The last 50 years in the ninja world have been chaotic to say the least. What was the start of this chaos? The sudden appearance of four new ninja villages. The villages Vale, Mistral, Atlas, and Vacuo garnered much attention for the incredible skill of the shinobi residing there.
With tensions already high between the five major ninja villages, this sudden new threat just added on to the hostility of the land. Soon the Second Shinobi World War was upon the ninja nations.
While the main powers focus was mainly on one another, the lesser villages did not remain unscathed. Smaller ninja villages such as Rain and Grass were already allied with the larger villages, allowing for more security. Unfortunately for the four new villages there were no such allies to be found. The only protection that could be found was with each other. As hostile forces approached the newly claimed lands they were met with such a strong alliance they could barely set foot into them.
This alliance between Vale, Mistral, Atlas, and Vacuo had been named The Alliance of Remnant. Remnant being the bountiful land these villages presided over, it would later be divided among the four powers.
Surviving the war with relatively small losses, while all the other nations were injured greatly, was a perfect opportunity for the Remnant Alliance to gain a better position in the world. Being one of the few sources where competent shinobi could be hired, brought the Alliance quite a bit of wealth. Another special attribute of the alliance was that they were particularly adept at handling the Grimm.
Grimm are monsters who have always infested the elemental nations causing pain and havoc wherever they go. Ninja have fought Grimm even longer than they have fought each other. Having a new force so successful in combating the beasts, was a God send in the eyes of countless occupants in the land. This brought a large influx to the Remnant Alliance population.
Another key factor in the shinobi's success was their base element. They didn't have one. All the major villages are known particularly for bringing specific types of elemental users into the world, such as how Konoha is known for great fire specialists and Iwa great earth specialists. Much to their advantage, the villages of Remnant weren't limited to a single element. Since their creation all of the village's shinobi varied greatly. This allowed great shinobi of all types to come from the Remnant villages.
Their geographical location was an advantage in itself as well. All the villages were in areas of fertile land and several large rivers. Having large farmland and easy modes of trade/transportation are key for any civilization.
The final and perhaps most prominent reason for Remnants success is the Faunus. Sadly, the Faunus were generally looked down upon in most areas of the Elemental Nations, especially in Iwa. While areas like Konoha and Kumo weren't known for their distaste of Faunus, they were still treated as second class citizens. The villages of Remnant were a haven for all Faunus, especially considering the villages were cofounded by Faunus. Still today many of the village's clans are Faunus.
These advantages carried Remnant far and allowed them to enter the Third Shinobi War a true force to be reckoned with. They didn't pick a side, choosing to protect their lands once more, but they did attack other nations when opportunities presented themselves. As the third great war ended and the major powers were once more licking their wounds, Remnant continued to grow.
It came to the point to where all villages of Remnant were on par with the smaller ninja villages and an alliance wasn't necessarily needed. While the bonds between the villages are strong, the last 20 years they have been divided and finding success for themselves. Which leads us to Vale.
Vale was the pinnacle of the Remnant Alliance in its prime and its notoriety has only increased since then. With such skilled shinobi, with high standards even compared to the other Remnant villages, Vale slowly became recognized as a major hidden village. For the past 8 years Vale has secured its high ranking in the world.
This leads us to the beginning of our story, which surprise surprise, begins in Vale. Vale: The Village Hidden in Dust.
(Vale Ninja Academy)
The classroom was silent as Professor Port entered the room. The man was twirling his mustache with one hand as he stepped in front of his class, observing the many young faces looking back at him.
This was graduation day and he was looking at this year's graduating class. It was up to Port to announce who had made the cut, but first an inspiring speech was in order.
"I have had the pleasure to work with you for five years now." Port began. "It both pleases and saddens me too see you go."
The students were quiet, almost uneasy to see their usually jovial teacher speaking so seriously. "The world you are about to jump into is cold and unforgiving. It will show no mercy and kindness will be rare, but that is the life of a ninja, and I am proud to say that in this class are some of the most promising shinobi I have seen in a long time."
The class perked up at that, many students wearing confident smiles. Port nodded and continued "It's time to announce Team Tensai."
If it was possible the class had become even more silent than before. Team Tensai was only awarded to the top three students of the year. These shinobi were expected to be future leaders of Vale, and were given much more responsibility upon becoming a genin team. The largest difference between Tensai and a regular genin team was that they had no jounin teacher. Of course they had mentors keeping tabs on them and for certain missions Chunin or even Jounin would accompany them. Another fact, probably the main reason students hope to be part of Team Tensai, is that they are never given D Rank missions. Instead they focus more on actual training and missions taking place outside the village.
The students felt the anxiousness come over the room as they all sat on the edge of their seats, waiting for the results. There were a lot of promising candidates this year, considering several of the village's clans had their future leaders in that year.
