark. I just hope that these students hasten their pace, otherwise we may have to call off the exercise before they have all completed it."

"Glynda,"

"Yes professor Ozpin," she looked up and adjusted her glasses. It had been the first time he had broken silence in a while and she was interested in his views on how the students were progressing.

"We can worry about next year's scheduling later," he said. "For now, we watch."

* * *

><p>Coco lowered her gun and turned to look at the classmates beside her. Velvet and Yatsuhashi were appropriately stunned at just how quick she had taken down the Deathstalkers, their low hanging jaws a testament to the fact. Fox just nodded, almost as if he hadn't expected any less from her and would have been disappointed had she performed poorly.<p>

"I'll leave the next few for you Fox," Coco grinned. "It's about time that you contributed."

The hunter in question just grunted and continued to walk towards the cliffs, relic now in hand. Coco sighed. She figured it would be a while before she could coax him out of his moodiness. The other two on the other hand were already breaking out of their shells, a fact for which she was grateful.

"So," Coco said folding up her gun. "You two impressed yet?"

The three started walking in an attempt to keep up with Fox. It was Yatsuhashi who answered, a smile on the big guy's face.

"And here I thought I would be the big hitter," Coco laughed.

"I'll save you a few as well," Coco said. "I wouldn't want to be too emasculating after all."

She smiled and the three quickly lapsed into a comfortable silence. So close to the cliffs they became a lot more comfortable and Coco let her thoughts wander to the people who would perhaps become her new team mates.

Yatsuhashi, despite his large appearance was kind, friendly and reserved. While perhaps these weren't the most exciting traits the girl knew that he'd be quite easy to get along with and an excellent addition to any team. He seemed to have a very caring nature as well which she had seen after the fight with the Taijitu.

Velvet was very similar to her partner and Coco knew the two would get along fairly well. Already she could see them bonding at a very fast rate. The problem with the girl was that she was a little too shy for her tastes and had seemed to have low self-esteem. Given how she handled the Grimm Coco didn't think it was warranted, but that had been one encounter and so she decided not to put too much stock in it.

What worried her most was Fox. After he had displayed his careless nature Coco had been on the fence about him. On one hand he seemed confident without being arrogant and stuck to the task at hand. Those were two qualities that she would be thankful for during combat, but he just seemed so closed off. When they had met Velvet and Yatsuhashi his anger started to show and despite the fact that it had been a good hour since then his rage had not dissipated. She could still see it in his glances and tone of voice. _Well, _she thought as she hiked up the cliffs. _I'll have four years to crack that nut. _

When the group reached the top Coco was surprised equally by how few students there were up here, as well as just who had arrived before them. Professor Ozpin stood on the edge of the cliff monitoring his scroll whilst Glynda was addressing another four students who had made their way up the cliff. The fact that the twins were amongst the four boys who had arrived first disappointed her. Though she wouldn't admit it she had secretly been hoping that they would fail.

Glynda nodded to them and the team walked off towards the academy building. The professors exchanged a silent conversation and walked over to the group.

"Congratulations," Professor Ozpin said in his usually mellow tone. "You four are the second team to make it back, and given how the others are progressing, well ahead of most students."

"You said 'team'," Fox interjected. "Does this mean that the four of us will be a team?"

"Yes," Glynda answered. "We would usually hold a ceremony to announce the teams and their leaders, but sadly we are running short on time."

"It's barely afternoon," Coco said.

"We estimate that the other groups will be arriving after dusk," Ozpin said. "Much too long to have an extended ceremony. So we will be announcing the teams here. That is, if you want to know who your team leader will be."

The group all eagerly nodded, even Fox.

"The four of you will be known as team CFVY," Ozpin said. "Led by Coco."

Coco blinked in surprise. She had not considered that she would be placed as leader. Given Yatsuhashi's protective nature she had just automatically assumed he'd be given the role or even Fox who had led them through the forest without any mistakes. And to have it revealed so anticlimactically.

"If you follow the map on your scrolls Professor Goodwitch has placed a waypoint marking out your room," Ozpin said. "No doubt you deserve a rest after your performance today."

The team nodded and started walking off in a similar direction to the boys who had just previously left. At first nobody made a grab for their scroll, most likely waiting for Fox to lead them. But when he did not pull his out Yatsuhashi filled in the role and it was not long before he led them to the room. When he arrived he tried the doorhandle. Finding it locked he stood back unsure. Coco understood his confusion and helpfully pulled out her own scroll and swiped it towards the locking mechanism.

