Before Django was able to comprehend what was happening, he landed face first on the ground. When he looked up, he saw Ozpin gently float down from the sky, almost as if was simply walking into his own home. He was, however, kind enough to help Django get up. Aside from his legs being a little wobbly and his eye feeling a bit sore, he felt fine.
"Django Kraus," Ozpin said, "Welcome to Beacon Academy."
As Django turned around, he looked upon the tallest and most beautiful complex he had ever seen. It looked like one of the old castles from Europe he had seen in pictures, but it was much taller, so high it went above the clouds. The most defining feature of the academy was the one, great spire that overshadowed everything else, surrounded by four other towers. The front entrance was a long, concrete path that was shadowed by a dozen arches, lampposts, and the cleanest waterfront Django had ever seen.
"It seems we've arrived just in time to meet the new students, your new classmates," Ozpin said. Realization seemed to dawn on his face, "Which means I have to give them their welcome address, follow me!"
Django was surprised by how fast Ozpin ran, but he supposed it wasn't the most miraculous thing he had seen this old man do. They quickly arrived in a large room, with almost a hundred students standing in front of a stage.
When Django tried to ask him what to do, he quickly responded: "Just try to make some friends.", and then he was off.
All right, Django, make some friends. It can't be any harder than destroying the Templar Order, he thought to himself.
He tried to ease into the crowd, which wasn't easy since the excitement in among the students was palpable, everyone talking to each other and moving around. As he was walking around, he bumped into another kid by accident. Noticing him, he saw that he had light blonde hair, wearing armor plates over a black jacket and jeans, with a sword strapped to his side.
Well, good place to start, Django thought.
"Sorry about that", Django started.
"No problem. My name's Jaune Arc."
"Django Kraus", he replied. They both shook hands, and continued talking.
"So you're a new student here too?" Jaune asked.
"Yeah, pretty new. Is something wrong? You seem depressed."
"Just kind of sad that the first friend I made here wandered off."
He was focusing on a trio of girls who were having a particularly noisy conversation, with a girl in a white dress yelling at another girl in a red dress and cape, while a blonde-haired girl stood by, looking amused. Suddenly, the girl in the white dress pointed at Jaune. They weren't sure where it came from, but melted into their conversation quickly.
"... and color our nails, and talk about cute boys like… tall, blonde and scraggly over there."
Whatever it meant in context, Jaune took notice immediately. He kept looking back at the girls despite the fact they were already back into their own bubble. Before he could intervene, a strange echoing sound reverberated around the room. It was a noise Django hadn't heard before, and it made his ears hurt. Looking up at the stage, he saw Ozpin standing in front of a microphone. After clearing his throat, he gave his speech:
"I'll keep this brief. You have traveled here today in search of knowledge, to hone your craft and acquire new skills. And when you have finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people. But I look amongst you, and all I see is wasted energy, in need of a purpose, direction. You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you to take the first step."
That was pretty odd, Django thought. Ozpin seemed to change in his demeanor, no longer a patient man but a strict teacher. After giving his speech he briskly walked off the stage, and a blonde woman in formal clothes and a black cape that was shredded at the bottom stepped up to the microphone.
"You will gather in the ballroom tonight. Tomorrow your initiation begins, be ready. You are dismissed."
Django was about to ask Jaune if he knew where the ballroom was, but he noticed the he was walking over towards the girls who had briefly noticed him earlier. Django decided to follow along, since there wasn't much else to do. The girls seemed to have noticed Ozpin's demeanor as well.
"He seemed kind of….off." said the blonde one.
"It's almost like he wasn't even there." the red one added.
Suddenly, Jaune stepped in:
"I'm a natural blonde you know." he tried to say smoothly. Now they had all three of the girls' attention. Now that he was closer, Django could see the girls better. The red girl was fair skinned, with black, neck length hair that turned dark red at the tips. She wore a black, long sleeve blouse and skirt with red trim, with black stockings and combat boots. She had a red hooded cape that was pinned to her dress by cross-shaped pins, and on the front of her belt was an emblem that looked like a flower. Most remarkably, she had bright silver eyes.
The tall blondie had long, bright hair that went down to her waist, with a cowlick standing at the top, and had purple eyes. Her choice of clothing was the most unlike what Django had ever seen in 19th-century America: a tan jacket that exposed her waist, with short sleeves that ended at her elbows, leaving room for the biggest gauntlets Django had ever seen. Underneath the jacket she had a yellow shirt that was cropped scandalously low, with some sort of fiery emblem on it. She also had very short black shorts on, making Django less comfortable. It looked like she and the red girl were related, judging from physical appearances.