"The first member of Tensai is," Port couldn't help but pause for dramatic effect "Pyrrha Nikos." The class clapped as the redhead stood up with a polite smile. Pyrrha was tall with a slender build, her long crimson hair was tied behind her in a ponytail. The red and gold armor she wore allowed for mobility and still retained a good deal of defense. Pyrrha being the next heir of the powerful Nikos clan was heavily burdened by expectations, but she met them with a strong yet caring disposition.
Pyrrha proudly walked to the front of the classroom next to Port as the clapping died down. "Congratulations miss Nikos. The next member of Tensai will be," Ah yes Port truly loved seeing the students squirm in their seats. 'Is that weird of me?' The teacher thought 'Nah I'm a ninja, which hardly compares to this'.
"Blake Belladonna." The class turned their attention and applause to the black haired faunus sitting in the back. Her black garb left her toned midriff and arms exposed, showing her athletic physique. Her most prominent features were no doubt her captivating amber eyes and the pair of black feline ears sitting atop her head. Being a Belladonna, the next clan head, she was expected to become a fuinjutsu master. Blake stood stoic as ever, but had a small smirk adorning her face.
Port welcomed Blake to the front of his class as he did Pyrrha. "And the final member," Port really did live for this "Yang Xiao Long."
Unlike the other two, a loud "Wooh!" was heard in the classroom as a blonde blur arrived besides the rest of team Tensai. Yang has the body of a model, but if one looked closely they'd be able to see the clearly defined muscles. The blonde mane that cascaded down her back was the girls pride and joy matching well with her lilac eyes. Her outfit might be called risque by some, but was completely reasonable for a shinobi. The tight yellow shirt covered by an open tan jacket allowed for great maneuverability, just the same as her black shorts. Like the other two members of Tensai, Yang was a clan head. Being a member of the boisterous Long clan, it is no surprise how outgoing her personality is. Yang stood straight with a giant grin and a fire burning in her eyes.
Port nodded proudly to the group. "Congratulations, being named Tensai is something any ninja would be proud of." Even Blake grew a smile showing teeth at that praise. "Now the Donkage would like to see you there personally."
The girls bowed to their now former teacher and promptly left the room. They had barely made it down the hall when Yang decided that a group hug was in order. While the other two were just as excited, they couldn't help but be surprised that the girl they just met is nearly stopping them from being able to breathe.
"Yang, I'm just as happy as you are, but I'd like to keep my ribs intact." Blake pleaded tapped to Yang's side.
"That would be preferable." Pyrrha added from the other side of Yang.
Yang let go and chuckled while rubbing her head bashfully. "My bad."
Pyrrha smiled and shook her head "It's still hard to believe we made it."
"Was there any doubt?" Yang said with her usual confidence.
"Tons," Blake concluded "the exams this year were more challenging, we had to compete with other future clan heads, and there is also-"
"Shhh, Blakey." Yang stopped the faunus with a finger to her lips. "The Donkage awaits!"
"Blakey? Where did that come fro-" Blake would have finished asking if Yang hadn't grabbed the two girls and started running to the Donkage's office.
As the girls entered the Donkage's office they were met with the back of a chair, holding the Donkage himself. The chair behind the desk was facing an open window, giving a wonderful view of the prosperous Vale village.
A second after they entered the chair turned around, revealing a middle aged man with slightly long gray hair. This is the Nindaime Donkage, Ozpin. His story is the perfect example of achieving something great. Being an orphan Ozpin saw no other calling than that of a shinobi, and due to his incredible prowess in the Third Shinobi War earned the title Donkage. A title he had held for 12 years, since the Shodaime Donkage died of a stroke.
The Donkage regarded them with a small smile, his brown eyes analyzing them behind his green spectacles. Ozpin smiled and removed his Kage hat. "Do you know why you three were chosen as Tensai?"
The three girls were silent as they felt their Kage's warm yet calculating gaze. Ozpin chuckled and continued "I didn't think so." At this point he stood up and turned his gaze out the window. "By being Tensai you are a symbol. The three of you demonstrate the elite of our village. While you are still genin, I can say with confidence that together you can accomplish amazing things."
Ozpin turned around to face them once more and smiled at the trio. "Your silence is surprising Miss Long."
"It's a blessing." Blake couldn't help muttering before being able to stop herself.
"Hey!" Yang challenged back.
Ozpin smiled at the antics of the young ninja. "Why don't you three to take the day to better acquaint yourselves with one another. I know with clan business and the expectations of the academy, you haven't had much time to socialize outside of your usual circles."