"They have these locks at a lot of hotels," the brunette explained.

"Thanks," This time when Yatsuhashi twisted the handle the door opened, revealing the dorm the team would be staying in.

She had to admit Coco was disappointed to say the least. The rooms held an extremely Spartan appearance, featuring only the bare necessities. It featured four beds, all arranged on a row on the furthest wall. Four desks and four chairs tucked neatly against the wall that held the door, and a single closet that looked far too small for her extensive wardrobe. Other than a window the room was devoid of anything else.

"This is very… basic," Coco said looking around to see how the others were coping with their room, the room that they'd be keeping for another four years.

"I kind of like it," Yatsuhashi offered. "It's simple."

"Matches you perfectly then," Fox added slyly. With a subconscious effort the three stepped back, somehow knowing that he was going to shove through. Fox stepped forward and claimed the bed furthest to the right by throwing his bag on it. "Were you expecting some kind of five star resort Coco?"

Ignoring him the three stepped into the room. Under closer study it offered little more than it had at the doorway.

"They could have at least put in bunk beds instead," Coco sank down on the closest bed, which had happened to be the middle left. Her team mates saw this as a claim so Velvet moved to the corner bed and sat down. Yatsuhashi took the remaining bed. "It would have given the interior a much more airy and open feeling."

Velvet carefully replied. "Do you really want to share a bunk bed with Yatsuhashi?"

Coco and Yatsuhashi chuckled. "Okay I see your point."

"I'm going to go train," Fox said making his exit before anyone could reply. The rest of the team just sat there, unsure as to what to do.

"If he wanted to practice," Coco muttered. "There was plenty of Grimm out there he could have killed."

"Yeah," Velvet said. "I kind of got the feeling that he was… studying us out there. Like we were just lab rats or something."

"Let's not judge him before we get to know him," Yatsuhashi broke in. "There might me a perfectly good reason for how he's acting."

_Yep, _Coco thought. _I definitely nailed your personality._

"So," Velvet said. "What do we do now?"

"I don't know about you two," Coco grinned. "But I say we get to decorating."

* * *

><p>Fox stood in front of the bare tree trunk as still as any person could be. Slowly he took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He had already chosen the sequence of moves he had wanted to work on, now he let them fill his mind, picturing each manoeuvre and how they transitioned into each other over and over again. When he was confident, he began.<p>

He started slowly at first, letting loose a series of jabs, punches, elbows and kicks. Fox focused more on precision and strength than anything else. With his blades set aside he only did minimal damage to the tree. When he had completed the sequence three times he began to move faster. Then faster. And faster. And faster. Each blow landed without mistake until each move became a blur. He no longer moved with thought but instinct, allowing his body to move at speeds his brain could not track.

Without warning he threw in a spinning kick. It happened so fast that even he was surprise by it. The trunk tore from its roots and began travelling across the ground. With a sudden groan the trunk exploded into fragments, none larger than splinters.

Fox stopped moving and just focused on breathing, allowing the air to fill his deprived lungs. Feeling the struggle each gasp brought him he frowned. If he wanted to keep up with those speeds he would definitely have to train his stamina a lot more. Keeping the thought in mind he turned to Coco, who was watching from the not so far distance. He had become aware of her approach when he first started his sequence.

"You keep that up there isn't going to be much forest left," Coco only half joked. Fox looked around at the other trees that had undergone a similar fate and frowned. He would have to think of a more suitable way to train before the teachers stopped him.

"What do you want?" Fox said a little more gruffly than he intended. The adrenaline was still pumping through his body. "I take it you're not here to spar."

"Sadly no," Coco said. "I came here to talk. Now that we're partners I figured a discussion was in order."

"What's there to talk about?" Fox said. "I'll do my job. So long as you do yours we won't have a problem."

"Fox I don't like getting all touchy feely," Coco frowned. "But we're going to be stuck together for the next few years. If we can't learn to cooperate we'll be at a huge disadvantage. And something tells me you won't enjoy losing any more than I will."

"Are you done?" Fox asked turning to an untouched tree. "I have more training to do."

"Fine," she said. Before she turned around however she looked back at him. "Just know that I'm not going to stop trying. It will be a lot less painless for you if you just start acting like my partner now."

Before she even had a chance to start walking away Fox began striking at the tree. This time he did not go through the mental preparation or start slow and he could tell that he was suffering because of it. He was too angry to care though. He continued through his sloppy manoeuvres head full of thoughts.

