Disclaimer: I in no way or form own RWBY which is owned by Rooster Teeth. There's no profit being made from this story. If you paid for it then some one obviously talked you into it some how.
AN: This is some thing that's been sitting on my comp since 2014 and i've just now decided to put it up. For the most part this is a one shot and will remain listed as completed. I've thrown the around the idea of it just being some thing to throw in things that I come up with such as how Duncan and Ethel from my other RWBY story 'Song of PTRN' met each other or their mission with team LGND. It's not a requirement to read that story in order to read this one. As with any other story feel free to leave a review. Preferably constructive rather than flaming. Also, I know the summery sucks. I couldn't think of a better one.
The bullhead tilted as it changed direction causing all of the passengers on board to shift. Some of them complained about the pilot having no concern for those who got sick on airships or motion sickness in general. Following this some one said that they didn't want to get puked on before they moved to another spot in the hold. They were generally ignored by a passenger who hadn't spoken since the group had gotten onto the transport.
He was a teenager of 17 wearing what seemed to be a heavy red hooded coat with black cuffs, black buttons and black section around the upper part of his shoulder that ran along the front of the hood he was wearing while he wore hiking boots and black pants. Around his waist was a utility belt that had two small rifles along with a pair of specially made tonfa while resting on his forehead were a pair of goggles. The right weapon was red with a black grip and a strip of black circling the long end while the left was the same but the colors were reversed. Underneath the hood, those who looked would see that he had dirty blond hair, green eyes and an olive complexion.
The passengers felt the bullhead slow down and the doors open. As the air pressure changed the passengers looked out and saw their destination. It was a large domed structure. Half of it seemed to be made of concrete while the other half seemed to be a type of glass. From inside the glass, trees could be seen giving the impression that it was a large greenhouse. As the transport neared the building other bullheads could be seen flying towards it. Most of them bore the same emblem of a lit black lantern with a red and yellow flame inside.
The bullhead came to a stop, landing on a platform and the pilot told them to get off. The passengers did as they were told and left the transports hold. Some of them looked around at their surroundings or the people getting off the other bullheads while others walked towards tables for registration. The young man was among those who didn't bother looking around. He walked up to a woman in a grey suit style uniform that had the same lantern emblem on her shoulder.
"I'll need your ID for the registration" the woman said.
The young man took his ID out and handed it to the woman. She looked at it before she looked at him.
"You'll have to lower your hood" she said.
He didn't give a reply as he did as he was told and lowered his hood. She compared his face to the picture on his ID before she nodded and put it down. She checked a sheet of paper at the table and found what she was looking for before she started writing. She opened a drawer and took out a small hand sized computer with a barcode on it and handed it to him along with his ID.
"Welcome to the Relay Academy initiation Jericho Bincole. You're number 78. If you feel that you need to drop out or be rescued press the withdrawal or emergency assistance buttons on the terminal. Do your best and good luck" the woman said.
Jericho didn't say any thing as he put his hood back up, took his ID and the small computer before putting them in his pocket. He walked past the table and towards a raised platform where other people were gathering. He took a quick look around and saw that there were 5 platforms with students standing on 4 of them. The 4 with students on them were the same size but two of them were raised higher with bridges going towards the domed structure while the lower two had paths. Both the bridges and paths led to heavy looking doors. The fifth platform was smaller but was centered among the other 4 with a microphone stand set in the center of it.
There were a little over 200 people divided among the platforms. Every one of them were carrying weapons of varying sizes and were either silently waiting for the initiation to begin or were talking to the others. As the last of the people arrived the doors for the center platform opened and a woman walked out. She had pale skin, blue eyes and long black hair with several braids hanging over the front of her shoulders. She wore a black coat with a dark green vest over a white shirt, white fighting gloves, heavy boots and pants the same shade of green as her vest. She stopped in front of the microphone and took a moment to look over the people gathered before she looked straight ahead.
"I am Eliza Lanta, the headmistress of Relay Academy. To those gathered here I welcome you to the Labyrinth where you will be tested. You were told that this is an initiation but its closer to an elimination. Here you will fight and survive or you will die. If you're afraid of dying before classes even begin your free to leave" the headmistress said.
