Team SWRZ - Volume 1 - Chapter 15 - First Day of Class!

It was the morning after Team SWRZ's formation. Immediately after Headmaster Lionhart finished assigning the other students to teams, Schwartz and the others got escorted to their new room for the next four years. It beat sleeping out in the auditorium like they did the other day. The first person to raise a complaint was the short, red-head Rowan Cassidy.

How could she accept this? After everything she did in the forest, why wasn't she elected the team leader? It didn't make sense. She felt she was the most qualified to lead the team of misfits. Her mind was sharp, her reflexes were undoubtedly the greatest, and she was overall the best choice. Something was wrong with the system. Either that or the Headmaster was a complete moron.

While she kept her complaints of not being selected as the leader on the back burner, she'd be damned if she was going to sleep in the same room with two other guys for the next four years. She didn't remember anyone mentioning the sleeping quarters being co-ed. There was no telling the nasty things she'd see wandering in the room at the wrong time.

The first thing Rowan demanded to rectify the situation was hanging up a sheet in the middle of the room; that way, the girls and boys would remain separated and prevent peeping incidents. With Watchet and Zorina agreeing with her suggestion, Schwartz's refusal got dismissed and ignored. From there, Rowan split the room in half — girls on the left, boys on the right. Anyone caught crossing the boundary at night was subjectable to a beatdown.

And with those boundaries set, Team SWRZ went to sleep for the night.

Warm rays of the sun bled through the windows hours later. Team SWRZ made their way out of their beds...some faster than others. Watchet and Rowan were the first ones out of their beds. They were dressed and ready for the rest of their day. Meanwhile, Schwartz and Zorina tossed and turned in their bed, moaning and groaning about the racket their teammates made getting ready.

"Schwartz, I believe it is time for you to get up," Watchet approached the team leader's bed and gently shook the young man. "We don't want to be late on our first day of class. It wouldn't look good on our record."

"Who cares about records?" Schwartz groaned as he pulled the blankets over his face. It'd been years since he'd slept in a soft, comfortable bed. He wanted to enjoy it for as long as he could. It felt nice being on a mattress not covered in dirt and bugs for a change.

"Records are vital. As one of the new teams in Haven Academy, we should set the perfect standard for future Huntsmen to come." Watchet sat down at the foot of Schwartz's bed. He continued to bombard Schwartz's eardrums with his usual, nonsensical prattle until the team leader finally decided to get up.

"This is going to be a regular thing with you, isn't it?" Schwartz sighed.

"Punctuality is essential," Watchet announced with a smile.

"Yeah, yeah. Are the girls up yet?"

"I am not sure. I was given strict instructions from Rowan not to look past the sheet."

"What? Does she think we're going to peep on her or something? News flash, pipsqueak, you ain't got much to look at," Schwartz raised his voice, ensuring that he got a rise out of Rowan.

He got exactly what he asked for. Rowan tore down the sheet and tossed it on the floor, her face red from frustration. It was bad enough that she's stuck with the team, but she'd be damned if she would take his shit for the next four years.

"And what do you mean by that, huh?!" Rowan yelled.

"Exactly as it sounds," Schwartz nonchalantly answered.

"Settle down, you two. We are a team now. We should start acting like it." Watchet stepped in between his teammates. He knew the two of them didn't get along. Fighting seemed to be all they wanted to do in each other's presence. Hopefully, he could find a way to resolve their issues in the future.

"Like hell, I will work alongside this psychopath much longer." Rowan spat.

"Oh, because you're such a joy to be around yourself," Schwartz rolled his eyes.

"Your tiresome squabble irks me," A low, gruff tone came from the final waking member of the team, Zorina. "Be silent. Unless you wish for me to open the void of darkness and claim your souls as sustenance."

"Did...did she threaten us?" Rowan inquired, unsure how to handle Zorina's odd choice of dialogue. It was one thing after another with her teammates. They'd drive her to the edge of insanity if she stayed longer with them.

"It appears so," Watchet nodded.

"Hey, Dark Empress. What happened to your limiter?" Schwartz smirked and pointed to Zorina's eyes.

Zorina reached up and touched her face, realizing she didn't have her trademark eye patch. She jumped out of bed in a panic and scrambled through her belongings. Schwartz covered his mouth, resisting the urge to point and laugh at the frantic girl. He reached in his pocket and pulled out the girl's eye patch.

"Is that her limiter?" Watchet asked.

"I may have stolen it from her last night before we went to bed," Schwartz chuckled, marveling at his little prank.

"Where is it? Where is it?! I can't control my power without it!" Zorina desperately cried out. On cue, darkness seeped from the girl's body and began to creep toward the others.

"Quit messing around and give it to her!" Rowan snatched the eye patch from Schwartz and quickly handed it back to her maniac partner. It was too early in the morning to deal with the delusional girl's antics. The darkness vanished almost immediately after putting the eye patch back on.