He hadn't come to Beacon to make friends, he had come to learn combat. To be able to defend his family in case it happened again. His head filled with memories but as hard as he tried he could not push them away.

He let loose a final spinning kick at the tree, this time though he was too emotional. He missed the trunk completely and went spinning around, falling backwards onto the ground. He rose even more enraged than before and started up again.

**AN- I'll try getting the next chapter out later today. As always please review.**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN- Okay so this one is a little short but I felt that I had to end it where I did. It sets up for the next chapter which I'll try to make a lot longer to make up for this one. I kind of stuffed up because I didn't see the ranged component of Fox's weapon and because this has a lot of fighting talk in it I had to rewrite a lot of it as well as changing some small things I had planned for the future. Now when it comes to Velvet's bow that will be addressed in the future and by the time it gets to season two part of the timeline she will have that box weapon thingy. I decided to take the quote "Hey, come on, you just spent all the semester building that up." to literally mean that she's been constructing it all semester instead of the joke Miles and Kerry probably meant to make it out to be. It's a little hard to keep things in line with the canon if you haven't seen their weapons so I hope you'll excuse me for that one.**

**Fox will grow as a character. Not giving anything away but his personality will change throughout the story.**

**Now I'm loving the reviews for those who've made them, please keep them coming. If there is anything you think I should change or any suggestions you have please, put it up in a review. I'll give credit and even if I don't use them they'll probably inspire some thing else.**

**I have probably forgot to mention something but you guys probably don't care anyway and just want to get to the story so I'll shut up now.**

* * *

><p>A year into training with his sensei, his teacher had given him the task of fighting with a multitude of weapons. They ranged from spears to axes to more exotic weapons that even to this day the hunter could not pronounce. It had all been in an effort he knew, to make him more aware of the advantages and disadvantages that each tool possessed. He had learned a lot about weaponry during this task, and as he swung his sword at Coco he couldn't help but realise how similar it was to this one.<p>

Professor Goodwitch as he now knew her was their team's new duelling instructor. She had set them the task of sparring with other members of their team, in order to learn how they fought. That way she had explained, they would be much more aware of the limitations each team member had and would be able to cover those weaknesses, as well as complementing their strength. Yatsuhashi had to admit, that while he had only been fighting the Coco for a few minutes, he had learned a lot.

Without her gun transformation for example, she was forced into extremely close quarters. Her handbag simply did not have the range that his sword did, and as such she needed to get much closer than he did. A fact that he assumed, held true for most of his team in a melee and that he would need to cover. He also learnt that while Coco was indeed agile and fast - perhaps not as much as Velvet but certainly more so than him – she preferred to make slow, deliberate movements. Why she did so however, Yatsuhashi was yet to discover. But so long as he kept her at a distance, he knew he had the advantage.

He swung again at his team mate. This time instead of dodging she kicked the blade away, hoping to pray on Yatsuhashi's misbalance. Before she could raise her handbag to attack however, he used his strength to redirect the massive sword back at her. Coco quickly jumped back from the attack. After she did both of them realised that had she continued forward, Coco would have been too close be attacked by the large sword. The pair formed their own individual plans and smiled, each thinking they had the advantage.

Coco again closed the distance between them. When Yatsuhashi swiped at her she batted the attack away, this time with her handbag. As she stepped in close to a range she thought he would be unable to efficiently attack her with his sword, Yatsuhashi slammed his fist into her face. Coco was thrown backwards from the force and landed with a solid thump, on the ground leaving Yatsuhashi pleased with his ploy yet concerned slightly that she might have been hurt by the brutes strength.

Coco rolled to a stand and began to study him, looking for any weakness she could exploit. Yatsuhashi immediately buried his concern. It would do no good for either of them if he went easy on her. As his sensei had constantly reminded him going easy on an opponent was one of the biggest insults one could give.

While the two stood still, each waiting for the other to make a move Yatsuhashi considered the situation. He could not attack the girl directly, it'd be too easy for her to dodge his slow moving body and any mistake on his part would be costly, but she was also in the same situation. Any attempt of Coco made to attack would easily be countered with the length of his sword. They had both learnt enough about the other's combat abilities to realise that they were at an impasse. Upon seeing this, Glynda nodded.

"We will have to call the match there," Glynda said loud enough so that the entre amphitheatre could hear her. "We still have a number of matches to get through, and it appears that you have learnt enough for today."

The two dropped their combat stances and smiled at each other. A nod was all that needed to be shared between them to tell the other that they had done a good job and that no grudges were being held. Yatsuhashi started to make his way towards his the rest of his team, when Coco's direction caused him to frown. Instead of following him, she made her way to another group of teams.