The girls couldn't argue with his reasoning. Attending the academy along with clan duties didn't leave much personal time, much to a certain blonde's dismay. The girls only knew each other by name because of a few clan meetings the heirs were allowed to sit in on.
"Come by the administration desk tomorrow and you'll be assigned your first mission." Ozpin advised the Tensai.
With a unified "Hai" the girls left his office and began wandering the streets of Vale.
"Perhaps we should stop at one of the training grounds?" Pyrrha offered.
The other two girls were about to agree, however Yang's stomach announced that it had other plans. Blake chuckled at the blonde's groaning stomach and made a counter offer "There's a good BBQ place around the corner."
"Sweet!" Yang agreed and the group followed Blake's lead. A moment later they were inside a nice family run restaurant, seated at a table near a window. Yang sat next to Blake while Pyrrha was on the other side of the small table.
After placing their orders, Pyrrha observed "I didn't take you for one who enjoys barbeque Blake."
The faunus shrugged "I have it occasionally and assumed you two would like it."
Yang smiled "Thanks for the thought! I haven't had ribs in so long my mouth is starting to water."
That made Blake chuckle and ask "Yang? Don't you have a sister?"
The blonde nodded, "Yep little Ruby is two years below us. Honestly, I almost feel bad graduating."
"Why's that?" Pyrrha asked confused.
"Well you guys know how stressing all the clan crap can be sometimes." Yang answered and the two other girls nodded, understanding better than most would. "Well now that I have to put my main focus on missions, Ruby is going to get saddled with a lot of the clan stuff."
The other two girls were surprised to see the downcast look on the usually radiant girl, but Blake was quick to turn it around "Well it's a good thing she has a great older sister to help."
Yang met the faunus' smile with one of her own and Pyrrha interjected, "I suppose we should share our skills."
Blake nodded "Seems sensible, I'll go first. I'm primarily a ninjutsu specialist, having a primary affinity for wind and a secondary for water. I know a few basic genjutsu, however I haven't ever been really interested in the art. My taijutsu is above average, but I rely on my sword for any close quarters confrontation. You guys know my clan is popular for our fuinjutsu, and I've been studying that for quite some time. Of course being a faunus I've got some pretty advanced senses."
"So a ninjutsu specialist huh?" Yang thought aloud "How many jutsu do you know?"
"Six" Blake said casually, clearly at a bad time considering Yang spat out all the water she had been drinking.
"Six!" Pyrrha said shocked, "How?"
Blake smirked and added "My clan has a jutsu that can," Blake paused to search for the word "boost one's ability to master a jutsu. Since we're teammates now consider yourselves in on the secret."
Yang smiled while cleaning up the puddle she made "You do realize the second we're done here you're gonna have to show us those jutsu of yours."
Blake pretended to be annoyed, but inwardly she was pleased at the chance to show off.
"Alright, my turn!" Yang shouted more than a little excited. "Taijutsu is my thing! By using chakra to enhance my strikes I can literally make craters." The two girls visibly cringed imagining the blonde's destructive power. "My main affinity is lightning and my second is fire, but I've only been able to master one lightning jutsu. There is something really awesome I can do with my chakra infused gauntlets though. Aside from being able to detect and break genjutsu I can't really do much with it."
The two looked at Pyrrah and she began "Well I'm pretty much in the middle of you too. I'm proficient in both tai and nin, but nowhere near the level you two are at. My main affinity is earth and secondary fire like Yang. I haven't had any real practice in genjutsu. In combat I usually use a spear I'm quite adept with, and I have three jutsu in my arsenal."
Blake was nodding at Pyrrha's description of her abilities, then turned to her left and noticed Yang's face had taken a crestfallen appearance.
"Are you alright Yang?" Blake asked, concern evident in her voice.
Yang nodded and rose her head attempting a smile. "Yeah," Yang began "it's just hearing you guys describe your ninjutsu prowess makes me feel like a bit of a burden with how little I have."
Both girls were shocked to see the usually so confident blonde suddenly doubt herself. "We're just genin Yang," Pyrrha started "we're not really expected to know any significant jutsu aside from the henge, clone, and kawarimi."
"With that drive of yours I'm sure you'll have more jutsu than Pyrrha and I eventually." Blake said with a smile, she then bumped Yang with her shoulder adding "Besides I assumed you would enjoy being our muscle."
With a renewed smile Yang boasted "You've got a point there Blakey!" She continued ignoring Blake's small glare at the new nickname "Someone's gotta protect you two."
Pyrrha smiled and shook her head at her teammates antics "Oh!" The redhead exclaimed suddenly "I nearly forgot, my clan has the biggest jutsu library in the village, well aside from the Donkage's collection of course. You two are more than welcome to it!"
"Great," Blake responded grateful, thinking of the potential new abilities "my clan's collection doesn't have a lot of wind techniques."