A few of the people gathered talked among them selves thinking that it was an attempt to scare them. Eliza shook her head as she glared at them.
"I am not joking. Think back and remember. When you signed up to be here you were required to sign an agreement that the academy will not be held responsible for your death. Inside the Labyrinth are not only Grimm but various traps that are well capable of ending your life. Once inside you have 3 choices, you win, you hide or you die. This is your last chance. If you don't have the courage to risk death in order to advance then you don't belong here" Eliza said with a tone of voice that said she was serious.
Again, those gathered talked among them selves and the end result was a few of them heading back towards the bullheads. Looking at those that remained she nodded before she continued.
"That's better. Once the elimination begins you will have 2 hours to complete it. Even if you reach the end only the best 128 applicants will be accepted based upon their times. If 128 people have not reached the end after 2 hours you can still be accepted if you make it far enough. When you signed in, you received a terminal. On it is an image of the Labyrinth that will indicate your position. There are also two buttons. The first, if pushed, will signal your withdrawal. You will be given a map to the closest exit or safe zone. The second signals that you will need to be rescued. Pushing it is the same as withdrawing. Only use it if necessary" Eliza said.
Hearing the rules, some of the potential students started checking their supplies and equipment. None of them wanted to be in a situation where they'd have to withdraw. Seeing their reaction Eliza just smirked.
"Only those with the strength, skills and endurance to survive battle and all that it entails have the right to call them selves Hunters. Survival or defeat, warriors gathered here, advance into the Labyrinth and make your choice" Eliza yelled.
With that the four gates slammed open signaling the start of the initiation. Some people let out a war cry as they charged into the Labyrinth while others just followed in silence. Jericho followed after the people ahead of him, ready to draw his weapons if needed. As he entered the Labyrinth he came into a room that opened into a giant maze. Over head were bridges, both wide and narrow, and ropes that crisscrossed each other with several stairs, doorways and balconies on the walls. People started breaking into groups or moved off on their own into the maze or took stairs to the higher level. Jericho lowered his goggles, chose an entrance and ran into the maze. As he ran he started hearing people yell or scream. He looked up and saw a trapdoor had opened on one of the bridges and some one was dangling from the inside. Some just ignored the person entirely and jumped over the trapdoor while another grabbed the persons arm and started pulling them back up. A fall from that height could seriously wound or kill you if you were unlucky so Jericho decided he wouldn't try for the bridges. Even if it meant he'd get a birds eye view of the maze he had no interest in falling to his death.
He looked ahead and saw that some one was in front of him. He didn't bother calling out to them figuring that they would rather go it alone. As they ran they passed several statues set in the walls that looked like knights. One of the statues ahead stepped out of its alcove, drew its sword and attacked the person in front of Jericho. The person cursed before they drew their own weapon and blocked the attack. Jericho just ran around the two and kept going. If he saw statues ahead he noted to take a different path. Chances were there were more disguised robots among them. He slowed down as he came to an intersection and started thinking about what path to take. As he thought about his choices he heard yelling followed by a growl. He looked down a path and saw that some one was being chased by an Ursa. He took a few steps back and the person ran past him with the Ursa lumbering after them.
With that he decided he'd slow down at the corners in order to avoid the Grimm wandering about. Looking around again to make sure no one else was coming he chose a corridor and started running. 10 minutes of running, and reaching dead ends, he found him self following another Hunter in training. Not wanting to risk being caught in any trap that they set off he stayed back a distance he felt was safe. This was prudent as a trap door opened and the person fell into what Jericho assumed was a basement beneath the maze. His first thought was that the basement was a series of chambers but he had no interest in finding out firsthand.
He stopped walking as the trap door closed and started checking the walls. He found two small holes on both walls about a foot above the floor and started inspecting them. Inside the two holes seemed to be laser emitters so he figured they were some sort of trip wire. Kneeling next to the wall he slowly moved his hand in front of them but nothing happened. He then moved his hand again but faster this time and saw the trapdoor open. From a guess he figured that the trapdoor would be triggered by some one running. As long as you walked you'd be fine. There was always the possibility though that the people who had designed the Labyrinth assumed that there'd be some one who'd figured this out and designed a few traps to be activated by people who walked instead of ran. As the trapdoor closed Jericho looked around as he thought of what to do next. He looked at the wall and started to make a measurement of it in his head.