This wasn't the first time she had left them in lieu of seeking alternate company. Indeed at breakfast and their first class with Professor Port she had not decided to join them. He found it odd that his team leader would spend so much time distancing herself from them, especially so early on. Even Fox had sat next to them, even if he didn't spend any of that time socialising.

Yatsuhashi sat down in between Fox and Velvet and smiled.

"You did well," Velvet said returning the smile. "Is Coco not going to be joining us?"

"I guess not," he said with a slight frown. Yatsuhashi turned to Fox in time to receive a subtle nod from the boy.

He tried to keep his attention devoted on the next match in front of him, but between the clangs of swordplay his thoughts kept drifting to his team mate beside him. After his impromptu training session in the two days following he had not talked much, giving him and Coco only short statements and nods. As to his knowledge he had not once communicated with Velvet who seemed as unsure about Fox as he did. Yatsuhashi didn't like to judge people but something felt a little bit off about him.

The crowd of students let out various gasps drawing his attention back to the duel. He looked up to see the larger hunter's sword floating through the air and across the arena. He assumed a fighting stance not yet giving up but Yatsuhashi saw from the other swordsman's form that he was clearly outmatched. The unarmed man charged forward hoping to take him down with brute force. He received a quick set of jabs and swipes for his troubles before being promptly swept to the floor.

"Very good Indigo," Professor Goodwitch praised. "Next time Grey, I advise that you do not rush in so recklessly against an armed opponent. Against any worthy opponent you'll end up in this exact same position again, only with more holes in you." Before the student could snap back at the teacher, Glynda consulted her scroll. "Would Velvet and Fox please make their way to the stage."

Fox moved quickly out of his chair and made his way to the stage. He seemed if anything, a little too eager. Velvet on the other was much more reluctant, nervous even. Yatsuhashi put a hand on her shoulder.

"Velvet you'll do great down there," he said with an encouraging smile. "And remember this is only practice, a way to learn about how Fox fights so you two will be better fighting together."

"Thanks," Velvet mumbled and started to make her way down to the stage. He didn't think she was so much nervous about sparring as to who she was sparring with. The big guy had to admit that Fox had a… frightening demeanour.

As the two stood on opposite sides of the arena Yatsuhashi considered how the fight might go. Velvet's ranged weapon had a serious disadvantage to whatever kind of gun he assumed Fox had on his blades. They were likely to be of much faster fire rate, and much harder to dodge than her arrows. On top of that Velvet's bow took time to fire and usually required the user to be standing still whereas Fox did not have that problem. He could simply keep her moving with his own ranged weapon or close the gap. Velvet didn't seem to reach the same conclusion though and currently had her bow in hand.

When it came to melee combat, which Yatsuhashi assumed this fight would hinge on - Fox again had the definite advantage. While Velvet had demonstrated great ability and quick thinking she was not armed with a close quarters weapon. He wondered if she'd display the same creative thinking that she had with the King Taijitu in this fight because even he didn't think the brunette could win conventionally.

"Begin!" Professor Goodwitch instructed and the two certainly wasted no time doing so. Velvet had already fired an arrow and was reaching for another one. Unfortunately for her Fox easily sidestepped the projectile and charged her, blades at the ready. The next arrow that she managed to get in before Fox closed the gap he simply deflected it with his blade, and followed it up with a swipe. Velvet easily jumped back from the attack. And the attack after that. And the next.

It seemed to Yatsuhashi that she didn't have a particular strategy in mind other than to buy time. As the wall behind her approached he didn't know if that was going to work. The sparring matches were only supposed to go for a short time period, not long enough for her to tire the hunter out but she kept moving, angling away from the wall and too her right.

Fox grew impatient with her strategy though and raised his guns. Velvet swept in quickly. She kicked the weapons away with her left foot, followed by a well-placed snap kick to his head. Fox recoiled from the strike, but used the momentum she created to spin around and sweep her off her legs.

Before the faunas could get up, he stepped in and landed a kick to her midsection, sending her into a couple metres across the arena. He followed it up with another kick this one with even more force. Yatsuhashi flinched and the sight. He wouldn't to go out there and help his partner and when the third kick came he was close to doing so.

"That's enough Fox!" Professor Goodwitch interrupted. "Velvet's aura has made it into the red zone, the match is over."

Fox looked back down at Velvet, and it almost looked like he was going to kick her again. He muttered a few words to Velvet before heading towards the exit.