"Well done, my destined one," Zorina thanked Rowan and struck a pose to show off her eye patch. "If not for you, this entire school would've been lost in darkness for all eternity. This limiter is very sacred. This must never leave my sight for too long."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Rowan sighed and shook her head. How many brain cells had she lost staying in the same room with her team?

"Hey, Dark Empress, wrong eye." Schwartz pointed out. Zorina blushed and quickly swapped the eye patch over to the other eye. While her teammates continued to mess around, Rowan left without a word.

Waking up alongside those idiots for the next four years wasn't something she looked forward to. The mere thought of it nearly gave her an aneurysm as she wandered out of the building and into the courtyard. Dozens of students flooded the place. She couldn't have that. She needed a secluded place to conduct her business.

Thankfully, Rowan found a spot out toward the garden. She ensured no one else was around as she slipped her earpiece on.

"Mari, you there?" Rowan asked.

"You know I am, sister," Mari enthusiastically responded. It was undoubtedly a tone she didn't expect to hear from her partner. Then again, it was thanks to her that she was trapped in Haven for the time being. "Rowan Cassidy, member of Team SWRZ. Never thought I'd see the day."

Rowan gritted her teeth upon hearing Mari's cackling. "Enough of your games, Mari! This is serious! I need some intel!"

"Got it, got it," Mari ceased her laughter and readied her fingers for the keyboard. "Who do you need me to search for?"

"My teammates. Schwartz der Hund, Watchet Amin, and Zorina Teufel." Rowan answered. If she was going to stick around those people, she wanted to know everything about them. Nothing was off-limits to her.

"Okay, let's see...." Mari worked her magic on the keyboard, putting their names into her search engine. To the woman's immediate shock, nothing came up. No prior records, no birth certificates, nothing of the sort to provide her client with any information. "Uhhhh, Rowan?"

"What is it? What did you find?"

"Nothing." replied Mari, "There's nothing on any of these people. It's like they don't exist."

"What?! How is that possible?" Rowan exclaimed. "Rerun your search. There's got to be something."

"Don't you think I'm already doing that? I'm telling you, Rowan. Nothing's coming up," Mari informed the impatient woman on the other end of the listening device.

"How's that possible?"

"The best thing I can think of is that none of these people were born inside any of the kingdoms." Mari surmised. Her search engines weren't perfect. Her connections only reached those within the confines of the kingdoms. Anything outside of that, she had nothing. Therefore, there was nothing the woman could provide Rowan about her teammates.

"Great..." Rowan heaved a sigh. It was one irritation after another. Trapped in Haven with a bunch of strangers wasn't her most ideal situation. "Please tell me you have some information on Duncan."

"Yeah, he's still in custody. No word on any transfers or trials right now." Mari answered. Thankfully, there was at least some information she could give her partner in crime.

"What's taking them so long?" Rowan inquired. Haven's justice system wasn't that messed up, was it?

"I don't know, but you don't have to worry. You could try and learn a thing or two about Huntsmen while you're there."

"No, no!" Rowan shook her head. She didn't give a damn if she had to hide out at Haven for the time being. She'd be damned if she had to attend classes. "I'm not planning on learning anything from the people that dropped me from an airship into a forest of death!"

"Oh, come on, it wasn't all bad. You managed to survive, didn't you?" Mari asked, taking the situation extremely lightly. She wasn't much of a field operative. Therefore, she never experienced the adrenaline of battle, the fear of death, or the pain of receiving damage.

It was because of that disconnect that Mari would never understand the real dangers of being a Huntsman. Rowan didn't want any part of that life. It was safer to steal and hide than fight. Even if she'd have to defend herself, that's what her semblance was for.

"Barely. Look, I've got to go, Mari. Contact me when you find something about Duncan." Rowan removed her earpiece and headed off away from the building. Classes weren't her thing, so she wouldn't bother attending.

Meanwhile, her teammates, Schwartz, Watchet, and Zorina, went through their school schedule without complaint. They followed the instructions left on the pamphlets passed out by the instructors. Watchet was the only one on the team that kept his. Schwartz tossed his aside within seconds of receiving it while Zorina lost hers in the shuffle of her stuff.

Haven Academy Schedule:

7:30 a.m. – Breakfast

8:00 a.m. – Weapon Maintenance and Upkeep, Professor Kelly Sitter

9:45 a.m. – Botany, Professor Denver Grant

11:15 a.m. – Survival Training, Professor Lilith Hale

12:30 p.m. – Lunch

1:30 p.m. – History of Remnant, Professor Clancy Armstrong

2:45 p.m. – Battlefield Strategy, Professor William Maize

3:35 p.m. – Combat Training, Professor Lilith Hale

4:00 p.m. – Sparring

5:00 p.m. – Stealth and Patrol, Professor Clementine Patel

6:00 p.m. – Dinner

"What's the next class, Watchet?" Schwartz asked, lazily following his teammate.