'Going up might work' Jericho thought to him self.
The walls that made up the maze were too high for him to jump up and grab onto but he didn't really need to jump. He drew one of the rifles from his belt and inspected it. Rather than a rifle it'd be better to classify it as an air pressure powered cable launcher. This one had an anchor and a high strength cable and motor reel attached to it. He had brought it along in the event he would need to climb some thing. He hadn't expected he'd need it but he figured better safe than sorry.
He checked the air pressure gauge as he moved to the other wall and aimed a little over the one in front of him. He then pulled the trigger and heard the hissing sound of air being released and watched the anchor get fired over the wall. Once it was over, he hit the winding button and the reel started to pull the cable back as he walked towards the wall. The reel stopped turning and he felt it tug showing that the anchor was in place. He quickly changed the motor settings before he hit the wind button again and was pulled up the wall. Once he was high enough he turned the motor off and pulled him self the rest of the way. He looked down and saw that the anchor had caught a statue. He started swinging the cable to get the anchor loose and after a few tries he wound the rest of the cable and placed cable launcher back on his belt.
He looked around and saw that others had the same idea as him and were either running on top of the walls or pulling them selves up. Jericho stretched his legs before he started running him self. As he ran he looked around keeping an eye out for traps. On one of the other walls a top section moved back revealing a group of spinning wheels. The person running on that wall didn't slow down in time and when he stepped on it he lost his balance and fell back into the maze. Jericho heard several yells and curses along with a few laughs from people who had seen the guy fall. Since there were those kind of traps he'd have to slow down and watch his step.
He came to the end of the wall and jumped onto the next one. He tapped in front of him self with his right foot to check for traps and when nothing happened he started walking. As no traps came up he picked up the pace. He then heard a clicking sound and cursed him self. Ahead of him, mechanical arms with metal poles came out of the sides of the wall and bent so the poles were over the wall. Another clicking sound was heard and they started moving towards him.
Jericho jumped over the first one and ducked under the second. He pushed off the wall started running again. As the third came he jumped over it and when he landed he crouched and rolled under the fourth. As he came out of the roll he laid down and pressed him self against the top of wall as the fifth bar went overhead. He then re-positioned his legs and hands to launch him self over the sixth bar which was about an inch over the wall. When he came back down he got to his feet and started running again.
As he ran a small section of the wall shifted before it rose up showing what looked like a small multi-barrel gun turret with a camera on top of it. It took aim and started firing causing Jericho to duck to keep from being it. He reached into a pouch on his belt and took a smoke grenade from it. The gun stopped firing and started to re-aim as Jericho activated the smoke grenade and threw it. Smoke started bellowing out of the canister as it landed in front of the gun turret blinding the camera. He then sprinted and jumped as high as he could over the turret and kept going. When he reached the end of that wall he jumped to the next and continued at the same speed.
A few minutes later he set off another trap. Like before a turret came up but it was a single barrel with a muzzle the size of a baseball. It didn't take as long to aim and fired a beanbag at Jericho. He moved to dodge but it hit him dead center in his left shoulder. He let out a yell as he drew another smoke grenade with his right hand, triggered it and threw it. The turret reloaded and instead of taking a shot at Jericho changed targets and shot the smoke grenade out of the air. Who ever was controlling the turret probably figured he'd try that again. Rather than try another grenade he drew a paint pistol from inside his coat and fired off a few rounds of paint pellets. Several of them missed but enough hit to blind the camera. Like before he ran and jumped over the turret and kept going when he landed. He placed the pistol back in his coat and checked his shoulder. It wasn't dislocated but it'd definitely bruise later. He started using his Aura to heal the damage and dull the pain.