"Some would say this this situation is just purrfect." Yang said with a proud smile at her joke. The blonde didn't seem to deterred at her teammates reactions, Pyrrha groaning quite loudly and Blake rubbing her temples in frustration.
Much to the blonde's disappointment, and her teammates elation, Yang was cut off from making any further puns by the waiter's arrival with the girl's food in hand. Fifteen minutes of eating and conversation regarding clans later the Tensai were stuffed and paying the bill. A short argument was started between the faunus and redhead when both offered to pay the bill. A moment later Blake conceded, while Yang just sat happy to be getting a free meal.
The three than left the restaurant with Yang proclaiming "To the training grounds!"
(Training Ground 17)
Despite Yang's excitement, the group had walked at a leisurely pace letting their just eaten food digest. The girls quickly decided on Ground 17, considering it had a stream cutting through it and was currently unoccupied.
"Alright Blakey! You're up first!" Obviously the blonde said.
Blake rolled her eyes and walked towards the small stream saying over her shoulder "Just for that I'm saving my secret for last."
Yang crossed her arms and grumbled at the girl's response and Pyrrha withheld a few chuckles at the blonde's behavior. "I suppose we'll start with water." Blake said while taking up a concentrated stance. After a deep breath and a few quick hand seals she yelled "Water Release: Gunshot!" As Blake finished a large ball of water shot from her mouth crashing straight through a rather large tree branch.
"Damn!" Yang yelled impressed at the simple yet destructive move.
Pyrrha nodded in agreement "It does seem like it would leave quite a mark."
"I can control the power behind it," Blake exclaimed "and if there's a significant enough water source nearby I can shoot several rapidly."
"And if there isn't a water source nearby?" Pyrrha inquired.
"Just one at a time and it would take longer for me to prepare." Blake answered.
Yang shrugged "Still pretty damn useful, now next one!"
With a smile Blake settled back into the same stance regaining her focus. Than a few swift hand signs and a yell "Water Release: Water Whip!" Blake had a long strand of water shoot from her hands and wrap around Yang's ankle. Yang didn't have time to react as Blake jerked the rope of water effectively pulling the blonde off her feet.
Yang moaned on the ground and slowly "While that is awesome, a warning would have been nice."
Blake crossed her arms with a grin "Oh, I just thought the mighty Yang Xiao Long would be ready for anything."
Yang eagerly returned the grin with one Blake would describe as chaotic, forcing the faunus to falter. "Blake I enjoyed knowing you." Pyrrha yelled from the side.
"Don't worry I'm not planning anything" Yang assured the group "yet."
The blonde just let that hang in the air as Blake gulped wondering what the implications for her actions could be. Shaking that off the faunus said "Let's continue."
"Good idea," Pyrrha agreed now closer deciding it was safe once more.
Blake moved into a different stance before turning her head to Yang asking "Do you have any shuriken with you?" As the team's bruiser nodded Blake continued "Stand next to me and throw them into the air."
Yang shared a confused look with Pyrrha before just shrugging and following Blake's orders. Now next to the faunus, Yang reached into her weapons pouch removing several of the ninja armaments. With a nod from Blake, Yang threw half a dozen shuriken in the air. Wasting no time Blake flew through hand seals and yelled "Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!" forcing a large gust of wind to carry the weapons and send them towards a tree.
Yang and Pyrrha watched with wide eyes as the blades sunk into the tree with a large audible thud. Blake didn't stop there, using similar hand signs shouting "Wind Release: Air Bullet!" A compact ball of air burst from Blake's mouth, ripping a large branch free from the now greatly damaged tree.
"Okay now you're just showing off." Yang said crossing her arms with a smirk. Pyrrha considered responding that showing off is what Yang is best at, but the redhead remembered the earlier confrontation and decided that she didn't want to be another target of the blonde's. "So what's next?" Yang asked, ready to see what else her teammate could do.
"Well I have one more wind technique, but it's basically a buff to my katana." Blake explained as she took a storage scroll out of her back pocket. Blake unrolled the scroll and sent a small pulse of her chakra through the material, bringing her sword out. "This" Blake explained holding out her sleek black katana "is Gambol Shroud."
"Pretty" Yang drooled, being from a clan of weapon creators gave her a certain fondness for the instruments.
"That is quite an impressive blade." Pyrrha agreed, knowing quite a bit about weapons herself.
Blake set the blade down in front of her than made several hand signs saying "Wind Release: Vacuum Sword!" As she finished her chant the black blade grew a white glow around it.
"Well that's…. something?" Yang answered not really understanding what the purpose of the jutsu is. Blake noticed that Pyrrha was confused as well and decided that a demonstration would serve better than an explanation.