The girl in a white dress reminded him most of American styles. Her shining white hair was pulled back in a bun tail and pinned with an icicle shaped tiara. On her feet she wore long, white boots. He noticed she had a vertical scar on her left eye, which meant there was more to this girl than originally met the eye.
The red one seemed to recognize Jaune, and greeted them quickly.
"Hey Jaune, what's up?" she asked.
"Nothing much, since you kinda just left me back there." Jaune responded. He suddenly seemed to realize Django was also standing next to him.
"Oh, here, let me introduce to Django. We kinda met just earlier."
"Nice to meet you," Django said, extending his hand.
"Ruby Rose," the red girl said, and pointed at the blondie, "And this is my sister, Yang Xiao Long."
So they are related, he thought, shaking both their hands. Suddenly, Yang got a lot closer, frightening Django's 1870's sensibilities, asking, "So, you single, cutie?"
Django was surprised by how bluntly this girl asked that question, and took a step back before nodding in the affirmative. The only person who seemed to be bothered by Yang's "unladylike" behavior was her sister, who whined, "Yang!"
Yang chuckled before saying, "Relax you two, I'm just teasing."
Django decided to direct his attention to the white-haired girl, he seemed to be upset he hadn't recognized her. He reached out his hand to her.
"And you are?" he asked politely.
"Weiss Schnee." she said quickly, shaking his hand in the same delicate way he had seen rich people in San Francisco do. He guessed from that she was probably from this world's aristocracy, probably why she was upset he had not acknowledged her earlier. They quickly began striking up a conversation.
"So, Django," said Yang, "Where are you from?"
"Oh….uh," he wasn't sure what to say, but simply said, "Just a small little dirt pile in the middle of nowhere."
"Are you from Vale?"
"No, pretty far from there actually."
"So you must be on some sort of exchange program?"
"Yeah….I guess you could put it that way."
The group began to split off, Weiss going on her own to the ballroom, and Ruby and Yang said they were going to go get their belongings at the docks, and Jaune said he would need to get his own things too. Django assured them he would be fine on his own, and he began walking down the hallways. As he was walking, he heard footsteps behind him. Turning around, he saw Ozpin standing right behind him, with a cup of coffee in his left hand and cane in the other.
"So, fitting into school are we?" he asked.
"Yeah, already made some friends. So what are we supposed to do now?"
"Well, most students are encouraged to stay within the campus grounds. But since your a special case, I would suggest you head to the armory to….modernize your weapons."
"What's wrong with them?"
"Let's just say in Remnant, those are called classics."
"Oh, yeah I get it. Thanks Ozpin."
"And since you have the rest of the day, you might as well go to the city. Perhaps you can fit in better with the fashion."
"Why? Are my clothes unusual?"
"Yes. I would suggest the Atlas Royal Tailor Shop in central Vale."
"Vale?"
"The city out there."
Django hadn't yet looked outside the windows that were right next to them. They went all the way to the floor, allowing him to take in the full view. Beacon seemed to be perched atop a cliff overlooking a vast bay, across from which lay a magnificent city, with towers that, while dwarfed by Beacon, still stretched high into the sky. Speaking of the sky, there seemed to be giant ships in the sky that looked like dirigibles but had the smooth surfaces of a seaship. Several of those ships were coming towards Beacon, most likely carrying everyone's luggage.
"Quite the site, isn't it?" Ozpin said.
"I've never seen a city like that." Django said in an awed tone.
"Well, like I said, feel free to spend the rest of the day preparing for your initiation. Just be back before dark."
The city was even more magnificent up close. Looking through the windows of the airship, he saw the buildings were connected by walkways, and snaking between them were several train tracks, with different trains zooming back and forth. It was like a dream city, with no dark smog in the air that covered the buildings. He was the only person in the ship, aside from a man and a woman who seemed to be together, probably seeing off their child at Beacon.
The ship docked at the port, and as he walked out, he saw how crowded the complex was. There were people going about their daily lives, seeing off loved ones or welcoming them back, some soldiers were sitting in chairs, presumably waiting for their own ship. There didn't seem to be much here except a few stores selling snacks and newspapers, but nobody seemed to really go into any of them. Instead, most of them had their faces glued to the small devices that Django had learned were called Scrolls. Ozpin had given him his own, but he wasn't keen on using it yet.