20 minutes later he was a little more than half way across the maze. He had avoided more of the moving bars and when he saw turrets start to rise out of the wall he either jumped to another wall or sped up and jumped over them. As he ran he had seen other people fighting Grimm or statue disguised robots. A few of the robots had been equipped with ranged weapons at took shots at him but he hadn't bothered slowing down to fight them. He looked ahead and saw that he was nearing the wall that was at the end of the first half of the Labyrinth. He saw ahead of him a section of the maze wall was sliding back. He wondered what kind of trap it was this time and soon got his answer when he saw pillars of fire rise up.
"Oh for the love of freaking Monty" Jericho yelled as he came to a stop.
There weren't any walls close enough for him to jump onto and it would take to long to drop down, walk past the fire trap and climb back up. He sighed and shook his head as he started thinking. They couldn't get him with the turrets so they decided to either burn him or try to get him to go the long way around. He watched pillars of fire and saw them turn on and off every couple of seconds. He got an idea but it would take some timing. He started stretching his arms as he backed up. He then took several deep breaths before he started running again. Once he neared the trap he did a front flip as the first fire pillars turned off. As his feet came down on the other side of the trap he felt a lot of heat at his upper back probably from the fire coming in contact with his coat. When his feet touched the wall he kept moving and looked back to see make sure he wasn't on fire. There was a little wisp of smoke but no fire. While the coat was heavy he was really happy that it was made out of fire resistant materials.
He looked ahead and saw the pattern of the maze change style to open into a large circle. Inside of the circle was a large robot designed to look like a minotaur wielding a club. Considering that the place was called the Labyrinth it wasn't that odd for there to be a minotaur walking about. The robot didn't seem to notice him as it was already fighting some one else. He looked into the maze and saw that its current target was a girl who was trying to get past it. It was too big for her to fight it on her own and every time she tried to go around it the robot would swing its club down to block her path. Jericho drew his paint pistol and used both hands to take aim. He took a breath and fired off two shots. Both of the shots hit the left eye blinding that side. It let out a loud bellow before it turned to face him. Not giving it a chance to attack him he fired again and blinded the right eye. It let out another bellow as it swung the club in his direction.
Jericho cursed as he jumped off the wall and when he landed he started running as the club destroyed the wall. He wasn't sure if he was being graded or not but he was sure getting part of the maze destroyed was probably some sort of demerit. As the robotic monster started swinging its weapon blindly Jericho looked at the girl.
"Thanks for the help" she said with a smile before she started running down a corridor.
He watched her go before he started running down a separate corridor. At the end of the corridor was a darkened tunnel leading into, what Jericho assumed, was the next part of the Labyrinth. He drew his right tonfa so the long side was at the top of his hand and facing forward while he used his thumb to press a hidden switch. A small clicking sound could be heard as a section opened and the trigger fell into place. He took a small flashlight out from a pouch on his belt with his left hand and turned it on before he started walking into the tunnel. He shined the light along the floor and the walls looking for traps but there didn't seem to be any.
When the tunnel ended, he walked into the part of the Labyrinth that had the trees he saw from outside. There was grass, several large trees, bushes, flowers and even some insects flying about. From the looks of it the place seemed to have been designed as some sort of miniature forest. It might have been a nice spot for a picnic if the chances of it having a bunch of Grimm weren't high. He turned the flashlight off and put it back on his belt and drew his other weapon. Like before he switched it to pistol mode and looked at where he was.
The tunnel he had walked through ended on top of a block of concrete 30 feet high. Next to the tunnel he came out of were two more going back towards the maze. Looking at the sides of the concrete there weren't any foot holds or ropes for climbing down and not far off were some trees that some one could reach if they did a running jump. He assumed that people got down that way, found some way to climb down or they simply jumped. He scanned the tree line as he walked towards the edge of the concrete. There didn't seem to be any thing watching him but he didn't want to stay longer than needed. He used his aura to reinforce his body before he jumped down and landed on the grass. He took another look around before he activated his semblance and started walking as he faded from view.