In the background he heard the teacher dismissing he class, but he paid her no heed as he jumped over the railing and jogged over to Velvet. She was only now getting up and seemed thankful when Yatsuhashi offered her a hand.

"You did well," Yatsuhashi said. "You almost had him there at the end."

"Yeah," she said trying to force a weak smile. The hunter saw past it though, her eyes were tinged with such pain, almost as if she was about to cry.

He frowned. Her aura should have blocked most of the pain and it wasn't like losing was that huge of a deal.

"What's wrong?" Yatsuhashi asked.

"Nothing that I shouldn't be used to," Velvet said. She attempted to walk away but her partner grabbed her hand, stopping her in her tracks. She didn't look back as she said. "Don't worry Yatsuhashi I'll get over it."

"Get over what?" he asked with concerned. A memory flickered through his head. "What did Fox say to you?"

She looked up at him, and he saw a tear rolling down the girl's face. The sight broke his heart.

"He called me," with reluctance she continued. "He called me a big, dumb animal."

* * *

><p><strong>AN - Next chapter will be up soon. Tell me what you think all criticism welcome.<strong>


	4. Chapter 4

**AN - I went into this chapter with the foreknowledge that it'd be the boldest one I've done so far. Unfortunately my writing did not do it any justice at all and I hated every second of it, which is why its a very short chapter. I apologise in advance and the rest will not be as terrible. I'm not going to promise next chapter will be longer because apparently I suck at keeping promises but I'll definitely try my best. **

* * *

><p>Coco considered her meal for a second, wondering whether she truly wanted to take another bite at the very heavy looking cheeseburger. On one hand her parents had repeatedly told her it was bad manners to leave any food left on your plate in Vale, on the other hand she didn't quite care for rules. She pushed the plate over to the friend beside her who had been staring at her fries since he'd finished his own. He didn't even mutter thank you before he dived into her food.<p>

She'd always been a light eater and despised the cafeteria's very filling food options. She yearned for something fresh and subtle. But when she looked around at the teenagers beside her, all in the middle of an intense training program to be hunters, she realised that the menu was probably for the best. Even the most well-mannered of her new friends become beasts at mealtime.

Coco was so transfixed into her thoughts that she hadn't been paying much attention to the conversation around. She hadn't even realised that it had died down as the group looked up behind her in awe until Yatsuhashi tapped her gently on the back. Coco turned around quickly and smiled at him. This was the first time he had come over to her group at meal time, even if this was only their second dinner at Beacon.

"Hey what's up," Coco smiled.

"We need to talk," he said his face unusually grim. "In private."

"Of course," she stood up and walked across the cafeteria with him. It wasn't until they had found a quiet spot outside absent of people that he began stopped. "What's up you wanted to talk?"

"Yeah," he said. He started scratching the back of his head, almost reluctant to bring the topic up. "It's Velvet. She didn't want me to bring this up with you but I thought given the circumstances. And you being team leader and all you'd want to know. Plus it'd just-"

"Yatsuhashi slow your rambling down and just tell me what happened,"

"After Velvet and Fox's fight," he said slowly. "He called her a big dumb animal."

"He did what?!" Coco's eyes widened. "And it wasn't just some bad joke or anything?"

"No," Yatsuhashi looked up. "Velvet said that it definitely wasn't a joke. She said she'd never heard someone say those words with so much hate and with her being a faunas-"

"She'd be exposed to a lot more hate," Coco finished. "Enough hate that if she said that it truly is a big deal." He nodded. "I'll go have a chat with Velvet."

"She's fine right now," Yatsuhashi said. "I've been with her for the past few hours. Anyway she's taking a shower. What is probably getting to her is the knowledge they'll have to remain on the same team for four years."

"I take it you have a plan,"

"No I don't. I grew up pretty isolated and dealing with other people isn't one of my strengths. The best thing I can come up with so far is to talk to Ozpin about it."

"That'd be very bad for Fox," though after saying that, Coco didn't know if she was totally opposed to the idea of something bad happening to Fox. Regardless she continued. "Beacon is the poster child for anti-racism. They'd reprimand him harshly and that'd only produce more friction."

"Then what do we do?"

Coco sighed. "I have to go have another chat with Fox. That should be fun."

"If he held as much anger for her as Velvet said," Yatsuhashi began. "Then I don't know if I talk is going to fix anything."

"I know but the idiot is my partner now," Coco grimaced. "I have to give him at least a chance to try and fix things. It's what you'd do for Velvet."