He made his way outside the complex, where a few people were waiting to be picked up. He noticed an area called Taxi Pickup, and went over there. He didn't have to wait long before another strange machine, called a car, drove up to him. The man inside rolled down his window and asked:
"Where to?"
Django was caught off guard by the rabbit ears on his head, but remembered what Ozpin had told him about the Faunus. He decided not to mention them, as the driver would probably not take too kindly to it. Instead, he answered.
"Atlas Royal Tailor Shop."
The driver pressed a button, opening the back side passenger door. Django clambered in, finding that it held less room in it than the carriages did. The driver seemed to know exactly where he was going, driving and swerving through the roads, which were surprisingly smooth to Django. The whole city was unusually clean to him, and it was a lot less crowded than New York. As they continued driving, the buildings got fancier and fancier, until finally they pulled up in front of a shop that said, in fancy text, Atlas Royal Tailor Shop. Django gave the driver the green card Ozpin had given him, which was somehow suppose to exchange currency.
Entering the shop, he was blown by a strange scent that held a calming effect on him, along with music playing through some sort of speakers. The shop was sparkling clean, with a wide range of clothing options hanging from racks. Django looked around, he saw a woman come out from a back room, stepping behind the counter. She wore nice, formal clothes and had makeup on her face. She was actually quite pretty, and seemed to fully understand its effect on people. His view of her, however, changed slightly when she gave him a look that asked: What sewer did you drag yourself from?
Instead, she said: "Can I help you?"
Django decided to be polite. "Yes, I was hoping to get some more….fashionable clothes."
"Well, fortunately we have a wide array of clothing from across the kingdoms. I'm absolutely certain you'll find something fitting to your tastes. You do have money, don't you?"
After almost an hour of trying different clothes and passive-aggressive comments by the woman, Django finally found a style he liked. A blue coat that went down to his knees, along with a white shirt under a burgundy vest, with black pants and combat boots. He also got a red scarf that covered the lower half of his face, and it bore the Assassins symbol on it. The symbol was also on an epaulet on the collar of his coat. He was also able to get an arm guard that, according to the shop owner, could resist the bite force of the average Grimm, but was as flexible as a blanket.
"Well, I certainly hope your satisfied with your clothing choices. It is quite expensive," the owner said.
"I hope I have enough." he said. He handed her the green card and she swiped along some sort of device. She looked surprised by what she saw on the screen of the computer, and simply handed it back to him. He thanked her for her service, and left.
Getting outside, he saw that the sun was starting to set. He looked around for one of the cable cars, like in San Francisco, but instead saw a wait station that held a sign that said Bus Stop. he decided to wait there, and a car that was rectangular-shaped pulled up. The driver asked him the same question as the taxi driver: "Where to?"
"Vale International Airport."
"Come on in."
When he got in, he saw that there were several empty seats, and he wasn't sure which one to sit in. He just sat down in a row of chairs along the window. Other than him and the driver, the only other people were some kids in uniforms, so presumably going home from school, an old woman sitting in an isolated chair by herself, and two girls his age who were looking at him. When he saw them, the giggled and smiled at him, and he smiled politely back. Remnant was truly a strange place regarding women. Here, they were not only upfront about their personal feelings towards people and were allowed to wear whatever they wanted, but they were encouraged to fight alongside men in combat. It was a truly different world from America.
Getting back to the school, he arrived in time before Glynda Goodwitch, the woman who had spoken on the stage earlier in the day, started patrolling the halls. He realized he would need to change into his nightclothes, or 'pajamas', as the students called them. He wore a black shirt and blue shorts, and settled into his own sheet on the ground, situated in the middle of the room.
The room had grown steadily silent, as people started to drift off to sleep. However, a commotion at the girls side of the room starting drawing anyone's attention. Two girls screamed not you again! and it turned out that Yang and Weiss were at each other's throats while Ruby tried to calm tensions, and a girl sitting on the floor with a book in her hand looked like she really wanted to be left alone. She seemed to realize that she wouldn't be able to read now, and blew out her candle, settling down to sleep. This seemed to snap the other three out, and they realized they had gotten the attention of a lot of people. Ruby looked around and made eye contact with Django, who gave an amused smile back at her, to which she replied by mouthing sorry.
Eventually, everyone was able to calm down and settle into their beds. Django realized that this would be one hell of an adventure.
