Never Change

Chapter 15

Percy sat in his team's room as the other members of his team raced around frantically, practically pulling their hair out.

"We are so screwed for the Vytal Tournament! What are we gonna do??" Ruby moaned in distress, "Percy is involved in almost all our team attacks!!"

"Don't be so dramatic," Percy chided her gently, patting her on the head.

"But you're our team leader!" Ruby argued vehemently in protest, "What are we gonna do without you??"

"Exactly. What are you gonna without me if I get lost on a mission and aren't with you guys? What if I get stranded? What if I get killed? How are you going to get by?"

"Percy, don't say that!" Weiss admonished him, horrified at the thought, but Percy only shrugged in response, "It's a realistic expectation that might happen. I'm not going to baby you four; the real world is much harsher, and not a fairy tale. You're here at Beacon to learn and get used to the real world, so this is what I'm giving you. What will you do first as a team without me?"

"Determine leader," Blake muttered quietly, but Percy picked it up, nonetheless.

"And who will that be?"

The four of them looked at each other uncertainly, but Weiss ultimately raised her hand.

"Weiss, I'm not a professor," he deadpanned, as the heiress blushed in response.

"Regardless, you are a good fit for the role of leader, once you swallow your pride."

Percy continued, ignoring the scandalized look on Weiss' face, "A leader must inspire morale in their team, and also be capable of leading in the field. A leader must take criticism to heart, and always seek to improve themselves. Tell me, Weiss, do you believe you have these qualities?"

"No..." Weiss said slowly, admitting it to Percy's muted surprise, "But I will try my best to imitate them."

Percy nodded, a smile starting to spread across his face, "Good. Then that is what I want from you."

"Speaking of teams, what did you enter us as?" Blake pointed out, "You forfeited from the Vytal Tournament so that we didn't have to pick, but what is our team name then?"

"Team RWBY, pronounced Ruby," Percy proclaimed, much to his team's chagrin.

"But you made me leader?" Weiss tilted her head in confusion.

"Look, PRWBY minus P gives RWBY, and it works perfectly," Percy grumbled, "I didn't even do that bad of a job."

"No you didn't," Yang snorted, "You're just simplistic, like all men."

"And you're blonde," Percy drawled, "We all face obstacles on our path to greatness."

"Y-You little shit! I'll pummel you into the ground!" Yang stuttered, eyes turning red, only held back by a frantic Ruby along with a struggling Weiss and Blake.

"Ooh," Percy teased, winking just for dramatics, "Kinky."

"What does that mean?" Ruby piped up, much to the horror of her sister, who began to struggle even harder to free herself from her team's grip, practically frothing at the mouth to attack him, but to no avail.

Percy didn't quite know why he wanted to piss off Yang today, but he did it anyway, even if he was effectively signing his own death warrant at this point.

"Oh I'm not quite sure, but Blake is, ahem, well-educated on the topic," Percy drawled again, taking delight in how much Blake stiffened, "She would be glad to be of assistance."