* * *

><p>After her conversation with Yatsuhashi it didn't take Coco long to find Fox. He was doing what he always did during his free time, training. In fact the only reason that it had taken her so long was because she had to go through all the locations where he could train before she found him. He was at another location that held a vast amount of trees, right on the edge of Beacon grounds, doing the exact same thing he was last time. She wondered if they were allowed to be out here. This far from the school and this close to the Emerald Forest there were bound to be Grimm around.<p>

"You still fighting trees," Coco called out as she walked over to him. This time he stopped midway through his sequence and faced her.

"If you're here to be all buddy buddy again forget it," Fox said. "Interrupting my training is definitely not the way to gain my favour."

"I'm not here to be friendly I'm here to wring you out," the statement seemed to get his attention because he looked up with renewed curiosity. Coco picked her words carefully, despite what she led Yatsuhashi to believe, diplomacy was not her forte. "What's your problem with Velvet?"

"Of course the weakling would crawl behind your skirts," he muttered. "My problem isn't just with Velvet, but her entire kind."

"Why?" Coco blurted out. She saw the warning signs of his rage but she continued regardless. "Why hate an entire species, simply for an extra set of ears?"

"Because they slaughtered my tribe!" Fox yelled. His rage came about with such ferocity that Coco physically flinched. "During the war the faunas destroyed my entire _peaceful _nomad tribe without provocation. And do you know why they did it?!" He spat coming closer to her than Coco was comfortable with. "They did it for supplies. They murdered almost every family member I had, not even the children were spared. They blinded me, killed my baby sister and all under the orders of their people. This wasn't just the act of a few faunas, it was the under the watch, OF THE WHOLE BLOODY FAUNAS ARMY!"

"So I apologise if I'm not keeping my feelings under wraps," Coco opened her mouth to speak, but then closed it again. "Oh what nothing to say?"

"Fox I had no id-"

"How could you?" Fox turned back towards the trees and took a few steps away from her. "Look I'll try to keep my temper under check around Velvet. I know that she's not responsible for what happened to me. Now go, leave me alone."

"Fox,"

"GO!"

Coco nodded and started her way back to the dorms, the anger she held for her partner turning to sadness.

* * *

><p><em>He lets the smell of the valley air run through his nostrils. He opens his ears up to the shrieks and laughter of his sisters. He watches as his father chases them through the field, pretending to be a Beowolf. He stares at the girl's ribbons pink and blue floating through the air. He looks around at the landscape, viewing how the sun hit the moist grass, the daisies that spread over the mountain. He feels the bubbly joy fill him. The joy he feels at seeing his family smiling so infectiously happily.<em>

_FELT_

_ALL OF IT_

_He feels the cool breeze flow across the plain. Remembers what the coming storm means for his tribe. He hears his grandparents muttering, looking into the distance at the storm clouds ahead. The omen that he never forgets. Fear creeps into his chest, into the pit of his stomach, he knows what's happening. He wants to warn them. The words that stay stuck in his throat._

_He needs to warn them._

_He sits at dinner. He smells the burning meat of a goat. He feels the warmth of the fire, the crackles and hisses. Hears the pitter patter of rain on tarp above. Watches as they smile, laughing at their own jokes. A terrible thought comes through his mind._

_They don't know they're all going to die._

_He listens to the horn blow in the distance, the sentries warning cry. He hears it halt all too abruptly, the words that follow it. Grimm, the nomads mutter, drawing their weapons. Only he knows that it's not the creatures. _

_He knows that it's a different kind of monster. He knows._

_He watches as the figures charge. He sees the look of shock. He feels the confusion they feel. He hears them muttering indecisively. He jumps down to avoid the shooting. He cries out as his father goes to join in the defence. He sees the bodies drop to the floor. Bodies of people he has known his entire life. He hears the screams of those he grew up with. A gun shot cracks through the air. He is splattered by blood. He looks up._

_His sister's blood._

_His father rushes over to him. He is covered in sweat and blood and rain, tears pouring down his eyes. He grabs the boy tries to carry him away. He doesn't get far before he falls. Before he is knocked over. The boy plants into the mud, but there is something else. He shakes his father, screaming at him to get up please daddy just get up. He feels the hot sticky red blood seep from his body. Part of the boy knows his dead but he doesn't stop screaming._

