Hello again, friends. Me and xSPYXEx collaborated on this short, with sw4ahl providing the initial idea. I compiled, rewrote and extended the story.
『 A Lesson Learned 』
The classroom went quiet with a tap of Ozpin's cane on the hardwood floor. Everyone who had been heckling or giggling turned pale, as their attention was drawn to the grey-haired man in the green suit standing in the doorway. Despite his calm demeanor, Beacon's headmaster commanded an entirely different level of respect among the student body, even when compared with men of Professor Port's stature.
The experienced teacher and veteran Huntsman, who had been struggling to regain control of his class, suddenly composed himself and addressed the unannounced guest with his usual boisterous tone.
"Ozpin, my good man!" Professor Port exclaimed. "It is rare to see you outside your office these days. What brings you here?"
"My friend, Professor Port. Today, I will be... supervising this lecture."
Peter Port nervously twirled his mustache. "With pleasure, my friend. May I ask the occasion for this unexpected visit?"
The portly man was well aware that students tended to sleep during his classes. Recently, the lesson reviews by his students have become increasingly negative, despite his best efforts in telling his most interesting stories from his Grimm hunting days.
"I was thinking of adjusting the curriculum a little bit."
Ozpin snapped his fingers and Glynda came in, a giant cage rolling into the room behind her. A black sheet covered the box, but a deep growl could be heard from every corner of the room.
Port nodded slowly, going through his mental catalogue of the numerous different Grimm creatures that he had killed in his career. Knowing Ozpin, under the blanket covering the cage could be any number of things.
"Well, what did you have in mind?" Port asks, stepping to the side to allow the now awake students to see the cage in its entirety.
"I have a feeling that some of the students," Ozpin waved his arm vaguely, "may not show the appropriate amount of interest in your lectures, my dear friend."
Glynda Goodwitch pushed up her glasses. "We are here to... rectify that, using whatever crazy methods our headmaster has come up with."
She waved her hand and the sheet flew off, revealing an Ursa Major lying in wait inside the cage. Ominously glowing red eyes under a battle-scarred armor plates with the color of ivory, ragged looking fur twisting on it's skin, vicious splinters emerging from the arm-length marred claws. Despite being hunched over inside the cage, it was apparent that this particular specimen was an ancient existence that has seen it's fair share of battles. The normal Ursa Majors were already imposing enough, as strong as they were rare, iron-fisted rulers over dozens of Ursa Minor and Beowolves, but this Ursa has long since outgrown that title.
"Is this going to be a group project?" Port asks, peering at the class through his bushy eyebrows, unsure if even the lot of them combined could take down such a formidable opponent.
Ozpin chuckled and shook his head. "I'm afraid not. Today will be a demonstration from your side. We shall show the students that there is a lot to learn from your colorful anecdotes."
Before Port could interject, Ozpin continued, turning to face the students.
"I have received complaints about Professor Port's anecdotes sounding improbable and fantastic. That is why I have decided that you will get to see one of the finest Huntsmen in Vale at work. Today, Professor Port will wrestle with an Ursa, barehanded."
"Oh ho, Ozpin, you're a tricky one. You know I don't fight anymore." Port says, looking almost nervous about the encounter. However, he also didn't want to back down and risk his name in front of the students.
"I don't think this will pose any problems for a Huntsman of your caliber."
Ozpin sat down in the front row and took a sip of coffee.
"You may begin."
Glynda waved her wand and the cage opened. The giant Ursa rushed straight at Glynda, it's claws burying themselves deep into the wooden floor, leaving a wake of destruction from it's charge alone. Professor Goodwitch drew eldritch symbols of protection into the air with her Aura and braced for the inevitable impact.
"Not on my watch, foul creature of the night!"
Peter Port's shoulder crashed into the Ursa from the right, stopping it's stampede prematurely. Seemingly unfazed by the sudden collision, the beast raised up it's arm and swung it downwards with vengeance in it's eyes. The brutal sound of destruction resounded through the lecture hall, as pieces of wood impaled the chalkboard and the teacher's desk. Port screamed out, exhilarated by his narrow escape from the clutches of Death, and spun around the Ursa's side in a fluid motion. His right hand rested on the monstrous creature's right knee, and his left hand shot through from behind it's back, under it's crotch, firmly grabbing the twisted fur on it's belly and right hip area.