The girls watched as Blake moved to the already severely damaged tree, glowing katana in hand, stopping a foot out of the blade's striking distance. Blake rose her katana and swung in front of the tree, what shocked the other Tensai was that even though the physical blade wasn't making contact with the tree, large gashes were being inflicted upon the bark.
"I thought you said you didn't know genjutsu?" Pyrrha asked, convinced she was witnessing some sort of illusion.
Blake shook her head "I don't, all I'm doing is manipulating wind chakra. Basically I'm covering my blade in it, allowing the weapon to have a longer reach and a more deadly cut."
"That…. is…. amazing!" Yang exclaimed as Pyrrha nodded her head agreeing with the blonde.
Blake blushed at the praise "Thanks, it takes a lot of control over the element, it tires me out quickly. Really I've only just scratched the surface, some advanced users are even able to block projectiles with this technique."
"So," Yang began the long wait getting to her "is it time for your secret?"
Blake grinned "I suppose." With that the faunus stood up straight and made a very familiar hand sign "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" A burst of smoke temporarily obscured the girl's view of the faunus, however it faded a moment later. The surprise was that instead of there being one Blake, the girls saw two.
Yang seemed almost let down at the sight "What, clones? How can that be your secret?"
"I'm afraid I don't understand either," Pyrrha agreed "we all learned how to make clone illusions our third year at the academy."
"Yes, we learned to make basic clones" Blake began "but these are not basic clones."
Pyrrha inquired "How are they different?" As Pyrrha finished that question, the clone of Blake rushed her. Acting on instinct Pyrrha moved into a defensive stance, feeling a bit silly considering her attacker was just an illusion, but that passed as she actually felt the clone hit her arm.
Pyrrha looked back up to see two smiling Blakes and a dumbfounded blonde "They're… solid?"
Blake nodded at Pyrrha's assumption "Completely, although a good hit will usually take one out. My clan was able to obtain this from Konoha during the last war."
"Solid clones incredible." Pyrrha mumbled still somewhat shocked at the idea.
"That's not even their most useful trait." Blake admitted "You see when someone makes one of these, they are dividing their chakra. For instance," Blake gestured at her clone "this clone has half the reserves I do, while I still have the other have. So if I had made two clones, we would each have a third of my usual chakra. What makes this so important is that shadow clones can use jutsu."
To display this, Blake's clone made a water whip for the others to witness. "This brings strategy to a whole new level." Yang remarked.
"Perhaps the most useful trait is the learning possibility," Blake stated "Pyrrha whisper something to my clone and make sure I don't hear it."
Pyrrha did as her teammate asked and once she was done, the clone disappeared in a poof of smoke. "I believe you told my clone 'what learning possibility'." Blake stated more than asked, and upon seeing the recurring bewilderment on her partners faces continued "When shadow clones are destroyed or recalled, all of their memories and experience travels back to the user. This makes them invaluable for covert operations and brings a huge boost when learning new techniques. Basically, if I were to train with a shadow clone for one hour I would receive two hours of experience. This works for everything except physical conditioning of course, however it does improve reflexes."
"Why don't they teach this to every ninja?" Yang questioned out loud.
Blake readily answered her "Well first it was pretty much exclusive to the Leaf for a while, although other villages have their own variations. Secondly and more importantly to make just one clone you have to split your chakra, which for many young ninja is potentially life threatening. I'm considered to have a very large amount of chakra for a genin, yet the most I can make and still use other jutsu is four. While you do get chakra back along with the clone's memories, it's not as much as was used to make it. One time I tried to create ten clones, and that led to me being in the hospital for three days from chakra exhaustion."
"So don't overdo it basically?" Yang asked.
Blake nodded "Yeah, I'll make sure to bring the scroll tomorrow, but you guys really shouldn't make more than one. Over time your reserves will grow, especially since we'll be depleting most of them on a regular basis."
Pyrrha smiled at that "So Yang, would you like to go next?"
The blonde perked up at her chance to show off why she had been named Tensai. Yang strolled in front of the other two, grin plastered on her face, and removed a pair of gauntlets. "This ladies," Yang gestured towards her gold and black gauntlets "is Ember Celica." The metal armament fitted Yang like a glove, covering nearly all her wrists.
"These babies are made of chakra conductive metal, like your sword. My uncle helped me create them a few years ago, they help me mold chakra to my hands." The bruiser explained "Not that I need them to mold chakra, they just make it a little easier."
"Than let's see it." Blake challenged with a grin.
Yang matched the smile with one of her own and flashed a few hand seals "Lightning Style: Lightning Ball!" As she finished a sphere of energy quickly formed in her left palm. The white ball pulsed erratically, almost as if the energy inside was trying to escape. Yang let the two observe the ball, then threw it at the tree Blake had practiced on. A large crack was heard as the sphere impacted with the tree, leaving scorched bark surrounding a deep hole.