As he made his way among the trees he had to stop or move slowly a few times to keep a few Grimm from noticing him. At one point he had to stay still for a few minutes because a King Taijutu was slithering by. The white head didn't seem to notice him but the black one did causing it to stop. Most likely it smelled him but since it couldn't see him it had no idea where the scent was coming from. The black head moved about as its tongue flicked the air getting his scent. When the black head came to a stop in front of Jericho he held his breath and didn't move. If it noticed him he'd have only a brief moment to attack and either kill the head or wound it enough for it to distract the white head. The white head let out a hiss, which Jericho could only assume meant that it was time to go, and the two headed Grimm slithered away. Once the snake Grimm was out of view he let out a breath and returned to being visible. While he could keep his semblance going for quite some time the stress from almost being giant snake food didn't help any. Thinking that it might have been time to eat some thing he heard a loud cawing sound followed by a scream.
He raised his weapons and started heading towards the screaming. When he came to the source he saw that one of the people taking the initiation had a giant black feather going through their left shoulder pining them to a tree. Circling above was likely the Nevermore that had attacked them. While it wasn't a full sized Nevermore it certainly wouldn't have trouble attacking a lone person. As it came down to attack, Jericho raised both of his weapons and started firing. The Nevermore let out a screech as the bullets hit its chest and it flew away. The bullets probably didn't pierce its feathers but he'd settle for driving it off. He'd just have to be gone before it came back. He put his weapons back on his belt before he walked over to the person who was pinned to the tree.
"Thanks for the help. If you hadn't shown up I'd be dead by now" the person said.
Jericho just shrugged his shoulders as he started inspecting the feather.
"Think you can get me loose" they asked.
Jericho thought about it before he nodded. While the feather had gone through the flesh of the person's body it didn't seem to be lodged into their bone. It should be possible but he wasn't sure if he had the strength to pull the feather free of the tree. Even if he did he wasn't sure what damage could be caused to the person if he removed the feather from their shoulder. He came up with a thought before he took a bottle from his belt and removed the cap.
"Pain killer" Jericho said before he started pouring the liquid contents onto the shoulder and the wound.
"You sure that's a pain killer" the person said as they grimaced "it really stings."
Jericho didn't give a reply as he emptied the bottle, put the cap back on and put it back on his belt. He then took a folding saw from the belt, flipped the blade out and started to saw through the feather as delicately as he could.
"Hold it" Jericho said as he pointed to the feather.
The person seemed to get what he meant and grabbed the feather with their free hand. Not soon after Jericho finished sawing through the part of the feather that had pierced through the shoulder and the person moved away from the tree.
"Thanks. Do you think you could reach into my pocket, get my terminal and hit the withdraw button? I'm in no condition to continue on like this" they asked as they looked at him.
Jericho nodded as he got the terminal from their pocket and turned it on. The overhead picture of the Labyrinth came onto the screen indicating the current location. Jericho pushed the withdrawal button and the picture was replaced with a map indicating the closest exit. Jericho showed them the map before he pointed in the direction the map said the exit was in. Once they got the direction they should go Jericho put the terminal back into their pocket and stepped back.
"When they said good luck they really meant it" they said shaking their head "Why don't you take my weapon? It's not much use to me in this condition."
Jericho looked around and saw a bag with several sticks coming out of it and what looked like an atlatl launcher. While not a weapon he had ever used before, he was familiar with how they worked. He walked over the bag, picked it up and slung it over his shoulder before he turned back towards the one who had given it to him.
"Best of luck to you and try not to get pinned to a tree like I did" they said before they started heading towards the nearest exit.
Jericho watched them go before he went into a run towards the end of the Labyrinth. As he ran he started hearing the sound of small arms fire. He looked ahead and saw a ramp going towards an open door while at the bottom of the ramp were several large feathers sticking out of the ground. Flying over head were a pair of Nevermore attacking the girl he had seen fighting the robot back in the maze. He saw her firing a pistol at the flying Grimm but at that distance even if she hit them her bullets wouldn't do much damage. As he slowed down to a jog Jericho drew his rifle and started firing.
One of his shots hit the lower Never more in its right wing. It changed the direction it was moving in and started flying towards him. As it neared it flapped its wings hard and sent several of its feathers flying at him. He jumped behind a tree and heard the feathers impact the wood. As it flew past he moved from behind the tree and started running towards the exit. He raised his rifle again and started firing on the second Nevermore. As it was being attacked from two separate directions the Grimm flew higher to get out of their range.