_Please daddy please._

_His mother grabs him, pulls him by the arm. He won't let go. Won't let go of his dead father's body. Tears stream down his cheek. His mother pulls him around and slaps across the face. She yells at him. Tells him he has to follow her. His torn. Torn between the need to mourn the dead and the need to follow the living. He looks into his mother's face, he sees the terror within it. He nods, clasps her arm with his tiny hands and runs with her. Runs with her away from the fighting, from the clashing metal._

_From the smell of burning flesh._

_"__Fox wake up,"_

_He stands on a hill with the few remaining tribesman, watching. Watching the flames lick up the campsite, the bodies, everything he holds dear. He can hear screaming from down below. Screaming from those who survived. Those who the figures are playing with._

_"__Fox your dreaming,"_

Fox threw his hand at the figures throat and snapped his eyes open. It's not until he feels the bed covers, drenched in his sweat that he realises he was dreaming. With a start he let go of Coco's neck and quickly sat up, placing his hand over the clock he read the time.

6:00 AM

"Are you okay?" Coco asked. He felt the concern in her voice. It made him feel weak, vulnerable. Just like that night.

"Yes," Fox snapped much harsher than he intended.

"Hey keep your voice down Velvet's sleeping," Coco whispered. He listened carefully to hear the signature sound of Velvet's slow breathing. As he clutched his sheets he couldn't help but feel envy. It had been years since he had been able to get a goodnight's sleep. "You were tossing and turning. Looked like you were seconds away from screaming."

"It's just a bad dream," Fox said. "Where's Yatsuhashi?"

"He's either meditating or doing Tai chi," Coco smiled warmly. "He says it helps him keep a calm mind. You sure you don't want to talk about it?"

"Yes," he said in a tone that suggested it was not up for further debate. He then rolled over to the side so that when he started weeping, his team would not see.

* * *

><p><strong>An- Please even if you are only to submit one review to me for this entire ff, let it be about this chapter.<strong>


	5. Chapter 5 - 1

**AN - Sorry I haven't updated in a long time I had a lot of stuff come up and then I got lazy for a couple weeks. To make it up to you I'm releasing this early. I had planned to make this and what will be the next chapter into one larger chapter but I'm having trouble with the fight scene and I don't want to keep you waiting. This may seem a little weak on its lonesome but don't worry I'll have the next one up very shortly. I'd personally wait till I released the next chapter and read it the two in one go but its up to you. Just don't give up on this fic after reading this wait till I publish the next one to get bored.**

**By the way IGTJ is pronounced Agility. I was kind of lazy coming up with the team name here since I made it up when I started writing this story and I expected people to lose interest by now. I'm only using the OC's here because I needed someone to fill the role that this team will fill (Don't worry for those of you who hate OC's they won't be very prominent). Because I forgot what else I needed to add here I'm just going to let you read.**

It had been only four weeks into the semester and Velvet was forced to sigh yet again as she looked down at another history assignment from Professor Oobleck. She was patient, understanding and knew the importance of her work. That however, did not stop her from getting frustrated by the pure amount her teachers were throwing her. Even Fox, who usually used this time to avoid the faunas, was stuck inside doing homework on the other corner desk.

She looked up at the hunter in training and continued to be puzzled. He had his head jammed into a book and looked to be deeply concentrating. How he managed to read the book was a source of great mystery ever since Coco had confirmed that he was in fact blind. It wasn't in braille, they knew that much. And he had no problems reading notes off the chalkboard. It seemed the more they were around him, the more confused they got.

Realising that she had been staring at him for a good two minutes Velvet put her head down and busied herself with her work. If he could read, it was possible that Fox could see her staring and she didn't know what he'd do if she pissed him off. While he hadn't been nasty to her since the arena he hadn't been friendly either. He was fairly civil around her but Velvet couldn't help but noticing some… aggression hidden beneath his words. Usually he tried to avoid her altogether, especially in situations where they would be alone. Then again, he wasn't the only one doing so.

It seemed that these days Coco was even more distant than Fox. When she was around she was nice, outgoing and always the first to tell a joke, but the thing was she wasn't around that much. It seemed that apart from sleep and group assignments she simply abandoned the team altogether. Now that Velvet thought about it even at night time she would spend a lot of days having sleep overs with her friends. It happened so often that she didn't even bother telling them anymore.

In fact it seemed like the only two people on the team who could even be considered friends was herself and Yatsuhashi. She smiled at the thought of her large partner. Velvet had to admit, she really lucked out there. If she had been partnered with Fox, or one of the students that always made comments about her heritage, she didn't know what she would have done. Normally at this time he would be close to finishing class and would soon be on his way to the cafeteria. He'd pick something up for the two of them and head back to the dorm room but she decided to act first. Deciding that homework could wait she shut her book and walked over to the door.