"That'll certainly stop an opponent." Pyrrha remarked, observing the destruction before her. Blake nodded in agreement, as Yang gave a proud thumbs up.
"The real reason I use Ember Celica though is for this." Yang began as she got back into her stance, the girl then punched her fists together shouting "High Voltage!" Upon contact her gauntlets erupted in a burst of energy, as visible lightning surrounded the metal crackling with the air. "This gives my taijutsu an even bigger edge." Yang said holding her still lighting covered hands up.
Blake joined Pyrrha in being wide eyed, giving Yang the perfect opportunity for "What? Are you guys in shock?"
The blonde was forced to dodge a few shuriken after saying that, but Blake and Pyrrha were still a bit in awe. Pyrrha couldn't help but praise "You must have incredible control in lighting chakra to hold that for so long."
"Yeah," Blake easily agreed "but was the 'High Voltage' really necessary?"
"Not at all, but sometimes you just gotta say what feels right." Yang answered, while powering down her gauntlets. Yang chuckled at seeing the faunus roll her eyes "Anyways I can hold that for about ten minutes, before I start feeling drained." The lightning user suddenly snapped her fingers "Oh yeah, I also use these!" Yang then gestured to the bands around her ankles and elbows.
Pyrrha didn't understand what Yang meant, but Blake being someone studying fuinjutsu caught on quickly "Gravity seals?"
"Bingo!" Yang exclaimed, confirming Blake's guess "They're basically an advanced form of weights, I just add a bit of chakra for how much weight I want on or off. It's great for physical conditioning!"
Blake nodded "I was considering using them myself, I suppose there's no better time to start." The faunus then turned to Pyrrha "I'll be sure to get you a set, if you want one of course."
The redhead smiled in return "That would be greatly appreciated, now I believe it's my turn." Pyrrha confidently walked in front of the two girls and looked at the damage they had inflicted "I don't think there is much hope for the tree, but nevertheless I'll avoid it."
Pyrrha moved a bit further into the grass field and settled into a stance, creating a few hand signs she began "Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!" She slammed her hands to the ground, and in turn the ground rose forming a large wall in front of her. The wall itself was easily a foot taller than the already tall redhead and easily concealed the girls view of her.
Yang clapped as Pyrrha walked around the wall saying "One of us has to have something resembling defense."
Blake chuckled and asked "Could you make a wall out of rock, instead of just compacted dirt?"
"Yes, but it would take a considerably larger amount of chakra and I doubt it would be as large. It's possible for me to make a wall with no material present, but I haven't mastered the technique to that degree yet." Pyrrha answered "I have another similar technique." With that she reverted to the same stance and flashed similar hand seals "Earth Release: Hiding Like a Mole!" There was a flash of smoke and as it dissipated no Pyrrha.
Blake and Yang were dumbfounded their eyes frantically searching for the missing girl. Upon finding nothing Yang asked "Please tell me we didn't lose a teammate on our first day."
"You haven't, at least not yet." The girls turned around to see Pyrrha standing there, brushing off a bit of dirt on her armor. The two were about to question her, but stopped when they noticed the hole in the ground next to the red head.
"Hiding like a mole." Blake mused.
"Yep," Pyrrha confirmed "pretty self explanatory. I can move through rock as well, but like the wall it takes a lot more chakra and I haven't really nailed it down yet."
"You said you had three?" Yang asked.
With an uncharacteristic giant grin Pyrrha answered "Correct, and this is my favorite." She broke back into her stance, making completely different hand seals "Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!" Pyrrha rose her fingers to her lips, and as she did flames began to erupt from her mouth in a continuous jet. She stopped after a few seconds, and turned to see Yang right in front of her.
"You will teach me how to do that!" Yang demanded as she shaked the girls shoulders.
Pyrrha answered quickly, with sincerity and just a bit of fear "I would be happy too!"
"Awesome!" Yang cheered as she did a little jump, before turning to her teammates once more "Now," the evil smile returned "who is up for some sparring?"
Her teammates collectively gulped and shared a panicked look. Blake rushed to make an excuse, but Pyrrha beat her to it "I would love to Yang really, but I do not have my spear on me. Without my weapon I'd be no match for you up close, but Blake does have her sword."
The faunus glared at her red headed teammate with a rotten look she had never given anyone else before. However, Blake's glare was broken when a certain blonde's gaze was refocused onto her. "Alright Blakey, looks like it's you and me."
Blake sighed and accepted her fate "Fine, but no ninjutsu allowed." That rule was really more for Blake herself, she didn't want to seriously harm Yang, but it's also true she didn't want to be on the receiving end of Yang's shock therapy.