"Sparring," Watchet answered. "Professor Lilith Hale will oversee the class."

"Oh, sweet, something fun." Schwartz cracked his knuckles. The only classes he found enjoyable revolved solely around either weapons development, survival training, or combat. Every other class, he'd find himself nodding off—Watchet being the only reason he managed to stay awake so far.

"Has no one noticed the sudden disappearance of our fourth member?" Zorina asked. The entire day the young woman felt uneasy. Neither Schwartz nor Watchet seemed concerned about Rowan's absence from the team. That didn't sit right with her. They'd have to stick together if they were to be a team.

"Oh, I noticed. I don't care." Schwartz blatantly revealed. It was no secret that he and Rowan didn't get along. Throughout the entire trial, all the students did was argue and bicker. If the runt didn't plan on sticking around with the team, it was no skin off his nose.

"You should, Schwartz," Watchet scolded. "She is our teammate, after all."

"What if she's in trouble?" Zorina asked.

"I doubt that. We're in school. The only real way to get in trouble here would be skipping classes," Schwartz assumed. Either way, the absence of Rowan wasn't any concern of his. The young man and the rest of his team followed the other students into the next room.

Professor Lilith Hale stood proudly in the center. Everything about her confident posture spoke volumes to Schwartz.

The instructor reminded him so much of Bruna the first time they met all those years ago. Schwartz and his teammates sat in the front row while the other students selected their seats. The young man couldn't wait to see how the sparring lesson would play out. He enjoyed anything that allowed him to prove his strength and talent over others. It was a habit that no one could get rid of.

"Welcome class to your first sparring lesson," Lilith began with the class. She pulled out her scroll and turned it on. With a button press, a large monitor descended from the ceiling. "Now, I know you've all had a modicum of combat experience. Whether it has been from previous Huntsman schools or your trials in the forest. Either way, it's time to improve your skills as combatants. Combat skills are essential to becoming a great Huntsman or Huntress. What's the point in trying to protect the people if you can't fight?"

Schwartz sneered at the teacher's comment. He saw himself as the strongest person in the class. He's experienced combat for almost his entire life. They couldn't hold a candle to him.

Lilith spotted the arrogant look on Schwartz's face and smirked. Excellent. She had her first victim of the day. "Do any of you students fancy yourselves as top-class fighters?"

Indistinct mutters spread across the room. Immediate confusion and uncertainty crossed the students' minds as they tried to decipher the true meaning behind the woman's words. Honestly, it was a simple question that had a simple answer. And only one student provided that answer.

"Yeah, I do," Schwartz raised his hand, nominating himself in front of everyone. All eyes fell on the young man. "You saw the footage of the trial, didn't you? I'm sure you've noticed my skills."

"Indeed, you are quite skilled in combat, Mr. Schwartz," Lilith responded. "When you're fighting against the creatures of Grimm notorious for having a one-tracked mind. However, how do you think you'll fare against a more sentient opponent? One that's capable of quick-thinking and adaptability?"

"Easy. I'll beat 'em." Schwartz scoffed.

"Very well, then. Prove it," Lilith challenged. She stepped aside and gestured for the young man to enter the stage. Schwartz wasted little time. He leaped from his seat and landed in the center of the ring.

"Alright, which of the losers in the stands is gonna be my opponent?" Schwartz scanned the classroom for potential opponents. No one of worth caught the man's interest. Regardless of who the teacher selected, they'd find themselves beaten.

"I'll be your opponent," Lilith answered, prompting jeers from the other students. The instructor pressed several buttons on her scroll, activating the Energy Dust to erect a barrier around the ring. Afterward, images of Lilith and Schwartz appeared on the monitor hanging above their heads. Below those images were their aura levels.

"Well, this is interesting...." Schwartz smirked. His body trembled in excitement. A fight against an instructor on his second day of school wasn't something he planned, but he wasn't complaining. What better way to prove his dominance than beating one of the top dogs of the academy?

"We'll spar against one another until one of our aura levels drops to critical," Lilith indicated to the aura levels on the screen.

"That shouldn't be too hard," Schwartz unsheathed his swords, [Bark and Bite], and took an offensive stance. He already knew of the instructor's semblance. Unfortunately, he hadn't deduced a way to counter its effects. Also, he didn't know Lilith's fighting style or weapon.

"Don't confuse confidence with arrogance," Lilith warned him as she slipped her scroll into her back pocket.

"Be careful, Schwartz!" Watchet called out to his team leader.

"That one's power far exceeds those of average mortals!" Zorina added.

"Yeah, thanks for the warning. But I got this," Schwartz dismissed their concerns.

"Do you?" Lilith tilted her head to the side.

"Where are your weapons?" Schwartz asked.

"Don't need them. Not for you," Lilith taunted. "Now then, are you ready?"

Schwartz tightened his grip on his swords and dashed toward the instructor, not even giving her the chance to start the sparring match officially.