D-RWBY: Volume 2

Minor Hiccup

Professor Port's voice droned on about his hunting exploits as Shade struggled to keep his eyes open in the back row. His head kept nodding forward before he'd catch himself and sit up straight, only to repeat the cycle moments later.

"You okay?" Weiss whispered, genuine concern in her voice as she watched her boyfriend fight off another yawn.

"Just tired," Shade mumbled, finally giving up and resting his head on his arms. "Only got like an hour of sleep. May have stayed up playing games on my Scroll all night."

Weiss smiled fondly and began running her fingers through his dark hair. "You're hopeless. Want to play together tonight if our mission goes well?"

"Definitely," he said, managing a tired grin.

The bell's chime saved them both from Port's endless tales, and they quickly gathered their things to meet up with the others.

Back in the shared dorm room, Teams RWBY and DANY had gathered to finalize their investigation plans. The girls had changed into casual clothes that would help them blend in, while the boys stuck to their usual outfits.

"Alright, team meeting!" Ruby announced, bouncing on her bed. "Today we start our investigation!"

"Before we get into assignments," Yang interrupted with a mischievous grin, "we need to address the elephant in the room."

Everyone looked confused except for Sleek, who was already sighing in anticipation.

"Your names are confusing as hell," Yang continued bluntly. "We've got Daniel and Dark Daniel, then Dark SSJ4... it's like a really bad naming convention in a video game."

"Hey!" Daniel protested.

"She's not wrong though," Blake admitted. "It gets confusing during conversations."

Dark crossed his arms defensively. "Our names are perfectly fine, thank you very much."

"Look, we need nicknames for you guys," Ruby chimed in. "Something easier to keep track of during missions."

"This is ridiculous," Shade muttered, though he was trying not to laugh.

"Okay, how about this," Weiss suggested with obvious amusement. "Daniel becomes 'Dan' for short. Dark can be 'Shade' since he's always lurking in shadows. And Dark SSJ4..." She paused thoughtfully.

"Blaze," Yang declared. "Because of all the energy transformations and fire imagery."

"And Sleek can just stay Sleek because that one's actually clear," Ruby added.

The four boys looked at each other, then burst out laughing at the absurdity of the situation.

"You know what? Fine," Dan said, wiping tears from his eyes. "If it makes missions less confusing, I'm Dan now."

"Shade works for me," his counterpart agreed.

"Blaze it is," the third member said with a shrug.

"This is the weirdest team bonding exercise ever," Sleek commented, but he was smiling.

With the naming crisis resolved, Ruby refocused the group on their investigation plans.

"Alright, assignments!" she announced. "Shade and Weiss are hitting the CCT to check Schnee company records for dust-related incidents."

The newly-nicknamed pair nodded their agreement.

"Blake and Blaze will infiltrate a White Fang meeting to gather intel on current operations," Ruby continued.

Blake looked nervous but determined. "If I can get inside, we should learn what they're planning next."

"Yang, Sleek, and Neptune will visit Yang's contact on the shady side of town," Ruby said. "He usually knows everything happening in Vale's underworld."