RWBY: Team SWRZ

The sparring match didn't go as Schwartz der Hund initially planned. Throughout his tenure as a bandit, he'd fought against several Huntsmen and Huntresses. There were some tough calls here and there, but he managed to defeat most of his opponents. He thought with all of that experience; he'd be able to defeat a measly Huntsmen instructor.

Boy was he wrong.

Lilith far exceeded his expectations. Even without a weapon in her possession, her hand-to-hand combat prowess was more than enough to throw Schwartz for a loop. All of his attacks were rendered useless against that woman. Even when he used his Semblance to throw the instructor off her game, nothing worked.

Five minutes hadn't even passed, and yet Schwartz found himself sweating bullets and short of breath. It was perhaps one of the first times in his life that he didn't know how to proceed with the battle. His eyes wandered to the monitor above their heads. His aura levels were less than half while Lilith had plenty to spare.

"Don't take your eyes off your opponent," Lilith warned the distracted student. However, she only delivered that warning after she struck Schwartz in the stomach with a sharp kick. The poor boy flew back until he collided into the Energy Dust barrier. He slumped to the floor, dropping his swords in the process.

"Do you think leader can handle this?" Zorina Teufel whispered over to her teammate, Watchet Amin.

"The result of this match is already decided," Watchet ȧssured her. It wasn't a secret that Schwartz was headstrong and reckless. He learned that from personally teaming up with him while out in the forest. As dangerous as traits like that were to the team, it wasn't something that would go away so quickly. Watchet took a mental note to work on that part of Schwartz slowly.

"And that concludes that little lesson," Lilith announced as she used her Scroll to disable the Energy Dust barrier. "Can anyone tell me the flaws in Schwartz's approach during the sparring match?"

The first student to raise their hand was Watchet.

"Yes?" Lilith pointed him out.

"Schwartz possessed no tact in the match," Watchet bluntly started, ignoring the glare he received from the person in question. "He recklessly charged in without ȧssessing the situation, nor the capabilities of his opponent. He was hopeless from the beginning, yet his arrogance blinded him to the possibility of his inevitable defeat."

"Correct," Lilith nodded her head in praise to the student's analytical mindset. There was a future for a perceptive student like him. "No matter how strong the Huntsmen or Huntress, never allow your hubris to cloud your judgment. Had Schwartz done that from the beginning, he would have realized that he had no hope of winning? Always remember that there will always be someone or something out there that's better than you."

"Are you coming?" asked Watchet as he and Zorina stood by the exit.

"I'll catch up," Schwartz dismissed his teammates with a small wave of his hand. Once they were gone, the young man left his seat and wandered over to Lilith.

"Something you need, Schwartz?" The black-haired instructor asked.

"Where'd you learn to fight like that?"

"Here," Lilith bluntly answered while she collected her supplies for the next class.

"Bullshit," Schwartz called her out. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but her fighting style reminded him so much of Bruna. Sure, Lilith carried herself a bit more elegantly, but there was a strange hint of wildness, perhaps savagery in there as well.

"No swearing in school," The instructor demanded. "If you're interested in my fighting style, then I'll gladly teach you by knocking you around the ring some more tomorrow."

Schwartz was left practically speechless as the woman confidently strode out of the room. That sudden show of arrogance provided an air of mystery around her, one that Schwartz couldn't wait to uncover. Perhaps his next four-years at Haven Academy wouldn't be so bad after all.

The rest of the day passed without much incident. Schwartz, Watchet, and Zorina convened at the cafeteria for dinner, collecting their plates and grabbing a table. For their first day of class, it wasn't all bad. Most of them learned a lot that day, and they couldn't wait to learn more.

"Yes, it concerns me as to why she has not shown her face at all," Watchet chipped in. Not even twenty-four hours passed since the four students became a team. After one day, one of their members refuses to be a part of it? Granted, the circumstances regarding their formation wasn't the most ideal. But, they were a team regardless. They had to stick together, no matter what.

"Does it even matter?" Schwartz showed no such concern for Rowan. "If the runt doesn't wanna stick around with us, then let her go. We don't need her around."

"Leader," Zorina called out to Schwartz. "You shouldn't utter such foolish words. Rowan is our partner, bond to us by--"

"Shut up," Schwartz demanded, not having any tolerance for any of Zorina's ramblings. Couldn't he enjoy his food in peace without his annoying teammates bothering him?

"Hey guys," A familiar voice reached the ears of Team SWRZ. Watchet and Zorina turned their heads, spotting two members of Team WEIS approaching the table. Enlai Chun and Li Shun sat across from the opposing team and flashed bright smiles.

"Hello," Watchet was the first person to return the greeting. Schwartz and Zorina however, weren't comfortable with rolling out the welcome mat.

"What do you guys want?" Schwartz pointed his fork at the intruding students. It was bad enough that his teammates annoyed him to no end, so he couldn't imagine what opposing teams would do to his temper.

"Nothing much," Shun answered.

"I wanted to see the student that got his ȧss kicked firsthand by one of the instructors today," Enlai chided in. Yup, Schwartz could already feel the veins on his forehead. It was one thing to take and accept a loss from the teacher, but he wouldn't take smack talk from anyone else.

"Dude, what did you expect would happen?" Enlai focused on Schwartz as he continued, "Instructors are professional Huntsmen. We're students. No matter how tough you think you are, they've got tons of experience over us."

"I would advise learning from that experience," Shun suggested. Learning from defeat was a wise way to further develop and grow in life. Those that refused to accept failure as a way of life were doomed to lives of falsehood and obscurity.

"Yeah, I've learned a lot," Schwartz responded with a roll of his eyes. He collected his tray of food and left the table without another word.

"So, how's it going with your team's first day?" Watchet broke the awkward silence that followed after Schwartz's departure.

"Average, I'd say," Enlai shrugged his shoulders. Nothing worth noting happened on their first day of classes. Not as exciting as their team leader picking fights with one of the instructors. Instead, Wei Tian, the leader of Team WEIS, remained silent as usual. He diligently followed the class schedules and exceeded in the courses. Enlai and Shun weren't slacking either in that department.

The only one that fell behind in the academic portion of classes was Ilma Aden--the well-known slacker of the team. Often lazy and uncooperative, the young girl spent most of her time falling asleep in classes. By the unfortunate luck of the draw, Li Shun was tasked with keeping his partner in line. Wei and Enlai didn't want to get kicked out of the school because of Ilma's unwillingness to put in the effort.

"It's our first day of classes, I'm sure as time passes we'll get to the more challenging courses," Shun ȧssured the students. He was confident that almost all of the first-year students wanted to get out there and slay Grimm as soon as possible. But recklessness only got people like that so far in life. They had to take their studies and training seriously. Slow and steady. That's what he believed.

Soon enough dinner time was over, and the students were free to do as they pleased for the next few hours until lights out. Watchet bid farewell to Enlai and Shun before him, and Zorina returned to their dorm room. Unfortunately, neither Schwartz or Rowan was there.

"Where could they have gone?" Zorina whɨnėd.

"Are you claiming that the Empress of Darkness isn't mysterious?" Zorina suddenly boasted, flourishing her jacket while striking an eccentric pose.

Watchet could only smirk in response, finding it somewhat comforting that the young woman returned to her usual bizarre behavior. The day didn't exactly go as he planned, but things could've been worse. The team wasn't off to the best start. Splitting off on their first day as a team wasn't the best way to go about things. But they had plenty of time to work on building their relationships. They had to if the team was going to survive the cruel world of Remnant.