"Weiss!" Ruby called.

"What?" Weiss snapped, whirling at her.

"What's wrong with you? Why are you being-?" Ruby was cut off.

"What's wrong with me? What's wrong with you? You're supposed to be a leader, and all you've been so far is a nuisance!" Weiss huffed.

Ruby scoffed. "What did I do?"

"That's just it - you've done nothing to earn your position! Back in the forest, you acted like a child, and you've only continued to do so!"

"Weiss, where is this coming from? What happened to all the talk about 'working together'? I thought you believed in acting as a team."

"Not a team led by you. I've studied and trained. And quite frankly, I deserve better." Weiss turned around, storming off. "Ozpin made a mistake."

Ruby stood rooted to the spot where she stood. She slowly rubbed her arms looking dejected. Unbeknownst to her was that Ozpin had seen the whole thing and was ready to talk to her, but he stopped.

"Ruby?"

Ozpin stepped behind a pillar as Oscar came running up to her. The teacher took a sip of his hot chocolate, waiting to see what would happen next. So far, things had been rather interesting and intense, to say the least.

"Oscar? What are you doing?" Ruby immediately put on a bright persona.

"Weiss yelled at you and you both just walked away," Oscar explained.

"Oh, I'm fine, but thanks-"

"You didn't look it," Oscar persisted.

Ruby sighed. "Don't take this personal, because I know Professor Ozpin is your friend, but... do you think he made a mistake?"

"What do you mean exactly?" Oscar tilted his head.

"About me. Making me a team leader. I'm younger than the others, I guess I'm not as serious like I'm supposed to be and-"

"Of course that wasn't a mistake. Trust me. He knew what he was doing when he picked you. You see, the thing about the professor is that everything he does is for a reason. He may be cryptic about it, or you may never realize it's meaning, but there is a point to it nonetheless."

"Your not just saying that to make me feel better are you?" Ruby narrowed her eyes at him.

Oscar held his hands up. "Promise I'm not. You trust me, right?"

"I mean... I guess... no offense."

"Then trust me on trusting Ozpin. And instead of thinking about the negatives that Weiss is thinking about, think about the positives that Ozpin was thinking about," Oscar advised. "So, instead of worrying about what Weiss thinks, what do you think? Do you think he made a mistake. Think about it. Think about what you've done to gain this position as a leader."

Ruby thought for a moment, then a small smile grew on her lips. "Thanks... it's just... such a big responsibility..."

"Yeah... I get you there..." Oscar sighed, rubbing the back of his neck.

"And you're worried you will make a mistake," Ozpin said, revealing himself.

"Gah! How much did you hear?" Oscar inquired.

"Enough."

Oscar sighed and Ruby's face turned bright red.

Ozpin chuckled. "What you're asking is completely reasonable, and your worries? Well, I find them proof that you are the right choices for leadership. You worry that you'll make a mistake, which means you want to do the right thing and that is what a good leader needs to be."

"But wanting is a little different then doing..." Oscar mumbled.

"It's the thought that counts. If you drive for the right choices then you will most likely find the right choice. Will you always make the right one? No. Trust me, I have made more mistakes than any man or woman in this world, but choosing either of you I don't think is not one of them."

Ruby and Oscar looked at each other. Ozpin let out another low chuckle. "Oscar, I would take some of your own advice from time to time. Think about it for now." With that, he began to walk away.

"Wait!" Oscar called.

Ozpin turned and raised a brow at him.

"I've been meaning to ask... You didn't chose me as a leader because I... I'm..."

Ozpin laughed. "A promise is a promise, Oacar. I promised to treat you equally and not let our past and current relationship to influence my decisions. If anything, I have made the sin of of expecting more from you than others. You should be proud of yourself for still exceeding my expectations."

Oscar's eyes widened as the professor walked away. Ruby gently punched him arm, smiling. He blushed and modestly ducked his head.

"We better go to the next class before we're late," Ruby said suddenly.

"Oh! No! We gotta run!" Oscar grabbed her wrist and they ran to the entrance of the class. They stopped and split up when they entered the room so that they could sit with their teammates. Oscar sat down next to his team right before class started, panting.

"Dude! Where'd you go? You were like ten seconds from being late," Mercury whispered.

"Hey, I wasn't late so I'm fine," Oscar chuckled nervously.

"But where did you go?"

"Oh, um... just... never mind, class is going," Oscar pointed out.

Mercury shrugged.

◇◇◇◇◇◇

"This is the part where you lose," Cardin taunted.

"Over my dead-!" Jaune was immediately cut short as his opponent kneed him in the stomach. He dropped his sword and fell to the ground in agony. He looked up and fear spread across his face as Cardin raised his mace. To Juane's relief, the bell rang, ending the fight.

"Cardin, that's enough!" Glynda scolded. Cardin left the stage and she proceeded on as she tapped away on her tablet. "Students, as you can see, Mr. Arc's Aura has now dropped into the red. In a tournament-styled duel, this would indicate that Jaune is no longer fit for battle, and that the official may call the match." She then looked at Juane. "Mr. Arc, it's been weeks now. Please try to refer to your Scroll during combat. Gauging your Aura will help you decide when it's appropriate to attack, or when it is better to move to a more... defensive strategy. We wouldn't want you to be gobbled up by a Beowolf, now, would we?"

"Speak for yourself... Cardin huffed.

Emerald raised an eyebrow at him, for Oscar and his team were standing next to Cardin's team.

"Remember, everyone, the Vytal Festival is only a few months away! It won't be long before students from the other kingdoms start arriving in Vale, so keep practicing! Those who choose to compete in the combat tournament will be representing all of Vale," Glynda reminded them.

The class bell rang and the students began to leave. Juane bowed his head dejectedly.

"Hey, guys, you go on. I'll meet you at lunch," Oscar offered.

"Sure," Velvet nodded.

Oscar got onto the stage next to Juane. "How are you doing?"

"Awful! Did you see how terribly I was?"

"I saw how brutal Cardin was-"

"You don't have to sugarcoat it," Juane huffed.

"It takes time," Oscar replied.

"Yeah, well, that's something I don't have..."

"Let's go eat," Oscar offered.

"Sure. Pyrrha will wonder where I am and Nora will wonder why I missed her story time," Juane chuckled. "That and I'm starved!"

The two friends went to the cafeteria where they received their lunch. Juane and Oscar sat down at the table. Oscar looked at his team. "Where's Velvet?"

"She forgot her drink, she'll be right back," Emerald explained.

At that moment, Velvet sat down in her spot next to Oscar. She began to massage her lowered ears.

"What are you doing?" Mercury raised a brow.

"Nothing," the faunas mumbled. She put her hands down, not touching her ears anymore.

"Didn't look like nothing," Yang muttered. She was sitting across from Velvet. The faunas merely shrugged, looking away.

◇◇◇◇◇◇

Sorry, this chapter is slightly shorter than the previous ones, but hopefully the next chapter will make up for it.