"Go" Jericho yelled as he reached the girl.
She nodded before she ran around the feathers and up the ramp. Jericho followed up the ramp as he heard the two Grimm fly back to their original positions. He turned around and started firing on the two Grimm as he walked up the ramp backwards. As he neared the exit one of the Nevermore flapped its wings sending a group of feathers at him. As they came closer he felt some one grab the back of his coat and pull him both out of the way of the feathers and out of the Labrynth. A large door came down to keep the Grimm inside and Jericho looked back to see that it was the girl who had pulled him out.
"There. Now we're even. Well almost" she said smiling.
"Almost" Jericho asked.
"Yeah. First you helped me with that robot then you distracted those pain in the butt birds. I still need to do some thing for that last one" she said as she put her pistol in its holster.
Jericho didn't say any thing and shrugged his shoulders.
"Of course there's some thing I still need to do" she said before she turned and started running.
Jericho looked and saw that there was a finish line marker and ran after her. She crossed it and a screen displayed her time as 1:21:24. When Jericho crossed the finish line the screen showed his time as 1:21:30. As he caught his breath one of the people with the same emblem as the woman he had spoken to in the beginning walked up to him.
"You are Jericho Bincole correct" they asked him.
He looked at them and nodded.
"Congratulations. You have escaped the Labyrinth and passed the initiation. You are now a student of the Relay Hunter Academy. Please do your best to uphold the honor and dignity that comes with it. Once the initiation has ended, your terminal will notify you of your team assignment as well as your dorm room. There are medical personal here should you need it" the person nodded.
Jericho nodded before he walked past them and sat down on a near by bench. He let out a breath as he lowered his hood and took his goggles off. He had passed the initiation so the hard part was done for the moment. The next part would be adapting to the academy along with the new city he'd be living in for the duration of his studies. He rested his rifle on his lap and slipped the atlatl bag off of his back before he took a small bottle of water from his belt and gulped the contents down. Once it was empty he leaned back and closed his eyes.
When he opened them again he looked at a clock and saw that there was only a minute left till the initiation ended. He stood up and put his rifle back in its place before he picked up the bag and walked towards where every one was gathering. Among the large crowd were people who were able to stand on their own feet while others were leaning on some one or some thing for support. Some were covered in bandages and there were even one or two that had an arm in casts. As people ran out of the Labyrinth as fast as they could the clock ticked down and when it hit zero a loud buzzer rang. Some of the people who didn't make it across the finish line in time started yelling or cursing about how they weren't fast enough. When the buzzer stopped Eliza walked and stood before the people who had gathered together.
"To the 128 of you that passed, congratulations. To those that didn't, it's time for you to return home. The bullheads that are arriving will take you to the airship docks that you can use to return to where you came from" Eliza said to those who hadn't passed before she looked at those that had "In Relay Academy you'll be trained in how to fight and handle Grimm. Any one can be trained to fight a horde of Grimm but you'll be trained how to fight and survive it. Here you'll learn combat, Grimm anatomy, field medic skills as well as survival skills for any environment you end up in. Understand?"
Those that had the strength to either nodded or said yes. She looked at their faces before she crossed her arms.
"I want you to speak up. Next, you will all refer to me as Ms. Lanta or Maestra. Either is acceptable. You will not refer to me by any other name or title unless permitted to. Understood" Eliza asked.
There were several shouts of 'Yes Ms. Lanta' or 'Yes Maestra'. At this reaction she smiled at them.
"That's better. Welcome to Relay Academy. Board the bullheads and you'll be taken to the academy, divided into groups and be given a tour" Eliza said.
The new students picked up their bags or their weapons and made their way towards the transports that had the academy logo on them. As they got on Jericho moved to the back and watched the other people. As he thought about what to do next he heard a beeping from his pocket. He took the terminal out and turned on the screen. It displayed his name as well as his dorm room number along with his team mates and their pictures. As he committed their names and pictures to memory he felt the bullhead shift and start flying. He turned the screen off and put it back in his pocket as he closed his eyes.