"Have fun with Yatsuhashi," Fox said causing her to almost hop out of her skin. It wasn't so much the fact that he had talked for the first time since entering the room that startled her, but how genuine the words sounded. Velvet really appreciated the turnaround he was making.

"Do you want to come?" Velvet found herself asking.

"No I've got work to do,"

"Want me to bring you anything back?"

"No," after a moment when she went to leave she heard him mutter. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," she said with a sincere smile. "See you soon Fox."

Velvet left the room in high spirits and in deep thoughts. It was just a small step, but it gave her hope. The girl let instinct guide her through the now familiar halls and was abashed when she turned around a corner and bumped into someone. She apologised immediately, but it wasn't until he grabbed her arm, stopping her from progressing, that she looked up and saw just who it was that she had bumped into.

Grey Dutch was a student that she was familiar with. He was part of team IGTJ, the only team that beat them in time during the initiation. Since then not only had their reputation grown for combat prowess, but also for the juvenile decisions they made. It seemed to Velvet that they got in trouble during every class that she was in and that the only reason they weren't kicked out of Beacon, was because of their exceptional grades. How they kept them up though was beyond her. There had been rumours of cheating, but as far as she knew that was all they were.

"Well hello there hot stuff," Grey smirked. "Tell me is it true what they say? Because if so I'd really like to give it a go."

"Is what true?" all of Velvet's senses were screaming at her to get away, but she didn't want to offend the hunter and he had a secure grip on her arm regardless.

"That faunas are crazy good at sex," his grin widening. "That they're real animals in the sack."

Before Velvet could stumble out a response to the question, she was interrupted or rather saved, when the door opened opposite them. Indigo, the leader of Grey's team examined the two of them.

"Grey is there a reason you're not inside working?" he asked.

"Just having a nice conversation about the weather here boss," he looked up at the ceiling and nodded to himself. "Yep climate is pretty good indoors. You don't get a lot of rain inside."

"Get inside dumbass," Grey let go of Velvet's arm and with a nod, went inside the open dorm room. When he was in the room Indigo looked back at Velvet and sighed. "You should get going. No telling when he'll finish his work."

He slammed the door shut behind him before Velvet could stammer out a thank you. She was left slightly dumbstruck by the encounter and had to physically shake it off before she continued her walk. When she arrived at the cafeteria, she was disappointed to find that Yatsuhashi was already there waiting in line. When he saw the girl he waved her over and so she accepted his invitation and joined him.

"Hey Velvet what are you doing here?" Yatsuhashi said. "Am I not picking very good food?"

"No no it's not that," she said smiling. "I just thought it was my turn to buy you lunch is all. You've been doing it every time I've had a free so I thought you know I'd beat you too it but then I got caught up and yeah."

"You didn't have to do that," he said. "I enjoy surprising you with lunch. It makes you smile."

Velvet turned away, happy that the now moving line served to hide her blush. It didn't take the two long to pick out their food and find a table. Their meals were plain, but very tasty for a school cafeteria. After a considerable period of comfortable silence Yatsuhashi began talking.

"So how are things with you and Fox?" he asked with caution.

"Actually it's going a lot better," Velvet said, happy to fill him in on the new events. "It seems like he's really trying, just before I came here he actually initiated a goodbye. I know it isn't much but it's definitely a start."

"That's really relieving news,"

Velvet thought for a second, chewing on the edge of her food with a deep frown. "Did you have anything to do with that?"

"Coco did," he said. "And speaking of the devil."

Velvet turned in her seat to see Coco enter, surrounded as always by her group of friends. The girl waved at her team leader and received one back. Velvet didn't bother waiting for more than that from the girl though. It was unusual for her to come over and chat while she was with people.

"Are you nervous about tomorrow?" Velvet asked turning to face Yatsuhashi.

"You mean the trials to see who will get to skip the qualifiers for the upcoming tournament and get special tutelage from a professor?" he asked. "Yep. You?"

"We've never really fought as a team before," she said. "I'm just scared about how it'll go."

"We're strong individually," Yatsuhashi sighed. "Hopefully that will be enough."

**AN - Back to writing this fight scene. I hate writing fight scenes. I'm going to start looking into this beta reader thing so hopefully that will improve grammar and contradictions (ie Fox looking at clocks). If I'm right the next chapter will be the best and most intensive so far. **


End file.