'Oh Kami' Blake thought 'It hasn't even been a day and she's already got me making puns in my head.'
Pyrrha stepped backwards saying "I'll referee, to win you have to prove you can get an incapacitating blow on the other, obviously without actually delivering the hit."
The tension in the field seemed to increase as the faunus and blonde stared one another down. Blake doubted she could defeat Yang in a pure taijutsu battle, but she wouldn't let the bruiser win easily.
Both girls had their weapons ready before Pyrrha had given the go to start the spar. As Pyrrha yelled "Go!" Blake took off hoping to catch Yang off guard. While the fast assault did surprise Yang, she recovered quickly and was able to raise her gauntlets in time to block a slash from Blake. The faunus made several blows with her sword, but each were intercepted by the blonde's metal guards.
Yang stopped Blake's assault by grabbing the girl's wrist holding the sword and delivering a swift kick to the girls stomach. Blake flew backwards, grunting in pain, but was able to stay on her feet as Yang began her offensive.
The faunus knew a few good punches from her super powered teammate would take her out, so she didn't risk blocking with her sword and instead opted for dodging. Normally dodging is easier when your attacker is slower than you, Blake had a serious problem considering she was only marginally faster than Yang. The blonde sent a barrage of jabs, just barely missing her target, hoping to tire out Blake early.
Blake knew she wouldn't be able to hold out longer than Yang, so she made a bit of a risky move. Blake ducked under Yang's jab and kneed the girl in the stomach. Being too close to slash at the blonde with her sword, Blake instead hit Yang in the back with the sheath, propelling her forward. While Yang moved forward Blake jumped in the other direction, but the bruiser managed to grab a hold on one of her feet. With her foot caught Blake was forced to the ground, and before she could counter the blonde was over her.
Yang grabbed both of Blake's wrists and upon slamming them on the ground, made the girl lose her grip on Gambol Shroud. As Yang pulled back for a punch to end the fight, Pyrrha yelled "Match over!" naming Yang the victor.
Both girls breathed heavily as Yang was still over Blake. "Not bad Blakey." The blonde said, staring at the girl beneath her.
"If we were allowed to use ninjutsu I would have kicked your ass." Blake retorted with a grin. Honestly she wasn't sure if the use of ninjutsu would have still let her win, but Blake knew she would have had more of a chance.
Yang smiled at the jab "Well than it's a good thing we didn't use ninjutsu. If you had gotten my hair wet with those water tricks of yours, than we would have had a real fight."
Both girls laughed slightly until Blake realized Yang was still straddling her "Yang?"
"Yeah?" The blonde asked not noticing anything odd at all.
"You're still on me." Blake said slipping in a small tone of annoyance to mess with her teammate a bit.
Yang turned quite red and jumped off the faunus "Sorry! Got a bit carried away."
"Well that was quite cute." Pyrrha said with a grin, watching Yang rub her head bashfully and Blake having propped herself up light smirk.
Blake looked up at the darkening sky "Damn, it got late fast."
"Time flies when you're showing off how badass you are." Yang stated simply.
Pyrrha snorted at that and waved "Well I'm due back home for dinner, see you two at the Donkage's office around eight tomorrow?"
With Blake nodding and Yang's answer of "Sounds good to me." Pyrrha left the two in the field.
"Today has definitely been interesting." Blake said as she stood up, dusting herself off.
Yang watched as Blake picked up her sword and sealed it back "And awesome!" The blonde exclaimed, showing her opinion of the day.
"And awesome." Blake admitted with a smile, she turned to leave the field with a small wave "See you tomorrow Yang, give my regards to your family."
"Later Blakey! And mine to yours!" Yang yelled back.
(15 Minutes Later Belladonna Clan Main House)
The whole walk to her clan grounds, Blake couldn't shake the grin on her face. The faunus had rarely felt this type of joy before and didn't want to lose the feeling. Her upbringing wasn't exactly the most normal one, even by most ninja family standards.
Blake lost her smile and feeling of nirvana as she stepped over the threshold of her clan's main house, her house. The girl tried to make her way towards her room quickly, but was stopped in the hallway by a voice from the adjoining room.
"How was graduation?" The cool voice asked.
Blake looked into the house's family room to see her mother, the Belladonna clan head, sitting on the ground with her legs underneath her. Lorea Belladonna was easily identifiable as Blake's mother. They shared the same cat ears and long black hair, however Lorea's was starting to show strands of gray in hers. Lorea's build while athletic like her daughter's was, but several inches shorter than her offspring.
The heir knew this was a test. There was very little doubt in Blake's mind that her mother didn't know she had been named Tensai. Blake had to hold back a scoff, imagining how many other daughters had to guess when their mother was testing them or not.