"That's him right? Why don't you go say hi" a female voice asked.
"Me? Why me? He doesn't seem like he's in the mood to talk" a male voice said.
"Because we're a team now and you want to be team leader. The faculty don't assign the leaders here and you'll need to make sure we're all in agreement if you want the position" the female voice said.
"Oh come on you two. Fine, I'll talk to him" a second female voice said.
Jericho heard some one walk in front of him and when he opened his eyes he saw that it was the girl from before. Now that he wasn't worried about being attacked or a time limit he got a better look at her. She had auburn hair tied into a small bun, red eyes and slightly pale skin. She was wearing a pink cardigan over a pink blouse, a black and blue plaid knee length skirt and sneakers. Around her waist was a belt and a holstered pistol with 3 replacement magazines. In her hand she was holding a nagamaki that had a red cloth tied below the blade covering what looked like a revolving cylinder style dust container.
"Hi again. Sorry for not properly introducing my self the last two times. I'm Caeda Shiomi and we're on the same team. Those two over there" she said pointing at the people who had spoken earlier "are Balin Bartok and his girlfriend Katida Basset. They're our team mates and they're wondering if you have any problem with Balin being our leader."
Jericho looked in the direction she was pointing and saw who she was talking about. Both were cat Faunus. The male had short cut black hair that matched the fur on his ears, green eyes, wore a leather jacket, a black shirt, black torn jeans and boots. The weapon he was holding was a claymore that had a purple colored grip with a gold crown pendant hanging from a hole in the swords pummel.
His girlfriend was shorter than he was, had long grey hair tied into a tail with matching colored fur on her ears and had blue eyes. For clothing she wore a similar leather jacket to her boyfriends with a blue tank top underneath, red pants and a pair of sneakers. Resting on her shoulder was a black mace with a blue colored grip and a gold crown pendant hanging from the handle but it was done in a different style from the one her boyfriend had.
Jericho looked back at Caeda and shrugged his shoulders. It didn't really matter to him who lead the team as long as they didn't die. Caeda smiled and turned back towards the others.
"He's fine with it" she said.
"Really? How can you tell? He didn't say any thing" Katida said shaking her head.
"Hey, I know these things" Caeda said crossing her arms "Now, with that aside, what are we calling our team?"
The three of them were quite as they thought about till Katida shook her head.
"I got nothing. How about you boss" Katida asked.
"I love it when you call me boss" Balin said with a smile as he put his arm around her.
Jericho just closed his eyes. He really hoped they weren't going to go further than that.
"Not now. Maybe when we're alone" Katida said as she pushed him "Focus. What's our team name?"
Balin tapped his foot against the metal deck as he thought. When an idea came to him he smiled.
"How about Black Jack" Balin asked.
"Where'd that come from" Caeda asked.
"Dunno. Just popped into my head" Balin said shrugging his shoulders.
"That's fine I guess" Katida said with a sigh.
"Same" Caeda said before she faced Jericho "is the name o.k with you?"
The only response she got from him was another shrug of his shoulders.
"He's fine with it" Caeda said.
"I think it's more along the lines that he doesn't care" Katida said.
"Regardless. We're team Black Jack. All we can do now is wait and see what cards fate has dealt us" Balin said smiling.
Katida got an annoyed look on her face as she looked at her boyfriend. Caeda smiled and held back a laugh.
"Really" Katida said as she looked at her boyfriend.
"Hey, I thought it was funny. Besides, it looks like she liked it" Balin said nodding to Caeda.
"It's not that I found it funny. It's just that you reminded me of a friend who likes to make puns" Caeda said shaking her head.
Balin looked at her before he turned towards Jericho.
"Hey, what do you think? Was the joke funny or not" Balin asked.
Jericho didn't say any thing before he used his semblance to disappear.
"A simple no would have sufficed" Balin said as he held his hand to his head.
Eliza sat in her seat, behind her desk and sipped her tea. On her desks computer screen were several files that had pictures and various pieces of information. She was going through the list of 128 students, 32 teams composed of 4 students, that made up the new first years.
