RWBY Reboot Volume 1

Chapter 11

  "Okay, that's it," Nikos said in annoyance, slamming her fork onto the table. "What's going on with you two right now has to stop. You're both being weirder than normal." Sora denied everything, trying to appear as completely normal as possible. Arkos just put his head in his hands and sighed.

  "I can break Finch's legs, if you want," Nate offered. Even though he appreciated the offer, the redhead did his best to turn it down. The stunt would only give Finch more of a reason to prank him.

  "Break them," Carmel ordered, sounding unusually serious. "Please. Break them." Vanilla's ears were down and laying against her hair, as if it was her only way of hiding them. Nate and Sam looked at each other, both shrugging in agreement. They had the perfect reason. They might as well.

  "I can't stand people like Finch," Nikos grumbled. "Absolutely atrocious." Thankfully, as they all knew, those people were far and few. The war had brought everyone together. Nothing should've stopped unity.

  Arkos sighed, standing up from his seat. The topic of Finch was something he didn't want to deal with right now. It was the scariest thing. With Sora acting off, he could only assume the bully had gotten to her too. But that made no sense. Finch wouldn't dare touch the careful ignorance of the Kingdom that his father had gained over time. It seemed that The Nine didn't let go of grudges that easily.

  Sam scribbled down notes, even though he knew the whole story. Every child in their circle knew about it. It was just something that they talked about. The Faunus War was something that was part of their past. No one treated him differently because of it. No one treated anyone differently because of it.

  To him, Arkos appeared overwhelmingly worried and increasingly dejected. Nikos seemed just as nervous. It was very unusual. Worst of all, Sora appeared worse than ever.

  "You're not the most open-minded of individuals, are you?" he heard Nikos said, bringing the young man's attention back to class. Finch mocked her with a question, asking if she had a problem. "No, I don't. But I do have the answer. It's night vision. Many Faunus are known to have nearly-perfect sight in the dark." Nikos gave Sam a look. It was his turn.

  "General Lagune was inexperienced and made the mistake of ambushing the Faunus in their sleep," Sam recited from memory. It was hard to keep his mother's voice out of his head. "Lagune's massive army was outmatched, and he was captured." Just to keep to his roots, and because he wanted to, Sam turned to Finch with a warning stare. "Perhaps if he had paid attention in class, he wouldn't be remembered as such a failure." The young man smiled. Sam, since he'd heard the story, had always wanted to say that.

  Although, his triumph didn't last long. Arkos was told to stay after class. Dread seeped into Sam's stomach like a vile poison. It was clear what would happen next.

  Sora was waiting outside the classroom when they got out. She appeared frightened, with her hands clasped in her pockets. It was something Sam didn't like to see. Yet, this was her decision. They knew what she had to do, what Arkos's mother had done.

  "I'll stay behind and wait," Sora told her friend. Sam nodded understandingly, briefly placing a hand on her shoulder. Sora looked behind her, watching as the young man waved Nikos away from the hall. From where the girl had planted herself, she could hear everything.

  "It stops now!" Dr. Newtonian said firmly. "You've worked hard to gain entrance to this school, and I expect you to act like it. If you don't learn from history, gentlemen, then you are unfortunately destined to repeat it." It was nearly the same speech Dr. Oobleck had given Arkos's father. Sora felt that it was appropriately unnerving in weight. "I want an essay on my desk on pages fifty-one to ninety-one by next class. Run along now." Sora had to shift to the side to avoid being hit by the teacher on his way out.

  "You know, I think Sam and Nate really will break his legs," Sora joked. Arkos smiled faintly. The redhead fell into her, having been elbowed by Finch. Sora straightened the young man out, giving him a reassuring smile. Then inspiration struck her. "I have an idea! Come with me!"

  The young girl dragged her friend up the stairs, a small smile on her face. All of the fear and anxiety she had been feeling the previous few days had disappeared. This one moment was all she was thinking about for once. When Sora got to the roof, she felt a wave of calm hit her.

  "Why did you bring me up here?" Arkos asked blankly, seeing the skyline. Sora giggled, her eyes lighting up with cheer. "Is it for a pep talk or something?"

  "Or something," she chirped. "I know you aren't the strongest of fighters, so I wanted to help." Her friend gave her a confused look. "We can come up here, after class, and train. That way you can become stronger." Sora tucked a lock of hair so that it was behind her ear. "Besides, you know I've trained in swordplay with your father. I can help."

  "That's very kind of you, but I don't want help," Arkos argued, trying to not sound angry at her. Sora slightly frowned. It was what she had expected, but the words still hurt her. "I shouldn't need help." Slowly, his tone became angrier. "Do you think I need help? Am I really that bad?"

  "No!" Sora demurred. She could feel her anxiety rise again. To keep herself from panicking too bad, she put her hands in her pockets. "Everyone needs a little push from time to time. It's nothing to be ashamed of." It was true. Even she needed help. Especially now. "You made it to Beacon. That speaks what you can do!"

  "I don't belong here."

  "That's terrible. You shouldn't say that." Arkos was fed up with Sora's polite temper. Her hands shoved in her pockets as if she had something to hide away. That panicked look that said she felt threatened.

  "No! I don't!" he shouted. "I don't belong here. I didn't truly get accepted. Not like you did, not like Nikos did, not like Sam, or William, or Nate, or even Renee!"

  "What are you talking about?" Sora muttered. She was so confused. What was Arkos talking about? Was he trying to talk about his interview process? How her uncle had chosen them? Even she had been given a bit of favoritism. Well, they all had!

  "Professor Ozwald only let me in because of my parents! Because of our history!" Sora questioned him, but he seemed just as lost. "Do you really think that the only child not trained for combat would be let in?"

  "Then let me help you. Let me train you."

  "I don't want your help!" Arkos was angry, more so than he had been in years. "If I can't do this on my own, then I shouldn't be able to do it at all!" Sora finally had enough of it and stormed away. Arkos felt a chill.

  "Well, isn't this interesting?" a sinister voice said. Finch was on the roof. Arkos hadn't seen him appear. It was more frightening than Sora's anger. "I couldn't help but overhear your conversation from my dorm."

  "Please don't tell anyone!" Arkos begged. The look in Finch's eye made his blood run cold. Suddenly, Arkos was wishing that Sora was still there. That he hadn't thrown away the person he was closest with.

  "Now, why would I tell on a friend?" Finch wrapped his arm around Arkos's shoulders. It seemed friendly. It was definitely not. This was, most assuredly, a threat. Fear ran through the redhead. It was too late.