"Take this, you fiend!"
The Professor's grip on the Ursa's right leg put iron vice to shame. He bellowed as he arched his back, throwing the entirety of his immense strength into this move. The Ursa flailed it's arms, in a futile attempt to shake off it's unrelenting adversary. A loud roar echoed through half of Beacon Academy's hallways when the monstrosity realized that it could not feel the ground beneath it's feet anymore. Port was now screaming on top of his lungs, mirroring his resolution. He had slowly lifted a Giant Grimm, twice as big as himself. The bigger they are, the harder they fall.
Port threw himself backwards with the monster in his arms, and the impact of the Ursa's neck with the ground was said to have shaken the entire Academy. The one-legged German Suplex devastated the elevated stage, and both Huntsman and Grimm crashed through a few meters of demolished wood and steel. The students fought to keep their balance on their seats, and the class below them later reported pieces of the wrecked ceiling raining down upon their heads.
The pot-bellied man stood up nonchalantly and strode over to his prey, victory already set and determined in his mind. The Ursa scrambled to it's feet, slowly backing off from the man radiating an Aura of Annihilation. Port's mustache twitched, disgusted at the Grimm's cowardice. He performed a mighty leap and crashed his left fist into the beasts' defensively raised arm. His jab, if you could call it that, shattered the armor plates on the Ursa's arm. Without losing his momentum, Port turned sideways and delivered a gruesome hook to the monster's body, causing it to hunch over meekly.
"See kids, this is a technique that has been passed down the Port family line..." He pauses, grabbing the beast with both hands, "For generations!"
At that time, Port's shirt exploded to reveal a muscle tone that could rival mythical gods. His skin glistened with sweat like the first rays of sunlight shining through the trees onto the fresh morning dew. A choir of angels descends from the heaven to sing praises of his glorious form as he effortlessly lifts the Ursa above his head.
Several students fainted at the sight of such magnificence, which is exactly why Port didn't like to do his own demonstrations, preferring anecdotes instead. The Professor paid the weak-minded no heed as he continued his explanation.
"In the past, I was hailed as a great sorcerer, wielder of over one thousand spells, supreme in my craft. Professor Goodwitch can attest to that," he exclaimed, nodding towards her.
"Listen well students, for I will not repeat myself! Practice makes perfect, and I practiced one spell more than any other." Port closed his eyes in concentration, his Aura flaring up brightly. The amount of energy he emitted was so immense, that his Aura manifested in clearly visible, hot red wings on his back. The onlookers gasped in unison, realising that the impressive feats they just witnessed were done entirely without the use of Aura. The Professor threw the Ursa into the air with little to no effort, and jumped. The takeoff sent another shockwave through the hall. Gravity took hold of the Ursa, and Port slowly rose to meet it mid-air, engulfed in the brilliant fire of his own Aura.
"I CAST FIST!"
The Ursa exploded in a brilliant orb of light, Port's fist cavitating the monster and causing a singularity to form under the intense pressure. The air pressure dropped noticeably as the air was sucked into the singularity, celestial light surrounding Port as his fist punched through the walls of our reality and into another universe.
"And that, my dear students, is how you fight an Ursa."
The students were left speechless as Professor Port graciously landed upon solid ground once again. Ozpin nearly dropped his coffee mug...
"...and in the backrow, I am pretty sure someone's head exploded. That, my dear, is why I don't do demonstrations anymore, happy to teach with just my stories."
Port cleared his throat and resumed, twirling his mustache again. "I may have gotten a little bit off-track there, but anyways, Weiss, I hope you learned a lot from this conversation. So instead of fretting about what you don't have, savor what you do. Hone your skills, perfect every technique, and be not the best leader, but the best person you can be."
The End.
So this is the second story that came out of CollabFic, and there's at least two more one-shots coming up. The only one of them I decided to extend (eventually) is the Flourish fic, featuring a young Weiss Schnee. After finishing up on those, I plan on writing another story like Delivery, since so many of you requested more Roman.
Thanks for reading, boys and girls.