"Mr. Lanta, what's the report on team C7" Eliza asked.
"Team C7, chosen name Black Jack. They seem to be an even mix even though there is a student likely to have some problems among them" a male voice came from her computer's speakers.
"Show me their files" Eliza said as she placed her cup down on its coaster.
The current files on the screen left and were replaced with the files she requested. The top file was their team leader and an emblem of a horse mounted archer riding across a field.
"Balin Bartok, age 17 and a member of the Wild Run nomad tribe. His physical skills are above average while his academic skills are the reverse" the voice said.
"His mother is currently the tribes Void Beast hunt master isn't she" Lanta asked.
"Yes. Most likely the rest of the tribe expects him to replace her when the next selection ceremony comes around" the voice said.
"Good enough reason for him to take the leadership position on his team. If he does replace her he'll command more than 20 warriors tasked with protecting the tribe" Eliza said.
"That's if his abilities are enough to surpass the others. Next is his girlfriend, Katida Basset, age 17 and a member of the same tribe. Her grades are the opposite of Mr. Bartok's. Good academics but below average fighting skills. The two of them seem to compensate for each others short comings" the voice said as the document switched to Katida, with the same mounted archer emblem, as a small window opened up showing a recording of the two of them fighting together in the Labyrinth.
"Her father is currently the tribe chieftain. Most likely there are a few rumors, where ever the tribe is, that the two of them ran off together" the voice said.
"Regardless of what they do, as long as it does not interfere with the defense of the city or their grades they are free to do as they wish" Eliza said as she picked up her cup and took another sip.
"Next is Caeda Shiomi, age 17, originally from Patch" the voice said as the document changed to Caeda's "She graduated from Signal with good grades but chose to attend Relay Academy rather than Beacon."
"I always do enjoy the idea of students attending my academy rather than that of Ozpin's" Eliza said with a smirk.
"Rather than preference I think it's more along the lines that her elder brother and one of his team mates she's attracted to attend the academy" the voice said.
"Yes, her brother. He's among the academy's top 5 students. How he's held the position for so long while regularly sleeping in class is beyond me" Eliza said shaking her head.
"It's beyond the faculty as well Ms. Lanta but we just assume he's naturally gifted that way. Ms. Shiomi's grades nearly match her brothers when he first started attending the academy. The comments her teachers at Signal wrote say that she lacks her brother's habit of sleeping in class" the voice said.
"That's good. If she's as capable as her brother she'll replace Mr. Bartok as team leader should he not be able to handle it" Eliza said.
"I'll make a note of it in their files. Next is Jericho Bincole, 17 and a native of Atlus. His physical skills are above average, he's very intelligent and has an eidetic memory. While he's had no prior Hunter training most of his schooling has been from various military academies. His teacher reports say that he's shown quite a bit of skill in mechanical, chemical and Dust related studies. Unfortunately he suffers from social interaction problems" the voice said as it showed Jericho's file.
"Make sure to remind me to have him entered among the students to be tested for access to the Lab" Eliza said as she finished her tea.
From the speakers the light sound of key's being tapped could be heard.
"Noted. In recent generations the Bincole family has taken to Atlus military service. His late grandfather was a general, his father's a colonel, mother's a major, and his elder brother is a captain in the fleet" the voice said.
"While odd that he's not following the rest of his family in joining the military, the military's loss is the gain of the Hunters" Eliza said with a smile.
"While I normally don't argue with you it remains to be seen. Next team is C8…" the voice said as the two of them went over the new students.
AN: Like with my other story i'll explain the team. As you could guess by the name Black Jack, the characters follow card themes. Bartok and Basset are both the names of games played with a standard playing deck. I thought about naming each character after a casino but tossed that aside. Replacing that was naming their weapons after the names of the card they represent. Balin's sword is Suicide King (king of hearts), Katida's mace is Argine (queen of clubs), Jericho's pistol/tonfa's are the One Eyed Royals (jack of hearts/spades) while Caeda's nagamaki is Jester 0-22 which is more of a reference to the fool card from tarot decks and who her appearance is based off of.