"I don't believe it could have gone any better. I have been placed on team Tensai along with Pyrrha Nikos and Yang Xiao Long." Blake answered, deciding to play along.
"Hmm," Her mother began "the Nikos heir has great potential as an ally, however I fear the Long heir will become a burden."
Blake was surprised at the outrage she felt rise in her chest at that comment. How dare she insult Yang like that! The faunus didn't know where this sudden urge to protect the blonde came from, but she wasn't ashamed to accept it. "I believe she will surprise you mother." Blake retorted, hiding her annoyance with practice.
Leora opened her eyes, clearly not expecting that answer. Blake didn't give her a chance to continue voicing her opinion "I should eat and rest, the Donkage is giving us our first mission tomorrow."
Leora nodded, but Blake was already moving towards her room.
(Long Clan Main House)
As Yang entered her home before she could voice/yell her arrival, a pair of arms wrapped around her side. "Yang!" Ruby, Yang's younger sister exclaimed.
Yang chuckled and hugged her sister back "Hey Rubes."
"C'mon," Ruby ordered while pulling Yang's wrist "Dad and Qrow are waiting!"
Yang smiled as Ruby pulled her into the kitchen only to be met with another bear hug, this time by her father Taiyang Xiao Long. The tall lean man with short blonde hair was where Yang inherited her infectious smile from. The Long clan head is the kind of man who always strived to make those close to him smile.
"My girl is a Tensai!" Taiyang exclaimed as he swung his daughter around the room.
Yang laughed as her father twirled her around "As I said earlier, was there ever any doubt?"
"None at all!" Taiyang responded "It's just another reminder of how great my genes are, you're about to begin your ninja career just as I did!"
"If I remember correctly," A new voice began "you graduated dead last in our class."
The rooms' occupants turned towards the door leading to the kitchen to see the more rational of the Long brothers, Qrow. Yang smiled and ran towards her uncle. The younger black haired Long twin received his niece with open arms, chuckling the whole time.
"I heard you got grouped with Blake and Pyrrha." Ruby stated as Yang ended her hug with her uncle.
"Yep!" Yang confirmed "I got lucky too, they're both awesome!"
"Pyrrha's father is a good man, let's just hope Blake doesn't turn out like her mother." Taiyan stated, knowing firsthand about the clan heads having dealt with both on numerous occasions.
"Blakey is the best teammate I could hope for." Yang responded, showing how she had immediately gathered some fondness for the faunus.
Qrow decided it was a good time to add "Your mother would be proud of you, unlike your father she was a Tensai with me."
Yang truly smiled at that. She never had the chance to meet the woman and often worried about not being able to honor her, yet Yang felt she was now on the right path to go about doing that.
(Nikos Clan Main House)
Pyrrha was enjoying a nice home cooked meal at the dinner table with her mother and father on either side of her.
"I still can't believe it, my daughter a shinobi." Pyrrha's mother, Prim Nikos, said with a loving smile only a mother can make. Prim was an older version of Pyrrha, while not being a ninja, she retained quite a healthy physique.
Marik Nikos, the red headed Nikos clan head, shared his wife's smile adding "And a Tensai at that. I would tell Taiyang to suck it if his daughter hadn't been placed on the same team as Pyrrha."
"Marik." Prim warned with a stern tone, before asking "When was the last time an all female Tensai team was created?"
Marik thought for a moment "As far a I can recall there hasn't been one in at least twenty years." He gained another grin "Looks like our daughter may have broken a record as well."
Pyrrha smiled as she watched her parents bicker and loved hearing their praise. Everything seemed to be working perfectly for the redhead, she was placed on a great team and had earned her parents admiration. What else was there to ask for?
Pyrrha was brought out of her musing when her father said "I have something to give you Pyrrha."
The heiress was surprised at her father's unusual serious tone of voice, but her mother seemed to know what was he was addressing when she said "Already? I thought you were going to wait until she was a chunin?"
"I was," Marik answered "but the duties of a Tensai aren't all that different from that of a chunin really." At this Pyrrha's father turned to her.
"Pyrrha, it's time for you to sign our clans summoning contract."
(Donkage's Office Later That Night)
Ozpin was sipping his coffee, just finishing reading a report when his old teammate and now adviser Glynda Goodwitch entered the room.
"Good evening Glynda," Ozpin greeted his oldest friend "I assume this isn't a social call?"
Glynda cut to the chase as she always does "One of Mistrals agents have made a sighting on Torchwick."
At that name, Ozpin set down his mug and held his hands together "What have they discovered?"
"Apparently he has been inducted into a new organization." Glynda answered.
"Which is?"
"They go by Akatsuki."